One reason work at home gurus feel undervalued

When I tell people I work from home, I get a response similar to a group of gals gossiping..."Oooo tell me more." The conversation is often more on how lucky I am (which I am),  how fun it would be to work from home and all the other benefits of working from home.

Now, I'm glad there is a lot of enthusiasm for my work, but the issue is...working from home is not my work. That is it's not what I do it's just where I do it. Like my office counter parts, I have to complete set tasks in order to get any kind of income. I also have to do these tasks to the best of my ability the same way I would if I was working anywhere.

It also concerns me when I notice people down play my work with the automatic assumption that they can do it too. As if reading blogs, or even having a personal blog that you update once a month qualifies you to earn an income to become a high paid blogger.

The statement anyone can work from home is a myth. But this myth lives on because people put more emphasis on where they are working rather than what they're doing. Would you say "I work in a brown building on 4th street" when someone asked what you do for a living? Probably not. Even mentioning "I work in an office" or saying "I work at (name of company) is silly in my opinion, because it says nothing about what you actually do.

When people ask me what I do for a living I'll give them some job title. They might then ask what that entails and then if the topic comes around to it I say, "I work from home." It's the last thing on the list, not the first because it's the least important feature.

Your talents and skills are what make your job, not where you employ them. I'm glad I get to work from home. It suits me. It wouldn't suit everyone, but for me, it's become essential. I get to do certain tasks from home. But the point is I have to do something. I don't sit on the couch all day watching T.V. expecting money to pour in.

You may also have a similar problem of people forgetting that working from home entails working and this neglect can make one feel less appreciated in the work force. But keep in mind that in order to be successful you have to dedicate a heap of hours, especially at the beginning to your business/career. Simply shrug of the condescending remarks and play up your job and what you do rather than where you do it from.

Official Google Statment: how to optimize your pages

In an online Q&A session, Google's Matt Cutts answered the questions of webmasters who want to get higher rankings on Google for their websites. This article summarizes the most important SEO relevant statements of this session.


The effect of +1 clicks on your organic rankings and ads

Google is still testing the effect of +1 clicks on the search results. It seems that only clicks from trustworthy people will influence the position of a web page. In other words, it won't help to buy +1 clicks.

In addition, the +1 clicks on ads will show others who have +1′d it but that is all at this time.

You cannot exclude keywords from your website

It's not possible to ensure that your website does not appear in the search results for a particular keyword. The reason for that is because that could be a way you could silence critics or not show up for negative reviews.

The age of a website is important but only one of many factors

The age of link anchors and domains can influence the position of a website in the search results. However, Matt Cutts says that you still need fresh information because old information can get stale.

Google decides per keyword if the search results show websites with newer or older content. Old websites often tend to have more links and that the links are often the reason why older domains have higher rankings.

Google will rewrite your meta description tag

Google will only use the meta description of a web page if they find it appropriate to the searched keyword. Google will also write its own description to show the searcher why the page was ranked for the query.

What to do if other websites steal your content

You should do a DMCA complain and a spam report, especially if the other website is a spammer who is scraping content completely.

Double 301 redirects are okay

A web page shouldn't redirect to more than 4 URLs. Chained 301 redirects should be only 301 redirects and they should not be mixed with 302 redirects.

Google also detects JavaScript redirects. Matt Cutts says that Russian spammers tried to fool Google with JavaScript redirects but Google could detect it.

Google uses many different factors to determine the position of a web page in the search results. Analyze your web pages with IBP's Top 10 Optimizer to find out how to adjust your web pages so that they get listed on Google's first result page for your keywords.

Article courtesy of Axandra.com

Blogger Dymanic Templates

I was so excited for the new blogger dynamic templates, until I realized they can't really be customized. You aren't allowed to add or remove gadgets which means no google adsense (unless you already have an account), you can't change the color, font, nothing. Basically if all you write are personal posts or post pics without too many words then they might work for you, but if you're a commercial blogger and make money from your site these templates are pretty useless.
I hope blogger will fix this because I like the look and feel of the templates (some remind of tumblr) and the ability to let users easily switch between them, but it needs to be customizable.

I'm testing it out on this blog to see what my readers think, and if the interaction with my is affected by the template.

Subscribers vs Followers. Is One Better?

A while ago a friend of mine mentioned that she would rather have subscribers than followers. At the moment, I didn't really take in what she was saying but now it's hit me...is one better than other?

Internet markets and web business owners no longer just have subscribers that they pitch things to. They have followers that they interact with. We don't just want to be subscribed to anymore; we want to be retweeted, reblogged, and Liked. Our lists aren't just a group of people that have decided to "subscribe" they're our "friends." They make up a kind of "follow family" that we can connect with and that we expect will share us with their "friends" so that we can have more "friends."

But is there any psychological difference between followers and subscribers? I mean aren't they both doing the same thing?

We want them to do the same thing. We want our followers to act in much the same way our subscribers do--reading what we offer, buying what we offer, sharing what we offer. But does one type do it better than others?

It's a question very similar to blogs vs websites. And the answer is always--you need both.

Subscribers are followers but they do behave and connect with you differently.

Most likely your subscribers have opted in. The have released an important piece of information (their email address) in order to receive your precious information. Most subscribers don't subscribe willy-nilly. No one wants 100+ newsletters coming into their inbox. Thus subscribers are great for their initial commitment they are willing to make to you.

They also see your information as a single email. In a sense, you're special for that moment that they decide to open you. You have a good portion of their attention and your attention is held longer.Subscribers usually find you through a keyword search, and can generally be targeted

But subscribers don't interact the way followers do. Followers are better known to ask questions, do polls, and even enter contests. They have shorter attention spans. They read a feed of sometimes 1000+ people and companies and can't afford to have their attention be consumed for too long on just one. In most cases you have 140 characters to get your point across.

They're commitment is also decreased. It's easy to "follow" someone. It doesn't take much risk. You don't give anything away. Just a click of a button lets someone into your world. It's also easy to unfollow.

With so many people doing follow for follow, the moment you let one go you can be sure to  unfollowed as well. If you're content changes (even for a day) you're at risk of being unfollowed. And there is more expectation to update regularly. Tumblr followers have been known to unfollow after just one week of inactivity. Twitter is around a month but a subscriber can be with you for months or even a year without a receiving word from you.

Followers can be, and in a way are, targeted. They follow you on the basis that they have something in common with you or an interest in you and your company. They find you through general search terms on the media platform or the recommendation of someone they follow. However unlike someone who subscribes to your fit after 40 forty newsletter, a follower may just want fitness information.

One of the main differences between a subscriber and a follower, is your subscribers can be taken with you even if you sell or close your site. Leave a social network platform and you lose your followers instantly.

Both groups of people are beneficial to an online marketer. Subscribers buy more often than followers. Followers, spread the word about you faster than subscribers and see your updates more regularly. In the net business world you need both shoppers and fan builders. One isn't necessarily better than the other. It's about figuring out how each list can work for you and then making it work for you.  

Are you playing the work at home numbers game

If you do any kind of online marketing and promotion, you know how important it is to have a list. This list should be a group of targeted readers and/or customers that you can connect with. But sites like facebook, twitter, and tumblr (social media in general) have changed the attitude about numbers and list building.

Old school online marketers love their lists just as much as anybody. They wouldn't trade it for anything, but they value something more than just numbers. Real work at home experts and internet marketers know that it isn't about the qantity of your list but the quality. How many you have to offer stuff to isn't as important as the number of people who actually respond to stuff you offer.

An unresponsive list is simply a dead weighted number. It looks great on paper to say I have a list of  5000 people, but if among those 5000 only half are truly a targeted responsive group of prospectives, your number becomes less value.

The numbers game has always been about quantity, but the advent of social media sites has put so much emphasis on the number that few marketers today are going out of their way to find out if they've simply built a list of sitting ducks.

It's become so easy to "add" and "follow," that list builders today are saying  "follow me" without considering who they're asking to be followed by. People have become more concerned with their "friend" or "follow" count that they're not paying attention and doing market analysis on how their numbers are actually benefiting them.

It is crucial, from a marketing stand point, to know and understand how the numbers play to your overall business success. You should have a list of highly targeted and responsive prospects that are willing to eat up what you have to offer. True markets know that a small responsive list is more valuable than large unresponsive one.

Building your work at home and internet marketing list should cater around quality, not just quantity. Don't get sucked into the numbers game.

Why Headlines Need To Avoid the Shotgun Approach: Using Pet Peeves

You’ll see the waffle in headlines everywhere you look.

You’ll see a headline that’s weak.

And wimpy.

Headlines that say:“Do you fit this category?” (As in: Do you have these problems in sales?)

And then that headline proceeds to list every sort of problem, relating to every sort of target audience that could possibly be interested in sales.

And to me, that’s not a headline at all. That’s just shotgun stuff.
Fire and hope to hell it hits some one.

The funny thing is that the shotgun approach works

Sure it does.

But not quite as well, as a hit straight between the eyes. If you want to write a headline that caters to the exact wants of your clients, you need to work out the client’s biggest pain in the-you-know-where.

You need to seek out the biggest issue; the biggest problem to get your client’s attention.

What do you think is the thing that drives your audience completely crazy?

Let’s look at an example, shall we?

A client of mine, Colette, has a Meditation class that she’s facilitating. Now she may write a lot of headlines to sell that meditation class, but nothing builds a great headline as something that bugs the heck out of clients.

And if you’ve ever tried meditation, you know what I mean.

You sit quietly in one corner, trying to meditate, but your brain buzzes around like a fly on a sultry summer’s day. You swat the ‘fly’ and get back into your meditative pose. And the thoughts come gushing back all over again. Then, in frustration, you decide that meditation is not at all for someone like you.

So what’s the pet peeve in meditation?

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Why Headlines Need To Avoid the Shotgun Approach: Using Pet Peeves