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| Wednesday, June 25, 2008 |
| Using Facebook Pages to Generate Traffic |
Social networks are an excellent source for traffic and establishing a community around your site. This article describes how to use Facebook pages (which is not the same as Facebook profiles) to promote your product, website, blog, business, etc.
Most of us are aware of Facebook and how it is used to network among friends (similiar to MySpace).There is a feature called Pages, which was created for businesses, celebrities, politicians, and entrepreneurs (like yourself), to build a community around whatever you're promoting.
All you have to do is create a Facebook Page and describe you business, product, etc and add pictures and video. Facebook has thousands of applications that you can add to your page. I suggest that you try to make your page interesting but not too cluttered so that you message gets across. Then get users to become your “fan” or “supporter” and have a discussion board to build on the community atmosphere and page stickyness. And be sure to put good keywords in the title of the page so people will find your page.
Facebook Pages vs. Facebook Profiles vs. Myspace:
- You can have an unlimited number of "fans" or "supporters" (unlike the limited "friends" if you use Profiles)
- You can send emails to all of your contacts at one time (you can't with Profiles)
- My feeling is that Facebook has a slightly more mature crowd with jobs = money to spend
- Pages is completely separate from you Profile (if you already have one on Facebook. Your "fans" or "supporters" can't view your personal Profile.
PERKS
- One of most useful tools is that you can send email updates to all of your fans to market products or services.
- You can utilize Facebook’s PPC advertising for additional traffic
- Delivery of your emails is 100% guaranteed (it won't go to the "junk mail" folder)
- Requires little maintenance
- Page analytics (including gender and age breakdowns)
EXAMPLE
One of the most popular Facebook pages is run by the Barack Obama campaign (over 1 million supporters).
So, as search engine listing and email advertising is getting ultra competitive, it is important to stay ahead of the pack and find new venues to advertise. Facebook is a good place to start and has a lot of potential for growth in the future. Get started now!Labels: advertising, free marketing, media, networking, social
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posted by thinketh @ 9:45 PM   |
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| Tuesday, June 24, 2008 |
| How to Make Money Online As An Affiliate |
An easy way to make money online is to sign-up as an "affilate" for a product or service.
You can think of an affiliate as a "broker". Much like a real estate broker or stockbroker, an affiliate brings buyers and sellers together and gets paid for it. It's like the seller is outsourcing the marketing aspect of his/her business. The seller pays the affiliate to help advertise the product/service and bring in additional customers/sales.
I recommend that you only sign-up if it's a product or service you believe in!!
Understandably, you can't try them all so you may want to focus on 2-3 products and learn as much as you can about them before marketing them to others.
Being an affiliate is much easier than running your own business, which is why so many people are doing it. It normally does NOT require any investment and I don't recommend that you sign-up for any affiliate program that asks you for money, it's most likely a scam.
INCOME POTENTIAL:
You shouldn't expect to become a millionaire by being an affiliate or quit you day job. But, it is an excellent way to generate passive income (make money while you sleep after a long hard day at your day job!). Use it to help pay off bills or save for a vacation!
TIPS:
1. Again, start your affiliate business in something you believe in.!
2. Leverage peer groups.
For example, if you use an online casino and decide to become an affiliate, you can mention it to messageboards, chats that you frequent. Start off by asking friends if they are interested. Another good trick is to put your affiliate link in you sig (signature). Please be aware of spamming rules of that website, some permit it while others do not.
Note: Online casinos are amongst the highest paying affiliate programs. Just remember, Google Adwords does not like people driving traffic using gambling keywords.
3. Leverage mailing lists.
You can use email addresses that you have collected through previous transactions.
For example, many people who sell on eBay save the email addresses then send out an occasional email with a hoplink to an ebook like "Make Money on Ebay". Others choose to buy addresses online, it's cheap. Please give receipents the option to opt-out of receiving any emails from you. Don't spam.
4. Offer a service or incentive to get them to sign-up.
Reusing the online casino example, many people offer a free online poker tool when you sign-up with the casino for which they are an affiliate.
5. Offer free, honest advice about the product or service.
People appreciate honesty. Talk about the product and explain why you are recommending it. It should not be because it has the highest affiliate payout rate! Talk about what makes the product stand out amongst the competition and the value that you see in it.
For example, I try to describe products in detail and sometimes delve into the topic and offer my own suggestions. Hopefully, readers appreciate the time that I spend and learn from it and would be more likely to buy. Even if they don't buy your product, they are much more likely to come back again for the useful information. That why, I (and you) won't feel bad about spending hours at night or on weekends working on developing the business.
6. End Goal: Start your own affiliate program.
This should be a long-term goal because it's relatively hard to establish a successful business and launch your own affiliate program. But, when you do, people will be working for you and bring in business. You give them a cut and keep the rest for yourself (practically free money). Due to the difficulty and time committment, I recommend that you start as an affiliate first.
RESOURCES:
If you are serious about becoming an affiliate, the following are some good roadmaps to point you in the right direction. Don't waste time reinventing the wheel, many people are make money online as affiliates and are willing to share their experiences. You can get lots of free information online but, as most of you know, those successful at online ventures are ultimately entreprenuers and are always looking for a way to make money. There's nothing wrong with that, since you will probably do the same thing once you become experienced enough to teach others. You're smart and motivated, so just do the math. Time = money. Do you want to waste hours, even days searching through websites and messageboards and then trying to organize and correlate all the data so you understand exactly what needs to get done?? At first, I was resistant to spending any money for information. But then I did the math and realized I wasn't saving money, I was wasting it (and time). Usually, for the price of a pizza (I tend to think in terms of meals, I blame my cash-strapped college days) I could get loads of information organized in a step-by-step process.
Remember, successful entreprenuers are risk-takers! Now don't go spending your mortgage money, just think to yourself, "what's the worst that can happen?" and make your own choices on a case-by-case basis.
1. The Rick Jerk:
This guy is pretty interesting approach and is a controversial seller but maybe that's why he has one of the most successful ebooks on making money online in the world. He's been around for awhile (good products will always stand the test of time). Some of the claims may seem a little outrageous but the book is good-quality and easy to read.
2. Ultimate Wealth Package:
Easy to follow step-by-step instructions from this best-selling ebook on affiliate marketing. Great value.
3. Secret Affiliate Weapon:
This is a beginner's guide to affiliate marketing at a good price.Labels: affiliate, drive traffic, extra cash, make money online passive income
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| posted by thinketh @ 8:29 PM |
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