This is an extra step I use to narrow my list down when doing keyword research. I am going to assume you already have a large keyword list for your niche already. Now this can be a little time consuming but IT WILL be worth it!!! So here is what you do.

Go to  http://adlab.microsoft.com/Online-Commercial-Intention/Default.aspx 

Put each key word in the search box and check “Query” then hit “Go.”

You will then see a “Probability for Commercial Query:” and a number.

I entered “grapefruit”

Commercial (Query)

0.51966

As a rule of thumb I keep any keywords over “.50″

Okay…..I’m feeling really generous today. If you use your imagination in conjunction with other methods you can see how sweet this can be. Think Adwords, CJ, Clickbank and Affiliates. Want to see something really cool put in a URL. Notice you get a Commercial-Transactional & Commercial-Informational. Think Domain Investing!!!! 

Alright that’s enough, I will probably hate myself later for putting this out there, but hell if you took the time to stop by and read this than I really do hope you put it to full use. If you have any luck using this be sure to leave a comment. If you want a more in depth technical explanation of how OCI works you can read more about it here.

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My favorite one to use is http://www.bubbl.us/ 

It is very simple to use and free. I create a different account for each client to layout the project for them. They can then login and see the plan letting me know what they think or what changes they would like. If you are in a group or have several folks involved in a JV deal everyone can view it and be on the same page of whats going on.

Here are a few other ones you may want to try out and have fun with!

http://www.mindmeister.com/

http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

http://mashable.com/2007/11/03/mindmapping/

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I just wanted to make a quick post about an upcoming event in August. It is called Entrepreneur Days. It is a business conference that will be taking place in Atlanta on August 15-17, 2008. There will be some pretty cool topics covered like:

~ Internet Marketing Web 2.0

~ Getting Traffic to Your Website or Blog

~ Stock Market Investing

~ Investing in Real Estate Using the Internet

~ Business Systems

~ Non-profit and Corporate Sponsorships

~ Membership Sites

~ Selling on eBay

 Plus a whole lot more! You can’t beat the price on it either…even the hotel rate! I am planning on attending, even though I will not be speaking at this time. I will be available in the evening to chat and hang out with. So, I hope to see some of you there. You can find all the details here.

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Whoever created this site put a little planning into it.

1) The Domain Name: Contains keyword “Jared”; Whois is Private; Created on March 16, 2008 (month before going viral).

2) Site itself: Fairly decent; took time to create custom header; has videos and other pages of interest; content seems genuine.

Now we get to the pretty cool stuff this guy/gal did.  First off they created a site based on a topic that would arouse curiosity and hopefully go viral. They want people to e-mail it to other folks and even make blog entries about it.

Here is where the guy/gal gets pretty slick. Monetizing it. If you notice there are no banners or AdSense on the site anywhere. Here is where he’s making his cash.

Home Page: At the bottom of the page you see a text link that says “please donate condiments” that link takes you to a parking page where he will earn from AdSense clicks. That link is on the bottom of everypage.

Contact Page: See the two 800 numbers? Don’t let your wife catch you calling them..lol.

Now, if I had to guess this person probably isn’t making much on the site. Maybe a few cents here and there. The creator could have probably added a couple CPA offers within the site that would have probably converted better.

For example, they could have added a small poll type CPA offer. The site has two type of Jared’s favorite sandwichs listed.  They could haved used a little more imagination…

 ”Help Us Pick Which Sub to Name after Jared Fogel.  In rememberance of such an insperational person who touched so many lives, we will officialy name the chosen winner ”The Jared”. As a sign of our appreciation we will be giving all of you a chance to win one of several I-pod’s for taking the time to help us out with such a hard emotional task. All you need to do is just choose which sandwich, and enter a valid e-mail address.”

So everytime someone entered an e-mail you would get around $1.75. Sure beats AdSense!

Okay back to the main topic. I guess what I’m trying to drill into you is be creative and use that squishy thing between your ears. You don’t need to go so far as making up stories like this, but ask your self what you can do to get a viral effect. Re-examine your site or postings  and ask yourself, does this really peak my curiosity? Would I forward this to all my friends? Why or why not?

 Look at how your monetizing your sites. Are they packed with AdSense, Affiliate banners and other junk? Is it so much that it is taking away from your content [this can be a good thing, just depends on your type of marketing ;) ].

The next thing you should do is research to see what’s working. Just look at the front page of Digg and Technorati. Examine the headlines and content and apply the same methods. Also, search Google with your keywords. Look at each front page site and jot down notes about what you liked and disliked about each site. Then take those notes and compare them to your current site and see what changes you should incorporate.

And the last but equally important….Refine!

Never ever stop refining and tweaking your site. You can always make it better. 

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Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to the late Gary Halbert, and let his family know my thoughts are with them today. Today would have been Gary’s 70th Birthday.

If you don’t know anything about Gary, he was the GREATEST Copywriter there ever was. I loved the fact he would put it to you straight to the point. If you were jacked up he would waste no time in letting you know it. If you were the type that took things to personal then you were in for a world of hurt!

If you ever want to learn more about Gary and some of teachings visit thegaryhalbertletter.com where his family has posted his newsletter and the ones that had never been released before his death. I can assure you when you are done reading them you will just say…WOW! Afterword you will see why he was and is still considered the master of copywriting.

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But, just like any REAL business you are going to have SOME expenses. The problem is most people don’t look at working online as a real business, hence they don’t treat it as one. Which in my opinion is why most people fail! Every brick and mortar business has expenses, even if it’s just the electric bill. So working on internet you may have a few too. Whether it’s just a domain name or hosting.

Granted you can get started online for 100% free and make some money. But I hope your not in a hurry, because it is probably gonna take awhile. Which is another reason folks fail….No Patience!

I guess what I’m trying to get at is invest in yourself AND your business if you truely want to succeed. This whole post stems from an e-mail I received regarding my system at http://www.lynnwhitsitt.ws This person was bitching about the possibility of paying $10.

The system is structured so you can start and operate it for free if you choose. But I recommend a program that costs $10 a month. This program is what will eventually help your business explode! If you want, that is the ONLY cost you will have to pay out and the returns are HUGE. This is where it comes into play…. This one program (out of +12) is key to residual income AND you get paid for referrals too. Just to give you an idea of the potential: If you had 5 referalls and they referred 5 also you would make $3,905 a MONTH off of your $10 monthly investment! Talk about a hell of an ROI! Now, what you have to remember is this person will have to pay nothing else if they don’t want to…..EVER! And this is from just ONE income stream.

Now I’m not saying you have to do my system. If you are doing something else that’s great, but don’t be afraid to spend a little to get started or help your current business grow. Splurge for that unique domain name, hosting or even get an e-book that will EDUCATE you.

I usually don’t do this, but if you absolutely don’t want to spend a dime and want to get a 100% free education, then check out the 30 Day Challenge. You will learn some good tools and how to do some market research. But as I stated before, you will need to have a lot of patience and don’t expect real quick results (Although a few folks have). The whole goal is to help you earn your first $10 online for free.  I usually skim thru it just to see if there are ways to incorporate some of the tools or methods into my existing projects.

When your done spending a month to make that $10….. drop on back by and Invest It!

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