Whatever your marketing idea is, there are two sides to the marketing coin. You need to clearly recognize why you created a fanpage from the outset.

If you’re not using any of the social media giants out there, you might look dumb – in the eyes of competitors. But are you really a dumb?

But what exactly are the results of using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn?

Everyone who started out knows that it takes time to get results, and the results might not come no matter how much efforts you put into it.

And the reason for this is simple: 95% of what we know about social media marketing is wrong.

We’ve been spoon-fed with fads – I’m yet to see any small or mid-sized internet entrepreneur who is satisfied with the results of his social campaign.

Does it mean we’re wasting our precious time? Maybe – read on…

If you want to see results in your campaigns, please recognize that the ‘marketing’ isn’t for you – but by you.

It’s so important to recognize what truly works and immerse yourself into it. There are 3 effective ways to approach social media – only then are you qualified to see results.

There are no rules to building a profitable business, but even for those who work from home to earn passive income, they need a guide – which is what I’m giving you right now.

The three effective ways to maximize social media and get results are:

• - Have a meaningful strategy
• - Catch social media users when they’re ready
• - Focus in solving one problem at a time

Have a meaningful strategy

What strategy are you using to connect with people on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the next in line – Pinterest? What some folks fail to understand is that all forms of marketing activities online works efficiently when it’s meaningful.

It’s would take some time before result come. There are several ways to get more twitter followers and facebook likes. But what’s the need using them if you’re aiming for permission-based social media marketing? Do you subscribe to using tools?

Truth be told, people who use tools and software to hijack followers are approaching social media from the wrong angle. Remember, the marketing is not for you – you’re connecting with interested people, not by trickery or hype.

Blogging is a great way to build your social media following because; your readers already know you, and the quality ‘stuffs’ you give them.

In a nut shell, ditch every social media tool that promises to send you thousands of followers overnight – use inbound marketing to attract a handful of tweets, followers and fans.

Q: After you’ve attainted 10,000 followers with hijacking social tools, what happens next? Do you think these people are interested in what you’re offering? Think about it – leave a comment below.

Catch Social Media users when they’re ready

By “catch” I mean you should consistently hangout with them. This is the only way to know the problems they face, and how desperate they need answers.

People, who tweet once every week, may not fully grasp the thoughts and attitudes of their fans and followers. Be consistent with social media sharing to get them talking – that’s the juicy secret to winning this game.

It’s left for you to stay and listen to their cries. Truth this, they’ve questions running through their minds and if you can’t solve them, they’ve every right to ignore your marketing campaign and move on with their lives. Don’t you think so?

And guess what, several so-called social media examiners and marketers have been left behind. The world has changed and only those with connective intuit will stay afloat and profit.

They’ve lost the tiny trust which they had initially. Get users ready by addressing the needs in their hearts, without asking for monetary returns – at least you need to know and mingle with them first.

Once you’re able to earn trust, nothing should stop you from offering a paid service or selling to them. You’ve earned the right to sell. Catch them now – and if the trust is high, they would be taping their credit cards on the PC screen, ready to buy from you.

Focus in solving one Problem at a time

Yes, as a social media marketer, you’re not entitled to solve multiple problems. If you attempt it, it may breed havoc and lower the quality of your solutions. The best and simple answer is to tread carefully – one step at a time!

When you spend quality time listening and engaging with your fans and followers, you should know the problems and questions which they need answers to desperately. Now, pick one of the problems and find a lasting solution to it. The solution you provide must be authentic and have a multiplier effect in your business.

For instance, the solution you provide should align with your marketing goals. In order words, you want to build a strong rapport with target audience via emails – which is the best communication channel online.

In this case, instead of selling via facebook page or via tweets, redirect users to your landing page and convert them.

The real communication and relationship is in email marketing. Social media followers would continue to be skeptical when they see your offer, but when they join your list and you begin to spoon-feed them with quality, helpful and in-depth exclusive information, the results will be staggering.

Over to you

What has social media done for you since you started using them? Can you truly recommend to upcoming internet entrepreneurs that social media marketing is effective? Share your honest comment and let’s get the social media ball rolling. See you at the top!

Image Credit: solasus

I’m here to blow your mind – pause whatever you’re reading right, read this article now.

It takes 3 minutes and you’re done fully girded with powerful ideas and tips to trounce the competition. Oh boy, I’m so confident of this truth.

The good thing about content marketing is that you can leverage on people’s efforts to grow your business and do exploits worth emulating.

Don’t take this lightly; media publicity is the edge in this new marketing era.

Whether you run a blog or a corporate website, by pressing the right buttons, the world would be at your finger tips, begging to invest with you.

So, who are the media?

Is it social media, or search media? No, it’s not. The media can be any group of persons who share, link and republish contents which they find helpful, news worthy and informative to the end user.

B2B corporate websites benefited from media publicity in past years, but today, the B2C entrepreneurs and bloggers can tap in. sounds well!  Huh?

In case you don’t know – you’re a media person because, you’ve shared, linked and recommended resourceful posts to your audience. If you enjoy this article and decide to comment, link to it and share with fans and subscribers, you’re a media person – period!

It’s quite simple. In web marketing, the media simply means exposure, publicity, promotion, advertising, sharing, and communication and so on. But it deals with groups of people who crave to make the world better, blissful and solution-based.

How to Attract the Media (target prospects)

If you run brick and mortar business (offline), you’ll have to spend a huge sum of money in advertising. And it doesn’t matter, because you might target the wrong people and the high cost of media-buying will flush into the toilet.

On the contrary, the internet can trigger and persuade others to promote your business for you. No, you don’t have to pay them to do it, you can earn it. Yes, targeted blog readers and networks can willingly share your posts with social media fans, email subscribers and high-end news portal.

It’s all about who you know on the internet – and what you produce.

Talking about content marketing, make it sticky and fluff-free. In order to attract the interested people (media) to share your contents and send avalanche of buyers, readers and aura to your blog or site, here are 10 ways to persuade others and get them to work for you:

Empty your mind: the best way to convince other people to share your contents without using tricks is to empty your mind. Get rid of earning dollars when you publish or syndicate any content on your blog – let the words flow as it’s in your mind.

You’ve to empty your mind first, before you can refill it with cute marketing ideas.

Fuel your passion: what level of passion were you operating with when you started blogging or doing business online? Well, don’t stop there – fuel your passion by nurturing it. Look for those materials (books, seminars, CDs, blogs, marketing tools) that motivated you to start an online business initial and use them to skyrocket to the top.

Until this happens, you’ll get bored writing, blogging and networking with others. And it would be visible in your content. Any blog post written without passion will not get publicity from the media (target audience).

Address the symptoms: People who suffer from high blood pressure are desperate to cure it. But more than that, they want to get rid of the hot flashes, depression and quirky symptoms first. When you write contents for the web, forget about the real problem and brood the readers by addressing the symptoms.

Once you have captured their minds, deliver the right solutions. The media would queue to reward you with social media shares, natural links and quality traffic.

Have a strong headline: Are your headlines boring or captivating? Can you click on your headline if it appears in search results pages (SERPs)? If you’re not convinced, spend more time crafting the headline – the media are slaves to powerful headlines. Yes! And you’re the master chef!

Don’t impress: Content marketing is not to impress anyone.Nobody really cares about you or how cute your spouse is, they care about them. “What’s in it for me” is the question sailing through their minds when they read your content. Answer the question and that’s all.

Write to express: Do you write to impress or to express your views about a topic or idea? Striving to impress readers and buyers is “pretence.” It can destroy your reputation and the media (prospects, social fans et al) would ignore your blog. Express your views.

Let the world know what’s on your mind. Don’t imitate your role models or try to be like probloggers. It’s good to learn from them, but don’t be a duplicate. Be yourself.

Love your business: Sounds like being a passionate content marketer but with a twist. Seeing the light of the day should spark up love from within. Love is the fuel that powers passion.

If you’re doing a business just to make money or build influence without loving it, the media would get negative signals and back-off.

Stay in your field: you can’t be a master of all. There must be something you’re skilled at. How can you launch a money-making blog and write about it consistently when you’re yet to earn $100 from the internet – it won’t work.

However, if you’re a tech geek or knows how to pick up girls, write about these and become an expert in it.

You don’t have to know: Content marketing can work to pique the media. But you don’t have to know it all. Whatever you don’t know can be learned. Read resourceful marketing blogs to enhance your knowledge.

If you don’t know the pros and cons of your market or niche, don’t even dabble into it. Get the necessary data and use them to craft epic shit.

Increase your worth: If the media discovers you’re new to the game, they might ignore your contents no matter how powerful. Nobody wants to connect with average bloggers or entrepreneurs. Associating with the rich, influential and professional is what the media wants.

The world doesn’t reward ‘average.’ So, increase your worth by learning and mastering your craft. Whatever business model you’ve chosen, give yourself wholly to it – be immersed in your mind and let the zeal for excellence take you high.

Bonus Point: Be everywhere: The world is waiting to hear from you. They’re so desperate to read your contents and give you a call or hire you to perform some marketing wizardry.

But if they can’t find you, you’re at a loss. Be everywhere – actively engage in guest posting – do it like a maniac and the people will be attracted to your blog/business.

Content marketing takeaway

Now, you know the 10 powerful ways to get people talking about your blog. Armed with these tips, you can launch a new blog and have thousands of people giving you free publicity.

What can you add to this list? Share your comment below – and if I’ve earned your trust, recommend this post to someone special. See you at the top!

Image Credit: ereleases

Falling in love is an exquisite experience. It’s like bringing the dews of heaven to your living room.

We can’t explain the chemistry behind ‘falling in love.’

But all we ever wanted is to be with the person whom we deeply cherish. That’s what would happen when you create the type of contents Google is looking for.

Google Spider Feeds On Fresh Contents

Let’s get the facts straight: fresh content doesn’t necessarily mean quality or well-written content.

But as it seems, Google spider is continually looking for blogs that are updated regularly.

Digg and social media networks are search engine magnets because we (users) update our profile and walls with fresh contents, everyday.

It’s vital to keep the freshness of your blog at peak.

At least, write fresh articles every week to keep search engine spiders coming back – add this tip to your to-do list and adhere to it.

And now, let’s consider the 4 simple ways to fall in love with Google – all you need is fresh content garnished with other essential gems. There you go:

1.    Craft Keyword-Rich Headlines

I’m not asking you to stuff the headline with keywords. But the first place Google looks at when they visit your blog, or scour the web is the headline.

You need to have the primary keyword you’re targeting on the headline. If possible, begin with it and add extra qualifiers to make it clickable.

You should spend more time writing crafting a better headline. A lot of people write a headline once and that’s it. No, don’t be those folks!

Have you ever been hooked by a headline? What does it have that you liked? Use the same technique to create yours. Once you’ve the right attention with the headline, you can retain and engage readers – the blissful relationship with Google has just began.

2.    Answer Questions Consistently

People who use search engines to look for information are desperate for answers. They’ve a million and one questions in their minds. All those keywords you researched earlier are questions that need to be answered.

Helping others with helpful tips, advice and strategies is a sign of competence. It shows you know your niche in and out.

Google updates are meant to drown newbie blogs that doesn’t have expert advice and solutions – you can set your blog apart by focusing on what people want.

Don’t write articles and posts because you want fresh content. No one is going to read it and that’s the biggest DISAPPOINTMENT in content marketing.

Hangout with your target audience and listen to what they say. Be a good listener, as it would afford you the privilege to know their deepest fears and desires. Weave these ideas into your content and Google will fall in love with your blog DEEPLY.

3.    Stop Padding Your Contents

When you write articles and blog posts, don’t pad to meet up with word counts. It’s true that Google appreciates detailed and lengthy articles, but not when it lacks answers. Erase unwanted sentences and paragraphs.

Use the right words and sentences to convey your message to target readers. People don’t want to read irrelevant things, they want the meat – throw away the bone.

Have you read an article where the words used and everything seems meaningless? I’m sure you’ve come across article directories that publish new posts every minute. Those are wrong writing practices – stay away from such.

If readers who come from Google search didn’t stay a bit longer to read your post, Google will make conclusions based on it. And you know what – Google will reduce the amount of organic traffic you receive, or push your ranking to page 21. Lol!

Pass your message across, and stop when you’ve nothing meaningful to say. It doesn’t matter if the article is 500 or 800 words, what matters is the insight one can derive from it.

4.    Inbound Linking Is Crucial

Google loves inbound linking – you should too!

To effectively fall in love with Google, create and add relevant links from your archive to recent posts. Do you know why inbound links are important?

Google knows that nothing is new. Whatever article topic you’ve in mind has already been written by someone else. If you’re an expert in your field, then, you must have written a similar article, maybe a month or year ago.

The articles are lying fallow in the archive and Google wants to serve them to her users. For inbound links to be effective, ensure it’s relevant to the topic under discussion.

In fact, the post should be more extensive, relevant and well-researched, than the one you’re writing now.

You should link to older posts and pages within your new posts. Probably, have the links above the fold – below the headline or in the first paragraph. Such links are juicier and improves search engine ranking.

Woo Google Today!

That’s how easy you can fall in love with Google by structuring your articles to align with Google’s specifications. Don’t be overly promotional in your article. Break up your paragraphs and make reading easy and fun.

Research the topic, and then write. Proofread for spelling and grammar errors – readers hate this; it makes you look like a Duck.

There you’ve it, the four easy ways to woo Google with fresh and well-crafted contents.

Did you enjoy this post? Leave a comment and share your experience with content marketing. See you at the top!

If done correctly, content marketing can really make a massive impact on how well your website brings in visitors and assists in both lead generation and sales.

The problem is though, some businesses go at their content strategy from the wrong angle and it can lead to some critical mistakes which can hamper chances of being successful online.

The biggest obstacle to get around is the fact you are not, I repeat, not trying to sell something to your visitors.

The most common mistake people make is that they come at content marketing from a business oriented perspective; how can I make money from this?

If you continue thinking this way, you are not going to start raking in the cash.

It is all about the user experience

Thinking from the visitor’s point of view is not only important, it is vital. Content strategy is all about analyzing what the user wants.

You look at similar websites within your niche market, look at the problems and issues which are facing customers within that industry and then tailor content accordingly.

Even if your site has a broad demographic, you can be very smart by using personas to speak to different groups of people. Target your content marketing to suit the audience rather than to suit your sales funnel.

The next critical mistake is the usage of social media for content marketing. There is a mentality among some internet marketers and online businesses that social profiles are there to purely promote your website, content and brand. This is so far from the truth.

Social media is exactly that “social”

Content marketing on social media doesn’t necessarily have to include your own content. Social media is exactly that “social,” nobody is going to follow you on if you come contrary.

Twitter just to read a new blog post you have written. Why would they? Unless you a recognizable brand, what authority or reputation do you have to think they would be interested in what you have to say?

Content is only valued if it is authoritative

Your own content only becomes valuable to them once you build the authority necessary to demonstrate you know what you are talking about and know what’s important to them. To do this, interaction is the key.

Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter of Google+, common courtesy allows you a way in to the market. Look for authorities within your niche market on these social networking sites.

They don’t have to big names within the market themselves but they have substantial followers, fans or circles which you can begin to tap into.

Start sharing or retweeting these people’s content, commenting on their blog posts, messaging them personally for advice and what will begin to happen is that you will build up a rapport.

You might say, isn’t this all social media marketing? Well, yes it is but there is no dividing line between content and social media marketing; the two has to be used in tandem to be effective.

Sharing other peoples’ content as well as your own demonstrate that you are there to help your fans and followers get the information they require. It is shows demonstrably you are not a salesman looking for a quick sale.

Building trust

This leads nicely into my third critical mistake in content marketing: not building trust.

Trust is the hardest thing to gain when promoting a website business, but if you do, you can really make some great strides with sales.

For content marketing, the best way to do this is through producing content which is unique and extremely helpful to your readers.

Whether it is a white paper, ebook or a simple infographic, the type of information that provides value without asking anything in return is priceless:

• You are not asking for any favors and on top of that you are building a community which down the line, is going to help you sell products both directly through them and indirectly by being brand advocates.

• Keep the interaction through replying to feedback on social networks and blog comments, and tailor content to requests too.

•  Using both analytics and direct user feedback is not only good for boosting a community’s numbers but also engenders loyalty from your site visitors as they know you will help them to solve their issues and problems.

• You are not looking for one quick sale from these guys. Consistently good content will have people returning and their trust will mean your lifetime revenue from such customers is a lot higher.

If you take anything away from this blog post it is this, focus on your user needs, not your own! Take this advice on board and content marketing can become very straightforward.

About the Author – David Tully has written many articles on content marketing and is a regular contributor to Bright Authority, a content marketing strategy website.

Image Credit: cpatrendlines

It’s simple. You’ve 3 steps to take, and when it’s rightly executed, your posts would rank better on Google search engine.

Get targeted traffic and give you exposure beyond what you bargained.

The major problem why blogging tends to be difficult is because; a lot of bloggers are blogging with the wrong approach.

Nobody wants to read a boring blog. If you run a blog and the archive and recent posts are all about you, it’s a sure signal that failure is looming.

You can’t dominate a niche or market by writing about you.

Look away from what you’ve achieved and the good places you’ve visited and write about the next person (prospects).

A lot of people are closing down their blogs because they lack readers. It’s like their grand mama is the only one visiting. Let’s not waste time, here are 3 content marketing tips you didn’t know (maybe).

1.    Simplify Complicated Issues

The entire web is powered by contents. Whatever marketing strategy or secret in your mind can only be done with articles, videos, podcasts, case studies, post et al. Simplicity would help you dominate any niche no matter how competitive.

When people visit a blog, they’ve other things to do but deemed it fine to spend few minutes reading your post. There’s an element of trust already – you’ve to build on it. That initial trust isn’t enough to cement the bridge and set your business ablaze. But it’s a good start.

When you simplify issues, you’ll automatically add extra cubits to the initial trust. The irony of this is that, upcoming and intermediate bloggers bore the hell out of their readers. Don’t join the chariots!

Rather than making the issue simpler, some folks complicate and add more ‘unknown terms’ to the subject. You need to know the subject or topic before writing it – study, research and make it simple – you’ll quickly dominate your niche, because, people love simple things.

2.    Usable Structure

When you write a post or article, make it easy to use right away. When people visit your blog, they’re hungry for solutions. It’s not the great design on your blog that matters, but how usable your posts are. The structure has to be simple, straight to the point. Don’t promise a thing on the headline and address an entirely new topic on the body.

Write articles that can be used immediately. If you write about search engine optimization, ensure it points towards the right direction and help the reader achieve a definite goal.

Don’t write to get applauded; write to help someone become better, smarter and alive.

Use bullet points to convey your message, and don’t pad the paragraphs. Do this and you can easily become an industry expert.

3.    The Blog Is Not For You

As a blogger, we tend to believe we own everything – and have the right to write as we want. Yes, you might be privileged to write anything you want, but that’s not the point. The blog is by you, but not about you. When you write about you, you’re only trying to impress others. How pathetic?

And you’re not expected to write about others. Instead, write about their problems and how to get rid of its symptoms.

If you’ve been conveying you in every post, stop it and focus on others. Off course, there are times when you can bring up personal stories, as a way to beef up and convey your message, but don’t make it a habit. Write about common issues faced by target audience and they’ll flock around like bees do to honeycomb.

What Do You Say?

Boring and self-serving blogs will not make it to the top, no matter how creative the owner is. Simplicity and having a unique and easy to implement post structure would help readers stay glued to your blog, for a long time.

How else can you make a profitable blog and grow a resourceful content marketing platform? Share your comment with us – see you ahead!

Was it the Panda or Penguin which bit you?

Google has hit websites and blogs in two different ways and almost simultaneously.

Many site owners are still wondering whether they have been targeted.

Those who know that tragedy has befallen are wondering whether it’s Panda or Penguin which has bit them.

To understand the difference you must know what each of them mean.

Google Panda came first

Google Panda search update brought down the curtains for many websites and blogs since its launch a few months back.

The latest refinement, Panda 3.5 was unleashed on the unsuspecting public on 19 April 2012 – a red letter day for many websites and blogs.

Google Panda is about websites which provide poor quality content. To really unravel the mystery of good and poor quality content you may have to go through several patents which Google has recently applied for.

The gist of it is that Google Panda update can intelligently differentiate between good and bad. The result of unleashing this update is that many guys have been taken by surprise.

Those who thought they are providing great content found themselves on the losing side. Many poor quality sites which were and are merely web directories and link building sites started flourishing.

It makes me wonder whether Google is doing the right thing or are we sliding towards ignominy. But the fact of the matter is that Google Panda update has made website and blog owners sit up and spend sleepless nights.

Google Penguin update

This update, we are told, hit us on 24 April 2012. Penguin is a lot simpler to understand. It punishes sites which are outright spammy. The focus is on onsite content and search engine optimization. Spam may mean over optimization and this may be anything from keyword stuffing to using aggressive SEO techniques.

This time around, if you have gone overboard trying to over optimize your site, it’s time to undo the past. You must start under optimizing your web pages and make them look more natural.

At this juncture it’s difficult for us normal gals (and guys of course) to differentiate between over optimization and natural content.

How to know whether you have been hit by the Panda or Penguin?

Poor fellows who have taken a hit would like to know what hit them. To do this you must analyze whether your blog or site went down after April 19 or after April 24.

If it’s the former and the degradation has been rather gradual and peaking after April 19, you have been bitten by the Panda. If things were normal but suddenly went down the tube means you caught the Penguin flu.

Take This Home

Google Penguin attack may lead to de-indexing. There is no remedy if you have been de-indexed by Google – you are done for. There is no way you can retrieve your past glory.

You might as well start a fresh blog. On the other hand if you are a victim of Panda you can start doing something about it and ask Google search bot to revisit your blog.

About the Author: Sarah lamb   is an online marketer who likes to share her views and experiences with fellow bloggers. Besides she also writes reviews about catering vans  and catering trailers for sale, among other products for a living.

Image Credit: gurl

is the best form of marketing in the entire world!”

Email is entirely powered by contents, and if you’re still struggling to build a responsive list to engage with, this email marketing 101 has all the information needed to make you a success.

But I’m not making you a promise; there is work to be done.

And building a huge list of potential customers is oftentimes ‘slow.’

But don’t be scared by the gradual sailing, it’s worth your every ounce and I’m going to reveal some helpful strategies to double, or even triple your email list.

In this post, here are things we would look into:

1. -          What is email marketing?
2. -          What is list building?
3. -          How to build a mailing list
4. -          How to create a good impression with subscribers
5. -          How to connect with subscribers creatively
6. -          How to monetize your list and make good money
7. -          How to leverage your list for product ideas
8. -          How to build a 10,000 Member-List
9. -          And so much more…

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing simply means capturing, connecting and sharing helpful and VALUABLE information with your target audience via email. If Google refuses to send you organic traffic, you can leverage on your email database to market your products and services.

Email marketing is different from list building. Although, both are interwoven – list building is just an arm of email marketing. As a form of marketing, email is the first connecting-cord between you and every other person. Social media networking is also effective, but it’s no rival to email marketing.

The web is primarily powered via emails, even though social media marketing is popular. If you’re looking at email marketing from a one-off perspective, you may not get the full benefits it offers.

Yes, you can embark on email marketing for a short term, but what happens when you’re done with the list. Do you throw subscribers off the window? I don’t think so. You brood them, and channel them to a viable platforms where you could easily leverage on the asset.

What is List Building?

People tend to confuse list building and email marketing. List building is simply the art of capturing email addresses of your visitors (potential customers), so that you can follow up with quality, informative and solution-based contents.

Building a strong relationship is the bottom-line and when you successfully establish that rapport, selling and making money from this list is possible. When email marketers struggle to make money from their list, the problem isn’t the product or service they provide, but the level of relationship they’ve created – in this case, it’s still low.

If subscribers don’t know you personally and how concerned you’re in helping them solve a definite problem, they won’t trust you with their hard earned money. You’re just like every other scammer out there – so, build a list that’ll respond when you call. That’s the goal and nothing is as vital as maintaining a good profile with subscribers.

How To Build A Mailing List

If you dabble into building a mailing list, you may likely give up on the way. I’ve wasted a lot of time building list and because I wasn’t prepared to follow up and establish that ‘connection,’ I left the list unattended.

To get started, think of what your target audience is passionate about. When I first build a 347 member-list in the weight loss niche, I discovered that subscribers are desperately looking for proven and affordable weight loss programs.

They don’t necessarily need a short report or e-book. But when you come to internet marketing niche, short reports, videos and membership sites are still great for building a list.

There are five things you can do to build your mailing list:

-          Create a landing page: A page to capture email address and names. It’s the lead magnet and sometimes, we call it the squeeze page (to squeeze out email address from visitors).

-          Get a list-bait: A product you can use to entice visitors to op-tin to your list. As I said earlier, you need to study your audience to know what bait they respond to. Is your audience the reading-type or the watching-type? If they prefer to watch, using a short video clip on your squeeze page can triple optin-rates.

-          Use Autoresponder: Email software that enables you to build a mailing list easily and follow up seamlessly. Your web host has a kind of autoresponder service, but it’s not advisable to use the in-built software.

When your list grows, you need a third-party email service to maintain it. And besides, you can easily customize your newsletter and add extra benefits to your bait. I recommend aweber and getresponse autoresponders.

-          Setup Double Optin: It’s vital to have a double-optin setting when visitors subscribe. Permission based email marketing is supported by United States Email law, but you can be prosecuted if you spam people.

When you get subscribers to verify their subscription, it’s an open invitation to send all kinds of promotional offers to them. And when subscribers verify accounts, it shows they’re desperate to receive your email letters.

-          Drive Targeted Traffic: the last step to take after setting up the double optin and creating a beautiful squeeze page is to start driving targeted traffic to the page. Bloggers should not drive visitors to their homepage, except you’ve a pop up opt-in system.

How To Create A Good Impression With Subscribers

You only have 2 minutes or less to prove your expertise and credibility. When someone subscribes to your newsletter, the first email follow-up shouldn’t be a sales promo. Heartily welcome subscribers to your newsletter and assure them of quality, relevance and VALUABLE information.

The first email they receive must show how passionate you’re in that niche and positions you for success in subsequent follow-ups. Whatever you say or do in this ‘welcome email’ would either impress or express your view on the given subject.

So, don’t be overly promotional or strict. Have a unique persona, be transparent and professional and don’t forget to address people by their first name.

This can be achieved easily when setting up the follow-up emails – provided you’ve captured first names. If you promised to send a free report when they subscribe, make sure you do it. Don’t send them to a salespage first, deliver on your promise and you’ll be on the winning side.

How To Connect With Subscribers Creatively

When you do a task from a unique perspective, people will see it as original, fresh and creative. Truth is, you can never send 100% original contents to your subscribers, but you can make it original by being creative.

To connect with subscribers, always ask them questions. Use survey monkey to create simple questionnaire and send it to them.

If you can get subscribers talking and responding to your emails, you would easily connect with them and that would bring new things into your business: sales, reputation, targeted leads and influence.

Whenever you send an email to subscribers, ask for their feedback or comment. A lot of people aren’t friendly with their parents because the communication gap is wide.

If you can communicate, laugh and stay closer to your mom and dad, they’ll definitely provide you with the best things of life. Stay connected with your subscribers and they’ll give you everything the world pressures you to get: money and fame.

How To Monetize Your List To Make Good Money 

If you’ve been following my email marketing strategies up to this point, then making money from your email subscribers won’t be a hassle.

I mean, they already trust you to provide quality and helpful products and services.

You can sell high-ticket items and cash in. Subscribers are different from strangers who may not even buy a $37 e-book.

Strangers don’t know you personally, and that’s why selling at first sight is a waste of time and resources. Capture email address first, then sell.

It’s the ideal way to make money online.

1. The best ways to monetize your list are:

1. -          Research and write a valuable e-book and sell to them
2. -          Refer subscribers to affiliate offers (earn on 2-tiers)
3. -          Promote Affiliate programs to your list (good programs only)
4. -          Send subscribers to adSense Page (high paying keywords)
5. -          Invite subscribers to a paid webinar
6. -          Develop an app and sell to them
7. -          Develop a wordpress plugin and market to list members
8. -          Create and bundle WordPress Themes and sell to subscribers
9. -          Partner with subscribers to promote your short reports
10. -          Generate more leads by licensing your e-book with MRR (Master Resale Rights)
11. -          Sell copywriting, email, and SEO content writing services to subscribers
12. -          Become a ghostwriter and help subscribers to craft quality contents
13. -          Design websites and sell to subscribers
14. -          Invite subscribers to a premium email letter (charge $12 – $100/month)
15. -          Sell a software that’s helpful and affordable
16. -          Sell digital products to subscribers (Mother’s Day Gifts etc.)
17. -          Sell Blog Consulting Services to Potential Customers ($100 – $1000/hour)
18. -          Review a hot affiliate product on your blog and blast the link to your list
19. -          Package a PLR product (ebooks, videos, software et al) and sell at reasonable price to subscribers.
20. -          And so much more…

How To Leverage Your List For Product Ideas

Content marketing has evolved and you need to know the right buttons to press. Instead of creating a product off your head, or the little knowledge you’ve amassed, you can ask your list members for ideas. What are their biggest questions and how desperate they want answers.

Asking intelligent questions not only connects and builds strong relationship with subscribers; it also frees their mind to supply the right answers when you need them.

If you write an e-book without knowing what’s hot and the problems faced by subscribers, no one would buy. It doesn’t matter how much rapport or relationship you’ve built. People only spend money on products and services that can solve their immediate and future problems.

Apart from asking questions directly, you can read the comments on your posts to see what subscribers and readers have in mind. People are not far from their words. So, capitalize on their honestly and craft a top-notch product. You would make more money using this strategy.

Want To Build a 10,000 Email List?

List swap, article marketing, social media marketing, media-buying and other list building systems are proven traffic generation systems. But they are not as effective as the modern article marketing which has swept through the entire blogosphere. I’m talking about guest posting.

Can you research the A-list blogs, with over 20,000 active readers, and can you write quality articles to make the readers’ node their heads and click-through to your landing page? Then get ready for uncommon web traffic. The last guest post I did for FreelanceSwitch, brought in 200 subscribers within 24 hours. Can you beat that?

Guest posting is powerful and I pride myself as an expert in it. I don’t know much about list swaps and social media marketing, but guest blogging on niche blogs have given me an edge and my list is growing.

You can grow a list of targeted subscribers by guest posting on authority blogs. If you persevere, it’s possible to build a 10,000 member list within 12 months. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it certainly would if you stay-glued and work real hard.

Over To You…

Did you enjoy this email marketing 101 tips? I know there are other points worth mentioning, but this is all you need to get started. And when you’re at it, you can scale it through and build a six-figure email list. Share your comments and let your fans, readers and networks know about this post. See you ahead!

Image Credit: getwebsitetraffic and mint

Is content marketing working for you?  

What are the best ways to solve problems in your niche and amass new readers?

I was reading a post today at Problogger, and it talks about repurposing contents.

I’m going to show you the 6 ways to make content marketing blissful.

1.     Articles

This happens to be the most common forms of distributing contents across the web. It’s quite simple and anyone can use it to deliver value to her audience. Writing articles was the best marketing strategy back in the days when Google panda was in coma. Lol!

But when the Panda awoke from slumber, article directories where smashed.

Writing articles still works, but you’ve to be extremely creative to be able to touch the right spots and command attention. Make your headline catchy and use bullet points and sub-headings to ease reading.

2.    Social Media Updates

Social media marketing is another great way to attract targeted readers to your blog/website. By updating your social media profile with new posts, news and tips, you’ll be able to build up interest over time.

It’s not going to happen overnight, but it surely will. The right step is to study when your fans are logged in, then spark up conversion with a controversial or hot news – it would produce better results.

The best social media platforms to use are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Recently, Pinterest came on board, and I think you should utilize the pinboards to your advantage.

3.    Blog Posts

We’re all familiar with this – but don’t confuse blog posts with articles. They are both different in tone, style and purpose.

The purpose of writing a blog post is to build a community of active readers and customers. An article may not build a community for you, but it can drive traffic and generate quick sales.

A blog post is usually longer than an article, and contains more valuable and extensive research studies and case studies.

When writing posts to solve problems, it’s good to study what other experts have written and use this as a base to produce quality and timely content. Blog posts should be evergreen (ever relevant, even in years to come) and must be written to hook readers and convert them to customers and salespersons.

4.    E-Newsletters

E-newsletters are forms of content distribution channels.

Apart from blog post and articles, you can build a mailing list of targeted prospects and follow-up with in-depth marketing strategies and valuable information.

Although, newsletters can be in form of articles, blog post, e-book or videos, but it has a single purpose.

The purpose of writing an e-newsletter is to get someone (recipient) to click the email headline and visit the intended page. It shows that the most important aspect of an email letter is the subject line.

Make it simple, add the strongest benefit and instill curiosity into it. You’ll get people clicking and responding to your offers.

5.   Videos

People connect with videos more than they connect with articles. A lot of bloggers are struggling to engage readers, because, these readers are not the reading-types.

They prefer to watch video, or get answers via a slideshow. In fact, recently, I discovered that my readers prefer videos to any form of content system and I’ve started embedding videos into my posts.

The results have been cute. I like the fact that they watch the videos, read the post and take action.

If you’re not moving towards your blogging goals, something might be wrong with your content marketing medium. Articles and blog posts are good, but only to a certain extent. It’s time to change your approach and use videos instead.

Create short videos of 5 – 10 minutes and upload to Youtube and Google Video channels. Add your blog or landing page URL at the end of the clip, and that’s it. The traffic and sales you need will definitely come.

6.   White Papers

White papers are mostly used by service providers. If you’re a freelance writer or designer, whitepapers can help you deliver value and credibility to your audience.

I haven’t prepared mine, but I’ve seen its impact in the blogosphere.
A whitepaper is simply a report showing what you can do, and how it can solve the problem in your niche.

How would your writing help target businesses grow? Why would a client or corporate firm choose your business, instead of other freelancers? These are some of the questions you can address in your whitepaper.

Don’t make it too lengthy. 7 – 15 pages are ideal for whitepapers and truly, it reveals your expertise and tenacity. White papers are also referred to as research reports.

7.     Podcasts

Listening is a great virtue which can be learnt. Oftentimes, potential clients want to listen to you, they want to feel your voice and know the stuffs you’re made of.

You can’t seamlessly pique your audience with articles, because, it lacks voice and character but a podcast has all this.

Professional bloggers and internet entrepreneurs have started using podcasts to deliver top-notch value to her audience.

Podcasts work and you can easily turn your old blog posts and articles into Podcasts and distribute easily and professionally. You can use your podcast on guest posts to further build interest.

What Other Way?

What better ways can you distribute contents online? Please share your comment and let’s grow together. Have a lovely day!

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In this article, you’ll learn:  

1. The ultimate business hindrance
2. What makes a deal, big.
3. How failure can be turned into success
4. The best way to strike big deal and win

Is it difficult to strike a BIG business deal and win?

Young entrepreneurs are known for their tenacity and guts. I had to quit my job as a content producer in a marketing firm to pursue my BIG dreams online.

There were times when I faced life-threatening challenges – I thought the world has come to an end. I learnt how to be persevering and waited for the right change to happen – and I’m glad I didn’t give up.

Most of what you need to climb the ladder of success, as a young entrepreneur is already inside of you.

It has nothing to do with age – under30ceo blog has shared countless success stories of young geeks who are making a living online and impacting lives around the globe – in orders words, they were minding their businesses.

Great paying clients are out there. Corporate firms are desperate to connect with you – they’ve huge capital outlay to lift their business up. And these people are willing to pay what you’re worth. Rather than settling for the crumbs that fall of

the table, you can target the big dogs in the market and cash-in.

The ultimate business hindrance

Maybe you started your business on a shoe-string budget, and you called it a small business – don’t you think it’s high time you make it BIG?

Every small business has the potential to grow and leave the ground floor. The real business is done at the top and until you climb up, success will be gradual or dormant.

What if I tell you that the ultimate business hindrance isn’t lack of money, time, resources, connection, intelligence, qualifications and so forth?

All these are vital ‘inputs’ to aid in achieving business goals, but they’re not the ‘real’ problem of young entrepreneurs. So, what’s wrong – what are young geeks failing to do right?

You may be on the right track, but your mind is off the track. In order words, the ultimate hindrance to growing a successful business is the “mind.”

It can work for or against you. When I left my 9-5 job and started my freelance business, I struggled to pitch my first prospect.

Off course, I was qualified, had the necessary training and tools to succeed, but I wasn’t prepared for the ‘aggressive’ world out there.

My mind was behind the fast change going on around the world.

But I triumphed, and you too can. Here are 3 highlights to clear-off bumps on your mind and become a go-getter:

1. Seek the counsel of a credible mentor
2. Trust your instinct and take bold step, irrespective of fear
3. Mind your business, not your mind. Your mind may tell you to be careful and play safe, don’t succumb.

What makes a deal, big? 

You would think a great business deal is all about the money. But there is more to it. There are several strings to achieving tremendous results in life, one of such is money and the other is relationship.

Every young and aspiring entrepreneur must recognize these two marketing weapons and pursue them.

It’s ideal to go after building relationships with target prospects and businesses.

In effect, the only deal that’s what pursuing is the one that can affect your goals – can you achieve a definite goal or come closer to achieving it? If not, strategize and seek for better deals.

If a client is so concerned about getting ‘there’ without considering your efforts and creativity, it may be a bad deal. Look for deals that make you better, leave a trail on your mind and help you think like an aggressive salesperson. My experience with find notary thought me several lessons. BTW: Find Notary is the largest notary public and mobile notary directory in the United States.

The best deals that are worth looking into are:

1. Deals and projects that makes you thick.
2. Prospects that came to you via inbound marketing channels (blog, SEO, SMM et al) – they’re more targeted than paid leads.
3. Prospects who value ‘communication’ rather than ‘hit-and-run deal.
4. Deals that challenge your social life. It’s all about relationship building, nothing else counts.

How failure can be turned into success

Failure has a way of weighing young entrepreneurs down. When it comes to handling failure, I think there is a huge difference 16 and 60 years. I learnt from my Dad that failure is part of success.

And according to Robert Kiyosaki, “you may have to lose several businesses before you build a solid one.”

If you’ve failed before or you’re experiencing failure in your business right now, be strong – the world needs you.
Failure in business may not be what you’re doing wrong, but who you’re. If you can change your thoughts, there will be a sudden business transformation, leading to success.

When failure tries to hold you captive, do this:

1. “Recognize that failure is a temporal event, not a person” – (anonymous)
2. Know that successful businesses once failed.
3. Challenge your creative instinct to step forward, even in the midst of fear.

The best way to strike bigger deals and win

We’re almost done with this article, but before I leave you, I want to show you the tiny, yet, a powerful strategy to winning BIG deal online.

As I mentioned above, you don’t need extra qualifications or funds to make it work, all you need is to “take action when opportunities appear.”

“Step out and grab opportunities.”

If you gaze upon failure, success will disguise itself as work and pass you by. Learn to take action when the right opportunities appear. The way to make it work is this:

1. Recognize there are great opportunities out there
2. Don’t wait for opportunities, go after them
3. Be confident and prepare to fail if that’s the only option
4. Keep at it; you’ll do exploits if you don’t give up.

Over to you

Did you agree or disagree with this article. It’s time for you to share your comment and let me know what you think. I’m giving you a wake-up call today – what you need to get to the top is not hidden in the clouds, it’s someone – it could be right under your nose. See you at the top!

Image Credit: aussiephonebrokers & sitelogicmarketing

In order to have a great blog, you need to consistently craft valuable contents.  

While you may already know how to seamlessly craft an interesting article with the right optimizations, there may come a time when you don’t have enough time to write every single article—after all, a successful blog must have a constant flow of new materials to keep your current readers/customers and attract new ones.

To help prevent burnout, always have new materials, helpful resources and give your readers contents with a different perspective other than your own.

In order to keep things “fresh,” it’s a great idea to “outsource” a part of your blog writing—i.e. acquire a team of paid or non-paid freelance writers.

You can hire a team of professional SEO writers if you wish too, but this option is often expensive. Instead, you should try to focus on the first option, especially if you already have an established blog. To learn how to attract freelancers or guest posters, continue reading below.

Create an Advertisement

The first thing you need to work on is to advertise the intention that you’re looking for freelancers to outsource to; otherwise no one will know that the opportunity exists if you don’t them. Create an advertisement; calling for competent freelance bloggers.

The Ad should include the following information: what the focus of your blog is, its history, its target audience, what expertise you’re looking for—for example if you have an education blog, you might need someone with a teaching degree or has some sort of insight about the industry—and discuss about pay.

If you don’t have enough funds to pay your freelance writers, some will do it for free in order to build up their portfolios and practice their craft.

If this is the case, make sure you indicate that in the Ad. Off course you’ll also want to say how those interested can contact you, either through your contact-page or via gMail account.

Then place the Ad on online classified websites, social media sites, and of course your blogs. Continue to update statues and repost the Ad on your blog until you get a few qualified guest bloggers to fill your cabinet.

Get Samples

Once you a get a few people interested, you’ll want to get a few writing samples to make sure that the freelancer has the style and the chops that you are looking for.

If the applicant doesn’t have any writing samples, you can simply give your potential writer a “sample assignment.” He or she can execute a guest post for you or come up with their own idea and write something of their own for you.

Give the writer a list of keywords to use and see how well they are at creating substance worth reading and incorporating SEO techniques.

Create a Contract

Outsourced

If the writer passes your standards, then start making short-term and long-term goals.

A good way to make sure that your writer will be onboard for a good while is to make him or her sign a contract.

This contact should discuss deadline dates, expected word count, how many articles you expect per week/month and the contract should address ownership of the articles once published.

Most importantly you want to discuss pay (if you’re going to pay your writers per article) as well as the penalties of plagiarism (extremely important).

Lastly, your contract should discuss the protocol for quitting—you don’t want someone just to stop submitting content and then everything just comes to an unexpected halt. A two weeks’ notice is always appreciated, even if you’re not paying the writer.

That said, it may take some effort to grow a steady team of resident bloggers, but once successfully accomplished you can start focusing energy on more important areas that will help your business blossom such as marketing and direct-customer service.

Article by: Kristie Lewis from construction management degree. You can reach her at: Kristie.Lewis81 @ gmail. Com.

Image Credit: competeinfotech ynrinsider