Marketing, thanks to the advances in connection and communication on the Web, is giving people a chance to meet on an individual level. The Web allows businesses and to move away from segmenting and toward a more individual relationship with consumers. With a landing page you are acknowledging the specific individuals that click on the link on your Twitter profile.

I’ve always enjoyed spending time out in the woods, in my tree stand, with a Thermos full of extra black coffee, waiting for that trophy buck to walk past. Recently I was out in the woods on a crisp, chilly, brisk Wisconsin autumn morning and about halfway through the day I got to thinking about blogging (there is a lot of time to sit and think out in the deer woods).

Increasing your business’s Web presence begins with forming trusting relationships with your customers. There is a lot of transparency on the Web and the companies that are able to build trusting relationships with customers are the ones who will succeed in the future.

It seems, from comments and expressed frustrations, that hunting Websites, particularly blogs, forums, galleries, etc. are struggling to find advertising revenue. This is not uncommon since most businesses are always trying to figure out how to make lots of money with a Website. We always hear about the successful Internet entrepreneur who grew a site so fast and took in so much ad revenue and eventually sold his or her site for a comfortable sum of money. What we don’t hear about is the thousands of businesses and Websites that struggle to find revenue streams to justify the time spent on any specific Website.

Hunting businesses are always looking for ways to connect with customers and build a trust that can lead to sales. For customers and for businesses, buying (and selling) is an emotional experience. Customers want to feel positive emotion during and after their purchase especially if it’s a large purchase.

I was thinking about this suggestion while I was riding in my truck one morning. I usually listen to the local country music radio station and just then they were interviewing a rising country music singer who said, “You’re listening to today’s best country, today’s WAXX 104.5 FM”. After the singer said this, they station played the singer’s latest hit single and I thought to myself that doing guest spots and reaching out to the audiences of others is exactly how rising country music singers expand their audience and increase their own stature. Let’s take a look at the strategy…

A regular email campaign is one of the best ways to connect with your customers while also driving traffic to your site as well as driving sales of your products and services. I’ve been paying attention to a few email campaigns in the hunting industry over the past few months and a few have stuck out as being very impactful with their design, content, and innovation.

Alan Jackson is one of my all-time favorite singers and songwriters. With his music and words, he tells simple stories that pull all emotions out of listeners. Jackson tells stories of family, growing up, girls, appreciating the simple wonders in life, and all the struggles along the way that make us appreciate all the good. After 20 years, 15 albums, 25 number one singles, and 50 million albums Alan Jackson is still playing for sold-out stadiums and recording hit music. Sometime in the late 1980s, Jackson came up with the title and main hook for one of his biggest hit singles, Don’t Rock the Jukebox.

Is self motivation a myth? It seems like most people tend to believe that the most successful people have a way of self-motivating themselves to achieve more than perhaps others do in life. I’m not sure if self-motivation is as simple as: “Ok self, you’re going to become successful today by accomplishing this…”

The title of this post may suggest a negative tone, but I’d like to take the idea of security in a different direction and put a positive twist on something that is commonly viewed as negative. The idea of security as illusion is not something we should all fear. As an entrepreneur, understanding that no business, person, or job is secure is exciting and should continue refueling the fire and passion you have when first starting a hunting business.

I’ve always been a fan of innovative business models both on and off the Web. The other day on 10 Things Every Hunting Website Needs (Plus a Few Extra Ideas), KRAY1, left a good comment and he asked if I could write a little bit about the giveaway business model…

I heard this quote on the great video at ProBlogger Tim Ferris: How to Build a Successful Blog. I often write about the benefits of blogging for hunting businesses. However, recently I had the thought: What if a hunting business owner or the employees at the hunting don’t enjoy writing? There are certainly many benefits and advantages of blogging: SEO, further education (for your audience and for you), value-adding content, niche leader, etc. But not everyone has the time or want to start a blog for their business and that is perfectly fine.

I’ve always enjoyed analyzing the careers of successful people because I’ve always been curious about what it takes to be successful in life whether it’s in business or any other passion. It’s also no secret that I’m a big music fan so this series focuses mostly on successful musicians.

There is so much noise on the Web that it’s difficult to get your Website and content noticed. I remember just a year or two ago there were only a few basic hunting Websites that offered things such as photos, forums, and a few had blogs. Today, there are more hunting social networking sites than a person can count.

Video is an important topic for Website owners and bloggers. People are visual and the use of video is a great way to further the connection you have with your visitors and customers. I’ve written about video a few times…