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 »