If your homepage simply features a list of your latest blog posts, you’re making a big mistake.

It’s important to get your homepage right because it’s going to be one of the most viewed pages on your blog, but people don’t view it in the way that you’d think.

Who Visits the Homepage?

Before you decide what to put on your homepage, you need to understand who views your homepage and how they got there.

First-Time Visitors

You likely think that your homepage is the first page of your website that somebody sees. That’s probably not the case.

The only way your homepage will be the first viewed page is if another site links to your homepage, if someone tells somebody to go to www., or if you have a well-known brand.

On my blog, 14clicks, only 3.9% of my traffic starts on the homepage.

Second-Page Clickers

What’s more likely is that someone will first see a blog post, then click over to see the homepage. This person has already interacted with your site and they’re curious enough to click over to the homepage.

On 14clicks, the homepage accounts for 28.1% of the second-page traffic, which is 3.6 times more than any other page.

Returning Visitors

If someone found your site once, liked it, and wants to go back to it, they’ll do one of two things.

One, they’ll go directly to the domain. Two, they’ll search for the name of your site. In either case, returning visitors will probably start on the homepage.

On 14clicks, 58% of the homepage traffic comes from people typing in the domain directly or from Google (with some variation of “14 clicks” being 5 of the 6 most popular keywords).

In general, people find your site through a blog post. If they like the post, they’ll click to the homepage. If they return, they probably start on the homepage. Therefore, most people who see your homepage have already interacted with your blog and you need to adjust your content accordingly.

Your Homepage Needs to Answer Their First Question

“Why should I stick around?”

To answer that question, you need to communicate what your site is and who it’s for.

Eye-Catching and Concise Headline

The headline should be the first thing a new visitor sees. It needs to answer the question, “what are the benefits to me personally if I cruise around this blog?”

Put your headline front-and-center so it’s first thing someone sees when they visit your homepage.

Eye-Catching Image or Video

On the side of or below your headline, you need to put an eye-catching, trust-building, benefit-depicting image or video.

The purpose of this image/video is to elicit a positive emotional response while visually communicating what your site is all about. If you have a personal branding blog or a company that’s tied closely to your personality, put a photo of yourself on your homepage to build trust.

Good Example: JustCreative.com

Jacob Cass has a picture of himself and his headline featured above the fold. He also uses his headline to direct people to his portfolio and blog.

Tell People What You Want them To Do

After you tell people why they should stay on your blog, you need to tell them what to do next. Underneath your headline and image, put your call to action. This could be one of four things depending on the purpose and goal of your blog.

Request a Quote

If you have a service-based business and you want to use your blog to collect leads, the homepage is a great place to put a button or a link to your contact page.

Subscribe

If the goal of your blog is to get email subscribers, put an opt-in box at the top of your homepage.

If you’re worried that the opt-in box will annoy your existing readers, don’t be. In the same way that you tend to gloss over ads, once they’re subscribed, they’ll subconsciously scroll past it to the content.

Register or Login

If you have a membership site and your number one goal is to turn readers into users, place two buttons as your call to action: “Register” and “Login.”

Purchase Something

If you want to skip the whole email marketing step and go directly for the sale, not what I’d recommend, then you can make the homepage call to action “See Our Featured Product” or “Shop.”

Good Example: SocialTriggers.com

The sole purpose of Derek Halpern’s site is to turn readers into subscribers. So he puts opt-in boxes everywhere, including at the top of his homepage.

Add Credibility and Social Proof

Once a visitor knows how you can help them and what you want them to do, it’s up to them to make that decision. The best way to help them make that decision in your favor is to demonstrate your credibility through social proof.

Social or Subscriber Counts

People are a lot more likely to subscribe if they know that lots of other people are already subscribed.

If you have more than 1,000 subscribers, show that number directly below your call-to-action. If you don’t, you can show social proof with your number of monthly readers, Twitter followers, or Facebook fans. If none of those numbers are over 1,000, you need to get to work.

Show a Testimonial, Preferably from a Well-Known Source

Another way to build credibility is to feature someone else’s opinion of you and your blog. Ask your most active readers to give you a testimonial and tell them that you’re going to put it on the homepage.

What’s even more powerful is a testimonial from someone who everyone knows. This builds authority by association. But don’t coerce testimonials from people who wouldn’t otherwise read your site.

Press or Customer Logos

If you’ve gotten a lot of press or have worked with well-known brands, put their logos on your homepage. Again, this builds authority by association.

I’m torn whether or not you should link the logos to the articles, though. On one hand, it could build your credibility even more if people read those articles. On the other hand, you’re driving people away from your site right as they’re about to take action. What do you think? Comment below.

Good Example: Conversion-Rate-Experts.com

Ben Jesson and Dr. Karl Blanks, from Conversion Rate Experts, have worked with the largest companies in the world and their blog has been featured on a number of prestigious media outlets. They make that clear with client logos and press logos (which aren’t linked, by the way).

Regularly Updated Content and Deep-Linking for SEO

From a search engine optimization perspective, there are two important things to consider with your homepage.

One, your homepage should update at least slightly when you post new content. Google likes to see fresh content. Two, every page on your site should be two-three clicks away from the homepage to make sure it gets completely indexed.

Links to Latest Blog Posts

New content on the homepage, even if it’s just the headlines, is important for search engines, but it’s also important for your readers. When people come back to your blog, they’re expecting to easily find your latest content.

This doesn’t mean that your blog needs to be on your homepage. You can choose to use a Recent Posts plugin to display the headlines and excerpts from your latest blog posts.

Deep-Linking and Sitemap Link in the Footer

The best way to make sure that every page on your site is within three clicks of the homepage is to subtly link to your category archives and sitemap in the footer.

This also helps from a usability standpoint if people are looking for posts on particular topics.

Good Example: IncomeDiary.com

As you see, Michael showcases the latest posts on the Income Diary homepage because his goal is for you to consume as much content as possible. The more blog posts you read, the more likely you are to subscribe and buy something from him. In the footer, he links to the sitemap, category archives, a few popular posts, and author archives.

The Final Word

Blogs are different from traditional, static websites because almost everyone who sees your homepage has already seen a different part of your blog.

It’s important to adjust the content of your homepage knowing that they’re already interested in what you have to say. Whether it’s leads, subscribers, or sales, the homepage is a great place to convert people to whatever goals that you set for your blog.

How does this help you see your homepage in a new light? What are you going to do about it?

Photo by: Stuck on Customs

This week has been full of interesting news and shakeups from The Avengers having a killer opening weekend to Facebook announcing it’s App Center.

There’s a ton to learn from here, so let’s just jump right in.

Marvel’s Avengers Shatter Box Office Records

News Article In Question: Mtv.com

The highly anticipated release of The Avengers brought in an estimated $ 200 Million in it’s opening weekend in the U.S.

This breaks the record previously held by Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 which made $ 169.2 Million last year.

Marvel’s landmark comic book flick — which unites Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) against an otherworldly threat — became the fastest movie ever to reach $ 100 million, $ 150 million and $ 200 million at the box office. “The Avengers” also enjoyed the highest per-theater average ever for a nationwide release with $ 46,057 per theater.

Why This Is Important To You:

Well, if you’re a big superhero movie nerd like me, you’ll just be happy to see that the good guys win again.

The main lesson here is one of anticipation building, and successful JVing.

Since Marvel opened their own studio back in 2008 they have been building the anticipation for this movie for nearly 4 years.

The primary characters in this film have all headlined in their own successful films, and the cast is chock full of award winners and nominees. And while those movies are all good on their own merit, they’ve only acted as a smaller part of a larger strategy.

The success of this movie goes to show with the proper balance of planning and skillful execution, you can achieve great things.

Facebook Announces Opening “App Center” In A Few Weeks

Resource In Question: Information Week

According to InformationWeek.com, Facebook plans to open it’s own App store “to help make Facebook apps, Web apps, and mobile apps easier to find.”

The App Center will not only feature the likes of FarmVille, CityVille, Mafia Wars, and the thousands of other apps you want to hurt your friends for asking you to play, but also paid apps.

Facebook also mentions they will proudly feature well designed “engaging” apps on the App Center’s main page, which is something that iTunes has not offered so freely.

Why This Is Important To You: 

If you’re an app developer, this is a great time to get in on the ground floor for this new App Repository.

No Facebook apps aren’t anything new, but having the chance at being showcased in front of 900 million people worldwide is pretty promising. A good traffic driving strategy should get you there.

If you’re not an app developer, this (and other news you’ll see in a second) signals the beginning of Social Media 3.0 where new media formats become a bigger part of our online experience.

Now for me, this is just wishful thinking, but what if this is just a stepping stone to Facebook renting movies (ala Itunes). With it’s existing Skype integration, it’s possible that we could start watching movies & tv with friends without ever leaving the social network.

Google + Rolls Out “Hangouts – On Air”

Resource In Question: PC World

By now, many of us are familiar with the ever popular Google Hangouts, which let’s you chat, draw, edit docs and a number of other things all while live streaming your webcam with up to 9 other friends.

The “On Air” portion of Hangouts, allows you to broadcast that hangout to your Google+ stream, Youtube account, and embed it on your website.

“On Air” will also record and upload the hangout to your Youtube account automatically.

Why This Is Important To You:

This represents a much deeper level of engagement than previously possible on a social network.

I want to encourage you to look into how you can develop some sort of programming that can take advantage of this new technology.

If you cook, start cooking and answering questions On Air. If you’re friends with other people in your field, start a friendly public debate show On Air. If you’re in a band, get each of your members to play over webcam while streaming to your fans, then submit it to Mashable, say first ever Hangout Band Practice, and become a viral sensation.

Really, find any way you can to use this, because it truly is the future of social networking.

Facebook Introduces File Sharing

News Source In Question: Mashable

As of Thursday, File sharing is going to be rolled out across Facebook “Groups” platform.

This is likely a response to Google’s Drive roll out from two weeks ago, but it doesn’t really matter, as it has been one of the most requested features since the new groups were introduced.

Users can upload most file types up to 25MB — the same file size limit as Gmail. The exceptions: music files (sorry, old-school Napster fans) and executable (.exe) files (sorry, hackers). But e-books, comics, music videos and other small movies are fair game.

Why This Is Important To You:

Facebook groups are great for building customer loyalty. By leveraging the ability to share multiple file types, you’ll be able to offer “group exclusive” bonuses in a very easy way.

For example, you could start your own membership site within Facebook, and upload .pdf worksheets. If your community is more visually minded, you could host video files, and encourage your group members to remix the work.

Or, if you’re using groups for more work oriented type projects, you can have your group have one central location for all relevant files (instead of having to email everything constantly)

Twitter May Be Working on Email Expansion

News Article In Question: Mashable

Back in January, Twitter acquired Summify, a service that will email you top stories based on what your friends are sharing.

Yesterday, they also acquired RestEngine, a company that basically hyper segments your email lists based on Social Graph Data.

If 1+1=2 than it could be that Twitter is looking to put together a “tweets you may have missed” email platform to drive more engagement back into the site, and making itself even more valuable as a content distribution network.

Why This Is Important To You:

Online marketers have been saying for quite some time that your primary focus needs to be on email list building.

If Twitter truly is building an email platform that will highlight users best tweets, they’re going to do the hard work when it comes to getting your content in front of people who very well may have been interested, they just weren’t on at the exact hyper second you decided to tweet.

Facebook Tests “Highlight”

News Article In Question: Techcrunch

Facebook has recently started testing a feature called Highlight which will allow users, (not pages, or apps) to pay a nominal fee for “pinned” placement in the News Feed. The reason, most people only see about 12% of the total activity going on within Facebook.

This test comes as a result of trying to find more ways to monetize the platform before the company goes public.

News sources wonder if the social network is “playing with fire” with highlight as it runs a very big risk of being abused by your attention starved “friends” and unsaavy business owners.

Why This Is Important To You:

If you (or someone you know) is a part of this test group, there is the potential for “Feedjacking”.

If you’re one of the people who does get to test out this new feature, I would just like to caution you to make sure what you’re promoting is not entirely self serving, and genuinely deserves to be seen by more of your friends. Something like “ZOMG CHECK OUT MY NEW POST” probably is not going to go over well with your friends.

The Best And Worst Times To Share On Facebook, Twitter

News Article In Question: Mashable

Want your link to get the most traction on Twitter? Post it on a Monday between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET.

Long story short, popular link shortner bit.ly has released a report that shares their data on the best (and worst) times to share links on the worlds most popular social networks.

Why This Is Important To You:

Do I really need to explain?

Bing’s Redesign “Declutters” Search And Puts Social Context in the Side Bar

News Article In Question: Techcrunch

Last week we reported on Bing doing a major overhaul on their search interface in response to the public dissatisfaction of Google’s heavy (and annoying) integration of Google+ into their search results.

This week, they’re starting to roll out an even cleaner, more robust search result page by displaying pure algorythmic results on the left, contextual results in the middle, and social recommendations on the right.

Bing is attempting (and doing a good job of) showing that it’s focus on user experience is more important than pushing it’s social network in your face.

If Bing is able to keep this up, it’s possible they can slowly pick at Google’s market share, and become a real contender in search. (Also, they have a rewards program for using their search engine, which is pretty cool)

Why This Is Important To You:

Two reasons:

Reason 1: Microsoft is really capitalizing on Google’s falters, and if more people start switching to Bing as their default search engine (I have) you can have an early mover advantage by re-optimizing for Bing (pure crazy talk I know)

While there are no definitive guides out there yet, many of the factors that seem to place more focus in a round about way the way a page might be viewed by users.

Reason 2: Microsoft invests in Facebook. Facebook already has some Bing integration. Facebook has been working on a social search engine for at least two months. *ahem* and the team is being lead by a former Google engineer…

If Bing’s redesign a part of a much larger master stroke that the public isn’t aware of yet, we’re about to witness the rise of semantic search, which means the more “likable” your content is, the better off you’re going to be.

Google Quietly Launches Google Offers in U.S

News Article In Question: Google Blog

Android Users in the U.S will now be able to enjoy Groupon-esque offers integrated directly into Google Maps on their phones.

Some Google Offers can be purchased and saved for later while others are immediately available for free. With free Google Offers, press “Use now” to redeem instantly or “Save for later” for future use. You can also opt-in to receive notifications in the app when there are offers near you.

Why This Is Important To You:

If you’re a business owner in a brick and mortar location, or you have a client that is, you will want to sign up for this immediately.

This tech mash up is the perfect intersection of user intent and incentive. Where most people are using Google Maps to find a place like a local shop, or restaurant, giving them further incentive to want to check you out is perfect for instant loyalty.

In our own businesses, we should always be looking for ways to engineer a little pleasant surprise for our would be customers.

How Eli Broad Works 24/7 And Still Gets 8 Hours of Sleep Every Night

News Article In Question: Fast Company

Eli Broad, a philanthropist and founder of Kaufman and Broad, a Fortune 500 home building company, shares his thoughts on how he’s been able to prioritize his time and enjoy life as a business and family man.

Thinking that everything is important, that every request from other people has to be answered with a yes, will make 24 hours seem inadequate. In fact, there are very few things that you truly have to do. This category should include only the things that make you run–the things you couldn’t live or work without. Nothing else comes close to being crucial.

Why This Is Important To You:

If you’re like me (who’s finishing this article up at 4:58 am), time is always eluding you. Even putting in 14-16-18 hour days sometimes isn’t enough.

This is not a good way to live, and while the pursuit of making money online is cool, so is working only on the important things that move you towards your goals, and ultimately, being able to spend time doing what it is that you love (like family).

This wraps up this week’s internet news.

Was there a story that stood out to you this week? Something here you’d like to discuss further?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Have a great weekend.

Since Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team in 2000, the team’s winning percentage has gone from 40% to 69% and in 2011 the Mavericks won their first ever NBA championship.

Cuban also has a winning record in business. Born into a working class family, Mark became a billionaire by starting and selling tech companies such as MicroSolutions and Broadcast.com.

Keep reading for ten winning lessons from Cuban’s $ 2.3 billion success.

#1 Get Paid to Learn

Cuban paid his way through school any way he could. He worked as a disco instructor, party promoter, and even started a chain letter that earned about $ 1,100.

After graduating from business school, he didn’t stop learning:

If your career or business isn’t yet what you want it to be, adopt Cuban’s attitude and think of it as an opportunity to continue your education. One day you’ll be able to use what you learn to accomplish your ultimate goals.

#2 Visualize Your Success

In 1982, Cuban moved to Dallas, Texas and got a job as a bartender. What he really wanted to do was run his own business and retire by the age of 30. He told himself that he would do it “every day.”

After getting fired from his jobs as a salesperson at Your Business Software, Cuban decided the time was right to pursue his dream. He started his own software selling company, MicroSolutions, which he sold in 1990 for $ 6 million.

At the age of 32, Cuban was a millionaire who could afford to live in the big houses that he used to drive by as a down-on-his-luck bartender. More importantly, he was living the life of his dreams.

#3 Effort is the Only Requirement

Three years after starting MicroSolutions, business was good. Cuban was set to earn $ 60,000 that year and he was only 27 years old.

Even though he felt successful, Cuban saw major room for improvement. The PC industry was in a slump and local area networks had yet to take off like MicroSolutions had hoped. Cuban’s solution was to “recommit to getting up early, staying up late and consuming everything [he] possibly could to get an edge.”

The behavior of your industry, your clients, and your competitors is mostly outside of your hands. It’s pointless to become frustrated with things that you can’t control. Instead, focus on maximizing your effort.

#4 Sell High

In 1995, a few years after selling MicroSolutions, Cuban decided to help Chris Jaeb and Todd Wagner launch AudioNet, an Internet radio company that would soon be rebranded to Broadcast.com. Cuban became a billionaire overnight when they sold the company to Yahoo! in 1999 for $ 5.9 billion in stock.

With all the buzz building around Internet companies, it was the perfect time to sell. Just a year later, the dot-com bubble would burst and the perceived value of Broadcast.com would plummet.

Make sure you sell your company at the right time. Wait until the market is high for your industry in order to get the most money for your hard work.

#5 Diversify

After the sale of Broadcast.com, Cuban was left holding a huge chunk of Yahoo! stock. That stock that was not immune to the dot-com bubble either: it went from being traded at $ 118.75 a share in January 2000 to a measly $ 4.05 a share by September 2011.

Luckily for Cuban, he had already taken steps to diversify. Cuban explained to Fast Company Magazine:

The only way that Cuban was able to hold onto his fortune was by making sure all of his eggs weren’t in the same basket. After becoming a billionaire, Cuban immediately began spreading his wealth around in different industries: becoming the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Landmark Theatres, Magnolia Pictures, and the chairman of the HD cable network HDNet.

#6 Don’t Focus on Exit Strategy

Cuban has built his fortune by building successful companies and then selling them when the time is right. Even so, he insists that he’s always looking for a “cash-in-pocket strategy, not an exit strategy.” When Business Insider asked Cuban about how entrepreneurs should think about their exit strategies, he said:

The best exit strategy is to build a company with long-term, intrinsic value.

#7 Be a Loudmouth

I’ve written about the value of keeping your mouth shut and letting your actions speak for themselves. But Mark Cuban proves there are exceptions to this rule.

Cuban sometimes speaks first and thinks later – and the result is that he’s put his foot in his mouth more times than he can count. But while Cuban’s big mouth often gets him in hot water with the media, it also ensures that he gets “push back”:  a constant stream of reactions from the outside world. For Mark, the tradeoff is worth it.

If you’re natural tendency is to be a loudmouth, then you can benefit from embracing it. Just be ready to apologize.

#8 Get Free Press

Cuban has appeared as himself in TV shows like Entourage, The Colbert Report, and The Simpsons. He’s also had recurring roles on reality shows like Shark Tank and Dancing with the Stars.

Collectively, Cuban has reached tens of millions of Americans through these programs. That means greater awareness of Cuban and his personal brand – which ultimately can be leveraged to help Cuban’s business ventures.

#9 Know Your Business Better than Anyone

Cuban spends so much time researching his industries that he told TechCrunch, “I need a break because I spend so much time reading. If there’s something I get into, I won’t stop. I read a lot of industry trade publications for cable now.”

Cuban believes that, when it comes to creating a successful company, knowledge is power. His advice is simple, yet ambitious: “Know your business and industry better than anyone else in the world.”

#10 Do Something Different

As an angel investor, Cuban is always looking for companies that demonstrate a clear sense of market differentiation. In fact, he immediately dismisses any companies that aren’t carving out their own niche: “Wherever I see people doing something the way it’s always been done, the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be done, following the same old trends, well, that’s just a big red flag to me to go look somewhere else.”

If you want to repeat something that’s already been done, then you open a franchise. If you want to be a successful entrepreneur like Mark Cuban, you’ll have to do something different.

When you’re up on current events, you can capitalize on trends, and tie your topic in to some of the major events that are going on in the world around you.

As such, we here at Income Diary have decided to do a weekly “internet news” wrap up so you can keep up with current events in the online world.

What you’ll find below are the top 10 headlines in online news from this past week, and if applicable, a lesson that can be tied into your own business.

This is something very new for us, and we want it to be extremely valuable for you, so please be sure to give us your feedback and let us know if this is something you’d like us to continue doing!

Films as Startups: How Indie Producers Build Buzz

News Article In Question: Mashable.com

More and more indie filmmakers are taking the concept of Minimum Viable Product, and applying it to their films.

Gone are the days of shopping a script around Hollywood waiting to get the Green Light.

Instead, filmmakers will create bite-sized “teasers” to showcase the film’s premise, rally an audience through social media channels, then either seek crowd funding, or shop the film (& audience) to major backers.

While not mentioned in the article, this is exactly how Mortal Kombat Rebirth turned into the series Mortal Kombat Legacy (Nsfw)

Why This Is Important To You:

What this article really emphasizes is that you no longer need “permission” to create.

It also highlights the importance of having an audience. Traditionally, a movie budget is a huge risk, requiring a large upfront investment for production and marketing without guarentee anyone will enjoy the film.

However, when you build an audience first using a smaller budget/production, you can better estimate costs for the full feature, and discover if the project as a whole is viable.

Google Brings More Real-Time Coverage, Google+ Comments To Google News

News Article In Question: Techcrunch.com

Google has expanded real-time coverage to show what people in your circles, journalists, and the subjects of the stories have to say about the event.

As of right now, these updates are only available to the U.S version of Google News.

Why This Is Important To You:

For our U.S readers, this means Google News is making itself extremely relevant as a research source for current events that can be tied into your blog.

The amount of time you’ll have to spend “digging” for various viewpoints surrounding a topic will be reduced significantly. You’ll can also add more context to your stories by incorporating the different viewpoints surrounding the topic.

Kickstarter Project Turns the Ipad into Apple’s first Touch Screen Laptop

News Article In Question: Fastcompany.com

Short version – Brydge turns your ipad into a touchscreen laptop.

Long version – The founders of Brydge saw a very large gap in the “Ipad keyboard” space stating:

“…when it comes to the iPad it felt like every keyboard or case is made from cheap materials, didn’t offer any range of iPad positioning or completely covered the entire iPad. Brydge was designed to complement the iPad, to improve productivity and enjoyment of the device…

Because it’s made of aluminum, the costs to manufacture Brydge are high–we turned to Kickstarter to raise the necessary capital to do manufacturing run. We also wanted to test the market and see if there was room for a high-quality aluminum keyboard.”

They raised over $ 400,000 in seed money by crowdfunding through Kickstarter.

Why This Is Important To You:

This is another example of people finding a gap, testing their idea, building a group of supporters and getting funded.

Something worth noting however is that their promotional video was extremely well produced, and positioned the product perfectly. This is very important because it shows their potential investors they take their idea seriously, not just pitching a concept from a grainy webcam.

Google Opens Startup Incubator in London

News Article In Question: Google’s Blog

The Internet accounts for 8% of the U.K’s Economy, which is why this partnership between Google, Central Working, Tech Hub, Seedcamp and Springboard, makes perfect sense.

Campus’ 7 story facility has been designed to nurture the startup community in London.

It will provide startups with workspace in an energizing environment and will also host daily events for and with the community. We will run a regular speaker series, alongside lectures and programing, as well as provide mentorship and training from local Google teams.

The co-working space will also feature free wifi and a Google cafe.

Why This Is Important To You:

If you’re in London, you’ll want to get in on this while it’s still early, I can only imagine the sort of relationships that will be formed in a Google owned co-working space.

If you’re not in London however, and you’re still working from home, you should really look to see what’s available for co-working spaces around you.

As someone who has done the “working from home” to “working at the office” transition, I can honestly tell you, being around other motivated business owners every single day helps keep you motivated, and creates valuable connections that you just can’t get when you’re working from home.

Bing Strips Down Search Results, Make’s Google Look “Overloaded”

News Article In Question: Techcrunch

If you can’t beat your competition with technology, you surly can beat them on usability.

At least that’s the philosophy behind Bing’s new redesign, which takes a much more minimalist and streamlined approach.

With Google’s rollout of “Search Plus Your World” and heavy focus of Google+ integration, Google Search feels, dare I say it Cluttered.

Here’s a 30,000 foot view of both engines showing the same search for Make Money Online.

While this particular search doesn’t show all of the different “integrated” properties like video, posts from your friends, images, etc… You can still see a very distinct difference between the two search results.

With many people complaining about the aesthetic of Google’s Search, a redesign was a very smart move on Bing’s part. With a cleaner interface and integration with people’s preferred social network, this could be the beginning of something very good for Bing.

Why This Is Important To You:

You might not be able to compete on the exact same terms, but if you’re doing your due diligence with your competitive analysis, you can improve where they are weak, and chip away at their customer base.

Also, timing is everything.

Facebook Let’s You Share Your Organs

News Article In Question: Facebook’s Blog

With the world’s largest social network pushing 1 billion users, they’ve decided to leverage their massive reach for social good.

Today, more than 114,000 people in the United States, and millions more around the globe, are waiting for the heart, kidney or liver transplant that will save their lives. Many of those people – an average of 18 people per day – will die waiting, because there simply aren’t enough organ donors to meet the need. Medical experts believe that broader awareness about organ donation could go a long way toward solving this crisis.

Not only do they allow you to share your Organ Donation status, but for U.S users, you can also Register to Become an Organ Donor right in the platform.

Why This Is Important To You:

Aside from the obvious (if you’re in need of an organ), participating in – or creating your own – social good campaigns gives you a non “self-serving” cause to champion.

Pinstagram! How Two Friends Merged Pinterest and Instagram in Two Days

News Article In Question: Mashable.com

Yes, you read that right… Pinstagram. 

For 2012 Doomsday naysayers, this surely has to be a sign, right?

All kidding aside though, Pinstagram takes everything you love about taking photos with Instagram and mashes up the “waterfall layout” of Pinterest to create a visually appealing design for the desktop.

Why This Is Important To You: 

This again is another example of a creation that came about from a gap in the market.

Pek Pongpaet and Brandon Leonardo, Pinstagram’s creators, were displeased with the lack of a desktop interface for Instagram, and thought there to be a real need. So far, their users agree.

Also, this is a great demonstration of a Mashup – using two popular platforms and leveraging other’s success, to create their own fame.

What “platforms” (ideas or technology) could you Mashup?

Google Pledges $ 200 Million to Market Premium YouTube Channels

News Article In Question: Mashable.com

In case you missed it, back in October Google & Youtube invested $ 100 Million Dollars (insert Dr. Evil Laugh Here) to create a whole slew of Premium Content Channels.

These channels include premium content from Youtube celebrities like MysteryGuitarMan and real celebrities like Ashton Kutcher, Tony Hawk, Shaq, and plenty others. Branded channels like Redbull, Slate, The Onion, are only among the few in this ever growing lineup.

Now that you’re caught up…

Google just pledged another $ 200 Million Dollars to market said premium channels.

Marketing will take place across Google’s Display Network, Youtube, and other branded channels. The goal is to better monetize Youtube, and have more enticing content for both users and Advertisers.

Why This Is Important To You: 

As more people are ditching their cable packages, and television networks are losing their advertising dollars, this could mark the beginning of a New Television.

While I could write 2,000 words on that subject alone, what’s really important here is many of the “premium” channels in this new lineup are run by YouTube ”partners”, all of whom started their channel with 0 views and subscribers.

This just goes to show when you focus on quality and building an audience who enjoys your work, you can be a part of something much bigger than you ever imagined.

Google Drive Launches… Google offer’s cloud storage across multiple properties

News Article In Question: Google Blog

Technically last week’s news, but hey, it’s still important.

Google Drive brings together many Google services—documents, spreadsheets, images and more—all in one place so you can easily create, collaborate, and share in real-time.

This description only scratches the surface of what the G-Drive is capable of. For starters, images that are saved in Google Drive can be brought up instantly in Google+. It also saves everything you’re working on automatically, and revisions can be tracked as far back as 30 days. It can also view up to 30 different file types right in the browser, even if you don’t have the original software. For a full list of features, Click Here

Also, storage with Google Drive is less expensive than most other cloud solutions.

Why This Is Important To You:

Location is increasingly less of a restraint when it comes to collaborative projects.

Using the cloud, you can work with anyone in the world without needing to send attachements, revisions, and the like back and fourth, so you can focus on what matters most, your productivity.

Facebook Announces IPO Price at Valuation of $ 96 Billion

News Article In Question: Business Week

We anticipate that the initial public offering price will be between $ 28.00 and $ 35.00 per share.”

Facebook being valued at $ 96 billion dollars makes the social network the most valuable U.S Internet Company at the time of IPO of all time.

The previous record, held by Google, was valued at $ 23 Billion when it went public.

Facebook being worth $ 96 Billion at the time of it’s IPO is significant, because according to this Google is currently worth 158.06B.

Google is 14 years old – Facebook is 8.

Why This Is Important To You:

The Social Network is going public with only a 62 billion dollar gap between it and it’s number one competitor.

This means 3 things.

1. “Social” and “The human algorithm” very clearly has a ton of value. We no longer find the news, the news finds us.
2. Timing is everything. Mark Zuckerberg said “no” to going public for a number of years. Knowing when the right time to execute is critical for the long term health of your business.
3. If you’re a person who likes investing, you should probably get your hands on Facebook stock now while it’s between $ 28 and $ 35. Google now trades at over $ 600/share just to put it in perspective

This wraps up this week’s internet news.

Because this is something new that we’re doing, let us know if you liked the format. Did you like the “Why this is important?” We want to make this the best blog for you as possible, so your feedback on new features like this is very welcomed.

2012 is proving that viral videos can be much more than clips of cats, cute babies, and people hurting themselves in funny ways. They can launch companies and movements.

But while many websites try to manufacture viral videos to promote their business, nearly all fall short of their million-view expectations. It isn’t just a matter of luck: there’s a science behind social video marketing.

Below I take a look at the three biggest viral video sensations of 2012 (so far) and break down exactly how their view counts exploded.

A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE

In order to help launch their television network in Belgium, TNT turned to the ad agency Duval Guillaume. Since TNT’s forte is drama, Duval Guillaume devised something dramatic for a YouTube video — and the resulting video shot to the top of the charts (14 million views in its first three days).

How “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE” Went Viral:

It Strikes Your Curiosity Early

Within the first ten seconds of the video, every person watching has a burning question on his or her mind: what happens when you press the button?

Nearly eight years of video content is uploaded to YouTube every day, so it’s absolutely essential that a video grab the viewer’s attention before they decide to watch something else.

It Uses Real People and Real-Life Footage

The best part of “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE” isn’t the fast-paced stunt work. It’s watching the expressions on the faces of the normal, everyday citizens who just so happened to press the drama button. Watching them go from curiosity, to horror, and finally to delight is truly a sight to behold.

Having watched thousands of advertisements with paid actors and scripted dialogue, it’s refreshing when a video shows honest, unfiltered reactions. Of course, real-life footage is best when the reactions are to public shootouts and scantily clad women speeding by on motorcycles.

It’s Cross-Cultural

While TNT was just trying to target Belgium with “A DRAMATIC SURPRISE”, the appeal of the video is worldwide. Anybody can appreciate the wonder of watching extraordinary drama unfold in an otherwise very ordinary square. The language barrier is minimal, as no words are spoken throughout the entire sequence.

This universality means that the video has been viewed all over the world, becoming the day’s most watched YouTube videos in countries as diverse as South Korea, South Africa, and Sweden. The more global a video is, the better its potential to break out into the stratosphere of YouTube views. This is especially valuable for an international brand like TNT.

The Result:

Just three weeks after the video’s release, we don’t know how effective this promotion has been in getting more subscribers to TNT’s Flemish channel. But with over 30 million views already, it’s safe to say the campaign has been a dramatic success.

DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great

On March 6, 2012 a little-known startup called DollarShaveClub.com quietly uploaded a promotional video to YouTube. The short video starred the CEO and founder of the company, Michael Durbin, and cost about $ 4500 to produce.

Four days later, on March 10, the video had been viewed over two million times – and overnight it transformed DollarShaveClub.com from a struggling upstart into a profitable business.

How Dollar Shave Club went Viral:

It Stayed Short

Television commercials are usually 30 seconds long. YouTube videos can be as long as you want.

But longer isn’t always better – especially when it comes to viral marketing. In today’s fast-moving Internet landscape, five minutes seems like a long time to sit and watch a video.

DollarShaveClub.com got the length just right with their video. Clocking in at about a minute and a half, the video is short enough to be viewed casually but long enough to convey a complete message.

It Made People Laugh

People share funny stuff online because everybody likes to laugh. The funnier a video is, the more likely it will go viral. Another reason humor is important is because it contributes to trust and likeability, both huge factors in sales.

The Dollar Shave Club video is hilarious but – even more impressively – it manages to be hilarious while still delivering an effective sales pitch. Watch carefully and you’ll notice that in each joke Durbin is illustrating a feature, advantage, benefit, or overcoming a possible objection.

You might be wondering why a CEO like Michael Durbin is so funny. The answer is that he honed his comedic chops performing improv and sketch comedy with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

It Took Risks

Michael Durbin probably “should have” made a more traditional, safe video for his beloved startup. Instead, he decided dance with a leaf blower next to a guy in a bear suit and a warehouse employee named Alejandro.

After watching the finished product, it’s obvious that Durbin made the right decision. But if he hadn’t been willing to risk making a fool of himself, you probably wouldn’t know what Dollar Shave Club was.

It Got Noticed

Within 24 hours of being posted, “DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades Are F***ing Great” was the number one trending topic on Reddit.

That same day, the video was featured in articles on a host of sites, including TechCrunch and Mashable. The Mashable article, titled “Is This the Best Startup Launch Video Ever?”, has received over 7,000 combined Tweets and Likes.

It isn’t just a happy accident that the video got all of this attention. It’s simply the result of an original, hilarious, and otherwise remarkable video.

The Result:

The day “DollarShaveClub.com – Our Blades are F***ing Great” was released, 5,000 people subscribed to get razors delivered to their door every month. That’s amazing. But it’s even more amazing when you know that the website was crashing all day long from too much traffic.

Today, the video has about 4.5 million views and Durbin is no longer revealing the number of people subscribed to his service (though we know it’s at least 12,000). Another video is planned for this Father’s Day.

Kony 2012

Invisible Children posted a video called “Kony 2012” on their YouTube channel on March 5, 2012 and in that moment the world of online video changed forever.

Six days later, the 30 minute video had already amassed 100 million views on YouTube (the fastest ever). “Kony 2012” isn’t just the most viral video of 2012. It’s the most viral video of all time.

How KONY 2012 Went Viral:

It Started with an Existing Community

It seemed like “Kony 2012” came out of nowhere. But like most “overnight successes”, the video’s popularity was actually years in the making. Director Jason Russell and Invisible Children had already strung together several successful Kony awareness campaigns. These included high schools assemblies, public demonstrations, and even the support of Oprah Winfrey.

So when the video launched, there was already a large and receptive community ready to watch it and click ‘share’. This is how “Kony 2012” got 66,000 views in its first day.

It Blew Up thanks to Tweeting Celebrities

Twitter has allowed celebrities to gain influence by amassing millions of followers. It has also given those millions of followers a small chance of influencing celebrities back.

“Kony 2012” took full advantage by encouraging viewers to reach out to 20 of the world’s most influential celebrities. This is what pushed the video over the edge: Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, and P Diddy all chimed on Twitter to support the #StopKony movement.

The biggest tweet came from Oprah Winfrey. On the day Oprah mentioned Kony to her 9.6 million Twitter followers, “Kony 2012” saw a 13,536% increase in views (about 9 million in total).

It Reached Critical Mass

Once “Kony 2012” started rolling, there was no stopping it. Kony was averaging about 1.3 million mentions on Twitter per day. Meanwhile, his name was at the top of every Facebook feed on the planet.

This lead to so many views, that the international media started paying attention – and writing cover stories on increasingly viral video. Invisible Children had officially reached their goal of making “Kony world news.”

Persuasive Techniques:

Below I’ll delve a little bit deeper into the exact methods that Jason Russell used to make “Kony 2012” one of the most persuasively potent short films of all time.

It’s Personal

“Kony 2012” is about a complex geopolitical problem. If that’s the way the video were framed, it would never have gotten more than a few million views.

Instead, Jason Russell lets us into his life and family. He shows us videos from his personal Facebook timeline. Then, when it’s time to show the struggle of Ugandan children, he doesn’t tell you about all of children, but rather one kid: Jacob.

It’s only by telling personal stories that the audience is able to make a personal connection with the video.

It Pulls at Your Heart Strings

“Kony 2012” starts out with some emotionally-charged scenes, like a child being rescued from a cave and a deaf person hearing for the first time. But the video goes straight for the heart when it shows a teenaged Jacob sobbing and saying he would rather be dead than continue living under the oppression of the Joseph Kony and the LRA.

When people feel an emotional connection with your video, they’re more likely to put their guard down and just listen. More importantly, the deeper connection they feel with the message will compel them to take action.

It Creates a Sense of Urgency

Once uploaded, a YouTube video is there forever. So, why does Jason Russell claim that the Kony 2012 video will “expire” on December 31^st 2012?

Any salesperson could tell you: people respond to deadlines. Invisible Children planted a seed of urgency in the mind of their viewer so they would be more likely to act immediately.

It Establishes Authority

Trust is hard to come by online, but it’s also essential if you want people to sit through a 30 minute video (and then share it at the end). Since people are socialized to trust authority, one way to help convince people to trust you is to establish yourself as an authority or borrow the authority of others.

“Kony 2012” does just that by panning over official documents and interviewing authoritative experts on the Joseph Kony (including the head prosecutor for the International Criminal Court and a several Ugandan politicians).

It Offers Social Proof

People trust other people more than they trust companies, organizations, and YouTube videos.

That’s why “Kony 2012” features so many shots of crowds of young people wearing their shirts and shouting their slogans. There’s also a brief clip where they show the 600,000+ fans that the movement had on Facebook.

The video also encourages viewers to order an “Action Pack” which includes two bracelets – one for the viewer and one for a friend. The extra bracelet gives everybody who orders the action pack an incentive to bring another person into the movement, thus doubling its effectiveness and encouraging all-important word of mouth.

If Provides a Clear Call to Action

Uncertainty usually leads to inaction. That’s why the last thirty seconds of “Kony 2012” give the viewer “three things you can do right now.”

The end of a video is the best time to let the audience know exactly what you want them to do.

The Result:

As of April 13, 2012, “Kony 2012” had surpassed 180 million views (including views on social networking sites) and garnered at least 3.6 million pledges to Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 campaign. The Invisible Children Facebook page has gone from a few hundred thousand likes to a few million.

On the other hand, the public’s enthusiasm for the cause has been largely short-lived and the campaign has met with a great deal of controversy (many argue that simply drawing attention to Joseph Kony actually hurts the cause).

Whatever your opinion, there’s no doubt that “Kony 2012” has set a new benchmark for what a viral YouTube video is capable of accomplishing.

What are the Common Threads?

At first glance, these three videos couldn’t be more different from one another. One is dramatic hidden camera footage. One’s a series of punch lines. And one is a 30 minute film dedicated to the capture of an international criminal.

But underneath the surface, the three videos share strong commonalities. They’re all engaging from start to finish. They’ve all got that a professional polish. Most of all, they’re all something that people can get behind, talk about, and share with one another.

After watching these three remarkable viral videos what common threads stand out to you?