… little blue birds would be singing, cleaning my kitchen, making our beds, and in general making my day even grander

(Even if you voted for “the other guy” you’re going to want to read this post, I promise.)
(more…)

A while back on Andy Beard’s blog, I read his review of both TrafficJam and Blogrush. Andy’s post leans heavy on the TrafficJam side, but conveys lots of additional information you also might want to know.

Please Note: To have your posts show up in TrafficJam, you will need to sign up a FREE account first at Blogrush

Here’s a quote from Andy’s post (the links out are ours):

“Even if you have absolutely no interest in TrafficJam or Blogrush, I strongly suggest you read this post, especially if you are interested in viral marketing techniques that are guaranteed to build you an email list.”

Also in Andy’s post, he mentions of course the creator of TrafficJam, John Reese.

The long and the short of both posts (both well worth reading) is that bloggers gain the advantage of having their writing seen and read, and in return marketers also get the edge on uncovering what people are talking about… in other words, this is a really cool research resource tool.

You’ll note that the conversation on Beard’s blog harkens back to February. Okay, so TrafficJam is no longer “brand spankin’ new” in that sense. But as a resource for getting the word out about your blog, and from a marketer’s perspective of needing to keep one’s finger on the pulse of what’s going on in the blogosphere, we think you’ll agree that this is a winner.

Have you been using TrafficJam? What has been your experience?

If not, what is your first impression of this as a potential resource? Useful, not…??

Please let us know by adding your comments to this post!

Today, while reading my horoscope in a really oddball local magazine, I was struck by how much this particular one makes sense. Here’s what it said:

“The composer Stravinsky had written a new piece with a difficult violin passage,” writes Thomas Powers, quoted in the book Sunbeams. “After it had been in rehearsal several weeks, the solo violinist came to Stravinsky and said he was sorry, he had tried his best, the passage was too difficult, no violinist could play it. Stravinsky said, ‘I understand that. What I am after is the sound of someone trying to play it!’”

It goes on to inform me to keep this message close to the heart in the coming week in order to have “the proper perspective as you go about the work of doing the best you can, at a task that is virtually impossible to perfect.”

Now doesn’t that sound exactly like internet marketing?!

We each do our very best with the methodology at hand, but never do any of us truly “perfect the art” because the art of being online is so fluid.

However, it’s not in the getting it perfect where we succeed, it is in the trying and applying where we shine.

We’ve known our share of online entrepreneurs who take a direct course of action and willingly try their hand at all new proposals (or revisit “old” ones to fine tune them). Conversely, we’re also familiar with some would-be online business people who seem too shy to get out there and give it a go.

Maybe what holds some back is that feeling of “I won’t get it right.” There is no getting it wrong (other than blatant spamming of course). The beauty is in the doing!

Keep this message in mind as you go about your week (each week!) and put yourself out there! Meet other people in the social communities, write that article you’ve been putting off and post it in Hubpages and article directories! You can do it!

Here’s to sweet music to you in all your endeavors!

In order to properly review anything, you must first read and apply what you’ve read in order to give your review the proper perspective. My reason for opening this post in this fashion is simple… There are many times when we really and truly doubt that all the great claims to fame given in testimonials are true. Also, if a product launches and there are a ration of people offering “get this from me and I’ll give you this and this and this” it does (more often than not) make us suspect. We ask ourselves, “Did they really have the time to delve into the product before slamming it out there to their lists, visitors, etc.?” We may never know…

However, we did purchase Atomic Blogging 2. In fact, we purchased it just about a week ago on Feburary 29th. We then read the entire 140 pages - even though areas we are already familiar with - download when applicable, and applied (and are still applying) what this large volume offers.

In a nutshell, Alvin Phan has done a tremendous job covering a broad spectrum of efficiently and effectively using blogging to make money online. Even if you are not interested in the money aspect, the wealth of information on properly setting up the basics and then adding in the icing is superb.

If you are totally new to blogging, you’ll be exceptionally pleased. If you are a veteran, you’ll enjoy the benefits of this ebook by making use of either 1) applying all his strategies or the ones you are missing or 2) find bigger and better ways to grow your blog. Atomic Blogging is for everyone.

We consider ourselves fairly knowledgeable when it comes to blogs. Sure each template has its quirks, but the overall (and more specific) tools and ideas we know about and use. However, we have made many strategic changes to our format based on Alvin’s recommendations. We’ve downloaded, installed, and are applying several plug ins we were not using (and in a case or two not aware of) to enhance the strategic marketing of this blog. (If you don’t know what “plugins” are don’t worry, Alvin really does a great job covering everything you need to know.)

The meaty stuff is shown (step by step in most cases) throughout the book, but page 107 starts what Alvin writes as the:

“… real secret in the Atomic Blogging system is here in this last chapter.”

(This section runs from page 107 to page 136 so it’s not one of those “fluff” chapters.)

Suffice to say that at just $47, your purchase of Atomic Blogging 2 is sure to be a “keeper” in your online marketing arsenal.

Enjoy!

* * * * * * * * * *

Please feel free to leave your comments, positive, negative or in between regarding this and any/every post on our blog. We give backlinks!

In the last post, we explored the argument of the chicken and the egg with a discussion about which comes first - keywords or market research. As pointed out, the two do go hand in hand. Miss out on either at your peril.

While yesterday’s post (below) talks about finding what people buy first, let’s also give credit to the fact that more often than not, people come to the net to search for information (yes I’ll add it…) first. And, where do they head? Most likely a major search engine if they don’t have a favorite store in mind.

Keyword research is a must - that should go without saying. Obviously with well-researched keywords your website exponentially increases its chances of being ranked higher in the search engines. However, more often than not, we find that many people do not know where to start or even how to start.

The key is to find the right keywords. Our good friend, Vrecc, over at our most favorite Hubpages, has written his unique perspective on keyword research and given you a great tool (free!) to do it right.

Vrecc’s informational article, SEO Optimization and Keyword Research, implements SEOQuake (don’t worry he’s got the download link marked for you). But he doesn’t just leave it at that… you’ll also learn how to use it properly before the end of his article.

Here’s a quick exerpt to wet your appetite though we encourage you to read the entire article (never put the cart before the horse because this is not the “final” part of his article):

“The final step is to actually make a decision on whether or not a keyword or phrase is worth deliberately targeting. The answer depends on your ability to build incoming links into that page. The main way I build links is to write articles and post them to directories. The articles contain a link back to the page I’m targeting. I can get as many links as I can write articles. If I’m willing to write 20 articles then I can get 20 links. It doesn’t really count if someone syndicates my article and puts it on their website with my link in it. Google is likely only to count the link from the article directory. Another great way to get backlinks is social bookmarking. I’ve seen several hubs on this topic. You will find them with a quick search.”

Enjoy!

If you found this post and our “pointers” to great information useful, please take the time to leave your comments below. We appreciate your time and effort!