Wednesday

How Addicted To Facebook & Twitter Are You Really? {Infographic}



Some interesting (and possibly scary) stats from ReuseThisBag.com, and uses figures from a recent study to explore how addictive Twitter and Facebook really are.:


  • Of the 800+ million Facebook users, 31 percent of them check in more than once a day.
  • Half of Twitter’s 100 million users log in at least once a day, and 20 percent log in more than once per day 
  • 50 percent of social media users say they check in to their favorite networks first thing in the morning
  • 16 percent say they get their daily news from social networks.

++ Click to Enlarge Image ++
Twitter and Facebook Addiction
Source: ReuseThisBag.com

Tuesday

3 Proven Methods Increase Email Open Rates



Today is the first of a series of How-To videos on how to create an effective email marketing campaign. Email Marketing is one of the best ways to make money online. You know why? Because for every dollar spent on email marketing, (based on the Direct Marketing Association 2011) email marketing returns $40.56! Most marketers get it wrong, and wind up frustrated. However, before we get to the video of how to send your first email newsletter, here are three things you should do to make sure your email newsletters get read, opened and not sent to the spam folder.

1. Targeting your email subscribers--- Keep track of what they purchase from you by creating a simple excel spreadsheet. There are two email clients I am testing out right now, Send Stream and Aweber. They both have advantages and disadvantages, Send Stream seems to support behavioral data more than Aweber. However, Aweber has a $1 trial you can sign up for 30 days, just to give them a shot. While Send Stream has a 30 day free trial and also allows you to incorporate video email marketing into their templates.

2. Automate Your Campaigns---Email campaign automation saves time and creates more sales. Both these email clients allow you to automate your campaigns. Basically, you can schedule your campaigns to run freeing you up to do other business related things. Research shows that the best time to send a newsletter or email marketing campaign is 6AM. Your open rate will shoot up to 40% or more if you schedule it at this time. Automation enables you to drive more familiarity and relevance. People pay attention to attention to things that are familiar. After you've earned your subscriber's initial attention, the relevance of your message is going to determine whether or not you hold your subscriber's attention and generate positive engagement.


3. Monitor the look of your HTML emails inside the inbox of email programs.----The way in which your subscriber's webmail, desktop and mobile email clients render HTML will determine how your HTML emails look inside the inbox. I send test emails to my own email client each week just so I know what they look like, and what challenges my readers/subscribers may have before they receive them. This gives me an opportunity to fine tune information as well as double check spelling and punctuation. You never want to look unprofessional to your subscriber, so make sure you stay on top of your game by paying attention to details. It's the little things that can kill your campaign and affect your earning potential.


Take a look at the following video, "Send Your First Email Newsletter Today." Remember, when you learn how to do it right, then the money comes easily.




Send Your First Email Newsletter Today - AWeber Communications

Monday

10 Steps To Creating A Functional Website




Step by step directions to setting up a high converting website. From domain selection, to choosing a host, to explaining what HTML is. This free report will lead you down the path of setting up a website that works for you, and not the other way around. Don't make the mistakes you've made in the past, this time do it the right way and watch the traffic pour in. Download this document, embed it or share it, whatever you do, if you can't use it, then share it with someone who can. 10 Steps to Creating a Functional Website.

Ten Steps to Creating a Functional Website

Sunday

LinkedIn Power User Secrets



Leading The Pack and grow your LinkedIn database. LinkedIn Power User Secrets is just the report you need to increase your influence on LinkedIn. LinkedIn has 80 million users as of this date, and you find jobs, employees and transform your time into measurable business results. Find out the one key step that can waste time or increase your potential. Define your success plan and understand how to create dynamic content all with the LinkedIn Power User Secrets free whitepaper. Check it out below.

LinkedIn Power User Secrets

Saturday

When A Facebook Friend Dies




A friend died yesterday. Because I had never met him in real life, I only found out this morning about his death. The internet, Facebook specifically, introduced us. We had been friends since 2012, so that means, he wished me Happy Birthday twice, Merry Christmas twice and we conversed on some pretty hot topics during that time.

My problem is not that he died and we can't engage in stimulating topics any longer. No my problem is how do you mourn the loss of a Facebook friend? There are those that think this is a strange thing, that people online are not really your friends. I must disagree. Facebook has done such a good job of allowing us to share our lives, our photos, accomplishments and general life stuff, that you feel like you've known some of your Facebook friends all your life.

So, to lose a Facebook friend to a real life eventuality like death, creates a feeling of loss and sorrow. I never met you Facebook friend, but I feel like I have.

Well, my Facebook friend is gone on, made his transition. This particular transition is the final stop for us all. Oddly, we are only reminded of this inevitable event when we have a shared experience with the person who died.

For instance, many of us had never met Whitney Houston, but since her death on February 11, 2012, there have been hundreds, if not thousands of posts celebrating her life as if she were family.

That's what social networks like Facebook do--they close the gap of unfamiliarity, introducing us to people we don't know, people who we just might like if we were given the chance to meet them. These are people who enjoy the things you do and say as much as you do. These Facebook friends sometimes offer words of encouragement, prayers and even smart remarks to crazy things you may say. Just like a real family would. So it's not wonder you mourn when a Facebook friend dies --just like you would if you had really met them. But wait, you do know them, Facebook just introduced you.

Monday

Clint Eastwood Chrysler Ad Weathers Marketing Bonanza



Here is the Chrysler ad that went viral all because some politicians thought it supported President Obama's policies. Chrysler on the other hand, were trying to promote and correlate the struggles their company has endured in the last few years and how it has impacted the City of Detroit. However, with all the backlash, Chrysler has benefitted from the negative publicity of the ad. Out of the 55 Super bowl ads run that day, the Chrysler ad is one of the top five (source USAToday/facebook admeter)

Sometimes a promotional blizzard just falls on a company. As in the case of the Chrysler ad. Republicans cried foul when they saw it, claiming the ad was a propaganda piece for the President's economic policies, while marketers looked at it as a shrewd piece of promotion. Able to tie together the struggling City of Detroit with Chrysler. With all the backlash, Chrysler fell into a marketing early Christmas gift. Youtube removed the video, Clint Eastwood (who starred in the ad) made a public statement the next day proclaiming political innocence. Saying he wasn't referencing any political policy for Democrats nor Republicans, he was just doing a commercial and getting paid for it. Eastwood was quoted as saying ""l am certainly not politically affiliated with Mr. Obama. It was meant to be a message about job growth and the spirit of America," Eastwood, a libertarian and longtime Republican voter, said Monday evening on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor" about the ad, which features him extolling the virtues of a revitalized Detroit. Chrysler was one of the companies saved in President Obama's 2009 auto bailout, which Eastwood has publicly opposed. "I think all politicians will agree with it," he continued. "I thought the spirit was OK."

All over a commercial? Come on people! When did we get so touchy? Here is the ad, YouTube has disabled the embed tool, as over 635,000 have watched the ad. Why is that YouTube?


Saturday

Top 6 Mashable Comments This Week

Thanks for sharing this @_SEM!

@_SEM: Top 6 Mashable Comments This Week: Another week, another round-up of top comments on Mashable! I... http://t.co/2kusAfVK (via @_sem ) Shared via TweetCaster

Stone Age Tool? Social Media Use in Education [INFOGRAPHIC]



It may seem stone aged for the most savvy of users of social media, however, higher education is slow to adapt to the usefulness of social media use in education. There are but a handful of of universities that successfully integrate the use of blogging, and other social media into the daily lives of students and educators. With help from iPads, iPhones and other mobile devices, students can now access class assignments on the go. No longer having to sit in a stodgy lecture hall (doesn't that seem stone aged?), students can communicate 24 hours a day with classmates and faculty. Of course there are pros and cons to social media usage in education, here are a few pros:

1. It's a great educational tool. The learning experience can be enhanced by engaging discussions through the use of social media. Imagine a whitepaper being created based upon engaging, rich academic discussions on ethical business practices of small business owners. Student interaction may even increase with the use of social media marketing in higher education classrooms.

2. The main reason students go to college is to prepare themselves for better jobs. Using social media in education is a great connector for that. Allowing students to use tools like LinkedIn as a classroom assignment is a phenomenal concept. LinkedIn, being the 'professional' social network, is a breeding ground for employment offers. This social media tool used appropriately in education will give students a professional web presence, a format for posting resumes, and students can research a company or brand easier on this social media site.


Of course, there are cons to every pro, so here are a couple of them that come to mind.


Cons:

1. We all know how social media can be a distraction. Just think of how many hours a day you spend checking Twitter, Facebook and other social media outlets. Educators are concerned that by implementing any kind of social media use in the classroom will interrupt the natural flow of learning. The fear is, students will spend more time sending status updates to friends than doing schoolwork.

2. Then of course, there are the naysayers who believe greater integration of social networking will discourage one-on-one communication between society. That is a possibility, because some of us are guilty of living in the same household with our spouses and end up communicating via text messages, or Facebook. However, that is an extreme example.


To justify my position for greater use of social media in education, take a look at the following Infographic from Online Universities. They took the time to review and evaluate the pros and cons of social media in education. You can determine whether social media use in education is a stone age tool, or a stepping stone into the future of educational enhancement.



Surviving the College Dining Hall
Via: Online Universities Blog

Thursday

Know Why No One Retweets You?

Do You follow the 20% Rule on Twitter?

Do you? The 20% rule that says your tweets on Twitter shouldn’t have links back to your own content less than 20% of the time. That’s an interesting concept. One that most who complain about not having their content retweeted might want to sit up and notice.

Most of the time, I find content that I like to share with my followers that can enhance their lives either personally or professionally. My passion is marketing, so I’m always reading articles from companies that offer an interesting twist or insight on mobile marketing or social media marketing. If I find something relevant,I’ll post it.

But,many people are just ‘shouting’on Twitter. Shouting their affiliate links like they are throwing something against the wall hoping it sticks. Yeah,it probably works sometimes,because there is always that percentage of impulsive shoppers,who if you catch at the right time on the right day,they will make a purchase without thinking.

But,the key is,if you post it on Twitter and they make an impulsive buying decision,will they turn into repeat buyers. Or more importantly,will they share your link so you can earn more business?

Probably not.

Most of my business associates refuse to use Twitter because they have yet to find the value in it. They don’t understand that you can use Twitter Search (www.twitter.com/search) to target your audience and speak to them personally.

Similar to searching on Google,you can use the modifier ‘-‘and place that in front of ‘http’—which means you want to find tweets that do not contain links. It would look like this: -http; then add the keyword you want to target,if it is a location,place the keyword ‘St Louis’ or ‘STL’;then to further refine your search,add the word ‘nearby.’

This is how your search string would appear:

-http “STL” nearby

Doing this will retrieve all the tweets about St. Louis from users who are in the St. Louis area. You can try this strategy with any keyword you are targeting.

Try it, see how it works.

Twitter or any other social media network is not difficult to use,you just have to take time to learn HOW to use it.

Hey,comment below and give me your feedback. Let me know if it works for you,or you have another

Sunday

13 SEO Anchor Texts Musts



This ten minute video covers everything you need to know about using anchor text links to get a top Google ranking. SEO Anchor Text Tutorial: Anchor Text Optimization Tips and Secrets
A remarkable SEO anchor text tutorial by the world's #1 SEO expert. He covers several new anchor text optimization tips that everyone needs to use in their SEO strategy.


Wistia








Please share this on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter.

Thursday

Top 10 Ways To Make Money With RevResponse



Here are the top 10 ways to make money with RevResponse:
RevResponse is a premiere business-focused ad network that goes beyond
banner-styled advertisements. As a publisher, you can offer FREE relevant
business content that you give away to your audience while making money!


1. Monetize Your Blog Posts---Move away from typical ad placements. RevResponse provides you
with valuable business magazine and whitepaper offers from over 33+
industries that you can blend into your blog or website as content. The
relevant content is a natural fit in the conversation and your audience
benefits from the free offers.

2. Cash In On Your Site Content

RevResponse is a pay-per lead program with high payouts. Every qualified lead
generated earns you a minimum payout of $1.50 and up to $20.00. Select offers
from over 33+ industry categories. Turn the news and topics you post on a regular basis into a revenue stream by providing your users content that is related to the topic.
There are hundreds of offers available from more than 33 industries within
the RevResponse Offer Catalog. You can use these offers to align with
areas of interest to your audience. By recommending specific offers within
a blog post or news feature on your site, you are not only improving your
revenue potential but you are also improving your users’ experience.





3. Drive Traffic To Your Co-branded Content Resource Center--Every RevResponse partner is provided with a co-branded business
content resource center which hosts all available RevResponse offers.
This partner page is a subdomain of www.tradepub.com and can be used
as a landing page where you can send your users to request our offers.




4. Promote With E-Newsletter Inclusions
--Make your e-newsletters work for you. If you are an e-newsletter publisher, you don’t have to cram your newsletters full of ads in order to
profit from them – with RevResponse you can monetize these mailings by providing our valuable free content to your recipients.





5. Optimize Your Opt-in Mailing List---For RevResponse partners with opt-in emailing lists, the earning potential is endless. You can monetize this list by sending emails featuring one or multiple free offers. The RevResponse NewsLetter Wizard allows you to target offers to your audience by industry, geography, and offer type leading to greater potential for revenue.




6. Monetize Your Site Communications---Capitalize on that captive audience by including a message with an offer promotion. For example: “Thank you for registering/signing up. As part of
your membership with us, we’d like to offer you the following free magazine subscription (or download).”


7. Leverage Your Social Networking Sites---If you use a messaging or social networking site like Twitter, you can promote to your friends, followers or contact lists. Many of our partners have been leveraging Twitter as a promotion tool and have started tweeting about
individual free magazines they may be interested in. Interested readers are
taken to a web page where they can register for the free magazines and
downloads.






8. Create Promotions Using RevResponse RSS Feeds
--For our more technically savvy partners, we have both an XML Catalog and RSS Feeds that can be utilized to automate the creation of special web pages, libraries, catalogs, and tools. The flexibility of these
programmer resources is endless and the tools allow you to flex your creative muscle.






9. Place An Ad Widget On Your Site---RevResponse allows for monetization of every aspect of your online presence including standard ad space. RevResponse provides
interactive widgets that can be used to monetize the ad space within your
site, blog, or newsletter. Don’t forget about text links as well.


10. Refer New RevResponse Partners---You can earn by simply telling others about RevResponse. As a RevResponse partner, you can post advertising badges on your site to
sign up new partners. In turn, you can earn up to 20% commission on any
revenue your referral partner earns for 6 months.


RevResponse is a pay-per lead program with high payouts. Every qualified lead generated earns you a minimum payout of $ 1.50 and up to $ 20.00. Select offers from over 33+ industry categories. RevResponse gives you the tools to make money outside the traditional IAB banner ad
space. The RevResponse Forum provides a wealth of knowledge; and, the partners share valuable tips on how to make money online.


NOT A MEMBER YET? SIGN UP NOW!

Wednesday

5 Keys To Brand Discovery from StumbleUpon



On January 31, 2012, StumbleUpon hosted a webinar to highlight major themes on how to improve brand discovery across the social media landscape.

The presentation highlights strategies for brands to engage in the creation, design and distributions of their online campaigns.

Reach out to advertisers@stumbleupon.com to learn more or follow along at @PaidDiscovery

Keep in touch with Jack: @thePolishJack

Links to the content included in the presentation can be found here: