Video Marketing

Are you using video as part of your marketing arsenal? If you’re not, you’re behind the times. It’s a fact that sites like YouTube get millions upon millions of searches every day.

In my business of offering SEO services, part of our packages are to create and distribute videos to these video sharing sites. The value of the back links make them well worth the time and energy (not to mention the message about your product or service in the video itself).

There are many reasons to use video in your marketing. Here are just a few:

People like watching videos. In fact, many people would prefer to watch a video than read your website. A video grabs your visitors attention and piques their curiosity.

Keeps your visitors on your site longer. Also known as “bounce rate”, you want your visitors to stay on your site as long as possible. The longer they stay the better the chance of your visitor taking your desired action.

Increases your brand awareness. People are more likely to “pass around” your video than your sales page. Sooner or later, you will have thousands, perhaps even millions of viewers who will see your videos. The more it’s seen, the more people become aware of you, your products or your services.

Here are some statistics for you – According to Borrell & Associates:

Online video spending is forecasted to account for more than 1/3rd of all online advertising in 5 years.
Over 40% of consumers watch online videos on at least a weekly basis; over 70% at least monthly.

In the last 10 years, the money spent on production and use of videos for marketing and advertising has steadily increased in to the billions of dollars. And it’s showing no signs of slowing down!

Not Using Videos? Why Not!

Many people stop short of doing videos because of 2 very common reasons. Lack of technical or creative ability to create the videos. Lack of money to pay someone to make the videos.

It takes special software, time and experience to make videos. And perhaps you don’t have the money to buy the tools, or expertise to create and edit your videos. Or, no money to hire someone to do this! I have an answer for you…

Let’s understand something here first. When we talk about making videos for marketing, you don’t need to make “commercial quality” videos. Those take a lot of money. You’re a small business – who has that kind of budget!

But I am also not suggesting you make some crap video that doesn’t convey your message (or worse – confuse the viewers).

So what do you do?

Video Niche Dominator

This is a great new tool from Jonathan Teng. It is essentially a very SIMPLE and INEXPENSIVE way to make videos very quickly. In fact, you can literally make dozens at one time. And did I mention simple?

>> http://inmarkon.com/vnd

Visit the link right now and watch the videos on the page.He put up many samples to show what his software can do. And be sure to watch his demonstration video.

Now it’s easier – and cheaper – then ever before to make videos part of your marketing and advertising arsenal.  Jonathan even includes royalty free images and music loops to get you started. I bought Video Niche Dominator and made five videos in about 15 minutes! Take a look:

I made this with NO planning just to see how well it works. Imagine how good your videos will be when you plan them out. Use your own images, music – even voice-over and you now have completely original videos to tell people about your products!

Don’t wait. There’s no more excuses for not using videos!

>> http://inmarkon.com/vnd

Some things simply never change and that helps YOU! I just had the opportunity to listen to a podcast from two long time wizards in the Google traffic game and what I heard was nothing new for me!

Everyone NEEDS website traffic and that’s a fact! When it comes to thriving or just surviving on the Internet there is absolutely no substitution for acquiring more “targeted” unique visitors that are interested in what you do, sell or have to say. Let’s just focus on the latter for a moment. It was said long time ago by this guy who owns Microsoft and it goes something like this:

• “Content is going to one day determine the individual success or failure of people on the Internet”

That comment was made about 15 years ago and it is so true today that the entire playing field has taken an entirely new approach and scope to increasing visitors and business alike via the Internet! Entire website promotion marketing strategies have been completely reconfigured and billions of dollars are being spent to get up to speed with this very real marketing necessity!

We are dealing with the very same Internet in a whole new light. Believe me when I tell you that “Content is Everything” and more is still needed! It becomes your true “Public Perception Branding Identifier”, your key to increased search engine recognition, a critical avenue of communication regarding your transparency, a main business news hotline and genuinely explains why you do what you do to help people accomplish their goal or answer their question! Honestly, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the benefits of proper inbound content marketing and website promotion!

I have been evaluating this “Google Traffic Myth” for quite some time now and what I have been hearing from clients, business owners, partners, friends, family and Internet Marketers in general who are all real people fighting this very real battle is:

• I heard back links are very important
• I heard I need fresh original content
• I heard landing page SEO is critical
• I heard that Social and Viral marketing may be helpful depending on my niche
• I heard that all I need is a Google Directory Listing
• I heard that having a blog is good
• I heard that giving something away is a good idea and so on and so on and so on!

TRUTH IS; you simply need all of this at periodic times throughout any given marketing or website promotion campaign in order to satisfy any of the major search engines! It’s not some “super thermal analytical all knowing algorithm” that no one can beat its simply doing everything over and over and over so when they seek “quality backlinks” YOU HAVE THEM. When they seek “fresh content” YOU HAVE IT. When they seek “overall usefulness” YOU HAVE PROVED YOU ARE!

That’s the deal here! No shortcuts, no easy way to beat the system, no instant road to the top it’s just a combination of what we all know the major search engines are seeking. Now here comes the cool but tricky part; knowing how to best accomplish this in a sequence that feeds the monster when they alter what’s being sought or weighted most heavily AT THE RIGHT TIME!

You see; again, it’s nothing new and was once coined as “Content is King” and then “Content is Cash” which I still consider unbelievably important; however, it only covers part of the story here. My personal viewpoint is “Feed the Monster & Oil the Engines”! This is what will keep your website running smoothly, allow you a chance to continually be found on the Internet and most of all deliver the proper message to both the general public and search engines alike!

While I could certainly go on and on about the best way to do this and the stuff you do or don’t need to buy to make it happen I will close by saying; it’s nothing new and anyone can do it! Good luck and don’t forget to feed and oil the monster often… OK!

Ron Douglas – Internet Marketer, Entrepreneur, Best Selling Author.

About a year ago Ron released his first book, America’s Most Wanted Recipes and it was a best seller. I have a copy and I can tell you, I love it. I spent quite a bit of time making my favorite recipes in the book.

So after a year (and about 15 pounds ) Ron publishes his follow up, More of America’s Most Wanted Recipes: More Than 200 Simple and Delicious Secret Restaurant Recipes–All for $10 or Less!

I have known Ron for a couple of years now and he’s one of the nicest people I know. He is driven, but knows how to have fun, spend time with friends and family and enjoy life. He’s someone everyone should aspire to be.

Ron and I are partners on a couple of projects. So I know first hand that when he sets his site on a project, he goes after it until it’s done, launched and profitable.

Ron should also be an inspiration to anyone who is looking to have their own success. It’s been said many times that there is no such thing as a “magic pill” that will start making you money hand over fist without any work. Ron worked (and works) very hard to achieve his goals.

Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty… you never know – You could end up doing a few of the things Ron does:

Internet Selling For Newbies by Omar Martin and Mike Filsaime is a complete training course that teaches internet marketers how to set up a web based business from the ground up without the huge financial investment that is usually associated with starting a six figure business.

The new cutting edge Internet Selling course is full of informational videos. Internet Selling For Newbies differs from most of the other training courses on the

web in the sense that the majority of the training videos were filmed in actual “Classroom Style”. Omar teaches the internet selling tactics from in front of a white board then follows up his teachings with screen capture video’s of actual practical web implementations.

In addition to the unique training style, Mike & Omar have made a vast portion of the training program available to the public at no charge. The entire training program rivals that of $1997.00 products out there. They give away a huge chunk of the knowledge for free to anyone willing to pay the low shipping and handling fee.

The basic training course is available for free while supplies last at Internet Selling For Newbies

Mike Filsaime and Omar Martin will mail the Cd-Rom right to right to your doorstep. As an added bonus you can choose to get a free trial of the highly acclaimed MarketingDotCom magazine subscription which is probably a good idea.

All in all, it seems like another huge win for Mike Filsaime and Omar Martin as they have really provided some incredible content here for free and the entire course basically holds your hand as you create a fully functional web based business from the ground up.

I highly recommend: Internet Selling For Newbies

Mike Ambrosio

I have been doing the Internet Marketing thing for many years now, and working from home full time just over 2 years and I can say that I thoroughly enjoy this lifestyle.

I love getting up in the morning because my body tells me it’s time – not my alarm clock. In fact, I don’t use my alarm clock any more.

I love the ability to walk my 6 year old son to the bus stop every morning.

I love the ability to decide if I want to work from my home office, or drive the 9 miles to my outside office.

I love being able to go out to lunch with my wife pretty much any time I want.

So many benefits!

But there is one downside that not many people talk about. A side that, if left unchecked, can be disastrous.

Your health.

Let’s face it – working this business is NOT very physical. I spend a LOT of time in front of the computer, sitting. Sometimes with a nice snack at my fingertips, lots of coffee throughout the day and so on.

So last year, after my annual physical, my doctor had me go out for another round of blood tests after just 90 days. Then again. Then once more. After that third time he sat me down and said that, while overall I am healthy (for a 45 year old with a sedentary lifestyle) my blood-sugar was trending upwards. Borderline diabetic – not fully, but heading in that direction.

Not coincidentally, my weight had also gone up over this time to 210lbs. I am 5’10″ so that’s pretty heavy – the heaviest I have ever weighed.

So, the doctor said that before putting me on any medication he wanted me to do the “diet and exercise” thing.

Now, diabetes is definitely in my family – my mother had it. And at 45 I figured I am much too young to have to go on medication for an extended period of time. I worked in the pharmaceutical business for 20 years – I know what goes in to those drugs – no way I wanted that!

This was back in October 09. So it was time to make the choice.

I dusted off the trusty treadmill in our basement and renewed my gym membership. And of course, started documenting everything I ate.

Note: I think that documenting what you eat on a daily basis is the BEST thing to do. Sometimes we have no idea what or how much we eat. Doing this for just a week will seriously open your eyes (if you do it honestly). You can help not only track, but also know the nutritional value of the things you eat. I do this with the help of a site:

http://www.livestrong.com/

I use this site to track what I eat, get ideas for exercise and weight loss, get inspiration and motivation and more. There’s a free version, and Gold membership is very affordable (around $40 – $50 for the year).

Anyway, starting on the treadmill, I would walk 30 minutes per day at 4 mph (2 miles total). I loaded up my Ipod Touch with music I like, stuff I can move to. I also put on things like Tony Robbins courses, etc. Stuff to suit any mood while I walk.

After the first month I decided to try throwing some jogging into the mix. The first attempt I could only do about a quarter mile without stopping. Ouch. But I didn’t get discouraged…

Now I am up to 2 miles without stopping. Some days, I run, some days I walk on an incline (between 6 and 10 degrees). Either way I burn calories.

Fast forward to this week…

Back to the doctor on Tuesday to get the results of my latest bloodtest – I am back in the “normal” range. Officially I have lost 11 pounds (so far) – which isn’t bad considering I started in October and went through the holiday season!

And there’s side benefits…

The daily heartburn is now gone – no more Pepcid. My energy level is up. My knees feel better than they have in quite some time. My moods have been great. My motivation for other parts of my life are off the charts.

So many benefits. My only “regret” is waiting so long and waiting for a health issue to get me going.

Diet and exercise – two words that scare off many people. But let me tell you, laziness today will bring you WAY more problems tomorrow.

Now if I miss a day on the treadmill, I feel it. I have started to actually look forward to the time. Because the time I spend walking or jogging, with my Ipod playing (whether I use my treadmill at home or at the gym), is now my “ME” time. My reflection time. My planning time. My alone time.

Do yourself a favor. Make sure you get to the doctor regularly for checkups. My doctor is thorough and thanks to that, he helped me avoid the next 20 – 30 years on medication. This also saved me from other medical issues that being overweight and unhealthy brings.

Get up and get moving. Join the site I linked to above. Don’t try to do too much at once – be patient and persistent and you WILL succeed. Set measurable goals so you have a target to work towards. My target weight is 185. I will achieve it and maintain it.

If I can do it, anyone can.

To Your Health!

Traffic. Traffic. Traffic.

It seems to be all we hear about these days, right?

Well, there’s a good reason for that. Traffic is one of the most important elements for your on line business. No traffic equals no sales equals no income. Pretty straight forward.

I am no stranger to generating traffic for my own sites, as well as for others. But there are so many ways to get traffic it’s hard to decide which way to go.

As far as where to get good, up to date information on some of the traffic techniques being used today, that can be a chore to find as well.

Unless, of course, you already know where to turn – like I do.

My good friend Jonathan Gunson has an awesome interview site where he gets traffic experts to reveal their secrets on how they drive traffic. In fact, he interviewed me on my method.

Traffic Cafe – Jonathans site – has 22 such interviews with various experts. But  the best part – they are all free. Just go there and sign up and get instant access to his interviews with me, Dr. Mike Woo-Ming, Mark Joyner, Jack Humphrey, Matt Bacak, David Frey, Carrie Wilkerson…and many more.

If you are a traffic newbie, or a traffic expert, you will get quite a bit out of these interviews.

Like I said, if you don’t know how to get traffic to your site(s), then don’t waste your time creating products, or get into affiliate marketing, etc. Traffic is King.

Click Here to get these interviews now!