Social Networking: 10 Steps to Finding Your Target Market in Facebook
By Donna Gunter (c) 2009 OnlineBizU.com 

Everyone is talking about social networking, and many claim
social networking to be the panacea for all of your
marketing ills. Marketing on social networking sites like
Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter can help you increase the
size of your email list and help you grow your business.
The key to success with this strategy is making sure that
members of your target market are in your network.

Facebook is very strict and very particular about how its
participants contact each other. Facebook limits the number
of new invitations that can be sent in a given day or week.
The exact number is a Facebook secret and unknown to the
public, but if you exceed this secret amount you can get
booted from Facebook. However, I think if you stick with no
more than 10 per day, you will probably stay within their
limits.  Secondly, you are permitted only 5000 friends in
Facebook, so if you're successful in this strategy, you may
ultimately need to create a waiting list of friends.

How do you find your target market in Facebook? Whether
you're an experienced social networker or just a newbie,
here are 10 secrets to growing your target market network
in Facebook:

1.  Update-to-date profile and/or Fan page: Before you
begin a "friending" (i.e. request to become another's
friend), be sure that your profile is up-to-date with an
accurate description of what you do, your interests, and
your contact info, including your web site URLs. If you
have multiple businesses, invite people in your appropriate
target market to become fans of your niche-specific fan
page.

2.  Follow the gurus. Follow leaders in your
field/industry and "friend" them. Anytime you make a
friend request, include a personal note, as that will
increase the likelihood that they will accept your request.
Say something like, "I'm a big fan and have been on your
ezine/blog list for several years. I'd love to have you in
my network in Facebook." Once they have accepted your
invitation, make comments about their status updates to
help you get on their radar and in front of their networks.

3.  Friends of friends. Take a look at the people in the
network of your industry leaders, as they are probably part
of your target market as well, and send friend requests to
those of interest to you. When you friend someone that you
only know by association, send a personal note as well,
like "I discovered your profile in <name here>'s network
and would like to get to know you better by adding you to
my network."

4.  Use groups. Look for groups that may contain your
target market. In your search for groups, use keywords
that describe your niche, your industry, your geographic
area, the interests of your target market, or whatever
other terms you might use to find members of your target
market. Join and begin to participate in the group so that
they begin to get to know you. Then peruse the member
lists for good prospects, sic as the members you've
connected with or have gotten to know. Since you won't be
able to view the profiles of the group members because they
aren't in your network, much of your decision-making about
whom to friend may be based upon appearance or how you
might be connected to them via other friends in your
network.

5.  Check your own lists. Friend people that you already
know from your high school, college, alumni associations,
and places of employment if they fall within your target
market definition.

6.  Facebook-recommended friends. Facebook typically
recommends friends based on your current friends list when
you log into your profile. I've found these recommendations
to be pretty solid. Take them up on their recommendation
and add those folks to your network.

7.  Add by interest or industry. Do a people search by job
title, industry, geographic location, or interest. Those
people with those terms in their profile will show up in
your search, and you can request to add them based on
common interests.

8.  Build the relationship. Once you friend someone, you
need to begin to get to know them and start them on the
like, know and trust journey so that you become their
top-of-mind expert in a particular area. Begin building the
relationship by posting a quick "thank you" note on their
wall, as well as a comment about something on their profile
that interests you or in which you have in common. Watch
for their status updates, as well, and comment on these
when appropriate.

9.  Create a group. Once you've got about 500 followers,
create a group for your target market. Provide the group
with useful content and and ask questions to stimulate
discussion and get the members to return to participate in
the group. You can post articles, links to blog posts, or
videos you have created. Invite group members to any free
virtual or face-to-face events you're hosting.

10.  Integrate into your plan. No marketing strategy works
unless you consistently implement it over time. As a newbie
to Facebook, you might want to spend as much as 60 minutes
per day researching friends and participating in groups.
As your network grows, you many spend only 15 minutes 3
times per week on Facebook. The key to success is to put
this strategy on your calendar and make it a routine part
of your ongoing Internet marketing tasks.

While social networking is an inexpensive marketing tool
and can be effective in helping you grow your business,
maintain your other marketing strategies, as well, and
simply add this strategy to your marketing mix.  A
well-rounded Internet marketing plan that includes social
networking and is implemented consistently will mean that
your prospect well will never run dry.
===========================================================
Online Business Coach Donna Gunter helps baby boomers
create profitable online retirement businesses by
demystifying the steps needed to successfully market a baby
boomer business online. Would you like to learn the
specific Internet marketing strategies that get results?
Discover how to increase your visibility and get found
online by claiming your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online
Marketing Toolkit, at ==> http://www.OnlineBizU.com
===========================================================

ree and Easy Link Building Tips
By Enzo F. Cesario (c) 2009

Okay, you're the proud mama or papa to your brand new website.
Now what? This isn't like the movies - just because you built it
doesn't mean they'll come. The Internet is a huge limitless
space with ever-growing numbers of websites. You are just one
small website among millions. How will anybody ever find you? How
do you become visible? Right now, you just exist out in the web,
untethered. You need to become visible when someone searches for
you and one way to become visible to people is to become visible
to search engines. And one way to become visible to search
engines such as Google, Yahoo, or MSN Bing is for your site to be
tethered, or linked to other sites.

If you've spent any time reading Internet marketing blogs you
know that link building is a huge part of a marketing campaign.
Backlinks - links that point to your website - are a major factor
in determining your popularity or ranking with the search
engines. And of course, just like in high school, you want to be
popular.

You can buy your way into links, but here we're talking about a
few free and easy ways. An obvious and natural way to build links
is through content. When you start a link-building campaign for
your new website, focus on attracting links that will add value
for your website visitors and best represent your most important
keywords too. It is invaluable to have visitors go to your site
and share your content.

Here are a few easy and mostly free ways to build links for your
website.

Blog-Based Link Building

One way to get natural links back to your website is by setting
up a blog for your company. Make sure you network online with
other blogs that complement yours. If you share industry news and
have useful and relevant content, you'll attract links.
Reference other bloggers in your content and link to other blogs
in your industry.

For blogs, content is extremely important. Every time you add
words to your blog or website, you are presenting yourself to a
potentially huge audience. How does your blog's content reflect
your company? This content could be the page that carries your
company's name around the Internet world. Cheap content is just
that - cheap. Create content that people want to read and that
will make them come back again and again.

Reviewing products and services and posting those reviews on
other sites is another way to build links. Your honest
evaluations and smart opinions can also build your reputation as
an expert in your field.

Link Building with Social Media

Another way to build natural links to your website is through
social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and Twitter.
These sites allow you to set up a user profile where you can add
information about you and your company including a link to your
website.

Some sites, Facebook for example, also have a way to promote your
business with a page, ad or group. Just keep in mind that there
are good ways and bad ways to promote your business on social
sites and you should observe proper etiquette when you do.

Link Building with Organizations and Directories

If your industry has professional organizations or associations
that you belong to, check with them and see if they have an
online directory with links to member sites. They may or may not
charge a fee for this. If they do, it shouldn't be much.

Check with your local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business
Bureau. Links from sites like these can be very helpful. Check
with other local businesses and organizations that have lists of
businesses and request links from them, too.

Online directories are another opportunity to look into. Yahoo!
Directory is a good one. If your business is in a specific
geographical area, you might also find some local directories to
submit to that will boost your local visibility.

Links from Charities or Non-profits

If your company makes charitable donations to organizations and
non-profits, see if they have a "donors" list on their website
and ask if they will link to your website.

Links from Press Releases

Has your business just started or have you just launched a new
product? A press release is a great idea to announce your news.
There are quite a few press release distribution services
available and some have a free first time offer.

Links from Partners

If your website offers information about other partner websites
like business directories, you should make sure to use all your
linking potential. You could have a badge that your partner could
put on their site linking to you and one for your site that links
to theirs.

If you have an RSS feed or a widget on your site that has good
value to visitors, those can be taken from your website and
displayed on another person's website, linking back to your
site.

The Internet is constantly evolving and there are thousands of
ways to build links. Look around at other websites and see what
they have and how they work. Look at your business, think outside
the box and you might come up with other ways to develop links.
If it all seems like too much, there are many online consulting
companies that can help with link building, SEO optimization and
brandcasting.
===========================================================
Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat (http://www.Brandsplat.com/),
the only online marketing and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand
your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution
and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple,
highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: Brandsplat.com (http://www.Brandsplat.com/
and www.brandsplatblog.com (http://www.brandsplatblog.com/.
===========================================================

Five Crucial Components of Web Design
By Woody Longacre (c) 2009

Professional website developers know the importance of web
design and the role it plays in making a website successful.

Designing a successful website is no easy task, especially for
someone who is new to the world of web development. With the
help of web development applications many people can and do
create decent websites. But decent in most cases is not good
enough to make a site successful from a traffic or financial
standpoint.

There are five crucial components of web design that you must
focus on in order to make a site valuable to its visitors and
successful for you.

- SEO -
Getting free traffic to your site.

- Usability -
Ease of navigating around the site and finding desired
information quickly.

- Aesthetics -
Visual appeal.

- Content -
Valid, up-to-date, relevant information.

- Graphics -
Eye candy that relays relevant visual information to the
visitor.

SEO

Before you ever lay down a byte of HTML code for a site, you have
to know and understand at least the basics of SEO and how it
fits into the design. SEO is the art of designing a site in a
fashion that gives the site an advantage for obtaining free and
abundant traffic.

The number one aspect of SEO is selecting keywords relevant to
your site. The keywords you select should be based on high
usage, low competition and relevancy to your topic. Once you
select keywords you can then begin the development of your site.
Keep in mind keywords are a critical aspect of the design. The
keywords you choose will be applied within the design in
strategic fashion to benefit the flow of traffic to your site.
To understand more on how to implement SEO you should read and
learn more about this important subject. If you don't, your
website success will be difficult to achieve.

Usability

Your website must be easy to navigate and designed in a way that
makes it easy to find information. Visitors will not stay long
if it takes more than one or two clicks to get the information
they want or if it takes brain power to figure out how to get
the information they want. One of the goals of your site design
is to keep usability easy, and simple. To do this, apply the
following three fundamentals of usability.

* Provide a site search tool.

A visitor in a hurry can quickly find the info they desire then
move on to the action they desire.

* Provide simple, intuitive and consistent site navigation.

This provides visitors the tool they need to leisurely explore
their way through your site.

* Provide logical and simple to follow content.

The message of a site should start off in a simple and basic
fashion with well defined links pointing the way to more
detailed information or explanation as needed.

In the cases above, the goal is to make it easy for your visitor
to find the information they want without frustration or
difficulty. Doing this well will have a positive effect on
increasing the return of your visitors.

Aesthetics

A website has to look clean, uncomplicated and strike a balance
in layout that is pleasant to the visitor. Pleasing aesthetics
come about when the colors of a site complement each other, the
graphics blend and lend continuation of the theme and the layout
brings unity and openness to the page.

Often overlooked by novice designers is the color palette of the
site. While you can select color in a willy-nilly fashion and
still provide a visually appealing site, a better idea for color
selection should be based on an understanding of the color wheel
and proven color strategies.

Many web designers often view a web page as an opportunity to
blast a visitor with lots of information in hopes this will
convince the visitor to take action. Usually this results in a
quick exit due to the overwhelming visual effect and complicated
look. A better approach is to provide less content and open
space (referred to as white space) to allow visitors eyes to
scan and explore with ease.

Content

An important feature of any website is the quality of the text
content. Visitors come to a site expecting to find answers to
their questions, solutions to their problems or for
entertainment value. The content offered at your site must be
well-written and without grammatical or spelling errors. It also
has to be relevant to the theme of your site, with valid, up-to-
date information for your visitors. Content is King!

Graphics

You can have a functional and usable website without graphic
elements. However, if there are similar sites to yours that
employ graphics, guess which site will get the most traffic. The
necessary companions to any well-designed site are the images
and illustrations that grace its pages. The images can't be any
willy-nilly graphic that you might think is cool. Graphic
imagery has to support your branding, and communicate the
message you are trying to convey. Before you incorporate graphic
elements into your site, take some time to look around the web.
Notice what looks good and how elements are laid out. These same
layouts techniques can be used as models for your site.

The Internet is a highly competitive business arena. To be
successful with a commercial website, you have to keep these
five crucial web design elements in mind. Contrary to what many
will tell you, it is rarely possible to have commercial success
without the benefit of a professional website. This is not to
say that you must hire a professional, however you must
implement professional design elements to improve your chances
for success.
================================================================
Woody Longacre, Internet Web Design
(http://www.webhostinggoods.com/Web_Design.html). We invite you
to visit the Web Hosting Goods Store (http://www.webhostinggoods.com/)
for Web Design Services, Web Hosting, and Domain Registration.
================================================================

New Search Engines - Can Anyone Beat Google?
By Titus Hoskins (c) 2009

Can any new search engine beat Google, probably not, mainly
because Google isn't going anywhere but up. It is the dominant
search engine with around 72 percent of U.S. online searches and
its percentages are much higher in other parts of the world.
(Source: Hitwise) However, there are some serious new
competitors that may just take a bite out of Google's rosy
search numbers. Never know, one or several of them, may just
give Google a run for those all important search engine dollars.

Recently, there has been a whole army of new search engines
debuting on the web. If you're a full-time online marketer like
me, you really have to keep your eyes open to what is happening
on the web, especially relating to search engines which deliver
most of your quality traffic. Also keep in mind, this piece may
be fairly biased since Google is directly or indirectly
responsible for around 80% of my online revenue, so any opinions
may be slanted in Google's favor, not that they need any favors
from me or anyone.

But as an online marketer you have to try to remain objective
and examine all angles in regards to these new search engines.
Despite this, in marketing and webmaster circles, everyone will
know even if you have the number one ranking for a certain
keyword in all three major engines Google, Yahoo! and MSN -
Google supplies the most traffic, hands down.

Despite its obvious dominance, Google is still basically the new
kid on the block. We have to remember, there have been many
search engines before Google and there will be many more search
engines after Google. Every entity has its day and then hands
the torch along to whatever comes next. It's one of those subtle
facts of life we all learn eventually.

Everybody has their day - empires, countries, leaders,
companies... or even search engines. Are Google's days as top
dog really numbered? Probably not in the immediate future, but
there are some new kids on the block that could definitely kick
some sand in the face of Google and stir things up, we might
even see a few serious squabbles here and there.

In a recent article on CNN, by John D. Sutter, entitled "New
Search Engines Aspire To Supplement Google" the author examines
some recent new search engines. The author discusses: Twine,
Hakia, Searchme, Cuil, Kosmix, Wolfram Alpha, Topsy, TweetMeme
and OneRiot. Each of these are different, making your web search
more personal, more visual, or connecting your search to new
social networks like FaceBook and Twitter.

Some experts say Wolfram Alpha is the most likely candidate to
give Google some serious competition because Wolfram can do
something Google can't; it can create information rather than
just reading/presenting content already on the web. Will it
present a solid threat to Google's dominance?

Perhaps, a more fitting sparring partner will come from an old
rival with very deep, deep pockets. We are talking about the new
search engine from Microsoft called Bing, which is very similar
to Google in many ways, yet different. Bing's results are very
similar to Google in a lot of ways, yet Bing serves up the
results in a very pleasing arrangement, with a nice preview
button for each listing and giving you related searches and your
search history on the left hand side. Only time will tell if
everyone would rather be binging instead of googling. To Bing or
not to Bing, that is the question? There's a very informative
article on Bing by Farhad Manjoo on Slate entitled: "Beware
Google: Microsoft's New Search Engine Isn't Half-bad." Just Bing
or Google to find it!

I personally like this search engine much better than MSN mainly
because the home page of Bing is very appealing and only has the
search box on it so you're not distracted with other news
listings like on MSN and Yahoo! One of the main reasons for
Google's success, besides the superior search results, has been
its simplicity. Keep it simple and you may just be able to
compete.

Then again, this is a bit of a biased judgment, since many of my
own keywords and sites rank high in Bing; some even higher than
they are listed in Google. I routinely monitor countless keyword
phrases in all the search engines and lately Google has been
favoring big Brand Name listings on their first page results. We
are also seeing more Product Listings (Old Froogle), more video
and more news listings... competition for Google's first page
has become multi-layered and extremely competitive. What's a
poor small online marketer to do when Google goes corporate?

Actually, Bing is not my favorite search engine of the new ones
forcing their way into the spotlight.

For me, the one that shows the most promise and may give Google
some competition is Searchme, which is a visual search (much
like the iTunes interface) where you can shuffle through
screenshots of webpages instead of a list of links. Searchme,
which touts itself as the first multimedia search engine, has
been around for a few years but is not widely known to web
users. Performing a search on Searchme with a 24 inch monitor
and 64-bit Windows is a hundred times more enjoyable than using
Google Search or Bing for that matter. It is a hundred times
faster than Google mainly because you can generally find your
information without clicking through to the sites displayed.

Searchme is truly an eye opener but can it give Google some
serious competition. The jury is still out, but I believe over
time as web users upgrade their computers, operating systems,
and their graphics... Searchme will be more accessible to more
web users. Never know, with the right backing and marketing, any
of these search engines, especially Searchme and Bing could
blossom into a formidable opponent even for the mighty Google.

Here's why: Human Nature!

Whether we admit it or not, most of us (Humans) are lazy, we
want the fastest and easiest route to solving any question or
problem. Searchme gives us the answer much quicker than Google
and in a much nicer way. Mainly because we are also visual
creatures, given the choice between receiving pages of text and
viewing images of sites/answers, most of us will take the visual
route - we will choose TV over radio, music videos over
records... video enhanced content over just plain static HTML.
As the web turns into more of an interactive multimedia
operation; visual search will always win out over text search
any day of the year.

Most humans also have a need for speed. In our fast paced life
styles, we all want a speedy solution to our problems. Search is
no different, we want quick answers now, we want instant
solutions and immediate gratification. Nature of the beast. If
Searchme, Bing or any of the other search engines becomes faster
than Google at giving the right answer, then it's a whole new
ballgame.

Google must obviously know there are challenges to its search
engine dominance. Otherwise, why would they be offering many new
features in their SERPs; we are seeing more images and videos.
Plus, Google has just introduced the "show options" link at the
top of their SERPs, which presents their search results in many
different ways. They even have introduced the "Wonder Wheel" as
another viewing option, which gives a whole new way of using
Google's search results.

Google's Achilles' Heel may just be the thing that gives it all
its revenue: text ads. There may be a backlash on all those
Google ads littered across the web, especially among the younger
computer savvy crowd using such sites like the Google owned
YouTube, where Google has nearly obliterated the videos with its
ads. Everyone dislikes advertising, no matter what form it takes.

However, any news of Google's demise will be greatly
exaggerated, because Google, like any smart company with tons of
resources, has kept morphing and changing with the times,
quickly adapting to new features as our usage of the web keeps
changing. Google has perfected the art of staying one step ahead
of the competition. This is one champion that won't go down
without a fight to the finish. Top dogs rarely do.

If they ever present a serious challenge to Google, Searchme,
Bing or any of the above search engines, will have a formidable
opponent in the opposing corner, one that has gained almost
insurmountable prestige and brand recognition around the world.
Any major battle will instantly have a "David vs Goliath"
scenario attached to it. And we all know how that one played out!
================================================================
The author is a full-time online marketer who has numerous niche
sites. These 10 SEO Tactics Bring Me Over 2000 Visitors Daily:
SEO Tips (http://www.bizwaremagic.com/seo_tips.htm). To learn
more Internet Marketing Tactics try: Marketing Tools
(http://www.marketingtoolguide.com).
Copyright � 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely
distributed if this resource box stays attached.
================================================================

Free Traffic and the 4 Vital Elements of a Successful Website
By Brye Bishop (c) 2009

Let's face it, anyone can build a website. There are countless
companies out there offering a vast array of web building
solutions, some good, some great, and some quite frankly are a
complete waste of time! But throwing together a website is
really only part of the story, only part of the process. There
are literally, hundreds of thousands of web pages, that will
never be viewed and therefore stand no chance of commercial
success. Some of those sites are relatively good; unfortunately
their owners have misunderstood the process and have the cart
before the horse...

In the online world nobody just happens by your website, credit
card in hand! If you've yet to build your website, or about to
create a new site, stop! consider first exactly what you wish to
achieve with that site, before you start. "Creating a website
should follow a process proven to deliver a commercial end
result... or run the risk of ending up, just another pretty
picture in cyberspace!"

Fortunately there is a process, and I highly recommend you take
a look at it... perhaps you already know it...

Content > Traffic > Pre-sell > Monetize

A time tested, 4 step process, proven to produce websites that
deliver... commercially! Ok so, let's now look briefly at each
step and why they work in this particular order.

1. Numoro Uno, as always. Content. Very, very important. Building
information-rich sites is crucial. You must have high quality,
unique, relevant content on your site, A; because you want to
attract visitors in the first place and B; to generate long
term, search engine based free traffic.

Online, people are looking for solutions, for information that
leads to solutions. They use the search engines to hunt for the
most relevant facts to reach this end goal solution. Your job is
therefore easy... give it to them... but don't just plonk down
any old garbage and hope for the best... take your time, put in
the effort, provide good quality information that will
over-deliver and keep your visitor interested, satisfy her need
and you will be rewarded. Over time, gradually add new fresh,
useful content and you will be creating web pages valued by
humans and search engines alike. On the internet, high value
content is king!

2. Traffic... Ahh! The Holy Grail... Much has been written on
the subject, and many are making a good living providing (?)
this elusive element.

Truth is, (excluding social media) there are but two ways to get
it - you either pay for it, or you optimize for it. If you take
the time to understand the basics, you can easily do both.

Paid search, (PPC) such as Google Adwords has its place, and can
provide an immediate stream of targeted visitors to your
website; however it is a study of its own and can, if not
understood, be very costly very quickly! If you want to go that
route learn with small amounts (of money) and don't be tempted
to throw good after bad... owch! been there!

Safer and arguably better, is optimization (SEO) for the organic
results, as reached via a Google or other search engine search.
This is simply intelligent website construction, a process anyone
can do. The important point is, the optimization should be built
in during the creative process, at the time you're constructing
the site; you are literally building your website to principles
that make it search engine friendly, thus leading to high natural
positions in organic search results, leading to of course,
significant free traffic flow to your site...

3. Don't sell... Pre-sell. You have created a website with value
rich content, and fully optimized its pages for indexing by
Google (and other search engines)... Folks are arriving at your
site as directed by their search results. You are keen to have
them buy your goods or services, ready with your pitch... but
wait! There's another vital step in the process of converting
your visitors into customers, and you've done half the work
already...

Pre-selling is a warming up process, whereby you develop trust
and confidence in your offer... it's already well known that
people are more willing to buy from those they like, trust or
respect. By over-delivering relevant high value information,
without appearing to be forcing a sale you will almost by
default, create an atmosphere that inevitably leads to sales.
Simple!

As far as your visitor is concerned, her needs are being met,
his wishes are being fulfilled, you are providing the very
information that is the solution to that which they are
searching for in the first place. Pre-selling creates an
open-to-buy mindset that smoothly introduces your visitors to
your monetization offer.

4. Monetize. Ok thanks for sticking with me, here's the home
run... This is where you make your offer enticing by introducing
and highlighting the many benefits of your product or service,
and detailing exactly how it offers the solution to their
predicament. You have paved the way with informative, relevant
content and can now look to close with persuasive sales copy,

Your call to action should be strong and concise. Tell your
prospect exactly what they need to do to order. If you have a
good product, and you should, let them know exactly how they
will benefit by ordering from you... Today!

So there it is... in brief... A formula simple, yet highly
effective. Generate targeted free traffic via your highly
optimized website, provide information packed content that
offers solutions, warm up or pre-sell your visitors by
over-delivering on the quality of that content, then and only
then, monetize by introducing persuasive, benefit focused sales
copy to convert pre-sold visitors into enthusiastic customers.
For full details on how to implement each of these steps (with
no technical knowledge whatsoever!) grab yourself a free 48 page
e-copy of The Simple Art of e-Persuasion at the info link
below... or visit my site.
================================================================
Brye Bishop is a highly successful internet entrepreneur and
marketer, committed to providing quality source information and
assisting others in their quest for financial freedom.
http://www.Clickfig.com ...Get your free copy of The Simple Art
of e-Persuasion now, simply email "eBook offer" to
info@clickfig.com
================================================================