A reminder, if you want to make sure you get the latest from this blog sent right to you automagically, be sure to subscribe to this blog. I don’t send all my blog posts to my main email list (which will make Allison from Blogworld happy – see below for context)… but I do have options if that’s what you would like.

From my side of the ship, we’ve got:

• Why there’s something to be said for deleting email subscribers
• What to do about all those banners on your blog getting hardly any clicks AT ALL
• Why I’m Pissed at GoDaddy

Also, I’ll begin releasing the video recordings from Tuesday’s webinar soon. Gonna get everything transcribed first.

OK, in the rest of the blogosphere, here are a few highlights. And the title of this blog post is a shout-out to my man, Ryan Lee. You’ll see.

14 Tips For Blogging And Personal Success
This one is from John Chow and, while the advice was simple, there’s some great reminders on there. Worth the couple minutes it takes to read it.

The Marketer’s Guide to Pinterest
Pinterest is still a bit of an enigma to me, honestly. I can’t help but look at it as some weird fad. But, at the same time, I realize I might be being very short-sighted. I had the same reaction to Twitter initially and look what happened. If you don’t really “get” Pinterest, then Neil Patel has a great overview here of why we should care. Worth a look, for sure.

41% of Super Bowl Ad Searches Were Mobile
Posting this as a bit of a “heads up”, and a reminder not to ignore mobile when it comes to your blog design. Most of these searches were probably people sitting next to the TV with their iPad or something, searching for various things or posting social media updates. But, still… that’s major. And, to back it up, this was the first year that the NFL actually livestreamed the entire game on the Internet.

How to Choose the Right Mailing List Provider
A simple post, but it offers a simple pros/cons breakdown of the various list companies, like Aweber and Mailchimp.

F*ck the Latte!
My man, Ryan Lee, has been a lot more “in your face” lately. But, I like this post because it goes right to the heart of the scarcity-minded mindset so many people seem to have. And I HATE the scarcity-minded. You’ve got the “glass half empty” types and the “glass half full” types. And – almost without fail – it is the “glass half full” people who end up having more money and more freedom. It is all about mindset.

Creating Kickass Infographics On A Budget
Outspoken Media has some resources which might help you with creating Infographics. More people are using them lately… and that’s because they work.

No, I Don’t Want To Sign Up For Your Mailing List (And Here’s Why)
A great little post from Allison over on the Blogworld blog. A good reminder, too, on the psychology that your readers might be thinking when you try to get them to join your list. You have to keep in mind, though, that you can’t satisfy everybody. No matter what you do, there will be some who dig what you’re doing and some who don’t. That’s life.

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But, of course, I must look in the mirror. As I used to use GoDaddy for my domains. Well, not anymore.

Like many who’ve been in online business for awhile, I owned a lot of domains. Close to 90 of them, actually. I have been meaning to ditch some of them that I realized I’d never use. But, in the process, I’ve decided to transfer the ones I’m keeping away from GoDaddy.

I’m switching everything to Namecheap. In fact, I’ve been slowly working on this for many months now. But, recently, decided to speed it up and officially walk away. Last night, I transferred 17 domains over to NameCheap. Now, I have almost 30 of them with NameCheap. And I turned OFF auto-renewal on everything which is left in my GoDaddy account.

Here’s why:

1. Their upsells – for the stupidest crap – are excessive and insane. I have to click “No” a ton of times just to buy a domain.
2. Their interface sucks. Tons of clicks to do the stupidest things.
3. They’ve been known to simply disable domains for stupid reasons, as they did to John Chow.
4. There have been many, many cases of GoDaddy simply holding your domain hostage for various reasons. A search for “godaddy hostage” on Google returns almost 2 million results. Take your pick.
5. I like good looking women as much as the next guy, but their commercials are still stupid. If somebody honestly thinks you’re going to see T&A when you visit GoDaddy.com from the Super Bowl commercial, you deserve the service you get.
6. A few months ago, they mysteriously – and without me asking – enabled “Premium CashParking” on my account and started billing me $9.99/month without my permission. When I called support about it, they said it was included in their “domain club” (which I used to be in), but when I canceled that, I started getting billed for CashParking. Well, gee, thanks for making that clear at the time. :-/
7. The CEO of GoDaddy is a pompous ass who apparently enjoys killing elephants for sport.
8. They supported SOPA, until it pissed off enough people and they changed their mind.

It was #6 that was the final nail in the coffin and provoked a final mass transfer of my domains to Namecheap. I’ve had  it.

GoDaddy is, from my observation, a company that likes to skate on the edge and create conflict for the purposes of publicity. And, as for customers, turn them upside down and shake until all the money falls out of our pockets. Perhaps they live by the “any press is good press” mentality, but I don’t believe that’s true. A quick comment about this last night on Twitter and Facebook sparked all kinds of responses from friends of mine in the business. Here’s a sample:

So, the question one has to ask is…. if the people who are IN THE BUSINESS and deal with websites all the time are saying not to use GoDaddy, then what’s wrong here? If you’re not an expert on this stuff, don’t default to GoDaddy just because they advertise alot and use pretty women to do it.

Oh, and as for their hosting – they’re horrible. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard horror stories about their hosting accounts. Sure, there are those who’ve done just fine with them, but the ratio isn’t great.

Plus, GoDaddy is a domain company who does hosting. It isn’t their specialty. You’d be SOOO much better off getting a hosting account with Hostgator (aff link). I’ve worked with Hostgator, as do many people I know. Their support is excellent. Their servers are solid. And they actually ARE a hosting company, not a registrar posing as one.

In fact, if you want, we’ll even set up your blog FOR YOU if you sign up for Hostgator. We’ve got a deal over at PCMech – Free Website Setup Service. Sign up for Hostgator via us, we’ll set up your blog for you.

I’ll end off with this…

I’m sure GoDaddy has a lot of good people working there. And I also know there are people who have domains or hosting accounts with GoDaddy who have no complaints about their service. And I think that’s awesome. I’m sure the domain registrar business is pretty competitive, and the quest to increase profits can be pretty hard in that environment. However, it appears to me as if GoDaddy has run for the lowest common denominator. Their marketing caters to newbies and people who don’t know any better – and they charge accordingly.

I wrote this as a bit of a rant – but also something that I can refer people to when people ask for my opinion.

And, so it is.

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This has an effect on everybody involved:

1. Advertisers get increasingly more desperate to make their ad campaigns work, which leads to lower pay-outs, more annoying banners, etc.
2. The end users end up being barraged with ever-increasing amounts of ads, thereby leading them to be even MORE likely to dismiss them.
3. The blogger, looking to generate some revenue, ends up making less money with more ads.

The Problem

Here is a screenshot of the click stats on a small little banner campaign I recently ran on a site via BuySellAds:

Now, I fully admit that the banner I used in this campaign wasn’t the greatest. But, look at that click-through rate! Really, really low.

In this case, I am the advertiser. And, I won’t be renewing this ad. It just isn’t working. Good thing I didn’t pay out too much for it in the first place.

Most advertisers will agree that click-through rates, across the board, are low. You can get the CTR up with really ideal targeting (hard to pull off unless the niche is very specific), or one tries to combat it with more noticeable ads. You know the ones: animated images, “punch the monkey” ads – crap like that. Ironically enough, some companies have increased their CTR by going back to basics and making their banners look like simply HTML blue hyperlinks.

As a site owner looking to make money with ad campaigns, it puts us into a position, too. We’re compelled to accept more annoying advertising in order to make a buck. Or we try to make up for it in quantity. All of this just makes your site more annoying to visit.

Interruption Marketing versus Permission Marketing

The problem comes down to that.

Interruption marketing is advertising that is designed to reach out and grab your attention from whatever you’re doing and entice you to come on over. Banner ads ARE interruption marketing. You’re almost never looking for the things being advertised. They’re trying to make an uninterested prospect (who isn’t really a prospect at all)… and turn them into a prospect.

This is incredibly difficult to do – especially these days. The noise level is through the roof. While there are various studies out there with claims on the number of ads people are exposed to every day, it is safe to say we’re all exposed to a LOT of ads every single day. That number is increasing, too.

Neither bloggers or advertisers are helping the situation, either. Bloggers pack their sidebars with 125×125 ads, for example. With all those ads, the likelihood of any of them being clicked on is almost zero. Many bloggers try to make their site look popular by packing affiliate banners into those spots, not realizing they’re sending their click-rates through the floor by doing that – along with their incomes.

The other way to go is permission marketing.

You’ve probably figured it out already, but this means marketing to people who are pre-qualified and interested in that kind of message. The engagement level is MUCH higher this way.

But…

The Bar Is Raised – Yet Again

Even though marketing with permission is obviously better, the truth is even this has been abused to the point where now people are starting to perceive permission marketing as just more… interruption!

People are one-click away from unsubscribing to any email list. There are ad blockers out there. Systems like Google Voice are even making it more difficult for phone advertisers to get through. So, basically, advertisers started abusing these permission-based mediums. And consumers are throwing up their guard.

Time To Re-Think The Approach And Return To Basics.

In online marketing circles, the word “relationship” is used alot. It is important to build a relationship, a bond, a form of friendship with your blog readers. Then, NEVER, EVER abuse that relationship.

Put yourself into the position of curator, for example. All this noise is happening out there. But, you have an audience of people hopefully united by a goal of some kind (an important factor in niche selection, BTW). And, you only bring offers to them which are personally vetted by you, known to be good, and you recommend it as a source of help.

Is this easy to do?

Nope.

And those looking for the easy button or quick revenue will still try to default to the interruption marketing and hope to squeeze a few bucks out of it. It can still work. I mean, despite the metrics, companies are still spending a boatload of money on online ads.

But, even the ads work better if you respect your audience. Don’t pack your site with so many ads that it is like being raped in the eye. (NOTE: sorry about that visual, but it is how it feels sometimes.)

There are those who operate by the notion that the more you send out (in terms of promotion), then the more income comes in. While true, in essence, it is also short-sighted. Because, when taken out to a high degree, you begin to abuse your own lines of promotion. Then your prospects begin to find you annoying and all your ads have the reverse impact of what you wanted. That’s the mentality of a spammer. And the effectiveness of this approach has never been lower than it is today.

Some Tips For Everybody

Let’s do this list style, just to make it nice and simple.

1. PUBLISHERS: Realize you can make more money utilizing the permission-based approach than with banner ads. For example, a promo email to your list or a blog post can have a far better monetary effect than a banner ad. Think about it… you either eye rape them with a banner ad, or you post a piece of truly helpful content and then gently lead them into an offer which makes perfect sense given the content they just read. Which do you think will perform better?
2. PUBLISHERS: If you’re trying to work out private ad deals with companies, don’t limit things only to banner ads. Use sponsored blog posts and solo mailings to your list as parts of the ad campaign. Explain to the advertiser the value of these mediums. Charge accordingly. (NOTE: NEVER abuse your list, or hand over emails. Respect your subscribers and obey privacy policies).
3. ADVERTISERS: Realize that a banner ad is more for branding today than click performance. But, in order to get the most bang out of working with a blogger, you need to be willing to explore permission-based marketing. Real content, relevant promotions.
4. PUBLISHERS: Don’t overload your site with banners. In many cases, you can make more money with less. Just test it and see what works for you.
5. PUBLISHERS: If you want to make money with affiliate promotions, the easiest way to do it is by putting the banner ad on your site. But, because it is that easy… it is also the least effective. Put more effort into your affiliate promotions. Create real content and fully explain WHY you’re recommending this product to your readers. If you’re trying to drive affiliate sales using banner ads, you’re most likely going to be quite disappointed.
6. ADVERTISERS: Create “swipe” content for your affiliates or sponsored campaigns. In the online marketing world, this is done all the time. But, outside of that niche, not so much. On my tech site, for example, almost anything I would promote simply has a lame selection of banner ads. These companies don’t think like permission marketers! They don’t make it easy for their campaigns to work. Instead, create REAL content that bloggers can use. Encourage bloggers and site owners to advertise you in permission-based ways and respect the audience.

The wild, wild west of the Internet is disappearing. It used to be easy to make money in this space. Plop a few ads up and – bam! – you had an income.

But, then everybody piled on. The Internet isn’t anything special these days. No gold rush mentality. Sure, there are TONS of ways to run a business online. The opportunities are many, and the costs of entry are incredibly low.

But, the easy buttons don’t exist. The noise level is so high now that only the real cream rises to the top.

The awesome part is… anybody can be the cream. It just takes work and dedication to your readers. Help them. Treat them with respect. And stop trying to eye rape them.

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Would you think I was nuts?

Well, let me explain why it isn’t nuts. And, in fact, it might be something you want to do on an annual basis.

Engagement > Numbers

Simply put, the number of email subscribers who are actually paying attention to you and act on what you say…. is FAR more important than the size of your list.

I’d rather have a list of 1,000 people who open every email I send them than a list of 50,000 who mostly don’t open my emails and just send my stuff to their spam folder. And I bet I can make far more money with those 1,000 engaged subscribers than a non-engaged list of 50,000.

Now, those numbers might be a little extreme. After all, if I had a list of 50,000, I’d be doing a pretty piss-poor job if less than 1,000 of them actually care about my emails.

… but, it goes to show that the size of the list isn’t what’s important. It is how engaged they are with you. Do they open your emails? And do they click on things?

The fact of the matter is that a majority of the emails you send to your email list are going nowhere. They’re not being opened. Yet…

• It is probably costing you money to have those emails on your list.
• It is reducing your open rates.

Almost all email list services (including Aweber, which I use) charge more for the number of emails in your database. Why pay for them to be there if they’re never opening your emails?

But, then there’s the effect on open rates. Not only does it artificially deflate your open stats, but it could be harming the open rates of perfectly valid subscribers. See, in the ongoing battle against spam, ISPs are now taking into account people’s open habits to determine whether you’re a spammer or not. So, if they see that a bulk of their clients are not opening emails from you, then they’re more likely to just flag all your emails as spam. This means you’re less likely to get through even to perfectly valid, interested subscribers. Not good!

The Solution Is…

It is a re-engagement campaign. The idea is simple…

Most email list services (like Aweber) provide segmenting options based on a number of factors – including whether a subscriber is opening your emails or not.

So, what you can do is run a search for all subscribers which haven’t opened an email from you  before a certain date (say, a few months ago). You save those leads into a segment. The result is a segment of your list which contains the “aged leads”, or those subscribers who (according to the system) aren’t opening any of your emails.

A small note: It IS possible that a subscriber is opening emails yet isn’t being counted. This is because most services use a tracking image to detect an open, and most web-based email services (like Gmail) block images by default. So, open rates are inherently inaccurate. However,  a CLICK counts just like an open. After all, if they clicked on a link, they’d have to have opened it to do that.

Once you have this segment, you then begin a series of emails to them over the course of 2-3 weeks which invites them to “reengage”. You can do this however you like, but the entire point is to get them to either open the email or click something. By them doing that, it shows they’re indeed still there and Aweber will automatically remove them from the “aged leads” segment.

After 3 or 4 emails trying to get them to do something… if they still haven’t responded, then it means that their email address is old, they’re not checking it anymore, or they’re indeed not interested in hearing from you. This, of course, means you can delete them from your list and save them and you the hassle.

An Example From Me

The idea of running a campaign like this just entered my world 2-3 months ago. And, over the last month or so, I’ve been working on it for my PCMech.com email lists. Once that is done, I’ll be running a similar cleanup on the DavidRisley.com lists. In fact, I’m changing some things with how I interact with my list (but, more on that later).

Being in this business as long as I have, I had several different sub-lists created for various purposes.

With PCMech.com, I have the main weekly newsletter list. I also have a daily alerts list and a forum list. These lists are all used presently. Now, I had 3 lists associated with PCMech which were no longer in use. Collectively, these 3 lists had over 4,000 people on them. I had no way to know whether they were getting my weekly newsletter or not. They were just…. there.

PCMech Reengagement Squeeze Page

So, I started out by sending a series of 4 emails to each of these 3 lists. I set up a simple squeeze page for the main newsletter (using OptimizePress, of course). The entire point of the emails was to inform them that their subscription was queued for removal, and if they want to continue hearing from us, to please subscribe to the newsletter on that squeeze page.

That squeeze page is pictured above. Or you can click here to see the real thing.

Since Aweber provides inclusion/exclusion options for multiple lists, I just make sure that each email EXCLUDED the weekly list. After all, if they’re already getting the newsletter, I don’t want them thinking I’ve gone bonkers by acting like they’re not getting it.

I sent these 4 emails over the course of about 3 weeks. Over the course of those 4 emails, I could see the open rates going down… and down. Which means it was working and I was truly whittling the lists down to the truly inactive subscribers.

Once the whole thing is done and I can tell I’m not really squeezing anymore valid people from these old lists, I simply de-activate the lists in Aweber. They hold the list for 30 days (unless you contact their support and tell them to just delete it). After that, those old leads are gone and will no longer be affecting open rates or your monthly bill.

Now, here’s the part which makes people nervous….

Once I handled the old sub-lists, I was faced with the main weekly email list. It has about 25,000 people on it. However, when I ran a search for aged leads (using August 1, 2011 as the cut-off dates for opens), I came back with a little over 11,000 leads. That’s 11,000 people sitting on my list which, according to Aweber, haven’t opened or clicked on anything since August.

That’s pretty freakin’ substantial, but also not surprising. I had NEVER done a re-engagement campaign before! So this is literally YEARS of buildup.

Here is the email I sent to these 11,000 leads:

You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to the PCMech.com Weekly Newsletter. You subscribed back on {!signdate long}.

According to our records, you haven’t opened one of our newsletters in quite some time. In the interest of making sure we’re only sending to people who truly want to hear from us, we’re sending you this email.

Do You Want To Continue Receiving PCMech.com’s Free Weekly Newsletter?

As a reminder, here’s the summary of the newsletter:

=> Sent every Wednesday
=> Running for well over 400 issues (and counting)
=> Keeps you up-to-date on the latest news from the world of computers and technology.
=> Includes an article of the week, a weekly rant from our head writer, and a download of the week (usually free)

You’ll be able to stay informed, get announcements on tech deals you may be interested in, and learn new ways to use your computer.

So, all we need for you to do is select one of the following answers:

YES, I want to continue to receive your weekly newsletter.
(this click will take you to our homepage, but the click will register your interest to continue your subscription. It is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.)

or…

NO, please unsubscribe me from your list. I’m no longer interested in your free newsletter.

Please take a moment to respond.

If we don’t hear from you at all, we’ll assume your email address is no longer valid and it will be queued for deletion in the next couple weeks or so.

Thanks for your time.

- David Risley
Founder, PCMech.com

So, I gave them a clear yes/no option. Clicking “yes” will take them to our site, but will register the click and therefore remove them from the aged leads segment. Clicking “no” is a direct link to unsubscribe. You can see I also showed them WHEN they subscribed, reminded them of the benefits, reminded them it was completely free.

If you wanted to get all “ninja” on this, you could make the “yes” option take them to an offer of some kind. Hmmm….

But, you get the point.

The open rate on this email is pretty low (considering I’m sending it to inactive subscribers), but the good news is that about 80% of the people are clicking the “yes” button.

Freak Out Time!?!?!

There’s a solid chance that, when this whole thing is done, I’ll be removing close to 10,000 people from the PCMech main email list.

Insane?

Some might think so. It certainly does hamper your bragging rights. When people ask how big your list is, you don’t have as impressive a number. If you’re in the internet marketing arena, you’d need to consider that. After all, getting nice joint ventures often comes down to how big your reach is.

But, that is a tradeoff you have to consider. It seems to me that if your open rates are low (and many people are now considering a 20% open rate to be good… which is rather sad, really), then having a big list is irrelevant. Your REAL list size is only the number of people who open your stuff. The rest of them might as well not even be there. You’re just paying more to keep them there. Plus, their presence can negatively effect delivery for everybody else.

Constant care of your email list is the secret to high open rates. 50%… 60%, 70% and higher… those kind of open rates only happen when you really take care of your list. That includes sending them valuable information which they look forward to…. as well as removing those who aren’t interested.

I’m probably going to start doing this once per year or so. You may want to consider it as well.

To end off, a few relevant links for you:

• Aweber. The segmenting abilities of Aweber are awesome and make running a reengagement campaign a fairly trivial matter.
• Optimizepress. If you’re trying to merge lists, you want to point people to a high-converting squeeze page for your main list. Optimizepress is awesome for this.
• Master Your List. To learn how to really get the most out of your list, keep them engaged, and know what to say, check out my mini training course: Master Your List.

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This week, we have the 10 commandments, Google hatin’, one HUGE list post from handome Chris Brogan, and some of what’s happening over on Pinterest. Let’s get going…

How to Make Skype Play Nicely with Google Voice
This was a purely geek post that I shared earlier in the week. Not so much about marketing. But, hey, I’m a geek. Plus, I’m a big fan of using cheaper, cloud-based alternatives where possible. Why even have an office phone these days? Using Skype and Google Voice, you have a cheap, spam-proof way to place and receive calls.

4 Good Reasons Your Images Should Have Captions
OK, that’s not the real title of the post. But, I like it. This Copyblogger post outlines why you should be using captions on the images you pop into your posts. Actually, it is a good reminder for me, too. I forget to use captions way too often.

Writing a book? Grab a rebooted edition of Author 2.0
If you’re interested in writing a book, Joanna Penn has a totally free (no opt-in required, either) e-book available to help you out.

10 Commandments of Epic Business [image]
This one is from Jonathan Fields. Just a simple image, but I really liked the message. It resonates. So, I’m passing it along to you.

Do you have a YouTube conversion tracking strategy?
A simple, but important tactic to track effectiveness of your Youtube videos in terms of driving clicks. It is from John Chow’s blog, and it wouldn’t be a true JC post without an affiliate link to something which costs money. You can do the same basic link tracking strategy for free using something like the Pretty Links plug-in. Plus, the links would be on your own domain, too.

25 Reasons Google Hates Your Blog
Not gettin’ ranked? Checked out this post from Problogger.

Online Sellers Have New Tax Filing Requirement
If you’re making side-money selling things on Ebay or Paypal, the IRS is coming for you. The gov’t needs their money to fund those studies of the sexual habits of Mongolian rats, or some such shit.

Test Your Sitemaps Before Submitting Them To Google
Search Engine Land has the news that Google Webmaster Tools now has a utility to test your XML sitemaps before officially submitting them. Very handy. BTW, if you’re not… do get the Google XML Sitemap plug-in and start using it. Have it generate an XML sitemap and then submit it to Google Webmaster Tools. It can help you get indexed faster by big G.

97 ideas for building a valuable platform
A list post on steroids, by the ever-handsome Chris Brogan.

How Some Brands Are Using Pinterest
Pinterest. The latest fad site, I swear. But, hey, who knows? Apparently some brands are using it. Sakita Holley has the goods on how they’re doing it.

.

.

OK, my friends. Before I wrap it up…

Be sure you are registered for the “20 Questions” webinar on Tuesday. And, submit your question ASAP. I’m about to start going through these and preparing the webinar.

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A lot of great questions have come in for the “20 Questions” webinar next week. Make sure to RSVP for it.

We all want to build up our email lists and get more subscribers.

And the common way to go about that is to offer an “ethical bribe”, or “free giveaway”. And, in almost all cases, this ends up being an ebook.

In some niches, an ebook is still a rather novel idea. However, in a growing portion of the Internet, free ebook giveaways are getting so common that the effectiveness of the offer has dropped a lot.

Of course, much of this comes down to how well you entice people. With an effective title, good cover images, enticing bullet points which tap into that sense of mystery… you can undoubtedly still get people to drool over your free ebook.

However, the perceived value of an ebook has dropped. The novelty has worn out, to a degree.

So, let’s look at some more uncommon ways to go about it. “Uncommon” not in the fact that nobody has thought of it before… but because the majority don’t seem to do it.

#1 – Webinars

Doing webinars is a FANTASTIC way to build a list. Think about it… not only are you getting their email address when they register, but you’re also getting a PRIME opportunity to really build a strong relationship with them by providing solid information for an hour or so.

More people are doing webinars now, but a vast majority still don’t. They either think it is too technical, don’t like the cost of a GotoWebinar account, or are still afraid to do a live event for fear of looking like an idiot. But, I promise you… it isn’t technical, the cost is minimal when compared to the return, and you’ll get over that nervousness VERY quickly.

Take what you might otherwise offer in a blog post and doing it in a webinar instead. You should know what kinds of things your market will go for.

On the technical side, it is imperative that you capture emails. If you use a GotoWebinar system, the emails go there. You can export the emails and put them into an email system like IContact… but that’s tedious. A MUCH better way is to use a system which dual-subscribes the user. It captures their email in your email list and RSVP’s them for your webinar at the same time.

There are a few of these solutions out there now, but my favorite (and the one I use personally) is WP Webinar Pro. You just set up a page on your WordPress blog for the webinar RSVP page, enter the settings, pick a template – and you’re done. Instead of pointing them to GTW directly, you point them to your own RSVP page.

I personally prefer WP Webinar Pro over the others because I think the templates are better and the functionality is just cleaner to use. And, I’ve tried several others.

Works fantastically to build an email list.

#2 – Free Membership Sites

Simple idea, of course. The big idea behind it is that membership sites have a higher perceived value than an ebook. So, whatever you might otherwise pop into a PDF and give away, just put it into a membership site instead. You can even use other forms of delivery (like video, MP3, etc.) because you’ll have that flexibility.

Using Wishlist Member, you can have people sign up for a free membership very easily. Wishlist will auto-subscribe them to your email list using the built-in autoresponder integration.

#3 – Facebook Fan Pages

This is one that I’m going to be soon acting upon. See, I have a Facebook fan page. I even have a custom landing page on it. However, I DON’T have it set up to subscribe people to my list. And I should.

The way to do this is using a “fan gate”. It means showing different content for non-fans versus fans on a custom tab. So, you set your page to point to a custom tab. That page defaults to the non-fan version, which of course is all about getting them to hit the LIKE button. Once they like the page, they then see the fan version… which is an OPT-IN FORM.

So, first they like your page, then they opt-in. The fan-gate page can be customized to tell them why they should opt-in. You can even have video on there if you want. And, now you’ve just suddenly turned your fan page into a real lead generator.

There’s a free Facebook app called TabPress which can help you set up a fan-gate. Problem is, you’ll need to manually code some stuff in HTML to use that.

A much more full-featured solution is WP Fan Pro, which will allow you to set up your fan page using… WordPress. Freakin’ awesome.

#4 – Facebook Opt-in Forms

I’m starting to see these on a few sites, but it is still a pretty new idea. Instead of having an opt-in form have the standard name and email fields, you have a form which is pre-filled using the reader’s contact information from Facebook.

This is powerful because (1) they see their own profile photo, which is instant recognition, (2) the name is pre-filled and it is actually accurate, (3) the email is pre-filled using their REAL email address.

Those last two points are important. Because more and more people are (unfortunately) entering “throw away” email addresses into opt-in forms these days. Or bogus names (like “Mickey Mouse”). However, on Facebook they have their real information. And most of us are surfing the Internet already logged into Facebook.

These are super easy to make now using Aweber (my preferred email list provider). Aweber now provides super-easy Facebook opt-in forms you can use. If the person isn’t logged into Facebook, they just see a normal opt-in form.

#5 – Comment Opt-In

When people post a comment on your blog, they’re entering their email address anyway. Why not give them the option to subscribe to your list right then and there? Only make sense, doesn’t it?

An easy way to set this up is using the Action Comments plug-in. The only “catch” is that this won’t work if you’re using a third-party comment system like Disqus or Livefyre. You have to be using WordPress’s built-in comment system.

#6 – Mini-Courses and Training

This one is, again, simple. If an ebook is a 2 or 3 on a 10-point scale of coolness… access to a full training course would be a good solid 9. Give your subscriber something you would normally expect to pay for… but they’ll get it for free just by subscribing. A 10-video series might be a nice example. Really over-deliver.

I’m throwing some ideas around to set this up myself. I mean, my Blueprint report is pretty good (so I’m told), but still…its an ebook. There are clearly untapped opportunities here. Hell, the Blueprint itself could even be turned into a mini training course.

You could even use Wishlist Member with this idea and protect the whole thing with a free membership level (see above).

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The idea here is to think outside the box. If everybody else is giving away an ebook, there’s a lot of opportunity in trying something different.

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Take 20 questions beforehand, and prepare an entire presentation where I do nothing but answer those 20 questions.

The questions can be anything related to blogging, social media, marketing, copywriting, videos, tech stuff – whatever.

So, I’m going to do this again. And I’m inviting you to submit a question (or more than one) to me for inclusion on the webinar. I’d ask that you include your name, your city/state, and your blog URL. If you leave me your blog URL, I just might mention it on the webinar.

Everybody likes a reason why, so here’s why I’m doing this:

1. Content creation. What better way to create a ton of targeted content than to tailor it directly to what people ask me?
2. Leverage. Last time I did this, I broke the webinar recording into multiple videos (20 of them). There’s the content. There will be videos and I’m going to have the whole thing transcribed. So, this is your opportunity to “steer the ship” and determine what kind of content you see from me for a little while.
3. Help more people. I hope you’ll spread the word about this on Facebook, Twitter, and G+. I’d like to bring more people into the community here on DavidRisley.com – obviously.

So, here’s what I’d like you to do right now…

STEP #1: Send Me Your Question Here

If you’re viewing this post in the RSS feed, I honestly don’t know whether you’ll be able to see the form. If not, click here to visit this post directly.

If the form acts wonky, you can also submit a question as a comment on this post.

STEP #2: Share This Post And Invite People To Send In A Question Or Attend The Webinar

I’d love to have you share this out on Facebook and G+, but there’s no super convenient way to have you do that except for saying… the buttons for both are right below this post and to the left. I’d appreciate it.

As for Twitter, I haz shortcuts. Click this link right here, and you’ll be able to tweet out the following:

I’m joining @davidrisley on his FREE “20 Questions” Webinar on blogging & marketing. http://bit.ly/zdYdt0 Send your ques? (Pls RT)

There you have it. Nice and easy. And, again, I’d appreciate it.

STEP #3: Register for the Webinar!

I will be doing the webinar in one week. Tuesday, February 7th at 9PM Eastern, 6PM Pacific. Hopefully my office will be nice and quiet by then after the kids go to bed.

Click here to register for the webinar!

And… if you can’t make it at this time slot, don’t worry. The entire point is to record it. So, you’ll still be able to get the answers. Just subscribe to my blog (RSS feed) and my Youtube channel… because that’s where they’ll be released.

Oh, and even if you can’t make it, still submit your question and share the post.

Of course, baby!

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I’d be happy to have your participation in this so we can make it fun. No question is off limits. My purpose is to make this as helpful as possible. So, ask anything you like. I’ll try to fit in all 20 questions. No guarantees on that. It kind of depends on what questions I get.

To get the things going, here’s some potential topics:

• Blogging (obviously)
• Increasing traffic
• SEO
• Membership Sites
• Copywriting
• Technical Stuff (WordPress)
• Webinars
• Email lists
• Launches
• Marketing

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And some of them just need to go away.

Let me explain…

“Let’s Connect” or “Engage”

We see this one dropped by social media people all the time. We’re told to “engage” with our audiences. To “engage” people on Twitter.

No, I really want to “just connect” with you. “Let’s connect”.

Here’s my problem with it…

It makes simple human relations seem like a tactic. As if communicating to other people and giving a shit is just a marketing tactic you’re doing to grow your following.

I’m a much bigger fan of plain English. There’s no need to invent new definitions of words here just to sound cool.

If you want a following on Twitter, on Facebook, on your blog… just give a shit and treat people like you would want to be treated. You want to feel important, so make THEM feel important. Get talkin’.

Not to mention, every time I hear the word “engage”, I get childhood memories of Captain Picard.

“Driving Traffic”

OK, what is your audience to you? A bunch of cattle?

My problem with this phrase is that it dehumanizes what “traffic” really is. They are REAL people who have a need or want, and they come to your site to solve it. Real, flesh and blood people.

Now, not everybody who uses this phrase has lost sight of that. It is just a phrase which is common jargon in the industry. However, I have been in conversations with many marketers who talk as if they HAVE lost sight of this fact. In their talk about solo ad swaps and PPC, they’ve gotten so focused on the numbers and the conversion rates that it has become a big numbers game to them. Not much different than stock trading. It is a funnel and they’re just trying to jam as many people as they can through it.

You don’t “drive traffic”. You attract it. (tweet this)

“Email Blast”

I don’t like this one because, again, it de-humanizes pretty much the most valuable asset you can have in an online business: the email subscriber.

Those are people on that list, and each and every time you email them, they’re just one click away from unsubscribing from you. Do you really want to BLAST them? Would you BLAST your friends or family?

“Content”

This one cracks me up a bit. This word “content” has become so overused. Especially when a marketer entices you to watch a video or attend a webinar with promises of “100% pure content”.

Gee thanks. Because I was waking up this morning pawing at my eyeballs needing my next hit of content. We’re all just ITCHING for more CONTENT, are we not?

The truth is… there is TOO MUCH content out there. And, everything is content on the Internet. Anything you see, read, watch, tweet, comment on… it is ALL content.

And, even more fun is when people get into this mindset that they just need to create more of it. No thought at all on whether the stuff they create is helpful or really connects with anybody… just create more STUFF. More CONTENT. More the better, too. Because Google said so.

No. Don’t create stuff to feed the mythical content god with your sacrifice. Create really good stuff that actually helps people, stirs an emotion, gets them thinking. In other words, has a POINT.

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Got any others that I forgot about? Comment below and let us know.

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In short, making a few internal changes in my company, planning another direction with the PCMech membership, hosting a pretty kick-ass webinar on affiliate niche blogging, doin’ some more writing, and of course…

Finding some cool stuff from around the web. And here it is…

Learning Leadership from Congress
Not really a “how to” kind of post at all. It is Seth Godin getting political. And I liked it.

3 Secret Pricing Tricks Guaranteed to Make You More Money
Interesting post about setting your prices. More accurately, about giving a base comparison for your pricing in order to set the framework for it. Really good stuff to know.

How To Get More Likes and Comments on Facebook
This post is a freakin’ goldmine on how to build and manage your Facebook fan page. If you want more fans, more likes, more interaction with your fans, check out this post.

How To Design Your Blog For Awesome SEO
Some great advice from Quicksprout on how to design and structure your site for the best SEO. On-site SEO is super important. You just gotta know what you’re doing.

How To Write Irresistible Blog Intros
Contrary to what a lot of bloggers think, people are not waiting with bated breath for most of your posts. You’ve got to entice them to read it with the headline. Then, when they start reading it, you have to make them want to KEEP reading it. Hence, intros. And, sex on roller coasters. You’ll see.

Facebook Timeline Now Pushed To Everyone
Including this as a public service announcement. If you haven’t yet set up your cover photo and all that jazz, get to it.

11 Social Media Marketing Gurus Revealed Best Traffic Source
… and I’m one of them. I’m still trying to get over being called a “social media marketing guru”. Wish me luck on that.

Getting More Clicks On Twitter
Seriously interesting. Plus, infographics are like crack for bloggers. Go take a hit.

Ramit Sethi Exposed: How He Earns Millions Blogging
Seriously in-depth posts with a TON of actionable advice in it.

6 Actionable Tips to Really Improve Your Blog in 2012
Another one from DailyBlogTips. Some really good stuff, plus he links to a lot of useful stuff, too.

See ya next week.

Stay inspired. Make things happen.

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Chris and I have met at several different events. The first time, though, that we really hung out was at an Izeafest event in Orlando, FL. We ended up going to dinner with several other people, but a small enough group where we all had a chance to talk for awhile. My friend from Vegas, Warren Whitlock, was there, too. It was a great meal.

It was at this event, though, that Chris met me. And, an inside joke formed. I don’t even quite remember how it started, but now I’ve got a nickname of “handsome Dave” from this thing.

Yeah, I’m just THAT sexy.

Anyway, let me get to the point of this…

In the times I’ve interacted with Chris since, I’ve always been impressed that he remembered my name quite well. More recently, Chris and I hung out at a bar in LA for Blogworld and it was more like catching up. He even complemented how I do things here on DavidRisley.com.

I’m not the only person who has had this experience. Chris Brogan has always impressed me with how well he remembers names. He’s freakin’ uncanny at it. He’s very personable. He’s likable. He has a sense of humor. And I think it is no coincidence that he is as well known as he is.

I told you this story to make a point…

People want to feel important. They want to feel acknowledged. They want to feel like you care about them.

When you do that, they will remember you. They’ll go to bat for you.

How can you apply this to your online business? Your blogging?

Well, here’s a few ideas:

1. Make a point to reply to blog comments whenever you can. Try to acknowledge people in your comments.
2. Make a point to reply to your emails from your readers. Don’t become a snob who outsources your email to a VA and has no way for people to contact you without a middle man. This is a people business we’re in here.
3. Interact with people on social media. Reply to tweets. Reply to wall posts.
4. Be super-cool. Be real. Don’t write like a professor. Write like a real human being and treat your readers like friends.
5. If you’re selling something, consider personally emailing people to THANK THEM after they’ve bought from you. This means so much more to people than an automated thank you email from your shopping cart. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even send them a letter in the mail.
6. When you can, address people by name. Sometimes it is hard. Online, it is easier because you often have their name in front of you. Offline, harder. I personally SUCK at remembering people’s names unless I really get to know them better.
7. Include your personality with your content.

I’ll throw out another name for you. A friend of mine. His name is Pat Flynn. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.

Pat is another guy who I think does a great job of keeping it personable. In fact, he’s done a great job of scaling it up as his SPI blog has grown. People are fond of Pat because he just keeps it real. And keeps it personable. And he’s super cool.

Being personable is important.

It starts with GIVING A SHIT. This is a people business.

And don’t you forget it.

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