Think blogging and participating in online communities cannot bring about powerful change? Think again! After reading one short forum thread post, a blogger was able to pick up a big story, tell his readers about it, thereby causing a cascade effect that changed the way, not one, but TWO huge companies practiced business.

For quite some time now, registrars were required to allow a 5 day grace period, in which domain names registered could be cancelled and refunded within 5 days. This process allowed large blocks of domains with popular search keywords in them to be registered, monetized (usually by Google Adsense), and if it was discovered within the 5 days that it was not a profitable domain name, cancel it, get a… Continue reading

Posted on January 30th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: General | 9 Comments »

Some of you may know that I’m one of the staff columnists for Personal Branding Magazine. The newest issue is just around the corner (February 1st), but you can download a free sample of it today. Even the free sample issue is jam-packed with goodies. Here’s some of what it includes:

Cover Story: Your Brand Can’t Hide From Google

Articles:
The Web Of Influence Between SEO & Personal Branding (hint: this is my article)

What a Grumpy, No B.S., Direct Marketing Icon Can teach You About Influence…

Portions of Interviews With:
Om Malik, Founder, GigaOm.com
Matt Mullenweg, Founder, Wordpress
Gina Bianchini, Co-Founder/CEO, Ning
Mark Frauenfelder, Co-Founder, Boing Boing
Gina Trapani, Founder, Lifehacker
David Weekly, CEO, PBwiki.com

This is a don’t miss… Continue reading

Posted on January 28th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Branding | No Comments »

You know I love free information, and when that information requires absolutely nothing from you … not even your email address … then I absolutely cannot pass that up. Caroline Middlebrook is giving away a really good ebook - absolutely free.

I discussed installing WordPress in Part Six of my series, and discussed WP themes in Part Seven, but if you are looking for more details, then Caroline’s ebook may just what you need. The ebook is called How to Develop Money-Making Niche Sites with WordPress.

Here’s the outline of the ebook:

Chapter 1: Getting and Installing WordPress
Chapter 2: Basic WordPress Administration
Chapter 3: Installing a New Theme
Chapter 4: Setting up Adsense On Your Site
Chapter 5: WordPress Plugins
Chapter 6: Creating Your Site Content
Chapter 7: Final Thoughts
Appendix 1: Uploading Using… Continue reading

Posted on January 23rd, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: WordPress | No Comments »

Facebook, StumbleUpon, Twitter, Digg, Delicious, Mixx…need I go on? There are too many social networks to even begin to list them all these days, and keeping up with them can be a chore. But the advantages of networking and connecting with others via these sites far outweighs the hassles. You just have to find the few that you like best and concentrate on spending time there, rather than dividing your time up between too many places.

One of the things that happens once you start participating in a few social networks is that you start to form what I call Friendship Pockets. As you befriend people on each network, you see that you have lots of overlap. The same friends you have on one network may… Continue reading

Posted on January 14th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Forming Connections | 20 Comments »

Is there anything you’ve done lately that I probably don’t know how to do? Do you routinely do things that would require “how-to” explanations to those who’ve never attempted it? I’m talking about “normal” activities, not rocket science. For example, maybe you recently baked a pie, hung a tire swing, cut down a tree, or changed the oil in your car. None of those things require a Master’s degree, but I would need instructions to do any of them. Actually, I’m not sure I would cut down a tree even with instructions, but that’s beside the point. Without a clear explanation, many people would have a difficult time accomplishing any of those tasks, and each of them would be thrilled to have someone show… Continue reading

Posted on January 10th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Creativity Exercises | 2 Comments »

When I first started out in affiliate marketing, I was broke. Every tiny bit of cash I earned was greeted with cheers of joy, and deep breaths of gratitude. Occasionally, a check would arrive in the mail for $10, and I’d be skipping down the driveway into my house, waving that check as though it were a million dollars. Unfortunately, in the beginning, the money drifted in pretty slowly. One of the reasons for that was because each affiliate program generally had a payment threshold that was set semi-high. If I hadn’t earned $100 for that program yet, I wasn’t going to see any money from it until I did. Each program’s threshold is different, with some as low… Continue reading

Posted on January 7th, 2008 by DazzlinDonna
Filed under: Making Money Online | 4 Comments »