Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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iAcquire Thinks They Are Way More Important Than They Really Are Posted: 31 Jul 2012 07:16 AM PDT So whether you were at MozCon or not, you probably heard that Michael King timed the big news perfectly that iAcquire has been blessed by Google and is now back in the index.  Ho hum.  Sure, they got banned by Google for buying links for clients, but so did a lot of other people.  And sure, it was noteworthy they were back in and it probably warrants an addition to some of those original news stories and blog posts that they got back in, and there were some people tweeting about it. But apparently Michael King didn’t feel enough SEOs were paying enough attention to him and blogging about their reinclusion (talk about poor reputation management much?).  Well news flash, the main reason is because it’s not really news.  But Michael and iAcquire obviously thought it was.  So what’s a now-Google-blessed company to do when no one cares that they paid their dues for getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar? Well, if you are going by the handle @ipullrank and with the very immature name MyCool King (seriously, that is the name he uses on Twitter, representing a company and speaking for them, when it really belongs on MySpace with glitter pony graphics), the obvious answer is start bitching that no one is covering the amazing news story that they cleaned their shit up and are back in the index.  Seriously. Cry me a river much?  Well I hate to break it to you, but getting into the index isn’t news, especially when you aren’t detailing HOW you got back in (like all those “How I got back into Google after Panda/Penguin”).  And when whining without tagging people didn’t work, he started complaining to @DannySullivan instead. I don’t know about you, but my opinion of iAcquire and Michael King has dropped significantly with this latest temper tantrum. Skitzzo also jumped in with the primary reason a lot of people were looking at this as “Hey, Iacquire wants you to write this great story about how we are awesome at SEO again!” Which is true, when you look at their blog post titled “Thanks Google – Glad to Be Home“.  Talk about spin doctors!  Be sure to read the circular comments made by Joe Griffin as well. Then Michael King decides to jump on Aaron Wall of SEOBook.com who called out that the fact Iacquire cleaned up and got back in the index as being a non-story.  I get that people have Michael’s back, judging from the mob mentality of SEO I wrote about earlier with certain members of the SEO community defending him vigorously (most of which were pretty silent about promoing his reinclusion into the index), but seriously, how does he think that attacking a well known industy celebrity will make things BETTER? Can anyone else just picture him stomping his feet and saying “But Moooommmmm, it’s not fair, how come I don’t get a story written up about my site getting back into Google the way J.C. Penney did?” Well for starters, Iacquire is no where near the same brand power as J.C. Penney, even in their dreams.  Then he has the nerve to call out industry people for not writing about it the instant he made his big announcement as SeoMoz – not to mention the fact he was hanging out with Moz’ers and going to the movies, yet he expected others to drop what they were doing on a Friday night to blog about it.  And the funny thing is that iAcquire had been back in the index for 2 days, but he chose to make a big deal out of it getting back in at MozCon instead, for the biggest bang – on a Friday afternoon (and evening for East coasters). Danny did do his article about it, and you can’t help but wonder if he amped up the degree of snarkiness a bit because of Michael’s self deserving attitude (although I probably would have written it with a little more SEOBitch to it, or the ever eloquent says-it-like-it-is @Skitzzo.  In other words, don’t piss off the people you want to say nice things about you, because you catch more flies with honey.  Although Danny does say he will do another post about Joe Griffin’s comments that they are still cleaning up some items (but please, someone find out what they are really trying to hide, no I mean clean up). After this latest spectacle, I am kind of hoping that iAcquire gets busted for something else.  But I assume that because Aaron Wall was one of his rant targets, that people are going to start going over things with a finetooth comb to call out Iacquire on more dirty SEO practices.  And I can’t imagine they will get away with a mere 2 month penalty next time around. #SEOBitch Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

@shanknapp Invicta Fighting Championships boss’s marketing indirectly lead to ShoeMoney traffic spike Posted: 30 Jul 2012 01:47 PM PDT I know 99% of my audience is not interested in Mixed Martial Arts like I am… but that is not really what this is about. Its another great lesson in psychology and… marketing psychology (albiet unintentional). Invicta Fighting Championships is really awesome if you are a mixed martial arts fan. It is the first 100% female fighting organization. First let me say I really hope they succeed… This is not about bashing them. I am a huge fan of everything mixed martial arts. I have sponsored over 20 fighters this year a long (5 on major cards) and I love to support the smaller local fighting organizations. Anyway I missed the live stream unfortunately last saturday. But I heard it was a great card. The card was streamed live on the internet and was 100% free. Awesome. Here is where it gets interesting. On my favorite MMA Forum, The Underground, every thread about the Invicta Fighting Championship had the same couple people spam it with how it got hundreds of thousands of views (which later turned out to be associated with the event (*shocker*) …. Now keep in mind this is their second ever show… I ask a couple of them if they have any source for these numbers… nadda… Then on the best MMA personalities out there – Bloody Elbow’s Stephanie Daniels – @CrooklynMMA, Gets an exclusive interview with Shannon Knapp in which she discloses that the first show did over 233K views and the 2nd one (last saturdays) was better. Now look I TOTALLY get the whole fake it till you make it. C’mon you all know me =P. She should have said close to 1 million =P (close is very subjective LOL). So anyway after being totally annoyed to death with the constant threads about how this show got hundreds of thousands of views I made one about how I will offer FREE video streaming using our media servers (10k value AT LEAST on 300k simultaneous users) if they would let me fully disclose the numbers. Response? – Well the one shill said I could not possible know whats involved with that. REALLY?!?!? UMM we use Akamai streaming server which can support easily 1 million users at once (not that we have ever used that). But whatever you all know my credentials so I am not even gonna digress into that. So this morning a Tweet from Shannon: At 10:40 this morning Sharon updated her twitter saying they will not be releasing their numbers… gee wonder why ? (sounds like someone might have gotten a talking to). Ok but here is the best part. After I made that thread on the underground… not mentioning anything about me other than my company would stream the event for free, I came under total character assassination. People posted how I was trying to get attention to my blog… (which is not linked anywhere… but they linked it). Then people started posting pictures of me with the Adsense Check from 2005… then people started making references to the 5 companies I have sold in the last 5 years for over 10m, how I have over 170k twitter followers, 20k facebook fans, and on and on… Now I know these people had bad intentions… And its fine if bashing me gives them a reason to live… But in the end I got a huge spike in traffic and exposure to a enourmous new audience. Our contact form was ABSOLUTELY flooded with people saying not to pay attention to the haters on the UG and how they were all retards and what not… Plus we had a record number (about 10x whats normal) signups to our newsletter. Now in the past I have got into arguments with a lot of high profile people… Mark Cuban probably being one of the biggest but this UG crowd is amazing to bait… I didn’t even mean to… I can see why SO many trolls roll there. Here are some of my favorite responses: Authority Figure: by the way, the whole point of this thread is index “shoe money” into Google. It’s not about the discussion, whether this guy actually owns servers, or streaming tech, or knows jackshit about hosting a stream for 277K worldwide viwers. Its about what all his threads are about – using high traffic websites like the UG to index his name deeper and deeper into Google, which is a key element of his online business model. OMFG that is loltastic. No really… my business model is to post on high traffic websites (without linking to my site) to get my name “shoe money” into Google. Holy balls these shills… RyannVonDoom: lol Good for him to make it.. he spends it on stupid shit. gets a lot of his cash from the first of the month, all the rappers on welfare. Seriously I can’t make this shit up… Even Dana White’s personal forum monkey (CindyO) joined in: you should be banned because it makes you a fake ass forum member and a waste of time for anyone interacting with you. Go be a ho on someone elses MMA message board Winning ? I am done posting in the thread… So Shannon – lesson here is if your going to make shit up and have shills post it everywhere don’t be annoying… or at least be believable. Also stick to your guns. Its so obvious when all of a sudden you retract… Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?

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Valuing Your Blog Like Online Real Estate - DailyBlogTips

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Valuing Your Blog Like Online Real Estate Posted: 31 Jul 2012 04:39 AM PDT I often say that in order to be a successful blogger you must treat your blog as a business. However, I also like to think of my blogs as online property assets and you should too. Most people would agree that real estate is one of the most solid assets in the world. Real property is a tangible asset that has the ability to make cash flow and increase in value. Your blog is also real property with the same attributes. In fact, there are a handful of entrepreneurs who successfully make money by buying and flipping online properties like blogs and domain names. Property investors usually fall into three categories; developers, renovators, or landlords. Bloggers can fall into similar categories, as some build websites from scratch and others buy seasoned domains or old blogs to renovate them. And some maintain blogs for their cash flow, like landlords. The typical exit strategy for developers and renovators is to flip (sell) the finished product for profit. Landlords handle the maintenance of their property and are rewarded with cash flow and appreciation. I’m a landlord who rents space on my blogs to direct advertisers and other forms of rent payers. Sometimes I must evict an ad because it isn’t paying and solicit new tenants. And I’m always in charge of maintenance because I know that all my improvements just add to the value of the asset. What gives your blog value? There are many technical factors that contribute to the value of a blog. The strength of the domain name, its age and Google PageRank, number of social media followers, overall traffic, the Site Authority score which is heavily based on backlinks, and appearance (curb appeal) are just some of the metrics used to determine what your blog is worth. Other factors may include how competitive or targeted your blog subjects are, how much quality content is on the blog, how dependent the blog is on your personality, and how much content development is needed to maintain and grow the site. But cash flow is by far the most important metric to determine the value of a blog. In a sense, cash flow is a reflection of all of those other factors. If your blog makes solid consistent cash flow, then there’s a good chance your technical stats are impressive. What are blogs worth? There are some online calculators that use different algorithms to determine the value of websites. They’re fun to play with but none of them are good enough to be called the industry standard. There are simply too many variables involved to reach an accurate value, but especially because there is no way for them to know correct earnings figures. When a landlord decides to sell his property, the standard price of the asset is usually 10X annual earnings. In other words, if the property makes $50,000 a year, then a fair market value for the investment property is $500,000 give or take depending on other variables. Websites and blogs aren’t usually worth that much because they’re a virtual asset as opposed to a tangible asset. However, a website that performs an important function or provides a virtual service of some kind to users may sell for many times more than earnings because of its potential. Blogs are a bit easier to figure out the value because they are mostly based on technical metrics. When the immensely popular blog, The Huffington Post, was sold for $315 million to AOL, it was almost exactly 10X the $30 million in revenue Huff Post made in the previous year. Incidentally, their history and brand recognition is stellar and their stats are off the charts. So, it’s safe to say the high target for a blog’s worth is about 10X annual earnings. Younger blogs will generally be worth less than seasoned blogs with good domain recognition. Yet, if the niche is clearly trending upward (think natural health), it may give newer blogs an additional edge in value. In general, however, the age of the blog will have a lot to do with its popularity and technical strength and, thus, its value. Ultimately, though, your blog’s value is determined by what a buyer will pay for it and what you’re willing to sell it for. How do you improve the value of your blog? Isn’t it obvious? You need to make more money! Since cash flow is basically a reflection of your technical statistics, you should work on building more traffic, more followers, and more backlinks. Start with a good blog strategy, or blueprint. Then create as much awesome content as possible and share it far and wide. Set aside time each day to engage in your social media networks to help grow your loyal followers. Along the way, learn the finer details of monetization and SEO for blogs. Test different ads to see which ones are performing the best with your readers, and adjust your blog to be as SEO friendly as possible. As a final tip, if your exit strategy is to sell your blog, do not make it too personal. A potential buyer may be turned off that the value rests more in your personality than the metrics. Whereas if your plan is to keep the blog forever, letting your audience get to know you will likely speed up the growth of your follower base. What to sell your blog for? As mentioned before, some people are flippers. They buy or build blogs for the purpose of reselling them. Typically, they’ll find a blog with a good Google PR and decent domain name that is undervalued, add some value to it, and then flip it for profit. A blog flipper may only be seeking to double or triple his investment in the short term which may or may not coincide with site earnings figures. Flippers tend to view a blog as an investment and do not get attached to a website, where a blog founder may place emotional value on a website. Personally, because I’m a landlord who covets cash flow, I would never sell a blog for less than 8X. Of course, I’m a developer who only blogs about my passions, so maybe I overvalue my creations. But imagine you have a blog making $24,000/year ($2000/mth) with only a few hours of maintenance required per week. Even if you think you’ve maxed out the potential of the blog, what would be the point in selling that blog for $120,000 (5X annual earnings)? You’re making 20% of that price every year from this blog. And with minimal effort (1-2 quality articles per week), that blog is likely to continue steadily growing. Purely speaking in terms of investment, it would nearly be impossible to invest the lump sum profits from the sale to make a 20% annual return. A price of 8X earnings ($192K using the example above) drops the return to 12.5%, which is still a solid investment for a passive buyer and a price worth selling a cash flow asset, particularly if you have other online assets to tend to. Certainly a blog flipper could use the proceeds from the sale to buy and flip many more websites and make a much higher return. So every single situation will be different and personal preferences will always carry some weight in the valuation process as well. In conclusion, thinking of your blog as an asset allows you to envision a long-term plan for your blog. It will help you stay focused and motivated while doing the tedious tasks necessary for improving your blog. And know that each little improvement you make and each task that you do contributes to the overall value of your asset. And before you know it, you’ll have a nice property to rent out or sell. J.P. Hicks is an info-activist and pro blogger, editor of BlogTips.com and author of The Bloggers Secret. Original Post: Valuing Your Blog Like Online Real Estate

Become A Blogger Course is Re-Launching Today Posted: 30 Jul 2012 11:29 AM PDT As some of you will remember, a couple of years ago my buddy Yaro Starak launched a video course that aimed to give you all the information you needed to start a popular and profitable blog. The program was called “Become A Blogger”, and it was very successful from what Yaro told me. Yaro will be re-launching that video course next week, and today he’s starting the promotional campaign. Even if you are not interested in purchasing the course itself I think you should take a look at the launch campaign because they will be offering four videos with a lot of useful content, and you don’t need to pay a dime to watch those. You just need to sign-up to the email list to get access to the videos. Here’s the link to the official page where you can sign-up: Become A Blogger Free Video Series. Here are the topics covered in the first video: The three deadly mistakes new bloggers make, and how you can avoid them A proven and tested system for long term blogging success A practical step-by-step plan for getting started with your very own blog today As I said, the content of the videos should be pretty interesting, so check it out. Original Post: Become A Blogger Course is Re-Launching Today

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“10 Fresh Tips for Finding Time to Blog” plus 1 more

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10 Fresh Tips for Finding Time to Blog Posted: 30 Jul 2012 01:04 PM PDT This guest post is by Brian Milne of The Corporate Mentality. Work. School. Friends. Family … and kids. We've all got a lot going on in our lives, and I haven't even mentioned our online worlds yet. Twitter. Facebook. Google Plus. LinkedIn … and Pinterest. The list is always growing, and as our offline lives get busier and online worlds more cluttered, our blogs are getting more and more neglected. And while it's great spending time learning everything the above social sites have to offer, let's not forget the importance of our own blogs, and the significance of providing readers with quality content. After all, without quality posts, you'll be slow to take your blog to the next level and will have little original content to push out to your followers. And, in the end, isn't that what it's all about? Generating exposure, traffic, leads and potential customers or partners? That said, here are ten ways I've been able to carve out more blogging time of late—despite running dozens of sites and having our third child in five years this past April. (And if these ten tips aren't enough, ProBlogger's timely Blog Wise ebook will certainly do the trick!) 1. Get up early There's nothing better than starting off the day with something you really enjoy, whether it's a nice jog around the park, a bike ride through town, or a trip to the gym. And if you're someone who truly enjoys writing, you'll appreciate making blogging part of your morning routine. Just be sure to do so before you get online and open your inbox. Your writing is more impactful when ideas are fresh in your head—and you aren't bogged down by your list of tasks for the day. 2. Write at lunch If you can't get up early enough to write before work, get away from it all at lunch. Take the iPad or laptop with you to the park, fire it up on a shady bench next to your brown bag and write to your heart's content. 3. Go offline No wireless connection at your local lunch getaway? No worries. Disconnecting makes for a distraction-free hour of writing. In fact, while you're at it, turn off your phone, Twitter alerts, Facebook messages, IM and email inbox—anything that's going to keep you from getting your thoughts down. If you get the inspiration to Tweet, take that clever 140-characters and expand on it in a blog post. Remember, it's better to own your content than get owned by Twitter or Facebook. Make those platforms work for you, not the other way around. 4. Stay up late All the hustlers do it. And don't just stay up late and use the “free time” to soak up more David Letterman. Kill your TV and breathe new life into your blog. As Gary Vaynerchuk writes in Crush It, "If you already have a full-time job, you can get a lot done between 7 p.m. and 2 a.m. (9 p.m. to 3 a.m. if you've got kids), so learn to love working during those predawn hours. I promise it won't be hard if you're doing what you love more than anything else." 5. Use an app for that Don't have time to post, but have a second to snap a photo? Start photo blogging from your mobile device. Mobile content is becoming a lot more acceptable in today's blogosphere, whether it's an inspirational image or an event photo that's related to your site, snap it, and post it in less than a minute. You can use the WordPress app, which allows you to post images, text and even HTML straight from your mobile device. Or set up your blog to allow for email publishing, whether it's straight from your mobile email client or through a third-party platform such as Flickr—which can auto post images to the site and your blog via email. 6. Use shortcuts Take advantage of additional WordPress features that streamline posting. For example, did you know you can embed a YouTube video in the body of your WordPress blog by simply pasting in the URL of the video? In the latest version of WordPress, 3.4, you can do the same thing with Tweets, embedding an individual Tweet just by pasting the link to the Tweet in the body of your blog post. Knowing shortcuts and quick tips like this can cut down your "time to publish" considerably. 7. Accept guest posts I know, it's your blog, and it's tough to allow others to post on the site you've poured your blood, sweat and tears into. But there comes a time—when either you get too busy or your blog gets too popular—when you have to take a step back and ask for help. It's a good problem to have if you think about it, because your site has likely scaled to the point where it's bigger than you ever would have imagined. To keep feeding the content machine, reach out to some folks you trust for regular contributions. Adding different perspectives to your site often brings in new readers, and also encourages those you trust to help build and promote your brand when they post. 8. Hire some help If you're not sure where to turn in terms of guest contributors, post an ad on a related freelance board for part-time writers. Be sure to ask candidates to include a résumé and links to from three to five related blog posts. That way you can see exactly what types of posts you could expect when outsourcing. You never know, you might just find someone who writes as well or—gulp—better than you do! 9. Post different types of content Have you ever created a video for your audience? How about a podcast? Sometimes turning on a microphone or camera can be easier than sitting down to craft a solid 600-word blog post. As noted earlier, photo blogging or producing short, informative videos or podcasts can be a quick way to whip up new content and complement your writing. And in some cases, audiences respond better to non-traditional content types. New mediums also allow your audience to digest your content on the go, which is becoming increasingly important in this mobile world we live in. 10. Put it down on paper Maybe it's the former journalist in me, but I still use an old-fashioned reporter's notepad to jot down quick notes and sketch out illustrations when I'm not in front of a computer (during my commute, for example). It helps me organize and prioritize my thoughts, and keeps me from cursing iPhone autocorrect fails—which, when funny enough, lead me to waste another 15 minutes ridiculing those blunders with all of you on Twitter. And that, my fellow bloggers, would be a waste of everyone's time. Brian Milne is founder of the BlogHyped Network of sites, where bloggers vote up posts and receive valuable links and exposure for their blog. Follow @BMilneSLO on Twitter to share your blog productivity tips and to be featured in his upcoming BlogHyped book on blogging. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 10 Fresh Tips for Finding Time to Blog

How to Blog to Build Your Coaching Business Posted: 30 Jul 2012 07:06 AM PDT This guest post is by Amy Harrison of Harrisonamy.com. This article is part of a three-part series on how your blog can feed different types of business models. In the previous article we looked at how blogging can attract the attention of clients who want to hire you directly, for the right price. In this article we'll be focusing on how your blog can feed a coaching business model. Potential coaching clients are looking for two main elements when they hire you: confidence that you can do what you say you do the idea that they will enjoy working with you. Whether you're offering life coaching, technology training, or marketing consultancy, your client wants to feel like your service is worth their investment, and that you will be easy to work with. And through your blog you can provide evidence of both. Build confidence in your expertise We looked previously at how writing on the subject of your specialty showcases your expertise. This also works well for coaching models because you are letting your audience do a little "try before they buy." Not only are they getting to know you and your personality, but they're getting to sample what they can achieve if they worked with you one on one. One of the most obvious ways to encourage your reader to move from visiting the blog to hiring you is by offering lessons they can use to see some results. There are plenty of blogs regurgitating generic theory, but if you can break down your blog post into specific lessons (with examples drawn from real coaching clients), you prove that you can do what you say, and build credibility by referencing people who have seen results through your work. Obviously you won't be able to name all your clients, due to confidentiality, but you can still use specific examples without revealing identities. For example, if you’re a marketing coach, which of these pieces of copy do you think are more likely to build your credibility? "To succeed in social media marketing you've got to get your business to stand out and be noticed. If you look different than your competitors, more people will visit your page and you can increase likes to your business…" Or this: Last week as part of a client's Facebook marketing campaign we made a couple of tweaks to their advert and managed to increase clickthroughs by 20%, get 5% more phone enquiries, and generate two sales within the week. Here's an example of the processes we used to analyse what to change… What you're doing with this style of blogging is proving you know what you're talking about, and making readers more familiar with the way you work with clients (as well as building social proof!) Remind them you're a coach with a blog, not a blogger who sometimes coaches… If you blog regularly, you might find yourself attracting people who were first looking for the kind of coaching that you offered, but then turned into a blog reader, got comfortable and forgot all about the coaching. This can happen if people get so comfortable with a presence in their lives that they forget the reason they were there in the first place. (I'm getting married this year and in no way is that an analogy to how I think married life will be—honest!) Sometimes you need to remind your readers that you can also work with them one on one if they need a little extra support. Otherwise your coaching business is taking a backseat to the blog, and you might find yourself with a large audience, being very popular, and getting all the retweets you can handle, but no sales. If you offer purely free content, people may go to another coach simply because they forget about your services. You don't want that to happen. Every now and then, whether on your blog, or on your newsletter, remind your audience about the services you offer—but position that message in a way that's relevant to them and their problems. For example, if you've done a rocking blog post on the power of NLP and increasing confidence for presentations, let people know that you offer a specific "confidence for presentations course" that can be done intensively over two days by anyone with an upcoming speech, pitch, or presentation to make. The key is to make it relevant to the topic at hand, and not simply a plug to sell your services. Tip: Don't be afraid of giving away "too much" in your content I've worked with coaches who have been afraid of giving away too much about how they work. They feel that if they explain their processes online, people will just use the advice and not need a coach. However, reading an article and working one on one with a coach is not the same. In my experience, the more content you publish on your expertise, the more people know, like, and trust you, and want to work with you directly. Remember, someone who wants you to coach them doesn't just want your knowledge of theory—they want access to you. They want the accountability that comes with having a coach. They want to be able to ask you questions directly rather than interpret a blog post. They want specific tailored answers that they can apply to their life or their business. They want you. And your blog is a way of attracting them to you. What about you? Do you attract coaching clients through your blog? Do you find it's easier to sign up a new client if they've been a blog reader previously? Let me know in the comments! And look out tomorrow for the final post in this series, where we’ll look at blogging to support a product business. Amy Harrison is a copywriter and content marketer for Personality Entrepreneurs wanting to connect and sell authentically to their audience. You can now download her free report on how to write sales copy when personality is part of your business at Harrisonamy.com. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How to Blog to Build Your Coaching Business

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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• FTCAdLaw Alert: Settle or Fight the FTC: A ‘Hobbesian’ Choice
• The @adage banner study is great for idiots
• City Segway Tours Chicago Segway Tour Review

FTCAdLaw Alert: Settle or Fight the FTC: A ‘Hobbesian’ Choice Posted: 30 Jul 2012 12:17 PM PDT Imagine you're a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) target presented with a no-compromise settlement demand for all your assets and warned by a top FTC official that unless you take it, "You'll be working for me all your life." You have someone else to pay for your defense (insurance), top-tier legal representation and a chance to win. If you gamble and lose, on the other hand, you could face a multi-million dollar judgment. What would you do? "Cave," or fight? Charles Gugliuzza, former president of Commerce Planet, which sold a product that helped people make money on eBay, doesn't have to imagine it. Unlike the other individual defendants (disclosure: represented by the author) who settled, Gugliuzza chose to take a stand. How did his gamble turn out? Last month, in FTC v. Commerce Planet Inc., he was found liable for unfair and deceptive negative option marketing and ordered to pay consumer redress of $18.2 million. This follows a $30 million judgment that was entered jointly and severally against individual defendants in another Internet negative option case, FTC v. Grant Connect. In both cases, each involving a "free trial," the court found that the negative option was not "clearly and conspicuously" disclosed, leaving the deceptive "net impression" that the consumer could get the product for free. In Commerce Planet, for example, the judge compared the highlighted claims for the "free" offer: GET YOUR KIT NOW FOR FREE" with the word "FREE" in red, at the top of the page WHERE do we ship your FREE KIT?" with "FREE KIT" in red “GET YOUR ONLINE AUCTION STARTER KIT TODAY FOR FREE!" with the "$19.95" price crossed out and next to it, "NOW FREE! (limited time offer)!" with "FREE" again in red with the lack of attention given the negative option. It was disclosed only in hyperlinked terms and conditions and "below the fold," at the "very bottom" of the order page, in "fine print" that was "difficult to read" because it was the smallest text size and blended into the background. Later versions of the disclosure, while more readable, remained inadequate because they were still in the smallest text and at the bottom of the page, not in "close proximity" to the order button. Even had the disclosure been "above the fold," the court said it still would have been deficient since its "visibility is only slightly improved given its overall placement and presentation." Prior to Grant Connect and Commerce Planet, the federal "Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act" (known as "Rockefeller"), enacted in December 2010, took care of the so-called "below the fold" problem with negative option placements by requiring that the terms be disclosed "before obtaining the consumer's billing information" – that is, ahead of the credit card fields. Like the judge in Commerce Planet, however, Rockefeller requires that the disclosure be made not only above the fold, but that it be "clear" as well as "conspicuous." To quote the FTC, it must be "unavoidable." While Grant Connect and Commerce Planet don't necessarily break new ground in legal requirements for online negative option disclosure, they lend a powerful punch to the FTC's current "scorched earth" settlement approach. As humiliating and painful as it may be to have to accede to FTC "all asset" demands that can be punitive, not doing so – and rolling the dice in court, even where you have a chance to win – can be far more ruinous still. Until there is a change in FTC settlement policy, this is the "Hobbesian" choice any FTC target capable of defending himself in court is going to have to make. Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?

The @adage banner study is great for idiots Posted: 30 Jul 2012 06:08 AM PDT Last week Adage did a post that reported a banner that was blank got a 70% increase in click through rate then other banners. This has nubs all over the net in a frenzy on this “game changing” study. Wow… shocker… As I showed in my facebook advertising blank ads and even ads written in Korean out performed targeted offered ads. Ok lets get away from this amazing discovery though… Lets talk ROI. Not a big surprise its not mentioned at all in the article. Because its pure shit! I can name 8000 ways to get traffic that wont make you any money. Dont get me wrong though… Cool story for those who are not interested in things… like… getting a positive return on your investment.

City Segway Tours Chicago Segway Tour Review Posted: 29 Jul 2012 06:45 PM PDT Last weekend, after spending 5 days in NYC at Leadscon, I met my wife in Chicago where we took a segway tour of the city. I gotta be honest… I was not real excited about it but my wife has always wanted to do it. I am always that kind of “reluctant adventurer” but I always have a good time and am glad I did it. I gotta say this was a blast. Our guide Gus was awesome and super knowledgeable about the city. Not to mention hilarious. I almost biffed it twice just cause I was doing jackass things like jumping curbs and going off road… I can only play by the rules so long =( Anyway if your in Chicago and looking for something really fun to do I recommend booking a 2 hour (6pm) tour. And ask for Gus! There site is here: http://citysegwaytours.com/chicago/ Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

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