What Type of Live Streamer Are You?

By Anne Cook  |   Submitted On January 16, 2016

  

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"You take this way too seriously," a viewer typed during a live stream show once.

At first, I got offended. After all, their point was valid. People can just jump on live stream and have a good time. It breaks up the boredom and monotony of our lives because with the push of a button we can go live and have 1 to 101 people in our kitchen while we make dinner.

It's magical really. And here I am taking it so seriously and sucking the fun out of it. But am I?

A friend told me he wanted to start a show and asked me to help him. I got to thinking about what it takes to start a Live Stream Show. Live streaming is becoming main stream and has begun to attract so much attention that it's changing the face of how we do business both in real time and in social media.

I came to the conclusion that a Live Stream Show is vastly different than streaming from your kitchen while you cook. Some of these things need to be defined and explained since live streaming is coming to the forefront. Here are the four primary definitions for four types of Live Streamers you'll be in the ocean with if you get on Periscope, Meerkat, YouNow, UStream, YouTube Livestream or any of the many live stream apps available today.

4 PRIMARY TYPES OF LIVE STREAMERS IN THE OCEAN

SHARK STREAMERS - Famous personalities who want to connect with their audience on a personal level. These are the streams that usually make it into the trending lists or are featured because they and visibility for thousands of watchers and viewers. This is good for the app, the famous person and the viewer. Everybody wins. Those viewers come from an established following and it doesn't take work or need building. All the famous person does is hit 'go live' and show us a perspective of their reality.

These people can be actors, singers, even politicians and can be staged or scheduled by publicists to boost their numbers and popularity.

HALIBUT STREAMERS - These are done by people just for the halibut (hell of it). They are looking for connection and live streaming is an answer. This was once true for me. After I returned home from a deployment live streaming was an answer for me to connect with the world again. HALIBUT STREAMERS will usually stream themselves driving, watching TV, doing things around the house, or let viewers look in their fridges. It's done with no end in mind but to eradicate loneliness and connect with others.

DOLPHIN STREAMERS - Now we come to the live stream show. This is a serious live streamer who wants to create happiness and a new reality for the viewer by taking them into an experience. There are no hard and fast rules for this type of streamer because the show is built out of their creativity. They usually provide a kind of entertainment. These can be the sunset scopes to the game show scopes. Money or not, these people like to connect with mankind and provide something for the world.

SUCKERFISH STREAMERS - The suckerfish are competitive opportunists who come in swiftly with their internet marketing infomercials, books and programs to make money off (get ready I'm about to be offensive), suckers watching.

We've all been suckers. Gosh I watch the Home Shopping Network myself. I just saw the other day that cable started charging a subscription to a package of HSN channels. People pay to watch this stuff! It's our human nature to want and acquire and be successful. It makes sense that people who offer big money if you follow their programs and learn how to Periscope, Webinar, Kindle Book, Crochet, Dog Watch, and the list goes on... it makes sense 'those' people are there to put your money in their pocket.

Don't get me wrong. I am a shrewd business woman and want to make money. I write books and programs and am developing a brand, products and a business. There's no shame in it.

Which kind of Live Streamer are you?

I'm in the Dolphin Streamer category. Back to my friend who asked me about starting a show. I want to help him get closer to the shore so we can all see him jump out of the sea, back dropped by rays of sunlight and glimmering shiny dolphin-ness.

But there are questions a Dolphin Streamer should ask themselves before starting. I developed these from my experience in broadcasting followed by nearly 350 live broadcasts to date and a show that has evolved to a following of nearly 6,000 people (make that 5,000 organic followers *wink*).

What's your motivation?

Why do you want to do this show? That's the first question I ask people. It may just be to have fun and make some friends while you share your passion. It may be to find others who share the same passion. It may be a fun experiment you just want to try out and see what happens and where life takes you. Maybe it's to make money and start a business.

There is no wrong reason to start a show anywhere. Know though that a show is a commitment. It's going to be most successful if you can establish your motivation up front because that will keep you going when you want to give up. And trust me, you will want to give up at some point.

Research the pros and cons of what you're getting in to.

As many rewards as live streaming can bring, Having a consistent live stream show of any kind can also be warring in a lot of ways. Even if you're only live streaming your surroundings, you are expending your energy and we only have so much to give.

I do a morning show every weekday morning and have been trained in live broadcasting in a military school with threats of being returned home if I failed. That experience was not enough to understand the strength I'd need to keep my commitment to doing a morning show every weekday morning. It's like running a marathon with hills and valleys, ebbs and flows of energy, restarts and stop offs at the side of the road for high carb energy shots.

Will this show based on something you already do or is already a part of your life?

When deciding to do a show, consider the people and things in your life. One woman does a YouTube show with her daughter to include family. There's one man who's family regularly appears in his Vine Videos.

Live video is more taxing than pre-recording. Will your show be about something you'll have enough material on or enjoy and have time to research? Do you have time in your life for this show as well as your family and friends? What will suffer if you have a regular show? It's suggested you do live streaming once every 24 hours to grow an audience. Something in your life will go away to have a regular and consistent show.

I had to choose a time of day to broadcast consistently. I chose a time 'frame', EST Morning Times. But that means I have to get up earlier to work out. My working out has suffered when I've decided to sleep in a little later. It's been a sacrifice and I've had to reform my schedule in other areas to fit in fitness. It's been a huge challenge.

These are just some of the things to consider when you think about starting a consistent live stream morning show and want to be a Dolphin. The Sharks will always be fine, the Suckerfish, well, it's their life already and they're used to the hustle. The Halibuts are also fine because it's just a pass time that makes them happy. But Dolphins, dolphins are different.

Do you have what it takes to be a Dolphin Live Streamer? YOU are the only one that can answer that question.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Anne_Cook/2237868

How To Prevent Spam Through Your Website Forms

By Alex H D  |   Submitted On January 06, 2015

  

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We all hate email spam in our email inbox, but rarely try to get to the root of the spam mail's origin and purpose. Many webmasters face a problem of receiving spam emails through the forms on their website. These are usually contact forms which are setup for visitor's to post their inquiries or to give feedback. Spammers try to hijack these forms to send spam mails, either by manipulating where the forms send emails or by flooding the webmaster with junk mail. This article points out some of the ways in which you can fight spam in website forms meant for comments, feedback, inquiries and any other contact.

Form Fields Validation

A very important part of having a secure form is to ensure that there is strict validation of the form fields. This is best explained by an example. When you are accepting a phone number through the contact form, you can code the form to ensure that only numbers are entered in the form field. Similarly for an email address field, the form must be able to determine a well-formed email address has been entered. If the fields contain anything which that field is not supposed to contain, like special characters or some funny text, then the form will throw an error and will not be submitted till the mistakes are corrected. This prevents any malicious code or text from being inserted in the form. It also prevents automated bots from filling up the form without understanding what is required and how it is to be filled.

Captcha

One of the most effective ways of fighting form spam is by enabling a captcha at the end of each form. The captcha requires the user to enter a word or number verification which is shown in an image. This prevents bots and automated systems from sending the forms mindlessly. Since bots cannot usually detect text within images, they fail to enter the correct Captcha text preventing the form from being submitted.

Confirmation Alert

Another simple trick that can be used to harass the spammers is to add a confirmation alert box which pops up to confirm the details that the user is trying to submit. Robots and automatic form submission software are unable to cause the clicking of the confirmation button in the alert box. Something like: "Are you sure you want to submit the form? Yes No," can be an added layer of protection from comment spammers. This is also a good way of allowing users to review the information they are sending and correct any mistakes or typos before submitting the form.

Anti-Spam Plugins

Akismet is an Anti-Spam plugin used for WordPress, which can identify genuine comments and filter out the spam comments. This can be helpful if you do not want to enable a captcha confirmation box or cannot have specific validation on your form. Similar anti-spam plugins are available for other platforms as well. While Akismet type plugins are not 100% correct and may lead to some false-positives, they do a really good job of filtering out the noise.

Logging Information

One of the most important things that a programmer can do to track the sources of spam and patterns of spam is to log additional information of the user. This means that along with the normal fields that the user is submitting, the form will also capture his / her IP Address, machine name, browser details, location information and similar information which can be used to trace the spam source. Using this information you can either take action against the spammer or even block his IP Address. This way he will not be able to keep harassing you or making random submissions.

Some programmers also swear by hidden form fields in CSS, which prevent the form field names from being seen by bots, thereby preventing them from knowing what data to auto fill in the text boxes. Consult your coder for the best solution for your website.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Alex_H_D/1829195

Product Launch Review

By Electra Ford  |   Submitted On April 26, 2015

  

Product launches require much time and resources to release successfully. After the work is performed, and the product is released, the work on the product continues. The next step is to review and track the product's performance. Product launch assessments post-launches are valuable because they demonstrate how well the marketing campaign promoted the product and the creation's ability to serve its target audience.

Although the steps of testing and pre-launch are standard in the product development process, it does not always guarantee the product will meet your sales projections. The post-launch helps you compare expected to the actual return. Reviewing live data can help you see where marketing actions or product development can be improved to reach or surpass your anticipated goals. Another important part of the post launch review is to accumulate more affirming data for the next launch.

When your launch is successful, and you are selling an evergreen product or service, you will probably re-launch it in the future. The post-launch helps you to add to your testimonials and data to give social proof that your product does what you say it will. While you gather testimonials in the testing phase of the development process, the more data you collect can help the product sell itself. The post launch review includes:

1. tracking the marketing campaign's performance
2. collect social proof from happy customers
3. confirm customer service channels were responsive and solved issues promptly

The other vital section of the evaluation process is to track the performance of your customer service response to issues. In a product launch, everyone is busy with his or her assignments and excited. However, it is crucial to have staff available to take calls, respond to emails, tweets and Facebook posts regarding problems they are having purchasing the product. The last thing you want as a developer is to have a product available, and consumers cannot buy.

The customer service section is the only part of the launch process that is tested live. You can do a practice run but until you release the product, you will not know how well you are prepared to handle unexpected situations. It is accepted that technology can and does have its unforeseen issues that we all have to deal with when they occur. However, customer service is perceived to be in the company's control. "Why are they not answering the phone or responding to my email?" The aim is to minimize this type customer frustration as much as possible.

The product launch post review helps you to monitor your performance and confirm you met your sales goals. Performing this evaluation after your product is released, will help you structure future product releases by creating better projections, improving marketing and customer service planning for your launches.

Electra Ford is an online marketing strategist that helps business get noticed on the Internet. She specializes in online marketing plans that connect entrepreneurs, companies and organizations with their audience to get traffic to their websites and make qualified connections. For more details on this topic visit, http://www.virtualofficecenter.net/product-launch-marketing/post-launch-reviews/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Electra_Ford/73465

So… How Do You Get More Traffic?

Suppose you own a store that sells DVDs.

You could have the best collection of DVDs in the world. But if no one comes to your store to look at them, who cares?

Your business is going nowhere.

Same principle applies to an online business: you need “visitors” on your website.

You may have the flashiest, trendiest website in the whole wide web. You may have some killer product with a killer guarantee and first-rate customer service. But if no one even VISITS your website, you’re done for.

You need visitors. Traffic. And the more the better.

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Creating a Facebook Ad? Implement These Call to Action Tips

By Peg McDermott  |   Submitted On December 03, 2014

  

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Anybody with a little bit of time and a few dollars can create a Facebook ad and run a campaign. Not everybody has what it takes to create an ad that generates clicks and converts these people into buyers.

When creating a Facebook ad, regardless of your company size or industry, the call to action is one of the most important factors. If your ad is boring and unattractive, you can't expect it to receive a high click through rate. On the other hand, if you implement a killer call to action, you may be surprised at how much traffic you drive.

Here are three call to action tips that can take your mediocre ad and turn it into something much more powerful:

1. Use at least one "action" keyword. A Facebook page is full of content and images, so your ad has to stand out in the crowd. By using an action keyword, you are telling your audience that you have something special to offer. You are telling them to take action now if they want to take advantage.
   
   Some of the best action keywords include: save, discount, book now, sign up today, order now, try, and subscribe.
   
   You can build off of these, based on your particular industry and offering, to create an even more powerful message. For example, if you are pushing a weight loss product, you could use a phrase such as "lose weight today" or "lose weight faster."


2. Don't beat around the bush. You only have so much time to grab the attention of your audience and convince them to click through.
   
   Don't make people read through your ad to find out what you want them to do. Instead, the call to action should be displayed in a prominent and powerful location. If your audience can identify the call to action at a glance, while also understanding what it means to them, you have reached your goal.


3. Ask a question. This is one of the best ways to engage your audience. Not only does a question draw people in, but it can improve your click through rate as they will be interested in learning the answer.
   
   Note: if asking a question, keep it short and sweet.

With these three call to action tips, you will find yourself taking a different approach when creating Facebook ads. Subsequently, you may also find that your campaign is generating better results.

Peg McDermott is an award-winning marketing communications expert,Internet marketing specialist, and public speaker. Peg is the founder and president of COGO Interactive, an innovative Internet Marketing firm specializing in helping small to mid-sized businesses increase revenue and awareness by leveraging Social Media Marketing and Search Engine Optimization.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Peg_McDermott/661777