Cashing in on the Latest Technology Trends

By Shelly Lowery

If you're marketing your products or services on the Internet, keeping up with the latest Internet technology is an important part of developing a successful Internet business. For this reason, this article will focus on some of the latest technology trends and how you can use them to market your products or services.

Blogs

If you've been on the Internet for any time at all, you have most-likely heard about blogs. A blog, which is short for web log, is a personal online journal that is open for public viewing.

The author of a blog, referred to as a blogger (web logger), usually makes entries to the blog on a very frequent basis. These entries usually contain commentary on specific issues, helpful tips and/or instructions with regard to the subject matter and recommended links to appropriate resources.

Blogs have the potential to create a wealth of repeat traffic to your web site, as if the subject is of interest to your target market, your readers will return each day to read your latest post. What's more, Search Engines love blogs, as they are loaded with content and updated frequently.

Visit Blogger to learn more and set up a free blog: http://www.blogger.com

Vlog

A vlog, which is short for video blog, is a personal online video journal that is open for public viewing and/or downloading. Vlogging can refer to either streaming video or downloadable videos within a web log.

To create a vlog, your first step will be to record a video and save the file on your computer. The following software programs will assist you in creating your video:

• Windows Movie Maker
• QuickTime Pro
• iMovie (Mac users)

As there are many in-depth steps to creating a vlog, you may want visit a site, such as www.freevlog.org for a complete step by step tutorial.

Vlogs combine the power of text blogs with video and can be a very effective sales tool.

Podcasting

Podcasting is the distribution of audio files over the Internet, such as a radio broadcast. It is one of the hottest ideas to hit the Internet, as users can download the broadcast to their media player, such as an iPod or MP3 player, and listen at their leisure.

To create a Podcast, you will need to create an audio file and save it in MP3 format. You can then upload the file to your server, along with an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) file. Your listeners can then download your program using a special program that will enable them to retrieve your file automatically.

Once you have created your podcast, you can then register it at a podcast directory, such as www.podcast.net so that people can subscribe.

Although the most popular form of podcasts are audio files, you can also create a podcast that will transmit video, text, and image files to any capable media player.

Distributing your own podcast is a great way to market your products and/or services.

You can find a step by step guide to creating your own podcast here: http://radio.about.com/od/podcastin1/a/aa030805a.htm

If you need assistance creating your podcast, Rick Beneteau, of Mentor Audio, will be happy to assist you: http://www.mentoraudio.com/podcast/

All of the above technology utilizes RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an XML format specifically designed to share content. You can learn more about this powerful technology here: http://www.web-source.net/syndicate.htm

All of the above marketing tools provide a great way for you to reach your potential customers. As with most marketing techniques, it is best to provide your readers with quality information that teaches or informs with regard to the subject and simply recommend products or services to assist them. These recommendations may be your own products or services or those of an affiliate program you are promoting. It's a win - win proposition no matter how you look at it. Your reader is provided with the information they desire, and you make a sale.

With all of the latest technology, it has never been any easier to reach your potential customers. Use this technology to your fullest advantage.

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