Become an Expert at Something....Anything!!

Establishing yourself as an expert in your field will help you gain both recognition and respect. Luckily, that recognition and respect transfers directly to your company. If people trust that you truly know what you are talking about, they will feel good about investing in your product.


First start with what you like to do. Really think about this question...."if money was no issue, What would you like to blog about everyday?"

This is called finding your Niche. But that is have the battle. Setting up your website is your next step.

 Build a professional looking site with sound and informative content and you'll have a source of expert information to direct customers to. Remember that it is okay to give away some of your precious knowledge free of charge. Offer the customer something useful up front and they will label you as a legitimate source to go to for whatever your company may offer. 


A website that is free that you can get up and going today would be www.yola.com



Article marketing is an especially effective method to achieve that expert status because it gives you the ability to distribute a small number of articles to a huge number of content-rich sites. The more places your name pops up, the more people will be exposed to your site and product.
Another way to show your expertise is through online forums and blogs. This is a bit more casual than article writing.


 It allows you to remain in the first person and talk candidly with interested web surfers. The conversational tone used in such settings will put many potential customers at ease.

Not only will they view you as an expert, they'll also feel connected to you as a real human being. Also, such places give customers the opportunity to ask questions and give you the opportunity to back up your product in the face of criticism.

Find the right places to gain recognition. Put yourself out there and command respect through that exposure. Highlight your achievements and successes. Branding yourself as an expert is all about getting other people to recognize something about you that you already know.

Why Running a Membership Site one of your best Ideas Ever!

It seems that more and more online marketers are running their website as a membership site. In this article we will take a look at the reasons for this and you can then decide if you should proceed in the same way.

If you research top marketers such as Yaro Stark and Mike Filsame you will notice that they run membership sites. They are running coaching type sites were members can get more personalized feedback and attention from them. 

Many marketers will set up a free membership site where they offer advice and instructional material. Then during the course of the membership there will be an offer to upgrade for coaching, access to products etc. This is a great way to offer value, allows people to get to know, like and trust you.

Trust is very important in the online industry! With all the creepy things that can happen to your site, or happen to your money- this is the first thing that needs to be gained.

 Then when an offer is made they are more willing to accept it. 

There are other reasons why running a membership site is something for you to consider. First most membership sites are easy to set up, it is even possible to set them up for free.

You can use Wordpress to set up your site, they have free membership type themes that you can choose from. Plus you have the option of using plugins which set up your membership options and pages for you. What could be simpler than that? Plus once your site is set up it is fairly easy to maintain.

Offering a membership site is a fantastic way to add value or add a service to something which you already own. For example you may offer a writing service. By offering a membership you can teach members how to sell their content, how and where to find images for covers. Plus you can teach them how to market their work effectively.

The ideas for membership sites are almost unlimited. If you have a hobby that you enjoy you can use your knowledge and turn it into a membership site. What a great way to earn income month after month.

If your goal is to brand your authority on a certain topic then running a membership site is a good platform to use. Especially if you have a chat room or forum on your site. You can answer questions and offer advice and more. This is the perfect way to build trust and a good relationship with your members.

If you haven't yet added a membership site to your marketing arsenal, maybe now is the time to start one?

How to Brand Yourself as you are doing a little converting (Wav to MP3)

Branding yourself can be quite tricky. You want to stand out , but how can you do that with all the competition now a days? I can tell you how. By being consistent and persistent everyday with your business. Your goal will not be reached if you do not do something that reaches toward it each day.

One of the tiny ways that I can brand myself and my business is to add artwork to all of my mp3's that I make available. You can do this too if you are trying to set up some tutorials for your clients.

This artwork shows up on IPhones and I Pads beautifully. 




I originally found this when I was trying to figure out how to transfer a simple .WAV to a MP3 file. 

But when I was researching how to do this, I found this cute little trick. 

The little things are what keeps me going. Why? Because I KNOW that I can handle the little things and I KNOW you can too.

So, you now have an option. When setting up MP3's to download for your clients, add some cutesy artwork so they can see who they are listening to on there smartphones.

Time To Brand! Tips for Writing an Effective E-mail Signature Promoting Your Blog

Tips for Writing an Effective E-mail Signature Promoting Your Blog

Branding is big business.  Companies actually use a significant amount of their budget simply to build and fortify their brands.  Brands identify a product and are used by consumers to associate a company with a specific business or service.  When you're marketing online to promote your blog or your business, easily one of the most effective means to build your brand is using an e-mail signature, one that will identify you and associate you with a specific type of service or information.

What exactly is an e-mail signature?

An e-mail signature is an identifier that you will usually include at the end of every e-mail message, article, post or thread that you send or publish online.  It includes your name, your company, the title of your blog or website, its address and other contact information about you. 

The e-mail signature is equivalent to a real world business card – its main purpose is to introduce you to visitors and readers and to provide them with a means to get in touch with you or find their way to your blog.  It's easy to set up and better yet, you can use it a thousand times each week and still not spend a single cent.

How important is an e-mail signature?  Consider the posts in blogs, articles and comments that marketers and bloggers often leave online and on all those e-mails you receive.  At the bottom, you'll find the ubiquitous e-mail signature with a short description of the blogger and their contact information. 

Click on the link provided and you'll be brought to that blogger's little space in the Web.  Without a signature, it will be difficult indeed for anyone to locate that blogger's URL or at least go through the trouble of seeking him out actively in search engines.

Writing a good and effective e-mail signature for your blog

Promoting your blog can be done in small yet effective steps.  One of these is by using an effective e-mail signature.  Here's how to write an e-mail signature that will work for you and create buzz for your blog at the same time:

Check the e-mail application or program you're using

Most e-mail applications popular today have a tool that allows you to set up your own e-mail signature.  This tool will then automatically add your signature to every e-mail you send out. 

Check your e-mail program for this tool.  In Windows Mail or Outlook, for example, writing a good e-mail signature can be performed in just a few minutes with a few simple clicks.  Use the signature editor on the program in case you want to make changes or use the signature only on specific e-mails you want to send out. But most have gmail or hotmail, and changing your signature can be set up in your settings feature.

Include carefully chosen keywords

Other than your contact information, consider using keywords in the text link that are related to your blog's subject.  This will help increase that link's relevance and popularity, promoting your blog in the process.

Keep it short but informative

Think about all the important information you'll want to include in your e-mail signature – your name, contact information, blog title, address, etc.  It's a free country, so you pretty much have a choice on what you want to include but it's best to stick only to the kind of information that will bring you the best results and promote your blog. 

Keep your links minimal.  One or two will do.  Most readers find multiple links to different URLs a bit suspect, so it's best to use only links to the blog where information related to your entry will be found.

Be prepared to be flexible

If you will be submitting some of your blog entries or e-mail content to article directories, find out if these directories have any submission guidelines you will have to comply with.  Generally, you'll find that directories or databases prefer plain text formatting and specific rules regarding placement, length and structure of your byline.  Tweak your e-mail signature just a bit and you'll be refused.

Since these aren't your rules to bend, you'll have no choice but to follow these submission guidelines so you can get back to the business of promoting your blog.  To solve this, write multiple e-mail signatures and use these templates as needed.  Then update these should changes occur.

This is also a good idea in case you will be sending out e-mails with a different theme.  Changing the keywords on your text link will help increase its relevance and promote your blog.





But if you would like to get real cutsey then you can create yourself a business card image. You can do this easily with www.canva.com   one of my favorite sites to design graphics.

What do "Tags" Have to do with Getting More Traffic to Your Blog?

Tags are generally ignored by site owners and bloggers in terms of potential.  They're small, for one and very often easy to overlook.  Furthermore, those who do not understand their use or significance or at least why and how they work may not often appreciate their value.  This is unfortunate because tags can help increase the traffic coming in to your blog from blog directories.  Learn what tags are and how they work so you can maximize their use.

Tag – you're it


A tag, also referred to as a meta tag, is a keyword that is used to label specific information found on a web page.  A meta tag uses HTML tags that are hidden from plain sight but clearly 'visible' to web crawlers.

A tag functions mainly for identification of an article, for example, or a title, subheading, site description or image – hence the name 'tag'.  They are often used as tools to ping multiple search engines, create a presence for use in social bookmarking and to drive traffic to your site, especially your blog.  With tags, it will be easier for your site, article or web page to be found in search engines where they are supported. 

Put simply, a tag is a small piece of identification on your blog that informs a search engine bot or spider what your site is about and how it should be indexed.  If you can choose and design the right combination of tags for your blog, you will be able to manipulate the number and type of traffic that reaches your site from blog directories legally.

Using tags on your blog to drive more traffic

Blog directories are repositories of information and news regarding the types of blogs available for a particular topic or subject.  As such, they can be very useful sources of highly targeted traffic for your own blog.  To maximize the use of blog directories for this purpose, consider doing the following:

Choose your words carefully

Keep in mind that your blog is just one of millions out there vying for attention.  Even if you're trying to build a reputation within a relatively smaller niche industry, you will still be competing with at least a dozen others in your market segment.  Careful consideration in choosing the specific keywords (or tags) to use with your blog will help you stand out in blog directories.

There are three important tags that you should focus on when designing your blog for traffic increase from blog directories.  These are the title tag, the description tag and the keyword/s tag.

The title tag.  The title of each blog entry you have should contain the most essential keywords that appear in your write-up or are relevant to your content.  This will help optimize your entry and make it easier for search engines to find and index. 

Prospective visitors who perform a search using Google, Yahoo! or MSN Search, for example, will be able to reach an optimized blog, since it's more likely to appear in a search engine list.  As a result, you drive more traffic to your blog.

The description tag.  Although description tags are ignored by some search engines, adding this to your blog can help influence how your blog (or at least its web pages) is described. 

The keyword tag.  The keyword tag is the word or phrase that you will repeat within the content body or web page in question.  Used strategically, these keywords can help increase your blog's results in search engines and bring in more traffic to your site by allowing visitors to easily find you.

Don't be afraid to combine keywords, though.  That's how you will be able to create highly targeted key phrases to optimize your blog.  Three- to four-word key phrases will do.  Multiple word tags are advantageous to single word searches as well.  If you use a keyword phrase tag that says 'rock paper scissors', for example, your blog still has the potential to show up in case someone uses only the word 'rock' or 'paper' in his search.

Don't overdo the use of tags

If you don't watch out, tags can be addictive.  It could reach a point where you might find yourself using tags that have little relevance to your blog.  This usually happens when you try too hard to make sure that your blog or web page appears in more listings. 

Although it may seem like a good idea to help increase traffic to your blog particularly as a means to shine in blog directories, overuse of tags can be counter-productive.  Try to be careful in choosing only the kind of tags that your blog truly needs.  Leaner but highly targeted tags are much more effective than generic ones.

Follow through

A good tag can gain initial interest in your blog and increase traffic coming from blog directories.  However, it can only do so much.  Now that traffic is beating at your door, you should be able to throw a real party thereafter.  Make sure that the content associated with your tag/s is well worth your visitor's click.  It should offer specific information for a specific purpose and should include the content that you so readily promised in your links.

Otherwise, you won't earn the trust of a loyal readership or following.  A baited title that lacks the backing of useful content will be viewed as a cheap trick and won't earn you a lot of respect – or traffic.

What Type of Content Can You Offer To Your Tribe?

For anyone interested in running a membership site you need to offer lots of value to your members. After all they are paying you a monthly fee, and if you want that recurring income, you need to earn it.After all, what are we doing all of this for?

Let's take a look at some options you have when it comes to creating content. 

Text based - this includes things like articles, reports, eBooks, product reviews and autoresponder messages. This is really popular but the downside to it is that it can take a long time to create this type of content.

If you are considering this type of membership site then working and planning ahead of time is key. Otherwise you may run into issues such as your new content is not ready when it comes time to add new content each month.

You may wish to outsource some of the writing or limit the amount of content you release in this form each month. For example you could offer 10 articles and one short report. Then as a bonus you simply take the articles and turn them into slides. So you are over delivering and keeping your members happy.

You could just keep it short and sweet and plan a 6 week membership for your first one. If this is the way that you will go, then this will be your easiest one to set up.

Graphic content - this type of content includes things such as royalty free images, ecovers, headers and banners. Don't forget about creating images for using on social sites as well as infographics. These are extremely popular right now and if you can deliver ready to publish images your site will be in demand. 

Audio content - within this group we can include webinars, coaching calls, podcasting material and any type of content that can be listened to. 

Video content - you may want to run a membership that offer videos on certain topics that people can use as their own. This includes creating product review videos, how to videos and more.

Of course there is nothing to prevent you from creating a mixture of content for your members. You may wish to offer reports as text and pdf files along with a video, MP4 video and include an ecover.

The main thing to remember when offering content is that whether you have 5 members or 500 you have to create the same amount of content each month. It may be wise to start off with a lower base amount of content, and as your membership site attracts more members, offer more content. This provides your longer members with a great bonus and gives them true value for money.