I know today is Sunday but i had to do this post for you because i got an email in my inbox today showing a step by step guide to getting free website traffic to your blogs using social bookmarking.

The email was sent by Jeff Johnson at Underground Training Lab and i thought i should get this out to you ASAP because the information is no cost and it is pure gold.

I have done a video below which shows what Jeff is talking about and i suggest you watch this then go over to Jeffs Blog to read the full tutorial which is called “Traffic Getting Jumpstart”

I hope you enjoyed the video and to get the full tutorial then you can get Traffic Getting Jumpstart at the blog.

Just so you know, This is not an affiliate link. I just think that as mny people as possible need to know about this tactic to help them with their online businesses.

All the Best

Richard

As you can see I am writing this post on New Years Eve, so the first thing is to wish you and your family all the best for 2009.

I have just put together a short video tutorial show How to use Microsoft Outlook rules to save time.

If you are liike me then you probbly get bombarded with email everyday and I have found a way in Microsoft Outlook to manage emails by using folders and rules. You can see the video below.

Hope you enjoy this tip and again all the best for 2009

Richard

And today i have put together a short video for you which will show how you can use permalinks and keywords to optimise your blog posts for the search engines.

In this video I show you exactly what you need to do step by step and also show you couple of examples where i have managed to get on the first page of Google for my chosen keyword.

The video may be a bit blurry but i hope you get the information ok.

Please leave any comments or questions?

Just wanted to let you know about a report i have recieved from Stephen Pierce which is entitled ForCOSTing.

It is a really great resource which i think we can all use to help us in taking action and setting our goals for 2009. Even our New Years Resolutions

I have started to use the template questions to map out my own planning for 2009 and I think it is a great tool to self manage your time so you keep on track.

You can download the Stephen Pierce ForCOSTing report now

I hope the new year brings you all you the best in what you hope and aspire for.

Richard

P.S. If you have not seen me dancing in a silly Santa Suit then you can check out here

P.P.S. You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/Richie_Smith

Just wanted to write you a quick post about a new site i have found called Winning at Social Media.

It is a blog by a guy called Perry Belcher and i must say that the guy is very funny. But not only that he seems to have some cool tips and tricks for using social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pownce, You Tube and others.

See the video below which is both fun and useful…………….. You gotta love the guys shirt

Leave a comment and let me know what you think

And if you want more useful and fun stuff like this then follow me on twitter

twitter.com/Richie_Smith

Well I’m glad you asked!!!

So i now have three sites in preparation and have managed to install the membership software integration into each one. They will not be live until early January but things are moving ahead well.

My webhost has been a really great help with support on script issues as i really do not understand some of the technical stuff.

So what real progress have i made???

Well i have secured partnerships on two of the sites for professional support in terms of both video and audio content for the site from recognised experts and this is going to be key going forward. The experts i have on board have been chosen for two key reasons.

1. They actually know and practice the subject matter in a professional capacity.

2. They are people who have an affinity for teaching and training others in a friendly easy going way (This was really important for me)

So my next step in the process is to update the websites in readiness for the sites going live and preparing a schedule of content.

The other great news is that i have enlisted a serious affiliate partner who already has an existing list of 100,000 to promote the first site to which involves a video product/membership.

I’ll let you guys know how things are progressing and will give a further update in about a week.

All the best

Richard

About a week ago i posted on the blog about a decision i have made to change my focus on the areas of business i am ging to be working on and you can read that post now if you wish.

Last week I told you that i was going to be sharing my successes, mistakes failures and triumphs and i suppose i have had a mixture of all of those in the last week.

So how have i been successful???

Well i have manged to set up and password protect my own members area in one of my niches which is something I have not done before.

So what mistake/mistakes have i made???

Well i have learnt that i cannot do this on my own, i think i have tried to do everything on my own and have found that by trying and failing i have been wasting time and of course that is a mistake. I have overcome this by finding a web hosting company that not only provide great web hosting but also great technical support and let me tell you this is GOLD.

I am so thrilled with this support that i am going to do a video to show you exactly how they have helped me and if you are new to IM or even an intermediate you will maybe want to use their services as well.

So what were my failures???

To be honest I think my main failure was “not wanting to let go” and what i mean by that is to give others the responsibility to do something that although i could learn it i just didn’t need to. So i would advise to get someone to help with techie things.

So now to the good bit, what were my triumphs????…………….. Drumroll………………

I TOOK ACTION, I TOOK ACTION, I TOOK ACTION.

Just read that again and ask yourself if you are taking action? just small steps will get you moving ahead and in the right direction.

After i wrote the last post i decided to write a business plan and it has helped me to  “JUST GET STARTED”

I am off to take some more ACTION now so will catch up in a few days. look out for my next post which will contain the video i mentioned above.

All the best

Richard

Hope you saw yesterdays post about the change I am making in my business and one of the things i am going to be doing going forward is to add process mapping as way of planning my business.

Now there are softwares out there which cost up to the $ ,000s and of course do a great job. Their is one particular software called Mindjet MindManager which i think retails for about $300 but……………. I have asurprise for you.

As i mentioned yesterday I do not have excessive amounts of cash to but high priced software so i scoured the internet and i have come up with a free software called FREEMIND and you can download it and start using it immediately.

I downloaded it yesterday and will start learning it right now.

Once i have mastered the basics I will put together a video tutorial to show you guys how it works so let me know if that would be interesting for you.

All the best

Richard

I hope you’re all well today and I wanted to share with you a big change that I am making towards my own personal online business and I am already putting the jigsaw pieces in place to what I believe is going to be an incredible journey over the next year.

Yes you heard me right ‘THE NEXT YEAR” that’s 2009

We all know there is money to be made from the web but how many of us really make any significant money or even money that could let us give up our day jobs???

I bet if you are reading this then you can feel where I am coming from.

Well, to be honest i have had enough of just doing something just for the sake of money, I sat with my wife a couple of nights back and said to her “Darling, I am going to transition away from the business I am in now and move into online publishing” and she said “WHAT!!!, but haven’t you tried this before?” ” I know you’ve made some money but not a lot”

And you know what she is RIGHT!!! I have not made a lot of money online and recently I have found out why…………….. because I was treating it like a hobby and not a business.

So right now I am putting together a budget and a business plan for this new online publising business and I will be sharing my successes, failures, mistakes and triumphs here on the blog and I hope you come along for the ride.

So what are my goals??? Well I have thought about this and here goes in simple format.

“I will be developing and promoting my own NICHE PRODUCTS and then turning subscribers into members of different types of membership and continuity sites” pretty simple Ehhh.

The reason I am choosing this model is that it makes simple sense. Sell Once - Get Paid Multiple Times.

So my aim is to set up 5 of these sites in 2009 and then add more in 2010 and 2011.

I am currently in the research and set up phase for this business and am doing this on  a shoestring budget so it will be interesting to see what I can achieve.

My ultimate goal is that within one year I will have proven both to myself and to some of you guys that this can work for anybody and when I have done that I will produce an online coaching programe to show others how to do it as well.

To be honest I am sick and tired of buying all different types of products about internet marketing for them to not really show how to build a business.

I hope you enjoyed this post and the openess in which I have written it.

I look forward to your comments

Richard

To see the original post just visit this post. I listed a number of areas of website design, online and internet marketing that i could maybe help with and the first request i had was from Tony who wanted me to show him how to make a graphic image using GIMP the free graphic software. So below you can see two videos that i have put together explaining the process.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE RESOLUTION IS NOT GREAT: If you need to actually download the video you can do that from Viddler.com.

How to use GIMP - Part 1

How to use GIMP - Part 2

I have made this screen capture movie as a camtasia tutorial and i hope that this will help out Tony who requested that i make the video.So if you would like to learn about something specific about web design or internet marketing then i will be more than happy to help out if i can.

I will try to turn these blog posts into a sort of online internet marketing course for you guys to learn from.

All the best

Richard