Have you ever sent off a proposal or presentation and wondered… did they even look at it?

Well, do I have the tool for you! A Hudson Valley based company KinetiCast created this very cool technology where you can upload your PowerPoint presentation and it magically transforms into an online presentation. You then email the link to your prospect and you can check to see not only if they looked at it, but also what pages they reviewed and for how long.

• Need to include a PDF file? You can add a button to the end of your presentation, and they upload your file to their application and create a link.
• Want to add video? You can easily add your own video, especially if you have a video camera hooked up to your computer, (an apple for instance).
• Don't have Powerpoint? You can use their presentation creator to make your own, without needing PowerPoint.

Do you want to try this for yourself? I arranged for a 30 day free trial for visitors to my blog – visit www.kineticast.com and type in promo code EF8A4.

Awareness:  A potential customer needs to see or hear your name countless times before they recognize it. Following are a few suggestions on how you can create awareness: 

• Chamber of Commerce and Other Networking Groups.
  Frequently attend mixers and events while placing strategic sponsorships.
  
• Speaking Engagements.
  If you are willing to speak in front of groups, this is an easy way to establish your "Expert" reputation.
  
• Radio/Periodicals/TV.
  Choose two-four venues that already speak to your target market. You will need to commit to a campaign that lasts at least 6 months to see results. How do you know it's successful? Clients will tell you they are hearing/seeing your business "everywhere".
  
• Internet.
  An informative website will not only give your business credibility, it can be an excellent lead generator. Leads are generated through "organic" search optimization, paid advertising and affiliate programs. Don't forget to give visitors the opportunity to register for catalogs, newsletters and giveaways.

Conversation: Now that you have their attention, don't forget to keep in touch.

• Email and Direct Mail.
  Let your clients/contacts know about new products or services, new hires, etc through newsletters and postcards sent via direct mail or email (possibly both).
  
• Social Networking.
  Linked In, Plaxo, Facebook, My Space, Twitter can help keep your business visible.
  
• Press Releases.
  Make sure your local news outlets are aware of new developments at your company.
  
• Personal Touch.
  Sending a personal note to a recent contact is often overlooked and can be a perfect way for you to distinguish yourself from the crowd.

Awareness + Conversation = Comfort:
Once you have a consistent awareness and conversation campaign in place, your target audience should feel comfort with your company which should then translate into…SALES.

For the last few weeks, I have been speaking about "Affiliate Programs", a marketing technique that enables Merchants to promote their products and services by giving Website Publishers a sales commission.

How can your website receive those commissions?
First, register with one or more Affiliate Services (Commission Junction, LinkConnector, ShareASale, etc). You need to fill out an application about your website and other information, such as your address and later you're banking information (so you can get paid).

Then, after you are accepted as a Publisher, you will look for Affiliate Offers that make sense for your website audience. For instance, if your website is targeted towards new Moms, then you would want to post offers from Merchants with baby products and other services Mom's are especially looking for. Take some time to review the Merchant's website and the products or services they offer, to make sure you are comfortable linking to them. Finally, look to see what the actual commission structure is, and if the Merchant is offering a "Sales Incentive", as in 10% off any order of $50 or more. Depending on your site's content and audience, either a "Bargain Driven" link would be better, or sometimes a Recommendation would be more preferable.

Finally, you (or your webmaster) will place the links on your website. There are several different kinds of ads.

Banner Ads The visual ads that you often see at the top and sides (or within content) of a site. Sample: Text ads If set-up correctly, they can be more invisible to your audience. Most of the provided text ads, have the look and feel of an ad. If the Affiliate Services provides "just a link" to you, then you can customize yourself and tailor the message or link to your audience. Sample: Get a Free Color Printer from Xerox! Sample 2: We recommend Xerox Printers. Animated and Gizmo Ads Fewer Merchants offer Hover, Animated Flash ads, or even gizmos that embed in your website that are particularly suited for websites that primarily rely on advertising for revenue. Sometimes visitors find these ads a bit annoying or distracting.

After you set up your Affiliate links, don't forget to review your Affiliate reporting to see what types of ads your website audience is not only clicking on, but more importantly buying from. Then continue to refine your advertising choices, based on what works best for your website visitors, and what creates the most revenue for your website.

Last week I talked about Affiliate Programs, specifically software that allows you to track your own affiliates that can be installed to work with your online shopping cart.

If you missed last weeks post: "With an affiliate program, you provide advertising banners and text ads to people who want to post them on their website. Through an ID, the advertising source can be tracked, so that when a purchase is made, you can give that advertiser a "commission". The commission is up to you; most companies offer from 5% to as much as 30% for a sale. You will want to make the commission attractive enough to attract advertisers, but keep in mind your profit margin."

Now, if you want to establish a loyal base of advertisers, the easiest and quickest way to do that is to engage with an Affiliate Service Provider. Who are they?

1) Commission Junction: You need to have $50,000 per month of revenue from your online store for them to even consider working with you. However, there online portal for the publishers (the people who will put your banners on their website), is very easy to use. If you meet their standards as an advertiser, they are considered the global leader in affiliate advertising.

2) LinkShare: Their well-known clients include Wal-Mart, Macy's, Clinique, OfficeDepot and Apple iTunes however their website information still welcomes the "smaller advertiser". They have a variety of programs to choose from. From their reputation, I would normally suggest their network if you don't meet the requirements of Commission Junction. However, I did have trouble actually registering to be a publisher, so that gives me pause. The online application doesn't work, so much so, that it is published in their help documentation(!).

3) ShareASale: Their reporting interface has much to be desired, however their sales representative responds back to inquiries very, very quickly. Their pricing is straightforward and easy to understand. They have a set-up fee, which includes consulting and guidance, plus a commission structure: 20 cents to every dollar you pay to an affiliate in the program. Registering to become a publisher was simple and straightforward as well. I liked that they offer just the minimum code required to post a link, in addition to traditional banner and text ads.

4) PepperJam Network: Their well-known clients include Cartoon Network, Baby Phat, Roca Wear, MGM, Jelly Bean and Sesame Street. They started out as an affiliate and then built an affiliate firm based on their own experience with the (then) status quo. Their full company offers a complete spectrum of services: Search Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Media Buying and Design. So if you are looking for a full service solution, all in one place, I would start here. I filled out a form requesting information from their sales representatives, but there hasn't been a response in one week. To be fair, the only firm to respond to an inquiry from me was ShareASale.

5) LinkConnector: This network also has a number of high-profile clientele including eHarmony, Getty Images, PRWeb International, and Reunion. Their pricing structure is somewhat transparent, but there are a lot of surcharges. The pricing all in all, probably works out to be the same or more than ShareASale if you sit down and work out the numbers. When your online business is more successful, the commission structure is revised (you end up paying more), but it seems you get some added support for that increase in fee.

6) Google Affiliate Network: Google acquired DoubleClick's Performics Affiliate operations in March 2008. High profile clients include Bank of America, Sears, Target and Verizon. There isn't much more to say, because their website is limited in content and they didn't respond to my inquiry within one week, even though their auto responder promises they will send you an email in about 3-4 days.

Until next week, Happy Marketing!

Let's assume your business has a shopping cart and you are selling products or services online. Now what? You need the right audience for your project to purchase what you offer. One way to gain a loyal audience is to offer an "Affiliate program".

With an affiliate program, you provide advertising banners and text ads to people who want to post them on their website. Through an ID, the advertising source can be tracked, so that when a purchase is made, you can give that advertiser a "commission". The commission is up to you; most companies offer from 5% to as much as 30% for a sale. You will want to make the commission attractive enough to attract advertisers, but keep in mind your profit margin.

If you have a loyal base of advertisers or customers willing to promote your product, I recommend that you install Affiliate Software - such as JROX Affiliate Manager. They offer a free version of their software, which lacks some of the capabilities you might want. Their full version is fairly priced--$250 for the license, and I licensed it for $150 because it was "on sale", payable in increments. They also offer a 30 day money back guarantee.

Their software has a lot of reporting tools and it is very well done in my opinion. I chose this program, because we already implemented Zen Cart for this client and their software is recommended by Zen Cart. It took me 6 hours to install the software and to change the templates to match a client's website. Considering that I had not used the software at all, I consider that pretty good. They offer packages that include installation and matching your website template. The pricing is extremely fair, but I haven't tried their service, so can't vouch for it.

Most of the other software I have found typically have a monthly fee associated with them. But I did also find a few other solutions where you can license the software for a one time fee. However I haven't tested them yet, including:

• All Affiliate Pro
• AFF Commerce

Next week, I will cover Affiliate Service Providers, such as Commission Junction, Google Affiliate Network, LinkShare, ShareASale and PepperJam Network.

There are many ways to sell products or services online. If you want to "dip your toes in the water" without a significant investment, but want to steer clear of E-Bay, then start with Google's new "Base". You can post one or more products, and easily accept online payment through Google Checkout (their secure online payment cart).

In less then 3 minutes you can sign-up and enter your product's information. It then takes Google from 15 minutes to 4 hours to post your information online, allowing it to be searchable. Items that are currently listed on Google for sale include-Products, Events, Activities, Vehicles, Vacation deals, Hotels and Rentals. You can also add your own categories.

Getting Started: Click here: http://www.google.com/base

You can add items:

• One at a time. If you have 10 or less items to sell, use an online Google form to post your items for sale.
• Upload a Data feed. A Data feed is a spreadsheet or XML file that contains a list of your items.
• API. This is code from your website that gets sent to Google. You'll need a programmer to help you with this.

How it works - One at a Time.

For this article, we'll focus only on the "One at a time" entry. I will cover the other options in another article, to keep this article short enough to read.

In my opinion the interface is very easy to use. If you click the One at a time button on their intro screen, Google sends you to a page that looks like this. Simply choose the type of item you are planning to sell, or enter your own label.

Then, you will be asked for relevant information for the item. You'll want to upload photos, and put as much information as you can about the item you are selling.
 

Once you are finished, you can Preview and then finally Publish your item for sale. 

After you have published, you will want to enter some other information, especially if you register for Google Checkout, which will include your checking account's routing and account number. (Google Checkout costs 2.0% plus .20 per item which is for the most part comparable to any other online credit card processor. If you also have an active Google Adwords account, that is linked to your Google checkout account you may be eligible for a discounted option.).

You will be able to check upon how well your product is selling as well as how often it is displayed by checking in your Google Base "My Items" screen.

What do the stats mean?

Impr. (Impressions): The total number of times your item has appeared in search results since it was published.

Clicks: The total number of times someone has clicked on your item in a list of search results since it was published.

Page Views: The total number of times anyone has viewed your base.google.com item page since it was created. Google Base doesn't count page views for pages hosted on your own website. If your item links to a page on your own web site, page views data will not be available for that item.

And Voila you are now selling products online!

As the Internet Expert of Entrepreneurial Excellence Radio Show, I will be using this blog to expand upon my one minute broadcast overview. Enjoy.

To hear online: www.eeradioshow.com

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