Can’t do business on an empty stomach. So let’s make a steak.
Dan’s perfect steak: (this is a slight variation of the Alton Brown method)
Do SEO Keywords work? An SEO Keyword Test
The results of my SEO keyword test are in, and I think you’ll find them interesting – especially if you are of the opinion that keywords can help you rank.
In short, it’s my opinion that while you DO need to have them, they do not really help you rank high. Assuming you have any type of real competition out there, all they do is give your site the bare basics for Google (et al) to find you. They just are not all that important beyond those few basics – other SEO stuff counts for WAY more than keywords. Let me explain by showing you my test results:
Read the rest of this entry »
Home Based Business Help
This really isn’t a post about home based business help – it’s part two of my SEO test. Part one (the last post) went swimmingly, and I expect part two will go as expected also.
Godzilla and Gamera Drink Bourbon to Settle Their Differences
Yea yea yea… Godzilla and Gamera drinking Bourbon is a pretty silly topic for a post. Those of you who read my old blog will know I’m doing a simple SEO test with this (have to do a new one for the new blog), and those of you reading my blog for the first time are likely saying “hmmm, this Dan guy is a little strange… no self respecting businessperson would blog about Godzilla and Gamera.”
Stupid Credit Card Thieves
God, it can be sooo annoying doing online business sometimes.
I have a payment page here on my site with both a “normal” credit card processor, and PayPal as well. I did this so someone who hired me for copywriting could prettymuch pay me any way they want (because when I set this all up years ago, PayPal was still seen as somewhat “small time” – I wanted both). My copywriting fees are pretty variable too – I needed a payment solution where the customer enters in the price (as opposed to “add to cart”.)
Anyway, for years I used a company called Skipjack. They set me up with a button that generated a payment form on their server – one with a blank “customer fill in” amount. Nice. Until today.
New site is LIVE!!!
We are live here with the new Clear-Writing. I finally finished all of the copywriting for it (the cobbler’s kids now have shoes!)
Ok, what’s new around here, you ask? Well, the site has a LOT more information for people who are looking to hire a copywriter. I have pages for the different types of writing I do, several “about” pages so prospective clients can get a good feel for who I am and what I do, lots of info about the types of consulting and entrepreneur stuff I do. I now have a page for success theory too, as I think it’s important (if not a bit self-indulgent – but that’s cool – people seem to like what i say about success.) I also moved the blog here instead of on another site (having two sites was silly), and expanded the section on my books.
But the biggest change is the overall focus. When I started out, I was just a copywriter. But I’m now more of a brand - you’re not hiring a copywriter here – you’re hiring Dan Furman. That’s a big difference, and I wanted my website to reflect that shift in thinking. I think it does now.
I hope you like it – let me know if anything is broken or whatnot.
Test 3
Test # 3… If you are reading here, sorry for all of these tests, but if you’ve ever done any kind of upgrade and such, you know going live is never easy.
Test 2
Let’s do test #2
Test
We’re almost ready here. This is a test post.
Business 24x7x365
I wrote this on a forum the other day, and it seems like Christmas Eve Eve is a good day to post it here.
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I started thinking about how the expectation level of clients in general has risen in regards to “availability”.
I think the media (especially the internet) has essentially done this to us – it’s truly turned us into a 24/7 society (most of you are old enough to remember when TV generally had test patterns all night. Does any station go dark now?)
I’ve noticed that I get e-mail from clients at all hours. Even managers in “9-5, M-F” jobs e-mail me from their laptops at 10pm on a Saturday. The typical vacation message doesn’t ever mention the word “vacation” (a weak, taboo word in the business world). Instead it says something like “out of the office”, and many say to reach them at their cell or e-mail. That’s not much of a vacation.
I regularly get someone contacting me on a Thursday, needing their (fairly large) project done by Monday morning. And it’s not just bad planning on their part – that used to be the case. Today, it’s generally expected. They actually “expect” me to work the weekend. I once took on one of these, and had a question on a Saturday – no response to my e-mail or phone call. Monday morning, the person was mad it wasn’t done. I said “well, you expected me to work the weekend, so I expect you to answer my question on a weekend”. He didn’t like that (and is no longer a client.)
I think this is going to get worse, too. Right now, people under 21 (or so) have been brought up on the internet, e-mail, and texting. Immediate responses are 100% EXPECTED. These young people have no idea that their current social expectation is going to translate to the business world when they enter it. Someone who is a 19 year old “5,000 texts a month” person today is going to be a department manager tomorrow. What will they be like in ten years? What will their expectations be? If they text a subordinate (or a vendor) on a Saturday night, will they wait until Monday for a response? And how are they going to react when their boss texts them on Sunday afternoon?
It’s interesting (and somewhat scary.) Personally, I’ll resist it as much as I can, but I think it will start costing me in a decade.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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