Posts Tagged ‘amp’

Why Links to eBooks can help your Online Marketing

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Image of Amazon Kindle 2 Wireless eBook Reader from goXunuReviews on Flickr.com

Let's face it, eBooks are hot!

Column #1 of the LA Times Business section (print version) had an article this morning titled:

"E-books reach the next chapter"
- "Amazon.com says it's selling 80% more downloaded books than hardcovers"

But the interesting thing is that I knew this last week:

At my weekly networking group's meeting (BizNet of Pasadena) one of the members, Phil Leddel (Long Term Care expert), happened to be speaking about great books he'd read during his life.

To make his point, he carried in hard copies of all of the books...except one.  The reason he didn't have a copy of the last book is that every time he buys one he gives it away, because he feels it's so important and helpful for people's lives.

The last book was: "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Emil Frankl.

At the end of the meeting I mentioned that there are places online where you can find some of the greatest books ever written - for free.

- Not only that but there are places on the web where you can read significant portions of books you have to pay for.
- Not only that, but you can even search inside these books to find exactly what you're looking for.

Several people immediately said: "Karl, please send me the links to those sites."  So I did. I emailed them the links.

The Reason eBooks can help your Online Marketing

They're hot and as mentioned in the LA Times article above, people are buying them like crazy for their Kindles and iPads.

And if you think that this only applies to Kindles & iPads, you're wrong.

Here's a comment I got back from one BizNet member:

"Great!  I am always looking for another site to get books for my Sony Reader!  Thanks!"

So Sony Readers are out there too as well as a plethora of other devices*, not to mention the iPhone, Blackberry, Android and all of the Smart Phones out there.
* Here's just the Top Ten Reviews of eBook Readers.

How eBooks can help your Online Marketing

Here's the Strategy:

  • Based on your people's interests or fields, suggest either no-fee, low-fee, or free looks inside books of interest to them.
    • "Your people" are those who relate to your website, blog, business, or what you have to say to them (eNewsletter subscribers,
      blog readers, clients, etc.).
  • Find eBooks of interest and then tell your people about them, either with your eNewsletters, blogs, website, etc.

And if you really love books and sharing them with others you can do this on the GoodReads social media website as well!

Where do you find these no-fee eBooks?

There are plenty of places online claiming to have no-fee eBooks, but Project Gutenberg is the real deal.

- And of course you can always do a Google search for device-specific or other eBook websites as well.

No-fee eBooks by Project Gutenberg

http://www.gutenberg.org/
-"Project Gutenberg is the place where you can download over 33,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone, Android or other..."

Most of the classics of humankind available here in plain text, html, etc. for no-fee.

Websites with no-fee previews (of some) books

Google Books
-Fee, but you get no-fee peeks into many books.  See below for more on this...

Amazon - No-fee eBooks

http://amzn.to/a1X8Hc

Examples of free previews:

Google Books Preview:
- "Man's search for meaning" by Viktor Emil Frankl
- Note: "Search in this book"

Amazon Preview:
- "Man's search for meaning" by Viktor Emil Frankl
-Note: "Search inside this book"

Hope this helps your online marketing (and maybe you'll find a great book too)!

Take care and best success in your career, business, and Life,

Karl Kasca

NOTE: This post was originally distributed within the IOP Insider Tip of the Week which you can subscribe to by using the form at the upper-right of this page.
- Click here for the IOP Insider Tip of the Week Archives.

See: IncreaseOnlineProfits.com for more information on Online Marketing as well as usability/accessibility, copywriting, persuasive writing, and much more...

Photo Credit: goXunuReviews .

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Top Ways to be Found Online

Monday, February 15th, 2010

Man's eye magnified with magnifying lens

Everyone wants to be found online, but what are the best ways to be found?

Businesses want to have their companies/ websites/ blogs/ products/ services found and job seekers want themselves to be found.

1) You need to have a great strategy to be found online.

Easier said than done. You need to think about where "your people" are and how they might go about finding you (or your business). Then just assure that you have a presence there. Again, easier said than done.

2) Profiles: Create profiles everywhere

Create profiles for yourself and your company at LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Plaxo, etc.

Also create business listings for your company in Yellow page sites for businesses, especially the "Local" search engine site: Google, Bing, Yahoo.

See "Increasing Your Online Visibility- Facebook Vanity URLs & Bing, Google, and Yahoo Local Business Listings" for how to do this.

Cool resource for many more yellow page sites (including international ones and social local neworking sites like Yelp): http://www.locallytype.com/pages/submit.htm.

3) Create Content and keep creating it

What do I mean by "content"? - Any text or item(s) that people want, e.g., things they want to know or learn "how to" do, blog posts, tweets, eZine (electronic magazine) articles, website articles, videos, podcasts, etc.

Here are some places you can post this content: Flickr (photos), Slideshare.net (presentations and documents), Twitter, YouTube (videos), your blog (using WordPress.org, WordPress.com, or Blogger/Blogspot), your website.

Tip/Trick: Keep the emphasis on "valuable" content. What do people want to find/know? Answer that question, given your company's or your own expertise and then write about it in interesting and engaging ways.

Hint: Use great tags so people can easily find your great content.

Note: Extra credit for supplying solutions for what people need...and are trying to find. One way to do this is using Google Suggest. Remember Google's "Parisian Love" Superbowl ad?

4) Announce what you created

Tweet about it on Twitter, do status updates in Facebook and LinkedIn...as the content applies to "your people" (and those people).

Note: If you send it to them and they're not interested, you risk them ignoring your posts, or worse yet unfollowing/unfriending you.

Example: Write a blog post (content), then post a Twitter tweet about it and a LinkedIn status update.

Tip/trick: LinkedIn works with Twitter, and vice versa with the "#in" hash tag at the end of  your Twitter tweet.

5) Comment: Leave valuable comments everywhere.

Comment on blog posts, podcasts, etc. Especially things which are hot topics which people are trying to find.

Tip/Trick: Great ways to find hot topics/trends?

Google: Google Trends

Twitter Trends: 15 Fascinating Ways to Track Twitter Trends

Technorati: Top Videos & Hottest blog posts

Forums: Boardreader's popular internet: videos, instructions, articles, etc.

6) Show what you know

It sounds simplistic, but if you "show what you know" and if you're showing what others are seeking then you'll be found...and thought of as an expert.

Experts are more becoming more trusted than "peer recommendations" according to today's Los Angeles Times opinion piece by Gregory Rodriguez: "Talk about your Buzzkill: Breaking through the noise of social media," which cites Edelman's 2010 Trust Barometer.

This means that being an expert is cool again.

How do you become an expert? Know your subject and post about it: valuably, frequently and consistently.

Note: It may help to have some credentials, but the LA Times opinion piece said that experts and academics were gaining influence, so there is a distinction between being an expert and being a person who studies/teaches the subject in a college or university.

Re: Social media: And yes, the rumors of the death of Social Media are a bit early with this barometer, as social media is really about disclosure, transparency, authenticity, and trust. For more on this see "For more information" below...

7) "Just do it"

Nike had it right. By just doing it, you're getting your "expert" voice out there where it can be found...and establishing your "expert" .

For more information on "How to be found Online":

Download: "The Power of Social Media: Gaining the competitive edge through LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook!" (click link & scroll down for download links)

Or see:

Of course there are many other ways to be found online.

If you have any favorite ways to be found online, please leave a comment below...

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How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009

Evernote Logo

Problem: Too many Great Ideas, not enough Memory

I love working out at the gym because it's a great opportunity to listen to internet marketing podcasts and learn about the lastest marketing strategies and trends.  The only problem is that when you hear great ideas (especially ideas that you're thinking of tweeting/blogging about later) it's tough to remember them.  Since it's hard to remember several ideas (or website links) throughout your entire workout and until you get to your home/office, it would be great to be able to write them down.  But who wants to carry a clipboard or notebook around the gym?

Solution: Your Mobile Phone/iPhone and the multi-platform Evernote program.

Evernote is  an excellent web-based as well as phone-based program you can use to jot down your notes in a hurry.  All you have to do is register on Evernote's website and then download the Evernote software and install it onto your laptop/desktop (PC or Mac) and web-enabled phone. Since the Evernote site has directions, videos & tutorials & screenshots, I'm just going to show you how to use Evernote at the gym during your workout.

How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym

  1. Download and Synchronize podcasts onto your mobile phone/iPhone.
    Note: I use Juice and Windows Media Player for this.
    You may use iTunes.
  2. Listen to the podcasts while doing your workout.
  3. When you hear a great idea start Evernote on your mobile phone/iPhone.
  4. Jot down a note in Evernote.
  5. Example: "MOC: Google Website Analyzer" (see Evernote image).
  6. Rinse and repeat (do this for every great idea you hear that you want to remember).
  7. Extra credit to boost your site traffic: When you get back to your home/office write a tweet or blog post based on the great idea.

Image of Evernote for MOC (Marketing Over Coffee) Google Website Analyzer note

Image Of Evernote for FIR: Domino's Pizza note

YouTube Video: "How to Improve Your Memory During Your Workout at the Gym"

How does this help me Attract More Visitors to my Site?

You might be thinking, this is all great, but how does it help me get traffic to my website? Basically, by helping you remember all of the great ideas you heard in internet marketing and social media podcasts so you can blog and tweet about them on Twitter.  That's it, no magic or mirrors involved, just enabling you to write more blog posts and Twitter tweets which others may see or find via Google searches and then follow to your website (from your blog or your Twitter bio/profile).

Comments

Have a better way to remember great ideas during your workout? - just let me know...

And "extra credit" points for ways which improve your site traffic as well.

Caveats and Fine Print Warnings!

Please consult your Doctor before engaging in any exercise program.  Also, please be sure to *pause* during your exercise routine *before* writing notes in Evernote in your mobile phone/iPhone!  After all, you don't want to end up falling or having an accident at the gym.

And no matter what happens, please do not hold Evernote, me (Karl Kasca), Attract More Visitors blog, IncreaseOnlineProfits.com, or Social Mastermind Corp. responsible as we've already cautioned you above.

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