Category: Social Media

Marketing on the Web


ID Cover – The Password Creation Handbook!
Free Digital Previews Plus Paperback

Spirit of the entrepreneur

You probably heard the term “spirit of the entrepreneur” uttered from time to time – as I have – in an attempt to define a certain characteristic of an individual. The independent, creative, professional type who relies solely on his/her skills to carve out a special niche and make a life for him/herself without having to rely on someone (a boss) or something (the government) to provide it.

The Website Creation Package Sale. Click here for details!

The entrepreneur and the independent contractor (known also as commission sales persons in some circles) share many qualities and tendencies. Both take certain risks by foregoing a salary and opt for compensation based solely on their own performance. Both are relatively independent; and both are creative in their own uniquely special way. Having been a commission salesman for most of my adult life probably explains my respect for entrepreneurs and captivation of the entrepreneurial spirit.

In discussing entrepreneurship and writing articles on the subject, it seems logical to me – or sensible anyway – to begin the discussion by agreeing on exactly what the word or term means to us as participants in the discussion.

Entrepreneurship is the process of creating or seizing an opportunity, and pursuing it… Read more!

The Web experience

Part of that Web experience I referred to earlier is contacts made and relationships formed with other marketing professionals. One such professional is copywriter John Forde of the Copywriter’s Roundtable who sent me a recent article which I found insightful, motivational (especially in a New Year), and humorous.

Walking Talking Swag

At one Web location you can secure domain names, Web hosting and a free website builder for your business. Why not take a look! Free Money Line Account!

Here’s an excerpt from that article titled, How To Reinvent Yourself. I hope you get as much enjoyment and insight from it as I did:

Lots of people just seem like they were born great. I’m sure you know the ones I’m talking about. From leaving the hospital nursery ward to ovations and tears from the nurses… and graduating summa cum laude from kindergarten…

To catching their own touchdown passes on the playground… papering bird cages with scholarship offers from the Ivy Leagues… and making billion dollar fortunes selling widgets they dreamed up one morning in the shower. The threads of their very DNA are 24 carat gold fiber… they wrote, direct, and star in their own biopics… and ‘getting the girl?’

Forget about it. The girls get them instead, as buxom beauties with trust funds and graduate degrees line up to be counted. These are the greats. The blessed. The destined that history long awaited and whose legends will be whispered generations hence, into the ears of children.

And then there’s you. The sad sack whose dropped toast has always hit the ground butter-side down. You, who gulped air at the genetic pool, got dealt a deck of all jokers, and whose mouth-spoon is plastic not silver. The girl? She laughs at you. What’s the point of trying, you’ve asked. And a wind echoes back, ‘there isn’t one.’ You haven’t even two sticks to rub together, and even if you did, they would both have short ends.

You’d crawl under a rock and eat mud for breakfast, if you could, but even the bugs won’t have you. I know what you’re thinking…”Hey, wait a minute, you flaming SOB of an e-letter writer — I’m not THAT bad off!” To which I reply…

“MY POINT EXACTLY.”

You’d sock a stranger in the mouth for talking about you like that. So why tolerate it when it’s you kicking at yourself, hobnail boots and all? Point being, you’re probably neither as great or the failure you think you are. And in either case, there’s always an opportunity to change something for the better.

Optimized WordPress Hosting for You
Start or expand your Web business here!

Mike was cut from his high-school basketball team before he became Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time. Steve got stuck in a learning-disabled class back in junior high school, before he dropped out. But he still grew up to be Steven Spielberg, history’s most financially successful film director.

And I’m sure you’ve heard about N.J. Baker. Talent agents told her she’d be better of as a secretary. She decided to go on to be Marilyn Monroe instead.

Or how about Jerry, who froze up his first night on stage and couldn’t talk, but went on to become Jerry Seinfeld anyway — now worth over $800 million and climbing. All floundered before they flew.

General Observation: In civilized society we adhere to certain codes, some of which you may be familiar with: Code of Ethics, Code of Conduct, Code of Honor, Dress codes, Tax codes, Penal Code, etc. And that’s only a smidgen of the offline codes we are all subjected to in one way or another.

 

But there are also a number of codes that are specific to the online world that affect those of us who are frequent users of the Internet and the digital marketplace; and if you are reading this you may also be familiar with some of these online codes: Country codes, QR codes, Internet Access Codes, Promo codes, Coupon codes, HTML codes, CSS codes, PHP codes and various others that cannot be listed here at this time.

However, there is one basic code which is the most fundamental of all codes pertaining to the use of this incredible resource we know as the Internet. It’s the codes upon which strong passwords are being created. How frustratingly difficult and vulnerable you think our Internet lives would be without codes on which to base strong passwords that are easy to create and remember, but tough to crack into? I think very difficult indeed without these particular codes!

Then you’ve also got Mozart and Elvis, the Beatles and Beethoven, Babe Ruth, Dr. Seuss, Monet, Stephen King, Charlie Chaplin, and Fred Astaire… Not to mention Continue reading “Marketing on the Web”

Proven Traffic Building Methods


As the internet age advances, more and more businesses are finding new life online. The potential benefits of such a venture are great as the internet allows for access to millions of possible customers across the globe. The startup costs tend to be lower as many entrepreneurs run their online businesses from home. Unlike a physical store or office, online businesses are usually open 24hrs a day, everyday. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the success rate for startup online businesses is about 10% as 9 out of 10 online businesses simply don’t work. Getting traffic to your site can be the most difficult of tasks. There you are eager and ready, your website looks great, your merchandise or service is ready and the future seems bright. So how do you get people to come to your site? The following paragraphs feature a number of methods that will help steer you in the right direction.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the method used to allow for your website to be ranked higher as a result of a search for specific keywords or phrases by a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Businesses will target certain keywords that are relevant to their content and place them on the homepage and/or other pages on their site. As an example we can look at the online retailer, jewelrypayless.com. They optimize words such as “silver jewelry” or “men’s ring”, etc.  When Google receives a request for one of these key words jewelrypayless.com will come up in the search results.

It is, however, not as simple as that. Your site may show up on page 100 buried deep within the search result listings. In order to get listed higher more work has to be done, as described in this article. Also, the act of optimizing a site requires some knowledge of HTML which is the basic language with which websites are built. You can use an HTML editor such Dreamweaver or Frontpage to add keywords to the pages which you are optimizing.

Linking strategy

Websites often reserve an area of their site dedicated to links. The page usually consists of categorized links pointing to other recommended sites. Usually, websites will exchange links for mutual benefit. The more links you have pointing to your site, the better. Links to your site(inbound) show the search engines that your site has value. The best way to go about this process is to establish good content on your site and begin targeting websites you would link to exchange links with. You can buy software to help you do this or you can manually send out link exchange invitations via email.

Pay per click

The fastest way to get traffic is through pay-per-click advertising. Essentially, every time a web surfer clicks on an ad of your creation, you will pay. The price can range from 25 cents to $2 per click depending on the popularity of the keyword or phrases you’ve chosen. Basically, your ad will pop up in an area designated for paid ads once the keyword has been searched. It is important that you understand the correct keywords for your business in order to avoid paying unnecessary fees for irrelevant keywords.

The most effective and popular of the pay per click ad sponsors are Google and Overture. You can also use shopping malls such as Nextag.com, Bizrate.com or Shopping.com to advertise via pay-per-click. Make sure to set your budget and monitor the results carefully making adjustments as you go along. Pay-per-click can be unreasonably expensive if not managed carefully.

Affiliates

Affiliates are companies, individuals and organizations that you have established business relationships with in order to increase your exposure and sales revenue. Affiliates send traffic to your site via a link representing your business on their site. If the prospective customer should buy from you the affiliate gets a commission from the transaction.

In order to use affiliates you are required to register with an affiliate program and begin recruiting affiliates to work for you. Offering a handsome commission can attract affiliates to sign up. Having a professional website that will be easy for them integrate with their own site can also peak the interests of potential affiliates. Always treat your affiliates well, paying them on time and communicating with them on a regular basis.

Offline Advertising

An often neglected part of marketing online businesses, offline advertising, can be an effective means by which to bring in new customers and create “word of mouth” interest in your site. Ads in magazines, newspapers, tv, radio and local publications are some of the ways through which you can promote your business.

Passing out flyers or sending out postcards can also result in new business, especially if you are offering a discount in the form of an exclusive coupon code. Be creative in trying to promote your business on a grass roots level. Read books such as “Guerilla Marketing” by Jay Levinson to gain insight on how to go about marketing in a cost effective manner.

In conclusion, succeeding online can be difficult but rewarding. If you use these methods to help you in your research and application of a business and marketing strategy, along with sacrificing time and putting forth a strong effort there is a good chance that you will be successful with your online business.