Increase Online Sales - Small Marketing Details...

Lauren

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #131
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006

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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

Well, yesterday was our kiddos last day of school around here so it's time to get out the old summer schedule again. I'm really looking forward to it though because each year my kids get older and we're able to do more and more things together. (Like water parks, yeah!) We've been enjoying a few days here and there with some really beautiful, sunny weather (and I have the sunburn to prove it!) We've had our share of rain too but, more threatening of rain than it actually falling. So, we've managed to run outside in between storms.

As I mentioned last week, MommysHelperOnline.com is under some major reconstruction. It's been a long, tedious job but the finished product is going to be very well worth it. (I'm starting to see this already!) Be sure to follow along in our blog at http://2wahms.blogspot.com

Oh, and I also wanted to give a great big thanks for the article submissions to http://www.Wahm-Articles.com! We greatly appreciate them and please keep em coming! We love to feature articles straight from our subscribers. Smile

Till next week...

~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper

Note from Kara

The long hard SEO project still continues revamping all pages, one by one, on Idea Queen. It's nice to see the work that's already been done kicking in, so from here on it will just keep getting better. Out of over 100 pages, about 15 are finished for the time being (aside from more incoming link work, which will probably never be finished).

Aside from working on pages, we've been busy attending craft shows. As fun as they are, I've got to remember to bring the sunscreen! Over the weekend I got a terrible burn because I didn't realise my back was directly in the sun for several hours. I suppose it happens when you are concerned with keeping candles out of the direct sun - you tend to forget about yourself!

See you in two weeks!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Increase Online Sales - Small Marketing Details Can Add Up to Big Dollars

Boosting online sales can be achieved by doing a lot of little things right. You may have the world's best product, but if you don't have a broadly based marketing strategy, you won't realize even a fraction of your potential for sales.

The following ten strategies will pump up sales without deflating your marketing budget.
1. Secure your reputation as a fair and trustworthy business by dealing with customer complaints immediately. Give refunds when requested, and if appropriate offer a discount or free gift to restore consumer trust.

2. Entice new customers by offering discount coupons every so often. Everyone values a discount, and small sales now can attract bigger sales in the future.

3. Pair up with another business so you can offer valuable items free to your customers, such as a vacation certificate. 4. Offer an air-tight guarantee. This will highlight the quality of your product or service, and quell any customer doubts about making a purchase.

5. Offering incentives to your customers can boost your sales, even if you don't use an affiliate program. For example, provide a free product if buyers bring in a certain number of customers.

6. Always explain your sales and specials, and set time limits on them. If your products or services are always on sale, customers may instinctively devalue them.

7. Secure sales from indecisive customers by providing free trial periods for your service. This is a no-risk transaction for them, and it could be a highly-beneficial one for you, if you offer a quality service. Another option is to offer a nearly-free trial period, such as for a dollar or so. This approach ensures that a monetary transaction has taken place, which customers can later renew if they value the service.

8. Identify your target audience and tailor your approach to them accordingly. Visitors to your website will be more apt to buy from you if they feel like you understand them and their needs.

9. State your delivery timelines as accurately and honestly as possible. If your services are quicker than your competitors, this will be seen as a huge advantage for many buyers.

10. Tailor your product and your web site specifically to the needs of your customers, not to your own tastes. Your purpose should be to discover what your customers want,why, how they best respond to sales information, and how they like to complete an order. After you have tended to the many small details, the larger picture should become more clear. And more profitable.

Todd Kenovas is Marketing Manager for the targeted Internet advertising option, Webways Media. See http://www.webwaysmedia.com for more information.

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Childcare
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Protect Your Child With A Password

When we think of password protection, we think of bank accounts, computers, or even voice mail phone systems.

Our children are equally precious to us and need our protection. But how do we protect them?

When my kids were small we established a password, or codeword that only they and I knew. We chose a word very familiar to them, something they could remember, yet not something easily guessed by an outsider.

In the car we would roleplay many situations that might happen and how my children could respond. It was very important that if anyone other than I was going to pick them up at school or from a sports practice or even a girl scout meeting, this person must know our password.

If the person did not know the password, then my children were not to get in their car under any circumstances. There were no exceptions to this rule. Once you start making exceptions young children become confused. Their mother, their father, and their grandmother knew their password and often discussed it with them.

I know our system worked, because one day after her brownie meeting, a friend of mine offered to drive my daughter home, knowing I was home not feeling well. My daughter asked this adult woman if she knew the password. Of course the woman did not. My daughter comfortably looked at her and told her she could not get in the car with her.

I have never been more proud of this very precious little girl.

Audrey Okaneko is mom to two girls. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at www.scrapping-made-simple.com

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Coffee Break
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Croc Hunter Stalks Male Child

?Lisa Barker

G'day, mates. I'm the Crocodile Hunter and we?re here today to view the daily habits of the impressive child of the human species. Crikey! Look at the size of the mess he?s created!

Now, the most notable thing about the male child is that he?s always wearing his shirt backward. See, this is how he makes himself presentable to the rest of the world. He thinks he?s clean now because the spots are in the back.

Now, we?re going to enter his room and this is very dangerous because, well, as you can detect with your nose, there?s a pair of wet swim trunks hidden in this room that are growing mildew because they?ve been left here so long. Crikey! It smells like a locker room for mating chimpanzees!

But let?s keep looking. We just might unearth clues that will actually help us identify when the male of this species develops the habits that will totally repulse females of the species. Yeah, here we go, mate. Look at that ? it?s a pair of boxers, a t-shirt and socks mere inches from the hamper. Crikey! It?s like there?s some sort of invisible force preventing him from actually depositing his soiled clothes into the hamper!

Now this is an important discovery. It means that the male of the species, while not born with this lazy trait, develops and perfects it roughly by the age of eight years. Mums, take note. Use this information to curb this tendency. But be careful! If you?ll look closely, you?ll see that the young male does not use toilet paper?you?ll want to use a long stick when you pick up these articles of clothing.

Now people ask me, ?Mate, what attracts you to this disgusting line of work?? Well, I just have to say that I LOVE the male child, especially since I was one meself.

Look at this! It?s ingenious! See, to the ordinary observer, it appears that the room is totally trashed, but what you are actually looking at is a sophisticated filing system. The male of the human species knows exactly where each article of clean clothing is. He knows where every book, homework paper and Lego piece is. It?s really a very brilliant system designed to prevent sisters from entering his room thus ensuring his complete privacy. So Mums beware....

Look at this! It?s a pair of underwear here, hanging from the knob on the dresser!

This chaos and sloth harkens back to the dawn of time. Cavemen didn?t have closets, dressers and hampers. So it?s actually a form of repression requiring your son to make use of these things. So instead of yelling at him?just grunt, scratch yourself and whoop it up. He?ll understand. He?s male after all.

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Jelly Mom? is written by Lisa Barker, author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com.

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Recipes
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Honey Spiced BBQ Sauce
1 1/4 Cup Catchup
2/3 Cup Salad oil
3/4 Cup Vinegar
5 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Cup Honey
2 Tablespoon Dry mustard
3 Teaspoon Ginger, fresh grated
1 Lemon, sliced thinly
3 Tablespoons Butter

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat to blend together. Remove lemon peel before basting.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community!

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