New Picks From Frank Julian

http://www.freedomroadtrading.com

Posted by Cantu on Dec. 6, 2007

Internet Marketing Secrets Podcast

Click here to get your own player.



Cantu gives you the best of online internet marketing, direct marketing secrets, podcasting and blogging advise and much more. There are some great software reviews on here.....

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 27, 2007

MLM Online Marketers Kick Me In The Gut

"I'm setting up my retirement in six months!"
"I'm getting my second dream home in 8 months"
"I'm only doing this because my husband is a millionaire and I'm bored"

I hear it all.

And the more I hear the more amazed I am. Not that this type of talk is not amazing. Far from it. In fact I find the whole report very fascinating. But you see, I am a web guy first and foremost whether I like it or not. I can see right through these MLM sites. I know for a fact they hardly rank in their geo centric market place, (and I include real estate sites in this category).

I can read the code. And that is something you never want to fool around with from an SEO standpoint. They can tell when you are covering up or bluffing.

Still, I am amazed that these groups can get any action off of their sites whatsoever. I have come across some really BAD ones that are crammed with javascript and flash, (things that bots cannot even read when they index your site). I have seen a lot of poorly constructed sites that have no sign up window or explain the site very poorly from a search engine perspective. The keywords are great but they are often stuffed into the meta tag with no sense of what is right or wrong. I find this approach very terrifying.

THE BROCHURE SITES
Most of these sites are there for one reason only. They are there to show others how great they can be. They are selling the dream. And by the way that is one thing that you can sell over and over again even if you have nothing else to sell. Although its getting a bit tough to sell it these days with the ongoing war and humbling job scene. The "lifestyle" isn't enough to motivate as much as it could in the early 2000's.

I am baffled how people can buy into these business opportunities and get these sites that attract little traffic. Then when you add the number of restrictions that the individual has when it comes to marketing their products it gets even more unsettling. So for the most part because of the rules of whatever MLM group they are in these sites do nothing but sit out there. Sometimes people stumble upon them but this is becoming rare lately.

If too many of these sites show up in one area Google does a dance and these sites disappear overnight. The Jagger Dance of last summer proved that.

So who is fooling who here? It takes a lot to get noticed online and to remain visible. These sites just do not have what it takes.

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 26, 2007 at 10:52 PM

Free Copywriting Secrets - Channel

I still get confused looks when I tell people I am a copywriter. Straight away we get into converstations about intellectual property and other things. I am often asked to create patents on logos and secure trademarks for all sorts of things.....

But COPYWRITING is different than obtaining a copyright.

This is salesmanship in print. Nothing more. This is a grandiose way of selling ones goods. And sadly its a dying art in some circles. But you need effective sales copy to drive traffic and sales and make your offers more compelling.

Now to make things simple we put all of these clips in one easy to find location.....

http://youtube.com/profile?user=tedcantu1

Enjoy!

Cantu posted this on Oct. 24, 2007 at 9:31 AM

Seth Godin's Theories Come To Life

RETHINKING THE IDEA VIRUS

The other day I was looking for my copy of "The Idea Virus". I had read this thing a couple of years ago. I was put off to an extent because some of the ideas were pretty advanced. I was convinced that I had to hook up with a programming super genius to make some of these creations really take off.

The concept behind this book of course was to create something powerful -- a virus if you will. This virus would pick up momentum and create a powerful windfall of profits. In this ideal situation the customers would do all the talking for you and in a sense take care of your advertising. Your services would then be the "talk of the town" and your name would jump from one consumer to the next.

Word of mouth taken to a whole new level.....

I never had faith in the ol' fashion "Word of Mouth" on its own. I always felt it needed a little help. Godin talks about an amazing service that works on cell phones. Where you find something cool you want to experience like a museum or a restaurant and you get it on your phone. When you go to tell someone else about it you just point your phone to another phone and it points that person to download the software so they can experience this service. He called that "working in the smooth".

IS VIRAL MARKETING PERFECTED?
I always had a fascination with Viral Marketing due to the fact that it was a pretty powerful concept. There wasn't a whole lot happening with off the shelf software at the time to support it. I liked the idea of having a piece of media that would fish around online and promote your company at the same time. For the most part that is happening with blogging and podcasting.

On another level there is something that you may want to look into. Ebook marketing is old and done to an extent. There are many better advanced strategies and techniques that seem a bit more appealing. But to take ebook marketing to the level where Seth takes it is an tempting possibility. There is a lot of room here for growth.

http://www.marketingtips.com is a great web site to check out. It is Corey Rudl's company. Rudl was the cutting edge Internet genius of the late 90's. His answer to ebook marketing really holds the Godin vision close.

The answer is Ebook Pro.... a virtual ebook that you can capture viewers contact information before they even try to open it. This is a very powerful strategy. When you consider that you can get a lot of these out there in circulation.

The ebook is tied into a database for you online. Before your prospect can view the downloaded ebook they must give you their contact information before the book will open. You in turn then can view the database to see who has signed in. This is a very clever way to trap customer information. When I found this software and its sneaky approach I was reminded of what Seth said about, "Working in the smooth". That is to say in order for anyone to participate in this process the end user would have to find that experience relatively easy.

I was relieved to see these new technologies becoming more easier to use. Viral Marketing is getting to a very unique place in our culture where the market can pick up your marketing messages and distribute them.

We weren't quite there 24 months ago. I know because I called several firms and tried to get some Viral Marketing created. Back then I got a big run around and insufficient answers.

Now I can do it. And you can do it too.

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 2007 at 10:39 PM

Rebel Marketing – The True Essence Of Van Halen

VAN HALEN REUNITES

Last night Van Halen came to the Joe Louis Arena. It was the first time that lead singer David Lee Roth joined up with the band in the last 20 years. Ironically, the last time I saw Van Halen play was in 1984 at the D.C. Capital Center. So I reunited with the band as well. I never had any inclination to see the band with Sammy Hagar.

For me the true sound, intention and meaning of this band had a lot to do with
David Lee Roth.

DLR was responsible for a lot of the early bands overall look. In a recent book he was quoted as saying, “We tried our best to look like the way the music sounded.” Roth had a hand in just about everything that the band produced. He took an active role over the way they dressed and also the way their videos looked.

Even the lyrics were different when the original band was together. Eddie Van Halen later said he wanted simpler lyrics that ANYONE could write. So he went to employ the verbal wit of Bon Jovi’s lyricist.

Never Waiting For Permission

Van Halen really set a lot new rules in the world of Rock and Roll. After getting into the Whiskey A Go Go in LA they reworked a new sound in the world of Rock Music. Eddie added an extra pick up on his guitar. He also hollowed out a cavity behind the pick ups on the fret board to give it an echo sound. In addition to jabbing the fret board to make the musical notes triple in tone he took the liberty of boiling his guitar strings. This added more spring to the strings and loosened up the coils. This allowed Ed to create a unique sound that spawned a lot of copycats.

The 80’s brought on a lot of rip off type bands that captured some of Eddies musicianship. Record execs pushed this type of sound and the Metal bands that came later numbered in the 100’s. A lot of these bands had staying power. Some of them got signed and many more did not.

The original Van Halen only made 6 albums. But those six releases stood the test of time. Musically speaking they didn’t really age. They still sound just as fresh as they did when they were released. The combination of David Lee Roth, (the showman as well as the loudmouth show off), Eddie Van Halen, (musical innovator) Alex Van Halen, (master of the drum kit) and Michael Anthony, (incredible rhythm section and back up vocalist) was a powerhouse.

Warner Brothers held them under an exclusive contract.

Not bad for an underground band. They became the role model that all other rock bands tried to emulate. The interesting thing about this was that they never got permission from the record industry to do what they did as a group.

A lot of the songs they did were not really radio friendly. In the age of Disco and punk rock Van Halen made their debut. The arena rock show venue was reinvented. The stage shows with confetti and pyrotechnics went against the grain of what was deemed typical in rock music. In a lot of ways it alienated even the most hard core hippy generation. They were rebellious and dangerous and to some extent they inspired fear. You would see the VH logo spray painted on buildings or engraved on high school desks everywhere. Even if you didn’t know who the band was the logo quickly became something of an underground icon.

It was music for the fans.

The Format Is Still Valid

Here it is in 2007 and that format these four created is still a valid art form and money maker. Their recent tour is creating a windfall of profits coast to coast. VH will be performing right up to the very end of the year.

Rock radio eventually gave in and gave them airtime. As the band progressed they were taken seriously and considered classic rock. But when they first emerged they were competing against dinosaur bands like Led Zeppelin and The Who. They were the new kids on the block and even as late as 1980 you rarely heard them on the radio. The record sales and the band’s popularity were for the most part all fan driven.

They would tour every year and were creating their own history in arenas. MTV wasn’t very supportive. You would think there would be more interaction with such a super group. There was an occasional video now and then, “Unchained” comes to mind. But when VH released Ray Orbison’s classic, “Pretty Woman” the video was actually banned from airplay.

This made me and other kids my age even more fascinated with the band. So the only way we could experience them was through Circus Magazine and buying the albums and listening to them. The US Festival in Califorina in 1983 was a big moment for the band. They actually parachuted out of an airplane to arrive on the stage. It was a big deal.

When the classic, “1984” album was released everyone gave them credit. VH had a handful of videos to support the album, “Hot For Teacher”, “Jump”, and “Panama”. MTV and Friday Night Videos gave them lots of airplay and radio stations kicked in. Radio stations were promoting the new tour when they came to play large sports arenas. The long climb to the top paid off. Van Halen was a household word.

Kicking The Doors Down

Breaking format and tradition in a corporate environment is typically frowned upon. In most cases the smart ones are singled out of a job situation and belittled by peers. The danger of this is that the innovative one is seen as a threat to the group. The problem usually falls into two categories.

Either the ground breaker is going to become so unique and talented
that he will eventually leave the firm.

Or he may ask for more money

Jealousy is bound to ensue by fellow coworkers. Many of these just do enough work to look busy and not get fired. They could be leeching on the company for insurance reasons or are just too lazy to go out and look for something better.

In a corporate model the idea of being an innovator or a rebel is asking for trouble. There will be lots of backstabbing, arguments, and political mud slinging. There will be meetings behind closed doors and plenty of mind games.

Life becomes hell for the enlightened one. They eventually quit the company and form their own. It is interesting to see these types get so much abuse in a corporate situation. Now this is not always the case. Sometimes these innovators are rewarded.

Usually what happens is that the emerging innovator is seen as “the enemy” because he is going against the norm. Most people want to get out of the company by 5. The innovator wants to do great things for the company and will often stay later – becoming the job. These people are often misunderstood and the norm is to ridicule this person or alienate him.

I am saying that there is nothing wrong with being a rebel innovator. It is how bands like Van Halen are created. It is how the light bulb was invented. Its why we drive SUV’s and Hummers now instead of going to work each day in a horse and buggy.

We need rebels in this country.

Posted by Ted Cantu on Oct. 21, 2007 at 10:01 AM

REBEL MARKETING - GREEN SCREENS - AND IPODS

"Here Is A Crash Course In Rebel Marketing"

Why wait for a web studio to make you famous or put you on the map? I am giving you the permission to go out and do this yourself. We blaze through this clip in five minutes and give you the dirt - no filler - this is what you need to do to get your videos out into the populace!

We also go into web rankings and how to use effective sales copy.

Yeesh !!!

That is more than you get out of a typical 40 member boardroom meeting for crying out loud. I really deliver the goods here and hold nothing back. So for all you direct marketers out there who are looking for the next level I hope you enjoy it.

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 20, 2007 at 8:23 am

REBEL MARKETING - DO IT YOURSELF NARROWCASTING

Cantu is back with the second installment for Rebel Marketing......

Ted Cantu posted this on Oct. 19, 2007 at 11:32

The Profit Hustle

ROPE EM' IN
In the 70's Muhammed Ali had an effective strategy called, "The Rope-a-Dope" where he would lie on the ropes until his opponent would strike repeatedly tiring himself out. This way the boxer could conserve energy and then lunge back and knock the other guy skyward. For Ali this tactic worked and he made it famous. Today its considered somewhat of a boxing "sin".

The Rope Em In strategy is an effective one to pull online. You see just like ALI you never let your prospect get too far. In fact you want to keep them into the cyberworld that you created. This is a very powerful thing to do if you put in the right components.

I GOT SUCKERED
The other day I went to find some powerful coaching materials online. Little did I know that I was walking into a trap. You see this mentor had EVERYTHING I was looking for under one roof or so I imagined. But what he did was something very few of us do effectively.

Everytime I bought something I was taken to a thank you page. On that page was a link to something else I wanted that was related. This went on for about 8 pages deep. Lets just say that I purchased a lot more than I expected to. I could have found these pages on the web individually and if put in that situation I may not have purchased anything. But since I was on a theme and a mission I was in the "mood" to get more than I needed.

A lot of us could benefit financially from this type of thinking.

The ebooks that I recieved from this merchant was riddled with hyperlinks to products that were related. Needless to say I wanted them all.

So what this marketer did was effectively put an iron gate around me. Once I got in his ring he kept me roped in till I purchased more products. I was upsold at every turn. This could be a very effective thing for you to do. Keep in mind that you do not have to have everything contained in the same site. You can have your prospects bounce around from multiple sites.

More on this later.....

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 18, 2007 at 7:56 AM

Setting Your World Stage - Who Are You OPTING IN?

When Entrepreneur Magazine published its historic Blog issue a year ago my colleagues barely blinked. It appeared that this whole concept of getting an instant following was a bit too lofty of a concept to really grab onto. But that did very little to disuade me. I was hooked.

The title read.... "Blogging For Dollars" and it literally had captured my imagination. This lead to a lot of companies fumbling around with this concept and many got it wrong. The many blogs that are out there do not take full advantage of the many tools that are out there. Worse they are not connected properly. The RSS feeds that are available are an enormous advantage over email. In fact, the whole thing is pretty inspiring.

WHO ARE YOU LETTING OPT IN?
Getting people to log onto your site is something of a challenge. Then waiting for them to OPT IN on your order form can be painstaikingly slow. The same thing works in the world of the Entrepreneur. You see a lot of them go for the hard sell in their blogs. This is a turn off.

The best way to get people to sign up for what your offering is to give away information. You can give away experience too. Write about things you have tried. Post testimonials. Remember that money is an energy. Its always moving. It loves speed. So you must offer value when you communicate about what you offer.

You will have much better response from the online world if you offer something for free. Think information and saving someone time. This is a huge concept for a lot of people due to the fact that everyone loves short cuts. Why do things the hard way?

BUILDING A BETTER PROFIT FUNNEL
Its easy to sell something to someone IF THEY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. That is why working your online marketing campaign has to have a certain degree of you giving information away. This is the one thing that a lot of marketers forget to do. They want to instantly sell you something without giving you a reason why.

The same way works offline. This is why so many MLM marketers are such a turn off. They pound their values over your head and insist that you buy their products. This can really repel your prospects.

Here are just a few things you can do to get to know new prospects:

* Offer information
* Save them time
* Take away some of their pain
* Offer proof
* Offer testimonials
* Show them proven techniques
* Use Video and Audio to prove your point....

That last bullet is very important. Remember that people by nature hate to read. There is a statistic out there that basically states that people hate to read and they are more people who prefer an audio or video message. Take that and use it. Digital web video now is a very good way to get someones attention.

The best part about that is that these will pop up as web site rankings. They will actually appear on Google and Yahoo as page listings. They will also enhance your rankings.....

Posted by Ted Cantu on Oct. 14, 2007 at 5:20 PM

Full Green Screens For Michigan Businesses

Looking for a way to promote your business on the web? Want to beat the high cost of television ads? Looking to dominate the search engines for your Michigan business? Imagine taking your product or service and delivering it to the RIGHT PEOPLE at the RIGHT TIME.

Did You Know....
Web video can be seen on Ipods, Mobile Phones, and other hand held devices. And instead of trying to advertise to people traditionally your audience actually comes looking for you? Imagine the advertising model turned backwards and your prospects actually are searching for what you are trying to sell. Sound amazing?

Here is a little more about green screens, web videos and more......
http://seochicago.blogspot.com/2007/10/digital-web-video-when-dancing-bears.html

** Sample above is Best Selling Author, David Newby - "Why Didn't Anyone Teach Me This?"

Posted by Ted Cantu on Oct. 13, 2007 at 10:24 PM

Squidoo Gets Google Slapped - Does This Affect You?

When abuse becomes the norm the mentality is to take that train to the end of the tracks. One technology suddenly becomes the way to do everything. Its happened with many different things on the web -- MySpace, Flash etc.

So when Seth Godins creation, "Squidoo", took massive hits from Google everyone flipped out. Peoples web site rankings fell short and the one trick pony took a mighty tumble. The sudden slap came without any warning and many sites took a loss in web traffic. This is very similar to the Jagger Dance that took place last summer when Google changed their algorithm.

DO NOT DEPEND ON ONE TECHNOLOGY TO FLOAT YOUR BOAT
This should go without saying. But anytime you expect a technology to be there for you rain or shine you will experience issues. Maybe not in the beginning but be rest assured that technology is a difficult speed changling.

Enough with the preaching - ahem... back to Squidoo. As you can imagine there were a lot of people creating fluff onilne in the form of digital spam like lenses. The whole Lens concept for those new to Squidoo is a sort of personal page that invites participation much like MySpace. The overall effect was one of great alarm. Imagine lots of pages out there in this social network that has nothing but insensitive ads and spam like content. It would take only a matter of time before Google would squash these entries as legitimate page rankings.

There isn't much being said for original content in this arena. Sure there are plenty of honest contributors in Squidoo land. But this whole idea of taking spam content and infiltrating a social network with the intent of clogging up the system is only going to get you so far. Spammers have tried this in the creation of link farming and spammed email messages.

The problem here is that Squidoo can greatly affect ones search engine rankings. If used properly this can be a tremendous asset. If you abuse the system of course you lose it all.

IS IT REALLY A PROBLEM?
Working in a corporate environment invites all sorts of new challenges. One, there really isn't a lot of time to dedicate to the ongoing, fast moving world of online marketing. Sure the bosses are afraid to pay for ones self development in learning the game. There is always the chance that another company with bigger pockets will snatch their prodigys away. The other likely scenario is that the quick thinking pupil will skate off with all this knowledge to the highest bidder or become a competitor.

There are a ton of things you can do to bring in legitimate high rankings. In fact, there are many steps you can put in place and have these systems INTERLOCK and perform like a real internet in your behalf. But this type of thinking requires intelligent thinking and time.

This is a very political time.

If the majority of people are looking to scam the system then that means there are plenty of opportunities available. By the way if your pages are ranking at 85% or over just in Meta Data.... You can seriously knock the cover off the ball in this Internet marketing game. Your competitors will be left reeling in the dust. The trick is to get at this number honestly.

And that takes brains.... and Patience.

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 10, 2007 at 9:35 PM

Beating The Big Media Houses - Web Video Works

HOW COULD THE MEDIA GIANTS GET IT WRONG?
In the not so distant past I went from one web video house to another looking for help. I wanted to do a product shot and have it shrunk down for IPODS. I was ushered into one boardroom to another and was quickly up sold to a very unusable format.

It seemed that the powers that be wanted me to walk out with a 55K DVD. This was video overkill in my opinion and I knew it. I was given a script writer and two truck rolls. Seriously. These producers, (yes they were going to be on my tab as well) wanted to send out two full trucks armed to the teeth with bulky video equipment to do my shoot. But that wasn't the worst part.....

I was expected to sit through 80 hours of editing time for a 20 minute video piece. In fact, this video only had to come in two parts because of the ten minute limitation on Youtube.com.

But this complicated script - which came courtesy of a script writer, ("IM A STORY TELLER") that the company flew in from New York City - asked for three 8 minute spots. The best part about this whole debacle was that I lived in Michigan.

MICROSIZING COMES OF AGE
Now thanks to microsizing and desktop video editing. I can take the a video clip beyond the simple basics and do a cleaned up job that is fit for DVD and broadcast video. These clips are outfitted with RSS feeds and can be uploaded where they pull customers to them like a magnet This is a very powerful technology that traditional media houses cannot match.

* Web Video Fits On IPODS
* Video Can Be Read On Iphones
* Video Does All The Work Online -- Attracting Qualified People

In just under a year. Web video has literally kicked traditional media houses to the curb. When you combine these powerful advantages with a strong SEO campaign you cannot lose. Now you can geo target your real estate online and get into tight niche markets.

We are truly living in a marvellous age.

Posted by Ted Cantu creator of http://www.911copywriters.com on Oct. 9, 2007

Google Power - Inside Feedburner

Its important to understand the chain of command when it comes to online marketing. Google has the tendency to grab up whatever is red hot at the moment. So when you got the best of all worlds coming together its best to through caution to the wind and jump on in.

FEEDBURNER COMES TO GOOGLE
Feedburner was recently bought out by Google and the two of them are working together. There is a strong connection when you use these two tools together. Then when you combine the best of what Blogger has to offer its a straight shot to the top. Course there are things you have to put in place in your pages to get them to be SEO compliant. But for the most part this is a very holy relationship in the world of online marketing.
USING GOOGLE TOOLS
Getting all these elements to come together is very critical if you want to achieve high page ranking status. When you have all of these RSS feed elements talking to blogs and ultimately have them point to your web site pages you are in a good place.
Inter connection is the key.
You want a very harmonious relationship online when it comes to interactive tools. That is to say you want different parts of different areas of the web working together.

SEARCH ENGINES ARE NOT THE FINAL ANSWER There are a wide range of things you must know if you want to have excellent page rankings. Search engines are only part of the equation. There are many other elements that must work side by side.

* Blog search engines
* Podcast search engines
* Web Video search engines
* RSS feed search engines
* Search Engines

The trick in this modern day and age is to get all of these guys to communicate about your business. In essence that is all that matters. The other thing I can tell you is to understand the alliances that come into play.

Some services communicate better to eachother than others. There are many other tools out there that are API driven and written by third parties. I am always in the process of testing these out to see if they are worthy of working with or not.
BEYOND PAY PER CLICK
If you are in the habit of throwing a grand, two grand , 5 grand out the window because the big man upstairs tells you to don't expect to grow organically. I am only addressing organic listings here, (that is what I specialize in) and if you keep your ear to the ground you will always find a backdoor to get to the top.
The trick is to do everything in compliance. Yes, the web is getting more complicated. But in a lot of ways it is becoming a lot easier to navigate through the clutter and get yourself noticed.

Posted by Ted Cantu, owner of www.911copywriters.com on Oct. 8, 2007. You can also find his podcast in the business section on Podomatic where he holds the number 12 spot.

YOUR NEW TERMINOLOGY

Every bold thinking new age has its own phraseology. Your connection to the online world is moving at the speed of light. So to keep up with this fast and changing world here are a few new words to keep in mind.
WEBCRUSH
This is a real term online to describe an online crush of the opposite sex. It is used in the online world and is popular in many social networks. I have seen this term used widely by Generation Y. If you go onto MySpace or LinkedIn you will find many references to this term. Oddly, it is also used to describe some race car driving sport down south. But that is not to be confused with the real meaning.... an online Internet term of affection!

UBER BLOGGING
When I first coined the term Uber Blogging a while back I was referring to a blog that had RSS feeds pumping in content as well as feeds going out, (that people could subscribe to). It was in a sense a jacked up power blog that made full use out of the latest technology. It was more than a blog that simply had posts on it, (after all, thats boring right kids?). Since the term has come out its been floating around and it has been picked up by some UK magazines.

CYBERCASTING
If you are going to be on the radio get a video of it. This extends the life of your media. Because from there you can digitize that footage and throw it up on the web. Now you are on video and the radio simultaneously and people can match a name to a face. Better yet, you become familiar to the public. It is for this reason of combining the Internet along with Radio that I coined the term.... Cybercasting. Now your media has a life of its own.

MICROSIZING
In the early days of all of this I inquired help from several television recording studios for editing video. Little did I know then that these guys were going to charge me an arm and a leg for what I could do in about an hour. Seriously. So I took the best effects from digital video and editing houses and brought everything inhouse to a desktop level. I cut out all the expense, fluff and political numbness out of the experience from having to go into a studio to get something done. It is for this reason I coined this phrase.

THE BOUNCE UP
This is what happens if you follow our SEO, Internet Marketing, and online strategies. When you combine our methods of podcasting, blogging, RSS, web video and SEO something wonderful happens. Unlike typical SEO firms and PPC situations you will lose your rankings, (and money) within due time. But thanks to our tools WORKING TOGETHER you will experience a phenomenon called THE BOUNCE UP. Your site is transformed into this life saving life raft. You will actually go UP the search engines and most likely stay there. While other sites struggle to stay on top yours will actually do the opposite and bob up and down near the very top TEN.

Posted by Ted Cantu, creator of http://www.911copywriters.com - this was posted on Oct. 4, 2007 at 4:08 AM

ITS YOUR DIGITAL LIFE !!

You can do what you like - obviously- ITS YOUR DIGITAL LIFE !!!

THATS THE THEME OF THIS NEW EXCITING PODCAST !!

My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-081784b0d22a187c8c19eb6216f530fa}

Ted Cantu posted this on Oct. 4, 2007 at 5:28 PM

DIGITAL LIFE - NYC - NERDS IN PARADISE

"WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL SHOW ON EARTH !!!"

Hey folks -- hopefully some of you out there got a chance to enjoy The DigitalLife conference in New York City at the Javits Center. This was held near the Chelsea neighborhood. It was from Sept. 27-30. Yours truly was there and took in the full spectacle.

This is the latest and greatest show featuring the best entertainment, video gaming, and technology. This was a big deal. If you ever been to the Javits Center then you know its about the size of an airport. It was filled with products from HP, Oovoo, Best Buy, Com One, Dell Inc, E-Sports Services, Digital Kidz Zone, Activision, Palm, Logitech and many more.

Personal Favorites
I got a kick out of seeing the eBay University and the Lord of the Rings gaming area. I even got a free copy of the Witch of Angmar on DVD and jammed out on the Full Sail digital drum kit. The new gaming environments were very engaging and the lines to participate were quite extensive. Still, the energy in the room was contagious. You had the immediate urge to try EVERYTHING once you walked in through the entrance gates.

** I especially liked the new HP computers with the extra large flat screen. These things were a bit clumsy to be portable upon first glance (?). But they were loaded with features and were very pleasing to the eye. I really got a kick out of seeing them up close. You could try most of the gadgets that were on display.

For more information check out this site....
http://digitallife.pnmi.com/newyork/flash.html

Posted by Cantu on Oct. 1, 2007 at 8:48 PM. NYC, its good to be back !

the MONEY MACHINE - Googleotomy

The Money Machine: The Online Marketing Show
Give it a listen!
GOOGLEOTOMY - Let Google Make You Famous


Enjoy! -- 911 Copywriters

Posted on Sept. 15, 2007 at 6:59 PM by Cantu

Copywriting Secrets With Ted Cantu - PART II

Ted Cantu and Joseph Dadich - Hard Hitting Copywriting

Here is Cantu and Dadich once again talking about "No Nonsense" Copywriting. Get ready to HOT WIRE your sales process. Here is how to write gripping sales copy that doesn't mess about. This is the stuff you need to lubricate your sales wheels in your own money machine.

Delivered in the traditional and "A-Traditional" methods inspired by Dan Kennedy, Orange Beetle and many others...

Posted by Cantu on Sept. 14, 2007 at 1:59 PM

New Copywriting Secrets - Part 1

Cantu and Joseph Dadich Illustrate The Frankenstein Technque....

There are so many times your sales copy is over shooting the mark. We took a 25 page sales letter and cut it apart. By doing this we were able to find out what made this sales letter tick. We reassembled the content and taped it back together.

You would be surprised at how much extra FLUFF was left over.

Cantu posted this on Sept. 13, 2007 at 7:16 AM

Social Networking Sites - Where You Should Be

When Facebook first came out it barely raised any eyebrows. It gained a little bit of popularity but MySpace got more headlines in the news. The mere idea of using a social network to promote a product or a service seemed sort of lofty. After all MySpace was deemed as more of a hangout for bored teens.

This eventually grew out to 7.8 billion.

Google's Orkut had a similar system and it grew out to 38.2 billion. The idea of taking a social network seriously now seemed like a very powerful idea. It was no longer kids stuff.

The idea of reaching more people using this powerful but underated tool seemed like a smart idea. So while companies are grappling with how to promote their services -- early adapters are moving in to set up their position on Orkut.

INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES
There are other social networks out there that can pull similar results. This can also create a radical boost in web traffic too if you position yourself correctly.

Posted by CANTU on Sept. 9, 2007 at 8:15 PM

SEO - Free Resources

SEO Search Quest is expanding its site and getting ready to hit the FALL SEASON. As we construct and make additions to our new site, (please excuse our dust) we are pleased to announce a collection of new tools and resources.....

These tools and resources will benefit our clients, readers and business owners out there who want higher rankings. You do not have to subscribe to our newsletter to grab these free goodies... so come on down and check out our new seo index for Michigan businesses.....

Posted by Cantu on Sept. 3, 2007 at 10:26 pm

THE NEW COWARDS - Drug Companies Struggle For Popularity

The worst type of coward has shown its ugly head. In the age of RSS and subscription based content - drug companies are fearful that you will forget them. They are so afraid in fact that they are looking for new ways to stay afloat.

ENTER THE SPAM BLOGGER......

Off shore drug and pharmacy companies are terrified that you may forget them. They are traumatized that you will forget to buy their products. Instead of getting rejected in your SPAM box they turn to one of the last great resources left.

Spamming your web sites and blogs.

The companies who are pulling this cowardly act include:

* Viagra
* Male Enhancement
* Cialis
* Weight Loss
* Investment Ops

These unsavory companies single out blogs and web site forms that have no character protection on them. These companies use robots that scour through the web community looking for any place they can call home. They visit your site and fill out your comment section looking to advertise to you.

This type of behavior is absurd.

As anyone knows the response rate for something like this is very small. You may be batting one out of a thousand. So before any of you out there get any ideas please take note that this is very uneffective marketing.

WHAT BLOGS ARE AT RISK?
GoDaddy.com has very good blog software. I actually like it due to its effectiveness. There are calendar features and many other smart attributes that go along with it. The only bad thing is that there is no text entry code for those who write entries. This means that any spam bot can come in and fill your inbox with gibberish.

TYPEPAD is a smart system. BLOGGER is a smart system too. It requires a live human being to fill out the forms on it in order to complete a submission. This is worth mentioning.

THE SCAM
Spam bots can also penetrate your online ordering forms. They can get inside of your order forms on your ecommerce web sites. They will usually come in and order something for a dollar. They are testing your server to see if they can run stolen credit cards on it. You will get a sale listed for a buck and then the next thing you know you will get a notice from your ecommerce provider. You will get charged a $20 dollar fee from your ecommerce provider each time this happens. But there is a way you can strike back.

Make sure that your order forms have a text code on it to prevent spam bots from ordering. You can control this in your control panel on your online gateway.

Look, make it simple by asking your merchant account provider of the latest scams and how you can protect yourself. This is very important as cyber criminals are getting a little smarter with each passing day.

Ted Cantu posted this on Aug. 30, 2007 at 11:25 PM

Since When Does Cheap Price = Good SEO ?

This was a rather strange week -- even for me, ( a person who prides himself on getting into some over the top strange situations).

I've come to a rather stark conclusion about online marketing and that is..... Some companies should NOT have web sites. I know that may be a little harsh for some of you but its true. There are many contributing factors to making a web site campaign take off half way decent. There are many tools that you should be aware of when putting a site together.

SUCCESS DOES NOT COME EASY
Most importantly you should take care of the necessary costs.... hint.... directories... when putting your site together. Having a site on the Internet does not automatically mean you will get cash paying customers.....

It does not mean that you will get people buying everything you are selling. It does not guarantee that you will get a fair share of fans. It doesn't even mean you will get indexed or listed in the search engines.

Yahoo was charging a fee of $49 dollars per page just to get indexed. Now this does not mean that you will get listed. This means that you may have a chance of getting included into the search engines. You will appear somewhere in the bottom of the searches. This fee does not include TOP RANKINGS.

Incidently it also doesn't mean you will get A TON OF TRAFFIC. That is something that will happen if you are plugged into the top web directories which are DIFFERENT than search engines. You will have to be in enough niche market directories to make some sort of impact.

* Just because you have a web site does not entitle you to popularity or profits.....

To Be Cont.

Posted by CANTU on Aug. 23, 2007 at 10:37 PM

GIVING INTO DEMAND: Diversifying Your Customer Base

What is it that people really want from your company? Instead of always focussing on the lowest price - a tactic that rarely gets GREAT RESULTS consider the following:

* VISIBILITY
* TIME SAVING
* LUXURY ITEM AT COST (?)

When you market a product or service look for a hidden benefit to carry most of the weight for your business. Consider looking for a time saver.... Plenty of other companies have done this to great efficiency.

.... JIFFY LUBE (Oil Change)
... MINUTE OIL (Oil Change)

There are plenty of other businesses that can utilize this strength. This does not have to be just limited to oil change places. You can apply this tactic to ANY BUSINESS that brings a certain amount of pain to it....

* TAX PREPERATION....
* ACCOUNTING....
* LOAN APPLICATIONS OF ANY KIND... and so on.....

Removing pain from a somewhat painful experience or TIME, (which can be actually defined as a PAIN in the ass) is a good strategy. The same can be said for DENTISTS or anyone practicing this type of work in the chiropractic field.

IN OUT HELLO GOODBYE

CASH PLEASE.. !!!! ;)

Posted by CANTU ON AUGUST 21, 2007 at 3:26 PM

NEWSFLASH - LIVING IN "REACTION" MAKES BIG BUCKS

"The Only Thing Worse Than
Bad Marketing - Is A Total Lack Of Guts"

I walked out of the two star weekend hit, "Superbad" this weekend. It was a packed house and I was only into the first quarter of the film when it hit me.

The premise centered around two clueless doofuses, ( doofi ) who were constantly living in "reaction". They bounced around from one ridiculous situation to another like destinys football. There were plenty of Home Alone, reaction shots... AHHHHHHHHHHH etc. that plague so many genres of films today... no matter if its comedy, romance, drama and others.

How much of this can you take?

But that is not why I walked out.

There is a reward system in Hollywood thats for sure. Every film that was previewed had a similar reaction shot like this. The plots looked paper thin and my patience was nearly exhausted. It occured to me that American culture has not only supported this lame behavior but it can also sell out a packed movie house. Audiences were cheering, laughing and nearly fainting at these predictable jokes and reactions.

Finally, I blew up and stormed out......

I walked out because this type of behavior has seeped into a lot of business in America. There seems to even be a reward system in place for clueless behavior and people who live in constant reaction........ for example.

"You'll never guess what this guy did to me....."
"... it isn't my fault, because she was like WHATEVER, and I was like WHATEVER...."
".... i COULD get that promotion if only .... ( so and so ) would get off my back...."


PASS THE BLAME BECOMES A BUSINESS SURVIVAL TACTIC
This type of wimp behavior may prove to be profitable in a cube situation. You can always find a shoulder to cry on when things get to be too unbareable. There are HR offices waiting to listen to the daily soap box drama.

But this proves to be deadly behavior for entrepreneurs.

You are totally responsible for the good things that happen to you as well as the bad. You need to understand that in order to totally take advantage of the great opportunities in life you MUST STOP LIVING IN REACTION.

YOU MUST BE THE AGGRESSOR.

WEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS: LIVING IN DESTINY
SO many times I talk to people who are not living with any type of wealth consciousness whatsoever. They more unconscious than anything else. The problem with relying on other people to fulfil the missing components in your business life is that you could be waiting... and WAITING for things to happen. You must be the total reason of the CAUSE AND EFFECT in your life.

This also spills over into many other parts of your life. This can happen in relationships and matters of spirituality. Simply said... theres danger in not growing in any of these directions.

Master marketer JEFF PAUL, top student of Dan Kennedy, said it best.....

"There are people who are good at making excuses and there are those who are good at making money..... but you cannot be both"

I am sometimes amazed at how this type of lackluster behavior..... LACK CONSCIOUSNESS and living in REACTION tends to get rewarded. Films are made about these type of people. Office culture breeds this sort of whininess and anti hero aesthetic. And self depreciating speak is encouraged in dating circles.

Sadly, all of this tends to make big bucks and get human sympathy but for an entrepreneur this behavior should not be pursued. The ability to give your aggressors the upper hand is the kiss of death to money making conscious people. It does not fit into the wealth mode.

This type of behavior can come in the form of:

* Lame sales people
* Sloppy uplines
* Bad management
* Pit bosses gone haywire
* Control-a-maniacs
* The office Spaz

You want the five second?

When you get into a sticky situation don't lose your cool. Think aloud.. WHAT WOULD TRUMP DO? WHAT WOULD ANTHONY ROBBINS DO?

Seriously.

Cantu posted this on Aug. 18, 2007 at 10:10 PM

Michigan Entrepreneur Network Is Back

I'm a little partial to the Entrepreneurs Network of Michigan due to the fact that I've been involved with several projects of theirs. But these guys are back with a vengeance.....

Rumor has it that they are ramping up their money making opportunities.....

That is, this site is going to be a hub for professionals in S.E. Michigan....

Stay tuned for more details....

Oh and before I forget, here is a copy of their calendar....
For Michigan Entrepreneur events....

Ted Cantu posted this on Aug. 17, 2007

HE COMES ON SMOOTH AND SLICK, LIKE AN UNWANTED DISEASE

ANOTHER POST SEO RANT

I promise to keep the dismal stuff to a bare minimum. But seriously folks, whatever happend to good old fashioned manners.

I got a SALES PITCH THIS WEEK on my FRIGGEN YOUTUBE STATION. This YO YO offered to MAKE ME RICH. I don't mind the message so much. That is what the SPAM filter is for on my email. And before I give anyone out there ideas on what to do.... or what not to do in this case... that is where all my unwanted pitches... get pitched.

Its disturbing to me that this slippery, flip flop of a marketing wannabe is trying soft soap me into a sale... on something I CREATED. This is like graffitti on another level.

Here is my YOUTUBE STATION.....
http://youtube.com/user/tedcantu1

Also note that you won't find a sales pitch on there. I had to block this knucklehead off my message board. Until I can find a way to permanently delete him I am going to keep this channel tip top clean.

By the way, this is a horrible business model. You cannot create a market by slobbering over prospective clients who are sitting ducks. This is not marketing. This is worse than spam. And to think I am supposed to give into the "pressure" and give this jerk money is not in the future.

Get a clue, all you clueless marketers out there.

Get a job.

Ted Cantu posted this on Aug. 15, 2007 at 10:40 pm

Who's Holding The Keys?

TALES FROM THE DIGITAL SOUP KITCHEN

Looking for web help shouldn't be like looking for old rims and side mirrors for your car in the junk yard. You should get a quality product from the starting gate.

1. Look for the BBB
2. Get someone who is certified either in web building or in SEO
3. Get references

.. nuff said.
============================

The real stickler this week came from a newsource about web site designers keeping their customers hostage. They can do this somewhat legally by having ownership over the domain name and even the web site itself.

This rarely comes down to a legal court of law but it can. To keep things safe and sane I always give my partners full ownership over anything I create for them. I do not want to get into a sticky situation down the road. Remember that in a court of law you have to have proof.

Business owners get sloppy because they start to trust the "leader" a little too much. In fact, they let the leader steer the ship right into an iceberg. When things go sour, and this can happen for whatever reason, then the owner has a right to take his business elsewhere.

I would say about 20% of our business centers around looking for domain names, (registered in other countries) and also taking web sites back from deadbeat designers. Other times I have to track these web designers down and often times if they are real small they don't have an office. This means I have to track them down through friends and ex-business associates.

I actually tacked on a SUPER SLEUTH FEE for this service. I have to play detective for the defective and to do that takes money. The most annoying thing I feel about this process is that it eats up a good deal of my time. This is time that I could spend doing something else that is productive for my business.

To save everyone from a trail of disputes and the dreaded "HE SAID SHE SAID" take a tip from Cantu. Make sure you get EVERYTHING CONNECTED TO A WEB SITE PROJECT IN YOUR OWN NAME.

This includes:

* Domain names
* Web site hosting accounts
* Graphic services
* Add ons, (graphic enhancements)
* Form code
* Pictures
* Video
* Additional hosting information

Make sure you get everything in YOUR name and also make sure you have the passwords and usernames to access these accounts.

** I would install a policy that forbids us from entering a project of this nature. But the problem is that this is becoming very widespread. It becomes somewhat difficult to avoid this turmoil.

Make it easy on everyone by being a responsible business owner and take FULL OWNERSHIP.

Posted by Cantu on Aug. 6, 2007 at 7:59 AM

2 Second Slam Dunks

Ever notice that some products and services really do the job visually in about 2 seconds? IN other words just looking at the product and what it can do tells the entire story. You don't need a ton of MTV rapid fire machine gun edits to get your message across. One shot will usually get the job done. Its the product that does all the work.

This is EXACTLY what we are looking for in our latest project. We are searching for products that get the message out there while telling a visual story.

Check out this mini clip we did for Color Vanish....
www.colorvanish.com

And watch this amazing product go to work.......

We'll be featuring these clips on our up coming business profiles site.....



Posted by Cantu on Aug. 3, 2007 at 8:46 am

Free Video Profiles - For Michigan Businesses

"OKAY MICHIGAN - Listen Up!! Here Is
Your Chance To Grab A Bit of Fame!"



Cantu and the SEO Search Quest group are on a mission. We are looking for interesting and eclectic Detroit area businesses to include in our video profile web site. The kicker here is that the pages that we create are going to be optimized to bring plenty of attention to all of those who participate with us.

The pages we create will also have links joining our video profile web pages to participant web sites. This means that anyone who partners with us will have higher search engine rankings as a result. Here is the first video clip promoting this unique and unusual service.....

All video clips can be traced to IPOD and IPHONE media.

Cantu posted this on July 30, 2007 at 8:24 PM

SEO - Seize The Market

The last few weeks have been interesting on the SEO front. There are too many companies out there who just, "Don't Get It". Just last week I delivered a program to a company and watched the face of the decision maker contort from dismay to total mental abandon.

The fear here was the prospect of a new Google algorithm. This is actually a valid reason for not wanting to commit to a search engine optimizaton program.

But what he socked me with next was actually eye popping. He wanted to put more dough into Yellow Page advertisements because he claimed at least it would get into more peoples hands.

WHERE IS OUR YELLOW BOOK?
Our yellow book was delivered during a rain storm. It sat in a plastic bag, unopened, for days on end until just a week ago. From there it was shuffled off into a corner to dry off. It was allowed a home out of sheer sympathy. There it sits waiting to be used.

Maybe one day I will use it if I have time.

My schedule lately has been one that demands instant gratification. If I need something then I need it right away. I cannot wait to get my answer. If I need a map, or directions, or a phone number of a service provider in my area for XYZ I never reach for the Yellow Book.

Either does a lot of our younger generation.

Generation X has limited means in this changing economy and they rarely do things in a predictable fashion. But Generation Y, (the youth generation that came after) has more buying power, are a lot more demanding and carry a more cynical attitude about the world around them. Not only are they a little more edgy but they are impatient. They demand answers at the touch of a button and grew up with Nintendo. Electronic gadgets and Google are all in a days effort for these kids. Chances are they are not going to go digging very deep to find your company in a Yellow Page ad. Forget about that 10% coupon and the hassle of getting a pair of scissors to cut it out. They would rather buy something online.

BEATING OUT 40 COMPETITORS
How do you get around 40 competitors in your field? It is going to be hard to do it with the kind of web sites most franchises have. A lot of franchises operate out of one web site. To find the location for a franchise you have to pull down a java menu. From there you need to get the city you want to do business in and get their web page.

Its amazing to me that many franchise owners, (many of which pay $156,000 or more to be in the franchise) consider this type of set up a "web site".

So doing something intelligent like having a separate web site with a different IP address does not often come up as a solution. This is what is going to set you apart with all your competitors. Take in for consideration that most web sites are not even positioned for Search engine optimization. Most sites come up blank and get a zero percent rating.

You need to have the right guts in your web site to make this happen.

FIND OUT WHERE YOU RATE
Take this simple test and find out how significant you are on the web.

Meta Tag Analyzer tool

** How will you seize the market?

Posted by Ted Cantu, on July 29, 2007 at 8:14 PM

I SAID IT - THEY SAID IT - "WE SAID IT"

For the last few months I have been muttering about the IPHONE and its amazing possibilities to market. I felt so strong in my convictions that I invested into two soundstages for video work. I eagerly awaited its
coming and now its finally here....

But its nice to see someone else babble about this phenom too! In a recent posting on the DM News Blog there is a nice article there about the IPHONE.

This article goes ONE STEP FURTHER and talks about how companies will have to REDESIGN their sites so they are web phone compatible. Pretty slick eh?

Here... Check it out for yourself.....

Pretty soon companies are going to have to redesign their Web sites to make sure that they are cell phone-friendly and so that everything on the page looks just right on a small screen.
The fact that the phone has the ability to display high-quality video will also attract marketers, as they can market via mobile video ads. A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, considering people tend to respond more to things that they can visualize.

Verizon and Qualcomm also announced a plan to stream live TV to cell phones. This will also push marketers to mobile video ads.

The marketing landscape is changing right under our noses. It is important to understand the changes and to be able to foresee the future. If you can’t, read the news, see what execs and industry followers say.

For the past year or so, I have been writing stories with comments from executives on the potential of mobile marketing. Well the time is here. The iPhone will change everything.

Source: DM News - Click here....

Cantu posted this on July 19, 2007 at 4:44 pm and can be found at www.1seomichigan.com

GOOGLE GETS READY TO POWER YOU UP!

"DIGG These Email Tools To Add Some Punch"

Its important to watch out what Google is doing. Especially if you are looking to keep your pages fresh and relevant......

** I am surprised to see such incredible news about Google literally fall through the cracks of the people in the know. I mean there are a lot of tools that can be criss crossed with other techniques to create some real PR Bliss in your business.

When Arizona State offered to connect their email with DIGG and Google the public barely blinked an eye. This could be due to the fact that this type of digital technical hybrid "hot wiring" is far too geeky for the public.

Still, its important to keep abreast of this type of innovation when it comes along. Its encouraged me to keep a journal. Some third party web service companies crap out in 12 months and leave you hanging. There are a ton of services I got from TECH CRUNCH that did not live up to their hype in a few months after their debut.

Its great to figure out the relationship of these new emerging tools and to see how they can enhance your online presence.

Cantu posted this on July 11, 2007 at 1:54 am

ONE WEB SITE CANNOT "DO IT ALL"

"I Don't REALLY WANT Much From This World...... Except For Maybe World Domination"

This is all in fun of course dear ones !! I am going to do the best I can to keep this light hearted. But honestly, do you really expect to pull a big chunk out of your local market with a spinely five page web site?

This seems to be the rallying cry for anyone who sells these en masse. The poor people who buy them are being seriously misled. It is virtually impossible to create any type of long lasting impression off a web site that only has five pages and no contact information. I see a lot of these sites being sold through telecom groups, phone companies and MLM type people.

Its hard to get all the goods.... But lets face it with the way things are changing all over its hard to distinguish what those goods are. If you want to create some real impact with your audience then you need to figure out how to best reach them.

Check this out....
http://1seomichigan.com/3.html

Check out these types of sites and Internet marketing samples. You cannot get these same types of results from a web site that just merely showcases a phone number. It has to be more than a glorified electronic business card......

Cantu posted this on July 8, 2007 at 1:31 am

MISSED MONEY OPPORTUNITES

"What Color Are The Bricks In Your Prison?"

If you are talking about making serious money in this economic landslide get out of the cube! Yes, I invite you to stop thinking "outside the box" !! I encourage you to ditch the box - cube whatever you want to call it -- once and for all.


Most cube environments are nothing more than petting zoo's for 30 somethings. Its depressing and just God awful. But if you are totally wrapped up in the job environment then you might not see it.

WHAT IS MONEY?
A few good books out there will shatter your preconception about money and what it means. There is a lot of talk lately about the newly found, Laws of Attraction. But this in fact has been a serious study going back to the year 1911. There are even earlier writings about this if you have the time to research it.

This free flow of money and exchange of monetary means for goods and services relies on strong belief. It is created by forging trust between not only two parties but also joint ventures of monumental sizes. This is where you get all of the interesting relationship building. Once you hit this type of environment the office cubes seem a bit trivial.

In short, money is an energy!

Its empowered and disempowered by your own free will. Before I run the risk of confusing you let me explain this a bit further.....

Multi Level Companies Blow It - Most of the Time
Just last week I was invited to partake in a multi level company. I have had dealings with these types of organizations in the past and found them troubling. The emphasis is on making a ton of money with very little effort. Some people do very well with this type of set up and there are many different dynamics that come into play with this.

On one hand its kickback city. Everytime you sell something in your organization everyone in your downline gets a piece of it. If this happens enough times in a certain time period everyone in that organization wins. But hitting this type of consistency is hard. Not everyone gets it.

Perhaps most distracting is that this type of money making has little to do with traditional business. But to be fair the profit margins are really a lot smaller than what one would experience if they worked on their own. Most MLM groups run off a 30 percent profit margin. It takes a while to build up a substantial amount of money that you can actually live on.

They have a poor view of what money actually is. This is what made me look over these opportunities and seek out the Law of Attraction.

What Makes The Law of Attraction So Popular?
This was viewed upon by ABC television as something bad. In fact, it got so much attention from the network that it ran two specials dedicated to discredit its popularity. The network has more uplifting topics it would rather show the pubilc such as rape, murder, senseless comedies and war. Still, in spite of all the negative presss there is something integral about this Law.

One considers for a moment about its origin. These stem from a wide array of writings from Hinduism, Judaism and some of the earliest philosphophical - metaphysical teachings of its kind. If learning about the Vedas and ancient Sanskrit are not your thing then consider some of the more recent research. There was a lot of writings about this topic at the turn of the 20th century and in 1947.

There are writings about it centered around Kabbalah and the Zohar. These ancient Jewish texts are fascinating and go a lot deeper into the topic then one could imagine. This is the type of journalism that ABC should focus on. One would think a little responsibility would be well in order. But that didn't seen to be the case when I caught these two poorly produced broadcasts.

This became the basis for the book, "The Secret" and was recently brought to light by the powerful works of Joe Vitale, (marketing wunderkind).

As en entrepreneur you have a responsibility first to yourself. From there you have to decide what path you are going to take. Are you going to take the one that is broadcast to you daily by the press and the media? Or are you going to listen to your intuition? Becoming an entrepreneur is NOT THE SOLUTION FOR EVERYONE. It is a road filled with confusion, self doubt, blame and self loathing. You will make mistakes and mispend money on your climb to the top.

If you have the guts you will succeed. The best thing you can hope for is to be persistent. You will need to overcome objections and find that many of your biggest stumbling blocks are self induced. You must unlearn things that you have already learned. In this process I include a lot of things learned in college. This becomes true especially when you start to get into the real thick of your individual views of money.

** Be leery of lopsided political viewpoints that are created to smear your hopes and dreams. These messages are counter productive to the positive reasons one chooses to be an entrepreneur in the first place.

Ted Cantu posted this on July 5, 2007 at 7:23 pm and can be found at http://www.1seomichigan.com

IPHONE PODCAST - WORTH THE WAIT !

The Money Machine: The Online Marketing Show
Give it a listen!
The Online Money Machine: IPHONE


Enjoy! -- 911 Copywriters

IPHONE ASKS - WHAT CAN YOU DO?

"The World Is Watching - Now What Will You DO?"

The IPHONE was released last night to lines of fans who waited for hours. You can find a gazilion articles posted about the "Jesus Phone" on the web. But that is not what this posting is going to be about..... specifically. I figured you can go just about anywhere to find some hype and heart thumping propaganda concerning this technological marvel.

Now that you have access to technology the REAL question becomes what do you do with it?

You already know from looking at my presentation on SEO in Michigan..... that 100 million viewers watch YOUTUBE.COM a day. That in itself is pretty encouraging. These people come from all sorts of niche markets. The whole thing in a microcosm is pretty dog gone exhilarating.

MEETING WITH A FILM MAKER
This week I had lunch with an independant film maker in the Detroit market. Our discussion went in several amazing directions and touched upon pop culture. We were discussing how pop movements were either captured or even fabricated in front of a camera. Our references scanned the whole spectrum including Saturday Night Live, The Who, and music sensations like THE CLASH.

At what point did the audience "SNAP" and go bananas when the Clash performed in the film "Rude Boy". The live performances were very dynamic to watch. I was focussing on the audience and what made them react so strongly. Likewise I also downloaded a Steve Martin live performance record from 1978 this week. This is an album I have not heard since I was ten years of age. I was amazed at the kind of response he was able to extract from his audience. Martin, before he became a film director, was the first comedian to pack thousands into arenas to give comedy performances.

There was something in each performance. Something memorable. This is what made them so fascinating to watch and listen to. Trying to capture that spark inspired me to continue into other forms of entertainment. I picked up Saturday Night Live - Season 1 - on DVD. Once again I am watching a group of unknown actors revolutionize a media format. To me this is very inspiring and its worth studying.

TYING IT ALL IN TOGETHER
What does studying the Punk Rock movement, Saturday Night Live and rebel comedians have to do with the IPHONE? It has everything to do with you being discovered and revealing your own uniqueness. My questions for you are as follows.....

1. At what point will your audience "SNAP"?
2. What kind of POP sensation will you make on the web?
3. What kind of mass following can YOU attract?

Ted Cantu posted this on Saturday, the DAY AFTER... June 30, 2007 at 7:49 am

The Misunderstood World of the SEO

"Online Life As We Know It Is About To Change"

The recent UK magazines kicked out a minor ruckuss this week with their bold proclamations of online marketing. There is evidence of change in the air in many areas of online marketing. Its not just with the Google Universal Search..... The new techniques that were mentioned in this publication went a little beyond what we typically view as online marketing.

We were exposed to Web 3.0 - higher forms of podcasting, blogging, MySQL and tying this all together in the effort of getting more web traffic and online customers. Even for a seasoned professional this would come off a bit as overkill (?)

I know professionals who work in this business who didn't bother to pick up last years edition. They were in a state of overwhelm just by reviewing the contents of the magazine. But this years edition is a lot more intense.

Online Training At Home
A recent training program for internet savvy marketers only listed SEO down to just a few sentences. The rest of the course picked up on some pretty elevated areas. Right after a couple of text book definitions of online marketing the course got more indepth. These areas had very little to do with any typical SEO practices.

In other recent news you just cannot escape the coming of the IPHONE. The influence of video and audio messages that you design will open new doors of opportunities for new sales. This is flipping the business models of broadcasting upside down.

YET, you really do need a strong SEO based delivery system to get your media out into the public.... One that will enforce your viewpoints upon your public. One that has the ability to bounce back up once it has been knocked down a few pegs on the search engines....

Posted by Ted Cantu on on June 25, 2007 at 11:31 pm

The Importance of Being Persistent

"Take A Tip From The Dollar Bin -- In This Case..... The Candy Butchers"

A few years back... or.. back in the day.... Or as my friend Jeff says, "A little Later in the Day..." was a golden gem discovered in the bottom of the dollar bin. It was a little band called, THE CANDY BUTCHERS.....

We used to play a game in the city. A bunch of old friends would hit the record stores in Chicago and get anything that was cheap or looked interesting. The rules were they had to be bands you never heard of before other than that anything goes. We would get a good case of beer and meet back at my pad and hang out and take turns playing tracks. Sometimes we would laugh our heads off and sometimes we would find real gold.

When, "Live at La Bonbonniere" came out it barely made a blip on the radar. When it was released it slipped under the pop radar, and forget about any airplay. Once I listened to it the songs sort of jumped off the disc and reminded me of Squeeze and had plenty of amazing pop hooks to it. Mike Viola, the lead singer, struck an instant chord with me. I was a fan.

This album was recently admitted to ITUNES. Even though it was recorded years ago and had virtually no fan base to speak of this band has made an impression though persistance. Course it was on David Letterman and had toured consistently. The album was recorded in a little deli in lower Manhattan and there were no people in the place except for the occasional waitress or dishwasher in the background. But the music was what sold it.

THE POWER OF HAVING YOUR OWN MEDIA

Sure it may take time to get discovered for what you do. But just like the Candy Butchers you can have your own version of success. It is all about getting canned media and having it ready to go. No matter if you are in a band, or are an author, or have a product or service..... This is what you need to have.... a real, Power of Stick-to-it-tuitiveness.

This can have a real power over your audience. Just the fact that a lot of peole out there are audio or visual minded people should be a clue. There are a lot of people who really don't like to read. Take a clue from that statistic and do something with your media to make yourself known. It is very important to take this under consideration.

There is a lot of money you are leaving on the table.

Here is a question for ya.... How many of you have a podcast out there? Why not reverse the model here and type out a transcript of your podcast show and post it on your web site? The meta data and subject material will be fresh for the search engine spiders.

And you just may become an overnight sensation.....? Eh? Now I got you thinking.

Ted Cantu posted this on June 25, 2007 at 11:34 pm and can be found at http://www.1seomichigan.com