• You’ve Got To Be Half-Way Computer Literate Before You Tackle Online Marketing … Here Are My Recommendations •

A good knowledge of computer basic functions and tasks is a must before you can even think about launching an online internet marketing business.  I hope this makes total sense to anyone who is reading this.  Like most everything we do in life, a sequence is important for a successful outcome.  We have to follow the recipe correctly … we have to follow the instructions correctly, etc.

So, before you jump in head first and purchase a domain name and attempt to set up a website or blog, make sure you have the following “bare bones” computer basics under your belt.  OK?  OK!

#1  Starting At The Very Beginning, I’d Suggest You: 

• Have a computer in very good working order (don’t be running bootleg operating systems, etc.)
• Know how to back-up your files
• Have a reliable ISP (internet service provider) with decent connection speed
• Know how to browse the internet using IE and Firefox.  You should become familiar with Firefox. You can install it for free here.
• Know how to bookmark pages
• Have the free Adobe Reader installed on your computer
• Have a Zip file extractor installed on your computer.  I use and recommend this easy-to-use FREE program: FreeZip

#2  Be Proficient In The Following Computer Basics Areas:

• Be comfortable with all aspects of email tasks (composing, sending, receiving, forwarding, etc.)
• Know how to download files and images into the location and/or folder of your choice
• Create new folders for your desktop (or in your C-drive, as example)
• Find a file stored in your computer
• Know how to compose and save a document in Microsoft Word, Notepad and/or Wordpad
• Know how to copy and paste text into your document
• Know how to copy and move files (do you know the difference between the two?)
• Know how to open, read and save PDF files
• Know what a Zip file is and how to unzip one
• Know what a “directory” is
• Know how to create a shortcut on your desktop

Now, the tasks listed above are the bare computer basics as far as I am concerned.  This list could be greatly expanded, and I will in another post.  But without being able to have the ability to move about your computer and perform these entry-level tasks, it’s not yet time for you to jump head first into your online internet marketing career.

Trust me … get these basics under your belt.  Then you’ll be ready to move to the next step, which will be thinking about issues such as your domain name, who your hosting provider will be … do you want to use a site builder to quickly build your site, or do you want to hand code everything?  Oh boy, if you are a total newbie, then what I’ve mentioned here is already sounding a bit overwhelming, right? ;-) 

But in the not too distant future, it won’t be so intimidating.  Hang in there! 

Ready to start your online business?  Don’t waste valuable time, trying to figure out which training program you can trust.  Learn how to turn your hobbies and passions into a lucrative online business that you can grow from scratch starting today!

This tutorial package gets my 100% 2-thumbs-up recommendation … click here to read more.

Internet Marketing Help & Strategies For Budding ‘Work At Home’ Online Marketers 
Sharing What I’ve Learned To Get You Pointed In A Profitable Direction

Hi! I guess you’re an Internet Marketing Newbie?  Great!  I’m glad you’ve found me because a huge reason I started this web log (also written as weblog and WebLog — but most often referred to as ’blog’, in case you wondered where the term originated) is that I am a teacher at heart and love getting folks who truly desire to be their own boss pointed in the right direction.

Heck … I Was An Internet Marketing Newbie Myself At One Time, Too

I’ll bet by now you just might be getting sick and tired of all the HYPE out there about how easy it is to make BIG-$$ doing online marketing and that with a simple website and minimum knowledge you’ll soon be on your way to financial freedom. 

Guess what?  I’m not going to hand you a bunch of bullpuckey anywhere here on my blog.   On the contrary, I’m going to be brutally honest.  Wouldn’t you rather know what you’ve got to face from the get-go to really become even moderately financially successful, rather than spend lots of money and waste lots of time only to find you were running down the wrong road?  I bet you would.

Honest I Shall Be 

You know, back when I started as a work-at-home internet marketer (which soon helped me find a new passion, search engine optimization), I was lucky in the sense that by nature I am extremely skeptical.  Maybe being this way has hampered me at times, as I admit skepticism can cause one to not give something enough attention in the beginning and one might miss out on a great opportunity, but on the whole, my skepticism saved me from wasting my money on online marketing junk.

So, how’d I weed through everything and more importantly, what do YOU need to do to get started on the right foot in your work-at-home, online marketing career?  l will gladly help answer that.  In the coming weeks and months, I am putting together and posting articles that will walk you through all the processes that you need to take from Day One. 

I’ll offer all the angles to think about; all the different online marketing opportunities that most newbies can be successful at; and everything else in-between.  Help, tutorials, tips, dos and don’ts.  Suggestions, true-life stories about my own trials and tribulations as a full-time online businesswoman … and (as they say) much, much more.

This post will be the landing spot for all the articles in one, easy to reference place.  So please bookmark this post and keep coming back. I PROMISE that there will be a wealth of information and how-tos that will get you started off correctly!

And, as you become more knowledgeable and are ready to rise to higher levels, my SEO techniques and internet marketing strategies will really help propel your online business.

Thanks for giving me the chance to offer my helping hand … see you again soon!

Whether It’s “About Us” or “About Me” …
Your Web Site Visitors Want To Know Who You Are

Are you aware of the importance of well written web site content that is information packed for your “About Us” page?  You’ve probably noticed this page on practically every web site or blog you visit, but what are the key factors you really can’t afford to overlook when writing this page for your own site?  Well, let me tell you …

I often find many omissions of important information on people’s “About Us/Me” web page.  Since I usually view web content with a critical SEO eye, I know that those omissions are also causing the site owner to miss out on a little extra ranking juice.  But this doesn’t has to happen to you.  

It’s important that you do your best to give your web site or blog visitor, who just might be a potential customer, a nice overview of you and/or your company, and what you do.  It’s also very easy to take advantage of optimizing this page for search engine ranking purposes.  The informative content basically goes hand-in-hand with what the search engine spiders are looking for, so it really isn’t hard to make your “About Us” page a good one in all respects. 

Here’s what I suggest you should include on your “About Me” or “About Us” page:

• Highlight yourself and your key staff members – write a little something about each of you.
• Visitors love to see who ”you” are.  Include a nice smiling photo of yourself.  A group shot of your staff works well, or individual photos work great, too.  Make sure to list their names and if they have phone extensions, list those too;

I want to interject a mention of how being creative with the photo(s) of yourself or your staff can really help drive across the uniqueness of what you have to offer. (And in the case of the first photo, can provide a chuckle for your visitor!)

If it is appropriate in your marketing niche, something beyond the standard head shot is a great idea.

In an image search on Google for “about us”, I found some of the most interesting photos and they sure made me understand the “feel” of what the web owner was wanting to get across to their site visitors. 

I’m showcasing these three ”About Us” photos because I think they are excellent examples of how thinking outside the box can make your “About Us” or “About Me” page much more interesting and I do believe an approach such as these will leave a lasting impression in your customers minds!

Please note I have NO AFFILIATION with any of these businesses … I am merely showcasing them to help give you some creative inspiration.  Click on the photo to go to the “About” page of each business:

• Provide a short history of how you began and where your business is now (explain it’s growth);  
• Proudly list your mission statement, or what sets you apart from the competition, as example;
• Any special recognitions, industry awards, etc. that are worth noting; 
• Any business groups or organizations that you or your staff belong to;
• Your street address (or P.O. Box if you work from home and wish to protect your privacy), city, state and zip code;
• Your phone number — it’s preferable for SEO purposes to list a phone number with area code versus an #800 number (but list your #800 too if you do have one);
• Testimonials and/or a link to your Testimonial page if your have one;
• Anything else that you feel would set you apart from your competition and is worth noting on this page.    

Your “About Us” Web Site Content Needs To Be Written As If You’re Speaking To That Visitor

Every bit of web content that I write, even for my www.SEO-Innovation.com site (which is purely an informational site for highlighting my SEO consulting services), is written with my personal flair.  I am a big advocate of writing as if you are literally speaking face-to-face to your visitor.  Why not?  This approach has always served me well, and based on the emails I receive saying “you express yourself in such a nice way … your tutorials are so easy to follow and understand”, etc.  that I encourage you to use the same style when writing the important web site content for your “About” page.