Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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ALG Google AdSense Employee Claims AdSense Steals From Publishers Posted: 29 Apr 2014 05:52 PM PDT A person has come forward claiming to be a former AdSense Google’r and makes some pretty nutty claims…   Claiming that Google is downright stealing from its publishers…   Grab your popcorn! Begin open letter: I am a former Google employee and I am writing this to leak information to the public of what I witnessed and took part in while being an employee. My position was to deal with AdSense accounts, more specifically the accounts of publishers (not advertisers). I was employed at Google for a period of several years in this capacity. Having signed many documents such as NDA’s and non-competes, there are many repercussions for me, especially in the form of legal retribution from Google. I have carefully planned this leak to coincide with certain factors in Google such as waiting for the appropriate employee turn around so that my identity could not be discovered. To sum it up for everyone, I took part in what I (and many others) would consider theft of money from the publishers by Google, and from direct orders of management. There were many AdSense employees involved, and it spanned many years, and I hear it still is happening today except on a much wider scale. No one on the outside knows it, if they did, the FBI and possibly IRS would immediately launch an investigation, because what they are doing is so inherently illegal and they are flying completely under the radar. It began in 2009. Everything was perfectly fine prior to 2009, and in fact it couldn't be more perfect from an AdSense employees perspective, but something changed. Google Bans and Ban Criteria Before December 2012: In the first quarter of 2009 there was a “sit-down” from the AdSense division higher ups to talk about new emerging issues and the role we (the employees in the AdSense division needed to play. It was a very long meeting, and it was very detailed and intense. What it boiled down to was that Google had suffered some very serious losses in the financial department several months earlier. They kept saying how we “needed to tighten the belts” and they didn't want it to come from Google employees pockets. So they were going to (in their words) “carry out extreme quality control on AdSense publishers”. When one of my fellow co-workers asked what they meant by that. Their response was that AdSense itself hands out too many checks each month to publishers, and that the checks were too large and that needed to end right away. Many of the employees were not pleased about this (like myself). But they were successful in scaring the rest into thinking it would be their jobs and their money that would be on the line if they didn't participate. The meeting left many confused as to how this was going to happen. What did they mean by extreme quality control? A few other smaller meetings occur with certain key people in the AdSense division that furthered the idea and procedure they planned on implementing. There were lots of rumors and quiet talking amongst the employees, there was lots of speculations, some came true and some didn't. But the word was that they were planning to cut off a large portion of publisher's payments. After that point there was a running gag amongst fellow co-workers where we would walk by each other and whisper “Don’t be evil, pft!” and roll our eyes. What happened afterwards became much worse. Their “quality control” came into full effect. Managers pushed for wide scale account bans, and the first big batch of bans happened in March of 2009. The main reason, the publishers made too much money. But something quite devious happened. We were told to begin banning accounts that were close to their payout period (which is why account bans never occur immediately after a payout). The purpose was to get that money owed to publishers back to Google AdSense, while having already served up the ads to the public. This way the advertiser's couldn't claim we did not do our part in delivering their ads and ask for money back. So in a sense, we had thousands upon thousands of publishers deliver ads we knew they were never going to get paid for. Google reaped both sides of the coin, got money from the advertisers, used the publishers, and didn't have to pay them a single penny. We were told to go and look into the publishers accounts, and if any publisher had accumulated earnings exceeding $5000 and was near a payout or in the process of a payout, we were to ban the account right away and reverse the earnings back. They kept saying it was needed for the company, and that most of these publishers were ripping Google off anyways, and that their gravy train needed to end. Many employees were not happy about this. A few resigned over it. I did not. I stayed because I had a family to support, and secondly I wanted to see how far they would go. From 2009 to 2012 there were many more big batches of bans. The biggest of all the banning sessions occurred in April of 2012. The AdSense division had enormous pressure from the company to make up for financial losses, and for Google’s lack of reaching certain internal financial goals for the quarter prior. So the push was on. The employees felt really uneasy about the whole thing, but we were threatened with job losses if we didn't enforce the company’s wishes. Those who voiced concerned or issue were basically ridiculed with “not having the company’s best interest in mind” and not being “team players”. Morale in the division was at an all-time low. The mood of the whole place changed quite rapidly. It no longer was a fun place to work. The bans of April 2012 came fast and furious. Absolutely none of them were investigated, nor were they justified in any way. We were told to get rid of as many of the accounts with the largest checks/payouts/earnings waiting to happen. No reason, just do it, and don't question it. It was heart wrenching seeing all that money people had earned all get stolen from them. And that's what I saw it as, it was a robbery of the AdSense publishers. Many launched appeals, complaints, but it was futile because absolutely no one actually took the time to review the appeals or complaints. Most were simply erased without even being opened, the rest were deposited into the database, never to be touched again. Several publishers launched legal actions which were settled, but Google had come up with a new policy to deal with situations such as that because it was perceived as a serious problem to be avoided. So they came up with a new policy. After December 2012: The New Policy The new policy; “shelter the possible problem makers, and fuck the rest” (those words were actually said by a Google AdSense exec) when he spoke about the new procedure and policy for “Account Quality Control”. The new policy was officially called AdSense Quality Control Color Codes (commonly called AQ3C by employees). What it basically was a categorization of publisher accounts. Those publisher's that could do the most damage by having their account banned were placed in a VIP group that was to be left alone. The rest of the publishers would be placed into other groupings accordingly. The new AQ3C also implemented “quality control” quotas for the account auditors, so if you didn't meet the “quality control” target (aka account bans) you would be called in for a performance review. There were four “groups” publishers could fall into if they reached certain milestones. They were: Red Group: Urgent Attention Required Any AdSense account that reaches the $10,000/month mark is immediately flagged (unless they are part of the Green Group). In the beginning there were many in this category, and most were seen as problematic and were seen as abusing the system by Google. So every effort was taken to bring their numbers down. They are placed in what employees termed “The Eagle Eye”, where the “AdSense Eagle Eye Team” would actively and constantly audit their accounts and look for any absolute reason for a ban. Even if the reason was far-fetched, or unsubstantiated, and unprovable, the ban would occur. The “Eagle Eye Team” referred to a group of internal account auditors whose main role was to constantly monitor publisher's accounts and sites. A reason has to be internally attached to the account ban. The problem was that notifying the publisher for the reason is not a requirement, even if the publisher asks. The exception: The exact reason must be provided if a legal representative contacts Google on behalf of the account holder. But again, if a ban is to occur, it must occur as close to a payout period as possible with the most amount of money accrued/earned. Yellow Group: Serious Attention Required Any AdSense account that reaches the $5,000/month mark is flagged for review (unless they are part of the Green Group). All of the publisher's site(s)/account will be placed in queue for an audit. Most of the time the queue is quite full so most are delayed their audit in a timely fashion. The second highest amount of bans occur at this level. A reason has to be internally attached to the account ban. Notifiying the publisher for the reason is not a requirement, even if the publisher asks. The exception: The exact reason must be provided if a legal representative contacts Google on behalf of the account holder. But again, if a ban is to occur, it must occur as close to a payout period as possible with the most amount of money accrued/earned. Blue Group: Moderate Attention Required Any AdSense account that reaches the $1,000/month mark is flagged for possible review (unless they are part of the Green Group). Only the main site and account will be place in queue for what is called a quick audit. Most bans that occur happen at this level. Main reason is that a reason doesn't have to be attached to the ban, so the employees use these bans to fill their monthly quotas. So many are simply a random pick and click. A reason does not have to be internally attached to the account ban. Notifying the publisher for the reason is not a requirement, even if the publisher asks. But again, if a ban is to occur, it must occur as close to a payout period as possible with the most amount of money accrued. Green Group: VIP Status (what employees refer to as the “untouchables”) Any AdSense account associated with an incorporated entity or individual that can inflict serious damage onto Google by negative media information, rallying large amounts of anti-AdSense support, or cause mass loss of AdSense publisher support. Google employees wanting to use AdSense on their websites were automatically placed in the Green group. So the database contained many Google insiders and their family members. If you work or worked for Google and were placed in the category, you stayed in it, even if you left Google. So it included many former employees. Employees simply had to submit a form with site specific details and their account info. Sites in the Green Group were basically given “carte blanche” to do anything they wanted, even if they flagrantly went against the AdSense TOS and Policies. That is why you will encounter sites with AdSense, but yet have and do things completely against AdSense rules. Extra care is taken not to interrupt or disrupt these accounts. If an employee makes a mistake with a Green Level account they can lose their job. Since it seen as very grievous mistake. New Policy 2012 Part 2: Internal changes to the policy were constant. They wanted to make it more efficient and streamlined. They saw its current process as having too much human involvement and oversight. They wanted it more automated and less involved. So the other part of the new policy change was to incorporate other Google services into assisting the “quality control” program. What they came up with will anger many users when they find out. It involved skewing data in Google Analytics. They decided it was a good idea to alter the statistical data shown for websites. It first began with just altering data reports for Analytics account holders that also had an AdSense account, but they ran into too many issues and decided it would be simpler just to skew the report data across the board to remain consistent and implement features globally. So what this means is that the statistical data for a website using Google Analytics is not even close to being accurate. The numbers are incredibly deflated. The reasoning behind their decision is that if an individual links their AdSense account and their Analytics account, the Analytics account can be used to deflate the earnings automatically without any human intervention. They discovered that if an individual had an AdSense account then they were also likely to use Google Analytics. So Google used it to their advantage. This led to many publishers to actively display ads, without earning any money at all (even to this day). Even if their actual website traffic was high, and had high click-throughs the data would be automatically skewed in favor of Google, and at a total loss of publishers. This successfully made it almost impossible for anyone to earn amounts even remotely close what individuals with similar sites were earning prior to 2012, and most definitely nowhere near pre-2009 earnings. Other policy changes also included how to deal with appeals, which still to this day, the large majority are completely ignored, and why you will rarely get an actual answer as to why your account was banned and absolutely no way to resolve it. The BIG Problem (which Google is aware of) There is an enormous problem that existed for a long time in Google’s AdSense accounts. Many of the upper management are aware of this problem but do not want to acknowledge or attempt to come up with a solution to the problem. It is regarding false clicks on ads. Many accounts get banned for “invalid clicks” on ads. In the past this was caused by a publisher trying to self inflate click-throughs by clicking on the ads featured on their website. The servers automatically detect self-clicking with comparison to IP addresses and other such information, and the persons account would get banned for invalid clicking. But there was something forming under the surface. A competitor or malicious person would actively go to their competitor's website(s) or pick a random website running AdSense and begin multiple-clicking and overclicking ads, which they would do over and over again. Of course this would trigger an invalid clicking related ban, mainly because it could not be proven if the publisher was actually behind the clicking. This was internally referred to as “Click-Bombing”. Many innocent publishers would get caught up in bans for invalid clicks which they were not involved in and were never told about. This issue has been in the awareness of Google for a very long time but nothing was done to rectify the issue and probably never will be. Thus if someone wants to ruin a Google AdSense publishers account, all you would have to do is go to their website, and start click-bombing their Google Ads over and over again, it will lead the servers to detect invalid clicks and poof, they get banned. The publisher would be completely innocent and unaware of the occurrence but be blamed for it anyways. Their BIG Fear The biggest fear that Google has about these AdSense procedures and policies is that it will be publicly discovered by their former publishers who were banned, and that those publishers unite together and launch an class-action lawsuit. They also fear those whose primary monthly earnings are from AdSense, because in many countries if a person claims the monthly amount to their tax agency and they state the monthly amount and that they are earning money from Google on a monthly basis, in certain nations technically Google can be seen as an employer. Thus, an employer who withholds payment of earnings, can be heavily fined by government bodies dealing with labor and employment. And if these government bodies dealing with labor and employment decide to go after Google, then it would get very ugly, very quickly ….. that is on top of a class-action lawsuit. Trying to increase your Google rank that is like no other?

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How to Write Your Last Blog Post (and Why Blogs Shut Down) [Guest Post] - DailyBlogTips

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How to Write Your Last Blog Post (and Why Blogs Shut Down) [Guest Post] Posted: 29 Apr 2014 09:25 AM PDT This is a guest post from Karol K. What?! How to write your last blog post? You've probably read plenty about writing your first blog post or your first guest post, but not that much on writing your last one. There are hundreds of new blogs being launched every day … and an almost equal number of blogs being shut down as well. This is just the nature of blogging. There are many reasons why you might want to shut down your blog, and only a handful of them equal failure. We’ll go through them briefly, and then we’ll focus on what would make a great last post for a blog that is no longer going to be continued. Why Bloggers Shut Blogs Down #1: Blog Relaunch Under a New Brand A once very popular blog, Think Traffic, is no longer with us. Some of its content – the top posts with the most impact – have been re-purposed for a new creation – the Sparkline blog – but the main blog is, by all means, nonexistent. This was a simple relaunch to strengthen the new primary product of Corbett Barr's – Fizzle. Although I have not much insider knowledge here, as far as I can tell, nothing negative caused the move. #2: A New Business Model One of the more popular career shifts for bloggers is freelancing. You might well enjoy writing for someone else’s blog on a freelance basis just as much (or even more!) than having your own blog. Since many bloggers struggle to monetize their blogs, taking more and more freelance work is a very attractive concept. Some “A list” bloggers do this too. For example, in an interview at the Bidsketch blog, Kristi Hines of Kikolani reveals that most of her work time is devoted to freelancing for clients. She still posts on Kikolani, but usually only once or twice a month. #3: A Change of Direction Another reason for waving your blog goodbye is taking an entirely different direction with your offering. This happens a lot with company blogs, and there’s no reason to be hush hush about it. For example, if you go to wibiya.conduit.com – which was one of the more popular marketing blogs by Conduit – you can see that the only thing that's left is a cool graphic celebrating their former blog. The blog itself, however, not only doesn't exist anymore under the old brand, but from the looks of things, the content hasn't been repurposed anywhere (like with Think Traffic / Sparkline). This is an example of a company taking an entirely different direction with their content marketing and blogging efforts. #4: The Blog Isn't Getting Results Of course, sometimes a blog gets shut down because the results it brings are not that great. Hopefully you're not in this situation … and to prevent it from happening, make sure to check this list of 33 ways to instant blogging failure. Now, let's get back to your last post. Of course, you can simply leave your blog like it is now – abandon it, like panda moms sometimes abandon their cubs – but that's not a great solution. It could confuse or even worry your readers (they might think something terrible's happened to you), and it doesn't help you pave the way for future projects. Say What’s Going On This is the most intuitive thing to do. Essentially, people love stories, so sharing your own is a good idea. Tell your supportive readers what has led you to shutting down the blog. Get as deep into this (or not) as you want. Make it comfortable for you. And even more importantly, make it comfortable to read. The best idea would be to start with a strong headline that indicates what's happening. There are many possibilities, for instance: Thank You, Goodbye! My Last Blog Post It’s Been a Hell of a Ride Final Post at Domain.com We’re Shutting This Joint Down! Changing Directions, Here’s What’s Coming Say Thank You Since your readers have been with you for some time, it's a nice gesture to thank them for sticking with your blog. If there are some people in particular you’d like to point out, this is a good moment to do it. They might be guest bloggers, regular commenters, or fellow bloggers who've helped you alogn the way. Say What's Next There are many ways to shut down a blog. Some bloggers simply delete the domain, others like to keep it live for a while and others keep it live permanently. Another thing you’ll probably consider is selling the blog on Flippa or trying to pass it on to someone who can get it going and advancing, while you still remain the actual owner. No matter what you’re planning to do, you should explain this to your audience. Also, say a word or two on what you’re going to be doing in the near future. This is the perfect moment to promote any new projects of yours. Unless you're leaving the blogging world completely and for good, there's always something you can share. Say How to Reach You Some people will naturally want to remain in contact with you. Link to your social media profiles, new website(s), or give them an email address where they can reach you. Placing a custom contact form right inside the post isn’t a bad idea either. Summarize Your Blog’s Life Cycle If you feel like it, you can talk about the history of your blog and point out some significant events from the past months or years. You can list the most important projects you’ve worked on, mention the times when some major site featured your blog as a case study, or even list your top guest posts (the ones that gave you the most recognition). This is about talking about all the awesome things that have happened to you and your blog throughout the years, and ending on a positive note. List Your Best Content Every blog has its top content. This is a good moment to list it so people can still benefit from it. You can use whatever benchmark you find suitable. You can look at the traffic the posts have received, the number of comments, or simply pick your favourites. Listing 10 pieces of content is about right; 20 or 30 is overkill. Point to Relevant Information Elsewhere Since your blog is not going to be updated anymore, it’s a good idea to point your audience towards other blogs in your niche. This could, of course, include pointing to your own new blog or website if it's going to be on a similar topic. You can link to your partners, competitors and even relevant YouTube channels, Twitter accounts, etc. This is generous to them and very useful for your readers. Share One Final Giveaway This is an interesting thing to do. The goal is to leave people with a good impression of you. And there’s no better way of achieving this than by sharing a gift. It can be anything that makes sense. For instance: coupon codes, your own products, PDF versions of some of your top content, big list of resources in your niche, discounts on your competitors’ products (if they agree to provide you with some) and so on. If you do this right, you’ll also get some additional social media publicity. Your readers will naturally share this with their followers … which could provide a great springboard for your next project. Over to You The most important takeaway here is that vanishing overnight is not a good way to shut down a blog. You want to quit in style, and end on a high note. What’s your take on this? Be honest, have you ever abandoned a blog just like that overnight? If you close your current blog, what would you do differently? Share your thoughts in the comments… Bio: Karol K. (@carlosinho) is a blogger, writer, published author, and a team member at Bidsketch. If you do any work as a freelancer (freelance blogger, for example), you can use Bidsketch to send your clients some great looking proposals, which they can review, sign, and send back to you in minutes. Check us out.   Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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5 Plugins to Turn Your WordPress into a Lead Generating Machine Posted: 29 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT (Assuming you’re old enough to know what a record is…) Ever hear what a broken record sounds like? It repeats again and again and again. Quite annoying actually. Ever hear what a broken record sounds like? It repeats again and again and again. Quite annoying actually. Ever hear what a broken record.. Ok, you get the point. Ever since I started sharing with people about my experiences in marketing, the #1 most frequently asked question that never seems to die is… “how do I get more traffic?” When I go to gym, gym newbies always ask me the same type of question: “how do I lose weight?”. There is no magic. Eat less, move more. Ain’t no magic in marketing either: create good content and share them. Earn links. Either that or pay for it. Everyone wants the quick fix, magic bullet. Well, if it was that easy, then I guess everyone would be rich and famous. Ok, that’s not actionable. Fine. I’ll tell you what. There are quick tools you can do to your blog to make them generate more business leads for you. If you have a wordpress blog (or any CMS really, but I’m a WP fan), there are quick & easy wordpress plugins that you can use right now to generate more busienss leads. 1) Non Closeable Javascript Popup I’m sure you’ve seen those blogs, where this popup asks you to do something before you can read the content. NY Times, Wall Street Journal, ShoeMoney, and even my blog… we use them because they are quite effective. Some may say that they’re annoying and quite interruptive in user experience. Hey, did you start a business blog to get a pat on the head or to improve your business? I rest my case. Options: There are tons, but the  one that I like personally is Displet Pop. Free, easy to use. 2) Scroll Triggered Box If your reader read your post from top to bottom, that means they are engaged. When they get to the bottom of the post, that is the PERFECT time to ask them to do anything. There are several options - ask them to share your post on Facebook/Twitter - ask them to subscribe to your email - ask them to check out other posts What works best? I don’t know, but I do prefer email optin because with email, you can send personalized messages and build relationship where as the other two actions are one time, fleeting actions. Options: Dreamgrow Scroll Triggered Box is quite good. Free too. 3) Contact form to autoresponder If someone is contacting you, the odds are that they’re “engaged” enough to warrant a relationship with you. If you have an autoresponder (and if you don’t and you call yourself a marketer, please bang your head against the keyboard now), wouldn’t it be great if you can merge that contact info to that list so you can send him future messsages? Options: If you use contact form 7 and mailchimp, I use the free plugin “CF7 AutoResponder Addon“. It’s free but it limits you to only 1 list and has no group functionality. Mailchimp for WP is free & very good as well. 4) Share My Quote Believe it or not, copy/paste is STILL the most popular way of sharing content online, not those Like/Tweet buttons. So wouldn’t it be great if you can actually get people to link to your site and give you credit too? I wrote a wordpress plugin called Share My Quote that, when installed, gives you backlinks to your blog if someone decides to use copy/paste. It works super well on sites that are heavy in text, like blogs, recipe sites, lyric sites, how-tos, quote sites, etc. Options: Share My Quote . It’s free. 5) Call to Action after the content Problem with scroll triggered box is that it doesn’t work on mobile, where most of the internet traffic is going to it doesn’t work on javascript disabled browsers the reader might not necessarily look at it if your most engaging content is not in same spatial arrangement WordPress has “About Author” box that shows up there, but I like to add additional content where people can optin to my newsletter  by offering something. BUT REMEMBER… These are just tools. Ain’t no tool gonna do a damn thing if the person using the tool is a complete turd. If I gave someone the tools used by Michaelangelo to create the Statue of David, will he create the next historical master piece? Probably not. Remember to hone your  marketing skills (hell there are so many free marketing resources for this, so why not take advantage of them?), not just install these tools and expect them to work wonders for you PS: By the way… If you are having trouble with WordPress, I help with wordpress installation for free. Ah yes, the sound of free… the greatest music to anyone’s ears…   Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

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ProBlogger: In a Blog Slump? Here’s What to Do

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In a Blog Slump? Here’s What to Do Posted: 28 Apr 2014 08:23 AM PDT Image via Flickr user Toni Birrer "Do you ever want to chuck blogging in sometimes?" came the question at the end of an email recently. "Yep", I answered. "At least twice, pretty seriously." It's a situation I think many of us find ourselves in at some point in our blogging journey: we're not quite sure, but we think we might want to throw in the towel. We've given it our best shot, but we're just not feeling it any more. Time to hang up our keyboards and call it a day. Right? Maybe. But then again, maybe not. As I've chatted to other bloggers over the years, it's become apparent that almost everyone goes through a bit of a slump. Some of us bow out quietly, having enjoyed the fun while it lasted. Others leave blogs to stagnate, not knowing what to do so they don't do anything at all. The rest of us find our groove again somewhere further down the line and are grateful we didn't quite hit that "delete" button, tempting as it was. You can read how fellow blogger Naomi found herself at a crossroads at the ProBlogger conference last year and how it helped her inspiration again. There are several reasons I believe bloggers feel like it's time to move on – do any of these resonate with you? You've tried to monetize, but it hasn't happened as fast as you'd hoped. In fact – you feel like you're not really getting anywhere with it. You've run out of things to write about. You've spent a ton of time on other people's sites, commenting and being involved, and the bloggers have never responded.They don't come to read your blog either, like you'd hoped. You don't feel as though you're a very good writer. You feel as though everyone else is succeeding but you. You can't fit it in around all the other family, work, and life obligations that you have – especially if you're not getting paid to blog. Linky parties and participating in memes never really earned you any legitimate readers. You don't take very good photographs. Brands and PR people don't seem to be noticing you, or you have found it hard to get on their radar. You don't really want to have to be everywhere on all social media channels just so people will read your blog. You think anything you could possibly say has already been said by someone else – and they’ve said it better. You've spent a lot of time and energy and love on your blog, but you're just not seeing the traffic you hoped you would after a while. It's not as much fun as you thought it would be. You've realised how much work it actually is. I don't know about you, but in my four-plus years of blogging, there have been times when I've felt a bit "blah" about it all, and times when I've felt I can really make it if I just work hard, be kind to people, and make the most of opportunities as they arise. There was a time after about a year and a half that I genuinely believed I'd enjoyed blogging, but I was done. That I could walk away from all I had created with nary a backward glance. While I don't think now I would ever give it up (especially since I now do it full-time), I certainly do still feel those periods of low motivation – where my mojo up and walks out, flies to Mexico and does some tequila shots. I have slumps where I feel like I should be further than where I am, that it shouldn't be so hard to find advertising, that it takes more effort than I have to give, and that other people are funnier, cuter, and have better blogs than I do. I don't have the time to be and do all that I need to be and do to be successful. But rather than quit, I coast along knowing that my mojo will eventually return, slightly drunk and suntanned, and I'll have ideas coming out my ears and words coming out my fingertips again. And so I say: Go with the flow. Get in that slump when it arrives. Roll around there for a bit. Recognize you're not bursting with blogger buzz, and accept that. For what goes down must come up – and you WILL blog again! Especially if you: Rest. A creative mind craves downtime in order to fully function. Don't force it. Breaks are totally necessary to avoid blogger burnout and to ensure you're in tip-top shape. If you're worried about a dip in traffic, you might like to have a look at my other post about taking a blog break without losing momentum. But don't write just to fill space. As Tsh Oxenreider said recently: you’ve got to actually be out there living life in order to write about it. Read. Read something for fun, read a newspaper, finally have a crack at War and Peace. I guarantee that at some point you will read something that will spark that love of writing again, and wild horses couldn't hold you back. Be inspired. Without judgement or vanity, read the blogs you sincerely love as a reader. Not as a blogger. Don't overthink it, just read and feel the good feelings you have when you consume for no other reason than you enjoy it. Your inspiration for your own creation will return. Forget about your competition. If the "why aren't I… ?"s getting you down, then it's time to turf them. If you're no longer being motivated by the success of others and instead, you're starting to feel disappointed and left out, it's time to turn inwards. Take a break to regroup and come back with an eye on your own prize. Don't compare yourself to others: aim for your own goals and give yourself a pat on the back when you reach them. But for now, try and let comparison go. Do what you love. Blogging can get very old very quickly if you're not writing about the things that light a fire inside you. If you've pared back "your" voice in the hopes of being more marketable to brands, then you're going to sound like a shopping catalogue, not a unique snowflake. And dammit, you are a unique snowflake! People read blogs for the human connection, for the quirky you who writes it. Be yourself and write what you love. It's hard to be bored with that. There's plenty of advice around to whip you out of writer's block, and what to do when a blog slump hits. You can kick your apathy to the kerb here, and we even have an entire week devoted to the best ways of creating content here. But none of the tips are going to be very useful if you're not coming at them from the perspective of someone who loves what they do and aren't afraid to blog their way. Have you ever been tempted to chuck it all in? Stacey Roberts is the Managing Editor at ProBlogger.net, and the blogger behind Veggie Mama. Can be found writing, making play-dough, reading The Cat in the Hat for the eleventh time, and avoiding the laundry. See evidence on Instagram here, on Facebook here, and twitter @veggie_mama. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger In a Blog Slump? Here’s What to Do

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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10 Marketing Tips to Learn From Mad Men Posted: 28 Apr 2014 07:11 AM PDT The AMC show Mad Men is still the craze, and this PR Executive – Ronn Torossian - said they get some things right – but also many wrong. Here's a list of ten things to learn from Mad Men: 1. Do What Sells. Creativity might win awards, but it doesn't always sell. That campaign you created might have the catchiest jingle, the most innovative storyboard, or the best animation, but if it doesn't produce sales, it's a failure. Remember to always think like your prospect, about what keeps him awake at night, what he needs help with, what are his pain points, and you'll craft compelling copy that creates sales. 2. Be Unique. "Success comes from standing out, not fitting in," says Don Draper in Season Two. Don got this one right. Make sure your Unique Selling Position (USP) is truly unique, not a carbon copy of a competitors. And make sure it meets the needs of your target prospects. A USP that is targeted towards your niche market is the most effective way of generating sales. 3. There's No "I" in Team. Don't pull a Draper and go renegade on pitches. Don has a habit of disregarding his associates' ideas and efforts during a pitch and coming up with an idea from left field. This alienates your team, causing bad feelings. You want your team to be a solid front, united and willing to do whatever it takes to exceed your clients' expectations. Once you exceed their expectations, clients will be more loyal. 4. Research is the Way. Speaking of expectations, Don Draper goes the extra mile for his clients. Rather than relying on his client for background information, Don digs and digs until he can think like his clients' customers. Only then can he come up with the USP that rocks their world. Research is key to any marketing campaign, and you should spare no expense and leave no stone unturned in digging up those golden nuggets that can make or break a slogan/pitch. 5. Change the Story. Don's advice to a client: "If the story is making your brand look bad, change the story." Being able to see around corners is great, but most of us have to react to negative press after it happens. If your brand is getting hammered in the media, turn the tables and make it a positive, Draper-style. Look for ways to make your brand the hero in the situation rather than the infamous. This is where creative geniuses are made. 6. Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket. Unlike the Draper method of print or television advertising only, spread your marketing dollars around to a variety of mediums. Diversifying will help you target your niche market and makes for much more cost-effective advertising. You need to be where your customers are, so make sure you know the different platforms where your customers hang out. 7. Image is King. Image is important to a brand. Everyone recognizes the golden arches of McDonalds, and you know exactly what to expect when you walk through the front doors. Be consistent in your branding messages across all platforms. As consistent as the suits and ties on Mad Men. Be consistent with your words, your offers, your sales strategies, even your color schemes. Make sure people can recognize your brand anywhere. 8. Learn to Love Spreadsheets. While Don Draper is a creative genius, marketing persons today need to be more analytical. Measure everything you do. Use those analytical tools that capture the essence of internet marketing. You will be happy you did. Not only can you make informed decisions based on analytics, you'll know where your money is being spent and the return on investment. 9. Test, Test, and Retest. Test your methods to see which ones are most effective. If you can, use focus groups like they do on Mad Men. Focus groups will help you pinpoint exactly what is and isn't working in your current marketing mix. There's nothing quite as effective as a focus group to get down to the essence of what your customers think and feel about your product or service. Don't ever assume you know. 10. Don't Try This in the Real World. Only on Mad Men can you drink heavily and pass out on the couch in your office. Golden nuggets gleaned from Mad Men & Don Draper. Use them wisely. Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

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What Could You Create in an Extra 15 Minutes Per Day? - DailyBlogTips

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What Could You Create in an Extra 15 Minutes Per Day? Posted: 28 Apr 2014 06:11 AM PDT Most bloggers wish they had more time. If you’ve been thinking about launching your first product, creating a newsletter, starting a podcast, or any other big project for your blog, you might be putting it off until you’ve got more time. Often, though, you need to make the time … life has a way of being busy. One method I really like is the one Darren Rowse used to create his first product (an ebook for his site Digital Photography School). In How to Make Your Blogging Dreams Come True, he writes: As I was time poor, I decided to get up 15 minutes earlier every day to create the eBook. I would have rather been able to set aside a week or two to work solidly on it but I had blogs to run and a newborn baby at home. I had some major sleep deprivation already so figured 15 minutes less sleep a day wouldn't hurt! It wasn't the ideal way to write – but it allowed me to start. 15 minutes might not seem like much … but if you focus 100% on your project during that time, you might be surprised what you accomplish. You could try one (or more!) of these: Getting up 15 minutes early, like Darren did. Using 15 minutes of your lunch break at work. Working for 15 minutes straight after coming home, or before dinner. Spending the first 15 minutes of your day on your project at weekends. I know how tempting it is to wait for a free weekend or several hours to really crack on with your project … but the “little and often” approach often means you actually get faster results, as your project doesn’t get put off month after month. What could you (and what will you) accomplish in 15 minutes a day? Let us know in the comments… Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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ProBlogger: 5 Ways to Nail Social Media Branding

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5 Ways to Nail Social Media Branding Posted: 27 Apr 2014 09:12 AM PDT This is a guest contribution from Miranda Burford of Swiftly. Social media marketing is one of the best ways to attract visitors to your blog. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are among the hottest components in the modern marketer's toolkit. But how do you make sure the branding you've built on your blog translates to all these other platforms? Here are five tips you can action right now to ensure you’re consistent across the board. 1. Develop a unique look and feel  You always want to ensure that your social profiles are instantly recognizable as your own. Bring the logo, fonts, styles and imagery that define your brand (and your blog) to all of your communication outlets. Your profile pics and background images should be eye-catching and refreshed regularly — there's really no option for staying stale on social media! If you're not a designer, seek out some help. At Swiftly, for example, bloggers can quickly get a custom profile pic or background image for just $15. 2. Post fresh content regularly Keep cranking out unique, engaging content on all of your social media channels by creating a varied publishing schedule and sticking to it. Posting regularly at peak times is extremely important (there are apps that can help pinpoint your audience’s best times), especially on Facebook and Twitter. Along with sharing your latest blog posts, try posting relevant news, photos, links and interviews you see around the web. 3. Be human to connect with your audience   Blogs and social media outlets are not always the place for a hard sell. Be natural and have some fun. Create a consistent and well-defined voice that accurately reflects the tone on your blog. Don't be afraid to poke fun at yourself! You'll build a network by continually showing your personality to the world. 4. Engage with your community Always focus on ways to develop an active online community. Encourage participation by fueling discussions, showcasing stories, sharing thoughts and running competitions. Remember to invite comments, questions, and suggestions from your audience, and be sure to reply to criticism right away. Being transparent will win over your audience. 5. Embrace your pro status Be a top influencer in your industry by continuously sharing awesome content. It doesn't all have to be original. Repurpose content whenever you can. Create partnerships with relevant businesses or other bloggers and work on a content sharing strategy together. Keep blogging and curating content to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Miranda Burford is the Marketing Manager for Swiftly. Swiftly, a new service by 99designs, can get your small design jobs done in under an hour for just $19. Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger 5 Ways to Nail Social Media Branding

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Writing Clinic Wrap-Up - DailyBlogTips

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Writing Clinic Wrap-Up Posted: 25 Apr 2014 11:12 AM PDT Many thanks to all the bloggers who took part in Writing Clinic over the past couple of months. It was great fun reading all the posts, and I was impressed by the consistently high standard … clearly DBT readers know a thing or two. Today, I wanted to take a look at some of the common lessons learned from these posts, which I hope will help you with your own blogging. First, though, here’s a list of all the Writing Clinics, in case you missed one over the past few weeks: Writing Clinic #1: Busta's post Writing Clinic #2: Raspal Seni's post Writing Clinic #3: Alison J. Green's Post Writing Clinic #4: Maria Nedeva's Post Writing Clinic #5: Tom Roelandts' Post Writing Clinic #6: Denise Hisey's Post Here’s what was consistently done well: #1: Strong, Clear Titles Overall, I felt that our Writing Clinic bloggers did a fantastic job with their blog post titles. While I had a few tweaks to suggest in some cases, the titles had clearly all had some thought put into them. Learn more:  [Mistakes #1] Five Common Title Mistakes – and How to Fix Them #2: Calls to Action One of the key mistakes I see when coaching bloggers is that they miss out the call to action at the end of a post. I was particularly pleased that this wasn't a problem in Writing Clinic, with most of these bloggers crafting good calls to action, often with an invitation to comment. Learn more: How to Add a Call to Action to Your Post #3: Subheadings / Structure Another problem I often see is a lack of structure, particularly with long posts that aren't broken into sections. All the posts I looked at for Writing Clinic were well-structured, with a clear and logical flow of ideas, and they included subheadings where appropriate. Learn more: How to Structure Your Posts (and Why You Need To)   Here are the key areas where I ended up suggesting tweaks: #1: Introductions Introductions are really tough to get right, and overall, the Writing Clinic bloggers did a good job here. In my critiques, though, I did notice that Busta was missing an introduction, and Alison had gone the other way, having an overly long introduction. Learn more: Three Easy but Powerful Ways to Start Your Blog Post #2: Minor Formatting Changes Although the general standard of formatting was very good, with bullet points, bold text, images, heading styles and links being used well, I did pick up a few minor points. I suggested that Denise avoided blue or underlining for links and that Raspal could use more than a single word for his links, where possible. Learn more: Four Quick Ways to Improve Any Blog Post #3: Proofreading All bloggers make minor mistakes from time to time … and I've seen typos on some huge blogs (it's not stopped me reading them). Again, the general standard was really high, though I spotted a few typos for Maria, and noticed a tiny one in Tom's post. Learn more: Easy Five Step Plan for Editing Your Blog Posts   I'd love to hear what you learned from Writing Clinic: is there a particular lesson you'll be applying to your own blogging? Let us know in the  comments. Wanna learn how to make more money with your website? Check the Online Profits training program!

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Shoemoney - Skills To Pay The Bills

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Free Shirt Friday- Alarm Force @AlarmForceInc Posted: 25 Apr 2014 06:55 AM PDT This week’s Free Shirt Friday comes to us from Alarm Force. The company was founded in 1988. They are leaders in home security, two-way emergency response systems and video surveillance. They provide service across Canada and a growing number of American cities. They design and manufacture their products, all of their technicians work for AlarmForce and they do not use third-party monitoring centers. If you would like to see your website or company featured on Free Shirt Friday click here. Looking for an SEO service that won’t get you banned?

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