Have you checked into Exploring Yahoo Contributor Network?

July 14, 2011 By Staci Leave a Comment

Reading through more of WebsiteMagazine.com, February 2011 Issue (page 12)…

By using Yahoo Contributor Network – also known as YCN, “anyone can publish just about anything with the push of a button – articles, videos and photos included – to Associated Content and Yahoo partner sites, and get paid for it.”

Question to you the reader, have you used Yahoo Contributor Network? What are the pros or cons to using this to help spread awareness and seek new audiences while earning revenue for yourself and promote your brand at the same time??

A few tips from WebsiteMagazine.com:

Don’t skip details in your profile – when it asks for your websites – include your Facebook and Twitter Profile URLs (and any other relevant networks)

Be very detailed about Personal Information and Area of Expertise

The reason WebsiteMagazine.com is mentioning that you should be very detailed is because YCN will use this information to help in the process of determining what contributors get which assignments, including localized assignments such as community reports and business reviews

Continuing to say that this helps to extend your community within YCN in and out – by linking your websites, blog and online profiles

Submitting Content to Yahoo Contributor Network

Title
Description
Choose Tags
Select Photos
Provide Any Other Supporting Information (including links and citations)
IMPORTANT TIP: Choose the best possible keywords and phrases to use in titles and descriptions, tags and in the body of the content itself.
Use a keyword tool, such as Google’s External Keyword Tool or Market Samuari to select those keywords.
NOTE from WebsiteMagazine.com: If the photo is not necessary consider skipping it – the process is time consuming and the photo needs to be selected from Yahoo’s public gallery or be a image of your own.
The process then continues with “Editors at YCN will manually review your first three submissions for publication. Depending on the type of payment options selected, this process will take one to two weeks. After the first three articles have been published, content can then be published immediately – again, depending on the payment options selected.”
The next process follows with: “After a producer’s first three articles are reviewed and published, a simple push of a button instantly publishes anything else.”
Getting Paid by YCN: Through PayPal in two basic forms – up-front payments and performance payments. WebsiteMagazine.com continues with more details on the process: Up-front payments can take up to 10 days for review after content is submitted. Payments can vary, but an “offer” is made ranging from $2 to $15. Once the article is ACCEPTED, your content is published and eligible for performance payments.
Let’s talk about Performance Payments: based on every 1,000 page views your content receives. To let you know – payments range, depending on which Yahoo property publishes the content – for example, Associated Content pays the highest at $1.50 per 1k page views and Yahoo Sports pays the lowest at $1.10. Each contributor has a “Clout” score that increases as more articles are published and more page views received. Increased Clout can result in higher payouts.
What rights do I have? WebsiteMagazine.com continues with “when it comes to distribution, publishers also have options from which to choose. Exclusive, Non-Exclusive and Display-Only. Exclusive is Yahoo owns the rights and content cannot be previously published nor can it be republished by you in the future. Non-Exclusive means that the content producer is free to publish the content anywhere. Lastly, Display-Only content may have been previously published, can be republished by you and its completely under your control – meaning you can remove it from the Yahoo Network at any time.

Can YCN be a great choice for your local business / online entity?

Of course it can. Yahoo wants fresh, quality content just like Google and EzineArticles – so in this case if you can get links back to your site, new audience and get paid – then why not? Adding this option to my client’s article submission process!

Drop by after you have submitted your content and let me know how it goes. I will also keep you updated through future blog posts of my client’s outcomes.

Filed Under: Publicity Tagged With: Article Marketing, directory, yahoo contributor network

Start A Home Business – Top Ways To Earn From Home

September 3, 2010 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Home based business are on the rise. The internet makes it easy for people aspiring to transition from a traditional 9-5 or make some extra money from home. Here are some of the top ways to earn from home.

#1 Freelancing

Freelancing is simply selling a service without a long term contract. You can offer any number of services. Writing, graphic design, transcription, editing, audio creation, photography, and even voice over services can all be offered as a freelancer. Freelancing gives you the ability to pick and choose the projects you work on and whom you work with. It provides you with the freedom to set your rates and to choose when you work and when you don’t.

#2 Information Marketing

Information marketing is exactly what it sounds like, it’s making money by selling information. We’re an information hungry society and we often turn to the internet to help solve our problems. Whether you need to stop back pain, learn how to train your dog or learn how to be a parent to your teenager, we all have problems we want to solve.

Many times information marketers make their living writing books and reports. However, information marketers also create software products, or have them created for them. You can hold teleseminars or offer an online course. The key to being a successful information marketer is finding a topic you’re passionate about and researching supply and demand. There are tons of niches just waiting for a motivated entrepreneur.

#3 Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketers earn a commission on products or services they sell. Generally, affiliate marketers create a website around a niche topic. They use content to build an audience and drive traffic to their website. In their content they promote, review, and link to the sales pages of the products or services they represent.

For example, a person could create a website around pet health and be an affiliate for companies that provide products and services that support pet health. Affiliate marketing can be a very lucrative home based business. Like information marketing the key is to find a niche you’re passionate about and to research supply and demand. You’ll also want to research affiliate products and services.

Other ways to start a home business include direct sales, selling a product, coaching and membership sites. There are a number of ways to make a living from home. Find the business model that’s right for you and enjoy!

Filed Under: Affiliate Marketing Tagged With: Article Marketing, info-products, Start At Home Business

Need Traffic? Fast Solutions To Drive Traffic to Your Website

September 2, 2010 By Guest Blogger Leave a Comment

Website traffic is for many business models, the key to profits. The more traffic you have, the bigger your bottom line. Whether you’re launching a new product or just want a quick influx of cash, sometimes you need tons of traffic quickly. Here are 5 fast solutions to drive traffic to your website.

#1 Social media. Social media works quickly and if you have a large following on any of the social media sites, you can generate a ton of traffic to your website quickly. The key is to create attention grabbing posts that arouse curiosity, make people laugh or stir up a controversy. You want to generate click throughs to your website. Make the most of your social networking tactics and use technology to get the job done. For example, one StumbleUpon post can be integrated with both Facebook and Twitter profiles so you’re making waves on all three social sites at once.

#2 Article marketing. Article marketing works well when you concentrate your efforts on quality article marketing sites with large audiences. One well written and informative article, rewritten a few times, and submitted to a handful of directories can generate the traffic you’re looking for. Be sure to include a bio box that includes a call to action and a link to your website to motivate click throughs.

#3 Blogging. Post on your own blog or be a guest blogger on a blog with a large number of subscribers. Like social networking, if you offer an informative, controversial or entertaining post, you’ll have people clicking through to your website like mad. Of course, if you also promote this wonderful blog post(s) via social media, you can double your traffic results.

#4 Video content. It’s amazing how quickly a video can go viral. Like print content, videos that entertain, stir up a bit of controversy or offer tremendous value cause a buzz. They’re forwarded to friends and downloaded on laptops and mobile devices around the globe. A good video can generate all the traffic you need. Again, integrate a bit of social media to promote your video, blog about it too, and you can multiply your traffic results.

#5 Partnerships. Partnering with a relevant or compatible business can work quite well to generate traffic fast. The key is to come up with a mutually beneficial agreement. Find people in your industry that are willing to work with you and help each other drive traffic. A partnership may include guest blogging on each other’s sites, swapping advertisements or even promoting one another in your ezine.

It’s possible to drive a ton of traffic to your website fast. The trick is to have a plan in place, know your audience and your goals, and take action. To your success!

Filed Under: Content Strategy Tagged With: Article Marketing, blog management, building a blog, Link Building, social media, video marketing

Social Marketing Schedule

May 2, 2010 By Staci Leave a Comment

One of my clients presented me with a social marketing schedule. I think it is a wonderful idea if you are planning on being involved within social media. So I wanted to take the opportunity to summary the ideas and share them with you…

Twitter

Check replies from current followers, review direct messages you received since you last checked, and respond to each one.

Search on http://followontwitterlists.com to find people that you want to follow and add them. Tweet at least twice daily and remember to try to do them live and not from TweetLater. **I do suggest tweeting with TweetLater (which is now SocialOomph – because you has time to remember to tweet when you are booked solid with conference calls, getting your next info-product done, etc.)

Find five things worth re-tweeting in your general feed and share with others.

Reply to your followers with a complete response not just a word or two word answer.

Want to automatically follow others back – you can use SocialToo.

Approach online business partners and retweet each other.

Facebook

Post a status message daily, something engaging and interesting.

Comment on other people’s status messages or updates.

Create a fan page to help promote a business, webinar, teleseminar or teleclass.

Is your profile picture current? If not, update it.

Check your wall for any comments that you should comment back on.

Add Facebook widgets to your Homepage.

If you belong to groups or fan pages, leave a comment or two.

Article Marketing

Add all completed articles into EzineArticles.com and save them as a draft. You can then go in every 2 days or so and submit the article so you have one posted about every 2 days.

Add your articles into SelfGrowth.com.

Submit your articles to GoArticles.com.

When writing your next article(s), remember to put your reader’s major benefit in the title of your article(s).

Looking for more directories? After you write the article you can then go to Google and search for more sites, “article submission”.

Write an article for a magazine or blog with your web address in the resource box.

Blogging

If you have a few extra minutes, read through some blogs – (from STACI: try to find some blogs that are in your niche and even direct competition with you) and read a post or two and comment back.

Visit your blog and review what comments have been left and respond.

Use OnlyWire.com to bookmark your blog posts.

Blog regularly and set up http://Ping.fm to distribute content to Facebook, Twitter, and other sites.

Stay connected. Add any new relationships, business partners, etc.

Accept any invitations that make sense for you to accept.

Post in discussion and newsgroups in your industry.

For FREEBIES & MISC

Create downloadable PDFs with valuable content and active links back to your site – this can be a great avenue for Joint Ventures.

Use signature files on all emails with call to action.

Give testimonials to others about their services or products with your web address.

Create offline ads with your web address.

Optimize your site with SEO to get better search rankings.

Host a teleclass and send students to your site for information.

Have multiple websites that link to each other.

Create a viral offering such as a joke or flash movie with your website on YouTube.

Put your domain on all marketing materials.

Write a book and put your domain on the cover and inside the book.

Be a guest on a radio show and send people to your site.

Speak in public and give a useful handout with a link to your site.

Mention your web address every time you are talking about your business.

Filed Under: Content Strategy, Internet Marketing, Publicity, Web 2.0 Tagged With: Article Marketing, ezinearticles, facebook, linkedin, twitter

Is EzineArticles.com Your FAVORITE Article Directory?

February 5, 2010 By Staci Leave a Comment

?If not … it should be and here is why… they are making changes that you will LOVE! EzineArticles.com is becoming more user friendly and they have been reducing the amount of time from when you submit your article and when it goes live – just great news all around.

Setting up a Newsletter or Ezine to send to your Subscribers

February 3, 2010 By Staci Leave a Comment

Setting up a Newsletter can be a great source to tell your readers what you are about, what you like and what you would recommend to others. You can also send out a newsletter to update your subscribers and let them know what is new and exciting about the project you just completed. Or the service you are now providing.

Most business professionals have a monthly ezine, I have also read that depending on your subscribers you could send a ezine out every other week. More than that – your subscribers would stop listening and not read what you are sending.

Here is an example of a Newsletter template that I created to show you what you could do.

What ideas do you have for your next ezine? What do you look for as a subscriber of a ezine?

Please Share!

Thanks,

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: Article Marketing, Product Marketing, Service Marketing

Software Review: Article Directory Submitter by Bryxen Software

January 3, 2010 By Staci 1 Comment

I have found for the Article Directory Submitter (affiliate link) program to be useful as it had some sites listed that I was not aware of.

Easy to use: Once you click on each article directory name, you are taken directly to submit your article for each directory.

Bryxen Software: Article Submitter

One disadvantage is many of the sites listed were added a few years ago and are no longer valid. So for all the ones listed within the program only about 40 of them are true/valid directories. Of course this is the FREE version – maybe the paid version is more up-to-date and has customization features available.

Once you click on the link above – you of course are taken to a sales page, in the navigation bar is Directory Submitter and Article Directory Submitter. (It is my affiliate link if you wish to download the free version or purchase one of the upgraded packages.)

Have a great day!

Filed Under: From the Desk of Staci Tagged With: Article Marketing, Software Review

Which Article Directory are you Submitting to?

December 24, 2009 By Staci 1 Comment

Search "Article Directory" with Google.com

I have taken the directories that I have come across and added them to the list that you can download. This is a general list of article directory sites that allow free submission.

Here is an example that you can download. Article Submission Directory List

I will try to add sites on a monthly basis going forward – so please check back for a up-to-date list.

If you have a site that you prefer to use – please share why you prefer that site. Do you use any paid-directories? What have your results been with paid vs. FREE submission sites?

Have a great day!

Filed Under: Content Strategy Tagged With: Article Marketing

EzineArticles.com Submit 25 Articles between today and 1/1/2010!

December 23, 2009 By Staci Leave a Comment

Just received a email from EzineArticles.com and wanted to share the email with each of you…
Email Message Begins —>

Write Articles, Earn a Holiday Mug!

Finish 2009 by completing this 10-day “mini-challenge” and you’ll earn a limited-edition EzineArticles holiday mug!

The rules are simple:

Submit at least 25 qualified article submissions between 12:01AM CDT today (12/23/09) and 11:59PM CDT on New Year’s Day (1/1/10).
After you have submitted 25 articles, and prior to 11:59PM CDT on January 7, 2010, send an email requesting your mug to holidaymug@ezinearticles.com – you’ll receive an automated email response.
Confirm your shipping address is correct in your EzineArticles profile. We’ll only ship these mugs to confirmed postal addresses worldwide.

Do those 3 things and you’ll receive one of these limited-edition EzineArticles holiday mugs. There’s no need to sign up. It’s that simple.

We’ll announce the first names of the winners in the comments section of this Blog post by Noon CDT on Friday, January 8th.

So take a break from holiday eating and entertaining. Instead, spend a little time boosting your credibility, driving traffic to your site and increasing your exposure for 2010 by writing and submitting at least 25 high-quality, original articles. =)

Got questions or thoughts? Click here to leave a comment on the Blog:
http://blog.EzineArticles.com/2009/12/write-articles-earn-a-holiday-mug.html

To Your Article Writing/Marketing Success & Passion!

Marc, Public Relations
http://EzineArticles.com/

<—Email Message Ends!
Great opportunity for everyone… Happy Writing!

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Tagged With: Article Marketing, ezinearticles, Product Marketing

Using an Article Directory Program or Manual Submission?

December 22, 2009 By Staci Leave a Comment

Options are always nice to have. With article submission you can manually register with each directory through your internet browser and submit your article.

Options that I have learned about is:

Article Directory Submitter
SEnuke
Human Spinner

Bryxen Software: Article Submitter

Another option is to use an article submission program. I have used the article directory program by Bryxen Software, Article Directory Submitter (affiliate link). You can find the link here to download the FREE version. Do want to point out that there is a paid version, located here. I was searching and stumbled upon this – the Gold and Platinum programs offer more options with a fee. I have not purchased the paid version.

http://Senuke.com

An article marketing strategy would a better approach which offers a spin to your articles with SEnuke (affiliate link). The advantage to having a slight spin to each article would increase your chance of more visiblity due to uniqueness of the content. This is a big advantage – most people will not do this manually because it takes to much time to different versions of the same article. SEnuke (affiliate link) works with Human Spinner to help make the articles unique. If you are interested in learning more about SEnuke (affiliate link).