http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberationLink Liberation Opt-In ListThu, 03 Sep 2009 14:43:11 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/b0hM/h/Link_Liberation_Coming_to.htm Link Liberation News LinkLiberation.TV coming soon Free Natural Leverage Webinar Next Tuesday - you're invited In my last email, I mentioned that Andy Jenkins and I are starting up a new Mastermind training program for information marketers, called the Guru Therapy Institute. We're doing a free kickoff webinar next Tuesday at 6pm Eastern (US), and since a lot of readers are in the information business in some form or fashion, I hope you'll be able to join us. Truthfully, a lot of the information will be useful to anyone who considers themselves an entrepreneur. I've known Andy since 2004, when I was invited to speak at a 2-day live training for the Stomping the Search Engines Apprentice program - which was very similar to the Guru Therapy program that we're starting up now. When I met Andy, he was wearing... a kimono. I should have known that we'd become good friends, especially when I saw the passion that he brings to his work. Fast forward to 2006, and it was an easy decision when he asked me and Leslie Rohde to join him in StomperNet as the first two faculty members. I've learned a lot over the past few years by working with Andy, participating in the re-engineering of the company, and getting a chance to mastermind with the other faculty members. I doubt that I'd be where I am today, and capable of doing what I am doing now, if I'd kept on going it alone. The truth is that I *need* other people in order to do what I do. Spending time with smart and successful people is probably the #1 reason why I can create the kind of content that I create, and why I can help other people become successful. Guru Therapy is an extension of that. Anyway, about the webinar: First of all, we're covering six big topics, and I applied an amazing technique called the Tom Sawyer Okie-Doke to get Andy to cover four of them. Okay, all I really did was complain about how busy I was this week and he stepped up. So you'll hear quite a bit from Andy on his topics, with me chipping in, interrupting, and sharing random epiphanies. My part of the webinar is about some lessons learned from my recent Link Liberation promotion, and the logic behind why I spend so much time writing and researching, just so I can give SEO Fast Start to people for free. I try to make SEO Fast Start, and everything else I do, as valuable as I can. That's a personal pride thing, of course, but it's also smart business in my opinion. You see, there's a particular type of opportunity that exists in pretty much every market that you can only take advantage of if you're truly an expert, and really put in the time to make something of value. I call this the Value Gap strategy, and it goes like this. Any niche that's big enough and important enough to support infoproducts, is big enough to support infoproducts done well. A really excellent overview product can be a springboard for dozens of products that drill down into more detail. For example, How To Own Your Own Race Horse leads to Race Horse Nutrition Secrets. You get the idea. There's always a demand for more in-depth information, but if your introductory information is garbage, you're not going to get there. It's a Value Gap, not a Garbage Gap. That's why SEO Fast Start is the perfect lead-in for a very large information marketing business. I think it's damned good, but in order to get people to read it and apply what they learn, I have to keep it down to a certain size, which since 2001 has always been set at no more than 100 pages. Although I can't give you every last detail in 100 pages, a lot of readers will never need any more than what I just gave them for free. (And that's OKAY) There are Value Gaps all over. Don't buy into the hype that the market for information is too crowded. Thus, Link Liberation (and in 2006, the link building clinic) is a logical extension of value into a segment of the market that just about *screams* for more value. In fact, very often you want to specifically aim for the most crowded segments of the market, precisely because of the value gaps that are created by all the me too players. With all the schemes and scams out there about link building, something of real value stands out loud and clear despite all the noise. Once you see the larger picture of the market, it was obvious to me, in exactly the same way that it was not obvious to anyone else, that the market needed a good training program on link building. But I digress, again. Besides talking about my own business model, I'll also share some important test results from the Link Liberation promotion itself, about free line content, where to put the free line in terms of what content is given away, and how to optimize the whole thing. I had a pretty good theory about what to do, but when I put it to the test, the effect was even larger than I had expected. So I'll explain all that too. Here's the full list of topics - This could run a couple hours, so plan ahead. How to do Profitable Lead Generation - why the promise of Traffic is completely empty without the right response mechanisms. The Real ROI behind target audience segmentation - how your list of subscribers and customers wants RELEVANT offers from you, and how to give them. The Moccasin Method and how Storytelling saves you from having to be a good copywriter (Thank GOD for that). When to move the free line, and when to pull it BACK (Your market will tell you) A fill in the blanks, Spare-Time business Model for Lazy marketers (just add value and wait...) Using Concussion planning and the M.E.S. approach to fix multiple problem areas of your business all at once. Once again, the webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 8 at 6pm US Eastern time, and it's always a good idea to show up a few minutes early. Here's the link to register: http://gurutherapy.com/webinar/ Thanks! Dan Thies » LinkLiberation.TV update We have the site up and running and it's ready - that was a little tougher than I expected. We have the studio gear all set up. Hunting for a video editor who can handle the live stuff. First two weeks scripts are written and waiting for all that. Soon. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:43:11 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/g8yA/h/webinar_will_not_be_live_.htmLink Liberation News - sort of Hey there - just a quick note... my wife had to leave town and instead of doing a live webinar tonight on the SEO changes at Google (and in SEO Fast Start) I am cooking dinner and doing laundry and other assorted SuperDad duties. Sorry about that. Duty calls. I will record the webinar presentation, and get the recording up for you some time Friday. In the meantime, please do read the new edition of SEO Fast Start if you haven't already: http://www.seofaststart.com/download Thanks! Dan Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:46:43 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/11UQQ/h/SEO_Fast_Start_2009_edition.htm Link Liberation News: SEO Fast Start 2009 officially released, SEO Changes in 2009 Webinar coming Hi ... if Link Liberation was your first chance to get to know me, you might not know that one of the things I do every year is publish an updated version of my flagship SEO book, SEO Fast Start, and give it away for free. It's online now, at http://www.seofaststart.com/ - no need to opt in or anything. As I mentioned in my last message, this year there are some significant changes that are worth discussing, so I will be holding a webinar this Wednesday evening (July 1st) to walk you through the changes. Watch for an invite via this mailing list - again, there is no need to join the SEO Fast Start mailing list, unless you want to get those updates as well. You don't need to attend in person, unless you want to ask questions. The event will be recorded, and the recording will be posted to my SEOFastStart.com blog within 24-48 hours after the event. After this webinar is over, you probably won't hear from me for a couple weeks, because I have a lot of work to do, taking care of my students. When I return, it will be with the first edition of my Link Liberation TV broadcast, where I'll be talking about best practices in social bookmarking. Speaking of taking care of students - if you signed up for the Link Liberation class, and you are having any difficulty getting logged in, watching videos, etc. you can reach me by email at support@linkliberation.com or by phone at 214-550-1359. I often have the phone turned off so that I can record content. If you call and don't get an answer, please leave a message so we can get back in touch with you. Thanks! Dan Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:20:51 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/q._g/h/I_know_what_you_think_I_m.htm Link Liberation News: Spolier: Link Liberation weekly podcast coming soon... Hi ... first off, let me say thanks for taking the time to watch my videos, and lending me your attention during the big launch of the Link Liberation training program. The class was a sellout, as I expected, but if you missed it, it should be available again some time in the next few months. Now, the usual thing after a promotion like this is that the marketer (me) starts sending out offer after offer after offer after offer after offer after offer after offer after... you get the idea. You're probably expecting me to do the same thing, but I have a better idea. We'll call it an experiment, in case anyone asks - I don't want to get kicked out of the club just yet. 1) As a thank you to every subscriber, I'll be holding a free webinar next Wednesday night, with some important SEO information that's not just about link building. More details very soon. (Yes, it will be recorded...) 2) The new 2009 edition of my book (SEO Fast Start) will be released this weekend, and I'll send you a download link next week - since there are meaningful changes at Google to talk about, you might want to read it. 3) After that, I am going to spend at least a couple weeks 100% focused on delivering for my students, before I begin the next phase of Link Liberation, which is a (free) weekly video podcast. The studio equipment is already on its way, and I think we've even got the magic napkin tech figured out too. (You'll see - it's cool.) In the meantime - I recorded an interview with a student named Manny last week, and screwed up on the email that was supposed to send it to you. When Manny told me how much his business had grown in just one year, I almost didn't want to release this at all. Thanks! Dan PS - hope you don't mind me opting out of the usual internet marketing games... Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:58:25 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/jNBF/h/Link_Liberation_Week_1_.htm Hi It's actually working! The video lecture for Week 1 of the Link Liberation training program is now playing: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/ I'll tell you the story another time. Why does everything break (even my Mac had to be rebooted) when you need it to work - I don't know. Anyway, the video is live, you can watch it in your browser or download the iPod version, and sign up for the full 12-week program if you're ready to join us. There are only 50 seats left (early registration was a sell-out), but you can probably get away with watching the whole video (it's an hour) if you start now, because I probably lost most of my audience with this delay. Thanks for your patience - this will be a lot easier once we're down to just 200 students and I'm not trying to figure out how to serve 5,000 videos at once! (In other words, next week we'll be doing stuff I've actually done before.) Dan Thies PS - as usual, you can reply to this and I will get it... and respond as quickly as I can. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:36:38 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/1ZykF/h/Link_Liberation_45_minute.htmHi We're uploading the video to a new source so we can stream it to 5,000 people at once. This will take about 40 minutes - I will email you when the week 1 class is live - it will be at: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/ Thanks for your patience - it will be a lot easier once we're down to just 200 students. ;-) Dan Thies Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:10:36 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/18eWV/h/_yes_there_will_be.htm Link Liberation News: FAQs and Early Bird Registration Link (yes, you can reserve your seat today) (Hi ... some more questions have come in, so I'm answering those first - the rest is just a repeat of yesterday's FAQs. 1) Yes, there will be downloads - MP3 audio, MP4 video - iPod compatible so you can take it on the go. 2) Yes, the videos will stay online - so you can watch them many times (although you might as well download instead) 3) Yes, there will be a way to get questions answered, if you can't make the QandA calls - we'll have a form to submit questions for a separate QandA podcast - which is in addition to the downloads of the QandA calls. 4) You didn't ask, but... there are 53 early bird seats left (out of 150) so that will probably close down this evening some time. The other 50 will be sold at 3pm (Eastern Daylight Time - US) Thursday June 18. 5) About the free class - this is a 12 week training, but *everyone* is invited to the first week's class. No cost, obligation, etc. for that. Only customers will be able to attend week 2, 3, 4, etc. If you want to refer a friend and let them sign up for the free class, without watching all the videos, they can go here to sign up: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/ OK - back to the show - our regularly scheduled FAQ rebroadcast is below - starting with where you can grab one of those early bird seats. Q: I won't be online Thursday, but can you save me a seat? A: No, I'm not doing that, even for my friends. It wouldn't be fair. But you can save yourself a seat - by signing up through the early bird registration link: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html Q: How many seats are available, and how did you decide? A: There are 200 seats - and that's totally based on my capacity to handle QandA calls. If I didn't have the flexibility to add an extra QandA session if necessary, I couldn't even do that many. Q: When will early registration end? A: Difficult to say - I have 200 seats, and I am holding back 50 of them for Thursday so some folks can come to the first class, and decide there. That leaves 150 seats available for early registration - if they're all taken, I'll shut it down, if not, they'll be available until Thursday. Q: What is the price, and how did you decide? A: The price for the 12 week Link Liberation is $795. That's the same price I charged for an 8-week class in 2006, and I originally planned to charge $1295, but this just doesn't seem like the time for a price increase - times are tough and I don't need to make them any tougher. I can always charge more next time. Q: How much are the StomperNet people paying? A: The $797 a month StomperNet Elite members are not paying anything other than their membership fees for the next 3 months ($2391), to watch the videos. The QandA calls won't be open to them unless they sign up and pay for that - it wouldn't be fair to everyone else, and they have plenty of access to me already. So don't worry about them taking your seat - we've got them covered. Q: I heard that Matt Cutts from Google said some stuff about PageRank and nofollow that has everyone up in arms - will that affect this class? A: Not really - there's a bit of overreaction going on, but there will be some new opportunities, and new challenges. as a result. It has a huge impact on traditional link building, but what you'll be doing in Link Liberation is very different. Q: Will you be teaching any link building techniques in the first week - the sample class? A: A little bit, but this is truly Week 1 of your training program, not a sales pitch, so we have to lay the groundwork by teaching you some concepts, how search engines see links, how they detect spam and linking schemes, and in general - what you need to avoid doing. That way, even if you don't join us, I can at least save you from wasting time on bad link building tactics. Q: Can I get an outline of the course, a schedule, etc.? A: Yes - it's right here, on the early bird registration page: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html If you have other questions - feel free to hit reply. I am doing my best to keep up with the emails, but as we get closer to opening day on Thursday, things are getting a little hectic around here. I had to flip my phone over to voice mail today, so if you call, please understand that if you do leave a message I will try to call you back, but use email if you can - it's faster and it lets me help more people. I am really getting excited about this class - we should have a great group of students. I got a little nervous about performing for what could easily be 5,000 people or more on Thursday, so I already copped out, and recorded that session in advance. All the other classes will also be done that way - recorded ahead of time and released on a schedule, so if you're a few minutes (or hours, or days) late, you don't miss out on anything. The only time you might miss out on something is this Thursday - if you're too late to sign up. So please - put it on your calendar. 3pm United States Eastern Daylight Time, Thursday June 18. The class will last about 90 minutes, and you'll be able to sign up at the start and finish watching, if you don't want to wait. Or, just jump on the early registration, and skip the feeding frenzy: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html Thanks! Dan P.S. I haven't forgotten my promises - I had to reschedule some stuff yesterday (had back spasms after cleaning the garage), but I'm still planning to record the interviews with those two students tomorrow, and get them to you before the first class. Instead of the video chat thing like I did with Eric, we're just going to get on the phone, so I can capture better audio. Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:52:22 -0400http://archive.aweber.com/linkliberation/1VhOV/h/_answers_to_your_questions.htm Link Liberation News: FAQs and Early Bird Registration Link (yes, you can reserve your seat today) (Hi ... if you just want the early bird link, go here: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html) Okay, questions - thanks for everyone who replied yesterday to add to this list - I think you're going to make it easier for everyone else to make an informed decision. First off - before I even get to QandA - the first week's class will be this Thursday, June 18, at 3pm U.S. Eastern Daylight Time. Everyone is invited to attend for free - I'll send you a link about an hour ahead of time, and Tweet about it (@danthies) on Twitter. There will be, who knows really, but probably about 5,000 people attending that class. Registration will open promptly at 3pm - as soon as the video starts. I'm not going to make you wait through the whole class to sign up - because you can always go back and watch the rest of the video after you join us. Q: I won't be online Thursday, but can you save me a seat? A: No, I'm not doing that, even for my friends. It wouldn't be fair. But you can save yourself a seat - by signing up through the early bird registration link: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html Q: How many seats are available, and how did you decide? A: There are 200 seats - and that's totally based on my capacity to handle QandA calls. If I didn't have the flexibility to add an extra QandA session if necessary, I couldn't even do that many. Q: When will early registration end? A: Difficult to say - I have 200 seats, and I am holding back 50 of them for Thursday so some folks can come to the first class, and decide there. That leaves 150 seats available for early registration - if they're all taken, I'll shut it down, if not, they'll be available until Thursday. Q: What is the price, and how did you decide? A: The price for the 12 week Link Liberation is $795. That's the same price I charged for an 8-week class in 2006, and I originally planned to charge $1295, but this just doesn't seem like the time for a price increase - times are tough and I don't need to make them any tougher. I can always charge more next time. Q: How much are the StomperNet people paying? A: The $797 a month StomperNet Elite members are not paying anything other than their membership fees for the next 3 months ($2391), to watch the videos. The QandA calls won't be open to them unless they sign up and pay for that - it wouldn't be fair to everyone else, and they have plenty of access to me already. So don't worry about them taking your seat - we've got them covered. Q: I heard that Matt Cutts from Google said some stuff about PageRank and nofollow that has everyone up in arms - will that affect this class? A: Not really - there's a bit of overreaction going on, but there will be some new opportunities, and new challenges. as a result. It has a huge impact on traditional link building, but what you'll be doing in Link Liberation is very different. Q: Will you be teaching any link building techniques in the first week - the sample class? A: A little bit, but this is truly Week 1 of your training program, not a sales pitch, so we have to lay the groundwork by teaching you some concepts, how search engines see links, how they detect spam and linking schemes, and in general - what you need to avoid doing. That way, even if you don't join us, I can at least save you from wasting time on bad link building tactics. Q: Can I get an outline of the course, a schedule, etc.? A: Yes - it's right here, on the early bird registration page: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html If you have other questions - feel free to hit reply. I am doing my best to keep up with the emails, but as we get closer to opening day on Thursday, things are getting a little hectic around here. I had to flip my phone over to voice mail today, so if you call, please understand that if you do leave a message I will try to call you back, but use email if you can - it's faster and it lets me help more people. I am really getting excited about this class - we should have a great group of students. I got a little nervous about performing for what could easily be 5,000 people or more on Thursday, so I already copped out, and recorded that session in advance. All the other classes will also be done that way - recorded ahead of time and released on a schedule, so if you're a few minutes (or hours, or days) late, you don't miss out on anything. The only time you might miss out on something is this Thursday - if you're too late to sign up. So please - put it on your calendar. 3pm United States Eastern Daylight Time, Thursday June 18. The class will last about 90 minutes, and you'll be able to sign up at the start and finish watching, if you don't want to wait. Or, just jump on the early registration, and skip the feeding frenzy: http://www.linkliberation.com/register/earlybird.html Thanks! Dan P.S. I haven't forgotten my promises - I had to reschedule some stuff yesterday (had back spasms after cleaning the garage), but I'm still planning to record the interviews with those two students tomorrow, and get them to you before the first class. Instead of the video chat thing like I did with Eric, we're just going to get on the phone, so I can capture better audio. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 18:45:26 -0400