Ever since my famous post Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow, I haven’t had all that much to do with the so called ‘A Listers’, but unfortunately I was brought face to face with one of them who, like Darth Vader, seems to have joined the dark side.

I was reading Lis Sowerbutt’s a review of Brian Clark’s Scribe SEO, and for those of you who know Lis you know she is a no nonsense blogger. She doesn’t hold back when she has an opinion and this review was no different. She was up front and told it just as she saw it.

Unfortunately Brian Clark, the author of the plugin, that you have to pay through the nose for, took umbrage at Lis’s review and rather than being diplomatic about it and discussing the issues that Lis, his customer, had with the plugin in the hope of getting them resolved, he went straight for the jugular. He ended his first comment to Lis by saying;

Also, I read your meta description of this post, and it says the opposite of your on-page conclusion regarding “scam.” I’d advise you change that, or our next conversation will be about libel.

This was in reference to her meta description, which can be read at the top of the browser, that stated ‘Scribe SEO – Review Of Scribe SEO – is it a scam?‘ Notice she didn’t say it was a scam, she was merely asking the question, and she was obviously targeting certain keywords. Anyway, I found this article listing the top 10 definitions of libel and as far as I could tell Lis’s post  doesn’t fit any of them, not by a long shot.

Brian’s left several comments in that post and the bulk of them says little for his character. But this post is not an attack at Brian at all. I wanted people to see how his reaction to a bad review has caused him more harm than good.

I’ve been involved in the retail industry for some 35 years and no matter what part I played in it, whether as a salesman or as a business owner, the one consistent thing I’ve learned is that the customer is always right. There has been many a time when I’ve known them to be 100% in the wrong but I’ve never made a point of it. I would try to point them in the right direction, but if they insisted I let them have their way. They are the customer and they’re the ones that butter my bread.

I was taught right at the beginning that if you gave a customer a good experience they may tell one or two others about it, but you give them a bad experience and they would make sure the whole world knew about it. Brian’s actions in the comment section of that post was about as bad as it could get. More than once he called Lis a liar when she did nothing but give her honest opinion.

Heaven forbid it had anything to do with the shortcomings of the plugin itself. Heck, he even went so far as to say;

SEO experts like Rae Hoffman, Michael Gray and Stephan Spencer have reviewed the Scribe technology, and they give a thumbs up. Much more credible sources than you given the topic.

as if throwing around the names of some bigwigs would lend credence to his argument. I reckon his biggest failing is that he doesn’t recognize hie own customer base. The plugin isn’t aimed at the SEO experts who know what they’re doing, it’s aimed at SEO newbies who have no idea how it works and perhaps if they failed to get the settings right it would give a false result.

I know of many occasions when, as a hi-fi TV/ Video salesman I got more than one call from an irate customer who accused my of selling them some dodgy equipment. Rather than going off the deep end I paid them a personal visit and found that the fault was because they didn’t install it properly. Rather than berate them I showed them where the problem lay and assured them it was a common mistake, even though it wasn’t, and left behind a satisfied customer. You know, most of them turned out to be repeat customers who always asked for me and being as how commissions was a big part of my salary, that was a good thing.

Another thing I’ve learned about business is that a very important factor is PR and I’m not talking about Page Rank, I’m talking about Public Relations, and while Brian may know a lot about Page Rank, his actions in that post shows he knows stuff all about Public Relations.

I would like to make one last point and that is one about public perception. I discussed this in my post Perception Is Important To Your Blogging Career! As a person who has previously had no knowledge of Brian, my judgment of his character can only be made from the way he carried himself while commenting on Lis’s post. My perception of his character may be entirely wrong but that’s all I have to go on because that’s the only side he’s shown me. I can tell you one thing and that is because of this, possibly flawed, perception of his character, I would never purchase anything from this bloke.

I would really like to see what your feelings are in regards to the way he handled himself. Am I looking at this all wrong? Am I merely taking the honorable knights actions by defending a damsel in distress?

On the other hand, if you agree with me perhaps you’d like to spread the word by tweeting the post or by using one of the other social websites below. Either way I would really like to know what your thoughts are? Read the rest of this entry

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I feel this to be a very accurate statement and it’s because of that I try to maintain an online presence where I am known for my honesty and integrity. Everything that you do online is being judged by others and may very well give them a false perception of who you really are. You want to make sure that perception of you is as accurate as possible because if it isn’t it could hurting your online career, whether it’s blogging or affiliate marketing.

The problem is magnified because of all the social sites the majority of us are members of. Let’s just take Twitter as an example. How many times have you chosen to follow someone and their very first tweet was one where they tried to sell you something? I know I get it quite a lot, and there are times when I’ve even stopped following them. They may have been a really down to earth person but that tweet led me to perceive that all they were interested in was trying to sell me something.

Let’s study the following picture for a minute.

These women all have one thing in common. Now I know when I first saw this photo I thought that every one of them was on the verge of having a mind blowing orgasm, and I was starting to get a little excited, when it turns out that the photo was taken just as they were about to sneeze.

The thing is that if I was to write something on this photo about what was turning all these women on, you can just imagine my embarrassment when someone pointed out what actually was going on.

The question is how to improve peoples perception of you.

1. Don’t bullshit: This one is the most important rule that you should follow. You may get away with it for a little while but once you get caught out your credibility will be shot and it’s almost impossible to get it back, unless your Tiger Woods that is.
2. Only promote things you believe in: Honestly, if you don’t believe in a product don’t go promoting it. By far the product I’ve had most success with is FlexSqueeze and that’s only because people can see how much I love it because of the emotion I display when I’m talking about it.
3. Don’t say it’s so when you don’t know it truly is: Some people will read the hype on a particular affiliate and they then do a post telling everybody how fantastic it is, without even trying it! If that affiliate turns out to be shit then their perception of you and everything you say from now on turns to shit with it.
4. Be COOL!: This applies to everything you do online, from interacting with those commenting on your blog to every other interaction you have with others online. If they’re abusive to you, show them your the better person by not retaliating. State your case in a diplomatic way and if they’re not willing to listen drop it! You win more points by letting it go than by losing your cool.
5. Be Honest!: Different from #1 in that this is referring to those who have the tendency to steal content from others claiming it as their own. It’s only a matter of time before you get caught and when you do your name will be mud from now own. Better to do your own unique post linking to the one that supplied the idea for the post.
6. Be Humble!: I have to admit I’m getting a little tired of those posts where bloggers claim to know everything about affiliate marketing and other stuff when it’s obvious they don’t . They may fool the newbies but everyone else can see them for what they really are, jerks!
7. Accept Criticism!: Learn to listen to others when they criticize something about your post, your blog or about something you said. Don’t get on the defensive, it’s quite possible they know what they are talking about. Better to thank them for their opinion and to voice your reasons as to why you think they may be wrong without going on the attack.
8. Your Input!:

I know that there are lot’s of other ways that we can give people a false perception of who we really are, but I want to leave that open so that you can voice your opinion.

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Climate change would have to be one of the most important issues of the times but is it really happening or are the climate skeptics right in saying it’s all bullshit? You kind of have to ask yourself why anyone would push climate change if it wasn’t entirely true. Either it’s true or they’re getting something out of pushing a lie, or the very least distorting the truth.

I know that the Labor Party have been pushing climate change for awhile now, in fact Rudd tried everything he could to put pressure on the Coalition to pass the Government’s emissions trading legislation. Legislation that would have cost Australians millions, possibly more than we could afford. What was farcical was that he was willing to sign off on the whole thing before any other country had committed themselves to it. It became obvious to many that all he was really interested in was getting a feather in his cap, one where he could parade to other world leaders how he was able to convince Australians to sign up before anyone else. Lucky we didn’t because no-one else did. The whole Copenhagen thing was a washout.

So, why would scientists manipulate data to make climate change seem more than it really is? Would it be because they didn’t want to be seen as wrong? Perhaps there was a monetary gain for them. I reckon a lot of them would be working for the government to provide them the data they need to propagate their policies. It’s apparent now that had we signed those papers the Government would be collecting a lot more taxes, taxes that probably wouldn’t have helped the environment one little bit.

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The FlexSqueeze Theme gives my blog that professional look. I loved it so much that I bought the developers license. It's the easiest most customizable theme I've come across. See how easy it is to change your theme's appearance! Compare it to Thesis to see how much better it is!

I highly recommend you to get your FlexSqueeze copy today!

I would dare to suggest that almost everyone who surfs the net regularly has been exposed to a Squeeze Page at one time or another, even though they may not have known at the time that was what it was called. I remember the first time I was ever exposed to a Squeeze Page was also the first time I got sucked into a scam. That was the time I paid good money for what was supposed to be an extensive list of companies who were willing to pay me for taking surveys. A lot of the stuff on that list was either duplicated or pure BS, and what really pissed me of was that it was all available on the net for Free!

For those of you who are not sure what a Squeeze Page is, it’s usually a single web page designed solely for one purpose, to squeeze something out of you. While sometimes they will try to sell you a system that will make you an almost instant millionaire, normally all they want is your email address so they can add you to their email list.

You could almost liken the Squeeze Page to that annoying salesman who has his foot in the door, or to those ads on TV that always promise, ‘and there is more!’ Some of these pages seem to never end. They are filled with so many sales pitches and promises that’s it’s no wonder that many people fall for them. These email lists are so important to the internet marketer that a lot of the time they will give away free eBooks and the like just so they can get you on their email list.

Why all the hype about having your email as part of their list? It’s so they can target you later for something that they have to sell. Something that will show you how to grow your own list, or perhaps even a tasty morsel that is proven to get you thousands of good quality backlinks.  Here’s a snippet of one I got today.

Hey Sire,

Do you want to know what the quickest way to make money online is?”

I’ve got the answer here: (followed be a link)

Where did it take me? To another Squeeze Page of course.  I don’t have any problem with Squeeze Pages if all they are used for is to sell a particular product. I’m sure that most people believe that by committing their email address it’s just so they can get their hands on that product. I wonder how many people realize that by subscribing they are opening up their doors to all sorts of offers, perhaps not even related to the product they signed up for in the first place.

I wonder if perhaps they should expand the FTC Guidelines to include a disclaimer on Squeeze Pages. Perhaps something along these lines.

I hereby swear that by subscribing to this course, webinar, free eBook or whatever, I realize that I have opened up Pandora’s box and you can freely send me any scheme or offer that you so wish and as often as you like.

OK, OK, that may be a bit over the top, but don’t you think it would be nice if they were to tell you exactly what you were in for when you subscribe to something? Would you still take up the offer of the free eBook if you knew it didn’t stop there and that there would be more sales pitches to sell you a product?

I know that a lot of internet marketers out there are doing the right thing but I bet that there a just as many who aren’t. I also know that a lot of people know exactly what they’re in for when subscribing, but I bet you there are just as many who don’t. I know I didn’t. All I’m saying is that it would be nice if every Squeeze Page came with a little disclosure explaining exactly what you are up for when you hit that submit button.

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The FlexSqueeze Theme gives my blog that professional look. I loved it so much that I bought the developers license. It's the easiest most customizable theme I've come across. See how easy it is to change your theme's appearance! Compare it to Thesis to see how much better it is!

I highly recommend you to get your FlexSqueeze copy today!

Today I was reading a post on Extreme John’s Blog about how Bloggers Should Clean Up Your Crap. Now John’s main gripe is that some bloggers have so much crap ads on their blog that it takes away the main purpose of having a blog, their blog posts! I have to admit I have seen a lot of blogs full of more crap than just ads though, there is so much going on in the sidebars that it can be pretty distracting because everything is so disorganized.

I also notice the other day on one of Mitch’s post, Six Figure Blogger Blueprint – A review where David makes the following point;

Both you and Sire really load up your blogs with ads and widgets and things in a desperate attempt to gain a click from a visitor. My point is that, with an email list, you won’t have to try so hard. Monetization is much easier, more efficient, and less about interruption of the user experience on your blog.

What’s that, David who, you ask? Well, you’re going to have to check out Mitch’s post to find that out because ever since my famous Why I No Longer Link To The Likes Of ProBlogger And John Chow where people accused me of name dropping for link baiting purposes, which was absolute crap, I am very careful of even mentioning those guys.

In answer to David’s comment, the only widget I have that has anything to do with money is OIOpublisher, something that he promotes on his blog but doesn’t seem to use.  Also, they’re not there because it’s a desperate attempt for gaining clicks at all, but there is a reason why I have them there, and I will get to that shortly.

I’ve also been accused that I’m blogging simply for the money side of it, and once again that is far from the truth. I blog because I enjoy it and if I can make some money on the side what’s wrong with that? Also, ever since I was ripped off some years ago by an Internet scam I made a commitment to myself that I would endeavor to find all the legitimate ways of making money on the Net and I would share them with my readers. If I find out later that the site is a scam, like the post I did on The great American Photo Contest I will remove the link and add a little edit to the post.

As to why I have those ads, you need to know a bit about my background. I have been in business for some 30 odd years and a lot of that has been in the retail sector, and some as a salesman in an hi-fi / electronics store. I found that when you pay so much per square foot of space you need to capitalize on as much of it as possible without making things look tacky.

A great percentage of sales from these stores come from what is known as impulse sales, and usually these impulse products bring in a greater margin. They are placed in such a manner that even if a customer has not come for that particular product it get’s their attention and a lot of the time they do purchase it. The amount of added revenue these impulse lines bring at the end of the day can be quite substantial. Probably the most popular area is around the checkout and the items placed there range from lollies and gum to magazines.

I’ve also read that having too many ads etc. can confuse people and they will probably leave buying nothing at all. This may be true for blogs but in real life people will not shop in a store unless there is a good range to select from. Some of our major retail chains are cutting down on other companies products and selling more home brands thinking people are more worried about price than branding. This has actually forced a lot of people to the smaller chains who have a greater selection as they want to be able to choose branded products if they so wish.

So, seeing as how this is my background it’s probably why I choose to run my blogs in such a fashion that I try to utilize as much of the blogging real estate as possible. Right or wrong, I believe that space in the sidebars or header is exactly that, prime real estate, and as such I should use them to my best advantage. I use rotating ads so that it constantly provides newer content and I believe I have placed them in such a fashion that it doesn’t detract from my posts at all. The fact they produce hundreds of clicks just proves to me that they are doing their job.

  Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2010

The FlexSqueeze Theme gives my blog that professional look. I loved it so much that I bought the developers license. It's the easiest most customizable theme I've come across. See how easy it is to change your theme's appearance! Compare it to Thesis to see how much better it is!

I highly recommend you to get your FlexSqueeze copy today!