Ideas for Business

Everyone wants recognition. And if you do business online and are looking for public relations from bloggers and marketers, there is a right way and a wrong way to approach them. Actually, there are several right ways and several wrong ways.

SEOmoz recently wrote a funny post about an e-mail proposal that missed the mark. And it was really so elementary that I’m surprised the person looking for marketing help didn’t step up and admit his wrong square in the face. So what the big sin? Simply this: A mass e-mail where all the recipients could be seen by each other.

Huge No-No!

The No. 1 cardinal rule for e-mail proposals is this - make them personal and individualized.

If you are going to approach any number of people and ask for a quote or estimate or publicity of some kind, any kind of assistance or partnership, don’t send out an impersonal mass e-mail. That’s just plain tacky. Find out who the contact person is, by name and title, and address your e-mail to that individual. Also, send each person a separate e-mail. And don’t expect people to jump through hoops for status or money. That’s not what business is about. It’s about relationships so build good ones right from the start.

I’ve written a lot in the past about shady dealings and outright scams. I’ve also received legal threats on multiple occasions after writing about what I felt was pretty underhand tactics. These days I try to be a little more tactful, but sometimes the lows I see people stoop to really grind my gears.

We Cant find Your Site On Google.ie

A client received this yesterday from a

—–Original Message—–
From: John Hartley [mailto:traffic@persimmonpublishing.com]
Sent: 28 July 2009 09:03
To: info@somesite.ie
Subject: I visited your website and had a question

Hello,

I was looking at websites under the keyword ‘widget services’ and came
across your site http://www.somesite.ie. I see that you’re ranked
first, but on page 7 in google.ie.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of why you’re ranked this low but more
importantly how easily this can be corrected.

There’s no reason you can’t have a top three ranking for this keyword
based on your site structure and content. You have a very nice site.

You need significantly more one way anchor text backlinks. If you’re
interested I can help you with this…

I’m talking about getting you ranked for ALL your keywords. Adding new
backlinks on a steady and consistent basis from high PR quality websites
is what produces the rankings you are looking for.

The right kind of links are very critical in getting top ranking….and
I can hand deliver these quality links to you.

My partners and I own 1000’s websites and offer private linking to
hundreds of website owners just like yourself.

I didn’t send this email out to thousands of people but I am currently
reaching out to a list of your ‘keyword competitors’ as well. But you’re
my favourite and you are the one I really favour and the one I see I can
monetize the targeted website traffic our linking can deliver.

I have your contact info as: phone no: 01 xxx xxxx. Is it ok if I give
you a call?

I have a very simple way to prove that what I do works and it’s risk
free for you to try. Nothing beats seeing the results with your own eyes.

Is it ok if I give you a call? I would love to pursue this further over
the phone with you or should I go somewhere else?

Sincerely,

John Hartley
Tel: 0845 301 7737
Director, Persimmon Publishing Ltd

Persimmon Publishing Ltd is Registered in England Reg. No. 05078726, VAT
No 723 369236.
Registered Office: 311 Shoreham Street, Sheffield S2 4FA, UK

I’ve redacted some info to protect the innocent. So let’s deal with all the “facts” offered by John.

Site Ranks #1 on Page 7 of Google.ie

I see that you’re ranked first, but on page 7 in google.ie.”

For the keyword given by John (but redacted above) the site in question has ranked #1 pretty much constantly for a few years now. That’s #1 ‘web search’ on page #1 of google.ie.

Persimmon Publishing and Partners Run Domain and Link Farms

The right kind of links are very critical in getting top ranking….and
I can hand deliver these quality links to you.

My partners and I own 1000’s websites and offer private linking to
hundreds of website owners just like yourself.

So let’s be clear here – John and his ‘partners’ over at Persimmon Publishing own large networks of sites, and they can give you links that will help you rank just like that. Apart from being a somewhat shady SEO tactic, these guys can also turn off those links at any time. So what’s the difference between this and Adwords? Both are chronic, but you’re a lot less likely to get banned from Adwords.

The Inferred Blackmail Threat – Buy Our Service Or We’ll Help Your Competitors

I didn’t send this email out to thousands of people but I am currently
reaching out to a list of your ‘keyword competitors’ as well. But you’re
my favourite and you are the one I really favour and the one I see I can
monetize the targeted website traffic our linking can deliver.

Actually I’m willing to bet that John Hartley of Persimmon Publishing Ltd probably did send this out to thousands of people. It’s most likely automated, although it has been written in a way to look fairly genuine.

But the blackmailing reference to contacting direct competitors is disturbing also. For hard-pressed business owners the possibility that this guy will go and point his link network onto a competitors site must be worrying. But you know – if you’re a sucker now what’s to stop the highly ethical Persimmon Publishing from raising your prices later to avoid them defecting to your competition?

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True…

For anyone worried about this – DONT. What these guys are offering (if it’s even real) might work for a few sites in the short term, but I guarantee it wont last in the long run. If you’re concerned about possible scams involving Google or SEO I’d recommend you read this. If you do receive an email from the same company I’d love to hear about it.

Related posts:

1. Yahoo Site Explorer – checking your backlinks
2. Links Form The Fabric Of The Internet
3. Who Said META Tag Optimization Was Dead?

Back on the social media marketing kick. An article about the future of social media had this little paragraph in it:

5. Frequency matters just as much as content: Blogging once a month or writing a tweet once every week or posting a FB status once every other day is not the way to grow your visibility. All marketing activities require frequency, consistency, and long-term effort. You wouldn’t expect one advertisement in the Detroit Free Press to generate leads immediately or ongoing. Similarly, online marketing requires consistent, frequent, and long-term effort.

When it comes to any type of marketing, this is the most important principle to know. Frequency and consistency are more important than almost anything else. If you just run one ad and never run another you will likely not see any results. But if you run an ad over and over again in front of the same eyes then eventually someone will call you. People will generally not act on something until they’ve seen it at least seven times. That’s an old marketing adage and it still rings true - even online, and even with social media.

So whether you Twitter, update Facebook, network on LinkedIn, blog, or use another form of social media, remember to do it often and keep doing it. Frequency. Consistency. Nothing beats it.

I think there are many factors that make a survey site ideal. I have outlined several things that I look for in a paid survey panel, and references to online survey sites that embody these qualities. I am certain that I have left a few things out, so feel free to add your comments and your favorite survey sites that you feel belong under these 17 categories.

1. Frequent paid surveys
   • Daily Survey Panel – GlobalTestMarket – Opinion Outpost
   • Surveyhead – Survey Spot – Valued Opinions
2. Fair compensation for the amount of time spent ($1-$10 for 10 to 45 minutes)
   • American Consumer Opinion – GlobalTestMarket – HCD Research – Opinion Outpost
   • Pinecone – Socratic Forum – Survey Spot – Toluna – Valued Opinions
3. Screeners that insure that you qualify for most of the surveys received (80-90%)
   Global Test Market, HCD Research, Pinecone Research, Socratic Forum, Valued Opinions
4. Cash instead of points system
   ACOP, Greenfield, Mindfield, Pinecone, Socratic Forum, Survey Spot, Surveyhead, Survey Savvy, Valued Opinions
5. Offers Invoke Interactives for higher incentives ($10-$150 for 45-120 minutes)
   ACOP, Greenfield, SurveySpot
6. Offers product testing
   ACOP, Global Opinion Panel/Synovate, Greenfield, MySurvey, Pinecone Research, SurveySpot
7. Instant or quick confirmation of incentives
   Daily Survey Panel, Global Test Market, HCD, Socratic Forum, Toluna
8. Surveys that disqualify you quickly
   GlobalTestMarket, Greenfield, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot
9. Low Cash-out Threshold ($1 to $10)
   Daily Survey Panel, Epoll, Greenfield, HCD, Mindfield, Opinion Outpost, Socratic Forum, Survey Spot
10. Pays via PayPal in a timely manner (3-4 days)
    Daily Survey Panel, Epoll, Greenfield, Pinecone, Surveyhead
11. Good customer service by email, phone and snail mail
    American Consumer Opinion, Daily Survey Panel, Global Test Market, Greenfield, Opinion Outpost, Survey Spot, Valued Opinions
12. Surveys that do not ask repetitive questions or have tables full of very specific traits of a product
    HCD Research, Socratic Forum
13. Well-organized easy-to-navigate website with payment and survey history
    GlobalTestMarket, Greenfield, HCD, Mindfield, Socratic Forum, Surveyhead, Valued Opinions
14. Forum to air complaints with dedicated customer service representative: Greenfield
15. No sweepstakes, advertisements, spam or trial offers
    Global Test Market, HCD, Opinion Outpost, Socratic Forum, Surveyhead, Survey Savvy, Valued Opinions
16. Few or no survey glitches
    Global Test Market, HCD, Opinion Outpost, Socratic Forum, Surveyhead, Survey Spot, Toluna
17. Surveys that have progress-bars (varies widely)
18. Surveys that have Next and Previous buttons so you can go back (varies widely)
19. Surveys that have answer-bars instead of small circles for your answers (varies widely)

So that is my idea of the perfect ingredients for a great survey panel! Share your thoughts below:

It’s not often that I get to talk about a “first” or in reporters’ terminology “a scoop!” Yet, here it is for the first time in print. The world’s first Personalized Business Talk Internet Radio Station.

What is it? It is the first Internet talk radio station dedicated to business and technology that can be personalized by you and, best of all, it’s free.

Now you can:

• Schedule your own programs
• Learn from some of the best minds in business and technology on the topics that interest you most
• Start and stop when you want and pick up from where you left off
• Get all of the above Free!

At last, business and technology talk Internet radio that allows you to schedule who you listen to, what you listen to, and when you listen to it. After years of development, it’s finally become a reality on www.ibizradio.com/radio.html.

For years, iBizRadio.com has been the number one business podcast directory in the world. Simply look up “business podcast directory” in Google and you will find it is number one in the world! It has edged out every other big name directory with its focus on business. Want to learn more and get started? Simply watch the iBizRadio video that will walk you through it in minutes.

You can choose from dozens of business categories, from Advertising and Marketing to Entrepreneurship. You literally can listen and learn 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each program is taken from the highly popular iBizRadio directory and has been “human edited” to assure quality standards.

Need to know about financial services and don’t have time to read a book. Simply choose Financial Services from iBizRadio’s Personalized Business Talk Internet radio categories. You will have a wealth of information at your finger tips to quickly learn what you need to know.

Need the information on the go? Every program is available in the iBizRadio directory and can be downloaded as a podcast to your smart phone or iPod. The possibilities to listen and learn the business and technology information you want, when you want, and from whom you want are close to endless.

Here’s another really big plus! Want to add great content to your Website. You can add iBizRadio’s Personalized Business & Technology Talk Internet Radio Station to your Website free. Is it almost impossible to believe? Well, here’s the link to do it: http://www.ibizradio.com/radio.html. Let’s face it. People are getting tired of content they need to read. We have found that when given the alternative, most people would rather listen and learn than read Websites. Be our guest and give it a try. We’d love to get your feedback.

iBizRadio is the Internet’s first podcast directory & search engine solely dedicated to business podcasts. iBizRadio is also a news gathering and publication company. It is owned and operated by TMA E-Marketing, one of the largest privately held Internet marketing agencies in the United States.