Lesson 9 - Free Traffic With Forum Marketing

A very effective way to get targeted traffic is to do a search on Google and Yahoo to find discussion forums related to the product you are selling or niche that you are targeting. The great thing about this is that you are tapping into communities who are specifically interested in what you have to offer. Many forum users are respected experts and bloggers in the specific topics covered by the forum making the information extremely valuable for market research.

Similar to blogging, you can tailor what your offering and how you’re offering it depending on the discussions taking place. In other words, forum participation is an exceptionally valuable resource to get to know your market.

Forum users are also generally net savvy and open to making online purchases. Forum marketing is a high ROI (Return On Investment) strategy because making a good impression in front of this savvy and influential audience can help your marketing message turn viral. However, forums aren’t marketplaces. During the last few years, forum marketing has been perceived as a valuable and free method for online advertising, but because so many marketers crowd forums purely with the intention of bombarding members with advertisements and to some extent propaganda, their actions cause the exact opposite of the desired effect.

Due to the lack of respect from so many novice marketers, many forums have recently developed strict rules designed to protect their members from abusive or overly aggressive marketing tactics. Marketers must respect that the purpose of a forum is to be a platform to exchange ideas on a given topic. It is not there to advertise products and services. By focusing on the topic and posting questions and answers, a marketer’s reputation will grow and this creates the potential for sales naturally. Abiding by all the rules will eventually create trust and your reputation, as a business professional will solidify.

In order to succeed with this kind of marketing, actively participate in the forum discussions and where possible try to find and post answers to questions that people have raised. Do not directly promote your product or website if you try to help people initially, they will be naturally drawn to visiting your website in your signature file, or mention that you have some information that will be of benefit to them.

The first requirement is to take a personal interest in the main topic of the forum. Not only does that mean visiting it regularly, but it also means developing a good relationship with both other members and the moderators, as well as taking an active interest in helping others.

In order to be successful using forums, here are some tips:
1. Join relevant forums that are in some way related to your line of business.
2. Choose popular forums. Look for page ranking and the amount of active members.
3. Choose forums that allow signature tags.
4. Keep your signature tags short and update it regularly - A link to you landing page or website.
5. Never create posts that promote your business, advertise a product or service, etc…
6. Be an active member on the forum. Plan to spend at least an hour each day there and take the time to get to know the users and form relationships.
7. Stay away from drama! Don’t participate in heated discussions, you may ruin your reputation.

To your online success,
The v-Fusion Group

Lesson 8 - Free Traffic with Video Marketing

Video online marketing has seen exponential growth in the last year or so. More and more advertisers are adopting video as broadband becomes readily available and ad-serving technologies become more sophisticated. To the savviest Internet marketers, it’s an essential part of their marketing toolbox, offering numerous benefits to almost every web business. Online video sites like YouTube are exploding at the seams and offer some of the best opportunities for free traffic.

If you haven’t begun exploring this medium, we recommend you take a serious look at how you can implement and incorporate it in your existing advertising campaigns. If you’re new to online advertising, sit back, relax and enjoy.

Video advertising, combined with existing ad copy enhances the users’ overall experience when interacting with your website. If done right, your video advertisements will stand out from the crowd in an increasingly cluttered online environment and subsequently increase your conversion rates. Whether you are using it to supplement the ad copy on your website and increase conversions, or to capture traffic from massive video sites like YouTube.com, or even to dominate Google’s Universal Search, undeniably online video is here to stay!

There are cutting edge technologies for video marketing and several factors to take into consideration when developing, embedding and tweaking videos for online use. Unfortunately, this is an entire course on its own and out of scope at this point. However, let’s determine what our goals are to get you started with video marketing.

Goal 1: Identify Your Target Audience

In essence, you want your videos to be seen by people who are looking for the information, products or services that you’re offering. The main objective is for your videos to generate traffic for your landing pages.

For instance, if you were promoting a business opportunity and looking for business partners, you would want to attract other like minded entrepreneurs who are ambitious, sociable, motivated and looking for the right business opportunity. You want to target individuals who keep their options open and eager to evaluate an opportunity to make more money, work from home etc…

Identifying the right audience may seem obvious, but believe it or not, it is one of the most overlooked things when beginners post videos online to generate traffic for their business.

Goal 2: Portray The Correct Message

It is important to come across as a confident leader and most importantly an expert in your respective area. People will only buy from you or partner with you if they trust you and if you demonstrate equal or greater value.

Make sure you are dressed appropriately and the background of your video is concurrent with the message you are trying to provide. 95% of all communication between humans is visual. How you say what you say is as important as the words themselves.

You would be surprised at the horrific videos some people release to the public these days. The videos represent you and your company. Make it as professional looking as possible, but fun and interesting at the same time. Do your research and see what’s out there in your industry. We personally respect and model our work with the workings of Eben Pagan and Mike Dillard.

Goal 3: Create a Call To Action

A video in itself is only a video. Without a call to action, it’s pretty much useless unless you’re using it for branding purposes only. Tell your visitors where to go and what to do next. Be specific; sell them on getting more information. Your goal is to get them to your landing page and subscribe to your list so that they become a lead and possibly a new customer or business associate.

There are a few services out there that you want to take advantage of once your videos are ready. Believe it or not, YouTube is not the only option for online video distribution. I highly recommend Trafficgeyser.com to improve your Google ranking and Tubemogul.com, a free service that will automatically upload your videos to all the major sites, track all your videos and provide detailed tracking reports.

Have fun creating your videos!!!

To your success,

The v-Fusion Team

The Fusion Method - Lesson 7 - Article Marketing Basics

From the Office of "The Musical Mad Scientist and Entrepreneur", Gopal.

Writing content rich articles is an extremely powerful method of marketing and creating links to your website, specifically one way links, which gives your site more credibility as a reference point for valuable products, services, or information. Search engines will pick up on this and you will see a marked improvement in your search engine ranking. Writing articles takes time but you will improve with practice and be able to produce more in less time.

Generating a lot of traffic to your site with articles starts with you writing the article. When writing, make sure you address the following issues:

1) Catchy Title- With the overflow of articles available online you only have a few seconds to grab your potential reader's attention so make sure your title is as strong as possible.

2) Quality content– a primary goal of your the article is to establish you as someone who is quite knowledgeable in your field, so make sure the article is of high quality and demonstrates this.

3) Keywords- Research as many keywords as possible that pertain to the subject matter of your article and structure short and easy to read sentences full of them. Search engines will be able to pick up on these keywords and be able to tag your article for its search listings.

4) Interest level– tying into the first point, your title, make sure the way you deliver your useful content is as engaging and dynamic as possible. You have to keep your audience' attention and reading your entire article rather than just skimming over a few words and leaving. Picture your articles as short stories with an interesting plot that will leave your readers wanting more.

5) Attraction – use your words to create an overwhelming urge in your readers to click through to your web site after reading your entire article and either purchase what you are offering or join your business opportunity. Even if they don't bite right away your goal is to have left a very strong positive impression on readers and keep them returning to your web site.

The next step is to submit the article to multiple article directories. You can do this manually if you like, although it is a slow and tedious process. Using some form of article submission software is strongly recommended. If you have the budget, another option is to hire someone to do it for you. Whichever method you choose, the submission of the articles will create valuable one way links to your website over time.

Posting your articles on your web site can provide you with fresh content that will aid in your search engine ranking. Many people use articles as blog entries, and vice versa where blog entries that are written in article format rather than as a journal entry or ''thought of the day'' can be submitted to multiple directories. The more of a presence you have online the more people can find you. Other website and newsletter owners may contact you for use of your articles that will give you exposure to a whole new audience.

Finally, you can submit your articles to offline publications for consideration. Having an article printed in a newspaper or magazine will really help to establish your credibility and drive traffic to your website. You may even get paid for the article, but if you don’t then the free exposure is well worth it.

Write articles, submit them to numerous outlets and reap the rewards of branding yourself and your business online.

The v-Fusion Group
www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz

Porn Industry needs bailout money, not Viagra.

Believe it or not, during these tough economical times, almost every industry is hurting financially. The Porn Industry is no exception. Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and “Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis proposed a government bailout of the adult-entertainment industry with a request of $5-billion from Congress, indicating that DVD sales that have slumped over 20 per cent in the past year.

With more people unable to afford buying DVDs, piracy has gone up and has brought down sales. Porn star Stormy Daniels said it best at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas, "They just don't have any money, they have no choice but to download it,".

Wouldn't it be great if people were financially stable and were able to afford simple things such as DVDs? Wouldn't it be great to be recession proof and not have all the stress with the stock market roller coaster ride? If you're interested in taking the first step for financial freedom, please visit us at www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz

Thanks,

Sukhjeet Singh
Co-founder of The v-Fusion Group

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty expects Big Job Losses in 2009, are you prepared?

“We're in for a very difficult year,” he said, speaking at a press conference prior to pre-budget consultations in Ontario. He also stated, "We regrettably are going to have to expect continuing job losses in Canada,". Statistics Canada data showed that the country lost 34,400 jobs in December 2008, more than expected. While the Canadian job losses are not as great as those in the United States, it is a cause for alarm.

With more and more Canadians living paycheck to paycheck, are you prepared to financially survive if you were to lose your job? Mr. Flaherty indicated that the country's deficit will be substantial, so the government might not be able to help you out. Banks are also making it harder and harder to borrow money, so don't rely on them. If you think that they have safe, secure job, then think again, there is nothing "safe and secure" anymore. Large corporations will not hesitate to slash their workforce in order to meet shareholder expectations.

What is the answer to all this economic turmoil? Simple, become financially free and be prepared NOW. Don't wait until you loss your job or assets to do something, set something up now and let it grow while you have time. Becoming a business owner is one of the first critical steps to becoming financially free. Whether you choose to be in real estate, financial investments, or owning a coffee shop, the potential independence and financial freedom of being in business are priceless.

Many individuals we talk to are interested in business, but are not sure of where to start or have fear of losing money. You must be willing to take a bit of a risk to be prepared for the storm ahead, or, you can remain fearful and lose everything when that dreaded storm arrives. The majority of successful millionaires have always indicated this.

We at the v-Fusion Group can show you a way to be prepared now. By showing you the advantages of business ownership, coaching you through the tough times, and providing tools and training to help you achieve the freedom that you deserve. Do not hesitate to visit http://www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz/ for further information or by contacting us at anytime.

Yours Truly,
Sukhjeet Singh
Co-founder of The v-Fusion Group
http://www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz/

A Message by George Carlin

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

The v-Fusion Group

Happy New Year!

We would like to take this time to wish everyone a wonderful year. Thank you for supporting the v-Fusion group. We hope that 2009 is filled with all that you desire.

Remember to focus on the positive in 2009. The US is in a financial crisis and Canada is heading into a recession. We ask you not to focus on fear, find a solution and remain positive. We believe that 2009 is filled with promise and opportunity.

The v-Fusion Group
www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz

The Fusion Method - Lesson 6 - The Benefits of Blogging

This next lesson is courtesy of "The Musical Mad Scientist and Entrepreneur", Gopal. You can visit his blog here http://www.gopalonline.com. Internet marketer and entrepreneur, it is a pleasure to be working with Gopal, he's innovative, intelligent and creative in his work. Oh yes, and not to mention MAD!

Blogging is a very cost-effective method for generating traffic that only requires some time, dedication, and creativity. Blogging allows you to introduce yourself to an endless sea of potential readers online and generate interest in your business. You can write your blogs in article form, as journal entries, as thoughts/tips of the day, or any other way you can think of to convey your thoughts. Beyond driving traffic toward a business website by helping gain search engine attention, blog marketing has a number of other benefits for entrepreneurs, as well.
Benefits of Blogging for a Home Business Owner:

Provides a forum for a small or home business owner to discuss their products, services or business opportunity in an easy-to-understand way.

Keeps your target market aware of upcoming events or news.

Provides a platform for small business owners to establish themselves as an expert in their field.

Creates an interactive environment and invites direct contact with potential customers and/or business partners. Readers can leave comments or even ask questions directly which the writer or writers of the blog can then answer. This is a fantastic way to develop a rapport with your market and gain credibility.

Offers a means for a home business owner to connect with customers and prospects. Getting acquainted with your audience is beneficial because it allows them to view you as someone who is accessible, professional, and down to earth. Also you can hear first-hand what your customers and prospects really want and tailor your products and services to suit them.

Creates an outlet for fun and creativity. The typical set up for a blog – even those used by some of the world's most noted newspaper journalists – is very friendly and conversational. This means small business owners can share ideas in a laid back way. Communicating in this way is often considered one of the most enjoyable for home-based entrepreneurs. Since blogging can actually pay off with more business, it's a win-win.

Getting started with blog marketing is really very simple and so many people are blogging everyday on every subject imaginable. You can host your blog for free on a number of sites online and it will help drive interest and traffic toward your website. Many of the sites allow you to customize your blog in regards to layout, colour scheme, fonts, photos, audio, video etc…Personalizing your blog will help in branding yourself and your business. The key to building a successful blog is to work at it consistently by adding new content and updates regularly. Blogs with lots of activity tend to have much better search engine ranking than those that aren't updated. In fact, highly trafficked blogs can move up in search engines more quickly than most websites, which is a very good thing for a home-based business. Build your blog one post at a time and your business will reap the rewards.

The v-Fusion Group - Gopal

Are You Recession Proof?

Let's face it, unemployment is a constant threat,
entire industries are down sizing, the stock market is as
unstable as ever and it's not over. One of the richest men
in America, Warren Buffet said it best, "this downturn could
last 8 years". Do you honestly believe that you won't
be affected? You are beyond the problems and the economy?
Let me ask you a question. If you lost your job tomorrow
and I don't care if you're a CEO, dental hygienist or a
plumber.

If you lost your job tomorrow and couldn't find work for
let's say 8 weeks, would you have enough money to
survive?

Yes or no? If the answer is yes, what if it took you 16
weeks? 52 weeks? If the answer is no, guess what? You
need to make more money now. This is not rocket science.
It is reality. And according to the statistics, it is the
reality for the majority of North Americans because if you
run out of money in a slow economy, you will suffer. Your
family will suffer and your kids will suffer, but you got a
great job right? You are recession proof, right? Wrong! I
don't care who you are or what you do, in a weak economy
the rules change because lets face it, if you work for
somebody else, if you have a job, how secure could you
possibly be? Think about it? If they find someone faster
than you, cheaper than you, you are out of a job.

So what are your options?

Option #1, go out and get a second job. Sure why not, but
chances are you won't even make enough to pay the taxes,
the additional child care or even the extra mileage on your
car. And that's if you can even find a job.

Option #2, sit back and do nothing, you got a 401k or an
RRSP. Okay, you can always relax and rely on your
investments, unfortunately that was a great plan, but have
you checked it lately? Don't forget, your money is not
sitting in some magic vault where it gets sprinkled with 8%
interest. It's in the stock market, the risk market. And
guess what, when the market goes down the tube your money
goes down with it.

Option #3, start your own business. Great, all you have to
do is lease an office, buy a phone system, get an
Accountant, inventory, warehouse space, employees, etc…
That sounds like fun, right? And with 95% of small
businesses going out of business in the first year, good
luck. Or, of course you can buy a franchise, a proven
system, marketing tools, training… good option if you got
one hundred thousand to a million in cash lying around. You
can become a freelancer or an independent contractor, great
if you have a marketable skill and the patience to be a
salesperson, bookkeeper and collections manager. Bottom
line, starting a business from scratch is tough and risky
work but owning your own business is the only way to take
control back, the only way to control your time, cash flow
and quality of life.

Those people out on the golf course at 11am on a Thursday
or the people fishing with their kids at 3pm on a Tuesday
or the people driving the Mercedes and porches, chances
are those people own there own business and the good news
is, you can too.

Look, countries were built on small business. Working for
someone else, be it a corporation or the government is a
relatively new phenomenon.

Owning your own business, being your own boss, that's
financial independence.

So, what are the options for the rest of us, what kind of
business could the average person get involved in with
little or no capital investment, with little or no business
experience or expertise, part-time or full time? A
businessthat will give you the chance to make some real money. What
ever that means to you, a thousand extra a month, a
thousand extra a week or even a 6 figure income. Let's
face it, money changes everything. It changes the car you
drive, the vacations you take, and the school your kids go
to.

When you are the boss your life changes dramatically.

You decide when you want a pay raise, you decide when you
work, what time you get up, what you wear. You decide, not
them. Bottom line, you can do it. You can take control of
your life. Find out more about this business, a business
that you can own, that you can start part-time, with no
employees, no headaches and a very small investment.

Join the v-Fusion Group today!

Let's face it, you can live in fear of the economy or you
can control the economy, it's your choice. What's your
"plan B"? You may not have as much time as you think.
But whatever you do, do something because the government
isn't going to save you. Your boss isn't going to save
you, it's simply up to you.

Call or email us today to discuss the possibility of
joining the v-Fusion Group and embarking on the road to
success!

Regards,

Sandro D'Orazio
The v-Fusion Group
sdorazio@thevfusiongroup.biz

The v-Fusion Method – Lesson 5 –Free Traffic With Social Bookmarking

What is Social Bookmarking?

Social bookmarking is very similar to “Add to Favorites” or “Bookmarks” that you are most familiar with using your web browser like Internet Explorer or Firefox. The bookmarks you create in your web browser are stored locally and can eventually become somewhat cluttered. Social Bookmarking allows you to store the information online so you can access it from anywhere, at anytime. Most importantly when you bookmark a page within a social bookmarking site, you are allowing your bookmarks to be seen across the web.

Social Bookmarking is not new but it has recently come to the forefront with web 2.0 as a way to get traffic and back links on demand. It’s a reliable way to get free traffic to your websites.

There are many social bookmarking sites, some are more popular than others but they all function in the same way. They allow you to bookmark any page that you deem interesting and then add tags to describe the contents of the page. The tags act as a way to quickly find your bookmarks without remembering where you put them. This is why the bookmark sites allow you to assign more than one tag.

Your personal bookmarks are shared with the public, hence the term “Social”. When you bookmark a page, other people can also find the page if they enter the same tag that you classified it under.

Let me demonstrate how this works and how it could benefit you.

You bookmark the pages of your own website using specific tags (keywords) because you feel it contains valuable information. I surely hope so! If other Internet users bookmark the same pages, it is safe for us to assume that the page may be interesting to other users as well. There is a ranking system on these Social Bookmarking sites that move pages higher in ranking that have been bookmarked by several users. If several hundred or several thousand people bookmark a page, then that page is ranked even higher as it is considered to have extremely useful information. A page on your website can effortlessly find itself on the front page of the social bookmarking main page sending thousands, sometimes over a million visitors to that site in one day. Since it is measured to be a well sought out page via the Bookmarking sites, the page will also carry serious ranking weight with Google and other major search engines.

Bookmarking the pages of your own websites will place your site in front of people that are looking for your kind of content. Other people who find your content compelling will bookmark your site making it rise in popularity rewarding you with more and more free traffic.

Some people will find your content interesting enough to place a link from their website to your website giving you a relevant one-way back link (one way links directly to your site). If back links to your site increase significantly, your organic ranking position with the Search Engines will also increase. Back links are a very important factor for Search Engine ranking.

Social Bookmarking websites like Digg and Del.icio.us represent the opportunity to get a lot of traffic fast, with high value and high quality linking to your website. Social bookmarking sites offer the best type of web traffic, viral. Business owners know that the most reliable customers are the prospects that come from the referral of someone else. That’s what online bookmarking sites offer and that’s what viral traffic or networking is all about.

Most Popular web 2.0 bookmarking sites:

http://www.blinklist.com
http://del.icio.us
http://www.furl.net
https://ma.gnolia.com
http://www.rawsugar.com
http://www.spurl.net
http://www.backflip.com
http://www.kaboodle.com
http://www.stumpleupon.com
http://www.digg.com
http://www.wink.com

Sandro D'Orazio
sdorazio@thevfusiongroup.biz
http://www.success.thevfusiongroup.biz