If ever there is a Gold Medal for blogging, Linda Rembowski of Forcedgreen would win hands down!

The August 16th edition of the WebProNews includes a quick (I don’t know what to call it… article? post? tidbit?) of information from their staff writer, David A. Utter. He writes:

The popularity contest of blogging and gaining links and traffic doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and work.

And, of course, he’s not far off the mark. However, today we’ve got the great pleasure of taking our Sunday Fun Day to tell you about the huge success of (more…)

Of course I emailed him back and forth several times. I’m afraid I climbed on my soapbox and did my thing (which he did appreciate). The crux of the making-money dilemma is something I will cover in the next post (I promise!) and present solutions to that problem.

In the meantime though, I want to take a moment and show you a shortcut to making money - under your own steam, without relying on anyone or anything else online.

After proving to ourselves, for ourselves, that a person can make money writing online, I set off on a journey to uncover a resource that could shave years off the learning curve. A way to step up to the plate much faster in the field of writing - any kind of writing - online.

With income potentials of $85,000 or more per year, this is hardly something you will want to poo-poo out of turn without researching!

I’m happy to report I found such a resource - and  (more…)

NOTE: Before you get going, the title of this post is “secrets” not “methods.” People come up with all sorts of new ways of doing things, and open all sorts of new social media areas, and we give credit where credit is do. But they aren’t “secrets.”

* * * * * * * * * *

For years, and I do mean years, we’ve been online explaining, demonstrating, and, in many instances, doing the hands-on work to help you be successful online.

And, throughout these years, we - like you - have been (and continue to be) inundated with special reports, new software, e-books, videos and more all ranting and raving how this is “the one.”

Rarely is anything “new.”

Let me explain by example before I continue:

Ten years ago, a script was developed that (more…)

If you’re tracking stats on your own blog, and you should be, there will be posts that you make where you notice lots of activity. Ideally, you (like us) have your hopes up each time you post that your readers will do more than read (which is always cool), and stay to strike up a conversation with you (in the form of comments).

Well we’re no different than you

We track things. We love to track things! It just may be an obsession around here!

So in going back through our visitor logs, there is a striking up swing whenever we talk about ways to (more…)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is not our article, but the information is well worth your time.

by Gary Smith

The Web 2.0 social media revolution is in full steam. Are people finding your website?

As an entrepreneur, how do you make your business website stand out amongst 435 million other websites and more than 1 million blogs competing for your audience’s attention?

It’s not as hard as you might think.

To begin, let’s look at the demographics of Web 2.0 social networking sites, Myspace.com, Facebook and YouTube.com. This will give you an idea on how to position your message in the Web 2.0 World.

The Web 2.0 Social Networking Revolution

Web 2.0 is a real revolution on the Internet. And these aren’t just college kids…

- 62% of MySpace visitors are older than 25 (40% are 35+), and 83% are making over $30,000 a year. Nineteen percent (19%) are making $100,000 and up…

- On Facebook.com 46% are over 25 and 34% are 35+, but they’ve got deep pockets. Eighty-eight percent (88%) make more than $30,000 and twenty-three percent (23%) make $100,000 or more.

In the years ahead these numbers will get ridiculous…

- Social media giant Facebook is currently ADDING a million 25+ (non-student) adults per week to their rosters. That’s 52 million new users a year.

- YouTube.com gets over 50 million unique visitors per month. That equals over half a billion a year.

- Facebook and MySpace have the equal daily traffic of Google. Experts predict within the next year they will DOUBLE the daily traffic of Google search.

So your prospects are there. The traffic is there. The spending power is there. So NOW is the time you want to establish your presence on the social networking websites.

Web 2.0 Strategy: Why You Should Be a Maven, Not a Marketer

As a website owner, how should you position your message in the Web 2.0 world?

The increasingly savvy buying public will quickly shun marketers. Internet readers want information from the Internet. They don’t want advertising, marketing, or a “pitch”.

According to Schefren in his Attention Age Doctrine, the solution is to become a social media “Maven”.

A Maven is a trusted authority, like a friend, on the social media websites. As you gain their trust, your audience will return to you over and over again wanting to invest in your advice.

Five Steps to Becoming a Social Media Maven

Social Media Maven Step 1: Get in the Game

Begin blogging immediately. Create a video explaining how to solve a problem and put it on YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook with links back to your main website. Just those two things alone will establish more Web 2.0 presence than 90% of your competition.

Social Media Maven Step 2: Share your passion

Build your Web 2.0 website around your passions. Thirty-two year old Gary Vaynerchuk transformed his wine knowledge to his video blog, http://Tv.Winelibrary.com. It now has thousands of subscribers and does $50 million dollars a year in wine sales.

Social Media Maven Step 3: Be Controversial

Your audience will remember you more when you challenge the status quo. Controversy sells. Think like the tabloids and the local news channels here. For example, Web 2.0 Business Coach Rich Schefren challenges traditional marketing wisdom in each release of his Attention Age Doctrine special reports at www.attentionage.net/doctrine

Social Media Maven Step 4: Create World Class Content

You will drive repeat traffic to your website by offering top notch “how to” information. Gary’s wine tastings are highly educational on the benefits of wine, how to cook with wine, and how to choose a wine for your special occasion. Rich’s reports teach Web 2.0 marketing principles.

Remember, as soon as your audience feels that you are “pitching” them, you’ve lost them. So provide content not advertising.

Social Media Maven Step 5: Engage in the Conversation

Web 2.0 is a dialogue not a monologue. Internet businesses profit more when they observe and listen to their communities first before they broadcast their messages. Savvy mavens such as Gary and Rich encourage their audience to ask questions. The answers to these questions then become part of their user-generated content.

How Marketing in a Web 2.0 Social Media Environment Is Exciting

Visualize it like a big radio or television station or movie screen where you’re the star. You’re building a fan base so you need to entertain, inform, and deliver consistently for your audience.

You have more publishing power at your fingertips right now than at any time in history.

So use it.

Share your passions.

Reveal your trials and tribulations

Tell your story.

And, watch how quickly your audience builds.

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Master Copywriter, Gary Smith (www.rightbraincopy.com) has taught thousands of entrepreneurs how to write copy that persuades, motivates and inspires prospects to buy. He strongly suggests using Web 2.0 Internet Marketing Strategies revealed in Richard Schefren’s Attention Age Doctrine. Get it now for FREE at: http://www.attentionage.com/doctrine & discover never-before-revealed Web 2.0 tools and techniques to win in the Attention Age