At the time when link exchanges, article aggregation and directory submission are next to useless for building link popularity, link baiting is probably the most efficient way to get links for free.

Rand Fishkin defines link baiting as content targeting link friendly audiences.

Need a sample of a link bait? I could not resist the temptation to check this link and refer to it. And I think it is a perfect sample of a link bait.

Internet’s Biggest Affiliate Marketing Whores!

I was aware what to expect in that article, I knew the names that would be listed in that article, but I visited it and wrote this short post linking to it. The click was half subconscious.

Now I try to quietly analyze my behavior and get the algo for link baits and what drives people to visit and refer to this sort of posts. My observations? I definitely see three features characteristic of this link bait:

- The title. It’s really screaming.
- The subject – money. Those big amounts in bold get my attention spontaneously.
- The lessons to learn. While reading about those earnings I also attempt to get the idea how these guys earn so much, what techniques they use.

Summary: I am aware that link baits can be of different kinds. But as an idea you can start accumulating characteristics of these articles and posts that get to the home page of web sites similar to www.digg.com and www.del.icio.us (not necessarily in your niche).

One can write down a few characteristics of the article in question to start the log of these successful features:

- use screaming and catchy titles
- write about money
- let people learn from successful ones in their profession

Once you have a list of features and techniques (you can make notes how these posts are designed, etc) you write down from a number of link baits, try to experiment and create your own link baits. I am sure that it is possible to find the features common for most link baits. And most important: make them work for your web sites.

[tags]link baits, blogs, link popularity, seo, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, make money online, home based job, earn your living online[/tags]

I have published a sort of Squidoo review in the past. The website is considered to be an authority. And it is highly recommended to post lenses to get links and traffic from that resource.

So, a month and a half ago I registered an account with Squidoo and created a test lens.

What I expected from Squidoo? I am not sure. What do you expect from an authority website in your field?

a. Links. But I did not get any Google indexed links to this website from Squidoo. Probably, there was no Google backlink update yet (hopefully, the link will surface).

b. Traffic. I have received one visitor in 45 days. Not much.

c. Earnings. I was aware that there would be no much income generated. Here is the result of my post advertising revenues:

WOWEEEE! It’s paytime, friend. So here’s the scoop on your Squidoo earnings from 09/01/2006 to 09/30/2006.

YOUR ROYALTIES (09/01/2006 to 09/30/2006)
Your previous balance + new Refer-A-Friend bonuses = $0.00
Your new lens earnings this period = $0.20
Total earnings = $0.20!

So, here’s how you’re spending your $0.20…

$0.20 has been donated in your name to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Yes, the stats are for September only, but the amount is ridiculous.

Summary: Probably, it is too short period to expect anything from these modest attempts to market one’s website through Squidoo, but the results are discouraging. No traffic, no links, nothing.

With these results, I see no point to spend my time with Squidoo. Does anyone can share a better experience?

[tags]squidoo lens, squidoo, seo, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, make money online, home based job, earn your living online[/tags]

MySpace.com generates much buzz with affiliate marketers. I could not resist the temptation to explore this MySpace topic, but probably I am too late to the game. I am sure of that when I read guys who started MySpace game back in 2004. At that time I was not in affiliate marketing yet.

Yes, the website gets tons of traffic and it attracts a lot of affiliate marketing guys that makes MySpace a sort of linkdump where every second person tries to make you click on some affiliate link, to join some free contest, to complete some free survey… At least it is my first impression.

Yes, this is the way to promote your affiliate offers with MySpace: mass bulletins, mass comments, group posts. You get your account deleted – start a few fresh ones. You run the risk to be banned from some affiliate networks, but people accept that risk.

The steps for starting your MySpace advertising campaign are simple:

• register,
• google for myspace layouts,
• design your account and
• enter nice information about your personality.

Start browsing the place, use search function to find friends who share your interests. Or use some automatic ways to get those friends on your list:

-    badderadder
-    socialnetbot
-    friendstorm
-    etc

So, you have two options to market with MySpace:

Short-term and dirty similar to the one described above when you auto generate friends and bomb them with your affiliate offers. Get your MySpace account suspended, start again. Get your adv network account banned, join second tier affiliate networks.

Or:

Long-term. Slowly picking and adding friends with similar interests, networking in a traditional way. Do not expect much profit from this activity too soon. But I’d rather choose the second way than spamming the web site.

Summary:  MySpace is a great place to hang out. It is also a nice place to network, meet new friends and drive some traffic to your websites, but expect no wonders: it takes hard work to build a good account with MySpace – I do not doubt that.

[tags]myspace, myspace layouts, seo, internet marketing, affiliate marketing, make money online, home based job, earn your living online[/tags]