Lead generation is one model of online marketing that will always be in fashion. Other marketing techniques may come and go, but every business' lifeblood is leads. No matter how well a business takes care of its customers, there will be some attrition. Potential new customers should always be in the pipeline.

Imagine having a constant flow of prospects landing in your email box. You didn't have to man a table at a trade show, make cold calls, or advertise. These leads come to you pre-screened and interested in what you have to offer. They come to you from your friendly online lead generation specialist. 

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Social marketing is something that we all need to be using to effectively market our content. In fact, most recently the web has not only integrated social networking and social media in its content distribution methods but has become a social network in itself. Quality user-generated content is just as important as traditional advertising methods. This integration has allowed the users of the web a voice rather than giving the control to the advertising media.

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We all know that fresh content is important in getting picked up by the search engines. They don't want to pick up and rank old rehashed information. Not only that, but the content needs to be relevant. Do you know about Google Alerts? It is a great way to have google email you the latest news in your niche to your email box. Google alerts helps you keep up with the latest news in your niche and I highly recommend using google alerts for your main keywords. You can go to http://www.google.com/alerts in order to signup for your main keywords.

One way to use this infomation is to use these alerts in order to help provide fresh and relevant content. The way to do this is through social commentary. An example was late last year there were reports about a certain celebrity driving around with her young son on her lap and no seatbelt amongst other things. So I did a post on my parenting site and expressed concerns and opinions. Just remember, proper social edicate dictates that you mention and link to the source of the information and if you quote from any article give proper credit. It is very important that you not just rewrite the article or news but make it your 'own' by providing valuable commentary and opinion. Google will love you for it.

However, where does google get their news from? Can you beat google to the punch and get a jump on them? Its hard, but well worth it if you can. Here is one ideas that many people overlook. 

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Linkbait articles are vital to any link-building campaign. They provide valuable information to your readers, the cornerstone of building an authority site. Here are some ways to make your blog posts reel in readers and other bloggers:

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Are you looking to monetize your website? There are literally hundreds of affiliate brokers and thousands of individual companies that offer affilate programs. Believe it or not it pays to shop around if you find a product you would like to promote. Depending on the company, you may find another company will give you a slightly better commission. Product research for your niche will be very important. I have brainstomed a list of companies that offer affiliate programs or are affiliate brokers. As I find more I will continue to add to this list. Feel free to scroll down to the bottom of this page and add your own. Here is my list of favorites:

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I took some time today and brainstomed a list of tasks that I do when I create a niche or authority site. Of course each task can be an article or book in itself and will very based on what type of authority or niche site you are developing. I hope this list will be a useful resource of some of the things to do and take into consideration when developing a site.  This is by no means a complete list but contains most of the basics. Everyone should make their own list. Here is my checklist:

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Here is what I would call the most classic mistakes many small independent online Businesses owners make. While this is not a comprehensive list, avoiding these mistakes may save time and money as you venture into the world of marketing and building your business online.

1. Trying to do it all and not spending enough time networking with people in your niche.
2. Not having a laser like focus on your niche or target audience.
3. Content to be the same as your competitors. How often I hear people say if I could only be like so and so or get the traffic as so and so. Domination of your niche and striving for excellance needs to be all of our goals.
4. Failure to implement a plan, or not having a specific concrete marketing and monetization strategy.
5. Relying on one or two strategies or tactics to market or monitize your biz. Multiple streams of income is key.
6. The idea or belief that just having a business out there, or a web presence will get you business. Once you reach the publishing phase, a full 50 to 70% of your time should be spend on marketing and monetization, the rest on publishing and research.

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