“She is the expert on Internet marketing, and generous with her knowledge. With what she told me on our first date, I was able to increase the hits on my web site by 20%, which more than covered the cost of her meal!”

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, I noticed this comment on my profile and got a real kick out of it.

I met someone in an entrepreneurs class over a year ago. I learned my tip made a book with a list of ways to bootstrap your business: date and learn from smart men who will give you free advice. I thought people would get the wrong idea, but with this quote I thought it safe to say (it’s not one-sided).

I recently read in a business mag how farmers in a small town put their profiles on milk cartons to try to get a date! Now that’s creative.

I applied to Date Lance but I didn’t make the cut (or maybe he’s stopped dating)!! I even tried to interview him on the experience (a great tv show or video or podcast) but he never replied. What he didn’t know is I would’ve had him blogging about it in about 3 months flat. It kills me when people leave money on the table.

I’m curious if my blog readership has changed over time. I’ve talked more about women entrepreneurs recently. Quantcast tells you the ratio of males/females who view your site. I just put the code on my blog and it is still picking up information. When there’s more data, I’ll post it.

Free 30-day trial to Corporate Alliance, a Provo-based networking facilitator for businesses. A great way to forge new business relationships. They have nice offices and weekly networking lunches. Call 801.434.TEAM

www.paintrecycling.org helps nonprofits get free paint from local businesses who have overstock. Wish I’d known about it when I organized two neighborhood painting projects for South Provo neighborhoods.

www.Gutenberg.org – free ebooks, think of organizing free content in unique ways and selling it on Ebay through Yepic!

Free fishing days by state www.takemefishing.org.

Inside The Box Home Loans – Significantly (like thousands less) less expensive mortgage loans if you have a credit score of 700+, 10%+ equity or downpayment, for an owner occupied home. This is a great idea to focus on streamlining something by working with the ideal customer. Bear River Mutual Insurance only insures drivers with very good driving records who don’t drink or do drugs. I liked them until someone rear-ended me and they were stinkers to work with (so I switched back to Allstate)!

Air Gyro Aviation teaches you how to fly so you can get there faster. They should consider matching up commuters (airplane carpools) so people that don’t want to learn still have the option of traveling by private jet (less than 2 hours to Vegas!).

Search Engine Optimization Specialist Gives Top Tips

This is basic for some of my readers. I wrote it for women entrepreneurs who are at various stages of internet marketing. Kelly told me my post on her site gets a lot of hits, so I thought I’d review search engine optimization basics. Then she’ll can post it on her blog, which I’m sure is backlogged.

Think about what terms people might put into a search engine if they were looking for your blog, web site, or products. You can have a beautiful site with a lot of information, but if no one can find it, you’ve wasted your time. One primary way people find web sites is through search engines like Google, MSN, or Yahoo. They might type in your company name, your personal name, your product name, where you are located, etc.

Read more…

I had this incredible experience on Thursday. This woman sitting next to me at the Landmark commitment seminar stood up. I have to admit that judged her to be someone I wasn’t that interested in knowing more about. I don’t know why. So she stands up and goes to the microphone, something I have yet to do (I stood up and asked a question with the mic at Affiliate Summit and wasn’t a bit uptight about it, which was a breakthrough, but I still think I don’t like getting in front of groups for some reason).

She shares this incredible journey from feeling boxed in by her life feeling surrounded by the mundane. I relate to what she says. She is a mother to small children. Then she saw the possibility of following a dream and talent she has and she is inspired. She chronicled how it all went down. I was astounded.

I’m completely moved by what she says then she comes and sits down. Next to me. And I’m in awe when I realize who she is.

That is a metaphor for me lately. I keep inadvertently bumping up against the greats. Incredible minds or spirits. They aren’t always distinguishable. How did I end up sharing space with them? Anyway, thanks for the presentation Jeff Barr, and for talking, Wayne Porter. And for those trying to see what is ethical. And for those showing women they are believed in. And for those willing to share what they know.

I’ve been remembering the community projects I have done. The large groups I have mobilized. I want to do that online. I’m not sure what that means. I’m intrigued by what my friend is doing with Thurl Bailey (basketball star). That’s why I’m interested in community sites and how web 2.0 facilitates and enhances and rewards collaboration and community. In the seminar we explore our commitments, the ones that run our choices when we don’t even realize it. My commitment seems to be to isolation lately (like working on computers often is) but that’s not the game I want to play in…

They do free press release distribution – http://www.prleap.com/. Free is often a description of value, but I thought I would ask. They have a blog.

Anyone using PRWeb in conjunction with other press release services? I’d like to get your comments. Also, how about article submission – past its prime? What sorts of ways are you using article submission sites, which ones, and how has it benefited you? If you want to email me privately, please do at janet@affiliateflash.com. Thanks.

This article makes blogging for a living sound like a real drag. Blogging for web sites? Strange title.

“I have no life,” Mr. Lavandeira, of of the celebrity-gossip blog PerezHilton.com, says. “I am always working, and I can never take a vacation.”

Sounds appealing…I thought bloggers like him have laptops and always-on Internet connections that work on beaches and in foreign countries.

And the working in your PJs isn’t that much of a perk I’d imagine. Doesn’t that just mean you don’t stop if you’re sick or tired??

They quoted my friend Jim Turner, One by One Media, but no link love! (I’ll give you some).

Here is a helpful list of print and web media outlets, by state.

Chris Knudsen knows more about Utah businesses than anyone else I know. If you need to do some research, ask him.

75 blog posts to read before talking to a venture capitalist.

My favorite is this one on hiring tactics for a startup. Here’s a quote that sums it up nicely:

…you can’t be completely in your right mind to join a startup. It takes a little bit of irrational risk tolerance to really get into this game (especially if you’re walking in with your eyes open).

If you know me you’ll know that I’m prone to hero worship. Some people go crazy about celebrities and movie stars. Not me, my heroes are people I know or can know. Here is the typical cycle:

• I learn about someone (or even a company) that is talented or gifted in ways I admire. I start to learn all I can about what they do and how they do it. I especially like smart, capable people and creative thinkers.
• I reach out to the person, complimenting them (I have yet to build a shrine though, lol)
• I can’t say how long this period lasts, but for a while they can DO NO WRONG. Sometimes this lasts for years.
• Something happens and they start to come down from the throne, they are mortals again. I see their flaws and faults but I still admire their strengths.
• I continue to admire and learn from them. I try to help them out when/if I can. That usually takes the form of connecting people, something I love to do.

The only thing that breaks my hero worship is if they are deliberately unethical or mean spirited. I’m good at compartmentalizing people too. Maybe I admire your brain but some other things aren’t that admirable. I am a passionate person and a people person. I’m completely aware of my flaws so I don’t fault others for theirs.

I thought I’d explain because I don’t think I’m usual in this way. My friends think it’s funny…and it probably is. Sometimes it is misinterpreted. I guess it’s like having a business crush in a platonic way?? I’m sure you’ve noticed some of my heroes if you’ve read my blog. If they aren’t being written about, it usually means either I’m too busy, or they are mortals again like the rest of us. What really makes me laugh is when the hero worship turns on to me. It doesn’t happen that often, and I’m flattered, but I prefer to keep that to a minimum