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Today's Feature Article

Arrogant Overture Placing Greed Ahead Of Their Customers Needs
Dean Phillips

According to the dictionary, the definition of the word "overture" is as follows:

"An opening or initiating move toward negotiations, a new relationship, an agreement, etc.; a formal or informal proposal or offer."

Hmmmmmmmm...very interesting definition--especially that part about "a new relationship."

I think pay-per-click giant Overture should look up the definition of their own company name, because they appear to be breaching their "relationship" with their customers big time!

Here are the most common complaints:

So, why hasn't Overture done anything about the complaints? Because, and I'm going to as blunt as I possibly can here-- they don't care about you. They only care about your money! Arrogance and greed seems to be the common thread that bonds the major search engines.

But you have only yourselves to blame. That's exactly what happens when you "place all of your eggs into one arrogant search engine basket!"

When you're totally dependent on someone and they know you're totally dependent on them, more often than not, they'll put the screws to you. That's exactly what you see happening with Google, Yahoo and Overture. They're screwing you over big time!

I received some very interesting e-mails in response to my article, "Googles Trap, DMOZ's Nap, And Yahoo!' s Crap." The writer of one of the e-mails wanted to know if I was afraid of being penalized by the search engines, because of my criticism' s of them.

Penalize me how? How can you penalize someone who neither benefits from nor is dependent on your service? I don't depend on the search engines! I don' t benefit from them! I never have. I get almost no traffic from the search engines. For example, so far this morning I've received over 300 unique visits to my website. Out of that total, none came from the search engines-- not a single one!

My traffic comes from the dozens of articles I've written, like this one that have been picked up and published on popular websites all over the Internet. I also get traffic via word of mouth, newsletters and ezines that my articles are published in, and a few other secret methods that I use.

That's the kind independence and power you give yourself, when you're not totally dependent on any one entity. Find alternative ways to attract traffic to your website. Here are a few suggestions:

Ezines, newsletters, forums, online magazines, sponsor listings on other websites, exchanging links.

Here are a few offline suggestions:

Magazines, direct mail, shopper newspapers, cable television, radio, flyers, hospital newsletters, card decks, trade journals and directories, bulletin boards, tabloid newspapers.

Here's what the writer of another e-mail I received had to say:

"Wow! What a pleasure to read your article, Googles Trap, DMOZ' s Nap, And Yahoo!'s Crap. Boy, I've been complaining about this type of scenario for at least a year. I will also include Overture with the terrible trio. Overture has recently, with the long standing pay per click program, decided that all your keyword phrases will be broad matched. The reason they gave was that it was too time consuming for the user to manage their listings. Well, they forgot to mention that they will also receive more money because of the change.

Also, they say that you can enter words in quotations or negative words against your keyword phrase so that you receive the correct response. In other words, your keyword phrase will not show up when those negative words are searched for. Well, do you know how time consuming the negative word process is? And, there's no way you can muster up all of the possible negative words that could be searched for so that your listing will not appear. Absolute CRAP, to term your expression.

The terrible trio you mention in your article plus Overture have gradually swung towards "God" like service providers. They have the power and the user is very much at effect.

Well, that's my 5 cents worth. After saying all of the above I am a user of these services but have been working for a long time now finding other ways and means of marketing and promotion so that all of our eggs are not in the one basket. I have, in the main, been exchanging links with other websites plus placing relatively inexpensive ads on websites that have similar services to ours."

I love getting e-mails like that! That tells me that some of you are finally starting to "get it."

Give yourself the power! Claim your independence! Find alternative ways to attract traffic to your website. If you do that, one day you'll realize you really don't need the search engines after all. I guarantee it!

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Dean Phillips is an Internet marketing expert, writer, publisher and entrepreneur. Questions? Comments? Dean can be reached at dean@lets-make-money.net Visit his website at: http://www.lets-make-money.net

Today's Motivational Reading

Top Five Journal Exercises
Lael Johnson

Keeping a journal is a form of creative expression that enhances the creativity coaching process. Keeping a journal develops emotional awareness, reinforces self-esteem and aids in problem-solving. Keeping a journal also provides a written record of artistic growth, struggle and change. Here are some basic exercises that I use throughout the creativity coaching process.

DIALOGUE: Writing a dialogue between one or more subjects helps to identify and separate emotions, ideas, issues and influences in a given creative situation. The primary result of writing dialogue is to clarify the creative situation, to give voice to all aspects of the situation and to restore the situation to it' s proper perspective.

GRATITUDE LIST: Thank you lists are very easy to write. It takes no more than a few seconds, some paper and a pen to create a list. Thank you lists, no matter what the length, powerfully challenge negative thoughts, disappointment and disouragement. Lists also help restore the situaition to it's rightful place in the clients creative pocess. Thank you lists are especially useful when pursuing long-term goals and facing crises.

COMPLETED ACTION LIST: What a client thinks can powerfully impact the creative process. Building an artistic career upon past negative artistic experiences blocks creative expression. It also leaves no room for the possiblitiy of current or future positive change. Keeping track of completed actions, no matter how small, provides an accurate record of the client's progress toward her artistic and business goals.

GOAL LIST: Identifying and developing artistic and business goals, provides a clear path for fullfilling the client's dreams. Regular progress through each goal can become a ready source of motivation for the client. The goal list provides a reality check for boh the client and the coach, when difficulties rise or progress is being assessed.

CHARACTER TRAITS LIST: Developing and maintaining a list of the character traits reinforces self-esteem, aids in problem- solving, and increases emotional awareness. The client describes one success using one character trait. The client learns to acknowledge her participation in the creative process which will encrourage future creative learning and growth.

Keeping a journal of creative work and progress can enrich all areas of an artist's life. Start exploring your creativity today.

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Lael Johnson, owner of Writer's Eye Advisory Service, offers creativity coaching services and writing resources at: http://www.writerseye.com

Today's Subscriber Article

More Sales With Less Selling
Charlie Cook

Have you ever passed by a bakery display case without feeling the urge to buy at least one cookie, dessert or cinnamon bun? Have you ever taken a child into a candy store and not had them ask to buy at least one of their favorite sweets?

The smell of fresh baked goods and the memory of the taste of a candy bar makes us want to buy more. The owners of bakeries and candy stores don't have to spend a lot of time extolling the merits of their goods or the length of time they've been in business; they can concentrate on helping us satisfy our appetites.

Wouldn't you like to be in a similar situation with your marketing? How would you like to have prospects who were so eager to buy that you didn't have to sell, but could focus instead on taking more orders?

If you are like most small business owners you'd like to increase your sales but you don't enjoy selling. You don't want to be seen as a pushy person, whether it is on the phone, in person or in your marketing materials. The problem is that you don't sell baked goods or candy - instead you may sell accounting, design, engineering, or informational products and services.

What can you do to increase your sales and spend less time selling?

Stop Selling
Stop worrying about closing the sale. Focus instead on understanding what your prospect wants, and open the door to a mutually profitable relationship. When a prospect thinks that all you care about is getting their m0ney, they'll view the relationship negatively and this can easily kill the sale.

Start Helping
Once a prospect is at your web site or on the ph0ne with you, they've demonstrated an interest in finding a solution to one of their problems or concerns. Take the next step and demonstrate your interest in them. Use your conversation or your site to ask them questions that will identify what they want to accomplish and how you can help them.

Help them clarify the problem they are trying to solve. Even our prosperous bakery owner has questions to ask. Is the hungry customer looking for bread for lunch, or a dessert for a celebration? How many people are they feeding? Once you have all the details, you confirm it by repeating the information back to them. You are planning a party for five couples and want a chocolate cake with mocha frosting. Is that right?

When your customer says yes, you've got your order. You just used a series of questions to get your prospect to tell you what they wanted. You didn't have to sell anything: they sold themselves. You helped them get what they wanted. Isn't that what you'd prefer to be doing?

Obviously, the questions you use to "sell" are going to be unique to the products and services you provide. Remember that when people come to you, they are hungry for a solution. The questions you ask can help them define exactly what they need and, more importantly, what they want. Then you can take their order.

Does this approach apply to selling less tangible and less immediately satisfying services and products?

Imagine you're a financial advisor and you're having an initial conversation with a prospect. You could launch into an explanation of your services and the seven ways you help clients grow assets using a strategic mix of stocks, bonds, currency and commodities. If you did this you'd be likely to miss connecting with them. Or you could ask them a couple of questions to identify what they want.

Most people have a common set of concerns related to managing their assets. Use these to formulate your questions. Ask them:

You could use a similar set of q.uestions to ask them about their taxes, investments, and whether their individual financial strategies complement or conflict with each other.

Whether you sell cakes and cookies or services and informational products, you can use questions to move your prospects to become clients and customers.

Ask the right questions and you'll establish your credibility while you help your prospects clarify what they need and help them determine the value of your products and services. Focus on helping instead of selling and your prospects will thank you by increasing your sales.

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Charlie Cook helps service professionals, small business owners and marketing professionals attract more clients and be more successful. Sign up to receive the F.ree Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to get more clients and grow your business' at : http://www.marketingforsuccess.com

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