Dennis Becker, Earn 1K A Day forum founder and creator, has become someone whom I consider to be a close friend and confidant. We met online just three short years ago, and then briefly in person soon after when we were both attending an event in Austin, Texas. As I began to see how knowledgeable Dennis was when it came to getting started online, I signed up for his products and finally became a member of his Earn 1K A Day forum.

I also became a good affiliate for him during that first year, and that’s how we first made a connection. It wasn’t until I began to spend more time in the forum that I appreciated what he had put together.

Dennis has gathered some of the biggest names working online today, including Jason Fladlien, Wil Mattos, Jenn Dize, Justin Popvic, James Schramko, and others, along with people brand new to the world of online marketing and everything in between. It’s become a safe haven for both novice and seasoned entrepreneurs to do what I call ‘think out loud’. We can share our thoughts, ideas, concerns, and dreams along with our product ideas, copywriting questions, and basic questions about how to make money on the Internet.

This week marks the sixth anniversary of the Earn 1K A Day forum. Very few sites make it this long and stay active, useful, and vibrant. It’s the people that make the difference, and Dennis attracts people who are in this for the long haul, not those looking to make a few fast bucks and then move on.

Even if you are not familiar with Dennis Becker, I’d like for you to take a leap of faith and join me in this amazing online group. In honor of the sixth anniversary celebration, Dennis is offering some amazing bonuses, including access to a thirteen week audio coaching program, almost a thousand products in what he calls the ‘Product Vault’, and more.

I’ve also put together a Bonus Package for the first twenty-five people who join through my affiliate link and still have some openings for that. This includes:

• 5 of my most popular information training products
• A six week ‘Summer Mentor Program’ to be held during July and August
• 2 one-on-one sessions with me starting in June
• An opportunity to guest post on my two main blogs (this is one of them)

By now you can see that I think the world of Dennis Becker and his Earn 1K A Day forum. That’s why I’d like for you to be a part of it as well and enjoy the benefits that I continue to receive from Dennis, the hundreds of other members, and the products, content, and materials that are shared with and available to us as members.

When you join the Earn 1K A Day forum through this link, leave a  comment here or email me directly to let me know you are ready to get serious about building your online business and I’ll add your name to my list.

Your Guest Blogging Strategy

When it comes to guest blogging, it takes time to learn the ins and outs of it and develop a strategy that works for you. Learn from those that have gone before you and made some mistakes doing it. Below you will find some common mistakes and blunders that guest bloggers make or have made. Now that you’re being made aware of them, you should avoid them entirely.

1. Go into the process blind – The worst thing you can do is go into this blind without doing any research!  You need to do your due diligence and spend some time researching blogs so that you can find ones that will be a good fit for you.Find out what the site owner expects of their guest bloggers. Find out their guidelines – can you include links to your site, do they have certain formatting rules you need to follow, basically find out everything you can BEFORE you submit your pitch to them.You should also find out about their traffic and you can do that via Alexa.com. And don’t forget to go to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to see if the site is being talked about and to check out how many friends/followers they have.
2. Shameless Self-Promotion – Guest blogging is NOT a platform to blatantly promote yourself, your products or your website!  This is a sure way to get a bad rep as a guest blogger and more than likely the site owner won’t even publish your content (or will delete it once they catch wind of the self-promotion).When writing your content focus on what you can add to the site that will help build them up. By taking the focus off of yourself and instead focusing on providing quality content that the audience will be interested in, it helps build your credibility and leave people wanting to know/learn more about you.
3. Not solving the issue – People are looking for answers to their problems. Look for ways you can provide answers to a specific issue the readers may have. Even if you come up with something that is on the unusual side share it because it might peak their interest.
4. Unresponsive to comments – Guest blogging isn’t just about writing a great piece to share. It’s about getting the audience to take action and interact with you (and others) in the comment section.  Most readers will want to know more about you and interacting with them in the comments can be a great way to give them more insight to who you are. Provide relevant comments and try to keep that interaction going – don’t just reply with a ‘thank you for your comment’, take it further and mention something they said in their comment, ask them a question if appropriate. Make the comment section as interactive as you possibly can.
5. Not continuing the journey – Don’t guest blog once or twice and stop. Keep it going. When you’re guest blogging on one site, think about the next opportunity.  You can even set up a guest blogging tour.   Obviously the more you guest blog, the more you’ll get your name and business out and establish yourself as an expert and the go to person for your niche.

Learn about Virtual Book Tours with D’vorah Lansky:

Recently my good friend and colleague D’vorah Lansky and I got together for a Google Hangout to talk about her incredible new book, 21 Ways to Launch a Successful Virtual Book Tour. D’vorah has been a trendsetter with blogging and book tours for several years now, and explains how this works when you want to build your credibility and visibility online.

D’vorah offers virtual book tour workshops and courses for authors, entrepreneurs, and virtual professionals. She has taught hundreds of people, across the globe, how to conduct successful virtual book tours. You can purchase her newest book on Amazon at this link, and learn more about what else she has to offer online entrepreneurs and authors by visiting her site.

Blogging 101: Responsibilities of a Guest Blogger

Blogging 101 is that you want to ultimately be known as a good guest blogger so that it opens the door for other guest blogging opportunities. You will find that reputations online are even more important than those in the physical world. To be a good guest blogger, here are 7 things you should do:

1. Research – One of the biggest mistakes guest bloggers make is not taking the time to research potential guest blogs. This is an important step because you have to make sure your content matches the focus of that blog.

There are three things you should always know before you pitch a blog owner: what their guest posting guidelines are, what they/their site stands for and what their audience is interested in.  This is even more important if you’re choosing a sub niche.

2. Follow the rules – This is something we were taught as children but it’s worth mentioning. If you don’t follow the rules, the blog owner isn’t going to be happy, obviously. So do your due diligence and make yourself familiar with what is expected of you as a guest blogger and do it!
3. Check the reputation of the blog – This is important because your reputation and credibility are on the line. Any site you guest blog on, you’re linked to. So if you post on a site that turns out to be sketchy, that’s going to be bad news for your credibility and reputation.Also, this means that if you didn’t do your research about a blog and it isn’t very influential in your niche, it’s probably not going to give you much of an ROI (return on investment).And last but certainly not least, if you guest blog on a site that isn’t relevant to your niche, you’re certainly not going to get any targeted traffic which is often one of the main reasons for guest blogging.
4. Build a relationship – Don’t make the mistake of appearing as a guest blogger and then never being in touch with the site owner again. Participate actively on that blog by commenting frequently, but please make sure you leave comments that are relevant and add to the conversation.  This will help keep your name in front of them and their audience.
5. Interact with the audience – It’s really important that you are actively participating with the audience. This means if someone takes the time to comment on your content, you need to make the time to comment back! And do it in a timely fashion.
6. Write outstanding content – Give the audience something new.Whatever you do, do NOT make the mistake of taking old content and using that for a guest blogging appearance!  You want to write brand new, unique, top quality content to use instead.A good rule of thumb to follow – write the same quality of content you would for your own site.
7. Recompense – This simply means to return the favor. In other words, help promote the blog owner’s content (not just your guest post but their own content too).   Share on your social media networks like Twitter or Facebook.

Get started as a guest blogger today with this step by step program.

Carol Marshall PR [ 21:38 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (110)

Carol Marshall, PR expert and public relations guru to the stars, is someone I met while I was volunteering in the Press Room at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January. We first met when I was getting coffee at the Starbucks next door to Hotel Santa Barbara where the Press Room is located during the film festival. She saw my bright green t-shirt and badge and came over to thank me for volunteering. I was so moved by this gesture and we talked for a few minutes while our drinks were being prepared. It was then I found out that I would be volunteering with Carol, and it wasn’t until later in the day that I discovered that this humble woman was the person responsible for the great publicity and public relations of the festival.

Carol explained what the function of a Press Room is, how publicity plays a huge part in the marketing of people, events, and films, and why the media are so important. She’s been the Public Relations liaison (publicist) for the Santa Barbara Festival for the past twenty years. She explained the process of choosing the films and the actor’s that will be featured at the Festival.

She started in entertainment public relations in 1979, working with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, and the Grammy Award’s during that initial period. She worked with PMK for twenty-four years before starting her own company in 2005.

I asked Carol to talk a little about some of her clients, and she mentioned actor Jimmy Smits as an example. The reason someone hires a publicist is to get their name in front of those who can best help them to achieve their personal and professional goals. Publicity brings awareness, which leads to future jobs and other opportunities. She has now worked with Jimmy for more than twenty-five years.

Carol agreed that what we do on the Internet is similar to show business, and that getting visibility is part of the process. Even though this is not her area of expertise, she acknowledge its importance in the world today. We discussed what she refers to as the ‘social media mentality’ and how it is similar to reality shows in that people want to be noticed every moment of the day.

Is there any such thing as ‘bad’ publicity? Carol says it depends on the circumstances, and you want to be known for things that present you in a positive light to others. It’s all what happens in the aftermath of what you’ve become known for in the first place. Carol’s role as a publicist is to guide her clients by using a strategy that will work well for them. Less can be more when it comes to being in the public eye. Don’t talk about yourself unless you have something to say, with quality over quantity being key.

Will I be hiring a publicist any time soon? Yes, and stay tuned for more details.

Why Should You Start Guest Blogging Anyway? 

You may be familiar with guest blogging but find yourself wondering if it’s beneficial and something you should be doing in your business. I first learned about it from my colleague Nicole Dean when she introduced us to her course on  Guest Blogging Secrets. Let’s take a look at 7 important reasons you should be guest blogging.

1. Build relationships with other business experts in your niche – It’s a win/win situation when business owners help each other. Guest blogging now can turn into joint ventures in the future. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to guest blogging is that you want to make sure you have something to offer that is appealing in exchange, so it doesn’t seem one-sided by those you are reaching out to connect with online.
2. Increase your website traffic and get your name out there – Guest blogging is a way to increase your traffic. But more importantly, it’s going to be very targeted traffic!  Meaning, because you’ll be blogging on sites within your niche, these audiences are already looking for you.  Now that you’ve gained their attention and they know where to find you on the web, they can start spreading the word.
3. Grow your reputation as an expert – By guest blogging and sharing your knowledge on your topic, people will be able to see that you know what you’re talking about and start seeing you as an expert.  Make sure you’re giving them quality information they haven’t heard before.
4. Build back links to your website – Building back links to your site is a great way to show Google your site is popular, important and relevant. Find out what the blog owner will allow you, in way of links, in your post.  Normally, they’ll let you add 2-3 links between the content and author bio. Be sure to use keywords in the text you choose to use as a link to your site.
5. Build your brand and reputation – The audience that follows the site you’ll be guest blogging on has grown to know, like and trust the blog owner. Now it’s up to you to garner some of that trust. Share quality content that the audience will be interested in and wants to read.
6. Build your mailing list – Because you’ll be gaining a highly targeted audience in your niche market, it’s going to be important to get them on your list.  Make sure to entice new visitors with an opt-in offer they can’t refuse so they’ll sign up immediately for your list.
7. Gain more guest blogging opportunities – If you follow the rules of the host site, provide relevant, high quality information and bring your “A” game, more than likely you’ll gain more guest blogging opportunities from those that follow the sites you guest post at.

These reasons for guest blogging that we just went over are also some of the benefits for your online business.  Once you learn more about guest blogging and do more of it, you’re going to position yourself and your brand as an expert, the ‘go to’ person, and this will more than likely get you recognized and sought after by other experts in your niche. It will also get you into the habit of writing, a skill that will serve you well as an online entrepreneur. Be sure to take a look at Guest Blogging Secrets to see how you may add this marketing strategy to your business.

James Schramko Podcast [ 25:07 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (143)

James Schramko, podcast host and online entrepreneur, is my guest this week. His main site is at Super Fast Business. He’s an Aussie, and we spoke while he was on holiday in the Philippines. I had finally met him in person while we were both attending the Traffic & Conversion Summit in San Francisco earlier this year.

James and I have known each other informally since joining Dennis Becker’s Earn 1K a Day forum. James has been there since the very beginning, and has been awarded the coveted ‘Member of the Month’ designation twice. He believes that this forum is successful because Dennis puts his heart into it, and I agree with that wholeheartedly.

We talked about the podcast James hosts, and he has had more than half a million downloads since it began. It’s now at almost seventy thousand downloads each month, and he attributes that not only to his web site but also to the Joint Ventures he’s done with his co-hosts over time. He has several podcasts, and that’s the model I am following by now hosting two different podcasts for my target audience.

Our interview took an interesting turn when I asked James about his books on Amazon I had located. In this case, he was not aware of having any books available there. It turns out that someone published his content without his permission and he will be following up on that. We must always ‘Google’ ourselves to see how and where our name is showing up for the world to see.

James sees the Internet as a marketing ‘channel’, and transferred many of his offline business skills into an online business to benefit from massive leverage only available to those working online. According to Peter Drucker, the purpose of any business is to attract and retain customers. James started out with affiliate marketing before moving on to his own products and services as a long-term approach to business.

He recommends working on your mindset to raise your level of confidence. Once you know where your talents lie, improve upon that and build a sustainable business.

James and I also had an interesting discussion about attending live events that you won’t want to miss. We must think globally instead of locally. Listen to this podcast to learn more about how James Schramko has built a global online empire.

Finding keywords for SEO (search engine optimization) in your business is crucial. Learning how to find the right keywords takes some time and effort. I have been able to grow my business exponentially over these past few years through the use of keywords. Using the right keywords on the Internet will help you to grow your business, but learning exactly what those are and how to use them can be a challenge.

First of all, what are keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases we all use when we are searching for something we need. When you go to Google or Bing or Amazon, or any other search engine, you type in the words that best describe what you’re looking for on that day. For example, when I have friends over and we want to have a pizza, one of us will typically Google ‘pizza delivery in santa monica’. But how can this make a difference in your business?

When you set up a site for your business, whether it’s a traditional website or WordPress site, use your keywords in the domain name (such as HandymanSantaMonica.com), in the site’s header, and in the titles and subtitles found throughout your site. I won’t confuse my explanation here by using HTML (hyper text markup language) references, but suffice it to say that you must use your keywords on every page, in a natural and flowing manner. Overusing them is referred to as ‘keyword stuffing’ and will not be tolerated by the search engines.

How do you find your keywords?

If your business is a brick and mortar one, start out by using the name of your city and your industry, such as ‘Santa Monica pet grooming’ or ‘auto body shop in santa monica’. That’s the first level of keywords. Next, use phrases that describe more specifically what you have to offer, such as ‘grooming toy breeds santa monica’ or ‘smog emission testing santa monica’. If you aren’t certain which keywords might be best for your particular business, take a look at your competitor’s websites to see which keyword phrases they are using.

This can easily be accomplished by visiting their website, right-clicking to go to ‘view page source’, and then reading through the HTML code to see their keyword description, titles, and meta tags. By doing this with the example above, you may find something you had not previously thought of, such as ‘window tinting santa monica’ or ‘dog show styles and cuts santa monica’.

The use of keyword phrases in your business is an art, not a science. This means that you must take some time to experiment with what works best in your industry. Start by making a list of everything your business has to offer. Also, list the zip codes you serve, as many people use that as their search criteria, instead of the city name, when they need to find someone to help them.

The last thing I will discuss here is what is referred to as a ‘long tail keyword’. These are keyword phrases that consist of five words or more and are extremely specific to what the person is looking for. If someone uses a long tail phrase they are most likely ready to make a purchase.

An example of this would be if someone went to Google and typed in ‘need to repair broken windshield in santa monica’ or ‘who does the best dog grooming for yorkshire terriers’. Questions are very common when it comes to long tail searches.

Also, someone may not use a city or community location name at all when typing in their search, such as if they put ‘file an irs tax extension for my small business’. If you are a CPA, this search could be perfect for your business.

I recommend that you learn as much as you can about keywords, and see how beneficial they can be for growing your business with the right clients for what you have to offer.

Marlon Sanders has a brand new Dashboard available. It’s the WP Leads and Sales Dashboard and I’ve created a three minute video to tell you more about it.

Watch the video, think about your own goals for creating an online business, and then decide whether or not this is right for you. Becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone, but if you have the entrepreneurial spirit this could be exactly what you need to take you to the next level quickly.

You can find out more by going to my link for this program and getting started today with Marlon Sanders’ WP Leads and Sales Dashboard