Have a website and still cant get any visitors? It’s not your fault, everyone starts out the same way. So before you go buying courses and instant traffic ebooks, DO the following four steps.

Step 1: Get Stats

Simply, if you don’t know how much traffic you are getting now, how will you know you have improved? Go sign up with Google Analytics, its absolutely free. If you already use Google Analytics you are ahead of the game! Take a look at what your stats are for the last week and print them out.

Some of you already have some sort of statistics package offered with your hosting provider. If you do take a look at your stats and print out copy so you have a reminder of where you started.

Step 2: Offer something of value, to someone other than yourself!

Bottom line is we are all guilty of this one, we think that everything we do has great value. It’s human nature, everyone is flawed in the same way. The good news we can change it!

Put yourself in someone elses shoes for a moment and think about how your product, service or blog solves someone elses pain and provides relief or value.

Your product may have the greatest features, your services may be beyond belief or your blog may share instant insights into your mind. But how are you engaging someone? How are you solving your visitors problem? What value will they receive by learning about your products, services or blog?

Give something of value to your visitors that they can take away with them and use. You have to give before you can receive.

Step 3: Spread the word, to those that WANT to listen

So you have tried Digg and other Social Media and your stories never get more than one vote. No surge of traffic because you didn’t make the elusive front page. You want to know why? Because nobody there WANTS to listen!

It’s not just you, my blog posts along with several hundred a day never get more than one vote. It doesn’t mean that you are not offering value, it just means that no one there wants it. So go where people want to listen! Here are a few examples:

Twitter: Start your own following and provide value on your subject topic. Share stories you are reading about your industry as well as about your product, service or blog. Find others on Twitter who are in your industry and build awareness along with a strong network of people who want to listen.

Podcasting: Start broadcasting tips and strategies, industry news or anything of value about your industry. Leverage the strong user base of Apple products to spread awareness of your product, services and blog.

YouTube: Broadcast to millions around the world. Tell everyone your tips and strategies, industry knowledge and value of your products and services. Don’t forget to put your website address in the video and in the video description!

Forums: Join an established forum and help people in your industry. If you are knowledgeable than go provide value to someone. In most forums you are allowed to use a forum signature to link back to your product, service or blog.

Step 4: GO DO IT!

You are either going to read the above and come up with some excuse as to why it wont work for you OR you will go and make it work for you. Its that simple.

If you get stuck or have questions always feel free to post them in the comment section below!

Do you have a Business? Are you on Twitter? If not you better get on it!

When Twitter first came out few people paid any attention. Now Businesses both offline and online are leveraging the millions of daily users to drive leads, increase brand awareness, increase sales and deliver customer support. As you can see below I have put together several excellent resources that will help you use Twitter for Business.

If you are like most Business owners that I know, time is of the essence. So I made sure to only inlcude the highest quality trusted sources from my personal collection. So without further delay here is your ultimate How To use Twitter for Business resource guide:

Resource Links

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business (chrisbrogan.com)

Twitter 101 for Business – (twitter.com)

How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business – (copyblogger.com)

4 Ways Companies Use Twitter for Business – (readwriteweb.com)

6 Tips for Using Your Twitter Profile to Get New Followers – (twitip.com)

Real-life Twitter Business Success Stories – (webworkerdaily.com)

17 Ways to Use Twitter for Business and Some Not – (ducttapemarketing.com)

Five Tips In Building a Twitter Profile For Business – (social-media-optimization.com)

5 Steps to Twitter Success – Twitter Optimization Series Overview – (seoptimise.com)

The Secret to Success on Twitter is the Same as Blogging – (remarkablogger.com)

The 10 rules of Twitter (and how I break every one) – (scobleizer.com)

12 Ways to Find Brands & Companies on Twitter – (toprankblog.com)

Tweeting for Companies 101 – (horsepigcow.com)

How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands – (businessweek.com)

How and Why To Use Twitter For Small Businesses – (smallbiztrends.com)

The Ultimate Small Business Twitter List – (smallbiztrends.com)

Ask an Expert: Twitter for small business … reconsidered – (usatoday.com)

Great Twitter Applications for Small Business. – (youngentrepreneur.com)

27 Twitter Applications Your Small Business Can Use Today – (smbceo.com)

4 Twitter Tools for Business Research – (thegetsmartblog.com)

For Companies, a Tweet in Time Can Avert PR Mess – (wsj.com)

How Twitter Can Help Local Business – (encarolina.com)

Stwittergy: Twitter for Business (Twitter Strategy, Marketing & SEO) – (slideshare.net)

The Best Use of Twitter for Your Business – (highsearchranking.com)

Did I miss a great resource?

Feel free to add more great resource links using the comments below!

In one of my favorite movies, City Slickers actor Jack Palance explains to Billy Crystal the secret of life. While holding up one finger Jack Palance says the secret of life is “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean shit.”

Just in case you haven’t seen the movie I have included the clip below.

Only one thing matters… the rest don’t mean shit!

Billy Crystal was on a vacation in the midst of a mid-life crisis. He hated his job selling commercials on the radio. He had lost his passion for his job and his life seemed pretty miserable. Sounds like a lot of people right about now doesn’t it? That’s why it so important to find that ONE thing! What’s the ONE thing?

Well, that’s what you have to figure out!

In order to have a successful blog, online business or just about anything in life it has to be your ONE thing. Not only in the sense that it makes money but as well as it meaning enough to you, that you stick through the process until it makes a profit.

The ONE most important rule about picking a topic for a blog or a niche for your online business is “Start with something you already know and enjoy.” Give yourself a competitive advantage from the start by concentrating on a topic in which you are already knowledgeable and interested.

Understanding this small difference when starting a site means the difference between generating a few dollars a month or building a solid revenue generating site. Armed with intimate knowledge in a niche you are passionate about will dramatically set your site apart. Even if you don’t know every little thing, the fact that you enjoy and are passionate about it, will make all the difference.

In it to Win it!

There is a clear choice to make when starting a new site. On the one hand the opportunity to generate spammy sites seems lucrative and easier. On the other hand, building a solid site based on something you enjoy, with content and community features feels like more work for a payoff. I have found that building content rich sites with community features has given me better returns and generate them long into the future.

I have found that building sites around a niche that I enjoy not only kept me involved, but produced visitors that consider my sites a great resource.

Instead of possibly generating a sale once, I built a place where users can keep coming back and find great deals. Users read new content, participate in a community and find items they need at great prices.

Final Thoughts…

Finding your ONE thing is so critical especially in today’s competitive online world. Dont get caught up in thinking you need to be a general expert about everything. For example in a Computer related blog its better to be an expert on high end video graphics cards than providing general information on new computers.

Have you found your ONE thing? How many other “things” did you try before finding your ONE thing?

Do you have a Twitter account? Your Twitter Profile is your very first opportunity to tell other Twitter users who you are.

Soxialize just released a new FREE online tool that can optimize your Twitter Profile in 5 seconds or less!

It’s called Twitter Profile Optimizer and did I mention its 100% absolutely free? What are you waiting for?

Go optimize your Twitter Profile: Twitter Profile Optimizer

“For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.” – Ernest Hemingway

So are you sitting there trying to figure out what to write for a new blog post? You have a few moments before work or on a lunch break? You see everyone else come up with lengthy blog posts and graphics and wonder how can I even compete?

Simple. No, really. Some of the best blog posts I have ever read where small and simple. Make you feel a bit better? There is no reason to think you need to be writing a thesis to solve world hunger. Keep it simple and fun, for example:

Draw a picture: Some of you may be artist or at least you were in high school when you drew pictures of your teacher! Doodles and comics are great first posts, usually simple and to the point. Plus I am sure you can crank out something in that next one hour long meeting discussing TPS report cover sheets!

Take a picture: A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. Did you take a compelling picture? Ah, but you say its not that great. Look you are not going for the cover of Time magazine. Share your picture on your blog and tell a small story about it.

Tell a story: Short stories are amazing. Short stories delivered strong messages in the smallest of books. Tell a short story to teach a lesson or make someone laugh.

Make a list: Lists are popular online. If you doubt take a look at the front page of Digg. A simple list that is helpful or is funny can go a long way.

Last Word…

Keep your writing, pictures and drawing on topic to your blog subject. Remember that everyone starts out with no traffic and has to build it up. What separates successful blogs from the millions of abandoned ones is simple. They kept writing something.

Have you posted a picture, drawn a comic or written a short story? Share it with us, post a link to your blog post in the comments below.