Back in the day, when the internet was just beginning, text was the only way to share information. Today though, with the advent of inexpensive video technology and video editing software, creating video for your website or blog is nearly as simple as writing text. And, as long as you make it easy for the search engines to find your videos, you are bound to see a jump in traffic to your website or blog.

Here are just some of the more popular uses for video when vlogging…

• Introduce yourself and your business
• Answer customer questions about products or services
• Answer FAQs
• How-to videos are always some of the most popular
• Read your blog posts, for those with short attention spans
• Share unique information or viewpoints
• Teach your visitors something new
• Review competing products or services, just keep it honest
• Ask for the sale!

Using video rather than simply blogging will create a personal connection between you and your visitor. Video is much more dynamic than simple text. It helps you to become a person, not just a website. You will even find yourself becoming more connected to them, even as they become more connected to you.

For visitors with a short attention span, which includes most visitors by the way, video will compel them to stay on-site longer than simple text. Video engages people much more effectively than simple text, and it is a great way to create a call-to-action. When you appeal to more than one sense by vlogging, you create a dynamic relationship that will last longer and benefit you and your visitor more easily.

After all, if your competitors are vlogging, and they very likely are, you need to be vlogging too.

Kind of silly, I know.

So of COURSE we did a video version.

(I mean, really…who do you think we are?)

And…in case you are wondering – my kidlings came home from preschool right at the moment I was finishing so…that sort of explains the ending.

“Oh great, I need to learn another new term,” you ask? “What the heck is the ‘Vlog-iverse’?” “What the heck is ‘vlogging’?” “Why can’t you just leave me alone and let me stumble through the internet universe on my own?”

Sorry Bunky, but yes, it is time to learn something new about how you get found on the internet today and the video universe, or “Vlog-iverse,” (we totally just made that up) is where it’s at right now. This includes video blogging, or “vlogging.”

“Whyyyyyy,” you ask, in that whiney voice you usually save only for your partner? Because YouTube has very quietly become the second largest search engine in the universe, that’s why. And – YouTube is owned by Google, so anything you place there has an effect on the search engine monster we all love to hate, as well. “That’s not reason enough,” you say?

Here are just a few of the numbers you need to know, directly from YouTube…

• More than 800 million unique visits per month
• More than 4 billion videos are watched each day
• YouTube monetizes more than 3 billion views per week, worldwide
• Mobile device traffic tripled in 2011
• More than 100 million viewers take social action on YouTube videos every week

What does all of this mean for you? Why should you begin vlogging, instead of simply blogging? Video stand out as unique and creative. Video creates a deeper, more intimate connection between you and your visitor. Video is compelling, causing the viewer to take action. Whatever you wish your visitor to do; opt-in to your mailing list; buy a product; sign up for a service, you are much more likely to impel them to do so with video.

Where must you place your video, besides YouTube? Everywhere you can, of course! Place your videos on your landing pages, your Home Page, your blog, and all over your website. Your goal is to have them seen, by the search engines and your visitors! Once you do this, your traffic can’t help but grow.

Stay tuned for more on vlogging and your introduction to the Vlog-iverse, as we bring you more reasons and ways to put yourself out there ever more effectively.

…And yes, of COURSE I did a video version of this post!

Are you already using social media but having trouble keeping up with the information flow?

Do you wonder if it’s ethical to have someone else post to social media as you?

Are you wondering why you have to do this stuff in the first place?

First, the answer to last question – you need to be present in the social media world because that is where the people are. That’s it. Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google+ puts butts in the seats. Facebook alone has 800 million users; that’s right, 800 million. And it’s still growing. When even one of your status updates on FB is shared, your potential audience grows by 17,000 users within a couple of days. Those numbers simply can’t be ignored.

Second, as a business owner, you simply don’t have the time to do everything yourself. That’s why you hire employees, right? For example, you may have a customer service department because you can’t handle all the phone calls yourself. Those people “speak” with your voice. There’s nothing unethical about that is there? Posting updates and tweets falls into the same category. Where it crosses the line (I think) is when you have people posting personal things about you. Like – “Just had pancakes!” or… “Off to Disneyland!” Things like that. You still want to maintain your own online social life, but things like posting interesting business articles, taking excerpts from your blog posts, etc. – those things are just fine.

Third, tracking the flow of updates and tweets from a really active business site can be mind boggling, not to mention time consuming. Having someone put that information into a format you can handle more easily would be the same as your accountant handing you a monthly P & L. It makes the mountain of information manageable, which allows you to take effective action without spinning your wheels.

Fourth, you simply must be there. Your competition is, or will be soon, so you must be present in the social network. As mentioned above, Facebook has about 800 million members; Twitter has about 450 million; LinkedIn has about 135 million; YouTube has about 600 million users; and Google+ will reach 100 million this year. That means that fully 1/3 of the entire planet’s population, or 2.1 billion people are members of the social network. Are you still wondering if you need to be there?

Since maintaining a social media presence has become critical to successful business, and since doing so takes valuable time, hiring a social media specialist makes a great deal of sense; just as hiring an accountant, or attorney, or any other business specialist does. The only thing you will need to do is interject your personal posts ever once in a while. A Social media manager can maintain your business presence; you let the Twitter-verse know what you had for breakfast every once in a while, and then you can move on with your day. Boom, done.

“I need more time.”

“I should just write a bunch at once.”

“Maybe if I incorporate a ‘writing day’ into my calendar…”

“I have lots of things to write about, but it just takes so long…”

Any of those apply to you? If so, here are some quick tips to think about:

1. A blog entry doesn’t have to resemble an essay, term paper, white paper, or even be as long as an entire paragraph. Not feeling inspired some days? Just do a “quick tip”.
2. It’s okay to write conversationally in a blog post. While I do encourage the use of a spell check, the occasional misused semicolon will not bring your business down. Mrs. Schnikelbottom from 7th grade will probably not see your blog post. Even if she does, I’m pretty sure she can’t comment in red ink.
3. Feeling uninspired?

• Save questions from clients.
• Write down “case study” examples as they happen in your business.
• Seek out what others in your field are talking about, and write your take on it.
• Take portions of anything you’ve ever spoken about, and write out a bit about it.
• Have an ebook or something simliar? Take an excerpt.
• Ask your clients to submit questions.
• Ask your clients to submit challenges.
• Don’t have clients yet? Make up something your client would say if you had one, or write about the challenges they would have.
• Grab a big topic, and turn it into 6 blog posts (series, anyone?)

How often should I blog?

I personally like blogging once or twice a week. The more frequent publication is actually less “pressure” because I don’t feel like it has to be such a big sparkly production each time I blog. It can be more of an ongoing conversation. I think you need to pick what feels good to you. That being said – if you are working on your SEO – you probably need to be on the 2-3 times a week train.

I have plenty of ideas, but have no TIME!

If you have lots of great info in your head, but no time to get it on paper (or…your blog in this case) – write down article title ideas and the bullet points to with them, and then send it to a writer to complete and make into sentences. Bonus if you find a writer that can also incorporate SEO stuff into your posts (we have can do this… just sayin’). AND sometimes you can even ask your writer to just get on the phone with you for an hour while you spout your wisdom, and then he/she comes back a week or so later with blog posts. It’s like magic. Still your ideas, but somebody else’s punctuation. Practical. Efficient. Yet still authentic. Boom, done.

Repurpose, reuse, recycle.

Are you writing separate items for your ezine, blog, and social media campaigns? If so, stop it right now! There is no need. Check it out: blog=ezine=social media updates (that link back to the blog post).

See? Blogging isn’t as hard as you thought!

Do you have any tips for easy blogging? Add them in the comments below!

Oh noooooooo – 1ShoppingCart.com raised their prices! 

And so, here we are (and pay attention, because I can probably save you some $$ here).

After the recent 1SC shopping cart price increase from $99-$129 on the professional level account (which… in my opinion was pretty steep considering the “upgrades” they gave), people started exploring other options.

“What about using free WordPress plugins or other programs for an online store or affiliate program? asked one person.

As far as plugins and stuff – you can certainly accomplish setting up a store, affiliate program, and doing a newsletter with lots of different moving pieces. It will definitely work. The problem, is that in the end, you will spend more time and money than you will save, trying to manage it and get your contacts in one place, and keep it all together. So, the cost-savings is undeterminable (especially if you are using a team to make it work.)

“I’ve heard great things about Infusionsoft. If we’re going to spend the money, we might as well get the big one,” mentioned someone else.

As far as Infusionsoft goes – I’ve heard great things about it, however most people don’t need it. In my opinion, it’s only worth it if you have a lot of contacts and a lot going on. I’m sure a Ferrari is worth the money too, but getting one to drive my kids 3 blocks down the road to school would be overkill. It would be super fun, and all our friends would be impressed …but not really necessary.

“Someone I know uses eJunkie. It’s super cheap. Maybe we should switch,” was another comment.

First thing…cheaper does not always = better. Would you eat at the $1 sushi place? Not me! Think of how much money you could save eating off the $1 menu at McDonalds every day! Ugh… Ejunkie… eh, it makes me weary. Also – keep in mind that there is a daily limit on free downloads and checkouts depending on the plan you have. So, if you have less than 10 products, you can only have 100 people a day download something for free (i.e.: register for your free call / download an e-book /etc.). This might not be a big deal at first, but if you are growing, you don’t want to have to worry about that in the future. Honestly, I just don’t know enough about their other features to make a recommendation about this company, but feel free to check them out.

So, what’s the verdict?

In the end, I think that 1SC is still the best overall cart/email/affiliate combo service around. The cart just works. Everthing works together, and I think that’s important. No scrambling to import and export contact names or add up affiliate commissions or figure out what goes where. No keeping offline backups of who’s unsubscribed from different places. It just…works. And it’s beatiful.

Keep in mind – we are “1SC people.” We don’t spend our days searching for other alternatives because we love 1ShoppingCart. We have, on occasion, checked other things out, but just haven’t found anything that we love as much.

If you use a WordPress plugin for a shopping cart, and another program for your email marketing, and yet something ELSE for your affiliate management, you won’t have the combined functionality of it all. For instance, if someone buys from another cart, you still have to manually put them into your email marketing program (and with some, like Aweber – you can’t!)

The truth is, you can find any gazillion combinations of things that will work. So, if you’re deciding between putting food on the table and which cart to use, we say just go with the PayPal cart or one of those lower end carts, which is basically free. BUT – when you are setting the foundation to build a big business, that kicks ass, I say go with what you know works and does what you need in the best way possible.

Top Secret 1SC cost savings tip below!

Most of our clients use the 1ShoppingCart pro level for the affiliate management. AND – a lot of people just need the affiliate management part when they are doing a launch. Did you know – if you just need the affiliate part for a launch, you can set it up, upgrade, and use it, and then turn it off (downgrade your account) until your next launch, AND – you don’t lose your settings, and your affiliates stay in the system. (They just can’t promote while you have it turned off, but they can again once it’s turned back on.) That saves you $50/month when you aren’t using your affiliate program.

You’re welcome.

What do YOU think about the price increase and what I said? Comments welcome!

“…yeah, and I need to… ‘do’ all that social media stuff.” As if it were something you might just “do”.

As with any worthwhile endeavor, whether business or personal, building a social media presence takes time, hard work, and commitment (argh, what a bummer!) The shift to online marketing that has taken place in the past decade is no different. The move to social media marketing, where we are today, demands the same effort.

Commit to Social Media

Just as it took time to gain market share “back in the day,” just as it took time to build an online presence for your business a few short years ago, building an audience through social media takes time. It can’t be done overnight. You must commit, be consistent, and be relentless in your pursuit of the social media audience. You can’t just “turn it on” next month and expect to see sales go through the roof. Business doesn’t work that way.

Share yourself

Getting a little bit personal is expected in social media. Getting too personal though is unprofessional. Be friendly, be personable and show some personality, but keep the really private stuff to yourself.

Share your business

If you can reflect your personality in your business you will go a long way to creating a loyal audience, which will translate into increased business for you. When people walk through the door of any business they see, or feel, the influence of the owner or management. Try for the same effect on your business page. Let them see your commitment to quality here, just as you would in your store.

Share other resources

It’s sad but true, you are not the only source of valuable information within your niche or market. Ignoring other sources of quality information in an effort to capture an audience just won’t work in the long run. In fact, sharing valuable information from other sources, maybe even your competition, can build respect – and loyalty from your audience. The more you share, the more you show you care.

Post original content

Keep it fresh, keep it relevant, keep it timely, and your content will be “shared” and “followed” as you want it to be. Snippets from original posts to your site will generate traffic. Original content with links to your own site, and others, will generate interest from your audience, and their followers.

If you’re having trouble doing all of this yourself, there is help available. Just as with any business specialty, social media consulting is out there for you to use, and they can help you get it all done, or get it “boom, done” for you.

OK, you’ve done your part. You’re a smart, savvy, inventive entrepreneur who’s created a product, or service, or tele-class, or webinar that will make life better for everyone, and make our world a better place. And NOW you want to get paid. And, here’s the fun part of online sales – here is how you do get paid!

It’s time for you to get paid! 
So you’re going to need a merchant account of some sort, which gets the money from your buyer, to your bank. Remember: your shopping cart will not collect the cash; it simply “hooks up” with your merchant account, facilitating your payment so you can sell stuff online – and helps put their money in your account.

Just as with a free standing, brick and mortar business. Your online sales business needs to be able to process payments. You need to be able to take in the money your customer is giving you. A merchant account provider will process credit card charges and put the money in your bank for you. Of course, they will also charge you for this service.

Your bank can, of course, provide this service for you but, because they are likely to farm this service out to a credit card processing service, it will usually be more expensive than signing up directly with a merchant account provider. It will usually be more cost-effective to set up your merchant account directly with an independent provider. You will do even better if you partner with a provider that specializes in, or caters to online businesses.

Here are some tips to making a good decision on choosing a merchant account provider.

Watch out for miscellaneous and hidden charges
Miscellaneous and hidden charges for any service are the bane of all business, especially anyone who is new to online sales. Terms like “Discount Rate,” “Transaction Fee,” “Gateway Fee,” and “Start Up Fee” are just a few of the ways that merchant account providers have put in place to make money from the service they provide. Some are self-explanatory, while others are kind of scary…and confusing! Make sure you understand all of the fees involved before signing a contract for services.

Here is a list of some of the more popular merchant account providers, with fees and applications for services.

Of course, the largest merchant account provider for online sales on the internet is PayPal. PayPal allows anyone with an email address to make payments, accept payments, and send money – to an individual, a business, or their bank. It is a great service, although it is not as fully functional as some of the other providers. It is a great way however, for beginning online marketers to get paid.

And, that about does it. We’ve made it to the fifth step of the online sales process, how to get paid. See, it’s not a bad as you thought. Just put your product out there, set up to get paid, then sit back and watch the cash roll in…Riiiight!

What is a shopping cart?

Shopping cart software is the place where the sale gets made. It is the interface between the products or services you offer and putting their money in your bank.

To get a good idea of what a full-service, all-in-one shopping cart has to offer, take a look at 1shoppingcart.com.

The shopping cart you choose must be able to do three basic things for you: track the products chosen by your customer, tally the total cost of those items, and process the payment into your merchant account. A more advanced shopping cart may also manage inventory, calculate shipping costs, provide digital downloads, track your affiliate marketing programs, and even offer email marketing services for you. If you offer more than one product or service on your website, you need a shopping cart.

The best thing about using a shopping cart for your online sales is that it will handle a variety of functions for you – automatically…Boom, Done.

Which shopping cart should I choose?

There are three basic criteria to consider when choosing a shopping cart for online sales: price, functions, simplicity.

Price – The price of shopping cart software ranges from FREE to “SERIOUSLY”? In fact, if you’ve built your website on WordPress, there are quite a few free shopping cart plug-ins available. For example, check out WP e-Commerce. Also, be aware that some shopping carts can be purchased with a one-time fee, while some will entail a monthly cost, and others will have a per-transaction fee. All of these need to be considered. To explore more shopping cart plug-ins for your WordPress site, go here.

Functions – What are you selling? If you’re selling actual, hold-it-in-your-hand product, you don’t need an electronic download capability, do you? If you are selling eBooks, you don’t need a shipping cost calculator. The nature of the products or services you are offering will determine, to a very large extent, just what type of functionality you will need from the shopping cart you choose. A good place to compare shopping features is, appropriately enough, CartCompare.com.

Simplicity – Just how computer savvy are you? If you’re a total techno-klutz, your shopping cart should be very simple and easy to use. If you’re a total techno-nerd though, you may want a shopping cart to have a bazillion features for you to play with. Your level of skill on your computer should determine just how full-function or minimalistic you want your shopping cart to be. To see a graphic comparison of the top ten shopping carts, go to TopTenReviews.com.

We’ve now made it to the fourth step of the online sales process, and we’re still plugging along, trying to help you get a handle on it. We will follow up on this post with more great info on how to manage your online sales in our next few posts. Stay tuned…

The shopping cart on your website is the place to organize your products for sale, and to provide the interface so they can “click to buy.” It is very much like the shopping cart you push around the grocery store (you know, the one with the wiggly wheel that always veers to the left?). In essence, the shopping cart provides a way for your products to get from the display shelf – your website – to the cash register – your merchant account.

Let the shopping cart do the work for you
The best shopping carts are fully automated, handling much of the grunt work and details for you when you make that online sale. Just like the cashier in the grocery store (you know, the one who never smiles?), your shopping cart will sort, price, and total the sale for your customer in the blink of an eye.

Your shopping cart will allow your customer to…

• Select multiple products
• Choose various sizes or applications
• Offer, accept, and apply coupons or discounts
• Bill your customer on a recurring basis, as for ongoing services (group programs / payment options here!)
• Track and implement delayed billing, as for a free trial period
• Secure, track, and limit electronic downloads

But of course, it ain’t that simple, right?

There are shopping cart products which do even more than this for you; they can offer an all-in-one option, combining your shopping functions with email marketing in a super-slick package of services. This is a HUGE time saver for the online marketer. To have both your shopping cart and email marketing program, including follow-up and follow-through handled by the same system is a monster time saver.

Some of the best shopping carts are…

Shopping cart only:
Shopify.com <—- This one is pretty.

All-in-one shopping carts:
1shopping cart.com <—- Our fav!
infusionsoft.com <—- Seriously…this is hard-core stuff. Don’t attempt this on your own.

And then, just to complicate things a bit… of course, there is PayPal, where you get invoicing and shopping cart services as well. Be careful though, the PayPal cart is not nearly as versatile as these other shopping carts can be. (Although…good news about PayPal! 1ShoppingCart and PayPal just joined forces so that you can now do reoccuring payments with PayPal when you use 1SC – Woo freakin’ hoo!)

We’ve made it to the third step of the online sales process here, and we’re moving forward with trying to help you understand it. We will follow up on this post with more great info on how to manage your online sales in our next few posts. Stay tuned…