Author Archive
Network Marketing on the Internet is NOT That Easy!
Posted by: | CommentsI’m tired of all the hype. Let’s face it, there’s a lot to learn. This is a no-holds-barred discussion of what it takes if you want to succesfully grow your Network Marketing opportunity online…
To Your Success,
Shecky
A Slap In The Face, Facebook Style
Posted by: | CommentsLast year, Facebook became the Number 1 social networking site in the world, passing up MySpace. As such, it is used extensively for networking, especially amongst online marketers. I use Facebook, along with Twitter and YouTube, as an important piece of my social media strategy. I have made many great contacts on Facebook, and usually log in a couple of times a day.
Early one Sunday morning, I woke up and sleepily wandered into my home office. I had a few messages on Facebook, so I tried logging in, but was shocked to receive this message…
- “Your Facebook account has been disabled for violation of our Terms of Service. If you feel that your account has been wrongly disabled, please click here.”
WHAT!?
My throat got dry. I started getting sweaty. I had made almost 3,000 friends already. Without an account, I would not be able to direct people to my videos, articles, and press releases. I would not be able to network with my contacts. I wouldn’t be able to joke around with my friends! This was NOT good.
I had to do something…QUICKLY. I started sending emails….first to the dispute center, then to the help desk. Eventually, I received an automated email response:
- “We have received your email. We will review your request and get back to you shortly.”
That’s it? Ouch. Well, at least a glimmer of hope. So, I waited a few days. Nothing. So, I waited another few days. Still nothing. This was really beginning to frustrate me.
After some research on Facebook’s site, doing some searches online, and through friends on Twitter, I learned that mine was not an isolated case. Many of the Social Media sites have been disabling accounts. I recently had some friends…fellow marketers, who had their YouTube accounts shut down. You can read about it here: “Playing Nice With YouTube.”
It seems to be the norm that Social media sites simply disable your account without warning, leaving the user bewildered. They have no regard for the user, and their Terms of Service (TOS) leaves you with little to no recourse. In most cases, their reasons for disabling are legitimate….users are posting copyrighted material, promoting illegal activities, or just not playing by the rules. But this was different. What had I DONE?
I finally sent a letter with an angry tone. I think I may have even mentioned something about contacting my attorney. Yuck. I hate doing that, but I was DESPERATE. Finally, after 3 WEEKS, I got an email stating the following:
- “Hi Jeff, Thank you for providing this information. Facebook has limits in place to prevent users from running programs that automatically scan the site for certain content. Although this was not the case in your situation, viewing or refreshing pages at a rapid rate may cause your account to be disabled. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide more information about this system. However, after reviewing your situation, your account has been reactivated. Please significantly slow down the rate at which you browse Facebook and refrain from violating any of Facebook’s Terms of Use. You should also avoid using systems or products that automatically refresh Facebook pages. Further misuse of the site may result in your account being disabled again. We appreciate your cooperation going forward. Thanks for your understanding,User Operations Facebook.”
So apparently, my infraction was “using their site too heavily.” Yikes. Of course, I’ll never do THAT again.
From my research, here are the things that may keep you from getting banned on Facebook:
1. Don’t use a fake name.
2. Don’t join too many groups.
3. Don’t post too many messages on a wall or in a group.
4. Don’t friend too many people too fast.
5. Don’t lie about your education or employment.
6. Don’t poke too many people (seriously…get a life!)
7. Don’t advertise your app on wall posts.
8. Don’t use duplicate text in multiple messages (no cutting & pasting).
9. Don’t use the email client too heavily.
10. Don’t post offensive content.
11. Don’t use any scripts to scrape information from Facebook.
Of course, if you do get banned, your ONLY recourse is to email them. Here are three email addresses that I would recommend:
disabled@facebook.com
appeals@facebook.com
info@facebook.com
The lesson here is BE CAREFUL. If sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are an important part of your marketing strategy (and they should be), then take the time to actually READ the Terms of Service (TOS) for these sites. Make sure you are playing by the rules. Do not abuse your account.
So, if you don’t want your face slapped, PLAY NICE.
Still living in fear,
Shecky
PS Connect with me GENTLY on Facebook: http://profile.to/shecky
Do You Really Need Traffic Formula II?
Posted by: | CommentsTraffic Formula II was released today with great hype. This is the latest installation from the gang at Magnetic Sponsoring. Considering the glut of training products out there, do you really need this? Watch the brief video, and find out…
To your success,
Shecky
VERY Revealing Interview with Justin Christianson, CFO of Magnetic Sponsoring
Posted by: | CommentsHonestly, I was not going to post this. The video was taken in the back of a noisy bar with bad lighting. Yeah, the quality is THAT bad. But, Justin is such a smart guy, and there are SOOOOOO many great nuggets of wisdom in this video, that it would be a shame not to share it with everyone.
I hope you get as much out of it as I did…
Best,
Shecky
Playing Nice With YouTube
Posted by: | CommentsClearly YouTube is the largest video sharing site in the world. And since being purchased by Google late in 2006, there has been much speculation as to the direction that Google would take with YouTube. For years, many marketers (myself included) have been using YouTube very successfully to generate a lot of traffic. Unfortunately, many marketers have overstepped their bounds, and have abused YouTube’s Terms of Service by creating multiple accounts, overloading tags and keywords at the expense of content, using “friend getter” type softwares, and a host of other “black hat” tactics. Sadly, many of today’s top marketers and trainers have even promoted these tactics.
Google is now used to being the biggest kid on the block. If you have any experience with Google Adwords, you know that Google is constantly changing their algorithms to improve their services. What this usually means is that advertisers (read: us marketers) are constantly having to adjust to these changes, knowing that it’s part of the price we pay for success.
A couple of weeks ago, YouTube got into the bullying act. In an effort to enforce their Terms of Service, THOUSANDS of YouTube accounts were SHUT DOWN without warning. Most of these accounts were owned by Network Marketers. Many of these were well known Top Earners….people that I communicate with regularly. Most of these people had no recourse, and have now lost thousands of hours of work and goodwill that was built up on their channels. Very scary. I’ve only heard of a couple of extreme cases whereYouTube reinstated accounts, and that was after many of the offending videos were deleted.
The ob
vious lesson here is that black-hat tactics can only work for so long. If you are in this game for the long-haul (and I hope you are), you need to recognize that you are building a brand. That brand is YOU. And, an important piece of that brand-building should be coming from YouTube. So, in order to help you move forward successfully, and not become YouTube’s latest victim…
Here are some pointers for playing nice with YouTube…
- Have only ONE YouTube account per ISP.
- Never spam video descriptions, titles, or tags. Descriptions can contain a link to your website and can be “keyword rich,” but it must read cleanly, and provide an accurate description of the video.
- Never purchase YouTube views.
- Never use automated “friend-getter” software like TubeBlasterPro. Network and make connections with others on YouTube like you would on any other Social networking site like Facebook, etc.
- Never upload duplicate content. If you want to make some modifications to a video, change the title, change the beginning/ending, change the format, etc, that will probably work. But, ask yourself this question: does the new video actually provide new content? If it doesn’t, I would think twice before uploading.
- Use your channel for more than marketing. If you are truly displaying your leadership qualities, your channel should be PACKED with good content. That good content will draw people to you, and you’ll ultimately gain a lot of business from that approach.
- Use your YouTube channel for your own branding (see #6).
- If you have more than one YouTube channel, shut down the others IMMEDIATELY.
- If you are deleting YouTube accounts, CHANGE the email address of your primary account.
- If you are deleting YouTube accounts, CHANGE your IP address. If you’re not sure how to do this, go to http://whatismyip.com
- Do NOT upload videos to YouTube via automated uploaders like TrafficGeyser. Although TrafficGeyser is a wonderful tool, YouTube has figured out when videos are being uploaded with this software.
- Do NOT use music in your videos that is copyright protected. I was able to buy some wonderful royalty-free music from AUDIO JUNGLE very inexpensively. I highly recommend using them.
Of course, these are only guidelines. If you have concerns, I would encourage you to read YouTube’s Terms of Service (TOS) to make sure you’re up to date on this matter. YouTube is an important tool in your marketing strategy, but just like any good tool, it needs to be used correctly.
See you in videoland!
Best,
Shecky
PS For a great example of how to do this right, head over to my YouTube channel at: http://www.youtube.com/BabyBoomerMLM
Justin Christianson Speaks At Inaugural MIMOSA Event
Posted by: | CommentsThe other night, we hosted our inaugural MIMOSA event in San Antonio. MIMOSA stands for “Millionaire Internet Marketers of San Antonio.” Our motto: You don’t have to be a millionaire, you just have to think like one.
Scot, Emily, & Shecky
This was conceived and organized by myself, and a very dynamic couple, Scot and Emily McKay, who are very successful Internet Marketers in the relationship and dating arena. After attending a couple of similar mixers in the Austin area, we knew this was something that San Antonio needed. There is a growing community of successful Internet Marketers in the San Antonio and South Texas area. We felt it was time for us to come together to meet, network, exchange ideas, and support each other.
Our first event was held at a cool pub called the Lion & Rose in the northern suburbs. We were fortunate to have our own little room at the back of the bar. We had a better
Justin
turn out than expected, and squeezed all 36 of us into that little room in the back. It was great fun. I was able to meet face to face with people like Alicia Sanera, Colleen Pence, Michael Long, and Neven Jones….these were all people that I had been communicating with on Twitter. It’s wonderful to connect in 3-D, after only knowing each other in 2-D!
The highlight of the evening was listening to Justin Christianson speak. We were fortunate to have him drive down from Austin, and share his wisdom with us. Justin is a self-made millionaire, and is now the CFO of Magnetic Sponsoring, LLC. I was able to steal him afterwards for a brief interview. The bar was noisy and dark, so the quality of the video is not great, but I was able to get Justin to lay some golden nuggets of wisdom on us. I’m working on some editing now, and will share that in my next post. Trust me…you will DEFINITELY want to see this video.
Thanks to everyone who came out. Scot, Emily, and myself are all very excited about the next event. We have already secured a great speaker for next month….stay tuned!
All the best,
Shecky
Lessons From My Favorite Olympians
Posted by: | Comments
While viewing the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, I was able to watch Michael Phelps swim one of the races that led him to be the most decorated Olympian of all time. I mean, it’s pretty amazing….the guy has more Gold Medals than ANYONE. Oh sure, you can say he’s double jointed, “born to swim,” and all those other cliché’s, but to me, he’s an inspiration.
I can appreciate how amazing the guy is, but I just wanted to share HOW amazing he is in comparison to me. Now, keep in mind, I’ve been swimming for about 5 years now. I swim every weekday with a coach and a workout team….all year round. I’ve been able to increase my speed and endurance, and most of all, increase my level of fitness tremendously.
So, let’s go “inside the numbers,” shall we?
* Michael Phelps was able to swim a 200 meter freestyle in 1:42…My fastest 100 meter freestyle (half that distance) is 1:28. That means that Michael Phelps is almost TWICE as fast as I am.
* Michael Phelps eats a 10,000 calorie breakfast consisting of eggs, sausage, hash browns, pancakes, juice, milk, toast, fruit, and anything else he feels like. My morning routine starts with a big glass of water, a banana, and my vitamins…a whopping 105 calories.
* I swim a LOT. Most of our workouts are at least 2,000 meters. At 5 times per week, that means I’m putting in at least 10,000 meters per week. By contrast, Michael Phelps swims 50,000 – 70,000 meters per week!
Clearly Michael and I have lot in common! Hehehee! Well, if you think about it we really do. You see, a few years ago, I decided that I was going to increase my fitness level. I needed to find something that I could do every day that I could STICK WITH. Swimming was it for me.
It was rough in the beginning. I could barely get across the pool without vomiting. But, the coach worked with me, and I continued to improve. The hardest part was getting my ass out of bed to get to practice. But, I started realizing that old adage is true: “Just showing up is half the battle.” So, I go EVERY weekday….without fail. It’s become part of me. I’ve improved tremendously.
On occasion, another Olympian, Josh Davis comes to work out with us. He’s a super nice guy…very laid back, but a shark in the pool. There has been a couple of times that I actually shared a lane with him. Talk about intimidating! Well, let me tell you….aside from the intimidation, it’s also INSPIRING. It brings me up to a whole new level, just knowing that I’m swimming with someone of that caliber.
So, why am I telling you this?
Well, it’s pretty simple. If you want to get better at anything….your business, your relationships, your fitness, just remember to SHOW UP EVERY DAY. And if you want to be inspired to greatness, remember to employ the POWER OF ASSOCIATION. When you hang out with the fast swimmers, you get faster. When you hang out with people that are building huge businesses, you learn how to make yours grow too.
These simple lessons have gotten me far in life. My “little fledgling business” is now an international empire….just from showing up….EVERY DAY. I have been mentored by some really amazing people, by making it a point to get to know them. The friendships that have been formed are invaluable to me.
I want the same for you….
Are you showing up every day? Are you hanging out with the Olympians?
Catch ‘ya in the water!
All the best,
Shecky
Are You Incubating?
Posted by: | CommentsA lesson in personal growth and leadership, from high atop a mountain overlooking Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe, CA…
