I spent the day updating my BANS niche stores so I’ve got a serious case of ‘eBay-on-the-brain”. Thankfully, updating my eBay store sites was remarkably easy. The guys over at BANS are Johnny-on-the-spot and had this EPN update ready since April 1st. When I started migrating my eBay links from CJ to EPN, I chose to start with my affiliate links on ‘only’ my Squidoo lenses to start. I have this thing about new programs and I wanted to see everything work properly before updating EVERYTHING I have out there. I have a few Build A Niche Store sites, and I am very happy with them. While the BANS software is not really for total beginners, it isn’t hard to use. Naturally, each time you use it, it gets easier and easier.

Ok, on to the eBay affiliate questions.

Common eBay Partner Network Questions and Answers

Q. When Does eBay Pay?

A. eBay Partner Network pays out on the 25th of the month following. ie, what you earned in April will be paid on May 25th.

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Q. How Does eBay Pay Their Affiliates?

A. EPN pays affiliates via PayPal or direct deposit.

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Q. What Is a CRU? What Is an ACRU?

A. A CRU is a Confirmed Registered User. If someone new to eBay clicks thru to eBay via one of your affiliate links and then registers for eBay and confirms their registration, that is a CRU. You do NOT get paid for a CRU

An ACRU is an Active Confirmed Registered User. If someone new to eBay clicks thru your link to the eBay site, registers for an eBay account, confirms that account, and then places a bid, you have generated an ACRU. eBay currently pays $25 bonus to their EPN affiliates for an ACRU. You can earn more for ACRU’s based on your volume.

While making commissions off of auctions won is good, ACRU’s are the real ‘meat’ of the eBay affiliate program.

Also, regarding ACRU’s. A customer may click thru your link, sign up, and confirm, but NOT bid on anything right away. EPN allows for a 30 day window for these CRU’s to convert to an ACRU. This means that if someone signs up thru your link and then comes back to eBay within 30 days and bids on an auction, your CRU will convert to an ACRU…. and you get $25.

—-

Q. If someone clicks thru my eBay link, do they have to bid right away (and win) for me to make a commission?

A. No. eBay allows for a 7 day window. This means that if someone who is already a member of eBay clicks thru your link and makes a bid within 7 days (AND wins the auction), you will get paid a commission.

—-

Q. When Will Stats (Click-thrus, Sales, ACRU’s, etc) Show on MY EPN Dashboard?

A. eBay reports click-thrus and impressions within 4 hours of their occurance. ACRU’s will be posted by midnight of the following day. eBay is on PDT time (California), so keep that in mind.

—-

Q. Is It Possible To Have More Clicks of My eBay Affiliate Links Than I Have Impressions?

A. This is a weird one, I know. If my eBay links only show (impressions) 10 times, how did I have 50 clicks? Here’s the thing - RSS feeds do not generate impressions. In my case, MOST of my eBay affiliate links are RSS feeds, therefor, I have way fewer impressions than I do clicks.

—-

Q. Why Does It Seem I Am Seeing A LOT More Clicks Thrus Than When I Was With CJ.com?

A. Because you ARE getting more click-thrus. Thing is, search engine bots are causing these clicks. When search engines are crawling pages that your EPN links are on, they ‘click’ them. This is causing many to report much higher click-thrus than what they saw while with CJ.com. Why this happens with EPN, I’m not sure enough to try and explain. It just is… lol.

—-

Q. How Can I Find Out What I Sold as an EPN Affiliate to Earn My Commissions?

A. I did a whole post on eBay stats tracking/deciphering yesterday. I also edited and added to that post tonight. I found two sites online that now offer tools to do this for you.

I changed out these links to start May 1st. While I’ve seen steady impressions and clicks… I wasn’t seeing any sales. I was getting concerned. Today, I logged in to my EPN affiliate account and saw that finally, I’m making sales again. I also scooped an ACRU - which pleases me =)

How do You Figure Out WHAT You Sold as an eBay Affiliate on EPN?

While we were with cj, you could download a csv file and put it into one of those online tools to figure out exactly what you sold with your eBay affiliate links. The new ePN links, tho, don’t appear to work there anymore.

I wanted to know what I sold to make that commission, so I thought I’d play with the affiliate reports some and see if I could figure it out. Many of you may already know this, which would be par for the course in my world… I’m always last to know…lol.

So, if you know this, just ignore me. If you don’t … keep reading!

6 Steps to Figure Out eBay Affiliate Sales

Step 1. Log In to your ePN affiliate account.

Step 2. Click “reports”

Step 3. Click “Transaction Download”

Step 4. Select date range

Step 5. Click “Download Text File”

This will open in a .txt notepad file and will look like this:

As you can see, I had commissions from two winning bids, and an ACRU (new user bonus). On the left side going down, you see a date, under that is my account number (blurred out) and then under that is a long number (which I am pointing to with my fancy-dancy red arrows…lol).

Step 6. Highlight that auction ID, paste into eBay search tool, and click ’search’.

If you highlight and copy that number on my EPN transaction download - and then enter that exact number right into the ebay.com search bar, the auction my customer won is shown =)

In my example, for auction #370048371222, my customer bought two Aeron Office chairs at $579.00 each (hence the 1158.00 amount you see to the right of my transaction download). Nice!

While this is far from a high-tech and sophisticated way to find out what you’ve sold on eBay, it works… and it’s quick.

How Often Does eBay Report Sales to Affiliates?

This was my other question - how long does it take for sales and ACRUs to show in our affiliate area after an auction is won? From this eBay forum post, I learned that clicks and impressions are reported within 4 hours. Winning bids and ACRUs are reported and shown on the eBay affiliate’s dashboard by midnight of the following day.

So folks, we’re not ‘real time’ in our eBay/EPN affilate stats, but at least that is an answer, right?

Edit to Add (5-14-2008) - I just knew that sooner or later, someone would make a tool (or ten) that would make finding out what you sold thru your eBay links a bit easier. Sure enough, I found two new tools today.

MyEPNReport.com - (web-based) New tool. Simply download your sales report as shown above and then upload it to the MyEPNReport.com tool. It will then show you what you sold and how much the auction was won for. I’ve tried it and it appears to be accurate.

TropicalWebWorks.com - This is an EPN report tracker script/program that you host on your own server. I haven’t even tested it yet, so I don’t have feedback on it at this moment. I’m interested to try this one out.

My Surprise Email From HostGator

I think I’ve only needed the customer service department at HostGator once. It was fairly uneventful - issue solved quickly. Tonight, however, something BAD happened. Worst part is, I didn’t even know something bad happened. Worst yet, it wasn’t just with not just one of my sites, but FIVE of my sites!

I was working on a different post for y’all when I happened to decide to take a break and check my email. There was an email from HostGator.

It read:

“This message is to advise you of a temporary block placed on your database.”

Then went on to tell me that my something was using up too much of something else… and then a whole long list of log code or something.

Say HUH?

I quickly went and checked a few random sites I have hosted there - and the ones I checked appeared to be fine. I was TOTALLY confused. I am not web-hosting-server-stuff savvy… not even a little bit. I also have 30 or so sites on that hosting account with HostGator so checking them all would waste valuable time in fixing whatever the heck they were saying was wrong.

I’m good at breaking things (it’s a gift…lol), so I thought hard about all I’ve done to my sites the past few days. I’ve built two new sites in the past 3 days. Also, today, I had tried to upload a file via FTP to my server, and something weird happened (it timed out or sumthin…heck if I know). I also had recently upgraded my version of WordPress on a lot of sites..but my sites seemed fine.

How Do You Explain That You Are A Tech-Idiot?

So, I emailed back. I expressed my confusion to the HostGator rep-in-waiting. Then, I continued to explain to this nice customer service person that I am a total tech-idiot, that he would need to speak s-l-o-w-l-y … and use little words. I tried to explain the few recent changes I’ve made to my sites and also mentioned the FTP weirdness from earlier.

The response email came VERY quickly. The customer service rep explained that about a half dozen of my databases had been blocked and gave me the database names … which still made my eyes squint and cause me to reach for the Advil cause I know my sites by NAMES, not by database numbers…..

However, he went on to explain that something was making an unacceptable strain on the server - some kind of automated process.

An ‘Automated Process’?!??!? Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

The fog lifted a little and I started checking sites I have that receive automated content via a WordPress plug in. They were down, Down, DOWN. All the sites that were down had the same plugin installed. Perhaps this was the issue? Nothing like a tech-idiot diagnosing their own ailment… lol!

However, I thought this could be the issue so I went thru FTP and deleted the plug-in on one of the sites. I emailed back explaining what I thought the problem was. I was prepared to beg for mercy and offer my first-born if needed, but please don’t tell my son!

The next email I received from HostGator was a different customer services rep (Mary, I believe). She clearly explained that yes, this plug-in was the issue and she put that one site back online. She continued, in plain s-l-o-w English, that if I deleted/stopped the plug in on the other sites that she would take the block off them, too.

I went thru and deleted the plug-in from all the sites that had it (even tho not ALL were blocked) and emailed back saying Mission Complete.

Thank You, HostGator!

Within minutes, all my sites were back online. If it wasn’t for HostGator, I may not have known these sites were even down (probably until I started to question why my AdSense earnings were dropping…lol)

Thank you, HostGator, for being proactive, for being polite, for being so quick to help me through this… and for speaking s-l-o-w-l-y!

If you are looking for web site hosting, HostGator gets my ‘Thumbs Up’ and the PotPieGirl Seal of Approval (and appreciation!)

Just a note: If you are using the UAW plug in to receive content to your site, please check your site. This is the plug in that was causing my issues, and I’ve also noticed that their site is down for just about the same reason mine were.

Now, in all fairness, this could easily JUST BE ME. Or, I missed an email that explained that the UAW plug in was not compatible with the newest version of WordPress. Heck, for all I know, it was MY sites that caused UAW to go down (shhhhhhhh…. don’t tell anybody).

To be on the safe side, go check any sites that receive content thru the UAW plug in… just in case. Better to be safe than sorry. This way, if you need to work with your hosting company, you can get it done much faster.

Hopefully, you’re with HostGator

Just another note: Looks like you can get the ‘Baby’ package (same hosting package that I have) for $7.95 a month through my links - with NO CONTRACT, either. Just a simple month-to-month billing. I just checked and it says $7.95…. which means I need to email HostGator customer service back and ask why I am paying more….lol

I received this Mothers Day greeting today from a very special mother in my life. She is the one that is in charge of the care, feeding, and discipline of…. my father. Bless her heart - he can be a REAL handful (love ya, Dad). I can’t begin to tell you how many times a day that man gets put in time-out… haha!

Marelou - Happy Mothers Day to you!

There are so many special moms in my life. My own mom, my kids grandmother, their aunts, my aunts, my sisters-in-law… my neighbor. I can’t even begin to name all the friends that are moms. One off-line dear friend of mine is Linda. Linda is one fantastic woman. Happy Mothers Day!

My sister, Kellie, is a very special, one-of-a-kind mom with two incredible children that entertain her on a daily basis. Her third child (firstborn) is no longer with us, but his spirit and memory are carried within our hearts and souls. Kellie, Happy Mothers Day.. I love you!

My mother-in-law, Daphne, is an amazing woman and I am so blessed to have her in my life as well. Through marriage, I have also been blessed with other fantastic moms (and sisters-in-law). M’Kori.. Jennifer… Daphne… You are three beautiful women and great moms…. Happy Mothers Day!

I have to wish a Happy Mothers Day to my own two kids, too. They are the reason. To the world, they are just two people, but to ME, they ARE the world. Trey… Hollis… I love you (you, too, Carissa… you’re a doll!)

Darren and Ansley… you are both an absolute blessing.  Thank you for letting me experience being an ‘extra’ mom.  I love you both!

This is for all the moms out there. Just a note - the part about the hotdogs and cherry kool-aid - I can TOTALLY relate to that! Remember Trey? Probably not, you were 3 - but I remember….

Guh-ROSSSSS!

Happy Mothers Day to ALL Moms!

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, “It’s okay honey, Mommy’s here”.

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can’t be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON’T.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn’t find the words.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls “Mom?” in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home — or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they’d be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can’t find the words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that t takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation…

And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you!

Jennifer

Well, the results are in - and, to me, it is quite interesting. Both lenses are now showing in the Google index. However, the time line in which Google indexed each web page involved is a bit odd. For the sake of consistency (and to make it harder on myself…lol), I am going to time stamp each event in GMT time. I’m in Atlanta, so I am -5 GMT, but I don’t want to mess with all that.

Ok, here we go

Time Line for Google to Find My Squidoo Lenses

05-08-2008

03:00 GMT - First Lens on low cost hosting services was published within Squidoo

05:00 GMT - Second lens about cost to make a TV commercial was published within Squidoo

05:04 GMT - First lens (web hosting lens) was crawled and indexed by Google (as shown in the current cache)

06:00 GMT - Blog post here linking to new lenses was published

06:27 GMT - Google crawled and indexed the blog post

08:13 GMT - Second lens (TV Commercials) was crawled and indexed

16:00 GMT - Used Mixx to bookmark blog post

16:05 GMT - Dugg the blog post

17:00 GMT - Placed Blogroll links to new lenses on a PR3 niche blog (has not been crawled by Google since link was placed)

18:00 GMT - Pinged lenses thru SquidUtils.com

Now, does anything there look odd to you? The first lens was crawled by Google BEFORE the blog post linking to it was even published!

How? Seriously now, HOW did Google even FIND that lens? I did nothing other than create the lens and hit publish. It was still a WIP lens when first published, so I couldn’t join groups or anything.

Could it be My Tags on My Lens?

Ok, it could be tags I put on the lens, right? Here’s the funny thing - I forgot my own advice about tagging properly when you are first setting up the lens… and I didn’t add any more tags before I published it. So, right now, that lens has four not-so-great tags… and the primary tag is a bad choice.

Primary tag is: low cost hosting services for your business website

other tags are: hosting, website, websites

Could it be my lensmaster profile page?

This is a possibility. My PotPieGirl profile page on Squidoo is a PR4 - meaning Google is probably in there a good bit. So, when was my lensmaster profile page last crawled? Let me go look… talk amongst your selves, I’ll be right back. =)

:::cue “on hold” music:::::

Ok, for some reason, Google doesn’t want to show me a cache of my lensmaster page. However, I will need to rule that whole possibility out due to the fact that a new lens will not show on my profile page until it has a green check (not a WIP lens).

So, summary of all this is… I’m a bit stumped. I don’t have the discovery tool turned on for that lens…. and my lens wouldn’t show up on another lens via the discovery tool until it has a green check from Squidoo anyway.

How in the world did Google find and crawl that new lens in a total time of two hours?

I’m glad I used two new lenses for this test. The second lens (the TV commercial one) was crawled and indexed about 3 hours after being published BUT it was also crawled and indexed AFTER the blog post linking to it was crawled. Based on that lens, I would say that simply blogging about, and linking to, a new lens on a well crawled blog would get your new lens indexed quickly - BUT the first lens kinda blows that theory out of the water, doesn’t it?

So now I am opening this up to the audience -

• How did Google find and crawl a new lens that had NO links pointing to it?

• How come Google can take a WEEK or more to index a lens that has LOTS of links pointing to it? (yes, this happens to me, too)

I’m gonna get another cup of coffee and think this thru…. there is a logical explanation for this, but right now, it alludes me.

Your thoughts?

Update on My Lens/Google Index Test

• I published two new lenses about 11 hours ago.

• I did NOTHING to promote the lenses other than blog about them here on PotPieGirl.com

Within 30 minutes, both Google Blog Search and the Google Web Index had the above mentioned post indexed (approx 10 hours ago)

After that blog post was indexed, I did the following:

• Used Mixx to bookmark the blog post

• Used Digg to Digg the blog post

• I added a link for each new lens within the blogroll of a PR3 niche blog I have

• I pinged each lens thru the dashboard options within SquidUtils.com

As you can see, I still have done NOTHING directly to the two new Squidoo lenses. I haven’t Dugg them or lensrolled them, or any of that. The two new lenses have been pinged, they have been “talked about” on an off-site blog (here), and they have been linked to from another PR3 blog.

It’s been about 12 hours since these two lenses were published, and no, they are still not in the Google index. Yes, I am impatient - Yes, I keep checking - Yes, I am weird that way.

I will report back on this as any changes are made or as things progress.

A Guaranteed Way For Google to NOT Index YOUR Lens

Yup, it’s time we talk about this. Promoting your new lens on the Squidoo site is a surefire way to screw things up. This applies to a new lens that is not already indexed by Google. By saying ‘promoting a new lens on the Squidoo site” I am referring to leaving anchor text in guestbooks and lensrolling your new lens to other lenses. Joining groups appears to be fine.

Ok, here comes the question….

Why Shouldn’t I Promote an Un-Indexed Lens on the Squidoo Site?

Quick answer - Because the lenses you drop anchor text/HTML links on will rank for your targeted keywords before YOUR lens does.

Long answer (and proof)

One of my more popular lenses that folks like to leave links to their lens on is my Squidoo Lens Exposure lens. I took a scroll through the comments on that lens and found a comment that was left on April 19th. Considering today is May 8th, plenty enough time has passed to allow the visitors lens to get indexed by Google… agreed?

I Googled the url of the lens that was left via anchor text in a comment on my guest book. The lens is NOT indexed.

Next, I copied the exact anchor text the commenter left on my guestbook and put those words, in quotes, into Google to search. I chose those anchor text words because, theoretically, those are the keywords that lensmaster is targeting and wants to rank for with his/her lens. Make sense?

Next, I put that exact anchor text into Google and searched.

Results:

• 7 Returned Web Pages

• 6 of which were “filtered”

• 0 Were the lens in question (which we already know isn’t even in the Google index)

• 1 of the web pages returned for this query was my Lens Exposure lens

• All 7 results were Squidoo lenses where the lensmaster of the lens in question had left anchor text comments in the guest book.

Look:

Pretty interesting, huh? For the lensmaster this happens to, this is damn annoying!

Moral of the Story:

Do Not Go Dropping Links to Your Lens All Over the Squidoo Site

UNTIL AFTER YOUR LENS IS INDEXED.

“Crawl It! You Might Like It!!”

Any of y’all having a booger of a time getting the Big G to take a crawl of your new lenses on Squidoo? It’s been hit or miss for me. Some lenses take right away… and others make me want to beat my head against the wall. Thing is, I am usually pretty creative and effective at encouraging Google to take a run through my lens. I place links out there in highly visible locations, but the bottom line is, You can lead Google to content, but you can’t make it crawl!

Thing is, Squidoo has gotten SO big and many, many topics are not only covered, but they are OVER covered. I have noticed that when I make a lens that isn’t really unique to the Squidoo site, Google just doesn’t seem interested. I just want to shake that search engine and scream, “Crawl it! You Might Like It!!!”

Tonight, I made two new lenses. Get this, lens #538,237 and #538,465 for the Squidoo website. Pretty amazing isn’t it? Google is showing 420,000 pages from Squidoo in their index! That’s a lot of web pages!

Looks like Squidoo is getting to a tipping point of sorts and we’re gonna have to find new methods to our madness. I have learned (the hard way, naturally) to NOT promote my lens within the Squidoo site until AFTER Google gets the lens in their index. Let me clarify that -

Yes, I will add the new lens to groups, but no, I will not leave a link to the lens in the guest book of another lens, nor will I lensroll the new lens. I have found that these other lenses will start coming up for the query/search term my NEW lens is focused on..and my new lens is left in the proverbial dirt. So, I have changed my ways a bit and now ONLY promote a new, un-indexed lens AWAY from the Squidoo site until the Big G graces me with my new lens in the index.

Testing Ways to Get Squidoo Lenses Indexed FAST

I am testing the most effective ways to get a new Squidoo lens indexed and now I am down to one very simple concept - Blog about your new lens.

For these two new Squidoo lenses I created tonight, I am going to simply blog about them right here. Google is in this blog FAST… I mean REALLY fast. Sometimes, I publish a post, start to do a once over, last check for typos, and find out Google has already been and gone before I can do any last minute editing. That’s crazy! However, it’s time to see if I can use that to my advantage.

The only two links out of this post will be optimized anchor links to my pages on Squidoo. I want to see if this works for me better than my other methods.

So, please bear with me while I test this theory.

Introducing, Squidoo Lens #538,237 - Low Cost Web Hosting is a cool little lens that talks about things you need to know when picking out a web hosting account and five great hosting companies that are great, reliable, AND affordable. I also disclose MY web hosting company of choice.

Squidoo Lens #538,465 was a ton of fun to make. I was curious… How much does it cost to advertise on TV? I found a neat online company that breaks the myth that small business owners can’t afford to run TV commercials. I was amazed to see, that for my test commercial spot campaign, that TV commercials can cost $10 a piece - maybe even less! And it all can be set up right from your computer in about 30 minutes. Pretty impressive!

Take a peak at the new lenses if you’d like… I’ll let you know the results of my testing.

Using Twitter to Increase Traffic to Your Blog

Twitter is THE thing lately, but if you’re anything like me, you’re a bit clueless as how to capture and utilize the power of this super web 2.0 tool. Twitter is a BIG source on traffic for your blog or website - IF you use it properly. Now that Squidoo has added a Twitter Follow module, the potential of traffic generated from Twitter is unlimited!

I’ve admitted that I am a twit when it comes to Twitter and I knew I needed some way to tackle the learning curve. While I am a big fan of learning everything I can for free, I am also a REALLY big fan of saving time.

Learn Twitter CHEAP

Today, I came across some wacky sale for a 36-page How To Twitter guide. It’s good.. really good. It also comes with a second ebook on learning to harness the power of MyBlogLog (another great source of traffic for all you bloggers). Using social sites is so important these days. Whether your blog has good organic rankings or not, social traffic can be a virtual goldmine.

Just How Cheap is this Twitter Guide?

This is crazy, but you will see why I’m all fired up about sharing this with you today. You can get this Twitter guide AND the MyBlogLog guide for the great, big price of….

$3.95

Yes, less than four dollars. Total no-brainer in my book!

Here’s the thing… the distributor offers a crazy sale each Wednesday so I have no clue how long this great deal will be available.

If you want to learn Twitter and learn about MyBlogLog, you better go take a peek and see if you’re interested.

Click this link for special price on this Twitter Guide.

$3.95…. haha… that’s just sick.

Have a great day!

While Page Rank is far from the most important thing in internet marketing, it definitely has it’s place in marketing strategies. The last Page Rank update gave PotPieGirl.com a PR3 - but none of that PR was spreading throughout the site. This update, I am seeing a decent PR flow from page to page. This is a nice little indicator that I’m doing something right…haha!

Page Rank Update for Squidoo Lenses

Many of my newer niche sites have seen a NICE boost in Page Rank and my Squidoo lenses (all 100 or so of them) are seeing decent PR, too. My best performing Squidoo lens on Home Energy Conservation went from a PR5 to a PR6! Nice!

Over-all, the majority of my Squidoo lenses have a PR 3 with a few enjoying a PR4. This makes for nice linking opportunities to my own niche sites (which explains the nice PR on my niche sites, too!)

I have no doubt that I will be spending the rest of the night analyzing the updated Page Ranks for my sites. I like to try and figure out why what web page got a certain PR, what links I suspect are passing value, and seeing how Page Rank spreads throughout my sites.

I’m a geek that way! haha!

Ok, now everyone scatter and get out there and check your sites!

The answer to changing out our eBay affiliate links was short - and painful…

Yes, we had to change each link out to match the linking structure for the new eBay affiliate program. The new eBay Partner Network was opened on April 1, 2008 and current CJ affiliates were told to have all links migrated to the new structure by April 30th because commissions earned thru our CJ links would no longer be credited.

It is Now April 30th - Who Else is Freaking Out?

I have spent all day finishing up the tedious process of changing out my eBay links and RSS feeds on many, many Squidoo lenses and my own websites. I’m so tired of editing code that I could just about scream! But hey, it was a great way to MAKE me freshen every, single lens I have (I went thru each one today…ugh.).

I also have some niche blogs that have RSS affiliate links embedded in them which I am updating now. The last project was to update all my niche stores (LOVE me some niche stores!). All I had to do was find my Clickbank receipt and copy/paste it to get my download ‘patch’ for the new eBay links. I saved this project for last cause it was sure to be the easiest one.

Yeah, right. Seems I have lost my Clickbank receipt and have had to open a support ticket. Their support desk is slammed right now with all the other folks that also ‘apparently lost their Clickbank receipt’.

What Now? I guess I panic! haha!

Attention eBay Affiliates Who Are Migrating Their Links to the EPN Program

Somehow I missed a very important announcement from eBay Partner Network. Seems they have extended the deadline for link migration until May 31, 2008.

THANK YOU, eBAY PARTNER NETWORK!

According to eBay, there are still some ’special circumstances’ surrounding the migration issue.

“Because we know there are some special circumstances that may require this, we have arranged to extend the migration deadline until May 31st.”

Note: This will apply to Half.com and all eBay countries migrating EXCEPT Belgium, Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Singapore, which will still expire on April 30th

Read the complete eBay announcement here

With all due respect, I disagree. Personally, I think that Squidoo lens tags are more important that ever. Now that the Squidoo site is older, more mature, and many pages within the Squidoo site are developing their own very strong Page Rank - even the tag pages - it is worth it to repeat the value of properly tagging your Squidoo lens.

What Are Squidoo Tags?

Why Put Tags on Your Lens?

No need for me to re-invent the wheel when Mr Lewis Smile has already made a FANTASTIC lens about Squidoo Tags and Tagging Tricks. If you don’t understand tags, how they work, or what Squidoo lens tags are good for - go now, and read that lens. The lens will open in a new window/tab so you don’t lose your place. Please make sure to leave Lewis some love. The lens is very informative and deserves every 5 star rating it gets . Go read…. I’ll wait.

Nice lens, huh? Learned a lot, too, right? And you left love, didn’t you? =) Thank you!

Ok, now go read How To Pick Your Primary Tag over at the SquidUtils blog.  That primary tag is super important - learn how to use it properly.

Alrighty,  now we are all up to speed with Squidoo tags and tagging techniques… let’s get back to business.

In a previous post about How to SEO Optimize a Squidoo Lens, we talked about how your Squidoo tags are used as the ‘meta keywords’ in the code make-up of your lens. I know many SEO’s claim that the meta keyword tag is irrelevant, but I disagree. While these meta keywords have WAY less weight then they once had, they still can be important for telling search engines (and Google AdSense) what your lens is about. Also, don’t forget that Google isn’t the only search engine in town

I think that every opportunity to tell these search engine robots and crawlers what our web page about should be used.

What About Squidoo Tags and Back Links?

Do Tags on My Lens Make a Back Link?

Yes. Tags you put on your lens will count as a back link. The topic your lens belongs to make a back link. The groups your lens belongs to make back links to your lens, too. I’ll even go further and tell you that any Top 100 lists your lens is on also create back links.

Yes, these back links are all internal links within the Squidoo site…and no, not all of these links will pass value to YOUR lens…. but every single one of them are opportunities for your lens to build the back links it needs.

Does Google Count Back Links From Tags?

Again, yes, Google does count links to your lens from tag pages. I’ll admit, it is hard to check. Asking Google who links to your web page is tough. Google is stingy with that information (I imagine in order to protect their algorithm). BUT, sometimes we can get Google to give us hints and show us some proof that we need .

Let’s take a look at Squidoo tags and Google.

If you go to the ‘Animals and Nature‘ topic page on Squidoo, you will see that page is a Page Rank 7 (that is, IF you have a Page Rank tool bar installed). Now, the Google PR tool bar is not THE be all to end all answer to Page Rank, but it does provide a healthy glimpse into what is going on.

Ok, now, we look at that list of lenses in the Animals and Nature topic page, and then scan down the right to see “Popular Tags in Animals & Nature” - the most popular is the tag ‘dog’.

When we click the tag ‘dog’, we come to the Squidoo Tags page for Dog. This page shows a Page Rank of 5. Now, we will look at the #1 lens for this tag and ask Google who links to this lens. Just a note, it is very common to perform the link:url query on Google and have zero results returned. As I said before, Google does not like to share this information very often. If you get a ‘no results found’ - don’t freak! This does NOT mean Google does not know of any pages linking to your lens. They know….

Ok, now we are checking for pages that link to this #1 lens on the dog tags page. Guess what? Google shows this link!

Look:

Google sees it. Google SHOWS it… and I’d like to think that Google COUNTS back links from tags, too.

Squidoo Tag as ONLY Link to Lens?

Heck, I’ve seen Google back link checks for lenses that ONLY had a Squidoo tag page showing as the ONLY link to that lens!

Look:

Tags, Groups, Topics and Links To Your Squidoo Lens

Tags, Groups, and Topic pages on Squidoo each count as a back link to your lens. Here is a link: check on Google for my Home Energy Conservation lens. See the tag page? See the group page and the topic page? Yes, Google sees them all.

Now obviously, this is just a real brief over-view of how tags work on Squidoo, but I’d like to think it is enough to show that Squidoo tags ARE important. Used properly, they can be REALLY important to the over-all success of your lens. Tags do not replace the need to create ‘link-worthy‘ content - but tags ARE important. Use Them!

Apparently, it was a very attractive offer

Why I Sent That E-Mail To PotPieGirl.com Subscribers

I get emails from blog readers, those that follow me on Squidoo, and those that ‘bump’ into me online ALL the time. I LOVE IT! I believe everyone should have some sort of internet business and if a few words from little ol’ me help someone achieve that - well… wow! I’m speechless. Ok, I’m NOT speechless… I am incapable of ’speechless’…however I will say I am deeply honored.

Thing is, last week I received an email from someone who really was stuck and needed help. In the email, this person mentioned that they finally ‘got the nerve up’ to email me because I seemed really nice, and approachable, and smart, and awesome…… ok, I’m elaborating a wee little bit…haha! Anyway, being that I AM all those things ::rolling eyes:::, it really bothered me that someone felt they had to ‘get the nerve up’ to drop me an email. Therefor, I emailed my entire list and gave them each a personal, ‘engraved’ invitation to ask me anything about internet marketing.

Whoa.

WOW!

Holy eMail, Batman!

I guess I shoulda said, “Send me a dollar and ask me anything”!!! My inbox floweth over!!! First off, THANK YOU to all that have sent emails. I am getting to them as fast as I can and slowly many will appear here on my blog. Some emails I answered personally. Not to keep secrets, but to protect niches and/or because they were very case-specific. I think it is uber important to share knowledge. There are no real secrets ’round here.

Secondly, I have received a multitude of emails that are basically the same question - and it is something I know how to do quite well, BUT, it is a LONG answer (Not post material). It is about how to make money with Clickbank with no cost involved… as in, make FREE money. My specialty =)

Do You Want To Know How I Make Money with ClickBank Using All Free Methods?

As I read each of these emails, I realized that my little system could be quite valuable to many of you. While it is a step above the Squidoo Profit System, it is appropriate for those just starting out. Heck, it is how *I* started out! And I know it works….. and better yet, it sets the baseline for your online business. It’s not a make money fast concept…it is solid groundwork for a long-term internet business.

It is the process that I spent time learning and tweaking, and set in motion some time ago (and I still do it). The results of this have provided me with streams of now-passive income that enabled me to move forward with internet marketing and get into blogs, and niche sites, and my website optimization and online promotion services…..and all the little things I do online now to make more money.

These streams of income from all free sources all provided me with income FROM my business to re-invest INTO my business. I also golf a lot now ..and take vacations….and hang out with my hubby and kids….and my morning commute involves tripping over the cats on the way to the coffee pot

(read: I don’t HAVE to pay those outrageous gas prices just to GET to my job).

I know my process works. I’ve been taking notes the past few days, and checking my stats…and seeing if I can prove it and give visuals of HOW to do it and work it for others.

I can. I absolutely can.

Here’s the thing… it won’t be free. Matter of fact, it won’t even be cheap like my Squidoo guide package is. It took me a lot of time - 10 -14 hour days, 6-7 days a week - to learn this and set it straight so I could duplicate it over and over. Don’t believe me, just ask my hubby. The man got so tired of only seeing the back of my head at the computer - but I was so very determined.

How Much Will This Cost?

As much as I want to offer it free - I know I can’t. There is a value on my time and on my knowledge …and I also know that unless we internet marketers PAY for it, we won’t take it seriously….it just sits there on the hard drive and gathers dust. Heck, many of us do that with things we PAY for, too, don’t we? Bless our lil’ hearts!

I only want those that will USE it to buy it…and I don’t want anyone who can’t afford it to buy it right away. Any of y’all that know me well enough, know that I stand firm when I say to NOT invest money into internet marketing that you do not have to spare. I mean that with all of my being. It absolutely breaks my heart to get emails from others that have invested SO much money into all these guru systems and cookie cutter programs online…. and now, not only have they not made a dime, they can’t even pay their bills.

It’s also crossed my mind that I shouldn’t even sell it…. I should just keep my little system to myself. Why would I invite more competition to my little corner of the internet? Even my hubby thinks I’m nuts! His perspective is that I have spent ALL that time getting this to work for me, HOW can I put a price tag on it? And then what? He will lose me to the computer for another 6-8 months while I figure out a NEW system? This system is not long, or involved…and it is far from complicated. I have it down to a fine science now.

Ugh. As you can tell, I am still on the fence about all this. If I give it away or sell it too cheap, then I have to figure out a new way to get those passive income streams rolling… if I sell it for too expensive a price, I won’t be able to help those that really need this. I don’t care how many I might sell - but I’d feel selfish for keeping it to myself.

I even tossed around the idea of offering a mentor-type program …only so many people each month and I take those 30 days helping them get going….and then off and running, secure in their new system. Actually, I kinda like that idea - I am a “helper” by nature….and my readers are the BEST. =)

So, I’m doing exactly what any smart business woman would do. I’m gonna make YOU make the decision! Tell me, are you at a place in your internet marketing career where you need a solid system that has no overhead to make money with Clickbank? Actually, this works with just about all affiliate programs, but I like Clickbank - LOVE those checks every two weeks!

Would y’all like to see another e-system from PotPieGirl?

Leave me a comment… send me an email…. I’ll even step out on the deck to scan for emergency smoke signals!

I want to hear your thoughts.

Take PotPieGirl’s Internet Marketing Poll

Edited to add: I got to wondering how to add a poll to a WordPress blog and found a great plug in. ( hat tip ). Feel free to comment, but please vote on my poll regarding this issue. The poll is found at the bottom right of my sidebar.

Thank you!

Q&A Internet Marketing posts are on their way!

Squidoo Lenses with Page Rank for Sale

Most of these lenses have good Page Rank (kinda cool to be able to buy a Squidoo lens that already has Page Rank, isn’t it?). Starting out with a high Page Rank lens is like cutting months off the lens creation process! Stats for these lenses can be found over at Squidaholic.com. Price of each lens is listed next to it. If you want to see traffic potential for each of these niche lens keywords, go to the free keyword tool at SEOBook.com (my favorite free tool!)

Have a questions about a Squidoo lens sale? Just email me and ask (I don’t bite…lol). My email link is at the bottom of the page.

Squidoo Lenses for Sale - Lens List

Precious Moments - ** PR2 **  GREAT little niche and hugely popular on eBay. Search for ‘precious moments’ in the keyword tool and see what I’m talking about. I liked this niche mainly because the collectibles market is always hot on eBay, the search traffic vs competition is really good, and also because I just love Precious Moments =) Lens need personalized content to fit your needs. Price - $30

Brighton Jewelry & Handbags ** PR2 ** - I LOVE Brighton purses…made this lens to help keep an eye on all the hot eBay auctions for Bright stuff. After some keyword research, I saw that I am not the only one that loves Brighton products!Price - $85

Gout Diet and Gout Treatments **New Niche Lens** This is a great little niche lens for selling Clickbank products. Lens is new but has a LOT of potential if marketed properly. People are looking for information on Gout… check your keywords =)Price - $35

Baby Sign Language - ** PR2 ** Fun lens, well built, and has good Page Rank. Currently focuses on Baby Sign language, but the url (/learn-sign-langauge) can be used for anything on the sign language topic. Great addition for anyone in the baby niche - Page Rank makes this lens even more valuable.Price - $65

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans - ** PR3 ** Strong Page Rank to this lens for sale. The Jelly Belly niche is a fun one to work in - take a peek at the traffic potential =) If you have a niche site in the food market of any sort, this lens could make for some STRONG back links and additional search engine exposure.Price - $85

Angelina Ballerina - ** PR3 ** Low-competition niche for this adorable Angelina Ballerina character (dolls, games, clothes, books, etc). High Page Rank lens will seriously complement anyone in a children’s niche, toy niche, or that just plain like cute mice!Price - $85

Starting a Day Care Center - ** PR3 ** In this economy, a day care center is an excellent recession-proof business idea. This is a good market. The lens currently offers a Clickbank guide that seems to convert very well (nice affiliate program, too). The high Page Rank makes this lens a real winner.Price - $85

Lone Wolf Adventure Travel - ** PR3 ** This lens make-over has been on my ‘to-do’ list for way too long. I was intending to optimize this lens for the keyword phrase ‘overseas adventure travel’, but never got around to it. That phrase gets like 160 searches a day with a competition of only 261k. If I had a few more hours in a day, I would do it… but to the best of my knowledge, I still only get 24 hours…lol. This lens for sale is a real gem for someone who wants to work itPrice - $85

Organize Closet Space - ** PR3 ** Another tight niche with minimal competition. While the lens isn’t that great, the Page Rank IS great! Even a complete re-do of the lens is a deal with this Page Rank…… would take months to get to a PR3 with a new lens. Price - $85

Guitar Lessons Niche | 4-Lens Pack For Sale

These four lenses are meant to go together as you may have seen when these lenses were advertised for sale here (you will also see they are being sold for $500) , but for this spring cleaning sale, I will a) allow individual purchase, and b) give a reduced rate for all 4 (or whatever is left is someone buys one). I think I did a nice job with the creation of these lenses (pat myself on back…lol) and there are backlinks already built with article marketing, etc. A lot of extra work was spent on this lens pack. These lenses should each earn a strong Page Rank at the next update. If you want all four lenses, you better speak up quickly…lol!

The lenses are:

How to Read Guitar Tabs

Beginner Acoustic Guitar

Online Guitar Lessons

Guitar Lessons Online

** Each of these four lenses are PR3 **.  If you are in the guitar lesson - music market, this is an opportunity to have FOUR PR3 backlinks and exposure for your site.  What a DEAL!

Price - $75 per lens or $250 for all 4 lenses. (50% off advertised rate!)

More New Squidoo Lenses for Sale :

Detox Your Body - Nice niche market and a Clickbank product that has a VERY nice commission! Works well for those in weight loss and natural healing type themes.

Price - $35

How To Sell On Craigslist - Popular topic that I find readers looking for all the time. Lens currently offers a 7 dollar offers product that puts 100% commission directly into your Paypal account - sweet! Lens needs more content and a bit of love.

Price - $30

Organic Oils - Anything organic is hot right now, and organic oils are no exception! This lens for sale is new and needs some content to fit your personalize needs.

Price - $30

Terms of Sale for Squidoo Lenses by PotPieGirl

Lenses are sold As Is. If you want work and/or customization done to a lens prior to transfer, this will be an extra charge (please contact me with your needs for a quote).

Lenses will be transferred asap following cleared payment.

Payment thru Paypal only. Contact me if you are interested in a lens and I will a) let you know if it is still available, and b) give you Paypal payment information.

As for Bulk Discounts on these Squidoo lenses for sale: If the lens has Page Rank, probably shouldn’t even ask if I will give a bulk discount. To be brutally honest, there is no reason for me to sell a high-Page Rank page for the price listed, let alone any cheaper. Even if I keep them, I still have a high Page Rank page lens to create themed back links to my niche sites. These linking opportunities are so valuable - they greatly improve the time it takes to get sites indexed - and the back links from these high PR lenses are a BIG boost for search engine rankings of niche sites and blogs. It takes time and effort to develop Page Rank - I’m sorry, but I cannot discount the work I have already done. PR3 lenses are $85 each - no exceptions.

Feel free to contact me at:

Click the link in my footer or email: potpiegirl (@) potpieworld(.) com

(take out the ()’s…trying to avoid getting email s-pam….lol)

Get your coffee…sit back and relax for just a few minutes and enjoy the silliness of life here in America.

Only in America …..do drugstores make the sick walk all the way to
the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people
can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in America …..do people order double cheeseburgers, large
fries, and a diet coke.

Only in America ……do banks leave both doors open and then chain
the pens to the counters.

Only in America ……do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars in
the driveway and put our useless junk in the garage.

Only in America ……do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in
packages of eight.

Only in America ……do we use the word ‘politics’ to describe the
process so well: ‘Poli’ in Latin meaning ‘many’ and ‘tics’ meaning
‘bloodsucking creatures’.

Only in America ……do they have drive-up ATM machines with Braille
lettering.

EVER WONDER …….

Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin?

Why women can’t put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Why don’t you ever see the headline “Psychic Wins Lottery”?

Why is “abbreviated” such a long word?

Why is it that doctors call what they do “practice”?

Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavor, and dishwashing liquid
made with real lemons?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called rush hour?

Why isn’t there mouse-flavored cat food?

Why didn’t Noah swat those two mosquitoes?

Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections?

You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes? Why
don’t they make the whole plane out of that stuff?!

Why don’t sheep shrink when it rains?

Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together?

If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress?

If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

Follow Me On Twitter … On Squidoo!

You can now add your Twitter feed, or up to five Twitter feeds directly on your Squidoo pages! What a great way to increase exposure, boost your followers, and keep up with others on Twitter. The Twitter module even adds a nice little link for someone to easily click to follow you on Twitter. Very nice! Take a look:

How To Add the Twitter Module to a Squidoo Lens

Adding this module is SUPER easy. To test this new module, I added it to my Jennifer Ledbetter lens - go ahead and take a look at the finished product.

From edit mode, click ‘add modules’. The ‘add modules’ option should default to the starter package list of modules, where you will see “Twitter Follow”. Click ‘add’…reorder modules if you desire… then click ’save’.

Once back in your lens workshop, find your Twitter Follow module and click ‘edit’. Inside the edit mode for a Twitter module you will see this:

Simply fill in the boxes and click ’save’

WARNING: You will NOT see the Twitter feed in the edit mode of your lens.   The Twitter Feed WILL show AFTER your lens is published.      So don’t freak out if it doesn’t look right after you save the module…

That’s it! You have now added your Twitter feed for all your Squidoo readers to use to follow you! Congrats! If someone sees a Tweat that interests them, they can click the date link next to each result, and that will take them to that particular Tweat, or Twit, or Post…or whatever it’s called….LOL!

This is really good - and with the explosion of buzz about Twitter lately, I would have to say this new Twitter Follow module is GREAT!

Thanks Squidoo!

Count Your Blessings

Children are amazing… an absolute blessing. In this family’s case, the father is a two-time cancer survivor, and due to his past treatments, conceiving a child took nothing short of a miracle. That miracle happened, and their daughter Lilli Grace was brought into this world, but sadly, the world would be blessed by her presence for only a short time.

There is a news article about Lilli Grace and her family you can read, but I would like to quote the father’s story here. We all fear the loss of a child, but when it happens at home….well, are there even words for that kind of loss? If you have children, this will break your heart and hopefully, will it will cause you to take a little more care around the house to protect your precious children.

“It was a normal Saturday morning. I was not in a hurry. Nothing was out of the normal. We got up. My wife was taking care of Haley, our newborn. I had Lilli. We had breakfast. We played around in the yard. I was simply going to help a friend of mine for the day. I had a big F-150 Ford truck and was unloading the truck and needing to move it forward about three or four feet. I put Lilli Grace in the garage. We had the dog in there—they’re best friends. The dog was in the the crate. I watched them play for a few seconds. Then I ran out to the truck, only going to move it a few feet. I wasn’t leaving. If you look at it, you think ‘Wow, this is crazy.’ But I was only going to pull forward so I could finish unloading the truck.

So I hop up in the truck. I go to move it, and I say, ‘Wait, you know what?’ So I get out of the truck. Walk around to the front of the truck. Nothing’s there. So I get back in and put it in drive. I pull forward a few feet, and, you know, knew that I had run over … something. Just … phew … I could rip my heart out right then and there to be honest with you. I walked around and knew that it was Lilli Grace. And I tell you, it’s something I hope no one ever has to go through.” Paul pauses, remembering how he lost his little girl just five months ago. The raw emotion pours through his voice as he continues, “It really stinks. It really stinks. It was immediate. We rushed her to the hospital. We called 911. The autopsy said it was immediate. Ugh, sorry about that. I do pretty well until I have to … My point is that people say, ‘Well, I got out and looked.’ Well, so did I. ‘Well, I wasn’t in a hurry.’ Well, neither was I. So it’s one of those things that you can’t explain away. We’re going to just try to make some positive changes.”

There are no words, are there? This story will stick with me for a long, long time… and it will DEFINITELY cause me to look closer… DOUBLE and TRIPLE check before I move my vehicle ever again. When it comes to children, you just can’t be too careful.

Why Post About This?

Now, I am not posting this to depress you. I am posting this more for myself and this family than for anything. There is nothing I can do to bring Lilli Grace back to them, but I have this little blog….and I can help spread the word and pass along some link love to their new website for their foundation in honor and memory of Lilli Grace.
With all this said, I would like to share with you the Grace is Greater - Lilli Grace Memorial Foundation website. Please take a moment… read the news article … stop by the website…. and help spread the word.

Also, if you live in Georgia and you are a golfer, there will be a golf tournament benefiting the Lilli Grace Memorial Foundation on Monday of next week.

An important message from this family is also something we should all take to heart…

Grace is greater. People may have things going on that you don’t know about. Have compassion.

Thank you all for allowing me this moment to do something important to me.

Thank you to Star94 for having this courageous man on your radio show today.

Twitter Account Flipping? You Bet!

Twitter accounts can be transferred just like Squidoo lenses can. You can also change the name of a Twitter account to whatever name is still available on Twitter. With those two factors mixed with a helping dose of Twitter-mania, it is not doubt we have the first wave of Twitter Account Flipping. Isn’t it amazing how the internet makes it possible to sell things you don’t even own? =)

I was reading a great article over at WebProNews by Jason Lee Miller. I like Jason’s writing and his choice of topics, as well as the entire WebProNews site. Jason wrote an article today titled What’s The Point of Twitter? His article asked a lot of the same questions I have about Twitter. In a recent post I made about how to use social marketing to increase blog traffic, I flat out admitted that I am a total twit when it comes to Twitter. Based on that, I was very interested to read what Jason had to say today.

What is a Twitter Account Worth?

What FLOORED me was when Jason went on to talk about how some simply don’t have any use for Twitter, and how another user has decided to auction off his Twitter account. Selling a Twitter account didn’t floor me, but the current bid on that Twitter account DID floor me. As of this writing, the current bid on the Twitter account with 1397 followers is:

$1550.00

Currently, there are FORTY bids on this Twitter account - and SEVEN days left on the auction! Simply amazing. Looks as if someone else has jumped on the sell your Twitter account bandwagon, too. The other Twitter account up for auction actually has more followers that the first…but not a bid to be seen - yet.

I have piped in the live RSS feed of these Twitter account auctions so we can watch what happens. Looks like we have 5 days and 7 days left respectively.

How Much Would You Pay For a Twitter Account?

What IS the worth of a Twitter account? What will happen to said Twitter accounts after a transfer has been made? I’m quite curious to see mainly because, in my little pea-brain, when I follow someone on Twitter I am following a certain person. Not sure how I would feel if that person auctioned me off to the highest bidder.

Also makes me curious to see if Jason Calacanis will be auctioning off HIS huge Twitter account. Is that why he is so gung-ho to build a huge following? If this Twitter account of 1397 followers is already getting bids of over $1500 with SEVEN days left - just imagine how much Mr Calacanis’ Twitter account would go for!

I’ll be watching this to see the outcome…and then I’m sure we’ll see more Twitter accounts go up for auction very shortly. Would you sell your Twitter account? What is your Twitter account worth to YOU?

I’d love some opinions on all this…. feel free to pipe in with your two cents.

Added:

April 20, 2008 

Curious to know what happened with this Twitter account auction?  So was I!

Read Jason Lee Millers follow up story here. 

“Look at the person on your left. Now, look at the person on your right. Statistics show that two out of the three of you will not graduate”

I imagine the statistics are about the same for those that try their hand at internet marketing, don’t you?

My Weekend

Let me tell you about my weekend. Wednesday night, my husband received a surprise phone call asking if we’d like to go to The Masters the next day for the first round. My hubby and I are BIG golfers and golf fans… The Masters at Augusta National each spring is THE golf tournament… and the hardest to get in to. There are folks that got on the waiting list for tickets when they entered college and didn’t actually GET tickets until they RETIRED!

Needless to say, we were in the car and headed for Augusta, Georgia first thing the next morning. What a GREAT day… weather was perfect and that golf course is uber perfect. We watched Tiger Woods and Fred Couples and Stewart Cink and all the best golfers on tour…. we watched Tiger Woods chip in for eagle on #15… and heard the roar where Ian Poulter made a hole-in-one on number 16…. just a fantastic day and a fantastic experience on a golf course that is full of tradition and history. I’ll hush on the golf talk since this is not a golf blog, but if you are a golfer you can imagine what it was like just to walk on those hallowed grounds. Awesome!

We returned home late Thursday night (we live a little over 2 hours away from Augusta) and packed for our next trip that we were leaving for the next morning.

My husband is a true-blue Crimson Tide football fan. University of Alabama football flows through his blood and it is VERY serious business in this house. The Crimson Tide spring scrimmage game was this past Saturday and we went with another couple who are just as, if not more, serious Tide fans. On our way to Tuscaloosa, Alabama Friday morning, we got our deposit for our summer vacation condo in the mail. We have plans to take all 4 kids, and their friends to the beach this summer. We will also be there the same time as family and close friends. Being that we have a blended family with kids ranging from 19 to 3, getting all of us in one place at one time is a REAL challenge. I am very excited about our impending week-long beach trip and the really nice 3 bedroom condo on the beach we found.

ANYWAY, we got our deposit sent off…. had a great weekend in Tuscaloosa with friends. Watched the Tide A-Day game with 75,000 other Bama fans (yes, I said 75 THOUSAND!) and got back in late last night. All in all, we had such a fantastic and memorable long weekend!

So, what’s my point of all this?

Am I telling all this to brag? No, not even a little. Am I about to try and sell something? Lord knows, if I just add in pictures of fancy sports cars or me drinking umbrella drinks on the beach, this will start to sound like a guru sales page! (Note to self: Take pictures of me drinking umbrella drinks while on beach this summer…haha! Reality is, it will probably be pictures of me digging in the sand or putting sunscreen on a little one….. Maybe I’ll put an umbrella in a juice box!)

To my point - As we got settled back in at home last night, something hit me. I was able to just GO. I was still earning money while I was gone. My business goes with me anywhere I go if it needs tending to….and I can take time off at the spur of the moment… AND we can afford ’spur of the moment’ memories.

Wow!

Just last month we were able to put four of us on a plane to see my father who is ill…and we were on that plane within 24 hours of getting the phone call saying we were needed. That is priceless.

We’re not rich - not financially rich, anyway. In blessings we are billionaires, but the bank accounts don’t reflect that =) However, what has changed for us is something much more priceless than net worth… time freedom and options.

Having options in life is something that, to me, is amazing and so… so…. freeing. I didn’t come into internet marketing with an idea to get rich quick. I didn’t even start it with a desire to be rich. I wanted to be flexible for my family. I wanted to be able to pay our bills comfortably and have money left over for emergencies and extras. I wanted to be able to earn twice as much as we needed me to earn from a “real job” from right here… sitting here at this computer.

I wanted options.

Fact is, no one will GIVE options TO you.. you have to go get them and create them for yourself.

Are You Creating Options for Yourself?

Think about the things you do for your online business - are you working to create options for yourself? Are you working to create revenue generating web presence for yourself - the kind of web presence that will bring in money long after you are done doing any work on it?

If I could share a few things with anyone who is new to this whole internet marketing thing, I would share these things:

1. Do NOT spend a DIME on your internet business until you have earned money that you can re-invest into your business - NO EXCEPTIONS! Internet Marketing is one the very few business opportunities that does not require one red cent invested to earn money. I spent the first 3-4 months with no overhead but an auto-responder ($20 a month) and internet connection (which we already had). Just for the record, I used a free auto-responder until my online business had started earning enough money to cover that $20 a month, too. Learn how to do everything for free… no keyword tools, no fancy software…no NOTHING until you a) start an income stream and b) know HOW to create a web page, drive traffic to it, AND convert it to sales FOR FREE. Only then will you even know what tools to invest in that will make YOUR online business easier on you.

2. Stop Buying Guru Systems and Cookie-Cutter affiliate sites. I can’t stress this enough. There is SO much free information on the internet that is a tremendous over-load for anyone learning internet marketing… why pay for more? Unless you are buying something that is going to dramatically cut your learning curve AND you plan to work that system for no less that a committed week straight - DO NOT BUY IT. Also, do NOT pay to have an affiliate site that is a cookie-cutter site. This type of site is an affiliate site that is identical to any other affiliates site. There is no point of difference for these types sites. Its hard enough to drive traffic to a unique site! I’ve talked with many SEO clients and potential clients that have cookie-cutter affiliate sites and catalog sites that are having a horrible time trying to rank to where they get any traffic. Just don’t do it… and for goodness sake, don’t PAY to do it.

3. Look to Your Left… Look to Your Right… Will YOU ‘Graduate’? Fact is, many come and go….. will you be one of them? Are your expectations realistic? Are you ready to work, and to learn, and to challenge yourself? To”graduate” and make it to the other side of all this to where you know how to create revenue from your computer, you are gonna have to buckle down and bust ass. Sorry for the language, but that’s the fact. Internet Marketing is NOT “so easy a 3 year old could do it”… If it was that easy, EVERYONE would be doing it and be rich.

Folks, you’re gonna have to want it… and want it so badly that it almost possesses you. I’m sorry to bust some bubbles, but this is simply the truth. Stop SPENDING money…and start MAKING money!

Where Will You Be In ONE Year?

One year is not that long, is it? Seems the older I get, the faster time flies. Each time I turn around, my kids are older (even tho I’m not aging a bit! haha!). Where were you last year? Is it much different from where you are right now? Is this where you want to be one year from this very second? Would you like to think that one year from right now, you will have new options for your future be it to quit your current job, have more income in your household, buy a new car, be home with your kids…. do you want those options?

CREATE THOSE OPTIONS FOR YOURSELF! No $97 eBook will give you these options. No $197 IM membership site will GIVE you the answers…you will have to go find them. No $399 internet marketing course will GIVE you the knowledge you need … you will have to GO GET that knowledge. Good news is… it is all free. The biggest investment…and the one investment that the one on your left, and the one on your right, don’t want to make - is the investment of their TIME.

Are you willing to work 14 hour days, 6 or 7 days a week for a year to change the rest of your life?

Still Not Convinced?

Ok, so many people need a ’sign’…they need to know that they are doing what is destined, or determined for them….

Here’s Your Sign!

The difference that determines whether you, the one on your left, or the one on your right graduate from Internet Marketing or not is…

Who will do what the others WON’T do?

Affiliate Article Marketing or Traffic Generation - or BOTH

In my opinion, article marketing is the most UNDER-used free resource we internet marketers have. Why? I imagine there are a lot of factors that keep fellow marketers from effectively using this simple process.

One- Article Marketing IS simple…. and yes, it is also boring. Effective? Yes! Exciting? Uh, not even a little bit…lol Article marketing takes discipline and a big dose of “stick-to-it-ness” in order to really work for the long haul. In the past, I have found myself dreading writing a small article to syndicate all over the internet. I would find myself doing anything to avoid writing that article… even doing laundry - yuck!

Two- Article Marketing is not a get rich quick type thing. It’s just not. You can submit an article and it could take weeks…months…to see the real benefits.

What Are The Benefits of Article Marketing?

Effective article marketing can lead to more traffic to your blog, higher rankings in the search engines, increased affiliate sales, and more back links to your site.. It’s all win-win with article marketing!

Thing is, there is a right way and a not-so-right way to perform effective article marketing. Article marketing means that you write an informational (non-promotional) article and then submit it to many article directories. The beauty of these articles is that at the end of the article you can add your author bio area/resource box. In this bio area you can offer links back to your blog. When readers want more information on your topic, or are interested in your service, they will click these links to get to your blog. Simple, right?

Yes, article marketing IS simple.

But yet, we all put it off.

My Autopilot Article Marketing Strategy

After seeing my own serious case of procrastination when it came to my article marketing efforts, I decided to set up a system for myself that really works. I researched others systems, read many articles that others have submitted, and have analyzed the results of my trial and error for my own system.

I also realized that most of us were making article marketing harder than we have to.

I read the best post on another blog called How to Write Articles That Convert Like Crazy. That post was some serious straight talk about article marketing!

One of the most interesting parts of the article is this:

“This is a trick I’ve tried and tested repeatedly, and in MOST markets….it works like a charm. I almost hate to share it - but here it is anyway. Write VERY short articles. And lots of them. Keep the articles UNDER 320 words. Under 300 for Ezine Articles ( the granddaddy of Article directories) is best. But…here is the trick. Create one LONG resource box that you save in your author account. Break it up into several paragraphs, each paragraph has a link to your offer page as above. ( Ezine will accept two links in the resource box as a matter of policy - I’ve found that more often than not - they’ll take three without complaint if you are a solid contributor to the community) Your resource box in this example should be a STRONG close….and should APPEAR to be part of the article - ie - almost no transition between the preceeding short article and the saved resource box. As you are allowed to “sell” in the resource box area…this simple approach will seemingly extend the article with a strong sales message, live links, and solid close, in EVERY article you submit on this topic, as this is your default signature file for each. This works tremendously well for me, and I attribute a lot of my article marketing success to this, and this alone.”

Wow - write articles UNDER 300-320 words? Really? I went and double-checked the editorial guidelines for EzineArticles, and sure enough, there it is…

“ARTICLE BODY:

1. Must be a minimum of 250 words and no more than 5,000 words. For us, an ideal article size is 400-750 words.”

Fact is, I think most internet marketers think they have to submit a 1,000-word article masterpiece, when in fact, 300 words or so is plenty!

But… I Still Have To Write The Article!

Yes, whether it is a 2,000-word article or only 300 words, you still have to do the writing. I’ll be honest, sometimes my brain just doesn’t feel like writing - especially when it’s a topic I am not overly familiar with. This feeling goes for not only my article marketing efforts, but also my niche blog content creation and Squidoo lens creation.

Even tho I was SO excited to do this post for my blog traffic series, I had to wait until today to do it. You see, I have been very lucky to be able to test a software program while it was in beta and today, it was released to the public. This amazing, wonderful, awesome, super program takes SO much workout of my article writing and content creation. I could go on and on about just how fantastic this tool is, but I know that just one browse through the information page and you will get it - no doubt! Check out the just-released article creation wizard - you will LOVE it! It truly has been a life-preserver for my article marketing efforts.

Ok, time for me to stop rambling and just tell you how I do my article marketing.

My Article Marketing System

Here we go…

1. I use the article creation wizard to write my article. Not a long article, but effective enough to offer information and hopefully cause the reader to want more information from my blog.

2. I submit this one article to EzineArticles. Within a day or two, the article will be live.

3. I then follow the guidelines and submit my article to this service. I love this service, to