Article marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing you can get online. Even more appealing, if you’re just starting your online business, it is an extremely cost effective method of generating traffic to your site or blog. I highly recommend that if you haven’t yet started to write and submit articles, you should make this your #1 priority over the next few weeks.

Here are the steps to writing an effective article…

1. Choose an attention-grabbing title:

Whether or not someone even reads your article at all is dependent upon your title. This is especially important when you submit it to directories and publishers where there are hundreds of entries.

Here are some templates you can use for your titles:

• How to _________ In _________ Steps
• How to _________ In _________ (Time Frame)
• The Real Secret to Quickly ______________
• Top 2 Ways to ________________
• 3 Little Known Tips for _____________
• The Hidden Costs of ________________

2. Determine 3-5 points of interest:

You’ll want your article to be 500-750 words, so write 3-5 sections that are about 100 words each along with an opening and a closing.

3. Write an interesting opening sentence:

Your title gets them to take a look, and you want to immediately get them into the main body of your article. There are several things you can do in this opening sentence to lure readers in deeper…

• Ask a question
• Reveal something startling
• Inject emotion
• Present a problem

4. Close with a call to action:

Your mission is to get them to move on to your desired action. When they finish reading your article, they are going to do something other than just sit there and stare. They’ve got a ton of options and only one of them is to do what you want them to do.

What you want to do is LEAD the reader to your resource box. You do this by bridging the gap between your article and your resource box - you create a “transition” between the two.

In your article conclusion, you’ll summarize the 3-5 points you made in the article. Your resource box should reference something related to those 3-5 points. It will draw the reader to click to your site.

Conclusion

Whether you are submitting your articles to directories, posting your articles at your website, blog, or inserting your articles into viral e-books to be passed around the web……your #1 goal is to get subscribers onto a list and your 2nd goal is to get them to your sales letter.

You can do this by giving away a free report or mini-course in your resource box and place that freebie at the top of a sales letter or redirect them to a sales letter after they’ve joined a list.

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Hiring an accountant for your business is like hiring a plumber for your pipes. Sure you could do it yourself but wouldn’t you rather hire an expert? One of the many reasons people struggle to handle their own accounting is the fear of trusting their finances and personal information to a stranger. That is certainly an understandable reason to hesitate however there are measures you can take to hire an accountant you can trust for your business.

Step One: Determine what you need an accountant to do. Do you need them to handle pay-ables and receivables or are you more concerned about quarterly tax filings? Are you looking for someone to compile financial statements on a regular basis or to simply perform the task once in order to apply for a business loan or to present to investors? Define what you need an accountant to do before you set out to find one you can trust.

Step Two: Ask for referrals. One of the best ways to find any kind of provider whether it is a ghostwriter, attorney or an accountant is to ask people you know and trust for referrals. The presumption being, of course, that the accountant has an established history working with people you know and trust and is therefore trustworthy for your business needs too.

Step Three: Schedule an appointment. You have your list of the tasks or responsibilities you need an accountant to handle, once you have a handful of potential accountants to contact, start at the top of the list and make appointments to meet with them for a consultation. This doesn’t have to be face to face and in our virtual world it often isn’t however scheduling a bit of time to chat with a potential accountant.

Step Four: Ask questions. In addition to making sure they’re ready, willing, and able to take you on as a client, make sure they have experience with your sized business, the tasks you need accomplished, and that they have the time available in their schedule to be responsive to your needs. It’s important to find an accountant who isn’t just trustworthy but who also isn’t too busy to return your calls.

Step Five: Recommendations. Ask your potential account who they’ve done business with and if you have questions about them don’t be afraid to also ask for recommendations or people you can contact to make sure this is the right accountant for you.

Step Six: Establish a system of how communication and documentation are going to work. If you set this up ahead of time you will know when to anticipate a call back from your accountant or when you need to have your paperwork together for your quarterly returns.

Step Seven: Shake hands, sign agreements and take the necessary precautions to ensure a professional and accountable relationship on both sides.

Conclusion

Hiring an accountant you trust can be an intimidating process however there are steps to take to ensure you’ve found not only an honest accountant but one that will work well with you and your business.

Attorneys come in every shape, size, and purpose. There are contract attorneys, estate planning, family law, corporate attorneys, litigation, patent law, real estate and so on. Before you can set out on the search for legal help for your online business, it is first important to determine what type of attorney you need.

Once you know what kind of legal help you need, it’s easier to find a match for your specialty. Here’s where to look:

Referrals. One of the best ways to find great legal help is to ask friends, family, and associates who they like to work with or who they know. Not only will this likely give you a list of trusted legal help, when you’ve been referred by a client, it may give you a little wiggle room with fees.

Online directories. There are a huge number of listings and directories online. Each one generally lists attorneys by several categories including specialty and location. One notable directory of attorneys and legal advisors is Nolo.

Lawyer referral services. These services generally require attorneys to register to belong to the referral service and the attorneys are also generally screened quite thoroughly.

Networking groups. Both online and off, business associations, forums, membership sites and local chamber of commerce meetings can generate a number of options for legal help recommendations. If you’re in a very unique industry and have specialized legal needs then starting with associates in your industry is likely the best first step.

Once you have a list of potential attorneys, it’s time to screen them to find the attorney right for you and your business needs.

Schedule a time to talk. Personality, communication habits, and demeanor are all important when seeking an expert to help you and your business. Take a few minutes to chat with any potential advisors.

• Ask plenty of questions including have they worked in your industry?
• Have they worked with your sized company before?
• What is their experience with your issues?
• What companies have they worked with?
• Can you contact any of their clients?
• How quickly can they turn around your project?
• Will they be doing the work themselves or will it
  be handed to someone in their firm or office?

Request an estimate of fees before you get started with actual work.

Conclusion

As you can see, finding legal help for your online business, is an essential necessity. It is also important to build a positive relationship with an attorney, in order to ensure your online business needs can and will be handled as needed. Rather than waiting until you have a pending legal issue, take the time to find a great attorney ahead of time. If something comes up that is out of their realm of experience, they can most certainly recommend a specialist to help you.

Your business isn’t growing. There are a number of reasons why it has happened.

• Maybe it’s because you’ve lost your passion.
• Maybe you’re overwhelmed.
• Maybe you just don’t have enough time.
• Maybe you’re disorganized.
• Maybe your staff is inefficient (or maybe you are)

Maybe you don’t know how to grow your business to the next level (or maybe you don’t want to do what it takes)

Regardless of the reason why your business isn’t growing, it’s time to stop making excuses and do something about it. You worked REALLY hard to get to this point. You spent time, money, and a lot of energy to build your business. Certainly you’re not going to let it fritter away.

Here’s how to stop making excuses for why your business isn’t growing:

Step 1. Figure out why it isn’t growing. Perhaps your product line is stagnant. Perhaps you’re only reaching 10% of your eligible prospects. Perhaps your sales page isn’t converting or your advertising campaign isn’t reaching the right people. The first step to figuring out how to stop making excuses is to honestly examine why it isn’t growing. The reason may reside completely in you – perhaps business got too big too fast and you don’t have time to catch up let alone build your business. This leads us to the next step.

Step 2. Decide if you want your business to grow and if so, by how much? In short, if you do want your business to grow then set goals. If you’re making $50,000 in sales then maybe you want to set a goal of $75,000 in sales. If you have a customer base of 100 regular customers maybe you want to double it. Set reasonable and attainable goals.

Step 3. Analyze what is working to help you attain your goals and what isn’t working. For example, if you want to attain $75,000 in sales but you’re spending 50% of your time on administrative duties then your time isn’t being well spent.

Step 4. Make a plan to eliminate what isn’t working. Using the example in step 3 if you’re spending 50% of your time on administrative tasks then outsourcing some or all of those tasks will free up a significant amount of time. Time you could spend on selling and reaching your new goal.

Step 5. This is the best part. Create a reward for attaining your goals. Part of the motivation to attain a goal, beyond self fulfillment and feeling very proud, is giving yourself a little pat on the back. Some may pat themselves on the back with a two week vacation to Hawaii, others prefer a new pair of shoes or a week off to go camping with their children. Whatever the reward, including it in your plan may be the extra motivation you need to get beyond excuses and into action.

Conclusion

Entrepreneurs are goal oriented, action oriented people. However sometimes life gets a bit out of control and instead of action, excuses fill the void. Regain your entrepreneur spirit, eliminate the roadblocks and hurdles and set new goals. It’s the best way to stop making excuses about why your business isn’t growing and remember why you got into business in the first place.

Running a business, whether online or offline, requires adequate planning and research. If you’ve already established a business plan, make sure you add “what business entity to pick?” to your checklist. Every business entity has its own unique characteristics as they relate to ownership rules, personal liability, tax treatment and documents needed for formation. Incorporating will not only provide you with a better level of protection not available as a sole proprietor, but it will also give you some tax benefits as well.

Definition of a Corporation

A simple definition of a corporation is “a separate legal entity, independent from the business owner(s)”. Since a corporation is an entity on its own, it can open a bank account, operate as a business, and own property all under its own name. As a corporation, the business establishes a separate legal standing from its business owners. This separate entity protects the owners from personal liability, in the event of a lawsuit. This level of protection is often referred to as the “corporate veil”.

A corporation is managed by a board of directors, which makes major business decision and has the responsibility of making sure things run smoothly with the business. Appointed by the board of directors are the officers, which are responsible for the daily operations of the business. A president, chief financial officer, and a secretary all fall under the umbrella definition of “officers”. It is possible, for a one person within a corporation to hold all three titles.

Why Incorporate?

Long before corporations where formed, an investor risked losing everything if the business went belly-up. Consequently, if the business lost money, the business partners would find themselves in a bind, and would need to make up the difference in order to pay off their creditors. As corporations became the norm, finding investors was less risky, as they would be shielded from this type of liability.

Types of Corporations

There are two types of corporations; a C-Corporation and an S-Corporation.

C-Corporation Characteristics:

• No limit on stock class
• Unlimited number of shareholders
• C-Corporation has double taxation
• Corporate tax and shareholders tax on distributed dividends
• Generally no personal liability on shareholders

S-Corporation Characteristics:

• Up to 100 shareholders
• Only one class of stock allowed
• Option for pass through entity tax
• Generally no personal liability on shareholder
• Option to be taxed as a partnership or sole proprietor

Conclusion

There’s are a lot more involved when it comes to incorporating your business that’s beyond the scope of this post. The whole purpose was to give you a quick overview and brief understanding of what a corporation is. However, if you’re considering incorporating, download this free report, Choice of Entity Secrets Revealed to find out if incorporating is right for you.

Recommended Resources

LegalZoom.com
NVINC.com

Trackback and pingback programs were designed as a notification system between two websites. One website sends another website a pingback or trackback to notify them that something of interest to them has occurred on the site. These programs are most commonly used on blogs as a way of connecting a post you made on your blog to a post on another blog. The two things are basically the same, but do have a few minor differences.

How Trackbacks Work

Trackbacks can only be sent to one site, so when you use them you are presented with a list of the links in your story or blog post and you can only choose one site to receive the trackback. After you select a site you get a form that includes information about your post including, title, URL, URL of your site and the actual content of your post. At that point you edit any information you need to in the form and once you are done you can see a preview of your trackback. After all of this is done you will send your trackback off to your chosen site.

How a Pingback Works

Pingbacks are pretty much the same as a trackback, except they were designed after the trackback to fix some of the features that people didn’t like about the trackback. Primarily the difference in the two programs is that when you use a pingback you can inform several sites at once rather than having to select only one site at a time. The pingback program searches your entire entry for URLs and it sends a ping to every site that accepts pings in the content of your entry.

Pingback VS Trackbacks

Trackback and Pingbacks are pretty much the same program with similar functions and because of that you only need to use one of them. Both have their merits and most users decide which to use on a case by case basis.

Although Pingbacks are quicker to send they provide less information about your post, essentially all that they send out is a link. Trackbacks take much more time to prepare, but when you have to include more information they offer you that option.

Not all sites accept pingbacks and trackbacks because many have disabled the feature. These programs often have a feature that allows users to set their preferences for receiving pingbacks and trackbacks. Many people view these programs as spam and would rather not get them. This happens more often with pingbacks because of the fact that they are less specified.

Conclusion

When you are operating a blog, using a trackback or pingback service is important. It is essentially a way to let other authors know that you are quoting them in your blog or using information they have already written about. This can be a useful social networking tool for building blog readership.

Traffic generation using Web 2.0 linking strategies and Web 1.0, still share a one thing in common, which is a visitor to your site. Regardless, of whether they came from one of your articles (a 1.0 linking strategy), or a post from your Hub pages (a 2.0 linking strategy), the end result was the same. Implementing Web 2.0 linking strategies, does require work on your part, but as you will see, some automation is available.

Social Bookmarking Sites

Social Bookmarking sites are a way for other to share things of interest with others. Due to their high traffic, you can easily get a flood of visitors to your site within minutes. However, care must be taken as to how you submit your blog post and websites, as you can easily be banned and blacklisted.

Here are some of the more popular ones:

StumbleUpon: Allows user to share their websites, videos and pictures. They have a toolbar available, which you can download to your web browser, which simplifies the process for URL submissions.

Digg: Is a community driven and news aggregator. People submit their stories and people vote or “digg” the story. The more diggs a story gets, the higher it ranks. Diggs are basically just votes.

Mixx: A news, video and photo sharing site.

Reddit: A source to what is news and popular online. You can also submit your URL’s here.

Onlywire: Bookmarking site that allows you to submit your URL posts with one click; however, you do have to register with each website that’s on the Onlywire list.

Recommended Method Of Submission

Before submitting your blog post or URL, submit 4-5 other blog post from other website before you do yours. Do try to pick high quality posts or stories, and not just junk links. If you only submit your links, you will get banned and blacklisted. Understand that this is a recommendation, so post responsibly.

Social Networking Sites

Ever since their inception, social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Flickr, and Ning continue to grow. The concept behind these sites, was to facilitate the process of socializing online. All social networking sites offer a “personal page” where you can upload your photo and “about me” section. When done correctly, social networking sites can prove useful to your niche marketing efforts. If you plan on using any of these sites for your promotions, be sure to read and follow the rules in place. On Facebook for example, your are only allowed to have one profile, but you are allowed to add the URL’s to your sites within your profile. Facebook also has a strict policy regarding advertising. MySpace on the other hand allows you to create multiple profiles, but also have a strict rules regarding promotions.

Other Sources

• BlinkList
• Furl
• Bebo
• Yahoo Groups

Video Sites

If you have the technical-know-how, and are creative, you can create and submit your work to the video sites. The great thing about video submissions, is you don’t have to worry about hosting the content yourself. Even if you don’t have the technical know-how, you can always hire someone to do it for you. Some of the popular video sites are:

• YouTube
• Google Video
• MetaCafe
• Revver
• Grouper
• Guba
• Vidmax

If you create a video that goes viral, this method can easily bring you thousands of visitors. To automate the process, you can use submission software like VideoTrafficAssistant or UploadVideoPro.

Information Sites

If you have a yahoo account, you’ve more than likely have come across their own research site called Yahoo Answers. Sites like these allow anyone to post a question on any topic. Here are some the topics covered:

• Business & Finance
• Cars & Transportation
• Computers & Internet
• Consumer Electronics

The nice thing about Yahoo Answers, is they allow anyone to post a response to the questions made by others. In a nut shell, individuals are scored on the quality of their response and activity. If you build up your credibility by actively participating, over the course of time, you’d be able to bring some incoming traffic to your sites. Understand that this method is more of a long term strategy.

Free Blog Sites

Free blog sites are a cost effective method to traffic generation, since they cost you nothing to implement. The idea here is to post content, with “long-tail” keywords, which you then link to your website or main blog. An example of long “tail-tail” keyword, would be “dog-training-tips-for-bloodhounds”.

Examples of free blog sites:

HubPages

HubPages allows you to place two self serving links within your post or hub, but your post must also point to authoritative sites, such a wiki page for example, or a major news page. They also have strict rules about having different hubs pointing to the same website. On a side note, HubPages doesn’t allow any spam, adult, or gambling posts.

Squidoo

Squidoo is another free blog type site, which allows you to make posts or lens. The more unique your content the better, especially if you’re an expert on a particular subject. Google also loves Squidoo and frequently crawls the site and also has a high page rank.

Blogger and Wordpress allow you to post articles at no cost to you; however, there are drawbacks to not hosting the content yourself.

Some of the Pros:

• Easy to set up and maintain - no installation necessary

• Free to use and newbie friendly for the most part

• Easy to monetize for adsense

The Cons

• Lack of customization

• URL not very friendly - for example your URL is
  alwasy www.yourdomain.blogiste.com

• Not as professional as a self-hosted site

If you have to decide between the two, always go with a self hosted wordpress blog.

Final Notes

There you have it, implementing Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 linking strategies can easily bring you a steady flood of traffic over time, which can pay dividends to your email list and bank account. Not to mention that these are cost effective, which means, more money in your wallet. If you put into action these techniques, you can easily create a funnel of traffic to your site.

To better make use of your time, you can always hire someone to assist you with the process, if your business budget allows it. Most important of all…is to take action.

Recommended Resources

Here are some recommended resources to help you implement the web 2.0 linking strategies:

Web 2.0 Wealth System

This, in my opinion is ONE the most complete, and affordable blogging course on the net today, and is a great blogging course for beginners. Alex Sysoef is the creator of this system and provides a complete step-by-step video tutorial to get your blog started right away. The Web 2.0 Wealth System provides you with a pre-packaged word press blog (version 2.5) along with the necessary plug-ins to make your blog seo friendly. Go check ahead and check out the Web 2.0 Wealth System by going here.

Space Bankers

SpaceBankers, is a complete PDF guide that shows you how to profit from social media sites as MySpace and FaceBook. The creator of the course, Ryan Moran also provides video tutorials, which you can gain access to for free. Some of the topics covered on the free video tutorials include:

• MySpace Video Tutorial

• FaceBook Video Tutorial

• HubPages Video Tutorial

To make the most of your web 2.0 linking strategies with MySpace and Facebook, go check out SpaceBankers.