Serious Marketing Guide

You’ve heard of the olden days when people would hunt for potential link partners. Well, those days are long gone and smart web masters are moving on to greater things, while decreasing their reciprocal link building effort.

If you are wondering what this new technique could be, it’s actually quite simple… in theory.

It is known as linkbaiting. This is a strategy that brings links to a website simply because of the unique and popular content on a website. With the rise of the blogosphere and social bookmarking sites, all it takes is one person to notice an interesting page and link to a site. Once a link is passed around once, it becomes easier for it to spread further. Bloggers around the net constanly use linkbait to encourage other bloggers to mention them or to get their content passed around the blogosphere. However, many traditional web masters have not quite latched on to this powerful technique. The benefits of creating quality, unique, or even controversial content go way beyond what one might first imagine. When a web site offers true value to the visitor, they can create hundreds and even thousands of backlinks without even asking. Unfortunately, simply having good, quality content on your site doesn’t always work. To gain the full potential of linkbaiting, you need a good hook. Some of the most popular ones include: News Controversy Resources and… Humor News Hook: Everyone loves to read about industry news. However, the key to attracting some real traffic is to add a twist to the latest news. Find out exactly how it affects your web site visitors. If you just give a rehashing of what everyone else has already said, no one will care. However, if you inject your own twist or personality into your news story, then you are prepared to catch someone’s eye.

Look at CNN.com as an example. What do they offer? They provide the latest news every day of the week. In the world of information that we live in, news is a commodity. Because CNN offers such appealing content, thousands of sites are linking to them. Do you think CNN sent these sites a little email asking if they would be interested in a reciprocal link? Of course not. Instead, they employ linkbaiting. Their fresh and interesting content automatically encourages other people to link to it. Luckily for us, we can use this same technique on our own web sites. News is one of the best ways to attract incoming links, especially if the news is controversial. Controversy Hook: Before we move on, I must warn you that this hook can be very powerful and also very dangerous. It involves contradicting what someone says, preferably someone very prominent in the industry. When used correctly, controversy can be very effective in bringing traffic to your site, but always be careful. To begin, look for articles and stories in your industry. Some of the best places to find this type of content is on blogs, news sites, and social bookmarking sites. Once you have found a good story, take an opposing viewpoint or give it some sort of twist. This will make your content stand out from the hum drum of what everyone else is publishing. The next hook is actually one of my favorites. It is known as the resource hook. Resource Hook: Information is powerful online. If you have information that is not available anywhere else, you become an authoritative resource. Many of these resources come in the form of a list. You would be surprised at the power of a list. You can organize: – a list of helpful tools that would be beneficial to your readers – a list of the best blogs in your niche – a list of popular news stories within your industry (When you are doing this kind of list, be sure to sprinkle in some of your own commentary) One of my favorite lists is located at http://www.

seocompany.ca/tool/seo-tools.html, where they offer over 150 SEO tools. Simply by linking out to their favorite SEO tools they get tons of traffic each and every day. Robin Good of MasterNewMedia is a webmaster who uses lists especially well. One of his most popular resource pages is a list of RSS and blog directories that webmasters can submit to. You can see it at: http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/ . However, not only does he show you over a hundred places where you can submit your blog and RSS feed, he also gives you an overview of each service, some commentary on which of these directories are the most influential, and exactly how to submit to each one. This one page alone has thousands of incoming links to it because it is an invaluable resource. Another popular resource hook is to create a useful online tool that your visitors can download for free. Once they have downloaded your free tool, let them rebrand it and give it away on their own sites. Humor Hook: Have you ever received a joke or some other sort of humor in your inbox? If you are like most people, then you probably have. Jokes, funny stories, and wierd pictures are some of the most viral hooks on the Internet. Within your own web site, you can add your own touch of humor. However, you must make sure that it fits with your personality. People on the internet want to see your true self. Many companies have made their web sites an impersonal void. This is not the way the web works. The Web is an engaging and interactive community of people. When you start giving your web site some personality, people will start taking notice. The ordinary is simply too easy to pass over. Another key to remember when employing linkbaiting is that your article or news story should almost always link out to leading industry web sites or influential bloggers.

There are so many web sites who are afraid to link out to other sites. However, by mentioning other web sites and bloggers, you would be surprised at the number of people who start linking to you. Bloggers are a group of web masters who realize the power of linking to others. Within the blogoshpere, links are spread willingly to those who provide great content. As a result, they all receive more traffic than they would alone. Final Verdict The term linkbaiting itself may sound a little fishy, but it’s not. If you are a good web master, you should always strive for your content to be linkbait. This simply means that your content is of such quality that others simply can’t help but link to it.

Marketing On The Playground (TM) As a business owner there are many things we learn along the way — especially if we’re forging a new path.

When someone suggested that I do separate Brainstorming groups as part of my business I thought, «Why, that’s so easy — who would pay for such a thing? Everyone knows how to brainstorm!» Here is what I have learned in a nutshell. Brainstorming is an art and for some, a learned skill. It needs to be planned, orchestrated, timed, intentional, focused and very specific. Specific meaning, the more targeted the question is for receiving ideas, the better ideas you will receive. Let me give you a few examples of the benefits of brainstorming: 1) Several years ago a friend of mine was struggling in his business. He lived alone, had his office in his home and he became very isolated. I suggested he ask for help, find someone he could bounce ideas off of and possibly partner with for workshops. His reply: «I have to do it alone, otherwise I won’t feel like a true success.» My reply to you, the reader: If you do not allow ideas, teamwork and partnerships to come into your business, you are robbing yourself and your business of the depth, inspiration, creativity and fun you and your business deserve. 2) Sitting at my desk last year I was trying to figure out what I could add to my business — what program would be beneficial for my clients as I was looking through their feedback. One of my Success Team members called at that moment and I told her of my challenge. She said, «You love brainstorming, you use it in your marketing program, why don’t you just do brainstorming groups?» As you read earlier, it seemed too easy and something I thought everyone did as a normal part of their day. My business has now added Women’s «Brain»-Storming On The Playground(TM) and Women’s TELE «Brain»-Storming On The Playground)TM) (conference teams over the phone) Tip: Don’t overlook the obvious, the things we do well everyday.

You have a gift to share and don’t think it’s not worth something. It takes others around you to see the ideas — we are too close to them. Open yourself up to receiving and asking for help. 3) I was invited to speak at my networking group. I took a look at my current table display and realized it was not the most professional it could be. I brought a very focused question to my Success Team for ideas that would fit my programs, fit my colors and make a fun display. The comments I received and the looks on people’s faces told me I (my team) hit the nail on the head.

But the greatest gift of all was my pride in the creation and hearing how much I had grown in my business.

Tip: Receive lots of ideas, rate each one for the right fit and your excitement level, then put them into ACTION. I did not create a rating system for my clients until I found out they were taking their entire page of ideas and leaving them on their desk when they returned to their office. They had too many and were very overwhelmed. Brainstorming is pointless if you do not take ACTION! Walk away with 1 or 2 ideas you love, take action and make it happen! Here are some rules and tips for brainstorming:  No one gets to be wrong and Everyone gets to be right.  No storytelling — brainstorming is meant to be short and quick — like a brain dump.  No kyboshing of ideas — receive your ideas with excitement even if you’ve heard or done them before. Judgment and negativity takes away the energy that’s created with the sharing of ideas and energy leads to more creativity and fun. Pay attention and really focus on the question. If the question is not specific enough ask for clarity. Example on Focus and Listening: As I was leaving my house one morning I asked, «Does my blouse look better tucked in or left out?» The answer I received was «You are wearing very monochromatic colors today.» I restated the question and received the following answer: «It looks better tucked in and you are wearing very monochromatic colors today.

» (quite the comedian)  Whether you are in person or on the phone, sit forward. Relaxed posture promotes a relaxed brain. You want to be sharp!  Listen to the questions and ideas going around your group. It is amazing what you will learn from the questions your teammates ask.  Keep your brainstorming to a short time frame, 10, 15 or 20 minutes per person.  Above all, HAVE FUN! Be silly with your ideas. The silliest has often been the beginning of the BEST. Let brainstorming enhance your business. Bring energy, inspiration and FUN into your day and life. You have no idea the partnerships and creativity that are waiting for you around the «Brain»-Storming corner.

Titus Hoskins Successful websites extend their reach far and wide! They build links, connections, partnerships, or use whatever means they can to extend the reach of their sites. By extending their reach, these websites create greater exposure, bringing in more targeted traffic, leads and sales. You should do the same with your site. It will greatly increase the importance of your site – boosting name recognition and increasing your site’s visibility. Lets look at a real life comparison, ever build a large patio or outdoor deck onto your house and suddenly realize you have not only doubled the floor plan but you have also changed the very nature of the house itself. Or you build a gazebo or a guest house on your property… and suddenly you and your visitors have a different view or opinion of your property. In fact, you have expanded the reach of your property by building these extensions. Think of your website in the same light – by building simple extensions you can change how your site is viewed and judged by others; resulting in many positive benefits. Little things that are so simple to do, yet it can have far reaching implications for your site. You can, in fact, extend the reach of your site to all corners of the globe. Here are some of the best techniques for extending the reach of your site, some of these are very simple, some a little more complex: Article Writing Get one way targeted links placed all over the web by writing simple ‘how to’ articles on the topic or theme of your site. Extend the reach of your site by simply including your live links in the author’s resource box at the end of your articles. Simple and very easy to do – just try it! Viral Desktop Applications You can extend the reach of your site by placing links directly onto the desktops of your visitors by offering them simple desktop applications like wallpaper, software programs, or ecalendars, like the DATEwise desktop eCalendar (see below). These are great for building brand recognition. Old Fashion Link Building Finding related websites and asking for reciprocal links is still one of the best ways to extend your site.

Takes a bit of hard work but it pays off big time. And don’t forget about testimonials, simple little recommendations about a site or product, these can be great link building opportunities. Bookmarks Make sure you have a bookmark link on all your pages. You might also want to make a favicon – small logo that goes with your bookmarks. And subtly ask those who bookmark your site to place a shortcut on their desktops. Ezine or Newsletter You can reach and keep reaching your site’s visitors by building your own opt-in list newsletter or ezine. Broaden the scope of your site by offering diverse information in these publications. Viral eBooks and Reports These can be simple ‘how-to’ ebooks on topics related to your site. Include links to your website and build name recognition as well as tageted traffic. Forum Posting Becoming a regular poster on all the online forums will give your site greater exposure and build site or brand recognition. More importantly, if you offer helpful and well informed information your site will acquire a resident expert – you! Off-line Advertising Placing your site’s logo or URL in off-line places, billboards, t-shirts, caps, but try to resist the latest trend – putting URLs on body parts! Off-line exposure will greatly extend the reach of your site. Burning CDs Burning your best programs or information on CDs, DVDs or disks and distributing these around to all interested parties will create more recognition. Great for reaching non-online computer users. RSS Feeds and Blogs This may prove to be the granddaddy of ways to extend your site. The original name for RSS stood for ‘Rich Site Summary’ – you make a summary of your website and syndicate it to all interested parties. Other webmasters will take your syndicated RSS feeds and place them on their sites.

You create mini satellite sites of your content all over the web! In addition, as your site expands and grows, other opportunities will present themselves… in traditional media such as TV, Radio and Print advertising.

Starting an affiliate program for your site is another option you may want to consider.

An affiliate program can greatly expand the reach of your site. So too, will starting mirror sites in different languages or countries. As you can plainly see, there are countless ways to extend the reach of your site. However, just trying a few of these will boost your site’s creditability and visibility, bringing in more targeted leads and traffic. So it’s your move, don’t just let your site sit there, start implementing some of what you’re just read. The whole world is waiting…