Blog Band-Aids

Free Stuff For Bloggers, Small Business Owners, Web Masters

2007-12-10T18:06:00.000-06:00

Wow! I was only searching for a free space to host my PDF writing samples, new ebooks I've authored as a ghostwriter, strategic marketing plans and the like. What I stumbled upon was TheFreeSite.com.

There's like a gazillion wonderful sites listed here. It seems to be really useful free web stuff, too. Plenty of goods for small business owners, web site owners, and bloggers... Free ebooks, free white papers, free sounds, free freelance services listings, free freeware, free family stuff, and too much more to list.

Heck, there's probably a "free freebies" category there, too. Not sure what that would be, but they, no doubt have it at The Free Site.

By the way, for more about my freelance writer and public relations services, feel "free" to visit my business website: http://petleopard.com/

Leave O.J. Alone - Switch to Gin and Juice (videos)

2007-09-19T06:47:00.000-06:00

If you thought the "Leave X alone" video trend was subsiding, think again. Britney Spears defender Chris Crocker started it, and next came a wave of parody comedians videos such as Seth Green. Now, a tsunami of sports fans are hitting the Internet with comic turns about none other than infamous accused murder suspect, football hall of famer O.J. Simpson.

The O.J. news that triggered his YouTube video stardom? He attempted to retrive, commando-style, his own sports memorabilia from a collector who may have obtained this lucrative sports merchandise illegally himself. The charges are serious and include kidnapping.

Jeeze, Paris Hilton getting drunk again, after swearing she wouldn't, can't even get the media attention she seems to crave, thanks to OJ... Really: Thanks, OJ!

Leave O.J. Simpson Alone (video #1)

Leave O.J. Simpson Alone (video #2)

Not Just O.J., Have Gin and the Juice Instead (video #3)

#1 Britney Fans Cries "Leave Britney Alone!" to MTV VMA Haters

2007-09-12T02:33:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure that Madonna fans ever grew quite so emotional over the "Material Girl," but her protegee, Britney Spears, certainly is bringing them to tears. Britney's lackluster performance on the MTV VMA show sort of bumped Osama bin Laden's latest video off the front burner. Now Britney's emotionally wrought, #1 fan -- Chris Crocker -- seems to be upstaging even her.

One gets the impression that Britney's burned out from it all, wants to pack up it all up and go back to home to Louisiana, to simpler times. If that's true, she deserves a hand for even agreeing to do the VMA show, showing up in Las Vegas (even though it appears she wasn't truly in the mood), and getting into the studio to record "Gimme More" in the first place.

I like that "Gimme More" borrows the spirit of Madonna's "Vogue." It seems that Britney is otherwise picking right up in the drama department where now-mature mother Madonna left off, too. I only wish that Britney had been nearly as animated during her VMA performance as Madonna, or even her hysterical YouTube fan Chris Crocker is in defending her.

If you haven't seen this crying fan rant and rave "Leave Britney alone!," here's the video -- threats and all... He needs a sedative.

Chris Crocker (YouTube video star) - Back up, Britney haters!

Britney Spears video compilation - "Gimme More"

Madonna video - "Vogue"

Hater Links:
Clay Cane (Gimme "no" More)
HollyScoop (After Party with no panties)

Lover Links:
Blogger News Network (Intelligent post about the girls and the bigger issues)
BritneySpy (MTV forced to remove all Britney VMA video from online)

Technorati Links:
Britney
MTV
Video
VMA
YouTube
Madonna

Buzz Marketing, MySpace Millionairess, Gay Cruising

2007-09-01T23:37:00.000-06:00

Imagine this: I've been online almost all evening and haven't read a single Britney Spears private parts exposed story, haven't noticed a link to Britney's new music video (which I hear is hot on YouTube), nor any stories about Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's stormy divorce and child custody battle.

So what the heck am I reading that's so engaging? Here's where I've been, and you might like these sites, too:

1. Buzz Marketing by Dean Hunt. Part genius, part snake oil salesman, Dean Hunt knows a lot about a lot, he says. He followers, it seems, agree. Dean Hunt's Buzz Marketing Services page tells people to "go away" because he's too busy making money online and elsewhere as a copywriter and Internet entrepreneur. His Buzz Marketing site is an extremely engaging read, and he's the master of the tease: he gets you very interested in a topic, then says that only his subscribers will be given his secret techniques. All of that said, if you're into SEO article writing and want to know how to get to the top on Digg.com, Dean Hunt provides the best instructions for doing so!

2. Ashley Qualls is only 17, but she's made over $1 million in Google ad revenue from her website, Whateverlife.com. She's proud that her site generates more traffic than Oprah Winfrey's does. Obviously well targeted, Whateverlife.com gives away glitzy, free MySpace page layouts that appeal to girls. But as Diddy and Biggie rapped years ago, mo' money brings mo' problems. According to the story about Ashley's WhateverLife.com in Fast Company, success has caused riffs in her family. Maybe behind every dot-com mogul, there's a National Enquirer story in the making.

3. I've also been studying-up on gay sex signals, in the wake of the Senator Larry Craig and his alleged use of same. An article at Slate, titled Bathroom Sex FAQ, says that foot-tapping in a bathroom stall so the guy in the next one over can see your shoe is an old and well-known gay cruising custom. I chuckled when the article said that in the eighties, a sexual position that men frequently used in the mens room at Bloomingdale's in New York City involved one guy sitting on the toilet, while the other stood in front of him for oral sex -- get this -- with his feet planted inside two Bloomingdale's shopping bags. We'll never look at those brown shopping bags the same!

Technorati links:
gay
gay cruising
buzz marketing
britney spears
bloomingdale's
myspace

Lunar Eclipse Photos

2007-08-28T07:08:00.000-06:00

See Lunar Eclipse Photo"

If you missed last night's lunar eclipse, I've posted a shot of it at my photo sharing site, Tabblo.com. You can click thru above to see the lunar eclipse photo, which comes after the photo of the two, big dragonflies.

Fyi, the lunar eclipese photo is filed in the Two-fer Tuesday group, where many members of this online community eagerly await opportunities once a week to showcase any two-shot they've recently taken. My entry for today's Two-fer Tuesday is titled "Two Too Much" because there are two dragonflies in the one photo, and then you'll see two full moons: last night's orange lunar eclipse and a round, white beauty from the night prior.

The lunar eclipse, full moon, and dragonfly photos all were taken in St. Louis, where I'm visiting family... And where chapters from my book, Daddy's Gonna Buy That Baby A Jaguar, are set.

Enjoy!

Technorati links:
lunar eclipse
eclipse
full moon
dragonflies
St. Louis
Forest Park

StyleHive.com - Where the Fashion Bugs Buzz

2007-08-19T16:21:00.000-06:00

If you're among the fashion divas, fashionistas, glamazons, or fashion bugs surfing the 'net, be sure to check out StyleHive.com. As Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas would sing, StyleHive is one of the most glamorous social bookmark clubs on the Internet. Fashion savvy women are buzzing to the 'Hive from everywhere.

There's tons of fun stuff going on at StyleHive, not just fun and funky apparel. Ladies are social bookmarking and rating everything from the hottest handbags and bangle bracelets to stiletto heels and cosmetics. And that's not all! Right now there's even a killer rocking chair on the front page, if home furnishings and interior design is your thing. (Of course you're into glamming-up your home or apartment or dorm room, as any truly buzz-worthy honey bee would!)

StyleHive is organized by communities, with fashion fans flocking to join under groups such as Barneys New York, The Gap, Bloomingdales, Etsy, Martha Stewart, Fashiontribe, and numerous others. Fashion finding doesn't get much more exciting than this. So make a beeline over the StyleHive and get buzzzzzy online shopping!

Technorati links:

fashion
social bookmarking
Nordstrom's
Barneys New York
Martha Stewart
Bloomingdale's

How to get a FREE copy of the ebook, Daddy's Gonna Buy That Baby A Jaguar

2007-08-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's completely free, this new ebook, and you can receive the free PDF within 24 hours. Whether you're a writer whose writing a book, or belong to a few book clubs, or just read lots of great books, here's how the free ebook offer works...

Read the ebook, Daddy's Gonna Buy That Baby A Jaguar, and submit a written review. In exchange for all written reviews for the author's publicity use, you also get high-traffic web links at 3 of the author's sites! If you're looking to build traffic to your site, here's a fun way to get more visibility and eyeballs.

Warning: "Daddy's Gonna Buy That Baby A Jaguar" is a trip – one that tumbles readers delightfully down Memory Lane. It's chock full of zany stories about ghost sightings, encounters with twisted cross-dressers, trysts with fringe political groups and more. If funny drama and a bit of decadence aren't your cup of tea, you'd best stay away from this upROARious book!

If after reading the free ebook you didn't enjoy, just provide your constructive feedback. But those who like the new ebook "Daddy's Gonna Buy That Baby A Jaguar" get 3 web links and possibe mention in the author's other publicity efforts. Press releases, printed material, back of book jacket and more.

To get the free ebook and participate in this cool link opportunity, contact Viqi French here: Yes, email me the darn free ebook as a PDF already!

Technorati links:
ebooks
books
fiction
writers
free
book reviews

Tabblo - Photo Sharing For Photographers Who Can't Keep Still(life)

2007-07-28T07:22:00.001-06:00

Do not attempt to adjust your radio dial. You're now grooving to the African drumming of Dahoui Ensemble Du Rhythm!

For more about Dahoui, check them out at DrummingCircle.com

... See my Tabblo...

I'm excited about a photo sharing social site I've discovered, and it's becoming addictive. Tabblo is its name, and picking up where Flickr leaves off seems to be its game.

The thing is, I bought a nice new Kodak camera earlier this year and hadn't used it very much until recently. But now that I'm onto Tabblo, I can't seem to put down my camera... because I can't wait to show my stuff at this wonderful online social site.

The advantages of using Tabblo?

The photos look absolutely stunning.
The ability to customize the layout in which you present your photos. You can choose the backdrop colors for your Tabblo photo album. Unlike Flickr, you can caption your photos in the font of your choosing, and make each set more of a personalized photoessay.
It's free, there aren't any ads on the site, and people can buy your images as postcards, posters and other merchandise. (Most unfortunately though, you don't get to share in the revenue.
And perhaps best of all is this: You can build links galore into your photo album to bounce the great amount of site traffic from groups you've joined to your main website or blog.

If you're into photography, you'll definitely want to check Tabblo out. I learned about it from this excellent USA Today article that compares some of the photo-sharing sites: Pictures Worth More Than a Thousand Words On Upgraded Photo Sites.

Technorati links:
* Photo Sharing
* Tabblo
* Social Bookmarking
* Flickr
* Photography
* Photo Galleries

Squidoo : Giant Squid Trapped By Google's Tentacles

2007-07-12T01:41:00.000-06:00

A client has asked me to create for her vacation rental-related project a Squidoo lens. Up until now, Squidoo hadn't been on my radar screen, so I decided to deep dive to learn more. Here's a New York Times article from about a year ago that helped me wrap my mental tentacles around what Squidoo is and why it's become so popular. And then I found many other doosies -- including some current sea biscuits about how those with sites on the SEO squid giant are being choked by the long arms of the Google law lately.

Check out these gnarly Squidoo be-do-be-doos:

1. Around July 7, Google apparently reached into most of the popular Squidoo lens pages and either severely lowered their page rankings on the Google search results pages, or dropped those Squidoo sites completely from the Google search system. Ouch. Talk about a tsunami. People are just starting to learn what's happened to their page ranks, so the Squidoo chatter -- "panic" in most cases, really-- is nearing a crescendo. Their high traffic counts suddenly have vanished, so their high Google AdSense clicks are slowing to an eerie trickle, it seems.

2. Here's a sample of the reactions some leading affiliate marketing bloggers have gone on record with regarding Google's knuckle-rap of Squidoo-ers:
-- Squidoo-It-Yourself
-- 5 Star Affiliate Programs
-- Calacanis.com
-- Earners Blog
-- Squidoo Blueprint

3. Squidoo's "SquidBlog" on July 5 came clean with a big post about its ferocious problems with:
-- people spamming members' lenses (i.e., their groups and comments sections) to boost their link-backs, which boosts their Google rankings
-- "pseudo-lens" site owners automatically trapping surfers in unwanted, unescable porn site hell.
If you're like me and are on the brink of setting up a Squidoo lens, you should check out the new controls the company is putting in place.

4. Last but not least... In case you're wondering why I keep referring to Squidoo as the "giant squid," it's because -- as serendipity would have it -- one of the big stories in the current news cycle (while I was planning this Squidoo post) is about a so-called monster squid that washed up on a shoreline in Australia a day or two ago. Isn't this intriguing? If you're as turned-on by this as I am, perhaps we lived in Atlantis in another life.

So here's a salute about the real giant squid, which is said to be about the size of a bus, with eyes the size of volleyballs, and weighs 550 lbs... Calamari anyone?

Yahoo News: Rare Giant Squid Washes Up In Australia
Technorati: Squidoo Google Giant Squid SEO Page Rank

Video: Tough Turtle Love or Hardcore Hardshell

2007-07-01T00:51:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why I'm putting this video at Blog Band-Aids. Except I've gotta be able to watch it again, I suppose. That, and I think the female turtle here could use a Band-Aid of her own. Not necessarily to patch up a blogging boo-boo, but she's surely got to have a bruised boo-boo nonetheless -- particularly by the time her tuckered-out, dusty old turtle-man gets done with her...

Turtle Love

Add to My Profile More Videos
PS #1 -- Did you know that turtles even made sounds?PS #2 -- Doesn't that horn-dog of a turtle sound like...?
In any case, this girly-turtle needs to get a restraining order.

Google vs. eBay : A CyberBattle For Click$

2007-06-16T06:59:00.000-06:00

A clash between two Internet Titans -- Google and eBay -- seems to be getting ugly. What they're battling over is your cyber-wallet. In fact, eBay is so angry with Google, they've pulled all those auction advertisements from the search engine's gazillion pages.

The two former "lovers" are at each others' throats over the PayPal rival that Google is establishing. Google Checkout, the growing online payment service, is a relatively small fry compared to PayPal's dominant customer count. But eBay isn't taking any chances.

Who could blame eBay for protecting PayPal's turf? According to this Washington Post story, EBay Fails to See Fun In Google's Party Plan, Google is aggressively trying to woo eBay's buyers and seller. So eBay retaliated by pulling its keyword ads from Google's search pages.

If these two don't kiss and make up soon, Google could lose tens of millions of dollars in ad revenue. And eBay could be on its way to becoming a low-traffic ghost town. Really, isn't this like King Kong vs. Godzilla? [wiki]

Washington Post article about Google's corporate culture

At FreewareOf.org, check this close look at eBay culture and site profile

Technorati Links:
search engine
google
ebay
advertisements
online payment
paypal

Rx : Paris Hilton, Phishing, Fashion Blog, Social Networks

2007-06-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

~ In the continuing jail-for-drunk-driving on a suspended license saga of Hilton Hotel heiress Paris Hilton... Bloggers are covering reports that her grandfather, William Barron Hilton, was a $1,000 donor to Sheriff Lee Baca's re-election campaign last year. Get the full scoop at Leaning Straight Up, where lots of other celebrity donor names are dropped, including an interesting morsel about Mel Gibson's drunk driving arrest.

~ Conversely, blogger Jules Crittenden has a soft heart for Paris Hilton and begs us to put her situation in perspective. Crittenden writes: How can you look at anyone piteously sobbing on her way to jail and not feel bad for her, when her crime is not sticking a knife in someone, raping someone’s grandmother, holding anyone up at gunpoint or stealing their life’s savings, but essentially failing to figure out that the rules apply to her.

~ Beware of the "phish fry." That's what I call the activities of fraudulent emailers who are trying to trick us into giving them our passwords so that they can steal from us via our PayPal, eBay and other accounts. If you're not familiar with phishing scams, please read this article: A Phisher Is Trying to Steal Your Identity. It recommends software and other precautions we should all take so as not to fall victim to these very tricky thieves.

~ Some situations call for a simple band-aid, while others require binding your bosom. If you're interested in winning a Champion Sports Bra, check out SheFinds.com, a popular fashion blog. While there, discover the hottest looks for summer in everything from shoes, jeans and sunglasses to bath and beauty products, eyebrow care and online sales.

~ Want to know who's aggregating the aggregators? Why it's PopURLs! This fantastic site very neatly displays up-to-the-minute headlines from across the blogosphere. The latest at Digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, Flickr, Newsvine and many other prominent social networking sites are shown at a glance, providing an excellent, quick snapshot to help decide where you want to surf next. Very niiiiice!

Technorati Links:
paris hilton
phishing
social networks
hilton hotel
jail
digg

Sprite Takes a Pop at Creating the Next MySpace

2007-06-07T15:25:00.000-06:00

Not satisfied being in your refrigerator, in front of Paula Abdul on American Idol, and plopping out of vending machines around the world, Coca-Cola wants its famous beverage brands to mark the hottest destination for social networking [Wiki list] addicts, too.

A New York Times Technology article says the new Internet site, Sprite Yard, will be loaded with plenty of whiz-bangery. Currently only available in China but coming soon to America, the Sprite Yard social network will only be accessible by cell phone. The Coca-Cola Company [Wiki] envisions Sprite Yard becoming the next MySpace:

Sprite Yard, to be introduced in the United States this month, will look a lot like the social networking sites that have become popular on the Internet. Consumers will be able to set up personal profiles, share photos and chat online with friends, all using cellphones rather than computer screens.

People will type in codes from Sprite bottle caps to redeem original content, like ring tones and short video clips called mobisodes. Recently, one of the most redeemed prizes from Coca-Cola promotions has been virtual clothing and furniture to use in virtual online worlds, said Mark J. Greatrex, senior vice president for marketing communications and insights at Coca-Cola.

However, some marketing gurus are leery about Sprite's daring new venture. The flat fall of BudTV is sited by one marketing expert, and Wal-Mart felt the sting, too, with its failed attempt called "The Hub," which also had hoped to woo the MySpace crowd.

It'll be interesting to observe whether Sprite Yard bubbles up, or falls as flat as yesterday's soda pop.

Ebooks and Digital Reads Gain Industry Traction

2007-06-04T18:55:00.000-06:00

I wasn't able to attend BookExpo America in New York City this year, so was pleased to find this great New York Times article with a strong Internet-related take on what's happening in the publishing world.

The NYT article "Waxing Philosophical, Booksellers Face the Digital" tells of the looming, inevitable presence of online lions at this year's BookExpo, which ended yesterday at the Javitz Convention Center. In addition to the usual star-power attending BookExpo to hawk new tomes (this year, Rosie O'Donnell, Stephen Colbert and Alan Greenspan), making lots of noise were companies such as Google, MySpace and Microsoft, too.

More now than ever, the publishing industry is grappling with the rise of online booksellers and the fizzle of brick-and-mortar book stores, it says. So if you're considering book writing, or are close to self-publishing your manuscript, be sure to study-up on the new, less expensive distribution opportunities.

Free, promotional copies of ebooks (e-books) and other digitized publishing channels such as Amazon are gaining in importance industrywide. And consider this: If you've been blogging fairly consistently for a while, you're probably 80% near completion of a nice book or ebook manuscript.

Here are a few helpful ebook-related links I've bookmarked to delve into:

~ How to Write Your First Ebook

~ 45 Free Cutting-Edge Books

~ Turn Your Blog Into a Book

~ How to Turn Your Articles Into an Ebook

~ 4 Ways to Cash In Your Blog

5 Super-Vitamin Links to 'Build Traffic' Health

2007-06-02T06:49:00.000-06:00

Want to build traffic for your blog or Website? Well, check out the strong medicine these five blogging docs are dispensing, free of charge, for whatever ails your blog stats:

1. Deborah Ng at About.com provides an excellent round-up of the basics for driving more traffic to your site with Top 10 Tips For Building Traffic to Your Blog.

2. At Can I Make Big Money Online, don't miss the entry, titled 101 Free Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic. There are some truly out-of-the-box ideas here that may introduce even the seasoned site-owner to lots of new techniques for increasing traffic.

3. At Jane May Blogs, check the science of working MySpace to get more clicks, as told in the post titled MySpace As a Marketing Tool. Many of us may have a MySpace account, but may not be optimizing it. Jane May tells how it can be done.

4. At ScreenSaverHub, here's an insightful piece worth reading: 6 Reasons You Must Submit Articles to E-Zines. This is one approach I intend to take fuller advantage of very soon.

5. Courtney Tuttle attributes a healthy blogging income, in part, to these Secrets of Building a High-Traffic Site. Based on Courtney's money-making stats, those of us who want to mimic success would do well to implement some of these excellent ideas.

BlogHer Conference In Chicago, July 27-29

2007-06-01T09:29:00.000-06:00

-- July 27-29, the BlogHer Conference '07 hits Chicago, and I couldn't be more delighted. This'll be my first time attending, and I'm looking forward to networking with so many fellow writers of the blogosphere. Attendees primarily will be women bloggers from across the country, but apparently plenty of men and teen writers turn out for this important event, too.

In tribute to the excitement the BlogHer Conference '07 promises here in the Windy City, I decided to surf the official site -- BlogHer.org -- to get to know some of the key players a bit better. These aren't necessarily the speakers and panelists, but some of the popular writers on the site who I look forward to possibly meeting at the conference:

* On the front page of the Art & Design section, blogger Debra Roby posts a piece titled "Living Art," opening with this simple question: "How would you react if during your daily commute talented musicians suddenly burst into song on your subway train?" After viewing this riveting, funny as heck and extremely entertaining video from YouTube, you'll tip your hat to Roby, too, for bringing BlogHer fans this living gem showcasing the power of music to smash cultural barriers:

* Popular BlogHer columnist Lained covers the Race, Ethnicity & Society beat. She most recently filed this compelling report about the newly solved mysterious murder of 25-year-old Alicia Ross in her hometown of Toronto, Canada.

* BlogHer columnist Kalyn Denny of Salt Lake City, Utah, is front and center on the Food & Drink page. Kalyn's latest entry is a round-up article of about 25 scrumptious recipes for summer grilling, making everything sizzle from zucchini to salmon. Yum!

* For Sex & Relationships, columnist Min Jung Kim rants a great piece targeting those who sleep nude (with others). And that's all I'll say about that. Min Jung Kim says it best and humorously, I might add.

So if you're getting serious about carving your space in the world of blogging -- in real estate, cooking, public relations, publishing or any other popular field -- the BlogHer Conference looks like the place to be. Hope to see you there, too!

God Is Good, and So Is John Chow

2007-05-30T14:34:00.000-06:00

Those of you who frequent Blog Band-Aids may have noticed there aren't very many sites listed in the Blogs About Making Money Blogging section of the sidebar here. If so, you've probably also noticed that one of the few, endorsed blogs over there is JohnChow.com. Actually, John Chow does so well making money with his blog -- and so generously shares his knowledge with his enormous, faithful following -- that his was the first link I added when creating the section.

But fast-forward to today, when I was surfing around, trying to get up to speed for an exciting ebook writing project I'm being considered for. Thing is, I've never actually purchased an ebook, so wasn't at all sure if there was anything extra special I needed to know to write one... I also wondered about turning one of my own, dusty book manuscripts into an ebook to sell online... I figured that in a few days, I'd have to eke out some time to get this all figured out...

Then, moments later -- out of the blue -- I opened a rare email from a fellow blogger known as Villager, who authors Electronic Village. Miraculously, Villager had emailed me a free copy of a hot ebook! (Turns out, an ebook is simply a PDF file.)

But guess who authored the ebook: none other than master online money-maker John Chow! The morale of this story: Sometimes when it rains, it pours blessings.

After reading only the first seven or so pages of the ebook, titled Make Money Online with John Chow dot Com [PDF], I already was tremendously impressed. The man's good -- a brilliant marketer, having all his fans to virally give away the ebook for free. As a result, many thousands of people will click the links within the ebook, which lead directly to John's site. Once there, a nice percentage of John's new readers will click his various advertising links -- making his site more profitable than ever.

This is why I've titled this post "Good Is Good, and So Is John Chow." Both surprised me with perfectly timed, extremely inspiring gifts today. I now know that getting out my own ebook is something I can very easily do!! (Hey John Chow: When you read this post, make a mental note that I'd be happy to repay you by professionally editing your next ebook at a deep-discount rate, if interested. The good Lord already knows how sincerely grateful I am that your awesome ideas and tips came my way via Villager.)

By the way, dear readers, if you write a review (similar to this one, but shorter) on your blog about JohnChow.com and his "make money online" expertise, John'll link to your blog so his legion of fans can learn about your site and visit. Click here to read John's very simple instructions for participating.

Mentioning that you got wind of this opportunity at Blog Band-Aids in your post isn't necessary, but I'd sure appreciate it!

Blog Like Paul Wall : "Get Money, Stay True"

2007-05-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

If you want to understand more about how bloggers are monetizing their sites and making money online, don't miss these high-roller articles:

~ Performancing.com has an extremely helpful post comparing Google AdSense vs. Text Link Ads vs. Amazon Affiliate vs. BlogAds. There are even some especially keen and specific insights here. One example I like was the mention of BlogAds not being so great a revenue generator if you're writing in a certain niche. The article also touches on something that I've had concerns about, which is whether AdSense really could provide the best return (ROI) for the space I give their ads. If you're into monetization, monetizing, blog promotion for profit, or building blog traffic to make the pay-per-clicks start to clacking, you'll like the article at Performancing. I really like the information at this blog!

~ "Blogging For Dollars" at Boston.com gives a great overview of some star online money-makers including Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.com, and Joel Schoemaker, who runs Shoemoney.com and says he makes over $100,000 through blogging. Both of these top bloggers are very generous in terms of writing about the tips and tricks it took to get them to the star blogger status they enjoy today.

~ And at PaulaMooney.blogspot.com, there's a wonderful and wholely telling post about the salaries of some top bloggers, including a chart for easy comparison. Paula's research concluded that blogger Andrew Johnson, who runs the Web Publishing Blog, is the #1 money maker in the blogosphere, with a reported $3,650,000.00 salary from blogging! But it doesn't stop there: Paula's excellent chart lists the top 60 professional bloggers, with a link to each each of their successful sites. If making more than a few dollars a week on AdSense interests you, do not miss this head-spinning salary analysis.

BTW: Here's what one critic at Amazon.com says about Paul Wall's smokin' latest hip-hop CD, "Get Money, Stay True":

Great Sophomore Album By " The Peoples Champ"
April 28, 2007
Reviewer: Amparo Acosta "Otis" (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

You know you've arrived when Jermaine Dupri is featured on your first single. Say what you will about local-boy-done-good, Paul Wall, but you can't deny his appeal and influence in the fickle rap industry. He's the man that is credited for grillin' the world up. For a while there was no where you could go where you wouldn't see an elaborately jeweled mouthpiece and hear its owner boast proudly, "I got my grill from Paul Wall!"

His hustle is well documented and respected. His music matches his grind. After his first major label release, "The Peoples' Champ" outsold his H-town contemporaries, (not to mention it was a far better album than "Who is Mike Jones") Paul went back into the studio, and he, along with the rest of his SwishaHouse camp including Lil Keke, whose upcoming album will more than likely place him atop the H-town rap scene) have been beatin blocks up with their mixtapes.

The streets have been salivating for some new "Pow Wow", and the white boy delivered a dope offering. "Get Money..." opens with the 15 rattling thump of "Get Ya Paper" ft Yung Redd. After he reinroduces you to the grind, he starts to show off. 7 of the album's 14 tracks have major features, including the Snoop Dogg-assisted, "Everybody Know Me", "That Fire" ft Trina, and " And "Bangin Screw" a tribute to DJ Screw which is the man who invented Chopped And Screwed. There're even a couple of tracks that Paul's new wife, Crys Wall (yeah, that's her name!) is singing on. She is an R&B artist signed to SwishaHouse Records as well.

Big things coming outta H-town in 2007. And seems like Paul Wall is leading the charge. Get Money, Stay True, I give it 4 Mics for this one.

Increase Traffic & Technorati Rank!

2007-05-08T01:39:00.000-06:00

Blogger Jason at Gorilla Sushi invited me to participate in a link exchange via my South Side Star blog, where I write about politics and pop culture. I got South Side Star in the loop and have definitely already experienced an increase in my Technorati ranking.

When I posted about the link exchange -- or link booming, as it seems to also be called -- I added the requisite three bloggers I thought might want to increase their blog traffic, too. I added Paula Mooney, Tisha! at Serenity Quest, and of course, Blog Band-Aids!

So this is my official post at Blog Band-Aids... But first, I want to invite any blogger reading this to get in on the action. If you like the idea of quickly increasing your blog traffic, first copy and paste the following list blogs and subscription feeds to your blog...

Subscribe to BobmeetsWorld
Subscribe to LifeisRisky
Subscribe to Thoughtsfrommylife
Subscribe to CountRamblings
Subscribe to TheThinkingBlog
Subscribe to NotsoBoringLife
Subscribe to DoshDosh
Subscribe to KumikosCashQuest
Subscribe to Fuery
Subscribe to Jemmille.com
Subscribe to Alien Hunter
Subscribe to Bryan-Baker
Subscribe to GorillaSushi
Subscribe to Ubertramp
Subscribe to Queen of the Surf Pirates
Subscribe to South Side Star
Subscribe to Vrtualme
Subscribe to Its Monkey Mamou
Subscribe to Blog Band-Aids

And to the above list from South Side Star I'm adding the following admired bloggers...
Subscribe to Podcasts for Adrienne's Link Addiction
Subscribe to Vanessa:Unplugged's BeBarbie
Subscribe to Electronic Village

If you're a blogger who'd like to participate, here's a copy of the instructions from Gorilla Sushi's sponsor, CountRamblings.WordPress.com ...

...My traffic has soared, and my links have jumped from 90 to 125. So here’s the deal, I’ve added some of the blogs I follow to the bottom of the list...

Okay, we have seen the Technorati Fave Train steam by, got 2000 links from 2000 bloggers and followed your comments to the ends of the earth. Thousands of bloggers have reaped the rewards of these projects by getting their Technorati rank sky-high.

Now it’s time for the new linkboom: Feed my Feed! The idea is simple: You want readers and you want linkbacks too because that’s all us bloggers want, it’s more precious than waterfor some.

So what do you do? Easy! Copy the (above) link list to your blog, hence creating linkbacks for your blogging friends. And then click the RSS feed link to subscribe to all of the blogs on the list. Add yourself and up to 3 other blogs and their feeds to the list before you post it.

Show some love! Just imagine if 10 people would do this and then 10 more after them. That would get your blog 100 extra linkbacks and 100 extra feed subscribers!

Blog Contests Build Blog Traffic

2007-05-02T18:35:00.000-06:00

Here's a quickie post about Blog Contests, which offer some of the best opportunities to jump-start traffic for your blog. I ran a Blog Contest at South Side Star with mixed success.

My contest's goal was to increase subscribers to South Side Star. My blog welcomed visitors to get my updates via feed reader or email, and four of those people would win a prize. To participate you to 1) subscribe to my blog and 2) email me your choice of prize from among the CD and DVD prizes I offered as an Amazon affiliate.

The contest definitely drove traffic to my blog. People came in very impressive numbers because I'd left personalized contest invitations on various "friends" sites at MyBlogLog. (See MyBlogLog widget in the Widget Gallery at bottom of Sidebar.) I made a point of visiting each person's blog and leaving a brief, personalized comment in their MyBlogLog message box.

I only got a few subscribers -- six to be exact. Which I suppose was not so bad. What was really interesting, though, was that none of the subscribers emailed me their prize choice! So I wasn't able to identify or award the prize winners.

My key learnings from this little experiment:

~MyBlogLog is an excellent community. (Mostly) sensible people of all ages from all walks of life. Supportive, they are. And friendly. They are one huge group of bloggers who're motivated to surf member sites and help enliven your blog!

~ MyBlogLog drives traffic. This community exceeded my expectations in terms of number of visits who saw my message-invites and clicked to learn more about my contest.

~ A decent number of people seemed to value what I blog about -- politics and pop culture -- and took the time to subscribe. Some still return regularly, and I regularly visit their blogs as well.

~ Although I received a few compliments on the CD and DVD prizes I offered, not one person sent me the email I needed in order to know who they were and what prize they would choose.

I guess you can only ask so many steps. And I guess the bottom line result of exposure and traffic should suffice.

What would I do differently? I'd probably write and pay to post an actual press release at services such as PR Web.

Following are a few 'live' Blog Contests that you may want to check out soon:

~ Future of Search Marketing Blogging Contest

~ Blog Contest Site keeps a running blog of some the hot contests of the moment

~ John Chow dot Com's blog contest was hugely successful.

Want 9 Easy Steps to Business Success?

2007-05-01T19:33:00.000-06:00

I like trolling around Netscape sometimes, which is why I have Netscape's news widget below in the Widget Gallery here at Blog Band-Aids. From the handy widget, I noticed an article titled "Start Your Own Successful Business In 9 Steps." I like the article because it's a quick, easy read and toplines all of the key areas one needs to give thought and research effort to, to cover all the bases toward success.

Not all bloggers blog with generating revenue as a goal. But those who do blog to make money online may benefit from the simple reminders in the article. Consider it a nice "to do" list, no matter the project. It's all about planning, and making sure the marketing mix is tight, strategic and vibrant.

Review Me : Pick Me!

2007-05-01T16:51:00.000-06:00

I'm trying something new in the area of making money blogging. Well, new to me, in any case. I just registered at Review Me, to possibly earn a little revenue writing here about some of the blog-related services and products I like. I have a feeling they'll snub me, though. I just have a feeling...

And if they do, we'll both miss a lot! Review Me couldn't know how enthusiastically this new blog, Blog Band-Aids, seems to be embraced by bloggers. There are so many creative and talented people who find that expressing themselves online becomes something of an obession. Some of us are rather ravenous for info leading to blog enhancements. And much of what Review Me needs writers to write about on their blogs is SEO-related.

But many other wonderful services and products are involved. I'm already excited about some of the stuff I saw at Review Me. I'm ready to write about the Baby Blog and Reef Sandals!

Both are very cool. Baby blogs are in big demand by expecting and new moms, and dad's too in some cases. I love the idea of new moms -- old moms, too -- taking up blogging. Women who blog about their child or children leave quite a legacy for the future of mankind.

Can't say the Reef Sandals serve quite as lofty a purpose, but it's summer, I just got home from a mall -- shoe shopping! For sandals, of course. So seeing these adorable flip-flops really excited me (further).

If anyone from Review Me is reading this, smile! Today, about 100 bloggers who shop are also reading this post and already are learning about Review Me and two of your prestigious clients. Next month, Blog Band-Aids could experience 500 visits per day. And so on... Shouldn't everyone reading Blog Band-Aids be reading your good news right now?

Great Resource : Tips for New Bloggers

2007-04-30T07:57:00.000-06:00

It's true: Great minds think alike! Well, we'll let you be the judge of whether the thinking and motivation I'm referring to is great or not. But there are wonderful similarities here, to the benefit of bloggers!

What am I talking about? A wonderful new site I've found: Tips for New Bloggers. It seems that Tips for New Bloggers was started for the very same reason Blog Band-Aids was started: frustration finding good HTML-related info that was easy to follow.

Tips for New Bloggers is about the cleanest layout I've seen for those who want to quickly find "how to" information for tweaking our blogs.

In fact, I'm so impressed with Tips for New Bloggers that it'll be added to the 911 Blog Resources section here at Blog Band-Aids. Together, we new bloggers shall find the right remedies to heal all that ails our beautiful blogs!

Make Money Blogging

2007-04-28T13:16:00.000-06:00

Just for kicks, I Googled "make money blogging" in search of something useful to share. If you'd like to know who holds Google's top position with this lucrative search term, look no further than Darren Rowse at ProBlogger.

One of Darren's best posts on how to make money blogging features his 18 Lessons Learned. It's an awesome, motivating read. With so many years making money online, he's quite earned the title ProBlogger and has the experience to guide those see(k)ing dollar signs toward the bank.

One of the lessons I valued most in the "make money" category was Darren writing of a tough beginning. But after staying committed a while, his readership increased noticebly and has stayed solid ever since.

So whether you're writing a blog because you:
a.) hope to follow successful bloggers such as Darren Rowse "to the bank "
b.) write professionally and blog to hone your craft or promote your work, or
c.) operate a business or service and look to create awareness ...
blogging can make good dollars and sense.

Who knows? Maybe one day, many more of us will hover alongside Darren Rowse at the top of Google for make money blogging. If it happens for you, come back and fill the rest of us in on how you did it!

Rounding out the top three sites for how-to information on make money blogging are:

# 2 make money blogging position held by Steve Pavlina

#3 make money blogging position held by Washington Post

Search Engine Bait : Headlines Generate Hits

2007-04-25T21:35:00.000-06:00

I read an interesting post at Blogs Bloggers Blogging about Search Engine Baiting, which isn't something I've intentionally done, but I have a perfect related experience at my other blog, South Side Star.

In my case, my writing a lot about the Don Imus controversy has drawn an enormous amount of traffic to the site. And specifically, my mentions of Imus's disturbed sidekick, Bernard 'Bernie' McGuirk, have received a tremendous number of click-throughs from the Google Search Engine. I'm ecstatic that so many people have been visiting my blog to read my thoughts about Bernard McGuirk, who was fired.

But the write-up at Blogs Bloggers Blogging takes the concept several steps further. Some of the suggestions, I've actually incorporated in this post. Blog Bloggers Blogging primarily suggests using celebrity names repeatedly in a post, such as Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. They also tell you to make bold or italicize Britney Spears and Paris Hilton (or whatever your 'big' word is) each time you type it. And then provide a number of links to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton...

And here are my tagged photos and links to one of these hot celebrities, Britney Spears:

Britney Spears.com
Britney Spears at Wikipedia
Britney Spears received something called 'Cupping Therapy,' which left marks on her body.
So consider this post a little test for Blog Band-Aids. I can't wait to see how much traffic is generated by using the terms here Bernard 'Bernie' McGuirk, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Welcome to any and all who've found Blog Band-Aids through this particular post. I hope you find this site useful, bookmark it, and make many happy returns!

The New Wave of Widgets

2007-04-09T03:25:00.001-06:00

Don't miss this great Washington Post article about the plethora of new, improved widgets that's sweeping the Internet. The story profiles Web and script innovators Freewebs, ClearSpring and others who've landed deals with the likes of AOL founder Steve Case and Yahoo! Major advertisers, of course, are getting on the bandwagon in big ways, too.

I've noticed and mentioned the same thing here last week, so embracing the World of Widgets that I started a Widget Gallery at Blog Band-Aids! Scroll all the way down and click-through to pick up any of the widgets that strike your fancy, and at the same time help boost traffic to your site.

Who Are You, Blogger?

2007-04-02T07:33:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder who exactly is blogging? Pew Charitable Trust recently published results of an impressive study that's found that:

~ Eight percent of internet users, or about 12 million American adults, keep a blog.

~ Thirty-nine percent of internet users, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs – a significant increase since the fall of 2005.

Although the most publicized bloggers are writing about politics, the Pew study found the most popular type of blogs are those that record personal life.

Which are you, new blogger?

Downloads : Blog War : Bloggers Forum

2007-04-01T16:39:00.000-06:00

At Life Hacker, stay current with the blogger's great Download of the Day posts and more. Life Hacker provides a great round-up service of the latest downloads from Microsoft, Foxfire, and others -- each with a neat, mini-screen shot incorporated into the bite-sized summaries. A fast and helpful read!
~
The Seattlepi.com provides an update on the blog war -- with death threats -- that's taking shape for author-blogger Kathy Sierra. Some techies in the blogosphere feel Sierra's too vocally espouses mantra of user-friendly web design. According to Technorati CEO Dave Sifry, "Ever since this whole blog storm erupted, a lot of people are writing about this on their blog, in support of Kathy." Technorati's "WTF" -- Where's The Fire -- page tracks what's hot in the blogging world.
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Another good forum for new bloggers is BloggersHQ, which also has a live chat room for questions and answers. Follow useful threads about setting up your RSS feed, building blog subscriptions, exchanges links with other new bloggers and more.

Today's Blogging Highlights...

2007-03-26T23:49:00.000-06:00

Check Here Daily For Fresh Blogger News, Tips & Opinions...

Today at Blogger Forum, see how to hide/show your Blogger Navigation Tool Bar. Incudes how to insert HTML code for changing your Nav bar, and lots of discussion about whether doing this helps or hurts your blog's goals. .
At ProBlogger, professional blogger Darren Rouse asks the bloggers who track his site how they would have designed their blog differently, if they were starting their blog over.
Stephen at German Impressions has excellent answers to Darren Rouse's question. One stand-out point on Stephen's list hits home: He says he would have been more realistic about the amount of time that blogging requires. This is a particularly helpful read for those who're just embarking their blogging journey!

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