Stomping the Search Engines 2.0

I joined SMARTS from StomperNet in January, attended LIVE 5 in Atlanta in April, and upgraded to a full StomperNet member at that event. That is a one of the best business decisions I have ever made! I just went to LIVE 6 almost two weeks ago and it was amazing. It is going to take me months to implement all the items on my to do list from that event! BUT...not everyone can afford $800 per month to be a member of StomperNet and it is not even open to new members right now anyhow.

So here is some great news for you... StomperNet is releasing Stomping the Search Engines 2.0 today and it is at a price ANYONE can afford! It was created to be a $497 product (and you can buy it for that much if you really want to), but there is a way you can get it for FREE! You can also get The Net Effect - an incredible print journal loaded with amazing content from StomperNet faculty - I got a press copy at LIVE 6 and was blown away by how much actionable content is in this SEO journal!

Clay Cotton, who has been working with me on eBiz4Youth, has used SEO exclusively for his business for the past 10 years. Clay has multiple sclerosis and makes his living full-time on line from a few websites in consumer niches - none are in internet marketing. I talked to him last night about Stomping the Search Engines 2.0 and what he thought I should tell you in this post. This was his response, "Ask "Are you nuts? If not then, DUH, it's free!'" Yes, that is what Clay said!

Look I'm not going to tell you every single thing that is in Stomping the Search Engines 2.0 - the website does a great job of that. Go to the website and watch the video (yes these people are real - I met many of them and had long conversations about their businesses with several of them. The guy with the top nine listings on Google selling his horse farm, Miami Phillips, came as my guest.) Then read about everything in Stomping the Search Engines 2.0 below the video and decide if you want to pay $497 or get it for free!

If you want to learn SEO the right way from people who know their stuff so you can get high rankings on Google for your website, then my question for you is this - why are you still reading this - go get STSE 2.0 now!

It’s My Birthday & I’ll Smile If I Want To!

Today is my birthday and I am giving myself some great presents today & I have some wonderful things to celebrate!

I am celebrating that the pilot program for eBiz4Youth – Nonprofit Program for At-Risk Youth will be starting in a couple of weeks in a middle school in Athens, GA! This is my big passion, dream and it is finally happening! I’m super stoked about this!

I am celebrating my friendships and business relationships I am building. I met some incredible people last weekend at StomperNet Live 6. And I am going to Orlando in a few weeks where I know I will meet some more great people at a one day workshop and then a three-day conference and reconnect with some of the Program Advisors for eBiz4Youth.

I am also giving myself some presents, not things, but gifts that cannot be bought in a store. I am making time for me in my life. If you are a parent (or even a workaholic entrepreneur), then you know how important a present this is!

I am going making some changes in my life for ME! Is this selfish? I don’t think so! If I am happier, I will be more productive with eBiz4Youth and a better mom to my three kids.

I started last week on a plan to make time to take care of my health and my body. This is not just for vanity – I have lupus and have had chronic pain for years, which was worsened by a car accident a few years ago. Taking care of health is critical for my productivity, my health, and for being a good mom to my kids. I have lost four pounds already and can feel my muscles getting stronger. This is a great present!

I am also doing some fun stuff for me. I am also a songwriter, but I have put that on the back burner for years. I recorded one song about seven years ago, but I have a lot of other songs I have written that I want to record in the future. I took the first step toward that goal by setting up a page this weekend with some of my songs on a new site I found through Twitter, Start My Song. If you want to check any of them out and rate them, I would love the feedback!

After eBiz4Youth gets going really well, I will be starting a side project, a simple review site in an area that is fun! I’m looking at it as a hobby that will also happen to make money.

Today my kids’ dad is helping my son Elijah move all of his stuff out of the room that will eventually become a dance/recording studio & back to his room downstairs. That is a way cool present for me!

I am going out later with my family to celebrate my birthday this evening. And I’ll be going out with some friends to celebrate next weekend since a lot of them are out of town for Labor Day.

Thanks to everyone on Twitter and Facebook who has been wishing me a happy birthday! This is going to be my best year ever!

New York State Internet Sales Tax & Effect on Affiliates

If you have been keeping up with the news recently, you probably have heard about New York State forcing online retailers to collect sales tax on residents. Did you know they are also requiring the same online retailers to collect sales tax on purchases made to residents that do not reside in NY State, but who were referred by an affiliate who is located in NY State! (If this is news to you, you can catch by reading this NY Times Article.)

This is problematic in many different ways! According to this scenario, if an affiliate lives in New York and refers a customer to a website based in Kansas that sells product(s) to a customer in California, then the customer pays sales tax on the online order to NY state. The same customer is also required to pay sales taxes again on the same purchase to the state of CA when they file their CA tax return! Double sales taxation for the customer is not logical (doesn't seem legal either) and does NOT happen in the Brick and Mortar or Mail Order world.

Even more confusing, is this based on the residence of the affiliate, the mailing address of the affiliate, the location where the affiliate's site is hosted or what? What a confusing mess!

Here is my perception: an affiliate receives a referral fee as does an independent contractor. Affiliates will receive an 1099 form for referral income like an independent contractor. The affiliate will pay income taxes based on where they live for that revenue received. This has nothing to do with sales tax. The affiliate is providing a service, they are not buying anything - the customer is doing the purchasing.

If NY is going to force Internet businesses to collect sales tax for NY residents, then they should only do that. This has NOTHING to do with the location of the affiliate, only the location of the customer. Anything else is absurd!

Please add to this discussion by commenting to this post.

A Quick Post on blogging

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

I'll post soon about a contest Mark Joyner of Simpleology held, how I created my first YouTube video ever (in one day) of an original song I recorded a few years ago to enter in the contest, and how this can help you if you are or know someone who is a musician. More on that later...I gotta run!

Juliet

How to Know What Internet Marketing Training to Buy

There are so many launches every day, how is one to know what to buy?

One of the most important things to consider when deciding what courses or coaching programs to invest in is this - what is the right fit for your personality? If you are the kind of person who is going to open up a box and dive in and digest everything in there, then "business in a box courses" are a great fit. If, however, you are easily distracted by too many things to do, then I would make sure that there is some type of coaching component to keep you feeling accountable.

I have invested over $40,000 in training seminars, coaching programs, ebooks, home study courses & "business in a boxes". I started my first online business in 1997 and went into "internet retirement" from 2004 until late 2007.

There is a lot of stuff out there and it is all very tempting! I cannot tell you how many ebooks there are on my hard drive that have never been read, how many CDs and DVDs never listened to. Not that these would not have been a perfect fit for someone else, but with my personality, having a coaching component is critical. That is not true for everyone.

What have I bought recently and why? Note - there are no affiliate links below.

SMARTS from Stompernet guys Brad Fallon & Andy Jenkins- I joined this past Saturday and even though it is not launching until next Monday, members have been given assignments everyday starting last Saturday for that course. This is a perfect fit for me for that reason (I am doing the assignments because I don't want to get behind) and also because I am just starting with social networking and it is critically important to the projects I am currently working on. I am going to use program to connect with other internet marketers to be Program Advisors, Mentors, and In-Kind Donors for eBiz4Youth. I am also going to use this to help my son Elijah and his friend Curtis, both 12-year-old kids with Asperger's Syndrome (high functioning Autism), with their http://livinggreentogether.com/ site which will be up in Beta by the end of the week. I am also going to teach the social networking techniques I learn here to the kids in eBiz4Youth.

Rich Schefren's BAP - Business Acceleration Program - I bought this primarily to help eBiz4Youth kids and my son Elijah and his friend Curtis, but I am definintely going to be using a lot of the tools in this training program - I definitely need to be able to read faster, listen to mp3 training in 1/4 to 1/2 the time, and be more organized and efficient in what I do!

I also recently bought Ryan Deiss' Membership Sites course at Matt Bacak's Marketing Madness Seminar in Atlanta in December as a tool for Elijah & Curtis and for the kids in eBiz4Youth. I haven't watched any of the DVDs in this program yet, because I invested in this to use later.

And last, but not least, I am in Debra Thompson Roedl's Bullseye Marketing Accelerator Program. The biggest reason I am in Debra's progam is because when she spoke at Matt Bacak's Marketing Madness Seminar, I really reasonated with her a person. She and I had breakfast the next morning and as we talked about our kids, my vision for eBiz4Youth, and a possible joint venture, there were moments when we both cried. If you have that kind of connection with someone, why would you not want to work with them? She also has been the marketing "woman behind the curtain" for such well known people as Mark Victor Hansen, Armand Morin, & John Childers.

Just make sure that whatever coaching program, ebook, training, home study course, or "business in a box" you buy is something you need and will actually use! Here's to your success!

Juliet Easton

Social Networking

I have be reconnecting with old friends on facebook and twitter. You can search for me on facebook - Juliet Easton and send me a message or do a friend request. You can follow me on twitter - just click follow below my pic.

If you are interested in marketing, publishing, social networking, or just having fun with your friends, you should definitely be using facebook and twitter. I will soon be setting up accounts on MySpace, YouTube & other social networking sites. I will also be setting up squidoo lenses and will update my blog with those links and more info about those tools shortly.

Now I am off to work on the eBiz4Youth site!