Blogs That Make Money

Free RSS Directories

2009-04-13T10:41:00.001-07:00

30 Free RSS Feed Directories Has been updated. Add your blogs RSS now!

Here are 15 more free RSS directory links and all have decent PR and Alexa. All RSS directory links go directly to the RSS submit feed, RSS add or URL page. No reciprocals, no fees. :)

o Links without descriptions are general RSS directories.

2RSS - Directory, Software and Articles
4GuysFromRolla - ASP Directory
Aspin - ASP Resource Index
FeedBoy
Feeds.br - Brazilian RSS feed directory but easy to submit even if you don't know Portuguese. :)
Feeds4all
FreeFeedsDirectory - RSS directory and feed tools.
Feed Shark - Submit your RSS and Podcast to multiple directories.
GoldenFeed
LeighRSS
ReadaBlog
RSSxpress - UK RSS directory
RSSRes
Swoogle
Yahoo! Publisher - Add your feed to the Yahoo! feed database.

Marketing Your RSS Feed

Send a Tweet with your feed URL.

Add an email subscription option to your feed. Some of the biggest blogs don't offer email subscriptions. Make sure you do.

Add a feed aggregator to your email signatures.

Go through all the websites where you have a profiles and add your RSS.
- Ex.: Ning and FriendFeed offer RSS add options in your profile or site.

Do you have some RSS tips to share? Add them in the comments area. :)

This-a-way to my Twitter page...

Like what you see here? Add your email to my RSS

How to Make a Blogs Video
You Tube Tips - Friday Social
Web Optimization Update - 'blogs that make money' #1
Comment Spam - Embrace It!
What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux
What is Twitter?

Check out the new and improved Blogs that Make Money site!
RSS Add: Free RSS Directories

How to Make a Blogs Video

2009-02-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

What is a blog video? Let Al Tomkin show you how he produces his blogs video segments. Very cool and easy to do.

Also see my post You Tube Tips for promoting and marketing your video on You Tube.

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You Tube Tips - Friday Social
Web Optimization Update - 'blogs that make money' #1
Comment Spam - Embrace It!
What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux
What is Twitter?
How to Get Backlinks - My Way

Friday Social - You Tube Tips

2009-02-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

You Tube - What a great way to be social! Create an account and add a link to your site. Start adding videos from the network or make your own.

As an example I used Tim Brownsons - How to Be Miserable video to show how you can showcase your favorite You Tube videos.

To make your videos go viral there are great options from You Tube. The more activity a You Tube video gets the more popularity it gains within the network:

Share - Hit the You Tube share option and you can add videos to Mixx, Myspace, Facebook, Digg, send it to all your contacts on You Tube, email to friends and even blog it!

Favorites - When you favorite a video it will automatically show up on your channel. I usually copy and paste the URL and make it my main video on my channel as it's the top vid for people to see. The more it is a favorite the more buzz it will create in the You Tube network.

Rate it! - See those little red stars under the main video on the left? Make sure you rate videos for maximum exposure.

Commentary - Oh yes the comments area. The more comments you give and get the more activity the video generates within the network. You may see vids on You Tube home page that are popular today today known as 'Rising Videos', most talked about, etc. Comments really help your video get a boost.

Thumbs Up - Use the thumbs up (or down) options for comments you find to be beneficial to the conversation.

You Tube is all about the buzz so the more activity a video has the better chance it has to get more views.

You Tube Tips:

Views: There is speculation that YT alters their 'hit counter' for videos. Your hits are not going to show up right away and may even take a few hours for the information to populate. Be paitent and keep promoting your video.
Update your channel frequently by adding videos, commenting on channels and sharing great content.
Make your own videos. If you don't own a video camera you can make what is called a montage, which is a collection of images. Go to Flickr and ask members if it is okay to use their photos. I have always gotten the 'green light' when I ask. Just add their name or Flickr profile to the credits.

Other forms of images can be screen shots, your own photos and manipulated images from the web. MS Paint is your friend and is good for text images. Make sure you read up on Fair Use laws as You Tube does not tolerate copyright infringement. Edit your images in Microsoft Movie Maker that came with your PC or iMovie for Mac or other free and simple editing software.

Have fun with You Tube as it is a great way to be social and make your content go viral!

Jordan Pearce on You Tube!

Tim Brownsons Channel
Follow Tim on Twitter!

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Web Optimization Update - 'blogs that make money' #1
Comment Spam - Embrace It!
What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux
What is Twitter?
How to Get Backlinks - My Way

Web Optimization Update

2009-02-04T10:08:00.001-08:00

Web Optimization <--- See this post! Doing a Google search for 'blogs that make money' I kinda noticed that I'm in the #1 spot again! On Halloween of 07 not realizing I hit number one I started goofing with my links and what not. I removed a bunch of links and changed a some titles but also learned some new SEO tricks of the trade. At last they have all indexed and I've had a fair amount of SEO that I was tinkering with so today well you can see for yourself:

The most important part of SEO is patience! I was not shooting to be on top right away I knew if continued to work what I have learned eventually it would happen. :)

Also my organic search is up by 10%!

What did I do:

Exercised Patience - This cannot be stated enough. Just do what you are supposed to be doing and your efforts will off shoot an outcome that you had been working towards.

I'll read some SEOs asking "why haven't my links indexed yet?" Well they are only a day or week old so give it some time. Instead of worrying about it either link to sites that are already indexed or sit on your new posts and eventually they will show up in the serps.

Restructured Backlinks - Do you comment market? I do and I mainly blog on older blog posts that have been around for a few weeks. Not like it matters but it helps. I also rearranged my internal links and changed some of the titles to reflect the keywords I was looking to bank on.

Keywords - Like I said my organic search results have gone up 10% since November and just 6% in the past three weeks. I like to pride myself on being better at keyword research than other SEO things as I use a mix of highly competitive and keywords with low competition.

Followed My Own Advice - Obviously most of what I have learned I got elsewhere. I just happen to be an observant person and if people say it works you should probably be doing what works. My one piece of knowledge I would pass on is pick and choose what works for YOU! I still hear people rave about article marketing. Perhaps it works for them but I find it to be too time consuming and would rather keep my intellectual property for myself. It works, just not for me.

What worked for me? Making useful lists like Blog Marketing Tools or post with specifics like How to Get Backlinks One Way or the importance of simple SEO methods like Dofollow or Nofollow? That is the Question. These posts have been shared, bookmarked and passed around. Not to tens of thousands of readers but to enough to give me some honorable backlinks and mentions.

So there you have it. I no doubt think that my site will slip here and there but I've taught myself more and implemented tenfold my tactics since October 07 so I will keep you all posted. :)

Tell me what you think!

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Comment Spam - Embrace It!

2009-02-02T14:50:00.000-08:00

Dofollow and spam are closely related otherwise there would be no such thing as the 'nofollow' attribute.

When is dofollow and comment spam a good thing?

Keywords - Depending on the keywords if they are closely related to my blog and their site checks out okay I will allow the comment. The reason for this is to get some organic traffic off of their keywords. Less work for me.

Affiliate Marketers - First I check out the program and if it seems legit or popular again I allow it. Keywords again are in play here. People pay a lot of money to compete in PPC, and usually the keywords they leave behind is something, someone, somewhere was searching for. Less work for me again!

Twitter Spammers - Please, leave your Twitter profile link on my blog. I could use the followers! Then I can spam you back! Ha ha just kidding. Spammers are acutally too busy spamming to really use Twitter effectively so I don't mind following them as they only send out five or six Tweets a month.

Repeat Offenders - When the spammers seem to visit often I send them an email or leave a comment on their site asking for a back link. After all my blog is dofollow so it does not hurt to ask.

How to combat anchor text: If someone spamming my blog leaves useful info or is contributing I just rewrite their comment for them, and exclude the anchor text. Everyone is happy!

So see comment spam is not all that bad. You can still offer your readers some dofollow juice and keep your spam audience at bay.

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Friday Social - Social Networking List

2009-01-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

Some quickie stuff:

Social Networking List
Look out for the up coming Redux post and all the social media you should be using.

Twitter
#earthquake and #seattle earthquake. I was there. It rocked!

How to gain more followers: Participate in '#' search discussions and look to see what is hot in TwitScoop. Look for cresting topics or try and create your own.

I've gained at least an average of 5 followers for every discussion I've joined. Try it. :)

Every Friday someone get the ball rolling for #followfriday where there a Twitter follow swap. Neat huh?

Facebook
Just catching up again on FB and learned about the chat - instant messenger feature.
Go to the bottom right of the page to 'Online friends' and next to it are the messenger options. Because you need more stuff to do and more options on Facebook!

You know I'd use Facebook more often but it's too damn confusing, but you can still add me:

Twitter'er of the Week!

It's @Scottpierce earthquake expert!

Ha ha! J/K check out Scott's site Piledriver Creative.

Don't forget to follow him in Twitter! and follow me too!

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Blogs that Make Money: Scraper Site Update

2009-01-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

Blogs that Make Money is skipping Friday Social today because I'd like to touch on another subject real quick that might be useful to you.

Sites that scrape your content.

You know I am flattered that someone copied parts of my blog word for word without giving me credit. They also copied Yaro Starak and Zac Johnson so they have at least been doing their research in a blogging sense.

Here is how I have been handling the situation. You get the bits and pieces here first then I'll do a full post when the whole process is done.

Copyscape - Gerald from Search Engine Marketing Group sent me his post Combating Online Plaigerism and I thought well I'll check Copyscape for fun. Now I'm glad I did!

I found a money blog site and it copied two of my posts (as far as I know right now) Blog Marketing Tools and Blog Traffic: How to Get It! word for word with no links back to my site. Not only that, all the links that I had mentioned to my Twitter and Technorati profiles they switched to theirs!

Copyscape gives you five free searches per month and what I suggest if you have a blog is to do each page individually. After that it is five cents per page to sign up for Copyscape which is totally worth it.

So there you go. Copyscape to the rescue.

Making Contact - Unfortunately this blogger did not have any contact info and I did not want to leave a comment because I would have to reveal my Blogger identity and I was not interested in doing that. Read on to see the next part of the story since I was unable to contact him.

Google and Copyright Infringement - If you read the post Combating Online Plaigerism you will see a link to the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Basically you send hard copies of proof that someone is using your intellectual property well beyond fair use to Google and they will investigate. I'm still in that process and wanted to do something immediately...so I contacted...

Technorati - They were using Technorati and Performancing Ads so I decided to contact these two companies and see what their policy was for members who swipe content. Performancing Ads was unable to do anything as it was not in their policy to police certain blogs in their network, which I'm totally okay with. It was worth a shot.

Technorati on the other hand sent me a nice reply email that they do not tolerate copyright infringement by their users and to please send them more info. I did and what I was told a few days later was the blog in question had been removed for "lack of original content".

Yippee! Sucess.

So this is just the beginning. I now have Technorati to back me up a little to offer up to Google that they also found the blog in question...questionable. :)

So don't let people scrape and steal your intellectual property! Do something about it today!

If you really missed Friday Social which I hope you did. Here are the last few to take a look at:

Friday Social - Crystal Hapiness
Friday - Keep in Touch

Have an awesome weekend and if you haven't signed up for Twitter yet do it today too!

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Blog Money Series: Writing Articles and Other Ways to Get Paid

2009-01-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

Blog Money Series: Writing Articles

There are many ways that you can get paid to write articles and sorry I didn't save the best for last as this will probably be where a lot of your money comes from.

SEO Articles - I get random emails that say 'please take a look at my site. How much?' as in what could I do to improve their web page and how much is it going to cost them. The first thing I would offer any company or website is to write a bunch of SEO articles for them in their niche and place them on their site somewhere. These are articles from scratch so you can charge more for this type of written material for any type of website.

SEO Articles Lite - Go over a websites copy or their pre-existing articles and re-write them. I find a lot of offers to re-write certain types of articles because they need updated keywords mainly, better placement and believe it or not fewer word count. Keep it simple and re-write articles, posts, and make improvements in copy if you can because it will be less work for you.

Write a Review - There are a few ways you can do this. If you have slammin' traffic you can charge decent money to post a review on your site or blog. Blogs work best for this. You can also write a stockpile of reviews for a company and they will do the marketing. This comes down to copy. You can offer this to a prospect if they haven't thought of it yet. They may know all about the marketing aspects and they just need people to write for them.

Get Paid to Blog - Guest blogging. These are not things you should be doing for free. I understand that guest blogging is to swap traffic and introduce one audience to another. Too many people take advantage of this and exploit guest blogging as people should be paying for you to write for them. Did you know that one of the largest blogs that brings in the most money does not pay their bloggers? They are relying on the sole pleasure you will have blogging for them. Whatever! Don't blog for free that is not what you are here for and there are better ways to get exposure without selling yourself short.

Ebooks - If you can write and ebook for someone they will pay you handsomely for it. Some people don't want to monkey around with the writing and adding links portion because they want to make money in other ways. So learn how to deal with PDF's and incorporating the good links from your clients site and they may ask you write another ebook for them.

Press Releases - This by far is the easiest and if you do this well it can be an on going service. I'd charge monthly and decide what the maximum press releases you are willing to do for x amount of money. This is only to write the press release and not distribution. Easy stuff.

Mainly I use my blog as if it were a business card and to show examples of my work. The writing portions are different from the marketing and SEO (sometimes incorporated) and viral marketing but that is how it goes. Those are extra or upsale services. Make sure you decide what it is you want to get paid for and make that your primary focus. What else do you do well that maybe you are not in love with the idea but you offer a service that will benefit others. I want to get paid to write so that is what I do and since I know a fair amount of SEO I'm able to charge a little more.

Questions? Comments? Agree or disagree? Go for it! This is what has worked for me so I'd like to know if you benefit from it. :)

Blogs that Make Money: Blog Money Intro

2009-01-22T12:28:00.000-08:00

Blogs that Make Money was intentionally to spotlight on what other bloggers were doing to make money. Well trying to get information out of people is next to impossible. The direction that the blog took was more of what people wanted. Ironically that was not making money but getting traffic and SEO tactics. Funny don't you think? The best part is I can tell people 'this is not a how to make money blog' ha ha and never intentionally was.

The purpose of my Blog Money Series is to fill you in on the what has worked for me in the past year. Some of the techniques you probably already know and I would love to either have a spin on those ideas or hear from my readers. What worked for you and what didn't.

The Blog Money Series will cut to the chase as I've goofed around with a lot of blogging stuff and found that there really are only a few proven methods to making money with your blog. So I've done all the leg work for you and will show you what I focus on and where not to waste your time.

Let me know how some of these techniques work out for you.

Coming soon...

Sincerly,
Jordan :)

Blog Money: Writing Articles and Other Ways to Make Money

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Friday Social - Crystal Happiness

2009-01-09T10:49:00.000-08:00

Crystal Happiness
Okay this is old news but what the hell was up with Twitter last week? I don't criticize the hacker I find fault in lame ass passwords.

It's 2009 here folks. Highly qualified people are scrounging for employment, and although I love Twitter and don't know 'Crystal' or the Twitter admin personally but FTW? Let's hope this did not hurt any chances they have for funding.

Yes I openly admit that is my comment on the article. Obviously!!!

Wake up lame password holders!

Mr. Tweet
What a gent he is and a hard worker too. :)

If you haven't hired Mr. Tweet yet give him a shot.

He makes suggestions who in your followers list you might want to follow back. This was highly useful for me as I also liked the suggestions of who I should follow 'outside my network'.

Although there are a few people who are big names on Twitter I refuse to follow because they suffer OTS = Over Tweet Syndrome, I have found some great new Twitter'ers to follow from Mr. Tweets advice.

Thank you Mr. Tweet!

Follow Mr. Tweet on Twitter

Twitter'er of the Week
Drum roll please...! Baddabaddabaddabba....

Alexandra aka Earthshod is Twitter'er of the week!

Ordained clergy, tea leaf reader, Twitter user! Check out her site as she is based in Washington State:

Earthshod.com - Book a Crystal Ball reading!

Photo: tHE PypEr

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What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux

2008-12-27T12:29:00.000-08:00

In my posts What are You Doing Using Twitter? and What is Twitter? I showed you valuable ways to promote your blog using the micro-blogging service. In this post I'll give you three more ways to use Twitter to your advantage.

Welcome Your Twitter Followers - One of the most important things I have learned in business is to always do a follow up with a nice big Thank You!

If you're in my followers list then you have probably already gotten a 'Thank You' link with some useful Twitter blog posts.

To get an idea how to make your own Twitter blog post and 'Welcome' page you can take a look at: Random Twitter Blog Posts for You

There are no links to other pages on my site or high pressure action steps to take. No join my micro-blogging crusade. Just a simple 'Thank You'.

If you're not into making a 'Welcome' what I did before was send folks my What is Twitter? post and address it as 'Twitter tips by me'.

Twitter Widgets and Tools -Use the hell out of them! TweetDeck certainly made my micro-blogging world a lot simpler. That is one of the more basic Twitter widget type gadgets that will assist you in marketing. It seems like there is a Twitter widget or Apps. coming out every week and my suggestion would be to use the ones that are most efficient for you and not just the latest and greatest.

Twitter ID in Signatures in Forums - Most forums allow you to have up to four links in your signature so make sure your Twitter profile is one of them.

Leave your Twitter Profile in Blog Comments - If you are a big comment marketer like me then dropping your Twitter ID as either your name and URL or placing a live-link in your comment is useful. Make it easy for other users to find you.

Example: Twitter - jpearce01 (this will suffice)

One of the best examples I have seen for using Twitter ID's in comments is at Jim's Marketing Blog and his post Building Your Twitter Network. It's a post I've brought up many times and is a meeting place for like minded Twitter users.

Twitter and comments are for people who are social. I have my quiet moments but for the most part I really like to be a part of the social aspects of the Internet.

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Blogs that Make Money Updates

2008-12-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Friday Social is not going on today but I am will be rolling out a Welcome! to my new Twitter followers and I suggest you do to. I'll explain more in What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux when that comes out next week.

If you have written about Twitter and would like to be added to my Welcome! post let me know. I'm looking to have around 10 blog posts about Twitter and I'll add a link to your Twitter profile.

Right now I'm updating Blog Marketing Tools which seems to have resurfaced in the search engines and barely made it to my top 10 posts. I'm adding which of these sites are dofollow. It can be really helpful in deciding which sites you should pursue to get maximum payoff for your marketing efforts.

Speaking of Blog Marketing Tools...

This week on Twitter it was brought to my attention to be on the lookout for people scraping or ripping your blog content. You can read the post by @the_gman here:

Combating Online Plagiarism - SEMGroup.net

I used Copyscape out of curiosity and sure enough there was a money type blog that blatantly ripped Blog Marketing Tools word for word, even the little notes, not providing credit or a backlink to my site and they also ripped Blog Traffic: How to Get It! Again no mention or back tracks, or backlinks as to where the content came from or who wrote it.

What I have done is taken comparison screen shots of their blog and my blog. Since the blog does not have a way for me to contact them I have no other choice but to go straight to Google in the matter. :)

So I suggest you read the plagiarism article and investigate to see if other bloggers are biting your material and calling it their own.

Also make sure you have a way for people to contact you for obvious reasons. Even if it is just a little mailto: script do it. Not that you are stealing content but you never know when someone needs to make contact in regards to your blog.

Any how...Have a great weekend, Friday Social will be out again next week. If you are on Twitter and want to be the Twitter'er the week, be the first one to Tweet me and you will be it!

If you have social media posts that you have written those can possibly be added as well.

Have a great blogging day!
Jordan

Be Twitter'er of the Week and
Follow Me!

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Random Twitter Blog Posts For You :)

2008-12-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad you decided to follow me on Twitter!

Here is a collection of Twitter blog posts (from other Tweeple) to help you along in your Twitter journey.

So thanks again and thanks for following! :)

Truly,
Jordan

Twitter Blog Posts:

10 Examples of Creative Twitter Uses - From online wine tasting to getting advice from strippers here are some creative ways to use Twitter.

Building Your Twitter Network - Jim's Marketing Blog shows you a simple way to build up your Twitter network.
Top 5 Twitter Plugins to Incorporate Into Your Blog - Just as the title implies some great Twitter plugins at your disposal.

What are You Doing Using Twitter? - Get some bright ideas in marketing using Twitter. Want some more?:
- What are You Doing Using Twitter: Redux

What is Twitter? - How Twitter is similar or more effective than some of the tools you are already using.

Twitter Blogs & Websites:

The Daily Follow - Celebrities on Twitter.

Tweet Congress - Find your favorite people in congress with Twitter accounts!

Twitter Groups - Find, join and create Twitter user groups.

Twitter Stars - A wonderful Twitter blog devoted to the micro-blogging service.

Would you like to add a Twitter blog post or website that may be helpful to others? Please contact me or leave a message in the comments. ;)

Pic: Mike Licht, NotionsCapitol.com

What is Twitter?

2008-12-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Twitter Browser Tool
(Pictured above)
Pic: sridgway

What is Twitter you ask?
Until someone invents nano-blogging Twitter will have to do.

Twitter makes it way too easy to stay connected in the social networking crowd. As social media continues to expand so will use of the micro-blogging service.

What are some of the advantages of Twitter that takes it beyond just another Internet phenomenon?

Twitter is many things rolled into one.

(Micro) Blogging
When asked "What are you doing?" make sure it's interesting!

Twitter Whore - is entertaining example of what is totally screwed up about micro- blogging.

On the upside it's the little things that make Twitter real for most. What if you could actually get inside the heads of people like Tim O'Reilly, Andrew McAfee or Robert Scoble on a more personal level?

How did we go from Lisa Nova to the other three? That is the beauty of Twitter.

Getting into the minds of who you follow and who follows you is the true essence of the micro-blogging platform.

Be yourself. Be a real person. Let others get inside your head.

What else is Twitter?

PR Machine
O...M...G...! It's like freaky!

Etiquette has no bounds in micro-blogging. Some of us prefer it that way.

Twitter is like an instant news wire for just about anyone. Need a story? Got a story? It's covered. Depending on how many Twitter'ers you follow or who follows you, Twitter brings it all to your doorstep. On a silver platter no less.

Micro-Press Release
Twitter has reset the standard for the PR world. You either follow or unfollow and that's it!

You can Tweet out whatever you want whenever you want. Newsworthy or not. It's there in 140 characters or less. Your:

New Post
New Contest
New Product
New Alliances
New Sign Ups
New Events
New Web sites

Etcetera.

Better than RSS
Twitter is better than RSS in several ways. Twitter'ers who may not elect to subscribe to your blog or Web site can be more selective if you Tweet a new post that serves them. In my opinion its far easier than checking elsewhere.

Twitter again helps you deliver awesome customer service. Twitter users with major followings give their Twitter audience the red carpet treatment that you may not find on their Web sites.

Twitter can be looked at as an exclusive club to offer your readers. As its accessibility is so simple and instantaneous making it easy for readers and businesses to connect.

Nano-Newsletter
Again 'What's new?' and "What are you doing?"

...Today in my own little Twitterland THIS is what's going on...

Keeping people up to date is so simple on Twitter it's almost sick!

Create a page to link to all your newsletters and that may entice or remind your readers to sign up. All from one little micro-post.

Power of the ReTweet
If you're not using Twitter and want to know what 'RT' means--it's the new '@' and 'LOL'.

Going viral with your message has never been so easy. Here's a great tip:

"Please RT" -- That phrase works wonders.

Check out this post by Dan Zarrella because he's got the RT down to a science.

What's in a ReTweet? That Data Behind Viral Messaging on Twitter

If you're not using Twitter you're missing out. Read my post What are you doing using Twitter? for more ideas on marketing and micro-blogging.

Are You Following Me on Twitter Yet?
(Oh you will.)

Pic: cambodia4kidsorg

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5 Ways to Get Noticed in Social Media

2008-12-20T12:58:00.000-08:00

Online Reputation Management or ORM: Do you speak it?

Why not optimize yourself for the social media arena?

1. Be First
No. I don't mean always trying to be first to comment on a big blog. There is a name for such brazen behavior and it's dammed annoying! Just be first. Not:

"First!"

The main reason some people don't want to be first in anything is because they want to see what everyone else is going to do first. Are you a leader or a follower? You can answer this question for yourself. Which do you want to be known as?

PROS: You will always be in the forefront if you brand yourself correctly and are not out of control about being first. (See Brand Yourself.)

CONS: Others may view you as having no life but who cares what they say. You're a leader so this really isn't a con. It's called passion!

Unless you're one of those passionate commenter types well then you just have to live with yourself.

2. Brand Yourself
Be distinguishable. Make your blog well known for tools and tactics and how you use them. Make your blog known for a certain type of medium, source or style. Be the go-to guy or girl for said medium.

Be a real person about it. Make sure everyone knows what you look like...online at least. Can someone look at your Web site, blog, logo, avatar or photo and call you or your business by name? Make it so!

PROS: Instant recognition and often times credibility. Consumers and readers think 'What would so-and-so do in a situation like this?' when you have taken the time to build rapport and branding.

CONS: If you are known for misinformation or being difficult to work with branding will not do you any favors. Think 'passionate commenter'. Oh it's you...again...

3. Brag
This has to do with number #1 and being first. You like how I did that? Number one, being first? It's first on the list? Get it?

Even though bragging is #3 you should be #1! Start getting used to #1.

What have you done and how did you do it? Give case studies or better yet have others allow others to do the bragging for you.

PROS: You are not afraid to be first and people are mesmerized when you told them how you ate the last cookie or got extra the shampoos and soaps from a nice hotel you stayed at. You may have lost the golf game but you picked up a big contract out of the deal and got tons of free booze to boot! You can probably downplay some of that but you get the gist.

Proudly list your accomplishments, awards, credentials, freebies, miscellaneous what not. When done right people will watch what you do.

CONS: Whack jobs brag on and on and their accomplishments offer no solutions. Leaders are diverse and have depth. Arrogance believes it is the only #1 out there. Not so. Get over it. No braggarts allowed!

Sorry I got a bit heated there. It's been a long time since I've run into any crazies online but I'm sure they're out there lurking behind a keyboard somewhere. Everyone is their own little Universe and is their own #1. Remember that. Always.

4. Be a Spammer
Last week the Internet witnessed a widely publicized post from a highly respected ~~tech~~ blog bashing a respected (not anymore) PR person out of New York. The person in question was accused of being a spammer. In their defense they replied that, that is how they do business, if the practice was considered too much, there were other PR people to deal with.

I love it!

What I have noticed is that it is only okay to be a spammer if you are loved and adored but if nobody knows who you are or your seen as rotten then you are a dirt and deserved to be treated as such.

PROS: Spamming gets the job done if it's done right. Make sure people are in love and admiration with you before you set out to be #1 and get the word out.

Just kidding. Learn to spam properly and you should be okay.

Pretty people call spam *promotion*. Hey! It's a marketing thing.

The difference between someone who networks and someone who does PR is that PR is paid to spam if necessary, by the hour, salary or by contract and bonuses.

Networkers make connections and build relationships.

Some people are networkers and call themselves PR. Some are PR and call themselves newtorkers. It all pans out in the end.

CONS: If you do it wrong and especially if you have hate groups developed because you are a PR drone: You're a spammer. You will always be a spammer until the end of time. Don't you know only cool people are allowed to "promote"?

Change your name, move to another planet. You have been voted off the Internet.

Am I gossiping? Maybe a little. It's only gossip if you name names.

5. Gossip
Take the above as an example. Do you love to gossip? If you do, find a small group of cyber-pals to do it with or at least tell it to your cat.

If you must do it publicly stay to the point and keep the gripes to a minimum. Unless something is considered waywardly grotesque etiquette from someone who really gives a rats-behind.

If you must 'speak your mind' as it is so eloquently put by pretty people, exhibit a little bit of class if at all possible.

PROS: Bonding. Lots, and lots of bonding with other gossips and/or your cat.

CONS: People will quietly gang up on you, ignore you, gossip behind your back and hack your stuff. (For all you George Carlin fans...You know what STUFF means.) (Oh a Kat Williams fan? "That's my stuuuuf...!"

What would a 5 Ways to Get Noticed in Social Media post be without some bonus tips? :)

Bonus: Ass Kissing
Appreciation. Contribution. Remember those two words. Always.

"I love you so-and-so..."

"And I you, adoring fan..."

The Internet is a level playing field. There is as much opportunity for you, as there was for someone who now knows more than you do at the moment.

The Internet. It's kind of like real life, only it involves not having one. Ass kissing. Unnecessary. They say office jobs are for suckers. So is brown nosing.

Name dropping? Same difference.

The Bonus Bonus:
"My BFF knows someone who know's a BFF of (blank). "

"(Blank) glared at me in the elevator...I think they are going to sign the deal."

"Oh (Blank) and I go way back, they used to go to the same coffee shop I went to. On my recommendation from my blog I'm sure."

How Hollywood. Oh wait there's New York too. Pick a coast...any coast! Jeff Foxworthy has a great joke: "There is L.A and New York and a whole bunch of people in the middle who don't care."

PDA's affectionately known here as Public Displays of Ass Kissing can only do two things:

PROS: Brand you as an ass kisser. (See Brand Yourself.)

CONS: You will be an ass kisser, from now and on into your next life. Sell your house, move to a remote area where you can only get dial up.

You have been voted off the Internet! Unless of course you pucker up to the right people. Am I right?!

This concludes 5 Ways to Get Noticed in Social Media. As you can see there are good and bad sides of the items listed. Focus on the positive attributes. Have fun and play nice. G'day everyone. Go to a local shelter and adopt a cat if needed.

Are you following me on Twitter?
(Do it!)

Pic: pasotraspaso

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Friday Social - Keep in Touch

2008-12-19T11:27:00.000-08:00

Twitter in Your Gmail
Here is one more Twitter Gadget to add to your arsenal. Bring 'em on!

What do you think of social media invading your email?
-Yahoo! is rolling out enhance Web 2.0 email in the next few months.-

Social Networking Sites for Business Use, Employment Opportunities
Here is a report from The Examiner which social media site to connect with if your looking work opportunities.

Out of touch...

Huffington Post Doesn't Pay it's Bloggers

"Ken Lerer, who worked as an executive at Time-Warner before helping to launch the Huffington Post, explained to USA Today that the company has no plans to begin paying the bloggers at the Post. In his words, paying contributors is "not our financial model. We offer them visibility, promotion and distribution with a great company."

Wow now that sounds like a great company. :)

5 Social Media Trends to Watch Out For
Get ready to geek out when it comes to social media.
Five social media trends from five social media experts.

Twitter'er of the Week
Ta Da! It's @GlobalPatriot follow him ASAP!
Global Patriots Site: http://globalpatriot.com
Recent Post: Andrew Revkin - The Story on Climate Change

Pic: jmilles

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How to Get Backlinks - My Way

2008-12-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

How to get backlinks is a question that comes up a lot and as a part of this blog I want to give the people what they want!

This is my own little formula on how to get backlinks, and it may not work for everyone. There may be easier backlink methods but doing it manually and at a normal pace can be very gratifying, takes little time and is free.

So how do I get backlinks? The simple answer is this:

How to Get Others to Link to You

1. Ask.
The worst you will hear is no. The second best thing is a reciprocal or link exchange. LE's are okay as long as they are relevant and you don't go overboard. Other bloggers are usually okay with backlinks. Just ask.

2. Have a compelling website.
Is your content useful? Helpful? Solve an ongoing issue? Make sure it does and readers will bookmark you for future reference, write about you, share with others and make your stuff go viral. The more people that see your post and can use them the more possibilities for backlinks to your site.

3. Know what you're talking about.
It will be evident if you have done your homework or not and this goes hand in hand with having a compelling website. Know what your talking about and spare nothing for others to build off of. Be the authority. Explain in detail what you did and how you did it. Some bloggers hoard information. Don't be a hoarder. Share.

How to Build Backlinks on Your Own

1. Social bookmarking.
Every time you post document it. Add your links to social bookmarking sites that offer you backlinks. Make it automatic. Find 5 or 10 of your favorite dofollow bookmarking sites and submit to them every time you post.

Depending on the social bookmarking site, if enough readers add your bookmark it's possible to get backlinks from the page and get a flood of traffic. Del.icio.us, Mister Wong and Reddit are good for a traffic avalanche. Mister Wong and Reddit front page are both good for getting backlinks.

2. Comment marketing.
Two ways: Google alerts and RSS subscriptions.

Google Alerts - Subscribe for the keywords you want to get backlinked for. When you find sites and blogs that allow comments (without signing in) that are dofollow subscribe to them.

RSS Subscriptions - Find dofollow or no 'nofollow' blogs and subscribe. If you can find newspapers from across the country that is even better for getting backlinks. Some will allow a link without having to sign in. When you are at a loss as to what you could be doing go to your RSS or email and build backlinks.

3. Posting in Forums.
There are a fair amount of forums that are dofollow because they want you to contribute to their site. Offering a backlink is an incentive to keep you around. Master the art of link baiting in the signature and add useful backlinks from your site.

If you have a post or site that is relevant to the discussion, add an anchor text back to your site.

Other helpful tips:

o Don't go nuts - Honestly I don't know how many backlinks in a short amount of time is allowed, tolerated, whatever. To me is seems 'beyond humanly possible' is backlink overload. Be consistent building backlinks, not quick.

o Don't spam the comments area - if you find a blog that gives you backlinks for comments one link in the website field will do. If you are *adding* to the discussion then drop a link with anchor text or however you want to do it. Unless the link is relevant or contributes to the discussion trying to stretch for a backlink is usually not a good idea.

o There is nothing wrong with 'nofollow' - Obviously you want one way backlinks that give off some PR power. Having a mix of dofollow and nofollow links is a good guideline. Sometimes the 'nofollow' links from high traffic sites have a trickle down effect. Don't ignore 'nofollow' entirely. Don't just go to a Web site or blog to get drop links. Consider a backlink a bonus.

o Spread yourself thin/don't put all your eggs in one basket - Sorry for the cliches but you need to use several methods of link building. If you only build backlinks in comments, or forums what happens if you get kicked out, or a blog or site simply disappears. When you start checking your backlinks on a regular basis you will see an influx and once in a while you'll lose links. Pardon me, another cliche, don't choose one method to be your 'ace in the hole' or a 'done deal'. Some of your hard earned links can go bye bye.

If you have more questions on how to get backlinks just ask or visit my backlink building community: Free SEO Tools

Photo: *clarity*

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Friday Social - Networking

2008-12-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

Pic: ChrisL_AK

It's all about the Twitter isn't it!

Twitter Groups
Do you know about Twitter Groups? You can start your own or join many of the lists and get more followers and follow more people. Just what you needed right?

Browse through it only take about five minutes to hook up with other Twitters.

Win John Chows Money
I thought this was interesting since JC has a way of pulling people in.

You can win $6,000 - 5K for your favorite charity and $1000 you get to keep.

Not in time for Christmas but what a way to end 2008 and kick off your 09.

$6000 Contest from John Chow and XR.com

Free SEO Tools
I was looking for a way to offer a space for people to congregate and build backlinks and thought of starting a Ning community. I wasn't sure if they were dofollow or not and when I did a Google search who else but but Collin Lahay was #1 for Ning and backlinking.

So I took his advice which confirmed that I was on the right back to start a Ning community.

How to Blog was taken so I started Free SEO Tools and will start a few others as well.

Ning is a really good way to socialize and have a space of your own to keep in contact with others. Not to mention the backlinks!

Free SEO Tools
A community revolving around SEO techniques and tips
and a nice way to promote your site and build ups some backlinks too!

Get and Alternative MBA
I've always joked that I have an MBA three times over doing what I do. I'm not sure if that is a good or bad thing.

Seth Godin seems to think business school is bunk and wants you to work for free in his office for 6 months. My question is can you hack it? The other question is 'Would it be worth it?'...

Absolutely!

This is what you call old school but believe me being a protege is one of the most effective ways of getting ahead in business. At some point having an apprentice will get you even further!

Find out how you can work under Seth Godin in 2009 - Deadline to apply is Dec. 14th!

Don't Go to Business School! - pass it on!

More Twitter...

Build Your Twitter Network

You'll love this one. :)

Head on over to Jim's Marketing Blog and leave a comment in the following post and add your Twitter user name. Follow and be followed!

Build Your Twitter Network - Jim's Marketing Blog

Twitter'er of the Week!
Voila! It's Matt at SBOC...Follow him @matthewsboc

Website: SmallBusinessOnlineCoach.com
Latest Post: Google Friend Connect is Live

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How to Blog: 8 Steps to Better Blogging

2008-12-06T17:01:00.000-08:00

Photo: whiskeymac (because motorcycles interest me.)

How to blog seems like a redundant proposal especially if you are already blogging. No matter what your niche is if you want more readers and more cash flow you have to learn how to blog.

Blogging is not just about writing. Blogging is an experience.

1. Read.

Don't just read about blogging. Read stories rather than how to's and business books. Magazine articles are great for quick ideas. The more you read the more you absorb and the easier writing and blogging will come to you.

Everything is inter-related. Isn't a blog meant to be read? If you are not reading how can you expect others to read what you write? It is not about writing it is about blogging. Blogging is an experience. Reading is where your experiences come from.

2. Self-promote.
Do not be afraid. Although cyber-land has us all freaked out about spamming let go and self promote. If you piss someone off, apologize later if you see fit. You should never have to apologize for promoting yourself.

3. Trial & Error.
What has worked for you and what hasn't? When you encountered a problem how did you get around it? People are notoriously lazy and don't want to take the first steps they want to read about others who do. Be an innovator or pioneer because those are the folks who get paid.

What were the steps you took? What happened? Was it good? How did you celebrate? Was it a disaster? How did you correct it?

Trial and error. The stuffs humans are made up of.

4. Read.
Did I mention you should be reading? Read lots of blogs and I don't mean only in your niche. Read what interests you. I don't care what the competition is doing, if I want to find out I'll go to a convention of sorts. Mainly I subscribe and read blogs that interest me. Some of them yes are marketing because that is my interest but not because I want to know what they are up to.

5. Research.
Oh no more reading. Yep. Reading and research should make up at least half of your blogging efforts. How long does it take you write a blog post and hit the publish button? The more research you do the better your content. Blogging and publishing will take about 10% of your time. Know what you are blogging about before you even open your platform for a post.

40 hours a wk. = 4 hours of blogging = 4 to 8 posts per week.
20 hours a wk. = 2 hours of blogging = 2 to 8 posts per week. (2 or 3 principle posts and the rest are quickies.)
10 hours a wk. =1 hour of blogging = 1 to 5 thought out posts because you read an awful lot and the blogging part was automatic.

You get the idea.

You are the expert here. Show people what you know. What did you research?

6. Read some more.
I'm not kidding you. You will have much better quality content if you step away from the keyboard right now and go read the newspaper or finish a book you started a few weeks ago.

I reserve my weekends for play and reading. SEO, blogging and all that can wait for Monday. Ok I lied. It is Saturday at 5 p.m. and it has taken me 15 minutes to write this post so far and as it is I don't think I am going to edit it.

This I will add I've been on Amazon, hit two libraries and four bookstores in the past 24 hours.

7. Learn SEO Basics.
You don't have to do your own SEO you can trade with someone who is better at it than you. The more you know about SEO the better because when it gets down to building your blogging business, you will know how and who to hire for the job. Learn the basics and when you get stuck or cannot comprehend anymore info or find the time to do it, call in an SEO person to do the leg work for you.

8. Do the work.
Read. Research. Read some more. Learn SEO. Promote and don't be afraid to do so no matter what anyone says to you or what you may think others think about you. What did you accomplish and how did you do it? What worked and what didn't? Who is doing it worse or better than you are?

Are you willing to do the work that it takes? You don't have to work hard, just work smart.

10% actual blogging.
20% promo.
70% reading and research.

Total post time: roughly 18 mins.

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Friday Social - Behold the Power of Twitter

2008-12-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

Image by: Robert Scoble (Yes. The Scobleizer)

I needed a happy picture to offset some of the sadness in the following links.

Some interesting ways that Twitter is replacing the news:

Mumbai Terror: First Reports on Microblogs (Web 2.0 Bombay Blast on Flickr)
Why settle for filtered second-hand information when you can hear and see it from the real source.

CNN Ruins Olympics for Twitter Users
Twitter - an unfair advantage here I dare say. :)

The Obama Campaign - Wired

Twitter: The World's Biggest 24 Newsroom
More on Mumbi and yes Twitter gets more places than a news team probably could.

Thailand: Airport Takeover and Twitter
What Thailand Twitter'ers had to say about a coup.

Friend or Follow
Who are you following that is not following you back? For shame!

Twitter'er of the Week!
Ta-DA! It's HenchmanMike!
Mikes Blog: A Lust for Life
Latest Posts: Eat Dim Sum & Do a Zine (two of my favorite pastimes)

Do you have a bright idea for Friday Social? Tell me all about it!

Are you following me on Twitter Yet?
(Maybe you should!)

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Web Optimization: Always Be SEO'ing

2008-12-04T14:59:00.000-08:00

(Web Optimization Update: Mysteriously my PR is back and I stayed above the fold the whole time too. My backlinks finally caught up so we'll see what is in store for me in the next few weeks.)

There is a reason, I have arrived at, why Google keeps it's PR updates a secret. If you are into SEO you can tell when the SERP's get all trippy and stuff that PR's are about to fluctuate.

Why should you always be SEO'ing? Because you never know when Google will update for sure. This topic came up in a recent conversation and I mentioned that my PR went to 0 because I was blogging too much and not SEO like I should have been at the time. Some of my other blogs stayed the same, some went up a smidge, others, well.

Ironically I posted how PR wasn't that important then two days later...Google: Thanks we'll be taking that...

"Now the next question is, how important is PR to you. For some it's no big deal to others it is the cyber-world and everything in it! -- Dofollow or Nofollow...That is the Quesiton

Back to why they keep it a secret: So people do not game the system.

As it is the Internet was meant to be gamed. In fact the whole purpose and original intent for the Internet was a way to get around communication in case traditional forms of communication were down. Can you say communication hack?

Why should you always be SEO'ing?

Web Optimization
You have to SEO everyday. Again why does Google keep it's PR updates so hidden? If you knew that the big G was going to update say, this Saturday or on Christmas you would be doing everything you could to game it so you would have a higher PR.

That is why you should be doing it everyday.

Blog Traffic
The more you SEO the more passive blog traffic you get. Had I been backlinking more than social networking I'd see more traffic and my backlinks would have been up and ready for a PR update. Indeed this is a case of you snooze you lose when you hang out too long at the cyber water cooler.

The real question is does Google update PR on a regular basis? In batches? All at once?

Boy Scout Motto: Always Be Prepared

Bloggers Motto: Always Be SEO'ing!

Or, always be gaming (and hustling) without a doubt.

Image by: Danard Vincente

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Please do. :)

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Friday Social - Bookmarking

2008-11-28T14:18:00.001-08:00

This is a quick post since it is the Friday after Thanksgiving. You are either in the mall mobile-Tweeting your Black Friday excursion or sitting in front of the computer and Twittering from there.

Any how...

Part of the issue I see online are all these fancy tools and sites and you don't know how to use them. A bigger secret than that is you have to automate.

If your new or not so new to blogging behold the mysteries of social bookmarking.

What is Social Bookmarking. Tell Me the Secrets!
Social bookmarking is the easiest ways to get one way backlinks to your site.

After every post I hit up my Shareaholic button and then go to Social Marker. Make this automatic!

Social Marker is really nice since there is the option to choose only dofollow sites. I suggest posting to more than the dofollow sites but the magic lies in two areas: one way back links and front page.

The most popular front page to be on is Digg of course but don't pass up other sites like Del.icio.us and as I mentioned Mister Wong which has an amazing PR 8. You can pick up some quick traffic but more important is the more people who publically bookmark your site the better. You get backlinks from all those users including your own bookmarks.

What is the other secret?
Social bookmarking. Social equals friends. Make friends two ways by either doing a search on bookmarking sites for those who have similar interest or add your user profile to your posts, links on your blog or in your signiture when you are commenting on other blogs.

It's pretty simple to automate these things and if you do it at least once or twice a week for a grand total of about 10 or 20 minutes you will get more traffic and links to your site.

So there you go. At least one hour this week go bookmark some posts! If you need help leave me a comment and I'll walk you through it. :)

Twitterer of the Week!
It's Brewmeister-master Deege!
Check out: Fermantarian.com
Latest post: Absolut Recession

Pic by: Ford

Are you following me on Twitter Yet?
(Follow me you must...)

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Dofollow or Nofollow...That is the Question

2008-11-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

Pretty picture: Image Editor

Dofollow is there such a thing?

There has been a lot of buzz recently on whatever you feel like calling it...

dofollow, no-nofollow...you pick.

Nofollow. An old topic making headway again!

What is the best option for your site? If you do-follow there is extra incentive besides all that great content to get people to hang out at your blog.

If you 'nofollow' you hoard all the link love in favor of PR.

Now the next question is, how important is PR to you. For some it's no big deal to others it is the cyber-world and everything in it!

On that note this blog is no 'nofollow' (or dofollow for those who like the term better.)

However, a majority of internal links are 'nofollow' so that gives a balance between helping out my readers and still maintaining a bit of SEO power on my part. Comments certainly are dofollow.

Over the past few weeks here are some blogs that I have found discussing dofollow/nofollow.

Who is right? Everyone!

A Case for Dofollow
Internet Marketing Experiment Update - Jim's Marketing Blog
The Nofollow vs. Dofollow Debate - Jeff Flowers.com
Nofollow vs. Dofollow: Backlink Study - Tushar Dhoot.com
Can Nofollow Links Hurt You? - Fast Blog Finder

A Case for 'Nofollow'
Nofollow: Hurting Your Blog? - impNerd.com
Why You Should Nofollow Your Blog Comments - Search Marketing
Five Situations Where You SHOULD Use Nofollow - Search Engine Journal
How and Where to Use Nofollow Tag On Your Blog - Semua-O-Rank

One More
Is nofollow used in these forums? - Yep. Digital Point PR 6. They get tremendous traffic but think how many backlinks they have coming in and going out. See comment #9.

What is Dofollow?
The better question is what is no 'nofollow'. (see below)

If your still confused this by far, is the best explanation I have found about dofollow and it is a Squidoo lens:

Dofollow: Increase Your Backlinks with Dofollow Sites

What is 'nofollow'?
Official from Matt Cutts in 2005:
The Official Google Blog - Preventing Comment Spam

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(Well get to it!)

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Friday Social - Social Media Optimization

2008-11-21T11:12:00.001-08:00

Pic: apenny

Friday, Friday, Friday! Some of us don't have to worry about Fridays, but hey no more work until Monday for the majority! Time to get social! (For those of you getting this post a day late I'll have you know I finally changed the settings to correct it for next week.)

The 2008 Social Networking Analysis Report -
Geographic, Demographic and Traffic Data Revealed
As always another great post from Ignite Social Media. Do you ever wonder what the demographics are for some social media sites? We'll you should wonder, and here are some stats all laid out for you in the world of social networking.

Tip'd
...is "A community for financial news, ideas and tips."
If you are into the details of finance this is a great place to keep up to date, bookmark and socialize with others about money.

Making Sense of Social Media
Social media progressing at lightning speed? Great article how social networking has evolved.

"The critical questions for marketers are: How do we insert ourselves credibly into these networks and conversations? What's the optimal use of this two-way communication and distribution channel?
The answer begins with an appreciation of how these new networks are evolving and how people are electing to participate. Social media is evolving as cable TV did, from the broad initial pioneers who prove the concept and attract mass audiences to niche channels that hyper-serve specific market segments or aggregate content into broader sub-categories like dating, health or careers. If MySpace is the pioneer, then LinkedIn is the B2B play, and the contenders for other spots along the spectrum are beginning to line up"

Twitterer of the Week
Green_Fairy is my 100th follower!

I can't wait to see the movie. :)

Are you following me on Twitter Yet?
(Just do it!)

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Blogs that Make Money & Keyword Research

2008-11-20T09:15:00.001-08:00

Well looky here...

To the right is a screen shot from my blog and that is an Adsense ad with the keywords 'blogs that make money'.

Why am I telling you this? This is not my ad for one, and in using Adwords I have never used the term because it is not a highly regarded keyword phrase and costs a lot to use.

So why did the hell did I name a blog 'Blogs that Make Money'? Because I did.

It was actually the first title that came to my head at the time and suits its purpose. The phrase itself is not a huge search item but things that revolve it are. The blog can go in so many different directions to an adequate group of readers.

Sooooo. I bring it up cause' I'm no expert on keywords (just a keyword geek) but in doing the research this is not such a great search term. This is more of a branding deal so maybe some day it will be highly searched with tons of buzz surrounding it. :)

A good example here is Ramit Sethi's blog 'I Will Teach You to be Rich'. Never heard of the guy until a year ago I found his site doing research for a client about millionaires and rich people. I don't remember the exact search term but it was not the title of the blog. His blog is a rather bold statement made for branding.

Those who are keyword fanatics will know what I'm talking about. Terms like this cost money so if you are going to use Adwords make sure you do your research.

My other thought is that if I am paying for Adwords the first three spots on Google for that search term had better enhance the value of my ad. In this case the first two sites (I was #1 two weeks ago. :'( ) do not even use Adsense!

There is no ill intent towards this advertiser this is merely an observation. You have to look at more than what other people are doing. You have to find out how they are thinking and that is a strong point at this moment in marketing because the market itself dictates what you market and sell. Not the other way around.

I almost hope the advertiser is not a reader of this so they don't think I'm picking on them. Then again I hope they are and take this post into consideration.

To be truly niche when playing with keywords it's advised to have a small following with little competition. Too small a following (very low keyword search) does not help your blog.

If you are new to blogging that would be number one thing to pass on to you. Read, read, read = research and I don't mean market research. I mean read everything you can about blogging and how to promote your blog. Read as much as you can about what interests you even if there is no relation to your blog, and do it until you feel your eyes might explode.

Pareto Principle for Bloggers: 80% research 20% implementation that drives it home.

The marketing will fall into place.

Reading a lot makes your writing flow too. Your paragraphs are seamless and it's almost as if the blog post is writing itself. I don't write everyday but I read more than I think is normal. I used to be a 'doer' and finally said "screw this" because I was making more work for myself.

Research and reading makes everything automatic. You pick up what others miss. You learn what to do and what not to do from others. Let them do the work for you!

When you read on a regular basis there is no such thing as writers block either and your writing is organized before it ever hits the screen.

Research your keywords and readreadread. A lot.

Discuss...

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(Go for it!)

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How to Get Backlinks to Your Blog

2008-11-17T19:59:00.000-08:00

How to get backlinks still seems to mystify some. If you are new to blogging or have been doing it for awhile and are just figuring out the importance of backlinks, this post should help you out.

Some or all of these backlink tactics you may have heard of but I have placed them in order of what I feel is of importance. I hear bloggers buzzing about different types of SEO and marketing which actually might not be the best option for their blog because it can be time consuming or not the right thing to do at the present moment.

Read through the list and decided for yourself where you need to set priorities for building one way backlinks. Find what interests you. What can you automate or delegate.

What are Backlinks?
A super quicky. You gain page rank by being popular, which determines if you are higher up on a search engines front page or not. That is what you should strive for if your serious about traffic and SEO. The more backlinks you have the more popular you are in the eyes of search engines.

Add carefully selected keywords to this technique and you're simply unstoppable.

Backlinks guidelines:

Build links slowly. Too many backlinks too fast can get your blog penalized. An exact number? Who knows. Keep it simple and you'll have less to worry about.
Don't link to crappy sites that link to other crappy sites. (Thank you Gary at impNerd he layed down the law for me. Just don't freakin' do it.)
Link exchanges are okay as long as they are relevant to your blog. Don't overdo it and place the nofollow tag in the link. (See previous guideline.)
Don't expect your backlinks to show up the minute you create them. There are millions of sites and blogs doing the same thing you are and it takes time to populate info. Don't be discouraged if you do not see immediate results just keep building backlinks. Your efforts will catch up in the end.
Use keyword researched anchor text whenever possible if not every single time.
Not all backlinks are equal. Some will raise your page rank and some will absolutely screw with it. Some are just a plain ol' backlink which is fine. You need a balance of backlinks that add to your arsenal so just consider backlinks that benefit your PR to having more bang.
Have a good portion of backlinks that are relevent to your blog. Yes this is a hard and fast rule but never pass up an opportunity to drop a link on blogs that are not as relevant as long as they are not linking to other crazy sites.

In order of importance here is how to get backlinks:

Useful Content
Hands down this is the number one way to get backlinks. These are the posts that people backlink to, bookmark and pass around. They incorporate them into their posts, add them to link lists, save them for when they need them, email them to friends, send them out in newsletters or add them to their articles.

When you write useful posts you also get your post or blog, as I like to call it 'socialized'. You get Stumbled, Dugg, Del.icio.us'ed, Mixxed and Twittered, etc.

The best types of content are lists, benefits, tools and how to's. Interviews work well and facts v. myth type posts are also good. Example: '10 Backlinks Facts' or '5 Myths about Backlinks'. Another example ' 8 Reasons to Use Blah'. Fill in the blah.

Whatever you have researched or feel that you are somewhat specialized in it makes for usefulness.

Great content helps your reader either accomplish a task or changes their point of view. This is win-win. Readers benefit from the info and you have the potential for backlinks.

Forums
This is by far the easiest. Most forums allow multiple links in signatures and some forums are no-nofollow. That's a bonus. Add to the fact that you can add your own links to forum posts and it's practically backlink building on auto pilot. Don't get too spammy and don't forget to backlink to some of your favorite sites that contribute to the conversation. "Hi all. I used http://such-and-such"... You want others to do the same for you right? You'd better be doing it too! Double standards have a way of catching up with you sooner or later.

Social Bookmarking
I say social bookmarking is before social networking because you get it out of the way to go work on other things. Sites are constantly updating so let them do the work for you. While that is kicking in it's time to socialize.

Social Networking
Honestly people tend to think that social networking is not good for backlinks. Obviously if you find sites that have a no-nofollow policy that is a bonus. Again you can end up getting two or three backlinks from sites that are affiliated with each other. Plus there is the potential for traffic and if you created useful content in the first place it may get passed around.

Look for sites that encourage you to submit your own content. There are more than a few out there.

Comment Marketing
Why do I think commenting is high priority? It's very easy to do and not so time consuming once you set everything up. There is also the potential for traffic. Subscribe to blogs that are similar or of interests to yours and when you find yourself at a loss as what to do, go comment. Subscribe to your own comments so you can reply to questions faster. You can also backlink to your own site in the comments area.

Press Releases
PR's are immediate and depending on the site you can either get link juice or they will allow more than one link to your site. Keyword them correctly and they will be high up in the SERPs if not in the top 3 spots. Send out press releases on a regular basis to keep people up to date on your blog. Next to a great blog post spend your time writing up press releases.

Internal Links
&
Blog Directories
This is a toss up in my opinion. Some people swear by directories but I find that if you are going to do it, it's something to either pay to have someone else to do it or something you do from time to time. Doing the research on a regular basis can be a drag and time consuming. Try and do it all in one shot if you can. Here is a tip, do it quarterly.

I'm so old school I believe the best way to market is to have someone else talk about you rather than direct advertising. In this case that can actually be a more practical backlink at someone elses' expense.

Internal links are great because you are already blogging and writing posts so you don't have to go far for the backlink. (See 'comment marketing'.) Make sure your internal links are no-nofollow. I put it low on the totem pole because it seems that if it is over used you could get slapped for it. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Links Swaps & Exchanges
&
Guest Posting/Carnivals
Or as I like to call it OPBs = Other Peoples Blogs.

Again another toss up. I've got a white hat heart and a black hat mind. Both tactics are debatable so use them at your own discretion.

Links exchanges are best in the form of banners and you can be blatant about adding them to a blog roll as long as they are relevant to your site and aren't attached to anything crappy. If you exchange links with just about anyone, it's a total crap shoot for a lot of reasons.

Blogrolls are for your buds or your own sites and not anyone else.

Another form of link exchange is guest posting. Again I say debatable because you may get backlinks and traffic but sometimes your useful content is better used for yourself unless there is come cash involved. Then who cares right? Ha ha. Yes I am a total believer in selling out too.

If you have good content they will write about you and backlink anyway. If you are going to use this method, offer your articles and let the blog masters pick and choose. Be leary of those who ask you to post for free unless they check out or you know them.

Ezines & Article Directories
Am I crazy to put this at the bottom of the list? Probably but I would say unless you are a whiz with keywords this is very time consuming and the rules are changing as we blog.

Ezines are better than article directories because if you provide great content someone is bound to add it to one of their articles or blog anyway.

You can have multiple backlinks to your sites from article directories and people use your content and then there is another backlink, but that is for people who are serious about content. Most are not.

Save your valuable keyword researched information for your own blog. If you just want to write and become an authority then it wouldn't hurt to add some links to your site and not have to dread over SEO. Some directories allow duplicate content because they just want more pages for CPM clicks and to have a variety of searches to win the hearts of paying advertisers. Tons of articles benefit mostly the directory, as they are always looking for free content.

Over time you will get traffic if that is your goal for article marketing. So add articles over time and include your backlinks.

Unless you have a system down, article marketing is better left for affiliate marketing or bloggers who want to be known as writers, and writers who want to be considered experts.

This is the end my friend.

If you want more specifics please see my tools area over to the right which I've been updating as I find helpful blog posts.

Please comment especially if you disagree with any of the info provided in this post. This is my opinion as far as priorities go. I get a lot of questions asking about SEO and some bloggers are working backwards or not implementing backlinks at all and that is going to get them nowhere quick. Or at least somewhere that they really don't want to be at all even quicker!

For your amusement: There is only one researched keyword, used once and only one backlink in this post.

Photo: existentist

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(Go for it!)

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Friday Social - 11.14.08

2008-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

The week's over time to par-tay!

I'd like this to be a weekly deal so if you like it let me know what you think.

Social News Central
If you have a Ning account and like social media this is a good spot to hit up. Lot's of Digg and Reddit talk and everything social in between.

Seattle Bloggers and Those Who Love Them
I never really use Facebook I'm more of a Stumble, Twitter type girl. So I finally started a group. This will be a lesson in self promotion. I'm too modest for my own marketing sometimes.

Doing Everything and Travelling Everywhere
Why don't you sell your house so you can travel the world and blog in over 40 countries. Gary Ardnt did just that and here is an interview with the photographer and world traveler. Please pass it on and do your magic people this is a great episode in blogging that others need to see.

Social Media is a Cocktail Party
Out this week a book exclusive to Ignite Social Media. Compare social networking to real life!

Order the book on November 20th and $3 will go to Make Wish Foundation for sales made that day.

Order it on Amazon

Twitterer Of the Week
The User Pool
Prepare to be dazzled people. A highly entertaining force on the blogsphere and on Twitter.

(To share your posts or social networking topics please do so in the comments for next week. Have a great weekend!)

Photo: M. Keefe

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(Go for it!)

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What is John Chow Having for Lunch Today?

2008-11-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

I have learned more about blogging on Twitter than any article, book or blog I could ever read. Not just from John Chow mind you...

It reminds me of the the book The Millionaire Mind and The Millionaire Next Door.

Twitter could be an equivalent: The Blogging Mind: how successful bloggers think.

It's not about emulating, more about shortcuts and doing that which is worthwhile.

A question that came up from Darren Rowse on TwitTip was:

When is Broadcasting Ok on Twitter?

My answer: Always!

Unless of course a Twitterer doesn't know when to stop.

When are good times to Tweet? When you have a blogging epiphany (that is 'safe for work' and your reputation) when you are socializing and laughing with other Twitterers, you have a new post on your blog, or you want to share the love and Tweet a good cause, news or friends site.

What I like best about Twitter, again, is getting in the heads of other bloggers. Why not subscribe to their sites? Because I already know most are going to Tweet on a regular basis that way I can pick and choose which posts apply to me at the given moment. I don't do affiliate marketing or use Wordpress but follow John Chow on Twitter instead. He did a great post today to promote Diabetes and Philanthropy Day.

It's those down to earth posts that get me. Anything informative that I can use and ponder. (A commenter also mentioned that in India it is Childrens Day. I like that.)

Who else have I learned from? I'm not a Lifehacker reader but I like the blend of personal, biz and publishing ideas that Gina Trapani Tweets. I've already implemented some of biz stuff here and there.

So if anything Twitter is a good tool to pick up some readers that don't subscribe to your blog and learn from others thoughts and wisdom in their Tweets. :) Try following more people on Twitter.

What are you doing using Twitter?

Are you following me on Twitter Yet?
(What's up yo!)

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Check Out MyTool

2008-11-06T00:35:00.000-08:00

List

I'm only going to post this once so pay attention...

Looking over to the lower right of the posts I'll be adding to a list of 'Tools' that I use on a regular basis for building all my blogs.

As time goes on more tools will be added as I probably won't be able to post every single do-dad I use. These are generally posts from other bloggers that I see as useful. I'm letting my subscribers know as some may pass up the tools list as I probably would too if no one told me about it.

If you have a list, firefox plugin, or something or rather that you or someone you know created, leave me a comment or hit up my contact page. I'll review it to see if it's a good match for the tools area.

Let me know if you find some links to be particularly handy for your blog.

Free SEO Tools Community

Photo: Elsie Esq.

Web Optimization

2008-10-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Is it me or are the SERPs being wonky this week?

I was screwing around with keywords and some other SEO marketing and noticed I dropped from the two spot for 'blogs that make money' then started slipping into 4th, 5th and 6th place and Problogger was even under Steve Pavlina for the same search!

So I thought it was just me and undid some of my SEO and seem to be back in 2nd place again. Interesting.

October 31st, 2008 Update:

Suddenly I'm number 1# :) 'blogs that make money'

FYI. Notice this is my entire site versus one Problogger post! I've already slipped back down to the 2 spot in the past few days which is still okay with me. For now...

Are you following me on Twitter Yet?
(What's up yo!)

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Blog Action Day: What Else You Can Do

2008-10-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Blog Action Day 08 is about poverty.

What can we do TODAY to reverse poverty for as many people possible?

Give Away Money: It's not your money to begin with so just get rid of it.

I was fortunate to meet a philanthropist yesterday and the subject came up that although I donate 20% to charity he said I should learn to become rich and donate less since he tithes well under 10%. I can imagine his donations far exceed what I make in a year!

The idea is to sink more money into making money so that you can GIVE AWAY MORE MONEY.

Get Rich Slowly - Daily Links: 200 Comments Edition
I got a lot out of this simple and random post the other day and wanted to share.

There are number of stories that are touched on from stashing cash and that making charitable contributions can make you rich.

My comments were: Philanthropy is your rent for occupying a place in society. (If you know where this term comes from please let me know.)

There is also great advice on how to get rich as well as an inspirational story told by Mark Cuban Sucess and Motivation how he went from a computer sales clerk to owning the Dallas Mavericks. (see comment #11)

We can't stop there we have to do more...start living like you're rich and...

Give Away Time: Time is the one thing that is yours that you can control.

Manage your time for a good cause.

Got a few weeks or a month to spare? Do you have vacation time coming up? Instead of wasting money on commercial items you could travel in or out of the country and volunteer.

I like the idea of volunteering at an orphanage because children don't care about money and that is not what they need. They need hugs and people to look up to make them strong.

Children are not the only ones that need to see a smiling face for inspiration. If you don't have a week or even a day, volunteer a few hours at your local food bank or teach a person to read, cook or budget.

Lend a Hand: Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Poverty happens in nice neighborhoods too. Reversing poverty is about lifting peoples spirits and letting them know there is a way out and that there are individuals out there to help.

Do you have a neighbor that is less fortunate that needs a house repair, furniture, clothing or food. Are there children or elderly involved? Can you watch a child for an hour or so or drive an an elder to the supermarket to shop? Is someone in your family in debt to you and can you resolve part or all of the debt?

I won't give out names but a member of the blogging community needed ideas to sell a book to make a mortgage payment. Not only did they get ideas but a lot of folks purchased the book and helped promote it.

If you would like a more detailed picture of poverty in America see this Blog Action Day link at
CivilRights.org - Fighting Poverty in the U.S.

I have always come across the debate that some people do not want to help other countries since there are problems in their own country to deal with. I say to those people it is personal preference. They should stay on the home front and help out as other see the U.S. as a place of tremendous opportunity whereas other countries really could use the aid no matter where it comes from.

To me it's heartbreaking knowing that I pass many people on a daily basis and not know their struggles and even tougher to know that there are people we will never be able to help because of laws and restrictions set by their countries leader.

What can you do as soon as you're done reading this post to help fight poverty? Research a way to give, donate a check, research and make an appointment to volunteer, get active in city hall or create information to help individuals better help themselves and to help others.

Poverty should never be looked at as 'that's just the way it is'. It doesn't have to be that way so I encourage people to help inspire not just today but in the upcoming weeks and beyond to use resources and make a priority of serving their community not just at home but beyond.

Links:
Get Rich Slowly - Get rich and give away money to a good cause!
Mark Cuban = Total Maverick!
Warm Blankets - Orphanage info site that was started by a friend of a friend.
Hopelink - Organization that runs food banks and community education programs in WA state.
CivilRights.org - Poverty comes down to community. Educate yourself.

Blog Traffic: How to Get It!

2008-10-13T14:54:00.000-07:00

Blog traffic the ever elusive Holy Grail of the Internet.

What if I told you getting way more blog traffic is not as hard as you think!

Keyword Junkie
When it comes to keywords I'm a fanatic. I research keywords just for fun!

If you are good at locating keywords and knowing how to use them you're in for a treat. Not only do they bring your blog consistent traffic over time, if you're good, start a keyword generating service as a part of your blogging business package. Yes keyword research is included in my business blogging packages.

Have a Social Blog
What I mean by a 'social blog' is writing about the social media sources you use the most. Give tips, tricks and ideas how to use social media to the readers advantage.

This is a great way for creating lists that people like to save and pass around. Solve your readers problems by providing answers to their social networking issues and you will see a decent amount of blog traffic in the end.

Some tools in my social networking list are: Stumble, Twitter, Entrecard, Mixx, Technorati, and Reddit. Recently I joined a nice little network: Social News Central.

Answer questions or start conversations on your own posts and give and receive feedback regularly.

Blog Submission
The area of blog submission doesn't end with directories.

Sites like Ezine Articles, Craigslist and eHow are basically ways to submit your blog for traffic and a proper form of link baiting.

Others forms of blog submission:

Comments - You are submitting your opinion and URL in a comments area and if people like what you have to say (even better if they disagree actually) they may want to see literally where you are coming from. Comments on both blogs and forums are great for link building too which gets you even more blog traffic. Don't stop at personal blogs and forums. Online newspapers can be really great for your comments if they allow a back link. Some do!

Traffic Swapping - Otherwise known as guest posting. You don't guest post because you are afraid. Get over that fear because that is where the traffic is at! The most you will hear is no reply at all just move on to the next blog. Even when you host a blog submission from elsewhere, it is common courtesy for the guest to post on their blog they are featured on your site.

Internal Links - What better place to submit your blog than your own site. Whenever I get the opportunity I'm always link-baiting to myself. A combination of internal URL's, keywords and live links will do wonders for your search engine ranking.

It's one more way to direct your readers to other posts in your blog. Ta-da, more traffic!

Use the power of others who have already been there and done that to build your blog traffic so you can do the same for others in the future!

By the way these are not things you do once you should be doing a combination of them everyday. Don't just read about it...do it!

Photo: extranoise

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What are you doing using Twitter?

2008-09-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Promote Your Blog

Calling all Twitter addicts!

It seems like Twitter came out of nowhere and actually it has been around since 2006.

At one point the micro-blog was seen as just another Web 2.0 time waster yet has wildly taken off with its uses to keep people up to date.

How can you use a micro-blog such as Twitter in your marketing?

1. Keep Your 'Followers' Current of Your Site, Blog or Business

Think of it as a quick little newsletter or opt-list that keeps your audience within reach.

If your followers can reply to you somehow that is even better. People turn into your advocate when they feel you are listening.

2. Send Out Promos

'Tweet' out a special coupon or discount.

Offer a 'Thank you for following me' type deal that is exclusive only to your Twitter followers.

3. Test Marketing

You now have instant marketing analysis at your fingertips.

Conduct quick surveys and see what the response is within minutes.

Think of it as instant feedback that marketing companies pay out the nose for.

4. Exclusivity

Treat your loyal followers as part of a VIP club.

Offer insight on yourself as a person and disclose some thought or idea that is true to you.

You are more likely to have influence over your audience when you build rapport with them.

Mobile Twitter offers exactly that.

Mobile Twitter adds that personal touch in your marketing. Share websites where your work can be found or has been mentioned. Give recommendations that you have of tools, people, businesses or other Twitterers.

5. Send out your contact page on a regular basis

Going back to surveys ask a question and leave your contact page URL to collect answers.

Some Twitter do's and donts:

o Use your 140 characters wisely - Condense your message so that you can get the word out in one Tweet.

o Space out your Tweets - What I've noticed as a mobile user is that one or two Tweets in a row is okay. (See above.) If you do all your Twittering at one time you are liable to have followers un-follow or 'blow up' mobile users phones and they'll 'turn off device'. You don't want that.

Use Mobile Twitter yourself and send Tweets throughout the day. Sending everything out all in the morning or all in the evening is too much for some of your followers to bear.

o Have a mix of Tweets - Offer an assortment don't just Tweet about 'shop talk' and links to your site. You will keep your followers longer by coming up with creative information that they can either relate to or learn from.

Follow me on Twitter!

Sign up for RSS and Email Delivery.

Social Networking List

2008-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Hi here is my social networking list that I like to be active on.

Add me as a friend if you like! :)

Digg
Mixx
Reddit
Sphinn
Stumble
Twitter

Why should you be social networking?

For a number of reasons:

Building a Community
Keeping in touch with an audience.

Your audience does not have to be a member of your blog but by social networking you are giving you, the blogger exposure.

What I love is the variety. Not only am I connected to those who like internet marketing, I share similar political, intellectual or humorous views with others.

My love of learning is also nurtured as I get to chat with lots of different folks and learn about other websites.

I also love promoting other peoples stuff. It's just in my nature.

Backlinks
Getting to the good stuff!

I'm as avid Stumbler and not only is Stumble good for a boost in traffic you can get double or triple the backlinks!

Say your post gets stumbled. You get a backlink from that posts Stumble discovery page. If anyone reviews your story you get a backlink from their member page. If someone else clicks on that review and reviews as well that is another backlink! I've also noticed that Blog Catalog has an area on it's site that you can connect your Stumble account with them somehow. Yep another back link from Blog Catalog/Stumble.

Mixx is also very good for backs links.

Not all back links are created equal. Some are 'nofollow' which is ok they just don't hold power in boosting your page rank.

Increased Traffic
The best part!

I don't use everything in my social networking list everyday but I do use some of them every time I post.

If you need a boost in traffic try submitting your link to several social media sites over a couple of days.

I'm actually subscribed to other social media sites but these are the ones I use on a regular basis. It's nice to have them as an option so if I'm asked to 'please Propel or Buzz' I can help someone out.

Was this post useful to you? Are we friends yet? Sweet!

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How to Irritate Your Readers

2008-09-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Turn your complaints into blog traffic!

Actually it is better to get complaints than it is to hear the cliched deafening roar of silence.

NOT OFFERING EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION FOR RSS
Was at a marketing gurus site and thought great I will get their RSS delivered to my inbox.

Oh snap! There is no email option.

How is that for a marketing guru?

Snap to you buddy.

COMMENTS ONLY IF YOU LOG IN
This is nuts! Are your readers going to email you and ask you to change this?

That is the sound of deafening silence my friend.

Is it worth it to have a reader unsubscribe or not subscribe at all to your blog if they have to login every time just to comment?

You'd better hope to hear the wail of a bull horn over crickets any day.

You don't have to publish every single comment but you turn readers into advocates if they feel you are listening.

09/11/08: Here is a great comic I found on the Original Hadron Collider. Take a good look at the ONE comment that was made.

Image: The Original Large Hadron Collider

NOT HAVING A WAY TO GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU
What if I had a million dollars to give you and didn't have a way to send you an email to let you know about it? Ok I could call you but I don't have your number either.

Or...

Imagine trying to order something that you want or need badly from a company and there is no phone number to call.

SPAM is not the end of the world and I say that as a woman because in a perfect world women would get spam. Simply they don't.

There are ways around SPAM learn them. See above on comments too. Not enabling reader feedback will hurt you more than SPAM ever will.

Blog Tip: Turn your emails and comments into article ideas and never have 'bloggers block' again.

POP UPS AND OTHER MISCELLANEOUS B.S.
Unless you have one of those really cool expensive ads that zip pretty animations across your screen don't go there.

It is an interruption in the readers experience...and it's damned irritating!

You don't want readers to click "Skip This Ad" buttons. You want to capitalize on readers clicking things that count like RSS subscriptions and other types of services and programs that are win-win.

Checklist:

o Sign up with Feedburner or other email type aggregators and offer email subscriptions.

o Disable login for comments.

o Create a contact page or at least allow moderated comments. At the very least have your email segmented some how if you have bot phobia.

Your readers can figure out emailme @ mymail dot com. Not too professional but it's better than nothin'.

o For every pop-up ad you have replace it with a link, button, badge, video or ad in your post that proves itself. A Twitter button, affiliate link or free e-book is far more useful and far less irritating.

What are some other ideas or complaints that you can come up with?

Do you need help implementing these tactics? Contact me!

Comic from: ahajokes.com

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Feng Shui Your Blog

2008-09-03T00:06:00.000-07:00

Dork alert!

Yeah I know I was thinking of this post in the past and commented on a marketing article today that explained the importance of color and marketing. (When I find the post I'll link to it!)
Here it is!

This is just a silly post so why feng shui your blog? No reason.

I'm not going to get into the details in this post and if you are familiar with feng shui then you will recognize some of the 'cures'. If you need an explanation on anything leave me a comment and I'll do my best to help you.

Feng shui feeds my superstitious side without going over the top like astrology. I'm not into astrology especially since I used to have a room mate years ago who would advise me not to plan anything or call anyone or GO TO WORK if Mercury was in retrograde...

The best picture I have of astrology is from Pee Wee's Big Adventure and he is standing on the astrology scale in the magic shop. The dial spins to Picses (yay! Picses!) and he gets an astrological fortune: Don't leave the house today.

Brilliant.

For my blogs I think of it as feng shui furniture placement, ads should be in specific area or 'bagua' of the blog, my friends list and information or 'resources and knowledge' should go in another. The point of feng shui is the flow of energy to simplify and improve the quality of your life. Here I improve the quality of my blog.

What have I done to feng shui my blog?

1. Dump past post that don't make any sense.

Everyone here reading with a blog has very well thought out blog posts I'm sure. This does not apply to you.

If a post has or had low traffic and no longer holds any intrinsic value for your blog ditch it.

I had a lot of crappy posts in the beginning of some of my blogs. Those posts were almost like a pile of shoes I never wear in the back of the closet. Either re-sole them, or re-write in this case, or off they go!

Clutter is bad chi don't you know.

2. Color scheme.

That's right! One blog I have is schemed in red and it notes attention. The topics are rather spicy and I don't hold back or worry who I offend. So there. It's feng shui.

Here we have green...yes the color of money, also the color of abundance and wisdom. I have some other money blogs that are blazen in gold and yellow-the color combination of wealth.

Purple is bad for design in any case and is probably a good accent color.

Orange is good for grabbing attention but too much yellow is harsh and you'll get nothing but complaints from fellow computer users.

Check out this feng shui color chart and you will also learn what baguas are which leads us too...

3. Proper bagua and placement.

There are 'auspicious' locations in a room when using feng shui so you treat your blog as if it were a map and you plan out what goes where.

I have all the ads in my 'prosperity' or wealth corner, my blog roll and people lists go in the 'helpful people' area of my blog, my email subscription in the 'fame' portion etc...

Is it silly? Yes. Does it work? I don't know. I'm no practicioner and don't live by it but its fun to tinker with the idea.

My blog looks cleaner and is easy to navigate with useful blogging tips scattered around so...

If you ever thought of feng shui'ing your blog, it's true, some people really do it. :)

Blogger Layouts

2008-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a nice compilation of free blogger layouts for your use:

BloggerTemplates.itmag.org
The Blogging Times
Create Blog
Jackbook
Mashable
Pimp My Profile
Pyzam

Blogs That Make Money

2008-09-01T23:50:00.001-07:00

Got questions or suggestions? Keep in touch:

::SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER::

::FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER::

Sexy Blogging

2008-08-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

Win a date with Jordan Pearce.

You wish!

This is one of those long, hot and heavy posts and I hope it is as good for you as it is for me writing it.

Sex in marketing has it's ups and downs, it's in's and outs, that is not a typo, and it's all about spreading the word. No, not the word I know your thinking about!

Sex in marketing has also been perversing the term 'Bow-chica-wow-wow' to the point of being either desensitizing or just plain wrong.

Before I get to the sexy blogging part, were going to go on a date and I'm going to tell you all about myself. Girls listen up too.

Some of you may yawn and order a double to get through this biopic hoping I rush through the girl-babble so we can move on to more tantalizing subjects.

Others will cling to every word that rolls off my fingertips as if I have something really important to say about marketing. You will attempt to get me back to your place so we can play a mean game of chess or the video game of your liking. Either one works for me so here goes.

Most people think that I am a man.

Okay sorry! No guy wants to hear that on a first date!

Let me explain.

1. Generally women are not expected to write about marketing.

Perhaps that might be a serious over-generalization.

I've had comments about this blog ranging from "this guy really knows his stuff" to "Jordan is the man!" The latter is my favorite.

2. Jordan is not my real name.

I chose to be androgynous because I used to write dating articles.

What? You say you don't want to hear that on a first date either? Damn. I'm really striking out here. Yet I have confidence I will recover and you'll be eating out of the palm of my hand soon.

The name Jordan popped up (boiiiiong...! Couldn't resist.) because I didn't want to come across as another Carrie Bradshaw wannabe so I left the whole gender thing up in the air.

It worked and the name Jordan just stuck.

3. I've been accused of being a bot on numerous occasions.

I'm too sexy for my blog and that's no gloat. That's a promise.

My Myspace page is nothing special so you wont get a glimpse of me in lingere or get to question if they are silicone or not.

Unfortunately my profile pics are more realistic so I'm not labeled a spammer. Isn't that sad? I can't even use my own picture!

You'll understand in some later comments how images of barely clad woman have ransacked marketing on the Internet. Even if its an e-book on e-commerce there is bound to be a picture of a tart-like lady close by.

My problem is this: I'd rather been seen for my mind blah, blah, blah insert girly plight here. For my sister readers let me share an important lesson I've learned--make sure your skills surpass your looks.

I've been been called, crafty, sharp, full of integrity, having a good work ethic (funny I don't have a job), and a maniac because I have many uncommon skills in the arts.

Consider me to be like a Tim Ferris type. Ok I'm not that extreme how about Tim Ferris lite.
(I still swear I'm a femme!) I read he is going to Burning Man and I give cheap fire eating lessons.

Also I'm year of the Rat (what's your sign?) and their motto is "I'll try anything once." Sexy no?

My interests are philosophy, speech, video, writing, working and writing for film, marketing, politics and the psychology of everything under the sun.

So then how come I dress like I think I just got off a photo shoot (hee hee. I said 'got off'!) or I'm ready to go clubbing at two in the afternoon?

No reason.

Now on to the sexy part!
What's does Jordan have to do with sex? Well a lot actually. Wait scratch that...

Last week I was wondering should I say screw it ramp up the sex appeal in my marketing for what I do. Maybe not here but on other blogs. Ironically I came across an interesting site.

Let me introduce you to Diana at SexyFemaleMarketing.com.

FYI and letting the Carrie B. take over this is what women do we match-make so this is Diana Sabrain everybody. Please be polite.

This girl has more guts than I because as some of you know I still like to hide behind a camera in my profiles. Diana has put one of the most important aspects of marketing...sex...right out in the open for everyone to see. (Did I just really type that? Actually I typed something else then remembered this site is PG.)

No, Diana has more class than the image that I so sinfully dropped like a juicy cherry bomb on the minds of my male readers. Her site and pictures are very tasteful. She is smart, cute and sexy as hell! Not to mention the girl has got personality and she knows marketing!

So is sexy blogging an unfair advantage that women have?

1. Men use pics of women in bikinis to market their profiles and affiliate sites. So Diana is absolutely right that women have the advantage.

2. Women don't use their sexy enough and some let men exploit it!

Okay some women use too much sexy and some have no business using sexy. If you don't have a license for sexy learn to drive the sexy-mobile so as not to crash it into on coming web traffic. M'kay.

Some Sexy Examples
If you've watched Celebrity Apprentice know that I was rooting for Piers all the way. Okay he is not that sexy to you...I love him for his mind dammit.

He brought up an excellent point that team weakness was not using their celebrity enough.

Piers urged to focus on Carol Alt on a certain campaign for two reasons...her celebrity and she is incredibly sexy! Both worked.

On another episode of The Apprentice girls on one team dressed like sexy Double-Mint twins in short skirts and tank tops to pass out fliers for a promo.

Another female contestant on an opposing team decided she was going to compete and literally do some show-booty-business and not surprisingly heard the famous words from the Donald himself: "You're fired!"

Let me point out a very important lesson here.

There is a difference between competing and being competitive.

Competing is when you think you are better than someone. Hence the girl who showed her ass-ets to New York on national television. Her attempt to sexiness was, well, embarassing and she got the booty, er, I mean the boot.

She could have pulled off too, but she had what's called a Sexy Fail.

Being competitive is when you are the best that you can be and you capitalize on it. That would be Carol Alt and twins I mentioned on The Apprentice. Sure Piers exploited a little and did it in such a way that was in good taste.

If you ain't got no game...work on it.

Staying competitive and no more competing is everyone's mantra from here on out.

My question is this: Are male marketers who use sex competing with women by using female images to peddle online goods?

Women do it better I will so boldly say. Why? When men advertise in such a way sometimes there is no mystery involved.

Anyhow...to get your sexy on or not.

One last lesson! SALES.

What did I reveal the most here today? Personality. This goes for guys too. Sell yourself (not your butt or anyone elses) and you will have the advantage of credibility.

I will leave my women readers with some valuable information...are you ready?

THINK LIKE A MAN. WORK LIKE A DOG. ACT LIKE A LADY.

AND

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SWEAR IN THE BOARDROOM.

Well I had fun on this date and should be going now. Hopefully I'll hear from you soon because I had a good time talking about myself. Ha ha. Call me sometime any way ok?

You know you want me.

Comments? Concerns? What do you think about this post, Diana's site or if I should bare it all or not? Just kidding that wont happen. I'm such a tease.

Please post what you think in the comments section and subscribe to Dianas site SexyFemaleMarketing.com

Googlewashing

2008-08-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

How come when I want to reply to an internal email on a site supposedly unrelated to Google I get the Google Contact page?

WTGoogle?

Google: Infiltrating websites since 2007.

Comments are appreciated!

Video: John Chows Tips on Affiliate Marketing

2008-08-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Video interviews are the best! Funny I say that since I work in the video and film industry and don't do video tutorials YET.

Any how check out this quick interview that Alex at Guru of Sales did with none other than John Chow himself.

How will you implement what you have learned from this interview to your blogging?

Please post your answers in the comments section. :)

Design My Logo

2008-08-17T13:39:00.001-07:00

Would you like to design a new logo or code above the line graphics for Blogs That Make Money? Please leave your email or phone number in the (moderated) comments section of this post, or links to any examples of your work and a bid.

Cash, trade or a combo of the two. Thanks all. :)

I Want To Hear From YOU!

2008-08-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

What are some burning questions you have about blogging or marketing?

If I don't know the answer I will find it for you!

Please leave your question in the comments area and if you have a blog or business website please be sure to leave the URL.

Need a backlink? BTMM is a do-follow blog so check out our other posts for important information and leave your comments. Hold the spam please. Thank you.

The Secrets to Good Blogging

2008-08-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

Mainly this blog is commentary and as someone who writes about marketing your blog, although the Internet is vast it can be challenging to find fresh information. Depending on the circles you run in you get a lot of repeat information.

Some of the secrets are how you use typical blog standards to your advantage.

Promotion
Of course you should be promoting your own blog and products. As you should also be promoting other people and their blogs and products. Which blogs, products or services have helped you out in your blogging?

Let me give some plugs and you'll see these blogs have nothing to do with marketing or blogging per se: Study Hacks, The Blog of Author Tim Ferris, I Will Teach You to be Rich.

Want to really learn about blogging? Learn from blogs that you find in social media. This is a perfect example of people promoting others. Popular articles are popular for a reason because they are clever or have useful information.

Rarely do I ever read blogs about making money as a blogger and I have maybe five blogs that I subscribe to and actually read.

Keywords
If you are not adapting keywords to your major posts you are dropping the ball. Especially if your highly niched! If you are like me and do some quick blogging here and there make sure at least one or two of your posts a week are keyword enhanced. Sometimes I have come up with good keywords even for quick posts.

I've had some very short posts that get continuous hits over a long period of time simply because of the keywords. I've never even promoted these posts they were mainly there for my readers.

I am ashamed to say that I don't have any particular sites off the top of my head to report on as all my keyword 'intelligence' has come from several sources. Yes this post was written on the fly as I don't specifically do research for a particular post.

There are numerous ways to find keywords and some techniques work better than others. Again it's a combination of what you find and how you use it.

Link Building
And...if you're not building links daily you and your blog are missing out! A good starter to get you building links is the Link Building Cookbook.

Products
What type of products are you selling and do you use what you sell? A lot of the products and services I offer are not promoted on my blogs. Yet my blogs are products that can be used by other people making it a product itself.

If you do like to have products on your blogs, the best endorsements come from users of said product which brings us to...

Word of Mouth
WOM is the most trusted form of advertising among consumers. WOM ties in with products and promotion. Who, what and how are you telling others about your products and services?

Other Peoples Research
Let other people do the work for you. Read up on blogs that YOU like and trust and not necessarily blogs that are the most popular. Some of the more popular blogs will not give you the full story. You'll find some bloggers who stray from the pack do some of the best research, are up to date and have very useful information that they don't mind sharing.

Social networking sites as mentioned in promotion tie in with research. Popular and well thought out blog posts will really help you in your blogging. Pay attention to what some blogs have in common and all you have to do is the leg work for your own blog implementing the techniques.

You have to read between the lines when it comes to blogging since there seems to be an air of highly guarded secrets...and there's not.

Is this old information? Yes! And it is information that works. Use what works!

Some questions to ask yourself:

What are some blogs that you have found use a combination of techniques to the secrets to good blogging?

What can you do for your own blog to implement some of these techniques?

Did this blog post help you in any way? In what way?

Please leave your feedback to the questions in the comment section. :)

Security
Photo by: Anonymous Account
(How ironic.)

Work at Home Opportunities are Better than an Office Job

2008-06-06T12:17:00.000-07:00

http://view.break.com/513310 - Watch more free videos

$50 Pay Pal Contest at Entrepreneur Life

2008-05-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

50 big ones! Several reasons to join Entrepreneur Life $50 RSS Contest:

You needed to post some content today. (I know I did.)

$50 is making money with your blog. (Yes it is.)

You get to promote a really great blog. (Yes you do!)

If you win thats $1 a word! (Unheard of by blogging standards!)

Go to Entrepreneur Life and subscribe to see some very inspirational posts.

CONTEST DETAILS

Photo by: ralfunden

Link Building Madness

2008-05-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Is Google driving you over the edge with it's fluctuating PR?

As bloggers that is our responsibility but it can certainly be maddening when you've done what you think is nice work only to have Google demote your page rank.

This is not a post to complain but one about taking action: Start link building!

Although I hadn't been posting since March (life gets in the way of blogging sometimes...) my traffic stayed steady and I continued to generate revenue. My PR for BTMM didn't budge (was a PR4 at the beginning of the year and dropped to a PR2.) Although I was still link building as well as my other sites, no site of mine actually increased in the past few weeks. One did drop to a PR3 despite my efforts.

Maybe a good rule as with a lot of other things is -- don't overwork your blog.

Ramping up the back links seems like the way to go until the next PR change. Will part of 2008 be the year of link building?

To be continued...

Simple Ways To Get Backlinks And Increase Visibility

2008-05-02T10:47:00.000-07:00

By Alka Shakya

The popularity of internet seems to rise immensely in the past few years. It brings along a greater demand for websites. The new success formula is: "Successful Business = Successful Website". It'll be a waste if you build one of the best websites and yet it remains unknown. In order to gain success on the internet, visibility hence is a must. The website should be visible to both search engines and the users. The best way to draw attention is to be on the first page of search engines' results esp. on Google, Yahoo or MSN. Most internet users rely on search engines to find what they are looking for. If you had built a website about 10 years ago, visibility was the easiest thing. A little bit of keyword stuffing and the search engines crown you the first page ranking. The Search Engines however have become really choosy on this aspect for the past few years. Keyword stuffing or other traditional methods won't do much good to impress them.

So how do you really impress search engines these days? The first thing you need to do is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The other thing you can do is build inbound links. Inbound Links are still given much preference by search engines. Getting one way links from popular sites have mainly two advantages: first your site gets indexed when the search engine spiders crawl the popular site and second is search engines think your link is important as it has been placed on a good ranked site. There are many methods to gain inbound links. The simplest way is to request the site owner to place your link on their website. It is simple but websites with high page ranks do not readily agree to place your link for free. You might have to pay them, exchange links with them or just look out for other websites since your page rank is not good enough for them. Yes it can get really depressing at times but hey no worries, I am here to help you with that. The other ways to increase your inbound links are as follows:

1. Pay Per Click (PPC):

If you cannot get on the first page of Google, Yahoo or MSN then PPC or Pay Per Click could be the thing for you. You bid for certain keywords and according to the clicks or the highest bid your advertisement with your URL will be listed on the search engine pages. This also is a good form of getting backlink or inbound link.

2. Social Networking:

Social networking is now the target for many marketers. With millions of users worldwide social networking is the best place to let the word out about your website. Go ahead open your own profile, let people know about you, your website, your expertise field and lots more.

3. Social Bookmarking:

Social bookmarking is similar to bookmarking in your browser. Wikipedia defines it as a method for internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet. These bookmarking sites are the best way to get one way links. The idea is to get your website bookmarked. The more it is bookmarked the better it is for your website.

4. Blog Comments:

It's time to get a bit creative here. Smart comments, suggestions are usually welcomed by bloggers. If you love to read then this is the best way to get backlinks for your website. Read the posts, drop your piece of mind, leave your URL and there you go, you got another easy way to get inbound links.

5. Forums:

You can participate on forums related to your business which is another way of marketing and getting backlinks for your website. If you are an expert in your field you can always be a forum authority. A forum authority is someone who is referred to as an expert in a certain field by the members. Forums are all about interaction, so communicate, provide tips, suggestions and people will respond to you.

6. Wikipedia:

There are very few internet users who haven't heard about Wikipedia, it is the online encyclopedia. You can sign in for free and provide information about various fields. You can even edit contents of wikipedia. This is an informative site so anything that sounds like you are promoting something might be banned.

These are the 6 simple ways to get inbound links and advertise about your website. Even if you've made the best website in the world, no one would know about it until you spread the word. So go ahead, a little bit of hard work and creativity will bear fruit for sure.

http://weblog.avenuesnepal.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alka_Shakya

Blogs That Make Money

2008-03-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

Photo by: antigone78

Would you like to be a guest blogger for Blogs that Make Money?

If you have a website or product you would like to promote guest blogging is the way to go!

Blogs that Make Money is a marketing your blog blog. We accept tips & tricks on SEO, increased traffic, affiliate marketing and work at home info.

Content we will consider:

Product, site, book and services reviews.
Marketing How To's & Case Studies.
Blogging Tips & Tricks.
Writing and other blogging Resources.

If you would like to submit a post for review please contact me.

What's in it for you:

You will receive full credit for your work with a link to your site at the top of the post and a bio at the end of your post with another link to your site. Three links to your sites are allowed w/exceptions. Ask me.

If you are a regular contributor or have 750+ word posts you will will receive a link in our Blogs that Rock list plus a full page bio with links to your site as well as a reference as a writer for us.

Post of 1000+ words or more are considered a feature post and more beneficial to you.

You may use publishing status for your portfolio with Blogs that Make Money!

FREE MARKETING!

See our stats...

You must have:

Original content.
Duplicate content is not accepted and post will be specifically written for Blogs that Make Money.
Post should be at least 500 words or more. 750 is the average and 1000+ is where the money is at and where marketing and advertising really kick in for you.

A blog. Ok you don't need one but it helps...
Money making sites are permissible as long as there are no pop ups/unders, spam or sites solely to generate PPC hits. No warez, hate, blah-blah-blah.

A Pay Pal account.
Yes we pay sometimes too!

A drive and passion for information.
We are a resource and marketing blog and articles that help other people is what we are looking for.

A phone number.
When submitting your post please leave your name or pen name and your phone number. We may want to call you for corrections, payment information or further posts.

Ask about our other writing opportunities for other sites.

Submit queries to our contact page or leave a comment (they are moderated) for more information.

Sunday Funnies: There will be milkshakes for old men

2008-02-24T13:13:00.000-08:00

Back to business tomorrow but if you didn't see this SNL clip last night watch it now!

Sunday Funnies: WHY I WORK AT HOME

2008-02-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

Blogs that Make Money Advertising

2008-02-13T15:18:00.000-08:00

Blogs that Make Money is viewed by thousands of readers each month. Our visitors are mainly interested in blog tips, internet marketing search engine optimization, affiliate making money programs, and getting paid to blog.

By advertising with Blogs that Make Money you have the potential to reach thousands of targeted readers interested in your blog or website.

This is a great opportunity to create exposure to your site, products, services and increase conversions.

Please send an email with 'advertising' as the subject: Contact

Thank you for considering advertising with Blogs that Make Money!

Pricing
Text link = $50 for the calendar month (just below the top Ad spot banner. Nofollow.)
125 x 125 Sidebar Ad = $25 for the calender month (3 max)
468x60 Banner Ad = $100 for the calendar month (upper left-hand corner)
468x60 Banner Ad Inside post = $50
Newsletter Text Link Ad = $100 (Next newsletter mailing) Next available January 2009
Newsletter Banner Ad = $200 (Next newsletter mailing) Next available January 2009

Newsletter: See our 'Contact' page.

Job Listings
Are you looking to hire a freelancer? Please contact me with your name and phone number to discuss the specifics. Our rates are very affordable for advertisers and we also offer package deals for recurring job listings.

Blog Stats
Gloogle Page Rank - 2
Alexa Ranking - 316,485
Technorati - 24
Back Links - 1094
Indexed Links - 1700
Newsletter Subscribers - 1200+
RSS Subscribers - 250+

Increase Website Traffic: More Entrecard!

2008-02-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

What kind of Entrecard dropper are you?

'Casual and relaxed' or are you 'A dedicated dropper with a hint of addiction'?

Either way you can increase website traffic greatly using Entrecard.

If your an EC addict or would like to become one go to PowerDropping.com and speed up the card dropping process!

Power Dropping has assembled a long list of Entrecard users by page speed and having their widget above the fold. If you're already an EC user then you know that this simplifies the EC dropping process.

This makes it super quick to drop cards like mad and collect heavily on that increase in web traffic that Entrecard is so famous for.

3 Major Benefits of Entrecard:

1. The obvious - to increase online traffic!

2. Get exposure for your website or blog.

3. Find other webmasters to collaborate with.

Get started with Entrecard then head over to Powerdropping.com and increase your blog or website traffic today!

Internet Marketing Strategy: Ron Paul Revolution

2008-01-31T09:59:00.000-08:00

I'm on a big Ron Paul kick this week and go figure since I'm an Internet and marketing addict the online appeal is obvious. Not only that I've been a Libertarian since I was a kid (unknowingly) and live the lifestyle and support the ideas of Libertarian life since then.

This post is not to persuade you to become a Libertarian, Republican or Independent or to promote the Ron Paul Revolution but for you to observe and learn from some of the tactics his camp has deployed as a political Internet phenomenon.

Here is a great article with lots of stats: Internet Marketing - The Amazing Ron Paul

There are some old school SEO tactics at the Ron Paul website but probably their best achievement online so far are numerous Ron Paul Revolution videos and their use of social networking sites like Youtube, Myspace, Facebook and the bloggers and webmasters who spontaneously want to get the word out.

Hubpages: Ron Paul Revolution

Another part of the campaign success are the Ron Paul Meetups and the scheduled Ron Paul Money Bomb.

'Money Bomb': Ron Paul Raises $6 Million in a 24 hour Period

(Note: The Ron Paul campaign did not raise the $4 million, a dedicated Ron Paul supporter did.)

Some of his principles from supporters are 'no brainer' tactics like:

"If they want to do away with the IRS now is the time to prove it..." Life in Motion on donating to the Ron Paul Money Bomb on February 1st, 2008. (Also the Pauls 51st wedding anniversary and supporters are encouraged to donate $51.00.)

"US Military "forced" to Vote Ron Paul...Military members are required, by oath, to "support and defend the contstitution..." From Ron Paul Money Bomb Weblog being Ron Paul is a strict constitutionalist.

"If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything.-- (Malcom X) and that is what our current government is hoping for..." From Ron Paul Revolution on Hubpages on sticking to and fighting for an individuals personal liberties, values and principles.

What you can learn from the Ron Paul Internet campaign and as far as marketing and what can you apply to your own business or blog?

What can you organize online and off to get more people involved in your marketing efforts? Can you come up with your own 'money bomb' or 'traffic bombs' to earn more cash from services, affiliate programs or ppc ads?

Internet Marketing - The Amazing Ron Paul

2008-01-31T09:48:00.000-08:00

By Scott Porter

Wow, check out Ron Paul's Internet Marketing campaign!

Without doubt, Ron Paul's success on the Internet is nothing short of amazing. His team's approach has been ground breaking in the way they've applied Internet Marketing techniques, not only to reach potential supporters, but to attract a significant number of contributors.

Although not currently one of the frontrunners, Ron Paul is now being called an "Internet Phenomenon" by many political strategists.

While the Internet Marketing strategies being used by Ron Paul's team are not necessarily unique, the dedication his team has shown in reaching potential supporters online has been outstanding. By deploying a very aggressive Internet Marketing campaign, Ron Paul's team has attracted a flood of contributors and a huge number of avid supporters.

In a very short period of time, Ron Paul's team has developed an enormous Internet presence. In fact, anyone who's been online in the past six months has certainly seen multiple references to Ron Paul on the news or social media sites.

If you consider the raw numbers, Ron Paul's Internet Marketing strategy leaves his competition in the dust - and it's a big reason he's still in the race:

Consider the facts ...

· Last month, Ron Paul's site had well over a MILLION visitors, more than all other Republican candidates combined!

· In one day, Ron Paul's team raised over $6 Million dollars on the internet.

· They raised approximately $20 Million Dollars in the 4th quarter of 2007 alone.

· On YouTube, there are 109,000 videos currently available about him.

· And in the past month there have been over 89,000 blog posts about him, according to Google.

The bottom line ... Ron Paul's focus on Internet Marketing is changing the face of political campaign strategies.

Ron Paul is not the only candidate making use of the Internet ... on the other side of the aisle, Barack Obama's team has deployed a very well designed Internet Marketing strategy - over 728,00 visitors last month - and has been very effective in reaching potential supporters and contributors in his own right.

An Objective View

My analysis of Ron Paul's internet success is purely driven by curiosity; I have no political affiliation or opinion of Ron Paul's political platform.

What intrigues me about Ron Paul's Internet strategy is not only the response he's received (over a Million visitors last month), it's the number of contributors he's attracted and the dedicated constituency he's built on the Internet. With a major part of his communications being conveyed via the Internet, Ron Paul's campaign team has demonstrated beyond any doubt that Internet Marketing is a formidable tool in building a successful political campaign strategy.

Perhaps the Ron Paul campaign chose to focus more on Internet strategies and less on other media simply due to budget constraints. Whatever the reason, their decision to use the Internet as an integral part of their campaign strategy is undoubtedly a big reason he's still in the race.

This is not the first time we've seen a candidate deploy an Internet Marketing strategy as a part of a political campaign strategy - but it may be the first major campaign that has used the Internet as a primary part of their campaign strategy.

So, what does this say about future political campaigns and the tactics that will be developed to exploit the enormous potential of the Internet?

Political campaign teams can be very creative in developing marketing methods and I have no doubt we will learn a great deal concerning Internet Marketing by watching the successful political campaigns.

If 'necessity is the mother of invention', then the Internet Marketing strategies being developed by political campaign teams like Ron Paul's will no doubt be leveraged by other organizations to help build their own visibility and success.

Ron Paul's Internet Strategy

So, what does Ron Paul's team do differently?

The short answer lies not in what his team does, as much as it does with how his team 'works' their strategy.

First, the Internet Marketing strategy Ron Paul's team has implemented focuses on some very basic Search Engine Marketing tactics:

· Website optimization,

· Compelling content,

· Intuitive site navigation,

· Social Media,

· Press Releases,

· Videos,

· Blogging,

· RSS feeds

· Email Marketing, Newsletters, & Breaking News

Pretty straight forward, right? No real surprises here with the exception that Ron Paul's team does not really use of PPC strategies to any great extent.

The real difference lies is the way Ron Paul's team implements their tactics, especially when compared to other Presidential contenders' strategies.

The body of the site contains very compelling content that is easy to find and leads you to endless amounts of interesting information concerning Ron Paul.

Maybe the most obvious difference is Ron Paul's site is constantly being updated and changed; the team adds new information daily and continually works to improve their Search Engine visibility using well attended blogs, Press Releases, and Social Media.

Web Site Optimization

Overall, the Ron Paul team has deployed a very solid website in a short period of time. Not that every part of the site is perfect, but the good points far outweigh the bad. In fact, with just a few slight changes, the Ron Paul website could serve as a great model for other political candidates.

One somewhat insignificant difference, but one that I personally like about Ron Paul's website, is that his team does not use an annoying Splash page as many other candidates do.

I know splash pages look good to the website owner, but they're almost always a waste of time since most people just want to get to what they came to the site to see - in this case, information about Ron Paul!

The 'home' page Ron Paul's team has designed is very intuitive and easy to navigate. They've placed breaking news, volunteer sign up, Blog access, and an excellent menu of choices that covers everything from Ron Paul's position on the major issues to videos and recordings of his major appearances.

Looking at the foundation of the website, Meta Title tags are the same for all pages. Concerning the Meta Descriptions, they're also identical across all the pages of the website, so the Search Engines choose their own descriptions to display with the Ron Paul listing. Not recommended, but it probably causes no real harm in this case.

Looking deeper, the site could use some fine tuning, adding Alt tag descriptions that contain more keywords would help; as well as adding unique Meta Descriptions for each page.

Links into the page are almost non-existent and I would recommend adding a number of related, quality inbound links to the site. It couldn't hurt and would probably drive even more traffic to the website and/or Blog.

The site could also use some additional keyword research to help Ron Paul key in on the potential voters who are not familiar with him, and to present his message to more of them.

The Ron Paul interactive videos on top of the 'Issues' page are a great addition. It seems to me if more detail were added concerning Ron Paul's stance on the issues, it would be a more valuable contribution to the site.

Although there are some obvious opportunities for improvement; given the website's presentation, the information available, and ease of use, I give Ron Paul's team very good marks in the SEO category.

Social Media Strategies

Ron Paul's team's approach to social media marketing has made him a Republican powerhouse. His campaign team understands social media and knows how to use it.

From photos and videos to networking, Ron Paul can be found across the Internet.

Most candidates' teams have begun to use social media sites but most of them don't seem to be very active on them. Ron Paul's team excels

here because they are very active - they make continuous updates on his social media profiles all hours of the day.

Increasingly, as new generations enter the voting ranks, social media is becoming an indispensable part of successful political campaigns. The current generation of younger voters has grown up using the Internet as their primary means of communication. It's second nature for them to use the Internet to gain and share information.

Currently on MySpace, Ron Paul shows over 273,000 friends, Facebook shows over 205,000, and YouTube has over 109,000 videos under his name.

On the Ron Paul Blog, links to submit posts to Digg, StumbleUpon, Delicious and others are available. Also helpful, is the RSS feed button that's displayed in the upper part of the left column. Having an RSS feed signup on the blog helps to promote the blog even further in the social media outlets.

When you look at the popularity of Ron Paul on the social media sites and compare the other candidates to him, he is definitely using the social networks more than other candidates to promote his grassroots efforts.

Blogging Strategies

Ron Paul has a very active Blog. His team consistently posts new information and breaking news all hours of the day. The Ron Paul team knows they have a very active and captive audience on the blog and they actively cater to them.

There's an RSS button to easily subscribe to blog updates and links to YouTube and other social media are scattered throughout the page to promote Blog entries.

Overall, Ron Paul's campaign team has done an outstanding job developing and deploying a very effective Internet Marketing strategy.

Summary

Internet Marketing is quickly becoming an integral part of nearly every political campaign.

Increasingly, the Internet is becoming a news and recruiting source that is irreplaceable in major political campaigns.

Pressed for campaign funds, both Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul have used the Internet as a very cost effective way to get their message across to potential contributors and voters.

Without their efforts on the Internet, it could be argued that very few people would have ever heard of either candidate. While both candidates are underdogs, they probably would not even still be in the race without their well orchestrated Internet Marketing campaigns.

How much of Ron Paul's or Mike Huckabee's success is due to their Internet Marketing efforts? There's no doubt Internet viewers looking for information concerning these candidates have had no problem finding it on the Internet.

The real question is how many potential voters will actually be affected by the Internet Marketing they come into contact with? Judging from over a Million visitors to Ron Paul's website and the amount of contributors he's been able to inspire, there can be no doubt many potential voters have been directly affected by the Internet Marketing strategy his team has deployed.

It's now clear Political Internet Marketing is a very effective campaign tool and will continue to be an increasingly important part of successful political campaigns well into the future.

By Scott Porter

MarketBuilders

Ron Paul Page

About The Author

Scott Porter is President of MarketBuilders, a full service Internet Marketing firm. MarketBuilders uses targeted Internet advertising, top search results, sponsored advertising, Email marketing, Blogs, social media, Press Releases, copy writing, link building and optimized website design to provide businesses a significant competitive advantage on the Internet.

Scott Porter has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Marketing & Information Systems, and has over twenty years experience working with Fortune 100 firms to develop and promote marketing and information systems strategies.

by Scott Porter
Managing Partner
MarketBuilders

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Porter

Do Follow Directories

2008-01-17T12:06:00.000-08:00

Since I've fallen off the radar for a minute I thought I would do a quick post with some useful links and info.

Doing some keyword research on my own blog I ran into some good 'do follow' directories. For blogs check out the Do Follow Blogs Site Directory and Blogs that Follow. Submit your link now!

In the past few weeks I've had limited time in front of the keyboard. Every chance I get I comment on other blogs, drop Entrecards and do keyword research.

Find your three favorite fall back options for marketing so in the event of life getting in the way of blogging you are still generating traffic and keeping in the blogging loops.

Do you have a Do Follow blog with a PR 3 or higher? Leave your link in the comments and you will be added to my Do Follow list on another site.

Increase Online Traffic with...

Free Online Advertising - Tech Jaws

2008-01-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

Learn by example to get others to advertise for you...

Techjaws is running a contest to win free online advertising front page of their site for a full month. The spot is a 300x250 rotating adspace shared with 2 other winners.

To enter all you have to do is subscribe to the RSS and either comment or write a post on your site about the contest.

The contest ends Friday, February 1st. Why not do all 3 and see if you can't win!

Techjaws Contest

Free Online Advertising

2008-01-08T12:59:00.000-08:00

More ways to get some increased traffic to your site:

Craigslist
This is a no brainer. Although CL switched to no-follow tags in their ads and got rid of the 'biz opps' category it is still a great place to get some traffic.

Keywords, creativity and strategically placed ads can get traffic to your site, blog and even your affiliate marketing programs pretty much anytime you want.

Research and consider starting a Craigslists campaign not only for increased traffic but for the free online advertising of your services.

Two more free classifieds:
USFreeAds & Sales Spider

Entrecard
Another no brainer. If you run a business you need the essentials: a cell phone, computer access, a bank account, a Paypal account, a car and a business card.

Ok you can actually get away with using only four of those tools but Entrecard is your electronic business card, and you need one, so you can drop in multiple fish bowls to win a free lunch!

Not only do you get exposure but you get traffic and the opportunity to interact and collaborate with others who are web-to-do and you get to advertise for free on their sites.

Entrecard is so win-win in so many ways if your not using Entrecard to increase website traffic you are truely missing out.

Write a post entirely devouted to Entrecard and encourage others to join because it will help them in the long run. The more people on Entrecard, the better!

Too be continued...

Increase Website Traffic with Bloggrz.com

2007-12-30T11:46:00.000-08:00

The key to increased traffic with Bloggrz.com is to get in early!

Submit your blog or your favorites in this Stumbleupon styled site designated to blogs.

A unique feature to the Bloggrz toolbar is the "Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed" button.

There is also a four star rating system for blogs. Once you are "recently submitted" you can get voted to front page and listed under "Popular Blogs".

It's a great site that for that extra traffic and RSS boost plus I have been finding quality blogs in my genre that I have never heard of before.

Increase your website traffic and download the Bloggrz toolbar.

2007-12-30T11:31:00.000-08:00

Increase Online Traffic with...

2007-12-26T11:20:00.000-08:00

No Nofollow
Tips 4 Blogspot

Ultimate List of DoFollow Plugins
Andy Beard

Guest Blogging
Piggy Bank Pie

The Entrecard Widget Club
Sam's Freedom Blog

Keyword Sniping
Court's Internet Marketing School

RSS Directories
Jordan Pearce

2007-12-24T12:32:00.001-08:00

Happy Holidays!

Best wishes,
Jordan :)

30 Free RSS Feed Directories

2007-12-18T09:49:00.001-08:00

Recently I had to re-do my RSS feed information and although I had 200+ subscribers not everyone is going to follow or they may even unsubscribe.

This week I had to launch a quick and dirty RSS feed campaign to boost my subscriber list again.

This list of RSS feed directories is specific to free, no logins, subscriptions or reciprocals, all have decent Alexa rankings and the links go directly to their RSS feed submit pages.

No RSS feed site guarantees a listing even if you do subscribe or reciprocate links so this list is a quick way to merely suggest your RSS feed.

If you need more in depth RSS feed directory info look in the resources at the end of this post along with some other cool RSS feed tricks to get subscribers.

Subscribe to my RSS!

List updated: 04/14/09

30 Free RSS Feeds Directories

Blog Bunch
Blog Catalog
Blog Intro
Blog Listing
Blog Pulse
Boing Boing
Daytime News
Feed24 (Unavailable service)
Feed Fury
Feed Base
Feed Bomb - Submit from category.
Feed Map
Feed See
Find RSS
Feedplex
Fyber Search
Ice Rocket
Jordo Media
Million RSS
Octora - (Adsense page)
Paid Directory - This free. No really.
Plazoo
Press Radar (Currently needs email submission.)
RSS Feeds :( No workies.
RSS Micro
RSS Motron
Sarthak
Search 4 RSS
Solar Warp
StrategicBoard (No longer accepting submissions.)

RSS Feed Tips & Tricks

Get your site indexed in search engines quickly by submitting your RSS feed.

Stumble and bookmark your RSS feed page.

Don't forget to ask your readers to subscribe.

Add a sticky blurb about RSS subscriptions at the top of your posts.

Search Feedburner for ways to promote your RSS including Feed Flare and Animated Headlines

When leaving comments on blogs that "do-follow" add your RSS feed URL.

Have an RSS contest in which you offer prizes to the 50th, 100th or th 1000th subscriber.

Provide several options (buttons, links, email) to subscribe to your RSS feed on your site and in your posts.

Remind readers to subscribe so as not to miss important contest or group info.

Use your RSS feed url in your email and forum signature.

Place aggregator chicklets in plain site on your front page or within posts.

Display your RSS feed from a Del.icio.us account.

Write a review for RSS Hugger.

Swap RSS feeds with other bloggers by starting an RSS roll.

Add your RSS feed to Entrecard and display the widget on your feed page.

If you are a guest blogger or do article marketing add your RSS feed page to your bio.

Google Reader offers a way to share your RSS list with your friends...don't forget to subscribe to your own list!

List Resources:
Blogger Barter: Syndicate Your Blog
Master News Media: RSSTop55 - Best Blog Directory and RSS Submission Sites
Business Blogger: Blog RSS Promotion in 30 Minutes
45 Working Sites to Quickly Submit Your Blog

10 Ways to Market Your Blog Using Entrecard

2007-12-09T14:50:00.000-08:00

If you haven't signed up for Entrecard yet you're truly missing out. Entrecard is an electronic business card that you pass around to other EC "card holders".

You earn spendable advertising credits by "dropping your card" on other card holder sites. You can also earn credits when EC users advertise on your EC widget.

The more EBC (Electronic Business Cards) that are dropped on you, the higher your value is raised for others to advertise on your site.

Entrecard is a tremendous opportunity not only to get traffic to your site but to also rub elbows with some high profile and up and coming authors in the blog sphere. It's one more way to add valuable content to your site while marketing yourself at the same time.

Why not go above and beyond what your widget has to offer?

Here are a few ways to take advantage of using Entrecard.

Write an exclusive post for those who advertise on your site.
Throw a contest and give away Entrecard credits as the prize.
Ad your advertisers to your most used social networking and bookmarking sites.
Write a thank you email to your advertisers. (Sound silly? Think again.)
Do a blog post on the benefits of advertising on your EC widget.
Add repeat or relevant advertisers to your blog roll.
Leave comments on other EC members blogs.
Look through EC member sites and see what posts you could speed link to.
Give away your own free advertising for the day to frequent EC advertisers.
On your advertising page list EC credits as a form of payment.

(What other ways can you market with Entrecard that are not listed here?

Leave a comment with your Entrecard marketing idea, your name and a link to your site and and I will link to you from this post!)

Free SEO Tools

Blogging Heroes: Deep Blogging

2007-12-08T15:39:00.000-08:00

"I've been too busy blogging to, well, talk about blogging."
-Owen Thomas, Editor, Valleywag.com

Who is your favorite blogger? After reading Blogging Heroes you'll have one or a few more to add to your list.

Blogging Heroes is an anthology of the pioneers of blogging who have some of the most successful blogs on the web.

Interviews include Mark Frauenfelder of Boing Boing oddities sucess, the founder of Joystiq Chris Grant, Mr. Gary Lees' An Internet Marketing Web Site and Gina Trapani the editor of LifeHacker.

I say deep blogging if you want to know what makes successful bloggers tick. Did they do it for the money or for the love of blogging?

No doubt you will find inspiration in this book and find your blogging perspective take a new direction.

The Bloggers:

1. Dave Taylor
The Intuitive Life Business Blog
2. Chris Anderson
The Long Tail
3. Gina Trapani
Lifehacker
4. Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes
5. Mary Jo Foely
All About Microsoft
6. David Rothman
TeleRead
7. Frank Warren
PostSecret
8. Mike Masnick
TechDirt
9. Mark Frauenfelder
BoingBoing
10. Robert Scoble
Scobleizer
11. Peter Rojas
Engaget
12. John Neff
Autoblog
13. Ken Fisher
Ars Technica
14. Deborah Petersen
Life in the Fast Lane
15. Joel Comm
JoelComm.com
16. Brian Lam
Gizmodo
17. Kristin Darguzas
ParentDish
18. Chris Grant
Joystiq
19. Scott McNulty
The Unofficial Apple Weblog
20. Philipp Lenssen
Google Blogscoped
21. Brad Hill
Weblogs, Inc
22. Steve Rubel
Micro Persuasion
23. Rebecca Lieb
ClickZ
24. Deidre Woollard
Luxist
25. Gary Lee
An Internet Marketing Website
26. Richard MacManus
Read/WriteWeb
27. Eric T.
Internet Duct Tape
28. Victor Argeda, Jr.
DIY Life
29. Steve Garfield
Steve Garfield's Video Blog
30. Grant Robertson
Download Squad

Feed Update

2007-12-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

The RSS feed to this blog has been updated!

All the buttons and chicklets have been modified and the new feed is:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/BlogsThatMakeMoney

My apologies for any inconvenience.

Thanks everyone!
Jordan

Sexy Comments....

2007-12-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Please feel free when you comment to leave your nickname and an anchor link to URL in your message. Please do not SPAM as comments are still moderated.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Free SEO Tools

Increase Traffic: Keep Out of the Cliques

2007-11-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Ahh. The life of extraordinary popular delusions and the madness of crowds.

Interesting how the web has so many opportunities to connect with people all over the world and yet most users favor to associate with designated groups they feel comfortable with.

Small groups they can feel a part of. Associations to get a sense of belonging. Cliques that they can lead or cliques to join where you will feel closer to the top.

Yet the thought leaders of the Internet and real world think otherwise. The best part is they are the ones who create the cliques knowingly or not!

How can you increase your traffic you ask?

1. What is a Clique?

According to Wikipedia a Clique is a group of individuals who posses the same patterns of behavior and seek out to compare themselves with others in the same social status.

Call me a chameleon I can jump from clique to clique and never be a member of any given group. That includes online and off.

As an example in most recent years the Seattle Freeze has been a roadblock for many who come to live and work in the region. Is it a bitterness for not being accepted or is it something more?

How come the outcasts don't create their own cliques if they are so disenfranchised by the social scene in Seattle.

Is it that people who come here cannot penetrate the high standards that Seattle's Generation X has touted as The Seattle Chill.

2. Competing v. Being Competitive

That brings me to blogging and the difference between competing and being competitive.

Competitive is being the best you can be. Competing is comparing and wishing you could be the best that someone else already is.

When you are involved with a clique your traffic is limited to the group. Hopefully readers will refer you to surrounding cliques but that is highly unlikely even if the cliques seem to crossover somehow. What seems acceptable and important in one clique may have you look like the laughing stock in another.

Rarely is the clique looking out for other members in the group. They are pushing their own agenda and expect you to do the same.

Have no agenda other than to be the best with what you've got and stay competitive by learning on your own and not what the heads of the cliques are telling you to do.

3. Do Unto Others

How would you feel if you worked hard to market something and it was looked over because readers didn't feel it would be of popular demand. Now is your chance to get back and look over their work, ha ha just kidding.

You would say that's business. What happens when cliques bunt heads? iPhone v. Android. Mac v. PC. Of course those are enormously popular culture cliques but what would happen if instead of competing they joined forces.

Collaboration takes looking beyond a small scope or target market and having a vast market that you can please on a regular basis on a larger scale.

How do you do unto other? Support the best or more original ideas. Not the most popular.

4. Be of the World Not a Part of It

Narrow minded marketing caters to favorites and lets the masses have all the say. As a marketer I want everyone to love my products and not just a small few.

That is the job of a marketer. To spin a product or service that is otherwise useless to most and find or create an audience that will benefit from it.

For some businesses it's a popularity contest. Real business leaders don't want to be popular they want to change lives foremost and make money off of it. The more lives changed the better.

Does popularity pay? Sometimes yes, most times no.

SUV cliques were popular for awhile. Who is paying now? The consumers who fight to the death that their SUV class clique is still tantamount to the rest of the vehicle industry.

Obviously you want to follow course on what has already been researched and established as far as playing your markets. Let others do the work for you and see how they came to their conclusions and solutions. It doesn't mean you have to mimic, copy or sell what they are selling because it seems popular or they were a success at it.

The best thing you can do it to break free from what the majority is doing and start doing your own research, create your own systems, collaborate and look at avenues outside of your target market and see how you can revolutionize your own product, business or site.

Bandwagons are for consumers. Are you a consumer?

Stop looking at what you believe to be competition and do your own thing.

Free SEO Tools

Marketing with Myspace

2007-11-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

Myspace is still one of the best ways to get targeted traffic to your website or blog. You don't need to know a lot of Myspace html codes or have fancy Myspace widgets. Myspace lays it all out for you!

1. Profile: Plain or Pimped Out? - Your audience determines if you need a
pimped out Myspace background or the default.

Are you trying to attract business types, and yes they have Myspace profiles, or a younger crowd of more artist types? If you don't know much about Myspace widgets or free myspace layouts, either hire someone to pimp out your Myspace page or keep it simple.

Your user name should be in relation to your business. Use your first and last name if you are trying to be recognized as an individual business owner. Use your business or domain name as you would want it to be picked up by search engines. On my profile I have my first and last pen name and my Myspace URL set to my domain. That way either keyword will bring up my profile.

2. Promote Your Site - Be blatant and post your RSS feed or email subscriptions on your Myspace profile.

Do you have any banners? Make some and add your URL. Myspace is a visual medium and even if you opt for the simple Myspace background, you still need some eye candy to get readers poking around your profile.

If your a social networker like me, and you should be if you are marketing your blog or site online, post any relevant badges or links from Digg, Stumble Upon, links to any discussions that you may moderate or if done correctly links to affiliate programs you may be offering.

Excessive ads and spam will chase your readers away. You want direct traffic to your site so save the sales pitches.

Adding Friends

3. Groups - Join all groups that interest you and are applicable to your business genre. Start your own group and invite others to join. Groups are specific discussions. Don't be discouraged if no one joins in. Groups can have thousands of members and the forum is at a crawl.

If you are new to Myspace you are not able to group post for the first 7 days. Use that time well for developing your Myspace campaign.

4. Bulletins - This is where your marketing kicks in. Send bulletins often. One a day is suffice. More than that and people will become suspicious and un-friend you. You can use HTML in your bulletins and send banners or full page ads or a simple live link: "check us out at http://blah...

Your my space page is to attract visitors to your site and not a point of sale. The job of your site is to make the sale and the purpose of Myspace is to attract potential clients or have your site go viral.

5. Myspace Blog - Use the blog for some quick blurbs or to announce contests or upcoming news about you, your profile or business. You can post pictures and HTML as well to attract subscribers.

The blog is a good tool because it will come up in relevant searches and if people like your blog they will subscribe or will add you as a friend.

Plays Well With Others

6. Invite - If your wondering how to get lots of Myspace friends in a short amount of time the answer is Myspace Robots. The use of bots is highly discouraged as you can have limited Myspace capabilities or be be banned.

Take some time if you really want to market on Myspace and individually invite people. Time consuming yes and legal on Myspace terms.

The beauty of Myspace is that you can target your market using the search capabilities. Myspace users are free with their information if you want to single out a certain age group and gender in a specific zip code you can in the advanced search.

Another way to look for friends which is more time consuming is to go through the groups list. Or pick one of your existing friends and search through their friends list and pick out the active and interesting users who stand out. I try to only add the users who are active at the moment or those who have at least checked out their own page on the same day. That means they are true Myspace users and not just a parked profile.

About a third of the people you invite will respond so don't go all out and expect to get 80 friends out of 100. You may only get 20.

What I've done is ramped up my friends in the first three days of my campaign and then add about 5 to 10 friends a day after that. That would be 1000 friends by the end of the year so depending on how ambitious you are you can add more friends per day. You may add up to 400 in a 24 hour period. If you are working with a team a good job for an intern would be to scour Myspace for 20-30 minutes a day tweaking out your company Myspace page.

If you're really serious about your web presence hire someone to add friends for you. A webmaster who will creates your page usually includes adding friends as part of the package.

It's nice to have lots of friends but the best tool is to have targeted friends that are active Myspace. Users who promote your site for you and who are not there only to collect friends but are there to collaborate . That can be accomplished with 10 friends or less.

If you want to look like you have a lot of friends and this doesn't hurt, add celebrities and bands to your friends list. You will almost always get the friends add because they want to be promoted.

This works well if you have a media inspired website because people judge others by the music they listen to and who they think is cool on Myspace. Choose well!

7. Comment - Leave comments on other peoples profile either thanking them for the add or to wish them a happy Monday or holiday. Some users add picturesque banners in your comments directing users to their sites.

You may choose to disable HTML in your comments This prevents people from leaving websites and other spam and doesn't mess with your template.

I encourage the crazy comments because I'm on Myspace for the same reason to advertise my sites or services.

Have fun with Myspace and start up extra profiles to test Myspace layouts, backgrounds and marketing tools.

Free SEO Tools

Promote Your Blog - 3 Different Approaches

2007-11-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

There is more than one way to promote a blog. So what is a marketing person to do when the only articles they run into are blogging basics to promote your blog. Well you write your own posts!

In this attempt I will reaveal my own ways to promote your blog without the obvious basics.

Marketing Campaigns

No marketing campaigns are not obvious. What's a marketing campaign you ask? It's when you list of all the marketing techniques that you are going to use to promote your blog. Date, objective and budget.

Marketing campaigns are number one and the reason they are No. 1 is because you don't even need a blog yet to start marketing!

Business plans are too formal and if you have one neat-o. You can save them for later if you are going to sell your blog or invest with others for a business venture.

For now a marketing campaign will save your butt. Why? You have something on paper to show potential clients. You test what works and what doesn't and have documentation for reference. You can also pull up the marketing campaigns that worked in the past. Write notes for ones that bombed and avoid them at all costs.

Some of your marketing campaigns will be better than others but you need documentation of your marketing activities and efforts. Investors are not going to care about your blogging mission and your hopes for your blog. They want to know how you got traffic and which forms of advertising brought in the bucks.

Marketing campaigns keep you focused on the big picture and that is to make money!

Slush Articles

I just made that term up for a concept that already exists. Maybe it has another name that I don't know about.

A Slush article is the same as a slush fund. For those of you unfamiliar with a slush fund, that is the extra money used for entertainment or business purposes. Taking clients out to dinner, sending them gift baskets, giving them box seats to a sporting event, rewarding your employees with an elaborate party, anything that is a 'thank you' in a way. Public relations money is another good term.

It's money that was left over if you got a deal on advertising or didn't use up the budget of your marketing campaign.

Slush articles are leftover information. Not the meat of the business but a little extra in case you're interested and a way of saying "Thank you". Give away free stuff!

This is a marketing site and there are three ways to do this. Well take this post 'promoting your blog' as an example. One way is to do a post with links entirely of ways to promote your blog. The trick is to make sure it is a niche post and has lots of keywords.

Example:
Promote Your Blog
by Jordan Pearce

Heres a quick list of articles to promote your blog:

99 Ways to Promote Your Blog
99 Ways to promote your blog. Wow!

RSS Feeds by Alexa Rank
Awesome list on relevant RSS feeds. Wow!

The Ten Commandments of Blogging
Divine ways to bring in traffic. Cool!

Web 2.0 Sites by Page Rank
Do follow sites to plant your linkbait. Sweet!

etc...

The second, use slush articles that are soley ways to promote your blog. Write or borrow ten articles with all different types of keywords, all worded differently and all with different links.

Let these articles sit. You don't even have to promote them (ironically) or make them come up on the main portion of your blog, archive or recent posts. These are the posts that the search engines will pick up if they are niche enough.

Write 10 articles on 10 different niche subjects and that is 100 pages of advertising.

Ideally you want to use slush articles before you actually start a blog. In fact you can start a blog entirely of slush articles.

Don't annoy your RSS fans. Leak your slush posts when you do your normal posting. Instead of three posts per week sneak in one or two slush articles in relation with your normal posts. Readers will just see it as extra information and if its duplicate they will just pass over it anyway.

Don't flood your blogs! That pisses people off and they will unsubscribe.

Reverse Email Engineering

I put out numerous ads all over the Internet (because I have good marketing campaign habits) not only to promote my blogs but to promote your blog too!

When I get emails from those ads, I answer each relevant one individually and I never have to ask them to promote my blog. They already tell me they are going to do it for me! Sweet! That is the nature of people. We are all inherently good and want to help each other out.

My whole intention to receiving emails is to promote others.. So you give you get. I never give with the expectation of getting but normally I get an exchange or free advertising in one form or another.

So there are three unconventional ways to promote your blog that are rarely talked about.

Free Seo Tools

2007-11-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

A compilation of useful SEO tactics
by other bloggers:

7 Free SEO Tools to Analyze and Optimize Your Website for Speed and Compatibility
OnlineTechTips.com

10 Ways to Drive Traffic to a New Blog
Copywriting.com

11 Ways to Build Links to Your Blog
MarcoRichter.net

40 Resources for Photo Sharing
VandelayDesign.com

Article Directories by PR
BlogsThatMakeMoney.net

Backlink Builder
WebConfs.com

Blog Directories by PR
BlogsThatMakeMoney.net

Blog RSS Promotion in 30 Mins.
BusinessBlogger.net

SEO v. SEO 2.0: 15 Differences
Seo2.0.onreact.com

Top 30 Pligg Based Social Networking Sites That Are Worth Your Visit
ManishPandey.com

Web 2.0 by PR
BlogsThatMakeMoney.net

Web Directories by PR
BlogsThatMakeMoney.net

Would you like to be added to FREE SEO TOOLS? Send me a comment and a link to your page for review.

FREE SEO TOOLS

Always Be Creating

2007-11-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

Google page rank fiasco overload kept me away from BTMM for two weeks!

Ironically at that time I was beginning research to write a post about marketing on Myspace and Facebook and look what I ended up with instead:

Urban Writ

A Pulse On the Internet...

Wow a whole new webite. So even when I'm not blogging I'm always coming up with ideas and trying to implement the ones that really stick.

This site is basically a weekly digest of current issues with a little bit of a web twist. This week I actually had a theme and that was the corportate hijacking of the arts because it seemed like a hot topic in the wake of the WGA strike.

Here are some of my recommendations so you can Always Be Creating:

If you cant stop thinking about it, it's probably a worthwhile idea.
Not to the point of obssession, ok well maybe, at least start on the project before someone else does. You can always go back and tweak things. Or if you don't work on one of your sites you can always be apologetic and offer up some new information for others to ponder.

Reasearch and more reasearch.
I just about blew a gasket reading so much in the past few weeks on all I could find on marketing to specific markets. I haven't written anything in the last two weeks because I wanted to focus on what I had learned instead. That actually makes for better writing and posting. Your ideas will be more fluid and you will have less to edit in your writing. I promise.
Campaigns.
If you plan out your campaigns ahead of time that is less work for you overall. You can also refer to old campaigns that worked when you find yourself at a loss. Start referring to lower level priorities that you haven't got around to doing yet. This was an absolute life saver for me in the past few weeks. I scripted 5 marketing campaigns for Urban Writ and now I can actually use two of those for this site too.
Mimic the best.
You don't have to steal or plagerize from others but scope out what others are doing for marketing and take note. You may actually come up with a better idea or learn to implement something very basic that you did not consider before. Does your site have an RSS feed or a way for others to contact you? That's what I mean by basic. Look for reoccuring patterns and must haves that everyone else is using. Now go post your RSS feed right now!

Write everything down.
If you let an idea slip your mind you will kick yourself later. You should also make a list of priorities from 'must do or die now' to 'can do if I have down time'.

I get sidetrack easily so for me a pen and paper is actually more important than my laptop. All I have to do is turn my head to the right, look down and I know what I'm supposed to be doing.

Another reason to write things down is so that you keep your mind active. Write headlines or ideas for lists. It's called a swipe file in the copy world and you keep all your ideas in order and you can go back and use them when the time is right.
Network.
That seems obvious but do it for the simple fact that interacting with others who are on the same wavelength will give you the creative energy to move forward. Whenever I interact with people I'm always wondering or coming up with ideas to move their agendas forward or learning how I can move my own with ideas I hadn't thought of. You learn from people so keep people close by so they can learn from you too.

I'm guilty of being an opportunist but I am an ultimate observer and love to share information freely. When the words come out of your mouth (or out of your keyboard) you put forth into the world and clear a space in your head and heart for your next ingenius and creative idea!

That's what I've learned so I can Always Be Creating because if you cut out a lot of the leg work you have more time to kick back and think big!

Coming soon...

Marketing on Myspace and Facebook

Web Directories

2007-11-01T11:57:00.000-07:00

Search Engine Optimization

Add Your Link To A Free Directory

Are You INTO TECHnology?

Artoo Links - SEO Friendly Directory Droid

Best Directory 4 You.Com

Blog Report
directory submission free cheap web directory link website listing

Click my Brick Directory

Higher Engine Position - Web Directory

I AM Directory

King of URL

LinkBook

Linkedout

Official Blog Search

Web Slackers Site Directory

Website directory

WebsiteLinks.info

Search Made Easy

Search Engine Optimization and SEO Tools
62-151 Media Group - Directory Listing

SEO Friendly Web Directory

Link Suggest Add

Online Printer Cartridges - Buy printer cartridges online and deliver to your home.

Level10s Sites Directory Project - Level10s is a directory of websites ranked by quality.

Link Directory

Add Web Site Directory

Submit URL Directory - Suggest URL - Sublime Directory

Web 2.0 Badges

2007-11-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Blog Directory

Increase Targeted On line Traffic- Technet SEO gets you affordable increased web site traffic by getting your web site to the top of the search engine rankings. Visit our website to see the list of services.

The New Page Ranks Are Here! The New Page Ranks Are Here!

2007-10-26T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ok so I'm a jerk!

Caught word that more PR's were sliced and diced today so I thought I would take a peek at my own PR's.

1st site: 3 to 2 Booooo. Page rank doesn't matter anyway.
2nd site: 0 to 3 Oh my!
3rd site: 0 to 3 I'm on a roll...
4th site: 0 to 3 I still don't think page rank matters...
5th site: 1 to 3 YES!
6th site: 0 to 1 Eh.
7th site: 4 to 4 Boo! Google sucks! That's a five and they know it!

I have a bunch of other sites that have remained the same and not worth mentioning.

I'm going to guess that a lot of people are at 3's so as to level the field in webby world.

What's it all mean?

Share your thoughts...

Read some more:

More Google Search Rank Fiasco

2007-10-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Busy day!

Google Can Kiss My Derriere
TechSailor

Digital Point Members Put On Suicide Watch - The title alone is funny as hell!
JLH-Design

Read More:

Social Media is the New Page Rank!

2007-10-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

Since everyone is taking their focus away from bashing Blog Rush...

There are so many posts about the Google Page Rank Fiasco that I don't even have to write about it!

StumbleUpon Will Love Us Even When Google Doesn't
NowSourcing dot com

I Never Bought Into Google Page Rank Score
Usability & Holistic SEO on CRE8

Google Page Rank - It's a Class System
Work N Play dot net

Google Page Rank Doesn't Matter - Can We Stop Talking About It Now?
Dosh Dosh dot com

The Pagerank Tsunami Washout with Google's Implemention on TrustRank
Etienne Teo dot com

Google Page Rank - Minus 1 Equals 9!
WebMastersWorld dot com

Google Page Rank is Dead and Has Been For Quite Some Time
Scobleizer dot com

8 Things We Learned About Google Page Rank
SearchEngineJournal dot com

Read More:

Powerful Marketing Shortcuts that are Different from the Rest

2007-10-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Not only do I love to write but I love to read. Some weeks I will read four books cover to cover. Some days I spend the entire day online doing research. Other days I can crank out seven to 10 articles on different topics all in one sitting because I am a freak that way. Then I find the time to put it all together and blog when I am not doing other business and living a life.

Some days I let others do the work for me and, and other days I do nothing at all!

Then there are the days that I actually have to work. Those are few and far between but that is just my style I guess.

In no particular order, here are some useful blog posts and sites that offer powerful shortcuts in your marketing so you can run your business or blog and not have it run you.

20 Hard Core SEO Tips
Seo Theory and Analysis Blog gives creative and essential
ideas to give you the competitive edge.

Social Media Daily
The social marketing blueprint you were always hoping for!

Link Building Techniques: No Nofollow Forums
Virtual Marketing Blog tell all list to dofollow forums.

The Easiest Way to Make Money Online - Seriously
Why is this different? Because it is often overlooked. The
formula that top earning blog masters have been using for years
and it will be new news to you.

101 Little Hacks to Help You Get Your Work Finished More Quickly
Not necessarially marketing but shortcuts to get you closer to getting around
to marketing.

Enjoy,
Jordan

Blog Action Day 2007

2007-10-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

Antarctica Weather Report
Crazy weather, crazy video!

Blog Action Day 2007
YouTube

Oceana.org
Dedicated to preserving the worlds oceans.

Overcoming Consumerism
One of my long time favorite sites!

So what can I do?
A blog about what you really can do.

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