Posts tagged as:

Seth Godin

This Blog Sucks..

by RhodesTer on November 30, 2009

only one rule by gord mckenna on flickr..at affiliate advertising.

There.. I’ve said it.

I’m not in any way lamenting this fact, I’m simply acknowledging it.

There are several reasons why, but the biggest one is probably that The RhodesTer Chronicles is not designed as a blog to market things. It’s just a collection of my rambling observations on the world at large.

Yet I still went and slapped a bunch of affiliate ads on here along with some Google Adsense in the hope of making a little cash.

I’ve made about eight dollars.

In six months.

That would be awesome if we lived in a hut in Ethiopia – we could feed ourselves for a year, and pay off the goats.

But we don’t . We’re currently renting a room that’s running us $500.00 a month, so it doesn’t take a math genius to see that the affiliate stuff isn’t working so well.

That’s okay, I think I’ll keep those widgets on here because they’re pretty and they make this blog look big and important. At least until the advertisers catch on and say, “Hey Rhodester, you haven’t sold a damn thing for us! Screw you!”

Not all of them will do that – only the ones I don’t know personally. Some of the ones I do know are more than a little awesome, like James from Men With Pens, who has a new Ebook out about freelance writing appropriately titled  “Write For The Web.” I’m more than happy to help James sell a few copies because it’s a very interesting book, which I know because I have my own copy that I’m currently devouring.

Judy at Pearls2Video and Karen at deaf mom are a couple of ladies who just wanted to help out, so they directly purchased ad space on this silly blog. Thanks ladies!

And then there’s the guy from FindAPoken.COM, Jeremy Morris.

Jeremy, who happens to be Vice President of FindAPoken.COM, must hail from the Seth Godin school of marketing, which is basically all about mixing personal engagement and ethics with business and selling.

I say this because he sent me a personal email, which is unusual.

I signed up with an affiliate outfit that hooks me up to a bunch of companies at once, which make up the majority of ads on the left sidebar of this blog. The individual companies send me the same automated emails they send to everyone, in which they say things like, “We’re coming into the holidays now, so be sure and add some of our new banners, and don’t forget the datafeeds and bonuses for any affiliate who sells over $500.00 this month!”

Okay, first of all what in the hell is a “datafeed” and second, who sells over $500.00 a MONTH? That’s a lot of friggin’ goats.

I told you this blog sucks at affiliate advertising.

BUT DESPITE THAT, Vice President Jeremy Morris of FindAPoken.COM took the time to send me a nice, complimentary email, which I’m sharing with you because he said I could..

David:

Thank you signing up for FindAPoken.com’s affiliate program on ShareASale.

I don’t always have time to write an email to everyone that signs up to be an affiliate.  Out of curiosity, I went to your blog and came across “The Little Blue Angel”. I am not sure if it is due to the mood I am in, but that really hit the spot.   I truly needed to read something like that tonight.   I know blogging is not easy, so I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to put your thoughts to paper and make it available for all to read.  Thanks, and I look forward to following you on twitter!  (By the way, sorry you did not get the job with them)

Jeremy Morris
Vice President
FindAPoken

Isn’t that just a sack full of cool? Except I don’t know what he means by “putting your thoughts to paper.”

But I like how he expressed sadness over Twitter dwissing me and then went on to offer me a job at FindAPoken.COM!

Okay, he didn’t do that last part – I think they’re in Seattle anyway.

Vice President Jeremy and I have exchanged a few emails since then, and he’s a helluva cool cat. Seth Godin would be pleased as punch and would probably pat us both on the head, because now here I am TALKING about FindAPoken.COM plus linking the heck out of it, plus I’m going to TAG IT for this post and throw a banner in down at the bottom all because Vice President Jeremy Morris of FindAPoken.COM has been so darned nice to me.

PokensThese are POKENS – I hope they sell A BILLION of them.
Click the pic to find out what they do and why you should have one.

Men With Pens are nice too, so they get a banner at the bottom, and a TAG.

Judy and Karen too.

Man, I am rafting down a white-water river of awesomness today, and I don’t even have a paddle.

I have one final note about affiliate advertising, and then I’ll probably leave the subject alone forever (you’re welcome.)

I now realize that the way to do it right is to have a blog that’s actually about the stuff you’re trying to sell, and have it geared so that people come to it by searching for that stuff, and you talk about that stuff in clever and informational posts while putting the banners and keyword links all over the place.

For example, if I were a goat farmer and my blog were all about goats, you’d visit my blog to learn everything there is to know about feeding them, caring for them and breeding them to get baby goats. While I was at it I’d stick goat ads around the blog to advertise goat stuff and nothing else. I guess I wouldn’t be able to put FindAPoken.COM on my goat blog unless they have a goat-poken, which they probably do.

Click FindAPoken.COM to find out.

This can apply to anything, like planes, trains and automobiles, or movies with Steve Martin and John Candy in them. You’d have plane ads, train ads, car ads and ads about comedies.

You get the picture.

I learned this from some of those internet blogging and marketing experts like Darren Rowse and Yaro Starak, each of whom EASILY make over $500.00 a month by doing all of that.

I’ve also learned that The RhodesTer Chronicles isn’t that type of blog, so if you’ve ever clicked through to buy any of the random stuff I’ve advertised, all of which has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter of this blog,  then I thank you for your willingness to go white-water rafting with me on the rapid river of awesomeness sans helmets, paddles and common sense.

Now if you’ll excuse me I have to go feed our three goats, Seth, Darren and Yaro, before they eat into my profit margin.

three goats

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Write For The Web

Pearls2Video

deafmomad

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23 Squidoo! and monetize, too!

by RhodesTer on December 19, 2008

Squidoo Wallpaper for iPhone

The icky Squidoo Squid

I know how much you like coming to this blog, and I thank you for that.

Do you have one of your own? Yeah?

Well, uh.. do you want another one?

Okay, look.. if you have one already, then maybe it’s time to do what I did and branch out a bit.

Or maybe you don’t have your own little inter-niche because you’re one of those people who doesn’t know a WordPress page from a Blogger Blog.

Either way, Squidoo is the place for you.

There’s this man named Seth Godin. It’s not like he’s a prophet or anything, but Seth had a vision, and that vision was to get people online and get them talking about their passions, products and just about anything else they want to talk about.

But talking to nobody is pointless, so Seth decided to do all of the promotion.

It’s also nice to get a bit of cash flow coming in from advertising, so he lined up some heavy hitters like AMAZON and CafePress, and took care of that while he was at it.

He didn’t do it all alone, of course.

A team was built and an all-in-one place was created where you can post, promote, monetize and network to your heart’s content.

Despite a rather odd logo consisting of a squid with a giganticus eyeball, Squidoo is the easy-build blogging stop that claims you can “build a lens in 5 minutes!” No, they don’t train you in Optometry.. sheesh! (I’m rolling my eyes at you). They call the posts “lenses” because, first of all, they “FOCUS” on a particular subject and second, they are so much more than just the average posts you find on a typical blog.

Yes, even this one!

It might take you a bit longer than 5 minutes to put together an effective lens, but it couldn’t be easier. All of the instructions are right there on Squidoo, and an online coach is within easy reach if you have a question.

“Modules” are the key. When you click the “create a lens”  button, there they all are.. just waiting for you to fill them in with content and choose what you want to display. When you’ve gone through the process and hit “publish”, your masterpiece is placed at the world’s doorstep. Anyone can see your lens – not just members of Squidoo – which means that you can use it as an effective means of business promotion if you’re so inclined.

Of course, Squidoo networks within itself and is thoroughly searchable. People will actually find your lens (or lenses.. you can make as many as you want) and, if they like what they see, they’ll do a lot of the promotional work for you. Do you sell cars? Make a lens about it. Tell us in different modules about various aspects of the auto business, including what’s hot right now, what’s a good bargain, and some tips on buying. Don’t worry about time sensitive material – your lens can be edited any time you’d like.

An issue that bloggers concern themselves with a great deal of the time, is the question of how to make money from their blogs. At Squidoo, your biggest decision is what percentage you want to give to charity. Monetization – better known as advertising and using affiliates – is all done for you and, unlike most other social networks, you get to be a part of it. When Squidoo puts an advertisement on your lens, they keep a percentage of the revenue but offer to split the rest between you and your favorite charity. You choose how much goes to the charity, and you even get to select the advertisers and find products that are conducive to what your lens is about.

rhodesterbill

So, let’s review..

You can talk about and promote your passion, products and ideas in easy to build modules, and a vast network of users will do the promotion for you. Once your lens is published, some advertising revenue will line your pockets and/or the pockets of your favorite charity. You can build a business lens about what you do for a living and then a separate, personal lens showcasing your passion for Opera, Gummi Bears or reruns of ADAM-12.  The advertising revenue from your business lens can go to charity, while you get all the proceeds from the personal one.. or vice versa. It’s all up to you.

Have I mentioned that Squidoo is completely free?

You’re right, there’s nothing better than that.

Maybe gummi bears.

gummibears

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