Archive for April, 2009

189 Tips

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

I talk about Jimmy D. Brown periodically on my blog. He’s one of the most no-nonsense internet marketing teachers/gurus out there. I told someone recently that he sounds a bit like a Southern Baptist preacher – but only because he tries so hard to motivate you to take action in your business. Jimmy wants everyone to enjoy the benefits he has gotten from this whole internet marketing gig!

Jimmy sent me an article this morning – actually it’s more of a collection of some of the “best of” advice he’s come across from bloggers like me. You’ll see my link below to a free .pdf I released several weeks ago with my 100 Top Blogging Tips, as well as wisdom from the likes of Alice Seba, Lynn Terry, Nicole Dean – some of my favorite women and certainly successful business owners.

There’s a lot to learn here. I hope you take the time to really digest the info. :-)

189 Internet Marketing Tips, Tactics and Techniques

By Jimmy D. Brown of http://www.JimmyBrown.com

Have you ever wished someone would do all of the “research” for you so you could just cut to the chase? I know I have. There have been many times I’d like to not waste hours of my life sifting through low-quality articles and blog posts to find the occasional gem.

If only someone else had written this article for me to read a long time ago. :-) Fortunately, I’m gonna save you the trouble of getting double vision from staring at your computer screen trying to find some good internet marketing reads.

Below you’ll find some great “tips based” blog posts that are filled with meaty ideas. Some of these authors you’ve probably heard of, some you might not have heard of. All deserve to be included for providing some golden nuggets in their content.

10 Ways To Make $10K Per Month
By Jimmy D. Brown
http://www.jimmybrown.com/10-ways-to-make-10k/

27 Ways To Get Your Blog Readers To Comment
By Nicole Dean
http://nicoleonthenet.com/2008/blog-readers-commen/

11 Steps To Getting More Blog Traffic
By Alice Seba
http://www.internetmarketingsweetie.com/blog/blog-traffic

21 Ways to Add More Subscribers
By Terry Dean
http://www.terrydean.org/21-ways-to-add-more-subscribers/

10 Free Ways To Drive Traffic To A Brand New Website
By Lynn Terry
http://www.clicknewz.com/633/traffic-tips-for-new-sites/

100 Free Blogging Tips

By Carrie Lauth < —– (that’s me!)
http://carrielauth.com/blog/free-100-top-blogging-tips/

5 Simple Ways To Increase Click Through Rates
By Zac Johnson
http://zacjohnson.com/5-simple-ways-to-increase-click-through-rates/

5 Simple Steps To Effectively Promote Your Affiliate Products
By Paula Brett
http://paula-brett.com/blog/5-simple-steps-to-effectively-promote-your-affiliate-products/

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Posted in Internet marketing | 4 Comments »

Getting Free Publicity (Me in the AJC)

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Two quick things I want to mention today.

One, my friend Elizabeth Ashe is spreading the word about six days to Saturday on her blog.  Go check it out to see what she’s so pumped about.

Second, me and the kids were in the Sunday Atlanta Journal Constitution. Here is the article, sans pictures. It was a cover story on Earth Day.

What I wanted to tell you about this that is significant is that all of the media attention I’ve gotten recently has come from blogging. Every bit! I haven’t sent out a press release in far too long and I haven’t done a single thing to generate publicity.

I just blogged.

I sat and had coffee with my next door neighbor this morning (not the skanky ones who live beneath me who I’m moving to get away from in ten days, the one next door). She is a freelance writer. I am encouraging her to start blogging on her own domain and told her about the rockawesome (I just totally made up that word, on the fly, just now) MomWebs WordPress blog install for $10 deal.

When I told her that I had was on MSNBC and today’s AJC, and other places and stuff, just from blogging, that got her attention.

You’re probably already blogging if you’re reading this.

But if you aren’t, um…

what are you waiting for?

For $10 you could be up and running. That is chump change my friends. Get on it.

I don’t care WHAT your business is.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelance writer like my neighbor or if you sell Tupperware or repair Vespas or sew cloth diapers or what.

Blogging can help you get more traffic, customers, publicity, sales, you name it.

So get a bloggin.

And if you need some help with what to blog about or how to get going or what it’s all about or whatever, hire me to coach you. I can show you the ropes in about an hour.

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Confused About MomWebs Blog Installs?

Friday, April 17th, 2009

I have mentioned MomWebs several times in the last couple of weeks. They offer an amazing deal on WordPress blog installations, but some people have been a little bit confused about the options.

Kelly and Nicole got together and recorded a webinar that explains everything. You can get it free here: Free Webinar Training from Mom Webs Hosting.

I hope it makes things easier. I love MomWebs and they host all of my sites. I’m constantly impressed at the level of customer support available. Check it out.

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She Broke The Mold

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Just finished reading it and I’m telling you…

She broke the mold with this one guys.

complete internet marketing moms guide

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Posted in Reviews | 2 Comments »

HireMyMom.com Review

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

I recently decided to look around at the freelance work from home websites for a very part time gig to supplement my income. I have some additional expenses in the next few weeks due to some life changes, and want to put some extra money in the bank.

Doing some Virtual Assistant work seemed like an ideal solution. I don’t necessarily want to commit to a job outside the home that would only pay me a fraction of what I’m worth and would take me away from my youngest child more than I’d like.


HireMyMom.com

Enter HireMyMom

HireMyMom is a baby of Lesley Spencer Pyle, whom many know from sites like HMBW and the Work at Home Kit. She’s quite well known in the work at home/internet marketing world and I trust her reputation. I knew it would be a quality experience.

I signed up to access the database. Yes, there is a fee – it’s under $40 for a quarter and you can cancel before your card is billed again if you wish. I opted to go ahead and pay for the service instead of hunting down all of the free job sites. In addition, the projects/job ops are prescreened so there are no MLM or Direct Sales ops posing as jobs. Less clutter, more professionalism.

Once I got my username and password, I logged in and immediately began searching the projects and jobs available. There was a wide variety listed.

Such as:

- Data Entry
- Customer Service
- Blogging/Writing
- SEO
- Blog and Website Content Management
- Sales
- Appointment Setting
- Internet Marketing Assistance
- Graphic Design
- Web Design
- Personal Assistant

And more. Literally something for every mom.

Right away I saw two projects that were aligned with what I’m qualified to do. I sent emails to the two individuals who posted them. I heard back from both almost immediately. The first one didn’t meet my standards (read: didn’t pay enough!) but the second one is working out nicely and I’m looking forward to a long term relationship with this person. I’m impressed that basically within 24 hours of logging in the first time, I’ve already been hired.

I’m actually excited about the opportunity to offer my skills and knowledge to this business to help them – and get paid by the hour to do so. The business owner, also a single mom, and I are getting to know one another and I think we’ll work great together.

If you’re looking for work at home that’s legit and matched to your individual needs, I recommend searching HireMyMom.

The projects are updated daily. You get an email from them each day but you can also login at any time to see what’s been added.

Happy job hunting!

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Posted in Reviews | 5 Comments »

Marketing to Digital Moms: How To Reach Out To Today’s Tech- Savvy Moms

Tuesday, April 7th, 2009

Marketing to Digital Moms: How To Reach Out To Today’s Tech-Savvy Moms

Gone are the days when the word “Mom” conjures images of a female who cannot operate the video recorder or navigate her way through the latest videogame, and only switches on the computer to send an email to Grandma.

According to a study published in 2009 by Razorfish and Cafemom, up to 27 million (84%) of Moms online are tech savvy. They use Web 2.0 platforms and shop online. In fact, they use communication technology and social media to connect with others, find advice and information, express themselves, do research on products they’re interested in, and simplify their multi-tasking lives.

“Digital Moms” have become so dominant on the Internet that the researchers concluded they are not a niche, but are rather the mainstream.

If you aren’t reaching out to digital Moms online yet, you might just be missing out on a significant market. Consider these numbers from the United States Census Bureau:

- Women control 80% of household spending. Even if they earn only a part or none of the total household income, women determine how much of the household income will be spent.

- Women do 60% of online shopping. Women do a lot of research online before making a purchase and actually make up more than half of online shoppers.

- Women buy 81% of all products and services. Women shop not only for themselves, but also for the home, family members, gifts for friends, teachers and associates.

The problem is, many online businesses just don’t seem to know what to do when it comes to marketing to digital Moms. They make the mistake of treating all Moms online as if they all had the same needs and reasons for using the Internet. Not true, according to the Razorfish/Cafemom report. For example, younger Moms tend to be more comfortable with social networking and mobile surfing. On the other hand, Moms 45 years old and above gravitate more towards online news, product reviews and podcasting.

What is the best way to reach out to today’s digital Moms?
Here are three tips:

- Provide relevant content. Some of the online Mom’s interests depend on what life stage she is in. For instance, digital Moms with young children naturally look online for information about parenting and child health. But there are topics that most digital Moms are interested in, no matter how old their children are. These include fashion and cooking.

Mom PLR Ebooks provides regular private label rights content just for Moms. For a monthly supply of PLR recipes and product reviews, check out the “All Mom Content” package of All Private Label Content.

- Be present in the channels digital Moms are using. Again according to the Razorfish/Cafemom study, more than half of digital Moms use email, search engines, social networks, gaming and online news. Emerging channels used by about one-third of digital Moms include online videos, consumer reviews and blogs.

Aside from PLR Ebooks, your monthly subscription to Mom PLR Ebooks includes a 5-day Ecourse and 26 newsletter topic ideas – perfect for digital Moms who use Email everyday. If you’re interested in providing consumer reviews, All Private Label Content includes 10 product profiles reviews every month.

- Know the particular needs, interests and online habits of your Mom audience. Digital Moms have varying needs and surfing behaviors, depending on their age and their children’s ages. The best way to accurately understand your particular Mom audience is to listen to them. Ask your list subscribers what their concerns are. Conduct your own surveys. Hang out in Mommy forums. Pay attention.

The majority of mothers online are digital Moms. They are tech savvy, smart consumers who make informed decisions when shopping online. They’re also online for social networking and even gaming. But they have varying needs depending on their life stage and their children’s ages. To market effectively to digital Moms, you need to give them what they’re looking for online, be where they are, and pay attention to their needs. Take care of digital Moms and you’ll have a profitable online business.

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Parenting Niche: How to Build Your Opt in List

Saturday, April 4th, 2009

One of the most important things we internet marketers do is building an opt in list. Whether they’re newsletter subscribers, email feed readers, or simply handed over their email for a mini course, your opt in list is one of your most important assets.

This is true for mom bloggers and other bloggers too. It’s often the last thing a blogger thinks about. They’re concerned with getting involved with social media and being seen everywhere, but there is major power in showing up in someone’s email inbox too. ;)

This article from the folks at Mom PLR Ebooks have some great ideas for using Private Label Rights content to quickly build your opt in list.

PLR – A Cost-Effective, Time-Efficient Solution for Building Your Parent-Targeted Mailing List

By now you’ve probably heard of PLR and its use in online business. If not, it stands for “private label rights” and refers to ready-made content that you can purchase, edit and brand for your business. It may come in the form of articles, reports, ebooks or even pre-made sales pages, opt-in (or squeeze) pages, graphics, audio recordings and even video.

There are plenty of uses for PLR from adding content to your website to creating products for sale, but have you considered what an effective tool PLR can be for building your mailing list?

How to Build Your List with PLR

- Brand and publish a PLR report as an ethical bribe for signing up for your list. Your visitor signs up for your list and you give them instant access to a valuable report that helps parents become more informed or solve a problem. Make sure you include mention of the free report with all your sign up boxes.

- If the PLR reports include ecovers, use them to make them more attractive and tangible to your potential subscriber. It also draws the eye into your subscription box when it’s on a page with other content. Parents are busy people, make it easy for them to find your great offer.

- Use PLR opt-in or squeeze page templates to simplify the list-building process. Many PLR providers sell ready-made templates that streamline the process of collecting email addresses. Simply modify the text, insert your autoresponder code and load up the html pages. Promote your opt-in pages in your article bylines, YouTube videos and wherever you publish content.

- Use PLR banners to promote your report giveaway. Put them on your blog, invite your affiliates to use them and swap or purchase ad space to get the word out there. Find out where your target parent market hangs out and be seen.

- Use topic-relevant PLR articles and other content to drive traffic to your opt-in page. Include a recommendation for your mailing list as a place to get further information.

- Don’t stop there. You don’t just have to make one freebie offer to build your list. Publish other opt-in pages with offers that will attract more parents in your targeted audience. The nice thing about PLR is that it’s cost-effective and time-efficient to test out a variety of free offers to build your list.

Key Tip – Make the PLR Your Own

Private label rights means you have the opportunity to make customize the content so it suits your message and your target audience. Although the terms of service with PLR providers varies, in most cases you can do things like add logo, insert case studies, comments from customers, add your own opinions and more.

Parents who subscribe to your mailing list want to get a feel for WHO you are before they buy from you, so taking the time to make PLR uniquely yours can go a long way. That doesn’t mean you need to rewrite it from scratch, but insert elements that will give your readers more insight into your company and what you stand for.

A Free PLR Package to Help You Build Your Parenting Mailing List

It’s amazing how easy it can be to build a list when you’ve got ready-made tools to help you. You can actually get a free PLR list-building package right here. It includes:

- a free report
- opt-in page template and suggested text
- ecovers in 4 sizes
- promotional graphics

…to help you get started. Click here to get yours

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What do I DO with all this PLR?

Friday, April 3rd, 2009

If you’ve ever wondered how you can most effectively use your PLR (whether it’s ebooks, articles, sales pages or any type of PLR), here’s a handy checklist you can download for free.

Get ideas for making content more uniquely yours, earning money from your PLR and more.

Click HERE to download the plr checklist

It is a PDF document and you will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software to view it. If you don’t have this software, you can get it here.

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