The Keys To Success Online
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1. Your domain name doesn’t tell people what you do
2. Your homepage text doesn’t actually tell people what your site is about
3. Your pictures look awful and unprofessional
4. It’s too tricksy (use less Flash and Javascript menus, etc)
5. You haven’t made use of Social Bookmarking
Popularity: 4% [?]
So where the hell have I been? Well, I’ve been summering in our home office and trying to avoid computers as much as possible. That effort has been aided by the addition of my new iPhone (ok, I guess that’s kinda a computer as well..but you know what I mean).
So as the kids start counting down the end of summer in hours rather than weeks and days, I’m back in my office and ready to milk the cash cow that is the interweb.
Domain names are a hot topic currently. Huge money is changing hands for three-word domains…that’s right THREE WORD domains. The importance of having your site’s keywords in your domain name has been increased massively by Google, so it stands to reason that a good address is a cornerstone to success online.
I’d write more, but I have a stack of work to do here that apparently the summer office fairy did not do while I was avoiding all responsibility.
More soon.
Popularity: 48% [?]
Back when the web really took off, the coolest thing about it was the fact that you could get anything from anywhere on the planet. Information, stuff, pictures, whatever. It made every corner of the world reachable from the comfort of your home.
That’s still the case. If something happens on the other side of the planet, we can be talking about less than a minute later here. Truly amazing.
That all said, the newest push for this global technology called the Interweb is reaching out to….your neighbours.
With SO much content online, sites that try to offer too much information become cumbersome and a bit of a burden to navigate. The latest trend in online service development is catering directly to a regional market. Forget searching for info in a worldwide or national site, cut to the chase and go directly to a site dedicated to your own town.
We’ve recently developed a handful of sites like these and it is AMAZING how much traffic they’re already getting.
Simple themes seem to be the most desirable. We’ve done a Stratford Garage Sales site, a London Garage Sales site, a Kitchener Waterloo Garage Sales site and a Stratford Open Houses site, and they’re all getting traffic.
What local worldwide service will you be creating?
Global village indeed.
Popularity: 64% [?]
I’m sure you’ve probably heard about the Doplar Effect? It’s that cool thing that happens when a jet flies over head. You see it……THEN, you hear it.
I’ve come to realize that this same phenomenon happens for online trends.
I’ve been amazed recently at how many different online trends that I thought were long dead or passe were just now hitting the mainstream.
Take for example…well, blogging.
Blog sites were HUGE…no, H U G E in 2005. All the internet hipsters (or dweebs depending on your side of the argument) were blogging. However, should you have decided to come out of your ethernet cave back then, you would have realized that the mainstream had no idea what a ‘blog’ was.
Now take a look at mainstream culture. Blogs are everywhere. In the media. Searched and indexed by Google. Used as resources for news stories (oh dear).
To stretch it even further, I just read a cartoon in the newspaper where the main character was buying something online…FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME! The whole joke was set up around her buying something online and how…futuristic and weird that was.
Myself and my wife bought all of our Christmas gifts online back in 1998. I’m not trying to brag about that. I’m positive thousands were buying gifts online years before that.
My point is this. In 1998 I thought we were ‘finally’ joining in this whole Internet commerce thing. TEN YEARS AGO!
Turns out, we were avant garde.
The good news for making money online in regards to the Webplar Effect is that you can view exciting new trends and plant some seeds in the ones that seem to be growing the fastest and strongest….there’ll be lots of time to develop it before the masses catch on.
Popularity: 98% [?]
So, you’ve got your own blog site and you’re starting to get traffic. Seems like a good time to start adding some ad revenue streams.
There are lots of companies out there that will help you get an ad system set-up and pay you for displaying THEIR client’s ads on your site, but if people are coming to your site anyway, why not just sell DIRECTLY to them and cut out the middle man?
OIOPublisher makes a great plugin that allows you to fully control your own ad system. It’s as easy as any other plugin to set-up…the only additional factor being that you have to enter in the ad code where you’d like the ads to be displayed.
In fact, it’s the self-same system I use on this site.
The normal price for this plugin is $37, but because you know me, you can get $17 OFF! Which brings the price of this moneymaking plugin down to only 20 bucks!
Here’s the code: QWERTY-17
Check it out here: Blog Ad System
Popularity: 100% [?]
I worked at a toy store in my late twenties (that sounds kind of sad, now that I read it). The owners and I didn’t see eye-to-eye at the end (I quit and then I was fired) but the store truly is great.
Despite my feelings for the owners, I did learn a number of lessons, both business and self-development, from the experience.
One that I take with me to almost every challenge I face is how EVERY NEW SKILL is a magic trick.
As part of this shop’s schtick, each shopper would be treated to a magic trick by one or more of the staff (ranging in age from 14 to me).
Before I worked at the shop, the owner would come and chat with me and show me a new magic trick. I was always blown away. How did he do that?
I’d watch SO carefully but I still couldn’t tell how to do it.
Then he’d show me how to do it.
I’d learn. I’d practice. I’d do it.
Then I’d go home and amaze my wife (with the magic trick).
This magic trick concept applies to so many other things in life.
Whenever I’ve been asked to speak at a meeting, or I’ve been required to learn a new skill of any sort, watching it being done by someone else is daunting. How did they do that? I couldn’t never do that.
Well the secret is, you can.
Watch. Learn. Do.
Every new skill is just another disappearing handkerchief.
Popularity: 74% [?]
After a quiet couple of weeks, the Free Beer Money contest is back on!
That said, there is only 1 (one!) entry this week. So, if you enter right now, your chances of winning are HUGE!
Get your entry today!
Popularity: 84% [?]
Getting the word out about your online business can be a tiring climb up what seems like an un-climbable mountain.
Online advertising can cost thousands. Offline advertising can cost tens of thousands.
That said, for pure effectiveness in getting people to come to your site, nothing beats a newspaper. If you can get your site address in a newspaper, you’re practically guaranteed traffic.
So what do you do if you can’t afford to buy a newspaper ad?
Easy! You create an interesting story about your site and submit a press release!
I’ve done press releases for things that are barely newsworthy that have gotten national press and created tons of traffic. As long as you have a bit of a hook to your story, you’ve got a good chance of getting published.
The best way to get a press release published is to target your local media first. People love a ’small town boy/girl makes good’ type story.
So how do you get started on this?
Well, starting with a well-written guide on how to create and send a press release along with a database of practically every newspaper in Canada and the US is a good start.
And what do you know? You can find that all right here: PressReleases.ca
Popularity: 100% [?]
Sometimes I’ll sit in front of the computer in an attempt to spark an idea. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.
I’ll flip from site to site, Google this, Google that. Sometimes I find whatever it is that is the key to making my next move, but sometimes I find nothing but wasted time.
Yesterday I sat by the front window of our home and looked out the window in that way that you’re looking but not really looking at anything. Kind of a cross-eyed kind of stare.
I sat down with my (paper) notebook and a pen….and my Blackberry as calculator. I just chose my thoughts and let them get to work. Clouds past, kids ran across our garden, dogs peed on our tree. Then something amazing happened.
Things got clearer. I was able to fully visualize what I was trying to work out in my head.
Computers and the Interweb are amazing tools, but they’re just that…tools. Unless you know what you’re going to do or what you’re looking for, they’re just big time wasters.
If you’re stuck for ideas, or perhaps you’re having a hard time going forward on a project, go for a coffee, mow the lawn (or shovel the snow as I would here currently) or just sit by the window and let your thoughts go.
Everything’s gonna be alllllright. Just put the mouse down and step away from the computer…..for a little bit anyway.
Popularity: 77% [?]
If you don’t set goals, you’ll never achieve them.
It’s folksy wisdom, I know, but it’s undeniably true.
Here are 5 reasons why you should set goals for yourself:
Setting goals for yourself will make every decision you make easier.
When encountered with a fork in the road, knowing where you’re going helps immensely. From big decisions to microscopic ones, they all get easier to make when you have a very clear idea of what your end goal is.
Setting goals makes it easier to measure success.
When you have a definite finishing line, you can easily tell how far you’ve come and how far you have to go.
Setting goals makes your efforts more productive.
Knowing your end goal helps you determine where to direct your time and money. If something won’t aid in achieving your goal, why do it?
Setting goals reduces stress.
Nothing is more stressful than starting your day and not knowing what you should be doing. Buckshot schedules, or ones that are all over the place and with no particular direction, do nothing but create stress.
Setting goals gives you a sense of accomplishment.
Set a large goal then set some smaller milestone goals that will lead to your big end goal. With each small goal you achieve you will be amazed at how much your enthusiasm will increase and your sense of accomplishment will be primed for achieving the next goal.
Again, if you don’t set goals, you’ll never achieve them.
Popularity: 70% [?]
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