There are a ton of Internet Marketing blogs on the web all offering a wealth of information. These same blogs also offer a look into different techniques to copy for your own website.
In Four Hour Chef Ferriss writes about learning methods that decrease the time it takes to become proficient. Deconstruction is one of the first methods used. Combining the two ideas here is a look at deconstructing popular Internet Marketing blogs to view what basic website setups work well.
[Read more...]
Everyone has their New Years challenges, some call them themes, some forgo the label but the process of reflection still remains. I haven’t come up with any goals to break later but I have come up with ideas that seem part of a larger cycle of change. It is about slowing down and going deeper both within content consumption and content creation.
Inspired by Chris Brogan’s idea of three books for the whole year I am looking at what it means when that same idea is extended to other activities. There is such a deluge of information to keep track of and only so much time. I am in the process of recognizing that missing news is ok when I trade that to taking more time with contemplating what I do read more deeply.
[Read more...]
Google Analytics offers a regular site owner visitor data that before would have been cost prohibitive. There is much to be said for what you get but there is no guarantee that Google will stay the same with what they offer. If history is any indication, Google is constantly morphing, so why trust them with all that data? Does the term “not provided” mean anything to you? It should and one reason you might want to consider Google Analytics alternatives.
The 4 Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss provides a foundation for learning anything to a level of competitive proficiency without the 10,000 hours most have come to accept as needed. The idea of teaching yourself anything is quite appealing but it helps when the process is a collaborative effort with those you know or seek out. Even larger companies get help and use Brandscaping to leverage their efforts. The good news is there is a foundation to learn SEO, Internet Marketing, Content Marketing, WordPress, etc. Going into the new year I hope this post gets you inspired to start a website or learn SEO, IM, etc. Of course once you start that is just the beginning or in the words of the Greek philosopher Socrates you recognize, “the more you know, the more you realize you know nothing.”
[Read more...]
If you are interested in content marketing strategies, internet marketing, looking at SEO and beyond, etc. then no doubt you are full-up with reading reflections and predictions from the end of one year and the coming of the next. Some of it is inspiring but what works for other people only get’s you so far, in the end you need traction from knowing your own niche and individual audience. The problem is having to make a stream of epic content that rivals your last and makes people want to give you their next of kin just to see it. How else to get it shared and linked to? If you are tired of that constant battle, try leveraging content creation via content marketing collaboration. [Read more...]
Just as Google Authorship start’s getting a good adoption rate, Google Communities opened up on Dec. 7th. and has garnered the attention from those who like to be at the “cutting edge.” Those who aren’t “early adopters” wait on the side-lines for the dust to settle and blog posts to be written on the best of things, best practices, best sources, best of everything. The good news? Not only can you get started with only a few clicks of a mouse, there are a number of best practices to steal from existing communities like LinkedIn Groups. In case you are wondering why Google Communities are “such a big deal” take a look at Google Strikes Back,
lets review the latest G+ stats: Over 500 million users, 135 million of which are active users. They engage. They post. They share. Compare that to Twitter’s 140 million (Twitter.com) users and you start to get a better glimpse of the big picture. That translates to massive exposure for your brand, your thoughts or even your kitty pictures.
Google 貼牌冰箱（Google Refrigerator） (Photo credit: Aray Chen)
LinkedIn Groups have been around long enough to glean solid practices that work. Although there may be some functionality differences such as Google Hangouts, the core elements of an online community remain. Here are some key take-aways from LinkedIn Groups to use with Google Communities. [Read more...]
Be a Beacon of Irresistibility to Help Cut Through the Noise
An irresistible bribe. Something offered as an exchange too good to pass up and exactly what you need for new subscribers according to Jon Morrow. Offering something free when a person subscribes is so common as to be expected and that is why you need the irresistible bribe. What makes for irresistible is often subject to interpretation so I decided to do some sampling and came up with 3 sites offering examples of an irresistible bribe. First, a little background on how email newsletter opt-ins work.
Before you sigh and say that email is dead consider this from a recent post at Copyblogger on email marketing,
Attention alone will get you nowhere. That’s the secret that so many successful email marketers have learned. Keeping your prospect’s attention is where the hard work comes in…In a 2012 survey performed by ExactTarget, 91% of respondents said they checked their email daily, and 77% claimed that email was their preferred channel for “permission-based promotional messages.” [Read more...]
Creating video gets easier everyday. Here is a list of 6 free web-based video creation tools for your next project. Fun to play around with, try them all until you find one that fits your needs.
Here is the original source with full pictures and short descriptions.
“You can use the video creation tools on this list to create videos that are relevant to your niche. Here are some examples of the types of videos you can create:
- Create demonstration videos for any software program
- Record Screen-capture of how to use a website or a product
- Create a set of videos answering your most frequently asked questions?
- Create video tutorials
- Create video-based information products
- Record tips and techniques about a product or service”
If you search for content marketing, SEO, Internet marketing, content curation, social media, or any number of other similar keywords you get tons of advice on your content marketing strategy. It is almost like a favorite bed-time story that starts with “once upon a time…” only these posts frame their ideas as simple “all you have to do is” and then fill in the blank.
Growing Your Content Marketing Strategy
I am not talking about the push-button schemes that make the tables at Vegas look honest by comparison. I am talking about the posts that suggest to practice a content marketing strategy by creating a blog post that is then redone as a podcast, video, infographic, PDF download, newsletter content, alongside posts unique to each social media platform. All the while this same content satisfies the cravings of random strangers customers by answering their undying questions in such fun and quirky ways they shove aside their baby pictures to share your post to their friends and family on Facebook begging them to view it. The result is a social media buzz storm that you ride into fame and glory. [Read more...]
Searching for WordPress Plugins
Soon after setting up a WordPress site there are always a ton of potential plugins calling like a song from the island of sirens. Don’t give in to the temptation of instant solutions to everything from Facebook like buttons, SEO guidance, to Karoke player lyrics from the currently 22,404 WordPress plugins available and counting. Sure many are free and work at a click of a button but at what cost? The following will give you a window into evaluating WordPress plugins alongside solutions for filtering out the bad and insecure from making your website perform worse than your competitors. [Read more...]
Tumblr