Taking Care of a SPAMMER . . .

I was notified earlier today that someone had been SPAMMING members of one of my forums. Of course, I was upset, but instead of getting annoyed, I took action to ensure this person was stopped. I looked up WhoIs record using my favorite site for the occasion, http://whois.sc. From there I was able to determine who his host was, and contacted their abuse system (Hosts do not like SPAMMERS! It is illegal to SPAM and if they find out that you are using their server to SPAM, they will boot you immediately).

I’ve been notified that they are handling the situation . . .

Sometimes, the people you’re fighting host their own servers, and reporting them is not so easy. In that case, you’ll likely need to report them directly to the various Blacklists. Follow the directions below to find out how to contact the various blacklist providers.

How Can You Check to See if You or Another Website Have Been Blacklisted?
There is an easy way to check the blacklists!

• Go to MX Toolbox
• Enter the domain of the site you are interested in, in the lookup box and select the button [MX Lookup]
• You’ll now see results including: Preference, Host Name, IP Address, TTL, and you’ll see two buttons (Diagnostics & Blacklists)
• Click on the Blacklists button and you’ll see a screen with the site’s IP address in a box.
• Click the [Blacklist Check] button

What you’ll see is the IP address checked against 122 known blacklists. If the status is OK, then there are no problems. If it is not OK, there should be an explanation.

There will be links to all of the Blacklists, and if for some reason your site has mistakenly been added, there are usually explanations on their sites of how to remove yourself.

Hope this helps!

These days there are quite a few people out there writing reviews of other websites and blogs. Many people write these reviews primarily because they find a site that interests them. Others do so because they want to make some money and get paid; they use services like ReviewMe or PayPerPost to find sites looking for reviews. What I’ve noticed, however, is that many people are cheating their reviewees out of a proper website or blog review.

It seems that the only requirement that many of these review services have is that you meet a minimum number of words in your review. I can’t tell you how many bad reviews I’ve seen. Understand that a bad review in this context does not mean a review saying that a site isn’t very good, but one that doesn’t properly cover all the bases. For example, look at this bad review that I received recently through the ReviewMe Marketplace. The author says one good thing about my site BiggerPockets®, but the review is completely lacking. It is completely useless, and I’m actually shocked that it was approved by ReviewMe. Notice that they really don’t say anything at all about the site?

5/14/07 Update: ReviewMe refunded me for the cost of this review after I sent an email to them about the issue.

I’ve seen spectacular reviews of sites that are very harsh, but the reviews are good ones, as they help both the reader and the reviewee out. Lets look at some of the more important elements to cover when doing a review:

Elements to Cover When Writing a Paid or Unpaid Website / Blog Review

• Design - The first thing that you see when looking at a website is its design. Is the design pleasing to the eye? Is the site cluttered or difficult to navigate? Are there any glaring design flaws or glitches, or is the site a work of art?
• Focus – What is the focus of the site? If you can’t figure it out, then the author is doing something wrong. Focus should be apparent without hunting around too much. Typically by using design elements, or simple headlines or sub-headlines a site must convey its focus.
• Content – The most obvious element to cover in your review is the site’s content. Does the content of the site match its focus? If not, there is a problem! Is the content easily readable? Does it make sense? What are some of the highlights? Is there a page, article or section of the site that really stands out as being fantastic?
• Writing Style – Writing style is one element that many people often ignore. Does the author share his/her voice? Do you find yourself relating to what you read? Is the style professional or does the author blab on about their dying goldfish in every post?
• Grammer and Punctuation – Does the site use proper grammatical elements? Are there spelling mistakes and punctuation errors all over the place?
• Message Effectiveness – Overall, do you find that the site is effective in putting out its message?
• Website Audience – Who is the intended audience for this site or blog? Are the intended and actual audiences different?
• Info about the author – Is there anything interesting to note about the author? e.g. I was watching the news last night and they were talking about a blog written by a boy with cancer. Is the author an expert or do they have no idea what they are talking about? Do they have any qualifications to write what they are writing?
• Anything else you think is important – Of course, there are other elements that you can discuss as well. Anything about the site that stands out, good or bad, should always be covered in a review.

Fear of Writing a Negative Review

Many people are afraid to write honest reviews of websites. They feel that they may hurt someone’s feelings or they may even feel guilty for writing a negative review that they are getting paid for. By not remaining completely honest when writing a review, you are cheating the reviewee! Whether or not the review is a paid one, you must always stick to your honest opinion.

Don’t go and hype a site just because everyone else is. Don’t say a site is good if it is not. Don’t ignore the problems out of fear. By doing any of these things, you deprive the author/publisher of the opportunity to learn how to improve . . . wouldn’t you want the honest truth?

Note:This post was inspired by a discussion I was reading (I’m the user bigp), and by a review I recieved from someone yesterday (mentioned earlier – worst review ever).

Every once in a while it is a good idea to check your MySQL databases to see if any of your tables are out of whack. I make no claims as far as database expertise, but I do know the layman’s method of checking and repairing databases and wanted to share. Personally, I will conduct a check daily, as I am typically logged into my site’s CPanel, but I’d recommend the average guy do this every week or two, just to make sure everything is working properly. Here’s how:

Checking & Repairing Your Website’s MySQL Databases

1. Log into your websites control panel (CPanel)
   

2. Go to your main database panel by clicking on the MySQL button
   

3. Choose a database from the list and click on the “check” link
   

4. If your database is in need of repair, you’ll see a page like the one below, with one or several different tables that are not listed as “OK”
   

5. You’ll need to return to the main MySQL menu and click on the “Repair” link to fix any problems
   

6. Your database should now be repaired and you’ll see a clean page with all “OKs”
   

7. Repeat the process for all of your databases until they are all fixed, and you’re done!

That’s it! Quick and easy.

I wrote about using MyBlogLog a few weeks ago (networking with social media sites) for networking purposes. I now want to tell you exactly how to build massive traffic using the MyBlogLog community.

MyBlogLog is an extremely important tool for getting a blog off the ground and for building exposure to your site. Many people don’t realize how powerful it really is! This post will help you get a jump start in building traffic to your blog / website, and will also help you find new, interesting sites you never knew about before.

How to Set Up MyBlogLog on Your Blog or Website

1. Create an account with MyBlogLog. This hould take less than a minute. All you’ll need is to pick out your username, email, password, and the URL of your blog. Once you’ve created an account, be sure to upload an image of yourself as your avatar. Photos are just more personal and make things a bit more inviting.
   
   

2. To bring more interest to your profile, or simply to help users get to know a bit about you, be sure to fill out some personal information in your profile. Again, it really just helps people to connect with you.
3. You will then want to claim your blog or website. To do this, you’ll need to place a snippet of code that MBL provides you within your blog’s template. Now, when you look at your profile page, you’ll see your website.
   
   

   Both you and your website now have “communities.” Personally, you have the ability to add friends and chat with them. People must join your website’s community, but they can also chat with you through the site’s community.

4. The last major technical step in getting going is installing the MyBlogLog Widget on your blog or website. If you look in your personal profile, you’ll see a link underneath your website’s community “Get Widgets.” The one you are concerned with is the “Recent Readers” widget. This allows you and your other readers to see who has been on your site recently. Layout the widget to your liking and add it to your blog’s sidebar.

Congratulations! You’re Ready.
Here’s where the traffic building begins!

8 Steps To Successfully Building Blog Traffic Using MyBlogLog

1. Make sure you are logged into MyBlogLog. This seems obvious, but if you’re not signed in, then people on the site can’t see you when you’re surfing around.
2. Surf your favorite blogs! Start visiting the sites you’d normally visit and see if they have MyBlogLog widget installed. If they do, click on the View Reader Community link at the bottom. This will bring you to their website’s community.
3. Join the communty and also add the user as a friend/contact. This shows the user in both their personal profile and their website’s community profile that you are interested. It also gives you more exposure so others can find you more easily.
   

   (Note: When you add a user as a friend, you are sent back to your profile, not that user’s. I think this is a glaring problem with the site, as I then have to go back to the blog – to the community – to the user to find their profile again. I hope Eric and others at MBL consider changing this. It will just make things that much easier for users)

4. This is one of the most important steps: Leave a comment on either their personal profile or their website’s community profile. Make sure it is not simply “Nice site” or “Great Blog.” Be sure to leave a relevant comment so the user can tell that you’ve actually visited their site.

   As a result of your comment, the odds are that the user will go and visit your profile (by clicking on your avatar). They will then see your blog / websites and if they have any curiousity in the topic, will check them out. You’ve just exposed your site to another new person!

5. Wash, Rinse, Repeat! After a while, you’ll have targeted all the sites that you are a fan of. Don’t fret, you have much more work ahead!
6. Now that you’ve gone and let your favorite sites know about your interest, it is time to start finding new sites. There are a many ways to do this:
   

   How to find New Websites of Interest

   a) Visit your favorite site’s community pages and look at who else is commenting. Visit their site / blog and return to step 2.
   b) Visit your favorite site’s community pages and look at who else is a member. Visit their site / blog and return to step 2.
   c) Return to your personal profile page and see who “Viewed this Page Recently.” Visit their site / blog and return to step 2.
   d) Go to the “My Admirers” section of your profile. Visit their site / blog and return to step 2.
   e) See who is leaving you comments on your personal community profile or your site’s community. Visit their site / blog and return to step 2.
   f) Visit the profiles of other users you’ve found and see what communities they are a part of. Odds are they will likely be related to their interests. You now have a slew of other communities and sites to visit.

7. Watch the traffic begin! You’ll start to notice traffic slowly start to come from MyBlogLog. Keep people interested by continung to write quality posts.
8. Set aside some time every day to expand your MyBlogLog contacts, visit new sites, comment, and get yourself out there. Remember, every time you visit another site with the MBL Recent Readers widget, you have another opportunity for exposure for yourself. The more you’re seen around, the more likely people will want to connect with you.

Don’t forget that in addition to using MyBlogLog for traffic that there are other important methods. Commenting on other, related blogs with thoughtful messages is hugely important. This should also become a part of your daily routine.

In case you’d like to start somewhere, you can do so with me!
My Personal Profile: BigP (my username)
This Blog’s Profile: TimeForBlogging

Join up and get involved in MyBlogLog today to build your blog’s traffic!

9 Steps To Successfully Market to a Forum Community
In a previous post The Direct and Indirect Approaches to Forum Marketing we talked about the two approaches to forum marketing. I’d like to share the 9 steps you will want to follow to forum marketing success; this is basically a primer on indirect forum marketing (the only approach I fully endorse).

1. Find a forum in the niche you want to market to
2. Check to be sure the site allows you to create a forum signature with a link to your business
3. Set up an account
4. Create a forum signature that includes the following information: your name, website/business name, web address, contact info (if any), description of the website/business (DO NOT USE A SALES PITCH – e.g. The Best Car Parts Shop Around – that stuff is useless). Be descriptive!
5. Find the forum introductions section (most good forums will have one) and tell people about yourself. Talk about your business, but don’t just drop a sales pitch. Let people know what your interests are in the topic beyond your business.
6. PARTICIPATE! Become an active member of the forums. Help others on the site. Get involved in the debate. POST, POST, POST! In time, the members will see you as an expert in the topic. With more posts, your site/business will have more exposure, and you will see results.
7. If the forum has an area for members to advertise in, use it. (if not, don’t post ads on the site; just use your forum signature and your knowledge to do the selling for you)
8. Volunteer to become a moderator on the site (forum administrators will often be willing to trade advertising for good moderators). In addition to the opportunity of getting more exposure, moderators are typically given more respect and looked at with even more authority then other members. With this comes more clicks and more business!
9. Find other forums in the same area of interest and repeat steps 1-8.

Not only have I used these techniques, but I see others use them every day on my site! It is a proven formula. Give it a try and I know you won’t be disappointed!

If you are really serious about your online business, you probably want to consider incorporating. With companies providing legal services online, you can do so quick and easy. I use LegalZoom (aff.) to help me with filing paperwork like Trademarks, Copyrights, and Incorporation. I actually just filed to incorporate another business today, which is why I’m busy writing this post.

Since I recently moved from Los Angeles to Denver, I also need to move my companies so I’m not stuck paying tax in 2 states. The entire process is somewhat unclear (I’ve contacted several laywers and accountants, and none so far have been clear on relocating a corporation), but from what I understand, here are the steps I need to follow:

1. File to create a new corporation in the state you relocate to using the same company name. You don’t need to file for a new TIN (Tax ID Number) from what I was told by the IRS; this will be transfered later (I have no idea how). This helps in that you don’t need to close all you bank accounts and start from scratch completely.

2. Wait for the paperwork to be filed and then bring the papers for both your previous and new corporations to your new State. Be sure you have your Articles of Incorporation. Let them know that you want to keep your company name and TIN, but just want to change your location to your current address.

That is about all I was able to figure out. When I learn more or get to the next step (approaching the State of Colorado), I’ll pass on the info.

Going through the actual incorporation process on Legal Zoom is really easy. . . it actually took me around 10-15 minutes to do. Here are a few key pieces of information you’ll need; if you are prepared ahead of time, you’ll get through it much faster:

• Type of corporation
• State of incorporation
• Name of new company
• Business address of corporation
• Who will serve as your registered agent; this is the person who will receive any official mail for the corp. (they can do it, but if you have a lawyer or accountant, I recommend using them – it’ll save you some cash)
• How many shares of stock can the corp issue?
• What is the par value of those shares?
• When will the company’s fiscal year end?
• Who are the directors and officers of the corporation?
• How much stock will these people hold and how will they acquire it?
• Who will be the principal contact for the IRS to reach?
• What type of business will the corporation be conducting?
• Will you be selling anything? If so, you’ll need a sellers permit.

That should cover it. I’d be happy to do my best to help anyone out with this process if then need it. As I’m not a lawyer, I can’t give any legal advice, but I can help from the end that I’ve done this several times.

If anyone knows any more information about moving your corporation from one state to another, please drop me a message. I could really use the help!

While continuing to research how to create an ecommerce website, I found a decent article (very basic) about getting started selling online. The first thing mentioned in the piece, a discussion about user privacy, will be the focus of this post.

First, you will need to write a privacy policy that will protect your company and provide your customers with trust in your site. Online buying is based on trust, and customers deserve to know what you plan to do with the data you collect.

This is competely true. I won’t even consider buying from an ecommerce site that doesn’t have a privacy policy. It is just simply unprofessional not to have one in this day and age, and is an essential piece of the puzzle.

Writing Your Privacy Policy

Writing a privacy policy seems like a daunting task, but doesn’t have to be. There are quite a few privacy policy generators that make this tedious task much simpler. The first one I came upon fom WebDevTips looked nice, but was a bit simple. It did not allow users to modify the statement to their needs. That led me to find a generator that I will certainly use when the time comes to launch our ecommerce site. Created by the Direct Marketing Association (the DMA), this Privacy Policy Generator lets you cater this statement to your every need. Just enter your company name and contact information, then use the simple to use check-box questionaire, and you’ve got a personalized privacy policy!