65 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Blog

This guest post is by Satrap of BlogStash.com.

What is the best way to drive traffic to my site? What’s the fastest way to generate traffic to my site? What’s…?

We all want to know the best way to drive the greatest amount of traffic to our sites. However, the truth is that there is no best or fastest way to drive traffic! What works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. Just because I manage to get 500 visitors a day from an article I submitted to article directories doesn’t mean you can get that much traffic doing the same thing.

Of course, there are some traffic generation methods that produce better results than others. But again, it all depends on you and your situation. Let’s take article marketing as an example. Article marketing is one of the oldest and best ways to generate traffic. But the success of your article marketing campaign depends on many different things, like the number of articles you write, the number of article directories you submit to, the quality of your articles, how many articles a day you submit, and more.

My advice would be to pick a few methods from the 65 I’ve listed below, and start implementing them. Test them for yourself. Depending on your skills, you might find a method that would work wonders for you.

Don’t just follow what everybody else says. I’m not saying, “Don’t listen to experienced people who are successful in generating traffic to their site.” By all means, listen to them and do take their advice—but experiment to find out for yourself which traffic generation methods work best for you and your situation.

With that said, here are 65 simple and (mostly) free ways to generate traffic to your site.

1. Turn your articles and blog posts into PDFs using free PDF converters like OpenOffice. Then submit your PDFs to document sharing sites like Scribd and DocStoc.
2. Write truly informative and useful articles related to your niche, and publish them on WikiPedia.
3. Hold a contest and give prizes to your readers. Use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to let people know about the contest. A good contest with good prizes will attract a lot of people.
4. Build a wiki page for your blog. To ensure your page doesn’t get deleted, create an article that is educational, informational, and not self-promoting.
5. Write list posts like the one you are reading. Readers love posts like “10 ways to make money” or “6 ways to drive traffic to your blog”. List posts are amongst the most popular kinds of posts, and people tend to share list posts with others more often than other posts.
6. Make flyers with a catchy title and a description of your blog, and post them on bulletin boards in the entrance to supermarkets and other community buildings.
7. Post frequently, but don’t sacrifice quantity for quality. Both search engines and visitors like to see fresh, quality content. The more content you have, the more chances you have for ranking for variety of keywords, which will mean more organic traffic for your blog.
8. Make a lens (or more) using Squidoo and in it, place a few links back to your blog.
9. Submit your blog to directories relevant to your niche, like InsLink.com (an SEO/webmaster directory).
10. Make it easy for non-technical readers to link to your blog or share your links with other people by making a “How to link to us” page. Here, give readers easy instructions on how to link to your blog with your keywords as anchor text.
11. Submit your blog to search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Or simply use AdMe.com to submit your site to over 25 search engines for free.
12. Use sites like Odiogo to turn your blog into a podcast, then submit your podcast to podcast websites.
13. Answer questions related to your niche on YahooAnswers and other Q & A sites. Include a link to your blog in the resource box.
14. Submit your blog to social bookmarking sites like Digg and StumbleUpon.
15. Write and submit articles to article directories like EzineArticles and ArticleDashboard.
16. Turn your articles to videos using free video creation services like Animoto, and submit them to video directories such as YouTube and DailyMotion.
17. Build a Facebook fan page for your blog.
18. Make use of plugins like Tell-a-Friend to let your readers quickly share your posts with their friends and family vie email.
19. Use Hi5 to build a page for your blog and create a community around it.
20. Don’t clutter your blog with too many pictures, ads, and so on. Keep it clean and easy to navigate. This will help both search engines and visitors to navigate around your blog easily and quickly.
21. Join BlogEngage to submit your blog and create a community around it.
22. Ping your blog posts using free ping services such as Pingler and Pingoat.
23. Create a hub about your blog on HubPages.
24. Register with few good niche-related forums and use your signature to place links pointing to your blog. Participate in discussions and contribute as much as you can.
25. Make it easy for your readers to share your posts by installing social bookmarking plugins like SocialMarker and Digg Buttons.
26. Readers like to read other people’s comments, especially those who responded to their comments. So, take advantage of that by using a plug-in like Comment Notifier to automatically let your readers know of new comments posted on your blog.
27. Make your blog more search engine friendly by using SEO plug-ins such as Platinum SEO Pack.
28. Target long-tail keywords with low competition and try to rank for them. Such keywords are easier to rank for in search engines and give you much more targeted traffic.
29. Make a MySpace page for your blog.
30. Make business cards with your blog info on them, hand them to friends and family, and ask them to pass them on. Mall parking lots are good place to pass your cards around. In some states you can even put your business card on windshields. You can get up to 250 free business cards using sites like VistaPrint (although you do have to pay $5 shipping).
31. Submit your blog to the free directories like DMOZ (hard to get into, but well worth the effort!).
32. Write a good press release, or hire a professional to do it for you (you can get a pretty decent press release written for you for $5 on Fiverr.com), and submit them to free press release distribution sites like PR.com.
33. Write creative and attention-grabbing ads about your blog, and publish them on free classified ads sites such as CraigsList and UsFreeAds.
34. Controversial posts attract visitors. Write a controversial post. Be creative and bold, but be careful not to cross the boundaries.
35. Ask an expert or a trusted, well-known person in your niche for an interview. Then post the entire interview on your blog, either as a text post or as a video.
36. Leave quality comments on blogs that are related to your niche. Make sure your comments add value to the blog. Don’t just spam-comment and hope for the best. It never works, and your links will get deleted. Worst of all, you might get blacklisted from the site. If you leave a useful comment, people will be more likely to visit your blog.
37. Use free banner-making tools like BannerFans to make an interesting banner for your blog. Then find other bloggers in your niche and exchange banners with them.
38. Exchange links with other blogs in your niche. Don’t go overboard with this technique, or exchange links with each and every blog you find—be selective and make sure the context for your link is appropriate. Most people use their main keyword as the anchor text for their link, that’s good for SEO. But, if you want to get more traffic from those links, instead use attention-grabbing text as your anchor text. Don’t use “Make Money Online” for your link text—people are used to seeing those links all over the web. Instead use something like “10 ways to make $10 in 10 minutes.”
39. If you find interesting posts on other blogs, write a post about them and link to them. The other bloggers will notice and might do the same for you.
40. Find good blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. You can either search manually or make it easy for yourself by registering for free with MyBlogGuest, which matches guest bloggers with blogs that accept guest posts. Write and submit your best articles to get the maximum exposure. Don’t just submit the article and leave. Make sure you follow up and respond to comments and questions that readers of those blogs ask.
41. Submit your site to review sites that write reviews on other websites and blogs, like CoolSiteOfTheDay.
42. Submit your blog to BlogCatalog.
43. People love free stuff, so give out freebies that are related to your niche. If you are in “online money making” niche, a free ebook that teaches people who to make money on Twitter might make an appropriate freebie.
44. Write a page on 43things.com about your blog and what you want to do with it.
45. Use your keywords in the title of your posts. Having your keyword in the title makes it easier for you to rank for that keyword, thus bringing you more organic traffic.
46. Use your blog’s name as your username on forums, social networking sites, and other places like YahooAnswers. People are curious by nature, so they may check out your blog out of curiosity and if you have good compelling content, they may become your loyal readers.
47. Make a bumper sticker with your blog address on it, and place it on your car’s bumper. You can even ask your friends and family to do the same for you!
48. Make a Twitter profile for your blog and tweet each and every post you publish on your blog.
49. Register with EntreCard and start dropping your card on other blogs. You will be amazed how much traffic you can get from EntreCard.
50. Register with ComLUV.com and download their plugin.Then use the Global CommentLuv Search to find blogs related to your niche and comment on them. It will return up to ten (recent) posts that will be sent back when you comment on a CommentLuv enabled site. Most are dofollow blogs, and you will get dofollow links back to your most recent posts. This is good for link building and getting some traffic.
51. Make a free ebook with a link back to your site in it, and submit it to free ebook sites like GetFreeEbooks.com.
52. Buy .info domains with long-tail keywords in them and use a redirect to send the traffic they receive to your main site.
53. Rent a mailing list and send high-quality content with a link back to your site to all the subscribers. Take care with this technique so that you’re not blacklisted as a spammer, though. Find a reputable list broker—or, if in doubt, why not start your own?
54. Post a classified ad on eBayClassified with a link to your site.
55. When you eat out, leave a good tip along with a business card with your site info on it.
56. Create a short report with resell rights and and include your links in the report. Give it to people for free: those people can sell the report to others as their own, so long as they don’t remove your links. The results of this technique will surprise you.
57. Come up with a really crazy but buzz-worthy post and submit it to NowPublic.com (Previously known as Truemors). If it’s good enough, it might just go viral!
58. Go to YouTube, find popular videos related to your niche and start commenting on those videos with a link back to your blog. Youtube videos get thousands of views, and since most people are sociable creatures, they will read the comments no matter how far down the list your comment is.
59. Create a page (personal or business) at LookUpPage.com. You can add as many links to your blog as you like. Write a short “about” post about yourself or your blog, and make sure to link to your Twitter and other social networking sites as well. After creating the page, bookmark it using SocialMarker and ping it with Pingler (or any other tools you like).
60. Register with Visible.me for free, and add links and information about your blog. Its a great way to build your brand and get a few backlinks from a high-PR (6) dofollow site.
61. Submit your RSS feed to RSS aggregators. Here, I don’t mean just your blog’s RSS feed: grab the RSS url of every site you have a link on (example: if you submit articles to ezine.com, you will have your own “author RSS” URL), and go to RssMix.com. It will let you make a custom RSS feed. Take that and submit it to RSS directories and aggregators. This will put your RSS feed on steroids—and will give you many more backlinks.
62. Make a few (yard) signs with your blog’s URL and a good title related to your niche, and place them on highway exit ramps, at busy intersections, and so on. Make sure you abide by the laws in your own state or country if you try this approach.
63. Put an ad in your local newspaper. If you live in a small town, it may not be very expensive to have an ad on your local newspaper—or on TV or radio, for that matter.
64. Order some T-shirts with your blog URL and title printed on them and give them away. People will check out your URL!
65. This is just for fun, so enjoy it! Make a big and I mean big sandal (or flip flop) with your blog’s URL engraved on the bottom, go to a busy beach, and start walking all over the sand! Leave your mark for others to see.

These methods will keep you busy for a while. But perhaps the most important tip I can give you is to be patient. Getting traffic to a blog takes time and a lot of work. You cannot expect to have hundreds of visitors after a few weeks, or months of starting your blog. But, if you are a dedicated person who’s willing to put enough time and effort into it, you can’t help but attract more visitors to your blog over time.

Which of these ideas do you like? What has or hasn’t worked for you? Share your experiences with us in the comments.

Satrap writes at BlogStash.com about different work from home opportunities. Visit BlogStash to learn real ways to make money online.

via problogger.net

Does it cost money to use #Facebook? Is it true that Facebook is going to charge to use the site? #SoulcialMe

Facebook is a free site and will never require that you pay to continue using the site. You do, however, have the option of purchasing Facebook credits, which can be used to send gifts or to purchase items on applications or games. In addition, if you choose to use Facebook from your mobile device, please note that you will be responsible for any fees associated with internet usage and/or text messaging as determined by your mobile service provider.

__________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 6544 (20111014) __________

The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus.

http://www.eset.com

6 Reasons Why You Should NOT Put All Your Eggs In The Facebook Basket — SocialMouths #socialmedia

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There is no stopping Facebook at this point, no doubt about it. And with that also comes the increasing number of brands and companies engaging in the creation and management of Pages (or “Fan Pages” as they used to be known).

We even hear about companies not having websites anymore to migrate all their efforts to Facebook. Okay, those are extreme cases but you can’t deny that at least once you heard about it.

The problem is we are jumping in the wagon as we did back in the day when we decided that we needed a website because our competitors had one. We ended up building millions of digital brochures that did nothing but get you an “online presence”. What if Facebook Pages are not all that? What if they don’t work as well as we think they do?

This doesn’t mean that Facebook Pages are not good for anything, they have proven to be a good traffic generator in some cases for example. They are great to increase your reach and build an audience for your blog.

But what we shouldn’t do is put all our eggs in Facebook. Today I’m giving you 6 reasons not do that.

One thing I want to say before we jump into this is that I’m not a Facebook hater and I am not one of those people that gets upset at change. I say this because it seems to be a good week to trash Facebook. This is absolutely not the case.

Now we can do this… here are my 6 reasons why you should NOT put all your online efforts into Facebook:

1. You do NOT own the traffic

You shouldn’t put your focus on any channel for that matter, you don’t own traffic on social networks or any other service that you don’t host on your own server with your own domain.

It’s not just that you don’t own the traffic, if you think about it, you don’t own any of the interactions either (Likes or Comments) from your page. You don’t even own the domain. If you want to open a new Page, Facebook doesn’t even let you migrate your Likes if you’re not a major brand.

This point should also be a consideration when you think about blogging on platforms such as Tumblr, Posterous or WordPress.com. Your best bet when using services like this is that you set them up to use a custom domain, then when you decide to migrate to another service, at least you have created awareness on the domain. Otherwise, you should focus on a platform that you completely own, like the self-hosted WordPress.

2. Not everybody sees your updates

Most people managing a Facebook Page don’t know that posts are NOT automatically posted on the News Feed for everyone to see. In fact, for some Pages most updates won’t  even make it there.

Did you know that there is a high percentage of people that click Like on your Page that will never come back to it? Now, if they don’t come back and they can’t see our updates on the News Feed then what the hell are we doing?

There is a post coming here on SocialMouths in a few days that talks about this in more detail.

3. You don’t know how it really works

 

There are a few factors of Facebook Pages we don’t quite yet understand. Some of the common ones I see on a daily basis are:

• How and where people really interact with your content
• What is EdgeRank
• How to optimize your content to perform better on the News Feed
• How to read Facebook Insights

And much more. The problem with not knowing how these things work is that you are putting a lot of work into it and it all goes to waste. It is very frustrating.

4. Your Landlord can change things at anytime

As we all saw last week, the landlord can just come in your apartment and rearrange all the interior walls and your furniture as he pleases and he couldn’t care less about notifying you in advance. The reason is very simple: He owns your apartment!

When was the last time you sent a check to Facebook for hosting your profile? That’s what I thought…

Point is that Facebook, or any other network, will make changes that sometimes are not the best fit for you and there is really nothing you can do but adjust your business.

5. Is not the best communication channel

Twitter has proven that when it comes to communications (i.e. Customer Service), there is nothing like its real-time conversation model and the ease of brand monitoring. Facebook doesn’t have that. Period.

Let me ask you this, how long does it take you to get back on a comment? Do you know how fast communications happen on Twitter? Even Google+ seems like it flows faster.

6. Engagement is extremely low

Real engagement on Facebook Pages is almost non-existent. Here is an example of what I’m talking about…

in a recent study, Market Sentinel surveyed 20 of the most “Liked” Pages from celebrities and found that the number of “Core Fans” is in fact much lower than the actual number of “Fans”. MS has defined “Core Fans” as those fans who have commented more than the Page average.

As of May 2011 no celebrity had more Fans than Eminem on Facebook with a count of over 41.5 million. The count for “Core Fans” is a different story with only 575. Which means that the percentage of “Core Fans” is 0.0001%. The highest percentage is for Selena Gomez with a sad 0.0005%.

Courtesy of Market Sentinel

Should you not be on Facebook then?

That’s not at all what I’m saying. What I’m saying is:

• You should not build the core of your online business on Facebook
• You should not use it as a hub for your online presence
• You should not send your traffic to your Facebook Page

You know how they say that websites are becoming a thing of the past, that Facebook is swallowing the Internet and it makes sense to be where your community is? Here is what I have to say: DON’T.

Facebook is great, in fact is my number #1 referral source of traffic sometimes and I try to leverage it in any way I can, but the place where you drive your traffic, build an audience and a community and engage with your tribe, is your blog my friends.

Continue to be on Facebook, just don’t put all your eggs in it!

Share your thoughts

How are you doing with your Page? Do you know how many updates makes it to the News Feeds? Do you know how many of your fans are “Core Fans”? I your Facebook Page sending traffic to your blog or website?

Share your thoughts in the comments section or ask questions if you want.

Image credit: Facebook EdgeRank graphic courtesy of Moontoast.

Tagged as: community, edgerank, engagement, Facebook Page, news feed, web traffic

via socialmouths.com

I've been preaching this since the onset of Facebook... but it still a wonderful medium to advertise your business... Just as Francisco states don't place all your faith in Facebook

Come join me at Phenomenal You Thursdays (#PYT) Lecture Series @SILC!!! Starting Tomorrow, September 15, 2011 from 6PM-8PM #Personal #Development

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC) presents PYT Lecture Series

When: Every Thursday beginning Sept. 15, 2011

Time: 6pm-8pm

Location:

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC)
2440 Fairburn Rd., Ste. 101
Atlanta, Ga. 30331

Organized By:

        Jahi Muhammad                       

Event Description:

PHENOMENAL YOU THURSDAYS (PYT) - The Most PHENOMENAL Women on The Planet will share Information, Inspiration, Insight, and Empowerment on ALL topics of Importance to the Human Family..

·         Knowledge of Self Mastery

·         The Meat of The Greet (Proper Etiquette and Manners)

·         Social Media Maneuvering

·         Passion to Profits

·         Many, many, many, many more Life enhancing topics.

Join us for the Kick-Off Appetizer Thursday, September 15, 2011 to get a sample of the PHENOMENAL YOU (PYT) offerings!
$15 per session or $99 for the 10 week course

To register or more info:

Email: silcmastermind@gmail.com

Call: 404.438.3156

Food, Fellowship, Fun(damentals)!!!!

Presentation Date: September 22, 2011  

"Treasures Of The Soul For Success" By Allison A. Muhammad 

We will learn how to feed the soul, heal the soul, to bring about the success you desire in your personal amd financial life. Very interactive workshop to help you release your soul power and those things that block your progress. All illnesses start in the soul. Do you know someone who was cured from cancer just to have it come back years later. It's because the person healed the body but not the soul. Learn simple truths for vitality, financial blessings and immortality. 

Allison A. Muhammad: Divine Healing Hands Practitioner,

author, human development facillitator and Certified Dianetics Auditor.

Allison A. Muhammad
Author, Life Coach
404-867-1975

 

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Presentation Date: September 29th 2011

"Knowledge Of Self Mastery" A Good Name Is Better Than Gold"  By L'dia Men-Na'a Muhammad

By learning the keys of charting & analysis you can master your life by making appropriate decisions based on a clear understanding as to why you are here. Plan your life to reach your personal goals. Choose the right people in your life to support your goals. Experience the knowledge of self by affirming who you are and where you can apply your gifts during a designated cycle of time. Self-Empowerment is required for building a foundation of achievements you can be proud of.

L'dia Men-Na'a, is a Nameorologist/Aromatherapist, a Life Path Awakening Empowerment Consultant, with 20 years experience as Wholistic Health Educator.    

770-912-5800  ldiamennaa@aol.com

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/holiday_5.html

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/custom3.html   

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/about.html

 

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Presentation Date: October 6, 2011

“Just Get Serious About Success” By Donna "Serious" Satchell

Do you feel a lack of direction for your life? Do you want to make more progress on your goals? Do you find yourself unfocused and uncertain? If so, this session was created with you in mind. Based on her exciting new book, Just Get Serious About Success, Donna Satchell will share tips, tools, and techniques for creating greater success by:

1. Understanding yourself

2. Setting definitive and progressive goals

3. Reducing the D-Blocks that diminish progress

4. Building a network of positive support

5. Increasing your level of seriousness and commitment

Donna “Serious” Satchell, Achievement Speaker, Success Skills Trainer, Life Coach and Author

770-498-0400

www.JustGetSerious.com

www.JustGetSeriousBook.com

 

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Presentation Date: October 13, 2011

"The Geneisis and Revelation Of Social Media Marketing" By Ja'Mille Wilborn, Soulcial Media Evolutions LLC

What is social media marketing and how do I get started? Social media can be confusing and overwhelming. Let us help you demystify and unravel the mangle that is social media.

It can be a great vehicle for networking and marketing your product or services. Wrapping your mind set around social media is the first key component to successful social media marketing. We can explain…

· What social media and social network marketing are and why they are not the same.	· How to set up a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts
· We will go over the seven major online social media platforms.	· Facebook and Twitter jargon
· Who is doing social media and why you should be participating in it	· The difference between a group page vs. a fan page
· What you need to get started and how to get started.	· The do’s and don’ts of social media

Email	jwilborn@soulcialevolutions.com
Website	http://soulcialevolutions.com
Twitter	SMEvolutions
Facebook	SMEvolutions

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Presentation Date: October 27, 2011

"Passion to Profits for Urban Youth and their Families" by Sharien Muhammad

Have you ever thought “he/she is just too grown to live in your house, but worried they were too underprepared to live on their own.” Do you wonder how your children are going to earn a living in this downward spiraling economy? Are you concerned that you will no longer be able to provide for family? Do you dream of being your own boss? Discover the possibilities with More Awareness Now on “Passion to Profits” where identifying your passions and its relationship to the needs of the world can turn into a solution to your problems. “Passion to Profits” is an high spirited interactive workshop for urban families that identifies passions and discovers the world of possibilities, which can lead connecting your personal passions to community needs, designing a business concept and developing a plan of action. it's all about bringing advantages to the so-called disadvantaged with More Awareness Now!

Sharien Muhammad, Ed.S., Author, Career Counselor and Program Developer, Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Dianetics Auditor  www.moreawarenessnow.com

Come join me at Phenomenal You Thursdays (#PYT) Lecture Series @SILC!!! Starting Tomorrow, September 15, 2011 from 6PM-8PM #Personal #Development

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC) presents PYT Lecture Series

When: Every Thursday beginning Sept. 15, 2011

Time: 6pm-8pm

Location:

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC)
2440 Fairburn Rd., Ste. 101
Atlanta, Ga. 30331

Organized By:

        Jahi Muhammad                       

Event Description:

PHENOMENAL YOU THURSDAYS (PYT) - The Most PHENOMENAL Women on The Planet will share Information, Inspiration, Insight, and Empowerment on ALL topics of Importance to the Human Family..

·         Knowledge of Self Mastery

·         The Meat of The Greet (Proper Etiquette and Manners)

·         Social Media Maneuvering

·         Passion to Profits

·         Many, many, many, many more Life enhancing topics.

Join us for the Kick-Off Appetizer Thursday, September 15, 2011 to get a sample of the PHENOMENAL YOU (PYT) offerings!
$15 per session or $99 for the 10 week course

To register or more info:

Email: silcmastermind@gmail.com

Call: 404.438.3156

Food, Fellowship, Fun(damentals)!!!!

Presentation Date: September 22, 2011  

"Treasures Of The Soul For Success" By Allison A. Muhammad 

We will learn how to feed the soul, heal the soul, to bring about the success you desire in your personal amd financial life. Very interactive workshop to help you release your soul power and those things that block your progress. All illnesses start in the soul. Do you know someone who was cured from cancer just to have it come back years later. It's because the person healed the body but not the soul. Learn simple truths for vitality, financial blessings and immortality. 

Allison A. Muhammad: Divine Healing Hands Practitioner,

author, human development facillitator and Certified Dianetics Auditor.

Allison A. Muhammad
Author, Life Coach
404-867-1975

 

---

 

Presentation Date: September 29th 2011

"Knowledge Of Self Mastery" A Good Name Is Better Than Gold"  By L'dia Men-Na'a Muhammad

By learning the keys of charting & analysis you can master your life by making appropriate decisions based on a clear understanding as to why you are here. Plan your life to reach your personal goals. Choose the right people in your life to support your goals. Experience the knowledge of self by affirming who you are and where you can apply your gifts during a designated cycle of time. Self-Empowerment is required for building a foundation of achievements you can be proud of.

L'dia Men-Na'a, is a Nameorologist/Aromatherapist, a Life Path Awakening Empowerment Consultant, with 20 years experience as Wholistic Health Educator.    

770-912-5800  ldiamennaa@aol.com

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/holiday_5.html

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/custom3.html   

http://www.lifepathawakeningbyldiamennaa.com/about.html

 

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Presentation Date: October 6, 2011

“Just Get Serious About Success” By Donna "Serious" Satchell

Do you feel a lack of direction for your life? Do you want to make more progress on your goals? Do you find yourself unfocused and uncertain? If so, this session was created with you in mind. Based on her exciting new book, Just Get Serious About Success, Donna Satchell will share tips, tools, and techniques for creating greater success by:

1. Understanding yourself

2. Setting definitive and progressive goals

3. Reducing the D-Blocks that diminish progress

4. Building a network of positive support

5. Increasing your level of seriousness and commitment

Donna “Serious” Satchell, Achievement Speaker, Success Skills Trainer, Life Coach and Author

770-498-0400

www.JustGetSerious.com

www.JustGetSeriousBook.com

 

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Presentation Date: October 13, 2011

"The Geneisis and Revelation Of Social Media Marketing" By Ja'Mille Wilborn, Soulcial Media Evolutions LLC

What is social media marketing and how do I get started? Social media can be confusing and overwhelming. Let us help you demystify and unravel the mangle that is social media.

It can be a great vehicle for networking and marketing your product or services. Wrapping your mind set around social media is the first key component to successful social media marketing. We can explain…

· What social media and social network marketing are and why they are not the same.	· How to set up a Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts
· We will go over the seven major online social media platforms.	· Facebook and Twitter jargon
· Who is doing social media and why you should be participating in it	· The difference between a group page vs. a fan page
· What you need to get started and how to get started.	· The do’s and don’ts of social media

Email	jwilborn@soulcialevolutions.com
Website	http://soulcialevolutions.com
Twitter	SMEvolutions
Facebook	SMEvolutions

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Presentation Date: October 27, 2011

"Passion to Profits for Urban Youth and their Families" by Sharien Muhammad

Have you ever thought “he/she is just too grown to live in your house, but worried they were too underprepared to live on their own.” Do you wonder how your children are going to earn a living in this downward spiraling economy? Are you concerned that you will no longer be able to provide for family? Do you dream of being your own boss? Discover the possibilities with More Awareness Now on “Passion to Profits” where identifying your passions and its relationship to the needs of the world can turn into a solution to your problems. “Passion to Profits” is an high spirited interactive workshop for urban families that identifies passions and discovers the world of possibilities, which can lead connecting your personal passions to community needs, designing a business concept and developing a plan of action. it's all about bringing advantages to the so-called disadvantaged with More Awareness Now!

Sharien Muhammad, Ed.S., Author, Career Counselor and Program Developer, Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Dianetics Auditor  www.moreawarenessnow.com

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Come join me at Phenomenal You Thursdays (#PYT) Lecture Series @SILC!!! Starting Thurs., Sept. 15, 2011 from 6PM-8PM #Personal #Development

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC) presents PYT Lecture Series

When: Every Thursday beginning Sept. 15, 2011

Time: 6pm-8pm

Location:

The Self Improvement Learning Center (SILC)
2440 Fairburn Rd., Ste. 101
Atlanta, Ga. 30331

Organized By:

        Jahi Muhammad                       

Event Description:

PHENOMENAL YOU THURSDAYS (PYT) - The Most PHENOMENAL Women on The Planet will share Information, Inspiration, Insight, and Empowerment on ALL topics of Importance to the Human Family..

·         Knowledge of Self Mastery

·         The Meat of The Greet (Proper Etiquette and Manners)

·         Social Media Maneuvering

·         Passion to Profits

·         Many, many, many, many more Life enhancing topics.

Join us for the Kick-Off Appetizer Thursday, September 15, 2011 to get a sample of the PHENOMENAL YOU (PYT) offerings!
$15 per session or $99 for the 10 week course

To register or more info:

Email: silcmastermind@gmail.com

Call: 404.438.3156

Food, Fellowship, Fun(damentals)!!!!

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iStrategy Global Digital Media Conference | Register 50% off for #Atlanta #socialmedia #SoulcialMe

WHERE CMOs AND HIGH-LEVEL EXECUTIVES GO TO LEARN:

• The top 10 most important factors in your social media strategy
• How to create a hugely competitive online strategy for your company
• How to increase your market share; and
• How to align social media and digital strategy with your organization's unique capabilities

 

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

FIND OUT IF THIS IS RIGHT FOR YOU

via istrategyconference.com

I will be there - will you?

Soulcial Media Evolutions, LLC
http://soulcialevolutions.com
Twitter: SMEvolutions
Facebook: SMEvolutions

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How Are You Using #Twitter? [Statistics] | Social Strategy1 #socialmedia

22 Aug 2011

How Are You Using Twitter? [Statistics]

by Michael |  Resources, Social Media Stats, Social Strategy1 on Social Media Monitoring, Strategy, Twitter  | 2 Comments 

This is a very good question and Lab42 used it as the basis for their “What’s Trending @ Twitter” Survey & Infographic (500 participants).  As featured on Mashable, Lab42’s research shares some pretty interesting insights on how people are using Twitter and why they are using Twitter:

One statistic that immediately stands out to me is that only 37% of people surveyed say they access Twitter multiple times a day.  Also only 10% of those surveyed use Twitter via a client (like TweetDeck or HootSuite), which make following the chatter on Twitter much easier. These statistics show that the world is still learning how Twitter works and the proper ways to use it.  It also can be interpreted that many workplaces still prohibit employees from accessing social media.

Another statistic that blows my mind is that 15% of people claimed that they joined Twitter to follow a celebrity or a brand (only 10% surveyed do not follow a brand).  It’s great to see more businesses and brands on Twitter, but I thought we were over the hipster age where people joined social media to look or try to be cool.

The best insights of all come from the question, “Why do you follow them (brands)?” Almost 70% of those surveyed said that they follow brands for discounts or coupons, which can be partially blamed on the world economy.  Interestingly enough only 30% said they follow a brand for customer service. Saving money is great but most consumers will only follow a brand that has products they enjoy and the brand gives them good incentives to buy more.  I find myself following most brands for customer service needs because most customer service is outsourced and not helpful at all.

What do you think about the survey and infographic?  Were 500 people a big enough survey audience for this type of questioning?

All statistics are from the “What’s Trending @ Twitter” Infographic provided by Lab42on Mashable.

Michael F. Lewis II is a Social Media Consultant and Marketing Analyst for Social Strategy1.  He contributes several blogs weekly to the SS1 site.  Connect with Michael on Twitter via @mlewii.

Image: Screen grab from Mashable

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How To #Advertise Your Internet #Business and Drive Traffic and #Sales for Pennies | Business content and much more

We have all seen advertisements promising targeted traffic and massive sales, but most of these are scams and rarely do they produce the traffic and sales that are promised. Even Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising on search engines like Google and Yahoo have gotten so expensive for good keywords that the costs now greatly outweigh any profits you could make with your internet business. On average it costs $20 – $100 per item sold through Google. This is no way to make money and will actually cost your internet business more than it is worth. As advertising and other costs continue to rise due to the poor management of our economy by President George Bush, it has become more important to find alternative ways of driving traffic and sales to your internet business. Here are some great underground or free marketing methods that are proven to drive targeted traffic and sales:

1.Use your car or truck to advertise your company or services. This will add additional exposure and branding to your internet business, company or product. Thousands of potential customers will see this and if you use big letters, like in your back window, the possibilities and results are endless. Lots of research by big companies like Mary Kay and Avon has been done into self marketing and branding on vehicles. This is why both Avon and Mary Kay offer rear window branding stickers to their associates – it works great and increases sales very cheaply (very cost effective). All you have to pay is for a one time sticker creation (about $40) and they will last for years and continuously drive traffic and sales. Simplicity is key here, for the best results for your online or internet business, only use a few eye catching words and a web address or phone number. Catchy web addresses have the best follow through traffic and sales as determined by numerous customer acquisition and internet business research firms. Do not use small stickers, bumper stickers, etc… as no one really notices or pays attention to these.

2.Buy a ink stamp with your website or contact info attached (around $25). Every piece of mail that your put your hands on should have your service, product, or website on it. It’s a numbers game. The more people that see your name or website address, the more sales you will make. By the way, many people other than the intended recipient will notice the stamped website address for your internet or online business.

3.Get some bumper stickers made up with your internet business or product name and website on them. Make sure they stand out and can easily be read. Then give them out at local fairs and events. Niche targeted events work best at sending targeted traffic and sales. Send them to your happiest customers (most will be glad to display your bumper sticker for you). Pens with your internet business imprinted on them work great as free giveaways at fairs and events. You can get embossed pens for as little as $.10 each and they work great. Remember, free is the key – anything you can give away free that you can put your internet business name on and will provide a benefit or usefulness will result in increased traffic and sales! Many Walmarts will allow local businesses to display their services and brochures and giveaway free items (be sure to contact the management first and tell them it is for your internet business).

4.Donate some money in your internet business name and then use a press release to cover it. Have a professional write the press release for you and watch the resultant traffic and sales. People feel for those less fortunate and if you help them and use a well crafted press release you can get more traffic and sales then with hundreds of thousands of dollars of pay per click advertising on Google and Yahoo. You can also give your time or help in other ways if you have limited resources. A well written press release can literally pull your internet business out of the proverbial Google sandbox and put it on the map.

Taken from(http://www.allarticlesworld.com/how-to-advertise-your-internet-business-and-d...

via onerealside.com

 

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Can Social Media Applications Replace the Cover Letter? | YellowBrickRoad #socialmedia #job #coverletter

From the perspective of a recent grad, Gen Y who envisions working in a loft office, flexible hours, with office dogs and unlimited vacation time (yes, this exists), I say yes!

My LinkedIn, Twitter and personal blog do a much better job at giving potential employers a snapshot of my abilities, education and experience.

Now that social media and job searching are two peas in a pod, there is much debate about the value of a traditional, three-paragraph cover letter prefacing a resume. Do employers read cover letters? Do employers expect cover letters? Would an employer prefer a more creative application, like a video on YouTube, or a Twitter campaign?

Depending on the industry, the job ad and the employer, one could answer yes and no for each question.

While it does depend on the job I’m applying to, I am more likely to include a shorter message in the body of my email that links to my social networking pages rather than writing a traditional cover letter about my experiences and strengths.

Mashable recently posted about 30 startups who asked potential summer interns to apply through social media outlets. Large companies ask for applicants to apply via social media outlets, too. For example, MasterCard is asking interns to check out #internswanted, their Facebook and LinkedIn page to find out application details (they’re asking for a cover letter in addition to a creative component).

What’s your brand?

Employers concerned with their employee’s personal brand are more likely to ask potential employees to apply through social media avenues (likely in addition to a traditional resume). Personal branding is important in fields such as communications, public relations, publishing, marketing, and of course, social media. If you are applying for a job in any one of these fields and you don’t link to social media applications in your cover letter, I wouldn’t expect a call back.

Revisiting my original questions: Can social media applications replace the cover letter?

Ok, probably not. Not yet.

I probably couldn’t write a cover letter that would better promote my personal brand, strengths and work examples than my blog and social media pages can, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to ditch the cover letter.

Employers aren’t likely to read a cover letter top to bottom before they read a resume. I once surveyed 20 employers at a career fair and found that twelve out of twenty employers read the cover letter. Of those twelve, six said they read the cover letter before the resume and six said they read the cover letter after the resume. Four out of twenty said they won’t read the cover letter at all.

While is it likely an employer won’t read a cover letter in full, it is likely that an application won’t be considered if the applicant didn’t make the effort to write a covering letter.

My advice is to use your judgement, always follow application guidelines and research the company. A younger, newer, Gen Y company probably appreciates a less restricted application while an established, larger company likely requires a standard, formal cover letter and resume to pass through the HR gates.

Do you think the traditional cover letter is still necessary?

via yellowbrickroad.com

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iStrategy Global Digital Media Conference September 13-14 2011 | Register Today, I did #socialmedia

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Silverpop Becomes First in Industry to Offer Social Sign-In Capabilities -- ATLANTA, Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ #socialmedia #strategicpartnership

Silverpop Becomes First in Industry to Offer Social Sign-In Capabilities

0

Company's Social Connect Offerings Enhanced through Strategic Partnership with Janrain

ATLANTA, Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Understanding that developing a trusted online relationship is the crucial first step in building customer loyalty and nurturing prospects, Silverpop™ today announced the launch of Social Sign-In, making this option available via email marketing and marketing automation platforms for the first time.  Social Sign-In gives site visitors the opportunity to leverage their social identities during the sign-in process.  An important option, since despite their desire to obtain helpful information online, three out of four people are too frustrated by online registration processes to create a user account(1).

Through a partnership with Janrain, the leading provider of social identity management solutions, Silverpop customers can now offer their site visitors a simple alternative to web form completion. By allowing them to register for online offers by signing in with their existing social network accounts, the process is simplified for registrants, increasing conversions.  Janrain has found that companies can achieve a significant increase in registration conversion rates when they provide users with this option. And marketers are able to connect users to their social profiles, providing them with valuable information about their site visitors. Entering a one-year exclusive agreement, Janrain selected Silverpop as its premier marketing automation provider.

"Carefully integrating social media into a multichannel marketing strategy is crucial for success and Silverpop's Social Sign-In feature takes this integration to a whole new level," said Bryan Brown, director of product strategy for Silverpop. "We think of initial website interactions as similar to meeting someone for the first time. The interaction needs to be pleasant and simple and if you feel a connection, you want to be able to get back in touch. By offering Social Sign-In, our customers can collect rich user profile data and their site visitors are left feeling like the company is easy to do business with and are more likely to return."

Social Sign-In also allows marketers to gain a better understanding of their customers' interests and can then use this knowledge to provide incredibly relevant and targeted messaging.  People registering via this option are also likely to be active social media users and can be segmented accordingly.  Targeting  these recipients with content designed to be shared on social networks can expose marketing messages to an exponentially larger audience, comprised of people who are likely to be more influenced by friends and family than by a direct advertising campaign.  

"We are excited to enable Silverpop's customers to develop deeper relationships with their users through Social Sign-In," said Tore Steen, vice president of business development for Janrain.  "Both Janrain and Silverpop understand how important it is to connect with users on their terms -- from the first interaction throughout the life of the relationship.  Today that means not only making the sign-in process as simple as possible, but using the information you collect during initial interactions to inform all future communications."

Social Sign-In is the latest in Silverpop's Social Connect collection of products and features.  The company launched Share-to-Social in 2008, becoming the first in the industry to give marketers the ability to quickly turn emails into socially-enabled viral messages. Since the launch of Share-to-Social, Silverpop has found that sharing email content via social networks such as Twitter and Facebook can increase reach by 24.3 percent(2).

About Silverpop

Silverpop is the only marketing technology provider that offers a powerful marketing automation solution built atop a scalable email marketing platform. The company has more than a decade of experience empowering marketers to deliver highly relevant communications that efficiently drive revenue while also building brand loyalty. Companies rely on the Silverpop Engage™ platform to create and manage sophisticated multichannel marketing campaigns that nurture customer and prospect relationships from interest to conversion and beyond. Silverpop's industry-leading thought capital, strategic counsel and customer service, combined with an extensive ecosystem of world class partners, allow its customers to quickly and cost-effectively automate even the most complex campaigns -- improving marketing results and increasing ROI. With a presence in the United States, Europe and Australia, Silverpop is trusted by leading brands around the globe. Visit us at silverpop.com.

About Janrain

Janrain helps organizations succeed on the social web with its user management platform -- a suite of products to improve user acquisition and build engagement. Janrain Engage provides social login and social sharing to enable a user to login with an existing account from over 20 different networks including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google, as well as share activities from the site to their social networks. Janrain Capture is a turnkey registration and social data storage solution. Janrain Federate provides single sign-on functionality to extend a brand's online ecosystem. Janrain customers include industry leaders such as Universal Music Group, MTV Networks, AMC Networks, Postmedia Network, Ning, Kodak, NPR, Sears and Citysearch. Founded in 2005, Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon. For more information, please call 1-888-563-3082, or visit www.janrain.com.

(1) "Consumer Perceptions of Online Registration and Social Sign-In", Janrain, 2011
(2) "Emails Gone Viral: Measuring 'Share-to-Social' Performance", Silverpop, 2009

Media Contacts:
Stacy Kirk
Manager of Corporate Communications - Silverpop
skirk@silverpop.com
770-661-0633

Jenny Davis
Dotted Line Communications - for Janrain
jenny@dottedlinecomm.com
925-935-2558

SOURCE Silverpop

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.silverpop.com

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