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Tuesday, June 3, 2008 |
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Monday, April 7, 2008 |
This morning, while going through my normal routine of surfing a few of the manual traffic exchanges, I went to WolfSurfer.com and noticed a big change.
It had been a few weeks since I was there. I'm not an upgraded member and I try to surf WolfSurfer at least once per month.
There is a completely new look to the exchange and when I logged in (using my old username and password), I found myself in the familiar LJ script that I like so much. Most of my favorite traffic exchanges use this script and it allows us to easily promote our sites using websites (preferably splash and squeeze pages), banners, and text links.
My sites had transferred over, but I took this opportunity to delete some sites I'm not currently promoting and to add one that has a higher priority for me now.
That done, I started surfing and enjoyed the smooth experience I have come to expect from the traffic exchanges that use the LJ script.
If you haven't been to WolfSurfer.com in awhile, you should visit and see that all your promotions are in order.
While I didn't dislike the old script they used, I like the current script much better.
If you're not familiar with the LJ script, it's used by most of my favorite traffic exchances, including Soaring4Traffic, I Love Hits, TrafficSoldiers, DragonSurf, and many others.
If you're not taking advantage of these traffic exchanges, it's something I think you should look into. Yes, it takes some time to get everything set up and you have to study how these systems can help you, but - if you do it right - you can benefit by driving visitors to your most important offers.
As soon as you have a business, you also have to start a traffic generation business, and traffic exchanges can work very well if you use them properly.
Want to learn how to use them more effectively?
There are two downline builder programs that offer great training and support, and both are free to join. Each has upgraded memberships at very reasonable prices and I'm upgraded in both of them, but you can get most of the benefits even as a free member. Both programs help you learn how to use the traffic exchanges to your benefit and also help you build downlines in a variety of the exchanges.
If you're using traffic exchanges, you should be a member of VitalViral and Affiliate Funnel.
And, if you're going to join many traffic exchanges, you should take advantage of the outstanding surf center feature offered by Soaring4Traffic. Not only does Soaring4Traffic offer this feature, it is a fast growing traffic exchange owned by a very caring and helpful owner. In my opinion, if you're going to join only one traffic exchange, or if you're looking for a good one to start with, I recommend Soaring4Traffic.
Act on your dream!
JD
3:20:36 PM 
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Wednesday, March 26, 2008 |
Until now, Site Build It! was for the "Do it yourself" crowd.
I'm part of that demographic and I love building websites of all sorts, but that's what I do.
There are many thousands of us who want to learn all the skills that are necessary to build a successful, profit-making website around which we can build our business.
But, there are many millions who are part of the "Do it for me" crowd.
Maybe you are one of them.
You already have a business and you want a website that actually brings new customers and clients. You want your site to add to your bottom line, not subtract from it.
You know how to run your business and now you want to find someone who can build a website that gets results.
You already hire specialists in other areas, including your lawyer and accountant. Maybe it's time for you to hire a specialist who will work closely with you to build a website that promotes your business and attracts new prospects to your business.
Where will you find a specialist who knows how to do this and won't charge you more than its worth?
SiteSell Services now offers very attractive packages that include hosting using the un-matched Site Build It! system and a specialist who will work closely with you to target your niche market and build a website that will work for you night and day.
SiteSell Services is brand new, but it is based on a decade of proven techniques and technology combined to build websites that produce results.
From the SiteSell Services page:
Build a professional Web site with SiteSell Services, using a process and tools proven by tens of thousands of people. Each page is aimed at pulling in Web site visitors. More Web site visitors means more new business.
Your SBI!-built site will work. Built from the ground up, you reap the benefits of 10 years of SiteSell experience, all packed into a truly professional site.
Don't waste your time and money. You deserve a website that will work for you.
Why don't you spend a few minutes and see if SiteSell Services is what you've been looking for?
Act on your dream!
JD
3:38:00 PM
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008 |
This week, we welcome the Apple Store for both the U.S. and Canada, National Geographic Online, Mister Art, as well as other well-known merchants to MaxMalls.com:
Apple Store - Your best source for a wide selection of innovative products: from iMac and MacBook to iPod, Apple TV, iPhone and more - plus the latest accessories and software.
Apple Store Canada - Your best source for a wide selection of innovative products: from iMac and MacBook to iPod, Apple TV, iPhone and more - plus the latest accessories and software.
Autos.com - Autos.com is the most comprehensive and straightforward review of virtually every new and used vehicle sold in the U.S.
Hoover's - Hoover's delivers comprehensive insight and analysis about companies, industries and people driving the economy, along with powerful tools to find and connect to the right people to get business done.
Mister Art - The lowest prices on the biggest selection of name-brand art supplies anywhere online - Guaranteed!
National Geographic Online - CD-ROMs, books, magazines, maps and globes, travel products, photography gear, videos, DVDs, science tools, home decor, toys and gifts for all ages!
Wonder Hobby - One of the web's largest selections of rc helicopters, cars, airplanes, boats, parts, and accessories, and more.
In addition to these major name brands, SFI's MaxMalls.com shopping portal also features retail giant Wal-Mart, online mega-store Amazon.com, major music source iTunes, and many, many more!
SFI donates a portion of every MaxMalls sale to the nonprofit organization Save The Children.
Best of all, you don't pay anything extra by shopping your favorite stores via MaxMalls.com!
Act on your dream!
JD
8:34:08 PM
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Are you a lensmaster on Squidoo?
If you are, I'm inviting you to join a new social networking site for Squidoo marketing, where our goal is to help each other do a better job of creating lenses that are used for marketing.
Want to increase the revenue you earn from your lenses? Come and talk about them. Attract new visitors. Learn new techniques and share your own.
Want to become a Squidoo lensmaster?
Everyone is an expert on something. Squidoo provides an easy way to build one-page websites called lenses that you can use to focus attention on a particular subject that you know and love.
It's free, and Squidoo even shares any revenue they earn from your lens with you. There are many of us who get a monthly deposit from Squidoo into our PayPal accounts. I just got a deposit into mine a couple of days ago. You can, too.
Are you an expert on something?
Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It's free, of course.
Then, come join us at the Squidoo marketing community.
We'll help each other become better lensmasters.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:32:35 PM
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I got an email from someone who's had a Ryze community for years, but he announced that he was leaving Ryze and moving to Facebook.
That got me to thinking.
I, too, have been staking out some territory on Ning.com and wanted to take advantage of Facebook to help promote my social networking communities.
It took a bit of searching, but I found a great app that works on Facebook and let's me syndicate multiple RSS feeds. You can see it in action on my Facebook profile:
Facebook profile for John Dilbeck
If you look on my profile and scroll down below the pictures of my top friends, you'll see a new module for Blog RSS Feed Reader, where I've syndicated the Latest Activity feeds from my Ning communities.
I'm also building lenses for each community that will syndicate the latest activity feed, as well. The lenses will link to the communities, which link to the lenses, and the feeds will be syndicated wherever I can.
As a result, I'm already seeing excellent search engine results on Google with many page one results - sometimes page one, item one.
You can easily add the Blog RSS Feed Reader app to your profile.
Since Facebook is now ranked in the top 10 sites, I'm betting that syndicating your Ning feeds on your profile will make it easier for you to get found.
By the way, if any of you have a Facebook account, I'd love it if you add me as your friend there.
If you don't have a Facebook account, why not. It's much more useful than Myspace these days.
That's my two cents.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:31:14 PM
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I just created a new lens for SFI Marketing Group Affiliates at Squidoo.com.
(Please note that I created the lens on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, and it may not be viewable until Thursday or Friday, depending upon when the next Squidoo ranking update takes place. If you can't see it, please come back in a day or so.)
Its purpose is to syndicate a couple of RSS feeds from our new SFI Marketing Group Affiliates social networking site. The new lens republishes the Latest Activities feed toward the top and the Forum feed toward the bottom.
Additionally, you are invited to vote in our poll and participate in the duel.
You'll need to be a Squidoo lensmaster to participate, and you can become one for free. I recommend Squidoo and have numerous lenses there with more on the drawing board.
Are you an expert on something? Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It's free, and you may even earn some money from it.
Please feel free to link to the new lens at:
http://www.squidoo.com/sfi-marketing-group-affiliates
I look forward to seeing your feedback on the lens and please - if you want - rank the lens (5 stars is best) and offer your comments in the duel or the comments section at the bottom of the lens.
You'll note that the people who are participating the most on our new social network are the ones who are getting mentioned the most on our new lens.
How easy is that?
All you have to do is participate on our social networking site. I'll be republishing those feeds on other sites I own. That means that there will be more links to your profile page as you participate more and as I have the time to syndicate the news feeds on more sites.
Can you think of something I should add to the new lens to make it more useful? All suggestions are welcome.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:29:18 PM
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SFI Marketing group can be complex and hard to understand because of all the ways you can build your business and earn commissions for your marketing efforts.
They have introduced a new Marketing Methods Shortcuts page to help you promote our products and services, and recruit other affiliates into your team.
The URL is:
https://www.sfimg.com/methods
or it can also be reached at:
http://www.sfimg.com/methods
How easy is that to remember?
I've previously talked about how important it is to choose your focus at SFI because there is just too much to do if you don't focus on one or two of the featured categories there.
If you haven't chosen your focus when you go to the Marketing Methods Shortcuts page, you'll see a message, "Sorry, you have to choose your focus first," before being taken to the Choose Your Focus page to do so. This is an automatic redirection, so I won't mention the URL of the page.
This is a powerful tool for beginning and intermediate affiliates, because all you have to do is remember and bookmark the Marketing Methods Shortcuts page to be able to quickly find some good marketing tips for your chosen focus.
If you haven't done so, I recommend that you go to the Marketing Methods Shortcuts page and review what you'll find there. Then, do at least one thing on that list every day to build your business and earn commissions with SFI Marketing Group.
Another thing you can do - at no cost to you - is to join us at the SFI Marketing Group Affiliates social networking site, where you can customize your profile page to promote your SFI business. You can post to your blog, join or start discussions in our forum, meet new friends, and become a better affiliate. It's a great place to start marketing your SFI focus and to learn more about earning larger commissions as an SFI Marketing Group affiliate.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:27:38 PM
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SFI has just introduced a new SFI explained in 30 seconds page.
This is a great addition to the site and makes it a bit easier to select your focus and do a better job of marketing the products and/or services within your focus category.
After going to this page, I changed my focus from NiceOffers.com to EyeEarn.com.
After making the change, I went back to the SFI explained in 30 seconds page and found that it was much simpler and now consists of only four steps. I believe this really makes it much easier for affiliates to follow through, especially for people who are new to SFI Marketing Group.
There were a number of reasons for making this decision.
Primarily, it looks like the company's focus is on EyeEarn.com, so there is momentum there.
Secondarily, while I like NiceOffers.com and think there is good long-term potential for merchants who advertise with NOC, that is not where the company is focused right now.
I have invested a lot of time, money, and effort in promoting NOC, but, until the user interface is improved and the search feature actually works, I'm going to be promoting it passively. I won't remove any links to the site, but I won't be actively promoting it until I see the improvement that has been promised for almost a year.
So, in the meantime, I'll be actively promoting EyeEarn.com and MaxMalls.com.
I recommend that all active SFI affiliates visit SFI explained in 30 seconds and follow through with the information and activities presented to you there.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:26:10 PM
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Do you own or manage a business in Murphy, NC, or anywhere else in the United States? Did you know that you can claim your free listing at MerchantCircle.com?
For example, here's the Merchant Circle directory page for Murphy NC 28906.
The folks at Merchant Circle have used publicly-available information and have added thousands of businesses to their directory. If you own a business that is already listed, you can claim your listing and start promoting your business there for free. Publish a newsletter, offer special offer coupons, write on your blog, meet other members, and do much more.
Even if all you do is add more to the information page about your business, it's worth the time to claim and update your listing there. Merchant Circle is already indexed and regularly visited by all the major search engine spiders, and you can easily lead them to your main website, blog, or newsletter, with an hour or so of work on updating your listing on Merchant Circle.
Of course, if you prefer, you can use it more and promote your business on another easy-to-use and effective website.
I just added a profile question for members of this community to link to your Merchant Circle page so it will show on your profile page here.
If you have any questions, comment on this posting and I'll help you sort it out.
When I have time, I'm going to compile all the experiments I've done over the last three years and create a mailing list where I can recommend valuable websites like Merchant Circle to you, and help you steer clear of other sites that offer no real value.
I'll announce it when it's ready.
What can we do to help you promote your business?
Act on your dream!
JD
8:24:42 PM
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Do you have an account at MySpace, Facebook, or any of the other major social networking sites?
Did you know you can start your own community at Ning.com for free?
If you have the talent and time, you might even consider setting up an online community for your hometown, like I did for Murphy, NC. You can see our growing community at Murphy, NC 28906 Community.
I started this site about six weeks ago and it is growing slowly, but steadily.
You can do the same thing for your community.
Meet new friends and help the business owners in your community spread the word about their products and services.
This type of community is needed by many places, particularly small towns, and work well with other sites, including Merchant Circle.
Act on your dream!
JD
8:21:49 PM
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Wednesday, January 2, 2008 |
In late December 2007, I created a new social networking site for Murphy NC 28906 on Ning.com.
If you live in, visit, or want to know more about Murphy, NC, come join us at the Murphy NC 28906 social networking site.
You can customize your profile, write a blog, discuss topics related to Murphy, NC in our forum, meet and get to know fellow residents, upload photos, and much more -- all for free!
Anyone living in, visiting, or wanting to know more about Murphy, NC is welcome. Come join us today.
2:48:14 PM
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Thursday, October 25, 2007 |
It's scary trying to build a successful online business when the great majority of websites do not succeed in attracting new visitors and making the sales you need for your business to grow.
Site Build It! offers the tools you need and a proven step-by-step process for building an online business that offers a much better probability of succeeding.
During the special offer, instead of paying $299 to subscribe to Site Build It! for a year, you can choose to pay $399 and get two subscriptions.
Keep one for yourself and give one to a friend, associate, or someone in your family.
(Note: even if you look at this posting after the Halloween special has expired, the above link will still take you to the SBI order page - and - if there is a current special, the image will inform you. How's that for keeping you informed of any special promotions for Site Build It?)
Give the gift of Site Build It! to someone who is newly retired and wants something new to do or to a college student for building an in-demand skill for the real world.
There are so many possibilities.
Take advantage of this special and it may help you change your world.
This Halloween Special Offer promotion for Site Build It! expires at midnight on October 31, 2007.
Act on your dream!
JD
6:01:03 AM
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Sunday, October 7, 2007 |
On Friday, in the 5 Pillar #291 newsletter, Ken Evoy announced the introduction of Snippet Build It! This is a tool that can be used by 5 Pillar affiliates to build links to over 60 landing pages for promoting Site Build It!
Many years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth and the rocks weren't quite hardened, Sitesell was selling some of the best ebooks ever published. Make Your Site Sell! was the Bible of online marketing that helped me start building my marketing business. Now, it's a free download and there is a lot of very valuable information in the 1,500 or so pages of this ebook. I still refer to it now and then.
In addition to outstanding ebooks, Ken wrote a number of courses that were delivered via email. I remember taking all of those courses as they were introduced and updated. I still have several of them in a 3-ring binder, and they are covered with notes and bright yellow highlights. Now, these courses are available as free downloadable PDF files. I still highly recommend my favorite, the Affiliate Masters Course, because it offers as much as some courses that cost around $100 and you can download it free. It was always free and still remains free.
Over time, to make it easier for Sitesell's 5 Pillar Affiliates to market these products, Ken introduced Page Build It! - a tool for building customized gateway pages. Around the same time, give or take, the Build It! tool was introduced to make it easier for affiliates to build web pages (or just snippets of code) that combined text and graphics. This was a cutting-edge marketing tool when it was introduced.
Now, I hope you'll excuse my memory, but a lot of water has gone under the bridge since these tools were first introduced, so I may not have all of this exactly right, but I believe the gist of it is accurate.
These tools for building pages and code snippets eventually lead to the first, less-than-impressive versions of Site Build It! But, Ken and the folks associated with Sitesell were not content with what SBI was and continued to improve it and add new features.
Now, several years later - a very long time in the online marketing world - Site Build It has become an incredibly effective tool for building online businesses. More tools are added all the time and older features are updated continually.
So, as I said, Ken announced yesterday that Snippet Build It! was available and I just now spent about a half-hour playing with it.
I am impressed!
What used to be the Build It! tool has been streamlined and greatly improved. Now, 5 Pillar affiliates can easily and quickly create links to over 60 different landing pages that tell the story of SBI and why it makes sense to use it rather than traditional webhosting.
It's easy to go to the page, select either text or image, select the desired landing page, and build a link.
If you select text, and a landing page, you can type the text you want in the link and see the link created as you type. It makes it simple to try several phrases to see which one you like, and then simply copy and paste the HTML code to your websites, blogs, and other places on the web. The text links in this article were created using Snippet Build It! as a test of using the system and it is easier than hand coding the links as I normally do.
Not only is it easier, the landing pages are grouped by their order in the buying cycle, and this is explained in an excellent article that was also released yesterday.
Why is that important?
I've gotten into a rut of referring prospects to just a handful of the many pages that are available. Now, by using Snippet Build It!, it will be much easier to choose just the right page to link to, depending upon the point I want to make in an article or advertisement.
This combination of being easy to use and providing a full list of the available landing pages (and this number is growing all the time) helps me provide the information you may need in order to make your final decision to buy, or not to buy, a subscription to the Site Build It! system - or to become one of our affiliates and make money promoting the best way to build an online business.
In addition to text links, Snippet Build It! makes it easy to build graphics links using some new banners, buttons, and logos.
For example, the following is a link to the Site Build It! main page, and was created in less than five seconds:
The new graphics use less text and more people. They use more right-brained emotion and less left-brained logic.
Now, I'm a left-brained logic kind of guy. I rarely make my decisions based on emotion. I spend a long time learning about something before I buy.
Most people, perhaps you, make more decisions based on emotion and then later justify it with logic.
Site Build It! is great for right-brained people. It is an exciting system that has helped many of its subscribers build successful online businesses, and quite a few have left the corporate world and are now living their dreams and working from home. Of course, not everyone is this successful, but SBI offers the tools and training to make it much more likely to succeed.
Many people have said they were exposed to SBI and didn't believe that it was as good as many of us believe it to be. So, they moved on and built websites using other services. After a year or two of butting their heads against the technical hurdles, they remembered Site Build It! With more experience, they were better able to judge the benefits SBI offered and some bought on the spur of the moment.
Rather than regretting the purchase, most of them regretted wasting a year or two trying to build their online businesses the hard way.
Yes, some people do not do well with SBI, and some people don't like what they can't do with SBI - so Sitesell offers a money-back guarantee. You can't lose by trying it.
Oops, I'm getting off track. Back to Snippet Build It!
The new graphic images are more colorful and appeal more to right-brained people, in my opinion. I think they will be a welcome addition to the marketing tools offered to 5 Pillar affiliates.
But, nothing is perfect.
A few minutes ago, I offered my opinion about the new marketing tool on the members-only SBI forum.
I think it is a huge improvement over the older tools and I welcome the ease-of-use and organized listing of the more than 60 landing pages we can promote.
On the other hand, I believe we need a wider variety of graphics that are specifically targeted to each landing page.
But, you know what? I don't doubt that Snippet Build It! will be improved over time and that we'll see more and better-targeted graphics to go with all the other marketing tools that Sitesell provides its 5 Pillar affiliates.
It's easy to recommend something when I know from first-hand experience how much it has helped me build my online marketing business. I'm working from home 100 miles from the nearest traffic jam and loving it.
I don't believe I would be where I am today if it weren't for what I've learned from Ken Evoy and all the many Site Build It! webmasters who help each other on the free, members-only SBI forums.
I'm a very satisfied SBI customer and have many plans for expanding my Act On Your Dream! website.
You know what?
At first I balked a bit at spending $300 a year to build a website, but after building dozens of sites and blogs over the last few years, and wasting more than what I would have spent to build several more SBI sites, the only one that has never given me any trouble at all is the one I am building using Site Build It! Over time, that becomes more and more important, because I'm getting tired of wasting my time and efforts on sites that don't work or get destroyed by hackers.
I'm one of those hard-headed people that just has to do it my way and I don't regret all the testing I've done. I've learned and I'll be turning more to SBI in the future, except for some of my sites that require perl and php programming to make them work.
I just renewed my subscription to SBI for another year, and a long time before my subscription expires I will have earned back my $300 investment several times over. It's not an expense, it's an investment.
Just as Site Build It! is the best tool I know of for building a successful online business, the marketing tools that Sitesell offers its 5 Pillar affiliates continue to get better over time, too.
I am very happy that I found Ken Evoy and Sitesell those many years ago. I hope you'll find it worth the investment of your time and money, too.
Act on your dream!
JD
4:39:43 PM
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Wednesday, October 3, 2007 |
If your business is located in one of the major metropolitan areas of the United States, you may want to try the new Shop For Ethernet service offered by Telarus and Cognigen.
Why is Ethernet the future?
Ethernet is a matter of plugging your network directly into a telecom provider's network and bypassing your local phone company. Having direct access to customers allows the broadband Internet provider to control the user's experience from end to end and reduce the cost.
These savings are passed on to you.
How does Shop For Ethernet work?
1. You enter your building address in the form at Shop For Ethernet.
2. You will see a map with your location along with markers of surrounding buildings who have been "lit" by the major telecom service providers.
3. If you would like to learn more, you can enter you contact information to receive a phone call from our staff of Ethernet service experts.
How is Shop For Ethernet valuable?
The GeoQuote Ethernet locator is valuable for people or business who are looking to:
* move into a building with existing carrier facilities.
* substantially upgrade their current broadband connections.
* establish a direct relationship with a provider without the local Bell in the equation.
* find a carrier who provides QoS (Quality of Service) guarantees. Since the carrier you select is in complete control of your connection, it is much easier for them to provide QoS.
* gather information that will be helpful in the planning stages of broadband deployment for a new real-estate development.
Is Shop For Ethernet free?
Yes. We do not require that you pay a fee to access this information - however, we do require that you purchase service through us if you decide to buy. We are compensated from the participating carriers when you order through us, which pays for the development and maintenance of this web site.
Can I order Ethernet service online?
Not yet. Even if our Ethernet lookup tool shows you are in an On-Net building, we must still go through a manual check on both pricing and service availability. However, know that our Ethernet Experts are here to assist you with every step of the process.
Shop For Ethernet is not for all businesses
Shop For Ethernet is for the largest businesses that need lots of bandwidth (100 to 1000 mbps) and are located in areas with buildings that are served by fast ethernet and gigabit ethernet providers.
It is not for all businesses and certainly not for residential broadband provisioning.
Other alternatives: Business T1, DS3, and faster
If fast ethernet isn't available in your location, or if you just don't need that much bandwidth, you can find what is available in your area. Shop For T1 offers real-time lookup of broadband providers offering T1, DS3, and other Internet connections. Our broadband experts have helped hundreds of companies provision better service connections and most of them have saved money in the process.
Small business and residential DSL, Cable Modem, and Satellite broadband
If you are looking for affordable broadband for your small business or home use, Shop For DSL offers real-time lookup of DSL, Cable Modem, and Satellite broadband providers in your location.
We can't find a broadband connection for everyone - I live in an area without DSL access, for instance - but the first-class providers we help you find are extending their networks every day.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:37:46 AM
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Use It Before You Lose It
Protect your valuables (and your identity) with Worldwide Lost & Found Return Stickers.
Give lost gadgets a greater chance of returning to you--without losing your privacy!
Register each stick-on tag's unique ID number with the online database and affix the small tags to your cell phone, laptop, MP3 player, digital camera, car keys, and other easily-carried items. That's all you have to do.
When someone finds your lost item, they can use the ID number to send you a message that they found it (forwarded to your email via the database) without ever knowing your personal information. The exchange is swift, secure and completely anonymous.
Several kits are available. The family kit includes 6 self-adhesive labels, 1 key tag and a free lifetime membership in the worldwide return system database.
Product Features
- Simple stick-on tags help keep your high-tech tools (and the data they contain) from being lost forever
- Make it easy for finders to do the right thing--without ever knowing your personal information
- Secure website keeps losers and finders anonymous; complete privacy is maintained
- Ideal protection for laptops, suitcases, cameras, cell phones, PDAs--any items that can get lost during travel
zReturn provides a low-cost way for someone to do the right thing and return your valuable items if they find them somewhere.
While nobody can guarantee that your lost item will be returned, your zReturn sticker will greatly improve the odds.
Learn more about zReturn.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:36:09 AM
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There are several ways you can promote your business on Merchant Circle: the contents of your basic listing, any items you post to your blog, coupons you create, photos you upload, and the bulletins posted on your directory listing page.
I just learned about Merchant Circle a few days ago and I've jumped all over using their system. You can see the profile I've created for Dilbeck Marketing on Merchant Circle. I've taken the time to use most of the tools and love their system.
(Your business is listed at Merchant Circle, right? If not, you can create a professional looking online listing for your business with our easy to use tools. Free! - MerchantCircle.com.)
There are probably other things you can do at Merchant Circle that I haven't discovered in the less-than-a-week that I've been a member of the site.
What you may, or may not, already know is that every time you blog, create a coupon, upload a photo, or post a newsletter, these things are added to a newsfeed for you, automatically.
At the top-right of your listing, you'll see "Subscribe to blog and coupon feed" followed by an orange chicklet that says "RSS/XML." This is a standard news feed that can be syndicated on many services and can be read by anyone using a news feed aggregator or a news reader. Even without sending emails you are broadcasting to the world - potentially.
I'll write a post later to explain more about making use of this. For now, suffice it to say that you can blog in one place and have it automatically republished in multiple places. This makes it very powerful for getting your news out.
If you don't know anything about RSS, let me suggest that you read What is RSS?.
One place you may want to syndicate your feed is at Squidoo.com.
To do this, you'll need to be a member.
Are you an expert on something? Build your own Squidoo lens and tell the world. It's free, and you may even earn some money from it.
Of course, you're an expert on your business, so join Squidoo and create a lens about it. It's worth the effort to learn how to build free lenses on Squidoo, and it's a perfect place to syndicate your Merchant Circle news feed.
For example, I've created a Squidoo lens about Merchant Circle and I've syndicated (re-published) my news feed and Merchant Circle's news feed on that lens.
Also, as part of that lens, I've created a list where you can add a link to the Merchant Center listing for your business. I will be syndicating that list on some of my other websites, so you'll get free advertising just by adding your link to the list. If you don't understand, just comment on this topic and I'll see what I can do to help you.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:34:55 AM
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So, once you get your listing set up on Merchant Circle, what else can you do to increase the likelihood of being found by a potential customer?
(Is your business listed at Merchant Circle? If not, you can create a professional looking online listing for your business with our easy to use tools. Free! - MerchantCircle.com.)
First, tell people how to find you here.
For example, my listing is located at:
http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/Dilbeck.Marketing.828-837-2901
I've used the custom URL feature to shorten this link to:
http://member.merchantcircle.com/dilbeckmarketing
This custom URL is much easier to pass along, put on business cards, and show in your advertising.
You can create your own custom URL by logging into your MerchantCircle account and then clicking Listing Configuration in the left column. When you click it, several other options will be displayed below that heading. Click Manage Links and then enter what you want in your Custom URL edit box.
You should be careful when you do this if you plan to advertise this URL. Make sure it is something that describes your business and is something you can live with for the next few years.
Remember, if you change this at any time, all advertising you previously did using your former custom URL will be wasted.
This is something you want to think about before implementing. Don't do something hastily that you'll regret later.
Also, while you are there, you can enter up to four links to other websites and blogs. Just enter the name and URL of the link and Save. If you have less than four saved links, it will automatically create a new empty listing. Add as many as you want - up to four - and save each time. In a couple of minutes, you'll have additional backlinks to your websites and blogs from a highly-ranked and high-traffic site.
After you enter what you want in your custom URL box and/or link boxes, don't forget to save it.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:33:38 AM
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First, if you're not listing your business on MerchantCircle, why not?
Create a professional looking online listing for your business with our easy to use tools. Free! - MerchantCircle.com
Truly, even if you are not a highly skilled web designer or webmaster, you can use the tools provided by MerchantCircle to promote your business and the products and services you offer. It won't take days, weeks, or months, either! You can get started in a few hours and can continue promoting your business as long as you want through posting to your blog, creating coupons, and publishing newsletters.
This is the kind of business promotion that every owner or manager of a small business should jump onto. It's free, effective, and easy to use. What's the downside?
Act on your dream!
JD
9:32:29 AM
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President Clinton recently announced MyCommitment.org and urges you to pledge to make a difference. Make a commitment to change something - big or small - and connect with others who share your vision for change.
I have been inspired by all the things President Clinton and Vice-President Gore have been doing to help our world after they left office and I am happy to pass along the word about the latest iniative of the Clinton Global Iniative, a project of the Clinton Foundation.
From the MyCommitment.org About page:
MyCommitment.org seeks to:
* Inspire Change. Provide information highlighting some of the world's biggest challenges, raise awareness and motivate others to take action.
* Build Community. Connect people with others who share the same vision for change and help them create networks to put plans into motion.
* Facilitate Action. Offer tools for visitors to make commitments to act and track their progress and results.
* Strengthen Engagement. Encourage citizen action around America and throughout the world.
MyCommitment.org builds on the success of the Clinton Global Initiative, a project of the Clinton Foundation, which has already inspired more than 600 commitments to action from some of the world's top thinkers and government and business leaders. Learn more about CGI member commitments.
Launched in 2007, MyCommitment.org reflects President Clinton's dedication to promoting citizen service. Throughout his life, President Clinton has met inspiring individuals and organizations taking innovative and unique approaches to solving some of the world's biggest challenges. These encounters also led him to write his second book, GIVING: How Each of Us Can Change the World, which was released in September 2007.
What will you do to help make the world a better place?
Act on your dream!
JD
9:29:43 AM
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As you know, the 2008 elections are heating up much earlier than normal and this should provide you a real opportunity for selling your designs through CafePress if you reach an audience who is politically motivated to campaign for their favorites.
CafePress recently announced the upcoming availability - on or around October 10, 2007 - of political yard signs and 3.5-inch buttons.
Because of the printing method used, the yard signs are printed on both sides with no second location surcharge.
The larger buttons have the same aspect ratio as the 2.25-inch buttons so you may be able to use that design on them.
Other changes noted are the switch from off-white paper to white paper in the perfect bound books.
You can read more information on the announcements page.
If you are not already a CafePress Shopkeeper, let me invite you to join for free and sell or buy your own custom designs. I get regular commission checks from CafePress and love selling my designs at John Dilbeck's Shirts, Mugs and Hats.
Even if you only want to make products for yourself and your friends, you can open your own store at CafePress.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:26:27 AM
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Brainstorm It! is a powerful niche brainstorming and keyword analyzer module that is only one of the tools included in your Site Build It! annual subscription.
Here is some information from a recent announcement from Ken Evoy (Who is Ken Evoy?):
"Yes. Brainstorm It! *V2* is now live!
Both vertical and lateral brainstorming have been greatly improved. Important new concepts like VALUE Demand and Real Supply provide stronger guidance for content development. "Pink messaging" helps get niche selection "just right."
And there are a whole bunch of other improvements. It all adds up to the best keyword brainstorming and research tool in the world...
We did a ton of research before launching V2. It's fair to say that it's the best keyword tool in the world. And it's included in the $299 price of SBI!, which, of course, delivers many more tools than Brainstorm It!..."
Site Build It! is a powerful system of integrated tools that help you find a niche, identify key concepts and keywords for writing about your chosen niche, build your website and promote it to the world, and interact efficiently with your visitors and customers.
Brainstorm It! is one of the tools that is used extensively in the step by step process for building your online business when you first start using Site Build It!. Later when you have established your online business, you can continue to use Brainstorm It! to help you find subjects you can write about to extend the valuable content you offer on your site.
I've used the new version over the last few days and have found lots of new ideas for topics to write about on my SBI site.
The fact that you can pay much more than the cost of an annual Site Build It! subscription just for a keyword analysis and brainstorming tool that doesn't work as well is just one more reason for using Site Build It! to build your online business.
I am a happy and very satisfied SBI customer and I welcome these improvements to the tools I use to continue to build my business.
Act on your dream!
JD
9:24:55 AM
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Sitesell, Inc. recently updated the results page for websites built by their customers using Site Build It!
From a recent announcement by Ken Evoy:
"Results.sitesell.com is becoming a mini-directory of some of the most well-done, informative sites in the world. But it sure is getting harder and harder to to update it.
Picking the top SBI! sites for results.sitesell.com can be a real challenge...
It's become so much work that we seem to have subconsciously put off an update for over a year! SBIers keep doing better and better. More and more of them are entering the Top 1% of all sites in the world.
So this year(!), we shook it up (requiring higher traffic numbers to "make the cut.") There are a lot of new faces, but some old ones still in the lineup, too!...
We eliminate sites that don't have the "real" traffic to justify their Alexa scores. We chop sites that are in categories that are overcrowded. We regretfully drop sites that have been in results.sitesell.com "long enough" (and bring in new ones). And we cut so many others for a variety of reasons. So what you see is just the tip of the top.
One way or another, all selected sites must be in the top 1% of all sites on the Internet. And you can imagine that's a very nice place to be...
Each time we do this, the new sites stagger me. There is no limit to the niches you can conquer.
I think the most important point, though, is that most of these people are non-techs, just "ordinary" people who have been empowered to do EXTRAordinary things online.
They get the kind of numbers that any professional webmaster would drool over. And the more congested the Web gets, the STRONGER SBIers become. "Regular people" are leaving professional non-SBI! Webmasters and SEOers in their dust.
That's the power of the Site Build It! process... ANYone can find real, verifiable, online success.
For YOU, our partner-in-sales, this is BIG NEWS!
Why!
Because this is all the proof you need to convince your visitors that SBI! is for real. Real traffic! Real success!"
A while back Ken Evoy gave us a challenge to find any other webhosting company (and SBI is much more than that) that can provide better results for their customers. I spent some time searching and never found a site that even came marginally close.
See for yourself, these are the results SBI webmasters are getting by building their online businesses using Site Build It!
Why waste your time and money using anything else?
Act on your dream!
JD
9:23:39 AM
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Ken Evoy and Sitesell recently announced the release of Content 2.0, an optional add-on module for Site Build It!
Here is a copy of their press release:
Montreal, Quebec, Canada (PRWEB) August 30 2007 -- Sitesell.com, the originator of Site Build It! and champion of using quality content to drive small business sites, today takes Web 2.0 to new heights. For the first time, small businesses can make it easy for their visitors to craft original Web pages | | | |
