Several months ago, over on my SEO Scoop blog, I wrote about a cool site, Ideablob, that gives away $10,000 every month to someone who has an idea that others like. Ideablob is like a social network for people with ideas. And like any good social network, people vote on those ideas. Sounds familiar, right? Think Digg for ideas. But the kicker is that the person with most popular idea each month wins $10,000 to help implement that idea! Woot!

The monthly giveaway was only supposed to last a few months if I remember correctly, but it looks as though they’ve extended it through at least the end of September. (Who knows, maybe it… Continue reading

Posted on May 11th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Site Ideas | 3 Comments »

Over the last few days, the topic of the week has been all about being an authority. No, not the kind that enforces laws, but the kind that is an expert. I’ve shown you that you are an authority in something and you should recognize that. I’ve talked about how to make others see you as an authority as well, including Influencers. That included tackling several tasks, ranking in the top search results for “your niche expert”, as well as getting the attention of journalists and bloggers. I also mentioned that there was final step you needed to take to complete your journey towards becoming an authority. Here’s that final step.

You need a press kit.

In the “old days”, that meant spending… Continue reading

Posted on May 10th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | No Comments »

You know by now that you are an authority and you know that you need others to recognize your authority. Now we need to give just a little nudge to the influencers (those people who hold a lot of influence over the masses in your field), so that they will not only recognize your expertise, but begin to associate your field with your name.

Let’s say you are an expert in mountain biking. No, you didn’t take courses in biking, and you never owned a bicycle factory. You simply have been an avid mountain biker over the last 10 years, and that experience has led you to an understanding of the sport that enables you to be considered an expert. You know much about… Continue reading

Posted on May 9th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | 1 Comment »

We’ve already established that you are, indeed, an authority in something. and by being an authority in that field (whatever that something is), you can help others seeking knowledge or products for that field. However, the fact that I know you are an authority, and you know you are an authority, isn’t quite enough in most cases. You generally need to convince others that you are an authority, so that they then have a compelling reason for listening to what you have to say.

The process of convincing others is vast, and we briefly touched upon a few ways to begin that process in yesterday’s post. As a recap: Write articles, answer questions, and help others. Those are all really strong ways to get the… Continue reading

Posted on May 8th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | No Comments »

There are many definitions for the word “authority”, but the definition we’re going to discuss in this post is this one from dictionary.com.

an expert on a subject: He is an authority on baseball.

Every person is an authority on any number of things. I truly believe that. You may say, “No, I’m not an expert on anything”, but I bet within 15 minutes of having a conversation with you, I could get you to think of at least 5 things that you could be considered an “expert” or “authority” on. Maybe it’s something really small and minor - maybe you are an expert at dealing with bugs in your garden, for example. You may think you couldn’t possibly be considered an expert because you didn’t… Continue reading

Posted on May 7th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | 2 Comments »

If you haven’t already taken the plunge to start an online ebusiness, now is the time! The rising costs of gas, food, and almost everything else is forcing us all to have to make more money just to make ends meet. In addition, everyone’s job is potentially on the line, as companies will be forced to make hard decisions and deep cuts as the economy gets worse and the recession looms larger. So not only do you need more money right now, but the threat of losing your job completely gets more real as each day passes.

Now is the time to start your ebusiness. It may not help you financially in the short term, since few… Continue reading

Posted on April 25th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Business Development | 1 Comment »

The next issue of Personal Branding Magazine is set to be released on May 1st, but you can download a free sample copy early (starting today) if you want. The focus for this issue is on the future of recruiting and jobs. The 9-page sample issue has 5 articles and is a great read. The full issue will have 25 articles including an exclusive and in-depth interview with Robert McGovern, founder of Jobfox.com and Careerbuilder.com. It also includes interviews with Indeed founder Paul Forster and well-known bloggers, such as Joel Cheesman.

Publishers Note: Volume 1 Issue 4 ends the first full volume of Personal Branding Magazine. As personal branding becomes the differentiator… Continue reading

Posted on April 21st, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | No Comments »

That’s right, to honor the six month anniversary of In Your Pajamas, I’ve reduced the price to just $5. You don’t have to rush over to buy it now either. The price won’t be going back up. It will stay at $5 so you can take all the time you need to make a decision. This isn’t a gimmick to make you think you have to hurry, hurry, hurry, or the price will go back up, or there will only be a limited number of copies sold, or any other of the typical “fire sale” tactics you see every day.

It’s $5 now. It’ll be $5 tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, and the…you get the picture. You can procrastinate… Continue reading

Posted on April 12th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Making Money Online | 1 Comment »

A new payment network, called Revolution Money, is poised to take PayPal’s place. I personally have never had a problem with PayPal but because they are not a bank, and can’t be regulated like one, the possibility of them freezing your account is very real, and has caused many people to get very upset over the years. They can put a hold on your money for up to 6 months while they investigate what they think might be fraudulent activity.

Some very important people got together to try to give us all a better option, and they just might be able to pull it off. The people behind Revolution Money are Ted Leonsis (Vice-chairman of AOL and owner of Washington Capitals), Steve Case (co-founder of AOL), David Goldman… Continue reading

Posted on April 10th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Good Deals | 1 Comment »

We often use photos to jazz up our blog posts and site content, and many times we use pics from Flickr Creative Commons (By: Attribute) to do so. But if you really want to stand out from the crowd, do something a little different with those photos. Really jazz things up with special effects. (Please note that you must be using photos that allow editing. I’ll show you how to make sure you abide by all the rules).

Now let’s have some photo editing fun.

First, use flickrCC to find photos on Flickr that allow use on any site (commercial or non-commercial) and allow derivatives (let’s you edit them / make changes to them). Make sure you put a check in both boxes labeled For Editing… Continue reading

Posted on April 7th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Photo Editing | 6 Comments »