If you are new to internet network marketing, or have been trying to make it work for you but aren't seeing the results you would like, then its time to stop, breathe and figure out the best ways to move forward. The information shared in these videos offers some solutions. They aren't the only solutions, but they make good sense. Take the time to listen (the videos are brief and concise), and then share your thoughts below (remember to include your link to help build traffic to your own site:)

If you are not yet on Twitter, you will want to join. If we aren't already connected, I invite you to connect with me on Twitter.

Twitter serves many functions, and people use it very differently depending on their needs. For some it is a valuable source of information and news. For others, its a great way to stay on top of the social media curve and learn from some of the top internet marketers. Others use it as a marketing and business networking tool.

You don’t have to spend a ton of time using Twitter to get a lot out of it, no matter what your goals are.  Keep your eye out for an upcoming post on how to best use Twitter.

For now, I would like to share some free Twitter training videos. These were done by Mike Klingler, who along with Ann Sieg, launched Renegade Professional. You'll find some more valuable and free training by Ann Sieg and Mike Klingler at Renegade University.

I would also like to share some Twitter applications. There are a ton of Twitter apps that can help you leverage Twitter. Below are just a few.

Twitter Applications:

Twitter Toolbar - You can use the toolbar to access online Twitter tools, check your Twitter stats, post your updates and more. Versions are available for both Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Twollo - Allows you to discover Twitterers talking about your favorite topics or interests, and follow people talking about a hashtag. Below is a short video that explains exactly how to use Twollo.

Twitoria - This app lets you find out which of your followers has not been actively tweeting. Easily sort through your network of followers and purge the inactive users.

Monitter - Get a live streaming view at what Twitter users in your location are saying about you or your small business. Simply insert keywords you would like to search for and the surrounding area you would liked monitored.

Bubble Tweet - This unique application lets you post a short video message that pops up on your Twitter profile in a bubble shaped player. You can personally introduce yourself and/or your business to anyone who visits your profile.

Twitter Gallery - A collection of free backround themes for your Twitter account. You can use the one click installation or manually install them yourself. Lots of nice designs and colors to choose from.

Tweepler - Tweepler enables you to easily sort through new followers and accept them or ignore them on one simple screen.

Twit This - Allow visitors to your blog or website to easily post Twitter messages about you or your business. Post the TwitThis button to your website or blog pages with the instructions and coding provided on their site.

HelloTxt - Update your status to several social networking sites in one simple step. You can choose from over 35 social sites to post to including Twitter.

TwitterFox - This app lets you post Twitter updates without visiting the Twitter site each time. A small icon is added to the bottom of your Firefox status bar. The icon opens to reveal your friend's most current updates. You can add your updates from that dialog box.

Future Tweets - Allows you to schedule your tweet ahead of time for a specific date and time. You can even schedule reoccuring tweets to post daily, monthly, even yearly.

TwitPic - This app lets you share your favorite pictures on Twitter.

twtQpon - You can create exclusive coupons for your business services or products and share them with your Twitter followers.

Tweetburner - Lets you shorten URLs and track the clicks your tweets accumulate. Tweetdeck - Displays your Twitter friends and messages in a unique columned user interface. Allows you togroup people together and search across the twittersphere

Tweetbeep - Just like Google Alerts, Tweetbeep tracks Twitter conversations that mention you, your business or your products and services. Alerts are sent to you via email.

Twitter Counter - Lets you display the number of Twitter followers on your blog or website.

Twitter Safe - This free service will restore your network of followers in the event that your list is compromised.

Twitxr - Post product pictures and updates from your mobile phone directly to Twitter.

Tweet Later - This one application contains several Twitter productivity tools. You can track keywords, track replies, schedule tweets, send welcome direct messages, and much more.

Splitweet - Managing and updating multiple Twitter accounts is easily done from one screen. Choose to send updates to one or all accounts in one step.

Twimailer - Gives you more more extensive email notifications when your account obtains new followers. Instead of the generic Twitter email notification; the email contains the followers location, followers stats and their most recent tweets. At the bottom of the email, you can choose to follow the individual without even visiting Twitter.

Digsby - Keep track of everything your followers are doing at all times. The Digsby box display gives you a real time view into your Twitter account right from your browser.

HootSuite - Easily manage multiple Twitter profiles, pre-schedule tweets and measure your progress. You can even add multiple editors to your business profile.

TwitterHawk - This marketing app helps you connect with consumers in your area and related to the keywords you choose.

I am going to share five key lessons I have learned and a special tip to help you shorten your learning curve.

One of the main reasons I got started in network marketing over 5 years ago is that I like to help people. I thought sharing my business (the best thing since sliced bread, right?) was going to be the way to do that. My focus was so narrow. I was only listening to what my company was teaching me.

Now I did pretty well, with around 200 people on my team. But something never felt right. I was passionate about the company and the products but not about the business. What I didn’t understand at the time, was that it wasn’t the network marketing industry I had a problem with, it was the way the industry conducts itself.

I knew that calling cold leads was not a targeted marketing strategy. And I absolutely hated approaching family and friends. And there was no way I was going to approach people in the grocery store or at the gas station.

So in the summer of 2008, I got online to do some research and see if there was a smarter way to do this business. I spent months searching around and finally came across Ann Sieg’s 7 Great Lies of Network Marketing. The first time I read it, I was turned off. I was worried it was a sneaky way to get me to sell something. Then I read it a second time and I realized there was so much valuable information in it, that I would open my mind to learning from it.

I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I made that decision. Since that time, I’ve invested in my own education and gotten involved in some internet marketing training programs. Again I did my research to make sure I was finding programs that were truly beneficial and good value.

Here are five key things I’ve learned about internet marketing:

1. Attraction marketing is a great way to build a business online. The key to attraction marketing success is to come from an honest place of wanting to help people by offering valuable information and support. No hidden agendas. Just open yourself up to meeting people, sharing what you can, and offering genuine support. The rest will come.

2. Affiliate marketing is the best way to monetize. The people you will meet online are trying to build a successful business, and to do that, they need certain business tools. If you can genuinely refer them to programs, products and services that offer good value, then it is a win-win.

3. Education is key to success. People are going to be attracted to you because they see you as someone who can help them achieve their goals. You don't have to have all the answers, but you need to have a basic foundation. Invest the time to educate yourself and learn some important skills about internet marketing (if you want to know how to shorten your learning curve, see below).
4. You can make yourself stand out from the crowd. There are many ways to do this, but the bottom line is that there is only one you. Share your perspective on things, use your unique talents, be true to who you are. Your integrity and credibility will shine through.
5. You don’t have to do this alone. You can create a community of support with people you meet online. Start by connecting with someone you meet online and have a conversation. You can exchange emails or DMs, but at some point, take it to the phone. There is something about hearing a person’s voice that makes the relationship more tangible.

I’ve made some good money in the past few months, but more importantly I’ve made some great connections, met some amazing people, learned a tremendous amount and am having a lot of fun. If you think I can be of help to you in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact me. You can reach me via email (cindy@homebusinesswins.com), skype (cindyschulson) or phone (619 318 8688).

Attraction Marketer's Manifesto by Ann SiegIf you would like the opportunity to shorten your learning curve

If you want to shorten your learning curve then I’d strongly encourage you to get a free copy of Ann Sieg’s new ebook that is going to be released next week. It is called The Attraction Marketer's Manifesto and it will completely demystify the entire online marketing process for you. I wish this had been around when I first got started! Here is a sneak peek for you.

Best wishes and I look forward to connecting with you soon!

So what goes into the foundation of your internet content? First, you need to know who you’re trying to attract (your target market) and what you’re trying to accomplish (inform, educate, sell, etc.). You also need to identify your “targeted keywords” which are at the heart and soul of SEO, or search engine optimization.

SEO is a pretty complicated subject and targeted keywords are just one part of the puzzle. I would like to share some insights I have gathered about SEO in the hopes it will give you a more solid foundation for your house, or internet content.

 SEO Defined

What is SEO?SEO is a strategy to achieve higher rankings on search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN.

The goal of SEO is to optimize your site for search engines, so that it brings targeted traffic to your site. Targeted traffic means people who are actually looking for your products or services. Targeted traffic is much more likely to increase conversion, namely turn visits into sales or encourage repeat visits.

Targeted Keywords are at the Core of SEO

To be really good at SEO you need to identify your “targeted keywords”. This means keywords that your target market would be looking for. Pick words you personally would use if you were looking for a page about your topic. Also use keyphrases instead of just words on their own.

There are two advantages to doing this. First, you will have less competition with “targeted keywords” vs. using broader keywords. Second, you are more likely to convert to sales, because you’re attracting people who are looking for what you have to offer.

For instance, say you are promoting a network marketing training program. If you use the keyword “network marketing” you will have tremendous competition. If you are more targeted with your keywords and use “network marketing training”, you will not only have less competition but will have a higher conversion rate because you are attracting people who are looking for what you have to offer.

Another important tip is to not spam the search engines. If you cheat by adding in tons of keywords that don’t pertain to your page, then you will make the search engines angry, and the visitors who come to your site will be equally annoyed.

Keyword Research Tools

There are a number of tools you can use for keyword research. Some are free and others you will have to pay for. Below are some free tools you can get started with.

· Google Adwords Keyword Tool: Good basic research tool

· Key Word Discovery

· Wordtracker

· Good Keywords: Free software to help analyze keywords.

· Alexa: Information on sites and trends, including rankings for any website

What Are Search Engines Looking For?

There are two main factors that search engines use to determine how a page ranks in a search:

1. Keyword relevancy
2. Page importance or link popularity

When you do a search, the search engine gives you relevant pages that contain the keywords in your search.

Second, the search engines consider the importance of the page. And page importance is based on the number and the quality of external links pointing to a page.We’ll explore this further when we discuss off-page optimization (below). This leads us to the next step, which is identifying the two main types of SEO.

Two Types of SEO

Off-page SEO and On-page SEOThere are two main categories of SEO: on-page and off-page. On-page refers to the actual code and content of your web pages. Off-page refers to factors that affect the ranking of your web pages that aren’t determined by the actual code of your web pages. We’ll look at both.

1. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO has to do with the words you use, the way you link to and from your pages, how you organize your website etc.

Let’s talk about the words you use first. Every web page has a number of ‘hotspots’ or points that are considered especially important by search engines. These include:

Title tags – The text that appears between the HTML title tages, e.g. <title>YOUR KEYPHRASES HERE</title>

Meta tags - The text that appears between the tags, e.g. <meta name="description" content=" YOUR PAGE DISCRIPTION HERE " />

<meta name="keywords" content="YOUR KEYWORDS HERE" />

Headings - The text that appears between your heading tags, particularly your first heading i.e. <h1>YOUR KEYWORD RICH HEADLINE HERE</h1>

Page content - The actual text on your WebPages, or page copy. The secret of SEO copywriting is to make your page content keyword rich while ensuring it is written in plain English and without overusing the keywords.

(Note: If you want more help with this, then do a google search for the terms and HTML tutorials, e.g. search for “meta tags HTML tutorial”).

For SEO, the text within all these areas should contain the targeted keywords for which you want your site to rank. However, don’t spam the search engines by overusing keywords, or by using keywords that aren’t relevant to your page.

You also want to focus on how you organize your website. You want to organize the categories of your website based on your targeted keywords. That will allow the search engines to recognize your website’s theme and rank it high for your target market.

SEO and Website DesignFinally, look at the design of your website. There are some design elements that can have a negative impact on SEO. For instance, search engines find Flash files and Java code hard to read. Search engines can also have a hard time moving between frames on a page (a frame is a way to split the page into different parts or windows). So websites that rely heavily on these design elements may not rank very high with search engines.

Above all, keep this in mind. While SEO is important, focus on your content first. It's hard to write your best content when trying to optimize for SEO at the same time. Focus on creating useful content that will be a genuine benefit for your target market. Once you have done that, then you can go back over the article as a second step and apply some SEO techniques.

2. Off-Page SEO

SEO and inbound linksOff-page optimization refers to factors that are largely outside the control of the individual webmaster. The most important of these are inbound links (also known as external links or back links), which are links on different websites that point to your website.

Think of an inbound link as a positive review of your site. After all, someone else has gone to the bother of linking to your site, so they must have found something of value on your site. The more external links pointing at your site, the more important it is perceived by the search engines and the higher it is likely to rank.

But the search engines don’t just look at the number of external links pointing to your site, they also look at the quality of these links. There are several factors that go into determining the quality of an inbound link. For instance, search engines give greater weight to links coming from an "authority site" that has good rankings.

The search engines also analyze whether the inbound link is a “reciprocal link” or a one-way link. A reciprocal link is when you put a link to someone’s website with the understanding that they do the same for you. Google likes one-way links and isn’t too crazy about reciprocal links. Why? Because people have been using inbound links to try and fool Google. By now, you should realize that it just doesn't pay to try and fool Google. They will catch on and you can be punished!

One great example to illustrate this idea of external links is Google PankRank which counts the number of links pointing to one page from other sites, as well as the importance of the pages that link to your page. You can find Google’s own explanation of PageRank here: http://www.google.com/technology/

So how do you get quality inbound links?

There are several ways, and we'll discuss a few.

1. Social media

As you know, there are tons of social media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace, etc. These are all sites where people can form a community to share information.

If you use social media properly, it can really help your rankings because links coming from social media pages are powerful. Remember that your goal with social media is to build relationships, provide valuable information, support others, etc. It is not to flaunt your products or services in people's faces.

Google is keeping a sharp eye on how people use social media. For example, Google is looking at whether you are actually being social on these sites, vs. using them just as a way to get inbound links to your website. Don’t set up an empty profile and start spamming, because Google will catch on.

2. Comment on Other People's Content

Another way to create inbound links is to comment on other people's content. For instance, provide feedback or comments on someone's blog or article. A couple of key points to keep in mind are as follows. First, don't just comment for the sake of commenting. Make sure you have something worthwhile to contribute to the discussion. Second, as far as SEO goes, it helps if you comment on sites that themselves have high ratings.

3. Article Marketing

SEO and Article MarketingAnother great way to get quality inbound links is through article marketing, or creating content and submitting your articles to various sites. There are some helpful tips on effective article marketing..

First, submit your articles to high quality sites. Some of the top ones are EzineArticles, ArticlesBase, ArticleDashboard, GoArticles, and IdeaMarketers. In particular, EzineArticles offers great training on how to succeed with articles.

Second, when you're writing your articles, do keyword research first and write your article with the keywords in mind. Here's a great tip. Go to EzineArticles and find articles in your subject area that are getting high page views. Then go to that article, right click on your mouse, and scroll down to "view page source" and then look for <met name = "keyword". You'll be able to see the keywords they are using.

Third, you'll want to "spin" your article when you submit it to different sites. In other words, make some changes to the article so the search engines don't regard it as duplicate content. Basically, you take one article and create many unique articles from the same one. Some people use software to do the article spinning, but you have to be careful because they can make a mess of your articles. You can also use article submission services that will submit your articles to different sites for you.

Conclusion

SEO takes time. Education is key because if you do SEO wrong, you can annoy Google and run the risk of having your site lowered in rankings or even banned from the search engines.

Like everything else Internet-related, SEO is constantly evolving. So stay up to date on SEO trends and techniques. Here are some resources to help you do just that.

SEO Resources

Here is a great video that explains three key things to do for SEO: 1) good content; 2) external links; and 3) title tags and meta tags. It features an MSNBC interview with Stephanie Lettler, SVP of Network Solutions.

The top 25 blogs about SEO – this site has a dailyblog tip you can sign up for, and this page of the site lists the top 25 blogs about SEO. You’ll find other great information about SEO as well.

SEO Networker – has a free training program about SEO with 7 videos

Hub by Peter Hogan of SEO Scotland.

Dr. Ralph Wilson is a respected internet marketing expert with some good tips on SEO

free SEO tip of the day that you can receive in your email each day

SEO tips for bloggers

Link Diagnosis gives you the whole picture about your backlinks or those of a competitor.

Tips to Energize Your Article Marketing:

1. Use powerful titles. No matter how great article might be, if your title doesn’t grab people’s attention, then it won’t get read. So learn how to create a compelling title that is benefit-focused, thought-provoking, and intriguing. The title must also be keyword-rich so your articles rank well with the search engines.

"On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."  -David Ogilvy

2. Provide Valuable Content. The purpose of writing your article is to provide valuable information so that you gain trust and establish yourself as a solutions provider. Learn how to write effectively with the needs of your target market in mind. Make sure your article is well-written, concise, typo-free, and above all, informative. If you aren’t confident in your writing ability, then learn how.

3. Submit Your Article to More Than One Site. You may be writing some great articles and even bookmarkting them at some of the social bookmarking sites. But have you thought about how much more traffic you can generate if you submit your article at various sites? There are some great article submission sites that are free and can help you increase traffic. Ezinearticles and Article99 are just two examples. Google “free article submission sites” and you’ll find a wide range of possibilities.

4. Write a Great Resource or Author’s Box. Once people have read through your article, if they like it they will read the information about the author. Make sure you provide a short bio as well ascontact information (email, website, telephone number). Include a powerful call to action and consider offering freebies (e.g. a free ebook, newsletter or consultation) to compel people to visit your site.

5. Measure Your Results. Visit the sites where you post your articles to determine your open and conversion rate. If your open rate is not very good, then work on improving your article titles. If people are reading your articles but not clicking on the author box, then you might need to improve the content of your articles, shorten the length, or make your articles more focused on the needs of your target market.

Submitting your articles online gives you FREE publicity. It allows you to position yourself as an expert in your field and build credibility with your target market. And if you do it well, you will drive more traffic to your website.

For advice and tips on having a successful home business, get a free copy of Home Business Wins

Who to Write For

Before you start writing, keep in mind some key points. First of all, know who you're writing for. That means identifying your target market, the kinds of things they're looking for and the types of problems they need help with.

What to Write

Once you understand your target market's needs, interests, wants and desires, you're ready for the next step which is to brainstorm on a list of topics your target market will be attracted to. Let your mind be creative. Don't edit yourself.

You should aim for a list of 30-50 topics that will attract your target market. There are three categories your topics will fall into. You can write a review (e.g. of a book or training course), an article that helps your audience solve a problem, or an article that does both (a review and solves a problem).

Don't Sell, Inform

The most important thing to remember is this. When you're writing for the Internet, you are NOT writing sales copy. You are writing content that provides valuable information and solutions.

Why is that?

Think about it. People who are searching online are not looking for you or your business. They want solutions to their problems. So give it to them in the form of valuable content that helps them solve their problems. When you do that, you build trust and position you as someone of value. If you go right into sales mode, chances are you will turn people away.

How to Write It

Now that you have a list of 30-50 topics that will attract your target market, the next step is to take your top 10 ideas and flesh them out a bit further.

Write a quick title (it doesn't have to be perfect at this point) and a one to two sentence summary of who you're writing to and what you plan on saying to them.

Create a pre-outline. To do that, finish this sentence with at least 7 different sentences. "This article is about __________." Again, just brainstorm. Don't worry about how or if you'll use it. Imagine yourself talking to your reader face-to-face.

If your article provides a solution to a problem, then also write a few sentences starting with "This article will _____________" and write down what the reader will gain by reading your article.

Remember to keep your article simple and to the point. Divide it up into sections so that it is easy to follow. Write like you are talking to someone sitting across the table from you.

You also want to make sure your article gets found by the search engines. With internet marketing, SEO (search engine optimization) is critical. You need to identify the key words people type in when they're searching online. A good free tool to help you do that is http://www.freekeywords.wordtracker.com/. Just go to that website and type in a number of key words or phrases that are related to your article. You'll be able to see what key word terms pop up most frequently in online searches. Then be sure to incorporate some of those terms in your article and title.

Remember that you don't have to be an expert writer to create a great Internet article. Apply what you've learned here and you'll learn to write effectively and attract people to you.

Contact Cindy Schulson for a consultation on how to improve your business results using effective communication and attraction marketing strategies.