April 2006

The King Blogger Seth Godin just wrote a post tiltled, ” It’s good to be king “, and in it he was referring to CEO’s, for the most part.

He also made a statement that I really like and live by every day.

” If you market like a peasant, always a supplicant, always aware of your low station in life, you’re more likely to earn attention. Yes, you need the confidence and perhaps the bearing of a king. But the best marketers today appear to be those that accept the fact that they have no birthright, they weren’t awarded the right to attention. And, who knows, over time, they might earn their way up the ladder–to king. “

The same can be said for salesmen. I see vendors reps who sell to the company I work for act like kings. Some of the companies themselves act like kings.

Too bad.

What they don’t know or remember is that I, as the rep for 25 or so different manufacturers, am going to be the one who decides who I want to promote VIGOROUSLY and who I just throw a bone to every now and then.

Kinda makes me the king, but the worst thing I could do is to let them know that I actually have the upper hand. I’m better off asking nicely for samples and favors and seeing who jumps thru the most hoops and who acts like they want to help me help them.

I like seeing ( and remembering ) who treats me like a friend and who just answers when it’s convenient for them.

It’s okay to live like The King, just don’t act like one !

Well, since I’m getting sick of the ways that a LOT of bloggers act, I’m going to just do a post and vent a little.

Let’s establish a fact first and foremost - Links, Trackbacks and Pings don’t cost you a freakin’ dime. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

This doesn’t just come from the supposed A-List, it has infiltrated or infected the whole blogosphere. Top to bottom. Side to side.

There’s more than enough love to go around if you’d just spread it. You guys are afraid that if you link to someone or reference a post that they wrote, that you whole readership will go away and never come back.

Wrong-o scarcity-boy. They may actually appreciate you for a change and see that you’re worth their time. The also might think you have some use in this world, like doing their dirty work for them.

They WANT you to do the hard and dirty work for them. Scour the ‘net and find what they need. What they crave - INFO !

I even saw with my own eyes a blogger had written :

” I don’t get this “exchanging links” thing. IMHO, you should link to a blog if you believe it’s good for your readership. The other blogger should link to back your blog if she believes it’s good for her readership. In a perfect world, linking is about quality, not reciprocation, with all due respect to Dr. Cialdini. “

I-don’t-get-this-exchanging-links-thing ? What the heck do you think all those links to your blog on Technorati are ? Links where people felt you were good enough for their readers to check out. Do you really believe that everybody should link to you but you have no reason to repay their favor ? Are you really that kingly ? Beware, the mantle of kingship grows heavy over time, O’ Mighty One !

And, Oh-By-The-Way, this ain’t a perfect world. And you ain’t the sole supplier of info. Think about this, Big Shot - if a whopping 6200 pages of your content are viewed daily, which is roughly 8 times my viewership, you still only served about, what, 2900 people. That leaves approximately 6,600,000,000 other people who ain’t readin’ your blog. Curent world population courtesy of Google.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, ” You can’t have too many friends. “

The best part is that this blogger links to a lot of other blogs that also don’t link to anybody and don’t allow comments. OMG ! What the hell would it hurt for you to keep up with all the other bloggers, like me, who point my readers your way when you write something totally outstanding. Then, every now and then - maybe once a month or quarter, you stingy thang - you could actually link back when I write something amazing….if I ever do.

Why do bloggers act from a point of scarcity, instead of a point of abundance ? R-e-c-i-p-r-o-c-i-t-y ain’t that hard to spell. Heck, even an old country boy from Earlington, KY can spell it, if he has to.

I can understand why an Uber-blogger like Seth Godin doesn’t allow comments, but the brother does link the heck out of people. He’s understands that you can’t have too many friends. He’s a salesman. And he has answered EVERY SINGLE email I’ve ever sent him. Which are mainly to alert him that I referenced a post of his. Why ? ‘Cause he uses TypePad and they suck with Trackbacks.

I did notice though, Seth tends to link to companies and not other bloggers as much as some people do. I don’t, however, think this is done on purpose or maliciously. Or from a point of stingyness.

Those bloggers who don’t understand reciprocal links ? Well, they just write. No links needed ’cause they don’t need to reference anybody, they obviously know it all. Why should they link to the little people ? I AM THE MAN, is their mantra of delusion.

Then we have the B & C-Listers who think they are the stuff. I asked one of them to help me get some PR going on a post and he dropped the f-bomb on me like I was a beggar on a corner. Dude ! Let’s be a little more professional than that. Does anybody else besides me know that email and blog posts are forever ?

These words are gonna live forever and you need to look at ‘em and read ‘em BEFORE you hit Publish/Submit/Send.

Looking for a job ? The interviewer is gonna be scouring the ‘net looking for you and what you say and think.

Want a loan ? Same thing.

Need to be approved before they allow you to move into that condo ? Same deal.

Want to get into M.I.T. ? Same deal. Another reason MySpace is such a bad idea.

Not an A-Lister anymore and need a link ? I’ve got that email where you f-bombed me.

Looking for a Venture Capital ? Big Money is Googling your butt !

How much for a link, Trackback or Ping ? They don’t cost you a freakin’ cent, but holding on to them just might. At least I’m praying that they do.

Peace.

PS - No animals were harmed in the creation of this post. Also, although you might think I’m pointing out a certain blogger, or two, or three, I’m being general with my ” they’s, them’s, he’s and such “.

Technorati’s chart I’m using above shows that there were less than 5000 corporate bloggers when it was created. Maybe David Sifry can drop by and give us an update. Whatever the number is, it’s too low. Whatever the number of general info product blogs is, it’s too high.

I’m out to change that chart and makes it obsolete. I want to see more bloggers working on and in their local communities in a positive and professional manner.

In my last post I hinted at a way for bloggers to make a lot more money than a the majority of them do now. It will also enable them to become a more vital part of their community, which will enable them to make even more money. Which, in turn, will give them more time to spend on themselves, which will make them even more money. It’s a delicious cycle, rather than a viscious one.

There’s a lot of blogging going on today that makes no sense and very little from AdSense. Tired of that pitiful little monthly check ? Do you even make enough to get paid monthly. I do. But I make about 5 times as much by selling ads on my blogs than I do from AdSense revenue. And I’ll make 10 times more than that as I blog for the corporate/local business world. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting that check from Google, but there’s a LOT more money out there and I’m gonna tell you how you can make more than you ever dreamed of from blogging.

If you saw my last post, you know there’s a lot of businesses out there today that have no clue as to how to spend their advertising and/or marketing dollars.

Think about this for a few minutes and let’s see if we can make this into something that will make bloggers more valuable, more accepted and more money.

How many local companies like this do you do business with :

• Restaurants
• Doctors
• Chiropractors
• Dentists
• Eye Doctors
• Lawyers
• Furniture Dealers
• Car Dealers
• Dry Cleaners
• Coffee Shops
• Repair Shops

The list could go on and on, but you see where I’m going with this. Any business that sells a product or especially a service oriented business can benefit from a blogger. Especially if that blogger knows anything at all about marketing.

Start them off with a blog, then move them into email marketing. Capture their customers email addresses and then, after they figure out what day is their slow day, you email their list with a special for that day only.

Got a hairdresser who can’t get anybody in the chair on Tuesday ? During your blogging for that hairdresser, make a comment about how slow it is on Tuesday and send out an email with a special for Tuesday. 25% off for the first 12 people who call and make an appoitment.

If you have more than 12 people call and have some who can’t get an appointment, don’t make ‘em mad, make ‘em an appointment and give them the same 25% off.

Got a dental hygenist who ends up with no appointments on Wednesday’s ? Create a Wednesday Frenzy and then email their list with 20% off coupons for anybody who calls and gets an appointment for Wednesday.

Same thing applies. Don’t make those who are a little late mad. Make ‘em an appointment ! Give them the same discount.

Chiropractors offices are prime examples of someone who could use marketing help. They have a lot of info they could share in a blog. All they need is for you, expert blogger that you are, to take their content and put it in blog form. And if you can help them fill all their free time with email marketing like I’ve already explained, you’re now a valuable member of their team.

Surely a chiropractor can afford to pay you well for making his time profitable. Maybe you can even barter some adjustments for you and your family. Same thing for your hairdresser. Your mechanic. Your drycleaner. Your favorite restaurant. Your dentist. Any service you spend money on every week is a prime example of someone who needs you to blog for them.

The cell phone companies don’t need you to reblog about a blog post that was blogged about 31 times already. The less we hear about Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan, the better off we’ll all be.

I see more opportunities for bloggers to make good money and become more involved in their local economies than if they hide behind a keyboard and talk about their cats, what they ate for dinner or their non-existent love life.

Get out and talk to the people that you do business with. Start blogging about what they can do for their customers and less about your inability to make money from AdSense.

Instead of blogging about gadgets and products in general, spend your time blogging about some specific products and services. Believe me, the corporate world has a lot of money to spend on marketing and advertising and it’s time for bloggers to start making some of it.

Don’t want to work for only one person in a specific field ? Then start a blog about all the services in your local area and sell ad space on it.

The blogosphere doesn’t need another blog about cats, gadgets, celebs, politics, music, games, blogwatching, or any of the other popular topics. What the blogosphere needs is for bloggers to step up and make a difference in their local communities in a professional manner.

Need more answers to your questions ? Leave me a comment.

Need more ideas ? Ask and ye shall receive.

Want to help ? A Trackback and post from your own blog would go a long way.

I’ve told several bloggers that they’d make more money if they tried this and, to my knowledge, none of them have done it yet. It’s time for me to take this to the masses and see if we can get somebody besides me to try it.

Some will, some won’t, so what, so who’s next.

It seems like some of them never tire of their idiocy. I made the mistake of reading the Sunday edition of our local paper and I saw about a gajillion dollars worth of wasted advertising.

Want a quick list of those who like to spend their ad dollars unwisely ? Well, if you happen to sell ad space you do. And if you’re a blogger who wants to earn more than what Google is paying you, what some like to refer to as ‘ Dollars For Drivel ‘, you need to keep reading.

• Car Dealers
• Chiropractors
• Dry Cleaners
• Dentists
• Doctors
• Restaurants
• Furniture Dealers

I could go on and on, but you get the picture. I wish they did. Of course, those that sell ad space don’t want them to find out that they could be getting more leads for less money, so don’t expect the mainstream media to grab this post and print it in their paper or feature it on the evening news.

The fault lies with the business owner who’s either too stupid, too lazy or too busy to learn the right way to spend his ad dollars.

They continue to pour money into campaigns that have no chance at bringing in profitable customers, yet they continue to ignore the customers who have proven themselves by using their service or buying their product.

I hate an ad that says “ … For New Customers …”.

What in the world are you thinking ? What part of my money did you not like ? How about something for me, your faithful customer.

If we didn’t absolutely need vehicles, most car dealers would have no shot at staying in business. They have to be the shoddiest of the lot. The dumbest. The laziest.

They continue to change campaigns every other week and the deal that they gave me last week is replaced by a “ better “ deal this week. Like Dr. Phil would say, “ How’s that workin’ for you ? “ Not very well, for me, thank you. I was there with money in hand and you told me it was gonna be the best deal for the year. Now, 2 weeks later, there’s a bazillion dollar rebate, free upgrade on the squirrel tail on the antenna and free fuzzy dice for my rear view mirror. Think I’m gonna go back there next time ? Nope.

How about this instead. Take the time to mail a coupon for a free car wash or detailing to current customers. Maybe an Owners Only key ring ? A hat ? Special T-shirt ? Think that’ll bring me back next time ? Or have a catered dinner for current customers, showing them next years models BEFORE everybody else can see them. Bring in a few and put them in a secret location and only invite those that have bought from you in the past.

Do they run specials for “ New Customers “ all the time ? Do they neglect those of us who regularly spend $20 to $150 per month. How about this Mr. Dry Cleaner. How about your ad saying that there’s a super-special discount for all current customers. That would make me, your current ATM happy and would make all those who aren’t current customers want to be, so they’d get the discount next time. Scarcity, jealousy, it’s all good…for you !

It’s not that hard to mail to your current customers and a lot more profitable than scattering your dollars all over town.

Next time I’ll give you a few tips on how to bring in dollars during your slow time.

And the part about bloggers making more money than just writing for AdSense ? I’m starting on that post as soon as I hit publish on this one.

Bookmark this site or subscribe to my RSS feed, ‘cause there’s some good stuff coming up.

Having just finished taking a Personal Brilliance Assesment, I can now say, without a doubt, I’m a bad man ! An action hero, no less ! The proof is captured above for all time.

I recently met a new blog friend, Jim Canterucci, the brilliance behind all this and I’ve read thru his blog posts, joined his email list and taken the assesment. I can say that I like his premise and am going to use the same marketing premise, although in a different field.

Oh yeah, I love the 100 days of Personal Brilliance calendar and have used it for about 6 days now.

Click thru and see how you do and check out Jim’s marketing, even if you don’t like self-help, you can still learn several tricks and tips to help you market more effectively in the future.

Just found a new blog friend via a Pingback to a post I did.

Brandon Hull does the editing over there and after I commented on his post he did something a LOT of bloggers don’t do…HE RESPONDED !

Want more links ? Answer my comment.

Want more Trackbacks ? Answer my comment.

Want me to consider adding you to my blog roll ? Answer my comment.

Looks like some good info out of there and maybe they’ll like catching ” The Indie Virus “.

Want to learn more about ” The Indie Virus ” ? click that link…it’s a great thing to catch…and getting better all the time.

Okay, Brandon…let it rip !

Via Life Hack, I just read a great post that quoted a post I commented on and wrote a post about.

Kinda seems like what blogging is all about.

To quote Itzy Sabo’s blog,

” Itzy Sabo spends all his time developing practical solutions for email overload. In this blog Itzy analyzes the causes of email overload, discusses strategies to cope with the constant bombardment, and provides practical tips for getting the most out of our email programs. “

Seems like the kinda guy I want to help me with my email overload problem. I like a guy who’s all about liking responsiveness.

BTW - my email problems and my RSS feed addictions are getting better as I delete those who offer me no concrete evidence that they can help me over a one month period.

Click on thru to this great post about email overload and learn a thing or two.

Someone, I wish I could remember who, sent me a link today to Jeffrey Gittomer’s Little Red Book of Sales Answers. Whoever you were, I used your affiliate link. Thanks !

The bonuses looked to be worth about 10 times what they’re charging for the book, so it was a no-brainer for me. I excel at no-brainers, by the way. I’m well equipped for that genre.

I’ll let you know how it reads when I get it and have had time to read it. You might go see if you can still get all the bonuses and what looks to be a great book.

Here’s a link, not an affiliate link, just a plain old link.

Enjoy. Send me a thank you card later, right now go buy a book.

Seth Godin’s post titled ” What Sort Of Bonuses Should We Pay ” gave me one of those lightbulb moments.

I’m not a big fan of a few dollars. Once, many moons ago, when one of my old masonry mentors was also my employer, he gave me a 50 cents an hour raise. He said to me, ” Don’t tell any of the other employees. ” I said, ” I won’t, I’m as ashamed of it as you are. ” He took it back and I wasn’t even mad about it. Oh, I soon left for a competitor of his that doubled my salary. He called me up and offered half of what they had given me, after I had spent a few thousand dollars moving about 2 hours away. I was even more ashamed of him for doing that.

Seth suggests not giving trifling little bonuses, but giving leeway, empowerment and opportunity and I couldn’t agree more.

I’d love to have the opportunity to do something for my employer that nobody had ever done, or even thought of doing. Give me 6 months to try and see if I can make it work and that will make me 557 times happier than a $50 bonus.

Can you imagine the motivation that this would bring to a salesforce. Here’s a little rope, take it out and see what you can lasso. If you catch something, we’ll split the proceeds. If you don’t, well, at least you tried and we appreciate it.

That, Mr. Employer, will make your employees want to come to work and keep them from running over each other at 5 o’clock, trying to get out the door.