Are you fascinated by a topic and you want to know more about it? Is the thought of attending a prestigious university appealing, but not realistic for you? The Internet and Open Courseware are making top notch educational opportunities available to the public on the Internet through free online courses from top universities and organizations.

You won’t earn course credits or a degree with these free online courses, but they’ll allow you to expand your mind by reading, listening to, and watching some of the best minds in various fields. Whether you’re interested in learning more about business and marketing, history, foreign languages, science, or the arts, you’re bound to find something you’ll love from these places offering free online courses.

1. Yale University

Credit: Yale University

Wouldn’t you love to sit in on a Yale lecture? Now you can with their Open Yale program, which offers several free online courses in topics ranging from The Old Testament to Biomedical Engineering.

There aren’t a lot of available courses online from Yale, but the quality more than makes up for the lack of quantity. This is one of several top universities that not only offers written course materials but also full videos of the course lectures or downloadable .mp3 audio versions so you can listen to the lectures from just about anywhere.

2. MIT

Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT’s OpenCourseware is without a doubt the biggest collection of free online courses from a prestigious university. Their list of offerings is huge to put it mildly. Interested in architectural design? They’ve got it. Want to learn about globalization? They’ve got that too. How about nonlinear dynamics or even toy product design? Oh yeah, you’re covered. Is there anything you can’t learn about with MIT’s OpenCourseware? Maybe, but I can’t find it.

The courses available online through MIT don’t follow a single format, so know that they’ll vary. Some courses will feature lecture notes. Some will include exams and solutions. Others will include multimedia elements like video lectures. In most, if not all, courses you’ll be told what texts the on-campus students used in the class, so you can purchase the textbook to follow along with the course if you’d like to.

3. U.S. Small Business Administration

Credit: U.S. Small Business Administration

The SBA may not be a university, but they offer some of the best free online business courses available on the Web. Whether you’re already a business owner or just thinking about becoming one, let them teach you how to write a business plan, market your business, understand basic accounting principles, and more with interactive online courses.

I’m personally a huge fan of their business planning resources, and recommend them to all prospective entrepreneurs or freelancers. You can even learn about things like international business and crime prevention. What’s not to love?

4. The Open University

Credit: The Open University

This UK university offers a pretty wide range of free online courses and learning materials through their OpenLearn program. What I love about OpenLearn is that they tell you up front in the course listings how long a course should take you to complete (18 hours for a climate change course and 8 hours for a social marketing course for example).

Each “study unit” in the OpenLearn program features its own discussion forum, allowing you to interact with other people following the same courses or sharing your interest areas.

5. UC Berkeley

Credit: UC Berkeley

UC Berkeley might not be the biggest compared to MIT’s huge offering of free online course materials, but you could argue they’re the best. What I love about UC Berkeley is that they offer all of their free online course materials in webcast form. You can find audio and / or video lectures, allowing you to feel like you’re right in the actual classroom or lecture hall (without worrying about being called on!).

UC Berkeley also does something other universities don’t — they offer webcasts of current semester courses. In other words, you can take a course right along with current students earning a degree with the school. Their webcast list lets you know the course schedule so you never miss a lecture. When you first visit the link above, the course list might look small. But don’t let that fool you! You’ll only be looking at the current semester’s webcast list. Check out the drop-down menu near the upper right of the screen, and you can pull up free online courses from past semesters as well (from as far back as 2001!).

No, you won’t earn a degree with these free online courses, but they offer an amazing wealth of knowledge. There’s no excuse not to learn anymore — not money, not admissions essays, nothing at all. Check out some of these free online courses and webcasts, and learn something new today. And when your friends or colleagues ask where you picked up that awesome little nugget of wisdom, just say “Oh, just [insert prestigious university here]. No biggie!”

If you’re in business, you want to make money. When you invest time or money into something, you expect to see a return on investment (ROI). In fact, the goal is to maximize that ROI. But your potential customers aren’t always eager to spend money with you. How can you set yourself apart from the competition, make potential customers or clients love you even before spending anything, and manage to turn them into buyers?

Easy. Give them something for free.

I tell freelancers this all the time. Give your knowledge away — not all of it mind you. Some people are just too protective. They figure they should charge for everything they have to offer. That’s silly though. Here’s why:

Why Freebies Lead to More Sales

When you give something away for free, you’re attracting leads. Will everyone convert into a paying customer? No. But the conversions can be just as high (if not higher than) other lead generation tactics like advertising. It can cost far less up front too (improving your ROI even more).

Think of freebies as a base for an up-sell. This happens quite often in publishing. For example, a free excerpt of a book might be given to magazine publishers (and therefore their readers). The idea is to suck them in and entice them to the buy the book. It’s true of information products online too. Let’s look at a hypothetical example.

Credit: Christian Ferrari (via Sxc.hu)

Let’s say you run an online consulting program or course on SEO. There are a lot of people giving SEO advice, and you need to set yourself apart if you want people to actually pay. You already have a decent selling point in that you run a highly successful SEO firm that regularly wipes the floor with the competition. But you need more.

You also know that not everyone can afford your comprehensive course (let’s say you’re charging $199 for a four week course). To bring in more revenue from those people, you decide to assemble some complementary information into an introductory e-book which you’ll sell for $27. Now you can reach people at the higher price point, but still monetize those in a lower-budget market.

Your e-book is setup to be a lead-in to the course. The intention is to convert some of those e-book buyers into course subscribers later on, after they’ve realized that A) you know what you’re talking about, B) your information is high quality and not just reiterating what they already know, and C) they like your style enough to want to pay more to learn more from you.

To get people to buy that e-book as a lead-in to your SEO course, you could then turn to freebies. Free stuff has a bigger potential of spreading virally via word of mouth than a paid product does (in most cases).

In this case let’s say you decide to release a shorter free report on SEO, and you make it available for download on your website. It will be much easier for you to drive leads to your site for a freebie than for that $199 course. You also convince prospects to take a closer look at your style and information without a commitment. They love that. (And if your website is monetized by ad revenue, you might even make money in the process that way as you drive traffic there for the freebie.)

Those free reports (or the opt-in list you build when people sign up to get that freebie) should then try to up-sell people to the e-book if they want to learn more beyond the report. Then those people who purchase the e-book will see further promotion for the course for “advanced” information on SEO. Do you see how up-selling works? It tends to work very well when you start with freebies as your base — more initial eyes as the word of mouth spreads.

You’ve seen an example of how giving away freebies can lead to more sales. But what kinds of freebies can you give away? You’re not limited to free reports (although they can be effective). Here are some ideas to get you started.

Business Freebie Ideas to Attract More Buyers

Consider using any of the following types of freebies to generate more business leads to drive to your paid products and services:

• E-books (how-to varieties work nicely)
• Reports covering an industry issue
• White papers (great if you’re targeting executive-level decision makers)
• Software
• Apps for Facebook, iPhone, etc.
• Blogs (free advice on those blogs)
• Forms or templates (including Web templates or blog themes)
• Promotional products (sticky notes, pens, keychains, bookmarks, etc.)
• Excerpts of a larger project (good for information products)
• Free consultations
• Free membership sites (for more exclusive information — lets you build an email list)
• Videos

You don’t have to use all of these freebie types. It can actually be best to focus on just one or two at a time (otherwise you’ll spread your promotional time and budget too thin). Here’s something else that’s important to keep in mind:

When you choose a business freebie to help you attract more customers and sales, make sure it’s worth the investment. For example, if your projections don’t show that you’ll earn a significant profit on all of those pens and keychains, skip them and try something else. Remember that they’re supposed to help you improve your bottom line, not hurt it.

Credit: Beth Kanter (via Flickr)

Figure out what types of freebies might attract the buyers you’re looking for, and see if it makes sense for you to invest some time or money up front to put together those freebies. The leads you’ll generate in the long run can make freebies well worth the investment. Don’t overlook them in your marketing mix just because there’s no immediate financial return. Business is a long-haul game.

Are you looking to add a new full-time staff member to your team? Some part-time help? An independent contractor to help with a specific project? No matter what your hiring needs are, it’s important that you find the right fit for your company.

When some people think of the hiring process they think of placing job ads, reviewing the applications and resumes that come in, and then conducting interviews to make a hiring decision. While advertising your job openings can give you a large pool of applicants in some cases, do you really have the time to review all of those resumes? What if none of those applicants is exactly what you’re looking for?

The best way to find your perfect new hire may not be posting a job ad, especially if you’re looking to hire someone with highly specialized skills. Instead, consider some of the following recruitment techniques:

Credit: Jay Simmons

1. Give Google a Go – Sometimes a simple online search is all you need (especially if you’re hiring a freelancer who considers new clients, as opposed to someone who may already be employed fulltime). Freelancers such as writers, designers, programmers, and consultants often have online portfolios available. Search for the type of contractor you’re looking for. Chances are good that you’ll find professional websites from freelancers that could meet your needs.

There you’re often able to review their portfolios (their past work) and sometimes learn more about their past client list, their rates, and their credentials. In other words, your hiring choices aren’t limited to those who have seen your job ad and you won’t have to weed out applicants who send resumes without actually meeting your requirements.

2. Ask Your Employees (and Others in Your Network) – The best referrals come from those who know you and understand the needs of your business. People are often better-connected than we think, and it’s possible that one of your existing employees or colleagues knows someone that would be a perfect fit for your company’s opening.

Credit: Sanja Gjenero

Many higher-level freelancers and full-time professionals don’t respond to advertised jobs. That’s because they already get job offers through their own network (such as their clients, past employers, or colleagues). Therefore if you’re looking for someone highly-specialized, this could be your best bet. Ask a colleague who they hired for a similar project in the past. Ask an employee who will be leaving if they know someone in the field that might be interested in filling their shoes (obviously only if the employee is leaving on good terms, such as due to relocation). Make those in your professional network aware of your hiring needs, and they may be able to help you in recruiting the best match for the job.

Preferably, stick to members of your professional network rather than turning to friends and family (where there’s a bigger chance of tarnishing the relationship if you don’t take their suggestion, or if you do and the employment situation doesn’t work out).

3. Don’t Neglect Social Networks – While it probably isn’t the best idea to start your recruiting efforts on social networks like Myspace and Facebook which are often used for personal networking, give LinkedIn a try. Not only can you find members’ educational credentials and work history if they’ve shared them, but you can view recommendations from their past employers or clients.

Credit: LinkedIn.com

Because LinkedIn is specifically for business networking, you won’t have to sift through endless irrelevant personal details to narrow down your pool of potential new hires. Social networks also generally give you a way to contact the user privately, whether or not you have their direct email address.

Job ads still have their place in the recruiting process, but in a time where more people are looking for work and fewer companies are hiring, they can lead to a lot of applications from people who aren’t really qualified for the job. Let job ads be a last resort, and let your professional network and the Web bring you better initial prospects.

Have you ever flipped or purchased an existing website? If you’re like many buyers in the webmaster community, you probably made your buying decision based on two primary factors:

1. Traffic
2. Income

Chances are also good that you negotiated a sale price based on income over a period of a certain number of months. For example, the price you paid may have been the equivalent of 10 months’ income from the site.

While that kind of strategy may be common in webmaster communities, it’s not necessarily smart business. By looking only, or predominantly, at a website’s income you neglect other significant value points and you risk passing up great opportunities for mediocre ones.

Think about buying websites more like purchasing an existing traditional business. You’ll find there’s a lot under the surface worth considering. For example, you might want to look at the site’s:

1. Branding and visibility (think Twitter: poorly monetized, but major value through visibility)
2. Authority status and content (authority content is worth more than generic keyword-stuffed content that would turn off real visitors)
3. Staff (and whether or not any of that staff will remain on board for a period after the purchase–important if the audience draw is to the owner and not the site itself)
4. Domain name (even if a site’s content isn’t particularly valuable to you, the domain name could have considerable value of its own, especially if it ties in well to your existing business and offers better branding possibilities)
5. Competition and Niche (if the website is in a true gem of a niche that is just getting started but has long-term potential, the site carries more value than something in an oversaturated niche like mesothelioma)

These are just some basic considerations, and there are certainly more (such as other income stream ideas you may have that aren’t yet being implemented). Now let’s look at some examples to clarify why income alone shouldn’t determine a website’s price.

Basic Assumptions

Let’s say you’re interested in purchasing a static content website that you’ll monetize through contextual ads, affiliate programs, and other advertisements. Let’s also say that you know you want to purchase a health-related website, but you’re open about the specific niche opportunities.

You come across two different cancer-related sites for sale, and you have a $10,000 budget (which just happens to be the asking price of each). Let’s evaluate the options.

Site 1: Mesothelioma

This site is in a very saturated niche. However, because the niche is well-documented, you also know that contextual ads can pay very well.

It’s been live for 2 years. The domain name is nothing extraordinary, but a hyphenated, long-tail, keyword-rich string. Traffic comes in at around 100,000 visitors per month, but reader metrics are poor (they usually only stay seconds and they rarely visit multiple pages). The reader metrics are poor because the content isn’t of very good quality–it was purchased in bulk by the owner at around $10 per article from someone who basically just used an article spinner to rehash Wikipedia content. The idea was to drive people to click on the ads alone, and the site has absolutely no authority status.

Visitors mostly come through PPC campaigns, where the site carries a $1500 per month PPC budget in order to earn an overall average monthly profit of $1000). In other words, on top of the sale price, you have to account for additional money up front of $1500 for ads, in order to bring in $2500 (for your $1000 profit).

Site 2: New Cancer Drug

Let’s say the second site wasn’t set up to be monetized. There’s not an ad in sight. The content revolves around a brand new cancer drug that most people don’t know anything about yet outside of the medical community, but which will very likely take off with massive interest in the near future.

The site is somewhat new–only three months old. While the site ranks #1 for the targeted keyword phrases related to the new drug, there isn’t much competition yet, and not many people are searching for information about it. The domain name is very targeted to the drug itself (without infringing on any trademarks from brand names).

Credit: Sanja Gjenero

All of the content was written by an oncologist (cancer specialist) of high repute in the field. For you to hire someone of his caliber to create new content would likely cost well over the $1.00 per word mark (a common rate for professional and expert content, despite what most webmasters are used to paying). In other words, your full budget would only buy 20 500 word articles for a new site (not factoring in hosting, design, marketing, and other costs). The existing site consists of well over 40 article explaining cancer, existing treatments, and the hope of this new drug in a way that average readers could easily understand.

A major study is also due to be released soon, and the doctor agrees to publish commentary on those study results even after the site is sold, for no additional cost. This study’s results are expected to bring massive publicity and consumer interest to the drug, meaning this site is poised to take advantage of it when people start searching for more information.

Which Would You Choose?

If your goal is to create quick income by just letting the existing site sit, you would likely choose to purchase the first site. Minimal effort required other than managing your monthly PPC campaign, and you have verified income to look forward to. Of course, you’ll have to go slightly over budget for the first month or two due to the costs of that campaign.

If you’re looking for a bigger opportunity in the long run though, you would likely be better off with the second site even though it’s newer and was not previously monetized. If you’re reasonably sure the niche will take off, and you have an opportunity to be a leader in that niche early on, you should take it. Those opportunities don’t come around often.

You would also have the ability to combine the authority / expert status of the seller with your own marketing and monetization abilities as a webmaster. In other words, the oncologist may have just set the site up for nonprofit reasons as an educational resource, but that doesn’t mean huge income potential isn’t there. It’s a part of your job as a buyer to be able to evaluate that. It would be foolish to undervalue the site (and lose it to someone else) just because the creator’s motives may have been different than your own.

Credit: Sanja Gjenero

On top of that potential to take over a new and upcoming niche, you would have immense PR backing. Having a site that shows up offering authoritative content when the niche does break means you have a good chance of major media mentions (and the natural traffic and quality backlinks that come with it). If the oncologist who published the material is asked to do interviews as an expert in the field, for example, chances are very good that your site will be mentioned in some way (and you can negotiate that as a term of sale if you want to).

No, not all webmasters are looking for serious, long-term, viable business opportunities on the Web. Some only want the quick fix that lousy content (that drives visitors away) loaded with ads (as the visitors’ exit strategy) will give. For what they want, that’s fine. But if you’re the type of buyer who plans to associate their name with a respectable long-term online business, and you want to become a real player in a niche, you have to move beyond that. In that case, don’t make the mistake of following those standards in website pricing and buying when there’s so much more to consider.

Credit: Ilker

Companies are increasingly turning to the Web to reach their customer bases, in part to get in on the hype surrounding social media. Unfortunately though, using social media tools isn’t enough for effective PR or social media marketing. You have to use them well.

What does that mean? How can your company use social media “well?”

For starters, you need to keep it social. That means you should be engaging in conversations with members of your target market (whether they’re potential customers or existing customers–or users, visitors, readers, or whatever else applies to your company).

The Art of Conversation

Conversations equal two-way communication. When you blog, do you allow readers to comment? Yes? Good–that’s a start. But do you respond to them? Hopefully you do, but sadly many companies (or their executives doing the blogging) do not. They treat a blog as a platform for one-way communication–they talk at their readers instead of talking with them. Where many companies fail in social media is this little thing called “listening.”

Conversations don’t end with your company blog. Are you on Twitter? If so, do you actually pay attention to what most of the people you’re following are saying? (Or did you maybe only add them in the hopes that they’d follow you back and inflate your follower count for popularity’s sake?) Let’s say you really do have an interest in all of the people you’re following. That’s great. Now do you respond to them?

We have a pattern developing, don’t we? You can use blogs, microblogs, social networks, etc. to yap to your heart’s content, but if you’re not responding to your customers and taking part in conversations rather than just instigating them, you’re really missing out.

Fear vs Free Market Research

One of the reasons some companies hesitate when it comes to open conversations on the Web is fear. They’re afraid they may not like what they hear if they give those customers an open platform and actually listen to what they have to say. On one level it’s understandable–would you allow someone to come into your home and badmouth you? Not likely. So why should companies be open to it by allowing customers to potentially criticize them publicly, but in their “home” in the social media space (their blog, profile, etc.)?

Credit: Dominik Gwarek

It’s free market research; that’s why. If anything, negative feedback (of the constructive variety) is far more valuable to your business than people oohing and ahhing over how great you are. If they compliment you, ask how you can make things even better. If they complain, calmly talk to them about the fundamental problems they have (something relatively minor and easy for you to fix, might be infuriating to your customers). Every company can improve, as can any website, product, or service. While not every complaint has to lead to direct action, actively communicating with your audience via social media tools gives you a chance to pick their brains about what they really think (and more importantly what they really want from you in the future).

Social Media is Like Chocolate: You Shouldn’t Overindulge

Credit: M. Keefe

How great is it to know that your customers are out there, ready and willing to share their thoughts with you to help you improve and grow your business? If you’re feeling the urge the rush out and set up a LinkedIn and Facebook profile, Twitter account, and new company blog all in one day, then reign it in a bit friend.

Overindulging in social media can be as bad for your company as completely neglecting it and the opportunities it offers. Why?

Let’s take a step back. Remember, the real value in social media is active two-way conversations. While you may be able to maintain those relationships on every social media tool early on, as your following grows on each it will become impossible. You’ll end up in a position where you can’t keep up with those conversations–where it starts to look like you’re too caught up in the fad elements to really put the focus on your customers. Don’t lose that focus!

This is speaking from experience as a customer, where companies have listened to personal complaints about them and made real changes (all via blogs and Twitter): there is no bigger attraction to a company possible than when they actually listen to what you say. When your customers know you aren’t just “hearing” them, but that you’re listening to their needs and concerns behind the words and are willing to act on them–that’s what social media is about (at least when it comes to business).

Credit: Steve Woods

Maybe you’ve just launched a new online business. Perhaps you’ve released a new, heavily-updated version of your commercial software package. Or maybe you’re ready to release the results of an industry survey conducted by your company. When your business is faced with potentially-newsworthy information to share, you might decide to use a press release (or news release) and online press release distribution sites to get the word out.

Online press release distribution is a great tool for small businesses without big budgets for major newswire distribution. While the primary purpose of a news release is still to get exposure (which happens most effectively when members of the media, authority bloggers, and others in your industry put out a story on you), they can do more thanks to the Web.

Press releases can also help you build links from authority and relevant sites (through their coverage), direct traffic from some members of your target market, and ultimately better search engine rankings as a result. To get these benefits though, you have to use online press release distribution in the “right” ways.

Where Some People Go Wrong

Credit: Michal Zacharzewski

Because online press release distribution can lead to SEO benefits, those distribution sites are often abused by spammers. Press release spam can mean a few different things, but when it comes to newswire services and distribution sites it basically refers to non-newsworthy press releases distributed solely for links.

This is a problem. If you have a generic article with no timely aspect or news value, it shouldn’t be put out over press release distribution sites. It would be better suited for article marketing. If it reads more like an advertorial, you’ll be better off seeking paid placement on the end sites you want to reach.

Remember that press releases are first and foremost public relations tools–not marketing. They’re not about pushing hard sales or advertising. They’re not about getting a lot of quick (but irrelevant) links from free press release distribution sites. They’re about sharing news and creating an authority image for the company releasing them. The quality links, traffic, and rankings are simply an added reward of a job well done.

5 Ways to Get it Right

We’ve talked about how people go wrong with online press release distribution. Now let’s talk about how you can get it right with a few dos and don’ts of distributing your news releases on the Web:

1. DO have your press release written by a pro (or learn how to do it yourself).

Not all press releases will look alike, but they all should cover the same basic elements. That includes press releases distributed online. Most will follow Associated Press (AP) style guidelines for example. You should also never intentionally misspell anything (even if you’re targeting typos for SEO–SEO is a side benefit, not a primary purpose of a press release).

You must include contact information. Remember the goal is to have people do a story on you or your company–they need to be able to contact you if they have questions. Your headline should be catchy, but more importantly it should convey the essence of the news story (don’t shoot for “cute”). Your release should be written in the third person (lose the sales speak approach of talking to “you”).

Most importantly, make sure your release is timely and talking about something newsworthy. Cover the who, what, when, where, and why of your angle as early in the release as possible.

2. DON’T overlook paid press release distribution sites.


Credit: Miguel Ugalde

You might think the real perk of online press release distribution is that you can put your news (and links) out there for free. For the most part though, free press release sites simply won’t get the job done alone.

Ideally, you’ll want to manually distribute your press release to your own media contact list (journalists and bloggers in your niche or industry). If you can do that, then by all means a free distribution site can be a nice supplement to hit smaller sites, blogs, and news engines. But if you can’t devote the time or budget to getting that done, your best bet is to stick with paid press release distribution sites (such as PRWeb.com or WebWire.com).

3. DON’T submit to dozens of free press release distribution sites.

If you really insist on using free press release distribution sites, don’t be one of those people who feels a need to submit their release to dozens of sites at once. It’s completely unnecessary, and you won’t see a much bigger return for the effort (or the money spent if you’re hiring someone to handle submissions for you). Choose the best 3 – 5 free sites, and spend the additional time you would have spent submitting to more contacting specific outlets instead.

4. DO take advantage of social media tools.

If your press release distribution site allows you to tag your release with related keywords, do it. Opt for services that include social bookmarking buttons on your release page. Some will allow comments directly on the release page and others won’t–choose what makes sense for your company (one school of thought is that your release should be interactive while another is that companies should allow comments on the news on their own sites rather than through a third party service). Making these tools and features available can influence how well (or how poorly) your news actually spreads.

5. DO publish your press release on your own website!


A lot of online business owners neglect this simple step. When you release news, add your press release to your business website. Some people worry about duplicate content. That’s what happens when you forget the real purpose of the document while thinking only of SEO. If you’re really worried about it, make sure it’s indexed on your own site before putting it on distribution sites or rewrite the release or change the format before putting it on your site (it’s not necessary though). Or you could always just block search engines from crawling the release pages.

By putting your press releases on your site, you’re able to create a timeline through archives. If a member of the media visits your site for more information, they’ll be able to browse your archives to see how your company, site, or product line has progressed over time (which can play a role in whether or not they’ll consider your story ultimately worth covering).

On top of the above tips for better online press release distribution, remember this: a single press release is not going to make you rich and famous. It won’t help you sell massive numbers of your new product. It won’t have your phone ringing off the hook with media enquiries. That is, for most people it won’t (there are always exceptions of course). Press releases are just a single tool in larger PR or publicity campaigns, and the more often the use them, the more visibility you’ll get out of them. Don’t just get your name in front of influential people in your niche. You have to keep it there. Regular press release distribution (because you’re repeatedly doing something newsworthy) is a great way to do just that.

Internet marketing is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? There are countless marketing tools available on the Web, and many carry little to no barriers to entry (in other words, they’re free or very inexpensive, so anyone can use them). That ease of use can cause some problems though. What do you do when you have an overwhelming number of options available, and only a limited budget or limited time to implement your Internet marketing campaign?

Turn to Market Research

Traditional business owners know that market research plays a vital role in the success of any marketing campaign. That doesn’t change on the Web. Still, it’s all too common to see online entrepreneurs, webmasters, or traditional businesses making the leap to the Web taking a very untargeted approach (we recently talked about the consequences of untargeted social media marketing specifically).

When you jump into using a tool because someone says you should try it, without doing any planning or market research first, you run the risk of wasting both time and money in a failed attempt to reach your target market. Market research lets you compare different marketing tools and tactics to figure out which will best reach and influence your intended audience before you commit to them.

What You Want to Know About Your Market

There are several general areas of marketing research you should be familiar with. The first part of your market is your customer base (or subscribers or readership as the case may be). Consumer market research helps you decide who to target and how to influence them.

Don’t stop there though. You also need to think about your competition (by researching what they’re doing and what’s worked well for them, you can make better market planning decisions).

Here are some of the things you’ll want to find out about your market before engaging in any particular marketing tactics:

Credit: Jesse Courtemanche

• Who is your marketing really reaching? – You probably have a vague idea of who your target audience is the moment you create a website, product, or service. But do you know them well enough to know exactly who your marketing message is going to reach? Think about the demographics and psychographics of the people who are your potential buyers or visitors

  Are they mostly male or female? What age group? What income level? Where do they live? What level of education do they have? What are their interests? How will whatever you’re offering relate to their values?

• What influences your audience? – It’s not enough to know who your audience is. Marketing is about influencing a group of people–convincing them to visit your website, sign up for your newsletter subscription, buy your product, etc.

  If you target an audience consisting of mostly mothers in their 20s and 30s, for example, their motivating factors to make a purchase are going to be very different than those of a single teenage male.

• How can you compete? – In any industry you have to know who your competition actually is if you want to successfully compete with them. More importantly, you should look at their past marketing campaigns to keep their successes in mind and to learn from their potential mistakes.

  Even more vital than that, you have to know how you measure up against them if you’re going to craft effective marketing messages that set you apart. You can do this through a basic SWOT analysis (where you detail your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in comparison to your biggest competitors).

How to Find the Market Information You Need

One of the reasons business owners sometimes neglect market research on the Web is the misconception that it has to be expensive, difficult, or very time consuming. That may be true of some types of market research. But just as the Web offers simplified marketing tactics, it offers more accessible global market research as well.

Here are several ways you can gather market research information online quickly, inexpensively, and very easily:

• Visit competitor websites – There you may be able to find out how long they’ve been in business, how qualified their staff and management team are, or even see some of their marketing in action.

  Remember that their website, email newsletter, and even logo or other branding material are all a part of their overall marketing effort.



Credit: Danard Vincente

• Google it (or Bing it, or whatever strikes your fancy) – Search engines are your friend when it comes to Web-based market research. Not only can they help you discover competitors and how your competitors are marketing their businesses on the Web, but they can give you insight into your target market.

  A news engine, for example, might turn up press releases detailing survey results and other market research reports. Even if the full reports cost hundreds of dollars, key statistics about the markets / audiences surveyed are often released for free in those press releases.

• Conduct keyword research – If your Internet marketing plan involves search engine optimization (SEO) or search engine marketing (SEM) tactics such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads, keyword research is a given. But even if you’re not planning those things, do it anyway.

  Tools like the Adwords keyword tool will show you what phrases your target market is interested in (what they’re searching for). In the example below, you can see keyword phrases related to market research, and how they fare against each other in popularity.

  Why does this matter? Because it tells you what your audience is specifically interested in. If you know what they’re interested in, you can better appeal to them in your marketing copy and collateral, influencing them and increasing conversions.

Those examples are some of the most basic online market research tools available. There are an abundance of tools and tactics available to you in consumer market research online. Let these serve as a starting point rather than your comprehensive plan.

Depending on your audience and what you’re trying to promote, you might also turn to market research surveys, focus groups, conversion tracking (after implementing a tactic such as an ad campaign), or other marketing research methods available.

The next time you’re wondering how you should expand your Internet marketing plan, don’t simply ask others for tactical suggestions. Invest some time into online market research and find out how your market likes to be reached (or what they respond to best) instead. What works for others won’t necessarily work for you.

Social bookmarking. Social networking. Blogging. Microblogging. Are you using them all in your social media marketing efforts? What about online video, content aggregators, podcasts, social media news releases, forums, and photo sharing? Some people would have you believe that you should be engaged in all, or most, of these social media tools and tactics to promote your business. Those people are wrong.

Why it Doesn’t Pay to be an Early Adopter

It’s a common marketing misconception that businesses should take advantage of every tool available to them if using that tool could potentially attract new visitors, readers, or customers. While there’s nothing wrong with testing new tools, attempting to try everything may cost more than you’d think (in wasted time), especially if you insist on being one of the first.

When a new social media tool is released, early adopters rush in. From a marketing perspective, being an early adopter is not a smart business move for most businesses. Why? Unless large numbers of your particular target market are also early adopters already using the tool, you’re not going to reach your market by jumping on board. Your marketing message has to reach your actual market. If they’re not there yet, there are more productive ways to spend your (or your employees’) time.

The All-Important ROI

Return on investment (ROI) is one of the most important business concepts out there. In essence, when you maximize your ROI you’re getting as much as you can out of as little as possible.

Credit: Matt Hamm

Let’s say you have $5000 to invest in a social media marketing campaign for the next quarter. You naturally want to get the biggest return possible on that investment (let’s say your goal is to attract more visitors to your website).

You could invest a little bit of that budget into every social media tool you can think of. For example, you might produce a very low-budget video to release on YouTube, hire a part-time blogger to update your company blog and respond to comments, put out one or two social media news releases, hire a forum poster to visit communities to link to your website, and hire someone to help you setup social media and microblogging accounts (such as with Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter).

When you try to do too much, your budget is stretched. That video may be much poorer quality than you would have liked. You may get a handful of blog posts for the month instead of a blogger who can post daily and build a real community around your blog. You may have social networking profiles and a Twitter account, but you may not have anyone to constantly update them.

It’s far better to strike a balance. Let’s say you still have a $5000 budget. In this case you choose a more limited campaign plan–a blogger to post several times a week, a piece of linkbait (like a free tool for download from that blog), and one social media press release (which includes social bookmarking options) to announce the release of that new tool.

You may not get as much “stuff” for your $5000, but the targeted approach very often leads to greater returns for the same investment. In this case, you’ll have a populated blog attracting links and readers naturally, a free download which will attract even more links and visitors naturally, and a news release helping to give that tool’s launch an edge by promoting it to other bloggers and members of your target market. The key is the cohesiveness–finding tools and tactics that work well collectively to reach your marketing goals.

Knowing When Enough is Enough

Sometimes trying to get more, or do more, will actually give you less. That’s very true in social media marketing and jumping on the hype of new tools (many of which are fads that die down significantly in just a few months to a few years).

Target your social media marketing campaign not only to tools that actually reach your audience right now, but also to tools that will give you the best return on the time or money you sink in. Your social media marketing plan won’t necessarily look like anyone else’s. Even the most talked-about tool may not be right for your company, your budget, or your potential visitors and customers.

Remember that tried and true marketing strategies have earned that reputation for a reason. Don’t sacrifice promotional efforts that are already successful for your company to pursue new tools that may have a heavy learning curve (meaning more time invested) unless your market research tells you that tool or tactic can work even better than what you’re already doing.

It’s okay to try social media tools as they’re released. Just never forget to find out how your customers are using those tools before you invest in them solely for fear of being left behind.

Here are some of the best HR practices that help in the creation of a highly satisfied and motivated work force.

Work Environment

A safe and happy workplace makes the employees feel good about being there. Each one is given importance and provided the security that gives them the motivation and incentive to stay. This is usually achieved through internal surveys to find out whether they are satisfied and if not what they think needs to be changed.

Open Management

Employees don’t like the feeling of being kept in the dark about what is happening in the company. They feel motivated and develop enthusiasm only when the management opens up to them and discusses the company policies, sales, clients, contracts, goals and objectives. This encourages participative management. Asking them for ideas on how to improve will get their creative juices flowing. Being open about everything related to the company will help in building trust and motivating the employees. This open management policy can be practiced using several tools.

Performance Incentives

Every good performance is appreciated in the form of a pat on the back, bonuses or giving some other compensation for a job well done. Organizations that struggle to keep up with the attrition rate are mostly those that think employees are “just” doing their job. Even if it is the employee’s job, completion in an appreciable manner calls for an incentive, and this goes a long way in boosting the staff morale. These incentives can be implemented at the individual as well as the team level and it has been seen that this works wonders in getting the best out of the employees. But it is important to keep in mind that these bonuses should not be given without a reason, unless it is a commitment for annual bonuses or some such thing. Doing so will only reduce the perceived value of the bonuses.

Performance Feedback

This is one the methods that is being followed by many organizations. Feedback is not only taken from the boss, but also from other seniors and subordinates. Previously, appreciation was only sought from the immediate boss or the management, but now organizations understand the importance of collecting performance feedback from several quarters. The opinion of everyone matters, especially for someone who is in a leadership role at any level. Each person in the team is responsible for giving constructive feedback. This kind of system helps in identifying people who can perform well as leaders at higher levels in the organization. Even the senior level managers can use this system to their advantage, as a tool to improve themselves.

Employee Evaluation

Every company has an employee evaluation system in place but a good system links individual performance to the goals and priorities of the organization. This works well when achievements are tracked over an year. For a fair review of each employee, the evaluation, apart from being done by the boss, should be done by another person at a higher level, for whom the employee’s contribution is important. Ratings can also be obtained by other employees. This ensures a fair and accurate rating of each and every employee.

Sharing of Knowledge

Knowledge sharing is a wonderful strategy that helps in the betterment of the employees and their work. Keep all the knowledgeable information in central databases that can be accessed by each and every employee. For example, if an employee is sent on some training, the knowledge that is acquired by that employee can be stored in these databases for others to learn from it. Even innovative ideas that the management deems fit for employees to see, can be stored here for all to see.

Publicize Good Performances

Every company has some employees who outperform others. Such performances should be highlighted and displayed where other employees can look at them; such as on the display boards and intranet etc. This will encourage others to give their best. A proper system should be set up to make a list of high performances at specific times in a year.

Discussions

Successful organizations nurture ideas and they understand that employees who are actually working and know the business can provide the best ideas. The management should have discussions with employees to get these ideas out of them. There can also be suggestion boxes to capture these ideas. Through this system, managers can find talented employees and develop them.

Rewards

While recognition of talent is highly important, this recognition has to be made public and what better way than holding ceremonies and announcing to the whole world (the employees), the achievements of a fellow employee. There can be nothing better for an employee than the heady feeling from a resounding applause.

The Surprise Factor

Who doesn’t like a surprise? Surprise deserving employees – when they are least expecting it. It could be a gift certificate or a small reward of some sort. This surprise doesn’t have to be limited to the best performers, but it can be randomly given to others as a motivating factor too. Anyone can be given this surprise reward.

Such healthy HR practices encourage the growth of the organization as employees after all play a major role in the well-being of a company. Making an employee feel like a million dollars pays in the form of the success of an organization.

The social media resume format is a media format of a resume and contains media elements such as MP 3s or videos created by you do the talking, instead of you. This was first created by Christopher Penn, who gave it the name of SMR and provided an online sample.

This resume format is catching up with job seekers and it seems to be doing wonders. According to a user, the main advantage of using this format is that it can be customized to reflect you as a person. All the elements of a normal resume continue to be present with additions of multimedia elements, integrated social networking feeds and sharing options. Adding these certainly equips a person better for success.

Multimedia

The main aspect of SMR is of course multimedia. Apart from making the resume colorful and interesting, it provides a chance for employers to see the actual person, instead of just a piece of text on paper. This multimedia can be created using either googlepages.com or wordpress.com.

Let’s see what can be uploaded:

You can upload videos of you, answering simple interview questions and talking about your qualifications and achievements.

If you have conducted any seminars or held conferences, you can add videos of that or even MP3s.

You can embed your photos taken in important business situations or when meeting important people in your field.

It would be wonderful if you can get audio testimonials from your previous employers, clients or colleagues.

Pointers

If you have an online presence at social networking sites, like Facebook, where you have created profiles, you can provide pointers to them. This will help people understand your persona better. This will also help them see your connections, giving them an idea of what sort of people you interact or deal with usually. If you are going to be creating a resume six months or one year down the line, it would help to sign up with these sites and start building a good job-oriented profile.

If you already have a presence in the social networking scene, you can start cleaning up everything you feel should not be seen by your future employers. Since social networking is public, you have to wipe out all the signs people may consider negative, even inappropriate pictures of yourself. If you have uploaded a picture of you drunk, take it out.

The wonderful thing about SMR is that it can be shared. Since it is not paper and does not need photocopying, it can be passed on to any number of social networking sites. The more social networking sites you leave a URL at, the easier it will be to catch the eye of someone important.

Keywords

If you have been online for any amount of time, you would know that search engines rule. Using the relevant keywords is the key to being found. If you are looking for a position in “aeronautics,” you should ensure these words figure in your resume. Make a list of all the words that best describe you and the industry you are in and use them intelligently in your resume, making sure not to over-use the keywords.

With the awareness of this format increasing, many employers now look for these formats to find the perfect person for the position.

Let’s see what employers think of this format.

The general consensus of employers is that it is a good format and helps them understand the person’s ability to communicate effectively, which is perceived as the most important skill in the current day.

All this may sound interesting and exciting but do not overdo it. Overdoing it can kill whatever little chance you have of finding that perfect job. Keep the videos and photos to the minimum as the page will take longer to load and it does not depict professionalism. If you have something else you want people to see, then you can always add links to pages where they can be viewed, such as YouTube or Flickr album.

Well, what are you waiting for? Show your talent and land yourself a dream job.