Aug
15
Ning Social Networking Sites
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, News, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging, communication | 20 Comments
When Marc Andreessen and Gina Bianchini started their work on the Ning social network back in 2004, online social networking was still pretty much a teen thing. True there were marketers like yours truly making a home on Ryze and other business networking sites, but we were the exception rather than the rule.
Ning once completed would allow people to create and manage their own miniature MySpace-like social networking sites.
Ning’s founders probably envisioned a platform on which families and circles of friends would stay in close contact through their very own private social networking site. However, since launching 18 months ago, Ning has found its way into the business world as well as many other sectors of society.
You can start your own plain vanilla Ning social network for free, or for a fee you can exercise greater control over your site and add lots of bells and whistles.
Examples of Ning Social Networking Sites
In Web lifeline for the troops, the Naperville Sun writes that two local men, Ed Domain and Josh Lowe, launched Troop Space, a Ning-based networking site for the brave men and women of the United States Military. Troop Space “is geared toward US troops, their families and anyone who wants to become more personally connected to the military”.
Jim at medXcentral started his Ning community to network “the medical and health care universe” and to “stimulate great achievements and forward motion towards resolving many issues faced by the medical industry today”.
Diane Hochman built the online headquarters for My Private Classroom on the Ning foundation. I joined My Private Classroom several months ago to learn more about social media and to introduce free and low-cost marketing methods to network and direct marketers.
What I Like About Ning Sites
From a user’s point of view here are some of my favorite Ning features:
- When you make a friend at one Ning site and you each belong to another Ning site, you’re connected at the other site too.
- You can browse friends and friends-of-friends and so forth to see what other Ning networks people belong to. In this way you can discover new and relevant places to network. While many Ning sites are private, there seem to be just as many sites that are open to the public. You can also browse Ning’s list of popular social networks.
- You can broadcast a message to all of your friends at any given site. Be careful not to abuse this privelege. Spamming is not effective, and network administrators will typically not tolerate it. This broadcasting feature has allowed me to attract readers to my blog and gain new subscribers.
- In some Ning networks you can also broadcast messages to fellow members of groups you join. This feature encourages spam and is therefore disabled on many Ning sites.
- You can customize your page’s theme and embed videos and widgets just as you might on MySpace and many other social networking sites.
- Much of your profile content can be taken from an existing site and easily reused when joining a new site.
And What I Don’t Like
Here are some of my least favorite Ning features:
- Most sites have very small memberships that are just a little too cozy for marketers like me building their lists.
- A very high percentage of profiles are abandoned, so you can end up with lots of unaccepted friend requests. At some point you may need to delete some friend requests in order to remain eligible to make new requests.
- Very many sites are not much more than recruiting pipelines and sales funnels for the sites’ owners. I find this aspect of Ning annoying, but I tolerate it. For this reason I’m slow to invite friends and business connections to join me on new Ning sites. I want to wait and see if the site is a safe enough place to bring them.
Show and Tell Opportuinity
You can find many of the social networking sites to which I belong featured on my blog’s sidebar.
Do you have favorite Ning social networking sites? Have you started your own Ning social network? Do you have an interesting story to tell?
Feel free to comment and share with us.
Keep in mind that I’m responsible for the quality of my blog and legally responsible for its content. I therefore reserve the right to edit any comment as I see fit.
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Aug
3
Social Media Learning Curve
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging, communication | 11 Comments
The Case for Social Media Marketing
It is becoming increasingly more difficult and more expensive to reach potential customers using mass media. That’s one reason why so many marketers are turning to Web 2.0 social media marketing.
Not only do marketers want to reduce their advertising expense, they also want to connect more directly with people and learn how to better serve their target market.
Social media marketing is especially attractive to small business owners operating on modest budgets, since most social networking sites and other social media sites are generally free to use.
Steep Learning Curve
They read a story such as Beyond Blogs in the June 2nd issue of Business Week, and they rush off to embrace Web 2.0 social media unprepared for the steep learning curve that lies ahead.
The social media landscape is uncharted and sprawling. Social media sites are vying for your attention, and searching the Internet for advice turns up sharply conflicting recommendations.
Need for Mentor
Clearly you need a mentor, somebody smart and knowledgeable with especially strong communication skills. You should find somebody with whom you feel comfortable, because you’ll definitely be getting to know each other. Picking a mentor is difficult.
Effective Communication #1 Challenge
Once you find your mentor mastering essential social media marketing skills will be difficult. To get fully up to speed might take a year or even longer.
That is the bad news.
In my opinion, the hardest part of social media marketing training is learning effective communication, i.e., to write, speak, listen and persuade well and in a professional manner.
There are certainly plenty of technical challenges to overcome, but by far communication is the chief obstacle new social media marketers face. If you happen to have the right mix of communication skills, you’re way ahead of most newcomers.
Your mentor can teach you personal and business branding, online social networking, blogging, video marketing, social bookmarking, SEO and other important skills. He or she can also critique your communication style, but it will be you who will connect directly with your target market and build vital business relationships.
Get Started Now and Learn as You Go
Now the good news.
You don’t have to master every skill, dot every “i” and cross every “t” before getting started.
Find a good mentor to guide you, jump in and get your feet wet. Learn by doing.
As Mike Litman always says: “You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it going.”
Your results will serve as feedback to help you to make the necessary corrections along the way… and that is good news.
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Jul
27
Small vs. Large Social Networking Sites
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 15 Comments
Even people who don’t go online and don’t understand social networking have heard of MySpace or Facebook, names that might conjure up fears of predators or identity theft.
However, that’s not my point.
My point is that MySpace and Facebook are so much talked about that they have pretty much become household names, and serious business networkers have or ought to have a presence at MySpace, Facebook and Linked In — and at other major social networking sites.
Many of the important online networking sites are listed for your convenience:
- Mashable’s Catalog of 350+ Social Networking Sites
- 50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence On
- Wikipedia’s List of Social Networking Websites
There are also industry specific sites. For example if your business is real estate related, consider joining ActiveRain Real Estate Network and Wanna Network, if you don’t already belong.
To find business networking sites specific to any industry, try plugging the industry name and the words “networking sites” into your favorite search engine.
But wait, the story doesn’t end here.
Smaller and newer business networking sites also deserve to be included in your online portfolio. After all, less can be more.
When Diane Hochman Zigs, I Zag
Diane Hochman, the founder and director of My Private Classroom for Marketers, often instructs, “Don’t Follow the Flock”. When others are zigging, you zag.
Diane is a Web 2.0 social media rock star. Many people follow her every move. They go where she goes. They do what she does. They zig when she zigs, and they zag when she zags.
People like Diane Hochman and Mike Dillard have their own flocks. Since I don’t want to follow the flock, nor live in somebody’s shadow, when Diane and Mike zig, I zag.
When they’re hanging at Facebook and Twitter, I’m chillin’ at one of the newer smaller sites such as Sta.rtUp.biz, a site that caters to small business entrepreneurs, or Natural Networkers, a social networking site for proponents of attraction marketing.
I might also be list building at Direct Matches or schmoozing at Yuwie, since they are not.
I think you get the general idea. It fits in with my online social networking strategy and my personal branding strategy. It’s common sense. I have plenty of room to maneuver.
You too might be best off charting a different course than your competition or industry leaders.
Choosing Business Networking Sites
There are many possible criteria for choosing business sites. However, at the end of the day it’s largely a matter of trial and error.
Nevertheless, let me share a few of my considerations with you. Perhaps I’ll share more in a future blog post.
Some social networking sites are funded by membership fees, some by advertising, and some by a combination of the two. I mainly prefer advertising supported sites. I’m not reaching out to a very elite crowd.
I do admit, I’m a paid Executive Member at Direct Matches since 2005. I highly value the package of services they provide for a modest monthly fee, and I appreciate Bill Weber’s personal touch. You may prefer to join Direct Matches for free.
It is the only social site I pay to use at the present time. The other sites I use are either ad supported or offer free memberships that I find suitable.
Some networking sites make it easier to connect than others. I like to reach out to a large audience and prefer sites that make it easy for me to do that.
I like to be able to browse and add friends or contacts by demographic characteristics or by geographic location. When sites offer that option, it’s great. When they don’t, I look to a site’s groups or clubs to find people in my target market.
Short Lived Networking Feature
Some new social networking sites let me send mail to all my contacts or to all members of groups to which I belong. I love this capability and use it effectively without abusing or spamming.
I like to let lots of people know about my new blog posts. If I didn’t have a blog, I’d send links to useful information and thereby build my relationship with fellow members.
Unfortunately, as a networking site grows, spammers inevitably move in and ruin it for everybody. It’s impossible to keep a step ahead of them, so all sites eventually limit or eliminate this wonderful feature.
Don’t Let Spammers Ruin Your Day
I don’t like spammers and wish they’d stick with safelists or classified ads, but I don’t let them ruin my day, nor do I let them dissuade me from using any particular social networking site.
If I can cope with tailgaters and drivers who cut me off on the highway, I can surely cope with spammers.
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Jul
20
My Online Social Networking Strategy
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 11 Comments
How I Use Social Networking Sites
I wouldn’t start a blog called Online Social Networking if I didn’t like social networking sites.
Let’s look at the many ways that I use social networking sites to meet my business networking objectives.
Casting a Wide Net
I join a wide range of social networking sites. I know that even if I will not be active at a particular social site, the profile I set up there will add to my online presence. So if I like the site, I’ll become part of the community. If I don’t, there’s no harm. My profile will remain there as long as the site continues to operate.
Consider the social networking site Yahoo 360°. If you Google me, this networking site will appear in the top search results. Sometimes it will even show up in the top position on the first page of results. Yet, this is a social networking site I rarely visit. It’s not my cup of tea.
When you Google me, you’ll find page after page of results that are me. What happens when people Google you?
Joining a bunch of social networking sites should jump start your web presence. It’ll give you some Google juice. Why not join some of my favorite social networking sites featured on my blog’s sidebar? As a plus, in most cases we’ll automatically be connected as “friends”.
Building Large Targeted Lists
When I like a social networking site, I settle in and become part of the community.
A winning strategy on nearly every social networking site is to build a large targeted list of friends or contacts, generally the larger the better. Thousands are better than hundreds.
For some sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Yuwie there are friend adders, but I don’t like to use them. I prefer the personal touch, and I don’t want to risk losing my profile for suspected spamming. I spend a modest amount of time each day requesting new friends on each of my favorite social networking sites.
There are two ways that I target my requests.
On sites that allow profile browsing by specific demographics such as age, gender, geographic location, marital status, and parental status, I browse to find people to add.
On sites that have groups or clubs I browse the groups that are likely to attract the people I’m looking for.
I tend to accept nearly all add requests from others. I reject blatant spammers, men masquerading as women in order to attract favorable attention, and crazies.
Networking and Attraction Marketing
Social networking sites are meant for online social networking and not for advertising or spamming. They’re a great place to get to know people. You get to know people by asking them questions.
Please visit or revisit my earlier post, Social Networking vs. Advertising, for a full explanation of this absolutely crucial concept.
Social networking sites are also great from attraction marketing. Be the type of person you want to attract, and that person will be attracted to you.
Videos of you presenting useful information or explaining an important idea, not making a sales pitch, can showcase you as the knowledgeable leader you are.
Blogging is a big part of my branding strategy, so when I network online, I invite people to visit my blog, read, comment and register or subscribe. And many do.
I invite people I like on one social networking site to connect with me on another site. I don’t want to lose track of them if the first site closes down or if one of us happens to have his or her profile deleted. And yes, many do… connect that is.
At Direct Matches, I invite people to visit my profile page where I have a subscription form, and people can sign up for my training newsletter. And again, many do.
Every time people go along with my request, they’re opting in another time to our relationship. It’s sort of like dating.
Branding Yourself
Social networking sites, video sites and blogs are great for personal branding. In fact, your whole online presence can serve as a branding mechanism.
Craft your personal branding strategy and develop a web presence that is consistent with your strategy.
Being Consistent and Following Through
Possibly the most important online social networking strategy is to be consistent and follow through, not to expect instant results.
First you need to build your list, and then you need to gain credibility with the people on it.
When I’ve tried to push things, people sensed it. When I’ve been patient, people have often come to me, and what could be better than that?
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Jul
20
Business Week Regrets Missing Web 2.0 Social Media Trend
Filed Under News, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging | 1 Comment
Business Week in their June 2, 2008 cover story, Beyond Blogs, confessed that three years earlier when they wrote, Blogs Will Change Your Business, they completely missed the larger Web 2.0 social media trend that was emerging.
Business Networking Sites
While blogs have indeed transformed business, politics and publishing, online social networking at social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Linked In have impacted an even greater cross-section of businesses and people.
Many businesses have created their own in-house social networking sites to encourage and support staff collaboration.
Social Media Sites
YouTube, a site where regular people post their videos, has challenged the dominance of television in the entertainment and news industries.
Wikipedia, an encyclopedia developed and maintained by users, and wikis in general, have revolutionized the way people work together and share information.
Twitter, a micro-blogging site, lets people and businesses communicate in 140-character chunks called “tweets”.
Read the full article to better understand social media’s impact on marketing, management and collaboration in business today.
Time’s 2006 Person of the Year
One footnote: Time Magazine in their December 2006 cover story, Time’s Person of the Year: You, communicates the full impact and significance of our collective online collaboration called Web 2.0.
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Jul
8
My Personal Branding Strategy
Filed Under Career Choices, Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, blogging | 8 Comments
I cannot be everything to everybody.
I know I can’t.
I realized that a long time ago. I’ve learned to choose who I want to be to the people who matter most to me.
Business Analysis Example
I’m a business analyst. There are lots of business analysts in the world, but how many of them specialize in marketing and customer analysis like I do? Very few indeed.
And how many rely as heavily on intuition and instinct as I do? Even fewer.
Looking for somebody to do your P&L analyses? Not me. Go talk to a finance type. There are tons of them with MBA degrees waiting to hear from you.
Want to assess a takeover target? Again, not me. Go find somebody who’s into merger and acquisitions to help.
Need to track your marketing or determine how much your customers are worth? Now that is me. Give me a call, and I’ll talk your head off for hours about customer acquisition and customer retention, because that’s definitely my thing.
Network Marketing Example
I admit it. I’m also a network marketer.
I have lots of expertise in online social networking at social networking sites, blog marketing and search engine optimization. I was networking online way before it was cool, and I’m continuously sharpening my blogging and SEO skills.
Do I know the three foot rule? Of course I do, but so does everybody else in the network marketing business.
Can I make a list of family, friends and acquaintances? You bet I can — I’ve done it more than once — but is there one successful networker who can’t?
On the other hand, how many network marketers are Internet savvy? How many of them prospect and network online and enjoy it as I do?
I like to learn from teachers such as Diane Hochman and Mike Dillard, because they too have broken away from the pack. As Diane often says, “When people are zigging, you have to zag.” She’s a lady I want to get to know much better. That’s a big reason why I joined My Private Classroom.
Blogging Example
A reader recently complained that my articles were neither timely nor did they provide information she couldn’t have found elsewhere online.
I basically told her that intelligent and thought-provoking were more important to me than timely. Here too I’ve chosen a focus that works for me.
My Personal Brand Management Approach
The point of this post is that I’ve narrowed my focus, so that I could escape the crowds and stand out more readily. I’ve defined my market, so that I can dominate it.
I prefer to be a leader in my carefully selected fields rather than an also-ran in larger more broadly defined competitive categories.
Avis might have been #2 in the car rental industry, but when they said, “we try harder”, they re-positioned themselves as #1 in car rental customer service.
Redefine Your Market
Do you sell mortgages? Travel? Nutritional products?
Here’s some food for thought. How can you position yourself so that people will see you and think of you as a leader in your market and remember you when they are ready to buy?
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Jun
22
This post is somewhat longer than usual. Sorry for that, but I put a lot of work into it. I hope you like it.
Last Wednesday during my regular bi-weekly business mentoring tele-conference I revealed several powerful business success secrets.
While I was specifically addressing entrepreneurs, small business owners and sales professionals, these principles apply to all people and to all areas of our lives, not only business success.
Have you noticed? The year 2008 is half over.
Near the end of 2007 I posted Personal Development: 10 Simple Success Strategies to “help turbo charge your personal development in the New Year”. This may be worth re-reading if some of your goals and objectives have lost much of their earlier inertia.
Commitment
What are you committed to?
Mike Hernacki in The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want wrote:
“In order to accomplish something, you must know what you want and be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish it.”
It sounds too simple, doesn’t it? However, it is your intention and commitment that set The Law of Attraction into motion on your behalf.
Want proof?
Reflect back on your most important accomplishments, such as raising a child, getting a college degree, running a marathon, starting a business, or developing an Internet presence, and you’ll agree that your commitment to your success was absolute.
It wasn’t that you felt obligated. Rather you felt that the goal was extremely important to you, and that you would deal with any obstacle that might arise — without knowing in advance exactly what would be demanded of you on your way to success.
Without total commitment The Law of Attraction would have probably delivered an obstacle that you would not have been willing to handle, and you would have failed.
This success secret is so important that I’ve read Mike Hernacki’s timeless book about a dozen times over the past decade.
Acquiring New Skills
I am commited to ongoing personal development and acquisition of new knowledge and skills. I read mind expanding books, blogs and e-books.
Your objective may require the mastery of new skills – or it may not. Your willingness to do what it takes is what really matters. If new skills are required, then you must be ready and willing to learn them.
Working Hard
You may be required to apply a great amount of effort. When I wanted to run the New York Marathon in 1984, strenuous preparation was absolutely necessary. In 1985 that was still true but to a lesser extent, since I had maintained a high level of fitness in the interim.
Tenacity and Persistence
Let’s bring this home.
You want to develop a presence at one of your favorite social networking sites – or you want to write a blog – or you want to build an Internet presence. These objectives usually require a high degree of tenacity.
So often people abandon online social networking, blogging or social media optimization without realizing their objectives. They weren’t willing to persist. Perhaps their belief system was weak.
I have been social networking online for many years. I have continuously posted to this blog for nearly eight months.
Why?
I know what I want, and I’m willing to persist until I achieve it.
Belief
As I stated in Personal Development: The Law of Belief, “Our motivation and how we act is determined by our underlying beliefs.
“If we don’t believe that something is possible, we won’t even try to make it happen. Please listen to a conference call I recorded on 8/22/07 that illustrates this concept.”
A healthy belief system is critical to success in business and life.
Treat Your Business Like a Business
Production
Showing up counts for something, but it doesn’t count for enough.
Success in business and life depends on producing value either directly or indirectly through people you influence.
If you have a job and don’t produce, you won’t get very far, and sooner or later you won’t have a job.
If you have a business and don’t produce, you won’t have money in the bank.
If you don’t come through for people, you won’t have their friendship.
You must make a positive contribution in order to be successful.
One way to ensure that you’re productive is to set daily or weekly goals or benchmarks.
For example, let’s suppose you’re in sales. You need to make six product sales per month to meet your business objectives. In order to make six sales, you need to make 15 presentations. To get 15 appointments, you’ll need to speak to 60 people.
You work about 20 days per month. On average you will have to speak to three people per day in order to speak to 60 per month.
Your benchmark or goal becomes three a day. If you focus on 3+ per day with consistency, you will likely make your six product sales per month.
You’ve succeeded at breaking down your abstract monthly goal into concrete daily actions.
Diversification
Big corporations employ a wide variety of media and messages to bring their product to market. They advertise on television, radio, in print and through direct mail. They experiment with many versions of their ad copy.
You cannot do everything a giant company can do, but why not learn from their example?
If you use half a dozen methods to reach out to your potential clients, you’ll enjoy these benefits:
- You’ll achieve success with some approaches, even if others fail.
- You’ll attract a wider variety of clients than using a single method.
- You’ll be able to see which methods perform better relative to each other, so that you can refine your marketing plan.
- You’ll lower your overall risk through diversification.
Here are some of my favorite marketing channels:
- Online social networking at social networking sites
- Offline business networking at a business networking group such as Network Plus, facilitated by Ted Fattoross, the group’s founder
- My Online Social Networking blog that you’re reading right now coupled with keyword research and search engine optimization
- Social media sites and social bookmarking sites
- Classified advertising in small weekly newspapers
Over time you’ll develop your own favorite marketing channels if you haven’t already done so.
Tracking and Analysis
If you want to make informed business decisions, you must track your results and analyze your data. If you can’t do it yourself, then you must get an expert to do it for you or show you how to do it.
Tracking and analysis are not something optional.
Let me ask you, would you even consider driving your car with your eyes shut?
You can’t afford to run your business with your eyes shut or even partially covered.
Cost per Acquisition
One of the most basic marketing measurements is cost per acquisition, the amount that you’re spending on average to complete a sale using each marketing method. Simply put, it’s the total spend divided by the total number of sales.
It is important to consider your staff costs including your own time, not just the out-of-pocket expenditures for design and media.
Cost per acquisition is an excellent way to compare marketing channels, but there is one very important caveat. Customers from one marketing channel may be more valuable than from another. Therefore marketers must take into account customer long term value, the other side of the equation.
Customer Long Term Value
Customer long term value can be difficult to calculate, but it is generally approximated as the income you expect to earn from a customer over a 12 to 24 month period. If your business is on the risky side, lean towards 12 months. If it is very stable, then 24 months may be appropriate.
To be successful, cost per acquisition cannot exceed customer long term value. It ought to be less.
Trend Data
You can also track your performance or the performance of your staff. Trending performance data and marketing data over time will help you see the bigger picture.
Masterminding and Mentoring
As stated in my post Even Mentors Need Mentors, “I learn from reading many books, e-books and blogs, and from speaking frequently with friends and mentors. Having mentors has greatly shortened my learning curve.”
Masterminding with your peers and seeking out mentors will help you as much or more than any other single strategy mentioned in this article.
Please feel free to comment and share those strategies that have made the biggest difference in your business and personal endeavors.
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Jun
8
Website or Online Presence?
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines | 6 Comments
I’m taking a couple of days off from work, and I’m leaving you with the following thought:
A website is not necessarily an Internet presence.
Some websites are no more than online business cards. They display the owner’s contact information along with some eye catching graphics, but provide little or no information about the business or organization.
I admit that such a site is not very common, but they do exist.
Here’s one that actually belongs to a web designer who is selling “Engine Optimized Web Solutions”:
Pretty amazing isn’t it?
Seeing is believing!
If there is information, but it’s contained in a flash presentation, then from a search engine’s point of view the site is devoid of content. Search engines are unable to decipher flash or pictures.
When pictures are part of a website, it’s important to tell the search engine what the picture is by using an “alt” description atrribute in the HTML “img” tag. Then the picture adds search value to the site. Also, if for some reason the picture doesn’t load, the description will appear instead.
If there is a lot of good information on the site, but there’s no way to capture a visitor’s contact details, or there isn’t an effective search engine optimization strategy, then the website is merely an Internet-based brochure.
Mosts websites are online brochures and no more. They lack an effective lead capture mechanism, or they lack an effective keyword strategy, or all too often they lack both.
Blogs are naturally full of rich content. Add to the mix a choice of subscription methods for lead capture and good keyword research, and you have the makings of a blog marketing strategy.
In my Blog Marketing and SEO Training series, I hope to provide you with lots of creative input as you develop your online presence.
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Jun
6
Even Mentors Need Mentors
Filed Under Acknowledgment, News, Personal Development and Success, books | Leave a Comment
Yesterday I was asked how it is that I’ve learned so much so quickly about social media marketing and search engine optimization.
My response was simple.
I learn from reading many books, e-books and blogs, and from speaking frequently with friends and mentors. Having mentors has greatly shortened my learning curve.
I do admit that I am a much more focused learner than the average person. I was able to finish high school math at 15 and by 19 I was one of the top chess players in New York.
As an adult I’ve gone on to acquire skills and expertise in many areas including business analysis, social media marketing, search engine marketing, and online social networking at social networking sites, the original motivation for this site.
One of my greatest teachers and mentors was Eric Marder, founder of Eric Marder Associates and my employer for 23 years. One fundamental thing he taught me about business was that I should always seek the truth.
At 56, I still place a very high priority on continuing education, personal development and masterminding with my mentors and peers. You can ask any of the friends with whom I consult most often, David Alexander, Ivo Jackson, and Tom Long.
Other friends and mentors whom I wish to acknowledge:
- Bill Arnold of Network Success Builders, a marketing genius
- Bill Weber of Direct Matches, who taught me to build it right
- Diane Hochman of My Private Classroom who develops leaders through her training
- Mike Litman who taught me that You Don’t Have to Get It Right, you just have to get it going
- Also Ann Sieg of The Renegade System, Mark Wieser of Surefire Sponsoring, Mike Dillard of Magnetic Sponsoring, and Tim Draayer, a master blogger
Bill Arnold of Network Success Builders and Diane Hochman of My Private Classroom, like myself, offer free tele-seminars and webinars. To receive announcements and invitations to these classes, join my e-mail list at my free social media training site.
Make a commitment to read at least one business or marketing book each month. Choose mentors to guide you and then set aside time each week to learn something from them.
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May
28
Blogging, Blog Marketing and Search Engine Optimization
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging | Leave a Comment
Our blog marketing and search engine optimization series is under way.
In this ongoing series we are looking at blogs and blogging in connection with several online marketing channels:
Quite obviously blogs are not laid out sequentially like a book. Even if you write in sequence, your material will be presented to the blog’s reader in reverse sequence. Therefore, I created this post to organize my blogging articles into a handy table of contents.
This is a good place to mention that I’m not writing a textbook or an all-encompassing reference on blogging and blog marketing. Rather, I’m raising issues that could be critical to your success and sharing my thoughts and opinions about them.
There are many books and blogs that deal extensively with the details of blogging, business networking and search engine marketing. I love reading such books, and as we progress, I’ll tell you about many of them.
Disclaimer
I am not giving you business direction or assuming any measure of responsibility for your business decisions. While I believe that my ideas are sound, it is you nevertheless who will determine your path and assume full responsibility for your business results.
Blog Marketing Articles
Top Reasons Why I Blog
Top 10 Blogging Success Factors
Don’t Make This Mistake
Narrowing Blog Focus
Blogging and Search Engine Marketing
Blogs and Blogging for Fun and Profit
Blog Marketing
Before You Begin Blogging
Creating a Home for Your Blog
Web Hosting for Your Blog