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Sunday, December 28, 2008

"Relationships are like a book, in that they are for learning."

Saturday, December 27, 2008

"Savor the wanting as much as the having."

Friday, December 26, 2008

As we count down to a new year, let's remember the blessings we have received, and continue to keep our faith, and make 2009 our best year ever.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Social Media Marketing System; pt 4

 

Social Media Marketing 101

Somehow, Brian came up with the Social Media Marketing System, and opened a membership Campbellplan where if you were among the first bunch, you could join in and receive personal training from Brian himself. There were three levels, bronze, silver, and gold. I joined in as a Bronze Member and quickly upgraded to Silver.

Brian’s teachings were eye opening, and I do not regret joining. His group of marketers are at the cutting edge of Social Media Marketing, and his teachings are first rate.

Take Action Now The bottom line is simple, there is no amount of instruction that you can get that will make you successful, if you do not implement those principles.

Ooops, I forgot, Brian had no trouble whatsoever making the $10,000.00. He later on gave them to John Chow in a public ceremony.

Our Social Media Marketing 101 continues to grow and it is a forum to present business opportunities…

I enjoy passing along what I have learned fromteaching Brian, through 22 years of military leadership and experience, through 8 years of search and rescue experience, and a few other endeavors that have opened my eyes and helped make me successful.

On the first article of this series, I promised that we were going to analyze:

a. Brian’s technique to make $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook. We did that.

b. Hidden costs. That will be the topic for the next and last article.

bee c. Tools. Will be discussed on the next article.

d. Buzz. You read how the buzz spread, starting with John Chow’s Article, and through all of us who followed Brian’s path to success.

By now, you know the drill:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

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4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

"Determine where you are going and how you will get there will become obvious."

Monday, December 22, 2008

Viral Buzz; pt 3

I started this series of postings with “The Road to $10,000.00 in 37 days”. And, just yesterday I posted the second part of the series called: “The John Chow Review, Buzz”. Today, we will continue with the “Viral Buzz”.

What do you think happened when the millions chess, lead the charge of people that read and subscribe to John Chow dot Com read John’s review about Brian Campbell’s goal of making $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook?

On the words of John, “when someone says that he is going to make $10,000 in ___ weeks, he either makes it or don’t…” so, the seed of curiosity is planted. The buzz has started. John also published Brian’s FaceBook profile name so we could add him as our friend…

To be honest, I did not owned a FaceBook account, and really was not that much curious about Social Media either. But, I had to see if Brian was going to succeed.

Spreading the buzz I started my FaceBook account and added Brian as my friend. He was explaining step by step what he was doing… and was asking us to imitate him… so, what could we loose, I started adding friends too. Quickly, I had a few hundred like minded friends who were watching Brian, and, like the Pied Piper, he was leading us. He started the P.R.I.S.M. group, and asked us to join, we did. He started making YouTube videos, and we watched. He asked us to post our ideas and opinions on his group wall, and, since we were actually learning by doing, and following his example, we complied. His wall had hundreds of comments, and we were excited that our personal friends number was growing by leaps and bounds. Soon I had 500 friends.

I met great marketers. I made great friends from almost every Nation in the world. All of us with a goal, watch and see if Brian was going to make it.

Brian taught us the value of cultivating Earth friendships. He told us to make sure and we shared our knowledge. He also asked us to start our own groups on FaceBook, while following his example, and he instructed us to pass along the knowledge that he was giving us for free.

By doing this, by creating groups, and by spreading the knowledge that we had recently acquired, we learned even more, and we established our credibility.

Brian’s groups promptly multiplied, and he quickly reached the magic number of 5000 friends, the maximum you can get on FaceBook.

He told us to listen when FaceBook displayed it’s dreaded warning labels. And soon, we all were learning not only from Brian, but from each other’s experience.

In a month, I reached over 1000 friends, and my group reached 500, not as exciting as 5000 friends and 1500 group members, but I was learning…

By now, tens of thousands of people were following Brian, watching his videos, and asking for more…

Please, remember to:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…

"Your body will produce what your mind believes."

Sunday, December 21, 2008

The John Chow Review, Buzz; pt 2

This is part two of the "Road to $10,000" saga.

I came across John Chow dot Com via EntrepreneurEntrepreneur Magazine Magazine. John had been in business for a while and started by reviewing gadgets on his website. This was in the early days of the web 2.0 revolution, or the turn of the century. John once wrote that he wanted to have a place where he could just post his rants and opinions, John Chow dot Com was born.

How does all of this translate so far?

a. John became an expert in his field or niche (gadgets review). He develop credibility.

gold bars b. Because he developed a reputation, he develop a following.

c. He had a website, and an Internet presence.

d. He started his blog. His audience followed him.

e. I am not sure if it was here, but he became a millionaire, and became famous.

f. He published Brian Campbell’s story.

Who was Brian Campbell?

Brian Campbell was an entrepreneur who became successful selling investment information online. By his own admission, he made several million dollars from his previous presence online. Then, he semi retired.

Somehow, he came up with his next marketing idea.Chess He was going to make $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook. Let’s dissect this proposition:

a. FaceBook has millions of users.

b. The idea of making money online attracts people.

c. What if you could help lots of people to make money at zero or nearly zero cost? ANSWER: You can make a lot of money as a result of helping others.

d. How can you achieve this?

Tomorrow, we will continue the $10,000.00 saga…

Remember to:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…

"Nothing has any power except the power that you give it."

Saturday, December 20, 2008

"Everything begins in thought and the reality is only our interpretation of the situation."

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The road to $10,000.00 in 37 days; part 1

SEO says:

You need: keywords, tags, meta tags, links coming in, links going out, pay per click, ads, link baiting, traffic generation, …

Black Hat SEO says you need: The Thinker, Rodin

Stuffed cookies, blog generating software, ip rotating software, and a bunch of other junk…

They both say that you should write in a spider friendly way, while continuing to write in such a way that your reader understand and is interested in what you are saying.

I have read more e-books on link baiting, traffic generation, stuffed cookies, stuffed turkeys, content writing, copywriting, advertising, pay per click, adsense, adworks, … than I really care to remember.

And after the smoke cleared from between my ears, I can tell you that yes, you can make money online, but it will not be easy.

John Chow photo Take for example the great John Chow… I read an interview in Entrepreneur Magazine that highlighted his multimillion dollar empire based on blogging. John is a good guy… he wrote a free e book and tells us how to do succeed. Great advice, I have read his book, twice.

He wrote a column about a guy named Brian Brian CampbellCampbell. Brian was going to prove that he could make $10,000? In a few weeks using FaceBook. Well, he did, and gave the $10,000 to John Chow as a gesture of appreciation. He did more than that, he did $25,171 in 21 days.

So, let’s analyze this great example of marketing genius here…

By the beginning of next week, we should have covered:

a. Brian’s technique to make $10,000 in a few weeks using FaceBook.

b. Hidden costs.

c. Tools.

d. Buzz.

Ready? Let’s do this…

Don’t forget…

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…

Monday, December 15, 2008

SEO Glossary…

Definitions courtesy of: http://www.seoglossary.com/

Absolute Link
<a href="http://www.netconcepts.com">www.netconcepts.com</a>
The above is an example of an Absolute Link.
It specifies a
- transfer protocol
- domain name
- and often a file name
AdSense
Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google ads on their website's content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what your visitors are looking for on your site — or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors your content attracts — you'll finally have a way to both monetize and enhance your content pages.
AdWords
Google's CPC (Cost Per Click) based text advertising. AdWords takes clickthrough rate into consideration in addition to advertiser?s bid to determine the ad?s relative position within the paid search results. Google applies such a weighting factor in order to feature those paid search results that more popular and thus presumably more relevant and useful. Google has also started taking into account the quality of the landing page and applying a quality score to the landing pages.
AJAX
Asynchronous JavaScript And XML
Allows you to create a more user-friendly web application by working behind the scenes (inside a web browser) by making web pages feel more responsive.
In short, it allows JavaScript scripts to send data requests and receive responses without having to reload the entire page.
Algorithm
An algorithm is an operational programming rule that determine how a search engine indexes content and displays the results to its users.
Alt tags
Alt tags alternate text associated with a web page graphic that gets displayed when the Internet user hovers the mouse over the graphic. Alt tags should convey what the graphic is for or about and contain good relevant keywords. Alt tags also make web pages more accessible to the disabled. For example, a vision-impaired user may have a web browser that reads aloud the text and alt tags on a page. (For those familiar with HTML, "alt" isn't actually a tag by itself but an attribute to the "img" tag.). Note that the value of Alt tags for SEO have been discounted over time by the search engines to the point that now it is of minimal value.
Anchor text
Anchor text is the actual text part of a link (usually underlined). Used by search engines as an important ranking factor. Google pays particular attention to the text used in a hyperlink and associates the keywords contained in the anchor text to the page being linked to. Also see "Google bombing."
Back links
Back links are inbound links pointing to a web page.
Black Hat SEO
Black Hat SEO is sometimes called spamdexing (the opposite of White Hat SEO). Black Hat SEO can be any optimization tactics that cause a site to rank more highly than its content would otherwise justify or any changes made specifically for search engines that don’t improve the user’s experience of the site. In other words, Black Hat SEO is optimizations that are against search engine guidelines. If you step too far over the mark, your site may be penalized or even removed from the index.
Blog
Also known as a "weblog". An online diary with entries made on a regular if not daily basis. Some blogs are maintained by an anonymous author who uses a nickname or handle instead of his or her real name.
Click-down Ad or Click-within Ad
An ad that allows the user to stay on the same web page, while viewing requested advertising content. Click-downs display another file on the user's screen, normally below or above the initial ad.
Click-withins allow the user to drill down for more information within the ad.
Clickthrough
The action of clicking an ad element and causing a redirect to another web page.
Cloaking
serving different content to search engine spiders than to human visitors. Cloaking is basically a "bait and switch" tactic, where the web server feeds visiting spiders content that is keyword-rich, thus fooling the search engine into placing that page higher in the search results. Yet when the visitor clicks on the link they are given different content, which may be totally unrelated. Search engines frown upon this practice and some will penalize or ban sites that they catch doing it.
Cookie
information placed on a visitor's computer by a web server. While the web site is being accessed, data in the visitor's cookie file can be stored or retrieved. Mostly cookies are used as unique identifiers (i.e. user IDs or session IDs) to isolate a visitor's movements from others' during that visit and subsequent visits. Other data that may get stored in a cookie include an order number, email address, referring advertiser, etc.
Cost Per Action (CPA)
the cost incurred or price paid for a specific action, such as signing up for an email newsletter, entering a contest, registering on the site, completing a survey, downloading trial software, printing a coupon, etc.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
the cost incurred or price paid for a clickthrough to your landing page.
CTR - Click Through Rate
Click Through Rate is a measure of the number of clicks received from the number of ad impressions delivered.
The formula to calculate CTR is:
“number of clicks” / “number of ad impressions” x 100
Key phrase (or keyword phrase)
a search phrase made up of keywords. See "keyword."
Keyword
a word that a search engine user might use to find relevant web page(s). If a keyword doesn't appear anywhere in the text of your web page, it's highly unlikely your page will appear in the search results (unless of course you have bid on that keyword in a pay-per-click search engine).
Keyword density
the number of occurrences that a given keyword appears on a web page. The more times that a given word appears on your page (within reason), the more weight that word is assigned by the search engine when that word matches a keyword search done by a search
Keyword stuffing
Placing excessive amounts of keywords into the page copy and the HTML in such a way that it detracts from the readability and usability of a given page for the purpose of boosting the page's rankings in the search engines. This includes hiding keywords on the page by making the text the same color as the background, hiding keywords in comment tags, overfilling alt tags with long strings of keywords, etc. Keyword stuffing is just another shady way of gaming the search engines and, as such, its use should be strongly discouraged.
Keyword-rich
when a given page or bit of text is chock full of good keywords rather than a bunch of meaningless words (e.g. "welcome", "click here") or irrelevant words (e.g. "solution").
Landing Page
The landing page is a web page where people go to once they click on an online advertisement or natural search listing.
Link bait
Useful or entertaining web content which compels users to link to it.
Link building
Requesting links from webmasters of other sites for the purpose of increasing your "link popularity" and/or "PageRank."
Link farm
A link farm is a group of highly interlinked websites with the purposes of inflating link popularity (or PR). A link farm is a form of spamdexing, spamming the index of a search engine.
Link spam
Links between pages that are specifically set up to take advantage of link-based ranking algorithms such as Google's PageRank (PR).
Meta description
a meta tag hidden in the HTML that describes the page's content. Should be relatively short; around 12 to 20 words is suggested. The meta description provides an opportunity to influence how your Web page is described in the search results, but it will not improve your search rankings. Make sure your meta description reflects the page content or you may be accused of spamming.
Meta keywords
a meta tag hidden in the HTML that lists keywords relevant to the page's content. Because search engine spammers have abused this tag so much, this tag provides little to no benefit to your search rankings. Of the major search engines, only Yahoo! still pays any attention to the meta keywords tag.
Meta tag stuffing
Repeating keywords in the meta tags and using meta keywords that are unrelated to the site's content.
Meta tags
Meta-information (information about information) that is associated with a web page and placed in the HTML but not displayed on the page for the user to see. There are a range of meta tags, only a few of which are relevant to search engine spiders. Two of the most well-known meta tags are the meta description and meta keywords; unfortunately these are ignored by most major search engines, including Google.
PageRank (PR)
Google uses a weighted form of link popularity called PageRank™. Not all links are created equal. Google differentiates a link from an important site (such as CNN.com) as being better than a link from Jim-Bob's personal home page. The Google Toolbar (which is a free download from http://toolbar.google.com) has a PageRank meter built into it, to see which web pages are considered important by Google and which aren't. PageRank scoring ranges from 0 to 10, 10 being the best. PageRank scores get exponentially harder to achieve the closer to 10 they are. For example, increasing your own homepage's PageRank from a 2 to 3 is easy with not a lot of additional links, jumping from a 7 to an 8 is very difficult to achieve. The higher the PageRank of the page that's linking to you, the more your site's PageRank will benefit. The better your PageRank, the better you'll do in Google, all else being equal.
Pay-for-performance
a pricing model based on delivering sales or something else that can be directly attributed to the bottom line. Contrast this with traditional banner advertising which is based on impressions, a chunk of which come from people you have no desire or ability to do business with.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
a pay-for-performance pricing model where advertising (such as banners or paid search engine listings) is priced based on number of clickthroughs rather than impressions or other criteria. Overture is an example of a search engine which charges advertisers on a pay-per-click basis.
Pay-per-post (PPP)
A website designed to help content creators such as bloggers find advertisers willing to sponsor specific content.
SEO
acronym for "search engine optimization" and/or "search engine optimizer."
SERP
An acronym for Search Engine Results Page.
Spam
Manipulation techniques that violate search engines.
Spamglish
keyword-rich gibberish used as search engine fodder instead of thoughtfully written, interesting content. Spamglish often includes meaningless sentences and keyword repetition.
Spamming
as in "spamming the search engines". Spamming is most commonly associated with the act of sending unsolicited commercial email, but in the context of search engine optimization, spamming refers to using disreputable tactics to achieve high search engine rankings. Such spamming tactics include bulk submitting spamglish-containing doorway pages.
Spider
Also known as a bot, robot, or crawler. Spiders are programs used by a search engine to explore the World Wide Web in an automated manner and download the HTML content (not including graphics) from web sites, strip out whatever it considers superfluous and redundant out of the HTML, and store the rest in a database (i.e. its index).
Spider trap
An infinite loop that a spider may get caught in if it explores a dynamic site where the URLs of pages keep changing. For example, a home page may have a different URL and the search engine may not be able to ascertain that it is the home page that it has already indexed but under another URL. If search engines were to completely index dynamic web sites, they would inevitably have large amounts of redundant content and download millions of pages.
Splash page
A home page that is, for the most part, devoid of content. Often times created in Flash. Splash pages usually say something to the effect of "Enter Here" or "Choose our Flash-enabled site or the HTML version". Splash pages are an annoyance to Internet users as they introduce an extra hoop that the user has to jump through before they get to any meaningful content. Splash pages are also damaging to search engine rankings. Consider that your home page is typically considered by search engines as the most important page of your site. If your home page is a content-less splash page, then it's a wasted opportunity.
Static
As in "static web page." Means that the web page was not created dynamically from a database, but instead previously created and saved as a HTML file.
Syndication
An option that allows you to extend your reach by distributing ads to additional partner sites.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Google SEO Page Rank rigged

Google admitted that their Page Ranking System is rigged. That tells me that SEO’s attempting to sell expensive services to dominate master Google are mostly full of baloney.

Here is the original article:

Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/12/googlewashing_revisited/

Google cranks up the Consensus Engine

Manufacturing isn't dead - it just went to Mountain View

By Andrew Orlowski (andrew.orlowski@theregister.co.uk)

Posted in Music and Media, 12th December 2008 19:38 GMT

Free Download - Comparing Data Center Batteries, Flywheels and Ultracapacitors

Google this week admitted that its staff will pick and choose what appears in its search results. It's a historic statement - and nobody has yet grasped its significance.

Not so very long ago, Google disclaimed responsibility for its search results by explaining that these were chosen by a computer algorithm. The disclaimer lives on at Google News, where we are assured that:

The selection and placement of stories on this page were determined automatically by a computer program.

A few years ago, Google's apparently unimpeachable objectivity got some people very excited (http://www.internetisshit.org/2.php), and technology utopians began to herald Google as the conduit for a new form of democracy. Google was only too pleased to encourage this view. It explained that its algorithm "relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. "

That Google was impartial was one of the articles of faith. For if Google was ever to be found to be applying subjective human judgment directly on the process, it would be akin to the voting machines being rigged.

For these soothsayers of the Hive Mind, the years ahead looked prosperous. As blog-aware marketing and media consultants, they saw a lucrative future in explaining the New Emergent World Order to the uninitiated. (That part has come true - Web 2.0 "gurus" now advise large media companies).

It wasn't surprising, then, that when five years ago I described how a small, self-selected number of people could rig Google's search results (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/03/antiwar_slogan_coined_repurposed/), the reaction from the people doing the rigging was violently antagonistic. Who lifted that rock? they cried.

But what was once Googlewashing by a select few now has Google's active participation.

This week Marissa Meyer explained that editorial judgments will play a key role in Google searches. It was reported by Tech Crunch proprietor Michael Arrington - who Nick Carr called the "Madam of the Web 2.0 Brothel" - but its significance wasn't noted. The irony flew safely over his head at 30,000 feet. Arrington observed:

Mayer also talked about Google’s use of user data created by actions on Wiki search to improve search results on Google in general. For now that data is not being used to change overall search results, she said. But in the future it’s likely Google will use the data to at least make obvious changes. An example is if “thousands of people” were to knock a search result off a search page, they’d be likely to make a change.

Now what, you may be thinking, is an "obvious change"? Is it one that is frivolous? (Thereby introducing a Google Frivolitimeter™ [Beta]). Or is it one that goes against the grain of the consensus? If so, then who decides what the consensus must be? Make no mistake, Google is moving into new territory: not only making arbitrary, editorial choices - really no different to Fox News, say, or any other media organization. It's now in the business of validating and manufacturing consent: not only reporting what people say, but how you should think.

Who's hand is upon the wheel, here?

None of this would matter, if it wasn't for one other trend: a paralysing loss of confidence in media companies.



Old media is hooked on the drug that kills it

Today, the media organisations look to Google to explain what is really happening in the world. Convinced that they can't lead, the only option left is to follow. So they reflect ourselves - or more accurately, they reflect the unstinting efforts of small self-selecting pockets of activists - back at us. In the absence of editorial confidence, Google - the Monster that threatens to Eat The Media - now defines the purpose of the media. All media companies need do is "tap into the zeitgeist" - Google Zeitgeist™!

Take this example from a quality British broadsheet.

One journalist on the paper lamented that:

...it's becoming all too clear at The Telegraph, whose online business plan seems to be centred on chasing hits through Google by rehashing and rewriting stories that people are already interested in.

The digital director of the Telegraph recently suggested the newspaper could work even closer with Google... by subsuming its identity into the Ad Giant. Why couldn't The Telegraph run off a telegraph.google.com domain and allow Google to take care of all the technology? he mused (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2008/sep/18/uk).

Not all companies have the same suicidal lack of foresight as The Telegraph's resident guru - but many share the same apocalyptic conclusion.

Today, Google's cute little explanation of being "uniquely democratic" is no longer present on that page. A subtly different explanation has taken its place - one which acknowledges that in the new democracy of Web 2.0, some votes are more equal than others.

PageRank also considers the importance of each page that casts a vote, as votes from some pages are considered to have greater value, thus giving the linked page greater value. We have always taken a pragmatic approach to help improve search quality and create useful products, and our technology uses the collective intelligence of the web to determine a page's importance.

Google's New Age motto

Picture culled from Google's 2006 analyst presentation

So you see, it's not rigged! How could Google "rig" a system that only reflects our finest and most noble sentiments back at us - mediated by a technocratic priesthood of unquestionable moral authority?

Google has taken Googlewashing in house. ®

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Gene Chizik

Gene Chizik

accepted Auborn’s proposal to become their new football coach. Iowa is hurt since Chizik had only coached for them two seasons. Chizik jumped to the opportunity to coach at Auborn and Jamie Pollard, Iowa State Sports Director and Chizik’s previous boss Gene Chiziksaid that this is a dream job for him. Auborn however, has not confirmed the story yet, even though Associated Press put it out about 45 minutes ago.

Chizik’s impressive record of leading the Tiger’s to victory, make him a valuable commodity.

What does this teaches you?

1. Do become indispensable.

2. Keep an eye open for the next opportunity.

3. Plan your strategies and run with what works.

4. Even though we are in a recession, there is plenty of money out there for those who perform.

What else can you learn from this story?

To do next:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

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The Heisman trophy winner is…

And the

Heisman Trophy winner is… Up until now, 6:30  Heisman TrophyP.M. nobody knows who the winner will be. There are three outstanding Quarterbacks deserving of the statue. All three have outstanding record, and have proven to be phenomenal athletes. One thing is for sure, at the end of the evening, one young man will go home happy, and two will go home sad.

I always taught my children that life is not fair, it does not have to be. Life gives you what you put into it. These three young men have put their hearts on the line, but at the end, only one of them can have the trophy.

The other two can have the satisfaction of giving it their best shot, and maybe, next season, they can win it.

In business, you do all you can to succeed. The bottom line is that you have to show the grit, the determination, the smarts, and the capability to draw a winning strategy if you want to come on ahead of the game. Your ability to create a winning business strategy will make the difference between the winners, and the also ran…

Update: Sam Bradford, from the University of OK, received the honor.

What are your thoughts?

To do next:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Internet Marketing Fundamentals

SEO, PPC advertising, email marketing, your blog, and online press releases are the basis of your online  business..

Daffy Duck in a tuxedo, suave entrepreneur What is a fundamental? Fundamental is defined as an essential part of something. To define internet marketing fundamentals it is important to know what is the objective of internet marketing. According to the dictionary, marketing is the process of presenting a product or service in a way that makes them desirable. So, internet marketing is the process of representing products or services in a way that makes them desirable to your customers.

How do you accomplish that?

1. Proper selling techniques. Sales letters, proper web design, relevant information about how the product fulfills the needs of the prospective customer. Adequate copy writing.

2. Ensuring that the message is seeing by prospective customers. Websites, blogs, forums, press releases, Advertising networks, Bill Gates social media, email campaigns, expert search engine optimization…

3. Your brand.

4. Time management.

The main problem of many internet marketers is twofold.

First, they spend too much time hanging around social media sites. This, thus becomes a full time job, and soon becomes unbearable. You get bored, and becomes a chore rather than a pleasant task. I personally dislike phones. I do because in one of my previous assignments, I was required to make two hours of phone calls 6 days a week. Cold calling, “hot leads”, tips, you name it.  I did that for 3 and a half years. It became so boring to me, that I rather go to the dentist than picking up a phone. If you call my house, I will not pick up the phone.

someone is wrong on the internet When you spend your time in social media sites trying to push your product, unless you are a disciplined individual, you will eventually get bored, and will dread doing it. Anything fun in excess becomes tedious.

And second, since you get sidetracked by your social media extracurricular activities, you neglect the meat and potatoes of the process, which is to provide decent content, and put it in front of potential customers eyes. That, in other words, is expert search engine optimization.

Lack of discipline, lack of proper time management skills, will sink your ship before you have time to get out of the bay.

How do you tackle your internet Marketing Fundamentals?

Six more things to do now:

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Monday, December 8, 2008

Merry Christmas, Make Money Now, SEO

Recession, holiday season, Make Money Now, Michael Garman sculpture, Wyland paintings, Christmas Tree financial crisis, economic crisis, economic meltdown, bailout, auto industry, UAW, Senate, Congress, lay away (in all its varieties), expert search engine optimization,  gifts, bargains, sales, electronics, birth certificate, Constitution, Christmas, Hanukah, traditions, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, loose weight, SEO, etc…

What do all of those words have in common? They all have being on the news lately. It is Christmas time, and for the most part, a lot of people celebrate Christmas.

I had a conversation with my wife last night, and she has been instructed by her Company to use the politically correct term “happy holidays” That expression, for many of her customers, and for me in particular, is annoying beyond belief. Think about it. Whether you believe in Christmas, Hanukah, are a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or believeStatue City of Dohuk in Iraq in Wicca, or are an Agnostic, if I wish you Merry Christmas, I am wishing you happiness during the particular Season. I am not asking you to celebrate it with me, nor am I trying to make you a Christian, I am just expressing my wish for you to be happy. The logical answer to someone wishing you Merry Christmas, whether you believe in Christmas or not, would be a quick and polite “Thank you”, since they are wishing you happiness, unless you really want to be miserable, in which case, you are on your own…

Why did I start this article with  that bunch of apparently unrelated words, and my tirade about saying “thank you” when someone Wishes you “Merry Christmas”?

You want visitors to come to your business, whether it is a physical business with tangible products, doors, walls, etc. or whether it is an online store selling services or products.

Time - Money A lot of people pay millions of dollars to have someone tell them what to write, how to write it, where to place it on the internet, and how to advertise it. That is fine, I do think that if you provide a great product or service that others value, at a reasonable price, advertise it properly, and develop your brand, you will eventually succeed. Expert Search Engine Optimization is not rocket science, nor it is something that you can do the same way, following the same rules, over and over, year after year, attaining the same results.

What use to work two years ago, do not work today. What works today, might not work next year.

Christmas 05 in a tent, Tal'Afar, IraqThere is one thing that usually works in a consistent basis: common sense.

The common thread in all of those words is that they are relevant to today. Those words and many more related to them are being Goggled as we speak. So, if you use those words, and can foresee what people will be searching for in the near future, you can make money, since the search engines will present your website or blog to those who are searching for those terms that you just thought of. So, here is the bottom line:

a. Think of the words that people will be looking for on their search engines.
b. Make sure that you write blog posts targeting those topics. Make sure that you are teaching something of value, or that your opinion provides valuable information.

c. Make sure that your website, or blog, use those buzz words, and that your tags, meta tags, titles, and posts, are properly coded to reflect the words that are in the public arena now, and the ones that will be popular next week, next month, etc.

Think ahead, and you will succeed.

Bonus nugget: I came across a website while doing my research. The good people at “One Project Closer” are doing a great job at promoting sales, coupons, money saving ideas, and all together providing value to their visitors. They were even giving a $100.00 Home Depot Gift Card. So, after you finish visiting my sponsors, go visit them and take advantage of their wealth of information.

What other nuggets of wisdom can you share with us? Join the conversation…

Six more things to do now:

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3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Visit our sponsors.

7. Recommend this blog to your friends…

Sunday, December 7, 2008

It is early Sunday morning, time to start writing more content for blogs and groups.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Financial Crisis, Get ready Now…

Many people all over the world are being affected by the current  coinseconomic or financial crisis. Today, I want to talk a bit about how to prepare. Yes, I know, for some, it is late. That is why I wrote the previous set of articles. Today, I am talking to you, the entrepreneur that because of his or her work ethics and foresight, have been able to keep afloat, and maybe prosper in these difficult times. But I do not want to forget those who read my previous posts, and are just threading water, since this situation will come to pass, and you will see better days. When those better days get here, make sure that you don’t forget the lessons of today.

Here is a list of a few things that we need to do now:

1. Create an emergency fund. Set aside, if possible, the amount of money needed to pay our bills, and survive, for several months. Survive means: eat, dress modestly, and pay the mortgage and utilities. You might be called upon reducing your utilities bill. This might be done by reducing your Satellite TV account, or by using skype instead of regular home phone. So called experts will want you to believe that you need to have access to the amount of money needed to live without an income for six months. Consider this: if you loose your job, unless you have being proactive, you might not get another one, similar to what you were doing, for several years. But you might be living from calculator pay check to pay check, so you will need to start by streamlining your expenses, tell your kids that the cell phone privileges will be postpone to a later date, and that the $100 sneakers will have to wait. Trim down your budget, and that extra money, put it aside until you meet your goal. Let’s face it, we have lived as well as we possibly could for years, now is time to tighten our belts, and make do with what we have. If you are not in a pinch, congratulations, remember to be grateful, and help those who have less.

2. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created here in the United States, in the first part of the twentieth century, and up until recently, used to insure up to $100,000.00 deposits. What this means is that if you have less than $100,000.00 in the bank, you will not loose your money, as long as your financial institution is insured. If you have more than $100K, consider branching out and place your money in several different financial institutions. I am not talking about having $100K in the Denver Branch of the First National Bank, and another $100K in the Colorado Springs Branch. What I am saying is to have your money in  more than one different Banks; not branches of the same Bank.

3. Establish a budget. If you can live without it, you  budgetingdon’t need it. No, Starbucks is not a necessity, pack your lunch at home. You will be healthier, and save a lot of money.

4. Stop dinning out.

5. Stop pedicures and manicures. You really don’t need to go to the beauty shop or the nail salon if you can do it yourself. There is no need to go out with friends on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night. Alcohol is not one of the basic food groups, and neither are cigarettes.

6. Trade your expensive car for a smaller, pre owned, and fuel My dream car, BMW Icetta! efficient. I know, oil is about $55.00 per barrel; but that price is this week. If the oil cartels have their way, we will be paying a lot more for gas soon. Remember the days of $125.00 per barrel? OH, yeah, it was just a few months ago… By doing this, you can drop a few hundred dollars of your monthly bills. If you just finished paying your car, do not buy another for a few years unless you really have to. Remember: want is not the same as need.

7. Lock up the credit cards. If you cannot pay cash for it, you don’t need it. Medical emergencies are an exception.

8. Keep the amount of money that you will need within the next seven to ten years out of the stock market.

9. I would consider investing in gold. Big nations are dropping their gold because they also need to pay their bills, so there is a lot of gold out awaiting to be bought.

10. Make sure that you become the company’s best master of the universe asset. There will be cuts, and downsizing, just make sure that you have cross trained and can perform your job and several others too, that will put the odds in your favor, and make you valuable, the more valuable, the less possibilities of a lay off. Just because you belong to the local union does not mean that you have a steady permanent job. If your employer goes bankrupt, the union’s contract, and negotiated agreements will need to be renegotiated. Unfortunately, many union bosses are way too greedy, and are killing the Golden Geese. By forcing the hand of the employers to agree to excessive demands, they are condemning the business to bankruptcy. Yes, the company can always streamline operations, but that also means cutting down in the personnel department.  Employers and Employees are in a symbiotic relationship. The one needs the other for survival, when demands are unreasonable and beyond what the employer can actually agree to, the situation becomes a parasitical relationship, and the host will end up dead. If the employees force the employer out of business, they in turn will become unemployed.

stretch your moneyThese ten suggestions can help you maintain your current status quo. However, that does not mean that you can become complacent. It means that you have the opportunity to prosper. As you do prosper, remember to make sure that you maintain a “what if” fund, and that you extend your hand to others that need help.

What did I forget? How are you preparing to navigate through this financial maelstrom? Make sure to add your comments to our blog.

* Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, nor do I dispense investment advise. These are ideas that have worked for me. Before you decide to invest, or not invest, or to pull your money out of the market, make sure that you get advise from a properly credited investment professional or financial advisor.

Six more things to do now:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

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4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

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Monday, December 1, 2008

Word Press vs. Blogger, my thoughts!

A respected friend, and esteemed entrepreneur ask blogger logo me why I keep my blog on the Blogger platform and not on Word Press. I have to admit, that I have asked myself the same question, specially after reading so many derogatory articles by fellow bloggers and entrepreneurs.

The common wisdom is that serious entrepreneurs will not give you the time of day if you host your website or your blog on a free platform, because they think that you might not be serious or are small potatoes.

Here are my reasons for using Blogger and MSN Office Live:

Seth Godin 1. Well, I am small potatoes when compared to Seth Godin, Darren Rowse, Mike Glaspie, John Chow, and the likes. I am still in the process of making my fist few millions of dollars, so, I cut expenses, while at the same time producing the best product I possibly can.

2. I have always liked to challenge the system. Back in 1977, my old Fortran teacher told us that you could not create a Payroll in Fortran. When portico University of PR Mayaguez Campus asked by my Special Projects teacher at the University of Puerto Rico to program something different, I did just that, I created Payroll in Fortran. It gave me a headache, but, what the heck, I proved my teachers wrong and got an “A” for originality.

3. If at least one person has being able to do something, and succeeded, that means that someone else, with determination and smarts, can do exactly the same thing.

4. Of the five platforms that I tried, three free and two paid, I like Blogger better (call it personal preference). I would like to change a few things on my blog, but right now I am way too busy, so I enjoy the ease of use.

seo 5. I am sharing my experience free of charge. I do not do private consulting (yet), and even though I keep a few ads on my site, I make my living from my other day jobs. So, if someone does not want to read my blog because I am on Blogger, it really does not affect my bottom line.

I have read many really awful blogs in English and Spanish. I’m talking about orthographical, and grammatical mistakes galore. Yes, I still make some of those. And, in some blogs, the writer’s train of thought and logic is hard to follow, but I have found some snake, symbol of wisdom incredible nuggets of wisdom here and there. Whether it is on SEO, or Business Strategy, or Social Media, or Marketing, or Blogging, I read almost every blog I can find, and learn from all of them. In my opinion, those who refuse to read a blog because it is published on a free platform, are denying hemselves valuable information. So, I will continue to use blogger, and most likely will continue to use MSN Office Live to host my sites. Word Press has more plugins, but I still like Blogger.

Remember to let me know what you think, and what other topics you would like me to cover in our blog…

Six more things to do now:

1. Don’t forget to vote for this blog as the best blog in Marketing and business. Just click on the buttons on the right. You can also nominate your favorite blogs in their respective category.

2. Of course, make sure to share this advise with your friends via Digg, Stumble, Face Book, or your favorite social networks.

3. Do subscribe to our Newsletter.

4. And, remember to subscribe to our blog’s feed.

5. Add me as a friend at Sta.rtup.biz, on FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, follow me on Twitter, StumbleUpon my articles and profile…

6. Recommend this blog to your friends…