Google has lots of excellent tools to help you research your niche - including Google Trends,  Google Reader - and now Google Blog Search.

And they’ve just added RSS and Atom feeds to the Blog Search, to make it evn easier for you to get fresh information from your Target Market.

Simply click on the links under “Subscribe” in the left-hand column of the Blog Search front page to subscribe to any topic or story in any feed reader, like Google Reader. Google also offer an iGoogle gadget that lets you embed the Blog Search front page right inside of your iGoogle page or any other page where iGoogle gadgets are accepted. You can browse topics and drill into stories from within the widget, and you can customize the gadget to choose which topics you want to follow.

And Google have added two new features to the Blog Search homepage to better help you discover what people are talking about right now on the web: Hot Queries and Latest Posts.

Hot Queries lists searches currently popular in Blog Search — it’s an easy way to quickly dive into the trending points of conversation on the web.

Latest Posts, on the other hand, shows new posts from popular blogs. While Hot Queries highlights what people are looking for, Latest Posts lets you find out about stories even before people start searching for them.

There’s a lot of great, fresh content being published in blogs every day.

So use these tools to help you research your markets and plumb new depths of your inch-wide, mile-deep niche!

Happy researching!
John

I spent a fun and insightful day last week at Nick Tadd’s Social Media Workshop. Altogether a very useful and thought-and-action-provoking day!

One of the questions I raised with Nick was the desirability of using corporate versus personal branding and accounts when using the social media.

Nick has since posted a very interesting blog post examining the issue of Social Media Schizophrenia on the Ecademy Social Media Club (SMUDGE) Forum.

Nick concludes that “…The answer is to simply be YOU…you should focus on one core business, the one that you feel most passionate about. Build your on-line brand, personality, and profile around that one business. Once people LIKE and TRUST you, you can then expose them to your other business activities, even if they are totally un-related.”

As I noted in my response to Nick’s post, I believe the choices are not necessarily straightforward, and will depend on the individual, the business, target market and the industry.

And, as the social media and the way they are driving business strategy are here to stay, it’s well worth thinking through the issues as they affect YOU and YOUR BUSINESS…

As Nick (and Penny and Thomas Power, the founders of Ecademy) point out, the mediums available for promotion of one’s business are rapidly changing as we go into the 21st Century - largely due to the changes social media have brought, as well as the ‘information overload’ that we now have thanks to the internet as a whole.

As a result, we’re well into the ‘age of recommendation’ and the tendency to follow people, rather than brands (viz Penny’s KnowMe-LikeMe-FollowMe analysis).

There are many big corporates who use the social media - especially Facebook and Twitter - very successfully to promote the brand (Dell, etc) , rather than individuals - and this is an appropriate approach where the brand already has global or growing recognition.

Many senior executives do, of course, also have a personal Facebook and/or Twitter account, as this allows the corporate to put a more human face on the brand and plays to the above factors.

Many senior executives do, of course, also have a personal SM account, as this allows the corporate to put a more human face on the brand and plays to the above factors.

There’s an interesting TechCrunch blog post on how Charities are using Twitter very successfully to raise funds - this of course is using a corporate branding…

Celebrities are the prime example of using the social media to great effect on a personal branding basis, as people follow them (or their stage name personas) as ‘fans’.

There are also those who use the social media both with a ’sober business persona’ and also with a zanier ‘ the real me’ persona - eg Simon Leung (of Adwords List Building) - @SimonLeung has 39,900 followers, while @CoolSi has 43,600.

Using a personal brand on the social media may also be less easy for smaller businesses, eg the local hairdresser/cake shop or online graphic designer, unless the proprietors have ‘big personalities’ and/or are already well known in their business/area.

For the smaller start-up business/entrepreneur, social media are inevitably going to be a necessary part of core strategy for the future – it’s more and more a question of making the product fit the media, rather than vice-versa.

However, as they may not already be known by their persona, whether to use a corporate or personal branding will depend on a range of factors, including the business, the industry, the target market, personality, etc…

So thanks Nick for a timely post - all good ‘grist to the mill’…

…and I’ll include some questions on these aspects in my Free Tele-Interview with Thomas Power on Wednesday 8th July on “How To Use Social Media For Business Promotion”.

Details at: www.ThePowerNetworker.com

I look forward to you joining us on Wednesday!

Cheers!

John Thornely

I caught a Twitter and blog post from John Haydon about a video tutorial on feeding your Twitter stream with your Flickr activity by Ian Wilker that you may find helpful.

This is a great approach for posting images that tell a story or update your Twitter followers - especially for businesses or non-profits organisations that communicate their impact with images, but have limited time for social media marketing.

As John noted, this process seemed so easythat he’s done a screencast while he connected his own Flickr and Twitter accounts.

So, my thanks to John Haydon and Ian Wilker. Follow John on Twitter.

I came across this useful video on “How to tell a story” by Scott Simon.

While the video is aimed at journalists, it is a very useful reminder of how to tell a story in your copywriting…

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Hack or Copywriter, we humans love stories and your story needs to grab your readers’ attention!

And if you want your story (or copy) to go viral, as Scott says… “Give your audience something they can pass on” - a catch-phrase or idea.

Happy copywriting

John

Here’s your invitation to a Tele-Interview I’m doing on July 8th with Thomas Power, Chairman of Ecademy, on how to find buyers and network using Facebook and Twitter…

“Can you afford to not to be in a market with 300 million Prospective Buyers?”

That’s the question that THOMAS POWER, Chairman of ECADEMY, asked us at the first #Twalk Twitter workshop recently hosted by Ecademy.

And that’s the question he’s going to answer in a Tele-Interview on Wednesday 8^th July…

Twitter and Facebook are the two KEY markets that are HOT right now and dwarf all the other Social Media sites as the place to win new prospects and build sales.

As Thomas says: “Twitter is growing beyond exponentially, with 1000% growth in the past year and 100% in the past couple of months alone! Projected use should reach 100 million by Christmas and it’s set to explode in the next year, once the school-age generation really catches on.”

And, with 200 million users, Thomas says “Facebook is a huge and active marketplace. So any serious entrepreneur is missing out badly if you’re not using it!

“You need to get into Twitter and Facebook NOW.”

As on-the-pulse entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki says: “Twitter and Facebook are the best way to market your product today - and both are free”.

Only 200 lines are available and are likely to be snapped up fast, so REGISTER NOW at www.ThePowerNetworker.com if you don’t want to be left behind…! It’s FREE!

Talk with you then!

On the same day that Microsoft unveiled its new Bing search engine (see upcoming post), Google has announced Google Wave, a new in-browser communication and collaboration tool that is set to change the way we work together online.

Delegates at the Google I/O Conference last week were treated to an introduction to Google’s new market-leading product/platform, due to be released later this year – just click on the screen below to watch it.

In brief, Google Wave is a real-time communication platform that combines aspects of email, instant messaging, online meetings, social networking, web chat, wikis, polls and project management in one in-browser communication system. Business colleagues or friends can come together to discuss topics or share information and files.

You can see more about Wave at About Google Wave or Mashable. Some of the key capabilities and extensions include:

• Real-time: you can see what someone else is typing, character-by-character.
• Text, Photos, Maps, Polls and more: you can share all these and more.
• Playback: You can playback any part of the wave to see what was said.
• Embeddability: Waves can be embedded on any blog or website.
• Applications and Extensions: Just like a Facebook or Twitter application, or an iGoogle gadget, developers can build their own apps within waves – anything from bots to complex real-time games.
• Wiki functionality: Anything written within a Wave can be edited by any other participant.
• Simultaneous Translation: As well as an automated spell-checker (‘Spelly’), there is even a robot called ‘Rosie’ who can translate simultaneously between 40 languages!
• Gadgets & Robots: Google’s Wave Gadgets Tutorial and Wave Robots Overview outline what is available and what could be developed.
• Open source: The Google Wave code is open source, to encourage developers to produce new applications and extend functionality. Thus, for instance, you can combine Twitter ‘tweets’ into a ‘twave’, and so on.

I/O Delegates were given access to the beta version of Wave, to help Google develop both the platform and applications for it. Google has deliberately developed Wave as an Open Source application, so there are likely to be a myriad of new applications available by the time Wave formally launches – and over the following months!

So, all-in-all, within the year, Google Wave is likely to become a hugely powerful – and free – open-source collaboration platform with many, many applications and extensions.

Just watch the presentation above and let your mind imagine how on-line interaction and meetings are likely to evolve – and the host of extensions and applications that will be available very shortly – with Google Wave!

And just imagine the whole new ways you will be able to develop leads for your business and then interact with your prospects and customers…!

Join the Wave!

With the current economic downturn - and more bad news every day, despite the reported ‘green shoots’ that everyone is so desperately seeking - here’s an important question for your web business…

Are online sales holding up?

Well, there are many dimensions to that question and, unsurprisingly, many answers!

But, to look at the big picture (where the statistics are easier to find!), on-line sales are ever growing as a percentage of total sales, despite the recession. They now represent about 3.5% of all retail sales in the USA, according to the US Census Bureau, as shown in the following diagram.

US e-Commerce Growth to 4th Quarter 2008

Source: http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/data/html/08Q4.html

Yes, there’s a dip to the adjusted figures in 2008, due to the economic situation, but the trend continues…

To put some hard figures against this, the Department of Commerce estimate U.S. retail e-commerce sales for the 4th quarter of 2008 was $31.9 billion, while total retail sales were estimated at $938.1 billion - slightly down from the $1 Trillion average.

On an annualised basis this means online sales in the USA are around $125 billion… Add to that worldwide sales and you can see there’s quite a potential for the little people like you and me to be trading successfully online!

So here’s to you and I!

John Thornely
Internet Tycoons

With annual purchases on the Internet well in excess of $100 Billion, I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s a lot of money to be made online.

There are people out there right now raking in millions from Web businesses and Internet Marketing – which should be a major source of motivation for anyone who wants to be successful with an online business!

However, while it’s nice to dream, in reality, success really only comes with hard work.  And you’ll also have to address these 4 crucial success keys…

Goals: The first key for succeeding with any business – Internet or otherwise – is to set goals – both long-term and short-term goals – and then work up a plan to implement them.

Think of your long-term goals in terms of your vision as to what you want out of your business and what it will give you – lifestyle, freedom, whatever. Don’t just say ‘I want to be rich’ – who of us knows what we mean by that? Be specific: how much income a month will give you the lifestyle you want?

Your short term goals or objectives can be cumulative and should all build to you accomplishing your long term goals. If you set your goals and then make sure you work hard to reach those goals then you will be well on your way to being successful.

To make sure you achieve your goals, you need to have a Business Plan that forms an outline of what you’re going to do and how you’re going to do it.

Setting your goals should be a major part of your plan. And your plan will need adjustment from time to time – but I always find that thinking through the business in order to formulate a workable plan is some of the most productive time you can spend on your business!

Belief: Life and business for few of us is a ‘bed of roses’, and you’re going to have to weather the storms that you’ll inevitably face. So you need to ‘keep the faith’ – in yourself and in what you’re doing. You need to have an unshakable belief that you’ll make it and always believe that your plan will produce for you. If you don’t believe in yourself and what you’re doing then without a doubt you’ll fail. No one has ever been successful without believing in themselves. Your belief will help you to work hard, since you know your work will ultimately pay dividends.

Focus. As Humans, we’re pre-programmed to look for the next thing and we love to believe it’s going to be better, even though in reality it rarely is! But that’s how evolution works, after all. Every language I know has a similar phrase to ‘the grass is greener on the other side’. And I’ve seen so many people flit from one idea to another for their business, often abandoning good ideas for awful ones – and I’m the first to raise my own hand and shout ‘guilty’! We all do it, don’t we?

Look – there’s nothing new under the sun! So there’s plenty of experience out there of what works and what doesn’t. Don’t think that your bright idea is going to be any different.

Most successful businesses do the same thing that others are doing but do it better, cheaper or with a different spin on the marketing. And they only succeed by focusing on one thing at a time. Yes, Richard Branson has lots of different businesses in his Virgin empire – but he built them one by one from the ground up, by focusing on one thing at a time!

So it’s absolutely critical that you don’t allow yourself to get distracted by the latest and supposedly greatest ways to make money. Stick with what works and let it work for you. Focus, focus, focus!

And the last key to being successful with Internet Marketing is to always stay the course. Choose how you want to run your business – preferably using a proven method for how you will make your business successful. Then tweak that method as you move forward – but try to stick with the same basic philosophy.

Plan, focus on what you’re trying to achieve, stick to your plan and believe it’s going to work – and you’re 90% of the way there!

And, as Winston Churchill said, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!

PS: If you want to see belief in action, check out Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

PPS: Watch out for your free Business Plan Template an upcoming post on Planning Your Way To Business Success!

Happy Planning!

John Thornely
Internet Tycoons

Starting up your own web business can seem daunting if you’ve never done it before. But there are a few simple concepts that will guide you and make sure everything you do contributes to building an effective – and profitable – business!

Here are some of the tips we’ve given in recent Consultation calls…

• Your Goals: Spell out your objectives in starting a web business, as they are what will keep you going through thick and thin… Map out the development of your web business against your goals, so that every element of what you do represents another (identifiable) step towards achieving your goals. Occasionally stop and look back at what you’ve achieved and give yourself a pat on the back, identify what needs adjusting, and learn from your experiences.
• Your Strategy: The beating heart of your web business is your business strategy. This is all about identifying a niche that you can target effectively, monetise and dominate and then working out how to do this most cost-effectively. Where do your prospects ‘hang out’ and how can you reach them? What ‘Irresistible Offer’ will bring them flocking in? Can you use viral products or videos to market your offer? How do you keep your customers coming back for more?
• Your USP: What’s different about you/your offer/ your approach – why should someone follow you or buy your products? You need to have some unique offering or angle that ‘stands out from the crowd’. SOS – the ‘Same Old Stuff’ may bring in the odd customer but we all look for something New, Different or Better all the time, don’t we? Look through your prospects’ eyes.
• Your Funnel: To maximize the benefits from your work, try to identify suitable products that represent steps through your funnel – from freebie to front-end product, mid-price, high-price, etc. You don’t have to have all these in place when starting out, but mapping out how you’re going to lead your prospects through your funnel will help make sure every element of what you do is productive in building your business and everything makes a coherent whole.
• Your offer: See how you can make the offer on your website (your free report) ‘irresistible’ – ie a no-brainer for people to sign up for! Then try to make sure that the expectations of those that sign up for it are exceeded, so that they want more! Again, look through your prospects’ eyes.
• Your Website: You have 6 to 10 seconds to grab your visitors’ attention – and hold it! Your headline should immediately ‘answer’ their problem and there should preferably be a relevant graphic that reinforces this. Your call to action (the ‘Most Wanted Outcome’) should be clear. Think about the changes you could make to increase conversion (reinforce your ‘irresistible offer’) – and keep testing them.
• Monetisation: The whole purpose of your web business is to make profit (by helping others), so try to think of all the opportunities to make a sale – I covered 16 at the Mastermind Workshop but web biz expert Rich Schefren says there are at least 45 different opportunities…!

Sure, it may look complicated but the final ‘bonus’ tip is KISS – Keep It Stupidly Simple! Oh so many businesses have failed because they got too clever or too complicated. Keep it all absolutely as simple as you possibly can – and simple enough that your prospects and customers can clearly see ‘What’s In It For Me’ and why they should do business with you!

Oh – last thing… Nothing will happen without taking Action. Small steps at a time… As the Chinese Philosopher, Lao Tze, said: “The journey of a thousand miles is started with a single step…” So start taking those steps…!

All the best with your web business…

John Thornely
Internet Tycoons

We could all do with more hours in the day, couldn’t we?

But how can we get them?

Ask Yourself!

· What activities are wasting my time? eg, if you watch TV for 3 hours a day, you could have an extra 20 hours a week to start your own business!

· What tasks are you doing that someone else could do for you? Most things you need to do in an internet business can, in fact, be outsourced.

· Who else can you involve to help you? Who can you ‘outsource’ to, partner with or get advice from?

· Are you doing the most important things? You should be – and giving the rest to someone else!

7 Steps To More Time

Answer the questions below honestly and commit to them.

1: Where do you waste most time at the moment?

2: How can you save or create more time?

3: What tasks can you delegate or dump?

4: Schedule time in your diary to take action – when?

5: When (regularly) are you going to review your goals?

6: How will you reward yourself for achieving these?

7: How can you learn from other peoples mistakes?

Above all else, if you want to succeed, you must commit to take these actions.

The thoughts we choose to think
are the tools we use to paint the canvass of our lives.
Louise Hay

John Thornely
© John Thornely www.johnthornely.com 2008

To learn more about how YOU can
Profit From The Internet – Fast, visit
www.Internet-Tycoons.com