Internet Marketing Strategies

Forging Ahead In Tough Perilous Financial Times

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:17:00 +0000

These are days where economies are being tested and strained. As one great American economist wrote about the American economy, “This is a once in a hundred years financial problem.” Who could have fore seen the economic crisis that has plunged so many, so deeply into corporate and personal crisis? While the ear marks of shaky financial ground was recognized, who would have thought the dominos would fall in such a loud, vivacious, and tragic manner?

As news anchors bemoan the colossal deprivation of the economy, and spread the woes of a nation, how does one place his or her self in the race to succeed? How does one forge ahead when many are simply trying to hang on, or living numb in a reactive manner?

As every great warrior knows, in winning a war, there are often many battles—many skirmishes—where the losses in the battle ground are high. In war, many battles are won and loss, but individually they are not indicative of who will win the war. In the midst of a battle, the cost of lives and resources can be great, but a true leader painfully knows and understands the importance of staying focused on winning the war. American Civil War leader Gen. U.S. Grant was such a leader. So many men died under his leadership, he became known as “The Butcher”. His personal diaries shared of his inner torment in sending his friends to their deaths for the greater cause of preserving the unity of the United States of America. Gen. U.S. Grant new and understood the importance of not becoming hung up on the “now” but holding fast to a focus on the future.

Forging ahead in tough perilous times requires forward vision. It requires a mindset that looks above the “now” and to the future.

In the midst of a battlefield where bodies abound, the scent of human blood fills the nostrils, the cries and moans of the dying torments the inner being of those who stand—leaders know how to look across the field at a higher level. Leaders while conscious of the immediate circumstance, with heavy hearts for the immediate, know to look higher and forward to the horizon. True leaders know the importance of mustering courage in those who can still fight, picking up the flag, and moving them forward to victory.

Forging ahead in tough periless times requires the mustering of courage, the ability to see today for what it is, but fasten our focus on nothing less than true personal victory.

In the face of tough times, when all seems to be in doubt, believing in one’s self remains one of the hardest things for many people to do. There is fragility in the “I need to do something about this” mentality. There is courage and strength in the “Come Hell or high water…I can do” attitude. John Wayne, in an interview once described bravery as “knowing you’re out-manned and out-gunned, but choosing to saddle up anyhow.”

In the face of tough perilous times, victory is not far away. One only needs to look to the horizon.

In the face of your tough moments, don’t be fooled into “hanging on”, instead “grab hold of the excellence life has to offer you”, and fasten your focus on the horizon.

About the Author,

James C. Tanner of www.jamesctanner.com and www.silent-wonder.com is a writer, business mentor and speaker. He specializes in showing people who want to succeed in life how to take $400 to $500 dollars and within six to eight months turn it into a full-time home based income.

New Changes For The Fall Of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 15:38:00 +0000

We are very pleased to be announcing some new changes which are now in effect, and still coming into effect.

As public interest increases in the opportunities to work from home, or work at home through a home based business opportunity, we have gone out and RADICALLY created a collection of materials to help people learn more about how to succeed while working at home.

To make this material readily viewable face lift's have been made to two of our websites. The first website http://www.silent-wonder.com has now been totally revamped for this purpose.

Secondly, a new web page is being built at http://www.jamesctanner.com . While many of the pages on this site are now up and being tweaked as we go, some are still being built and will be added shortly.

As we move forward into the Fall season of 2008, we will remain dedicated to helping people strike out in a life direction of self-employment and independence. We will continue to provide the resources to fuel innovative thinking.

With summer holidays now over, continue to watch as we once again get back into our regular pattern of blog articles, here at this site.

Respectfully,

James C. Tanner
Blog Moderator

Staying On Top Of Changing Trends

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:30:00 +0000

As humans continually evolve, so too do our patterns of internet use. As internet users who are continually focusing on new strategies to stay out in front, it is imperative for us to notice and embrace those changing trends.

While many internet marketing strategies will advise you to write and publish articles online, and it’s a strategy that does it’s job, there is an even more effective way to get the word out about you, your business, and your product—video.

Recently I took the time to conduct a test between the use of articles and the use of videos. Over the course of 10 days seven carefully crafted articles were launched on the internet with many differing publishers. I gave the articles a few weeks to circulate, noting small traffic numbers from those articles everyday. Last week, I prepared a small two video series, shot in the back corner of my basement, under the most primitive conditions. The videos were launched this week online and to my utter amazement, I discovered that within 24 hours my videos were being viewed by four times the number of people than my articles were. The consistent pattern of traffic generated in my video to article comparison remains a constant ratio of 4:1.

You can view my two test videos on the marketing subject of “Speaking The Right Language” by going here:

Video #1

Video #2

Is article writing important? Absolutely! The writing of articles helps to create many web pages with links pointing back to your website. Article writing does generate traffic to your site and any traffic at all is important as it all adds up.

Is video creation important…absolutely! It’s been a long known fact amongst copywriters that people do not read all the content on a web page. People skim over web page content focusing on the highlights or bulleted points, titles, and sub-titles.

Video creation does not require much effort as to content. In researching other’s videos I was surprised to note that most videos were two and a half minutes in length, or less. From a scripting perspective, it is really difficult to communicate a solid message in less than three and a half minutes as most people will speak at a rate of 50 to 60 words a minute. In creating short videos, inorder to get your message out, the careful writing of the script is critical. While a script can be varied from slightly, one must be careful to not stray entirely as your timeline lengthens with every “add-lib”.

Video creation does not require expensive equipment. I personally use a 8 megapixel digital camera with a built in microphone on a tripod. The video is then edited in Windows Movie Maker software and it’s ready to go. While some video creators utilize a green screen behind the speaker, it isn’t necessary to provide a professional quality video. The one thing that both articles and videos have in common is the rule “content is the key”!

No matter how we evolve, or our internet useage habits change, we must all, in everything we do, remember to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

James C. Tanner of http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com is a published writer, business course creator and trainer. His newest books include, “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia Of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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Recession Proofing Your Online Presence

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:04:00 +0000

With the United States showing a slow struggle in shaking it’s recession style economy, the question arises, “How does a person or business recession proof their online business, or online presence?”

Everyday I received tons of email from people and organizations offering this latest $97 or $147 solution to traffic flow to my websites. I chuckled yesterday as three different parties contacted me to offer the exact same marketing strategy program. It’s becoming very clear that much of what’s circulating on the internet today is re-hashed or an affiliate related program. Multiple approaches regarding the same product cheapens the psychological value of that product, so it’s imperative that approaches be fresh, original, and current.

As I study the internet, and global economics, there is a trend cmoing clear. As the price of oil rises, the reality of a global recession grows stronger. When oil hits US $200 for a barrel of crude, many European banks believe the world will plunge into a global recession. Financial forecasts predict oil will top the US $200 price within the next year and a half. There is not enough oil capable of being produced right now to meet current demand levels, and it would take 10 to 12 years to increase production enough to maintain current levels. The only way for the globe to avoid a recession is to reduce oil consumption to match or be less than current production levels. Our dependence on oil at this time is too great to be able to accomplish this in time, on a global level.

So how do we adapt and how do we adjust?

There is a very clear marketing problem on the internet today. Most websites are being published in only one language—the language of English.

Today’s hot economies are located in India, China and Russia. These are non-English speaking countries.

The internet provides is with access to a global clientelle, and yet most of us are limiting ourselves to the English speaking only populace.

One way you can help to stabilize your presence online during a recession, is to begin to think globally. Most of our webpages have menu bars which read “Home”, “About”, “Contact”, “Products”, and possibly “Services”. Imagine the impact, if your menu bar also included links to copies of your main web page in foreign languages. Links could be written in their foreign language for Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, etc.

If we are going to position ourselves on today’s internet, then we must begin to accept a larger client base. Google Translator provides an excellent tool whereby your web page can be quickly translated into a specified language, and all you would have to do is simply cut and paste that new translation into a web page. One important tip to consider is that some languages such as Russian do use more characters than the English language and as a result, blocks of text may require a little bit more room.

Why don’t you join me! This week I’ve made the decision to take my web pages global, and in the weeks ahead, you will find my web pages changing to become multi-lingual. It’s a modern twist on internet customer service.

In all you do, take time to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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Internet Marketing Strategies That Measure Success

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:50:00 +0000

“Email Marketing Is Dead”, the headline touted. It was an ominous start to a carefully crafted work on the effectiveness of market strategy, and in particular the internet marketing strategy of email campaigns.

How do we determine when a marketing strategy is dead or non-productive? In truth there is only one way, to establish clear goals for our promotions, and assign to those goals clearly established measurable objectives.

Perhaps you have set down on your list of website goals to increase income through sales; to provide new information to potential customers; to increase an email contact list; to establish a business presence; to increase income through advertising; or to give your business a more contemporary appearance. All of these are realistic goals.

When an person decides to compete in a marathon, there’s more involved in simply getting up off the couch one day and entering a race. As a person comes to the starting line, there’s already occurred a tremendous process of training, and expanding potential skill sets. As the race is run, there are markers. Check points or markers which provide a measure of the amount of the course completed thus far. The ultimate goal is to complete the competition, but in order to know how close you are to your overall goal, you must see and pass those measurable markers.

Business goals are very similar to a marathon. For every goal we must develop the skill sets that bring us to the starting line. For every goal, there must be measurable markers which upon starting identifies for us if we are on the right course and how much closer we are to accomplishing our overall objective.

To most business owners, the most common measurable marker is found in the R.O.I. (an acronym for Return on Investment). Cash flow projections are also routinely monitored to determine if a business is on course.

The problem many people face is knowing how to break down goals, assigning to them clear and focused measuring points. Many people create measuring points which are too broad, or too vague.

For the goal of increasing income through sales, milestone measurements could include observing your rate of sales conversions, monitoring the average dollar value of a transaction, and possibly identifying the number of purchasers who are repeat customers. These are clear measurements which can help a business determine if a website or particular style of marketing campaign is going to achieve it’s goal.

For the goal of establishing an online presence, a business can monitor the number of site visitors is receives and to which pages. Tools exist which enable a business to monitor and identify referrals to it’s business site. In this case a referral is a link on another web page, blog, article, which a person clicks on to access a new web page or blog. Once again tools exist which enable a business to not only monitor how long a person stays on a site, but which links they hover over, and which links they click through on. The more obvious methods would be to observe the number of transactions which would come from a site only special or discount.

It’s easy to simply declare “Email Marketing Is Dead”. Measurable markers will tell us if in fact that particular style of marketing is dead, or if, in utilizing this form of marketing strategy we have failed to establish realistic, clear and measurable goals. Measurable markers which can tell us, email marketing is very much alive, we are simply implementing it incorrectly.

In every goal achieved–in every measurable marker surpassed–in all things, we truly fail to attain our highest goal when we cease in every exercise to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner is a highly published writer, entrepreneur, business course creator and trainer. He is recognized by 85 publishers. His latest releases include “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”, “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia of Traffic Building Tactics”, and “Website Monetization And Paid Online Opportunities”.

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Internet Marketing Strategies Most Common Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:17:00 +0000

There is no such thing as problem sites, only problem people who create those sites. The beauty of business life on the internet remains that most common mistakes can be corrected. Not only can most common mistakes be corrected, but everyone makes mistakes, and every website becomes a study in gauging response.

One of the premier mistakes made in the arena of the internet today is the lack of planning. The lack of crafting a website based on a previously thought out and researched internet marketing strategy. Before a site can be created, everyone should have a clear understanding as to what their site is suppose to accomplish. Before a site is built, there must be clear goals in mind, as well as a clear understanding of who your target market is, and how your site will best reach that market. Traditional businesses begin with a business plan. Online marketing must also begin with a targeted and researched business plan.

Secondly, a very common mistake made by people who launch campaigns on the internet pertains to understanding the time required to achieve a proper response. Some years ago a movie was made called “Field of Dreams”. From that movie came a commonly quoted line, “Build it and they will come.” Many internet business people approach their website with the attitude, “Build it and they will be here right now!”

Every website requires time to be created, launched, and then comes the real work of promoting that site. In order to reach your target market, your site has to be in place, and an internet presence established. Every sale that is made on the internet typically requires 500 to 1000 of your URL impressions. It takes time to build to that level of traffic volume.

A third mistake pertains to the area of “I” problems. Many business people craft a website that looks good to them. They look at and see their website through their own eyes, hence the term…“I” problems. It is imperative when crafting a website, that every business person learn to look at their website through the eyes of their targeted market. There are colors which are offensive to certain cultures. There are terms and phrasing which appeal to various demographic age groups. Learn to look at your website through the eyes of your customer.

Fourth among the list of most common mistakes pertaining to internet sites, pertains to the crafting of websites which are not search engine as well as customer friendly. Search engine optimization remains the basic priority in search engine structure. A web site must be properly optimized.

Even as a website is properly optimized it must also be customer friendly. Once a visitor arrives at a website, for every click-through your visitors must make to commit to a sale, your number of visitors will be reduced by 50 percent. A website that is optimized for the customer will require no more than two click-throughs to commit to a sale. If the first click-through takes your visitor from a home page to a sales page, then the second click-through must be on some form of payment processor, such as PayPal, or a custom designed shopping cart button. Two clicks or visitors are gone.

Finally, one of the most disappointing mistakes made by business site owners pertains to an inability to accept and adopt change. One of the true entrepreneurial characteristics that remains separate from a corporate structure is the ability to adapt and change quickly. Website owners must be willing to address non-productive challenges, as well as stay current with the times.

We all make mistakes. The true measure of any business’ strength lays in the way mistakes are addressed and corrected. When we fall on our knees, success beckons us to rise up, dust ourselves off, and grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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Low Cost Online Marketing For the Small Business

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:49:00 +0000

One of the greatest realities for people in small business, and by this I’m referring to a typical home based business, is the lack of money for a large scale marketing campaign. Creating the right market strategy or marketing strategies not only requires time, but to varying extents will also require resources.

Reaching your market at the lowest cost possible requires the ability to “think off the wall”, or “outside the box”. Low cost marketing plans, while they can be highly effective, do take time to set up and can be a lot slower to show results. The beauty of a low cost or “shoe-string” marketing campaign is their ability to provide great results over the long haul.

When it comes to creating a successful low-cost online marketing plan, there are four core rules one must follow.

Find and follow your target group. If you’re trying to sell bed mattress coils, you’d be wasting your time trying to market your bed mattress coils to people who are out looking for flower seeds. Instead you would want to spend time looking for people who are interested in better beds, bed mattress coils, furniture makers, bed manufacturers, and market to them.

Seven remains the magical number. A recent survey showed that most business purchasers, irregardless of how many salesmen and saleswomen came into their office, over 80 percent of purchasers still went out to locate the company they made their purchases from. This shows that walking in off the street expecting to make a sale is not a reality based expectation. The priority has to be planting your company name or website address into the minds of potential customers so when they are ready to buy, they can go online and quickly find you. It takes on average seeing an URL 7 times before a person remembers it. Seven remains the magical number.

Stick to the play book. Every major football team has in its possession a secret document known as the “Play Book”. That book contains every strategy the team will use on the field over the course of the season. In small business, your play book is your marketing plan. Your plan must be well thought out, concise, and measurable. There’s no point in creating a plan and then shortly thereafter deviating away from it, even temporarily. Stay focused and work your play book.

The final core rule of marketing has to do with an area where most people tend to be lazy. Always keep track of your results. One of the first things I do in the morning is log onto my web host backroom to view my traffic stats from the day before, and why you might ask? I want to keep track of shifts and recognizable patterns in user traffic to my site. By doing this, I’ve learned that Thursday of every week tends to be my lowest traffic day. I know which back links are working well at driving traffic to my web site and which ones are not working at all. Checking my results helps me to focus on what works, and avoid wasting my time in areas that don’t perform well.

With these four core rules in place, any small business can launch forward in a well focused low cost marketing plan.

The successful creation of an effective marketing plan will always bring people to a place where they can grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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The Web 4.0 Age Of Multimedia

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 16:53:00 +0000

Available starting today. Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies has just been released and is available starting today, June 16, 2008.

FEATURE ARTICLE

As the quality of computers, browsers, and operating systems have improved, so too has the popularity in the use of multimedia. Web 4.0 has become known as the age of rich media (multimedia). In fact it is the use of rich media that defines the new internet era of Web 4.0.

Technology has changed the way we live. How we embrace it will determine whether or not we will run in the forefront as leaders, or struggle remaining behind the times.

There are several reasons as to why rich media can be an important tool for you to consider using.

First and foremost, today’s internet user wants or expects it. Today is the day of mobile devices. Not only do we have a population that takes pictures with their phones, but now they can watch TV on their phones. Rich media has become the expectation of users when they look for sites which want to be viewed as current.

Secondly, if your users expect rich media, then you have to be using it to stay ahead of your competition. Sites must remain cutting edge or they quickly fall back into the bone pile of dinosaur websites.

Third, rich media creates a better over all user experience. All one has to think of is the comparison in numbers of men who will sit down to watch TV compared to the number of men who will sit down to read a book. On the internet, more people will sit down to view rich media, than the number of people who will sit down to read a webpage.

Rich media has a fourth important point to consider. If people will take time to watch a short video on your website, then they are also spending more time visiting your webpage. The longer people sit on your web page, the greater the chance they will buy from you.

A fifth point to consider is how rich media can enhance the marketing capability of your business or web site. If you can create a short 3 to 5 minute video, and post it to your web page, you can also post it to numerous video sharing sites, radically increasing your exposure. Each video sharing site will provide your video with a unique URL which you can link back to your website. One short video can become a massive network or promotion for you , your business, and or/your product.

Rich media will become the mainstream in promotional styles. It doesn’t require any fancy equipment as many digital cameras equipped with sound are now capable of producing acceptable videos. Many personal computers come equipped with great movie editing tools.

The important thing to consider is your reason “WHY”? There’s no point in creating videos for your webpage that lack content. Your message must be valuable to those who view your video. Your message must be inline with the product or service you are promoting. Your message must direct people towards action, as the overall purpose for your video is to be a valuable part of your sales funnel.

Rich media is worth the time spent learning about it and implementing it. It is a critical part of any modern promotional campaign.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Tips On Renaming Your Website

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:04:00 +0000

James C. Tanner's newest release " Strategic Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies " will be released for purchase on June 16, 2008 at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Feature Article

Tips On Renaming Your Website

Discovering down the road that your website domain name is working against you can be tough. There are serious pros and cons one must consider before making any adjustments.

Existing URL’s, no matter how poor do generate traffic. Dropping an URL in exchange for a new one can set your traffic flow patterns back for a significant period of time (3 to 6 months).

Changing to a better URL does give a person the opportunity to create a new buzz through advertisements, word of mouth, press releases, email notifications etc. While creating a stir can generate great excitement, it also can generate a significant cost. The question is, will the resulting cost justify the URL name change.

In the process you can risk losing search engine rankings, inbound links, random visitor traffic, and the all important repeat visitors and customers.

All factors must be taken into careful consideration before venturing out into the realm of creating and launching a new URL. The variables will all be based on how much traffic your existing URL is actually drawing.

How then can one make a realistic change over?

A very effective strategy in the use of domain names is to create branches of websites. Segment your business focus into categories, and launch a website for each category, being very careful to link your sites to each other. In doing this, you have the opportunity to establish a new home site, and advertise it on each of your websites especially your existing website. Use your existing website to invite visitors to visit your new sites.

Be careful to bookmark all your new sites and provide social bookmarking links on each site. Social bookmarking does help with exposure and will promote your exposure in search engine listings.

Create mini-pages on sites such as HubPages, Facebook, MySpace, and through the creation of Squidoo lenses. Again make sure you bookmark every Squidoo lens, Hub Page, as well as social network profiles. Make sure each of these includes one or more links to your most important website URLs.

Once your new URLs are established and listed in the search engines (allow 6 to 12 weeks for this), AND as you notice a shift in your over all visitor traffic pattern to your new URLs, ask your website developer to redirect your old poorly named URL. Any visitors to your old URL, when typing in that old URL will automatically be sent to your new site of choice.

If your old poorly chosen URL has a year or less remaining before you have to renew it, simply allow that URL to sit re-directing traffic until it’s domain registry naturally expires.

In going through this process, a person or business can improve the visibility of their business brand. A stronger online presence can be established. Search engine page ranking can be improved.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 15:27:00 +0000

As the wind blows through the dry leaves and sage, my ear catches the eerie squeak of an old Dr’s. sign swinging from a porch gable. Mesmerized by the surrounding sounds, the scent of dust, dry vegetation, and years of weathered decay, I became uniquely entrenched by the simple Dr.’s shingle, still hanging after many years.

The letters on the old wood sign were barely readable. As the sign hung tilted, hanging now by only one chain, I allowed my mind to journey back to a distant day when a proud young Doctor first hung this emblem of future hopes and aspirations.

As I watched that old sign swing, I began to realize how in life today--decades later—many of us still hang our future hopes and aspirations on a shingle often to leave it swinging in the wind.

A few weeks ago while in a meeting with the senior partner of a major law firm, the senior partner looked at me while sitting back and in a tone of frustration began to complain about his internet presence. The firm had a great website, but something had lead the senior partner to believe, his website was not properly optimized. Their website, or electronic shingle, was out on the World Wide Web, swinging in the wind of internet traffic, but not providing much in the way of tangible results.

This week while meeting a successful banker, our conversation turned to the subject of personal belief systems which all of us have in life. Some might refer to these areas as “comfort zones”. I began to make this banker uncomfortable when I leaned forward toward her and quietly said, “I’m sure if I dug hard enough, I would discover in your own life private personal areas that you protect from anyone discovering. If I challenged those areas, I have no doubt, it would make you extremely uncomfortable or even feel quite rattled.” Sometimes the shingles we hang in life are inner, emotional shingles, meant only for our own inner sight to discover. Signs which could read, “This is my comfort zone. I don’t want you to disturb it…STAY OUT!”

Time often brings to life repetition in principles. Principles which carry with them, the full realization of cause and effect. Often we place our full hopes and aspirations on the simple exercise of posting a sign, failing to realize, the sign itself--unless seen--is nothing more than clutter.

A sign, a website, or even our inner comfort zones are nothing more than a declaration. A declaration of who you are, what you do, and what you are about? Declarations left unseen, are an investment in energy, void of results. The power lays in the arena of PRESENCE.

Presence is not wrapped up in arrogance or false claims of grandeur. Presence is an end result whereby all are aware of the existence of your shingle, having been informed of it, and as a result discovering it for ones self.

A dominating presence, a presence where the masses learn of your shingle requires forethought and strategy. How will you get your message out? How will you attract people to your website? How will you make people aware of your personal or business existence?

For the lawyer, his website challenge was not in the area of search engine optimization. The challenge for this law firm was the lack of an effective plan or strategy to make people aware of the website. His shingle (website) was simply left to hang and swing in the wind.

Many readers know I have a great history working with horses. Fall round-ups remain to this day an incredibly valuable life lesson. In range country, every fall horsemen will gather in the early morning hours to spread out individually over a large perimeter which may span miles of range country. The plan is simple. A rider and his horse will seek out lone steers, or perhaps a cow-calf unit, and upon discovery, push or herd those animals, while picking up other stragglers, down from the high country into a central holding area. Holding areas which are quite often a meadow or section of land used as a sorting pen.

In the early morning hours, the meadow or sorting pen lays totally empty, but by nightfall, hundreds of cattle can fill this area, as several riders bring their small collection of animals together to create a massive herd of cattle.

Let’s look at this analogy. What would happen if in the early morning hours, a group of horsemen gathered in the empty meadow or sorting pens, and simply called out “Here cow”? The answer is simple as absolutely nothing would happen. It requires sending out line riders, to make contact with the individual animals and draw them together into a greater collection.

Marketing on today’s internet is identical to herding cattle. The challenge remains that many of us come to our sorting pens (website) and wait there while calling out “Here cow!”

If we are going to establish a dominating presence on today’s internet, we must…ABSOLUTELY MUST…learn to release our “line riders” who can circulate through the maze on the internet, collecting and redirecting cattle (unique website visitor traffic) to our sorting pen (website).

On June 16^th, 2008 I’ll be releasing online a new publication called “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies” . The primary focus of this new publication is to teach people how to effectively “herd cattle” online. How to effectively and properly create a dominating online presence, where you can properly move (herd) large pools of traffic to your website, blog, or personal profiles.

Today’s internet has millions upon millions of web pages listed on it. One source has used a figure of over 4 billion web pages listed on the internet. One quickly begins to realize how by simply adding another website to the internet, is not going to do much good. The reality is, without a strategy to accompany it, a lone website will get lost in the crowd. It will become a squeaky shingle swinging in the wind.

I often think back to that young doctor, and in particular, I wonder as to the nature of his thoughts when he excitedly hung his new shingle on the porch gable. The house is boarded up, the roof collapsed, the porch deck rotted out with weeds growing up from the soil below it. The town around the house, was abandonned long ago, and the dozen or so clapboard buildings, what little was left of them, declared a story of a young doctor’s hopes and aspirations, dashed by the lack of business. A shingle seldom seen.

There’s little value in a shingle that never gets seen. So let me ask you, right now…today…where is your shingle hiding? Is it time to put in place the help of “line riders”?

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

James C. Tanner is the Author of the soon to be released “Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies”. Along with this new release, will be copies of his books (in ebook format), “Let Loose The Promotional Genius In You”, “The Encyclopedia of Traffic Building Tactics”, as well as “Website Monetization and Paid Online Opportunities”. Watch for the June 16, 2008 release at http://www.magneticinternetmarketingstrategies.com .

The Right Tools For The Right Job

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 13:52:00 +0000

To have crossed my path earlier today meant catching me going through one of my many tool boxes. I have a deep love for tools, but not just any tools.

Perhaps it’s due to being raised by a father who, in my early years was a general contractor and spent many nights at home in the basement working late hours as a cabinet maker. In fact, some of my earliest childhood memories take me back to construction sites where, as early as the age of five, I was stripping down concrete forms. Tools have always been a part of my life.

In my early adult years, I could often be found under the belly of a horse or pony plating or shoeing the animal. I still smile deeply at the scent of a burning coal forge, and pause for the sound of a hammer striking hot metal on an anvil. Today, at flea markets, my best finds are old hand-made custom forged tools, which display the work of a great blacksmith. Tools birthed for a specific purpose.

There are few treasures today that would compare to the history contained in my father’s toolboxes. As one goes through the old school long boxes of antique handsaws, and museum piece tools, one quickly gains a sense of the old ways of working wood, when compared to the many new battery operated tools available today. Tools give us a sense of where we’ve been.

While many men druel when encountered by a modern tool show, I am seldom captured by that same fever. New tools are important to each and every one of us, and yet, in their newness we have not had time to gain an appreciation for how they feel as they cut through wood, or shape iron. Inspite of our lack of experience with new tools, modern tools do tell us where we are going in industry.

Even as a tool can be made or used for every building process, each of us in life often fails to work with the right tools for the jobs that face us.

Many small or home based internet business people work with tools that are outdated. With a world filled with material that`s all a buzz about Web 2.0 (the social web), and people spending big dollars on software or programs to improve their Web 2.0 experience, many fail to realize they are using and buying outdated tools. The world of the internet has already moved beyond Web 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and is now going strong in the world of Web 4.0 where the tools are newer, and different for the purpose ahead of us.

We can choose to work with old business tools, but we will lose time, and we will struggle as we push tools to do things they were never designed to do. Even the finest tools have their limitations.

Success today is often based on getting the job done right, as quickly and cheaply as possible. That requires cutting edge tools and the know-how to use them.

In business, many people can purchase new tools, but that alone won`t make us successful unless we know how to take those tools and put them to their best use. People have to know how to use a tool properly. There has to be a plan, a strategy, a blueprint to work from. Tools require guidance.

In recent weeks, people have been wondering where I`ve been hiding. I`ve been working with tools, and drawing a blueprint. No…I haven`t been building a coffee table, I`ve been writing a book. A book that teaches people

- The differences in Web 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, to know if YOUR pages are cutting edge or aimed at an outdated age of the internet.

- The true components of a laser sharp online marketing strategy.

- How YOU can MAGNETICALLY draw an outrageous amount of new visitors to YOUR pages.

- How to improve your defined online presence by creating a clearer online identity.

- The SECRET on how to PROPERLY pick and combine social networks, social bookmarking sites, videos, article marketing, and blogs into a POWERFUL arsenal of marketing weaponry. (I'm providing the backgrounds on over 112 social networking sites; a listing of 26 social networking sites targeted to musicians or those in businesses related to the music industry; as well as over 30 video sharing, vidcast, vlog hosting, online editors, and online video converter sites.)

- How to psychologically write YOUR web copy targeting the side of the brain that YOUR visitors use to make purchase decisions.

- Which Psychological trigger words to use when writing high-voltage innovative mouthwatering web copy.

- Which colors in YOUR online presentation are psychologically best to use and why?

- An introduction to basic Survival HTML Code language, plus how or where best to use it.

- How to step back and look at YOUR websites, social network profiles, or personal profiles through the eyes of YOUR visitors.

And FINALLY, this book teaches how to bring all these tools together in an explosive blueprint or marketing strategy.

Tools are important, but it`s really important to know how to use the right tool for the right job. That`s where many people fail. Many of us have tools in our tool box, and absolutely no skill or knowledge on how best to use them. It takes someone coming along and teaching us how to use our tools correctly.

So while it may seem to some I`ve been in hiding, I`ve been busy putting the finishing touches on ``Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies``. The book is done, and in the next week or two the website for it will be ready in preparation for a June 15^th launch. In many ways, the project (book) is finished, I`ve put my tools away for now, and finally I`m in the process of ``sweeping up around the shop``.

Tools tell us where we`ve been, giving us the ability to appreciate the history, craftsmanship, and artistry of old ways. Tools also tell us where we are going, giving us the ability to produce products more quickly, efficiently, increasing our profitability.

Are YOU working with the right tools?

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, and Internet Marketing Strategies, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer. His latest book, ``Secret Magnetic Internet Marketing Strategies`` is scheduled for an online June 15^th, 2008 launch.

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Tips On How To Make Money Online

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sun, 18 May 2008 01:54:00 +0000

We all come to a place where it's necessary to take some down time to rest and relax. I am no different than most. The past couple of weeks I've been taking some time to finish up my most recent book. This book has exploded into a major project revealing many internet marketing strategies and marketing secrets. While the book is currently in the process of being placed into a publishable product, and will soon be available, the challenge comes in knowing where to stop adding information to this already PHENOMENAL product.

In the mean time, to help free up my schedule to finish my book, Miodrag Trajkovic has written this week's feature article.

The Missing Marketing Link

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:27:00 +0000

By James C. Tanner -- James C. Tanner is schedule to release an incredibly revealing new book this spring, which addresses many of the critical challenges individuals and businesses are currently facing as they attempt to maximize their presence and profits in the world of the social Web 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, and 4.0. This book helps people and businesses define a clearer online identity. Over 130 social networks are discussed, plus numerous other media sharing sites, social bookmarking sites, vlogging sites, and how to capitalize on them. Basic survival HTML code is introduced in an easy to understand format. Also covered is Buzz marketing, article marketing, copy writing, the fundamentals of hypnotic sales writing, plus many other critical helps required to creating a very critical online presence. This eBook is scheduled for release in late Spring 2008.

The Missing Marketing Link

Large and growing portions of some of the most valuable business demographics are spending more of their time and attention on internet marketing strategies and procedures, but in the process they’ve lost sight of a very important now often ignored missing marketing link.

In the 1980’s before the world of Web 2.0, the marketing world was caught up in a style of marketing known as “positional marketing”. The concept behind positional marketing was simplistic. Marketing plans would try to place brands securely into the mindset of the customer demographic base, so when a random sampling was asked to name the first three products to come to mind, your brand would be listed in the top three.

Positional marketing was not about directly pushing sales, as much as cementing the brand position in the mindset of the potential customer. When that customer went shopping, they already had a product brand name firmly planted in their mind. It was a simple process of going out a grabbing it off of the shelf.

Today, with the evolving world of the social web, marketing has changed. The style of marketing has become much more socially interactive. In the process of making this change, many business people are forgetting an important missing marketing link in their marketing plan. They are forgetting to maintain an element of positional marketing in their overall marketing plans.

How does one accomplish positional marketing in social web environment?

The determining factor in any online marketing plan for the social web remains in establishing a firm and dominant PRESENCE. By establishing a clearly definable and targeted presence, any person or business can establish an effective online marketing position. The stronger the presence, the more easily recognized a business entity will be.

All the traditional SEO tactics become a small part of the behind the scenes portion of developing a presence. More importantly, the success of an effective presence campaign becomes a plan of where you appear, and how you appear.

Many people, as well as small businesses will establish on MySpace, then transfer that same strategy over to Facebook, failing to realize, Facebook is a totally different style of market place, requiring a totally different strategy, and appearance.

Again, many small businesses focus their energies on MySpace when, for example, they might be in the travel industry, and totally avoid the six social web networks which are totally dedicated to people who love to travel. Presence is about where you appear, and how you appear.

Everything you do in your marketing plan must accomplish one end result… eventual increased profits. In order to accomplish this, a plan must be created which can be followed, monitored, adjusted, reviewed, revised, reviewed, revised, reviewed, revised, until profits are attained. If you are not realizing a profit, or see on paper a date whereby you can realize a ROI (Return On Investment) then you are stuck with a plan that’s going nowhere.

In fine tuning your plan, reach out to your customer base. Through questionnaires ask them what they noticed about your advertising and make note of what went unnoticed? Stick with what works, and scrap the rest. Pay attention to complaints about your site which are registered to your webmaster, and make prompt changes. Consider involving your customers in upcoming product releases. Encourage them to submit via online contests, or vote online on new product or label designs. Reward your customers when they participate.

The internet world changes rapidly. The technology of this year will be out dated next year. Your marketing plan should be re-visited annually, preferably every six months, to be sure it’s staying current with the marketplace and the technology fueling it. If you choose through inaction to not stay on top of the trends, rest assured, your competitors will.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

James C. Tanner of THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, and Internet Marketing Strategies is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and highly published writer.

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Creating Internet Marketing Strategies In 2008

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:51:00 +0000

When planning your Internet marketing strategies for 2008, don't go it alone. Free Internet marketing strategies are easy to find. The structures of your Internet marketing strategies as well as your web pages are important.

If you are familiar with marketing a traditional business, although different, Internet marketing strategies are much the same.

Why is it that many of us are still looking for a secret magic formula to Internet marketing strategies from the experts? Many of us end up using incorrect or outdated Internet marketing strategies and techniques that have us working hard but getting nowhere. The most successful Internet marketing plans integrate both Internet marketing strategies as well as traditional (offline) marketing strategies.

A critical key is learning to maximize your Internet marketing strategies. There are several solid Internet marketing strategies available, the first and most important strategy being, “If you don’t go to work, you won’t get paid!”

While it is true, the internet is still awash with marketing strategies that are re-hashed or re-vamped versions of out-dated strategies, there ARE proven and measurable Internet marketing strategies available for your business. You will have to spend some time finding them.

In this fast paced world of e-Business, only those with superior Internet Marketing strategies will survive. To look at an example of a generally successful internet marketing strategy, one needs to look no further than affiliate marketing which is certainly one of the most cost effective Internet marketing strategies available. Internet marketing strategies for the average person can at first seem to be a difficult task to overcome. It is a learning curve that requires time, and study, but it can be easily done. The great reality is, anyone can generate serious income with the right Internet marketing strategies.

Explore strategies and techniques you can use on the Internet which will enhance and support your business's overall marketing objectives. When you use all the parts of an Internet marketing strategy you can increase your search engine visibility. Building an Internet based business as with every business requires dedication, tenacity and creative marketing strategies.

Bloggers around the world are finding its easy to make money working online. With many Blog Hosting sites now paying people for blog postings, making money through blogging has become simpler and more efficient than having to rely on the old system of pay per click advertisers, or affiliate marketing advertisements. Now bloggers can add $250 to $450 per month to their income from a single blog just by posting entries. Blog entries that can promote that the writer’s website, products, or services, making it a marketing strategy that literally pays for itself.

Many online businesses tend to make the mistake of not extending their Internet marketing strategies beyond search engines. Lots of people will push their strategies far beyond search engines and make serious money. Article writing or video submissions are two of the most common approaches for accomplishing this technique. Now with the era of Web 4.0 arriving at our doorstep, and the new age of media rich social media, new opportunities to capitalize on marketing through the use of mobile devices will take a greater central theme.

Learning to work from home and to make money on the Internet is something the average non-skilled person can do, and do well. No matter who you are, no matter your skill set, no matter your available resources, one truth must be taken to heart. If you cannot be found, then you cannot sell, and therefore, cannot make money.

The secret to staying alive on the internet is learning to write quality and original content. Do this, and the money will follow. If you’re worried about poor writing skills, then relax, in this day and age of software applications writing has become very automated. To demonstrate my point, this article has been written using a trial version of a new software. One keyword phrase was used, along with five sub-keywords. The entire article was written in less than 10 minutes.

When it comes to evaluating Internet marketing strategies, use common sense when you are buying eBooks, programs, business plans, products, etc. Sometimes what you really need is the “No Fluff Internet Business Marketing Strategies” and the tough advice most people would hesitate to give for fear of losing a sale. Understand your business concept and direction. The help products you buy, may not apply in totality, but from each one, you might pull 10 to 20 percent of information which can benefit your business. When talking to successful Internet based business people, one common thread of information tends to arise, they all have a library of varying material on Internet marketing strategies. They do not buy one strategy product and stop there. They study a collection of ideas, and from those ideas, create a customized plan targeted for their specific business.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, as well as Internet Marketing Strategies, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and well known published writer.

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The Most Common Online Marketing Oversight

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:32:00 +0000

No matter who we are in life, no matter what we do, mistakes and oversights do happen. It’s a part of our imperfect human nature. Unfortunately, our imperfections often pop up where we least desire them to, such as in the middle of our marketing or promotional plan.

Yesterday, while on the phone to the President of a major international consulting firm, this Corporate President was proudly reading to me a blog comment he had posted onto an industrial leaders blog in response to an article which was written. The President’s comment was excellent and well written. As the President of this large consulting firm finished reading his blog comment, he stated to me, “I haven’t had any response yet to the comment?”

“Did you provide a link to your web page?” I responded.

The conversation was silent for a second. The response came back from the President, “No! Was I suppose to?”

One of the most commonly overlooked marketing and promotional tools people can use on the Internet is perhaps one of the simplest tools available to them. To some it’s the most obvious step to take, and yet many fail to capitalize on the strength of it.

Every piece of written communication that goes out with your name on it should also include your web address in the http://www.xxxxxxx.xxx format. This should become a habit for you, a habit as repetitive as signing your name.

Two lessons I learned early in life.

1. People don’t read signs, especially the warnings signs you post to caution them of a safety hazard.

2. People are at their core, lazy. On the Internet, they want a link they can simply click on once rather than have to go through all the work of doing a search for someone.

Every email, every blog comment, should include a link to your website. Not only should it include a link to your website, but you should also include a signature line below your signature. It’s free space that few people use well for advertising and yet it’s perfectly acceptable to post a one sentence or short two sentence description of who you are, BUT include a link to your web site.

Example “A”

Dr. John Doe of http://www.xxxxxx.xxx is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

We can dress this up a little more by substituting the URL (web address) for the web page title, making the web page tile a hyper link that people could click on to go directly to the person’s web page. To do this, a small piece of HTML code is used that enables you to swap your URL for what ever you wish to put in it's place. Where ever you type your blog comment, HTML code must be acceptable for this to work. For the sake of this example xxx.xxxxxx.xxx represents your URL. I should also tell you that in order for this HTML code to display without activating, I have had to alter it slightly. Normally, when you would go to use this code, you will not use any of the "(" or ")" as I have done. Also, immediately after the term Updates in brackets it should appear as the front half of a diamond key character, forward slash, letter a, followed by the back half of the diamond key character.

Example “B”

Dr. John Doe of (<)a href="http:/xxx.xxxxxx.xxx">Medical Updates (>) is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

The finished product for this signature line would have the term “Medical Updates” appearing as a hyper link (in the color blue and underlined if that’s how other URLS appear on that particular page. The signature line would read as follows:

Dr. John Doe of Medical Updates is a leading proctologist and author of “Hey, It’s Dark In Here!”

Once a person creates a signature line, it becomes a simple exercise in cutting a pasting it into blog comments as needed. Most email programs allow you to enter a signature into your emails automatically as a onetime procedure.

How does this help you?

1. It provides an easy way for people to get to your website.
2. When placed on a blog comment, it provides a very valuable back link to your web site which search engines love, and on the right blog, can improve your overall web page ranking in the eyes of the search engines.
3. When people do run searches on you, your comments will show up as well, and it gives them an opportunity to gain a feel for your capability and expertise.

It’s important to remember, when building traffic for your web page, there is no such thing, as one true traffic source. Traffic, as it does in real life, comes from all directions. The more times, you place your name out where people can see it, the more traffic it will generate. Commenting on blogs 3-4 times a week is an excellent way to accomplish this. The secret to blog commenting is to place comments on blogs that accomplish one of two things for you: place you in a circle of people who bring to you through mere association, greater prestige (focus 20 percent of your energy here); and place your comments in blogs where your potential customers are actively involved (focus 80 percent of your energy here).

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of the UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:49:00 +0000

Things are very busy around here these days as keyboards are busily going through the paces of pulling together the final assembly of a new publication set for release in May of this year. I am incredibly excited as I watch this project come together.

Those who know my background, recognize that overtime I have written and taught business and skills training programs for clients which have included branches of the Federal Government of Canada. This new project not only represents my first foray into the world of eBook publishing, but I must admit, I’m shaking my head when I see how much information is being provided.

This new eBook, when released, will be A MUST HAVE, for any person considering a home based business opportunity; any person with a small business trying to launch out into the realm of the World Wide Web; or any person with a current or soon to be product, or business, wanting to understand how to gain a stronger position and presence on the social Internet; and how to create stronger long term traffic strategies that work! Already this project is packed with all kinds of marketing tips and strategies, and it’s only half assembled! The other half is getting some polishing touches.

Watch for further updates on a release date.

Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Company

A Search Engine Optimization Company can be an invaluable asset in your Internet marketing campaign. They specialize in knowing how to raise your search engine positions, monitoring those positions on the regular basis, and adjusting their strategies to account for undesirable results in any given month. Since this takes a lot of time, effort, and specialized knowledge, it can be in your best interest to go to an outside source rather than try to maintain high search engine positions on your own.

However, like every business, there are good companies and there are lemons. Knowing the right questions to ask and the criteria to look for will help you in choosing an affordable, effective search engine optimization company.

When looking at different companies, begin by considering the approach they employ to raise your search engine positions. Steer clear of companies that use cloaked, doorway, or bridge pages to raise your positions. These techniques violate most search engine policy, and in the worst case scenario, will only get your website severely penalized, if not removed entirely from a search engine's index.

A cloaked page is a page that is created which is invisible to the regular visitor to your website. The cloaked page is coded to detect a search engine spider and divert them to this special page, which is set-up to artificially boost your search engine position. Doorway or bridge pages utilize the same concept, but often reside on an entirely different server. Google, one of the largest and most important search engine on the Internet, will remove your website from their index if they detect you have cloaked pages. Never...never... never employ any company that uses this technique!

Another important element is to get a guarantee that the company you hire will not work with your competitors while they are working for you. Obviously, this would seriously compromise the effectiveness of the search engine optimization campaign. Be aware that some companies will use the success they achieve for your website to sell their services to your competitors. So get your guarantee in writing, and make sure it is legally binding.

Of course, one of the most important factors you want to check out is the company's track record of results. However, don't take the company's word for it. They will undoubtedly be slanting their results in order to sell their services to you. To go beyond their simple statement of success, ask them a few pertinent questions, and verify their answers.

Ask them which engines they have achieved the best results on. The ones that are important are the most popular engines, and these are the ones you want to see good results on. Since the popularity of search engines can change with the landscape of the overall Internet, check out the Nielsen Net ratings page at Search Engine Watch. You can access this at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451 .

Next, find out what keywords and phrases they are claiming great results with. It's easy to get high rankings with unpopular words. For instance, the keyword "cat leashes" will get high popularity ranking because no one else would think of using it. What you are looking for is good results using popular keywords. Check out the software Wordtracker, available at www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription ranging from 1 day to 1 year. This software rates the popularity of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.

Next, look for good results over an entire site that the company claims to have successfully worked for. You want to see a wide range of positions over a number of different search engines using different keywords or phrases for the entire site. Request a report for any client the company claims to have done well for. This report should show good positions on a number of the most popular search engines for a variety of different, popular keywords and phrases.

When you are checking out search engine optimization companies, make sure they have actually done the work they are claiming to have done. Some companies will use other company's results in order to get you to sign on with them.

If you are in doubt, call the company they are showing you results for, and ask for the name of their search engine optimization company.

It's important to keep in mind that a successful search engine optimization campaign will result in maximum exposure across a wide range of popular search engines using a variety of keywords and phrases. This is the formula for a successful campaign, and you should keep it always in the forefront of your marketing strategy.

Ask the search engine optimization company you are considering for a report that shows you rankings across a number of popular search engines for a period of at least six months. Remember: search engine marketing is a process that is continual, and you need a company that not only understands this, but keeps constant tabs on your search engine positions. That company must also be able to adjust its strategy in the event that search engine rankings drop.

Since search engine marketing is an on-going process, your positions must be constantly monitored. If you want your search engine optimization company to do this for you, request a sample of a monthly report. It is essential that this report should show rankings for the most popular search engines. Don't be impressed by a report that only shows great results for a limited number of small search engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire. Also confirm that the popular search engine results they are showing you are indeed the popular search engines currently.

Be sure the sample report the company shows you is in a format that you can easily understand. For example, it could be in the form of a chart that covers a period of at least six months and presents data such as the top 50 positions broken down on a monthly basis or the top 5 pages each month. Then, ascertain that the company you are considering actually monitors these positions or pages every month, and that the sample report they show you includes findings and recommendations for the specific site. This insures that the company will actively monitor and make adjustments to their strategy on a continual basis rather than simply gather statistics on your positions. You need a company that is actively participant in your search engine marketing campaign, not just an information gatherer.

Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization company is crucial the success of your marketing campaign.

It is not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a company that will do a thorough and reliable job for your website, you might consider waiting until you do have the finances in place.

If you have to find a company and can't wait for your finances to catch up, you may be able to find an affordable company that will also be able to supply quality, reliable work, such as a fairly new company. Just remember that there are risks involved with using a company without a proven track record - and that risk is your money! Don't take that leap unless the company can supply you with a least a few references.

References are the most reliable indicator of a good company. Don't use a company that won't show your references because of any reason, confidentiality included.

Remember - even doctors will provide references! The firm you choose should provide you with a minimum of two references, one that is from the past, and one that is current.

When you contact these references, be prepared to ask precise, specific questions so that neither of your time is wasted. Ask them what their experience was like with the company, such as their availability to answer questions and deal with problems and their ability to meet deadlines. Ask the reference to rate the overall performance of the company.

Find out if the company requested that the reference make significant changes to their web pages that affected the visitors coming to their site. You are looking for a search engine optimization company that can balance the needs of both search engines and site visitors without compromising either.

The most essential question to ask is whether the work of the search engine optimization company resulted in higher profits for the reference. Without profits, it doesn't matter whether your positions are at the top of the list or not.

During the course of the entire process, never forget to grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

James C. Tanner of THE RECENTLY UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through Internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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How To Write The eBook That Will Promote Your Business

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:47:00 +0000

Promoting your business can often prove to be a bit challenging for even the accomplished marketer. Every successful online marketer knows and understands the importance of the ebook industry, and how ebooks can promote a person’s small business opportunity, or home based online business opportunity.

The question for most first timers becomes one of “How do I write or create an eBook?”

===================================================
How to Write an Ebook
===================================================

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain...step by step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you've gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook's working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books as long as it's not too cute. For example, “Remedies for Insomnia: Twenty different ways to count sheep”. Or: “Get off that couch: Fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape.”

Next, write out a thesis statement. Your thesis is a sentence or two stating exactly what problem you are addressing and how your book will solve that problem. All chapters spring forth from your thesis statement. Once you've got your thesis statement fine-tuned, you've built your foundation. From that foundation, your book will grow, chapter by chapter.

Your thesis will keep you focused while you write your ebook. Remember: all chapters must support your thesis statement. If they don't, they don't belong in your ebook. For example, your thesis statement could read: We've all experienced insomnia at times in our lives, but there are twenty proven techniques and methods to give you back a good night's sleep.

Once you have your thesis, before you start to write, make sure there is a good reason to write your book. Ask yourself some questions:

* Does your book present useful information and is that information currently relevant?

* Will you book positively affect the lives of your readers?

* Is your book dynamic and will it keep the reader's attention?

* Does you book answer questions that are meaningful and significant?

If you can answer yes to these questions, you can feel confident about the potential of your ebook.

Another important step is to figure out who your target audience is. It is this group of people you
will be writing to, and this group will dictate many elements of your book, such as style, tone, diction, and even length. Figure out the age range of your readers, their general gender, what they are most interested in, and even the socio-economic group they primarily come from. Are they people who read fashion magazines or book reviews? Do they write letters in longhand or spend hours every day online. The more you can pin down your target audience, the easier it will be to write your book for them.

Next, make a list of the reasons you are writing your ebook. Do you want to promote your business? Do you want to bring quality traffic to your website? Do you want to enhance your reputation?

Then write down your goals in terms of publishing. Do you want to sell it as a product on your website, or do you want to offer it as a free gift for filling out a survey or for ordering a product? Do you want to use the chapters to create an e-course, or use your ebook to attract affiliates around the world? The more you know up front, the easier the actual writing will be.

Decide on the format of your chapters. In non-fiction, keep the format from chapter to chapter fairly consistent. Perhaps you plan to use an introduction to your chapter topic, and then divide it into four subhead topics. Or you may plan to divide it into five parts, each one beginning with a relevant anecdote.

How to make your ebook "user friendly"

You must figure out how to keep your writing engaging. Often anecdotes, testimonials, little stories, photos, graphs, advice, and tips will keep the reader turning the pages. Sidebars are useful for quick, accessible information, and they break up the density of the page.

Write with a casual, conversational tone rather than a formal tone such as textbook diction. Reader's respond to the feeling that you are having a conversation with them. Break up the length and structure of your sentences so you don?t hypnotize your readers into sleep. Sentences that are all the same length and structure tend to be a good aid for insomnia!

Good writing takes practice. It takes lots and lots of practice. Make a schedule to write at least a page a day. Read books and magazines about the process of writing, and jot down tips that jump out at you. The art of writing is a lifetime process; the more you write (and read), the better your writing will become. The better your writing becomes, the bigger your sales figures.

In an ebook that is read on the screen, be aware that you must give your reader's eye a break. You can do this by utilizing white space. In art classes, white space is usually referred to as "negative space." Reader's eyes need to rest in the cool white oasis you create on your page. If your page is too dense, your reader will quit out of it as soon as their eyes begin to tear.

Make use of lists, both bulleted and numbered. This makes your information easy to absorb, and gives the reader a mental break from dissecting your paragraphs one after the other.

Finally, decide on an easy-to-read design. Find a font that's easy on the eyes, and stick to that font
family. Using dozens of fonts will only tire your readers out before they've gotten past your
introduction. Use at least one and a half line spacing, and text large enough to be read easily on
the screen, but small enough so that the whole page can be seen on a computer screen. You will have to experiment with this to find the right combination.

Of course, don't forget to run a spell and grammar check. You are judged by something as minor as correct punctuation, so don’t mess up a great book by tossing out semicolons randomly, or stringing sentences together with commas. (By the way, that's called a "comma splice.")

Last of all, create an index and a bibliography. That's it! You've written a book! Now all you have to do is publish your ebook online, and wait for download request from your website visitors.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of the UPDATED Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Search Engine Optimization Through Keyword Selection

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:53:00 +0000

There is much talk and much advertised on the subject of Keyword Selection. It’s an important subject that one cannot ignore, but as with many other aspects of the internet, times have changed, and people who are involved in home based internet businesses need to stay informed on the latest internet marketing strategies for their small business opportunity.

It use to be that all search engines relied totally on your keyword tags as the one of the key determining factor for your page ranking. Recently Google has undergone some changes and quite often doesn’t even pay attention to your keyword tags but instead pays attention to the content in your headings, sub-headings, and first two to three paragraphs. The other search engines (i.e. MSN, YAHOO, and others, etc.) account for 50 percent of internet searches, and still rely totally on the use of keywords. Keywords still remain important to the website developer, but carry less significance today than they did five years ago.

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Search Engine Keyword Selection
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Search engines are the vehicles that drive potential customers to your websites. But in order for visitors to reach their destination - your website - you need to provide them with specific and effective signs that will direct them right to your site. You do this by creating carefully chosen keywords.

Think of the right keywords as the Open Sesame! of the Internet. Find the exactly right words or phrases, and presto! hoards of traffic will be pulling up to your front door. But if your keywords are too general or too over-used, the possibility of visitors actually making it all the way to your site - or of seeing any real profits from the visitors that do arrive - decreases dramatically.

Your keywords serve as the foundation of your marketing strategy. If they are not chosen with great precision, no matter how aggressive your marketing campaign may be, the right people may never get the chance to find out about it. So your first step in plotting your strategy is to gather
and evaluate keywords and phrases.

You probably think you already know EXACTLY the right words for your search phrases. Unfortunately, if you haven't followed certain specific steps, you are probably WRONG.
It's hard to be objective when you are right in the center of your business network, which is the reason that you may not be able to choose the most efficient keywords from the inside. You need to be able to think like your customers. And since you are a business owner and not the consumer, your best bet is to go directly to the source.

Instead of plunging in and scribbling down a list of potential search words and phrases yourself, ask for words from as many potential customers as you can. You will most likely find out that your understanding of your business and your customers' understanding is significantly different.

The consumer is an invaluable resource. You will find the words you accumulate from them are words and phrases you probably never would have considered from deep inside the trenches of your business.

Only after you have gathered as many words and phrases from outside resources should you add your own keyword to the list. Once you have this list in hand, you are ready for the next step: evaluation.

The aim of evaluation is to narrow down your list to a small number of words and phrases that will direct the highest number of quality visitors to your website. By "quality visitors" I mean those consumers who are most likely to make a purchase rather than just cruise around your site and take off for greener pastures. In evaluating the effectiveness of keywords, bear in mind three elements: popularity, specificity, and motivation.

Popularity is the easiest to evaluate because it is an objective quality. The more popular your keyword is, the more likely the chances are that it will be typed into a search engine which will then bring up your URL.

You can now purchase software that will rate the popularity of keywords and phrases by giving words a number rating based on real search engine activity. Software such as WordTracker will even suggest variations of your words and phrases. The higher the number this software assigns to a given keyword, the more traffic you can logically expect to be directed to your site. The only fallacy with this concept is the more popular the keyword is, the greater the search engine position you will need to obtain. If you are down at the bottom of the search results, the consumer will probably never scroll down to find you.

Popularity isn't enough to declare a keyword a good choice. You must move on to the next criteria, which is specificity. The more specific your keyword is, the greater the likelihood that the consumer who is ready to purchase your goods or services will find you.

Let's look at a hypothetical example. Imagine that you have obtained popularity rankings for the keyword "automobile companies." However, you company specializes in bodywork only. The keyword "automobile body shops" would rank lower on the popularity scale than "automobile companies," but it would nevertheless serve you much better. Instead of getting a slew of people interested in everything from buying a car to changing their oil filters, you will get only those consumers with trashed front ends or crumpled fenders being directed to your site. In other words, consumers ready to buy your services are the ones who will immediately find you. Not only that, but the greater the specificity of your keyword is, the less competition you will face.

The third factor is consumer motivation. Once again, this requires putting yourself inside the mind of the customer rather than the seller to figure out what motivation prompts a person looking for a service or product to type in a particular word or phrase. Let's look at another
example, such as a consumer who is searching for a job as an IT manager in a new city. If you have to choose between "Seattle job listings" and "Seattle IT recruiters" which do you think will benefit the consumer more? If you were looking for this type of specific job, which keyword would you type in? The second one, of course! Using the second keyword targets people who have decided on their career, have the necessary experience, and are ready to enlist you as their recruiter, rather than someone just out of school who is casually trying to figure out what to do with his or her life in between beer parties. You want to find people who are ready to act or make a purchase, and this requires subtle tinkering of your keywords until your find the most specific and directly targeted phrases to bring the most motivated traffic to you site.

Once you have chosen your keywords, your work is not done. You must continually evaluate performance across a variety of search engines, bearing in mind that times and trends change, as does popular lingo. You cannot rely on your log traffic analysis alone because it will not tell you how many of your visitors actually made a purchase.

Luckily, some new tools have been invented to help you judge the effectiveness of your keywords in individual search engines. There is now software available that analyzes consumer behavior in relation to consumer traffic. This allows you to discern which keywords are bringing you the most valuable customers.

This is an essential concept: numbers alone do not make a good keyword; profits per visitor do. You need to find keywords that direct consumers to your site who actually buy your product, fill out your forms, or download your product. This is the most important factor in evaluating the efficacy of a keyword or phrase, and should be the sword you wield when discarding and replacing ineffective or inefficient keywords with keywords that bring in better profits.

Ongoing analysis of tested keywords is the formula for search engine success. This may sound like a lot of work - and it is! But the amount of informed effort you put into your keyword campaign is what will ultimately generate your business' rewards.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

Copyright © 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity, Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Discovering Promotional Powerhouses

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 01:58:00 +0000

In a fast changing market place, businesses are always trying to stay on top of the latest marketing strategies, promotional tactics, customer trends and demographics. After all, anyone with an online business opportunity, small business, home based internet business, all understand the value of effective marketing. The key to dynamic marketing results can be found in one phrase, “Fish where the fish are!” Knowing how to keep your marketing message in front of your targeted audience is critical to any effective marketing campaign. Once it’s there, then shake those dice and start rolling sevens, because seven is the magic number of times people must see your name or Web site to remember it.

Some years ago the big term in marketing was “positional marketing”. Then came “guerrilla marketing”. Today, the fuss in the world of marketing is all about creating a “Buzz” about you, your business, and your product. The more “Buzz” you can create, the closer your customers come to that magic number seven!

So how in a world of crowded marketing techniques, does a small operation get their foot in the door? There is one method which offers incredible opportunity for growth and development. The creation of Ebooks which directly, or indirectly, promote you, your business, or your product.

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Ebooks are Promotional Powerhouses
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Ebooks are part of the new frontier of cyberspace. They are an entirely new medium for sharing marketing information, ideas, techniques, and expert knowledge. Each day the number of people accessing the Internet grows, causing the exposure of your ebook to increase incrementally. It's obvious why electronic self-publishing has become so popular so quickly.

The publishing industry, I hope, does not intend to forever banish the printed word to the dustbin of history. Books in print have their own special qualities and merits, and the world would be diminished by their disappearance.

Having said that, let's look at what makes ebooks so important and so unique. Ebooks have certain abilities and qualities that other mediums do not possess.

For example, ebooks are fairly easy to produce, and their production cost is inexpensive. Just think about it: you don't need a publisher, an agent, a printing press, offset film, ink, paper, or even a distributor. You just need a great concept, the ability to write it or to hire a writer, and the right software.

Additionally, ebooks are easily and rapidly distributed online. They are also easily updated; they
do not require a second print run. All you need is to go into your original creation and modify the text or graphics. Because of this flexibility, ebooks can change and grow as fast as you can type.

Ebooks are also immediately obtainable. You don't have to go to a bookstore or search through endless titles at an online bookstore. All you have to do is download it from a website, and presto! It's on your computer, ready to be read.

Ebooks are interactive. This is one of the most unique and specific qualities that ebooks offer. You can add surveys that need to be filled out, order forms for customers to purchase your products or goods, sound and video that draw your reader into the virtual world of your ebook, even direct links to relevant sites that will expand your ebook outward. The potential is virtually limitless.

Ebooks have a particular kind of permanence that other mediums do not possess. Television shows and radio shows air once, and then may rerun a few times. Ebooks remain on your computer for as long as your choose, and they can be read and reread whenever you choose
to. They can even be printed out and stored on the shelves of your traditional home library.

Another wonderful quality is that ebooks have no barriers in terms of publishing. You don't need to go through the endless process of submitting your manuscript over and over again, and then once you land an agent, having the agent submit your manuscript over and over again. Nor do you have to shell out thousands of dollars for printing a self-published book. All ebooks require is a writer and appropriate software. Figure out your market, write your book, post it on your website, and with the right business savvy, your audience will come to you.

Finally, you have creative control over your ebook. You don’t have to compromise with an editor or the publishing trends of the time. You don't have to haggle with a designer or wait for copy edited galleys to arrive by snail mail. You are in complete control of the design and the text.

Your Email Marketing Manager" border="0">

How to Use ebooks for Marketing and Promotion

There are innumerable ways to use ebooks to promote your business and drive quality traffic to your website. Once posted on your site, you can turn them into a daily course, which brings your customer back to read the next chapter. You can use them as a free gift for making a purchase or for filling out a survey. Put your ebook on a disc, and you will have an innovative brochure. Blow your competition away by inserting the disc into your sales packages.

The most effective marketing products are those that are unique. Copyright your ebook, and immediately, you have a powerful tool that you, and you alone, can offer to the public. People will have to visit your site to acquire your ebook, which increases the flow of quality traffic and the potential of sales and affiliate contacts.

Make sure that you keep your ebook current. Update it frequently as the market and trends change. Add new advice and techniques to show your prospects how your goods or services can enrich their lives. By constantly keeping abreast of new trends and techniques, you can continue to see profits from your ebook for years after your original creation.

Another phenomenal advantage of ebooks is that you can test their marketing potential without putting out hardly any cash at all. You can even produce an ebook one copy at a time, each time you receive an order, eliminating the need for storage and inventory. By this method, you can gauge the sale ability of your ebook, and make adjustments as necessary until the orders start pouring in. Ebooks allow you to learn about your market and customer habits and motivation
over a period of time, without risking your precious financial resources. They also provide you with an invaluable way to gather marketing information, which you can use in many different facets of your business.

Use your ebook to discover what the specific goals and problems are in your specific industry. Then figure out how to solve these problems, and publish an ebook with this invaluable information. This will increase the value of your business, upgrade your reputation, and get you known as an expert in your field.

You can extend the value of single ebook by breaking the book down into chapters for a serial course, into special reports available on your website, or into audio or visual tapes. Ebooks can be broken down into several different promotional materials by excepting some of the articles and using them to promote your product. You can include a catalog in your ebook to promote all the products or services you sell. You can include a thank-you note for reading your book and an
invitation to download a trial version of your product. Or you can include a form for your audience to contact you for further information or with questions, thereby building your business
relationships and your mailing list.

Using ebooks in this manner helps to cut the cost of individually producing separate promotional materials. You can use a single ebook to entice new prospects and to sell new products to your current customers.

No other medium has this kind of flexibility and ability for expansion. Think of your ebook like a
spider spinning a beautiful and intricate web. Now go and create that web, and see how many customers and prospects you can catch!

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity , Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Green Cash From Green Gas

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:05:00 +0000

We live in an age where times are changing very quickly. The concept of “going green” has taken a new priority in every aspect of industry and lifestyle. The targeting of internet marketing strategies to this new wave of industry has been powerful and yet still in it’s infancy. With the world now focusing on terms such as “carbon footprint”, “eco-friendly”, “auto emissions”, “fuel efficiency”, “fuel economy”, “alternate fuels”, etc., new businesses and business opportunities are rising up to meet the challenge. Finding the right home based business opportunity so a person can work from home, or make money online, can sometimes prove to be challenging. Some people seek home business opportunities through online marketing sources, others through word of mouth. The biggest challenge for many is identifying an opportunity that’s credible; that will put money in their pocket right away; and not cost a huge dollar up front to get started in. Once the right business opportunity is found, scores of individuals become hungry for the latest internet marketing strategies, and do so while embracing the learning curve that goes along with starting a new home based business venture.

So what kind of eco-friendly opportunity would be so attractive, would show so much potential, it would actually make a person want to leave a corporate America position? Now let’s be clear about this. Not just leave a corporate America position, but leave from a sector of corporate America that’s use to reviewing and assessing other people’s business plans and business proposals.

Recently, through professional networking on MySpace.com, I had the opportunity to meet and get to know, such a person, Jill Cobb from the State of California. During the course of our written and phone discussions, I began to learn in greater detail her incredible story. The following is an excerpt from an interview with this incredible individual.

Jill perhaps you could begin by telling us a bit about who you are, your background, and what you’re doing now?

I’ve been active in the financial services industry for 30 years in banking, real estate and as a Certified Financial Planner. A friend told me I should try a product she was selling called the Bio Petro Improver, and honestly, to support my friend’s business, I gave it a try. Wow, was I surprised!! After using it for 2 fill ups, my gas mileage improved 20 percent!! With the ever rising HIGH price of gas…and increasing toxic emissions in our air, I decided to become an Area Manager and Distributor for Bio Petro Improver. The response has been so exciting, I have scaled back my financial business, and now I’m focusing most of my time helping others improve their gas mileage as well as their cash flow with this product!

It’s so difficult for families these days to live comfortably on a budget. I feel I can impact the lives of so many people who are struggling to make ends meet. A 20-30 percent reduction in gas expenses is a HUGE savings!! So many households have 1 or 2 commuters that travel hundreds of miles per week! They can use their savings on fuel costs for groceries, clothing and necessary home expenses. For anyone who drives 50 miles each way to work they could save over $900 USD per year when the gas prices at the pump are around $3.00 per gallon!! Think about the savings when gas prices are higher…like they are in Canada and many other countries!!!

As a Baby Boomer, I’m wanting to retire early … thanks to BPI, Worldwide!! I want to spend more time with my 2 grand kids Emily and Ryan, and take them on some amazing vacations!! They are 10 and 6 and I’m looking forward to showing them some of the most wonderful historical locations in the world.

As we talked, and when you eventually mailed me material about your business, I became really excited about the potential for this business especially here in North America. Perhaps you could explain a little bit about the product and exactly what it does? How would it benefit a person such as myself financially, and how would it benefit the world I live in?

BPI, Worldwide is a great home based business opportunity, or business opportunity period! It’s also a FUN business. Everyone wants to save money on gas and everyone who tries it thinks I am a HERO!! It’s allowed me to be able to travel and visit friends and family that I haven’t seen in years!!

The product is all natural, biodegradable and it’s been proven to increase gas mileage as well as reduce toxic emissions!

The fuel enhancer significantly impacts the lives of everyone-worldwide that uses an internal combustion engine!! That includes trucks, cars, buses, planes, boats, lawnmowers, RVs, dune buggies, motorcycles, snow mobiles, water craft… and on and on..!!

A consumer can save from 15-30 percent on the money they currently spend on gas. Fuel costs have become a major expense for most of us, so this will benefit our cash flow IMMEDIATELY!

So, the benefits are really significant. We can all save at the tank, improve harmful emissions, and, for those interested in a business opportunity, they can become a Distributor for BPI Worldwide and create a significant residual income!!!

The retail cost of a 50 gram jar of Bio Petro Improver is $25 US. That treats approximately 200 gallons of gas or diesel fuel. A consumer only uses 1 teaspoon (or 2 Bio Pills) for every 15 U.S. gallon gas tank or 10 U.S. gallon diesel tank.

It’s my understanding this product has met with some opposition from the oil industry. As a result when it comes to testing this product, it’s really been put through “all the hoops” so to speak. What kind of testing has been done, that you’re aware of, and what results came from those tests?

First off, you’re right! There was some opposition to this product.

BPI was first introduced to US Consumers in the 2006 as a network marketing business opportunity. Over $20 million dollars of product was sold in a very few months. The excitement was tremendous. This got the immediate attention of the Texas oil industry. There were several offers to buy BPI, but all offers were rejected. The founders of the BPI set up this company specifically as a networking program so anyone willing to share this program with others could create substantial residual income.

Oil companies approached the Texas authorities alleging the Bio Product didn’t work and BPI Worldwide was nothing less than a scam. The entire company was temporarily shut down pending an investigation of the product, and while the course of the investigation was underway all the personal and business assets of the founders were seized.

After a lengthy court ordeal, the Texas Court system Ordered an independent Environmental Protection Agency recognized testing lab evaluate Bio Petro Improver to determine its effectiveness. The Wallace Lab used the strictest EPA, HFET (Highway Fuel Economy Test) and CARB (California Air Resource Board) assessment protocols. They determined that “this product causes a real improvement in fuel economy and a reduction in emissions.”

The fuel enhancer proved to be a safe, effective product. The lawsuit was dismissed and BPI, Worldwide re-launched in June 2007!! Since that time, there have been numerous independent lab tests which have also verified the high quality performance of this product.

I’m not sure what the current fuel prices are in California, but here in Canada, we’re on the metric system and we buy our fuel by the litre, not by the gallon. There are approximately 3.7855 litres to an American gallon and we are paying $1.189 per litre for regular grade fuel (we are being told that price will climb to $1.509 per litre by July 2008). Today we are paying just over $4.50 U.S.D. for the equivalent of an American gallon. You’re business is in the process of soon coming into Canada, and the potential financial savings for people if they use your product is staggering. Right now, a 20% savings in fuel would mean reducing the cost of our fuel to approximately $.9512 a litre. That’s an immediate savings of $.2378 per litre of fuel, or $13.50 for every equal amount of 15 U.S. gallons of fuel. Incredible! What is the growth potential for your business, and at this time, is this only available in the United States?

Recently, BPI Worldwide has opened in Mexico as a business program. A Canada “Grand Opening” is soon to occur. The Bio Petro Improver is NOW available for purchase world wide, and people can find access to the product through the website www.4MaxMPG.com .

In anticipation of expanding into Canada as well as 192 other countries, BPI has enhanced the website to show many flags at the top right of the site. Anyone can click on their country’s flag and see a Bio Petro video and all the company and product information in their native language! It’s available for anyone with internet access to research our company, review the testing results as well as the Binary Compensation Plan.

It is my goal to find some new, fun business partners who see how powerful this Company and this Product is. With our international growth, I am ready to visit Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, France, Italy, etc with my Business Buddies to share this program and be an International HERO!!

This really has the ability to be a great home based business opportunity for people to get involved in. If people wanted to contact you to find out where they can buy this product or how they can get involved in this as a business, is there a web site they should go to, or another way they could contact you?

The growth potential of this business is staggering!!

All the citizens of Our Planet desperately need a superior, proven, inexpensive “green” product that can improve their gas mileage.

We all desperately need and want to improve the air we breathe and preserve our atmosphere for future generations.

Individuals and businesses worldwide are begging for products they can use to Save Our Planet.

The Bio Petro Improver provides us the product and the business program to impact our environment and our financial well being.

People who may have questions or want more information about this incredible product and opportunity can always contact me at www.4MaxMPG.com or jill@4maxmpg.com If I don’t have the answers, I will get the information!! Together, we can spread the word about this fabulous gas enhancer and create a substantial residual income!!

Jill Cobb is an exciting individual to get to know. She is a glowing example of a true home based entrepreneur, but more important she is a quality person.

Great home based business opportunities, and small business opportunities do abound for people who want to find them. These are exciting days for “Green” focused products which provide real cost savings for people in the process.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About The Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity , Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He currently spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Increasing Link Popularity

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:34:00 +0000

With the economy woes of the United States now plummeting into a recessionary position, many home based internet business entrepreneurs are paying close attention to the ways and means of making money online, so as to keep their business in the forefront of their customer’s eye. The good news is, that while the United States economy is slow, it’s neighbor to the north, Canada, is experiencing an incredible boom, economically speaking. Several aspects of the Canadian economy have been impacted by the U.S. slowdown, but where one sector slows down, the hot demand in other Canadian industrial sectors continues to gobble up workers faster than they are being displaced. Canada’s challenge is a drastic shortage of workers. For those wanting to make money online, the reality is, where one market may be going through a downturn, there are always those other markets which are doing well. The beauty of the an internet business opportunity is, your customer base is global, not restricted geographically to your immediate locality, unless you of course choose to limit yourself in such a way. Let me give you an example of the typical internet consumer. I am a Canadian, and 60 percent of my purchases are made online to companies that are located outside of Canada, companies that are well outside my economic, as well as geographic region.

Internet marketing when done correctly, provides a blanket which helps businesses ride out the gut wrenching twists and turns of economic shifts. There will be noticeable cycles in internet marketing, but usually, the causes and effects related to those cycles are more directly connected to your marketing plan, advertising campaign, website optimization, and product selection procedures.

Today’s feature article is speaking to a key area of importance in helping to optimize your website in the eyes of search engines. The article pertains to increasing your website’s link popularity. For some time search engines have looked closely at the number and quality of reciprocal links on websites. A reciprocal link is a link on your page which points to another page, which in turn has a link that points back to your page. While this is a highly effective way to increase your popularity in the eyes of search engines, it’s a process that must be done right, or it can work against you. Take a few minutes and enjoy this weeks feature article “Increasing Link Popularity”.

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Increasing Link Popularity
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Search engines are the gateway to the Internet; they are the first tool that potential customers use to find the products and services they need. This is why link popularity is so imperative. If the customers do not find your website, you have no possibilities of making any sales.

You're probably wondering what the blazes is popular about a link! Well, in a word - plenty! Link popularity refers to the ranking assigned to your website by the search engines, and it determines the ranking your page gets when keywords are entered into a search engine. So, you're probably wondering, how do I make my link popular?

Search engines are discretionary, giving status and ranking to sites that have links to their pages from related, quality sites. It's a simple formula, but a very important one. Google created the system, and now virtually all the most popular search engines employ it to rank your web pages in their indexes.

The more commonly used your keyword is, the harder it will be to achieve link popularity, but without achieving this step, it is almost certain your site will never rank highly on any search engine. But don't be discouraged; there are tried and true ways of achieving link popularity using the most competitive keywords.

There are a few things you should be aware of. The first is that just linking up with a large number of other websites will not achieve link popularity. In fact, it may have quite the opposite effect. This is particularly true when pertaining to websites that are nothing more than "link farms" - pages containing line after line of indiscriminate links. Search engines may aggressively discriminate against your website if you are associated with a link farm, so steer clear of them!

The next thing to bear in mind is the quality of the site you are linking to. Never link to a page you have reservations about your visitors seeing. The last thing you want your website to appear as is indiscriminate and cheap. Linking to sites of poor quality will only lessen your link popularity, if not completely destroy it.

So let's get to what you need to do to achieve supreme link popularity and improve your rankings to stellar status on all the popular search engines.

The first step, and the fastest way to get your foot in the door, is to get a listing in a popular directory, such as Open Directory Project and Yahoo. If your site is business-related, you will want to be listed on Yahoo, and despite the fact that it will cost you around $300 a year, it will be money well spent. If your site is non-commercial, the listing will be free, but it will take time and follow-up to actually get it listed. Open Directory is gives you a free listing whether you are business-related or non-commercial, but be prepared to make a lot of follow-up inquiries before you see your site listed.

You are aiming to get listed in the highest level of appropriate category, and this just takes some common sense. For example, if your company ships Alpaca wool from an Alpaca farm located in the middle of Nowhere, Tiny State, do NOT submit your listing to "Retailers from Nowhere, Tiny State." BIG MISTAKE! All you have to do is look a little deeper - and submit your listing to the "Fine Alpaca Wool" category. You will not only associate yourself with culture and quality, but you will be listed in a national category.

The next step after you have attained directory listings is to locate other quality sites that will increase your link popularity. Try to find sites that are in some way related to yours, so not only will your link popularity increase, but your customer base may also be expanded. You want to avoid your competitors and look for sites that are useful to your site's visitors. Let's look at the Alpaca Wool site example. Linking up to a site that sells knitting supplies would be helpful to your visitors, and the chances of the knitting supply site wanting to link up to your site are
also greater. By linking to a related site that will be relevant to your website's traffic, you are increasing both of your site's business prospects - and both of your sites' link popularity.

Not all sites want to link to other sites, so you will have to do some research when you are looking for possible linking partners. Google is an excellent starting place for your search. Make sure you enter keywords that you think quality customers will also enter to find your own site.
Remember, your criteria are quality, highly ranked, non-competing websites that have a links or resources page. Go to these sites and objectively assess them. Look at the quality of the product, the graphics, and the ease of use. Then check out the other sites they are linked to, and determine if your own site would fit in with the crowd.

When you decide you have found a good prospect, you must set out to woo them. The first thing to do is to add a link on your own links page to their site. This is an essential first step; it shows good faith, and ups your chances significantly of their reciprocity. After you have added their link, you must contact the webmaster of their site. Since this is almost always done by email, you want to make sure it is immediately clear that your message is not junk mail. This requires that you tell them right off the bat that you have added a link to their page on your site. A hook like this almost always insures the reader will read on.

Next, be sure to be flattering and let them know how much you appreciate their website. Make sure you emphasize that you have actually visited their site, and that their site is not just a random pick. Give them the address of your links page, and ask them to check out the link for
themselves. It's a good idea to mention that they will not only benefit from the increased traffic your website will direct their way, but you will also increase their link popularity. Briefly, explain why link popularity is so essential, but do this in a sentence or two so you don't sound like a professor! Finally, tell them you would greatly appreciate if they would reciprocally add a link on their own links page to your website.

Go through this process with as many appropriate sites as you can find, bearing in mind the criteria of quality and non-competitiveness. After you have emailed all relevant sites, be sure to check these website frequently to see if they have added a link to your page. Give it about a month, and if no link appears, try another charming email. Then give it another month, and if your site is still absent from their links page, it's time to remove their link from your own links page. The only time you want to pursue a link further than this is if you believe a site is crucial
to your link popularity and your business needs. Just remember to keep all your communications complimentary and cordial.

Then set up a schedule to check your ranking in search engines frequently to see if your link popularity has improved. This is not achievable in the blink of an eye. It will take some time and a good deal of work. There is no way around the labor-intensive quality of improving your
link popularity, which is why search engines regard it with such importance.

By the way - make sure you have a beautiful, streamlined site or you will never persuade anyone to link up to you. Be prepared to keep plugging away at this process, as long as it takes, until you achieve link popularity stardom!

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity , Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He now spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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The Magnetic Impact Of Autoresponders

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 16:54:00 +0000

Having freedom in YOUR day to day life, and the ability to work from YOUR own home is one of the top reasons people LIKE YOU choose a this work lifestyle! Low start-up costs, and being able to work YOUR OWN HOURS, with no boss breathing down your neck, is only realized by commitment, and passion for success. By utilizing the business opportunity tools and internet marketing strategies available through this site, practically anyone can make money online and prosper with a real home based internet business. A work at home business which enables YOU to make money at home, and best of all accomplish this through a business opportunity that’s selected by YOU, and suited to YOUR needs!

A home based business can, and will, provide advanced security towards building a valued investment, which can last for years. There is almost nothing comparable to the freedom of working from your own home office and making your own decisions, compared to someone else making them for you. The challenge for many often becomes a matter of how to build the customer base for an online business. One such way is to use an email business tool known as “autoresponders”.

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Creative and Profitable Ways to Use Autoreponders
===================================================

An interested visitor who has been strolling through your site has finally come to just what she is looking for and is about to make a purchase. It's a sunny afternoon, and her cat, who happens to be sitting on the moss under the visitor's large fifty-year-old snow-rose bonsai tree, suddenly jumps down, and the priceless tree topples over.

In the blink of an eye, your visitor exits your site, and your sale is dust - unless you have had the foresight to utilize an autoresponder that has captured her email address. If you have installed an autoresponder, you can then follow-up with her, and in all probability, make the sale when the poor woman has finished re-potting her precious bonsai.

Autoresponders are remarkable, versatile programs that do so much more than just automatically answer your email. Here are a few ideas that will help you to creatively and productively use your autoresponder to transform the casual visitor into a profitable customer. Use your autoresponder to:

1. Publish a newsletter. Certain quality autoresponders will manage subscriptions and follow-up with interested prospects. Your newsletter can keep your visitors informed about your services or products, while building your reputation as a credible expert in your particular business.

2. Publish a newsletter only for your affiliates. Inform them of current sales you are running and of promotional material that your affiliates can use themselves to increase their commissions. Include tips, advice, and techniques that your affiliates can use to successfully go out and promote your business.

3. Write reviews. Cover books, software, music, e-books, movies, etc., and put each review in an autoresponder. Review your affiliate programs, using a link to your affiliate's page in your autoresponder.

4. Distribute your articles. Writing and distributing targeted articles is a powerful tool to build your business credibility, bring traffic to your site, and increase your sales potential. If your articles contain valuable information, many editors will print what is known as a resource box for you. A resource box contains your bio and a brief description of your service or product. It can also contain your autoresponder address. Let's say you've written fifty articles. Put them on separate autoresponder accounts and create a master list that contains the titles of each article, the autoresponder address, and a brief abstract. Then promote your master list. Additionally, include your publishing guidelines so your affiliates can add their articles to your list, increasing the number of writers who are represented in your article list.

5. Create mailing lists. Inform subscribers to your articles when you've written new ones that they may want to publish in their own newsletter or website.

6. Automate your sales process. Use an ad to insure repeated exposure of your message, which has been proven to effectively increase sales. In your ad, put your autoresponder address where a visitor will be exposed to numerous marketing materials. This multiplies the chances of converting visitors into customers. For example, if you're selling a particular product, put testimonials about how spectacular it is on your autoresponder, and add a detailed, enticing description of your product.

7. Distribute advertising. Let's say you sell advertising on your website or in your newsletter or e-zine. Set your autoresponder to send the information about rates and how to place an ad automatically to all prospects' email addresses. Then have your autoresponder follow-up. It can also send notification of any special deals you are currently offering.

8. Distribute an email course. Each day, have your autoresponder send out another lesson. Just be sure that each lesson has quality content - not a sales pitch. Your content will do the selling for you, and will do it much more effectively. You can include tips centered on a different topic for each lesson, illustrating how your product will benefit the reader. Include the tangible benefits the visitor will reap by purchasing your product. Make sure to include a paragraph or two at the end of each lesson enticing your prospect to consider making a purchase.

9. Automate a reminder about your service or product after a visitor has completed your course. This will increase the possibility of sales from visitors who have taken your course but are dragging their feet about actually making a purchase. You can also use these reminders to promote new products or services, and the products and services of your affiliate programs.

10. Distribute free reports. This gives your visitor an idea of the type of information you can provide and the quality of your product or service. Make sure these reports are not sales letters or you will more than likely lose a potential customer than gain a sale.

"A Traffic Secret Revealed
It's been called the greatest viral marketing idea of all time, get your copy of this free report now: CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE COPY."

11. Create trivia quizzes on your site and place the answers in an autoresponder. Your visitor will then be motivated to request your autoresponder, and you will have a record of the visitors' email addresses who took your quiz. Or create a contest and have any visitors that enter send their responses to your autoresponder. Your autoresponder can be set-up to send them a confirmation of their entry.

12. Offer a trial version of your product. Give your prospects a sample of your ebook, course, software, membership, etc. People who are exposed to a little taste often end up wanting the whole pie. You can also capture their email addresses when you offer them a free trial from
your website. Set up your autoresponder to give instructions on how to obtain their free trial, and then make sure to follow-up to try and close the sale.

13. Link to hidden pages on your autoresponder. For example, a hidden page could be your affiliate page that contains graphics, promotional articles, and text links that interested affiliates can make use of. Inform visitors that they may have free access to your affiliate page by simply requesting your autoresponder. You will then gather a list of visitors who may be interested in becoming your affiliates.

14. Use an autoresponder on your order page. Post a request form for visitors to be notified of special offers or discounts in the future. This creates a very effective mailing list that contains the names of people who are already your customers.

15. Put your links page on your autoresponder. It should contain up to fifty links that would be of particular interest to your visitors. Make sure to add your own promotional copy at the top or bottom of this page.

Now that you have proof that autoresponders can be used creatively, see if you can come up with some brilliant ideas of your own!

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity , Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He now spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Increase Website Traffic By Writing An eBook

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 17:17:00 +0000

If you are following the most current affiliate marketing news, or staying on top of the latest trends in internet based affiliate marketing systems, you will see some changes taking place. When it comes to internet affiliate marketing programs, the ones that stay current (less than six months since their most recent updating) are clear barometer's of whats taking place in today's over all world of interent business. The world of the internet is no different from the world of our global economy, it's constantly going through change, and will typically go through a cycle of change every 6 to 8 months. Staying on top of the most recent offerings of a great online business opportunity, or home based business, helps people wanting to work at home remain informed on current direction in strategic internet marketing.

Some trends popping up at this time are marketer's who were selling products for $21.00 or $47.00 are now doubling the price for the same product claiming they can no longer hold the discounted price down so low. In reality, the demand for the item has dropped, and in order to maintain the same level of profit margin, the price has to be doubled. These kind of marketers are counting on a large mailing list of ignorant subscribers who will jump in a pay the higher price not recognizing the red flags created by the price increase. This form of marketing, while it will grab some buyers, flies in the face of economic forecasters who have outlined that the savvy customer of the next couple of years will seek a good product for a fair price. Customers are becoming value oriented shoppers. CHEAP is currently NOT the key word in the mind set of purchasers, VALUE is the key word.

The question then becomes a matter of setting a new strategy an keeping the flow of traffic happening to your website. This posting is going to take a look at a concept that will help to promote you as a person, your expertise, your product, your website, and earn money while doing so.

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Why Write an eBook?
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It's not true that everything that has been said has already been written. Since that unfortunate axiom came into use, the whole universe has changed. Technology has changed, ideas have changed, and the mindsets of entire nations have changed.

The fact is that this is the perfect time to write an ebook. What the publishing industry needs are people who can tap into the world as it is today - innovative thinkers who can make the leap into the new millennium and figure out how to solve old problems in a new way. eBooks are a new and powerful tool for original thinkers with fresh ideas to disseminate information to the millions of people who are struggling to figure out how to do a plethora of different things.

Let's say you already have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge to back it up that will enable you to write an exceptional ebook. You may be sitting at your computer staring at a blank screen wondering, "Why? Why should I go through all the trouble of writing my ebook when it's so impossible to get anything published these days?

Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely different than publishing a book in print. Let's look at the specifics of how the print and cyber publishing industry differ, and the many reasons why you should take the plunge and get your fingers tapping across those keyboards!

Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to agents is similar to wearing a hair shirt 24/7. No matter how good your book actually is, or how many critique services and mentor writers have told you that "you've got what it takes," your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to you as if it is a boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information.

Perhaps, in desperation, you've checked out self-publishing and found out just how expensive a
venture it can be. Most "vanity presses" require minimal print runs of at least 500 copies, and even that amount will cost you thousands of dollars. Some presses' minimal run starts at 1,000 to 2,000 copies. And that's just for the printing and binding. Add in distribution, shipping, and promotional costs and - well, you do the math. Even if you wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind of money to risk.

Let's say you already have an Internet business with a quality website and a quality product. An ebook is one of the most powerful ways to promote your business while educating people with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner of a specific product or service.

For example, let's say that you've spent the last twenty-five years growing and training bonsai trees, and now you're ready to share your knowledge and experience. An ebook is the perfect way to reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts.

Ebooks will not only promote your business - they will help you make a name for yourself and your company, and establish you as an expert in your field. You may even find that you have enough to say to warrant a series of ebooks. Specific businesses are complicated and often require the different aspects to be divided in order for the reader to get the full story.

Perhaps your goals are more finely tuned in terms of the ebook scene. You may want to build a whole business around writing and publishing ebooks. Essentially, you want to start an e-business. You are thinking of setting up a website to promote and market your ebooks. Maybe you're even thinking of producing an ezine.

One of the most prevalent reasons people read ebooks is to find information about how to turn their Internet businesses into a profit-making machine. And these people are looking to the writers of ebooks to provide them with new ideas and strategies because writers of ebooks are usually people who understand the new cyberspace world we now live in. Ebook writers
are experts in Internet marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting and distributing ebooks. The cyberspace community needs its ebooks to be successful so that more and more ebooks will be written.

You may want to create affiliate programs that will also market your ebook. Affiliates can be people or businesses worldwide that will all be working to sell your ebooks. Think about this? Do you see a formula for success here?

Figure out what your subject matter is, and then narrow it down. Your goal is to aim for specificity. Research what's out there already, and try to find a void that your ebook might fill.

What about an ebook about a wedding cake business? Or an ebook about caring for elderly pets? How about the fine points of collecting ancient pottery?

You don't have to have three masters degrees to write about your subject. People need advice that is easy to read and easily understood. Parents need advice for dealing with their teenagers. College students need to learn good study skills - quickly. The possibilities are endless.

After you've written your ebook.

Getting your ebook out is going to be your focus once you've finished writing it, just as it is with print books. People will hesitate to buy any book from an author they've never heard of. Wouldn't you?

The answer is simple: give it away! You will see profits in the form of promoting your own business and getting your name out. You will find affiliates who will ask you to place their links within your ebook, and these affiliates will in turn go out and make your name known. Almost every single famous ebook author has started out this way.

Another powerful tool to attract people to your ebook is to make it interactive. Invent something for them to do within the book rather than just producing pages that contain static text. Let your readers fill out questionnaires, forms, even crossword puzzles geared to testing their knowledge on a particular subject. Have your readers hit a link that will allow them to recommend your book to their friends and associates. Or include an actual order form so at the end of their
reading journey, they can eagerly buy your product.

When people interact with books, they become a part of the world of that book. The fact is just as true for books in print as it is for ebooks.

That's why ebooks are so essential. Not only do they provide a forum for people to learn and make sense of their own thoughts, but they can also serve to promote your business at the same time.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

About the Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of Make Money Online With A Home Based Business Opportunity , Internet Marketing Strategies, and Small Business Opportunities, is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He now spends his time helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Understanding And Analyzing Your Website Traffic

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 18:00:00 +0000

___________________________________________

Thanks for stopping by...I have a FREE gift for you!

In this short (37 page) - and free - ebook Harvey Segal has managed to include one unique idea after another on a wide variety of topics starting with his controversial stance on search engines and moving on to

- Getting traffic to your site
- Preselling with free ebooks
- Preselling with articles
- Autoresponders and follow up campaigns
- Ad tracking
- Affiliate marketing
- ClickBank
- Viral marketing
- PDF book creation
- Ebook rebranding
- Creating niche sites
- Resale rights

He even throws in an amazing viral idea at the end.

CLICK HERE TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE COPY.

===================================================
Analyzing Website Traffic
===================================================

Analyzing your web traffic statistics can be an invaluable
tool for a number of different reasons. But before you can
make full use of this tool, you need to understand how to
interpret the data.

Most web hosting companies will provide you with basic web
traffic information that you then have to interpret and
make pertinent use of. However, the data you receive from
your host company can be overwhelming if you don't
understand how to apply it to your particular business and
website. Let's start by examining the most basic data - the
average visitors to your site on a daily, weekly, and
monthly basis.

These figures are the most accurate measure of your
website's activity. It would appear on the surface that the
more traffic you see recorded, the better you can assume
your website is doing, but this is an inaccurate
perception. You must also look at the behavior of your
visitors once they come to your website to accurately gauge
the effectiveness of your site.

There is often a great misconception about what is commonly
known as "hits" and what is really effective, quality
traffic to your site. Hits simply means the number of
information requests received by the server. If you think
about the fact that a hit can simply equate to the number
of graphics per page, you will get an idea of how overblown
the concept of hits can be. For example, if your homepage
has 15 graphics on it, the server records this as 15 hits,
when in reality we are talking about a single visitor
checking out a single page on your site. As you can see,
hits are not useful in analyzing your website traffic.

The more visitors that come to your website, the more
accurate your interpretation will become. The greater the
traffic is to your website, the more precise your analysis
will be of overall trends in visitor behavior. The smaller
the number of visitors, the more a few anomalous visitors
can distort the analysis.

The aim is to use the web traffic statistics to figure out
how well or how poorly your site is working for your
visitors. One way to determine this is to find out how long
on average your visitors spend on your site. If the time
spent is relatively brief, it usually indicates an
underlying problem. Then the challenge is to figure out
what that problem is.

It could be that your keywords are directing the wrong type
of visitors to your website, or that your graphics are
confusing or intimidating, causing the visitor to exit
rapidly. Use the knowledge of how much time visitors are
spending on your site to pinpoint specific problems, and
after you fix those problems, continue to use time spent as
a gauge of how effective your fix has been.

Additionally, web traffic stats can help you determine
effective and ineffective areas of your website. If you
have a page that you believe is important, but visitors are
exiting it rapidly, that page needs attention. You could,
for example, consider improving the link to this page by
making the link more noticeable and enticing, or you could
improve the look of the page or the ease that your visitors
can access the necessary information on that page.

If, on the other hand, you notice that visitors are
spending a lot of time on pages that you think are less
important, you might consider moving some of your sales
copy and marketing focus to that particular page.

As you can see, these statistics will reveal vital
information about the effectiveness of individual pages,
and visitor habits and motivation. This is essential
information to any successful Internet marketing campaign.

Your website undoubtedly has exit pages, such as a final
order or contact form. This is a page you can expect your
visitor to exit rapidly. However, not every visitor to your
site is going to find exactly what he or she is looking
for, so statistics may show you a number of different exit
pages. This is normal unless you notice a exit trend on a
particular page that is not intended as an exit page. In
the case that a significant percentage of visitors are
exiting your website on a page not designed for that
purpose, you must closely examine that particular page to
discern what the problem is. Once you pinpoint potential
weaknesses on that page, minor modifications in content or
graphic may have a significant impact on the keeping
visitors moving through your site instead of exiting at the
wrong page.

After you have analyzed your visitor statistics, it's time
to turn to your keywords and phrases. Notice if particular
keywords are directing a specific type of visitor to your
site. The more targeted the visitor - meaning that they
find what they are looking for on your site, and even
better, fill out your contact form or make a purchase - the
more valuable that keyword is.

However, if you find a large number of visitors are being
directed - or should I say misdirected - to your site by a
particular keyword or phrase, that keyword demands
adjustment. Keywords are vital to bringing quality visitors
to your site who are ready to do business with you. Close
analysis of the keywords your visitors are using to find
your site will give you a vital understanding of your
visitor's needs and motivations.

Finally, if you notice that users are finding your website
by typing in your company name, break open the champagne!
It means you have achieved a significant level of brand
recognition, and this is a sure sign of burgeoning success.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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About the Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.silent-wonder.com is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. Now he devotes his time to helping people make money online through internet marketing and home based business opportunities.

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Who Will Be Reading Your Sales Copy?

noreply@blogger.com (James C. Tanner) — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Those who are self-employed through a home based business opportunity, or through an internet home based marketing business, all know and understand the challenges they face when having to write sales copy. No matter if you are an affiliate marketer, an individual who is involved in some other form of internet marketing, or trying to figure out how to make money online, writing and reading sales copy is a very real part of our every day world.

You’ve just arrived at the office and the your manager informs you, in one hour you are to present a 2 minute presentation as to why you should become the company’s next regional manager. In 250 words or less, your career can blossom or stalemate, and you have one hour to pull it all together.

Creating effective sales copy isn’t too different from presenting an effective speech.

First you have to attract your reader. Then as if you were fishing, while they play with the bait on the hook, keep them entertained long enough, so you can “set the hook” in their mouth. In order to do that, you have to know who you are writing to.

When you begin to create sales copy that’s targeted to a particular demographic, there’s several things you have to keep in mind as you write.

1. The age of your reader. Are you writing to a high school student mentality, a young professional, or a retiree?

2. Male or Female.

3. Ethnic Background. Are you targeting a specific ethnic group or a mixed group?

4. Education level.

5. Income level.

6. Cultural Background. Are you addressing blue collar, white collar, pink collar, or dog collar and spiked hair groups?

7. Political beliefs. Are you targeting those who would consider themselves to be liberal in their political thinking or more to the right or left?

8. Degree of Familiarity. Are you addressing a list of regular subscribers with whom you already have a reputation established?

9. Peers, subordinates, or superiors. Are you addressing a targeted group of equals, those you would place above you, or those who you would consider to be in training under you?

10. Expertise. Are you addressing a targeted group that’s already well informed on your subject matter?

Today’s sales copy writer must get to the point quickly with out insulting the intelligence of his reader. The writer must reinforce their opinion with facts, and stick to a single topic.

Writer’s must also amuse while they inform, but be very careful when using humor. What’s funny to the writer, or a handful of others, can be immature, offensive, boring, tacky, to those who have the money to spend on your product. It’s better to be slightly cute in your sales copy writing style, than to try and accomplish the levels of a stand up comic.

Grab hold of the excellence life has to offer.

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About the Author

© 2008 James C. Tanner. All Rights Reserved.

James C. Tanner of http://www.silent-wonder.com is a retired entrepreneur, business trainer, investigator, and writer whose articles are enjoyed by 12.5 million readers monthly. He now devotes his time to helping people make money online through internet marketing and homed based business opportunities.

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