This morning while participating over at ForumFinder [40,466 Alexa traffic rank], my eye was caught by a particular post at U-G-H [108,508 Alexa].

The post itself, One Step Closer to the Living Room YouTube Goes Widescreen is not only interesting in terms of YouTube, (can you guess what YouTube is up to now? LOL), but in the formatting - the WAY - in which the post is constructed.

And it’s done brilliantly! (more…)

If you do a search on this blog, you’ll soon discover that we’ve been fans of Jumptags for quite a while now. Surprisingly it snuck up on us, and if we hadn’t been paying close attention to our search engine stats, we might never have realized how very wonderful Jumptags can be to your search engine linking.

A simple website, Jumptags gives you the opportunity, with a minimum of fuss, to (more…)

Back on the 15th of February, we did a post about YouTube videos. In that post, we talk about the benefits of putting video on your site either by creating it yourself (a possible chore) or pulling in existing videos from YouTube and other video storage web sites.

The simple fact is videos are good business. As a marketing strategy, not using video is not a very bright thing to not do.

People love watching videos! Whether entertainment or to learn specific marketing techniques or review programs and products prior to purchase, having video on your site is a for-certain winner.

Also back in February, we started our test of (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.

=======================================

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

Here’s another great way to handle much of your website social media marketing all from one central spot.

The Bloggers Choice Awards website allows you to enter your own blog (or get someone to do it for you) into their voting system. It also is a great one-stop spot for visiting other bloggers and leaving your comments and more (for backlinking where allowed or just building your standing in a social community by participating).

Visiting others and establishing relationships is what it’s all about

There are numerous categories and you can enter your blog into more than one. Choosing the best categories, of course, makes the most sense.

Then, after the approval process, you can log into your account, click on your blog, and “Get Code.”

You’ll notice in our right-hand side bar, in the same box as our Entrecard drop box, we’ve got a “please vote for us!” button.

For BloggersChoiceAwards, and most all websites like this, you do need to create an account. You can create an account even if you don’t have a blog you want to enter. Sign up just for the fun of it, and, of course, use it as a community to meet and greet others!

So… your assignment for today (lol!), please vote for us!

Yes, it’s all about numbers. The more votes you get the higher your information goes in their system.

But again, there is more here than meets the eye. Comment and voila! you’re getting traffic!

And, it doesn’t end there…

In fact, our blog was entered on March 18th. Yesterday, March 19th (!) for our website url return results in Google, the BloggersChoiceAwards link is already showing (with an indent to boot!).

Screenshot Showing Our YouTube In A Box, BloggersChoiceAwards, and BlogCatalog All Make the Front Page For Our Domain

List your blog at Bloggers Choice Awards! And please take the time to vote for us

Enjoy!

This was Part 5 in a series HubPages has been sending us, and shows why we go on at such great lengths about how truly wonderful Hubpages is for online marketers of any business.

Testimonials and Advice From Current HubPages Users:

“Just to give you an idea, I’ve been with HubPages 4 ½ months, and I make an average of $10 a day from AdSense, plus a couple hundred every month from Ebay/Amazon… It’s been increasing steadily over the time I’ve been here, and I expect that to continue as I get more content up and published!”
- Maddie Ruud - One of Maddie’s Hubs: The Truth About Wu-Yi Tea

“Now I’m making a few hundred dollars per month for the things I enjoy doing. I know more people here are making thousands of dollars per month.”
- len7288 - One of len7288’s Hubs: Health Benefits of Cabbage

“If, like most people, you are on HubPages to share information and make a few dollars, be patient; you won’t find success overnight. Keep writing quality and original content and the money will follow. It took me three months before I got my first click on Google; I now receive a check every month.”
- jimmythejock - One of jimmythejock’s Hubs: World War 1 Trench Warfare

If you need some help publishing your first Hub, read through their step-by-step guide here:

Download the HubPages Starting Out Guide
(PDF file)

A step-by-step guide you can follow or print out that will show you:

- How to start your first Hub
- How to add pictures, videos, links, and more
- How to attract more readers to your Hubs
- How to set up your Google, eBay and Amazon accounts so you can make money

Ready to begin? Click on this link to begin publishing and earning!
Start Your First Hub

If you’d like some guidance and assistance from helpful members of the HubPages community, feel free to ask for help or participate in a discussion in our Forums

And just to prove that we are using HubPages, here are our current hubs that you’ll also find referenced throughout this blog. Note that we write about different things, not always internet marketing and we will be branching out even more as time goes by. Also please do feel free to rate the, you’ll find the thumbs up/down at the bottom of each article as they end (just before the comments start):

Wipe Out Stress With Stress Management

YouTube Video Sites In A Box Software Review

Weighing In With Weight Management Resources

Social Bookmarketing A Useless Tool or Clever Marketing Strategy

Keyword Research How Scrabble Is A Prime Example Of Getting It Right

Stress Management Meditation Technique

Qassia Even Without the U Is A Great New Social Media

Taking Your Online Business Local

Building Credibility On The Road To Success

You’ll note that our profile is not as high as those shown above in their testimonials, but we hover between where we are now, and 91. Hopefully growing as we continue to publish.

* * * * * STAY TUNED TOMORROW * * * * * *

We’ll be bringing you another amazing free way to socialize and make your website popular (screen shots included when possible).

===================================
Be sure to read our special bonus offer you
will not get anywhere else.
===================================

Dear Blog Visitor,

We’ve been reading a lot about the Web 2.0 in generallately, including it’s history and all of it’s uses…

There is VAST potential out there we are not using yet!

For instance, there is a very famous Marketer by thename of Seth Godin who pretty much pioneered Web 2.0, and he went on to found Squidoo.

One of the fundamental thoughts driving Web 2.0 is a quote of his; “Everyone is an Expert.”

It basically means that if someone is talking about the subject of what you ate for lunch today, YOU are the expert in that field.

Keywords out there are dedicated to you, 24/7/365. You’re the go-to person on several such subjects that could be searched in google for at any time!

(Scary, huh?)

We realize that it may be hard to think of this simple mindset for being responsible for all of Web 2.0, including the many big sites like YouTube, Squidoo, MySpace, Facebook, and Digg, but that is exactly what drives them and allows them to be profitable.

We already had a system in place to spread the biggest news’ out there. It’s called the Press and their AP newswire.

Web 2.0 makes YOU the new press and it is in fact cutting into a HUGE chunk of the profession’s profits…

Nearly half of America, for instance, reads Digg.com daily, so therefore isn’t turning on the Channel 4 news as much!

(TV Advertising rates have been dropping ever since Web 2.0 was created!)

So what does this mean for you? What impact should this have on your day?

Well, if YOU are the new press, why aren’t you being PAID to submit your news each time you use digg, squidoo, or any other web 2.0 website?

Think about it… A huge central focus of where we get our news is changing rapidly, but the new business model is to NOT PAY the new Reporters!

Well, you know SOMEONE is getting paid…

Luke Parker figured this out earlier than most of us and created a system that allows you to get paid for using Web 2.0… And paid well.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Believe it or not, he’s got a list as long as your arm of different places you can go to submit your news every day for cash!

That’s right, you can get PAID to report about your weird toenail clippings now… And in fact you really should have been paid for it all along, according to Luke!

He goes one step further and shows a way not just to get paid for the random gossip we mostly see out there, but to compound your income by thinking smarter…

For instance, if you have a business online you’d like to advertise, then he suggests you use these resources to get paid to promote that business!

Press for your business is another kind of news, and Luke makes tons of cash every day doing just that! We’ve been watching his Surefire Success System since it was just a ‘Version 1.0,’ and it was pretty impressive stuff already… But starting tomorrow at 11am EST, it’s graduating to full 2.0 status…

He’s added all kinds of tools and beefed up his strategy even more, so we really are looking forward to learning all about it ourselves!

If you haven’t seen it yet, check out Luke’s exciting free film on his site right now before he takes it down and puts up the new offer page:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

This really eye-opening film shows exactly how to become TRUE winner in Google and Yahoo using web 2.0.

It’s really excellent stuff that will open up your mind to all kinds of new possibilities. You don’t even have to opt-in to watch it, simply head over to that page to start watching:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

And remember, the doors open for that at 11am EST tomorrow, so be sure to check out his offer then!

All the best,

Diane/Scott

P.S. READ THIS SPECIAL OFFER YOU WON’T GET ANYWHERE
ELSE!

==================================

OUR AMAZING BONUS OFFER TO YOU:

$175 of free advertising done for you! Includes:

o Google indexing and backlinking of your best article or blog post within 48 hours from time of submission

o Safelist emailing to up to 2800 lists created for you

o 6 Line Ezine Ad submitted to over 30 publications using your material or we’ll create it for you (subscription required)

Many will offer you “stuff” but few if any will offer you direct hands-on marketing and advertising to get your web 2.0 off to a resounding bang!

All you need do is make sure to CLEAR YOUR COOKIES.

THEN follow our link to the website. When you join, send us a copy of your purchase receipt. We’ll double check to make sure you joined through us and contact you to get your information for this free offer! We must see you in our affiliate office to correctly credit your signup. So be sure to clear your cookies first! It’s that easy.

Post a comment if you need cookie-clearing directions

===============================

Currently BlogCatalog is without a doubt our favorite place to hang out, make new friends, and post our most interesting posts. The people hanging on BlogCatalog go above and beyond to reach out, friend you, and then actually participate with you.

Many of these types of services appear to have a “clicky” mentality, you get a visit but no real interaction; isn’t that the point of socializing?

To further enhance BlogCatalog’s likeability, the setup is easy as can be. You do need to know some basics, but they are put in a simple to follow, logical arrangement. Once you are logging in, and if you stay logged in, moving around is a breeze.

We’ll go over some of the fine points here, and then below you’ll see a few links - a How To Setup BlogCatalog YouTube via (with great voice over!) as well as a link out to MattNutts blog (which we advise using Firefox if your IE gets a bit wiggy on you).

So here’s our pointers for making the most of BlogCatalog which are extremely easy:

1. Sign yourself up
2. Validate your email
3. Log in
4. Choose Edit Profile
5. Create a widgit for your blog
6. Start looking around discussions, communities, etc.
7. Up on the right, join stuff as you see them

It really is that simple; no where near the complexity of something like say Facebook or Myspace!

The great thing is your page will also come with some current event stuff going on - so use your right side panel to get off to a good start. To friend someone is also easy (though they call it a “Add to My Friends” right up there under your logged in information).

Frankly, this community is so great that the whole thing just naturally gathers its own steam. There is absolutely no arm twisting and begging here, people are just nice, friendly, helpful, and informed. You can gather a wealth of new information just be taking the time to visit your friends pages, and the pages of their friends. Take the time to interact. Use the My Shoutbox and leave a few words as you visit, watch your inbox and click out to broadcasts and new notices you receive.

A few final words/requests before you watch the video or go read the How To BlogCatalog posts below:

1. Use a real inbox for BlogCatalog you’ll want to get these notices

2. Please leave your feedback here so we know what’s on your mind, what you thought of this post, and any questions or suggestions you have. Even a simple Hello works for us.

3. Right below this article you’ll see some “Be Social Please Tag Us” buttons. Hover over the icons and please do submit our work to these online systems. We’d sure appreciate your efforts!

Okay, here is the video that’s worth the few minutes if you’re a visual person and need assistance with BlogCatalog, along with another How To BlogCatalog advice article. Thanks for reading! Comment, Rate, Enjoy!

And for additional reference (though again my personal experience is Firefox as is loads the page best):

Complete Guide to Use and Help for BlogCatalog