Info Marketing Academy Articles

by Ray Murphy

Podcasting is about listening to an audio program when and where you want.

Podcasts are focused programs that are geared to very specific niche markets.

Got an interest in historical figures? There’s a podcast audio program about that.

Got an interest in the air force? There’s a podcast audio program about that.

Drink too much coffee and love it? There’s a podcast audio program for that.

There are thousands of podcasts out there and there’s bound to be something of interest to you. Whether you like to laugh at comedians or learn from experts, there’s something of interest to everyone.

And they take different formats, too. Some are trivia shows. Some are interviews. Some are lectures or single-person rants. Some are full-fledged production-quality shows with effects and special guests, like a late night talk show.

Okay, I know your next question, too, because I asked it as well: Satellite television can be pretty pricey, how much does podcasting cost? Nothing.

That’s Right, Zero, Zip, Nada - Poscasts are totally FREE!

This is where I grew very skeptical because there are very few things in life that are free. But it is free and here’s why.

Podcasting is done by people with an interest in the area that they are podcasting on.

Anyone can podcast, and even though it’s picked up by your computer and transmitted to your MP3 player, you don’t actually need to have a computer to be a podcaster; you can just do it over the phone.

As well, podcasting is so new (the word podcasting was coined in 2004) and there is no regulatory body overseeing the industry so people are trying all kinds of things to figure out what works and what doesn’t in the world of podcasting.

The accessibility and “newness” and lack of rules has meant that it has become a primary form of self-expression. The result is that there are thousands of podcasts out there. And they’re free.

Visit http://www.podcasting.ebookdomaine.com for more information

Ray Murphy is an author and writer of informaitive books.

Please visit http://www.podcasting.ebookdomaine.com for more inspirational ideas.

by Madison Lockwood

Podcasting in its simplest form is the uploading of MP3 files to the internet, where they can be accessed by the majority of the online universe with little more than a modern browser. You might consider a podcast to be an audio blog, although podcasts are basically standalone units of communication and not limited solely to “audio.” The term is also applied to short video pieces that are uploaded for general consumption; that is becoming more common, but the term was born as a reference to the audio format. Although the term stems from Apple’s iPod line of products it is generic in nature and refers to any MP3 (and increasingly, video) file provided via one Internet channel or another.

To that end, the number of channels that are now using podcasts is nothing short of phenomenal. They are used in educational formats (distance learning programs) and by the mainstream media. Business Week Online is an example of excellent utilization of the format. They provide professionally conducted interviews with both newsmakers in the business world and with experts on topics like developing technology. It is both an extension of their current events function and the features section of the magazine that focuses on broader industry analysis.

Every major news outlet online – ABC, ESPN, Fox, CNN and so forth – use podcasts to augment their print-and-graphics webpage formats. You can find them on political websites and blogs, often carrying the candidate’s message but more often carrying the opponent’s gaffe. This particular phenomenon has led to the practice of campaigns hiring “trackers” to trail their opponent from public event to public event with a video camera, hoping to catch a misstatement, a contradiction or some sort of unfortunate occurrence that can be distributed via the assortment of political websites and blogs that clog the web today.

You can now “subscribe” to podcasts that are delivered via an RSS application automatically to your computer. “Podcasters” are individuals or information distributors of some sort that provide an ongoing series of podcasts. Podcasts very quickly found their way to the marketing and advertising industry, which as adopted them for widespread use on the Internet. Video podcasts in particular have become the most recent form of “popup” advertising on the web. You can be clicking through a commercial site and suddenly you are watching a commercial.

The proliferation of podcasts that are webcasts of mistakes, poor behavior or just plain foolishness began with people in the public eye but now extends well beyond the currently and formerly famous. Because these snippets of audio and video are so widespread and move across the digital network so quickly, one begins to feel uneasy. What if someone catches me falling off a bicycle and thinks it looks funny enough to share?

When email entered our society, it provided a screening device to communication that was somehow comforting. Podcasts and to some degree the whole social networking phenomenon create the opposite effect. It’s easy to feel exposed, regardless of the fact that you’re still one person using one computer.

For a technical explanation of the various methods of podcast delivery, take a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting. They provide an excellent and extended explanation of the various software options and delivery choices that you can make in allowing podcasts into your life. For a fairly comprehensive directory of podcast feeds and sources, try http://www.podcast.net/. As a good resource for news in the podcast universe and also for a directory, there’s http://www.podcastingnews.com/

Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate for http://www.apollohosting.com. She helps clients understand how a website may benefit them both personally and professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.

by Karon Thackston (C) 2006 http://www.copywritingcourse.com

Its one of the best pieces of copywriting advice I’ve ever been given. ‘As often as possible, start your paragraphs with sentences that hook readers and drive them deeper into the copy.’ Why? Because - after the headline - the first sentence in any paragraph is what gets read most often. After that point, customers usually skip to the next section unless they feel compelled to keep reading. That means your job, as the copywriter, is to entice them into each segment, so they will consume as much of your copy as possible.

Take your cue from Readers Digest. They crank out - issue after issue - exceptional opening lines for their articles that engage then hook readers. What happens next? The reader is pulled into the story full force. Here are some examples.

It was a horrific display of irreverence.

By the way she dressed, you would have never guessed she was only 14.

As he reached into the box, something inside it moved.

See? Those sentences boost your curiosity. They make you wonder what happens next. They cause you to visualize a scene that might be taking place. You can do the same thing from a marketing perspective when you write your copy.

For instance, rather than starting the copy for an email to Australian hotels like this:

You may be aware of www._______.com - we are an Australian-owned and managed online hotel booking service.

Really capture their attention with an opening sentence that is specific to them like this:

Now you have the opportunity to affordably position your hotel in front of approximately 6,000 travellers every day that are looking for accommodations exclusively in Australia.

For an Australian hotel that depends on the Internet to generate reservations, that sentence gives them many reasons to keep reading.

Here are some other before-and-after examples of opening sentences.

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

BEFORE: Hello and welcome to our website. If you are looking for [enter product name here], you are at the right site. (In this case, the example is from a wedding photographers site.)

AFTER: We dont take pictures. We capture precious memories that you can enjoy for a lifetime.

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

BEFORE: Our site has been online since 2000, and this marks our 6th year online providing designer-inspired sunglasses.

AFTER: How do you get the latest designer-inspired looks without paying outrageous prices?

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

BEFORE: Our cruise website offers unbeatable rates and a diverse array of travel services guaranteed to satisfy even the most discriminating vacationer.

AFTER: Just imagine yourself on the white sand beaches of Honolulu, hiking through the balmy rainforests of Belize or whisking down a powdery, snow-covered mountain in Aspen… all at up to 50% off!

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

BEFORE: Thank you for shopping for your corporate gifts at _________.com. We hope your shopping experience is delightful.

AFTER: When you truly impress your clients with distinctive corporate gifts, they remember you longer, feel a closer relationship and are more likely to reward you with increased sales.

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

See the difference? The ‘before’ sentences are dull, average and unflattering. The ‘after’ sentences are intriguing, imaginative and enticing.

Don’t stop after you create inviting headlines. Keep the momentum going by writing intriguing opening sentences, too.

When you do, you’ll help convert more site visitors into paying customers.

Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO and online copywriting that impresses the engines and your visitors with Karons Copywriting Course.

by BB Lee

— Julie

How To Write Articles For The Hungry Web Market
by BB Lee (C)2003

Writing for the web audience is a whole brand new ball game.
Throw out all the rules you learned in school or writing
for print media. Why? They simply are not appropriate
for the Internet crowd.

It doesn’t matter if you are clever at turning a phrase or
your prose is beautiful. The Internet reader is
in a hurry. They make lightning fast judgements. If your
writing doesn’t hit them like a fast ball, they’re gone.

If you give the hungry Internet reader what they want they
will stick around long enough to digest all your clever prose.

In order to write for the web and keep your audience you must
follow these basic rules.

1. Don’t Get Wordy.
Web users are busy. Most will not read your 2,000 word article
about the history of widgets. Keep the word count around 800
maximum. If you can’t bare to trim your 2000 word article,
break it up into 3 separate articles, part 1, part 2, and part 3.

2. Use Short Paragraphs.
Forget the long winding paragraphs that go on forever!
Break up your paragraphs into easily digestible bits. Why? Think
about how foreboding a long paragraph is to a reader who is in a
hurry. They’ll click away quick.

3. Use White Space.
Use lots of white space around your article. This will make
your article more inviting to the eye and easier
to read.

4. Use Bold Headings.
Internet readers are pro’s at skimming articles quickly.
If your writing doesn’t click they are gone. Use a bold heading
before each paragraph or one that tells exactly what the paragraph
is about. This will draw the reader in and capture their attention.

5. Start With A Surprising Lead.
Start your article with a surprising statement, statistic,
or fact. This will capture the readers attention. Follow with a
few sentences summing up how the article handles the problem.

6. Add Relevant Links.
Hyperlinks are important to your article. And give it authority.
But, don’t add them unless they are relevant to the article.
Hyperlinks in your article will catch the readers eye. Remember
to state the name of the site they will click to along with URL.

Examples Follow:

Good: Free Home Business Advice
http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz

Bad: Click Here!
http://www.mysecretsite.com

Use attractive white space between different links. Keep links to
a minimum. Too many links confuse the reader.

7. Friendly Tones.
Don’t write like a professor lecturing a college class. Write in a
friendly conversational tone. You want your reader to understand
your words without using a dictionary.

8. Quotes
Use quotes sparingly. Only use quotes important to the article.

9. Spell Check.
When you’ve finished your article read it aloud. Does the article
flow along? Did it make sense? Did you use their instead of there?
Run your spell check program and keep an eye out for common words
that fool the spell check program like; to, too or two.

10. Resource Box.
Add your resource box. This is your opportunity to promote your
website, ezine, ebook, affiliate program, or service. Add
important information and a link directly to what you are
promoting. Remember to include your email address if you want
the readers to contact you. Don’t go overboard. Keep the
length of your resource box to 5 or 6 lines.

If you are a new writer on the Internet, you will find the
suggestions in this article very practical, relevant and helpful.

>————————————————————
BB Lee is Editor/Publisher of SmallBizBits Home Biz Newsletter.
Practical Information To Help You Attain All Your Business Goals.
Subscribe Now! Receive your gift ‘Business Plan Work Book.’
Visit:http://www.angelfire.com/zine/smallbiz
mailto:smallbiz@angelfire.com
————————————————————–
BB Lee is the editor and publisher of SmallBizBits home based business newsletter and a freelance writer.
Provided By: Online Business, Promotion and Marketing

Do you need more traffic to your web site? Who doesn’t!

One of the best ways to generate traffic for your site is
to write articles that others can use in their ezines and
on their web sites as long as they include a resource box
with your contact information. I’ve used this technique
since I first launched my web sites.

I was looking for a way to make the writing process quicker
and some more tips on where to submit free articles.

One of the best resources on how to write articles and
generate traffic is Turn Words into Traffic by Jim and
Dallas Edwards.

This book walks you through a simple process for creating
and submitting a 500-word article including:

* how to make the article interesting to visitors,
* how to format the article for distribution and
* how to create a compelling resource box (so the people
who read it will actually click-through to your site).

My favorite part of the book, though, is the article
promotion strategies and tactics at the back that show you
exactly what to do with your article.

You should know though, the first time I read about this
product, I avoided it because the sales letter had too much
hype for me. But my husband bought it, and I was happy to
learn that the ebook isn’t all hype. It contains genuine
strategies to write articles and increase your traffic –
and I’ve been using it with my consulting clients to help
them get more traffic.

If you’re one of the people who wants more traffic to your
website, here’s the formula you’ve been looking for…

Turn Words into Traffic

by Rok Hrastnik

Contrary to popular opinion, RSS is not only good for delivering content from your blog, although blogs are what made RSS so popular.

In fact, RSS can be used to deliver a great variety of content and content types. If you can break down your content in to individual stories or individual pieces, you can deliver it via RSS.

Just to give you an impression of the power of RSS, here are some examples of content you can publish using it …

–> MarketingVOX is using RSS to deliver internet marketing news to their readers as it becomes available. Instead of having to wait to receive all the news in a single e-mail newsletter, RSS users get them as soon as they are ready.

–> Amazon.com is using RSS to announce their bestsellers and to help their users keep track of releases they are most interested in.

–> Some affiliate managers already communicate with their affiliates using RSS. You can of course use it to communicate with any other target audience as well, such as your employees or team-members, and even your company owners.

–> FindSavings.com uses RSS to deliver savings coupons and related information.

–> Lockergnome uses RSS to provide visitors with the latest downloads and relevant software. Yet again other companies are using RSS to deliver product updates and patches directly to their customers, just as they become available.

–> A few hundred content publishers are using RSS to deliver audio content, such as .mp3 interviews and even “radio” shows.

–> Textamerica.com allows people to post pictures, videos & text from their mobile phones and then make this content available via RSS feeds.

–> Other companies are using RSS to deliver whitepapers and other educational content.

–> One company uses RSS as a consulting billing awareness tool. The consultants create activity reports and the RSS feeds from the activity channels carry the billable information to the accounting staff for invoice preparation.

–> Many internet publishers are using RSS to deliver their newsletters, as a supplement to their e-mail delivery. Since many people no longer want to give their e-mail address away to publishers, this is a great way to keep your e-zine readership growing.

–> Publish living digital catalogues of your products and provide your customers with your latest product releases, broken down by the categories they’re interested in, and make it easy for them to order.

–> Provide your affiliates and marketing partners with RSS feeds they can promote to their visitors to better promote your products and still make a commission. Amazon.com is already doing it. When are you starting?

–> Create RSS autoresponders with scheduled messages, to keep in constant “marketing” contact with your prospects and slowly get them to the point of purchase.

–> Provide limited-access content to your customers, employees, team members and even investors, without fearing other unwanted eyes. Use RSS for internal communications, teamworking and other needs.

–> Provide your customers with easy access to software updates, delivered to them exactly as they become available, without the fuss of having to visit your web site or deal with huge e-mail attachments, which would get blocked by spam filters anyway.

–> Newsreporters are constantly bombarded with e-mail, so why not instead deliver your press releases via RSS? Or even better yet, why not deliver some of your releases as video comments, interviews or statements from your company managers or owners?

–> Help your visitors keep up with what’s going on in your web forum, by publishing your latest forum posts or whole threads via RSS.

And yet these are still only a few examples of what you can do with RSS today, since something new comes up almost every day.

Are you as well already among those taking advantage of the marketing & publishing power of RSS?

Rok Hrastnik Rok Hrastnik is the author of »Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS«, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide to RSS for marketers by leading RSS experts. The complete guide on RSS for marketers: rss.marketingstudies.net/index.html?src=sa3
Provided By: Blogs, RSS and Podcasting

by Jesse S. Somer

There’s a lot of blogs out there on the Web, most of which don’t entice one to go back regularly to read updates. What is missing from these on-line journals that would essentially make them ‘good’ blogs? Well, the answers in life usually come down to simplicities. So let’s look at the problem like we were children. Children don’t complicate life with miscellaneous information, and when they speak they tell you straight to the point exactly how they feel and think about a subject.

First of all, we should ask the questions,” Why do blogs exist? And what are they here for?” Well, in an ideal world ‘good’ blogs would help people connect, sharing knowledge and feelings about issues in life. As they are journals written by individuals we would hope that they’d be readable and open to comment by all other people, not just a select group of friends. The key is speaking in a way that is understandable by the masses, get rid of acronyms and local slang that only few will comprehend. Keep the sentences grammatically simple and generally short and concise.

Try to write in your blog as often as possible because if people enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas they’ll want to communicate or at least be filled in regularly on ‘your world’. Ask questions, comment on other blogs of similar content, start communities with others you’ve never met, based on your interests. Keep focused; if your blog is about thoughts on war and peace, keep your thoughts on the latest movie and how hungry you are for somewhere else. The idea is to incite intelligent communication so that in time our collective stockpile of knowledge and wisdom will gradually grow like a tree in fertile soil.

I think of most importance is the fact that you want this journal to be ‘good’ reading. Of course we all have ideas about what genres and styles we like, but writing from your heart and soul is imperative for the connection with others that you’re looking for. Share yourself; don’t hide behind walls of fear of ridicule and judgment. In real life relationships trust, respect, intimacy, and unity are all necessary for a bond to form. It’s the same in the ‘virtual’ world; people want to hear from real people-not just one-sided, highly opinionated arguments from egos that don’t want to hear the ‘other side of the coin’.

Now, in my last article I really tore apart most writers out there, and here I’m giving some pretty complex ideas on how to fix the problem of ‘bad’ writing. In my next article I’ll attempt to go back to the simple basics of how to write for beginners. I hope I haven’t come across as too judgmental, I just truly believe the ‘blog world’ could become a real asset to humanity, and at the moment it’s missing the mark.

Ideas about sentence structure, grammar, paragraphing, using a thesaurus (varying terms used so as not to sound repetitive), whether or not your blog is suitable for a personal or professional approach, are all important to creating a simple and enjoyable read for the blogging visitor. If you are a beginner, please check out my next article on the basics.

Jesse S. Somer M6.Net www.m6.net Jesse S. Somer is a writer hoping to help potential bloggers to write interesting and informative on-line journals.
Provided By: Internet

by Jesse S. Somer

Why journal writing on the Web? Blogs are journals giving anyone an identity, and an awesome forum for sharing thoughts and ideas with others of similar interests.

Journal writing used to be a private, personal experience done late at night, scribbling hardly legible thoughts and daily occurrences down on paper amidst the haze of a barely lit room. When read over on a later date one could find connections and coincidences that sometimes brought deeper insights into the meaning of life. Also, old ideas could be rekindled that otherwise may have been forgotten forever.

In the 21st century a strange new type of journal writing is becoming prevalent in contemporary society. Called Blogs, these are journals used by the masses. Why are people sharing their thoughts instead of keeping them private like the days of old? These journals are found on the World Wide Web and can be used for a number of purposes. The Web is a public sphere and human souls are realizing that sharing their ideas and beliefs can have that same epiphany type of effect on others as the old type of journal had on the personal writer. People are also feeling that they have an identity, and putting it on the Web is a great way of expressing themselves. Anyone can do it, and besides words, visuals can also be integrated into the journal, often making the Blogs very appealing to readers/ viewers.

Blogs are becoming an excellent way of sharing information on any and every subject. Instead of searching Google for general sites about surfing, or 60’s music, one can go straight to a Blog on the subject in question and read daily thoughts and ideas by others with the same interest as well as expert points of view. If you own a business, you can see what entrepreneurs already based in your proposed field feel about the industry. As it’s a journal structure, the reader can see how certain individual’s beliefs have changed over time.

As the world around us is constantly in transition, humans have always looked for better ways of living and growing as a species. The Information Age has helped our society in innumerable ways. On-line journals are becoming the next step in giving voice to every person who has access to a computer and the Net. As well as putting one’s identity ‘out there’ with the masses, people are hearing the inner workings of minds with similar interests. Blogs are a phenomenon helping to create a more interconnected, socially aware global community.

Jesse S. Somer M6.net www.m6.net Jesse S. Somer is a human hoping to help integrate technology with the average person in society.
Provided By: Internet

by Leah J Bradshaw

One of the Number 1 traffic building secrets is adding content to your website. Have you ever considered that a blog could be the tool that makes this very possible, fast and extremely easy to do.

Blogs are written in RSS or Atom, both very effective content managment systems. Getting a blog for free is easy at www.blogger.com. After you set up your blog you need to change your settings to archive daily so you have a new page of content every time you make a post to your blog.

Blogging daily is best if you want to add new content every day. If you archive daily, then post each day the blog software will generate a new page of content for you. It’s definately the fastest and easiest way to add content.

The best way to integrate a blog into your website is to make your website into a blog. If you have fresh relevant content on your blog then top search engines like Google will return more often to gobble up that fresh content. That means your site will be spidered more often, and if you just built another page you want spidered, just leave a link within your blog posts to that page and the spider will follow it.

This is a great way to get your pages spidered fast. But it’s important to have the pge you are linking to be somewhat related to the topic of your post. Google is getting more picky about the content of the pages where your incoming links are coming from.

Also, it is important to optimize your blog just as you would for a website if you want to get theat free targeted traffic. Optimizing is easy, include your keywords within the title and description of your blog, as well as in the title posts occasionally. And don’t forget to include the same keywords within the link text of your incoming links to your blog.

Most bloggers don’t see the traffic potential their blog holds if it was oiptimized just like any other webpage.

One more factor to consider: Google loves blogs Not simply because it’s a blog, but because of the nature of blogs; They usually have fresh relevant content on a specific topic. That’s what Google loves. Give it what it wants and it will visit you more often.

Leah J. Bradshaw is the author of the Free Targeted Traffic Report; ‘Jumpstart Your Traffic in as Little as 10 Days’. She also authors a Moms Free Traffic Blog to help work at home moms get free traffic.
Provided By: Blogs, RSS and Podcasting

by Torgeir Sunnarvik

Blogs are becoming more and more popular. The word ‘blog’ is short for web log. And blogs are a great way of getting links in to your website.

For instance, if you have a website about Internet marketing, you could search Google for ‘Internet Marketing Blogs’

In the listing that comes up I’m sure that you’ll find some blogs that you can post a comment to. There are blogs that have page rank of 5 or even 7. So a link from one of these blogs could mean a lot when it comes to search engine rankings.

Find one blog that are relevant to your site, and post a comment that make sense to the original posting on the blog. Make sure that you link back to your site with the keywords that you are targeting.

That way your comment won’t get deleted,and you have a link from a high page rank site.

You should also consider to start your own blog. Blogs seem to get spidered a lot faster than a normal website. And it’s easier to get good search engine rankings for the keywords that you are targeting.

I use the blog solution from Google. It is easy to use and gets you started fast. It can be hosted on the Blogger server or on your own website. Sign up and start your blog at: www.blogger.com

You can use the blog like a journal and add posts about your daily updates to your website. Your blog should have the same theme as your website. That way you are targeting the visitors to your blog and can direct them to your website by linking back to your homepage in each posting.

Fresh content gets your blog spidered often. So try to add a couple of post each week. That way your blog will soon become a content site. It will contain a lot of keywords that could bring you targeted traffic from the search engines. There are also a lot of blog directories where you can add your blog for free. One good example is http://www.blogarama.com/

My blog is ranked higher than my website, even though I have hundreds of back links to my site, where I use my targeted keywords in the linking text. That only shows how powerful a blog can become for your business.

Torgeir Sunnarvik, Norway mailto:webmaster@everypleasures.com Torgeir Sunnarvik is the owner and webmaster of www.everypleasures.com/. His site offers free ebooks, ebooks with reprint rights and review of business ebooks. One of his blogs www.norway-tour.com/
Provided By: Blogs, RSS and Podcasting