By: Todd Ash

Niche marketing is a little bit tricky, tricky because finding your niche is the secret to your success. And without the right resources, it's nearly impossible to totally dominate your niche. Niche marketing is the opposite of mass (general) marketing.

It targets specific people with special needs. Niche marketing is often overlooked in many Native American casinos. However, ethnic or niche marketing may be worth the extra effort involved since their revenues have the potential to yield much needed incremental profits.

This is the ideal choice for new internet marketers who don't have a lot of money or are limited in time. A major retail store would cost a lot of money for merchandise and require a ton of effort to be put forth.

Niche marketing is earmarked by small, specialized market segments. It is the process of focusing on a product or service that mainstream businesses usually choose to bypass on account of what they consider slim profit potentiality; and as a matter of course, makes the niche available to the small businessman.

This type of marketing is fun because it allows you to tap into your specific interests and areas of expertise. Because you enjoy learning about the niche, developing relevant marketing and sharing important information with others, you will be more likely to do it, happier when doing it and excited to interact with the target consumers.

This type of marketing is not a fleeting strategy. You are not acquiring leads you have no connection to. Niche marketing is being used a lot by businesses to help them succeed in the over crowded Internet marketplace. The Internet has allowed for business start up being easy and makes running an online business almost automatic. Niche Marketing is the concept of targeting a specific group or audience.

This marketing is all about leverage. You are using your niche to leverage your position in the marketplace beyond where you would have been without the niche. Niche marketing is not something new. Savvy entrepreneurs always sell to niches. It is finding small areas of the business markets which command a special area of interest and customer demand. A small slice of the pie in the capital markets which huge corporations have no interest in.

Niche marketing is everywhere, from hotels to restaurants to retail. The mistake most people make is to assume that the key element is price, with one example designed to appeal to the more affluent consumer. Niche marketing is an important aspect of any company's success whether they are local or international.

Don't be a procrastinator who says, if at first I don't succeed, theres always next year. Thats not a likely scenario. Niche marketing is a marketing segmentation strategy in which a company focuses on serving one segment of the market. A niche is a small distinguishable segment that can be uniquely served.

Niche marketing is also quite affordable compared to mass marketing, the marketing strategy at the very opposite end of the spectrum. Since only a small portion of the market is being addressed, smaller costs are at stake to go about the promotional campaign.

This type of marketing is selective targeting of a specific group of consumers and focusing our marketing to them. Coca Cola is a good example of niche marketing. It marketing is just finding a product or service that appeals to a specific audience. For instance a niche market would be selling diet books.

It is definitely not stupid. It depends what your trying to do. Niche marketing is the opposite of mass (general) marketing. It targets specific people with specialized needs. Niche marketing is basically marketing your website to a particular group of people in one area. For example you decide to write an information product on how to build a pond; this is called a niche market.

Technorati Tags:business, marketing, hotels, niche marketing, coca cola, selective targeting, relevent marketing
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By: James Herd

A very important aspect of any effective marketing campaign through the internet is making people visit your site, in other words, stirring up their interest. And, in order to achieve this goal, you may use either paid or free methods. If you go for the second option, your site’s visitors will form nothing else but your free website traffic.

Though the classic tools and ways characteristic to a marketing campaign usually require that you pay for getting them, when it comes to promoting your site there are a few free methods that can generate a very big amount of free website traffic. The best part of this whole story is that they don’t need any financial efforts for working great!

For example, if you don’t have any money to spend on an advertising campaign, you can substitute the famous ‘pay-per-click’(PPC) method with other free ones. The truth is that they require a little bit more time than PPC and if you want then to actually contribute to your profit’s growth, you must double the time spent promoting your site with a very high quality level of its content.

The main idea is that you need as many links to your site as you can get. And you can increase their number through various means, such as link exchange (this method ultimately creates a circular path for those who are following the links they see on certain sites) or submitting articles from your site to as many article directories as you can (promoting your site throughout its content).

You can also get free website traffic by signing in to web directories. This way is not as efficient as submitting materials to article directories. However most of them can be used for free and you’d better go for the ones than don’t ask you to put their links on your site.

You might also want to post as many messages as you can on forums that have the same theme as you site, and use your link as a signature. This might be a good method of increasing your free website traffic, and it can also be a way of getting to know some people that actually ‘work’ in the same area and building a kind of social network that will certainly help you in the future.

So, as you can see now, you don’t have to spend any money for increasing the number of your site’s visitors. You can instead discover the wonderful ways of getting free website traffic, and understand that imagination has to be your greatest ally when it comes to a strong, effective marketing campaign.

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By: Paula Brett

Are you Squidoo-ing? If not, you should be. It takes very little effort and the publicity and money you can make from it make it well worth your time.

Some people call Squidoo Web 2.0, while others call it a Social Networking Site. Whatever you might want to call it, it was created a few years ago by marketing genius, Seth Godin. Since that time many people have taken advantage of the site to help their Internet Marketing businesses and many other types of ventures.

It's really very easy to set-up a Squidoo lens. All you have to do is go to Squidoo and sign-up. Then you can start creating a lens right away.

You can create a lens on any topic of your choice. It can be all about you or you can create the lens about a product or service of yours. It's completely up to you.

You need to be careful, though; you have to put good content on each one of your lenses or your pages might be seen as SPAM and then you'll probably get kicked off Squidoo.

Some people spend a lot of time working on their Squidoo lens(es). These people (called lens masters) might try to get a high ranking on Squidoo and a high ranking on Google and other search engines.

If you want to do this, then you are certainly welcome to do so. It's comforting to know that Squidoo is once again favoured by Google. However, a few months ago all the spam content on Squidoo caused lenses to dramatically drop in ranking.

The one rule you want to follow is to include an important keyword in the title of your lens and then in the modules within the lens. This will let the search engine spiders find your lens and rank it according to the keyword / keyword phrase.

You can also visit other people's lenses and leave comments for them and rank their lenses. Hopefully they'll see you left a comment and they'll visit your lens. This will help you in the rankings on Squidoo.

Lastly, update your lens at least once a week and preferably every other day. You don't have to make any major changes but you should change something just to keep your lens fresh.

There are many great reports and books on the market that will help you succeed using Squidoo. But just having a lens or two will give you one more spot where you are marketing yourself and/or your products. And you can never have enough marketing opportunities.

So from now on when anyone asks you, "Do you Squidoo?" You better be able to answer, "Yes"!

Technorati Tags:social networking, viral marketing, squidoo, web 2.0
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By: Ba Kiwanuka

That link bait piece was a work of sheer genius! In a matter of days your website traffic exploded from the usual trickle of visitors to over 50,000. Phew...what a rush! Your link campaign is simply dusting the competition like so much netdirt squished beneath the flaming rubber of your screeching tires. Another day…another 20,000 visitors! And as for your link campaign…omigosh! Talk about outta control! Everybody wants to link to you. Everybody is linking to you! And just to think, only a week ago you were struggling to retain the handful of links you'd worked ever so hard to get and yet look at you now…practically drowning in the stuff! And as your link-bait vehicles ramps up even more speed you ride the tidal wave of web traffic with a heavy rap beat pounding the speakers of your linkmobil:

Whoop! Whoop! It's Da Sounda GooglePol
Whoop! Whoop! It's For You Da Bell Toll
Whoop! Whoop! It's Da Sounda GooglePol
Whoop! Whoop! It's For You Da Bell Toll

And then suddenly it hits you! That's not just your music…it really is GooglePol. Heck...those are real sirens!

The powerful green-white and blue sedan roars up inches behind your turbocharged Speedlinker, and as you ease off the gas a fraction you hear a booming voice snarl "You in the red link vehicle...Turn off your engine and pull to the side. You are in violation of SED (search engine doctrine) 234!"

And that's how what many proclaim to be arguably the most successful link campaign in web history came to a sudden and screeching halt!

Busted For Web 2.0 Speedlinking!

First of all let's tackle the meaning of Web 2.0 just in case you don't know what it means. Web 2.0 is many things to different folks, and so if you are the techie type you would probably present a 100-page dissertation to cover the subject. But for us mere mortals Web 2.0 can be simplified along the following lines:

Web 2.0 is the 2nd generation stage of the internet and largely consists of community based and community driven websites/platforms which include blogs, forums, not to mention the vastly popular social media sites. You've probably heard of some of the more established and popular of these sites which include:

1. Myspace;
2. Digg;
3. Youtube; and
4. Facebook; to name but a few.

These sites are community driven platforms and the operative word here is "community." You can find practically any niche subject bustling with its very own online community on any one of the myriad of social media sites out there. However if you hope to gain exposure and benefit from Web 2.0 sites you have to abide by the rules and participate within the community. These online communities are populated by rather sensitive finicky folk who frown very strongly on abject and wanton self promotion!

Rule Breaking Will Get You Banned Quicker Than Samuel L. Jackson Rat-a-tats A Bad Guy Full Of Lead!

Believe me, if unabashed self promotion is your goal, you certainly won't get far with social media sites! These communities harbor pretty trigger-happy gunners as far as banning community abusers goes, and if you violate socially accepted behavior you'll be booted out quicker than Paris Hilton can simper "That's Hot" or Samuel L. Jackson snarls "Mudda@#&%er!" before rat-a-tat-tatting Mr. Bad full of lead!

However if you actively participate in your targeted niche and abide by the rules you can get immense exposure quite quickly, a substantial amount of traffic and a bucket load of links! BUT...yah, there's always a BUT, as said before you have to be an active community member which means you do have to put in some effort before those links and traffic become a reality.

So what do I mean by effort, or put another way, WORK? Urrggh…that's right, remember that annoying four letter word you simply cannot seem to avoid doing! Anyway work in this context means reading posts, voting positively for those posts you like (and if you feel brave…voting negatively for those you don't although I wouldn't do that too often if you want to build a stable of "friends"). Friends are site members who invite you to join their "neighborhood" something that you can do too; basically acquiring friends is a good thing (both online and off I guess...Duh?)

Indiscriminate voting for all and sundry will get you adversely pinpointed by the site owners as a miscreant up to no good (excuse enough to give you the proverbial boot up your pants). Note that each social media site has its own particular set of rules, lingo and guidelines so read up about them before you get banned and start whining...it's not fair, boo hoo hoo! Bottom line, you should try and gain as many trusted "friends" in your targeted community as possible and build up a positive reputation that you can leverage to your advantage in the future.

Getting Links And Web Traffic

Betcha this is what you've been waiting for...how does Web 2.0 benefit you, right? Well that's where your stable of friends comes into play. Once you've done enough online social hobnobbing, networking or what-have-you and built up a whole lotta good karma, write up your irresistible link bait piece and notify your "friends" of its existence. Generally for most of the social media websites you can only post a short blurb or teaser for your main article so do that and make sure that it is also mouth-watering smackalicious too, that way people just won't be able to help themselves from clicking through to the main post on your blog (several social media sites only accept mobile platforms such as blogs as opposed to static commonplace sites).

Your new online friends will only be too happy to reciprocate the love you showed them earlier (by voting up their articles) so they won't hesitate to up-vote your dynamic and irresistible piece. And soon enough, before you know it you'll be drowning in traffic because that post of yours will rise like the mythical phoenix to the top of the social media sites where it will get supersaturated exposure. Up atop that social media site more and more people will see it, love it and thereby vote for it. Think of that link bait piece of yours as a virus that expands exponentially or as a vicious-cycle with a positive slant!

Caution: Slowdown Now! Google Speedlink Filter Ahead!

So what the heck is Google's beef with your super successful link bait campaign. Hey, it's not as if you're buying links or linking to link farms for that matter. In fact you aren't doing anything wrong but following their guidelines in accordance with their vision of Web Paradise (never fear that day will come circa Web 50.0).

So what's really going on?

The problem on hand here is that Google has an algorithm filter which has the purpose of detecting aggressive linking. Translate aggressive linking as the acquisition of a large number of links in a disproportionately short length of time. Unfortunately at this point in time it appears as though this Google Speedlink Filter is still quite primitive and cannot differentiate between genuine above-board superlinking and spammy blackhat shady linking. Once the Speedlink Filter is triggered not only will all your links become null and void with respect to Google (even those prior to your link bait campaign), in the worst case scenario your blog (or site) will be unceremoniously booted from all known search (Google index).

However in such cases there is a glimmer of hope, you can apprise Google of the situation and appeal for a manual review of your site. But I guess the bottom line is if your Web 2.0 speedlinking is making you plenty of ka-ching then perhaps you don't need the grace of that fickle online deity known as Google!

Technorati Tags:search engine, backlinks, linkbait, link bait, speedlinking, speed linking
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By: DAVID C SKUL

In recent years, the internet has evolved from something that users simply read, to a collaborative environment where users can actively shape web content and drive trends.

This new online environment generally comes under the term Web 2.0, although an exact definition of the term has never quite been agreed upon.

The new collaborative web means that everyone can now create their own web content through social networking websites and media sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr. This new technology also means that content isn’t just limited to writing. Video, audio, and animations are all widely used in the collaborative internet.

While the most popular collaborative websites are user driven, online marketers are increasingly finding ways to increase exposure to their products in the Web 2.0 environment.

Even as many people are experimenting with Web 2.0 marketing, there have been some real success stories for companies of all sizes. In some cases, website owners have seen traffic to their sites jump as a result of a simple MySpace page or a video they put on YouTube.

One of the first Web 2.0 marketing tools to emerge was the blog. A blog, or simply an online journal, allows you to post news, information and opinions about your products and relevant subjects. The ability of readers to leave comments personalizes the experience so marketing with a blog becomes a two way process.

This is an inexpensive way to subtly market your product or service on the web. However, good content that is updated regularly is essential. Just talking about your products will drive visitors away. Your blog entries will have to be interesting, informative, and well written. You will find few successful companies today who do not have a successful. Although you will find successful companies who have abandoned blogging because they approached it the wrong way.

The collaborative nature of Web 2.0 can have some significant advantages and disadvantages when it comes to marketing. On the plus side, it allows you to reach potential customers and appeal to them on a more personal level. It also allows you to gauge their opinions and use them to improve your products and services.

Web 2.0 has given consumers a voice, for good or for bad. If they like what they see, they will let you know. However, if you are providing poor products or publish blog posts that are little more than thinly disguised advertising, they will be quick to voice their displeasure.

However, there is little doubt that you can use Web 2.0 marketing to your advantage with some thought and careful planning.

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By: Vladimir Mosin

The idea of the book is measuring of effectiveness of mediate communication, which we consider as transmitting and receiving of some message, realizing by any technology and in any genre.

A message has form and content, accordingly, we can estimate its effectiveness from two points of view. In the first approach the meaning of the message is considered central, in this case we measure the content. In the second approach the image is considered central, and in this case we measure form. Concrete psychological experiments, clarifying of perception indexes, are the basis of measuring methods. Information of these indexes allows showing ways of their increasing that in turn increases communicational effectiveness.

The book does not contain practical recommendations on development of effective media messages. Its goal is showing of measuring methods and mathematical analysis of measuring result.

Target audience

The book intend for scientists, specializing in the area of mass communications: sociologists, psychologists, media experts etc. And with it its content is simple for students. Understanding of foundations of experimental psychology and mathematical statistics is only required.

Book structure

The book consists of two parts: "Measuring of meaning and" "Measuring of image" which is development of articles "Measuring of visual design by the method of semantic differential" and "Content analysis of visual design" correspondingly. First part is devoted to measuring of semantic perception of media message content. The second part considers measuring of image perception of message form. Both parts have similar structure: at first we model mathematically a perception phenomenon, then consider the measuring methods and, at last, propose methods of statistical analysis of experimental data.

We use two basic examples one of them relates to measuring of meaning, and second relates to measuring of image. In the end of each chapter we address to the example to illustrate ideas, which given above.

Chapter i. Media

Part I. Measuring of meaning

Chapter ii. Primary message

Chapter iii. Methods of measuring

Chapter iv. Statistical analysis of experimental data

Chapter v. Cognitive congruence of primary and media message

Part II. Measuring of image

Chapter vi. Space of attitude

Chapter vii. Methods of measuring

Chapter viii. Statistical analysis of experimental data

Resume

Acknowledges

The author acknowledges all people who help him in writing this book. Special thanks my students which took part in all experiments.

Distribution

Phone chair of mathematics of Samara State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, say the secretary your address and the book will be sent you.

Country code: 7 (Russia), phone: 846-339-14-72.

Distribution is free of charge before 2008.06.30. For more information consult author.

Technorati Tags:effectiveness, science, marketing, interactive, visual, design, analysis, ergonomics, test, media, graphic, scientific, project, ergonomic, testing, interface, usability, user, estimation, mass-media, mediametrics, engineer psychology, technical aesthetic
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By: Paul Burani

Growing a business has its obvious challenges. The owner(s), usually with a limited allotment of initial resources, must battle the clock in creating a meaningful strategy to steal market share from larger competitors. A few pivotal client relationships can make or break the entire business. In many ways, these challenges have not changed over time–but in 2008, there are also new ways to compete.

Clicksharp Marketing has participated in a research effort involving Zoomerang and other Web 2.0 companies, surveying close to 500 businesses nationwide from a wide variety of industries. The objective was to understand the following about owners of small businesses: (1)

* How they value new client relationships
* How they approach lead generation
* How comfortable they are with social networking on the Internet

New client relationships - the lifeblood of small business.

Imagine that two CEOs meet at a conference in New York. Sarah, the owner and president of up-and-comer Startup LLC, approaches Bob, the CEO of the multinational Megacorp Inc., asking for advice on how to grow her business. Bob finds that her concerns as a small business owner are far different from his:

* Sarah places far more emphasis on new client relationships, knowing that her business will flounder if she does not continually generate new sources of revenue. (2)
* Despite the obvious risks involved in depending too much on a small handful of clients, Sarah still finds it difficult to diversify her client roster by adding new ones. (3)
* Whereas Bob employs a massive sales organization led by many capable managers, Sarah is reluctant to hire additional sales personnel to grow her business. (4)

In short, Sarah knows that her company is finished if she cannot find new sources of revenue. But with all the usual small business hurdles in front of her, where can she turn?

Social networking - a turnkey solution for business development?

A social network, according to PC Magazine, is “a virtual community for people interested in a particular subject.” (5) Popular examples today are Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn.

Sarah knows all about social media. When Bob told her how important word-of-mouth marketing has been for his business, she gave some thought to how social media can accomplish the same thing: (6)

* Adding one contact gives her access to all their connections; with a little time, growing the company’s network exponentially would be easy.
* With a keyword-driven interface, qualified individuals would have little trouble finding her company’s profile and engaging in meaningful discourse.
* Information on products and capabilities, along with all positive feedback from clients, is easily picked up by search engines, making them a useful branding tool.

And she could accomplish all this without hiring more salespeople. Moreover, this marketing strategy would circumvent other major obstacles typical of new marketing campaigns: (7)

* Upfront costs. Social networks thrive on user-generated content, a comparatively small investment of time and perhaps a nominal membership fee.
* Lead time to implementation. Social networkers are “always on,” 24 hours a day. The more information goes out, the more feedback eventually comes back in. And unlike at Megacorp, seniority means little.
* Return on investment (ROI). Whether or not Sarah records information on client development, social networks always leave a paper trail (or the electronic equivalent). This makes it easy to weigh acquisition costs against the revenues generated.

Which social media will generate the most leads for small businesses?

This will usually depend on the products and markets at hand, and can be better understood with the help of a marketing firm specialized in social media.

News Corporation bought Myspace after the site enjoyed tremendous growth at the hands of performing artists and urban socialites. Match.com and other dating sites thrive by delivering a measurable, lucrative advertising target. Emerging sites like Salesconx allow sales professionals to trade introductions to key decision makers.

For a small business competing in virtually any industry, chances are there is already a social network in place, bringing buyers and sellers together. According to eMarketer, the number of U.S. adults participating in social networks will grow to 69 million people in 2008 (a 21% increase over 2007). (8) Over time, one or two of those garage bands on Myspace might pan out, but the businesses which invest in this innovative form of interactive marketing have a much better chance at success.

References
——————-
1 - 82% of participating companies reported less than $500,000 in annual sales.
2 - 39% of our respondents count on new business for at least half of their annual revenues.
3 - More than one-third (34%) of businesses surveyed are adding no more than three new client per year.
4 - More than half of respondents (56%) believe that growing their company’s sales force would have AT BEST a neutral effect on new business generation.
5 - PC Magazine: Definition of social networking site.
6 - 61% of respondents answered that client referrals and other forms of word-of-mouth marketing account for at least 50% of new business.
7 - Percent of respondents who were at least “somewhat concerned” about major launch criteria: Upfront costs - 62%; Lead time - 56%; ROI - 67%.
8 - Social Network Marketing: Ad Spending and Usage,” eMarketer (2007).

Technorati Tags:entrepreneur, business development, search engine optimization, marketing, internet, myspace, lead generation, social networking, new york, small business, search engine marketing, social media, facebook, nyc, new customers, startup, new clients, linkedin
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By: Murtuza Abbas

One of the most popular social networking site on the web is MySpace.

MySpace is a place that attracts massive traffic from search engines and repeat traffic from millions of visitors from their member base.

If you are not trying to direct some traffic to your website using MySpace you are leaving huge piles of targeted website traffic right on the table.

Having millions of members makes it an excellent place for us to focus to drive massive website traffic.

Here are 5 killer tactics to drive traffic using myspace...

1. Customize your MySpace page.

Design your own page, this will help you to bring out your personality. Make it beneficial by including your video, audio, graphics and content that will be valued by the visitors in your niche.

To drive traffic to your site donot forget to embed your websites url out there.

2. MySpace Blog.

Make sure to create your myspace blog.

Blog with myspace, this will help you to create your credibility as an expert in your niche.

Post your articles and inlude your website link out there. This will make sure that you provide valuable information to your visitors and in turn this will also help to boost your website traffic. This will make sure that members consider you as an expert in your niche and this will boost your credibility and they will start trusting you.

3. Classified Ad Section.

Drive traffic using the classified ad section of your myspace.

Make sure that your ads in the classified ads section are keyword rich.

This will be useful in increasing your click through rates.

4. Increase Your Network.

Constantly keep looking for members who might be interested in your niche.

Invite them and make sure that you make them your friends.

Ask them their needs and wants. Help them to solve their problems. And then strategically introduce themt to your products and services.

5. Keep Your Profile Updated.

Give them new valuable information on your page every time.

Post new informative articles, photos or just keep updating your blog with valuable keyword riche content.

Technorati Tags:internet marketing, home business, traffic generation, website promotion, how to start an internet business, myspace website traffic
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By: Joshua Keen

OK, so your daughter came back from her first semester at university and set up a facebook account for you. But now that you have it what are you going to do with it? Well, if you're a REALTOR, you could start by connecting with your family, friends and colleagues that also have profiles. And then you might want to try to use it to sell some real estate.

Social networking isn't just for kids. There are more than 60 million active users on Facebook alone with the over 25 age group being the fastest growing demographic this year. Everyone and their mom is on there now, literally. Not bad for a site built by a college student less than five years ago. Originally designed for university students at Harvard, the online tool has since expanded to include professionals, corporations and high school students. Charging ahead in a typical trail blazing style, REALTORS are learning through trial and error how to make this social networking site work for them.

Application: Cocktail Party

Evidence of the real estate industry's presence on Facebook can be seen in the handful of applications that have been developed strictly for Facebook REALTORS. Individuals and groups can use these mini-programs to advertise events, courses, seminars and invent excuses to throw real estate-related cocktail parties. Though encouraging, applications like these will never be able to compete with the fun times delivered by the likes of the "Scrabulous" or quiz applications which may explain why their use has not really taken off. A better indicator of REALTOR involvement in the Facebook world might be the 500+ groups that categorize themselves as a "Business - Real Estate" group. A quick glance down the list reveals that it's a real hodge podge with everything from a group entitled: "accountants, real estate & finance peeps" weighing in at 1278 members, to a group called "I own real estate in BC and all I can afford to eat is mac and cheese." Certainly, if you hit on the right topic and make the right connections it's not hard to get people to join your group. Once formed, REALTOR groups can hook up with other groups and members can connect with financial professionals, buyers sellers, past and future clients.

But does all this virtual networking actually result in sales?

Yes and no. Just like anything, some virtual networking works, and some doesn't. The trick is to do what works and stay away from what doesn't. A quick survey will reveal that most of the real estate group bulletin boards and comment walls are overflowing with spam and self promotion. Is this likely to result in client conversion? Of course not. It will however, allow you connect with other folks in the field and that never hurts.

What Works?

It's well known that 80% of homebuyers start their home search online. And why wouldn't they? These days, 80% of everything most people do is started online. Facebook profiles can now be spidered and you can make your profile visible to the world if you wish. Please do. Allow youself to be found. Invite new clients to look you up whenever you want them to get an idea of who you are. When you join a social networking site and present yourself as an ethical professional with a good reputation and knowledge of the industry, this will naturally build into sales over time. All you have to do is get out there and participate in the online culture.

Leave the hard sell at the login screen

The key to success here is simple. If you want social networking to work for you, keep it fun, keep it real and stop selling. The heavy-handed hard sell simply doesn't work on the Internet. This is a medium where users can control the time spent on a site entirely independently of the site itself. It's not like TV where you've got 30 seconds to slam them with whatever product or idea you may have. Social networking works on a far more subtle level. Your internet presence is not a brochure either. An active profile is something much greater and potentially more powerful. It's a living testimonial that places you as a professional in a social context.

What Now?

With the above in mind, just get started. Over time, your comfort level and exepertise with the medium will increase. Some ideas to get you started:

• Engage your audience by starting a group for "fans" ie: your mom and childhood friends who want to see you succeed. Get people to join you in a real estate related game.


• Join existing groups that interest you


• If you join one of the big real estate groups, engage your collegues by opening a discussion. Start at least one fire on the message boards by asking an intelligent real estate question that people are compelled to answer.


• Don't blow hot air, post notes that clearly show your expertise.


• Some Realtors offer gift certificates and rebates for referrals that result in a closed sale, you may want to experiment with this


• Include links to your blog and website


• Check your profile settings and make sure your profile can be indexed by search engines


• Make sure to tell people you are a REALTOR

Now go about your business: say hi to your mom, post pictures of your trip to Nunavit, share funny stories, shine like the star you really are.

Technorati Tags:marketing, social networking, networking, real estate advertising, real estate web marketing
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By: Scott OBrien

I’m often asked… What is Social Marketing?

Social Marketing is an Art & Science!

An Art and Science of Communicating, Cultivating, and Developing Relationship with another Human Being and Empowering them with their own needs… not your own!

My name is Scott OBrien and I have spent the last few years… learning and growing. My reality is nothing short of abundant. I lead an amazing life and my life keeps getting better and better. I attract the same type of beliefs and attitudes. Everything that touches me resonates through me to my family.

I will run as fast as I can, from anything that radiates negativity.

This is who I DO NOT want to interact or do business with:
1. Negative, self loathing people who always put others down.
2. People who blame everyone else for their circumstances and don’t believe they have the power to create their own reality.
3. People that spend all their time complaining about everything and take energy away from everyone else.

This is not to say that I don’t care… I do care way too much… that is why I have to say NO!

I am at a point in my life where I want to Grow and continue to move forward. I want my life to be Super Abundant. So I have to surround myself from people who won’t ever hold me back. This is very hard to do for me, because I care so much about people - especially those who are struggling. It’s one thing to be struggling, but believing you can do this, rather than struggling with a negative attitude, it’s really completely different. But here is the thing, if you are reading this post, I know that you have a little positive energy in you - so I would love to meet you! Whether it is your positive energy or mine - you arrived here right now, so let me tell you about the type of people that I do want to align myself with:

1. People who want to grow and empower themselves and others… people who believe in abundance.
2. People who want to achieve a balanced life: spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally.
3. People that want to give back to the world and see the world as an abundant place.
4. Marketers and other successful entrepreneurs who want to take control of their own financial reality and make a BIG change!
5. Fellow Health and Wellness friends. I love being healthy both in mind and body! People that want to treat their physical body like it was made to be treated…well!
6. People who won’t quit! Social Marketing is more like a marathon… not a 100 yard dash!

Essentially, I want to meet anyone who thinks Big and Believes that this Universe is Abundant. People that want to achieve an incredible reality and give that abundance back to the world. My goal is to create an abundant group of fellow like minded people that can teach others how to achieve a balanced life while creating wealth and then giving back to others.

Remember what Marketing is? Empowering people with their own needs… not your own! The thing that most people in marketing are looking for is a genuine mentor and education. They really aren’t looking for that amazing product you offer or that pay plan. They are looking for someone that can help them.

Social Marketing is about Marketing Yourself! When you call someone or send them an email… Don’t push you deal… Ask them a question and let them tell you exactly what they are looking for. How long have you been marketing? Are you married? Do you have children? Are you working full-time from home? Just a few questions and you will learn a lot about a person.

As these people begin to know, like and trust you… I can assure you… they will start ask you about you & your business opportunity. I can also assure you that you will be more comfortable working with this person and helping them become successful and part of your team just because you started a genuine relationship!

Align yourself with leaders like Scott OBrien or Rex Harris today and say hello… Genuine Leaders that would love to meet you and help you build a home business that you’ll be proud of for many years!

Scott OBrien
Purple Cowboys Marketing
www.LuvSuccess.com

Technorati Tags:mlm, network marketing, work at home, make money online, financial freedom, marketing, home based business, business opportunity, funded proposal, make money at home, social marketing, relationship marketing, marketing system, scott obrien, purple cowboys
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By: syed mohd faisal

Filed under: Infrastructure — couple of years back, as part of an academic project (which I had also blogged about in my personal blog), I’d talked about water privatization. I had said that it is a good thing even if it pushes up costs, because it now offers people the option to get piped water supply. The analysis went something like:
1. People who don’t currently have connections will now get connected. And once they are on the network, they have an option to get clean piped water.
2. For people who already have connections, their monthly costs will shoot up. Maybe double. However, given that the average water bill amount is quite low, and is an extremely small proportion of monthly expenditure. So small that even a 100% increase won’t have much of an impact.
It’s time to revisit that case, given that Kundapur, a coastal town in Karnataka has decided to privatize it’s water supply. To summarize, so far, this town was dependent on ground water. Now, they are getting water from the river Varahi. Residents have to pay Rs. 4000 for the connection (half of that refundable), and the monthly bill will come within Rs. 100, they’ve said.
There are two points to note here. Firstly, this is the first time that Kundapur is getting piped water supply. The second is that there is a huge up-front cost. When I had talked about privatization giving the option of water supply to everyone, I had said that the costs should be structured such that the fixed charge is low or non-existent, and only usage is charged. This way, I had said, there won’t be any adverse impact on the poor (who are outside the system in the first place).
In this context, a financial restructuring of the Kundapur plan might be necessary. The TMC and the water supply firm will have to work out a scheme where they heavily subsidize the up front fee (to say about Rs. 500) in exchange for a higher per-unit charge for water. That kind of a structure would have several benefits.
Firstly, it would be far more inclusive and more people would be brought into the safe water plan. More people would be able to buy the option to get safe drinking water. Secondly, a higher variable charge will also result in more judicious consumption, which is critical for a limited resource such as fresh water. Thirdly, due to the changed payment structure, the heavy users of water (more likely to be the rich and upper middle classes) will end up cross-subsidizing the low volume users (usually the poor). Thus, the adverse impact on the poor can be brought down, and the people who wil have to pay more would be those who won’t mind paying a bit extra.
Of course, there is still a long way to go. The private partner who will handle the operation and maintenance is yet to be selected. There are also bound to be a large number of protests against the privatization itself. The TMC needs to get past that. Also, it seems to be the first time when such an exercise is being conducted in the country. So, other hurdles also can’t be ruled out.
Nevertheless, this outsourcing of operation and maintenance of water supply is a welcome concept, and if implemented and priced in the right way, might become a model to emulate in the rest of the country.

Technorati Tags:globalization, privatization, liberalization
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By: Jeremy Long Chia Teik

No one can deny the fact that communication with customers is of the utmost importance to every internet marketer. Blogging has opened up doors to attain effective communication with customers. The social media emerges as the latest and most promising method to fulfill this aim. Marketing on the social web paves the way to new marketing possibilities as its strategies reach out into new forms and media.

The marketing mindset of today is essentially focussed on the building of relationships through effective dialogue. The next vital element will be virality for the social web marketing campaign. Virality must be attributed to good content about good products and services that will set the viral effect into motion. To achieve best results, marketing strategies must include complete integration of marketer and business into the relevant online community.

(1) Gain more understanding

Before embarking the path of marketing on the social web, it is imperative to do some research about the social media and the opportunities that are available on the social web. There are indeed many online communities that offer interactive communication. They provide the best ground for the development of relationships. A little bit of research will go a long way. Find out what the communities are offering in terms of content. What topics are they frequently talking about ? Are these communities large in size? Listen attentively to such conversations that may originate from customers, bloggers and even analysts. Important information thus derived may be of great help to formulating your strategies for marketing on the social web.

(2) Invitation to join your community

Openly invite others to join your community. This will pave the way for others with similar interests to communicate with you, and share with you their opinions about your product or service, or even offer good ideas to take your business up another level. In the process of interaction, better relationships are being fostered. Suffice to say, in order to shape the community that you intend to have, it is imperative to locate the right target audience. All of your efforts will be directed strictly to this target audience. You will be able to provide value when you are focused. Work in line with your marketing plan to get content that will support your strategies, and subsequently build up momentum to engage your customers.

(3) Decide on your appropriate platform

Having laid down the marketing goals and having drawn up the appropriate marketing plans , the next vital decision is to decide the best platform that will propel your marketing on the social web. Conduit strategies include social network, blogs, reputation aggregators and e-community. Each of these platforms is a specialist in its own right. Each provides various opportunities to different marketing goals. You should have ready your answers to questions on your target audience and marketing objectives. Next it would be wise to check out more about the characteristics of the audience as well its level of interactivity. This will provide the necessary information to help you provide the right content and add more value to your community.

(4) Good content

Getting readers back to your site more regularly can only be achieved by writing good content. Content helps to engage your readers. If content is good and relevant, readers cannot wait to return for more. For marketing on the social web to be successful, readers must be satisfied and feel at home with your content. The content must connect these readers convincingly. Readers will in return contribute to the conversation through feedback and comments. Always pay attention to what they have to say. Good content will ultimately lead to strong interaction and further building of relationships. Make customers feel worthwhile staying in your community. Do not cause negative repercussions by making the mistake of asking your customers about everything too frequently.

(5) Keep track of progress

Progress for your campaign must be kept. This can be done by determining the appropriate metrics that will help you track the movement. It is important to ascertain what is the actual direction that your community is going. This is vital to your future plans in terms of providing more value and giving them better experience in your community. Keeping track of progress will help you revamp your strategies if necessary. Your community initiatives should be implemented in alignment with your marketing objectives, which may include the improvement of customer and channel relationships, building brand awareness and market share, and the financial improvement of your return on investment.

(6) Actively promote

Promotion is integral to marketing campaigns. It applies to marketing on the social web too. There are many communities on the web. Participation in forums, writing your comments on other blogs and involvement in guest blogging are helpful ways by which promotion can be effected. MySpace , YouTube and Facebook are all excellent social networks which often open more opportunities for interaction and viral marketing effects. Sites such as LinkedIn and Squidoo are worthy considerations not to be brushed aside. LinkedIn provides opportunities for professional networking. Squidoo accepts all topics that will be viewed through lenses. Do not forget to insert your URL in all forms of media both traditional and digital. This will definitely increase your visibility. Multimedia outreach certainly works wonders.

(7) Optimize your site

Needless to say, improving your site through optimization will make it more friendly to your community and to search engines. Your customers will be interested to make the return trip when they find your site easy to navigate, contains great content, and providing them with the best possible experience. It is indeed wise to pay attention to what your site visitors have to say and respond to them accordingly. Constantly perform reality checks on your site; look out for new innovations to surge ahead of your competition. Add new features and new tools to enhance the appeal of your site. Visitors will acknowledge that your site is fresh and fun to visit.

Proper organization is required. The presence of an attractive environment and community will serve the dual purpose of inviting customers to spend some time with you and to close sales. The creation of comfortable spaces specially for your customers where they will feel at home will surely bring them back for more. Ultimately, there can only be success for your marketing on the social web campaign.

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By: J P Turner

In this article I am going to explain that Social Networking is actually one of the oldest forms of communication in the world. It is not anything new, except now we have improved it and can use it Worldwide.

The oldest form of Social Networking began when man first appeared. We had no way of communicating back then and to distinguish our friends from our foes, man began to make noises.

They made friends by offering to groom their hair and this then became a way for them to know the difference between friends and foes.

Today we have simply moved on somewhat. Language is now a part of our lives and we no longer need to groom people to tell them we are friends.

Today's social Networker simply goes online, joins a community and then invites others to be their friend. A simple process that now has over 100 million people worldwide doing it on a daily basis.

Myspace, Facebook, Bebo etc, have all become huge communities of people interacting with other. they share pictures, videos, music, talk, business etc, etc. Most of these sites are free to join and members then get access to their own web portal where they can advertise themselves to build their network of friends.

Social Networking has also become a way for many people to generate business. You can search for professionals to do work you need done, like web designers, hosting, architects, builders, consultants and nearly anything you want.

You can find lost friends, college mates, past lovers, or indeed even communicate with the rich and famous.

Until now, there were very few opportunities for people to make money by being a member. That was until now.

Wowzza has just launched and with it a new Social Networking website. Wowzza is different in that it also has a business opportunity attached to it. Not only can you find like minded people to interact with, but for a small monthly fee, you can now generate an additional monthly income just by being a member.

The people behind Wowzza have strong financial backing, and already this new Social Networking site is getting a lot of attention.

The fact that members can earn money each month is obviously one of the reasons why this is creating a buzz online. However, Wowzza has also made it possible for people to earn even if they do not build a Social Network of friends.

Interesting stuff I must say and it certainly looks very promising and soon we will start to see this new Social Networking site becoming just as popular as MySpace and Facebook.

Technorati Tags:social networking, how to make money in social networking, make money myspace, make money social networking sites
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By: Stacey Loredale

Stacey Loredale
As one may blush at the title alone, you may want to take a deeper look into the most beautiful act of affection that one human can show another, when they are in love. Sex has some of the best health benefits for both men and women. As society may paint a much different picture of the act of sex, for the most part it is very beneficial from your head to your feet and in all aspects of your well being. We will look into this beautiful gift and explore the many benefits that it has for you and your partner.
There are many health benefits that come forth from having sex. Stress and depression are very common and regular love making can help with that. There are many ailments such as the common head ache that can also be cured with sex. In men it can help with prostrate trouble and heartburn. Some interesting facts of sexual healing could be that sex helps with bone growth, sense of smell and even healthy skin. Heart health and exercise is a rising problem in America and yes good sex can even help with that. Let's look a little closer at what sex can do for your bodies and total well being.
Stress has taken its toll on the American adult like never before. Stress can cause many ailments and permanent damage both emotionally and physically. It leads to anger, frustration, depression and even broken marriages. When one becomes sexually deprived and frustrated, that alone can lead one to become very stressed out. There are benefits in having sex to relieve stress. One may think that just any sexual act will help with relieving stress, when in fact it is the actually act of sexual intimacy that is the stress reliever.
Women are a bit different than men are and tend to need to be in the mood before having sex. They are stressed out and have had a long day at work or maybe they have been chasing kids all day long. For the most part they may tell their man that they are too stressed to have sex, not realizing that it is the ultimate stress reliever mainly because it is very enjoyable. I can see where a man would be automatically frustrated in knowing that sex can relieve her stress, yet she must be relaxed before she can enjoy having sex. With that in mind, remember foreplay and intimacy. Genuine and sincere intimacy that is. Think of this a second, the lack of sex can lead to stress, even. When there is a great amount of stress it can lead to depression.
Sex can help prevent depression. For one when you are in love with someone you will want them to know just how much you love them. There is a lot of emotion that is involved with sex, which can even be harmful emotionally as well. You together can make it a beautiful experience with talking while you are making love and sharing your heart with one another. Always be open with your partner and express any emotional concerns and thoughts that may have hindered a healthy sex life, from the past. This will help you both in your sex life to not only understand one another but to make your own personal sex life the best that it can be.

Technorati Tags:health, health benefits of sex, benefits of sex, sex is good for you, medical research on sex, sex benefits, sex tips for good health, sexuality tips, key to good sex, health secrets to good sex, sex good for health, healthy sex tips, oral sextips for health, health b
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By: Jennifer Patton

You have read Magnetic Sponsoring by Mike Dillard and your mind is spinning but where do you start? . Web 2.0 Marketing may be the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to begin putting those thoughts into action and start creating people who are attracted to you and what you have to offer. For those of you who do not like to call leads, use the three foot rule, or your warm market-- pay attention.

Although people have been using Web 2.0 Marketing for years now many people still do not know what it is. Web 2.0 marketing is a community of people who get together and the use of blogs, forums, articles, etc. to discuss a common theme. Your excitement may be growing as you begin to realize that you have already used these tools in the form of MySpace, YouTube, and personal blogs. Now is the time to turn things that you have previously used for fun into places that not only generate income but leads for your home business.

If you do not have any experience in the above you may want to start with blogging. Blogging is a fast and simple way to get your thoughts out to the mass public. Not only will you be able to work on your writing style to see what will and won’t work and to practice your writing skills but you will be able to get started with little, if any, investment.

It may seem complicated, especially if you are new to the Web 2.0 Marketing scene, but the worst thing that you can do after reading Magnetic Sponsoring is to do nothing. For each day that goes by you will slowly lose your enthusiasm for the groundbreaking ideas that are shared until a month from now Magnetic Sponsoring will be a distant memory.

So, while you are waiting for your Traffic Formula course to come in, use Web 2.0 Networking to get started. Facebook, Squidoo, forums- the possibilities are endless. Establish yourself as a leader in this huge and ever changing industry. Do this by being knowledgeable, creative, and helpful and the rest will just flow to you.

After using Web 2.0 Marketing strategies to increase your readership and traffic to your site you can then use the tools described in Magnetic Sponsoring to generate more leads than you can handle. You no longer have to think there must be a better way- here it is.

Technorati Tags:mlm, leads, home business, magnetic sponsoring, social marketing, attraction marketing, web 2.0 marketing, mike dillard, jen patton
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