Sunday, 17 June 2012

Social Media Marketing - Powerful Free Marketing Tool For Internet Marketers

Why did Google buy YouTube for $1.6B? And why did Google, in 2009, plan to buy Twitter - from the same guys they bought Blogger.com, in 2004, for an undisclosed sum?
What interest Facebook to offer half a billion dollars to buy Twitter.com?
The answer lies on the same concept why Yahoo is offering almost all services for free.
Any answer? They all attracts free traffic - millions of it.
The advent of social media nowadays make internet marketing very very popular. You can get free organic traffic and there are lots of ways you can market your product or services through these medium.
Social media marketing has become a very big platform as it keeps more number of people connected on a day-to-day basis. It keeps you glued to the activity and contribute, though virtual, in a real life manners. Think of FarmVille from Facebook and Second Life - it keeps you involve and participate. This is the reason why companies with deep pocket are investing big money on internet and one of the most efficient and powerful methods is social network marketing.
What factor does Facebook, Twitter and MySpace has in common? They have millions upon millions of active virtual users all over the globe interacting through these websites. These sites allows people from all walks of life to update, in real time what they are doing, post what they are thinking, poke to some of their friends or just say hello to Grand Pa who is living thousand of miles away - in real time. Powerful features, isn't?
We all know the fact that Facebook is one of the most popular sites for social network on the Internet.
Network marketers, social marketer and internet marketers has found "marketing tools" never known to ordinary users. This tool is non other than fan page. They use fan pages for a wide range of purposes. You can create one fan page and come up with a page to market your product, to market your company or simply to brand your identity in this virtual world. The impact of this "marketing tool" is so powerful that, in a short span of time, I have witnessed ordinary folks make an incredible amount of money online from this tool alone.
You can start interacting with potential customers once you have this fan page ready. You can also constantly update with latest news related to your products or services. You can also use the concept of Facebook ads and use this as a tool for social network marketing. The ads that you're going to create can also be regular static ads which will attract various potential customers to come to your profile page. Are you now getting a clearer picture now why this free tool if so powerful?
The other feature that you can use is the ability to come up with create free quiz or polls. You can also gain a better idea about the preferences or interests of the people who can be out until customers. This way you can increase your sales.
You can also use MySpace for social network marketing. Most of the tools that are present in the Facebook are also found in MySpace. Some people are also using Twitter in order to market and brand themselves. You can use all this social networking sites in order to reach more number of people. If more number of people are interested in you then you can make more number of sales conversions.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 10 June 2012

50 Tantalizing Free Offers Examples

One of the most efficient ways to build a robust email list of interested prospects is to offer them something so mouthwatering and so appealing that they'll do whatever it takes to get a hold of it.
But, here's the catch. What you're offering your prospects isn't going to cost them a dime. It's what Mark Joyner calls "The Irresistible Free Offer," and it's your job to create something that your prospects feel is beneficial and extraordinarily valuable.
Sound impossible? It's not. All it takes is a little creativity and resourcefulness. Here are a few tips before you create your tantalizing free offer. 
  1. It must be top-quality.
  2. Even though it's free, your offer can't be a conglomeration of useless junk. This is your chance to showcase your product and services, so make your free offer shine.
  3. It should reach out and grab your prospects' attention.
  4. There's a lot of competition in your industry, so it's your job to cut through all the noise. Present an offer that seizes your prospect's attention and leaves them begging for more.
  5. It should solve an urgent, pressing problem.
  6. Before you assemble your offer, make sure that you have correctly identified a pressing problem that your prospects face. Of course, you must offer the solution in whatever "free offer" you deliver to your prospects.
  7. It must be related to your small business.
  8. This is the first impression that your prospects have of your small business, so it's important that your free offer is directly related to your small business. It should give your prospects a clear sense of who you are and what your business represents.
  9. Collect your prospects names.
  10. This may seem obvious, but you need a form on your website to collect the names and emails of your interested prospects so that you can continue to market to them again and again.
Therefore, without further ado, here are 50 "free offer" ideas: 
  1. Ebook
  2. Tip booklet
  3. Special report
  4. Mini ecourse (delivered over time)
  5. Industry report
  6. Sample chapter of your book
  7. How-to guide
  8. Cheat sheet
  9. Tip sheet
  10. Checklist
  11. White paper
  12. Warning or cautionary report
  13. Ezine subscription
  14. Downloadable kit
  15. Written interview (transcribed)
  16. Buyer's guide
  17. Template
  18. Create Free Quiz
  19. Survey
  20. Audio class/lesson
  21. Audio course (delivered over time)
  22. Audio interview
  23. Live teleseminar
  24. Recorded teleseminar
  25. Podcast episode
  26. Video
  27. Video course (delivered over time)
  28. Slideshow
  29. Live webinar
  30. Live webcast
  31. Recorded webinar
  32. DVD
  33. CD
  34. Product sample
  35. Demonstration of your product
  36. Consultation
  37. Free trial offer
  38. Discount coupon book
  39. WordPress plugin
  40. Mobile application
  41. Free mystery gift
  42. Free "set-up" or "assembly"
  43. Free hotline service
  44. Free customer support
  45. Pamphlet
  46. Brochure
  47. Informational packet
  48. Free class or lesson
  49. Free seminar
  50. Free breakfast or lunch
So, no more excuses. You now have fifty options to create an enticing free offer that will bring you massive visibility, build your list and eventually make you more sales.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 3 June 2012

Create A Membership Website To Sell Your Knowledge

You can create membership sites to sell anything, but if you are knowledgeable about any specific topic then you can use them to sell that knowledge. You can do that in a number of different ways including articles, eBooks, videos and MP3 audio files, and which is most relevant to you will depend upon the type of knowledge you have.
People use the internet to seek information. Sometimes it is simply to have one question answered: a crossword question for example, or to find the answer to a question needed to enter a consumer sweepstakes. Perhaps they need information for school homework, or are trying to compile a trivia create free quiz. Whatever the reason, they are looking for information.
However, others are looking for more than that, and might be looking for information on the best way to find carp, how to lose weight or how to bring up their children properly. If you have that knowledge then you can create subscription sites to sell your knowledge and make money.
Take Golf as an Example
Let's take an example: golf, and how to cure your problems and improve your game. In discussing this example, keep in mind that you can apply exactly the same principles in your specific interest. Whatever it is that you are knowledgeable about; you can apply to this example - even if it's fishing, gardening, internet marketing, training dogs or quilting. People will join a subscription site to learn and to meet others with the same problems or interests.
You can have a page or two on solving golf problems, such as a slice or hook - one is the opposite of the other, and if you understand how to cure a slice, then sorting out your hook is the mirror image! Strengthen your grip for one, and weaken it for the other. Take a step back for one and forward for the other. In fact, you could have a whole page on the slice and hook.
You could then have sections on improving distance, the flex of a club and so on. More on training equipment, from weighted clubs to laser systems and full circle swing trainers. You could include information and tips on choosing golf balls. The whole point is, this is only for members of the subscription sites, and you do not offer this information anywhere else.
Create a Product to Sell - or Give Free
Another way to sell your golf knowledge would be to write an eBook including all your golf tips. Try to make it about 90 pages plus: it will take time to get together, but you could pay ghostwriters to do it for you. Once it is complete, get an account with ClickBank if you don't already have one, and put it up for sale, for say $47. It doesn't matter if it sells or not - if it does, great, but if not, it doesn't matter because that's not why it's on ClickBank.
Offer your members the first two chapters free - in fact you could offer the first chapter free on your squeeze page in return for their contact details. That way you can keep in contact with prospects that visit your website, but don't join the membership site. Then offer the first two chapters free to members on the site.
What you do then is to offer your eBook "Add 40 Yards to Your Golf Swing in 5 Easy Lessons" at 'less than half price' to members: $23. You can prove it is genuinely under half price by showing them your ClickBank price - that's why it's there! That is sure to get you some sales, so you make money not only from the membership fees, but also from sales of your eBook!
A Subscription Site Forum is Popular
You could also start up a forum: make sure the membership software you choose enables you to create subscription sites with a forum. There is some very good free forum software online, and a good membership software package should be able to integrate that into the site. That will then enable your members to discuss their golfing problems between themselves.
Once your members feel that they are in a club or 'family' of people with the same problems and issues as themselves, then they will keep on paying their monthly subscriptions - often just for that contact with like-minded people! A forum can make the difference between average subscription sites and great ones.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 27 May 2012

How to Create Your Hook

One of the greatest things about having a "hook," otherwise known as a free offer, is that you create it once, and it is used over and over again, day after day, year after year to attract new prospects and clients. You never have to update it, change it or modify it unless you want to. Perhaps every few years you can change it, but why fix what's not broken? If it's still relevant and valuable to your prospects, leave it alone and focus on other aspects of your growing business.
So what is a "hook" anyway? It can be a variety of things, including a white paper, an e-course, an audio course, a video course or free teleclass or whatever you can cook up! It's up to you. If you don't like to write, an audio course may be a great option for you. If you do like to write, you can write a report, create free quiz, or a top-10 list. The choice is yours.
There are several reasons for creating a hook. First, you build your distribution list quickly by taking advantage of organic traffic to your site. Secondly, you gain credibility, which leads to future sales. You also build a list of people who learn to know, like and trust you and therefore, may hire you in the future and make referrals to you. For me, the best part of this strategy is that you don't ever feel like you have to hard sell or cold call people. It's a very proactive way of building your business.
The point of your hook is that you want your prospects to think of you as the person who provides valuable information that they need. They see you as the expert and feel good about purchasing your products and services and recommending you to others. Your hook should be broad enough to appeal to many, but address a specific problem that your target market faces and would gladly pay to have resolved. This is how your prospects enter into your marketing funnel.
Let's explore three options for disseminating your free offer.
In my opinion, the easiest way to create your free offer is through a written report that you create from scratch. You need to make it compelling enough for prospects to want to download it immediately - remember that 95% of your web traffic will not buy from you the first time they visit your site nor bookmark your site to revisit, so it's important to capture their email address on their first visit! Your written report should provide information on a topic that your target market may even be willing to pay for! My point is that your hook must truly provide value to your prospects, even though they are not paying for it. Your free offer is your way of showcasing a sample of your product or service directly to your target market. Be sure it makes a positive impression and doesn't come across as an advertisement. Nobody likes to be "sold." To receive the written report, prospects simply enter their name and email address and they are automatically registered for your ezine. Your "thank you" page, which is automatically generated, includes your report as a downloadable PDF.
Another great option is an e-course. You will need to have an autoresponder set up for this through an email management system, so that once you create your course, you can set up the system to send out the e-course to new subscribers automatically. The e-course can come in a series of emails, spaced out by a day, 2 days or a week. I wouldn't stretch it out any more than a week, or you risk having your new subscribers forget who you are and losing interest.
An audio course or one-time download is another fantastic option. There are many programs to create your own recordings, with no tricky audio equipment and simple to record yourself. You can use your "thank you" page to include a link to download your audio.
Now that you have your report created, it's important to post it on your web site. Research has shown that the best place to put this is in the top right corner of your home page. Include your headline and be sure to tell visitors that by downloading your report, they also will receive a complimentary subscription to your ezine. Make sure it is clear that they will be added to your list. This isn't intended to be a trick of some sort, only an added value. Once you have provided your prospects with highly valuable and free information through your hook and your ezine, you also have them asking, "hmmm.. what's next? I'd like more information." This is how you start to shift prospects into clients and work them through your marketing funnel. Your marketing funnel will consist of various ways that your clients have access to you and your knowledge, whether it's through an information product, a teleseminar, a live workshop, a mastermind group or one-on-one coaching.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Monday, 21 May 2012

General Knowledge Quiz Questions

Question: What is a blue moon?
Answer: Second full moon in a calendar month
Interesting Fact: 'Once in a Blue Moon' is a common way of saying not very often, but what exactly is a Blue Moon? According to the popular definition, it is the second Full Moon to occur in a single calendar month. The average interval between Full Moons is about 29.5 days, while the length of an average month is roughly 30.5 days. This makes it very unlikely that any given month will contain two Full Moons, though it does sometimes happen. On average, there will be 41 months that have two Full Moons in every century, so you could say that once in a Blue Moon actually means once every two-and-a-half years. More info Create free quiz questions on www.skill-guru.com/quiz
Question: Where was chess invented?
Answer: India
Interesting Fact: The invention of Chess has been attributed to the Indians by the Persians. Abu al-Hasan 'Al+ al-Mas'kd+, an early Islam historian, provided scholarly details of the game as it was played in India and Persia. He details the use of chess as a tool for warfare strategy, mathematical calculations, gambling and even its vague association with astronomy. Mas'kd+ notes that Ivory was chiefly used for the production of chess and backgammon pieces, and asserts that the game was introduced from India to Persia along with the book Kelileh va Demneh during the reign of Persian emperor Anushirwan.
Question: What was Gatorade named for?
Answer: University of Florida Gators football team
Interesting Fact: Gatorade was created by Drs. Robert Cade, Mandel Dequesada, Alex DeQuesada, Dana Shires and Jim Free at the University of Florida in 1965 for the school's football team and named after the university's athletic nickname, the Gators. Cade entered into an agreement with the Indianapolis-based fruit and vegetable canning company Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. (S-VC) to produce the product, which he had already patented.
Question: Why do whales spout?
Answer: To Breath
Interesting Fact: All whales have to surface to breath and when they exhale they produce a "spout" of moist, warm air from blowholes on the top of their heads. The different whale species can be distinguished by the size and shape of their spout.
Question: Who thought of Daylight Savings Time?
Answer: William Willett
Interesting Fact: Traditionally, Americans adjusted their hours to fit changes in daylight. Farmers, as well as railroads, steamship lines, shops, and factories changed their hours of operation seasonally. These seasonal schedules declined after American railroads implemented standard time zones in 1883. In 1907, an English builder and golfer named William Willett proposed the basic outline of what became daylight saving time. His plan found ready ears in the United States.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 13 May 2012

Free and Easy Scholarships to Enter - 7 Easy Scholarships You Can Enter to Win

If you are just setting out to attend college for the first time or if you are returning to the classroom after a leave of absence, you may be shocked at just how expensive college can be. Sometimes, if you do not financially qualify for any free grant money, your degree can cost thousands of dollars, which is why finding free and easy scholarships to enter is really the best way to decrease you out of pocket costs.
Of course, this does not mean that you should not try for the harder scholarships such as those based on merit or field of study, but why not enter for some easy scholarship money, especially when it is free to enter?
Here is a list of easy scholarship contests you can enter right now.
  1. Scholarship Zone: This is a scholarship contest that you can enter once a month and try to win $10,000 towards your education. All you have to is supply some basic information and review some possible schools to see if you would like to get more information on them for free.
  2. Sallie Mae College Answer: This is a site set up through Sallie Mae, which is a large provider of college loans. Just by registering, you will be entered to win a $1000 monthly scholarship, plus you can also run a free scholarship search, download checklists, and apply for student loans.
  3. Suntrust Off to College Sweepstakes: This contest is is again free to enter and you can win a $1,000 scholarship for first year expenses at an accredited college or private career school. One winner will be chosen every two weeks through May 14, 2010.
  4. CKSF Intern Challenge: Scholarships are awarded through participants taking quizzes. New ones become available for participants on a monthly basis. Upcoming scholarships are announced 15-30 days in advance of the create free quiz start date. Quizzes are available 24 hours a day and generally for one week.
  5. Create a Greeting Card: For this contest all you have to do is make a greeting card. If your card is picked as the best, you can win a $10,000 scholarship prize.
  6. Zinch Scholarships: This $20,000 scholarship winner is picked based on user profile and votes. Zinch also has a weekly "Three Sentence Essay" Scholarship contest with a $1000 weekly prize. Plus you can find other interesting and easy contests there too including ones linked to the year you were born.
  7. American Fire Sprinkler Association: Here is another easy scholarship contest. All you do is read an essay on fire sprinklers, complete registration, and take a quiz on the essay you read. That is it and you are entered to win up to $20,000.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 6 May 2012

Is Your Relationship in Danger? Take This 10 Question Quiz to Find Out

You have the occasional argument. Sometimes you feel frustrated, and you have that uneasy sense that everything is not as it should be. Is your relationship in trouble? The answer may not be obvious. Create Free Quiz to measure the overall state of your relationship and highlight the trouble spots.

1. When you have an argument, is it about a specific issue, or is it about your partner's character? A specific issue would be, "You forgot to take out the garbage last night," while "you never remember anything," is a generalized character assassination.

2. Do you have more conflict or less conflict when the two of you get time alone together? Do a "date night" or a few days away renew your relationship, or create more stress?

3. Is there physical violence in your relationship? Have you come close to physical violence? Are there threats of physical violence?

4. How often does the thought that you would rather be with someone else pass through your mind?

5. Take one minute to write a list of what you like and what you dislike about your partner. How many "likes" and how many "dislikes" are on your list?

6. Do you seriously question your partner's faithfulness?

7. Do you have arguments about sex?

8. In times of emergency or grief - such as when a relative becomes ill or dies, do you and your partner pull together?

9. If you could turn the clock back to the day you first met your partner, would you choose a different direction for your life?

10. If you won the lottery, would you be overjoyed to share the blessing with your partner, or would you wish it were all yours?

Physical violence or threats are the biggest danger signs for your relationship and for your personal safety. If they are present, get professional help TODAY.

The following are all danger signs for your relationship. If several are present, your relationship is in real trouble:
  • character assassination
  • fantasizing often about being with someone else
  • not having ready access to a list of your partner's great qualities
  • doubts of faithfulness
  • serious sexual incompatibility
  • lack of mutual support in times of crisis
  • a feeling of being stuck or obligated by the relationship
Question #2 offers hope that your relationship may be much sounder than it appears. Conflict in your relationship may be primarily a reflection of the stress in your individual lives.
Often, partners redirect frustration and anger about unrelated events toward each other. For example, your boss yelled at you, and you yell at your partner. This unconscious redirection is a behavior that can be overcome through conscious attention, and is not a reflection on the overall quality of your relationship. If you and your partner are loving and supportive toward each other in relatively stress-free situations, you likely have a basis for working through your other issues.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Monday, 30 April 2012

Is Article Marketing For You? Take The Article Marketing Quiz!

Maybe you've heard the buzz about article marketing, but you're still not sure if it's something you should take part in. Article marketing is often called the grass-roots method of publicity because you have the potential to generate lots of free traffic to your website.
Article marketing is wildly popular among many internet entrepreneurs today. With the huge potential to reach so many targeted viewers, writing articles and submitting them to free directories has become one of the number one forms of advertising.
Wonder no more. Take this article marketing create free quiz and find out if article marketing is for you.
Take the Quiz!
Answer Yes or No to each of the following questions:
1. Have you recently launched a new website?
2. Would you like to drive more targeted traffic to your website?
3. Are you an affiliate marketer?
4. Would you like become known as an expert?
5. Are you passionate about a specific topic?
6. Have you created niche websites that need targeted traffic?
7. Would you like to build a brand for your business, or become better known?
8. Have you ever wished you could get free advertising for your business?
9. Can you see yourself being widely known as a "guru" in your area of expertise?
10. Are you brimming with ideas all day, every day, but not sure what to do with those ideas?
If you answered "Yes" to five or more questions, perhaps you'd better grab a pen and notepad and get busy writing. Article marketing is definitely something you should consider.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 29 April 2012

Get Back Together Quiz - Free Relationship Repair Help to Get You and Your Ex Together Again

Wanting to get back together with your ex?  Answer this get back together create online quiz to work out your next step in repairing your relationship and getting back together for good -- before it's too late!
There are many different factors involved with a break up and there are also a number of reasons why people break up.
I'm going to help you analyze why your ex left you so that you can create your own customized plan to get them back before it's too late!
What Caused The Split With Your Ex?
  1.  Was it the fact that you were controlling?
  2. Was it because someone cheated?
  3. Was it that money get in the way?
  4. Was it that your ex wasn't good enough for you?
  5. Was it because one of you lost that loving feeling
  6. Was it a combination of any of the above?
If you answered (1) then this is a serious trait that needs fixing.  A few people can overlook a controlling nature and focus on your positive points but most people will eventually run!  If you're able to control your controlling nature then chances are high for reconciliation.
If you answered (2) then this is a hard one to get over.  The relationship is doomed to always suffer unless the one who cheated shows true remorse and is willing to listen to your voice.  It's possible to still get together but you both have to be prepared to work at it.
If you answered (3) money should never be a control issue for either of you.  You'll be happy to know if you're willing to handle your finances like two responsible people you can make this work.  This is probably one of the easiest relationships to mend.
If you answered (4), everyone is looking for unconditional love and that means neither of you wanting to change the other.  True acceptance of one another can lead to true love.
If you answered (5), it's time to look at what was lacking in the relationship and how the spark was lost.
If you answered (6), a combination of any of the above, most relationships don't fall apart because of one issue.  It's possible to still get back together though.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Thursday, 26 April 2012

Viral Strategies - A Free Traffic Generation Method

There are numerous free website traffic generation methods that can easily be done by numerous individuals. These methods are as effective as paid traffic generation methods. One popular method is the use of viral strategies. Viral strategies increase the number of visitors to your website because this strategy makes your website appear more interesting.
How does viral strategy work? Viral strategies are done via surveys, quizzes and videos sent by email that can increase traffic to your website for free. The great thing about the viral strategy technique is that people who are very fond of answering quizzes or surveys would find your website interesting and continually visit your website again and again.
One free traffic generation method that makes use of viral strategies is viral create free quiz. Even Cosmopolitan have been using this strategy to get more people to visit their website. This free traffic strategy is not only fun but are effective forms of advertisement. Even viral surveys are effective ways to increase traffic to your website traffic and great forms for website evaluation. Viral strategies are indeed great free strategies to get individuals interested not only on your surveys and quizzes but to your website as well. If you want to make use of this free traffic generation strategy there are four easy steps. One is to create a viral quiz where you create the actual content of the quiz before making the quiz application. Add the viral quiz to your website and direct targeted traffic to that quiz by advertising it through various channels. Again the key to this free traffic strategy is to set the results on your website so customers would go directly to your website. If you do everything correctly, this free traffic strategy is sure enough to create considerable amount of website traffic.
Remember that the main purpose of this technique is not only to entertain customers but to direct them to your website to generate more website traffic. Free traffic generation methods thrive over the World Wide Web and there are numerous methods out there that you can easily use such as blogging and article submission. The only thing to keep in mind when making use of viral marketing - a free traffic method - is to create quizzes and surveys that are interesting enough for people to share it via links or emails. These free traffic generation methods produce the same results as paid traffic generation methods but the best part about this method is that these are free.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Wednesday, 25 April 2012

Team Building With a Quiz Night

Great teams make things happen more than anything else in organisations. McGregor's X-Y Theory explains why empowering teams get the best results. It's more about attitude and behaviour towards staff than processes and tools.
Great teamwork is born from concentrating on the employees within that team rather than the task they are doing. By concentrating more on the employee and making sure that's right, more often than not the task will just happen.
Employees working together, for each other in a team is a huge resource for any company. They are more important than the individual skills they possess, the processes they follow and the policies of the organisation. They become part of a great team when the team as a whole decides to do something for themselves, not by being told they must do it but because they have decided this is what needs to be done and by achieving this goal they will make a difference.
There are many team building exercises that can be done, ranging from expensive team days out to inexpensive drinks after work. This article looks at using a quiz night as a team building exercise
Choosing a quiz night for a team building event could be a good idea and here's why.
It's inexpensive. You can create free quiz if you have the time and inclination, or you could buy a quiz pack for a couple of pounds online. You may wish to charge a fee for entering which could also cover costs of a few beers or pizza.
Secondly, it's flexible - you only need a couple of hours after work, either in the office canteen or down the local pub (if you go to the local pub you may also be able to see if you could get the landlord to donate a free drink to the winner on account of the extra trade you'd bring in!).
Thirdly and most importantly people will have to work together and pull in the same direction in order to win the quiz. Without even knowing what they are doing all of a sudden they are giving opinions on answers, joking with colleagues they perhaps wouldn't usually talk with and reasoning together with the common goal of getting the answers right.
They can also be used in the wider organisation context. I've been to corporate quiz nights where there is a condition that you can only have two members of the same business function in your quiz team, therefore ensuring that people across the business meet each other and are almost forced (in a non-forceful way!) to interact and find out what they do.
Bringing business functions closer together on a personal level can help bring transparency across the organisation and that can only be a good thing.
The main end product here is that people get to know each other as people, rather than colleagues. This is so important because once you start knowing people and liking them, it's almost second nature to want to help them, and it's when everyone in the business is striving to help each other out is when the business becomes great!


Post Source: EzineArticles

Tuesday, 24 April 2012

Pub Quiz - Why Host a Trivia Quiz Night?

If you are thinking about hosting a regular pub quiz but need some persuasion that it will be worth your while it is a good idea to think about the following points. A correctly organized pub quiz event will not only be a profitable venture but it will be a platform to build and expand your establishments business. Unfortunately increased business can also deter your regular customers which can be the core to your income. As with most events you need to balance the new business with the core. By finding a happy medium you can accommodate both.
  1. A Community Event. In the past pubs were generally used by men to unwind in their free time. These days you will find a mixture of men and women of different ages and occupations using it to meet up or couples wanting to spend some time together. A weekly pub quiz could become a popular event as if it is arranged correctly it tends to appeal to a variety of people. The extra work it takes setting up the evening can turn a quiet midweek day into a busy money spinner.
  2. Return Custom. If you get people enjoying your warm and welcoming pub quiz, you will find that your business picks up in other areas. The positive atmosphere may mean your establishment is the chosen spot for a function. It may encourage some customers to return on a different day to try out your menu or it could become the chosen place to take visiting family members or friends. Whatever the reason, you will benefit by seeing a return trade if you create an enjoyable evening
  3. Recommended to Friends. Why not allow the customers to take away the pub create free quiz questions and answers once the night is over and the prizes are given out. For minimal effort you can get some virtually free advertising if you make sure that you put your establishments name on every page. This is simple but not only will people see your pubs name they will ask how it was? If you're doing it right you'll get recommended. Even better if people have eaten you might get recommended for that as well.
  4. Clubs Start to Book. You'll be getting people to your pub quiz from all walks of life from clubs to parents groups all occasionally wanting somewhere to go for a drink or a meal out. Give people a good impression on the quiz night and people will remember.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Monday, 23 April 2012

Free Traffic Through Social Media

There is nothing worse than trying to figure out what people are thinking when they visit your website. Unfortunately, even if you provide an opportunity for people to leave comments, they will usually leave your site without writing so much as a single word. On the other hand, when you visit social networking sites, you will find all kinds of interesting comments and conversations. If you can find a way to get your URL included in these conversations, then you have an excellent method for getting free targeted web traffic to your site.
Using MySpace to Your Advantage
Today, many professional affiliate marketers prefer working with MySpace over any other social networks. Among other things, it is very easy to create classified ads on MySpace, as well as use the site for gathering groups of people with a common interests. You will also find that it is very easy to search for individuals that have interests similar to yours. While you should not use MySpace for blatant advertisement, you can still get plenty of valuable feedback about your site, as well as ensure that you know more about how your target audience sees your site.
Building and Using Facebook Apps
In general, you will find that Facebook is a bit harder to use for marketing purposes. That said, you can still find groups and fan pages related to items that you want to sell. Aside from this, you may also want to consider having a small application built. Regardless of whether you create free quiz, a game, or a survey, you will find that thousands of people will be drawn to your application. If you set these programs up the right way, they may actually generate more money than the website you were thinking about drawing traffic to.
There is no question that social networking is an established, and permanent part of the online landscape. As more people look for features and services not offered in conventional groups and forums, you will find that social networking sites will become even more popular. Logically speaking, if you want to gain targeted traffic for your site, it will be of immense benefit if you can find a way to use MySpace, Facebook and other social networking sites to your advantage.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 22 April 2012

How to Overload Your Website Traffic For Free Part 3

The more traffic you can create, the bigger the presence your website would have on the internet. More traffic would allow you to successfully market a product, and grow a brand or help more people become aware of your websites existence.
Break a news story. If you website is the first to break a news story it would gain lots of exposure as other sites would link to it, thus creating various news streams of traffic and exposure. Write a controversial article. If you write a controversial article its the same as breaking a news story, as it would give you lots of exposure and people would link to your site.
Write a Top 10 list. Writing a top 10 list is useful and helpful and if people really like it they would share the website with others so that they would be able to see it for themselves and thus gain more exposure to your website. Write a Top 100 list. Writing a top 100 list is similar to writing a top 10 list only thing is that it is longer and more useful for user, and it would also help to increase the volume of traffic attending your site. Write a Definitive guide to something. Due to the fact that people love to learn new things this would encourage people to share with their friends what they learnt and help to build more traffic.
Publish an interview. If you publish an interview it would draw a lot of attention to your site as people would link to the interview and if the interviewee owns a blog or website he would encourage his visitors to view your interview and leave links to your site on his. Leverage holidays and seasonal events. If you post content pertaining to certain holidays and events you would gain more traffic as people who enjoy these holidays would share the content with their friends and families and even suggest that others looks on your website to view it also.
Create a quiz. If you create free quiz that people like, they would want to share it and the results with their friends and also encourage their friends to take as well, so that your website traffic would be able to grow. Create a ranking of people. If you publish rankings of people, the people in the ranking would link back to your site and encourage others to view it as well. And the topic and people you choose to write would encourage your visitors to share it with their friends. Create a ranking of websites. It works the same as ranking people, and the website owners would most likely encourage their viewers to check it out and provide a link to your website.
If you follow all of these tips you would be able to increase your website traffic many times over, which would allow your website and brand to grow in general, so that you would have better opportunities to be more profitable.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Thursday, 19 April 2012

What You Need to Know About Popular Software - Quiz Software

There's no doubt about it. Quizzes help keep students focused and can be an excellent way for teachers to monitor student progress. Quizzes may also be a good tool for evaluating prospective employees. But they can be difficult to manage. Once again the computer comes to the rescue. We review two computer-based quiz software packages. As always, check out these programs and the competition before making any purchase decisions.
Create Free Quiz is software that runs on Microsoft Windows computers. This program supports multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank style tests. Students can answer quiz questions on the computer or on paper. The teacher has the option of printing out the solutions as well as the questions. There are dozens of configuration options such as setting a quiz time limit or minimum number of answers supplied by a student before exiting the program.
Few teachers have the time to create detailed progress charts for their students unless they are using a program such as this one. It's also possible for teachers to review the group's success rate for individual questions. Doing so manually is cumbersome which means that poorly worded or misleading questions reappear semester after semester unless the teachers use software to statistics and update the questions. Create A Quiz users can spice up their questions with graphics images (BMP, GIF, JPG formats), Windows Help files (HLP/CHM formats), WAV sound files, and AVI multimedia files.
This software comes in two versions, the Teacher Version and the Student Version. You must purchase each in order to use this software. The company sells a Publisher's License that allows you, under certain restrictions, to distribute and sell your quizzes packaged with the Student Version. So your quizzes can potentially be a money maker for your educational institution. The company offers a web hosting solution which allows you to upload the quizzes to their web site. The product suite also includes Quiz Script Creator that generates quizzes written in Javascript. You can run these quizzes from your hard drive or from any Internet browser, even if you don't have a live Internet connection.
For a more upscale solution take a look at Articulate Quizmaker '09 which creates custom Flash quizzes and surveys. Here are some of this software's advanced features: Ability to group and randomize questions, while keeping related questions together on demand; Branching quiz takers to different slides depending on their answers; and Multi-screen scenarios. This product offers twenty different types of questions. It allows you to produce and modify professional looking quizzes, surveys, and assessments rapidly.
Create a Quiz and Articulate Quizmaker '09 are two of many competitive products. As always, before making any commitment determine your specific needs and download and play with the appropriate evaluation editions. Make sure that you read the licensing agreements carefully. These or competitive products can really improve your quizzing capacity, but you must make sure that you purchased the right software for your educational institution.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Wednesday, 18 April 2012

How to Create X-men Personality Tests

So are you interested to create your very own X-men personality tests? Today, you are in luck because that is exactly what I will be discussing about. Before you actually embark on your X-men quiz creation journey, there are a few essentials that I think you should have prepared first. That way, it will enable you to create one quickly and easily.
What should you prepare? 
  • Firstly, I think you should have at least some background knowledge about the X-men otherwise you will not be able to come up with a set of questions.
  • Secondly, you must also make sure that the answer to each question is related to a specific X-man.
After all, you are trying to create a personality test. For example, I will associate Wolverine with a bad temper. So we have covered the most basic things you need; now where should you create free quiz? One of the most popular places would be Quizilla.com, which is quite well-known when it comes to quizzes. If you want you could also pen it down on paper, but honestly that will be too tiresome and you should be making use of the digital era you are living in now. Of course, it is free-of-charge. Sweet!
This article will not be complete without some brief instructions on how to create one on Quizilla right? So I created a sample quiz and I will just briefly walkthrough with you on how to create one.
  1. To start creating your own quiz on Quizilla you are required to register for an account.
  2. After you have logged in, click on "make a new creation" link at the top of the page.
  3. Select Quiz
  4. Select Personality (Original Style)
  5. After you name the title of your quiz, you will notice two boxes called "New Question" and "New Result".
  6. In the "New Result" box, add in the X-man personality that can be derived from your answers and click update. If you have more than one, you just keep adding and also note you can upload images of your X-man for each result.
  7. Input your question into the "New Question" box and click update.
  8. Input the answer of that question into the "New Answer" box that has just appeared and click update again.
  9. In the dropdown listbox, select the result based on the answer of the question .
  10. Again a "New Answer" box will appear, so keep adding all your answers for the same question.
  11. After you are done, click on "Save changes and exit" button.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Tuesday, 17 April 2012

Tips For Creating Quizzes

One of the many fads on the internet is taking those cute little personality and future predicting quizzes most commonly found on social networks such as Facebook. Little do most people who enjoy wasting their free time taking these quizzes know that they too can actually create the quizzes themselves?
Many applications, software, and websites are available on the internet free of charge which assist in the construction and posting of the quizzes to have others such as your friends take to enjoy a good laugh together.
A few tips to creating a good online quiz consist of the following:
Tip # 1 Keep Your Questions and Answers Answerable By a Variety of Individuals
When create free quiz the key to having success in getting a lot of people to take your quiz is to make sure the answer options along with the results can relate to different types of people and not just a key few or you are cutting out a large percent of people who use the internet.
Tip # 2 Use Pictures in Your Results
Most people like to post their quiz results on their web pages to compare and contrast with their friends, but posting up just plain text can rather seem unappealing on a profile therefore they would not want to post it. The more people want to post their results the more publicity your quiz will receive.
Tip # 3 Use humor
No one likes a boring quiz, if you're going to make a quiz you want to keep your quiz takers attention and humor them so they will want to tell their friends to try it too.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Monday, 16 April 2012

General Knowledge Quiz - 6 Tips for Quiz Masters

The same as anything created of quality, when compiling a general knowledge quiz you need to have pride in your work and take to take it seriously. Gone are the days of going onto a free website and taking their questions as more and more people use smart phones. A quick type into a search engine of some of these questions and the quiz goers can find the site you got the question from and more importantly the answer. Here's 5 tips to make sure that you don't get caught in this trap.
  1. Allocate time to compile your General knowledge quiz. To produce good quizzes, time is a key part and don't think that quickly producing a couple of quizzes an hour before will be acceptable. Your audience will want quality and if you want them coming back you needs to give them that.
  2. Look at create free quiz sites. But they are best to be used to get ideas for questions and answers so maybe you can write a similar question to one on the site. Just changing a couple of words isn't good enough, you need to change the whole question for the answer. A better way is to turn the question around and just using the piece of trivia you gained from the question.
  3. If you are running out of time then get some of your question and answers from a general knowledge quiz site as a last resort. Don't get complete quizzes but get a couple of questions from here there and everywhere. That way if you have any cheat in the audience they have to do more work and if you have banned the use of mobile phones they'll become easier to spot.
  4. Use other resources. Some better options is to use hard copies such as quiz books to get your questions and answers. Now be sure that you're allowed to do this and you're not breaking any copyright law. Some quiz books allow you to use their general knowledge questions and some don't so be careful.
  5. Dry run your quiz. If you have time get a couple of people to try the general knowledge questions out to see how it goes. Allow them to use mobile phones on some of the questions they can't get and ask them to mark which ones so you can see how easy it was for them to get the answer.
  6. Mix the subjects. To make life easier mix up your questions general knowledge is all about different subjects. The mix of question the harder to cheat and the better the quiz.
In the end you need to develop a good set of resources that you can rely upon because they are trusted for their reliability. The systems you develop need to works for you so that you can enjoy the process of creating your own trivia pub quiz. If you trust your Quizzes then you will relax more when hosting your quiz night.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Sunday, 15 April 2012

A Guide to Running a Successful Quiz Night

Preparation: 
The key to a successful quiz night is preparation. A good quiz should always include interesting questions with popular subjects. You can either create free quiz or buy from a reputable supplier. There are a lot of free quiz questions online, but it can take a long time to write a good quiz and make sure the answers are accurate so it may be worth buying a pre-made quiz online.
Rounds: 
I find the best round to start a quiz with is a picture round. The reason for this is because it doesn't need the quiz master to be reading out questions. They can be given out before hand to let people know the quiz has started and give the quiz master a chance check they are prepared.
If the quiz is being run in a pub picture round sheets can be given out as you go from table to table asking if people are joining - if they are take their money and give them an answer sheet and picture round.
Questions: 
The questions in a quiz need to be challenging, accurate, guessable and interesting. There is no point in setting a question that everyone will know the answer to. When I write a quiz I try to make sure that most people / teams will get at least 50% correct, but I never want anyone to get 100%. I also want the answers to be guessable, so at least those taking part have a chance of getting it correct, even if they're not sure. Another good tip for writing quiz questions is to try to keep the questions interesting. If someone doesn't know the answer, they should want to know.
Finally - and crucially - quiz questions must be accurate! I once went to a pub quiz and there was a question along these lines: What is the name of the barrister living at No. 10 Downing Street (at the time Tony Blair was PM)? The answer given was Cherie Blair, but there was a small uproar as some teams had answered Cherie Booth - the name she used professionally. This illustrates how badly thought out questions can cause problems. If a team lost by won point because of this they would have been quite upset (after all, a pub quiz is a serious battle!)
The Quizmaster: 
The quiz master must be confident to speaking to a large number of people, explaining the rules and reading the questions clearly, and it always helps to include a bit of humour and banter, especially when running a pub quiz. The quiz master's decision should always be final, never giving in to cries of "that's got to be worth half a mark!!"
Format: 
The format of a quiz is entirely up to you, and can vary depending on the event. A pub quiz can be very different to a night in with friends. For pub quizzes, I find the best format is this:
1. Go to each table in the pub asking if they are joining the quiz and if they are charge them (I find £1 is fine) and hand them an answer sheet and picture round
2. After ten minutes or so announce (with a microphone if possible) that the quiz is about to start and explain the rules of the quiz, e.g. no cheating with mobiles!
3. When you're ready, explain the rule for the round (e.g. answer trains have the answer to the question beginning with last letter of the previous question) and read out the questions. Read them twice
4. Allow a couple of minutes between rounds to allow teams to discuss the answers
5. After round 3 pause for ten minutes or so to take questions and allow punters to refill their glasses
6. Read out the questions to the remaining rounds, including the tiebreaker
7. At the end allow a few minutes for final checks and questions from participants before asking them to exchange answer sheets with a team sitting nearby
8. Read through the answers
9. Get each team to shout out their results. I think this works better than having teams coming up to give results - it's more fun and informal
10. Keep a note of everyone's score before declaring the winner. If there is a tie you can use a tiebreaker question (see next tip)
A format similar can also work for social or fund raising events, but obviously for a night in it can be a lot more informal (and I wouldn't charge your friends!)
You can get a create free quiz here.
Tiebreakers: 
A tiebreaker question can be asked at the end of the quiz in case of (you guessed it) a tie. In a pub quiz or event with many teams I think the best way to resolve who won is to get each team to nominate a member to answer the tiebreaker. However, they must get up in front of everyone, toss a coin to see who will answer first, and then answer the questions with the help of everyone else shouting their opinion. This makes for a more entertaining end to the evening and of course, everyone gets to shout their opinion!
Prizes: 
Giving out the prize can be another part of the entertainment. There are many ways to do this, from just giving them a set prize (maybe £20, or a free drink each) or encouraging them to bet the winnings. You could get them to choose their prize from three envelopes, or ask them to risk their prize money with a double or nothing bet - this can be anything from a coin toss to a Bruce Forsyth style Play Your Cards Right game.


Post Source: EzineArticles

Friday, 13 April 2012

Finding The Best Free Phone App Builder

There are loads of very good reasons why someone would want to make their own apps for the iPhone, for android phones, or for any other smart phone for that matter. If you are an entrepreneur then there is loads of money to be made from this, either by creating high quality premium apps that you can sell, or creating free apps which include some kind of advertising within them. If you have your own business, and even more particularly if you have your own website to promote, then creating your own phone applications can be a great way to either generate extra income, increase the loyalty of your customers / visitors and get them coming back to you more regularly, or to make your content available through a new avenue. Apps are big business now and there really is no reason to let yourself get left behind.
And even if you aren't interested in the business side of things you may well get a lot of pleasure from playing around and being creative - making your own applications and bringing your ideas to life so that you can share them with friends and family and perhaps other people too.
And although many people probably think that you need to spend a small, or even a large fortune to make something like this, that might not be the case. There are places that you can go where you can make something for free.
When choosing which one to use, or if they are right for you, the main thing you need to think about is what kind of functionality you want to have. Generally advanced stuff like using the GPS or being able to perform custom functions by shaking the handset are going to require you to spend at least some money to get a professional to do some programming work for you. The free tools that are available will work from set functions and features which you add from a menu and then fill out the forms and so on with your own details and content. You can use this to add feeds from your blog or twitter account, create an ebook or a create free quiz, create different pages with text, images or videos, and other things like that.
It is surprising what you can actually do for free - although you may need to upgrade with some services if you start getting a lot of users - so it is well work looking into if you have an idea for an app or a website or business to promote.


Post Source: EzineArticles