moderndaypeasants.com

Watch Out for Web 2.0

I’m guessing a lot of you have seen the term Web 2.0 here and there when you’re surfing the Internet. Keep your eyes open because I’ve got a crazy feeling this is going to be huge. I’ve been putting off learning much about it simply because I’m human. I sometimes get overwhelmed by all the information.

Wilkepedia describes the term Web 2.0 as being commonly associated with web applications which facilitate interactive information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

Basically it’s social media. Web 2.0 allows the users to interact with other users or to change website content. The Internet has become so widely used by bloggers and other enthusiasts that surfers have really become massively interested in participating.

The bottom line is that surfers are really digging being able to interact with the site owner as well as the other members on the site! You want to talk about building a website for music fans? This is it if I’ve ever seen it! I could also see this as being awesome for somebody interested in starting their own social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter or something of that nature.

Guess who just recently saw this firestorm coming? No it wasn’t me…..bummer! It was Ken Envoy and his extremely ever popular visionary crew over at SiteBuildIt. I can not put into words how much I have learned from this company.

I know I talk about him a lot on this blog but that’s only because of the amount of experience and forethought this man and his people have. They never cease to amaze me!

I don’t currently own a SiteBuildIt site but that’s only because I am the type of person that has to finish one job before I start another. I feel like I have to devote all my time to this site until I am satisfied with what I have accomplished here. I know it may be silly but that’s just me. Anyway you can bet your rear end that when I do feel a complete sense of accomplishment with Modern Day Peasants that I will be building a new site with SiteBuildIt 2.0.

Ken is so on top of this kind of stuff. Even if you’re not ready for Web 2.0 yet you can still sample some of the SiteBuildIt modules here for free.

Best Wishes

What’s So Special About You?

by: Dan Waggoner

Let’s say that you’ve spent months building a super nice and user friendly website. You’re following all the rules by the book. You’ve also already done all the back breaking SEO and link building work but you still just can’t get any visitors to come to your site. First and foremost, you should consider that your rise to fame will not happen overnight. It takes time to build trust and sound relationships. It could also be that it’s time to ask yourself, “What’s so special about you?”

What does your site really offer to the world? I mean people go to Walmart because the company did an excellent job of building their brand and because they know that they are going to save money on their shopping. Steve Pavlina, a genius when it comes to personal development, gets upwards near 47,000 visits a day to his website because he’s worked his butt off to get to that point and because he gives people something they want. He offers them help in their own day to day lives. Another great  example would be a site like Facebook. They get millions of daily visitors because they allow people to connect with friends and associates whom they haven’t seen or heard from in years.

If you want people to visit your website then you should be giving them a reason to visit. Maybe you give them a joke a day to help them laugh during the tough times or possibly just offer some free advice on whatever your specialty is. Let your visitors know what’s so special about you! I don’t want to sound like the world’s expert on Psychology because I’m not even close. I do, however, know that when I visit a website it’s generally because that website has something I want. Sometimes I’m looking to buy something and other times I’m just looking for advice. Either way, the sites that are most helpful and friendly to me are the ones that I bookmark and keep going back for more!

Even with all of today’s modern technology such as home computers, ecommerce sites, blogging, social networking and forums, when it comes right down to it people still want that neighborly type atmosphere. I’m betting that if you show your visitors what is truly special about you and let them know that you’re really there to help, your website traffic will increase heavily.

Best Wishes!

Social Media for Brand Networking

Are you using social media for brand networking? If not then maybe it’s something you should seriously consider. I am guilty myself of not taking it seriously until recently. Social media platforms such as Twitter, Digg, MySpace, Facebook, Delicious and a few others can have a huge impact on the marketing of your business. All of the above sites have millions of dedicated users who may be interested in what your site has to offer. The key is learning how to properly use these tools to your advantage.

Let’s take Twitter for example. Twitter is what I would call a micro blogging platform that allows it’s users to send short instant messages known as tweets. The message can not be more than 140 characters at length. When I first learned how long the message could be I thought, well that seems kind of useless, why bother? I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about. I guess it never dawned on me that in that 140 character message you could send a link to a website or a blog or possibly even an advertisers link that you can make money with. Twitter is an excellent social media source to help your business build it’s brand. Just keep in mind that you can’t sign in and instantly start selling to your followers. Like any other business you have to build solid relationships and trust before you begin to try and sell them anything. You can follow Modern Day Peasants on Twitter here.

Other social media outlets like Facebook, MySpace, Digg, Stumble Upon and Delicious should not be overlooked as well. You should know that these sites have outstanding Google PageRank. Just by signing up and entering your site you are building a high PageRank backlink. In addition, if some of your readers Digg your blog articles or maybe give them a thumbs up on Stumble it could feasibly send your website or blog traffic into a whole new stratosphere. Generally speaking a new website start-up is not going to have the PageRank Power to get to the first page of Google, Bing, Yahoo and Aol. The above social media sites do have that kind of power. Use them to your advantage!

I am still learning new ideas about the world of social media and I am no longer naive enough to think that they won’t help. Build your website or business by networking in as many ways that will help you to be noticed. If necessary build your followers one at a time. Be helpful, be friendly and be genuine and in the end the world will know who you are.

Best Wishes!