Archive for March, 2008

Mar-29-08

The 101 on Forum Marketing

posted by Monkey

Forum marketing seems to be one of the topics that individuals seem to be divided on, some say that thousands can be made while others contend it is a complete waste of time. This is something that you will need to experiment with and ultimately decide for yourself. The major bonus is that it does not cost any money out of pocket but it does indeed require time. I do agree that it is not something that needs to consume your whole day or even hours of it. The key is to have a goal when you go in with a set time frame and do not allow yourself to get side tracked from your objective. This approach to marketing is not one where you will get rich over night but the traffic that you do get will build over time and will be for the most part be highly targeted (if you are posting in the right forum for your product).

What forum do you need to go to. There are two things to consider when choosing a forum for your marketing endeavor. The first is to ensure that you are in a forum that relates to the product that you are attempting to sell. Typically forums are dedicated to certain niche topics and logically you do not want to be in a weight loss forum trying to hock eBooks on mortgages. Simply doing a google search for mortgage forums will give you plenty to choose from. The second issue to consider when choosing a forum is their policy on including your necessary links. Many allow you to incorporate your website or blog address in your signature which is more than adequate. If you start plastering it all over the place you will be deemed a spammer which obviously the last thing you want to occur. If you look around there are forums that actually have areas specifically for selling products or services, a little research and investigation will point you quickly in the right direction.

Your signature is important. You want your signature to be attractive and you definitely do not want it to appear that you are there only to make a sale. It is generally a good idea to have a link to your Blog or website and not just an affiliate link, again you do not want to appear to be spamming. You can mention that you have more valuable information at your sight but refrain from trying to make a sale. The best way to see what is acceptable to not only the sight managers but the forum participants is to browse through and see what everyone else is doing, at first it is better error on the side of caution.

Participation is the reason to be there, or it should appear to be so. Again browsing the forum to get a general feel for what is going on and who are the main cast of players is important. You do not want to go right in and start stepping on toes, it is better to blend in for your first few posts. Ask questions and only answer question when you actually know what you are talking about. Your ultimate goal is to build a good reputation and to become known as the go to person. You want to build trust. It is also important that nobody knows everything and when you do not know the answer to a question you should be both big enough and smart enough to admit it. Become knowledgeable in your niche market and on the topic that concerns the products or service you are trying to market. You will be considered a spammer until you build and reputation and relationships with the forum you are posting in. It probably goes without saying that the better your reputation the you can get away marketing. Forums are community so you must be willing to join the conversations.

There are more benefits to participating then just making a sale. As you do forum marketing, you will meet many individuals in you niche market. Meeting these people will open up opportunities for you to arrange joint venture, exchange links, find future affiliates for your own products as well as gain insight into what is working for them.
Forums are also an excellent place to help you stay ahead of the market, you will here about what is coming down the pipe line, because if anyone knows it will be the forum posters. Having large gatherings of people also allows you to do some market research, find out what the majority are looking for and what is displeasing them. If there is a crappy product out there or if someone has had bad dealing with a service product you will definitely hear about it. Generally individuals in forums will speak their minds so you find out exactly what is on their minds.

Conclusion
Forums are some of the busiest sites on the web and some have close to 100, 000 members, which translates into a huge amount of traffic on a daily basis. The biggest mistake marketers make is they are impatient and labeled a spammer and once that happens you have cut your own throat. It just takes some common sense. Become involved and become involved several forums. Take your time and build your reputation because the relationships you build will generate traffic and income over the long haul.

Tags : Building Traffic, Forum Marketing, Increasing Traffic, Internet Marketing, Viral Marketing

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Online video websites; there is a good chance that you have heard of them before. In fact, there is a good chance that you have even used them before. When it comes to using online video websites, most internet users only view the videos that are available. Did you know what you could also do more than that? A large number of online video websites will not only allow you to view videos, but make and share you own.

Making and sharing your own videos, sounds exciting doesn’t it? If it does there is a good chance that you would like to get started right away. However, before making plans for your next online video, you are advised to think about how the process works. This is important because it will let you know what type of equipment you will need to get started.

Before uploading and sharing you newly created online video, you will first have to shoot it. To do this, you will need video recording equipment. Video recording equipment can include camcorders, webcams, cell phones, and digital cameras. If you are looking to produce a quality video, you may want to think about using a camcorder or a webcam. Cell phones and digital cameras will work, but many only provide you with a limited amount of recording time. In addition to a limited amount of time, not all digital cameras and cell phones will record sounds. Although these sounds can be added in later, it may be time consuming.

Once you have created your online video, you will need to find a way to get it to your computer. Most recording devices, including camcorders, webcams, digital cameras, and cell phones will come with the necessary equipment. This equipment often includes computer cables. Once you hook your recording device up to your computer, your video should begin to load. However, for this to be done you will need to have moving making software installed on your computer.

When it comes to movie making software, you will likely find that your computer already has a program on it. Most computers, especially ones made within the last few years, have the software programs preinstalled. If your video does not automatically load, once your recording device is hooked up to your computer, it may be a sign that your computer does not have a movie making program. If this is the case, you will need to purchase some. Movie making software programs can easily be purchased online or from a wide variety of different retail stores.

Once your video has been loaded onto your computer and recognized by movie making software, you have a number of different options. If you are satisfied with your video, as it is, you can save it and then move on. If you would like to make alterations, now would be the time to do so. Depending on the type of moving making software you have, you should easily be able to edit your video. This editing may include, but should not be limited to, deleting scenes, adding captions, and the adding of music. Once you have made all of your edits, you will need to save your movie.

The final step to making an online movie is to find an online video website that you can upload your video to. Popular online video websites including YouTube and Goggle Video; however, you can find additional sites by performing a standard internet search. After you follow the directions, provided by each individual online video website, your video should be displayed for the rest of the world to see.

Tags : Online video internet marketing, Video marketing, Viral Marketing

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Mar-14-08

Viral Marketing and Word of Mouth

posted by Monkey

Viral marketing is a technique that uses social networking to spread the word about their brand. There are several ways viral marketing works, often times companies send out an interactive game, text messages or video clips and hope that these are passed along.

How many times have you gotten a forwarded email with a long chain of recipients with a funny video in it? I’m sure you get several a day. With online social networks it’s becoming easier for the newcomer, myspace.com, youtube.com are just a couple of networks that get millions of hits each day and there’s no shortage of users.

I recall a phone call I got a couple of months ago, it was coming from a friend, but when I picked up, it was a marketing message for a book, it was entertaining informed me of where to go online if I also (like my friend) wanted to surprise other friends with the same phone call. I of course wanted all my friends to hear it, so I’m sure word spread fast about the book that is now released.

One of the most interesting viral marketing campaigns was for a Portuguese Football club. While at their website a user was required to put provide their name and phone number, which then took you to a video of the coach in the locker room, he makes a call (to you) while on video and lets you know that they can’t start the season until you bought a season ticket. The synchronization of this campaign had roughly 200,000 phone calls going out in a 24 hour period.

Even in the age of the internet, people will always talk and tell others about something, so don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth advertising.

Tags : Corporation, Llc, Logos, Marketing, Viral, Viral Marketing

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Reputation is the most important part of Blog Marketing. Whether the reputation is positive or negative, it works towards popularizing it. Yes, many blogs have become notoriously famous. How do you build reputation? By doing what you’ve set out for - BLOGGING!

Reputation here is nothing but the identity or the image one creates of one’s self in the blog world. The kind of reputation or identity that you create can to take you to amazing heights. In fact there are so many websites that have some sort of identity to them that make them famous. The identity one creates, sticks to the viewer’s/customer’s mind in no time.

What sort of image/identity do you build? It depends on your judgment. If your product is serious and requires you to be very accurate, provide dependable and tangible value to the customer etc (eg. Financial product) then you must build a positive trust worthy image. Create the most appropriate identity for the product that you are trying to sell.

If your product is creative, one of a kind and needs the attention of your customers, you could also build a slight notorious image to your blog. This pulls in the customers to see what the controversy is all about. Sometimes this sort of identity catapults them to newer heights. Some bloggers topple existing top bloggers by openly disagreeing with them and challenging them by providing new, creative content that pushes down the existing product.

A blog is one place where you can openly disagree and let people around know about it. What you should be careful is that in such circumstances you must be able to convince people about your product dominating the existing one. If that doesn’t happen, then the negative identity can ruin your reputation for good. Many unknown bloggers have got overnight success with this strategy; however all depends on the product itself performing well in tandem with the strategy.

A still more negative image or the bad boy of bloggers can mean a fortune. You create this obnoxious, ‘don’t care’ identity amongst your blogger buddies and customers that they start believing in you for being open. You’re the sort of person on blogs who arrogantly contradicts other bloggers. Customers play down your arrogance, since you provide them with something that’s accurate and different from others. Your arrogance here is your confidence in the product.

Sometimes this sort of strategy can be a killer and get you to the number one spot. Point to note here is that arrogance with a mediocre product can be a huge dent on your image. So if you decide on adopting this identity then make sure your product rocks! Choose the sort of identity you want to create carefully. This can make or break your product.

Tags : Blogger, Blogging, Blogs, Viral Marketing

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Working from home is one of the best ways to grow a passive income because virtually any one can do it. However, no one can earn money on the internet without traffic. Offline businesses rely on location. Online however, the rules change slightly; you are both everywhere and nowhere. Because of this, location takes a backseat to traffic.

It is this aspect that makes earning money on the internet so appealing. You have the potential to reach millions of customers. The challenge for most new work at home business operators is that you dont have the capital of a large corporation to do it. The advantage of earning money online is you do not need it.

A small online business owner can attract hundreds of visitors without spending thousands of dollars on advertising. Getting free traffic online should be a mission for new work at home fanatics.

Link Exchange

Earning money on the internet involves building a brand. One of the best ways to do this is by participating in link exchange. This is when you and a non-competing but similar company host links on one anothers websites. For example, if you offered a web design service you could exchange links with a website who offered web hosting. Chances are people who visit the web hosting company will then want to begin building an attractive website for their business.

If you sold baby clothes online you may consider exchanging links with someone who sells custom made cribs. In order to have a successful link exchange campaign, you need to exchange links with companies who have authority online. That is, you will want to work with a website that has been online for over a year and receives at least 30 unique visitors a day.

You also want to be sure that the website is related to your own content and material, because you want to attract the same type of customer. Also, exchanging links with non related websites can hurt your ranking. Doing a search for link exchanges will turn up a number of opportunities, many of them are free.

Blogging

Blogging has become an excellent, if not the way to earn money on the internet. Since blogs get spidered faster than websites many people are setting up blogs related to their business to drive traffic to their website. Commercial websites, for instance benefit greatly. They can use their blogs to write content, and answer questions potential customers may have.

It is also something you will want to consider if you are an affiliate marketer. Most affiliate websites are the same which means that you will have to exercise your creative efforts to stand out. Blogging not only helps you differentiate yourself from your competitors you also build your authority while sending traffic to your affiliate website.

Wordpress is the choice for most people who earn money on the internet. It is free to set up and can be installed directly into a sub directory within your websites domain.

Forums

Getting free traffic online often means getting in front of people and directing them somewhere else. Forums not only let you build credibility, and learn, you can also use them to drive traffic to your website. Most forums let you create a signature which you can use to pull traffic to your site. In order to make this work for you, you must find a forum that is relevant to your website and you need to work on establishing yourself as a reliable, helpful resource. This means avoiding blatant advertising.

Getting free traffic online does take time and dedication but it is worth it if you seriously want to earn money online. Your work at home business is heavily dependant on traffic thus, using the methods mentioned above is great way to start getting traffic and building your brand.

Tags : Earn Money On The Internet, Free Traffic Online, Viral Marketing

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