Poll reveals 30% of people don't know how to market on the

What is one of the greatest challenges businesses today? Almost 30% of respondents to a poll on BizTipsBlog.com say they don't know how to market their business on the Web.

This information comes from my collegues, Patsi Krakoff and Denise Wakeman aka The Blog Squad. To read the full story go to http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=19208

In response to this staggering statistic, The Blog Squad and The Street Smarts Marketer are hosting a free teleseminar on Monday, December 17, 2007 at 6 p.m. Eastern to provide an overview of what people need to be aware of when taking their business online. Details and registration are at www.blogsquadteleseminars.com/5traps.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com

Is Blogging Necessary?

Although some people view blogging as a novelty or a “someday I’ll get around to it” most companies will find great benefit by adding blogs and blogging to their overall marketing strategy. When done correctly, blogging can have an incredible impact on your market position.

In essence blogs are no different from other marketing channels. Blogs are designed to deliver results, position you and your company and establish credibility. Some of the primary reasons to have a blog and to blog are to build expert status, reach a global market, increase customer and media relations, keep your market informed on what is happening with your company and industry, establish market perception and rank high on the Search Engines.

Determine the Purpose
Are you blogging because this is the latest and greatest fun idea someone on your team thought of or is this a viable part of your overall branding and marketing strategy? If a blog is simply another whimsical idea, you are likely blogging for the wrong reason. If, on the other hand, this is a part of your overall marketing strategy make sure you are strategic in your process.

Blog Consistently
To be effective you need to blog on a fairly regular basis. Your postings can be short, but need to be relative to your purpose. Many bloggers post information from other sites as a way to keep their readers informed on a particular topic. When you post information from another resource you absolutely must reference where you got the information from.

You can blog about new product releases, plans your company has, articles of interest and even what your competition is up to. The more valuable the information the more you will build a dedicated readership.


Driving Visitors
There are a number of effective ways to get people to view your blog. One is to use key words relative to your market and industry. Whenever you post something you want to include those key words.

Next you can announce your blog in your company newsletter, through media releases, to your current opt-in subscribers and in any advertising you do.

You can add your blog address to your outgoing email messages by way of your sig (signature) file that you use at the end of your email messages.

Another option is to write articles specific to your market and industry. Add a resource box at the end of your article with a link back to your blog. If your article is perceived to have high value there is a very good chance readers will visit your blog.

Most importantly is to make the blog postings valuable to the readers. If the information doesn’t hold their interest they will have no reason to return.

The more valuable your readers find your information the more likely it will be that they turn into loyal readers.

Make It Easy for People to Subscribe
By offering readers the chance to subscribe to your blog the more likely it will be for them to continue to read your information. Make it easy for people to sign up for your blog. You can add what are known as blog buttons also known as chiclets. You can also add a simple sign up form by visiting FeedBlitz.com and FeedBurner.com. This allows people to subscribe to the feed and receive updates as you add new content to your blog.

Keywords
Keywords are a way to improve your search engine ranking. Choosing the right words for your products, services, industry or market is extremely important. Keywords are what lead search engines to your blog. The more targeted your list the more effective your postings.

Analyze your business and your market. Think of any words that your readers might be search on to find you that relate to your company, industry, product or service.

The way to narrow your target words down is to use a keyword selector tool. A reliable selector tool will help you to narrow the search by indicating how often people search on specific word combinations.

In Conclusion
Blogging will create great opportunities when done correctly, consistently and conscientiously.

Kathleen Gage is an Internet Marketing Advisor for Speakers, Trainers, Authors, Consultants and Entrepreneurs. Access her eBook The Truth about Making Money on the Internet at http://www.streetsmartsmarketing.com/free-ebook.htm

Authors...Do you have a sell sheet?

Many authors would like nothing more than to write a book, have it published and make lots of money. The fact is, the writing of the book may well be the easiest part of the process aside from the publishing.

The greatest obstacles many authors face is in the marketing of their book(s). One tool that will help in your marketing is a good sell sheet.

If you are unfamiliar with the term, there is an excellent article at
http://www.iuniverse.com/tips-for-authors/sell-sheets.htm

In success
Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com

8 Common mistake people make when they try to get in front of their market

• Come across as only interested in the sale rather than someone who is interested in the customer’s needs.
• Target an incompatible market
• They are not prepared when opportunity strikes
• Appear desperate – not being willing to walk away
• Trying to sell too soon – before they know there is a need
• Prejudging a person’s potential to buy
• Not setting themselves apart from the competition
• Chasing good money after bad – not letting go of someone who just isn’t a good match for your products or services.

Are you making any of these mistakes? If so, remedy them immdediately.

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com

Kathleen Gage Expert Author on EzineArticles.com

I am pleased to announce my position as Expert Author on EzineArticles.com.

To view various articles I have written visit

http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Kathleen_Gage

My best

Kathleen Gage

The Street Smarts Marketer

www.streetsmartsmarketing.com

Do you know what is posted about you on the Internet?

Have you ever wondered what is posted about you on the Internet? Wondering if your articles are getting listed in directories? Want to find out what sites your information might be showing up on?

If you want to know this then you need to do a google alert on your name.

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
finding out what is written about you
monitoring a developing news story
keeping current on a competitor or industry

To sign up for your own google alerts go to http://www.google.com/alerts

Kathleen Gage
The Street Smarts Marketer
www.streetsmartsmarketing.com