SiteSell: The Blog

Where The Heck Are All The Commencement Addresses?

Ken's Blog

So why are we talking about commencement addresses in December? I'm not sure -- guess I couldn't wait until May.  ;-)

Thanks very much for your comments on the "Steve Jobs's Commencement" post.  And thanks very much especially to George Appiah, who has found and passed along one superb commencement address...

Thoughts On Steve Jobs's Commencement Address At Stanford University

Ken's Blog

Steve Jobs's famous Commencement Address to Stanford grads (June 2005) goes to the heart of the SiteSell philosophy about work and life.  If you've not read it yet, it really is must-read material.

Print it. Read it. File it someplace where you'll find it again, because we all tend to forget thoughts that deserve to be remembered forever!

And share it. Share it with everyone you care for.

Recently, an SBI! owner pointed out the video version of it at YouTube.

I don't know why, but today it sparked four random but related thoughts...

Brand New egoods.sitesell.com Launches!: 5 Pillar Affiliate Report #258

Zine Mailings

The 5 Pillar Affiliate Report is for SiteSell.com affiliates only (click here for 5 Pillar Report #258). This e-zine, together with the Quick Start Guide, the 5 Pillar Marketing Guide, and the SiteSell Promotion Center, forms the backbone of the #1 affiliate program in the world.

This week, 5P News announces the launch of the new egoods.sitesell.com and the updated Service Sellers Masters Course.

Articles cover putting egoods.sitesell.com to work for you, and what's new in the 5 Pillar Marketing Guide.

Finally, Pearls From The Affiliate Forums features the following...

• Finally made a sale!
• 5P Affiliates Who Do Not Own SBI!

Click here to read this issue of the 5P Affiliate Report. (Affiliates only.)

Join the 5 Pillar Affiliate Program. Register today.

NEW Alexa Key System Launches!: SBI! Xpress #191

Zine Mailings

Site Build It! Xpress ("SBIX") is for SBI! customers only (click here for SBIX #191 and recent issues). It boils down the near-infinite Net marketing and e-business noise into "only what you really need to know."

This week, SBIX News announces a new Alexa system for Brainstorm It!, the looming deadline for the video contest, and the new, ongoing extension to the video contest -- The YouTube Connection.

Articles cover creating Tiers Without Tears, and Connecting With Visitors Using Photo Slideshows.

Finally, Pearls From The SBI! Forums feature the following...

• Tortoise Cartoon Man Now Offering Free Santas
• YouTube Video Toolbox
• Easy Way to Get Links
• A Pearl:  Using Forums To Secure Inbound Links
• Separating tortoises from the hares
• It's Not Just Google Watching!
• Santa Tortoise Is Here!

Click here to read the three most recent issues of the SBI! Xpress. (SBI! owners only.)

The World Is Passing SEO By

Ken's Blog

Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs, Inc. which he sold to AOL for $25,000,000, said the following at the Dec/2006 Search Engine Strategies conference in Chicago...

"SEO is bullshit, if you generate a web page with good content Google will rank the page properly."

Now, a simplistic generalization (such as the one above) is meant to make a point, not win a debate.  It is, of course, a great way to start a debate and win tons of publicity, especially if you make it at a conference full of SEOers! And so...

Mooch Marketing

Ken's Blog

The "dark side" of Direct Marketing is fully online, more effective than ever.  So far, so boring -- we all know that.

Even when SiteSell first started in the late 90s, we were in the midst of direct marketers. A clique of talented but unethical marketers worked together, cross-selling each others' "Internet Marketing Secrets" for ridiculous prices.

We stayed clear of that cabal, and built a business based upon underpromising and OVERdelivering.  We're still around, growing steadily.  But you don't see the "old outfits" anymore.  I guess they've made their money and moved on.  So...

LESSON #1  Only the scammers get rich.  Their customers?  They are missing thousands of dollars.

We are now seeing a second major round of the dark side, a new wave of hucksters selling nebulous products and services for ridiculously high prices.  And sure enough, gullible people continue to fall for irresistible copy that manages to convince them that, somehow, this one time, this proposition is different.  The killer doubt...

LESSON #2  "Geez, what if?" That question lures folks into the same bad decisions over and over again.  Some of them have been burnt before and will be burnt again.

The sad part is that they are good people, motivated to get ahead.  But they get so excited (because they WANT to believe) that they fail to consider that no serious business person would really sell a goose that lays a golden egg.

One of the top masters showed me the inside of how this game works and it's brutally relentless. Let me open your eyes a touch...

"Travel" To Income: 5 Pillar Affiliate Report #257

Zine Mailings

The 5 Pillar Affiliate Report is for SiteSell.com affiliates only (click here for 5 Pillar Report #257). This e-zine, together with the Quick Start Guide, the 5 Pillar Marketing Guide, and the SiteSell Promotion Center, forms the backbone of the #1 affiliate program in the world.

This week, 5P News welcomes aboard two new PREselling tools, travel.sitesell.com, and Luisa's travel case study.  Find out how you can turn your personal travel bug into income.

Articles cover two commission-generating strategies. The first one  shows you how to squeeze the most out of the lively new travel site. The second one outlines how to use your own free bonus to "close the deal".

Finally, Pearls From The Affiliate Forums features the following...

• Is this SBI article too pitchy?
• A 5P/SBI website?
• Can we really influence the visitor that much?

Click here to read this issue of the 5P Affiliate Report. (Affiliates only. Not an affiliate? Register today.)