Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Arizona Winning ‘America’s Dumbest State’ Contest With New ‘Birther’ Legislation
Arizona Winning ‘America’s Dumbest State’ Contest With New ‘Birther’ Legislation: "
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Arizona’s house of representatives on Wednesday passed a bill requiring candidates for the U.S. presidency to provide their birth certificate to the Arizona secretary of state. Ha ha, that’s surely not aimed at any particular president currently in the White House who will be running again in two years.
The Arizona Capitol Times reports:
“Arizona is seen as a laughingstock around the nation,” said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat who voted against the bill. “I am ashamed that this is even a topic of discussion.”
Now it goes to the state senate, which will hopefully pass this thing so that Governor Jan Brewer can sign it and seal Arizona’s fate as America’s stupidest & most bigoted state. Or maybe she’ll win that award by signing the Gestapo anti-Mexican law already sitting on her desk. [CBS News]
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Monday, April 19, 2010
4 Things an Ethical Internet Marketer Can Learn from Spammers
4 Things an Ethical Internet Marketer Can Learn from Spammers: "
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First things first: We hate spam. And we hate spammers. Maybe even more than you do.
So this article isn’t about endorsing spam in any way, or suggesting that you do anything unethical.
But as much as we hate spam and wish it didn’t exist, we can’t deny one fact.
Spammers make a killing online.
Just to give you an idea, last year a Russian investigation found a network of spammers selling fake goods and fake pills online. Each spammer was making, on average, $4,600 per day.
Sure, the spammers use the “law of large numbers” to achieve these results. But you also need marketing savvy to make more than $1.5 million a year selling fake stuff to people who would rather shoot themselves in the left foot than listen to you.
When I started looking more closely at their tactics, I found some valuable lessons any marketer should know.
1. Go where the fish are
What is the most important factor you need to have if you want to go fishing?
Most people will say the fishing rod. Others will say the bait, or a boat. Interestingly enough, they are all wrong.
The most important element of the equation is the presence of lots of fish.
If you have a lake full of fish but don’t have a fishing rod or bait, you can probably still improvise something that would let you enjoy a fish dinner tonight.
But no matter how great your bait or how cutting-edge your equipment, if there aren’t any fish, there’s no fish dinner.
Spammers know this, and they always focus their efforts on the niches with the largest number of fish. That means they always target known customers willing to spend money. Examples include health-related niches, luxury goods, anti-virus software, and, of course, men who want access to certain prescription medicines without getting into embarrassing conversations with their doctors.
Lesson learned: If you target a niche that’s too obscure, you’ll have a hard time making money even if your product and marketing are outstanding. If you target a large and profitable market, of course you’ll face more competition. But it’s a lot easier to improve your product and marketing than it is to manufacture buying customers out of thin air.
2. The money is in the list
Email is the most direct type of communication we have. That’s why spammers love it so much. It allows them to display their messages right in the face of their victims.
Now, if creepy, bottom-dwelling spammers get a conversion rate high enough to keep them in business, imagine what kind of results you can get with:
- A legitimate, permission-based list of people who want to hear from you,
- Terrific content that benefits the reader, and
- Smart, respectful promotion of excellent products and services?
Lesson learned: If you are not building your email list, you are almost certainly leaving a lot of money on the table. Blogs, social networking, and various kinds of advertising are all useful tools. But email is still the “killer app” for building relationships with your prospects and clients.
3. Copywriting, copywriting, copywriting
Ever wondered how scammers manage to convince people to buy fake products?
It comes down to one word: copywriting.
Spammers may not always write the most poetic English. But they do use solid, time-tested copywriting techniques. If you master the essentials of copywriting yourself, you’d be able to sell crappy products to a fair number of people. (Not that we recommend that.)
But because you have a quality product or service and a great reputation, you’ll be able to sell it to lots and lots of people. Who will, in turn, tell their friends about how terrific you are.
There are lots of places you can get solid copywriting advice, including:
- The Copywriting 101 series on Copyblogger (free)
- Copyblogger’s Internet Marketing for Smart People newsletter (free)
- Read classic books on copywriting (inexpensive)
- Take a paid copywriting course — one that focuses on persuasive writing that sells rather than beautiful or “creative” writing (can be expensive, but if you’re a serious marketer, it’s worth it)
Lesson learned: Copywriting matters just as much as having a quality product or service. In some situations it matters even more. Never shortchange the attention and care you give to your copywriting.
4. Scale matters
Do you know how many emails a spammer needs to send out to get one sale? More than a million.
That’s right, their conversion rates are usually lower than 0.0001%.
So how can they make those thousands of dollars per day in profits? By sending out millions and millions of messages.
Obviously we are not saying you should start spamming people like there is no tomorrow. What you need to keep in mind, however, is that even great conversion rates are still pretty low in the scheme of things.
If you were able to convert 5 or 6% of your list to becoming paying customers, you’d be doing a fantastic job. Which means 95% of your list won’t ever spend a dime with you.
In fact, for many marketers, a conversion rate of 1% is doing quite well. That means if you have 1,000 subscribers on your email list and you send them an email talking about your latest product, you’re doing well if 10 people buy it.
Lesson learned: Numbers aren’t the only thing, but they do matter. If your main income source is your website, learn how to get as much traffic as possible. If your main income source is your email list, learn how to get as many subscribers as possible.
How to do that? Keep following blogs like this one and putting their advice into action.
About the Author: Daniel Scocco is the owner of Daily Blog Tips. He is also the author of the “Make Money Blogging” ebook, which you can download for free by signing up for his newsletter here.
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Palin: Obama 'Superpower' Remark Doesn't Make Sense
Palin: Obama 'Superpower' Remark Doesn't Make Sense: "WASHINGTON, Ill. — Sarah Palin criticized President Barack Obama on Saturday for saying America is a military superpower "whether we like it or not," saying she was taken aback by his comment.
'I would hope that our leaders in Washington, D.C., understand we like to be a dominant superpower,' the former Alaska governor said. 'I don't understand a world view where we have to question whether we like it or not that America is powerful.' Obama said earlier this week that the United States must do its best to resolve conflicts around the world before they grow too serious.
'It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them,' Obama said. 'And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.'
Palin's remarks came in a question-and-answer session after a speech at an event in the central Illinois town of Washington to raise money for scholarships and a community center. She spoke to a crowd of about 1,100.
The Republican criticized Obama throughout her speech – for a healthcare overhaul that she says won't work, for the increase in the national deficit and for disagreeing with Israeli policies.
Palin said she hopes the November elections will produce winners who believe in limited government and encouraging free enterprise.
She also poked fun at the controversy over the requirements listed in a contract for her speech at a California university. Palin thanked the organizers of Saturday's event for providing a straw for her water bottle – "the bent kind, which I just read in the media that I supposedly insist upon."
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'I would hope that our leaders in Washington, D.C., understand we like to be a dominant superpower,' the former Alaska governor said. 'I don't understand a world view where we have to question whether we like it or not that America is powerful.' Obama said earlier this week that the United States must do its best to resolve conflicts around the world before they grow too serious.
'It is a vital national security interest of the United States to reduce these conflicts because whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower, and when conflicts break out, one way or another we get pulled into them,' Obama said. 'And that ends up costing us significantly in terms of both blood and treasure.'
Palin's remarks came in a question-and-answer session after a speech at an event in the central Illinois town of Washington to raise money for scholarships and a community center. She spoke to a crowd of about 1,100.
The Republican criticized Obama throughout her speech – for a healthcare overhaul that she says won't work, for the increase in the national deficit and for disagreeing with Israeli policies.
Palin said she hopes the November elections will produce winners who believe in limited government and encouraging free enterprise.
She also poked fun at the controversy over the requirements listed in a contract for her speech at a California university. Palin thanked the organizers of Saturday's event for providing a straw for her water bottle – "the bent kind, which I just read in the media that I supposedly insist upon."
"
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Sir Christopher Lee reads Jabberwocky - Times Online
Sir Christopher Lee reads Jabberwocky - Times Online: "Christopher Lee reads Jabberwocky"
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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