According to The Free Dictionary online the definition of success is as follows:1. the achievement of something attempted. 2. the attainment of wealth, fame, or position. 3. a person or thing that is successful.In order to achieve any of the above criteria marketing to the new Web 2.0 or in the social media arena as we know it today you, first of all, have to know your target audience and what makes them tick.

What drives them to spend so much time in the social media environment? What are they hoping to gain from these activities? What are their needs and wants? And most importantly; how do they feel about being targeted as a potential consumer in this situation? To achieve any level of success with the social media market each of these areas must be addressed in detail.

First of all, why do people spend so much of their free time on MySpace or Facebook? What is the lure or attraction of these social media sites? On some of the forums, such as MySun, people go so far as to say it’s an addiction. One female contributor is quoted as saying, “I was addicted to MySpace. I wanted to sit there 24/7. I’ve deleted it now, can’t be doing with it anymore, as for face book well I’m on there now but I think I’m gonna delete that too. It’s nuts.”

Another 26 year old female said, “I love Facebook, my sister got me hooked on it. Before then I didn’t see the fuss, but now I do. The more you do on it, the more you love it.” And yet another participant, a 34 year old male stated, “I use MySpace to keep in touch with everyone, not addicted though. Pop in once and awhile, and it’s helpful. Found friends from years ago.”

From each of those comments you see a common thread emerging. Two of the respondents mentioned “addiction” and one used the phrase “hooked on it”. All of these people constitute a potential target market, for Internet Marketers, no matter what their reasons for spending so much time socializing online. So it follows that in order to be successful marketing to this audience, the marketer too, must spend time online socializing with and gaining the trust of these potential clients.

In order to accomplish this you have to be transparent with these individuals. Whatever you do don’t try to deceive them by pretending to be someone you’re not just to gain favor with them. These people are there to make friends and establish relationships and that has to be the goal of the Internet Marketer as well. You have to respect their environment and their reasons for being there. If not you’re doomed to failure even before you begin.

Secondly what are their needs and wants? In order to determine this, the Internet Marketer must again establish relationships with these people in order to find out what their situation is and what they are looking for at the present time and in the future. If they aren’t looking for what you’re selling then at least you’ve made a friend online and maybe the next person will be in the market for your product or service.

Finally how do they feel about being targeted by Internet Marketers in their environment? Again in this situation the Internet Marketer must always keep in mind that these people are in what they consider to be their space, pardon the pun. You must respect their feelings and approach them as if you’re in their home. The Internet Marketer can be viewed as an outsider or an intruder if they’re too aggressive and lose sight of the fact that they are on their turf, so to speak.

Finally, along with being genuine in your approach, have fun with it. That’s what these sites are meant to be for the most part and if you’re having fun and being honest about your intentions then you can be very successful marketing to the social media audience online.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on internet marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob please visit:
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With social media being the new phenomenon online today it would be ludicrous for any internet marketer to ignore it when it comes to formulating a strategy for an internet marketing campaign. As with most marketing promotions your success or failure is usually determined by your approach. The most important part of a successful socialization plan when it comes to MySpace and Facebook, for example, is the content on your profile page.

Content drives traffic which drives sales when it comes to your Blog as well as your social media profile page. The richer and more varied the content the more people it will attract and the faster word will spread about your page and what it has to offer. Try to make it entertaining in terms of what’s available for visitors to interact with and adding a touch of humor helps because everyone likes to laugh.

For interactivity you could have your favorite music highlighted for them to click on and sample. You could add a music video or two as well as some comedy clips or maybe implement a joke of the day feature. One important factor not to ignore is your own personal story. The objective of these sites, after all, is to meet and get to know people, and most everyone likes reading or hearing about someone else’s life experience.

This doesn’t mean you have to reveal all of the sordid details but try to convey your likes and dislikes in your own style. Don’t try to be someone you’re not. People want to get to know the real you. Also try to make your profile informative. Everyone has an expertise in some area, so share this knowledge with your guests and before you know it you’ll have more online friends than you know what to do with.

If you keep giving people what they want they’ll keep coming back for more and the best way to do this is to write about what you know and what you are comfortable with. Pictures are also a great way to attract visitors. You can demonstrate some of your interests through photographs of some of your favorite activities. Pictures also add a more personal element to the page giving the viewer a better chance to get to know you and appreciate what you do.

If you’re an avid reader, for example, you could possibly start a book of the month feature where you discuss or critique a particular book you may be reading. You could ask visitors, who are also readers, to leave comments and maybe start a book of the month club. With any relationship, be it online or in your day-to-day life, the important thing is to maintain contact. On any of these social media websites this means visiting on a regular basis to let people know what’s happening in your life. It also means updating your profile page on a regular basis.

Any Internet Marketer who can follow these simple steps should enjoy great success in the new Web 2.0 or Social Media Market not only professionally but also personally, and always remember the old adage “Content is King.”

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on internet marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob please visit:
Free Sales and Marketing Advice

The most recent phenomenon to hit the Internet Marketing scene in recent years is another form of Internet Marketing in its own right called Social Media Marketing. While Social Media Marketing has the capability to drive hordes of targeted traffic to your website there are still some pitfalls involved which you should try to avoid, at all costs, if you want to be successful with your Social Media Marketing campaign.

First of all one of the major targets of Social Media Marketers are the social media websites themselves, for example, MySpace and Facebook. In order to target and market to these sites you have to join and attract friends to your profile page. The first thing to avoid after joining is becoming involved with any of the software available which allows you to send mass invitations to certain groups you may have targeted inviting them to be your friends.

Everyone in the group receives a generic message inviting them to be your friend. If the site owner or webmaster discovers you are using this software you could be banned for life or, at the very least, have your membership suspended for a period of time. This can result in giving you a bad reputation within this community and make it very difficult to build any type of trusting relationship you need to establish for your future marketing activities on this site.

Another pitfall to be avoided is related somewhat to the first demonstrating how any type of news, good or bad, travels fast within these social media networks. When you approach your Social Media Marketing campaign and any of these social media websites you have to do so with the right attitude. By saying this I mean you have to be open and honest about your intentions. You have to be Transparent.

If you try to deceive any of your social networks it will usually come back to haunt you which can, again, result in a tarnished if not trashed reputation within these internet communities. A wise Internet Marketer once told me, when it comes to Internet Marketing the more you give, the more you receive. This brings us to a third pitfall which, if not avoided, can stall your Social Media Marketing campaign as if it were mired in quicksand. And this is, always be available and eager to offer help and advice.

But don’t offer advice if it’s not requested. If you are available to answer a Blog or forum question for someone who is stuck in a particular situation and needs help then by all means try to help. This will pay big dividends later on when needed because your reputation will precede you which, in this case, will be a good thing.

A fourth and final pitfall has to do with knowing who you are approaching. In other words you wouldn’t take a trip to Singapore without doing a little preparation and study about the culture and practices of these particular people. You should take the same approach when planning your social media campaign. If you’re approaching communities such as Facebook or MySpace, learn the proper etiquette and above all try not to offend anyone.

Especially try not to offend anyone who wields any kind of influence or power over the other members of the community. This too can result in a quick death for your Social Media Marketing campaign. If you approach your promotion with these four pitfalls in mind and put in the necessary planning and preparation as you would with any marketing campaign then you will be much more likely to encounter success with your social media strategy.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob please visit:
Free Sales and Marketing Advice

A lot of successful websites depend on returning visitors to account for a major part of their traffic. Returning visitors are easier to convert into paying customers because the more often they return to a site, the more trust they have in that site. The credibility issue just melts away. Hence, keep your visitors coming back to your site with the following methods:

1) Start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox

When you start a forum, chatroom or shoutbox, you are providing your visitors a place to voice their opinions and interact with their peers — all of them are visitors of your site. As conversations build up, a sense of community will also follow and your visitors will come back to your site almost religiously every day.

2) Start a web log (blog)

Keep an online journal or more commonly known as a blog, on your site and keep it updated with latest news about yourself. Human beings are curious creatures and they will keep their eyes glued to the monitor if you post fresh news frequently. You will also build up your credibility as you are proving to them that there is also a real life person behind the website.

3) Carry out polls or surveys

Polls and surveys are other forms of interaction that you should definitely consider adding to your site. They provide a quick way for visitors to voice their opinions and to get involved in your website. Be sure to publish polls or surveys that are strongly relevant to the target market of your website to keep them interested to find out about the results.

4) Hold puzzles, quizzes and games

Just imagine how many office workers procrastinate at work every day, and you will be able to gauge how many people will keep visiting your site if you provide a very interesting or addicting way of entertainment. You can also hold competitions to award the high score winner to keep people trying continuously to earn the prize.

5) Update frequently with fresh content

Update your site frequently with fresh content so that every time your visitors come back, they will have something to read on your site. This is the most widely known and most effective method of attracting returning visitors, but this is also the least carried out one because of the laziness of webmasters. No one will want to browse a site that looks the same over ten years, so keep your site updated with fresh bites!

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor and co founder of Free Affiliate Programs

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So not only will you frustrate your potential clients, but you’ll wear yourself out trying to handle this alone. That’s where you hire the inexhaustible personal assistant, the autoresponder. Just set up your autoresponder to perform all of the tasks you need, and then you’re free to move on to the next campaign.

The autoresponder catches those email requests and in a split second sends information back. You can set the autoresponder to actually sound personal by sending the friendly, welcoming note that you wrote.

The autoresponder also captures the email information of prospects or buyers. That’s absolute gold for building your email list. Smart Internet marketers use this list to stay in touch on a regular basis.

There are several free versions that you can get, the disadvantage is that you often have 3rd party advertising on every message you send, as well as limited features such as; limited number of emails you can send or a limited number of people on your list. If you’re serious about marketing online, then invest the $20 a month in your own autoresponder. Aweber is one of the most trusted on the net today.

No, you don’t have to irritate with daily emails. But you do want to give them a ‘sneak preview’ and pre-sale buying opportunity for your new product along with many free tips. Another great use of the autoresponder is to send regular newsletters. Keep your name current in the minds of your subscribers.

Offering a free niche market newsletter helps you get those valuable email opt-ins. Some prospects want to learn more about your product before buying. The newsletter is a tool for developing trust with potential buyers and building the ‘all important’ relationship for your sustained future growth.

The fact is that buyers would rather choose products from trusted sources than take a chance on the unknown, so keep the relationship solid with regular, meaningful communication. Your autoresponder can handle multiple lists and different messages.

That gives you a way to tailor the email to prospects for each product. One of the biggest mistakes that marketers make is failing to target the message for each product prospect. They get lazy, write one message and one thank you note and then move on.

The autoresponder is capable of so much more work for you. Give each list a distinct name that relates to the product so that you can easily identify the list. If the autoresponder tool seems daunting, take time to view the tutorials, it’s really not hard, and anyone can learn how to use it very quickly.

Even if you have an active list under management, scan the tutorials to see if there are new tricks you can learn for maximizing the effectiveness of your autoresponder emails. Keep your electronic personal assistant busy and you’ll make more money online with less effort.

Ron Richardson is the editor of Business Opportunities Newsletter. Subscribe Free Now + Get a free ad
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There’s been some debate lately about which type of internet marketing is more effective … “Push” marketing or “Pull” Marketing. The answer may surprise you.

Some definitions may be in order. “Push” marketing is where the marketer sends his or her marketing message directly to the prospect. This would include methods such as email, telemarketing, etc. “Pull” marketing, on the other hand, is where marketers attempt to attract prospects to their site through some other means, such as a blog or article, and then present the marketing message only when someone visits. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages over the other.

With the advent of Web 2.0, there has been a tremendous emphasis on the merits of “Pull” marketing. Pull marketing, by it’s very nature, feels much less “salesy” and softens the natural resistance that most of us have toward someone trying to sell us something. Pull marketing works by building a foundation of trust and credibility first and then allowing the marketing message to come across as more of a recommendation from a trusted source rather than as an overt sales pitch.

The driving force behind Pull marketing is content. Quality content attracts visitors who are interested in the information you are providing. Since the visitor is the one initiating the contact (by visiting your website), she is much less resistant to any marketing messages presented. This is assuming, of course, that your marketing is crafted in an effective manner that comes across as a “recommendation” instead of a sales pitch.

While the current trend is decidedly leaning toward the merits of Pull marketing, the virtues of Push marketing should not be dismissed too quickly. Push marketing is much more “direct” and can be incredibly effective in connecting with potential prospects. Would you rather market to the internet at large or have a targeted list of people who know who you are, like you and are interested in what you’re marketing? In my opinion, the list is a clear winner.

The use of opt-in forms to build a targeted email list is absolutely essential to success in internet marketing. Through prewritten messages in an autoresponder and the ability to “broadcast” to your list, you can quickly build a strong relationship and build trust. As with Pull marketing, this element is essential.

The use of SPAM and “Blast-Your-Ad-To-Ten-Million-Emails” types of Push marketing methods are a nuisance and a waste of everybody’s time and money. Don’t even think about trying this. It doesn’t work and it could potentially get you in a lot of trouble.

The truth is, the most effective marketing on the internet is a combination of both Push and Pull methods. Every blog should have an opt-in form to your autoresponder so that you can build a “list.” Every article you write should have a reference to your webpage, which should also have an opt-in form.

Once people subscribe to your list, you should be consistent in sending them informative emails that work primarily to build trust and credibility. Bombarding your list with an ongoing litany of sales pitches is a mistake and will result in people UNsubscribing faster than those opting in. Quality content is still king, regardless of which method you use. If you take this approach, when you DO send out a marketing message to your list, there will be a much higher response.

So build a marketing strategy that includes BOTH “Pull” and “Push” methods and you’ll soon find yourself succeeding as an internet marketer.

Tim Wright, Ph.D. is a freelance writer and busy internet entrepreneur living in Virginia.
Visit his website at: http://myinternetbusinessnet.com

Podcasts are audio files published as RSS or Really Simple Syndication feeds, using XML file format technology to deliver MP3s to computers or portable music players. Podcasts are most often listened to on an MP3 player, but they can also be heard on a computer using media player software.

Podcasts are a little like TiVo, which allows television watchers to download only the programs they want to watch and to skip the advertising. However Podcasts are most often audio format but there are video Podcasts available as well.

Podcasts are automatically delivered directly to your personal computer, and can be transferred to your iPod or other MP3 player. They are often conversations, and include co-hosts and discussions or interviews. Podcasts are downloadable audio programs and are a simple way to automatically get regular audio broadcasts which you can then listen to at your leisure from your computer or MP3 player.

Podcasts are available with RSS feeds that allow listeners to select files they wish to download or set software to automatically download new content when it’s available. They are different in that most people will listen to a show from start to finish and are popular for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they’re free.

Wikis, blogs and Podcasts are all relatively easy to use, which partially accounts for their popularity. Simply put, Podcasts are free downloadable audio in the form of a digital media file that you can subscribe to, via syndication feeds over the internet.

Though the marketing opportunities associated with Podcasts are obvious, how internet marketers, for example, can insert their ads into Podcasts isn’t so obvious and tracking actual listeners and viewers of these ads is even less obvious. There are many Podcasts which are second-rate at best, and often you have to put up with the advertising and needless musical interruptions.

The two main advantages of Podcasts are their ease of use and the availability of many free or low-cost software and hosting options to run them. Also small business Podcasts are a great way to attract new customers. And for those of us with little time to spare, Podcasts are one of the most valuable tools available for staying on top of trends in technology and keeping up with current events.

Some other advantages of Podcasts are their ability to be syndicated, subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added. Many Podcasts also allow users to direct download by giving a link to the audio file in an RSS feed or web page. The number of people interested in Podcasting, or who have downloaded a Podcast, is increasing according to Nielsen Net Ratings.

The estimate is 56 million by 2010. This provides a great internet marketing opportunity using Podcasts with the added bonus of their ease of distribution through RSS feeds.

In summary the very low cost associated with Podcasting combined with the distribution opportunities and the fact that it attracts search engine traffic makes Podcasting a very attractive target for internet marketers and social media marketers in general.

Bob Withers is a professional sales and marketing person with over twenty years in the field. He has also turned his sights on network marketing to apply his trade. If you want to get in touch with Bob or learn more about sales and marketing please visit:
Free Sales and Marketing Advice

As with any brick-and-mortar business, a successful web business takes time, dedication and hard work to build. To fully understand how the web business works, one must first understand various aspects of optimization, marketing and ranking. Due to the amount of time and research required to properly optimize a website, it often requires a well-organized team.

Fortunately, website promotion software can help in a variety of ways: from keyword density to search engine optimization and page ranking. Ultimately, a good website promotion software package can help skyrocket a website’s page views. Most software promotion packages dive into things like search engine optimization, search engine marketing, article marketing, website promotion and website ranking.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is one of the most important strategically advantageous things a webmaster can do for optimal search engine indexing. SEO is the process of configuring your HTML’s META tags and properly placing keywords and keyword phrases on each page of the website. The utilization of analytical software can help pinpoint the best keywords to fully optimize a website. As a webmaster or marketer, you have specific keywords that you believe will help optimize your website. Be aware, however, that not all minds think alike. It is important to consider other points of view and website promotion software for a wider variety of keywords.

Search Engine Marketing

SEM is a form of marketing that promotes online businesses or websites. Various forms of SEM include SEO, paid inclusion and paid search engine placement. The use of tools provided by search engines can help provide more visibility in search engine result pages, or SERPs. Tools such as Google AdWords, Yahoo! Search Marketing and Microsoft adCenter are some of the most popular SEM vendors. Research can help determine which search engine marketing strategy may benefit your website the most. Keywords, SEO, back links and other promotional tools play a large part in the success of any website.

Article Marketing

Article marketing is a quickly growing marketing strategy. Using articles to market a website, product or service is an excellent way to get more traffic to your website. Many article submission websites offer ghostwriting as an inexpensive service to all clients. Some even offer the ability to write your own article and have a professional ghostwriter rewrite it for you. The ideal article is about 500 words and descriptive, but not product-specific. Product-specific articles often come across as spam. Each article may contain an “author’s resource box,” which holds the author’s name, website address and brief description of the website.

Website Promotion

Website promotion is more than simply getting good search engine rankings. Effective website promotion can change the way people view your website. You must make the effort to differentiate your website from similar websites. The efforts put forth for a successful website promotion campaign can mean the difference between a successful website and one that fails. Promotion techniques include SEO, SEM, informational articles and possibly a link building campaign. There is a variety of website promotion software that can help determine what is needed for specific websites to flourish.

Website Ranking

Website ranking is important! Over the years, it’s been proven that most people who use search engines do not pass the second page before searching for a new keyword or phrase. Page one ranking is optimal, but page two can render favorable consequences as well. In order to achieve high rankings, several key issues must fall into place.

* The HTML and other code required to run the website must be W3 compliant.

* The website must be properly optimized for unsurpassed search engine indexing. Proper use of keywords and keyword phrases is key here.

* The website description must be compelling to readers.

* The website must prove to be popular by having quality links from other websites. This may be achieved by means of article marketing and directory submissions.

* Paid advertising on other popular, and related, websites can be an integral part of achieving high ranking and page views.

Choosing the Best Website Promotion Software

Choosing the best software is similar to choosing the best domain name for your website. Your website is as unique as you. It deserves special treatment to help you achieve your goals. Choosing the best software to fit your needs may not be as simple as purchasing the most popular. When making the decision, keep the tips in this article in mind. Every successful website needs the basics: SEO, SEM, useful information, promotion and ranking. Keep an eye out for software that will give you the most bang for the buck. Some offer keyword and META tag SEO only, while others scan your entire site and offer suggestions to improve ranking and page views.

Chris Coleman is a Business Analyst at Capita Technologies. Capita Technologies provides web promotion services for a wide variety of clients.