I just returned from a trip through Europe as a tour photographer and gained some useful knowledge that could be helpful to any photographers, amateur or professional who are planning a trip. This article deals with: obtaining the necessary equipment, carrying the equipment and always being in the right place at the right time. If you are hoping to get a professional collection of pictures from a vacation or group tour in a far away place you should definitely consider some of these issues. If you would like to see a collection of my personal photos from some of my trips (in which I used these techniques) please visit the wallpaper galleries on picturecorrect.com.
-My Personal Equipment Preparation
Through many photography trips I gradually developed a strategy for traveling lightly and conveniently with a sufficient amount of camera equipment. On long trips I typically take along two cameras; one digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera and one small digital point-and-shoot camera. For the SLR camera I take two lenses; one midrange telephoto lens (70-200 mm) and one fixed wide angle lens (24 mm). With these two types of lenses you will be ready for effective people pictures and beautiful landscape and scenery photos.
In addition to the cameras I absolutely always have some sort of tripod readily available whether it is the simple mini type or the full size larger type (for traveling you should make sure the tripod is made out of a light-weight material). For memory storage I take a larger memory card for the SLR and typically a smaller capacity card for the point-and-shoot camera. I also recently purchased an ipod so as soon as the memory cards are full I just unload them onto my ipod.
-Carrying the Equipment
For long trips that are full of photo opportunities I only carry one shoulder bag for my photography equipment. I keep the SLR camera in the bag with the extra lens that I am not currently using. I then carry the smaller point-and-shoot camera in the pocket of my cargo pants or shorts. The newer small digital point-and-shoot style cameras have developed so much that sometimes I feel that the photos I obtain from that camera are better then the SLR camera's photos. If you keep a small camera in your pocket then you will always be ready for spontaneous photo opportunities (mainly people pictures). And that way you won't always have to have a huge camera hanging around your neck which in many places will make you an instant target for professional pick pocketers.
I can't emphasize how important a tripod is on vacation trips. I am thoroughly convinced that the best pictures I have taken have either been at sunset or at night with long shutter speeds made possible by the use of a tripod. It has also come in very handy for architectural photos inside many cathedrals and buildings that have huge areas that are not very well lit.
-Techniques for Professional Travel Photos
Of course for effective photos you should read some articles on composition, exposure, shutter speed, and aperture. But there are also many other issues that I have realized are very important for travel photos. For pictures of landmarks or landscapes you should make sure that you have some kind of foreground and background so your viewers will have a good perspective of what it would be like to visit the site themselves. You should also make sure that you take plenty of photos from one scene with different combinations of exposure settings and angles. I usually only find about 1 photo out of 10 that I really like even though all ten photos are taken of the exact same place. And remember that you will probably want to make sure that you get at least one good photo of each spot since it is likely that you won't return any time soon.
For people pictures it is important to get photos of the people that may be accompanying you on your trip as well as some photos of people native to the area that you are visiting. When people are looking at photos following a trip they like to see both photos of them visiting certain spots as well as close ups of them enjoying themselves or focused mainly on their facial features. On the occasions that I have been hired to accompany a tour and prepare a slide show I found that the photos that the people enjoyed the most were of them enjoying a funny moment or of someone doing something silly that makes them look like an ignorant tourist. But they also enjoyed seeing photos of some of the interesting kinds of people that they met in the foreign environments. One example of this is on my recent visit to Germany I took many pictures of the crazy soccer fans who were cheering in the streets and waving flags.
There is a seemingly endless supply of things you can learn about travel photography, but I would say that the most effective technique is just to take a lot of photos and a wide variety of photos.
About the Author
Richard Schneider is a digital photography enthusiast and founder of http://www.picturecorrect.com/ which offers tips and news about digital photography, digital camera reviews, and photoshop tutorials. Please also visit http://www.picturecorrect.com/freewallpaper.htm where you can find many examples of the techniques described in this article to use as your desktop wallpaper.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Top Ten Ways To Market Your Web Site: Get The Traffic You Need
Copyright 2006 Angela Booth
Millions of people are online, and all those people mean you've got hundreds of thousands of potential customers who are looking for your products and services. Your site should get around 500 visitors a day without spending a cent on advertising. However, the number one question I get from Web site owners is: how do I get more traffic?
Here are the top ten ways to market your Web site. I guarantee you, if you use all these tactics you'll get at least 500 visitors a day within a couple of weeks. From there, if you keep implementing the tactics, your traffic will grow into a flood, and you'll have more business than you can handle.
=> 1. Send out press releases
Word for word, press releases give unbelievable value -- more value than any other tactic you could use to promote your business. And yet, many business owners don't use press releases. One owner told me: "It makes me look as if I'm begging for attention..."
I've been a tech journalist for years, and as a journalist, I scan news releases eagerly. I want a story! I need news, and I need it every day. If you send me a news release, I'm grateful. I might not use your story, but the next time I hear your business's name, I'll remember it. If you keep sending me story ideas, sooner or later I will get in touch, either to interview you for a story I'm writing, or to do a story on your business.
Sites like PRWeb will publish your news release free. Use this incredible publicity resource.
=> 2. Write articles
Articles are content, and the Web thrives on content. If you write an article a week, and publish it on several of the many article directories online, you'll drive traffic to your business.
=> 3. Network -- use your friends, family and colleagues and THEIR friends etc
Got friends? Of course you have. You've got friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Use your address book. Send out a message which says: "Hey -- have you seen my new site? I'm trying to get the news out about it, and would appreciate it if you'd visit, and would let your friends know about the site too. Thanks."
See? Easy.
=> 4. Classified ads in newspapers
Take out a weekly classified ad in your local newspaper with your site's name and URL, and a one-sentence description of the site.
=> 5. Get more content onto your site: blog
The search engines are indexing software. They need words to index. Google especially loves blogs. So start a blog on your site, and blog several times a week. Think of your blog as a "News" page for your site.
=> 6. Run a contest
Everyone loves contests. Run a contest on your site, with an Apple iPod as the prize, and you'll get lots of traffic.
=> 7. Use the social networking sites
There are dozens of social networking sites online. The best known is MySpace, but there are many others, like Gather and Ryze. Join one of these sites. Network.
=> 8. Word Of Mouth (WOM)
There's a saying that you can't buy WOM. Well, guess what? You can. Develop a process in which you reward WOM. You could offer ten per cent off your services to anyone who introduces three friends. Or ten per cent off a product, if the buyer buys a gift token too. There are many ways you can encourage people to spread the word about your site.
=> 9. Join barter networks
Barter networks are deservedly popular. Join a business barter network, and barter products and services for what you need. You're doing it not as much for the benefits of saving money, you're doing it to spread the word about your business and Web site.
=> 10. Barter advertising
There are many business networks which barter advertising through the network. You can run banner advertising on others' sites, and run banners for them on your own.
"Banner exchanges" were all the rage five years ago, and people went mad with them. This led to banners becoming ineffective. Don't join a large network. Join a small network, or start a small network yourself. Don't run more than one banner on any page.
There you have it. Ten ways to get traffic to your site. These methods work. Please try them, and become a business owner who has no trouble generating traffic.
About the Author
Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and marketing expert. She writes Web site copy and content, and develops marketing plans for Web sites. Visit her creative copywriting site at http://angelabooth.com/ and her Creativity Factory marketing copywriting blog at http://www.angelabooth.com/wp/
Millions of people are online, and all those people mean you've got hundreds of thousands of potential customers who are looking for your products and services. Your site should get around 500 visitors a day without spending a cent on advertising. However, the number one question I get from Web site owners is: how do I get more traffic?
Here are the top ten ways to market your Web site. I guarantee you, if you use all these tactics you'll get at least 500 visitors a day within a couple of weeks. From there, if you keep implementing the tactics, your traffic will grow into a flood, and you'll have more business than you can handle.
=> 1. Send out press releases
Word for word, press releases give unbelievable value -- more value than any other tactic you could use to promote your business. And yet, many business owners don't use press releases. One owner told me: "It makes me look as if I'm begging for attention..."
I've been a tech journalist for years, and as a journalist, I scan news releases eagerly. I want a story! I need news, and I need it every day. If you send me a news release, I'm grateful. I might not use your story, but the next time I hear your business's name, I'll remember it. If you keep sending me story ideas, sooner or later I will get in touch, either to interview you for a story I'm writing, or to do a story on your business.
Sites like PRWeb will publish your news release free. Use this incredible publicity resource.
=> 2. Write articles
Articles are content, and the Web thrives on content. If you write an article a week, and publish it on several of the many article directories online, you'll drive traffic to your business.
=> 3. Network -- use your friends, family and colleagues and THEIR friends etc
Got friends? Of course you have. You've got friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Use your address book. Send out a message which says: "Hey -- have you seen my new site? I'm trying to get the news out about it, and would appreciate it if you'd visit, and would let your friends know about the site too. Thanks."
See? Easy.
=> 4. Classified ads in newspapers
Take out a weekly classified ad in your local newspaper with your site's name and URL, and a one-sentence description of the site.
=> 5. Get more content onto your site: blog
The search engines are indexing software. They need words to index. Google especially loves blogs. So start a blog on your site, and blog several times a week. Think of your blog as a "News" page for your site.
=> 6. Run a contest
Everyone loves contests. Run a contest on your site, with an Apple iPod as the prize, and you'll get lots of traffic.
=> 7. Use the social networking sites
There are dozens of social networking sites online. The best known is MySpace, but there are many others, like Gather and Ryze. Join one of these sites. Network.
=> 8. Word Of Mouth (WOM)
There's a saying that you can't buy WOM. Well, guess what? You can. Develop a process in which you reward WOM. You could offer ten per cent off your services to anyone who introduces three friends. Or ten per cent off a product, if the buyer buys a gift token too. There are many ways you can encourage people to spread the word about your site.
=> 9. Join barter networks
Barter networks are deservedly popular. Join a business barter network, and barter products and services for what you need. You're doing it not as much for the benefits of saving money, you're doing it to spread the word about your business and Web site.
=> 10. Barter advertising
There are many business networks which barter advertising through the network. You can run banner advertising on others' sites, and run banners for them on your own.
"Banner exchanges" were all the rage five years ago, and people went mad with them. This led to banners becoming ineffective. Don't join a large network. Join a small network, or start a small network yourself. Don't run more than one banner on any page.
There you have it. Ten ways to get traffic to your site. These methods work. Please try them, and become a business owner who has no trouble generating traffic.
About the Author
Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and marketing expert. She writes Web site copy and content, and develops marketing plans for Web sites. Visit her creative copywriting site at http://angelabooth.com/ and her Creativity Factory marketing copywriting blog at http://www.angelabooth.com/wp/
Is Your Web Site Behind the Times?
In today's world, new technologies are being developed at a very rapid pace and are being adapted by the public very quickly. A year ago, did you use an iPod or any other MP3 player? Do you use one now? Have you heard about blogs, podcasts, and networking sites such as MySpace.com? Have you used them? Many consumers have already changed the way in which they get and use information from the web, which means you may want to take a closer look at your company's web site.
Although your company may not need to implement blogs and podcasts, you should at least be aware of the new technologies that are available today, and what kind of impact they are having on your customers and potential customers.
For instance, some of the newer technologies might not have existed when you first launched your web site. But today's users are often already comfortable with them, and ignoring technologies like RSS feeds or interactivity on your web site can give customers a negative impression. New companies and web sites entering your market today are taking advantage of what's popular with consumers, and are developing web sites with new tools and products that may not have been available when you built your web site.
If your competitors have new technology features on their web sites, you should consider what impact this has on your business. Web sites that provide RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, or other interactivity are often perceived as having more value than sites that do not. If your competition has a more up-to-date, feature-rich web site, will you still be able to attract new customers? Or even keep the interest of your current customers?
Try to evaluate these new technologies to see if your web site could benefit from implementing any of them. Not a blog user? Go find a blog you're interested in and check it out! (A good place to start is www.blog-search.com.) Consider adding news headlines from a RSS feed in your industry. Think about adding interactive features such as a dynamic calendar of events, maps, articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature to your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by keeping your web site in step with technology, and the impression you make will be a good one.
About the Author
Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC. Visit us at http://www.fivesparrows.com or subscribe to Biz Talk at http://www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk.htm.
Although your company may not need to implement blogs and podcasts, you should at least be aware of the new technologies that are available today, and what kind of impact they are having on your customers and potential customers.
For instance, some of the newer technologies might not have existed when you first launched your web site. But today's users are often already comfortable with them, and ignoring technologies like RSS feeds or interactivity on your web site can give customers a negative impression. New companies and web sites entering your market today are taking advantage of what's popular with consumers, and are developing web sites with new tools and products that may not have been available when you built your web site.
If your competitors have new technology features on their web sites, you should consider what impact this has on your business. Web sites that provide RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, or other interactivity are often perceived as having more value than sites that do not. If your competition has a more up-to-date, feature-rich web site, will you still be able to attract new customers? Or even keep the interest of your current customers?
Try to evaluate these new technologies to see if your web site could benefit from implementing any of them. Not a blog user? Go find a blog you're interested in and check it out! (A good place to start is www.blog-search.com.) Consider adding news headlines from a RSS feed in your industry. Think about adding interactive features such as a dynamic calendar of events, maps, articles, how-to-guides, or even a site-search feature to your web site. Show your customers that your company is progressive by keeping your web site in step with technology, and the impression you make will be a good one.
About the Author
Lauren Hobson is the Editor of Biz Talk Newsletter, a free monthly publication designed to provide small businesses and non-profits with tips and techniques to help them make the most of their web sites and marketing efforts without spending a lot of money. Biz Talk is published by Five Sparrows, LLC. Visit us at http://www.fivesparrows.com or subscribe to Biz Talk at http://www.fivesparrows.com/biztalk.htm.
B-to-B direct mail: Don't get lost in the details
It seems that we business-to-business marketers too often get caught up in the details of direct marketing, rather than concentrating on the things that are most important: the list, the offer and the results.
Stop worrying about the unimportant details such as whether it is better to use gray paper or white for your B-to-B direct mailer. It really doesn't matter what color paper you use--if you're mailing to the wrong people with the wrong offer, your campaign is going to bomb.
For example, if you're sending a mailing about graphic design software to chief financial officers -- or sending a mailing about financial forecasting software to design professionals, you're betting against yourself with regard to generating sales leads or orders - no matter how good the copy or offers are.
When planning a business-to-business direct mail campaign, first determine your objective.
* Are you trying to generate sales leads?
* Are you trying to move prospects along the buying cycle?
Your copy and offer should be designed specifically to support your objective.
The next step is to consider your list.
When choosing a list for B-to-B direct marketing, focus on the important things--such as results--instead of worrying about less important details such as the percentage of undeliverables on the list.
A client of mine recently told me she was concerned by the high percentage of undeliverables from a business mailing list she rented. She was seriously considering not using the list again because of it. However, when I reviewed the overall results of previous mailings with her, it was clear that the same mailing list she was questioning generated more leads and sales than any of the other lists she had tested to date. In fact, that list resulted in the best overall return on investment. When considered from that important perspective, the list she was about to not use again was a real winner.
The next step and the best way to boost B-to-B direct mail response rates is to create a strong offer--that is, a targeted offer, or "call to action," that will entice prospects to respond.
In business-to-business direct marketing, educational offers work well for getting people to "raise their hands" and express interest. These types of offers include how-to guides, buying guides, reports, white papers, articles, case studies and invitations to events (e.g., webinars, presentations, seminars).
Also consider boosting your response rates by making multiple offers, each designed to appeal to people at different stages of their consideration/buying process.
However, don't make the mistake of offering something "cool," like an iPod. Yes, you'll get a high response rate, but those responses will be from people who want the iPod, not from people who want your product or service.
The last step is to always make it easy for prospects to respond to your call to action.
Your response form should include the various ways people can request the offer (e.g., Web address, e-mail, toll-free number or even fax). Your form could also include a few questions that elicit the information that you need to determine whether the respondent fits your definition of a qualified lead. Don't ask too many questions, however, as you risk turning off the prospect.
Successful B-to-B direct marketers understand that most of their campaign's success relies on the list and the offers. So be sure to determine the objective of your direct marketing, and then ensure that your list and offers support your objective. Your response rate will be much higher in terms of qualified sales leads.
About the Author
Stop worrying about the unimportant details such as whether it is better to use gray paper or white for your B-to-B direct mailer. It really doesn't matter what color paper you use--if you're mailing to the wrong people with the wrong offer, your campaign is going to bomb.
For example, if you're sending a mailing about graphic design software to chief financial officers -- or sending a mailing about financial forecasting software to design professionals, you're betting against yourself with regard to generating sales leads or orders - no matter how good the copy or offers are.
When planning a business-to-business direct mail campaign, first determine your objective.
* Are you trying to generate sales leads?
* Are you trying to move prospects along the buying cycle?
Your copy and offer should be designed specifically to support your objective.
The next step is to consider your list.
When choosing a list for B-to-B direct marketing, focus on the important things--such as results--instead of worrying about less important details such as the percentage of undeliverables on the list.
A client of mine recently told me she was concerned by the high percentage of undeliverables from a business mailing list she rented. She was seriously considering not using the list again because of it. However, when I reviewed the overall results of previous mailings with her, it was clear that the same mailing list she was questioning generated more leads and sales than any of the other lists she had tested to date. In fact, that list resulted in the best overall return on investment. When considered from that important perspective, the list she was about to not use again was a real winner.
The next step and the best way to boost B-to-B direct mail response rates is to create a strong offer--that is, a targeted offer, or "call to action," that will entice prospects to respond.
In business-to-business direct marketing, educational offers work well for getting people to "raise their hands" and express interest. These types of offers include how-to guides, buying guides, reports, white papers, articles, case studies and invitations to events (e.g., webinars, presentations, seminars).
Also consider boosting your response rates by making multiple offers, each designed to appeal to people at different stages of their consideration/buying process.
However, don't make the mistake of offering something "cool," like an iPod. Yes, you'll get a high response rate, but those responses will be from people who want the iPod, not from people who want your product or service.
The last step is to always make it easy for prospects to respond to your call to action.
Your response form should include the various ways people can request the offer (e.g., Web address, e-mail, toll-free number or even fax). Your form could also include a few questions that elicit the information that you need to determine whether the respondent fits your definition of a qualified lead. Don't ask too many questions, however, as you risk turning off the prospect.
Successful B-to-B direct marketers understand that most of their campaign's success relies on the list and the offers. So be sure to determine the objective of your direct marketing, and then ensure that your list and offers support your objective. Your response rate will be much higher in terms of qualified sales leads.
About the Author
M. H. "Mac" McIntosh is described by many as one of America's leading business-to-business marketing consultants and an expert on the subject of B-to-B direct marketing. To get more high-quality sales leads and turn them into actual sales read his B2B marketing blog, Sales Lead Insights™, visit http://www.sales-lead-insights.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)