Promote Your Business

Online video and video search is HOT! You have surely seen all the buzz on the internet about sites like youtube, blinkx, etc… With this, bloggers have been writing posts about how to shoot video, how to upload videos to these sites, etc… However, few have provided information on how to get these videos seen and discovered. Here enters Video SEO.

In order to successfully optimize your videos for search engines, it is important that you have some knowledge regarding the various aspects of search as well as the difference in techniques with regard to video.

Keyword research is important for Video search engine optimization. However, there are some key differences in terms of the methods that should be employed for keyword researching video terms. In order to know your target audience for seeing your videos, it is important to first conduct some research on keywords and compile a keyword list. This list can be obtained by doing some simple searches for a related product or service. There are not yet any keyword research tools specifically for video. Keep in mind that video searches at this point tend to be shorter keywords, not “long tail” searches. In addition, more than anything, your keyword list should have the word “video” in it. Examples - car videos, car video, racing video, automotive videos, etc….

Once you are through with this, next step is to look across the top video search platforms having the highest performance in overall views, ratings, and latency. The only way to measure your success is to view count.

As a side note, pay attention to the audience that is already searching for the terms that you identified in your keyword research. Are there closely related terms that you did not include? Take a look at videos that are similar in terms of the keywords that you are targeting and view the comments and feedback from users to find related terms.

Make sure that when you add your video to the video search sites that you allow users to comment on your videos. Videos that enable users to comment tend to get much more traffic. In addition, those users that do comment and provide feedback are more often the users that will result in a conversion.

If your video is popular in the video SERPs, you get the opportunity to submit fresh content. Many websites make a common mistake by providing the same content again and again. Don’t make your video content to simply repeat what’s already out there, instead, finding a fresh “content space” for your target keyword term.

Studies have shown as well that users who watch videos are less interested in watching videos that are more than a few minutes in length. Try to target your videos to be less than 3 minutes in total length. If you have a very long video, perhaps try to create multiple segments or clips from the video targeting videos with 1-3 minutes in duration.

You can even put the actual branding inside the video, such as text or domain name or specific URL as a graphic in the video. Of course, getting users back to your website or business is one great result for doing video SEO in the first place.

So, if you want to get your video discovered, view, and consumed by more and more users, video search engine optimization is the way to go. This is a great new technique for getting maximum exposure to your business, and currently, this is such a new topic, that you can be one of the first to capture your keyword or theme with a video search result.

Getting your products and services from concept to cash you need vendors and fulfillment. Anyone from web programmers, fulfillment houses, graphic designers. Whatever type of vendors you may need to use in your business this article will outline a few tips about how you can lower your fulfillment costs while building quality relationships.

One great way to build your relationship with someone is to send them as many referrals as you can. By sending them recommendations and referrals they will see your relationships as having more value then just someone they do business with. When I do this with the vendors I work with I am now not only benefiting them by giving them business but by also bringing more business to them. This puts me in a much more favorable light then most of their costumers. You want to give them as many benefits as quickly as possible - sending referrals is a very easy method to do so.

Here is another tip that I have also done - joint venture projects with my vendors. This is an example of one jv project I’ve done. Graphic designer are great at what they do and can really change the way people view your products. The graphic designer I was working with and I decided to do a joint venture project together - she would do the design at no cost and I would do the marketing and put together the product. Then we would split any profits.

Just like that I saved myself a ton of money! The costs for a graphic designer were gone and when I was first starting out I used this strategy a lot because I simply didn’t have the money to put down for elements like that.

Some people tell me, “Yeah, but Stu, you’re giving away 50% of the profits. That’s a big chunk of money.” Well, time out for a second. I’m of the viewpoint that it’s better to get your projects completed and making some money versus keeping all of nothing and not getting anything completed.

If I wasn’t willing to work on building that relationship with that vendor, that project would have never been completed. If I didn’t get that project done I would be making no money from it. Instead that project would remain in the pile of possible ideas, bringing in no profit.

You really have to push your creativity when you are on a tight budget. Joint ventures is a creative idea I have used more than once. Web developers is another vendor I have used this strategy with.

Another tip to save money that I have learned over the course of using vendors is to have as much work done ahead of time. By doing this you are cutting down on the time and effort your vendor needs to use on your project. You can even ask your vendor questions, like, how could you decrease they’re effort, reduce your overall costs, etc. Vendors will answer these for you, they want to work with you. Everyone has a budget to work within and vendors will be willing to help you stay within it, they are always interested in your business and will help you meet your goals.

Another idea is to create a template versus a one-off project, so that you can use it over and over again without incurring more costs each time. Let me explain that in a little detail.

Let’s say, for example, you were looking to develop an E-book. Rather than asking the graphic designer to do a specific layout just for that E-book, why don’t you hire the graphic designer to create a template for which you can use for any E-book that you generate?

That is a completely different approach, yet it will save you hundreds - if not thousands - of dollars in the long-run. Yet, it’s pretty much the same amount of effort for the graphic designer. So that’s another creative idea on how you can save a lot of money when working with vendors, and also building relationships with vendors.

In this article, I’ve outlined a few really quick and easy strategies that can help you build stronger relationships with your vendors and fulfillment companies while saving your money. Many more strategies will come to you once you really start thinking about it.

May ideas come to you when you need them most!

You can help boost traffic to your website by marketing with articles. All that this means is submitting articles that you have written to online article reprint directories.

In order to get traffic to your website or blog by means of search engine results, it is absolutely essential that your content be well updated and interesting. Article reprint directories are commonly visited by people who want to add content to their website or blog with an article.

When you submit an article to a directory, you are allowing other website owners and bloggers permission to add your article to their site - for free. However, they need to include an ‘about the author’ box at the end of the article. You get to write what you want included in that box, so include a bit of information about the product or service you offer and include links to your site.

When the website owner or blogger puts your article up on the web, all of their readers will see your biography information and the links to your website. Your article could end up on hundreds or thousands of websites, and quite possibly, millions of people could end up reading it! Who knows how many people could click on your link?

It is very easy to find these reprint directories on the web. Just do a Google search on ‘free reprint article directories’ and many listings will pop up. Some are highly targeted and feature only articles health articles; or only articles about food; and other directories are more general.

You can submit your article to more than one directory, and there are even some software packages that will submit the articles for you.

The topics you can choose to write about are limitless. What is the focus of your website? Be creative and think of why someone would want to visit your website and create an article about it.

For example, a Tupperware salesperson might choose to write articles about food or even about tips on how to use plastic containers to keep toiletries, screws and nails, and toys organized.

One way to attract extra traffic to your website is through having a contest or giveaway. Although it is true that a large portion of the new visitors you receive may just come looking to get something for free, there will create lots of good publicity that is beneficial.

Consider the products and services offered by your website and then use your imagination to create a fun contest that will appeal to the average customer you will be targeting with this promotion.

If your website is devoted to parenting issues, you could hold a contest where entrants describe their funniest parenting mishap or the most embarrassing thing their children said in public, etc.

Contests can also be used in conjunction with the release of a new product. Suppose you had a website for busy women which offers tips on how to manage time better and that you were preparing to present a new product that discusses what to do to make it through the holidays. A possible contest that you could hold is asking for funniest Thanksgiving food disasters or best tip for holiday shopping time-saving.

Contest prizes can be arranged by owners of other websites or can come from your very own products and services. If you choose to go with a different website for prizes, you won’t have to spend any money on them and the other website’s owner will probably be happy to receive some free publicity. If you do this, be sure to mention the name of the provider of the prizes on your website.

For the less creative, simply asking for visitors to submit their personal information and holding a giveaway choosing a random winner from the submissions is still a great idea. You can use the same system for prizes that was outlined in the previous paragraph.

Giveaways can be used to keep customers coming back for more from your business. In a service based business like graphic design, you could allow customers that have paid for your services to fill out a giveaway form each time they do so and offer a monthly prize. This might be added incentive for customers to return in an attempt to win your monthly prizes.

Promotion of any contest or giveaway is the key to success. Inform everyone on your mailing list of the event and advertise it on you site’s home page. Mention it in podcasts as well. You want to spread the word to as many people as possible.

A large number of other sites will allow you to advertise your contest with them as well. Google “contest submission sites” to get a hold of some good possibilities. Press releases can also be well utilized to stimulate interest for your event.

Contests and giveaways can really help you bring traffic to your website. Once you start offering them, you gauge which type your visitors like the best and you will be able to create great results.

If you are looking for a good marketing strategy plan, you may have to give up on the stubborn, ‘I know what I am doing’ attitude. If your plan is not working and you need traffic to your website, it is time to try something else. Many people get caught up in the “traffic courses” that do not have the results they expect. When you need traffic and you need a lot of it, you need the right strategy to get your product or service noticed.

One good way to generate traffic for your website is to give your content exposure. If your content gets exposure and you are then seen as an expert in your field, customers will start to associate you with your product, which in turn will increase your product or service exposure, too. Because of this, it’s important have a good plan for you to get your name out there and in the number one spot on search engine pages.

One way to help ensure that the public is going to want to check out your product or service is to compare with another one. If you can show that your product or service is much better than a competitor’s, you’ll be the one getting the traffic. For example, you can simply do a statement such as, “This product should do this for you.” If your competitor’s product or service doesn’t fulfill customers’ requirements as well as your does, guess which product customers are more likely to buy?

If you’re going to use articles to implement your marketing strategy plan, remember that your articles have to be succinct and to the point. Don’t ramble or brag, and make them easy to understand. Most important, put them out there and make sure that you’re in the public eye. This might mean that you have to submit 20 articles at different sources. If this is true, get busy. In addition, when you write articles, make sure you include resource boxes at the end of each that tell people a little bit about you, along with a link to your website.

Do not expect overnight success from any plan that you choose to get your name recognized. Sometimes it takes a while and you may have to submit hundreds of articles before you get noticed if that is the route you choose. If you think you need a better plan, get some ideas from others. The opinion of the general public is what will either make or break your business.

In addition, several paid plans promise to get your website or expertise into the search engines. Do research on these if you consider one of them and make sure that they’ll provide you what you want. If you use a pay for click service, make sure that you’re not spending more money than you’re making. Some services will ask that you upgrade to a higher service, and this in turn will cost you more money. These services, remember, are trying to make money, just as you are.

If you’re just getting started and are slowly building a clientle up, you may not have the monetary resources to utilize some paid services. For example, paid ads might not be the way to go because they don’t generate enough of a client base to be worth what they charge. In addition, remember that the Internet needs unique content. It’s not going to help you submit the very same article to every search engine you find. Use different material for different sites.

Another thing to remember when you decide on the strategy want to use for your business is exposure. You’ll give your name exposure when you write and submit articles, true, but you also get exposure simply because you have a lot of articles out there. This can literally mean that your site jumps to number one on search engine rankings overnight. This would be great for your business, wouldn’t it?

Today we will look at what copywriting has to offer as a job.

Copywriting has a lot to offer as a job. Copywriting pays more than the average job in the United States. The magazine Advertising Age reported that in 2005 the average salary of a copywriter was around $60,000 in the United States with bonuses included. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a slightly smaller figure of around $57,000, but you can expect that number to have increased over the past two years because of inflation.

Copywriting is far more flexible than many other jobs. Since your main focus is producing good copy, you don’t have to stick to a set hourly schedule like most jobs. This allows you to create your own schedule and live a fuller life, here’s an example: You can work less one day in order to go to Timmy’s ball game and then make it up at another time that doesn’t interfere with life’s more important events. You could not do this as easily in many other jobs.

Copywriting often brings with it a great workplace environment. Many copywriters work within an advertising agency, which can be a great place to work. You often have many other creative people around whose energy you can feed off of. This can be great because you will often be challenged by their intelligence and creativity. There are many different sizes of advertising agencies that can better suit your personality. A smaller advertising agency will produce an intimate group of people to work with, but a larger advertising agency will offer more competition. Clearly there is a great deal of flexibility within your work environment.

Because copywriting can be very challenging it will never get boring. When working for an advertising agency you quite often have many different types of clients, this makes for a variety of work projects. No two days are the same. This way you’ll always have a variety of projects asking for your creative skill and you’ll never get bored.

Vocational Copywriting offers many benefits from whatever angle you examine it. Your income will be substantial with an average wage of about $60,000. If you become a master copywriter, then you can clearly earn more money as well. A copywriter’s work environment is often brimming with creative energy and is far more flexible than most other jobs.

It’s easier than ever to start your own website. Here are some reasons why you should do it.

1. You want to sell something.

It’s rather obvious. If you have something you want to market, is there any reason not to do it online? Everyone else, including your competitors, is either already online or soon will be. If you have an existing marketing system, you can always set up a website complimentary to it.

The exact kind of site you require depends on what you sell, and how. It may be that you need a site with a catalog, so all your products can be listed and people know what’s for sale. It could be that you need a site to list information, manuals, FAQs, or white papers.

Regardless, you can create it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. It’s up to you.

2. You have something to say.

Are you an opinionated person who has something to say? You’re not the only one. There are many people expressing their opinions online, and you can join them.

Regardless of whether your message is a formal declaration of your cause or just fun communications, there’s room for your voice online.

3. You should show people you’re good at what you do.

It may be that you’re an employee, and don’t have a product to sell. Maybe you don’t have an opinionated voice, and want to speak out, either. However, your job is crucial. Do you want to keep your job, get promoted, or get a better job now or in the future?

What better way to prove your worth than to have your own site? You’ll be able to point to months or years of material that you have written. This will demonstrate that you are serious about your field.

Never before has it been simpler or more gratifying to have your own website.