Portal Feeder and X Kahuna News and Reviews

The "social media" aspect of the internet, commonly referred to as "Web 2.0" can be a great way to drive traffic to any website. Early on, it was believed that Web 2.0 was a "flash in the pan" kind of thing, but the proliferation of websites and their favorable rankings with the search engine giants have proved that Web 2.0 is here to stay. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to drive quality, targeted traffic, if you know how to use it.

Social media includes a variety of formats, like video, blogs, Wikis, podcasts, social bookmarking and tagging. Not only can you drive new traffic, you can keep your regular customers updated so they continue to return to your site.

The main thing that people do wrong is not taking the time to create high-quality content for their social media sites. Poor quality content sends the message that you don't really know what you're doing. If you are trying to sell a product, either your own or someone else's, that is exactly what you don't want people to think.

You need to establish yourself as an expert on whatever it is you are talking about, or no one will bother listening to you, and certainly no one will buy from you. Create relevant content, do it frequently and regularly, and make your message clear. Tell people what you want them to do; don't make them guess. Become a contributing part of the community you are trying to reach. Help others and they will respect your opinion.

There are so many sites, and so many ways to keep in touch, you need to be sure you are notifying your visitors when you create new content. Send out an email to your list when you make a blog posting, for example, or use a service like Twitter to keep your visitors updated. Take advantage of those opportunities for virtually instant communication.

When doing so, however, make sure you have something of value to say. Don't just say something because you can.

There are a lot of things you can do to get your social media website noticed. Posting on accounts at places like Digg, Reddit, Delicious and Stumbleupon are great ways to build links to your web properties, whether it is a "normal" website or blog, or a page on a social media site like Squidoo, Gather, or HubPages.

Social media is a great opportunity to reach others. However, be warned that if you are not adding value to the community at large, and are only trying to pimp a product, your efforts will fail. You need to openly and honestly communicate with others. You do this by visiting their sites, commenting on their content, and contributing to their community the way you want them to contribute to yours.

Finally, you need to take action. Remember when General Patton said, "A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week." Nowhere is that more true than in war, but I'm sure internet marketing is also applicable. I mean, let's not kid ourselves here.

To give you an example of how I "walk the talk" let's look at this article. I have given solid advice here on using Web 2.0 sites to increase your website traffic. Of course there is much more to learn. I would advise you to ready my reviews of the Portal Feeder family of products, from which I have learned 90% of my internet marketing knowledge.

I'm not just trying to pimp a product, PF is something I really believe in... so much so that I have paid the monthly fee every month since December 2005! Check it out to see if it is what you need or not. Either way, you are welcome here and I hope you find some information that will be helpful to you in your IM efforts!

Affiliate marketing, for those of you who may be unfamiliar with the term, simply means selling something for someone else. It's like being an independent sales rep. On the internet, it is mainly done with digital products, like downloadable ebooks, videos, etc., but it goes for "real" products as well.

I am not going to go into all the details in this article on how to find affiliate programs or items to sell. There is a ton of info about that already on the internet. What I want to do is encourage you to get out there and get your own piece of the pie!

There are so many people on the internet trying to make buck through affiliate marketing. You'd almost think the market was saturated. However, due to the nearly unlimited vastness of the internet, and the humongous variety of products you can sell, I believe the potential is unlimited. There is truly enough room for everyone.

You need to first get over the idea that you have to have some kind of business background to become successful as an affiliate marketer. Nothing is farther from the truth. Every person currently making money online started as a "newbie" so there is no shame in that. You have to begin somewhere.

How you learn what to do and what you go about doing is the critical element that will define success or failure.

Many people begin online with blogging of one type or another, or maybe doing surveys, which can be a great way to get your feet wet. When you get a little more experience and a little more knowledge, you will want to try affiliate marketing.

The benefits of affiliate marketing are many, especially for a newbie. You have no product creation or customer service issues to deal with, you don't have to worry about taking payments or dealing with chargebacks, you don't stock or ship any inventory, etc. It's a virtually hands-off business where all you do is convince web visitors that they need this particular product. Perhaps the best advantage of all is the low (nearly zero) start-up costs. That means low barriers to entry!

There are a lot of niches (or areas of interest) out there that people spend money on. Select something to start with that you are already interested in or familiar with. That will make it easier for you to understand your customers, and what drives them to make a purchase.

Stick with a niche that already has competition. Don't be scared of competition. Remember when I said earlier that there is enough to go around on the internet for everyone? Well, even in most niches that is still the case. An already-populated niche means people are buying, or there would not be so many people trying to sell.

At this point, what you really need is the knowledge on how to make your own site stand out from the rest of the affiliate sites out there. Whether you are planning to get organic traffic via SEO efforts, or drive traffic more quickly through PPC advertising, you need to have a plan and you need to know what you're doing.

At that point in my own internet marketing career, I was fortunate enough to come across a community called Portal Feeder which gave me tools, information, training, and ongoing support in all aspects of my internet endeavors. I was most fortunate to have found it.

There are so many "programs" or "system" out there that come and go. They promise you the world, then leave you hanging. I could write horror stories about the websites I've joined, the products I've purchased and the money I've spent. But nothing has come close to what I have in Portal Feeder. I don't know why I even bother looking around!

Anyway, I don't mean for this to get into any kind of Portal Feeder testimonial, but I have a site set up where I review PF and its associated products that you can visit if you are interested. It's called Portal Feeder Now. I'd love to get your comments or questions about that site.