Month: January 2009

Categories
Website How To's

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Are you always looking at the next money-making opportunity?

Do you have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time?

Why is focus such an important part of starting an online business?

This picture says 1,000 words about the importance of focus:

stay-focused-when-starting-an-online-business

Now the explanation:

Let’s say the little girl (my neice), is your first online business.  You’ve worked hard to get everything set up: finding the suppliers, keyword research, web design, etc.

Your new online business is now “on the dance floor” ready to make a move…

And you start looking around for a new partner.  What are you thinking?  You have to stay focused if you want anything to come from all your hard work up front.

Entrepreneurs have a tendency to always be thinking of new ideas and can be easily distracted.  As it says in the book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stehpen R. Covey,

Effective management is putting first things first.  While leadership decides what “first things” are, it is management that puts them first, day-by-day, moment-by-moment.  Management is discipline, carrying it out. (p.148)

You’ve started your first online business but don’t look beyond the mark!  Continue to reassess what you’re doing everyday to make things happen and grow.

Yes, eventually you will be able to expand and grow in to new endeavors that hopefully tie in with your first success, but don’t start “looking for other dance partners” too soon or your initial find will be TICKED (as this little girl was).

Categories
Customer Engagement & Retention

Tuesday Tutorial: Selling Products on Craigslist – A Step by Step Guide

the power of craigslistAre you interested in making money online?

What money making methods are you using to see positive cash flow with your new online business?

Are you using Craigslist.org as one of the online money making solutions?

Craigslist is arguably one of the fastest ways to make money online as you’re starting an online business.  Not only can it break the ice and help you actually gain confidence that online commerce is real, but it’s FREE (for the most part).

Happy Tuesday Eve! This Tuesday Tutorial is coming a day early per the request of a few clients who want to get listing right away on Craigslist.

Here are some things to be aware of as you get started selling items on Craigslist:

All craigslist postings are free, except for:

1. Job posts in the San Francisco Bay Area. The fee for posting a job in the SF Bay Area is $75. This fee pays for one job in one category. (One job posted in two different categories would cost $150.)

2. Job posts in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Diego, Seattle, South Florida, and Washington DC. The fee for posting a job in these cities is $25. This fee pays for one job in one category. (One job posted in two different categories would cost $50.)

3. Brokered apartment rental listings in New York The fee for posting a brokered apartment rental in New York City is $10.

4. Erotic services posts on craigslist sites in the United States. The fee for posting ads in the erotic services category is $5.

Those $5 fees for #4 can really add up 🙂

There are limitations to what you can sell on Craigslist.  (you may want to review this before you attempt to sell your neighbors annoying dog)

A step by step guide to listing an item on Craigslist.org:

Step 1: Go to Craigslist.org.

Step 2: Select your state or country.

listing-products-on-craigslist

Step 3: Select the city that’s closest to where you live.

Sometimes, on this step, I may select a bigger city where more potential visitors will see my listing.  Just remember: test, test, test!

listing-products-on-craigslist-2

I may even list in a different surrounding area.  Just make sure you don’t list word for word the same content in two different areas – this is forbidden by Craigslist.  The main objective of Craigslist is to be a Local Classified Ad – so be careful when branching out.

Remember, the most effective way to sell on Craigslist is by being able to meet the potential buyer in person.

Step 4: Find the best category for your product.

One suggestion is to do a search for the type of product you plan to sell once you get to your state and city.   Keyword research will again come in handy here as you are trying to determine how to list your products.

how-to-list-products-on-craigslist-3

Since we’re talking about selling products on Craigslist, you’ll probably want to focus on the “For Sale” section in the center of the page:

selling-products-on-craigslist-4

Step 5: Be aware of the potential scams.

Scams can and WILL happen on Craigslist if you don’t follow the advice they give you.

At the top of the category page, you’ll see warning links like these:

tips-to-avoid-scams-on-craigslist-5

Make sure to read them over to avoid getting taken advantage of.  Here are the most important tips to avoid scams on Craigslist (in my opinion):

* DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON – follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist.
* NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM or any other wire service – anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer.
* FAKE CASHIER CHECKS & MONEY ORDERS ARE COMMON, and BANKS WILL CASH THEM AND THEN HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE when the fake is discovered weeks later.
* CRAIGSLIST IS NOT INVOLVED IN ANY TRANSACTION, and does not handle payments, guarantee transactions, provide escrow services, or offer “buyer protection” or “seller certification”
* NEVER GIVE OUT FINANCIAL INFORMATION (bank account number, social security number, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
* AVOID DEALS INVOLVING SHIPPING OR ESCROW SERVICES and know that ONLY A SCAMMER WILL “GUARANTEE” YOUR TRANSACTION.

Step 6:  Click Post in the top right corner of the screen.

Now that you’re at the appropriate category page, the Post option will be at the top right corner:

posting-an-item-on-craigslist-6

Step 7: Create a Craigslist User Account.

login-or-create-a-craigslist-account-7

This isn’t a mandatory step but here’s why Craigslist recommends it:

What is my craigslist user account? Do I need one?

You can manage posts efficiently with a craigslist user account. The process of creating posts, editing and deleting them, and re-posting ads that have expired is much easier.

If you post frequently, or if you need to post paid ads, it makes sense to set up a user account.

Another question you might have:

How do I create a user account?
* Go to the account signup form.
* Enter your email address, type the five-letter verification word that appears on the screen, and click “create account”.
* We’ll send you an email with the instructions for completing the account setup process.

If you’re still reading this post, type a YES in the comments section below 🙂  If not, I need to shorten the Tutorials!

Step 8: Re-select your category and POST THE ITEM!

For time’s sake, I’m going to skip all the information about registering your account, getting the email, etc.  You’ll see a page that looks like this:

craigslist-category-page-8

Select the best category and proceed!

Step 9: Fill out the appropriate information.

The listing page will look like this:

listing-products-on-craigslist-9

The main things to remember on this step are:

  1. Use a “keyword rich” Post Title.
  2. Post the price you’d like to sell the product for.
  3. Add a detailed description, preferably using bullet points so it’s easy to read.
  4. ADD IMAGES.  This is found right about the “Permissions” section where it says “Add/Edit Images”.  It will look like this when you click the button:

    5. adding-images-to-a-craigslist-listing-10

You have now listed your first item on Craigslist.org – Congratulations!

I’m excited to hear “Craiglist Success Stories!” 

Please post your Craigslist experience in the comments section below!

craigslist photo courtesy of www.nevblog.com
Categories
Website How To's

Tuesday Tutorial: How to Use Keyboard Shortcuts to Save Time

What’s a keyboard shortcut?

Do keyboard shortcuts really save time as I’m starting an online business?

How can they help me as I start making money online, or will they?

Good questions!

If you’re new to internet marketing and surfing around online, this Tuesday Tutorial is for you.  Before you read on, I recommend downloading Mozilla Firefox as your Internet Browser (the way you look for websites online).

picture-1

picture-2

Firefox has many tools, it’s open-source, and it is what the majority of online marketing specialists and business owners use as they begin making money online.

Now the tutorial:

Here are the most common keyboard shortcuts:

CTRL + C: Copy
CTRL + X: Cut
CTRL + V: Paste
CTRL + Z: Undo
CTRL + B: Bold
CTRL + U: Underline
CTRL+I: Italic

Now here’s how to use these shortcuts to speed things up:

Step 1: Highlight over the text or picture you want to move or change:

Here I’ve highlighted over “highlight over the text”.

using-keyboard-shortcuts

Step 2: Hold down the CTRL button:

Here is where the CTRL button is on your keyboard:

control_cut_copy_paste

Step 3: What do you want to do?

  • If you want to Cut (move the text to a different place on the page) hold down the CTRL key and push X.
  • To Paste the text after cutting, hold down the CTRL key and push V.
  • If you want to Copy (duplicate the text and put it somewhere else) hold down the CTRL key and push C.
  • If you want to Bold the text, hold down the CTRL key and push B.
  • If you want to Underline the text, hold down the CTRL key and push U.
  • If you want to Italicize the text, hold down the CTRL key and push I.
  • If you make a mistake and want to Undo what you’ve just done, hold down the CTRL key and push Z.
  • If you want to Copy all the text in a document, hold down the CTRL key and push A.
  • If you want to Save a document (word document, excel document, etc.), hold down the CTRL key and push S.
  • To open a new tab in the Firefox Browser, hold down the CTRL key and push T.  It will look like this:

    • using-tabs-in-firefox

    The address bar will be blank:

    address-bar

The tab tool is a HUGE time saver, as you can open up multiple pages to do keyword research, find websites to do competitive analysis, and help you build links.

My recommendation now is to practice these tips as you move forward in building your online business.

Categories
Website How To's

Why Never Taking No For an Answer & Positive Mindset Equal Success

never-take-no-for-an-answerDo you take no for an answer?

Where has taking no for an answer ever gotten you?

What do never taking no for an answer and having a positive mindset have in common?

How does having a positive mindset have a direct result on your success or failure in business and life?

Check out this 1st class example of not taking no for an answer and having a positive mind set:

(See the Kurt Warner Update below for the REAL Kurt Warner Story but this one is a fun read.)

In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4.  Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful.  She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.

Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled  softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left.  He looked at her card, BRENDA.  He walked out only to see her start walking up the road.  Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted.  When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work.  She simply said it wasn’t possible.

He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn’t afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter.  Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday.  That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, “Well, let’s take the kids with us.”

She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed.  Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children.  She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair.  He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.

Kurtis asked Brenda, “I still don’t understand why the kids can’t come with us?”  Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities – just like her first husband and father of her children had done.  Kurtis was not ordinary – – – he had a different mindset.

That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him.  When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back.  The kids loved Kurtis.  At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.

A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children.   Since then they have added two more kids.

So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl?  Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl.  Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.

It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. He has also been the NLF’s Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player.

What more can I say?  Not taking no for an answer gave Kurt Warner the chance to show his true colors to his future wife.  If “no” was enough to frustrate him off, this great story wouldn’t even exist.

I had a client once tell me:

No is the first two letters of “Not yet!”

Starting an online business can be hard! You’ll probably hear no quite a bit before you get that first Yes.  But you have to persist, you have to consider no as a “not yet” and stay positive if you want to succeed.

The Kurt Warner story goes further than not taking no for an answer though: Kurt’s positive mindset is the biggest key to his success, both in the NFL and most importantly, with his family.  That mindset is what all internet business owners have to have if they ever want to achieve their full potential and see the best results with their new internet business.

Best of luck to Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals on their persuit of the 2009 Super Bowl and thanks for his example of true success!

UPDATE: I actually called Kurt Warner’s office today to see if I could get this article published on his site and had a great conversation with one of the secretaries.  I directed her to MollerMarketing.com to verify that everything I posted was “accurate and publishable”.  She recommended going to Snopes.com and searching “Kurt Warner”  to find the real story about Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Warner.  Here it is:

http://www.snopes.com/glurge/warner.asp

What can we learn from this?

Viral marketing emails, which is how I got this story in the first place, can be full of fluff.  If they are interesting, touching, inspiring or funny, though, they’ll be passed around all over the internet and could really help promote what you’re doing. 

This story made me actually want the Cardinals to beat the Eagles :).

What viral marketing campaign are YOU working on?

Categories
Digital Presence & Marketing Strategy

3 Reasons Why New Internet Business Owners are Successful

I’ve mentored hundreds of clients.

I’ve seen some of them achieve things beyond what I ever expected; I’ve seen others fail miserably and never even get things off the ground.

But I’ve come to one overall conclusion: Online Business Success is for those who are ready for it.

3 Reasons Why New Internet Business Owners are Successful:

  1. They are opened minded and teachable:  to be an new internet entrepreneur, you have to be open minded and teachable mainly because you don’t know any better. 🙂  I know I was in that very place about 5 years ago as a new internet business owner.  Luckily I had a great mentor who showed me the ropes, answered all my dumb questions, and believed I could succeed (even though honestly he probably thought I was crazy for starting a clogging website).  Newbies have to be willing to test things without really knowing if it will work; they must be willing to take a step in the dark.  Thanks, clients, for being open minded and teachable!
  2. They have strong motivation: if you don’t have a stronger “WHY” than “I want to make a lot of money” you’ll probably chase every fly-by-night that comes along.  Making money online has to be one of the reasons you look to start a business, that’s obvious, but it must go deeper than that.  I’ve been on my soap box for quite some time now about doing what you love to do.  Besides that, you must ask yourself, “What am I going to do when I do make the money?”  “Who will it help?”  “What good cause will it go to?”  If you’re just in this business to get filthy rich and sit on a beach drinking tequilas, the motivation isn’t probably strong enough yet.  One of the top success stories I’ve associated with started her business for one main purpose – to put her two daughters through college, and she did just that.  She then went on to sell the 3 year old online business for over $125,000.  Her motivation was key to her success (and she was doing what she loved too – ballroom dance!)
  3. They don’t give up or quit: all successful business owners know that failure is a “no-brainer” step to success.  You have to fail before you ever really know what true success is.  Giving up and quitting is pathetic.  Like the quote I shared in my last post stated, “People always say “never give up.” But how do you not give up when things are working right? Simple, you readjust your plan.”  I worked with a client once who was attempting to sell clocks (hope he’s reading this).  He did most of the work I suggested, made some effort, but when the money didn’t come flying in he just stopped.  He didn’t keep asking questions, he didn’t test the recommendations I gave, he didn’t seem to think outside the box, he didn’t implement the strategies I shared, he just QUIT!  I admit, I’ve never sold clocks before so I didn’t have the “turn-key” answers to selling clocks.  But I would think there is a lot more demand for clocks than clogging shoes for pete sake, and I have figured out how to sell those pretty consistently.  Anyway, quitting is a LOSE/LOSE.  I felt bad for the client, and he obviously wasn’t happy that he couldn’t be sitting on the beach drinking those coveted tequilas.  So please, don’t quit! Thanks, clients, for not giving up or quitting!

I am preparing a couple case studies that will be coming up in the next week or so about two specific clients that have implemented these strategies with perfection.  Stay Tune…

How have these tips helped you as an online business owner?

Categories
Website How To's

[Video] How To Be the Best at What You Do

being-the-best-at-what-you-doWhat does it mean to be the best at what you do?

Why is that important?

Is life all about competition and being better than everyone else?

Let’s see what it takes to be the best at sling shots:

That’s right, Rufus Hussy, from Ashborough, North Carolina is the best at what he does!

Now, how does this relate to starting an online business?

Being the best at what you do doesn’t necessarily mean you’re competing directly with everyone else.  In fact, that’s the beauty of online marketing: no matter what you’re selling or trying to promote, there’s always going to be a different way it could be done.

The conclusion I’ve come to is that being the best at what you do, in this case running an online business, is all about setting goals, monitoring your progress, and working to improve on your individual performance.  If you are not making progress with your online business, you’re probably regressing!

So, now the tips:

  1. Do What You Love:  I’ve talked about this a lot lately but truly believe it – if you’re doing what you love and not just chasing the “get-rich-quick” ideas, if you have confidence that you will succeed, and if you follow the Tuesday Tutorials 🙂 (along with other tips and tricks), success will come in one form or another.
  2. Practice + Persistence = Progress: In order to be the best sling-shooter I’ve ever seen, Rufus Hussy had to practice a lot.  In fact, his “practice” was for his actual survival – the things he hunted for were what he ate growing up in a big family.  Not only do you have to practice and implement strategies to be successful with an online business, but you have to test things out and adapt.”That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that the task itself has become easier, but that our ability to perform it has improved.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.  Persistence and Practice equal Progress!
  3. Set Goals: “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra.  Setting goals, especially performance goals, is the “secret sauce” in my opinion.  If you haven’t read it already and written your own, read my first real-life experience with the Moller Mission Statement.  After you read that I challenge you to write your own mission statement and share it with the Moller Marketing readers.
  4. Monitor Progress: “Small Success leads to Big Success!” – Nate Moller. If you don’t keep track of where you’re headed and what you’ve accomplished, you’ll never really know if you’ve arrived.  The adage “…when performance is measured, performance improves” is as true in running a business online as it is in success as a sling-shot expert.

I recently read an article about 10 Ways to Fail Successfully. Yes, the title is ironic but the content was great:

People always say “never give up.” But how do you not give up when things are working right? Simple, you readjust your plan.

The main goal or end result you desire to achieve shouldn’t change, but your approach should if it’s not working.

To be the best at what you are doing doesn’t mean you keep pounding your head against the wall when the door is two feet to your left.  You have to make adjustments, monitor your progress, set goals, practice and persist, and love what you do!

How do you plan to be the next Rufus Hussy with your online business?

Categories
Website How To's

5 Essential Tips When Selecting a Domain Name

domain name selectionURL – is that another way to spell Earl?

Domain Names…can I just use my own name?

Yes, it’s true, I’ve heard these questions a time or two and they still make me chuckle.

A domain name is an important decision all internet entrepreneurs have to make when starting an online business. It’s almost as crucial as naming your kids 🙂 The domain name you pick could end up being on thousands of t-shirts, billboards, TV commercials, or, only you and I may ever know about it (let’s hope that’s not the case).

When picking a domain name, I follow 5 specific guidelines as I name my future money making opportunity.

Here they are in order of importance:

1. Short, Sweet and To the Point:  Keep your domain name easy to spell! 3 Words or Less, Avoid words like “to”, “two”, “too”, “2” or words that can be spelled wrong – if a visitor can spell it wrong, they WILL!

2. Easy to Remember (aka Brandable): eBay is a perfect example of a brandable, easy to remember website.  Others that come to mind are Yahoo, Amazon, and ESPN :).

3. Use of Keyword Phrases is Helpful: Question – which domain name tells more about what my site is all about www.natesstuff.com or www.UtahCountyReviews.com?  Using a keyword phrase in the domain name is very helpful in getting natural search engine placement for that phrase.  Just remember to follow the above rules first before you buy a domain name with 6 words just because it had your keyword phrases.
Here’s an example of using they keyword phrase “Utah County” in the domain name:
utah-county
Out of 340,000 websites about Utah County, my Utah County Tourism website is number 3 naturally, a lot because the keyword phrase Utah County is in the actual domain name.

UPDATE: Google has made many updates and stuffing keyword phrases in the domain name is not as relevant as it once was.

In fact, Google’s John Mueller said the following:

“Just because a website has a keyword in its domain name doesn’t mean that it’s more relevant than others for that keyword.

“In short, you don’t need to put keywords in the domain name.”

So although it was at one time helpful, in today’s day and age of SEO, it’s not going to help much.

4. Buy Your Domain Name for More than One Year: this may be an urban legend, a wives tale, or it may be right on; I’ve heard that Google has a way of detecting how long you’ve registered your domain name.  The longer you have the domain name registered, the more “credibility” they give your website.  Again, this is all heresy, but it seems logical to me.  Besides, if you’re truly committed to running a successful online business, why wouldn’t you get the domain name for 10 years?

5. Make a big list and run your options by friends, family, etc.: This was an important step for me when I chose my first ever domain name for my clogging taps website.  I’d researched the availability of hundreds of domain names and found a few I really liked.

Once I’d narrowed it down to about 5 or 10, I invited my wife, my parents, and some close friends (who I knew wouldn’t steal the idea :)) to pick their favorite(s).

Getting the opinion of others doesn’t need to be the determining factor, but many times a spouse or person of the opposite sex thinks about things a bit differently – go figure!

What are other rules you follow when buying a domain name for your start-up internet business?

Categories
Digital Presence & Marketing Strategy

Tuesday Tutorial: How to Set Up Google Alerts and Why?

google-alerts-spyWhat’s a Google Alert?

How can Google Alerts help me as I’m starting an online business?

Here’s an answer straight from the source:

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:

  • monitoring a developing news story
  • keeping current on a competitor or industry
  • getting the latest on a celebrity or event
  • keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

I’ve talked to clients a lot lately about duplicate content when writing articles and submitting them to article directories. One of the things I’ve learned is that, as long as you “get credit” for the content you write first, you can then re-publish that content in multiple sources online to help you build links and share your message.

How do I know when I ‘get credit’ for an article or content I put on my blog?

This is a question I hear again and again; it’s a valid one. For this reason, today in our Tuesday Tutorial, we’ll discuss how to set up Google Alerts for your online business.

How to Set Up Google Alerts for Your Online Business

Step 1: Go to Google.com 🙂

You’ll see this page (I would hope most of you have seen this page before):

google-alerts

At the top right corner of the screen, if you don’t have a Google Account or you aren’t logged in, Click Sign In.

Step 2: Login to your Google Account or Click Create an Account Now

google-alerts-1

Having a Google Account is a MUST!  If you haven’t noticed already as you start an online business, Google is the “Mother Ship”.  You name it, Google has a hand in it.

Some of the best things about having a Google account include:

If you have to create an account, you’ll see this picture:

google-alerts-2

After filling out this information, or once you’ve logged in to your Google Account, go to the top left corner of the screen.

Click on more and a drop down menu will appear.  Select “even more” at the bottom of the drop down menu.

google-alerts-4

Step 3: Go to Google Alerts

You’ll now see this page. Select Alerts:

google-alerts-5

Step 4: Select Keyword Phrases as Alerts!

This box will be on the right hand side of the screen.

google-alerts-6

Keyword Research will come in handy once again.  In the Search terms box, type in one of your most important keyword phrases that you want to be ranked for at the top of Google.  I suggest you use quotation marks ”  ”  – this will limit all the combination of words that you’ll be sent otherwise.

Here’s an example – notice I typed in “making money online“:

google-alerts-7

You’ll also see:

  • Type: Keep Type on the Comprehensive setting for now.
  • How Often:  This is important: we talked earlier about “getting credit” for your content with Google.  Select “As it happens” from the How Often drop-down menu.  This way you will be notified by Google as soon as they find your new article (which will include good keyword repetition of the phrases you want to be found for, including the keyword phrase we’re setting as a Google Alert).

    • google-alerts-8

  • Deliver to:  I suggest you have the Deliver to option set to your Google email address.

Once you’ve selected the different options, click Create Alert.  You’ll see this:

google-alerts-10

google-alerts-9

Step 5: Prepare for email alerts!

Email alerts will start coming to your gmail inbox almost immediately, especially if you are targeting competitive phrases.  The emails will look like this:

google-alerts-12

The best part is, when I click on the link in the email, I can see where the phrase “moller marketing” was found.  In this case, the link takes me right to my own blog post about my interview with ShoeMoney:

google-alerts-13

Not only can I watch for my own links, but I can track my competitors by seeing what type of content and keywords they are targeting.  Google Alerts helps us take “keyword research” and “competitive analysis” to a whole new level!

How has Google Alerts helped you as you are starting your online business?

Google spy image by somethingcreativeinc.com
Categories
Digital Presence & Marketing Strategy

Viral Marketing at Its Best (Or Worst)

How do you plan to “Go Viral in 2009”?

Is viral marketing even in your online marketing vocabulary?

What are the keys to success in a viral marketing campaign?

Who are you routing for in the BCS Title Game: Florida or Oklahoma?

Read on…

tim-tebow-is-4th-best-in-big-12Oklahoma sophomore cornerback Dominique Franks said during interviews with the media Sunday morning at the Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa that Tebow would have been no better than the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12 this season.

Oklahoma’s Dominique Franks said stepping up to the task this season of defending Big 12 quarterbacks was no easy chore.
‘If you look at the three best quarterbacks in the country, they came from the Big 12,’ said Franks, referring to Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.

‘The three best receivers in the country came from the Big 12. The three best tight ends came from the Big 12. So we’ve faced some great offenses, and a lot of people don’t understand that other conferences don’t have what we face.’

Franks didn’t stop there, either. He said the Heisman voters got it right this year in selecting Bradford for the coveted award, no doubt spicing up the prelude to Thursday’s FedEx BCS National Championship Game.

‘With us being in Florida and playing against Florida, everybody’s going to think Tebow should have won the Heisman,’ Franks said. ‘But the right person won the Heisman, and we’re going to go out there and show everybody the reason why he won it.’

Wow, think this will spark some controversy and emotion in the BCS Title game?

How do you think Florida will respond to this?

What about Tim Tebow?

Viral Marketing is such a HUGE part of starting an online business.  If you can get “buzz” out to your audience, a start-up website can get immediate traffic and start-up success!

So, what’s the key to a good viral marketing campaign?

I was reading a friends blog about viral marketing are here are some of the steps they recommended:

  1. Load it up – this is the part where you make your viral piece connect with your customer on an emotional level. Touch their heart, or touch their funny bone, or something else that makes them think…I need to share this.
    • My thoughts: I think this point is EXACTLY what the above statement by the Oklahoma defensive player does by sharing his thoughts about Tim Tebow – he sparks emotion that could really come back to haunt he and his team.  Controversy, humor, breaking news: these are Keys to Success with Viral Marketing!
  2. Don’t advertise – viral marketing is about sharing something that is funny, or is a great story. Don’t just think about advertising through your piece. Many of the best viral ads don’t even include a brand name or anything…it’s left to the customer to figure it out.
    • My thoughts: Your creativity WON’T GO VIRAL if you’re blatantly advertising your company.  Would you pass on a recommendation to a used car salesman or a network marketing “friend” who, whenever they talk to you, it’s about their “break-through product”?  In the above example, there’s definitely NO ADVERTISING although the buzz these comments will create will probably help sell more tickets and get more viewers, even from people who don’t really care about college football.
  3. Spread the message – do everything you can to share the message online and offline. Post to forums, message boards, social accounts, blogs, emails, etc. Basically get the viral aspect started.
    • My thoughts: Don’t be afraid to ask for help from connections you’ve formed through online social networks.  Some of my best “viral marketing” has been through the effective use of StumbleUpon and using Facebook Pages.  The funny thing is, whether Oklahoma wants it or not, this message will get passed all over the Florida Gator Nation and sparks will be flying.  If it were your team being criticized, wouldn’t you want this stuff to be heard to help fire things up?
  4. Love the comments – reply to comments made on your piece. Don’t delete negative comments unless they are crude or attacking to others.
    • My thoughts: This was one of the best things I learned from Gary Vaynerchuk at Blog World Expo 2008: “Reply to all comments on your blog, respond to all your emails, and connect with your readers/clients.”  When setting blogging goals as part of your marketing strategy, make sure viral marketing and connection is included. Your success in starting an online business will come a lot quicker this way.  It will be interesting to see how many “comments” will come from these ideas.  If it’s on ESPN, who ISN’T hearing about it in the sports industry?

How would you respond to the claims of the Oklahoma defensive back?

Do you think his statements will go “Viral”?

What funny, controversial, or unique ideas can you find in your industry that have “viral capabilities”?

picture courtesy of ESPN