SEO Is

Posted on January 13, 2013 by John Poelstra

Even though this was written a couple of years ago, it’s still true. Turns out I had clipped the quote below before coming across Bill Slawski’s thoughts on the same topic. It probably would have fit nicely with my first post if I’d realized it at the time, however it’s still a good reminder on its own.

From Bill’s post titled Good SEO,

Good SEO is not “cheating the system,” or “manipulating search results.” Good SEO is part of a marketing plan that makes it more likely that the good content you create will be found by people who might be interested in what your web site has to offer.

For those not in the Biz, SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” I’m finding it to be a fascinating other world universe that a lot of people don’t realize exists. This somewhat technical article in Wikipedia explains more about SEO, its history, and different techniques for ranking a site better.

Honest Marketing

Posted on January 6, 2013 by John Poelstra

A big focus of my new role in OpenShift is SEO. Naturally this article and the drama around it caught my attention.

I like how Bill Slawski defines the SEO practioner’s goal,

Your objective should be to make it easier for people who are interested in what you have to offer to find you, and see the great content that you offer.

This is what I love most about web marketing and my work with SEO. It’s not about trying to fool someone into visiting your site to buy something they don’t need. It’s about providing value. Well, you can try to trick people and Google, but it comes back to haunt you faster and bigger than it did in the un-E-econnomy (I made up that term).

There are people on the internet trying to game the system, but that’s becoming increasingly harder. Suckering people or trying to “hard close” someone on the internet doesn’t work very well because the customer doesn’t have to put up with it–you can’t trap them. Once they realize they are in an uncomfortable situation or have been “gamed,” all they have to do is close their web browser and the experience is over. On top of that, people gaming the system are increasingly being penalized in the search rankings.

If you can’t trap or sucker people into buying something without repercussions then the best alternative is provide something of value that helps people. That’s why I like working on OpenShift. I believe it is a platform and a service that provides immediate value. You don’t have to take my word for it, try it out and host up to three applications (indefinitely) without spending a dollar.

Not sure where to start with OpenShift? Two of my favorite web based applications are Etherpad and WordPress. Each of those links will take you to the quickstart instructions for installing and running them. Another application I haven’t tried out, but looks very promising is OwnCloud (your own hosted DropBox like storage application).

Instagram

Posted on December 24, 2012 by John Poelstra

I’m not a current Instagram user though I have been following all the chatter on twitter. The part I find a little interesting (well summarized in the XKCD comic above) is when you are using a service provided by someone else and they are bearing the cost of operating that service, they really can do whatever they want. You may not like or want that service and you may choose not to use it, but I don’t completely understand the outrage.

This opinion piece from CNN sums it up,

What irks us, of course, is the sense that we’ve been betrayed. Instagram felt a little alternative, authentically bottom-up. It’s a tiny piece of software, and if they had figured out a way for us to store our photos locally or to pay a small charge for server space exceeding some amount (as Flickr does), it could have stayed a rather noncommercial affair.

Moreover, Instagram’s community, perhaps rightly, feels as though it was responsible for its own formation. Even though this community formed around a piece of commercial software, the relationships within it are real and the result of a significant investment of time and energy and trust. Now that those relationships have turned out to be commodities, many people feel exposed and cheated. No longer the users, but the used.

Sorry, but — in a word — tough. This is the way of the Internet: pay or, well, pay. Just as Facebook’s users must come to grips with the fact that they can longer reach all their friends with an update unless they pay for “promotion,” Instagram’s users must reconcile themselves to the fact that their photographic creations are now grist for some advertiser’s mill.

I started using Pinboard for site bookmarking instead of Delicious. It feels really good to pay a nominal amount of money for a service that is useful, I consume, and that provides value. While there are no guarantees, I figure it has a better chance of lasting longer and not being hosed up or abandoned like Delicious (given it’s history).

Pinboard feels less clunky than Delicious and is a breeze to use with the javascript bookmarks to save new content. My Pinboard page is at https://pinboard.in/u:johnpoelstra if you want to search my bookmarks or follow my feed as I add stuff.

Shutdown Points to Fear

Posted on December 14, 2012 by John Poelstra

The physical and emotional sensation of shutting down is an indicator that you are experiencing a feeling you’d rather avoid. What is that feeling?

Figure it out (hard). And let it be (even harder).

Regardless of how it manifests, a shutdown only means one thing–there’s an emotion you’re not feeling. Why aren’t you feeling it? Because you are afraid. You’re afraid that feeling will be worse than not feeling it. But in reality that’s seldom the case. While you can certainly choose to avoid situations that may elicit a particular feeling, you can’t protect yourself from a feeling once it arises. Any attempt at such protection, even when well intentioned, will only serve to keep you shut down.

Raphael Cushnir, page 10.

Notes From Tiny Startup Camp

Posted on December 11, 2012 by John Poelstra

A few weeks ago I attended a great event in Portland, Oregon, called Tiny Startup Camp. I went hoping to get some clearer ideas about a product or service I could launch. The “camp” was a great mix of speakers, break-out sessions, and actual time to work on things.

My favorite talk was the kick-off talk by Jason Glaspey. I wrote down a bunch of rough notes that follow. Daniel Bachhuber also posted a good set of detailed notes from Jason’s talk.

Raw Notes From Jason Glaspey’s Talk

Minimum viable product (MVP)–most basic functionality that someone can start using immediately

Why choose Tiny?

You don’t have to make millions of dollars to be happy
We have a good quality of life here in Portland and it doesn’t take that much money to live well
There are so many other options than taking funding and hoping for a big jackpot/cash-out
Taking funding–someone else gets to decide
Not tied to someone else’s idea of success

Tiny is an attitude, it’s not just a startup. What’s the smallest, easiest way to test a market? Figure it out.

Figure out what actual needs are versus what people say they want by asking lots of questions

Passive Income

Mostly a falacy
“4-hour work week”–Some people are doing it, but not very many

You have to learn to solve little problems and how to solve them on your own–over and over again.

“Success can look very different when you don’t have financial obligations”

“Failing can be really exciting and the best possible outcome”

Don’t be so invested that failing hurts (or wipes you out)

Launch in three weeks!

“What a cool idea to bring a bunch of people together and learn something”

Jason typically spends $1,000 to $2,000 if think it has the potential to make $10,000

Measure the potential of your idea by using analytics:

Setting up a landing page that looks like you can buy something
Provide a shopping cart and see how many people attempt to use it
Add a “buy-now” button that takes people to a page that says, “We’re sorry it’s not ready, but we’ll let you know when it is.”

Passion, willingness/perseverance, and lack of fear

Work on a project that is solving a problem somewhere

Tiny filters—is your idea really “tiny?”

Pager test–If the site goes down it’s not the end of the world and while people might be upset you don’t have to fix it right away
not a ball and chain
Launch quickly–3 or 4 week to launch
Day 1 Profitability
Money comes in on the first day
Self-maintainable

if you can’t do every step of the product, don’t do it–you want to understand how it all works before you hand it off to someone else

Not overly saturated space

There is a clear path to success

Not too much success

Only sell to people with Money

Bad idea: resume service for people that need jobs, because those people don’t have a lot of money because they don’t have a job
It doesn’t feel good to take someone’s last $10

Don’t enter a market you can’t be heard in–is someone already the voice of that particular niche?

Strive to make $500 to $1,000/month in four months

Don’t be this guy: ”Create the most addictive, comprehensive, universally accessible, viral, integrated and profitable automobile-related community on the planet”

this idea is WAY too big

“Don’t confuse a startup idea with a genie wish”

“Solve a single problem, for a group of easily identifiable people, who want a solution and can afford to pay for it.”

Find a product that extends someone’s identity

Good tiny startup ideas

ebooks
membership sites
digital downloads

Bad tiny startup ideas

iOS Apps
Global domination
Advertising based
Anything you have to hire out
Acquisition only ideas–instead sell products for money!

Until you are receiving money for something you do not have a product

Manage major pain points by making them medium pain points

”just good enough” is what you’re shooting for–then find the next thing causing the most pain to your customers

Do not strive for perfection

At first, do everything yourself. You need to be involved in every step, then outsource everything you possibly can.

Know when a student is enough, or when you need a professional to do it right

Reference point: Jason pays $400 a month for adwords consultant and spends $4,000 to $5,000 on advertising (this is for a fairly mature product)

Never be afraid to put something on hold or kill it

Become a problem solver

Every time you encounter something annoying think about how you make it better

If the behavior of your microwave drives you crazy, think of how you would make it better

Get over the notion that “that will take time (assumption–too much time) to figure it out”

“Don’t be an ‘’idea guy’’. An idea guy is a stupid guy “

Solve the small problem in the easiest way possible

Find someone that already has “terms of service” and a “privacy policy” and copy theirs (if that’s okay, of course)

Re-occuring Subscriptions

Platforms Jason likes and recommends:

WooCommerce
Stripe as backend collections INSTEAD of PayPal (which is horrible for tracking refunds and other stuff)

Allegedly, PayPal gives very information about why a payment didn’t go through so a charge could have failed for any number of reasons and without knowing what the reason it is, it’s really hard to follow up with that person in a personalized way.

Pricing

Does a lower price and thus “more people to service” add more overhead?
If “yes” a higher price could be a better way to go
Hopefully less people at higher price equals same revenue

Surveying

Surveymonkey
WooFoo
Polldaddy

Give something away to entice and thank people for participating in your survey

It doesn’t have to be a big “giveaway” to generate interest
Just give away a coffee cup!