Editorial: 4 Simple Last-Minute Tactics to Maximize Holiday Sales!
By Derek Gehl

We are now in the heat of holiday shopping and NOW is the perfect opportunity to apply some last-minute holiday marketing tactics to capitalize on the buying frenzy!

Don't procrastinate because time is running out...

As an online business, you only have a few weeks left before sales will drop off and the last minute shoppers turn to traditional retail stores in order to avoid expensive last-minute shipping!

So without further ado, here are 4 tactics you can apply TODAY!

Tactic #1: Add Some Holiday Flair To Your Salecopy!

Make sure your salescopy tells your customers which of your products would make good gifts for which of their family members...

• This would make a great gift for mom!
• This would make a great gift for the entrepreneur in your family!
• This would make a great gift for video game fan!
• This would make a good gift for [insert recommendation here]!
  
  

... You get the point.

Never assume your customers "get it" because they probably don't... you need to tell them who your product(s) apply to and why they should buy it for them as a gift.

Tactic #2: "Top 10 Gift Ideas" List

If you're a business with numerous products, then one of my favorite tactics is putting a "Top 10 Gift Ideas" list on your site.

If someone is surfing the Internet for gift ideas, your list will grab their attention -- and you can then direct them toward the products that generate the highest profits for you!

And don't forget to modify the salescopy of the products you recommend to play up the "gift idea" angle! Just like with Tactic #1, you need to tell them who wants your product and why it would make a great gift.

Tactic #3: Capitalize On "Seasonal Keywords" in the Pay-Per-Click Search Engines

At this time of year "Gift"-related keywords will see a substantial increase in search volume as shoppers are looking to buy presents for their loved ones! For example:

Hobby Related Key Phrases:

• Golf gift idea
• Fishing gift idea
• Video game gift
  
  

Individual Specific Key Phrases:

• Christmas gift for Fisherman
• Christmas gift for Plumber
• Christmas gift for Student
  
  

Warning: Stay away from more general keywords and phrases like "Christmas Gift" or "Christmas Gift for Dad." They will not drive you the targeted traffic you need.

And remember, to get the highest possible conversion, the salescopy on your website needs to continue the theme of the keyword.

So if someone comes to your website after searching the keyword "Christmas Gift for Student," you need to continue that theme and create a landing page that explains why your product will make a good gift for a student.

Tactic #4: The Countdown Clock!

This one's my favorite...

Make sure you add a countdown timer to your website that's counting down to the last minute your customers can order a product from your website and still get guaranteed delivery by Christmas!

Even if you have two weeks left on your countdown clock, the psychology of a clock counting down in front of someone will increase their urgency to order NOW!

The easiest way to add a countdown clock to your website is with one of the many free javascripts available on a site like javacript.internet.com. Go to this site and search for Countdown Timer and you will be presented with numerous options.

So there they are -- four strategies you can apply to profit from the holiday buying frenzy. But remember, that countdown clock is ticking for YOU, too... so you need to take action NOW!

And speaking of countdowns...

You only have a few more days to buy one of my slightly (and I mean slightly) damaged "Insider Secrets" courses for only $97 instead of the regular $197 -- and still get guaranteed delivery by Christmas!

So if you were thinking about "playing Santa" and buying a course for more than 50% off the regular price for the budding entrepreneur in your family (even if that entrepreneur is YOU ;-), then you had better act fast!

Click here to claim your $100 discount now:

www.marketingtips.com/holidays-discount

To your success,

Derek Gehl

How to get more backlinks and traffic -- while saving yourself valuable time each day
By Dwain Jeworski

If you're looking to attract hundreds of quality backlinks -- and 1000s of new visitors -- to your site, there's a great kind of FREE tool you need to know about.

I'm talking about "all-in-one" social bookmarking tools that allow you to post fresh content on your site to 30 or more of the 'Net's top social booking marketing sites... with just one click!

But maybe I should back up for a minute...

... In case you're confused by the term "social bookmarking," it's a lot simpler than you might think.

You know when you bookmark sites in your Internet browser, so you can easily return to them in the future? Well, social bookmarking is the online version of that.

Different social bookmarking sites -- such as Digg, del.icio.us, or reddit -- allow you to create an online collection of bookmarked sites that you can access from anywhere (a distinct advantage compared to the bookmarks that are stored only on your home or work computer!).

And what makes these bookmarking sites "social" is that other members can see how popular the different bookmarked sites are -- in terms of how many users have bookmarked them, or rating systems that allow users to say how useful they think the site is. The sites with the most bookmarks or the highest ratings tend to get seen by the most people.

... So what does this mean to you as an Internet marketer?

It's simple: the more social bookmarking sites you register your website or blog with, the more backlinks and organic traffic you'll end up getting from the users of those sites!

Plus, search engines LOVE links from social bookmarking sites -- so the more you get, the better your search ranking will be!

However, in order to get good results, you should aim to get your site registered with at least 30 of the 'Net's top bookmarking sites. And, as you might expect, it takes time to register your site with all those different sites.

... And it takes even more time to let those sites know whenever you post new content on your website or blog!

This is where those "all-in-one" social bookmarking tools come in... Because once you register with all the top bookmarking sites, you can add an "all-in-one" tool to your site and then let ALL your different social bookmarking sites know when you've got fresh content -- with just one simple click of a button!

The two "all-in-one" social bookmarking tools we tend to use most often here at IMC are socialmarker.com and addthis.com. Both of these tools allow you to add your site to 30+ social bookmarking sites.

Other advantages of using these tools include...

• Their handy widgets make it easy for your visitors to bookmark your site and sign up for your RSS feed
  
  
• The backlinks they give you increase your link popularity, which will boost your search engine rankings
  
  
• You no longer need to add a separate widget on your site for each social bookmarking site you subscribe to
  
  
• They offer useful statistics and information on how your visitors are sharing your content with others
  
  

... AND, using them means your new content will get indexed by Google in about 15 minutes or less!

So if you have a blog or a website full of content that you update regularly (which you should... a regular stream of fresh content is the best way to get the search engines to notice you), then make sure you check out socialmarker.com and addthis.com -- and put one of them on your site as soon as you can!

(I personally prefer socialmarker.com, but I know a lot of our mentors like addthis.com as well. I recommend you check out both to decide which will work best for you.)

And if you'd like to explore some of the Web's top bookmarking sites, check out this Wikipedia list.

Happy bookmarking!

**Note: Dwain Jeworski is IMC's VP of Marketing.