Facebook, LinkedIN and Online Marketing Presence Through Social Media

Hearing and reading about social media forums such as Facebook, Twitter, Buzz etc... you can just keep reading and reading about its effectiveness.  However, to get a good feel for how it works, you really just need to experiment.

So, a while back, I posted how I read somewhere to include your URL
(in my case http://www.new-to-new-media.com/) in all of these social media websites- either in your profile or signature or any other place you can embed it.  So, I placed mine into my LinkedIN profile as well as on my Facebook profile- oh, and in my signature in my e-mails.

I pretty much forgot about all that because, again, I wasn't looking to become an expert in social media.  But this week alone I got comments- either through e-mail, on Facebook and from LinkedIN! And for the amount of effort I've put in that is pretty impressive because all I did was just embed my website URL in those 3 places and got traffic.  Imagine the effectiveness of social media and online marketing if it is done by an expert!

So far I am definitely becoming convinced that this new media and online marketing stuff gets results.

Any arguments?

Advertising Copywriter - Marketing Businesses

Now this is a very cool aspect of marketing.
ADVERTISING COPYWRITER
If you are clever with words and have a good sense of salesmanship, there are many small businesses in the community which can use these services. You can write online ads, reviews, newspaper ads, brochures, radio ads, catalogs, and more.

This probably falls under the same category as article marketing, blogging etc where just writing about something can market the business, product, service, idea or website.

Affiliate Marketing Insights and What I Learnt from a Date

Not to get too personal here, because I am trying to keep this strictly business, but most of the information gathered for the following post was attained through a guy I met on a "shidduch" date (blind match) this week. 
The conversation turned to on-line business, e-commerce etc.
He is self-employed in some sort of telecommunications business.  He sells people a way to record cellphone voicemails - People buy the service and then are sent a code or pin number via email after checkout.
Cool stuff.  I don't think he even has a degree, but started off doing some sort of consulting work for a company in Israel - it was an outsourced consulting position where he had a few businesses he helped grow.  When leaving the position, he asked the telecommunications company he was consulting for if they would take him on to be a part of the company and they declined.  So, he went off developed his own.  I forgot the name of it.   It's a phenomenal idea because it does not involve ANY INVENTORY!!! It's all digital!!!!!

Here is where new media, affiliate marketing and SEO come in ...
First of all, as with ANY online company you need to work on your online marketing strategies, SEO and keyword search options.  ESSENTIAL.  They will not find your business on the web unless it's up there in google optimized web searches!!!  Here's where it gets sticky!!
1) Firstly, he said he hired someone to work for him to enhance his SEO and even with hiring someone he needs to know as much as he can about it so he can be on top of him and cannot trust to leave it all in his hands.  He said that that is a number one rule in business.  Takes a lot of time and energy out of the business though.
2) Affiliate Marketers: He said that there are people who do not have their own product to sell (like he has) but they are GREAT at SEO and keyword search optimization, on-line marketing etc .. Plus they also have great conversion rates - which means that once a person does finally find their site- the "landing page", they actually follow through to checkout and buy the product!  That is key.  You need a LOT of marketing expertise to do all that!  You can have the best product in the world- and people may never buy it- and the coolest hi-tech website and it can possibly never get found on the web!

So... what do you do if you have a great website or product but not an expert at SEO or high in the google rankings?
You find an affiliate network to belong to, or you hire an affiliate manager.  They connect you with affiliates.  These affiliates do not have a product to sell... they make their money off of commission by selling other people's products.   Awesome idea, no?  They make great websites, with very convincing landing pages, high in google rankings so they get a lot of hits and once the person commits to buying the product and click on the checkout button- they are really buying the product from the original person's site... it gets "redirected" without you even realizing!!!! The affiliates are just great promoters!!! 
And truly, that is where the business lies.

3) Google Adwords - Another bombshell to me.  Even though I paid to have ads put up for this blog on google searches - apparently that is no guarantee for hits of it showing up when people search the keywords I entered. There is a whole science to this it seems.  So the ROI - Return on Investment for my google adwords is very low because there are "tricks" to getting the ads to show up etc... I, of course am not right now interested in learning those "tricks"  but it's good to be clued in and that it's not as easy as it seemed.  That's all I need to know for now. 

Last but not least - Raya- my dear ambitious, thought-out entrepreneurial friend who is always a well-spring of knowledge never-ending.  She recently mentioned to me in an email correspondence that she had given herself ONE WHOLE year to learn about the world of online media.  That is ambitious.  She has a website www.grandgifting.com that she designed completely by herself with some consulting on the side.  Very impressive.
Secondly, regarding Raya, she mentioned to me that she is now involved in some Online B2B job. 
This is very up my alley and I hope to explore it.

With all of my online knowledge I'm amassing hopefully it can help me in my pursuit to work remotely in the world of e-commerce. 

I'm still looking to consult more about my business of connecting SEO and online marketing experts with small businesses, agencies etc to optimize websites and businesses. 

Marketing Firms

Ok. So we have lots of businesses in this world.  Practically everything is a business... the grocery store, doctors... even schools!!  Businesses need customers - or else there is not business.  A grocery store needs shoppers, a doctor needs patients and a school needs students or else there is no school!

Marketing firms: These are companies that deal solely with marketing.  Businesses need time to run and manage their businesses - stock the shelves, customer service, ordering, billing... Doctors need to see their patients - they have secretary or office manager to take care of billing, patient appointments, insurance etc.
But in the meantime, they still need NEW BUSINESS.  How does word get around about the new supermarket, or the new product or the new school, doctor etc...

Enter, the marketing firm.  They handle all aspects promoting the business and getting the company, school or store more known to people.

Side note: This past summer I was flown out to St. Louis, MO to run a program for women and girls - giving lectures, running fun outings .. a jam packed schedule!!!  Lo and behold, all that scheduling and planning, and no people.  Nobody knew about it!  Until word started to get around the program was almost over.

You can have an awesome product, but word needs to get out there.

I am excited to help promote other products .. that is an option for me ... especially online where the venues are endless and the world at large is your audience.  There are google ads, SEO, social media, article marketing, PPC and lots of other ways to drive traffic to your sites and make your business known.

Again, I'm in now way, at this point looking to compete with the world of online marketers and social media, but I am starting to recognize its importance- an online presence and how it can drive business.

There are so many websites out there that are sleeping and with no traffic, hits or visitors.

There are also businesses and non-for-profits out there that need a website, a blog... etc.

My role would be to connect these dead websites or business without a web presence and connect them with marketing agencies.  To drive the business on both ends.

I would specialize in online marketing. 

I just sent an inquiry to http://www.360i.com/ an online marketing agency and asked them if they have a business development department that reaches out to get more clients.

Me - Becoming a Social Media, SEO, On-line Marketing Expert?

Ok. I am going to take a bit of a reality check here.  This will be based on gathered information from a couple of in-person meetings I had assessing my abilities.  Just doing this to re-focus.
I will continue, G-d willing to learn more about social media and how it works, Search Engine Optimization, Pay-Per-Clicks, online advertising, developing a web presence, blogging, content marketing etc.
The question is what will I do with all of the information and WHY will I continue learning it?
Answer: I will learn it so that I can have a basic understanding of the field - not to compete with all of the young computer-technology-loving people.  I'm happy for all of those people and their areas of expertise.  Let them keep competing and optimizing sites on search engines - getting high ranks and tweeting on twitter all they want.
What I like is the business aspect of it.  When I interviewed at Morpheus Media, the human resource manager was very pleasant and also very honest.  She told me point blank that I could never compete with the young people who are new media lovers - eat sleep and drink up all of the latest etc.  The account services-business development-client interaction is more what I'd be good at - the professional aspects.
But in order to be good at that, you do need some knowledge in this digital media and marketing world as well.
 You need to LEARN THE BUSINESS a little.  All businesses need to be marketed.

I came across a job posting today on the job boards.  It was a typical one searching for a
"New Marketing/New Media Consultant"
A name-brand innovator and importer of hand-held tools and instruments based in the NY metro area is seeking a new media communications consultant to promote sales of their products via social media marketing and reseller development. We need a proven social media expert who can develop successful promotional campaigns using social networking venues, SEO development, and viral marketing; track and report results; and manage and expand relationships with client resellers. You will develop compelling web content to maximize traffic and sales to the client's website and those of their resellers, while improving and expanding relationships with current and potential online retailers of their merchandise.
You must have an extensive recent background in internet marketing, SEO development, and social media as well as a solid grasp of business analytics and back end metrics. We prefer a candidate with a BA in Business Management or Marketing. You should have excellent written and verbal communication skills and be comfortable interacting with internal and external partners. You should also have a basic understanding of the basic elements of web design and development.
This is a ground-floor opportunity to work with an established brand and cutting-edge engineering concern with a 50-year track record of continuing growth, currently enjoying their best year ever in a down economy. There is strong potential for career advancement based on performance.
Interested parties should forward a cover letter outlining relevant experience and credentials; an updated resume; and any references or relevant web links to Michael at hybridhiring2@mail.com.

So, I can rule-out that I am not the one for this job, any jobs like it, nor do I aspire to be.

My ideas are slowly sharpening and coming to a head, but not quite there yet.
I need to do some more research on being the middleman/agent/coordinator between finding the clients, companies, business who need advertising and promoting and connecting them with expert new media marketing pros.

What I need to research: (Options)
1) Starting my own agent business where I just connect people with people and get a fee. 
Outsourcing the business development for the marketing companies.  This means, getting the clients to do their marketing with certain companies I will contract with.  For example - My brother Howard H Frank DPM runs a podiatry practice in Brooklyn.  I would approach him, a business owner, and offer marketing services to him.  I would not DO the actual marketing services.  The marketing services would be done by a professional marking firm such as "BottomLineMarketing." I would work with companies that would pay me a finder's fee for giving them new business accounts.
2) Start my own media marketing company and do everything.  Get clients, hire freelance marketing media experts and pay them a flat sum per job they do and charge certain amount to the client/business.  I would be the liaison in all aspects.
3) Work for a marketing company as an employee (to start) in the new business department.

Content Marketing, Blogging for Money and SEO - for Other Businesses

This post was apparantly drafted a while ago and was meant to be posted but never got posted.
Content Marketing -  Videos, Webinars, Blogs - to attract people to the sites.
A person needs to be drawn to want to go to a particular site.  The need to want to go there for a number of reasons.  The site may contain promotions, valuable information possibly in a blog, e-books, videos etc.
So, like someone commented about pay-per-click - the PPC will only work if there is a webpage that they will be directed to and they have something on that page they need. 

To sum up: The content marketing is what attracts people to your site - because you are offering them content that they will find helpful.

This helps give a business exposure attracting customers.

Career Opportunites in New Media Advertising and Marketing

As I continue on my journey- which seems to be very self-directed - I am concurrently seeking out all the help I can get from people in the field of new media, digital advertising, internet marketing etc.  People are being helpful and I'm learning new insider bits along the way.

From Scott Burgher on LinkedIn someone with whom I connected with who has been gmailing me some information and shedding some light on the opportunities out there.

This is excerpted from a follow-up e-mail clarifying the various aspects of marketing:

He writes: "In marketing/advertising agencies there are generally two different types of positions (Put aside the business aspect i.e. accounting, payroll etc...); you will either be working on the "account side" or "creative side" - the account side is what I do, we are the front people, we manage the clients, meet with them, determine their needs, and present all the ideas to them (we also do a lot of background work i.e. work with vendors/printers/media to manage the timeliness and placement of all promotions) - we manage the budgets, and the timelines of projects - then there are the creative ones, essentially graphic designers who take the direction of everything gathered from the account side, and put it all together (i.e. ads, commercials, postcards, whatever the promotion is) then its a whole process of the account team taking it back to the client to get approval and so on.....  there are the occasional people who work on the account side and have the creative vision and genius to lead the creative teams....  It used to be that the account side was also responsible to get new accounts, though most marketing agencies now have "new business development" teams which focuses on that (sales)."

Not sure if you're a fan of the show "Mad Men" though the difference would be between Sterling/Campbell (account) and Draper/Peggy (creative).

Of the 3 mentioned, I can rule out the creative side - although I am creative and have lotsa nice ideas - I'm not the graphic designer type.  I'd prefer to negotiate with the client or try to get the client in the first place.  So that would be the account services or sales/business development aspect.  I would choose to work with advertising/marketing and find businesses because it's something that excites me and I can sell.  (More than my passion for selling medical supplies, for example. :)

Creating an Ad on Google Adwords, Online Advertising Marketing

So, I just got approved for an $80 advertising allowance with google adwords.  It was fun setting up the account and my first campaign is titled "New Media."   I was going to start by advertising my brother's businesses, but they do not have websites that promote their businesses and the ads need a place to link to.
The only site I can link to now is mine and one of my goals is to drive traffic to my site so I had the idea to just advertise my own blog !!!  Let's just see if a month showing up in google ads (80 dollars worth) will get me even ONE hit!!!
I created the ad with a short description if this site and used keywords such as "online marketing, blogging, internet advertising, SEO" etc.  We shall check the stats and see what happens.
It's a start.
If I'm going to market something, I'll start with this site.  I'd like to market for others eventually.  Maybe make small websites for companies that don't have any or don't show up in google.

Connecting with Online Marketing Professionals ...

So, in my spare time, I try and connect with people on http://www.linkedin.com/ who are either entrepreneurial, internet marketers, SEO Pros, bloggers, or into e-commerce to learn more and see what is out there.
One guy, with whom I connected e-mailed me back the following reply:
"Its a tough industry to get into right now (not a lot of agencies/firms hiring) -
Do you know in what capacity you want to get in? account work? creative end? new business?"

So, a) a bit discouraging -
      b) let me look into those last 3 options ... Account Work, Creative End, New Business.
I'm not sure what they all are but off the cuff I seem to think "new business" strikes my fancy.
I will google the options.

Ezine.com, Article Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Google...

So, the article I submitted to http://www.ezine.com/ was returned to me with a few comments from their editorial review.  What I submitted originally was my first post on being "New to New Media" from this blog. 
The comments were:
1) "Your article must be informative and share your own exclusive and original content. Include tips, strategies, techniques, case-studies, analysis, opinions and commentary based on your own perspective. Keep in mind that quoted, sourced, or referenced material must NOT exceed 5 lines in TOTAL, and repeating the same basic tips and information across numerous articles is not considered original. Your articles must also be at least 250 word in length.
I'm not sure where I went wrong here... and I don't know how to fix it.

2) I did not use paragraph breaks... (easily fixable)

3) "You can link to EzineArticles.com in your URL providing you are linking to an article in a series or you are linking to your EzineArticles Expert Bio page. Your link does not fall into either of these 2 categories and will need to be changed. 
(I can try to fix this one...)

On a side note: My aunt asked me to explain to her today what I am trying to do with this blog and marketing etc.  Again, as I keep blogging I keep learning, and as I keep learning I keep blogging. 

I got approved for $75 in free google ads and will put up some for my brother - podiatric surgeon and my other brother a mohel and marriage counselor -- either one - just for the experience.  I'd like to possibly specialize in local business marketing ... or at least small business marketing.

Connecting on LinkedIn always helps as well... Thank G-d, I've been pretty successful at that!

Ok, Lotsa New Developments in Online Media Marketing Monetizing Advertising

Don't even know where to start!!!
Again, I must keep stressing, that all of this knowledge in some way or another is all with intention of making money via a web-based medium.  It may end up just selling products or services on-line through an already established e-commerce site like http://www.ebay.com/ or http://www.amazon.com/ because it seems like there is nothing really new to create right now.  Everyone is out there racking their brains to find a new niche in this market.  The goal now is to find my place - what I'm best at doing on-line that I can transfer my skills.
All of this knowledge on web marketing and networking may come in handy to promote either my own business or others - so we shall see.
Right now, my ideas are still in blog marketing or content marketing.  I would most likely offer this as a service to other businesses.  I mentioned this idea in one of my first posts - and it was even suggested to me by Mr. Onlysimchas.  A new term I just found for that is COPYWRITING.
An Advertising Copywriter :
According to Wikipedia, this is somebody who
1) Uses written words to promote something.- either a business, person or idea.
2) Can freelance or be an employee for a copywriting agency, advertising agency, public relations firm, marketing firms...
3) For a budding copywriter - they suggest working as part of an advertising team to learn the marketing and business sense and expand their career opportunities.
(This is all similar to journalism which has always been a tempting field of mine ... ).

Here is the link for further reference- because there is so much to know and I do not want t o be caught plagiarising --- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copywriting .

Marketing and Advertising a Business On-line

One way Mr. Onlysimchas.com suggested I get better at learning this online business advertising stuff, is to offer to promote other businesses online.  To offer my services to get them noticed and give them an online presence.

Today, I was contacted by a connection on LinkedIn- an accountant - to help them promote their firm's services online.

This will be my first experiment.

I googled something like "how to advertise my business online."

So far I got some answers from: http://www.myownbusiness.org/s9/

They are mainly:
1) Getting a website (not an option right now).
2) Search Engine Placement - High Rankings with google and yahoo. (I think this only works with having a website and optimizing it to rank high.)
3) Pay Per Click Advertising: Consider "pay per click" strategies such as Yahoo.com , Google.com and MSN.com to enhance your overall marketing strategy. Pay per click now offers local search options to better reach a targeted audience.
This is the one I plan to try ... Getting the business ads in local listings and searches for accountants...
WITH G-D"S HELP!!!!

Internet Marketing

Just reading an article saying that any entrepreneur's dream is of course to be in "control" of one's own financial destiny.  Starting a home based business is an idea for a aspiring entreprenuers.  And, with the advent today of online marketing and advertising, which is virtually free - one must just teach themselves the ropes and within about 2-3 years they can be proficient enough to market their products effectively.
The networking capacity of the internet is great.  Of course there are risks involved with starting your own business, but that's just business.

An idea for Today:
1) Maybe I will use my $75 free trial with google Ads to promote this blog?
2) Read more from my on-line business book I took out from the library called "An Idiot's Guide to Web-based Business"

Search Engine Optimization/Marketing Companies

Search Engine Optimization (SEO and web marketing) companies seem to be a dime a dozen.  The more I do research on how to market a blog (or any website or business), the more companies I seem to stumble upon.

PPC, Web 2.0 - this is all lingo for something ... Hi-tech on-line marketing. 
I've since joined so many groups in LinkedIn that are involved in webmarketing.
Here is just one example of a description for one such company known as "Prime Visibility" (http://www.primevisibility.com/):

"Recognized on the INC List of Fastest Growing companies in the US, Prime Visibility is a leading Internet marketing firm focusing on website optimization (SEO), paid search (SEM) and Web 2.0 (social media optimization.) Since 1997, Prime Visibility, an award-winning full-service Internet marketing company, has been committed to leveling the playing field so that every business, large and small, has the opportunity to make a significant impression on the Internet. We specialize in developing strategies that can exponentially increase a website's visibility while lowering customer acquisition costs. Most importantly, we help our clients get measurable results like more qualified leads, more on-site conversions, and a high Return On Investment (ROI)".

It's getting a bit overwhelming so see so many people specializing in this industry.  I'm wondering if there is strong competition, if the market is flooded with digital advertising or is it still a growing and needed field.

Questions to ask myself:
Do I want to be a perpetual student of new media???
I'm going to try a bit each day for a little longer.  Worst case scenario it will be a hobby and something new to sharpen my mind and know about.

I just submitted an article with www.ezinearticles.com .
Whether it gets accepted or not, I'm not so sure I care.  Article marketing is supposedly SO big, that I had to try it out and get my feet wet.  I added my URL - (link to this blog) and site description. The article was basically a copy and paste of my first post on this blog.  It looks like fun - because you can post articles on virtually any topic of interest within their selected array of categories.  We shall see what happens, but this was a goal I wanted to accomplish.  Enough of an accomplishment for me so far.  Again, this is all in the name of establishing an on-line presence so that I will get more traffic and hits onto my blog - since statistically, you need about 500 new hits a day in order to really monetize off of online advertising or affiliates on your site.  Phew!

Posting to get More Traffic and Hits to Website ... (Instead of just my loyal friends... )

Today so far I posted on Cragslist (free advertising!) for my website.  Just to tell people it exists.

Here is what I posted as a description:

http://new-to-new-media.blogspot.com/
Please join me on my journey as I navigate the world of online media from a beginner's standpoint.  Learn the basics with me of affiliate marketing, online advertising, blog marketing, SEO - Search Engine Optimization, Social Media, how to drive traffic to your website (like posting on Craigslist!) and more!  It is written is a very step-by-step easy to read fashion and is entertaining to!!!!!  Please come check it out.

I've also been commenting on other sites and posting my opinion and leaving my URL.
It's fun because then I get to read interesting information on the web - on my field of research - (all this web stuff - affiliate marketing, blogging, blog marketing, online business, virtual stuff etc).

Affiliate Marketing - Much More to Shake it Up

Again, I do not want to lose my enthusiasm towards building an online business.
I'm going to shift focus a bit more now on reading more about affiliate marketing and on-line business ideas - ways to make money virtually.
Yes, I have established so far that I need good content etc to optimize my site and make it's Search Engine Optimization (SEO) better to get more hits.  But that has been causing me nightmares.
So, before I get completely discouraged with all of the traffic, high-ranking, SEO tips, I'm going to focus on how money will be generated.

One of the top hits on google for online business is:
http://www.ahbbo.com/
A Home-Based Business Online Practical Business Ideas, Opportunities and Strategies for the Home-Based Entrepreneur.

Topics include:
A Business Matchmaker to find a business right for you:
Ebay Selling:
Affiliate Programs:


Good Affiliate Programs:
In General:
Credit Card Companies

I'm already a member of commission junction- or http://www.cj.com/
That is like a clearinghouse to all affiliate programs.

Ok. I just signed up for a bunch of affiliate programs in my category of marketing, advertising, business etc.
But, signing up to get affiliates is really not all it is...
I just signed up to put some businesses/affiliate ads on this blog, but then you need to put it up with the HTML code stuff.

HTML
I'm going to first sign up with lots of programs ... then I will do the HTML is one day ... because I keep forgetting how to do it so I figured I'll be in the swing of it and do it a bunch together, instead of re-learning each time.  I'll follow the directions step-by-step that they give me at that point.

Apparently companies need affiliates ...
Here are some of the BIG brand-name companies that use affiliate programs to promote their products online:

Barnes & Noble Dell Discover Card Dollar Rent-a-Car eBay Eddie Bauer Gateway Gap KMart New York Times NBC

Old Navy Patagonia PayLess Shoes PetSmart SONY Sports Authority Staples TimeLife USA Today Verizon Wireless Weight Watchers

Affiliate Marketing Facts:
Revenue Magazine - is a supposedly the only magazine for the affiliate marketing industry.
Affiliate Marketing Conferences -

Affiliate Summit

Affiliate Convention

AdTech

Yanik Silver’s Underground

System Seminar

Casino Affiliate Convention

PPC Classroom

They say it's good to dip your feet into internet business with affiliate marketing - but it's until you get your own product or good to sell for yourself.  Because you only get a commission, not the lion's share of the profit.

There are affiliate programs that offer "lifetime commissions" - the website records that person as coming as a lead from your site and gives you commission on every subsequent purchase.

Traffic To Your Site:
You will need at least 500 targeted unique visitors a day to your site to make reasonable money from affiliate programs.  Yikes!!!!
 
This is advice I read in an article from: 
Elena Fawkner
Affiliate Programs ... A Not THAT Easy Start to Your Own Online Business
The only way of making SERIOUS money from affiliate programs is by creating your own product or service and recruiting affiliates to sell for YOU.  The real beauty of affiliate programs lies not in what they can do for you, as an affiliate, but what they can do for you, as a recruiter of affiliates for your own program.
Promoting other people's products is ok to start. Don't wait too long to start developing your own product line. There is a ready-made salesforce numbering in the millions ready and waiting to sell it.

Today I:
1) Signed up with http://www.cj.com/

2) Signed up with http://www.linkshare.com/ as well... Another affiliate marketing on-line chearinghouse - link exchange.

3) Added my website URL to my gmail signature.

4) I added a search bar in my blog to search for keywords within my blog.


Next time I am back I plan to (G-d willing- either Sat nite or Sun nite) :
1) Install the affiliate HTML from http://www.cj.com/ onto my blog.
2) Install the affiliate HTML from http://www.linkshare.com/ onto my blog. (RE-TRY SIGN-UP w programs)
3) Google Adwords. 
4) Learn about services like PayPerPost.Com, that pay for promotional blogposts. I can do the same thing, cutting the middleman out.
5) Check out famous blogs on Affiliate Marketing.

Back to Affiliate Marketing - Blog Content - Making Money

I am writing about the topic of affiliate marketing again because I need to re-establish my motivation.  This techie stuff is really starting to get to me. 
I am motivated by making money - residual income... virtually.
I'm just getting through reading an article by http://www.ezinemark.com/ where he writes that the best way to make residual income is through internet business.
If you do not have a product of your own to promote you can promote other people's products through affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Marketing - To promote affiliate products:
1) You need to think of what products you'd like to promote - something that interests you and your passion will drive your effort.

Again, the article says to create a blog and drive up traffic to your site.
Then to keep doing this - creating blogs- with various products you'd like to promote.

Generating Traffic through Article Marketing:

TIPS: (still from http://www.ezinemark.com/- I commented with my URL on his article btw.)

Article marketing, or content creation and syndication strategies  are NOT for those that want to get rich "quick" or make a mint overnight. It takes work... discipline and dedication to create quality content.

He says certain topics in articles generate more traffic quickly ... HOT topics like DIET, dating, divorce...

KEYWORD Research...

If you really want an avalanche of eyeballs in front of your offers, the BEST way to write articles that convert is to answer questions and position yourself as an authority in your niche.
You can use a FREE keyword tool like the Wordtracker question and answer engine to literally find out the VERBATIM questions your audience is searching for, giving you an AMAZING opportunity to literally use those very questions as your article titles... and answer them using your EXPERTISE immediately thereafter. When I've done this, I've found my articles not only get MUCH more long tail (and long term) traffic... my click through rate, and my opt in percentage thereafter, goes up exponentially to boot! (and so TOO will yours!)
This is from http://www.ezinemark.com/
---
More ways to get traffic:

Free Classifieds: Sites like: Backpage, Craigslist, Kijiji, and Gumtree.

eHow: Says:

To be successful - you need to look at the article writing as a long-term investment. 

You also need a few niches and write different types of content for different places. (in case something falls through... )

Today: 
1) I posted my URL in the comment box of a few sites. Signed up with eHow.com
2) Read a lot about writing articles and good content for a living.

Tomorrow I hope to:

1) http://www.toprankblog.com/ - Online Marketing Blog Article. Best blogs on the net.  I would like to read blogs and put my URL in comments.

Blog Marketing- Checking out Other Blogs

The more blogs are linked to a blog, the higher the page rank will be.

http://stepstothetop.blogspot.com/
This guy only has 8 followers so I will find a different blog to comment on and learn from.  Although his site is pretty informative, he hasn't updated since March 2010.

In his blog I found a definition of New Media: (just to backtrack a little).

New media is an abstract concept with a general meaning. According to Martin Lister (2003), new media is defined as media established with a sense of interactive communication, whereas the conventional media refers to established institutions and organizations such as the press, broadcasting, publishing, and so forth. In late 1980s when the media and communications looked quiet, different the idea of new media has been emerged. New media refers to the techno-culture, which is entailed of technological, cultural and social change. It is called new media as the term “new” in it carries the ideological implication of “the most recent” or “the cutting edge,” derived from a modernist belief in social progress arising through technology. New media is classified as websites, blogs, vod-casts, social networking, rich multimedia, virtual reality such as virtual shopping malls, video conferencing, mobile TV, podcast, and so on (Lister, Dovery, Giddings, Grant, & Kelly, 2003, p. 9-13).

I just noticed at the bottom of each new post there is a box on the bottom left corner that says "Labels."  I guess that is where you put in key terms of that particular day's post.

Again, huge goal is to start a business that gives me residual income ... and it seems internet is the way to go with that.

Still Trying to Get Traffic to my Blog and SEO- Through Linking to Other Sites

So far today my goals are still to figure out ways to bring people to my blog.
I want to increase the "traffic" and build a "web-presence" and have people all over the web visit my site so that it can "rank" higher in the google (or any) search engines --(Search Engine Optimization - SEO) the higher it "ranks" the more people will come to visit it... And I want people to come to visit it because the more hits to the site - the more visitors who come to it - the more the likelihood of people clicking on ads (affiliate ads or good adsense) and then I can maybe make some money.
PHEW!
So, it seems almost like a catch-22 to me --- I want people at my site so I need to optimize the site and get it out there ... but in order to get it out there it seems people need to see my site .. .and I want people to click on ads but what is the purpose right now of putting up ads if nobody is visiting.

So... I will focus still on CONTENT - that is a surefire .. .as long as I keep on learning and discovering new things that will and MUST continue - I learnt that yesterday --- it's a big deal in marketing a site.

I also followed up with the site http://www.feedburner.com/ from google - it's a site that helps you get an RSS feed (not so sure what that is but so far to me it means that others can subscribe to your website information and that it tracks the visitors.) But, I am not so sure that site is so appropriate right now  -it seemed to complicated and was getting me off track ... AND so far as I know right now, http://www.blogger.com/ already has a built-in RSS feed feature that also tracks your visits etc ... Not sure if it is as good as the one at feedburner, but for now I installed it as a gadget on my blog with blogger and will leave it at that- there are way too many other things to focus on at this point.

http://www.technorati.com/  - A site recommended to me yesterday on a youtube.com video as a place to submit your weblog.  It is an internet search engine for blogs (according to wikipedia).

HELP... !! The technorati site is down ... hmmm.  Not sure if it's permanent or just today.
How do I spread the word about my blog now??

This is what I found on bottom of technorati search ...

Pages similar to technorati.com

Google Blog Search - Web Images Videos Maps News ... - blogsearch.google.com

BlogPulse - An automated trend discovery system for blogs. It ... - blogpulse.com

Digg - The best news, videos and pictures on the web as voted on by the Digg ... - digg.com

Blogdigger - Blogdigger is an RSS Search Engine. Blogdigger ... - blogdigger.com

---

So, I submitted my blog to http://www.blogpulse.com/  another search engine for blogs.  We'll see when I hear back.  But I did it.  I will use the site to search blogs similar to mine and post on them.   I think I need to wait for approval.  (Just saw e-mail request bounced back --- there was somesort of failure on their site. I tried again, but bounced back again. No luck.)

I also submitted to http://www.blogdigger.com/  - which redirected to http://www.liquida.com/ - they take 48 hours to approve.

I also signed up for http://www.digg.com/ a social media site like http://www.twitter.com/ and http://www.facebook.com/.
For now I just signed up ... Will go back to explore all these when I have more to add to them and use them wisely and appropriately.

I also signed up with http://www.ezinearticles.com/ for now so I can submit articles in the near future.  I can add my weblog address to the bottom of it and get my link on their site.  My article will be about my journey through new media -- how to get traffic to my site so that people come and come back and then hopefully click on my ads.  Let's wait n' see.  On top of all that, this will be, at the very least, a learning experience.
This is a way to market my blog called article marketing ... !!!!!!!!!!
Tomorrow I'll see if I am gutsy enough to .... :  (G-d willing)
1) http://www.youtube.com/ video broadcast tomorrow !!! I don't even own a webcam so I will hopefully use my friend's.!  They say this is the best way to market yourself - it's a form of social media ... people love videos apparently... I will talk about my new experiences and why I'm blogging.  And hopefully become more visible on-line... Who knows????

2) Google some more SEO tips for blogs.  For example:  "Blog Search Engine Optimization:

3) Start writing an ezine article because I have 30 days for my first submission.   Article marketing.

Whenever I run out of stuff to do there is always:
1) Linking with more people on http://www.linkedin.com/ in any capacity but mainly online, advertising, marketing
2) Looking at other people's blogs to get ideas and to comment with my URL

More SEO - High Ranking Tips for Website and Blog Marketing and Traffic

Link Exchanges:

This advice is from Lisa at http://www.2createawebsite.com/  on her youtube.com video.
She says "link exchanges" are not the way to go so much - That is when you put another website link on your site in exchange from them putting your website link on theirs.  She says search engines can detect that.

One way links - Someone just likes your site and links to you.  These are the best kind.

Make your site unique - develop a site with your own content, niche, flavor and personality.
That's the best way to show a credible site.  Write for the humans to read the page, not the search engines.

She says to use the basic SEO advice --- like meta-tags.
And to keep key words on the title and repeat them in the content maybe once.

MARKETING - writing well ... good content - that is what it is all about, says Lisa.
Also, that you need the passion and fire to have ideas to write about ...  And can't be afraid to fail.

Targeted Marketing: Not enough to send a blast e-mail to friends on facebook - they may look out of curiosity, but not to keep revisiting.  Need to target people who are into what you are writing about.

a) article marketing
b) youtube marketing
c) posting in forums relevant to your niche

What I Learnt (did) Today:
1) I spent a bit of time watching videos on youtube by Lisa from http://www.2createawebsite.com/ and David Skul of http://www.relativitycorp.com/ - he's really nice and smart.
2) THE MOST POPULAR WAY TO RAISE YOUR SITE RANK AND TO DRIVE WEBSITE TRAFFIC IS THROUGH INCREASING QUALITY CONTENT  (good, 'cuz thats my favorite thing to do!).  Google likes to find websites that have a lot of content.  UPDATE EVERY SINGLE DAY!
3) Another popular one is article marketing.  (http://www.ezine.com/) That gives you backlinks.
4) Posting videos ... Video submissions. (http://www.tubemogul.com/  - distributes it for free)
5) ww.technorati.com  - place to list your blog ... will check it out tomorrow
6) Social Networking sites and bookmark my blog ... Make a nice profile ...
7) I added an image to my blog ... not too difficult but first time is always a bit longer ... Still sure I can learn better ways to do it - So far the way I did it today was uploading a pic from my computer by going to the design tab and added the gadget - "add image".

My Goals in Order to Keep Me Focused:
- To eventually make money through my website through affiliate marketing.

 - At the very least to learn about on-line marketing so I can enter into the business - either employed by a marketing agency doing sales or account services.

- Or to become a professional content creator and get paid for it. 

In order to make $ through affiliate marketing, I need to really work on increasing traffic to my site so that when people visit it they click on the ads.

So.... I will work on those 2 goals at around the same time - getting affiliates and driving in traffic - through marketing the blog.

Tomorrow: (with G-d's Help)
1) Keep learning techniques on how to market the site and get traffic to the site and visitors.
Search: blogging traffic, marketing ...
2) Submit my RSS feed - (no idea what that is ... I need to google it) Submit it to as many different aggregators as I can ...  feedburner.com ?
3) Post my URL everywhere!  http://new-to-new-media.blogspot.com/  Not just your keyword.
Link to other blogs- even if they don't link back, it's ok.
4) Submit my blog to a blog database site http://www.technorati.com/

WOW, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Huge Finding!!! META TAGS

I cannot believe what I just did... I was THIS close to giving up because anything 'HTML' really scares me - all that code - I feel is outta my league.  But the freakiest thing just happened.  I was on http://www.facebook.com/ looking at some pictures a friend posted from a wedding she was at last night, when on the advertising side-bar I noticed an ad for "Top Search Engine Optimization Tips."  I clicked on it out of curiosity - and it gave 8 random SEO tips out of 50.  (This is to get my bogs higher ranks on google searches, basically.)  This was a goal of the day as well so I read on. 
( This was the site: http://seotipsrevealed.com/signup.php?m=sm&a=0513_coj&t=all )
The first tip was to:
Put your main keywords in the TITLE META TAG of your page. Separate your keyword phrases with the "|"or "-" character.  Your page title makes a huge impact to your SEO ranking.

I had no ounce of a clue how to do this so I went to the "help" link on my blogger dashboard and typed in "title tag."  I read of a few tips, but they all seemed like Greek to me. 
Then I came across this posting:

Q: how do i insert a meta tag in my html blog? i want insert fallowing words in my title line(html): landscape,nature,photo
A: Go to Layout>Edit HTML and look for <title> tag. You will find something like this:
<title><data:blog.pageTitle/></title>   you want to add the words before the closing title tag, like this:    <title><data:blog.pageTitle/> landscape, nature, photo</title>

it will add those words to all pages.

Hit Preview and see how it looks at the top of your screen.

and it worked!!!  yay!!!!

Today I:
1) Did a bit of HTML do some SEO for my blog but adding meta tags into my title bar... (sounds fancy, I know, but I am just a beginner, I promise!)

2) I'm starting the process of making my blog look more presentable.  Changing fonts, backgrounds etc.
3) Took out 3 books from the library on new (online) media --- "Blogging for Dummies", "Clear Blogging", and "Starting a Web-Based Business".

4) Opened an account with www.Squidoo.com - another social media tool that gives you a presence  on the internet.  It has a built-in affiliate program so it looks like I may be posting a lot of similar stuff there too.  I got the idea to open an account there from a youtube vidoe I was watching on "how to set up a blog for affiliate marketing."  Which I hope to continue watching tomorrow because I am getting too sucked into this right  now and put in a lot of time today already and do not want to go beyond my limits.  However, my biggest goal right now is to get this blog noticed!!!!!!

Tomorrow (with G-d's help) I plan to:
1) Find more ways to market my blog.
2) Maybe seek a little part-time flexible job so this does not take over my life.
3) Build on my Squidoo account.
4) Watch some more youtube videos.
5) Embed a photo on my blog
6) Pick up my dry-cleaning ... :)

Sunday - Still Blogging (While Learning HOW to Blog!) Marketing, SEO

Had a busy weekend, Thank G-d, but still would like to keep this learning flowing ...
Going to try to keep moving, but without a frenzied rush - and just let the learning seep in gradually. (aka "Ramp-up theory")
Some of Friday's goals were accomplished.
1) Signed up for "commission junction."  Still did not continue to investigate.
2) Yesterday, (Saturday night ... yes!) signed up to be a writer for other people's blogs ... it needs to be approved - but I was just signing up to see what they required - and to be honest, did not put in too much effort because I am just doing it purely for the learning experience right now.
---
That said, I would like to learn how to market a blog and let people know it's out there.

Here is some info on "blog marketing":
There is on-blog marketing and off-blog.
On-blog marketing= how to make your blog attractive within itself.
Off-blog marketing= through social media tools - like facebook - networking to publicize it. 
It's called "Going viral" (yikes!!).

There are many many ways to do both- but I am only going to break it down into what I found most straightforward and easiest to start with for now. I will, of course, develop the other ideas - but don't want to be ahead of myself so I won't even list them.

On-blog marketing techniques:
1)  SEO is the #1 way it seems...
SEO is one of the major part of marketing your blog. 
For Example:
- Use Keywords which are searched by visitors on the blog post Titles.
- Have subheadings in your post.
- Highlight the important points in your article.
- Use multimedia content like images, videos.
- Link to your own relevant articles.

2)  Keep it dynamic - interactive. Asking questions, Polling, encouraging comments, conducting blog contests are few ideas which makes your blog active always. See here for blog contest ideas.

Off-blog marketing techniques:

1) Twitter/Facebook etc.
2) Article Marketing – Write articles and submit them to article sharing sites like ezinearticles, articlebase etc. Use Hubpages, Squidoo and link back to your blog from your hub/lens. Learn article marketing tips.
         Blog Commenting – Write comments on other blogs in your topic which encourages to find new people and also you will get some traffic, exposure. This blog is dofollow !
          Using Forum – Use forums to discuss with similar people and it helps to show that you are master in your topic. Help other forum users. Add your blog link to signature too. Learn forum marketing tips.
          Bookmarking Sites – Use bookmarking sites like Digg, Mixx, Stumble etc. to spread your articles. Encourage your network to promote your shared articles too. It drives lot of quick traffic.

Today I :
1) Commented on another popular blogger's guestbook - and hope to continue doing that and building my on-line presence.
2) Added a poll feature (gadget) to my blog- to make it interactive.


Tomorrow I will hopefully:
1) Put some fun stuff on my blog - like youtube videos ... maybe on SEO and on marketing a blog.
2) Read google stuff on SEO - http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=70897
3) Put widgets on my blog - I think those are the little icons for other websites like LinkedIn, FB etc... or a function like a clock, the weather...
4) Comment on a few sites leaving my blog address.

Marketing, SEO, Blogs, and More - from OnlySimchas guy

So far today I made a lot of breakthoughs:
1) I updated my LinkedIn profile, added myself to a few companies and groups to follow in the area of affiliate marketing.  I will continue doing that.
2) I signed up for a twitter account but still have no clue what I'm supposed to do with it.
3) I met a guy in the city who is into e-Commerce- he's finishing his MBA and is the creator and webmaster of http://www.onlysimchas.com/ - He also is the managing director of http://www.longtailcap.com/ - a business and funding advisement firm for early stage and growth stage companies.  He gave me a full hour of his time over bagels. So much information.
Here's What I Learnt Today: (It's a lot so be careful)
1) No company will hire me unless I have a good portfolio and can show what I've accomplished (hence, this blog).
2) There is a magazine called "Wired" (http://www.wired.com/) - that gives up to date stuff about on-line web stuff.  There was recently an article titled "The Web is Dead, Long Live the Internet."  Because we will always use internet for everything but certain sites are monopolizing the search engines - so we will mainly keep going back to those sites as opposed to surfing through links on the web to get what we want.
3) Google Alerts - google lets you know if someone posted something about you or your website onto the web. You do not need to do searches to find new info being published about you or your site. They alert you.
4) Building Links *** - This seemed very important.  There is a forward link: Where you link from your site to another site... But there is also a backward link: where another site has a link to mine!!!!!!!
(i think that is done by me posting and commenting on other sites and putting a link to my blog ...)
5) More about SEO - that there are webcrawlers - the more optimized then show up high in results- it's a science - building links etc...
6) SEM - Search Engine Marketing - where people get their ads to show up on google searches - that's how google makes it's money - people bid to get their ads with certain searches.
7) Ad Networks - which are like an ad agency - they are the middleman - They are interesting - they try to build clients - (companies who want to advertise their products or service) and they try to find publishers (people who have active websites -high traffic - lots of hits per month) to place the ads on their site.  There are 3 types of ads: 1) CPA - Cost Per Action - an action is either a sale through that click or someone filling out a form  2) CPC - Cost Per Click - Any time someone clicks on the link  3) CPM- Cost per Mille  (thousand) views - not 100% clear on this one but not important for now.
These Ad Networks try to get people to place these types of ads on other websites - they work out a deal with the publisher of the website that they will somehow split the profits of each CP type.  They also build technology. Not sure how.
8) Affiliate- Put links on published websites to other companies as a referral program-- Recommended affiliate sites http://www.commissionjunction.com/ and http://www.linkshare.com/. 
9) Lead Generation- this he says is a science (and bit of a riskier business) - It works like this:
    For Example: You work to provide leads for companies that sell cars.  You put an ad up and people who are interested in buying a car click on that ad - then you sell the lead with that person's info to a car dealership - they take the person's info and sell it.  So, this is many times dependent on the economy - if people aren't buying cars there aren't as many leads to sell.  Also, a lot of people may click and fill out info but then get a car their own way. I still like this idea and would like to pursue it a bit more.
10) Dynamic Content - Is needed to keep people coming to the site.  He said every few days he needs to change the picture on his website homepage - he mentioned a few other examples of people who have websites with great concepts and content but people don't revisit because they are not updated often enough.
11) Creating Content Can Be a Business of It's Own!!!! Content Creation: - Providing businesses with articles for their blogs and other social media- The content is under the umbrella of a marketing strategy.  Keeping it updated is the key.  Can charge 50$ an article - and then if it gets too much you can hire people to write with you.
12) He said to work on optimizing my blog - just to get experience - Like to get it from ranking 400 on google searches to 100 and that would be an accomplishment!

He said I can get a J.O.B - in 1) CC - Content Creation  2) SEO   or   3) Internet Marketing
After that I can FREELANCE in either one as well.

#3 - Internet Marketing is most challenging he said, because you call places to see if you can help them make money on their website. 

I told him my aim is one day be able to work independently or at least virtually without a brick and mortar shop-- I can do that in any of the above 3 options - but need lots of experience.  Then I can become a broker and contract my work out - build something and replace myself with someone else.  That's business.

I also told him I am NOT interested in creating widgets - (not sure what is ... ) or apps ... those are for the young computer techies - who are obsessed with social media where you need cutting edge skills. 

My skills are more on the cerebral side -- or somewhere in the middle.

I may need to just work at helping others monetize - like be an account executive- which is a bit less virtual to start.

My next steps/options: (practically speaking):
A) Continue learning this stuff on my own.  He speculated it would take me like 2 years to get really good at it and have a company look at me.  Specifically learn SEO.
B) Find a part-time job to have some income - but flexibilty.

Ways to continue learning:
   a) For Dummies Books 1) on SEO/Optimizing  2)  Blogging  3) On-line Marketing  4) Content  5) Social Media
   b) On-line research - (recommended by Aaron- guy from Chicago in SEO)
      Sticking to websites like:
1) http://www.sugarrae.com/  - on affiliate marketing 
2) Jeremy Schoemaker - affiliate marketing.  Aaron said I will see I can do it myself.

Tomorrow I will: (With G-d's Help)
1) Sign up for http://www.commissionjunction.com/ and http://www.linkshare.com/.
2) Search for part-time jobs - preferably in selling on-line advertising or marketing or account services/business development for a marketing company.  Need income and experience now, can't wait 2 years to become big.
3) ) Read a bit on blogging and link this to a few places - like other blogs and check out jobs.problogger.com to see jobs in blogging for companies.
4) pay my bill at http://www.metropcs.com/  :)
  
                                        

List of Online Social Media Networking Sites

http://www.twitter.com/
http://www.myspace.com/
http://www.digg.com/
http://www.delicious.com/
http://www.stumbleupon.com/
http://www.spaces.live.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ (already a member)

As I am typing this list I see there are like a million others out there I have never heard of, so I will stop at this but keep that in mind.  The dude I spoke with today said it's important to have an "on-line presence".  His name was Aaron Friedman - and does SEO at a Social Media and Marketing/Advertising Agency in Chicago called http://www.zocalo.com/. 

Tomorrow:
1) I hope to sign up to twitter and maybe a few others.
2) Meet with the owner and brainchild of the ever famous http://www.onlysimchas.com/ to get some tips.
3) Update my LinkedIN profile description
4) Find a group on http://www.meetup.com/ to network in person with people in this area of interest.

Terminology I'd Like to Focus on Mainly for Monetizing

Lead Generation Companies -

Cash Parking -

Affiliate Marketing -
  -suggested sites to visit: http://www.sugarrae.com/ - Rae Hoffman's blog on affiliate marketing came recommended from guy in Chicago.

Why I think I'll Like Online Marketing - My Motivation

Just want to stay focused on my motivation.  This seems to incorporate networking, seems like a growing field with the world at your fingertips.  You can reach many people with whatever message you are trying to get across.  Creativity is involved with lots of change and opportunities.  I like the pace.  It's accessible and is open 24 hours.  I can use these skills hopefully wherever I am in the world - in alignment with my dreams to one day live in the Holy Land of Israel and work remotely.  I don't mind putting in the hard work and time investment if it gives me the work/time flexibility I thrive on. 

Looking to combine my passions of portable business and networking together with personal development and self-expression.

First Post Ever!!!! New to New Media - Let's Begin!

As the title says it I am "New to New Media" - brand spankin' new.  Honestly, I had no idea what to even title this blog because I am not even still sure what "new media" is - or what the difference is between new media, social media, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, online marketing, search engine optimization and all that new media stuff!!!  But I am sure by the end of all this research and day by day learning I will know a bit more about each.   I have a small clue, but not enough to really sink my teeth into the industry. I hope you stick with me on this journey to identify and explore each one and make some sense out of all of it - for all of us who have an interest.
My ultimate goal is to learn about all this so that I can monetize on it in any way I can- and of course be helpful to others in the process.  I am a natural entrepreneur - opportunist - enterpriser and this seems to be a great field to get a better grip on.
I will hopefully be posting daily on what I learn each day to gain some more clarity onto this hot developing field.
Today what I learnt from speaking with this really nice guy I connected with on LinkedIn who works on SEO - search engine optimization - is that most of this stuff is self-taught.  There is no degree, schooling or textbooks on it - and it was HIS suggestion that I keep a daily blog on my findings.  So here it is. No time wasted. 
What I learnt today:  You need to learn this new media stuff on your own.