So today’s riddle was sparked by an interview my girl, The Cubicle Chick, sent me highlighting Michael Stelzner on Blogcast FM entitled “How Social Media Examiner Made $1.7 Million in Its First Year of Business.”

Note: If you haven’t heard who Mike Stelzner is, he’s the Founder & CEO of Social Media Examiner, the world’s largest online social media magazine, a site I frequent often and has some awesome resources so check it out!

Back to the question at hand…throughout the interview, Mike kept mentioning a very important equation he’s entitled the Elevation Principle Formula:

Content + Other People – Marketing = Growth

(Here’s the official elevation principle formula: GC+ OP – MM = G.  Spelled out, the formula reads: ‘‘Great Content’’ plus ‘‘Other People’’ minus ‘‘Marketing Messages’’ equals ‘‘Growth’’)

Mike assures you will have much greater success by focusing on this concept and I agree! But let’s take a moment to break down the formula, shall we?

Great Content

What is great content and how do I ensure my content is killer? Well, I previously wrote about some important keys to writing engaging content so in short, once you know your audience, your content should appeal to them. Think about sites whose content you like and why and whose sites you continue to go back to. What elements do they have that you can carry over to your site while keeping it specific to your audience?

Bottom line, deeply engaging content that is personalized for your readers is the first step on the right track to balancing the formula.

Other People

We’ve all probably heard that it’s not just about who you know but also who knows you. Likewise, this part of the equation can be broken down into two parts:

• On one hand, you have your target audience – those you are creating your awesome content for. This is “who you know.“
• On the other hand, think about the people you can connect with and get to know (directly or indirectly through third party sources) who can become your champions and supporters. These people can be the experts in your field who can vouch for you, talk about you to their audience, and do joint ventures with. Because “they know you,” their loyal following will be more apt to check you out as well!

Marketing Messages

There is only one thing to say here about marketing messages: It’s not about you!

Remove the sales pitches and the company advertising and anything else that can dilute your content and/or confuse your readers. People inherently want great content without going through a bunch of bull to get it.

Launch – Get the First Chapter Free

I just read through the first chapter of Mike’s new book, Launch: How to Quickly Propel Your Business Beyond the Competition, which you can get for free here. I highly suggest you do so. You don’t even have to buy the book to get the full message (although I’m sure he’d like you to : ) ) because the first chapter should get you thinking about how to approach your business differently to spark more success – I know it did for me!

Over to you…

I’ll leave you with this: “…focus on people, not yourself and not your business; they will love you and be your biggest fans…” -Mike Stelzner

What do you think about the Elevation Principle? Please share your thoughts below!

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First, What’s a Redirect?

A Redirect is a feature that allows you to send visitors who try to access one URL to another URL. These redirects can be temporary or permanent redirects (most used and recommended).

Why Cloak Affiliate Links Using Redirects?

Well, it looks so much cleaner. For instance, which of the following would you rather see, use, and remember?

• https://freeblogfactory.com/ref,brown-1308515603 OR http://xdwebsolutions.com/freeblog
• http://www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=107871&u=517569&m=15608&urllink=&afftrack OR http://sharemysale.com

See how much better it is to use redirected links rather than the actual long links themselves? It can also help protect you from those who try to steal your affiliate sales (yes, there are people who do that!).

How to Create a Redirect Using cPanel

Watch the quick video below for a more detailed look into how to setup cPanel Redirects.

However, there’s one caveat to this solution…

During my testing of cPanel Redirects, I found that my newly created links weren’t working and I couldn’t understand why. So I went to my old trusty, Google, to help me solve the issue.

Well, lo and behold, this method doesn’t work properly if you are using WordPress or other CMS that uses a .htaccess file to manage access permissions.

And I’m a WordPress Chick!

So, Then, What Are Your Options?

If you are using a CMS, like WordPress, there are other options.

• PHP redirection (advanced method and you need to know a bit about PHP)
• Pretty Link Pro (premium method)
• Pretty Link Lite (free and easiest way to get started; link is to WordPress plugin)
• SubDomain redirects (i.e. URLRedirect.xdwebsolutions.com; not really recommended as it will most likely still be too long depending on your domain name)

Your turn…

What do you use to cloak/redirect your links? Don’t forget to share with your network!

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Some people say you should give away your best stuff for free. Others say, hold onto the best stuff and sell it. Then others say you can’t give away too much for free, while others say it’s simply not true.

So who’s right?

In the end, we can’t expect others to tell us what our time, expertise, or skills are worth if we don’t first define it ourselves.

What Do You Say?

What has your experience been? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below.

Don’t forget to share with your network to get more opinions on the topic back on the blog!

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Many of my clients ask me how to write engaging website content. My only response is simply 1) Understand your readers and 2) Keep it real.

It can’t get any simpler than that. But we all know that simple and easy are two TOTALLY different things!

Though I love to write, I’m not a content writer so I don’t write content for others’ websites. I leave that part to the Pros!

So if you’re struggling with your website content, it’s always best to hire a professional to do so. If necessary, leave room in your budget just for this purpose. Interview content writers, check their work, and you should end up with polished, professional content. I often explain that having a great looking website but crappy content defeats the purpose of having an online presence. You don’t perform your own surgery, do you? Of course not. You go to a surgeon! Okay, I digress… : – )

In any case, you should understand the three important keys to writing engaging website content, regardless if you hire someone else to do it or you do it yourself.

1) Purpose

Every page on your website should have a purpose. Go through each of your pages and think about the particular action you want your visitors to take. Is it to sign up for your newsletter, click to another page, simply inform, buy something, contact you?

Whatever it is, be sure to clearly tell your visitor what their next step should be. I’ve learned that if you want people to do something, you have to just tell them!

2) Understand Your Readers

Who are your readers? What do they want from you? What are they seeking on your website? They obviously are looking for information, looking to be entertained, looking for help, or something similar.

Therefore, when you understand this concept, you will be among the 10% (yes, I just made that statistic up but I’m sure it’s a really low number!) of website owners who will succeed in writing very effective, persuasive, and engaging website content.

Another tip in understanding your readers is to write like you’re talking to ONE reader. I find that I’m more engaged when the author is speaking directly to me using words such as “you” and “yours.”  In addition, establish rapport with your readers by showing them you understand their concerns. Let them know how and why you have the means to help them.

3) Keep It Real!

Whatever you do, always, always, always write (or have your content written) in your voice or your flavor. If you hire someone to write your content, they should be able to understand who you are as a person (personality, character, humor level, etc.) in order to write on your behalf.  Your readers need to know you’re legitimate and trust me when I say that your visitors are some smart cookies and are usually good at detecting fakeness!

Be honest at all times with your implications as well. Display the true cost of products and services if you list pricing.  Tell people they’ll be added to your newsletter if they sign up for a free resource. Appeal to your visitors’ intelligence and true needs. Otherwise, your reputation will go down the drain faster than rap stars go to jail! LOL

In the End

Following these three important keys to writing engaging website content will ultimately result in a successful website. Remember that you best serve your own interests by serving your readers’ interests. Eventually, the results you see will be incredible!

Your turn…

What else do you do to create engaging website content? Share your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to share with your network!

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If you’re someone who likes to do-it-yourself, this is for you. In doing so, you leave the hassles of the development alone, and focus on what you do best – manage your business and increase productivity.

However, if you’d like us to work with you in creating your site, let us know and we’ll deal with making it pretty – after all, it’s what we do

Check out our new CMS Solution and its features, monthly plans and then don’t hesitate to contact us. Better yet, go ahead and try it FREE first.

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