Submitted by: Rich Brooks

With the New Year right around the corner, we often resolve to improve our behavior, health, or personal relationships. Let me tell you, you’re wasting your time. I’m OK, you’re OK.

It’s our Web marketing that’s a mess.

We’ve got out-of-shape Web sites, directionless Web marketing, and we’re lost at the search engines.

It’s time to stop worrying about self-improvement and start worrying about Web marketing-improvement!

While every business has different goals and needs, please consider these twelve items in creating your own Web marketing plan for next year. Rearrange the order to fit your own schedule in 2006.

January: Set up a Web marketing budget.

I know, this is your favorite part: the budget. However, once you’ve decided how much money you plan on spending quarterly or monthly, deciding

what

to spend your marketing dollar on becomes much easier. You’ll also want to

carve out some time

for your Web marketing endeavors. After all, a lot of the following to-do’s are more about time than money.

February: Audit your Web site (beginner.)

Often we’re surprised or dismayed at the material that’s on our Web site: bios of ex-employees, links to sites that no longer exist, a 2001 pricelist. Spend some time reviewing the content on your Web site and get rid of anything that’s out-of-date or no longer expresses who you are. Nothing turns off prospects faster than a neglected Web site.

March: Audit your Web site (advanced.)

Review your traffic reports and decide if your navigation needs to be updated. Maybe certain parts of your site are getting a lot of traffic and should be further promoted on the home page. If other sections or pages are being ignored they may need to be removed…or promoted. Fill out all the Web forms (contact, search, etc.,) and read the “hidden text” that appears on landing pages. Rewrite the copy that seems dated or incorrect.

April: Start reading blogs in your industry.

Download a newsreader (I recommend NetNewsWire for Mac users) or set up a free account at Bloglines. To find blogs in your industry you can do searches at Technorati or check out BlogCatalog among others. Make sure you’re reading the blogs of your competition

and your clients.May: Start your own blog.

You knew that was coming, right? Blogs are becoming an important, perhaps essential, part of business communications. No matter the size of your organization, a blog can be a great way to connect with your clients…and your clients-to-be.

June: Subscribe to your competitors’ email newsletters.

This is a fantastic (usually) free resource of advice that is targeted towards your clients. Shouldn’t you know what your competition is recommending? Maybe they know something you don’t!

You probably know many of your competitors already and can visit their Web site to see if they offer an email newsletter. However, you can Google “

your industry

+ email newsletter” to find some ezines that are new to you. (You should also be reading your clients’ newsletters as well; you can’t know too much about their business.)

July: Start your own email newsletter or jumpstart your subscriber rate.

If you’re not publishing an email newsletter you’re missing out on one of the most cost-effective Web marketing tools at your disposal. Use an Email Service Provider (ESP) to manage your subscriber list and publish an ezine regularly.

If you’re already publishing an email newsletter

try some new ideas to increase your subscriber base

. Offer a free article for new subscribers, raffle off a prize to one subscriber each month, or advertise on a complementary newsletter.

August: Troll discussion boards in your industry.

There are discussion boards on every topic under the sun, and certainly a few in your industry (or your target audience’s industry.) By reading posts at these discussion boards you can get an understanding of what prospects are looking for and create products or services that meet their needs.

By posting responses you can quickly establish yourself as an expert and create links that drive traffic to your Web site while improving your site’s ranking at the search engines!

September: Start listening to podcasts.

The New Oxford American Dictionary named “podcast” its 2005 word of the year, so maybe you shouldn’t wait until September before you tune in.

Whether podcasting ever becomes a part of your Web marketing, it’s important to understand how podcasting works and how other companies (including your competition) use it. Visit the iTunes Music Store or a podcast directory like Podcast Alley and start sampling some podcasts. Not sure where to start? Adam Curry’s PodFinder show (available at the iTunes Music Store) highlights new podcasts each episode.

October: Consider starting your own podcast.

I can’t recommend podcasting for every business, or even most businesses. I still believe there are more effective ways to communicate with prospects and clients. However, some businesses will benefit from offering a podcast. Keep in mind your target audience, and whether they will be downloading audio to their computer or mp3 player.

November: Submit some of your articles to article directories.

A great way to increase your “findability” at the search engines is to have a lot of quality incoming links. One proven method to do this is to have articles you’ve written appear on other Web sites that link to yours. To get your articles posted at other Web sites check out article directories such as The Phantom Writers and iSnare.

December: Add share this page functionality to some or all of your Web site.

As people suffer from information overload, they rely more heavily on the recommendations of friends and family. Make this word-of-mouth advertising easier by allowing site visitors to quickly “share this page” with a friend or colleague. You can even include your own marketing message embedded in the email that arrives at the friends’ mailbox.

About the Author: Rich Brooks is president of flyte new media (

flyte.biz

) a Web design and Internet marketing firm. He writes an an email newsletter and blogs regularly at

flyteblog.com

on Web marketing. His podcast, flyte: Web strategies for small business, is available at

flytecast.com

.

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

isnare.com/?aid=26837&ca=Internet

byAlma Abell

The gauges in your vehicle help you keep track of your speed and other important system elements. If you aren’t aware of the operational components of your vehicle, you will not be able to act quickly during an emergency situation. If you notice that your gauges are not operating as efficiently as they once did, it may be time to replace them so you can be aware of your speed and other safety notifications. While it may seem like a daunting job, if you have the right tools, you can easily replace your malfunctioning gauges and make sure you are notified of any issues that arise while you are driving.

Remove Dash and Components

The first step to replacing a Gauge Cluster in New Mexico is to remove your dash and any other components. You may be able to do this with a standard or Phillips screwdriver, however some auto manufacturers will have a special tool that must be used in order to remove the dash without creating any damage during the process. Research your car make and determine if you have the tools you need before you begin.

Remove Old Gauge Cluster

Once your dash has been removed, the next step is to remove the gauge cluster. Loosen any screws holding it in place and gently work it out of the dash. There will be at least once wire that will need to be disconnected. Make sure you don’t pull on the Gauge Cluster in New Mexico too abruptly, or you could cause the cord to break and make the project more labor intensive.

Install New Gauge Cluster

Once the old gauges are out, connect the new unit and then position it into the dash. Make sure you attach it securely so it doesn’t rattle or become displaced while you are driving. The last step is to place your dash back into place and secure it using the screws you removed during step one. If you are nervous about your gauges not working properly, replace them so you can have peace of mind. The experts at Dicks Speed-O-Tach have a wide range of available gauges for all makes and models. Call them today to learn more, or visit their website to start shopping for the gauges you need to keep your car reliable and safe.

Submitted by: Advanced Nutrients

Red and juicy with a variety of flavours and colors, tomatoes contain health-enhancing components such as lycopene, which helps maintain healthy cardiovascular systems.

Many tomatoes are grown hydroponically. Hydroponics tomatoes can taste as good as tomatoes grown in rich soil outdoors. The benefits of growing hydroponically include being able to control and extend fruit production, as well as being able to augment the supply of natural sugars and other components that plants use to produce especially tasty tomatoes. Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow indoors or outdoors, but they have specific nutritional and environmental needs.

Hydroponics growing in controlled environments gives growers ability to harvest produce year round. For commercial purposes, the ability to produce summer crops all year means being able to provide fruit, flowers and veggies out of season when they command higher prices.

You ll be pleasantly surprised to find the amazing range of Advanced Nutrients plant growth products that will help you grow great tomatoes outdoors, indoors, hydroponically, and in greenhouses using modified or total hydroponics techniques.

Here are some factors influencing tomato growth: Temperature Nutrients Light Pollination Overall environmental conditions

The easiest way to start to grow tomatoes is by purchasing seedlings or transplants. This method adds a couple of weeks to the total growing time, but it has several advantages. One advantage is that there are many heirloom types of tomatoes available by seed that are not available as commercial seedlings and transplants. You can select specific varieties of seed tomato that are perfect for your growing needs and situation. Growing from seeds is less expensive than buying seedlings and transplants. It is easy to plant hundreds of seeds and select the best sprouts for a price bodthat costs far less than buying a couple dozen seedlings or transplants.

Experienced tomato growers use specialized techniques to ensure the success of seed-grown tomato crops. One of these techniques is called pre-germination. Pre-germination increases the rate of successful germination. One pre-germination technique involves putting a piece of paper towel in the bottom of a flat-bottomed container, and dampen the towel with warm water. Put seeds on towel, cover the container and place it in a warm, dark spot. Other growers use peat pots or miniature rockwool cubes to pre-germinate seeds in.

It is useful to use a diluted solution of Advanced Nutrients Jump Start as part of water applied to seedlings, sprouts and early plants. This provides nutrition and other components that give seedlings and young plants healthier metabolisms so they grow faster and stronger.

Tomatoes are very easy to grow hydroponically. Growers use the same nutrient and additive inputs as they would when growing tomatoes in soil. During the earliest weeks of growth, it is very useful to feed plants with Advanced Nutrients Iguana Juice Grow, and Organic B. These all-organic feed formulas that create fast early growth and set your plants up to deliver huge, tasty, organic harvests. Determinate tomatoes have a maximum size that limits how big they will grow, no matter what growers do to make them bigger. Their vines terminate in a flower cluster and plant growth slows after fruits form.

Using toxic insecticides is unethical when you are growing plants to be consumed by humans. There are numerous non-toxic methods of controlling all the pests that attack tomatoes. For example, smart growers treat plants with Barricade, Piranha, Tarantula, Scorpion Juice, and Bug Away to provide systemic and external resistance to bugs that attack tomato plants. Whether you grow tomatoes outdoors in soil, in greenhouses, or hydroponically, the use of proper cultivation techniques and Advanced Nutrients products will result in larger harvests of better-tasting tomatoes than you have ever experienced before.

About the Author:

advancednutrients.com

Source:

isnare.com

Permanent Link:

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