Wisdom For Aspiring Internet Marketers
There are times in learning the craft of internet marketing when it seems that it is hard, too tough, all the missing pieces, or the geeky stuff gets you. It’s tough for everyone. Keep at it for there is light at the end of the tunnel.
How To Add Text Subtitles To YouTube Videos
Here’s one of those internet marketing solutions from Don Crowther.
If you’ve seen my YouTube videos, you’ll see that most of them show the text of the video in text at the bottom of the screen. It’s done as part of YouTube’s closed captioning service.
You definitely want to implement closed captioning for your videos and setting it so that its on by default. Doing so:
- Increases the length of time that people watch your videos
- Increases the engagement with the viewer, increasing the probability that they’re going to do what you ask them to afterwards.
- Helps those who have hearing disabilities be able to understand your video.
It used to cost a ton to implement closed captioning, but YouTube’s given us a gift, which makes it virtually free. Watch this video to learn exactly how to do it yourself, plus a special surprise benefit you’ll get as a result of doing so. Here’s the link to his site to watch the video:
Add a Caption to Your Video
Does Your Resource Box Have Star Quality?
Internet Marketing Tools For Rising Stars
I found this interesting article on resorce boxes which tied in to a webinar I attened last night. Article marketing is one of the great internet marketing tools.
Here are some resource box tips from the webinar.
- Start the resource box paragraph with the word “And” and make a flow of thought from the article above.
- Make the resource box feel like it is the last paragraph in the article.
- Keep it short and sweet.
- Make sure you include an invitation to action.
- Customize your resource box for each article.
- This is your link to your prospect. You may need to spend as much time on the resource box as you did on the whole article above. You’ve only got this one shot to make a connection
So here is the article from the weblog of SubmitYOURarticle.com. Read it and get some internet marketing solutions
Recently we went over some dos and don’ts for your resource boxes, so theoretically, you know what to do and what not to do.
I know that it’s one thing to hear something explained, but quite another to actually do.
Let’s put theory into practice today.
I thought it would be helpful if we looked at some really stellar resource boxes and analyzed why they are so good.
What does a great resource box look like?
1 – Article: I Love Italian Travel- Wine Touring In Umbria has this resource box:
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but prefers drinking fine French wine with the right foods. He teaches computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel website www.travelitalytravel.com and his global wine website www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines.
There are two links in there, and that is fine because they are both related to the topic of the article. Author tells who he is and why we should regard him as an expert on his topic. He gives a great incentive to visit his website–there is a weekly column reviewing $10 wines, etc. Overall an excellent resource box.
2 – Article: Self Hypnosis For Weight Loss And Willpower has this resource box:
Sherri Frost is a Certified Hypnotist, NLP Master Practitioner and Neuro-Linguistic Love-n-Life Coach who helps people overcome stress, habits and fear so you can enjoy all life has to offer. Do you want to learn more about self hypnosis for weight loss? Get your free ebook here http://www.hypnosis-self-help.com/weight-loss-using-hypnosis.html
It looks as if this author has put some thought into her resource box. It sounds professional, and she offers enough bio info to assure the reader that she is qualified to write on her topic. She has an incentive that would draw anyone interested in this topic–a free ebook.
I also like the way that she puts a question in there–”Do you want to learn more?” This is a way of engaging the reader–when you ask the reader a question, it follows that the reader will answer. Your first meeting with your reader is through your article–that is extremely remote.
Asking a question helps get some interaction going, and it also conveys that you are interested in the reader. If you can convey that you are interested in the reader, that makes it more likely that the reader will be interested in you and take the initiative to get in touch with you.
3 -Article Growing Vegetables In The Garden has this resource box:
Zack Wilson is an avid organic gardener, for more comprehensive information on vegetable garden preparation visit my website where you will also find many articles on organic gardening, problems with gardening, easy steps to organic gardening, making money with your garden and much much more. http://www.organicgardenallyear.com
He did a smashing job on that resource box, providing all the info required–bio, incentive to click through, website link, etc.
He has two links in the resource box, with one going to a specific page on his website about vegetable garden preparation (and appropriately used those keywords to form the link to that page), and also at the end he has a written out link to his main site.
Sometimes you will see resource boxes that have both types of links–links that use keywords as anchor text (like the link above for ‘vegetable garden preparation’) and also a link where you can see what the URL is.
I think that is a good idea, because you get the best of both worlds.
You get the benefit of the anchor text link–a link that uses your keywords speaks more powerfully to Google than a regular written out URL link.
And the written out URL link allows the reader to see what your website address is. It is beneficial to get your website addy in a person’s head–they may not click the link right now, but if they remember your website address, they can go there later.
Your Homework
1 – Use these resource boxes as guides in creating your own astoundingly good resource box.
2 – Share your revamped resource box with us in the comments.
Share and Comment
Article Marketing Tip of the Week: Is Failure The Best Writing Teacher?
Quality vs Quantity in Article Marketing
I was reading about an interesting experiment chronicled in the book Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking.
A ceramics teacher divided his class into two groups–a group that focused on quantity and a group that focused on quality.
The quantity group was to be graded on the sheer number of pots that they created–something like 50 lbs of pots for an “A”, 40 lbs for a “B”, etc.
The quality group only needed to create one pot–but it had better be top-notch.
Quick–before you read any further, I have a couple questions for you:
- Which group do you think had working conditions that were more conducive to producing the best pots?
- Which group would you have preferred to be in?
Is Failure The Best Teacher?
I was a bit surprised by the outcome of this experiment.
As it turns out, the best quality pots came from the group that was focused on quantity.
Why in the world would that be?
Apparently, the group that was intensely focused on quality spent a lot of time theorizing how to create the best pot, but their theorizing did not impact the execution of their art. They created fewer pots and so had fewer chances to learn from their mistakes.
The group that was solely focused on producing a great quantity of pots did just that–they produced a lot of pots. In doing so, they gained more experience. They were able to learn from their failures, and each time they created a new pot, they got a little bit better.
Thinking of things from that perspective, I can understand why the best pots from the class came from the quantity group.
Balancing Quantity with Quality
When I first heard about the terms of the experiment, I felt sorry for the folks who had to be in the quantity group.
You see, I am a quality-oriented person. I would rather produce one masterpiece than a million pieces of junk.
I like quality. I prefer quality. I don’t think this experiment is denigrating a quest for quality.
I think the point is that sometimes some of us (myself included) can forget how important merely writing a steady stream of articles can be in our evolution as writers.
Let’s learn from this…
Some of you need to read this piece and take it to heart.
Perfectionists: If you have been agonizing over your articles and taking several days to write one that is up to your standards, then try a different strategy. Make a concentrated effort to write more articles (I’m talking about 8 articles a month per website if you are submitting automatically).
It is completely feasible to write a well written 400-800 word article on a topic within your niche in one day. Set that as your initial goal–one article a day for a week.
Keep in mind: Even with writing a higher quantity of articles, correct grammar and spelling are still crucial.
Big time producers: Others of you may need to scale back your quantity and focus more on quality.
It’s important to point out that producing a great quantity of anything only helps you improve if you learn from your mistakes.
If you are already writing a lot of articles, recognize your mistakes and make improvements. Take the time necessary to write a well-written article.
If you are submitting automatically and are producing radically more than 8 articles a month, I suggest you scale back your quantity and focus more on quality.
Remember, submitting a ton of articles automatically can be detrimental to your SEO. Scale things back and focus more on quality.
What do you take from this experiment?
Do you think that failure is the best teacher?
How good are you at learning from your writing mistakes?
Resource:
Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
Photo Credit:
Pottery Factory by usr.c
Article Marketing Strategies: Seeing Results In One Month?
One Puzzle Piece Closer To Internet Marketing Success
Article marketing is one of those good internet marketing tools to achieve internet marketing success. But like any successful method you need to take massive action. This may vary depending on your goal but one article per day is not out of line and may involve outsourcing to a team of writers. And of course articles are a great first step to SEO linking strategies, videos, social media posts and other internet marketing solutions.
Here’s an article from SubmitYourArticle.com
Search engine ranking results in one month? Not likely…
I know there can be a lot of confusion when you are first starting your article marketing campaign. You’re doing what you think you are supposed to be doing, and it is only natural to eagerly search for any sign of results from your efforts.
This is a question that I received recently, and I thought seeing the reply might be helpful to other newbies who are wondering about the effectiveness of their article marketing strategies:
I have been article marketing for one month and so far have submitted 3 articles–one article has completely been distributed and the other two are still in the distribution process. I can see them coming up on Google, but my ranking for the keyword I wanted to promote on my own site is dropping. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong here?
Good news–you are not doing anything wrong.
Why, then, has your ranking for your keyword term dropped rather than risen?
It will help to know how website marketing works in order to understand how the rankings work:
1- When you start marketing your website, whether you are using article marketing or some other tool, it may take anywhere from 3-6 months for you to see a difference in your website’s search engine ranking for your keywords. The reason for this is that Google does not re-evaluate incoming links to a site every day, week or even every month. Actually, it is more like every 3-4 months. If your website is brand new, it may take even longer.
2 – You need to submit articles consistently over the long term, month in and month out to influence your search engine ranking. Submitting one or two or even a dozen articles is not enough to affect search engine rankings. The goal would be to submit 8 articles a month every month for each website that you are marketing. Do that consistently on a long term basis.
3 – Also, in order to impact your search engine ranking for that keyword term, you should be using the term in your HTML resource box. Be sure that you are using the term as anchor text for the link going back to your website. (More info on HTML resource boxes here)
Let’s recap: You have been doing article marketing for one month, and you have one article that has been completely distributed. You have another two others that are still in the distribution process.
Why has your keyword ranking slipped?
Firstly, it’s important to note that ranking is in a constant state of fluctuation, and a slip in the rankings (or indeed a rise) can be related to a number of factors, for example an algorithm update on the search engine in question, changes on your site, changes in the way other sites are linking to you or other external SEO factors, what competitors are doing, and so on.
In my own experience, the rankings dance around a lot, and can also change according to what computer you are viewing them from, or where you are located (for example, I see different rankings for my own sites in the US, to what I see when I view from the UK).
My own rankings often change not just on a daily basis, but can often change on an hourly basis.
What you’re really looking for is an ‘average’ position for a particular keyword ranking over time, rather than expecting a position to remain constant.
In Google in particular, I also often see a fall come before a rise, almost as if they take you down a notch or two to properly assess you, and then put you back where you belong.
This happened on one of my major keywords recently where I virtually dropped from view, but am now in #1 position out of 383 million other results – with tens of thousands of searches a month, not a bad position to be in! (And mostly thanks to article marketing …)
I’ve had this experience a number of times and have learned not to be too alarmed by temporary ‘drops’ – if your site is genuinely about what you’re trying to rank for, you offer a good quality site to people searching for that keyword term, and you use article marketing to help Google and other SEs understand what your site is about, you can’t go far wrong.
Generally speaking, you have not submitted enough articles or been doing article marketing for long enough to make much of an impact on your search engine ranking yet, but they may be starting to reassess your site and what it is ‘about’, and this drop could simply be precipitating a more significant rise.
The effects you are seeing today in the search engines are also not just related to your current efforts, but also related to what you have done (or not done) marketing-wise with your website over the past 6 month or so.
Article marketing should be regarded as a long term marketing tool, and although everyone would love to see an immediate impact from the first article submission that is generally not how it works, because that is not how the search engines work.
These are a few resources I have created for folks who are just starting their article marketing campaigns, and I think you will find them very helpful:
5 Things To Do Before You Start Article Marketing…
The #1 Reason Why Article Marketing Fails
There are some action steps in each of those posts–the first post is geared toward teaching you an accurate way to measure your results, and the second post is teaching what to focus on as you’re just starting your article marketing campaign.
I hope this helps! Comment are welcome.
