I truly believe that if you do not embrace new technologies then you are going to be left behind very quickly. Creating videos for affiliate marketing, online advertising, and building your brand is something that many people are starting to do. You just have to look at YouTube to see that. A lot of the videos are affiliate videos, or teaching videos, from one website or another. I even wrote a short post on getting your video going now.
Today is the day that video plays a part in your overall marketing strategy.
Video Creates Internet Marketing Stars
Online video has come full circle. Many people are using video today on their blogs, on video websites, and even as a way to do instant live discussions using a site like Qik.
Taking advantage of his very powerful medium will really help you not only advertise your website, but also build a strong authoritative voice for yourself and your business. This is really the goal. Once people can have another way to connect with you – the real you, not the anonymous you – results become much higher, and faster.
Many online business owners, however, are a little hesitant to use online video as a means of marketing their products and services. I can certainly understand this. I am still having some hesitancy in this department. However, I am ready to make that jump. In fact, I have already recorded several for a new product I am making called ‘Story‘ at SocialMediaMarketerTips.com.
Not That Hard To Do
When you really get down to the actual ‘how to make a video for online marketing’ basics, it is not all that hard to do. If you have a video camera, a web cam, or even a cell phone with video capability, you can make a video. One major misconception is that you need to have an expensive camera in order to make good videos. That just is not the case. Most marketers use the Flip video camera. It only costs around $150 and is very easy to use.
Two Minutes Is All You Need
You also do not need to create a full length feature movie. A few minutes of you is enough. The content is entirely up to you, but you should gear it towards the topic of your site. For example, if you want to drive traffic to your landscaping and gardening website, you could do short videos on how to transfer plants or any other aspect of gardening. You could also do short little informational videos about flowers, techniques, and different tools.
Once you have the video shot, then do some simple editing and then upload to your website, your social networking site, or YouTube. Before too long you will have built up a large following, and people who can not wait for the next “show”.
Easy Video Tips To Making One Today.
Since I am definitely not an expert in using video for online and social marketing, there are some things that I think are very important.
1. Know what you are going to say. There is nothing worse than someone stalling, and going through a lot of “ummm” and “ahhh” on the video. Write out a short script, or rehearse beforehand.
2. Make it short. We already touched on this, but people do not want to sit and watch long videos. Two to three minutes is enough.
3. Get the the point quickly. To help make the video short, cut out any fluff, or other things that will take away from what you want to say. Just get to the point quickly.
4. Be natural. You do not have to act like you are going for an Oscar. Just be the regular you, doing what you usually do.
5. Good lighting. Trying to watch a video that is dark or hard to see is not a lot of fun. Make sure you have a lot of good natural lighting, or that your room is well lit.
6. Have fun with it. Doing something that is not a lot of fun can get to be a hardship rather than a benefit. Enjoy it. Be creative. Do different things. But, have fun doing it.
Go Make Your Video… Now!
So, go ahead. Set up your video camera and shoot that short little video. Upload it to your Facebook profile, a YouTube profile, or directly to your website. But, just do it.
Once you get your video uploaded some where, why not let us know where? I’d love to see it!
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Products that have Private Label Rights with them are becoming quite popular again. There is a reason for it. PLR products make it much easier to get some content to use for more traffic, new opt in sign ups, or for an entry level product to sell yourself.
I am going to be talking a lot more about PLR products soon in a comprehensive guide to using PLR products to make more money online. Until then, here is a cool little video and an amazing offer about PLR products and how to make more money with them!
8 Ways To Make More Money Online With PLR Products!
As I said, I am currently working on a comprehensive tutorial that will show you everything you need to know about working with PLR products. It will not be an ebook, or some other type of downloadable. However, it is going to be a blog series that I am going to turn into a member site with new PLR products added each week. Stay tuned for that.
In the meantime….
I came across an amazing PLR Products package today that is simply ridiculous. Check out Russell’s Mega Pack III Private Label Rights.
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I just stumbled over a video post at Michael Dunlop’s website Retire@21.com. It is a short little interview between Michael and Gary Vaynerchuk.
In the video, Gary is giving inspiring advice to young entrepreneurs, but I believe anyone can gain inspiration from this short message.
What did you think? I love the way that Gary not only tells it from his heart, but he shows it in his expressions. You know that he is absolutely passionate about helping others succeed also. That’s the kind of person that we should all be listening to!
Gary Vaynerchuk is also the author of Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Niche marketing, when you are an affiliate marketer, is the way to create ongoing commissions.
When working with affiliate programs, one of the ways that many marketers reach such high levels of commissions is to focus on one particular niche – topic, product, theme, industry, etc. – and drive traffic that is interested in that one niche to their website. Populating your website with great content will keep these visitors coming back to see what else they can learn about this niche.
Niche Marketing And You
The trick to making niche marketing work for you is to choose something that you are passionate about. This is something that I had to learn the hard way. While it should be quite obvious, it wasn’t. I fell into the trap of creating sites for the “hot” products instead of building sites around those niches I was passionate about, knew a lot about, or wanted to know more about. It took some resources from Sitesell.com to change my way of thinking. In fact, it wasn’t until I read their flagship ebook – Make Your Site Sell – that I really figured things out about niche marketing.
Niche Marketing Example
One of the ways that I have found that makes learning easier is to find an example. This is especially true for niche marketing. Here is a quick video of a niche marketer and how they put it all together.
Niche Marketing Success Tips
Think niche marketing is something you want to do? Here are some quick success tips.
1. Choose a niche YOU are passionate about – This could be anything from apple growing to zebra care.
2. Create Your Content – This can be in the form of articles, ebooks, reports, videos, audios, pictures, whatever you can think of to grow your website.
3. Keep It Simple – Write your content in a personal style. Many of the most successful niche marketing sites are blogs where the author is speaking to their audience like they are all old friends. Works everytime!
4. Be Different – One of the major hallmarks of niche marketing is to provide something new to the audience.
5. Stay With It – I have known many aspiring affiliate marketers who have quite their affiliate marketing business just when it was about to explode. The waiting was too much. This is the main reason marketing a product, or creating content, on something that you love is so important. You will be able to stay with it much longer.
What do you think? Are you ready for niche marketing?
I want to ask you a few questions. Do you have a few minutes?
In fact, I’d really like to ask you five very specific questions about your online marketing. I like to do this with my clients when I first meet with them and then throughout the entire time we work together. The reason for this is because I believe questions get you to think and then act.
So, this post is really for you. I am hoping to be able to set the environment where not only are you reading something, but you’re also thinking along the way. So, clear your mind and let’s go enjoy a beautiful sunny day out on the deck or in a park somewhere. If you want to grab a coffee… that’s ok too. Actually, I’d rather like one.
My Questions For You About Your Internet Marketing
Ok… comfy?
Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. You might want to grab a notebook and a pen or pencil. I prefer a pencil, but that’s me. Alright, lean close, pick up the pencil and let’s talk.
Question #1. What have you already done in your internet marketing?
If you’re going to start to go somewhere you need to know where you’ve been. One of the first things I always ask my new clients is this very question. It’s so important to realize what you’re doing now and in the past. Because when you think about that then you can see where the improvements can be made.
It’s like going on a trip. If you have a very small map of the area you’re going into and you get lost somewhere off the map, then it’s going to be much harder to find your way back. But, if you took a larger map that contained the entire city, county, state, or country then you have a much better chance of finding your way back. You have a better view.
This first question gives you the view you need to get your advertising back on track. Not only that, but you could see where shortcuts, or detours, could be made. What obstacles to be avoided. Where you’re wasting gas (money) and where you are making up time.
Go ahead and grab your pencil and paper and list everything you’ve done for advertising up to now.
Question #2. What is working and what isn’t?
You probably knew that was coming. Once you see the general overview of your advertising you begin to see what is working and what isn’t.
There really isn’t any sense in chasing after advertising that isn’t working. Especially if you’re just getting started or are struggling. It’s ok to let things drop by the wayside and concentrate on a few things that are working. Maybe it just isn’t the right time for a certain advertising method.
Your next step then is to cross out everything that isn’t working. Take no prisoners. Don’t get nostalgic here. It’s time to be ruthless. Even if you’re left with just one single advertising tactic, do it.
Question #3. What would you like to see happen, this month, with your website?
There are several things here to take note of. What I’m really talking about here is your goals for the month. These goals will cover several different areas and you must keep a very close eye on them.
Grab your pencil and write down these things to make a goal for and keep track of.
1. Website traffic – how much do you want to see.
2. Profit – how much do you want to make.
3. Money spent – how much do you want to spend.
4. Time spent – same thing… how much time will you put into it.
5. Good response from visitors, customers, or partners – yes, make a goal for positive responses.
6. How many people link to you – a pretty big thing to keep track of but many don’t.
Here’s why these are important.
Website traffic – self explanatory. Please keep this goal very, very realistic. Don’t go over the top and say, “My goal is 5000 unique visitors this month!” Great goal, might not happen. Again, since you’ve already written down everything you’ve done you should have an idea of how much traffic you get already.
Profit – again, very self explanatory. And again, keep it realistic. Something you can reach so you don’t get discouraged.
Money spent – yes, you need a budget. Don’t go over it either. If you choose to spend any keep it low to maximize your profits.
Time spent – spending too much time with your advertising is just as bad as spending too much money. Especially if it isn’t working. You have nothing to show for your time and have lost valuable time with friends and family.
Good responses from visitors, customers, or partners – might be unique to me only, but it gives a measure of who is talking about you, and what they are saying. If they say it to you, then chances are they’ll tell someone else. You should have a goal for this. Six to eight positive comments in a month, personal comments, is a great goal to start with.
How many people link to you – pick a number for how many other sites you want to link to you. This can even be ReTweets in Twitter, bookmarks in StumbleUpon or Digg, or other social networking links.
Go ahead. Write it down.
Question #4. What two advertising methods do you feel comfortable with?
Like anything else, if you’re not comfortable with it you’ll have a hard time doing it. You need to look at everything you’ve written down so far and pick two, and I’m talking only two advertising tactics to start with. You can always add a new one if/when things begin to pick up, but if you waste too much time on several different ways to advertise you’re going to fail before you get started. I’ve seen it too many times.
Back to the question at hand. What do you feel comfortable with? Article marketing? Blogging? Social Media? Pay Per Click? Viral Videos? Participating in forums? Commenting on blogs? Whichever it is, pick two.
Now, set out a plan for the month to put those two into place.
Question #5. Can you commit to doing this for the month?
Don’t automatically jump to yes. Every time I start a new advertising campaign I am almost fanatic about asking my client this question. I have to know, and you have to know, that you’re going to go through with this even if the first three weeks are rough and you see very little return.
Can you… will you commit to a full month of getting the word out about your website? If so, then write it down.
Take your answers and get advertising!
That piece of paper if your map for the month. Put it somewhere you can see it everyday. Always be thinking about it and if you need to make course corrections, you can see it before you get too far off the trail.
Good luck!
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Over the years I have been able to put together quite a list of places I have used to help advertise websites. Some of them have been pretty good, some just plain bombed. Some of them I have had to take off because of the changes in online marketing and advertising they just don’t work anymore. Some are timeless and will work anywhere, anytime.
So, without further ado…
25 Advertising Strategies For Traffic, Authenticity, and Sales!
Top Ten
1. Article Marketing – This is the way to market anything on the internet.
2. Become active in social networking – The way of advertising on the internet is changing and the quicker we adapt, the better it is. Social networking is very powerful in terms of creating buzz, elevating your authority, and driving traffic.
3. Optimize your webpages – Google, MSN, and Yahoo still reign supreme in the traffic department. Make sure your pages are optimized for higher rankings.
4. Build a list – Today the emphasis is on RSS syndication, but a list is a list is a list. Build one.
5. Start a blog – You need a place where people can get to know you, read your content, and feel comfortable with you.
6. Leave comments on other blogs within your niche – Not a quick “Nice post”. Leave an actual comment on the post about what you liked, how it helped, other relevant resources, or even what you don’t agree with.
7. Join social networking groups – Websites, such as Facebook have a place where you can create groups that deal with a certain topic. Of course, if you don’t want to create one, you can join one. A great place to answer questions, join discussions, and even do a little self promotion.
8. Get started with Google Adwords – Pay Per Click advertising is a great way to advertise if you do it right. Make sure you spend some time learning how before you jump into it.
9. Start making viral videos – The video explosion is something that marketers should be taking advantage of more.
10. Join forums dealing with your niche – Not only is this a great way to learn, but it’s a great way to connect with others and promote your authority on a topic.
The other 15
11. Submit your blog to blog – Two of the best places to submit your blog are MyBlogLog.com and BlogCatalog. There you list your blog, or blogs, and find others within the same topic. It’s kind of like a social network for blogs.
12. Give great content to your newsletter subscribers – It’s one thing to build a list, but you need to keep your subscribers. Provide great content and you will.
13. Exchange links with other site owners. – When you come across a website similar to yours go ahead and email the owner to see if a possible link exchange could happen between your two sites.
14. Have fun with BTR radio – BlogTalkRadio is a way to have your own radio show right over the internet. It’s also very social. You can either have your own show, participate in ongoing shows, or both.
15. Pay for advertising space on other websites that cover the same topic as your website. Of course, there is a cost involved here, but if you have the combination of right site, with right graphic and text, you’ll see some great returns.
16. Buy advertising in ezines. – Often referred to as solo ads, you can do pretty well with these types of ads. You do have to be careful because of all the spam, but as in advertising on websites, the right combination can bring great returns.
17. Give away free information – Sometimes all it takes is a notice that you’re giving away a free report, or ebook, and you’ll have a landslide of traffic. Put together a content rich package and your authority is multiplied exponentially.
18. Join with other marketers – Combine your product with another marketer’s product for a double-whammy joint venture and you get double the exposure.
19. Create content on Squidoo or Hub Pages – A great way to both advertise and drive traffic, and build revenue is to create content on sites such as Squidoo or HubPages.com. People can join your fan base and read your articles when new ones are completed.
20. Don’t neglect an email signature – A great way to advertise your site is to include a short signature that is on all your emails. It can contain your company, url, phone number, and any social networking url’s.
21. Write a press release for major announcements – Just because you are an affiliate for another company doesn’t mean you can’t write a press release concerning some development in a product or the company. Then submit the release to PRWeb.com
22. Have a contest. – People love to win stuff. Set up a contest for your email subscribers, RSS subscribers, commenters, web visitors, whoever you can think of.
23. Write a guest post for other blogs – Blog, or website owners, do like to take time off. But, they need to keep the content flowing. They do that with guest posts. Check out a few blogs, interact on them, and then write a post and see if they could use it.
24. Upload your content to Scribd.com – Great way for content providers (reports, videos, articles, ebooks, online magazines, etc.) to get that content out is by uploading it to Scribd.com.
25. Get on Digg and StumbleUpon – Social bookmarking websites provide great exposure for your website, blog, and content. When you are dugg or stumbled, other people associated with the person who initially bookmarked it will also see your content. Then it begins to grow from there.
25 Ways To Advertise Your Site. Can You Add To It?
Here’s your chance to try out on of these traffic generators now and list some of the ways you’ve been successful with driving traffic to your site, building your authority, and making sales. List them in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you’re doing!
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I have to admit that I’ve been wanting to use video in my own marketing and coaching, but just haven’t gotten around to using this compelling online marketing technique. However, after reading Lisa’s post about creating compelling online video content I am definitely going to be giving it a go in 2009.
Video is scary though. You are putting yourself out there and being you. You are worried that you’re not video-genic enough and that no one will want to watch it. When you stop and think about it that’s really the problem with everything. You don’t think you’re good enough. Smart enough. Fast enough.
I have been watching several people like Shawn Collins, Jim Kukral, and Lynn Terry begin using video and seeing the benefits. Even if it is from the outside looking in.
Online video is going to be the new content for the web. With the way that mobile marketing is taking off, and social media is beginning to take a much larger position in online marketing, video is poised to be a major factor in how you will get your message out and build your authority.
Are you using it now? Are you thinking of creating videos in the near future? Or are you going to not think about it and hope it goes away?
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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about marketing and online advertising. More specifically I’ve been thinking about, and trying to see ahead, the direction that advertising will take in the coming new year.
I do this throughout the year on a regular basis. I take some time each year to evaluate my own plans for my websites (which I never get to because I’m too busy helping other succeed in their online advertising) and those of my current clients. I don’t just do this near the end of the year, but on a roughly bi-monthly basis.
However, this isn’t about my marketing plans for the coming year so much as what I see will happen in online marketing in 2009 and beyond.
You have probably started to notice that the world of online advertising isn’t something that stands still but rather is always changing. New techniques, strategies, and marketing venues are popping up all the time and, yeah the old school stuff is still great, but the new stuff is always bright and shiny.
Online marketing is going to get a little scary.
Online advertising is going to really start stretching people in the coming new year. People are going to have to start learning some of the new technological and social advances that have come along in the previous year, or year and a half. Things like social media, video production, mobile optimization, search engine changes, and other things are going to get a lot more advanced and specialized. It’s going to get scary.
Online video will be the benchmark for success.
It started a little bit in ‘07 and started to rapidly climb in use in ‘08. I only see the use of video becoming more important in 2009.
Video is a way for people to put an image to a brand. It’s more than just a logo. It’s real, personal, moving, and can create buzz incredibly fast.
And there isn’t any excuse not to get started with video anymore. Developers have made it very easy to create, edit, and upload videos. And you can do it without spending a whole lot of money. The biggest, and really only, expense would be the video camera. But, chances are you already own one. If not, you can pick up the ultra hip flip camera for $150. After that you can use software that comes with it, or windows movie maker (or whatever mac users have), and upload the thing to YouTube.
Video can be used for anything from landing pages, blog posts, special exclusive content, or even pre-prepared series. It’s a great medium which I still see as greatly underused.
I’ve made my own pledge to myself that I will begin using video for marketing and building buzz virally.
Social Media will be the main marketing emphasis.
This past year, social networking websites have taken online marketing to a whole new level. You can expect a lot more of it in the coming new year.
The last couple of months, I have been telling all my clients, before they do any kind of other marketing, to get socially connected. Start accounts on the main networks first then, once comfortable, branch out from there.
Uniqueness and creativity will rise to the top.
The last thing I see is the developing trend towards people being themselves and showing their uniqueness instead of their mindless automation. That probably has a lot to do with social media marketing and the necessity to be real in that setting. People like people who are unique and allow their own creativity to be shown instead of that of someone else.
For example, I deal with a lot of people involved with network marketing opportunities. In doing so, one of the things I am always telling them is to be themselves; set up their own website or blog, create their own marketing materials, videos, and autoresponder series and build their brand. The response is much better and they are building a stronger web presence for themselves instead of the company they are affiliated with.
Marketing in 2009… pull your seatbelts tight and hang on!
I’m excited about the possibilities for the coming year. I am working on some amazing advertising campaigns (if I do say so myself) that is going to rely heavily on these factors as well as some of the things we are already familiar with.
Are you ready for the new year? Are you ready for some of the changes that are going to take place? Are you now getting yourself familiar with videos, social networking, and your own creativity?
What do you think is going to take place next year? What are you learning or advising others to do? Let us know in the comments section.
I love internet advertising.
I love the challenge of not only working to build traffic to a website for a client, but also the challenge to always be thinking ahead and creatively creating new ways to advertise and capitalize on the traffic by keeping people coming back.
Your advertising isn’t really all that effective if you don’t have a plan in place to keep the traffic you get to visit your website to continue visiting it. I usually grade my ad campaigns with several different criteria, but two of them are;
1. How much traffic is coming to the site everyday? and,
2. How much repeat traffic is re-visiting the site each day?
Two very important testing points to a successful advertising campaign.
The key is how do you get people to return.
Three New Ideas For Repeat Traffic
I don’t if it is because I get bored easily or because I like to stretch boundaries and not follow everyone else, but I like to fiddle with things. I like to change them or improve them just to do things different. Status quo is not in my vocabulary. I think it makes people stale and lazy.
So, I’ve been thinking about and working out some new ideas for generating repeat traffic to your website or blog. Here’s six of my idea.
1. Be A Reality Star. Online video is becoming increasingly popular with online marketers. The biggest reason for that is that it is getting a lot easier to produce. A flip cam, windows movie maker, and a youtube account is just about all you need. Just record, edit, upload. Quick, easy, and so very productive.
Video is a great tool, but I think is hugely underused by online marketers. And where it is being used is getting stale and boring. What I am suggesting is to create a video series that is different and fresh. Create a reality show that shows you actually working your business opportunity, using the product you’re trying to sell, talking with clients, or whatever your niche is in. Just hit record and forget… for at least 15 minutes anyway.
And then offer this everyday. Make a huge deal of it in your blog, within your social networking circles, and in your emails.
You could use a service like Ustream, which is being used by people with great success… but, I like the thought of videos on your own domain, your own server, and with your own site’s design. The whole reason to get repeat traffic is to get it to your site.
What can you make a daily series of? Get a little creative with it and have fun with it. People like to see others have fun.
2. Write A Page A Day. We all give away free stuff for people to join our mailing lists, but not often to get people to return to our web pages. What if instead of giving away an entire ebook, report, or some other freebie you just uploaded a new section each day?
This idea is to instead of having a complete ebook for people to download and read at their leisure (which usually never gets read), you just upload a new section of that ebook on a daily basis for a set period of time. That will keep people coming back each day, to your website, to see the new section.
Again, they are on your domain, your web page, and your design with your products made available.
3. Use A 30/30 Plan. What is the 30/30 plan? Very simply this. You ask an expert in your niche 30 questions and then release the answers, one at a time, for a period of 30 days. This would work great if your main website is a blog. People will keep coming back to see each answer.
The key to making this idea work would be to ask relevant questions to real problems that people are having. Within each answer make sure there are plenty of resources and other content that people will find interesting and useful.
Once you get the first 30 days done, have another set of 30 questions ready to do it all over again.
Repeat Traffic Can Be Fun
Advertising doesn’t have to be all about ads and hype. It is fun. When I begin working with a new client I get excited. Because it gives me another opportunity to stretch my creative muscles, blast through boring boundaries, and have a lot of fun doing it!
If you’re a do-it-yourselfer, like I am, then use these three ideas and have some fun doing it!
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I’ve just received an email from Gideon Shalwick and Yaro Starak about their newest resource for internet marketers. It’s called Become A Blogger.com and is a compilation of ten free videos that take you step by step into creating your own blog. The videos themselves are good and provide great information for people who have never set up a blog before.
The topics of the videos include;
Why You Should Use Wordpress
How to Get Your Own Domain Name
How to Get a Webhost
How to Install Wordpress
How to Upload File to Your Webhost Using FTP
Choosing a Wordpress Theme For Your New Blog
How to Install And Use Wordpress Plugins.
How to Create Your First Blog Post and Blog Page
What RSS Is And Why You Need It
How To Use Feedburner For Supercharging Your RSS Capabilities
All in all a great free tutorial on how to get your blog set up and going quickly and easily.
Free Blogging Report
Also while you’re there watching the free blogging videos you can also sign up for Gideon and Yarak’s free report on blogging.
