Clipmarks Unleashed ~ Link Building and Traffic Generation
By 
andrew daum on May 5, 2008 in Featured, Riffs and Rants
Clipmarks Unleashed
I’m trying to think back… did I owe $5500 or was it $7500 on my Amazon Chase credit card before I finally paid it off — okay, I’ll come clean; it was $7500… damn!!
That’s a chunk of cash.
I know that $7500 is not a lot to some people… but it was huge to me at the time… but when I finally maxed that card out and could not use it any more — it was the best thing that could have happened for my business (I did not think so at that time though).
I know that sounds a bit crazy — it even looks downright stupid on the screen as I type it, but it is the truth.
You see, the Amazon Chase credit card was my “Internet Only” credit card.
The only thing I charged on that card was Internet purchases — like domain names, membership site dues, software programs, ebooks, scripts, private label rights to products, hosting accounts — basically everything I needed (or thought I needed) to run my business and stay educated.
Once that card got maxed out — I was done.
I was running my little Internet Empire on credit, and my credit done got cut off.
The days of buying ebooks, domain names, scripts, joining membership sites just because I wanted to — those days were long gone unless I could figure out what to do - and fast!
But I didn’t.
I sat there and paid the minimum payment on that Chase card for eight months before finally paying it off — and that was a big time struggle.
So what does all this have to do with Clipmarks Unleashed?
I’ll get there — stay with me a bit longer.
In the first video — the Clipmarks Intro Video, I mentioned something that an old Mentor of mine once told me.
I was young and stupid, so at the time it did not make a lot of sense — thought it was some of that “old folk” jibber jabber. Not that I’m much smarter today — just a few more miles.
We were working on a direct marketing campaign back in the 80’s — before the days of the Internet.
He had allocated a few grand for this particular campaign, but in my opinion it was not enough. So I told him so.
He told me it was plenty — and I just needed to figure it out.
I happen to be a numbers person, and the numbers did not work for what he wanted done — so I thought.
“Throwing more money at this campaign is not the key to making it a successful campaign” he said - “you are the key.” “Figure it out and make it work”.
He also told me to pretend as though we had no budget to work with… what would I do then?
What would I do… I was thinking to myself I would find a different job.
But I didn’t… and I did figure it out — and I did it on less than twenty five per cent of the amount we originally budgeted for that campaign.
You see, money blinds the creative process.
It is easier to throw money at something if you have the money to spend — because thinking is hard.
Why should I think or figure out a way to do it when Guru Software Developer Joe has already figured it all out, and he will sell me the solution.
Marketing Master Slick Willie just launched his “Slick Willie Traffic Masters Course”… and he is willing to share all his secrets with me because he likes me… and for a small fee.
I’ll just buy his secrets from him… because it is easier than figuring it out on my own and thinking for myself — and besides, it would take me years to learn what he knows - at least that’s what he told me.
It’s like an addiction.
Hey… I’m not knocking people that sell solutions — I sell solutions myself.
Some of these folks selling solutions to problems are truly Geniuses at what they do… I’m knocking me for having been on that never ending Merry Go Round of buying the latest and greatest thing that comes down the pipe — and believing that money was a replacement for me thinking on my own.
I was like a heroin addict always looking for my next “product of the day fix.”
And to top it off… I had already been to that Rodeo many times with my old Mentor.
I should have known better — but I was on a never ending quest in search of the “Silver Bullet.”
I jumped off that Merry Go Round — actually, I was forced off (Chase said nope — no more money for you).
I was now forced to think for myself!
What a pain in the ass — I have to actually figure stuff out on my own.
That was many a moon ago, and in hindsight — it was truly the best thing that could have happened.
This post is to long already — I’ll post about Clipmarks Unleashed and link building another day (I got carried away thinking about my old Mentor and the amount of money I wasted).
Does any of this sound like anyone you know?
On May 5, 2008,
Walt Goshert (Check me out!) said:
Andrew,
I’ve been using the ClipMarks Remote blogging approach for the past 3 months.
It all starts with my Google Alerts for all my major keywords. From my scan of Google Alert News and blog posts, I Clip relevant articles and info to my “Children” and “Grandchildren” keyword Remote blogs.
I always write my own intro original content, with keyword-rich phrases that link back to my main blog, Squidoo pages, Hub pages, and other Remote blogs.
Also, if I find a really great post that’s relevant to the linkbait post topic I’m working on for that week, I’ll comment on the post, Buzz the post, even link back to the post from my main blog.
This tactic, probably more than anything else, drives more quality traffic to my main blog.
And, with ClipMarks, it’s simple and easy to do.
Walt
On May 5, 2008,
Walt Goshert from Small Business Marketing (Check me out!) said:
Hey Andrew,
Gotta check out how this Keyword Luv Plug-In works… Pretty slick idea, but seems like you’d have to educate your visitors on how to use.
Also, how about moderation? I’m not sure I’d want a bunch of unrelated Keyword Luv links showing up jamming up all my comments.
Looks like a fairy new Plug-In. I just downloaded it and will give it a run.
Tanks,
Walt
Walt Goshert from Small Business marketings lastest and greatest blog post..Get Down to Basics
On May 5, 2008,
andrew daum (Check me out!) said:
Hey Walt,
Yea… I recently installed Keyword Luv. Had it for a few days.
I’m not much worried about Spammers that much anymore — have my filters set pretty tight. In fact, I have to approve some legit posts every now and then because the filter gets it.
I’ll still get the random drive by Spammer who gets a comment in… but those guys are no big deal — actually kinda fun messing with them.
On one of my other blogs, this one guy hit me with some outright promo on something — no comment on the post or anything, so I edited his post where his link pointed to the whois of his domain — home address, phone number, etc.
Usually you do not get that lucky with those guys, but this guy was obviously a rookie.
Instructions on how to use it…
Okay, here is the instructions
yourname@yourkeyword
You use that format for the name field.
How’s that?
Oh yea, great info on Clipmarks.
On May 5, 2008,
Eric from HGH Reviews (Check me out!) said:
How very true. there always has to be something better than what I am doing that is already working. But… but… but… What if I miss out.
The endless search for pretty shiny things. Like a bass following a lure.
I now try to hold myself back and try not to buy things unless I am using the stuff I already payed for or if it is really clear that it is something I need.
Of course I did optin to the clipmarks unleashed list.
Think of it as a little methadone.
On May 5, 2008,
Eric from HGH Reviews (Check me out!) said:
How very true. There always has to be something better than what I am doing that is already working. But… but… but… What if I miss out.
The endless search for pretty shiny things. Like a bass following a lure.
I now try to hold myself back and try not to buy things unless I am using the stuff I already payed for or if it is really clear that it is something I need.
I feel the need for speed in my blog posting so of course I did optin to the Clipmarks Unleashed list.
Think of it as a little methadone.
On May 9, 2008,
Empire Autopilot Jon (Check me out!) said:
Talk about Debt i have 2 maxed out CHASE @ 5k each credit cards stupid ebooks and chasing the $$
On May 20, 2008,
Bob from Tampa Bay Real Estate (Check me out!) said:
I’d really like to understand what Clipmarks is, I see it is totally whitehat.
On May 30, 2008,
Chloe Edwards from Prams (Check me out!) said:
If you have money, things definatly become alot easier.
For example, if your trying to launch a site and you have lots of money, you could throw abudant amounts on links, flash banners all over the place.. but if you didn’t have money, you could still get there with hard work and elbow grease.
Chloe Edwardss lastest and greatest blog post..Baby ASCII Art
On Jun 3, 2008,
Lee from eBooks AudioBooks and Cybooks (Check me out!) said:
I’ve definitely gotten a lot more creative since being strapped for cash… you have to, if you want to stay in the game!
About KeywordLuv… the area below the comments box has a line that says “This site uses KeywordLuv. Enter YourName@YourKeywords in the Name field to take advantage.” So hopefully most of your commentators would be able to figure it out…
On Jun 3, 2008,
Andrew from link building (Check me out!) said:
Lee… it just seems easier because you have money.
It is a false sense of security.
Granted, you do need some amount of money - but most people think because they have money to build or start a business it will work.
Look around… there are many a strip shopping center graveyards where people started with money.
… and don’t forget the dot com bubble.
Most of those companies that are now memory vapors had a lot of money also… but they burned through it because they did not have a REAL business — one that made money.
So having money may make it easier — but only initially while you are burning through it and it is gone.
Granted… you do need money to start a business. But how much?
I know people who basically started with nothing more than an Internet connection — they are now super successful.
I also know of some people and companies who started with an almost unlinited amount of money — they are Internet dust.
So while money does make it easier… having that money could also be the reason you fail.
Andrews lastest and greatest blog post..Updated Clipmarks Intro Video
On Jun 16, 2008,
Simon from Free Vector Clip Art (Check me out!) said:
I know what you mean when you say looking for the “next product of the day”…silverbullet etc…I changed advertising companies on my blog every other month, eventually I came to the conclusion that you had to blog about profitable topics for ads to pay out plenty. My first big mistake :p
Simons lastest and greatest blog post..Free Spock Star Trek Cartoon Vector Image
On Jul 24, 2008,
Chelle from Pittsburgh Junk Removal (Check me out!) said:
Sometimes it does take having nothing to appreciate & use what you do have - YOUR MIND. There are so many things out there that promise to be the “magic” you’re waiting for…but without doing & applying anything none of it is any good.
On Jul 24, 2008,
Jeff from Heavy Equipment (Check me out!) said:
I started my internet business with barely enouhg to cover hosting, and a couple domains.
I have since progressed to far beyond that, but the thing is I never spent any money for anything but hosting and domains, the whole time…
I learned that your really don’t need much more than that, you just have to use your brain, and put some time into it.
On Aug 4, 2008,
Karlonia from Internet Marketing Blog (Check me out!) said:
Wow, you have had lots of experience in the marketing and Internet fields - I’ve only been at it since 2004. My biggest problem overall has been the “information overload” phenomenon. There is so much out there to learn, read, keep up with, etc. that I find myself spending the better part of the day in many cases just doing research and trying to learn new things. There never seems to be enough time for me to actually DO anything, except of course posting to my beloved blog, but even that is taking too long.
I’m not giving up just yet, however; I have begun to outsource some of the article writing and am gradually finding more ways to obtain traffic and gather backlinks for seo. I especially like this new KeywordLuv plugin - this makes commenting much more productive because the anchor text is automatically placed and there is much less risk of comments being deleted or ignored in moderation as long as comment does not look like spam. The majority of other bloggers will delete comments that look like keywords even if I take the time to write out a quality comment.
Thank you for installing the helpful plugins and supporting the DoFollow movement.
Karlonias lastest and greatest blog post..English Lesson 19: Correct Use of A.M. and P.M. for Time
On Aug 7, 2008,
justin from brett favre saga (Check me out!) said:
I think I have the exact opposite problem. I am reluctant to buy tools even when they can increase efficiency. I am trying to find a balance between investing and wasting money.