Most relevant news, techniques and tools for authors looking to promote their books inexpensively off and online. We refer to and utilize many of the Guerrilla Marketing techniques and have created some of our own geared specifically to book promotion and marketing. Our website is the ground where we put into practice our marketing efforts. Membership is FREE.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Make Magic with Metadata in Gmail

Make Magic with Metadata in Gmail
Personal knowledge management is becoming one of the most critical skills that information workers like journalists, marketers and PR pros need to succeed today. Specifically, I am talking about the efficient collecting, processing and weeding of massive amounts of data....

Blended Search Demands Blended Marketing and PR
Google Universal offer opportunities for news and PR content to be found in search

At the session on Universal and blended search at SES San Jose we heard from all the search engines.  Johanna Wright of Google, Cris Pierry of Yahoo! Erik collier of Ask and Todd Schwartz of LIve search all gave their insights and predictions about how search is displayed and how searchers view a results page.

Until 15 months ago a search results page was just 10 blue liks to what that search engine considered the top ten most relevant websites for your query. If you wanted to see images, videos, news, products or blog posts you had to click into the vertical buckets for those categories.

In May 2007 Google decided that they should offer you the top results from ALL content in their index and not make you have to go searching in vertical buckets.  They launched Universal search and now when you pop a query into Google you can see images, news and video sprinkled in with the website links. 

Why is this a PR opportunity?  A search engine will only give you two links for your website on a search results page, But now you can get news content, images and videos on that page as well.  Even if our website does not rank on page one, a press release can. And since it has been shown that search visbility lifts brand recall and influences perceptions, how you show up in search has become an important PR function.

Owning the first page of Google for your company name, brand, product names and the best generic category descriptions should be on every PR plan today.  It's part of online reputation management.  And Universal search makes it possible.

Of course you have to have the digital assets in the search engines, and they have to be correctly optimized for search.

 Add an image to every press release.  Make the release timely and newsworthy.  Optimize the press release for search.  Add audio and video to your news content.  Host it all in a social media newsroom and upload your assets to other content sharing sites.

Making the most of blended search means you need to break down the silos in the organization and collaborate with the marketing, search and advertising people in your company.  Social media is all about sharing and colloboration - and you'll win if you start appying that principle within the company.  It's  time for a truly integrated marketing and PR approach.



SES San Jose: How to get on page one of Google
7 proven ways to get organic search visibility - and one that was overlooked

Image: Danard Vincente

This was a sponsored session with Shawn Moore from ThinkProfits.com, a Vancouver SEO and web design firm.

Google has been quite open about what they regard as relevant in a website and what's needed to get good search engine visibility. Here are the 7 proven ways Shawn spoke about:

1.  Domain name strategy

It is a good SEO strategy to have the keyword/s you'd most like to be found for in the domain name - or at least in the urls of interior pages of the site.  If you have a domain name with no keywords, you can register and host other keyword rich domains and forward them to your site or build microsites..

2.   Content is King: 

Use as rich a mix of text, images and videos as possible.  Universal search demands many digital assets. Make sure they are keyword rich..Create excellent content based on  keyword research.

3. Pay attention to your navigation and architecture.

Use  a language that can easily be indexed by Google's bots.  They still have problems with Java but are getting better at Flash. A June 30 post on the official webmaster central Google blog lays out how they index Flash now..

The best plan is to keep your code clean and simple.  If your site is built in frames or tables, it's time to upgrade!

4.  Blogs:

Start a blog, but bear in mind that it takes time and effort to keep it up.  For a blog to be successful it must have good content on a regular basis. Wordpress has some great SEO plug-ins now. Or if you require a robust enterprise platform with great reporting tools and a quality report each week, use MyST Blogsite.  (This blog is on Blogsite.) 

5. Keyword-rich inbound links

Google places high importance on the number and quality of inbound links to your site.  You can find out who links to you using Yahoo site explorer or Google's webmaster tools.  MarketLeap link popularity is another tool you can use to get an indication of how many links you have in contrast to the links your competitors on page one have. Instead of linking with the full url make the keyword the link - this is called anchor text linking. And pursue links from high traffic sites with a good Page Rank.  Find influential bloggers and send them some good content to blog about.  .

6.  A database of content.

While a database can give you lots of  content to pull from and make it easier to add new content, be sure you avoid the pitfalls - like long strings of queries in the URLS.  Site Reference has a good article on what to avoid in a database of content. 

7. Optimize Press Releases for online distribution

As more and more people go online to read their news, news search become more important in SEO.  And now that blended search is here, news can be seen on web search result pages too.  It's vital to add your news content to the mix.  A  well optimized press release can show up on page one in Google even though your website does not.  And if you add links to the release, when it gets picked up on other sites that link will add weight to your inbound links.

Here are 10 reasons you should optimize a press release

And then there is another proven strategy - and this one was not mentioned in the SES session :  RSS feeds.

RSS feeds are a method of content syndication.  It can help you achieve page one visibility in Google because you add fresh content that contains links.  This content gets spread across the web and brings you new niche traffic and inbound links.

Helpful Tip

If this seems like an overwhelming task, a system like PRESSfeed, a social media and SEO tool,  can help you get most of these strategies in place.  It makes it simple to create an RSS feed and add the content to your site.  It has a database for the content and it's already properly coded and tagged.  You can add links and images.  If you produce video or podcasts you can add a media RSS feed that helps you optimize and add text and tags to the page and syndicate the content.  You can use it to add articles and press releases to your site. Best of all it syndicates the content and reaches new audiences.

Case study for a local outdoor living company in LA County

Case study for a skin care product that was launched using this method



The World's Clicks Don't Always Tell the Truth
The following is also my column in next week's AdAge... The dirty little secret in the blogosphere is that bloggers get free books - and lots of them. Often they show up without anyone asking. Most of the ones on...

Enjoy The View
Why not subscribe to avoid missing The Best Article Every day! A.at_adv_here_7342, A.at_pow_by_7342 {font-family: Arial,Sans-Serif; font-size: 10px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; font-variant: normal; text-transform: none; color: #000099; text-decoration: none; } A.at_adv_here_7342:hover, A.at_pow_by_7342:hover { color: #0000FF; text-decoration: underline; } adtoll_see_your_ad_here = 1; adtoll_your_text = "Advertise here"; adtoll_show_powered_by = 1;



Moms of different ages use the Net differently
Gen X and Gen Y focus on different activities online

Image: Striatic

Gen X is the generation born between 1965 and 1980 (depending on your source)

Generation Y moms were born between1982 (Millenials) and 1994.

Both Generation X and Generation Y moms view the internet as a must-have tool for finding child-rearing information, but there is a marked difference in their online behaviors and preferences, says a study from The Parenting Group and NewMediaMetrics

Gen Y moms prefer:

  • media that connects them to other moms online - such as internet communities, blogs and video-sharing sites - suggesting they prefer to rely on peers rather than experts to help them parent., according to the study.
  • creating their own content
  • time-shifting behaviors, such as watching TV online.

The top three activities of Gen Y moms:

  • reading blogs
  • participating in an online community of moms
  • creating and sharing their own videos.

Gen X moms are less attached to digital media as a whole. They are more likely to engage in task-oriented activities such as shopping online and uploading photos.

The top three online activities of Gen X moms are:

  • using a photo site
  • rating and reviewing products
  • shopping

The Parenting Group.suggests that these insights can help marketers targeting the next new generation of moms online.

See Also



Radical Transparency: Three Lessons Apple Can Learn from Google
Google isn't exactly known as the most transparent company in the world, but they're light years ahead of Apple - a company that in some ways they share a kinship with when it comes to their reputation for innovation. Apple...

UK PR Firms Missing Digital Opportunity
Study shows almost 80 % have no social media services

It would seem that most UK PR agencies missed the Cluetrain. 

According to a study of 100 major PR firms 79% have not yet developed online PR and social media services.  And half of those that did get the clue are based in London, says the BigMouth Media report. 28% of the London based PR firms offer Internet PR services and 14% of them blog.

"If PR is to properly address the challenges and opportunities that new media offers, the industry must invest in relevant services and training at all levels. Those failing to do so run the long-term risk of losing out in the inevitable battle for the online communications market."  Adam Parker, Chief Executive of online news distribution company webitpr.

Pr social media in UK

See Also



It's Time for the News Aggregators to Come Clean
Correction appended about Yahoo's operations 9/12/08 A news story from 2002 about United Airlines filing for bankruptcy tripped up investors yesterday when it re-appeared on Google News, Barry Schwartz reports. The Google News team follows with their own explanation. However,...

CNN Twitters Its Way to Direct Audience Engagement
@acarvin tweet on CNN by Steve Garfield on Flickr If you haven't been watching CNN on the weekends you've been missing out. CNN anchor Rick Sanchez has been increasingly using Twitter to engage viewers in conversation while on the air....

Monday, September 29, 2008

Viral Marketing

Viral Marketing
Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others... Published in HindustanTimes.com 13th S ..

Is Google Docs Encouraging Schoolchildren to Steal Photos?
I love Google Docs, but this is just wrong. In a seemingly innocent blog post running down new features for back to school, Google now says they let you search for images off the web via your document so you...

The Politics of Cyberspace
The Tyee has published my article Winning Cyberspace in '08. Excerpt: ... the sudden advent of interactive media has changed propaganda into a two-way street, a conversation, a screaming match -- and a rock concert. One-way media and interactive media are themselves interacting, creating a political environment unlike any before it. The campaign of Barack Obama is not just thriving in this environment -- it's defining 21st-century campaign politics.

The Tyee has published my article Winning Cyberspace in '08. Excerpt:

... the sudden advent of interactive media has changed propaganda into a two-way street, a conversation, a screaming match -- and a rock concert. One-way media and interactive media are themselves interacting, creating a political environment unlike any before it.

The campaign of Barack Obama is not just thriving in this environment -- it's defining 21st-century campaign politics.



US Democrats waging web war
Via Netcraft: Clinton and Obama XSS battle develops. Excerpt: Following the recent cross-site scripting attacks against Barack Obama's website, Finnish security researcher Harry Sintonen has published an example of a cross-site scripting vulnerability on votehillary.org. Sintonen's example submits a POST request to the Vote Hillary website and injects an iframe, causing the site to display the contents of Barack Obama's website. Unlike the Obama incident, which redirected the user's web...

Via Netcraft: Clinton and Obama XSS battle develops. Excerpt:

Following the recent cross-site scripting attacks against Barack Obama's website, Finnish security researcher Harry Sintonen has published an example of a cross-site scripting vulnerability on votehillary.org.

Sintonen's example submits a POST request to the Vote Hillary website and injects an iframe, causing the site to display the contents of Barack Obama's website. Unlike the Obama incident, which redirected the user's web browser, Sintonen's method retains the votehillary.org URL in the address bar while displaying the opposing website.

Sintonen told Netcraft that he was inspired by the recent Obama attacks and first examined Hillary Clinton's official website at www.hillaryclinton.com. Sintonen did not find any cross-site scripting vulnerabilities on this site, adding that it looked quite secure, but subsequently found XSS opportunities available on the Vote Hillary website. Sintonen lives in Finland and has no strong interest in US politics.

While the example exploits have so far been relatively benign (limited to redirecting a user to the opponent's website, for example), future cross-site scripting vulnerabilities found on political candidate sites have plenty of scope to be much more serious. Obama's and Clinton's websites both accept monetary contributions towards their campaigns, so cross-site scripting vulnerabilities could be leveraged to steal money and identities from supporters.

Read the post on the Netcraft site to follow the links.



Which search engines to target?
Some search engine ti

Mediated Cultures
Thanks to the colleague who sent me the link to this very interesting site: mediatedcultures.net @ kansas state university. It's a showcase of the "Digital Ethnography Working Group" at Kansas State University, and it offers some dramatic examples of web communication...especially the "Explorations of Mediated Culture" video. The links on the main page are worth exploring.

Thanks to the colleague who sent me the link to this very interesting site: mediatedcultures.net @ kansas state university.

It's a showcase of the "Digital Ethnography Working Group" at Kansas State University, and it offers some dramatic examples of web communication...especially the "Explorations of Mediated Culture" video. The links on the main page are worth exploring.



Nielsen on Website Readers' Reading Habits
Via Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox: How Little Do Users Read? His summary: On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely. The conclusion he draws: Unless you're writing for really dedicated readers with a strong interest in your subject, you should keep your text to no more than 100 words per page. I'd be interested in...

Via Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox: How Little Do Users Read? His summary:

On the average Web page, users have time to read at most 28% of the words during an average visit; 20% is more likely.

The conclusion he draws: Unless you're writing for really dedicated readers with a strong interest in your subject, you should keep your text to no more than 100 words per page. I'd be interested in your reactions to his argument.



The Next Big Thing
Embedded software, Wireless Net, P2P, Real time movies, and Medicare are some of the often heard phrases used to describe the next big thing on the ..

The planetary (and interplanetary) internet
Via The Guardian, an optimistic argument by Vint Cerf, one of the architects of the original internet: A founding father of the web says it's come a long way, but its potential for worldwide change can and will be greater still. Excerpt: It's amazing how quickly those of us with internet access have come to take for granted the remarkable amounts of information we have at our disposal, but we're...

Via The Guardian, an optimistic argument by Vint Cerf, one of the architects of the original internet: A founding father of the web says it's come a long way, but its potential for worldwide change can and will be greater still. Excerpt:

It's amazing how quickly those of us with internet access have come to take for granted the remarkable amounts of information we have at our disposal, but we're only seeing the beginnings. The bulk of human knowledge remains offline. As more of us get access to the internet, more of the world's information will find its way online.

The web is already making strides toward becoming truly global. While I was chairman of ICANN, one of the organisations that helps ensure that the internet works uniformly around the world, we adopted rules to allow the system of domain names to accommodate non-Roman characters, making the web more accessible to people whose languages use other scripts, such as Arabic, Korean or Cyrillic.

There are improvements in automatic language translation tools and, in particular, the field that we call machine learning. It is already possible to do a Google search and explore the results in English across web content in 23 different languages, from Czech to Hindi to Korean. Speakers of any of those languages can now explore content on the web written in any of the others.

The technology isn't perfect yet, but it's rapidly improving. Even in its present form, it's easy to imagine a not-too-distant future in which automatic translation will allow two people in the world to message one another in real time, each experiencing the chat in his or her tongue. Just imagine what a significant step that will be.

Cerf predicts that even space probes will be built to use the internet. I predict that such probes will need major spam filters.

More seriously, webwriters should begin to think about writing effectively in more languages than just English. Some languages are "wordier" than English; others are more concise. Do readers of Chinese or Arabic scan a computer screen the way English readers do? I wish I knew.



Split Run Testing
If you are a webpreneur, split testing is a definite recommendation. Not only it increases sales but also lets go of unnecessary graphics and copy. A ..

Sunday, September 28, 2008

How to Master Storytelling for Better Selling

How to Master Storytelling for Better Selling
Stories sell. It's not really a secret. Read the best sales and landing pages and you'll be captured by personal stories. Ask any of the online copywriting gurus and they will tell you: Stories sell. Our brains are hardwired to...

7 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Traffic Starting Yesterday
Internet. Business. Profit. To fully integrate all of these words into a successful merging you will need another word. Traffic. Every article you will find about making your site or company successf... [Author: Terry Leslie - Site Promotion - April 28, 2008]

How To Increase Onsite Conversions - Leads, Sales, Etc.
A website that does not make conversions is a website that serves no business function. So let's talk about: What a website conversion is and how you can increase conversions across your business we... [Author: Mike Van Bergen - Site Promotion - April 25, 2008]

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Biz Blog Writing: It's time to make money.

Biz Blog Writing: It's time to make money.
"Business blogging is not about 'do you have time to write?'... but do you have time to make money!" said wise man Des Walsh at the Small Business Blogging panel at Blog World Expo 08.The best business partner in the...

Content Marketing Uber-Easy and Gets Results - Shama Hyder Interview
"There is too much BS content on the web already. Don’t add to it! Make it good, and make it uber-easy to share!" Shama Hyder advises businesses who want to market on the Web to post content consistently but with...

Advertising Your Website
Yup, I admit it, I am a bit biased, but I think that one of the very best ways you can advertise your website is through the V7N. First, without a doubt, your site needs to be in as many high quality directories as possible. The V7N Directory is the one directory that I personally recommend the [...]

Domain vs. Subdomain
When you get ready to set up a professional blog, one of the first decisions you will need to make is if you want to use a domain, subdomain, or a free option, such as blogger.com. I recommend treating a blog just like any other website, especially when it comes to the hosting. Some hosting companies allow you to [...]

My Happy Crazy Life
It isn’t often that I come across a blog that I am so impressed by that I find myself wanting to tell everyone I know about it, but My Happy Crazy Life is definitely one blog that I want to share with others.    When I found this blog, authored by Amy Sue of the Zany Zebra, [...]

Content for Coaches and Consultants: new site launches
If you're a coach or consultant and specialize in leadership development you'll be interested to know about a new site Denise and I launched this week: www.ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com. Long name, I know, but I wanted to be clear about what we're...

Content Marketing Interview with Allison Nazarian, copywriter and founder of Get It in Writing
Allison Nazarian is a young copywriter with a lot to offer. She uses content to market her services on the Web, and helps her clients to do so through her company Get It in Writing. In our continuing series of...

Content Marketing Interview with Kathleen Gage
Kathleen Gage has had tremendous success marketing her services online with content. She has a unique ability to mix spiritual principles into helping people, especially authors, make money. Denise and I have partnered with Kathleen twice now to deliver our...

"No Sell" Content - Are you publishing something new each quarter?
Joe Pulizzi of Junta 42 blog has a great post today called Six Strategies for Keeping Content Fresh - this is a must read. What I like about this post: It starts off with a personal story, and he has...

Alex Geana: Portrait of how one professional uses content to market online
Content marketing means different things to different people. So I went out to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and to coaches and consultants I respect who are using Web content to market their services. The results have been terrific. For one thing,...

How to Launch Your Career as an Author, Get Your Book Published and Get Book Publicity: MP3 Audio
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors. Visit www.EverythingYouShouldKnow.com for more details

Joe Pulizzi reveals how he uses content marketing to get great results
Last week I asked a question over on LinkedIn: If you're a coach or consultant, how are you using content on the Web to market your services? What gets you the best results? Joe Pulizzi, who runs Junta 42 responded:"Blogging...

Offline Marketing Techniques
  Offline marketing is very similar to online marketing, either way, word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising there is, but a huge part of that involves getting to know the people around you. Online, that might mean joining and actively participating in groups and forums. Offline that could be taking a sincere [...]

Write a Book and Get Your Book Published: Subscribe to America's Most Successful Book Publicist's Newsletter Today
Sign up for the free HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED and PUBLICIZED newsletter from Arielle Ford. In case you don't know Arielle by name, she's publicized hundreds of authors and books. 11 of which are #1 Bestsellers. Her clients include Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch, Dean Ornish, Jon Gordon, Debbie Ford, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Arielle has compiled a list of nearly every question a first-time or experienced author wants to know about publishing, publicity, building a platform and the book business. Every issue is jam-packed with answers to the questions that get your book published and you booked on radio, television, newspapers and magazines.

The Slovenian Designer
Recently I had the pleasure of seeing some of the work of a graphic designer, known as the Slovenian Designer. I was so impressed by what I had seen, that I decided to take a look through his blog. WOW! This is definitely a site worth spending some time on. Not only is he an extremely talented web [...]

Top 10 Writing Blogs Announced
Top 10 writing blogs? Not an easy task, because there are so many different kinds of writing blogs as there are so many different kinds of writers. But here's what readers of Michael Stelzner's Writing White Papers blog voted for....

Visit the Book Publicity Gallery to see Documents and Photos of Successful Book Publicity Tours and Information.
Visit this link for a whole gallery full of scans from the NY Times and Publisher's Weekly.

How to Get Your Book Published: Quicktime Video
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

How to Master Storytelling for Better Selling
Stories sell. It's not really a secret. Read the best sales and landing pages and you'll be captured by personal stories. Ask any of the online copywriting gurus and they will tell you: Stories sell. Our brains are hardwired to...

How to Get Your Book Published: Windows Media Video
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier

The Robert Collier Letter Book by Robert Collier

Mistakes - Site Updating
I’ve been blogging about niche marketing since 2005.  After a few years, I’ve expanded my blog with several other blogs in subdomains because there was too much information to share in too many different categories.  Since the move, I’ve lost my focus and got sidetracked.  It was a big mistake. Before it gets worse, I’m merging [...]

I’ve been blogging about niche marketing since 2005.  After a few years, I’ve expanded my blog with several other blogs in subdomains because there was too much information to share in too many different categories.  Since the move, I’ve lost my focus and got sidetracked.  It was a big mistake.

Before it gets worse, I’m merging all my marketing-related blogs into a single blog.  Everything’s imported to MarketingSyndrome.com, but all posts need to be reorganized into right categories.  It might take me a few weeks to finish it.  Everything’s in mess right now, so please use the search tool to find information on this blog.

I’m even bringing back the old design I’ve used last year to refresh my memory.  :)



A Few Positions Have Opened up at Content Site Builder

How To Transfer Tapes

$10,652.00 in Bonuses for Shawn Casey's "How To Make An Absolute Fortune..."

Internet Audiences Growing: How Will You Respond?

Million Dollar Product Creation Secrets just released!

More from Google CEO, Eric Schmidt

How to Get Your Book Published: Quicktime Video
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

Google Keyword Tools Now with Real Search Volumes
Thanks to Google, you can now view the real search volumes for your keywords with Google’s Keyword Tool. This is a great news for both webmasters and affiliate marketers like us. I’m so excited with this improvement. As you can see from the screen shot, you can view the real search volumes for June [...]

Thanks to Google, you can now view the real search volumes for your keywords with Google’s Keyword Tool. This is a great news for both webmasters and affiliate marketers like us. I’m so excited with this improvement.

As you can see from the screen shot, you can view the real search volumes for June and average search volume for the last 12 month period. Don’t miss the “Highest Volume Occured In” column at the end. With these stats, you can adjust your seasonal ad campaigns easily.

I just wanted to give you a quick update first before I go play with it more. Have fun!

Visit : Google Keyword Tool



Personalize Your Blog with .ME Domain Name
As of today, .ME domains are open for public registrations.  .ME has been the talk of the town because of its potential for internet users.  .ME domains are just perfect for blogs.   Just think about it, with a  .ME domain you can register YOURNAME.ME. .ME domains are not just limited to personal websites.  It can be used as a catchy [...]

As of today, .ME domains are open for public registrations.  .ME has been the talk of the town because of its potential for internet users.  .ME domains are just perfect for blogs.   Just think about it, with a  .ME domain you can register YOURNAME.ME.

.ME domains are not just limited to personal websites.  It can be used as a catchy marketing tool.  For example, verb-oriented domain names such as Contact.me, Drive.me, Date.me, Help.me, Love.me make perfect sense to visitors.

Well, you can purchase those premium domains only through the auction that’s coming up, but you can still get good .ME domain names if you hurry up.

It is little bit expensive and requires 2 years of contract, but it will be well worth your investment.  I was going to register “Prayfor.me” but as I thought.. it’s gone.  But I’ve found a couple of really nice domain names already.  So register a .ME domain name now!

Register a .ME Domain Here



Arielle Ford, Publicist biography
Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Generating Revenue Through Advertising

Generating Revenue Through Advertising


Content Marketing Uber-Easy and Gets Results - Shama Hyder Interview
"There is too much BS content on the web already. Don’t add to it! Make it good, and make it uber-easy to share!" Shama Hyder advises businesses who want to market on the Web to post content consistently but with...

My Happy Crazy Life
It isn’t often that I come across a blog that I am so impressed by that I find myself wanting to tell everyone I know about it, but My Happy Crazy Life is definitely one blog that I want to share with others.    When I found this blog, authored by Amy Sue of the Zany Zebra, [...]

Content Marketing Interview with Allison Nazarian, copywriter and founder of Get It in Writing
Allison Nazarian is a young copywriter with a lot to offer. She uses content to market her services on the Web, and helps her clients to do so through her company Get It in Writing. In our continuing series of...

Advertising Your Website
Yup, I admit it, I am a bit biased, but I think that one of the very best ways you can advertise your website is through the V7N. First, without a doubt, your site needs to be in as many high quality directories as possible. The V7N Directory is the one directory that I personally recommend the [...]

Everything you wanted to know about Copyrights


Biz Blog Writing: It's time to make money.
"Business blogging is not about 'do you have time to write?'... but do you have time to make money!" said wise man Des Walsh at the Small Business Blogging panel at Blog World Expo 08.The best business partner in the...

Offline Marketing Techniques
  Offline marketing is very similar to online marketing, either way, word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising there is, but a huge part of that involves getting to know the people around you. Online, that might mean joining and actively participating in groups and forums. Offline that could be taking a sincere [...]

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

BEA Book Expo America: Good for Independent Publishers?

BEA Book Expo America: Good for Independent Publishers?


Biz Blog Writing: It's time to make money.
"Business blogging is not about 'do you have time to write?'... but do you have time to make money!" said wise man Des Walsh at the Small Business Blogging panel at Blog World Expo 08.The best business partner in the...

How to Master Storytelling for Better Selling
Stories sell. It's not really a secret. Read the best sales and landing pages and you'll be captured by personal stories. Ask any of the online copywriting gurus and they will tell you: Stories sell. Our brains are hardwired to...

Content for Coaches and Consultants: new site launches
If you're a coach or consultant and specialize in leadership development you'll be interested to know about a new site Denise and I launched this week: www.ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com. Long name, I know, but I wanted to be clear about what we're...

Publicity for Books


11 ways Android will kick the iPhone’s ass
Written by Dan Grabham Start quaking in your boots, Steve. Or support some more stuff, up to you So Android has arrived with the announcement of the T-Mobile G1. The HTC-manufactured phone certainly has a few nice touches, despite its lack of multi-touch (and with T-Mobile’s particular variant, no accelerometer). But while this particular handset might not be [...]

Written by Dan Grabham

Start quaking in your boots, Steve. Or support some more stuff, up to you

The T-Mobile G1 isn't an iPhone beater, but Android could beSo Android has arrived with the announcement of the T-Mobile G1. The HTC-manufactured phone certainly has a few nice touches, despite its lack of multi-touch (and with T-Mobile’s particular variant, no accelerometer).

But while this particular handset might not be the technology king to beat the iPhone, the potential’s there. And the OS looks super-hot. Here’s why Android can make its presence felt and could really threaten the iPhone.

1. It’s more open
Android is a fully open OS, which means that developing for it is a free-for-all. Handily, that’ll mean more free apps and games than the iPhone’s App Store can throw at us currently as they’ll be offered by networks, content providers and Google alike.

2. It’s got integration with online apps
Google is heavily involved here. We’ll get better versions of handy stuff like Google Docs, Talk and Calendar plus Street View mapping on Android-based handsets. And it all comes with a single sign-on.

3. It’s faster, faster, faster
One thing we’ve seen with Android all year is that it’s incredibly fast. In the tech demo at last week’s Google Developer Day and now we’ve got hands on with the G1, the interface doesn’t suffer from the recent glitches the iPhone 2.0 firmware has.

4. Better hardware
The iPhone is high tech hardware, but it remains that phones with features such as HSDPA and better digital cameras appeal to the masses. Add in Android, and the iPhone will be playing catchup.

5. There’ll be more variants
Apple has always been a bit one-size-fits-all. And the iPhone is no different in terms of the hardware (the capacity aside, of course). Android will be available in cheap mobiles as well as expensive ones, and that can only be a good thing.

6. It’ll have Flash
So Steve Jobs reckons Flash is too intensive for mobile use? We don’t think it’ll be too long before somebody develops a version for Android. In the meantime, websites use Flash, Steve. Get over it.

7. It won’t be restricted by Apple’s nuances
Following on from number 6, many Android phones won’t be locked down in the same way that the iPhone is (although how this plays out with networks remains to be seen). More flexibility could mean more fans.

8. You can have proper keyboards
We’re pretty used to typing with the iPhone’s keyboard now, but for many it’s a step too far - and too small. The QWERTY slider keyboard on the T-Mobile G1 is the real deal.

9. It’ll have better format support
Wider support for different formats will appeal to those frustrated by Apple’s restricted model. And bring a whole load of new fans to Android.

10. You won’t need to jailbreak
Hacking? It’ll be expected with Android (though, once again, we don’t know how this will play out with the networks). Customisation will be the norm, rather than the exception. Jailbreaking? What’s the point?

11. Unrestricted apps
Apple has banned several apps from the App Store, including the Murderdome adult comic. You won’t get so many restrictions with Android.



"No Sell" Content - Are you publishing something new each quarter?
Joe Pulizzi of Junta 42 blog has a great post today called Six Strategies for Keeping Content Fresh - this is a must read. What I like about this post: It starts off with a personal story, and he has...

Content Marketing Uber-Easy and Gets Results - Shama Hyder Interview
"There is too much BS content on the web already. Don’t add to it! Make it good, and make it uber-easy to share!" Shama Hyder advises businesses who want to market on the Web to post content consistently but with...

Write a Book and Get Your Book Published: Subscribe to America's Most Successful Book Publicist's Newsletter Today

Write a Book and Get Your Book Published: Subscribe to America's Most Successful Book Publicist's Newsletter Today
Sign up for the free HOW TO GET YOUR BOOK PUBLISHED and PUBLICIZED newsletter from Arielle Ford. In case you don't know Arielle by name, she's publicized hundreds of authors and books. 11 of which are #1 Bestsellers. Her clients include Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer, Neale Donald Walsch, Dean Ornish, Jon Gordon, Debbie Ford, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen. Arielle has compiled a list of nearly every question a first-time or experienced author wants to know about publishing, publicity, building a platform and the book business. Every issue is jam-packed with answers to the questions that get your book published and you booked on radio, television, newspapers and magazines.

Google Keyword Tools Now with Real Search Volumes
Thanks to Google, you can now view the real search volumes for your keywords with Google’s Keyword Tool. This is a great news for both webmasters and affiliate marketers like us. I’m so excited with this improvement. As you can see from the screen shot, you can view the real search volumes for June [...]

Thanks to Google, you can now view the real search volumes for your keywords with Google’s Keyword Tool. This is a great news for both webmasters and affiliate marketers like us. I’m so excited with this improvement.

As you can see from the screen shot, you can view the real search volumes for June and average search volume for the last 12 month period. Don’t miss the “Highest Volume Occured In” column at the end. With these stats, you can adjust your seasonal ad campaigns easily.

I just wanted to give you a quick update first before I go play with it more. Have fun!

Visit : Google Keyword Tool



How to Get Your Book Published: Windows Media Video
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

When Choosing a Niche for Your BANS Site…
A number of Build a Niche Store forum members suggest that one should target niches that can’t be found anywhere but at auction. But I disagree with this. The majority of my BANS (Build a Niche Store) sites sell things that can be purchased in any retail stores, but I also have vintage auctions that sell only [...]

A number of Build a Niche Store forum members suggest that one should target niches that can’t be found anywhere but at auction.

But I disagree with this.

The majority of my BANS (Build a Niche Store) sites sell things that can be purchased in any retail stores, but I also have vintage auctions that sell only the things that can be bought through auctions.

What I learned from my EPN transaction stats is that people who buy stuff from auction sites already are likely to have an eBay account already.  I have more ACRUs generated from a kitchenware BANS site than anything else. That kitchenware I’m talking about averages $20 and it can be purchased at any local stores like Walmart and Target.

The advice given by the BANS members is good, but ignoring the other half of the market isn’t a good idea. I suggest that you build BANS sites for both, because both work well.

Just a quick thought.



Arielle Ford, Publicist biography
Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors.

Personalize Your Blog with .ME Domain Name
As of today, .ME domains are open for public registrations.  .ME has been the talk of the town because of its potential for internet users.  .ME domains are just perfect for blogs.   Just think about it, with a  .ME domain you can register YOURNAME.ME. .ME domains are not just limited to personal websites.  It can be used as a catchy [...]

As of today, .ME domains are open for public registrations.  .ME has been the talk of the town because of its potential for internet users.  .ME domains are just perfect for blogs.   Just think about it, with a  .ME domain you can register YOURNAME.ME.

.ME domains are not just limited to personal websites.  It can be used as a catchy marketing tool.  For example, verb-oriented domain names such as Contact.me, Drive.me, Date.me, Help.me, Love.me make perfect sense to visitors.

Well, you can purchase those premium domains only through the auction that’s coming up, but you can still get good .ME domain names if you hurry up.

It is little bit expensive and requires 2 years of contract, but it will be well worth your investment.  I was going to register “Prayfor.me” but as I thought.. it’s gone.  But I’ve found a couple of really nice domain names already.  So register a .ME domain name now!

Register a .ME Domain Here



How to Launch Your Career as an Author, Get Your Book Published and Get Book Publicity: MP3 Audio
Find out how Arielle Ford has helped launch the careers and create bestselling books for Deepak Chopra; Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Chicken Soup for the Soul series; Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations With God; Debbie Ford, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers; and Dean Ornish, Love and Survival and many, many other notable authors. Visit www.EverythingYouShouldKnow.com for more details

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Advertising Your Website

Advertising Your Website
Yup, I admit it, I am a bit biased, but I think that one of the very best ways you can advertise your website is through the V7N. First, without a doubt, your site needs to be in as many high quality directories as possible. The V7N Directory is the one directory that I personally recommend the [...]

The Corporate Blogging Book
Stop what you are doing and run out to your local Barnes and Noble bookstore. Why? Because you need to have in your hand at this very moment The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil.

1-2-All Email Marketing by Active Campaign
One of the tools that a self-publishing author must have is good email marketing software. I highly recommend 1-2-All which was developed by Active Campaign.

The Slovenian Designer
Recently I had the pleasure of seeing some of the work of a graphic designer, known as the Slovenian Designer. I was so impressed by what I had seen, that I decided to take a look through his blog. WOW! This is definitely a site worth spending some time on. Not only is he an extremely talented web [...]

The Advantages of Creating Your Own E-Book
E-books have become more and more popular in the recent years. Although some people prefer a printed book in their hand, e-books are still in demand.

Domain vs. Subdomain
When you get ready to set up a professional blog, one of the first decisions you will need to make is if you want to use a domain, subdomain, or a free option, such as blogger.com. I recommend treating a blog just like any other website, especially when it comes to the hosting. Some hosting companies allow you to [...]

Offline Marketing Techniques
  Offline marketing is very similar to online marketing, either way, word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising there is, but a huge part of that involves getting to know the people around you. Online, that might mean joining and actively participating in groups and forums. Offline that could be taking a sincere [...]

My Happy Crazy Life
It isn’t often that I come across a blog that I am so impressed by that I find myself wanting to tell everyone I know about it, but My Happy Crazy Life is definitely one blog that I want to share with others.    When I found this blog, authored by Amy Sue of the Zany Zebra, [...]

Its Name is Zookoda
Zookoda is the new leader in professional email marketing for bloggers. It gives you better control on the look and feel of how your feed is sent to your subscribers. The program is similar to what you see in newsletter...

Will E-Publishing Become the New Leader?
Let the truth be told I am not a big supporter of e-books even though I wrote an entry earlier with regards to the advantages of them. Though I am not a fan, e-books are good for one thing, and that is establishing yourself as an expert.

Blogging is Publishing
I wish I could say that "blogging is publishing" was something that I came up with on my own, but that is not the case. However, I have been pondering on this phrase for a while and decided to write an entry on my thoughts.

Four Marketing Tips for Self-Publishers
You may have already noticed that self-publishing is very time consuming. Most of your time is spent on marketing and publicity and very little time on writing.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Blended Search Demands Blended Marketing and PR

Blended Search Demands Blended Marketing and PR
Google Universal offer opportunities for news and PR content to be found in search

At the session on Universal and blended search at SES San Jose we heard from all the search engines.  Johanna Wright of Google, Cris Pierry of Yahoo! Erik collier of Ask and Todd Schwartz of LIve search all gave their insights and predictions about how search is displayed and how searchers view a results page.

Until 15 months ago a search results page was just 10 blue liks to what that search engine considered the top ten most relevant websites for your query. If you wanted to see images, videos, news, products or blog posts you had to click into the vertical buckets for those categories.

In May 2007 Google decided that they should offer you the top results from ALL content in their index and not make you have to go searching in vertical buckets.  They launched Universal search and now when you pop a query into Google you can see images, news and video sprinkled in with the website links. 

Why is this a PR opportunity?  A search engine will only give you two links for your website on a search results page, But now you can get news content, images and videos on that page as well.  Even if our website does not rank on page one, a press release can. And since it has been shown that search visbility lifts brand recall and influences perceptions, how you show up in search has become an important PR function.

Owning the first page of Google for your company name, brand, product names and the best generic category descriptions should be on every PR plan today.  It's part of online reputation management.  And Universal search makes it possible.

Of course you have to have the digital assets in the search engines, and they have to be correctly optimized for search.

 Add an image to every press release.  Make the release timely and newsworthy.  Optimize the press release for search.  Add audio and video to your news content.  Host it all in a social media newsroom and upload your assets to other content sharing sites.

Making the most of blended search means you need to break down the silos in the organization and collaborate with the marketing, search and advertising people in your company.  Social media is all about sharing and colloboration - and you'll win if you start appying that principle within the company.  It's  time for a truly integrated marketing and PR approach.



SES San Jose: How to get on page one of Google
7 proven ways to get organic search visibility - and one that was overlooked

Image: Danard Vincente

This was a sponsored session with Shawn Moore from ThinkProfits.com, a Vancouver SEO and web design firm.

Google has been quite open about what they regard as relevant in a website and what's needed to get good search engine visibility. Here are the 7 proven ways Shawn spoke about:

1.  Domain name strategy

It is a good SEO strategy to have the keyword/s you'd most like to be found for in the domain name - or at least in the urls of interior pages of the site.  If you have a domain name with no keywords, you can register and host other keyword rich domains and forward them to your site or build microsites..

2.   Content is King: 

Use as rich a mix of text, images and videos as possible.  Universal search demands many digital assets. Make sure they are keyword rich..Create excellent content based on  keyword research.

3. Pay attention to your navigation and architecture.

Use  a language that can easily be indexed by Google's bots.  They still have problems with Java but are getting better at Flash. A June 30 post on the official webmaster central Google blog lays out how they index Flash now..

The best plan is to keep your code clean and simple.  If your site is built in frames or tables, it's time to upgrade!

4.  Blogs:

Start a blog, but bear in mind that it takes time and effort to keep it up.  For a blog to be successful it must have good content on a regular basis. Wordpress has some great SEO plug-ins now. Or if you require a robust enterprise platform with great reporting tools and a quality report each week, use MyST Blogsite.  (This blog is on Blogsite.) 

5. Keyword-rich inbound links

Google places high importance on the number and quality of inbound links to your site.  You can find out who links to you using Yahoo site explorer or Google's webmaster tools.  MarketLeap link popularity is another tool you can use to get an indication of how many links you have in contrast to the links your competitors on page one have. Instead of linking with the full url make the keyword the link - this is called anchor text linking. And pursue links from high traffic sites with a good Page Rank.  Find influential bloggers and send them some good content to blog about.  .

6.  A database of content.

While a database can give you lots of  content to pull from and make it easier to add new content, be sure you avoid the pitfalls - like long strings of queries in the URLS.  Site Reference has a good article on what to avoid in a database of content. 

7. Optimize Press Releases for online distribution

As more and more people go online to read their news, news search become more important in SEO.  And now that blended search is here, news can be seen on web search result pages too.  It's vital to add your news content to the mix.  A  well optimized press release can show up on page one in Google even though your website does not.  And if you add links to the release, when it gets picked up on other sites that link will add weight to your inbound links.

Here are 10 reasons you should optimize a press release

And then there is another proven strategy - and this one was not mentioned in the SES session :  RSS feeds.

RSS feeds are a method of content syndication.  It can help you achieve page one visibility in Google because you add fresh content that contains links.  This content gets spread across the web and brings you new niche traffic and inbound links.

Helpful Tip

If this seems like an overwhelming task, a system like PRESSfeed, a social media and SEO tool,  can help you get most of these strategies in place.  It makes it simple to create an RSS feed and add the content to your site.  It has a database for the content and it's already properly coded and tagged.  You can add links and images.  If you produce video or podcasts you can add a media RSS feed that helps you optimize and add text and tags to the page and syndicate the content.  You can use it to add articles and press releases to your site. Best of all it syndicates the content and reaches new audiences.

Case study for a local outdoor living company in LA County

Case study for a skin care product that was launched using this method



The Slovenian Designer
Recently I had the pleasure of seeing some of the work of a graphic designer, known as the Slovenian Designer. I was so impressed by what I had seen, that I decided to take a look through his blog. WOW! This is definitely a site worth spending some time on. Not only is he an extremely talented web [...]

Advertising Your Website
Yup, I admit it, I am a bit biased, but I think that one of the very best ways you can advertise your website is through the V7N. First, without a doubt, your site needs to be in as many high quality directories as possible. The V7N Directory is the one directory that I personally recommend the [...]

Domain vs. Subdomain
When you get ready to set up a professional blog, one of the first decisions you will need to make is if you want to use a domain, subdomain, or a free option, such as blogger.com. I recommend treating a blog just like any other website, especially when it comes to the hosting. Some hosting companies allow you to [...]

Offline Marketing Techniques
  Offline marketing is very similar to online marketing, either way, word of mouth is one of the best forms of advertising there is, but a huge part of that involves getting to know the people around you. Online, that might mean joining and actively participating in groups and forums. Offline that could be taking a sincere [...]

UK PR Firms Missing Digital Opportunity
Study shows almost 80 % have no social media services

It would seem that most UK PR agencies missed the Cluetrain. 

According to a study of 100 major PR firms 79% have not yet developed online PR and social media services.  And half of those that did get the clue are based in London, says the BigMouth Media report. 28% of the London based PR firms offer Internet PR services and 14% of them blog.

"If PR is to properly address the challenges and opportunities that new media offers, the industry must invest in relevant services and training at all levels. Those failing to do so run the long-term risk of losing out in the inevitable battle for the online communications market."  Adam Parker, Chief Executive of online news distribution company webitpr.

Pr social media in UK

See Also



My Happy Crazy Life
It isn’t often that I come across a blog that I am so impressed by that I find myself wanting to tell everyone I know about it, but My Happy Crazy Life is definitely one blog that I want to share with others.    When I found this blog, authored by Amy Sue of the Zany Zebra, [...]

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Advantages of Creating Your Own E-Book

The Advantages of Creating Your Own E-Book
E-books have become more and more popular in the recent years. Although some people prefer a printed book in their hand, e-books are still in demand.

Getting in Newspapers . . . Easy for our clients


Blogging is Publishing
I wish I could say that "blogging is publishing" was something that I came up with on my own, but that is not the case. However, I have been pondering on this phrase for a while and decided to write an entry on my thoughts.

Four Marketing Tips for Self-Publishers
You may have already noticed that self-publishing is very time consuming. Most of your time is spent on marketing and publicity and very little time on writing.

BEA Info


"No Sell" Content - Are you publishing something new each quarter?
Joe Pulizzi of Junta 42 blog has a great post today called Six Strategies for Keeping Content Fresh - this is a must read. What I like about this post: It starts off with a personal story, and he has...

Content Marketing Interview with Allison Nazarian, copywriter and founder of Get It in Writing
Allison Nazarian is a young copywriter with a lot to offer. She uses content to market her services on the Web, and helps her clients to do so through her company Get It in Writing. In our continuing series of...

Getting Your Book on National TV - 8 Tips


How to Write Content That Markets Your Company (Or, What would Seth do?)
Chris Baggott cracks me up. I asked him how he uses content to market his company's services, and he sent me this video that shows his Seth Godin doll hanging out in the background! What great use of video content...

Publicity for Books


BEA Book Expo America: Good for Independent Publishers?


Alex Geana: Portrait of how one professional uses content to market online
Content marketing means different things to different people. So I went out to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and to coaches and consultants I respect who are using Web content to market their services. The results have been terrific. For one thing,...

I'm not above asking...
If you think this blog offers valuable information about writing, please nominate it for Michael Stelzner's best writing blog list: http://www.writingwhitepapers.com/blog/2008/08/28/nominate/ There are some great writing blogs on the list that I encourage you to check out. I know this...

Content or Marketing or Both? All Content Is Marketing
Where does content start, and marketing begin? This great question is being asked by the 2008 MIMA Summit, a midwest conference on interactive marketing. I say, "All content is marketing." The more you can educate readers, entertain them, engage them...

Content for Coaches and Consultants: new site launches
If you're a coach or consultant and specialize in leadership development you'll be interested to know about a new site Denise and I launched this week: www.ContentforCoachesandConsultants.com. Long name, I know, but I wanted to be clear about what we're...

Coach & Consultant Marketing: An Interview with John Agno
As a follow up to my post about using keywords to get organic search results from writing on the web, I want to show you an example of an independent professional who is getting great results from his content marketing,...

Will E-Publishing Become the New Leader?
Let the truth be told I am not a big supporter of e-books even though I wrote an entry earlier with regards to the advantages of them. Though I am not a fan, e-books are good for one thing, and that is establishing yourself as an expert.

BEA Book Expo America: Smart Strategies for Independent Publishers


Content Marketing Interview with Kathleen Gage
Kathleen Gage has had tremendous success marketing her services online with content. She has a unique ability to mix spiritual principles into helping people, especially authors, make money. Denise and I have partnered with Kathleen twice now to deliver our...

Publicity for Your Book


Its Name is Zookoda
Zookoda is the new leader in professional email marketing for bloggers. It gives you better control on the look and feel of how your feed is sent to your subscribers. The program is similar to what you see in newsletter...

1-2-All Email Marketing by Active Campaign
One of the tools that a self-publishing author must have is good email marketing software. I highly recommend 1-2-All which was developed by Active Campaign.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

UK PR Firms Missing Digital Opportunity

UK PR Firms Missing Digital Opportunity
Study shows almost 80 % have no social media services

It would seem that most UK PR agencies missed the Cluetrain. 

According to