Hello, once again! The Passion Profit Company is launching some new projects, products and services.

We've started with a revamp of the PassionProfit.com site for a cleaner, tighter look.

We've also just launched StartupBusinessFinancing101.com which features a thorough money-generating guide by Passionpreneur Expert Kamau Austin.

Blogger, Internet Marketing, and Software Expert Jamie Ratliff Says...

"Raise Cash Fast should be
required reading for Business 101"

"I was amazed at the many pages of quality information that is usually difficult to track down. Just the chapters on the Small Business Administration and Establishing Business Credit would be worth the cost of this publication.

The resources provided could be priceless to a lot of small business owners or anyone who is thinking of starting a business. The chapters regarding MicroLoans and Grants are better than I've seen in standalone products that sell for hundreds of dollars on their own.

The best thing about Raise Cash Fast is that the guide covers so much, it really doesn't matter how big or small a business is, they will find valuable information that applies to their specific business financial needs.

Thanks for sharing such extraordinary information."

Jamie Ratliff owner...
www.jamieratliff.com

Find out more at
StartupBusinessFinancing101.com

Labels: Financing, Sideline Business Tips, Update

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#posted by Walt @ 7:56 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

Perhaps only the techies and webmasters will really appreciate this one, but according to my Firefox browser toolbar, my three most popular sites, passionprofit.com, hiphopentrepreneur.com (aka hiphopbz.com) and welovesaipan.com now have a PageRank of 5!

Here is an explanation of page rank from webworkshop.net
"PageRank is a numeric value that represents how important a page is on the web. Google figures that when one page links to another page, it is effectively casting a vote for the other page. The more votes that are cast for a page, the more important the page must be. Also, the importance of the page that is casting the vote determines how important the vote itself is. Google calculates a page's importance from the votes cast for it. How important each vote is is taken into account when a page's PageRank is calculated.
PageRank is Google's way of deciding a page's importance. It matters because it is one of the factors that determines a page's ranking in the search results. It isn't the only factor that Google uses to rank pages, but it is an important one."

Page rank ranges from 1 to 10.

Now from a site owner's point of view, having a high page rank allows you to charge more for links on your site. In other words, once your site has a high enough page rank, other sites with lower page rank will pay you to place a text link to their sites from your site to help improve their page rank.

Yes, links from these three sites are available...Email me for details.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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I've added a free widget to my blog on the left. It comes from BlogRush, which is a revolutionary free blog syndication network created by internet marketing legend John Reese and his new company income.com. What it does is serve up relevant content from other blogs in the content network.

So it will send people to your blog who are already interested in the type of information in your blog.

So how does it bring you more traffic? Each time your page loads, the widget also loads, which earns you a syndication credit. If your blog gets 100 page views a day then you get 100 syndication credits.

The powerful viral twist (and what makes it different from anything else, say BlogBurst) is that when other people join BlogRush (via the tab on the bottom of the widget) and add the widget to their blog, then you will get page views of your content proportional to the page views of their blog.

If Fred signs up and puts the widget on his blog then each time that his blog shows the widget, one of your posts will show somewhere on the network. It gets even better, because if Sally joins from Fred's blog, you'll also get a syndication credit for every time that that the widget is displayed on Sally's blog. This scenario keeps going for 10 referrals deep.

If it takes off, then those who put it on their blogs early stand to get a lot of traffic. That's why I recommend that you get BlogRush right away and add it to your blog.

Join now

(Note: You'll be asked for your blog URL and your blog feed. See this example:

Blog URL: http://www.waltgoodridge.blogspot.com

Feed URL: http://www.waltgoodridge.blogspot.com/atom.xml

for the typical format.)

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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I've been encouraging people to launch blogs and create ebooks as an easy way to start generating money on the internet. As I started to create a blog entry on that topic, I received this quick article by Robert Williams that covers some of the same ideas. So, I'll give Robert a little plug!

==================

Article Title: How To Create Your Own Ebooks Or Special Reports
Without Writing It Yourself
Author: Robert P. Williams
Word Count: 669
Article URL: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=179949&ca=Business
Format: 64cpl
Contact The Author: http://www.isnare.com/eta.php?aid=179949

Easy Publish Tool: http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=179949

================== ARTICLE START ==================
Selling products online has become very lucrative for many
netpreneurs. Ebooks and special reports are amongst the most
popular type of downloadable products. These files in written
form, can be very useful when they convey desireable
information.

Indeed, information is what fuels the internet. People log
online to search for information. If you have the information
they need, they will come to you. If this information holds a
lot of value, you could sell the same and make a good profit.
Since words are still the primary tools of communication on the
web, information is often conveyed in written form.

Preparing written works is not easy. For starters, not everyone
can write well. Those who can may not take the time to embark on
such an undertaking.

Fortunately, there are some alternative routes you can take
which will allow you to prepare your own eBook or special report
without having to write down a single word. Let's take a look at
5 of these options.

Gather some articles and compile them in a single volume. This
would be the easiest way to prepare your own digital product.
These articles can be PLR works which grant you the right to
alter them and use the content anyway you please. They may be
articles written by other people, which you have compiled from
renowned websites like http://ezinearticles.com or
http://goarticles.com. If you choose the latter, just make sure
that you respect the terms and conditions of their usage,
primary of which is the inclusion of the original author's
resource box. Make sure that each article organically and
logically flows to the next. You can ensure this by studying the
articles you want to include.

Conduct an interview with an expert and record the same.
Thereafter, hire someone from http://rentacoder.com,
http://elance.com or http://guru.com to transcribe the
conversation you had with the said expert. You'd be surprised
how quickly you can compile 50 to 200 pages worth of essential
reading material using this method.

Buy an existing eBook or special report that comes with private
label rights. This would enable you to alter the contents of the
same, and even name yourself as the author of the work. You
could add some materials as you feel are necessary, or better
yet, you could combine two, three, or even ten of these PLR
eBooks or special reports to come up with an encyclopedic tome
of information worthy of some notice.

Hire a ghostwriter to prepare an eBook or a special report for
you. There are many freelance writers looking for work at the
websites we mentioned above. It's just a matter of selecting
the best writer for the job at a price that will not be too
daunting to your budget. Expect to pay $200 to $1,000 for a 50
page eBook.

Here's a novel approach. Join an internet marketing forum, and
ask a question. A good example would be "How Could You Profit
From The Internet With A $0 Budget." For certain, you'll get
some amazingly enlightening replies. Compile these replies until
you'll have enough materials to come up with an eBook or a
special report. Ask the posters' permission to avoid any
copyright issues. Chances are, they'll agree, provided that a
link to their respective websites are included in your work.

Lack of writing prowess, or the time to write, is never a bar
for the production of your own digital products. All you need
is a little imagination, and hopefully, the suggestions above
have stirred up some concepts in your mind.

About The Author: Robert Paul Williams is the Editor of Work At
Home Business Website. Come Browse Our Free Article Library and
Stay Informed with the Latest Home Based Business Opportunity
News, Success Tips & Strategies.
http://work-at-home-business-website.com/Articles.php

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=179949
================== ARTICLE END ==================

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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The following is an excerpt from Happy Pocket Full of Money By David Cameron.

"Cause others to experience wealth massively, increase their wealth
consciousness massively, and you will experience wealth massively. Look at life
today. Any business that deals with the increasing of people’s productivity and
connectivity always becomes a very big self-sustaining business. It may not be a
perfectly good business, but it is big and self-sustaining. Software, networks,
transport, electronics, and such businesses improve people’s productivity and
standard of living and in return, they grow. But that is only a scratch on the
surface. Even more magnificence will come our way when we start building
businesses that deliberately are designed to give rather than receive. Businesses
designed to cause first that other people get wealthy. Future businesses will be
designed to cause growth that is true growth and not growth with serious side
effects somewhere else. These businesses will cause elevation of populations
from a lower standard of living to a higher one, and elevations in their
consciousness and well-being. The more you cause others to have in wealth, the
more you will have in wealth, effortlessly."

Labels: Sideline Business Tips, The Universe

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People have been asking recently which company I use for hosting my websites. I use 1and1.com.

If you'll be so kind, please use this link http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=6793973 to find out more.

Walt

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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I love stories like these!
Just a year ago, Philip Schaffer was wondering what he could do to energize his going-nowhere business, Action Auto Wreckers. With the economic boom stimulating new-car sales, the Long Island, New York-based Schaffer suddenly found himself sitting on a glut of junked autos, with fewer and fewer customers to take them off his hands. "It seems like everybody around here is driving a new car or a leased car that they don't have to work on themselves," Schaffer says with a sigh. Many people in his shoes would have waited patiently or closed up shop. Schaffer did neither. Instead, he decided to reinvent his business by shifting it onto the Net, where he opened the used-parts site Action Auto Wreckers.

The result? He has found himself overwhelmed by orders from body shops, hobbyists, and do-it-yourselfers attracted to his vast inventory and low prices. "I've shipped motors to California, parts to Chicago, Hawaii, even Guam," he says. For one cybercustomer from Iceland, Schaffer drained the oil from a wrecked Pontiac Sunbird, boxed up the parts needed to fix it, and shipped the whole thing out by air.

The bottom line, Schaffer says, is that the Net has given him a new lease on life. His annual sales now top $1 million, with half of that business done online. "The potential is there," he insists, "to do $5 million or $10 million over the Internet. It has put the fun back into coming to work."


The full article is at
http://www.adobe.com/v1/handlers/index.cfm?ID=14662&method=full

Labels: Passionpreneur Profile, Sideline Business Tips, Story of the Week

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(My article as Published in Saipan Tribune)

The only way to take control of your life, raise your standard of living and move beyond merely surviving is to create your own unique product or service that you offer to increasing numbers of people in exchange for the things of value that you desire. This simple formula applies to countries as well as people. A self-sufficient economy has its own products or services of value to export to the world. Similarly, a self-sufficient individual has something of value to exchange in the global marketplace. That thing of value is based on your natural talent, skill, or interest-in other words, your passion!

In the pursuit of your passion, it is important to first identify your assets. An asset is a thought, belief, word, action, person or object that you or others perceive that, when associated with or attributed to you, affects your own, as well as the world's perception of you, and can make the world go wow. This “wow factor” is the quality that makes your passion-centered business viable, profitable and ultimately successful.
You may have noticed, that by this definition, anything can be an asset. It’s true. Who you are, what you do as well as what you possess can all be assets.

Who You Are

"Who you are" is an asset, along with the thoughts, words, actions, people and objects associated with who you are. For example, the thoughts about yourself (your self-perception, your identity) are assets. The thoughts that others have about you (public perception) can be assets. The words that describe who you are (feedback), whether in written or spoken form, represent assets. The actions that correspond to who you are (your mannerisms and behavior and personality) are all potential assets. The people who correspond to who you are (your friends) can be assets. The object that corresponds to who you are (your body), yes all of these are assets.

What You Do

Similarly, "what you do" is an asset, along with the thoughts, words, actions, people and objects associated with that. The thoughts that you and others have about what you do, again, are called perception. The words that correspond to what you do are called knowledge or education. The actions that correspond to what you do are your expressed talents, skills, or your profession. The people who correspond to what you do are your associates, students, or masters. The objects that correspond to what you do are your creations. And, too, all of these can be assets.

What You Have

Finally, "what you have" are also assets along with the thoughts, words, actions, people and objects associated with it. The thoughts you and others have about what you have, again, are called perception. The words that correspond to what you have are called descriptions. The actions that correspond to what you have are called accomplishments. The people who correspond to what you have are your fans, employees, or servants. The objects that correspond to what you have are your possessions.

So again, just to be clear, everything that you are, everything that you do, and everything that you have, all have thoughts, words, actions, people and objects associated with them. All of these resulting thoughts, words, actions, people and objects are your potential assets.

Assets Everywhere

When you really understand the nature of reality, you'll realize that absolutely everything is an asset that can help you reach your goals. In addition, every point of contact with the world is an asset.

How you speak, where you live, what you see out your window, how you smell, the way you walk, the way you sneeze, what you believe, what you don't believe, what you've experienced, what you've never experienced, how you write, your possessions, your musical tastes, your butterfly collection, your comic books, your friends, your enemies, your body, what people say about you, what they don't say about you, the languages you speak, the size shoe you wear, the arrangement of furniture in your living room, your ability to whistle a tune on key, your children, your pets, as well as the way you and others perceive these things, all have value in moving you further toward your goal, and may represent some specific perception, language, action, person or thing that you can use to make things happen the way you wish.

With so many potential assets at your disposal, then, how do you determine which ones are to be harnessed to create a Wow in the minds of the masses to be used as the basis of your passion-centered business? The critical step in choosing and harnessing your assets lies in making the right connections.

If, for example, your goal is to become a famous actor, then you should first expect that everything you have ever seen, done, heard, said or owned offers some way-some connection-to turn that dream into a reality. You might ask, “How can my past experience as a clerk in a bank help me to become a world famous actor? Well, it qualifies me to be able to convincingly portray certain roles. It gave me access to information about the banking system. It introduced me to employees, supervisors and customers who might figure into my future success. Who did I meet while there who might have a connection to the movie industry? Perhaps I'll go back there for a visit and mention to whomever I speak with that I'm serious about my acting career. Who knows who I'll meet on the way there?”

Or, perhaps your goal is to find a mate. You might ask, “What do people say about me that is an asset that can help me meet the man/woman of my dreams? What places do I frequent that might prove helpful in exposing me to more people? What music do I like? How can that lead to me meeting people with similar interests? What physical, emotional or personality attributes can I highlight that can make the world go wow?”

The possible connections are almost infinite.

In order to find the best uses of your assets, you must ask, answer and act on the right questions. Here are some suggestions.

The key questions about assets

- What specific assets do I have or have access to that I can use to achieve my goal?

- What creative ways can I come up with to harness the power of these assets?

- Who do I know? What do I know? What do I believe? What Do I own? What have I created? What am I good at? What am I known for? What have I done?

Making a comprehensive list of your assets is the first step in building a successful passion-centered business!

Labels: Sideline Business Tips, Walt's Articles

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I'm finally getting around to reading some magazines, and came across Time Magazine's Person of the Year issue for 2006 (ok, I'm a little backlogged). Anyway, Time's person of the year for 2006 was YOU! It basically offers the premise that the most important mover and shaker for the year in history was people like you through your blogging, facebooking, and youtubing type activities.
One of the intro articles (by Lev Grossman) starts...
The "Great Man" theory of history is usually attributed to the Scottish philosopher Thomas Carlyle, who wrote that "the history of the world is but the biography of great men." He believed that it is the few, the powerful and the famous who shape our collective destiny as a species. That theory took a serious beating this year.


and goes on to give examples, and then ends with this line that I find particularly inspiring:

But that's what makes all this interesting. Web 2.0 is a massive social experiment, and like any experiment worth trying, it could fail. There's no road map for how an organism that's not a bacterium lives and works together on this planet in numbers in excess of 6 billion. But 2006 gave us some ideas. This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person.
Full article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html

Committed as I am to helping others change their lives and the lives of others, I'm always inspired by just how much power now exists in the average person's hands, and at their fingertips via the Internet. As I continue to work on projects like the New Saipan, the WeLoveSaipan network, the Great Sheep Uprising, and others, they're all made more viable, productive and successful by use of the web. I'll add more to this later, have to get back to reading the magazine....

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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People are Digging this story! (opens in a new window)

OK, so maybe that title is a bit of an exaggeration, but here's where the thought originated.
      This morning, I was reading a recent New York Times article on successful independent musicians who are using the internet to launch, advance and sustain viable musical careers, and earn respectable incomes that would not have been possible just a few years ago.
      They're calling this new breed of of creative "Artist 2.0" reflecting the new paradigm of marketing and selling being ushered in by technology. It confirms much of what I talk about in my article entitled "Record Label of the Future" which you can read here or here )
      Immediately after reading that article, my blog buddy Angelo, over there at The Saipan Blogger emailed me with what's been happening with visits to his blog since "endorsing" Ron Paul. Since I don't own a television, read the paper, or follow politics, I discovered just this morning who Ron Paul is.
      If I didn't know better I would think he was an internet marketing guru leading by example.
      A visit to the ronpaul2008 website reveals links to other Ron Paul online sites on

YouTube,

MySpace,

Flickr,

Facebook,

Digg and

Eventful.

     He

uses cafepress to sell merchandise,

embeds videos hosted on YouTube,

uses a typepad blog for daily updates from Ron world

highlights a testimonial page invoking the power of third
party endorsements to build credibility....

...all the necessary marketing power, brand-building techniques and networking channels any online seller needs to harness and exploit in order to reach the widest number of people, enroll them in whatever it is you're selling, and empower them to spread the word! This is fascinating.
      They're calling this Politics 2.0.
      With donations and votes as the end game, this new paradigm in the quest for political power is eerily similar to selling just about anything on the web.
      This is the model that many of the presidential candidates are adopting as they advance along the campaign trail. It's proving that political careers like music careers can be launched, advanced and sustained without one ever leaving the security and comfort of one's computer keyboard. It adds credibility to those means of communication and networking that you may have thought were just for teens with too much time on their hands.
      With politicians, passionpreneurs and the general public all vying for web traffic, expanded social networks, reciprocal links and myspace "friends" as key determinants to their success and happiness, what more encouragement do you need for using the power of the internet for growing your sideline business?
      Just about everything you need to know about internet selling, you can learn from Ron Paul, or you can check out
Walt's QuickStart Manual.

NOTE: This post itself is an experiment in the power of internet selling and search engine positioning. Perhaps I'll make this a continuing featuring drawing parallels between the world of online selling and the world of online campaigning. What do you think?

Visit DIGG to see how People are Digging this story! (opens in a new window)

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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#posted by Walt @ 10:34 AM 4 Comments Links to this post

Sideline business tip:

Here's another great way to generate passive, residual income through your site or blog. It's been proven that text links work better than banner ads. So advertisers who want to reach potential customers are constantly looking for high-traffic and highly ranked sites to place simple text ads, like the ones you see on my sidebar. As a result, a whole new industry has sprung up with companies acting as brokers to find sites (like yours) and then connect them with advertisers (with money) to place ads on your site. The ads can range from links on the sidebar, to reviews of companies and their products directly in your blog.
Yes, you can get paid to write reviews! How much you make per link or per review will be determined by your site's rank, the potential market you reach and other factors.

I use Linkworth as one of brokers to sell links on my sites and blogs. The payouts have been consistent, and get deposited directly to my paypal account. So every month without fail (residually), and without doing a thing (passively), I generate income from little text ads throughout my site.

Check them out for yourself, register your blog or website and see what happens.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips, text links

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I hear it on reliable authority that this concept really works!

This is a company that pays you to download a toolbar displaying ads.
You get paid money to surf the Internet.
My blogger buddy Angelo did this in 1999 and made several hundred dollars.

According to the site, the toolbar is not available yet, they are still in the process
of building their network.

Please use my referral number when you sign up: BBDC9535

Your referrals make you money.

Let's give it a whirl, and please keep in touch with me and let
me know how it works for you.
Depending on the number of success stories I receive,
I may write about his in my next article on how to make money on the Internet.

Use this link:
http://www.agloco.com/r/BBDC9535

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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You can get this information free!

A bit of advice for passionpreneur authors:

The great thing about the internet is, there is always a way to get any information free. Because of the vastness of the internet and the millions of webpages out there, there is always someone, somewhere who chooses to offer similar information for much less or even free. So, what your customers are paying you for is not just the information. It's something much less tangible.

The reason why some authors are bestsellers and others are not has to do with the way each author thinks. You appreciate an author because what he or she is likely to say next is so unique and insightful, and how he says it (what words he chooses) is so refreshing, that you are eager and excited to follow him from one book to his next.

In business "how to" books, for example, One author will explain A, then B, then C, while another will explain A, B, and then 7. That's right "7!" That unexpected "7" is something you haven't heard before. It's a connection that few other people
make in their presentations. It's an idea that comes next in the way this author's mind works that separates him or her from the rest of the pack. It's the analogy, the example, the story, the experience, the application, the anecdote that another author just can't duplicate because they haven't lived exactly identical lives, nor do the synapses in two different brains work in exactly the same way. In other words, this author knows something the others don't. He explains it in ways the others can't. And it makes sense to the reader in a way that he or she hadn't really been able to grasp before.

So, as a customer, when you compare two seemingly similar business books, take a deeper look at the testimonials, the endorsements and even the way the website is written to decide what you're actually getting.

And, as an author, when you write your own novel or info-product (or even your blog postings), take a deeper look at that intangible inner voice that makes you unique. Tap into yourself and your experiences and realize that there's not just a story to tell, or a topic to discuss, but a uniqueness that you are sharing with the world.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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Years ago when I was challenged to meet
my rent payments, I read a book called
The Trick to Money is Having Some, in addition
to Spiritual Economics, and a host of other books
(see Turn Your Passion Into Profit) to get my
frequency of thought vibration to the point that
I could attract what I needed. It was a long
and difficult journey that I still have issues with.

The short-cut is this. Right now, there is money
as well as the opportunity to generate it knocking at your
door. There are people who might advertise
on your show; people who want to purchase
your products, and a host of others with the
money to exchange for the value you bring
to the universe. But you're blocking it, whether
through guilt, modesty, self-esteem or fear.

There's some thought, some truth that you need to hear
that will click with you, turn on the light-bulb, so to speak,
and become your mantra for the moment to raise
the level of your thoughts to the next plateau of
abundance. Your mission is to find that thought.
Or more accurately, your challenge is to allow
that thought to be attracted to the desire that
wells inside you.

There is absolutely no reason, given the abundance
of opportunity that exists on this planet, that
some should go without, except by choice.

Choose differently.

Stay tuned.

You don't need a degree in Business Administration
but the knowledge can be very helpful.

Become a sponsor

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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Just completed an interview with an online web station at www.holisticperspective.net.

The interview is being re-broadcast right now at

11:50pm Tuesday March 20, EDT

1:50 CST Wednesday March 21, (Chamorro Standard Time)

and will re-air over the internet in 8 hours at about

8am Wednesday March 21 EDT East coast US

5am Wednesday March 21, PDT West coast US

10pm Wednesday March 21 CST

Listen to the interview live or archived at KhaazRa's website at
www.holisticperspective.net
where you can also pick up some unique products to help you live
a wholistically centered life.

http://download.yousendit.com/FBC22A2A7556232B

Labels: Sideline Business Tips, Update

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#posted by Walt @ 1:52 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Response to Angelo's comment to the previous post about the WeLoveSaipan.com site's rise in Search Engine Ranking.

Yep, it's pretty cool....Now I don't want to minimize our accomplishment, so
the following analysis is just me doing what I'm wont to do.


Hopefully this won't sound arrogant, but
rising to the first page of listings is something I've done before.
I've done it before with my hip hop sites (keyword: hip hop record label, start
your own record label), and I'm currently
doing it with the passionprofit site as well for certain keywords.
So the ability to rise in search engine ranking is something I guess I just
sort of take for granted.

I'll admit, however, that the WeLoveSaipan.com rise has been a bit meteoric, so
there are obviously some other factors at play here besides my genius. :-)

1. I think that what helps is that we are in a relatively sparse
playing field. "saipan" is not (yet) a keyword for which
we have a lot of competition.

2. Linkman definitely

3. I also have a suspicion about the html code I used
for the site. I've been doing some testing over
the past three months, and seem to see a correlation
between certain coding and resultant rises and falls
from week to week.


But now for the real cool part....
On a metaphysical level,
I also believe in the power of thought to activate unseen forces and
mobilize them to assist in the manifestation of worthy causes, intentions
and goals of positive orientation.

It is a basic function of the world that I choose to live in that every call is answered,
every knock is responded to, and every wish is granted. If it doesn't always
seem that way, it's because we see the often necessary DEconstruction
that must precede REconstruction of a new reality as a negative thing, and
then abandon our dreams before they form. I'll refer again to a favorite book, entitled
Ask and It Is Given: How to Manifest the Life of Your Dreams)

Having all of us, or at least you and me, Angelo, focusing our thought energies,
on a daily basis, visualizing our outcome can not be discounted as the REAL reason this is
taking place. Those with the power to create, do so through thought alone.
Reality, physical objects, people's behavior, and the simple stuff like the inner workings of
the Google search engine algorithm, bend to the will of those with vision.


I have a mantra on my wall that reads:

My Greatness Manifests...

By Thought Alone...

In the Service of Other Selves...

By Seeking Always the Affirmative
Use of All Apparent Limitations
(and using it as catalyst)


The "limitation" of Saipan's not-so-complimentary presence,
and dearth of fun-loving, caring, empowering images and stories of life here
on the web, before you came along was turned into a positive
through sites like TheSaipanBlogger.com, BeautifyCNMI,
and now WeLoveSaipan.com which are all
providing a benefit and service to others!

The intention of what we wish to achieve is what registers with the universe,
polarizes us towards service to others, and by natural law makes miracles--or, at least
what some would perceive as such.

But should one really expect anything less than miracles in Paradise?

I guess the true test will be to do it again for an entirely new site
with different keywords.

*search engine logo graphics courtesy of websting.com.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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I predict in a few weeks I'll be making an annoucement of a major coup in search engine ranking. (OK, maybe it won't be so major, but it will have significance for those who are launching their own websites and wish to place higher in "natural" search engine listings for particular keywords.)

As you may know, WeLoveSaipan.com is a site I launched, with the support of Angelo Villagomez with the specific purpose of placing higher in search engine listings for the keyword "saipan." We launched the site on Dec 6, at which time it placed at position 155 (page 16) and as of this morning, it placed in the natural listings at position 29 (or as high as 23 depending on what browser you use).

As I mentioned a few moments ago in an email to Angelo:


*****************************

"Angelo,
I think also that we have evidence of two distinct strategies for
achieving high ranking.

1. I think your (Angelo's) blog is where it is from (a) sheer content (which has always been the #1 key in search engine optimization), (b) keywords (i.e. the amount of times you mention "saipan", (c) links TO your site from other bloggers and (d) the frequency of your posts.

2. WeLoveSaipan is where it is primarily from linkman, which expanded
the diversity of links to us (ala bloggers, non-saipan-related sites)
and, I believe, the link from YOUR blog in particular, being a high ranked site
was critical.

There's also what I call the "grandfather clause" which seems to give higher ranking
to sites which have been around for a while like the Tribune (and yours).
I know this from my own hiphopentrepreneur.com (aka hiphopbiz.com)
site which is pretty much established now after having been around since
1997, and shows up on top on searches for "start a hip hop record label"

Now, I don't know this for sure, but I believe
Google also puts some weight on visits to a site over time which
they can get from tracking how many people click to a site after
doing a search, which means once we get on the first and second
page, we should be able to maintain our position in much the same
way that the Tribune does at a consistent position 6 or 7.

Keep in mind also that there are not that many sites about Saipan,
so this may have been a little more challenging to accomplish
had we been publicizing, say a viagra site.


W

*****************************

But, the bottom line is, that we're doing it!
So, as I was saying, I predict that within a few weeks, we'll see welovesaipan.com
on the first page of listings for search queries for "saipan." A full sequential account
of exactly what we did to achieve it will be included in the soon-to-be-released
manual entitledd "Websites That Sell" which will be announced right here!

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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Feel like I 've been a little remiss in my promise to make this a business and lifestyle blog. I've been focusing much on the lifestyle part of it all. So, here is a little "business on the side" tip for those passionpreneurs who are thinking of writing and self-publishing a book, brought to you by the following sponsor:

It's easier to get your business degree online
if that is one of your goals.

Become a sponsor

WITH 55% DISCOUNT, CAN I REALLY MAKE ANY MONEY SELLING MY BOOK ON AMAZON?

A client of mine recently emailed me the following:
"hey Walt,
I am not making any money selling my books because Amazon gets a
55% commission and printing and shipping the book costs me almost $13!"
What should I do?"


PART I: Crunching the Numbers
First, here's what he's referring to:
Let's say your book has 200 pages, sells for $24.95 and your printing
and shipping costs through your Print-on-Demand company = $13.50.

(i.e.
Printing = $7.00
Handling = $1.50
Shipping = $5.00
TOTAL: = $13.50)

Now, at 55% discount, that means Amazon will pay you 45% of $24.95, which is $11.23
for each book it sells on its site through the Amazon Advantage program.

You can see, therefore, that if it costs you $13.50 to make the book,
and you only earn $11.23 for it, that you LOSE $2.27 each time you make a sale.

You have two options.

1. Get your printing costs down below $11.23,
Reduce the page count, opt for a basic/media mail shipping, play around
with the trim size of the book to make it more cost effective.

OR
2. Raise your price.
Your book has to sell for at least X, where
45% of "X" should at least cover your printing costs.
(i.e. 0.45X = 13.50
X = 13.50/.45
X = $30

If neither of those two is an option, it might still be worth it to have
your books selling on Amazon. Here's why:


I. Larger orders will ease the pain
Hopefully as your book's popularity and the demand for it
increases, you'll start to receive
larger orders. Typically, the handling charge stays the same,
while shipping increases only marginally. So, NOW, when
Amazon orders TWO copies of your book, your cost analysis
looks like this

(i.e. for TWO books
Printing = $14.00
Handling = $1.50 (stays the same)
Shipping = $6.00 (increases slightly)
TOTAL: = $21.50)

But now, however, Amazon will pay you
24.95 x 2 x .45% = $22.45 for the two books.
Not a great difference, but at least you
made $0.90 or at the very least breaking even.


II. Being on Amazon adds legitimacy to your product.
There's a good percentage of people who refuse to purchase
my books directly through my website. That's why I've added
a "purchase on Amazon" link to all the product listings on
all of my sites. (I'll share a linking option that can earn
you a few extra dollars)

III. Being on Amazon helps you reach a wider audience.
It's still the first place book buyers worldwide go to
purchase a book.

There are people who START their searches for new and interesting
books on the Amazon.com site.


Having your product on the Amazon site may result in "purchase these two items"
link associations with other products extending the market you might
otherwise not reach.

Being on Amazon gets your name out there for future clients and other channels of
income like consulting, writing, collaborations, as well as exposure to media for
reviews, etc.


IV. Everything else about your listing with Amazon is
therefore multiplied in its potential reach

Industry reviews
Customer feedback
& your Amazon Ranking
all serve to increase exposure for you and your products.
Whenever I get a great review, I add it to my Amazon listing.
Whenever a customer or client emails me a great testimonial or review,
I request that they post it to the book's listing on the Amazon site.
Once you have an impressive ranking, you can then use it on
YOUR website (This book is ranked #500 on Amazon.com!") to increase
sales through that channel.

I therefore like to think of the 55% discount as a necessary price
to pay for the exposure and legitimacy that Amazon provides--with my
focus on the future, and the invaluable intangible good will that
providing a secure sales channel provides.

Now, having said that, here are some tips on how to maximize your Amazon
relationship

PART 2: THREE Ways to Maximize your Amazon relationship

There are THREE ways I make money through Amazon.

1. First, as a publisher, I'm a member of the Amazon Advantage Program.
That allows me a regular listing on Amazon and they place an initial order to have my books in stock. Then when people order, they order more from me to replenish stock. I just filled an order for 10 copies of Turn Your Passion into Profit a few minutes ago. This method gets more orders but you only get 45% of retail.
Amazon ships the order to the customer.

2. Second, I place my own competing listing in the Amazon Marketplace.
If you look to the right of the regular listing, you'll see people selling used copies of the book listed. I offer an autographed copy at a price just a few pennies less than the regular listing. I make more money through this method, but there aren't as many takers. I ship this out myself via Media Mail.

3. Third, I am also an Amazon Associate.
If you look on my sites you'll see an option for people to purchase my books through Amazon.
I place my associate code in this link so that if they do, and/or if they purchase ANYTHING from Amazon, I earn a commission.


So, in the long run, I'd have to say that my relationship with Amazon has been a good one.
I receive frequent orders, timely payments, great exposure and enough orders of two or more books,
plus Marketplace orders to make it worthwhile.


Today I received an Amazon order for 17 copies of Turn Your Passion Into Profit.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips, Walt's Articles

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...once you set up your blog, a very important strategy for generating traffic is to establish links from other sites & bloggers.
Having a link to your site from someone else's site is an indirect endorsement of you and your site. Blogger's new drag and drop feature (available on New Blogger) makes this easier to do (i.e. you don't need to know any HTML in order to do it.

Coming soon: "Websites That Sell: The Ultimate traffic generating, money-earning, fame creating, movement sparking checklist for your website or blog!"

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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My Saipan blog buddy, Angelo Villagomez, has discovered one of the secrets to generating visits to his blog. Angelo posted a picture and a few words about Katie Rees (ousted beauty pageant winner; Miss Nevada) on his blog. As a result, his blog shows up in internet searches for the infamous beauty queen. This tactic results in more visitors to a site, and consequently more potential customers for whatever one might be selling, or perhaps more clicks on one's Adsense pay-per-click links.

According to Angelo:

"I got 508 hits to the Saipan Blog in the last hour. I'm the #1 search result for "Katie Rees" on MSN. Thanks, MSN! Thanks, Katie Rees! That girl is Blog Gold!"

Now that tactic may be great for general interest, Saipan-specific, fun and politics, personal blogs like Angelo's, but unfortunately, serious business owners like myself would never resort to such obvious ploys. Katie Rees? Katie Rees? I think not.

So all of those people who are searching on Google News, for example, who discover the following stories...

Katie Rees' Latest Photo Shoot
TMZ.com, CA - 17 hours ago
Katie Rees, the ousted Miss Nevada, is back in the spotlight. Now she's posing for the brand new Las Vegas magazine, Racket. Sorry fellas, no girl-on-girl ...
Fired Miss Nevada Katie Rees finds herself a new job South Asian Women's Forum
Ex-Miss Nevada Back to Work in Sin City E! Online


Dethroned Miss Nevada finds new job MSNBC
Washington Post
all 98 news articles »
Miss Nevada Nude? Katie Rees In Talks With Playboy
Post Chronicle - 12 hours ago
Former Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees lost her tiara over a nude photo scandal. We could be seeing quite a bit more from Katie Rees in the not-to distant future ...

National Ledger Miss USA Nevada Playboy Dreams: Katie Rees Nude Photo Shoot?
National Ledger, AZ - 12 hours ago
Miss USA Nevada Playboy Dreams: Katie Rees Nude Photo Shoot? (Image: Racket). Rees was unceremoniously dismissed from any chance at becoming Miss USA 2007 ...
Ex-Miss Nevada Back to Work in Sin City
AND, South Africa - 2 hours ago
It turns out that the publicized pictures of ex-Miss Nevada USA Katie Rees acting naughty while on vacation in Florida were good for more than getting her ...

Or those who search for images and find this....


are probably not the same as those interested in starting a sideline business....

So no Katie Rees mention for this blog! I mean it!

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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Running a sideline business can be quite interesting. How do you handle customer insults? The general rule of thumb is "ignore them." It's a no-win proposition to get into debates with customers. If you're doing a good job of running your business, you can be assured that the mean emails will be few and far between. If a customer has a legitimate complaint that can be remedied by an action (refund, gift certificate, apology), then by all means respond and rectify.
If, on the other hand, the customer is just venting and spewing unkind words, then ignore it.
Now, having said that, and after following that rule since being in business (1992), let me tell you how I broke it, just yesterday.
Back in October 2006, a customer visited my site and placed two orders for two relatives. The books were to be sent to two separate addresses. Her emails at that time were a bit venomous and chastised us for not having the option of a different "ship to" address on the order form. (I had just started using the Cubecart shopping cart and hadn't activated that feature). So, after some back and forth during which I completely ignored the venom and responded as kindly and helpfully as I could, we had the order resolved and shipped off successfully. I even had further dialogue with the customer and felt that
Within the last day, upon returning to our site, it seems, she attempted to place another order as a new customer, but was not allowed to enter her email address (as it was already in our system from her original order back in October). If she had clicked to log in as a "returning customer" the shopping cart software would have recognized her information, and allowed her to proceed. Apparently being frustrated with her attempt to order, she wrote (after explaining that the customer name in our files attached to her email address was her relative for whom she ordered a book in October):

"...PLEASE CORRECT YOUR RECORDS.
I do not know how your firm remains in business when you cannot even keep correct records of your customers."


Now, normally, I would have ignored that line, and just responded as if it had never been written. Today, however, something prompted me to respond. Perhaps I needed something to write about for this blog (as there might be a lesson in here somewhere). Perhaps after 14 years of ignoring such emails (albeit they've been very, very rare), I decided to respond. Perhaps living here on Saipan has made me less tolerant of needless hostility. Whatever the reason, I decided to respond:

<<
I received your email, [__________.] And while I would normally ignore such statements,
I feel compelled, given the nature of your original comments, my personal efforts
to have your orders filled expeditiously to both _________ and ____, and the apparently
supportive and congratulatory nature of your last comments to me in October (see below) why you
would revert to such a combative and venomous tone.

Are you aware, [ ], that comments like this, in addition to
being simply uncalled for, are extremely
negative, damaging, condescending, insulting, and tear others down needlessly?


In any event, to respond to the concern you raised:

We stay in business because since 1992, we've been providing
a valuable service and quality products to our customers.

We stay in business because people tell their friends and even tell strangers
about us because they are satisfied with what we promise.

We stay in business because Entrepreneur Magazine, Black Enterprise,
Essence, Source, Wall Street Journal, dozens of websites, as well as
industry leaders like Chuck D., think highly enough of, and respect
what we do enough to let us use their names and trademarks free of charge to
promote our business.

We stay in business because despite the ups and downs of
doing business, we never lose sight of the fact that we are
helping people achieve their dreams, and that we are
living to the standards of a higher calling.

We stay in business because we work tirelessly to keep producing
good products and by focusing on the content of these products
so that they help people achieve their goals.

We stay in business, because "we" are one individual whose passion
to inform and inspire others supersedes the occasional negativity
that some people choose to languish in.

We stay in business because for every ONE such person who complains
about an email address that SHE HERSELF entered into our system,
and who chooses to insult our business acumen, we have FIVE THOUSAND
who can find something positive to say about doing business with us.

We stay in business because in the reality WE choose to live,
good intentions are rewarded in kind by a supportive universe
which sees to it that we never want, and that our venture
perpetuates itself.

That, my dear friend, [ ], is how we stay in business.

I sincerely hope you take the content of my response
in the spirit of conciliation in which it is offered,
and that you might, as perhaps a new year's resolution,
be sensitive to the fact that there are human beings on the
receiving end of such verbal attacks.

Words are not without consequence, my friend, and do in fact
impact on the well-being of others.

Or, perhaps you were just having a bad day....

Walt F.J. Goodridge,
Founder, the Passion Profit Company


Ok, so it was bit long-winded, I admit (but I am a writer, after all).
A friend of mine agreed (that it was a bit long), and reminded me
of the oft-advised strategy of WRITING such a letter (as a way of letting
off steam), but NOT SENDING it.

In any case, I sent it off.


A few hours later, I received a response:

Thanks, Walt, for the long diatribe.
However, the fact remains that I apparently do not EXIST in your records.
I cannot log into my account.
I am being told that my OWN E MAIL ADDRESS is already being used.

Well, DUH, I should hope it is being used SINCE I USED IT

You may be considered a SUCCESS, but that does not mean your BUSINESS leaves a HELL OF A LOT TO BE DESIRED IN EFFICIENCY AND SIMPLE ACCOUNTANCY.

Hmmmm...

So I guess the moral of the story, and the lesson learned is:

Rule Number 1: Do not get into verbal altercations with customers.

Rule Number 2: If tempted to enage a customer, Refer to Rule Number 1:

No good can come of it.

Labels: Sideline Business Tips

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