If you do not have a blog or you are not using it properly you are at a great disadvantage in building your business on the internet. Your competition is using blogs and other social media and they are beating you every day and it is only going to get worse.

Social marketing is more than just submitting your articles to social directories and then hoping for the best. Social marketing is all about building relationships.

If you want to succeed in online marketing you must adapt and change to make you and your business attractive to others.

Here are some reasons social media and attraction marketing must be a part of your Internet business.

1. Directories like Digg, StumbleUpon and many others are quickly becoming the choice of people all over the world as a way to keep plugged in on what is going on.

Blogging and submitting to relevant social directories are an easy and inexpensive form of traffic.

2. First, you should get a WordPress blog and set it up so that you can quickly bookmark the top directories. Posting on your blog every with relevant and unique posts will start bringin traffic to your website.

3. Developing relationships with your readers is the primary reason for social
marketing.  The future of your business depends on the use of Web 2.0 properties.

The truth is people still like to deal with people. It is very easy when working online to forget that sales is still a relationship business. Building good relationships with your customers and associates makes for more sales and longer lasting relationships. Using your blog as one of the most important cogs in your business strategy will help increase your chances for sales and repeat sales.

The reason search engines love social marketing is because of the new and unique content that social media provides. You are making their life easy when you blog around keyword rich topics that a person researching can find.

Since search engines are spidering Digg, Reddit, Newsvine, Stumbleupon, Squidoo and many more non-stop looking for fresh relevant content to put online then it may as well be you as opposed to your competition.

The popularity of social sites has been growing at an increasing rate. In fact, many believe that Social marketing is the next wave of internet marketing. The buzz has grown to such an extent is that most people have heard about social marketing and the benefits that such sites enjoy.

Social sites allow users in interact with others bringing an increased sense of empowerment. Allowing users to personalize their pages, post their comments, videos, audios and share with others gives a sense of ownership as opposed to the static sites where only the author presents content.

But how exactly do these sites help your site and its rankings? By sending huge amounts of traffic and getting you a good ranking on search engines.

There are two types of social sites. One is social networking and the other type is social bookmarking. Social networking sites provide you an easy way to connect with people who share similar interests like you. Sites like MySpace,  Facebook,  Friendster and Twitter are popular among users. These sites have a huge user base and provide an excellent opportunity for advertising your site. There are also specialized social networking sites like  Viral Networks, and Ning which cater to specific interests.

Some social networking sites group people with common interests, but some sites are “traditional networking sites” and allow you to search for friends based on your interests. In any case you will always have a larger audience for showcasing your site. Sites like Facebook and MySpace allow you to post your advertisements and promote your products, provided you are not spamming. If you have a really good site, you will surely find a large visitor base just by showcasing your site on your profile.

Social bookmarking sites provide you easy way to store, organize, manage your bookmarks as well as share them with your friends. You can bookmark any URL or page you liked and even mark them for public or private viewing. Social bookmarking sites also provide you with the option of tagging your bookmarks. Some of the bookmarking sites link directly to your URL’s thus helping your site in getting valuable back links and quick indexing. Sites like Stumbleupon, Digg, Delicious are known to send huge traffic to your site. If you manage to get on the front page of these sites, you should be prepared to handle a huge number of visitors to your site.

Search engines spiders love social sites and usually follow links on these sites. This means if you have your site link on social networking and bookmarking sites, your site will be indexed quickly.

If you happen to be using Wordpress for your blog, you should use some good plugins like Socialmarker, Socializer and Addthis. These plugins provide your site visitors a quick option to bookmark your site. Getting bookmarked from different users and different bookmarking sites will definitely help your site rank better on search engines. Some plugins like Onlywire automatically bookmark your post to 20 different bookmarking sites as soon as you publish your post.

It is a known fact that the video and photo sharing sites like Youtube and Flickr are visited by millions of people everyday. If you think out of the box and use your creativity, your published video will get your site the traffic you’ve always wanted. Some video sharing sites like Metacafe also pay you a part of their revenue just for publishing your video.

Like it or not, social sites have become an integral part of the internet. You need to use this opportunity to you advantage before it is too late.

Web 2.0 is all the rave. What is it? How did it come about? Where is it going? It sounds like a software program or some highly technological aspect that is getting ready to make its debut does it not? Well, in actuality it is neither of these. Web 2.0 is nothing more than some tools and ideas working together to make the internet a more user friendly and easier world to maneuver. Think about all of the new ideas to come to the internet in the last few years.

This whole concept may include AJAX, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, tags, and blogs. Of course, this does not even begin to encompass the whole concept of web 2.0, but it does give you a relatively good idea. Each and every day, we use Web 2.0 as a whole. With all of the media, graphic intensive websites, and the ease of use, you are experiencing the technology with everything you do, without even knowing it.

There was a web 1.0, a long time ago in “internet years” that is. Really, think about the “old” internet and the “new” internet, which is known as web 2.0. What could you really do? With 1.0, websites were static, they were not attractive in terms of the latest in interactive and animated websites with 2.0. With Web 2.0, updates are as regular and necessary as the sun coming up each day, with 1.0 updates were extremely rare for websites of any nature. Now, let us compare some of the differences, to give you a better picture.

Comparing Web 1.0 with Web 2.0

With Web 1.0 if you really wanted to look something up, you had something similar to an online dictionary. You could look up a definition, but that was about the extent of it. With Web 2.0, you have the concept of Wikipedia, which provides you deep and intuitive information submitted directly by other users. This is so much more than just a simple definition, this is an entire history or background of virtually any topic.

With Web 1.0, you essentially had personal websites. They were not updated all that frequently and they essentially did not do a whole lot. With Web 2.0, blogging is the latest and greatest. Blogging is used as both a personal journal and for business purposes at the same time. Gaining more traffic and more interest than ever before.

With Web 1.0, many webmasters relied upon page views to determine traffic. Now with Web 2.0, cost per click or pay per click are doing the traffic work. Page views are no longer essential in understanding the amount of traffic your website receives. The amount you pay per click is now the best indicator.

Before, if you wanted the news, you had to go looking for it. RSS feeds now do that for you automatically and delivers it directly to you. Many websites have automatic RSS feeds that you can choose to receive and there are one stop type of shops that allow you to sign up for many different feeds at the same time, so you can avoid having to search for the news and headlines.

Tagging is also a Web 2.0 technology. Tags allow users to search for specific items and information that they are looking for. It really simplifies the internet for users everywhere. When a person makes a post on a blog or social bookmarking websites, they can identify tags. When a user searches for these tags, they will find the posts that relate to their search terms.

Essentially, Web 2.0 just makes the internet a more user friendly and easier place to work, play, shop, and research. Now that you know how Web 1.0 has evolved to Web 2.0, where is it going from here?

Seeking Web 3.0

No one can really predict the future of the internet. It is too impossible to tell, however, there are some standards and paths that can lead us in the right direction for predictions. There are so many possibilities for the future of the internet that it is extremely hard to predict. Many people are leaning towards artificial intelligence for the internet. They are also suggesting that computer graphics will become more advanced, web applications will become modular, and internet speeds will increase with web 3.0.

People expect that Web 3.0 will bring innovative ways to build applications. They will be smaller and have the ability to run on multiple devices. Then there is always those who believe that the entire internet will become three dimensional.

There are many different ideas on how Web 3.0 will develop from Web 2.0. It is anyone’s guess and as the internet continues to evolve, the Web of any “version” will become smarter, more interactive, and easier to use with each passing year. The growth of the internet since its birth has been enormous and there is still a lot of room for more growth and potential.

Once you have settled on your business, it’s time to start your market research. Again, this step falls into the category of strategy and preparation. Keep in mind that strategy, not investment, is your ticket to success!

OTO (One Time Offer) Marketing

You’ve seen examples of this strategy if you’ve ever taken advantage of a freebie offer. The OTO theory is simple and straightforward: give away a great product for free, and immediately offer another valuable product along with the freebie for a deeply discounted price.

For example: say your Internet business is selling e-book software. You can advertise for a free report on the secrets to creating e-books that sell, and then offer a discount on the software itself when customers take advantage of your giveaway.

Keep in mind, though, that you have to make the free product available even for those who don’t take advantage of your discount price. If you make it difficult or impossible to obtain your freebie, you will lose that all-important trust?the most valuable commodity in Internet marketing.

Some tips to effective OTO marketing:

One-time-offer marketing strategies are becoming increasingly popular in online businesses. As more companies take advantage of this technique, fewer consumers will be interested. You should strive to find ways to make your OTO offer unique or give it an original spin, to make it stand out from all the other offers out there.

Bear in mind that you will likely have to deal with an increase in customer support issues as you implement your OTO marketing campaign. Even if your website contains clear, precise instructions for obtaining your freebie, some of your visitors may still have trouble finding the right link or logo to click. If they don’t see it, they will assume you’re asking them to pay for something that was offered for free. Exercise patience and point them in the right direction, and you will earn their business.

Make sure you are able to accept a high volume of payments. With any Internet business, it is a good idea to have several payment options for your customers. This helps you by not overloading your payment processors with a sharp increase in sales due to an OTO program. Some third-party merchant account services, such as PayPal, will often red-flag accounts that have a sudden increase in incoming funds, and you may be frozen from your account while the merchant verifies that you aren’t running a scam. Having other payment options in place to cover this possibility will ensure you’re still able to do business.

A subscriber list is one of the best ways to announce an OTO campaign. If you don’t already have a subscriber list, it is a good idea to build one before you bring out your OTO program. However, building a solid subscriber list for your newsletter or website takes time. If you don’t have the time to get a subscriber list, but you still want to offer your OTO, you could make the announcement about your program through other partners with the promise to reciprocate for one of their promotions at a later date.

An increase in traffic is good for your business?but it can be bad for your servers. If your product is downloadable, the available bandwidth for your website should also be a consideration. Check with your web service provider and make sure you determine how much bandwidth you’ll require ahead of time. If you’ll need more bandwidth than your server allows, look into an inexpensive file transfer solution such as www.fileburst.com.

In summary, OTO strategy can be an extremely effective marketing technique. Offer your visitors something they would normally pay money for, and give it to them free?then immediately offer something of even greater value at a low price.

Be sure that your freebie and your discount product are directly related (such as the report on creating effective e-books and the e-book creation software). If your sale product is even better and more attractive to your target market than your freebie, your sales numbers will explode!

A Few Good Markets

There are truly thousands of markets you can choose from online, and many of them have millions of Internet users who fit the demographics you’re looking for. Whether the market is tapped or untapped, identifying a niche equates to more, faster profit for you.

Have you considered these niche markets?

Moms. Currently, there are more than 32 million moms online. If you have a mom-friendly product or service, you can tap this enormous market. Moms use the Internet to search for more than baby food recipes and parenting tips! However, you should be aware that most moms are web-savvy and will see through any condescending or intrusive marketing ploys. Make sure you keep it real?don’t misrepresent your products, and don’t let your marketing material sound preachy or highbrow.

Travel. More and more Internet users are booking travel reservations and researching travel-related material online. This year alone, online travel and travel-related leisure sales will reach $78 billion. The travel industry is one of the fastest growing sections of e-commerce, and there is plenty of profit to go around!

China. There is a huge, largely untapped market in China. Over 111 million people in China use the Internet. The downside is that most of them don’t have credit cards. Few Internet marketers have been able to come up with an effective method of doing business with China?maybe you will be the one to change that.

Baby boomers. Everyone knows there are millions of baby boomers in the United States alone. Products and services that appeal to this generation can enjoy enormous success. The baby boom generation is fast approaching retirement age, so products and services that deal with investment, retirement options, and later lifestyle changes are hot topics online today.

The Internet is enormous. This is perhaps the most important concept you need to understand as an Internet marketer. No matter how original your idea, you are going to have competition online. The question becomes then: how are you going to stand out from the crowd and attract business?

The good news is there are many things you don’t need for online success. These things include:

• A massive advertising budget
• Expensive graphic designers
• Making your company a household name
• An elaborate base of operations
• 80-hour work weeks

What do you need, then? You need to work smarter, not harder.

Running with the giants

There are top competitors in every industry. Microsoft dominates software, Google rules search engine technology, McDonalds is the emperor of fast food. However, the Internet is a level playing field, and your company can appear as big and established as you want it to. You only need a fraction of a percentage of the online pie to enjoy business success.

Search engine placement is still the best way to gain exposure for your Internet business. In the beginning of the Internet, the practice of keyword stuffing—placing irrelevant or excessive keywords on web pages to achieve a higher search engine rank—was prevalent. Today, though, search engine technology is far more sophisticated, and there is no “magic” formula to ascend the ranks.

How can you place high on search engines and compete with the top Internet businesses in your industry? All you really need to do is keep it real. Make your website informative, interesting, and ever-changing, and you will score high with search engines.

Today’s “secrets” for top search engine ranking include:

Strive to provide visitors with real, useful, and interesting information that makes your website not only a great selling tool, but a great place to visit and spend some time.

Plant hooks on your pages for the search engines that are related to the information on each page.

Build buzz and word-of-mouth for your business using pay-per-click advertising and other relevant avenues for your target markets.

Getting started

All you need is a computer and a dream

When you choose your Internet marketing business, there are several aspects you need to consider. The wrong business will lead to wasted efforts and a lack of profits—a discouraging prospect indeed.

The first consideration should be your own interests and passions. If you are not passionate about your products or services, your business will not succeed. It’s as simple as that. You must be convinced beyond doubt that your product or service is worthwhile, exciting, effective, and something other people will want or need.

Another reason you need enthusiasm in your corner is your own business stamina. You’ve probably worked at jobs you couldn’t care less about, if only so you could get a paycheck. You may even be working at a job like that now. How long do you intend to stay there? Are you putting your best efforts forth at work every day? If you are not, you’re not passionate about what you do—and you won’t get very far.

Once you’ve identified a business you can generate plenty of passion and enthusiasm for, further consider these two important questions:

Does your product or service fill a need or a demand? Is there a high demand for this product or service, at least in niche markets?

Can you inexpensively attract high numbers of targeted traffic to your website? Are there popular forums, ezines, or websites dedicated to this type of product or service, or used by your target market?

If you cannot answer these questions with a resounding “yes,” you need to go back to the beginning and choose another product or service you’re passionate about.

The best thing you can do to facilitate success as an Internet marketer is to exercise patience and put in the research at the beginning. Don’t invest your time in finding a supplier, setting up a website, choosing affiliates, and putting your marketing machine into motion until you have the three key ingredients in place: passion, demand, and marketing avenues.