As much as we all love to read boring things (insert sarcasm here), in reality, that is not what most people are looking for online.  What makes people come back to your website can consist of just two things:  either your site is useful, or it is fun.  It is as simple as that.

As a webmaster though, one of your biggest goals is getting your visitor to add your site to their bookmarks - which would mean that they would potentially revisit your site.  When they do add your site to their bookmarks, it is a victory of sorts.  Some may even go as far as posting website ratings on social media sites - which would help to stir up more Internet buzz for your sites.

I don’t know about you, but I spend more time at fun websites than at useful ones.  In most cases, when I am sitting down at the computer, I am looking for a distraction or a way to wind down my day - I would rather not read something boring or dry.  So, I try to make my sites informative, yet fun, so that someone in my situation would find my site interesting and not pass it up for another.

To put it simply: engage your audience with a fun site - and watch the money come your way.

I had the chance to attend a real estate investing seminar on Monday.  It was a free event that was put on by the Rich Dad organization to help your think outside the box.

You see, most people are under the impression that the best life path is get an education, work, save for retirement, and retire at the ripe age of sixty five.  For most people this is their only choice because they don’t know any better, but there are alternatives.

I am not going to go into the other ways to make money, but I do want to suggest to you to attend a seminar if there is one in your town.  Just be careful to see what they are pitching to you, but at the same time, they are a great opportunity to meet and grow rich with others in your situation.  If you are in an environment with like minded and supportive people, you will have more success than if you are surrounded with negative people.

Rich or poor - the decision is up to you.  So what is your next choice?  I choose rich.

I contacted my website advisor yesterday about what I could do to further promote my site. He had many suggestions for me and I started to do some research on some various topics that he suggested to me.

I had heard about SEO services in the past, but was not exactly sure what they were or how to go about utilizing them. I looked it up and decided that maybe it was for me and that I would definitely give it a go.

I knew that keyword research was a big part of marketing your website and that more keywords would mean that you would probably make it into the higher rankings on a search engine.

I also went to some article sites to see how I could promote my site from other people’s blogs. My friend had done this and seen some incredible results. I wanted these results for myself. It may take a little time, but slowly, I will learn how to market myself.

Some might think that if you build a website that people will come visit it.  Perhaps the biggest thing that is misunderstood is that you need to do some link building to tell people that it is there before they will come in droves to your site.

How do you build links?

Well, the simple way would be to develop link building strategies and work on them on a daily basis.  This could be as simple as participating in some forums, or as elaborate as creating high value links through comments on blog posts.

The key here is to have a number of link building ideas in place and use them.  Though it would be nice to think that the links will just build themselves, we all know this isn’t true so you have to make an effort.  If you do, your site will become popular - isn’t that what we all want?

I was down at a local watch store today looking at watches.  One thing stood out when I walked into the store - there was a table in the back of the store that had the slogan "Win the Challenge, get a Free Watch".  Well, who can pass up a free watch, right?

So, I asked what I had to do.  The person behind the table told me that they had a series of three challenges for the customers to try out - and if they succeeded, they would win a free watch.

The first challenge was to pick out the one real watch from a table covered in replica watches.  I don’t know if they were trying to trick you, but the real watch was obvious - the other watches there were obviously watch replicas.

Strangely, the second test was a video game - where you had to shoot the right time shown on a clock.  No, it was not a digital clock, but instead one of those analog clocks (remember those??).

The last test was the hardest of them all.  You needed to find the Rolex replica watch out of just two watches - with one of them being the real one.  Now, this one was a little harder - but somehow I was lucky today and came out winning the replica Rolex.  Sure, it isn’t the real thing, but it sure looks nice - and I can’t complain about getting a free watch!

Every summer there is a big show in town - the Exhibition.  Now, this ends up being a combination of a fair and trade show.  It is the biggest event in town, and for the past few years I have had a table there to sell stainless steel jewelry.

At this time of year, I am already thinking about the Exhibition.  You see, I need to secure a shipment of jewelry for the event, and I want to make sure I get it.  I learned my lesson years ago when I waited to the last minute and missed out - I was unable to setup a table that year.

So I make sure to get an order into my wholesale stainless steel jewelry supplier before the end of January each year.  This way I am sure to get my order on time.

How did I find them?

A couple of years ago, I did a search for "stainless steel jewelry wholesale" and through trial and error, I managed to find a good supplier.  I hope this year goes just as smooth as the last - all the money I make during that week in summer pays for my summer vacation.

I just bought a house and am now having the great joy of being able to furnish it. I am definitely going to go with modern furniture. I love things that are clean and symmetrical and I think, for me, this is the way to go. My parents had always had retro furniture and I needed a big change.

I was not sure about finding much in the way of contemporary bedroom furniture, but I was pleasantly surprised at the choices that I was offered. My bedroom is all very modern and I think it looks great. In fact, it is one of my favorite rooms in the whole house.

The rest of the house will also be done in contemporary furniture and I am so excited to see the final product when I am able to complete my shopping and completely furnish my house from top to bottom. I am trying not to rush, but I can’t wait.

One of the best things that the Internet offers us is the ability to share our thought and opinions with others outside our sphere and influence.  This way you can both share and learn from other people’s experiences to better help you make an informed choice.

Unlike the "olden days" when you would wait to read product reviews in a magazine, you can look them up at three in the morning should you choose.  When you do find that thing you want to buy, you can check out the consumer reviews for your favorite online shop to see if people have had a good shopping experience there.

These reviews can apply to other areas as well.  For example, if your child wants to look at a particular website, you can check the website reviews and see what other parents have said.

In some respects it is this easy access to news and opinions online that shapes our choices more than traditional media ever did.

I am very thankful that our boss lets us use My Space, Face Book and those other social media sites at work - just while we are on our breaks.  It lets us keep up to date with family and friends and helps us from being overwhelmed when we get home.

But I know it is not like that for everyone.  Some workplaces block sites like My Space from their computers and don’t let you visit those sites.  But, if you ask me, that sure isn’t fair.  I can remember back in my college days having the same problems at those computer labs and we used a proxy website to get around their filters.

I did a quick search to find a Myspace proxy and found many results.  Seems that there must be many people that just want to visit the sites they want when they want to.  That is fair - just be sure that you are aware of the consequences should you get caught.

I am starting my own business in the next few weeks and I am really nervous that something will go wrong. I am also very afraid of failure and leaving the comfort and security of a paying job was a big step for me. I am hoping to get a good write-up of my business information to hand out to local businesses as part of my marketing strategy.

Our local community has a business guide and for a small fee I was able to be listed in it this year before it was printed. I am hoping that this, too, was a good investment. Time will only tell.

I am also listing some online business information and will be starting a website showcasing what I have to offer. This, I am sure, is not a waste of money, because it makes me accessible to the whole world.

As I am starting in the next few weeks, I still have a lot to do, as I would like to have all of the technicalities out of the way before launch day. I am hoping to get some great home business reviews that will help in the way of expanding my business some day. I had better get to work now, though, as I still have so much to do.