You Know About SEO, But, Do You Know About SMO?

SEO is Search Engine Optimization, which is known to most Internet marketers throughout the world. But there are many who are not totally aware of SMO, which is a new term than SEO. SMO is a branch off the SEO tree, but there are many who are in the Internet marketing business that are not aware of this wonderful tool to increase their popularity in the search engines.

What is SMO? It is Social Media Optimization

As you would use SEO on the search engines, SMO will work on the social media sites. As you may well know, the Social Media sites to not focus on the business aspect of the Internet, but they do focus on social interaction such as the blogs, forums, communities, video websites, music sites, etc…

Search Engine Optimization is great in providing long term ranking to your websites, whereas, SMO’s are great at creating a viral marketing buzz to your business. You can look at this as a great gossip columnist spreading the buzz or news about your site, and watching the buzz take off like fire. You will be creating not only a buzz, but bringing in visitors just out of sheer curiosity.

Are There Any Disadvantages of SMO I Should Be Aware Of?

Yes, there is a drawback and that is the speed of which it takes off then fades. This works like the news, it comes out, hits the papers, then becomes old news. SEO, however, is very effective and permanent, giving it a higher ranking among Internet marketers.

But what happens when you combine the two, SMO and SEO? You then create a great partnership linking your website to some high quality content, while the website is named on the social media sites. You will be creating a win/win situation, using great content which is essential to both the SEO as well as the SMO techniques.

There are a number of websites that are social media sites which include rich content. One of these sites is Yahoo! Answers. This site answers queries while promoting their own websites indirectly.

It is important to have search engine optimization in promoting your website and making it visible to the viewers, however, coupled with social media optimization, you will reap the rewards of higher results than SEO techniques alone.

How To Get SMO Going For You

I am going to recommend you using Google Gadgets, which are tiny bits of code that can be downloaded for free right from Google. You can apply these Google gadgets as your own signature as you post on blogs or forums, attracting interest to your website, all at no cost to you.

Another option is to visit a few of the social media network sites and create your own page. This is simple to do and won’t take up a lot of your time. You may find that there are more people on the Internet that share your same interests. Send them a note with your cute Google gadget in your signature.

Social marketing is an ideal way to get a target market. If you want to direct people to your website, you need only visit some of the different social network sites on the Internet and make a page. This can be done in a matter of minutes. Then find others who share your interests and send them a note with your own personal signature, complete with a cute little Gadget. Gadgets can be customized and make a fun signature at the end of your post. They can be used to link others to your website.

Visit relevant websites and forums, creating your own ‘buzz’ just by using SMO. And as you search out relevant blogs and forums, don’t limit yourself, take a chance on the .org, .gov., .edu and so on…there is more out there than just the dot.coms. As for the .edu sites, these are a great market as they are typically the colleges and Universities.

CONTENT IS KEY!

Create excellent and keyword rich content which will help you with search engine optimization, which will also help you in your brand marketing. You want to use the Google Gadgets, providing ample exposure to your website, creating your own ‘buzz’ and increasing your ranks on the search engines. You will create your Google Gadget for your product or website, use it as your post to the relevant forums and blogs. You will soon be the hot topic on the web.

When do Internet Marketers become Rabid Dogs?

When a high quality product of extreme, real value is created and launched by a very well respected and successful industry figure, who offers great backend prizes and affiliate commissions…. Thats when!

No doubt over the last 12 hours you have got 10 or more emails about a new product offering, heck I guess i’ve got over 15 in that time. but why, that is the question?

Well, for starters, marketers that respect their lists, only want to promote the best to them, in this case, I personally paid a tonne for the information now being given away free.

The next reason is the incentive, in this case, backend OTO’s are shown ranging from lower cost up to $800, these all pay 50% to the affiliate, not to mention the fact that Mike in this case is giving away cool prizes for those ‘big’ enough to get up to the top of the promotional table so to speak (I think top 10 get in there)

Third, Mike can afford to do this, as even though it is a free product, it could well be his most successful and profitable ever. Lets assume 10,000 signup – now forget about the OTO’s (which would bring in a lot of fast cash) it is also a continuity program, meaning that until you cancel, you will be sent a magazine with some quality information each month. Assume a 50% drop out rate, that leaves 5,000 members each netting Mike’s company $15 a month (after expenses)  Thats  $75,000 a month recurring income. Not too bad I wouldn’t have thought but Mike is in a position to do that because of the incredibly awesome information and products he has created and is able to pass on as value.

So the customer gets a 7 figure education dirt cheap, the affilite gets good rewards and the creator is well taken care of, Win-Win-Wins like this tend to turn the industry upside down for the period of the launch.

I know it did for me, I don’t expect to get in the prizes, but I still booked a domain name: http://www.7figuresecrets.org and then went to work building inbound links and getting listings in the search engines. If you search on google for:

7figuresecrets
7figure secrets bonus
7figuresectres review

you will see that my site is up there with many listings in google. I will be releasing through a series of blog posts how you too can do this in the near future.

For Now… If you still haven’t signed up after getting BOMBARDED with emails about it, do so now, trust me, its worth it: 7 Figure Secrets 

Looking For A Match To Create Success?

I am sure you have heard of Eharmony for those that are looking for a companion…but what about those who are looking for the perfect match for business or possibly looking for a mentor? MyMission2 is just the site to assist you in finding the right partner and allowing others to find you. This is a site that can be used for not just dating, but for your profession, work, or education. This is a site for the success oriented type person.

So you sit down at your computer, pull up MyMission2 and start filling out some information regarding your skills, and what your dreams and aspirations are. You have the option of making this information public or private. You may have the expertise that someone else is looking for, and if so, they will be able to contact you, the same goes for you, you will find someone who has the skills and expertise you are seeking. This is great for those who are goal oriented, assisting others in reaching their goals.

How Does It Work?

This is taking an old concept like the dating sites, combining it with services such as Yahoo Answers, bringing together the best of both worlds, creating a dynamic tool now called MyMission2. Another site related to this is TheCommon.org which has just recently launched.

Current favorite categories

* Arts

* Auto & Transport

* Beauty & Style

* Business & Finance

* Charity

* Education

* Entertainment

* Environment

* Food & Drink

* Gadgets

* Government

* Health

* Home & Garden

* Pets

* Relationships

* Sports

* Technology

* Travel

Don’t Be A Square Peg In A Round Hole!

Find associates and matches that are seeking the same thing you are; Success!

Another great service that is set up as a goal setting/achieving web-based community is Goalmigo. The difference between MyMission2 and these other sites are that MyMission2 is still working on their internet tools which will take you through the steps needed for goal achievement.

You get to share links, images, the simpler things, but they have not yet set up tools such as integrated calendars, task lists, or ways to create collaborative documents, however, this is a great, new and upcoming web-based community which will grow quickly, providing you a built-in support system for SEO integration.

Another site worth checking out is Upumpitup. This site is well modified for goal achievement and offers some practical tools for achieving goals on a group basis Upumpitup is a fun place to check out, and endorsed by Mandy Moore, actress/singer. This is a site mainly for women, whereas, MyMission2, is for everyone.

If you are looking for success, want others to join in with you on your journey, then check out MyMission2. Teach others what you know, help them succeed, learn from those who know the ropes. This is a win-win situation, but only for those who want to succeed.

This post is a follow on from the post I made a few days ago, click here to read it first

Get That Business Coming Your Way!

You like the idea of an online newsletter, and you are beginning to see how this will help you bring in more business to your website. But you do have a few concerns, which is perfectly natural. You need to know that everyone who starts something new, has their own concerns and fears.

Some of the most common question are;

1. What if I don’t have anything interesting or relevant to write?
2. Can I keep the quality up over a long period of time?
3. How do I make links from my pictures to my website?

These are just a sample of the questions that are asked…but never fear! This is so much easier than it sounds.

The thing you need to be concerned about IS WHEN you are going to DO IT! Stop with the excuses, just begin and you will realize how simple it really is.

1. You do need to remember that you must always offer something that is of interest or very useful to your reader.
2. Keep your newsletter fairly short. So many these days have more than enough emails to read, and they don’t have time to read a long newsletter. They will like the fact that they can read it quickly and get something from it.
3. You want the best format possible for your follow up emails, so put some thought into this process. You want a model that you can use week after week, which by the way makes your job easier.Below are a few ideas that you can use as your standard format, choose one or combine them, whatever fits your personality.

   I. Tip of the Month

   Here you will come up with some great tips that focus on your main products. Do a bit of brainstorming giving you two or three months of content. If you are focusing on an area that you are familiar with, it should be easy. Some of the topics can be offering and explaining the problem, then offer a tip that will solve the problem.

   II. The Famous “Top Ten” list

   This format is so popular because it works. If you are an expert in Doll Collecting, then write your article about “Top Ten Reasons to start Doll Collecting”. Keep your sentences short.

   III. Three Different Ways to….

   Sometimes it can be difficult to find ten ways to do something, but you can always find three ways to do it. This can be done alternately with your Top Ten newsletters.

   IV. The “Before and After” approach

   You can use this much like you would the “Tip of the Month” format. You will introduce a problem with the solution. This format works best when you can include case studies which is an excellent way if interacting with your customers on a direct level. You may even ask your customers for some examples of their ‘before and after’ and if they will give their permission to share it with your readers. If your format is in text only, you can include a link to show pictures on your website.

   V. What about “Checklists”

   If you want to share something new with your readers, a great way to do this is with checklists. Be sure to include all the steps, and these check lists will help save your readers a lot of time, which they will love. You will begin by writing a short paragraph which introduces your topic, include your list, the end it with some final tips. You can format your entire newsletter on the checklist formula, or present it randomly.

   Now you can see that online newsletters aren’t as difficult as you first thought. Get your list and get started, no excuses.

Bring in Even More Business!

Today I want to talk about online newsletters and how these can bring in even more business for you. This is a very cost-effective way to market and will not eat up all of your time.

Whether you are mailing your newsletters out through the post office, or sending them out via email, this is a great way to increase the recognition of your brand, bringing in repeat business and sharing your experience and story and success with your readers.

1. You are going to first put your list together of your current customers along with any potential customers. Any names that you have collected from inquiries, direct mail response cards, etc…that you have from the beginning of your marketing endeavors, will be the start of your list. If you don’t have a list, and you have some money set aside, you can purchase a list, giving you names of the best potential customers.

1. If you are doing an online newsletter, it is best to include a content manager system. This will make your editing much easier with a newsletter template, your graphics and giving it your own style. You will have a little bit to learn, but you will have a lot of fun doing it. If you need help through the process, call a college student, they will be a great resource. Another option would be to hire somebody at Guru.com at great cheap prices.
2. Next you want to have a feature that allows you to track bounce back emails to help you manage. your list, deleting these names from your list. It is really important to keep your list up to date. Now, your goal is to increase sales, but you need to make this an easy process for your readers because they all have very busy schedules, so you need to show off your products in the very best manner.\Below are some tips to help you do this and achieve greater financial success from your email marketing.

• Include pictures all throughout
• Show details in these pictures
• The pictures need to be bright and cheery
• Make the picture a link to the sales page or product information page.
• Be sure to add a text link which is associated with your product picture which links to the online product page
• Include the ability to order directly from your newsletter with purchase buttons
• When you have a new product, make sure you have direct links in the website, making it easy for them to get there without any extra navigating.If you still have concerns about your new online newsletter, …just know you can do it…I will go over tomorrow some of your biggest questions..such as “What do I say?”, or “How much time will this take?”, or “How do I set up the links?”. Well, we will answer these questions in our next blog. Stay tuned…..

Can Your Photos Make You Money?

As you know by now, I love keeping you in the know on all the new sites that help you in your viral marketing strategies. The name of the latest company that I want to share with you is fOTOGLIF.

What is fOTOGLIF?

This is not your ordinary photo sharing website, this is one that actually gives back. You get to upload and share as many photos as you like, and you are thinking “so what, there are numerous sites that do this”, but what you don’t know is….you get paid to share your photos. They will split their ad revenues with you on a 50/50 basis, depending on the viewer-ship.

FOTOGLIF has a built in photo and content sharing application which enables its users to benefit directly from their own content they have shared. The users of this site is who create the content and when they share, they are creating traffic to the site, therefore, becoming a recipient of the revenues generated.

This site has created a fantastic platform for artists and photographers to benefit from their talents and creations, and to be able to share their work while benefiting financially from the advertising revenues. They have created a Best Of Show utility for sharing these incredible pictures.

This is a new site, just opened this month. This is providing Facebook junkies to produce their own slideshows to share while bringing in some money at the same time. And for those of you who are serious about your photography and wish to promote your work, you can do so on here as you do on Flickr and other photo sites. You may find that fOTOGLIF will be a great tool in brining in some extra income while promoting your art.

Facebook Users

Because this is such a new product, you may encounter a few error messages as you install it on Facebook on the uppermost portion of the dashboard. You will also need to focus on your gift patience as you load your images. This being new, in time it will become better and better as they work out the bugs. This is definitely worth checking out.

Their revenue sharing plan is a great and simple plan. You will supply the required personal data with an email address for PayPal. This will all be done in the “Settings” menu, and then you will be on the receiving end of half of what they make through the advertisements and viewers interactions.

ARE MUSICIANS TAKING ON SOCIAL NETWORKING ON THE WEB?

If You Would Like to Connect With Some of the Top Musicians and create your own Social Network at the same time; Then Read On…

If you are one that loves music, and would love to network with these artists, then you just may have your opportunity. Many of the artists, such as 50 Cent, Ludacris, Kylie Minogue and many more have decided to move away from the vast space of MySpace, to a new alternative site, a site that is destined to be a star on Web 2.0. This site is Ning, a place where you can connect with some of your favorite artists.

How Does Ning Work and Will It Benefit My Viral Marketing Campaign?

Ning was founded by Marc and Gina Bianchini in October 2004 to provide an opportunity for you and me the ability to create our own social networks for anything and everything. Ning is the power behind the largest number of the Internet’s social networks, and social networking is all about viral marketing.

You will have the opportunity to use the latest and greatest in social networking, features that are truly customizable by you to fit your needs. This is a platform that provides all the features you need to be a success in the social networking arena. The only thing you need to bring to the table is your time and determination. With this you will be able to build your own social network. This is not a prefitted site, this is one you create yourself.

What is the Purpose of Ning?

The founders first started Ning on a very simple premise, they wanted to provide a way for anyone to create their own social networking site. They were expecting some amazing results and they got that and so much more! They have artists, athletes, musicians , educators, journalists, students, alumni, hobbyists, and any other group of interests you can imagine. The diversity of these groups is amazing and quite profound.

As you check out the Ning website, you will find a very informative FAQ section, where you can learn about their Network Creators community.

Are you a business or company that wants to promote your private label? If so, check out Ning for Business.

You will find these features on the Ning website as posted there:

# Members can invite new members, meet new people, and make new friends on your network.

# Full message center with address book importing from Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and Hotmail.

# See your network members when they are online now.

# Customizable profile pages just for you.

# Photo slideshows, video players, music players, and network badges, that can be embedded anywhere on the Internet, seamlessly funneling new people to your network.

# Set your own different privacy settings for every photo, video, group, or blog post they contribute.

# RSS feeds of your network’s features, such as members, discussions, photos, videos, music/podcasts, and blog posts.

# Got a logo or brand? Add it to make your network totally unique.

# Choose your own theme from the options provided then customize them to make them your own.

# Public or private, that is totally up to you!

# Choose how your photos, video player, music players, and network badges appear on your site.

# Do you want to ask your members some profile questions before they join? You get to create this, and the questions will be private as well as the answers, for your eyes only.

# Do you juse Facebook? Enable “one-click” Facebook Promotion so your members can add photo slideshows, video players, and music/podcasts from your network seamlessly into Facebook.

# You have the ability to moderate photos and videos before you post them.

# Choose from a set of supported languages (English, Chinese, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish) or translate your social network into any unsupported language by changing one file in the code.

# Member profile questions created by you for your network.

# Member blog posts with photos, files, and widgets.

# Manage blog posts and moderate comments.

# Choose the option to publish in the future.

# Ability to customize the appearance of member profile pages.

# Option to add widgets to profile page.

Take advantage of this great social networking platform and create for yourself an even bigger and better network and keep your viral marketing campaign on fire!

Affiliate Programs and How They Can Boost Your Income

What Do You Know About Affiliate Marketing?

As you already know, Internet marketing uses the Internet to market products as well as their promotion. You can be using this method to promote your own products or the products of others.

This is where we get into the affiliate programs and how they can benefit you financially by earning commission on the quality products you are promoting for others.

There are several avenues of marketing that you can use such as your website and web pages, personal blogs and Email Opt-in lists. You are going to promote the product with a squeeze page or promotional letter, In your letter, you will include an affiliate link which will contain the affiliate identifier.

With your affiliate identifier link, your visitors will click on the link, be sent to the product sales page or website, and with their purchase, you will be given a percentage of the sales price. This is very similar to sales in brick and mortar stores, however with an affiliate program, your part is very simple and self running. All you need to do is do the initial set up and optimize the traffic.

You need to realize though that Not All Affiliate Programs are the same, so choose wisely.

What you need to know and look for in choosing the right affiliate program:

1) Training and Support

Affiliate programs will usually provide training and support, which is crucial for those just starting out on Internet Marketing. This is so important as it will be the only way for you to become effective as well as profitable. You need to look for affiliate which offers sufficient training and the know how in selling their product. There are however, Internet marketers who have experienced great success in affiliates without the training and support, but wouldn’t it be nice to have that training and support?

2) Look for High Commissions

You are going to put in the effort to bring in the traffic to the affiliate product with your sales pitch, then directing the customers to the affiliate sales page, and for your well earned efforts, you will receive a percentage of the sale in form of commissions. As you look at the different Affiliate programs to market, look at the amount of commission they offer, some are hardly worth your effort.

The most popular site to promote affiliate programs is Clickbank. You will soon see that Clickbank is the largest online marketplace on the Internet. Clickbank places hundreds of thousands of products which are sold on a daily basis. There are some that pay up to 75% of the purchase price.

3) Affiliate Referral Programs

There are a few programs that will offer you a chance to recommend their affiliate programs yourself. This sill ultimately award you with a greater percentage of all the sales generated for the program you recommend. This is where your viral marketing techniques will come in effect, the more you recommend, the more money you will make.

4) Triple Combination; Affiliate Training and Support, Referral Commission and Product Commission

You will be happy to know that there are some programs out there that offer the best of all three worlds of affiliate marketing. You can have all of these with training to help you in your marketing efforts. A wonderful example of this is the Internet Marketing Center’s Affiliate program. With this combination, you can reap huge commission benefits.

You can make some good money with Internet marketing bringing you closer and closer to your goal of financial freedom. But remember, you need to be willing to put in the time and effort.