Analyst District

Scary Chart of the Day: Over $3 Trillion in SOFR VOLUME

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 20:05:00 +0000

By: D. Heath, Editor, Chief Meme Investigator

Every day meme economists manage to unveil a new scary chart. I don't how they continue to find them. There must be a scary chart search engine out there. Scary chart you ask? You exactly know what I'm talking about! The beginning years of the chart are flat and uneventful, and then further along the chart a mysterious later date marks the initiation of hyperbolic growth or decline. Suddenly the values have exploded upward or downward, and meme economists tell you that this intense movement means something, something BIG. Today, there are viral images of SOFR Volume or Secured Overnight Financing Rate Volume spreading across social media. It works because few people outside of economics or finance have exposure to this financial indicator. So when viral images are being spread across social media of this supposed SOFR Volume it is easy to be menaced. The unfamiliarity of the subject, coupled with the drama of the chart adds to the fear. The meme economists never unveil and explain boring charts, just the charts with extreme ratios. Let's dive into whether the SOFR Volume is showing that you should dive out the economy.

What is the SOFR Volume?
SOFR and SOFR volume are the heartbeats of the overnight lending market. SOFR tells you the interest rate for borrowing overnight using Treasury securities as collateral. SOFR volume tells you how active the market is by revealing the total amount of borrowing activity or transactions that happens using SOFR-based loans or instruments, typically in the overnight lending market.

To damper the hysteria, I'm would like to offer a short yet non-dramatic story to explain SOFR Volume.

A Day in the Life of an Overnight Trader

It’s just past 7 p.m. and I’m sitting at my desk in the trading floor of a large investment bank, a place where the lights are always on and the buzz never really stops. I’m an overnight trader, which means I handle the part of the market where institutions borrow and lend money overnight. My job revolves around SOFR—Secured Overnight Financing Rate—and its volume.

I take a deep breath. Another busy night ahead. The U.S. Treasury market is still buzzing after hours. My job? To keep an eye on the overnight repo market, where SOFR is determined, and make sure our bank can get the liquidity it needs while paying the right rate.

The Opening Move

I open my screens to see the latest data. I’m scanning multiple charts, but one stands out: SOFR volume.

SOFR, remember, is the interest rate that banks use to borrow cash overnight with Treasury securities as collateral. But what I’m really focused on is SOFR volume, the total amount of borrowing happening in the market. This tells me how active the market is.

Tonight, the volume is pretty strong—about $800 billion. That’s good news for me. High volume means the market is deep with liquidity. Lots of lending and borrowing are happening, and the rate should remain stable. The more transactions, the less risk of any single institution moving the rate dramatically.

But I’ve seen nights where that volume drops down to $200 billion. Those are the nights I don’t sleep well. If the volume’s low, it means there’s less borrowing going on, and that makes liquidity tighter. In other words, it becomes harder to get loans at the usual rate. And if I can’t get a loan at a reasonable rate, it could cost my bank a lot more money.

The Borrowing Game

I take a call from my counterpart at another bank. It’s 7:30 p.m. now. He’s asking if I need to borrow overnight, and I tell him I’ll need a couple hundred million. The rate I’ll pay is tied to SOFR, and we both know the current SOFR rate will reflect the volume of transactions in the market. If the volume stays high, I’m looking at a relatively low rate. If it drops, I might have to pay a little more.

"How’s the volume looking tonight?" I ask him casually.

“Solid," he replies. "Looks like we’re hitting around $800 billion. Shouldn’t be any issues.”

That’s a relief. At least for tonight, we’re in a good position. I’m in the clear for now.

Watching the Clock

It’s now 10 p.m. and I’m tracking every movement in the overnight market. The minute-to-minute fluctuations in SOFR volume are key. I’m watching the market like a hawk, making sure the rate is staying in line with expectations. If the volume drops suddenly—say, under $500 billion—I know I’ll have to adjust quickly.

At 11:30 p.m., something catches my eye. SOFR volume just dropped by about $50 billion in the last 30 minutes. It’s a slight dip, but it’s enough to signal a tightening of liquidity. I make a mental note to adjust our borrowing strategy just in case we need to pay a bit more to lock in funds for the night.

The Midnight Check-In

It’s now midnight, and the SOFR volume is holding steady at $780 billion. The borrowing rate remains fairly low, and it seems like liquidity is still healthy. It’s been a relatively calm night—nothing too out of the ordinary. But I know this can change quickly. We’re about 7 hours into this 24-hour trading cycle, and there’s always the chance that something unexpected could cause volume to dip.

I log into a meeting with senior traders to discuss our strategy for the next day. There’s chatter about SOFR again. The markets have been a bit unpredictable lately. The volume had been hovering around $600 billion over the past few days, which was lower than usual. That drop in volume could signal more cautious behavior in the financial system, especially if uncertainty creeps in—like a potential rate hike or some market shock. It’s our job to stay ahead of these shifts, and the volume helps us predict what's coming next.

The Endgame

By 3 a.m., the volume seems to have stabilized. It hasn’t dipped below $750 billion, and the SOFR rate remains predictable. At this point, I’m breathing a little easier. I’ve locked in my overnight borrowing at a good rate and even managed to secure some extra liquidity for the day ahead. The market’s calm, the volume is solid, and I can rest easy knowing the system’s in good shape.

But tomorrow, I’ll be back at it, watching the volume closely. Every day brings new dynamics, new risks. The volume of SOFR transactions—whether it’s rising or falling—tells me what’s really going on beneath the surface of the financial markets. It’s my job to read that volume and use it to make smart decisions for my bank.

Reflection

As I finally pack up for the night, I think about the role SOFR volume plays in everything. It’s more than just a number—it’s the lifeblood of overnight lending. It tells me how much trust there is in the system, how easy or hard it will be to get money, and how much risk the market is willing to take on.

In this world, where millions, sometimes billions, are borrowed and lent overnight, SOFR volume is like a pulse. If it’s healthy, everything’s running smoothly. If it drops too low, it’s a signal that something’s off, and we need to react fast.

I close my computer, grab my coat, and head out the door. Tomorrow, I’ll do it all over again. But for tonight, the market’s calm—and I’ve done my part.

Seems like a pretty uneventful day for the overnight day-trader, almost if there is minimal drama associated with the SOFR Volume. But now things are different according to the meme economists, the SOFR Volume was at $3.41 trillion. Maybe there is drama, maybe the overnight trader should alert his team that the economy is destined to melt down tomorrow.

Let's get back to that trader:

It’s just after lunch, and I’m back at my desk.

The day’s been moving fast—one minute I’m reviewing the latest Treasury auction results, the next, I’m tracking the daily SOFR volume. But today… something’s off.

I see it. $3.41 trillion.

What the hell?

Normally, I’d be seeing numbers in the $1.2 to $1.5 trillion range—anything higher than that feels like a big day, and we start paying closer attention. But this? This is way beyond typical market movement. $3.41 trillion is huge. It’s a surge. Something’s going on.

I check my screen again to make sure I’m reading this correctly, and I get the same number. My heart rate kicks up a notch. I immediately pull up my liquidity charts and check the broader financial news to see if I’ve missed anything major. I don’t want to be caught off guard.

What does this mean for me?

First things first: I’ve got to know why the volume is so high. If this is a policy-driven event, like the Fed stepping in to inject liquidity or something related to a massive Treasury bond auction, it could just be a blip. The market responds to those events. But if this spike is happening without a clear catalyst, I know that something deeper could be brewing.

I glance over at my desk partner. "You seeing this?" I ask him, and point at the number on my screen. He stares at it for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Yeah, that’s not normal. We should be on high alert.”

I agree and I am. I’m really concerned about liquidity right now.

When you’re looking at SOFR volume, you're really looking at market liquidity. High volume usually means there’s a lot of borrowing and lending at SOFR rates, and things are running pretty smoothly. But today? The volume spike is giving me a gut feeling that things could be tighter than usual.

What I don’t want to see is that, even with all this volume, the SOFR rate starts rising too quickly. If it spikes, it could mean that banks are scrambling for liquidity, and there's not enough to go around. That’s when you get into trouble. It could be a signal that too many institutions will soon by fighting over a limited supply of overnight funds.

Right now, though, the rate is still holding steady. That’s good. But the higher the volume, the more likely the rates could start to move if liquidity thins out too quickly.

Is it just me, or is this volume a red flag?

I think back to a few years ago when we saw big spikes like this during the market upheavals. If this volume is truly out of the ordinary, it could indicate a liquidity squeeze coming down the road. A lot of borrowing means a lot of financial institutions are on edge, and that’s not something to take lightly.

I’m running through different scenarios in my head. Could this be related to a massive surge in collateral being used in repos? If so, then the system’s using up a lot of the safe collateral—like U.S. Treasury securities—and it might not be as easy to borrow at these rates tomorrow.

I make a quick decision to pull in some extra liquidity just in case. I don't want to wait for the market to show signs of strain before I act.

But should I panic?

Look, $3.41 trillion is certainly an outlier. But volume alone doesn’t tell the whole story. If rates stay stable, this could just be a one-off event where the market is, for whatever reason, a bit more active than usual.

However, if this volume is driven by uncertainty or a policy move—and it comes with rising SOFR rates—that’s when I’ll really start to worry. If liquidity starts tightening, I need to be prepared to get into the market early to lock in some funding, or the borrowing costs might jump.

So, for now, I stay vigilant.

I keep watching the volume and the rate. If the volume keeps rising or if the rate starts creeping up faster than expected, I’ll know it’s time to reassess. This spike is unusual, but I’ve seen things like this before. The key is to keep your head cool, understand the context, and stay ahead of the market.

For now, I’ll stay glued to my screens. At the end of the day, the market will show its hand, but I need to be ready. One thing's for sure—there's something bigger going on beneath the surface.

Nice to see that our overnight trader is not in panic mode, but is on alert. The trader's alertness will help this trader gather and process important data, without being menaced and panicked into regrettable financial decisions.

Want to see the drama for yourself? Check it out here: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SOFRVOL#

Is silver's 90 percent surge a sign of systematic risk worse than 1929!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 04:46:00 +0000

By: D. Heath, Editor, Chief Meme Investigator

Image by Kevin Schneider from Pixabay

Prices are surging, AI stocks are surging, and now apparently even silver is surging. With all these economic indicators surging, there is little reason to be surprised once investors' blood pressures and the amount of time Americans spend worrying about household finances follow the surge trend. This is definitely not the type of synergy that beckons optimism for the economy! Need your blood pressure to surge a bit more? According to various meme economists, the fact that silver has surged nearly 90 percent in 2025 and is in the midst of experiencing its best year since 1980 is not simply a sign that all pockets of the U.S. economy are overheated but resounding evidence that economic doom is slated to besiege America's humble wallets. Meme economists are warning that it will not just be regular doom, but dystopia doom that transcends 1929's Great Depression.

Has the blood pressure rocketed off the charts? Feeling faint? Well, don't bring out the smelling salts just yet, because the price movements of silver are simply too ambiguous to declare an earth-shattering Great Depression. There are many factors that affect silver's price, including domestic and global economic conditions, investor sentiment, inflation expectations, and please don't forget the market speculation being propelled by tons of AI videos that endlessly pump out ill-advised financial advice like a derelict slot machine.

1. Silver as a Safe-Haven Asset

Like gold, silver is often regarded as a safe-haven asset, meaning that during periods of economic uncertainty or financial stress, investors may flock to it to protect wealth. So, a surge in silver prices can be an indication that investors are worried about something, whether it be inflation, financial market volatility, geopolitical tensions, fears of inflation, or the broader economy. This is a keyword to not ignore: worry. So much of economics is irrational, driven by emotion as opposed to rationality. As worry surges, emotions will begin increasingly to take over decision making, and these emotions and resentments will maneuver people away from traditional assets and into nontraditional assets. Never forget that the .com crash stoked the Beanie Babies mania, when cute and cuddly bean bags were perceived as more trustworthy assets then stocks.

So when all the worried investors buy into silver and gold in times of crisis or uncertainty all at the same time, it becomes a sort of confirmation bias. Now that these worried individuals all bought in at the same time, these commodities will perform well as people seek out tangible and nontraditional assets to hedge against currency risk or financial instability. This high performance only confirms to them that the economic is indeed distressed, not that there is simply a growth in distressed investors.

2. Economic Signals That Could Be Behind the Surge:

Inflation Concerns: If investors expect rising inflation, precious metals like silver often benefit because they retain their value in the face of eroding currency purchasing power.

Market Volatility or Bearish Sentiment: If stock markets are experiencing turbulence or downward pressure, silver could rise as a counterbalance.

Interest Rates: Low or negative real interest rates (adjusted for inflation) make non-yielding assets like silver more attractive compared to cash or bonds.

3. Not Necessarily a Recession Indicator

While silver’s rally might be interpreted as investors preparing for an economic downturn, it’s not a direct or clear indicator of a recession on its own. Yes, the silver vendors want you to believe that a recession is inevitable, and the solution is more silver. This is not denying or confirming that a recession is nigh, it is about being a savvy investor and understanding how a fearful market can be manipulated by predatory actors. The connection between silver prices and recessions isn’t as direct as some other economic signals, such as yield curve inversions. Silver can rise due to:

Speculative behavior or high demand in certain market conditions.

Supply issues in mining or production.

Industrial demand: Silver also has a significant industrial use in electronics, solar panels, etc., so a demand surge in those sectors could drive prices up as well.

4. Context Matters:

Post-Pandemic Effects: After the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a surge in economic stimulus, monetary easing, and fiscal policies that led to a lot of market uncertainty. Silver could have surged as part of those broader trends.

Global Events: In times of global tension like the Russia-Ukraine war or potential trade conflicts, precious metals often see a rise in value as a hedge against uncertainty.

5. Silver’s Historical Context

1980 Peak: The last time silver saw a similar spike in its price was in 1980, driven by geopolitical issues and economic factors like the oil crises and high inflation. Once again, it would be reckless to deny or confirm whether a recession is on the horizon, but this example provides some proof that silver can surge without a Great Depression being imminent. The fact that silver's best year since then mirrors a similar historical context doesn't mean a recession is inevitable, but it does hint at a period of heightened risk and uncertainty.

1980 vs. Today: In 1980, silver’s spike was partially driven by the Hunt brothers' attempt to corner the silver market, which isn’t quite the case today. This highlights the importance of understanding the specific causes behind silver’s rise today compared to other periods.

6. Recession vs. Market Conditions

A surge in silver could reflect a broader nervousness in the market, but it doesn’t automatically mean we are headed into a recession. For example, it could indicate market volatility, economic imbalances, or inflation concerns, which might lead to an economic slowdown rather than a full-blown recession. Still troubling, but not a reason to line the pockets of those in the silver syndicate who want to profit from your surge in worry and fear.

Verdict: No, silver's 90 percent surge is not a sign of systematic risk worse than 1929.

While a 90 percent surge in silver is noteworthy, it's not necessarily a direct signal of an impending recession. It could be a sign of market uncertainty, inflation concerns, geopolitical risks, or other factors that can drive precious metals higher. It's essential to look at the broader economic indicators, such as GDP growth, unemployment rates, and other market data so that you can make the most rational choice.

If you're concerned about a possible recession, it might make sense to track other signs, like yield curve inversion, slowing economic growth, or rising unemployment. These indicators would offer a more concrete picture of whether the economy is actually heading into a recession or whether it's just a period of volatility and uncertainty.

Sorry Teen Brands, You were Overthrown by YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Sat, 17 Jan 2015 21:47:00 +0000

Image via goofing

More than Just Money

The slow decline of teen brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle, Hollister and Aeropostale deceptively correlates to the Great Recession overstating its economic role in their dwindling market value. This correlation has caused most of the articles I've read about to be overcast with the same stubborn rhetoric of economic struggles being the sole catalyst to this dramatic shift in consumer behavior. These articles repeatedly emphasize the low cost of the ascendant brand, Forever 21 without adding more context. The words cheap and fast fashion have co-opted Forever 21's complex narrative and thus has camouflaged how the interaction between economic events and cultural shifts fueled their growth.

In a Reuters article, Challenger, Gray and Christmas explained that it was lowered teen employment inducing the decline, as if teen employment was an easy fix for these teen brands to secure market share. While Abercrombie and Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries, in the same article commented that "youth spending has likely diverted to other categories". This implies that other [insert uncool] categories, such as electronics, are holding the hostage the cash for fashion. He then makes the assumption that Abercrombie and Fitch are still the top choice among teens once spending in other [uncool] categories abate. He is obscuring the issue by looking at the fashion industry as an aggregate and avoiding a reflective discussion of market share. In another Reuters article, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Capital Markets analyst Pamela Quintiano keenly observed that “customers are spending on apparel” very selectively but her focus was still firmly planted on economics, specifically teen employment

The Great Recession has subtly increased the importance of psychological and esteem effects of fashion thus intensifying the need for the perfect purchase. This psychological pressure has changed shopping behavior. The combination of low cost and fast fashion has made shopping even more gratifying in difficult financial times. Washington Post noted Forever 21's and similar brands' ability to quickly add new styles to stores shelves. Social media is a tool for aiding teens to meet this demand. Marcie Merriman, a consumer-engagement consultant at Ernst and Young, observed to Washington Post "these young consumers are shopping by seeing what's on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter -they're sharing on a constant basis, it's always around them." Social reviews have become more significant and reviews derived from social media are perceived as being more trustworthy and appealing.

The Haul

Enter the perfect antidote to this dilemma ...the shopping haul, brought to you by YouTube, where beauty and fashion gurus offer expert visual reviews and style tips teens can trust. Teens aren't just taking advice for anyone but familiar fashion elites online. The teens can experience the thrill at home and participate in new trends before investing in clothing that could disappoint or waste money. Buyers regret is a thing of the past.

When most of articles gawk at Forever 21's mysterious 82 percent rise from 2007-2012 and only see the Great Recession, I think of the explosion of YouTube (founded in 2005) and its accompanying novel phenomenons such as shopping hauls( which began around 2007 according to Wikipedia). YouTube beauty and fashion gurus, such as Michelle Phan and Blair Fowler, accidentally became internet famous. Elle Fowler admitted to ABC News she didn't even expect anyone to see her video (by the way ....ABC featured them at Forever 21). Teens and young adults were hooked on these YouTube gurus and ready to eat up what was served in a shopping haul. Whatever brands that were lucky to be connected to this organic movement would had exploded with this phenomenon and profited handsomely even if their website temporarily was knocked offline by the stampede. These teens were moving away from a culture of inaccessibility and exclusivity to cheerful and helpful fashion advice from YouTube gurus such as Bethany Mota. When talking about Bethany Mota, Meleina McCann, 15, of Oakland California told Business Insider "she's super sweet and so relatable. Her videos are so personal. It feels like she's speaking to me." Her friend Ella Philips, agreed and added "She's always laughing and smiling."

Who Are You Attracting to Your Brand?

Forever 21 unexpectedly benefited from an organic turn of events from ambitious and passionate YouTube fashion and beauty gurus. Forever 21's apparel attracted budding YouTube stars who were fast tracking to the top such as Bethany Mota and Blair Fowler just when the shopping haul faze mushroomed (around 2010 when it came to be a part of online consciousness, as indicated with the parody YouTube account shopping haul which started in 2010. Also, Guru Gossip, a hate site, started in 2010 on its old domain name gurugossip.net. Parody and hate usually means a character or movement has achieved some notoriety).

Personality tends to direct personal style and cause teens to gravitate to certain trends. Bethany Mota in a haul mentioned when talking about a dress, "that is literally me. It's perfection ...When I saw this I kind of squealed." Bethany Mota, who has an affinity for sunflowers and mac n cheese, describes her personal style as "definitely bohemian, so it has that laid-back kind of free-spirited vibe and it's also girly and very comfortable” and “Once in a while … a little edgy." With more Instagram followers than Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour and Cosmopolitan combined, her personality aligns with brands such as Forever 21 (mentioned first), Urban Outfitters, H &M and then Aeropostale.She probably doesn't have much appreciation for the austere preppy look. As a YouTube guru she needs to showcase a brand whose new styles almost sparkle on camera, this is amateur lighting not a fashion shoot! Blair Fowler's energetic personality, southern aura and sophisticated taste lured her to the colorful and lacy Forever 21.

These girls are the type of personalities and demographics that Abercrombie CEO, Mike Jeffries, scorned. YouTube gurus inherently goes against the establishment and standard definitions of coolness. For example, Michelle Phan never hesitates to rehash a victorious story about being rejected to work at a Lancome counter only to be wooed by them a paid endorser. Abercrombie and Fitch unjustly devalued these "uncool" bullied teens without caring about the ridiculous nuances of what can make a perfectly interesting kid be considered "uncool".

Forever 21 also had small partnerships with these beauty gurus who were eager to nibble up any morsels of acknowledgement from national brands when these weren't being noticed by big brands. The blossoming stage is always the most exciting and these emotions were conveyed to the also budding audience, parched of new brands to complement their new media consumption habits. Aeropostale is now trying to capture this newness by desperately clawing into a cluttered space and maturing movement. According to Lisa Green, head of industry, fashion and luxury brands at Google there were 150,000 haul videos in 2010 but now in 2013 there were staggering 700,000.

Aeropostale missed the time of YouTube before Vevo. Although promotion through Bethany Mota is high quality (as evidenced by the ton of haul showcasing Bethany Mota's clothing line at Aeropostale), she is being officially sponsored and Aeropastle is likely to be resented by the more mature audiences. Forever 21 was in an ideal position to attract online gurus because both reflected each other's budding stage, while Abercrombie and Fitch gloried into their callous arrogance and smug disdain. Blair Fowler and Bethany Mota decided to use Forever 21 to unveil their fashion sense, just when the height of their fame intersected with the highest possible innocence of the movement. These YouTube gurus preemptively introduced Forever 21 when their audiences weren't necessarily looking for that specific brand or even a shopping haul. They were the perfect channels for distributing new fashion tips. Bethany Mota's and Blair Fowler's first clothing haul exclusively featured Forever 21 adding to the excitement that they are not just doing makeup tutorials but are "hauling" audiences to new beauty adventures. Now that Bethany Mota is more famous, her authenticity and accessibility are slowly wearing off, giving Aeropostale the illusion of capturing the moment.

Why YouTube is Important

- Girls who are serious about fashion and beauty latched on to YouTube hoping to soak up unique yet accessible style tips outside their immediate environment/circle. Many trends in fashion magazines are runway ready but not school ground ready. These girls probably have a ton of social influence in their communities, even if notoriety like Blair Fowler and Bethany Mota. YouTube gurus are more accessible than "the stars of street style blogosphere who tend to favor more unique or au courant looks” by profiling national brands. Bethany Mota and other top beauty gurus are cognizant of their broad reach and concentrate their support on national brands than could provide the au courant feeling.

- YouTube provides authentic promotion and user driven advertising whose millions of views proliferate and penetrates into the deep cleavages of teen fashion world that generic advertisements and promotions from the professionals don't have the resources and insight to reach. This reach then moves offline (to people who don't even know about YouTube gurus) to create infectious trends, made even more contagious by brands, catering to fast fashion such as Forever 21.

- Girls who are clueless about fashion gladly welcome, any appealing recommendations. If they followed beauty gurus especially in the 2007 through 2010 era, they would have been nurtured into Forever 21 by Bethany Mota and Blair Fowler.

- One YouTube guru can inspire a cascade of videos for a particular brand. Then YouTube influences other social media platforms such as Tumblr and Instagram.

- Reality TV has diminished the value of professional and programmed entertainment where the viewers passively consume a fantasy life. It is the devolution of the expert and/or out of reach and corrupted authority. Reality TV highlights interesting and infamous characters who would have been shrouded in obscurity before the 2000s. Reality TV has legitimized social media and even might have inspired its birth. It is less about talent and about personalities who present an aspirational lifestyle and/or whose life makes a bold statement. The personal nature of haul has a reality quality. Bethany Mota herself is inspired by the trajectory of Lauren Conrad's fashion career who started off as a reality star.

Still Doubting?
(and yes, I do realize I'm making a bold proclamation...)

The teens brands monopolized coolness with their logos strangling the visibility of other fashion brands. How do people know that it is Forever 21, there must have been some intention causing this explosion because they would not have been able to recognize Forever 21 among other brands.

Let's check out the numbers (as of January 17, 2015):

"forever 21 haul" About 166,000 results without quotes About 584, 000
"h&m haul" About 40,000 results without quotes About 324, 000
"topshop haul" About 19, 200 results without quotes About 254, 000
"urban outfitters haul" About 18,400 results without quotes about 190, 000

VERSUS

"hollister haul" About 12,400 results without quotes About 97, 500
"american eagle haul" About 8,400 results without quotes About 78, 800
"aeropostale haul" About 7, 910 results without quotes About 49, 800
"aero haul" About 1,190 results without quotes About 32, 900
"abercrombie and fitch haul" About 1,530 results without quotes About 18, 800
"abercrombie haul" About 3,830 results without quotes About 60, 500

Top Forever 21 shopping haul/ Forever 21 hauls according to view count: Some are exclusive to Forever 21 ... the main attraction or is given predominance in the headline ( as of January 17, 2015... some YouTube gurus have more static viewership than others)

1. Fall Clothing Haul! Forever 21, H&M, Urban Outfitters & more!
Published on Sep 16, 2013: 2, 266, 518 views
Bethany Mota : 636,420,791 overall channel views

2. Good Morning America Forever 21 Haul Part 1
Uploaded on Mar 18, 2010: 2, 248, 615 views

juicystar 07 (Blair Fowler): 259,053,840 overall channel views

3. 1ST WORLD PROBLEMS AT FOREVER 21
Published on Mar 27, 2012 : 1,901,120 views

grav3yardgirl: 491,137,075 overall channel views

4. Forever 21 Haul
Uploaded on Dec 15, 2009: 1,758,827 views
juicystar 07 (Blair Fowler): 259,053,840 overall channel views

5. Summer Clothing Haul! ♡ Forever 21, Urban outfitters & Target
Published on Jun 4, 2012: 1, 455, 364 views
Bethany Mota : 636,420,791 overall channel views

VERSUS ...

I choose Hollister as the "teen brand" to compare with because it has the highest amount of haul videos compared to the other teen brands. Many of the Aeropostale haul videos with the most reviews were driven by the mention of Bethany Mota. Many of the Hollister haul videos were clustered with other brands...yes especially Forever 21.

1. Huge Spring Haul: Forever 21,Target,Abercrombie,Hollister,Pacsun

Published on Mar 18, 2012: 532,145 views

krazyrayray: 84,853,665 overall channel views

2. Haul: Forever 21, Abercrombie, Hollister, H&M, more

Uploaded on Jul 22, 2011: 225,317 views
Courtney Lee: 3,916,484 overall channel views

I excluded two that were titled in another language.

3. Big Haul de la Folie - Guess, Hollister, Victoria's Secrets, Steve Madden... CONCOURS FERMÉ
Published on Mar 7, 2014: 183,751 views
Sandrea26France: 53,287,718 overall channel views

4. SALE ! HAUL SALE ! [zara, h&m, b&bw, only, hollister]
Published on Jul 21, 2014: 159,544
Olciiak: 2,930,877 overall channel views

5. Haul: Forever 21, Hollister, Victoria's Secret + more
Uploaded on Jan 4, 2012: 151,766
cutesygirl09: 15,552,390 overall channel views
Thanks for reading!

Will New gTLDS be Profitable Investments? Will they Sell and Scale?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Sat, 07 Jun 2014 19:08:00 +0000

The introduction of new gtlds is routinely compared to the advent of the dot com and its widespread adoption by the public, even the less tech savvy. However these comparisons are somewhat baseless and deceptive because we can't assume that the new gltds will have the same type of success as dot com or dethrone its significance without considering the differences in conditions and studying the interaction of circumstances that led to the dot com boom. For example, domain and website companies didn't need cumbersome separate advertising expenditures to vouch for the dot com; it was simply how you got online. Companies just needed to advertise the benefits of developing a website, generate excitement to be a part of the internet and it was inferred that a dot com meant a credible web presence. Also, the 90's were a supremely different economically and culturally than now.

To not openly acknowledge this and tout new gltds as a new innovation that is supplying assumed customer demand, which has vastly evolved, is quasi fraudulent. There are several obstacles that need to be confronted before presuming new gtlds will scale and be consistently used by millions and not just thousands of stale investments.

Old model of online ventures is saturated: New gltds are mismatched with their market and doesn't directly cater to the appropriate demographics. In the 90's, the internet was unfettered territory and thus there were high incentives for early adopters to compete. New gltds will have competition with millions of dot com websites. Acquiring a domain name is the least of their problems. Since the old model of online ventures is saturated, the high tech skilled entrepreneurs are moving on to more profitable and less competitive ventures such as apps. For ambitious entrepreneurs that still desire to build a platform online, we can't assume that an appealing domain name is the highest barrier to entry but rather an exciting, innovative idea or concept that attracts investors.

Also ambitious individuals with technical skills have cushy and prestigious career opportunities that sharply diminishes the need to embark on the perilous startup journey. In the 90's, the tech industry was still blossoming but now they are billion dollar industries that are extracting the top tech talent from the job and start-up market, and possible customers for new gtlds.

Need small and midsize businesses use but these demographics are difficult to reach: Small and midsized businesses can intimately scale new gtlds to individuals by word of mouth and by example. However before this commences there needs to be initiative from renowned companies widely recognized and even celebrated as industry leaders with the disposable revenue and talent to make the risky investment. Once industry leaders take the plunge, admiring and competitive small and midsize businesses will be more eager to follow along to as the community and regional innovator. Industry leaders transfer importance, trust and prestige to new developments while traditional small and midsize businesses don't have the clout, recognition and budgets to buffer the risk and burden of getting the nation to adopt a new developments. However the outlook for this initiative by industry leaders are dim since they are settled in and invested in dot coms. The future for dot brand, like .google, appears very promising but they eclipse the budget of small and midsize businesses. Since these companies probably won't win privileged and exclusive control of dot generics, like Amazon in the .book debacle, they have hardly any vested interest in guaranteeing its success. The fact that industry leaders are not moving to new gtlds sends an implicit message about their lack of significance. It exposes new gltds as the cheap option compared to dot com or dot brand and to be avoided especially since small and midsize businesses have to work harder to gain status and legitimacy. If industry leaders are not heavily involved then under-resourced and time constrained small and midsize businesses won't have the adequate guidance on how to use new gtlds.

Claiming new gtlds will have widespread adoption also ignores the predominance of social media site such as Tumblr. Before there were active fan sites for celebrities now it is official Facebook pages and Twitter. Before there were personal bloggers and now there's Instagram where people can showcase their lives like a glossy lifestyle magazine. Social media takes a huge chunk out of key demographics that would build visible and active websites on new gtlds.

Needs widespread authentic use to build prestige, trust and familiarity: The advent of the dot com and even dot edu resulted in naive, non-scripted and experimental success stories of early adopters that convinced others to overcome their hesitation. Many did not know about domain investing and ironically that's precisely why the dot com begin to build in value after several years because value comes from use. Without the eventual and widespread authentic use of dot com, generic domain names such as finance.com would have never been valuable. Visible and admirable success stories centered on new gtlds risk being overwhelmed and crowded out by more established dot com websites that have a 10 year head start. While dot com hit the ground running, new gltds appear stunted in their authentic use since the majority are being held as an investment or to redirect to dot coms.

Some critics of dot com explain that dot com means nothing and generic domain names adds meaning and trust for new visitors. However that is beauty of dot com, it focuses the visitor's attention on the brand and not being defined by a generic word that could already have negative, bland or unsettling associations and connotations. The structure of new gtlds dilutes that possibly of branding. They are too limiting and suffocates the prospect of expanding. Lack of branding also indicates low status and will not be an viable or attractive option for those seriously considering a name space as a platform.

Stability and long term use is also required to add prestige and trust to new gltds. If popular websites simply move on to dot com once they save enough money, like del.icio.us moved on to dot com, that uplifts and reinforces dot com as the pinnacle. This behavior influences other webmasters with new gltds that it isn't ideal for building a permanent platform but new gltds are just a starter platform. If malicious webmasters are disproportionately attracted to the preemptive meaning from new gltds this could compromise the aggregate trust in new gltds. Dot com namespace is able to absorb this predicament due to the trustworthiness of other websites that call dot com home. However new gtlds may not be able to absorb this threat and lose credibility. Just like co.cc was dropped from Google's search due to prevalence spammy sites, new gtlds could drop from user's trust.

Being an expert in new gtlds require a new or modified skill set and perspective than dot com since circumstances are different. Keep this in mind as you invest. Some new gtlds will be more widely used than others due to the industry they appeal to and their unique needs. For example, some industries don't require or need branding, especially the ones that operate behind the scenes. While others just want complementary websites, as lovato.club is for demilovato.com. I doubt new gtlds, with the exception of .brand, will widely sell and scale outside of other domain investors; but culture evolves and the new generation could accommodate the inclusion of new gtlds. New gltds are still somewhat exciting. I have one and plan to register a couple more.

Uninspiring Blogger Jargon and Overused Phrases that You Should Avoid

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 20:38:00 +0000

Image via Flickr

the blogger lingo,
that doesn’t match the fun of bingo,
i would rather run from a dingo,
or get pecked by a flamingo,
than use this boring lingo,
did you like my bloggy jingo?

Your language and your personal vocabulary have a major impact on how you view life. In fact language affects culture because it defines our emotions, social world and objects. Some phrases are not translatable. This results in one culture holding unique views about life that other cultures can’t comprehend. For example, Greece developed the origins for the term “democracy.” This single term, “dēmokratía” which means rule of the people, changed the course of history and spread freedom from dictatorship across the modern world.

The words that you use to describe your industry and profession also play a role in how your conduct business. If you use uninspiring, overused words and phrases to define your industry, your professional endeavors may share the same lackluster characteristics. I’ve noticed that there are several popular phrases in the blogosphere that may trap some new bloggers. However, by eliminating these terms from their vocabulary, they could save their blog.

Niche – Wikipedia defines niche as “the subset of the market on which a specific product is focusing.” This is a popular term that bloggers and affiliate marketers love to tout around. A majority of the top blogs about blogs are proclaiming from the hill tops “Find your niche!!”

However I have a different take on this. First you need identify your audience. Then you need to contemplate your mission, be honest about your passion, develop the personality of your blog and create engaging topics. Many well-known blogger experts direct you to find your golden niche. However niches can be too suffocating. What you want do to instead is create the golden brand. I say, be innovative! Come up with your own niche. Google didn’t go around chasing niches; their mission was to organize the internet. Steve Jobs wasn’t sitting around thinking…”hummm which niche should I chase??” instead he followed his passion and became competition for IBM.

Content – Content is actually a pretty handy word. It’s great for referring to all forms of media. However whenever I am writing, I don’t think…"time update my blog with more content.” I believe it’s more effective to view your media in the same way that your audience does. When an audience is finished reading a prolific novel or watching an enchanting movie, they don’t say “whoa, that was great content!” Instead there are specific elements of the novel or movie that the audience has fallen in love with. Maybe it was the characters, the actors, or the songs or perhaps the story line. What can you make your audience fall in love with?

Also, the word, “content” is bland and seems to remove all differentiation between media. You don’t want your blog to be bland. You are a blogger, therefore you are writing blog posts not just content. You should be asking, what type of blog post am I writing? Will it be more journalistic, it is personable, it is satire or it is an interview?

If you are doing a video, once again it’s not just content. It’s about whether you posting this video on YouTube, Viddy, Vimeo or offline. It’s about the differences between those audiences. It’s about your personality shining on this platform and your audiences getting to know you. I would rather you refer to your writing and the media you produce as art, than content. Yes, it’s a bit lofty, but art reminds you to display culture, provide meaning and have powerful expression.

Call to Action – Have you seen those horribly design pages, with bright colors and a huge button that says “BUY NOW!!” or “CLICK NOW TO DOWNLOAD EBOOK!!”? I have and it’s never a pretty or inspiring sight. When you have a genuine connection with your readers and viewers, they automatically want to extend the connection. If you have a great blog, people will want to purchase your book for more exclusive thoughts from you. Of course, you may have an extra step that you want your audience to take. However, you aren’t entitled to anyone’s action. But you can inspire other to take the next step by offering value. You also can have a strategically designed page or blog that helps your audience take the next step.

Monetize- Overall I think that the word monetize is extremely lazy. The word monetize causes me to imagine bloggers attempting to "passively" earn money from poorly done articles. If you can’t think of a creative way to earn money from your articles perhaps you shouldn’t be freelancing. You really should be thinking “how can I expand the brand? How can I create an adventure?” For example, Disney was able to develop an entire empire from his studios. He wanted to provide a family experience for his audience. He wasn’t sitting around confused about monetization.

Modern bloggers forget the term starving artist and expect to earn too much too soon. When I think of a starving artist, I think of a person that has sacrificed so much and now they are desperate to earn a living. I don’t think of them casually asking, “I’ve sacrificed my life for my art…I wonder how I will monetize this.” Instead there was this huge conflict between maintaining their sense of self, pursuing their passion and having enough money to eat the next day. There is a depth in Edgar Allan Poe’s literature that captures the hearts of people worldwide yet he struggled financially. Do you really deserve to “monetize” your work? Then get creative.

Traffic- The word “traffic” gives me the image of numbers without feelings, emotions or a personal story checking out your blog. However people are not just numbers, they are complex beings that are scrutinizing your work. They are people looking for entertainment, inspiration, information and an experience to share with their loved ones.

The word can also be intimidating for new bloggers. They think “wait I need how much traffic to make money??!!!?” Instead, new bloggers should be thinking about how many individuals they can make fall in love with their blog posts. It’s all about how you are making individuals feel. It’s not just about getting “traffic.” If you can make hundreds, thousands and even millions of individuals happy then you’ve achieved your goal.

Now.. Are you ready to change to the course of your history?

Will new gTLDs Affect your Business or E-commerce site?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 05:51:00 +0000

Imagine the internet without the .com where domain names containing new gTLDs (generic top level domains) such as news.google or newyork.taxi becomes the norm … or even the standard. The online world will get a glimpse of the brand or idea without the .com sooner than they think. ICANN plans to reveal the first set of approved applications in April 2013. The corporations and businesses that are approved may be so eager to demonstrate their technological prowess that they could start unveiling their sites as early as the summer.

Most small and midsized businesses are completed oblivious to the idea that there could be a major paradigm shift online. Just as the panda updates spun across the web with lightning speed leaving unsuspecting webmaster devastated and sites demolished, new gTLDs could flash across the web paralyzing .com businesses. You may ask “how will new gTLDs affect the internet?” Then you may wonder “how will this impact on the internet influence my business and e-commerce site?” and “Should I invest in a new gTLD?” I wish that I could provide definite answers however it’s too early to get a clear perception with the fog of the ICANN, the flurry of applications and the pressure of speculation. How I do want to offer a myriad of perspectives so that small and midsized businesses can be adequately prepared for any changes.

There’s a possibility that the internet will not be affected by new gTLDs

The corporations applying for new gTLDs could simply be engaging in defensive brand protection. For example, General Motors pulled their applications for .chevrolet; .gmc; and .cadillac after the deadline closed for new applications. They probably wanted to prevent any trademark violations. Other brands may behave a bit more aggressively and strategically. They may use new gTLDs for a leaner advertising campaign and then redirect the new gTLDs to their main site. For example, it’s easier to advertise a succinct web address such as beauty.covergirl and then redirect that domain name to beauty.covergirl.com.

Customers may reject the new gTLDs and corporate resistance could suppress widespread use of websites with new gTLDs. Corporations have invested billions into developing .com websites. There are corporations that have purchased generic domain names, such as salad.com, flash.com and eyecare.com, for millions. These corporations will not passively allow new gTLDs to dominate the website. They will fervently compete. Corporations already feel overwhelmed trying to develop a solid mobile strategy. Do corporations really have the stamina to pursue new gTLDs and build engaging websites or will they consider them a risky distraction? (Note: My focus is on the corporate behavior because ICANN priced the applications outside the budget of small and midsized businesses. The action that corporations take, the only possible actors in this ICANN frenzy, will determine how the general public perceives new gTLDs.)

Most importantly customers may reject websites with new gTLDs or treat them unfavorably compared to .com domains. Customers have a tendency to be slow adapters to innovations that they can’t quite understand. They may adapt to new gTLDs so slow that the impact on the web could be marginal. If customers refuse to adopt new gTLDs then corporations who have wasted their funds will have a negative reaction to them. This will create a hostile environment for new gTLDs and ultimately cause their demise. I also believe that registrars overestimate the amount of internet users that want domain names. Registrars such as Uniregistry and Donuts.co are investing millions into new gTLD applications. However if they can’t recoup their losses, due to the popularity of social media platforms that have reduced the need small business and personal websites, then the lack of registrations could cause the collapse of the entire industry.

We also have the possibility that new gTLDs are accepted but .com domains are still widely used by powerful corporations and a significant portion of the business world. Dot com domains may never become a vestigial part of the internet, but instead a permanent and active member. Even though Facebook and email has usurped a majority of communication delivery for Americans, snail mail is still a relevant means of communication. Many people still prefer to pay bills through USPS. If distinct new gTLDs web applications can quickly be imitated by .com websites then they will not be perceived as extraordinarily innovative. If registrars are able to offer keyword new gTLDs, such as .art & .app, to all users then the allure for corporations could be lost. That's probably why Google is attempting to purchase keyword almost 80 keyword new gTLDs such as .cloud; .mail & .search. Corporations are not interested in the .com on repeat; where spammers and scammers can enter the space without credibility.

Other corporations and internet users may consider new gTLDs too limiting and defining. For example, .art in theory is a descriptive, meaningful and representative domain for an artist. But does an artist really want to be defined so blatantly and generically? Does a corporation really want to invest $185,000 for a branded new gTLD for each brand that they want to develop? Also, ICANN reveals the applicants and the new gTLDs that they are applying. This is undesirable for corporations that unveil new brands after working in stealth mode. Many corporations don’t want customers to associate new brands with their other brands. Therefore a website such as android.google would not be an attractive option. For example, the .google has the potential to overshadow Android’s blossoming brand and stunt its separate identity. Businesses do not want their brands to be revealed before its time or to be restricted.

So now you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief. But don’t relax just yet because….

There’s a high possibility that the internet will be affected by new gTLDs

Yes, new gTLDs could the next big online event just like search engines, social media platforms, blogs and startups.

Legitimacy: Right now just about anyone can violate a trademark and register a domain name with a brand. These spammers then use these domain names to masquerade as if they are affiliated with the brand in order to deceive naïve web users. This trickery tarnishes brands and causes people to distrust the internet…both are bad for business. Corporations could be relieved that they can now tout their branded new gTLDs as the only authority for their products and services. Their branded new gTLDs will be differentiated from the majority of all websites, increasing the legitimacy of their websites. As more and more corporations and institutions began using .brand instead of .com, the .com‘s image could be considered the less professional, spammy cesspool. The .com will be depleted of status just as soil depleted for nutrition from overuse and abuse. It’s nearly impossible for a seed to reach its full potential in depleted soil. Over time customers could learn to perceive .brand as the only credible and trustworthy websites. This could have a major effect on budding e-commerce sites that depend on search engine rankings. If customers begin to click on .brand more often in the search engine results resulting in high click through rates for new gTLDs then this could propel these domains to the top of the results... rendering the .com websites invisible.

In a less dramatic fashion, .com could become archaic, therefore negatively and unfairly affecting the image of businesses that are still forced to use .com. Corporations that want to appear cutting edge will start employing new gTLDs as a status symbol, deepening the online stratification. The gap between the corporations and small businesses could become more apparent and cause online users to gravitate to the sites with more resources even if they don’t have better products or services. This could be the nail in the coffins for new startups that aren’t publicized.

Exclusive Web Applications: If corporations solely use new gTLDs the architecture of their websites could change. Web applications that can’t be replicated by .com websites could arise. If new gTLDs result in better customer experiences then, other businesses that can’t afford new gTLDs will have difficulty competing. Corporations may even have the ability to seep into your web structure and built applications from your services. Small businesses should start thinking about how they can compete with innovative web applications.

Higher Barriers to Entry: When the internet first crept into the scene, the barriers to entry were high but achievable. You simply needed an opened mind to understand the value of the internet, the resources and knowledge to build a website and the business skills to develop a competitive product or service. For a small period of time, domain names were free! This could dramatically change. If corporations are granted ownership for keyword domains such as .boat & .cafe they could block off entry into that space from competitors. Consequently, the cost for .com domains could skyrocket. The appealing domain names on sale by domainers are already priced too high for small businesses and budding startups, if they raise any higher this could restrict online innovation. If the barriers to entry are too high online, many small businesses and midsized business may remain offline or only use social networking platforms further suppressing their growth.

Flexibility: Corporations will now have the flexibility and resources to structure their website in any way that they need while most businesses using .com ( or .net, .org, etc.) will still be restricted by their registrars. Once again the corporations will be able to offer web users significantly more which will raise the bar for businesses that don’t have the resources to meet these new standards. These corporations will have more power and representation on the web due to their self-determination and resources.

Some e-commerce websites are worried if keyword new gTLDs will have high search engine rankings than .com. Once again, only time will tell. Think about your strategy and how you can compete if they do. I hope that I was able to provide a thorough overview. I would love to hear your comments!

Can MySpace Make a Comeback in Social Media?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 23:53:00 +0000

Unfortunately, I think that the social media pie is sliced a bit too thin for MySpace to get full. Although social media is saturated, MySpace could thrive as a mixed media site by offering social media while still producing traditional media. MySpace currently offers videos and articles however they don’t really have a dynamic content strategy and they lack consistently compelling media because they still view themselves dominantly as a social media site.

It’s time for MySpace to strategically expand their brand as a stage for budding musicians, a social site for those passionate about music to connect, a venue for fans to enjoy music and an online destination for music updates. Despite MySpace’s lack of active & dedicated members - compared to other social media sites - they still have a well-known brand as a site dedicated to music. There’s always hope for a comeback when you have a well-known brand.

Turning DeadSpace into Music Heaven

1. Figure out how to give emerging bands a platform for attracting a fans and getting discovered.

Social media has explosive growth because people like fans, they being a part of a social group and they love becoming “internet famous.” Social media is now being used by many ambitious individuals as a stepping stone to more opportunities. MySpace needs to ponder how they can make the rise to fame easier musicians and bands. MySpace profiles should be designed so that the musicians can be viewed in the best possible light. MySpace also has radio stations with 42 million tracks that they are underutilizing. They should publicize their radio stations more often. They also should have distinct stations for music lovers to discover new bands and musicians.

An amazing benefit to helping emerging musicians and bands is that when they become mainstream your site also grows exponentially in popularity. They attract fans that want to get closer to them through the sites that they are active on and have built their brands on. Once again, MySpace should investigate and see what areas musicians and bands struggle, such as securing exposure, and then they will be able to offer a platform that alleviates these hardships. MySpace needs to ask, “Why would bands, musicians and fans invest time in this site?”

Also, MySpace shouldn’t forget how important the mobile sector has become. Unfortunately they haven't upgraded their mobile app since July 2011. Even if their image is tarnished online, they have a clean mobile slate. Instagram has shown the tech and business community, just how powerful mobile is. Their mobile strategy has to be innovative and exciting. What music applications can they develop that will be valuable to musical mobile users?

2. Participate in traditional media more consistently and dynamically so that MySpace can appear in the search engine results.

MySpace has basically disappeared from the search engine results for many specific queries. When MySpace does appear in the search engine results, their content pales in comparison to the rest of the results. To the average person, that means that they are dead. Since MySpace isn’t able to sit back and let the users initiate the conversation and drive social interaction like on Facebook, MySpace will need to be proactive in starting the conversation. Once people start seeing MySpace dominating the music sector online, they will be viewed as an authority site instead of a fledging social media or social networking site. They shouldn’t view this as a social media failure; they should view this as a great chance to differentiate themselves from traditional and social media by combining the best of both elements. Being a mixed media site will also be more sustainable in the long run. MySpace should be the social Vevo or the combination of MTV & Facebook.

Methods for appearing in the search engine results

1. MySpace Video/YouTube

MySpace’s YouTube presence is desolate and weak. I do understand that they may not want to upload videos on a competitor site however their own section for videos is cluttered, unappealing and difficult to navigate. They seem resistant to uploading material that people want to see and are already searching for. MySpace needs to take some cues from ClevverTV (on YouTube) on how to attract views. They need to talk about what the fans and the musically inclined care about. MySpace could produce interviews with new music brands from around the country - even internationally; give us the inside scoop or background information on music videos from emerging bands & musicians; produce a YouTube reality show or contest to keep the fans coming back for more.

On MySpace’s own site, they should have more live coverage of musical performances. New Year’s Eve live coverage showcasing musical performances would be amazing. Interesting videos are guaranteed to attract a following. Let smaller bands upload music videos and curate the top videos to showcase on the site. Once you help bands become popular, more quality bands will be encouraged to follow.

2. Entertaining Articles

MySpace is in the prime position to have an amazing music blog or music news network. Instead of faceless authors, MySpace needs to have more personable music news and blog posts. MySpace could create another personality that would effectively communicate with the music audience, connect to the fans and become an endearing figure in music. The personality should have a story, a mission and a music background. Perhaps an active member of MySpace could be vetted to blog about music to mimic the Tila Tequila effect.

Currently MySpace has news however the articles are sparsely shared because it's not as entertaining, personable or informative as other sites. However once they learn the formula for what people want to read and MySpace articles start showing up in the search engine results for interesting queries; then people visit MySpace directly to read music news. The fact that MySpace is also a social media site will help them rise above just having articles by enabling a community to form instead of visitors that just comment and bounce back.

As long as MySpace is willing to branch out, the possibilities are limitless. MySpace's demise began when people started using the site as an all-purpose site which deviated from their original mission- to promote music and bands. Once Facebook was created people flocked to that site due to its personable nature, clean design, lack of controversy and closed environment, which left MySpace barren. However if MySpace focus on their roots and get creative they can become a premier social media and traditional media site for music.

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The Significance of Klout for Advertisers: Why Online Influence Means Attention

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:34:00 +0000

Image via Wired

Why Advertisers and Businesses Love Klout: The True Meaning of Online Social Influence

Social media and online advertising is unpredictable. Klout offers stability through categorization.

In the past, only traditional media platforms such as television, radio and newspapers sustained premium attention from a wide and diversified audience. Television and radio introduced the dialogue, maintained the conversation and dictated what was relevant while the populace passively interacted with media. Social media has caused a paradigm shift by allowing media to be in the hands of the people. You no longer have to wait for a television program; you can just watch YouTube. You don’t need be entertained by a magazine; you can simply scroll down your Facebook feed. You're not desperate for another celebrity interview; you can just read their tweets. The people are getting educated, informed, entertained and amused by their each other and well-known figures can directly share their narratives to the public.

With media being the hands of the people social media, like life, is unpredictable. Marketers and businesses don’t have the script beforehand. Social media occurs in real time. Social media isn’t as conducive to strategically planned product placements as movies and televisions are. It’s more difficult to sync up marketing with social media than traditional media. Now people can make up crazy hashtags on a whim. By the time old school advertisers jump on board, another trend has passed and now a meme about Angelina’s leg is popping up. Even dictators are having a hard time keeping up and retaining dominant influence over their populace. Advertisers are desperate for more content organization & categorization of data that is being produced out of their control.

Social media is like a crowded marketplace.

The streams of attention are so dispersed that it’s almost impossible to know how to make an ad online that reaches millions of your target demographics on the consistent and daily basis. In the past, if advertisers needed to market cosmetics, they could contact a studio that produced shows that are geared to women and then millions of women would have their eyes on your advertisement at the times advertisers dictated. Now, millions of conversations are going at once and it’s nearly impossible get anyone’s attention unless they are already interested in what you have to say. The statistics about the amount of content being produced and in addition to the number of unpredictable celebrity rants are enough to make a person dizzy. However in the midst of chaos, Klout strides into the marketplace confidently and says “I can organize this catastrophe… I mean data and content for you. I can tell you want they are saying, who they are telling, the trends they are starting or following and what they want. I can get you into that conversation and give your power back.” Klout gives advertisers the power to know what social media participants consistently tweet or post about.

Since so much attention has transferred online, the marketers and businesses are following. Marketers loved the idea of viral marketing because it was the most similar and nostalgic to the traditional forms of advertising, reaching millions are once. Adsense was revolutionary because it was like a visual or text commercial in between content and you could reach millions. Marketers also like the idea of Facebook advertising because it replicates word of mouth. It has the ability to target millions within a specific demographic just like a television ad and just like Adsense the users provided the media while the advertisers tried to capture a fraction of the attention through ads. Now marketers are starting to get comfortable with the idea of reaching small niches just like SEO marketers are openly embracing the long tail. Also, what’s so amazing about online ads is that it’s significantly easier for customers to make an impulse purchase. As opposed to seeing a commercial on television and having to transfer that effort from the couch to the computer or even wait longer to go to a retail store, consumer can just click on an ad or make a quick purchase at Amazon.

Online Social Influence is Code Word for “the amount of attention you receive online”

If you speak and people are purposefully listening, then you have online influence. Just like when ladies are watching a commercial and one makes a positive or negative comment about the product that is being advertised, the lady that is speaking has the attention from her friend at that moment. Klout is attempting to give marketers and advertisers the opportunity to replicate that experience. Friends pay more attention to each other’s recommendations and that attention is a form of influence. Similarly smaller communities online are probably more trusting of each other. Instead of defining Klout as a measure of influence, it’s more accurate to refer to Klout scores as the measure of attention or measure of premium attention. In the age of information overload, social media and individuals staring at multiple screens at the same time; premium attention is a scarce resource. Klout could also mean a measure peer pressure. Klout attempts to answer the question, does this individual have enough clout in these areas to peer pressure individuals to purchase specific products. Television shows have ratings and now those that participate in social media will have the equivalent through Klout scores.

I have a lower Klout score because I have fewer eyes on me. I generally get attention through engagement. I don't have hoards of fans and/or followers staring at my stream wondering what I'll say next. However those with higher Klout scores have social media profiles that gets visited regularly because either online or offline they have achieved a significant amount of popularity that has earned them sustained attention.

Some people argue that there are influential people with comparable low Klout scores. However marketers aren’t necessarily targeting them. If these individuals have considerable influence offline and/or online, they are already being vetted by marketers. Marketers are more focused on targeting people that are under the radar such as bloggers with 2,000 followers or the popular student in school with 1000 Facebook friends. People who are getting attention online who advertisers may not had learned about before Klout. For example, not every single person who watches television is extremely influential however most have attention from their family and friends. Marketers who use Klout are hoping that these individuals attract enough attention online to be able to indirectly peer pressure or “influence their colleagues.” Klout is purely an advertising medium and we are the media.

Marketers probably aren’t too disappointed by Klout’s inadequacy at integrating online influence with offline influence (even though they did update their algorithm in an attempt to rectify this issue). Television, radio, newspapers, other traditional media outlets and even celebrities are filling this gap. Instead they are pursuing the online niches that being overlooked. They are trying to reach the individuals that are the center of a loyal yet small to midsized online communities. They want to know about the mysterious influencers behind the computer screens. So when people argued about why Justin Beiber used to have a higher Klout score than Justin Beiber, they were too focused on offline influence. For now, Justin Beiber is being searched online more, online he has more YouTube videos, online he probably gets more retweets, online he has more facebook likes and twitter followers. Online, Justin Beiber exerts more peer pressure and has more attention. Plus marketers already know that Barack Obama is influential, they don’t need Klout for that and I’m sure Barack Obama isn’t feverishly searching for Klout Perks. With Barack Obama’s campaign and Justin Beiber’s career on a slow decline, Justin Beiber is now has a lower Klout score.

My Attempt at Deciphering Klout Scores

Low

These people have lower scores because either 1. They don't have any online influence and their offline influence isn't powerful enough to get them attention online. 2. They don't have enough influence online or offline to not participate. For many people, if they don't participate then they simply don't get attention.

Medium

They are people with scores because they engage with their audience. These people may or may not have both offline and online influence. For example, I believe more people in this group either have online influence but lack in offline influence or their have offline influence and lack in online influence. These people are able to engage if they want to. So for example, an executive will be able to get a response from the average Twitter user however since he doesn't have a blog; he isn't known well-known online nor does he have an online community centered around him.

High

1. Well-known figures with who don't need to engage their audience on Twitter or Facebook because they are already in the public eye. Their brand speak for themselves, i.e. Seth Godin. Whether or not he's replying to people, there will be people looking at his stream. He also has a large online community based around his blog and books. Marketers are satisfied.

2. Highly influential figures who don’t need to engage with their audience but choose too. Many entertainers fall in this category.Generally those with high Klout scores have online influence because of their popularity offline.

Some companies will automatically have the edge on Klout because of the nature of their audience. For example, tech companies will probably have higher Klout scores on average than restaurants.

Concluding thoughts about Klout:

They need more organic people to be aware about Klout. People who just appreciate the free stuff. People who participate in social media for fun like when YouTube first started and people made the videos for free and not the money. Or how people authentically used Facebook to connect with loved ones. Klout is too focused on advertising their service to thought leaders and social media mavens. Of course this was important because they have high profile social media accounts and they caused conversations about Klout to spread rapidly but now it's time to get the "normal people in". Update 10/6/ 2012 * I saw an advertising of Klout in a popular magazine.

Use technology to see the ratio of fake followers. I don't like having spammer as followers so I remove them (according to Statuspeople I have zero fake followers). Many people don't do this; in fact many people even purposefully purchase them. There's no point in giving spammers high Klout scores.

They need to get their keywords right. One tweet giving a mini tutorial about fixing gadgets on Blogger shouldn't warrant me to be listed as influential in gadget. I'm not going to remove it though. Heck I want a free gadget lol! The chances are low but you never know....On second thought ...I'll pay someone a dollar to consistently retweet or reply to anything that I tweet about cars. I'm serious.

Thanks for reading, if you have a different perspective on the meaning of Klout and online influence I would love to hear it!

Surveying the Carnage after Google's Penguin Updates

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Wed, 23 May 2012 00:05:00 +0000

My Background with the Panda and Penguin Updates

Pandas and Penguins are both black and white animals which subtly symbolizes Google separating websites that engage in black hat websites from the white hat websites. Many Penguins live in the arctic and as we’ve witnessed, search engines are becoming an icier environment for SEO.

Much of the talk about the Penguin updates has ceased. Just as the Panda updates there’s initial outrage, press coverage offering intricate recovery advice, think thank webmaster threads outlining trends & possible solutions and then acceptance of defeat or decrees of victory. At least the petition asking Google to retract the Penguin update was thrown in the mix to add some spice to the usual sequence of events.

Despite the growing silence on the Penguin updates, I’m still concerned about the quality bloggers, honest affiliates and innocent small businesses that lost a sizable amount of revenue and page views. I’m waiting to see if Google will dramatically and publicly refine the webspam algorithm but I believe that they are determined to prove a point and show whose boss. I’m not really sure the extent to how much I was affected by the Penguin updates since I was largely affected by the freshness update, an algorithm that favors full time bloggers, news sites and sites with large budgets.

Even though I’m new blogger I felt that I had a full understanding of Panda due to my previous experiences writing for/attempting to write for several online platforms. I tried to write for Bright Hub however the editor commented that I didn’t stuff enough keywords. She didn’t comment on the content or the grammar just the fact that I didn’t use certain types and a certain number of keywords within a 600 word article. So I took the article and it ranked quite well on Google without extraneous keywords. Suite 101 paid pennies to encourage thousands of junk articles. Suite 101 was even bold enough to have tutorials giving specific instructions on how to manipulate search engines (as if a Google employee would never see it, lol) under the guise of SEO and helping their writers increase their earning potential. Demand Studios somewhat became the McDonalds of online articles with their logo on every article (even the articles outside of eHow) almost like the famous McDonalds arch, eHow articles with identical structures to maintain consistency, shallow low quality articles that are easily digestible, cheap writers and parasitic growth as they chased down millions of lucrative titles. I could clearly identify why they were hit by Panda.

Penguin is a bit more ambiguous. Therefore I’m not speaking as an authority just as a keen observer. I also used to be a search engine evaluator for Google so I have some insight into what they are looking for. Most search engine/SEO websites have already given great advice about the Penguin updates so that’s not my primary goal. I’m honestly intrigued by the updates and hopefully my thoughts can help people that looking for something new.

After Thoughts and Precautionary Advice

High CPC keywords are a trap for small/midsized sites. Targeting high CPC keywords as a small blogger, affiliate and business means whenever Google makes another algorithm update your site will be in the midst of those changes, you’re the ideal target for negative SEO, your site might have higher bounce rates than branded websites because visitors don’t know what to expect from you and you have less opportunities to attract credible backlinks since well-known brands have the monopoly on frequent media attention. Sites that are building their brand while trying to profit from high CPC keywords need to have at least 3 times the amount of quality than larger brands. There’s a popular mentality among successful businesses that consumers will only switch brands if the new brand is significantly better. Well you need to take on this mentality with consumers and Google. Consumers need a compelling reason to risk wasting energy, time and/or money to try a new brand. If you are selling cupcakes and competing with larger brands then you need to figure out how to upstage them. For example, you can offer more personalization, rare flavors or natural ingredients.

You can focus on a niche or as the common advice given by SEOs - target long tail keywords. Instead of cupcakes try chocolate cupcakes, double chocolate cupcakes, mocha cupcakes, etc. Or you can go local. Google prefer smaller sites to be niche to give them the chance to build trust. After you excel in your niche and become a solid brand then you’ll be able to expand your product base with fewer objections from Google. For example Amazon, Apple and Google started off in books, computers and an innovative search engine before they moved to electronics, phones and email. Once you expand then you can market directly to your customers instead of starting off with a bunch of mediocre services & products and wrestling with Google. If you use this method make sure that the name of your site is scalable for example the names Amazon, Apple and Google aren’t restrictive.

Holistic advertising is preferred. Try to be creative instead of conforming to the typical advertising methods spammers use. If you are building backlinks, try to market your brand not just keywords. In fact a few SEO sites mentioned that Google didn’t mind self-generated backlinks that used the name/brand of the site. EasyLunchBoxes is making waves by offering 176 lunch box ideas. I hate using the word viral but the slideshow has grown viral within their target demographics. I’ve seen their lunch ideas shared on several forums and I’ve shared it myself. Unfortunately they don’t rank high for the term lunch box since global brands crowd out smaller competitors for those keywords. Therefore they discovered another method to generate sales. Right now I’m slowly putting up interesting slideshows on Slideshare and I’m thinking of other ways this blog can attract attention by adding value. Modcloth has done very well by sponsoring tons of small and mid-sized fashion blogs. Put yourself in the consumers’& potential clients’ shoes to figure out how to reach out to them. I explain more about holistic affiliate advertising here.

Google is suspicious of sites that get most of their traffic from search engines. One victim claimed that they received about 90% of their traffic from Google. Your traffic should be diversified to appear somewhat legitimate. It’s especially suspicious if you are making 90% of your profit from one keyword that you’ve spammed or if your conversion rate is high for a few pages out of hundreds. I believe that Google does give a bit leeway for newer domains however the older your domain/business is the more direct & referral traffic that you should be receiving.

Keep a low profile for now. Do not mimic spammers. Don’t hang out where the spammers hang out. Don’t do what the spammers are doing. If you see spammers leaving keyword blog comments ….then don’t do that. If you see spammers buying thousands of backlinks don’t do it. If spammers love leaving links on a particular forum, do not create a profile and leave your blog url at that forum.

I do understand that some SEOs and small businesses are aggressive. If you are aggressive try to do a variation of what they do. So if spammers are leaving keyword blog comments try leaving “snippets of genius” (a word I made up for knowledgeable comments that add value) with your brand name. If spammers are buying thousands of backlinks try writing articles or selling products that attract backlinks. If spammers are hanging out on forums, try building relationships on a less spammy forum. Small businesses owners could contact popular forum members who blog and send them free products to try out as an incentive to introduce your products & business to their forum and on their blogs.

If you employ SEO services don’t let them spam your site without your knowledge. Specifically tell them what you don’t want them to do. Keep an on eye your site’s backlink profile and speak up if your site is getting artificially high rankings. Generally Google may overly reward spam sites before they are deindexed or slammed down in the rankings.

Be a SEO psychic or SEO lazy. About 3 months before the Penguin updates I removed my old domain (which has a 301 redirect to Analyst District) from Technorati, Blog Engage and Blog Catalog. I just felt that something was on the horizon after the Panda Updates. I didn’t join them just for backlinks but mostly to connect with other bloggers. Since I didn’t achieve that goal I felt that Google would be a bit suspicious so I left (especially since spammers now love Technorati). It took literally 3 months to remove myself from Technorati. Technorati has no customer service and they are predatory towards small blogs. I had to make several contacts, constantly update the thread detailing my complaints and after 3 months they finally realized that I was serious.

If you can’t be psychic then be SEO lazy. I was fortunate to receive this theme from a site called Premium Blogger Templates. The owner of the site, Lasantha, was SEO genius but not SEO psychic. In the footer of each template he used the anchor keywords "free blogger templates" which was quite effective for a while. After the Penguin updates, Google dropped his high rankings for those keywords. Fortunately he still ranks for "premium blogger templates" but the likeliness of novice bloggers (his target demographic) searching for those keywords is quite low. However many of his competitors were SEO lazy and probably never thought to use this tactic. Their rankings rose after the Penguin updates. The upside to this tale is that he was smart enough to distribute his best templates to sites that still are ranking for those terms.

If your domain is old Google is expecting a certain amount of branding, growth and popularity. If you haven’t scaled well or if you haven’t made a name for yourself then Google will assume that you probably are a scammer or that your site offers little value. For example, popular sites and businesses are able to introduce new articles and products to an eager audience. If your new products or articles go unnoticed for long periods of time, this is not a positive signal to Google about the value of your site. Small businesses should attempt to gain media attention or at least become well known locally and before attempting to attract national and global consumers. If you don’t Google will take it upon themselves to restrict you locally.

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Why Facebook Took a Vocal Stance against Employers Asking for Passwords

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Employers asking for Facebook passwords are detrimental to Facebook’s core use and their selling point, the ability for users to have fun sharing personal information about their life uninhibited and honestly. For many people, Facebook was their first experience having a webpage dedicated to their life and subsequently have used it as a form of free expression. Facebook’s vocal stance provides prominent discouragement against employers that potentially could prevent users from accurately sharing their goals, interests, snippets of their life, engaging photos, professional & educational attainment and their relationships.

It seems strangely unfair for employers to demand data that they didn’t work hard to attain. If password requests become more widespread then Facebook will grow into an artificial environment, as suggested by this comment “Set up a 'holier than thou' Facebook page and populate it with all those noble, selfless and completely professional activities you would be doing if you weren't down the pub so much.” Although prudent for the users, this cautionary behavior is not conducive to Facebook becoming an advertising giant. In fact some users have taken extreme measures to avoid this issue by deleting their accounts. The illusion of privacy and the ability to manage your image are crucial psychological components for users to contribute gold mine data for advertisers and even government agencies. For example, the Google + circles and Facebook Smart Lists are useful tools for impression management and controlling your image to coincide with the relationship. The more control and comfortable users feel the more users are willing to share and accurately represent their life. In return Google and Facebook are able to collect more data and analyze how people behave according to the relationship which could be valuable for advertisers studying how to obtain more referrals.

Facebook has publicity denounced the employer behavior to shame the employers and assure the users to not concern themselves and continue sharing their life as usual. Facebook’s rapid response has also caused policy makers to act and acknowledge Facebook as a platform that users have a right to privacy over. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said that such a practice is an "unreasonable invasion of privacy for people seeking work." Even though Facebook and Google are frequently cited as privacy invaders, the invasion of privacy appears more remote and algorithmic. As a result people disregard the negative press and continue to share private information. However the employer Facebook password requests are abrupt realizations of how much personal, revealing and “criminalizing” information users share that can accessed in just the click of a button. The disturbing stories of how users felt when employers raided their Facebook accounts have more emotional appeal to the less tech savvy users than bitter technical articles complaining about privacy. "I felt disrespected. I felt that my privacy was invaded," he tells All Things Considered host Robert Siegel, "but not only my privacy, the privacy of my friends and that of my family that didn't ask for that.” The result is users removing data to appear more professional and/or users anxiously deleting & deactivating Facebook accounts in droves.

It’s important to remain aware of how users and even non-users interact with your product or service and then analyze how this affects the bottom line. For example, YouTube had to be proactive in developing a solution for copyright infringement to prevent the site from imploding with legal issues. Pinterest’s overnight success story has the potential to become a nightmare due to how users consistently violate copyright. Although it can prolong the life of a business if users find new & unintended uses for your products and services, their behavior can also be detrimental to your professional longevity.

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Panda Changed Affiliate Marketing, What eCommerce Websites Can Learn from Retail Stores to Recover

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 08:01:00 +0000

Affiliate marketing has boomed as more and more work at home gurus tout the possibly of earning thousands of dollars online. Unfortunately affiliate marketing merchants & niche eCommerce websites have earned a poor reputation due to their aggressive SEO tactics and scammy (or even criminal) behavior. Instead of attempting to become scalable, most affiliate marketers set up questionable eCommerce sites to earn as much money as possible in the short term. The Google Panda updates specifically targeted affiliate marketing online stores and has pushed up branded online retail stores in the SERPs since customers are learning to only shop online at trusted websites. Since the Panda updates, it is important understand that the affiliate marketing game has changed and has grown more complex.

Since the relationship that affiliate marketers have with brands and customers are more detached, many forget that eCommerce websites and online stores somewhat resemble retail stores. A retail store’s main purpose is to present the brands they sell in a favorable manner so that customers will make a purchase. They are in fact another component to strategic marketing and they play the role as a distributor. If a retail store has poor customer service, unappealing displays, old products, etc. customers are less likely to part with their precious funds, as a result the brands and the retail store lose in the long run. Affiliate marketers need to realize that just because they are online, this doesn’t mean they should neglect clever business strategies.

Tips for Building a Scalable and Sustainable Affiliate Marketing eCommerce Website

Brandable Name - Most people can name several retails stores, spout off their function, primary products and the demographics they cater to. Even retail stores that aren’t national brands have local significance and distinctiveness. Branding makes this possible. Most affiliate marketing eCommerce and online stores purchase long tail domain names and then give the website name a similarly forgettable, keyword drivel – and suspicious – name all for the sake of SEO. Before Panda this was acceptable and profitable, however in the end branded websites are dominating the SERPs. Amazon, which resembles the Wal-Mart of online stores, and Folica, considered a premier beauty supply online for hair products and appliances, have strong brand names. Developing a brand name is the first step towards building trust which leads to your site becoming the destination for more online purchases. For example, Folica is extremely popular on hair forums, could you imagine these customers attempting to recommend a site called the Cheapest Hair Supplies Online.

Study the names of retail stores in your area with strong branding such as Wal-Mart, JCPenney and Best Buy. These names capture the hearts of America on an emotional level first (also called peripheral for those psychologists out there) then on a cognitive basis. Retail stores also can succeed on a local level even if the names are more generic however the familiarity can generate trust. Perhaps you can grow your site at a reasonable level by giving your eCommerce site a name with local significance. Then focus on building relationships and branding yourself as a locally trusted affiliate marketer that sells products your neighbors have limited access to. Also, let the customers know the story behind the brand. Your story could possibility inspire a well-constructed brand name and fuel an advertising campaign. The story behind the name Amazon is that the founder Jeff Bezos wanted a website that started with the letter A and embodied the mission of his site. Then he discovered the river in Brazil named Amazon in the dictionary, " a place that was exotic and different, just as his store would be. The river was the biggest in the world and his business would be the biggest store in the world."

Visible Customer Service – The less well known your brand is, the stronger your customer service needs to be. Customers don’t necessarily trust that your product or service is quality and are essentially taking a gamble on your brand. Therefore customers need be assured that a representative is readily accessible just in case the purchase malfunctions or another unexpected issue arises. Customer service is also proof that the business is legitimate, the affiliate not a scammer and that the store cares enough about the customer to invest in their satisfaction. Many affiliate eCommerce websites look forward to unlimited streams of passive income and prefer to set up shop and abandon ship to build other stale online stores. However this approach is unsustainable and is less likely to result in repeat customers if complaints continue to get ignored. You’ll just confirm their suspicions and even cause them to unfairly avoid other affiliate online stores.

Your site needs to have some form of active and visible customer service. It's advisable to display multiple forms of contact to alleviate the distance and online barrier. The advent of social media and networking are tools that simplify customer service. Active forums give the impression of instant assistance and it helps to build a community around your site. I also recommend setting up a Facebook page perhaps even post your live Twitter stream. Ford Motor Co is using social media as a component to their customer service approach, according to Forbes, “The Ford brand’s eight, dedicated customer service agents use a customized search engine tool based on key words to monitor concerns, questions or comments on Twitter, Facebook, auto forums and message boards. Each issue is assigned to one agent until resolved…Ford is now responding to an average of 2, 000 people weekly via social media.”

Holistic Advertising – SEO gurus encourage affiliate marketers to engage in article & content marketing to sell individual products. Panda is slowly wiping out the avenues that affiliate marketers used to market articles to discourage poor content from cluttering Google’s search engine. Now it’s more effective in the long term to showcase your brand and online store as a whole along with the product. Usually retail stores draw in customer with their image and what they offer. Then once they get the customers inside the store, retail stores market individual products. For example, Macys may state in advertisements that they are having a 50% storewide or in certain categories, then once the customer enters the store they may see a section of specific brands and products that are on clearance. Also the advertisement clearly showcases Macys’ brand, so that the customer understands that their products and retail store brand co-exists.

Don’t become so focused on using article and content marketing on specific items that you forget the brand. You want the customer to know that the affiliate online store named Tech Enthusiast (made up name) = trendiest electronics + tech savvy website owner. Don’t just bait them to the product, mental connections need to be created.

Attractive Displays – If you want customers to part with their hard earned cash, you need to offer a visually compelling reason why. First the overall store needs to look attractive and have its own personality. These factors help the customers feel as if they belong to a part of larger community. People who love Apple love the feeling of belonging in the electronics/tech community as they enter the tech geared location. Heck some even feel a bit too comfortable and use the Apple store as a means of expression…through randomly dancing. Ron Johnson, the former senior VP at Apple for retail confirms this consumer desire, “A store has got to be much more than a place to acquire merchandise. It’s got to help people enrich their lives. If the store just fulfills a specific product need, it’s not creating new types of value for the consumer.”

I recommend walking into national and local retail stores offline that are in your niche. Get a feel for the aura and in the same way, try to translate your brand’s personality and aura in your website design. You also want to know your demographics so that you can craft your affiliate online store to appeal to your target audience. Secondly the individual displays should compensate for the customer not being able to see the product in person. Imagine your site as a retail store and customers are actively strolling from display to display instead of having the mental image of them passively browsing through your site. How would you organize the store in order the grab the customer’s attention and attractively display the items? Try to replicate these attention grabbing techniques online. Honest and appealing product displays also contributes to the trust factor. If the site appears to be a scam, keyword ridden, spammy, difficult to navigate, has unconvincing displays and is poor in quality then it will scare off potential online shoppers customers.

Opening Day at Walt Disney World, Florida. Life
Magazine December 1971

Offer an Experience – Retail stores offer a memorable experience. Many people love to spend a day shopping at the mall with their friends because the retail/department stores within the mall cater to their interests and create a positive feeling. Don’t forget that we live in a consumerist society; therefore people consider the very act of purchasing products or services in a comfortable & interesting environment an experience. Once again appeal to the emotions, then the cognitive. What experience can you provide online that physical retail stores can’t? Consider fun quizzes, interactive videos involving the products, a blog discussing the latest products in your niche, games, contests and/or product memes - especially try to provide sharable experiences. I think that a “Siri” geared towards assisting customers with product purchases would be a fun tool for a developer to design in the future.

Unique Offline Relevance – Due to Google’s Panda updates, the age of solely depending on search engines for traffic has abruptly ended. Although eCommerce is primarily online, you need offline relevance for your site to become viral through word of mouth so that traffic will visit your site directly. In fact social media marketing is based on fans sharing content to friends they have mostly connected with offline. Give people a reason to get curious about your site and use it for offline activities.

Amazon and Folica are well known for their in-depth reviews that are so informative that people even read these reviews before shopping offline. Video reviews are also quite helpful and popular, once again provide a visually compelling case for your products. Perhaps you could create or curate video product reviews or write guides on how to utilize the more complicated products. Forums and blogs also meet the criteria for being helpful and sharable.

eCommerce affiliate marketers need to get back to the basics and understand the core reasons why customers purchase products so that they can develop solid strategies for selling products. After Google's Panda updates, you are no longer just selling to search engines but to people.

Thanks for reading the Analyst District, I appreciate all comments!

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Panda Updates Strategically Created Demand for Google’s Social Network

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 10:35:00 +0000

The Panda updates even to this day has been shrouded in mystery and controversy. Many webmasters were left perplexed as Panda spiraled through like a tornado leaving websites demolished and dreams of passive income crushed. Google gave a brief “Panda Warning” but many still weren’t prepared for its aggressive arrival. Despite the devastating effects it has had on thousands, the sweeping changes have also been quite positive for the internet. There’s much less incentive to scrape content, SEO experts are now recommending in masse to publish quality content and large online publishers are no longer dominating the web by gaming search engines with trite, shallow and keyword ridden drivel – and on a personal note it actually encouraged me to start my social science blog.

However the mysteriousness of the event still causes me to wonder about the true intent of Panda. I’ve mulled over several questions, such as why now? Google could have had a series of algorithms that continuously cleaned up the web so that scrapers and content producers like Demand Studios would have never succeeded. Why did the Panda updates have to be so dramatic? Honestly, Panda could have never been announced. It instead could have been a series of incremental yet noticeable changes over time instead of websites losing 50% of their traffic in one day. Why kill the very publishers that they profit from? I thought to myself that the user experience has got to be important in order for Google to punish sites that had too many their own ads. I’ve read many debates and “conspiracy theories” from Google trying to wipe out the competition since they are interested in becoming publishers and/or content producers to the argument that Google is trying to wipe out affiliates. However once their social network fully developed into the potentially powerful entity that is now, it all made sense to me. Google may have wanted to strategically drive their target demographic – active web users- to their social network.

I was going to name this post "Google calls you ugly and then recommends their makeup line" but decided that would be too obscure. Generally cosmetic companies exploit insecurities (feelings of low self-esteem due to not matching up with stringent beauty standards) and use deception (Photoshop, etc) to create demand for their products. In the same manner, innocent webmasters are being told that their websites are not meeting Google’s high standards or even good enough for the internet. Google's ultimate goal is to create need for stronger and more secure SEO tactics. Google’s social network combines the social aspects of Facebook and Twitter, etc with the SEO power that is directly tied to their search engine. For example I’ve noticed that when someone +1s my article, Statcounter shows a hit from Google meaning that it’s helping my article get crawled. So using social features from Google on my blog results in an obvious benefit to my search result rankings. Interesting…the only assumption I can make is that this is manipulating publishers to fully embrace Google’s social network even if they are deeply embedded in Facebook, Twitter and/or other social networking platforms. Others somewhat see how calculating this tactic thus the resistance that the general public don’t truly understand. I could be reaching but some evidence does prove that they are aggressively marketing their social network.

Let’s look at the time line of events.

Feb 24, 2011 – Google announces Panda in a seemingly harmless manner. Google just does a short blog post announcing algorithmic changes. These changes are unprecedented therefore no one truly knows what to expect.

Feb 26, 2011- Panda becomes a PR spectacle with articles like Google Farmer Update: Quest for Quality and Number Cruncher: Who Lost in Google’s Panda Algorithm. The web becomes flooded with articles from SEO blogs, new outlets and even YouTube videos about Panda, giving Google free PR and sending a powerful yet clear message, if you don’t play by our unspoken rules you’ll pay the price. Google continues to announce a series of Panda updates so that we won’t forget whose boss. The takedown of large even seemingly credible sites is public and somewhat humiliating as publishers such as Demand Media at first refuse to acknowledge the impact.

March 8, 2011 – Small publishers that are affected feel helpless. Websites losing traffic sends a wave of panic across the internet, increasing the anxiety of webmasters. We continue to see the take down of billion dollar companies, sites with millions of articles and publishers with strong brands. Webmasters are frantically trying to regain traffic. Bystanders are nervous and small websites that feel ignored are consoling one another. Even though Panda didn't affect me I read just about every article about Panda and even published a blog post about it.

May 6, 2011 – Google attempts to appear more transparent and wield their influence by publishing guidelines. They waited until they were sure the attention of SEOs and publishers were captured worldwide. The focus is mostly on quality, however they manage to slip in a significant remark, Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend? An important landmark in publisher history - the growing importance of social activity to demonstrate the quality of your blog slides through hardly noticed by most, since the main focus of the blog post was about content. I guess this is their poker face. However articles such as Search Engine Land, Your Site’s Traffic Has Plummeted Since Google’s Panda Update. Now What? somehow realized the significance of social indicators but even though just mentioned a short blip about social networking compared to the rest of the article. "How about engagement? If the site allows comments, is your audience actively discussing the topics on your site? Are they sharing the content on social media sites?”

June 2011 – SEO experts start making recommendations. Publishers absorb their every word. Commandments from all sides become overwhelming. Quality content! Low bounce rates! Remove Duplicate Content! Lessen the Amount of Ads on Your Site! - and of course don’t just solely depend on search engines. The Google +1 button and social network was introduced around this time also. It didn’t make a major entrance into the tech community because it was overshadowed by Panda and I believe they wanted it remain low key. Due to the choice of invite distribution, the social network was concentrated with the tech demographic. Publishers that want to avoid being affected by Panda in the future, slowly begin to embrace the +1 button hoping to harness its SEO power. Top publishers and SEO Experts begin to wonder about the pervasiveness of Google +1 and question its affect on search engine results. “All like minded SEO experts have quoted their thoughts about Google + . There are supportive as well as contradictory statements as to Google + will contribute towards organic search results. There is a perception, as being a Google's product, it might assist in better search engine rankings on google itself, " states a commenter sharing the sentiment of smaller publishers like myself about Google + and SEO.

August 2011- As the attempts to regain traffic remain futile, SEO experts grow distrustful of search engines since we now know that at any time just one algorithm can wipe out years of work. Hubpages CEO famously declares that SEO doesn’t work in huff. Even I’m a bit upset at the power search engines and begin to look for more way to gain traffic by building up a genuine community without depending on search engines. I start my twitter page for The Entrepreneur's Hub (now Analyst District) in late in September and in October I was writing posts about Panda and the +1 Button. I must have been lonely because I almost immediately found a close knit community the lovely Kickin' With Klout Triberr Group that Knikkolette Church thankfully let me join even though I had a sparse following at that time.

November 2011 – The more insightful SEO experts suggest the importance of having a social presence, such as in the well-received article The Ugly Truth Google Panda Exposed about Your Business, Lise Irby makes a couple of eye-opening suggestions about social media. "Work the Social Media Space - Social media is another avenue you can use to build more traffic and loyalty." Publishers start taking Facebook, Twitter, backlinks, etc more seriously. We learn that it’s better to have direct access to your audience as opposed to passively hoping to be found on search engines. This approach to recovering from and avoiding Panda spreads rapidly among publishers and webmasters. Other SEO experts begin to catch up with this advice, such as in the article Top 5 Google Panda Update SEO Survival Tips. “If you invest time into building a community, your business isn’t as likely to be as hard hit by changes to search algorithms such as Google Panda."

Feb 2012– Google is now choosing February once again to upset publishers and make more waves in the tech community by allowing their social network to openly affect search results. Now that many are stricken with fear, desperate or distrusting of search engines, this seems like the perfect combination of SEO juice and social networking. Google conveniently gives us the solution to all of our dilemmas. Google's aggressive marketing of their social network is upsetting competitors . The same author lamenting Google's recent move to social results in No Longer Loving Google, Inc, acknowledged in a previous blog post that "Google seems to be leveraging their market dominance of search and ads to compete in social media."

Articles attached to their social network are ranked higher, the search engine results are cluttered with profile pics of influential publishers and now being included in numerous circles proves your legitimacy. Google mainly pulled in power users that are propping up the social network’s page views as opposed to the more authentic growth of Pinterest. These power users such as publishers are being used to create an active avenue to encourage avid Facebook users to switch over. Without Panda I don’t believe there would had been such a high usage of the network because even Facebook took time.

In conclusion, sometimes Google behaves too calculating which makes them intimidating and me (including many others) suspicious. For example, I know that Panda had to been planned at least 1-2 years before release which is worrisome because they waited until Demand Media's IPO. Once again this is still a theory.

I don’t think that Google is all evil, they just have so many people depending on them that that the pressure the stay number one must be intense. Could you image what would happened if Google just suddenly failed? They are literally fighting for themselves. That’s something I can admire, I’ve learned over time that you have fight for yourself because no one else will. Plus they are probably really proud of their social network and they sincerely are trying to push people to check it out. Just like when I used to share my blog post over and over again on Twitter even though I knew I wasn’t supposed to. I just wanted someone to read it. I’m still loyal yet somewhat critical. I have to be loyal to have this blog hosted on Blogger which has no qualms about randomly deleting blogs…lol. Well on that note, do you have any theories about Google’s Panda updates or their true intent?

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What’s Weakening Your Online Brand?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 19:29:00 +0000

As the world grows more reliant on the internet to obtain information, building a credible brand online is imperative to expanding your client base and opening the door to more opportunities. The web is connecting people to each other and a strong online brand is a powerful avenue to connecting you to customers, employers, fans and other influential people that are interested in what you have to offer. Position your brand on relevant platforms and social networks, and you'll soon find yourself attracting such people. Your online brand also doubles as your first impression therefore a weak online brand can make you forgettable. Since there is so much competition, the obstacles to building a positive online brand are plenty while simultaneously the need for a positive online brand has become stronger.

The Obstacles to Having a Strong Online Brand

1. Not having a well-known or even budding offline presence- Your offline presence is used as proof that you should be taken seriously online. Strong branding almost comes naturally when your offline presence is established. Being an authority or unique figure in your field attracts social networks, backlinks to your points of contacts and online influence. The masses are still living the majority of their life offline therefore your talents and skills need to be appreciated in your field offline even if it’s just locally. Your offline brand and presence creates a more rich online image and evidence that your claims of skill are credible. What you do offline creates a richer online brand due to knowledge you gain, the people network with and the portfolio you build. For example, instead of blogger just focusing their efforts on writing content online an ambitious writer could make plans to write a novel. Bestselling novels attract media, admirers that will find you instead of you wasting time trying to find random people who don't have a vested interest in you.

Offline is your time to let people grow to know you and feel personally connected to you through your content or product instead of you shouting in the wilderness. In other fields such as photography or web design networking offline and moving up the ranks gets the buzz going online. Just remember that your online image extends your brand but it doesn't necessarily start it. However there are special cases when YouTube stars blow online. However even they provide value for their audience offline in the form of entertainment, makeup or other tutorials. Even people that become "internet famous" move offline. Become successful offline or doing something that attracts gossip and people will want to want more about you online. For example, Bad Bail Boys lost their Google ranking and therefore starting going to games wearing their company shirts. This offline controversy helped them to increase their rankings online. People want to appreciate what is tangible in order to build a relationship or connection with it. Even online giants like Amazon are connecting people to offline products. Create significance or add value to someone's life offline even if you are solely online.

2. Barriers to creating an online brand or presence are low therefore competition is more intense - Previously the effort to stand out was low. The early age of internet enabled people who didn't even have an offline presence to build a strong brand. In a sense they had proven themselves to be experts by being the first to know how to capitalize on the opportunity. Now with everyone jumping on board it seems less authentic. There are scammers and people that offer no value that are diluting the internet. Also the amount of platforms to build your online brand has skyrocketing diluting the strength of the relationship. In the past you could just master one or two platform(s) since the retention rate of the audience was higher. There were less places to hangout online so people just stayed in one area growing together for longer period of time, building trust and genuinely networking. It wasn't the competition of the next shiniest platform. Therefore it's important to remain consistent and remember that since the barriers to entry are low, many will discontinue their efforts.

Most importantly you want to be interesting and have the clout of personality. So focus your efforts and skillfully put your all into it. Don’t be the low quality or scammy AdSense ads that are almost on every site and usually ignored. Be the brand that is able to capture the attention of the audience through personal connections such as through social media and other interesting innovative marketing techniques. That's core of branding! This same outlook can be applied to online branding. Don't be the wallflower AdSense ad but strong & personal brand.

3. Negative online image- A negative or contradicting image can destroy your efforts to portray yourself as the ideal professional or authority in the field. Offline brands face similar dilemmas. There was an uproar over Sasha Grey reading to elementary students even though she is no longer a porn star. Your online image is quite similar. You will be judged by your past. Even if you change or just have a multidimensional character, your online brand must remain consistent so that it doesn't weaken. If you are accused of doing poor work try to openly resolve the issue with a pleasant tone. Always have your portfolio easily accessible online and large social network that naturally backfires against claims.

Your portfolio doesn't have to an official portfolio but you need proof of your work. For an example a person can claim on a hate site that a beauty guru does make up terribly. However that beauty guru’s brand should be so strong that she ranks well in Google and her social network/audience should be so strong that it pushes your brand to the top. Others can view her videos for themselves as access if the claims were true. A support social network and audience that gives you positive feedback also can combat negative online image.

4. No strategy and lack of knowledge about branding - The dangers of going in full steam without knowing what you are doing can inadvertently result in you have a negative and/or weak online brand. You'll write weak social profiles as - Annemarie Cross elaborated in Are Your Building or Damaging Your Online Reputation - and showcase a blog with poor content and an amateur design. You won't be perfect when you first start building your brand but you want to at least know that you need to edit and redefine. That knowledge can help you refrain from avidly advertising a weak brand. If you are unfamiliar with branding or social networking, start off by using your observation skills, exploring and being a casual participant. Watch how the experts skillfully use platforms before plowing ahead and then being full of regrets. I remember reading a blog post, of a now experienced blogger, about her Digg account getting deactivated when she was a new blogger. Due to inexperience and naiveté she shared too much of her own content. That probably resulted in lost contacts.

In my own experience, I deleted an account from a forum that might have been very useful today. When you are equipped with the knowledge then you can strategize. I can identify since I'm still trying to redefine my social media activity. Strategists think about the content that aligns with their brand, which online platforms are best for promoting their brand and they know how to navigate the various cultures of social platforms. With knowledge and a strategy you can confidently trail braze through.

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Should Advertisers and Businesses Use Klout Perks as a Marketing Tool?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:42:00 +0000

Apps, algorithms, automation and other online tools have increasingly become a widespread method to simplify complex tasks. For example, why drain your resources counting out change when a cash register can do it for you in seconds? Now tools are moving online to help us increase our productivity. These online tools are quickly trusted since many are glad to reduce to effects of human error and bias. Data and algorithms are rapidly dominating the business world, dictating significant decisions that can propel or crumble a business - remember Panda? There are computer programs that trade stock at hyper speeds have been integrated into daily use prominent for stock brokers - perhaps prevent the chance of another NASDAQ meltdown. ABC News reports that "The computers have become traders in just the last few years, say market people. One particularly visible part of what they do is called High Frequency Trading, in which machines, programmed to look for market trends, may buy or sell a stock in milliseconds... often based on information they receive a fraction of a second before the rest of the world does." Apparently we can't trust humans to honestly trade stocks and rationally consider all the factors such as business climate, pop culture trends and household needs. However the question remains are these tools truly accurate? Can they really determine the direction that a person should go even if the algorithm doesn't have human emotions? The lack of human emotions can often result in inefficiency. Calculations can't always compete with human reason.

Klout has been acclaimed as an easy and effective method for advertisers and businesses to determine if someone has enough influence to promote their products and services. Social media is a great tool for word of mouth online and offline so a service like Klout was inevitable. Businesses are clamoring to find people active in social media that can advertise their business therefore I'm not necessarily objecting to its development. I believe that the concept behind Klout is pretty clever and I admire products that provide valuable measurements. However do the numbers explain the whole picture? I believe that Klout scores do provide brief useful insights into a person's activity and overall influence however advertisements and businesses may expect too much through Klout Perks - especially since Klout is in its beginning stages. Klout leaves too many questions unanswered for advertisers that want to use it for a targeted advertising campaign. Therefore I recommend for businesses to think carefully and strategically before pouring funds into this tool.

Issues for Advertisers and Business to Consider Before Using Klout Scores and Perks

1. No personal investment in your business or product. Having passion for a business, product or service helps to incite excitement in others to use your product. This genuine passion needs to be consistent and displayed over a long period of time to really convince an audience. For example there is a difference between an iJustine who dedicated her channel to your product or service than a self-serving product reviewer that just wants the next shiny new product. You can see in what areas that person is influential but you can't do a search for previous Tweets, Facebook mentions or YouTube videos about your product or service. The person could have denounced your product or wrote a vehement review about it but you'll never know if you just trust Klout. Some are simply confused and amused about their Klout perks. On Techcrunch a couple of "influencers joked about receiving yogurt, hair gel and slim fast. Many may just enjoy the free items but only plan on mentioning you once in halfhearted Tweet or disappointingly brief Facebook mention. Also what if the person is influential in phones but a die-hard Android fan? Therefore giving them an iPhone may be too much of a risk. You may gain a new fan, however start-ups have limited funds and don't the foundation to risk a wave of negative reviews or wasted money. Klout allows anyone with a high score to grab freebies but if you are doing a serious marketing campaign this approach may be too shallow. Unfortunately you can't even stipulate conditions for using the product to help it become a trending topic on Twitter or gain more likes on your Facebook Page. However if you only concerned about getting your name out there then this isn't necessarily an issue.

2. Negates offline and media presence. People that have skillfully branded themselves offline are the most effective at building influence and wielding this influence online. These are the types of people that don't have to search to gain followers on Twitter or Facebook but instead people search for them. With the advent of YouTube and the popularity of media, a powerful screen or video presence is also just as effective being an expert offline. However Klout diminishes this factor. You want people that can tout your product to relevant circles both offline and online, the influencers that can use your product or service that their circle is interested in and are able to appeal more people in their field who in turn purchase more products. As a result you've got free advertising just by choosing the right people and not solely trusting in Klout scores. What if the person just has an internet persona but once they are offline live in a completely different life that is unrelated to your business? Klout has somewhat rectified this a bit with the addition of more social media platforms however the broad distribution of free products and services still doesn't allow for a targeted marketing campaign. Also the greater offline or media/video/screen presence the more seriously people or follow the product recommendations or want to be associated with them by purchasing their same products they do.

3. Not a genuine relationship or connection with followers or fans. Klout scores can't detect whether the people can relate to the influencer, if their fans or followers are just commenting to get attention or if their fans or follow act on their recommendations. For example, I follow some people but I don't necessarily follow their recommendations because it's not relevant to my lifestyle. Klout can't provide data on follower demographics so that you can determine which influencers have fans that are more relevant to you. Are people just following because he or she is attractive? Is the individual interactive with the audience? Will they retweet excited people that followed their product recommendation? Will they answer common questions or tell you about common complaints? Also how active is their audience? Does their audience have any influence? These questions are quite difficult for any tool or person to determine therefore this is more of an example to temper your expectations.

4. Targeted by too many advertisers. At some point each endorsement actually lessens the effectiveness other product mentions unless the person has branded themselves as an official product reviewer. If not, many may grow suspicious of the endorser and either grow to dislike or ignore the “influencer”. It’s like the boy who cried wolf way too often or the YouTube beauty guru recommending any products that are given to her for free. This causes the audience to just learn how to ignore the advertising efforts. Also the individual can’t dedicate the necessary attention to your business, they are instead just flooded with free products. One minute your business is the best and the next minute your competitor is. However if your individual is already known as the experimenter, as I mentioned before, this can actually be beneficial. A product reviewed by CNET becomes more credible. The only issue is that Klout can’t decipher the difference.

5. Missing out on personally connecting to influencers. People want to be personally vetted and appreciated by companies. It just makes a blogger’s day to be contacted by a company. It means that you were personally vouched by them an expert and valuable in their field. Imagine that instead of CNN personally contacting people for interviews about events they used a service that ranked random people in topics, people who aren’t even personally connected to the event who were then assigned an interview according to the score. Do you see how inefficient and impersonal this is? People would rather be personally and individually contacted by CNN. If you want people to do something for you, you at least have to treat them with dignity and like a human if you want that emotion to transfer into them advertising your product. By using a third party system you miss out on the opportunity to build a long term relationship. Once again if you are just seeking to approach anyone that has influence and not leave any stone unturned - almost like a TV commercial - then Klout is perfect.

I think that Klout has a great potential. It’s just one aspect of a thoughtful and solid marketing or advertising campaign. However I believe that in its current state it's mostly for a mass advertising campaign to help your brand gain name recognition. What do you think about Klout scores or perks?

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How New and Low Traffic Blogs can Compete with the Quality Content of News Outlets, Popular Blogs and Other Well Branded Web Publications

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 19:27:00 +0000

Even though you are a new blogger that feels small in comparison to established and well branded web publications, you can create quality & competitive content that earns premium readership. The research article, “What Makes Consumers Willing to Pay a Price Premium for National Brands over Private Labels” answers the question…. What Causes News Outlets and Popular Blogs to Gain Premium Readership?

What is Premium Readership?

Price premiums for national brands can be defined as the consumers’ willingness to pay a higher price for a product because of their trust in the brand’s quality. In a similar manner premium readership is an audience that pays you with their time by specifically allocating time to visit your site or blog. While other sites or blogs are just casually read or browsed, these news outlets and popular blogs gain premium trust and extra attention -- giving these web publications the advantage in their field. Premium readership is the equivalent of getting the undivided attention and priority of an audience that has developed a bond with your site or blog. Since many news outlets and popular blogs are considered quality content, they attract “premium” or targeted readers that will go to their site first -- or nearly first-- for information, entertainment or purchases. For example, Amazon is perceived as a quality and trustworthy online store to purchase books, therefore they’ve attracted premium traffic that go to the site specifically to make a purchase as opposed to discovering the site on a search engine without any intentions to make a purchase.

Premium readership is the crowning glory to become a destination site just as Techcrunch or Mashable has branded themselves as destination sites for tech news. These news outlets, popular blogs and other established web publications have significant leverage due their premium readership. Large premium readership gives them more access to advertising dollars, earning gigs and connections. The featured research article comparing national brands to private labels provides insight into why national brands can charge a high price. Just like people are pressed on money, people are pressed for time. So it’s important to do whatever is necessary to prove that you are worthy of an audiences’ time.

How to Effectively Face the Advantages Branded Web Publications Have over Small Bloggers

“Product Innovation. Introducing new and improved products underpins the quality gap between NBS and PLS. Retailers must manage many product categories and consequently lack the technical and financial resource to be innovation leaders.”

The research article goes on to explain that private labels attempt to mimic the national brands’ innovation but they are often too late. The customers have already become loyalty to the national brand and the innovation has further boosted the national brand’s image. Private labels are not able to invest as much money, time and skills needed to develop new products or use technology to upgrade their current products, since many have their plates full and budgets limited with the responsibilities of a retailer or grocer. However if a national brand fails to innovate then this gives the private label a chance to capture a major portion of the market.

Small bloggers with limited funds, skill sets and knowledge struggle with this dilemma. While news outlets, popular blogs and other well established web publications are able to divide up tasks and create departments that assign responsibilities to the appropriate expert, small bloggers must be the jack of all trades. Wearing so many hats can dilute the blog’s brand if it contains poor content, an unprofessional design, weak editing and/or scarce or untargeted marketing that results in low visibility. Since it is nearly impossible to attain the highest level of expertise in every area related to blogging, focus on aspects of blogging that you are highly proficient in. Then for the other areas just do the basics and/or outsource the rest.

News outlets and popular blogs also have the edge on quality and innovative content. Generally these types of sites have access to the most recent information or breaking news. The established web publications can directly speak to the news makers and choose the best writers for the story. In addition, well informed sources are pitching them topics, important players in the event have taken the initiative to contact them first or/and staff members are already investigating issues that are on the verge of being the next big story. The result is that these news sites, blogs and web publications can use these assets to control the dialogue on the topic, enjoy the benefits of the readers’ first reactions as they comment on, share or social bookmark the new information and they gain prime spot on search engines on the topic. You have to remember that many readers depend on the latest quality news to remain competitive in their own fields. Consequently the premium readership will begin turning to these sites first to remain updated.

However do not be discouraged because you can effectively compete in your sphere. Center your blog on deep and thoughtful analysis. Prove you are an expert on the subject by adding a spin or further researching topics introduced by the well branded & established publications. For example, established web publications can break the story about Panda but you can provide an insightful analysis about how to successfully navigate SEO and content creation post Panda. Also cast a smaller net by narrowing in on topics that popular blogs and news outlets neglect. Gain inspiration from your environment. This will help your blog appeal to niche audiences. Niche audiences will be more receptive to becoming premium readership to smaller blogs. As the article suggested, sometimes national brands can have periods of innovation lapses. You can use those times to a post a response article offering a more expert opinion and clarifying any holes from the lesser quality article. If you are not able to get top sources, do a well-researched article and/or speak to other small bloggers. Once you can prove yourself, then you’ll have the clout and reputation to begin divulging in breaking news on a specific topic until you have the resources and man power to expand.

Overcoming the “Perceived Quality Gap”

Readers often assume that smaller blogs have content that is of lesser quality. Obviously there will be a quality gap between a less experienced blogger and a New York Times journalist, however as you gain more experience you don’t want the perceived quality gap to be overstated. In fact even now as a new blogger you have valuable knowledge to impart that could be helpful to readers.

“Difficulty of Producing the Product. If consumers perceived that the product is difficult to make, this calls PL quality into question because consumers will not know whether the purveyor of the PL as mastered these difficulties.”

Essentially, the more complex the product, the more doubt customers have over private labels to deliver quality. In the same manner, readers often doubt the small bloggers’ ability to skillfully write about intricate subjects or subjects requiring extensive knowledge, experience or mastery. For example, a reader would most likely trust Mashable’s Guide to the Google + Social Network, a relatively unfamiliar therefore difficult topic, than a smaller blogger with less authority. However dispel these perceptions by first writing about simple concepts and approaching them in a complex manner. For example you can write a comprehensive and well researched article about a topic as simple as choosing a domain name. Once you have enough practice, you can move on to addressing difficult subject matters to demonstrate your expertise and authority. Also showcase your experience and skill on the About Me/Blog page.

“PL Production of NB Manufacturers. In the United States alone, it has been estimated that more than half of the NB manufacturers also engage in PL production. Consumer magazines and anecdotal wisdom regularly suggest that ‘all products come from the same factory.’ To the extent that consumers believe that NB manufacturers produce PLs, the perceived quality gap between NBs and PLs is reduced.”

The premise is that national brands try to hide that they manufacturer product private labels so that they can continue selling their branded products at a premium price and to disassociate themselves from the private labels they produce. Small bloggers want to achieve the opposite effect but use a similar approach. Instead of being the national brand secretly manufacturing private labels, trying being the private label openly manufacturing national brand by personally associating yourself with news outlets, popular blogs and other well established web publication. This will help dispel perceptions of a significant quality gap. If you are qualified enough to write for popular blog “A”, this sends the message that the content in your blog is also credible and worthy of premium readership. Other methods endorsements include getting backlinks from, guest posting on or becoming a regular contributor to established web publications with premium readership. Press features and acknowledgement from the media -- for example Blogging Away Debt being cited and mentioned by Wells Fargo, US News, Mint and SeattlePi -- also adds to your credibility. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of offline networking and writing opportunities. Offline writing opportunities give you the chance to promote your blog by producing quality content and then listing the experience on your About Me/Blog page.

As a small blogger, I have a long way to go therefore I’m still in the process of implementing my own tips. I hope that you enjoyed my article! Do you have any tips for new or low traffic bloggers?

Source: Jan-Benedict E.M. Steenkamp, Harald J. Van Heerde, and Inge Geyskens. What Makes Consumers Willing to Pay a Price Premium for National Brands Over Private Labels? (Dec. 2010). Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. XLVII, 1011-1024

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How Panera Bread Uses Rewards Card to Increase Customer Loyalty & Attract Customers

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:38:00 +0000

Restaurants are a part of a highly competitive industry. At any given shopping center there can be several restaurants that serve similar cuisines vying for attention. For many restaurants it’s a struggle developing methods to increase customer loyalty and attract customers while still earning a profit. Therefore it’s important to use tools that help you stand out from the crowd without butchering the bottom-line.

Introducing the Panera Bread Rewards Card

The Reward Cards Loyalty Program is a deliciously clever strategy for customer retention and marketing. It’s also a great way for Panera Bread to offer a “discount” without underselling themselves. When purchasing a food item or meal, customers can get their Rewards Card swiped and earn points towards a free food item or meal. Other rewards include, "Exclusive invitations, experiential opportunities like baking with Panera bakers, preview tastings of new menu items, as well as recipes, cooking tips and surprises such as a free bakery-cafe menu item.” Although, it’s a relatively simple concept, when executed correctly, it can have a powerful affect on customer behavior such as increasing their loyalty.

The Strategy Behind the Panera Bread Rewards Card: Why it Works and How You Can Use These Techniques for Your Business

A Combination of Consistency and Element of Surprise

“MyPanera is about showing our appreciation and rewarding you in unexpected and surprising ways,” touts the website, “The more your visit, the more surprises you can get (just when you least expect them)!” Most people associate surprises with fond experiences such as birthdays, marriage proposals, holidays, etc. These events are surprises however they usually are consistent. Therefore rewarding your customers with small treats produce the same excitement and arouse similar emotions. The unpredictable yet patterned nature of the Rewards Card loyalty program keeps customers coming back for more and emotionally connected to the restaurant. Restaurant coupons in publications that are found just about anywhere somewhat resemble gift cards. They are nice but not necessarily memorable or cause the customer to feel as cherished.

An Opportunity to Advertise Products

The Rewards Card is an effective internal advertising tool because customers get the chance to try out new items. The more menu items that customers like, the likelier that customers will remain loyal to Panera Bread. That free menu item has the possibility of becoming a favorite lunch once she gets bored of her usual meal. The Rewards Card also assists in creating buzz about their products through word of mouth. For example, a customer may rave to her friends about the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad that she received as a reward. Consequently her friends may start eating at Panera Bread in order to try out the food and/or use the Rewards Card to earn delicious treats. Another friend might use the free treat for himself while treating his friend to lunch.

The MyPanera website also features recipes. If a customer uses these recipes and her friend inquires about the source that is more free advertising. The possibilities for social marketing are limitless and the Rewards Card presents the opportunities. Interesting concepts are also effective at attracting media buzz and creating more legitimacy within your industry. There are blogs that disagree with the loyalty programs and news articles about the idea. The press helps to grab the attention of potential customers and puts you in the spotlight, ahead of other restaurants.

Strong Branding

The Rewards Card loyalty program helps Panera remain distinctive from other restaurants while adding value to their brand. When you contribute coupons to publications, you are adding value to that publication’s brand as a reliable source to find discounts to restaurants. Businesses that use third-party services, such as Groupon that connect restaurant discounts or rewards to customers, miss the opportunity to interact with customers directly and subtly convey their brand. Also Groupon gets all the glory and branding from the labor of the restaurants. The result of avoiding these techniques and personally offering rewards are customers that feel as if they are part of a community. Carrying around a Panera Bread Rewards Card and having your own personalized account has a subconscious psychological effect of making you feel as if you are a member of a Panera Bread club. Moreton explains, “We have been very deliberate over the years in getting to know our customers, which has allowed us to create a highly personalized loyalty program. Panera customers are so connected to the company’s brand promise and values that they expect us to deliver something different, better. We are confident the MyPanera program will be seen as quintessential Panera in the eyes of our loyal customers and be regarded among the restaurant and retail industry’s best.” Once again you don’t want to solely focus on impersonal methods of rewarding customers. That works against your goal.

Customer Retention & Product Development

The Rewards Card encourages customer loyalty because the customer feels generously rewarded for spending their hard earned dollars at Panera Bread. The overall message is that you are valued and appreciated. Even if the customer service experience is questionable or downright frustrating, the reward can somewhat make up for the upset. I’m not an everyday customer; therefore I don’t really get that many rewards. My conclusion is that Panera Bread focuses on rewarding high volume customers. With coupons or Groupon, you can’t really choose which demographics to reward the most or target. Also with coupons or Groupon, that customer has not intentionally decided to eat at your restaurant. They are just getting that one sale or eating at which ever place is cheaper at the time; so there’s no sense of commitment or loyalty to the restaurant. Tobias Hogan of Eat, an Oyster Bar, described his disappointing experience with Groupon to Willamette Week, “It was absolutely horrible. Swarms of first-time customers (most of whom never came back again) crowded out, undercut and alienated their regulars who were paying full price. Servers got stiffed on tips. Powell even had a Groupon thrown in his face by a customer after he declined to let the man redeem the same gift certificate twice.” Corey Pein of Willameet Week explains the situation, “Nearly half the businesses using daily deals report they made no money. Customers often get their discounts and run to the next deal, without creating the loyal relationship that Groupon says can follow.”

Bill Moreton, Panera Bread CEO and president seeks to achieve the opposite effect with the Rewards Card, “MyPanera is a loyalty program done the Panera way. Our brand has always demonstrated value to be far more than price. So unlike the typical buy 10 get one free type loyalty programs, MyPanera is focused on fostering unique relationships with our customers through deeply understanding how each guest enjoys and interacts with Panera today, and new ways they might like to in the future.” Not only do you want to develop long term relationships with your customers, you also want to avoid regularly undervaluing your product.

Even customers that do not participate in the loyalty program indirectly benefit from the data that Panera Bread collects from tracking meal purchases of the participants. The headquarters can track which items are most popular and cater future additions to these preferences. This data is invaluable for gaining insight on the behavior of their customers. The MyPanera website obtains information about your birthday, location, dietary preferences, etc which can help Panera Bread improve the menu & goods to meet the needs of these various demographics.

I still believe that Groupon and old fashioned coupons have a place in marketing restaurants even with the negative effects. For example, the same article featured another business owner that was highly satisfied with the boost of customers. Even the Rewards Card has faults that I haven’t expounded on. However I wanted to highlight how you can use an innovative yet simple tool to retain your value while showing how much you value your customers.

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How Google's PANDA Updates Changed Article Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 15:31:00 +0000

Article Marketing before PANDA

Before PANDA, low and mixed quality sites such as Ezine, Associated Content, Suite 101, Squidoo and Hubpages dominated Google --to the dismay of the sites that they repurposed information from. These sites enjoyed high page rankings because they had thousands to millions of pages within Google’s index and they used SEO strategies that manipulated the search results. These sites started with the mission to give everyone with a voice the platform to express themselves while the site owners earned money through ads. Consequently they had low standards and provided a straight forward avenue for bloggers and small business owners to gain exposure and drive targeted traffic to their blog or website. This avenue was article marketing. Article marketing is usually achieved by writing articles for content farms, article directories or e-zines and then posting your expertise and website information in the byline. The hope is that satisfied readers will find the article so useful they they click on the link to read more from the author. Even writers who want to gain exposure that do not have a blog can use article marketing to obtain more clients. A recent article on Suite 101, “Thailand Flooding – Escaping Crocodiles and Other Dangers” has a byline leading to her personal static website where she advertises her services as a freelance travel writer.

The author's blog was like
the treat at the end of the maze.

A variety of other techniques were employed. Either you could write shorter general articles so that the traffic would click on your sites for more in-depth information. Or you could post longer high quality articles that impressed readers so much that they eagerly click on the website link to check out your blog. Many websites either didn’t pay the authors or they paid per view, therefore they used backlinks as another form of payment to authors. Therefore authors could internally link their blog posts or personal website in the articles. These links were supposed to provide more reference and detailed information for the reader. An older article on Squidoo, How to Start Freelance Writing, used the phrase, “how to be a freelance writer” to lead to the author’s blog, Master-Dayton, with the tag line “Tired of Looking for Freelance Writing Advice and Getting a Sales Pitch? This Blog Might Not Be Pretty, But It’s Here to Help Starting Freelance Writers.” Other authors cast even a wider net and directly state, “read more from this author” without specifically linking to other blog posts.

Ezine was widely used by small business owners to inform readers about a concept while indirectly marketing their site, products and/or services. For example, in a recent article on Ezine titled “The Many Faucets of Logo Embroidery” the author used the words “custom logo shirts” and “logo embroidery” to link to his website Vision Embroidery Inc. Another article called “Financial Tips for Small Businesses” has the words “business checks” and “black check” hyperlinked, which leads to his business, TechChecks.

In the past web surfers were more naïve about the web. In fact just a few years ago people were learning how to use search engines; therefore people didn’t understand the underhanded motives of many content producers. It was significantly easier to entice readers to click on links and ads. As article marketing became more popular and touted a method to gain more exposure, these sites started getting flooded with shallow content. This diluted the effect of article marketing. Over time readers have become more skeptical and savvy. They are now more likely to avoid links from untrusted sources. Even worse was that article marketing got abused by people with harmful intent. Scraping and plagiarism outraged producers of original content, links began to lead to scams, duplicate spammy content bored readers as they shuffled from one repetitive article to the next and in attempts to post as many articles as possible, the quality of these articles downgraded. I doubt that you want to solely associate your brand with these types of sites or people, therefore quality bloggers and small business owners should begin adopting new strategies.

The Effects of PANDA on Traditional Article Marketing Platforms

The PANDA updates slammed these general, high volume sites. First Google targeted scrapers and sites that engaged in such behavior such as e-zines and article directories. Content farms and mills were the next to experience significant decreases in traffic. Google is using PANDA to lessen the incentive to participate in unscrupulous activities. Even sites such as Technorati, Consumer Affairs, Entrepreneur.com and Businesswire lost visibility. However these sites are destination sites, therefore the impact was probably less damaging. “Panda has caused huge problems for publishers because it cut off massive amounts of traffic in a bid to force publishers to produce higher quality content”, Tom Foremski of Zdnet.com explains.

Not only have content farms, e-zines and article directories lost their traffic but the negative publicity has also caused them to lose trust and legitimacy among Internet users. Their poor reputation also results in lower click through rate on the search results page. They are perceived as less authoritative among the high power Internet users, the type that share content and consume high volumes of content such as blogs. Even with the high amount of traffic these sites used to have, they never became destination sites. Users didn’t develop a deeper connection to these sites therefore they have higher bounce rates. Users may not even stay on the page long enough to click on your links. These sites no longer have the power that they used to have. Even Dayton acknowledges that he “can no longer recommend HubPages to beginners or anyone really for that matter. Some of my hubs are staying up because I just don't have websites where some of those articles will fit, and you can still get an occasional backlink but based on a lot of reasons, I would recommend not spending your time here.”

The New Face of Article Marketing

Article marketing is still a viable option however it has transformed into brand marketing. In fact many people are still using content farms, article directories and e-zines as demonstrated by the recent examples. However you cannot just settle with those options or use traditional article marketing a primary source of traffic or backlinks. Now instead of submitting articles to lower quality sites you should focus on writing blog posts that attract backlinks, guest posting, contributing to destination sites, internally linking blog posts and making quality comments on other blogs and sites.

The Strategies:

1. Backlinks – If your article is featured or used as a reference, the clicks to your article are more genuine and probably even at a higher rate because you have been identified as an authoritative and relevant source of information. Generally high quality articles are backlinked by other sites therefore users assume that since you are being linked, your blog or site is informative. This further establishes your legitimacy.

2. Guest Posts- Blog owners are quite picky on which posts to accept, especially after witnessing PANDA’s rebuke of poor content. Therefore if your posts are on popular and educational sites, then the audience will be more receptive to your blog. Guest postings help you gain more credibility and increase your familiarity among readers in your niche.

3. Internal Linking- Wikipedia has mastered the art of internal linking. Users may have found your first post in the search results. Since they had the initial interest in the topic, if your post is high quality, they will be more willing to click on internal links to read more about the topic from you.

4. Destination Sites- Small business owners and full time bloggers should consider trying to make posts on authoritative destination sites. Destination sites are sites that dedicated users intentionally read for information or entertainment. It's the difference between being the restaurant that friends meet at on Fridays or the restaurant that travelers decide to eat at haphazardly without any prior plans to go there. First try smaller sites then once you have more writing experience try to write for more established brands. For example an owner of small business that sells technology can write for smaller blogs and then more on to sites such as CNET. If you are writing for a destination sites as a full time blogger, new readers will take your blog more seriously and associate it with expertise.

5. Commenting- Comments on blogs and news articles are almost like your snippets of genius. You can draw in traffic by making entertaining, insightful, educational or informative posts. If your comment seems to be coming from an expert, it will stand out from the rest, which will encourage people to click on your link.

6. Submit to Social Bookmarking sites- Bloggers generally submit their best articles to sites such as Digg, Reddit, Stumbleupon, etc. Theoretically your winner post should draw in an audience that will be interested in your other content. It’s even more effective if your content is submitted by others because you are being vouched as a valuable and/or enjoyable source of information.

Which method has been most effective for marketing your blog or website?

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Questions to Ask Yourself When Inventing a Product or Coming Up With a Business or Start-up Idea

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:40:00 +0000

For many budding entrepreneurs, the ultimate dream is to invent a product that becomes wildly popular or to come up with the next big idea. Starting up a business that doesn’t appeal to customers is demoralizing and costly. Eric Ries of Lean Startup personally knows the pain of start-up failure. “It’s frustrating and embarrassing; a terrible experience.” Therefore you want to carefully decide if your business will be received well by the public. There are businesses and start-ups that are lucrative however their sustainability is questionable. However timeless and revolutionary products and services remain a part of the U.S. and even global economy for years to come.

How to Know if Your Business or Start-up Idea has the Potential to be Lucrative

1. After using your product or service will people wonder: "How Have I Lived This Long Without It?"

Many revolutionary products are eagerly adopted and integrated into people's daily lives after a few nudges by word-of-mouth. Therefore think to yourself, does my product or service fill a hole in people’s lives? Could you imagine comfortably living without items that we consider basic necessities such as undergarments, toothpaste, soap, tissue, etc.? Even "luxury" items or services such as computers, electric washing machines, cars, cellphones, email, YouTube, video cameras and televisions are considered a necessity for many in America. Some products and services are more psychological or have entertainment value such as people believing that they cannot live without makeup, books, sports or music. Whether your product or service actually is a necessity or an indulgence, think to yourself whether your idea has the potential make people believe that without them, their quality of living is significantly lowered. No amount of marketing can convince consumers that they need a completely useless product or service. Ries elaborates, “I kept having start-ups fail even if the technology was really good...So I tried better technology, better product design, better engineering methodology but I kept running into this core problem. Fundamentally the problem wasn’t that the technology wasn’t good. It’s that we were building the wrong thing. Customers didn’t want it. It didn’t have a viable business model.”

Innovative products or services have such a valuable function and powerful effect, that they change the way people live and think about themselves or each other. They transform our social world. For example women can inadvertently get fired for not wearing makeup, a CEO without an email address would struggle to compete and the printing press spurred the mass production of books which has helped to advance society intellectually. Will your product or service become so ingrained in culture, that late adopters feel pressured to use it? There are many that would abandon Facebook once given the chance. However so many people are using Facebook that these people feel forced to stay on board. When your service or products has this effect, its staying power is strong which makes it difficult for other competitors to steal away your market. For example the Google profile social platform is having a difficult time flourishing because of Facebook’s popularity and soft power. Another way to ask this question is will people need your product or service to remain relevant or financially & socially advance?

2. Does Your Product or Service Seem to Do the Impossible?

Do you have an exceptional skill or talent that is light years ahead of the general population? For example the idea of college drop outs building computers in a basement was so extraordinary that Apple has had a strong cult following from the beginning. People want to know that they are spending their hard earned dollars towards something that they couldn’t do as expertly, efficiently, timely and/or frugally. Also the more complex or quality your product or service is, the harder it is for competitors to replicate it. Eventually your idea will be replicated however you want to be your brand to be strongly rooted so that you still garner much of the profit and retain consumer loyalty. In short, you want a monopoly on the idea and the consumers.

Businesses must be able to provide access to resources that the average person does not have to or as an economist would say, businesses need absolute advantage, which is when “one person, firm or country can produce more of something with the same amount of effort and resources, they have an absolute advantage over other producers.” For example, the average person probably would not have the connections, computer science skills or resources to develop a search engine. Therefore search engines are widely used and appreciated. Some services are not very complex, however if you have characteristics that put you above the rest such as above average stamina & strength or a keen eye & admirable attention to detail, etc. then you have leverage over potential competition and appeal to potential customers.

3. Does Your Business Solve Limitations, Combat Nature or Constructively Exploit Human Behavior?

Try to create a service or product that everyone can appreciate due to common boundaries, the harsh environment and unpleasant aspects of human nature. For example let’s think about video games. They solve monetary limitations and legal limitations since many people aren't able to spend thousands traveling and having adventures or brutally fight strangers without consequences. Video games exploit either the violent tendencies of humans or the desire to sit and do nothing. For many people, videos games provide a mental escape without going to jail, spending exorbitant amount of money or expelling too much energy. Farming tools fight against natural forces that harm healthy crops while email and social networking solve the limitation of distance. Once again, you want your business or start-up idea to be the most appropriate and effective way to address human flaws, errors, malfunctions in society or negative natural occurrences. You also must notice the initial stages of modern trends and try to think about their impact and how you can solve the negative consequences. Currently we are in the computer age, so it would be wise to start thinking about computer related issues. Data backup services were able to foresee instances of businesses losing important files and due to this many of them have been able to beat to the recession.

Business can also be perceived as the means of profiting and exploiting human flaws in a way that benefits you and also benefits society and enhances the standard of living. In other words, businesses help improve society by providing viable solutions to deep seeded issues. Without many products and services, society would experience a decline. The goal is to invent or develop a product or service that directly or indirectly addresses the lack of specialized knowledge, strength or honesty of the average individual. Or your business could deal with societal injustices or such as the conflict between the overwhelming amount of demands and the desire for leisure time. For example, think about the historical demands of motherhood. Washing machines, in a sense, addressed the lack of equity in the division of household labor. Imagine how time consuming and strength sapping that hand washing clothes were. Even though most of the women probably desperately wanted a way out wearing out their fingers, they lacked the know-how to design and build their own washing apparatus. This is where a business came in to provide a solution to these societal and family problems through the electric washing machine. Decades later, the lessening of grueling household duties has helped women develop outside interests. Electric washing machines are also timeless. Even as women gain more freedom, there is a still place for electric washing machines. Does your product or service provide freedom?

The overall message is to question yourself before investing thousands or even millions into a business idea that doesn’t have a chance at resonating with the general public. I hope that these questions help, if so make sure to comment or share!

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The Marketing Behind Google’s Self-Driving Car and Forbes’s Art Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:44:00 +0000

When the Irrelevant Becomes Relevant: Self-Driving Cars Marketing a Search Engine & Art Collections Adding Credibility to a Magazine

A month ago I attended a Google Recruitment Talk at Duke University and Conversations on Collecting by Robert Forbes at the Ackland Art Museum. While I was at the events, I thought "Why the self-driving car if you are a search engine? Doesn’t the art collection distract Forbes from their website and magazine?" However upon further investigation, I realized that these side projects added meaning to their business and they had a powerful marketing effect. In a sense they became a natural outflow of advertising and branding.

How Side Projects Market Your Primary Services and/or Products

Attract Press – The publicity from side projects is an effective method of tapping into a diverse set of demographics. Robert Forbes speaking at the Ackland Art Museum demonstrates that side projects can help you get invited to related events and introduced to more audiences. Your audience may not be involved with your main service or products; however side projects give you the opportunity to indirectly target a market that has a higher chance at being interested. It gives the press, media and other relevant institutions more chances to connect with you and it opens up more doors for you to connect with audiences at a more personal level. It wouldn’t had made sense for a museum to ask the president of Forbes Lifestyle to give a presentation. However it does make sense for the museum to invite Robert Forbes to speak about art collecting. A major aspect of marketing is to meet your audience where they frequent.

Side projects help your business remain relevant to the news and society. Society is continuously evolving and the media is always looking for breaking news or information, therefore side projects can keep you on the map. Interesting side projects will capture audiences when your main service or products start to seem dull…even if they are high quality. Google initially tried to hide the fact that they were developing a self-driving car which raised speculation. Positive speculation is great for creating buzz about your company. Once the story was confirmed as true, it became a media frenzy.The New York Times article “Google Cars Drive Themselves, in Traffic” gained nearly 300 comments while on the same day a similar article Techcrunch received thousands of tweets and likes.Google secured free press and marketing that was social, subtle and unobtrusive without having to speak about their search engine or other products.

Recruitment and Networking Tool - An innovative, artistic or creative side project can appeal to highly skilled applicants with similar interests and hobbies. It also gives future applicants more information about your company because your side project reveals your mission, purpose and culture. The self-driving car shows to the world that Google is the place for bright engineers that want to be involved with developing cutting edge technology. Side projects provide a source of free recruitment and put you on the radar of talented individuals.

Side projects can also give you a valid reason to build relationships. Forbes’s participation with art collecting, provides an avenue to speak with other billionaires and encourage them to reveal intimate details about their lives. Google is also gaining the attention of industry leaders outside of their field such as car manufacturers. The more influence Google has in other spheres, the more they will be able to grow and expand.

Larger than Life – We live in an entertainment world; therefore you want your business to be perceived as an exciting event and connected to something greater. You also want to be viewed as an empire. These qualities can help you become viral as people associate your business with positive experiences and expertise. Self-driving cars have a strong entertainment component. The recruiter also showed funny clips of a self-driving golf car which left a positive impression. It’s also enjoyable and satisfying for Forbes’s target audience to visit the Forbes Galleries.

The Forbes Galleries, helps Forbes Magazine appear to be highly cultured. It’s beneficial to have noble goals above just making money and a mission focused on caring about or enriching the public. Google has claimed that the self-driving car in part was motivated by the desire to reduce deaths and give freedom to those who are too disabled to drive. A commenter on the New York Times article from New York, NY stated “It is nice to see Google working on this type of technology. Larry Page has spoken of the tens of thousands of highway fatalities annually as a major problem which can be solved with technology.”

Google’s self-driving car is an ambitious project that is ahead of the times while the Forbes art collection is timeless. Both of the side projects help the companies build a legacy that can be spoken about and admired for years to come. Even after the death of Malcolm Forbes, a publisher and the son of Forbes's founder, people are still talking about his art collection. A loyal following and generational admiration is a major aspect to having longevity and maintaining leverage over the customer base. Google’s self-driving car will go down in history, just as Malcolm Forbes’s art collection has historical significant. Years in the future people will discuss how Google revolutionized cars. A commenter from Cheyenne, WY out of shock stated, “Wow. I've always been thinking that cars like this might happen in my grandchildren's time, say, by 2050 or so. But eight years away, wow?”

Embody a Dream and Lifestyle – A self-driving car is a technology enthusiast’s and the sci-fi obsessed wildest dream. The fact that Google is fulfilling a dream will draw in these demographics and encourage them to use the search engine and other Google products. Someone aspiring to be wealthy or who is wealthy can connect with the idea of having an renowned art collection. These side projects add legitimacy to their main business and help audiences relate to them. The self-driving car validates Google as a leader in innovation, proves their competency and provides an example of why they dominate the web. Therefore users subconsciously associated their search engine as having the most advanced algorithms. In the same manner, the art collection validated the Forbes lifestyle and their wealth. Therefore the magazine is assumed to be reliable source of information about acquiring wealth and wealthy people. Your side project is a form of marketing to your core users by resonating with the people, becoming a reference for the industry and helping you be perceived as an authority in the field.

Multidimensional – Dynamic side projects are a major step to avoid being a static company. It gives your business more personality and character which can attract a range of demographics. For example, it’s usually people interested in SEO that will actively read news about search engines. However the self-driving car shows a side to those who are not search engine junkies. By engaging in outside interests, it also humanizes the company and helps the company become more endearing.

It’s also about being able to start a conversation with those that otherwise might not be able to relate to your main service or products. For example Mashable had a poll discussing if people would drive a self driving car, encouraging people from all walks of life to talk about Google. During the recruitment talk, the Duke students were very engaged and asked many intricate questions about the car. Imagine all the visitors that were impressed with the Forbes Galleries that talked about the collection to their associates. It’s all about finding new methods to generate word of mouth.

Distinctive Branding – There are so many startups and comparable businesses therefore it’s important to use branding techniques that stand out from the crowd and give you the marketing edge. Google’s self-driving car gives them individualized press away from Yahoo & Bing and helps them appear more creative and fun than other search engines. Yahoo or Bing doesn’t have a self-driving car, therefore they are left out of these conversations and Google can enjoy the spotlight. Since other search engines do not have futuristic projects, Google has further established their brand as a leader in technology and innovation. In the same manner, Forbes will be branded as a magazine for those that are aspiring or enjoy the finer things in life due to the art collection. Your side project in sense is a safe haven since you can use it to participate in a market that your competition doesn’t have the resources or experience to compete in.

Final Thoughts

In addition to having a natural marketing effect, the side projects are also beneficial for generating a side income and improving the quality of your services or products. It’s always important to have multiple streams of income and incentives to improve your products and services. Side projects help you look at your company from a different angle and make much needed adjustments. Google is using the self-driving car project to improve their maps and navigation. They are also setting the foundation to capitalize off the auto industry. Robert Forbes most likely gets paid for speaking engagements and the art collection add richness the Forbes culture.

Before investing in a side project make sure that you are financially stable and that your brand is established. It also should be an organic outgrowth of your business and an outlet for your interests. I doubt that these side projects were solely created for marketing purposes; in fact both were developed from the dreams and hobbies of the founder and/or current president.

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Does the Google +1 Button Affect Search Results or Search Rankings?

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:31:00 +0000

Why the Live Q&A Session?

On September 21st Matt Cutts gave a live Q&A to answer the never ending questions of SEO experts, webmasters, search engine enthusiasts, etc. This was a very timely session, since Eric Schmidt and the rest of Google team were at a congressional hearing held by the antitrust subcommittee. This hearing was a follow up to the Federal Trade Commission’s Investigation of whether they were taking advantage of their web dominance. It’s likely that this live session was conducted to help Google appear more transparent & trustworthy and to distract their users from the hearings. This was definitely a more personable, genuine & friendly form of PR; a creative method to connect with SEO experts, bloggers & web giants so that they could spread positive feedback about this session…which in return could give Google a loyal fan base that helps defend them. They want the users to feel as if they have more control over the processes to reduce scrutiny and widespread suspicion. The Google team are PR geniuses. I do understand Google’s dilemma, on one hand if they reveal the details of the algorithm spammers will manipulate search results and rankings. On the other hand the secretiveness can take webmasters by surprise and make Google appear to have “evil” ulterior motives. Despite the intent of the session, I still love Google and the Live Q & A Session has a lot of great material for beginners.

I wanted to focus on the Google Plus Button because the although this mysterious feature has the potential to be very influential on SEO and a powerful ranking tool for Google, we don’t have much concrete news or evidence about its impact. Therefore I narrowed in on the question about the Google Plus Button and if it factors into Google search results or rankings.

Matt Cutts Answers the Question of Whether the Google +1 Button Will Have Any Effect on the Search Results or Page Rankings during the Live Q&A Session September 21^st

The Google + 1 button in its current state is mainly a social feature as opposed to an algorithmic feature. So it’s supposed to benefit you by attracting networks of friends and associates to your content. Since friends are linked socially and share similar lifestyles, demographics, education levels, values, etc then content endorsed by an associate, theoretically, should be more relevant and trustworthy. However it is not being used as a sign of quality, in the same way backlinks or relevance in the same manner as return visits & bounce rates. They are still doing testing on the feature because there are always webmasters that figure out a way to abuse the system. Matt Cutts gives more insight on the issue “Right now we are still studying it. We do use if people have blocked stuff in the search results. So if enough users who we believe are trustworthy or that we have some measure that they are not just a bot have blocked a site, then that is one of the signal that was rolled into PANDA for example.” Cutts’s went on to explain that they are studying to see how much of an affect the +1 button might have and that it’s “promising.” They don’t want to rush into it because they are working to find an effective use for it. The Webmaster FAQ page provides more insight, "This is just one of many signals Google may use to determine a page’s relevance and ranking, and we’re constantly tweaking and improving our algorithm to improve overall search quality. For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we are starting carefully and learning how those signals affect search quality."

Even though Cutts says that they are not using it for quality yet, I do believe that they may be conducting discreet tests on a small amount of keywords to compare bounce rates, time on site, comment rate of sites with and without the Google + 1 button. So those minuscule amount of sites that are unknowingly, yet directly involved, are being affected. However I do not believe that websites are currently being affected at a mass level like PANDA or other algorithm updates. A user also asked how much the Google + 1 button will affect the ad rankings. He doesn’t believe that the ads will be affected by the Google + 1 button. The button on the ads is solely for social relevance.

Predictions: Will the Google +1 Button Affect Search Results or Page Rankings?

Google will employ any tools and indicators available that can be used to improve their search…and I mean any. For instance some seemingly minor signs of site quality and relevance that Google uses include bounce rate, speed load, the URL of your website, domain extension, etc. The SEOdesk reports from Wired.Com that "more than 200 signals are currently used to determine website ranking." Therefore the use of the +1 button for search results is inevitable, even if it only plays a minor role. Also Google is steadily trying to find a legitimate method to rank sites since SEO experts are able to contrive quality and relevance. Google has largely retired page rank due to fraud, DMOZ has become inefficient, backlinks can be purchased or exchanged and relevance can be faked through keyword density tools. Therefore Google is eager to move on to another source for determining quality and relevance.

Aaron Wall, a well-known publisher from seobook.com, believes that “For most people I see it as a waste of time & an added jump to hoop through. User adaptation has been abysmal, but you can count on Google tilting their relevancy algorithm (and announcing intention to it) to drive adoption, just like they did with the Google Checkout buttons on AdWords ads. My guess is that Google will publicly hint at using the data much more than they actual do. It remains to be seen if that message will spread outside the SEO niche.” I agree with this sentiment for the beginning stages of the Google +1 button. They will first convince publishers to add the +1 button to their site by subtly exaggerating the current impact of the +1 button. As the + 1 button rises in popularity, the early adapters will experience a major benefit from it, which will usher in a herd of formerly resistant users and further increase the influence of the button. Once the button is widely used, it will evolve into a powerful tool with multiple uses. Google loves to grow from a base concept. If Google takes a strategic stance against bots and spammers, then this further increases the potential effectives of the Google +1 button. The more effective the +1 button, the more weight it will have on search results and page rankings. This may prove difficult because there are already spammers enticing readers to +1 their site with promises of a special offer. In a sense if the button is effective, it will be more powerful than Facebook.

Basically you will have reinforcing reasons to hope for +1 endorsements as opposed just hoping for traffic and quality signs from Facebook likes. Many webmasters are feeling the pressure to add it to their sites. An article published by Forbes, “ Stick Google Plus Buttons On You’re your Pages, Or Your Search Traffic Suffers”, caused much controversy but probably expressed the suppressed fears of small publishers. The article has since been taken down. Despite my predictions, it's ultimately the users that will determine whether the search result will be influence by the + 1 button. Do you have any predictions?

Photo Credit: Wall Street Journal
Photo Credit: Technorati

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Tips For Becoming a Freelance Writer

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:58:00 +0000

Tips on Getting Professional Writing Experience Outside of Content Farms

The market for writing professionally is becoming saturated, therefore in order to pursue freelance writing as career you need a well thought out strategy. Many freelance content writers started online therefore they are disconnected from how to develop viable relationships, without the knowledge to pitch for jobs or find writing opportunities and lack professional writing clips. However, now is the time to create your online brand, network offline to build your reputation and earn more experience for your résumé & portfolio. You alone are your business, therefore to be a freelance writer, think of yourself as a self-standing entrepreneur. Realize that it may be difficult to gain entry as a writer but once you prove yourself to the right people, the hard part is over.

Some new freelancers are afraid of private clients; however the cliché that practices makes perfect ring true. America has developed this culture that if you are not good at a task at first then abandon it, you’ll always be bad it. However that is not true. This mindset keeps people trapped in poor circumstances due to the fear of trying something new. At first you may be horrible at picking honest private clients but with time you’ll be able to detect a dishonest potential client in minute. Some are afraid of networking. Yes, your first times networking may be uncomfortable and perhaps even futile. But with time, you’ll become an expert at building professional relationships.

Online Brand

1. Blogging- Your blogs will show your expertise even if you do not have formal education or previous professional writing experience.

2. Guest Posting – Guest post with the goal of associating yourself with an established and well-known brands. This will also contribute to your online presence.

3. Social Media – Connect with people within businesses that you are interested in writing for. Actively communicate with businesses using social media to show your enthusiasm and to help them become familiar with you.

Networking Offline

1. Organizations – Narrow in on organizations that are within your niche. The members can connect you to other organizations and notable leaders in your field. You may also be able to contribute to their publications.

2. Conferences and Conventions – A great method to gain enthusiastic contacts. People who attend conferences are generally serious about their niche. Attend freelancer, blogging, etc. conferences and topical conferences that feature your niche such start-ups, technology, marketing, etc.

3. Professional Associations – A great opportunity to receive perks such as exclusive job openings and connections with other professionals on your level.

4. Meetup Groups – An informal and social form of networking that can help others develop trust in you.

5. Volunteering – Many times people think of doing the actual field work such as being the tutor or the building the houses. However I also recommend helping with events, assisting with fundraisers, recruiting other volunteers, marketing, grant writing and design. Also consider volunteering at institutions such as museums.

6. Interviewing – Many publications require a quote from a professional, which gives you a legitimate reason to contact leaders that you interested in. Interviewing experts for your blog or other publications can help you build relationships.

7. Alumni- Students at top colleges have a wealth of contacts that can assist connecting them to other contacts or providing insider access to hidden freelance jobs.

* Tips: The goal is to be as social as possible. Americans are growing more and more distrustful of strangers, therefore you cannot be a stranger. It’s also not enough just to show up; you need to be passionate, excited and willing to take on leadership roles & responsibilities. Invest time in the organization and help out with major projects. Surround yourself with ambitious members within your community that are making an impact. Your interaction with them and participation in the community projects can really showcase your skills and help you get acquainted to the influential and active members in your community.

List of Quality Writing Experience and Skills to Enhance Résumé & Portfolio

* College and Other Educational Publications
* Grant Writing
* Nonprofit Organization Publications
* Niche Blogs
* YouTube Channel
* Local Newspaper
* Local Publications
* Local Radio Station
* Local Television Station
* Contribute to a Newsletter
* Write for Political Campaigns
* Lesser Known Magazines
* Blog for Small Businesses
* Certifications
* College Degree and Courses
* Internships

* Tips: Try to gain other skills that complement writing. For example some can learn how to build websites while others can learn design or marketing through social media. You may discover a new passion and stop pursuing a writing career altogether.

There are many other ways that you can branch out; however I wanted to provide a brief list to give you a starting point.

You Can Make It!

You probably will have to struggle temporarily. But remember that this will not last forever. In five years you might in the beginning stages of becoming an expert in your field. The overall goal is to not be vulnerable to any one business or industry.

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Learning From Tavi Gevinson and Krystal Harrell

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:40:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship is gaining steam, especially among the next generation. The ideal of working at a stable company until retirement is long gone. Instead we've all been inspired by basement inventions and motivated by the "Great Recession" to create our own paths. Here are a couple of "Next Generation" Entrepreneurs that I enjoyed reading about!

Tavi Gevinson

Venture: Rookie Magazine

Age: 15

Her Story: I thought this would be pretty inspiring for other bloggers that want to expand beyond just blogging.

Tavi Gevinson gained legitimacy in the fashion community by designers and critics through her blog Style Rookier. CNN reports that Gevinson is going to launch an online publication of her called Rookie magazine, which will further make her mark in the fashion industry and strengthen her brand. Gevinson already has a loyal following that believes in her plans for the future and want to contribute."After announcing her plans to to launch the online mag through her blog, she received 2,900 email submission to join her writing team within 10 days."

With Rookie, Gevinson explains to CNN, "she wants to offer no-nonsense, "honest" content about fashion, feminism, and life issues for girls -- much like Jane Pratt's Sassy provided a breath of fresh air for feministas in the 1980s and early `90s."

Gevinson has used her exposure and networks to attract celebrities, influential figures in Hollywood and fashion for original and fun content. "Her recent Rookie posts include a dramatic first kiss tale by Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, an interview with actress Aubrey Plaza of Parks & Recreation, and guest contributions from Joss Whedon, Zooey Deschanel, Dan Savage, and Jack Black."

Gevinson now has her sights to expands offline to showcase "the site's writing, photography, and illustrations in a semi-annual print issue." and perhaps even gain a larger audience. She hesitates to call her blog and online publication a job. "It doesn't feel like a business right now," she says. Despite the ad sales which result in revenue, her and her editorial director will not earn a salary. They most likely will use as much money as possible to reinvest back into the business and the joy of seeing her business grow is payment enough for now. "I get a lot of creative satisfaction out of doing it."

My Thoughts: The set-up costs for starting a blog are very low. Therefore if you want to start a magazine and don't want to risk the funds, consider starting a quality & authoritative blog instead. Also don't just blog in a vacuum, let other news outlets, industry leaders and community members learn about your pursuits. Then others will be more interested in participating which will futher increase your connects and talent pool.

Krystal Harrell

Venture: Create Exposure

Age: 23

Her Story: I've grown a deep interest in design and marketing, therefore her story captured my attention.

Instead of Krystal Harrell using her money for the next outfit like other 13 years olds, she used her $20 loaned to start Lucky You Design. She was 16 when Harrell "expanded the clothing company from pajamas to customized apparel and accessories." In 2009 she sold Lucky You and used the funds to start up her next venture, Create Exposure, in 2010. A related business that she gained experience though from her first venture....marketing research, PR and design services focused on appealing to young consumers.

CNN reports, "In Harrell's hometown of Charlotte, N.C., the company has worked with clients such as SKYY Vodka and the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation." Her small staff of two and six long-time freelancers are already making plans participate in the next major and big event by developing online social tools for the Democratic National Conventions which will be in Charlotte. As a started in my review of how True Religion Jeans started, look for opportunities in your area first. Make an impression in your community and you would have proved yourself worthy to work with companies and business in other cities.

In addition to her marketing firm, Harrell is also exploring other untapped business ventures...camel milk. CNN explains, "Working with a female business partner in Karachi, Pakistan, Harrell has developed partnerships with farmers and manufacturers in North Carolina and plans to hit the ground running with her own U.S. camel milk brand when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the product, which Harrell bets will happen in early 2012."

Harrell hopes that her example will show other young women that they can succeed in launching their own businesses. "It's not rocket science," Harrell says. "It's just having tenacity and drive."

My Thoughts: Don't do what other less ambitious people are doing. While other 13 year olds were trying to become popular and trying to avoid being labeled a nerd, she was thinking about her future. Think about your future and how you want to impact the world even if a small segment pursuing similar goals or taking on the same action.

If you are trying to sell a business, you don't necessarily need to be an expert in the field, it just needs to be a novel idea such as YouTube. When starting ventures, think about your lifestyle and talents. What sector of the economy can you reach that others don't have the insight or knowledge to attract? Once you think about these factors then you are almost ready.

Also try to find a hidden market and get involved with a side business that is somewhat unrelated to your main business, when you are established. With the advent of technology, industries are falling at a more rapid place. The genius of Steve Jobs was the ability to recognize a new and somewhat unrelated market.

Once again you must build relationships with other leaders in your industry. She is networking with another female entrepreneur in Pakistan, developing partnerships with farmers in her hometown state and staying in contact with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These contacts will streamline many seemingly complex processes.

You can check out the gallery of six more entrepreneurs compiled by CNN at: 25 and under: Next-gen female entrepreneurs

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Surviving the Content Farm Crash and Layoffs! : Emotional Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 22:10:00 +0000

After PANDA: What to do When Your Content Mill and/or Online Publisher Fails and Implement Massive Layoffs?

The Content Farm crash in many ways resemble the Dot Com Crash: poor management, unethical schemes, millions of venture funds being invested into start-ups without solid plans to generate income, rapid yet unsustainable growth, rocky economic conditions and… then a sudden crash. What’s the result when a profitable industry fails? Thousands of innocent, cynical and unsuspecting people who feel victim to a cruel system. Many freelancers currently feel as if they can’t recover and are wondering how they will survive the content farm crash. Therefore it is best to start the recovery emotionally first to help calms these disappointments and fears.

The transition from predominately earning your income through content mills such as Associated Content, Demand Studios, Populis Create, BreakStudios, Suite 101, etc may be painful, however it isn’t impossible. Do understand that content farms probably won’t disappear forever. Right now they are just readjusting their strategy and scaling back production at the expense of their freelancers. Many members of the executive staff working for content farms have millions in reserves and are economically secure in their personal lives. Therefore they don’t have too much concern for their former freelancers that are scrambling to find new jobs. Despite their actions, you can survive the content farm crash. But we first must overcome some psychological hurdles.

Fighting Low Morale

Overcome Getting Fired: Many content mills unfairly told freelancers that they were fired or laid off because of “poor quality” instead of just saying that they were cutting costs due to fiscal concerns. The underlying message indicates that these freelancers were a loss cause, the “lowest quality” writers, deserved their fate and a contributor to the content farm crash. Some sites even made fun of “fired” freelancers. This probably had an unconscious negative effect on many content writers. So instead of just moving on quickly, you feel as if you are not worthy of working somewhere else due to lowered self-esteem. Do not take those thoughtless words to heart. They want you to feel bad because they need to tear down the competition. Instead, look over your old articles and see how you can improve. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses. Develop your own opinions about the quality of your articles apart from the editors and online publisher. When I looked at my old articles on Demand Studios, I realized that I wrote content rich articles that were full of original ideas; however I had trouble grasping the style. My sentence structure and word choices needed help. The content farm editors did not take the time to explain or have the knowledge to recognize these simple issues. I’m working on this now which is helping me grow more confident in my ability to branch out.

Overcome Dependency: Many people who started with content mills perhaps lacked education or formal writing experience. Therefore they see a bleak future ahead. However it is not too late to acquire the skills that you need. With enough research you may be able to gain many lucrative skills for free. There also many organizations and publishers that would be happy to give you a chance.

Overcome the Fear of Economic Insecurity: The content farm crash was like a domino effect. We all saw it coming and reacted by running from one content farm from another. The effects of PANDA occurred so fast that the unprepared weren’t able to move on fast enough. Just last year people were making thousands of dollars per monthly online. This sudden lapse on financial security causes people to become too fearful of taking profitable risks. Don’t let anxiety stop you from seeking other income ventures. Some freelancers who are already in bad situations are developing depression and are starting to feel hopeless as their savings accounts quickly depletes. Remember that depression can make it seem as if your situation is hopeless and that you are not competent enough figure out what to do. However talk yourself out of these negative thought patterns. Do not let sadness influence you to make other poor decisions and/or develop destructive coping mechanisms instead let it motivate you to start something great. Even Steve Jobs had economic hardship. He said in a 2005 commencement speech to Stanford explaining his less than ideal semester at Reed College , "It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple."

Overcome the Loss of Pride: Working from home garnered a sense of pride. I remember feeling proud that I was able to turn my love of reading content online into contributing content. I also told a few friends that I was earning money online. It can especially be embarrassing to face the doubters once that income stream abruptly stops. However you can still feel proud that you are taking the steps to overcome your situation. Next time take some of the warnings to heart. Never become too overconfident about a job.

Overcome the Lies: This content farm upheavals and massive layoffs has taught us that business is business. Companies will say anything to get the desired reaction. Since many were so dependent on them for income, freelancers were willing to accept the lies in hopes of a better future. Now many freelancers feel betrayed. Betrayal makes it hard to open up to others and especially hard to try out new online and offline jobs. Unfortunately you cannot allow the fear of being betrayed again stop you from seeking other means of income.

Now that you are emotionally ready, you can take the steps to gain professional writing experience outside of content farms.

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Part Two: Tips on Getting Professional Experience Outside of Content Farms!

Populis Create Review: Sudden Mass Firings and Deactivations

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:36:00 +0000

Populis Create Unexpectedly Deactivating Accounts due to “Low Quality” and Inactivity: A Review of Populis Create's Unscrupulous Behavior

Create at your own risk...

Low Quality Not Likely

Today many freelancers at Populis Create received an unwelcome surprise in their emails: a message stating that they were being fired due to inactivity or lack of quality. Writers were skeptical about the statement alluding to the lack of quality, since many wrote hundreds of articles for Populis Create with very few of instances of editors requiring rewrites. A writer reported, “I don't really believe it as I wrote 200 articles for them without a single one being rejected”. Some writers only had rewrites because of requests by editors to change the images. Due to PANDA -- Google’s dramatic algorithm change to boost high quality, expert sites and lower the ranking of scraper sites and content farms -- many online publishers and content mills such as Demand Studios are letting go of writers at a moment’s notice giving freelancers little time to find another freelance gig that could replace the substantial loss in income. Populis Create, ironically touted as the Demand Media of Europe by Techcruch, is now following the same steps of Demand Media which recently used the Writer Development Program and Writer Evaluation Program to frivolously and hastily "fire" a large percentage of their writers -- many that were unintentionally dependent on them -- for "low-quality".

Why the Abrupt “Firings”?

Many speculate, due to the recent decline of titles, slow editing times, late payments, significant queue decreases, persistent site malfunctions and unanswered applications, that Populis Create is experiencing financial difficulty. Even content power houses such as Demand Media, whose stock quote has been slashed by almost 65% due to PANDA, are showing signs of decline. Therefore we can assume that smaller content farms, who inequitably bore the brunt of the algorithm changes, are struggling. However Populis Create just acquired Mokono for 8.2 million Euros and in 2010 their total revenue was a massive $83 million which shoots down this theory and adds more confusion. Most likely Populis Create is simply trying to cut expenses without any regard for the livelihood of their writers. Others believed initially that the firings may have occurred as a result of their location; however this theory is inconclusive since many writers from South America and the UK were fired also. Another deactivated writer from UK confirmed that the firings superseded location. “I just wanted to let you know that is most definitely not restricted to US/Canadian writers. I am a UK writer and received that same email too.”

Access Denied!

Restricting Access to Payment Information

One of the most unsettling concerns among deactivated writers, was that Populis Create originally locked out the freelancers from their accounts without any assurance that they would receive payments or bonuses for September. This type of behavior is unacceptable, unprofessional and borders as scammy. A professional business would had informed writers about their payments in an organized fashion.Writers are also requesting the permission to check their earning statistics. The lack of access to their accounts makes it impossible to make sure that they are being paid accurately and honestly. A writer tried to contact editors and Populis Create staff directly about the payment issues. However the email to the editor was undeliverable, perhaps another deactivated freelancer, and Populis Create has conveniently ignored her inquires. The writer hopes that they behave professionally.

Contradicting Messages, Most of Them are Disappointing

Some writers that are still with Populis Create received this disheartening message:

“Hello, we have detected some abnormalities in the articles submitted in the month of September. For this reason we are forced to perform some extra controls on all articles submitted during that period and we'd like to inform you that as a result the evaluation time will be significantly longer than usual. For articles submitted from the 1st of October, the evaluation times will be as per usual. We would also like to inform you that we changed the limit on the number of assignments you can take. The limit is now set to 5 and it also includes the submitted articles that are in evaluation, as well as the returned articles. You will find new assignments every Monday.”

Many interpret this message as an excuse to not pay out hard earned bonuses. Another writer received a vague message about payments:

You will receive payment for outstanding articles via Paypal today. You will also receive bonus on a staggered basis (any bonus that was earned in the first week of September will be paid this week, any bonus from the second week of September will be paid next week etc.). Do let us know if there are any discrepancies (but we don't anticipate any as we do have a record of all your statistics).

Not quite understanding Populis' hidden messages

However the message did not specify whether it was just for approved articles or pending articles. A former freelancer for Populis Create explained the sordid details. “BTW, the way they're paying bonuses I'm guessing means they're also screwing their writers. For instance, if you write 150 articles a month you should get a bonus of payment for 30 extra articles. But, the way they're doing it, you'll probably get paid just for the articles that week so....if you have 33 articles one week and 32 the week after, instead of getting paid for an extra 13 articles, you'll only get paid for an extra 12 total (6 from your first week and 6 from your second - as the extra 3 and 2 won't get added into your total because you've got to have written 5 to get paid for an extra one.”

Populis Create sends out another conflicting message about bonuses causing more distrust, rumors and distress. However the questions about the status of pending articles were clarified.

Bonus payments will be staggered, but please be assured that you will receive the full amount by the end of October. We have asked for clarification from our payroll department, and the system we are using is a little more complex than the example previously given in our earlier email - but as stated, you will receive the full amount by the end of the month. Pending articles will be checked and edited as normal. If approved, you will receive payment for these through Paypal in the usual way. However, you may experience longer than normal editing times for any articles written and submitted in September. This is due to the fact that abnormalities were detected and we are performing extra checks on all articles. Articles submitted from 3rd October will not be affected.

A Bright Future for Fired Populis Create Freelancers and Current Populis Create Freelancers?

Many writers for online publishers and content

mills are grasping for the next opportunity,
only to watch them fold under the pressure from Google &

ruthlessly discard writers

In addition to the mass firings, the remaining writers have now noticed an unannounced pay cut. The newly released titles only pay 6 euros instead of 6.66 euros. Let’s hope that Populis Create acts with integrity and that the laid off freelance writers are able to weather the abrupt loss in income. Unfortunately Populis Create has permanently lost the trust of their most vocal freelancers. Many content farms and online publishers are plagued with “title droughts”, pay cuts, rampant lay-offs and no traffic, therefore finding another content mill that can consistently replace the income may prove difficult. As more and more sources of work at home writing gigs decrease, content writers are more vulnerable than ever and subject to the unpredictable whims of the content mills they freelance for. Solely earning money from unstable and dishonest content farms & online publishers is becoming riskier by the minute.

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How Jeffrey Lubell Strategically Started True Religion Jeans

noreply@blogger.com (Dianne Heath) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Learning Entrepreneurial Skills from Jeff Lubell, Founder of True Religion Jeans

Jeffrey Lubell in front of his creations!

Since the foundation of America, the entrepreneur spirit and the initiative to start one's dream has been a crucial component to the development and growth of our economy. The recent bankruptcies of historically sound corporations prove that it's essential to make the prudent judgments when starting and maintaining a successful business venture. Jeffrey Lubell demonstrates that with passion, background knowledge, strategic plans and business savvy you can avoid a painful bankruptcy. Instead you can become the authority in your field and the risk will be well worth it as your business to pays off in ways you could have never imagined.

Networking is Worth the Effort

In Jeffrey Lubell's case, the lack of private funding could have halted his growth but he sought out Mickey Drexter who was employed Gap. Drexter recommended a low cost and reputable jeans manufacturer which saved his budding business. Do not be too intimidated to network with other business leaders. There may be several stumbling blocks that could permanently hinder your dreams. Use these opportunities to reach out for assistance or advice.Use every opportunity possible to contact and team up with business leaders that are relevant to your industry. Having a mentor and/or supporter can have a positive social and economic impact by giving your insider tips, warning you about pitfalls to avoid, they can point your to more resources, give recommendations and provide more lucrative network contacts that are usually hidden from the masses. Take advantage of conventions, informal activities in your community, unions, business associations and organizations to connect with influential business leaders.

Don't be Afraid to Get Creative

Let your personality, talents and interests flow within reason. You need to discover the methods that suit and reflect your individuality. Jeffrey Lubell of True Religion Jeans states "...I produced about 14, 000 pairs before I sold a piece. Usually you do it the other way around-you make a sample line, go to the market, get orders, and ship your production" Lubell took a different approach to production and design which gave his business a distinctive culture. He also had faith that his jeans would sale as opposed to letting other's decide for him. Not everyone can be productive using the same methods as everyone else. In the short run it can be frightening to take the unprecedented path, however in the long run it can be rewarding. The result will be a company with a strong brand and less competition. For example, Google took a major risk by having a clean homepage but now they dominate the search engine market share. With so many competing and comparable businesses you could easily get lost in the crowd, become invisible and disposable. Ask yourself, what products and services does a customer need that isn't get offered or what innovative changes you can make to the established products and services that will improve the lives of my customers? Make it a goal to add your spin on current products and services.

True religion jeans are well-known among celebrities

Advertise in Ways that Connects to the Customer

Lubell offered 24 jeans for a store to sell and only two sold in one month. Instead of becoming discouraged and deciding the customers disliked his product Lubell tried a new marketing technique. Lubell gave a sales representative, Fred Segal, a pair of True Religion Jeans for free and four days later they were all sold out. The sale representative said "People would come in, and ask, 'What are those that you're wearing. I want those." Customers need to see the quality for themselves before purchasing. Many businesses and corporations turn to cheap gimmicks and spamming, these forms of marketing are irrelevant and frustrating to most customers.

Your marketing techniques should be authentic and personal. Think about the culture of your area and the demographics that you are attempting to attract. Consider their lifestyle, values, and the image they are trying to uphold. Use these variables to determine the best means of reaching out to them. Social media is lessening the barriers to customers. Now customers can see that their friends are following your page which increases their trust of you. Also think about the different personality types and the type of marketing they would appreciate. For example some people are more cautious and only will try a product based on word of mouth, while others just need an entertaining commercial and many are frugal and will only try a new product if it’s on sale.

Utilize Local Resources

All businesses had to start somewhere. Consider starting in your own hometown and tapping into those resources and relationships. By doing business locally you can obtain a more secure handle on operations, get to know the customers and have the capacity to resolve the issues in a timely manner. People in your hometown will care more about your products and/or service, feel prideful that you’re homegrown and will be more eager to showcase their hometown through you. The result is a strong niche community that can hype up your business and spread your popularity nationwide. It will be a more warm and impactful experience, as opposed to distant customers and business partners.

It’s also easier to gain media attention since there is less competition and you’ll be a bigger deal. Lubell manufactures his True Religion Jeans locally for the flexibility. "We can produce small runs and then gauge the market reaction before we make larger investments," says Lubell. Investigate what your local government, neighborhood Chamber of Commerce and local College offers. It also helps to be an active participant in your community. Try supporting charities and schools, volunteering for nonprofit organization, doing sponsorships, participating in philanthropic activities and assisting community events. Use these opportunities to communicate with the customers, directly observe customer behavior and learn what the customers truly desire and need. For those who may have recently relocated to another area, it can help to get employed locally first to get a feel for the business climate.

Skillful Employees are the Heart and Soul of a Business

Jeffrey Lubell is able to have full trust in his contractors. Lubell states "I didn't want to do anything, so I depend on my contractors to do everything...By working with them, we benefit from their experience." Research the skills, talents, experience and character that are necessary for your business and will spearhead the expansion of your start-up. Be honest with yourself and think about your own traits such as strengths, weaknesses, knowledge lapses and/or areas that you need experience. An effective manager knows how to hire expert employees and delegate task accordingly. Determine what type of employees or contractors that could pick up the slack, fill in for the weakness and enhance your strengths. A start-up can be very fragile and every moment is vital for quality productivity. Consequently it's essential to hire employees that understand the role they play and want to help you succeed.
Related Entries: CNN Special: Lessons from Young Yet Ambitious Female Entrepreneurs

References

CNN: How True Religion Jeans Got Started

Photo Credit: Denimology
Photo Credit: MagxOne

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