When you are launching your online business, trying to figure out the in's and out's of internet marketing and deciding which of the overwhelming strategies and tactics to put in place first, social networks tend not to be in your top 3 (and probably not even top 5) list of focus items.
Filed under Entrepreneurship, internet marketing, online business, social networking, web2.0 by 
It was bound to happen… the search engine attention payed to content has always been a target of manipulation so when you see the misuse of Web1.0, Web2.0 and beyond sites being overtaken by those who neglect the powerful social aspect to these platforms, we shouldn't be surprised.
Filed under Entrepreneurship, internet marketing, online business, web2.0 by
Hi folks…there's a ton of relationship building, insider's information and marketing going on over at Twitter these days, and if you are not involved, you are missing out.
Twitter is a real-time social network tool that allows you to follow and get involved in near real-time conversations with your marketplace.
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So we're supposed to be in the era of content generation – where your best shot at getting mass traffic to your site is to generate valuable and useful relevant content targeted at your niche market.
Filed under Entrepreneurship, article marketing, blogging, internet marketing, list building, making videos, online business, social networking, web2.0 by
No doubt, there is an uncomfortable silence that pervades the blogging world about "IF" and "How Much" bloggers should sell through their blog.
Some try posting small content or image ads on the navigation panels, others try and place the odd link right in with their blog postings while still others look at their blogs as a mere product announcement tool where every post is an explicit message of "Buy This!"
So what works?
How much selling should you do from your blog.
SELLING IN A WEB2.0 WORLD
As someone who has always been fascinated by consumer behavior (actually just behavior in general), the Web2.0 world of communication, community, networking and word-of-mouth marketing clearly brings a rather old concept to the digital world.
In the past, there were two ways someone would hear about my products – one was broadcast such as advertising, joint ventures and viral marketing…OR – through word-of-mouth from someone they trust (a friend, family, someone in their peer group, etc…)
These two methods have always existed, and word-of-mouth has always been a very powerful method of building sales and brand for any marketer.
Now that we have formalized the word-of-mouth approach to marketing into the digital world (beyond the early forums and bbs's which started the trend), we must place more emphasis on communicating and networking than we would have paid int he past.
SELLING…WELL, E'R, NOT QUITE
It goes without saying that blogging – which is inextricably linked to the Web2.0 world through it's use of comments, it's method of RSS (a pull-based information model versus a push such as broadcast email) and it's link with other Web2.0 infrastructures such as plugins for Wordpress that allow users to quickly rate and comment on your blog using Web2.0 sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Myspace, etc…- must take into account the reality of communicating WITH your marketplace rather than AT them.
In other words, don't "sell" in the traditional sense in every blog post.
But…that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a point to each blog posting that may eventually lead to a sale (In fact in a Web2.0 world these methods are more LIKELY to result in sales that overt sales messages)
For instance, start by always have a purpose for your blog posting that…
1. Is helpful for your readers – sounds simple, but is a good guide to keep frequent posters on the right track…
2. Links back to something for more information – could be a free minicourse, report or article I have or it could be a product that I promote or it could be a partner website that does a good job of offering more detailed information
By focusing on high value with soft-references back to opt-in lists or sales sites, you can actually become PART of the discussion and communication around a topic rather than looking to LEAD your reader…Web2.0 readers do not want to be "led" (at least not explicitly led), rather they want to be part of a discussion where they want to know about things, have a chance to express their opinions and come up with their own decisions.
By understanding the profile of typical readers who come to your blog looking for a place to be informed, but also express their opinions – you can indirectly sell through your blog and be much more successfully than overt selling.
What about you…what are you looking for when you read your favorite blogs?
Do you like to be "sold" to? What are your thoughts on placing sales links or ads on blogs?
Jeff
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If there was ever any doubt in our minds that Web 2.0 is making a massive impact on how information is communicated and found, we have yet more evidence that Web 2.0 communication will continue to grow in influence.
Business Week reports that a new startup called StrategyEye has developed a search tool and business oriented presentation layer to help large companies locate information on what is happening in their markets and industries.
"A Web2.0 Dashboard for Buzz" tells the story of a startup that not only sees the timing as right to begin to offer a parallel search function to Google, but also talks about some very big customer wins and early revenues that look very promising, more than proving the idea is worthy of further investment.
What does this mean for the small internet business person like you or I?
1. Web2.0 is looking more and more like a real channel for legitimate information on our target markets and industries. That means we should pay attention to what is happening on Web2.0 sites that are relevant for our marketplace which may include LinkedIn, Facebook, Myspace, Reddit, Digg, Delicious, StumbleUpon and many others.
For e-book publishers and infoproduct publishers such as ourselves we can tap into a "vibe" or a "buzz" about our industry using Web2.0 that gives us insight into new demand for products and information – unlike anything before. I
Indeed, in our 6-Week InfoProduct Profits System we outline our specific experiences, findings and techniques on Web2.0 – a shortcut for those who want to save themselves months of work learning the in's and out's of these sites.
2. We need to learn the basics of how to use Web2.0 sites, which sites are relevant to our marketplace – attempt to identify an early 3-4 that are highly relevant to your marketplace and topic and begin with those. Understand the culture of the site and how you can network and exchange information with key individuals on these sites.
3. Be confident that Web2.0 will impact every area of your business including the incubation and idea phase through to delivering your final message, branding and word-of-mouth marketing.
If nothing else, the fact that giant companies such as AOL and Disney are buying tools to help pull information out of Web2.0 sites should convince us that some of the biggest corporations in America believe that useful information exists within these sites that they simply cannot ignore.
No doubt such moves in the marketplace will spur Google to increasingly build search capabilities and toolsets for you and I to use to make it easier find things within Web2.0 sites and that…my friend should spark the 1000W light bulb in your head – if you can learn how to use these systems and become entrenched now, as search tools become better more and more people will find you in the coming months.
Jeff
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