Forging Ahead In Tough Perilous Financial Times

These are days where economies are being tested and strained. As one great American economist wrote about the American economy, “This is a once in a hundred years financial problem.” Who could have fore seen the economic crisis that has plunged so many, so deeply into corporate and personal crisis? While the ear marks of shaky financial ground was recognized, who would have thought the dominos would fall in such a loud, vivacious, and tragic manner?

As news anchors bemoan the colossal deprivation of the economy, and spread the woes of a nation, how does one place his or her self in the race to succeed? How does one forge ahead when many are simply trying to hang on, or living numb in a reactive manner?

As every great warrior knows, in winning a war, there are often many battles—many skirmishes—where the losses in the battle ground are high. In war, many battles are won and loss, but individually they are not indicative of who will win the war. In the midst of a battle, the cost of lives and resources can be great, but a true leader painfully knows and understands the importance of staying focused on winning the war. American Civil War leader Gen. U.S. Grant was such a leader. So many men died under his leadership, he became known as “The Butcher”. His personal diaries shared of his inner torment in sending his friends to their deaths for the greater cause of preserving the unity of the United States of America. Gen. U.S. Grant new and understood the importance of not becoming hung up on the “now” but holding fast to a focus on the future.

Forging ahead in tough perilous times requires forward vision. It requires a mindset that looks above the “now” and to the future.

In the midst of a battlefield where bodies abound, the scent of human blood fills the nostrils, the cries and moans of the dying torments the inner being of those who stand—leaders know how to look across the field at a higher level. Leaders while conscious of the immediate circumstance, with heavy hearts for the immediate, know to look higher and forward to the horizon. True leaders know the importance of mustering courage in those who can still fight, picking up the flag, and moving them forward to victory.

Forging ahead in tough periless times requires the mustering of courage, the ability to see today for what it is, but fasten our focus on nothing less than true personal victory.

In the face of tough times, when all seems to be in doubt, believing in one’s self remains one of the hardest things for many people to do. There is fragility in the “I need to do something about this” mentality. There is courage and strength in the “Come Hell or high water…I can do” attitude. John Wayne, in an interview once described bravery as “knowing you’re out-manned and out-gunned, but choosing to saddle up anyhow.”

In the face of tough perilous times, victory is not far away. One only needs to look to the horizon.

In the face of your tough moments, don’t be fooled into “hanging on”, instead “grab hold of the excellence life has to offer you”, and fasten your focus on the horizon.

About the Author,

James C. Tanner of www.jamesctanner.com and www.silent-wonder.com is a writer, business mentor and speaker. He specializes in showing people who want to succeed in life how to take $400 to $500 dollars and within six to eight months turn it into a full-time home based income.

Copyright 2008 James C. Tanner. All rights reserved.

New Changes For The Fall Of 2008

We are very pleased to be announcing some new changes which are now in effect, and still coming into effect.

As public interest increases in the opportunities to work from home, or work at home through a home based business opportunity, we have gone out and RADICALLY created a collection of materials to help people learn more about how to succeed while working at home.

To make this material readily viewable face lift's have been made to two of our websites. The first website http://www.silent-wonder.com has now been totally revamped for this purpose.

Secondly, a new web page is being built at http://www.jamesctanner.com . While many of the pages on this site are now up and being tweaked as we go, some are still being built and will be added shortly.

As we move forward into the Fall season of 2008, we will remain dedicated to helping people strike out in a life direction of self-employment and independence. We will continue to provide the resources to fuel innovative thinking.

With summer holidays now over, continue to watch as we once again get back into our regular pattern of blog articles, here at this site.

Respectfully,

James C. Tanner
Blog Moderator

Staying On Top Of Changing Trends

As humans continually evolve, so too do our patterns of internet use. As internet users who are continually focusing on new strategies to stay out in front, it is imperative for us to notice and embrace those changing trends.

While many internet marketing strategies will advise you to write and publish articles online, and it’s a strategy that does it’s job, there is an even more effective way to get the word out about you, your business, and your product—video.

Recently I took the time to conduct a test between the use of articles and the use of videos. Over the course of 10 days seven carefully crafted articles were launched on the internet with many differing publishers. I gave the articles a few weeks to circulate, noting small traffic numbers from those articles everyday. Last week, I prepared a small two video series, shot in the back corner of my basement, under the most primitive conditions. The videos were launched this week online and to my utter amazement, I discovered that within 24 hours my videos were being viewed by four times the number of people than my articles were. The consistent pattern of traffic generated in my video to article comparison remains a constant ratio of 4:1.

You can view my two test videos on the marketing subject of “Speaking The Right Language” by going here:

Video #1

Video #2

Is article writing important? Absolutely! The writing of articles helps to create many web pages with links pointing back to your website. Article writing does generate traffic to your site and any traffic at all is important as it all adds up.

Is video creation important…absolutely! It’s been a long known fact amongst copywriters that people do not read all the content on a web page. People skim over web page content focusing on the highlights or bulleted points, titles, and sub-titles.

Video creation does not require much effort as to content. In researching other’s videos I was surprised to note that most videos were two and a half minutes in length, or less. From a scripting perspective, it is really difficult to communicate a solid message in less than three and a half minutes as most people will speak at a rate of 50 to 60 words a minute. In creating short videos, inorder to get your message out, the careful writing of the script is critical. While a script can be varied from slightly, one must be careful to not stray entirely as your timeline lengthens with every “add-lib”.

Video creation does not require expensive equipment. I personally use a 8 megapixel digital camera with a built in microphone on a tripod. The video is then edited in Windows Movie Maker software and it’s ready to go. While some video creators utilize a green screen behind the speaker, it isn’t necessary to provide a professional quality video. The one thing that both articles and videos have in common is the rule “content is the key”!

No matter how we evolve, or our internet useage habits change, we must all, in everything we do, remember to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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Recession Proofing Your Online Presence

With the United States showing a slow struggle in shaking it’s recession style economy, the question arises, “How does a person or business recession proof their online business, or online presence?”

Everyday I received tons of email from people and organizations offering this latest $97 or $147 solution to traffic flow to my websites. I chuckled yesterday as three different parties contacted me to offer the exact same marketing strategy program. It’s becoming very clear that much of what’s circulating on the internet today is re-hashed or an affiliate related program. Multiple approaches regarding the same product cheapens the psychological value of that product, so it’s imperative that approaches be fresh, original, and current.

As I study the internet, and global economics, there is a trend cmoing clear. As the price of oil rises, the reality of a global recession grows stronger. When oil hits US $200 for a barrel of crude, many European banks believe the world will plunge into a global recession. Financial forecasts predict oil will top the US $200 price within the next year and a half. There is not enough oil capable of being produced right now to meet current demand levels, and it would take 10 to 12 years to increase production enough to maintain current levels. The only way for the globe to avoid a recession is to reduce oil consumption to match or be less than current production levels. Our dependence on oil at this time is too great to be able to accomplish this in time, on a global level.

So how do we adapt and how do we adjust?

There is a very clear marketing problem on the internet today. Most websites are being published in only one language—the language of English.

Today’s hot economies are located in India, China and Russia. These are non-English speaking countries.

The internet provides is with access to a global clientelle, and yet most of us are limiting ourselves to the English speaking only populace.

One way you can help to stabilize your presence online during a recession, is to begin to think globally. Most of our webpages have menu bars which read “Home”, “About”, “Contact”, “Products”, and possibly “Services”. Imagine the impact, if your menu bar also included links to copies of your main web page in foreign languages. Links could be written in their foreign language for Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, etc.

If we are going to position ourselves on today’s internet, then we must begin to accept a larger client base. Google Translator provides an excellent tool whereby your web page can be quickly translated into a specified language, and all you would have to do is simply cut and paste that new translation into a web page. One important tip to consider is that some languages such as Russian do use more characters than the English language and as a result, blocks of text may require a little bit more room.

Why don’t you join me! This week I’ve made the decision to take my web pages global, and in the weeks ahead, you will find my web pages changing to become multi-lingual. It’s a modern twist on internet customer service.

In all you do, take time to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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Internet Marketing Strategies That Measure Success

“Email Marketing Is Dead”, the headline touted. It was an ominous start to a carefully crafted work on the effectiveness of market strategy, and in particular the internet marketing strategy of email campaigns.

How do we determine when a marketing strategy is dead or non-productive? In truth there is only one way, to establish clear goals for our promotions, and assign to those goals clearly established measurable objectives.

Perhaps you have set down on your list of website goals to increase income through sales; to provide new information to potential customers; to increase an email contact list; to establish a business presence; to increase income through advertising; or to give your business a more contemporary appearance. All of these are realistic goals.

When an person decides to compete in a marathon, there’s more involved in simply getting up off the couch one day and entering a race. As a person comes to the starting line, there’s already occurred a tremendous process of training, and expanding potential skill sets. As the race is run, there are markers. Check points or markers which provide a measure of the amount of the course completed thus far. The ultimate goal is to complete the competition, but in order to know how close you are to your overall goal, you must see and pass those measurable markers.

Business goals are very similar to a marathon. For every goal we must develop the skill sets that bring us to the starting line. For every goal, there must be measurable markers which upon starting identifies for us if we are on the right course and how much closer we are to accomplishing our overall objective.

To most business owners, the most common measurable marker is found in the R.O.I. (an acronym for Return on Investment). Cash flow projections are also routinely monitored to determine if a business is on course.

The problem many people face is knowing how to break down goals, assigning to them clear and focused measuring points. Many people create measuring points which are too broad, or too vague.

For the goal of increasing income through sales, milestone measurements could include observing your rate of sales conversions, monitoring the average dollar value of a transaction, and possibly identifying the number of purchasers who are repeat customers. These are clear measurements which can help a business determine if a website or particular style of marketing campaign is going to achieve it’s goal.

For the goal of establishing an online presence, a business can monitor the number of site visitors is receives and to which pages. Tools exist which enable a business to monitor and identify referrals to it’s business site. In this case a referral is a link on another web page, blog, article, which a person clicks on to access a new web page or blog. Once again tools exist which enable a business to not only monitor how long a person stays on a site, but which links they hover over, and which links they click through on. The more obvious methods would be to observe the number of transactions which would come from a site only special or discount.

It’s easy to simply declare “Email Marketing Is Dead”. Measurable markers will tell us if in fact that particular style of marketing is dead, or if, in utilizing this form of marketing strategy we have failed to establish realistic, clear and measurable goals. Measurable markers which can tell us, email marketing is very much alive, we are simply implementing it incorrectly.

In every goal achieved–in every measurable marker surpassed–in all things, we truly fail to attain our highest goal when we cease in every exercise to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner is a highly published writer, entrepreneur, business course creator and trainer. He is recognized by 85 publishers. His latest releases include “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.









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Internet Marketing Strategies Most Common Mistakes

There is no such thing as problem sites, only problem people who create those sites. The beauty of business life on the internet remains that most common mistakes can be corrected. Not only can most common mistakes be corrected, but everyone makes mistakes, and every website becomes a study in gauging response.

One of the premier mistakes made in the arena of the internet today is the lack of planning. The lack of crafting a website based on a previously thought out and researched internet marketing strategy. Before a site can be created, everyone should have a clear understanding as to what their site is suppose to accomplish. Before a site is built, there must be clear goals in mind, as well as a clear understanding of who your target market is, and how your site will best reach that market. Traditional businesses begin with a business plan. Online marketing must also begin with a targeted and researched business plan.

Secondly, a very common mistake made by people who launch campaigns on the internet pertains to understanding the time required to achieve a proper response. Some years ago a movie was made called “Field of Dreams”. From that movie came a commonly quoted line, “Build it and they will come.” Many internet business people approach their website with the attitude, “Build it and they will be here right now!”

Every website requires time to be created, launched, and then comes the real work of promoting that site. In order to reach your target market, your site has to be in place, and an internet presence established. Every sale that is made on the internet typically requires 500 to 1000 of your URL impressions. It takes time to build to that level of traffic volume.

A third mistake pertains to the area of “I” problems. Many business people craft a website that looks good to them. They look at and see their website through their own eyes, hence the term…“I” problems. It is imperative when crafting a website, that every business person learn to look at their website through the eyes of their targeted market. There are colors which are offensive to certain cultures. There are terms and phrasing which appeal to various demographic age groups. Learn to look at your website through the eyes of your customer.

Fourth among the list of most common mistakes pertaining to internet sites, pertains to the crafting of websites which are not search engine as well as customer friendly. Search engine optimization remains the basic priority in search engine structure. A web site must be properly optimized.

Even as a website is properly optimized it must also be customer friendly. Once a visitor arrives at a website, for every click-through your visitors must make to commit to a sale, your number of visitors will be reduced by 50 percent. A website that is optimized for the customer will require no more than two click-throughs to commit to a sale. If the first click-through takes your visitor from a home page to a sales page, then the second click-through must be on some form of payment processor, such as PayPal, or a custom designed shopping cart button. Two clicks or visitors are gone.

Finally, one of the most disappointing mistakes made by business site owners pertains to an inability to accept and adopt change. One of the true entrepreneurial characteristics that remains separate from a corporate structure is the ability to adapt and change quickly. Website owners must be willing to address non-productive challenges, as well as stay current with the times.

We all make mistakes. The true measure of any business’ strength lays in the way mistakes are addressed and corrected. When we fall on our knees, success beckons us to rise up, dust ourselves off, and grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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Low Cost Online Marketing For the Small Business

One of the greatest realities for people in small business, and by this I’m referring to a typical home based business, is the lack of money for a large scale marketing campaign. Creating the right market strategy or marketing strategies not only requires time, but to varying extents will also require resources.

Reaching your market at the lowest cost possible requires the ability to “think off the wall”, or “outside the box”. Low cost marketing plans, while they can be highly effective, do take time to set up and can be a lot slower to show results. The beauty of a low cost or “shoe-string” marketing campaign is their ability to provide great results over the long haul.

When it comes to creating a successful low-cost online marketing plan, there are four core rules one must follow.

Find and follow your target group. If you’re trying to sell bed mattress coils, you’d be wasting your time trying to market your bed mattress coils to people who are out looking for flower seeds. Instead you would want to spend time looking for people who are interested in better beds, bed mattress coils, furniture makers, bed manufacturers, and market to them.

Seven remains the magical number. A recent survey showed that most business purchasers, irregardless of how many salesmen and saleswomen came into their office, over 80 percent of purchasers still went out to locate the company they made their purchases from. This shows that walking in off the street expecting to make a sale is not a reality based expectation. The priority has to be planting your company name or website address into the minds of potential customers so when they are ready to buy, they can go online and quickly find you. It takes on average seeing an URL 7 times before a person remembers it. Seven remains the magical number.

Stick to the play book. Every major football team has in its possession a secret document known as the “Play Book”. That book contains every strategy the team will use on the field over the course of the season. In small business, your play book is your marketing plan. Your plan must be well thought out, concise, and measurable. There’s no point in creating a plan and then shortly thereafter deviating away from it, even temporarily. Stay focused and work your play book.

The final core rule of marketing has to do with an area where most people tend to be lazy. Always keep track of your results. One of the first things I do in the morning is log onto my web host backroom to view my traffic stats from the day before, and why you might ask? I want to keep track of shifts and recognizable patterns in user traffic to my site. By doing this, I’ve learned that Thursday of every week tends to be my lowest traffic day. I know which back links are working well at driving traffic to my web site and which ones are not working at all. Checking my results helps me to focus on what works, and avoid wasting my time in areas that don’t perform well.

With these four core rules in place, any small business can launch forward in a well focused low cost marketing plan.

The successful creation of an effective marketing plan will always bring people to a place where they can grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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The Web 4.0 Age Of Multimedia

Available starting today. Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies has just been released and is available starting today, June 16, 2008.

FEATURE ARTICLE

As the quality of computers, browsers, and operating systems have improved, so too has the popularity in the use of multimedia. Web 4.0 has become known as the age of rich media (multimedia). In fact it is the use of rich media that defines the new internet era of Web 4.0.

Technology has changed the way we live. How we embrace it will determine whether or not we will run in the forefront as leaders, or struggle remaining behind the times.

There are several reasons as to why rich media can be an important tool for you to consider using.

First and foremost, today’s internet user wants or expects it. Today is the day of mobile devices. Not only do we have a population that takes pictures with their phones, but now they can watch TV on their phones. Rich media has become the expectation of users when they look for sites which want to be viewed as current.

Secondly, if your users expect rich media, then you have to be using it to stay ahead of your competition. Sites must remain cutting edge or they quickly fall back into the bone pile of dinosaur websites.

Third, rich media creates a better over all user experience. All one has to think of is the comparison in numbers of men who will sit down to watch TV compared to the number of men who will sit down to read a book. On the internet, more people will sit down to view rich media, than the number of people who will sit down to read a webpage.

Rich media has a fourth important point to consider. If people will take time to watch a short video on your website, then they are also spending more time visiting your webpage. The longer people sit on your web page, the greater the chance they will buy from you.

A fifth point to consider is how rich media can enhance the marketing capability of your business or web site. If you can create a short 3 to 5 minute video, and post it to your web page, you can also post it to numerous video sharing sites, radically increasing your exposure. Each video sharing site will provide your video with a unique URL which you can link back to your website. One short video can become a massive network or promotion for you , your business, and or/your product.

Rich media will become the mainstream in promotional styles. It doesn’t require any fancy equipment as many digital cameras equipped with sound are now capable of producing acceptable videos. Many personal computers come equipped with great movie editing tools.

The important thing to consider is your reason “WHY”? There’s no point in creating videos for your webpage that lack content. Your message must be valuable to those who view your video. Your message must be inline with the product or service you are promoting. Your message must direct people towards action, as the overall purpose for your video is to be a valuable part of your sales funnel.

Rich media is worth the time spent learning about it and implementing it. It is a critical part of any modern promotional campaign.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.





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Tips On Renaming Your Website

James C. Tanner's newest release " Strategic Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies " will be released for purchase on June 16, 2008 at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Feature Article

Tips On Renaming Your Website

Discovering down the road that your website domain name is working against you can be tough. There are serious pros and cons one must consider before making any adjustments.

Existing URL’s, no matter how poor do generate traffic. Dropping an URL in exchange for a new one can set your traffic flow patterns back for a significant period of time (3 to 6 months).

Changing to a better URL does give a person the opportunity to create a new buzz through advertisements, word of mouth, press releases, email notifications etc. While creating a stir can generate great excitement, it also can generate a significant cost. The question is, will the resulting cost justify the URL name change.

In the process you can risk losing search engine rankings, inbound links, random visitor traffic, and the all important repeat visitors and customers.

All factors must be taken into careful consideration before venturing out into the realm of creating and launching a new URL. The variables will all be based on how much traffic your existing URL is actually drawing.

How then can one make a realistic change over?

A very effective strategy in the use of domain names is to create branches of websites. Segment your business focus into categories, and launch a website for each category, being very careful to link your sites to each other. In doing this, you have the opportunity to establish a new home site, and advertise it on each of your websites especially your existing website. Use your existing website to invite visitors to visit your new sites.

Be careful to bookmark all your new sites and provide social bookmarking links on each site. Social bookmarking does help with exposure and will promote your exposure in search engine listings.

Create mini-pages on sites such as HubPages, Facebook, MySpace, and through the creation of Squidoo lenses. Again make sure you bookmark every Squidoo lens, Hub Page, as well as social network profiles. Make sure each of these includes one or more links to your most important website URLs.

Once your new URLs are established and listed in the search engines (allow 6 to 12 weeks for this), AND as you notice a shift in your over all visitor traffic pattern to your new URLs, ask your website developer to redirect your old poorly named URL. Any visitors to your old URL, when typing in that old URL will automatically be sent to your new site of choice.

If your old poorly chosen URL has a year or less remaining before you have to renew it, simply allow that URL to sit re-directing traffic until it’s domain registry naturally expires.

In going through this process, a person or business can improve the visibility of their business brand. A stronger online presence can be established. Search engine page ranking can be improved.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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As the wind blows through the dry leaves and sage, my ear catches the eerie squeak of an old Dr’s. sign swinging from a porch gable. Mesmerized by the surrounding sounds, the scent of dust, dry vegetation, and years of weathered decay, I became uniquely entrenched by the simple Dr.’s shingle, still hanging after many years.

The letters on the old wood sign were barely readable. As the sign hung tilted, hanging now by only one chain, I allowed my mind to journey back to a distant day when a proud young Doctor first hung this emblem of future hopes and aspirations.

As I watched that old sign swing, I began to realize how in life today--decades later—many of us still hang our future hopes and aspirations on a shingle often to leave it swinging in the wind.

A few weeks ago while in a meeting with the senior partner of a major law firm, the senior partner looked at me while sitting back and in a tone of frustration began to complain about his internet presence. The firm had a great website, but something had lead the senior partner to believe, his website was not properly optimized. Their website, or electronic shingle, was out on the World Wide Web, swinging in the wind of internet traffic, but not providing much in the way of tangible results.

This week while meeting a successful banker, our conversation turned to the subject of personal belief systems which all of us have in life. Some might refer to these areas as “comfort zones”. I began to make this banker uncomfortable when I leaned forward toward her and quietly said, “I’m sure if I dug hard enough, I would discover in your own life private personal areas that you protect from anyone discovering. If I challenged those areas, I have no doubt, it would make you extremely uncomfortable or even feel quite rattled.” Sometimes the shingles we hang in life are inner, emotional shingles, meant only for our own inner sight to discover. Signs which could read, “This is my comfort zone. I don’t want you to disturb it…STAY OUT!”

Time often brings to life repetition in principles. Principles which carry with them, the full realization of cause and effect. Often we place our full hopes and aspirations on the simple exercise of posting a sign, failing to realize, the sign itself--unless seen--is nothing more than clutter.

A sign, a website, or even our inner comfort zones are nothing more than a declaration. A declaration of who you are, what you do, and what you are about? Declarations left unseen, are an investment in energy, void of results. The power lays in the arena of PRESENCE.

Presence is not wrapped up in arrogance or false claims of grandeur. Presence is an end result whereby all are aware of the existence of your shingle, having been informed of it, and as a result discovering it for ones self.

A dominating presence, a presence where the masses learn of your shingle requires forethought and strategy. How will you get your message out? How will you attract people to your website? How will you make people aware of your personal or business existence?

For the lawyer, his website challenge was not in the area of search engine optimization. The challenge for this law firm was the lack of an effective plan or strategy to make people aware of the website. His shingle (website) was simply left to hang and swing in the wind.

Many readers know I have a great history working with horses. Fall round-ups remain to this day an incredibly valuable life lesson. In range country, every fall horsemen will gather in the early morning hours to spread out individually over a large perimeter which may span miles of range country. The plan is simple. A rider and his horse will seek out lone steers, or perhaps a cow-calf unit, and upon discovery, push or herd those animals, while picking up other stragglers, down from the high country into a central holding area. Holding areas which are quite often a meadow or section of land used as a sorting pen.

In the early morning hours, the meadow or sorting pen lays totally empty, but by nightfall, hundreds of cattle can fill this area, as several riders bring their small collection of animals together to create a massive herd of cattle.

Let’s look at this analogy. What would happen if in the early morning hours, a group of horsemen gathered in the empty meadow or sorting pens, and simply called out “Here cow”? The answer is simple as absolutely nothing would happen. It requires sending out line riders, to make contact with the individual animals and draw them together into a greater collection.

Marketing on today’s internet is identical to herding cattle. The challenge remains that many of us come to our sorting pens (website) and wait there while calling out “Here cow!”

If we are going to establish a dominating presence on today’s internet, we must…ABSOLUTELY MUST…learn to release our “line riders” who can circulate through the maze on the internet, collecting and redirecting cattle (unique website visitor traffic) to our sorting pen (website).

On June 16^th, 2008 I’ll be releasing online a new publication called “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies” . The primary focus of this new publication is to teach people how to effectively “herd cattle” online. How to effectively and properly create a dominating online presence, where you can properly move (herd) large pools of traffic to your website, blog, or personal profiles.

Today’s internet has millions upon millions of web pages listed on it. One source has used a figure of over 4 billion web pages listed on the internet. One quickly begins to realize how by simply adding another website to the internet, is not going to do much good. The reality is, without a strategy to accompany it, a lone website will get lost in the crowd. It will become a squeaky shingle swinging in the wind.

I often think back to that young doctor, and in particular, I wonder as to the nature of his thoughts when he excitedly hung his new shingle on the porch gable. The house is boarded up, the roof collapsed, the porch deck rotted out with weeds growing up from the soil below it. The town around the house, was abandonned long ago, and the dozen or so clapboard buildings, what little was left of them, declared a story of a young doctor’s hopes and aspirations, dashed by the lack of business. A shingle seldom seen.

There’s little value in a shingle that never gets seen. So let me ask you, right now…today…where is your shingle hiding? Is it time to put in place the help of “line riders”?

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner is the Author of the soon to be released “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”. Along with this new release, will be copies of his books (in ebook format), “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia of Traffic Building Tactics”, as well as “Website Monetization and Paid Online Opportunities”. Watch for the June 16, 2008 release at http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com .

The Right Tools For The Right Job

To have crossed my path earlier today meant catching me going through one of my many tool boxes. I have a deep love for tools, but not just any tools.

Perhaps it’s due to being raised by a father who, in my early years was a general contractor and spent many nights at home in the basement working late hours as a cabinet maker. In fact, some of my earliest childhood memories take me back to construction sites where, as early as the age of five, I was stripping down concrete forms. Tools have always been a part of my life.

In my early adult years, I could often be found under the belly of a horse or pony plating or shoeing the animal. I still smile deeply at the scent of a burning coal forge, and pause for the sound of a hammer striking hot metal on an anvil. Today, at flea markets, my best finds are old hand-made custom forged tools, which display the work of a great blacksmith. Tools birthed for a specific purpose.

There are few treasures today that would compare to the history contained in my father’s toolboxes. As one goes through the old school long boxes of antique handsaws, and museum piece tools, one quickly gains a sense of the old ways of working wood, when compared to the many new battery operated tools available today. Tools give us a sense of where we’ve been.

While many men druel when encountered by a modern tool show, I am seldom captured by that same fever. New tools are important to each and every one of us, and yet, in their newness we have not had time to gain an appreciation for how they feel as they cut through wood, or shape iron. Inspite of our lack of experience with new tools, modern tools do tell us where we are going in industry.

Even as a tool can be made or used for every building process, each of us in life often fails to work with the right tools for the jobs that face us.

Many small or home based internet business people work with tools that are outdated. With a world filled with material that`s all a buzz about Web 2.0 (the social web), and people spending big dollars on software or programs to improve their Web 2.0 experience, many fail to realize they are using and buying outdated tools. The world of the internet has already moved beyond Web 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and is now going strong in the world of Web 4.0 where the tools are newer, and different for the purpose ahead of us.

We can choose to work with old business tools, but we will lose time, and we will struggle as we push tools to do things they were never designed to do. Even the finest tools have their limitations.

Success today is often based on getting the job done right, as quickly and cheaply as possible. That requires cutting edge tools and the know-how to use them.

In business, many people can purchase new tools, but that alone won`t make us successful unless we know how to take those tools and put them to their best use. People have to know how to use a tool properly. There has to be a plan, a strategy, a blueprint to work from. Tools require guidance.

In recent weeks, people have been wondering where I`ve been hiding. I`ve been working with tools, and drawing a blueprint. No…I haven`t been building a coffee table, I`ve been writing a book. A book that teaches people

- The differences in Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, to know if YOUR pages are cutting edge or aimed at an outdated age of the internet.

- The true components of a laser sharp online marketing strategy.

- How YOU can MAGNETICALLY draw an outrageous amount of new visitors to YOUR pages.

- How to improve your defined online presence by creating a clearer online identity.

- The SECRET on how to PROPERLY pick and combine social networks, social bookmarking sites, videos, article marketing, and blogs into a POWERFUL arsenal of marketing weaponry. (I'm providing the backgrounds on over 112 social networking sites; a listing of 26 social networking sites targeted to musicians or those in businesses related to the music industry; as well as over 30 video sharing, vidcast, vlog hosting, online editors, and online video converter sites.)

- How to psychologically write YOUR web copy targeting the side of the brain that YOUR visitors use to make purchase decisions.

- Which Psychological trigger words to use when writing high-voltage innovative mouthwatering web copy.

- Which colors in YOUR online presentation are psychologically best to use and why?

- An introduction to basic Survival HTML Code language, plus how or where best to use it.

- How to step back and look at YOUR websites, social network profiles, or personal profiles through the eyes of YOUR visitors.

And FINALLY, this book teaches how to bring all these tools together in an explosive blueprint or marketing strategy.

Tools are important, but it`s really important to know how to use the right tool for the right job. That`s where many people fail. Many of us have tools in our tool box, and absolutely no skill or knowledge on how best to use them. It takes someone coming along and teaching us how to use our tools correctly.

So while it may seem to some I`ve been in hiding, I`ve been busy putting the finishing touches on ``Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies``. The book is done, and in the next week or two the website for it will be ready in preparation for a June 15^th launch. In many ways, the project (book) is finished, I`ve put my tools away for now, and finally I`m in the process of ``sweeping up around the shop``.

Tools tell us where we`ve been, giving us the ability to appreciate the history, craftsmanship, and artistry of old ways. Tools also tell us where we are going, giving us the ability to produce products more quickly, efficiently, increasing our profitability.

Are YOU working with the right tools?

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, and Internet Marketing Strategies, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer. His latest book, ``Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies`` is scheduled for an online June 15^th, 2008 launch.

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Tips On How To Make Money Online

We all come to a place where it's necessary to take some down time to rest and relax. I am no different than most. The past couple of weeks I've been taking some time to finish up my most recent book. This book has exploded into a major project revealing many internet marketing strategies and marketing secrets. While the book is currently in the process of being placed into a publishable product, and will soon be available, the challenge comes in knowing where to stop adding information to this already PHENOMENAL product.

In the mean time, to help free up my schedule to finish my book, Miodrag Trajkovic has written this week's feature article.

FEATURED ARTICLE

Online Marketing Strategies - Tips On How To Make Money Online
By Miodrag Trajkovic

In any kind of business, marketing is the key to selling successfully. Even if you have the best products or services out there, you have to remember that they will not sell if people don't know about them. You have to market it in order for people to know about their existence. You have to let them know that you are the best in the business and also give them a reason why they should buy from you.

In the real world, you will see billboards, TV, radio, and print ads as the primary way to market products and services. However, if you own an online business and you plan on marketing your business online, it's a whole new thing.

Although there are quite a lot of people surfing the internet today, you have to remember that there are also millions of websites similar to yours out there that are competing to get clients. Now, how can you effectively market your online business so that you will have your fair share of clients?

There are quite a lot of online marketing strategies that you can use.

The great thing about online marketing is that it doesn't cost a lot of money. In fact, you can even market your business online for free.

First thing's first. The key to business success is good marketing. If you don't have good marketing strategies, then your business is doomed to fail.

Even if you have the best products or services available, you need to be able to market them effectively in order for people to buy. If you market poorly, people will not buy them even if you offer the best deals for the best products or services.

The key to online marketing is by generating targeted traffic to your website. This means that you have to get as much people who are interested in what you offer to visit your website. You need your online marketing strategy to literally guide or persuade people to visit your website.

So, what is the best online marketing strategy that you can use in order to effectively market your website?

The first effective strategy is by creating or joining blogs. Here, you will be able to discuss your products or services to people indirectly. It will help if you have extensive knowledge about what you are selling. This will give people the impression that you are an expert in the field and anyone interested will visit your website and may buy from you.

Submitting articles related to the products or services you sell to article publishing websites can also help you in generating targeted traffic. Here, you will be able to showcase your extensive knowledge about the products or services you offer and also let readers know that you sell such products or services.

Joining forums that contains topics related to what you are selling will also help. Here, you will also find people who are looking for the things you are selling. This is a great opportunity to tell them to visit your website.

Another great way to market your website is by joining affiliate programs. Here, you will get other websites to advertise your website. This means that you won't work to market your website. All you need to do is find a website that is willing to market your products or services. Although you will need to pay the website owner a commission for every sale they make on their referrals, you will see that you don't have to do much in marketing your website as they will be the ones that will market it for you.

These are the things that you need to remember when you are marketing online. You have to make people visit your website in order for you to gather clients. With more targeted traffic, you will have more potential in profiting or selling your products or services.

So, the next time you want to market your website, you might want to remember these tips and strategies.

With these strategies, you can be sure that you will instantly generate targeted traffic on your website and give you the potential of earning a lot of money.

Make Money Online provides detailed information on How To Make Money Online, Make Money With Surveys, With Affiliate Programs, Drive Targeted Traffic and more. For more information visit explore online money making.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Miodrag_Trajkovic

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James C. Tanner of Make Money Online Through A Home Based Business and Internet marketing Strategies is a writer, entrepreneur, and business consultant.

The Missing Marketing Link

By James C. Tanner -- James C. Tanner is schedule to release an incredibly revealing new book this spring, which addresses many of the critical challenges individuals and businesses are currently facing as they attempt to maximize their presence and profits in the world of the social Web 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0. This book helps people and businesses define a clearer online identity. Over 130 social networks are discussed, plus numerous other media sharing sites, social bookmarking sites, vlogging sites, and how to capitalize on them. Basic survival HTML code is introduced in an easy to understand format. Also covered is Buzz marketing, article marketing, copy writing, the fundamentals of hypnotic sales writing, plus many other critical helps required to creating a very critical online presence. This eBook is scheduled for release in late Spring 2008.

The Missing Marketing Link

Large and growing portions of some of the most valuable business demographics are spending more of their time and attention on internet marketing strategies and procedures, but in the process they’ve lost sight of a very important now often ignored missing marketing link.

In the 1980’s before the world of Web 2.0, the marketing world was caught up in a style of marketing known as “positional marketing”. The concept behind positional marketing was simplistic. Marketing plans would try to place brands securely into the mindset of the customer demographic base, so when a random sampling was asked to name the first three products to come to mind, your brand would be listed in the top three.

Positional marketing was not about directly pushing sales, as much as cementing the brand position in the mindset of the potential customer. When that customer went shopping, they already had a product brand name firmly planted in their mind. It was a simple process of going out a grabbing it off of the shelf.

Today, with the evolving world of the social web, marketing has changed. The style of marketing has become much more socially interactive. In the process of making this change, many business people are forgetting an important missing marketing link in their marketing plan. They are forgetting to maintain an element of positional marketing in their overall marketing plans.

How does one accomplish positional marketing in social web environment?

The determining factor in any online marketing plan for the social web remains in establishing a firm and dominant PRESENCE. By establishing a clearly definable and targeted presence, any person or business can establish an effective online marketing position. The stronger the presence, the more easily recognized a business entity will be.

All the traditional SEO tactics become a small part of the behind the scenes portion of developing a presence. More importantly, the success of an effective presence campaign becomes a plan of where you appear, and how you appear.

Many people, as well as small businesses will establish on MySpace, then transfer that same strategy over to Facebook, failing to realize, Facebook is a totally different style of market place, requiring a totally different strategy, and appearance.

Again, many small businesses focus their energies on MySpace when, for example, they might be in the travel industry, and totally avoid the six social web networks which are totally dedicated to people who love to travel. Presence is about where you appear, and how you appear.

Everything you do in your marketing plan must accomplish one end result… eventual increased profits. In order to accomplish this, a plan must be created which can be followed, monitored, adjusted, reviewed, revised, reviewed, revised, reviewed, revised, until profits are attained. If you are not realizing a profit, or see on paper a date whereby you can realize a ROI (Return On Investment) then you are stuck with a plan that’s going nowhere.

In fine tuning your plan, reach out to your customer base. Through questionnaires ask them what they noticed about your advertising and make note of what went unnoticed? Stick with what works, and scrap the rest. Pay attention to complaints about your site which are registered to your webmaster, and make prompt changes. Consider involving your customers in upcoming product releases. Encourage them to submit via online contests, or vote online on new product or label designs. Reward your customers when they participate.

The internet world changes rapidly. The technology of this year will be out dated next year. Your marketing plan should be re-visited annually, preferably every six months, to be sure it’s staying current with the marketplace and the technology fueling it. If you choose through inaction to not stay on top of the trends, rest assured, your competitors will.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, and Internet Marketing Strategies is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and highly published writer.

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Creating Internet Marketing Strategies In 2008

When planning your Internet marketing strategies for 2008, don't go it alone. Free Internet marketing strategies are easy to find. The structures of your Internet marketing strategies as well as your web pages are important.

If you are familiar with marketing a traditional business, although different, Internet marketing strategies are much the same.

Why is it that many of us are still looking for a secret magic formula to Internet marketing strategies from the experts? Many of us end up using incorrect or outdated Internet marketing strategies and techniques that have us working hard but getting nowhere. The most successful Internet marketing plans integrate both Internet marketing strategies as well as traditional (offline) marketing strategies.

A critical key is learning to maximize your Internet marketing strategies. There are several solid Internet marketing strategies available, the first and most important strategy being, “If you don’t go to work, you won’t get paid!”

While it is true, the internet is still awash with marketing strategies that are re-hashed or re-vamped versions of out-dated strategies, there ARE proven and measurable Internet marketing strategies available for your business. You will have to spend some time finding them.

In this fast paced world of e-Business, only those with superior Internet Marketing strategies will survive. To look at an example of a generally successful internet marketing strategy, one needs to look no further than affiliate marketing which is certainly one of the most cost effective Internet marketing strategies available. Internet marketing strategies for the average person can at first seem to be a difficult task to overcome. It is a learning curve that requires time, and study, but it can be easily done. The great reality is, anyone can generate serious income with the right Internet marketing strategies.

Explore strategies and techniques you can use on the Internet which will enhance and support your business's overall marketing objectives. When you use all the parts of an Internet marketing strategy you can increase your search engine visibility. Building an Internet based business as with every business requires dedication, tenacity and creative marketing strategies.

Bloggers around the world are finding its easy to make money working online. With many Blog Hosting sites now paying people for blog postings, making money through blogging has become simpler and more efficient than having to rely on the old system of pay per click advertisers, or affiliate marketing advertisements. Now bloggers can add $250 to $450 per month to their income from a single blog just by posting entries. Blog entries that can promote that the writer’s website, products, or services, making it a marketing strategy that literally pays for itself.

Many online businesses tend to make the mistake of not extending their Internet marketing strategies beyond search engines. Lots of people will push their strategies far beyond search engines and make serious money. Article writing or video submissions are two of the most common approaches for accomplishing this technique. Now with the era of Web 4.0 arriving at our doorstep, and the new age of media rich social media, new opportunities to capitalize on marketing through the use of mobile devices will take a greater central theme.

Learning to work from home and to make money on the Internet is something the average non-skilled person can do, and do well. No matter who you are, no matter your skill set, no matter your available resources, one truth must be taken to heart. If you cannot be found, then you cannot sell, and therefore, cannot make money.

The secret to staying alive on the internet is learning to write quality and original content. Do this, and the money will follow. If you’re worried about poor writing skills, then relax, in this day and age of software applications writing has become very automated. To demonstrate my point, this article has been written using a trial version of a new software. One keyword phrase was used, along with five sub-keywords. The entire article was written in less than 10 minutes.

When it comes to evaluating Internet marketing strategies, use common sense when you are buying eBooks, programs, business plans, products, etc. Sometimes what you really need is the “No Fluff Internet Business Marketing Strategies” and the tough advice most people would hesitate to give for fear of losing a sale. Understand your business concept and direction. The help products you buy, may not apply in totality, but from each one, you might pull 10 to 20 percent of information which can benefit your business. When talking to successful Internet based business people, one common thread of information tends to arise, they all have a library of varying material on Internet marketing strategies. They do not buy one strategy product and stop there. They study a collection of ideas, and from those ideas, create a customized plan targeted for their specific business.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, as well as Internet Marketing Strategies, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and well known published writer.





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