Are you a freelance web content writer? If so, you may have noticed an increase in competition. With high gas prices, the high unemployment rate, and various other reasons, more people want to work from home. Many of these individuals give writing a chance. Competition is nice, but it may leave you wi

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thout work. To find work, you may start to examine unconventional approaches, such as Twitter.

If you are a freelance writer, you may have heard of Twitter before. As a writer and researcher, it is your job to stay up-to-date with internet happenings. In fact, you may already be a member. But, are you only sending messages to friends and family? If so, you aren’t using Twitter to its fullest extent. As previously stated, you can use it to gain writing clients and projects. How? By using Twitter as an internet marketing tool.

If you aren’t a member of Twitter, signup for a free account. You can do so at Twitter.com. After creating your screen name, password, and providing your email address, you start adding contacts. You can do so by importing your email contact list or by searching for members based on email address, name, or location.

Before you start marketing your writing services on Twitter, you need to develop a list of contacts. As stated above, this needs to be more than friends and family. Start with a Twitter search. You can do so by visiting Search.Twitter.com. Perform a search with targeted phrases, like writing, writer, freelance writer, and so forth. These individuals share similar interests with you, so they make great Twitter contacts and friends.

You can also turn to online message boards. Since marketing is an important component of writing on the web, you may already belong to a few message boards for writers, internet users, or working from home. If so, create a new message stating that you are a member of Twitter and that you want to exchange information. If someone starts following you, do the same.

The above mentioned approaches will help you find those with similar interests, likely other writers. Now, you may wonder how this can benefit you. After all, these Twitter members may be your competition. They may apply and compete for the same jobs. Yes, this is true, but have you ever been overwhelmed as a freelance writer? If so, you may have turned to outsourcing. This is your goal.

When following Twitter users who are writers, you will commonly find updates that include “I am overwhelmed with this writing project,” “I am suffering from writer’s block,” and so forth. This is your opportunity to find outsourcing projects, even if they aren’t advertised as such. Send an @reply saying “Writer’s block. Yes, I have been there. Taking a break or asking for help works to overcome it.” You can also outright state that you are a writer and ask if any help is needed.

Using @replies is the best way to market yourself, subtly, online as a freelance writer, but so is sending updates. For example, do you have contacts on your list who run websites, are looking to work from home, and so forth? If so, send updates that cleverly mentioned you are a freelance writer. For example, “I just finished writing a series of articles for my blog. I hope it generates enough Adsense revenue.” First, you make it known that you write for money. Next, you generate interest. Someone on your follow list may respond to ask how you make online or they may even ask for paid help.

In short, Twitter is a social networking website that millions of internet users use. Although social networking is often regarded as playful fun, it can work to your advantage as an online writer. In fact, to become a successful and profitable web content writer, you need to rely heavily on internet marketing. Twitter can help you.

If you operate an affiliate program, you should be in close contact with y

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our affiliates. It is they who help you generate sales. In some instances, they are the backbone of your company. Their ability to advertise and sell your products is what leads to increased sales. These sales, in turn, increase your profits. That is why good support and help is advised, but how do you get it? With an online message forum.

As nice as it is to hear that you can and should setup an online message forum, otherwise known as a message board, for your affiliates, why? What are the benefits? Continue reading on to find out.

1 – Your Affiliates Can Help Each Other

What is nice about online message boards is that internet users are able to communicate with each other. Some post a question, suggestion, or a complaint and others can read it. Not only that, but they can respond with an answer. If you do not have the time to answer questions from new affiliates, an online message board is your best option. You created an online community. Your affiliates will help each other.

2 – It Shows You Are Interested In What They Have to Say

Often times, affiliates feel ignored. They post a question or make a suggestion to the affiliate manager and never hear a response back. This is not what you want. In fact, it may cause affiliates to leave the program. No one wants to wait days or never get a response. Having a message board for members, especially one that you visit on occasion, shows that you care about your affiliates. You are truly interested in what they have to say.

3 – Online Message Boards Are Easy to Setup

When it comes to operating an online message board, you have many options. The easiest is to head online and search for a software program. You purchase a program and upload the message board format to your website. Most cost less than $100 a year. A few clicks of the mouse here and there and you should be ready to go. It is very easy to setup a message board. In fact, if you can operate a functioning affiliate program, setting up a message board will be a walk in the park. Just make sure your forum settings are set to private and require membership to keep only your affiliates inside.

4 – They Limit Your Work

As previously stated, you should visit your online message board on occasion. Answer lingering questions affiliates have or join in on discussions that have no responses. With that said, only 10 minutes a day is enough. Moreover, since your affiliates are able to provide each other with help and support, it leaves fewer questions for you to answer by phone or email. It significantly reduces the time and money spend on training or helping new affiliates.

5 – You Can Sticky Posts

Most online forums have posts that stay at the top of the page; these are known as “Sticky,” posts. You can create your own. Use these messages to help new affiliates. Have posts that show affiliates how to navigate the website, get links, and share moneymaking tips. Better yet, create a post just for frequently asked questions. Take the most common questions you are asked and answer them. New affiliates can visit the frequently asked questions section and find the answers to most of their problems, without needing to contact you.

If you run an affiliate program, you want to make sure your affiliates are motivated. Yes, they should already be. The number of sales they generate is directly related to the money they make, through commission. With that said, you may be surprised how many of your affiliates don’t put forth

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an extra effort. These individuals may not market or advertise their own website, do not have yours banners in a good location, and so forth. It is important to provide them with motivation.

Not only is it important to provide your underperforming affiliates with motivation, but your top performers too. Earning a lot of money is nice, but it can get boring. Give your top performing affiliates new goals to reach. Keep them active and interested in your affiliate program. After all, they generate the most income for you.

So, what are good sources of motivation?

Contests. If you want to improve the performance of your affiliates, you can’t go wrong with a contest. Be sure to have good prizes on hand, like $50 or a new laptop computer. With contests, you not only have freedom to choose the prize, but the terms of the contest too. For example, you can reward your top performing affiliates, your most improved affiliates, the affiliates most active in your messages boards, and so forth. Your options are endless. Anything related to your affiliate program can be transformed into a contest.

Increased commission levels. As with contents, you have different choices with increased commission levels. Do you want to keep your top performers happy and active in your program? Create stages they can meet. For example, for every $10,000 your affiliates generate in sales, increase their commission one or two percent. You also have the option to temporarily increase commissions. This is great during the holidays. The months leading up to Christmas are the best time to sell a product and the time in which your affiliates could use the extra money.

A notable mentioned. It is no doubt that most affiliates would prefer compensation over a notable mention, but it does work. Do you have a top performing affiliate who always generates a lot of sales? Make sure they are recognized for their work. Mention their name and provide a link to their website on your affiliate program website, on your message boards, or in a monthly newsletter. Not only will the featured affiliate feel pride, it will motivate others and they can follow his or her examples.

Offer free resource guides for your affiliates. The thing about affiliate programs is that many new affiliates underestimate the work involved. You must do more than just toss a few coded links or banners on a website. That website needs to be promoted and ad placement is important. Once some new affiliates realize this, they head for the hills. Make sure your new affiliates know that work is involved to become a top earner, but show them that work is simple. Have resource guides available for internet marketing, online sales, and networking. When your affiliates have step-by-step guides to follow, it doesn’t seem so hard to make money.

The above mentioned ideas are just a few of the many ways that you can motivate your affiliates. Remember, motivation is important. Yes, your products will sell on their own, but affiliate programs provide a boost in sales. That boost means more money for you, so start motivating your affiliates, especially the underperformers, today.

Are you an internet marketer? Although you may not technically be employed as one, it is one of the many hats you will and should wear when working online. Do you run a website or blog that sells a product, service, or generat

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es income through affiliate links? If so, you must double as an internet marketer. Why? Because marketing is vital to your success. After all, you will not generate income if consumers do not know you exist.

If you are new to internet marketing, you will turn to the internet for research. You will get many great ideas, including the use of article directory back links, buying advertisements on other sites, exchanging banners with other webmasters, and search engine optimization. These are important internet marketing steps, but to maximize your results, think outside-of-the-box. When you do, you will find Twitter.

Twitter is a social networking micro-blog. Users can communicate with each other through updates, also known as Tweets. Many Twitter members highlight their daily activities, but many also use updates to generate traffic to their websites or blogs and to increase sales. Straight up advertisements are allowed, as long as they do not qualify as spam. With that said, many find the best approach to be taking the roundabout way. If your sell a product or service, drop hints and highlight what you do or what you sell. Be sure to include a link.

As nice as it is to hear that you can use Twitter for internet marketing, as a newbie, you may have a few questions. Continue reading on for answers.

Question: Why use Twitter for internet marketing?

Answer: The better question should be why not. There are over 2 million members on Twitter.com. You will not communicate will all members, but it gives you an amazing opportunity to meet and network with others. By playing your cards right, you can find your targeted market. For example, do you work as a freelance web designer? If so, your target market is those who want to make money through affiliate links or business owners who want a professional website.

Question: How much time does Twitter take?

Answer: It all depends. Like any form of internet marketing, the time and energy you put forth depends on you. With Twitter, you want to take it slow and easy. If you create too many messages directing your followers to products you sell online, your messages may be considered spam. For that reason, send a few Tweets a day. Since Tweets are 140 characters or less, this is easy. The most time consuming part of Twitter is finding and adding contacts.

Question: What can be marketed on Twitter?

Answer: Just about anything. As previously stated, it doesn’t matter whether you sell a product, a service, or if you generate income through affiliate links, you can market yourself on Twitter. You can do so by sending carefully crafted updates. @replies can be sent to members on your list or those you find on Seach.Twitter.com. Look for members that ask questions you can answer. Always provide a link to your website or blog.

Question: Won’t people turn away from advertisements?

Answer: Yes. As previously stated, you want to carefully craft your Tweet messages and @replies. Don’t just say “Come shop at my online store.” Instead, send messages stating that you updated your store, got a new product in, or ask for feedback. Always provide a link and those interested will click, but without feeling forced into doing so.

Question: How much money can I make using Twitter?

Answer: It varies. Twitter is a service that is free to use. You are not paid for using it, but there is income potential. The first step is driving traffic to your website or blog, where you sell a product, service, or have affiliate links displayed. It is, however, important to have something good to sell. No matter how much traffic your generate, poor quality products and services will not sell.

If you run an affiliate program, do you reward your affiliates for a job well-done? If not, you should start and immediately. These programs rely on the hard work and determination of affiliates to be successful. You may be surprised how much motivation rewards provide.

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As great as it is to hear that you can and should reward affiliates for a job well-done, why? It is really worth the time and effort. Of course it is! Remember rewards are motivation. You need to motivate your affiliates. An affiliate is more likely to promote their website with your links and those links when they get an extra incentive for doing so. Don’t make the mistake of believing rewards are only for children. They are not and they can do wonders for your affiliate program.

Not only does rewarding your affiliates improve their drive and determination, but it should lead to more sales for you. An affiliate selling your eBook through an affiliate sales page is more likely to push your product and market it when they get rewarded. This means more sales for you. The same with retail store affiliate programs. Whether you sell one product or one thousand, you should notice an increase in sales after putting a rewards program in place.

Now that you know the benefits of rewarding your affiliates, what type of rewards can you do? Your options are endless. With that said, try to keep it related to your affiliate program. For example, reward top earning affiliates with commission increases. Reward all of your affiliates with a temporary increase in commission percentages during the holidays. Give away the some of your top selling products or electronic devices, like a new laptop.

It is best to reward your affiliate with prizes. This is a given, as people love free stuff. With that said, don’t discount a little bit of recognition. Do you send out monthly newsletters to your affiliates or have an online message forum? If so, highlight top earning affiliates or the most improved. Better yet, turn it into a learning experience. Interview that affiliate or provide links to their website or sales page. Let your underperformers see what it takes to be a successful, well-paid partner.

The simplest way to reward an affiliate for a job well-done is to send them a personal message. Did you notice that an affiliate helped to assist in a large sale, like a $2,000 television set? Send them a quick congratulatory message and thank them for participating in your program. People want to be recognized and congratulated for a job well-done. A boss shakes the hand of a well-performing employee in the traditional workplace, so try to do the same. Showing appreciation is a very simple yet effective way to improve moral and keep good performing affiliates onboard.

As you can see, there are many ways to reward your affiliates for a job well done. If you aren’t doing so now, give it a try. Monetary compensation or prizes always do the trick. As previously stated, people love free stuff and your affiliates feel the same way. As for sending a congratulatory message or featuring a notable affiliate, you open the line of communication. This is important when running a successful affiliate program; you and your affiliates must work together as a team.

When it comes to running an affiliate program, most operators assume they just need to tell their affiliates how to navigate the website, find text links and banners, and place them on their websites. Yes, this is how it should be. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If you run an affiliate program

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and do not provide your members with information on how to market their websites, you may be making a costly mistake.

Right now, there is an influx of people wanting to work from home. These individuals want extra cash, want to stay home with their kids, or want to use the money replace a lost job. Perform a standard internet search with the phrases “make money from home,” or “make money online,” and you will see why these individuals are applying to your affiliate program. Many websites state you can start a blog, create a website, toss on a few affiliate links, and make money. You, on the other hand, know it really isn’t that easy. Yes, you can have a website with affiliate links, but if no one visits that website, they never have the opportunity to click on links.

How does having an affiliate who is unfamiliar with internet marketing influence you? It causes you to waste time and money. That same individual who does not know about or understand the importance of internet marketing is likely a novice. They are sure to have millions of other questions. You waste your time answering their questions or managing their account if they can’t produce for you. So, should you avoid new websites and blogs or those with poor page ranks? No. Just because these individuals do not understand internet marketing now, does not mean they can’t learn. Since you are an expert in the field, you can educate and train them in no time at all. That training will pay off, for everyone involved.

When it comes to teaching affiliates about internet marketing, you might want to jump right in and start sharing tips. Wait! First, educate them on the importance of internet marketing. A website that is optimized with keywords for the search engines is likely to appear higher in the rankings. The more links to a website there is floating around the internet, the more traffic that website is likely to get. State the direct connection between internet marketing and making money as an affiliate. Most novice internet users, especially those focused on making money, make the mistake of assuming internet marketing will take away from them making money. It will do the exact opposite; it will generate traffic. Emphasize the point that your affiliates must have websites that get visitors before they can make money

Next, it is important to diminish the work associated with internet marketing. This is important for beginners. Make it like a fun game or challenge. Those with a true interest in working from home will find internet marketing more fun than work. A great place to start is with online message boards. Encourage your affiliates, especially the beginners to join online forums. They can add a link to their website in their profile and signature, if signatures are allowed. Each time they post or respond to a message, other internet users see their link and can click on it. This is a simple and effective, yet fun way to drive traffic to a website. If that website has affiliate links prominently displayed, both you and your affiliate make money!

After starting out small and introducing fun and easy ways to market a website, start the transition into more challenging tactics. These include search engine optimization. Provide your affiliates with a link to a free keyword tracker. Encourage them to use that tracker to see the exact phrases internet users are searching for. They want to take those phrases and incorporate them into their website text. This should be done a lot on a website or a blog, but each page only needs to be optimized once. Once it is, your affiliate will notice organic traffic from search engines. Each visitor the website gets, the more likely you are to get a sale.

As you can see, internet marketing is directly related to making money as an affiliate. Unfortunately, not all affiliates understand this. If you want to make money and stop wasting time working with website owners who don’t understand the process, take a few hours and create a step-by-step or how-to internet marketing guide for your members.

Do you sell on eBay? If so, you may be facing some difficulties. Yes, eBay is still a great place to buy and sell goods online, but it has increas

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ed in popularity. This means that you may find more competition. For that reason, you need a way to make your eBay auctions standout. The good news is that you can do so with Twitter.

Twitter is an online social networking website that doubles as a micro-blog. It is user based. To get started, create a free Twitter account. Next, you will need to add contacts. You can do so by importing your contact list from your email account, searching for friends based on name, location, and email address. Many times, when you start following the Twitter conversations of others, they will do the same for you.

Returning back to how you can use Twitter to market your eBay auctions, it is important to not jump right in and get started. If you do, you may make many costly mistakes. These mistakes can do more harm than good.

Twitter, as previously stated, is a social networking website. Most individuals use the service to keep their friends and family updated on their life. It is not uncommon to see messages, otherwise know as Tweets, talking about a new movie, a party attended, school, and so forth. Although Twitter can be used for just about any purpose, you want to avoid sounding spammy or like you are trying to sell something, even though you are.

Once you have developed a list of followers, who are people who will read your updates, you can start marketing your eBay auctions. As for how you can do so, remember to be subtle. Instead of saying “buy the Motorola cell phone I am selling on eBay,” say “I just finished uploading my eBay auctions. Check them out if you want,” and include a link. Although the two messages have the same purpose, they come across differently.

You can also use @replies to your advantage. The best way to do this is to look for updates your contacts send you. For example, if someone says they are looking for things to buy on eBay, send a message. Your message could say something along the lines of “Neat. I sell on eBay, checkout my auctions,” and include a link. Yes, you are outright asking someone to buy your merchandise, but you did so in a response. You did not outright solicit business.

In keeping with @replies, you can search the Twitter website. You can do this at Search.Twitter.com. Here, you can perform a search with the phrase “eBay.” You will then see all Tweets that have eBay in them. Look for those who are shopping on eBay, looking for something in particular, and so forth. Even if you are not a regular follower of that person, you can become one. Send them a message, directing them to your eBay website. To prevent spam, only send one message to one Twitter member and remember to be subtle. Do not instruct them to buy your merchandise, simply encourage them to look.

In short, Twitter is a great way to stay in contact with friends, family members, and coworkers, but it is also an amazing internet marketing tool. If you are an eBay seller who isn’t seeing success or an eBay seller who wants to increase your profits, give Twitter a try. Since the service is free to use, you have nothing to lose, but profits to gain.

Do you want to use Twitter as an internet marketing tool? If so, it is important to proceed with caution. Developing a brand on Twitter is importan

t, but if you are not careful, that brand could come with a bad reputation. So, what are the biggest Twitter dos and don’ts?

Do register for a free account and now. Unfortunately, many new internet marketers put off registering for a free account. Yes, there are no guarantees that your Tweet messages will lead to increased traffic or income, but you won’t know until you try.

Do not send personal messages to potential clients. Do you already have a Twitter account for personal communications? If so, do not send personal messages to prospective clients or site visitors. This is very unprofessional. If you are trying to sell a product, don’t talk about how much fun you at a college party.

Do create two separate accounts for personal and business use. As previously stated, avoid sending personal messages to prospective clients. You can send private messages to your friends and family, but this can be a time consuming process. Instead, create two separate accounts, as you will save time and there will be no confusion.

Do not spam. Spam is a big violation on Twitter. You may find your account banned. If that wasn’t bad enough, think about the consequences. Your name, website, and products may be attached to your messages, resulting in a bad reputation.

Do use clever forms of advertising. Spamming is prohibited on Twitter, but advertisements are allowed in moderation. If you do not abuse the privilege, you will not find trouble. Even still, use clever forms of advertising. Instead of highlighting your services as a professional web content writer, ask readers to review your samples or give you input on your rates. Be sure to include a link.

Do not pressure your followers to buy. Your followers are those who signed up to receive your Tweet updates. They chose to do so of their own free will; however, they can also choose to end these updates. That is why no pressure should be applied. Users do not want to feel used; therefore, use clever forms of advertising, as there is less pressure.

Do include a link. When sending Twitter updates to followers, include a link. Do not over abuse links, but use them to your advantage. Once again, it is important to be clever. Do not spam your followers with advertisements highlighting your writing service rates. Instead, answer the Twitter question of what are you doing. Your message could say “Writing articles for a client.” Then, insert your link. You aren’t soliciting business, but making it know you work for hire.

Do not send late night tweets. It is no secret that home based and online workers work flexible hours. Yes, many may work the traditional 9-5, but others are up till the early morning hours. If you are one of those individuals, know that most are not on the same schedule. For that reason, avoid late night Tweets. Followers with mobile web alerts may be awoken from sleep.

Do visit Search.Twitter.com and use @replies to your advantage. Many people Tweet about what they are doing, but others ask questions. With a search, you can find members who are looking to buy a product you may sell, looking for a service you may offer, or looking for advice you may offer on your website or blog. If so, send an @reply with a personal message and a link.

Are you a freelance web designer? If so, you may always be on the lookout for new clients. This should be relatively easy as many internet users want to capitalize on their internet use, but not all have the skills needed to create a moneymaking website. Although already in a potentially profitable career, there are ways that you can increase your earnings. You can use Twitter to land new clients and projects.

Have you heard of Twitter before? Since you work online, you likely have. Are you using it? If not, now is the time to start. Twitter is classified as a social networking website and a micro-blog. Although many use the service for personal purposes only, you can use to drive attention to your business. If you are only using Twitter to stay in contact with friends and family, you aren’t necessarily using it wrong, but you aren’t using it to your full advantage.

So, how can use you Twitter to land web design projects and clients? You can do so by not using Twitter as a social tool, but as an internet marketing tool.

If you do not have a Twitter account, register for a free one. Visit the Twitter.com website to get start. Choose a screen name, password, and provide your email address. Since your goal is to use Twitter to market your web design skills, choose a professional and catchy screen name. Next, add contacts. You can import contacts from your email account and search for members based on their location, name, or email address.

Once you have an account, you may want to start marketing right away. First, develop a list of contacts. To achieve ultimate marketing success, add more than just friends and family. Since networking is important to home based and online jobs, you may already belong to other social networking websites or message boards. Ask around to see who has a Twitter account and exchange information. If someone starts following you from your post, do the same.

A unique, but successful way to market your web design services online is to perform a Twitter search. You can do this at Search.Twitter.com. Here, you can use a phrase like “web design.” This allows you to find other Twitter members who enjoy the same interests as you. Many of these members are also employed as web designers or enjoy designing as a hobby. You can reply to a Tweet. This gets the process started of developing a new follower.

By asking other web designers for their Twitter information and by searching for similar interests on the website, you will find those who share similar interests as you. This may not always land you a job, but sometime freelancers become overwhelmed with work. If a fellow web designer knows through Twitter that you have the same skills, you may be approached for outsourced help.

You can also land web design projects and jobs on Twitter by looking for those who need or could benefit from your services. For example, you know that a website has the potential to make money, even if no products are actually sold on the website. A quick search on Twitter and you fill find that not everyone knows this. Some inquire as to how you can make money online. This is your opportunity to state “with a website.” You could also insert a plug claming you do web design and could help them get started for a small fee. It is best to be subtle, but when outright advertising your business online, it is best to do so in an @reply.

In short, Twitter is a popular social networking micro-blog that millions of internet users use. Yes, sending messages to those that you can know be fun, but it is important to look at the service from an internet marketing standpoint. Once you do, you will see that creating a free Twitter account can turn into an easy, yet profitable step.