First, video is popping up everywhere: on websites, in sales letters, in testimonials and in training manuals. Google (reluctant beacon of all things net) is making its move on video in a big way by videotizing their ads and by snatching up YouTube for a Billion and some change.
Second, if you have placed a blog and RSS feed on your own website, your stats will show you that blogging is an excellent source of traffic. RSS is a simple way to get your content on the web - including your videos and podcasts.
RSS and Blogging are propelling the social networks which are burning up the web and video is only adding fuel to the fire. YouTube and MySpace barely cracks the surface of the online community building fury that's revving up the web. Social networking fulfils our need to be connected in a very unconnected world.
Our need to be a part of a group is universal. RSS and Blogging are the tools that make this connection possible. We can keep in touch and connected to the groups or subjects that interest us the most. We feel a part of the group. We feel connected. We feel organized. We feel important.
These social networking sites are excellent places to build good-will and trust among its users. They are also great places to market or pitch new products as many online marketers have discovered.
One has to wonder just how the new RSS powered version of Windows (Vista) will impact social networking sites like MySpace? Will it explode the already strong interest in Blogging to make it the dominant form of communication on the web? Will RSS become the dominant means of connecting all the dots?
Regardless of how all this plays out, RSS and Blogging are already an online marketer's dream come true. Web marketers are taking full advantage of this medium within a medium, just look at the number of marketers who have started blogs such as Neil Shearing, John Reese... Marlon Sanders has even started his own MySpace site!
Can you remember a recent launch of any major Internet product within the last year or so that DIDN'T have a blog attached to it. From Andy Jenkins & Brad Fallon's "Stomping the Search Engines" to Brad Callen's "Keyword Elite" to Joel Comm's "Instant Adsense Templates."
In a similar light, can you think of any major launch that did not have video as an important feature in its marketing. Joel Comm even used a video on YouTube to get his Google Adsense points across.
Why is RSS and Blogging so important to these marketers? Why have they become essential tools no online marketer can ignore? Why are they so important?
The answer is quite simple and obvious. It all relates to keywords. As you probably already know keywords are the exact words or phrases surfers type into search engines to find what they're looking for on the web. Keywords powers the web. Keywords powers much of the online marketing on the net. All this buying and selling are connected to keywords in one way or another.
RSS and Blogging have an automatic keyword system built into its operating structure. It comes preloaded with the means to take full advantage of keywords and keyword marketing. The whole system is run by tags or categories. These tags or categories are recognized by the search engines as keywords.
So if you use a popular free blogging software like WordPress, you will have a simple way to create keyword targeted content within seconds. Targeted keyword content that can also be syndicated around the web instantly. Build a whole blog of related keyword content and you will have created a powerful online marketing system.
Marketers are taking advantage of RSS and Blogging for this reason. It is a quick and simple way of dominating a niche area and ranking high for the popular and lucrative keywords in their niche or industry. The advent of video has made these blogs and feeds much more accessible to a larger audience or marketplace.
Once these marketers have gained dominance for popular keywords in their niche, they can convert or monetize this traffic in countless ways: selling their own products, building their lists or using Google Adsense and affiliate links. For these savvy online marketers it can be a very lucrative and profitable system.
RSS and Blogging has indeed shown them the money!
Copyright (c) 2006 Titus Hoskins
Here are a few tips to help you make your book show you the money (design it to sell well) before you even write it. Give your manuscript the test of solutions. Ask yourself the question, 'What solutions does my book offer? To achieve maximum sales in the marketplace, write your book to offer solutions for two to three questions or problems in your field:
1) Direct solutions to your potential reader's problems. Get this right and you could have a best seller. Do you know the solution to a vexing problem? Write the solution in your book. You might be surprised at who's searching online for a little relief.
2) Specific skills and information within the solution. Thousands of people search for specific information daily. They want easy to understand information. Educate your audience; include engagement tools in your book. Help them make more money, cut costs and solve their problems. Examples include: online assessments, how to tips, short reports, resource lists, how-to tutorials, dictionary of terms in your field, etc.
3) Expert advice to a specific group of people. Target a group of people looking for answers within your broad market. For example, the Chicken Soup series for Teen-Agers, Mothers, even Prisoners sold much better that the original more general Chicken Soup for the Soul.
4) An easy to read style to learn about something. Take a complex subject in your field and make it simple. Most people enjoy an easy reading language. They will reward you by reading your book to the end then telling all their friends to get it.
5) Opportunity to learn something new or interesting. Sprinkle your book with little known interesting facts about your topic. Be careful to avoid information overload with pages of detailed statistics. But if you sprinkle them as morsels throughout your book, you create anticipation that will lead your readers through to the end. People love statistics and bite-sized trivia about just about any topic.
6) Inspire people to do something good. Weave inspiring stories into your book and sell more. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership spent 18 straight months on the Business Week Business Best Seller List. Dr. Maxwell started each chapter with a short story of a famous person successfully using the chapter's law of leadership.
7) Original, different information. Have you wondered what makes a new diet book sell well even when there are scores of diet books on the market? The author presents their unique set of successful diet rules, their exercise program, their perspective, their testimonials and their credentials. They use original, different information for the same results.
8) Success experiences that motivate your audience to do more, give more or share more. Share your experiences to motivate your audience. Share how you overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges in your field. It will motivate your audience to think if you did it; they can do it too.
9) Greater understanding of life. Have you been gifted with a deep understanding of life? Put small excerpts of your understanding throughout your book. Sprinkle your quotes along with other famous philosophers or world thinkers within your book.
10) Entertainment, humor or fun. Do you have a talent to make people laugh? Use it in your book. Provide a little oasis of escape for your readers. People love it when you entertain them. Intertwine funny stories into your non-fiction manuscript. Entertain them, make them laugh; they'll love you for it. Best of all, they will have fun telling all their friends about your funny book.
Are you ready to start writing your solution oriented book yet? Did your book idea pass the test of solutions by answering questions in at least two areas? Great! Now that you know how to make your book show you the money (design your book to sell well), go ahead take the plunge.
Don't hesitate any longer. Start today. Your audience is waiting for your solution-oriented ideas and viewpoint. Make it different. Make it count. Make it yours.
Both Titus Hoskins & Earma Brown are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Titus Hoskins has sinced written about articles on various topics from Personal Desktop, RSS and Computers and The Internet. The author is a full-time online marketer who operates numerous websites, including two sites on Internet marketing. For the latest web marketing tools try: