If you are running an online business , it is important to leverage your time. Make sure to turn downtime into productive time. This is key to effective time management.

For more information on how to motivate your business to success visit http://kickinthebutt.com

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“How to Boost Your Traffic and Profits with Content!”

Are you aware of how vitally important and valuable
CONTENT is to your online business? In fact, content
can do more to build your business and profits than
just about any other resource or service available.

Following is a list of 5 key ways that content can help
build your traffic, subscribers, and customers starting
today!…

1. Boost your search engine ranking and daily visitor
count by posting keyword rich articles and content on
your web-site. For example, if your business involves
offering products and services related to fitness,
posting fitness related articles and content will
attract unlimited prospective customers on a regular
basis!

2. Generate double or even triple the number of
newsletter subscribers you do currently, simply by
offering content in the form of “special reports” or
manuals as bonuses for subscribing to your publication.
People love freebies, so give them what they want and
watch as your results increase!

3. Create an automated cashflow by using content to
formulate multi-part email training courses with
related web-site or affiliate links “sprinkled”
throughout each course. Use an autoresponder service to
automate the delivery of your training course (such as
a 5 part training course delivered over a 5 day
period).

Training courses can also serve as excellent bonus
offers for your prospective newsletter subscribers.

4. One of the most important keys to a successful
online business is not JUST having a list of mailing
list or newsletter subscribers… It’s about building a
trusting relationship with your subscribers (ie,
“cultivating” your list)…

By sending informative articles (content) to your list
on a regular basis you will establish yourself as an
expert on your topic of business, as well as gain the
trust of your subscribers over time. As a result, your
subscribers will be EAGER to take advantage of your
“paid” product and service offers. (Just make sure
that you NEVER take advantage of the relationship you
develop with your list by offering products or services
of poor quality just to make a quick buck!)

If there is one “constant” in Internet marketing, it’s
this: A cultivated list of subscribers is as good as
money in the bank. Write that down and never forget
it!

5. Another excellent way to generate no cost traffic is
by submitting ready-made articles to “content hungry”
web-site and newsletter publishers with your “resource
box” attached. A resource box is nothing more than a
little 3-6 line “bio” about you and/or your web-site -
including a link to your site (or even instructions on
how to subscribe to your newsletter)…

When submitting or offering your article(s) for reprint
purposes, just make sure to specify that each article
is to be reprinted “as is” with your resource box
attached.

…Even one article can go a LONG way towards
generating no cost traffic and visitors for you. Just
imagine your article being sent out to a newsletter
subscriber base of 100,000 individuals – many of whom
will be reading YOUR included resource box and clicking
on your URL to learn more about what you have to
offer!

Well there you have it, 5 sure ways to build your
online business exponentially with the help of articles
and content…

With the declining effectiveness of many of the online
advertising methods that we’ve relied on in past years,
content is only strengthening its position as the
ultimate KEY to generating unlimited traffic,
subscribers, and customers!

David

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.
================================================================