I recently signed up for Facebook.com, a Social Network for everyone. My little brother in law sent me a message right after I signed up that said the following, “dude, you’re 30 years old…have two kids and are married….why are you on facebook?” I laughed as I read his inquiry. As I thought about it though, here are 4 of the main reasons I signed up for Facebook.com:

1. My mentor, Mat Siltala, is a Facebook user. As an eCommerce Business Consultant myself who was taught by a great SEO specialist, I want to do what the best are doing. I read certain SEO and SMO Blogs all the time about different ways to get potential buyers to come to my site; if I don’t implement the ideas that are working for others, how can I expect success?
2. Status updates. If you are a fan of Twitter (or know anything about it), then Facebook Status Updates are right up your alley. As you create your network of friends on Facebook, you can be kept up to date on what they are doing. You can also share information about your site, articles you’ve written that need bookmarked, etc.
3. Free Classifieds. I just set this up today. Yet another free way to promote products to a specific target audience.
4. TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC! In the past six months, after Facebook opened up to non-collegiates and developers, the site has more than doubled in number of unique visitors, growing from 23 million users in December 2006 to 47 million in May 2007.

So, there you have it.  Add me to your friends list and network yourself all over the web.

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I read a really good article this evening about using video in your marketing on your eCommerce sites, blogs, and other online business endeavors.

What we need are tiny, specialized sites that obsess about specific industries. Is there a good video every day about how to do better real estate sales? If there isn’t, there soon will be. Or for heart surgeons? For every segment where there is currently a trade magazine, I believe there’s an opportunity to build a blog-like, woot-like, ad supported page that finds the good stuff.

What I get from this is that, in order to market our services and products most effectively online, we need to have a specific section of our website, possibly on the home page, that’s dedicated to video content. We are a “specialized site that obsesses about [put your mission statement here - what you are focused on doing with your business].” Here are some questions for thought:

“Is there a good video…about how to [make wall murals an important decoration in your home]?”

“Is there a good video…about how to [learn what are the best Japanese recipes and how to use them]?”

“Is there a good video…about how to [find the best cometic gaskets for your racecar engine]?”

“Is there a good video…about how to [keep clogging strong by selecting the right clogging shoes]”?

“Is there a good video…about how to [find the best used paperback books]”?

“Is there a good video…about how to [put your keyword phrase here]”?

The author of the blog post I read, Seth Godin, is a nationally famous public speaker and marketing genius. As I write this article, his ideas about video marketing make more and more sense to me.

How can you implement his ideas on your website?

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This is a question I have quite a bit as a business owner and professional consultant. People measure success in different ways. Some say it’s all about the bottom line dollar amount a person makes; others say it’s knowledge acquired. At www.dictionary.com, it says the following:

1. the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.
2. the achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted.
3. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

As many of you who I work with know, I truly believe that “Small Success leads to Big Success.” I came up with this saying because of my experience as a student with Prosper, Inc. I started knowing basically nothing about websites, SEO, or internet marketing. But, as I chipped away at things, did my homework as best I could, and stayed committed to proving that the system worked, I started seeing things happen. Was it overnight, absolutely not: the best things usually never are but success did happen. And then it happened again. And again. And then even more.

So many doors have been opened because of my involvement with Prosper as a student and then later on as an eCommerce Mentor. I’ve formed multiple eCommerce businesses, signed a legal partnership with an already established business as their Marketing Director and Internet Marketer, and I really feel that’s just the beginning. The knowledge I gained from my mentor has helped me become a better coach. It opened my mind to all the possibilities that are out there for entrepreneurs. I know now more than ever before that success is there for everyone if they are willing to do what’s required.

Below are my top 20 Success Quotes (not in order of importance). Read them to yourself often and you will achieve true success:

1. “Men are born to succeed, not fail.” Henry David Thoreau
2. “Nothing happens until I make it happen.” contributed by: Scott Wilson
3. “That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.” Abraham Lincoln
4. “People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved.” Anne Sullivan
5. “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.” Mark Twain
6. “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” John Wooden
7. “Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” Henry Ward Beecher
8. “It’s simply a matter of doing what you do best and not worrying about what the other fellow is going to do.” John R. Amos
9. “There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way.” Christopher Morley
10. “What would you attempt to do if you knew you would not fail?” Robert Schuller
11. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” William Feather
12. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier
13. “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” Ella Fitzgerald
14. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer
15. “Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.” Lowell Thomas
16. “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” Dale Carnegie
17. “Success is never wondering what if.” Karrie Huffman
18. “Success is getting what you want, and happiness is wanting what you get.” Dave Gardner
19. “The first and most important step toward success is the feeling that we can succeed.” Nelson Boswell
20. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” Henry David Thoreau

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