Tips Me-MARKETING-kan BLOG (Blog Marketing & Management)

Banyak blog yang dibuat setiap harinya baik yang free maupun yang berbayar, namun banyak blog hanya dibuat saja tetapi tidak diupdate atau dimaintain. Beberapa perusahaan maupun personal lebih memilih menyewa BLOG CONSULTANT agar web blognya lebih terupdate.

Beberapa tips yang saya ambil dari toprankblog.com agar blog perusahaan atau personal lebih termanage dengan baik.
Berikut tipsnya:

1. Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!

2. Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.

3. Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.

4. Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.

5. Optimize the blog: Template optimization - RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, -Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap ; Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT ; Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)

6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.

7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.

8. Setup a Google account for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.

9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.

10. Format archived posts, related posts.

11. Enable statistics for tracking - Google Analytics, ClickTracks.

12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.

13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.

14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.

15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.

16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.

17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.

18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.

19. Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.

20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.

21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.

22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.

23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.

24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.

25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.

26. If your blog’s goal is to promote you as an authority, interview other prominent bloggers in your industry. Your own credibility will improve by association.

27. Build out your online networks through services such as MyBlogLog, Twitter and Facebook and leverage them to promote particularly useful content on your blog.

28. Once your blog has 1000 or more subscribers, show your Feedburner badge

29. Host images with Flickr making sure to include an anchor text link in the image description back to the post where the image is used.

30. Use your blog to gain press/media credentials at relevant industry conferences and use the event to create content, connections and increase your knowledge.

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

How to Start a Blog and Make Money from Blog ?

Belum lama saya bertemu dengan teman kuliah saya, dia bertanya tentang bisnis internet atau intenet marketing. Dia bertanya tentang bagaimana sih cara membuat website kita bisa menghasilkan. Saat itu, saya coba menjelaskan dengan singkat saja.


Lalu ketika saya sedang browsing ke salah satu website tentang internet marketing, ada artikel menarik yang menurut saya bisa menjadi pembelajaran bagi kita yang benar-benar ingin terjun di dunia internet bisnis.


So...silakan baca artikel di bawah ini oke!

If you are new to the internet and wondering what an earth this blogging craze is all about, or if you already have your own website and you're wondering why everyone keeps advising you to start your own blog, read on. I'm going to explain to you what a blog is, why you need one, how to set it up, promote it and of course, make money from it.

Blog is short for "web log" and is similar to an online diary or journal. The craze of blogging began in the very late 1990s and has started to become more and more popular over the last couple of years. Almost everyone seems to have a blog these days, from CEOs of large companies to webmasters, from world travelers to teenagers. Even my Dad has his own blog now! A blog allows you to communicate informally with people via an online journal, but it's more personal and unstructured than a website and easier and cheaper to set up than a website.

If you have your own website, but haven't yet started a blog you can easily start one using a free service such as Blogger or WordPress. Try to post to your blog at least once or twice a week on topics related to your website. Blogging will help your search engine rankings and open up the communication channels between you and your visitors or customers, encouraging them to interact with you and give them a reason to return to your site in future.

There are many ways to make money from your blog, but here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Google Adsense - this is free to join and easy to set up. The ads will match the content of your blog and you will get paid every time a visitor clicks on an ad.

• Affiliate Programs - sign up for affiliate programs related to the topic of your blog and display links to related products on your blog. Clickbank, Trade Doubler and Commission Junction are good places to start, or do a Google search for "affiliate program" + the topic of your blog to find more affiliate programs. Whenever someone clicks through your affiliate link and buys a product, you will receive a commission. If you are knowledgeable about your topic you could also write product reviews to help increase your affiliate sales.

• Sell Advertising Space - if you have a popular blog you can charge people to advertise on your blog. This could be in the form of a text link, a banner or a graphic.

• Submitting your blog to blog directories - just search for "blog directories" in Google

• Asking other bloggers to exchange links with you - you put a link on your blog in exchange for a link from their blog.

• Writing an article related to the topic of your blog and posting it to article directories. Remember to include an author's resource box with a link to your blog.

• Pinging blog ping services every time you make a new post - pingomatic.com and pingoat.com are two sites you can use to do this.

• Participating in forums related to the topic of your blog. Put a link to your blog in your forum signature.

Finally, once you have your blog monetized and you have started promoting it don't forget to post regularly. The most important aspect of every successful blog is frequent posting, so be sure not to let the virtual dust gather over your blog!

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

Social Networking (like : Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, etc.) Is A Great Marketing Media ?

There has been a virtual explosion of social networking sites in the past couple of years. Even the big players like Google, Yahoo and MSN are getting into it. With so much interest in how social networks work, one begins to wonder if there is marketing potential within these social networks?

I've been watching social networking for some time now. In fact I'm a member of various social networking sites including MySpace and LinkedIn just to name two. I joined partly because I wanted to see what they were, but more importantly to see what impact social networking would have on SEM in the coming years. I've been a member of various services for some time and the reach these sites have is incredible.

For example, from my LinkedIn network of seven people I have an expanded network of over 12,600 people.

Imagine that - I'm only a click or two away from close to 13,000 other people who share my similar interests ranging from what I like to watch on TV to work I could provide to them. Through my connections and their connections, I'm connected to people ranging from the American Cancer Society, to Sun Microsystems to the University of Texas to Google.

But what marketing opportunities are there for Social Networking?

Well, let's look at MySpace.

MySpace is one of the top sites on the Web today. It racked up 9.4 billion page-views in August 2005 (more than Google) and new users are signing up at a mind-boggling rate of 3.5 million a month. MySpace is typical of where today's 18-30 year old goes to manage their digital life. It allows users to post photos of themselves and their friends, create a blog, list their favorite bands, view and share videos, suggest things to do and lists a set of people they consider friends. It is on this "Friends List" where most of the opportunities lie.

All thirty million plus users of MySpace have a friend's page that lists people that person considers their friend. This is a list of people that they are interested in talking to and about, as well as hearing from on a regular basis. Once you add someone as your friend they can send you emails, comment on your photos, read your blogs, as well as leave messages that you can then share with others. This is an opportunity for instant feedback about you.

The ability to add friends to your page is key for marketing to MySpace users. According to Courtney Holt, head of new media and strategic marketing at Interscope Records, "This generation is growing up without having ever watched programmed media." "They don't think in terms of the album, and they don't think in terms of a TV schedule. They think in terms of TiVo, P2P, AOL, and of course MySpace."

You can see how this could grow.

Let's say you create a MySpace account to talk about your product or service. You blog about it and search for others that may share your interests. You then invite them to be your friend. When they become a friend you start your "soft sell" pitching your product to them. As they grow to appreciate it, they start blogging and sharing it. Soon hundreds or even thousand of people are talking about you and your product or service.

Don't think this will work?

Let me give you some examples. There are many bands who have gotten their start on MySpace. Simply by hosting some of their music online and blogging about themselves they developed a following. Soon they had record deals and contracts lined up.

Of course to use services like MySpace you need to have something this target market needs. If you don't then you probably shouldn't put too much effort into MySpace.

But that doesn't mean other social networking opportunities should be overlooked. As I mentioned above, LinkedIn is more of a professional introduction service. If your product or service fits here then by all means explore it further.

And there are others as well. Services such as Yahoo!s MyWeb, Flickr, del.icio.us and more.

So if you've ever wondered what other online opportunities could be out there, consider social networking. It could be the next great online marketing channel.

So.... Kembali lagi ke kitanya, mau digunakan untuk apa Sosial Networking yang kita miliki, mau untuk sekedar profil, numpang tenar atau bisa dijadikan bisnis??

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

Promote Your Business in the Blogosphere

Kemaren aku, jalan-jalan blog (blogwalking) ke Entrepreneur.com, sambil baca-baca saya menemukan sebuah artikel tentang blog yang menarik, ya udah tanpa pikir panjang lebar langsung tak COPY PASTE aja (inget asal usulnya jangan lupa dicantumin juga), selamat membaca oke!

Millions of blogs are created every day, and they offer many ways to promote your business.

Be forewarned, however: Getting publicity in blogs is very different than getting publicity in traditional media.

In traditional media, a story is portrayed objectively. In the blogging world, the blog owner writes blog entries that reflect his or her personal opinions and outlook. So, a pitch for a blog is totally different than one for traditional media. Bloggers don't even like the word "pitch."

The first step in getting publicity in blogs is to read them and study them, just as you would do if you were interested in getting publicity in traditional media.

If you're not sure which ones to read, you can always check out the top 100 blogs at Technorati.com. Many of the blogs are technology-related. There are also some top business and consumer blogs.

Once you've studied them, you'll likely be eager to promote your own business through blogs. Since traditional pitches don't work in the blogging world, here are some ways to promote your business in the blogosphere:

Create your own blog. This will enable you to create an additional online presence and make you visible to other bloggers. To start, you can get a free, hosted blog at Wordpress.com. Make sure you have a link to your website.

At the minimum, here are the Top 5 things every blog needs, from Neil Patel of ACS:

1. Great content, so that other people want to read it;
2. A good, clean design. Content should be easy to read. Text should be clear and big enough to read;
3. An RSS feed, so your blog content can be sent to others automatically;
4. Navigation, including search, archives and categories, so readers can find specific content; and
5. Comments and trackbacks, so readers can interact.
6. 
   

The next step is to comment on other blogs. Blogging is about creating and joining conversations, and that includes reading what others in your industry are saying and joining the discussion. While it takes time, it's free. When you comment, you can include your name and URL, which will also create a link and traffic to your site.

After you do this for a while, you may be inspired to write a guest post on someone else's blog. This gives you and your business even more exposure, as your name, URL and often your picture will be included in the post. Some bloggers even ask for guest bloggers when they are away or on vacation. Be sure to raise your hand when this opportunity arises.

As you become known as an expert, someone may ask for an interview, or you can suggest that a blogger interview you on a topic of interest. That is how I got featured in Guy Kawasaki's blog, which led to incredible business opportunities, traffic and links.

Next, send an e-mail to a blogger about your new product or your book. Bloggers often are looking for things to write about, and they may be happy to review your book or product, assuming it's along the lines of things they write about. Remember that there is no guarantee they'll say something positive.

You can also cross-promote with other bloggers. If you have a blog, you can "make friends" with other bloggers, by mentioning them in your blog posts or putting them on your blogroll. Then you can remind them to promote posts that you're particularly proud of or vote for your submissions on Digg or your social bookmarking site of choice. And you can reciprocate. The benefits of this kind of networking include more mentions on other blogs, more requests for interviews and more partnerships in future deals.

Getting mentioned in a blog creates great exposure, and ultimately links and business for you. So jump into the blogosphere and jump-start your business.

Margie Zable Fisher, president of Zable Fisher Public Relations and author of the Do-It-Yourself Public Relations Kit, has helped hundreds of business owners through her Do-It-Yourself PR workshops and materials. You can get additional free public relations information and tips in Margie's PRactical P.R. by signing up at zfpr.com.

Best,

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

HEADLINES = Nyawa-nya Promosi

Banyak dari kita (termasuk saya) selalu bertanya-tanya “apasih yang membedakan promosi yang bagus dengan yang buruk ?”

Tentunya HASILNYA!

Nah, pertanyaan kedua adalah “apa yang menentukan hasil ini?”

Kalau orang periklanan menyebutnya adcopy atau copywriter. Kita mungkin belum tahu betapa mahalnya keahlian penulis copywriter ini. Yang jelas cukup mahal, karena yang dia tulis sangat-sangat menentukan berhasil tidaknya promosi penjualan. Tapi jangan kuatir kok, kita bisa mempelajarinya pelan-pelan. Bukannya kita setiap waktu selalu berbicara? Nah dari situlah kita akan belajar.

Oke saya tekankan lagi bahwa “Adcopy bisa dipelajari”. Yang pertama perlu diperhatikan dan sangat berharga untuk dikuasai adalah baris pertama kalimat promosi (judul/headlines).

Misal saja jika kita ingin membeli buku atau koran, tentunya kita akan tergerak dari judul buku atau headlines koran tersebut bukan?

Nah dari judul berikut, mana yang membuat Mada tergerak untuk membeli:

• Cara Menguasai Adsense
• Cara Menggunakan Adsense
• Bagaimana Membuat Adsense

Fokus headlines yang memberi hasil berbeda pada benefit yang akan diperoleh pembaca yang menjadi target promosi.

Tentu saja promosi tidak hanya terdiri dari satu headlines.Kalimat-kalimat berikutnya juga akan sangat menentukan. Namun, headlines lah yang membuat prospek atau calon pelanggan ingin terus membaca baris-baris promosi dan tergerak untuk membeli.

Bagaimana kita tahu kalau headlines yang Mada buat memberi hasil positif? Mudah saja. Kita dapat menggunakan ad tracker untuk melihat ROI (Return On Investment) masing-masing promosi yang kita buat. Kalau kita memiliki situs sendiri dan hendak melakukan tracking terhadap promosi Google Adwords, kita dapat menggunakan alat tracking yang disediakan oleh Google.

Best,

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

Gimana sih bikin webiste kita menjual ?

Beberapa waktu lalu saya bertemu teman di sebuah Kafe di Jakarta, dia bertanya kepada saya menanyakan “gimana sih bikin website kita menjual ?”. Meski saya pun masih terus belajar, namun saya berusaha menjelaskan hal ini sebagai sharing saja.

Sebagai awal kita harus menemukan nama domain yang cocok untuk bisnis kita, hal ini bisa anda cek di www.name.com.

Setelah kita menemukan domain yang cocok untuk kita langkah berikutnya adalah mencari tempat untuk meletakkan materi bisnis kita. Karena lebih dari 70% pengguna internet yang dicari adalah informasi.

Ken Evoy, pakar internet kelas dunia menyebutkan langkah preselling yaitu membuat content, content, content. Begitu selalu disebutkannya. Atau singkatnya berikan content yang orang lain suka atau diinginkan, dan ada saatnya kelak mereka membeli dari kita, memasang iklan atau mengklik iklan.

Setelah itu pikirkan tempat untuk content tersebut, tempat ini biasa disebut website, dan website perlu hosting. Saat ini tempat yang disediakan untuk website bisa kita sewa dengan harga yang terjangkau. Namun baiknya kita merancang terlebih dulu layout dan isi dari website tersebut sebelum memutuskan untuk menyewa hosting. Yang berikutnya adalah bagaimana agar website tersebut menarik. Sekali lagi, orang mencari informasi di internet. Jadi berikan informasi tersebut.

Langkah yang tidak kalah pentingnya adalah menggerakkan 'traffic' ke website kita. Yang dimaksud traffic di sini adalah jumlah pengguna internet yang mengunjungi website kita. Semakin besar traffic ke website , semakin besar kemungkinan terjadinya penjualan. Asalkan kita melakukan preselling dengan baik.

Lebih jauh mengenai preselling dapat dipelajari di link ini: http://mycps.sitesell.com/

Traffic dapat kita lakukan dengan dua cara. SEO dan SEM. SEO atau Search Engine Optimization merupakan metode penulisan dan pembuatan website agar search engine friendly. Dengan SEO, website kita lebih mudah ditemukan oleh para pencari informasi karena penampakan link ke website tersebut pada search result ada di ranking atas.

SEM atau Search Engine Marketing merupakan metode memasarkan website ke internet. Yang paling popular saat ini adalah pay per click dari Google Adwords.

Perry Marshall, seorang internet marketing memberikan kursus lima hari gratis mengenai Adwords di link berikut: http://www.perrymarshall.com/google/index071106.htm

Best,

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com

Bunga Deposito VS Penghasilan Domain Parking

"Tadi lagi blogwalking, mampir ke blog nya Cak Wid yang lagi membahas soal Makna Hidup Sejahtera. Cak Wid bilang kalau sudah punya deposito yang bunga bulanannya Rp. 10 jt maka sudah merasa hidup sejahtera. Terus jadi inget salah satu pelajaran yang pernah aku terima, untuk tidak takut invest di Internet Marketing. Aku langsung ngitung2 kalau uang yang di deposito in itu di invest ke domain parking.

Ngitung yuk… Ngayal yuk…
Bunga 10jt berarti deposito nya 2M. Kalau uang 2M ini di beliin domain, dapet (anggep aja) 28000 domain (.com)
Kalau masing2 domain per bulan ngehasilin $1 aja, berarti per bulan dapetnya $28000
Per tahun jadi $336000
Ongkos bayar domain per tahun = 28000 x $8 = $224000

Laba per tahun = $112000
Laba per bulan = $9333

Itu kalau penghasilan per domain per bulan cuma $1, gimana kalau per domain nya lebih dari $1 / bulan ?

eh bener ga ya itungan ku? beli domain ahhh…

catatan: Perhitungan di atas bisa jadi benar dan mungkin terjadi, tapi jangan lupa, banyak faktor2 yang harus diterapkan dalam pemilihan nama domain nya supaya bisa menghasilkan tanpa di promosiin. Dan apakah nama-nama domain yang bagus masih pada available, most likely sih ngga Jadi gimana dunk, deposito apa domain parking? Ya dua-dua nya lah, kan diversifikasi "

Kutipan dari : Mba Dini Shanti (my Friend and my NetTeacher)

Thanks ya Mba...

Best,

Mahadaya
Pembelajar Dunia Maya
www.mulaibisnis.com