Making Yourself Known

As a new internet entrepreneur, one of the most daunting challenges one will face is "creating a presence" on the web. We wander in, look around and try to figure out what to do next. I have been focusing lately on message boards (forums) that relate to online marketing.

Participating in these forums can bring an enormous amount of exposure to the newbie marketer, but there are certainly some guidelines to follow. Different forum communities have different "cultures" so to speak and it will take some time to get accustomed to the peculiarities of each one. Spend some time reading and "lurking" before you make any posts. This will give you some ideas about how to approach the community. If you do nothing else, read the forum rules carefully before posting. You may be surprised at just how much the rules can vary between communities.

Once you've gotten "settled in" go ahead and put your link(s)(IF they're allowed) in your signature line and start participating in a meaningful way. Don't put your links in the body of your posts and make every effort to avoid giving the impression that you're a spammer. A great rule of thumb to stay in the good graces of any forum is to resist the urge to post unless you beleive that you have something to say that will add value to the community.

What many eager newbies tend to forget is that doing business online is all about building relationships. Take your time, interact, learn and grow.

Web 2.0 Social Marketing

Ask ten different people just exactly what Web 2.0 is, and you're likely to get ten different answers. In a nutshell, with all the new features online today, the web is becoming a more interactive, social place. With sites such as MySpace, YouTube, FaceBook and many others, the opportunity to reach out and interact with other web users is exploding.

Possibly the most unique of these relatively new "social sites" is Squidoo. I like Squidoo. It's sort of like a blog, but not exactly. You make "lenses" instead of blog posts and the community is very interactive. As an example, here is one of MY Lenses. Be warned though, Squidoo is addictive! Not only id Squidoo an excellent platform to supplement a well rounded marketing strategy, it's fun! To get the most out of the Squidoo experience, click the banner in this post to learn how to maximize Squidoo's potential.

Neat Tools for Searching

I was doing my usual perusing of the net the other day, looking for anything that may be of interest, and I came across a couple of things that may be of use to other bloggers and internet entrepreneurs out there. I spend a large part of every day that I'm on the net searching for countless things. As you all know, the task of searching on a topic of interest can be daunting and the search results are sometimes less than satisfactory. Both of the resources I'm going to give you are simply gifts. Nuggets of usefulness that I've found, and I have no affiliation with either site. The first is a directory of resources for "deep searching". Some of the resources on this site will go FAR beyond what you'll find with the typical Google or Yahoo! search. Check it out HERE.
The other site I've found pulls many of the popular search engines into one user-friendly portal of sorts. Kind of a one-stop-shop for you searching needs. Check It Out!

Back Again

Between posts, I'm making myself VERY busy running all over the net scouring the nooks and crannies looking for the few non-scam opportunities out there. I've come to realize through contact with many new-found friends and acquaintances on the net that every last person who has actually made money online has one thing in common. They have an effective plan and they WORK at it. The work part is not so hard for me, but I needed help with EXACTLY what to do and how to do it. I've found the most complete, detailed and up-to-date guide available today. It's not a "system", "turn-key cash machine" or anything like that, but it has the potential to produce great results given plenty of effort and some time. My best description of this course is that it is a VERY good road map. Very beneficial for me and anyone else who is relatively new at this stuff. Check it out here. Thanks for stopping by.