Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, and in *Plain English*. Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

Hello all!

First, sincerest apologies for not posting in about a week. I’m still hard at work on that blog project I’ve spoken about. I’m hoping to be able to announce/launch it next week…it’s lookin’ good so far

Now then, a brand new feature here starting this coming Monday, the 30th. At the beginning/end of each month I will be recapping each and every post from the previous month (or at least the best ones) with a link and small caption.

This is a little different then most of the other “link round-up” posts I see, as this is all internal. A good bunch of the ones I see are all external, wherein bloggers give the love and link-out to the posts they come across on other blogs. Also an excellent practice, which I’ll get more into another time.

Why is this something all Bloggers should consider? Just a few ideas (in no real particular order)…..

Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, as elementary as possible because we know you’re new. Got a wish list? Skribit! Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

As you may have guessed, this article is in regards to linking and primarily which is the best *code* to use when doing so.

Should you have it open in the same window…effectively drawing people away from your site…or a new window…leaving the original one in tact for the reader to go back too.

This thought popped into my head while reading a post by Lynn Terry, entitled Stop Linking To Your Home Page!

This is all about internal or deep-linking as it’s called. The act of linking to pages within your blog from outside sources OR from within the blog itself, as I did here in the first sentence.

Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, as elementary as possible because we know you’re new. Got a wish list? Skribit! Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

Advertising your website is a matter of dollars and sense; as in, where does it make the most sense to put your dollars?

A recent survey conducted by Marketingsherpa.com (as reported in the Marketing Report newsletter) showed that search engine optimization and in-house generated email lists rank neck-and-neck as the top performers when it comes to return on investment.

A few highlights:

• Paid search ads are favored by 49% of marketers as the highest ROI.
• In-house email lists received the top rating for ROI by 47% of those surveyed.
• 34% of marketers plan to increase their spending on search engines by 5% or more.

Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, as elementary as possible because we know you’re new. Got a wish list? Skribit! Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

UGH! Broken links everywhere. Is there anything more annoying to a site owner?!?!? Not only that, but you can easily lose business; perhaps a LOT of business depending on the circumstances.

If it’s a blog you can very easily lose readers if they find too many broken, non working links. Reader loss could quite possibly mean revenue loss, both in the present AND future…most will never return. 

Think especially of new readers full of hope, glee and anticipation in finding a new blog in their niche of choice…what a let down. Not to mention how unprofessional it looks, especially if it’s more then 1 or 2 links.

Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, as elementary as possible because we know you’re new. Got a wish list? Skribit! Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

Hello all! If you’re a regular reader and especially if you have linked to any posts in the past, please read in its entirety and take the appropriate action. Thanks!

Due to my lazy - err - busyness in not posting one post, I’m now killing a couple birds here…

Regular readers, especially those of you that have been with me since the beginning may notice some weirdness afoot here on the blog. Notice the archives are a wee thin? October 2007 now no longer exists?

It may look odd for a while, feelings of deja-vu even. OK, Ill explain…..

Welcome to D.S.W.M., where Direct Sales meets Online Marketing. We cover it all, as elementary as possible because we know you’re new. Got a wish list? Skribit! Like what you see? We offer Full Feed updates.

Lynn Terry, recently wrote a fantastic little article on niche marketing, and why you should never give up the fight. Not only is it awesome as a standalone, but goes very well with our post on  leveraging your competition.

When you’re through the article, be sure to follow the links to Lynn’s Blog and Forum, both highly recommended… 

Everyone is on the hunt for a great niche. This is one of the things that tends to stump people who are just getting started, and also the thing that long-term Internet marketers never stop looking for.

The initial response I generally hear is “They’re all taken!” or “There is too much competition!” or “How can I ever compete with what’s already out there?”…