Home Businesses Will Turn To Social Media

As conventional website adoption slows with surging social media use, a study by research firm IDC predicts that Facebook and other social networks will become key online platforms for home-based business promotions and commercial activity.

The IDC study found that about 40% of home-based businesses today use social networks to promote their business. While social networking is still more often used to supplement websites rather than as a substitute for them, roughly 20% of home-based businesses currently promote themselves on social networks and don't have a conventional website.

In another sign pointing to rising social media use, IDC found that nearly 40% of home-based businesses selling online do so without a website of their own, leveraging the high traffic provided by major online marketplaces like eBay, Amazon.com, Craigslist and others.

IDC also sees a significant home-based business opportunity for software engineers, app developers and website resource providers since relatively few home-based businesses with websites currently practice search engine optimization or optimize their websites for mobile device users.

"Websites have provided a relatively inexpensive way for businesses to efficiently reach local and international markets since the 1990s — and yet less than half of home-based businesses currently have them," Justin Jaffe, research manager for small/medium-sized business and home business research at IDC, said in the report. "Social networks have made online promotion less expensive and complicated, and Facebook and other social networks will become increasingly key players in empowering the marketing and commercial activity of home-based businesses."

Facebook, however, is still devising a strategy to make money from its ever-rising number of mobile users, which has helped result in its disappointing short life as a publicly traded company.

By DOUG TSURUOKA, INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY

Step 2 of Internet Marketing Journey - design a web form to build your list

One of the biggest mistakes that many internet marketers made was they did not start building an email list earlier.  The right way to sell a product is to create relationships and building trust with potential customers.


By using email as a marketing tool, you can contact your web/blog visitors (who are not yet buyers) and give them more reasons to consider becoming your customers.  You can give them more information, supporting facts, and proof that what you claim the product will do is true - basically, educate them about your product's true value.  Of course, they can always unsubscribe.  But those that don't are interested in your information or offer.


If you want to dramatically increase your sales, using follow-up email is a must.  It enables you to find the right buying time for customers.  It may be two days, two weeks, or even two months from now. Either way, you can be there to help them when they're ready. 


To capture the email address and build up a database of thousands people, you will need an effective list management software, and it is going to become a very important part of your internet business.  I would recommend an easy to use software called GetResponse, which offers a 30-day free trial.


In the following video, I will show you how to design a web form and integrate it with your blog,  so that you can start collecting email addresses today.

Step 1 of Internet Marketing Journey - How to Create a Blog

Over the weekend I received a number of email messages asking me about how to create a web site to get started with Internet Marketing.


This has prompted me to start a how-to series to help beginners to start their internet marketing journey.


I think that creating a blog with www.blogger.com would be a good first step.  Blogger.com is part of Google corporation, and is free of charges at the moment.  It is a good idea to create a dedicated Gmail address for internet marketing business, so as to separate your personal email address.


Check out this 6-minute video tutorial on how to create a blog.

Get Free Traffic to Your Website With This 3 Minute Traffic Generation Guide

There may be numerous way to get free traffic to your website, but most website owners don't know how to use them. Are you aware that you can get all the free traffic you want directed right to your website? Well you can, and in this article, I'm going to show you one method that can bring endless traffic to your website for free.

Many might argue, that free traffic doesn't convert as well as paid traffic. That might be true, but your return on investment is much better when you don't have to paid anything for the traffic your getting! Also, using free traffic generation techniques allow you to increase your profit without spending additional money on advertising. Not many businesses can get that kind of growth without paying for it.

One method you can start using is simply participating in online forums, discussion groups, and other online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is you can precisely target your demographic and market just by joining one of them. If you know your niche well, the communities members will respect your opinion and value your advice. And even if you aren't an expert in the niche, simply adding what you do know or adding value to the conversation will greatly increase your reputation in the community.

Either way, participating in forums and online communities helps you quickly build trust with people in your niche market, and then you will be in a much better position to offer them what you are selling.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A_Wilkie

Microsoft + Facebook Taking the Search Engine to a Whole New Level

Search algorithms have used machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict which of the billions of pages on the Internet might be most relevant to your search.

Google has spent so much time, money and effort trying to make their search engine the most accurate when searching on it, but what do people really care about when they look for information?

What really makes a search result the most accurate or best of all online?



Microsoft Bing is revamping its search engine to include a sidebar to enable you to obtain recommendations from users of Facebook when making a search on Bing. It is not just Facebook but they are planning to include many other networks.

Bing will be able to deliver results based on what your trusted sources of information (your friends and acquaintances) think.

They have made this move following the fact that "90% of people consult with a friend or expert before making a decision"

The sidebar appears on the right-hand side of all searches, so when you do a search Bing will suggest "Friends Who Might Know" about the topic based on the information in their Facebook, Likes, profile information, photos, etc.

This move takes searching online to a whole new level, you don't just rely on the information found about it because it seems to be the most popular or the most visited, but you are able to see who in your network may have a recommendation, a suggestion or the expertise to guide you on your search, based on their own experience and knowledge.

This will push companies to increase the quality of their customer experience, customer retention, the influence they have on social networks to gain more recommendations and to put even more effort to grow their brand awareness.

This is only one more step forward to what the future seems to look like when bringing social networks to search engine rankings and optimization.


Article source: Mili Ponce at http://passiveincomemyassblog.blogspot.co.uk

Facebook CEO Turns 28, IPO Could Be $100B Gift

This is a big week for Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is celebrating his 28th birthday Monday.

The social media star is just days away from being chief executive of one of the most valuable companies in the world.

Facebook is expected to start selling stock to the public on Friday in an offering that values the company at nearly 100-billion dollars, which would make it worth more than such iconic companies as Disney, Ford and Kraft Foods.


At 28, Zuckerberg is exactly half the age of the average S&P 500 CEO, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart. With eight years on the job, he’s logged more time as leader than the average CEO, whose tenure is a little more than seven years, according to Spencer Stuart.

Even so, the pressures of running a public company will undoubtedly take some getting used to. Once Facebook begins selling stock, Zuckerberg will be expected to please a host of new stakeholders, including Wall Street investment firms, hedge funds and pension funds who will pressure him to keep the company growing.

Source: http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/05/14/facebook-ceo-turns-28-ipo-could-be-100b-gift/

Paid Surveys Online Review - Do They Really Work?

In this article, I'm going to reveal everything you need to know about paid survey sites on the Internet - can you generate massive amounts of cash from completing surveys online or are they just nothing but scams?On top of that, I will also be sharing my experiences with these websites with you.

What Are These Paid Survey Websites About, And How Do They Work?

I'm sure you've seen lots of websites claiming that you'll be able to earn massive amounts of cash simply by completing surveys - all you need to do is to pay a one-time fee to get access to their website. Does these websites really work? We're going to take a look at them now.

In these websites, you're actually paying for a list of paid survey sites they have in their database (this database is being updated from time to time by these paid survey websites). Besides a database of a list of these sites, you'll also get access to a database of sites where you can sign up and get paid to read emails or shop (However, I'm just going to cover paid surveys in this lens).To start making money from these paid survey websites, you'll need to sign up as a member for each of these sites in the database (of course, if you are not residing in the United States, you can't sign up for these sites where the region is only for the United States only).

Once you've signed up for these sites, they'll then send you surveys for you to complete from time to time (based on the areas you've selected to receive surveys in), and upon completion of a survey, you'll be paid a certain amount of money from these sites.

The amount of money you'll receive will be based on the amount of time required to complete the survey - so the more time you'll need to complete the survey, the more you'll be paid.

How Much Money Can I Make From These Paid Survey Sites? And How Will I Get Paid?

The amount of money you'll be able to make every month from these sites that offers cash for surveys will depend on the number of surveys you complete every month, which, in turn, will depend on the number of surveys you're asked to participate in by these paid survey sites.

This is again based on the categories you've opted to receive surveys in (based on your areas of interest), the area/country you're residing in, as well as your age group.

As for payment, you'll be paid directly by these paid survey sites that you've signed up for.

When Will I Get Paid By These Paid Survey Websites?

It depends on the individual websites - normally they'll issue payments (via check or to your PayPal account - again depending on the individual websites) either every fortnightly or monthly.

My Personal Experience With These Paid Survey Sites

I've signed up as a member for a couple of these paid survey websites, and I discovered that most of the survey sites in the database are looking for surveyees residing in the United States. I could not sign up as a member in these survey sites as I'm not from the United States.

There are, however, a couple of sites that are looking for surveyees around the world, which I signed up for but I didn't get many surveys from these sites to complete. As such, I did not manage to make a lot of money from these websites.

That's my experience with these websites that offers cash for completing surveys. However, I do personally know people in the United States who are currently generating a good income from these paid survey websites! ;)

Thus, my conclusion about these websites for paid surveys is this - unless you are a resident in the United States, you will not able to generate maximum income from these paid survey websites.

Should You Sign Up As A Member Of These Paid Survey Websites?

As mentioned earlier, you'll only be able to reap huge profits from these sites if you are residing in the United States, as most of these paid survey companies are based in the United States and most of them are only interested in responses from people who are residing in the United States.

So, if you are from the United States, then I would recommend you to sign up for these websites.

If you are not from the United States, then I would not recommend you to sign up for them as chances are you're not going to get many requests to complete surveys (and hence you're not going to make a lot of money from it, based on my experience with these paid survey sites)

Should I Use A Separate Email Address To Sign Up For These Paid Survey Websites?

I would recommend you use a separate email address when you sign up as a member for these websites that will pay you for completing surveys - reasons being that as a member of these websites, you'll be receive quite a lot of emails from them to complete surveys (for cash) every single day (especially if you are a US citizen).

Thus, you may want to separate emails from these paid survey websites from your personal emails.

Which Paid Survey Websites Do You Recommend?

The following are 3 paid survey sites I would recommend you to sign up for (ranked in the order of sequence).

The reason why I have recommended the following websites is because they are very well established and also very highly reputable.

1. Paid Surveys Etc.

Paid Surveys Etc. is currently the top website for paid surveys on the Internet, with its large database of survey opportunities available.

You'll also receive get a full 60-day unconditional money back guarantee from Paid Surveys Etc.

Membership to Paid Surveys Etc. is currently priced at $34.00 (one-time payment).

2. Legit Online Jobs

Legit Online Jobs is another top-notch website that offers cash for completing surveys on the Internet. It has very good resources to help anyone get started, as well as a round-the-clock live chat service to help all members - I personally find this live chat service to be very, very useful. This is something that's only provided in Legit Online Jobs.

You'll also receive get a full 8-week unconditional money back guarantee from Legit Jobs Online.

Membership to Legit Jobs Online is currently priced at $49.95 (one-time payment).

Should You Sign Up For All The Paid Survey Websites I've Recommended?

There's no need for you to sign up for all the websites I've recommended above - Just sign up for 1 of them will do.

The reason is because, based on my experience with these websites, I found that the databases of survey sites in these websites are somewhat similar.

Therefore, all you need to do is to just sign up for 1 of these websites I've recommended above.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1237314

Making Money With Facebook - Get Your Thoughts Together

Hobbies turning into vocation and then lead the way to success and harmony, our strengths can be utilized in the utmost realization. We are onto the times and shores of internet society, where everything is changing. Different internet platforms are serving hundreds and thousands of professionals around the world. There has never been more exciting phase in the history of mankind before. Each individual is free to make, craft, experiment and sell his ideas without even moving an inch from the computer machine. As anyone can just make money on the internet it is becoming more and more popular. More and more people are now discussing the topic of making money with Facebook. The trends are changing fast and times might change to making people get more virtual and not go for the physical shopping.

First things first and the concept of making online money has got its due share of hard work and well thought out plan. The Facebook market place is an remarkable way to make cash. It is a worthy proposition given by Facebook to sell ones things and make money out of it. You can sell anything starting from your collection of books to AC. One can even make use of the free application present on Facebook to create profiles that are both eye catching and makes you look like a pro.

These days another effective way to make money is by showing ads on the Facebook. The striking point is to find a right balance over here as it is not a business portal altogether. Ad Sense and other PPC advertising techniques are bringing enormous amount of success to people engaged over here. One can even advertise their Facebook page for the ads being showcased by companies. This thought inspires promotion various schemes to each other. If you have a long list of friends on your profile, then they would surely be willing to check out what product you are promoting. It eases the process of making money as commissions by selling others products. This technique has opened the floodgates and there is more to come in recent times. It is a never ending portal of opportunities to make money from Facebook applications.

Facebook gives a different way for the software developers to make money. If your application is good and engaging, there is definitely a chance to sell it on a huge scale. Facebook has over 250 million users. Therefore, you can take advantage of this widening network. There is no end to the discussion however we need to keep on exploring more so as to successfully keep on making money with Facebook.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4468605

Twitter Money Making - Tips to Gain Followers in Twitter

Twitter is social messaging. With the ability to follow people and have followers, and the ability to have interactions with Twitter on your cell phone, Twitter has become the perfect social messaging tool. Whether you are out on the town and want to coordinate with a group of people as to what hot spot to hit next, or keeping people informed of developments at a company-sponsored event, Twitter is a great tool for quickly communicating a message to a group of people. Gaining followers is key to monetising Twitter however and here are two tips:

1. One of the best ways to do this is to give interesting updates on your daily life, comments on current affairs that people are interested in and/or giving your opinion on items that you may wish to sell. Ask them about their interests or what they would like to see you tweeting them about or even better what products they would like from you. This will lead to retweets depending on how good your tweets are leading to a viral effect of follower magnetism!

2. Another good thing you can do to keep your followers, get new followers, and get RT's (retweets from your followers to their followers) as well as getting recommended as a great tweeter, is to make your followers laugh (or at a minimum smile!). I go out of my way to ensure that I am making my followers laugh so that I can help brighten up their day in some little way if nothing else. The comments you receive back alone make this extremely worthwhile and fulfilling. It may sound silly, but telling a joke at a bar might get two or three people laughing, tell a joke on twitter, and in my case you will have hundreds of thousands people laughing between your own accounts and the amazing viral effect of retweets. Jokes of your own are best, but if you ain't a comedian, there are innumerable sources of jokes and funny quotes also available on the web.

Article source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_O'Mahony