TP Javeton WebNet

Category: Products & Services

  • List-Based Money-Making Methods

    Essence of the list

    A subscriber list is essential to any website or Web-based company, even if the entity is a small venture specializing in a specific niche or a larger, more established general merchant; because such a list – also referred to as an opt-in list – can make a world of difference in the form of extra income (and profit?) generated for an online business, niche-based entrepreneurship or personal cause, even if that cause is non-profit in nature. In today’s business environment, rarely would you come across an eCommerce site – big or small – that is operated without a subscriber list.

    The main purpose of a subscriber list is to allow a company, Web marketer or online merchant to promote websites, products and services to “opt-in” subscribers via a email. Such promotional emails are permitted because the subscribers previously “opted-in” to the list thereby authorizing the business or marketer to send email, newsletters and other promotional materials to their inboxes. The benefit of this arrangement to marketers and businesses is clear: they make money from any purchases. But there is also benefit to the subscribers: they can be kept abreast of latest trends, new product offers and industry news so they are able to make better and more informed decisions.

    It is because there is mutual consent between the two parties that any email sent to a given subscriber list is not considered as spam mail, which is obviously illegal and unwanted. Overall, the volume of promotional material that reaches subscribers’ inboxes, successfully opened, and read is enormous; and this material includes catalogs, newsletters and other such promotions. But it is sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up to receive it; meaning that they do want it to be sent to them.

    Subscription motivation

    While building a subscriber list should be an essential task of any business, it is important to point out that only a small percentage of website visitors actually opt-in to a subscriber list because many people find promotional mails annoying; but if you are a business owner or marketer who wish to build a subscriber list you’ll probably have more success in doing so by providing a high quality newsletter or catalog which, in turn, would demonstrate the time, work and care you put into this material and therefore should work to create interest in, and attract more readers to, your content after which you can watch your list nurtured and grow.

    You can also achieve such a list-building goal by having good and interesting content on your website, because if visitors like what they see and read on your site they are more likely than not to want more; and a newsletter would certainly be one way to attract them back to your website. Many businesses utilize little teasers, appetizers (in the case of restaurants) and samples to attract customers and your or entrepreneurship should be no different in its approach to building and maintaining a quality subscriber list.

    That having been said, keep in mind that a subscriber list can be used for purposes other than marketing your products and services in the sense that, it can be a powerful tool to enhance an already popular and reputable brand, or build an industry brand and create a credible, sterling reputation when used properly in joint ventures (JVs) and community forums. Of course it would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers, because the more subscribers your list is comprised of, the more money you can make and therefore the more of a demand that would be created for your list in JV arrangements.

    Ads, affiliations & deal-making

    The following paragraphs provide an insight into several ways your business can make money using nothing more than a subscriber list.

    Place advertisements – There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea so rather than doing that, many companies would rather place ads with lists boasting a huge subscriber base, and as a result, your newsletter could be selected by these companies and rewarded with many ads, each of which spells money.

    Establish affiliations – Affiliations with other companies that have at least a semblance or similarity to your site’s topic and content will encourage other companies to provide links and brief descriptions of what they offer, or their products and services. With every click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This is known as P4P or pay for performance.

    Make deals with other companies – By asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list with these companies, every sale done by customers that have come from your list and have gone there because of your newsletter would trigger a payment to you by the other company by way of a smal percentage of the sales created via your list. Pursuant to this arrangement, the more members of your list that buy from them, the more money you make.

    Woman in a neon triangle

    Creative monetization

    Products from other sites – A quality, well-maintained list will help you to get products from other sites on a consignment basis and sell them to your list members via a newsletter, catalog or other email campaign. Simply place descriptions, articles and photos of the product in your preferred medium and when list members express interest in a given product – or even place and order – you can get the product from the other site and sell or deliver it to your buyer.

    Sell – Selling ebooks and compilations of article content to your list is another way to monetize that list. Manuals and how-to articles are usually in great demand and many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic or given subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an ebook could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

    Create a network out of your list – Get people to invite more people to view your site and subscribe to your list. The larger your list is, the more people will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement rates higher.

    Selling information

    Selling certain types of information – Subscribers are willing to pay for information if they know that it can be trusted and relied upon. Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your site. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and success.

  • Avoiding Spam in Your Ad Campaigns

    A fine and distinct line

    At one time or another we have all seen statements pertaining to spam which are admonishing in nature but designed to make us aware of the negative effects spamming can have on our promotional and marketing efforts. Such statements often appear in the form of short, two-to-three word directives like, “Don’t Spam,” “Avoid Spamming” and “Advertise, Do Not Spam,” along with other similar cautionary phrases. What is often left unsaid is what spam is and the various ways in which it is defined and interpreted; so in this article we will try to provide some clarification.

    First and foremost it is necessary to point out that there is a fine line between advertising and spam, but unfortunately many business owners do not understand the things that distinguish one from the other, although understanding these distinctions is very important in the sense that a smart and well planned Web marketing campaign can help to attract new customers and keep existing customers loyal, spam will likely alienate potential customers as well as an existing customer base. Such alienation can be extremely damaging to profit margins for many business owners. So let’s begin by taking a look at three examples in which basic Web marketing activities – banner ads, email campaigns and message board posts – can quickly cross the line from smart advertising to spam and how it can occur in each instance.

    Banner ads

    Banner ads are some of the most popular ad placement strategies that can accompany a Web marketing plan. They usually appear at the top of websites, spanning the width of a standard website – which is how they originally earned the name ‘banner ads’ – but in today’s marketing environment banner ads can actually refer to ads of various different sizes and shapes (instead of the standard 468×60 and the larger leaderboard 728×90 versions) that appear in an array of different locations on websites throughout the Web. In many cases a business owner (merchant) might purchase advertising space on certain websites but the banner ad may also be placed as part of an exchange or an affiliate marketing campaign.

    Exchanges of banner ads occur when one business owner (say merchant A) posts a banner ad on his own website in exchange for his banner ad being placed on the website of another business owner (say merchant B). These agreements may be made individually between business owners with complimentary businesses or as part of exchanges facilitated by a third party (an affiliate of one or the other). In the case of affiliate marketing it is often the case that an affiliate will post advertisements for a given merchant on his/her affiliate site in exchange for compensation when the banner ad produces a desired effect such as, traffic to the business site or product purchases. The terms of these agreements are determined and agreed to beforehand and are generally based on a scale of pay per impression, per click or per sale/lead.

    Now that you have a better idea of what banner ads are it is just as important to understand how they can be overused and, as a result of such overuse, be interpreted as spam. For example, judiciously placing your banner ad on a few websites which are likely to attract an audience similar to your target audience is smart marketing; whereas placing your banner ad on any website that will display the ad regardless of the target audience can be construed as spam. Be assured that Internet users who think your banner ads are everywhere they turn regardless of the content they are pursuing will not likely take your business seriously, in which case they certainly will not purchase products or services promoted under that business name as a result of such pervasive distribution of banner ads.

    eMail marketing campaigns

    Email marketing campaigns can also be very useful tools in the industry of Web marketing as these campaigns may involve sending periodic eNewsletters filled with information as well as advertisements and short, informative email courses or discounts on product and service offerings. Loyal customers who opt into a marketer’s email list will likely not view these emails as spam and may purchase additional products and services from the marketer or merchant as a result of this marketing strategy.

    Additionally, potential customers who have specifically requested more information on certain products and services will also find this type of marketing useful. However, email recipients who did not request information are likely to view such emails as spam. Similarly, harvesting email addresses in a deceptive manner and using these addresses to send out mass emails will most likely be always considered as spam. In fact sending unwanted commercial email to recipients who did not agree to receiving emails from the sender are considered one of the reasons for enactment of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, more of which are highlighted in the excerpt below.

    The CAN-SPAM Act was implemented in the United States on January 1st of 2004 as a means of protecting the privacy of consumers. CAN-SPAM is short for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act. The act prevents the use of misleading “to” and “from” headers in emails. The law requires marketers to include their physical address in the email as well as an “opt-out” link in every email designed to give consumers the ability to reach the marketer and tell them they no longer want to receive information from them after which the email sender must remove this email address from their data base within 10 business days. Any email that contains sexual content must be clearly labeled and identified before the recipient opens it. Marketers have to get permission from the consumer in order to sell their email address.

    Excerpt taken from Web Connections website. More about the legal aspect of spam can be obtained from, www.cauce.org.

    Message boards

    Message boards provide an excellent opportunity for business owners to obtain some free advertising where it will be noticed by members of a particular target audience; and if the products and services you or other business owners offer appeal to a specific niche, it is worthwhile to join message boards and online forums related to your industry of choice. Here you will find a large population of Internet users who may have an interest in your products.

    You might consider including a link to your marketing website in your signature or posting the link when it is applicable to the conversation. However, care should be taken to closely review the message board guidelines so you can avoid doing anything inappropriate while employing a technique which many consider to be smart marketing. Conversely, replying to every message with a link to your website when it is not relevant to the conversation is likely to be construed as spam by other members. Once they begin to view your posts as spam, they are not likely to visit your website via the links you post.

     

  • A Newsletter Adds Value to Your Opt-in List

    Give it all you got

    A thing of value

    As the owner or possessor of a given item the one thing you would like to have happen to that item is its appreciation in value, in the same or similar way that your home appreciates in value. Well, consider for a moment that when you subscribe to a list the subscription, in and of itself, is something you in along with other subscribers, and you get an opportunity to increase its value. You would welcome such an opportunity, wouldn’t you? Of course you would.

    And although the appreciation here is not in $Thousands as it would be in real estate, but rather, in increased knowledge and helpful information which you might be able to use in your own home or business to increase cash flow, the fact still remains that your subscription would become a more valuable commodity. My point here is this: If you, as a subscription owner, would welcome the opportunity to enhance its value, wouldn’t you also provide such a value enhancer to YOUR subscribers or list members if you had such a list? Of course you would because you know they would benefit from it.

    Such a value enhancer to any opt-in list is a newsletter which, when provided to your opt-in list subscribers, provides many benefits, one of which is sharing your expertise and knowledge about a given topic – preferably the one in which you’re most adept – as well as industry news, trends and other informational pieces that may be beneficial to them. Providing such a newsletter will be helpful to you/your business also, since it will give you an opportunity to put your expertise on display, thereby making a positive impression on your list members, who in turn might respond with positive feedback.

    Subscriber-to-customer conversion

    One benefit you/your business might derive from this entire process is the conversion of your list members from subscribers to actual buying customers; and another is the probability that these newly converted customers will recommend their friends, colleagues and family to you based upon their satisfaction with your knowledge, expertise and other ways they’ve benefited from your newsletter. In fact, all of them could very well be future customers.

    But there are indeed other ways in which you/your business could benefit from a newsletter that you publish and send to your subscribers, not the least of which is driving traffic to your website, which often results in boosting the sales and profits of your site and company. It has been said that sending a newsletter to a subscriber list is merely a marketing ploy that will not make a huge dent in the sender’s marketing budget since it does not require many man-hours to develop; but my response is, such an important value enhancer is much more than a mere ploy. It is an integral part of your list maintenance and servicing program.

    Ask yourself this question about sending a newsletter: If I could inform the my subscribers – and through them, the public – about my company, products and services, while keep them informed with valuable info, market data and industry trends, would I do it? If you answered yes then you are certainly in agreement with “78 percent of respondents” to a Content Marketing Institute study who said that they used newsletters; and 90 percent of respondents to a Nielsen Norman Group study who, when asked “how they preferred to receive company updates,” cited newsletters.

    Theme-specific consistency

    Of course it is entirely possible that you are not currently publishing a newsletter or having one sent to your list of subscribers on your behalf; and if this is the case then you may have to start doing a little research so that you can be as well informed as possible about how to have one published, if not publishing it yourself. I must admit that this task is not as easy as it may seem, but if and when you get an idea of what the process entails, the difficulty of such a task will be greatly reduced. So try to take the time to learn what you need to learn and get the work started on a newsletter that will add value for your list members’ subscription and enhance your credibility at the same time.

    Contained in the following paragraphs are a few suggestions you can take into consideration when you decide to start your/your company’s newsletter.

    First – Make sure that the content of your newsletter pertains to, and is closely associated with, your business or the theme of your website; and even when you divert from your main theme make sure not to stray too far from your field of expertise. Obviously you’ve started a website and your theme for that site will always be a topic you are knowledgeable about, so make your newsletter content based on that topic as consistently as you can, even if you have to include content about your company, your own origin and that of your staff.

    Remember that visitors to a given website are there because they are interested in the content offered by that website, and if they sign up for a subscription via an opt-in list or for a newsletter, it should be interpreted and understood by the business/marketer that they want to be updated and informed about the same subject. So be sure that when you publish your newsletter you are providing information that meet the needs, and satisfy the interests of your subscribers.

    Professionalism throughout

    Second – It is of the utmost importance that you create well written, informative, content rich articles. Articles will be the body (main attraction?) of your newsletter, so they must be written in a clear, concise and – when possible – compelling manner so that your readers can understand and appreciate the content and feel a sense of gratitude to have received them, while they look forward with some excitement to your your next issue. Make sure to fact-check articles and spell-check them for spelling and grammatical errors to keep them looking professional and believable. The trust of your client to you and your newsletter is at stake here.

    Third – Make sure to provide fresh, new articles that consist of new information that subscribers can use and appreciate. If you publish stale and rehashed content in a newsletter that your subscribers have probably read and known about already you will lose their interest and they won’t get to read what is most important to you, the offers you are promoting. In most cases they might not open or read any of your subsequent newsletters which will result in erosion of your own credibility in their eyes, and the trust they placed in you, thereby defeating the whole purpose of the newsletter.

    Plagiarism is taboo!

    Fourth – Avoid plagiarism by never using copyrighted material (content created by others without prior written authorization) such as photos and articles. Engaging in plagiarism will get you into a lot of legal trouble, which often results in financial loss. You can lose your business and get sued over copyright infringement. So if you do not have the time to write your own articles, there are many professional article writers who are ready, willing and able to do it for you at reasonable rates. Such an investment in writing and publishing articles by capable professionals will be well worth it when you see your list-building pursuits paying dividends in increased traffic, profit and value.

  • Key to Building a Subscriber List: Trust!

    Fashion world descends upon us

    Trust earned begets loyalty

    Let me begin by saying that there are many elements of a home-based business that are specific to that business type in the same way that there are those elements of a Web-based business that are specific to that business type; but there is a set of elements shared by both business types in today’s business landscape and many of those common elements have been discussed in many of the posts of this site. One such element is trust.

    While the rest of the world have developed many barriers and protections to keep their email accounts spam-free, there are also those who subscribe to emails that promote their products, services and websites because this particular group of subscribers want to know more about what these sites are offering that may be beneficial for them. They subscribe because they wish to be kept informed about marketplace aspects that interest them as well as new trends and developments in the field they’ve chosen.

    Most businesses would be fortunate to have this type of subscriber as representative of their customer base; but attracting and cultivating such subscribers would require the business to demonstrate the one basic element needed to do so. That element is trust. However, it is a known fact – offline as well as online – that before consumers will entrust a business with their time, information and money they must first know and like that business. Only then will consumers trust the business, after which they will reward it with their loyalty.

    Enhanced security steps

    This is evidenced by the fact that many internet users have gone to great lengths to protect their email accounts from spam mail, supported by the steps taken by some free-mail internet providers and internet service providers (ISPs) to offer spam protection while others incorporated the added step of screening the incoming emails of their users. These considerate and well meaning steps taken by the free-mail providers and ISPs have led businesses and email marketers to adopt guidelines set forth by the CAN-SPAM Act and require anyone wanting emailed information to authorize such emails by providing their name and email address via an “opt-in” (subscriber) Web form.

    An opt-in or subscriber email list therefore consists of members who have agreed to receive email sent by the business or email marketer which might contain promotional material such as newsletters, catalogs and marketing media which should be permitted through by ISPs (although some are still held up). When intended recipients are able to read and view email sent by the business it is considered a successful transfer of information; but it starts with securing the trust of internet users not previously known to the business, and vice-versa.

    Credibility begets trust

    The entire process of getting consumers to know, like and trust you and your business is no doubt a huge accomplishment and, in the realm of Web marketing, major achievement; but it is worth every minute spent in doing so. That having been said the following paragraphs provide a few suggestions as well as some steps a business – both Web-based and home-based – can take to gain the trust of potential list members.

    Although described above as a process it does not mean that getting the trust of website visitors should not be too difficult a task, especially if you have a legitimate business; because part of getting your customers’ trust is undoubtedly based upon your expertise, and people tend to rely on professionals who know what they are talking about. So demonstrating credible knowledge, trends and industry norms about the business you chose is a good first step in getting consumers to pay attention to your business; and if you are not yet in an established business, a display of such know-how and industry savvy could go a long way toward that objective.

    Put another way, show your prospective subscribers and customers that you know what you are talking about by provide them with helpful hints and guidelines that pertain to what you are promoting and/or selling. Talk about how to install a roof if you’re into hardware products, or provide articles on insurance settlements if you’re a settlement lawyer. You don’t have to be a big corporation to make use of an subscriber list. If your customers see you as someone who knows what s/he is doing and saying, they will trust you quicker than otherwise.

    Trust builds reputation

    Be true to your customers in the sense that if you want to hype your products/services it enhances your credibility to provide guarantees, because the more satisfied your customers are the more of a probability that they will recommend you to others; and those recommendations and referrals would help to build your reputation in the marketplace since it is a known fact that most people tend to trust someone they know and when that someone recommends you there is a greater probability that you’ll be more of an acceptable choice. Some of these recommended folks will go to your site just to check it for themselves and others will go to make a purchase.

    Another tip in getting a customer to trust you quickly is to provide them an escape out of any agreement or contract they signed with you. This shows them that you are not there to trap them into something they really don’t want. A good example of how to do this is by providing a link at the bottom of each email you send that would enable them to unsubscribe anytime they want. In addition you can modify your web form by providing information on how to unsubscribe from the list. Guarantee them that they can let go of the service whenever they want to, thereby removing any reason for them to be wary (leery?) about signing up in the first place.

    It may help to keep in mind that when you get the trust of your website visitors and potential customers and clients you must do everything within your power to keep that trust, because if you don’t cherish (place the highest value) on it, chances are you won’t have it for too long. For example, if you do anything with their email addresses like sell them or farm them out to others who should not have them, you will lose many members of your list as well as members of your customer base. The quickest way to degrade the quality of your subscriber list and collapse your customer base is to disappoint those who have recommended others to you. So keep the trust.

  • Proven Steps for Building a Subscriber List

    Birth of the WMS model

    According to Internet Growth Statistics provided on the Internet World Stats website, in December 1995 only 0.4 percent of the world’s population used the Internet; by December 2005 that percentage had risen to 15.7 percent (fueled in part by addition of the World Wide Web, circa 1997); and by June of this year (2017) the number stood at 51.7 percent of the world’s population using the Internet. So it is reasonable to state that there was a growth rate of Internet use which was indeed rapid.

    That having been said, it is probably as reasonable to state that the growth rate of online marketing have surged just as rapidly as that of the Internet (Web), except that it did not cover the same period of time; but as more Web-based businesses were created and vied for a share of the eCommerce marketplace, the need to develop new marketing skills and information products became more evident and, as a result, an increased number of marketing strategies were being discovered and developed to cope with the changing face of business in the eCommerce world.

    Needless to say, such growth could not have occurred without a demand for the services provided via the Web and the new business type it fostered. However, there was also demand for online marketing tips and strategies which resulted from the astronomical number of new businesses that were created on the Web and continue to be created, leading to the birth of a new Web-based business known as Web Marketing Strategies (WMS). Part of understanding this seb-set of Web Marketing is accepting the nature of business, the market it serves, and its motivating factor which is profit.

    Staple of email marketing

    So it follows that while there are companies engaged in WMS activities that are all too eager to help your Web-based business build a clientele for a fee, there are also a number of methods you can utilize to promote your website in a more cost effective – and in many cases – free way. One of these methods is Email Marketing (EM), also known as permission marketing, in which Web-based business owners (known as merchants) can actually engage by getting permission from site visitors to send them emails about their company and/or product offers. Those who grant such permission become subscribers to such emails and are considered members of a subscriber list maintained by the merchant.

    The staple of email marketing is a subscriber list which, as stated above, requires permission from website visitors, supporters and past customers of a merchant or publisher (website owner) who are willing to subscribe to marketing materials, newsletters, catalogs and other promotional material via email; and the more marketing emails are sent by the merchant or marketer, the more chances s/he has of making sales and perhaps encouraging more future purchases. To do this s/he, the email sender, must build a list consisting of all those who wish to subscribe to the list.

    From this list the merchant or email marketer will be able to designate certain members of the subscriber list as target customers for some product types and other members for different product types. This is considered a good list since these different sections of it will have already shown interest in different product offers the merchant has to show and sell. As list members have a preference for what they’ve seen on the merchant’s site, and have decided they want to see more, and maybe even purchase whatever product or service the merchant – through his/her website – offers they will have the opportunity to follow through on that preference.

    Strategic patience

    In view of the above many people may harbor the opinion that building a subscriber list takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time to build and collect names and addresses; and when approached in the wrong way this could indeed be true. However, if the correct steps are taken, the process takes a bit of patience and a few solid strategies that have been proven to be effective in building subscriber lists. Such a list-building process can be instrumental in a publisher’s ability to open his/her website and business to a whole new world of target marketing.

    The central point here is that simply making the effort to build a subscriber list by utilizing strategies that have been proven effective can take your business to a new level which will often result in increased traffic and decent profit, if that’s your objective, and can ultimately do wonders for your business venture. keep in mind that there are many sources and articles which are accessible from the Web to anyone wanting who wish to build a subscriber list, even though they can sometimes be confusing because there are so many sources; and seldom do they all promote the same approach.

    And while different groups of marketers, “gurus” and tutorialists have different approaches in building subscriber lists, be assured that there are certain fundamentals that must be adhered to when building your own list; and some of those fundamental steps are outlined in the following paragraphs.

    Steps one & two

    Step one – requires that you install a good, workable, legible web form on your website which can be located immediately following each of your articles and/or blog posts, or in the side bar of your website. While some may say that immediately placing a web form on a newly created website is too soon ask visitors to subscribe to a list, there is really no best or ideal time to ask a visitor to opt-in to your list. As long as your homepage provide a quick, good (first) impression and a website visitor finds something s/he likes, that might just be enough reason for signing up.

    A good web form for opting into a subscriber list is not hard to come by, and asking your website visitor opt-in to your list is really not hard to do. Simply write a simple short statement inviting your visitors to see more and get updated information about the site and what it stands for. Then there should be an area where they could put in their names and e-mail addresses. This web form will automatically save and send you the data entered on the form; and as more people sign in, your list will grow accordingly and proportionately.

    Step two – requires your site’s home page (or landing page if other than your home page), as mentioned in the first step, be as impressive as you can make it; and the articles, as well as the description of your website should be clear, well-written and free of any derogatory language or graphics. Depending on what your site is all about, you need to capture your website visitor’s interest while making your content useful and your site easy to navigate. Do not expect everyone to be tech savvy! Invest in having good programming on your site and make your graphics beautiful while making sure to not overload it.

    Don’t waste your time making the homepage or landing page overly large megabyte-wise, since there is a strong possibility that all visitors to your website will not have dedicated T1 connections; so the faster your site gets loaded (a consequence of reduced number and size of the graphics placed on it), the better experience your visitors will have. Go for a look that borders between simplicity and sophisticated knowledge.

    Steps three & four

    Step three – requires that any products or services you offer via your site be of high quality, value and reliability which in turn will have the affect of satisfying any customer who makes a purchase, and can therefore result in very positive responses. Remember that a returning customer is more likely to bring in more business; and a satisfied customer will more likely recommend new customers that do business. Word of mouth and recommendations alone can rake in more and better business than an expensive ad. As your clientele roster grows, so too will your list; and with more members on the list even more people will get to know about what you have new to offer.

    Step four – requires that you maintain a clean and private list while never losing the trust your customers who have entrusted to you their email addresses and other private information; and remember this rule if you don’t remember anything else you’ve read thus far: NEVER, NEVER, NEVER engage in unlawful activities by sending SPAM email to anyone! Bad news has a tendency of spreading fast, and such illegal activities will reach your subscriber list members quicker than you can compose a one-line email.

    Be assured that many of your subscribers will most likely unsubscribe from your list as a result of such activity, or even accusations of doing so. Keep your reputation untarnished, because a good reputation will drive more traffic and subscribers to your site/business, as well as strengthen the loyalty of current customers.

  • Technology, Platform Choice & Photo Blogging


    Photo blogging appeal

    There is a significant number of people on the Web who believe that photo blogging is the most exciting kind of blogging that exists; and while building a photo blog – and maintaining it – is no more difficult than creating and updating a text-based blog, many people feel that the internet’s high speed and full-color technology reaches the pinnacle of its appeal with the transmission of images. But what may be the most appealing aspect of this technology is the ease with which bloggers of all skill levels can upload photographs to their blogs on a daily, weekly, monthly or even occasional basis.

    For those who like photography, photo blogging is a great way to highlight self expression while reaching viewers in an emotionally charged and aesthetically engaging way; and surfing photo blogs can also be helpful in getting a whole new perspective on this global society in which we live. It is important to keep in mind, however, that the selection of a blogging platform could play as important a role in photo blogging as shopping for the right camera. Choosing a blogging platform, whether it is free or requires payment, can feel overwhelming based solely on the many options to choose from.

    There are several large blog-hosting platforms that dominate the blogosphere, but there are also less popular, smaller platforms a photo blogger can take a look at. But whether you decide to join up with an established platform like Blogger, WordPress or Technorati, or you choose to sign on with a smaller, relatively new venture depends on what your priorities are. It is certainly reasonable to assume that, for most bloggers – text-based, photo/video-based or otherwise – reliability will be among the most important reasons for choosing, and might therefore be the best reason to opt for a large and well known blogging site.

    Thematic content

    Of course it should come as no surprise that, many image blog owners are also photographers by trade, although the popularity of photo blogging continues to be very high among amateur shutterbugs, hobbyists and photography enthusiasts; and it seems self-evident that a majority of the most popular photo blogs have gained that popularity because the pictures on them are of the highest artistic caliber. If you guessed that a lot of the people who run these visually striking blogs are graduates of prestigious art schools and possess impressive professional portfolios, you would be right.

    However, some of the most well-known and frequently visited photo blogs are as notable for their concepts as they are for the pictures themselves. Some popular photo blogs, like the popular blog, “Cute Overload,” (this blog announced on January 18, 2016 that it was closing down) which features picture after picture of adorable animals, are more about the thematic content of the pictures than they are about the style in which the snapshots were and are taken. Keep in mind also that photo blogs, like many other Web-based entities, have established forums to display the work of highly skilled artisans whose work range from playful collections of curiosity to more serious photo-journalistic work.

    This shows that photo blogging is a truly diverse form; and the fact that photo blogs are so easy to build as well as to update makes this kind of visual communication very democratic, while enabling people (bloggers) at all skill levels to become a part of the global conversation about the nature and value of photography today. But whether you are an artist or hobbyist who wants to create a photo blog; or you are just somebody who enjoys learning about new places and things, spending some time looking at the most popular photography blogs on the internet can be a very rewarding endeavor.

    The world via photo blogs

    You can travel to another place or another time by viewing pictures of faraway locations and long-ago eras; and you can see your own neighborhood with fresh eyes by discovering how local artists have photographed (depicted?) the town or city in which you live. Photo blogging enables people to communicate all of these things plus a lot more; and this makes it a very exciting part of the modern blogosphere. If you agree that the best thing about web technology is the capacity to help people reach each other in a very personal way from across great distances, then you may also agree that in many ways, a photo blog is the most successful kind of web site.