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How To Use Ebay To Gather Tons Of Quality Traffic
The major bugbear of any webmaster is that no matter how stylish, how well written or how downright beautiful their site is – it all counts for nothing unless you have traffic.There are many articles (just like this one) that can describe the varying ways of getting eager visitors to gaze upon the marvels of your site.You could use reciprocal links to get visitors from other websites – although there is talk that the value of these is slowly diminishing.You could write articles to get back links to your site – write a particularly good one and you’ll be surprised how many times it gets duplicated ove

h method, online press releases, should deliver value to the reader since as mentioned before; people don't care about your brand. If you've just opened a new office in Timbuktu, people don't give a damn, but they do care about things that help them - so valuable enriching content is a must. Secondly, online press releases should drive traffic to your site (your website is not a fancy brochure - it is a marketing tool that needs visitors to become customers). To achieve this, press releases need

How to Manage Your Time and Get Started Online With Very Little Money Upfront
One thing that is absolutely critical when you are working online (or when you are working anywhere, for that matter) is time management. You must set aside the time to make your online business succeed. Only you can determine how much time is needed. But I can say this, that until you get to the point that you know exactly what you are doing online and you have become efficient, the more time you spend online, the more money you can make.Creating a solid business online is not get-rich-quick. You will have to put in the time and the effort to build your business. You will have to work hard at first, to get t

The recent buzz around WebPR, Optimised Press Releases, Online Reputation Management, and Blogging etc. is causing quite a stir. It seems there is a whole new lexicon emerging and many are struggling to keep up with the eMarketing geeks and their fancy new terminology. However, the bottom line is that the fundamentals of good PR still apply - it's only the medium and methodology that are changing. So, with my broadband connection inserted intravenously, I am going to attempt to give you the low-down of what it's all about.

WebPR should be split into two different tracks: 'listening' and 'talking'. While both require independent skills and tactics, they are still inherently tied together - a bit like bangers and mash.

First the Listening…

Given the harsh reality that your customers probably don't care about you, let's begin with what I consider the more important side of the equation: the 'listening'. On a basic level, this involves monitoring the Internet for conversations about your brand and even your competitors' brands. Tracking blogs, websites, chatrooms and wikis via tools such as Technorati, Pubsub and Google Alerts can deliver this info directly into your email inbox or RSS feed reader (...if you don't know what an RSS feed reader is, stop reading, slap yourself, and go and find out!).

With a collection of information-seeking robots at your disposal, it is relatively easy to keep your finger on the pulse of what is being said. The skill is in distilling this information into something you can use so that you can devise strategies to manipulate the conversation to go in the direction you want it to. While it's impossible to 'control the conversation', being a part of it, and influencing it, is critical for the survival for any brand in today's hyper-connected world.

Then the Talking…

Now for the other side of WebPR: the 'talking'. Outgoing communications can take a huge variety of forms online. One such method, online press releases, should deliver value to the reader since as mentioned before; people don't care about your brand. If you've just opened a new office in Timbuktu, people don't give a damn, but they do care about things that help them - so valuable enriching content is a must. Secondly, online press releases should drive traffic to your site (your website is not a fancy brochure - it is a marketing tool that needs visitors to become customers). To achieve this, press releases need t

Pre-Screening Job Applicants: The Truth is in the Details
The best use of an interviewer’s time is spent prior to meeting the applicant. A quality prescreen of each candidate does two things: It saves the interviewer time by identifying undesirable candidates up front and allows the interviewer to prepare more fully and tailor the interview to each candidate. A quality prescreen should include a thorough review of all materials furnished by the applicant with a focus on consistency and truth in the details. The interviewer should attempt to gain some insight into each candidate prior to the interview.• Never write on original copies of pre-employment documentation! you the low-down of what it's all about.

WebPR should be split into two different tracks: 'listening' and 'talking'. While both require independent skills and tactics, they are still inherently tied together - a bit like bangers and mash.

First the Listening…

Then the Talking…

Condemning Our Entrepreneurs and Business Folks, are We Sure this is Wise?
During the last period we can recall the Savings and Loan and Junk Bond Scandal everyone was up in arms over that. It led to a public mindset that all business people were greedy and evil. One songwriter in the band Jefferson Starship who wrote “We Built This City on Rock and Roll” had a verse in his song; “Someone always playing corporation games; Who cares they're always changing corporation names.”The songwriter captured the minds of the masses. But who said Corporations are bad? They bring us everything we desire. Entrepreneurs are not evil, they bring us everything we see and everywhere we go. Someone produce

ernet for conversations about your brand and even your competitors' brands. Tracking blogs, websites, chatrooms and wikis via tools such as Technorati, Pubsub and Google Alerts can deliver this info directly into your email inbox or RSS feed reader (...if you don't know what an RSS feed reader is, stop reading, slap yourself, and go and find out!).

Then the Talking…

Where to Send Letters to Editors for Maximum Publicity and Leads
Where do you send your letters to editors? The reality of letters to editors is that the smaller the publication, the more likely your letter will be published. Sending your letter to, say, the New York Times is -- unless you are the vice-president of the United States, or above-- is almost a guarantee that the letter will not be published. Not because the letter is not good, or anything else, but because they get thousands of letters a year, and can only print a few, so yours is more likely to get lost in the pile.Unless you have something really exceptional to say. Having said what I did, know also that publ

The skill is in distilling this information into something you can use so that you can devise strategies to manipulate the conversation to go in the direction you want it to. While it's impossible to 'control the conversation', being a part of it, and influencing it, is critical for the survival for any brand in today's hyper-connected world.

Then the Talking…

Industry Blogs
Every Industry Association should have a Blog and Forum attached to their websites as a means to communicate to their membership. It is a great way to pass on information and more and folks are getting their information in this way. Industry Blogs seem to be a very powerful tool indeed and to that point of truth an Industry Association must rise to the occasion to insure that their membership gets the most out of the Blog Initiative efforts.It is incumbent of those who participate on Industry Blogs to understand the value of this communication tool and the rewards that can easily be reaped by pondering the most ab

Tying in with online press releases is the writing of feature articles which offer the opportunity to jump even further onto the value bandwagon, allowing you to become the dominant opinion leader in your industry. For example, if you sell holidays to Cape Town, your online marketing efforts will greatly benefit if your target market considers you a leader in this field. This is where 'value-content' comes in. Articles containing information for the potential traveller, such as "The Top 10 things to remember when travelling to Cape Town" are value-adding - people love this stuff! The valuable nature of this content means it attracts links naturally - the Valhalla of SEO. It should also contain an understated mention of your brand. And, if published on a third party site, should carry a link back to your own website. This drives site visitors who are automatically predisposed to your brand, and therefore are more likely to engage and buy your product.

Another critical aspect of the talking side of WebPR is your voice in the blogosphere. This can take on many forms. For example, your company should have a 'blog' and your staff should be encouraged to blog. But, perhaps more importantly is listening to other bloggers - what they say about your brand and then commenting and responding where appropriate. There have been numerous examples of brands cut to shreds by ignoring the blogosphere. Kryptonite springs to mind and the once mighty Dell is undergoing a serious beating.

On the other side of the coin are brands that have embraced rather than shunned the blogosphere, and they have grown leaps and bounds as a result. South Africa's own Stormhoek Wine is a perfect example of this. They practically launched themselves using blogs and, after chatting to their marketing team, it is obvious that this campaign has become the stuff of legends despite a meagre budget.

Balance is Key

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