When I come across an interesting blog and I know I will visit it again… I like to snoop around, find out more about the author and look for tips that I can use on my own blog. Now this blog I came across today had an interesting angle to its two-column structure.
The author has done away with the Blogroll and introduced a separate page that holds all the outbound links from his site! I know how technology changes and to what extent webmasters can go in order to improve their PageRank. However, to do away with a Blogroll like it was something from the 90s appeared a little strange and at the same time indicated to a clever SEO trick to me so I had to investigate and here’s what I found out:
The web is moving quickly in various directions all at once. Opportunities come and go in a snap. If you plan to make money online, you have to be able to keep up. It can be quite intimidating trying to follow every emerging trend, not to mention time-consuming. There are millions of blogs, forums, twitter feeds and the list goes on and on. However, using an RSS aggregator like the Google Reader and a few techniques, monitoring conversations in the web can be fast and easy. (more…)
As you surf the web take a look around at many of the sites you see. Do you notice anything that seems strange? Well, let me point it out to you. There are hundreds of thousands of web sites that just don’t get much traffic. Some of these sites house hundreds of articles, reviews, tutorials, tools, products, forums to mention a few things, yet still they do not receive large amounts of traffic. What is their problem? They have the content. What is left?
The problem is these sites aren’t optimized for the search engines. SEO, Search Engine Optimization, SE Friendliness, however you refer to it doesn’t matter, the fact is it works and I’m going to tell you what’s involved.
Before we continue let me familiarize you with some relevant terminology in my own words. (more…)
Many of you are reading this article because you would like to further promote your Internet business and are looking for new ways in which to do this. You have read lots of articles covering various Internet Marketing techniques and are still looking for the “Holy Grail” strategy that will take your website to a higher level. After all, others are achieving this so why shouldn’t you.
Here, I will describe a technique that, with some creativity and effort, can significantly boost your promotion efforts while at the same time setting it on autopilot. Is this the “Holy Grail”? For some it has been but like everything else it all depends on you.
“Less Work, Greater Results”
If this sounds good to you then do read on. (more…)
Seeing a graph of your hits go up can definitely give a warm, fuzzy feeling inside. Aside from the money it can bring, high traffic provides a sense of accomplishment. It is, undoubtedly, good for business, but some people, especially those who are just starting out, tend to make it the only goal, and therein lies the problem. There is more to making money online, and there is certainly more to traffic than just volume.
1. Targeted audience. In this era of a crowded Internet, people are increasingly creating niche sites to cater to a certain crowd. In order to work, these sites must attract people who are more or less predisposed to listening to what they have to say. Otherwise, they’ll just click away faster than you can say “Web 2.0”. This is why SEO and your overall marketing plan are very important.
2. Sustainable traffic. With sites like StumbleUpon and Digg, it’s fairly easier now to get huge spikes in traffic. However, these spikes are often unpredictable, and not really that good for business – that is, unless you can convert them into regular readers and sustain the momentum. There are various strategies for these and I may take them up in future posts.
3. Reader engagement. Let’s say you’re getting tens of thousands of visitors a month, which isn’t bad in any case, but nobody is commenting on your blog. Needless to say, it’s not a good sign. A successful site is one that can connect to its readers. It’s also validating to receive comments, even criticisms, because at least you know that people care enough about what you write to say what’s on their mind. There are even bloggers who purposely rile their readers to get tons of comments and generate buzz, but then that’s a different story.
4. Monetizability. Of course, the bottom line for online businesses, whether directly or indirectly. Can you convert your traffic? In Internet marketing, high quality leads will result to high conversion rates, whereas casting a wide net randomly is less effective. Observers have also noted that StumbleUpon traffic, though substantial, yields a poor AdSense clickthrough rate (although there are some workarounds on this, such as putting up CPM ads).
All in all, what traffic means to you really depends on what you want to achieve. Not everyone is aiming to convert through product sales. Some bloggers don’t even have ads on their pages, and that’s because they only write to gain credibility and establish their own personal brand (then make money in consultancy, public speaking or other services). In this case, catching the attention of the right people and expanding your network may be more beneficial than tens of thousands of hits. So unless reaching the mass market is truly your goal, it might be prudent to start looking at other aspects of your website traffic.
Once upon a time there was an adage that was born. It was named “Content is King”. Many people grew to know of this adage and became quite familiar with it chanting its name all over the land. Ok, ok enough of the fairytale.
If content is king, then unique and up-to-date content is what you are looking for, period. The days where you could simply grab content from the umpteen article directories out there and post it to your site getting full credit for it, benefit wise, just as if it were your own are fading away. Sure, you can still get that content and add it to your site but now the benefits have devalued in a major way, both from a search engine’s point of view and your users’. (more…)
The truth is, many Internet marketers sometimes have the tendency to be over-eager, earning the industry a less than stellar reputation. More than a few have tried to change this perception over the years with honest-to-goodness value propositions, and for that I applaud them. However, there are those who still insist on turning a profit on deceptive, irritating methods like spamming. Where traffic is, so spam goes, and right now the prime targets are social networks. (more…)
If you have realized the benefits of search engine optimization then by now you should also have come to the realization that SEO isn’t rocket science (oh don’t you just hate hearing people say that) but it’s also no walk in the park. It can be a very timely process that doesn’t come with any guarantees and is different for every website. Before you get all stressed out about it, fear not, help is on the way. (more…)
What Rich Internet Marketers Know That You Don’t
Thirty years ago, I sold information via small classified ads in “ad-sheets” on how to make money teaching others how to make money. We sent out these packets of flyers called “Big Mails.” We sent them to people who answered out ads and sent us the postage or a self-addressed stamped envelope.
One of the most prevalent plans back then sold for $1. It offered to teach you how to make one hundred dollars a day stuffing envelopes. This plan cost you a dollar plus a self-addressed stamped envelope. When someone responded to your ad, you sent them a sheet of paper telling them to run the same ad and do the same things that you were doing. You also included flyers for other brilliant plans in the envelope 🙂
Fast forward 25 years, and I found myself in that same world transposed online.
They were the same because in both cases I found myself in a world where there were tens of thousands of people offering to sell others information on how to finally break free of the rat-race and create their own outrageously profitable businesses.
They were the same, because in both cases, most of the people marketing this information had never achieved any major success at what they were teaching.
However, things turned out drastically different for me the second time around. I was actually able to achieve my goals, and I’d like to share with you how and why that happened. I’d like to share with you, some of my major discoveries.
The how and why
The how is that a small voice in my head said, “What you’re currently doing is insane!” The incestuous marketing of “plans” that we’re all “pitching” to each other just has us all “running around in circles.” That small voice, that you hear too, said, “This is not the answer, so where is it.”
Unlike many, I listened to that voice, stepped back, and looked around for those who appeared to have discovered “the answer.” Then I made a point of studying and analyzing everything they did. I read all that they wrote. I attended live events to meet, listen to, and question them. Most importantly, I used my own power of observation to SEE who was “walking the walk,” and who just “talked a good story, but wasn’t there yet”.
I very quickly discovered that those who had uncovered some part of the real secret CHARGED you for teaching it to you. They had hundreds of people clamoring to be taught or given a helping hand. So they used their consulting fees to see who was serious AND as a means of allocating their most valuable asset – their time. So I became willing to pay for the guidance of those who could really teach me.
One of the first things I was taught was that I needed a radical shift in my belief system of what IS possible. Our belief of what we can accomplish is framed by what relatives and those around us have done. We need to frame it in terms of what those who have accomplished much more have done.
That re-framing occurred as I talked to online millionaires and saw how they actually viewed the world and interacted with it. My mentors and coaches had me feed my mind information and proof of what was possible. They had me totally saturate myself in the material, to the extent that even now I listen to it on my MP3 player while out jogging… it takes my mind off of the pain 🙂
Here’s the most significant discovery I made about what’s happening in the online world… The real money online is being made by those selling real world products that solve problems.
The real money online is being made by those who educate their markets and then make it easy for them to buy. That’s the most effective sales technique. Teach them and in the process bring them to the conclusion that your product is the only logical choice.
It’s a FACT that people use the Internet to research topics of interest and to comparison shop. Then they often buy the item that they’ve researched offline. If your website is the one that educates them, and helps make the research easy, they’ll flock to your website. It’s that simple. While there, they may purchase the item of interest from you 🙂
Another point that many online marketers are really missing is that people go online to buy ordinary tangible things! When one of my friend bought an motorhome (sight-unseen) over Ebay, that shocked me. When I heard that over 5 BILLION dollars worth of vehicles are sold over Ebay annually, that enlightened me.
People love to shop, and they get tremendous pleasure out of buying things for themselves and their loved ones. Offer them what they’re looking for and they’ll purchase it from your website. They purchase everything from cars and clothing, to computers and software, to books, to pet supplies, to vitamins and supplements, to flowers, and even houses over the Internet. If you’re offering these items, in the right way, you will do very well!
If you need proof of what I have just stated, read the book, Success Alert. It was written by my friend, John Evans, who interviewed over 60 people making up to eighteen million a year doing just what I described. Grab a copy today and devote an evening to absorbing the knowledge and business wisdom contained within these in-depth interviews.
Get a copy from: ==> http://WillieCrawford.com/finally.html
The very powerful examples in this book will make a believer out of many. They will show you how people are quietly making millions providing people with tangible products that they WANT.
This book won’t totally solve the problem for everyone. There will still be those who will say, “Yeah, they did it, but I can’t.” Some even go as far as to imply that God doesn’t want them to succeed in a big way. They believe that they are intended to suffer and never break out of the struggle.
Listen – we live in a world of unimagined riches! There is more than enough to go around. What keeps most of us from getting those things we want is that we aren’t open to receiving them. I don’t want to get mystical or anything, but every major religion, and way of thinking in the world, teaches that if you ask you will receive. There’s just a correct way of asking that we often don’t understand.
A good course for drastically shifting your thinking of what you CAN accomplish and what this world will give you is by Dr. Robert Anthony. This couse was life-changing enough that I devoted a full week exclusively to studying it when I first discovered it. rab a copy, and begin to understand many things in a totally different light by visiting:
==> http://eliteinnercircle.com/reports/c/6E
So… it takes offering the right products…things that people want. It also takes believing that you can do it enough to really go for it. For many of us, it also takes proof… we need to see examples of people doing it.
All of these are right before you. That’s why I needed to have this talk with you. I’m a little confused at to why so many refuse to see what is so obvious. I’m a little confused, but not totally confused. I acknowledge that some people “deep down inside” don’t want success. They’re afraid of it, or don’t believe that they deserve it.
If you want to know how to actually build a thriving online business, I’ve just revealed it to you. I speak with numerous shining examples of those doing it EVERY week. They share with me things that I can probably never share with you directly. I treasure their confidence and that’s a part of why they open up to me so. I’ve probably already shared too much… we’ll see if THEY stop talking to me 🙂
Author Bio:
Willie Crawford has been teaching others how to build an on-line business since late 1996. Frequently featured in radio, magazine and newspaper articles and interviews, Willie teaches the average guy what the top marketers are doing but seldom talking about. Willie provides detailed how to information in his newsletter, through his personal coaching, and at his annual how to workshop. Subscribe to Willie’s free course at: http://williecrawford.com/
Communicating with Case Studies
A few weeks ago, a couple of colleagues and I discussed a new business idea. But, we had trouble expressing how this new business would provide value.
And, out of our discussions came the idea of writing a case study. If you’re not familiar with them, case studies are histories of business initiatives.
They’re like articles, but they put the reader into the shoes of a person making a difficult decision. Other professions also use case studies; you’ve probably heard of medical case studies, for example. Medical students get a set of facts about a patient, and perhaps some background or context, and then must diagnose the patient’s condition or disease.
Business case studies have proven popular at many university business schools (with the profs, at least). In some senses, the case study is the next best thing to being involved in a real case.
Now, how is this relevant for you? Well, if you have to persuade others to adopt your point of view, or buy your products, or vote for you, then you might find a case study useful.
In fact, you may be doing something like that already. Whenever you tell a story that’s designed to make a certain point, you’re using a form of case study.
During my brief foray into life insurance sales, for example, I learned that emotion sells policies, and not logic. That’s why people in the business have a raft of stories about people who did or did not have protection when they died.
The moral, of course, is that you should not only have life insurance, but you should have the right kind, and in the right amount. Now, if you sold life insurance, you would quickly find that no one listens when you explain the logic, but they will listen — and act — if you have your case studies (your anecdotes).
So, having gone through all that, is a case study just a fancy name for an anecdote or story? Yes, to a certain extent it is.
But, when you think of a case study, think of it as a more elaborate and more logically constructed story. And, it’s usually a real-life story. To illustrate the idea further, let’s go through the steps involved in creating one.
Your case study starts by identifying a person and an organization, along with relevant information that provides context to the issue addressed in the case.
It also introduces the decision or dilemma. In many cases, the writer sets out two or more possible options. One of those options may be to do nothing, to maintain the status quo. Another option may demand significant changes, and yet a third option would require more modest changes. However you set the options, they should offer distinct choices to the reader. Don’t allow a muddling-through solution that involves easy compromises.
Now that you’ve set out the choices, provide the basic facts and opinions the reader will need to make a logical choice. Like the writer of a mystery novel, you need to provide all the critical information without giving away the solution. And like a mystery writer, you may introduce a few false trails.
As you develop the case study, keep in mind that you’re trying to convey that the person or company in the case had to make a difficult decision. And the more the reader feels that difficulty, the more effective the case.
Finally, provide an outcome if possible. Let the reader know which option the person or company chose, and how that decision worked out. After all, you’ve been telling a story, and your audience will want to know how it ended. Ideally, you would not give the reader access to the outcome until after he or she makes that decision.
In summary, you can make your point more powerfully by creating a case study, a specially constructed story that puts the reader or listener in the shoes of a decision maker.
Author Bio:
Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott’s Communication Letter. If you subscribe, you will receive, at no charge, communication tips that help you lead or manage more effectively. You can get more information here: http://www.CommunicationNewsletter.com
