One thing you have to understand about Twitter is that it is not a tool to spam with. You cannot just publish affiliate marketing links and product offers repeatedly! It is in fact about building connections and attaining the trust of your market. Far more people are utilizing Twitter these days, thanks to stars such as Oprah and Ashton Kutcher. These people have gotten the mass market involved, which is wonderful, considering you’ll secure considerably more leads for your business than you have ever imagined probable.

Firstly — you are going to need to establish a Twitter account. Decide on your username, add a picture, and insert info about your website. Then, as you obtain followers, they may check out your profile and possibly take a look at your site. This link back to your website also counts as a back link — which is great for search engine optimization objectives.

Next, what you’ll need are people to follow you. Post a hyperlink to your Twitter account everywhere people in your niche might notice it. This might be in your website, in your signature file on discussion boards, and countless other places. One of the easiest and swiftest strategies to generate followers is to locate a master in your area and to follow their followers. Generally about fifty percent of those individuals will follow you back. You can easily get to know these people, and you know that they will probably be interested in your niche considering that is how you discovered them!

Knowing how personal to be is one more challenge that many people are concerned with. You can be as personal as possible if you want! A number of people “Tweet” about what they had for dinner, what their little ones are doing, and a variety of other details. This kind of thing humanizes you, but you want to determine if this is something your market will respond to. Bear in mind that lots of people are on Twitter to network with family and friends, and are not expecting sales messages. That’s why you’ll want to casually mention your business, or link to a page of interest on your site.

After you get followers into the thousands, business will probably really pick up for you. You can immediately drive traffic and product sales with a small Twitter message. Not much could be simpler and easier!

Why? Precisely what may be done? Well, as we said: A headline solely is not really going to generate an entire advert, and truthfully the body of your advert is just as critical as the headline so you’re going to want to make unquestionably certain that you get it correct. After all – in the body of your advertisement there’s going to be a call to action!

Generally, the whole idea of having a call to action is to force the reader to take that one remaining step and simply click on your advertisement. Needless to say, your place to do so is somewhat constrained, so you’re not going to be able to give your visitors a large number of good reasons and expect that they bite one of them.

Alternatively, you’re going to simply just have one shot at persuading these people, so you’d better get it right!

So say the least, right now there are numerous ways to come up with the ‘perfect’ call to action, but they all demand one factor: Showing the visitor that it is going to be really worth their while to click on on the advertisement. How you do so is up to you, but we’re going to begin off by providing you a few hints to set you on the ideal track:

1.Present bonuses

Letting the audience know that they will stand to gain something if they make a move right now and simply click on the advertisement is one of the most well-known techniques in the book. It could possibly be any sort of incentive, from a absolutely free report right on to a 20% discount – it won’t truly matter precisely what the incentive is as long as it is motivating enough!

2. Give a deadline

In the event that you understand that delaying your action may possibly suggest that you miss out on what looks to be a really excellent deal then you’re in all probability going to not wait, right? Presenting a deadline is definitely one of the surest techniques to get consumers going and ensure that they take action sooner rather than later.

Sure, in that respect there are other ways to obtain the response that you would like, but these are two of the greatest. If you like, you can try and find out if anything else succeeds, although at the end of the day so long as you’re able to pull out a call to action that gets your readers clicking, you’re pretty much sorted.

I would like to introduce you to a new concept. Really though, it’s an old concept we just forgot about and that I’m hoping to bring back. It’s what I call the Killer Advantage, and if you utilize this in your business, you will increase your sales dramatically. Before I tell you what the Killer Advantage is, let me share with you how I discovered it.

A while ago, I went to my local store for some groceries, and I experienced something that would change how I do business forever. I didn’t discover this in the store itself, but rather in the parking lot outside of the store. As I was walking in, I was approached by a man who I knew was going to try to bum some money from me. In a big city like Los Angeles, you are faced with this almost everywhere you go, so if you give in to everyone, you’ll end up in the same position as them! I was ready to say no, when the man said to me, “Excuse me sir, I don’t believe in handouts so while you are in the store I am going to wash your windows for you, and if you think it is worth a dollar or two then I would sure appreciate it.” I glanced at my car and the window were in fact dirty, so I gave the go ahead and went into the store. About fifteen minutes later, I came out and sure enough my windows were spotless. The guy did a fantastic job! I looked around for him and saw him a few aisles down cleaning someone else’s windows. I walked over and gave him a few bucks and we both left happy.

As I was driving away, I realized something. I don’t know if it was because my windows were the cleanest they have been in a while or what, but everything became clear. The reason the guy in the parking lot was able to succeed where others have failed is because he offered something much more than a window cleaning. I look back on it now and realize that it was brilliant. You see, it wasn’t the window cleaning itself that sold me. It was the meaning behind the window cleaning. He was willing to provide value without receiving anything from me. In offering this to me, he separated himself from the rest of the pack and resurrected my belief in people.

Like many of you, there are lots of things that cross my mind when I am approached by someone who wants me to just give them money. First, I feel lucky that I am not in that situation. Then, I feel bad for the person and wonder what events in his life led him to the point where he has to ask strangers for money. And finally, I feel angry because this guy might just be scamming me and may be too lazy to get a job. Sometimes I give in and sometimes I don’t, but either way I don’t feel good about any decision I make. With that in mind, I thought it was amazing that the window cleaning guy took all that away just by offering to clean my windows. Just by investing in a bottle of window cleaner and a few napkins on loan from McDonalds, he not only created a win for both of us but made me feel good about giving him my money and showed me that not everyone on the street wants to take advantage of me.

This experienced caused me to flash back to when I was a child and I would go with my dad to the gas station. We would pull in and there would be a service attendant ready to service us. He would not only fill the gas tank up for us, but he would check under the hood to make sure all the fluids were at an acceptable level. A few short minutes later, my dad would roll down the window, pay the guy, and we would be on our way. We received all of this service without getting out of the car. Imagine how you would feel today if you pulled into a gas station and got that kind of service. Not only would you keep going back, but you would tell all your friends about this wonderful “new” service you got at the local gas station.

I also remembered going to the grocery store with my mom as a kid. When we were finished shopping, someone from the store would bring the groceries out and pack them neatly in the car for us. What happened to that concept? Today, we are lucky if we even get our groceries bagged!

Thinking about the guy in the parking lot and about these memories from my childhood inspired me to find my “window cleaner” aka Killer Advantage. What could I do to impress my prospects so much that it would make them feel great about hiring me and my company to help market their company on the internet?

Since I am in the business of driving traffic to a client’s website, it seems obvious to give them some free traffic. So now, every time I meet with a potential client, I create a press release about their company and release it a few days before the meeting. In most cases, by the time we have the meeting, the press release has generated at least a few hundred hits. At the meeting, I tell them I want to show them something I did for them a few days ago. I go on the computer, search Google for keywords their potential customers would use and sure enough, on the first or second page of the search results is their press release optimized for those keywords. I pull it and show them that I have not only gotten their company ranked high on Google with these keywords, but I have also acquired a few hundred potential leads for their website. That’s my “window cleaner”. On the surface, my Killer Advantage says I know what I am doing, but beneath the surface, it says so much more to a business owner. It says we take initiative, we have knowledge of their industry, and most of all, we are different from the rest of the pack.

This is my window cleaner. What’s yours?

Brightcove is the Rolls Royce of online video publishing and until recently their prices were our of the range of most small businesses or advertising agencies. When I heard they introduced new pricing structures for small businesses and offering a free trial I took them up on it and never looked back.

In my opinion, Brightcove is THE killer app for anyone wanting to market with video online. It has helped me increase sales in my business and made it easier to do so.

Instead of taking you through the ins and outs of the program I thought I would give you the perspective of a small business owner and how it has helped me in my business. If you want to know how the program actually works, you can always download a thirty day trial and see for yourself.

This review is based on five months of using their service.

Brightcove Advantage #1: Smooth Playback with no Buffering

There is nothing more embarrassing for me than to show a client a video about my company or one I have produced for them only to have it stutter and buffer every five seconds. If you use Youtube or any of the other sites like it, you know what I am talking about. Especially with HD video. Sometimes you have to wait several seconds for the video to start only to have it buffer and stutter a few seconds later.

Brightcove has solved this major problem with something called multibitrate streaming. Basically what this means is, when you upload one of your videos to your Brightcove express account, they make up to six versions of the video optimized for different internet speed. Then when someone watches your video, Brightcove Express delivers the version that matches their internet speed so there is no more buffering. Sounds awesome right. To see if this really worked I watched a video with my high-speed office connection and Brightcove delivered a beautiful high quality HD version.

I also wanted to see if the video play buffer free at lower connection speeds so I hooked my laptop up to my 3g modem that I use for travel. Of course this connection is much slower than your typical cable connection so this will be a really good test. To my surprise, Bright delivered a version optimized my my slower connection and there was no buffering at all. Of course the quality was a little lower but I will take a little lower quality over frustrating buffering any day. Now I can rest easy knowing that no matter what part of the world someone is watching my videos, they are having a great buffer free experience.

Brightcove Advantage #2 Embed Once and Future Updates are Reflected

If you are always updating and changing video on your site, this feature will be a dream come true. With Brightcove, you only have to embed your video player once on your site then any changes you make to that player in your Brightcove media manger  will automatically change on your website. There is no more embedding the code after every little change you want to make.

For example: look at the video player for my magic show below. If I want to rearrange or add new videos, I just upload or rearrange in Brightove and the changes reflect on this player.

This might not be a big deal if you only have this player on one page but I have this particular player embedded on fifty pages. I have a magic show page for every major city in America so I can rank well in multiple cities. It is important for me to have video at the top of all these pages so potential clients can see what I do right away.  A few times a month I view my Brightcove analytics (more on that later) and see which videos are performing the best and swap them around to maximize the amount of time visitors sepnd on my site. Like magic, the change is reflected on all fifty pages. Imagine if had to change all fifty pages every time. Chances are I would not do it.

Another great way to use this feature is if you have a featured video player on your home page. Instead of changing the code each time, you can created a featured video playlist and any content you put in to the playlist will be reflected on your home page.

Brightcove Advantage #3: Awesome Analytics

The analytics in Brightcove is second to none. At first I didn’t think it was a big deal but now I am addicted. Not only can you see how many plays your video has but you can see how long people actually watched your video. I was floored when I saw this data and it taught me how to create better videos to sell my services and products.

Let me explain. Last year we started a twitter management service for clients. I made a video describing all the benefits of twitter and why it is important to maintain a presence. This video lasted about four minutes and I thought it was a masterpiece of mixing relevant information with a sales message. Boy was I wrong. Through the Brightcove analytics, I saw that fifty percent of the people stopped watching the video twenty seconds into it and the other fifty percent barely made half way through. According to the analytics three people watched it all the way through and I think that might have been me admiring my work.

With this new information, I reshot the video and made it forty seconds long giving only the highlights of price, how we get  followers by geography and how many post we do for you. To my amazement, site visitors started watching it all the way through and we started closing more sales.

I would recommend you use this data in your business and keep tweaking your videos until you see people are watching to at least seventy five percent. It has made a difference in my business and I think it will make a difference in your as well.

Brightcove Advantage #4 Brightcove’s Players Are Professional Grade

Before I started using Brightcove, One of the gripes I had with most other video hosting companies was their lack of player customization. Again, Brightcove has answered. Not only can you change every single aspect of the player such as player colors, size, rollover links and backgrounds but you have several tools at your deposal for sharing your video. If you look at the player below,

• you can share it via twitter or facebook
• you can email it to someone
• you can get the embed code.
• You can get the page link.

Also you will notice a more info watermark on the video. If you click that, it will take you to the video landing page and this is a feature I absolutely love. I know Brightcove intended it to be a logo overlay to brand your business but I am a small business. I don’t want to brand as much as I want to drive traffic, so I turned it into a blatant lead generator. The best part about this is no matter where this video ends up through social sharing or people placing on their blog, that video will always have that watermark to drive traffic back to your website. (This particular video leads to the website of one of my clients)

Brightcove Advantage #5 The Best Customer Support in the Industry

Their customer support is the best I have had in recent memory. When I first joined, I signed up under their $99 dollar plan and was perfectly happy to figure things out for myself. But fortunately, this was not going to be the case. A few days after I signed up, I got a call from my “account manager”. I mean come on, I was only spending $99 bucks a month and they still found me important enough to give me one of those. How cool! During this call he ask me if I was finding everything ok and answered all my questions and when there were a few he could not answer, he said he will have tech support contact me and not five minutes later tech support called. Wait, it gets better. I think it was about two weeks into my service with Brightcove and I got an email from them asking me if I had a few minutes to talk. They wanted to brainstorm with me on what new features I would like to see or current ones improved. Now I could see them wanting to brainstorm with Fox or Staples but me, Wow. The only way to put this into words really is to say I feel they don’t discriminate against your price plan. I mean they make me feel like I am just as important to them as the CEO of General Motors. I feel like they are my video content partner instead of my video content provider. I feel like if I have an idea that I would like to see I could call them up and the entire company would stop what they’re doing to listen to what I have to say. I am not saying they would, I am just saying that is how they make me feel. In fact they have inspired me to give that kind of customer service to my clients.

As you can tell I have become a Brightcove Fanboy over the last few months and I think you will to. They have a thirty day trial so can see for yourself how wonderful this company really is. Check them out at www.brightcove.com

I wrote this review because I know when I was searching for video hosts, I could have used this information and it my hope that I can save you a lot of aggravation. Good luck to you and if you try their service let me know what you think.

This routine  is perfect for:

• The CEO at a company event
• A special treat from someone’s birthday
• For the person of honor at a party

One of the most fashionable parties for adults to have these days is a cocktail party.  Even though their popularity waned over the last few decades, cocktail parties have reappeared on the party scene and are now even more fashionable than they were before.

While many adults in the United States today enjoy beer and wine, the mixed drinks of the past are really starting to become more and more in vogue again.  Nowadays when you walk into a typical bar, you will see many more people ordering mixed drinks than they have in the last decade or two.  Some of the most popular today are the apple martini, chocolate martini, dirty martini, and the cosmopolitan.

One of the best things about planning a cocktail party is that they generally only last a few hours.  In addition, your guests will be wandering around mingling and snacking rather than sitting around a table eating a full meal with each other.  This makes the cocktail party perfect for inviting people who may or may not already know each other.

One of the easiest things about planning a cocktail party is the fact that you can have just about any menu your want as long as the food is complementary to the most popular mixed drinks.  Guests who come to a cocktail party know that they are only there to snack, have a drink or two, and mingle.  Because of this, you can supply a wide variety of finger foods and be confident that everyone present will find something agreeable to them.

Here are some professional party planner’s tips on hosting an amazing cocktail party that everyone will remember and be talking about.

Tip #1 – You will need much more ice for your cocktail party than you think you will.  The standard rule of thumb is to have about a pound of ice per guest who will be in attendance.  However, I believe even a bit more is advisable.

Tip #2 – Different beverages are consumed from different glass styles.  Make sure that you have a large assortment of the appropriate glasses for your guests.  And, it is always a good idea to have many extras.  If you will be serving wine, it is a good idea to use wine glass charms so people will stick to using their same glass throughout the night.

Tip #3 – The most important part of your cocktail party planning is making sure you have enough supplies on hand.  And the most important of these supplies are your alcoholic beverages.  A good bar should be stocked with the ingredients for each of your friends’ favorite drinks, or as a basic level at least those used to make the most popular drinks of the day, plus beer and wine.

Tip #4 – If you do not know anything about mixing drinks, you can always enlist the skills of one of your friends or relatives to play bartender for the evening.  However, if you will be having a very large cocktail party then you might want to consider hiring a professional bartender for the night.   Many local catering services will have bartenders who can work for you at your party.  They are not terribly expensive and do a wonderful job.

Tip #5 – When you are hosting a party where alcohol is consumed, you should always offer food and coffee to your guests and make sure they have a designated driver to get them home safely.  Please do not ever let your guests drink and drive.  It’s not safe for them and the other people on the road.  And, it can also land you in jail if they get in an accident after drinking at your home.  It simply isn’t worth it!

As you can clearly see, hosting a cocktail party is not complicated and can offer you a wonderful excuse to have your friends and family over for an evening of adult fun.

Austin invites someone from the audience and give them a paintball gun. Then the audience member shoots Austin in the face and Austin tries to catch the paintball in his mouth.

The owner of the Ice House was so impressed by Austin’s performance, he wants to bring Austin back to perform his entire comedy magic show.

If your event is taking place in Albuquerque and you want the best magician around, there is really only one person to talk to: Austin Brooks.

Austin has been a world renowned magician for almost fifteen years. His credentials range from appearances on the big screen to authoring several books on the performance of magic. Austin’s expertise is rooted with an actual degree of magic from the famed Chavez College of Magic.

He is one of the youngest magicians to graduate and has gone on to be a mentor to some of the up and coming graduates of the college.

Albuquerque Magician Austin Brooks is a Favorite with Companies and Private Events

Austin has many clients in Albuquerque and they all agree, his magic show was the highlight of the event. Austin will give you the most incredible night of magic and comedy not only in Albuquerque, but in the entire world.  Discover for yourself as you watch the videos on this site, check out the testimonials page and view the numerous clients that have hired Austin in the past. You will notice there are quite a few from Albuquerque.

Why is Austin the Best Magician in Albuquerque?

The main difference between Austin and all of the other magicians in Albuquerque is simple. Austin brings a combination of comedy and magic unmatched by any other magician in Albuquerque.  Austin has performed in some of the top comedy clubs including  The Improv, Funny Bone and Laugh Factory. Austin has also  opened for star talent such as Kevin Nealon, Kathleen Madigan and Paula Poundstone.

On the magic side, Austin is known as one of the world’s top sleight-of-hand artists and magical performers. His magical talents have taken him all over America performing at some of the best venues in Albuquerque and for some of the country’s biggest corporations.

Austin is the only magician in Albuquerque that can offer you this kind of entertainment experience.

Imagine laughing hysterically one minute and being rendered speechless the next. That is the kind of experience Austin brings to your event. Austin has created several routines that involve the audience, making the magic very interactive.  It is because of this style and originality that Austin is a favorite at some of the best events in Albuquerque.

Austin Brooks is your best choice when you want to hire a magician in Albuquerque.

This is a strong statement but it is true. Austin is one of the few performers that customizes his show for each event and has the ability to pull it off. You want to cut your boss in half? Done! You want to do something special for the guest of honor? Austin will put something together just for you.

You get the idea. This approach guarantees a fresh show experience you and your guests will not soon forget.