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By Bill Wynne in Featured

Twitter is almost a household word. Twitter and Facebook alike. The keen marketer will know that Twitter will offer him a rich source of potential traffic but how do you effectively reach those people and get them to follow you?

  1. Make sure you take the time to compose a Twitter bio that will portray the message that you want others to know about you. What do you want them to know about you that are pertinent to your online business or other wards? Your bio will inspire people to follow you or not. Take the time to make it count.
  2. Have you made any tweets before following people and hoping they will follow you back? In addition to a bio that informs people about yourself you want to post tweets that will inspire people with trust and confidence in you. Your tweets should be about your business. Provide links to your blog, website or content that you penned to let people know who you are.
  3. Build rapport. Many people make the mistake to just sell to the people that follow you on Twitter. You want to create a relationship. If you write or find articles that will benefit your followers tweet them. If you find something that you think your followers will like then tweet them. Links to YouTube videos or other helpful resources are good.
  4. Your Tweets need to grab the readers attention like a headline or subject line. Show that you can grab people’s interest. Since you have a limited number of characters you can use you should shorten your links. We will discus programs that will help with your Twitter account in another tip.
  5. “Share the Love” Re-tweet other people’s tweets and some will return the favor, which will expose you to other people who may then decide to follow you. When people do re-tweet your tweets then you should thank them. It only takes a minute to click a button and say thank you.
  6. Reply to people’s tweets, give them a compliment or thank them for sharing. These people may also decide to send you @ messages, which will also make their followers aware of you. Remember that you are part of a community and you can build valuable relationships.
  7. Follow all of Twitter’s rules about following and un-following. Don’t become too aggressive or your account will be suspended. Try to keep to a 1 to 1.5 ratio.
  8. Don’t be known as a spammer. If it is your intention to use Twitter to market to people it is recommended that you only have one marketing Tweet in every 10 Tweets. If all you do is try to sell people something, they will stop following you. Doing nothing but marketing tweets could get you labeled as a spammer, which could result in being banned. Remember Twitter is about being social first and marketing, if you do any marketing, second.
  9. If you are using Twitter to market then look into software to do your Twitter work for you. There is one free website that can really help you use Twitter with more efficiency, Hootsuite.com. This service will submit your Tweets to a variety of sites for you. You will also be able to schedule your tweets so you can take your time to set up a day’s worth or more of tweets.
  10. There are a number of paid software programs that will find targeted followers for you based on keyword or associations. It will manage the following and unfollowing of the people so you won’t have to go through hundreds and thousands of emails clicking on the follow link. You can schedule tweets and much more. Review a number of these programs, automate Twitter and save your time.

Get to know Twitter better by downloading a FREE Twitter Video Bill uses Twitter to build his online empire. Find Twitter Tools online in addition to the Video.

By Mark R Cameron in Featured

advertisingBrand leadership through social media

Not so long ago, the relationship that brands had with their customers was a one-way street. The brand was the boss. They told their customers what to like and how to like it. The only say the customer had was the decision to buy. This is no longer the case. Customers are very publicly talking back and it is making the management teams of some brands very nervous.
Web-based social networking platforms give customers power never seen before. Now one voice can be heard by thousands of people. Brands need to learn to deal with this evolution, so here is a primer.

By Enzo F. Cesario in Featured

Recently, our blog took a look at the basics of newsletter writing. We covered some material that we’ve stressed time and time again: make sure the content is well written, pay attention to presentation, and tie it into the brand without going by rote. This is part of our message that quality always matters, and that every venture put forward should return to the same basic principles. Building on these lessons, this article highlights specific ways that a newsletter can be turned from a seemingly redundant tangent into a valuable marketing tool that speaks for itself while supporting the organization’s core mission.

The basic function of the newsletter is of course to be informative. Information needs to reach a large number of people, and a newsletter is a great way of making sure people are on the same page. Yes, in theory an email can be CC’d and BCC’d to everyone on the relevant lists, but there is something psychologically distinctive about the release of a physical publication for wide review. The trick then is to make sure the information contained in the letter goes beyond the basics and into actually targeting its audience.

In short, a newsletter has to take advantage of its role as a distinct and noteworthy publication in order to create a greater sense of identity for the organization as a whole.

Option #1 – Editorialize

As we mentioned, email has effectively replaced hardcopy for general communications. It takes up less space, doesn’t create mountains of trash unless you count the spam folder, and is exponentially more efficient. With general communication taken care of, the newsletter now has room for broader subjects such as opinion and editorial.

This option can be particularly interesting for businesses with extensive connections, such as financial institutions or delivery services. Articles of this stripe can revolve around goings-on in general, or discussing the results of the latest big initiative. Upper level managers can explain some of the reasoning behind specific decisions, while frontline workers might get a chance to explain the impact a particular policy has had on work efficiency.

Of course, all editorial runs the same risk as any opinion-based piece of writing. Make sure to keep within company guidelines and civil behavior. After all, the goal is to increase company identity, not foster company conflict.

Option # 2 – Have a Laugh

Business communications frequently tend to be sterile and reserved, especially in larger organizations. Some of the most frustrating moments working for big companies stem from a perceived lack of identity. Humor is an excellent way to help break down this disconnect between work and workers. For internal company newsletters, knowing that the boss is good for a laugh now and again can help ease tensions, or promote greater cooperation between coworkers.

Predominantly this approach requires keeping the humor topical. A call center for example might host a contest for the strangest call received and list the winning story in the newsletter. A certain widespread fast food corporation might run a bit of satire complaining about the fact that they haven’t achieved complete control of the market. In either case the humor is derived from familiarity with the company, and helps foster a good-natured approach to the job.

Option #3 – Reflect and Review

As mentioned, one of the strongest merits of the newsletter format is its distinctiveness. With more people focusing on email, receiving a newsletter almost always causes at least a moment of attention, if only to ask what it is. Take advantage of this by using the newsletter as a way to call people to review past accomplishments and current goals, and release it at times that the company warrants such a review. This will help associate the newsletter with a distinct purpose, and when it arrives people will know it’s time to put on their thinking caps.

Option #4 – Fabulous Prizes

This may sound dubious, but it remains a viable option. People like contests and prizes, and if there’s something to be won in the newsletter they’re more likely to read it. For example a company newsletter could include free raffle tickets to the next big sporting event. More people are likely to respnd if they figure they can win a prize. Pick an incentive that you know is appropriate to your group, and put it in the newsletter to keep interest high.

The key here is to avoid making it a gimmick. Advertise the contest clearly, but resist the urge to splatter it across the front page in bright fonts. Use good humor and reserve, and let people get as excited as they wish.

Afterthoughts

A hardcopy newsletter is not always appropriate. Email frequently suffices, and in many cases company newsletters have shifted to email delivery. When you evaluate your organization’s newsletter, whether one you already have or one you intend to start, ask yourself what specific purpose it would serve. Newsletters can help any organization or business stay top of mind and open communication lines.

Enzo F. Cesario is an online branding specialist and co-founder of Brandsplat, a digital content agency. Brandsplat creates blogs, articles, videos and social media in the “voice” of our client’s brand. It makes sites more findable and brands more recognizable. For the free Brandcasting Report go to http://www.BrandSplat.com/ or visit our blog at http://www.iBrandCasting.com/

By Charles McDuffie in Featured

Strategic link building can gratify your desires to make it big online. Despite the fact that you might find that even a minor tweak in your site can get you enough traffic through search engines, there are other more sensible procedures to use your time and money to ensure a high influx of target traffic. For one, you could incorporate your link building campaign with competitive intelligence and see the change. Achieving this will not only double, but triple your conversion rate.

Strategic Link Building: How To Use It?

We all know that link building is related to SEO. This is why many web users also fail to see that link building can have a separate strategy away from search engine optimization as well. By itself too, strategic link building can get you a lot of traffic for your website. Let’s discover how:

The first approach is straightforward to use. Go browsing the on the internet and zero in on the sites you like. If you like them, in all probability your visitors will like them too. Once you have a list of some great sites, set them in priority and choose the number of sites you’d like to link with.

Request a reciprocal link or a one-way link from these site owners. As all websites might not respond favorably to your request, it’s advisable to request links from a number of sites. With time and effort, you’ll notice that websites won’t refuse your requests as often.

While you’re sending requests for links, be certain you let those sites know that you’ve visited their site, liked what you saw, and find that a link with them would benefit both parties. This will make your e-mail sound more sincere and not a spammish.

The second strategic link building method involves submitting articles to free content sites. By doing this, you’ll reach those sites, e-zines and newsletters where you’ll get a amazing chance to market yourself though the utilization of your resource box at the end of each and every article you write.

With each article that you write, you can do some strategic link building by placing your website URL into the resource box. Your prospective clientele will read your articles, and if they like what they read, should click over to your website and view what you have to offer.

The third strategy involves writing a press release. If it’s very good and gets publicized on numerous websites, you might even get to publicize your work and website on TV or even in a nationwide magazine. You could begin with writing press releases for the community media in the beginning.

The fourth strategy entails posting to forums and news groups. It’s an easy and fun way to make strategic links. While going about it, be honest. Seek to post in only those forums that you like, and those that deal with topics you believe in.

The fifth strategy is to use competitive intelligence to give a boost to your strategic links. You could use the Google toolbar to know the keywords that your competitors are using, and also to know the websites that are sending target traffic to your competitors.

You’ll have to use the link called “Backward Links” on the tool bar for this work. Many of such competitive intelligence tools could help you to monitor your competitor’s traffic sources. All in all, strategic link building can make you a favorite with search engine spiders, and enable your website pages to enhance in the rankings as well.

Charles McDuffie is an author and entrepreneur for ASB Enterprises, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success in home-based businesses and affiliate programs. Visit his website at: http://www.legacyofwealth.com

By Donna Gunter in Featured

Website-TrafficDon’t overlook your inbound linking strategy as you think about search engine optimization for your site. An inbound link is a hyperlink back to your site from another web site. The one constant and reliable strategy in search engine optimization is that sites with a variety of high quality backlinks rank higher in the search engine results pages.

Why are these links to your site important? They can can…

By Karen Thomson in Featured

Posting on forums is one of the cheapest and fastest ways in which you can advertise your affiliate products on the Internet. However, in order to do this successfully, you must do a number of things with care. You cannot simply start a thread which contains your affiliate link straight away. You will almost definitely get banned from that forum board and you certainly won’t get any sales from it.

The general procedure involves making multiple posts on a forum board before you even setup a signature file, which includes a link to your site. Even if the particular forum you are using does not specifically mandate this, you will want to do this, anyway, as it will increase your credibility – which is your real goal.

Finding a forum related to your niche is relatively easy to do. Simply type the name of your interest followed by the word ‘forum’ into your favorite search engine i.e. if your niche is golf, type in ‘golf forum’ into your browser and you will likely get a list of active forums on the return page. Alternatively there are a couple of URLs that you can use to obtain the same information. They are “big-boards.com” which is currently the largest forum directory on the Internet or you can use “board123.com/forum_directory.php” which has some lesser directories but does contain some forums that the first doesn’t list.

Once you have chosen a few forums that you are interested in, you will need to find out what their rules are when it comes to signature files. Some don’t allow links and others do but may not accept these links to be of a commercial nature. It’s vitally important to stick to the rules of these forums or you will find yourself banned pretty quickly.

Once you have your list of forums that allow commercial links, it’s time to start posting! Right from the beginning, make sure that you post messages that are meaningful and relevant. Set yourself up as an expert in your niche and try to give value to the group by posting useful articles and lists that others will appreciate. Only once you have developed a good reputation on these forums which will take approximately one to two weeks of regular posting, you can begin advertising through your forum signature. If it is allowed, make your signature eye-catching by using an assortment of colors, words and symbols. Link your signature to an affiliate product or an auto-responder course purposefully designed to capture email addresses.

Repeat this process throughout all the relevant forums that you discovered earlier but ensure you pick forums that have high traffic, are used regularly and are audience specific to your niche. Not all forums are created equal and you do not want to waste time on those that are just too quiet to drum up any attention. Remember to add a memorable signature file so that you draw people to click on your link and you will find that this method will pay off considerably and much faster than other methods.

Karen Thomson is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant. If you found this article useful, claim your free social media for business e-book and more goodies, available at =>

http://simplecashblogbonus.com

By Clare Swindlehurst in Featured

Keeping your blog interesting and fresh isn’t just a case of posting regularly, you also need to mix things up and use different styles of posts to keep your readers engaged. Here are five different styles you can try out to make your blog more interesting.

1. The inspection post

One of the easiest ways to make money with your blog is to review products that then pay you a commission for any sales that you make. The inspection post is one where you take a closer look at a product and review it for your readers.

An effective inspection post will cover the positives as well as the negatives. People want to know what’s good and bad about a product before they buy it and the more honest you are the more likely they are to buy the product through your affiliate link.

2. The insights post

Offering insights to your readers is a great way to write an engaging and interesting post. Sometimes you might have a great tip to share that doesn’t warrant a whole article but would make a great short post. Say you blog about cake baking, a useful insights post could be as simple as instructions on how to grease a muffin pan so that the muffins turn out easily. You can add even more interest by making a short video to show your readers how it’s done.

3. The index post

Readers love lists. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 15 Great Ways to Build Traffic to Your Website or the Top 10 Kitchen Utensils Every Baker Needs. Whatever niche you are in you will be able to compile a useful index post. These resource lists are popular because they are easy to scan and can help people find the information they need quickly and easily.

The other great thing about index posts is that they have the potential to go viral. People love to share index posts with their friends via Facebook, Twitter or the other social networking sites, compile a useful list and before you know it you will have a whole new set of visitors.

4. The interview post

Interviews are a great source of interesting and engaging content for your blog. You could offer to interview an expert in your niche, or the author of a useful book. It will take some work to set up the interview as you will need to contact prospective interviewees to ask them to take part. Once they’re on board you simply need to compile an interesting list of questions and ask them to complete the answers by email for publication on your blog.

5. The instruction post

People turn to the Internet when they want to know how to do something. So instruction posts can be really useful. Spend some time in the forums and see what problems people have and then create a blog post walking them through the solution step-by-step. Including screenshots or images can help to get your message across, and videos are even better.

Finally, don’t forget that traffic is the life blood of any online business. To discover 26 ways you can drive targeted traffic to your website without spending a penny visit http://ultimatetrafficmaster.com/ today.

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By Ken McKay in Featured

googleGoogle lists results of all searches in order of relevance to the search words. How do you become relevant? It’s no use being number nine hundred in order of relevance if people searching Google only look at the first ten or twenty listed. It’s no use having the best looking website if nobody sees it.

Never mind, you say, I can pay to be at the top of Google. Yes you can pay a lot to be a sponsored or pay per click website. Google makes a fortune from just that. However Google itself admits that its surveys show 72% of searchers ignore the paid listings and click on the natural listings, the listings that earn their position by being relevant.

Okay, you say, I’ll pay an SEO expert a lot of money to get me to the top. Yes, you can pay a Search Engine Optimization company, but the only guarantee is that you will pay a lot of money.

By Karen Thomson in Featured

Before you even consider starting to build your first website, you need to think very carefully about what you are going to include in it. For instance, you should not create a site that promotes numerous unrelated affiliate products. As you can imagine, a potential customer will not want to wade through fishing tackle supplies when she came to your site looking for handbags! What’s more, the search engines won’t approve of it either; they won’t be able to distinguish what it is you are trying to sell and therefore won’t rank it well for any of your products. The more products you have on your site means that they have to compete with each other to be viewed when what you really want is a fewer amount of related products that complement and enhance each other.

Here is a basic list of things that you must consider when creating your first and each subsequent website.

  • The website needs to be clearly laid out, with separate pages for different topics within the overall subject matter.
  • The site will need to focus on a specific subject which is aimed at a distinct audience.
  • Both outgoing and incoming links to and from worthwhile and excellent top quality websites should be included.
  • Diverse pages should link into each other where relevant.
  • There should be plenty of superb content packed with useful information.
  • Any affiliate or referral links need to be sprinkled throughout the web page in the relevant places; they need to be tested to see what works the best.
  • The correct use of keywords and phrases which will help attract visitors and improve positioning within the search engines need to be used.
  • And finally, you must include an internet site map to make it less difficult for visitors to move around the internet site and find what they need. This is often considered redundant in the process of building a website, and that is indeed the fact if you made a sitemap just for the sake of having one.

A sitemap literally acts as a map of your site. They can always refer to your sitemap to see where they are, and navigate through your pages with the utmost ease. There is no need to get the “big picture” of your site by reading through each page, and by doing that you will be saving your visitors’ time.

When you create a sitemap, you are actually creating a single page which contains links to every single page on your site. Imagine what happens when search engine robots hit this page — they will follow the links on the sitemap and naturally every single page of your site gets indexed by search engines! It is also for this purpose that a link to the sitemap has to be placed prominently on the front page of your website.

Don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of things on this list, they may take a little time to put together but they are not difficult by any means. Once they are in place, you can tweak and test your site and add new content to keep it fresh and interesting which in turn will keep the search engines and your website visitors very happy indeed!

Karen Thomson is a successful Internet Marketing Consultant. If you found this article useful, claim your free social media for business e-book and more goodies, available at http://simplecashblogbonus.com

By Chris Haycox in Featured

WebmastersThe buzz is growing about Web 3.0, but as usual you have to filter out all the hype, self-serving PR, old-fashioned nonsense, newfangled marketing verbiage and other noise. You will then find a few facts that you can grab onto and try to figure out what’s going on. The first thing to remember is that, like “Web 2.0,” the term Web 3.0 is not an official term of any sort, does not represent any particular protocol or standard, belongs to no one – and is used, misused and made nearly meaningless by everyone. It is, quite simply, just an arbitrary “version number” that, at most, describes how the Internet is built and how it delivers services, at least as of the freeze-framed moment in time that represents the end of 2.0 and the start of 3.0.

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