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Just hear me out

I bet you’re wondering what could possibly be going through my mind after reading that title. This post is not intended to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams of being the next big thing on the Internet, and making a nice profit from it.

The point I want to make with this post is that the Making Money Online niche is saturated. So much so, it is like a clogged toilet. The same information and advice on how to make it rich, although it may be good, keeps circling the Internet toilet bowl.

I follow several MMO blogs and well over half the posts from those blogs are just re-packaged versions of the same stuff we always hear about. 10 ways to increase your blogs traffic. 7 ways to get more RSS subscribers, The top 5 ways to monetize your blog, etc, etc.

Now this information is, usually, very good and true but I probably have 4 or 5 different variations already bookmarked. So why is all this content being rehashed over and over?

Good advice is to blame

I have a couple of theories. First off it may be just a symptom of people actually following that advice. What? Yes, we’ve all been told at one point or another, likely repeatedly, that guest blogging is a great way to increase exposure to your site.

This is absolutely true. In fact, if it weren’t I doubt I would have written this guest post, sorry Cow.

The problem is everyone and their dog is trying their hand at guest posting and unless the blog owner uses some editorial integrity when evaluating guest posts we end up with a clogged toilet with the same information floating around and around. This is true of any niche not just MMO but it seems to be more obvious, to me, in the MMO niche.

Own your niche

Another possible problem is people trying to write about something they know very little about or are not interested in. They see a particular subject is popular and doing well as far as income potential and they start reading various blogs from that niche. Next thing you know they are parroting the blogs they read and not adding much value to the niche as a whole. You need to be passionate about your niche.

I can confidently say John Cow is NOT one of those bloggers. I am continually entertained reading the latest from the Cow like the recent mess Graham finds himself in. I enjoy reading the guest posts here too because I never have to worry about rubbish posts getting through. The Cow has higher standards then that.

What can you do about it?

My final thought is that most bloggers just don’t care about the first two points I mentioned. They are in it 100% for the money, it is the MMO niche after all. For me this is not a good excuse. You can make money in any niche if you are adding value to it. Start caring about your content and your readers.

Making a quick buck is all fine and dandy but start focusing on the long term. The rewards will be greater and you will truly be a value to your chosen niche at the same time.

If you enjoyed this post take a gander over at my web development and SEO blog.

24 Moos » ~ ~ Random Post

This post is guest blogged by Gyutae Park of Winning the Web, host of the Craziest Internet Marketing Contest You’ve Ever Seen. There are over $7,695 in free cash and prizes so don’t miss out!

If you’re an avid John Cow reader, you probably know where this blog comes from. In fact, it’s hard to argue against the fact that John Cow is nothing but an impersonating copy cow! Although John Cow started off by mimicking the actions of money blogger John Chow, he has risen to fame and has made a name for himself.

So how did he do it? How can a copycat receive so much exposure and be so successful when he doesn’t even use his own ideas?

I’ve analyzed John Cow’s journey to blogging popularity and have found some key factors for his fame. Even an impersonator can shine in the spot light when given the right opportunity.

Below are the 5 key steps to find success impersonating an Internet celebrity

1. Find a common bond
First of all, you need a reason to be an impersonator. Obviously you are infatuated with a person enough to try to be like them. What attracts you to this Internet celebrity? Find a common bond and stick with it. John Chow blogs about making money online. John Cow was interested in the same topic, used the status of an Internet celebrity, put his own spin on the matter, and gained popularity for it. It all starts with the common bond.

2. Create a unique character
Now it’s time to create a unique character. This is the prime time to use parody and humor to connect with readers. People are going to call you out and dismiss you as another copy cat if you’re not creative enough to do things differently. For example, John Cow took on a cow theme and based his whole blog around it. He effectively used wordplay to make his blog humorous and funny. “Milking the Internet” and “Make mooooney online” are great slogans that go well with his theme. If you’re clever, your parody and impersonation will be well received. If it’s lame, you can be sure no one will care to notice.

For another great example, check out Tom Cruise’s stunt double, Tom Crooze.

3. Find holes of opportunity
As you may know, John Chow was penalized in the Google search results for many of the most important keywords because of his involvement in link schemes. In fact, Chow didn’t even come up for his own name “john chow”. So what did the cow do? He optimized his site for the keyword and now ranks #1 for “john chow”, receiving traffic for everyone searching for John Chow. Visitors are in for quite a surprise.

Find opportunities like this to capitalize on your impersonation. What isn’t your Internet celebrity doing that you can move in on? Anything you can improve? Find it and make bank.

4. Leverage the original audience
As you advertise your impersonation blog or site, remember that your target audience is the audience of your Internet celebrity. Anyone who doesn’t know who John Chow is will probably think John Cow is some psycho who drinks too much milk and vodka. Buy paid reviews and advertisements, comment on the the celebrity’s blog, and always associate yourself with the source. Without the Intenet celebrity, an impersonator is nothing.

5. Get the support of the source
This might not always be possible, but it’s a huge benefit to get the support of the source. John Chow loved what John Cow was doing and gave him numerous plugs and links. Without the help, John Cow would probably be bound for failure. A simple connection can be extremely powerful. Reach out to the Internet celebrity, send gifts, and try to gain his or her attention. Impersonation will be much easier.

So there you have it. 5 easy steps to find success by impersonating an Internet celebrity. If you didn’t think it’s possible, just look at John Cow.

If you like this post, you can read more like it over at Winning the Web.

22 Moos » ~ ~ Random Post

Guest blogged by Dave Turnbull - Internet Marketer and owner of a new (and growing) Warhammer Online Forum.

MMORPG’s (a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), are incredibly popular mediums of gaming. With the likes of World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and upcoming games Warhammer Online and Age of Conan, the industry is constantly growing and evolving. Being an MMORPG gamer myself, and an internet entrepreneur I can draw a number of parallels to why an internet business is the best MMORPG.

1. Massively. World of Warcraft may have upwards of eight million players, but as an internet business you have access to everyone who is connected to the internet. You can sell stuff to people in Australia, you can outsource to India, you can import from China, and you can receive traffic (and revenue) from anyone with a internet connection.
2. Multiplayer. With the rise of social networks such as MySpace and Facebook, networking has become a more important facet of internet business. People make friends, make enemies, fall in love (and much more!) through MMORPG’s. With an internet business you’ll be meeting people, some you’ll like, others you won’t. To get heard you must be apart of communities, whether it’s a forum, a social network, someone else’s or your own blog.
3. Online. This one is fairly obvious. Obviously an internet business is online - if yours isn’t, then you may have a problem.
4. Role-playing. Operating a network of sites, a community, or an ecommerce store requires you to play various roles. You may be the team leader, giving directions and setting goals for the business. For many, starting a new business will require you to play many roles: the boss, the accountant, the supervisor, the secretary - they’re roles you may be required to assume, and you have to be ready.
5. Game. It’s all a game. Internet business is a game. Each step you take is a new level: a new mission objective. If you fail once, don’t worry, there’s a second life, and then a third. Failed three times? Game over? Not likely, put your money back into the machine and keep playing. If you take your ventures too seriously you take all the fun out of it. Sure, you need structure, things to be done in a timely manner, and be concerned about profit and loss, but if you don’t enjoy running your own business, maybe you should consider just getting 9-5 job?

19 Moos » ~ ~ Random Post

Here are some of the techniques that I am or am planning to use to build steady loyal readers to my blog.

Opt in email list. If you do not have one (work on getting one) advertise on someone else’s list or newsletter. I write a short newsletter with links to my blog.You can also use your list in the future to remind readers who may have strayed or just have not visited in a while.

Craigslist, Backpage, …. Your key word targeted ad will get picked up quickly and rank high on search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Offline Ads. Free ads, t-shirts, car magnets, signs especially if your blog has a local presence are all great ways to promote your blog.

Google local search. List your blog as a business with your key words as the name of the business. You can get a number one listing on Google local search with a map and everything. You could do this in many major markets where you had friends or family (so you could use their addresses). This could add up to many #1 spots on Google, and other local searches you submit to.

You could easily replace “Sell House Fast of Florida” with “Make Money Online With Your Site of Any Place You Have An Address In”

If you place enough of these for your key words as the business name. It will produce a steady of quality traffic.

Put something on Ebay .Use a free outside listing template service like Auctiva with links to your site. Maybe you could auction an ad space on your site or a review.

Viral video. Make a stupid, exciting, or funny video with a link to your blog and get it on as many social video sharing sites as possible.

Local media outlets. Contact local the media with a story idea related to your niche. Get you and your blog mentioned as an expert. Start with smaller papers or TV stations first.

If you are just getting started on a budget you are forced to think outside the box and come up with creative free and low cost ideas.

What are some of your ideas and tips for marketing yourself and your blog?

Sonny Collova is an expert real estate investor, consultant, and mortgage broker who would like to earn a full time living online blogging, consulting, marketing and writing about real estate, finance, and Costa Rica. Please check out his blog www.investor-market.com .

15 Moos » ~ ~ Random Post

-A Guest Post By Ian Fernando-

There are multiple ways to increase your RSS feed. You can have a HUGE RSS button, offer free ebooks, dedicate a subscription landing page, guest blogging, forum posting/hopping, etc. The most interactive one (I personally find) is hosting a contest or giving out rewards.

In the past I have hosted 3 contests with specific sponsors giving out a free version of the Revolutions Theme by Brian Gardner, giving out OIOPublisher by Simon, and recently giving away 3 Premium Templates for Free! Now, I am having another contest with more sponsors and more prizes to giveaway!

First, how can a contest really attract readers to your blog and will they subscribe? A contest with prizes is more like a bribe; you want to reward your readers with something unique. A lot of readers will start to view your blog because you are giving things for free. I mean who does not like FREE. But are the rewards worth the bribe or benefits?

Think about this, John Chow literally gives things away via contest. What he gets from his business partners for free he gives back to his readers. I am doing the same with the help of some sponsors. With the help of sponsors, I have the chance to give something back to my readers. It can be a simple T-Shirt, 3000 EntreCard Credits, or it can be a $97 eBook about Atmoic Blogging; whatever the rewards that your sponsor is providing it should benefit your readers. If you provide poor pathetic rewards you get poor pathetic results.

What is a contest when there are no participants?

Your current readers need to be interacting within your blog, reward them for what they do on a daily basis a simple comment or by simply subscribing to your blog. If a contest has a great prize then maybe something of greater value such as a post about the contest may be more qualified to winning that specific prize.

If your readers simply just read your feed and do not comment, try to get them to comment by stating you have a contest. This allows you to interact with your readers that normally do not interact with your blog. Create that atmosphere to your readers, especially if your posts are controversial.

Your current readers should be the first to be on the scene when you announce you have a contest. They should be the first one to tell their friends or leave a comment. Your current readers are the ones that give your blog authority to the new comers of your website. Just like a forum, if there is no interaction it proves to be a lousy forum, same goes for your blog.

Using the benefits of RSS to get New Subscribers and Interactions

When you subscribe to a feed there are usually footer notes at the bottom, either from a Wordpress plugin or from Feedburner. This proves to be very beneficial, there are multiple readers that subscribe to a feed but do not interact with your blog. Leaving a foot note to comment on a specific post to win a specific prize can give them that push to comment and interact with your blog, giving you more authority.

Also, there are a lot of readers out there that go to your blog that just remembers your dot com. These readers particularly do not bookmark or subscribe to your feed; these are readers that love your blog so much they just want to go to your site. To entice these readers, tell them you are having a contest and you are rewarding dedicated readers on this blog with great prizes. Once they are subscribed they see the foot note and they interact, it is a chain reaction.

A lot of your readers are probably thinking “Whats In It For Me?” Get them to think differently, explain the benefits of leaving a comment. Tell your readers you are having a contest and only valid comments are eligible to participate in such a contest. A simple comment from your reader gives them a chance to win a prize from you or one of your sponsors. I personally think this is the best way to gain more readers and create interaction among you, entrepreneurs, and bloggers on the internet.

The contest does not just gather more readers or create interaction; it creates some what of a viral stage. Users will start to write and spread the news of a blogger giving out FREE things, especially if the item is of great value. Once the contest is being spoken of in forums, written on other blogs, bookmarked, etc you gain more readers and soon gain more RSS subscribers.

Overall, a contest on your blog can prove to be very beneficial to you and your readers. Also, it proves to be entertaining and fun as well. The best part is everyone benefits: your sponsors, your readers, and you as a blogger.

21 Moos » ~ ~ Random Post