"A lesson to learn"
Sly membership site owners who fail to STOP trying to take money when the membership was cancelled due to lack of quality!Yes you KNOW who you are...it seems that I NEVER went over a limit at the bank, this sly membership owner tried to take out money from my paypal AFTER I had cancelled it, the money I had paid in to cover the connection hadn't quite got there and this meant the bank bounced that payment the sly one tried to get...giving
ME a charge.
I am onto the bank for it and have emailed paypal.
I am tempted to name the person, but will refrain at the moment.
It's someone people seem to think is "a guru", to me they are just a sly greedy swine.
Hopefully I will be back online as soon as possible though I have to claim the charges back and have no idea how long that will take!
Talking of membership sites...
They can be a great "residual income" if done well...that is the key, it has to be worth sticking to.
Piss people off and they will leave your membership site in droves.
Overdeliver and you will have a great residual income that should continue for as long as you deliver...not only that, if done well you will ALWAYS have someone ready to fill a slot that someone leaves, should they leave that is. ;o)
If this interest you, you should check out what I would say is probably the easiest and best way to create a membership site of your own.
Why would you want one?
Well if you can imagine say 500 people paying you a fee of for example £20 a month...surely you would be happy with that? £10,000 a month?! :o)
More so if something you are passionate about and know you can create something that WILL be in demand in your niche.
Check out empro and see if it is suitable for you and your niche...even if it's not the site should spark some ideas for you. ;o)
Sounds good eh?
Well as long as you keep on top of things unlike the sly one who tried to rip me off! ;o)
Labels: general, membership, tips
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 4:34 PM, , links to this post
"Dam greedy banks"
Done it again, ripping me off with charges...costing me my connection..yet again!Have had enough of the hassle from them.
I am astonished at the greed they show.
I went £2 over my limit...that's 4 dollars, and got a bloody charge which has wiped out what I had for my connection!
Bastards.
I am now going to write another letter to the bank to sort this out.
Meanwhile, looks like I am back the library like I am now writing this.
I am sick of the stress and hassle of struggling.
I will be on here as much as possible while waiting for that to sort out.
If I can do a review, or sell a few things from here it may help.
I will NOT let the banks get away with that sort of greed.
As usual shit customer service!
Labels: customer service, general, life, personal
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 2:48 PM, , links to this post
"Stumbleupon stats"
Stumbleupon DOES work and works very well. Here is a snapshot I have done of this blogs traffic when it is stumbled. :o)I have not worked out how to cut the the white space from the bottom of this using the paint program which I did this in, so if anyone can advise me there I would be grateful. :o)
As you can see over 600 hits to one post in one day, thank you stumblers, but each post that is stumbled gives an average of well over 200 hits in a day, JUST from stumbleupon that is.
I am very happy using stumbleupon, there it is, I USE it, not just join and hope!
Maki...of dosh dosh makes a great post on stumbleupon which you should check out, it's explained better than I could do it. :o)
Another great bonus to being a stumbler is you get to find some great blogs and sites you would otherwise never see.
Stumbleupon is much better than people assume it to be.
It is not hard to use, it has a great community that is very diverse.
If you like to stumble this post, go ahead. ;o)
If you have yet to utilise stumbleupon get cracking as you will enjoy it as well as reap the benefit of traffic.
Check out my profile on stumbleupon.
It is I think the best and fastest way to drive traffic to a newer blog.
Labels: blog, newbies, people, stats, stumbleupon, tips, traffic
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 3:01 PM, , links to this post
"I wanna word with you!"
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 11:38 PM, , links to this post
"Blogrush?...um, well, it sucks"
Well I wrote earlier about blogrush and asked...why bother?A few days later and looking around it seems people think its sucks!
I couldn't say, I didn't have any idea what was happening with mine but now...
My stats have appeared in my blogrush dashboard.
A few things that bother me are...
- A very low click through rate, I also notice others say the same.
- No idea what widget on what blog people click on, to find my blog here, if any. :o)
- When the widget goes down temporarily, a blurb replaces it, but I feel this badly worded.
Addressing the concerns I have...
Low CTR rate....write better captivating titles...like the one used here. ;o)
I could do a search around to see if I can find out how to know which blogs widget drove me the visitor, this may well be part of the process being refined during the beta stage.
That blurb...Not happy with that, the wording had NO mention of blogrush, just saying this is temporarily down but the site will soon be fixed.
IF I was the reader I would have assumed it was the blog itself that was down, or that part of it at least.
NOT looking good doing that!
That blurb should be changed.
So, what about my opinion on if "it sucks"?
I think it's early to say, the traffic I have had from it is very small, almost nothing, of 660 impressions I got ONE click!
That's rubbish, I am GIVING more than GETTING with blogrush.
I will give it a week or less if things don't improve fast.
I know John will improve it, but how fast is the key.
It is pyramidal feeling, MLMY if you like, and yet it was the early adopters, Johns friends, inner circle, and the big influential bloggers that stand to benefit the most.
If you have a brand new blog, hardly any traffic I would skip it! ;o)
Whats your opinion?
Labels: blog, bloggers, blogging, blogrush, John Reese, stats, thoughts, traffic
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 6:18 PM, , links to this post
"Thanks stumblers, for showing me"
Some fantastic pictures, blogs and more.Stumbleupon is great, I like using it and THAT is where it becomes good, when you use it. ;o)
Too many people sign up to this or that and just expect results, yet stumbleupon works for those who at least try it the way it should be used.
Not only have stumblers given me some good visits stats, they have shared some great stuff that I would otherwise NEVER have found.
The name says it all, use it and stumbleupon some great stuff.
The important part is to be active, review things well, post in the right categories and give a thumbs up! ;o)
Thanks stumblers, you are great.
Like this post? Stumble it. ;o)
Or feeling generous? Buy me a beer. ;o)
Labels: blogs, general, people, pictures, stumbleupon, traffic, web 2.0
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 12:23 AM, , links to this post
"Sly marketers = stupid people"
Need I really say more?
Funny thing IM and the marketers involved in that circle, some are simply to sly to be anything but stupid.
Honestly the drivel and crap peddled is seriously getting crazy.
Emails with NOTHING of content and a link to the "next big thing" shoved in your face, and yet these are the people who I DID trust to deliver once and they have gone the way of everyone else who screws it all up.
Sad shite really, I even noticed a so called "guru" post some perfectly common sense fisherman to restaurant owners work ladder!
Then others say they were a genius. Sheesh!!
You know, it ain't hard to find that post if you thought about it, he is one of those who has pushed so hard on crap over the us he has to post a blurb saying how nothing is for sale or in planning to launch on this post... lol!
Says it all!
Funny thing IM and the marketers involved in that circle, some are simply to sly to be anything but stupid.
Honestly the drivel and crap peddled is seriously getting crazy.
Emails with NOTHING of content and a link to the "next big thing" shoved in your face, and yet these are the people who I DID trust to deliver once and they have gone the way of everyone else who screws it all up.
Sad shite really, I even noticed a so called "guru" post some perfectly common sense fisherman to restaurant owners work ladder!
Then others say they were a genius. Sheesh!!
You know, it ain't hard to find that post if you thought about it, he is one of those who has pushed so hard on crap over the us he has to post a blurb saying how nothing is for sale or in planning to launch on this post... lol!
Says it all!
Labels: email, IM, snake oil, thoughts
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 8:30 PM, , links to this post
"Blogrush! Why bother?"
Many of you will know about this by now as it's plastered all over the net, and yes it's on here too and I DO think if you have yet to add it to your blog you should.You can grab yours at blogrush. You want to add the code to your blog as soon as you can and for a good reason too.
So why ask why bother?
If this turns out to work as well as hoped it will be the mother of all the widgets, ;o) but also the chances of it being a success are made better because of the creator, John Reese.
If you know of John you know he knows traffic, how to get it and make the most of it.
There lies the reason you want this up as soon as possible, the fact is due to the big launch there is going to be tons of data that John and his team will utilise...so improving this as it grows.
More importantly you can get a better idea of what it does for your blog now, and as it improves you learn things from the info you saved.
Make no mistake John's own sites will have had MASSIVE traffic lately and THAT info is worth a huge amount, John knows what to do to make the most of it and YOU benefit from that.
I do think it will be a success and even if it's not I KNOW I will gain good information from it.
Knowing now what it does with your blog and what shows up now will mean you can take notes on what to filter as soon as able to, this then becomes the basis for your future testing as it improves from the admins tweaks.
You can then just keep improving what links you do want on your blog by way of blocking what you don't like, and filtering words you don't want.
That's why I got it now.
But also you will notice I am not promoting this elsewhere, just going to keep on blogging as normal, so I get a real idea of what it has done in the normal scheme of things. ;o)
Then I can test and tweak with better accuracy.
If you have a blog, grab your blogrush widget like you see on my sidebar here add it, see what you can learn from it over the next few weeks, if it works great, if not they will soon start getting removed. ;o)
Labels: blogrush, blogs, John Reese, newbies, stats, traffic
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 4:15 PM, , links to this post
"The power of the cause"
This weekend is going to very very interesting for two reasons, but first...Fasten your seatbelts!
Get your thinking cap on, keep your notepad and pen handy, maybe create a folder to save stuff too. ;o)
There is a cause I think you can help make succeed, yet you could also learn a thing or two as well...depending on how you look at things. ;o)
Two things are happening this weekend and both may be of interest to you, for now I want to concentrate on the important one...the one that will save kids lives.
Everyone does things differently, like we blog about passions, hobbies, thoughts, life, experiences we have, or just about what we are experienced at. Us bloggers all blog but for different reasons. :o)
The reason behind us doing things has a big bearing on how well we can do too.
A good cause is a powerful reason to succeed.
Saving the lives of children is a very good cause to do anything in life.
And the man behind this cause just amazes me.
I have to do what I can to help him save the lives of these kids.
THAT is the real cause behind this post... if I can help in any way whatsoever it is by sharing the message with you and anyone else I can share it with, if you can also share the message and help the cause then that is great.
My good friend Dr Mani is the man behind the cause, his name is a hint on how much he is behind this cause.
See Dr Mani is a heart surgeon who operates on kids...but not only that he also raises the money to pay for these operations!
Yes, an amazing genuine hard working and big hearted man indeed!
As I said there are many reasons we do the things we do, Dr Mani turned to the Internet early on, realising the power it had in helping the work he does and as that work as so important I don't blame him. ;o)
You see, he turned to the net part time in order to raise awareness, but also utilises everything he does in a positive way and he does this brilliantly, his drive is huge...because of the cause. :o)
Hopefully one day you will see this logo EVERYWHERE on the net...Go on post it too. ;o)
Each year he blogs for 24 hours...a post every 30 minutes to raise money and it's this weekend!
Last year I did a guest post on his blogathon (this blog project) and felt proud to have contributed.
This year it's a little different...YOU can take part too!
Why not take a look and see what you can do to help, the blog of Dr Mani.
Take a look at the "mini blogathon" to see what others are doing too. :o)
If you do nothing else this weekend please keep an eye on that blog. :o)
There is something else too, Dr Mani really knows what he talks about when giving tips...read his blogging tips.
That's what you want the pen and notepad for!! ;o)
Labels: bloggers, blogging, dr mani, health, life, people
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 6:41 PM, , links to this post
"The time, Italian style"
Who needs a watch? ;o)
Labels: fun, general, humour, people, video
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 10:40 PM, , links to this post
"A cracking house"
What a cracking house eh?
Just as the sign says...it's only going one way. ;o)
Click it for a bigger image and take a closer look.
Labels: fun, general, pictures, portland, portland bill
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 8:38 PM, , links to this post
"Funny what you find under your nose"
Other than your mouth that is. ;o)A blueprint to "getting there" right on the sidebar. ;o)
And one that gains you 100% commission?!
Funny what we already know is where we look to get answers to what we want to know.
Making changes to your blog is all good and well as long as things are improving or improvable.
Making alot of changes at once is a bad thing...unless it is the only option.
You want to know what changes work and what don't so you always take them one at a time to get that basic truth you can act on.
Did that change improve? Yes, act and improve further, test, check results etc.
Then change another things, go through the process again.
One a time.
Little changes make the biggest difference quite often. :o)
Any thoughts?
Labels: general, ideas, stats, success, thoughts, tips
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 5:28 PM, , links to this post
"Sunset over chesil beach"
A beautiful sunset over chesil beach just as I was walking down the "incline", a steep path that leads from the top of the island to the bottom...pretty direct!
I was about 3/4 down by this time...should have walked slower! ;o)
BUT...I also videoed the sunset the other night and here it is.... :o)
Labels: chesil beach, general, life, pictures, portland, portland bill, sunset, video
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 2:12 PM, , links to this post
"It's still a journey"
We all start at the bottom when we start out blogging, we all take it one post at a time. Everyting takes time and blogging is no different...
You may start off humbly like above... ;o)
With dreams of climbing that success ladder in the hope of something better and bigger.
One step at a time, if we all walk the steps we all take the same amount of steps...but a tip for new bloggers, the faster you start taking the steps, the better and I mean post as much as twice a day for the first few weeks to really get the pace going...before you know it you are half way there. ;o)
Next thing you know, you are at the top, and you never know something like the above could be waiting! ;o)
One step a time... :o)
Labels: blogging, fun, general, goals., newbies, people, pictures, success, tips
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 3:31 PM, , links to this post
"Social networking mastered"
Exciting times for you bloggers who actively use social networking, but only if you understand it and use it the right way.Web 2.0 was what I had been eagerly waiting for, being deaf you can probably understand why. ;o)
Being a blogger meant it never passed me by, as blogging was part of interactivity (web.2.0) before the phrase web 2.0 was even coined, yet now it is making a big difference to my blogs, as well as me. ;o)
Believe it or not there are still lots of people who don't know what web 2.0 even means, or have yet to even hear of it.
Web 2.0 = better interactivity. ;o)
Using web 2.0 (social sites, etc) is the best thing you can possibly start doing if you are a blogger or website owner, after all you are already a part of it. ;o)
In my eyes the best way to get traffic to your blog, more so if it's a new blog is using the power of social networking, bookmarking sites etc.
Maximise what you have before getting more traffic and you get to make the most of the new traffic too, yes?
That's what I have been doing, and it works for me well, so now I started to think of ways to increase my traffic.
So I had a great surprise when I grabbed this new report, book, pdf, whatever label you give it and this book just reinforced the fact what I am already doing is the right things in the right way, but I can still do better... ;o)
While I already knew a fair bit of what this shares, (being a blogger almost 4 years made sure of that), it gave me new angles to look at what I already do and plan to do.
These new angles I can promise you will make a big difference to what I had planned anyway...great to see your own plans and ideas from another angle...it expands it. ;o)
While some people will look at things from a "will this make me more money" angle, the key to everything online is traffic, and more traffic can mean more money, right? ;o)
To me the traffic increase is what most people need, even if no intention to monetise that traffic is there, people still want more readers, right?
Of course, so I recommend everyone grab this report, read it and master it. ;o)
The biggest thing I can say is I KNOW it works because I have had success with it and I KNOW web.2.0 is what you should learn more about, even if you have no blog yet.
You are online, you use web 2.0!
Grab it, share your thoughts in the comments. ;o)
Labels: $7 dollar, blogger, ebook, general, plans, report, success, thoughts, tips, traffic, web 2.0
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 5:35 PM, , links to this post
"Normal(ish), untill christmas"
The summer end is approaching but we are having some nice weather here, the kids are back in school, the usual routine again, and mums and dads everywhere breathe a sigh to catch their breath again. :o)A chance to get a little time to themselves and plan ahead, prepare for the coming season changes, slowly. ;o)
A nice time to pop to the beach for a breather...
Spot the people?
And further around it goes...for 19 miles!!
Bring ya fishing rod and take your spot.
Plenty of room. ;o)
Beautiful eh?
Sept has hit us and now is the time to start planning what you have in store with your life, work, blogging.
You are planning to take advantage of seasonal things, aren't you? ;o)
Halloween comes up, Guy Fawkes, Christmas.
Do you add these to your plans?
Blog about what you can relating to you and your blogs topic, theme?
Planning early and planning well you can make the most of being seen when the time comes, being prepared with good articles, ideas, blog posts, contests and other angles can be a great boost, if you can keep the momentum going you have a great chance to improve the following ones, like Christmas. ;o)
While you take a breather, take time to also reflect on what you can add to the mix for the next few months. ;o)
Any thoughts?
Labels: blogging, chesil beach, general, ideas, life, pictures, plans, thoughts, tips
Stumble this post...
Genuine paypal button to me, buy me a beer at any price! Click the beer!
Rob Sellen @ 2:45 PM, , links to this post
"You tell me, I'll listen"
It's been a real summer of reflection and change in some ways and they say people fear change, well I would like to embrace it for what it is, not least because the last 7 or 8 weeks has taught me a huge amount. ;o)
Learning things in ways I wouldn't have expected and yet learning things where I wouldn't have even looked....right under my nose! ;o)
The blogging side of it is no different on that score and what I have gained over that time I couldn't put a price on it in many ways but putting what I have learnt into practice is the key.
That's the aim and it is giving me two feelings, one of slight anticipation and one slight excitement and fear mixed.
One the one hand it's all "go for it" and yet on the other it's "what if goes wrong?"
So who better to ask than you, the reader. :o)
You see there seems quite a divide among bloggers and no-one will please everyone but at least pleasing your own readers is the main thing. :o)
What's this divide?
Monetisation and those who bleat about the so called "cause", which I guess is that blogs are "diary's, personal, not meant for making money with"...the brigade who in my eyes have no place telling others what they should and shoul
Learning things in ways I wouldn't have expected and yet learning things where I wouldn't have even looked....right under my nose! ;o)
The blogging side of it is no different on that score and what I have gained over that time I couldn't put a price on it in many ways but putting what I have learnt into practice is the key.
That's the aim and it is giving me two feelings, one of slight anticipation and one slight excitement and fear mixed.
One the one hand it's all "go for it" and yet on the other it's "what if goes wrong?"
So who better to ask than you, the reader. :o)
You see there seems quite a divide among bloggers and no-one will please everyone but at least pleasing your own readers is the main thing. :o)
What's this divide?
Monetisation and those who bleat about the so called "cause", which I guess is that blogs are "diary's, personal, not meant for making money with"...the brigade who in my eyes have no place telling others what they should and shoul