Free Traffic Generation Tips
The question most often asked on the Internet is, "How do I get more traffic to my site?"
The following are some free ways of generating traffic to your website. Once you have used these methods and earned some profit, you can consider spending a little money on some low cost methods of traffic generation.
1. Search Engine Submissions
Almost everyone starts right here. They know that search engines bring 84% of the traffic to most web sites, so they know they have to submit to them. To achieve the top rankings in the search engines will take some serious work. You have millions of competitors, but you have an advantage. You are willing to learn and do what it takes to get to the top. To achieve the top traffic building positions, you will need to study everything you can on search engine positioning, link popularity and meta tags. Then, you will have to test. Check your rankings, examine competitors that are beating you, and then edit your pages. If you are willing to keep going through this process and learning each step along the rise of your rankings, you too could soon be generating 100s, even 1000s of hits daily from top search engine positions.
2. Yahoo Classifieds
Classified ads can work if you figure out how to work them for your product or service. There are very few free classified ad sites that actually work. Yahoo is one of the shining lights that stands out above the crowd of mediocre free ad sites. Yahoo has more traffic than any other Internet site and it definitely shows when you place your ads here. On Yahoo, you are allowed to place 10 ads at a time, so do so. A little key to creating effective ads here is to delete your ads every few days and replace them. Then, you will be able to keep your ads towards the top of the list and receive more free readers.
3. Trade Links
If you develop a strong content oriented site you can persuade thousands of other webmasters to link to you or to trade links with you. There are even a few consultants online who have developed linking campaigns and have achieved a million hits a month or more for their customers within 90 days by linking with the right sites. You can do this yourself. The key is to develop content people want to link to and then get out there and make the contacts by visiting people's sites, sending out personalized emails to webmasters you have visited, and networking in discussion groups.
4. Participate in Leveraged Banner Exchanges
Regular banner exchanges don't work that well. Although they can produce a few extra hits a month for your site, they never seem to give you the kind of traffic building leverage you need to grow to hundreds of thousands of hits a month. A new wave of banner exchanges is growing though at unprecedented rates. What they do that separates them apart is that they will give you a 5% to 20% credit of banner impressions of anyone's site that you refer. If you refer a site which gets a million hits a month, you would get 200,000 free impressions a month extra.
5. Start Your Own Mailing List
If you want to make money online, start your own mailing list. It is the best way to keep contact with your prospects and your customers. It is also the best way to build the credibility you need to make sales to your targeted market. A little less talked about advantage to having your own mailing list is that you can use it to trade ads with other e-zines out there. If you trade ads with 10 other ezines out there, you could easily be saving yourself $100 - $500 in advertising expense every week!
6. Free Stuff
The top way to get traffic is free stuff. If you want to get real traffic to your site, provide the kind of free content and services that your market is hunting desperately for. Provide free articles to other web sites. Provide free downloads. Give away free programs. Provide hundreds of links to needed tools. Provide links to downloadable software. Give your visitors what they want and they will keep coming back and referring their friends.
Many different types of Internet advertising work, but only if you are willing to keep on going even if you fail a dozen times trying. You have to learn what works for your site and what doesn't work.
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
6 Nonverbal Communication Skills in Business Meetings that Gain You Respect
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When you're in a business meeting, it is often more than your simple words that everyone else is paying attention to. Your demeanor, your facial expressions, your posture are but three of many non-verbal cues that coworkers, clients and superiors will use to size you up. The elements of powerful body language are:
POSTURE - Slump down into your chair? Lean too far back? Slouch over the conference table? All of these nonverbal communication cues reveal to others in the room that you are not alert, not engaged in the proceedings and that you have little respect for anyone else's time. The key is the same as your mother taught you, sit straight with your back and shoulders square, don't lean back (it makes you look cavalier and disengaged) or slouch to either side, and don't hunch over the table. Lean slightly forward with your back straight to appear attentive.
EYE CONTACT - Don't bury yourself in your notes, look the presenter in the eye both during their presentation and during any questions or comments you make about the material. Making effective eye contact is the easiest, most surefire way to appear engaged and to focus your attention on the meeting.
DRESS - Come to all meetings dressed appropriately, with clean, pressed clothing, and neatly combed hair. You would be amazed at how easily this conveys to others that you mean business, and it also helps you feel prepared and self-assure.
ORGANIZATION - Show up to any and all business meetings prepared not only to listen, but to engage. Bring a notebook and all pertinent materials. Take notes where appropriate but don't lose yourself them.
THE W's OF SEAT SELECTION - Where you sit in the meeting room says a lot about you. At a standard conference table, unless you are a presenter or a leader of the proceedings, do not sit at one of the ends. Be conscious of who you sit next to. Do not select a screw off as a neighbor, for you will be associated with them by proximity. Also, try not to sit next to your friends. The temptation to talk with them and over the presenter will be avoided if you choose a seat away from them.
NO FIDGETING - Keep your hands on the table, do not click your pen, or tap it against the rim of the table, do not doodle in your notes, and keep your attention on the topic at hand.
Remember, business meetings are great opportunity to present yourself as a thoughtful, engaged and prepared employee. Better your body language to send the right message without saying a word.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
How Your Dreams Can Help You Heal from Grief
Figuring Out What You Really Want
In Your Dreams
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy FlahertyStarbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.comContact: 320-239-4537
When you're in a business meeting, it is often more than your simple words that everyone else is paying attention to. Your demeanor, your facial expressions, your posture are but three of many non-verbal cues that coworkers, clients and superiors will use to size you up. The elements of powerful body language are:
POSTURE - Slump down into your chair? Lean too far back? Slouch over the conference table? All of these nonverbal communication cues reveal to others in the room that you are not alert, not engaged in the proceedings and that you have little respect for anyone else's time. The key is the same as your mother taught you, sit straight with your back and shoulders square, don't lean back (it makes you look cavalier and disengaged) or slouch to either side, and don't hunch over the table. Lean slightly forward with your back straight to appear attentive.
EYE CONTACT - Don't bury yourself in your notes, look the presenter in the eye both during their presentation and during any questions or comments you make about the material. Making effective eye contact is the easiest, most surefire way to appear engaged and to focus your attention on the meeting.
DRESS - Come to all meetings dressed appropriately, with clean, pressed clothing, and neatly combed hair. You would be amazed at how easily this conveys to others that you mean business, and it also helps you feel prepared and self-assure.
ORGANIZATION - Show up to any and all business meetings prepared not only to listen, but to engage. Bring a notebook and all pertinent materials. Take notes where appropriate but don't lose yourself them.
THE W's OF SEAT SELECTION - Where you sit in the meeting room says a lot about you. At a standard conference table, unless you are a presenter or a leader of the proceedings, do not sit at one of the ends. Be conscious of who you sit next to. Do not select a screw off as a neighbor, for you will be associated with them by proximity. Also, try not to sit next to your friends. The temptation to talk with them and over the presenter will be avoided if you choose a seat away from them.
NO FIDGETING - Keep your hands on the table, do not click your pen, or tap it against the rim of the table, do not doodle in your notes, and keep your attention on the topic at hand.
Remember, business meetings are great opportunity to present yourself as a thoughtful, engaged and prepared employee. Better your body language to send the right message without saying a word.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
How Your Dreams Can Help You Heal from Grief
Figuring Out What You Really Want
In Your Dreams
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy FlahertyStarbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.comContact: 320-239-4537
7 Steps to Forgiveness
Did you know that forgiveness is good for you?
The process of forgiveness has been shown to have both psychological and physical benefits to the person who is doing the forgiving. Shocking, isn't it? You may have heard the old axiom, "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."
Now, thanks to recent research conducted by venerable psychologists, there is clinical proof that non-forgiveness is bad for you. Dr. Fred Luskin, in his book called Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness notes that the results of his and other scientific studies show that "People who are taught to forgive become less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious, less stressed, more confident, and they learn to like themselves more." (p. 78)
Would you like to have less anger, depression and stress in your life? Would you like to be more confident and like yourself more? Forgiveness is an answer.
Although I admire many of Dr. Luskin's techniques for teaching forgiveness, I'd like to offer my own "Seven Steps to Forgiveness" in a nutshell in this article.
Some preliminary words: Forgiveness is a process, not an event.
If something or someone has deeply hurt you, you may find it difficult to forgive quickly - although it is possible, and to be able to forgive immediately is my personal goal. Believe me, I am not there yet. You may not even be aware of people or situations that you need to forgive, but their memories may be festering in your cellular tissue, unconsciously depleting your energy and vitality. As you become aware of these issues, practice these steps to lighten your energetic load, clear your heart and live more peacefully, knowing that forgiveness will happen on your own individual time table.
Also, this technique is what works for me today. I reserve the right to amend and change this approach as I learn more! As mentioned before, I intend to get to a point of grace in which I can forgive people and events as they happen. But I know I am not there yet.
Step One: Identify exactly how you feel. Write extensively and expressively about the situation/person/event, sharing your deepest thoughts, emotions and needs. Many spiritual teachers understand the power of writing - it wrests your feelings from the more primitive emotional brain and allows the analytical brain a chance to examine the subject. Both my husband and I keep a journal because it helps rid the psyche of negative emotions. Write until you feel you can write no more.
Step Two: Talk to a trusted friend, partner or adviser about this subject. This is an important step to help you fully identify and acknowledge the emotions, but also to get another person's perspective on the situation.
Step Three: Consider and write about the situation from the other person's point of view. What might they have felt? What was going on in their life behind the scenes, as it were? What were their needs? What did you do to contribute to the situation? In my experience, this is a difficult but transformational step.
Step Four: Consider and write about the situation in the third person, as if you are a newspaper journalist writing about it. Include only the discernible facts about the event, only what a neutral third party would have observed if they had been there. This step helps to build perspective.
Step Five: Construct a forgiveness letter to the person who aggrieved you, acknowledging the emotions that person might have felt, their needs and what elements of their background might explain their actions. You do not need to send this letter or talk to the person in order to benefit from this step.
Additionally in this step, consider how you can move from being a victim in this situation to the hero. Forgiving is certainly heroic. In what other ways can you write yourself as the hero/heroine?
Step Six: Decide what actions you will take, whether it is legal action or a conversation with the other person. Remember, forgiveness is not the same as condoning, and there are times in which legal action is needed.
However, legal action taken in the spirit of forgiveness will be much less stressful for you than otherwise. Your energy will be clear.
Step Seven: Your brain has been trained to tell your grievance story about this situation every time you think about it or the other person. You need to re-train your brain to rest in forgiveness, you need to stop your negative, blaming or self-blaming thoughts in their tracks. Catch yourself immediately upon thinking of the grievance, take a deep breath and bless the other person and yourself. In this manner you will re-pave the neural pathways in your brain so your habitual thoughts won't do the blame game like a CD on repeat.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
Fastest Ways to Get My Ex Girlfriend Back - 3 Things to Speed It Up and Get Her Back
Too Little Too Late?
Why we often struggle with forgiveness
4 Need-To-Know Resources On Manifesting
A Better Way
The 3 Steps To Having The Power of Completion
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
The process of forgiveness has been shown to have both psychological and physical benefits to the person who is doing the forgiving. Shocking, isn't it? You may have heard the old axiom, "Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die."
Now, thanks to recent research conducted by venerable psychologists, there is clinical proof that non-forgiveness is bad for you. Dr. Fred Luskin, in his book called Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness notes that the results of his and other scientific studies show that "People who are taught to forgive become less angry, more hopeful, less depressed, less anxious, less stressed, more confident, and they learn to like themselves more." (p. 78)
Would you like to have less anger, depression and stress in your life? Would you like to be more confident and like yourself more? Forgiveness is an answer.
Although I admire many of Dr. Luskin's techniques for teaching forgiveness, I'd like to offer my own "Seven Steps to Forgiveness" in a nutshell in this article.
Some preliminary words: Forgiveness is a process, not an event.
If something or someone has deeply hurt you, you may find it difficult to forgive quickly - although it is possible, and to be able to forgive immediately is my personal goal. Believe me, I am not there yet. You may not even be aware of people or situations that you need to forgive, but their memories may be festering in your cellular tissue, unconsciously depleting your energy and vitality. As you become aware of these issues, practice these steps to lighten your energetic load, clear your heart and live more peacefully, knowing that forgiveness will happen on your own individual time table.
Also, this technique is what works for me today. I reserve the right to amend and change this approach as I learn more! As mentioned before, I intend to get to a point of grace in which I can forgive people and events as they happen. But I know I am not there yet.
Step One: Identify exactly how you feel. Write extensively and expressively about the situation/person/event, sharing your deepest thoughts, emotions and needs. Many spiritual teachers understand the power of writing - it wrests your feelings from the more primitive emotional brain and allows the analytical brain a chance to examine the subject. Both my husband and I keep a journal because it helps rid the psyche of negative emotions. Write until you feel you can write no more.
Step Two: Talk to a trusted friend, partner or adviser about this subject. This is an important step to help you fully identify and acknowledge the emotions, but also to get another person's perspective on the situation.
Step Three: Consider and write about the situation from the other person's point of view. What might they have felt? What was going on in their life behind the scenes, as it were? What were their needs? What did you do to contribute to the situation? In my experience, this is a difficult but transformational step.
Step Four: Consider and write about the situation in the third person, as if you are a newspaper journalist writing about it. Include only the discernible facts about the event, only what a neutral third party would have observed if they had been there. This step helps to build perspective.
Step Five: Construct a forgiveness letter to the person who aggrieved you, acknowledging the emotions that person might have felt, their needs and what elements of their background might explain their actions. You do not need to send this letter or talk to the person in order to benefit from this step.
Additionally in this step, consider how you can move from being a victim in this situation to the hero. Forgiving is certainly heroic. In what other ways can you write yourself as the hero/heroine?
Step Six: Decide what actions you will take, whether it is legal action or a conversation with the other person. Remember, forgiveness is not the same as condoning, and there are times in which legal action is needed.
However, legal action taken in the spirit of forgiveness will be much less stressful for you than otherwise. Your energy will be clear.
Step Seven: Your brain has been trained to tell your grievance story about this situation every time you think about it or the other person. You need to re-train your brain to rest in forgiveness, you need to stop your negative, blaming or self-blaming thoughts in their tracks. Catch yourself immediately upon thinking of the grievance, take a deep breath and bless the other person and yourself. In this manner you will re-pave the neural pathways in your brain so your habitual thoughts won't do the blame game like a CD on repeat.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
Fastest Ways to Get My Ex Girlfriend Back - 3 Things to Speed It Up and Get Her Back
Too Little Too Late?
Why we often struggle with forgiveness
4 Need-To-Know Resources On Manifesting
A Better Way
The 3 Steps To Having The Power of Completion
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
8 Things We're Dying to See Made Over.
1. Nurse's uniforms
If they really wanted us to feel better, they'd stop with the pastel hearts and cartoon puppies. Let's just hope Blue Sky Scrubs' sleek, chic duds catch on, and quick. (BlueSkyScrubs.com)
2. The remote control
On. Off. Channel up, channel down. Volume. List of recorded shows; play, stop, erase. Seriously, clicker manufacturers: This is all we need. (Unless you'd like to add a button that does the laundry.)
3. Airplane coffee
They can put a 74-ton hunk of metal in the air, and yet...
4. State Capitals
Sacramento? Tallahassee? Albany? Hmmph. San Francisco! Miami! New York City!
5. Women's Halloween costumes
Dear sexy kitty cat, she-devil, and French maid: There are many fabulous women you could be (Queen Elizabeth, Billie Holiday, Velma from Scooby-Doo) without all your business hanging out.
6. Corporatespeak
Just a heads-up on a new action item: Going forward, let's cultivate a paradigm shift by interfacing across portals to adopt a frictionless, dynamic language metric. In other words, let's speak English at the office. (But if your workplace won't allow it, be proactive and steal some lingo from the Corporate B.S. Generator at Atrixnet.com.)
7. Hotel bedspreads
Despite those undercover TV segments that turned up traces of urine, semen, and worse, most hotels still don't wash their bedspreads between guests. Here's a thought: They've made their bed; maybe they need to lie in it.
8. Plastic packaging
If you've ever cut yourself on a razor-sharp shard of polyvinyl blister pack, you know what we mean. And if you're a black-footed albatross living near the Pacific trash vortex, you also know what we mean.
But if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Here are four things that are just fine the way they are.
It’s Really The Law Of Opposites, Not The Law Of Attraction
You Mean I Have To Take A Shower Too? — Attracting And Keeping A Partner
Our Biggest Mistake In Relationships and Sex… Believing That Men and Women Are Alike
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy FlahertyStarbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.comContact: 320-239-4537
If they really wanted us to feel better, they'd stop with the pastel hearts and cartoon puppies. Let's just hope Blue Sky Scrubs' sleek, chic duds catch on, and quick. (BlueSkyScrubs.com)
2. The remote control
On. Off. Channel up, channel down. Volume. List of recorded shows; play, stop, erase. Seriously, clicker manufacturers: This is all we need. (Unless you'd like to add a button that does the laundry.)
3. Airplane coffee
They can put a 74-ton hunk of metal in the air, and yet...
4. State Capitals
Sacramento? Tallahassee? Albany? Hmmph. San Francisco! Miami! New York City!
5. Women's Halloween costumes
Dear sexy kitty cat, she-devil, and French maid: There are many fabulous women you could be (Queen Elizabeth, Billie Holiday, Velma from Scooby-Doo) without all your business hanging out.
6. Corporatespeak
Just a heads-up on a new action item: Going forward, let's cultivate a paradigm shift by interfacing across portals to adopt a frictionless, dynamic language metric. In other words, let's speak English at the office. (But if your workplace won't allow it, be proactive and steal some lingo from the Corporate B.S. Generator at Atrixnet.com.)
7. Hotel bedspreads
Despite those undercover TV segments that turned up traces of urine, semen, and worse, most hotels still don't wash their bedspreads between guests. Here's a thought: They've made their bed; maybe they need to lie in it.
8. Plastic packaging
If you've ever cut yourself on a razor-sharp shard of polyvinyl blister pack, you know what we mean. And if you're a black-footed albatross living near the Pacific trash vortex, you also know what we mean.
But if it ain't broke, don't fix it! Here are four things that are just fine the way they are.
It’s Really The Law Of Opposites, Not The Law Of Attraction
You Mean I Have To Take A Shower Too? — Attracting And Keeping A Partner
Our Biggest Mistake In Relationships and Sex… Believing That Men and Women Are Alike
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy FlahertyStarbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.comContact: 320-239-4537
Brand Yourself Today
Just as large companies cultivate their corporate brands, professionals and business owners can and should do the same for themselves. Personal branding is becoming increasingly essential to professional success. Gone are the days where your value to your company or clients is from your offerings alone. Today, people want to buy brands - unique promises of value. Personal branding helps you put yourself ahead of the pack. And each of us has what it takes to be a strong brand.
What is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is a way of clarifying and communicating what makes you different and special - and using those qualities to guide your career or business decisions. It's about understanding your unique attributes - your strengths, skills, values, and passions - and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers. Personal branding is the business of marketing the brand that is you.
Why is it Important?
With the evolution of technology and the internet at our fingertips, business is becoming more and more competitive. There are numerous others who seemingly offer the same thing that you do - consultants providing thesame services and professionals with the same skills and experience. Whether you are an employee in a company or an entrepreneur, you need to stand out from the myriad others so that you can be in control of your business or career.
Whether you work for a company or are self employed, anyone that does or considers doing business with you will search for you online - if you don’t come up in searches you are at an obvious disadvantage. Therefore a strong online personal brand will enable you to effortlessly attract clients and opportunities.
Who is it for?
Personal branding is for freelancers, consultants, small business owners, salespeople, executives and anyone who wants to achieve their goals whilst being true to themselves. A distinctive, memorable and compelling personal brand provides the guidance you need to shape your strategy, and adds enormous value to your business or career. Anyone can attract customers, grow their company, get promoted faster, be found by a business partner or investor by having a strong brand today.
Your Online Brand
Try Googling your name and see what happens. Now consider that others (prospective customers for instance) do the same. Are you happy with what they see? If not, we are here to help you create, build and promote your strong personal brand online today.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
nces.
What is Personal Branding?
Personal branding is a way of clarifying and communicating what makes you different and special - and using those qualities to guide your career or business decisions. It's about understanding your unique attributes - your strengths, skills, values, and passions - and using them to separate yourself from your competitors or peers. Personal branding is the business of marketing the brand that is you.
Why is it Important?
With the evolution of technology and the internet at our fingertips, business is becoming more and more competitive. There are numerous others who seemingly offer the same thing that you do - consultants providing thesame services and professionals with the same skills and experience. Whether you are an employee in a company or an entrepreneur, you need to stand out from the myriad others so that you can be in control of your business or career.
Whether you work for a company or are self employed, anyone that does or considers doing business with you will search for you online - if you don’t come up in searches you are at an obvious disadvantage. Therefore a strong online personal brand will enable you to effortlessly attract clients and opportunities.
Who is it for?
Personal branding is for freelancers, consultants, small business owners, salespeople, executives and anyone who wants to achieve their goals whilst being true to themselves. A distinctive, memorable and compelling personal brand provides the guidance you need to shape your strategy, and adds enormous value to your business or career. Anyone can attract customers, grow their company, get promoted faster, be found by a business partner or investor by having a strong brand today.
Your Online Brand
Try Googling your name and see what happens. Now consider that others (prospective customers for instance) do the same. Are you happy with what they see? If not, we are here to help you create, build and promote your strong personal brand online today.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It"
Personal finance expert and O, The Oprah Magazine columnist Suze Orman teaches you how to clean up your files and finances.
nces.
5 Ways to Boost Your Twitter Profile
How important is Twitter to you? Chances are you have more followers on Twitter than any other social media network, mainly because it’s less personal and acceptable to follow complete strangers. I would venture to say Twitter is as important to you as your LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. Some tech recruiters even say they won't deal with candidates with little or no Twitter presence.
Yet for some reason we tend to neglect what our profile looks like, perhaps because we think nobody really cares or don’ t have the time. I believe that’s a mistake for a number of reasons.
Why you need to do it
First off, if you are tweeting in your own name, your Twitter will come up very high in your Google results. Anyone (that’s including employers, recruiters and headhunters) will be able to find your Twitter profile and it should be consistent with your personal brand across other platforms. Second, some tweeters are really particular about who they follow back. Unless you have a credible profile, they might take you for a spammer and you stand to lose followers.
Third, you will want to be searchable for what you do and how you can help others. Imagine a customer searching the net for your type of services, your Twitter account is one channel that you must make the most of.
Here are five simple steps to boost your Twitter profile today:
1. Add a decent photo.
The obvious one! Either dig out a nice nice mugshot or see a headshot photographer that can take a few snaps for you. As the photo space is tiny, you will want to get as much of your face in there as possible, the closer up you are the more trustworthy you will come across. Whatever picture you upload, try to keep it the same on your other social media profiles, website and or blog – personal branding is all about consistency. Not having a photo will definitely deter any potential followers, as will your favorite cartoon character.
2. An informative bio please.
Right, you only have 160 characters so let’s keep it short and to the point. I would list the main value I am able to add to people starting with the highest value activity. So put your job title, what services you provide and try to inject a little bit of personality at the end. Or if you have it, put your personal brand statement here.
3. Fill in the location field:
This field is becoming increasingly important with local Twitter directories such as Twellow listing fellow tweeters in your area. If you are an offline networker, you need to put your correct location on your profile so that you attract the right followers. A final note on location; think what anyone searching for you would enter. If you live in Hoboken, you might want to put Greater New York City – Twitter is a global tool that used correctly will connect you to people from around the globe.
4. Link to your site or blog
This is your free backlink from the good folks at Twitter Inc, don’t waste it by leaving it blank or entering your Facebook or LinkedIn addresses. Always use your own real estate in this field as you will be able to track how many clicks you get from your Twitter profile with the help of analytics software.
5. Set up some lists
By starting to categorize the people you follow in list, you will look like a serious Tweeter. You can have lists broken down to geography, interests, friends or whatever you choose. You will also find that people love getting on to these lists as it adds to their Twitter credibility.
Bottom line
There you have it, five simple steps to pimp your Twitter profile today. Twitter doesn’t give you much space to play with so you have to get it right. Tinker a bit and see what others think of your changes. If you don’t like it, change again. I know from personal experience that whenever I feel like changing my bio I will test it on Twitter first as it’s fast and the updates aren’t sent to any of my friends’ feeds like on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do
Proof Of The Vision Board: The Incredible Story That Got John Assaraf Into The Secret, CNN, And Oprah
The Fail Proof Way To Meeting Your Soul Mate — The Magical Manifesting Mentor Tells Us How
Got A Question On Focus, Clarity, And Success? — Mark Joyner’s Here To Answer So You Can Live Your Passion NOW
August 17, 2010
WEDNESDAY'S SHOW: A Rhodes Scholar, A Convicted Murderer: The Ultimate Twist of Fate
One of them is a Rhodes Scholar and the other is a convicted murderer—and they are both named Wes Moore. This is the ultimate twist-of-fate story.
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Yet for some reason we tend to neglect what our profile looks like, perhaps because we think nobody really cares or don’ t have the time. I believe that’s a mistake for a number of reasons.
Why you need to do it
First off, if you are tweeting in your own name, your Twitter will come up very high in your Google results. Anyone (that’s including employers, recruiters and headhunters) will be able to find your Twitter profile and it should be consistent with your personal brand across other platforms. Second, some tweeters are really particular about who they follow back. Unless you have a credible profile, they might take you for a spammer and you stand to lose followers.
Third, you will want to be searchable for what you do and how you can help others. Imagine a customer searching the net for your type of services, your Twitter account is one channel that you must make the most of.
Here are five simple steps to boost your Twitter profile today:
1. Add a decent photo.
The obvious one! Either dig out a nice nice mugshot or see a headshot photographer that can take a few snaps for you. As the photo space is tiny, you will want to get as much of your face in there as possible, the closer up you are the more trustworthy you will come across. Whatever picture you upload, try to keep it the same on your other social media profiles, website and or blog – personal branding is all about consistency. Not having a photo will definitely deter any potential followers, as will your favorite cartoon character.
2. An informative bio please.
Right, you only have 160 characters so let’s keep it short and to the point. I would list the main value I am able to add to people starting with the highest value activity. So put your job title, what services you provide and try to inject a little bit of personality at the end. Or if you have it, put your personal brand statement here.
3. Fill in the location field:
This field is becoming increasingly important with local Twitter directories such as Twellow listing fellow tweeters in your area. If you are an offline networker, you need to put your correct location on your profile so that you attract the right followers. A final note on location; think what anyone searching for you would enter. If you live in Hoboken, you might want to put Greater New York City – Twitter is a global tool that used correctly will connect you to people from around the globe.
4. Link to your site or blog
This is your free backlink from the good folks at Twitter Inc, don’t waste it by leaving it blank or entering your Facebook or LinkedIn addresses. Always use your own real estate in this field as you will be able to track how many clicks you get from your Twitter profile with the help of analytics software.
5. Set up some lists
By starting to categorize the people you follow in list, you will look like a serious Tweeter. You can have lists broken down to geography, interests, friends or whatever you choose. You will also find that people love getting on to these lists as it adds to their Twitter credibility.
Bottom line
There you have it, five simple steps to pimp your Twitter profile today. Twitter doesn’t give you much space to play with so you have to get it right. Tinker a bit and see what others think of your changes. If you don’t like it, change again. I know from personal experience that whenever I feel like changing my bio I will test it on Twitter first as it’s fast and the updates aren’t sent to any of my friends’ feeds like on Facebook or LinkedIn.
Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do
Proof Of The Vision Board: The Incredible Story That Got John Assaraf Into The Secret, CNN, And Oprah
The Fail Proof Way To Meeting Your Soul Mate — The Magical Manifesting Mentor Tells Us How
Got A Question On Focus, Clarity, And Success? — Mark Joyner’s Here To Answer So You Can Live Your Passion NOW
August 17, 2010
WEDNESDAY'S SHOW: A Rhodes Scholar, A Convicted Murderer: The Ultimate Twist of Fate
One of them is a Rhodes Scholar and the other is a convicted murderer—and they are both named Wes Moore. This is the ultimate twist-of-fate story.
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Top Ten Personal Branding Tools
1. Google Alerts
* Research: Is your personal brand built around expertise in a certain area? Set up alerts for relevant keywords and receive all the current news, blog posts, videos, and discussions on the topic – delivered straight to your digital doorstep.
2. RSS Feed
3. Linkedin
4. Twitter
Google alerts are “email (or feed) updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query”. Use these alerts in 2 ways:
* Self-monitoring: Set up an alert for your name and any variations of it. Let Google crawl the web each day and monitor any chatter about you.* Research: Is your personal brand built around expertise in a certain area? Set up alerts for relevant keywords and receive all the current news, blog posts, videos, and discussions on the topic – delivered straight to your digital doorstep.
2. RSS Feed
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. Simply put, it is a way to subscribe to a website’s feed. Do you have a few favorite blogs that fuel your personal branding fire or consistently deliver excellent, relevant content? Subscribe to the feed and never miss another post.
3. Linkedin
Linkedin is the world’s largest business-focused social networking site, and an extremely valuable tool for job hunters and those looking to expand their current network. But, just signing up is not enough. Fill out your profile to the max, grab your custom URL, and network, network, network. (Great tutorial here)
And, to really utilize Linkedin to the fullest, join several Groups relevant to your field. Linkedin is the most clutter-free social network you will find – Groups in particular are full of information and people willing to engage in great discussion.4. Twitter
Twitter can initially be quite confusing. But hang in there, it is one of the best personal branding tools available today. Why? Because it is really 3 things in one package – a research tool, a sharing tool, and a networking tool. This slideshow tells the full Twitter story.
Don’t dive into Twitter headfirst. Dip a toe in, start by listening, and slowly immerse yourself as you get the hang of it.
Twitter is a great platform – but really, it is the 3rd party apps that turn it into something special. I recommend Tweetdeck, a desktop application that allows you to sort by favorites and view mentions and direct messages in their own columns. Tweetdeck automatically shortens links, and you can follow/unfollow users from within the application. Below, I’ve set up searches for keywords. The # sign before the keyword is an identifier (known on Twitter as a #hashtag) that signifies the tweet is specifically about that particular term. You can set up similar searches for keywords relevant to your field, and receive up-to-the-second news updates Before you roll your eyes, consider these 2 facts: Facebook isn’t just for kids anymore. Business professionals and companies are both recognizing that the way to reach your audience today is to go TO them. If you want to form connections and build your own brand, go to where the people are. Right now, that place is Facebook. While you are there, take the opportunity to learn – become a member of relevant groups or pages that will deliver beneficial content. (Pages and groups explained here) Google Profiles is a tool so simplistic in nature that it is often overlooked. Would you like to make it to the front page of Google search results in a matter of minutes? Of course you would! Google profiles generally appear towards the bottom of the first page of results, like this:
5. Tweetdeck
6. Facebook
7. Google Profiles
By now you will have likely filled out a profile on Linkedin or Facebook. Simply transfer over the same information to your Google profile, and link back to all other places you reside on the web. See below for an excellent example of a simple yet informative Google Profile by blogging and marketing expert, Chris Brogan.
8. ping.fm
If you sign up for all the social networking sites listed above, you might become overwhelmed updating each site one at a time. Fear no more. With ping.fm, you can update to almost all social networks you can think of, simultaneously. Or, you can pick and choose groups. Want to update your Facebook and Twitter status, but not Linkedin? Only a click away.
9.bit.ly
bit.ly is the king of link shorteners, converting long URLs into a manageable, social-media friendly length. But, bit.ly is way more than just a one-trick pony. The real magic comes after you create and share the shortened link.
With bit.ly analytic tools, you can track how many clicks your shortened URL receives. This knowledge turns your personal branding efforts into a more measurable activity. Instantly, you can see who values your suggested content enough to click through to the page. And, (peeking ahead to tool #10) this is even more important if the link is to your own content.
10. WordPress
Last, but definitely not least, is WordPress. WordPress is one of several highly popular blog publishing platforms, and the option I recommend. If you only choose only one of these 10 tools, make it this one. An individually published blog is mandatory when building a strong personal brand.
Your goal is to establish yourself as a thought leader, as an expert in your field. You can’t do that from Twitter in 140 characters, or in a Facebook status update. The tools leading up to this one have been building blocks – use them all, and let your blog be the ultimate showcase for your personal brand. (But, starting a blog is not easy. Read these 40 tips for direction)
The Best Starbuck Man.
Randy Flaherty
powerman297@hotmail.com
*10 Laws of Facebook
*10 Laws of Facebook
1. Location - Facebook enables advertisers to target by country, state/province, city, and metropolitan areas. All
advertisements are required to have a location selected. This should be pretty straight-forward as to which location
you’d like to select.
2. Age - Age is a standard demographic factor. Most marketers that have a well defined target-market will be able to
select their age.
3. Birthday - This is one of Facebook’s latest advertising targeting filters. It should be pretty obvious what types of ads
should be presented to people who’s birthday it is. Try wishing the user a happy birthday and offer them a gift for
higher conversion rates.
4. Sex - Gender is another typical targeting filter for Facebook.
5. Keywords - Keywords are based on a user’s profile information including Activities, Favorite Books, TV Shows,
Movies, and more. I believe job titles are included in this field as well. Typically I spend the most time trying to
brainstorm effective keywords. What types of products do your customers like? What’s their job position within an
organization? Spend time on this field and you’ll be rewarded.
6. Education - While you can target based on their level of education, this is most effective for targeting ads based on the
schools that people went to. Want to announce a reunion for the University of Illinois class of 1996? This is a great
way to promote it.
7. Workplaces - This is another great targeting filter. Often times you will know the companies that your target market
works at. If you are looking to get new clients or looking to spread awareness within specific organizations, this filter
can be priceless.
8. Relationship - Want to target people that are about to get married? This is a great tool for that. If you are a bar or
club, you most likely want to go after those people that are single. While this filter can be useful, you also need to
keep in mind that selecting any of these settings will remove all users that haven’t selected a relationship status in their
profile.
9. Interested In - This factor is useful if a user’s sexual preferences are relevant to whatever you are advertising. I tend to
skip this field for most of my ads.
10.Languages - If your ad is in English but the user speaks Chinese, it’s probably not a good idea to be displaying ads to
them.
11.Connections - The connections field were recently launched by Facebook and they enable you to include and exclude
users based on pages, events, and applications that the users have joined and you happen to be the administrator of.
If you’ve create a Page and don’t want the ads to display to people who have already joined, this is a great way to
avoid duplicate clicks.
If you aren’t taking advantage of the numerous targeting factors then you aren’t using Facebook advertising effectively. In
order to have an increased conversion rate on your advertisements, increase the targeting in order to make the
advertisement more relevant for the users. Relevance will get people to respond to your ad.
Its Free To Down Load.
http://www.allfacebook.com/downloads/laws-of-advertising.pdf
How to Use Facebook for Business - How to Use for Business (PDF File)
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
1. Location - Facebook enables advertisers to target by country, state/province, city, and metropolitan areas. All
advertisements are required to have a location selected. This should be pretty straight-forward as to which location
you’d like to select.
2. Age - Age is a standard demographic factor. Most marketers that have a well defined target-market will be able to
select their age.
3. Birthday - This is one of Facebook’s latest advertising targeting filters. It should be pretty obvious what types of ads
should be presented to people who’s birthday it is. Try wishing the user a happy birthday and offer them a gift for
higher conversion rates.
4. Sex - Gender is another typical targeting filter for Facebook.
5. Keywords - Keywords are based on a user’s profile information including Activities, Favorite Books, TV Shows,
Movies, and more. I believe job titles are included in this field as well. Typically I spend the most time trying to
brainstorm effective keywords. What types of products do your customers like? What’s their job position within an
organization? Spend time on this field and you’ll be rewarded.
6. Education - While you can target based on their level of education, this is most effective for targeting ads based on the
schools that people went to. Want to announce a reunion for the University of Illinois class of 1996? This is a great
way to promote it.
7. Workplaces - This is another great targeting filter. Often times you will know the companies that your target market
works at. If you are looking to get new clients or looking to spread awareness within specific organizations, this filter
can be priceless.
8. Relationship - Want to target people that are about to get married? This is a great tool for that. If you are a bar or
club, you most likely want to go after those people that are single. While this filter can be useful, you also need to
keep in mind that selecting any of these settings will remove all users that haven’t selected a relationship status in their
profile.
9. Interested In - This factor is useful if a user’s sexual preferences are relevant to whatever you are advertising. I tend to
skip this field for most of my ads.
10.Languages - If your ad is in English but the user speaks Chinese, it’s probably not a good idea to be displaying ads to
them.
11.Connections - The connections field were recently launched by Facebook and they enable you to include and exclude
users based on pages, events, and applications that the users have joined and you happen to be the administrator of.
If you’ve create a Page and don’t want the ads to display to people who have already joined, this is a great way to
avoid duplicate clicks.
If you aren’t taking advantage of the numerous targeting factors then you aren’t using Facebook advertising effectively. In
order to have an increased conversion rate on your advertisements, increase the targeting in order to make the
advertisement more relevant for the users. Relevance will get people to respond to your ad.
Its Free To Down Load.
http://www.allfacebook.com/downloads/laws-of-advertising.pdf
How to Use Facebook for Business - How to Use for Business (PDF File)
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Top 10 Personal Branding Articles - Its All About Branding Yourself.
"Its All About Branding Yourself."
Just wanted to share this article with you.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
As the end is nigh for 2009, the time has cometh to compile what I think were the best Personal Branding articles of the year. I have included brief excerpts from the articles and the titles are clickable hyperlinks. Enjoy!
1. Personal Branding 101: How to Discover and Create Your Brand
The personal branding guru himself Dan Schwabel discusses the importance of branding in this web 2.0 world, as well as how to discover and create your brand.
2. Personal Branding 102: How to Communicate & Maintain Your Brand
Dan continues his tour de force and informs us how to communicate our personal brand, using social media tools and proven marketing tactics, and then how to sustain our future growth by performing brand maintenance.
3. Tiger Woods: Seven Lessons on Tarnishing a Platinum Personal Brand
The world’s first billion dollar athlete who until November 25th had a seemingly impeccable reputation that most people and brands admired and envied. To the point article by Hajj E. Flemings.
4. Top Ten Personal Branding Tools
Building a strong personal brand is a tough task that takes time and energy. Luckily, there are tools you can use to make the personal branding process dramatically easier. Ryan Rancatore has compiled this list and I have used it as a checklist myself.
5. Personal Branding Tips from the Experts
Chris Perry has asked fellow job seekers and career-search experts from across the web for what they consider to be some top tips for standing out in today’s job market.
6. Eight Hot Tips to Build Personal Branding Into Your Executive Resume 2.0
A post by resume wizard Meg Guiseppi that incorporates your personal branding into your killer resume.
7. How Michael Jackson Became a Brand Icon
Michael Jackson was so unique that he cannot realistically serve as anyone's personal brand ideal. Yet Jackson was unquestionably a brand icon and there are lessons to be learned. By John Quelch.
8. Five Personal Branding Errors You Can Fix in 5 Minutes
Here are 5 common personal branding errors, and how you can fix each one in under 5 minutes. Bit of a must read to ensure you haven’t made these errors yourself! An article that keeps it simple, by Ryan Rancatore.
9. The Secret of Personal Branding
As it’s my list, I will cheekily include a post of my own, it covers the basics, is tailored toward careers and you gotta love the picture.
10. Personal Branding Predictions: Top 10 for 2010
Every year since 2001, William Arruda has made predictions about how the world of personal branding will evolve in the coming year. Here are his top 10 for 2010.
So there you have it, the best of the year that was 2009. I encourage you to learn from these experts and make sure you work on your personal brand over the holidays and hit the ground running in the new year.
And now tell me what fabulous articles are missing?
Just wanted to share this article with you.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
The Secret of Personal Branding
I wanted to share this article
with you, The Starbuck Man. :-)
by Jorgen Sundberg - Posted on 25 November 2009
You might have heard about personal branding, it is a much hyped concept that is all over the web at the moment. How does it affect us normal folks and what can we do to make the most of personal branding? This article will briefly explain what it is, what you should be doing and what you can expect from it.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding is how you project yourself to the world, how you create and maintain your image. Your brand is just as much about your profession and career as your background, what type of person you are, your interests and any interesting facts.
Personal branding is essentially very similar to company branding, for example the golden arches of McDonald's or the jester used by The Motley Fool have become instantly recognizable as part of those companies. This is what you want for yourself, you want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable.
Personal branding is where you and your career are bundled together into one. It’s the way you market and promote the image of yourself. What you do and what you are all about and above all what you can do for others. Compare your personal brand to a rock star’s image, something that needs to be maintained.
All interaction you have with other people make up your personal branding. Having a meeting, making a phone call, sending an email are all activities that demonstrate your brand. Offline and online, you only get a few seconds for a first impression so you will want to get it right.
Do I need a personal brand?
You already have one. What you need is to maintain it and make sure it projects what you want it to by staying consistent continuously improve it. You will want to take control of your brand because you want to be noticed and stand out from the crowd. It will help you to be seen by current and prospective clients, business partners, employers and so forth. You want people to remember who you are and what you do.
Your online brand
First impressions count, also online. It's free and very simple to sign up for online networking sites and they are great tools for promoting your brand. Any typical professional will have a profile with Linkedin or Facebook, some will have lots more than this. As long as you use and maintain your profile in the right manner, you are on to a winner.
Try gogling your name and see what happens. Now consider that others (prospective customers for instance) do the same. Are you happy with what they see? If you were a client, you would probably want to see a supplier with a professional profile on Linkedin and possibly other platforms.
We already know that headhunters and HR people are all over LinkedIn like a cheap suit. Guess what, they also cross reference you on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other sites to see that you are not simply putting on a corporate act. Make sure the brand you project is consistent and well positioned, it will help you to get that raise, promotion or even a new and better job. Just like having 20 recommendations on LinkedIn weighs in your favor, one ‘wrong’ photo can be a complete deal breaker and leave you regretting ever signing up for that service.
My experience
I have long been prolific on LinkedIn and used it as a tool for expanding my network and to do research on people and companies. I have a large and growing network which has supported me when building this site and even coming up with ideas for posts. I set up The Undercover Recruiter to promote myself as well as the blog. Setting up a blog is optional and perhaps not the first step you want to take, although if you have the time it is definitely worth looking into. I promote this blog across a few platforms (mainly LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter) and try to have exactly the same brand on all of them.
Call to action
Make sure you are consistent with everything you communicate to the world. This includes how you speak, your emails, online presence, your resume and even how you dress. Will your prospect customer be surprised or even disappointed when they meet you for the first time? You have to make sure you are one and the same across all channels and you will then come across as genuine and trustworthy. Share information about yourself, tell stories and inspire others. Add some personality to your brand, we all know it’s easier to sell on emotions than facts. When you think you are finished, anyone should be able to locate you online and find out what you do and what makes you special. If this isn’t the case, you need to put some more work in.
Bottom line
You need to be aware of your personal brand and you should ensure that you are projecting the right image of yourself. By being consistent and congruent, online and offline, you will build up your image and people will notice and trust you. As long as this is a positive message, you will improve your chances of having a great career/building your business/making friends/whatever your goal is.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
with you, The Starbuck Man. :-)
by Jorgen Sundberg - Posted on 25 November 2009
You might have heard about personal branding, it is a much hyped concept that is all over the web at the moment. How does it affect us normal folks and what can we do to make the most of personal branding? This article will briefly explain what it is, what you should be doing and what you can expect from it.
What is personal branding?
Personal branding is how you project yourself to the world, how you create and maintain your image. Your brand is just as much about your profession and career as your background, what type of person you are, your interests and any interesting facts.
Personal branding is essentially very similar to company branding, for example the golden arches of McDonald's or the jester used by The Motley Fool have become instantly recognizable as part of those companies. This is what you want for yourself, you want to stand out from the crowd and be memorable.
Personal branding is where you and your career are bundled together into one. It’s the way you market and promote the image of yourself. What you do and what you are all about and above all what you can do for others. Compare your personal brand to a rock star’s image, something that needs to be maintained.
All interaction you have with other people make up your personal branding. Having a meeting, making a phone call, sending an email are all activities that demonstrate your brand. Offline and online, you only get a few seconds for a first impression so you will want to get it right.
Do I need a personal brand?
You already have one. What you need is to maintain it and make sure it projects what you want it to by staying consistent continuously improve it. You will want to take control of your brand because you want to be noticed and stand out from the crowd. It will help you to be seen by current and prospective clients, business partners, employers and so forth. You want people to remember who you are and what you do.
Your online brand
First impressions count, also online. It's free and very simple to sign up for online networking sites and they are great tools for promoting your brand. Any typical professional will have a profile with Linkedin or Facebook, some will have lots more than this. As long as you use and maintain your profile in the right manner, you are on to a winner.
Try gogling your name and see what happens. Now consider that others (prospective customers for instance) do the same. Are you happy with what they see? If you were a client, you would probably want to see a supplier with a professional profile on Linkedin and possibly other platforms.
We already know that headhunters and HR people are all over LinkedIn like a cheap suit. Guess what, they also cross reference you on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other sites to see that you are not simply putting on a corporate act. Make sure the brand you project is consistent and well positioned, it will help you to get that raise, promotion or even a new and better job. Just like having 20 recommendations on LinkedIn weighs in your favor, one ‘wrong’ photo can be a complete deal breaker and leave you regretting ever signing up for that service.
My experience
I have long been prolific on LinkedIn and used it as a tool for expanding my network and to do research on people and companies. I have a large and growing network which has supported me when building this site and even coming up with ideas for posts. I set up The Undercover Recruiter to promote myself as well as the blog. Setting up a blog is optional and perhaps not the first step you want to take, although if you have the time it is definitely worth looking into. I promote this blog across a few platforms (mainly LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter) and try to have exactly the same brand on all of them.
Call to action
Make sure you are consistent with everything you communicate to the world. This includes how you speak, your emails, online presence, your resume and even how you dress. Will your prospect customer be surprised or even disappointed when they meet you for the first time? You have to make sure you are one and the same across all channels and you will then come across as genuine and trustworthy. Share information about yourself, tell stories and inspire others. Add some personality to your brand, we all know it’s easier to sell on emotions than facts. When you think you are finished, anyone should be able to locate you online and find out what you do and what makes you special. If this isn’t the case, you need to put some more work in.
Bottom line
You need to be aware of your personal brand and you should ensure that you are projecting the right image of yourself. By being consistent and congruent, online and offline, you will build up your image and people will notice and trust you. As long as this is a positive message, you will improve your chances of having a great career/building your business/making friends/whatever your goal is.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
" Affirmations Work and Here's Why" :-)
" Affirmations Work and Here's Why" :-)
I just wanted to this with you
By Gwen Phillips
Thank you, Starbuck Man. ;-)
Affirmations work because:
• Our present reality is a direct result of our thinking
• Affirmations change our thinking.
• Changing our thinking, changes our reality
There are many ways you can practice affirmations. You can write them down; you can post sticky notes around your home, on your desk or in your car. You can use affirmations with the "mirror technique". You can use affirmations during meditation and visualization.
Here are some basics you need to know to begin using affirmations:
Use the Present Tense
Affirmations should be stated in the present tense. For example; "I am whole and healthy now." Try not to affirm something in the future tense, as in “I am going to be healthy”. Our subconscious minds will always be waiting for something to happen.
Use Positive Statements
Create affirmations in the most positive terms. Avoid negative statements. State what you do want rather than what you don’t. Don’t say something like “I don’t want to be sick anymore.” Instead state something positive such as “I am healthy and happy.”
Use Repetition
The importance of repetition is key. Positive statements need to become imbedded into our subconscious mind. Many times we have been thinking negatively for so long we don’t even notice. First, begin to notice. Then when you hear yourself saying something negative, stop right there and replace the thought with one of your affirmations. We need to repeat these affirmations until they become the first thought. Later on we will talk about various ways to practice affirmations which will help you do just that.
Use Strong Positive Emotions
Affirmations coupled with emotions are particularly powerful. Try to use affirmations that resonate with you. Focus on what you are saying and what the words mean. Don’t just say them in a rote fashion as though repeating your grocery list for instance.
Use Persistence
Not being persistent is one of the reasons that many people say affirmations don’t work. It takes practice and persistence. Regularly practicing will work, but only using affirmations for a short while or just here and there will not produce the results you are looking for in your life. Make it a part of your daily routine. It will become easier the more you practice and when you start to see the results then you won’t want to quit. As they say “don’t stop before the miracle happens.”
Use Belief
However, you don’t necessarily have to believe your affirmations initially. Your belief will grow. It may help to realize that whatever positive affirmation you are using is in actuality true. We already have within us the ability to have the results we desire. The truth is already alive in potentiality just waiting for our permission to manifest.
Here are a few sample affirmations to get you started.
I am free to be myself.
I am free to be at one with the Universe.
I am free of resentment and forgive myself and others.
I am worthy of love.
The more I love, the more that love is returned to me.
Love is eternal and ever-lasting.
I am responsible for my life and always maintain the power I need to be positive and have joy.
I am at peace with the Universe.
I love and accept myself.
I am unique and loving, loved, and free.
I am safe and always feel protected.
I am surrounded with loving, caring people in my life as I see them through the eyes of love.
I am loving and accepting of others and this creates lasting friendships for me.
I am trusting of my inner self to lead me in the right path.
I do all I can every day to make a loving environment for all those around me, including myself.
I am always connected with the Divine Love in the Universe.
I am clear and focused through my inner vision.
Allow your life to be blessed. Start creating and using affirmations.
For more ideas and complete instructions on creating and using affirmations, sign up for my free e-course. It’s fun and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Find a surprise at the end of each lesson.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
I just wanted to this with you
By Gwen Phillips
Thank you, Starbuck Man. ;-)
Affirmations work because:
• Our present reality is a direct result of our thinking
• Affirmations change our thinking.
• Changing our thinking, changes our reality
There are many ways you can practice affirmations. You can write them down; you can post sticky notes around your home, on your desk or in your car. You can use affirmations with the "mirror technique". You can use affirmations during meditation and visualization.
Here are some basics you need to know to begin using affirmations:
Use the Present Tense
Affirmations should be stated in the present tense. For example; "I am whole and healthy now." Try not to affirm something in the future tense, as in “I am going to be healthy”. Our subconscious minds will always be waiting for something to happen.
Use Positive Statements
Create affirmations in the most positive terms. Avoid negative statements. State what you do want rather than what you don’t. Don’t say something like “I don’t want to be sick anymore.” Instead state something positive such as “I am healthy and happy.”
Use Repetition
The importance of repetition is key. Positive statements need to become imbedded into our subconscious mind. Many times we have been thinking negatively for so long we don’t even notice. First, begin to notice. Then when you hear yourself saying something negative, stop right there and replace the thought with one of your affirmations. We need to repeat these affirmations until they become the first thought. Later on we will talk about various ways to practice affirmations which will help you do just that.
Use Strong Positive Emotions
Affirmations coupled with emotions are particularly powerful. Try to use affirmations that resonate with you. Focus on what you are saying and what the words mean. Don’t just say them in a rote fashion as though repeating your grocery list for instance.
Use Persistence
Not being persistent is one of the reasons that many people say affirmations don’t work. It takes practice and persistence. Regularly practicing will work, but only using affirmations for a short while or just here and there will not produce the results you are looking for in your life. Make it a part of your daily routine. It will become easier the more you practice and when you start to see the results then you won’t want to quit. As they say “don’t stop before the miracle happens.”
Use Belief
However, you don’t necessarily have to believe your affirmations initially. Your belief will grow. It may help to realize that whatever positive affirmation you are using is in actuality true. We already have within us the ability to have the results we desire. The truth is already alive in potentiality just waiting for our permission to manifest.
Here are a few sample affirmations to get you started.
I am free to be myself.
I am free to be at one with the Universe.
I am free of resentment and forgive myself and others.
I am worthy of love.
The more I love, the more that love is returned to me.
Love is eternal and ever-lasting.
I am responsible for my life and always maintain the power I need to be positive and have joy.
I am at peace with the Universe.
I love and accept myself.
I am unique and loving, loved, and free.
I am safe and always feel protected.
I am surrounded with loving, caring people in my life as I see them through the eyes of love.
I am loving and accepting of others and this creates lasting friendships for me.
I am trusting of my inner self to lead me in the right path.
I do all I can every day to make a loving environment for all those around me, including myself.
I am always connected with the Divine Love in the Universe.
I am clear and focused through my inner vision.
Allow your life to be blessed. Start creating and using affirmations.
For more ideas and complete instructions on creating and using affirmations, sign up for my free e-course. It’s fun and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Find a surprise at the end of each lesson.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
* 12 Kickass Ways to Love your Job and Life * :-)
Today, I want to give you and share you another number of challenges in your workplace such as:
Just how happy are you at your workplace?
No matter how well you do your job, you may not always be appreciated or rewarded for the work you do.
You could also face a number of challenges in your workplace such as:
• Little fulfilment
• Long hours and tight deadlines
• Conflicting demands on your time and loyalty
• Little balance between personal life and work commitments
• Strained relationships with the important people in your life
• Lack of any say at work
• Internal politics and a rigid company structure
• Bullying within the workplace
• Few promotional opportunities
So just how do you cope?
At the end of the day, you want to be involved in fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable, get recognition and promotion for your efforts, and be appreciated for the work you do.
But at the same time, want a balanced life with time for the things you really want to do with a full and interesting social life. Of course you want to have clarity about your career, job duties and you want to continue to be healthy, fit and stress free.
It seems a lot to ask for - and the key for resolving these seemingly conflicting challenges is to get clear about just how much you love the work you do?
Is what you do for work make you jump out of bed every morning?
Or would you rather be doing something else?
No matter how good things are in other parts of your life such as family, social life and relationships, work is a major part of your life, and not to be neglected.
Since for now you have chosen to be in the job you are in, it is up to you for the time being to make the most of what you do. Of course in the long term, you can either change your job or even embark on a new career. But for now, you can get to love more of what you do right now.
Assuming that in the short term you are not able to change jobs, there are a number of things you can do to begin enjoying more of what you currently do.
Ask yourself - is it the job or is it you?
And what can you do to make your current work more enjoyable?
Stop acting the victim. YOU are responsible for your life and if you can’t immediately change the job you are in, then it is up to you to make the most of it.
Here are 12 tips to enjoy more your current job.
1. Get motivated to face the day:-)
On the way to your workplace, think of how the work you have allows you to have your life outside of it, such as a great social life. A positive attitude will make the day more pleasant and productive.
2. Keep your work in perspective :-)
You can only do the best you can in each situation. Look beyond yourself and your work, and consider the bigger picture. Do some voluntary work to gain a broader outlook. Find a way to contribute to society in general.
3. You are more than your work :-)
Do not have your identity too strongly tied to the job you do. Give up thinking that your work life “should” be a certain way. Such expectations of what you were supposed to be, as set by your parents and teachers, stop you from enjoying what you currently do.
4. Plan your time and create a to-do list.. :-)
In this list, include long term projects as well as the more imminent things that need doing.
Prioritise your to-do list - do the most important things first. When performing any task, ask yourself - is this the best use of my time? Schedule in enough time for your studies etc.
5. Concentrate on the task at hand :-)
Do not let yourself be distracted by worrying about all the other things to be done or losing energy over the undesirable situation you find yourself in. Stay in the moment.
Be ruthless and take care of a task before it gets on a possible procrastination list. For example, sort your morning post immediately in one go – open it, file it, act on it or bin it there and then.
6. Be clear about what's expected of you :-)
Clarify immediately, any time you are not sure or where you are faced with conflicting demands. The more clear and upfront you are with your manager and the other people you work with, the better it will be for you in the long term.
7. Delegate wherever appropriate :-)
Decide if there is anything that can be delegated, or that more fairly belongs to someone else's work load. Always remember the “3D” rule – do it, dump it or delegate it - never handle a piece of paper twice.
8. Have regular breaks :-O
Get away from your normal workplace even if only for five minutes. Try taking a break from the laptop, emails and do leave the mobile behind. Make sure that you do have that lunch break – it is not just for food but also for fresh air and a mental break.
Eat a healthy lunch and if you must snack, make sure it is healthy too – an apple rather than a bag of crisps. Look for ways of energising yourself, other than from adrenaline and caffeine.
9. Learn to relax :-O
No matter how challenging the work gets or how demanding your bosses become, it, at the end of the day it is only a job and you are much more than that. In years to come, you will look back and wonder what the fuss was.
10. Make your workplace more pleasant :-)
Contribute towards creating a pleasant work environment. Do not gossip in the office as it just creates negativity all around. Do not listen to any gossip either. Minimise your time with people that you do not resonate with or like.
Learn to have more fun at work. Laugh more and chill out. Perform with a more fun orientated approach.
11. Review your day before you leave for home :-)
Look at what worked well, and what could be improved the next day. If you feel satisfied with the day’s work, then why not reward yourself later that day. You deserve it.
12. Switch off once you leave work ;-)
You are already at work a third of your time, so do not continue to keep it buzzing in your head during your supposed free time. Mentally say good bye to your work space the moment you leave for home.
See your work as a game. Life is meant to be fun and if you are going to spend a third of it at work, you might as well enjoy the game.
Enjoy your work - and if it comes down to it, you can always find something better in the medium to long term.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Just how happy are you at your workplace?
No matter how well you do your job, you may not always be appreciated or rewarded for the work you do.
You could also face a number of challenges in your workplace such as:
• Little fulfilment
• Long hours and tight deadlines
• Conflicting demands on your time and loyalty
• Little balance between personal life and work commitments
• Strained relationships with the important people in your life
• Lack of any say at work
• Internal politics and a rigid company structure
• Bullying within the workplace
• Few promotional opportunities
So just how do you cope?
At the end of the day, you want to be involved in fulfilling, rewarding and enjoyable, get recognition and promotion for your efforts, and be appreciated for the work you do.
But at the same time, want a balanced life with time for the things you really want to do with a full and interesting social life. Of course you want to have clarity about your career, job duties and you want to continue to be healthy, fit and stress free.
It seems a lot to ask for - and the key for resolving these seemingly conflicting challenges is to get clear about just how much you love the work you do?
Is what you do for work make you jump out of bed every morning?
Or would you rather be doing something else?
No matter how good things are in other parts of your life such as family, social life and relationships, work is a major part of your life, and not to be neglected.
Since for now you have chosen to be in the job you are in, it is up to you for the time being to make the most of what you do. Of course in the long term, you can either change your job or even embark on a new career. But for now, you can get to love more of what you do right now.
Assuming that in the short term you are not able to change jobs, there are a number of things you can do to begin enjoying more of what you currently do.
Ask yourself - is it the job or is it you?
And what can you do to make your current work more enjoyable?
Stop acting the victim. YOU are responsible for your life and if you can’t immediately change the job you are in, then it is up to you to make the most of it.
Here are 12 tips to enjoy more your current job.
1. Get motivated to face the day:-)
On the way to your workplace, think of how the work you have allows you to have your life outside of it, such as a great social life. A positive attitude will make the day more pleasant and productive.
2. Keep your work in perspective :-)
You can only do the best you can in each situation. Look beyond yourself and your work, and consider the bigger picture. Do some voluntary work to gain a broader outlook. Find a way to contribute to society in general.
3. You are more than your work :-)
Do not have your identity too strongly tied to the job you do. Give up thinking that your work life “should” be a certain way. Such expectations of what you were supposed to be, as set by your parents and teachers, stop you from enjoying what you currently do.
4. Plan your time and create a to-do list.. :-)
In this list, include long term projects as well as the more imminent things that need doing.
Prioritise your to-do list - do the most important things first. When performing any task, ask yourself - is this the best use of my time? Schedule in enough time for your studies etc.
5. Concentrate on the task at hand :-)
Do not let yourself be distracted by worrying about all the other things to be done or losing energy over the undesirable situation you find yourself in. Stay in the moment.
Be ruthless and take care of a task before it gets on a possible procrastination list. For example, sort your morning post immediately in one go – open it, file it, act on it or bin it there and then.
6. Be clear about what's expected of you :-)
Clarify immediately, any time you are not sure or where you are faced with conflicting demands. The more clear and upfront you are with your manager and the other people you work with, the better it will be for you in the long term.
7. Delegate wherever appropriate :-)
Decide if there is anything that can be delegated, or that more fairly belongs to someone else's work load. Always remember the “3D” rule – do it, dump it or delegate it - never handle a piece of paper twice.
8. Have regular breaks :-O
Get away from your normal workplace even if only for five minutes. Try taking a break from the laptop, emails and do leave the mobile behind. Make sure that you do have that lunch break – it is not just for food but also for fresh air and a mental break.
Eat a healthy lunch and if you must snack, make sure it is healthy too – an apple rather than a bag of crisps. Look for ways of energising yourself, other than from adrenaline and caffeine.
9. Learn to relax :-O
No matter how challenging the work gets or how demanding your bosses become, it, at the end of the day it is only a job and you are much more than that. In years to come, you will look back and wonder what the fuss was.
10. Make your workplace more pleasant :-)
Contribute towards creating a pleasant work environment. Do not gossip in the office as it just creates negativity all around. Do not listen to any gossip either. Minimise your time with people that you do not resonate with or like.
Learn to have more fun at work. Laugh more and chill out. Perform with a more fun orientated approach.
11. Review your day before you leave for home :-)
Look at what worked well, and what could be improved the next day. If you feel satisfied with the day’s work, then why not reward yourself later that day. You deserve it.
12. Switch off once you leave work ;-)
You are already at work a third of your time, so do not continue to keep it buzzing in your head during your supposed free time. Mentally say good bye to your work space the moment you leave for home.
See your work as a game. Life is meant to be fun and if you are going to spend a third of it at work, you might as well enjoy the game.
Enjoy your work - and if it comes down to it, you can always find something better in the medium to long term.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
"The 10 Best Personal Branding Tips & Articles" :-)
Personal branding is very different than product branding, except that the entity being branded is you. Just like Nike uses its brand to attach a certain personality and uniqueness to the shoes it sells, your personal brand is made up of the qualities and unique traits you relay about yourself. Your personal brand represents the way you want other people to think about you.
Personal branding hinges on perception and the stories you tell about yourself: the things you emphasize and the things you don"t. Does personal branding involve lying? It shouldn't. More than that, it should not have to. You don't need to be a rock star to build an extraordinary personal brand. :-)
Today, I want to give you another way to brand yourself in today’s internet.
If you know something (Topic) better than the average person than you will need to look for a forum that related to the topic.
After you sign-up for this forum you need to start communicating with other people and showing them that you have a lot of knowledge and you can help them by answer questions that people in the forum asking.
If you will join couple of forums in your topic and you will be active there, eventually people will look at you as a pro in this field and you will become a guide or guru for them. :-)
“Here are some ideas of quick personal brand-building steps you can take right now.”
** The 10 Best Personal Branding Articles.**
by Starbuck man on Aug 15, 2010
I found this article and wanted to share…
This is a great source of information about “Branding Yourself”.
Enjoy ! :-)
12 Kickass Ways to Love your Job and Life, by Arvind Devalia at The Undercover Recruiter.
“See your work as a game. Life is meant to be fun and if you are going to spend a third of it at work, you might as well enjoy the game.”
We Can Do It, by Seth Godin.
“Successful people rarely confuse a can-do attitude with a smart plan. But they realize that one without the other is unlikely to get you very far.”
30 Valuable Lessons Learned Using Social Media for Small Business, by Mark Hayward at Problogger.
“After almost three years of working hard, learning continuously, making lots of mistakes, and monitoring successes, below are thirty valuable social media marketing lessons that I have learned through my experience.”
How to Give Yourself a First-Class Online Business Education, by Sonia Simone at Copyblogger.
“Today I’m going to talk about what I’ve learned, so if you’re a little earlier on the path you can avoid some blind alleys.”
New Twitter Tools for Job Seekers by Jessica Miller-Merrell of Brand-Yourself.
“These tips will help you turn Twitter into the ultimate networking tool…”
Stop Talking About Yourself, by Chris Brogan.
“Check your last 10 blog posts, your last 10 tweets. Are they all about you. Are they all about your products, your services, whatever it is you’re pushing? How many are about you versus those that are about others…?)
Four Reasons Why Focusing on Goals Leads to Failure, by Melissa Cooley.
“There is such a huge focus on the goal of getting a job that the process of attaining that goal is all but forgotten.”
How Guest Posting Builds Your Brand, by Ann Smarty at Personal Branding Blog.
“…per my experiencethere is nothing as effective for self-branding as guest posting.”
25 Easy Ways to Grow Your Personal Brand in 5 Minutes, by Jacob Share at Personal Branding Blog.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best :-)
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Personal branding hinges on perception and the stories you tell about yourself: the things you emphasize and the things you don"t. Does personal branding involve lying? It shouldn't. More than that, it should not have to. You don't need to be a rock star to build an extraordinary personal brand. :-)
Today, I want to give you another way to brand yourself in today’s internet.
If you know something (Topic) better than the average person than you will need to look for a forum that related to the topic.
After you sign-up for this forum you need to start communicating with other people and showing them that you have a lot of knowledge and you can help them by answer questions that people in the forum asking.
If you will join couple of forums in your topic and you will be active there, eventually people will look at you as a pro in this field and you will become a guide or guru for them. :-)
“Here are some ideas of quick personal brand-building steps you can take right now.”
** The 10 Best Personal Branding Articles.**
by Starbuck man on Aug 15, 2010
I found this article and wanted to share…
This is a great source of information about “Branding Yourself”.
Enjoy ! :-)
12 Kickass Ways to Love your Job and Life, by Arvind Devalia at The Undercover Recruiter.
“See your work as a game. Life is meant to be fun and if you are going to spend a third of it at work, you might as well enjoy the game.”
We Can Do It, by Seth Godin.
“Successful people rarely confuse a can-do attitude with a smart plan. But they realize that one without the other is unlikely to get you very far.”
30 Valuable Lessons Learned Using Social Media for Small Business, by Mark Hayward at Problogger.
“After almost three years of working hard, learning continuously, making lots of mistakes, and monitoring successes, below are thirty valuable social media marketing lessons that I have learned through my experience.”
How to Give Yourself a First-Class Online Business Education, by Sonia Simone at Copyblogger.
“Today I’m going to talk about what I’ve learned, so if you’re a little earlier on the path you can avoid some blind alleys.”
New Twitter Tools for Job Seekers by Jessica Miller-Merrell of Brand-Yourself.
“These tips will help you turn Twitter into the ultimate networking tool…”
Stop Talking About Yourself, by Chris Brogan.
“Check your last 10 blog posts, your last 10 tweets. Are they all about you. Are they all about your products, your services, whatever it is you’re pushing? How many are about you versus those that are about others…?)
Four Reasons Why Focusing on Goals Leads to Failure, by Melissa Cooley.
“There is such a huge focus on the goal of getting a job that the process of attaining that goal is all but forgotten.”
How Guest Posting Builds Your Brand, by Ann Smarty at Personal Branding Blog.
“…per my experiencethere is nothing as effective for self-branding as guest posting.”
25 Easy Ways to Grow Your Personal Brand in 5 Minutes, by Jacob Share at Personal Branding Blog.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best :-)
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
"Brand yourself first & How to Draw Attention to yourself"
Brand yourself first.
Whatever program or company you are promoting; NEVER spend money or time promoting their site. Regardless of how good the lead capture pages, splash pages or site looks. Ignore all the hype thrown out, do not promote that site.
The only thing you should ever promote is yourself or a site that you own.
This does not mean make a unique splash page to promote the company you are in. I am talking about making your own site, that builds your list first, so you can form a relationship with the lead, so when you make offers to them they will listen to you and act on the offer.
This is not an easy task; there are many things you need to know in order to have a site that works and a list that is worth having.
So where do you start?
The most important thing is to decide how you want to present yourself or your site to the world.
Or, in other words, how will you brand yourself?
What position do you take?
What do you want people to think when they see your name or site?
This is called branding.
Done well, this will assist your empire building no end.
So think about what you stand for and how you want to be seen by your team and buyers.
Then write it down.
Once you write it down, think about words that describe your point, or think about the name and decide now what you want people to think when they see your name.
After you have decided what you stand for and what you promote, you become well branded, and in time people will see your name and will know what is involved the second they see the brand.
No thinking required, just instant recognition.
Put in the effort before you start, develop your brand, then promote you brand.
Rodney Goodall has spent his life training and building teams in a retail environment.
Since shifting his focus to online marketing, he has written numerous tutorials and aricles for other people. Now that he has learnt the ropes, he is now applying the knowledge to create his own list and build a team of people who all recruit.
"How to Draw Attention to yourself"
1. Think of when they think of you, and it requires time and consistency to build a brand. Say you're at a new school and you want to make friends. Your brand then, should include characteristics like loyalty, friendliness, and fun. Do things that build this brand and make you a more appealing potential friend. Other examples of brands include the "bad-boy image." Be careful, though, or you'll look like you're trying too hard. :-)
2. Be original. Looking at the stereotypical brands mentioned in the last step, you may think, none of those are really what I want. That's perfectly all right. You can brand youself as pretty much anything, and whatever your brand, it should reflet your personality and original style. If you're the same as everyone else, you won't draw attention. Just remember, once again, that if you're obviously just trying to get attention, that will be your brand. :-)
3. Be outstanding. When we think of the word "outstanding," we usually think of excellence, but being outstanding also means to "stand out." If you want to stand out, do your best to be the best at something. If you want to draw the attention of your spouse, for example, be the best husband or wife you can be. If you want to get a better job, be extaordinarily competent in your current job and seek to learn more to advance your career. You don't always have to be outstanding at something that's directly related to your goal. For example, you'll find that people who are very succesful in whatever pursuit they choose in life often draw the attention of, or date, beautiful women or good-looking guys, even if their particular field of excellence has nothing to do with being a good mate. If you're outstanding at something, just about anything, you'll draw people's attention. :-)
4.Be subtle. A patient, subtle approach is important in developing your image because if you look like you're trying too hard to draw attention, you'll simply end up branding yourself as someone who craves attention, which is generally not a desirable attribute. As an example, imagine you want to get attention in order to make friends. If you stand on your head and insult people, you'll likely get attention for a little while, but you probably won't make friends--everybody will know you're just desperate for attention. On the other hand, if you draw attention to yourself by wearing a smile, making a conversation with people, or joining a sports team, you'll build a more positive brand and get more attention in the long run. :-)
5. Be humble Be outstanding, be confident, be assertive, but don't be arrogant. Even if you truly excel at just about everything, people will try to tune you out--or even resent you--if you are a jerk. Don't tell people how awesome you are, show them, and don't make a big deal out of it. Don't blow your own horn too much. :-)
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Whatever program or company you are promoting; NEVER spend money or time promoting their site. Regardless of how good the lead capture pages, splash pages or site looks. Ignore all the hype thrown out, do not promote that site.
The only thing you should ever promote is yourself or a site that you own.
This does not mean make a unique splash page to promote the company you are in. I am talking about making your own site, that builds your list first, so you can form a relationship with the lead, so when you make offers to them they will listen to you and act on the offer.
This is not an easy task; there are many things you need to know in order to have a site that works and a list that is worth having.
So where do you start?
The most important thing is to decide how you want to present yourself or your site to the world.
Or, in other words, how will you brand yourself?
What position do you take?
What do you want people to think when they see your name or site?
This is called branding.
Done well, this will assist your empire building no end.
So think about what you stand for and how you want to be seen by your team and buyers.
Then write it down.
Once you write it down, think about words that describe your point, or think about the name and decide now what you want people to think when they see your name.
After you have decided what you stand for and what you promote, you become well branded, and in time people will see your name and will know what is involved the second they see the brand.
No thinking required, just instant recognition.
Put in the effort before you start, develop your brand, then promote you brand.
Rodney Goodall has spent his life training and building teams in a retail environment.
Since shifting his focus to online marketing, he has written numerous tutorials and aricles for other people. Now that he has learnt the ropes, he is now applying the knowledge to create his own list and build a team of people who all recruit.
"How to Draw Attention to yourself"
1. Think of when they think of you, and it requires time and consistency to build a brand. Say you're at a new school and you want to make friends. Your brand then, should include characteristics like loyalty, friendliness, and fun. Do things that build this brand and make you a more appealing potential friend. Other examples of brands include the "bad-boy image." Be careful, though, or you'll look like you're trying too hard. :-)
2. Be original. Looking at the stereotypical brands mentioned in the last step, you may think, none of those are really what I want. That's perfectly all right. You can brand youself as pretty much anything, and whatever your brand, it should reflet your personality and original style. If you're the same as everyone else, you won't draw attention. Just remember, once again, that if you're obviously just trying to get attention, that will be your brand. :-)
3. Be outstanding. When we think of the word "outstanding," we usually think of excellence, but being outstanding also means to "stand out." If you want to stand out, do your best to be the best at something. If you want to draw the attention of your spouse, for example, be the best husband or wife you can be. If you want to get a better job, be extaordinarily competent in your current job and seek to learn more to advance your career. You don't always have to be outstanding at something that's directly related to your goal. For example, you'll find that people who are very succesful in whatever pursuit they choose in life often draw the attention of, or date, beautiful women or good-looking guys, even if their particular field of excellence has nothing to do with being a good mate. If you're outstanding at something, just about anything, you'll draw people's attention. :-)
4.Be subtle. A patient, subtle approach is important in developing your image because if you look like you're trying too hard to draw attention, you'll simply end up branding yourself as someone who craves attention, which is generally not a desirable attribute. As an example, imagine you want to get attention in order to make friends. If you stand on your head and insult people, you'll likely get attention for a little while, but you probably won't make friends--everybody will know you're just desperate for attention. On the other hand, if you draw attention to yourself by wearing a smile, making a conversation with people, or joining a sports team, you'll build a more positive brand and get more attention in the long run. :-)
5. Be humble Be outstanding, be confident, be assertive, but don't be arrogant. Even if you truly excel at just about everything, people will try to tune you out--or even resent you--if you are a jerk. Don't tell people how awesome you are, show them, and don't make a big deal out of it. Don't blow your own horn too much. :-)
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
7 WAYS ‘STOP & GO EATING’ WILL BOOST YOUR FAT LOSS IN 18 HOURS:
1. "Increases Your #1 Fat Burning Hormone"
Growth Hormone is the most important fat burning hormone in your body. Stop & Go Eating pushes growth hormone production into high gear and this makes your fat burning furnace start to work overtime. Stop & Go Eating also decreases your insulin levels, which helps your body burn fat instead of storing it.
2. "Increases Fat Burning Enzymes"
Stop & Go Eating will sky-rocket the activity of two of the most important fat burning enzymes in your body. HSL (Hormone Sensitive Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your fat cells to release fat so it can be burned as energy in your muscles. LPL (Lipoprotein Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your muscle cells to take up fat so it can be burnt as a fuel. Stop & Go Eating increases both of these enzymes to optimize fat burning.
3. "Burns More Calories"
This technique actually increases your metabolism and energy level, thereby increasing calorie burning. And you already know the more calories you burn the faster you can lose weight. Many are shocked at how awake and energetic they are during their 1st experience with Stop & Go Eating… often their most productive day of the week!
4. "Burns Fat Instead of Sugar"
Stop & Go Eating shifts your metabolism from burning blood sugar to burning mostly body fat. When you eat a meal your body likes to burn carbs first, then the fat from your food. Any extra fat that your body can’t burn in the few hours after you eat get stored as body fat. When you fast your body has no choice but to burn stored body fat. By the end of a Stop & Go Eating period, your body is burning way more fat than it would during a regular day of eating.
5. "You’ll Finally Find Out The ‘Why’ Behind Your Eating Habits"
The most surprising benefit people report back when they try out this technique is a new found awareness of what causes them to eat the way they do. When you make a conscious decision to do this Stop & Go Eating for even one day, your less than flattering eating motivations become painfully obvious. This can really help you STOP BAD HABITS for good. I’ve said many times (and it’s TRUE) that knowing what your motivations are for poor eating choices is essential before you can change them and build better habits.
6. "Builds Positive Attitudes Towards Yourself and The Foods You Love"
Those that try this technique report that they see it as an accomplishment that can build self-confidence and gratitude. At the end of a Stop & Go Eating session, you can feel good about your accomplishment and start feeling good about your relationship with food again. This empowered feeling only builds over each time you use it, until you feel completely in control of your food choices.
7. "Makes It Easier To Enjoy The Foods You Love, Guilt Free"
Depending on how you do it, Stop & Go Eating allows you to drop more weight and inches without the restriction of most popular dietary plans… if you’re like me and have tried those crazy fads, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When you try Stop & Go Eating just every few days, you can let loose a bit more and have the confidence and habit not to over-indulge because you are now even more in-control of your food!
You might have guessed from the facts above that we’re talking about a very different and unique twist on an old technique, more commonly know as fasting.
Now, quite honestly, I hate fasting, but I actually LOVE Stop & Go Eating.
"Here is why:
1. Stop & Go Eating is much more effective and easier to do than fasting.
2. You only need to do this for 18-24 hours, once or twice per week…that’s it!
3. My very first try at Stop & Go eating worked so well and was so easy (after the first few hours), I’ve been doing it off and on ever since.
Now, there are some other tricks you’ll need to know to get the most out of this powerful technique…
…and because it wouldn’t be fair to spill the beans on them all here, (I didn’t create them!) there’s an updated copy of THE blueprint on Stop & Go Eating waiting for you here…
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Growth Hormone is the most important fat burning hormone in your body. Stop & Go Eating pushes growth hormone production into high gear and this makes your fat burning furnace start to work overtime. Stop & Go Eating also decreases your insulin levels, which helps your body burn fat instead of storing it.
2. "Increases Fat Burning Enzymes"
Stop & Go Eating will sky-rocket the activity of two of the most important fat burning enzymes in your body. HSL (Hormone Sensitive Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your fat cells to release fat so it can be burned as energy in your muscles. LPL (Lipoprotein Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your muscle cells to take up fat so it can be burnt as a fuel. Stop & Go Eating increases both of these enzymes to optimize fat burning.
3. "Burns More Calories"
This technique actually increases your metabolism and energy level, thereby increasing calorie burning. And you already know the more calories you burn the faster you can lose weight. Many are shocked at how awake and energetic they are during their 1st experience with Stop & Go Eating… often their most productive day of the week!
4. "Burns Fat Instead of Sugar"
Stop & Go Eating shifts your metabolism from burning blood sugar to burning mostly body fat. When you eat a meal your body likes to burn carbs first, then the fat from your food. Any extra fat that your body can’t burn in the few hours after you eat get stored as body fat. When you fast your body has no choice but to burn stored body fat. By the end of a Stop & Go Eating period, your body is burning way more fat than it would during a regular day of eating.
5. "You’ll Finally Find Out The ‘Why’ Behind Your Eating Habits"
The most surprising benefit people report back when they try out this technique is a new found awareness of what causes them to eat the way they do. When you make a conscious decision to do this Stop & Go Eating for even one day, your less than flattering eating motivations become painfully obvious. This can really help you STOP BAD HABITS for good. I’ve said many times (and it’s TRUE) that knowing what your motivations are for poor eating choices is essential before you can change them and build better habits.
6. "Builds Positive Attitudes Towards Yourself and The Foods You Love"
Those that try this technique report that they see it as an accomplishment that can build self-confidence and gratitude. At the end of a Stop & Go Eating session, you can feel good about your accomplishment and start feeling good about your relationship with food again. This empowered feeling only builds over each time you use it, until you feel completely in control of your food choices.
7. "Makes It Easier To Enjoy The Foods You Love, Guilt Free"
Depending on how you do it, Stop & Go Eating allows you to drop more weight and inches without the restriction of most popular dietary plans… if you’re like me and have tried those crazy fads, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When you try Stop & Go Eating just every few days, you can let loose a bit more and have the confidence and habit not to over-indulge because you are now even more in-control of your food!
You might have guessed from the facts above that we’re talking about a very different and unique twist on an old technique, more commonly know as fasting.
Now, quite honestly, I hate fasting, but I actually LOVE Stop & Go Eating.
"Here is why:
1. Stop & Go Eating is much more effective and easier to do than fasting.
2. You only need to do this for 18-24 hours, once or twice per week…that’s it!
3. My very first try at Stop & Go eating worked so well and was so easy (after the first few hours), I’ve been doing it off and on ever since.
Now, there are some other tricks you’ll need to know to get the most out of this powerful technique…
…and because it wouldn’t be fair to spill the beans on them all here, (I didn’t create them!) there’s an updated copy of THE blueprint on Stop & Go Eating waiting for you here…
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
Ten Ways To Increase Your Happiness :-)
1. *MEDITATE* :-)
Meditation helps you to slow down and look within. Take a few minutes each day and focus on your breath. Feel yourself breathing in and out. If thoughts come into your mind just release them with your breath as you breathe out. This is a great tool for learning to be present and a great way to discover the things that are bothering you so you can release them. As things come up, just let them go as you breathe out. As you think of things you need to do just let those go as well. Meditation is your “me” time… that little space during the day that is just for you.
2. *EXERCISE* :-)
You don’t have to be a marathon runner to benefit from exercise… I certainly am not. What I am saying here is for you to just not be a lump on the couch. Get up and go take your dog for a nice walk. Play with your children. Do some yoga. Even clean the house. It doesn’t have to be much, just get moving!
I will pair this one with eat healthy food… obviously!
3. *FORGIVE* :-)
Forgiveness is not a gift you give to others, it is a gift you give to yourself. Work on letting go of past hurts so that you can live a happier and more fulfilling life. Harboring animosity toward someone else does not help you get even with the other person, it only harms you. It wastes your time and energy that you could devote to something more beneficial in your life. I know it doesn’t seem right for the person who was hurt to have to do the additional work of forgiving and letting go, but would you rather be self righteous or would you rather be happy? The choice is up to you. Always remember to forgive yourself too.
4. *ACCEPT YOURSELF* :-)
Learn to accept and love yourself just as you are. Accept yourself with all of your good qualities and your faults. Your worth isn’t determined by how many times you have succeeded or failed or by how much money you have. Nor is it determined by who you know, what you do or what you look like. Your value to the world is determined by what is in your heart. Remember that you are perfect just the way you are. There is nothing else you need to do or be in order to be worthy of love.
5. *HELP OTHERS* :-)
If you want the shortcut to happiness, here it is! You can help anyone you wish, just pick something to do that gives you joy and comes from your heart. Whether you choose to help children in hospitals, homeless animals, the elderly, the poor, the sick, or wildlife doesn’t matter - whatever is closest to your heart is fine. Even if you aren’t ready yet to commit to a major cause, just give out kindness wherever you see it is needed. Giving out smiles and compliments is not only a great way to start, but a wonderful habit to get into. Kindness costs nothing and can bring you a great deal of joy. If you see someone who seems a bit down, just give them a big smile. That can make more of a difference in a person’s day than you can imagine. Remember that your actions and your words should always come from your heart.
6. *STOP WORRYING* :-)
Worry takes you away from the present moment and strips you of your energy. I can’t tell you how many years of my life I lost being caught up in worry. I remember being so absorbed in possibilities of future events that I could not even feel anything in the present moment. I lived for the weekends, but could not enjoy them once I got there and seemingly wonderful events were always tainted by that ever present feeling of dread. I couldn’t even relax on vacation. Did all that worrying achieve anything? Nope! Did any of the things I worried about ever come to pass? Only in my mind… I lived them over and over again and experienced that torture on a constant basis. Don’t do that to yourself. Worrying about something will NEVER do anything to solve any problem. Worrying just forces you to repeatedly experience horrible things that may or may not even occur. Let it go! Even if the event does come to pass, it is better to only experience it once than several times… and usually the imagined events are far worse than anything reality would ever throw your way. Make a conscious choice to make every moment of your life count. Live in the present, enjoy the people around you and give 100% of yourself to the people you love when you are with them.
7. *BE PRESENT* :-)
At times this can be easier said than done, but the general gist of it is this:
When you are watching a movie… you are watching a movie. When you are going for a walk, you are enjoying the experience. When you are playing with your children, you are there 100% with them. When you are in a conversation, you are there with the person you are speaking to and not off somewhere else. When you visit a new place, you really drink it all in and experience it.
Enjoy each experience fully and experience everything fully without thinking about what needs to get done or what the future holds.
8. *FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE* :-)
Stop paying attention to depressing things and focus instead on happiness. I stopped watching the news a long time ago and usually will just pop in a funny movie so I can control the content of what I am seeing. My internet homepage is customized with what I want to see and nothing more (this is where I get my weather updates for those of you who are wondering). It isn’t that I am avoiding reality, I just know that there is no use in seeing things that stress me out or make me sad. That doesn’t do anything to improve the situation and it just strips me of energy I could put to better use.
9. *LAUGH* :-)
Laughter is important - it relaxes you and triggers reactions in the body that are beneficial to your health and happiness! Do things every day to make yourself laugh. Watch funny movies. Watch your kids or pets play… or better yet, play with them. Read funny books. Talk to funny people. Do things to make others laugh and laugh along with them. Laugh at yourself. Laugh, laugh, laugh!
10. *LOVE* :-)
Love is the essence of who we are and why we are here. Love is the source of life… and the farther you are from it, the less energy and drive you will have to make positive things happen. Love more and you can become more. Love freely, deeply and fully. Love everyone around you including yourself. Remember that the more you give, the more you will receive in return. Live your life from love and happiness will follow you wherever you go.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man" :-)
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Meditation helps you to slow down and look within. Take a few minutes each day and focus on your breath. Feel yourself breathing in and out. If thoughts come into your mind just release them with your breath as you breathe out. This is a great tool for learning to be present and a great way to discover the things that are bothering you so you can release them. As things come up, just let them go as you breathe out. As you think of things you need to do just let those go as well. Meditation is your “me” time… that little space during the day that is just for you.
2. *EXERCISE* :-)
You don’t have to be a marathon runner to benefit from exercise… I certainly am not. What I am saying here is for you to just not be a lump on the couch. Get up and go take your dog for a nice walk. Play with your children. Do some yoga. Even clean the house. It doesn’t have to be much, just get moving!
I will pair this one with eat healthy food… obviously!
3. *FORGIVE* :-)
Forgiveness is not a gift you give to others, it is a gift you give to yourself. Work on letting go of past hurts so that you can live a happier and more fulfilling life. Harboring animosity toward someone else does not help you get even with the other person, it only harms you. It wastes your time and energy that you could devote to something more beneficial in your life. I know it doesn’t seem right for the person who was hurt to have to do the additional work of forgiving and letting go, but would you rather be self righteous or would you rather be happy? The choice is up to you. Always remember to forgive yourself too.
4. *ACCEPT YOURSELF* :-)
Learn to accept and love yourself just as you are. Accept yourself with all of your good qualities and your faults. Your worth isn’t determined by how many times you have succeeded or failed or by how much money you have. Nor is it determined by who you know, what you do or what you look like. Your value to the world is determined by what is in your heart. Remember that you are perfect just the way you are. There is nothing else you need to do or be in order to be worthy of love.
5. *HELP OTHERS* :-)
If you want the shortcut to happiness, here it is! You can help anyone you wish, just pick something to do that gives you joy and comes from your heart. Whether you choose to help children in hospitals, homeless animals, the elderly, the poor, the sick, or wildlife doesn’t matter - whatever is closest to your heart is fine. Even if you aren’t ready yet to commit to a major cause, just give out kindness wherever you see it is needed. Giving out smiles and compliments is not only a great way to start, but a wonderful habit to get into. Kindness costs nothing and can bring you a great deal of joy. If you see someone who seems a bit down, just give them a big smile. That can make more of a difference in a person’s day than you can imagine. Remember that your actions and your words should always come from your heart.
6. *STOP WORRYING* :-)
Worry takes you away from the present moment and strips you of your energy. I can’t tell you how many years of my life I lost being caught up in worry. I remember being so absorbed in possibilities of future events that I could not even feel anything in the present moment. I lived for the weekends, but could not enjoy them once I got there and seemingly wonderful events were always tainted by that ever present feeling of dread. I couldn’t even relax on vacation. Did all that worrying achieve anything? Nope! Did any of the things I worried about ever come to pass? Only in my mind… I lived them over and over again and experienced that torture on a constant basis. Don’t do that to yourself. Worrying about something will NEVER do anything to solve any problem. Worrying just forces you to repeatedly experience horrible things that may or may not even occur. Let it go! Even if the event does come to pass, it is better to only experience it once than several times… and usually the imagined events are far worse than anything reality would ever throw your way. Make a conscious choice to make every moment of your life count. Live in the present, enjoy the people around you and give 100% of yourself to the people you love when you are with them.
7. *BE PRESENT* :-)
At times this can be easier said than done, but the general gist of it is this:
When you are watching a movie… you are watching a movie. When you are going for a walk, you are enjoying the experience. When you are playing with your children, you are there 100% with them. When you are in a conversation, you are there with the person you are speaking to and not off somewhere else. When you visit a new place, you really drink it all in and experience it.
Enjoy each experience fully and experience everything fully without thinking about what needs to get done or what the future holds.
8. *FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE* :-)
Stop paying attention to depressing things and focus instead on happiness. I stopped watching the news a long time ago and usually will just pop in a funny movie so I can control the content of what I am seeing. My internet homepage is customized with what I want to see and nothing more (this is where I get my weather updates for those of you who are wondering). It isn’t that I am avoiding reality, I just know that there is no use in seeing things that stress me out or make me sad. That doesn’t do anything to improve the situation and it just strips me of energy I could put to better use.
9. *LAUGH* :-)
Laughter is important - it relaxes you and triggers reactions in the body that are beneficial to your health and happiness! Do things every day to make yourself laugh. Watch funny movies. Watch your kids or pets play… or better yet, play with them. Read funny books. Talk to funny people. Do things to make others laugh and laugh along with them. Laugh at yourself. Laugh, laugh, laugh!
10. *LOVE* :-)
Love is the essence of who we are and why we are here. Love is the source of life… and the farther you are from it, the less energy and drive you will have to make positive things happen. Love more and you can become more. Love freely, deeply and fully. Love everyone around you including yourself. Remember that the more you give, the more you will receive in return. Live your life from love and happiness will follow you wherever you go.
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man" :-)
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 320-239-4537 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Saturday, August 14, 2010
"10 Ways to Improve Your Happiness by Changing Your Vocabulary"
**Seriously, What did Oprah Winfrey say about Happiness?**
“I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.” ~Oprah Winfrey
You’ve heard about the power of positive thinking, right? Everyone’s raving about it. If you simply think positively, rainstorms will turn into rainbows, red lights will turn green, and your in-laws will suddenly turn into human beings. Right? Right?!
Well, it’s true… all except for the “simply” part. Because taming the wild stallion of your randomly rampaging thoughts is not really that simple and not really that easy.
I’ll tell you what you can control, though: your words. By making a few changes in your vocabulary, you can turn steaming piles of crap into 100% organic fertilizer. You can turn an inconvenient power outage into cuddle time with your sweetie. And you can turn obligations into opportunities. Words shape thoughts, and you’ll find that if you change your words for the better, your thoughts will change for the better too, and so will your life.
1. Should Have you heard the expression “Stop shoulding all over yourself”? Well, let’s clean that “should” off your pants and replace it with some organic fertilizer, because every obligation can be rephrased as a desire. Instead of “I should go to the store,” how about “I want to go to the store because I’m hungry and I want to buy some food”?
2. Ought “I ought to get this work done before I go to the party.” What do you want to do? Weigh your preferences. How good or bad would you feel about getting the work done first? How good or bad would you feel about leaving it undone? Figure out what you most want, and then do it. In any case, let go of the obligation. “I want to get this work done before I go to the party, because I’ll feel a lot better once it’s finished.”
3. Need to “I need to walk the dog.” How about instead, “I want our dog to be happy and healthy, and I want to have a nice, clean, poop-free house, so I’m going to walk the dog.”
4. Have to “I have to go to work.” Well, no. You don’t have to. It’s just that your actions have consequences. Even if you don’t enjoy the process of getting there, you might really want the end result. So maybe a more positive way to phrase it would be, “I want to make money, so I’m going to go to work.” Keeping your goal in mind can make the process of getting there better for you.
5. Must “I must go to bed now or else I’ll be tired and groggy all day tomorrow.” Okay, you got me, nobody actually talks like this. But you get the idea, right? “Must”, another obligation word, and again you can rephrase it positively as a desire. “I’ll go to bed now because I want to feel alert and awake tomorrow.” Doesn’t that take a weight off your shoulders and make you feel better about it?
6. Can’t Enough of obligation words, limiting words are even more dangerous. How many times do we say “I can’t” when it’s not really true? “I can’t write well.” Maybe you don’t write well right now, but you can if you put your mind to it. If you wanted to, you could practice and learn and gain new skills. So how about “I’m not that great at writing yet?” “Can’t” closes a door. You can stick your foot in that door and prop it open by choosing other words.
7. Impossible “It’s impossible for me to be a professional athlete; I’m just naturally clumsy.” You know what? I’ve seen a one-legged man compete in a Dance Dance Revolution tournament — and win. Nothing is impossible, it just takes time, practice, and dedication. Talent is completely irrelevant in the face of determination. How about “It’s possible for me to be a professional athlete if I want to put in the time and effort.”
8. Never “I could never sing as well as her.” Again, you probably could. Even if today, the sound of you singing in the shower sends birds spiraling disoriented into the ground, that’s just today. You can improve, you can get better, and you can keep getting better for as long as you want to. She probably took hours and hours of voice lessons, so you’re not being fair to yourself. “I could sing as well as her or better if I put my mind to it.”
9. Smack In addition to limiting words, violent words can bring unnecessary negativity into your life. “I’m gonna smack you if you don’t shut up right now!” If that’s really true, then that’s cool, you’re speaking authentically. But I found myself saying this when what I really meant was, “I’m feeling upset and frustrated because I can’t concentrate with a lot of noise around. Could you please be quiet? I’d really appreciate it.” When I rephrased my vocabulary this way, the people around me felt a lot more considered and respected.
10. Kill Now this one I hope you’re not saying with authenticity. “I’m going to kill you if you leave the toilet seat up one more time!” That’s one way to express anger and frustration, but how about expressing it directly instead? “I feel angry and hurt when you leave the toilet seat up, because it seems inconsiderate to me, like you don’t care about my comfort or our shared space.” The “kill” phrasing is likely to lead to an argument, but the “I feel” phrasing is likely to lead to a conversation that might make things better.
These are just 10 of the many words you can rephrase to improve your life. It’s even easier and more fun with a partner. Pick a word that you’d like to rephrase, and ask your partner to let you know whenever you use that word. It can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding!
What other words can you think of that would improve your life if you rephrased them?
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
“I believe the choice to be excellent begins with aligning your thoughts and words with the intention to require more from yourself.” ~Oprah Winfrey
You’ve heard about the power of positive thinking, right? Everyone’s raving about it. If you simply think positively, rainstorms will turn into rainbows, red lights will turn green, and your in-laws will suddenly turn into human beings. Right? Right?!
Well, it’s true… all except for the “simply” part. Because taming the wild stallion of your randomly rampaging thoughts is not really that simple and not really that easy.
I’ll tell you what you can control, though: your words. By making a few changes in your vocabulary, you can turn steaming piles of crap into 100% organic fertilizer. You can turn an inconvenient power outage into cuddle time with your sweetie. And you can turn obligations into opportunities. Words shape thoughts, and you’ll find that if you change your words for the better, your thoughts will change for the better too, and so will your life.
1. Should Have you heard the expression “Stop shoulding all over yourself”? Well, let’s clean that “should” off your pants and replace it with some organic fertilizer, because every obligation can be rephrased as a desire. Instead of “I should go to the store,” how about “I want to go to the store because I’m hungry and I want to buy some food”?
2. Ought “I ought to get this work done before I go to the party.” What do you want to do? Weigh your preferences. How good or bad would you feel about getting the work done first? How good or bad would you feel about leaving it undone? Figure out what you most want, and then do it. In any case, let go of the obligation. “I want to get this work done before I go to the party, because I’ll feel a lot better once it’s finished.”
3. Need to “I need to walk the dog.” How about instead, “I want our dog to be happy and healthy, and I want to have a nice, clean, poop-free house, so I’m going to walk the dog.”
4. Have to “I have to go to work.” Well, no. You don’t have to. It’s just that your actions have consequences. Even if you don’t enjoy the process of getting there, you might really want the end result. So maybe a more positive way to phrase it would be, “I want to make money, so I’m going to go to work.” Keeping your goal in mind can make the process of getting there better for you.
5. Must “I must go to bed now or else I’ll be tired and groggy all day tomorrow.” Okay, you got me, nobody actually talks like this. But you get the idea, right? “Must”, another obligation word, and again you can rephrase it positively as a desire. “I’ll go to bed now because I want to feel alert and awake tomorrow.” Doesn’t that take a weight off your shoulders and make you feel better about it?
6. Can’t Enough of obligation words, limiting words are even more dangerous. How many times do we say “I can’t” when it’s not really true? “I can’t write well.” Maybe you don’t write well right now, but you can if you put your mind to it. If you wanted to, you could practice and learn and gain new skills. So how about “I’m not that great at writing yet?” “Can’t” closes a door. You can stick your foot in that door and prop it open by choosing other words.
7. Impossible “It’s impossible for me to be a professional athlete; I’m just naturally clumsy.” You know what? I’ve seen a one-legged man compete in a Dance Dance Revolution tournament — and win. Nothing is impossible, it just takes time, practice, and dedication. Talent is completely irrelevant in the face of determination. How about “It’s possible for me to be a professional athlete if I want to put in the time and effort.”
8. Never “I could never sing as well as her.” Again, you probably could. Even if today, the sound of you singing in the shower sends birds spiraling disoriented into the ground, that’s just today. You can improve, you can get better, and you can keep getting better for as long as you want to. She probably took hours and hours of voice lessons, so you’re not being fair to yourself. “I could sing as well as her or better if I put my mind to it.”
9. Smack In addition to limiting words, violent words can bring unnecessary negativity into your life. “I’m gonna smack you if you don’t shut up right now!” If that’s really true, then that’s cool, you’re speaking authentically. But I found myself saying this when what I really meant was, “I’m feeling upset and frustrated because I can’t concentrate with a lot of noise around. Could you please be quiet? I’d really appreciate it.” When I rephrased my vocabulary this way, the people around me felt a lot more considered and respected.
10. Kill Now this one I hope you’re not saying with authenticity. “I’m going to kill you if you leave the toilet seat up one more time!” That’s one way to express anger and frustration, but how about expressing it directly instead? “I feel angry and hurt when you leave the toilet seat up, because it seems inconsiderate to me, like you don’t care about my comfort or our shared space.” The “kill” phrasing is likely to lead to an argument, but the “I feel” phrasing is likely to lead to a conversation that might make things better.
These are just 10 of the many words you can rephrase to improve your life. It’s even easier and more fun with a partner. Pick a word that you’d like to rephrase, and ask your partner to let you know whenever you use that word. It can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding!
What other words can you think of that would improve your life if you rephrased them?
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
"101 Good Ways to Build Links"
You Have To Love It - It All Free. :-)
1. Build a "101 list". These get Dugg all the time, and often become "authority documents". People can't resist linking to these (hint, hint).
2. Create 10 easy tips to help you [insert topic here] articles. Again, these are exceptionally easy to link to.
3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic (see Mr Ploppy for inspiration).
4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.
5. Create a list of gurus/experts. If you impress the people listed well enough, or find a way to make your project look somewhat official, the gurus may end up linking to your site or saying thanks. (Sometimes flattery is the easiest way to strike up a good relationship with an "authority".)
*Developing Authority & Being Easy to Link At*
6. Make your content easy to understand so many people can understand and spread your message. (It's an accessibility thing.)
7. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site.
8. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems more trustworthy. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority.
*PPC as a Link Building Tool*
9. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you.
*News & Syndication*
10. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.
11. Submit an article to industry news site. Have an SEO site? Write an article and submit to WebProNews. Have a site about BLANK? Submit to BLANKinformationalsite.com.
12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc.
13. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.
14. Trade articles with other webmasters.
15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.
16. Write about, and link to, companies with "in the news" pages. They link back to stories and blog posts which cover their developments. This is obviously easiest if you have a news section or blog. Do a Google search for [your industry + "in the news"].
17. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free. Salary.com did a study on how underpaid mothers were, and they got many high quality links.
*Directories, Meme Trackers & Social Bookmarking*
18. This tip is an oldie but goodie: submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.
19. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.
20. Create your own topical directory about your field of interest. Obviously link to your own site, deeplinking to important content where possible. Of course, if you make it into a truly useful resource, it will attract links on its own.
21. Tag related sites on sites like Del.icio.us. If people find the sites you tag to be interesting, emotionally engaging, or timely they may follow the trail back to your site.
22. If you create something that is of great quality make sure you ask a few friends to tag it for you. If your site gets on the front page of Digg or on the Del.icio.us popular list, hundreds more bloggers will see your site, and potentially link to it.
23. Look at meme trackers to see what ideas are spreading. If you write about popular spreading ideas with plenty of original content (and link to some of the original resources), your site may get listed as a source on the meme tracker site.
*Local & Business Links*
24. Join the Better Business Bureau.
25. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.
26. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources. (Easier in some countries than in others.)
27. List your site at the local library's Web site.
28. See if your manufacturers or retailers or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.
29. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online and off, by recommending each other via links and distributing each other's business cards.
30. Launch an affiliate program. Most of the links you pick up will not have SEO value, but the added exposure will almost always lead to additional "normal" links.
*Easy Free Links*
31. Depending on your category and offer, you will find Craigslist to be a cheap or free classified service.
32. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources.
33. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources.
34. If you run a fairly reputable company, create a page about it in the Wikipedia or in topic specific wikis. If it is hard to list your site directly, try to add links to other pages that link to your site.
35. It takes about 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoo page, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.
36. Submit a story to Digg that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your profile page.
37. If you publish an RSS feed and your content is useful and regularly updated, some people will syndicate your RSS content (and some of those will provide links… unfortunately, some will not).
38. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links and potentially read your site, link at your site, and/or buy your products.
*Have a Big Heart for Reviews*
39. Most brands are not well established online, so if your site has much authority, your review related content often ranks well.
40. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.
41. Create product lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your background (LINK!).
42. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams.
43. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.
44. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turn into links. Two testimonial writing tips — make them believable, and be specific where possible.
*Blogs & the Blogosphere*
45. Start a blog. Not just for the sake of having one. Post regularly and post great content. Good execution is what gets the links.
46. Link to other blogs from your blog. Outbound links are one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. Many bloggers also track who is linking to them or where their traffic comes from, so linking to them is an easy way to get noticed by some of them.
47. Comment on other blogs. Most of these comments will not provide much direct search engine value, but if your comments are useful, insightful, and relevant they can drive direct traffic. They also help make the other bloggers become aware of you, and they may start reading your blog and/or linking to it.
48. Technorati tag pages rank well in Yahoo! and MSN, and to a lesser extent in Google. Even if your blog is fairly new you can have your posts featured on the Technorati tag pages by tagging your posts with relevant tags.
49. If you create a blog make sure you list it in a few of the best blog directories.
*Design as a Linking Element*
50. Web 2.0-ify your site. People love to link to anything with AJAX. Even in the narrowest of niches, there is some kind of useful functionality you can build with AJAX.
51. Validate and 508 your site. This (indirect) method makes your site more trustworthy and linkable, especially from governmental sites or design-oriented communities. There are even a few authoritative directories of standards-compliant sites.
52. Order a beautiful CSS redesign. A nice design can get links from sites like CSS Vault.
*Hire Help)
53. Hire a publicist. Good old fashioned 'PR' (not PageRank) can still work wonders. Andy Hagans now offers a link baiting publicity service.
54. Hire a consultant. Yes, you can outsource link building. Just make sure to go with someone good. We recommend WeBuildPages, Debra Mastaler and, ahem, Andy Hagans.
*Link Trading*
55. Swap some links. What?! Did we really just recommend reciprocal link building? Yes, on a small scale, and with relevant partners that will send you traffic. Stay away from the link trading hubs and networks.
56. In case you didn't get the memo — when swapping links, try to get links from within the content of relevant content pages. Do not try to get links from pages that list hundreds of off topic link partners. Only seek link exchanges that you would consider pursuing even if search engines did not exist. Instead of thinking just about your topic when exchanging links, think about demographic audience sets.
*Buying Sites, Renting Links & Advertisements*
57. Rent some high quality links from a broker. Text Link Ads is the most reputable firm in this niche.
58. Rent some high quality links directly from Web sites. Sometimes the most powerful rented links come direct from sites not actively renting links.
59. Become a sponsor. All sorts of charities, contests, and conferences link to their sponsors. This can be a great way to gain visibility, links, and a warm feeling in your heart.
60. Sell items on eBay and offer to donate the profits to a charity. Many charities will link both to the eBay auction and to your site.
61. Many search algorithms seem biased toward older established sites. It may be faster to buy an old site with a strong link profile, and link it to your own site, than to try to start building authority links from scratch.
*Use the Courts (Proceed with Caution*
62. Sue Google.
63. Get sued by a company people hate. When Aaron was sued by Traffic Power, he got hundreds or thousands of links, including links from sites like Wired and The Wall Street Journal.
*Freebies & Giveaways*
64. Hold a contest. Contests make great link bait. A few-hundred-dollar prize can result in thousands of dollars worth of editorial quality links. Enough said.
65. Build a tool collection. Original and useful tools (and collections of tools) get a lot of link love. What do you think ranking for mortgage calculator is worth?
66. Create and release open source site design templates for content management systems like Wordpress. Don't forget the "Designed by example.com" bit in the footer!
67. Offer free samples in exchange for feedback.
68. Release a Firefox extension. Make sure you have a download and/or support page on your site which people can link to.
*Conferences & Social Interaction*
69. It is easy to take pictures of important events and tell narratives about why they are important. Pictures of (drunk?) "celebrities" in your industry make great link bait.
70. Leverage new real world relationships into linking relationships. If you go to SEO related conferences, people like Tim Mayer, Matt Cutts, and Danny Sullivan are readily accessible. Similarly, in other industries, people who would normally seem inaccessible are exceptionally accessible at trade conferences. It is much easier to seem "real" in person. Once you create social relationships in person, it is easy to extend that onto the web.
71. Engaging, useful, and interesting interviews are an easy way to create original content. And they spread like wildfire.
30 Bad Ways to Build Links
Here are a few link buiding methods that may destroy your brand or get your site banned/penalized/filtered from major search engines, or both.
*Directories*
72. Submit your site to 200 cheesy paid directories (averaging $15 a pop) that send zero traffic and sell offtopic run-of-site links.
*Forum Spam*
73. List 100 Web sites in your signature file.
74. Exclusively post only when you can add links to your sites in the post area.
75. Post nothing but "me too" posts to build your post count. Use in combination with a link-rich signature file.
76. Ask questions about who provides the best [WIDGET], where [WIDGET] is an item that you sell. From the same IP address create another forum account and answer your own question raving about how great your own site is.
77. As a new member to various forums, ask the same question at 20 different forums on the same day.
78. Post on forum threads that are years outdated exclusively to link to your semi-related website.
79. Sign up for profiles on forums you never intend on commenting on.
*Blog Spam*
80. Instead of signing blog comments with your real name, sign them with spammy keywords.
81. Start marketing your own site hard on your first blog comment. Add no value to the comment section. Mention nothing other than you recently posted on the same subject at _____ and everyone should read it. Carpet bomb dozens of blogs with this message.
82. Say nothing unique or relevant to the post at hand. Make them assume an automated bot hit their comments.
83. Better yet, use automated bots to hit their comments. List at least 30 links in each post. Try to see if you can hit any servers hard enough to make them crash.
84. Send pings to everyone talking about a subject. In your aggregation post, state nothing of interest. Only state that other people are talking about the topic.
85. Don't even link to any of the sites you are pinging. Send them pings from posts that do not even reference them.
*Garbage Link Exchanges*
86. Send out link exchange requests mentioning PageRank.
87. Send link exchange emails which look like an automated bot sent them (little or no customization, no personal names, etc.).
88. Send link exchange requests to Matt Cutts, Tim Mayer, Tim Converse, Google, and Yahoo!.
89. Get links from nearly-hidden sections of websites listing hundreds or thousands of off topic sites.
*Spam People in Person*
90. Go to webmaster conferences and rave about how rich you are, and how your affiliates make millions doing nothing.
91. Instead of asking people what their name is, ask what their URL is. As soon as you get their URL ask if they have linked to your site yet and if not, why not.
*Be Persistent*
92. Send a webmaster an alert to every post you make on your website.
93. Send a webmaster an email every single day asking for them to link to your website.
94. Send references to your site to the same webmaster from dozens of different email accounts (you sly dog).
95. If the above do not work to get you a free link, offer them $1 for their time. Increase your offer by a dollar each day until they give in.
*Getting Links by Being a Jerk*
96. Emulate the RIAA. When in doubt, file a lawsuit against a 12-year-old girl. (Failing that, obtain bad press by any means necessary.)
97. Steal content published by well known names. Strip out any attribution. Aggregate many popular channels and just wait for them to start talking about you.
98. Send thousands of fake referrals at every top ranking Web site, guaranteeing larger boobs, a 14-inch penis (is that length or girth?), or millions of dollars in free, unclaimed money.
99. Wear your URL on your t-shirt. Walk or drive your car while talking on a cell phone or reading a book. When you run into other people say "excuse you, jerk".
100. Spill coffee on people or find creative ways to insult people to coax them into linking at your site.
101. Sue other webmasters for deep linking to your site. Well, this is more "hilariously dumb" than it is a "bad linking practice".
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
1. Build a "101 list". These get Dugg all the time, and often become "authority documents". People can't resist linking to these (hint, hint).
2. Create 10 easy tips to help you [insert topic here] articles. Again, these are exceptionally easy to link to.
3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic (see Mr Ploppy for inspiration).
4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.
5. Create a list of gurus/experts. If you impress the people listed well enough, or find a way to make your project look somewhat official, the gurus may end up linking to your site or saying thanks. (Sometimes flattery is the easiest way to strike up a good relationship with an "authority".)
*Developing Authority & Being Easy to Link At*
6. Make your content easy to understand so many people can understand and spread your message. (It's an accessibility thing.)
7. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site.
8. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems more trustworthy. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority.
*PPC as a Link Building Tool*
9. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you.
*News & Syndication*
10. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.
11. Submit an article to industry news site. Have an SEO site? Write an article and submit to WebProNews. Have a site about BLANK? Submit to BLANKinformationalsite.com.
12. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make it GOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc.
13. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.
14. Trade articles with other webmasters.
15. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.
16. Write about, and link to, companies with "in the news" pages. They link back to stories and blog posts which cover their developments. This is obviously easiest if you have a news section or blog. Do a Google search for [your industry + "in the news"].
17. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free. Salary.com did a study on how underpaid mothers were, and they got many high quality links.
*Directories, Meme Trackers & Social Bookmarking*
18. This tip is an oldie but goodie: submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.
19. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.
20. Create your own topical directory about your field of interest. Obviously link to your own site, deeplinking to important content where possible. Of course, if you make it into a truly useful resource, it will attract links on its own.
21. Tag related sites on sites like Del.icio.us. If people find the sites you tag to be interesting, emotionally engaging, or timely they may follow the trail back to your site.
22. If you create something that is of great quality make sure you ask a few friends to tag it for you. If your site gets on the front page of Digg or on the Del.icio.us popular list, hundreds more bloggers will see your site, and potentially link to it.
23. Look at meme trackers to see what ideas are spreading. If you write about popular spreading ideas with plenty of original content (and link to some of the original resources), your site may get listed as a source on the meme tracker site.
*Local & Business Links*
24. Join the Better Business Bureau.
25. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.
26. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources. (Easier in some countries than in others.)
27. List your site at the local library's Web site.
28. See if your manufacturers or retailers or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.
29. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online and off, by recommending each other via links and distributing each other's business cards.
30. Launch an affiliate program. Most of the links you pick up will not have SEO value, but the added exposure will almost always lead to additional "normal" links.
*Easy Free Links*
31. Depending on your category and offer, you will find Craigslist to be a cheap or free classified service.
32. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources.
33. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources.
34. If you run a fairly reputable company, create a page about it in the Wikipedia or in topic specific wikis. If it is hard to list your site directly, try to add links to other pages that link to your site.
35. It takes about 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoo page, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.
36. Submit a story to Digg that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your profile page.
37. If you publish an RSS feed and your content is useful and regularly updated, some people will syndicate your RSS content (and some of those will provide links… unfortunately, some will not).
38. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links and potentially read your site, link at your site, and/or buy your products.
*Have a Big Heart for Reviews*
39. Most brands are not well established online, so if your site has much authority, your review related content often ranks well.
40. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.
41. Create product lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your background (LINK!).
42. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams.
43. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.
44. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turn into links. Two testimonial writing tips — make them believable, and be specific where possible.
*Blogs & the Blogosphere*
45. Start a blog. Not just for the sake of having one. Post regularly and post great content. Good execution is what gets the links.
46. Link to other blogs from your blog. Outbound links are one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. Many bloggers also track who is linking to them or where their traffic comes from, so linking to them is an easy way to get noticed by some of them.
47. Comment on other blogs. Most of these comments will not provide much direct search engine value, but if your comments are useful, insightful, and relevant they can drive direct traffic. They also help make the other bloggers become aware of you, and they may start reading your blog and/or linking to it.
48. Technorati tag pages rank well in Yahoo! and MSN, and to a lesser extent in Google. Even if your blog is fairly new you can have your posts featured on the Technorati tag pages by tagging your posts with relevant tags.
49. If you create a blog make sure you list it in a few of the best blog directories.
*Design as a Linking Element*
50. Web 2.0-ify your site. People love to link to anything with AJAX. Even in the narrowest of niches, there is some kind of useful functionality you can build with AJAX.
51. Validate and 508 your site. This (indirect) method makes your site more trustworthy and linkable, especially from governmental sites or design-oriented communities. There are even a few authoritative directories of standards-compliant sites.
52. Order a beautiful CSS redesign. A nice design can get links from sites like CSS Vault.
*Hire Help)
53. Hire a publicist. Good old fashioned 'PR' (not PageRank) can still work wonders. Andy Hagans now offers a link baiting publicity service.
54. Hire a consultant. Yes, you can outsource link building. Just make sure to go with someone good. We recommend WeBuildPages, Debra Mastaler and, ahem, Andy Hagans.
*Link Trading*
55. Swap some links. What?! Did we really just recommend reciprocal link building? Yes, on a small scale, and with relevant partners that will send you traffic. Stay away from the link trading hubs and networks.
56. In case you didn't get the memo — when swapping links, try to get links from within the content of relevant content pages. Do not try to get links from pages that list hundreds of off topic link partners. Only seek link exchanges that you would consider pursuing even if search engines did not exist. Instead of thinking just about your topic when exchanging links, think about demographic audience sets.
*Buying Sites, Renting Links & Advertisements*
57. Rent some high quality links from a broker. Text Link Ads is the most reputable firm in this niche.
58. Rent some high quality links directly from Web sites. Sometimes the most powerful rented links come direct from sites not actively renting links.
59. Become a sponsor. All sorts of charities, contests, and conferences link to their sponsors. This can be a great way to gain visibility, links, and a warm feeling in your heart.
60. Sell items on eBay and offer to donate the profits to a charity. Many charities will link both to the eBay auction and to your site.
61. Many search algorithms seem biased toward older established sites. It may be faster to buy an old site with a strong link profile, and link it to your own site, than to try to start building authority links from scratch.
*Use the Courts (Proceed with Caution*
62. Sue Google.
63. Get sued by a company people hate. When Aaron was sued by Traffic Power, he got hundreds or thousands of links, including links from sites like Wired and The Wall Street Journal.
*Freebies & Giveaways*
64. Hold a contest. Contests make great link bait. A few-hundred-dollar prize can result in thousands of dollars worth of editorial quality links. Enough said.
65. Build a tool collection. Original and useful tools (and collections of tools) get a lot of link love. What do you think ranking for mortgage calculator is worth?
66. Create and release open source site design templates for content management systems like Wordpress. Don't forget the "Designed by example.com" bit in the footer!
67. Offer free samples in exchange for feedback.
68. Release a Firefox extension. Make sure you have a download and/or support page on your site which people can link to.
*Conferences & Social Interaction*
69. It is easy to take pictures of important events and tell narratives about why they are important. Pictures of (drunk?) "celebrities" in your industry make great link bait.
70. Leverage new real world relationships into linking relationships. If you go to SEO related conferences, people like Tim Mayer, Matt Cutts, and Danny Sullivan are readily accessible. Similarly, in other industries, people who would normally seem inaccessible are exceptionally accessible at trade conferences. It is much easier to seem "real" in person. Once you create social relationships in person, it is easy to extend that onto the web.
71. Engaging, useful, and interesting interviews are an easy way to create original content. And they spread like wildfire.
30 Bad Ways to Build Links
Here are a few link buiding methods that may destroy your brand or get your site banned/penalized/filtered from major search engines, or both.
*Directories*
72. Submit your site to 200 cheesy paid directories (averaging $15 a pop) that send zero traffic and sell offtopic run-of-site links.
*Forum Spam*
73. List 100 Web sites in your signature file.
74. Exclusively post only when you can add links to your sites in the post area.
75. Post nothing but "me too" posts to build your post count. Use in combination with a link-rich signature file.
76. Ask questions about who provides the best [WIDGET], where [WIDGET] is an item that you sell. From the same IP address create another forum account and answer your own question raving about how great your own site is.
77. As a new member to various forums, ask the same question at 20 different forums on the same day.
78. Post on forum threads that are years outdated exclusively to link to your semi-related website.
79. Sign up for profiles on forums you never intend on commenting on.
*Blog Spam*
80. Instead of signing blog comments with your real name, sign them with spammy keywords.
81. Start marketing your own site hard on your first blog comment. Add no value to the comment section. Mention nothing other than you recently posted on the same subject at _____ and everyone should read it. Carpet bomb dozens of blogs with this message.
82. Say nothing unique or relevant to the post at hand. Make them assume an automated bot hit their comments.
83. Better yet, use automated bots to hit their comments. List at least 30 links in each post. Try to see if you can hit any servers hard enough to make them crash.
84. Send pings to everyone talking about a subject. In your aggregation post, state nothing of interest. Only state that other people are talking about the topic.
85. Don't even link to any of the sites you are pinging. Send them pings from posts that do not even reference them.
*Garbage Link Exchanges*
86. Send out link exchange requests mentioning PageRank.
87. Send link exchange emails which look like an automated bot sent them (little or no customization, no personal names, etc.).
88. Send link exchange requests to Matt Cutts, Tim Mayer, Tim Converse, Google, and Yahoo!.
89. Get links from nearly-hidden sections of websites listing hundreds or thousands of off topic sites.
*Spam People in Person*
90. Go to webmaster conferences and rave about how rich you are, and how your affiliates make millions doing nothing.
91. Instead of asking people what their name is, ask what their URL is. As soon as you get their URL ask if they have linked to your site yet and if not, why not.
*Be Persistent*
92. Send a webmaster an alert to every post you make on your website.
93. Send a webmaster an email every single day asking for them to link to your website.
94. Send references to your site to the same webmaster from dozens of different email accounts (you sly dog).
95. If the above do not work to get you a free link, offer them $1 for their time. Increase your offer by a dollar each day until they give in.
*Getting Links by Being a Jerk*
96. Emulate the RIAA. When in doubt, file a lawsuit against a 12-year-old girl. (Failing that, obtain bad press by any means necessary.)
97. Steal content published by well known names. Strip out any attribution. Aggregate many popular channels and just wait for them to start talking about you.
98. Send thousands of fake referrals at every top ranking Web site, guaranteeing larger boobs, a 14-inch penis (is that length or girth?), or millions of dollars in free, unclaimed money.
99. Wear your URL on your t-shirt. Walk or drive your car while talking on a cell phone or reading a book. When you run into other people say "excuse you, jerk".
100. Spill coffee on people or find creative ways to insult people to coax them into linking at your site.
101. Sue other webmasters for deep linking to your site. Well, this is more "hilariously dumb" than it is a "bad linking practice".
** Please Remember This My Friends: Feel it, Believe it, Live it. The Magic Words, "Just Do It" **
The Best
"Starbuck Man"
Randy Flaherty
Starbuckman@gmail.com
Contact: powerman297@hotmail.com
Contact: 320-239-4537
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