Brads World Land

Posted By Brad on February 16, 2010

With the recent focus on eliminating my old “dream ideas” and putting all my energy into one project, I’ve realized I have a crap load of domains just sitting out there and nothing being done about it. I feel kind bad about it actually. Like the domains have feelings or something. Like they knew they were going to be something special but I just didn’t give them the time, and now they are sad.

I’ve read a couple different perspectives on this problem, all with excellent points. The first point was to keep the domains and wait for something exciting to happen that has created a lot of buzz and tie-in one of your domains to that topic. You will get tons of traffic and be niche focused on that buzz thus creating an opportunity to drive revenue and hopefully turn this into a decent money maker.

However, sitting on these domains and waiting for some buzz puts me right back into the mix of having multiple projects and spreading my focus thin amongst them. Not what I have in mind to be successful.

The second point was to follow along the lines of this post on Silicone Prairie News about a group of individuals getting together to exchange old, unused domains. If you’re not really using them, why not give them life and pass them on to someone who could find value in your old domains? Seems like a pretty good idea.

Finally, the third point is to simply sell them and turn a small profit. Probably more effort and time required for this option to see a minimal return.

Just not sure what to do.

Category: Brads World Land | No Comments »
Tags: Domains

Posted By Brad on February 12, 2010

The single most important decision I have made regarding my path/career/future was to clear out the clutter in my life and focus on what works and strive to be the best at what I do. A recent video/blog post by JohnTMeyer asked; “what do you do, to have the do it now attitude” and this got me thinking.

The number one thing that has allowed me to have the do it now attitude was to clear the clutter and focus on what works, thus creating time to do things now, and not push them down in the list of things to do later. By not having your hands in multiple pots/projects, you now have the ability to focus on one project resulting in more time to get things done now.

I remember it like yesterday when I had the dream, the desire, and the ambition to develop every idea I came up with. I would rock out a website, put the pieces in motion and get rolling on this great idea. Then about 3 weeks later I would have another idea, rock out that website and get the pieces in motion for that idea. Then a friend would ask me to help with their idea, then a coworker would want a website and before you know it, I was saying yes to everything and creating the largest to-do pile on earth.

By doing so, I had my hand in so many projects that not one would become successful because I was trying to do so many things at once. I was spread thin and every project, friend’s projects, and co-workers website suffered because I could not give them the focus they needed to succeed.

Through all of this, there was one project that was successful and showed promise and it took some eye opening conversations to make me realize what I was doing. I’ll remember this conversation for as long as I live when a good friend asked me; “how long are you going to spread yourself thin with these projects, with these dreams of making it big with one of them. You’ve got something right in front of you that is extremely successful yet you keep taking on new projects and causing the others to suffer. It’s time to clear the clutter Brad.”

That conversation made it all clear to me and immediately I cleared all the clutter out of my life. I stopped all projects, passed on some projects to friends, tried to pass on others, and politely declined every little side gig that came my way. It was time to focus my efforts and energy on what worked.

The moment I did this, a tremendous release of pressure came off of my shoulders. I began to see things more clearly and I had 100% of my day to make this already successful company even more successful. I had more free time to do the things I enjoy thus resulting in even more ambition and drive to succeed. I wasn’t getting burned out by working 15 hour days and seeing no progression. I simply stopped all side gigs, pet projects, and crazy ideas to focus 100% on taking this successful company to new, ridiculous heights.

Within a month the results we eye opening. We we’re hitting new goals, bringing on new clients, strengthening relationships with existing clients, and growing the business like never before. It was all too clear that these results were derived from clearing the clutter and getting focused on what worked. Some people might call this the tipping point but no matter what you call it, it’s the number one decision in my career that has made the biggest impact and I strongly encourage you to evaluate your career/life/dreams and focus on what works. You’ll be better off in the long run for it.

Category: Brads World Land | 2 Comments »
Tags: Clear the Clutter, Drive, Focus

Posted By Brad on February 11, 2010

Since we’re on a commercial kick around here I’m gonna have to throw this one out there as well. Makes me laugh everytime.

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Tags: Miller Lite

Posted By Brad on February 11, 2010

My favorite Super Bowl commercial would have to be the one by Google. Extremely effective and powerful without vocally saying one word.

Category: Online Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Commercial, Google, Super Bowl

Posted By Brad on February 10, 2010

To start an Omaha Golf Meetup group, or not. That is the question I’m pondering at this moment. For those of you not familiar with Meetup, Meetup is the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

I actually participate in an Omaha Blog Co. Meetup that meets about every month and I think the entire concept is a great idea but I’m not sure if what I want to accomplish will work. The concept behind this new Meetup Group would be to tie in business professionals with the love (and sometimes frustration) of golf.

The idea would be to golf during the day (say 10:00am) once a week at various locations around Omaha and to encourage business owners, business professionals, innovators, and entrepreneurs alike to join and participate within the group.

Think of it like taking a group of members from the Chamber of Commerce or YPC who all enjoy golf and would like to golf 9-18 holes every week, thus getting to know these people and their business a little bit better. I mean after all, a ton of business is done on the golf course so what better way than to create an opportunity for these individuals to meet in a relaxed environment and enjoy a round of golf?

Think about it, you in a four-some for 2-4 hours, playing a round of golf, having a couple beers or couple sodas and getting to know what each individual does for a living, who they work for and possible how you can work together.

I think this is a done deal.

Your thoughts?

Category: Brads World Land | No Comments »
Tags: Business, Golf, Meetup, Omaha

Posted By Brad on February 9, 2010

What is a Google Favorite Place?  Google Favorite Places is an exclusive club to which Google sends window decals that says “We’re a Favorite Place on Google” to those businesses that meet Google’s criteria.

If you’ve seen one of these decals on a business window, you are pretty lucky, and so is the business of which this decal is displayed as Google does not hand these things out like candy.  Over 100,000 businesses were identified as Favorite Places, representing less than 1% of the 28 million U.S. businesses. Ya,  that’s a pretty small group, and now you’re probably wondering how can your business get one of these decals? We’ll here’s the scoop:

Businesses unlock their free business listing with Google’s Local Business Center, allowing them to enhance the content of their listings with photos, correct hours, coupons and more. This also tells Google that the business’ location is correct, so Google can send a window decal if the business is popular enough.

To be popular enough, Google identifies the most popular local businesses based on how many Google users looked for more information about a business, looked for driving directions to the business, etc.  Google users “decided” on which businesses get these decals based on their actions, and Google sends the decals to the Business.

To get started, head on over to  google.com/lbc and sign your business up for a free Google Local Business listing. And if you’re lucky/popular enough in Google’s eyes, they just may send you a decal and add your business to their exclusive club.

Category: Online Marketing | 2 Comments »
Tags: Google

Posted By Brad on February 8, 2010

Not too long ago I remember being asked (told) to pull some data to support a trend, or answer why there was a $50,000 increase in sales month over month, or why publisher xyz’s numbers are trending down. I used to hate these reports. I would roll my eyes and dive into data for a good part of the day.

Fast forward to today, and I can’t live without these reports. Several times a week I do a deep analysis of what’s performing for the business, what trends are like, and what’s the forecast for month end. Without these reports I would be flying blind and quite honestly, I wouldn’t have a clue as to what’s going on in the business and how can we use this data to help grow and be even more successful. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase, the devil is in the details, I’d probably have about ten bucks, but you get the picture.

Let’s say for example you see a $50,000 increase is sales month over month. If you just write that off like great, good job everybody, keep up the good work, and don’t dig into the reports, chances are you’ll only sustain that $50,000 increase one time or possibly even loose it and never  give your company the chance to grow off of that initial surge and turn it into $60,000, $75,000 or $100,000 increases month over month.

If you don’t analyze the data you’re going about your career or business half-assed and you company will suffer. Who knows, perhaps that surge came off a new publisher testing your offers, you reach out, communicate and strike a better deal with them and now they drive you $75,000 in additional revenue each month. If you just left that publisher alone, they’ll probably just write you off like you don’t give a damn and most likely move on to another company who cares and wants to grow their business together.

You must analyze your data if you want to be successful.

Category: Online Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Analyze, Data, Reports

Posted By Brad on February 6, 2010

• Managing two Twitter accounts is challenging.
• Nebraksa Mens Basketball is disapointing and painful to watch all at the same time.
• Bing will become the search engine on the iPhone (most likely OS 4.0 release).
• What’s another five inches of snow when there is already two feet on the ground.
• The Huskers landed some good recruits on signing day.
• The Omaha Metro Area Bicycle Map is a cool thing to have.
• The city of Omaha needs to stop marking streets in town as bike trails.
• You can rent out “The Situation” for $2,000 a night.
• A dogs anal glands can get swollen or infected.
• It costs $84 to relieve that pressure.
• Hiring the right people is a challenge.
• Conquering the Old Chicago World Beer Tour will take some time.

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Posted By Brad on February 5, 2010

So let’s say you have a local business and things are going pretty good, but you wish you had more business coming through your door. You probably have a website, dabble in some PPC (pay per click advertising), possibly have a blog or twitter account, and you send out some emails from time to time. Traffic is good, but again you’d like more and that’s where I think taking a good hard look at Goupon may provide a boost for your business.

Groupon is a way for a collective group of individuals in a community to purchase special deals at a local business.  Each day Groupon features something cool to do at an unbeatable price. Their main goal is to beat any current advertised special that day. So let’s say you’re running a Pizza and Pint special for $10.00. If you use Groupon, they want you to beat that special and advertise something crazy like a Pizza and Pint special for $5.00, thus beating out any current specials on that day.

How it works, is that for one day your crazy $5.00 Pizza and Pint special is advertised to your local community via Groupon.com/Omaha (or whatever you city may be). If enough people collectively agree to pay $5.00 for your special (which they call the tipping point) the consumers credit cards will be charged and they will be sent a link to print that coupon/special. Thus opening the flood gates and driving valuable new customers to your business, guaranteed. Since a minimum number of people must buy for the offer to be valid, Groupon guarantees paying customers. These subscribers are not looking for “the perfect deal.” They’re looking for the perfect excuse to try something new.

I’ve had the opportunity to see Groupon in action and I can honestly say it really does work. However, be prepared for the number of people wanting your deal. We’re not talking ten-to-twenty people through your door for a quick cheap deal. Try hundreds if not thousands from one Groupon, on one day.

You can check out GrouponWorks.com for more information and if you’re a consumer visit Groupon.com

Category: Online Marketing | No Comments »
Tags: Coupons, Groupon

Posted By Brad on February 4, 2010

Now let me set the record straight, I’m not trying to be a Seth Godin or Gary V and turn this blog into a self promoting, seize the day, crush it kind of blog (although I do follow them). Most of my readers know that I use this blog as a personal space to keep me on track, keep me focused in the online marketing space, and on top of industry news. I use this blog daily to jot down ideas, thoughts, strategies I use, strategies I’d like to use, and just about everything that pertains to online marketing. But there is one thing in particular that has helped me get to where I am today and thus I need to remind myself to Do Something Every Day That Gets Me Closer to My Goal.

Since I’ve made the jump from a mind numbing, working for the man or woman, sitting in a beige cubical for 8 hours a day, asking for permission to leave, kind of job I have reached many goals that I have set for myself and for the business. Now granted I work even more hours and still work for the man or woman (clients) and my office is now a seafoam color, slightly bigger and with a dog, it is still just as important to set new goals and do something every day to reach them.
As for you, the goal could be to hit the gym every day this week, call one new client each day, close one sale each day, post a new advertisement, whatever it may be. DO IT! And do it with drive and focus. Otherwise you’re just going to be like the guy or gal next to you bitching about your life or job. I can honestly tell you that I haven’t bitched about my life or job for months since I’ve reached my initial goals and now it’s time to make some new goals.

I’m not talking about your typical goal of making it to work on time, avoiding your boss, or answering emails. I’m talking about life changing goals, like starting your own business, owning a home, moving to a better situation for your family, or even flying to the moon. Whatever it may be, make it big, and do something every day that gets you closer to reaching that goal.

For me, it’s all about affiliate marketing. I work and live in the industry and if I’m not constantly out recruiting new affiliates, re-recruiting past affiliates, optimizing text links, banners, datafeeds, analyzing data, testing new strategies, or you name it, than I’ve wasted that day and more importantly, I’ve wasted the time of the merchants which I represent, and chances are I’ll be right back in that lovely beige cubical asking for permission to leave 15minutes early.

Nobody wants to be there.

Do Something Every Day That Gets You Closer to Your Goal.

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