May
25
Before You Begin Blogging
Filed Under Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging | 2 Comments
The decisions you make and the actions you take before you set up your marketing blog are at least as important as the steps you take once your blog is up and running.
Proper planning can help you avoid many false starts and much backtracking.
Start by asking yourself basic marketing questions such as these:
- How will you monetize your blog? For ideas refer to Blogs and Blogging for Fun and Profit.
- What will you sell?
- Which are your target markets?
- Can you reach them through advertising? Offline business networking?
- Can you connect with them at social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Direct Matches, Yuwie or Ryze? While you’re building credibility with the search engines, you can use online social networking and forums to enlist subscribers and readers for your blog.
- What can you write about in your blog or what other content can you offer that will attract them?
- Which keywords are they searching for that are relevant to your project?
- Which keyword searches can you realistically compete for?
- How will you position your products and brand yourself?
Asking these questions up front will make it possible to develop a coherent plan of action, and we will consider them in coming weeks.
You will need to choose a home for your blog, and that raises another key question.
Will you join a blogging community such as Blogger.com or Wordpress.com — or will you host your blog independently? I explain in Creating a Home for Your Blog why serious bloggers usually prefer to host their sites independently, and later we’ll look at what that entails.
And you will also need to evaluate your marketing and technical skills. Where are you on the learning curve? What will it take to get up to speed? Will you require some amount of personal guidance to get off to the right start?
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May
22
Blog Marketing
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, blogging, communication | 3 Comments
Blogging and Personal Branding
Personal blogs and business blogs often factor into the marketing mix of both large and small businesses.
Blogging is interactive and enables direct communication with the customer or end user, a subtle form of business networking.
Blogging as a form of networking is not as direct as attending a meeting of a chamber of commerce or a small business association — nor does it replace online social networking at social networking sites. However, it builds credibility while refining and reinforcing the blogger’s personal or corporate brand image.
Search Engine Optimization
As I stated in Top Reasons Why I Blog, “Blogging endears me to the search engines.”
Search engines love to deliver fresh content to their clientele, and that’s what blogs are all about. Each blog post creates new content for search engines such as Google to sink their teeth into.
Search engines send visitors. Some of those visitors become readers and bond with the blogger and his or her company or cause.
Make Money Blogging
This bond presents opportunities.
For example, when bloggers are looking directly to monetize their blogs, as is very often the case in the world of blogs, their readers are often redirected to another site or to a sales page to purchase an endorsed product or service.
This transition is easy once a trusting relationship has been created between blogger and reader.
To learn how to make money blogging, my previous post, Blogs and Blogging for Fun and Profit, is a good place to start.
We’ll continue to explore the relationship between blogging and search engine marketing.
Be sure to visit the Blog Marketing and SEO Training page.
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May
19
Business Networking Sites
Filed Under Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 5 Comments
Online social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook have become considerably heterogeneous over time. They support diverse agendas and activities.
One the other hand, social networking sites such as myYearbook or Linked In have retained their strictly social or business networking character.
Social Sites for Every Business
Business is embracing social networking, and most new social networking websites seem to lean more towards doing business than towards socializing.
I came across an excellent list of business networking sites and social media sites that will help you create a strong web presence for yourself or for your organization.
Inside CRM published a collection of 50 Social Sites That Every Business Needs a Presence On. The entries are listed in five categories:
- Social Bookmarking Sites – such as reddit and Digg
- Business Networking Sites — like Ryze
- Niche Social Media Sites – including Sphinn and Tweako
- General Social Media Sites — such as Wikipedia
- Job Sites – like Yahoo! Hot Jobs
I don’t know whether their list will be updated periodically, but it is certainly an excellent jumping off point.
You can also consult Mashable’s Catalog of 350+ Social Networking Sites, Seth Godin’s Web 2.0 Traffic Watch List and Ning Social Networking Sites for additional ideas.
You Need a Strong Web Presence
Are you an established entrepreneur or manager?
Are you opening a small business, a network marketing business or a consulting practice?
Even if you’re an employee in a corporation, you need a solid web presence to comptete in today’s Internet-based world.
When somebody Google’s YOU or your niche, what will the search engine return?
More on search engines and search engine optimization coming in future articles. So don’t miss any posts. Register, it’s easy, or subscribe to my RSS feed!
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May
14
Wowzza Alert
Filed Under Alerts, News, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 5 Comments
I strive to write upbeat online social networking posts. However, sometimes I have to publish a bad report.
I told you that I had found the social networking site Wowzza Disappointing. I decided to withdraw during Wowzza’s 10-day grace period, and I expected to receive a refund.
When my refund wasn’t issued after more than a week, I contacted Jim Vigilante, the site’s founder, who said that he would look into it for me.
Last week I wrote him again. This time I did not receive a reply.
If I eventually receive my refund, I’ll post a comment to this article to let you know. As of now both social networking sites, Wowzza and Zion 5, are suspect.
If you already belong to either of them, enjoy! No need to quit.
But if you haven’t joined them, you should consider taking your online social networking business elsewhere.
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May
9
Blogging and Search Engine Marketing
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites, blogging | 5 Comments
My First Effort
I launched my Online Social Networking blog on November 6, 2007 with my first post, Here We Are.
I was a blogging and search engine optimization newbie.
You might remember my earlier post, “You don’t have to get it right. You just have to get it going!” I made a plan and got started.
My strategy was to attract readers at social networking sites such as MySpace and Yuwie, and at the same time build a strong presence in the search engines.
I chose to write about social networking because of the large amount of experience I had with online social networking and social networking sites, and I selected the name of this blog and its principal keywords accordingly.
My blog took form over a period of several months with a few false starts and reversals. I kept writing week after week and networking and strategizing while waiting for my search engine marketing to kick in.
I joined MyBloglog and Entrecard to connect with other bloggers and entice them to visit my site. At Entrecard I made new friends.
One, a gentleman named Marcus Hochstadt, has helped me enormously. Not only has Marcus given me lots of encouragement, but through a contest he organized and ran on his Internet Business Guide blog, he also helped me gain more than fifty good inbound links to my blog. This helped my Google Page Rank.
Moving Up in Google
Page rank is Google’s measure of a site’s authority. It’s a major factor in Google’s determination of a site’s position in search results.
Having your site shown by Google and other search engines on page one of the results when people search for your targeted keywords is highly desirable and is the primary goal of search engine optimization.
As my credibility increased, and my page rank went from zero to one and from one to two I moved up in the search engine results and saw large increments in the number of visitors Google was sending my way each day.
I started tracking my blog’s traffic late January using Google Analytics. At that time Google was already providing me with a couple of visitors per day. The following chart shows how my results improved over time. Click on the chart to view a larger much larger version.
On a good day now I receive about 30 visitors. This will continue to grow over time, and I’ll keep you posted.
You Can Do It Too
I’m teaching a free course on blogging, search engine optimization and social media marketing. You’ll learn all the techniques I’ve discovered and how you can apply them yourself.
A wide range of social media marketing training courses is available at My Private Classroom for Marketers.
Subscribe to my newsletter at my free social media training site.
If you’re interesed in harnessing the synergy of blogging, social networking sites and search engine optimization, visit my Blog Marketing and SEO Training.
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May
7
Rationale for Social Networking
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Search Engines, communication | 1 Comment
Last November I examined the popularity of social networking sites.
In a series of four posts I examined the reasons I believed that online social networking was very relevant:
- “High Tech/High Touch” - As sterile technology increasingly impacts our lives, we crave greater and greater intimacy to offset it.
- Digital Age - Our technical capablity permits, even inspires us, to share multi-media digital files with our friends, family and colleagues that contain valuable information, memorable experiences and enjoyable entertainment.
- Communication - Online social networking sites are capable of providing us with the functionality that e-mail did in the past plus a big additional benefit, file sharing.
- Search Engine Optimization - More and more marketers are turning to social networking both to connect with users and to get free traffic. Traffic comes from within the community and, thanks to the search engines, from without as well.
On March 24th I looked at Social Networking vs. Advertising and how people tend to approach social networking with an advertising mindset. If you haven’t seen that post, I highly recommend it.
My good friend Ivo Jackson, a very gifted writer, wrote a blog post April 8, the 7 Reasons Why You Should Do More Networking Than Selling that looked at networking from another angle.
Ivo provides an excellent rationale for social networking that applies to offline as well as online social networking. These are the points she makes:
- People don’t like to be sold.
- Selling only works when people are ready to buy, and most of your network is not ready.
- People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
- Selling yourself or your brand is easier than selling your product or service.
- The law of averages is real - long term success is relative to the size of your network.
- If you help people get what they want, you will eventually get what you want.
- If you expect a great harvest, you must first plant some seeds.
Visit Ivo’s blog and read the complete article.
I wish to add just one point that I made in my March 24th post. Networking allows you to determine what people really want so that you can customize your offer to them.
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May
1
Social Media Sites List
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Search Engines, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 4 Comments
Seth Godin’s Web 2.0 Traffic Watch List
My interest in social media has evolved substantially over the past year.
My love for online social networking and social networking sites is not something new, but my love for blogging and appreciation for social bookmarking, content sharing and article submission sites certainly are.
Through my conference calls I now provide social media marketing training in addition to seminars on search engine marketing and using social networking sites.
As I mentioned in my recent post, Social Networking Site Catalog, “I launched this blog to share my passion for online social networking and my experiences at social networking sites. I never intended to assemble a catalog. There are already too many good ones out there.”
One of the world’s top marketers and author of marketing books, Seth Godin, provides a catalog of 952 top social media sites, Seth Godin’s Web 2.0 Traffic Watch List. It will help you know what’s hot and what’s not.
Here are the top ten as I write this post.
- youtube.com
- myspace.com
- orkut.com
- en.wikipedia.org
- ebay.com
- facebook.com
- fotolog.com
- flickr.com
- friendster.com
- photobucket.com
Put content in the right places, and you will attract other users and search engines like a magnet. If you’re into marketing, that’s exactly what you want.
For more about social media marketing come to my tele-seminars and consider joining Diane Hochman and me at My Private Classroom for Marketers. We’ll help you, but rather than spoon feed you, we’ll “teach you how to fish”.
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Apr
28
Social Networking Site Catalog
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 3 Comments
Mashable Catalog of Social Networking Sites
I launched this blog to share my passion for online social networking and my experiences at social networking sites. I never intended to assemble a catalog. There are already too many good ones out there.
Consider the Mashable list of 350+ social networking sites arranged by category with a brief description of each site. It’s very well done.
Or consider the Go2Web20 complete Web 2.0 social media directory. What an undertaking!
I will from time to time point you to such lists and meta-sites to stimulate your interest and facilitate your research.
You can also find helpful information and resources on the sidebar of this blog.
I will continue to focus on writing thought-provoking articles and sharing my ideas about social media marketing, social networking sites and personal development.
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Apr
24
Don’t Follow the Flock
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Personal Development and Success, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 2 Comments
Tonight Diane Hochman speaking on a free My Private Classroom webinar revealed the top seven Internet screw-ups of the average marketer.
My favorite was following the flock.
Facebook is hot. Very hot. There are scores of top networkers on the Facebook scene.
Is that where you want to be? Do you want to follow the flock to Facebook in the hope of successfully competing with some of the world’s greatest networkers?
You might be successful. But instead, why not carve out a niche for yourself somewhere else? There are hundreds of social networking sites. Why not lead the flock instead of following?
Whenever everybody zigs, be a leader and zag. If they zag, you zig.
Diane made a number of other excellent points. Then she summed up her insightful and inspiring talk with the following advice. Above all, you should use common sense and be yourself.
For an invitation to the next free My Private Classroom webinar, complete the subscription form on my Social Networking Project site devoted to online social networking and social media marketing training.
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Apr
23
What is Wowzza?
From my perspective Wowzza is thousands of networkers running around like chickens with their heads cut off — quite a messy sight — or should I say site?
The situation became so messy that site founder Jim Vigilante felt compelled to axe the site’s top feature, sending direct messages to all contacts in one fell swoop. Members were bombarded by spam in their in-boxes and the latest greatest pre-launches. Something had to be done. Now members are limited to 50 bulk mail messages per day.
Incidentally Wowzza is extremely slow, but I’m sure that this problem will eventually be addressed and corrected.
Let me remind you of my earlier post, Online Social Networking Entering New Phase, in which I said, “Use social networking sites to network, to make new friends, to make new business contacts, and to make deals. Do not use them only to get paid by them. If you want to make money, doing business through these sites has much more potential than creating income streams from the sites themselves.”
I also said, “Join, use and refer people to sites that you enjoy, that offer the services you want, and that attract the types of people you wish to network with.
“Do not join sites because you are impressed by their hyped-up revenue sharing plan. Avoid paid membership sites unless they are the only ones that provide the services you require and attract the clientele you seek.”
Since I believe that there’s nothing particularly unique about Wowzza, I’m not going to pay $32.95 for the privilege of getting other people to do the same, just to make a buck.
In case you’re not already receiving enough spam or you’re desperate to get information on the pre-launch du jour, Wowzza may be just the social networking site for you.
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Apr
15
Online Social Networking: Quantity vs. Quality
Filed Under Favorite Posts, Networking and Marketing Strategy, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 3 Comments
On April 4 in Building a List with Online Social Networking I discussed the role of online social networking in permission-based marketing.
When you add a friend at one of the social networking sites, you are adding that person to your list, and at the same time you’re adding yourself to his or her list. It’s reciprocal list building.
You’ll readily agree that a tiny list is not likely to get you far. Right?
You must build a large list. But how large? And do you focus on quantity or quality?
Whether you have 100 or 500 or 5,000 people on your friends list, you aren’t going to be able to have a regular intimate dialog with all of them. So why opt for smaller rather than larger?
In Stan Relihan’s interview with Ron Bates, the most connected networker on LinkedIn with around 40,000 direct connections, Ron answers the question quite succinctly. He says that “there is quality in quantity”.
In other words, the larger your list, the more people there will be who are just the ones you’re looking to meet. Some relationships will remain superficial while others will become strong friendships.
Ron also discusses the importance in business today of what he refers to as an “additive online presence”. Before somebody does business with you they’re likely to Google you to see what comes up. That’s your online presence. Each place you network, post an article or bookmark a site adds to that presence. This you may recall is a subject we touched on last month in Social Networking Sites: Your Web Presence and is frequently discussed at My Private Classroom for Marketers.
I encourage you to listen to Stan’s interview with Ron Bates and Stan’s other online social networking podcasts. You’ll find loads of gems.
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Apr
12
Online Social Networking at Wowzza
Filed Under News, Social Media and Social Networking Sites | 4 Comments
My tongue in cheek April Fools post Alphabet Wars was right on. Owners of social networking sites are increasingly facing tough naming choices that strain the 26-letter alphabet.
One of the newest players on the online social networking scene is Wowzza. The name tells us little more than that perhaps somebody’s keyboard tends to stick on the letter z. Why another social networking site? What’s different about this site?
Wowzza is an exclusive members-only site, not a free social networking site like MySpace, Facebook or Yuwie. All members are premium members.
Founder Jim Vigilante’s aim is to attract serious marketers and entrepreneurs. Jim is also playing up the referral income potential of Wowzza’s 3×9 forced matrix payout.
In an upcoming post I’ll explain why I am not networking at Wowzza.
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