You’ve watched CSI. You’ve seen the virtual worlds in a couple of episodes, right? Well, did you kow that besides just goofing around in there, that you could make money as well? I didn’t. I had no idea!

This is probably not like anything you’ve ever seen before. There is something new and cutting edge that you could use to promote anything you want. A Virtual 3D World called Second Life®. Have you heard of it?

This is not like World of Warcraft or EverQuest.

Second Life is a free online virtual world imagined and created by its Residents. From the moment you enter Second Life, you’ll discover a fast-growing digital world filled with people, entertainment, experiences and opportunity.
If you’re not familiar with it you should know that this is a whole 3D virtual world full of possibilities and opportunity for anyone willing and able to grasp the meaning. You can start small, use your creative thinking, and earn a really great income. Many are making well over six figures a year in this virtual world.

Even if you are familiar with it, you need to know that there’s a real potential to make a good income there. IF you know what you’re doing.

I came across this book “Your Virtual World Business Guide” and I want to recommend it to you. It explains ideas for small to large businesses which are actually fun and creative, and if you do it right, VERY profitable.

I don’t know if I’m ready for a virtual world yet or not. I do good to get by in the real one! But I know that I’m what some would call “behind the times”; a few have even managed to get away with calling me old! But I do have to wonder just what I’d be missing out on if I passed this one up…

There’s a banner for it over there, or you can simply click here to find out more.

Keep smiling!

Today I’d like to tell you about a couple of things – I sincerely meant to hop on here yesterday afternoon, but a storm came in after I got back from town. It rained and rained, and we lost electricity for a little while. Sure did rain!

Anyway, there’s a blog that I wanted to tell you about that I ran across via Twitter. There are two young men named Chris and Mjay that went to the University of Georgia, got to know each other, and are now out there in the real-world trying to make their way through all this economic upheaval. They’ve decided to write a blog (mainly to other college grads) journaling opportunities, pitfalls, and some pretty interesting bits of future planning.

Chris is 24 (and quite good looking!), has a BS in Mathematics and is a Microsoft Certified Professional, and Mjay is 24 as well, and has a BA in Communications, working as an Internal Auditor for a software company.

Both of these guys have a terrific sense of humor and are quite witty with their words. I think you’d enjoy reading what they write, whether you’re of the college grad age or not. They even have a witty name for the blog – NowICanBuyBeer! Hop on over there and give them a look-over.

Now, a break for our sponsors:

Suffering from back pain? Go here.

Womensfreebies (click the banner) is having their monthly contest. For the month of May, just fill out the form – no offers to complete or anything – the winner will receive a bottle of Perry Woman by Perry Ellis. Really bums me out that I can’t enter these contests!

OK, now back to our regularly scheduled program…

Have any of you gone over to the GoFreeGoGreen website? I’m still looking for folks to add to my online sales team! It’s free to join, guys. And you’ll earn a 70% commission…Join me!

That’s it for today folks. I am in the process of putting together a post about “DoFollow”-ing to generate traffic. This one will have tons of links in it…and it takes forever for me to check each link before I add it to my post. Don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time to waste on links that don’t work –

Keep smiling!

Going green seems to be the “in” thing these days. I’ve always tried my best to do my part to keep my carbon footprint as small as I can, but no matter how hard one tries, there’s always room for improvement.

President Obama has made mention of the fact that he’d like America to move more towards the “Green Movement”, and I for one, am glad to have a president that feels this way. It’s going to be an expensive turn-around for most of us, but in the end, I think it’s what we need to do.

Why am I talking about going green on a blog that’s supposed to be about making money? Well, because I’ve signed on with a pretty neat place that I’d be happy if you were to take the time to go check out. There are a lot of “green” sites on the web, and I looked at several, but I liked this one.

Here’s why. I’m trying to put together a team of online sales people. This site offers a 70% commission on profits from sales, which ain’t bad by anybody’s standards. It’s free to join, and it is scheduled to launch in May this year. There won’t be any stock to worry about or anything like that. You’ll get your own website (take a look at mine!). They have a “Business Building System” that will cost $12.99 a month that is an optional choice. It provides a great deal more than the free option, such as being able to track your sales team’s information, and has a healthcare plan.

What type of products do they have? For one – one that really intrigues me – they have a “Metermaid Ultra Power Saver”, which will save the buyer up to 25% on their electric bill. It’s a fairly substantial investment, but when you consider what you pay for electric every month, that could turn into quite a savings. For instance, my electric company has the cheapest rates in the state, and I would save $500 a year, making it pay for itself in just under 6 months. They have cell phones, cleaners, lawn and garden products, products made from recycled material, and much more.

So…won’t you go check it out and join me? And while you’re there, measure your carbon footprint! I’d appreciate comments on this as well.

I do have a few more things to talk to you about, and will be posting that info later this afternoon. Some pretty neat stuff, if I do say so myself!

Keep smiling!

I know I’ve been MIA again, but I really have a good excuse! Really, I do!

 

First, I’ve been S-I-C-K. Not that darned swine flu or anything, but I was sure beginning to wonder. I still have a sore throat, and have had for two weeks. Jeez…I’ll be glad when it’s all gone!

 

Secondly, I’ve been ruthlessly searching the WWW for even more free ways to advertise your site, and I’ve found a ton for your perusal. I’m a member of some of these sites, and I’ve done alright – but you can bet your sweet bippy that I’ll be joining a few more of them.

 

And last, but certainly not least, I’ve been poking around on Twitter – finally. I’ve had my account for eight months, but have never fooled around with it, till just the other day. What a ding-dong I’ve been! A huge marketing tool right under my nose, and I just ignored it for eight months. Can’t even think of a defense for myself…At any rate, after I got to poking around in there, I discovered a nifty little tool that if you haven’t already been using, you should. It’s free, too. You can check it out here. Then, there’s a really cool Twitter tutorial that you can get here. With these two little jewels, I’ve gone from following just two to almost 150, and have just about that many following me, in two days. The tutorial really tells a lot, and I’m glad I got it.

 

OK, so off to the lists.

 

Free Safelists

 

You know how important and expensive advertising is. Now you can advertise and get results without the high cost. Sign up today and join many others who are enjoying the FREE benefits of safelists. Start at any membership level and you can enjoy better website traffic and sales. All of these have a free membership, and then, there’s the pay membership available, too. Me? I’ll take free any day…

 

 

Free Safelist Mailer – http://www.freesafelistmailer.com  - 35,009 Members
AdSolutionline –
http://adsolutionline.com/safelistpro  - 21,149 Members
AdTactics –
http://adtactics.com  - 8706 Members
Global Safelist –
http://globalsafelist.com  - 11,395 Members
Elite Safelist –
http://elitesafelist.com  - 4129 Members
New Age Marketing –
http://www.newage-mkt.com/safelistprox  - 3598 Members
Supreme List –
http://www.supremelist.com/safelistprox  - 2251 Members

Business World List – http://www.businessworldlist.com  - 89,404 Members

Viral URL – http://www.viralurl.com  - No number listed

 

With these 9 sources alone, you can mail to over 175,000 practically DAILY! Best of all, they are all FREE to join!

 

Free Classified Ads Websites

 

Some of these sites may not be exactly what you’re in the market for – but who knows? One or two of them may just be the ticket for you. Some are local, some are international, and some are “by country”. I use some of these, too. Alas, I’m behind on this, too.

Craigslist – http://www.craigslist.org
The Free Ad Forum - 
http://www.thefreeadforum.com/vbull
Adlandpro –
http://www.adlandpro.com
Kijiji –
http://www.kijiji.com
Yahoo! Classifieds –
http://classifieds.yahoo.com
Google Base –
http://www.google.com/base
MySpace Classifieds –
http://classifieds.myspace.com/index.cfm
Backpage –
http://www.backpage.com/classifieds/inde
USFreeads –
http://www.usfreeads.com
Oodle Classifieds –
http://www.oodle.com
Adpost –
http://www.adpost.com
Free Advertising Forum –
http://www.freeadvertisingforum.com 
Sell.com –
http://www.sell.com
InetGiant –
http://www.inetgiant.com
AdQuest3D –
http://www.adquest3d.com
Recycler –
http://www.recycler.com
Choose Your Item –
http://www.chooseyouritem.com
DomesticSale –
http://www.domesticsale.com
EPage Free Classifieds –
http://www.epage.com
Free Advertising Blog –
http://www.free-advertising-blog.com
Classifieds For Free –
http://www.classifiedsforfree.com
The Flyer –
http://www.theflyer.com
ClassifiedAds –
http://www.classifiedads.com
vFlyer –
http://www.vflyer.com/main/Guest.jsp
Gumtree –
http://www.gumtree.com   (UK)
Hoobly –
http://www.hoobly.com
Isell –
http://www.isell.com
Live Deal –
http://www.livedeal.com/index.jsp
OLX –
http://www.olx.com
OzFreeOnline –
http://www.ozfreeonline.com   (AUS)
Salespider –
http://www.salespider.com
Stumble Here –
http://www.stumblehere.com
WebCosmo Classifieds –
http://www.webcosmo.com
Tauque Classifieds –
http://www.tauque.com   (UK)
Villa Rica News Classifieds –
http://www.villaricaclassifieds.com
Free Advertising Board –
http://www.freeadvertisingboard.com
Free Advertising Zone –
http://www.freeadvertisingzone.com
Post Your Ad for Free –
http://www.postyouradforfree.com
XavierForum –
http://forum.xaviermedia.com/forum-26.ht
Best Ad Forum –
http://www.bestadforum.com
Sell Out Ads –
http://www.selloutads.com
uscity.net™ –
http://www.uscity.net 
Economist –
http://www.economist.com/classifieds
ItsMyMarket –
http://www.itsmymarket.com   (UK)
Loot –
http://www.loot.com  (UK)
Trader Online –
http://www.traderonline.com
Vivastreet –
http://www.vivastreet.co.uk   (UK)
BuySell –
http://www.buysell.com  (CAN)
SeeThisItem –
http://www.seethisitem.com
Classified Extra –
http://www.classifiedextra.ca   (CAN)

 

So there you go. I hope you find something in here that will benefit your site, or maybe even just sell some stuff you’ve had laying around that you’ve been wondering what in the world to do with. With the economy the way it is, I imagine there are a lot of folks selling their stuff – and it’s free.

 

Keep smiling!

 

 

 

 

I’ve been talking about different ways to do this or that with your blog the last couple of days, and I thought that today, I’d talk about driving traffic to your blog. There are about a gozillion different ways, but I’m only going to list a few today. No sense in bombarding you all with everything that’s out there – as if I could even find everything that’s out there! I’ve run across some really wacky ways purporting to “drive massive amounts of traffic” to my blog, and I’ve found that most are just complete wastes of time. I don’t know about you, but I just don’t have that kind of time! Anyway, here’s a list of some of the better and more efficient ways I’ve found.

First, go over to www.searchenginejournal.com and look at the article entitled “20 Essential Blog Directories”. That is a very well written article, and does just what it says, listing 20 blog directories that enable you to list your blog and get the word out. They are not all free, but there are several there that are. Be sure to read the comments on that post. I found several resources there, as well. When listing your blog in these directories, be sure to look for their blog categories, and list your blog properly. Makes it easier all the way around and you’ll look more professional.

Check out www.entopica.com and sign up there. It’s free, and you can store and share your bookmarks online. That gets your site looked at.

Here’s a good tip…Sign up with MyBlogLog. It’s a nifty service provided by Yahoo! providing a social network and connecting bloggers. If you want to join my little community, come on over! I haven’t spent all that much time in building this resource, although I know I should. I don’t have an excuse…

SocialPoster is a neat place. It’s not free, but when you post, you can submit it to over 200 social sites at one time. You know, like Technorati, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc. I didn’t even know there were that many of them!

Submitting your blog to search engines always helps. It is a time consuming and honestly, boring prospect. But, the more you put yourself out there, the more you get “found”. Here’s a list of search engines that I’ve had in my files. Not all of them are free, of course, but most are. Some of them even offer free tools to help you along. I’ve submitted to some of them, but not nearly all…I got bored.

Rediff.com

 

ScrubTheWeb.com  

 

EntireWeb.com

 

SearchIt.com

 

SusySearch.com

 

Abacho.co.uk

 

AxxaSearch

 

Al-Bawaba(Arabic)

 

AllTheWeb.com

 

Altavista.com

 

Altavista DE  

 

Altavista UK

 

Answers

 

Canada  

 

Direct Hit

 

Excite

 

Excite UK

 

Fireball

 

Go

 

Hotbot

 

Infomak

 

Infoseek

 

Lycos

 

Lycos EU

 

National Dir  

 

Northernlight

 

Voila

 

Web Crawle

 

Web Top

 

Web Wombat

 

TrueSearch.com

 

GigaBlast.com

 

Only Paid Now Splatsearch.com

 

Directory Based Voila.com

 

Hotbot UK

 

Onseek.com

 

Abacho

 

Abacho.de

 

Aesop.com

 

Active7

 

Aeiwi

 

Al-Bawaba

 

Alexa

 

Amidalla

 

AxxaSearch

 

Beena.com

 

BigFinder

 

Blinkx.com

 

Claymont.com

 

Cipinet.com

 

CozyCabin

 

Crucesonline.com

 

Derfinder.at  

 

DMchat

 

EntireWeb

 

Epicurus.com

 

Free-1.com

 

Hawaianportal

 

Hitseek.de

 

Hypermaze.com

 

Iguana.com.mx

 

Internet Cruiser  

 

Internetvitrine.de

 

InfoProbe.net

 

InfoSniff

 

Jerkasmarknad

 

Kaufen.ch

 

Kel.nl

 

List-Team

 

Linkball.de

 

Logo22.de

 

Lookseek.com

 

Maxishop.de

 

Meet.de

 

Metaeureka.com

 

MixCat

 

MSN (BCentral)

 

MyProwler

 

Nathan.de

 

Objects Search

 

Paginanl.nl

 

Promosearch.de

 

Quicksurfer.de

 

Railler.nl

 

Ravencom.net

 

Rediff.com

 

Search.ch

 

Search2003.de

 

Search Ave

 

SearchIt

 

Searchmaster.de  

 

Searchmax.de

 

Search-o-rama

 

Searchramp.com

 

SearchStar.de

 

Searchweb

Sootle

 

Spider.de

 

Splatsearch.com

 

Subjex

 

Suchefix.de

 

Surfgopher

 

SusySearch

 

Technikfuchs24.de  

 

Tooga.de

 

Topica.de

 

Verdwaald.nl

 

W8.net

 

Webaapje.com

 

WebCactus  

 

Webdich.de

 

Witch.de

 

WotBox

 

Wuup.de

 

XXLnet.de

 

Yammo.de

 

Yatus.de

 

Yoodel.com

 

Well, there you go. This can all keep you quite busy for some time. Hope it helps!

Keep smiling!

 

Free press release sites are about as abundant as anyone could wish for. And you know, not a whole lot of people use them. I can’t figure that out, myself. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t used any of them in quite some time, and I really should. Press releases can give your site that extra little boost when you feel like maybe your stats are lower than you’d like.

Look through the list, and choose one or two free press release sites. Choose based on which ones will get the release added to news engines. For example, you can try PR.com’s free option, because they will pretty much always get your release picked up in Google News, and that’s what you’re hunting for – attention.

 

You can also try sending your press release directly to niche or industry outlets. There are some bloggers who will let you post your press release on their blog, and some blogs are made especially for this purpose. One that I use is www.milliondollarbloglog.com . Keep an eye on them – you’ll find some really interesting things there. If you know of the top blogs, magazines, or websites in your niche, see if they have press release submission guidelines, and submit it directly to them. It’s only common courtesy to try to build relationships with the blog owner, so do that if you can. In fact, if you’re interested in submitting a press release here, feel free to contact me – but please, no outright advertising…that’s just rude. But I’d be more than happy to give you some space, and that brings up another idea I’ve had – I’d be interested in hosting a few of you bloggers if you’re interested. You know, an interview or something. Contact me if you’re interested. I’ll add contact information at the end of this post.

 

So, without further ado, here’s the list that I have. Of course there are many, many more of them out ther, but here’s a good starting point.

 

http://www.pressreleasepoint.com

http://www.pressexposure.com

www.prfocus.com

 

 www.myfreepr.com 

 

 www.anyrelease.com 

 

http://www.pressbox.co.uk/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi

 

http://www.24-7pressrelease.com  

 

http:pr-usa.net

http://www.prlog.com

http://www.prurgent.com

http://www.free-press-release.com

http://www.pressreleasespider.com

http://www.pagerelease.com

http://www.freepressindex.com

http://www.bignews.biz

http://www.nationalprwire.com

http://www.free-news-release.com

http://www.pressrelease.com

http://www.pr9.net

http://www.openpr.com

http://www.clickpress.com

http://www.ecommwire.com

http://www.pressexposure.com

http://www.i-newswire.com

http://www.myfreepr.com

http://www.prfocus.com

http://www.downloadjunction.com/submit_press_release

If you’re interested in an interview to be put on my blog, or if you want to submit a press release, write me at mrgn747@yahoo.com and place “Interview on Blog” or “Press Release on Blog” in the subject line. Otherwise, it may end up in the spam folder!

Keep smiling!

 

Ever since the blogging rage began, there have been a lot of folks who started their own blog sites and a few of them have become famous. So, how does blogging bring fame anyway, and why am I not signing autographs? Is there some great secret recipe that no one is telling me? I’ve been doing some research, and I’ve found a few things that kind of opened my eyes, but the majority of what I found, I already knew. So what gives?

 

Here’s what I’m finding:

 

This is the internet. With millions of people logging on each day, there is a chance that someone, somewhere, will come across your blog. The odds are in your favor, if you’re writing anything remotely interesting to someone. The secret to becoming successful and famous in blogs is the content. It should be interesting and easy to read. Try catching people’s attention on the very first sentence. Once you catch their attention, they will become interested enough to read the entire blog. Some bloggers discuss controversial topics which make them quite famous and receive mixed reactions from the readers. In my opinion, there are some pretty tacky blogs out there, that are bigoted and border on the obscene, but they do have a following. Once you get someone’s attention, they will be able to tell their friends about what they read and recommend your blog. This is always a good thing!

 

Try to update your blog on a daily basis. I haven’t been too good at this lately, but I am trying to change that. I bet I have over a hundred half-finished articles and post ideas in my files that are just waiting on me to finish and actually do something with them! At any rate, a blog that isn’t kept up-to-date bores me, and I’ll bet it does you too. I mean, what’s the point of continually going back to see what someone has to say if they aren’t writing? Right? (Note to Self – Post Every Day…) Even if you really don’t have anything to write about and you have a normal, routine life, try adding a little spice to it. You don’t actually need to lie but, you can exaggerate a little and add a little humor. If your life is anything like mine, you won’t even need to do that! I sometimes feel as though my life is one huge comic tragedy that some cosmic comedienne is having one heck of a good time with.

 

Here’s an interesting tidbit. The internet is one big marketplace where you are be able to buy and sell almost anything you want. And, when it comes to blogs, it can be (and often is) used as a form of advertising. Some people who become famous even ask people for money and shocking as it may be, people do give money. In fact, some bloggers are so good at blogging that they earn as much as a thousand dollars a week simply out of donations from readers. Now that intrigues me. I’ve personally never donated to a blog, for the most part because I simply don’t have the money. That’s not to say that I haven’t been compelled to do so, though. I’ve come across some really well written blogs that were chock-full of valuable information that was freely given, in the spirit of helping others to succeed on the internet.

 

When it comes to monetizing your blog,and you really want to make your online business a success and really sell the products or services you are selling, then you need to let people know how you feel about the product. You need to get them to believe in your product as much as you do. This can present a problem for folks like me – folks who are still dipping their toes into new ventures. I’m learning through trial and error that there sure are a lot of people out there in cyberspace that will gladly take your money and promise you the moon and stars, then deliver nothing. I’ve tried to seperate the wheat from the chaff, but still fall prey to those who are rather less than honest. It really angers me that this is the case, but what is a body to do, except try them on for size and see what happens? Some ventures are quite obviously scams, but with all of them out there, it’s getting harder and harder to differentiate between the scams and honest opportunities. Google has become one of my closest friends in checking opportunities out, as well as The Ripoff Report and the online BBB.

 

Some people suggest that you modify your blogging style to fit your target audience. In my experience though, I discover that it never really works to try to blog in a style that is not uniquely you. Your blog is a reflection of who you are – your thoughts, your findings, your interests and passions. Varied as they may be, they are what makes you – you. Some people are very buttoned-down, some people use very colourful language, others like to be controversial, others are very dry and matter-of-fact. Whatever you are, simply be who you are and write as yourself. I think that gives a blog more credibility. If you’ve read my blog for any length of time, you’ll see that I write differently at different times. This is due to an odd combination of the varied lifestyles I’ve lived. I have accumulated quite an array of diplomas and awards in my life, and on the other end of the spectrum, have led just about as backwoods a lifestyle as is possible. This gives me the ability to write in different styles. I’ve worked for the government, so can write in a rigid, no-nonsense fashion, and I’ve bartended in some pretty unlikely places, dealing with folks that some parts of society wouldn’t give the time of day to. All my life experiences lend the opportunity to write in different styles and capture the attention of a wide segment of the population.

 

So this has all boiled down to one word – content. Content is to blogging as location is to real estate. Funny that it took two posts to get that across…Not to you, but to me. I think that tomorrow, I’ll speak to you about traffic, or maybe free advertising. Which I guess kind of falls into the same category, right? But right now, I’m going to go feed my new chicks and go check out a new fishing hole I was told about.

 

Keep smiling!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No blog makes it without traffic. That’s what “they” say, and I suppose “they” are right. To a greater extent then, less traffic only means that the content is not that good. Do you think that as well? I dunno…There are instances where a bang-up blog does not have enough traffic. The key in getting traffic is to come up with a strategy and make everyone notice your blog. Right? There are a few things that you need to consider with relation to generating traffic to your blog, and these are not that different from planning a regular website. Or so we’re told. The only exception is that blogs can generate traffic a lot faster. “What you simply need to consider first is your target audience and where exactly you’re generating your blog’s traffic”. This can be tricky without one of those programs that keeps up with all that, though. I tried one of those, and I’m embarassed to say that I couldn’t make heads or tails of it! I’d appreciate comments on this – Maybe you have an idea for me?

“The content of your blog is very important”. It’s the reason why people visit your blog in the first place. “Try to make your blog interesting and learn to master the ideas included in your blog”. I’m learning though, that that is a lot easier said than done. There are so many ideas (some of which are eyeball popping, nail-biting scams…) out there in cyberspace that a body can get quite overwhelmed! But here’s what the “experts” say. “The content should also be relevant and of high value to the audience. Determine what your audience wants and if what you are writing satisfies them.” Jeez…How does one go about doing this in these rough times? The economic pressure we’re all experiencing has changed things. It seems like the social aspect of blogging is quickly moving into the realm of “If this person is making money off of this idea, then cool! I’ll do that too, and just move on with my happy self”. I know. I’ve found myself doing exactly the same thing. So how do we, as bloggers, keep an “audience” that gives a hoot what we say? Or is the idea of making more money so important, that all we care about is cramming those hot tags in the body of what we write so the search engines will pay us a visit and give us a good ranking, and hope that folks stop by and click on those banners and links? I guess when it all comes down to the nuts and bolts of it, the answer is “Both”.

Here’s some sage advice – “The content is especially important if you are planning sales from your blog. First, you must become a trustworthy and credible source of information before people try the product. Blogs are excellent medium for sales since they allow you to connect and converse through the use of the content. You must realize that without great content, your blog cannot fully achieve power and leverage against others”. Duh! But what about that part “leverage against others”? Doesn’t that sound a little bit, well…offensive? Kind of cold hearted? Maybe I’ve had the wrong attitude all along. I try to let you folks know what does and doesn’t work for me, and a lot of other folks’ blogs I’ve read seem to do the same thing – at least the ones I go back to on a regular basis operate that way. I don’t find myself going back to blogs that appear to cram something down my throat or give me the impression that if I don’t buy what they’re selling, I’ll turn into a toad or cease to exist. Do you? Of course, I’m no fool, either. I realize that what a lot of us bloggers are doing is trying to make money in the first place, and there are methods in place in order for us to do exactly that. But being bloggers also gives us the opportunity to let you, the reader, get to “know” us on a sort of personal level too. The opportunity is there for you to decide whether I (or anyone else) am writing simply to make money, or if I’m honest and sincerely care whether what I’m posting is beneficial to both of us. That’s what I look for in a blog.

Another good idea – “Some bloggers go the extra mile just to ping and do not solely rely on the blog software pings. The blog software pings’ job is to update the servers for the purpose of announcing your content updates. Search engines and blog directories then check the update servers for the latest updates; this is the reason why your blog’s content gets into search engines quickly”. I ping…Do you? Isn’t that just one of the strangest words out there in cyberspace?!? LOL! Anyway, I use Zimbio to do that. If you haven’t checked them out yet, you really should. Some of my posts here (well, nearly all of them since I signed on with Zimbio, to be honest) are “pinged” there, and I had the opportunity to start my very own e-zine there because of it. There was no “make money online” e-zine there yet, so I was able to take advantage of that – by using what the “experts” said were “the most searched words” in the search engines at that time. Pings make blogs excellent search engine optimization tools. There are even instances where it only takes a day before your content gets into search engines. Your blog’s content will only take hours to a few days to get into most search engines, on average anyway, but by being “pinged”, my posts are sometimes “hosted” on other blogs. One day recently, I was hosted on eleven blogs! To some of you, that may not seem like much, but I walked around with the big head for a little while!

RSS feeds are also important. Not only will you be able to publish your content within a short duration but also replicate your content through the use of your RSS feed. Nowadays, the flow of your content is real-time and the RSS allows you to show your content to a wider audience. This RSS stuff really got to me at first. It took me awhile to figure it all out, and I can’t honestly say that I’ve got it down 100% yet. But, like most things that the internet guru’s think up, it’s become a wonder to folks who spend inordinate amounts of time reading blogs – like me. Not only does this help to generate traffic for others, it keeps me up-to-date with what others are doing, and I get new ideas.

There are several ways to promote your blog. However, keep in mind that there is no strategy for quick money when it comes to profitable blogging. It requires dedication, time, a strategy for the content and patience before the cash starts flowing in. I’m certainly finding that to be the case. Sometimes it gets frustrating, trying to include all the little tricks that generate traffic, but at the same time, write about something that my readers are interested in knowing, without sounding like a walking, talking ad. It can be a little overwhelming to try combining all the right ingredients to both generate traffic and hold the interest of folks who are kind enough to stop by and read what I have to say without sounding like a robot. I catch myself thinking “Should I stick a key word or tag here?” or “Should I link this word or just ramble on about it, or both?” It kind of takes the human-to-human aspect away, doesn’t it?

I am going to try and post on a more regular basis – I’ve been posting so erratically in recent months, that I am amazed that I am able to keep any ranking at all (which is what we all want, right?). I have been writing and rewriting several articles that I was going to place with Associated Content, but I’ve changed my mind and decided to post them here instead. Content. That’s what keeps the ball rolling, right?

Keep smiling!

Hello, Cyberfriends!

I’ve written about the place on the ‘net that I joined called Cagora. I also know that a lot of folks won’t just run over there and check it out due to time constraints, or whatever. There’s just so much to look at and try and determine whether it’s worth the time to check it out, if it’s worth your time to set up an account – there’s such an information overload, especially in the “make money on the internet” genre.

But I’d really like for you to make some time – schedule it, if you have to – and go over to the Cagora site and check it out. I think you’ll be surprised. Granted, there really is a great deal of information to ingest. But I think the creators of this place have it on the ball. I printed out their e-book that explains everything, and it IS a little complicated to get started, but I’m going to hang in there and see what transpires with this company.

Below is a copy of an e-mail I received from Cagora. They send out one of these every so often. While it may not sound really “professional”, it kind of explains an aspect of the community and how it works; what’s available there for members. It’s kind of long, but I think you’ll understand a little more about Cagora if you’ll take the time to read it.

Here you go:

As we get the prelaunch rolling at Cagora, we’ve had quite a few of you joining us but not really sure how Cagora is different to other things out there on the Net. So we wanted to explain how we’re going to be able to help you tap into the opportunities of Niche and Local Marketing whether you’re starting out or wanting to get more traffic to your existing niche business.

To help get the key messages across we’ve been working on a newseries of cartoon style videos with a crew of characters that will build the story of how you can benefit and how the Community Blueprint will rollout.

The animators still have quite a bit to do, but we’ll get those videos up and the Community Blueprint downloads out to you as soon as possible… in the meantime over the next 5 days meet some of the “The Community Crew” to see how it all works.

Today meet Dave the free affiliate:

Dave’s sells the latest electronic gadgets by day and earns some extra income as an Internet Marketer after hours. Even though Dave has made quite a few friends and some money from his blog, newsletter and some social networks he enjoys, he hasn’t yet hit a home run so he can go full time with his marketing.

Dave gets asked about the best way to make money online, and Dave used to respond, “Niche Marketing”, or “becoming a Local Offliner helping small business owners utilize the web to increase
business.”

Dave joins a seminar about an innovation in Internet Marketing called Community Marketing where you use the power of Community to build your business. Now Dave responds to questions about the
best way to make money online with, “Community Marketing.”

Dave explains Community Marketing to people like Fred–a list member–in this way:

“You choose a Niche or Local Market opportunity, but you don’t need to build a blog or a website. You don’t need to create content week in and week out. Instead, you leverage the web 2.0 way of user
participation just like how YouTube, Facebook and Wikipedia built their businesses.

The power of Community is that mainstream Internet users provide the content, create the traffic, and tell their friends, building a hungry marketplace for you for your niche or local products.”

Dave likes Community Marketing. Dave also likes Cagora, the company behind a new style of Community website – a network of over 25,000 Local and Special Interest Worlds, each acting as a one-stop Community for that topic (like the city of Denver or an interest like Rock Climbing.) Unlike Facebook groups, there is only one world per topic, which helps create an economy around that topic.

Dave can now earn extra streams of income and get free traffic to his blog without ever spending a cent just by using Cagora as part of his marketing strategy. Dave likes extra money.

Dave sends information to his contacts, who he knows will love a turnkey business to get their share of the action in this new internet economy.

Dave tells the readers of his newsletter that Cagora has Local and Special Interest Worlds. He lets them know how they can be part of The Community Land Rush as the Virtual Real Estate of these Worlds is up for grabs ….and that Cagora has only has one Community Partner for each world, on a first-in-first-served basis. He describes it as a chance to buy beachfront property at scrub prices.

Dave likes the fact he can earn ongoing income and nice upfront commissions when people on his list purchase Community Partnerships–a purchase that includes an advertising package with a share of the advertising from the network pages of that Partner’s Community World.

Dave thinks to himself–Cagora is a fun new way to build a list and a reputation and could just be the breakthrough that will earn him enough “extra” cash to allow him to quit his day job and focus on what he loves doing.

Out of the blue (as often happens in these videos) Dave gets a phone call from Sharon who’s on his list, so he shares with her what Cagora’s about…

You’re about to meet Sharon – our central character in the story of how Cagora’s Community Blueprint will rollout in her town of Hopeville to create a snowball of good things in their community and help Sharon make money online. You’ll also learn how she starts dominating her niche of Bonsai with the power of Community Marketing.

(Narrator) Meet Sharon. Sharon’s a keen Internet user. Sharon also loves her new hobby, Bonsai Gardening but she often has trouble finding Bonsai Gardening information online. Sharon likes wading in
her Pool, but she doesn’t like wading through countless pages of useless websites on the search engines, hundreds of social networking groups on Facebook and MySpace and multitudes of videos with inane and vulgar comments, to find stuff about Bonsai.

Yes that guy Mitch Kapor had it right when he said getting information off the Internet is like drinking water from a fire hydrant!

Sharon starts looking for supplies for her dog Rover.  Sharon gets frustrated again. She realizes the Internet isn’t very good at helping her easily find the products, services, information and advice she wants about Bonsai, Bassett Hounds or her local town- Hopeville.

(Sharon) Goodness Me
(Narrator) says Sharon
(Sharon) The Internet has a GAPING HOLE!

So she rings Dave… Dave spends a lot of time online and has all the answers. Dave tells Sharon about Cagora and how they already know about the GAPING HOLE and are working on plugging it up. In fact
just the other day, he’d written about it in his email newsletter. Dave suggested to Sharon that she read it to get more information.

Aha! Sharon finds the email and starts to explore Cagora’s website where she finds ‘Bonsai World’:

Sharon can see that ‘Bonsai World’ will be a place where she can get advice from experts and regular folk, where she’ll be able to find local gardening businesses that stock Bonsai supplies and get instructions to drive there with interactive maps. Sharon can read fun articles, reviews and polls, listen to recorded seminars about Bonsai, watch informative videos and even book a meeting room to talk with people from around the world who are just as passionate about their Bonsai as she is….and the best part is that all of this IS IN THE ONE SPOT…what a relief!  No more pages and pages of search
engine results or 100’s of groups to wade through.

Sharon’s now looking for ‘Bassett Hound World’ – Sure enough, there it is, with all the same kind of resources!

She finds out that every one of Cagora’s Worlds is kind of like a real world’ Expo Centre… You know like those Home and Garden Shows you’ve been to where businesses come together to showcase their
products and services and do business with the public….. where People can find the information and resources they want all at one venue, get advice and learn from the experts running seminars, AND
where they can meet up with others in a community atmosphere to share their interests… the difference being that Cagora’s worlds are online, so it means that Sharon can visit them 24/7 in the comfort and security of her own home!

Sharon is starting to like Cagora because it’s a one-stop Learning, Meeting and Marketplace. She likes the fact that Bonsai and Basset Hounds are just a small part of one huge ever growing online network
of more than 15,000 Worlds of Interest ……that means if she wants to, she can zoom around to other Gardening Worlds like Composting and Rock Gardens, or Dog Worlds like Poodles and Great Danes, really quickly and easily……

And just like the network of Worlds of Interest, there’s also over 10,000 Local Worlds including one for her own town of Hopeville. Sharon can now explore the world with her fingertips find exciting
destinations and meet interesting people from all over the globe.

Sharon also likes that Cagora is a family friendly website for her kids Max and Amy to use. Rick her husband will love Cagora because he can quickly get access to information about his rather…unusual hobbies!

But now Sharon notices something: Many of the Worlds on the current Cagora website do not have much information available and some of the ‘worlds’ haven’t even been ‘built’ yet!

Sharon rings Dave.

(Dave) “No Problem! YouTube, Facebook and MySpace were just like that in their early days. There was hardly anything on them either, until people came and started adding content and telling others.
Then as these companies grew, they almost totally rebuilt their websites.

Cagora’s current site is only an early stage prototype to help people get a feel for this whole new concept of Local and Special Interest Worlds…that are Community learning, meeting and marketplaces.

In fact, before Cagora starts the rebuild of the website soon, they’d love people like us to give input on how we’d like it to be. The plan with the new site is that you’ll still be able to navigate it as a normal website like the current prototype, but you’ll also have the option to zoom around to all the worlds within a MASSIVE 3D Virtual Expo Park. It’ll be so interactive that you’ll really feel like you’re “there.”

(Sharon) That sounds like a refreshing change to boring Search Engine results

(Dave) Indeed! and when they rebuild the site it will be a true Community Marketplace where you can pick up a bargain, get cash back rebates at leading retailers, get special deals and loyalty rewards by shopping locally and supporting small business and as the Cagora membership and its bulk buying power grows there will be even more savings. In this new Community marketplace, business owners will be able to tap into systems to get more customers and build relationships to get more sales. They’ll also have a new way to alert people to special deals and tap into the power of community and barter.

(Sharon) “Dave …I think I’ve just had a light bulb moment. This is going to be huge isn’t it??” 

(Narrator) Sharon could hear Dave smile.

(Dave) “Yep, I reckon so Sharon…but hold onto your hat, did you realize that Cagora also shares a whopping 80% of what a company would normally keep as profits with their members AND charities
chosen by their members??”

(Sharon) “Heck no, I missed that.”

(Dave)  “And you can also get a share of the sales as a free affiliate or you can be the community partner for one of the Local Worlds or Worlds of Interest and get an even bigger share of the advertising and other revenues.”

(Sharon) So why are they sharing so much of the profits and traffic with their members?

(Dave) Well, Cagora’s all about Sharing. It really goes to the core values of the people behind the company, they are committed to empowering people to be in a position to do good while doing well.
In fact the name of the Company says it all. The C in Cagora is for Community and the AGORA being the learning, meeting and marketplace of ancient Greece.

That massive Expo Park of Local and Special Interest Worlds will be one big Community learning, meeting and marketplace. Cagora has a Blueprint System to grow each of the Local and Special Interest Worlds by bringing together People, Businesses, Charities and Community Groups so they can all benefit.

(Sharon) “WOW, it all makes so much sense, and what a relief to find a company where people count!”

(Narrator) So Sharon immediately registers with Cagora for Free takes the welcome tour, and decides she’d better look into the Blueprints to see how she can benefit by being in so early and make some extra money online for herself and her favorite charities.

But that’s a whole other story… (For tomorrow)

So, there you have it. Just about anything you could want or need is either there already, or is just waiting on someone to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. That makes me feel like someone with special talents or knowledge could become a community partner and surely open up another avenue of income online. That possiblity alone seems important to me. When this site takes off, a person that takes advantage now will reap the benefits later on, after everybody and their dog signs on – an opportunity to get in on the ground floor doesn’t come that often…

I don’t do this often, but I really do urge you to at the very least to check into this, folks. You can go here to see what I’m talking about.

Keep smiling!

Good morning, Cyberfriends!

I’m hopping in here on a weekend morning because I just had to tell you about a new site that I’ve joined. It’s called Cagora, and it’s in pre-launch right now. It’s a fairly complex thing to try to explain to you, but I’ll do my best. It’s a combination social/marketing site, and from what I can gather, looks as if it surely has great potential for earning money. Right now it doesn’t cost anything to join – I’m not too clear as to whether it will cost later or not. If you get in on the ground floor now though, the opportunities are great for making good commissions. This is from the “Intro” page from the website:

Spread the word about our exciting new style of website, where the people of the world earn real money for themselves or their favorite cause, learn new things, meet others, make a difference and pursue their hobbies and interests, all in the one spot. It’s going to be the first global network of 25,000+ Local and Special Interest Worlds: Each is a One Stop ‘Authority Community’ where the ‘wisdom of the crowd’ helps you find the products, services and information you want – without the sweat. We’re taking a ‘Web 2.0′ approach to build an alternative to the Search Engines and Social Networks, where people like you create the content, spread the word and share in the traffic and profits created. We’re in phase 1 of our 8 phase rollout and are looking for Internet Marketers and other entrepreneurial people to share in our profits and traffic.Register FREE before March 31st to secure Joint Venture Affiliate status and earn commissions as we sell the Community Partnerships for each Local World and World of Interest – a powerful new type of Virtual Real Estate.

And then, there’s this:

Plugging the Web’s Gaping Hole to Make Money and Do Good Niche Marketing, Information Products, Local Search, eLearning, Virtual Communities, Social Media and Social Networking are all fast growing Internet categories that have made savvy individuals MILLIONS in 2008. The next big opportunity is a whole new category of website that’s set to take 2009 by storm. You can be in on the ground floor of this brand new style of website that combines these fast growing categories to solve one of the biggest problems for mainstream Internet users…a Gaping Hole in how well the Internet works. Without ever needing to spend a cent you can share in the traffic, sales and profits created, by simply registering early and letting others know. The more people you refer, the bigger your share of the sales commissions and profits as 80% of the company profits are shared with you and your favorite Charities.

So start right now!

I’ve jumped into this with both feet. If everything works as it’s supposed to, I can’t see how I could go wrong. I’d be pleased to have you join me! There’s much, much more to this thing, so why not go check it out? I would also be interested to hear from you if you do join – Go here for information.

Keep smiling!

Surveys, PTC’s & PTR’s

 

December 2009
M T W T F S S
« May    
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031  
mioola.com - and find your customers

Top Posts

  • None

Morgan747 on Twitter