http://www.artipot.com/authors/1480/karen-scharf/ Latest articles by Karen Scharf from Artipot - your one-stop resource for free articles. http://www.artipot.com/articles/447956/landing-page-optimization-tips.htm When we hear the words landing page we generally think of pay per click campaigns or some other form of internet advertising. But I like to use landing pages for all of my off-line advertising also. However, you're using it, a landing page is a web page, typically hidden from the site's menu bar and other navigation. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:43:05 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/447956/landing-page-optimization-tips.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/447946/cascading-style-sheets-and-email-display.htm Designing the HTML version of your email message can be difficult since there are so many different email client and operating system combinations out there - and they have their own way of rendering HTML. And there really is no way to be positively sure which client your readers will be using to view your messages. Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:26:01 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/447946/cascading-style-sheets-and-email-display.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/444595/website-redesign-be-sure-to-plan-ahead.htm At some point in time, every service provider takes a look at his or her website and decides it's time for a redesign. And, to be perfectly honest, a website redesign can be more difficult and time-consuming than building a completely new site from the ground up. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:33:22 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/444595/website-redesign-be-sure-to-plan-ahead.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/388296/some-article-marketing-tips-to-get-you-started.htm I am a huge proponent of article marketing. And while it's true that article marketing is great for driving traffic, you can still utilize it even if you don't have your website up and running yet. By distributing your articles off-line, you'll begin to make a name for yourself in your local community or your specific niche. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:19:09 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/388296/some-article-marketing-tips-to-get-you-started.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/380939/so-i-got-mad-and-threw-it-away.htm Your clients and prospects have very short attention spans. They want what they want and they want it now. If you make them a promise (like offering a particular article on the cover of your magazine) you need to deliver on that promise quickly, or you risk losing their attention. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:31:15 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/380939/so-i-got-mad-and-threw-it-away.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/379218/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-a-way-that-will-grow-your-business.htm Summertime is a time for outdoor barbecues and pool parties and meeting lots of fun new people. And meeting all these new people provides a terrific opportunity for growing your small business. Anyone that you ever need to grow your small business is represented right there at that summertime barbecue. Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:16:12 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/379218/how-to-introduce-yourself-in-a-way-that-will-grow-your-business.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/376805/mid-year-email-marketing-review.htm Here we are, it's June already and the year is half way over. The time couldn't be better to take an objective look at your email marketing campaign and assess any changes or fixes that need to be made. What kinds of things should you look for? Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:43:26 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/376805/mid-year-email-marketing-review.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/361249/whos-drinking-all-your-link-juice.htm You might have heard the term "link juice" before in the discussion of search engine optimization and traffic generation. Link juice is actually a loosely defined term, but it generally refers to the combination of link relevance, page importance and anchor text. Sat, 30 May 2009 01:42:31 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/361249/whos-drinking-all-your-link-juice.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/357680/5-ways-to-get-unstuck-in-your-marketing-part-1.htm As a small business owner, it's highly likely that you're wearing many hats, and one of those hats happens to be Chief Marketing Officer. And I can tell you that I've met more than one entrepreneur who felt that was the hat that just doesn't quite fit. Tue, 26 May 2009 06:17:15 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/357680/5-ways-to-get-unstuck-in-your-marketing-part-1.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/350210/do-it-yourself-seo-be-careful-with-your-keywords.htm If you're trying to optimize your own website - and I strongly believe that all entrepreneurs and website owners should at least be familiar with optimization techniques - then there's a great possibility you've been researching and studying and reviewing all the information you can get. Thu, 14 May 2009 23:38:23 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/350210/do-it-yourself-seo-be-careful-with-your-keywords.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/348930/marketing-mindset-when-times-are-tough.htm When the economy gets tough, an ironic thing happens... people stop marketing their business and services. I call it ironic because now is the best time to ramp up your marketing, not cut back on it. Wed, 13 May 2009 05:32:53 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/348930/marketing-mindset-when-times-are-tough.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/348675/a-shared-ip-address-isnt-always-so-bad.htm If you have any interest in email marketing, you've probably heard me extol the virtues of using a dedicated IP address for sending your mass communications. The rationale is that if you're using a shared address, you're basically at the mercy of every other marketer who is also using that address. Wed, 13 May 2009 01:51:44 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/348675/a-shared-ip-address-isnt-always-so-bad.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/345091/maximize-your-site-traffic-by-honestly-answering-these-4-questions.htm Sure, you might be getting tons of traffic, but what are your visitors doing once they land on your website? Lots of traffic doesn't necessarily mean lots of subscribers, lots of leads or lots of sales. If you don't take a very objective look at each of the pages on your site, you might be flushing your valuable traffic-building efforts down the drain. Sat, 09 May 2009 23:30:01 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/345091/maximize-your-site-traffic-by-honestly-answering-these-4-questions.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/343256/developing-an-effective-email-marketing-strategy.htm Email marketing is an excellent tool for growing your customer base, growing your brand and growing your sales. But just like any tool, it's most effective when it's used within a plan. If you started off in email marketing without a clear-cut strategy, here are 4 ways to get back on track by the end of the week. Thu, 07 May 2009 10:54:12 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/343256/developing-an-effective-email-marketing-strategy.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/330666/the-3-easiest-ways-to-boost-your-search-engine-rankings.htm One of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your search engine rankings is to create unique, keyword rich title tags for each of your pages. Be sure your keyword is as close to the beginning of the tag as possible. Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:41:44 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/330666/the-3-easiest-ways-to-boost-your-search-engine-rankings.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/317879/setting-realistic-optimization-expectations.htm Often times entrepreneurs get to the end of their financial ropes, and want a consultant to perform a search engine optimization miracle in the hopes of saving their drowning business. So, let's set the record straight on what SEO can and can not do for you. Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:00:59 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/317879/setting-realistic-optimization-expectations.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/314864/getting-ready-to-hire-your-first-assistant.htm There comes a time in every entrepreneur's life when they realize they just can't do it alone. They realize they're maxed out - either on time or ability - and there's no way their business will grow until they start delegating some tasks. Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:54:28 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/314864/getting-ready-to-hire-your-first-assistant.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/313262/email-marketing-and-the-high-price-of-irrelevance.htm When you're not sending relevant messages that your readers care about, you see your unsubscribe rate increase, your spam complaint rate increase, your open rate decrease, and your ROI plummet. Unfortunately, if you're not testing, tracking and tuning along the way, you might not realize you've missed the "relevance mark" until your list has taken a huge hit. Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:46:12 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/313262/email-marketing-and-the-high-price-of-irrelevance.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/308540/choosing-a-split-testing-platform-that-is-right-for-you.htm I often talk about the importance of split testing your web pages to ensure that you're earning as much as you possibly can from your website. Split testing can be as simple as running a page for a few weeks, then replacing it with a new page and seeing which one converts better. This is a rather inaccurate means of testing, but nonetheless, it is doable. Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:51:54 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/308540/choosing-a-split-testing-platform-that-is-right-for-you.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/306957/email-marketing-optimize-your-sending-schedule.htm As an email marketer, you probably spend considerable time testing and optimizing your email content, your email layout and design, the calls to action within your email message. But do you ever stop to consider *when* you're hitting the send button? Wed, 18 Mar 2009 15:40:25 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/306957/email-marketing-optimize-your-sending-schedule.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/302381/landing-page-tips-for-better-results.htm Whether you're driving traffic through organic search, pay per click, affiliate marketing, direct mail, email campaigns, social media, whatever, your landing page will make or break your conversions. Follow these few simple tips to create a landing page that produces results. Thu, 12 Mar 2009 01:46:28 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/302381/landing-page-tips-for-better-results.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/301674/was-your-marketing-raised-on-family-farms.htm I really enjoy cooking and baking - so if you have any good and unique recipes, do send them my way. But I don't want to talk to you about cooking today; rather, I want to talk to you about a marketing lesson I was reminded of when I went to prepare dinner the other evening. Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:37:40 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/301674/was-your-marketing-raised-on-family-farms.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/298581/increase-landing-page-conversion-by-testing-these-5-elements.htm Are you satisfied with the conversion rate on your landing page? I hope the answer to that question - no matter what your conversion rate - is an emphatic "No!" Because no matter what your conversion rate is, there's always the chance that it can be better. Fri, 06 Mar 2009 22:51:59 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/298581/increase-landing-page-conversion-by-testing-these-5-elements.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/296736/why-a-do-not-reply-email-is-a-terrible-idea.htm Generally, when marketers use the "Do-Not-Reply@DomainName.com" email address in their from field, they are specifying an email address that does not exist. The problem with sending email from a non-existent address is that, eventually, it will trigger spam filters. Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:51:48 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/296736/why-a-do-not-reply-email-is-a-terrible-idea.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/293098/5-adwords-mistakes-that-literally-flush-money-down-the-toilet.htm In order to avoid the cash flush that AdWords newbies often experience, steer clear of these 5 common first timer mistakes. Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:18:45 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/293098/5-adwords-mistakes-that-literally-flush-money-down-the-toilet.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/278250/ready-to-start-your-own-search-engine-optimization.htm According to interactive ad agency Web Ad.vantage of Havre de Grace, Maryland, simply landing a second or third page ranking can increase your traffic by up to nine times. A top ten ranking can lead to an additional 600% traffic increase. Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:44:24 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/278250/ready-to-start-your-own-search-engine-optimization.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/271281/transactional-email-messages-get-yours-in-shape-for-the-new-year.htm How are you doing on your New Year's resolution? Let me guess, it includes shedding a few pounds, getting more exercise, making healthy eating choices, etc. Here's another thing that needs to get into better shape: your transactional email messages program. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 00:56:32 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/271281/transactional-email-messages-get-yours-in-shape-for-the-new-year.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/269158/engage-readers-to-increase-open-rates.htm If you are looking for ways to reduce your business related spending, it's time to take a closer look at your email marketing program. Email remains one of the most cost-effective marketing media we have at our disposal. But getting your messages into your readers' in-boxes and getting your subscribers to actually read those messages continues to be a struggle. Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:56:53 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/269158/engage-readers-to-increase-open-rates.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/267460/repurpose-your-content-and-stop-working-so-hard.htm I firmly believe that your absolute most important asset is your current customer list. But your second most important asset is the information you've already produced. And chances are, you're not putting it to good enough use. Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:06:53 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/267460/repurpose-your-content-and-stop-working-so-hard.htm http://www.artipot.com/articles/247008/economy-growing-in-time-of-recession-get-your-site-ready.htm I read an interesting article the other day about this strange economy we're in. According to one Indiana business newspaper, this is the first time ever that the economy actually grew in a time of recession. Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:42:50 +0000 http://www.artipot.com/articles/247008/economy-growing-in-time-of-recession-get-your-site-ready.htm