So What’s the big deal about Joomla?
By David Cooper | July 2, 2008
So What’s the big deal about Joomla?
First of all, what the heck is Joomla? Joomla is an open source content management system.
What’s open source? Open source can mean many things, but the most important for you might be the fact that it’s free!
Joomla was created by a team of developers and made available for public use. It is maintained, managed, and upgraded by the Joomla team.
What is a content management system? A content management system is just a fancy phrase for a program that will allow you to create a web presence. When you sign up for Joomla you will be provided with the framework for a website. This will include computer files, audio files, content, graphics and so on. Virtually everything you will need or want to create your own website.
Ok, so why is Joomla such a big deal?
Did I mention that it’s free? 
Joomla is one of the most powerful open source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is very easy to install, simple to manage, and extremely reliable.
Faithful Joomla users swear by it. They love it’s ease of use and the logical interface.
If you are a total newbie when it comes to building websites, you will soon discover that ease of use is an extremely important feature.
Also, Joomla offers at the very least the same level of features that many paid website building options offer. You will have access to banners, contacts, RSS feeds, search functions, site statistics and many other cool bells and whistles.
What if you want a blog? No problem, Joomla offers a number of plug-ins so that you can add a blog quicky and easily.
So remember if you are looking for a free content management option that is easy to use, reliable, and has a logical interface, then Joomla could very well be the answer to your content management problems.
Topics: Content Management | No Comments »
Options to Build Affiliate Websites
By David Cooper | July 1, 2008
Options to Build Affiliate Websites
Let me get this out in the open. If you are doing any type of affiliate marketing, then the idea of building affiliate websites for your affiliate business is a great one!
As an Affiliate Marketer creating your very own online presence will increase your chances of being more profitable in any niche you choose to market to. Even if you do minimal marketing, building your own Affiliate websites will allow you to drive traffic to your affiliate offers. Hopefully, the result will be more profits in your pocket.
The problem with building your own affiliate websites is that the number of choices out there go from one extreme to the other. They are either too simple and rigid or way too difficult to work with and manage.
Once you decide to host your own site your host will, often times, offer you templates that you can use. This is nice, but these templates don’t really allow for the type or level of customization you need or want. You want to have the flexibility to make your online presence everything it needs to be not only for your customers, but also for your business.
On the other hand some solutions offer you a site design and management tools that are far too complicated. Look, if you need to print out a five hundred page manual just to learn how to upload a new article to your site, then it’s probably not a good use of anyone’s time.
The good news is there are other options out there 
The bad news is that even some of these options can leave affiliate business owners feeling a tad overwhelmed.
What I want to do over the next couple of days is to break some of these options down for you and hopefully make the entire process a little bit more easy to understand.
Learning to build affiliate websites should be fun, NOT a huge pain in the #%*!
We will be taking a look at some of the tools that I have used now and in the past. These include Joomla, Frontpage, XSitePro, and WordPress.
Check back tomorrow…
Learn more about how to build affiliate websites
Topics: Affiliate Marketing | No Comments »
Finally! Easy SEO
By David Cooper | June 29, 2008
Easy SEO Review
http://www.easy-seo.book.com
If you are looking for a step-by-step guide to using search engine optimization legally and easily to get the results you are looking for, then I highly recommend you read this review of Easy SEO book.
If you are one of the many people who realize how important search engine optimization is and want to find out more about it, then Easy SEO is definitely for you.
If you have read books, studied literature, and surfed the Internet trying to learn SEO and all you got was really stressed and confused, then Easy SEO is for you.
If you have learned that search engine optimization is really important, but that’s all you’ve learned about SEO, then Easy SEO is for you.
If you need to find the perfect resource that explains the how’s and why’s of SEO, why it is so important, and how to make search engine optimization work for you, then Easy SEO is for you.
The Easy SEO eBook will do all of the above for you and more.
You will find search engine optimization techniques and strategies explained in easy terms that you will be able to understand and work with. After reading this resource you will realize that SEO isn’t so hard at all once you understand what you are working with.
One other thing that I really like about the Easy SEO resource is that it teaches white hat strategies. You will learn how to optimize your websites legally. This should be one of your top priorities.
Easy SEO is extremely easy to understand. The guide is laid out in a simple step-by-step format that even the most computer illiterate person can understand. The strategies laid out make perfect sense.
If you have read lots of technical search engine optimization information before and felt like it was getting you absolutely no where, then Easy SEO will be like a breath of fresh air.
You can put the information into practice on your websites immediately. This is powerful information. Don’t be surprised by putting the steps outlined into action if you aren’t ranking right up there with the big boys. You will be truly amazed at what you will be able to accomplish with Easy SEO.
Search engine optimization really isn’t as hard as you may think. With the guidance from the Easy SEO eBook you will soon find out that search engine optimization doesn’t have to be hard or expensive. I highly encourage you to take a look at Easy SEO. It will be well worth it.
Learn more about Easy SEO by visiting here http://www.easy-seo-book.com/
Topics: Product Reviews, SEO | No Comments »
Do You SEO?
By David Cooper | June 27, 2008
Did you ever wonder how many business websites are out there that no one even knows about? I don’t have any exact statistics but it has to be tons. These “marooned” sites get very little traffic and other than the owner, hardly anyone views them. This has to be one of the worst things that can happen to an online business owner. Is this you? If it is, then read on.
The above scenario is exactly why SEO is extremely important to creating an online presence for your business.
SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization. Through Search Engine Optimization you seduce the search engines to not only recognize your website, but to rank it fairly high when people conduct searches on their search word or phrases.
Almost everyone has gone to a search engine such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, or many others and searched for something on the internet. When you conduct a search you are trying to find the best results for the word or phrase that you typed into the search box. You don’t want to sort through a lot of junk. You are looking for websites that are relevant to what you are searching for.
When people are browsing and searching on the internet they very rarely look past page one of the search results. I do this myself. Every once in a while, however, I will look at the second or third pages but most of the time I can find what I am looking for on the top page of results. The first page of search results is where you want to find your website. This is where we all want to be. Bottom line is this. You want your optimization to be very good, so that your website can be more easily found by potential customers.
How do you increase your visibility on the internet? Using keywords and keyword phrases that are more easily recognized by search engines is a good place to start increasing your visibility. Because of this, your webpage titles should be short, and you want to use keywords that the average person would type into the search box. For example, if you are writing a content related article about maple syrup, the word “maple syrup” should appear enough times in the article that it has a chance to appear at or near the top of the search engine findings. The more times a keyword is used in an article, the greater the chances of the search engines finding it.
Now, what is considered enough times? This is up for much debate. In order to not be penalized for keyword stuffing it is probably a good idea not to use your keyword or phrase more than 1 to 3% of the time in the article. It’s not always about the number of occurences of your keyword or phrase either. Where you place the words on your page and within your content is also an extremely important component of search engine optimization. Seems complicated huh?
There is a ton more to SEO than just choosing the right keywords and using them a certain percentage of the time in your content. Learning the intricacies of Search Engine Optimization will be very useful to small businesses and large companies alike. Creating more organic traffic to your website gives you at least an opportunity to make more sales. Today, more and more business owners are becoming SEO savvy. They see the value that SEO has to offer. They are using search engine optimization to get their websites ranked high in the search results. Today, competition is keen for the top three spots in the various search engines results lists.
One recommendation I can give you with regards to SEO is to always read over your content and edit it before going live with it on your site. Edit out any unnecessary words or phrases. Keep your content articles tightly focused and somewhere between 400 and 500 words in length.
A second recommendation is to find a niche or focus for your website content that will allow you to separate your website from the crowd. Combine this with good solid SEO and you give yourself a chance to score well with the search engines. It does not matter if you are using article content, eBooks, videos, podcasts, or special reports. With regards to getting your site listed higher in the search engines you have to be a little bit better or at least a little bit different than the masses.
There are a number of good websites and programs on the Internet that can teach you the basics of search engine optimization and the benefits of using SEO to increase traffic to your website. Investigate and learn as much about search engine optimization as you can. You don’t have to be an expert, but you can certainly learn some fundamentals that you can apply to optimize your site.
Lastly, take advantage of your niche. Use keywords and phrases that pertain to your niche in your articles and throughout your website. When someone needs to find you or your business, they simply can enter keywords or keyword phrases that are specific to your niche and if you have learned your SEO lessons well, voila - you will put your website right in their path.
Topics: SEO | No Comments »
Improve Customer Relations with Joint Ventures
By David Cooper | June 24, 2008
Day 11 of Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business
Improve Customer Relations with Joint Ventures
Joint ventures can be an excellent marketing tool because when you partner with a relevant business you can double your exposure. Joint venture partnerships also help to create better customer relationships. Offering your customers a new opportunity, new product, or new service with a well respected partner gives you instant credibility. Not only are you viewed as a respected business owner, but one that has their customers in mind. They will appreciate the fact that you have taken the time and effort to find and present high quality opportunities to them.
Using Cross promotions can help build your subscriber list. In day 10 we mentioned partnering with a relevant business to create a contest or giveaway. This type of cross promotion drives traffic to your website and if you both promote the contest to your lists then your exposure is doubled. Another type of cross promotion is to exchange lists, exchange advertising space in a newsletter or directly on the company website or to exchange links.
When it comes to online joint venture partnerships, there really isn’t a downside. You get the opportunity to make your customer’s happy, you build your list, you increase your product base, and you make money. It’s all good!
Marketing is the oxygen that keeps your business breathing and alive. While there are a number of marketing tools, not all of them are right for every business. Choose a tool based on your customers and prospects needs rather than your needs. Let me say that again, “Choose a tool based on your customers and prospects needs rather than your needs”.
For example, if you’re catering to a young market then social networking and podcasting may be right at the top of your list, however if you’re marketing to an older demographic then newsletters may be the desired mode of communication.
The best and most effective way to implement any new marketing tool into your current marketing strategy is to cross promote them. For example if you are already have a newsletter and are considering podcasting, announce the podcast in your newsletter.
Highlight podcast topics, tell them how to listen, and then when you podcast, mention your newsletter and how people can get on your email list.
Effective marketing is a process, it is a comprehensive strategy that communicates your passion for your business, and the benefits of buying your products or services, on a regular basis. Evaluate your strategy regularly and take the time to incorporate a few new marketing tools occasionally to keep things fresh.
Learn More About Joint Ventures
I hope you have enjoyed “Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business”.
Topics: Joint Ventures | 1 Comment »
Create a Buzz with Giveaways, Sweepstakes, and Contests
By David Cooper | June 23, 2008
Day 10 of Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business
Giveaways, Sweepstakes, and Contests
Sometimes the best way to generate a buzz is to give people something to get really excited about. That being said, who doesn’t like to win something? A contest or giveaway doesn’t have to be something directly related to your business either. For example, if you own an online floral delivery business, then a ‘win a bouquet for a month’ campaign would be fantastic however you could also partner with a gift basket business and give away a gift basket. Likewise, the gift basket business could give away a bouquet from your business thereby not only creating a marketing stir but also reaching a whole new group of potential customers.
To get started, consider if you want to go it alone or if you want to find a partner. Next, decide what you’re going to give away. Last step, communicating the giveaway to the world. Any number of the marketing tools already discussed can be used to promote the contest or sweepstakes.
Finally, be sure to generate a press release to announce the contest and a release to announce the winner.
Learn more about Creating a Buzz with Giveaways, Sweepstakes, and Contests
Topics: Affiliate Marketing, Internet marketing | No Comments »
Audio Marketing, Video Marketing, and Podcasting
By David Cooper | June 21, 2008
Day 9 of Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business
Audio Marketing, Video Marketing, and Podcasting
As competition online becomes more keen, it becomes more and more important to reach prospects and customers personally. That means not only mixing up your marketing mix but also letting your prospects and customers get to know you more personally.
In the world of small business your personality is one of your strongest marketing assets. People base their buying decisions on a number of factors, one of them being likeability. If they like you, they’ll be more motivated to buy from you.
Audio and video enable business owners to communicate with their prospects more personally.
Audio and video marketing increases your reach and online visibility. You will expand your target market because different people prefer different mediums. Some customers enjoy reading, while others prefer videos or live communication and still others like to download your information and listen to it when they have time. Just like newsletters delivered via email marketing, podcasts can be subscribed to, downloaded automatically, and listened to when time is available.
It has been shown that audio and video marketing improve your sales and conversion rates. Audio blog posts, video messages and podcasts are yet another way to reach your customers. The one-on-one communication provides the kind of personal touch that customers crave. People are more likely to buy from someone that they feel they have a direct connection with, and podcasts enable you to do just that.
Podcasts provide a consistent line of communication with subscribed listeners. It has been proven that regular communication with your customers improves both your overall relationship with them, as well as their buying frequency. A regularly distributed podcast can strengthen your relationship with your buyers and help to build a community of your customers.
Audio and video content provides beneficial and value added content which increases customer loyalty.
Podcasts allow you to distribute industry news and trends. This will help set you apart from your competition and establish you as a respected leader in your niche or industry. One of the best ways to get repeat purchases and loyal customers is to become the “go to guy in your niche. Once you establish yourself as the go to person for quality information, services, or products, your profits will grow.
There are many tools to help business owners get started with audio and video marketing as well as podcasting. YouTube, for example is a quick and easy way to post a video on your blog and audio messages can be recorded for free using the open source software Audacity. Camtasia is a great tool for creating screen recordings for how to videos and tutorials. Most software programs also provide the steps and coding necessary to post audio or video. More detailed podcasting information can be found at a number of podcasting directories or iTunes.
Learn More about Audio Marketing, Video Marketing, and Podcasting
Topics: Audio Marketing, Podcasting, Video Marketing | No Comments »
Work at Home Truths
By David Cooper | June 19, 2008
Work at Home Truths by Tiffany Dow
Have you had enough yet? You know, enough of the great big gurus with the over hyped sales letters telling you just how FAST and EASY it is to make money online. Showing you pictures of their fake cars, fake houses, fake income vacations and fake income statements!
I am going to tell you right now that if you are out there looking for the “mystic unicorn” where you purchase that $67 report, skim through it, fall asleep in your lazy boy, and awake the next morning with a windfall of cash in your bank account, you’re definitely not ready for Tiffany Dow’s Work at Home Truths Report!
I am going to go one step further and tell you that the people selling you that bag of manure are treating you as if you were nothing more than a part of the “herd”. You know, like sheep! Baaaaaa Baaaaaaa. They are absolutely preying on the fact that you are always looking for and jumping to the “next best thing” and once you discover that being an online business owner does take quite a bit of work, you will just decide to quit.
That is INSULTING!
You don’t have to stand for that!
You need the truth. Tiffany Dow would much rather you find out the truth early enough in your online experience and go ahead and quit, rather than tread water and become frustrated because you aren’t achieving that magic success that others have claimed. Not only that, you are losing hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars in the process. What a load of cow dung!
Listen to me please, there is NO “Mystic Unicorn”!
Can you make money online? Yes, you most certainly can. The part that you aren’t being told by the “sheep herders” is that you might not like being an online business owner. You really have no idea what a career in internet marketing holds in store for you.
Sure, there are a ton of great benefits to being my own boss, but there are an awful lot of drawbacks also! Everyone isn’t cut out for this lifestyle! Quite frankly it’s too much for some people to handle. There, that’s your daily dose of reality!
Right now you are the sheep in the guru crosshairs so to speak. You are playing on their home field. You are purchasing their products that are suppose to teach you how to be an internet marketing genius. The thing is you area purchasing from people who are ONLY showing you what their successes are and they want you to believe that it’s plug and play simple!
That my friends is just a load of Poo Poo!
Are they having success? I can’t say they aren’t, so I will give them the benefit of the doubt.
What I do know is this, that success did not occur overnight. It took months, maybe even years to get to that point. They had good days and really bad days when they just wanted to throw in the towel. There were days when their own family may not have believed in them anymore. They made tons of mistakes on their journey. They lost their fair share of money. They were probably not all that different than you!
You know what though? They didn’t give up and they learned how to make a profit from their efforts. They built on their small successes. They probably bought into the dream themselves at one time. Now, they feel like they have to turn around and sell that dream to you, and that my friends is where they are absolutely, 100% in the wrong!
Look at the term “work at home”. Why do those three words have such a murky reputation? Why do people immediately think “pyramid scheme” when you say “work at home”.
Listen to me, work at home isn’t some grand scam. I am living proof. Tiffany Dow is living proof. Am I listed in Forbes Richest people in America? No, I’m not. I never claimed to be either. Tiffany Dow who wrote wahtruths made over 6 figures last year. Pretty good huh? Do you know that the last several years her income has increased on average of $20,000 to $30,000 per year. That a girl Tiff!
Ok, try this. Go into work tomorrow, march yourself into your bosses office and ask him or her for a $25,000 raise. :) Think you’ll get it? I hope lilke heck you do, but I have my doubts!
Okay, I’m getting off of my soapbox now. Let me tell you a little about what Tiffany Dow has included in her Work at Home Truths Report.
I asked Tiff about her report and she told me that she has a goal to teach people how to build their online empire one bite-sized chunk at a time. Her first report was going to teach you what Internet Marketing actually is!
At some point she had an epiphany and determined that wasn’t really step one. Step one was to expose what it’s really like to be your own boss and work from the comfort of your own home.
Trust me, if you can stomach that, you are more than ready to move on to the next step in the process.
I have a bet with Tiff. She figures that over 50% of you are going to drop out of the game after you read what she reveals in Work at Home Truths. I think you are tougher than that. We will see.
You are not going to like everything she has to say in her report that’s for sure. It’s not all sugar and spice and everything nice. It is ALL very real! Some of it is unbelievably RAW. It might hurt you to hear the truth and have your bubble burst. Tiffany is going to reveal the good, the bad, and the buzzard scaring ugly in her report. If you don’t know how ugly this business can be, you are going to be very disappointed when you take that leap of faith without thinking and suddenly wish you hadn’t quit your day job! 
Look, Tiffany Dow isn’t trying to deter you from being an online business owner, but she does want you to understand that there is a huge difference between the dreamers and the doers. She wants to help those of you who aren’t scared of some scars, bumps, and bruises along the way. She wants to help those types of people to build their business the right way!
Before you spend hundreds more dollars on the next great thing you need to STOP and think with a clear mind. You need the truth, if you can handle the truth!
Ok, so you might be saying that I’m a little bit cynical. Yes, maybe I am and I want you to be a little bit cynical too. I want you to be cynical with an open mind. A mind that will allow you to decide rationally what messages you decide to buy into.
Check out the Video to see what Tiffany is going to show you in Work at Home Truths.
Let’s face it. Internet Marketers and Work from Home Guru’s have earned a questionable reputation over the years.
It’s really nobody’s fault but our own. Why? Because the really successful work at home business owners have not taken enough responsibility in what is being taught to the “herd”. Many have spent far too much time putting together ebooks that tell you how much you can earn and how fast.
Do they always seem one eye on getting you to buy another eBook they are going to recommend?
Of course they do!
Tiffany Dow could do that too, but she won’t. She is better than that. She has had any number of guru’s tell her that unless she sells the dream she is going to go broke. I say RUBBISH!
If this report finds its way into the hands of a few people that have it inside of them to succeed rather than thousands of misguided customers who will endure more heartache and failure because of the greed of some unscrupulous marketer who can’t tell the whole truth then it will be all worth it to Tiffany.
So if you have the stomach and can accept the drawbacks with the potential perks I highly recommend Tiffany Dow’s Work at Home Truths. Let’s see if this internet/work at home lifestyle is truly something you will embrace and flourish with.
Learn More about Tiffany Dow’s Work at Home Truths
Work at Home Truths about Being your own boss
Topics: Work at Home | 1 Comment »
Try Social Networking for Increased Exposure and Awareness
By David Cooper | June 18, 2008
Day 8 of Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business
Social Networking
Social networking, marketing yourself on other social networking sites like LinkedIn, Warrior Forum, and MySpace, can be a significant way to not only increase exposure and awareness for your company it is also a tremendous way to build valuable business and customer relationships. Social networking has many advantages, including:
- The ability to build powerful business partnerships
- Improved Customer relationships
- Added value and benefit to the social networking community
- Improved Brand awareness
- Increased Exposure and reach
When used properly, Social networking can be a very powerful tool. The efforts of Social Networking can result in tremendous profits, however, if approached with the sole purpose of generating profits, your efforts may fall well short. To make the most of your social networking time, you should join groups specific to your industry. Additionally, only join one or two in the beginning. Social networking requires active involvement on your part and if you’ve overextended yourself then your results will be diminished.
Weekly visits to a membership site or networking site are a minimum requirement. Many networkers schedule social networking into their calendar. For example, on Thursday nights they might schedule two hours to visit their favorite forums and social networking sites they belong to.
When evaluating membership sites, forums and networking sites it is important to make sure a personalized signature is part of joining. Your signature is the one resource fellow members have to find you online. Most sites do not allow blatant self promotion so that means a signature is essential.
If you’ve decided to leap into the world of social networking there are a few basic strategies to follow.
1) Increase your linkability. The sites that get the most press are the sites that provide the most interesting content. Content doesn’t have to be written, online it can be audio or video files too. The more incoming links you have the faster the word will spread about your page, website, and business.
2) Make tagging easy. People search for content in search engines like they search for content on social networking sites. Tagging makes it easier for them to find and identify you.
3) Add content. In order for your social networking page or site to be interesting and attract attention there must be an abundance of valuable content. The content needs to provide a benefit to readers and be entertaining. Capture the interest of your social networking community and word will spread like wildfire.
It is the speed and raw numbers that attract so many business owners to social networking sites, however simply putting up a site and throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks isn’t going to work. Like any marketing campaign, it takes time, a strategy and research to find the right site and approach for your business and your target market. Social networking can be a very successful form of word of mouth marketing, if approached correctly.
Learn more about Social Networking
Topics: Affiliate Marketing, Internet marketing | No Comments »
Direct Response Marketing Increases Awareness and Sales
By David Cooper | June 17, 2008
Day 7 of Dynamic Marketing Ideas for Your Internet Business
Direct Response Advertising
Direct response marketing is arguably the number one way that many companies use to increase brand awareness and product sales. Why? Quite simply, Direct Response Marketing Works. When done correctly, direct response advertising works amazingly well.
What exactly is Direct Response advertising?
Direct response marketing is defined as sending a marketing message directly to your prospect. You can send the message via snail mail, email, or even on the telephone.
The majority of direct response marketing today is sent via email or direct mail. Statistics show that direct response marketing generates a typical response rate of about 3%. I will mention however that the response rate can be higher or lower depending on the marketing message being sent. The marketing message is just as important as the marketing method used.
3% is pretty good, but if you want to obtain even higher conversion rates, you need to make sure your direct response marketing piece has:
1) An attention getting device. This is usually a well crafted headline.
2) Creates an interest and Desire. Once you have your prospect’s attention, you now want to create a desire for your product or service. Highlighting the benefits your reader will receive from buying and using your products or services is the key here.
3) Call to Action. What do you want your reader to do? Do you want them to call you? Do you want them to visit your website for a free report or consultation? Do you want them to make a purchase? A direct response piece must have a call to action.
If you are looking for ways to increase your brand awareness and improve your sales I highly recommend you learn more about the advantages of direct response marketing.
Learn more about Direct Response Marketing
Topics: Affiliate Marketing, Internet marketing | No Comments »