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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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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The Most Common Online Marketing Oversight

No matter who we are in life, no matter what we do, mistakes and oversights do happen. It’s a part of our imperfect human nature. Unfortunately, our imperfections often pop up where we least desire them to, such as in the middle of our marketing or promotional plan.

Yesterday, while on the phone to the President of a major international consulting firm, this Corporate President was proudly reading to me a blog comment he had posted onto an industrial leaders blog in response to an article which was written. The President’s comment was excellent and well written. As the President of this large consulting firm finished reading his blog comment, he stated to me, “I haven’t had any response yet to the comment?”

“Did you provide a link to your web page?” I responded.

The conversation was silent for a second. The response came back from the President, “No! Was I suppose to?”




One of the most commonly overlooked marketing and promotional tools people can use on the Internet is perhaps one of the simplest tools available to them. To some it’s the most obvious step to take, and yet many fail to capitalize on the strength of it.

Every piece of written communication that goes out with your name on it should also include your web address in the http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx format. This should become a habit for you, a habit as repetitive as signing your name.

Two lessons I learned early in life.

1. People don’t read signs, especially the warnings signs you post to caution them of a safety hazard.

2. People are at their core, lazy. On the Internet, they want a link they can simply click on once rather than have to go through all the work of doing a search for someone.





Every email, every blog comment, should include a link to your website. Not only should it include a link to your website, but you should also include a signature line below your signature. It’s free space that few people use well for advertising and yet it’s perfectly acceptable to post a one sentence or short two sentence description of who you are, BUT include a link to your web site.

Example “A”

Dr. John Doe of http://www.xxxxxx.xxx is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

We can dress this up a little more by substituting the URL (web address) for the web page title, making the web page tile a hyper link that people could click on to go directly to the person’s web page. To do this, a small piece of HTML code is used that enables you to swap your URL for what ever you wish to put in it's place. Where ever you type your blog comment, HTML code must be acceptable for this to work. For the sake of this example xxx.xxxxxx.xxx represents your URL. I should also tell you that in order for this HTML code to display without activating, I have had to alter it slightly. Normally, when you would go to use this code, you will not use any of the "(" or ")" as I have done. Also, immediately after the term Updates in brackets it should appear as the front half of a diamond key character, forward slash, letter a, followed by the back half of the diamond key character.

Example “B”

Dr. John Doe of (<)a href="http:/xxx.xxxxxx.xxx">Medical Updates (>) is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

The finished product for this signature line would have the term “Medical Updates” appearing as a hyper link (in the color blue and underlined if that’s how other URLS appear on that particular page. The signature line would read as follows:

Dr. John Doe of Medical Updates is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

Once a person creates a signature line, it becomes a simple exercise in cutting a pasting it into blog comments as needed. Most email programs allow you to enter a signature into your emails automatically as a onetime procedure.

How does this help you?

1. It provides an easy way for people to get to your website.
2. When placed on a blog comment, it provides a very valuable back link to your web site which search engines love, and on the right blog, can improve your overall web page ranking in the eyes of the search engines.
3. When people do run searches on you, your comments will show up as well, and it gives them an opportunity to gain a feel for your capability and expertise.

It’s important to remember, when building traffic for your web page, there is no such thing, as one true traffic source. Traffic, as it does in real life, comes from all directions. The more times, you place your name out where people can see it, the more traffic it will generate. Commenting on blogs 3-4 times a week is an excellent way to accomplish this. The secret to blog commenting is to place comments on blogs that accomplish one of two things for you: place you in a circle of people who bring to you through mere association, greater prestige (focus 20 percent of your energy here); and place your comments in blogs where your potential customers are actively involved (focus 80 percent of your energy here).

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 UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company

Things are very busy around here these days as keyboards are busily going through the paces of pulling together the final assembly of a new publication set for release in May of this year. I am incredibly excited as I watch this project come together.

Those who know my background, recognize that overtime I have written and taught business and skills training programs for clients which have included branches of the Federal Government of Canada. This new project not only represents my first foray into the world of eBook publishing, but I must admit, I’m shaking my head when I see how much information is being provided.

This new eBook, when released, will be A MUST HAVE, for any person considering a home based business opportunity; any person with a small business trying to launch out into the realm of the World Wide Web; or any person with a current or soon to be product, or business, wanting to understand how to gain a stronger position and presence on the social Internet; and how to create stronger long term traffic strategies that work! Already this project is packed with all kinds of marketing tips and strategies, and it’s only half assembled! The other half is getting some polishing touches.

Watch for further updates on a release date.

Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company

A Search Engine Optimization Company can be an invaluable asset in your Internet marketing campaign. They specialize in knowing how to raise your search engine positions, monitoring those positions on the regular basis, and adjusting their strategies to account for undesirable results in any given month. Since this takes a lot of time, effort, and specialized knowledge, it can be in your best interest to go to an outside source rather than try to maintain high search engine positions on your own.

However, like every business, there are good companies and there are lemons. Knowing the right questions to ask and the criteria to look for will help you in choosing an affordable, effective search engine optimization company.

When looking at different companies, begin by considering the approach they employ to raise your search engine positions. Steer clear of companies that use cloaked, doorway, or bridge pages to raise your positions. These techniques violate most search engine policy, and in the worst case scenario, will only get your website severely penalized, if not removed entirely from a search engine's index.

A cloaked page is a page that is created which is invisible to the regular visitor to your website. The cloaked page is coded to detect a search engine spider and divert them to this special page, which is set-up to artificially boost your search engine position. Doorway or bridge pages utilize the same concept, but often reside on an entirely different server. Google, one of the largest and most important search engine on the Internet, will remove your website from their index if they detect you have cloaked pages. Never...never... never employ any company that uses this technique!

Another important element is to get a guarantee that the company you hire will not work with your competitors while they are working for you. Obviously, this would seriously compromise the effectiveness of the search engine optimization campaign. Be aware that some companies will use the success they achieve for your website to sell their services to your competitors. So get your guarantee in writing, and make sure it is legally binding.

Of course, one of the most important factors you want to check out is the company's track record of results. However, don't take the company's word for it. They will undoubtedly be slanting their results in order to sell their services to you. To go beyond their simple statement of success, ask them a few pertinent questions, and verify their answers.

Ask them which engines they have achieved the best results on. The ones that are important are the most popular engines, and these are the ones you want to see good results on. Since the popularity of search engines can change with the landscape of the overall Internet, check out the Nielsen Net ratings page at Search Engine Watch. You can access this at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451 .

Next, find out what keywords and phrases they are claiming great results with. It's easy to get high rankings with unpopular words. For instance, the keyword "cat leashes" will get high popularity ranking because no one else would think of using it. What you are looking for is good results using popular keywords. Check out the software Wordtracker, available at www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription ranging from 1 day to 1 year. This software rates the popularity of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.

Next, look for good results over an entire site that the company claims to have successfully worked for. You want to see a wide range of positions over a number of different search engines using different keywords or phrases for the entire site. Request a report for any client the company claims to have done well for. This report should show good positions on a number of the most popular search engines for a variety of different, popular keywords and phrases.

When you are checking out search engine optimization companies, make sure they have actually done the work they are claiming to have done. Some companies will use other company's results in order to get you to sign on with them.

If you are in doubt, call the company they are showing you results for, and ask for the name of their search engine optimization company.

It's important to keep in mind that a successful search engine optimization campaign will result in maximum exposure across a wide range of popular search engines using a variety of keywords and phrases. This is the formula for a successful campaign, and you should keep it always in the forefront of your marketing strategy.

Ask the search engine optimization company you are considering for a report that shows you rankings across a number of popular search engines for a period of at least six months. Remember: search engine marketing is a process that is continual, and you need a company that not only understands this, but keeps constant tabs on your search engine positions. That company must also be able to adjust its strategy in the event that search engine rankings drop.

Since search engine marketing is an on-going process, your positions must be constantly monitored. If you want your search engine optimization company to do this for you, request a sample of a monthly report. It is essential that this report should show rankings for the most popular search engines. Don't be impressed by a report that only shows great results for a limited number of small search engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire. Also confirm that the popular search engine results they are showing you are indeed the popular search engines currently.

Be sure the sample report the company shows you is in a format that you can easily understand. For example, it could be in the form of a chart that covers a period of at least six months and presents data such as the top 50 positions broken down on a monthly basis or the top 5 pages each month. Then, ascertain that the company you are considering actually monitors these positions or pages every month, and that the sample report they show you includes findings and recommendations for the specific site. This insures that the company will actively monitor and make adjustments to their strategy on a continual basis rather than simply gather statistics on your positions. You need a company that is actively participant in your search engine marketing campaign, not just an information gatherer.

Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization company is crucial the success of your marketing campaign.

It is not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a company that will do a thorough and reliable job for your website, you might consider waiting until you do have the finances in place.

If you have to find a company and can't wait for your finances to catch up, you may be able to find an affordable company that will also be able to supply quality, reliable work, such as a fairly new company. Just remember that there are risks involved with using a company without a proven track record - and that risk is your money! Don't take that leap unless the company can supply you with a least a few references.

References are the most reliable indicator of a good company. Don't use a company that won't show your references because of any reason, confidentiality included.

Remember - even doctors will provide references! The firm you choose should provide you with a minimum of two references, one that is from the past, and one that is current.

When you contact these references, be prepared to ask precise, specific questions so that neither of your time is wasted. Ask them what their experience was like with the company, such as their availability to answer questions and deal with problems and their ability to meet deadlines. Ask the reference to rate the overall performance of the company.

Find out if the company requested that the reference make significant changes to their web pages that affected the visitors coming to their site. You are looking for a search engine optimization company that can balance the needs of both search engines and site visitors without compromising either.

The most essential question to ask is whether the work of the search engine optimization company resulted in higher profits for the reference. Without profits, it doesn't matter whether your positions are at the top of the list or not.

During the course of the entire process, never forget 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 THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through Internet marketing and home based business opportunities.


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How To Write The eBook That Will Promote Your Business

Promoting your business can often prove to be a bit challenging for even the accomplished marketer. Every successful online marketer knows and understands the importance of the ebook industry, and how ebooks can promote a person’s small business opportunity, or home based online business opportunity.

The question for most first timers becomes one of “How do I write or create an eBook?”




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How to Write an Ebook
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The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain...step by step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you've gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.




Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook's working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books as long as it's not too cute. For example, “Remedies for Insomnia: Twenty different ways to count sheep”. Or: “Get off that couch: Fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.”

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you've got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you've built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don't, they don't belong in your ebook. For example, your thesis statement could read: We've all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night's sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader's attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know up front, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.




How to make your ebook "user friendly"

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the density of the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader's respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don?t hypnotize your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a day. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader's eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as "negative space." Reader's eyes need to rest in the cool white oasis you create on your page. If your page is too dense, your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that's easy on the eyes, and stick to that font
family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they've gotten past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don't forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don’t mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas. (By the way, that's called a "comma splice.")

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography. That's it! You've written a book! Now all you have to do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors.

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 UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.


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Search Engine Optimization Through Keyword Selection

There is much talk and much advertised on the subject of Keyword Selection. It’s an important subject that one cannot ignore, but as with many other aspects of the internet, times have changed, and people who are involved in home based internet businesses need to stay informed on the latest internet marketing strategies for their small business opportunity.

It use to be that all search engines relied totally on your keyword tags as the one of the key determining factor for your page ranking. Recently Google has undergone some changes and quite often doesn’t even pay attention to your keyword tags but instead pays attention to the content in your headings, sub-headings, and first two to three paragraphs. The other search engines (i.e. MSN, YAHOO, and others, etc.) account for 50 percent of internet searches, and still rely totally on the use of keywords. Keywords still remain important to the website developer, but carry less significance today than they did five years ago.

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Search Engine Keyword Selection
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Search engines are the vehicles that drive potential customers to your websites. But in order for visitors to reach their destination - your website - you need to provide them with specific and effective signs that will direct them right to your site. You do this by creating carefully chosen keywords.

Think of the right keywords as the Open Sesame! of the Internet. Find the exactly right words or phrases, and presto! hoards of traffic will be pulling up to your front door. But if your keywords are too general or too over-used, the possibility of visitors actually making it all the way to your site - or of seeing any real profits from the visitors that do arrive - decreases dramatically.

Your keywords serve as the foundation of your marketing strategy. If they are not chosen with great precision, no matter how aggressive your marketing campaign may be, the right people may never get the chance to find out about it. So your first step in plotting your strategy is to gather
and evaluate keywords and phrases.

You probably think you already know EXACTLY the right words for your search phrases. Unfortunately, if you haven't followed certain specific steps, you are probably WRONG.
It's hard to be objective when you are right in the center of your business network, which is the reason that you may not be able to choose the most efficient keywords from the inside. You need to be able to think like your customers. And since you are a business owner and not the consumer, your best bet is to go directly to the source.

Instead of plunging in and scribbling down a list of potential search words and phrases yourself, ask for words from as many potential customers as you can. You will most likely find out that your understanding of your business and your customers' understanding is significantly different.

The consumer is an invaluable resource. You will find the words you accumulate from them are words and phrases you probably never would have considered from deep inside the trenches of your business.

Only after you have gathered as many words and phrases from outside resources should you add your own keyword to the list. Once you have this list in hand, you are ready for the next step: evaluation.

The aim of evaluation is to narrow down your list to a small number of words and phrases that will direct the highest number of quality visitors to your website. By "quality visitors" I mean those consumers who are most likely to make a purchase rather than just cruise around your site and take off for greener pastures. In evaluating the effectiveness of keywords, bear in mind three elements: popularity, specificity, and motivation.

Popularity is the easiest to evaluate because it is an objective quality. The more popular your keyword is, the more likely the chances are that it will be typed into a search engine which will then bring up your URL.

You can now purchase software that will rate the popularity of keywords and phrases by giving words a number rating based on real search engine activity. Software such as WordTracker will even suggest variations of your words and phrases. The higher the number this software assigns to a given keyword, the more traffic you can logically expect to be directed to your site. The only fallacy with this concept is the more popular the keyword is, the greater the search engine position you will need to obtain. If you are down at the bottom of the search results, the consumer will probably never scroll down to find you.

Popularity isn't enough to declare a keyword a good choice. You must move on to the next criteria, which is specificity. The more specific your keyword is, the greater the likelihood that the consumer who is ready to purchase your goods or services will find you.

Let's look at a hypothetical example. Imagine that you have obtained popularity rankings for the keyword "automobile companies." However, you company specializes in bodywork only. The keyword "automobile body shops" would rank lower on the popularity scale than "automobile companies," but it would nevertheless serve you much better. Instead of getting a slew of people interested in everything from buying a car to changing their oil filters, you will get only those consumers with trashed front ends or crumpled fenders being directed to your site. In other words, consumers ready to buy your services are the ones who will immediately find you. Not only that, but the greater the specificity of your keyword is, the less competition you will face.

The third factor is consumer motivation. Once again, this requires putting yourself inside the mind of the customer rather than the seller to figure out what motivation prompts a person looking for a service or product to type in a particular word or phrase. Let's look at another
example, such as a consumer who is searching for a job as an IT manager in a new city. If you have to choose between "Seattle job listings" and "Seattle IT recruiters" which do you think will benefit the consumer more? If you were looking for this type of specific job, which keyword would you type in? The second one, of course! Using the second keyword targets people who have decided on their career, have the necessary experience, and are ready to enlist you as their recruiter, rather than someone just out of school who is casually trying to figure out what to do with his or her life in between beer parties. You want to find people who are ready to act or make a purchase, and this requires subtle tinkering of your keywords until your find the most specific and directly targeted phrases to bring the most motivated traffic to you site.

Once you have chosen your keywords, your work is not done. You must continually evaluate performance across a variety of search engines, bearing in mind that times and trends change, as does popular lingo. You cannot rely on your log traffic analysis alone because it will not tell you how many of your visitors actually made a purchase.

Luckily, some new tools have been invented to help you judge the effectiveness of your keywords in individual search engines. There is now software available that analyzes consumer behavior in relation to consumer traffic. This allows you to discern which keywords are bringing you the most valuable customers.

This is an essential concept: numbers alone do not make a good keyword; profits per visitor do. You need to find keywords that direct consumers to your site who actually buy your product, fill out your forms, or download your product. This is the most important factor in evaluating the efficacy of a keyword or phrase, and should be the sword you wield when discarding and replacing ineffective or inefficient keywords with keywords that bring in better profits.

Ongoing analysis of tested keywords is the formula for search engine success. This may sound like a lot of work - and it is! But the amount of informed effort you put into your keyword campaign is what will ultimately generate your business' rewards.

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, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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