I got the site built and set up on my hosting plan. I have the affiliate links running as well as tracking with Google analytics.

I decided to build the site in plain HTML instead of wordpress. In some ways it was nice to go back to the old ways… but I had fully forgotten how pain in the ass it is if you want to make changes to all of the pages. The site I built is small – Since we are following what Viperchill has laid out for us – but it has a lot of useful original content so we’ll see what happens.

Today I spent some time adding links to this new affiliate site from my other domains. The next step is to start hitting up some “survivalist” forums and getting it in there. To start getting this sucker ranked.

Might as well share with you all the site I’m building and give myself some link love. The product I picked was, as I said, the pocket knife I carry all the time the – Benchmade Griptilian – And that’s the link to the site I have built. When I get accepted to some other affiliate programs I’ll add them in that where to buy section as well.

I thought I would feel dirty being an affiliate… but when you are trying to sell something you actually really love – it’s pretty great!

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I read an article yesterday I just happened to find through following @Viperchill that was truly inspiring. Glen wrote about his successful process of creating affiliate sites. As many of you know I got my start in the internet marketing world with a few funny sites that got enough visitors to bring in a fun Google ads revenue.

I have never tried my hand at affiliate marketing. I have often thought about it but always found reasons not to.  After reading Glens post it’s time to give it a go. I am going to follow his process to nearly the letter and I will write about it here to keep everyone up to date.

Go and check out what he wrote but to sum up the process: Find one of your passions, see if there is a market, find a product that fits, make the site, get ranked, profit

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1. Pick a blogger community (SEO’s, Mommybloggers, lolcats, etc)
2. Write a post with a comparison between X and heavy hitters of above group
3. Profit

That’s all there is too it, really. What you have to remember is that all bloggers, no matter who they are, love being talked about. It’s why they write.  Even if they don’t admit it – all bloggers love the fact that people are reading what they write and likewise love it more when people talk about them. It’s true.

Lets do a sample linkbait post now. For the first step (choosing our community) lets go with SEO’s as I know this group the best. Our comparison will be Pies (to show how random it can be)

(title)Famous SEO bloggers if they were Pies(/title)

Michael Gray – If Michael Gray, writer of wolf-howl.com and SEO superstar were a pie he would be Pumpkin! He’s a pumpkin pie because, just like pumpkin pie, everyone in the SEO industry has heard of him and has probably tried out what he has to say. Love him or hate him he’s he is always at the family gatherings.

Lee Odden – Lee Odden of toprankblog.com would for sure be an Apple pie! Just like apple pie everyone wants a peice, and in Lee’s case all SEO’s want to be on his BigList!

XMCP – Otherwise known as SlightlyShady in pie form would be Rhubarb! He’s would be this kind because like rhubarb not everyone has heard of him, not everyone has tried what he has to say, some people are repulsed by what he does while others simply love it! (/end sample post)

And there you have it (The above is just sample. When you are writing your linkbait post I suggest doing 5+ people of your group to compare to). To really knock the socks off and get more readers you should add pictures to each person you compared – like a before and after to really drive home your point.

Wash. Rinse. Do again every few weeks.

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I started thinking to myself that if I’m going to have this title I should put some reason behind it – or at the very least rank #1 in google for a search of Lord of Awesome. This is my mission now. I will spend time over the coming weeks to rank myself in the serps as Lord of Awesome.

This is where the SEO comes in – I will rank this page and others for Lord of Awesome as I have for my personal name Dave Winget. A search for Dave Winget comes up as the first 10 results pointing to things I have done and, given a little time, Lord of Awesome will come up as well.

If you want to help me out with this noble mission of branding myself as Dave Winget – Lord of Awesome feel free to link to this post and write about the best title – Lord of Awesome.

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Anyway, now that I am back in the drivers seat of my future and expansion of the company I am working for (myself) knowing how to choose the right clients comes into play.  Do you aim only for the top, bringing in only clients that you can get an ongoing monthly retainer or do you take on the small hourly jobs?

I have opted for both.  Naturally I want to expand my business with as many clients as I can, hire folks to handle the heavy lifting, wash rinse etc.  If I only aimed for ongoing larger clients I may get 1-2 signed a month, slowly building the base of the business – I can, however, take on small consulting work 3-5 hour projects at a much quicker rate.  In the past one and a half weeks of working on my own I have taken on 13 of these small projects.

With these small projects I have the luxury to pick and choose who I want to work with.  I haven’t chosen any that would be a once and out deal but rather I have spent this time to build relationships with other small design and development companies that will lead to more work in the future.  While these small projects are not long term contracts they ultimately can provide more value.

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That said I started a Twitter account for my new company @10kthings (I’m @Wingnut by the way).

Before I started the company Twitter account it I asked my follwers to see if everyone thought it was a good/bad/lame idea or not – the resounding answer was DO IT.  So far it’s been a great idea.  I really can’t be more happy with it (well, I wish my partners would use it more… but they started to today) With me and 4 other people tweeting (using it the real way and not just shameless self promotion) it’s been fun.  We have a few followers and it’s just nice to know that we have the support out there.  For all the time it takes chatting with people – it’s all well worth it.  It keeps us motivated knowing that there are people watching what we are up to and willing to help support us.

All and all starting a Twitter account for your company is a GOOD THING.  It opens your company up to a whole new range of being social and lets you know that there are people out there that actually do care and wish you the best…. It also it’s awesome free advertising and public relations!

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So I did what any Freelancer turned Agency Worker doing side freelance work would do – Took it up a notch with my freelance work. I have always worked with designers and PPC consultants to help with my freelance clients – but now it’s official a company. The launch of the new internet marketing company site, 10kThings.com, should happen later this evening.

It’s pretty cool. We have been working together for a while now and interestingly enough we can do the exact same things any large agency can but for a much lower cost – As we have ZERO overhead.

We will see how things go – we have a few proposals out and a couple clients already signed. Who knows this thing could get huge… here’s to hoping.

To those wondering I will be keeping my full time job – and they were cool that I was working side work when they hired me as they encourage the entrepreneurial spirit. I am really happy where I am with this company and 10k Things will not be a direct competitor with where I am now. The current company I am with is much more large scale than anything 10k Things will be for quite some time.

Right now it’s just a fun project to bring in a little extra money with taking on a few clients and try something new.

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Lets look at some examples:

Exhibit A

This is the kind of sign that probably worked really well about 10 years ago. This man has been on the streets a long time but has lost touch with what works and doesn’t. He should really consider a redesign as the usability is just horrible, the information is jumbled and the font choices could be better. I’d also suggest that a he write better, less spammy copy – This would not only help usability but he might even be able to get higher SERP positions bringing in more traffic and ad revenue.

Exhibit B

This is a great example of good design but sadly they are not going to get the traffic they deserve. First of all the keyword density is lacking not to mention the fact that “work” and “food” are highly competitive keywords – ranking for these is going to be nearly impossible. With just a little keyword research we see that “Homeless Vet will work 4 food” would be a better choice – You can still get your message across and you find you will get a lot of traffic by putting yourself against less competition.

Another problem with this sign is that it’s out there so much – It’s duplicate content. Just changing the “for” to a “4″ isn’t enough to make the spiders think it is different. I’d suggest adding more words and maybe breaking up the content with bullets and H1’s. Even something as simple as changing “work” to “manual labor” would be helpful.

Exhibit C

Clearly this homeless man has some SEO experience. This man knew that he would get hurt in the SERPs if he used spam tactics or duplicate content. This is a great example of how great content will always be linked to and get a lot of traffic. Not only is this a link baiting sign it is a great example of niche marketing. He knew that ninjas are a big market and by by positioning himself for what people are searching for he gets the traffic. Not only that his copy writing and design skills are great. He gets his point across quickly and makes the reader want to buy.

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This AGREEMENT is dated and in effect as of the Month Day, Year, between “Company Name” hereafter referred to as “Consultant” and “Client Name”, hereafter referred to as “Client.” This agreement is with respect to the Search Engine Optimization of Company website, hereinafter referred to as the “Work.” Whereas, Consultant is a professional of Search Engine Optimization of good standing; Whereas, Client wishes Consultant to create certain Work described more fully herein; and Whereas, Consultant wishes to create such Work; Now, therefore, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the mutual covenants hereinafter set forth and other valuable considerations, the parties hereto agree as follows:

CONFIDENTIALITY:

The Client and Consultant may disclose confidential information one to the other to facilitate work under this Agreement. Such information shall be so identified in writing at the time of its transmittal, and shall be safeguarded and not disclosed to third parties by the receiving party. Confidential information shall not include information that:

1. is already known to the party to which it is disclosed;
2. is or becomes part of the public domain without breach of this Agreement;
3. is obtained from third parties, which have no obligations to keep confidential to the parties to this Agreement.

DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

A separate Proposal will describe the Work that is required of Consultant for the Client.

PAYMENT SCHEDULE:

The full length of this contract is as follows:

Starting date is Month Day, Year. and estimated completion Month Day, Year for the total amount of $X per month. Payment is due on the 1^st of every month.

DUE DATES:

Consultant agrees to deliver optimization suggestions on dates as agreed upon in the Proposal. Consultant will make every effort to meet agreed upon due dates. The Client should be aware that failure to submit required information or materials may cause subsequent delays in the production. Client delays could result in significant delays in delivery of finished work. The Client also agrees to make any SEO changes suggested immediately and to not second guess the Consultant. The Client acknowledges the fact that he/she knows nothing about SEO and will keep his/her personal opinions to themselves.

FEES & ADDITIONAL SERVICES:

Changes in client input or direction or excessive changes will be charged at $X an hour for any work the Client wishes Consultant to create, which is not specified in the DESCRIPTION section of this agreement, or in the attached Proposal will be considered an additional service. Such Work shall require a separate Agreement and payment separate from and above that specified in this Agreement. If the Client wishes to do nothing with the suggestions and changes offered but still expects his/her rankings to increase the Client accepts that he/she shall allow the Consultant to punch the Client in the throat.

ASSIGNMENT OF WORK:

Consultant reserves the right to assign other designers or subcontractors to the Work to ensure quality and on-time completion.

RESERVATION OF RIGHTS:

All rights not expressly granted hereunder are reserved to Consultant, including but not limited to all rights in sketches, comps, or other preliminary materials.

PERMISSIONS AND RELEASES:

The Client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Consultant against any and all claims, costs, and expenses, including attorney’s fees, due to materials included in the Work at the request of the Client for which no copyright permission or previous release was requested or uses which exceed the uses allowed pursuant to a permission or release.

PUBLICATION:

The Client may publish or disclose information regarding the Work and shall acknowledge the support of Consultant in all such publications. The Client will not use the name of Consultant, in any advertising or publicity without the prior written approval from the Consultant. The Consultant will not use the name of Client, in any advertising or publicity without the prior written approval from the Client.

Termination:

Either party may terminate this Agreement by giving 30 days written notice to the other of such termination. In the event that Work is postponed or terminated at the request of the Client, Consultant shall have the right to bill pro rata for work completed through the date of that request, while reserving all rights under this Agreement. If additional payment is due, this shall be payable within thirty days of the Client’s written notification to stop work. In the event of termination, the Client shall also pay any expenses incurred by Consultant and the Consultant shall own all rights to the Work. The Client shall assume responsibility for all collection of legal fees necessitated by default in payment.

The Client and Consultant are independent parties and nothing in this Agreement shall constitute either party as the employer, principal or partner of or joint venture with the other party. Neither the Client nor Consultant has any authority to assume or create any obligation or liability, either express or implied, on behalf of the other.

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of STATE applicable therein.

The undersigned agrees to the terms of this agreement on behalf of his or her organization or business.

On behalf of the Client: _________________________________ Date _____________

On behalf of Consultant: __________________________________ Date ____________

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Where the hell was this when I was 14.  Finding free porn on the internet was a difficult thing… now all you have to do is type in any word on the Google and blam… Plenty of high quality free porn.  There is no “are you 18″ buttons to click, no credit card info to give away…  This has got to be illegal… Right?  Or since there is the preferences section… it isn’t?

On one hand it’s great – Freedom of search of something – things not being censored… On the other hand THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

Maybe there is a way to lock this on your computer… I’m not seeing one.  All a horny teenager has to do is sign up for gmail… sign in… go back to search and he has his own preferences to set.  Good times.  I hear there are some 3rd party things out there that can lock it… but what average parent/gardian is going to know about these, or know even what to search for?

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