Today is: Monday, 5th January 2009
Log in
Professional SEO and PPC Management in the Kansas City Area
Contact Me for search engine optimization, pay per click management, and creative, affordable online marketing consulting.
New York Times - For Free?
I can’t help but love the fact that I can read the New York Times, in its entirety, for free online.
I’m not sure how I just noticed this, other than it’s probably because I get most of my news from CNN.com and Google News (and I don’t think “Newspaper” very often) - so it never occurred to me to check it out. I had a friend mention it to me in a meeting, and now I’m hooked. It came up because we were talking about how the “old school” PR guys in his corporate communications department didn’t like doing online press releases because they wanted to be “all about reporters.”
It should be noted that, while the company has done several notable things, the last major press coverage it got involved the President (of the USA, not the company) - so, I think it’s safe to conclude that faxing things to reporters doesn’t really work anymore. And hasn’t for years. (unless it’s a take out menu - then it probably works)
My main question there is, “Where do these guys think reporters are getting their news?”
31 Mar 08 | Has it really been a week?
Wow. My bad. It’s been a long time. It’s amazing what being out of pocket (and a Time Warner crash) will do to your blogging.
I needed a vacation, but I hate coming back from them because I always feel behind. I think I’m mostly caught up, and I’ll try to post something useful here soon. I’ve been getting up early every day, but between running and making sure the new puppy doesn’t pee everywhere, most of my free time has been taken up.
So, dear reader, I apologize. I’m sure you’ll survive though - until then…I’m taking requests on topics to post about. Anything is game - comment away.
Gmail Features are Available for Google Apps Users
At the precise time we are looking at integrating some Google Apps into our system, some new features are coming out. I’ll have to figure out how we can take advantage of this.
Personal Finance Spreadsheet
So, I’m a personal finance geek. I worship at the altar of Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman. I love it - it’s interesting and fun to plan. Most importantly, it’s one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Managing your money and credit is vital to your future - so the sooner you start, the better.
In the spirit of that, I did a template of my personal finance spreadsheet for a friend, and he thought it was pretty cool, so I thought I’d share it here as well. You can download a blank version here (I’ve added in some “dummy” numbers for reference).
The purpose of this model is to manage your month to month cash flow, taking into account debt amortization and savings (although no interest is applied to the savings, but that would be easy to add in). It’s pretty basic, but it’s what I’ve been using for quite a while now, and I have to say, it really works!
If you like this - please let me know! Also, if you have questions, I’d be happy to answer them. Just leave comments and I’ll reply.
One last thing - if you’d like to add something like savings account interest but can’t, let me know and I’ll work on it. It would be very cool to see this evolve into a more sophisticated tool that we can share for free.
UPDATE - Andy over at the Bofe Blog saw my spreadsheet, and raised me a savings account. I say, download both!
I have a few immediate needs….
1) Someone who knows how to set up a SmarterMail Email Server correctly (so it doesn’t look like junk mail)
2) A list of all the Thursday/Friday NCAA games, sorted by time, station, and viewing area.
3) Someone who can train a 2 month old border collie not to pee on my floor (see cuteness here)
4) About three more hours a day
5) A haircut and an eye appointment
My life would be perfect if I could arrange for those.
Why “Good Enough” Generally Isn’t.
In the world of someone who wants to accomplish great things, there is no room for the term “Good Enough.” Because, in reality, that ENOUGH point is always moving. Move forward and get better or get out of business.
Sometimes, I find myself lulled into complacency when it comes to the quality of my work - mostly due to the hypnotic effect of crossing things off my ‘to-do’ list. So, I do things like I did Friday, and slap up a contact page for the website we’re launching in a couple months (your typical “coming soon - give us your email” page) that I think looks “good enough.” Then, after a couple emails get tossed around, I find myself slightly embarrassed, since the page obviously wasn’t good enough.
It’s a little thing, I know. But it’s the little things that add up to big things, so you might as well get in the habit of consistent excellence if you want to make it.
On a related note, I’ll actually be announcing what the startup site is in the next week or two, after we get a little more paperwork filed. It is the best project I’ve ever been involved in, and I truly believe we can change the world with it. I’ll keep you posted.
Healthy Fried Rice
Another throwback to the GourmetDudes days - this is Healthy Fried Rice.
You just need a couple things - ground turkey, egg beaters, and brown rice. Plus any veggies you like.
Brown up the turkey, drain off what little fat there is. Sautee up the veggies in olive oil, until done. Be preparing your brown rice while this is going on. Dump the whole thing in a hot skillet, and pour in a few tablespoons of egg beaters. Stir-Fry until desired consistency.
Get a little wild, throw in some Soy Sauce, and enjoy a guilt-free and delicious Chinese meal!
Affiliate Marketing - Facebook Ad Copy
So, I learned one lesson in my first day of running one very, very limited Facebook Campaign.
If you want to be successful on Facebook, you’d better have a pretty compelling ad. I segmented down my audience, and burned through 11k impressions in about 1 hour (perhaps a sign I didn’t segment down enough?). Of that, a piddling 4 clicks, meaning my ad got paused.
Back to the drawing board. Learned some good stuff though.
Affiliate Marketing Introduction
One thing I’m starting to explore is the wide, wide world of affiliate marketing. Clayton got me into the idea - and I figured that I have made a pretty decent living running online campaigns that deliver solid ROI for other people.
So, why not take a stab myself. I’d like to think I can select affiliate offers that have a good chance of paying off. I’m a really good SEO and PPC manager - and those are the main channels I’ll be working in.
This should be pretty interesting.
You’ll notice an ad in my sidebar. This is for Motive Interactive - the first network I joined. So far, I’ve been stoked to see the offers they have, and my account rep has been very helpful. This is why I’m posting the ad. To be sure, if you sign up from here, I get a kick back, but I won’t ever post something here I don’t have reason to believe in.
10 Things I Think
(required nod to SI’s Peter King for the Idea)
1) I don’t care if you’re my mom, I’m not accepting your invitation to add a Facebook App. I love you and all, but the only app I’m allowing is Twitter - why? It let’s me do two things at once. I have never used it for anything other that updating my status.
2)I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NCAA TOURNEY TO START! I may have to blog the selection Sunday show again.
3)I need to post more recipes, movie reviews, and general snark - since those sites are directing here now.
4)I’m going to prove you can be successful in the affiliate marketplace without doing shady things.
5)I’d like to monetize this site’s traffic, but I’m not sure how to do it just yet. Or, if would even be worth it.
6)I think any great idea has to scale and has to apply to different verticals. It doesn’t hurt if it makes people’s lives genuinely better. I think we’re working on all that right now.
7)70 degrees and sunny only pays off on days you can leave the office without feeling guilty. I’m holding out for next Friday.
8)I keep telling myself to focus on the big things…..then I add a couple more cool ideas I want to play with.
9)I’m getting much better with time/effort management.
10)Chipotle just wouldn’t be as good if you had more options than chicken or steak, burrito, taco, or bowl. It is perfectly simple.
Don't Mess Around With Online Marketing
Since 2000, I've been delivering great online results for my clients. Utilizing high ROI channels, including search engines, my customers make money, even in down economies! When 70% of adults use the Internet to research before a purchase...can you afford NOT to take advantage of my free consultation?
Free Online Marketing Consultation
Or, fill out this quick form - I'll get back to you ASAP!
Categories
- 10 Things I Think
- Blogging Strategies
- Business
- Email Marketing Strategies
- Entrepreneurship
- Everything Else
- Finance
- Goal Setting
- Local Search Marketing
- Marketing Videos
- Online Consulting Services
- Online Marketing
- Pay Per Click
- Search Engine Marketing
- Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Marketing
- Website Conversion
