Saturday, November 26, 2005
Honesty in Marketing
Lately, I've been deluged with urgent emails from marketers whose newsletters I subscribe to, all urging me to take advantage of the "fantastic deal" they've just worked out for their subscribers with the creator of Traffic Hurricane, a tool that autogenerates pages for a site.
Sounds like a real time-saver, doesn't it? Plug in your keyword and it will create a page supposedly optimized for the search engines, all without you having to put any thought whatsoever into what is written on the page.
The problem is that pages created with this type of software generally read like no one with half a brain has put any thought into what is written on the page. It's search engine fodder designed specifically to trick the search engines into sending searchers to your site and then providing them with content so worthless that they'll click on your AdSense ads to find something that actually fills their needs.
Pages created by Traffic Hurricane and similar software are currently Target Number 1 in the sights of the search engines as they try to clear their results of worthless spam. And I'm seeing more and more directories that state in their site submission requirements that they will refuse to link to any sites that use autogeneration tools like Traffic Hurricane (usually mentioned specifically by name).
No wonder the creator offers a "fantastic deal" to anyone willing to promote this trash. He knows his product's time is ending and is trying to cash in while some people still don't realize how much they are jeopardizing their business by buying it.
Frankly, each marketer who sent me this offer has taken a huge step down in my opinion of him, and is in danger of me unsubscribing from his newsletter.
It also reminds me of a great quote I from another marketer I consider highly (and who did NOT promote a "fantastic deal" on Traffic Hurricane).
Jason Potash, developer of Article Announcer and Ezine Announcer, has said the following numerous times in his writing:
"Honesty is the secret weapon in marketing right now, because so few people are using it."
Jeff
Lately, I've been deluged with urgent emails from marketers whose newsletters I subscribe to, all urging me to take advantage of the "fantastic deal" they've just worked out for their subscribers with the creator of Traffic Hurricane, a tool that autogenerates pages for a site.
Sounds like a real time-saver, doesn't it? Plug in your keyword and it will create a page supposedly optimized for the search engines, all without you having to put any thought whatsoever into what is written on the page.
The problem is that pages created with this type of software generally read like no one with half a brain has put any thought into what is written on the page. It's search engine fodder designed specifically to trick the search engines into sending searchers to your site and then providing them with content so worthless that they'll click on your AdSense ads to find something that actually fills their needs.
Pages created by Traffic Hurricane and similar software are currently Target Number 1 in the sights of the search engines as they try to clear their results of worthless spam. And I'm seeing more and more directories that state in their site submission requirements that they will refuse to link to any sites that use autogeneration tools like Traffic Hurricane (usually mentioned specifically by name).
No wonder the creator offers a "fantastic deal" to anyone willing to promote this trash. He knows his product's time is ending and is trying to cash in while some people still don't realize how much they are jeopardizing their business by buying it.
Frankly, each marketer who sent me this offer has taken a huge step down in my opinion of him, and is in danger of me unsubscribing from his newsletter.
It also reminds me of a great quote I from another marketer I consider highly (and who did NOT promote a "fantastic deal" on Traffic Hurricane).
Jason Potash, developer of Article Announcer and Ezine Announcer, has said the following numerous times in his writing:
"Honesty is the secret weapon in marketing right now, because so few people are using it."
Jeff
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!
Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom this world rejoices,
Who, from our mothers' arms,
Has blessed us on our way,
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
See you again on Friday.
Jeff
Now thank we all our God,
With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done,
In whom this world rejoices,
Who, from our mothers' arms,
Has blessed us on our way,
With countless gifts of love,
And still is ours today.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
See you again on Friday.
Jeff
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
How to Make Your Online Small Business a Success Story
There's a story to every success online. As a matter of fact, it's no exaggeration to say that having a story is essential to success. Huh? Let me explain.
I spent a few years trying to break into professional screenwriting. I never made a living at it, but I developed a keen sense of story that gave me enough of a reputation that a number of screenwriting contests asked me to serve as a judge.
For each competition I judged, I read a lot of scripts. Many were terrible. And the terrible ones usually had one thing in common: they had no story.
The main characters started out in situations they clearly didn't like. They moped, they griped, they suffered a lot of hard luck. Then, in the last couple of pages, whatever trouble they had simply vanished and all their dreams were fulfilled.
What made these screenplays lacking in story value was that the main characters never took action to change their situation. They never grew. They never tried new things. They just plunked themselves down and waited for the world to miraculously change to suit their desires.
Many who start their own business take the same approach. They make a slight start, getting the beginning elements of a business in place.
Then they wait.
They wait, expecting that it's now up to the world to fulfill their dreams.
They lack a story to their lives.
A story is about overcoming obstacles. A story is about stretching yourself. A story is about exploring beyond the limited confines of who you now are and discovering who you can be.
That's the kind of story that grabs hold of us. And it's the kind of story that takes place in setting up every successful business.
What was lacking in those failed screenplays is what is lacking in so many failed businesses: the person's willingness to risk, to explore, to grow.
If there's no story in the development of your business—no risk, no discovery, no growth that you undergo—there will be no success. It's that simple.
To succeed in online business, you must grow as much as, if not more than, your business grows. You must become something more than you now are. Step out into the unknown and run your business in a way that makes it—and you—a good story.
Jeff
There's a story to every success online. As a matter of fact, it's no exaggeration to say that having a story is essential to success. Huh? Let me explain.
I spent a few years trying to break into professional screenwriting. I never made a living at it, but I developed a keen sense of story that gave me enough of a reputation that a number of screenwriting contests asked me to serve as a judge.
For each competition I judged, I read a lot of scripts. Many were terrible. And the terrible ones usually had one thing in common: they had no story.
The main characters started out in situations they clearly didn't like. They moped, they griped, they suffered a lot of hard luck. Then, in the last couple of pages, whatever trouble they had simply vanished and all their dreams were fulfilled.
What made these screenplays lacking in story value was that the main characters never took action to change their situation. They never grew. They never tried new things. They just plunked themselves down and waited for the world to miraculously change to suit their desires.
Many who start their own business take the same approach. They make a slight start, getting the beginning elements of a business in place.
Then they wait.
They wait, expecting that it's now up to the world to fulfill their dreams.
They lack a story to their lives.
A story is about overcoming obstacles. A story is about stretching yourself. A story is about exploring beyond the limited confines of who you now are and discovering who you can be.
That's the kind of story that grabs hold of us. And it's the kind of story that takes place in setting up every successful business.
What was lacking in those failed screenplays is what is lacking in so many failed businesses: the person's willingness to risk, to explore, to grow.
If there's no story in the development of your business—no risk, no discovery, no growth that you undergo—there will be no success. It's that simple.
To succeed in online business, you must grow as much as, if not more than, your business grows. You must become something more than you now are. Step out into the unknown and run your business in a way that makes it—and you—a good story.
Jeff
Monday, November 21, 2005
Are Your Internet Marketing Efforts Escaping the Dreaded Kuske Principle?
At one point in college I studied to be a teacher. And I had a professor who knew education theory like most of us know our names. And I learned an incredibly valuable lesson from him that I've found holds true in just about every area of life.
Unfortunately, the lesson wasn't something he tried to teach me. It was, though, one of the most important lessons I've ever learned and one that guides everything I do in Internet marketing. And that's why, with both apologies and thanks to him, I've given the principle his name: the Kuske Principle.
As I say, Professor Kuske was an encyclopedia of information about education. But he wasn't all that successful at practicing it.
You always knew when Professor Kuske was about to impart a particularly important point. He would lean way back in his chair, put his fingertips together in a steeple and start tapping them. A smug expression would creep over his face. He would let loose with the vaguest, most obscure question you could imagine, then sit back and wait for us to answer.
We never had any idea what he was getting at. The first couple of days, some of us made fumbling attempts to answer. But nobody ever answered his questions right. No matter how close you got, it was never quite what he wanted. And his expression would grow more and more smug until he finally answered it himself.
Now, I know he was following good educational principles, trying to get us to think through the questions and figure out the answers for ourselves. But his questions were so vague that there was no way in the world ANYONE had a ghost of a chance of getting them right.
Eventually, we gave up even trying to answer. Every time he asked a question, everyone quickly stared down at their notes until he proudly revealed the answer.
The great life lesson I learned from him came when I ventured out to teach my first practice class. I quickly grew frustrated with my students. They didn't even try to answer my questions. They just stared down at their desks.
And then I noticed.
I was leaning way back in my chair. My fingers were tapping together in a steeple. And I realized I was asking questions every bit as bewildering as Professor Kuske's best mind-muddlers.
Without intending to, I was patterning myself after Professor Kuske.
What I realized is that when people learn a new skill, they subconsciously pattern themselves after bad examples rather than good. I've seen this at work in just about every field I've been in since then. And Internet marketing is no exception.
Why is it that new business owners write copy for their site that is either terminally dull and lifeless or drowning in hype? It's the Kuske Principle at work. Why do new web designers cram every distracting animation and do-dad they can into their site? Again, it's the Kuske Principle.
Good writing, good design, and good marketing come across to us as so natural and, well, so right that we're simply caught up in it. We lose sight of all the techniques and craftsmanship that made it so good.
Bad writing, bad design, and bad marketing, on the other hand, are so blatant in their attempts to manipulate that we are painfully aware of all the awkward pieces that are badly cobbled into them.
Sure, we're turned off by bad examples, but when called upon to write copy or design a site or market a product, what techniques for doing so come to our mind? Of course! Those wretched techniques that were so obvious are ingrained in our minds as the way that task is supposed to be done.
So how can we avoid falling victim to the Kuske Principle in our businesses?
The moment I realized what I was doing in the classroom, I started searching my memory for classes I enjoyed and learned the most in. And I started to consciously watch those teachers who made classes a joy and an adventure. I consciously studied the ways they taught.
It takes that kind of conscious effort to discard the bad examples and learn from the good. But consciously studying those examples of good marketing that you come across—the ones that we would otherwise simply get caught up in—is an education you can't buy at any price.
Jeff
At one point in college I studied to be a teacher. And I had a professor who knew education theory like most of us know our names. And I learned an incredibly valuable lesson from him that I've found holds true in just about every area of life.
Unfortunately, the lesson wasn't something he tried to teach me. It was, though, one of the most important lessons I've ever learned and one that guides everything I do in Internet marketing. And that's why, with both apologies and thanks to him, I've given the principle his name: the Kuske Principle.
As I say, Professor Kuske was an encyclopedia of information about education. But he wasn't all that successful at practicing it.
You always knew when Professor Kuske was about to impart a particularly important point. He would lean way back in his chair, put his fingertips together in a steeple and start tapping them. A smug expression would creep over his face. He would let loose with the vaguest, most obscure question you could imagine, then sit back and wait for us to answer.
We never had any idea what he was getting at. The first couple of days, some of us made fumbling attempts to answer. But nobody ever answered his questions right. No matter how close you got, it was never quite what he wanted. And his expression would grow more and more smug until he finally answered it himself.
Now, I know he was following good educational principles, trying to get us to think through the questions and figure out the answers for ourselves. But his questions were so vague that there was no way in the world ANYONE had a ghost of a chance of getting them right.
Eventually, we gave up even trying to answer. Every time he asked a question, everyone quickly stared down at their notes until he proudly revealed the answer.
The great life lesson I learned from him came when I ventured out to teach my first practice class. I quickly grew frustrated with my students. They didn't even try to answer my questions. They just stared down at their desks.
And then I noticed.
I was leaning way back in my chair. My fingers were tapping together in a steeple. And I realized I was asking questions every bit as bewildering as Professor Kuske's best mind-muddlers.
Without intending to, I was patterning myself after Professor Kuske.
What I realized is that when people learn a new skill, they subconsciously pattern themselves after bad examples rather than good. I've seen this at work in just about every field I've been in since then. And Internet marketing is no exception.
Why is it that new business owners write copy for their site that is either terminally dull and lifeless or drowning in hype? It's the Kuske Principle at work. Why do new web designers cram every distracting animation and do-dad they can into their site? Again, it's the Kuske Principle.
Good writing, good design, and good marketing come across to us as so natural and, well, so right that we're simply caught up in it. We lose sight of all the techniques and craftsmanship that made it so good.
Bad writing, bad design, and bad marketing, on the other hand, are so blatant in their attempts to manipulate that we are painfully aware of all the awkward pieces that are badly cobbled into them.
Sure, we're turned off by bad examples, but when called upon to write copy or design a site or market a product, what techniques for doing so come to our mind? Of course! Those wretched techniques that were so obvious are ingrained in our minds as the way that task is supposed to be done.
So how can we avoid falling victim to the Kuske Principle in our businesses?
The moment I realized what I was doing in the classroom, I started searching my memory for classes I enjoyed and learned the most in. And I started to consciously watch those teachers who made classes a joy and an adventure. I consciously studied the ways they taught.
It takes that kind of conscious effort to discard the bad examples and learn from the good. But consciously studying those examples of good marketing that you come across—the ones that we would otherwise simply get caught up in—is an education you can't buy at any price.
Jeff
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Analyzing Your Site With SearchIt! Free Research Tool
The SearchIt! free search tool consists of a window with two dropdown boxes and two text boxes. In the two dropdown boxes, you select the type of search you want to do. In the two text boxes, you select the search criteria (such as keywords or URLs) you want to use.
Rather than repeat the introductory info about SearchIt! that I shared previously, I suggest that you see the October 2nd blog for this information. Or simply realize that it is important to click all the links and read all the instructions that SearchIt! tells you to do.
You'll find SearchIt! A LOT easier and more valuable to use if you do that.
Using SearchIt!
Last week we looked at using SearchIt! to help you keep up to date with the latest info on your topic area. This week we'll look at some interesting ways to test the effectiveness of your website.
In the Step 1 dropdown box, scroll down under C-T-P-M and select Traffic-Building and PREselling.
Click the dropdown box for Step 2: Select Search Type. You'll see the following options.
Take the Traffic Test
This option lets you get an idea of the relative amount of traffic your site, or a competitor's site receives. It queries Alexa.com, the creator of one of the most popular toolbars on the Web. Alexa's toolbar gives the user a wide variety of instant information about whatever site they visit in return for permission to anonymously track the user's movements on the Web.
As a result, Alexa has some of the most extensive data on website traffic available. Granted, their data isn't perfect. Their data tracks only Alexa toolbar users, so it's skewed toward the habits of fairly sophisticated surfers, not the general populace. And it's occasionally tricked by unscrupulous site owners who want to boost their ranking artificially.
But, overall, Alexa's rankings give a pretty good snapshot of where a site stands in popularity and traffic. With Alexa rankings, the smaller the number, the more popular the site is. For example, the most popular site on the Web, Yahoo!, is number 1. Alexa assigns a ranking to approximetely the 5 million most popular sites. Those that don't make the top 5 million are simply listed as No Data Available.
OK, having gone through all that, here's the way to run this test.
Type a domain name (without the http:// or www.) in the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the information page about this search.
I especially encourage you to read the intro page for this search. It makes some excellent points about the crucial role that building solid content for your site has in your site's success and the way that the "you-can-put-up-a-site-in-15-minutes" hucksters can put you in a bind that your business may never overcome.
Once you've read the page, click the link at the bottom of that page to show your results.
Take the PREselling Test
This option is not so much a search as it is an opportunity for self-analysis of your site. And for this one, reading the intro page that appears after you click the SearchIt! button is essential.
Type a complete domain name (including the http:// and the www.) into the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the intro page. It offers an excellent lesson in the type of content it takes to succeed and gives lots of great examples of people who have done this.
Once you've read the intro page, click the search results link at the bottom of the page. Analyze your page to see how well it provides the kind of content the intro page describes.
Next week
This Sunday, I've covered some interesting ways to test the effectiveness of your website, Next week I'll cover some ways to uncover effective ways of monetizing (making money off of) your site.
All in all, SearchIt! can find you lots of valuable information. The main thing to remember is to READ THE DIRECTIONS. With as many tools packed into this one interface, you're not going to take one look at it and intuitively understand how to use every one of them. But the directions they give are easy, and they do more than just tell you how to use each tool; they also throw in tips on how to use the results you receive to make your site more successful.
SearchIt! is one of these free tools that really produces value for you. I recommend that you check it out and make it a part of your web marketing arsenal.
Jeff
The SearchIt! free search tool consists of a window with two dropdown boxes and two text boxes. In the two dropdown boxes, you select the type of search you want to do. In the two text boxes, you select the search criteria (such as keywords or URLs) you want to use.
Rather than repeat the introductory info about SearchIt! that I shared previously, I suggest that you see the October 2nd blog for this information. Or simply realize that it is important to click all the links and read all the instructions that SearchIt! tells you to do.
You'll find SearchIt! A LOT easier and more valuable to use if you do that.
Using SearchIt!
Last week we looked at using SearchIt! to help you keep up to date with the latest info on your topic area. This week we'll look at some interesting ways to test the effectiveness of your website.
In the Step 1 dropdown box, scroll down under C-T-P-M and select Traffic-Building and PREselling.
Click the dropdown box for Step 2: Select Search Type. You'll see the following options.
- Take the Traffic Test
- Take the PREselling Test
Take the Traffic Test
This option lets you get an idea of the relative amount of traffic your site, or a competitor's site receives. It queries Alexa.com, the creator of one of the most popular toolbars on the Web. Alexa's toolbar gives the user a wide variety of instant information about whatever site they visit in return for permission to anonymously track the user's movements on the Web.
As a result, Alexa has some of the most extensive data on website traffic available. Granted, their data isn't perfect. Their data tracks only Alexa toolbar users, so it's skewed toward the habits of fairly sophisticated surfers, not the general populace. And it's occasionally tricked by unscrupulous site owners who want to boost their ranking artificially.
But, overall, Alexa's rankings give a pretty good snapshot of where a site stands in popularity and traffic. With Alexa rankings, the smaller the number, the more popular the site is. For example, the most popular site on the Web, Yahoo!, is number 1. Alexa assigns a ranking to approximetely the 5 million most popular sites. Those that don't make the top 5 million are simply listed as No Data Available.
OK, having gone through all that, here's the way to run this test.
Type a domain name (without the http:// or www.) in the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the information page about this search.
I especially encourage you to read the intro page for this search. It makes some excellent points about the crucial role that building solid content for your site has in your site's success and the way that the "you-can-put-up-a-site-in-15-minutes" hucksters can put you in a bind that your business may never overcome.
Once you've read the page, click the link at the bottom of that page to show your results.
Take the PREselling Test
This option is not so much a search as it is an opportunity for self-analysis of your site. And for this one, reading the intro page that appears after you click the SearchIt! button is essential.
Type a complete domain name (including the http:// and the www.) into the Step 3 box. Click the SearchIt! button. Read the intro page. It offers an excellent lesson in the type of content it takes to succeed and gives lots of great examples of people who have done this.
Once you've read the intro page, click the search results link at the bottom of the page. Analyze your page to see how well it provides the kind of content the intro page describes.
Next week
This Sunday, I've covered some interesting ways to test the effectiveness of your website, Next week I'll cover some ways to uncover effective ways of monetizing (making money off of) your site.
All in all, SearchIt! can find you lots of valuable information. The main thing to remember is to READ THE DIRECTIONS. With as many tools packed into this one interface, you're not going to take one look at it and intuitively understand how to use every one of them. But the directions they give are easy, and they do more than just tell you how to use each tool; they also throw in tips on how to use the results you receive to make your site more successful.
SearchIt! is one of these free tools that really produces value for you. I recommend that you check it out and make it a part of your web marketing arsenal.
Jeff
© 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Jeff Baas, One Stop Web Support
