I've submitted my book (or my publisher has) for inclusion in all the usual places: Amazon, iBookstore, The Top Shelf, etc. But did I really optimize my chances for being found, by say, a parent looking for a story his 11-year-old son might actually read and enjoy?
Proofread the 'long description' of your book. Be sure to include genre, for example, children's fiction, or adventure for kids. Mention any fitting topics and keywords as well, such as skateboarding, cruiseship and so forth.
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A new video podcast is about to hit the internet. The Travel Treasures podcast is scheduled to begin in September 2006. The focus will be on water destinations where yachting, fishing, diving, sailing or any other kind of boating can be enjoyed. First season features will include footage from tropical destinations in the South Caribbean. Breathtaking underwater scenes from famous dive sites will introduce visitors to the world under the sea. Divers who know these spots will enjoy a virtual return trip to visit some of their favorite destinations.
Episodes will highlight popular and lesser known locations in St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean islands. Fans of ecotourism will enjoy podcasts featuring "the other side of Florida" where beautiful natural settings, some of which are only accessible by kayak, pontoon or air boat.
The new travel podcast is the creation of Two Fins Web Design owner, Serena Hoermann. Hoermann also runs the online yacht and boat charter company, eBoatCharters.com. The video scenes will be provided by talented producer and videographer, Gerhard Cernak. Cernak's production company, Big Sea Productions, is based in California, but the talented team is international.
For more information, or to submit your ideas and video, please contact Serena Hoermann or telephone 877-848-4195.
Learn more about
Podcasting | Big C Productions | eBoatCharters.com
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Increase the effectiveness of your web site (and your business) by making sure you have a narrow focus on the customers you are most hoping to attract. You can divide your prospects into smaller segments and target each directly with a message that really speaks to them.
Start with a domain name that really defines the niche market you are trying to attract, (like weddingflowers.com) This would be in addition to a domain name that names your company or product (like bensfloral.com) Then you can use more specific keywords in your pay-per-click advertising, images and a message that is more likely to convert visitors to buyers. This new domain name and your ads would link directly to a page on your web site highlighting only floral arrangements for weddings, as opposed to listing all your services, such as thank-you bouquets, funeral wreaths or whatever else you offer.
Use the Internet to its full advantage by targeting each market segment you serve.
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Buzzmarketing by Mark Hughes (Portfolio, July 2005, 242 pp., $23.95) is the latest book to address the phenomenon of letting your customers and good PR sell your product. Hughes' definition says: Capturing attention of consumers and the media to the point where talking about your brand becomes entertaining, fascinating, and newsworthy.
Previous entries in this category published in 2000 include Unleashing the Ideavirus by Seth Godin, The Anatomy of Buzz by Emanuel Rosen and The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell.
One idea they share: Letting free media move your message. The average news article gets six times as many readers as the average advertisement. Write articles for journals in your industry. Publish a web log (blog) about your product category. Explore online press release resources which will let you spread the word.
Resources:
http://www.fastcompany.com/bookclub/
http://www.buzzmarketing.com/
http://www.prweb.com/
http://www.press-release-writing.com/
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Video blogs are blogs that primarily feature video shorts instead of text. Though it has not been promoted, the new Apple iTunes podcasting feature supports vlog subscriptions as well. Suddenly, any film producer, news show producer or marketer can produce and affordably distribute his or her films internationally. Read more in this 3 part series at wired.com
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Bluetooth is a wireless technology that is growing rapidly. The system allows devices such as headsets and cellphones, portable computers and other devices to communicate wirelessly. It was installed in 92 million such devices last year and that number is expected to double in 2005. A chink in its armor has been discovered and presented at a technology conference in Seattle. Israeli researchers found a way to eavesdrop on Bluetooth gear.
Security experts have found other problems in the past with this technology, which have been repaired by the manufacturer. At a time when concerns have generally increased about wireless security, the news about a new Bluetooth flaw is particularly disturbing, even appearing to be "sloppily designed", as one security expert expressed it.
At the heart of the problem is the use of 4-digit security codes by manufacturers of Bluetooth compatible devices, rather than the more secure 16-digit codes that Bluetooth suggests. Fred Zimbric, a product manager at Motorola, one maker of Bluetooth enabled devices, feels the eavesdropping risk is low and that forcing customers to type in a long security code will turn them off.
Bluetooth | WSJ Article Bluetooth Gear May Be Open To Snooping
ABC News coverage | Two Fins Web Design
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To be successful, an online marketing campaign should be one part of fully integrated marketing plan. At the Direct Marketing Association's June 16th luncheon, Dennis Edwards, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor's Bureau, explained how the redesign of their web site was part of an entire marketing makeover. The identical message, look & feel is present on the internet, in outdoor adverising, Powerpoint presentations made by the sales force, brochures, print ads, at trade shows, etc. He also stressed the need to time advertising to concur with PR events, using email blasts, the sales team, and any other channels in your budget to get the most "bang for your buck". One example was advertising on the Underground (subway) and buses in London during the Travel Mart trade show in London, in which the Bureau participated last November. In particular, routes to the show were chosen for maximum impact. Coordination and timing can go a long way to increase the effectiveness of your marketing campaign, no matter what your budget is.
If you don't believe me, go back and read the old fairy tale, Puss in Boots. The third son of the family inherits little more than the family pet, but what a clever kitty! Trust me, master, he says. I'll take care of everything. First the cat sends the king schwag (thrice), then he stages a dramatic PR event. Puss builds a strong word-of-mouth referral network for his client, and defeats a competitor (evil, magical giant) through sheer wit. In honor of the king, Puss in Boots then hosts the an event at the deceased giant's palace, which now vacant, is taken over by his master, the poor young man who inherited the clever cat. The young man is now a shoe-in candidate for his dream job: son-in-law to the king. With fabulous footwear, flawless timing and almost no budget to speak of, they end up living happily ever after! Visit twofins.com, where your internet marketing campaign and event planning are happy ever after!
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'Evil Twins' and 'Pharming'
Hackers Use Two New Tricks
To Steal Online Identities;
Scams Are Harder to Detect
By KEVIN J. DELANEY
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
May 17, 2005; Page B1
Phishing is so 2004. This year's new Web threats are "pharming" and "evil twins."
Many consumers have grown savvy to "phishing" scams, which use fake emails that appear to come from banks or other businesses to con recipients into supplying personal data over the Web. So fraudsters have come up with new tricks to steal identities online that are even harder to detect. Security experts say two of these scams with some of the most damaging potential are called evil twins and pharming.
Evil twins are wireless networks that pretend to offer trusty Wi-Fi connections to the Internet like those available at some coffee shops, hotels and conferences. On a laptop screen, an evil-twin Wi-Fi hotspot can look identical to one of the tens of thousands of legitimate public networks that consumers log on to every day, sometimes even copying the sign-in page. But that's just a front, and fraudsters who set up the connections attempt to capture any passwords or credit-card numbers that consumers using the link may type.
To protect themselves, consumers should turn a laptop's Wi-Fi function off when not in use to avoid accidentally connecting to an evil twin, security experts recommend. Some advise users to sign up for Wi-Fi services, such as the T-Mobile networks available in many Starbucks coffee shops, from computers with fixed-line Internet access so they don't have to send credit-card numbers over a wireless connection. T-Mobile provides free connection software for laptops that automatically checks a Wi-Fi network's digital ID certificate to make sure it's legitimate.
Full StoryBy Michelle Delio
Pharming Out-Scams Phishing
The latest identity theft scam is even more clever than the recent rash of phishing, which I reported in an earlier Tech Tip.
Pharmers simply redirect as many users as possible from the legitimate commercial websites they'd intended to visit and lead them to malicious ones. The bogus sites, to which victims are redirected without their knowledge or consent, will likely look the same as a genuine site. But when users enter their login name and password, the information is captured by criminals.
The most alarming pharming threat is DNS poisoning, which can cause a large group of users to be herded to bogus sites. DNS -- the domain name system -- translates web and e-mail addresses into numerical strings, acting as a sort of telephone directory for the internet. If a DNS directory is "poisoned" -- altered to contain false information regarding which web address is associated with what numeric string -- users can be silently shuttled to a bogus website even if they type in the correct URL.
Experts say pharming could be combated if browsers would authenticate websites' identities. Web browser toolbars like one offered by Netcraft can alert users by displaying the true physical location of a website's host. U.S. customers, for example, would likely pause before typing in their passwords when a website that looks like their local bank's site is reported to be hosted in Russia.
"What would go a long way to protecting people would be server-side certificates," said Hinojosa. "But any certificate system would have to be widespread to be effective."
Some financial institutions, whose users are the prime targets of phishing and pharming scams, are experimenting with "multi-factor authentication" logins, including things like single-use passwords and automatic telephone call-backs confirming that a transaction is about to take place. Such practices can limit the havoc a malicious hacker can wreak with a collection of stolen logins and passwords.
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Page Views (Impressions): Total
Page Views: Average Per Day - Number of page views (impressions) divided by the total number of days in the log.
Page Views: Document Views - A count of hits to pages that are considered documents. This does not include files that have been defined as forms.
Visitor Sessions: Total - A count of the visitor sessions to your site.
Average Number of Visitor Sessions Per Day -Number of visitor sessions divided by the total number of days in the log.
Average Visitor Session Length -Average of non-zero length visitor sessions in the log.
Visitors - A count of unique IPs for the period of the report, whether or not they were authenticated using domain names or cookies.
Visitors: Unique Visitors - Unique visitors are counted using the visitor's IP address, domain name, or cookie. Persistent cookies are defined in Cookies tab in the Options window. Cookies give the most accurate count.
Visitors: Visitors Who Visited Once - A count of visitor sessions that occurred only once throughout the log file.
Visitors: Visitors Who Visited More Than Once - The count of visitor sessions that appeared more than once in the log file. By default a visitor session is 30 minutes.
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