Apr 24

You may use this article for reprint if it
remains unaltered and includes the author
information and resource box. – Isaiah Hull

Harvesting Leads from Yahoo Groups

If you own an internet business or you’re involved in an
affliate program and you’re having trouble getting traffic
to your website or gateway, consider Yahoo Groups as an
option to expand your visibility. You can sign up for
dozens of these groups tonight–some which have subscriber
bases of over 10,000 people–and then submit your ad to
them immediately.

Before you begin, you’ll need to determine what approach
you’re going to take for this. There are two ways to
generate traffic through Yahoo Groups: 1) by submitting
your ad to groups that are specifically looking for ADS;
or 2) by providing a free service, such as a business
advice article, a free ebook, or anything else you can
think of that might help someone in you shoes – and then
adding your resource box at the bottom, giving a link to
your website or product. I personally would suggest doing
both if you want to get the best results. There aren’t that
many groups that allow shameless promotions – and the ones
that do are generally saturated with them.

Your next step is to get a text-editor/writing program
that allows you to format your documents by characters-per-line
(I would suggest getting the free trial version of textpad- http://www.textpad.com).
Once you have this text-editor setup, type or copy-and-
paste your ad, article, or whatever else you’re going to
use into the text-editor and then format it for 55
characters-per-line (most submission forms require you
to use 55-60 characters-per-line; if you do not, they’ll
reject your submission out-right).

Once you have done this, you’ll want to sign up for a
Yahoo email account if you do not have one already. This
is free and you can do it easily by going to Yahoo.com
and filling in your information.

Next you’ll want to head to http://groups.yahoo.com ,
where you’ll find a directory of Yahoo Groups. You will
want to find groups that coincide with whatever product
or service you are selling. For instance, I sell marketing
and business-building tools. When I go to Yahoo Groups, I
go to Business & Finance and then to Marketing.

You should have a pretty good selection for whatever you
plan to market. There are hundreds of groups and–as I
mentioned earlier–some of them have over 10,000 members
currently. Sign up for as many of these groups as possible.

Just click on the group. Click to sign up – and then fill
in your information. Make sure you have all of the boxes
filled in and then submit the form. For most of the groups,
you will receive an email in your inbox immediately. Others
will take a few days.

Your next step is to read all of the new emails in your
inbox. Check out the rules list for all of the new groups
you just signed up for. Make sure your article, service,
or whatever you’re posting conforms to all of the rules.
Now go back to your groups. You should see a list of
groups you’re in with “Post” next to the group name.
Begin posting it to each individual group, making sure
you follow the rules. Also make sure it includes your
resource box.

Now you wait. The submission process can take a while.
Most posts have to be manually reviewed by group
editors/moderators, while others will go up immediately.
Sometimes you’ll receive a letter from the editor, saying
whether it was posted or rejected and sometimes you wont.
Once you start receving the submission responses, that
means people can now read your article or ad.

Congratulations – you just advertised to an ENORMOUS
group of targeted potential leads for no cost whatsoever.

Now sit back, relax, and watch the hits accumulate on
your website.

Isaiah Hull publishes Work At Home Right Now, a fresh and
informative newsletter about making money on the internet
and using proven methods to increase your site’s traffic
and profitability. If you’re looking for time-saving and
money-saving tools, as well as honest business advice,
come by and subscribe at http://www.workathomerightnow.net

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Nov 30

As a local business owner you wear many hats and you have countless responsibilities. Consequently you’re not always able to follow-up on opportunities that could advance your business. It is the nature of running a business.

Once an awhile an opportunity comes along that you absolutely should not pass up. In this case it is a business listing on both Google and Yahoo local. Not only can it generate targeted traffic in your area, but the listing is FREE. And here is another reason why you need to jump on this, it doesn’t matter if you have a web site or not, you still qualify for the free listing.

Why would you want a free business listing with Google and Yahoo?

Because they are the two largest search resources online, and account for approximately 78% of the total search results. But even more important is the fact that your customers are searching for local products and services online in greater numbers. In some surveys it is suggest that as much as 25% of all Internet searches are local in nature.

Your customers are turning away from the cumbersome yellow pages. Instead their utilizing the content rich resources of the Internet. You have to ask yourself – if you competitors are listed and you are not, when a prospect searches online which business will most likely end up with a new customer?

How hard is it to list your business?

It can be done in less then an hour. Below are the two locations:

Local Business Center – https://www.google.com/local/add/login?hl=en-US&gl=US

Yahoo Local – http://local.yahoo.com/ (Click on the “Add/Edit a Business ” link at the bottom of the page)

The Benefits of a Local Listing

Besides the excellent exposure, you get to list important details about your business, including:

  • Business Name
  • Address
  • Phone
  • Email address
  • Web address
  • Payment methods accepted
  • Brands carried
  • Products/services offered
  • Specials
  • In addition to company details, Google and Yahoo both provide an interactive map for locating your business. I’m sure most of you have utilized the mapping service of either of these search engines and know how convenient it makes finding a business. Not only can customers find out who you are, but they also can pinpoint where you are.

    As I mentioned, neither of these services require a web site, but when you combine your listing with a link to a killer web site you are in position to do so serious customer conversion. For those lacking a web site, Yahoo offers a free 5 page site. It allows you to get a basic web presence until you get the real thing up and running.

    At this point few businesses are cashing in on local Internet marketing. For those that are the results show a higher ROI, and an improved customer conversion rate.

    The future of your local business will depend on how effective you are in reaching your customers online. Getting a free listing on Google and Yahoo Local is an excellent start.

    Fred Waters is co-founder of the Local Online Marketing Association, where you
    can get the FREE 54-page e-book, The Indispensable
    Guide to Local Online Marketing.

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