You know I haven’t really shared anyone this information before, but behind the scenes there’s something you don’t see about my blog.  Quite frankly I’ve been afraid to utter my secret.

The back-end of my site here is setup to function as a membership site.

The shocking part about that is that this site has had the functionality for some months now.  I just frankly had no idea of how to get it off the ground.  After reading Yaro’s Membership Site Masterplan, I was compelled to begin working towards having my own membership site.  I desired to have a consistent stream of income that I could rely on that wasn’t dependent so heavily on Google and how many articles I write per month.  It took me a while to build up to the point when I was ready to join.  When the program launched in April 2009 for the first time, I wasn’t at the point where I was consistently earning at least $200/month from my internet marketing campaigns.  Since then, I have worked hard to achieve this milestone.  This was important to me because about 90% of bloggers don’t make at least $200 per month online.  Shocking huh!  I wanted to prove to myself that I had the skills necessary to proceed with establishing an online business.

The funny thing is that you really don’t have to go through all that.  If you have the ability to invest in learning from an experienced mentor, then that’s just less time you spend making mistakes, twiddling your thumbs, and over-analyzing every little move you make.  I have benefited from being a member of the Membership Site Mastermind program because now I have a clear, easy to follow blueprint of the exact steps of the process.  (Process is super important to me because I’m an engineer)  Not, only that I have the freedom to email Yaro and get his advice from his live coaching calls – Priceless!  So, these are just some of the reasons why I joined.  I recommend you read the Membership Site Masterplan and really take a look at my video so you can see behind the scenes exactly what he is offering you.

To Your Membership Site Success,

Monique

http://www.InsideMembershipSiteMastermind.com

Sometimes there’s just no good way to put it.  So, I will just serve this message straight up with no sugar coating.

YouTube’s Ad relevancy sucks!

It does.  Nuf said.

Well, with the success of Google Adwords and the Google’s acquisition of YouTube in 2006, one would expect the relevancy of the ad placements on each video to improve over time.  But, unfortunately it hasn’t.  I recently started following a YouTube Partner named Mark, who is known online as Soldier Know Best.  In a matter of months, Mark has managed to develop one of the most popular Tech product review and news channel on YouTube.

As I was watching his recent video, where he gave tips about producing videos for YouTube.  He gave recommendations of what type of microphone, video camera, and lighting to use.  Then,  I noticed this butt ugly, pointless, space-wasting ad beside his video.

Don’t Blame the Soldier – Here are the facts!

This is how YouTube defines relevance:

Glossary: Relevance

Relevance refers to the usefulness of information to a user (such as a promotion, keyword, and video or channel content). Relevance, or the quality of a promotion, is reflected by a keyword’s Quality Score. Relevance helps YouTube offer advertising that matches users’ needs as closely as possible to relevant promotions. This ensures a positive user experience so that users click on promotions more often, while maintaining the advertising value of the program.

Relevance = Money

You might be wondering. . .Answers from YouTube’s FAQ

How do YouTube Partners earn money?

Our Partner Program enables creators and producers of original content to earn money from their videos on YouTube through revenue sharing. You can earn revenue by allowing relevant advertisements to be displayed with your videos, or by making them available for rental via streaming.

What type of ads will run on my content?

If you choose ad-supported videos, the ads are chosen automatically by our system, based on a number of contextual factors such as video category. If you choose streaming rentals, no ads will be shown.

Now, that we know that YouTube really wants to provide advertisers with the best opportunities available for their campaigns.  Let’s take a look at the challenges faced by YouTube Channel owners and partners.  Let’s talk about what are “contextual factors”. . .

Search engines sometimes can’t see what a video is about.  Search engines mainly find and rank text.  Video and audio need special attention to accurately sorted.

For normal HTML pages, you have things called meta tags you can add to the code to tell search engines what your page is about.

Do the same conventions apply to YouTube videos?  Sorta

Title Tag <title>My YouTube Video</title>

The title you enter for your video directly impacts the ad relevancy.  Choose a meaningful title that humans can understand and you should be okay for this item.

Description Box

If you do not put any information in this area, you’re leaving money on the table.  Take the time to put an accurate description of what your video is about.  Are you reviewing or recommending a product?  Put the name in the description. You can never put too much information in the box.  If you can transcribe the video, that is an excellent idea.  I use that method for my own video blog posts.

Keywords

Always remember to put as many keywords as you can in this area.  The keywords are also scanned to figure out what your video is about.

Video Responses

Video Responses can help you gain relevance by association.  I call it the Waterfall Effect.  An unlinked video may get traffic to trickle in where as a linked video the traffic flows down to you.  You want to point users to the next video in a series of episodes.  Or you want to become associated with the most popular videos on the topic.   Not all channel owners have this feature activated or want you to link to their video.  But, if you find another video with many views that is relevant to your video – try to link to it via video response.  Don’t be afraid to link your videos together!

I gave this same advice to my friend Paulino Brener for his Flip video camera comparison videos.  The result – his videos became a “Featured Video”.  All because this increased the relevance of his videos.  Notice the number of video views and the very relevant ad of a pocket camcorder.  It’s not an ad for the Flip video, but certainly an improvement.  To monetize this traffic, Paulino includes and affiliate link to the Amazon web page where you can purchase the Flip MinoHD.  He is also able to track clicks of the promotion by using the bit.ly URL shortening service.  Using bit.ly for tracking is something I do myself.

If you have quality content, and your ads are still not relevant.  Make a call to action in the video and direct the view to your affiliate link in the description box.  Be sure to use the format http://www.mymoneylink.com.  If you leave out the ” http://” your link will not be clickable.

Those are some of my top tips for optimizing inside YouTube.  Getting links to your video from external sites could be an entirely separate post.

All the best,

Monique

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frykfors/

What is the most common thing you do when you get together with friends and family?

Eat!

If you feel like you’re in a rut and want to diversify your personal recipe book, here are a few websites that allow you to connect with others that share your love of cooking. Recipe sharing websites are an excellent way for chefs, cooks, and food fanatics to develop a following online. A good recipe travels from kitchen to kitchen and passes down generations. Why not turn to the web to let your latest creation go viral?

Six Super Picks

1. www.myrecipe.org/

Social Features

• Email Link – Quickly send recipe to the inbox of a friend or family member
• Cooking Report – List any tips, tricks, and hints. 
• Member Login – Be a part of the community.

2.  www.mixingbowl.com/

Social Features

• Facebook Sign-in
• Upload Your Food Photos
• Regular Contests – Submit Your Prize Worthy Recipes

3.  www.autismshare.com/

• Weekly Menus – Helpful for home meal planning.
• Special Search Categories – Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free, Phenol Free, Yeast Free
• Live Chat

4.  http://recipeland.com/

Social Features

• Member Cookbooks
• Request a Recipe

5.  http://allrecipes.com/

Social Features

• iPhone/iPod Touch Application – Available for Download
• Member Blogs
• Ingredient Search – Enter ingredients you want or don’t want to search for specific recipes.

6.  www.youtube.com/

Social Features

• Video Comments
• Share, Favorite, Subscribe Functions
• Show How To Make Your Favorite Dishes

Some of my favorite Cooking Shows on YouTube

Cooking with Dog

VahChef

FoodNetworkTV

Gideon Shalwick

Screenr Video from Internet Entrepreneur, Gideon Shalwick shows you how to setup a live video stream and private chat interface in your blog using Ustream.tv.

A live video stream is an excellent way to engage your readers and increase the intimacy of your relationship with them.  If you think of media and communication channels having a ladder of intimacy, text would be at the bottom, followed by audio, then video, and of course the most intimate would be in-person or live.

This short video will help you have engaging conversations with your audience and also increase the level for trust because you have the benefit of observing both verbal and non-verbal communication.

Thanks for the tip, Gideon!

Find Gideon Shalwick Online. . . .

@gideonshalwick on Twitter

Visit GideonShalwick.com Blog for New Media Tips

Visit BecomeABlogger.com & Get Free Copy of Roadmap to Become a Blogger Report.

Visit GetYourVideoOnline.com to Learn How to Make Great Online Videos

Visit FreeMagicLive.com To Learn How to Do Cool Magic Tricks

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/a_of_doom/

This morning I got in my car and the first song that was playing on the radio was Stronger by Kanye West.  If you listen to the lyrics of the song, they are very egotistical.  I think it is possible to be confident  in yourself and your abilities without putting someone else down.  I thought about the comment that Wendy Williams made on her show last month about fans not really having the right to complain to much about Kanye’s recent MTV Award outburst with Taylor Swift because [they] put him there.  So, my thought was is it wrong for me to bob my head to his music and yet on the other hand be disgusted by his remarks and behavior.  Is it really possible to separate personality from a product?

I would say that it is nearly impossible to separate the two.  With the need for transparency demanded by social media you cannot separate your in-person self with your virtual self.  People friend or follow you because they learn about you online and say, “Hey, I think we can hang out sometimes.”  And on Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, you do hang out.  I find myself talking about conversations with friends on Twitter whom I’ve never met in person, in the same manner in which I would mention my next door neighbor.  

I’ll tell you one thing is for sure, if my neighbor just talked about themselves all the time and how great they are, I would not enjoy spending time with that person.   So, the bottomline is you can’t blame anything on your evil twin.  Transparency & Authenticity are key!

I was once afraid to put videos on YouTube.

Yes, I admit it.  I was incredibly afraid.

I was worried that I could not compete with celebrity YouTubers, YouTubers with expensive equipment, or YouTubers with great radio personality voices – and the list goes on.

It took some time to realize that I had to overcome that fear and just get outside my comfort zone because the advantages to providing content on YouTube far outweighed the momentary discomfort.

Did you know?

Google paid $1.65 billion to acquire YouTube in October 2006.

YouTube ranks among the Top Five websites on the internet.

YouTube has over 80 million visitors per month.

One-third of all online videos are watched on YouTube.

Pretty amazing, huh?

Baby Steps for YouTube Newbies

If you’re curious about how to start or want to know how to progress – Here are some tips if you don’t want to be in front of the camera:

1.       Start with photo collection videos with text and music.

It’s easy to get over the initial fear by gathering 3-5 photos for a free 30 second video for a site like animoto.com.  On this video rendering site, you can pick your music and add text for a professional quality video.  You can upload to YouTube and have your very own online commercial.

2.       Use Screen Capture software and Powerpoint to record your video. 

This a very effective and popular method of creating videos, without the pressure of being in front of the camera.  You will need a microphone to record your voice.  The sound of your own voice increases the connection with your viewers.

Start small and work your way up, until you feel comfortable getting in front of the camera. 

You may be wondering. . . .

What types of videos should I put on YouTube?

There are three primary types of video available on YouTube.

• Entertaining – The content can range from comedy shows, talented musicians, vocalists, and even magicians.
• Educational -   People are coming online everyday to learn how to do something.  Viewers are searching YouTube for tips on how to cook, apply make-up, improve their relationships, and so much more.
• Informational – These videos seek to inform viewers of the latest industry news, present high-value content and includes how-to videos.  This type of video involves less visual demonstration.

But, wait!  There’s a another type of video. . .

Another style of YouTube videos is a hybrid of two of the primary categories

EduTainment – Making Learning Fun!

Edutainment videos present product or service benefits using comedy and music.  These types of videos tend to go viral.  They are particularly effective for a business that can clearly brand the video.  You want to views to be able to remember your business name so, if it comes up in conversation viewers can easily share by word of mouth.  Some of my most memorable learning experiences as a child were edutainment shows like School House Rock and Sesame Street. 

Take time to inventory your strengths and the unique selling points of your selling points to determine which type of video is best for your brand.  Making YouTube videos is a great way to market your website online!

Recommended Reading: YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business

How to Use Twitter In Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy

This is a very pressing question for some that are searching for a definitive answer on the subject -to tweet or not to tweet an affiliate link.  The linkability of Twitter as a platform makes it wonderfully convenient to assume that you should – at will – tweet whatever you like.

I must admit that you can win some over by tweeting your affiliate offers and redirecting to a sales page, but is that the best practice?

People Love To Choose

If you tweet your affiliate link you strip away some of that power from a follower.  The same way you should follow the double opt-in standard with email marketing, why not confirm that you have permission to market the offer to the Twitter follower.

Does Following = Permission?

No, often times if the relationship or connection is new you are taking time to get a gauge the value of the person’s tweet.  As a marketer you want to gain the trust of the follower and encourage them to visit your website and explore your content.  Why would you break that trust by baiting them with a link in your tweet?

In the Long Run

The link is going to skew your conversions.  In reality someone is more likely to buy from someone who has presented the offer with benefits, and a personal message, than a random tweet.  You should still present the prospect with an offer page or landing page prior to presenting the option to view the affiliate offer. 

I do use twitter for promotion of affiliate offers, but I try to connect with the person first and present my reasons for supporting the offer.  A simple disclosure is needed in the process keep everything transparent. 

I’d love to know what are YOUR thoughts on the matter. 

Video Transcript

Video Transcript