By nature and nurture, I am a marketing person. I have ADD at times and struggle with staying still. I get distracted and bored easily. I think this is why I like marketing. I get to come up with all sorts of ideas for promoting something. I can think of off the wall concepts and call it “strategic marketing.” Then I get to step away and move on to another project that needs marketing. It wasn’t until recently that I get to do long-term marketing for my own projects and must learn to harness my energies and not drift off to lala land.

This is who I am. I’m a great consultant. I love coming up with ideas and telling people what to do but not in a bad way. I have a background in vocational counseling so I know how to listen to what others say, but more importantly what they don’t say. I’m an Internet addict so I am constantly online reading news, trends and tips on how to maximize marketing and pr efforts. So i decided to transform this blog into something more organic and reflective of who I am. Part business part personal, this blog is intended to be a fodder for my experiences as I embark on my various journeys. I also hope to connect my readers with the stories of leaders who have paved the way for entrepreneurs or advice from leaders who guide us through the challenges we face in a changing business economy.

As always, I’m accessible via email and open to ideas or suggestions on how to improve my blog.

It’s easy to get caught up in our fantasies of what we want to do that we often overlook what we need to do in order to bring to life the future we want for ourselves and for our families.

Why You May Be Just Spinning Your Wheels After All

The Violent Truth Of Opportunity

Should I Stop Blogging: 20 Questions To Ask Yourself

I’ve taken the time to list what I consider to be the top contact management resources to help you stay organized and keep your business model efficient so you can focus your energies on building relationships and increasing your revenue.

1. VTIGER (www.vtiger.com) - I personally use this one and love it because it’s an open source software that you can install on your server for free. It’s great for maintaining all sorts of contacts for leads, marketing, sales, etc. You can also email your contacts directly within it and track all contacts, attach files, etc. If you run a small business with employees or if you need to give others access, you can do so and limit the information they are able to view.
2. SUGAR CRM (www.sugarcrm.com) - Another great open source software that’s free, unless you want the pro version, which I don’t think is necessary for small businesses and freelancers. The free version works just fine. I love that this program allows you to delete duplicates, which is important if you’re new to contact management and have a huge list to sort through. It’s also extremely easy to use.
3. ZOHO (www.zoho.com) - I recommend this for the web newbies who are not tech-savvy or brave enough to take on an open source application and install it on your web server. This is hosted on zoho.com and offers the same features as most contact management systems. You can give up to 3 users access before you have to start paying monthly fees.
4. PLAXO (www.plaxo.com) - Think LinkedIn meets Facebook. Plaxo has improved its features by integrating a social networking aspect to its’ site. Sync your other email accounts to it and it will update your calendar, address book and to-do list.
5. HIGHRISE HQ (www.highrisehq.com) - Another excellent contact management system that links with other services such as web chats, project management, etc. The solo plan is only $29 a month and is great for the solopreneurs who need to stay organized and on top of their game.

Other systems include:

• www.bosscrm.com
• www.salesforce.com
• www.bigcontacts.com
• www.freecrm.com
• www.batchbook.com

If you aim for success, you must do everything within your means to achieve that. You just don’t go on sitting there in your house complaining about not getting as much profit as you expect. You have to keep moving. You have to pour in and invest enough time, money and effort to have profitable results.

In doing internet business, you must aim just the same. You should maximize all of your internet marketing strategies, given the wide market that your business will be exposed to. Imagine the whole online community as potential clients!

Now, one of the best marketing tools that you can use in your online business is building a list. An opt-in list is the best, most effective and smartest option that you can make to make it big. It is one thing to stay in business and it is another thing to have a profitable business. So if you will be allowed to choose, make use of the building list to ensure that profits will keep coming in.

What is an opt-in list?

The opt-in list basically is just a list or a database of names and email ads of people who have visited your website or made a purchase through your website. The listing will allow the owner to send updates, emails or promotions to those who are subscribed.

It is like an ordinary membership or mailing list in an ordinary shop or club, only in this instance, the opt-in list is done online.

Why should I choose to put an opt-in list?

Any visitor that will come to your web site is a potential client. That potential client means there is a potential sale and that potential sale is a potential profit. Now, let’s say that you’ve made a good internet marketing strategy as a result all these potential things have been translated to actual client, sale and profit.

The next prudent thing to do is to not let all these productive efforts be wasted. The next best thing to do is to get the email addresses and other contact details of your clients because your present buyers can still be your clients in the future.

Building a list will definitely work for your benefit. This will ensure that you can maintain close contact and a good relationship with your clients, especially the frequent visitors. This way you will have a regular

This will also save you money, time and effort because once you come up with a new product or new information, you know exactly who you will send updates to because you have a definite market. This is one aspect that you will have to maintain to have a steady source of income at the least. Then the rest of your efforts will be to make the number of your regular clients grow.

Some pointers in building your opt-in list:

• You should put a ‘subscribe link’ or ‘subscribe box’ in your web site. It is advisable to put it on all the pages. Then make sure that it is strategically positioned, meaning it has to be easily located by the visitors. The upper right hand corner of the page would be a good position.

• Promote your website and promote it even more to make give it more exposure and to get more subscribers.

• Come up with contests or give away freebies and goodies that will require visitors to give out their email ads to be able to join.

• Give out information, articles and updates to your clients with your links in it. Make sure that the information will be relevant to the client.

• Offer free courses to your visitors. This will also help maintain a good relationship with your subscribers.

• Use your signature also to make your opt-in list expand. Every time you send out messages the link information should be included.

• Do some networking too. Join some forums or discussions and build relationships with the people there. This way will also be a good way for you to get more contacts and clients.

At the same time you should also know what you should avoid in building an opt-in list. There is one thing that you should keep in mind as the don’t’s of building a list.

Don’t ever spam your subscribers. It is best that you get permission from your subscribers, or else you might end up with a bad reputation.

Avoid pop-ups too. They can sometimes annoy the visitors. There are also pop-up blockers now. Your effort here might end up futile.

You should also refrain from flooding your subscribers with information. You might end up as an annoyance that you might not get a favorable result. There may be times that you’ll give relevant information, but your clients may just dismiss it.

The benefits of having many regular subscribers are undeniable. They will definitely keep your business going and you will definitely enjoy the profits that will come in. Just remember that things don’t end there.

Once you’ve build up on a substantial opt-in list, make sure that you maintain it well. Keep in contact with your subscribers. Send them updates. Give out special offers and helpful tips. Freebies will be helpful too.

Just follow this and you’ll see, things can only get better.

The question that has been plaguing me for the past few weeks, or more like the past few months, is one I wanted to presented for open discussion.

Who closes our door to opportunity?

A few weeks ago I spoke with a friend who informed me that she would let go of her entrepreneurial endeavors to pursue a steady job since she has to now put her new family into consideration. Her rationale was that she was no longer acting for herself and has to make decisions based on what’s best for her boyfriend/fiance/husband (sorry I’m not sure what he is) and her future children, which she intends to have at some point. I’m trying not to be cynical. I was just wondering where this newfound sense of letting go one’s desires for a future that is not yet determined.

At first I thought, is it a “women” thing? Do women reach a self-imposed glass ceiling and then blame an establishment that they feel “‘holds them back’ or “judges them’ all because they choose to decide between a career or starting a family?

Or is it a burnt out entrepreneur disease that affects many ambitious people who just don’t have the desire or passion to pursue self employment?

I don’t know. I’ve spent the last few weeks wondering why I felt bad. I’m single and have no kids. So it is a luxury to pursue an entrepreneurial lifestyle because I have no “obligations” to others? I’ve seen many entrepreneurs stop short and return to the traditional jobs, not once looking back. They use rhetoric like “I wanted a real job” and the such, in an attempt to either deflect their shame for settling or to make other solopreneurs feel inadequate. It baffled me to no end. It’s a self-defeating attitude that breeds insecurities and selfishness. My dark angel wants to say “Just because you failed at it, doesn’t mean others will” but my good angel instead says “That sucks. Sorry to hear you gave up so soon.” (Yea even my good angel has a sarcastic side!)

All this reflection got me wondering. Who closes our door to opportunity? Do we close it prematurely or does “fate” do it when it’s time for us to move on? I read a number of different blogs in my iGoogle homepage. I know there’s people out there making it happen. And if the Secret teaches us to be positive and receptive to change, then can’t we reopen a closed door?

I just find it fascinating how we convince ourselves of our own realities, even though it’s a manifestation of our fears. I think of my friend who gave up on pursuing what was her passion, at some point in her life. If it’s that’s easy to let go, then it was something she never really wanted in the first place. But maybe I’m just being too judgemental.

I’ve always considered myself to be the exception of the average woman. I have an impulse control problem, thus my constantly clicking away to banner ads and websites not directly related to my job. What can I say, I get bored easily. I have computer ADD. I look at many of the websites “tailored” for women and I don’t frequent them often. I don’t shop online as much as the next chick. I know about most of the women websites because my job is to know what’s going on in the Internet realm, not because I have a shopping addiction to shoes. Maybe I should check “male” when filling out online market research polls. Sometimes I feel like I think more like a guy than a girl. Then it hit me, one of my oh-so-frequent “Aha” moments. Why do I feel bad about not being the typical “chick”?

I love my job. I work with a lot of guys and I’m glad I do because they cut the crap out of our working relationships. No drama, no personalizing, no “why can’t we be friends too” issues. I’d like to think that maybe I represent a different type of woman, one that doesn’t have to apologize for being a girl with a guy’s mind. Granted, when you see my blog for the first time it’s pretty HARD to disguise that I’m a chick, and a girlie chick at that. I was conflicted with the design because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go with a whimsical girlie motif. I’ve designed websites before and for my business and projects I’m always told to stay away from pink or anything that will gender-fy my online presence. If I wanted to appeal to guys as well I should remain “neutral.”

But why?

When I think about what women want, I think of me and about what I want.

• I want to not have to apologize for being a girl but still be able to play with the boys.
• I want to not have to worry about women hating on me because of that.
• I want to be able to express my thoughts and feelings and not have to worry about them being used against me to help compensate for their overblown egos and insecurities.

How do these “wants” translate into online behavior patterns? Maybe I’m checking out Wired instead of Glam. Or perhaps I pay more attention to articles about SEO than I do to the numerous Daily Candy emails I have yet to open. I’m not saying I don’t connect with that feminine community.

I’m just simply asking how do we quantify the different types of women that use the Internet for different purposes because I think at the end of the day all women want is to not be compartmentalized.

So what is Blog Marketing?

I will define it as the following:

promoting a blog through traditional and online efforts including but not limited to postcards, email newsletters, Myspace profiles, MyBlogLog communities, linkbaiting, directory submissions, etc.

I decided to make this my first article because this is my first “real” blog and I wanted to capture the process of getting this baby up and running. I have a point to prove to myself and I’ll share it with the world once I’ve reached it.

POINT: I CAN DO THIS.

Sounds like a simple point, yet it has always been my Achilles heel. My insecurities inhibit me from realizing my potential. And so this blog serves as public proof that success online is indeed possible, especially if I can do it. Marketing my blog will take the form of many different phases and milestones. Not too many drastic and over-the-top goals, but very manageable and realistic expectations, which is crucial for any marketing efforts you take for your blog.

Establish online presence. This is the very first goal to creating a blog. You have to read what’s out there first and see what’s going on. Even the greatest of ideas have been done before you. A reality check into seeing who’s doing it and how is critical. This is not meant to burst your optimistic bubble. It’s to give you a sense of how to craft your voice. I’m not saying that you can’t do it if someone else is talking about it online. Just remember, what makes your voice different from theirs.

Once you’ve got a sense for who you want to be online and how you want to harness that voice, think of a clever name. Something that’s catchy and simple. I knew I wanted to blog for a while and had made several half-ass attempts at doing so. It wasn’t until I came up with the name “Ambition Is The New Black” that I felt like I could do it and do it well. This kind of confidence is underrated. When you are completely sure of your voice it will call to you every single waking moment. It might take weeks or months. That’s fine. Don’t put something up just to put something up. You’ll more than likely end up doing it for a month and then neglect it.

Now that you’ve got your clever name, check online to see if it’s in use.

SIDE NOTE: DON’T EVER GET ATTACHED TO A NAME!!

I’ve seen too many people get so emotionally attached to their name that it cripples them from moving forward. They get a domain name with .net or .biz and then get upset when I say WTF is wrong with you? If you can’t get .com change the name. Seriously, CHANGE THE NAME. Why? Because people online are not that bright. Sorry to break it to you so early on. They’re not. Web savvy people who blog and do alot online are SOMEWHAT the exception to the rule. But even then the first thing we do is check “[insert blog name].com” to see what you’re about. If the .com is taken by someone else, why go through all the effort of optimizing the keywords for your blog (including your name) and not own the domain most people will go to when looking for you?

So you don’t think I’m talking out of my a$$, I remember a few years ago when a client had a .net. She would network and meet all sorts of people. She gave them her business cards and when she followed up with emails, many told her that her website was under construction. Surprised, she quickly asked me if something was wrong. Her website was up and running just fine. She offered her website in her email signatures and that was when she found out. Most of the people who she had met encountered the same problem because they Google’d her name and the .com came up. Not one to say “I told you so” she quickly changed her domain to include .com on all her business cards.

Once you’ve got the domain name and hosting, it’s time for the fun part, design! Woo hoo. This is the part I absolutely love. Why? Because I love to procrastinate and what better phase to play the perfectionist hat than during design time. It’s awesome. It lets you be months behind schedule because something just doesn’t seem “right” and after you spend 36 hours designing the “perfect” blog, you now all of a sudden don’t like the color blue. You’re actually repulsed by it. That’s ok. Let’s start again from scratch.

Design is overrated, and that’s saying alot coming from me. No one really cares that much about the details to your site.

• Is it functional?
• Is it user-friendly?
• Do you have relevant content on it?

Then that’s all you need. Seriously, don’t go overboard and don’t let it become so overwhelming that you can’t scale up or down later. It’s a good rule of thumb to let others give you feedback on it but I stopped doing that a while ago. Everyone has an opinion about something. Listen to your inner voice. Not the one you bribed to tell you what you want to hear. Listen to the honest one, the one you roll your eyes to when you ask her/him something. If you’re rolling your eyes or sucking your teeth as you read this, then you know EXACTLY who I’m talking about!

So does this mean you completely neglect the design phase? Absolutely not. The thing to remember here is balance. Spend time on it but don’t spend too much time. You have to take some time to think about what vibe you want to give off. I use Wordpress because it’s totally awesome. There’s a ton of templates, free and paid, that you can use to convey any message you want to put out there. Take a day to check them out. They might even inspire you!

One of the most notable cases of news hitting a blog before appearing in other media took place in July 2005 when terrorism struck London. As passengers were evacuated from a subway car near an explosion, one man took several photographs of the scene with his cellular phone, and within an hour these images were posted online. First-person accounts of the catastrophe began appearing on blogs soon after these photos appeared, and people all over the world learned about the events in London by reading the words and seeing the photos posted by bloggers.

The fact that these stories and images were being spread directly by individuals operating without the added filter of a reporter helped to make the crisis feel very immediate to people across the globe. When it comes to blogging, news often appears in a very personal context. This has the potential to be the beginning of an exciting new era of reporting, one that takes “New Journalism” to it’s logical next step by putting the power to shape how the news is written and read directly into the hands of the public.

Many bloggers and cultural commentators who are champions of the weblog movement feel that this growing trend of individuals who getting their news from blogs is a good thing, because it makes the flow of information more democratic. By decentralizing the control of news, blogs allow more voices to enter the field of debate about important current events. However, many people are adamantly opposed to the use of blogs as news outlets, and there are plenty of good arguments on this side of the debate. Unlike newspapers or television stations, few blogs have fact-checkers, and there is little attention paid to journalistic accountability on many blogs. This can lead to the rapid spread of misinformation, and more than one falsehood has taken the blogosphere by storm.

The questions about whether blogging news as it happens is ethical or not are very complicated, but no matter where you stand on the topic of current events blogs you are almost sure to agree that this movement has the potential to revolutionize how modern people get their news.

Most people that use search engines use only the ten top search results in the first page. Making it to the first page, more so to the top three is a barometer of a sites success in search engine optimization. You will get a higher ratio of probability in being clicked on when you rank high. The more traffic for your site, the more business you rake in.

But, it is essential to grab a hold of that spot or make your ranking even better. As I aforementioned, each day is a new day for all e-commerce sites to make themselves rank higher using search engine optimization. It is imperative to make your site better and better everyday.

So just what is search engine optimization and do you have to use it? The answer to why you have to use it is an easy one. You need search engine optimization to be number one, or maybe at least make your site income generating.

With search engine optimization you can get the benefit of generating a high traffic volume. Let’s just say you get only a turn out of successful sales with 10 to 20 percent of your traffic. If you get a hundred hits or more a day, you get a good turn out of sales already. If you get only twenty to ten hits a day, you only get one or two if not any at all.

So once again, what is search engine optimization? Search engine optimization is utilizing tools and methods in making your site top ranking in the results of search engines. Getting yourself in the first page and better yet in the top half of the page will ensure that your site will generate public awareness of your site’s existence and subsequently generate more traffic, traffic that could lead to potential income and business.

Search engine optimization requires a lot of work to be fully realized. There are many aspects you have to change in your site or add as well to get search engine optimization. These will include getting lots of information about the keyword phrases that are popular in regards to your sites niche or theme.

You may also need to rewrite your sites contents so that you could get the right keyword phrases in your site without making it too commercial but light and informative. There are certain rules and guidelines to be followed with making your site’s content applicable and conducive to search engine optimization.

You will also need to collaborate with many other sites so that you could get link exchanges and page transfers. The more inbound and outbound traffics generated by sites among others are one of the components search engines uses to rank sites.

Try to search the internet for many useful help. Tips, guidelines and methods for search engine optimization are plenty to be found. Read many articles that can help you optimize your site in search engine results. The more knowledge and information you gather the better. This will all help you in getting those high rankings. This may require a little time and effort in your part but the benefits will be astounding.

If you can part with some money, there are many sites in the internet that can help you in search engine optimization. There are many sites that help in tracking keyword phrases that can help your site. There are also some content writers that have lots of experience in making good keyword laden content for your sites that have good quality.

Act now and see the benefits garner with search engine optimization. All of these will result to better traffic and more business for your site and company.

The importance of hiring a professional writer to assist you in your email marketing campaign cannot be stressed enough. It is one of the most critical elements to the success of your campaign. You may be a decent writer or you may have a staff member who you think can do a good job creating the content for your email marketing but unless you or your staff member is a professional writer by trade, the quality of the work will likely not be of the same quality as a professional can produce. This can be very damaging especially if your competitors are hiring writers to create their content. Your emails will likely not be viewed as favorably as the emails written by professionals.

The content you decide to include in your email marketing efforts is largely a matter of personal preference but there are some methods which have traditionally been more successful than others. The type of content which may be effective often includes informative articles, short useful tips, links to relevant websites, advertising for complementary products and even some subtle forms of advertising which are meant to persuade the recipients of the email to either make a purchase or visit your website.

Full length insightful articles which are likely to be of interest to the members of your email distribution list are an excellent idea for your email marketing campaign. These articles are a good idea because they will likely contain information which the recipients of your email will appreciate. Additionally, these articles give you the opportunity to include information about your products or services in the copy of the email. This can be a subtle form of advertising when it encourages the recipients to purchase a product or service or visit the website without actually asking the recipient to do so.

Short product reviews can also be very useful and helpful when you include them in your email marketing campaign. These reviews can help to attract a great deal of attention especially when the reviews focus on the products you offer and provide favorable reviews for these products. This type of information can either be subjective in nature or can remain objective by simply specifying the features of the products and offering other concrete pieces of information as opposed to opinions of the products.

Advertising is often a quite important part of an email marketing campaign. This advertising may either be direct or indirect in nature. Direct advertising may include banner ads or other graphical advertisements which encourage website visitors to click through the link to reach either your website or a sponsor’s website. Indirect advertising may apply to content in the copy of featured articles which subtly encourage visitors to make a purchase or visit your website. The indirect marketing in an email marketing campaign is usually supporting the products or services you offer while direct marketing will likely promote products and services offered by sponsors who paid to receive advertising space on the email. Email recipients are usually well aware these graphics are part of an advertisement and will choose to click on these links when they have an interest in the products or services being offered.