Please Help Save These Poor Animals From An Unfortunate Fate

Will you please take two minutes of your time to help my friend Allison save some poor animal’s lives?  (It won’t cost you a penny, I swear)

Allison is volunteer coordinator at an animal shelter in New Jersey…they take in dogs, cats, and other animals that have been abused, abandoned, or in need of help. You can read more about their work here.

They’re a not-for-profit organization and they’re really struggling to make ends meet.  Its possible they could go under and if that happens a lot of puppies and kittens will have nowhere else to go.

Don’t worry…I’m not going to ask you for a donation!   All I ask is that if you have a pet, go to Zootoo.com (its like a Facebook for pet owners) and create a free account.

When you create your account I need to affiliate yourself with Allison’s shelter.  You see there’s a big contest going on and the grand prize is a million dollar makeover for the shelter.  Once you link yourself to the Liberty Humane Society they’ll receive points everytime you leave a note, add a picture, etc.

They’re currently in second place nationwide but they have a lot of catching up to do!

I just started my own profile to help them get some points…won’t you please do the same?  It will take less than 5 minutes and you’ll be doing your good deed for the day.

Just go to http://zootoo.com and register for a free account.  When you register you’ll be asked which shelter you want to affiliate with.  Just enter zip code 07305 and choose Liberty Humane Society…I attached a screenshot below so you can see how it will look…

Please do it now before you forget. And pass the word along to anyone you know with a pet.  Tweet this post…Stumble it…Digg it…Fark it…Reddit it…spread the word and help save some furry friends.

Allison and I thank you.

Dreamhost Coupon Code Saves You $50

Use my Dreamhost coupon code to save $50…

If you’re looking for reliable web hosting I think you’ll find there aren’t many better than Dreamhost.  They’ve got a ton of features and they’re known to be very friendly and responsive to internet marketers and bloggers like us.

You can install Wordpress with one click of a button which I love, and you can host unlimited domains for free.  If you’re like me and you’re looking to build lots of sites and blogs…than Dream Host is a good choice for your hosting needs.

As a Dreamhost affiliate I’m able to offer you a $50 discount when you purchase a hosting package of 1 year or more.  Just go to Dreamhost.com and choose the length of service you want.  When you’re checking out you’ll be asked if you have a Dreamhost coupon code.  Just type in MIKECOLLINS (one word) and you’ll get $50 bucks knocked off your bill.

That’s all there is to it…couldn’t be easier huh?

Ever Wonder Why You’re Not Making Any Money?

Whoa…I just read one of the best blog posts ever!

If you’re struggling to earn a living online and can’t figure out where you’ve gone wrong you need to read Leo Dimilo’s 114 Things I Wished I Knew as an Internet Marketer When I First Started.

Leo is absolutely spot on in this post and if you’re smart you’ll read it again and again until it all sinks in.  Seriously, Leo could have easily packaged this post into a report and sold it for $47…but instead he gives it all to you completely free. 

Read it now…you won’t be sorry.

Getting Rid Of Malware Is Easier Said Than Done

Last week my wife opened up an email from one of her girlfriends and clicked on the file that was attached.  She thought it was a harmless message that came from one of her best friends…but in fact it was a time bomb loaded with malware that messed up her computer until last night. 

Apparently her girlfriend’s PC got infected with something that then sent a malicious file to everyone in her address book and I was forced to spend the better part of a week cleaning up the mess.  And I know from experience that getting rid of malware is no laughing matter. 

Malware can take many forms…everything from keylogger programs that track what keys you type in an attempt to crack passwords to spyware bots that create all sorts of popup advertising. 

My better half’s PC was infected with some kind of trojan that caused advertising popups informing her she was infected and that she needed to download a file to clean her machine.  God knows what would have happened if she actually downloaded it!  It was bad enough though as the popups became so intense they would lock up the machine and make it unuseable.

I tried running every scan and fix I could think of but I’m no expert at getting rid of malware.  So I have to give a quick shout out to the folks at Security Forums for helping me clean up the mess.  These are good people that devote time to helping people like you and me get rid of malware for good. 

If your PC is running slow, has lots of popups, or shows other signs of malware infection I strongly suggest you visit their forum and ask for help.  Just be sure to only take advice from the moderators…listening to anyone else may just get you into even deeper trouble.

Corporate Logo Quiz

Here’s a fun little quiz that will determine how well you pay attention to details when it comes to corporate logos.

I got 17 out of 20 correct in this corporate logo quiz but I actually think I could have gotten all twenty.  Just look at the 2 logos and choose which one is real and which is fake.  It seems pretty busy but some of the differences are really subtle.

Click below to take the quiz and let me know how you did…

Corporate logo quiz

Sharing My Game Plan For 2009

In my last post I talked about some of my goals for 2009.  At the suggestion of my friend Dennis Edell, I’m going to talk a little about how I plan to achieve them.

After all, what good is a goal without a plan to reach it?

So here is my game plan for 2009…

1. Increase revenue.  That’s pretty much everyone’s goal right?  I’ll keep plugging away on my mini-sites and also look to monetize this blog a bit which I haven’t done at all yet.

2. Increase readership of this blog.  Basically I’m going to keep posting solid content in the hopes that my audience will grow.  I’m also going to continue commenting on other blogs and networking to make friends and find readers.

I’m also working on a short report that will be available only to my email subscribers.  Maybe I’ll hold a short contest too.

3. Building up a new mini-site.  I’ve just started working on a nw niche that I think will be really profitable.  Its got tons of potential and I think it will be earning me a few hundred a month pretty quickly.  Just gotta move forward with it.

4. Lauching my first membership site.  I’m not quite ready to announce this one yet but I expect to have it all ironed out in the next couple of weeks.  Keep an eye out for it…it’s a must-have for article marketers/bum marketers, ppc marketers, etc.

5. Spending more time with my family is my ultimate goal.  The increased revenue I’l see from my efforts will let me work less and play more. 

What Are Your Goals For 2009?

Well we’ve just about reached the end of 2008…time to look to the year ahead.  I think its important to set goals for yourself so you have something to strive for.  I have certain things that I’m shooting for in 2009, including:

• Increased revenue…I have a monthly figure in mind that I want to hit for 2009.
• Building up readership of this blog.
• Building up a mini-site I’m currently working on and generating a certain amount monthly. 
• Launching my first ever membership site!
• Taking advantage of my increased revenue to spend more time with my family. 

But what about you?  What do you hope to accomplish in 2009?

Tis The Season For Link Love

I’ve been pretty busy with the holidays and a couple of other projects I’m working on so its been too long since I posted here. But I’m gonna keep it short today.

I don’t usually bother with “link love” types of posts because they don’t add much value to the reader…but in the holiday spirit its time for a little shout out to some of my friends and fellow bloggers…

Franklin Bishop talks about 8 blog headlines guaranteed to get your reader’s attention.

Caroline Middlebrook discusses a pay-as-you-go business model.

Learn how to comment your way to success from Danny Cooper.

Ben Pei lists his 16 must have Twitter tools.

Watch a tutorial by Christopher Ross and learn how to make awesome 3D icons.

Check out Yan Susanto’s massive list of 101 blogging tips.

Dennis Edell is running a neat contest with a $100 prize.

Josh Spaulding proves that duplicate content can rank in the SEs.

50 Ways To Get Links To Your Site

I originally wrote this for another blog of mine but I’ve decided to repost it here…

Whether you’ve just launched a new site or already have an established blog with hundreds of posts, you should always be on the lookout for new links. Backlinks increase your Google PageRank, bring new visitors to your site, and (hopefully) increase your revenue.

But link building can be a frustrating experience for even the most seasoned marketer. It takes a lot of time and hard work, which is why so many bloggers and website owners do a half-ass job and never see the benefits of a well-constructed link building campaign.

My goal in this post is to create a definitive list of [TAG-TEC]link building[/TAG-TEC] strategies. I’ll come back to update it from time to time so make sure to bookmark it so you can use it as a reference.

Note – In this article I’m not concerned about PageRank or Nofollow tags. People obsess too much over this stuff. Nofollow links can still bring paying customers to your site…remember that.

50 Link Building Strategies

1. Give your readers unique, top quality content that they’ll find useful and you’ll get plenty of links without having to do a thing.

2. Be controversial. Take a stand on an issue and you’ll get links from those who agree AND disagree with you.

3. Be the first to comment on hot topics. Keep an eye on news channels and you can scoop other bloggers. The first to post on a topic is often linked to by other bloggers.

4. Include cool tools on your site (like a loan calculator) that people can use and link to.

5. Give away freebies. Create free Special Reports on your niche and let readers download it. Let bloggers in your niche know about the freebie so they can let their readers know.

6. Allow others to reprint your site’s content as long as they provide a backlink.

7. Trade content with another blogger. He writes an article for you and you write one for him.

8. Become a “guest blogger” and provide content for another blog in exchange for links back to your site.

9. Simply ask visitors to link back to you. You’d be surprised how often that works.

10. Make it easy for others to link to you by creating a “Link to Us” page. Give them the html code so all they have to do is paste it to their site.

11. Issue a press release using a service like PRWeb.

12. Exchange links with related sites. Reciprocal linking is still useful.

13. Create a simple program (such as a quote generator) and submit it to various directories like Tucows and Download.com

14. If you have coding skills, design a wordpress theme with your link at the bottom. Everyone who uses your theme will be linking back to you.

15. Not a coder? You can sponsor a theme and still get a link back. You can work either directly with a coder or bid on a theme at the DigitalPoint Forums. Expect to pay anywhere from $25 to $100 to be a sponsor. The nicer themes go for more but usually result in more links.

16. You can buy other links at DigitalPoint too. Blogroll links, text links, blog posts, etc. Keep in mind that Google is not a fan of sites that sell links. It would be a shame if you bought an expensive PR6 link only to have it drop to PR0 with the next PR update.

17. Classified ads on Craigslist, USFreeads, etc.

18. Take out a solo ad in a popular ezine. Many ezines archive their newsletters and you’ll receive a permanent link.

19. Use Social Networking and Bookmarking Sites…add your site to services like Digg, Furl, Fark, Reddit, Stumbleupon, and Del.icio.us.

20. Make it easy for other to do the same. Include bookmarklets at the end of each post to encourage readers to pass your link along.

21. Directory submissions are not as powerful as they once were, but they still influence PR and will give you a trickle of visitors too.

22. If you have more than one site, give yourself a free link.

23. Start a free Blogger blog and link back to your main site.

24. Do the same with Squidoo lenses. Use them to drive traffic to your site.

25. Add your link to your signature file in forums you visit.

26. Post useful comments or questions on other’s blog posts. Don’t spam!

27. Be generous linking to other blogs, they may notice and give you a free plug. Also, your post may appear as a trackback in their blog comments where their readers will see it.

28. Provide useful answers to questions posted on Yahoo Answers. You can leave a link to your site as a reference, but don’t spam.  Download Answers Domination to learn everything you need to know about using Yahoo Answers for driving traffic.

29. Join or start a Google group focused on your niche.

30. If your site isn’t overly commercial, you can post a link on Wikipedia. There’s a good chance it will be quickly deleted though.

31. Look for companies that have an “In the news” page on their site. If you post an article about them and let them know, there’s a good chance they’ll add your article as a news item.

32. Submit testimonials for products you find useful in exchange for a backlink.

33. Sponsor a contest.

34. Review products on Amazon and include a link back to your site. This works especially well if you write a short, well-written review on Amazon and then mention that you have a more in-depth review posted on your own site.

35. Write a short ebook to give away and post it on various “free ebook” sites.

36. Take out an ad in your online yellow pages.

37. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and get a free link on their website.

38. Do the same with your local Better Business Bureau chapter.

39. Join other local business communities and organizations and you can get a link in their directories too.

40. Ask businesses and contacts that you work with offline to give you a link on their site.

41. Donate money to a local school and you’ll often get a link on a page listing donations. These EDU links can be very powerful.

42. Pay a professional link builder (very expensive).

43. Buy older sites that are indexed with traffic and pagerank and link back to your site.

44. Purchase expired domains and link to your main site.

45. Buy misspelled domains and domains with and without dashes. If your site is YourDomain.com, you should also register YouDomain.com and Your-Domain.com and point them back to your site.

46. Find old sites that aren’t updated but are still indexed and sign their guestbooks.

47. Automate link building with a service like 3waylinks. I do have some doubts about their long term effectiveness as search engine algorithms change, but in the short term their effects are often amazing.

48. Start an affiliate program. You can quickly have hundreds of affiliates sending thousands of visitors your way.

49. Add your link to your eBay profile page. Whenever someone views your profile they’ll see your link.

50. Last, but certainly not least, article marketing is still one of the most powerful methods for building both traffic and links. Submissions to article directories can be republished time and time again. Each time one of your articles is published you get another link.

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Your Blog Is Doomed To Failure

I absolutely marvel at the mindset of some people.  They’ve obviously never heard of the old saying “Penny wise, pound foolish”.

Perhaps the best way to describe this type of person is by giving an example.

Link building expert Danny Cooper recently released a report called the Blog Comment Blueprint in which he reveals his methods for building links via blog commenting.  It’s a powerful yet easy to use strategy that can quickly bring you thousands of free backlinks and a steady stream of traffic (which is exactly what so many of you are struggling with!)

Now I’ve seen at least a half dozen positive reviews of Blog Comment Blueprint and when I read through the comments after the review I see the same thing again and again…

“Sounds great!  It’s just not in my budget right now or I’d pick it up right away.”

“I really can’t afford to splurge on it.”

Now, I can understand that reaction if you’re talking about SpeedPPC which costs $397.  But Danny’s report costs just $9. 

Seriously.  You want to build a blog or website that earns thousands of dollars a month but you’re not willing to cough up a couple dollars for a report that can get you there a whole lot faster? 

If this is you then you have a shortsighted attitude and I boldly predict you will never be a success until you accept the fact that it takes money to spend money.  Your blog is doomed to failure. 

And I’m not telling you to go out and buy every ebook, script, and program you can find.  I don’t think its smart to waste your money…but you should be willing to invest a bit to increase your own knowledge and efficiency. 

Educational reports and tools that make you more productive will pay for themselves many times over if you take action.

So skip lunch at McDonalds one day this week and splurge on a copy of the Blog Comment Blueprint…you just might find that opening your wallet a bit helps you reach your goals faster than trying to go the freebie route.

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