5 Best Places to Find Professional Copywriters Online:

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1. DailyArticle.com: This is a relatively new website that offers individual articles and other web content for your website.  The articles are written by professional writers, and submitted material is passed through Copyscape and checked by a human editor before becoming available for purchase.  Buyers also have the option of requesting specific content for their website, communicating directly with freelancers about project specifications, and are guaranteed that the articles they purchase through Daily Article are 100 percent original.  Many of the writers at Daily Article are experienced SEO copywriters and can provide content on any subject.

2. Constant-Content.com: This is another website very similar to Daily Article.  Constant Content has been around much longer, and offers a wider variety of prewritten content than Daily Article.  However, the prices are generally higher for the same quality of work due to the fact that Constant Content takes a larger percentage of the purchase price from the sale of the articles.  This website features a very easy-to-use request system for buyers, but limits communication directly between buyer and freelancer.

3. Bidding Sites: Websites such as oDesk.com, GetAFreelancer.com, and GetACoder.com are bidding sites, and therefore may enable you to purchase content for your site at a reduced cost.  While many freelancers that use these sites are professionals that provide quality work, there is no guarantee that deadlines will be met or that your outsourced web content will be written to your standards.  It is wise to request samples of previously published articles before hiring a freelancer from one of these websites in order to ascertain English skills and SEO experience.

4. Large Copywriting Services: There are numerous copywriting services online, some of which will even provide you with a website full of content in a matter of days.  These services can be expensive to use, however, and are not generally cost effective if you require more than a few pages of content for your site.

5. Word-of-Mouth: Asking around is often the easiest and safest way to locate a quality freelancer to hire.  A huge number of websites outsource their writing to freelance copywriters, so ask for recommendations if you are in need of a provider.  Although hiring a freelancer that is already active in the areas targeted by your business is a good idea, some competitors may be unwilling to share the contact information of their freelancers with you.

LINKS:

Daily Article: http://www.dailyarticle.com

Constant Content: http://www.constant-content.com

oDesk: http://www.odesk.com

GetACoder: http://www.getacoder.com

GetAFreelancer: http://www.getafreelancer.com

8 Tips for Achieving Success in Business

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1) Belief - In order to become a successful business person, you must have absolute faith in your abilities.  You cannot doubt yourself or your ability to accomplish your goals.  Belief is a powerful motivator, and the starting point for success.  Without belief in yourself, and your vision, you will fail.

2) Desire - Desire is the driving force behind all successful people.  The burning hunger to achieve your goals, regardless of the obstacles in front of you, will drive you forward when others have already given up.  Having a clear goal, and the desire to realize that goal, will propel you into success.

3) Passion - Passion for what you do is an essential ingredient in a successful business.  You must love your work in order to be successful at it.  Use your passion to recharge yourself when you are feeling discouraged, and let it guide you toward success and happiness.

4) Planning - It is crucial to have an organised plan for your business.  What are your goals for you and your business?  How can you bring those goals to fruition?  Without a plan, you are wandering aimlessly through the business world, lost and without direction.  A well-developed plan will remind you of how far you have come, how far you have left to travel, and will provide encouragement when you see how much you have accomplished in your journey thus far.

5) Budget - Consider the financial expectations and possible limitations of your company.  If you keep your expenses low and concentrate on raising your income, chances are good that your company will be a financial success.  Consider your long-term financial goals, and then find a way to reach them.

6) Team - Working as a team will generally increase your chance of success, as each team member can play off of the strengths and weaknesses of the others.  The challenge is in finding a team that fits and works well together.  Team members with common interests and background will create a more cohesive unit, while finding team members with differing passions and talents will add a much needed spark to your business endeavour.

7) Goals and Vision - You must keep your long-term goals in mind.  Keep your eyes set on the grand prize and use it to push forward when you become frustrated or discouraged.  Do not forget the vision that initially got you and your business off of the launching pad.

8) Positivity - Positivity is the most important ingredient when attempting to be successful in business.  A positive attitude is the foundation of any successful person, and is the key to withstanding the strain and stress of creating and running a business.  You must remain positive even when things are tough or take longer than planned.  A positive outlook results in a positive outcome.

Facebook Ads are Rubbish

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Why are advertisers still flocking to Facebook?

In November of 2007, Facebook launched Social Ads, an ad system designed to connect advertisers with their target audience and to facilitate the spread of brand messages and product promotion between users.  The theory behind this was that brands seemingly recommended by friends would be trusted, thereby increasing sales for those companies.

As part of this ad campaign, Facebook also released an interface that allows advertisers to gather information about user activities, demographics, trends, and ad performance.  The use of this service gives advertisers valuable information about their promotional efforts and presence on the site.

What is wrong with that?

It seems like a beneficial service to marketers that will enable advertisers to better target their ads and assist them in determining the best way to reach their audience.  Facebook has at its disposal a goldmine of information on its users’ preferences and interests, as well as massive amounts of personal information, voluntarily supplied by its members, including marital status, employment history, interest groups, and social networks.

However, due to an outpouring of negative feedback over privacy concerns from members, Facebook changed its new ad system to an opt-in policy only a month after its initial launch.  The previous system signed users up by default, forcing them to manually opt-out if they did not wish to promote a  specific brand or product.  Without any motivation to promote these products, few Facebook members are choosing to opt-in to this service.

The ads only work if users actually care about the products being advertised.   Facebook members, like other consumers, have no interest in recommending a product to their friends or family unless that product is truly phenomenal.  Facebook users do not want to be flooded with advertisements about products they care nothing about, and they have already made it very clear that they do not want to be associated with the ads recommending those products.  Because of this, advertisers on Facebook are not seeing very good results.

According to Facebook, their plan is to change the face of “brand advertising” by turning friends into marketers.  All they have accomplished thus far is irritating their users and wasting the time and money of their advertisers.

Welcome to ASK Digital Media’s Blog

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The Internet is constantly changing and expanding. Because of this, we need to change and grow along with it in order to remain or become successful. My goal for ASK Digital Media is simple - to create an engaging and interactive blog that covers the latest trends and information on social media, Internet start-ups and new media platforms. I would like to see this blog become a major source of information and an ever-expanding resource for veterans, as well as for those new to digital marketing.

Feel free to leave comments, ask questions, or share insights of your own.

2008 Web Predictions

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2008 Web Predictions

2008 is bound to be a busy year on the web, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see some giants suffer (Facebook) and some smaller guys rise to the top.   Google will undoubtedly take over the universe at some point during 2008, even though both Knol and OpenSocial are likely to be unsuccessful.

My top three web predictions for 2008 are below.  Where do you see the Internet headed in 2008?  Let Definition Digital readers know by leaving a comment.

Increased Use of Semantic Applications:

This might be more of a ”hope” than a ”prediction.”  The addition of semantic indexing to major search engines would go a long way toward cleaning up search results and providing users with relevant websites.  I believe we will at least see a greater emphasis on semantic indexing applications in 2008, even if the larger search engines are not yet ready to fully utilize them.

An Increase in Mobile Web Content:

The mobile web is certain to expand in 2008, and more and more businesses are going to jump on board.  I expect consumers will become increasingly reliant upon mobile Internet access, and that companies are going to have to work hard to keep up with consumer demand.  By the end of this year, buzz about the mobile web will begin increasing exponentially.

More Reliance on Social Media Marketing:

Social media marketing will become essential in 2008 as a means of advertising products and services.  As Internet users grow weary of more traditional types of online advertising, they will come to depend on the targeted and reliable information they receive from websites such as Digg and StumbleUpon.  These communities are going to have a positive effect on both the business world and the private consumer.

Promote Your Brand Using Social Media Marketing

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One of the easiest and most exciting new ways to promote your brand or service is through the use of social media marketing.  Social marketing promotes your brand by increasing online visibility, and attracts visitors to your website by building trust in your product and relationships with your target audience.  By converting fans of your product into buyers, you will enhance the image of your brand while providing your products and services to consumers that actually have a need for them.  Strategic use of social media networks, such as Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon, will promote brand awareness that will eventually lead to increased sales and profit.

If you want to make social media marketing part of your online marketing strategy, but are not certain how you should begin, spend a few hours considering your online marketing needs and goals.  Social media marketing will require up to an hour a day to get started, depending on the number of social media websites you intend to use.  You will need a base of quality web content to promote, and a few social media communities for networking and promotion.

Digg and Reddit are both user driven social media websites.  Submitted content is read by other users and then voted on.  If your content receives enough positive votes it will be promoted to the front page of the site and will be available for viewing by millions of visitors.  To fully benefit from these two social media websites, you will need to spend some time creating a professional profile, bookmarking and commenting on other content, and keeping tabs on how well your content is doing.

StumbleUpon is another excellent choice for promoting your brand or product through quality articles and online marketing.  StumbleUpon is a social bookmarking website and collaborative tool for browsing, reviewing, and sharing websites with other people that have similar interests.  Maximizing brand exposure and increasing traffic to your website is easy and quick, and this site is perfect for establishing a reader base for your new blog and for gaining backlinks to help improve search engine ranking.  StumbleUpon requires the use of a toolbar that must be installed on your browser.

Promoting your brand through the use of social media sites will have both a short and long-term benefit to your company.  The increased traffic these communities can bring to your site in the present is only a bonus.  The true goal of social media marketing is to make you and your brand known to as many people as possible.  This will ensure continued success and growth for the future.

Resources:

Digg: http://www.digg.com
Reddit: http://www.reddit.com
StumbleUpon: http://www.stumbleupon.com