Over the weekend the team behind Market Samurai, a keyword research and SEO analysis tool that I’ve recommended several times here on the blog (and that I’m an affiliate for), posted an announcement about some changes that are happening with the software that had a lot of people asking – is this the end of Market Samurai?
Because I use the product almost every day, and more importantly because I know many of you do as well as a result of my recommendation and training videos, I feel that it’s my duty to keep everyone informed of what’s going on.
If you’re not a Market Samurai user you may still find this post interesting, but I just wanted to let you know why I wrote this article up front so that if you’re not interested I don’t waste your time.
UPDATE (Wednesday, February 1st, 2012): Market Samurai just posted a NEW blog post here saying everything is back up to speed, and the article also debunks a lot of claims other SEO analysis tools have made about the situation and clarifies a lot of what’s going on.
What Happened…
One of the reasons I have used and recommended Market Samurai since mid-2009 is because of their very honest and transparent approach to doing business, which very much aligns with my own.
So, when over the past few days the software was having major issues and not working correctly, I knew a blog post explaining the situation was due.
And just yesterday (Sunday), the Noble Samurai team posted this:
A couple of weeks ago I was at the mall with my good friend Chris Ducker from Virtual Business Lifestyle. We had just finished an awesome weekend in LA at Blog World Expo and we were headed down to my hometown of San Diego when we decided to stop at a mall in Irvine to grab a bite to eat and explore.
Chris lives in the Philippines and I wanted to give him a taste of the Orange County lifestyle here in southern California, something I became very familiar with when I worked in Irvine at my old architecture firm.
While strolling through the mall we randomly walked up to a mall-cart (those product displays that stand in the middle of the mall) that had some interesting looking merchandise.
I pointed at one of the electronic devices and asked the guy who was there, “So what does this thing do?”
Then, he did a little demonstration for us, which I’ll show you in the video below (and look out for the surprise at the end!):
And for those of you who can’t watch or listen to the audio, the transcript will be available right here very soon, although I recommend you watch and listen sometime because the demonstration has to do with an audio device. Click Here to Read More about Instant Results
Scarcity is a marketing technique used to urge people to take action now by giving them the idea that they might not have the same opportunity in the future.
You’ve probably seen examples of scarcity used before:
Verbiage such as “for a limited time only” or “while supplies last” in advertisements and commercials.
Infomercials that say if you call within the next 5 minutes, you get a bonus product for free.
Venues that offer a free gift to the first 500 entrants.
Products online that are only available for a certain period of time.
Holiday sales in retail stores at the mall.
The list goes on and on.
As with most marketing techniques, scarcity works because of the way we, as humans, tend to think. Specifically, scarcity works because:
We hate missed opportunities.
We give more value to things that are rare or things that we cannot have.
We love having control over situations.
We love now.
The truth is, scarcity works – and it works really well.
On the flip side, however, scarcity can also backfire if used incorrectly. Click to continue…
And that’s the beauty of it – you don’t have to be an expert at everything in order for success to find you.
For example, in no way am I an SEO (search engine optimization) expert. When I started this blog, I hardly knew what the term meant, and even when I reached 10,000 subscribers, a detailed SEO analysis from an expert revealed that this blog and the way it was structured for SEO was…well…
Abysmal.
And that’s okay, because it’s all a learning experience – and I’m always applying what I learn to what I have so that I can see better results. No matter where you’re at, you can always improve, and although I know my online businesses and blogs have done quite well, I’m always looking for expert advice from others who can help me reach higher levels.
You’ve just put up a brand new website, or maybe you’ve had one for a while and it’s just not getting anywhere.
The Good News: You’ve already taken some action. Putting up a website is just one piece of the puzzle that many people who want to do business online can’t even say they’ve done.
The Bad News: You don’t know what to do next.
Better News: You’re in the right place, because I’m going to share a number of tips, techniques and strategies from my own experience that will help you promote and market your web properties.
Unlike putting up a website, however, it can take some time to see the fruits of your labor when trying to get noticed online. Furthermore, how quickly you see results can depend on the actual market that you’re in – the more saturated and crowded a market is, the more strategic and “out of the box” you’ll have to think.
The Smart Passive Income Blog was definitely not the first “make money online” type of blog, and if I were to ask any expert they would have told me to stay away from this niche before getting into it. But as you can see, with some hard work, creativity and consistency I’ve been able to nudge my way into one of the most saturated niches out there, and I’ve done pretty well for myself.
Below are some strategies that I’ve used in the past since starting my online career that you may be able to put to practice too. Not all of these may apply to you and your specific situation, but I’m sure there’s at least one tidbit you can take away from this post, and sometimes it just takes one little thing to really jump start your success. Click to continue…
“Success doesn’t happen overnight – especially when it comes to Blogging, but simply going out there and ‘being consistent’ isn’t going to get you anywhere. Not if you don’t have the right focus, the right drive – and an ability to get your freq. on.”
This is a quote and guest post by my buddy, Alex Whalley, who blogs about building, ranking and profiting from niche sites on AlexWhalley.com. He’s quickly gaining ground in the blogosphere and often times I’ll have to stop myself from reading the content on his blog because it is very useful and engaging information. Today, he talks about being consistent, frequency and what really needs to happen in order to gain ground with your blogs and online businesses. In other words, getting your freq. (not freak) on.
Blogging, like any business requires consistency – that much is a given, and any semi experienced blogger will be nodding their head right about now.
But what is consistency really? And has anyone taken the time to define what aspect of it is important? Click to continue…
When I started this blog back in October of 2008, I had made the newbie mistake of not including a way to accumulate email addresses. No newsletter, no opt-in form – nothing.
Over a year later, I finally got my head on straight and made the decision to invest in an Aweber account and start building my list. (For details about why one should build an email list, I recommend you read this post.)
I went live with my newsletter on January 2nd, 2010.
1 year, 1 month and 14 days later (yesterday), I surpassed 10,000 subscribers – a mark that I never thought I’d reach, at least not this fast.
Please realize, however, that 10k is just an arbitrary number. The only difference between 9,999 and 10,000 is the extra digit. But, in the same way a lot of people strive to become a millionaire (are you less accomplished if you have only $999,999?) – it does feel pretty awesome to reach the 10k milestone. A lot of people have way more, but I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in such a short period of time.
As always, I’m not here to boast. In fact, I try really hard (especially in my monthly income reports) not to come off as cocky or better than anyone else, because I’m not. This site is all about the methods and lessons I’ve learned from my accomplishments (and my failures), so in true SPI fashion, here are some of the unique strategies I’ve used to build my list. Click to continue…
It might seem like a weird time of the year to write about autoresponder email messages, especially with everyone else talking about their goals for 2011 and what they hope to accomplish come the new year. But in my case, I feel it’s appropriate because it’s been exactly one year since I introduced my own newsletter and autoresponder series for the Smart Passive Income Blog. One year since I began building an email list.
As many of you know, at the same time I also introduced my free eBook, eBooks the Smart Way, as a “lead magnet” (that’s what the pros call it) to hopefully entice people to sign up, and as I usually do with everything else I’ve got my hands in, I’m happy to share my results with you. Click to continue…
When I first started learning how to drive, my Dad gave me a piece of advice to help me stay safe on the road and become a good driver:
“Drive like everyone else on the road is crazy”, he said.
Although I know there are mostly safe drivers on the road (unlike this guy), by adopting this mindset I learned how to stay alert and be aware of other vehicles on the road next to me.
Thanks Dad!
Now, here’s a piece of advice I’m going to give you to help you think about how to become a better blogger:
This backlinking strategy is modeled after Joseph Archibald’s strategy he generously shared free to the public in his 40 Day Challenge on the Warrior Forum. He was able to rank a fairly competitive niche in the top 5 in Google within 40 days.
(For everyone’s convenience, he has also sinsce published The 40 Day Challenge eBook, which is a lot easier to read than the 1200+ posts on the Warrior Forum. Check out his sample chapter here.)
He’s taken it upon himself to be totally active here on SPI and respond to everyone’s questions and concerns about the backlinking strategy on my blog, which just shows what kind of guy he is. If you use this strategy, be sure to thank Joseph sometime.
***Note: This strategy still works even after Google’s latest Panda Update.
I’ve revealed my niche site backlinking strategy before, but never in this much detail.
Ever since the niche site I created for the Niche Site Duel started to rapidly climb the ranks of Google, eventually landing on the number one position, people have been asking me for more detail about my strategy and the software and tools that I’ve been using to help.
There are several strategies one can use to rank higher in the search engines and the one I’m going to explain is just one of them.
No, I'm not a millionaire, but I am living off of passive income made online. I'm here to show you what I've learned...
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You’ve just put up a brand new website, or maybe you’ve had one for a while and it’s just not getting anywhere.
“Success doesn’t happen overnight – especially when it comes to Blogging, but simply going out there and ‘being consistent’ isn’t going to get you anywhere. Not if you don’t have the right focus, the right drive – and an ability to get your freq. on.”
1 year, 1 month and 14 days later (yesterday), I surpassed 10,000 subscribers – a mark that I never thought I’d reach, at least not this fast.
It might seem like a weird time of the year to write about autoresponder email messages, especially with everyone else talking about their goals for 2011 and what they hope to accomplish come the new year. But in my case, I feel it’s appropriate because it’s been exactly one year since I introduced my own newsletter and autoresponder series for the Smart Passive Income Blog. One year since I began building an email list.
This backlinking strategy is modeled after 
No, I'm not a millionaire, but I am living off of passive income made online. I'm here to show 
Enter your name and email below to get Free Instant Access to the most comprehensive guide available on how to Publish, Market, and automate your own killer eBook.
