A closer look at Twitter

PROFIT'S USEING SOCIAL MEDIA, (TWITTER)

COMPLIMENTARY SPECIAL REPORT:
Make Money Using Social Media

How To Collect 4 Steady Profit Streams Using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,
And Other Social Media Tools

Within 30 days, you can become a Social Media Expert and start earning as much as $300 per hour and $2,500 to $12,000 per month through social media consulting, plus a bonus passive income stream of $5,700 and more monthly. This complimentary Special Report shows you the four ways to make money using social media, and how to get started immediately.

From
Rebecca Matter, Co-Managing Partner at AWAI,
Founder of Wealthy Web Writer
and
Nick Usborne, Web Marketing Consultant to
Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Disney, and Author of AWAI's Money-Making Websites, Copywriting 2.0,
and Profitable Freelancing Programs

Here's what is in this Special Report …

Part One: The social media discovery that's rocking the business world – and rewriting the rules of freelancing right now (Don't miss this shift-change in business and freelancing, or within two years, you'll find yourself left behind and wondering what happened)

Part Two: Introducing the 4 steady profit streams you can collect using social media – and how to get started in 30 days or less, landing social media consulting contracts from $2,500 to as much as $12,000 or more per month (plus $300 per hour consulting gigs) – as well as grow a passive income stream of $5,700 and more every month from "playing" with social media

Part Three: Your shortest path to becoming a Social Media Expert – and maximizing the income you get from each profit stream (This turns off all the social media noise and hype – and shows you the clearest path to social media success)

Dear AWAI Member and Friend,

Social media is turning the business world on its head. No question about it.

Just take the stories from Part One of this report –

• In just a few short months, over 11 million people watched the YouTube video about how "United Breaks Guitars" – creating a public relations disaster for United Airlines and making every musician think twice about flying "the friendly skies"
• Comcast Cable rewrote their rules for customer service in response to Twitter complaints – and turned a potential disaster into high satisfaction among their most vocal customers
• 1800Flowers now even lets you shop directly from Facebook – generating direct sales using social media and reaching customers who may never visit their website

Social Media is changing everything about how business works online. Customer service. Sales. Marketing. Advertising. The rules are all being rewritten – with the customer driving much of the communication.

Companies refusing to play by the new rules are taking blows left and right. Those that adapt are gaining market share and raving fans.

Here's how this applies to you.

Clients have a new set of expectations for freelancers and web writers. You have to be social media savvy – not just web savvy. And yes, the rules are different here, too.

• If you can drive business results through social media, you have a huge opportunity to help clients create and manage their social media presence (some social media consultants are bringing in upwards of $10K a day just to teach social media to executives!)
• Want to add 10-25% or more in fees on your current web-writing contracts? Add social media to your list of services and you can quickly gain extra income from projects you're already doing
• Need more clients? Look no further than Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn – you find clients, clients find you, and you land gigs just by joining the conversation (many clients are now looking first – and sometimes only – to social media when they need help)
• Get high-quality web traffic – referrals can bring you the most ready-to-buy customers, and social media is a referral medium. You can add 50% more traffic to your website through social media – and see a similar bump in income for your Money-Making Websites and self-publishing projects (using the same skills you sell to clients!)

Parts Two and Three of this report show you how you can take advantage of these opportunities and start profiting using social media within the next 30 days.

By the time you're done reading:

1. You'll see the exact opportunity that social media is presenting now (and why learning social media today is as important as learning the Internet has been for the last 15 years – and especially the last five) …
2. You'll know the four ways you can start to create consistent profits using social media …
3. And, you'll have specific action steps you can take now to start collecting your fair share of the profits being made using social media

For help putting together this report, I turned to Nick Usborne, web marketing consultant to Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Disney, as well as author of AWAI's How to Write Your Own Money-Making Websites, Copywriting 2.0, and Profitable Freelancing programs. He's helped to identify the four opportunities web writers and freelancers have for making money using social media. And, at the end of this report, I'll show you how you can try Nick's new program on becoming a Social Media Expert, risk-free.

A brief note on How To Make Money As A Social Media Expert …

Nick Usborne's new How To Make Money As A Social Media Expert program is unlike any other social media course, program, or product out there. While other programs focus on how to use little tricks and tactics to accomplish one little goal with social media (how many hype-filled "make money on Twitter" courses are out there?!) … Nick's program is designed to give you the in-depth teaching and experience that will transform you into a true Social Media Expert who knows more than 90-95% of marketers today.

Beyond this, Nick uses his expertise as a web marketer, web writer, and in-the-trenches practitioner of the social media strategies he's teaching to show you how to make four separate profit streams using social media.

Because this program is well over 250 pages, there's far more on these opportunities than we can cover in this report.

As I said, I'll show you at the end of this report how you can get your hands on Nick's new program and give it a try. You'll get six full months to put it to work and start seeing results, or you get a prompt and courteous refund of your investment.

Of course, you're under no obligation by simply reading this report. Though if you decide at any time you'd like to try How To Make Money As A Social Media Expert, you can use the links in this report, or call Barb, Pat, Debbie, or Jacqueline in the AWAI Member Services Department toll-free at 1-866-879-2924 and let them know you'd like to try Nick's new program, and they'll take care of you.

One more thing before you dive in …

With Nick's help, I've packed a lot of "how to" value you can apply immediately into this report. Please take your time to read through it and get the most out of it. I look forward to hearing what you accomplish with this.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Matter
Co-Managing Partner, American Writers & Artists Inc.
Founder, Wealthy Web Writer
http://www.twitter.com/RebeccaMatter

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Make Money Using Social Media, Part One

The social media discovery that's rocking the business world …

Within two years, your freelance business will be dead or dying if you don't have a solid social media presence. Is this a drastic prediction? Perhaps.

But, take a look around at all the top copywriters and marketing gurus you know. How many of them have websites? Ten years ago, if you'd told them they'd need a website to keep their business afloat, they would have laughed at you! Now it's an essential part of their business strategy.

It's the same for all businesses.

First, take a look at the timeline for how fast websites became critical to business …

• Starting in the mid 1990s, the Internet became business-friendly and having a website made your business cutting-edge. (We can call this Phase 1)
• By the late 1990s, a website became another way to connect and communicate with your current customers. (Phase 2)
• In the early 2000s, customers and potential customers started turning to your website as a measure of whether you're a serious business or not – and websites became a real business advantage. (Phase 3)
• And, by the late 2000s until now, websites have become an essential part in any business strategy. (Phase 4)

Now, take a look at how much quicker this is happening with social media …

• While social media sites started popping up in earnest around 2003-2004, it wasn't until 2007 that they became business-friendly. At this point, advertising and setting up social media profiles for your business was cutting edge. (Phase 1)
• By 2008, social media became a powerful medium for connecting and communicating with your current customers. (Phase 2)
• Through 2009 and 2010 customers started to turn first to Facebook and other social media platforms to find your business – and if they could follow your competitor but not you, you risked losing a customer. Social media became a business advantage. (Phase 3)
• In 2011, social media became an essential part in any business strategy and it’s only going to become more necessary this year. (Phase 4)

Required Social Media For Freelancers

Where do you need to be seen in social media to grow a thriving freelance business? Bare minimum: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. If you're going to add social media services to what you're offering clients, your list gets longer.
In How To Make Money As A Social Media Expert, Nick Usborne covers this in much greater detail. But, beyond a simple presence (hint: opening an account is not enough), Nick shows some specific, proven ways to use these and other social media services to get clients for your freelance business.

• Who to follow, Like, and connect with in the social media world to grow your freelance biz
• Easily connect with your best prospects because of one big advantage social media offers
• The simple social event that turns prospects into clients for your freelance services (this has nothing to do with selling)

You also get a 1-2-3 process for growing your freelance biz using social media. Even if you only use social media to promote your freelance services, Nick's program is a smart investment.

Try it today, risk-free!

It took over 15 years for websites to become a "must-have" for business. Today, social media has hit Phase 4 and is a business essential.

As I ask around, I'm finding businesses – especially freelancers – without a social media presence are starting to be left behind. (Don't let this be you!)

It's no joke: at this point, your social media presence is as important as your website.

Sure, a lot of marketers and business people have tried dismissing social media as a fad that will eventually just go away. But, these are the same curmudgeons who made similar predictions about putting up a business website – and look where that got them.

In reality, social media is becoming deeper and deeper integrated into the entire Internet. The major search engines are now even using Twitter links, Facebook "Likes," and other social media buzz to determine where a particular page will show up in search engine rankings. It seems like every week news breaks on a new way that social media is being integrated into our lives.

Even then, what makes social media relevant to business?

For one, a large majority of consumers are social media users. 23.1 million teens and adults find new brands or products using social media, according to a 2011 study called, Social Media Now Influences Brand Perceptions, Purchase Decisions of 38 Million in U.S.

And, that is an increase of 22% from 2010, to a total of almost 61% – so we're quickly getting closer to 100% of Internet users being on social media.

And, while there are some age and gender trends (young adults, for example, are the heaviest users), the demographics of social media cover the entire spectrum.

And power users – people aged 20 to 29 years old spend more time than any other age group using social media. 41% of them use social media more than 11 hours a week. It's not uncommon for these heavy users to open Facebook and Twitter in the morning (or apps they use to access these services) and keep them open all day as their portal into the Internet (move over, Google!).

Beyond this, users expect businesses to be involved in social media, and reward businesses who are.

Even as early as 2008, research by Boston-based consulting firm Cone found that 93% of Americans believed a company should have a presence in social media. And, 56% believed companies provide a better service by interacting with customers through social media.

Make no mistake, social media has already become a business advantage.

15.1 million people refer to social media before making purchase decisions (according to Social Media Now Influences Brand Perceptions, Purchase Decisions of 38 Million in U.S.) – that’s up 29% from the 2010 The Faces Of Social Media study.

Other studies have found that a whopping 93% of Facebook users share their shopping suggestions with friends.

3 Ways To Collect Your Share Of The Billions Spent On Social Media

Want to cut off your own slice of the multi-billion dollar social media pie? Three of the top opportunities we've found are to:

1. Teach social media within a business
2. Consult with a business on strategy
3. Offer "do it for you" services

Businesses are actively seeking social media experts to do all three — and are willing to pay well for these services.
In How To Make Money As A Social Media Expert, you learn what businesses expect when they hire you for social media help, and how to exceed their highest expectations. And, you can try the program risk-free for six full months.

Try it today, risk-free!

And, this is just self-reported data – the real numbers are likely much higher. After all, I know I'm not a minority in checking out a company's article, blog post, or web page after they mentioned it on Facebook or Twitter – and I don't think twice about it. I'm sure many users are just like me.

Billions are being spent on social media – and it's increasing fast.

Smart businesses have quickly jumped on the social media bandwagon, and are spending in earnest to attract social media users as customers.

Total spending on advertising across social media networks was $1.40 billion in 2009, and came in at $1.99 billion in 2010, according to eMarketer.

In 2011, social media advertising spending broke through the $3 billion threshold – growing 55% in just 1 year.

And, they’re expecting spending on advertising to increase by 28% in 2012.

That's just for advertising.

Total social media spending – including employees, freelancers, consultants, and services – could be dramatically more as companies throw their weight behind social media initiatives.

At this point, we've found consultants making $10,000 a day simply to teach social media to corporate executives. There's no guarantee you can make this much – yet figures like these make it clear that the money being spent on social media is tremendous. (Of course, half that would still be a good day for most of us!)

All the numbers are well and good – and provide significant PROOF on the growth of social media – but what's going on at the ground level?

It's one thing to look at all the stats and see that billions are being spent, consultants are making thousands per day, and social media is becoming a standard part of the marketing mix.

But, what gets even better is when you start to see the actual impact social media is having on a case-by-case basis.

Slow-moving companies are getting eaten alive by social media – as you'll see in the United Airlines story. Others – like Comcast and 1800Flowers – see the business advantage of social media and are leveraging it to build their brand, keep customer satisfaction high, and even to make direct sales.

Business goals can be made or broken with social media. This discovery is rocking the business world. Let's look at how this is happening – then we'll look at how you can use this discovery to profit.