Carlos' Corner

On BS

2010-01-21T16:29:00.001-05:00

Love this BS detector: http://www.johntreed.com/BSchecklist.html

It's applicable to many areas, not just real estate. Certainly with all of the Internet gurus out there, such a detector is worth having in hand.

Thoughts on Internet affiliate marketing

2010-01-11T14:32:00.002-05:00

Over the past few weeks I’ve been researching Internet affiliate marketing/MLM. My reasons for this are varied, but they’re essentially an offshoot of my broader study of “social marketing” and how these tools & techniques can be used personally and professionally. I am also interested in this from an investment perspective. I’m no expert on this. These are just my slightly informed observations.

My immediate reaction to all this is that it is amazingly easy to get started…for free. Gone are the days when you had to pay for a site or a blog. Both of these can be set up for free, and with decent templates for a “professional” look. After that, setting up Google Ads is very easy. So a few clicks, and you’re off and running!

But it is this low barrier to entry that creates challenges. Your offerings have to be unbelievably unique to command a premium price. Alternatively, you’re competing on scale and price. I think identifying niches and selling unique products within these niches is key. But, identifying these niches means that each niche will have fewer products to sell as an affiliate. So you need a lot of them to succeed.

The second observation is that the level of pseudo-scamming that takes please is unbelievable. Most products being offered are books, programs, seminars, etc. on how to get rich with Internet marketing. Remember the adage “Those that can, do. Those that can’t, teach.” Just this morning I came across an offer (“only” $249) to teach me how to sell a wealth management program. Now this wealth management program may be quite good, for all I know. But, this is the third such offer I have received to sell this exact same wealth management program!

As an aside, if you want to attract attention on Twitter, use the words “affiliate marketing” or similar in a tweet. Then stand back and watch the offers to connect pour in from folks selling you programs on how to get rich with Twitter.

Third, affiliate marketing will require an amazing amount of work to get started and maintain. Even if your keyword-based marketing efforts are perfect, one subtle change by Google or Bing to their algorithm may force you to change your content. So if somebody tells you they have an “autopilot” program, run away!

I sincerely want to learn more about these issues. Comments welcome.

The Disposable Worker - BusinessWeek

2010-01-11T14:21:00.001-05:00

Excellent article on shifting employee costs from fixed to variable.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_03/b4163032935448.htm?chan=magazine+channel_top+stories

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Hampstead Heath and the Rise and Fall of the author Colin Wilson

2010-01-10T14:33:00.001-05:00

Best London historian out there. This entry is a fine example of this.

http://www.nickelinthemachine.com/2010/01/hampstead-heath-and-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-author-colin-wilson/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+nickelinthemachine/BLEI+(Another+Nickel+In+The+Machine)

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Chinese about to kick our butts again

2010-01-10T13:48:00.001-05:00

This time, in energy.

"The Beijing leadership clearly understands that the E.T. — Energy Technology — revolution is both a necessity and an opportunity, and they do not intend to miss it. We, by contrast, intend to fix Afghanistan. Have a nice day."

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/opinion/10friedman.html

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