I contacted them about it. The video I had just uploaded was about the virtues of hiring a business virtual assistant, with an invitation to my free course on the subject.

I pointed out to them that this is information that is very popular online right now, and my information is completely free, so I couldn’t understand why that would trigger my account being disabled.

Here is the answer I got:

Hi Dave,

Send me a link to some of your videos and I’ll take a second look.  Please do keep in mind, most of our terms of service is pushed down upon us by our partner sites.

They did take a second look, after which I got this e-mail:

My apologies, but some of our video site partners complain about what they think of as a glut in content surrounding internet marketing -themed content. We never wanted to restrict access but many video sites forced our hand. If you can promise to stick to the core sites (YouTube, Yahoo, etc.) I think we can lift the ropes back up.

Thanks for understanding,
Eugene

I then asked what the “core sites” are (in addition to YouTube and Yahoo). So here is the complete list:

-YouTube
-Yahoo
-Myspace
-Metacafe
-Dailymotion

So, kiddies, the lesson here is this: If you want to promote “Internet marketing themed content”  and using Tube Mogul, you should probably just stick to these sites.

To your video marketing success!

Dave.

The challenge seems to be that first eight weeks. Most people drop within that period, for the following reasons:

1. Reality. They thought blogging would be easy, fun, and profitable. And it is, but not in the first eight weeks (usually). So the “sales page motivation” wears off as soon as they have to do something, and they give up. Obviously, the solution to this one is to simply make a stronger commitment, and carry on!

2. “Death By Analytics.” This is the crowd that spends more time looking at analytics and results than actually blogging. Unfortunately, the results in the first eight weeks are so tiny that it’s easy to be fooled and drop out of the game because the reward just isn’t there. The key here is to invest all available time into working on the blog, posting frequently, and having faith in the fact that over time your Tribe will find and support your blog.

3. Lack Of Confidence. I have seen many people drop out because they just don’t think they can do it. They doubt their writing skills, technical ability, or offerings. The key, again, is activity. There’s nothing like doing a thing for getting good at doing a thing. Having a good mentor or coach can really help this crowd as well.

4. Perfection-itis. This is a killer too. A lot of people just don’t get enough content on their blog because they want every post to be the Taj Mahal of blog posts. And while each post should be of a reasonable quality, keep in mind they’re blog posts, not submissions for Nobel prizes in literature.

In the end, average people who blog frequently, and for long enough, will have blog success. And like any other worthy business endeavor, the reward will be greater than the price.

Pac-man on Twitter

OK, now that’s funny. Of course, Pac-man doesn’t want ghosts following him on Twitter.

Question is, who’s following YOU on Twitter? Did you know Twitter is the fastest growing Social Media on the web? And that converts into cash for people that learn how to do effective Twitter marketing.

If you haven’t yet done so, make sure and grab the “Savvy Marketers Guide To Twitter” right here on this blog. It’s free, and it will help you get a ton of followers. Using these techniques, I am the top Twitter user in my city- check it out:

Dave Sherwin Top Twitter User In Lindon

You can do the same thing! Grab the book now!

Dave.

P.S. The cartoon is by Scott Hampson and can be viewed, along with several other great cartoons, at flickr dot com.

BUT… making a list is incredibly important. Any good business has a list. Good business have huge lists, and are marketing to their list actively and aggressively.

The key is to make a list of the RIGHT PEOPLE. Chances are, of your 200 friends and family very few are actually talented entrepreneurs. But what if you could make a list of targeted, interested people? That’s where the money is. And that’s why the internet is fundamentally changing how network marketing is done.

Today, it’s about making a list, marketing to your list, and providing value to them, until they know, like and trust you enough to do business with you. So in a way, it’s still about warm market. But the idea is to create a HUGE warm market of talented marketers that you easily find online.

Then market to those people consistently, professionally, and you’ll always have new distributors dropping into your business month after month!

Check out how I built a list of 15,800 people that I market to on a regular basis using the Lighthouse Marketing System.

So far, the results are pretty cool. First of all, you may want to have a look at the Case Study account:

http://twitter.com/tri_nut

Twitter Marketing Case Study

You may want to follow “Britney” as she has some really cool stuff to say, especially if you enjoy health and weight loss. I used a combination of:

-Tweetlater Pro

-Twollow

-Twitter Feed

-Google Alerts

-Clickbank

I set up Britney’s account with a health focus, found 5 cool health affiliate programs in Click bank, set up following through Twollow and Hummingbird, and was able to automate the entire process except for the unfollowing, which my virtual assistant does once a week.

Results so far? Over 1,000 followers in about a month, and a $53 check from Clickbank. Not much money, but I haven’t touched it in a month, and my VA has spent literally 3 minutes twice a week deleting out no-follows.

I also don’t have the affiliate links being displayed often enough, so I have to work on that part.

And if you were thinking that $53 isn’t that much, realize that Twitter allows unlimited accounts, so with some tweaking, I think I can get it up around $200 a month, on multiple accounts. So if I get 10 similar accounts going, that’s an extra $2,000 a month. Not a bad little income for an automated strategy!

I am in the process of writing a paid version of Twitterpated, and putting together 4 videos that explain the fully automated Twitter strategy. I can be used to promote any product, in any niche, and gather a large group of targeted followers. Stay tuned for more info!

Until then, if you haven’t read Twitterpated! The Savvy Marketers Guide To Twitter, grab it now, right here on my blog. It will help you have immediate success with Twitter marketing, and it doesn’t cost a dime!

To your success! Dave.

1.  Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2.  When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3.  Life is too short to waste time hating anyone…

4.  Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5.  Pay off your credit cards every month.

6.  You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7.  Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8.  It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9.  Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.

10.  When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11.  Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12.  It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13.  Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14.  If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15.  Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16.  Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17.  Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18.  Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19.  It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20.  When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21.  Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22.  Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23.  Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24.  The most important sex organ is the brain.

25.  No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26.  Frame every so-called disaster with these words ’In five years, will this matter?’

27.   Always choose life.

28.  Forgive everyone everything.

29.  What other people think of you is none of your business.

30.  Time heals almost everything. Give time.

31.  However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32.  Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33.  Believe in miracles.

34.  God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35.  Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36.  Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37.  Your children get only one childhood.

38.  All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39.  Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40.  If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41.  Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42.  The best is yet to come.

43.  No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44.  Yield.

45.  Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

10 Great Business Habits

Recently I decided to re-commit to some of the best ideas I’ve discovered. Here are my top ten best habits I’m striving to implement:

1. Have a clear, well defined mission. It can’t just be, “I wanna make money!” You have to identify your higher purpose and passion, and take that to the marketplace.

2. Build a winning team. Be slow to hire, quick to fire. Never hire out of convenience. Build the best quality team you can. HIre above yourself.

3. Be frugal. Great businesses aren’t great because of the quality of office furniture or corporate retreats. If your people don’t think you’re frugal, you’re spending too much money. Try going for a day or a week without pulling out the company credit card. It’s not usually the big expenses that sink businesses, but the many little ones that fly under the radar. Remember, a dollar saved is a dollar made- but if you have a 20% profit margin you have to bring in five dollars to make a dollar. The easiest profits are the dollars you don’t spend.

4. Be organized. Keep a daily schedule, and review the next day at night. Visualize all of your next day plans achieving best possible outcomes. Keep a neat work area, e-mail box, and desk top.

5. Build a Database. Your database is your true business asset. Have an aggressive plan for creating new leads daily. Collect all your leads into an online managment solution that allows you to e-mail, call, and track every prospect and customer. Categorize your best prospects, partners, and investors. Capture every business card, e-mail, and detail on every new person you meet, whether online or offline. Make a personal rule that you never have to ask somebody for their info twice. Be an aggressive lead capturing machine!

6. Use a dream board. Find visual representations of everything you want, and put them on a small poster or corkboard. Spend time daily looking at each item, then vividly imagine how you will feel when you have achieved your goals. Imagine you have already achieved each goal.

7. Meditate. Even just 10 minutes of “shut eye” time in the afternoon can make a big difference. Learn to be still and stop the flow of endless thoughts and chatter. Read “The Power Of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.

8. Read. Read positive, uplifting self improving literature every day. The world is full of negativity and discouragements, you need to fill your mind with winning thoughts and ideas. Read books that motivate, inspire, and uplift. Read first thing in the morning if possible, to set the tone for the day.

9. Be a student. Learn from every experience. Study business, success, and your industry. Subscribe to the right blogs and magazines. Listen to interviews with your successful competitors. Ask questions. Be humble. Remember, when you stop learning, you stop.

10. Shrink your technology gap. The difference between the technology available to build your business, and the technology you are using, is called your “Technology Gap.” You should be aggressively shrinking your technology gap. In 1950 the top 500 wealthiest people were in industry. Today, the vast majority are in technology. Technology is key to success in every business. Whoever has the smallest technology gap wins.

Overcome Blog Mistakes!

It’s estimated that there’s 115 Million blogs online, and let’s face it, most of them suck. Not to be too harsh, but it’s just a reality. The sad part is, having a high traffic, lead grabbing blog really isn’t that hard, it’s just a matter of applying effective principles over a period of time. Sounds easy, right? The problem is, most of the Bloggers in the world don’t have the knowledge.

That being said, here are the 7 worst blog mistakes that I see:

1. Bad architecture. Too many people go to the free blogging platforms to create a blog. Yes it’s easier, and cheaper, but it’s also the difference between OWNING your blog, and RENTING one. It is critical that you register your own domain, and build your blog on wordpress software. Argue with me if you like, but very few of the worlds top bloggers do it any other way. With a hosted Wordpress blog you have more control, better SEO capabilities, and a vast array of plugins and widgets available.

2. Lack Of Focus. Too many bloggers don’t take the time to identify their niche, and their Tribe. The niche is the market category they want to compete in. Their Tribe is the group of followers they are trying to build, whether it be customers, fans, donors, etc. It’s imperative that you take the time to identify exactly who you are blogging too. What are their likes and dislikes? What are their concerns and fears? What are their hobbies, interests, and desires? The better you relate to them, the more likely they will be to frequent your blog and join your cause.

3. Lack of keyword research. This is a killer. Google, Live, and Yahoo are anxious to send their traffic to the best posts. The challenge is, they can only do this based on key words their searchers are using. If you don’t identify the keyterms your Tribe is searching for, and optimize your blog for them, you are leaving money on the table. You should have a primary term you want your blog to rank highly for, then a bunch of “long tail” keyterms that each post is about. There is a very high rate of return on key word research.

4. Writing Style. It is important to remember that you are writing to two distinct “audiences.” First of all, you are writing to your niche, and must engage, entertain, educate, or supply whatever type of value you are striving to provide with your blog. Secondly, you are writing to the search engines, and must include your keyterms in your URL, first sentence, and once or twice more if it makes sense. With practice, you can easily create entries that satisfy both the Search Engines and your visitors.

5. Frequency. Most bloggers just don’t blog often enough. Bloggin daily is ideal, a few time a week is acceptable, but consider once a week an absolute minimum. Any less than this simply won’t get the job done.

6. Capturing leads! Too many blogs just don’t have any sort of lead capture! Giving away a free report, book, or other offer is mandatory to making your blog a list building machine!

7. Value proposition. Too many bloggers don’t offer enough value in their posts. The blog is too “salesy,” or just too much about them. Remember, people don’t care what you ate for dinner, where you went on vacation, or about the cute pictures of your dog. Make sure every post gives value to your visitors!

The key is to develop overcome these blogging mistakes as early in your blogging career as possible, so that the time you spend on your blog is rewarded with leads, branding, and sales!

If you want to simply “cheat” and have us do all the heavy lifting for you (including handing you an ultimate Lighthouse Marketing System 4th Pillar SEO ready blog on a silver platter!) visit us at:

http://4thpillar.com

I use four columns on my TweetDeck application: All Friends, Replies, Direct Messages, and Search.

Twitter Marketing With TweetDeck

All Friends. This column displays all of your friends tweets, in real time. I usually open TweetDeck once or twice a day, so the first thing I do is scan all my friends Tweets, looking for anything interesting, funny, or noteworthy in any way. I have found a lot of great tips, websites, quotes, and other ideas just through scanning this column. If I find something I really like I will re-tweet it. TweetDeck makes it easy, all I have to do is hover my mouse over their profile pic, and it gives me the option of reply, re-tweet, direct message, or favorite their Tweet.

Replies. This columns displays all replies to me personally, as well as any re-tweets. I always Direct Message those that re-tweet my stuff, thanking them for the re-tweet. I don’t usually reply, as that would appear in my Twitter stream, and I have my personal Twitter presence linked to my Facebook profile, so I don’t want to “clutter up” facebook with a ton of personal back and forth Tweets.

Direct Messages. Let’s face it, most of these are automated spam. I ignore those. But I do scroll through to find the “real” DM’s, and respond to those. Some people think Twitter is an online version of Instant messaging. It’s not. You don’t have to respond instantly to everything that’s sent to you. Don’t feel bad about responding to messages a few hours, or even days old. Twitter is a micro-blog, nobody should expect instant communication back.

Search. In this column I see results for any key term I’m interested in. I currently have the name of my company. If one of our affiliates is sending out a Tweet about it, I will often re-tweet their message, exposing their link to all of my followers, and letting them know I appreciate their referrals. Other mentions include simple things like, “Listening to a training by…” and I respond to those too. Any publicity is good publicity, so I try to thank anybody who’s putting in a good word for what we’re doing.

The key is to be consistent, and to use TweetDeck as a part of your overall Twitter strategy, helping you drive traffic, build relationships, and stay in touch with prospects and clients.

The internet has changed the way business is done. And time frames have been compressed. It has been said that one internet year is equal to seven regular years. I think that’s true. Look at Myspace. It got hot, it went crazy, marketers fell in love with it- now they are laying off 30% of their workforce.

But savvy marketers got in there and marketed while it was hot, and made in one year what their offline competitors made in 7 years. So rather than argue about how long lived a certain site is, I think you are wiser to ride the waves that are crashing on the beach, all the way to the crash. Then paddle your surfboard out there and find another great wave.

It’s a lot easier to surf on great waves than to waste time trying to create waves.

This isn’t what a lot of people want to hear. They want stability. Long term predictability. Well, forget it. Those days are over. The key is to adapt to the marketplace, and take what it gives you.

How long will Twitter last? Who knows. But I’m using it effectively right now to increase my database, make new connections, share my message, and make money. And if you’re not, stop philosophising about it and get on the wave!