David Bullock, Brilliant Mastermind

I realize that I have been a little bit neglectful and I apologize. I used to give you a Blog of the Day, at least once a week.

The suggestion I’m going to make to you today will make up for all of the days since I’ve remembered to do so. That suggestion is: if you do nothing else today, if you take no other action related to publicizing your business, getting more leads, or making more sales, go and read David Bullock’s blog. Read as much of it as you can in one sitting.

Why?

Because you will learn more from his site, today, than you would in some $2000 a seat seminars. I kid you not. I’ve been reading it at least six months now, and the honest-to-goodness reason I haven’t talked about him before today is that I get completely absorbed in the material. That’s not something I say lightly.

A quote from a favorite post of mine:

I’ve often talked about keywords as conversations. Conversations have history. There is no way in the world to talk about rocket science unless the person has an understanding of rocket science, and that understanding comes from having history or prior knowledge.

When you are choosing keywords it is important that you take into account the history of the conversation.

Where is the person in the buying cycle?
What have they already studied?
Where had they been before?
What is this situation now in real life, while the looking up this information?

So simple and yet so often skipped in the basic lessons most people give on keyword, including myself – it’s from a two-part series called Understanding Keyword Conversations.

If you haven’t got the time to read it now, go to the site and subscribe via email, or drag this link to your feed reader to subscribe via RSS.

The coveted honor of Blog Post of the Day goes to the blog post I was supposed to feature here last week. Lucky for you, it’s timeless.

Visit my pal David Olson at the Affiliate Profit Center [rss] to read more about “Five tactics for getting the most out of your traffic“:

Here’s a quote I dug:

As affiliate marketers, it’s NOT our job to sell. We’re in the business of recommending products and services and sending interested visitors to their sales pages.

Well said, rarely stated so bluntly. Thanks for being a part of Open for Web Business, David!

I’m spending this weekend giving thanks. This post is part of that mission.

This is a really special one, and it goes back years and years. I first met Dr. Mani in the Internet Warriors Forum, and has an instant affinity for him. I have never come across him when he wasn’t helping someone with one thing or another. He inspires me to do good works beyond the Net too – every year he has a fund raiser that helps kids get heart transplants.

How could you Not love someone like that?

Mani, you’ve always been good enough to tell me like it is, to rally for my cause even when I was being stubborn, to tell me to rest when I was acting like I had something to prove. Thank you for being such a wonderful friend to me. I hope one day I can do something for you that will mean as much to you as you do to me. I am always humbly at your disposal if I can ever be of any help, ever.

I’m spending this weekend giving thanks. This post is part of that mission.

Ewen Chia is just an all-around great guy. He is one of the few in the internet marketing world who truly care about their subscribers, clients, and audience in general. We haven’t had the chance to work together a lot. One of us always seemed to be available when the other was in the middle of something. I’m most grateful to him for exposing my voice to many thousands of people through the Underground Interview [pdf, 370k] he did with me a while back.

Thank you for the wide exposure, Ewen. It’s a privilege to have such good company online.

People You’ll See In Hell. I haven’t had time to read a lot of JD‘s content yet, but that’s a kick-@ss name for a Blog.

It’s a hell of a lot less boring than “Increase Your Website Traffic”… but what we lack in zazz, we make up for in… we make up for… uh… I’ll have to get back to you on that.

Seriously though, subscribe to his RSS feed here if you’re not ready to leave yet, then you’ll remember to visit him later.

And let that be a lesson to you. A cool name (and a comment on a popular blog of your choice) can garner your blog some unexpected attention. Which is why one of my other blogs is called … well, I’m not ready to reveal all of that just yet. For now go visit JD.

For many of you keyword research veterans, this may be nothing new. And if you’ve signed up to get the free gifts, you also have my free Lucrative keyword research Guide. However, I find this to be the best mini-guide to Keyword Research that I’ve seen in a while. It covers quite a few things that even experts forget.

Here’s a quote from Gobala Krishnan’s article Keyword Research 101 : Fundamental Keyword Strategy that talks about the limits of keyword research:

There are some severe limitations to keyword research. The main one is that it tells you what the user typed into the search engine, not what the user is really looking for or the state of mind the user is in.For example, the user typed in “cheap gibson electric guitar” into the search engine and found your site. But, what is the user thinking when he is reading you page? Is he:

* Looking to buy a product – if yes, then your site should be primarily monetized by affiliate programs that pay you per sale. You can find a lot of physical products and digital products that you can sell from your website just by typing in “your keyword affiliate program” in search engines
* Looking for more information – if yes, then your site should be monetized by an advertising program like Google Adsense or Chitika, since the user is more likely to click away for more information rather than buy something
* Looking for bargains – if yes, your site should be monetized by Ebay or Auction Ads, which is based on Ebay but works like Adsense
* Looking for freebies – if yes, your site should be monetized with CPA (Cost Per Action) programs that you can find on networks like www.shareasale.com or www.linkshare.com

Awesome approach to a concept that is often a little tricky to relay.

Today’s Blog of the Day honors go to Blogging for Business for what could become Businss Blogging’s quote of the year. If you can just understand this one thing about blogging, you’ll be great at it, maybe even become an A list blogger one day- or just get lots of traffic because people can sense your sincerity.

Here’s what Ted said in a blog post called Indirect Effects of Blogging Trump Direct Revenue:

For most people, the indirect effects of blogging will always be more important than any money made directly from blogging. That isn’t to say that some people don’t make a big hootful of cash, or you can’t make a few extra bucks directly (from for example AdSense).

It’s “Blogging for Business” or better, “Blogging as a part of my Business,” as compared to “Blogging is my Business.” Most of us won’t quit our day jobs. Hopefully you, like I, love your day job and don’t want to quit!!

So yes, blogging can be an endeavor that helps you get on the gravy train, makes you lots of money, gives you a chance to retire early or quit your job. And if your job is head-entrepreneur-in-charge, business blogging still isn’t just about the bottom line.

Ironically, the more the people I work with are seeing blogging only as a means to a cash-laden end, the worse they are at it.

I truly believe that thinking primarily of exactly how keyword dense your page is, or how many links you can get today by commenting, or whether you can get an A list blogger to write about you has an effect on what you write in your blog and how it comes across.

If your only goal is blogging to get people to click on your debt consolidation ad, you’ll be focused on all the shortcuts, and all the technical aspects behind that goal. But if you set out to inform people about their debt options, and where ever they land in clicking that ad is just one of the ways they can do it, you’re writing to inform.

Which makes your blog more useful.

Which brings you more readers.

Which results in more traffic.

Which means more people will be around to click your ads in the end.

The same thing goes if you’re blogging to get more attention to a product you sell at your site. If I wrote every blog post trying to shove an increase in your blog traffic down your throat every day, you’d stop reading. What would be the point? You know what I’m going to say and why I’m saying it.

That’s actually the first time I’ve mentioned one of my products in weeks. And that’s because, while I hope you want to buy my books, it’s not the only reason I’m here. It’s not that I’m a saint (lol, if only you knew.)

I just know that informing you and serving you works a lot better than shouting one thing at the top of my lungs all day every day, and hoping that one percent of the people who hear won’t be too annoyed to buy.

Ted says this better than I ever could. So don’t forget to stop by and see him.

See another side of Higher Ranking’s Jill Whalen at her blog Inspired SEO . I don’t know if this is her only blog or one of many, but she is my SEO Role Model – real search engine advice, no here-today, banned-tomorrow tricks.

If I was still doing pure SEO, I’d want to be her. And I just found out some shocking secrets about her, right out in broad daylight on her blog:

I didn’t think that there would be anything to say that you haven’t already heard since I generally tell all in my newsletter, and have been for years. But I did manage to come up with a few tidbits you may not know.

So without further ado, here are 5 facts you didn’t (hopefully) know about me.

Go visit Jill to find out what she said. I’ll bet you anything that there’s at least one thing on that list you’d never guess.

His blog is like, my mothership. First of all, it’s called Thinkbait.

Like linkbait. But with THINKING. I’m so jealous for not thinking of that. It’ll probably spawn a whole generation of ___bait expressions, such that if I come up with a really cool one it won’t seem original.

Danged internet. Moves too fast. Wait. How this post become about me again?

Back on track, Chris is having the coolest non-meme eva. Here’s what he said in his I LOVE My Job and THIS IS NOT A MEME! post at his superific blog, Thinkbait:

You want a FREE link from an up and coming blogger just by telling the world why you love your job? Here’s how

Oh come on, now. I can’t tell you how. If I did, you woudn’t go to his site how would ya? Because you love my blog so much that you’d stay here forever and ever and never leave because you love me.

Okay, I’m awake now. No need to slap me.

1. She’s brilliant.
II, she’s fun to read,
D – She makes many great posts about how to be a better blogger, which you know will be useful just from reading her writing.

Here’s a sample, though I suggest you saunter by Paula Mooney‘s site and read some more for yourself. When you leave a comment, tell her I said “howdy.”

This quote is from Why You Should Respond to Your Comments.

Comments clarify, correct or confirm your stance. Sometimes you need more room and time beyond your original blog post to make clear to readers your position, or to admit when you’ve gotten your facts wrong. This is especially important on those article-writing platforms that don’t give writers the opportunity to go back and edit their original articles. Other times you might have to respond to readers challenging your facts by providing back up links and resources.

And PS! I heard about her on MyBlogLog. Ya gots to g’wan over dere.

*edit. Duh, why didn’t I proofread? Because I’ve been up for a day and a half, that’s why. I can’t sleep and I’m looooooosing my miiiiiind.

Anyway, the edit is that the link goes directly to the post, and the quote makes more sense.

You know sometimes when you browse around the Net and you see something really brave…. admirably so… but almost … foolhardy in its braveness? Almost a little…. dangerous? But so compelling you can’t keep your eyes off it?

I know, it hardly ever happens. But I got an email from a good friend of mine, and I have to admit that I got sucked in and good. I couldn’t help it. I love seeing original thought, and watching things sprout from infancy into mega-stardom. It’s why we watch all those reality shows, right? The ones that have winners especially.

This one’s a real behind-the-scenes Web 2.0 company launch. And this is probably going to be HUGE. You know when you see something that isn’t a Google-killer, but you wish Google would buy it? That’s what I mean.

Just watch this video, and tell me you’re not hooked.

I’ll have more when the newsletter comes out buy I just wanted to mention them really quickly. Don’t forget to stop by the blog and talk to the “stars” of the videos.