With content marketing emerging as a very popular and viable method to drive targeted traffic to your website, many small businesses are left wondering how to best take advantage of it in a way that truly benefits them.

Sure its easy to post your content on social bookmarking websites and hope that your keywords are good enough to get some traffic or be noticed by search engines. But social bookmarking traffic isn’t as targeted as you would like and is unlikely to stay on your site long enough to make the effort truly worth while.

So how do you go about driving targeted traffic to your site? Traffic that truly wants to hear what you have to say and will hang on to your every word. High quality traffic that will not only read your content, but also tweet it, comment on it and willingly share it with others.

The answer is Guest Blogging!

What Is Guest Blogging?

Guest blogging is a popular form of content syndication used by many popular bloggers to drive high quality targeted traffic to their website.  It is the act of writing a piece of content for another website other than your own.

The key to successful Guest Blogging is to get your content posted on recognized and popular authority blogs within your niche.

Here are 5 reasons why you’ll want to do Guest Blogging to help you get a page one ranking on Google.

1.  Tap Into High Quality, Targeted Traffic

If you are successful at getting your content posed on a popular blog within your niche who has thousands of visitors a day, you’ll be able to tap into their internet traffic and expose your blog to those who read your article.

Popular authority blogs within your niche are a fantastic free resource for high quality targeted traffic. They’ve already built up the targeted traffic you want, and by posting a guest article on their site, you’ll be directing some of that traffic your way! Simply include a small 4 to 5 line bio at the bottom of your guest post with a link pointing back to your blog and let the traffic flow!

2.  Creates Valuable Backlinks

Guest blogging has the added benefit of creating valuable backlinks to your blog. Google loves backlinks, especially if it comes from another well known, popular website. The popular kid always wins when it comes to Internet Marketing. If you get in with the popular crowd, and they link back to your website, Google will think you’re popular too and reward you with a page one ranking!

3.  Expose Yourself To The World

Through Guest Blogging, you can finally get the recognition you’ve always wanted. Guest Blogging exposes you to a completely new source of traffic that has more than likely even heard of you.

It is a fantastic way to gain valuable exposure and stake your claim on the internet. Guest Blogging helps to establish you as an expert and build brand awareness through greater exposure to a much larger audience.

4.  Dramatically Increase Your Email Subscriber List

An added benefit of the newly created influx of highly targeted traffic you just tapped into means a percentage of that will subscribe to your email list. A larger email list leads to more retweets, sharing and syndication of your content, thus increasing your exposure further. It literally grows your traffic exponentially!

5.  Make More Money, Green Backs, Benjamins

That’s right, I said it… You can make more money, and I mean serious money. Not the pennies and nickels you get for peddling someone else’s product. I’m talkin a 6 figure income from selling your own products and services. The increased traffic, greater exposure, larger email list and more retweets, sharing and content syndication all lead to the holy grail of blogging… MONEY!

After all, we bloggers have got to take care of our own families don’t we?

Recommended Resources

Check out my post on how to become a guest posting super hero. It provides you with 10 great tips that will help get your guest post accepted by popular, authority blogs within your niche.

Also, Johnathan Morrow, associate editor of Copyblogger, recently launched GuestBlogger.com, a free resource to help you learn the ins and outs of guest blogging. I highly recommend you check it out and learn what he has to offer. The insight provided is extremely valuable and will put you on the first page of Google if you follow his advice.  Check it out now and learn how to get your first 1000 subscribers to your email list.

Summarizing

Summing things up, you need to be guest blogging. It is the fast and most effective way to build brand awareness, increase exposure, drive highly targeted traffic, grow your email list and make more money on the internet.

You like it, share it, tweet it, link to it or just plain play with it. Oh, and don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below!

Have a great weekend!

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Recently it seems like my life has been turned completely upside down. It’s as though I’ve lost that balance I used to have in life that made it all so wonderful. Several events have happened to cause me to seriously re-evaluate my life as a whole.

• I’ve moved in with my parents temporarily while transitioning to a new state of residence.
• I’ve been doing a lot of traveling as a result of my eventual move.
• I haven’t kept up with my own personal development regimen.
• The launch of my coaching program keeps getting delayed.
• I recently lost my Land Rover but luckily was able to get it back.
• And a whole lot of little things that seem to compound into bigger things.

The bottom line, my life is a mess right now and I have WAY to many balls in the air!

This got me thinking… What am I doing wrong? How is it that I let my life get so out of control? Am I operating out of inspiration or desperation?

Then suddenly, it donned on me! I knew in a sudden moment where I went wrong and when my life became such a disorganized mess!

WAIT FOR IT….

Yup, you guessed it, I FELL IN LOVE!

You’ll notice, there are a few pics of us together in the header of my blog

Ok now, don’t get me wrong… I’m completely beside myself for finally finding and reconnecting with the woman I fell in love with 17 years ago. But, it was at that point that my priorities changed and my routine deviated from that of laser focus on what I want out of life to doing everything I could to be with the woman I love.

I know, this may sound corney to some of you, but it became crystal clear to me, that the moment I reclaimed the woman I love, my whole mental outlook changed. Love is an amazing thing, and it is certainly capable of consuming you and take over your life. The key to success is in finding a balance.

Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It is merely an adjustment of priorities. You see, I failed to recognize the change when it happened and did not make the proper adjustments in my life to accommodate my new love appropriately in addition to my normal routine. Once I realized this had happened, the solution to my disorganization was soon presented to me.

What resulted was this 4 step process to an organized, happier, more fulfilling life.

Step 1: Return To My Personal Development Regimen

This was the most important step to recovery. I realized that I could still enjoy the company of the woman I love while still practicing my regular personal development regimen. This shouldn’t be to difficult to do, because she enjoys many of the same things that I do. She loves to read. She loves to workout and stay fit. She is a spiritual person.

This makes the whole process of reattaining my personal development ways much easier. So, I’ve gotten back to:

• Reading and focusing on Personal Development an hour every day.
• Working out an hour every day. (Starting P90X next week!)
• Meditating 10 – 15 minutes daily.
• Enjoying time with the people I love and care about on a daily basis. (After all, they are the reason I do what I do!)

I noticed immediately that once I started back with my personal development regimen, that my quality of life instantly seemed to improve. My outlook on life was much more happy and prosperous. Things are beginning to fall into place. I FEEL GREAT!!!

Step 2: Schedule My Day

One of the many things I used to do but seem to be lacking recently was that of a solid yet flexible schedule. I find it necessary and important to plan out my day, no matter how busy or not so busy it seems to be. Google calendar has been my friend here!

I created 3 calendars in Google calendar and sync them among my laptop, desktop and iPhone.

1. Blog (Business)
2. Personal
3. Tasks

I then use these three calendars to organize and prioritize my life. Yes, it may seem a little anal, but hey it works!

On my Blog calendar I schedule my time wisely. I schedule 1 hour each day to read other blogs. This helps me stay up to date on what’s going on in the blogosphere and helps inspire blog posts and discussions. I also schedule 1 – 2 hours daily for blogging. This is when I write my blog posts.

On my Personal calendar I put any events that are relevant to my personal life, such as events for my daughter (Although she is going to have to maintain her own calendar soon!) Personal events for me, i.e. doctor appointments, workout schedule, time with family, etc…

And finally on my Tasks calendar, I put any action items I need to complete. This calendar mostly contains product development events. Currently it carries a lot of events that relate to my new Internet Marketing coaching program I’ll be launching.

Having my day planned out helps to priorities things more clearly. It simply tells me where I’m at and what I need to be doing so I don’t lolly gag around and waste time that could be spend being more productive. And by more productive, I mean in business, love and life!

Step 3: Set Attainable Goals

This is HUGE!

At that start, I sat down and wrote out some short-term and long-term goals. The point of this is to simply give me something relevant to shoot for. A target that I could achieve in an effort to experience some success no matter how great or small it is.

Writing your goals down is very important and makes them real. Write them down and put them some place you will see them daily. Read them, memorize them and re-read them. Commit them to your mind and make an effort to attain them.

Setting goals also allowed me to formulate step 4 in the process.

Step 4: Formulate An Action Plan

The previous 3 steps helped me to get organized. In this final step, I created a plan of action on how I was going to attain my goals and implement the previous 3 steps.

Write down your plan and treated as your mission, one where failure is NOT an option!

Having a plan helps guide you through the process necessary to achieve what you desire out of life. Your goals are simply milestones which you attain while taking action on your plan. No amount of success can be conceived and attained without a plan.

Summarizing

I’ve only recently re-started this process and will keep you informed as to my progress. I’m excited and confident at what lies ahead and look forward to building a better future for myself, my daughter and the woman I love so very much!

I’d like to hear from you… What are you doing to achieve your goals and better yourself? Share your own personal development regimen in the comments. I’d love to see what others are doing. And maybe I can learn from you!

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LinkedIn is a valuable resource for companies, employers, small business owners and employees alike. Yet many internet entrepreneurs and bloggers fail to realize the true potential LinkedIn has to offer. It is literally an automated marketing machine that can drive a significant amount of traffic to your blog or website!

Everyday, I receive hundreds of visitors to my blog from LinkedIn. Not just any visitor, we’re talkin visitors who are highly professional, qualified, intelligent and interested in what I have to offer. If that isn’t targeted, I don’t know what is!

These days Facebook and Twitter are the preferred poster children when it comes to driving traffic to your website. I even have several blog posts dedicated to helping you create a strong presence on Facebook.

But the fact remains that I get hundreds more visitors to my blog from LinkedIn than I do any other social networking website! Currently, it is ranked as the third largest provider of traffic to my blog behind Google and direct visits.

Today, I’m going to share with you how I’m able to use LinkedIn as an automated traffic generation system for my blog.

Step 1: Set Up A Profile

If you don’t yet have a profile on LinkedIn, now would be a good time to set one up, it’s FREE. Once you have your profile set up, you can connect with me

Having a profile allows you to have a virtual resume if you will. Through your profile you can share your knowledge and expertise to help establish yourself as an expert within your niche. Not to mention, it helps to give you some credibility

Step 2: Join Groups

Networking groups on LinkedIn are a fantastic way for you to meet and network with other like-minded people. There are tons of groups dedicated to any number of interests you can think of. You can view the groups and associations I’m a member of on my profile.

The key here is to join groups that are relevant to your niche or target market. This is vital, because these groups are going to send targeted traffic to your website. DO NOT JUST JOIN ANY GROUP! Join only groups that are within your target market only.

To join a LinkedIn group simply click on Groups -> Groups Directory from the top menu as shown in the image below:

Once on the groups page, conduct a search for the type of group you would like to join.

There are usually several groups that meet your keyword or search criteria. I suggest you join groups that have thousands of members and are the most relevant to your target audience. Don’t just join one, make it a point to join several!

I posted a video a year ago about generating leads from social networking groups if you’d like more detail.  The part about LinkedIn is at 5:30 and will show you how to find and join groups.

Step 3: Syndicate Your Content

Now, every time you write a new blog post or create new content on your site, share that content with your LinkedIn Groups. I share my content through the sharing plugin on my blog that appears at the bottom of every one of my blog posts. The name of the plugin is “SexyBookmarks” and is by far the quickest and easiest way to share content to multiple groups at one time.

If you have a sharing feature on your website that allows you to share your content on LinkedIn, I highly recommend you do so.  Otherwise you will have to manually submit your content to each group individually, which can be very time consuming.

Once I click the “Share this on LinkedIn” icon, I see this page where I can select the groups I want to share my content too.

On this page I enter the name of the groups I want to share my content too and click the share button. LinkedIn automatically inserts the group names into the field for you if you type the first letter of each group.

That’s it! Once you’ve shared your content to your LinkedIn groups, the automated marketing process now begins.

You see, LinkedIn sends out an email either daily or weekly to all the groups members which is in a digest format. That means that anytime you share your content with your groups, they’ll be notified by via email with a link pointing to your content!

Presto! Instant, targeted, internet traffic to your website!

Summarizing

This method works extremely well and it works every time. Beyond the fact that it helps you to generate targeted traffic to your website, it also helps you build credibility and establish yourself as a knowledgeable expert within your industry.

I’ve met and connected with several wonderful people from LinkedIn and had some great discussions with them all. I look forward to meeting more of you and thank you for all the valuable discussions and feedback you’ve provided.

Please retweet and share this post with others. And as always, I’d love to hear your comments below. How are you using LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website?

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As a blogger, I spend a great deal of time reading and commenting on other blogs within my niche. Doing so helps spark my creativity to think of new blog posts and content, network with other bloggers who may be willing to syndicate and share my content, and build backlinks to my blog through their comment system.

Here is a secret little gem to help you to:

• Instantly build numerous backlinks to your website
• Network with other bloggers who may syndicate and share your content
• Establish yourself as an expert within your niche
• Build credibility among other bloggers
• Increase your search engine ranking

Step 1: Read Other Blogs

Obviously the first step to gaining backlinks through commenting is to read other blogs within your niche. Seek out and find popular blogs that are a recognized authority within your industry. Read their blog posts and articles, this is important!

It is impossible for you to comment on a another bloggers blog post and provide value to elaborate on the post if you haven’t read it yourself. So make sure to find and read interesting post that you can respond to and provide value.

Step 2: Leave A Comment

Once you’ve read the blog post, leave a comment on the post. Make sure your comment is inline with the discussion, topic and provides valuable feedback or a useful suggestion.

When leaving a comment, most blogging platforms ask for specific information such as your name, email address, website and your comments. Once you’ve entered this information, your name is typically linked to the website address you provided when commenting. We can use this to our advantage!

What’s In A Name

In the name field, you can enter whatever you like, but be respectful of the blog you are commenting on. The key here is to use your primary keywords within the name field of the comment. The keywords must reflect the main topic or content of the destination your name will be linked too (i.e. your website).

For example, I sometimes enter my name as “Sean the Internet Marketing Maniac” or “Sean “Internet Marketing” Smith“.

The point is, to make sure it includes your primary keywords but is colorful and playful enough to not offend others. Do this sparingly and otherwise your comment will look like spam.

We do this because search engines look for descriptive anchor text when indexing a page and consider it as a factor when determining the relevance of the page it indexes, therefore, a descriptive name when commenting to help describe the destination your name points to will give you points when the page is indexed by search engines.

Commenting

When writing your comment, give your opinion, make sure to add value and make it conversational. Put some thought into your comment and engage with others if possible.

Do not include phrases such as:

• “Great Post!”
• “Thanks for sharing!”
• “You rock!”

These are typical phrases used by spammers and may get your comment red flagged as spam.

Step 3: Ping Your Comment So Google Finds It

Once you’ve generated your comment, the next step is to “ping” the blog post you just submitted your comment to.

Ping service send a notification to search engines that a particular webpage has been updated and that they should come and index it. There are hundreds of ping services available, but here are two I use:

• Pingoat.net
• Pingler.com

Pinging is extremely simple to do. Most ping services ask for the following information:

• Website URL – Copy the url of the page you just commented on.
• Title – A brief summary of the page or the name of the site.
• Category – This is optional
• Ping service – Just choose them all!

Once you’ve entered the information required by the ping service, click submit. That’s it you’re done!

Now within a few hours, sometimes within a few minutes Google will spider the page you commented on, find your link and give you credit for another backlink. The more backlinks you have the more popular search engines think your website is and the higher your search ranking will be.

Summarizing

As you can see, getting backlinks through commenting is as easy as 1,2,3… Follow the steps above 10 times daily and before you know it you will have quality backlinks to your website. Just make sure to post your comments on authority blogs within your niche to ensure you maximize the relevance of your comments.

Get started building a backlink now by leaving a comment below and then ping this post with the ping service above. Before you know it, you’ll have a backlink to your site. Go ahead, give it a try! Don’t forget to retweet this post to share it with others!

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One of the quickest ways to drive targeted traffic and build your reputation on the internet is to post an article or blog post on other, more authoritative websites within your industry or niche. This is known as “guest posting”, and I’ve mentioned it a few time in past blog posts and more so in my free Internet Marketing eCourse.

Writing a Guest Post for another blog has many benefits.

• It builds your credibility
• It taps into another traffic resource
• It creates valuable backlinks to your blog
• It can increase your search engine ranking
• It helps establish trust
• It can make you an authority figure

The list goes on and on.

The bottom line… Guest Posting is an extremely effective way to increase your overall well-being on the internet by driving targeted traffic and providing valuable SEO features to boost your search engine ranking and make you more money!

With the right knowledge and know how, you can become a Super Hero Guest Poster and build a loyal following.

Here are 10 rules to follow to help you become a super hero Guest Poster. Follow these rules religiously and you will be receiving comments like this one which I recently received after submitting a Guest Post:

“Hi Sean,

You’re awesome. I wish everyone submitted a Guest Post like you do, and was as prepared as you are!”

Read on to become a super hero Guest Poster.

1.  Read Their Blog

Before you can even consider writing a Guest Post for another blog, you should become a frequent reader of their posts. This will help you gain an understanding of the type of content they write and what their readers may expect from the articles on the site.

As a reader of the blog you want to Guest Post on, you become familiar with the content and other readers. Comment frequently on post and add value to posts. Respond to others who comment and build relationships. This will help you build up a reputation and following so that when you do post a Guest Post, it will have a greater impact and receive great response.

2.  Write for Their Audience

If you’ve been reading the blog you intend to Guest Post on, then you should be familiar with the type of content and subject matter the author of the blog is posting. This is an extremely important rule! There is nothing worse as a blogger than receiving a Guest Post from someone who has never read your blog and provides content that does not meet the expectations of your readers.

Make sure to write your Guest Post for the readers. Failing to do so can get you blacklisted from a blog and you will be ignored. Try not to insult the author of the blog or their readers by providing content that is not in line with the main topic or topics of the blog you intent to post on. Meet the readers expectations and fill their need for the main topic of the blog.

3.  Follow Their Guidelines

Many blogs and authority websites have guidelines they expect you to follow when submitting content to their website. It is a good idea to follow those guidelines to ensure your submission is successful.

If no guidelines are provided, then it is a good idea to follow the rules in this post to ensure your Guest Post is accepted.

4.  Write Compelling Content

If you really want to have an impact, then make sure what you write as your Guest Post is your best stuff! Write compelling content that causes readers to have an “Ah Ha!” moment.

The more compelling and better your content is, the more likely it will be accepted and the more likely you’ll be able to provide more Guest Posts to the same blog.

5.  Search Engine Optimize Your Post

Many bloggers don’t know a thing about SEO. So if you provide them with a Guest Post that is search engine optimized and has a great chance of getting indexed by the major search engines, the more they’ll love you and the more likely your content will be accepted. Not to mention, your SEO Guest Post will also help to increase the host blogs search engine page ranking.

Internal Links

One SEO technique that will get you more points is to include links within the body of your Guest Post to other articles on the blog you are posting too. Search engines love links because it helps them find and index new content. Doing this will also allow you to promote and share previous posts that were written by the blogs author.

Meta Title & Meta Description

Always suggest a “meta title” and “meta description” for your Guest Post. The host blog, if their smart, may be using an SEO WordPress theme such as Thesis or Headway, or the All in One SEO Pack WordPress Plugin. Providing them with a suggested Meta Title and Meta Description that is optimized for search engines will help get the post ranked.

I always make sure to optimize my Guest Post and check it using Scribe for SEO. It’ll help you ensure you Guest Post is the best it can be for search engines to index it.

6.  Include Your Bio

Always include a brief bio about yourself at the bottom of your Guest Post. Who better to write about yourself than you? It should only be 4 -5 lines and should include a link back to your blog. This is a good place to put a link because it allows you to promote whatever yourself and your blog and provides a valuable backlink to your website.

7.  Proof Read Your Work

Take the time to proof read your work before submitting it as a Guest Post. No one wants to receive Guest Posts that are riddled with errors and don’t flow very well. Always proof read your content to ensure it meets the highest standards possible for success.

8.  Submit 2 Forms of Content

Always submit 2 forms of content when submitting your Guest Post. You should include a version as a Word doc for easy reading and review by the blogs author or approval process, and then an HTML version for easy copy and paste inclusion into their blog.

9.  Provide A Supporting Image

Many blogs provide supporting images along with their posts to provide a visual reference for their readers. This may or may not be the case for the blog you are writing for, but none the less, it is always a good practice to find and include an image that supports or is relevant to your Guest Post. I usually look for my images on Flickr and provide a link to the image in the word doc I submit for review.

10. Monitor and Respond to Comments

Once your Guest Post has been accepted and posted on the blog you submitted it too, you should always monitor it closely and respond to any comments the post may receive. This helps you answer questions and gain feedback from the blogs readers which can go a long way to help you establish yourself as an expert and build credibility. Make sure to thank those you comment for reading and commenting on your post.

This comes down to simple etiquette and good will towards man/woman

Summarizing

Apply what you’ve learned here to your next Guest Post and create a strong, seamless Guest Posting process. You’ll find that doing so will serve you well and provide great benefit in the way of targeted traffic and higher search engine rankings for your blog.

Please comment below with any comments, feedback or questions you may have, and don’t forget to retweet this post to share with others!

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As an internet entrepreneur or small business owner, you should always be looking for ways to increase your exposure and capture more business. Knowing what tools to use and the various methods available to you to achieve your ambitious goals will give you a significant advantage over your competitors.

In my last post I mentioned a free service called Foursquare that can be used to effectively promote your business. Many brick and mortar businesses are currently taking advantage of the unique features that Foursquare has to offer to better connect with their customers and provide discounts and promotions. However, it can also be a powerful tool to have in your marketing arsenal if you own an internet business as well!

What Is Foursquare

Foursquare is a free online social networking site which provides microblogging capabilities similar to Twitter only with a unique Geolocation feature attached to your status updates.

They uses geolocation as a way to determine where a particular user is through their mobile phone. It then provides users with a listing of the various businesses that are near their location. They can then select the location of the business or place they are at and “Check In” through a mobile app on their phone. Upon checking into a business, users provide status updates of what they are doing at that location in 140 characters or less. A link to the location is then attached with their status update which can provide a map of where a particular person is.

Users receive awards and badges when they visit a number of locations or successfully accomplish a set milestone. The whole process is similar to a game and it’s fun!

Last year a friend of mine used Foursquare to quickly put together a last minute New Years Eve get together at a local bar in only 10 minutes! They managed to pull 20+ people together through the app on their iPhone in a matter of minutes. That is truly powerful!

Here are 5 ways you can use the unique features of Foursquare to create a Rock Star business!

Host A Meet And Greet

If you are a small business looking to connect with and promote your business, products or services to your customers, hosting a meet and greet is a fantastic way to do so!

Simply choose a location ahead of the appointed day you intend to host your meet and greet. Begin notifying your customers of your intent to host the meet and greet and the time of the event. Let them know that you will announce the location through Foursquare and that if they want to attend, they’ll need to friend you.

Here is an example of how this would work… Let’s say you intend to host a meet and greet at a local Starbucks. Announce the coming meet and greet to your customers, give them to initial start time and tell them the location will be changing every 2 hours and that you’ll announce the locations through Foursquare.

You change the location every two hours to make it fun. It also allows you to reach more customers in different areas of your local community.

Meet and Greets can be done in several ways; over coffee, happy hour or even a customer appreciation bar-b-que at a local park. Be creative and think of new and exciting ways to do this.

Reward Your Customers

Foursquare has a unique feature that allows consumers who frequently visit a particular business more often than others to be crowned “Mayor” of that location. Many brick and mortar business show their appreciation to the mayor by giving them discounts on products and services. This works well for you if you have a brick and mortar location your customers can visit.

Internet business can take the customer appreciation to the customer!

Similar to the meet and greet, you announce to your customers that you will be giving away promotional items, discounts and/or products and services to the first 25 who show up at a particular location and say a catch phrase. For my business I might have them say something like “I read Powerofmore.net” or “Social Media is the bomb”. As with the meet and greet, change your location every 2 hours and share your new location on Foursquare to make it interesting!

Host A Free Product Demonstration

It doesn’t matter if you are a brick and mortar business or an internet business, everyone loves free stuff!

Randomly select at location in your area and announce on Foursquare that you’ll be conducting a free consulting session, training or product demonstration.

Create A Scavenger Hunt

Scavenger hunts are a great way to get your customers involved as well as network with other businesses that may relate to your own.

Network with local area businesses and plant items that relate to a particular product or service you offer and set up a scavenger hunt. Give customers a time limit to complete each task at each location and instruct them to watch Foursquare for the locations.

Provide rewards for being the first to check in at a location and provide the biggest reward for the customers who complete the most tasks at the given locations and reports to the final location just as you would in a scavenger hunt.

Again, be creative with this, make it fun and provide value as a reward.

Conduct A Giveaway

Similar to the free product demonstration, host a giveaway at various locations.

Tell your customers ahead of schedule that you will be giving away free product/services on a particular day and to watch Foursquare for the location. Let them know you will be giving away something free to the first 20 people who show up and introduce themselves within a time frame you specify.

Again, consider changing locations every 2 hours to make it fun, and to reach more people.

Summarizing

Foursquare is a new and unique service that turns doing business and being a consumer into something fun and exciting. Learn to capitalize on its unique features and use them to the benefit of yourself and your customers.

Please feel free share you comments below and don’t forget to retweet this!

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As an internet entrepreneurs working to grow your internet business to that of a consistent, successful level, it can be tough at times to be unique and standout from the crowd. Many internet business owners sometimes quit before they ever give themselves a chance to succeed. The reasons are numerous and we can speculate what those reasons are until the end of time…

What if you could avoid the mistakes that so many others have made? What if you could make your internet business the most preferred and authoritative website within your niche on the internet? Would that be worth something to you?

Here are 5 tips to help your internet business standout among the crowd.

Have a Strong Social Media Presence

I’ve had many clients who were being beat out by their competitors for several years in a row. After an evaluation of their branding strategy, it seems consistent that many small business owners fail to capitalize on the unique benefits that having a sound social media presence can provide.

Look at your competitors and see if they are operating within the social media. Do they have a link to their Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, YouTube and other social networking accounts on their website? If they don’t, you’ll have a unique advantage over them if you create a strong social media presence.

Social media allows you to establish a more personal bond with your customers. It gives you a direct line of communication with them where you can share announcement, receive instant customer reviews and suggestions, and establish a serious customer loyalty.

Those companies who have a strong social media presence will be the popular kid on the block that every kid wants to hang out with

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is one such company that has been extremely successful with social media. Their the popular kid on the internet for their industry because of it!

Not to mention, smart phones such as the iPhone, Droid and others make connecting with customers through social media anytime, anywhere very easy. Many customers check their social media sites through mobile devices giving you a much greater reach to connect with your customers.

So consider crafting a strong social media strategy!

Create a Unique And Recognizable Brand

Differentiating yourself from the crowd requires a unique look and feel. Creating a recognizable brand for yourself will help your customers think of you first above all else when looking to buy your products and services.

Consider having custom designs created for your website, email and social media profiles to provide a unique look and feel that brands you into your customers minds. The design should be consistent across the board for each platform (i.e. website, email and social media profiles). Use this look and feel in every communication and marketing effort you send out to your customers.

Give Away Value (Not The Monetary Kind)

Value is interrupted in several ways. For most people value is determined by how it improves their individual lives in a positive way. This is the type of value you must learn to give away.

The best way to give this type of value away, is to provide your potential customers with something which may make their life or business easier. An eBook for example on 20 ways to stay organized may be useful to some, or an eCourse that provides videos on how to use your products to solve a need your customers may have.

The better the value that is perceived by your potential customers the more relevant they will come to believe your business is in solving their needs. This is by far the most vital of all in establishing you as the go o business of choice in your customers eyes. They must get the most out of your products and services that they do your competitors.

Highly effective, quality customer service is in many cases perceived by your customers as a service that provides true value to their lives. With every interaction they have with your business, whether through email, your website, social media or a business networking event, every interaction you have with someone who is a potential customer should be one of benefit to them more so that it is a benefit to you!

Make It Personal

Find a way to help your customers connect with you on a personal level. Social Media is great for this! Set up a Social Media listening post so you can address customers needs in near real-time.

The more connected your customers are to you the more they can relate to you and your business. Take every customer testimonial and every customer complaint as though they are a personal conversation with you.

Showing your customer that you are genuinely interested in their wants and needs above all else will encourage them to place your business and the products and services you provide above all others. They’ll share your content, promote your products, talk about you on Facebook and Twitter and overall provide you with a bunch of free marketing!

Whenever possible meet with your customers in person or through a webinar. Attend a convention or business networking event and let your customers know where you’ll be. Invite them to stop by and introduce themselves. Show them that you are willing to make time for them to not only service them but also to get to know them. Go beyond their expectations and they will continue to do business with you.

Do Promotions

Product and Service promotions are a great way to drive traffic to your website and create a buzz around your business. Be creative with this!

Use a free service such as Foursquare to connect with your clients, partners and customers. You can share your location whenever necessary and invite them to come out and connect with you. Run a promotion for the first 25 people who show up within a given time frame and give away free t-shirts, an eBook or eCourse or generally something of value to your customers.

There are a number of ways to promote products and services for your internet business. Again, the key is to be creative with this. The most successful promotions are those that help establish your brand while providing value to your customers.

Have fun with it! You’ll get to meet your customers and make new ones!

Summarizing

So, have a strong social media strategy and creating a brand are essential to your ability to stand above the crowd. However, the most important lesson you should take away from this blog post is to make your customers happy. They happier your customers are, the more likely you will standout among your competitors. Granted, it is your customers that will help raise you up, but can also tear you down.

The most effective way to keep your customers satisfied and happy is to be consistent and stay true to their needs.

There are obviously several other ways to standout among your competitors. If you would like to add to this post, please do so and share your ideas and thoughts in the comments below and please retweet this so others may benefit as well

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You’ve heard it before, having an opt-in email list is by far the most lucrative way for you to create a strong, thriving income on the internet, or for any business that sells products and services. A email list (sales list) is a MUST!

Today, I’d like to take a moment and share with you the remarkable story of a young 20 year old internet entrepreneur who recently increased his opt-in email list by 304% in just one day.

The Secret to Increasing Your Opt-In List By 304%

Michael Dunlop is very success 20 year old internet entrepreneur who launched his first profitable website when he was only 16. He currently resides across the pond in England where he earns a full-time income through the internet.

Recently, Michael shared his secret to increasing his opt-in email list by over 304% over night with one simple WordPress plugin, and now he is letting you get our hands on it!

His methods have been so ridiculously successful and have generated an obscene amount of money for Michael which has allowed him to never have a 9 to 5 J.O.B (Just Over Broke ) and earn a 6 figure income solely through the internet.

You probably heard this before, The Money Is In The List!

And it’s so true… The more people you get on your list, the more money you will make because you can promote more things and send more readers back to your site.

Check Out How Michael Increased Hist Opt-In List by Over 304% Now.

This guy earns 6 figures a year from one of his blogs and the majority of his income comes from his list, because of that he has included a BONUS presentation you can watch on exactly how he makes money with is mailing list.

See It Here!

I use this technique as well, and it has been extremely successful for me as well. My opt-in list has increased by over 250%!

If you don’t yet have an email list, don’t worry, there’s no time to start like the present. I use Aweber to build my email list and I highly recommend it. It is a fantastic match to use with Michaels methods.

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From time to time I like to post content of a personal development nature to help provide you with some perspective on your ability to achieve the success you desire. Our willingness to focus on our own self improvement through a healthy mental and physical regimen is a must if you are to achieve your full potential.

As you may have heard, NBC is premiering a new show with Tony Robbins called “Breakthrough with Tony Robbins“, a new reality TV show where Tony Robbins helps people who have suffered a major setback in their lives to breakthrough the suffering and hardship to achieve their full potential.

Although I haven’t seen the show myself, and have only read the synopsis and viewed the commercials, I believe it to be a very positive and potentially life changing television event.

Tony Robbins is a recognized inspirational speaker and mentor to millions of people and through this new NBC show, he has the ability to inspire millions of people, including you!

How This Relates To You

Our own happiness and personal growth is a requirement to achieve the success we all desire. When I first learned of NBC’s partnership with Tony, I realized the significance of the partnership. Having such an amazing and influential motivational speaker broadcast to our living rooms every week to share his inspirational advice is a fantastic and free way for us to gain some of his knowledge and apply it to our own efforts.

International leaders, movie stars, royalty and some of the worlds most successful and wealthiest business people have paid Tony Robbins millions for his time and guidance. Now you have the opportunity to receive that knowledge for free every week!

In my opinion, this is an extremely valuable way to get free coaching from Tony Robbins. As a small business owner, you may not have it in your budget to pay Tony Robbins for coaching sessions, so why not watch the show and see what you can possibly take away and apply to your business.

Schedule Your Growth

As a small business owner, it is easy to get caught up in the day to day distractions of operating our business. Email, texting, conference calls, networking… It all adds up!

The key is to manage your time wisely. Schedule time each day to take a break from your hectic business schedule and focus on your own personal growth an hour each day. If it means watching a Tony Robbins every week to take away little bits of positive energy and inspiration, so be it.

The point is, you need to do it every day. Your happiness and your success depends on it! Failure to spend time on your own personal growth will leave you destined to be a fry cook at the Krusty Krab.

That’s my thoughts on the idea of Tony Robbins new show. I hope you can see the opportunity that is presented here for you to grow a little more on a weekly basis.

I’d love to hear your comments on the subject. Do you thing this new show will have enough substance to help you succeed? Leave a comment below and let me know!

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This past week has really shaped up to be very eventful to say the least! Here is a review of what occurred on Powerofmore.net last week.

I’ve made more progress on my new coaching program, Internet Marketers Elite. Although delayed, when launched this coaching program will be one of the best in the industry with great detail and instructional videos designed to help you become an Internet Marketing guru and maximize the profitability of your small business through the internet.

I’ve also partnered up with a leading Marketing expert to provide you with anything and everything you need to ensure you build a successful small business, both online and offline!

Keep a watchful eye on Powerofmore.net as I continue to grow and expand the site to benefit you. More coming soon on this!

Monday

5 Outbound Link Tips For Deadly Successful SEM

On Monday, the week started off by continuing our discussion on Search Engine Marketing (SEM) with the fourth post in the series. This post shared with you how outbound links can help you gain a higher search engine rank and increase your website traffic. Learn how search engines view outbound links and why so many small business owners fail to exploit the benefits of them.

Tuesday

7 Secrets For A Profitable Membership Website

I got a little fired up on Tuesday after reading a blog post by Joe Boyle which detailed reasons why a membership website may not be a good thing. He makes some valid points in his blog post, but in my opinion fails to fully understand the lucrative power and potential of a good membership website. I attribute this to his age, he is only 13, but a great up and coming blogger.

Thursday

Content Marketing Secrets Of The Most Successful Internet Entrepreneurs

A truly valuable post that speaks to one of the most popular topics on Powerofmore.net, content marketing. This is the fifth and final post of our discussion on Search Engine Marketing. You’ll find links to some of my most detailed and influential posts on content marketing where you’ll learn how to use it to drive tons of traffic to your website.

Friday

Has Email Outlived Its Usefulness?

A controversial post triggered by the recent announcement of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to stop using email marketing completely, in favor of social media. In this post I provide my opinion on the subject of email marketing and why this controversial decision by Ben & Jerry’s may indicate the future of internet marketing.

I’ve Discovered Malware On Powerofmore.net

Friday was also the day I discovered malicious code had been injected into the database of Powerofmore.net. I first discovered the issue myself after review a blog post I had written, and then some of my readers notified me as well. Please read this blog post so you can become aware of what occurs when the code is activated and what to do if you come across any malicious activity on Powerofmore.net.

After discussing this issue with my hosting company, I learned that it was a server-wide issue that not only affect Powerofmore.net but also other sites that reside on the same host server. I’ve been working with my host company to resolve the issue and have corrected 1400 rows in the database. This issue is still ongoing, so please be patient as I work with my host company to ensure all of the malicious code is removed.

Summarizing

As you can see, this past week has been very eventful with many informative discussions taking place and a bit of adventure I hope you enjoy the content I’m posting and I always enjoy hearing your feedback. So please don’t hesitate to comment on any of the blog posts.

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