Author Archives: Tom Antion

How to Upload a Transcript to Youtube

Posted on by

There are two different types of file you can upload. The first one is a caption file. This file contains the text and the exact times in the video that the text was said. A caption file is usually made by special captioning companies or possibly the person who created the video. Most people will not have a caption file, which is fine, because the next option, Transcript File is perfect for that.

A transcript file is going to be a text file of what was said in your video. You can create one of these by either watching the video and writing down everything that was said, or if you have a script, you can use that. Once you upload your text file transcript, your video will now have some new features. Click the View on video page link next to the Captions and Subtitles tab.

When you view your video again, you should see a new Closed Caption button (CC) next to your annotations button. If you click the ‘CC’ button, subtitles of your text file will be visible. Another cool feature that your video now has is the ‘Interactive Transcript’ button.

If you click the ‘Interactive Transcript’ button, your transcript will show up. This transcript pops up right above the description box and will scroll through your text as your video plays. Pretty neat, huh? And it’s helpful for search results as well.

YouTube (and Google) is doing everything it can to make videos be searchable. Unfortunately, the technology is not quite there yet, but it will be. In the meantime, one of the best ways to make your video have extra search engine juice is to add a transcript. Transcripts are text, and search engines like text.

With an added transcript, you make it a lot easier for search engines to find you. If you click around YouTube and watch some of your competitor’s videos, you may see a lot of them are not using the transcript option. Either they don’t know about it, or are lazy and don’t want to bother. Whatever the reason, it’s good news to you. With a transcript, your videos may start to show up higher than theirs, and that’s always good.

How can you get higher search results with more video tips?

 

Website Mistakes That Are Often Overlooked, But Easy To Fix

Posted on by

We love our websites. We work hard on them, often pay good money for them and then want to show them off to our friends and family. But if you want your site to make money, you'll have to fix these common mistakes that many of us make:

– Opt-in forms not in a prominent area. If your opt-in form is not visible to your visitors, people won't sign up for your freebies and newsletters. An email database is the most important way to make money online. You can't build a list if your opt-in form is in the footer, only on your home page, at the bottom of your content or otherwise below the fold of the site.

– Using videos that are small, ineffective or out-of-date. Make sure you use video player software on your site that is easy to use and easy to see. Small Youtube embed codes, outdated flash players and broken player links will make your site look unprofessional.

–  Too many navigation links. If you want visitors to get around the site easily and possibly buy something, keep the navigation as simple as possible. If you make too many pages with too many choices, your visitors will get confused and leave.

– Font is too small or hard to read. Using a small font can be hard on the eyes, especially for older visitors. Website formatting is different than for print. Monitors are all different and some can make the font nearly unreadable. Using italics and other fancy fonts and colors can create a bad experience for your readers. Think about how many times you have clicked away because the font was too hard to read.

– Make sure that your content is current. Updating content will build trust with your visitors. They are not there to see old stuff. This includes fixing any broken links, updating old images and changing the copyright date.

These are just a few of the common mistakes we make on our websites. Find out other ways your site can make more money! 

 

 

Navigation Links That Are Interesting

Posted on by

How can you make the name of your navigation links stand out from other websites and why would you want to?

Since the beginning of the Internet, navigation link names have been boring and uncreative: About, Contact, Home and Store have pretty much ruled the web. You can name your navigation links anything that you want, so why aren't website designers more creative?

Not only can naming your nav links something cool make your site more memorable and stand out from the rest, they can actually hide certain stealthy calls-to-action and subliminal marketing techniques. The founder of IMTC, Tom Antion, started long ago hiding the fact that something my be for sale on his site to discourage high-pressure tactics. Using the words “Store” or “Products” can create a sales resistance. Instead, he uses the phrase “Speaker Tools” to link to his popular public speaking CD's. This gives the impression that the page has needed tools and information to help public speakers get more gigs and make more money. In fact, that's exactly what his training CD's do, without a bunch of hype. People click on that navigation tab much more than if they know ahead of time they are being pitched to.  

Another overlooked tab is “About.” Simply re-naming this tab “Meet Mary” (use your own name of course) can create a more friendly and personal feeling. The same goes with “Testimonials.” Why not use something more creative such as “Praise” or “Fans Say…”?

With just a few minutes of thinking outside of the box, you can come up with something witty, unique and fun for your site.

When will you start taking the reins of your future?

 

Internet Marketing Techniques – Linkedin Groups

Posted on by

Job Searching

Linkedin is growing more everyday. I'm starting to like it more than Facebook because of the quality of the users. The groups feature on Linkedin is divided into professional categories where like-minded people get together and share information that can lead to building a client base.

Linkedin groups are a great place to start discussions about topics where you can lend your expert opinion. Jumping into the discussion at any time can help build your credibility and status within the group and your industry. It's a great place to let the other members know about upcoming retreats, webinars, seminar or teleclasses. In this way, you can attract sign ups and funnel interested parties into your services.

The Linkedin search function is a very powerful way to get ‘discovered' by people needing your products and services. Be sure to optimize your profile with keywords in the title of your profile and to customize your URL with your name or brand. While the popularity of Facebook is growing among the general population, Linkedin is attracting more business people than ever before. If business people are what you seek, then you're starting in the right place.

How can social networking grow your online business?

Crowdfunding, How Can It Help Me?

Posted on by

crowdfunding

 

Crowdfunding is raising funds to start a business idea by reaching out to your community and friends. Crowdfunding has become popular because of social networking. To date there have been thousands of business's that were funded by a crowdfunding project.

Everyday people push their business ideas to the back burner because they do not have the money to start working on their dream. This is where crowdfunding comes into play. There are multiple crowdfunding platforms:
KickStarter
Indiegogo
Fundable

It doesn't matter which platform you choose, they are each unique so do your research. In order to be successful with a crowdfundong project there are a few steps that you must follow and execute.

1. Promote,  you have to reach out to all your friends, family, and social networks so they can help fund your project. In this case the more the merrier.

2. Engage your supporters by making it a competition by offering a reward for the highest bidder.

3. Communicate your goals and let your social network know your current progress and be passionate and personable.

4. Make sure you pick an realistic time goal to raise your money. If its too short your project will not have enough time to win the interest of your network. If it is too long you will annoy your network. A good idea is to let your community know your plans and create excitement before you post your crowdfunding project.

These are just a few tips to get you headed in the right direction when looking to fund your great business idea. Make sure you stay motivated and positive through the duration to get your supporters excited fpr your new business venture.

Yes, Consumers Still Open Emails

Posted on by

If done correctly email marketing can be extremely effective in attracting new business, getting leads, and building brand awareness. It is important that your content is original, and shows your personality. Marketers love emails because the recipient has to opt-in which means they are interested and want to hear more about your products or services.

Your email marketing campaign should:

  • Use an attention grabbing headline
  • Ask your audience questions
  • Include relevant content
  • Promote a free product or service
  • Answer frequently asked questions

Make sure you engage your prospects by creating an email that is visually stimulating because 80.8% of users access their email on a mobile device. The last thing you want to do is bore your audeince to death with a page full of small hard to read text.  A short video is a great option for emails because we are so used to seeing text in our inbox, this small change will stick out in a consumers mind. When you decide that email marketing is right for your business please remember, you should always have a way to analyze and measure the effectiveness of your campaign efforts.

Here at IMTC we have the resources and knowledge available to get your email marketing campaign rolling. For more information, Please visit us at IMTCVA.org.

 

 

 

 

Are You a Dream Chaser?

Posted on by

question

You are reading this blog because you want to pursue a career in Internet Marketing. I am so happy that you have decided to dedicate the time and self discipline needed to be successful in this business. I can't and won't sugarcoat it, it won't be easy, but like anything that requires full commitment, it will be worth it.

Many of your friends and families may question your lifestyle choice.
“Why don't you get a regular job?”
“Why would you want to sit on the computer all day?”
“Is that a scam?”

The list goes on and on, they don't understand and that is Ok. Some people are perfectly happy in their comfort zone and have different goals for life. On the other hand you are a Dream Chaser, you feel driven to reach your fullest potential and want more than the typical 9 to 5. Dream Chasers live for the challenge of wanting more out of life.

Aside from the outsiders questioning you, you may be doubting yourself internally and have feelings of being scared, uncomfortable or just unsure about your decision to be a Dream Chaser. Stay positive and keep pushing past the negative thoughts because deep down you know you will never truly be happy pursuing the 9 to 5 or letting life pass you by.

Achieving anything worth bragging about requires long and short term goal setting. This is where your personal definition of success will play a major role in reaching your goal. It will define what or who you are striving to be and why. Make sure your reasons are true to your heart and passions because when times get tough those goals need to stay as the main focus and that will keep you going toward your long term goal. Motivation is the key so make sure you set short term goals also so you can recognize your progress along the way. Many successful people agree dream chasing is much more than reaching the end result and along the way you will grow, learn, and be a better you because you chased your dreams.

So go out there and get started, be a Dream Chaser and follow your heart! Visit IMTCVA.com to get started in Internet Marketing today.

Let Your Visitors Stay Connected With “Follow” Icons

Posted on by

follow me icons

Having easy to see and understand ‘follow me' icons can greatly increase your social networking followers and help your visibility on the web. Many websites use them, but often they aren't updated or in a place where they are easy to find. The example above is from a website where the icons are almost the first thing you see – placed correctly in the top right hand sidebar area just above the opt-in form.

The eyes naturally gravitate towards the top right corner of a website as we are reading the content, so it is a highly visible place for these icons. I've often seen them in the footer area as well, but this is an area seen very little by most visitors. Why are follow me icons so important? They give your visitors an opportunity to learn more about you and stay updated about your business without having to use their email to sign up for something. People are becoming more and more reluctant to sign up for newsletters because of the overwhelming amount of email they already get and, of course, the increasing amount of spam.

Social network following also gives people the chance to ask you questions without having to conduct it through email. Social networking gives you a ‘forum' for all of your followers to get together and talk among themselves while you share important content with them. Building this kind of following is easier when your icons are visible and in good shape.

Use the free WordPress plug-ins “Sociable” and “Floating Social Icons” to increase your popularity online. There are many other plug-ins available so experiment and have fun! Learn more about how social media and social sharing can increase your online success.

 

 

 

5 Important Steps to Successful Internet Marketing

Posted on by

success

 

Step 1: Be specific when defining your goals
Most people fail at Internet Marketing because they haven't decided on a specific goal.

Step2: Know your target audience
Online marketing involves understanding your target audience and knowing what they want and don't want.

Step 3: Know your competition
Know what Internet Marketing Strategies they are using. If your competition is successful, take notes. If your competition is not successful, and take notes to learn from their mistakes.

Step 4: Measure progress
Measure and check to see if your goals were achieved. This is the only way to gauge the success of your Internet Marketing efforts.

Step 5: Know when to outsource
Making the decision to learn how to make your own logo or hiring somebody to do it for you is very important. As a business owner it is your responsibility to decide what is more cost effective for your business.

Here at IMTCV we teach our students each one of these important steps in Internet Marketing. Just skipping one step will greatly hinder your marketing efforts. Make sure you understand how to implement each of these steps into your business marketing plan. If you want to learn more visit IMTCVA.org.