Archive for October, 2009

I came across a domainer today who researched all 50 states and their respective .com – after taking a 3 month average, the states were listed in order of their Alexa ranking….I was happy to see NewYork.com in the Top 10 and shocked that Kentucky.com was #1 and California.com is #17….

You can review the entire list of state domain names here…..how did your state do?

There’s a great blog post on Elliot’s blog about his experience with minisites….the post is great and the feedback from domainers is great too.  It’s reassuring to be  honest to find domainers such as Elliot who don’t inflate traffic/revenue numbers…..

In my opinion, the minisite being developed is JUST the begining….thereafter, you need good search engine optimization and continous link building.  Optimized content/copy is also VITAL to your online success…..just having a minisite built for a couple of hundred dollars won’t cut it….you need REAL SEO and inbound links…

Don’t believe me…go to google and do a search for food coupons….see www.FoodCouponsDirect.com listed?  How about a search for frozen pizza coupons…see www.AllPizzaCoupons.com ranking #1 and #2?  These minisites didn’t rank in the top of google by accident and not just because they have keywords in their domain name….these sites have been optimized and have good quality links pointing to them….see my point?

Do yourself a favor and if you’re interested in domaining and building minisites, be sure to read Elliot’s blog

As reported by Domain Name Wire, Financial media company Bloomberg Finance has lost a domain name dispute with a small town real estate agent over the domain BloombergRealty.com.

Bloomberg filed a case with National Arbitration Forum, arguing that the domain name BloombergRealty.com violated the media company’s trademark. The domain’s owner is Nancy Shulman, a real estate agent whose married surname was Bloomberg.

You can read more about the Bloomberg domain loss here 

New York-based daily newspaper Newsday is taking the plunge into paid content, restricting access to its Web site to print subscribers and cable Internet subscribers of its parent company, Cablevision.

Beginning next Wednesday, Newsday.com will offer only a limited amount of free public content, including its home page, classifieds, school closings, obituaries, weather and entertainment listings. Anyone who’s not subscribed to either Newsday’s print edition or Cablevision’s Optimum Online service can get a subscription to Newsday.com for $5 a week.

You can learn more about Newsday charging for its online content

This mornings iMedia Connection had a good article on Top 6 PR Tips EVERY Marketer Should Now….

The Article Highlights Are:

• If you can’t get through to a reporter, move on to another outlet
• Avoid hype by excluding terms such as “industry leading”
• Help the media outlet connect with the rest of the industry, not just your specific company

 As to the last point, I agree 150%….just last week, a reporter from the Long Island Businesss News contacted me about Domaining and the buy/selling/developing of domain names….I explained the industry to the reporter and turned him on to two industry experts….as a result we all got published and the reporter now knows I am trusted, reliable and accurate source….that article on Domaining can be read here

Some other great quotes/takeaways include:

1. “What PR people need to understand is that the press release is dead. It’s actually been dead for a long time.”

1. “I get more than 500 emailed story pitches a day, and I have my email preferences set to purge at close of business. If I haven’t gotten back to you by then, I won’t. Why don’t any of the PR bunnies understand that?”

1. “The only thing you’re telling me if you send me a press release dated for today is that you don’t think it could possibly mean very much to me.”

1. “Why does anyone ever say ‘industry leading’ in their pitches? Does that make them feel better or something?”

1. “Don’t tell me about your clients. Tell me about their industry segment. Give me facts — not fluff. Help me build a story.”

1. “What I need is facts about ways brands are using technology to reach their customers and consumers. That is all I need. Anything else is superfluous.”

You can read the entire article here

In the past 24 hours, I have participated in not one, not two but three speaking engagements.  Two were on social media and the other one was on entrepreneurship at Hofstra University.  I have slept 4.5 hours and while most would be toast by now, I am energized and ready to go (it’s now 12:30am) because I love what I do, don’t view it as work and am passionate about internet marketing and domaining. 

And in the spirit of my friend Gary Vaynerchuk who recently released his book CRUSH IT! Which is all about following your passion…doing what you love most and ultimately you will be successful – hands down!

Is there a guarantee?  I believe the answer is YES!  Passion can drive you and push you to limits that you never thought were possible.  I recently had a friend ride 100 miles on a bicycle to raise money for research; his passion drove and pushed him to ride 100 miles – wow!  For me it’s making the time to give back, help others and love/adore what I do, which is help other business grow their business via the Internet.

Last night I had the unique experience of speaking at the 140Conference Meet-Up in the MSNBC Digital Cafe at Rockefeller Center.  The event was produced by Jeff Pulver and the crowd was fantastic!  If you don’t know what the 140Conference is please see 140Conf.com

I was asked to speak at the event on the new FTC ruling going into effect 12/1/09 on transparency with bloggers and social media in general…..here is my brief presentation; thanks Stu!

Another decent domain name I see dropping today is VacuumGuides.com – again for only $7.99 at AllInternetIdeas.com, this keyword enriched domain is PERFECT to launch a vacuum guide/review site.

Revenue model is simple (I like simple!) – you produce great/useful content that reviews all vaccums….can even have consumers provide honest reviews/comments on vacuums they bought (especially from infomericals).  Then you monetize the site thru vacuum affiliate programs (there are PLENTY of them) and also direct ad sales to companies like Dyson, Hoover, Electrolux, Orek, etc., etc.  Of course there is also Google Ad Sense and as always an email acquisiton strategy as well…..

Clean up with VacuumGuides.com for only $7.99 and grab this domain before it is swept away….

Not that I am fond of cats….I came across the domain name AllCatCare.com today on a domain name drop list….

This seems like an ideal domain name to setup an informational site/blog on All aspects of Cat Care; that is grooming, feeding, exercise, health, taking care, toys, etc., etc.  Being that you can hand register the domain name AllCatCare.com for $7.99 at AllInternetIdeas.com this is a no brainer!

You can monetize the site with any combination of google AdSense, affiliate ads, direct ad banners, eBook offers, magazine subscriptions, etc., etc.

This domain might be the cats meow…..(sorry bad pun)

Driving into the office this morning, I heard a report on news radio WCBS880 that reported on a study which revealed that consumers practically expect to see FREE Shipping on websites and are 4 TIMES MORE LIKELY to buy from a website that offers FREE Shipping….

Something to consider, especially going into the Holiday season!

And of course make you are effectively using search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click advertising to drive relecant traffic and sales.