Expanding Your Business Globally via LinkedIn

Posted by | Posted in Internet Marketing | Posted on 27-11-2009-05-2008

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Robin Dale asked:



Linkedin and maximize your own personal profile with your page will begin growing as we have in order to meet great social networking site you to answer those questions using this powerful social networking is totally different people think that you donrsquot need to maintain list of contacts hotmail aol yahoo etc from other.

An expert as connections and learning to relate to relate to initiate the people with them so in returns allow.


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Taking the Easier Route to Generating RSS Subscribers

Posted by | Posted in Ecommerce | Posted on 26-11-2009-05-2008

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Rok Hrastnik asked:


Copyright 2005 Rok Hrastnik

RSS is certainly still far from being user-friendly, which is especially evident once you try and left-click on an RSS subscribe button.

In most cases your browser will simply display the XML code of the RSS feed … which does not go far in making internet users comftorable with RSS.

Heck, if you didn’t know what RSS was and clicked on an RSS button only to get a page full of code you don’t understand, would that aid in turning you in to an RSS user?

Probably no. And much worse, you’d probably never consider clicking on one of those buttons again, at least not any time soon.

Consequently, if as a marketer you’re trying to generate RSS subscribers, simply using an RSS subscribe button is the worst way to go for you and for the RSS industry as a whole as well.

So, what alternatives are there?

a] CREATE AN RSS PRESENTATION PAGE

If you’re trying to generate RSS subscribers from your site and are targeting audiences that might not be farmiliar with RSS, you need at least a basic presentation of what RSS is on your site, and you need to link to that either directly from the RSS subscribe button or from a location right next to that button, like you can see on the MarketingStudies.net example.

On this page you should explain in easy-to-understand terms what RSS is, how your visitors can use it and how they’ll benefit, and then provide links to some RSS readers and again links to your RSS feeds.

This page will be instrumental in telling your visitors about RSS and helping them subscribe to your feeds.

And of course, the feeds themselves and the RSS presentation page should be promoted in prominent locations on your website, especially directly below your e-mail e-zine subscription box and, if you’re publishing topic oriented feeds, next to their respective topics on the site, just as Lockergnome.com is doing.

B] TRANSFORM AN RSS FEED IN TO XHTML

Having a link to an RSS presentation page right next to your RSS subscribe button does aid visitors in learning about RSS and helps them to subscribe, but it still doesn’t solve the problem of a user actually clicking on an RSS feed button. That will still result in the visitor getting heaps of code he really won’t know what to do with.

Going one step further, you can use XSL Transformations to make sure that the feed can in fact also be displayed in a browser (without making it useless for an RSS reader as well) … and that with some additional information and instructions, such as a brief overview of RSS and a quick explanation on how the user can subscribe to this feed via an RSS reader.

I don’t want to get technical here, so to see what I mean simply click on this link (via FeedBurner): http://feeds.feedburner.com/BurnThisRSS2

This is basically an RSS feed, which has been transformed in order to be displayed in a Web browser with some additional information, but can still be subscribed to via every RSS reader as well.

Some feed maintanance and publishing services such as FeedBurner already provide this functionality “out-of-the-box”, without you having to do practically anything. All you need to do is register for their free service, enter your feed and then get this link, which you will place “behind” the RSS subscribe button on your site, as a link, instead of a direct link to your RSS feed.

If you don’t want to use a third-party service like FeedBurner, you can actually do the XSL Transformations by yourself. More information on how to do this is available at Wikiedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xslt).

c] TAKING THE MIDDLE ROAD: SMARTER SUBSCRIBE BUTTONS If you don’t want to use a third-party service such as FeedBurner or if your RSS vendor does not provide this functionality or if you don’t want to be bothered with doing XSLT by yourself, there is actually an alternative you can use.

David Battino at MacDevCenter.com (http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/wlg/7821) just wrote a simple piece of code you can use instead of the typical link to your RSS feed behind the RSS feed subscription button, which will, after you click on the link, display a simple message saying that in order to subscribe to the feed you need to copy and paste this URL in your your RSS reader.

This certainly doesn’t go very far in making RSS more user-friendly, as the notification really can’t be used to explain what RSS is and why your visitors should use it, but it at least saves the visitor from getting the XML code in his browser and hating RSS before he or she even find out what it is.

The simple code to do so is http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/wlg/7821

Also, do not forget about using buttons like Add To MyYahoo!, since many MyYahoo! users for example don’t know what RSS is, but they will use this button to subscribe.

d] TARGETING EXISTING RSS USERS

If you’re targeting existing RSS users or at least users that won’t be put off by a long list of names they won’t be able to understand, using the free script from Methodize.org might be the solution.

When the user hovers his mouse above your RSS feed subscribe button, the script will display a long list of RSS readers that the visitors can use to directly subscribe to the feed. By simply clicking on the appropriate link, the user will quickly subscribe to the feed with the RSS reader he is currently using.

There’s also a “What’s this” link at the bottom of the list, but still many visitors will be put off by long list of RSS reader names they won’t be able to understand, before even being motivated enough to click on the “What’s this” link at the bottom.

But still, if you’re targeting a more technical or internet oriented audiences, this just might do the trick.

The script is available from here: http://www.methodize.org/quicksub/

e] USING RSS AUTODISCOVERY

RSS Autodiscovery is a very nice feature that allows certain RSS Autodiscovery-enabled browsers to find a feed on your site and promptly offer the subscribe option to the visitor.

While most browsers still do not support this, FireFox for example does.

Using RSS Autodiscovery can’t substitute the other options above, but it will serve you well for the small part of your audience that’s using RSS Autodiscovery-enabled browsers.

How to use this?

Simply place the following piece of code in to the HEAD section of the HTML code of your webpages:

[link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://rssdiary.marketingstudies.net/index.xml" /]

And don’t forget to replace the [ and ] characters with < and >.

f] STRONG COPY

No matter how many times we write this, it still needs repeating. The best way to get your visitors to subscribe is to entice them to do so with strong copy that provides clear and valuable benefits, explaining to the visitor exactly why he needs to subscribe to exactly your RSS feed.


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8 TOP Ways To Promote Your RSS/XML Feed For MAXIMUM Exposure

Posted by | Posted in Online Promotion | Posted on 26-11-2009-05-2008

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Cory Threlfall asked:


RSS(Real Simple Syndication) is the new technology on the block and is taking the Internet by storm as Internet marketers are hurrying to incorporate this new form of communication and technology into there existing online businesses to Maximize there exposure online with NEW and/or Existing customers.

I recently received a post on my Blog from a fellow that inspired me to write this article since I found the nature of the topic important to ALL who are serious about getting the most out of there RSS feed and this new technology.

I’m pretty sure you can guess what he ask from reading the headline of this article.

Well… I did some research on what he had asked of me and came up with…

“8 TOP Ways To Promote Your RSS/XML Feed For MAXIMUM Exposure”

So, with that said, let’s dive into the first and MOST important step to Maximizing your RSS feed for the exposure it deserves.

Step #1. Build a dedicated webpage for your RSS feed.

This is probably the most important part of getting the most out of your RSS feed, is by building your own dedicated webpage for your RSS feed subscription.

The KEY here is to give your potential readers many options to adding Your RSS feed.

The best way for me to illustrate this to you is by clicking on the link below that leads to my dedicated RSS feed subscription page so you can see first hand what you need to do to get yours started.

Click here:http://www.internetwondersezine.com/rss_feed.html

Did you notice all the different options I give?

That’s what you need to do.

Now, for those of you who aren’t so web savvy, don’t worry, I have something for you that will auto-generate a RSS feed webpage for you within minutes if you already have a Blog or RSS feed.

The service I’m talking about is called FeedBurner.com — http://www.feedburner.com — and is a free service for you to sign up for.

Here’s what my webpage through FeedBurner.com looks like so you’ll have an idea of what yours will look like.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheInternetWondersBlog

Do you see all the options they give your potential readers to add your RSS feed to there RSS readers?

Once you’ve accomplished one of the two options above your all set to start promoting your RSS feed for MAXIMUM exposure.

Step #2. Add links to your RSS feed webpage on your website.

This is yet just another way to pull your visitors towards your RSS feed webpage by simply adding Text or Graphic links to your existing webpages.

Make sure you put them in Highly visible area’s where your visitors will see your links.

I would would put one at the top, middle and bottom of your website.

This really depends on what kind of website you have so you’ll have to use your own dicression.

Here’s what I have done on my website to give you an example.

Click here: http://www.internetwondersezine.com

Step #3. Add this HTML tag to your RSS feed webpage.

Here’s something you can add to all your websites webpages that will get the attention of Search Engines spiders to come on over and check out your RSS feed further.

Simple add the following HTML tag to the of your document:

link rel=”alternate” type=”application/rss+xml” title=”YOUR SITE TITLE RSS Feed” href=”URL TO RSS FILE”/

(note: add this to the end after the forward slash /)

Step #4. Some idea’s if you have your own newsletter.

If you have your own newsletter like I do, here’s a couple ways to get your visitors to visit your RSS feed webpage.

Add a link on your “Thank You” page that leads to your RSS feed webpage. Whether its a Text or Graphic link.

The key here is to get your RSS feed link in front of your readers as much as possible to get them to add your RSS feed to there readers.

The next one is, add a link inside your “Welcome” email that’s sent out to your New newsletter subscriber after they’ve subscribed.

This again, will give you another chance of getting them to add your RSS feed to there readers.

Step #5. Put together a “Signature File”.

Here’s another couple great ways to get your RSS feed webpage more exposure every time you send out an email or post to any online forums is by simply putting together a “Signature File”.

Now, every time you sent out an email to your list and/or business contact you can attached your “Signature File” at the end of every email you send.

The same goes for online forums, every time you make a post or answer someone else’s, your “Signature File” will be automatically attached.

Your “Signature File” doesn’t have to be a huge, a few enticing lines will do fine with your RSS feed URL.

Step #6. Submit your RSS feed to RSS Directories and SE’s.

Another great way to give your RSS feed more exposure is by submitting it or them to RSS Directories and Search Engines.

I’ve listed a few resources for you below to get you started with.



Feed Sharkhttp://feedshark.brainbliss.com



Ping-O-Matichttp://pingomatic.com



RSS Top 55http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55



Step #7. Write an article, if you write articles.

This is a great way to get your RSS feed webpage in front of thousands of targeted readers absolutely FREE!

Simply write an article on a HOT topic within your niche, and at the end of your article add an enticing, attention grabbing “Resource Box” that points to your RSS feed webpage URL.

Step #8. Set-Up a PPC(Pay-Per-Click) campaign.

For the last step to getting your RSS feed webpage Maximum exposure is to set-up a PPC campaign.

By doing this you will be able to send HIGHLY targeted traffic to your RSS feed webpage that are hungry for the information you have to offer.

The only downside to doing the PPC tactic is that it will cost you.

And, this tactic solely depends on whether or not you chose to set-up an RSS feed webpage of your own.

Now, I’m sure there are many others ways out there that could draw in more visitors to your RSS feed, but, these ones I just outlined in this article are the Best ones in my mind and are the ones I use.

Well, this concludes the, “8 TOP Ways To Promote Your RSS/XML Feed For MAXIMUM Exposure”, so, the only thing I have left to say to you is… Get Started!


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LinkedIn

Posted by | Posted in Social Marketing | Posted on 21-11-2009-05-2008

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Christine Gallagher asked:

I have had a profile on LinkedIn for a while now, but as with my MySpace account, I let it languish for a long time. I wasn’t seeing LinkedIn as a place to make connections and find others in my niche. It also seemed heavily corporate, with people looking for jobs more so than small business services or products.

Originally, serving that more corporate-type population was why LinkedIn was established. However, I have recently noticed more activity among small business owners, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. While Facebook offers a more personal snapshot of a person, LinkedIn has really become a good place to create beneficial professional relationships as well as be found by potential clients and customers.

If you are interested in finding out how to use LinkedIn to help grow your business and boost your visibility, here are a few ways to use this social network to do so:

Do a search for people in targeted fields and positions. Send them a request to join your network and be sure to personalize your message.

Create a thorough profile with your photo, websites and title. It is a good idea to include past experience, positions and education as well–the more information you supply, the more ways you allow others to find and connect to you.

Answer questions posed by other members in your community that fall into your area of expertise. “LinkedIn Answers” provides a place for you to view open questions that you may respond to. This is a wonderful way to promote your specific knowledge.

Ask for recommendations of your work and offer to provide them for others. The glowing recommendations you receive will be posted right to your profile.

Develop a targeted group of contacts in your niche and start connecting each other. Try to help others expand their own networks.

Look through your contacts’ networks. Select a few people each month you think would be good to know and request that your contacts introduce them to you.

As with Facebook, LinkedIn offers a way to feed your blog posts right into your profile. Add an application called BlogLink–this supports blogging platforms such as TypePad, Wordpress.com, Wordpress.org, Blogger and more.

Invite people in your network to ask others in their networks to a discussion group or an on-line networking event.

A great tip for increasing your search engine ranking with your website listing: when you go to type in your web address for your profile, you will have several choices in the drop down menu. If you choose “other” you have the option to type in any text you’d like which will then link to your site. Choose the keywords that you think would best get you found when someone searches in the search engines and voila, instant search engine optimization! (LinkedIn is ranked very highly in Google.)

Get some publicity. Many members of the media as well as some of the top bloggers have profiles on LinkedIn. Why not reach out to them and connect? You never know where the relationship will lead. Of course, don’t spam them. Send a polite and personalized message and you will have a spot on their radar.

Finally, don’t forget to add a link to your profile in your email signature. The great thing is that LinkedIn allows you to customize the link to your public profile to include your name. You should always include your social networking profiles in your signature so that every time you send an email, others have a way to connect.

As you know by now, connection is what it’s all about!

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Niche Keywords Research

Posted by | Posted in Online Promotion | Posted on 20-11-2009-05-2008

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zmilliondollars asked:

To success in the internet marketing, the research key strategy is one of the most significant strategies for your home based internet marketing business. With keywords people are searching for, you can build your website with a good ranking in search engines or you can maximize profits through pay per click online advertising. There are many ways to boost your revenues from those niche keywords.

You will discover keyword search strategies to help you to discover the best keywords for your home based internet marketing business in this article. With those strategies, you can also discover a massive list of keywords and can use it everywhere in your home based internet marketing business.

Generally, the focus keywords are terms, words or phrase, which is related to particular topics, on the internet. The research keyword strategy will involve various aspects, such as discovering focus keywords for sales, driving quality traffic to your website or converting traffic into sale.

The research keyword strategy is the first step towards a successful search engine optimization campaign and other marketing channels. It is important to pay attention to your research keyword strategy. It is obviously that it can be very tricky to choose your niche keywords for your home based internet marketing business or even website.

The selection of keywords should always be based on various aspects such as product names, services, brands, or other general terms. Another interesting point for your research keyword is the geographical. The internet is a global market. Your research keyword strategy should be specified into your market or region or small group of people. Many studies show that most of internet marketing entrepreneurs forget about the geographical research keyword terms.

The highest recommendation for your research keyword strategy is to do thorough market research analysis. With this sense, you will reach wider range of potential buyers through the best keywords. Also, you should study the competitors’ keywords, which keywords are profitable and used by your competitors. With those competitors’ keywords, you will know that what your competitors are using and marketing on the internet.

Next, you will learn step-by-step of how to research keyword effectively to discover the best keywords for your online business.

1. Brainstorm initially the focus keywords for your business by yourself. Obviously, you should come up with the set of initial keywords for your own business. With those initial keywords, you can derived and generate more niche keywords later. The highest recommendation for brainstorming is to list down all markets, topics, products and services, which you are going to offer to your customers. With those stuffs, you will come up with the initial set of keywords. Perhaps, you can use the free keyword search tools like Overture, Google Keywords and WordTracker (free-version) to get the keyword ideas or initial set of keywords.

2. Ask other people to generate more initial keywords. It is a great idea to ask other people like your family, friends or colleague to get more ideas about keywords in your business. This is pretty powerful strategy for generating ideas for your keywords. Let’s think about this way, if you allow 10 people to generate only 10 common keywords for your business, how much finally you will get the common general keywords for your business. That’s 100 keywords without your works! All you have to do is ask people particularly family and friends to help you generate a quick list of keywords.

3. Select the initial keywords for digging down further. When you have a full initial set of keywords, it is obvious that you have to select those keywords for digging down further. In this step, you must think about keywords people are using to search for products in your niche markets. You must ensure that you select keywords that clearly define your home based internet marketing business, products or services. There are some websites on the internet which get a lot of traffic through general keywords, although those websites can not generate any sales.

4. Refine your keyword research with the keyword research tools. There are many keyword search tools available to help you generate more keywords. The challenge here is to determine which keyword is the best to generate traffic. The highest recommends are: to focus on Keyword Index (KEI) value and competitors in search engines. With paid-version of WordTracker or Keyword Discovery, you should select the keywords with high KEI value and low competitors.

5. Dig down into your competitors’ keywords. There is no doubt that it is an absolutely great idea to study and steal your competitors’ keywords. There are a few powerful tools to help you to study those competitors’ keywords in dept. With those keyword search tools, you will discover what keywords they are using for their earning and profits online.

6. Test your keywords through pay per click campaign. To success in the internet marketing business, you have to test everything you can such as keywords, website and strategies. The best keyword research strategy in this article is to test your keywords with pay per click campaigns. With those campaigns, you will know the traffic, conversion rate and bid price for your keywords. However, the awareness of this step is your keyword bidding price in those pay per click campaigns.

7. Use the high performance keywords for your home based internet marketing business. This step is a consequence of the previous step. You will discover high performance keywords with high conversion rate. When you get those high performance keywords, you must use them everywhere in your home based internet marketing business such as article, classified ads, blogging and email.

Final thoughts, there is a sequence of steps to do your keyword research effectively. With those steps, you will discover the best keywords for your business. Those best performance keywords will lead you to success in this internet marketing business.

Get full access to the best keywords researched over 2 million keywords by the expert team. This is another way for your shortcut to get the best keywords. You will discover hot niche markets and keywords from the most effective keyword research. You will save your time and minimize your mistake while you are researching your own keywords. Also, you will discover super-profitable markets and keywords from the best keywords provided to you every month!

Learn more about keyword research and keyword search tools to help you to generate a massive list of keywords in a minute. With those niche keywords, you will maximize your profits in PPC. You will discover great niche keywords with low competitors and high conversion rate, particularly for Adwords and Adsense. You will save your time and will not be headache about keyword research any more.

Read more articles, news, and up-to-date information about keyword research and related keyword issues at: http://www.zKeywordTool.com/blog

*Reprint Policy: Reprint in full with writer’s name, contact information, active links and brief bio.

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