Content creation is one of the hardest parts about creating a good, comprehensive site. Content is king has been a mantra in the internet world for years now, and still is. So how does one go about creating viable valuable content that is optimized for search engines and social bookmarking sites like Digg, Reddit, and Del.icio.us?

The trick is to create the content first - get your ideas across as clearly as you can. This can often times be the hardest part, writing succinct content that is understandable and comprehensible. Once you have conveyed your point and edited edited edited, then go back and work in some keywords that are relevant to the context at hand.

For example, if you are writing a post about laying out office space for maximum useable space and aesthetic appeal - work in keywords such as space planning, interior design, efficient utilization, etc. The idea is not to keyword stuff, but to explain in more literal obvious terms what it is you’re referring to.

SEO is a tricky bastard, the rules are relatively simple:

1. Maintain relevancy across title-tags-H1 through h3-content.
2. Make sure your keyword density is no more or less than your competitors
3. Build valuable, fresh content every day (yes, every day)
4. And last but certainly not least, build quality links (not from link farms and not purchased)

The trick for creating Search Engine Optimized content is applying variations of these rules but maintaining a white hat approach, i.e. do not stuff keywords in awkward places (it drives down your Flesch Reading Ease Score), do not purchase links or post links on link farms, do not vote for your own content on social bookmarking sites, do not syndicate content from other sources unless you quote it (duplicate content is looked down upon by the Search Engine crawlers), Keep your titles relevant to the content that is presented, and lastly title your sections if necessary - break them out with bigger bolder text titles.

Also keep in mind that copywriting for SEO on a blog is much different then doing so on a more traditional website - after all a blog is comprised of posts that you can individually optimize, where as copy optimization for a static page requires modification of the title tags, meta tags, description, and then you need to sync up the H tags and the content so that it is all complimentary but not over stuffed…

Trouser syndrome is a malicious spiral that starts once you start slacking… it is a term I’ve given to the perpetual nature of procrastination. I myself have experienced this tragic ailment just this past month. If you look at the post before this one, it is dated three weeks ago…

There is just no excuse for this.

All of the typical lame responses immediately come to mind:

1. I’ve been too busy
2. I have not had anything useful/insightful to write about
3. I keep forgetting
4. I’ve been meaning to
5. I’ll do it later… (this could be the worst sign of the syndrome)

The very first item on this list is the only conceivable good excuse, except let us not forget – it is still just that, an excuse. I apologize for not writing any fresh content for 3 weeks. I even have some great topics that I’m excited to post about; Long-tailed keywords, baby-steps to small business success, timely invoicing, and when-needed small business outsourcing. These posts are coming, and soon I promise!

So…

Why haven’t I posted in 3 weeks? I have had some personal issues to deal with to be honest (moving, situation changes, and other projects that have required more than the usual amount of my time) the real truth of the matter is that the truly influential factor that has affected my recent activity here at 23Run is me.

When elements of your life outside of work take your mind (and worse spirit) out of your day-to-day successes (daily goals, i.e. posting to your informational blog) this is when it is in-fact most important that you stick to your guns…

You simply cannot let the slack build up. When you build up enough slack it is just like wearing pants that are getting continuously longer – you are forced to drag more weight around, not to mention there is now more surface area for more problems. In the literal sense more slack dragging on the ground gathers more unwanted items – you can see how I can relate this to life problems that build up when you procrastinate.

How do you get out of this funk? Some would say to take some time off – self reflect…

NO! Bad idea. You have already been taking time-off, that’s why you are in your current situation. Instead, try this - start doing something…

That’s right, start something – Put your head down and Do Work!

Do you have an idea/concept you have wanted to kick-start for a while? Or have you thought about re-vamping an existing project? A website? A blog? A customer relationship? Business cards? That client you engaged and never followed up with? The client you lost?

If you want to start (or at least look into) any of the above mentioned thoughts, this is what I am willing to offer…

-If it is a website or a blog (either new or existing) I will have my graphic artist design you a new piece of header artwork. (send along dimensions)

-If it is a customer relationship, I will provide free consulting advice on how to re-kindle and retain the relationship (send me the level of the contact, ie executive vs. manager and the B2C relationship you had)

-If it is your business cards, I will pass along your design requirements to my pals at Lafo Mozy

-If it is a client you lost, I will help you analyze the situation as to whether or not it is a client you should have (send me the details of the vendor termination, contributing factors, competitors engaged – if known)

If you would like to help me help you – simply comment on this post with the necessary information described above as well as your email address. Please allow 48 hours for response.

This is a limited time offer only, I would love to help all of you defeat your trouser syndrome, but I myself must get back to defeating mine. You will be surprised at the sense of empowerment and surge of energy you get from taking off your trousers.

I was reading Guide to Learning Search Engine Optimization on Work.com, I like to check up on popular SEO “guides” that come out to see what they have to say…

This one is really solid too, which is of course expected since Aaron Wall had a hand in it. The guide stresses that SEO isn’t some crazy technical process - and that any motivated individual can accomplish their SEO goals (maybe not right away - but eventually)

I stumbled onto the guide during my daily visit to Aaron Wall’s blog while reading “How Much is a #1 Google Ranking Worth?“

-SIDEBAR- Aaron’s post about google has so much research in it (as expected) that I was immediately motivated to write this post. The information is available out there - just like you can find instructions on how to fly a helicopter - the reason i make the comparison is the similarity on the kind of information. You  can find theory and instruction, but until you start putting it into practice you don’t truly learn what works and what doesn’t, and having a guiding hand certainly helps (especially with Helicopters).

*Statistical information obtained from “B2B Magazine: Interactive Marketing Guide 2008″

U.S. online advertising spending, by format, 2006-2010

 
Change in Search Marketing Spending Planned for this year by U.S. Search Marketing Executives
No Change = 28%
Increase = 65%
Decrease = 7%
 
Viewing Email
64% of key decision-makers view e-mail on their Blackberrys or other mobile devices
69% of at-work users usually use their e-mail in preview panes
59% of online consumers routinely block images

Time-of-day Trends
The highest open rates during Q2 2007 were Wednesday (27%), Monday (26%), and Thursday (26%). The highest click-through rates were both Wednesday and Thursday (5%).
11a.m. and 4p.m. scored the highest marks for business-hour open rates (30%) and click-through rates (5%)
Click-through rates were between 4% and 5% during the workday, peaking at 7% at both 9 p.m. and 4 a.m.

SPAM Trends
79% of e-mail recipients said that if they don’t recognize a sender, they sometimes mark messages as spam.
20% of e-mail recipients said they use a spam button as a way to unsubscribe from messages or newsletters they’ve signed up for in the past.

Market Share Trends
Paid search is expected to total $15.5 billion in 2008, up 31.9% over last year
Source: eMarketer, January 2007More than 10 billion searches were conducted in the U.S. in January. Here is the breakdown of market share:
Google: 58.5%
Yahoo: 22.2%
Microsoft: 9.8%
AOL: 4.9%
Ask: 4.5%

Going through my usual motions yesterday, I came across an excellent post on EventureBiz.com, “Negotiating: it never hurts to ask.” In this post Lindsey writes:

Every time a new contractor would come in to do something he would ask them to also do something else (without charging any extra). Since he was willing to do this we were able to get a lot of things done for nothing that would have added up to a lot of additional money out of our pockets.

What you need to keep in mind whether it be dealing with contractors, sales people or other entrepreneurs is that you need to know what you want before you talk to them. Have a game plan ready, know where you are going to start and what compromises you are willing to make.

For our investment property, we mapped out a timeline and budget. The problem was to fix up the house the way we wanted, we would have to spend well over our budget or do the work ourselves but sacrifice our timeline.

To solve this dilemma, John talked a little with each contractor that walked through our door and got to know a little about them.

For example, he discovered the mold removal contractor had a spray texture gun he used whenever he had to patch holes in walls he tore through to get to mold.

By asking this contractor to spray a few extra areas while he had the gun out we saved a couple hundred dollars.

Lindsey reiterates one of the pillars of success that I have been stressing for a long time now, ask and you shall receive. It is absolutely unbelievable how may things you can get cheaper or a better deal on, simply by asking. Do you realize that you can go into a Best Buy, and after only maybe 30 minutes of online research and a phone call or two, save potentially $500+. How?

Easy. Let’s say you’re in the market for a new High Definition Tele. You go to Best Buy first and see that they’re charging $3,800 for the one you want.  You get a sales man to print out the invoice and take it to Circuit City, where you proceed to see if they can do a better job, have the new lower invoice printed and leave. Now hit the phone for a half hour calling a few other electronic stores (maybe 1 or 2) then hit amazon and eBay for the same model (it helps if you’re looking at a popular model) Do not use eBay auctions that have not ended, you must use empirical information that has been set as a transaction.

Now head back to Best Buy with your invoice from Circuit City and your online quotes, shoot for a price a few hundred dollars under where you feel comfortable and a few hundred dollars under the lowest invoice. Be prepared to come up to where you are comfortable - at the end of this process you should be at least $500 under where you started.

Fact:I went to an electronics outlet (Boscov’s - I’m not telling the location) with $800 in my pocket. I walked around for a while, found a television I like (which happened to be on sale for $1,200) and asked, simply, what the best the salesman could do. He replied with $1,049. I said I had seen the same one (not entirely true) for $899, and inquired if he could do any better…

He thought for a moment, and said he would match $899, but it was the best he could do. I said that was very generous, but that I only had $750 on me, and I was going to buy a television today. He was a little put off, but still interested that he had a motivated buyer on the hook. He began talking about some of the other, “more moderately priced,” models. I expressed that I had no interest, and asked again if there was anything he could do.

He said he was sorry but the absolute bottom was $849, and that’s all there was to it. So I did the polite thing, thanked him for his time, and made my way to the door. He let me make it maybe ten steps, then said “I’ll do $800, there’s a cash machine across the street.”

At point he was mine. I took out my money, $800, and said this is what I got - make sure with the $45 dollars in tax you keep under $800.

They started packaging my new television.

Through the majesty of web 2.0, social bookmarking, and viral marketing somehow this site ended up in my lap. This site is very simple:

• You sign up
• Submit your site to be emailed to other users
• Receive emails promoting other users sites
• Visit those sites
• The other users visit your site

Everyone Wins.  Take a look
 

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch has some very interesting things to say in his post More Bloggers Raising Money. Here Come The Politics. And Here Comes My Rant.

“But apart from that first 2004 investment in Weblogs, Inc., there haven’t been any sales or liquidity events to suggest these investments will be a success. And back then blogging was a cake walk. Most bloggers linked to each other constantly in a state of brotherly or sisterly love. No one was making any money or getting much attention, so for the most part people got along (with notable exceptions like engadget/gizmodo, who play to win).Those salad days are long gone. Writers suddenly want to be paid market wages, far above the $5 per post that they received two years ago. No, we’re talking a big salary, with benefits, and stock options. There went half your margins at least.

And writing good content is only half the battle. You have to figure out the complex, dynamic web of politics between bloggers and mainstream media before you post to know where to get support. And you’ll need support in the form of links from other prominent bloggers. An early push can take a post and make it a headline on TechMeme, which leads to page views and notice by sponsors. But since blogging is almost by definition a conversation between bloggers, fights tend to break out over emotional issues. Cliques develop. Can you count on them to support you down the road?”

I think this is a brilliant account of how competitive the savvy side of the blogosphere has become –> and even more-so what it is moving towards; a hierarchy of investment criteria and valuation

How will non-professional bloggers (those of us who do not do this for a living) stay afloat? Ingenuity?

If you read the first part to this series, Creative Financing for Young Real Estate Investment, then you already know how to “get creative,” when it comes to making money appear out of thin air for Real Estate Overhead. In this post I want to talk about valuation, but not Real Estate Valuation - instead I’m going to go into how to evaluate your investment criteria.

I am going to focus strictly on residential real estate  for right now (properties with 4 or less units) since that’s what I assume most of you will be looking into. Before you can even think about prospecting for properties you need to prospect for a geography. The best way, traditionally, to do this is to check out market trends for certain cities. Forbes published a good article in September 2007 about The Best Rental markets in the U.S. The idea of investing in a far off city is not a good one, at least not initially… You need to be around to manage and micro-manage your tenant base, as well as the property(s) .

An ideal market is one where single family homes aren’t too expensive ($100k-$180k), assuming for that price you can pick up at least a mild three bedroom. Conversely, you need to make sure that the current area receiving rents supplement more than just the mortgage! I tend to use a 2 to 1 debt ration when evaluating potential properties for acquisition. This means that the gross monthly rent needs to be twice what the monthly expenses are (mortgage, insurance, taxes) this way you have a nest egg to stick in a capital reserve account. Your capital reserve account will serve as a safety net for your portfolio should a boiler/heating unit or roof decide to need repair. Let me tell you right now roof’s are expensive!

General rule of thumb is DO NOT TOUCH your capital reserve account for 6 months! Should you need something for a property, i.e. light switch, some shingles, etc. reach in your pocket. This is just best practice - if you start deteriorating your capital reserve account prior to 6 months you will simply continue to do so.  Even after 6 months… that’s not profit, that’s not how it works; you now have liquid capital to use for growth.  Leverage your current equity position (it will be small) by taking a lien against your current property and go find another - preferably close by.

When looking for an area make sure it still has some mom and pop shops floating around - the retail saturation of your market has great influence over rents, and not just commercial. If you can get in on an area where the big box retailers (Home Depot, Target, Wal-Mart) are just starting to build - then you’re in the right spot. Actually, you may be too close to the right spot… given the growth rate of the area (population, per capita income) and the annual % rental increase, you may want to step just outside the immediate circle of influence and invest on the fringe - you may get less rent in the beginning - but you will get the property drastically cheaper and build equity faster - not to mention if the swell continues you will realize great appreciation.

*NOTE: you’re pro forma is only as good as your comps!

stay tuned for Part III

So what is a “Left Wallet?” No, it’s not an extra wallet for your left pocket - I don’t care what you’re making that’s absurd. A “Left Wallet” is just as, if not more, important than your regular wallet. A left wallet, if you haven’t guessed from the picture is a small notebook that stays in your opposing wallet pocket for immediate and constant access. You wouldn’t go anywhere without your wallet? So don’t go anywhere without this either.

The real tip to take away here is write it down, always, no matter where you are, or what you’re doing…. This alone has helped me to get three companies off the ground - just by itself! Find a proper notepad though, get one stylish (maybe even spend just a little bit of money on it) People spend money on their wallets because they are going to have to look at it (have it seen) 5-10 times daily; this is no different. DO not make the mistake of grabbing a metal ringed 3rd grade notepad if you’re going to be embarrassed in a meeting to pull it out and jot something down on it.
 
Get one that is flexible; you’re going to be sitting on it all day. Currently mine is this fake leather/vinyl material with a mesh webbing on the front bottom half. It’s kind of stylish but very comfortable. I use it more than my wallet and cell phone at this point. It keeps delivering value everyday. I’ll see something in a cab, or at dinner, or walking to lunch, or in my spaghetti noodles - and instead of impractically scrambling to write it down, I can just pull out my “wallet.”

Give this a try, and please let me know how it works out for you.

This is a very simple concept: engage random conversations every chance you get. Do not be afraid of where, what, who or when. Even if you do not have anything entertaining to talk about, if you start a conversation - trust me something interesting will come up; most likely why you are starting a conversation. My only tip is to be controversial - or challenging, do not just start blathering about the weather.

This said, think a little before you start your next random convo. Do what you can to Sherlock some facts about the person, i.e. what they’re wearing, body language, pins/necklaces/bracelets, watch, shoes, hair - you can really tell a lot about someone if you take the time to look. Do not “overtake” this advice and be creepy, however, all I’m saying is to test the waters - there will certainly be people who do not wish to speak to you, and that’s fine, let it go.

For every 3 people who do not want to give you a second of their perspective or air, there will be one who does.

Why? you’re probably asking would I want to engage random conversations with people I do not know - and may not even wish to know?

Easy. Sales. Make that - Sales baby! The more comfortable you get flying by the seat of your pants or expressing thoughts and opinions to poeople whom you do not know or have no pre-existing contact with, the better and more comfortable you become winning the entrepreneurial game of sales, and who knows - you might get a date?