Tag: Part

100 Tips to Market Your Music – Part 2

Even if an artist has an outstanding talent, record deals do not fall out of the sky and land in your lap without music marketing. In this Internet age, A&R at most record labels is not what it once was, so those reps are looking for artists that already have CD sales, a great fan base, and already have the look and feel of being made even more marketable.

We started a list of marketing tips in 100 Tips To Market Your Music and continue more great ideas here, so tweak any of them as you will!

Promo Tip #55 Tag your MP3s with your name or band name, not just the song name. They need to know WHO did this material when they happen across it months later.

Promo Tip #56 Know who you are! Get into an appropriate category so that you can be found. People have to be able to identify your sound into a category that they can identify with. You may want to portray a new edgy sound, which is fine, but there are still general categories that people search on in record stores or online and you have to be found in one of them.

Promo Tip #57 Throw a listen-in. Contact record stores, coffee shops, book stores, malls, recreational areas, galleries, cool clothing stores or nightclubs that are willing to support local music. The free listen-in could have talk session and discounted CDs with coupons.

Promo Tip #58 Keep it simple silly, web sites that take a long time to load, are not easy to navigate, and are not interesting will not keep the viewer’s attention long enough for them to get to know you. So don’t make your personal website or any site that can be customized, so frilly that it turns a potential opportunity away.

Promo Tip #59 Join local communities and organizations and go to meetings periodically and pay attention. Listen for opportunities in what they are saying and perhaps volunteer. Help them and they will help you. Nonprofit organizations are likely to have access to media outlets that may give your some exposure.

Promo Tip #60 Check your public and local radio stations that play your type of music and try to get some air time.

Promo Tip #61 You will hear a lot of no’s and negativity. That is to be expected as everyone’s taste is different. Hopefully someone will give you some constructive criticism. Learn from it what you can but keep moving forward.

Promo Tip #62 Develop yourself as a complete package. Record labels do not spend the money on A&R as in the day. Educate yourself as a well-rounded music artist and present yourself as such.

Promo Tip #63 Elevator Pitch – If you only have one shot to make an impression in 30 seconds or less, can you do it? You will need to, so practice it!

Promo Tip #64 Post your gigs on your website(s), class ads, Craigslist, Backpage and other sites for your location.

Promo Tip #65 Submit your music to songwriting competitions, musician competitions, singing contests – try out for American Idol, for gosh sakes!

Promo Tip #66 Do a free conference call to chat with fans using your website. Record the call and follow up by posting the MP3 on your site. Promote it for all its worth.

Promo Tip #67 Never release an inferior product, send out professional, and only your very best demos and new releases.

Promo Tip #68 Get testimonials and reviews from people that matter and start locally if you have to. Add them to your press kit.

Promo Tip #69 Make sure you make it easy for potentials sales to happen whether on your site or at a show. Make the payment process, safe, secure and EASY.

Promo Tip #70 Have a house concert. Invite the neighborhood to your backyard.

Promo Tip #71 Give your fans insider, behind the scenes, back stage with the band info and videos. This is great info to include in newsletters – people that signed up to learn more about you on purpose.

Promo Tip #72 Take the good with the bad, and take it all graciously. You must keep your image clean or at least maintain the aforementioned image.

Promo Tip #73 Don’t waste time, prioritize and go with the best bets. Put your energy into the correct market for YOUR music.

Promo Tip #74 If you can write well about a music subject, write and distribute articles. Always source the article back to your website. Let it be redistributed with the bottom author source info to spread your message and link.

Promo Tip #75 Gig swap with other bands from another area to widen your fan base.

Promo Tip #76 A music profile or bio, press kit and press releases should all be well written, free of misspellings, kept current, and to the point. Schedule updates of your various online activities.

Promo Tip #77 Find a business in your area that you can partner with for mutual benefit. If something about a song, style, or image would boost a local business, develop a cross promotional relationship.

Promo Tip #78 Respond to all your correspondence in a timely, businesslike, and correct manner – appropriate to the sender. Be considerate of your audience.

Promo Tip #79 Give people what they want. It’s all about the fans. If they come to your website, give them information that makes THEM feel good. If they come to your show, entertain them, thank them and thank the venue for the experience.

Promo Tip #80 Don’t disappear. Once you have started building your momentum, it is a continuous onslaught.

Promo Tip #81 Attend music conferences, indie showcases, music festivals. Gain exposure and network.

Promo Tip #82 Be easy to work with and be flexible. A good reputation carries a lot of weight. Flexibility can also mean possibly adjusting areas of your work or image so as to get your foot in the door if need be.

Promo Tip #83 Have a cause. Create an event to promote that cause. Team up with other like-minded bands and make a news worthy event out of that cause.

Promo Tip #84 Business Cards – When talking to anyone, hand one out. You must include the link to your website. Consider your link as your online business card.

Promo Tip #85 Rolodex your contact list (some sites have contact managers in their member consoles). Make a list and keep it current of all the places online and offline that you need to post to when you need to send out reoccurring press releases of news and events. Be aware that many sites have limits in number and/or time frames, be careful to not exceed them.

Promo Tip #86 Invoke your personality into your writings to make your invitations, announcements and introductions fun and effective.

Promo Tip #87 Clearly define what you are about – quickly, online or offline. People have short attention spans and are short on time – not just the music industry, but most people in general. This is very important! Don’t waste words. Make anything you have to say about yourself or band enough to give the important necessary information and cut out the nonsense.

Promo Tip #88 Create a band calendar with some humorous photos of the various band members at various events.

Promo Tip #89 You heard it through the grapevine. Share “some” inside knowledge with other bands and songwriters in your area. Start your own information highway.

Promo Tip #90 Create an automated template for emails. Take the time to add the person’s name with a personal tidbit, but save time with a ready made email guide. Respond to unsolicited emails with your own personalized marketing message and a link to your website.

Promo Tip #91 Play for free if you have to, any where, any time. Create an event, an event with a cause and donate the proceeds to a charity. This can open up some interesting contacts and opportunities. Sponsor an event.

Promo Tip #92 Reach out and touch your fans. Whether someone else is maintaining your online presence or not, occasionally touch base with fans personally.

Promo Tip #93 Include every ounce of contact info needed upon every available surface.

Promo Tip #94 Borrow an idea from other sources, even outside the music industry. If it works for that company, perhaps you can adapt the idea to market your music as well. Find a way to put a new twist or slant on a successful bands tactics.

Promo Tip #95 Send birthday cards to your fans…of course you need to get their birthday info when they sign up for mailing lists.

Promo Tip #96 Get involved in the music forums and message boards that target your music segment and ALWAYS include your signature URL (aka web link)!!

Promo Tip #97 Start a Music or Band Blog, well written and kept current. Submit it to music Blog directories.

Promo Tip #98 Create a novelty song that topics a holiday, a hot news item, your city or town, sports team, political event or other idea and gain exposure on promoting this song.

Promo Tip #99 Listen to your fans and learn what brought them to your show. This is very effective to giving you feedback on which promotional tool worked.

Promo Tip #100 Success does not happen to those that wait. A record label , music deal, stardom, just creating a website “and they will come” does not just land in your lap with you doing nothing. You have to make success come to you. Be persistent, be confident, roll up your sleeves, it is going to take some serious work.

But wait, there’s more! We could not stop at 100! Here are a few more great tips:

Promo Tip #101 Use the Internet to research and keep current on new ways and new sites to market your music.

Promo Tip #102 Strength in numbers. Build joint ventures, collaborations and/or online partners on a project and both of you market that project.

Promo Tip #103 Have a professional email address.

Promo Tip #104 Don’t burn your bridges. Even with the increasing number of music “want to-be’s” the music industry is a relatively small and close knit community. A wrong done to you by someone early in your career, may be that “someone” in a position of music power one day that you just might need to do business with.

Promo Tip #105 Join the party, even if not in the mood. Don’t respond to the inevitable “what do you do” question with your day job, but tell your potentially new fan you are a musician and hand them your business card.

Promo Tip #106 Keep a journal of your marketing efforts with what worked and what did not work. This can be used in many ways down the road besides tracking your efforts. A book or e-book maybe?

Promo Tip #107 If out partying, have a designated friend or band mate for image control. If you get into something that could potentially land you in trouble, that controller gets you out of the situation before it can hurt your image. Video can be on the Internet before you even get home, so protect your image at all costs if you happen to get out of control.

Promo Tip #108 Business is business. There is a time and place for slang/explicit language, behavior, and the like. Project yourself in a professional manner. Know when you are onstage and when you are not.

Promo Tip #109 Get your own competition going about your band or a new release. Give something away, have fans register at local record stores, find a way to get buzz going by asking a great question.

Promo Tip #110 Self promote everyday, in every way, one way or the other.

Some of these pointers may not be for you. That’s fine. Do what you need to do, just make sure we ALL hear about you. Very true that many artists do not have the funds to do some of these tips, well, with the Internet and some ingenuity it possible to get around this to an extent.

The difference between you and another band that made it may not be that their music was better. It might be that they found a way to get noticed better. The music industry needs music talent and is constantly on the look out for something that stands out. If you have the guts and perseverance, it can be you.

Top 9 Online Jobs & Part Time Work From Home For College Students, Housewives & Freshers

Most people have certain unique skills that can be monetized. Also, you can re-skill yourself anytime nowadays. After starting to do these part time online works from home, your income would increase.

You can become a successful businessman / woman and increase your income and profits by starting these types of online businesses. These business ventures require little or no investment.

You can operate and sustain many of these business activities from your home. Even, if you are already employed, you can operate a small business. For many, these ventures can become a full-time business.

A few top proved and profitable part time jobs from home and small business ideas are listed here, which would suit the skills, knowledge, and temperament of different types of people. Here are some excellent online business ideas here for everyone.

You can start a small business on your own. You can set up a home office. You can utilize the workspace at your home.

Most of the times, a fast/reliable Internet connection, a computer, phones and the required skills are all that is needed to start a small online business.

Profitable Home-based Online Jobs For College Students/ Housewives/ Fresh Graduates/ Unemployed/ Working Professionals

1) Social Media Expert

You can offer your social media promotion and marketing services from your home to the small-scale businesses.

You may manage their Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media profiles, groups, and pages as a freelancer. You will be implementing the right methods for managing the posts, content, and followers.

2) Make Money From Home By Freelancing

One can earn money by offering various types of freelance services to the companies. Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, Peopleperhour.com, and Freelancer.com are some popular platforms for freelancers for getting projects. Numerous assignments and jobs are available for all kinds of skill sets.

Register at these sites as a freelancer to get projects. Technical services, website designing, content writing, logo designing, illustration, translation, proofreading, editing, ghostwriting, etc. are some sought-after areas for contract work.

Freelancing is one of the best online jobs for college students, fresh graduates, housewives and retired persons.

3) Creating a YouTube Channel

If you prefer online part time work and home based business ideas, then starting a YouTube channel is quite profitable.

Independent channels can be started by the users on YouTube and videos can be uploaded there for free. YouTube videos are highly popular. YouTube receives about a billion monthly visitors.

Videos showing and reviewing the latest gadgets, digital devices, electronics, cosmetics, etc. are very popular. You can create informative and entertaining videos, how-to video guides, videos on beauty/makeup tips, life and relationship tips, recipes, etc. that are highly profitable.

Most of us have seen advertisements while watching any video on YouTube. “Skip Ads” is clicked to watch an interesting video. This way the makers of the videos earn money. When the visitors play any video in which an ad is shown, the owner of the channel gains some money from Google. This process utilizes YouTube AdSense.

If needed, you can re-skill yourself anytime joining a short course, to learn the secrets of becoming a successful YouTube Channel owner.

4) Monetize Your Blog / Website Using Google AdSense and Affiliate Marketing

Do you have your blog/website where you have been posting great content? Does this site or blog have many visitors? If your answer is ‘Yes’ then you can start monetizing your blog. This is a profitable small business at home.

A great way to convert your blog into a source of income is using Google AdSense. Sign up for your Google AdSense account.

AdSense allows you to display ads on your blog or website. The ads are targeted at your website’s content. For including the AdSense ads to your website, you just have to add the script where you wish to display the ads. You can earn money if the site-visitors click on the ads to view them.

You can also register for affiliate programs. If your web content or blog post focuses on a specific topic, you can include affiliate ad links of products relevant to your content. If the reader clicks on the affiliate product link and purchases it, you will earn money as commission.

Amazon Associates Affiliate program is quite popular since Amazon.com has a vast range of products.

Monetizing your blog is a profitable part time work from home. Manage your blog or other’s blogs.

5) Online Tutor and Online Courses / eBooks

If you excel in the academics and can explain complex topics lucidly or have a flair for teaching you can become an online tutor. Earn money by sharing knowledge through online, virtual classes. You can teach and guide students online via video-calling.

Online tutoring is one of the best part time jobs from home.

You can work as an online trainer for your favorite subjects/skills. Also, if one is adept at creating videos and eBook, he/she can create online video courses and eBook courses. Reasonably priced online courses are very popular nowadays.

After creating eBooks, you can sell them via online retailers such as Amazon. Also, you can sell your courses, eBooks, and videos via your website.

6) Content Writing

A ghostwriter sells his/her articles or other written content to another party, without claiming any ownership or rights over those write-ups.

If you possess excellent writing skills, you can start your own writing business or work as a freelance writer. You can work as a content writer. This is one of the most popular part time work from home jobs.

For becoming a web content writer, you need to cultivate the proper reading, writing and research skills. You will get paid for writing creative or technical content such as reviews, articles, blogs, press releases, website content, social media content, etc.

Register at the freelance job sites and create your impressive online portfolio.

7) Editing or Proofreading

Proofreading and editing are necessary for all significant write-ups. If you are good in the languages and have good reading and writing skills, you can start your editing/proofreading business.

8) Translator

Vital documents or articles often require translation services. If you are good in English or other languages, you can earn money by working as a translator online.

Create your online portfolio and register at the top freelancing websites.

9) E-commerce Business

Selling products and services online is easy nowadays. Collect your chosen products from a wholesaler and sell them at higher prices via your websites or sites like Amazon or eBay. You can also ship your goods to Amazon, and it would sell and ship them to the customers for you.

If you can make various types of the latest jewelry or other exciting handicrafts or attractive soft toys, you can sell them on sites like Etsy.

This is a great part time work from home for housewives, fresh graduates, students and retired people.

Express Yourself – How to Conduct a Seminar (Part I)

Conducting a seminar is a great way to communicate your ideas or introduce new technologies. It is useful to know some guidelines when you have to conduct a seminar. I understood the importance of this both as a attendee and a presenter myself.

Preparing your presentation

A successful seminar is the result of careful preparation of your speech and your presentation material. Here is how you can do it.

Research your subject

If you are called to speak on a topic, probably thats because you are already have some knowledge of it. Even so, you need to reference from at least 2 different books. This helps you address and include points you have not thought about. It also helps you determine a flow for the seminar.

Preparing the presentation

Include a presentation. Presentations help the audience to understand the underlying points that the speaker has to say especially if the subject is rather vague.

The presentation should have an Introduction and a conclusion. The introduction can include a summary of the topic and a brief overview of what the speaker will be saying for the rest of the duration of the seminar.

The speaker should determine how long the seminar will take and accordingly create the presentation slides. Thumb of rule is approximately 2-3 minutes per slide if the speaker intends to skim through the slides quickly. And around 5 minutes per slide if the speaker intends to explain the slides with small examples. For example, if the seminar is supposed to be 40 minutes long, there should be around 16 slides if the speaker intends to quickly skim the contents of the slide.

Make sure the content has a “flow” to it. By flow I mean that the content that comes later can depend on the content which comes in first, but not the other way around. This is a common mistake. The speaker tends to explains a point that should have come in later, in the beginning itself. This tends to confuse the attendees because they have not gained enough insight into the topic to be able to grasp the new information.

The Look and feel of the presentation is extremely important. Avoid too flashy and too plain presentations. A presentation with extraordinary text effects look naive and detracts from the importance of what the speaker has to say.

At the same time, avoid plain presentations as the attendees perceive that the speaker has probably not prepared enough. Use well designed presentation templates which are freely available or at a low cost. The text size of primary points should be uniform as far as possible. Secondary points should have a smaller font size to show its reduced significance. Secondary points are indented under primary points.

Include pictures or graphs instead of text wherever possible. Management Guru CK Prahalad, in a seminar on India’s innovation possibilities, explained the efficacy of the Jaipur Foot in a picture that showed a physically challenged person running with the Jaipur foot. Though the audience had already heard about the Foot, they were visibly amazed and touched as they saw the picture.

The way text is arranged on the presentation slides is also important. Speakers sometimes make the mistake of putting up points and their respective explanations also. Not only does this practice increase the number of slides, but it is a sure shot way to lull the audience into sleep. So thumb of rule is to use minimum text, and make sure whatever text you put up is a point, not an explanation of a point. If you intend to give out detailed points for reference, do not include them in the slide. It just makes them cluttered and anyway the audience just cannot keep up with the stream of points you list out to them during the seminar. Use handouts instead for such points.

It is very important to include within the seminar content, examples and case studies. Examples illustrate the speaker’s point in a more interesting way which the audience is immediately able to relate to. Examples and case studies have the power to touch an audience, relate to similar experiences and thereby be eager to learn more. Sometimes small jokes too make the seminar livelier.

Handouts

The speaker should prepare handouts as well, especially if the audience is small. Handouts will contain all main points of the seminar as well as those detailed points which cannot be included in the seminar slides but are useful for reference later. Include within the handout, a list of any reference books used to prepare for the seminar. This helps the audience to read or followup on the same topic later.

Listen to your voice

The speaker should listen to his seminar using a Dictaphone( or tape recorder) and play it back. It is possible to immediately detect the parts of the seminar that could be corrected or which don’t sound right. If the seminar sounds interesting to the speaker, chances are that others would also feel so.

During the seminar

Once the seminar is prepared, relax!! Most of the work is done.

List out your seminar itinerary

The speaker should make sure that the audience knows how long this is going to take. Give a brief idea on the important aspects of your speech so that the audience is aware where they are during the seminar. Then start with an introduction. Many people fail to give out a decent introduction before they delve into the subject, perhaps because they want to be quickly done with the main parts. An introduction helps bring people into sync with the subject. The speaker can also emphasize the benefit the audience will get by hearing the seminar out. It would be something like this “The topic I am going to speak today is about xxxxxx and through this I hope you will be able to gain yyyyyy.”

Style of speaking

The speaker’s voice should reach everyone, especially if it is a large audience and if there is no adequate sound system. Not able to clearly hear is probably the first way to lose interest. Similarly the seating should be such where everyone can easily see the speaker and the presentation.

The speaker should be relaxed and should be able to casually bring out examples of as many points he is taking. Examples have the power to immediately make the audience understand the point and be in sync with the speaker.

Speaker’s attention has to be on the audience. The speaker can probably glance occasionally at the presentation, but remember to make eye contact as often as possible.

The general thumb rule in a seminar is for the audience to understand the subject first before asking questions Interactions can be initiated after the seminar. But during the seminar the speaker is the one who has to be strictly speaking. While an interactive seminar may seem more lively for the speaker, in fact it is lively only for the speaker and for the person who is asking questions. Others immediately lose interest. So in the interest of the larger audience, the speaker has to make sure he does not lose grip over the audience even for a minute. That means avoiding asking audiences questions during the seminar or encouraging discussions during the seminar.

So how do people ask questions. They should do it after the seminar during a Question answer session. Any questions they have during the seminar should be written down by the audience and asked after the seminar. The speaker could make these rules clear to the audience prior to starting with the seminar.

After the seminar

After the seminar is over, there could be a question answer session where audience can ask questions. As the audience is more aware of the subject now and not burdened with their own questions, they can easily understand the replies to other questions.

Now the speaker could try to get feedback from the audience about your seminar. Of course this applies only if the seminar is conducted within a company or among people who will come back for more seminars. The speaker should try to understand if the subject was interesting to the audience and in particular “useful” to them or their department. This way it is possible to understand whether to continue to build on the details of the same or similar subjects in your next seminar.

In Poornam’s Development department, we conduct feedback sessions after every seminar to know whether the topic is useful for further implementation within the department. This way we were able to include JAD (Joint Application Development) and Inspection Review methods to our processes. The seminar became an extremely useful method to increase the knowledge level of staff and to improve our processes also. If the feedback session wasn’t there, probably people would have forgotten about the seminar and its uses to the department. Remember the speaker is a powerhouse of information on the topic and that knowledge should not go waste if it is useful to the organization.

Conclusion

Finally ensure that seminars are always are conducted in an organisation. Besides drastically improving kowledge levels, it brings about an understanding of the immensity of the vast unknowns in our profession or for that matter any profession. This in turn eradicates complacancy.

Another surprising benefit of conducting seminars within organisations is the increased confidence levels found in the speakers. Generally once a speaker has conducted a seminar, he rarely stops conducting seminars and goes on to become good enough to speak outside the company to a more general audience.

As complacancy is eradicated, a renewed interest in learning is developed and most speakers turn to writing articles and reading more books. Most importantly, the fresh inflow of new ideas enters the organisation as many of these ideas are implemented. The audience which listens to the seminar already know much of what is spoken and are ready to accept changes brought about by the new systems introduced as a result of the new ideas introduced by the speaker.

All in all, seminars benefit the orgnisation, the audience and most importantly the speaker.

The House Cleaning Business Startup Manual – Part III

Advertising

Spread the word. Let friends and family know that you have started your own home cleaning business. Ask them to spread the word at work and wherever they go. Personal referrals can help at this level to get the first customers. Serve the first customers as good as you can. These customers can be the make or break foundation. If you treat them like king they might refer you to their friends. Word of mouth is the most successful form of advertising for small businesses of that kind. “Word of mouth” can carry your business further and also help to cut down on marketing expenses.

Business Referral Program: I already mentioned the “word of mouth” advertising. Taking this a step further can really help your business to take off. Implement a referral program. Pay customers if they refer new customers to you. This can be in form of cash or free house cleaning services

Start advertising in local newspapers: Concentrate on the smaller local community newspapers and less on the large metro area newspapers. Pricing will be much more affordable. A local news paper in the area where I live gets distributed to about 75,000 residential customers (not households). A business card sized ad in a reasonable location costs around $95.00 per week. You can also just work with classified ads. These ads run anywhere from $10.00 per week to around $45.00 per week. If you can – don’t choose the weekly run, but go for a monthly or quarterly deal. Don’t try to put too much information into a classified ad. Keep it short, but easy to understand. Example: “Affordable house cleaning services. No job too small. Free estimates. (123)-555-1234”

Magnetic Signs or decals for your Vehicle: If you drive a decent looking vehicle use it for advertising. If you drive an old, rusty looking piece of the 80’s – skip to the next section. Car advertising can be very effective if you follow some basic rules. It has to look professional. The message has to be short and easy to understand. Do not drive like a maniac when having advertising for your business on your car. Magnetic signs can be purchased for around $75.00. Decals are available starting at around $25.00. Look at other cars that carry an advertising message to get ideas of what to do.

Flyers: You could print nice looking flyers on your home computer, but I recommend to rather spending a little money on professional printing. Design a flyer first. Then talk to local print shops for pricing. You can also check out Internet printers like http://www.gotprint.com. 1,000 (color print) flyers at Gotprint.com will set you back around $125.00 + shipping. Try to beat that with your home computer. Paper, ink, time, and wear and tear will cost you 2 or 3 times as much. How to distribute the flyers? Start with hanging flyers on bulletin boards in supermarkets and coin laundries. Ask store owners in your area if they are willing to show the flyer in their store somewhere (if appropriate).

Do not put flyers on car windows at local groceries stores and businesses. You might violate local laws or property owner’s permissions. Rather spend a morning in large residential areas and walk from door to door and place the flyers at the front door (bring plenty of scotch tape). You can even go a step further and ring door bells and drop of flyers in person and mention that you are expanding your services to that area to see if people are interested. DO NOT put flyers into mailboxes – that is against federal law.

Have you ever seen those advertisement door hangers? Pre-printed door hangers are pretty much an extension of hanging flyers at front doors. They are already shaped with an opening for the doorknob so that they can easily be put on a doorknob when walking by. Scan the Internet for best pricing or talk to local print shops. We do not endorse a specific shop, but we have seen prices for about 5,000 door hangers for $189.00.

Business Cards: Business cards can be a very effective marketing tool. Check out different websites on the Internet. Often these websites (like Vistaprint.com or Gotprint.com) have online tools to design your business cards on their website. Always carry business cards with you and use them frequently to market your business. Keep in mind – it is a little more cumbersome reaching a large group of people with business cards compared to using flyers.

Internet: Get a good domain name and have a website build for you. More and more people search for service providers online. It starts when being in need of handymen and does not end with finding a reliable house cleaning service. A website and an email address also leave a good impression on your business cards. Statistics show that a lot of working women shop for services around their house online while at work. Purchase an online listing in your local yellow pages. The Yellow Pages are still a great way of advertising your business. The online version on the Internet is gaining more popularity compared to the print version and a listing online will help you to get more customers.

How to Be a Successful Entrepreneur – Making Decisions, Part 4 of 6

Placed Successfully!

Congratulations! You are really doing well with your deep dive into planning, making conscious choices, sorting through a number of decisions, and crafting your strategy for starting a business. It might feel a little overwhelming – or maybe it feels a bit tedious and slow – but hopefully it is bringing you clarity and narrowing your focus! What you are doing now is ensuring your success and the ability to sustain your venture. You’re not leaping without thinking. Being actively engaged in creating a process is a lot of work and it will really help keep you moving in a common sense, organized fashion!

One of the things to consider is where do you want to do business. What are some of your options?

WHERE, personally, would you like to do business?

  • from your home with unrestricted hours (to meet a variety of time zones or because your life and work are intertwined by choice)
  • from your home, knowing that you are a part-time resident of several locations rather than of one year-round residence
  • from your home with standard business hours
  • from an office but with trips to clients, for instance, as a consultant or insurance broker or financial adviser
  • from a retail environment – your store or restaurant, for example)
  • from out in the field (think about drilling wells or training horses)
  • from a warehouse or manufacturing environment

WHERE would you like to your customers to be?

  • in cyberspace, shopping online from you
  • In your local market only (ie, someone who comes directly to your store for purchases)
  • In regional markets
  • In domestic only markets
  • In a combination of domestic and international markets
  • Only in one foreign country – or anywhere overseas

WHERE would you like your customers to work?

  • Are you selling directly to individual consumers (B2C)
  • Are you selling only to other businesses (B2B)
  • Are you selling to companies in a certain revenue category – only Fortune 500 companies, for example
  • Are you selling only to non-profits
  • Are you selling only to schools or to government entities or to religious organizations

WHERE can you access things important to small business start-ups – and what things are important to new business?

  • How many patents are issued per 10,000 people (the national average is 1.8)
  • What is the cost of living and can you find access to affordable and/or flexible lease space (the Council for Community and Economic Research calculates cost of living indexes specifically for the self-employed)
  • Can you find creative talent and/or a skilled work-force (what is the density of universities and/or tech schools and community colleges with job-training programs)
  • Is there a density of small businesses and/or incubators with a track record of creating start-ups
  • Is there access to private seed capital and/or a track record of such monies being available to start-ups
  • Is there a state income tax
  • What is the franchise tax cap
  • What are the local zoning laws (including parking regulations) and do they allow for or promote co-working space
  • Are there regular gatherings or networking events for start-up minded folks?
  • Are there financial incentives and are there mentoring opportunities, some of which are often provided by business incubators or business accelerator programs
  • Is there access to low-interest business loans
  • Is there access to government contracts
  • What is the corporate tax rate
  • Are there tax credits available promoting certain industries or certain geographic locations

The fact is new businesses start everyday and they start even in places that can’t claim to have everything on the list above. If you are willing to move and interested in moving, you might increase your odds of success by making a decision to move to a location that meets the majority of the considerations listed above. I happen to be quite fond of Beaufort and believe there are many attributes here that will contribute to your success, not the least of which is quality of place. My personal bias says that living in Beaufort, SC – a community where people you don’t know wave when they drive by or say hello when they walk by, with people who slow down to let you walk your dog across the street or who stop to chat in the grocery line even if it slows things down, a place that celebrates our Gullah influences, our French beginnings, our military presence and sacrifice, and a place that provides beautiful flowers and bench swings so that living here is calming and visually pleasant – means living in a place where you are reminded that being an entrepreneur is just one component of your life, a life that is interconnected with family, friends, and community. And besides, the more of us who commit to being part of job creation and the entrepreneurial scene here in Beaufort, the more vibrant our town will become!

DO’s

  • DO keep constantly in mind that planning to start a business is a process that requires you to lay a foundation. Keep deliberately slogging through this decision making process in order to create a business that meets your needs and lifestyle
  • DO consider your flexibility, or lack of it, in considering where you want to live when you start your business and as you grow your business. If you start a business with a physical location you have committed yourself to staying put. That is neither negative nor positive – just make sure you have decided in advance you are content with that outcome.
  • DO consider whether traveling is something you want or can accommodate. A good friend recently advised me he logged over 200,000 flying miles last year – and he has twin 9-yr-olds at home. He loves his work and is very successful – and he loves his family. But it takes a lot of energy to travel that much and there are very real sacrifices made by all because of the type of business he does. I also know of people who limit their travel by limiting the frequency and destination of their trips. But they go on buying trips to places they would have traveled even wthout a business. Having a business purpose to visit their favorite places is a real bonus for them on a number of levels!

DON’Ts

  • Don’t choose a new location for starting a business based on the false pretense that the grass is always greener somewhere else. If moving makes sense after doing your research and laying your foundation, then go. But don’t go TO somewhere new just to get away FROM your current dissatisfaction. Problems have a bad habit of traveling with you so it’s best to fix things right here first.
  • Don’t minimize the impact of a move on your family members. If you aren’t single, consider the issue of ‘the trailing spouse’ – will there be things your ‘significant other’ can do for work and recreation that they will enjoy enough to make the move satisfactory to both of you? These days we often spread out pretty far geographically but it does create considerations when there is a need to be close to aging parents or a desire to be close to young grandchildren. Don’t forget to consider the whole big picture when deciding on the best location for your new business and it’s success.

ACTION ITEMS:

  1. Sit down and review this article. Write down where you want to work from ideally, where you anticipate your customers will come from, where you anticipate the bulk of your sales to come from, and where there are resources that your business will need for its success.
  2. Think about where you spend the majority of your time now and where you’d like to spend your time – in one place year-round, in one location for the summer and a different one for the winter, not currently tied anywhere and interested in visiting or living briefly in as many places as possible? Also think about where your family members are now and determine if their circumstances will affect yours in the next 1-2 years and the next 5-10 years, and think about how this might affect your choice of where (and how) you want your business to operate. Depending on the type of business you choose and its success, you may create greater freedom through increased flexibility and finances. If these are your goals be sure you are clear on the outcome you want and in understanding if the business you propose to start will indeed land you this outcome.

Cost Effective Small Business Marketing Strategies and Tips – Part Two

In my previous article (part 1), I discussed Marketing Keys, Marketing Plan Components and Creative Marketing. Now I will get into specific, cost effective marketing methods and strategies you can use today to increase your company’s exposure and profits.

MARKETING METHODS

Internet

-Highly targeted and extremely economical

-Extremely Interactive

Magazines

-Targets your niche

-Creates credibility

-Establishes Identity & Brand

TV

-Can be very cost effective

-Great for demonstrations

Direct Mail

-Highly targeted

-Medium that allows you to go through the entire sales process.

-Augmented with Follow-up Mailing and Telemarketing is very effective

Canvassing

-Provides personal contact, which can be the most effective

-Backed by targeted mailings and TV advertising increases its conversion ratio

Outdoor Billboards

-Constant Reminder

-Especially good for “Next Exit” Location traffic targeting

Indoor Signs

-Capitalizing on your marketing’s momentum

-Can be the most important sign – even more crucial than outdoor signage

-Signs don’t have to be static: i.e. Video Message, Slide Show, etc.

Online Marketing

-Absolutely the best medium which economically blends high interactivity with action

-Examples: Email, video & audio postcards, forums, blogs, websites, texting

-Very effective when content based

-Prospective customers are not constrained by time

-Good, targeted, updated content means repeat customer visits

-Great Follow up, Resale, Cross-sale and Up sell medium

-Exponential results when augmented by offline marketing

Classified Ads

-Very cost effective for a broad customer base

-Targets the very hottest prospects

-Confronts your competition head on

Brochures

-Only effective if combined with online and offline marketing

-Always a good after sale piece to keep the customer thinking of you

-Code the brochure, ask the customer to pass it out and provide discounts or referral fees back

Phone

-Telemarketing only effective if part of an Opt In Marketing Campaign, whether online or offline or both.

Reminder Tools

-Refrigerator magnet is the most effective

-Double sided or folded business card which provides mini-brochure capabilities

Trade Shows

-Targeted and motivated prospects

-Consider online versions

Publicity

-Public Relations driven marketing can be cost effective. Establish reputation and credibility

Community Relations & Sponsorship

-Establish powerful contacts and connections

-Great for image

-Great constant reminder

-Create an edge over the competition

-Needs to be sincere

COMBINE MARKETING TOOLS & METHODS

Creative Strategic Marketing is based on developing multiple Marketing Tools in concert to achieve an out-of-the box, competitively advantaged Creative Strategy. Marketing Methods should be integrated together for each cohesive Marketing Strategy, and then adjusted as the campaign proceeds and develops. Personally, I believe one of the most lethal combinations of Marketing Platforms are:

–Developing a Content Rich Internet Presence

–Online Marketing through Opt In

–Advertise free Articles, Newsletter, Guides, Webinar, etc. in a targeted Magazine Ad

This combination of print and online marketing is very cost effective, yet lucrative. Explore the possibilities.

The important thing to keep in mind when executing multiple Marketing Tools, Forums and Methods in a synergetic strategy is to carefully track and monitor the results, making Key changes as the initiative develops. This is where an online / internet marketing platform is so valuable because it can adeptly track results (i.e. conversion rate, response rate) in real time.

ONLINE MARKETING CALENDAR

A good Marketing Calendar is based on a 52 week year and helps considerably in planning and budgeting a Marketing Strategy. At any point in time, you can determine the best ads to run, what needs to be in inventory for the anticipated sales, the project costs and projected sales. The calendar should be an online platform for maximum interactivity, utility, access, flexibility and integration. The Marketing Calendar should be fully integrated with the Marketing Strategy, Strategic Plan and Budgeting Process for maximum utility. The calendar should be in an expandable spreadsheet format to reveal all necessary details for each marketing method within an overall strategy.

COST EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES

Profitable Marketing does not have to be expensive! Some cost saving tips:

Cooperative Advertising

-Can save upwards of 50%. Partner up with a larger company, mention their name and get paid for the promotion. Spread the ad cost among fellow advertisers.

Per Order or Inquiry Payment Method

-Advertising costs subtracted after a sale or defined event.

Survey your Current Customers

-Costs pennies to do, yet gives you the most up to the minute market trends. Plus gives you an opportunity to Cross or Up Sell the customer at the same time.

Backend Products & Services

-Bundle your offerings to minimize your marketing cost per sale.

Code your Ads

-Codes allow you to track and measure your marketing strategy’s results. By keeping ahead of the campaign roll out you can adjust for maximum cost effectiveness.

-Online tracking is the most beneficial and cost effective means of keeping your marketing costs in line with your budget, while providing you where the most profits can be made per marketing dollar spent.

Don’t Use a Rate Card

-Make an offer for all your advertising – rates are always negotiable.

-A 30 second TV spot can be as effective as the more expensive 60 second one.

-Tap into Remnant Magazine Space

-Extra, unused ad space sells at substantial discounts.

TV Ad Tips

-Tight scripts and excellent prior planning cuts down the time costs.

-Do your Ad in 3-4 renditions move session.

-Use a production studio during off-peak times.

Concentrate Efforts on Established Customers

-Customers are 85% cheaper to market; Keep a good balance between Customer and Prospect marketing efforts.

-Exponentially expand your sales, cost effectively, through a Customer Referral Program.

-Up sell, Cross Sell, Cross Promote

Combination Marketing

A very cost-effective and successful combination is pairing a Magazine Ad with a Website. Offer a FREE Newsletter, Guide, E-book, etc and set yourself up as an Expert; mine the prospects data in a permission based, Opt In; Follow up free offering with product and service offerings. All your marketing efforts, mediums, tools and campaigns should be done in concert and combination as the results are exponential and the means cost-effective.

Website Design

-Web Design, Development and Optimization is very important, crucial in fact, but can be very expensive. –To cut Web design costs:

–Create your own content

–Write articles on areas you have Expert status or Knowledge

–Look at the web and decide what you want your site to look like and sketch it out, as well as, organize the link structure. Then have a designer lay out the website in a user friendly Content Management System, and you input all the content. Have the designer / developer review the site after your inputs for Search Engine Optimization tips.

Tip: Consider hiring a Web Designer / Developer overseas, such as from China or India, etc. They charge about $30 per hour (or less) verses $75 – 100 per hour. Make sure to carefully review a Designer / Developer’s credentials, referrals and past projects, to ensure credibility and reliability.

In the next article on Cost Effective Small Business Marketing, I will discuss Marketing Research and Targeted Marketing. Stay tuned!

How to Be a Masterful Trader Part 4 – A Trading Plan

Why Have a Trading Plan?

First thing is that we have a Trading Plan so that it keeps us on the right path like a road map and if we don’t have a road map how do we know where to go.

Secondly, having an up to date Trading Business Plan and consistently using it gives us the opportunity to keep a record of our trading results so that we can go back over our trades and identify our weaknesses and strengths so that we can learn from the past.

Thirdly trading is a business, not a hobby (remember that a hobby costs money, a business makes money).

Every successful business has a business plan and a trader’s business plan is his/her Trading Plan and the more diligent you are with your Trading Plan the higher the probability you have of being successful.

What Should Your Trading Plan Include?

First, you really want to have written in your own words a description of your Entry Points, how you manage your trade and how you will exit your trade.

Now this will change as you progress through the different stages of being a Professional Trader (from Paper Trader to Demo Trader to Live Trader).

Included in our Forex education programs are sample Trading Plans that cover all of the major aspects of each of these distinct and vital stages.

Your Plan should cover different aspects including your routine, your mind set, addressing your weaknesses and building on your strengths, your goals for the day, week, month and year.

It is important to include goals in your Plan – this is the area where you want to go into as much detail as possible – it is the area that will motivate you to achieve your goals.

The goals section is where you will go first when you are having a tough time keeping on track.

Your Trading Journal (when you plan to trade – including the session) should also be covered in your Trading Plan, as well as the time you devote to journaling your trades and the time that you review past trades to look for areas of development.

Your Trading Plan is a Living Document

You should go over your Plan at the beginning of every trading session as it will enforce what your trading style is, and at least you should up date your Trading Plan each week.

One of my friends who happens to be a trader said this to me once (well more than once) “you can have all the trading tools in the world but if you don’t have a plan on how you will use them, then you will have a hard time trying to be successful with them”

Trading Plans – Your Trading Business Plan for Success

The reason I am passionate about trading plans is that I did an overhaul of my trading plan recently and found that once I had finished going through it and updating it I traded with more confidence and freedom than I have since April 2003.

The other reason; which is more important to me, is that the all of the traders I have worked with have experienced astounding trading results after clearly writing their Plans and using them to keep them on track.

I also recommend having a Plan for each phase of your Trading Business – Paper Trading, Demo Trading and Live Trading. Each phase of your Business is distinct and you should have structures, goals and measures for each phase.

These are the plans that I use when I trade and the ones that I recommend that all of my clients use also.

Google Maps VS Yellow Pages – Part 1 of 2

This is a comparison of Google Maps (Google.com) and Yellow Pages (YellowPages.com) for the consumer. The second article is a comparison for the business owner. However, it would serve the business owner well to take a look at the consumer presentation because the things that affect the consumer can have a major impact on the business owner.

The easiest way to compare these two services is to take a look at a real world situation and see how the two entities stack up. Now if you are saying, “Wait a minute, what are you doing comparing Google Maps with the Yellow pages? They aren’t even the same thing.” That’s understandable. At first glance they seem different, maps and yellow pages.

Maybe Google made a mistake. Google Maps was previously know as Google Local Search. In Local Search you could look up businesses and get phone numbers and directions. Google probably changed the name to Google Maps because Maps is a much broader term and encompasses all that Google is doing with their maps. Bottom line, Google Maps is an excellent phone directory.

So, our real world scenario. Let’s say that we are looking for a cosmetic dentist is Santa Monica, Ca that takes Saturday morning appointments.

Let’s start by navigating to YellowPages.com. We are greeted with a pleasant website and what immediately jumps out at us are two text boxes. One says Find and the other says location. I’ll begin with a general search. Under Find I enter Dentist and other Location I enter Santa Monica.

Instantly the YellowPages returns a new web page with eleven different categories. I’m in luck. One of the categories is Dentist – Cosmetic Dentistry. I check the box and click the Find button at the bottom of the page. I’m then greeted by another page and at first I’m a bit confused. I see one dentist listing on the right and this dentist is in Thousand Oaks, easily more than 25 miles away. This certainly isn’t what I’m looking for. Wondering if I entered the correct information my eyes begin to scan the screen and in the left column I first notice a list of cities, Agoura, Agoura Hills, Beverly Hills, Calabasas, etc. My thoughts are it should be easier than this. I’ve already entered data and I’m two clicks into the search and I don’t seem to be very close to the finding a dentist in Santa Monica.

Then at the top of the column on the left I notice that I can refine my search and there is text in black letters that doesn’t look like a link but says Santa Monica Listings Only. I click on the link and go to my third web page and I see a list of dentists. The top dentist looks like a paid listing. The phone number is listed with a link to automatically dial it from a mobile phone. There is also a link to the dentists website, a banner ad and links to more info about the dentist like the products and services that he offers and how long he has been in service.

Beneath the paid listing are the regular listings which seem to be listed alphabetically. These listings include the dentists name, the address and the phone number. There is also a link to a map and more info.

At the very bottom of the listing is a link to send the info to a mobile phone (nice). Thre are also links to Map It, Email it, Get Directions, Save the Listing and Save a note if you have a YellowPages account (very nice).

So far there is enough information to make a call. The phone number is listed. But I want to find a cosmetic dentist so I click on the Dentist name. This opens up a new web page that has the same basic information plus some Business Details which contains General Information, Maps and Directions, and User Reviews.

The same menu for sending info to mobile, emailing, directions etc is also on this page.

Let’s now look at the same search on Google Maps and compare the two. I navigate to maps.Google.com and am greeted with a rather familiar looking interface since I do all of my searches on Google anyway. There is only one search box so I simply enter “cosmetic dentist santa monica” and click Search Maps.

Google immediately returns the top ten search results. The dental offices are listed on the left side of the page with alphabetically lettered place markers and a large map is on the right side showing where each of the dental offices are located.

I already feel better about Google. There was one search box. I didn’t have to enter the business category in one box and the location in another. Also, I have instant results and in the right city. I didn’t have to select from a menu of different types of dentist and then refine the search again by city. At this point Google seems much easier to use.

Like the Yellow Pages there is a paid listing at the top of the list. However, it’s obvious that this listing is a paid advertisement because it has a different background color. This clearly separates the paid listing from the organic search results. Beneath the paid listing are the top ten search results lettered from A to J.

These listings aren’t alphabetical and seem in random order until you learn that Google returns results which it thinks are the most relevant to the search words used. A listing consists of the name of the business, the address, and phone number. If a dentist has a customer review there is a blurb from the review beneath the listing.

If you click on the business name or the lettered place marker a large information box almost resembling a cartoon bubble launches from the corresponding place marker on the maps. This place marker contains the same basic information about the business plus a link to the businesses website if the business has one.

This is great. If there is a dentist that looks appealing I can click on a link to his or her website and get much more information. True, the paid dental ad on YellowPages.com had a link to that dentist’s website but none of the other dentist had a web link. That’s probably because at businesses on Yellow pages have to pay a premium to get a web link. Since this service is free on Google, more dentist will have web links which mean there will be much more information for consumers.

If you click on the More Info in the information box a new menu appears that has some of the same information provided by YellowPages.com like reviews and details, but there are also four features here that YellowPages.com doesn’t have; photos, video, user content and web references. Of the four I particularly like the photos and video. Although not many business are using video yet, more are sure to catch on to this opportunity and provide a wealth of information about their business.

In summation I like Google maps more than YellowPages.com. It is easier to use, you can get the exact information that you want with fewer clicks, it allows the business owner to present photos and videos. YellowPages.com is good. A nice clean professional interface. But it’s more time consuming to initiate a search, often requires too many clicks to find the exact information you are looking for and doesn’t allow regular businesses to link to websites unless they pay a premium. Two features I really like on YellowPages.com is the ability to send a business listing to a mobile device and the abilitiy record personal notes on a business listing.

Internet Marketing For Small Business – Part 2 of 5 Steps to Succeeding With Google AdWords

Continuing on from my last article ‘Internet Marketing For Small Business – Part 1 of 5 Steps to Succeeding With Google AdWords”, here are the final steps to ensuring a successful Google AdWords Campaign.

2. Understanding Quality Score:

Once you have added your keywords, Google will tell you your quality score. Its important that you have a good to great quality score in your keywords (usually rated out of 10), if you get a poor or OK quality score, it means you have done something wrong. It could be that you are bidding on the wrong keywords, that your landing page is not specific enough for those keywords or Google does not think your ad is related to your keywords or that the page you are sending people does not have those keywords in it.

The quality score will be determined from a number of things:

  • You need to have a high CTR: A high quality score must be over 1% and this will also depend on how your ads are showing up. If your ad is appearing on the 2nd or 3rd page, then this will mean your quality score is lower but if you are in the top 5 or 6 positions, your CTR should be over 1%. Therefore you need to work on getting that CTR as high as you with a baseline of 1% as the CTR. You should always get a CTR of over 1%, even as high as 15% and the way you get a high CTR is by testing. You write 2 different ads and see which ones performs better. Usually after 30 to a 100 clicks, you pick the ad that gets a higher click rate and write a variation on it. You then go on and write another ad that is different to that one and see which one performs better again (beating the control). When you have found a theme that performs very well, you can tweak your ads by adding a question mark, quotations around it, switch the descriptions lines or even change your url. You can do any of these things to tweak your ad so that you can get a higher CTR, thus a higher quality score.
  • Its Not A Bidding War….Most people when starting out with Google AdWords usually say “I want to be in the top position, at number 1 and I am willing to pay more than anyone else to be there”. This is the wrong way to go about it. It should not be a bidding war, it should be a fight over who is the better advertiser, that is what Google really wants. Google wants you to write an ad that gets the highest CTR so that they make more money ie. the more clicks, the more money you pay them. So if you can write a better ad than your competitors, Google will be very willing to reward you for that. They reward you by charging you less per click and putting you in a higher position on the page. Lets say your ad gets a 2% CTR and your competitor gets a 1% CTR, it probably means you are going to pay half as much per click and be ranked higher than your competitor because Google will know the user is having a better searching experience. Hence you should always have two ads running and check which ad is performing better. If one is performing badly, pause it, write a better ad and see if you can beat your better performing ad.

3. Tracking:

AdWords is probably the best system for tracking that exists. It is very easy with Google AdWords to set up your keywords and track how well they are performing ( i.e. by making you money). What is most important is to track whether the clicks are making you sales or converting into leads or sales. If your clicks are not converting, you are obviously just wasting money so it is very important that you track down at a keyword level which ones are making money for you. This is called keyword conversion tracking and there are a couple ways of doing it. The best way is to have Google do it for you. Google has some keyword conversion tracking code which they will allow you put it on your thank you or finished page and they will let you track a sale or a conversion.

The other way you can track conversions is by assigning a specific URL to every keyword (help can be found at the Google AdWords Tutorial). The better you understand how to track conversions, the better your results will be with AdWords. You will find that as you get more clicks on your campaign and by tracking everything, different keywords will perform very differently even though they may seem very similar. For example ‘dog training’ maybe very different to ‘train my dog’, you may find that one of them may convert much higher than the other one.

On another level, you can track conversions through the success of your ad campaigns. Some ads may perform better than other ads, for example one ad may have a price and the other may not, this means anyone that clicks on the ad with a price knows that they have to buy something when they go to that page – that ad will convert at a higher percentage than if you did not have the price on the ad. It will probably have a much lower CTR but also a higher conversion rate. This is really something that needs to be tested on every campaign to see if you are getting a return on investment because in the end the goal is to make the greatest amount of money. Track everything!

4. Bidding:

Over the years bidding has changed, it use to be bid low and then raise your bid and to see what the lowest point was. That is probably not the wisest thing to do anymore – at least not right now. Right now what I suggest is start by bidding high, what this does is allow you to get a good position on AdWords and a good CTR. As you establish the CTR, Google will recognize that you are a good advertiser and then you can lower your bid everyday to what Google is actually charging you (whilst maintaining your high CTR). What you need to figure out is whether you are getting a good returns for the money you are actually spending so if you are spending a $1 and getting $2 back – you know its worth continuing the campaign.

5. Last words:

Please don’t get emotional attached to a keyword because you ‘like’ the keyword or believe it should work. Do not expect to learn everything upfront and then go implementing a Google AdWords campaign effectively. If you have your own full time business and love what you are doing – then get a professional in to run your own PPC campaigns.

Link Popularity – Step by Step Guide to Attracting Inbound Links Through Google Site Maps, Part 1

Internet marketing today offers many methods to develop link popularity by using step-by-step guidance to attracting inbound links through using websites and tools such as Google Site Maps.

Having Google sitemaps set up for your websites can be very beneficial in getting more traffic from Google, because Google sitemaps help Google know about all your web pages and can, therefore, help all your web pages from all your sites get fully indexed in Google, which of course increases your chances of getting more Google traffic. It’s also a very useful tool for understanding better exactly what’s happening with your site regarding Google.

So, how exactly do you set up Google site maps for your website? I’m going to talk you through a detailed example here.

Follow these steps:

1. First of all, go to the Google Sietmaps website. And you need a Google account, a free Google account to use the sitemaps functionality. If you don’t have an existing account, you can easily set one up.

2. Log into Google Sitemaps with your own Google account.

3. So let’s start with adding sites. All you have to do is click on the add a site icon in the middle of the page to add your website address.

4. Next, you need to verify ownership of the site to make sure that this site genuinely belongs to you. So what you need to do is after the website address appears on the page is click on “try our new meta tag verification method.”

5. Okay, as you will more than likely see, the current verification status is NOT VERIFIED. So scroll down…and there are two ways you can verify your site: using the meta tag method, or upload a specific HTML file.

6. Using the meta tag method in this instance. If you have any problems with this there are full instructions on the page. Essentially, take the line of HTML code and add it in the head section of your website’s index page.

7. Selected it, right click and copy, and though to your ftp software. And on the right side will be listed your website, that is the site you are adding to Google Sitemaps. And what you want to look for is the index page. In most cases it will be listed as index.html. Download that, and open this, the index page, in Notepad so you can make the change.

8. Open up Notepad and there’s the index page on the desktop, so drag the HTML code and paste it into the head section, as Google instructed. So edit…paste. And there it is.

9. Scroll back and there’s the meta tag specifically for verifying this page.

Google will give higher link popularity to websites that have site maps. The more popular your website is on Google, which is the top search engine most people use, you will stand a better chance of having your site come up higher on search results that your target market is conducted. The higher your site becomes on the results you also stand a better chance of having people link to your site which will attract more inbound links for you.

If you are out to attract prospective customers and develop your online presence and exposure, you owe it to yourself and the financial future of your business to learn everything you can about Internet marketing.

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