Comments on: SEM Scholarship - Show Me Your Links http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html I think there's an opinion on that subject lying around here somewhere.... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:17:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.7 by: Jill http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-11734 Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:39:16 +0000 http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-11734 <i>Good luck to you all, and I sincerely hope you emerge from this contest with at least a realization that yes, yet again you worked hard for someone else, for free, so they could get traffic and attention to their website, at your expense, and you did it for a chance at a prize that has no cash value, but an opportunity value somewhere between zero and $10,000, depending on how much you would already have paid for the rubber throwing stars and other stuff you were going to buy anyway. If that were the case. Which it is not. Anyway. Good luck. Let me know if you want to exchange links ;-)</i> At the risk of sounding like a gushing fan (yet again), that's got to be one of the best paragraphs ever written! :) Good luck to you all, and I sincerely hope you emerge from this contest with at least a realization that yes, yet again you worked hard for someone else, for free, so they could get traffic and attention to their website, at your expense, and you did it for a chance at a prize that has no cash value, but an opportunity value somewhere between zero and $10,000, depending on how much you would already have paid for the rubber throwing stars and other stuff you were going to buy anyway. If that were the case. Which it is not. Anyway. Good luck. Let me know if you want to exchange links ;-)

At the risk of sounding like a gushing fan (yet again), that’s got to be one of the best paragraphs ever written! :)

]]> by: Natasha Robinson http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10606 Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:34:44 +0000 http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10606 John - I wish I had an CD projector beaming your RSS reader onto your ceiling over your bed. And I can't say just how "wired" I am on a public forum; a woman never tells - lol!!! I kid. I often fall asleep working with my laptop next to my head. And like a true Search Marketing Nerd, when my alarm comes on, the first thing I do is roll over onto my laptop (and always think, "I should really just not work before bed") and usually my RSS reader is open and I never turn off my alarm until I am fully awake - this must annoy my neighbors. John -

I wish I had an CD projector beaming your RSS reader onto your ceiling over your bed. And I can’t say just how “wired” I am on a public forum; a woman never tells - lol!!! I kid. I often fall asleep working with my laptop next to my head. And like a true Search Marketing Nerd, when my alarm comes on, the first thing I do is roll over onto my laptop (and always think, “I should really just not work before bed”) and usually my RSS reader is open and I never turn off my alarm until I am fully awake - this must annoy my neighbors.

]]> by: john andrews http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10237 Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:26:56 +0000 http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10237 @Andy: No doubt there will be traffic, Andy, because the articles are posted on your site. But *all* of the articles are posted on your site, and when it comes down to competing for traffic volume to win, nobody will win based on your existing audience alone. "Great organic traffic" in 4 weeks.... well, I must have a different definition of "great" or "organic". When it comes down to promotion, which is what you need to drive vast amounts of traffic in a short time frame like this, I'm not sure I understand why driving traffic to this contest (and your site) is more profitable than doing the same work to drive the same traffic to an owned site. I find it anathema to the tenets of organic search marketing... where one wants to do the work for the long term benfits of links, branding, etc. Except, of course, for you. Which is what I think I wrote. @Natasha: I'm having trouble connecting the dots here. You wake up and consider hitting the snooze button but before you can you've read a blog post? Is there an LCD projector beaming your RSS reader onto your ceiling over your bed? Or maybe you use your mobile device as an alarm clock, and have the unlimited data plan? Do tell... how wired are you over there?? @Eric: no offense, but you sound like a card carrying member of the Religion of Andy. Is your current gig promoting AGLOCO? I have to say, if participating (not winning) the last "scholarship" contest was cause for you to become gainfully self-employed, your transiton was opportunity based. Good luck to you. @Andy: No doubt there will be traffic, Andy, because the articles are posted on your site. But *all* of the articles are posted on your site, and when it comes down to competing for traffic volume to win, nobody will win based on your existing audience alone. “Great organic traffic” in 4 weeks…. well, I must have a different definition of “great” or “organic”.

When it comes down to promotion, which is what you need to drive vast amounts of traffic in a short time frame like this, I’m not sure I understand why driving traffic to this contest (and your site) is more profitable than doing the same work to drive the same traffic to an owned site. I find it anathema to the tenets of organic search marketing… where one wants to do the work for the long term benfits of links, branding, etc. Except, of course, for you. Which is what I think I wrote.

@Natasha: I’m having trouble connecting the dots here. You wake up and consider hitting the snooze button but before you can you’ve read a blog post? Is there an LCD projector beaming your RSS reader onto your ceiling over your bed? Or maybe you use your mobile device as an alarm clock, and have the unlimited data plan? Do tell… how wired are you over there??

@Eric: no offense, but you sound like a card carrying member of the Religion of Andy. Is your current gig promoting AGLOCO? I have to say, if participating (not winning) the last “scholarship” contest was cause for you to become gainfully self-employed, your transiton was opportunity based. Good luck to you.

]]> by: Andy Beal http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10165 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:49:48 +0000 http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10165 So does this mean you're not entering? :-) Please do go thru and add up the value of the prizes - excluding my consulting time - and you'll see that they really are valuable. Also, you certainly can generate great organic traffic within 4 weeks. Remember the article will be hosted on a site that is already an authority - no need to worry about any fabled sand box here. Many of my own articles rank in Google in just a few days of posting, so organic traffic can be achieved. Anyway, I noticed you didn't share a link back to the contest. Those interested can click on my name to get there. So does this mean you’re not entering? :-)

Please do go thru and add up the value of the prizes - excluding my consulting time - and you’ll see that they really are valuable.

Also, you certainly can generate great organic traffic within 4 weeks. Remember the article will be hosted on a site that is already an authority - no need to worry about any fabled sand box here. Many of my own articles rank in Google in just a few days of posting, so organic traffic can be achieved.

Anyway, I noticed you didn’t share a link back to the contest. Those interested can click on my name to get there.

]]> by: eric hebert http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10155 Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:38:09 +0000 http://www.johnon.com/273/sem-scholarship.html#comment-10155 It's socially generated content, and Andy has had success with it. Is it really a bad thing? I learned a lot from it when I entered the first one, which prepared me for some of my current work. Before that contest I didn't work for myself. I do now. So if anybody reading this doesn't think it's work it to write 1 little 500 word article that could change your career, then fine. That'll be more a chance for me to win. It’s socially generated content, and Andy has had success with it. Is it really a bad thing? I learned a lot from it when I entered the first one, which prepared me for some of my current work. Before that contest I didn’t work for myself. I do now. So if anybody reading this doesn’t think it’s work it to write 1 little 500 word article that could change your career, then fine. That’ll be more a chance for me to win.

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