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By Les Scammell, March 4, 2010 9:16 pm

Have you ever wondered how some people seem to get swarms of traffic to their sites for free? You may have been told it’s all about ranking high on search engines such as Google and that in turn depends on getting backlinks. Yeah, right! How’s the ordinary person supposed to understand any of this?

Haven’t you ever wished someone would simplify all this for you so that you just have a to click a few buttons? Well today I want to recommend a script to you that does just that. Yes, it’s true you can just install the script, paste in your website address and press some buttons. That’s it.

Oh, and there’s also two upgraded versions available so watch out for the customise your order page! These give you massive additional benefits:

You can add your own name and website link to the script and give it away or sell it. When people install the script on their sites you then get additional backlinks to your site and also traffic. There’s one more benefit as well – your Affiliate ID is also stored in the  script so you get commission on any sales of the upgraded scripts made when someone clicks on your links (including links in the scripts you gave away!)

This is a very viral system and once you start it the links, traffic and commissions grow almost by themselves. (Actually via other people doing the work for you but you get the idea.) I can highly recommend you grab a copy of this script while it’s FREE.

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By Les Scammell, March 3, 2010 11:07 pm

One of things I would like to do this year is write an ebook or two. I have a couple of topics in mind, however, making the ebook as professional as possible is my aim – not just something thrown together. I have been reading a few good articles on how to create ebooks and while searching, I came across this post – Discover The Secrets Of eBook Creation.

What is amusing really is that while searching for ebook information, I have found plenty of Great Ideas For Creating Exciting Newsletter Content. The plan now I think is to write a couple of very good ebooks, set up a subscription service whereby the ebooks are only available if you sign up for a weekly newsletter, and then to use that mailing list to send out newsletters that also promote affiliate products. Hopefully, a money winner for me.

Once created, I have to promote it and places like Twitter and Facebook are probably ideal. The problem is, I am not much of a socializer. I am really an introvert most of the time. So that raises the question, Can Introverts Interact On Social Networks? I am led to believe we can – we shall see.

In the mean time, I have to actually write this ebook. Some people can be real knockers at times espousing negative comments about how an ebook is a waste of time. I don’t know if it is just jealousy because I am attempting it or just head games. Either way, it sure does increase the stress levels. I know, it’s Mind Games, Not Head Games, Create Stress Relief. So I guess I will be hitting the mind games for awhile. I will let you know when the ebooks are completed – then you can tear me down.

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By Les Scammell, February 3, 2010 11:31 am

I notice that CAPTCHA is once again being mentioned around the web. WordPress them selves have been talking about using it – which is strange give their strong belief in Akismet. There are several small business marketing sites that are also discussing the subject. I have found that manual editing works fine, but then, I don’t get thousands of comments.

I think it all depends on the type of web site you have. Blogs of course always attracts comments – especially from the robot commenters. If you had a site about medical transcriptionist services, you would probably get none – or very few.

Mention Valentines Day and you would probably get thousands of spam comments – even if your site was only about broken arms or dental health or something minor.

What about a blog about Heavy Equipment Technology, would that suffer from a spam attack – probably not – unless of course it mentioned valentines day.

Believe it or not, all web sites suffer some form of spam. It doesn’t really matter about the genre. If someone else is in your genre, they either compete against you or fail. To compete they need links and links come from comments – here comes the spam.

Do you use captch at all?

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By Les Scammell, January 31, 2010 11:23 pm

Are we entering an era in which newspapers censor what can and can’t be published on websites and blogs. I know it is drawing a long conclusion from recent events, but that is a possible result from recent events. Newspapers are now resenting people referring to their content and linking to it. This goes to the heart of public debate.

If they make comments, or write a story, that you or I disagree with, we should have every right to write an article with counter opinions. Now, from memory, you cannot argue, or give an alternative opinion, if you don’t in some way refer to the original content. This could include quoting snippets from the original and it would have to include some reference to the original material – normally in the way of link. We do this of course to make it easier for our readers to go and read the original content. They can then form an opinion based on both sides of the argument.

WebProNews reports on the issue and they have their own spin on the issue. Small Business Mavericks takes a different spin and asks – is linking unethical. I think newspapers may be taking this issue beyond common sense. Yes, they do have a right to their content as I have a right to my content. However, when I put it out there in public, I have to cop the criticism or applause. If people want to link back to me – I say yes please.

Some online news services now want to charge a fee for you link back to them. This is like the banks that charge us fees to borrow our money, or paying money for a tax service franchise to save us paying too much in taxation.

What these newspaper don’t realize is that down the track, the newspapers that stay open and who are prepared to welcome comments and inbound links, will be the ones who rise in popularity. They will be the online news services that we go to read. In fact, with luck, those newspapers will go the way of private school teachers - they are being laid off – so too will the newspapers.

Is this a potential threat to our freedom of expression online? What are your thoughts?

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By Les Scammell, January 31, 2010 10:29 am

Search is a never ending game. Website owners and bloggers do everything possible to achieve high rankings, and search engines do everything possible to ensure that on the best content appears at the top of the search results. Therein lies the problem of course. Website owners and bloggers think their content is worth of reading and should appear at the top of the search results. We are not all right. Mine is probably considered crap by many – others may find it interesting.

Here is a video with Matt Cutts thinking on search in 2010.

As usual he skirts many of the issues. That’s okay – I think we get the general drift. Social will be big, page speed I think will be important and, as usual, content that adds value to the web as a whole. Original content of course. Getting a backhoe out and digging up old content wont do the job – unless it’s completely rewritten and fresh.

If you want a transcription tip, go to the latest news sources and freshen your content based on what’s being written there. At least you will be giving your content the latest information and not tired irrelevant information from the past.

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By Les Scammell, January 22, 2010 2:09 pm

With more newspapers looking to charge people a fee to read their content, it has to leave you wondering how long it will be before other content providers like some of the big names in the blogging world, start to charge to read their content. Would you pay to read CopyBlogger, Problogger or the Marketing Pilgrim?

I am not sure that I ever would and I am not sure that we will ever reach that stage. Small Business Mavericks asked the question – Is Paid Content Our Future? and more generally, “is this the future for all online content?”

What I can see in the not too distant future is that some of the big named bloggers and content providers will ‘charge’ an access fee – however, it won’t necessarily be in dollars. Insisting that individuals become members (and so sign up to the mailing list) is one option – an option that is probably very real. Would you become a member of one of the big sites if that was the only way to access their content?

I do see a problem with that model however. The only way it would work is by having all the content marked as private. This means keeping the search engines out and if you keep the search engines out, you won’t rank for that content. If you don’t rank, you will not attract new visitors unless you can circumvent the search engines and deliver a strong social media marketing campaign. If you niche is franchising, how will you let the non-franchise world know what is happening. I know if I was in that industry and want to Make Your Franchise a Success – I would want all the free traffic I could get.

Some niche’s are probably not big enough to utilize a subscription based content model. Take medical transcription – would you subscribe to get the latest news on the topic. If you were in the field you may, but that is only 5,10 thousand tops – is that enough? Probably, if you were so popular you had all of them subscribed. Most of those involved have enough difficulty Handling Home-Based Medical Transcription – I don’t think they would bother with any form of paid content.

I guess if the big boys aren’t ranking in the search results, we may get a look in! In the meantime, is paid content on the horizon – maybe for big time operators, otherwise, don’t even contemplate it.

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By Les Scammell, January 17, 2010 11:57 am

There are times in our lives where we come to a crossroad – we are not happy in our current situation yet we don’t know how to move forward and make changes. This has become a frequent occurrence in peoples careers, particularly over the last 25 years. The only way to move forward is by doing a self analysis of where you would like to be and in what area you would really like to work.

To achieve that aim, you need to undertake some research and, most likely, some training. There are quite a few web sites around the world that can help you find the information and perhaps even help you find or undertake the relevant training.

Take ATS Heavy Equipment Training Schools. If the field of heavy equipment, that’s operating bulldozers, cranes, excavators and so on interests you, then ATS provides a wealth of information on their blog. Their latest post  Skid Steer Loaders Perfectly Suited To Winter Conditions provides an insight into skid steer loaders.  Other posts cover a wide variety of heavy equipment.

Some people reach a stage where they don’t want to work for a boss – they want to be their own boss. Buying into a franchise can be a good idea, however, you still need to do your research since not all franchises are the same. Red Hot Franchises can offer assistance in this area. Their latest post – Franchise Opportunity Research Pays backs up my philosophy of doing research before jumping in.

Even work at home jobs like medical transcription services requires research. This research looks at you as much as it does the job itself. Are you suited to working under tight time frames? Can you provide a secure environment – you are dealing with patient records after all? Transcription Jobs From Home provides valuable information related to the profession. There latest post – What Happens in Medical Transcription?
describes the work involved quite well.

When it comes to finding career information and training, the internet is now a valuable asset. Take a career such as a security guard. You can even undertake training online and become qualified in fairly quick time. The Online Security Guard blog not only provides information about the job and training, it provides links to any job vacancies that arise.

The online world is valuable when it comes to helping to make decisions on our future. All the information is there – we just have to decide on the direction.

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By Les Scammell, December 28, 2009 2:44 pm

Many bloggers write each day, some even taking the effort to optimize their blogs for the search engines. Sometimes it can be interesting to actually see where your traffic is coming from. I noticed over the last couple of days a real surge in traffic coming in to this blog. When I say surge, considering I am lucky to get 30 visitors a day, jumping to 130 per day is a real surge. So where did that traffic come from.

This really took some research. Using Google analytics I was able to track the source of this traffic to an online newspaper out of Chicago. My first thought was how and why? I mean, what sort of newspaper is going to include a link to my pages. I couldn’t see a link anywhere on their pages so once again I was stumped.

Back to Google analytics – this time to see which page they were landing on. The page that interested everyone was one written a while ago about Aldi and the value of their products. Okay, back to the newspaper. A quick search produced a couple of Aldi stories. Now here is where I did get the surprise. At the bottom of the news story was a link box courtesy of BlogBurst and whose link was on top – mine, or at least the link to my Aldi post.

I had heard several months ago about BlogBurst partnering with major online news services and placing links to relevant blog posts below news stories. So there is a moral here.

Sign up to BlobBurst, and while your at it, try also Bloggapedia, BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog. Why do I suggest placing your blog on these blog directories? After Google and direct traffic, this is where the majority of my traffic comes from – these four sites. If you haven’t signed up to them, I suggest you do. Free traffic for what is ten minutes work to start with.

With BlogCatalog and MyBlogLog you will need to do more work as you gain ‘friends’. However, the other two simply take your RSS feed and distribute it, or the link, for you.

Footnote – it is rumoured that MyBlogLog may not survive for much longer – however, while it is in existence, make use of it.

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By Les Scammell, November 4, 2009 10:27 am

Over the last couple of days I have been looking at ways to improve my website. I know posting more often helps – and I am working to a routine on that front. Other areas included a new theme, removing a lot of the unnecessary clutter on the sidebar and perhaps creating a monthly newsletter.

The one are I have absolutely no experience with and feel somewhat helpless at times is in building a mailing list. Everywhere I look I see the words “the money is in the list”. Well hang the money, I just want a loyal group of readers who would be happy to receive a newsletter each month. Building the list is the only thing that has stopped me to date and being such a novice, the last thing I want is see my money going down a big hole with no return.

To cut a long story short – I went searching for list building advice and everything led back to Aweber. That’s fine, I checked out their site and everything ’sounds’ good. The problem is, it is a monthly subscription. Now this blog doesn’t make $1 month so spending $19 (I know it’s not a lot, it’s just the principle) is not an investment – it’s an expense that needs to be considered.

So – now to the affiliate marketing angle. As a buyer, not seller, I often wonder what price a product would sell for if it didn’t rely on affiliate marketing. For Aweber, they pay 30% or a little over $5 per sign-up. Being a cheap-skate, I would rather pay the $14 each month instead of the $19. Small dollars I know. However I was looking at a different program over the weekend that cost $70 per month. It had a 50% affiliate payout.

To my mind, that means I am paying an extra $35 each month over the true worth of the program (if the owner is happy to accept $35 each month then that is its true worth). Like I said, it all adds up. suddenly you’re paying $2oo per month when it could be as low as $100 if there were no affiliates.

It’s just my little rant for the week. I understand that sellers need affiliates to spread the message and that affiliates need the income to survive. Now here is a question for everyone involved in affiliate marketing.

Can I register as an affiliate marketer – clear my cookies, then buy through my own link?  As least then I get the affiliate selling fee (effectively a discount).  Your suggestions would help?

photo credit: ChrisLB

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By Les Scammell, October 28, 2009 11:40 am

I cut my online teeth with Geocities many many moons ago. So far back I can hardly remember what I actually did. I know it was a frustrating experience and finally abandoned what I was doing – and the internet for a while too.

I won’t say I have fond memories of Geocities, but I know a great many who will and I am sure they will saddened to hear that Yahoo! has finally pulled the plug.

For those who don’t know, Geocities was one of the first and one of the most successful free web hosting sites on the internet. Successful for a long while anyway.  With the prevalence of free blog hosts such as WordPress and Blogger and the availability of cheap hosting, Geocities days have been numbered for quite a while.

One wonders where the internet may go in the future. I can’t see blogger ever being ’shut down’. But will it ever go to a paid only state? It is always a possibility. What about WordPress – will that stay as a free hosting site – or will they fully monetize as well.

I don’t think those options are on the cards at the moment – but you never know what the future holds. I do know one thing – if you’re serious about blogging, or building a web site, you need to buy hosting and host it all yourself. Free hosting is always going to be filled with uncertainty.

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By Les Scammell, October 20, 2009 5:27 pm

There is no set a rules when it comes to blogging. Good thing too since I would probably break them all. However, there are some issues that need addressing at some point by most bloggers. One of those is whether or not to monetize their site. At some stage they may even wonder if they could make a living from it.

If this is you – and you have plans to make a living from your blog, or blogs or online – then is there one golden rule that you HAVE to remember if you are going to be successful. What is it?

To all intents and purposes – you are running a business! Why is this so important? If you continue to treat your activities as a hobby, you will never take that extra step to making a serious income from your activities.

Once you accept the fact that you are running a business, it opens a whole new world of requirements. Most new businesses fail within the first 12 months. Can you survive the first 12 months making little money, or at best breaking even? If you’re running a business, chances are you will need to spend money to make money. Are you prepared both financially and mentally to invest your own money?

If you treat your online activities as a business, it becomes easier to justify the time required. If you are still treating it as a hobby, chances are you will let distractions take you away from what you need to achieve each day.

Do you really want to make a living from the various streams available online? If the answer is yes then start to think and act like a small business owner because that is what you are – and that is what you need to be to succeed.

photo credit: Mexicanwave

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By Les Scammell, October 15, 2009 2:19 pm

The world economy is a strange animal sometimes. We have just experienced one of the worst – yet on of the quickest – recessions in many decades. I wonder if former treasurer Paul Keating would label this the recession we had to have. He would probably be right too.

Just over 12 months ago the Aussie dollar was trading in the 75-80 US cents range. Nine months ago it was trading in the 65-70 cents range. In fact, it managed to get down to 63 cents at one stage.

During that period, US$630-US$700 would equate to A$1000. Today the exchange rate is over 90 US cents. This means I now have to earn over US$900 to receive that A$1000. So, to all intents and purposes, I am losing money as the economy recovers.

What makes it a little harder to swallow is that as I work a little harder and increase my earnings, my actual take home in Australian dollars is going down. It is an interesting phenomenon and you have to take the good with the bad – ride the hard times and enjoy the good – and work harder and harder.

Has anyone else found that their income is actually dropping because of the economic recovery – even though they are earning more?

photo credit: Unhindered by Talent

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By Les Scammell, October 6, 2009 10:46 am

The FTC has finally published its guidelines for disclosures for blog posts and articles that endorse products in exchange for a reward. Compared to what was being discussed several months ago, this appears to be a very watered down document to the point of being almost useless. At the time I did write that most bloggers would not be affected by the FTC.

One of the first things to clarify for all bloggers around the world is that these guidelines only cover those in United States – if you are outside the US then read on with interest – but feel free to continue writing as you do now. At least bloggers outside the US won’t be classified as criminals.

What about those in the States? Who does it cover?

endorsements by consumers, experts, organizations, and celebrities

I think everyone knows that when a celebrity stands up to promote something the chances are they have been paid. That aside, what is covered?

advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case

Okay, so bloggers that write posts or articles promoting a product and making claims must comply with the FTC Act. Principally:

the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement.

What do you need to do:

bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service

So lets weed through the crap and see what has actually been said. The first thing that strikes me is that only posts that make claims which are not based on personal experience are covered. If you can honestly claim to be writing from experience – it appears the act does not cover your posts – even if you are paid to write them.

The second point of interest for those who do “paid for post” type articles – as long as you don’t make any false claims then you do not have to comply with the Act. If you write a general article that links back to a site – that’s fine.

It all boils down to truth in advertising. If you are making claims that you cannot justify from experience then you need to make a disclosure of some description – interestingly, the guidelines make no mention of what type of disclosure is required.

If you receive a product to review, do what I do. Only review it on the understanding that it will be an honest review and not a review created to make the product look good. Most businesses that supply products for review agree. I have had only one refusal – but then, I have only had five or six requests to date.

Compared to what was being talked about earlier this year – the FTC was full of bluff and bluster and the final document is pretty weak. Mind you, if you do run foul of their guidelines – there is a hefty $16,000 fine lined up for both publishers and advertisers.

This was not a review paid for by the FTC – unfortunately – I would have made it sound better if it was

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By Les Scammell, September 29, 2009 12:51 pm

As my online life gets busier and busier my time gets absorbed in the million and one things that are going on at once. I occurs to me I need a blogging timetable. Not a timetable of posting, but a timetable of activities.

Does anyone use a timetable to manage their time online? By timetable I am referring to a schedule of events. For example, on a Sunday you would prepare a newsletter, send it out on a Monday, manage your subscriber list on a Tuesday, filter Akismet on a Wednesday, update plugins and other maintenance issues on a Thursday, deal with advertising/affiliates on a Friday, review everything on a Saturday ready to start all over again on the Sunday.

Doe sit help? Is it easy to stick to or do you get side tracked away from your timetable easily? I already schedule certain activities on a daily basis. For example, I write in the mornings, review in the afternoons and research/socialize in the evenings.

At the moment I do everything else on an adhoc basis. If my Akismet comments look to be getting full – I go an empty them. If I notice a plugin requires an update, I go and update it. If I am reading a post and it mentions a good plugin – I will go and look at it. It’s all very adhoc and time consuming.

How do you manage your blogging time? Do you have a timetable? Do you use any time management software? I would be very interested to hear your views – feel free to comment.

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By Les Scammell, September 28, 2009 12:22 am

Bounce rates are one area of search engine optimization that I have difficulty coming to terms with. If you write a darn good post that visitors find interesting  should be good for your site. However, if, after reading your post they move on to other things and DON’T click a link on your site – they are said to have bounced so up goes your bounce rate.

On the other hand, if my post is only so-so and the visitor clicks a link to another page hoping to get better info, they haven’t bounced so my bounce rate goes down.

There are other things that affect bounce rates. Hands up those that have marked their links to open in a new window? I used to as well. It seems if a link opens in a new window it doesn’t count as a click so, even though they are reading other content on your site, your bounce rate will go up. From what I can gather, it also includes external links – they have to open in the same tab to count as a non-bounce.

The higher your bounce rate, the lower your sites authority. If I have that all wrong, please feel free to correct me.

To move on – how do you then reduce your bounce rate? There are several methods. The most obvious that I see frequently is my using the READ MORE option in a post.  If you can write a great introduction then it can work well.

Another option that I particularly like is to break good posts into two distinct sections – this is great for list posts. The first section is a sales pitch in a way. You are looking to convince your reader to click through to another section. 

The second part, the meat if you like, is not published as a post but as a page. The end result is two pieces of content for the price of one. A static page that you can link to on a regular basis – it isn’t affected by categories or archives and is easier to find and edit should it need updating. In the mean time, you have encouraged your visitor to click through to a page thus reducing your bounce rate.

WordPress has ‘pages’. Have you ever thought of using them for Pillar Posts – or do you just use them for About Me pages? They can be quite versatile and with careful use, add a lot of value to your site.

photo credit: spettacolopuro