When I first got interested in doing some kind of online business, (I had NO idea of what I was going to do), I purchased Cory Rudl's Internet Marketing Course. It is a huge two volume course that costs about $197.00. Have you noticed that just about every online course these days costs about $197.00, strange isn't it. A lot of people do not like Cory's style; they say he mainly promotes his own products or products he has a financial interest in. I thought his course was very informative and very well written. Cory is very popular write now on the internet; some of his star pupils include people like Rosalind Gardner, the super affiliate. Sometimes Cory's writing gets a little cute and he does a lot of self promotion. There are other products on the web that are just as good as the one's Cory promotes. It is hard to tell sometimes whether he is teaching marketing or making a sale. That would have to be my biggest knock on him.

Other than that, he has lots of good information and his course is solid for the beginner or the savvy internet marketer.

Cory is young and has just burst onto the scene in the last few years. Only time will tell if he has lasting power. I would give two thumbs up to Cory and suggest reading some of his materials. You can never read too much.

I have tried and researched hundreds of online business opportunities. Most of them have been scams and schemes but recently I have found a system that earns me a consistent monthly income with no selling at all. When I find these diamonds in the ruff I like to share them with my readers and this one is a must see. Click here to see!

This is Why I Love Plurk (And Why You Should Too) by Mack Collier If you use Twitter, then you might have heard of a new microblogging site called Plurk.  Both services are alike in that they are both microblogging sites, in the same way that a Jeep and Ferrari are alike because they both have four wheels.  But just as Twitter holds potential for you to grow your business, so does Plurk.  First, it must be said upfront that Plurk has an incredibly quirky interface.  If you are used to Twitter's vertical format, the horizontal scrolling you'll encounter at Plurk will likely confuse and possibly even frustrate you at first.  I must admit, I hated Plurk at first, and almost stopped using the site completely.  But I decided to stick around, and here's why I'm glad I did. The people that use Plurk are INCREDIBLY engaged.  I continue to be amazed at how open and communicative Plurk users are, and there's an incredible sense of community on the site.  This, along with the ability to have threaded conversations, is what makes Plurk such a huge winner. But the key question is, how could any of this help your business?  Here's an example of what I am talking about; earlier today, I came across this post from Josh Hallett, reviewing the Nikon Coolpix S600.  Josh carefully reviews the camera, and shows several stunning photos taken with the camera.  I am always seeing bloggers review products on their blogs, and I always wonder 'How should the company respond to this?' And whenever I will see an example such as this, I would either post about it on my blog, or put it on Twitter.  I would point to the post and say something like 'Here Greg is blogging about his Huffy bicycle.  If you worked for Huffy, how would you respond to this?'  And inevitably, either the blog post or my tweet will get one or two comments, but a true discussion about what this company could do, never results.  So when I saw Josh's post reviewing his new S600, I decided to try again in asking others what Nikon should do about this.  But instead of blogging it, or asking on Twitter, I decided to ask my followers on Plurk what they would do. And literally within minutes, a vibrant conversation erupted around this issue.  One follower would play off an idea suggested by another.  One would clarify another's thoughts, and add their own.  Suddenly, the hyper-connected nature of Plurk users took over, and a conversation that's incredibly valuable, resulted. Now if you worked for Nikon, think of the value contained in that one Plurk.  Here you had several people that are immersed in social media, giving you advice on how to leverage social media to build awareness for your brand.  Here's some of my favorite suggestions: tamar definitely would thank them. maybe add a section on nikon.com to showcase user testimonials with a blockquote and a link back! swoodruff maybe ask Josh if he'd like to be part of Flickr group - Cool CoolPixers. Upload your best Nikon shots. johnrhopkins I would thank him via email, post a message in the comments and consider offering him some perks when he wants to upgrade down the road Herb  now the real question, is the brand manager (or *someone* at Nikon) searching for these types of things so the *can* do something? Now think about how you could use Plurk to gain valuable feedback about your own business.  Maybe you are thinking about starting a blog and want feedback on the best platform?  Should you allow comments?  How to you respond to someone that's blogging about your business?  How do you GET people blogging about your business? As the above Plurk shows (all replies came within 40 mins), Plurk users are incredibly engaged, and quite willing to help you with feedback for business issues you might be facing.  Why not try the site out and see if you like it?  If you want to give it a spin, here are some posts you can check out to give you a better idea of how to use Plurk. Five Reasons Plurk is Better Than Twitter and Vice Versa Twitter Vs Plurk, Who Wins? The Question of Plurk Free White Paper: How to Optimize for Google A free 10 page white paper on how to optimize a website on Google the right way - so the website succeeds. Publ.Date : Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:22:06 -0600 Great Suffering Provides Great Opportunity by Sage Lewis Sage touches on some of the sadder aspects of our economy and world, broaching the greatly suffering real estate and energy industries. He believes people currently in these fields have wonderful opportunities to reach out to people and make a difference. A call to action is issued, encouraging these people to share their stories on the web, using blogs and YouTube as their platform. Free White Paper: How to Optimize for Google A free 10 page white paper on how to optimize a website on Google the right way - so the website succeeds. Publ.Date : Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:39:07 -0600 Has The Better Business Bureau Outlived Their Usefulness? by David Wallace I came across a story posted at Search Engine Land pointing out that Google has an "unsatisfactory" record with The Better Business Bureau. How can a company voted "top global brand" in 2008 at the same time have an unsatisfactory record with the BBB? Apparently because out of 331 complaints filed against the search giant over the past three years, 2 were listed as unresolved. that's right - just 2! Despite this, Google continues to lead the way in search and nothing on the horizon seems to be able to change that.   This got me thinking as to whether the BBB is still a useful resource in today's online world. Their mission is to be the leader in advancing "marketplace trust" which they accomplish by creating communities of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models, and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior. Businesses have always been proud to display their BBB membership, which indicates they are "more trustworthy" than non BBB member companies.   Two things have me concerned however as to whether the BBB has outlived their usefulness, especially in the case of "online" businesses.   1. BBB Discriminates Against Online Business   When a company becomes a BBB member, they are given a certificate that announces their membership. Many will proudly display this in their offices or storefronts so that customers can see they are a member. They may also use the BBB logo it in print advertising to identify their membership. However, should a company decide to announce their membership online via a web site for example, they can only do so through the BBB's Online Reliability Program. Did I mention that this requires an extra fee?   I have argued in the past that the BBB's policy to charge extra when displaying the BBB logo online is a discriminatory practice against online business, especially those who have no other way to announce their membership (i.e. they don't have a physical location or storefront). Online businesses not only have to pay the annual BBB member dues which are based on the number of employees they have, they also have to pay a separate fee to announce that membership on their sites.   The Better Business Bureau needs to recognize that most businesses today have an online presence and that many of their existing or potential customers will visit them there long before entering a physical location. As a BBB member, a company should have the right to announce that membership on their web sites, social media profiles, online press releases and the like, without having to pay extra fees. Until the BBB changes their policy on this, it is nothing short of discriminatory.   2. Do People Even Use The BBB Any Longer?   Since joining the Better Business Bureau in 1998, I can count the number of clients that have been referred as a result of them on both hands. On the other hand, the number of clients who have found us online via organic search results is phenomenal.   This leads me to wonder how much credibility consumers actually place in BBB valuations. It would seem to me that businesses should have much more concern over what people are saying about them online. I'm talking about online reputation. For example, conduct a search for any brand name - even your own. What do the first page of search results say? Are they positive, negative or even indifferent? This is the space where many consumers are now looking when qualifying whether they want to do business with a company or not.   Every time the BBB semi-annual billing statement has arrived in the mail, I have wrestled as to whether to continue my company's membership or not. So far, the BBB has won although I have refused to pay the extra fees for the Online Reliability Program for the last few years even though the BBB logo is present on our sites.   I am much more concerned over what the search results say about our company and if you are a business owner you should as well. If something negative begins to show up on the first page, especially above the fold, it can cause irreparable damage to your business. Many companies have discovered this the hard way which then forced them into the very often difficult task of having to repair their tarnished reputations.   A Better Solution?   One of the beneficial things about BBB membership, at least for consumers, is that you as a company agree to work out disputes with clients. This however is a defense mechanism. In other words, you do not react until the consumer is upset about something. A proactive approach is a much better solution in my opinion. How does one go about accomplishing this? There are several ways to do this with the main idea being "open yourself to communication."   This can be done with a company blog that is open to comments. Putting out quality content that is somehow related to your industry or even the specific products and services you offer is a good start. Allowing consumers to interact with you via the comment system is the icing on the cake. It will allow them to engage you of which they might praise you, probe you for more information or even criticize you. It also allows you to react to them, oftentimes long before negativity hits the search results or the BBB.   Getting involved with social media is also a great way to be proactive. Setting up profiles on all the major social media sites using your brand name(s) is a great way to control what the search results are saying about you. But don't stop there. Get involved with social media, especially when people are talking about you.   It's all about getting involved in the conversation. Consumers want an open dialog with the companies they choose to do business with. So give them what they want.   This is what Google does so well. They give consumers what they want - relevant search as well as a wide variety of other products. They keep the door open for communication as well. That is why an unsatisfactory record with the BBB has not hurt them in the least. They continue to grow, acquire and dominate.   Our BBB membership comes due in December and to be honest with you, I think I might let it go this time around. I just don't see the value any longer when there are so many other productive things you can do to establish trust with consumers. Free White Paper: How to Optimize for Google A free 10 page white paper on how to optimize a website on Google the right way - so the website succeeds. Publ.Date : Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:15:23 -0600

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