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- Aug 9th, 2007
- 5 Comments
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As a professional blog imitator, I cant help but notice all the stuff happening on the side columns on many blogs. In my spare seconds, I check out these sidebar features to decide what I NEED to add to my site.
My coolest find? Ironically the one I rejected for a long time. I just didnt see the need to have a few faces of my recent visitors. Well dont judge a book by it’s cover!!
Check out the far right column of this blog - MyBlogLog. It may just appear to you as a list of people who have come round this blog, (all those links go to people whose faces I have seen visiting my site.. this is my thanks back!) but it turns out… it is SO much more. This baby is so neat, I feel like a voyeur on my own site! Once you add the code to your site, they offer crazy stats on your site. I realize Google Analytics probably offers what they offer + more, but it cannot be as simple and easy to understand. Even from Google.
With the stats, I can tell which links were clicked on, and how many times. I can tell which pages were viewed. I can also tell on which sites people clicked to find me, and what time of the day. EVERYDAY.
Here is just a handful of searches on Google that resulted in a click to my site. This means I either showed up in the top 10 (or very near it!) for that keyword:
Google Search: how to email course
Google Search: sales page copywriter
Google Search: rich schefren negative
Google Search: adwords still good ?
Google Search: some easy online steps to make gold in wow (World of Warcraft?? How did that happen!)
Google Search: andrea yager
Google Search: the attention age doctrine part ii
Google Search: next internet millionaire trailer
Google Search: mailing marketing glossary 1
Google Search: adwords salary
Google Search: next internet millionaire reality show videosThis information may not excite you, but with the correct blog and a nice amount of traffic. it could be very powerful.
Since I started writing this post, I realized that feedburner also started offering these stats for free. I just turned them on, so I cant speak for them yet.
What cool sidebar features have you discovered, benefited from, recommend highly, or advise to avoid?
~~andrea
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- Aug 6th, 2007
- 7 Comments
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Fortunately and Unfortunately I need your help. The last few days my blog had some server issues and now that I am able to post, my baby decided to sleep 8 hours in a row last night (yah!), leaving me on the verge of a breast infection today (blah!). I am in pain, and waiting for the tylenol to do what it can. The added bonus - my car has no a/c and I live in the Middle East and I was out all day in 100F, so I am just barely alive. Can you help me finish my thoughts today (or buy me a new car :)!)?
Over dinner a few nights ago, there was a conversation between myself and Others who DONT get ‘the whole web thing’.
They agreed that when starting any new business venture, online or offline, solid good advice is to look around at others in your field, either in your ‘niche’ or just generally successful, and imitate them.
This is not to suggest common practice where I live - that you open a ‘felafel store’ next door to another ‘felafel store’ since they appear to be raking it in.
However, if you visualize the internet as it is.. the biggest strip mall EVER.. (you know what I mean by strip right?? I am out of the USA so long I just want to make sure this is the proper term!
).. that means we may all be opening up stores right ‘next to each other’ but the ENTIRE WORLD is our potential customer. That leaves plenty to go around, and room for very healthy competition!
The conversation continued…
Fine!! Agreed. Free Market Economy. Enough to go around. Snoop on your competitors, interview their friends and friends of their friends and milk them for details, do what you have to, but…
Why link to someone who is your competitor??
(Disclaimer - I cant shine the shoes of those ’supposed competitors’ but a healthy self esteem cant hurt, eh?)
Reebok and Nike / Pepsi and Coke / Walmart and K-Mart - competitors for generations. Can you picture them helping the other out? That may have saved them a lot of Advertising money!
Naturally a Blog, with nothing to sell, except the persona behind it, cannot exist in a vacuum.
Are we reaching who we want/need to by reaching out to each other?
To be perfectly honest, I could be completely off here. As cathartic and enjoyable as I find blogging, it was (is?) intended to be another piece in the puzzle towards helping me reach my online goal$$. I am currently not in a position, with a young family, to be writing only for pleasure (of course it helps that it offers me pleasure). Are you?
How do YOU explain this unique online relationship?
P.S - as I was searching for my last link love…. check out this post (will open new window). How ironic to stumble across Garry’s post as I was writing mine..and frankly alittleLOT terrifying.
~~andrea
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- Jul 31st, 2007
- 9 Comments
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First an apology to my huge list of readers . I mentioned a part II to my previous post, and it just is NOT happening … YET. It is summer, people are everywhere, it’s hot, and my brain is a little fried.
Just throwing out a question to You - curious what you think…
How much of a product of the WEB 2.0 environment are YOU??
I have made some videos and anticipate immersing myself more into this newest trend. If you told me 2 years ago, that I would be making these videos and subjecting myself to public opinion, ridicule, etc.. there is NO WAY I would believe you.
I dont think anyone understands where all those videos from YouTube came from?? Who ARE those people who uploaded clip after clip and what were they thinking?? How did they know?
Sure I head over to YouTube when I am in the mood for some nostalgia or to check out a favorite scene from an old sitcom/movie.. but when you come across something like this, you have to wonder:
WHO created WHO??
and how about this - would these prisoners in the Phillipines have done this (this is one of many videos) if there was NO audience??:
I am compelled to ask..
What came first?
The BLOG or The BLOGGER?
Blogging has given me, amongst countless others, the chance to re-develop writing skills shelved since College, create online conversations with colleagues, earn a little money (if you will it..), and again.. put myself OUT THERE.. an additional contribution towards our ‘audition’ to the world..
since isnt that what it has all become about??
WEB 2.0 = ONLINE AUDITIONING.
Trying to get discovered in some way.. from Google, other bloggers, future clients, future advertisers.
Can you be a shy blogger who sits in the corner with your nose in a book, doesnt make friends easily, even if you are a Geek, and understand computers, and be successful?
hmm - a little all over the place today!
You were saying??
~~ andrea
this was contributed by Andrea. She has been created by her blog. Or perhaps she created her Blog. Either way, leave the poor confused girl a comment and let her know what you think??
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- Jul 27th, 2007
- 3 Comments
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I want to write about something very important. I have split it into 2 parts.
One is practical and one is philisophical.
In order to not have one part get lost due to too much information, I am going to write the 2nd part in my next post.
First the practical:
In a post a few days ago, that was way too long, I mentioned the following attitude I developed after becoming aware of Internet Marketing, making money online, anything and everything to do with my newfound relationship between myself, my computer, and the impact it potentially had on my financial future:
“I would walk around very smug, looking at the regular rat-race crowd with pity that they were not clued into what I had discovered - like a hidden treasure….”
At the expense of everything else, with a full blown head, I slowly disappeared from my former life.
Ok, I said this was the practical post, so let me get to it. If it sounds cryptic it is because everything takes me much longer than I would like, and because I think most people will probably appreciate me just getting to the POINT!!
When I disappeared from my life, that included ignoring the local success I had built up for myself by opening a local ’service’ business. I was constantly being complimented for ‘what a great idea’ and ‘keep us up to date on everything you do’. Yet that pot of gold at the end of the internet rainbow was tugging on me and I could not fight it!!
I gave the locals the excuse that I was busy having babies, which is not untrue, but it was just that - an excuse for running in the ground something that had helped support my family for almost a decade!
Thankfully I have always kept someone on staff to keep us from losing our reputation, knowing somehow, somewhere that I would be an idiot to completely dump it.
CUT to this past week. I had a client who BEGGED me to work for him. He agreed to all my terms plus My mom is in town to help with the baby. I had NO excuse. So guess what happened???
I made $600 this week!!
I am holding myself back from saying ‘Instead of constantly sucking more money into my online ventures’, since I have faith in these and KNOW good will and has come from it, but to have walked away from the computer, helped a local in a way few can, hear tons of !!!! (exclaimations ) from the locals about me being back in biz, well I just felt compelled to remind you fellow marketers on a mission:
Dont BITE the hand that feeds YOU!
I would have been the first to tell you to quit your job, and jump in. I believe we can all succeed online, but in some ways it could be like a lottery, and that may be too big a gamble for some people, or take longer than you can afford to wait.
Too many marketers burn the midnite oil, lose other opportunities, and destroy relationships, and their REAL true sources of income, for this unknown, and are unprepared for the fierce competition…
Walk slowly and patiently towards your goal, acquire online friends and mentors, and
be careful.
~~andrea
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- Jul 25th, 2007
- 4 Comments
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Just last week I blogged about being spammed unnecessarily by some lists. I signed up for good content, and do not begrudge the product pitches since these guys deserve to make their living too, assuming that I will still receive the content I expect. However, most have turned into a pitch a minute. Hence the question you will see at that post.
Moving on to my next Email Marketing question. I was debating with a friend:
Do reminder emails in a NICHE market (not IM) work?
I complained that the more repeat emails:
“in case you missed it”
“only 4 more bonuses left”
“Andrea, did you see this?”
only left me feeling that each email carried with it less importance, less content, and that I could afford to miss out on them, since they were becoming repetitive. When this happened, I actually began to miss out on emails with real content, since I became ‘used’ to NOT opening the emails anymore.
My friend insists that what I am saying is possibly true, but NOT in a niche market. In those markets, your subscribers continue to read the emails with relish, take you seriously, regardless of repeat reminders (for which they actually THANK YOU).
I disagreed with him until tonight. Tonight I am sitting in his shoes. I am hosting an event tomorrow and most definitely will be sending out a reminder email tomorrow. Not only do I know that the email will NOT turn off my subscribers, many, as just mentioned, will appreciate the reminder email, and possibly even remember that they wanted to send it to friends as well..
Moral of the story??
DO NOT DELAY.. Start A NICHE MARKET WEBSITE and BE APPRECIATED, NOT HATED like in Internet Marketing!!!
~~ andrea
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- Jul 23rd, 2007
- 3 Comments
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ÂMoving on to What I WILL win
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Rich Schefren is one cool guy. You get the feeling that the guy could take your business, strip it down to its bare bones, and build it up to what it is meant to be.
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He is all about creating a business that is SO together, happening, and hitting it’s mark that people want to work with you For FREE.
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Rich has managed to stay out the guru bashing mire to the extent that his name can take something potentially questionable in it’s integrity and purpose and make it smell clean.. I wish I had more time to read blogs, but here is ONE AWESOME blogger who auditioned to N-I-M just because Mr. Schefren was attached to the project. I have no idea how John didnt make it even to the top 50.. John is a gorgeous smart preppy collegiate boy!
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Rich has also found his way over here to comment on my blog.. I DOUBLE DARE YOU TO COMMENT AGAIN..
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Rich’s latest product - the Attention Doctrine is offering a prize to strategize with some of the big time respected Marketers or win $1000… If you are considering entering, forget about it - The contest entry ENDED July 8th!
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But enough about RICH!! Now ABOUT ME!! This is from the lovely Dwain at StrategicProfits.com
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“Hi Andrea,
We all really enjoyed your Attention video and you’re in the running.
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Email me when you get a chance.. as I’d like to learn more about what you are trying to do in your web business.”
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Oh Dwain.. I love it.. TRYING.. was it THAT obvious???
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So Me.. and Web Business..
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In the year 2000, I was hired to work for a website company. Having just completed an 18 hour HTML course, it did not take me long to realize that my education was not enough to make me a skilled web designer, and I certainly wasnt a graphic artist, unless stick figures are your thing,.. so with some trepidation I accepted this position. My boss had a few websites and I was hired to monetize them and do other client work.
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Affiliate Marketing?? What the heck was an affiliate and affiliate marketing??
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To his credit, he was pretty laid back with expectations, and to my credit - I BLEW HIM AWAY.. Now, I didnt put in the amount of hours I should have, and I didnt rush to do client work, (turns out knowing HTML is fantastic, but I dont like web design), but within just a few months of working, I asked:
Â
“why are you paying per click (1 cent at the time) to get people to come to your site in the hopes of making an affiliate purchase. Why dont you cut out the middle man and send them directly to an affiliate program.”
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It took him 3 months to actually ‘listen’ to what I was saying - I was so NEW - why pay attention to me? We proceeded to spend a couple of pennies to earn a $1 pay per lead commission.. For those in the know, you will realize that before Google was even born I was sitting on ‘Google Cash’ and the rest is history…
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but of course it gets even better (or worse). 6 months later… I asked my boss..
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“If you can add sponsored links to your site, and all we want is to get visitors to our site to click on those links, why not create an all sponsored links site and not give them any choices.”
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Yes, my friends… your first LINK FARM site, AKA Niche Adsense Website… again - this is before GOOGLE Adsense (even Google) existed, so you can imagine when we added Google to these sites, we were poised to.. make a killing . Did I say we?? Since HE certainly had no complaints for several years…
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However, we were not ‘Internet Marketers’, and it was only in about the year 2003-4 that I realized the concept of ebooks and the business of teaching others how to make money on the web. Then it started to slowly dawn on me WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN and what COULD HAVE BEEN…
Â
Since then I became IM obsessed, snapping up every product, expecting that at any moment all the pieces of the puzzle would come together and I would hit the jackpot. I would walk around very smug, looking at the regular rat-race crowd with pity at that they were not clued into what I had discovered - like a hidden treasure….Â
In fact, I have become too busy and self involved to work for my employer, that I have HIRED out some of my minor work tasks to someone else… its called ‘work arbitrage.’ And my boss says “that is so something creative that only You would think to do it.”
ÂThis leaves me to the evolution of how I see myself and my web future and so sorry Dwain, and any other visitor for making you read all this! Probably against all Blog protocol to drone on and on like this!
Â
- How many people can support their families by building up a list and pitching new IM products to IM newbies??.. We should all know better and be making a killing off of niche sites… yet I had a hard time devoting myself to some ‘niche topic’ market, since I keep being pulled back to pitching products to newbies . I have written my own info product, and hope to launch it sometime in this decade before it grows stale. I am working on the niche site market but then…
- When I realized that the above was only going to be good for chump change, it occured to me that I had to do something much BIGGER. People with BIG websites have BIG success, so lets take all these IM skills and come up with a website concept. I woke up in the middle of the night with my new FANTASTIC idea, and have been busy with one outsourcing flop after another in attempts to get it done within my meager budget. Of course these setbacks have taken out a little of the excitement, but I hope to see this through very very soon :).. I think you will like this idea. Dwain, If you wanted the cliff notes version, THIS paragraph is the WHY I submitted my videos and wanted your attention. I want this new site to get ATTENTION.
- The no brainer for this busy momma would be online marketing consulting. My wide range of skills (and a hard drive filled with products on anything I am lacking)… well you can read this post.. Â
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I have such faith in my ability to succeed, that I am working in negative cash flow right now…. financing the running of the rest of my life so I can devote myself to this 24/7.Â
Please tell me I didnt chop off my head for nothing.
Â
Andrea
- How many people can support their families by building up a list and pitching new IM products to IM newbies??.. We should all know better and be making a killing off of niche sites… yet I had a hard time devoting myself to some ‘niche topic’ market, since I keep being pulled back to pitching products to newbies
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- Jul 20th, 2007
- 5 Comments
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*ERIC and JOEL and other NIM contestants - read the disclaimer JUST BELOW the video*
*Next Disclaimer - every video I have done to date is on a very inexpensive Digital Camera - nothing fancy going on.. as should be obvious. I usually have up to 9 minutes of video time, before I have to download, erase and start over :).
For all those predicting and expecting to see me in, you were in good company.. If you have a problem with me tooting my own horn - 1st of all, these are quotes from others, and 2nd of all “I am the most fabulous person EVER” - thats a direct quote from yours truly It wont take but a glance through this blog to hear me express my limitations, so I shouldnt have to run from the opposite.
For those who go by the stats - as previously mentioned, I was the top ranking female of the final tally and the only woman in the top 7!
Other than being listed in 75% of the visitor predicted totals on the forum, Here is a SAMPLING of direct quotes from other forum readers and mostly other contestants (names to be added later upon their approval, unless they already have, or available publicly).
“I have to honestly say - - that the surprise of your video that it turned out you were conversing with yourself was a genuine “wow” moment. Then, when you said “Hey, are you going to eat that?” I literally laughed out loud. It was the only laugh of the entire contest. So you’re smart, pretty, accomplished and funny. What the heck was missing? Plus - duh! - everyone loved you and voted for you.”
“I was convinced it would be you all the way through. You shine.” - Carly Taylor
“it would be impossible if they dont choose you since you are dope. You are awesome… like drug addicting” - Jason Henderson
From Jason’s Blog - “Andrea is an extremely talented wife and mother of four who can bring a lot to the table of the Next Internet Millionaire reality show.”
“I really like the style she’s used in both videos. The girls aren’t making as big of waves as the guys, but she’s managed to stay top 7 the whole contest. She knows what she’s doing” - Jeremy Estes
“Well…there is only one woman left…..and of the 8 women I thought would make it on…there hasn’t been any surprises to me who was picked…
I think I know who the last one is…. ;)”
“your kicking ass
see, im not the only one enamored with you “
“you look stunning in both”
“i like your video and your concept - the dialogue is really tight.”
“oh thats good - you got my vote.”
Even if this guy Valleywag took a stab at me - I was still his first pick!! -”Andrea Yager brings sloppy do-gooderism and moderate good looks” (moderate my A).. check out what this other MAJOR marketer (whose name will not be mentioned ) says:
“secretly I must say your very hot looking, but I’ll deny it, lol .. have to stay professional here.”
of course GEORGE - “Give Andrea and Cliff a Perfect 10″
Go check these out on the forum yourself:
“If Andrea Yager does not get accepted.. then is there is a lesson to be learned for future contestants?
Being the top ranked female by a lot (yes I have been following), with creative videos, good impact… etc., etc.. I would say deserves at least ONE of the 6 spots.. true, If she were hard to look at, then I may not say this..”
“I’m going to be extremely confused if someone like Andrea doesn’t make it.”
“Andrea Yager- She’s got this thing bagged. Watch her to be there in the finals. “
“Andrea… so fine in a “girl next door kind of way”
“My guess is Andrea… she did not keep her poker face on… her ‘tell’ was that she came out strong in the forums after the post stating all the finalists were notified….
her posts were jovial and witty with a few ’s to boot… then ‘poof’ she was gone… now for someone who had such a strong presence in the forums for the whole competition to vanish without one post of expressing dissappointment, that would just not be in her character.. she is too strong willed to have been voted top woman, not make it and then just let it slide… nope… i am going ALL IN and calling her bluff… Congratulations Andrea Yager!” - Nico Pisani
NICO WAS RIGHT:
WATCH HERE TO FIND OUT HOW COME 7 IS NO LONGER MY LUCKY NUMBER, and WHY I HAD TO BE QUIET!!
*DISCLAIMER: I still support the show, the concept, Joel and Eric, and of course the other contestants! I have NO PROBLEM with their final selection.However, Nico was RIGHT that I was not going to just do NOTHING! Hope you liked my video!
Now that you know:
Some other quotes:
“they were just retards when it came to you”
“I’m really gutted you wont be there”
“Even my mom was expecting you to be on there”
“I know some people that are going to be pissed when you’re not there”
“YOU are what they should have taken”
“that just blows.. for real”
My all time fave from my brother - “Now u can spend your time on really becoming the next internet millionaire!”
~~ thank you all for your support.
Look out for my next post to read what I WILL Be WINNING!!
andrea
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- Jul 19th, 2007
- 1 Comments
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Perhaps if I were using my Blog as the medium I originally intended, and offered a product review for the new product launched yesterday called sitestealer, … perhaps then I would be a better affiliate marketer!
However, I cannot, in good faith, promote a product where I could not make it through the sales letter to discover what the product is even about.
I do think that I used to read these sales letters from start to finish, so did I get more lazy, did the letters get longer, or do you have another suggestion why I cannot even force myself to read a page, thus preventing me from promoting it??
I wish it would be enough for me to stand behind someone else’s promotion, but I have to tell you that I recently got my hands on a product that everyone was promoting the hell out of and I thought it was.. rubbish. That doesnt sound like a nasty word to me since I am American
. I was sincerely SHOCKED that people were standing behind this to the tune of ‘dont expect success if you dont make this purchase’.
This was not intended to be another Guru bash, rather a real concern I have for my future as a copywriter, affiliate marketer, etc.. when I find these sales pages so taxing.
I really want to hear you out since I have completed a product and am missing the dreaded sales page. I was surprised to hear from my Stomper Trial that long sales pages outperform short ones.
What do you think?
~~andrea
P.S. - check out sitestealer for yourself and let me know
It may just be an awesome product!
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- Jul 18th, 2007
- 1 Comments
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I grew up Andrea Lowenstein.
Yes this may sound arrogant, but I use to love how my name sounded …Andrea Lowenstein.
Andrea Michelle Lowenstein. I grew up in a pretty well connected family in my hometown, and even a boy I dated in high school told me he felt great pleasure in just knowing that ‘Andrea Lowenstein’ liked him :).. Now I am the geek, but back then I was attracted to them!
The Yager addition came with marriage but I am still legally Lowenstein.. I just love that name.
My favorite author is Pat Conroy. He wrote the ‘Lords of Discipline’, ‘The Great Santini’, and ‘The Prince of Tides’.
Imagine reading a book by your favorite author and the main character shares your last name… and is the last 2 written words of the Movie / BOOK??
How AWESOME is that?? Ok, so it could be someone other than Nick Nolte, but he was once the sexiest man alive according to People magazine, so thats good enough for me ;).
What does this have to do with Internet Marketing?
You could say affiliate marketing, had I been resourceful enough to place the links to the movie, so I could make a commission should someone choose to buy - although I didnt do that.
You could say ‘Branding’ - the importance of name selection and using it properly. To have the emotional build up of a novel and movie resort to a single word being the last 2 words read/spoken is pretty heavy duty and is expected to resonate.. I was definitely branded as a ‘Lowenstein’ when growing up - for better or worse (oh it was Better!)
You could say that I am using keywords to direct traffic to my page.. for when all my old friends and classmates do a search on me.. they will find me on this page. Hey Guys! (they are all wondering.. was it me she went out with?? maybe!)
You could say that this has nothing to do with Internet Marketing, but when a post takes as long to complete as the last few have, sometimes you need to lighten it up!
Lowenstein, Lowenstein
~~andrea
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