Lock and Load Your Content

Don't stop creating the content that you need for your online sites.  It is like eating.  You always know that another meal is going to be needed in just a few hours.  The same thing applies to your online sites, you are going to want to post more content.

What happens to a lawn that does not get any water?  It will quickly turn from the dark green color into a dry brown before too long.  You have to think about being consistent in your content creation.  It is something that needs to get done all the time without even considering turning it off.

The content that you create might be ready to put into action now, or you could have it go live published at a specific time.  It all depends on how you want to play it.  You might want to create a lot of content at one time when you are in the mood for it.  If you are using your new articles for a blog, this could be your secret.  You might use a time period to get your site loaded up with content for holidays, or specific times of the year.  You could also think about your sites like magazines.  Come up with a content calendar and then make sure that it is released at regular time.

What if you are having a hard time coming up with something for new content?  Don't even worry about it.  Just get started with writing.  Take the step of going through the motion of writing.  Just start typing or writing something down.  You are instantly coming up with content and just a few words could lead you to thinking about something else.

Brainstorming topics is a quick way to start getting your new content started.  It is just like ringing a bell.  The bell rings and you automatically start thinking about a race.  You might even think about a mental picture of a group of people around a track and they are just starting to rise from the starting blocks.  A simple image like this is an easy way to think about your content creation.   Take running for example.  The topic of running is broad.  There are different forms of running.  Sprints and long distance running are two distinct forms of running.  Think about your topics in the same way.  Take the broad subjects and then break them down into niches.  

Scheduling your content in a blog can allow you to keep on moving forward in your online business.  You might have a burst of energy for creating articles in a weekend and you can generate enough content to keep your sites ready with new information.  When you get new ideas for articles, don't let them fly away because you don't jump on them.  Write the article ideas down on paper or in your smartphone.  You might not write the articles immediately, but you could come back to the thought later and not have to start from a blank piece of paper. You might be able to come back to the thought later and come up with some new thoughts on the subject.

Keep on coming up with new information for your readers and keep on planning ahead.  Planning and ideas are key going forward.  Right now there are people that are opening up their brand spanking new apple iphone 6 and apple iphone 6 plus smartphones. They knew that there would be upgrades to the smartphone coming from apple.  Somebody planned and innovated and delivered a product.  You are in the same type of business.  You are in the content and information business.  Do you think an apple iphone 7 will be coming in the future?  Sure it will.  You want to plan and think about the future when it comes to your online sites.  Line up your content when you don't really need it.  

Cheap Niche Sites - Take advantage of low cost domains

One of the fun things to do online is to buy up domain names and setup websites.  This is a good way to use some of your creativity.  You can do a few web searches to go after different niches of potential sites.

The low cost domain name is one of the ways that you move forward with this online strategy.  You also need to have one of the unlimited web hosting plans if you are trying to do more than just setup a blog that is just focused on creating quality text.  

Blogging and content management software like joomla and wordpress are quick ways to develop a site.  The niche sites can be used for driving traffic and generating leads.

It all starts with getting domain names for really cheap prices during the first year.  Domain names usually cost around 10 dollars a year at renewal time. It is really great to pick them up for much less than that price with domain name discount coupon codes.

How do you find discount codes for the domain companies?  You have to search for them online.  You can type in the name of your favorite domain company and check to see the current deals.

The cheap domains can be used for your niche marketing.  You might have a regular business site, but there are always subniches that can be explored.

Think about a real estate company.  A company site might have lots of information that is general about real estate.  There are lots of different sub niches in the real estate game.  A cheap website could be setup as a real estate sub niche site, such, a real estate investment site.

It all depends on how you want to use your low cost web address.  You might want to try something new online and a cheap site could be your online testing ground.

The low cost of the first year is a time to explore.  You don't know what can happen.  It is funny how fast the year can go by.  One of the things that you have to pay attention to with low cost first year domain names is the renewal amounts.  The first year can be low priced, but the renewal fees can be high.  Some domain name companies have auto-renew features selected.  Just make sure that you are okay with getting your domain automatically renewed at the end of the expiration date.  

The auto renew feature of domains is not a bad idea, but the costs can be higher than buying domains with cheap renewal codes.  One of the reasons behind using an auto renewal feature is to make sure that the domain does not expire and get picked up by other domain hunters.

Some people like to buy domains that have expired.  Why would someone wait in the wings and pick up a domain that was previously registered?  The answer is simple.  They might hope that there are some links on the web pointing to the site that they can just buy by purchasing the domain.

Expired domains might have links from article directories, videos or social media.  It is amazing to see some of the articles that are listed on sites like ezinearticles that point to expired domain names.  Those articles with expired links in the call to action section are going to waste. 

One thing to remember about finding coupon codes for domains is that there is not much time to waste.  Some of the codes only work for a short amount of time.  Some of the coupon codes might also only apply to new customers.  These are just a few points that you have to remember.

Setting up a niche site with a cheap code might be a good way to learn about other parts of the online business.  Getting a domain name and setting it up can help.  You might learn about domain name forwarding, setting the name servers for pointing the domain to your web hosting company and how to setup a wordpress or joomla site.  These are quick skills that can help you learn how to create more sites in the future.

The cheap sites can also help you get more into affiliate marketing and online ad income.  You can use the cheap niche sites for creating landing pages, placing ads, and building up an online mailing list.

It all starts with an idea for a new website and a cheap code for a domain.  The next step is getting started and putting the plan into real action.

Affiliate Marketing Application Turned Down

I tried to get into the Boost Mobile affiliate program at one of the affiliate networks, but the system rejected my application.  Not a big deal.  I just started thinking.  How could I still do it anyway?  Getting into an affiliate program might end up with a no, but it does not mean that you have to stop.

One of the benefits of doing internet marketing is the creativity.  What about writing content around those keywords and just going after the contexutal ads?  The content is not waiting for any approval.  You are the one that can talk about the evergreen topics that you want.   

So it might be talking about some of the keywords that people are searching for online like Boost Mobil.  It might be going after some of the other keywords that are not specific.  The task could also be fun. You might decide
to start writing a funny little story using the keywords.  

How hard do you think it would be to come up with a short story about about a No Contract phone?  The story starts with a business owner that is constantly on the phone.  The person is always talking and raking up the monthly minute totals.  The only problem with the person is that they are not paying attention and they go over the number of monthly minutes.  They open up the cell phone bill and their eyes almost pop out of their head.   The person turns red with anger at going over the minute count and decides never again with this happen for a cell phone bill.  They immediately start looking for a low cost unlimited calling plan.  They no longer care about the difference between the boost mobile logo and the other premium cell phone brands.  The idea of a prepaid cell phone being lower market doesn't matter anymore.  It is only down to the real deal, the monthly amount of money being saved on phone calls.

The story of a cheap mobile phone might be great way to talk about more than just the cheap phones.  The same story could talk in a different light using some comedy.  The same business person could be talking to a client when they get a call and the client standing there sees the old cheap cell phone and chuckles.  They ask about the phone.  

With content there are lots of different directions that can be explored.  Think evergreen and think about creating a short story.  Do you remember what it was like walking into the cell phone store and looking at all the different
models?  What about after you made the decision to buy a new phone and the moment that they pulled that long contract from behind the counter.  Did you read all of that information?  You might not remember and you might not even care.  The idea of a no contract phone today is not a big deal.  

The cell phone plans and the data packages are all over the place.  People don't look down on prepaid wireless anymore.  The truth is that cell phones are everywhere.  You can get them at the gas stations and at the grocery
stores.  The cell phone gets updated all the time and people like changing them.  People don't really want to get locked into cell phone deals.  There is always room for more android and other brand smartphone options.

Bottom line, don't let getting turned down for an affiliate program bother you.  You still hold the keys to the online marketing game.

Social Media + Business

Social media is another option for your online business ventures.  Social media sites can change over time.  They might be really hot for a while and then they lose favor with the hip crowd.  Each time a new social media site starts to take off, business starts to take notice and find a way to leverage the traffic for income.

What is the big deal with social media anyway?  People want to connect online and social applications are a good way to do it.  They are just the latest craze.  Companies like social media because of the large numbers of people that use the sites. Companies want to go where the people are located.

Social media is good for lots of things.  One big difference with social media is the interaction.  In other forms of media, the communications are flowing in one direction.  With social media, the people can respond.  It really becomes interactive.  With sporting events, social media users can instantly chime in with their reactions and comments.  What does this have to do with business?

One of the other big uses for social media is data.  The social media applications are generating lots of data that can be used for different purposes.  Social media users can share their likes and dislikes.  It is also a place where sharing information can increase the reach for business.

Upgrading Your Equipment for Business

Getting good tools for your business should be job one.  You want to get started in your business and you might not have the latest and greatest, but over time you have to upgrade.

The tools help you get the jobs done, so you have to find every area of improvement and add it to your online business checklist.

Have you ever run into issues with your computer mouse?  It could be a bad product design or the thing just starts to go on the blink.  The mouse button could stop working and it can really steal some of your energy.  Stop playing around with the stuff that cuts into your productivity.   Upgrade and move on to better business.

You are in competition in business and you have to keep on getting better.  How old is your computer?  You might be hanging on to a computer that was created back in the stone ages.  Don't let this be the case going forward.  Computers are getting more powerful and you want to stay compatible with the updates.  Older operating systems and older computer programs might have already received an update and you need to stay up with the current levels.  Think about adding a computer to your list.

Your online business might not require some of the top of the products on the web, but you want to eliminate the frustrations.  You don't want to be sitting in front of a dated desktop computer that is having a hard time opening up a web browser or shutting down.  You want to get those little problems off of your table completely.  Start paying attention to the marketplace and start putting some of your business income to the side for upgrading your equipment.

Be the article marketing pilot

Get in lots of practice with your writing skills.  The articles need to keep on being pumped up.  Turning on the writing switch means always having a way to promote products and services.
The article content might live on your own blogs or it could be on an article directory.  There are lots of sites that are starved for good content.  They might turn to a directory for some quick content to add to the front of the site or if they have mailing list, they might add it there.

The articles in the directory have a resources section where authors put the call to action.   This is one of the most important parts of the whole article.  There are basic parts to an article, but the call to action at the end closes the deal.

Think about a salesperson or a company that goes through a lot of trouble to bring in customers, but then at the last minute, they don't ask for the business.  

Have you ever seen something like this happen in real life?  I can remember being at the gas station, getting ready to fill up the tank with some gas and noticed a kid that was selling something.  I could not tell exactly what the kid was selling.  

I remember selling candy for the school so this might have been what was going on at the gas station.  The kid was just standing there and not saying anything at all.  The people coming in to get gas were just walking right past the kid.  The kid was silent.  

Now, you can flash back to a time in the past.  Think about going to a baseball game and the people walking up and down the aisle actually shouting about peanuts.  What is the big difference?  The kid at the gas station was silent.  No call to action.  The person selling at the ballpark was yelling the call to action.  

Articles have basic parts.  The headline, the body and the call to action.  If you leave the call to action from the equation, it just does not compute. You have to tell people what you want them to do.  If you don't say it in your article, they will not take the next step.  

Create powerful headlines and come up with a really good call to action.  If you are not doing this, it is like you have just earned a really fat paycheck, but you never cash the check.  

Can you think about walking to your mailbox and opening it up and finding a crispy check there.  You go through the trouble of taking the check back into the house, finding something to open the envelope with and then focusing your eyes on the dollar amount, only to then leave it on the table.  You are missing a really big step if you don't sign that check and get it deposited into your bank account.  Until you take the action to put it in the bank, it is just a piece of paper sitting on your desk or counter.  

Take the extra step in your article writing to include your call to action.  You want to close your articles strong with the right wording that gets people to get off the dime and do what you say.  What do you want them to do?  Do you want them to click on your blog?  What about signing up for your email newsletter?  Do you want them to pick up their phone right now and call the phone number to get more information?  How will they know what to do unless you tell them?  You have to give some good directions and remove the chances for them to get confused.  It is your job to be the crossing guard at the time of school letting out.  You have to guide them safely in the right direction.

Don't you like getting really clear instructions?  Your readers want the same thing.  Make it really easy for them to follow along and get what they need.  You are in control.  Lead and make sure that they get to the right destination safely.  You are the pilot that is guiding them.

Milk, Grocery Stores, Expiration Dates and Evergreen Content

Using content to tell stories leads right into evergreen marketing.  You have a choice when it comes to creating content for the web. You can place a big time stamp on it or you can make your content ready for consumption for a long time into the future.  What do you think of when you think of a timestamp?  

Imagine walking into the grocery store.  You walk through the doors and you see all of the foods and snacks as you pass by the cashiers.  You already know what you want to get.  You see the shopping carts and you pick up the small plastic shopping cart with the handles. You don't grab the large shopping cart with the squeaking and shaky wheels.  Now, you have the container and you start looking around.  You head over to the frozen food section.  Isn't it really cool over there.  You see the signs hanging from the ceiling.  They say milk.  This is exactly the place that you are looking for.  

The refrigerator door is clear when you walk up to it.  You see the different sizes of milk.  You want the gallon size.  Before you make a choice you check two things.  You check the price tag at the bottom of the shelf and you check the brands.  You have a favorite brand, but you don't want to spend any extra money.  There is one more thing to do before picking the right bottle of milk.  You check the expiration date.  You scan a few bottles in the front and they all have the same date.  You are not knew at this and you know the game.  You take your hands and run them past the front bottles of milk to see the milk cartons farther in the back.  Just like you thought, the milk in the back has a later expiration date.  You grab the milk and head for the checkout counter.  

What is the big deal with the expiration date?  You know the answer to that question already.  You have a crystal clear memory of the day that you opened a bottle of milk that was long past that expiration date.  Can you smell it right now?  Close your eyes.  It will come back to you.  

You just went on a little trip with a story.  The story talked about something that we were discussing at the top of the article.  We talked about writing content without a time limit.  Some types of content online have a self imposed expiration date.  Other types of content can be delivered in an evergreen fashion.  Writing your content in a story form can be evergreen. 

Working From Home - Internet Websites, Blogs, Joomla, Wordpress, and Online Flipping

Web development is another one of those businesses that you can do from home.  What does it take to get started with developing websites?  You should learn the basics of design and programming.  Some sites are static and others are dynamic.

Wait!  There is another big change in this whole web development question. What is the big deal about throwing up the stop sign?  The game changer really is all the new software programs that make setting up website super easy.

Is easy website setup a real problem?  It is not a real problem, but you have to know that the playing field is wide open.  The internet lets more people get into the mix.  Content management programs make it simple for everybody.  The change really took place with web 2.0.

Web development is happening with joomla and wordpress.  These are simple programs that can be installed in just a few minutes and the end user can have a fully functioning website.  This is the game changer.

One of the ways to capitalize is through website flipping.  You might be able to come up with lots of different niche websites that are created with blogging technology.  After you get them going, you could create content for the sites and then come up with a plan for turning them into money makers.

The plan can be keeping a site or selling the site ( flipping ).  Keeping a site for the long haul might have a few different benefits.  You might be into lead generation or affiliate marketing.  You could load up the site with content and then make sales of different products.  Another potential source of passive income could be google adsense ads.  

Flipping a website is another way to use your time.  There are plenty of people that want to have a good looking website and they might not want to go through all of the trouble of setting it up and getting it running.  This is where website flipping comes into play.  It can be just like selling something on ebay.  There are online marketplaces that focus on selling websites.  The costs for setting up a website can be really low.  A good domain name, solid web hosting and content are the main ingredients.  

The internet is the perfect place to do your niche marketing plan.  The costs for websites is super low with blogging.  You don't know which sites will be winners or losers.  Another thing to remember is that the web is filled with different types of sites.  Don't just think that a blog is the only way to go. Membership sites and online forums are other types of sites that can be your area of focus.  

Mobile Marketing + Pay Per Call = Back to the Future Marketing

One of the newer ways to earn income on the web is using pay per call ads.  Marketers are already hip to the older forms of online marketing.  What are the main marketing options?  Banner ads, text ads and pay per click all come to mind immediately.  What is pay per call anyhoo?
It all breaks down to simple phone numbers.  The phone numbers are given to the affiliates and the affiliates promote the numbers with defined marketing approval.  The number is also a way to track the activities of the marketer.

What is so special about using phone numbers for earning income?  All you need to do is do some simple google searches to find the real answer.  Head over to youtube and take a look at what the bigger marketing companies are talking about.

This is really something that is really big and growing.  The person that is into marketing has been quietly seeing something different going on.  It is happening all the time, but most people and companies are not paying attention.  It is simple and plain and it is not going to change anytime soon.

What is the big secret that is causing companies to stop what they are currently doing and shifting all of their focus to this new area of marketing?  I will not keep holding it back any longer.  The truth is that mobile computing is changing everything.

What does mobile have to do with pay per call advertising?  All you need to do is think about the big change that is happening.  Everybody has a smartphone or a cell phone.  You have seen all of the commercials and you can tell from your everyday experiences.  What are people doing?  They are talking on their cell phones or they are texting on them.  People seem to be personally attached to their smart devices.  The new devices keep on getting launched.  The apple iphone 6 and the apple iphone 6 plus are just two of the newest mobile devices to hit the markets.  People love talking on these devices, but they are more than just the way to talk to family and friends.  Companies are building up for the mobile way of getting things done.

Pay per call falls right into this new marketing sweet spot.  One of the problems with advertising online is the smaller screens.  This is changing a little bit because the mobile phone makers are starting to add some bigger screens.  Just check that new galaxy note and apple iphone 6.  The screen sizes mean that the real estate for ads is pretty hard to view.  Banner ads might work on large desktop computers, but on a small screen of a tablet or a smartphone, it might seem cramped or hard to really view well.  What about a phone number?  What about a feature on a phone called click to call?  This could be a game changer.  

People know how to dial the numbers on a phone.  They don't have to think about entering any information.  They can just click to call or dial the number and talk to someone on the other end of the line.  This is also a big deal for the marketer too.  The pay per call ads have a different floor for earning money.  You might earn money for generating leads that fulfill a specific requirement of the advertiser.  They might have a minimum number of minutes that they want the caller to stay on the line.  This is really about bringing old methods of marketing into a new era.  Mobile marketing and phone numbers are bringing back the call center.

The Online Creative Outlet - Telling Stories

How hard is it to get into starting a business online?  The story can start really on a simple note.  The first page in the story is getting the idea and going towards it.

The web is the place of much fancy and fun.  The internet is information and it can be used for lots of different things.  It is a huge content source that a regular person could use to tell stories and leverage that story traffic into income.

Does it even make any sense?  On the web, the story does not have to make sense.  It can just be something that is entertaining.  The story could be about the struggle of finding a job for the regular college educated person that is filling out lots of applications for jobs.  You might get the image into your mind about that quick little statement.  You can see the person walking across the stage and getting their bright and shiny new degree from college.  You can see the bright eyes of the new graduate looking into their future with a great new job at a big large corporation.  The story has a beginning and an ending.

What happens in between those two points?  The new college graduate goes through a lot of ups and downs in between landing that perfect job and getting up early in the morning and going into the office.  This is just a simple example of telling a story to make a point. 

What does telling a story have to do with anything online?  The story can be a way to supply the content.  You might be able to take that one simple storyline and create lots of different subplots and events within it.  It is just like having a starting point and an ending point, but there is plenty of room in between.

The starting point and the ending point creates a really wide open space to use creativity.  How can this be?  The story of the new college graduate is just like taking a trip.  The college student might know where they want to go, but all of the steps to actually getting there become a real adventure.

The adventure of going on the journey is great for the web.  Content is one of those topics that really don't have a cap on them. You could begin talking about the new college grad in lots of different ways.  Each new topic could be creative and interesting.

What are the goals of the new college grad?  What are the challenges that they are facing?  It could be a tough field that they are trying to land a job in.  They might want to land a job in the tough field of advertising.  They might want to use their new business degree to earn lots of money.   The goals could be firmly in place, but the realities of landing that high paying gig might be a real obstacle course.

What could be some of the obstacles of getting that first job after college?  The new college graduate with a degree might have focused all of their attention on getting the highest grades possible.  Don't most students attempt to get the best grades?  The new college grad could have received really great marks, but they later found that the top grades were not a replacement for getting experience in the field.

The new college grad is now finding that the competition is tough and that businesses want to have really bright individuals that also have the experience to get the job done.  The story could keep on evolving in different formats.

The web is the perfect place to explore.  The storytelling could be done in lots of different ways.  They could be told on blog posts, videos or with ebooks.  The key is in the creative mindset.  There is not cap on how many books a person can write.  The web is there 24 hours a day for the creative outlet.