Five Social Media Sites You Never Heard Of That Can Boost Your Brand

Social Media Sites Abound

Facebook! Twitter! LinkedIn! FourSquare! Almost every news article you see these days are talking about one or another of these social media sites. If you didn’t know any better, you would think these were the only social networking websites on the internet.

That’s just not true. At last count, there were over 200 social networking sites online that catered to a variety of industries, groups, and interests. I went through and picked out five social media sites that hardly ever get any press but which provide awesome opportunities to network with like minded folks and get your brand in front of eager eyes.

5 Social Media Sites that can Benefit You

BlogCatalog (http://www.blogcatalog.com) – This social media website started out as a simple blog directory. However, the owners wanted to do something different from what other directories and created a social blog network. In addition to adding your blog to their directory, you can find and favorite other blogs as well as network with members of the site on the forum. BlogCatalog host social blogging events to raise awareness of specific social issues such as world hunger and AIDS.

Yelp (http://www.yelp.com) – To be fair, you may have heard about Yelp lately because Google’s Place Pages is a direct competitor of this social media website. Yelp is a social business review site where members rate and review the businesses they frequent. The site is great for local businesses because you can offer discounts or other incentives to your customers for taking the time to review and rate you on the site. It is also a great way to find your most passionate users and enlist their help in promoting your business.

MeetUp (http://www.meetup.com) – With all of this virtual social networking going on, you may begin to wonder if people meet face to face anymore. You’ll be happy to know that they do and MeetUp is the online social media site which helps people get with likeminded souls in their local area. You can use the site to find offline groups according to interest or purpose. For example, if you are interested in meeting other entrepreneurs you can find a business group meeting in your area using their easy search function.

Spoke (http://www.spoke.com) – This is a social media business website designed specifically to help professionals find and network with other people in the business community. It’s sort of like LinkedIn except Spoke’s network is open. You can search and build a network of contacts from their entire database of members. If you are looking to ramp up your recruiting efforts, then Spoke is the social media site for you.

Ning (http://www.ning.com) – This is not a social networking site in and of itself. However, it does provide the software for creating a social site of your own without needing to know how to write code for the internet. There are a number of social networks online (like HomeBasedBusiness.com) which uses Ning software to connect their members. If you feel the need to start a social site of your own then Ning is definitely a viable option.

Where to Find Other Social Media Sites

Remember, there are over 200 social networking sites online (you can view a comprehensive list on Wikipedia). If you don’t see a social media site of interest to you here, check out what else is available online by entering keywords like “list of social networking website”, “social networking sites”, “social media website list” in a search engine.

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How to Put List Building With Blogging on Steroids Starting Today!

Who else wants to put list building with blogging on steroids?

Can you really build a big, responsive list fast and make money from it blogging?

This is a common question that I get from some of my readers and students. And the answer is a resounding "yes!"

Blogging is simply one of the best ways to build your list fast, without spending a dime - using your very own blog.

What's the point of driving tons of traffic to your blog if you can't convert it into subscribers and paying customers?

Your goal should be to turn your daily traffic into profits. So, how do you get people who visit your blog day in and day out to get on your list, effortlessly? How do you get them to opt-in and see what you have to offer?

List Building - Getting the Basics Right

The first thing you need to do is to use an auto responder service so you can start building a list. There are many out there, but Aweber is the number one recommended company.

A huge mistake that I see many bloggers make, is not to start a mailing list when they start blogging. Start your list from day one. Don’t put it off. If you have a blog and don’t have a mailing list yet, start one after reading this.

Once you have that set up, then you need to make sure that you give your visitors a lot of opportunities to get on your mailing list.

List Building - Why is it Important?

List building is very powerful as it gives you the opportunity to build trust with your subscribers (who open your emails). When you get this right, your list will trust you and your recommendations.

Your subscribers are the most receptive as they have already indicated that they are interested in what you have to say or offer, by opting in to your mailing list - very powerful. And, you don't need thousands upon thousands of subscribers on your list in order to make thousands of money.

You need a responsive list - big or small. Plain and simple.

What's the point of having a huge list if you can't turn it into paying customers?

How do you start building your list? I hear you ask...

List Building - How it Works

Here are the 3 primary steps that you need to follow:

Step 1: Build a List

This is a list of people who respond, showing that they are interested in what you have to offer. And, I'm going to show you how to get them to opt-in on your blog, using 20 lead generation strategies.

Step 2: Build a Relationship With Your List

You need offer people value and solutions. People buy from those they like and trust, it’s a fact. Keep emailing your list to build a good relationship.

Step 3: Monetise Your List

This is about recommending solutions or products, providing people with what they need in their lives. Remember, this is not only about you making money – it’s about you serving others too. Now, how do you get your visitors to opt-in?

I'm here to show you:

• How you can put your list building with blogging on steroids.
• 21 offers you can use to entice your visitors to opt-in.
• 10 steps you need to follow to make sure your offer is irresistible.
• 20 hot ways to skyrocket your list building efforts. No pop-ups or PPC ads.

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I Can Make You Great or I Can Make You A Failure

WHO am I?

Let me give you some clues. Exactly WHO IS ME?

I am your constant companion.

I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden.

I will push you onward or drag you down to failure.

I am completely at your command.

Half of the things you do you might as well turn over to me and I will do them – quickly and correctly.

I am easily managed – you must be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons, I will do it automatically.

I am the servant of great people, and alas, of all failures as well.

I MAKE GREAT PEOPLE—-That is a CLUE.

Those who are great, I have made great.

Those who are failures, I have made failures.

I am not a machine though, however . . .

I work with the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a person.

You may run me for profit or run me for ruin -
it makes no difference to me.

Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet.

Be easy with me and I will destroy you.

Who am I?

I am HABIT.

It’s the habits you develop that determine your success in your business or anything else.

As Jim Rohn said, “Work more on yourself than you work on your business.” Working on personal development is one of the best habits you can form. Not only working on mindset but also working on the skills you need to become a professional in this business.

Too often we see people sign up with a network marketing company thinking they will make money fast. It just doesn’t work that way. You have to learn the ropes. In any business there is a learning curve. There is training. Even if you work at McDonalds or Walmart, you have a training process to go through. You learn to take orders, run the cash register, learn about all the products, you learn how to deal with customers and a multitude of other things.

There is a big difference in the learning you learn as a business owner. You are learning skills that can either make you rich or make you struggle and fail in your business.
“You can never have, “do” or receive more than your own habits predict.”

Ask yourself, What habits am I developing that will insure the success I want for myself and my family. Are my habits productive or are they getting in the way of my success? We all need a self evaluating sometimes. We all go through periods of time where we are needing a kick in the pants.

Here are a couple good habits we all should be doing every day:

• Read a few pages of a good book every day. I’m not talking about a novel. I mean something that will develop success mindset or skills you need for business.
• Listen to training webinars. There are lots of excellent trainers out there that have awesome training. People who have built a successful business and share how they have done it.

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Real Simple Way to Create KIller Blog Content

Last night I started my 4 part webinar series on blogging and getting more blog traffic. One thing that a lot of new marketers struggle with is coming up with consistent content. Today I am going to share a really easy way to come up with content that is gonna make it easy for anyone.

First, stop trying to be creative. Looking out the window or listening to Jack Johnson is probably not going to inspire you to come up with good content everyday.

Before you create content you should know for whom you are writing. Are you targeting exisitng network marketers? Affiliate marketers? Realtors? Health nuts? Decide who you are writing and or creating videos for and then decide upon relevant contant.

What problems do they face? What training would they love to see? What are common questions that your niche may have?

A real easy way to create content is to visit your local bookstore or library and look at the types of books your perfect prospect would read. Look for "lists" within the books. Here are some examples:

The 10 foods you should never eat past 7pm.
The 4 easy ways to get traffic to any website
The 7 deadly sins of a sales letter or website
The 4 action steps that will make you a better leader

I think you get the idea. Let these lists drive your thought process. If you do use a lot of content from the book(s) make sure you give them credit and mention them. If this content has helped you, then it could also help other people and you are on your way to building an online presence that will attract the types of people you want in your business.

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