Internet Marketing Blog | Product Reviews

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Blogging BlogStorm Blogstorm.co.uk Consultant Expert Interview Series Internet Marketing Patrick Altoft Search Engine Optimization SEO UK

I had an anxious weekend waiting for the baby to come, Our baby still doesn’t want to come out and more waiting.

Today’s interview hails from UK. He has one of best blog tips at BlogStorm.co.uk with over fourteen hundred RSS Subscribers reading his blog. Patrick is an SEO expert who practices what he preaches with his statistics that a lot of bloggers would love and die for. Patrick is an Internet Marketing Consultant who has over 250,000 links pointing back to his blog with his link baiting he uses and teaches all his students.

Here is Patrick Altoft…

---

When did you first get involved with Internet Marketing/Blogging?

I’ve been doing SEO for about 6 years, the first few were spent doing in house SEO and then in early 2006 I started taking on clients. During 2005 I set up a number of affiliate sites & blogs and that’s when I discovered blogging.

In June 2007 Blogstorm was launched and it is growing quite nicely. By June 2008 I hope to be the largest internet marketing resource in the UK.

What is your greatest achievement so far?

Probably making enough money online to be able to leave a very good day job and work from home.

What’s the key behind your site/s?

The key behind my sites is that I don’t target niche markets. Building links is very hard if you choose a tiny market whereas building links in markets such as internet marketing and gadgets is really easy. All my sites have news or blogs on them as well as a nice design so they are linkable from the start.

How is it unique?

A lot of people are shy about entering large markets and stick with niche blogs. I would much prefer to own 1% of a huge market because you can own 50% of it on a day when you release some unique news.

What obstacles have you encountered?

The main obstacle is Google not wanting to rank affiliate sites. You need to be whiter than white and almost ad free if you want to rank an affiliate site in Google

What are your Three Top Tips for building an Internet Business?

Don’t ever do anything to upset Google if you want their traffic. So many sites stand no chance of ever ranking simply because they bought or sold links in the past.

Be unique. It’s fine to start another gadget blog but only if you make the news rather than just covering other peoples news.

Think long term. I killed loads of affiliate sites by over monetizing them at the start. Build sites up with no ads and no affiliate links for 2 years until they rank in Google and you will earn a lot more in the long term.

Did you secure any finances? If so how did you secure it?

I don’t really spend anything on any of my sites so finance was never an issue.

Any advice for other start-up Internet Entrepreneurs?

Find something you are passionate about and just start blogging about it. Look on social news sites to see whether other people are interested in it and try to network with other sites.

Any advice for a traditional business?

Hire a consultant. So many large companies get web design, blogging and SEO so totally wrong because they are too proud to hire external consultants. For the sake of a few hours of a decent SEO consultants time some could double their traffic overnight.

Your vision of the Web’s Future

I see Google increasingly indexing trusted content within minutes. You only have to look at the http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends hot trends on Google to see that people turn to search to find breaking news. In the past this has been a poor user experience because Google was always 24 hours behind but they are getting better.

Sites like Digg will become more mainstream and personal blogs will start to fade out thanks to micro blogging. Hopefully something will happen to stop people being able to sell search engine submission services and other useless offerings.

How will you stay ahead of the game?

This year I’ve been making sure my sites are following Google’s guidelines to the letter and building defensible traffic. By making Blogstorm as big and reputable as possible I hope to be in a position to take advantage of the internet marketing industry growing a lot next year.

Who are your personal Heroes?

Probably Tiger Woods. I don’t have any online heroes.

What are your favorite sites?

Digg and the 200 feeds I read every day using Netvibes

What’s the greatest thing about the net?

I love writing an article or news story that gets picked up on thousands of websites and social networks. Seeing the idea spread and watching the traffic rolling in is a pretty cool feeling.

What’s the worst?

When you write or create something remarkable and nobody else likes it.

What inspires you?

Making enough money to retire.

Final word to your readers…

Stay tuned to Blogstorm for more interesting stuff in the future.

---

Check out Patrick’s work at BlogStorm.co.uk and learn his secrets, tips and tricks. Thank you Patrick for the interview and your time.

Cheers,

Carlo Selorio

P.S. I will be posting my interviews with Maki at DoshDosh.com and Yaro Starak at Entrepreneurs-Journey.com on Wednesday.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Authority Authority Blogger Blogging Blogs Chris G Chris Garrett Coach Expert Interview Series Internet Marketing Internet Marketing Consultant web2.0

I’m having a ball with the Expert Interview Series getting in touch with Authority bloggers and leading Internet Marketers all around the world. Today’s interview is another leading web2.0 writers around the world, you might have seen his work at leading Authority sites like Performancing, Problogger, Copyblogger where he gives his tips about blogging and content writing. Chris is also an Internet Marketing Consultant, coach, trainer and a self confessed web geek. You can visit his blog at ChrisG.com where he shares great tips about blogging and he owns one of the leading Authority Forums around the world at AuthorityBlogger.com.

Introducing Chris Garrett…

---

When did you first get involved with Internet Marketing/Blogging?

I started with internet marketing in the early 90’s. I had been involved with the internet in a leisure and education context for a while, I worked for a college, but it took a while for companies to come round to the idea of marketing on the web. Blogging as a reader I got into by following the early pioneers in the late 90’s but my first true blog was started in 1998/1999 depending on your definition. I always had a personal homepage from when I first launched mosaic on that 9600 baud modem, but my first blog I would say is when I started my online journal.

What is your greatest achievement so far?

Finding an audience. I think it is any bloggers greatest achievement, and we shouldn’t ever forget our audience either.

What’s the key behind your site/s? How is it unique?

The key or unique factor is my approach to blogging I would say. I call it “authority blogging”, using blogs as a platform to grow profile, credibility and trust rather than adsense etc.

What obstacles have you encountered?

Too many to list! Most will be common to any blogger and every obstacle is a learning experience.

What are your Three Top Tips for building an Internet Business?

1. start with the audience not your cool idea 2. understand the audience, their needs and desires 3. serve the audience in a remarkable way

Did you secure any finances? If so how did you secure it?

Everything apart from Performancing has been self funded. My projects are always bootstrapped or paid by clients. Performancing is special in that Nick and Patrick brought me on board after they had already funded the project.

Any advice for other start-up Internet Entrepreneurs?

Serve a real need, do not leave how you will make profits to chance and watch the cash Flow.

Any advice for a traditional business?

Ask yourself why you consider yourself a “traditional business” as those assumptions could kill your company.

Your vision of the Web’s Future

I think the future of the internet will be total ubiquity so people do not even consider it. Like electricity, the internet is becoming a taken for granted utility.

How will you stay ahead of the game?

That is the real challenge but then again it isn’t a race 

Who are your personal Heroes?

I don’t have any real heroes but there are lots of people who I am a fan of for various reasons. Seth Godin, Scott Adams, too many to list.

What are your favorite sites?

Digg, Techmeme, stumbleupon, boingboing

What’s the greatest thing about the net?

The way it connects people despite geographic distance.

What’s the worst?

The idiot trolls who take pleasure out of abusing people from the safety of their anonymity.

What inspires you?

Those connections between people I mentioned and knowing that I am helping one or two people.

Final word to your readers…

If you haven’t already, download my free ebook 

---

I highly encourage all my readers to visit Chris’ blog ChrisG.com and his AuthorityBlogger.com forum.

Thank you Chris for your time and thoughts.

Cheers,

Carlo Selorio

Popularity: 33% [?]

Aurelius Tjin aureliustjin.com Blogging Expert Interview Series Internet Marketing marketing products Tips

Our interview today is a good friend who I believe is one of the leading Internet Marketing players here in Australia if not around the world. I first got in contact with Aurelius when we were both selling ebooks in eBay back in 2005 and I guess the rest you can say is history. Aurelius started making waves online with his site UndergroundGiveaway.com where he made $US30,000+ in a week and over 10,000 subscriber list. Since then he has a great line of products keeps on growing. The thing is with Aurelius, he has achieved more than most entrepreneurs because he just keeps things simple, plans ahead, gets things going and works hard.

Please allow me to present Aurelius Tjin…

When did you first get involved with Internet Marketing/Blogging?

I first got started online in 2003. Having already known some web design skills, prior to my Internet marketing career, was a huge plus for me.

I was first involved with in the MLM business but had 0% passion for it so I dropped out. It made no sense to me to sell diet products to friends, family, relatives, work friends and neighbors when I had no passion in it myself. That’s what led me to Internet marketing.

What is your greatest achievement so far?

I’d simply say making it full-time as an Internet marketer, despite all the negativity and failures I went through with this business. Every step you take and accomplish should be an achievement itself.

What’s the key behind your site/s?

Generally, there are three types of sites I focus on –

1. My blog (www.AureliusTjin.com) – This is my “haven” where I communicate and build relationships & trusts with my fellow subscribers and visitors.

2. My “product showcase” site (www.1Plus1Marketing.com) – This is where I feature all my products and recommended products.

3. Squeeze page sites (e.g. – www.UnstoppableResults.com) – The money’s in the list. These sites build my list. Yes, these sites have built me a list of over 25,000 subscribers, and have been building my list ever since. The great thing about these squeeze pages is that they are all “viral”, meaning, I’ve set them up in a way where I don’t need to bring traffic to it myself, I’ve got other people promoting these squeeze page sites.

How is it unique?

Well, let’s talk about my blog for instance. I’ve got my own taste, approaches, theories and beliefs on things, that’s generally what makes it unique. In terms of content, I always like to share and over-deliver on the information I share, leaving nothing behind. What’s most important to me is the usefulness and uniqueness of the content. I try to stay away from rehashed information.

What obstacles have you encountered?

Prior to starting out, and even now, my mother doesn’t like the idea of how I earn living. She thinks that “going to school and getting a good job” is the ONLY way to make good money. So negativity is always something I encounter. But what I don’t do is say “yea, maybe you’re right, maybe I should get a job”…no. I do the complete opposite – I use that negativity to push myself even further.

Another obstacle I’ve encountered is getting things done. And Carlo, if you don’t mind me sharing my Top 5 tips on “Getting things done” with your readers, here they are:

Top 5 Tips on How To Get Things Done

1. Make a checklist of 10 things or tasks you want to complete for today, in order of priority. The task(s) you did not complete for today can be continued on the next day. So the next day you’d have another checklist of the 10 things you need to get done.

2. Ever heard of the quote “Do what you do best and outsource the rest”? That’s right. Focus on your strengths and get someone else to do the work you hate or weak at. If you’re on a shoe-string budget, why not do a barter? i.e. - commit to a quid pro quo. Bottom line is, don’t be the “one man band”.

3. Get yourself an “Idea book”. Go to your local stationary store and buy a cheap notepad where you can jot down your ideas. That way you don’t forget your ideas and you can refer back to it anytime.

4. Build relationships with other people in your market. I feared telling my business buddies about my latest ideas, because I thought that they’d “steal” my idea. Much to my surprise, that wasn’t so. Sharing your ideas amongst you fellow business associates, acquaintance or friends, will potentially allow you to brainstorm through your idea to give you suggestions, tips and pointers to enhance your idea. The truth of the matter is, they may know more about a certain area than you. So find and build relationships with other people in your market.

5. Get the right tools and work in an environment where you’re comfortable working in. If you’re sitting on a really uncomfortable seat, then it’ll be hard for you to work on the computer. Especially if you’re going to work at longer periods. Get the right tools and software to keep yourself working productively. Lock yourself if you have to get your work done. One crazy, but rewarding thing I did was book a hotel for three days to get an important task done. Do this if you have to.

What are your Three Top Tips for building an Internet Business?

1. Mindset – Know what you passions are, focus, persist, find a role model, set goals & sub goals and believe 2. Systemize, prioritize, leverage and plan out your business 3. Build relationships with people in your market – build a list before you make the sale and seek out Joint-ventures.

Did you secure any finances? If so how did you secure it?

Does a credit card count? I was in debt buying and investing in a lot of make money products when I first started.

Any advice for other start-up Internet Entrepreneurs?

The best advice I can give if you’re just starting out with any type of Internet business is to stop looking for that “magic pill” because there isn’t any. Success is a journey just as Confucious says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. All these books, products, coaching programs and seminars mean ZERO to you if you don’t do one thing, and that’s taking massive and focused action towards your goals.

Any advice for a traditional business?

For traditional brick and mortar business owners – you’ve already got the “entrepreneurial mindset”, don’t neglect on the huge opportunity there is for you on the Internet. If you just get 0.00001% of the pie, you’ll be living your dreams. The Internet has just revolutionized the way we live. Compared to traditional business, you have no “startup cost”, “rent” and all that. But let’s not all forget that the Internet is just a medium - A medium for marketing your business.

Your vision of the Web’s Future?

Web 2.0 has definitely hit 2007 with a bang. Web 2.0 is the future of the web… i.e. – user generated content. More and more Internet marketers are seeing Web 2.0 as a primary source of traffic and marketing their business.

Also, information will come from all places. Don’t let information overload kill you. The main thing is to focus on one system or one roles model and follow through with it until you’re 100% definite you’ve tried your best. Those who succeed are those who are persistent and take consistent action.

How will you stay ahead of the game?

Learn. Learn. Learn and keep and learning. Technology is rapid. If you want to stay ahead or at least keep up with the crowd, don’t give up on learning new things. In life we either grow or we die, just like a plant. You either keep growing or you stop and become stagnate. That’s the last thing I would wish upon someone.

Who are your personal Heroes?

Tony Robbins, “Sly” Sylvestor Stallone.

What are your favorite sites?

The Warrior Forum ProBlogger CopyBlogger

What’s the greatest thing about the net?

The greatest thing is how much freedom you have to do what you want.

What’s the worst?

Definitely identity theft, spam, phishing emails…things like that.

What inspires you?

What inspires me – other websites, inspirational movies, and the life we’re living in now.

Final word to your readers…

Instead of dabbling with dozens of “things”, persist and focus on just one method or system first. Once you’ve seen results with your first “thing”, you can then diverse more. Where you want to go is from point A to point B. Anything that comes in the way of that is just going to slow down your success to that path.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. It was my pleasure to share my story, thoughts and tips. I wanted to make a difference - differences that not only will help me reach my goals, but also you.

Feel free to pop by my blog at www.AureliusTjin.com

---

I would like to thank Aurelius for sharing his thoughts, insights into his values, mindset and business strategies.

Please visit AureliusTjin.com and 1plus1marketing.com to learn more about his products and blogging thoughts.

Cheers,

Carlo Selorio

Popularity: 26% [?]

Blogging Carl Ocab carlocab.com Expert Interview Series fourteen year old expert Internet Marketing kid blogger Make Money Online Philippines

I’m really excited about my next interview since I too was born and raised in Philippines until my family moved to Australia when I was ten years old. I remember playing with my GI Joe toys and playing basketball at the age of thirteen, although unlike me, this inspiring young entrepreneur ‘Carl Ocab’ has been blogging for a few years now and he’s only fourteen! He is one of the most sought after authority bloggers on the topic of ‘Making money online’. Carl has captured a lot of bloggers attention and continues to captivate he’s audience.

Below are links to some articles which prove that this kid is definitely making money online:

Live Blogging with Carl Ocab “How To Make Money Online with a 14-year-old” By Annalyn Jusay - Manila Bulletin writer (National Newspaper)

Yuga meets the Kid Blogger By Abe Olandres (Filipino authority blogger)

Your can see his blog at CarlOcab.com

I’m proud to present Carl Ocab…

When did you first get involved with Internet Marketing/Blogging?

I got evolved with internet marketing about 2+ years ago, the time when Making MFA (Made for Adsense) sites were a big hit. My sites were made from blogger blogs and duplicated content so it didn’t make that much.

Ohh I remember the “Mesothelioma” days…

What is your greatest achievement so far?

In life? Or in my blog? I’d say in my blog.

Well, the greatest achievement so far is when I reached the #1 spot in Google for the keyword “make money online”

What’s the key behind your site/s?

Marketing. A baby back rib tendered perfectly is nothing if no one sees it.

How is it unique?

It draws curiosity - “Make Money Online with a 13-year old”

What obstacles have you encountered?

In the early days, I say the hardest obstacle that I encountered was the technical stuff. You just don’t know if what you’re doing will work.

For today, the hardest probably is managing. You’ve got so many sites, so many issues and so many things to do. Man I gotta outsource!

What are your Three Top Tips for building an Internet Business?

Have a vision. Plan then Act.

Did you secure any finances? If so how did you secure it?

No, the start-up was very minimal. I got everything I need: a computer, hosting & domain from my dad and an internet connection.

Any advice for other start-up Internet Entrepreneurs?

Get a mentor, it’s probably the best thing you can get.

Any advice for a traditional business?

Same as online I guess. Know your customers. Be personal as much as possible. They’re still the same people you meet each day.

Your vision of the Web’s Future

It can get anything I want, from cookies to a pet turtle. Oh wait, that’s available by now.

Well, probably online companies would overtake popular offline guys like Coke and Nike.

How will you stay ahead of the game?

If an idea pops up, act and make money from it before anyone does - Speed.

Who are your personal Heroes?

My dad, he’s the one who taught me the basics of internet marketing & the basics of doing business.

I told you it’s the best!

What are your favorite sites?

My blog, hehe…

Ok count Google and Wikipedia. The two sites I can’t live without.

What’s the greatest thing about the net?

Every people have equal opportunities.

What’s the worst?

It’s easy to get lost, last minute you were reading about internet marketing the next minute your in cats.

What inspires you?

Results. Instant outstanding results.

Final word to your readers…

Thanks for the opportunity to get interviewed Carlo.

Just remember, the best tip I can give you is to “act”. Act before anybody does. Oh act needs the W word – work.

---

I highly encourage all my readers to visit Carl’s blog at CarlOcab.com and I guarantee that you will learn a thing or two about Internet Marketing and Blogging.

It goes to show that anyone can make money online, regardless of age, race, gender or location. Thank you Carl for giving us time to interview you, I know how busy you are with homework.

Popularity: 38% [?]

Blogging content Daily Blog Tips Expert Interview Series Internet Marketing problgger.net skellie skelliewag.org Top 100 Blog Writer

Our next expert is one of the most sought after guest bloggers around the world. You can see Skellie’s work as a staff writer at Technorati Top 100 blog ProBlogger.net and niche-favorite Daily Blog Tips. Skellie has also written for Copy Blogger, Zen Habits and NxE and a number of other popular Authority Blog sites.

If you want to read more about Skellie, please visit Skelliewag.org.

Presenting Skellie…

---

When did you first get involved with Internet Marketing/Blogging?

I think anyone who publishes web content is a marketer, so by that metric, I’ve been an internet marketer for as long as I’ve been publishing web content: going on eight years.

I’m not sure exactly when I started experimenting with blogging, but it was a few years ago. Skelliewag.org is the first blog I’ve started with the aim of gaining a large readership. Before that most of what I learned was through observing and analyzing what works for others.

What is your greatest achievement so far?

I really treasure subscribers, so the proudest moment for me has been growing the site to over 1,000 subscribers in around three months.

What’s the key behind your site/s?

The ‘give and you shall receive’ principle.

How is it unique?

Though Skelliewag.org would probably be categorized as a metablog (though it’s written for webmasters, too) I wanted to create something that felt different to any other blog in the niche. I’ve tried to make it a little more in-depth and to discuss the philosophy behind what we do. I try to challenge readers and make them think about what they’re doing in pursuit of success. I also think declaring the blog an ad and affiliate free space has helped to differentiate it from the pack.

What obstacles have you encountered?

My scariest blogging day was when I tried to make another install of Wordpress on the same server and ended up temporarily destroying Skelliewag’s theme.

Other obstacles have been criticism, productivity issues and the pressure to keep growing exponentially. But the highs have easily outweighed the lows.

What are your Three Top Tips for building an Internet Business?

I think many bloggers looking to make money online are blinkered by a kind of knowledge loop. The big money making blogs generate most of their cash through ads and affiliate links. That’s what they’ve had success with, so they mainly write about making money through those means. Then bloggers who read those sites often seem to think those are the only realistic money making options. But there are plenty of others out there.

In my experience, if you can build a well-respected site and a profile in your niche you can command good prices for paid blogging gigs. My first tip would be to look into that.

My second tip would be to explore giving as a marketing strategy. Few things make people feel more positive about you and your brand than giving them something valuable without expecting anything in return.

My last tip would be to think about starting, developing and selling blogs. Relatively new blogs are commanding great prices at auction at the moment and I think an experienced blogger could build up a site that might sell for a few thousand dollars within a month or so.

Did you secure any finances? If so how did you secure it?

My only costs so far have been for a domain name and hosting on a shared server.

Any advice for other start-up Internet Entrepreneurs?

I don’t really think of myself as an entrepreneur. My blog is first and foremost a hobby that has opened up some great opportunities.

Any advice for a traditional business?

I think the ‘give and you shall receive’ principle is just as neglected by traditional business as it is online.

Your vision of the Web’s Future

I think we’ll start getting more selective about the information we receive on the web (and the technology will aid us in doing so). The information overload has to come to a head sooner or later.

How will you stay ahead of the game?

I try to provide an alternative to the information overload by publishing value-added articles once every other day. I’ll keep trying to make sure that I only give readers information and advice they really need. I’ll keep trying to avoid publishing anything that benefits me more than it benefits them.

Who are your personal Heroes?

I have different heroes and role-models for different areas of my life. When it comes to blogging, my outlook has consistently been shifted and honed by some of the insights provided by Seth Godin. I was lucky enough to have Seth comment on one of my posts after Darren Rowse forwarded it to him. Talk about a humbling sequence of events!

What are your favorite sites?

I couldn’t pick just a few. I love having a wide and varied feed reader. I’m attracted to anything innovative and anything that makes me think, even if it’s outside my area of interest. Sometimes I’m more interested in the way the blogger approaches blogging than the topic she or he is writing about. I think any blogger who isn’t keenly watching and learning the masters of the craft is missing out on a fantastic opportunity to learn by example.

What’s the greatest thing about the net?

The vast amounts of useful information available. We just need to find a better way to increase the signal and cut out the noise.

What’s the worst?

The lack of accountability for what is said and done.

What inspires you?

Innovation, uniqueness, anyone who’s not afraid to break with tradition and do things better than they’ve been done before.

Final word to your readers…

Thank you. I don’t say that enough!

---

I would like to thank Skellie for the interview. Please visit Skelliewag.org for more tips and tricks about content writing.

Popularity: 33% [?]