Advertising Age writer Mark Simon wrote a funny, sarcastic and brutally honest look at some of the trends in online content and advertising today. In the article entitled “Ditch the Lunatic Web Content Crazes – Beyond the Hype: The 10 Most Asinine Trends Online and Why You Should Ignore Them” he listed 10 “harebrained” trends that are most likely to fail: Virtual reality such as Second Life (I wrote about Second Life previously, though for the life of me, I really can’t make my avatar go past the Orientation stage – LOL) Phony recommendation industry such as pay per post

Links as we all know are very important on the Web. Search engines particularly Google look not only at the number of sites linking to you but also take into consideration the quality of links. Plus, search engines are now looking for natural linking patterns, and sites that show contrary are penalized. Short of sending the link-to-me-or-else-email, how do you get QUALITY links to your site? Here are some techniques , while they are no means exhaustive can give you a good start in your link building strategy: 1. Build quality content — that is first and foremost the best

Investors are not attracted to every business there is. One of the common mistakes I see from new entrepreneurs is that they think their business can easily attract investors. In fact, some types of businesses are not “sexy enough” to get these moneyed-types to pony up for the business. Unless the investor is your Aunt Matilda or your best friend — who are basically investing in YOU and will support you whatever business you start — it is mighty hard (if not totally impossible) to get venture capitalists or angel investors interested in a daycare business. So what attracts these

Networking is one of those activities that I do not really look forward to doing, but I know I have to do because of the many benefits it can bring to a business. According to Christine Comaford-Lynch, author of the book “Rules for Renegades,” networking is actually FUN. She wrote: “Networking is about creating an extended family. It’s about developing connections, caring about people, increasing the size of your “tribe.” She gave six networking essentials: 1. Practice “Palm Up” Networking. When you network, are you giving, or grasping? Palm up networking embodies the spirit of service, of giving and wanting

If you are looking to advertise your business in print magazines, here are some things you need to consider: Choose the magazine that your target market reads. Make a list of magazines in your niche. Home Business Magazine is not the best magazine to advertise if you are trying to reach fashion-conscious women. Check of the magazine is audited. There are numbers — and then there are claims. In print publishing, it is important to look at third party circulation audit, which verifies independently the circulation of a magazine. Ask for those figures. It is so easy to say a

Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on how a website can improve its visibility in the search engines. The article describes the specific steps used by Bankrate.com, which any small business can easily adapt to our own websites. The suggestions include: Focus each page on one theme Know what you want visitors to do Study your traffic data for trends Make your site easy to navigate Use free tools from search engines Read the full Wall Street Journal article “Raising Your Profile: Beyond the Basics”

I’ve just received a copy of the book “Rules for Renegade: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career and Revel in Your Individuality” by Christine Comaford-Lynch. The author has worked as a model, then turned her life 180 degrees and became a monk (!); then later shifted to become a multi-millionaire entrepreneur — definitely not the career steps of most ordinary folks. The book is a distillation of insights and tips of this author who have always defied convention and pushed the limits of being a “renegade.” The book talks extensively on the ingredients of a successful business ownership;