I would appreciate it if you added my site (http://www.articledirectoryusa.com/) to your master list. Each article will be checked for spelling, grammar, and proper formatting before being published. We only approve top quality articles.

Thanks

Web Master

Article Directory

USA http://www.articledirectoryusa.com/

When will you make niche adsense themes available again?

BTW, what is the reason that we are unable to buy it now?

Thanks!

I still prefer that method, but was thinking what if I wanted to branch out eventually and attend a networking event like Blog World and wanted to meet some folks, hand out business cards, etc. That would be tough to not be able to share your separate web identity and/or details on any related sites for fear of being exposed.

All of that is a ways out and I’m probably over-analyzing things a bit, but since you had great suggestions so far I thought I’d get your thoughts on that. Thanks and Happy New Year!

mark

For keyword research, you need to make sure that the top listings for the keywords for your brand are winnable.

I recommend you watch this free webinar from my buddy Pat Flynn.

http://www.keywordresearchwebinar.com

Thanks!
Mark

I haven’t gotten deep into the ranking tips/tricks yet. Other than doing a Google search and making sure there isn’t a lot of high quality content at the top for my desired name, what’s the best way to check on ranking for a particular name/phrase? And when I say best, I mean a decent/free way. I won’t have a problem paying for results driven methods/products soon, but during my ramp up phase I want to keep the upfront expenses to a minimum. Thanks again!

One tip — check the SEO on your fake name before you choose it. Might as well pick a name and a brand that is easy to rank for on Google.

Thanks!
Mark

Now to come up with my alter ego…Should I go with a real fake name like Michael Wilson or something more fun and superhero-ish like Captain Content…Hmm…Looks like it’s time to do some research on using pseudonyms. Thanks again!

Regarding your name, I have the exact same concerns with my current employer. It is one of the reasons that I don’t discuss income on my blog. I like my current job, and don’t want my current employer to get the message that I don’t “need my day job” or that I am thinking about leaving. For that reason, I wish that I had used a pseudonym.

However, transparency is really important to me. So, I would simply pick a pseudonym like “Internet Joe” and on my about page I would have a section called “My Name Is Not Really Joe”. In that section, I would explain why I am doing business as Internet Joe.

I cannot see any real down side to this approach. Just be honest (always). Readers are very understanding when you tell the truth.

Hope that helps,
Mark

I started my blog http://www.thepathtoriches.com at this time last year more to finally do something with the domain name that I’ve owned since 2003 than anything else. I wanted to see if doing the blog was something that kept my interest, wanted to see if it was something I would stick with and enjoy and eventually I wanted to figure out a way to drive traffic/income. That’s the point I’m at now. I enabled Ad Sense a few months ago, put up some affiliate links in my articles and just created a Twitter/Facebook website page for the site yesterday.

The problem is that I struggle with revealing my last name. I have a personal Facebook account and the 10 co-workers on my team are on there. None of them know about my blog or desire to expand out to some niche sites from there, although my blog is discretely listed on my personal Facebook info page. They are all friends of mine outside of work as well. I’m 99% sure the employer wouldn’t care, as I know one guy in another group does YouTube videos and even has a side career in Rap, but it’s more a personal concern about what if.

Like what if I need to find another job down the road and the employer Googles me, finds this side business where I state my goal is to be able to not have to work someday and I get overlooked for that reason. I was just curious if you’re open about it at your current job, or just kinda keep it on the down low, etc. and was curious how others handle the same situation. I’m really at a cross-roads where I’m ready to take my blog to the next level and want to start on a niche site or two and I want to try and do things right from the start, either keep things completely private or more likely I need to get over this fear and just put myself out there. Thanks ahead of time for any comments from yourself and others and keep up the great work!

Please let me know if you accept paid guest posts on your site, Mason World. I work with freelance writers to create posts on sites like yours that link to a clients page within the context of the post. These are never reviews or advertisements for the link, just informational posts that are tailored to fit the content and audience of the site they are written for.

Is that something you are interested in discussing? If you are, what are your guidelines for this type of agreement?

Best,
Amanda

Pat Flynn is great. I love that guy.

I keep my full time job because I like it and it pays really well. It’s really that simple.

Because of my full time job, I am not able to do coaching (sorry about that). I need to fix that page too.

I currently work a full time job about 45-50hrs a week for a law firm. My goal is to begin learning how to create a sustainable, successful online business so that I can quit my job one day and get some freedom. I have been following Pat Flynn and came across your site while listening to one of his podcasts. I was curious to know why you still keep a full time day job? I was also curious to know if you provide coaching? I did not see anything on your coaching page. thanks!

Your “can do” attitude really gave me some of the extra energy to just get to getting.

So, publicly, nice work and thanks. I’m now an official newsletter subscriber.

Though I need to find time to track the ONP.

Matt

Recently, it seems I have been “slapped” by Google. The change in my Google rankings apparently happened on August 11. I track about 50 keywords, and for all of them I previously ranked on the first page of the SERPs (for half I was in the top 3). Now, for ALL of these keywords, my highest-ranking page is in the 40-50 range.

Obviously this has affected my traffic. For the first ten days of August, traffic on my wordpress.com blog averaged around 4200 page views per day. For the next ten days, traffic averaged 1900 page views. (A drop of about 55%). A lot of this remaining traffic is coming via links in web 2.0 articles, alternative search engines, and my RSS feeds and mailing list.

This blog is 3.5 years old, with just short of 300 posts and another 50 pages. I consider it to be an “authority” site when it comes to the type of phone reviews I do.

I’ve made some off-page SEO efforts, but nothing I thought was “black hat.” In fact, it’s all based on what I’ve learned in previous years of Ed Dale’s “Challenge” (web 2.0 properties and some article directories), as well as some link-building via the “Angela Method” and from Lynn Terry’s 5k backlinks product. I had recently started using “spun” articles – bought TBS through your affiliate link – for some of the web 2.0 and directory articles, but generally I used those spun articles to point links toward my web 2.0 properties, not link directly to my blog.

So, my question is: is there anything I can do to win back my google rankings? Should I scrap that wp.com blog altogether and start over with a different blog (I already have a site, started 18 months ago, for this purpose)?

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Patrick

The reason is the trust factor. I think it’s imperative to build trust with your readers and I have a hard time doing that will people who use pen names.

Of course, I run the risk of my employer finding out, but the risk is worth it to me. You also have to consider how likely it is that your employer will even find out.

There is a strong chance that they won’t.
Shoot me an email at steve@endingthegrind.com sometime and let me know what you decide. Hope this helps.

Steve

Listened to your Friday 13th Podcast today for the first time, it is the first of your podcasts that I have heard. Very professional for a third podcast and some great information also. I know you have been in this game a while (Jay and Sterling’s site, lifetime member). But good to see someone making it work with four children, I have three young boys 1,3,5 and like you work long hours, I will be following you (nlp modelling?) as an example of a someone “real” making it work!
Just bought Jeff Johnson course so it will be useful to do reality checks with you as an IBM gradute.

Keep going with your passion!

Best Regards

Sean

With all the social media, it looks as if you have to use the real name and picture. Imagine how could IBM guys or Pat Flynn could build a following without revealing their identity.

Using pen name may be ok for a secondary niche where I don’t want to be known as the go to guy and in my primary niche, I would like to be known by the real name.

Also what if I have to do the seminars in person, by using some identity other than real one could become an issue.

Would love to hear more thoughts. I wish I do like you did and since my online ventures don’t necessarily conflict with my day to day activities at work, it may be ok. I will have to let my manager know that I’m running some sort of online venture. It’s part of my employment contract to let them know if I have an outside employment. Althought outside employment is not well defined but online business could be considered a gainful employment if it starts making money.

Thanks for your time and appreciate your advice very much.

1. Just don’t worry about it (I don’t recommend this in your case, but that is what I did).
2. Invent a cartoon character for your site and be that — Freedom Guy or something like that.
3. Invent a pen name and be that guy. Fake pictures from istock photo. BUT tell your readers that is not your real name and tell them why you are doing it. They will understand and it could be fun. Promise to reveal your identity on “Freedom Day” when you quit your job.

I like 3.

Hope that helps.

Mark

I was wondering if you could help me in resolving this dilemma. I work as a full time software engineer and in a typical IT setup. I’m having hard time in letting the employer know that I also run online business where I teach people to make money and eventually quit their job. Kinda like Internet business Mastery guys do.

If I use my real name on the site, I could be found and then the employer could think of me slacking because of mere fact that I have an additional interest where my loyalties are more than to the job.

Would love to hear yous thoughts.

Best regards.