5 Business Blogging Tips To Boost Your Profits In 2012

Would you like to improve your blog so that you will be able to enjoy more income in 2012? Then now is the best time to start thinking about making changes and improvements so that you will be able to get better results.

If you want things to get better then you have to take action to make things better. One of the best ways to get better results is to make sure that you are doing all of the right things and to make sure that you are doing them to the best of your abilities.

Here is a short list of some of the most important things to focus on that can help to improve your blogging results (and profits).

1. Have clear and specific goals for yourself and your blog

Create a project list for each month in advance. Within that monthly project you can then create smaller weekly and daily projects and tasks to be completed.

2. Plan tasks in advance

Plan your tasks in advance, a good habit to form is to plan your monthly tasks a month in advance, your weekly tasks a week in advance, and plan your daily tasks a day in advance.

This will help you develop the habit of foresight and keep you in a pro-active mode instead of a re-active mode.

3. Stay informed

Stay aware of what's happening in your market area. This can be done in several different ways, depending on your specific niche.

You can subscribe to popular blog RSS feeds of other market leads in your market or get alerts from Google by setting up an alert in your email account, based on a specific keyword phrase.

Also entering your niche market keyword into Google's keyword tool to find out which keywords or topics are getting a lot of searches is another way of finding out what's hot in your market.

Use tools like Google Trends and Google Insights to keep up with what people in your target audience are searching for.

4. Keep learning and growing

Look for new and better ways to promote your blog. Are you taking advantage of social media? Are you making use of video or podcasting?

What new marketing strategy could you try each month? Guest blogging, networking with other blog owners, taking a marketing training course, can all be great ways to expand your reach and influence.

Also, how closely are you paying attention to your users feedback, questions and comments? This will often be your best source of fresh input on how you can improve your blog.

5. Measure your results

Review your monetization strategy and do some research to find out what new monetization options are available for you to choose from. It is important not to get stuck in a rut by refusing to move out of your comfort zone.

Look for new ways to increase your income, without increasing your overhead cost. For example could you be getting more money for selling ad space on your blog to local businesses?

Business blogging does take a lot of time, energy and effort. This is way it is so important that you are blogging on something that you are passionate about.

This will allow you to always be positive, optimistic and enthusiastic about what you are doing and that will come across to your readers which will be one of your greatest assets in growing your blog and your income.

By Priya Shah
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6 Internet Marketing Strategies That Work In Today's Market

Internet Marketing for Business Today

We're approaching a new year and it's time to explore internet advertising using various marketing strategies and techniques that work within today's internet to get good results in the search engines.

With working marketing strategies, the resulting advertising can do wonders for you and deliver customers to your business. The problem is, some internet advertising today can be highly competitive and expensive. You may want help implementing a good internet marketing strategy for your company.

The first rule of the internet is Traffic = Customers. That is true for a brick and mortar business or an online company.

Pay Per Click(PPC) is the most likely and easiest to implement for traffic but perhaps not the least desirable. These programs work well but can eat up a large advertising budget quickly. You will need to monitor them closely and set daily, weekly and monthly limits. Failure to do so will find you without a budget and or traffic. If your internet advertising budget can't sustain the costs of pay per click you will find yourself in a state of limbo as far as the internet is concerned like a billboard in the wilderness.

PPC programs do work and they will bring traffic to your site but each visitor will cost you and many will not develop into customers for your business. The challenge is they might not be enough to pay for the PPC programs. There are alternatives, so as you set your budget for next year, consider the following list.

Newsletter Marketing keeps you visible. Most businesses are simply out of sight and out of mind when the customer is not shopping. It is really unfair, especially after you have done such a great job for your customer, but it's a universal truth. Life today moves at the speed of light. If you do nothing to consistently remain in the awareness path, you can be certain your clients will not remember you or your company. The good news is this problem can be easily fixed by a customer newsletter. You are not selling in the newsletter, you are providing useful information and a monthly customer newsletter can also create massive referral actions by your clients.

Social Media Marketing(SMM) is another tool you can use to stay in front of your customers. There are hundreds of channels for SMM. They include Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube and more. Set up properly and linked together with the proper software, SMM channels can keep you in front of your customers and their friends in an ongoing manner with a frequency that you elect. Sometimes daily and other times weekly or monthly. Here you can be a little more forward and let people know you are having a special in a non selling manner. Tweet something like: "Will be busy this week, just received new widgets for summer outings and need to get them on the web" followed by your wesite. That lets people know you are putting new data to your site, some will investigate but use this sparingly. Remember you are in a "social" environment and selling will not get you a good name. Never SELL in the social media environment.

Article Marketing is often overlooked by businesses. Have it done professionally for a reasonable fee and it can create multiple back links (back links create traffic) to your website. Again, no sales in this arena. The best article will create interest in a product you may have or will have. It should be constructed to review without sales and ultimately direct the reader back to your website in a subtle manner much like SMM. The primary key to the article is a keyword focus. Look for words users are using to find the item you are writing about. Make sure these words are keyed to your website and within your article. Unless you are an expert writer, Article Marketing should be outsourced but it can create traffic for months and be recurring for seasonal items every year. Moreover, the back links look good to Google and other search engines giving you a better ranking in organic searches.

Local Search Marketing is also a key to getting traffic. There are several local search directories such as (name some). Most recently is Google Places. It is a good idea to have these set up again by someone who knows what to do and how to avoid spam problems. Addresses need to be coordinated and you will need to have some business reviews to be inserted. IP addresses are cataloged so doing it yourself is not a good idea for this process.

Blog Marketing is much like Article Marketing with a little different twist. You can use some of the same material but be sure you do not copy because Google and other search engines look for duplicate content and will depreciate your site if it finds duplication. A blog can be short or long and need not be restrictive. In other words, you can do a little selling here but should be mostly directed at your website.

Blogs can fall into two general categories. Personal Blogs: a mixture of a personal diary, opinion posts and research links. The other Business Blogs, are a tool for communicating with customers or employees to share knowledge and expertise. A medium sized business could use a mix while a small business (less than 25 employees) would probably do better with a personal blog.

What does Blogging Provide to Small Business?

• Blogging can be a low-cost alternative to having a web presence.
• Updating the weblog is a much quicker process than contacting a web designer with changes or doing the coding and uploading yourself.
• Business blogs provide your small business with a chance to share your expertise and knowledge with a larger audience.
• Blogs can help brand your business as local, convenient, inexpensive and what every you want to process to your audience.

Remember Rule Number 1 is Traffic = Customers. Rule Number 2 is Never forget Rule Number 1. You want good traffic from the search engines, Newsletter Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Article Marketing, Local Search Marketing and Blog Marketing should be the core five ingredients to a successful marketing campaign for the coming year. PPC can be used but should be monitored carefully and should not be your only strategy.

These six will help you have more and better search engine listings and show up better in the search engine results pages creating a better opportunity for traffic and completion of the number 1 rule. The process takes time so start now to prepare for next year.

By Mike Chase
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4 Reasons Why You Need to Join the Empower Network Now!

If you are considering joining the Empowered Network now is the time to do it! This movement is flying faster than the speed of light. The Empowered Network is causing such a ruckus, if you are in the sales industry and not a part of it, you are seriously missing out. Maybe you are the type of person that doesn't care about the buzz or the excitement and just want to know the meat and potatoes explaining why you need to join the Empower Network. The Empowered Network is not simply some get rich quick scam, this is a legitimate opportunity for the average person to make money online. Here are 4 reasons why you need to be a part of this movement.

Product

On the surface what outsiders see is a blog, but what you get is so much greater. What you really get is a fully functioning wordpress blog. You do not have to purchase a domain then buy a wordpress template and then pay monthly hosting fees; this process doesn't even include your SEO marketing that you will most likely have to pay a company or person to do for you. This is a fully functioning blog with plenty of "juice" behind it and all you have to do is sign in and write about what you want to write about. You don't have to know or worry about html or those other blog building terms. This is a simple turn-key system that you can start in minutes. You also get a high converting lead capture page that sells for you.

Leadership

Created by David Wood and David Sharpe; two online marketing dynamos. Through Empower Network you will learn firsthand their tactics for creating an online empire worth millions that you can implement into your business immediately.

Training

There are many systems out there that provide all sorts of training however these systems training tend to be very confusing and highly technical. Empower Network provides simple streamlined training that even your 80 year old grandmother can use. There are a series of short concise videos that are simple and to the point. The training also provides steps so that you know what order you should go in and provide greater guidance for you to succeed.

Compensation

This is actually the best part of Empower Network, and the part that everyone wants to know about.

There are many affiliate programs that may give you a percentage of commission on what you sell; you can sometimes get 30% or even 50% if you are lucky. Empower Network however, doesn't give you a measly 50% on your earnings, Empower Network gives you 100% of what you sell, you read correctly 100% where else can you get 100% of what you sell? Can you think of any industry that gives you 100% commission on what you sell? I addition, to getting all of the money that you put in back, the money will go directly into your bank account of your choice because you are given a merchant account from the largest merchant account company in the United States, this is the same merchant account company that many of the stores that you shop at daily uses. The structure allows you to be profitable quickly at any level.

There you have it 4 reasons why you need to be a part of the Empower Network, this is not simply a system this is a movement. If you are ready to generate unbelievable leads for your business and be a part of something that only happens once in a lifetime, then don't stand on the sidelines, be a person of action and join now!

By Fana T Taylor
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Top 3 Affiliate Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

There are many mistakes to avoid when you first start your Affiliate Marketing business, in this article I will discuss the 3 top mistakes, which in my opinion are the first to avoid if you want to truly achieve success in the affiliate marketing industry.

1. Using the Wrong Tools.

Just like any trade, if you use the wrong tools in your business, your results will suffer, so it is imperative, especially when you first start out that you make use of the proper tools. So in the following paragraphs I will explain a little about the kind of tools you should be using as a professional Internet/Affiliate Marketer. One common thing I see new marketers do is to not take their business seriously in the beginning and start out by "playing" at marketing, they do not want to invest in the proper tools until their business has taken off and they can be sure of success, let me tell you one thing, you HAVE to invest, and project a professional image, in your business immediately or you will face a perpetual struggle.

For example, you need to invest in a real domain name, website hosting and an auto responder. If you try to get by using a free web hosting service you will be leaving a lot of sales on the table. One of the reasons for this is your online credibility. I am sure you would agree that a domain name like - yourwebsite.com - provides a much more professional look and feel than say - yourwebsite.freehost.com - if you had to choose a website to visit when searching for a solution, then I am sure the first URL would be the choice of most people, because it gives you the impression immediately that you would find your answer, or at least find some expert advice or info. Having a generic but market specific domain name is the key here, even better if your domain name contains the specific keywords you are targeting

Auto responders are another absolutely vital tool to have in your arsenal, as you have to have a way of capturing the contact details of visitors to your site, otherwise you are just wasting traffic. Most sales are not made on the first visit. People are coming to you in search of information first, so in order for you to give it to them you have got to capture their name and email address so you can follow up with them, an auto responder makes this process simple. Now the scope of this article does not cover specific tool service providers, but if you would like to know my recommendations for hosting, domain name registration and auto responders then you can find this on my blog.

2. Targeting the Wrong Market.

This is probably the most common mistake made by beginners, and unfortunately it's also the one thing that can kill your business almost before it has begun, even if you are doing everything else right. This mistake usually manifests itself in choosing a target market, which is too broad, and by the way, this is an easy trap to fall into when you look at all the options available. What happens when your market is too broad and how do you know? Well, for start, your conversion rates will be low, you may be driving a lot of traffic, but because it is too broad, your sales aren't where they should be, so you need to look at two things here to address this problem:-

1. Your Product.
2. The Keywords you are using.

There needs to be close match between these two, after all it's not just about targeting the product to the market, so lets have a quick look at some examples of proper and improper marketing: -

• Market too broad.

Lets say you are in the dating and relationship niche (a very lucrative niche it is as well, by the way) one of the biggest mistakes you could make would be to target keywords like "dating advice" or "dating tips" as the basis of driving traffic, because whilst these are relevant terms they simply aren't targeted enough. Why not? You might say, well think about the number of people who might be searching using those particular keywords, the market is absolutely massive, people searching in this particular market have an almost unlimited number of options, so unless you have an unlimited budget to drive a massive amount of traffic to compensate, and you have something very special to offer, most of your efforts will be wasted.

• Proper Targeting

Still in the dating/relationship market then, but now we are going to narrow it down. A good example in this particular market would be to target men who are looking to learn how to attract women. Straight away here you can see you have narrowed your target by excluding women. Now this changes everything, it changes the sites you advertise on and the keywords you use in your PPC Campaigns. Your no longer going after "dating advice" or "dating tips" any more, instead you could target more specific keyword phrases, like

"Attract women" or maybe "date a model", you get the idea, it makes it a whole lot easier to match up your market and product almost perfectly.

Even your auto responder follow-up messages will be easier to compose, because you can now focus on the one subject that you know your audience is most interested in. This makes it quite simple to give them exactly what they want.

3. Driving the Wrong Kind of Traffic.

Another problem encountered by beginners to affiliate marketing is actually knowing HOW to generate targeted traffic in the first place. This results in all too often falling victim to the many scams out there that promise to send you millions of visitors for $99, but don't produce results. Most of these are software systems that will produce a lot of phony hits to your website which makes it look like you have received what you paid for. The best advice to give to anybody who is new to affiliate marketing is to tell them to learn about the following proven methods of traffic generation:

• Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising.
• Article marketing
• Social networking
• Blog posting, forum commenting and groups.

Now again it is outside the scope of this short article to go into detail regarding the above mentioned traffic generation strategies but briefly, in terms of cost, simplicity and time, they can be broken down as follows: -

PPC - Can generate traffic quickly, but can be very costly if you don't know what you are doing. Relatively simple to set up depending on the network you are using

Article marketing - Can generate a lot of targeted traffic but over a relatively long period of time. Great for providing a constant stream. Can be quite time consuming but is FREE traffic.

Social Networking. - Again not a quick strategy, and once started, to have any effect must be maintained, but can generate some fantastically targeted traffic and again it is FREE traffic.

Blog posting, forum commenting - Again this traffic is FREE, but can be time consuming. Great for market research as it is a superb way of interacting with your target market to find out what their problems are. I have used forum posting and commenting in particular in the past, and continue to do so today, to generate new product ideas on a regular basis.

So you see, generating traffic is not just paying for clicks, there is a definite strategy involved and you need to have multiple traffic generating strategies in place, and your strategies need to allow you to target your market head-on.

By J Leuty
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