OVBlogger: Blogging and SEO

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So, I’m like having a vacation week next week, at least from my regular job. It’s been 2 years since I took any time off at all. Unreal. I feel like an Internet Marketing automaton.

And two weeks ago, decided… This has to stop. Just for a while.

I wake up in the middle of the night and think: Lord, I never wrote back to the guy asking me to coach him. And then, I promised I’d promote this thing, that thing, and that other thing. Oh yeah, and the content has to be updated at Blogging4Boomers? (Like my new banner? I have absolutely no clue how to make it clickable. Help! Anyone.)

And so, worrying about such stuff when I should be sleeping means that Pat’s had enough for a few days–at least.

If you don’t see me, don’t worry. As the Governator once said, “I’ll be back!”

Popularity: 19% [?]

I remember when Traffic Geyser first opened. Tellman had Mike Koenigs on a call with us and we were all like, cool. Sounds like it can be a useful site. That was almost 2 years ago.

If you don’t know what Traffic Geyser is all about, it’s a video distribution site. You upload your video one time and Traffic Geyser does the rest for you. You can upload it to like 30 video sites now, the audio to like 16 podcasting sites, and bookmark it in 10 social bookmarking sites at the same time. How cool is that?

Wasn’t that big when they started out, and why I said it keeps getting better.

Plus, when you upload the video, you get to add tags, a good SEO title and a description which goes along with it to whatever site you submit it to via TG.

The biggest downside is that you have to go and join all the video sites, podcasting sites, etc. Still, it’s a small price to pay for getting the tool to work for you. Very powerful stuff.

Oh, and I forgot. It will distribute to blogs, too. You can choose from some of the hosted solutions or even customize and have it sent to your stand-alone WordPress blog. Kewl?

If you’re using video and not using Traffic Geyser, you’re wasting a WHOLE lot of time.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Yes, I’ve written a few press releases in my day. I’ve published a few, too, back in my editor days, but I love what they can do for your business in terms of getting traffic. If you haven’t written one, they aren’t terribly difficult, either.

First and foremost, you need a good hook.

That’s exactly like a headline. So, if you’re good at writing headlines, you have half the battle nailed.

I like to tie my headlines in to something that people might currently be searching for. So, I cruise the headlines in the news. Of course, you have to tie your headline to the body of the press release or it won’t work.

I go to places like Google News and Excite or Yahoo to find the choice headlines, and the trick is to find something people are searching for. Right now, it could be Obama, Batman, or there’s always the fuel crisis.

Just be very careful how you do it or the release won’t be approved. If you can work a legitimate tie-in, though, you’ll be cool. Like, if you’re talking about Batman, you’d better have a gothic product or something superhero-like. I think that would be kind of hard.

Last year, when we were launching The ListBuilding Club, I did one for Tellman that said he was opening the club with more tricks than Harry Potter, which was out at the time, and then went on to say that Tellman’s not a magician, but he has more marketing tricks than a tutor at Hogwart’s. All worked out, you see?

Anyway, that’s my tip for the day. Have fun coming up with cool ways to get people interested. They may not even know that they want to know about your cool news, but well… when they get there, they just might be highly interested, eh? Get as many people reading your releases as you can.

Popularity: 27% [?]

I don’t know about you but I’m a huge fan of Brad Fallon’s Free Line Report. Actually, whatever Brad does is always stellar, and I always read his SEO blog, even before StomperNet, but this video short is something you can watch in a couple of minutes and get some really awesome stuff!

Yesterday, for example, Brad turned readers (watchers… it’s a video and written blog) on to several free video sites that rock. I’m trying out Jumpcut right now to see how it does with video editing. But he mentioned five totally great resources for photo and video bugs. They were each interesting and awesome in their ways.

Today, we got stuff about Firefox 3.01, which I didn’t know was out. (Thanks, Brad. You made it easy to jump on over and get the update.) But he also gave us stuff about ClipMarks (OK, I knew about that one, and BTW, your link is broken.), a tab solution, and one very interesting plugin that keeps you abreast of the competition called Niche Watch. Only problem there is that it’s for older versions of Firefox, and I totally love SEOQuake, even if it’s not working so hot with Google searches right now.

But that’s neither here nor there.

Brad Fallon gives great content every week day and I just love it. In fact, if you follow Brad on Twitter, you can see the minute the report comes out. Pretty sweet.

Popularity: 28% [?]

Ha! Who’d have believed I’d say that?

Well, it’s true. When you start thinking about how you can help other people and stop trying to make money so hard, it just comes to you. It just appears! Really.

Yesterday, I actually turned a customer away. I know this wonderful lady (she’s a real sweetheart), and I know that she’s not ready for the stuff in my site. It’s a little more advanced, for people who understand more than she does at this point.

I remember what that was like. Everything seemed incredibly complicated and I just wanted someone to lead me by the hand and tell me what to do. I think it’s really cool that she trusts me to be that person.

So, I sent her to the best place for that online. Really.

It’s not my site. Yes, I’m an affiliate for it, but I get about half of what I would had I signed her up for my site. I mean, it wasn’t fiscally smart.

It was people smart.

When you get someone into something they can’t handle, just for the money, they come to distrust you. They figure what you gave them is bull because they can’t understand it at that point in their education. They get frustrated and they back away from you.

So, you see, by being people smart instead of money smart, you get a customer and a friend. That’s something money can’t buy.

Right?

Popularity: 30% [?]

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been watching the pre-launch of a really impressive and brand new video contest that just launched on June 1st.

The prize?

A complete business makeover worth over $15,000. The prize package includes airfare, hotel, and you get to spend a full day with Internet Marketing experts who are there to help completely transform your business.

For more details, go to: http://easyseotricks.com/MDO

Who should enter?

What’s really interesting about this contest, is that really anyone who does any business on the Internet could really make out well here. Not only could you win the grand prize, but there are many other prizes available as well.

And here’s the big one…

The amount of traffic this could drive to your website is mind-boggling. You’re not only entering a contest, but you’re also a part of a huge viral marketing campaign where thousands and thousands of people will see your video and your website.

Talk about an opportunity within an opportunity!

Once you enter, post the link to your video here and I’ll be sure to check it out and vote on it for you!

The contest ends on July 14, 2008, so hurry! Go to: http://easyseotricks.com/MDO

Popularity: 31% [?]

Everyone is probably writing about this today. I know they’re all sending emails about it. I think I’ve gotten at least 10 by now.

John Reese is launching Traffic Secrets 2.0 very soon, and I like what I see, so far. I’m curious and quite interested. Looking forward to watching the second video because I know it will be better than the first. I just do…

I saw John Reese at a StomperNet conference last year, and he’s pretty intense. Lots of personality, a good sense of humor, and I was totally impressed with all the incredible information he gave us that day. But I’ve always been interested in what he’s doing and I pay attention when he comes out with something special.

Like Blog Rush, last year. I joined immediately, and it’s a pretty cool program. I built a downline there and my titles are shown on thousands of blogs every week. Some posts get 500 or more visitors in a day, which is cool to me, but in the first video for Traffic 2.0, John Reese talks about getting millions of visitors and having them be targeted! That’s totally interesting, no?

>>Warning: Pat is going to digress<<

Here's the thing with Blog Rush…

It all depends on your topic and your headline. I seem to do better when I’m writing about something IM or SEO, and if I write a good title, people click from curiosity, too. No doubt about it… Blog Rush does work, but it’s really up to you to make the traffic happen by figuring out what people want, writing about it, and then, writing a killer headline.

Another tip on Blog Rush is to keep it high in your sidebar, right under your optin box (which should always be your top widget). If you put it down low, nobody will see it and it won’t work for you because nobody will click and you’ll get no impressions. Unless you have a downline, you won’t get any displays. No displays = no traffic. So, get the widget up high and find some referrals, if you really want it to cook.

You can see Blog Rush working in the green box to the right that says, “News from the Blogosphere,” and go ahead and join if you’re not a member. It’s free, so why not try it?

Write some killer titles and people will get curious. Notice what gets clicks and what doesn’t. If you’re writing something really important, you want people to see what you have to tell them. You need to talk them into reading in just a few short words. That’s not always easy, but working at it will pay off.

>>digression over<<

I'm going to be watching this launch closely, and here's what I think...

John Reese is a very smart guy, and I'm always interested in what he's doing. Traffic Secrets 2.0 looks pretty sweet. I’m totally interested. If you haven’t watched the movie, you definitely should check it out. You can see it at http://www.TrafficSecrets.com/ . And no, I’m not an affiliate. Just think it’s cool.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Thanks to Annie, who commented on my last post about Firefox 3.0 and told me about a post at Mashable. It lists 30 updates to Firefox Add-ons, which is great! Check out http://net-proinfo.blogspot.com/ for that information.

Only problem is… Still no Tab Mix Plus.

Get with it, will ya, people?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve lost material because I just opened something and forgot that Tab Mix Plus wasn’t there to open that new tab for me. It really sucks when you’re listening to a training audio and lose your place.

GRrrrrr…

If anyone spots an upgrade to that one, we’ll be friends for life.

I’m still liking Firefox 3.0 in every other way, though. Pretty sweet.

One other thing that was brought up to me was that Firefox 3.0 is incompatible with Roboform.

Untrue!

I use Roboform. Just go to the Roboform Website, and upgrade to version 6.9.09 and it works pretty well. The only issue is that it sometimes doesn’t recognize the site I’m on. No big deal. Right clicking and using “Fill forms” works just as well as the toolbar, if need be. I totally couldn’t live without Roboform.

4,000+ passwords and counting. And yes, I have the pro version.

What’s cool is that I’ve had that for a long time and it doesn’t expire. It’s well worth the cost.

But not true with Software 995. When I got this new computer with Windows Vista, I had to get a new version of pdf995, and when I tried to use my key, they told me something like, “Well… You didn’t actually think that your key would last for.ever, did you?” or something snarky like that. So, I bought it again, not realizing that Word 2007 has a plugin to use that creates .pdf docs and I didn’t have to spend the extra cash. Oh well… what’s $10?

Not even a decent lunch these days, eh?

Popularity: 33% [?]

So… This morning I wake up. It’s my birthday! And so, I’m like, happy about it, but not like a kid, you know? When you’ve had as many birthdays as I have, it just seems like another day.

I call in to the manager’s meeting that we have every morning at Overcome Everything, and I’m waiting to tell Tellman what’s on our team’s plate for the day.

Then, my husband pokes his head in to say, “There’s a police officer here to talk to you.”

I’m like, “What about?” He just shrugs and looks worried. Here, I’m thinking it’s donation time again.

So, I walk into the living room, and there’s a guy in his mid- to late thirties, probably, in a uniform. He says, “Are you the owner of a 2008 black CTS with the license number XXX-XXX?”

“Yes. What’s this about? Would you like to sit down?” I ask him.

“No, that’s OK… I was up late last night and I should just keep standing.” Now, I can smell the alcohol on his breath, and I’m thinking, Wow! He’s probably hungover. What the hell?

So, he says, “Were you driving in Creekwood Shopping Center on Wednesday?”

“I guess,” I said. There’s a Starbuck’s in there and other stuff we’re always going to, so I figured I could have been, but couldn’t quite remember.

So he turns the page, and says that they had a complaint from the Sheriff’s aunt. She was driving a yellow VW and said that I cut her off and forced her into the grass.

Now, I’ll show you how dumb a person can be:

1) The guy was wearing a wrinkled shirt with his undershirt hanging out at the sleeves and neckline. My dad was a cop. He was always starched and pressed (’course that was the olden days, but…) with shoes shining so clearly that I could see my face in them.

2) This part of Bradenton is really unincorporated Manatee County. Bradenton Police don’t really have jurisdiction.

3) That shopping center has no grass to be driven into.

But I’m not thinking, right? I’m just like, “Well, that’s totally wrong. First, I wouldn’t do that and second, I never did that.”

So he says, “Well, if you can’t own up to this, I have to take you downtown.”

Now, I’m totally furious. It’s my birthday and I have to go to downtown Bradenton in a police car so that my neighbors could watch me walk out in handcuffs, to totally ruin my day. I mean, these folks get upset when a blade of grass isn’t standing at attention. This would be bad.

Not only that, but he tells me he has to frisk me to get up against the wall!

As he’s telling me to put my arm behind my back to be cuffed, a thought goes through my head…

TELLMAN

Big bright lights go off in my brain and it finally takes over and starts working. This is no cop!

I was PUNKED.

It was totally hilarious, after the fact, and when I got back on the phone we all had a good laugh over it. Tellman really made my day. It started out hilarious and just keeps getting better.

But do you see how you can miss the details of things when you let your emotions get over on you? I wasn’t thinking logically because I was so totally humiliated by the allegations and really angry because there was nothing I could do, though I knew I was innocent. The anger just infused my brain and made me stupid.

Duh.

Don’t let your emotions rule you. Don’t take failure personally. Don’t let it get you down.

Just remember that with every failed project, you’re a winner. You know what NOT to do again. Just consider whatever didn’t turn out the way you’d hoped as a learning experience and move on. Next time, it will be easier and work better.

Christine Comaford-Lynch has a great philosophy about accepting rejection, and I wont’ go into it because this post is really long, but you should check out Rules for Renegades at RulesforRenegades.com and go to the “Cool Resources” section.

But first…

I had a totally awesome day. And because it’s my birthday and I’ve been laughing and doing stuff I love to do all day, I thought I’d let you in on something totally free and totally cool.

Go to http://easyseotricks.com/IMG2

Get some cool free stuff to help you continue down your ultimate path to success. I have a really good ebook in there about keyword research. Go get it. Free.

And… ALWAYS remember to pay attention to the details, or you could get punk’d.

Popularity: 38% [?]

I had an email today from someone on my list who wanted to know how to get 100 people into his site. So, naturally, I’m thinking onto his list.

In itself isn’t terribly hard to do, right? I mean, put up a squeeze page with an ethical bribe and send traffic to it. Getting 100 people doesn’t take that long if you join a giveaway, do an ad swap, or run an ezine ad or two. There are tons of ways to get subscribers.

I know this doesn’t seem at all simple to people just starting out, and I was ready to go into more detail and help this guy to do what he wanted to do, but he sent me the page he wanted to build his list from…

A “You’ll make $2,000 a week! All you have to do is refer people to this program!”

And then, I felt sad.

I remember when I started online. All that stuff looked pretty good to me, too. I figured, well… If it’s working for them, it has to work for me, too, right?

And I built a pretty huge downline in one of those programs. It wasn’t quite as bad, not a wild claim. The site was offering tools that marketers can use. Trouble was, the stuff wasn’t happening. I mean, the site was new, but three months later, none of the tools were ready to use. So, I started thinking… Bull puckey, right?

As with most people who get caught up in stuff like that, it did absolutely nothing for me. Nothing.

I didn’t get the benefit of the list.

I didn’t make ANY money.

I had just built a nice big list for someone else. Plus, I had wasted my time and my money making it happen. I felt really dumb and very discouraged. I remember how that felt.

Had I know then what I know now.

If you’re still new and involved with one of those, “no work and all cash” programs, run fast in the other direction. Seriously. Don’t think that you can make money online overnight. It can happen pretty fast, if you go about it the right way, but you will have to work at it. There’s no free lunch.

So, for my friend (whom I already wrote to and suggested that he start with a squeeze page) and anyone else who’s involved in hoping for miracles that just won’t happen…

• Here’s step one: Learn about Internet Marketing from a trusted source before jumping in with both feet.

• Step two: Pick a niche, and it shouldn’t be Internet marketing, unless you love a whole lot of competition that is far, far ahead of you in the game. (Wish I’d known that one early on.) It’s possible to still do okay, but it’s a much harder niche to crack.

• Step three: Build a list. Put up a squeeze page and offer something of value for people to join. It can be a special report, an ebook, a teleseminar or even a series of teleseminars, a video, or a whole bunch of other things that can solve a problem that people in the niche you’ve chosen are having.

• Step four: Drive traffic to your squeeze page. Write articles, start a blog, make some videos. All that stuff is free to do and can help you to get traffic.

• Step five: Set up an autoresponder series with articles about your niche. Start with four really good bits of instruction or advice, and then, offer an affiliate product that is in line with that article.

• Step six: Deposit your checks in the bank.

Is that a simple plan or what? Seriously, it really is that simple. I didn’t say easy. It will mean work. And you won’t make money overnight, but you will make money. And you’ll build a list over time and build a steady income that you can depend on.

Pie in the sky? Nope. Just good, solid advice.

Popularity: 35% [?]