Squidoo: 24 Lenses in 24 Hours
Squidoo: 24 Lenses in 24 Hours
Found myself getting into a rut, and a lazy rut
at that! So I looked around for some kind of
challenge to peak my interest, and what did I
find?
We were just a couple of days away from the
deadline for Giant Squid application!
And what the blazes is a Giant Squid?
Well even if you aren’t using it, if you are reading
this you’ve at least heard of Squidoo. Seth Godin’s
brainchild, and hugely useful for generating traffic,
sales and cash. If you are unfamiliar check it out
HERE.
Anyway, a Giant Squid is a lensmaster (the pages
you create on Squidoo are called lenses) that has
at least 50 lenses of good quality and gets selected
by Squidoo’s appointed folks for that designation.
Selection only happens once a quarter, and so this
Monday (okay tomorrow!) is the next deadline for
application. This motivated me!
So I set out as a first step to get within shouting
of that benchmark of 50 lenses. Unfortunately
I only had 23 or so good lenses published.
Hmm…
Okay so since I got this urge on Friday AM it looked
like I finally found something to get me of my butt!
So, I challenged myself to produce:
24 Lenses in 24 Hours
(Click Here To See Them)
Now I have to admit that I set out on this without
really doing the math on what it would take to do it.
I started at 1:30 in the afternoon (EST) and set out
to finish by the same time Saturday.
The first 5 seemed to take forever, but were really
done in just over 2 hours, so I was encouraged…
I finally called it quits and went to bed around 2:30AM.
Slept in a bit, but knew I had it licked as I only needed
7 more to accomplish my goal.
Funny thing is, I still need 7 more to get to 50, but I
know I can knock those out tonight, and get my app
in tomorrow AM.
In the past my lenses have done pretty well traffic
and rating wise, but lately they have really taken
off. Mostly because of the info I shared in Lens #8
of my 24, titled Google Gadgets.
Well, better get back at it if I am going to get to 50
tonight. Just thought I’d let you know what had
me pumped again…
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
This is off topic, but these are some great deals on wine:
Summer Clearance Sale at Wine.com! Save 20% off any 6 or more bottles of clearance sale wines.
Popularity: 2% [?]
2008 Presidential Campaign - I Was Promised Flying Cars!
2008 Presidential Campaign - I Was Promised Flying Cars!
This is a bit off topic, but my social conscience is
prodding me a bit here. Particularly in light of
the ongoing 2008 Presidential Campaigns.
Not to worry, you won’t catch me stumping for
either of these candidates. The recent rash of
interesting posts from blogs that I subscribe to
give ample reason to have absolutely no basis
for faith in any candidate that either party could,
or would put forth.
Stay with me here, as this will take a bit to explain
my point. (And yes I have one…)
I grew up wide eyed and innocent in small town
Illinois buying whole hog into the idea that anything
is possible in this country. Do you remember being
young enough to believe that you could fly?
With that kind of start to life, flying cars seemed the
least of what was possible. The sky was indeed the
limit, if not the Sun and the stars!
Of course, life continues and we grow up. The dream
goes out of life here in the US of A, and our ability
to hold onto vestiges of youthful exhuberance ebbs.
But now and then…
Just occasionally…
We dare to hope, and to dream again that it is possible
to overcome the muck we are mired in and to soar.
Something comes along and nurtures that original
spark that had been just about extinguished forever.
Lately that spark has been the ingenuity with which
the great minds of the day are addressing what is so
obviously a global crisis brought about by an economy
so overly based upon fossil fuels.
One of my favorite sites these days is InHabitat.
This amazing blog constantly amazes me as it shows
what can and is being pursued to make the planet a
cleaner, safer… an infinitely better place for all of us
to live. You owe it to your inner child to go and just
absorb it all. Truly amazing stuff!
But I digress.
Today a Digg friend sent me a shout with a news
item that showed not just ingenuity, but determination
and a resolve to not just brainstorm but to apply what
is so clearly possible. Not in fifty years, or even twenty,
but in seven.
Mercedes Benz has committed to cutting petroleum
fuel sources out of their line of vehicles by 2015.
Reading this report can’t help but make your whole
being just radiate with possibilities. And then…
The very next Digg shout I get is THIS.
That’s right. The same government that wants to
approve drilling for oil anywhere and everywhere
regardless of the fact that it will take about 10 years
to have a negligible effect on fuel prices, is too worried
about environmental repercussions to allow Solar
Power Plants to be built.
These same plants could supply 10% of US homes
with clean, cheap and completely renewable
electricity.
So, let’s be clear. There is a loud cry to get quicker
and less stringently regulated Oil and Natural Gas
drilling approvals, but we need to be really careful
about moving ahead with Solar?
At this point, many of you are shaking your heads
and saying one of two things.
1. Hey! John McCain is offering a $300M bounty
for a Car Battery! He is really serious about these
issues!
2. Obama is definitely the way to go so that we can
get away from this administrations ties to Big Oil!
And yes, I am aware that there are many more points
that each camp would like to make on this subject.
Unfortunately, it all amounts to a lot of finger pointing
at the other side, with exclamations of “They’re Worse!”
Any impartial observer cannot help but notice that
the important questions are going not just unanswered,
but not even asked.
Eisenhower famously warned about the dangers of the
Industrial Military Complex. Not even he could have
predicted a time when things had gone so far that even
the much touted “Free Press” would have long since
been bought out by them.
It is also painfully obvious that the revolution of ideas,
innovation and design that is so alive in other parts of
the globe, will have to get along without the “Land of
the Free”.
We are too busy being fleeced by those that are afraid
that their might still be some advantage left in squeezing
the last depreciating dollar from the middle and lower
classes. Or perhaps they are just making sure they have
completely extinguished once and for all, any glimmer
of that belief that we began with…
So while the politicians on all sides battle over
semantics, and peddle fear as a means to power…
While intelligence, rational thought and any real desire
to make a difference for the better are punished brutally
in this country…
While Keith Olbermann, Bill O’Reilly, Al Franken and
Ann Coulter rip one another’s flesh over anything they
can while adding nothing of any value to the debate…
We may one day get our “Flying Cars”.
Like the 150 MPG Automobile however, it will evidently
have to come from Hungary.
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Popularity: 2% [?]
Social Marketing Is Marketing Without Seeming To
Social Marketing Is Marketing Without Seeming To
This is a concept that I have struggled with.
Take my last post for example. The product this
post is about is definitely something that my
readers will profit from knowing about, but even
I found it a bit too “salesy” if you get my drift.
Lately my Google Reader has been getting a lot
more filled up as I find increasing numbers of
blogs and sites that have great content as well as
make reference to products and services that solve
problems that I have been struggling with.
And that’s the point…
In the course of conversations about relevant issues,
to insert text (and therefore links) referencing those
solutions that you have found useful will result in
your readers finding solutions, you getting sales,
and steadily increasing readership.
Win, win, win!
Maybe you have seen the posts with titles like:
“Content Is Dead: Resource is King!”
While we are all seeing, and finding useful, blog posts
that are basically lists of Social Media services, or other
“Resources” becoming more popular, don’t be misled.
Resource lists are useful as one type of content, but
should not be used to totally replace all other types.
With the proliferation of these posts, do readers just
osmotically know how to utilize these services to their
maximum potential?
Of course not!
I know that I have gotten more useful information
out of a post giving a few choice nuggets about how
to get the most out of Digg, than I did out of the last
ten posts giving me lists of “Hundreds of Digg-like
Sites”.
The traffic that directed to my sites from a technique
learned in an email that Willie Crawford sent me has
far surpassed anything that I could have gotten from
the product being offered there. Why?
Because Willie understands that for a product, service
or tool to be relevant to a discussion:
First there has to be a discussion!
And it has to be able to stand alone with or without the
offer of sale being made. That is the question that I
will be putting to myself going forward:
Does this post stand on it’s own
without any saleslink?
If it doesn’t, then there really isn’t any point is there?
No my friends, content isn’t dead but it sure is rapidly
changing. The 2008 Authority Blackbook points out
the various types of posts that are vital to your blogs
traffic, and I’ve learned a lot there that is making my
traffic grow steadily even though this is not a WP blog.
Resource list posts are definitely great linkbait posts,
and when you find a good one elsewhere they can
definitely be good fodder for Trackback links. Just
be sure that you are adding something to the dialog
other than just: “Here’s a great list for ya!”
Lord knows I’ve been guilty of that a time or two,
but it really doesn’t add anything to the flow. Plus,
it will ultimately slow the flow of Web 2.0 traffic to
your posts.
Is content dead? I don’t think so.
Keep on posting it, and you’ll reap it’s rewards.
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Easily and cheaply create CDs & DVDs
from your digital products. Video Review
Popularity: 3% [?]
New Tool - PayPal Payment Buttons For Your Videos
New Tool - PayPal Payment Buttons For Your Videos
If you are only using your marketing videos to promote your products and services then you could be losing out on the opportunity to allow your customers to make a purchase.
If you are not using payment buttons on your videos, you should be. This will take your video advertising to a whole new level. Allowing your customers to make a buying decision while they are watching your marketing videos is by far the best solution.
Most people are only using video as a promotional tool, but what if your customers could click on a “buy now” button while watching your video presentation?
Do you think this would help to increase your sales?
The only way to compete in this new video advertising age is to allow your customers to interact with your video presentations. There are a lot of different video branding products on the market today that allow you to place text links on your video screens and that’s great, but you can’t use these products to place payment buttons on your video.
Video Direct Pay 2.0 is the revolutionary new software that allows you to do just that. With this incredible new software you can place a “more details” button and a “buy now” anywhere on your marketing videos.
Video Direct Pay 2.0 was created by Kevin Burns, the Creative Director of Unselfish Marketer’s Co. Ltd.. Kevin is a qualified software developer who has created a new product that will change the way we do business online.
If you are ready to start placing payment buttons on your videos, just click HERE.
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Popularity: 2% [?]
Review And Video On Floating Action Button
Review And Video On Floating Action Button
Being a raging technophobe at heart, I’ve always
enjoyed finding services that allow you to get cool
features on your website without having to write
a bunch of code yourself.
Floating Action Button is exactly that. This will
allow you to easily add those buttons and subcription
forms that will stay in the frame as your reader scrolls
down your webpage. Take a look at one I set up HERE.
This thing has increased my conversion rate by about
eighty percent, and will increase yours too.
There is very little downside to this, as you can maintain
five of these as a free member. Get more of an overview
by watchi this VIDEO.
More later.
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Popularity: 2% [?]
YouTube Annotations Perfect For Social Marketing
YouTube Annotations Perfect For Social Marketing
Was going through my RSS feeds on my Google
reader last night and noticed some folks busting
YouTubes chops about how they do business,
and noticed a few notes about the new things
you can do to the vids you upload.
Now as my readers know, I am as technically
challenged as they come, so this was going to
have to be really simple to be of absolutely any
use to me at all…
Shoooooot! I had no problem at all.
Go to your YouTube account and take a look
at any of your videos own pages. There just
below your info is a frame marked:
“Edit Video Annotations”
Click on that and you are there! Take a look
at the simple interface. Not much to learn,
but the impact of what you can do here should
not be lost on you for marketing purposes.
You can add a “Speech Bubble” (much like
cartoon bubbles) a Note, or a “Spotlight”.
And you can place them, size them and pick
the time you want it to show any or all of these.
I put a simple note on this newsclip that a
friend sent me to promote a Squidoo Lens
of mine:
Notice that there is no Annotation showing
here. The only place the Annotation will show
up is at the videos specific YouTube page. Not
in an embedded page, and not on as the main
video on your YouTube profile page.
You can see the Annotation for this video HERE
It is set to show the whole time the video
plays, but I could choose to post a running
commentary on whatever videos I have uploaded.
Or put up “Speech Bubbles” to carry on an
imaginary conversation between people on
a video. The important part is to use your
imagination and make the videos work for
you to direct traffic, create interaction,
or just create more buzz.
Werner Roi created a great vid about using
Annotations. Watch it HERE
Also noticed a useful feature allowing users
to leave a “Video Comment” to another video.
This function will let your video be either
shown below that video as a link letting the
viewer choose to watch the next related video,
or become a part of a chain of related vids.
Think you could get some more views of
your own videos by linking to related vids
this way? I know I could!
Leave some comments with your own
ideas for using these features…
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Free Floating Buttons, Forms, Squeeze Pages and Ads.
Watch the video NOW!
Popularity: 2% [?]
Social Marketing Still Requires A Purple Cow
Social Marketing Still Requires A Purple Cow
If you have been around marketing for a while,
that title isn’t much of a surprise to you. On the
other hand many still aren’t all that familiar with
Seth Godin and his Purple Cow principle.
It goes like this.
If you drive by the average farm, cows are so
commonplace that you don’t really notice them.
But if you drove by and saw a Purple Cow, then
you would sit up and take notice. No doubt you
would tell everybody you came in contact with
about that Purple Cow that you saw. You wouldn’t
be the only one either, and this would create a buzz
that would spread exponentially.
Virally you might say…
This concept has made a lot of people a lot of
fungolas with so called Purple Cow marketing
campaigns. Today however, with everybody
hitting Social Marketing with a sledgehammer
the importance of having a Unique Sales Proposal
(or USP) has slipped a lot of people’s minds.
It shouldn’t!
Just as the internet is just a tool, Social Marketing
methods are also just tools. They do nothing to
change the fact that your marketing message
needs to have it very own Purple Cow, or USP.
Now think about how quickly a Purple Cow ad
campaign can go viral using Social Marketing tools.
Want an example?
Okay, maybe you have heard of Jason Moffat.
His YouTube videos are hilarious! They get
tons of views and he sells affiliate products like
few crazy. Take a look at this one:
The particular offer that this promoted is over,
but I will guarantee that Jason’s sales were in the
top 10% of all affiliates. Note that his “Prostate
Exam” got over 24,000 views. This is definitely
a Purple Cow approach to marketing.
Am I suggesting that you do something this shocking
to promote your campaigns? That is up to you!
Shocking is relative. Sometimes what will stand
out is not as over the top. Another YouTube video
that stands out is something that Seth Godin himself
has pointed to:
Who would think of running an iPhone through a
blender? The guy that did has gotten not 24,000
views, but in excess of 4,000,000 views!
Their site is listed in their YouTube profile as Blendtec
and has an Alexa rank of 117,028. Wanna bet they’re
selling some blenders?
YouTube isn’t the only Social Media site where it is
possible to start a Purple Cow ad campaign, but it
is a great one. The challenge is to use the unique
qualities of each to greatest advantage.
Take Twitter for instance.
It is the most widely used platform for microblogging
right now. How can you use their 140 characters to
make a marketing statement that will stand out in
a field like a Purple Cow? There are a growing number
of apps out there built just to maximize the Twitter
experience. Maybe they can help…
What about Digg? Can you make your profile, or
your Diggs themselves into a USP?
Hopefully this post will start your own creative
juices flowing. I know it isn’t my first post on this
subject, but it is one of the toughest challenges
that we face as marketers. Creating buzz!
That’s why I have a ceramic cow on my desk!
Guess what color she is…
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Popularity: 10% [?]
Review Of ViralURL
Let’s not waste a lot of time here.
Most of the reviews of this tool set go on and on
about how this thing will peal your potatos and
slice your bread and you will be making money
in your sleep (always my favorite) so you’d better
get off of your butt and:
SIGN UP NOW!!!
(there shouts, not mine, lol)
ViralURL is a Link Cloaker, a List Builder
and an Ad Tracker. It does all of these well.
Take a look at Todd Gross’ video review HERE.
‘Nuff said?!
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
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Press Play To Double Your Conversion Rates!
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Popularity: 9% [?]
A HodgePodge Of Social Marketing Apps And Functionality
A HodgePodge Of Social Marketing Apps And Functionality
It is definitely one of the joys of working online
when you come across something that makes a
task easier, or gives you an alternative method
of promotion that is not only easy but just plain
works!
1. Yesterday while doing a bit of Digg-work,
there appeared before me an unassuming Tab
that said “Blog It”. Okay so it ain’t the Holy Grail
of Social site promotion, but it really makes it
easy to post something from Digg to several
different blogging platforms. I went back and
blogged a Squidoo Lens of mine that I wanted to
say a few things about here anyway. This made
the post almost effortless. Use this, it’s quite
useful.
2. Speaking of Squidoo. Each and every time
you update one of your lenses, be sure to use the
“Tweet This” link in the green box that appears
for a few seconds right after you hit the “Publish”
button. This will post a Twitter update letting
your friends know that you have updated your
lens. Microblogging is an important part of you
Social Marketing tasks that this can simplify
dramatically.
3. This one is pretty well known, but for those
that have not run across it, OnlyWire is a great
Social Bookmarking service because it posts your
bookmark to over 20 different Social Bookmarking
sites.
4. RSS becomes more important every day as a
means of both promoting your own site and also
to stay abreast of what your favorite bloggers are
posting, and giving you an opportunity to go and
get those all important Trackback Links. Grab
your 2008 Authority Blackbook at the top of the
sidebar for an explanation of how and why these
are important. Been relying more and more heavily
on my Google Reader for this lately, and find that
a web based RSS Reader just works better for me
than than anything else I have tried.
5. RSS Announcer. This is a handy little tool that
you can have on me. Run this every time you post
to your blog, or update any page you publish a feed
for. It will get you subscribers just about every time.
That’s all for now.
Hope you enjoy these and use them too…
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Are You Leveraging Your Promotinal Efforts Or Are Your Wasting Them?
Popularity: 3% [?]
Genepax - Water Powered Fuel Cell Vehicle
Genepax - Water Powered Fuel Cell Vehicle
The Japanese company Genepax has unveiled a vehicle powered by water.Check this out.
******************************************
This appears to be off topic for this blog,
except for one thing:
This is the Digg for a Squidoo Lens that I
put up on Friday June 13th. Well, I tried
a few new things publishing this Lens and
here are the results:
900 Visitors in the first 24 hours with 1,655
total as of this moment. It is ranked #8 in
the Cars & Trucks category with an overall
rank of 352. It has maintained a clickthru
rate of just over 30%.
It has ranked on the first page of Google for
over 10 keywords. Some are slipping now, so
I will have to do a little poking and prodding
to get them back up.
Some online marketing partners have asked me
to put together an ebook on this to sell to
their list exclusively, which is almost done.
If you want this information gratis, I will
be sharing it with my newsletter which you
can get by subscribing at the top of the
right hand sidebar. Do it now and also grab
a copy of Jack Humphrey’s Authority Blackbook.
Eat a peach!
Floyd Bogart
Popularity: 2% [?]
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