In a springtime show of unity, congressional Democrats welcomed President Barack Obama to the Capitol Wednesday and unveiled budget blueprints that embrace his key priorities and point the way for major legislation this year on health care, energy and education.

Even so, both the House and Senate versions lack specifics for any of the administration's signature proposals. And Democrats decided to cut spending -- and exploding deficits -- below levels envisioned in the plan Obama presented less than a month ago.

Administration officials and congressional leaders said any differences were modest.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, speaks during a news conference about the budget on Capitol Hill in Washington Wednesday, March 25, 2009 as Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., listens. [Agencies]

"This budget will protect President Obama's priorities -- education, energy, health care, middle class tax relief and cut the deficit in half," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said after the chief executive met privately in the Capitol with rank-and-file Democrats.

Because today's technology allows you to do so many things quickly, it's easy to fall into the trap of believing that search engine optimization should happen at the snap of your fingers, too.

But the truth is, search engine optimization takes time. More than two hours, two days, two weeks, or even two months. It is a long-term process and a long-term commitment: but, done right, it brings long-term business growth. Here's a brief sketch of what you can expect when you take on the task of serious search engine optimization:

Business Analysis. So many businesses want to skip this stage! But this is the foundation of the entire SEO structure: analyzing your business, your goals, your current website, your market, and your products and services. Until you know who you are, who you want to reach, and how you want to reach them, SEO will remain nothing more than a pipedream.

Keyword Research. Once you have thoroughly analyzed your business, keyword research must be performed to determine what words and phrases your potential clientele are searching on to find you. One of the most dangerous mistakes you can make is to assume you know how people are searching for you: you need the hard facts that only in-depth, professional research can provide.

Website Optimization. The keywords and phrases must then be incorporated strategically throughout your site. You may also find that your website needs restructuring or a full or partial redesign in order to appeal to your market and be easily indexed by the search engines.

Site Indexing. Once your website has been search engine optimized and goes live, you begin another phase of the waiting game: it can take up to 8 weeks for the various search engines to index your site. And there is absolutely no way to speed up that process.

Ongoing Testing. Finally, it is vital to understand that your job isn't done even when your site has been search engine optimized and indexed. That is just the start of the longest phase of the process: tracking results, testing different terms, and adding new content. In fact, this phase has no endpoint … as long as you want to maintain a viable web presence, you must continually put time and effort into your site's search engine optimization.

 

The United States is facing a brain drain and can no longer take for granted its ability to attract the world's top talent, according to a new study.

The Kauffman Foundation, a non-profit organization, surveyed 1,203 Indian and Chinese immigrants and found that skilled immigrants are leaving the US to return to their home countries in greater numbers. It released the study - America's Loss is the World's Gain - conducted by Vivek Wadhwa of Harvard University last week.

"A substantial number of highly skilled immigrants have started returning to their home countries in recent years, draining a key source of brain power and innovation," said Robert E. Litan, vice-president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. "We wanted to know what is encouraging this much-needed growth engine to leave our country, thereby sending entrepreneurship and economic stimulus to places like Bangalore and Beijing."

The study said all respondents had either studied or worked in the US and subsequently returned home. Most cited reasons like a growing demand at home for their skills, better opportunities for professional growth, the need to be closer to family and friends or problems adjusting to life in the US to return.

The respondents were young with the average Indian being 35 and the average Chinese being 37 years. They were highly educated with most holding a master's or Ph.D degree in management, technology or science.

According to the study: "These returnees are at the very top of the educational distribution for these highly educated immigrant groups - precisely the kind of people that make the greatest contribution to the US economy and business and job growth."

"Sadly, given the political climate and the economic crisis, we're likely to lose even more of this human endowment."

The outflow of this talent is likely to pose a threat to US' competitiveness. Historically, immigrants have proven to be one of US' greatest competitive advantages. Between 1990 and 2007, the proportion of immigrants in the US labor force increased from 9.3 percent to 15.7 percent.

Immigrants started 52 percent of Silicon Valley technology companies and contributed to more than a quarter of America's global patents, Wadhwa wrote in a recent Business Week article. They have contributed disproportionately in the most dynamic part of the US economy - the technology sector.

In 2006, US companies founded by immigrants employed 450,000 people and reported $52 billion in revenues.

The Kauffman Foundation study said it was worrisome that up to a third of the returnees hold permanent resident status in the US or are American citizens.

Nearly half of the returnees are planning to start businesses in their home countries - for which they foresee a better success rate at home than in the US.

Interestingly, one-third of the Indians and one-fifth of the Chinese said visa issues were a strong factor in their decision to return, which indicated that placing limits on foreign workers in the US cannot be the answer to the country's rising unemployment rate.

For instance, the stimulus bill imposes tough new restrictions on H1B visas for highly skilled workers hired by companies getting bailout money - a sign that the country is turning inward, despite the cost to America's long-term competitiveness.

"While some have tried to associate the increase in foreign workers over recent years with the economic problems that have plagued the country, this data verifies the opposite effect," said Wadhwa. "If the US government and the business community could find better ways to offer good jobs in tandem with less restrictive visa policies for talented immigrants, the US might be able to recapture many of these immigrants and their potential to help grow the US economy."

“Just give me the basics!”

That’s what this Chinese pronunciation guide is all about.

It’s all that you need to know Chinese pronunciation to get by.

The 80% that’s important.

To speak Mandarin, the first thing to learn is learning Chinese pronunciation of words using the system known as pinyin.

Pinyin is the Romanized Chinese phonetic system and is the most effective aid to learning Mandarin today.

(Romanized means using English alphabets.)

Pinyin was invented in the 1950’s so that anyone, especially English speaking people, could learn Chinese pronunciation easily.

Most of the letters in pinyin have the same sounds as letters of the alphabet – with only a few exceptions.

It’s really a very practical pronunciation system.

Can you imagine an English speaker trying to pronounce Chinese characters without pinyin?

(By the way, pinyin is less complicated that the other forms of Romanization for Chinese pronunciation, Wade-Giles and Yale.)

First, "The Four Tones"

Chinese is a tonal language.

Each Chinese character is a syllable with a fixed tone.

A different tone is a different Chinese character and hence a different meaning.

Chinese pronunciation involves four tones, each indicated by a tone mark.

The tone marks are placed over the vowels. (If the letter “i” has a tone mark over it, the dot is removed.”

First Tone: a high, level tone represented by “-“ as in ma ? “mother”

Second Tone: a rising, questioning tone represented by “/” as in má ? “to have pins and needles”

Third Tone: a drawling tone falling then rising represented by “v” as in ma ? “horse”

Fourth Tone: a sharp falling tone represented by “” as in mà ? “to scold”

Each syllable is written as a combination of consonants and vowels, plus the tone mark. Some syllables don’t start with consonants. And the only consonants that come after vowels are are the nasal “n” or “ng”.

(note: from here on, I’m just going to use 1, 2 3, 4 to represent the four tones)

You can see the importance of getting the tones right to avoid misunderstandings and comic situations.

A friend of mine just learnt the words for “secretary” “mi4 shu1” and instead said “mystery book” “mi2 shu1”

I bet you've heard stories like that.

It will take some time to get the tones right cause they’re not “natural” to English speakers.

(English is my first language and I went through the same process even though I’m an Overseas Chinese.)

Don’t be put off by the tones.

Eventually you’ll get it. But just so you know, you don’t have to be perfect.

I have American friends living in Shanghai who get by fine with a flat tone.

Of course, breakdowns in communication arise now and then, but the Chinese people can see you’re a foreigner learning Chinese (i.e. their language) and they’ll try hard to make sense of what you say.

So, they’re doing all the “hard work”!

Selecting a good domain name is the key factor for attaining a better page ranking. The most commonly used aspect while choosing a domain name is the usage of keyword in the URL. You can take the idea of selecting a domain name that has low competition but with good demand can ultimately help in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

There are many factors to keep in mind while naming your domain. A good domain name should be short and easy to spell by the users. By avoiding long domain name will help the searchers to find your website and also to remember the name much easily. The keyword used in your domain name can be descriptive to help the internet users to memorize.

Make sure to include the domain name that is unique and at the same time keyword rich. Usage of more keywords in your domain name will help in a better ranking which in turn may also help the searchers to find your website. The use of more than two keywords can bring a negative impact, as it can make the domain name lengthier and the chance of misspelling is more. So it better to use a maximum of two keywords. Another drawback is that it can also make your email address long. So it is recommended the use of shorter and catchy domain names.

Among a large number of steps while choosing a domain name, the most important and foremost one is whether you are choosing a free or paid domain. In all these, give consideration to the customer so that your potential users can find your website.

Another important factor to be remembered in domain naming is the use of hyphens (-). If you are using two or more keywords, without separators, as your domain name it can be interesting, but at the same time the search engine may consider it as a single keyword. In this case, it is advised to use hyphen to separate the keywords. But for internet users the domain name without hyphen will be easier to remember and the one with hyphens tend to bring confusion for the users. A main solution for this issue is that you may use hyphened domain name during the registration with a search engine and for online advertising. At the same time go for a domain name which uses no hyphen, so that it may help the people who prefer just keywords during the searching.

Taking these tips into consideration will help you in selecting an excellent domain name for your website. You can register multiple variants for your website at the price of a single domain name. Also, make sure to avoid the use of numbers in your domain name as it may prevent confusion. In place of keywords you can also use some unique brand names for your website

Selecting a good business and domain name can draw a good traffic, and makes the entire process of optimization much easier. All you require is a shorter and unique web address that can bring your website among the top listing.

 

Soldiers killed Guinea-Bissau's President Joao Bernado "Nino" Vieira on Monday, hours after the tiny West African state's army chief was killed in an attack, residents of the capital said.

Gunfire and the crump of heavier weapons resounded in Bissau city and it was unclear who was in control.

Two residents, who both declined to be identified, said they had been told by presidential guards that Vieira had been killed and his body was lying in his home.

The country of just 1.6 million people, a former Portuguese colony, has suffered years of coups and civil strife and has been used in the past few years as a conduit for smuggling Latin American cocaine to Europe.

Vieira is a former military ruler who was ousted during a civil war in the 1990s and returned to power in a 2005 election.

He had been at odds with armed forces chief of staff General Batista Tagme Na Wai, who was killed in an attack on Sunday evening.

Tensions are rife within Bissau's political establishment and security forces. In January, the armed forces command said militiamen hired to protect President Vieira had shot at Na Wai.

A member of the militia denied the shooting had been an assassination attempt, but the armed forces command nevertheless ordered the militia be disbanded.

The 400-strong force had been recruited as Vieira's personal bodyguard by the Interior Ministry after the president was targeted in a machinegun and rocket-propelled grenade attack on his residence on November 23 last year.

 

Search Engine Optimization involves optimizing your Web site to appear top of the Search Engine Results for words and phrases relevant to your business. A successful Search Engine Optimization campaign ensure that your site appears high (ideally first) in the list of results returned by a search engine such as Google.

 

Search Engines are the primary source of visitors for nearly every site on the web. If your site can't be found in major Search Engines then you are missing out on an opportunity for attracting numerous visitors to your site. Our SEO services has helped many business web sites to achieve success,  you can find examples of our current Search Engine Optimization customers below.

Example Case Studies

 

We provide Search Engine Optimization to companies from a diverse range of industries, you will find below some examples of our current customers and their achieved position in Google. Please note that on occasion Google will drop a page from a set of results for a short period of time. If you can not see a site in the position we claim please check again tomorrow or contact us.

 

More examples are available if required, please contact us for details.

ITM Business Solutions

 

ITM Business Solutions provide a range of IT Services including printer spares and second user hardware. Through Search Engine Optimization provided by us their site is currently ranked number one for "printer spares" and second for "second user hardware".

 

    * Printer Spares

    * Second User Hardware

 

 

There are many regional Search Engine sites across the world. If you have an interest in targeting a specific country then we will be happy to develop a Search Engine Optimization campaign for your choice of country. In many cases this can also include developing a site in a language other than English, through our carefully chosen partners we will provide accurate translation of your current site coupled with our Search Engine Optimization skills in order to help you reach your desired market.

Investors are frustrated with the US government's latest bank bailout plan, and showed it by unloading stocks.The major stock indexes fell more than 4 percent Tuesday, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which tumbled 382 points. Financial stocks led the market lower, a sign of how concerned Wall Street is about the government's ability to restore the health of the country's banking industry. Demand for safe havens like Treasurys and gold rose.

Traders and investors complained about what they saw as a lack of specifics from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on how the government will direct more than $1 trillion in public and private support to the financial system.

 

Freelancers and custom  programmers looking for freelance work or webmasters looking to get freelance jobs done? In need of .cgi - .php - custom scripts - website design and even banner design?

*Webmasters: Post projects and find qualified professionals
Jobs requiring freelancers - website design - Search engine optimization - custom scripts and even banner design for businesses, whether its a long-term job or just a single project, Unlimited Freelancers helps put professionals together.

No matter how big or small a budget is, Experts from around the world will compete for your business.

*Freelancers: 1000's of projects posted every day
Bid on any project, get selected and get paid for freelance work. Whether it's having trouble advertising services, or just need extra exposure, Unlimited Freelancers will send customers from around the world. What ever  your expertise, website design - SEO - custom scripts - .php - .cgi or banner design.

How It Works
Step 1: Post a project (FREE).
Step 2: Receive bids by interested Experts.
Step 3: Choose a bid.

That's it. The project is then closed, and the webmaster is put in contact with the chosen Freelancer who will begin working, leave a review, and pay them when the project is complete or per agreement and terms.

Get an estimate from dozens of qualified professional Experts and then choose one. Save time because there is no need to shop around the internet, and save money because Experts are competing for business.

Recently we've changed our overall outlook on the month-to-month SEO services we provide. This is largely due to the number of clients that come to us each month after having been penalized by one or more engines because of previous SEO work performed which ran afoul of the search engines. Rarely do these cases allow for a quick fix which puts them back into the top positions overnight. With the suspected Google sandbox, over-optimization penalties and aging delays, many of these sites must go through a rather lengthy period before they are placed back in the index and allowed to perform well in the search results, long after penalization issues have been resolved.

General Motors was eclipsed by Toyota as the world's largest automaker for the first time in 77 years as the troubled American giant Wednesday reported sharply lower global sales.Reeling from plunging sales at home and abroad amid a widening recession, GM said it sold 8.35 million vehicles globally in 2008 compared with the Japanese rival's 8.97 million.

GM's total sales were down 11 percent from those in 2007, reflecting continuing global economic pressures that include tightening credit, falling commodity prices and lack of economic growth.

GM said its nearly three percent growth in both the Asia Pacific and Latin America, Africa and Middle East regions partially offset North America sales that declined 21 percent, and growing pressure in Europe that resulted in seven percent fewer sales. Sales for the fourth quarter were down by double digits in every region and 26 percent globally.

"The challenges in the global financial markets, including credit tightening, the drop in commodity prices, and economic uncertainty continue to negatively impact overall demand for new vehicles," said Jonathan Browning, GM's vice president for global sales.

"For the total global industry, we saw about 3.5 million fewer vehicles sold in 2008 than the previous year."

GM and Toyota ended 2007 neck-in-neck for the world crown, with Toyota selling about 3,500 fewer vehicles that year compared to its US rival.

But both are facing a bumpy ride amid the sharp global economic slowdown stemming from financial turmoil triggered by a US home mortgage crisis.

Toyota said Tuesday its global sales fell four percent in 2008 to 8.97 million vehicles, the first drop in a decade, as demand slumped in recession-hit markets such as Japan, Europe and the United States.

It was the first decline for the Japanese giant in a decade, with domestic sales slipping five percent to 2.15 million vehicles and overseas demand weakening four percent to 6.82 million vehicles.

The drop marked a dramatic turnaround from 2007, when Toyota's global sales had risen six percent to a record high 9.37 million vehicles.

The Japanese maker warned last month that it expected its first-ever annual operating loss as it moved to cut production, jobs and investment amid a slump in sales and a soaring yen.

GM meanwhile will run out of cash if it does not get the second part of the federal bridge loan next month.

GM president Fritz Henderson said the situation was dire for his company, which received a four-billion-dollar emergency loan last month and is due to collect another installment of the bridge loan in February.

"If we don't get our second installment of funding, we'll run out of cash. It's just that simple," Henderson said Tuesday.

He noted that GM would run out of cash well before March 31 when it is supposed to deliver the final draft of its plan outlining the steps it is taking to become financially viable.

But Henderson said he was not concerned about Toyota passing GM in unit sales.

"I actually noticed they passed us in market (capitalization), cash flow and profitability a long ago," he said. "Honestly, this is not a measure I pay a lot of attention to. What's much more important to me is how we make GM successful," he said.

Despite the sagging 2008 global sales, GM set record-setting sales performance in Latin America, Africa and Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

GM also notched a third consecutive year of two million vehicles sold in Europe.

Sales outside the US now account for 64 percent of GM's sales, up from 59 percent in 2007.

GM sells and services vehicles in 140 countries under 13 brands including Chevrolet, Opel, Wuling, GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Cadillac and Saab.

 Search Engine Optimization  as you call it is an ideal way to promote your website and get higher rankings in the search engines. Search engine optimization is all about patience and resistance to see your website on the topmost position in the search engine. If you ever wondered that SEO is a one-day dilemma then you better get off this idea. SEO is all about dedication and hard work and lot of research on your part to see your website through to the top.

Here are some Useful seo services tips that can help you in understanding more about Search Engine Optimization:

1. Ethical Search engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization basically consists of White Hat SEO tricks and Black hat SEO tricks. There is no doubt that the unethical method will see you through more faster. But hang on here let me ask you something before you actually decide to follow unethical Search engine optimization. Are you willing to see your website on top of the search engines at the cost of you getting banned from the search engines. Well, the choice is certainly yours whether you would like to be recognized in the search engines forever or just for a span of time. It is very easy to be smart but very difficult to overcome a “Ban”

2. Increase the back links of your websites

Search Engine Optimization is all about one way links pointing at your website. The more number of back links the higher are your chances to be recognized by the search engines and see yourself at the top. You can say that increase in number of back links is the basic funda of any website to get higher traffic and higher search engine rankings.

3. Consider Content to be the king of your website

You must have heard this statement innumerable number of times that “Content is the king of any website”. The more content to your website the higher are your chances of getting recognized in the search engines.

4. No Plagiarism content

If you are here to rob other website content and post it in your website then I am afraid you better give up this idea. Search Engines hate plagiarism and duplicate content. It makes no sense to have duplicate contents; it would be better to write something new and unique.

5. Proper Keyword Analysis

Keywords is the key for any website. You can take it this way “No keywords No SEO” So now you can understand how important keywords are for a given website. You need to make sure to use related keywords on every web page content. You need to maintain a proper keyword density based on Search Engines techniques.

Many of the articles you read on the Internet regarding search engine optimisation fail to make any distinguishing difference between commercial and non-commercial website listings.
What we have found through our own experience:
1. Content - it has been said many times but well written content and plenty of it is very important.
(a) Commercial websites: with good content often have to take a more active approach in submitting their website to directories and search engines to obtain inbound links.
(b) Non-commercial websites: with good content may attract many "natural links" (websites that link to yours without a request)
2. Age - we believe that the age of a website is important.
(a) Commercial websites: with good content and age will have only succeeded if they have been actively marketed over the years e.g. submissions to directories and other search engines. So having a commercial website that has been around for years is no guarantee that it will come up highly in results.
(b) Non-commercial websites: that have good content will have probably picked up many "natural" links over the years.
3. DMOZ - Commercial and Non-commercial websites that have been in this directory for sometime perform better in search engine results. Why, because the DMOZ directory data is freely distributable and many sites have sprung up over the years cloning part or all of DMOZ. The number of sites using DMOZ data seems to be reducing, therefore if you were in DMOZ at the early stages you are more likely to have many links to your website from many different domain names (with no reciprocal links back). A DMOZ listing is still important, but probably not as important as it was years ago when there were fewer directories. Google is still updating its directory with DMOZ data though probably not as frequently as it used to do.
4. Reciprocal links - are becoming less and less important. One-way links have always been important. Google appears to be putting paid to all those sites that have tried to abuse the system of link swapping. Going back to point 3 and the DMOZ one-way links seems to prove this point.
5. Forget optimisation trends - the main things to concentrate on are: good content, page titles, h1 and h2 tags, hyperlinks that search engines can follow (no Flash or JavaScript menu systems) and quick loading pages.
6. Aim to get listed - in well-rated directories and under the right category that require no reciprocal link. Free commercial directories (that are themselves well rated) and require no reciprocal links seem to be diminishing daily with many only accepting paid entry for commercial sites.
7. Instant results - if you have a new commercial website and you want rapid results, you will have to pay for search engine sponsored links e.g. Google adwords, Overture (Yahoo) listings.
8. Paying but nothing else - if you have a commercial website and pay for results there must also be a long-term marketing strategy (getting listed elsewhere). If you do not take a two-pronged approach then you are likely to be paying for results forever.
Summary
No one knows exactly how the technology works so do not believe everything you read.
Articles that others have written should only be used as a basis for your own theories. Read other seo services articles and distinguish whether they are based on commercial or non-commercial websites.
Formulate your own theories, stay on top of the technology, and avoid those tricks and fads.

  In many ways, the layout of a Web page is the hardest part - mostly because it's the primary part. Deciding what should go where, how wide or narrow, tall or short everything should be can be very difficult. Many designers just throw things down on the page, white board, or graphics program until they have a design that looks "right" to them. I used to do that too. It's a lot more fun to just push images and blocks around on a blank piece of paper, than to try to figure out if there's some scientific way of composing the page.

What is the Golden Ratio

In a golden rectangle, it can be divided into a square and a smaller rectangle. The ratio of the width of the small rectangle to the width of the square is the same as that of the width of the square to the entire rectangle. In fact, when you divide a golden rectangle into a square and smaller rectangle, the smaller rectangle is a golden rectangle as well.

Golden Ratio in Nature 

The most common example of the golden ratio is the nautilus shell (see image). As it spirals in on itself, the spirals get smaller and smaller in the same proportion to each other as they do to the whole. You can also see the ratio in things like sunflower petals, and the curvature of fern fronds (see image).

Golden Ratio in Design 

The golden ratio (also known as the golden rectangle, the golden mean, or the divine proportion) has been used for centuries to create a design that is aesthetic and pleasing to most people. The golden ratio is a visual representation of the number phi (1.618033988749895). It is discovered in ancient architectural design such as the Parthenon and is still used today in architecture and design.When the golden ratio is used it design, it builds on a natural language that your brain is hardwired to understand. Because Phi is all around us, it is a comfortable ratio, and so you have been trained to find it attractive. Designers who use this create designs that are more effective and visually compelling.

How to Use the Golden Ratio in Web Design

 It is very easy to create a design using the golden ratio:  

1. How wide is your design? You can design a page using the golden ratio using fixed or flexible widths, but in order to use the ratio you have to have a number. For this example, I'll say I'm designing for an 800x600 resolution monitor, so my page won't be more than 780 pixels wide. I'll make my width 760px.

   2. Divide by Phi. Once you know the width, divide it by Phi (1.62 rounded is fine). 760 divided by 1.62 is 469.14 or 469 (Web browsers prefer whole numbers). That is the width of my main column.

   3. Subtract the main column width from the whole width. This will give you the second column width. 760 - 469 = 291.

 From this calculation, I should generate a 2-column site that has a main column 469 pixels wide and a secondary column 291 pixels wide. If I do this, I'll have a site that is aesthetically pleasing, without having to do anything else.You can do this same calculation with percentages for a flexible width layout: 100% / 1.62 = 62% for the wide column and 38% for the wide column.Note: Many sites recommend using the ratio 3:5 to get your golden ratio, but this ratio, while close, is not exactly the golden ratio. If you're designing something quickly or you have a grid that you're working from, this can be a great rule of thumb to get close to the perfect proportions, and is great if you really hate math or don't have a calculator.

Use the Golden Ratio for More than the Page Layout

 If you think about how elements within your page are placed, you can use the golden ratio within them to create mini-golden rectangles. These will be just as aesthetically pleasing. Use it for captions on images, text flowing beside and around images, advertising space, and your navigation. If you create navigation buttons that have the same proportions as the golden rectangle, each one will look nice on the page.

 To be honest whenever I hear the term email marketing one of the first things that enter my mind is the word “SPAM”. Perhaps, for this very reason, legit businesses are shying away from email marketing. However email marketing is actually different from spamming and not using it as part of your marketing campaign could prove to be a mistake because it does bring results and is one of the cheapest marketing strategies available.

So how can one benefit from email marketing?

1. Determine your target audience. Though sending mass emails indiscriminately can get some people’s attention we all know that this is spamming, and that is a big NO. The most effective people to email would be existing customers/subscribers. Referred leads are also good targets of email marketing. Remember though that whether you email existing customers or potential clients you should ALWAYS put an easy way for people to unsubscribe from the mailing list.
2. Make sure the email gets noticed. You do this by thinking of an effective subject line. It is best to always put the company/website name of the subject line to let the recipient know who the email is from at a glance. Put the most important info on the subject line but make sure you keep it short. DO NOT use subjects such as “Phoenixrealm SEO Email #21” because not only does it look boring but it also doesn’t give any indication as to the content of the email.
3. Make sure that the emails have content that are of value to the subscribers. If you keep on sending plain ads chances are even your loyal subscribers will start to just delete your emails. Stuff you can include emails would be important announcements regarding new things on your website, exclusive promo codes, industry news, informative articles, and even birthday greetings.
4. Organize the info. People don’t always read the entire email so make sure you place the most important information you want conveyed at the start of the email. If you’re sending an image make sure you still put at least a short text content before the image to get the attention of people whose email service automatically block images from being viewed so that they will want to manually see the image at least.
5. Have a call to action. Remember this is email MARKETING. Your end goal is to get conversions. To do this your email should contain phrases that will get people to do what you want which, in this case, is to click on a link. Be creative with the anchor text of the link to encourage people to click on it.