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Today I woke up, logged into my blog and was relieved to see that no SPAM comments were waiting for me to approve. Yes, there was one in my trashcan (Gotta love those German Viagra comments). But, it wasn’t visible to me (unless I looked in the trash).

Now, I was a bit surprised that my new FREE plugin (Akismet) virtually eliminates SPAM and keeps my comments clean. But, not waking up to SPAM and instead having good old fashioned HAM comments waiting for me, made me wonder, “Have I ever inadvertently left SPAM comments for others?”

As much as I hate to admit it, the answer is “yes.” When I first learned that blog commenting could help market my blogs, I left a slew of “Hey nice blog – visit xyz site for more information about your topic.” Then, I wondered why after hundreds of similar posts, none of them were getting approved.

Now I realize that posts like “Nice post – keep up the good work and visit my blog” are considered SPAM and will most likely get deleted or at the very least annoy the heck out of the owner. On the other hand, comments that actually contribute to the conversation and help out typically stick. For instance, let’s say that you own a site that is promoting phlebotemy certification programs. Well, you wouldn’t leave  comments like great site or phlebotemy certification works all over relevant sites with your link back to it.  Instead, you would leave meaningful comments that discuss phlebotemy, what certification entails, how to become a phlebotemist, etc. In eseence, you would write comments that can actually help someone and teach them something.

The key to not leaving SPAM is to put some thought into your comments. Leave valuable posts and never blatantly promote your own site. Instead the only link to your own site should be a hyperlink to your name and that’s it. If the reader wants to find out more, they will find you – trust me.

Now that I implement this non-SPAM method when I leave blog comments, I am seeing an increase in targeted traffic. I also feel better that I’m not working plugins like Askimet too hard. Instead, I am leaving the owner with some tasty “food for thought” that they can use and enjoy.

Now I wonder, “What kind of blog contributor are you?”

When you market a new or existing business, you have to be creative in your marketing tactics. You can’t simply throw up a website, submit it to a few spam directories and then sit back and wait for floods of traffic or people to buy your product or service offering. You have to actually use creative marketing strategies – ones that put your site in front of targeted clients day in and day out. And, how do you go about this? You think outside the box.

1. Don’t just write articles – create viral reports. Just about anyone can create a properly search optimized article but not everyone can create a viral report. One that will be read by one person and then passed on or at the very least, talked about for years and years to come. Therefore, focus your efforts on creating reports that last not articles that are long forgotten.
2. Give them something to talk about – reader interaction should be your primary goal with any site you create. You must encourage interaction between your readers and inspire them to participate in blog posts and forums. Not only will this keep them coming back but it too will create a viral effect.
3. Don’t BS – be honest with your readers and they’ll be loyal to you. Don’t give them false expectations on fast riches if you know that it will take them years to build a similar income as yours. Instead, be honest about the amount of work that will be required, type of additional products they’ll need to succeed, whatever – just be honest. For instance, one of our readers owns a popular international pen pals matching service and although he provides members with the platform to meet someone special, he doesn’t blatantly state “you will find the love of your life if you sign up for our pen pal service.” As a result, his members sign up with realistic expectations – they will meet new people and form meaningful friendships when they become a pen pal. They don’t sign up thinking they will meet the love of their lives guaranteed.
4. Give more than you get – when you market you should always give more than you get. Everyone likes free stuff and the more you give away, the more you will get. This includes free samples, books, reports, whatever you can give. By doing this, your site can definitely go viral.

In conclusion, marketing a new or existing business takes creativity. You have to write viral reports, give readers something to talk about, don’t BD and give more than you get. When you do this, you will succeed and your creative marketing strategies will pay off handsomely!

If you need just one tip on what to look for in a social media marketing specialist, let it be someone who is trustworthy. Knowledge can be learned, experience can be gained but integrity and honesty cannot be improvised or faked. You need to be able to find someone you can trust and partner with as you share your thoughts on growth and marketing ideas. Even new products may leak to your competitors is you’re not careful.

Here are some other tips you will find useful when hiring a social media marketing specialist:

Have an excellent product

Make sure you have something of quality offer. Your world will expand to an international market with discerning taste and a possible encounter with customers who either love to enthuse about a product or put it down for being worthless. As you develop your online presence, you will also be creating a brand name and reputation.

Your product or service will carry the feedback of customers for a long time, so it would be a good idea to get it right the first time around. And a social media marketing specialist should be able to advice you on what may need a little tweaking.  Your product does not have to be perfect, but it has to have value. For instance, let’s say you own a hotel comparison site. Well, you would want to make sure that your site is in order and able to compare hotels before you begin promoting it.

Make sure there’s passion

A social media marketing specialist must have passion for the job. Time won’t matter, only results.

The Marketing Specialist must be driven to learn daily

The internet is a constantly evolving medium. Those in the internet business need to stay on top all the time. They need to know new marketing approaches and updates; they also need to know what doesn’t work anymore. Furthermore, it’s not just about strategies but new technical skills that could make the job easier and quicker. In short, don’t hire someone who relies on one strategy alone.

The Specialist must be approachable and easy to get along with

Unless you are the company and you have no employees, then there shouldn’t be a problem. However, if you have staff, this “new guy” must be able to get along with them so as to make the job easier.  But at the same time, the “new guy” shouldn’t be a push-over but be able to gain the respect of you and your staff.

She/he must be reactive and quick on the draw

There will be times when you need to react fast, and your marketing specialist should be able to come up with solutions and new ideas to deal with the fast-changing pace of the internet. For instance, I once found a client at the internet marketing forum australia and we used a variety of creative marketing strategies (Twitter and Facebook) to get her site the exposure it needed to be successful!

In conclusion, hiring a social media marketing specialist isn’t hard but it does take a bit of patience to find someone suitable. Simply follow the above tips and you too will find a great social media marketing to spearhead your campaign and get you noticed too!

Did you know that even the most of the highly acclaimed writers realize that sitting in front of your computer day in day out, writing articles, posts and other content can actually cause the imagination to go stale. Once this happens, you experience the all-too familiar writer’s burnout. If you’re experiencing a bout of writer burnout or simply know someone who is, here are a few tips that can help you squash this annoying situation once and for all. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

Avoid Dealing with Too Many Critical Clients

This may sound obvious but avoid critical clients. Nothing is as depressing as having to listen or read criticism on written work that you think was well executed. There are many clients who have such high standards, nothing is good enough for them. Plus, to make it even worse, many of them can’t write or communicate their needs effectively so this makes it even harder to satisfy their needs. With clients like this, you may find that it is better to simply pass on them or have a delicate balance of difficult clients with positive ones.

Get Paid Your Worth

It’s acceptable to start at the bottom rung when you are a new writer. To make a name for yourself, you may even agree to getting  paid peanuts however, your mission should be to get paid what you’re worth. In fact,  if you’re good and always deliver consistent work, you will have higher paying clients begging for your services. Just don’t sell yourself short as low pay can cause writer burnout.

Writing 24/7

Yes, its true that you typically only get paid for the work you write. If you have bills to pay and food to buy, this may be quite disenchanting as this added stress can cause writer burnout. In fact, many writers assume too much responsibility; accept offers they cannot comply with; and stop themselves from getting help. The urge to earn is very strong but it needs to be curbed. Money isn’t everything and working non-stop is a sure route to failure especially in the creative department. You could lose your edge if all you do is sit in front of the computer and work. It will come to a point where you start sponging off other people’s ideas instead of coming up with your own.

Be Creative

Sometimes, you can prevent writer burnout by simply changing  your focus a bit. For instance, when I feel writer burnout coming on – I switch gears. I’ll either try a different type of writing or I will use a bit of PLR or private label rights material for inspiration. Of course, I completely rewrite everything so that it is unique but this prevents me from getting burned out. In fact, I use PLR whenever I need a burst of creative energy,  a bit more background or simply a fresh perspective.

And, if this doesn’t work….I take a much needed vacation. Sometimes you simply have to say the heck with it and take some time off. By leaving all your working behind, you can avoid writer burnout and get rejuvenated.

By following the above tips, you too can avoid writer burnaout. Just remember to avoid difficult clients, get paid what you’re worth, avoid writing 24/7 and take a much needed break. By doing this, you will inspire your creativity and write incredible work that you can be proud to call your own.

Choosing your SEO company is like finding a partner or playing the field. It’s a choice of a long term commitment or a one shot deal. It’s important to know what your priorities are and to set a budget. This will keep you in track with your online business.

The long term relationship with an SEO company is a better option because the SEO has more time to iron out the kinks and fine-tune your system. There’s a higher rate of success with working with an SEO company that grows with you instead of hiring a spot checker.

However, that being said often the funds for your online business can be limiting in which case you need to sit down with an SEO expert and work out a schedule of payments. Many SEO companies are eager and hungry to get into the nitty gritty of an online business, they may be willing to work out staggered payments or even a barter deal. It won’t hurt to ask. The worst they can do is to turn you down.

Here are the basics of what constitutes a good SEO:

• SEO service should show results, not necessarily immediately but over a reasonable amount of time
• SEO should be conscious of a return on your investment or ROI. For instance, if your main goal is to secure top placement for the keyword DVDBliss Carol Burnette CDs for an initial investment of $100 (within one month), then your chosen SEO Company should be able to complete this task within your budgetary constraint. Keep in mind however that more expensive SEO rates is no assurance of results so don’t be blown away by promises and high rates. Instead concentrate on quality.
• SEO approach is not one-dimensional even for spot jobs.  That is, your company may have to employ various techniques to get you top placements. These techniques may differ dependent upon your chosen keywords and the competition. For instance, let’s say that we have client A who wants to place for writing software and we have Client B who wants to place for Huggies coupons printable. Well, the SEO company may employ a stronger backlink strategy, article and forum marketing and even some onpage SEO for Client A whereas simple article marketing, forum posting and blog commenting may be enough for Client B.
• The SEO company should have their own benchmark on results but you should also have your own. Thus a compromise is usually agreed upon.

At the same time, you should be able to communicate with each other and the SEO expert should be available to answer your questions within a 24 hour window for working days and a 36 hour window for weekends. If you are left hanging even during the negotiation period, look for someone else. A simple email to answer a question should not have to wait that long.

Finally, choosing the right SEO to work with is not about relying on instinct. There will be some excellent SEO professionals who may disagree with your plans but give them a chance to explain and discuss their thoughts. They may have an edgier way of approaching SEO and if you’re a traditionalist, it may cause a hiccup. Just keep in mind that there are many roads to a successful SEO.