Dot Com Mini Mogul

Why Blogspot Blogs Redirect to Country Specific URLs

2012-03-07T17:41:00.003-08:00

Blogspot has shaken up millions of bloggers with a rather disturbing and sudden ccTLD (country code top level domain) redirect change.

Your Blogspot blog's URL will now point from:

http://YOURBLOGNAME.blogspot.com

to

http://YOURBLOGNAME.blogspot.com.au for Australia, .in for India, depending on the country in which you reside. Other relevant country codes are to follow shortly.

The reason this has stirred up a lot of discussion within bloggers is centered around Page Rank.

Bloggers, having spent between 2, 5 or even 8 years building up their page rank using the blogspot.com URL are now confronted with a PR=0 in their PR rank toolbar checker.

According to Google/Blogspot, all Blogspot.com domains are now redirecting to a country code domain to correspond with the viewer's location. This means that if you are in Australia, and you view a blogspot blog, you will see "blogspot.com.au" at the end of the URL.

What is not so clear is how page rank will be calculated in each country. According to Blogspot, they will try to ensure that multiple domain hosting is not penalized in search engines. This insinuates that this change is a negative rather than a positive, at least in the short term.

Considering that Google (search engine) owns Blogspot (blogging platform), the communication between the two should be a breeze. However this is a large undertaking and most likely will take some time to sort out.

An ideal situation would be that duplicate content would be recognized as from the same site, and page rank/link love would flow back accordingly.

The reasons behind this change: Simplifying content removal. To comply with different laws for different countries, Blogspot can now remove banned material from a country specific site without touching the other country specific domains.

The advantage is that your blog won't get banned when you publish something that contraindicates the laws of a certain country. The likelihood of bloggers knowing which laws apply to which country are quite slim.

The point is, something quite serious and quite powerful is behind this to make Google/Blogger sit up and take notice. Recent legal problems between Google/Blogspot and India are likely to be behind these changes.

Custom domains however, will not be affected. This may begin a bit of a gold rush for buying domain names. Getting your own custom domain is a great way to protect your blog from unexpected updates.

So what has happened to your original blogspot.com blog?

If you go to a page rank checker and type in your .com blogspot URL, your page rank will be intact, which is a good sign for now.

What is not clear is what these changes mean for advertising revenue, post authority and the like. Is this the end of Blogspot blogs as high page ranking juggernauts, money spinners and voices of authority in Google?

Time will tell.

To view a blog in its original US form (using 'no country redirect') you need to enter:

http://YOURBLOGNAME.blogspot.com/ncr

5 Wacky Ways To Make Money This Christmas

2011-12-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

Ho ho ho!! It's the crazy season (it's more extreme than the silly season), where people are losing their minds. As if Black Friday isn't enough, we now find ourselves squeezed by the milk of human kindness masquerading as FOBLG. That is, Fear Of Being Less Generous. Yes, I just made that up, feel free to use it (copyright 2011, link back required, all rights reserved). Hehehe.

1. FOBLG
So what does this Fear Of Being Less Generous mean to affiliate marketers? It means people will be buying like a charging bull with red price scanners for eyes, zoning in on the one thing, that one thing that will finally make them better in the eyes of their wife, husband, mother in law, children etc... You don't want to be the guy/girl who doesn't tip enough, doesn't give the right gift basket, doesn't make the grade.

This, dear marketers, is not the way we want the world to be. But the pressure will not go away just because a few of us say "hey guys, this is all a bit much!" So, in the meantime, make hay while the insane gleam of credit cards shine. It's pretty basic and definitely not rocket science - do a post including the words "Christmas" or "Christmas 2011", like I have just done. Post about Christmas gift ideas, and most of all, make it easy, convenient and FAST for them to buy and get their goods delivered so everyone's happy.

2. Ho Ho Ho
We may be forgetting the guy in red here! So much focus is gathered around presents, shopping and gift wrapping that we failed to notice that some guy needs to get a Santa suit and dress up for the day. In fact, in a country the size of the US, that's a hellava lotta guys! (Excuse the unintentional biblical reference there!)
So what are you waiting for? Got a Halloween blog? A costume site? A shopping site? Get those Santa costume links up STAT!!

3. Deck The Halls
And it's not just costumes, people need to decorate, and fast - get links to wreaths, mistletoe sprigs, baubles, Christmas tree stars and nativity scenes. Give ideas for decorating and show some photos to make it interesting.

4. Recipes
Write your own Christmas recipes - tarts, puddings, cakes and cookies are a great place to start. Amazon has some great links for cookbooks and the like so get posting!

5. Personalize
Gifts for him, gifts for her, gifts for baby, for kids, even pets! Get a target group and go for it! If you run a Mommy blog, you could focus on gifts for baby, or gifts for dads. If you run a pet blog, focus on stocking stuffers for pets, treats, toys and the like.

6. Advertise
Log in to your favorite advertising gang (I use 7Search) and start a Christmas campaign. You could do "Christmas gifts for him" or "Christmas gifts free shipping", try to think of the keywords and phrases people use when they are in a hurry and just about to buy. For example, would you rather advertise on "how to save on Christmas gifts" or "best deals ship for Christmas"? One person is looking for advice, the other is looking for a shopping portal, credit card in hand. You get the idea.

If you get stuck, start typing in Google (or your preferred search engine!) as if you are a Christmas shopper with mere days left to Christmas and no gifts in the bag. You will get a better idea of this if you put yourself in their position. Good luck, and Peace to all....

P.S. Get $50 matched dollar for dollar in free advertising with 7Search:

When prompted, use their special code: HOLIDAYCHEER (For new and existing advertisers)

7Search will match you dollar for dollar, so if you deposit $50, 7Search will credit you $50.

--

5 rules for creating a successful social network

2011-09-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

The recent June 2011 launches of Google +1 as an invite-only network have been scrapped and Google +1 has officially opened its doors to the world. This is likely to be the most effective way of getting as many people as humanly possible joining up to the network. Learning from the mistakes of other social networking sites, Google + 1 has overcome the important hurdle of a new social network - access. Bloggers, people, casual social network users all share a common need - a social network that is not too complicated to use or access. We can break it down into the 5 essential rules I have learned in creating a successful social network. These rules have come about through using social networks as a blogger, a marketer and a "normal" person:

1. Access.
If your social network requires a new user to jump through too many bureaucratic hoops to join up, they simply won't join up. Game over.

2. Flexibility.
If your social network has complicated, rigid rules for how the network must be used, it will frustrate new users and they will go somewhere else. Game over.

3. Privacy.
This is Facebook's main sticking point. Many are aware that Facebook can use members' information for pretty much whatever they deem appropriate. This is why many are leaving Facebook in droves. A social network should not invade a users privacy or try to "profile" users. It is not a social network's right to "own" people's personal information. If Facebook is to fail over the next 5 years, this may well be the reason.

4. Ease of Use.
Twitter has this part down to a fine art. Make your social network easy to use, fun and interactive. If you build it, they will come.

5. Involving Lawyers and Government.
This is the death knell for any social network, no matter how big. There is some talk of Facebook enacting laws that will prosecute affiliates for sending out any type of "commercial" messages - you would need to read the Facebook Terms of Service to fully understand this issue, and to read the TOS, you may need to set aside a half-day. If any website owner, affiliate, blogger or user is confronted with the words "prosecute", "violate" or "illegal" in relation to their daily activities, they will close their accounts, just to be sure. If Facebook moves in this direction, it will be game over for all but the most dedicated Facebook die hards.

Should Google + 1 learn from the mistakes of other failed (and successful) social networks, it may well become a contender. If Google keeps it simple and doesn't try to play Big Brother on its users, the road looks sunny ahead for Google as a versatile and dynamic brand.

Why Your Posts Need The Google +1 Button

2011-08-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

There was much speculation when the Google +1 button came out. Was it a direct competitor to the Facebook "Like" button? Was it a replacement for the Page Rank system? It seems there is still much talk and confusion regarding this curious new device. Some early callers predicted the fall of the Google +1 button before it had even begun to take off. Such is the world of cut-throat "make it or break it" launches.

What many have failed to realize is that Google is no newcomer to the world of internet domination. What may have seemed like a flippant gamble at the time may turn out to be a benchmark for content throughout the web.

Think about it, Google is... Google. It then stands to reason that if you become popular through the +1 system, your content will be regarded highly in terms of quality. It also stands to reason that this stamp of approval will translate into better rankings in Google, equating to something approximating the Holy Grail of ranking achievements.

So how can you benefit from this new button? It's pretty obvious - add the button to your posts and write quality content. The rest should take care of itself. There will be people who will try to "game" the system but no doubt Google has worked out an algorithm to weed out the quality from the vast quantity of "splogs" and mindless content clogging up the search engines. The better your content, the more popular your posts and the better your rankings will become over time.

What some people may not know is that Google + is also a social network. It's a little bit like the Freemasons or a Country Club, you need to get an invite by a member to join. The invite system reached its limit very quickly and Google had to shut down invites for a time.

If you can't find an invite, you can buy them already on eBay:

Google +1 Invite
It will be interesting to see how Google +1 develops over time. Perhaps Google +1 is not a competitor to Facebook or Twitter, perhaps it is just another way to connect with friends, family and business associates. Perhaps it will carve out a niche in the growing world of social networking. Facebook for family and friends, Myspace for music, LinkedIn for business networking, Twitter for random thoughts and Google +1... Well, we'll have to wait and see.

technorati tags: google, google 1, 1 button, google social network, 1 social network, facebook, linkedin, myspace, twitter, social networking

Why Adding A Facebook "Like" Button Can Supercharge Your Blog Traffic

2011-03-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

Facebook like buttons are popping up everywhere and its easy to see why. TV ads incorporate Facebook like pages and brands are scrambling to boost their popularity by tapping into the power of Facebook.

Why is this happening? Surely Facebook can't be all that special, right?

Wrong!!

A small test I performed in the past month confirmed the power of Facebook. I added a simple "Like" button code to one my blogs. I forgot about it for a time and then one day I checked my stats to find that I had received 4,063 visitors within the space of one day. The referring site? Facebook.

Facebook Hyper Traffic

This is the sort of traffic increase you can't ignore.

So what does this mean? Well, if you are running Adsense or equivalent ads, your account might bring you a nice surprise:

Remember, this is only revenue for day 1. The traffic spike is continuing and it follows that the earnings will continue to rise.

If you don't have a Facebook "Like" button on your blog, do it now.

This is what your code for Blogger will look like (make sure you expand widget templates):

You can get the Facebook "Like" button for blogger on this site.

If you are on Wordpress, get the Facebook "Like button for WP on this site.

If you are really serious about making money on Facebook, Adeel Chowdhry and Bobby Walker have put together this free trial for you to test and enjoy. All you need is a free Facebook account to get started:

Check out the free video here: Facebook Hyper Traffic

Facebook Hyper Traffic

5 Good Reasons Why Coupons Will Make You Money

2011-02-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

The idea of promoting coupons is not a new one, however it is an idea that makes perfect sense. Think about it - what is your biggest problem when it comes to making affiliate sales?

If you answered "convincing my visitors to buy now", you are not alone.

Let's look at the advantages of coupons:

1. The visitor will save money if they use your coupon, creating an incentive to buy due to perceived benefit.

2. Coupons can often be created as unique to your affiliate account. This means that anyone trying to steal your commission (and believe me, it happens!) will not be able to change the code, thus protecting your earnings.

3. Coupons are often time sensitive. Your visitors will be more likely to buy something if the offer is likely to expire. (People don't like to miss out!)

4. Coupons are fun and easy to use. People love to share coupons with their friends and family. Coupons sell themselves on social media and you will find a lot of Twitter users will retweet your coupons instantly.

5. A buyer will often look for a coupon just before making a purchase. If your site ranks for your keywords, your visitors will not only come looking for coupons, they will also arrive "ready to buy".

So to recap, a coupon site

Here's how to get started:

http://www.autocouponcash.com

Tom Bell is an internet marketer who is making waves in the coupon market. He shows you how to make consistent earnings from giving away coupons and has so far made over $100,000.00 from coupons alone.

http://www.autocouponcash.com

Don't forget to check out the free training video I am giving you. The Tom Bell Video will get you started on how to make money with simple coupons that people use every single day.

technorati tags: marketing promotion, coupons, coupon, coupon code, promotion, promo codes, printable coupon, store coupon, free coupons, make money with coupons, coupon site

New Digg Updates Announced

2010-09-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

On August 31, Digg announced the appointment of new CEO Matt Williams (ex Amazon). Along with this change, Digg has implemented a number of updates that will be rolling out this week. According to Kevin Rose at Digg Blog, the new changes will include a number of fixes:

An update to the algorhythm stops single user domination on the home page - upgraded to the new v4 platform.
Uppercase/lowercase issues are fixed
Thumbs icon will be reinstated
"My news" will include timestamps

Upcoming changes will include a return of "upcoming stories" and a ranking of Digg users by interests and digging behaviour.

The Digg user ranking will be a useful addition as it will make it easier to choose Diggers to follow. For example, if I am interested in Baseball news, the content and Diggers will be neatly organized for me to view, follow and Digg.

Suggestions for possible improvements:

Broader category list - The Digg categories are a little broad and a little vague. Business/Entertainment/Gaming/Lifestyle/Offbeat/Politics/Science/Sports/Technology/World News

Many Diggers have reported the experience of constantly submitting to "Offbeat" for lack of a more definitive category. Offbeat connotes "wacky" and this may not always be appropriate when submitting a serious article with no known category.

Possible additions to categories:

marketing
blogging

lifestyle
hobbies
home/family
travel
shopping

Digg button codes are a different story. You can add a category embedded in your "digg this!" button choosing from this wider range of categories:

arts_culture

autos

baseball

basketball

business_finance

celebrity

comedy

comics_animation

design

educational

environment

extreme_sports

food_drink

football

gadgets

gaming_news

general_sciences

golf

hardware

health

hockey

linux_unix

microsoft

mods

motorsport

movies

music

nintendo

odd_stuff

olympics

other_sports

pc_games

people

pets_animals

playable_web_games

playstation

political_opinion

politics

programming

security

soccer

software

space

tech_news

television

tennis

travel_places

world_news

xbox

The site has integrated a Twitter like "follow" feature and as of right now, the site is working nicely. Your Diggs are now automatically sent to your followers. There were a few teething problems during the last hour but the amusing error pages made up for any inconveniences:

According to the error messages, it is only around 28% likely this is Matt's fault. Presumably when Matt takes a larger role, his likelihood of involvement will increase!

technorati tags: digg, new digg, new digg features, digg features, digg CEO, digg changes, digg improvements,Kevin Rose, Matt Williams

What Is The Best Ping Service?

2010-08-15T19:45:00.000-07:00

What is Pinging?
When you ping your blog, it sends out a notification to various servers and search engines.

Why Ping?
You Ping to let these services know that you have updated your blog with a new post.

When Not To Ping?
Do not repeatedly ping the same services. You can get banned and pinging the same content doesn't help anybody. Only ping sparingly and only when there is new content on your blog.

What is the Best Ping Service?
For Blogger: Ping services for you to test with your blogs:

A good strategy is to use a particular ping service for a week or two, then switch to another to test a new service. Check your stats to see which is bringing you the most useful traffic. Find the ping service that is right for you, write good content and ping regularly.

technorati tags: list of ping services, best ping services, ping my blog, ping

Buying "Make Money" Training Programs - 5 Reasons Not To Buy

2010-08-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

Note these red flags when you are next purchasing any of the myriad of "Make Money Online" programs.

Before you buy ANYTHING, do the cool off thing. Print out the sales page that got you so excited and take it with you to read when you have a spare minute. This will stop you pressing the "BUY NOW" button without finding out how the program will actually benefit you in your current situation.

5 Reasons Not To Buy

1. Relevance

If you are an ebay seller and don't have any use for getting yourself 50 squeeze page templates, don't buy "Super Exclusive Squeeze Page Template Secrets" (I made the title up, so don't go looking for this one, unless you want to use it - go ahead, be my guest). Make sure you purchase within your field, unless you have the time and energy to branch out into another area.

2. Knowledge level

If you are a newbie and you buy a $1500 program designed for super-affiliates, it may be difficult to catch up to the level of other course participants. This being said, I do not want to discourage anyone from studying and learning a topic of interest but if you are not willing to do some serious work, you may not get as much out of this kind of course as say, a course especially designed for newbies.

3. Lazy "Push-Button" Seekers

I'm sure we have all been guilty of this at some point - we want the "easy, get rich quick, make money while you sleep and don't do anything but press a button" program. I hate to disappoint but such a program does not exist. All money making methods take time. If you are wanting an easy way of making money without doing anything, you might be searching for a long time.

4. Mistakes In Graphics

This may sound pedantic but seriously, could you trust this? (found on an actual "make money online site")

I suppose they are being honest, at least.

5. Spelling Errors and Blank Name Fields

Sample email similar to those I have received in my own inbox:

Hey [First Name],

Are you still interested in this make money online product? I'm telling you [First Name]...

Have I lost you yet? I thought so. This is a note to affiliate marketers as much as the receivers of these emails. Please check your fields before sending.

As for the receivers of these cut-paste emails, it just screams "unprofessional". If you can't check a name field, who is to say your program is any good? You may lose hundreds of potential buyers immediately.

No matter the program, don't automatically believe the hype. A banner may show in larger than life lettering:

$1,400 PER DAY GUARANTEED!!

How I went from making $1.50 to $1,400 PER DAY! You can do it just as easily using my proven, easy to use system!

But the small print may read: Results may vary. You may make no money at all with this system. All results depend on the knowledge, effort and experience of the individual.

A banner may display increasing urgency:

Only 25 Copies Left!

When these copies are gone, there will be no more releases! You will miss out if you wait!

Perhaps there are 25 copies left. There is a fair chance that there is an unlimited number of copies left but the product just happens to sell better using the words "only 25 copies left". Regardless, if you have not researched the product, do not buy out of desperation because you think you will miss out.

This being said, if your money-making program of interest still stands up after these trials, do the right thing and visit the Warrior Forum. You can talk to other people who have bought the program, share ideas and find out which programs to buy and which to avoid. This will save you time, money and effort in the long run.

technorati tags: make money online, scams, make money, money, money online, how to money, making money, free money,

Blog Profts And Your Tax

2010-06-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Every time tax time comes around I have to get a huge stack of documentation in order. "But blogging income doesn't really count, does it?"

Well, yes it does and you need to speak to your local tax agent or accountant to get it sorted out. When I first started blogging, I made a few thousand dollars a year. That may not sound like a lot but it is hard to explain the origin of this mythical money come tax time.

I wasn't entirely confident in my accountant even knowing what the internet is, let alone a blog but he surprised me. Not only did he know about blogging, it also turned out I could claim a certain number of deductions for blog related expenses.

For example, during 2009 say I bought a number of websites, hired a designer, bought some domains from Go Daddy, domain hosting from Host Gator, Philip Mansour's Confidential Conversions and various other blogging-type expenses (these are excerpts from actual expenses this financial year).

After speaking with my accountant, I found that I could claim for these purchases against my blogging income.

Now for the income:

Say I sold $5,800 in blog advertising, $10,100 in sponsored posts and affiliate sales. From that $15,900 your accountant can deduct all the blog related expenses to minimize your tax (and help you to keep your earnings!). You have spent all this time promoting your blog and making money, it's important to keep your profits in the bank, rather than paying it all to the tax man.

I now use Dynacom Accounting Software (which I have claimed as a deduction under "software") so I can keep all my records in one place and print out a report for my accountant at the press of a button.

So, at a glance for your blogging tax checklist:

Keep records of all income and expenses

Use accounting software unless you like pulling your hair out

Think of what you can claim based on your blog's topic.

If you are a shopping blogger, your reviewed purchases are claimable. If you run a food critic blog, restaurant meals that you review will be claimable. If you are a golf blogger, your rounds, tournaments visits etc. are claimable. If you run a gardening blog, fertilizer, trees and shrubs are claimable. You get the idea.

The most important point to remember is that your earnings can be offset by deductions. The first step is to make money, the next is to make sure you keep it!

technorati tags: tax, blogging, make money blogging, blogging income, tax and blogging, blogging business

When To Say No To Clients

2010-05-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

A common dilemma amongst bloggers and solo business operators is saying "no" to clients. For some, "no" is a dirty word, guaranteed to alienate potential customers and future prospects.

So when is it appropriate to say "no" to a potential client?

My first example comes from a recent experience with one of my blogs. I was approached with an enquiry about advertising. I sent my rates as usual, the next step generally being the PayPal transfer and setup of the ad on site.

This time, the reaction from the potential client was unusual. Call it a sixth sense, but you will probably know when someone isn't being 100% kosher with you. He immediately asked for a discount. Not a small discount, but a whopping 75% off my standard yearly rate. I refused his offer and after stating my maximum discount, I did not correspond further with this advertiser.

Did I make a mistake? Well, not in my opinion and I'll tell you why.

1. When somebody devalues your service enough to ask for 75% off your price, they are unlikely to value it even if your service is great. You will be thought of as the "cheap" option.

2. When somebody asks for a discount for their first project or service, they are likely to ask for a discount for their next project. Your future business is therefore compromised by laying down to pushy discount seekers.

3. It is not fair to other clients who have paid your standard rates to give discounts to people just because they ask for them. I have noticed the number of potential clients asking for discounts has risen recently. I don't believe that this is solely related to the financial crisis. This is a well-known and widely shared technique used by large and small companies to save money.

4. When you agree to devalue your prices, you also devalue the service you provide. Believe in what you are worth and stand firm. Clients will respect you if your service is good and your rates are reasonable.

5. Once you discount one client, word will get out and new and repeat customers will begin to expect a discount. It is a quick and easy way to damage your bottom line.

But, back to this potential customer of mine. He no doubt would have paid the amount that he offered. He was willing to make the transfer. So why did I turn away "free money"?

It's not just about getting the cash in the bank. There is a principle involved and it is important as a small business operator to stick to some firm guidelines. If you go about it in the right way, you will build a better business. Use your intuition to sense whether you are being "played". If you feel someone is taking advantage of you during negotiations, politely refuse their offer. Remember, it's your business.

technorati tags: business practice, business referral, client, how to say no, potential customers, saying no,thank you no, business owner, setting prices, saying no to clients

Easy Hits 4 U Review and Bonus

2010-04-13T23:31:00.000-07:00

EasyHits4U is a 1:1 ratio traffic site. What this means is that for every site you surf, somebody surfs your site and you receive another visitor or potential customer.

You can add up to 15 sites, blogs or links, including your own referral links for affiliate programs.

Easy Hits 4 U are offering a Signup Bonus for new members to win credits and prizes. With 210,000 members, you get traffic targeted to your region, and special prizes for signing up and surfing for traffic. You can even get paid for your referrals making it one of the most effective 1:1 traffic exchanges around. You can move credits between sites, pause and resume traffic to sites and choose which days of the week to promote your site.

Your stats page will clearly show you how many hits you receive on each day. Quite simply, the more you surf, the more visits you receive. EasyHits4U is a well kept secret that will continue to earn traffic for your blog or site for a minimum amount of effort.

technorati tags: traffic, surf for traffic, easy hits 4 u, free traffic, free hits

Finally - Adsense Profit Breakthrough!!

2010-03-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

I'm still in shock. Amazing isn't it?

I could hardly believe it myself.

Did you believe it for a second? Even the fake headline? No, because you probably didn't know it was fake until I told you just now.

Guess what? That's what the internet scam artists are using to get you to hand over your hard-earned cash for expensive make money online "systems".

It's really quite simple, this is how I did it.

Go to: GoogleAdsenseGenerator

Enter your desired amount and BINGO! Instant internet millionaire.

Why am I telling you this? Not so you can go out and fake your earnings to others - if you do this you will go to fake internet millionaire hell where you will burn in the flames of a thousand fake Google cheques.

Seriously though, I'm telling you this so you can spot a phony when you next encounter one. These guys are everywhere and they are more than happy to take your money on the basis of one dodgy screenshot. The trouble is, it is so easy to do and so many people don't do enough research about who they are dealing with and exactly what they are buying.

Don't believe the hype.

technorati tags: adsense check, adsense earn, adsense scam, easy money, fast money, get rich,how to make money, internet money, make money, make money home, making money, money,money making, money online, rich

Mogul Review - Jeremy Schoemaker

2010-03-02T16:43:00.001-08:00

I learned a valuable lesson today.

I was watching the ShoeMoney Tools videos and expected Jeremy Schoemaker to give over some useful information. He very lightly touched on some areas that may be of some use but never revealed much at all.

I saw the price for this system - $197 per month ongoing. Every month. Who has that kind of money to throw after some kind of "program"? It would have to be the most amazing information in the internet marketing world to command such a fee as this.

So I decided to check out some ShoeMoney reviews. Here's a tip - don't check out the reviews on the first page of Google. Keep going back and back until you find the real reviews. You will know the difference.

Fake reviews - usually littered with affiliate links, robotically positive and no depth of analysis.

The real reviews - for example, Save Your ShoeMoney are far more enlightening. It contains comments from people who have spent their hard earned $197 per month to find out that ShoeMoney is more than a little disappointing.

And what do you get for your money? Apparently one of the videos centers around how to... wait for it... set up a ClickBank account. This is something I worked out in about 5 minutes. By the way, if you haven't got a ClickBank account and you are interested in affiliate marketing, it's a good place to start, but most people already know this.

To think I was actually considering buying this for a second. For someone like myself who has been in the internet marketing game for a few years now, learning how to set up a ClickBank account or a Google account is.. well it's just basic.

If you don't know how to set up a ClickBank account or a Google account, the sites will usually guide you through the process. You don't really need a video to tell you these things.

Another realisation that came to me as I was reading these reviews was something so obvious that it's a bit silly, really.

If Jeremy Schoemaker really is at the pinnacle of internet marketing success, that's fantastic for him. I have no doubt that he is making huge profits and doing very nicely, thank you.

Ok, hypothetical here. If you are the world's most sucessful internet marketer and you know EXACTLY how to do it, and you realise that pretty much every other newbie wants to find out the secret, what would you do?

Option #1:
Freely give away this secret to everyone who asks, generously donating your time, effort and eventually diluting your incredibly exclusive corner of the market.

Option #2:
Charge a moderate fee (say $65 flat rate) and tell everyone EXACTLY how you made your money. Make a tidy profit but then see your own internet marketing profits go down as more and more people use YOUR methods to outsell YOU.

Option #3:
Realise that each of these newbies is willing to pay around $197 per month (after months of surveys and market research) and charge this fee. Then tell them stuff they already know, do a couple of pretty videos and rake in a big fat load of cash.

technorati tags: affiliate, affiliate marketing, jeremy schoemaker, make money, make money online, making money, mogul, money, money online, shoemoney, shoemoney review, shoemoney tools

How To Buy A Custom Domain Through Blogger

2010-02-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

Buying a custom domain through Blogger is perhaps the quickest and easiest way to purchase a domain name while taking care of the hosting as part of the deal. Sometimes it can be cumbersome to type "blogname.blogspot.com" when you really want "blogname.com".

Log into blogger, go to the blog's tabbed menu.

Choose "settings" - "publishing"

Switch to "custom domain"

Enter your desired domain name to check domain availability.

If the domain is available, click on Google checkout.

The price for 1 year's registration is $10 and the domains are purchased through eNom or GoDaddy.com and includes spam protection, DNS control and domain management and a free Google Apps account.

The advantage is that blogspot will automatically redirect all traffic from your blogspot address to your custom domain. It will also redirect your custom domain without the "www".

The process of redirecting should take between 1-3 days. In the meantime, you should be able to access both your blogspot and custom domain.

Important Note: If you have a high PR blogspot blog, consider your options before buying and redirecting to a domain. The official story is that your PR will move with you but some bloggers have complained about suddenly going from a PR 4 to PR 0. One would expect that this will be sorted out soon but be careful in this regard.

How To Make Money Online With Blogsvertise

2010-02-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

There are a number of sites that profess to make you good money in exchange for your quality blog reviews. The only way to test the validity of these claims is to sign up to a number of blog review sites and see which ones work for you.

As soon as I joined up with Blogsvertise I started making money right away. It's a pleasant surprise when you can find a great site that sends you offers worth considering. Too often I see blog review ads with as little as $3 for a review. When I write a review on one of my blogs, I generally write 200-300 words, with at least 2 pictures and 1-3 links, depending on the preference of the reviewee. As you can see, it would not be worth my time or effort to write a review for this kind of payout.

Depending on your status as a blogger - beginner, intermediate, advanced, and depending on your Alexa stats and page rank, you might want to set yourself a minimum amount that you would accept for a paid review. Right now my minimum for my highest ranked blog is $30USD per post but offers frequently come in quite a bit higher than this. The minimum amount should be revised at a later date when your blog takes a step up in page rank or traffic. A new blog such as the one you are reading right now may opt for a $10-$15 payout for a detailed review.

Sites such as Blogsvertise tend to offer good money for interesting product and site reviews - some of these are the kind of thing I would like to blog about regardless of the payment.

So far I have made $81 since joining in late 2009, and I am confident that there are many offers to suit many blogging styles. This is a good way to supplement your overall blog income and if your content is of a good standard, you will build a reputation for writing quality reviews.

If you are looking for reviews for your blog or site, you can sign up as an advertiser and get people blogging about you right away. This will help your search engine rankings, incoming links and most importantly, your sales.

To sign up as a Blogger on Blogsvertise
To sign up as an Advertiser on Blogsvertise

technorati tags: make money blogging, blog reviews, blog advertising, blogsvertise, review network

How to Get Free Traffic To Your Blog With Traffic Swarm

2010-01-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

The effort we put into creating a blog and creating content suggests that we will naturally get high traffic and make affiliate sales and advertising revenue. This is however, not always the case. Your blog may need a little help in reaching a larger audience. One of the most successful tools I have used so far is Traffic Swarm.

The format is easy to use as soon as you are signed up and your site approved, you can start receiving traffic right away to your blog. This kind of traffic will help you expand your readership, build your list and create an audience for products you wish to sell.

Traffic networks such as Traffic Swarm are perfect for newer websites that need a traffic boost to get them going. I recently created a number of new blogs and I will be employing this method to get some initial traffic to these sites.

If you have a new website with little or no traffic or if your current website is lacking in traffic, you can sign up here to get started.

technorati tags: Traffic swarm, make money online, free traffic, traffic exchange

How To Make Money Online With Link Worth

2010-01-20T18:08:00.000-08:00

LinkWorth can be an extremely profitable resource for a blogger. Depending on your blog's traffic stats, you can make substantial amounts of money just by selling text and banner links. The advertiser chooses you, so you don't need to rely on automatic contextual matching of ads on your blog. One of my blogs currently makes $50USD per text link and $70 per banner ad. At present I am running three text ads and one banner ad. After commissions, I make a total of $136USD per month from just my LinkWorth ads.

Sign up here: LinkWorth

technorati tags: make money online, make money, linkworth, search engine, marketing

Dot Com Mini Mogul Launch

2010-01-17T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to Dot Com Mini Mogul. I chose the name mini mogul because John Chow, Darren Rowse, Jason Katzenback and friends are dot com moguls. I, on the other hand am a mini mogul. I make money online, that's for sure. I just make a little less than these guys. Join me on my dot com mogul journey and use my strategies and learn from my successes and mistakes. If I find a good way to make money online, I won't be keeping it to myself like some internet marketers. I will post everything that works and anything that you should avoid in the 'make money online' world. If it makes money, you will learn about it here on Dot Com Mini Mogul.

Here's to your dot com success!!

technorati tags: dot com mini mogul, make money online

Make $$

2000-03-18T18:18:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of resources to help you make money online. Many of these review sites and advertising networks are the actual networks I use for my sites.

I have tried to make this list as comprehensive as possible so please let me know if I have managed to leave anybody out.

No matter who you are, no matter your level of experience, I guarantee you will make at least some money with these networks. Good luck!!

Blogsvertise

Sponsored Reviews

Buy Blog Reviews

This list will continue to expand as more networks are uncovered as potential money makers.

Added 4 August 2011 - Chitika Ads (performing well at present)

Advertising

2000-03-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

For all advertising requests, please use the contact form or email:

darren [at] dotcomminimogul dot com

Thank You

2000-03-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your enquiry. Your request will be answered within the next 48 hours.

Contact

2000-03-18T17:40:00.000-08:00

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Or alternatively, you can email me at: darren [at] dot com mini mogul [dot com]