What is a QR code? Basically, a QR code is a sophisticated bar code. So what makes QR codes different than the typical bar codes you see on food products and other items?

If you attempted to take a test without first studying, chances are you’d fail. Yet every single day on the Internet, thousands of newbies are performing the equivalent of the aforementioned test analogy, by putting up a website without having the slightest idea on how to promote it. And guess what happens – they fail. No, they don’t all fail but most do.

It’s not an easy task to be successful at online marketing. One slip and you can practically watch your leads and sales roll down a hill and end up with some other company. Here are 10 key tips and suggestions to keep in mind as you make your way along online marketing routes.

Now that just about everybody is a believer in Web video, it’s time to figure out just how to use it effectively as a marketing communication tool. Oh sure, there are a few diehard holdouts filling their sites with thousands of words of densely congealed text in a vain attempt to attract ‘Mr. GoodSearch’ and let’s all encourage them to continue, especially our competitors. Because as they stick to yesterday’s marketing tactics, we can capture market share by communicating using techniques that actually lead to more audience engagement, more memory retention, and more sales leads.

It’s a sad thing to experience having a website developed at great cost and then it doesn’t get any visitors. Once the launching party celebration is over, you then begin waiting for any good signs to appear but soon, you find out that the visitor counter remains at zero.

How do you deliver a marketing message to a web audience that hates advertising? A few years back I proposed a solution based on short-form television style programs: the “120 Second Solution”, two minute brand-story commercials formatted in a mini three act web video presentation.

Many small business owners I talk to always seem to be playing catch up when it comes to their marketing.

Last week when I told a small business owner that she was doing a good job with her marketing, she replied “Oh, but I have so much to do!” in an apologetic tone.

So I asked her, “What is it that you have to do?”

Do you want to be known as a “thought leader” in your industry?

Of course you do!

A thought leader is essentially a trusted resource. And, in an information economy, a trusted resource is extremely valuable. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in – whether you have a Fortune 1000 company or a bakery in a small town – thought leadership will propel your business in ways that you could never imagine.

Perhaps a quick introduction and a handy disclaimer is the best way to start this article on Internet Marketing. Mainly because you should know who is talking and you should definitely know what you’re getting yourself into…

Thousands of free online marketing tools clamor for attention, with new ones popping up every week it seems. You know you should be doing more to reach out to your customers, but just researching which tools to use can be a vast time investment, even if they don’t require a big financial outlay.