June 12, 2010
– Yay! It all starts again soon
June 12, 2010
– I love Springwise for ideas and innovation. This is another great example of an idea you could implement in your own business
June 12, 2010
– Like a lot of people I love this blog. Check out this post and the rest of the blog and see what Pioneer Woman does to draw readers in and keep them coming back for more
June 12, 2010
– Great getting indexed advice
May 26, 2010
– Every blog post from Seth is packed with wisdom but this one is so simple and yet vital
May 26, 2010
– Now that’s what I call a good investment!
May 26, 2010
– My new favorite blog and this is the 1st recipe I’m going to try when my kitchen is finished
May 26, 2010
– Allison telling it as it is
May 26, 2010
– The lovely Barb from the SWBN and 2 of our members in San Diego
May 20, 2010
– I have a friend who works at Wlesh Naitonal Opera – not sure this is the kind of publicity they seek, but an interesting and useful guest post on problogger
May 20, 2010
– The Facebook Like button has been talked about a lot recently. I’ve added one to IMGeekGirl.com and will see what happens
May 1, 2010
– Seth, as always, full of words of wisdom. I have to tell myself this everytime I deal with an arsey client
May 1, 2010
– Great post from Allison Reynolds about the appeal of the perfectly imperfect
May 1, 2010
– OK, one of mine, but I hope you have been able to listen to these bitesize podcasts – especially the current series “things I learned about business from Dolly Parton”
May 1, 2010
– The second part of Alice’s blog post about getting results with your blogging. Love the simple but effective diagram
April 22, 2010
– I was on a webinar this week about online local business consulting and someone asked why businesses would be persuaded to do local listings rather than YP and how it was different. Tthis is the answer (if it wasn’t obvious enough)!
April 22, 2010
– Even non-sci-fi fans will see the genius of this idea. And I’m blown away by the creativity. Classic!
April 22, 2010
– Just wondering whether the title was deliberately provocative or if it’s just my dirty mind (although knowing Dan I’m sure it’s the former). Anyway, great report, excellent plugin
Michelle Macphearson has just re-opened the doors of her Crowd Mountain membership program so I thought it was time to tell you about my experiences with Crowd Mountain. 2 weeks ago I told you about the free Rank Decoding Engine Software from Crown Mountain that Michelle was giving away.
Before I say anymore, I know she is planning to pull down all the free stuff she has given away over the past couple of weeks so I recommend you go and take a look at it before it disappears, and download the free stuff:
Rank Decoding Engine Software – see which websites are considered the most authoritative in your niche
Bird’s Eye View – Michelle actually shares the basics of beginning her system and explains why systems are important (this isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme)
Double Your Money Software – a simple piece of software that makes your followers/list/visitors believe they are getting even greater value from you and make them more willing to give you their email address for it.
Those of you who know me well and follow what I do will know I don’t recommend many membership programs, mainly because I don’t belong to many and only like to recommend what I have experience of.
I stopped buying into the many Internet Marketing launches a long time ago, I have my systems in place for doing different things online, and for the extra research, new strategies and techniques I am a member of the Immediate Edge. I prefer to spend my money on the tools that make my business work easier not on buying into the latest must-have IM product.
I signed up for Crowd Mountain for 3 reasons:
1. I have great respect for Michelle MacPhearson and appreci
ate her no-nonsense approach. She doesn’t over-hype, she clearly knows her stuff and takes action on what she has learned, she is solutions driven, and she makes me laugh (I think it’s vitally important that you like and respect the marketer you are learning from – otherwise you are less likely to stick at it). Yes, I have a geek girl crush on her!
2. A couple of friends had joined Crowd Mountain and highly recommended it to me (social proof).
3. I like systems and processes and was interested to learn Michelle’s system, and see how it compared to how I set up sites.
4. I knew she had some cool software and tools included in the membership that I wanted to get my hands on!
When you first join up with Crowd Mountain you start by working through Boot Camp. Michelle lays out her system step by step with videos and worksheets to guide you along the way. I love this way of doing things because it’s more conducive to getting things done.
Many membership programs throw everything at you at once and try to wow you with volume instead of substance, but for learning a particular process the boot camp works very well at keeping you on track and preventing you cutting corners (the same reason I love the Thirty Day Challenge).
I often say that I’m not interested in re-inventing the wheel. Over the years I have developed my own way of doing things but I’m always happy (and in the ever-changing world of the Internet it’s a necessity) to learn new methods, refine my processes, add new tools, and even overhaul things completely. Online you have to be prepared to adapt and change your systems as some processes stop working and new things come along.
I don’t need to be the architect, I just need to be the builder who knows the right architect to go to and the plans to follow.
You know what? I’m quite happy to let someone else put the time in to see whether a system works and then learn it from them.
Michelle explains the basic system in these Bird’s Eye View videos. It’s the same process she follows to research a niche, set up the site, create content, monetize, start gathering emails from visitors, and push the site to the top of the natural search engine rankings.
This is niche online marketing made easy.
As well as the bootcamp, Michelle offers:
- A monthly Q&A
- WordPress themes that are suitable for use (from an SEO and monetization point-of-view)
- Monthly LRBs (links, ready to build) – the best sites to post your content to in order to build authority backlinks to your site
- Niche Trailheads (Michelle finds some great niches for you)
- Great tools and software. You’ve already received 2 pieces of software from Michelle, well inside Crowd Mountain you can enjoy tools that will make your business life easier including the Crowd Mountain Task Manager, Bookmarker, RSS Blaster, Snooper and some fantastic custom made plugins (the one I use constantly is the YouTube Dropper).
- Best Link Building Tactics. Michelle is particularly well-known for her SEO skills and building great quality backlinks. She shares all her best tactics and tools in the member’s area.
The Crowd Mountain Bootcamp has changed my own processes considerably and now setting up sites is even quicker and more systematized. It can be too easy to become distracted and miss steps out when setting up new sites and I like knowing that I can move through step by step and make sure I don’t miss anything.
I’ve always had a number of niche sites (some of them sorely neglected) but recently I have been setting them up at a faster rate to sell on. If you have aged domains or can buy something with a good age and/or PR then put it through the Crowd Mountain process and list it on Flippa for a nice tidy profit.
It’s simple, step-by-step-easy and is perfect for both beginners and those of you, like me, who already have experience and a system (it really has made setting up sites easier for me).
Make sure you check out all the free stuff mentioned earlier and if you are already sold click here to join Crowd Mountain.
April 19, 2010
- Excellent business and investment advice from Erica Douglass
April 17, 2010
- Really fascinating insight into the world of public speaking (especially from a marketer’s point of view)
April 15, 2010
- A simple guide to getting your free report out there
April 14, 2010
- Selling a mailing list on Flippa – first post I’ve seen on this subject
April 14, 2010
- Yes, this is one of mine – but getting your ebook out there on so many platforms is HUGE (and simple to do)
April 14, 2010
- Nice idea for an investment opportunity from Vince (he has the skills and software if you have the cash)
April 14, 2010
- I like the idea of Bartercard but I had a really poor experience of it my voiceover/audio production business a number of years back and nearly got ripped off. May take another look at it
April 14, 2010
- Getting the balance between good looks and great content (a bit like me!)
April 14, 2010
- One of the biggest questions I hear on forums is “what niche should I blog about/start a business on?”
April 14, 2010
- Darren Rowse talks about his take on Chris Brogan’s recent blog post and relates it to success in blogging
April 14, 2010
- Love Alice’s no-nonsense approach to online business and great to see her over at the Thirty Day Challenge blog
I’ve been a member of Crowd Mountain for a couple of months now and I promise a full review very soon (especially as I believe the doors will be re-opening to new members shortly). One of the great tools inside the membership area has just been released as a free software download by Michelle MacPhearson.
The software fulfils 2 functions:
Click here to download the Rank Decoding Engine Software free.
I find backlinking one of the most tedious jobs ever, so knowing the best sites to target is a major bonus in my book.
I’ve blogged about the Immediate Edge on a few occasions over the past few years, both here and over at my audio marketing blog. The reason I’ve chosen to revisit it again is because:
a) it still remains the best and one of the only subscriptions I keep for my online marketing, and
b) there are some new developments which I think will appeal to some of you who have avoided joining or have joined in the past and decided it wasn’t the right membership site for you
Let’s start with the main Immediate Edge and why I think it is so valuable.
The Immediate Edge remains constantly on the cutting edge of Internet Marketing, and has been there since it began in 2006. It doesn’t often break through the noise of the Internet Marketing world in terms of publicity, it’s generally happy to keep membership closed except for a small number of occasions each year.
Why is that?
Well, for a start, members rarely leave. Sure, there are people who join and find it isn’t for them but generally the content (and there is now A LOT of content, tools, software and training) keeps them firmly loyal to their subscription.
Secondly, the Edge’s reputation is such that many of the best marketers in the world are members (some openly, some keep it quiet) because the training is so unique and advanced it offers the things they need to keep ahead of their competitors. It’s the kind of program that spreads by word-of-mouth.
And you may think this is hype but in the Immediate Edge you really will find the kind of information and training that will be taught by other marketers in 12 months time, so it pays to be there first if you are serious about being a market leader online.
I’ll be honest…sometimes weeks will go by between visits to the Immediate Edge site, but then I’ll be thinking about how I need to find a way to do something better or differently and inevitably I’ll find the answer at the Edge.
For example, the other day I was in need of a better strategy for using Google Local, I headed over to the Immediate Edge and – lo and behold – there was a wealth of information there on the topic.
Other times I’ll see a Tweet about a new update on the Edge about something that interests me or about something I’ve never even heard of, and I’ll head over there to find out what it’s all about.
That’s the joy of the Edge – you can dip in and find single tips that will help your online business or whole strategies that you can adopt as part of your business model.
One of the reasons many people do not join or choose to leave the Immediate Edge is because they want a step-by-step plan to build or create an online business.
The Immediate Edge is closely linked to the Thirty Day Challenge (Ed Dale and Dan Rain run both) and those who have completed the 30DC often move on the Immediate Edge. But there is a huge different between the 2.
The Thirty Day Challenge offers a step-by-step process to getting started online with a lot of hand holding, while at the Immediate Edge the idea is very much “here are the tools – now get on with it”. It can be a difficult jump between the 2 programs because you may not be able to bridge that gap. The Thirty Day Challenge Plus was created to help offer the kind of training that does help people progress from 30DC and maybe eventually take up the Immediate Edge.
Many of you who come online are not interested in being a pioneer, you don’t want to have to work it out for yourself, you just want a tried and tested method to help you create a full or part time business online.
That isn’t a bad thing.
It’s the reason the Thirty Day Challenge works so well for so many people.
And ever since the beginning of the Immediate Edge, members have been asking Dan for a step-by-step process that ties all the training and tips together. And that’s what he’s created in the new Edge Blueprint.
Dan is finally showing how he would start and build a successful online business from start to profit and beyond.
That’s an exciting prospect for anyone who finds it hard to see the bigger picture and how all the pieces fit together, and want it laid out in a linear sequence.
Dan is offering the opportunity to test out some of the Blueprint for free at the moment, so if you think this is something you’d like to try out, then head over to the Edge Blueprint site for more information.
Oh, and if you are in any doubt how I feel about Dan Raine and the Immediate Edge, here’s a video I made to explain it in a nutshell!
P.S. Yes, I’ve used affiliate links in this post. So, if you use my link and eventually decide to join the Immediate Edge then I will make some money.