Web Savvy Facebook Scheduling Tactics to Help Jump Start Your Campaign

On my last post, I told you a few things about how you should be using social media to promote your business online.  I also told you that if you weren’t using social media to influence your clients, customers and prospects your competitors probably were.

You can read it here: Your Competitors Know How to Use Facebook...Should You?

Plan It Out

A planner with lots of room will let
you plan your posts to Facebook

I carry two planners around with me wherever I go.  That’s not an accident, I find that I am far more productive with one than without one.  I hate getting to the end of a day when I’m tired, realizing that I should have completed an important task and I still have to get it done.  

Not only that, but I find that the work I need to do will be done at a much higher level of quality than if I wait until I’m spent.

So, if you are planning on using a social media channel, you may want to plan what you are going to do as far as posting and doing follow ups with people on Facebook.

As I see it, there are 5 phases to gaining popularity on Facebook or any other social media site:

Phase 1 -- Set up your pages.

Phase 2 -- Locate influencers in your market.

Phase 3 -- Contribute to the influencers.

Phase 4 -- Invite them to your Facebook page.

Phase 5 -- Get them into your funnel.

Each of these phases will be expanded upon, but for now, I want to focus on the third phase, “contribute to the influencers”.

Giving Them Something for Nothing

The reason I’m talking about Phase 3, “Contribute to the Influencers” first, is because it’s the one that will take the most time in terms of planning, writing, connecting, and posting your high-value material.

Buy a Planning Book.  Get a planning book that you’ll have plenty of room to write in, and for starters try to write out a schedule of things you want to post about over the next week.  Many social media experts will tell you to try to plan for three to six months, but I feel that most people that are starting out in the social media or the Facebook arena will get overwhelmed. 

Here's how Internet Marketing Expert Michael Hyatt Plans his Posts:

It’s a far better idea to just schedule a week or two at first, so you won’t burn yourself out at the onset.  My way of thinking, is that if you get worn out trying to merely do the scheduling, you’ll never get started.  And if you never get started in social media, you’re leaving heaping piles of cash on the table for your competitors to scoop up.

So…

Step 1 Write out a one to two week schedule on what you’re going to post about. 

TIP: If you get hung up about what to write about in your chosen market, head on over to Amazon and look at books dedicated to your niche.  You need to look at the best sellers in your niche.  There is a wealth of information in the Table of Contents of those books.   You can easily get all sorts of ideas about what to write about by looking at those chapter titles.

Step 2 Research your topics.  Once you have a subject, do some extensive research on what you are going to write about. 

Step 3 Write your post.  For God’s sake, write a well-structured, thought out post.  Your audience is inundated with people that write crap.  I’m not saying that I write incredible masterpieces, but at least their coherent most of the time and I try to disseminate valuable tips and content that will benefit my audience. 

(Personally, if someone writes like a text book or a bestseller, the common man or woman out there might not relate to the message as well.)

Step 4 Post to Facebook and your other social networks.

In my next post, I’m going to show you the best way to set up your Facebook page so that you’ll be asking your herd to go to a page that adds value and enriches their lives.

Until then…

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

P.S.  Here's a two links on posts I've made on the subject of researching topics and niches and scheduling posts.

How to Make Web Savvy YouTube Videos That Will Generate Traffic

In my last post, I told you about the nuts and bolts of creating YouTube videos.  The types of software and equipment that you’ll need to get the job done.  You can read it here:

What Type of Software and Hardware Should I Use to MakeYouTube Videos With?

Now we are going to tackle the subject of how to create videos.  In my opinion, it is better to make instructional videos related to your niche.  The reason for this is that you are doing several things at once.

1.  You are giving prospects something of value that they can use, thus earning their trust.

2.  You are proving to potential clients and customers that you know your stuff and can deliver it.  This will make you an authority in your niche.

3.  Your videos will become a traffic generator for your landing page.

Designing Your Web Savvy -- Traffic Generating Video

Step 1 -- Plan Your Video

Planning before you shoot your video is all important.  If you are going to create a series of videos, then you’ll need to take some time to write out an outline or something similar to a table of contents.  Carefully think through all of the steps of the video (or videos) and make an outline so that you will have a reference of what to write for your script.

Note: If you are making just one video make an outline of your script.  If you are making a series of videos first make an outline or table of contents for the entire series.  Then make a table of contents for each video.

Why are we doing this?  For one thing, when you are writing your scripts you will notice that you are logically following a concise and well thought out order to your videos.  The other reason is, believe it or not, you will save time in writing your script, and you won’t forget to leave information and important elements of your video. 

Step 2 --- Write a script.  Most of the videos you see on the Internet are not scripted.  In other words, they are not thought out, not focused on a specific task or subject and not made very well.  It’s like going to websites and blogs where people just throw information on them without even a theme, expecting to gather a herd (AKA tribe, ravenous prospects, hive, etc.)  to their site. 

So, in order to stand out from the crowd, you need to have a focused well thought out and well written script.  You will also need to insert notes into the script so that you’ll know when to insert certain pictures and points.  I add and highlight places in my scripts where I want to add emphasis to my voice while reading the script.

Step 3 --- Edit your script and make it clean.  Once you've written your script, you’ll want to go back and read through it aloud.  You’ll be amazed at how lousy some of your phrases sound after you've read them.  Edit and take out any extraneous (not needed) words or phrases that you think you can live without. 

Step 4 --- Read and rehearse your script.  Read through the script several times to make sure you won’t have too many hiccups or pauses during your video recording.  I hate it when I’m watching a video and there’s all of these “Uhhhh…” pauses in the video.  You can obviously tell that there was very little thought put into the video and the speaker either doesn’t mind wasting your time or just doesn't know what he’s talking about.

Step 5 --- Record the video.  Don’t get intimidated by this. In yesterday’s post I went into the type of equipment used and what kind of software you should buy.  You could easily get everything you need to get decent quality equipment, software and camera for under $1000.  Yep, that’s right, I said UNDER A THOUSAND DOLLARS. Is it going to be in the same class as CNN?  Nope. But you can record and edit easily for this much.

Here's a great resource for getting the job done cheap: Inexpensive Video Production

I've seen online videos created with basic cameras and equipment that were very good.  You don’t need high end equipment or even great production, but you can get as close to it as you can by learning a few tricks.  

There are plenty of websites that show you how to make great production level videos on a limited budget  so you’ll have to look around to find a few of them.  (I’ll give you some resources you can access at the end of this post that’ll point you in the right direction.)

When you start recording your video, you need a plain background so it won’t be distracting, a place to record at where it’s quiet, and teleprompting software that scrolls your script on your laptop or screen.  Oh, yeah and a video camera. 

Place your camera right behind the laptop facing you and read the script in a clear voice at a moderate speed.  If you've rehearsed the script the recording should go well.

If you are using screen capturing software, you won’t need teleprompting software, you can read your script right off a piece of paper.  Just place it somewhere that it can be seen. 

Here is a video I made using Camtasia and a script:

Step 6 --- Editing your video. Once you have finished your video, you can now address the part of the production that requires the most work and time.  The editing process.  This is where you’ll use your software to take any and all unneeded parts and mistakes.  You can also add words and graphics to the screen as well as music to really make your video look professional.

Once you are finished with all of that, you can save your video to up load it to YouTube which I’ll cover in my next post.

A Few More Crucial Pointers…

Before I sign out of this post I want to give you a few more thoughts on video production.

• Make sure you make a video that is valuable and relevant to your business and target market.  You must define who you are trying to benefit with your video.

• Keep the video about 5 minutes long.  Long winded videos bore the tar out of most people.

• Always keep the people you are making your video in mind.  Issues such as bandwidth and video format are important to consider.  (More on this tomorrow.)

Video References:

Editing Software 

Sony Vegas

Camtasia

Teleprompter Software

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

"When it Comes to High-Response Copy - I've Got Your Back!"

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

(859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

Get this Awesome Book on Being an Entrepreneur for FREE By Best Selling Author Robert Ringer

A quick post here about an incredible offer by a great author.  Robert Ringer is a

man that went to the school of hard knocks. 

He's written several books that have made it to #1 on the New Your Times best seller list.  He usually writes about real life experiences that he has had in business.

The thing that I love about his books the most is the man can write.  Most non-fiction writers have a hard time telling interesting and compelling stories when they talk about being a entrepreneur or business owner.  Ringer tells you stories and points of view that are funny,sad, dramatic and interesting.  He does all that while telling you the cold, hard facts of getting ahead in the business world. 

Because he has busted his butt in business and made it to the top, you know that he is at the top of his game.  But better yet, he is telling you EXACTLY how to succeed in this book and he's giving it away for free! 

 That's right, Robert Ringer is giving his book, "Million Dollar Habits -- 10 Steps for Getting Everything You Want in Life." just for giving him your email.

What I've Already Told You About Success

Over the past several weeks I've been going through all of the different Traffic Generation tactics that you can easily start to use.  If you haven't been reading the easy traffic generating tactics I suggest you click on this link:  Generating Traffic.

But here's the point.

It doesn't matter if you are getting the advice from me, Bill Gates, or Robert Ringer.  The principles and tactics are easy to understand, but it's the EXECUTION and the DISCIPLINE that's hard to do

Sure, Tiger Woods uses a golf club to swing at the little white ball, but it takes bazillions of years of practice, dedication and work to make what he does happen consistently.  Slow and steady wins the race most of the time.  

So get Ringer's book.  You'll laugh! You'll cry! But mostly you'll learn something.

Click here to go to the site and get Ringer's great book. 

Million Dollar Habits -- 10 Steps for Getting Everything You Want in Life

To Your Success!

Mark "Elmo" Ellis

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

"When it comes to high response copy, I've got your back!"

 (859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

Portfolio Site: http://markelliscopyportfolio.blogspot.com/

"Use This Well Known Google Tool To Create A Money Making Machine And Pull Ahead of the Pack"

How to Fill Out Your Calendar

In case any of you missed my last 2 posts, we are exploring a technique that a millionaire revealed in a conversation I was privy to.  It was not a short and sweet sonnet, so I've had to try to explain this whole strategy over the course of about a month. 

If you didn't get a chance to read my recollection of what I was told, you can read Part I - How to Set Up A Blog and Part II - How to do Research for Your Niche or Subject. 

How to Lock and Load Your Money Calendar

If you have gone through all of the steps I've written about in the last 2 steps, you should have already:

• ·         Researched and chosen your niche
• ·         Signed up for a blog (either WordPress or Blogger) account and formatted it
• ·         Researched topics you will be writing about using For Dummies, Amazon or eBay

By the way, if you don’t know how to set up a blog, I have an online video series you can watch here: Bloggingwith Google’s Blogger

Once you have set up your blog, it’s time to set up your calendar.  The reason why you’d want to use a calendar is so that you can have a series of articles related to your niche that are somehow logically connected to one and other.  Not only will a calendar connect your articles to each other, but you’ll be able to establish goals, set deadlines and be able to have a list of subjects that will make it so much easier to write about. 

Google’s Calendar – My Calendar of Choice

If you haven’t seen Google’s calendar it looks like this:

Google's calendar will allow you to color code different sections of your calendar, so it easy to view 

The reason why I like this calendar so much is because I can access it anywhere there is a computer with an internet connection.  Not only that, it updates the current date and time that you are on automatically.  Another thing that is pretty cool, is that you can color code different parts of the calendar so that it is visually easier to use.  So my marketing weapon of choice is Google's Calendar.

Now, if you don't want to do that, you don't have to.  Any kind of calendar will do, whether it resides on a computer or not.  

Creating Your Subject Schedule

Once you have your calendar picked out you will now return to Amazon (or eBay, or For Dummies.com) and look at the material you accessed using the technique in my last blog post and drilled down into your subject matter to find a niche, or even a niche of a niche.  (Once again, please read my last Blog post on: Finding a Niche to Make Money On.)

Once you start looking at the resource material or books you can start to use your calendar to fill out a schedule.  Actually, this isn't any different than making an outline.  Take a look below:

Subject: Social Bookmarking

Introduction to Social Bookmarking in Marketing
I.  Social Bookmarking 
A.  Why is it important to use it
   1.  How people use it
   2.  Why it is important to learn how to use it
   3.  Successful businesses that use social bookmarking
        a. Star Bucks
        b. Apple


So forth...

You want to fill in at least two months worth of subject material.   if you are having a problem using Google's calendar here's a Video on how to use it: 





The Reason for Doing This 

There are a couple of reasons why you will want to schedule like this.  First of all, there are a large numbers of entrepreneurs that put up a website and then drive traffic to it.  

Whatever means they use to drive traffic to their sites, the results are usually not spectacular.  One of the reasons this is so, is because webpages and sites that are static, usually don't get traffic.  What I mean by static is, they sit on the net, and usually the content stays exactly the same.  It doesn't change.  

Internet search engines have become very sophisticated in the last few years, and they demand that a site have at least 2 basic criteria:

1.  New, well written and focused content, and...
2.  relevant links coming in

At the end of the day Google loves fresh, original content and so do readers. Google also loves relevant, quality links to your site. So, if you are writing good content that people love, then they will link to your website from theirs.  

But, get real, if you have a crappy, static, site, chances are nobody will link to them, even if you ask.

If you would like to read more about this subject, then read this link by Michael Bluejay: Why I Won't Link to Your Site  This is one of the most brilliant pieces I have ever read on this subject.

Also, SEOBOOK has a great article on Blogging and SEO as well.

The main point is...

If you write well planned material that actually offers some high - octane content, you should have no problem eventually getting readers to your blog.  

in my next post, I'm going to show you how to get social media on your side, with an actual blueprint that you can use to get as many readers and possible prospects as possible.  

Until next time, God Bless!

Mark "Elmo" Ellis

Mark Ellis

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

"When it comes to high response copy, I've got your back!"

 (859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

Portfolio Site: http://markelliscopyportfolio.blogspot.com/

Millionaire Affiliate Marketing Trick That’ll Put Your Product On Top! - Part 1

This is an actual blueprint I got from a millionaire affiliate marketer. No crap.  I will never guarantee that an idea like this will make you rich or anything of the sort.  For all I know, this individual may have used this idea 30 years ago in a different economy and is just now getting around to telling us about it.  

Whether you will have success with this map is anyone’s guess, but you may want to give it a try. 

Preliminary  Stuff That You Must Do

Once you have decided on your niche, (this is a big massive step that I have outlined in a previous posting -click the link to read it.) 

You will need to set up a blog.  That is fairly easy to do.  I use Google’s blogger all of the time and I have about 20 of them.

 If you are going to be super serious about your business, you’ll need to get a URL. (.com or .net…Whatever!)  Any good marketer will tell you that for Search Engines to help rate you, you should have your own URL.  It is also far easier to have a URL as an address, because it is easier to remember, put on stationary, etc. 

However, if you want to save the meager dollars per year and use www.blahblahblah.blogspot.com as your address, go ahead.  I personally think that if most of us use '.blogspot.com" we will still get a good amount of traffic anyway...But that's just me.  Also, you can still add your web address later and still keep all of your content.

WordPress VS. Blogger

I have had people tell me to not use Google’s Blogger and go with WordPress.  I have used both; WordPress is  a little more complex than Blogger, in my opinion.  I have read opinions that if you want to change templates in WordPress it is easier and there are more templates for you to use.   

However, if you don't possess HTML skills or knowledge about how to fix issues with WordPress, then you are in for a steep learning curve.  Blogger is designed to be as close to a word processing program as possible.  Very easy to use and manipulate and you can also get templates for it as well. 

I personally think this is the easiest way to go.

Another opinion I've heard online, is if Google doesn't like what you are about, they can shut your Blogger blog down.  I have heard of this and I believe that there are people that have been shut down by Google, no doubt. 

However: IT IS RARE

Beginning The Work

OK, once you have your niche, web address and are signed up to Blogger or WordPress, you can now begin THE WORK.  And believe me, you need to know how to write because you’ll be writing a lot. 

But as the millionaire blogging-marketer said, "there must be method to your madness."  

So, the next thing you’re going to need is a blank calendar.  Google has a calendar and you can access it here: Google’s Calendar.  However, if you want to use another calender like an app on your cell phone, then go for it. 

 Personally I use a small black planner that I physically write in, but I'm still in the Dark Ages.  

Once you have your planner, you can start putting some serious thought into your blog posts.  The way you do that is by using some of my most favorite tools for getting ideas: Amazon, For Dummies, and eBay.

The reason that we are going to use these sites is so that we can see which topics are popular so we can start making lists on our calender.  If you have a Google Adsense account, you can also double check to see whether or not there is traffic for your subjects by using their Keyword Planner.

The Tools You Should Have So Far

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of what you should do.  Let's go 

and make sure you gather all of your tools first.  This way, you won't be overwhelmed with this plan of action and give up.  

• Decide on your niche - use Amazon as I have written about in an article about finding hot niches

• Get a URL or web address from GoDaddy, Register.com or Host Gator.

• Create a Blog account with Blogger or WordPress.

• Get a blank calendar to fill in your subjects and topics in.

• If you can, get an Adsense account so you can look up your subjects in the Keyword Planner and make sure it has enough traffic to write about.

OK, make sure you have this stuff.  One thing I need to mention is that once you buy a .com (URL) you'll need to migrate it into your blog.  I use Go Daddy to buy my web address because they will help you and even tell you how to do this with Blogger.  

Host Gator has an easy way to start a WordPress Blog if you have your hosting through them.  Blogger doesn't need a hosting plan.  Anyway, I've included HostGator's blog set up video below.

In my next post, I'm going to show you how to use For Dummies.com, Amazon, and eBay to plan your blogging calendar.

God Bless.

Mark "Elmo" Ellis
www.MarkEllisCopy.com
"When it comes to high response copy, I've got your back!"
Ad copy Portfolio Site

How to Make Your Business Different From Everyone Else’s

One of the problems that I see with newborn information marketers, and netrepreneurs is that they do not know how to sell.  If you are going to sell any product or service, you need to develop this skill.  As a matter of fact, if you are selling over the Internet, you will have to know how to sell using words on a page, whether it is a piece of paper or a squeeze page on a Website. 

Just this week, I bumped into a young man that wanted to make money over the Internet and he churned out a webpage that looked like this:

I blocked out the name of the site because I’m not trying to embarrass anyone, and to tell the truth, I made the same mistakes when I was just starting out.  But, there is so much wrong with all of this that you don’t know where to start. 

First of all, this is supposed to be some sort of new blogging platform, which in my opinion is way too big of a project for a newbie.  If I were new to this game I wouldn't start here, under any circumstances.  Besides that, there are a whole bunch of blogging and social media sites out there that are trying to be the next Facebook, so the competition is pretty stiff. 

So, unless you have a very clear differentiation from those sites, you are going to have a very tough time getting people to access your site.  

But, all of that aside, you need to make your business different than all of the competition out there.

How to Make Your Business Different

Let us start out with the premise that you are a running a sign business in the bricks and mortar world.  What you should do is get a copy of the Yellow Pages

(YP) and set it right in front of you.  Next, you’re going to look up all of the sign businesses in the YP and you are going to write down the words and phrases that you see in their advertisements that are repeated.

For example, you see the words or phrases “vinyl lettering”, “craftsmanship”, “signage”, “vehicle graphics” over and over again.  Once you have gone through all of the ads you see in those pages you will see that almost all of the businesses are competing for the exact same market.

As you can see, this gives you market awareness that nobody else in your business has. 

Make Yourself Different

The next thing you must do is find an angle or perform a service that none of the other businesses have.  In the good ol’ days Domino’s Pizza got their pizza to you within a specified period of time and that’s what separated them from all of the other pizza businesses out there.

Maxwell House coffee started putting their coffee into measured filter packets that you just threw into the coffee maker.

You must find a way to make your site, business or service different than everyone else’s. 
One way is to make your business indispensable like this:

I know that you are probably thinking that I was going to tell you exactly how to make your business different, but I am not in your shoes or business.  I would need intimate knowledge that you have in your enterprise to know exactly the angle to apply to this change.

However, once you see what all the other businesses are into and what elements are the same, it will be much easier for you to differentiate yourself in your marketing and business.

To Your Success!

Mark “Elmo” Ellis

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

"When it comes to high response copy, I've got your back!"

 (859) 797-9560

elmo033057@gmail.com

www.MarkEllisCopy.com

If you want to learn more about how to write and use ad copy in your business, please click the link below and I’ll send you a free report on how to write more effective copy for your business.

Please send me a free copy of The Secret 7 -How to use advanced tactics in your adcopy to dominate your competition!