May 27, 2008

How to create intuitive web forms in a click...


Last week's broadcast of StumpMarkus
was yet another insanely great hour of very cool online marketing tips presented by myself, Markus Allen (our 'whiz bang' host) and special guest Willie Crawford.

Willie Crawford is one of those guys with whom I'm honored to associate. A true stand-up guy willing to share great ideas at the drop of a hat.

According to Willie:

"There were some EXCELLENT tips and resources shared during the show. In fact, I learned more from that free show than I did from many products that I paid $197 for. I'll definitely be tuning in to future shows when able."
Here are just a few of the things we discussed during my segment (Resource links appear at the end):
  • The fast & easy way to get complaints answered...
  • Software to work smarter, think creatively, and save time...
  • How to create intuitive web forms in a click...
  • Generate low-cost leads with Google Radio Ads...
  • Promote content, build & measure audience (via RSS)...
  • Build your video community easily (and for free).

Click on the play button below to listen to the recording.

Listen here:




Mark your calendars

We'll be doing it again this Thursday (5/29) at noon EST so mark your calendars and don't forget to dig through Markus Allen's 'Marketing Junkies' archive (you have free access for 30-days -- I guarantee you will come away with SCORES of mind blowing, business building marketing tips, strategies and methods).

Links to the resources we mentioned during the broadcast:
Cheers,

Mike

P.S. Thanks for the great response to the Cool Site of the Day VIP program. There are still a few slots open though I suspect I'll have to close membership by next week. If you are in need of one-on-one coaching and personalized online marketing advice, let me hear from you asap.




May 22, 2008

2 BIG things for YOU today


Folks,


If you you've been paying attention lately, you've noticed that I keep adding links to my 'Great Resources' section to the right. Well, today I added a link that is sure to change the lives of many of you.

But first a story ('cause I'm in that kind of mood)

Something urgent and critical here.

My partner Greg and I have been locked in the office for two weeks brainstorming the final details of the Cool Site of the Day VIP launch. (It's live and limited to only 25 people -- more later.)

But here's what's critical right now: All week long, Greg has been glued to the information the StomperNet guys are giving away online. There's literally hours of amazing, useful, super-inside SEO techniques on improving your website's organic ranking.

They're giving it away. Be clear on that. No obligation, no trickery, no nonsense.

We're both just stunned at the value we're taking away just from watching these videos. They're incredibly well-done; Andy Jenkins, who has an honest-to-God EMMY for editing (Hollywood's highest honor), has made watching these super-informative information videos a joy to absorb.

Here's what's up: We just learned that all of these videos are being pulled down sometime Thursday... it's the official end of their launch (yeah, the timing of their launch and the Cool Site of the Day VIP launch could've been planned better but, hey, my loss not yours).

Anyway, here's some background worth reading:

In 2000, Andy Jenkins, a guy who had already gotten an Emmy for film editing at a pretty early age, decided to start an online business or two. They were successful businesses and made Andy some pretty good scratch.

But it turns out Andy really had a thing about TEACHING, so he developed an ebook about how to set up a Yahoo Store that was extremely successful.

Along comes Brad Fallon, an attorney by training, who had learned some Search Engine Optimization techniques while getting his wife set up selling wedding favors online (don't laugh – their *little* company - Aspen Brands, will do about $21 million this year).

Brad reads Andy's Yahoo Store Profits ebook and thinks "wow, this guy knows some stuff, I should give him a call."

The rest is history.

Sort of.

You see, when Brad and Andy got together, they created a best-selling set of CDs called "Stomping the Search Engines". And the followers of their teachings started calling themselves "Stompers", using these cutting-edge techniques to create multi-million dollar sites for themselves.

After Andy and Brad had successfully conducted a couple of high-priced Apprentice programs they came to an inescapable conclusion: they were "on to something."

Thus, StomperNet was born.

In the beginning, though, it was just Brad, Andy, a box of DVDs they put together called the Business Brain Transplant, and a promise: to create the best possible environment for people with online businesses to learn, grow, and prosper.

That was just over eighteen months ago.


And even though they've added faculty, staff, technology, content, programs, coaching, office hours, tools, etc. etc. etc., it all still boils down to one question: with all this, are StomperNet members succeeding?

All I can say is watch this video for some amazing testimonials (to see it, you may have to give up your e-mail address on the right of that screen but, trust me, it's worth it).

It's powerful stuff.

BTW, the last time StomperNet was openened to new memberships, they sold out 325 in 8 hours.


http://www.cnotes.com/r/stompernet.html

These videos are from real MEMBERS of StomperNet, and they're going to tell you EXACTLY what they accomplished, and HOW they got these results. I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.

Video 1 - Kristie is going to show you how she went from making $1,000 a month to $10,000 a month - in 45 days. She made $75,000 last holiday season, too. She's learned this stuff so well she's now an expert e-Biz consultant in her home town. And she started this 18 months ago.

Video 2 - Cassia is going to show you how she started with making only $5,000 a month - and she had been struggling at her business for YEARS. She and her husband Steve got the "Home Study Course" videos when they signed up for StomperNet, and the next month, they DOUBLED. 3 Months later, they hit $27,000 a month, and have been holding there - even while Cassia had a baby and they moved to their dream home in Colorado.

Video 3 - Chris is going to show you how he was virtually killing himself - getting up at 4:45am - 7 days a week, to be a personal trainer at a gym. When Chris joined StomperNet Andy Jenkins couldn’t figure out whether he was just a guru groupie, or dead on serious.
Turns out, he was NOT JOKING about his business. Today, he's got 8 OTHER TRAINERS working for him, ranks all over the FIRST PAGE of Google for his Money Keywords, and just got back from a 6 WEEK (not day) vacation - and when he came back, his business was BIGGER than when he left. Chris has been a Stomper just about 1 year now.

These case studies don't pull any punches either. Listen for each Stomper's FRANK and Candid discussion of the StomperNet monthly tuition (sure, it's not for everyone and that's why I offer the Cool Site of the Day VIP program as a, perhaps, less overwhelming alternative).

Sorry for the late notice but it's Thursday and already the rush has begun for the very LIMITED number of slots they will make available. And once they're full, they're closing (as sure as I can only take 25 clients in the Cool Site of the Day VIP program).

Watch those case-studies - they're all successful e-Business owners who took a chance, stuck it out, and WON.

They have things to show you.

http://www.cnotes.com/r/stompernet.html

Finally, tomorrow, StomperNet will make a STUNNING announcement.


If you've ever wanted some personal attention for your business, you need to look for tomorrow's announcement. I can't tell you EXACTLY what it is, but... it has improved every StomperNet member's business by 68%.

To your success!

Mike


P.S. If you haven't ordered your free subscription to Website Magazine, do so here:

Website Magazine

http://www.cnotes.com/r/websitemagazine.html



May 20, 2008

Instant viral traffic generation in just a click...

Did you catch last week's 'Stump Markus' broadcast? If you did, then you surely walked away with at least 3 actionable items to jolt your online business.

Here's a rundown of the topics we covered last week followed by a link to the recording and a list of sources mentioned during our talk:

  • Instant viral traffic generation in just a click...
  • How to spot broken links on your site instantly...
  • How to easily maintain tabs on Firefox...
  • 59 things you should be doing but probably aren't...
  • List of algorithmic pieces influencing search engine rankings at Google...
  • Adding the power of a message board to FaceBook.

Listen here:





Sources:
ShareThis:
http://sharethis.com

AddThis:
http://www.addthis.com

HotScripts:
http://www.hotscripts.com/search?q=tell+a+friend&cat=All&imageField.x=0&imageField.y=0

Michel Fortin:
http://www.michelfortin.com

Chris Jordan's Running The Numbers (just a cool site!):
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

WordPress redirect plugins:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/redirection

TabScope:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4882

59 things you should be doing but probably aren't:
http://www.conversationmarketing.com/2008/03/the_internet_marketing_list_59.htm

Find and fix broken links:
http://www.xml-sitemaps.com/broken-links.html

Search engine ranking factors:
http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

SuccessChef.com:
http://www.successchef.com

Get your memorable Facebook profile, page or group URL:
http://apps.facebook.com/webaddress/companies

Michel Fortin's Licoricce:
http://companies.to/licorice

Enjoy!

Mike

P.S. The Cool Site of the Day VIP program is so close to being launched. Check your inbox later today or tomorrow ;)




May 12, 2008

How to get listed in Google super fast -- in just a click...

As mentioned previously, I've been invited to appear for 10 minutes every week on 'Stump Markus', Markus Allen's engaging talk show filled with scores of advanced marketing tips, tricks, and methods.

Well, during last week's broadcast, 10 minutes somehow turned into 30 and I could have spent the whole afternoon sharing ideas with this one-of-a-kind marketing whiz.

Here's a rundown of the topics we covered last week followed by a link to the recording and a list of sources mentioned during our talk:

  • Egg timers, Pickle jars, and the 4-hour workweek...
  • The easy way to prioritize your day to get more done...
  • How to get 3,500+ new visitors to your site within 24 hours...
  • Share, bookmark and e-mail web pages quickly without leaving your browser...
  • The dangers of "Digg"ing your own web pages...
  • How to get listed in Google super fast -- in just a click...
  • Pricing your products and services the right way...
  • Why Amish retailers end their prices with the number 7...
  • The poor man's way to split test new prices.

Listen here:





Sources:
Enjoy!

Mike

P.S. See the 'DIGG' button below? Please click it and 'digg' this article. You will be contributing to a web 2.0/social media marketing test. Results will be shared in a couple of weeks and guaranteed to save you a boatload of time while building traffic to your site.

Digg!

May 7, 2008

Egg timers, pickle jars and the 4-day work week


(edited 5/28/08; added a section about Process Maps)
(edited 5/29/08; added two online mind mapping applications)

Struggling with time management? That ends today.

In this post, I'm going to share with you six things I use that are guaranteed to:

  • Increase how much work you get done
  • Increase the QUALITY of your work and business
  • Make your life less stressful
I have discussed the last three items previously but they're worth repeating; the first three are recent discoveries for me and are absolutely LIFE CHANGING.


FOUR DAY WORK WEEK

There's a great blog for webmasters and designers called A List Apart. I was introduced to the founder, Jeffrey Zeldman, several years ago and was immediately impressed with his passion for the Web. His style and blog are as strong as ever. The other day I was searching his site for articles on 'Project Management' and found this gem: The Four-Day Week Challenge. I'm already applying the principles learned.


THE PICKLE JAR THEORY

Also found on A List Apart is an article by Jeremy Wright entitled The Pickle Jar Theory. No charts, no grids, no five-syllable words, just a simple idea that can help you get more done with less stress.


NO B.S.

A must read book by the legendary Dan Kennedy; No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs is one of those books you'll markup, go back to, and completely reread once or twice a year. No doubt, Rich Schefren got inspiration for his Attention Age Doctrine from this classic 'no b.s.' guide to getting things DONE.


PROCESS MAPS

I've become fanatical about building process maps for all my repetitive tasks and/or tasks that I need to delegate. I highly recommend getting a free trial of Mindjet software. Process maps are essential if you a) feel overwhelmed by your workload; and b) you find yourself repeating certain tasks on an irregular basis.

For collaborative online versions, check out bubbl.us and mindmeister.

Start mapping today
. You'll be hooked.

GETTING THINGS DONE

Speaking of getting things done, I can't say enough about this book by David Allen. I credit David with helping me to tame my e-mail inbox once and for all. See my 'takeaway' points here.





BOW TO THE EGG TIMER

Although I've blogged about Rich Schefren's 'super awesome must-read' Internet Business Manifesto in the past, I want to direct your attention to page 19 of that free e-book where he discusses the use of a 'kitchen timer' in order to engage in truly 'productive time'. Well, I call my kitchen timer an 'egg timer' and you can bet it's on right now. Download the Internet Business Manifesto immediately and go to page 19 before you waste another hour of your life.

That's it for today. Please add your comments below.

Mike


P.S.
Look for a post from me later in the week about 'Split Testing'. Every web site should be using it.

P.P.S
I'm happy to say that I've been asked to become a weekly contributor on StumpMarkus every Thursday at 12 noon EST. I strongly encourage everyone to take advantage of this free discussion hosted by a real marketing genius, Markus Allen.
By the way, Markus charges $297.00 for a 45-minute private brainstorming session, but I gotta tell you it's a better deal when you sign-up for his 30-day FREE trial and get access to his entire archive of business-building tips, strategies, and methods. Easily worth thousands of dollars to me.

May 1, 2008

Phone chat with Markus Allen

Spent 15-minutes on 'StumpMarkus' this afternoon and shared a few tips. Listen here (click the 'play' triangle):








AffSpy - a 'Must Have' free tool for Affiliate Marketers

 
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