If you are creating an online business,and you want that business to succeed,you need to know what you’re competition is up to at all times. It’s important to know what others are purchasing within your target niche. What are others saying about your business? You also need to see what people are discussing about your niche. You also need to keep an eye on those going up against you. Remember,you need to prove to people that you are the most worth their money. How can you do that if you don’t know what the other big players in your market are doing? Of course not every IM method in existence will be something you can use,but you should be aware of what can be done for those times when you learn about a new technique. There are all kinds of business models that will not make use of every promotion vehicle,and that could include source since we are talking about it. There is a lot to consider when you are contemplating all new promotional activities. We know you are a small business,but that does not mean you have to stay small forever. Perhaps that easiest path to growth is through scaling existing campaigns,and then seek to add what you can that is all new. It is not necessary for you to know everything,but it is critical to know what exists so you can consider it,if necessary. If you are looking for a way to gain useful information about your competition,you can use Slideshare. Are any of your competitors publishing material anywhere? Slideshare can keep you informed about such things. If you want to find out who among your competitors may be speaking or presenting at a certain event or conference,Slideshare can tell you. You are given complete access to all of the presentations that have been saved to the system. So you can find out exactly what the company you are interested in is showing to the public! If you visit Collecta,you’ll have access to lots of powerful real time information. It is kind of like the trending topics feature in Twitter. This tool actually watches the searching trends of the internet in general. This site allows you to see exactly what internet users are searching for and discussing at that very time. There is even a widget available that can be installed on your blog or website. If you want to make money on your blog through advertising,this tool can be extremely beneficial. This can help you instantly think of a great topic to write about or a profitable idea for a product. All you have to do is find something that lots of people need. If you search you’ll find that there’s more to the internet than celebrities and their problems! Copernic.com is a way to find out what sort of content your competition is writing for their sites. Whenever there is new content,you will be notified via email. You will not only receive an email but the changes will be highlighted. You will instantly be able to see what your competitors are using and what’s not working for their needs. This will also notify you whenever your competitors come up with new promotions. You can also track changes in rates this way. It’s so important to always know what your competitors are up to. Just remember that there’s only a certain amount of money out there for all of us. There’s only so much money people will spend. If you want to make as much as possible,it’s important that your prospects view you as the best person to give their money to. You have to understand your competition if you hope to do this. Using software to track your competition will give you more free time and it will let you know everything they’re doing.