The Google PR Re-Ranking Debate: What's Really Important?

There's been quite a bit of huffing and puffing in the blogosphere regarding Google's re-ranking of some of the more popular, higher-ranking blogs. One of my favorite blogs was hit, Problogger. I applaud Darren's positive attitude. Another blog I read regularly, WebMetricsGuru, also got a two point decrease. My initial thoughts: 1. People need to stop focusing on the numbers. Ok, yes, many of us rely on PR rank for marketing and advertising purposes. Many companies look at PR rank as a key factor in whether or not they want to buy links, sponsored reviews, or advertising. Which brings me to... 2. We need to stop relying on Google to determine our blog's worth. Google is not the end-all and be-all of the internet! I have a vision of another company coming out with some other way to rank our blogs (Hello, Technorati!) But then again, who cares about ranking? Shouldn't we be more focused on providing great content for our readers and inspiring them through our writing? John Chow says it best: You Are The Only One That Matters. For another reminder about what's important, read this post at my customer service blog, Your Customers Could Care Less About Page Rank For updates and more info on the PR re-rankings, check out Andy Beard's blog... If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Never Ever Quit

Buy at AllPosters.com The other night I was watching a MSNBC special featuring Donald Trump. Trump was offering real estate and business advice, of course, and he was asked if he could give one single piece of advice to entrepreneurs, what would it be... Trump says, "Never, ever quit!" In a crazy, fast-paced online business world, many of us get caught up in the hype of making loads of money online. Yes, it's possible, but for some reason nobody wants to put in the work to maintain an online business. That's why you'll see many blogs fading away into nonexistence because the person blogging didn't make money right away like they wanted to. They just up and quit. Unfortunately, most of these people got into business for the wrong reasons. I feel that people who are truly passionate about what they do never, ever quit. They love what they do so much that they could care less if they get paid or not. I'd like to use myself as the perfect example of someone who doesn't quit. I've been blogging here for just over two years and I have yet to make any money from this blog. My other blogs are a different story, but this blog...Well, this one has been my labor of love. I don't get much traffic here, but I do feel a sense of duty to the 30+ subscribers who have somehow found some kind of inspiration from me. I do love blogging and I do love sharing my experiences with my online businesses. Hopefully my readers will learn from my experiences and hopefully I will inspire those who don't have internet businesses yet to go ahead and take that plunge! Just do it! Related Post: Do You Believe in Your Business? Exactly How Do They Do It? Inspiring Book: The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Inspirational Quote For the Week

"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it." -- Margaret Fuller

Double the Inspiration: A Promo Video for Artist Terry Aley

After writing the post about the power of videos in marketing your online business, I realized just how much I enjoy producing videos. So, when this opportunity came up to create a video for an artist, I figured this would be a great addition to the portfolio I'm starting. Being an artist myself, doing this really filled me with inspiration on so many levels! Watch Terry Aley's promo video below...(Feed readers will need to click through to watch it) **Sponsored Post If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Being Different vs. Making a Difference

Fellow Know More Media blogger, Easton Ellsworth of Business Blog Wire has a phenomenal and very inspiring post, What Difference Does Your Blog Make?. Must read now! If you're new to blogging, it's a great article to get ideas on how to build a great blog. If you're a vet to blogging, you'll definitely find inspiration on how to become a more inspirational blogger. From the beginning of my blogging career, it's always been about making a difference in other people's lives. My blog, The Good Life, started off by sharing my experiences with the hope that other people would find inspiration through the adventures of my life. This blog has also been about inspiring people - with the focus on starting their own online business. I love when Easton says: "Stop worrying about just making your blog "better" and start thinking about how to make your blog better for someone. Stop worrying about what to do at your blog and start thinking about what to do through your blog to benefit and inspire others. Stop worrying about how to make your blog different and start thinking about how YOU can make a difference through your blog." Today I chatted with Bradley Woods of Conceive, Believe, Achieve and he asked me about the most visitors to my blogs. At one time I was very focused on the amount of visitors I received to my blog, as most bloggers are, but as I continue on this journey of blogging, I realize that it's not so much about how many visitors come to my blogs, but how many of those visitors I inspire. Of course, that's something that can't really be measured. All I know is that my name is showing up more and more in my Google alerts, so there are bloggers out there who have been inspired by what I've said. How are you inspiring people through your blog or business? Are you making a difference in the lives of your readers or customers? If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Get to Know Other Business Bloggers at the Carnival of the Capitalists

One of the best ways to get to know other business bloggers and discover other great business resources is to become involved in a blog carnival! The 4th anniversary edition of the Carnival of Capitalists has been published and I can guarantee that you'll learn something new by reading any one of the myriad of articles posted. If you have come here from the carnival - welcome! I invite you to browse through the archives...If there is a topic that you'd like to see covered here, you're welcome to leave a comment or contact me at maria [at] salondemaria.info! I leave you with a thought-provoking quote: "Why is it that with all the information available today on how to be successful in small business, so few people really are?" -- Michael Gerber Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Dan Schawbel: Taking Personal Branding to Another Level

Starting an online business can often feel overwhelming - especially if it’s a part-time thing and you still have a full-time job. I know, I’ve been there! That’s why I wanted to interview Dan Schawbel, the founder of Personal Branding Magazine. Dan blogs over at his Personal Branding Blog plus a host of other business blogs. You can also watch Dan in action over at his Personal Branding channel at YouTube. I’m honored that Dan took some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration from Dan’s story! MP: You obviously have a full schedule with working full time for EMC and running your own online magazine and blog. How do you manage to do all this? DS: My passion, experience and network have helped drive all my personal branding efforts outside of EMC. Personal branding is so important to me that I sacrifice more of my time outside of work to work on the magazine, blog, tv projects. I have the first ever social media position within EMC communications besides of this work (I just got the job on friday), so I will be able to leverage my work outside EMC for EMC and visa versa. Basically, one of the goals of personal branding is to be successful in something your genuinely interested in, and make money at it. I don't have a blackberry or calendar, but donate piece of mind for each project. I have a good memory and I truly care about what I'm doing, but I know that in the future I will need to have more written down. Who or what inspired you to start up your own magazine? What kind of resources did you tap into to get started? What steps did you take to get the website up and running? After writing for other magazines and online resources, I figured it would be logical to have my own magazine around my topic, expertise and network. The community I built off of my blog has fueled the magazine and has given a full perspective on personal branding. I studied the backgrounds of my readership, what their expertise is, and then formed a group of contributors that could help me write each issue. Having years of web development experience, the website didn't take long, just a few nights brainstorming on the overall vision and mission. How do you stay motivated? Motivation comes through inspiration, support and interest. I'm motivated by my focus on success, my family and friends that support me and my underlying love for personal branding and it's impact on individuals. What part of your work puts a big fat smile on your face? Waking up each day, not knowing what to expect, and receiving an email occasionally saying that my work has helped change their life. Of course the occasional magazine issue, blog interview, podcast filming is fun. What's your favorite business book of all time? This is a tricky one. I would say that I don't have a particular favorite. I tend to read books by Tom Peters, Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and leaders in the personal branding niche, such as William Arruda, Tim O'Brien and Peter Montoya. What's the biggest challenge you've faced as an online entrepreneur and how did you overcome it? The biggest challenge for anyone is getting your name out there and building your personal brand. With the upfront investment, your work will payoff, as I use myself as an example. Don't fear starting new conversations and networking with anyone. You don't know what new opportunity can surface. What advice do you have for those who would like to start their own online magazine? First, you want to take a niche that has an audience and very few or no other competitors. Secondly, you want to use your network and the community you build with your blog. Lastly, you need to be dedicated to the success of the magazine and have metrics in place to measure that success. Proceeds from Personal Branding Magazine benefits the American Cancer Society. Subscribe now! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Inspirational Video: Positive Affirmations For Business Success

For the past year I've been saying positive affirmations to myself and have seen dramatic results from it. My passive income has increased, I've connected with many like-minded people, and I just feel so much more positive overall. I put together some of the affirmations in a short video that you can watch everyday to help rewire your brain for success! Watch it below or click here to watch it at YouTube...Enjoy! If you liked this post, please consider making a donation... Discuss this post in the forum... Subscribe to Online Business Resources!

Add It to the To Do List: Blog For Business

If there's one tip that I would give to any entrepreneur, I would recommend that they blog. I don't care what kind of entrepreneur you are or whether you do business online or offline. Blog For Business. Now. I've been reading around the web that blogs are just "fads". However, there is no "fad" in sharing information and experiences. In essence, that is what a blog entails - sharing experiences. If you do decide to blog, be authentic and transparent. There are people who do pay others to blog for them and that's ok as long as you jump in once in awhile to share some thoughts. After all, customers buy from people who they trust and can relate to. What better way in establishing that trust and credibility than allowing customers to get to know you as a person. Tell people the story behind your business. Let them know how hard you work to give them what they need. Inspire them and they'll want to support you. Another thing I'd like to add about blogging...There are so many styles of blogging (which I probably will break down in a future post) and you'll come across other bloggers who try to tell you how many times you should blog a day, how long your posts should be, whether or not you should include advertising, what you should or shouldn't say, etc. All I have to say about that is this is your blog. Do whatever feels comfortable to you. As you get into a blogging groove and start to get comments on your blog, you'll get a feel for what your readers want. This post is part of Problogger's Birthday bash. Share your own blogging tips and win one of many cool prizes! Related Posts: 25 Tips for Bloggers and Thoughts on Plagiarism On Blogging and Blogging Tips Subscribe to Online Business Resources! Photo Credit: GapingVoid