Needing training software that allows you to speak while you're pointing to web pages and images?
Camtasia Studio, TechSmith
http://camstudio.org/
Monday, January 19, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Social Networking - Time to Get Started
Social Networking is the new buzz term for networking online through the various social networks. Many new social websites are popping up all the time, but like any other web phenomenon, only a few will rise to the top of popularity. I believe FaceBook and Twitter are two potential players in the social networking arena, among many others.
Your Social Networking efforts will supplement and eventually replace the efforts of search engine optimization in the near future. Why? Because getting connected socially on the web is an extension of getting your website to the top of search engines. When you are networked socially, it is more like YOU are at the top of search engines.
Forget having just a static website, with a strong Social Network in your real estate service area, people should be able to ask questions and find YOU answering them on top of Google. I know this all sounds strange, but bare with me. It's GOING to happen whether you like getting online or not. Social networking will be all the rage--and the people on top are going to be those who got in first.
Facebook and similar social networking sites will become the new place to find stuff. Search brings you flat websites; social networking brings you to life. ~Jenna Ryan
STEPS TO GETTING STARTED NOW
• Get your head out of your everyday processes and broaden to include networking on the net.
• Get signed up for various social sites such as Facebook & Twitter.
• Start communicating with other people on the web through such sites.
• Make a commitment to spend so much time EVERY DAY on the web networking.
• Network with people in your area.
• Don't focus on selling anything yet. Just get to know people.
• Remember that everything you do will increase your web presence, so no time is wasted.
• Friend me on Facebook and review my free tips.
• Follow me on Twitter and review my free tips. http://twitter.com/jlryan
Social networking is not going away. Your prospects and clients are going online. Why not meet them where they are? There is no more efficient way to market yourself than through online web marketing. Start learning. Get savvy. There is no time to waste!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Corporate Web Sites I Like
I like the way this corporate web site outlines its product offerings. Nice!
Solution Demos
Here's a site with a great Corporate About page. Other companies should take notice. This page is fantastic and informative!
http://www.creditsolutions.com/about_facts.php
If you're interested in Corporate Web Development Services, contact us today at Buzz Web Marketing!
Dallas Web Design
I like the chart on this website:
http://www.americanunit.com/consultingpractice.htm
Solution Demos
Here's a site with a great Corporate About page. Other companies should take notice. This page is fantastic and informative!
http://www.creditsolutions.com/about_facts.php
If you're interested in Corporate Web Development Services, contact us today at Buzz Web Marketing!
Dallas Web Design
I like the chart on this website:
http://www.americanunit.com/consultingpractice.htm
Monday, January 05, 2009
Twitter Basics
Twitter is a social networking tool for staying connected to friends, family, co-workers, mentors or anyone else you want to follow. Twitter allows you to stay connected to people through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to the simple question: "What are you doing?"
You can follow people on Twitter, and people can follow you. After you register and set-up your Twitter account, you need to find people to follow to get the "blood flowing" so to speak.
Follow me on Twitter: "jlryan"
If you want to follow someone on Twitter, just click "Follow."
Here's an article on "5 Ways to Find More Friends on Twitter."
I tried the Twubble.com page... it simply gives you the people your current friends are following. Kinda useful.
Once you get a Twitter Account, go into the settings page and find out what your URL is. You can then post your Twitter URL on your other blogs and web sites so people can click on it and follow you.
Here's an article on How to Get More Followers on Twitter.
You can follow people on Twitter, and people can follow you. After you register and set-up your Twitter account, you need to find people to follow to get the "blood flowing" so to speak.
Follow me on Twitter: "jlryan"
If you want to follow someone on Twitter, just click "Follow."
Here's an article on "5 Ways to Find More Friends on Twitter."
I tried the Twubble.com page... it simply gives you the people your current friends are following. Kinda useful.
Once you get a Twitter Account, go into the settings page and find out what your URL is. You can then post your Twitter URL on your other blogs and web sites so people can click on it and follow you.
Here's an article on How to Get More Followers on Twitter.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Article Submission Quick Tips
Here are some quick tips for submitting your articles to press release sites and article submission sites on the web.
- Your article should have at least 400 words if you want the better article submission sites to accept it. Some article submission sites have minimum and maximum word count limits, so be prepared to make adjustments if required.
- Your article should use normal type-style. DO NOT USE ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS. This is highly disregarded on the web for almost everything except very short titles. Many article submission sites will not accept press releases with titles in ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS.
- Check your work for grammar and spelling errors as they will prevent your content from being accepted by many article sites.
- Your article must be original content and not plagerize content from other web sites for obvious reasons.
- Your article should be written in Notepad or Word to be presentable. You will end up pasting it into the Article Site's system, so be ready for that.
- Make sure to read the article submission guidelines and follow them to a tee if you want to get your article published.
- You can pay some article sites such as PRWeb for posting your article, however, there are less expensive options as well as some free submission sites out there.
- When posting your article to the article sites, make sure to save often or you could lose everything and have to start over which is a royal pain.
- When you go to the article submission sites, you will have to register. Make sure you take time to create your profile with each one. You need to upload your photo, contact info and your website URL. This page will link to you and be valuable for your web marketing plan so don't skip it.
How to Write an Article for Web Distribution
Writing articles for web syndication is a great idea for marketing yourself online. The better your article is written, the more responses you'll receive. This article will show you what to do from start to finish.
Choose your topic.
First, you need a topic. The topic needs to relate to your business, but should not aim to sell your wares. A good article for the web offers general information about the topic to keep people informed. If folks like what you have to say, they'll pick up the phone and call you. The key is to find a topic that other people haven't already covered.
Determine your audience.
Before you start writing, you must decide who you're writing to. What are they thinking? What concerns them? What are they worried about? What is they're mindset? Do they need to be educated? Make your words line up to who you are writing to. If it's everyday people, use a conversational tone. If you're writing an intellectual treatise, better to use a more formal writing style. Writing to the rich? Use words that convey luxury. Writing to the working moms? Use words that relate to children and life balance. Whatever you do, write to the individual reader, not to a group.
Select the purpose of the article.
Your web article should have a purpose. Is it to be persuasive? Educational? Informative? Editorial? You need to have a reason for writing your article and keep the purpose on the forefront as you write. No one wants to read an article that meanders to no where or is wishy washy.
Research your topic.
Your topic should be well-researched and thorouugh, leaving no stone unturned on your topic. It should also provide references of sources used in it's compilation. During the research stage of article writing, I gather facts as though I'm writing a research paper. I then put the link where I found the information beside the facts for showing on the article. This helps give credit where due.
Write your article.
When writing your article, keep your topic, purpose and audience in mind. Use short-choppy sentences to get your point across directly. Remember, people scan the web--they don't read it, so make sure you use plenty of eye-catching titles, bullets and bolded words to guide the eye along. Try not to use big words, but keep it simple for easy scanning.
Cite sources of data.
A good article should contain information from a variety of sources. Reference the source to the information you garner by providing a link to the web site where you obtained the data. Make sure to only include reputible sites in the citation of your article. Citing your sources will help you gain credibility.
Edit your article.
As the saying goes in the writing field, "Edit to the bone." Get rid of all uneccessary words and sentences. Don't fall so in love with what you write that you're afraid to remove it from the page if it doesn't fit with the flow of the article. Read the article aloud to pick up on inconsistencies you wouldn't catch otherwise and make sure to spell check.
Write your byline for the article.
Your byline is a brief description of who you are, what you do and where you can be found. The byline is where you gain credibility with the reader, so make sure to build yourself up here by showing your expertise and credentials. This is the prime place for a keyword-rich, anchor text link back to your blog or Web site.
Distribute your article.
Once your article is complete, it is ready for distribution. You want to get the article out on Web sites so people can read what you have to say. I am developing a list of Free Press Release for sending my own articles. Feel free to use the list and submit your articles to those same sites. When submitting, keep in mind that each article service has its own Writer's Guidelines that you must follow. It can be a slightly tedious process to submit articles because of the differing requirements of the submission sites, but the value such content brings back to your site in traffic is worth it.
Writing articles for the web gets easier as you go. The key is taking time to write well. There are plenty of sloppy articles on the web because it's so easy to publish what you write on your blog or Web site, but yours need not be bad. Take the time to develop your topic, purpose and to consider your audience first. Then research your subject thoroughly, sort references of where you gathered your data and edit your work. Once you're done, submit your article to Article Submission sites for distribution throughout the web. If your content is good enough, it will eventually be seen by anyone looking for info on your topic.
If you have questions about writing articles for the web, feel free to join my Facebook Network and post a question on my wall. I would love to help you!
~ Jenna Ryan
Choose your topic.
First, you need a topic. The topic needs to relate to your business, but should not aim to sell your wares. A good article for the web offers general information about the topic to keep people informed. If folks like what you have to say, they'll pick up the phone and call you. The key is to find a topic that other people haven't already covered.
Determine your audience.
Before you start writing, you must decide who you're writing to. What are they thinking? What concerns them? What are they worried about? What is they're mindset? Do they need to be educated? Make your words line up to who you are writing to. If it's everyday people, use a conversational tone. If you're writing an intellectual treatise, better to use a more formal writing style. Writing to the rich? Use words that convey luxury. Writing to the working moms? Use words that relate to children and life balance. Whatever you do, write to the individual reader, not to a group.
Select the purpose of the article.
Your web article should have a purpose. Is it to be persuasive? Educational? Informative? Editorial? You need to have a reason for writing your article and keep the purpose on the forefront as you write. No one wants to read an article that meanders to no where or is wishy washy.
Research your topic.
Your topic should be well-researched and thorouugh, leaving no stone unturned on your topic. It should also provide references of sources used in it's compilation. During the research stage of article writing, I gather facts as though I'm writing a research paper. I then put the link where I found the information beside the facts for showing on the article. This helps give credit where due.
Write your article.
When writing your article, keep your topic, purpose and audience in mind. Use short-choppy sentences to get your point across directly. Remember, people scan the web--they don't read it, so make sure you use plenty of eye-catching titles, bullets and bolded words to guide the eye along. Try not to use big words, but keep it simple for easy scanning.
Cite sources of data.
A good article should contain information from a variety of sources. Reference the source to the information you garner by providing a link to the web site where you obtained the data. Make sure to only include reputible sites in the citation of your article. Citing your sources will help you gain credibility.
Edit your article.
As the saying goes in the writing field, "Edit to the bone." Get rid of all uneccessary words and sentences. Don't fall so in love with what you write that you're afraid to remove it from the page if it doesn't fit with the flow of the article. Read the article aloud to pick up on inconsistencies you wouldn't catch otherwise and make sure to spell check.
Write your byline for the article.
Your byline is a brief description of who you are, what you do and where you can be found. The byline is where you gain credibility with the reader, so make sure to build yourself up here by showing your expertise and credentials. This is the prime place for a keyword-rich, anchor text link back to your blog or Web site.
Distribute your article.
Once your article is complete, it is ready for distribution. You want to get the article out on Web sites so people can read what you have to say. I am developing a list of Free Press Release for sending my own articles. Feel free to use the list and submit your articles to those same sites. When submitting, keep in mind that each article service has its own Writer's Guidelines that you must follow. It can be a slightly tedious process to submit articles because of the differing requirements of the submission sites, but the value such content brings back to your site in traffic is worth it.
Conclusion
Writing articles for the web gets easier as you go. The key is taking time to write well. There are plenty of sloppy articles on the web because it's so easy to publish what you write on your blog or Web site, but yours need not be bad. Take the time to develop your topic, purpose and to consider your audience first. Then research your subject thoroughly, sort references of where you gathered your data and edit your work. Once you're done, submit your article to Article Submission sites for distribution throughout the web. If your content is good enough, it will eventually be seen by anyone looking for info on your topic.
I'm here for you!!!
If you have questions about writing articles for the web, feel free to join my Facebook Network and post a question on my wall. I would love to help you!
~ Jenna Ryan
Titles for Your Blog Posts
There are a few things you should consider when constructing your blog titles. Bare in mind that the title of your blog is very important for helping search engines know what your blog post is about. Here are a few tips for making your blog titles better in the future.
Keep blog titles should be short. If you make your blog titles too long, it effects the navigation in your blog layout. Long titles will have to wrap on the page and this looks tacky and effects everything around it.
Eliminate unnecessary words in your title. Use only very necessary words that refer to the content. Use keywords only that will help the search engines determine what the page is about.
Restate the title in your content. If you can't get your point across in the actual title, then restate the original title in your content.
Do not use all caps in titles. Using all caps are discouraged by for a number of reasons: 1. They are harder to read; 2. All caps tends to mean you're yelling on the web; 3. All caps will not blend well with the navigation of your blog (unless the whole thing is in all caps. The best advice is to just use caps on the first letters for titles as you would in print.
The title helps search engines understand your page and helps entice readers to click on the link to read the page, and compels them to continue reading. Get the most out of your titles by keeping them short, succinct and keyword-rich. If you can't say everything you need to say in a precise way in the title, summarize in your title, then restate your original (longer) title in the content area. Good titles will help your articles get noticed.
Keep blog titles should be short. If you make your blog titles too long, it effects the navigation in your blog layout. Long titles will have to wrap on the page and this looks tacky and effects everything around it.
Eliminate unnecessary words in your title. Use only very necessary words that refer to the content. Use keywords only that will help the search engines determine what the page is about.
Restate the title in your content. If you can't get your point across in the actual title, then restate the original title in your content.
Do not use all caps in titles. Using all caps are discouraged by for a number of reasons: 1. They are harder to read; 2. All caps tends to mean you're yelling on the web; 3. All caps will not blend well with the navigation of your blog (unless the whole thing is in all caps. The best advice is to just use caps on the first letters for titles as you would in print.
The title helps search engines understand your page and helps entice readers to click on the link to read the page, and compels them to continue reading. Get the most out of your titles by keeping them short, succinct and keyword-rich. If you can't say everything you need to say in a precise way in the title, summarize in your title, then restate your original (longer) title in the content area. Good titles will help your articles get noticed.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Free Article Submission & Press Release Websites
Press releases are an excellent way to generate traffic to your website. Following are a number of Free Press Release web sites where you can submit valuable articles.
- EzineArticles.com - I have used this services extensively and it's pretty good, once you get passed all the quirks and learn the system. This site is great because all the articles are human-edited which is a big plus for ranking in Google. Since I've been using it so long, it happens to be my favorite free article submission site.
- Free Press Release.com - Offers free press releases or $1 to upgrade. I really like it! Here's a link to my test article. Press Release: Jenna Ryan on Faith in the Marketplace 91.7 KVTT">Jenna Ryan
- Cayman Mama - This site says it offers Free Press Releases, however, once you login... you find out that's not true. The cost for submitting a press release through this site is $49, which is considerably less than PRWeb, but then you pay for what you get.
- PR Log
- 20 Free Press Release Sites
- Big List of Free Press Release Distribution Sites
Facebook Marketing Tips
Facebook is a great way to market your business online because it helps you not only to build but to also maintain relationships with others in the marketplace. There are ways to make better use of Facebook as a marketing tool, which I have outlined below.
Make friends and build your network. Social networking sites like Facebook gives you the opportunity to efficiently network with hundreds of people within your network. If you are selling real estate locally, it's a good idea to make friends with local businesses, merchants and website owners. This will help you get the buzz going. The key to marketing on the web is to really be friends with people. I'll make that my next point.
Provide something of value. Don't just try to sell your wares. The web is a place for information exchange, not sales jargon. Why? People can click off your page quickly, so you don't want to turn them off by giving them an infomercial. Winners on the web will be those that provide something of value to others witbout trying to trap them into buying something. Business transactions should flow naturally out of a give-and-take / reciprocal arrangement. Don't turn people off.
Use the Facebook Badge. One of the ways you can market yourself on Facebook is through the Profile Badge. You can create a Profile badge for posting on your other blogs and sites through Facebook by going to your Profile and scrolling down. It's on the left column of the page, under your latest posts. It says, "create a profile badge."
You can use the wizard to create the code you need for your Profile Badge. You can take this code and insert it on your blog yourself, or send it to your webmaster for installing on your website.
You can create a variety of Facebook Badges such as:
Vertical Badge
Horizontal Badge
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