Blog

SocialOutbreak.Com

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:56:00 GMT

After weeks of emails and questions about this new social media product Neil Patel explains is own words if SocialOutBreak is a scam or not? How does it compare to other social media software companies?.

A word of warning Neil likes to do videos like this in one take so please excuse his reference to SocialMediaOutBreak.Com, Neil is talking about SocialOutBreak period and ignore the added quote of media. Enjoy and please share your positive or negative reviews on any of the products mentioned in this video.

Is your social media strategy working?

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:17:00 GMT

I'm talking about when your social media sucks. But there's hope! It can be fixed. Marlo is chatting with SPARKER Strategy Group on behalf of Webidiotz.

Dream Job!

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:14:00 GMT

The first question you might ask, is such a thing possible?

My answer is damn yes! You make that choice and nobody else. But, are you now starting to making the excuse "I have kids, I've got bills to pay and I can't take a risk to do what I LOVE"? So, let me get this straight, your choice is to be unhappy and spend your life doing something which is second best and no matter how hard you try you will never be exceptional at your job doing something you do NOT love.

If you are in business for yourself, chances are you have made a choice and started doing something you do really love. You are making a major contribution to society and you are helping build the economy both locally and internationally. The small and medium sized business is what keeps the world financial market turning, it's contribution is so significant that 75% of jobs today in the world are thanks to that small business round the corner.

OK now let me get to that question about your dream job and why I choose this topic for this blog.

Today, Radio2Video, Webidiotz ‘s new marketing and sales division for the radio industry, launched its awesome new website, thanks to the work our team of designers, content writers and great programmers.

It began with a question, “how do I create a dream job for everybody in our company, Webidiotz?”.

This personal and business goal started in late 2008 on the back of a personal disaster, when I lost my home in the UK, and everything I had built over 15 years of being in business. To add fuel to the fire, at the time I also had 2 kids, a beautiful wife and just only enough money to move countries and start over again. I arrived in Winnipeg after getting vetoed on moving to my first choice, Vernon British Columbia. But, as the saying goes, things do happen for a reason and I have a lot to be thankful for living here in Winnipeg.

Instead of taking the safe route, I held true to myself and chose the option of starting a business again and took six months of extensive research to decide on what direction to take. The end result? Webidiotz was borne click here to read the story. In short I decided that I would build a company that was built on a WIN:WIN not just for me but my staff, my clients and everybody that was involved in the building of the most successful Internet marketing company in the world...yes...the world.

After almost three years and staying true to that value and principle I am proud to see it becoming reality. Ah, but it has not come without it’s challenges, mistakes, changes and hiring and firing the wrong or right people and companies. Anybody in business will understand this paragraph and to truly understand it, I encourage you to read Jim Collins book title Good To Great.

If you are you a salesperson in print, radio, or TV who sells advertising then take a moment to check out my version of a dream job in your field:

- $100,000 - $200,000 Plus Earnings Annually
- 25 days holiday per year
- Great Car
- An Annual 5 Star Holiday
- Creative Freedom
- Ownership of Company
- HAVING FUN
- MAKING A REAL DIFFERENCE

What is on your list of 10 things that would make a dream job and why?

Flight to Calgary with Steve Jobs

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:16:00 GMT

It's been a few days since the death of Steve Jobs the Apple founder and I still feel compelled to write a blog and I don't know why. So here we go....

I'm here sitting on the plane and started to wonder how much has Steve changed our world? How much has he impacted our lives? How did he manage to do so in such a positive, emotional way?

Here I am writing a blog on him on his creation - the iPad. When I read the shocking news on my iPhone, only after my wife called me from her iPhone after her CBC app which sent her a message of the news that he has passed away.

He might well be dead and we have lost an amazing man, a genius, but he is with us every day. He sits on this flight with me and many more, he travels with us everywhere and he will make billions of people happy every day.

He has and will change more lives than Nelson Mandella, Ghandi, Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and any great leader in our past. Don't take me the wrong way these men are also unforgotten legends who helped shape our future but nothing like Steve Jobs will for decades to come.

His products don't just look damn good in his minimalist way but also the emotional experience of using an Apple product is totally unmatched in any other product from the competition. On my recent cricket trip to Minnesota I spoke to my wife and four kids daily via FaceTime my favorite iPhone feature right now?

Yes I watched my kids in bed with mummy reading bed times books, showed my daughters Issabella, Mackenzie and Amelia the presents I bought them and my wife how hung over my club President Ray was via the FaceTime feature 1000's of miles away from home. FaceTime will go onto to be bigger than email and text message and connects emotionally so much better than both those forms of communication.

How can you beat a live video interaction with another human being? This mode of communication makes email look like an old invention.

This is just one unique feature within the iPad, iPhone and iPod which will go on to change how businesses, families, professionals and children all over the world behave, interact and live in society today.

Its impact so far is so big yet so much more is to come that I can only sit on this flight with excitement as one of his last statements as he resigned as CEO - "the best of Apple is yet to come".

I was a PC user and Blackberry fan but if you want an amazing life changing experience which will increase your productivity professionally and personally, give you joy beyond imagination then right now go and buy any Apple product. Then please come back here and share your experience on my blog and tell me your favorite feature and app.

We can't thank you enough Steve and you'll be remembered forever.

Content, Content, Content!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:54:00 GMT

Content Content Content

If you’ve heard the statement “Location, Location, Location” then you know that it’s what every professional property person says when you’re looking for a home. I should know – I’ve spent 10 years of my life in this industry!   So then, if LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION is a critical factor to consider in making sure you live in the right place, then CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT is just as important for your online business to succeed.    SEO and SMO seem to be popular buzz words, so let me take my new buzz word and add to the mix: C.C.C.    

Search Engine Optimization is simple to understand when you take it literally for what it is. It's about being found on search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. This is important, because being on PAGE ONE is how you go about actually making money.

Social Media Optimization is another story. It’s about finding people and engaging them. This is a very VERY important point and because the social media list can be endless, let's just focus on the big three for now: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.   

Too many so called “internet marketing experts” make SEO and SMO out to be something more complex than the average human being can understand… I say B.S.  I'm here to tell you that SEO and SMO isn’t as complicated as these “experts” make it seem. The only reason they do this is to justify their fee. Now keep in mind that this statement does not apply to the few individuals and companies who are experts; those are the people who deliver a stellar service and provide results.

When selecting a company, be sure to get at least six references from a dozen different companies; places where they’ve managed to work their magic. This is important! Please make sure you do this before you put any of your hard earned money to waste.   Now, a number of elements need to happen consistently every month. These elements will always keep your online business on page one. First and foremost, no degree is required, and you don’t need to be a scientist to make this happen.

Before I jump into my list of things you should do, remember for this blog you have already got a great website with all the elements,like a social media feed, clear contact details on the home page, specific pages for each keyword your trying to drive sales too, a great video, lead capture form etc. If not then doing my list of activities will not pay dividend till you get this done as a baseline to start any form of C.C.C. activity

Back Linking is your first element. Back Linking is simply making sure your site is submitted to online directories. This is important in making sure that there are relevant sites driving quality traffic and ranking to your online business. Do not buy a software program to do this for you, as you may get penalized from search engines and, as a result, your site will drop down in the rankings.    The majority of your success - I would say about 80% - is down to creating fantastic content.

Remember my buzz word C.C.C.? Well, this is my list of C.C.C. for SEO. Now it’s up to you to decide whether to do this yourself or to hire professionals.   

VIDEO - create engaging video content. As an example, let’s say that we’re using a florist to create a 12 month video series which includes cooking and wine. The show will focus around the owner’s daughter who loves to cook. Every month she’ll cook a different dish, along with her mother who owns a very successful florist shop. We would then highlight what type of flower arrangements would go well with that particular meal, as well as a suggestion for a great wine. 

E-NEWSLETTERS - Create content that drives users back to your online business. Include a great offer in your newsletter that will create and drive spontaneous purchases.   BLOGS - Become an expert in your industry. Include people, features, the benefits of your product and how to use it, what not to do, what to look out for, etc. Each blog is worth at least one sale a year minimum.   

NEWS UPDATES - Update your visitors about new things happening in your business: new staff, staff birthdays, new customers and products, and price changes.  

TESTIMONIAL - every month you should include one video testimonial for your site. This will help you start to convert more traffic into sales.   Engage on social media. Don’t sell at your first, second, third or fourth attempt! Provide solutions to problems and make friends just like you would in the offline world. Be yourself and instead of worrying about making money, focus on engaging in meaningful networking… and remember to have fun! You have to seek these people out, they’re not looking for you like people do on Google.  

This is my list of CCC for SMO: 

Facebook - run competitions and ask fans how they feel about their shopping experience. If you’re confident about your business, ask about what else they would like to see and how you can improve upon their overall shopping experience. Offer good advice and provide exclusive offers that no one can receive unless they’re a Facebook fan. Join relevant groups and repeat the same scenario as you continue to build genuine relationships.

Twitter - 140 characters of YOU, how your feeling, what you have to offer. Re-tweet things you like and get involved in conversations; all you have to do is utilize the search feature. If you’re a jeweler with wedding band offers too good for anyone to pass up, you’ll want to search the word ‘ENGAGED’ and make friends with new engaged couples. Send them an e-card with a 10% discount. How’s that for an easy sale?!  

YouTube - You need to be creative here. While using video is a very different way to generate interest and it’s easy to see the YouTube sensations, you have to remember that this may not always be the case. The goal is to create content about questions people ask on your Facebook page. Let’s consider this: “What is a fixed term mortgage?” You’d take that question and create a 60 second video explaining what a fixed term mortgage is all about. And remember to reference the person who asked the question in the first place. Do this every month and like a blog being worth a sale a year… a video is worth at least 2.    

You can do this all yourself, but let’s be honest, not everyone is cut out for this personal commitment. And while you might not have the experience or the time, you should go ahead and find a local professional company or individual who has proven they can get results!

One very important element to remember – this is not a one month get rich quick type of plan. You need to be patient. Expect small positive results by six months and every month afterward should build up from there. At some point between 6 to 12 months your online marketing plan should be a very profitable one.
You want your online business to succeed and just having a website is no longer a viable option. Your customers want the full shopping experience, so utilize your new found knowledge and service them online!

Remember C.C.C - CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT.  Do you have any great content ideas you’ve experimented with? Positive or negative results, I welcome them all!

Mobile Mobile Mobile in the new explosion online!

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:09:00 GMT

1-Smart phone sales are projected to out perform global pc sales within 3 years
2-Mobile web adoption is growing 8X faster than the equivalent point 10 yrs ago for the desktop
3-Half of new internet connections are from mobile devices

Watch the video below to hear a recent talk from the Mobile World Congress about just how important mobile is becoming…

What are you doing about your mobile strategy?
We would like to hear what your game plan is?

Do you go the extra mile?

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:55:00 GMT

Hello World,

I thought i would share this extract from the famous Napoleon Hill - Think and grow rich. Going the extra mile seems to something that society today under value's. We seem to live life with doing either what we get paid for or just enough to keep our job. I don't naturally speak for all here but the vast majority. I recently experienced a very young man who approached me to work for nothing, did not know anything about the Internet industry. I will tell you more on this later but it made me re-think the meaning of Going The Extra Mile....... Enjoy comments welcome.

HABITS OF GOING THE EXTRA MILE

Napoleon Hill spent most of his life studying the most successful entrepreneurs in American history. He analysed men like Ford, Edison and Carnegie at length. He concluded that success followed predictable and distinct patterns of behaviour. He suggested that all men and women have similar options open to them. He argued that great success and achievement were available to any and all who would choose to follow certain requirements which he spelled out in his many books.

Mr Hill was the architect of the philosophy of success. He was a pioneer and an original thinker. Many books and articles have copied his ideas, but he remains the master.   Of all the great human accomplishments in the 20th century, the judgement of history will inevitably rank the commentaries of Napoleon Hill among them.

I hope you will gain some small benefit from this section.

However, as you read through the article, it will become obvious it was well before the time of equality of the sexes. Just bear with this anachronism.

* * * * *

An important principle of success in all walks of life and in all occupations is a willingness to Go the Extra Mile; which means the rendering of more and better service than that for which one is paid, and giving it in a positive mental attitude.

Search wherever you will for a single sound argument against this principle, and you will not find it, nor will you find a single instance of enduring success which was not attained in part by its application.

The principle is not the creation of man. It is a part of Nature’s handiwork, for it is obvious that every living creature below the intelligence of man is forced to apply the principle in order to survive.

Many may disregard the principle if he chooses, but he cannot do so and at the same time enjoy the fruits of enduring success.

The advantages of the habit of going the extra mile are definite and understandable. Let me examine some of them and be convinced.

The habit brings the individual to the favourable attention of those who can and will provide opportunities for self-advancement.

It tends to make one indispensable, in many different human relationships and it therefore enables him to command more than average compensation for personal services.

It leads to mental growth and to physical skill and perfection in many forms of endeavour thereby adding to one’s earning capacity.

It protects one against the loss of employment, when scarce and places him in a position to command the choicest jobs.

It enables one to profit by the law of contrast since the majority of people do not practice the habit.

It leads to the development of a positive, pleasing mental attitude, which is essential for enduring success.

It tends to develop a keen, alert imagination because it is a habit which inspires one continuously to seek new and better ways of rendering service.

It develops the important quality of personal initiative.

It develops the self-reliance and courage.

It serves to build the confidence of others in one’s integrity.

It aids the mastery of the destructive habit of procrastination.

It develops definiteness of purpose, insuring one against the common habit of aimlessness.

There is still another great reason for following the habit of going the extra mile. It gives one the only logical reason for asking for increased compensation.

If a man performs no more service than that for which he is being paid, then obviously he is receiving all the pay to which he is entitled.

He must render as much service as that for which he is being paid, in order to hold his job, or to maintain his source of income, regardless of how he earns.

But he has the privilege always of rendering an overplus of service as a means of accumulating a reserve credit of goodwill, and to provide a just reason for demanding more pay, a better position, or both.

Every position based upon a salary or wages provides one with an opportunity to advance himself by the application of this principle, and it is important to note that the American system of free enterprise is operated on a basis of providing every worker in industry with a proper incentive to apply the principle.

Any practice of philosophy which deprives a man of the privilege of going the extra mile is unsound and doomed to failure, for it is obvious that this principle is the stepping-stone of major importance by which an individual may receive compensation for extra-ordinary skill, experience and education, and it is the one principle which provides the way of self-determination, regardless of what occupation, profession or calling the individual may be engaged in.

In America, anyone may earn a living without the habit of going the extra mile. And many do just that, but the economic security and luxuries available under the great American way of life are available only to the individual who makes this principle a part of his philosophy of life and lives by it as a matter of daily habit.

Every known rule of logic and common sense forces one to accept this as true. And even a cursory analysis of men in the higher brackets of success will prove that it is true.

It is a well known fact that Andrew Carnegie developed more successful leaders of industry than has any other great American industrialist. Most of them came up from the ranks of ordinary day labourers and many of them accumulated personal fortunes of vast amounts, more than they could acquire without the guidance of Mr Carnegie.

The first test that Mr Carnegie applied to any worker whom he desired to promote was that of determining to what extent the worker was willing to go the extra mile.

It was this test that led to the discovery of Charles M Schwab. When Mr Schwab first came to Mr Carnegie’s attention he was working as a day labourer in one of the steel master’s plants. Close observation revealed that Mr Schwab always performed more and better service than that for which he was paid. Moreover, he performed it in a pleasing mental attitude which made him popular among his fellow workers.

He was promoted from one job to another until at long last he was made president of the great United States Steel Corporation at a salary of $75, 000 a year! (1901)

Not through all the ingenuity of man, or all the schemes that men resort to in order to get something for nothing, could Charles M Schwab, the day labourer, have earned as much as   $75, 000 during his entire lifetime if he had not willingly adopted and followed the habit of going the extra mile.

On some occasions Mr Carnegie not only paid Mr Schwab’s salary, which was generous enough, but he gave him as much as $1, 000, 000 as a bonus in addition to his regular salary.

When Mr Carnegie was asked why he gave Mr Schwab a bonus so much greater than his salary, he replied in words that every worker, regardless of his job or wages, might well ponder. “I gave him his salary for the work he actually performed”, said Mr Carnegie, “and the bonus for his willingness to go the extra mile, thus setting a fine example of his fellow workers”.

Think of that! A salary of $75, 000 a year, paid to a man who started as a day labourer, and a bonus of more than ten times that amount for a good disposition expressed by a willingness to do more than he was paid for.

Verily it pays to go the extra mile, for every time an individual does so he places someone else under obligation to him.

No one is compelled to follow the habit of going the extra mile and seldom is anyone ever requested to render more service than that for which he is paid. Therefore, if the habit is followed it must be adopted on one’s own initiative.

But the Constitution of the United State guarantees every man this privilege, and the American system provides rewards and bonuses for those who follow this habit, and makes it impossible for a man to adopt the habit without receiving appropriate compensation.

The compensation may come in many different forms. Increased pay is a certainty. Voluntary promotions are inevitable. Favourable working conditions and pleasant human relationships are sure. And these lead to economic security which a man may attain on his own merits.

There is still another benefit to be gained by the man who follows the habit of going the extra mile: It keeps him on good terms with his own conscience and serves as a stimulant to his own soul! Therefore, it is a builder of sound character which has no equal in any other human habit.

You who have young boys and girls growing into adulthood might well remember this for their sake! Teach a child the benefits of rendering more service and better service than that which is customary, and you will have made contributions of character to that child which will serve him or her all through life.

The philosophy of Andrew Carnegie is essentially a philosophy of economics. But it is more than that! It is also a philosophy of ethics and sympathy for the weak and the unfortunate. It teaches one how to become his brother’s keeper and at the same time rewards him for doing so.

Let us now observe that the admonition to render more service and better service than that for which one is paid, is paradoxical because it is impossible for anyone to render such service without receiving appropriate compensation. The compensation may come in many forms and from many different sources, some of them strange and unexpected sources, but come it will.

The worker who renders this type of service may not always receive appropriate compensation from the person to whom he renders the service, but this habit will attract to him many opportunities for self-advancement among them new and more favourable sources of employment. Thus his pay will come to him directly.

Ralph Waldo Emerson had this truth in mind when he said (in his essay on Compensation), “If you serve an ungrateful master serve him the more. Put God in your debt. Every stroke shall be repaid. The longer the payment is withheld, the better for you; for compound interest on compound interest is the rate and usage of this exchequer”.

Speaking once more in terms that seem paradoxical, be reminded that the most profitable time a man devotes to labour is that for which he receives no direct or immediate financial compensation. For it must be remembered that there are two forms of compensation available to the man who works for wages. One is the wages he receives in money. The other is the skill he attains from his experiences; a form of compensation which often exceeds monetary remuneration, for skill and experience are the worker’s most important stock in trade through which he may promote himself to higher pay and get responsibilities.

The attitude of the man who follows the habit of going the extra mile is this: He recognises the truth that he is receiving pay for schooling himself for a better position and greater pay! This is an asset of which no worker can be cheated, no matter how selfish or greedy his immediate employer may be. It is the “compound interest on compound interest” which Emerson mentioned.

It was this very asset which enabled Charles M Schwab to climb, step by step, from the lowly beginning as a day labourer to the highest position his employer had to offer and it was this asset as well which brought Mr Schwab a bonus of more than ten times the amount of his salary.

The million dollar bonus which Mr Schwab received was his payoff for having put his best efforts into every job he performed - a circumstance that could not have happened if he had not followed the habit of going the extra mile.

Mr Carnegie had but little, if anything, to do with the circumstance. It was entirely out of his hands.   Let us be generous by assuming that Mr Carnegie paid off because he knew Mr Schwab had earned the additional pay which had not been promised him. But the actual fact may be that he had to paid off rather than lose so valuable a man.

And here let us note that the man who follows the habit of going the extra mile thereby places the purchaser of his services under a double obligation to pay a just compensation; one being an obligation based upon his sense of fairness, the other based on this sense of fear of losing a valuable man.

Thus we see that no matter how we view the principle of going the extra mile, we come always to the same answer, that it pays “compound interest” to all who follow the habit.

No one ever does anything voluntarily without a motive. Let us see if we can reveal a sound motive that will justify the habit of going the extra mile by observing a few who have been inspired by it.

Many years ago an elderly lady was strolling through a Pittsburgh department store, obviously killing time. She passed counter after counter without anyone paying any attention to her. All of the clerks had spotted her as an idle “looker” who had no intention of buying. They made it a point of looking in another direction when she stopped at their counters.

What a costly business this neglect turned out to be!

Finally the lady came to a counter that was attended by a young clerk who bowed politely and asked if he might serve her.

“No”, she replied, “I am just killing time, waiting for the rain to stop so I can go home”.

“Very well, Madam”, the young man smiled, “may I bring out a chair for you?” And he brought it without waiting for an answer. After the rain slacked, the young man took the lady by the arm, escorted her to the street and bade her good-bye. As she left she asked him for his card.

Several months later, the owner of the store received a letter, asking that this young man be sent to Scotland to take an order for the furnishings of a home. The owner of the store wrote back that he was sorry, but the young man did not work in the house furnishings department. However, he explained that he would be glad to send an “experienced man” to do his job.

Back came a reply that no one would do except this particular young man. The letters were signed by Andrew Carnegie, and the “house” he wanted furnished was Skibo Castle in Scotland. The elderly lady was Mr Carnegie’s mother. The young man was sent to Scotland. He received an order for several hundred thousand dollars worth of household furnishings. He later became the owner of half interest in the store.

Verily it pays to go the extra mile.

Over forty years ago a young salesman in a hardware store observed that the store had a lot of odds and ends which were out of date and not selling. Having time on his hands, he rigged up a special table in the middle of the store. He loaded it with some of this unsaleable merchandise, marking it the bargain price of a dime an article. To his surprise and that of the owner of the store, the gadgets sold like hot cakes.

Out of the experience grew the great F.W. Woolworth Five and Ten Cent chain store system. The young man who stumbled upon the idea by going the extra mile was Frank W Woolworth. That idea yielded him a fortune estimated at more that $50,000,000. Moreover, the same idea made several other persons rich, and applications of the idea are at the heart of many of the more profitable merchandising systems in America.

No one told young Woolworth to exercise his right to personal initiative. No one paid him for doing so, yet his action led to ever-increasing returns for his efforts. Once he put the idea into practice, increasing returns nearly ran him down.

There is something about this habit of doing more than one is paid for which works on one’s behalf even while he sleeps. Once it begins to work, it piles up riches so fast that it seems like queer magic, which, like Aladdin’s Lamp, draws to one’s aid an army of genies which come laden with bags of gold.

Some thirty years ago Charles M Schwab’s private railroad car was switched onto the siding at his steel plant in Pennsylvania. It was a cold, frosty morning. As he alighted from his car he was met by a young man with a stenographer’s notebook in his hands who hurriedly explained that he was a stenographer in the general office of the steel company, and that he had come to meet the car to see if Mr Schwab needed any letter written, or any telegrams sent.

“Who asked you to meet me?” Mr Schwab queried. “No one”, the young man replied. “I saw the telegram coming through announcing your arrival, so I came down to meet you, hoping I might be of some service”.

Think of that! He came down hoping he might be able to find something to do for which he was not paid. And he came on his own initiative without being told. Mr Schwab thanked him politely for his thoughtfulness, but said he had no need for a stenographer at the moment. After carefully noting the young man’s name, he sent the lad back to his work.

That night when the private car was hitched to the night train for its return to New York City, it carried the young stenographer. He had been assigned, at Mr Schwab’s request, for service in New York as one of the steel magnate’s assistants. The lad’s name was Williams. He remained in Mr Schwab’s services for several years, during which opportunity after opportunity for promotion came to him unsolicited.

It is peculiar how opportunities have a way of trailing the people who make it their business to go the extra mile, but they do very definitely. Finally an opportunity came to young Williams which he could not ignore. He was made president and a large stock-holder in one of the largest drug concerns in the United States - a job which yielded him a fortune far greater than his needs.

His incident is clear evidence of what can happen, and what has been happening all down through the years under the American way of life.

Here is the appropriate place to remind you of an important thing about the habit of doing more than one is paid for. It is the strange influence which it has on the man who does it. The greatest benefit from this habit does not come to those to whom the service is rendered. It comes to the one who renders the service, in the form of a changed “mental attitude”, which gives him more influence with other people, more self-reliance, greater initiative, more enthusiasm, more vision and definiteness of purpose. All of these are qualities of successful achievement.

“Do the right thing and you shall have the power”, said Emerson. Ah, yes the power! What can man do in our world without power? But it must be the type of power which attracts other people instead of repelling them. It must be a form of power which gains momentum from the law of increasing returns, through the operation of which one’s acts and deeds come back to him greatly multiplied.

You who work for wages should learn more about this sowing and reaping business. Then you would understand why no man can go on forever sowing the seed of inadequate service and reaping a harvest of full grown pay. You would know that there must come a halt to the habit of demanding a full day’s pay for a poor day’s work.

And you who do not work for wages, but who wish to get more of the better things of life! Let us have a word with you. Why do you not become wise and start getting what you wish the easy and sure way? Yes, there is an easy and sure way to promote one’s self into whatever he wants from life, and its secret becomes known to every person who makes it his business to go the extra mile. The secret can be uncovered in no other manner, for it is wrapped up in the extra mile.

The pot of gold at the “End of the rainbow” is not a mere fairy tale! The end of that extra mile is the spot where the rainbow ends, and that is where the pot of gold is hidden.

Few people ever catch up with the “end of the rainbow”. When one gets to where he thought the rainbow ended he finds it is still far in the distance. The trouble with most of us is that we do not know how to follow rainbows. Those who know the secret know that the end of the rainbow can be reached only by going the extra mile.

Late one afternoon, some forty-five years ago, William, C. Durant, the founder of General Motors, walked into his bank after banking hours, and asked for some favour which in the ordinary course of business should have been requested during banking hours.

The man who granted the favour was Carol Downes, an under official of the bank. He not only served Mr Durant with efficiency, but he went the Extra Mile and added courtesy to the service. He made Mr Durant feel that it was a real pleasure to serve him. The incident seems trivial, and of itself it was of little importance. Unknown to Mr Downes, this courtesy was destined to have repercussions of a far-reaching nature.

The next day Mr Durant asked Downes to come to his office. That visit led to the offer of a position which Downes accepted. He was given a desk in a general office where nearly a hundred other people worked, and he was notified that the office hours were from 8.30am to 5.30pm.   His salary to begin with was modest.

At the end of the first day, when the gong rang announcing the close of the day’s work, Downes noticed that everyone grabbed his hat and coat and made a rush for the door. He sat still, waiting for the others to leave the office. After they had gone, he remained at his desk, pondering in his own mind, the cause of the great haste everyone had shown to get away on the very second of quitting time.

Fifteen minutes later Mr Durant opened the door of his private office, saw Downes still at his desk, and asked Downes whether he understood that he was privileged to stop work at 5.30.   “Oh yes”, Downes replied, “but I did not wish to be run over in the rush”. Then he asked if he could be of any service to Mr Durant. He was told he might find a pencil for the motor magnate. He got the pencil, ran it through the pencil sharpener and took it to Mr Durant. Mr Durant thanked him and said “good night”.

The next day at quitting time Downes remained at his desk again after the “rush” was over. This time he waited with purpose aforethought. In a little while Mr Durant came out of his private office and asked again if Downes did not understand that 5.30 was the time for closing.

“Yes”, Downes smiled. “I understand it is quitting time for the others, but I haven’t heard anyone say that I have to leave the office when the day is officially closed, so I choose to remain here with the hope that I might be of one slight service to you”.

“What an unusual hope” Durant exclaimed. “Where did you get the idea?”

“I got it from a scene I witness here at closing time every day”, Downes replied. Durant grunted some reply which Downes did not hear distinctly and returned to his office.

From then on Downes always remained at his desk after closing time until he saw Mr Durant leave for the day. He was not paid to remain overtime. No one told him to do it. No one promised him anything for remaining and as far as the casual observer might know, he was wasting his time.

Several months later Downes was called into Mr Durant’s office and informed that he had been chosen to go out to a new plant that had been purchased recently to supervise the installation of the plant machinery. Imagine that! A former bank official becoming a machinery expert in a few months.

Without quibble, Downes accepted the assignment and went on his way. He did not say “Why Mr Durant, I know nothing about the installation of machinery”. He did not say “That’s not my job”, or “I’m not paid to install machinery”. No, he went to work and did what was requested of him. Moreover, he went at the job with a pleasant “mental attitude”.

Three months later, the job was completed. It was done so well that Mr Durant called Downes into his office and asked him where he learned about machinery. “Oh”, Downes explained, “I never learned, Mr Durant. I merely looked around, found men who knew how to get the job done, put them to work, and they did it.

“Splendid!” Mr Durant exclaimed. “There are two types of men who are valuable. One is the fellow who can do something and do it well, without complaining that he is being overworked. The other is the fellow who can get other people to do things well, without complaining. You are both types wrapped into one package”.

Downes thanked him for the compliment and turned to go.

“Wait a moment”, Durant requested. “I forgot to tell you that you are the new manager of a plant you have installed, and your salary to start with is $50, 000 a year”.

The following ten years of association with Mr Durant was worth between ten and twelve million dollars to Carol Downes. He became an intimate adviser of the motor king and made himself rich as a result.

There is nothing very dramatic about the story of Carol Downes. The main trouble with so many of us is that we see men who have “arrived” and weight them in the hour of their triumph without taking the trouble to find out how or why they “arrived”.

The incidents mentioned occurred during the day’s business, without even a passing notice by the average person who worked along with Downes. And we doubt not that many of these fellow workers envied him because they believed he had been favoured by Mr Durant, through some sort of pull or luck, or whatever it is that men who do not succeed use as an excuse to explaining their own lack of progress.

Well, to be candid, Downes did have an inside “pull” with Mr Durant!

He created that “pull” on his own initiative.

He created it by going the extra mile in a matter as trivial as that of placing a neat point on a pencil when nothing was requested except a plain pencil.

He created it by remaining at his desk “with the hope” that he might be of service to his employer after the “rush” was over at 5.30 each evening.

He created it by using his right of personal initiative by finding men who understood how to install machinery instead of asking Durant where or how to find such men.

Trace down these incidents step by step and you will find that Downes’ success was due solely to his own initiative. Moreover, the story consists of a series of little tasks well performed, in the right “mental attitude”.

Perhaps there were a hundred other men working for Mr Durant who could have done as well as Downes, but the trouble with them was that they were searching for the “end of the rainbow” by running away from it in the 5.30 rush each afternoon.

Long years afterward, a friend asked Carol Downes how he got his opportunity with Mr Durant. “Oh” he modestly replied, “I just made it my business to get in his way, so he could see me. When he looked around, wanting some little service, he called on me because I was the only one in sight. In time, he got into the habit of calling on me”.

There you have it! Mr Durant “got into the habit” of calling on Downes. Moreover, he found that Downes could and would assume responsibilities by going the extra mile.

What a pity that all of the American people do not catch something of this spirit of assuming greater responsibilities. What a pity that more of us do not begin speaking more of our “privileges” under the American way of life, and less of the lack of opportunities in America.

If there is a man living in America today who would seriously claim that Carol Downes would have been better off if he had been forced, by law, to join the mad rush and quit his work at 5.30 in the afternoon? If he had done so, he would have received the standard wages of the sort of work he performed, but nothing more. Why should he have received more?

His destiny was in his own hands. It was wrapped up in this one lone privilege of every American Citizen: the right of personal initiative through the exercise of which he had it a habit always to go the extra mile. That tells the whole story. There is no other secret to Downe’s success. He admits it, and everyone familiar with the circumstances of his promotion from poverty to riches knows it.

There is one thing no one seems to know: Why are there so few men who, like Carol Downes, discover the power implicit in doing more than one is paid for?

The whole world is clamouring for such men. They are needed and wanted in every walk of life. American industry has always had princely berths for men who can and will assume responsibilities and who get the job done in the right “mental attitude” by going the extra mile.

Andrew Carnegie lifted no fewer than forty such men from the lowly station of day labourers to millionaires. He understood the value of men who were willing to go the extra mile. Whenever he found such a man, he brought “his find” into the inner circle of his business and gave him an opportunity to earn “all he was worth”.

People do things or refrain from doing them because of a motive. The soundest of motives for the habit of going the extra mile is the fact that it yields enduring dividends in ways too numerous to mention, to all who follow the habit.

No one has ever been known to achieve permanent success without doing more than he was paid for. The practice has its counter-part in the laws of nature.   It has back of it an impressive array of evidence as to its soundness. It is based on common sense and justice.

The best of all methods of testing the soundness of this principle is that of putting it to work as part of one’s daily habits. Some truths we can only learn through our own experience.

Americans want greater individual shares of the vast resources of this country. That is a healthy desire. The wealth is here in abundance, but let us get our wealth by giving something of value in return for it.

We know the rules by which success is attained. Let us appropriate these rules and use them intelligently, thereby acquiring the personal riches we demand, and adding to the wealth of the nation as well.

* * * * *

Oh Boy!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:55:00 GMT

In a few weeks our fourth child will be arriving! Adding to the three amazing girls we already have. My wife and I, Nina, were talking last night discussing how amazingly quick the past eight months have gone. For Nina of course, the last eight months have been another wave of her body changing and obviously a completely different experience than I will I ever know. Nevertheless the time has come for the prince to arrive into this world.

I have shared this a few times that as a dad, bloke, father and finally male I don’t really get the excitement of a baby until the child is here in the real world. OK don’t get me wrong naturally there is an amazing feeling when you find out you’re going to be a dad but once the excitement subsides the waiting game comes into play. The wait is long and during those nine months you get to see another side of your partner which is not something you can describe easily never mind in a blog post – if you have some thoughts about this – comments are welcome.

No matter what - boy or girl - the “trickiest” part in all this is names and this creates family debates – we always reserve the right to “veto” any suggestion.

After months of deciding on a name ranging from Oliver, Sebastien, Connor, Cooper, Ashton, Romeo I THINK we’ve finally settled for Kaiden James Patel, James being the first name of Nina’s brother. To be honest, I still think Sebastien James Patel is better (but Nina has veto’d Sebastien) but please comment if you agree with me or have any other suggestions!
Now back to waiting……

Google's New Tweak

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:48:00 GMT

Source: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/08/showing-more-results-from-domain.html

There’s a change here, a tweak there, it’s frequent and it’s typically Google. Poor webmasters like us are the ones who have a hard time keeping up.

On 20th August Google again made a change to their ranking algorithm which would allow users to find more results on a single site for a particular keyword. This change will particularly help those searchers with interest in a particular domain and provide more results from the site.

For Example, if you had typed in “shows at Rainbow Stage” prior to this change it would have returned only two results from www.rainbowstage.net but now we have more than three. The new algorithm assumes that the user is probably interested in activities at the Rainbow Stage Theatre and therefore returns more results from the website of the theatre.

Google thinks that this new tweak will help users to find what they are looking for in a particular domain or site in lesser time than before.

Though this new change scores points on some parameters, there are lot of people saying that this is not as useful a tool as it is made out to be by software engineers at Google. For instance, if I wanted to check about shows at the Rainbow Stage Theatre, I can straight away go to the www.rainbowstage.net and find the information inside the website.

The other drawback is, a Google search page shows only 10 websites on a single page for a keyword and devoting 4-5 results for a single site is not a good idea as far as my SEO campaign is concerned. I hope the software engineers at Google will surely come with something better to encounter these issues.

Till then let’s wait for next week and for the next tweak from Google.

Real-time Search Gets a Home

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:35:00 GMT

Though Google launched real-time search features in December 2009, this is the most significant update till date. Google now has a dedicated website address for followers of real time search at www.google.com/realtime.

The new homepage for realtime search has a variety of settings and tools to refine and make the best of search results. There you can refine your search according to geography and now it’s easier to follow discussions, conversations and updates from social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, MySpace and others.

The new enhancement offers the option for users to find an entire conversation or tweets on a topic in chronological order. Additionally, Google has integrated real time search updates with Google Alerts which allow users to receive email alerts every time a topic of your choice appears on Twitter or other social media platforms.

Not only conversations, real-time search also gathers the freshest results from blog posts, news stories and popular public forums. You can now catch the latest breaking news even before it hits the headlines by getting Google Alerts with real time updates.

How to Use Realtime Search
• First access realtime search from the left hand navigational tool of Google’s search page and select updates or just type www.google.com/realtime in your browser.

• You can check the ability of real-time search to find conversations confined within a particular city, state or country or any other geographical parameters. You can click the Nearby link on the left-hand side of the search page for conversations near you or click the Custom Location link to add a location.

• To find out the entire conversation on a topic just click on the conversation snippet in your search results page to see all comments related to the update.

• To get realtime alerts in your inbox, go to google.com/alerts and enter the term you want to keep track of and in the Type drop down menu select Updates. You can opt to receive alerts soon as they happen or weekly in your inbox.

This new tool is definitely a great asset for searchers looking for fresh and location-based information in the Internet. What are your thoughts about searching realtime?

Ten Ways to Attract and Engage Customers with E-mail Marketing

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:39:00 GMT

According to experts, you only have a few seconds to capture the attention of your customers when it comes to your email. If your email has a boring, uninteresting or unclear subject, it is sure to end up straight in the Recycle Bin. So how do you ensure that your customers don’t click Delete before opening your email?

So here are a few valuable tips from our email marketing expert at Webidiotz that will actually help you entice customers to click open, read and react on your email.

• Short and Sweet Works. “Use a short and informative subject line. A good subject line makes a good first impression and draws in a reader to click it open,” advises our in house expert. He adds that you shouldn’t use more than 10 words in your subject line to ensure you are visible through inbox previews, and tell the reader in an intriguing and clear way what the email contains. For Example, if you are a jewelry designer and sending a newsletter to your customers, instead of just using “September Newsletter” in your subject line use something catchy. You can change the subject line to “September Newsletter: Great ideas to revive your old jewelry collection.”

• Use a simple design. Webidiotz’s email marketing experts asks you to follow a simple email design with uniform fonts, columns and a uniform color theme. “People are easily distracted with too many designs and multiple fonts and colors. Your goal is to get the undivided attention of your customer to your email, don’t use visually distracting web pages and decrease or eliminate your response rate,” is what he has to say on this subject.

• Your emails should be supported by mobile devices. A great number of people now use cell phones to check and read emails. Our expert says, “Your email should be legible in mobile devices, such as smart phones and PDAs. Therefore, your email should not be too wide or be filled with too many graphics and videos.”

• No video, audio or Flash files. According to our experts a simple rule of thumb for email is no video, audio or flash files. “Such files can take ages to download on a slow connection and some email service providers don’t allow video or audio in their emails,” is the reason that our expert provides for following this simple rule. He thinks that using a few images/graphics is a good idea unless it complements the message or thought that the email aims to convey or stir in the readers mind.

• Say something of Value. Another valuable tip from our expert. Don’t send an email for the sake of it, only send it when you have something to say that is of value. It could be latest news of your business, valuable tips, latest promotions, upcoming events or anything you think is worth your customers’ time and attention.

• Get to the point quick. There is a very scant span of attention in the internet. So don’t waste time and come to the point as soon as possible, maybe in the first line or with a prominent title. But don’t wait till the last paragraph to share something important with your customers. These are the views shared by our email marketing expert at Webidiotz.

• Avoid a sales pitch. “In simple words avoid phrases like Act Now! Buy Now! Rush Now! Hurry!” instead using a softer approach is effective tells our expert. So offer your customers something of value for them instead of trying to hard sell. It could be anything, advice, tips or information and subtly convey your message to drive your point home.

• Don’t stuff it. Our expert thinks you shouldn’t stuff your email with too much information because that might simply overwhelm readers. If there is too much content or information that you have to post to get the message through, let readers click on links to your website, promotional page or affiliate site for complete information.

• Be consistent. Try to maintain an established schedule for your emails whether you send it daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly or so on. It will allow you to maintain a connection with your readers and they will wait for your email just like they wait for their favorite TV show or for their best friend who visits once in a while.

• Proofread. Last but not the least. Don’t ever forget to proofread before you send your email to customers. Eliminating silly grammatical, spelling and factual errors before sending your emails will save you a lot of embarrassment.

We are sure if you follow these valuable yet simple tips your email marketing campaign will show a marked improvement in the near future.

Kids, Kids, Kids and Me

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:57:00 GMT

It’s so easy to have parenting ideals before you actually have kids. Because, you know, there’s no actual reality to challenge you. You can claim that you’ll only feed your kids organic food, absolutley no junk food, not use the TV as a babysitter, that you’ll stick to a routine and will never have to deal with tantrums in public places. Well, if you don’t have kids you might as well enjoy it. It’s the last time you’ll ever feel completely sure of yourself. It’s a nice feeling. I miss that feeling.

But when you actually have children, not only will they turn you into a liar on a regular basis, but they’ll bring out the hypocrite in you as well. Yeah, they look cute and everything, but really their sole purpose on the planet is to make you look like an ass.

1. I Am a Morning Person

Or more accurately, I was a morning person, once upon a time. I’d get up between 5 and 6 in the morning, enjoy the crisp air, the peace and quiet. Not anymore. Because here’s the thing, to be a morning person, it’s generally helpful to get some sleep. Without it, you become the opposite of a morning person. Especially on the weekend, now the best I can manage is to get up, offer the kids some cheerios and doze on the couch while all 3 bounce up and down on my head.

2. No TV

It’s a nice ideal. No TV. Another benefit of no TV would be that your brain wouldn’t slowly rot thanks to the mind-numbing assault of children’s television programming. But in the real world, sometimes it helps to have such an easy distraction mechanism. Or you need to get some work done. Or you need to make dinner. Or you need 5 seconds of quiet or alone time. I applaud people who avoid the whole television thing. But I was not that strong. When picking between trying to work while she cries and pulls on my pants in an attempt to get me away from the computer; or putting on Sesame Street, I don’t even think about it anymore.

3. No Sugar or Junk Food

The key problem with this one is that for this to work you, the parent, can never eat sugar or junk food because a toddler will eat almost anything if you’re eating it. And the power of sugar is strong, and difficult to resist. And if you haven’t watched your kid inhale a chocolate cupcake, you’re seriously missing out. And yes, me who claimed I would never give my child sugar – occasionally offer delicious candy in public places such as the supermarket in an attempt to placate her or reward her for being a “good girl”. It totally works.

4. In Their Own Room

Pre-baby I was sure that our baby would be in her own room from 3 months. Don’t get me wrong, our daughters go to sleep in their own bed and 5 nights out of 7 wake up in their own bed. But there are those nights that someone wanders quietly into our room at about 3am and quietly taps my arm looking particularly lovable with her blanket tucked under her arm and just wants a cuddle. At that point, I give in.

5. Balanced Meals

I made lists, lots of lists about all the foods I need to give my child to make sure they get all their nutrients. But sadly, toddlers are fussy. Really fussy. And tired parents are lazy, really lazy. So while I still try to give her a good variety as much as possible, I rely on hot dogs far more than I’m proud of. And pasta, lots of pasta.

6. Appropriate Language

We were both careful about what we said in front of our daughter, particularly when she started to pick up words. One of her first words was ‘go away’. I could blame my husband and the fact that this phrase is his main method of communicating with the dog. But in fact, we both say it to one another all the time, and somehow it flew under our swearing radar. What’s worse? It’s kind of funny.

7. I Will Not Call My Husband ‘Dad’ or ‘Daddy’

I always thought it was creepy when people called their partner, ‘mum’ or ‘dad’, even when they were talking to their kids about something. Now admittedly, my husband and I haven’t crossed over into freaky 50s behaviour. We only refer to one another as ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’ when we are talking directly to our daughter. But nonetheless, it was one of the things I was so against. How far the mighty have fallen.

8. I Will Not Go Out in Public Looking Tired and Shabby

I remember seeing moms at the supermarket and would think to myself that it can’t be that hard to find the time to brush your hair or put on lipstick. Well, what I’ve found, in my almost 4 years of being a mom, that there is only ever time for one primping activity. It’s either shower and don’t brush my hair or don’t shower and actually brush my hair. I have to choose whether it’s mascara today or lipstick – as taking the time to find both, is not possible. On days that I plan to “look good” which requires getting up an hour earlier than usual and doing all the primping necessary to “look good” is the day one of my daughters decides to spill her milk over my “look good” outfit or wants to give me a big smooshy kiss and pull my hair when we have a cuddle. The result being… I often look tired and shabby. I do try, but often it just doesn’t work out.

9. My Car Will Always be Clean

This is simply impossible. With 3 little monsters doing whatever they do when I’m busy driving – it’s scary to see the destruction they leave behind. Most of the time, I close the door and want to forget the half hour journey from hell I just endured, let alone go back in to clean it.

10. I Won’t be Grumpy

I used to think how wonderfully fun it would be to play with your kids all day. Life would be carefree, playing in the park and fun fun fun. Well, it is sometimes fun. But being a mom means you are the one that has to ruin the fun, I have to rain on their parade at least 10 times a day… “No, you can’t spill and spread your yoghurt all over the couch” or “No, you can’t hit your sister with the fire truck repeatedly” or “No, you can’t pee in the pool”. Each day I wake up and say to myself – Today I will focus on positivity and not say No. It lasts until about 8.15am.

Do you want to hear something really funny? I’m pregnant.

SIZE matters!

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:40:00 GMT

I am not talking about the male anatomy but the size of your website. To be more precise, the number of pages that you have on your website. The more pages you have the better optimized your site will be.

It should come as no surprise that all the best and successful websites in the world are huge in size. Pages after pages of content have taken them to stardom and eventual success making them loads of money in the process. Facebook, YouTube, Linked In, Flickr and I’m sure I could name more but you get my point.

If you want to get more traffic to your website then simply create more content and not just content for the sake of it, but quality content. You can then support this with SEO tactics or strategies to make sure you optimize results.

So here are some simple SEO strategies you do not need to spend your hard-earned money on but only time.

1. Go to Google Adwords by clicking here https://adwords.google.com and use there keyword tool. It’s free.

2. Once you’re there type in a word or two that a potential customer would use to find your business. Example if I was looking for a restaurant in Winnipeg I would search (Winnipeg Restaurants). Typically, the number of searches done monthly for this keyword is 33100 and one cannot ignore this number. This number denotes how popular a particular keyword is among internet searchers.

3. Now you know a keyword which could drive traffic (visitors) to your website if you were on page one of Google. You need to create a specific page for your website with the goal of writing a minimum of 300-500 words for each page. Make sure you use the keyword as many times as possible in your webpage whilst writing your content.

4. Add a picture, video and blog or social media widgets to the page to make it interactive.

OK you might need the help of your website developer or you might have a great content management system which should make things easier for you. Now you have a new page for your site with a purpose – the purpose being to improve traffic for your website. Also you know now that there are thousands of people searching for your products or services. Follow the same steps for every keyword you find in Google that is relevant to your business and you will sure see some improvement in traffic.

Warning

I should warn you though that this will not take your website to page one of search engines but will help you to get more visible to internet searches. The conversion rate will vary according to page content and how good an experience you provide to visitors on your website. But this is a different topic and we will let it go for another time.

Hope this helps you understand how SIZE MATTERS and I am sure this will help you make changes to your website for little or no cost.

If you have any comments you want to share then please do so and I will send you a little gift to thank you.

The not so new rules of marketing!

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:57:00 GMT

Webidiotz Marketing Strategy from Neil Patel on Vimeo.

It wasn't that long ago that we had just a handful of ways to reach potential customers. TV, radio, print in a few different forms. That was about it.

Today, the number of marketing channels has expanded exponentially. Email, websites, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, text messaging, webinars, teleconferencing ... the list goes on, with more popping up every day.

But it's not just a question of "more" and "different."

The emergence of these new channels has completely transformed the way customers interact with marketing messages across all media watch our latest video above which we created to explain this in more detail.

Some marketers are so intimidated by these new realities, they ignore them completely, sticking with the channels they're used to and hanging on for dear life to their old tried-and-true strategies.

Others make the mistake of abandoning fundamental marketing principles in the face of so much newness - and wind up falling flat on their faces.

But the business owners and entrepreneurs who are thriving and growing, in this "brave new world" of marketing - and believe me, there are PLENTY of them — have found a THIRD WAY.

They've figured out how to ...

MASTER the timeless principles of profitable marketing that have been tested, refined, and proven over decades ...

ADAPT those principles to the changing landscape and unique dynamic of the 21st century marketplace, and ...

LEVERAGE them via a "multi-channel" marketing strategy that enables them to promote their product across a range of traditional and new outlets, including:

Online Marketing - Websites, email, text ads, banner and pay-per-click (PPC) ads, search engine optimization (SEO) ... the Internet is the true promised land for marketers, with infinite opportunities to target, attract, communicate, dialog, and SELL, SELL, SELL. The profit potential is staggering ... but if you want to cash in, you've got to be in the game.

Social Media - Facebook and Twitter are just the tip of this massive iceberg of opportunity - and deep pockets are NOT required. All you need is time and a few simple, savvy strategies to profit hugely (and in more ways than one) from this incredibly exciting new phenomenon.

Fax Marketing - Once the "ugly stepsister" of the marketing world, it's now a million-dollar baby for those who learn how to work this exciting channel.

Direct Mail - Even in the age of email, it's still the king - and it's FAR easier and more accessible than most marketers think, with sky-high potential for profits and file building.

Print Advertising - Too often overlooked, misunderstood, or dismissed altogether, but a vein of gold when tapped correctly.

Television and Radio - Millions of eyeballs and ears, all fixated on YOUR product. If you create a spot that works, it can be a total game-changer for you.

Joint Ventures and Affiliate Marketing - Others do the selling; YOU share in the profits. It's a beautiful thing!

Email Marketing – Email marketing promotions and newsletters are proven ways to increase your customer sales and grow your business

The beauty of this multi-channel marketing approach is twofold.

First of all, multi-channel marketing allows you to get the maximum bang for your investment buck.

But even better, a multi-channel strategy gives you protection from the market ups and downs you can't control.

If results in one channel start to sag - because of seasonality, trends, global events, or simple fatigue - you have plenty of income from other sources to keep you healthy, profitable, and thriving.

Launching smart campaigns in even two or three channels will increase your profits, expand your customer base, and build your bottom line significantly. Over the upcoming weeks Webidiotz will show you how to do these for your own business - watch on Webidiotz.TV just how we leverage multi-channel marketing in our efforts to generate profitable sales.

The Difference Between Blogs and News Pages

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:57:00 GMT

There is one recurring question that frequently comes up when I am meeting with my clients and explaining them the benefits of SEO and the methods used to initiate and maintain an effective marketing campaign. What is the difference between a news page and a blog page on a website, how to manage them both, and what are the benefits?

So, it occurred to me that I should put those questions to rest and provide my clients with some clarity on the subject. Therefore, I have written this article with that objective in mind. I hope that this information would be helpful in explaining you about one of the most important aspects of internet marketing, blogs and news pages.

The fundamental difference between a blog and news is that blogs are pages where people present their ideas, views and opinions on a particular subject. A news page on the other hand is a platform where we provide facts or factual information. Both news and blogs pages are essential for your SEO campaign because they complement each other. You can have a news page in your website where you present the facts or news related to your business and then you can have a blog page where you can present the facts with a spin, adding your views, opinions and comments on the subjects and inviting comments, reviews and feedback from your readers.

There is no doubt that a well written blog page on any subject will help you to engage your readers and interact with them through comments, reviews and feedback. In a news event page you can add stories about the latest happenings in your company and inform readers about an upcoming special event. A news page can be used in a number of ways – you could post about new equipment additions or new staff joining your company. Or it could be information about your business contributing for a social cause. A news page provides a human face to your organization and help customers to relate with your business on a more personal level. On the other hand, official news stories about your business will provide you more credibility with your customers, partners, suppliers and investors.

Blogs are a great way to fill your website with quality content stuffed with relevant keywords to increase your search engine rankings. It gives you the freedom to write on any topic of your choice and present it an informative, interesting and effective manner. A blog can be of various types, such as:

1. Informative – A blog that provides information or tips on how to carry out a particular job. For example, how to clean your laptop.

2. Editorial – It offers opinions and views on factual information. In such type of blogs you can write on any political, social, economic, environmental or scientific issues.

3. Reviews – A blog that provides unbiased reviews and feedback on various products and services.

4. Promotional – A blog that is used as a promotional tool for marketing and advertising products and services.

For a blog to be more effectively used as a search engine optimization tool, it should be based on topics that are related to your business. This allows you to use relevant keywords and attract more visitors to your site through search engines. A well optimized blog is an essential tool for the success of your SEO campaign.

I have explained to you the difference between a blog and a news page and also discussed their advantages in SEO. But how do you write and maintain a blog and news page?

We’ll start with blogs first. Remember there is no standard method of writing a blog because it can be based on a wide variety of topics, whether it is something as personal as keeping a daily journal or publishing editorial content. Since our aim here is to develop a blog that becomes a powerful tool in your internet marketing arsenal, our approach should be to take it as an effective PR, marketing, SEO and online publishing tool.

Five points on how to write a successful blog,

1. You must have a topic or theme for writing a blog and you must generally stick to it. Don’t start writing about everything under the sun. Your topic should be related to your business or area of interest because only then you can use the right keywords for increasing your search engine rankings.

2. You must provide correct information on your blog. Your aim is to create an impression that you are knowledgeable and an expert on the sector/industry you are writing about. So always double check news and facts before voicing an opinion on it.

3. Your writing style should be simple, clear and easy to understand. Avoid using colloquial terms, idioms and acronyms. Your target readers are global and you should keep that in mind before you write a blog. You can use technical jargon associated with your industry but don’t go overboard.

4. The goal of maintaining a blog is to increase visibility, so using related keyword/keywords in the title of the blog is a smart idea. Use a title that is relevant to the post and grabs attention at the same time. The body of your blog should also contain relevant keywords associated with your business. But you should maintain moderation with the use of keywords as search engines might penalize you for keyword spamming.

5. Lastly, you should update your blog frequently with quality content because search engines index pages at regular intervals and outdated content are not taken into consideration.

And now, five points on how to write a good news page.

(i). A news page should look like a news page, meaning it should neutrally state facts without adding any opinion.

(ii). Don’t provide information on your website’s news page of a personal or a negative nature. For instance, information about one of your employee getting married or a mishap in your business premises.

(iii). A news page should be regularly updated. Readers don’t like outdated information neither do search engine spiders.

(iv). If there are not enough events taking place in your company, you can always post aggregated news on topics related to your business from other sources.

(v). A news page is a great source for informing people about your organization’s achievements, awards and future plans. Make the most of it by updating the news page with information like acquisition of new equipment, expansion of plants, renovations and arrival of new staff.

I hope this information was helpful for beginners like you. Stay updated for more information and tips on how to make your website a powerful marketing tool for your business.

We would like to invite your comments and feedback on this article. Did this article help you to gain some clarity on blogs and news and how it can help your business? If you have questions please fell free to post them and we will respond to you as soon as possible.