As a reader of this blog, you know our aim is the day to day pursuit of helping you be successful. Politics was never on the menu… until this evening. I’ve got stuff to say and I’m going to say it.

You know what the trouble in this country is? It’s the inability for the people of this great nation to gather as one voice and declare, “We have had enough!”

To this very day, rather than have to exert the fraction of mental energy involved to come to logical, well informed, decisions, is it true that people are just blind little sheep wanting to be lead? (more…)

By now you know how much we harp on commenting on blogs. Not only is it easy to do, but it’s absolutely, positively the best free form of marketing for yourself and your website - and a great way to gain a backlink (in most cases) in the search engines to your website link.

And now, especially for bloggers, there’s no reason not to… if you’re a member of Entrecard.

Entrecard and SezWho (a comment rating system) have joined forces to not only encourage your comments, but reward you for your efforts.

Here’s an excellent post that outlines the details (why reinvent the wheel?):
Top 10 Reasons Why Entrecard-SezWho Partnership Is Important For Bloggers

Frankly, we love comments and we love commenting - and we love free marketing!

And, for all you affiliate marketers and website owners without a blog, don’t think that commenting isn’t for you, too! Commenting can be incredibly lucrative - both in short and long term internet marketing and search engine linking… (and did we mention it’s free!).

Let’s face it, people pay big bucks to purchase a spot on websites and blogs. But commenting is FREE and gets you the same - actually even better - results! You get to pick and choose. Your comment remains on the blog forever. And no one will disconnect your link at a whim (or if you stop paying).

Of course the idea is to provide insight or feedback or a pat on the back to the blogger. Or to (kindly) dissent when appropriate. Your quality comments get you visitors to your website.

People are curious animals and a good comment always makes me click through to see what’s on the other end. Visitors that didn’t cost you a dime, just a bit of time.

And, if you use Firefox (we’re partial to Firefox), and have the Alexa addon, you’ve got the perfect tool to check for traffic ranks on the blogs you stop on and comment on (keep in mind it’s just a tool, who’s to say where your next client or customer might come from?).

So… Why purchase them, when commenting provides a natural (organic!) link for yourself on quality blogs?

It really is a no brainer.

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Your Turn! Have your say right now! Comments welcomed!

Depending on my schedule, I may visit many in a short span of time (always allowing plenty of time for their pages to sit open in my browser to avoid penalizing them for my visit - no short visits please!). I try to schedule this portion of my day (or bits and pieces throughout the day) so I can relax and enjoy my visits, read, and comment, comment, comment.

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Larry Brauner of Online Social Networking makes an interesting (and perhaps obvious) point. After attending a webinar, he brings home a point that maybe some of us ARE missing.

Do you follow blindly what your “guru” is telling you? Does it often seem that by the time you get to “do it” the doing has already been done to death? Do you always have that “missed the boat” feeling?

Maybe there is a reason…

Larry speaks out about the human tendency to “flock,” and questions whether that is a wise internet marketing (or social media marketing) strategy.

We were recently enrolled taking a very publicized course about social media. We did withdraw from that course when it appeared that the areas for marketing where oversaturated and perhaps not the best choice. Another case of too little too late (and at a very expensive price tag to learn the lesson!) ??

Larry’s point of zagging if everyone is zigging is a point we should all take to heart. Doing our own thing, planned mine you, not mindless, has always served us well.

Thanks Larry for the reminder!

I’m not going to get too worked up over this one, but since one arrived yesterday and just now in my inbox, I really need to get this off my chest.

The subject line for this guy’s email is one of those “you just made a commission” mailings. Since we actively promote several services and products for other people, along with many of our own, this message must be opened, right? Checking to see if it is legitimate is just good business practice.

However, you just know as you are taking those few seconds out of your own life to open the darn thing that it is totally bogus (but again you must check it just to be sure).

By wasting moments of my life, this does not endear me to this particular marketer. In fact, I find it downright insulting and annoying that he tries to pass off a “PayPal-type” subject line as one of his own.

Smarten up! I’ve got the guy’s name burned into my brain now and from this point forward all his stuff will go right into the trash (assuming I don’t just take yet more moments out of my life to open and unsubscribe myself first).

Yes we would all love to have every bit of mail we send opened, read, and acted upon by others. But nothing can possibly be gained by annoying people to the point that unsubscribing is their only recourse.

Choose your words wisely. The right combination, and the whole world is reading. Choose incorrectly and…

So I ask you, does this type of marketing bother you, or am I just being overly sensitive? Is the guy “clever” or “annoying”? And how would you handle it?

One of the great advantages of being a member to some remarkable sites, like Entrecard, is the ease at which you find out about really cool “other sites” going live on the net. Websites designed to help you promote your blog and your business.

Tonight I found one such website while approving an advertiser for our blog in Entrecard. Yes, it was that easy

The website is 125 Exchange.

When you click through you’ll notice the “affiliate looking” url (ours), but at the moment there is no indication that we get anything other than the great satisfaction of helping you find yet another spot to promote your blog.

Before I tell you about the set up, I did want to make mention of the look and load of this service. Wow! We like green, and the animation is super easy on the eyes. You’ll like it, too.

Okay, you sign up in two seconds, check your inbox and confirm, and then head inside where the inner workings are really easy to follow. Start by listing your own ad, you’ll need a 125 x 125 banner (just like Entrecard) and a tiny bit more information including the average daily amount of visitors your blog gets (check your cpanel stats). You will also be able to pick what categories you would like your banner to show up on, as well as indicate what types of sites should be allowed on yours.

To the right, in our Highly Recommended sidebar box, you’ll notice the current 125Exchange card showing. Go ahead, click on it! It will open in a new window and you won’t lose your place here at OIMS.

Well that’s it for tonight, we thought you’d enjoy finding another spot to do more free advertising for yourself and your blog.