[lianwei]

Thank you big time Stephen!

[Stephen Meyer]

You're welcome Ben,

I've been reading the blog post and commenting. There is a lot of great information being shared. Plus. I can tell most of you really want to win.

I also noticed some PIPsters commenting on blogs who are relatively new to PIPS. New or not if you are commenting a lot anyway, as some of you are, you should join this contest. Some great people have offered up some valuable prizes and they can be yours. If you are going to comment anyway, (everyone should be doing it) you might as well get rewarded for your efforts.

Good Luck To All
Steve

[Peter Lee]

MESSAGE FOR STEPHEN
=================

Ok, just another question Stephen, in this contest we can only comment on contestants' blogs not others like yourself Jeff Houdy etc Is this correct?

Thanks
Peter Lee

[KT52]

Hi all,
I've been checking everyone's contestant blogs and they're all excellent blogs. Keep going and good luck to all.
Kha
Home Bay Area Internet Bussiness

[lianwei]

Yeah Stephen I agree totally. Everyone is out to win!

But what good is a contest if no one is trying hard to win? Thats where the fun is!

[KT52]

This contest is so much fun to me and it takes a lots of my energy to do it. I'm trying to keep up until I'm running out of gas.
Kha
Home Bay Area Internet Bussiness

[Alan Thomas]

Hi Stephen,

Great idea. It is certainly helping people to focus and get more done to build their business.

Keep up the good work everyone.

Alan

[Stephen Meyer]

Originally Posted by Peter Lee

MESSAGE FOR STEPHEN
=================

Ok, just another question Stephen, in this contest we can only comment on contestants' blogs not others like yourself Jeff Houdy etc Is this correct?

Thanks
Peter Lee

EDIT:
Peter, the answer up until now is you are correct. I have not been counting comments on team member blogs.

BUT...............

I see many of you have been commenting on my blog so starting today I am counting those also. But, I am not a contestant. Meaning, I am not in this to win a prize. I am commenting as I check stats because I enjoy it.

Most of you have been very busy commenting and posting, keep up the good work.

[Stephen Meyer]

Time to go check out Alan Mater's new blog. I just updated his link and his new blog is looking good.

You are all doing a great job. As an indication of who might be ahead go check my blog and down the left you'll see "Top Commenter". That will give you a good indication of who is in the lead. Might give you an idea how to win also.

Until next time
Steve

[Stephen Meyer]

Well ,looks like it's coming along pretty good and I do have a little news. Using my Top Secret Scoring techniques I know who is ahead. (that looked like a link didn't it. ) I think I'll post place winners to this point.

Leading by a fair margin is Leon Bowes, coming in closely behind is Alan Thomas and not too far back with a little work to do is Ben Pei. Oddly enough we do not have a 4th place but we have several who are tied for 4th place.

Can you still win, that's the real question, the answer YES. You have to ask yourself, how badly do I want to win? The answer to that is easy also, if you want to win badly enough YOU WILL. (I'm not taking bribes, sorry )

By the way, some of you are posting so much and commenting so much your taking up my commenting time trying to count them all. But that's OK because I'll get to that sooner or later.

Until next time, good luck
Steve

(GT, you're fired. )

[GT]

Ha, ha, Stephen. I was worried it would come to that! I popped in because I haven't been here for awhile and the first thing I see is your note! (I must have sensed that I should check the thread tonight!)

My problem a having two offline writing clients with deadlines these past two weeks. Happy to say, they are both finished as of today and the next one isn't quite so intense or demanding!

Now, to see what I can do to redeem myself in this GREAT contest of yours, Stephen.

I will look through this thread for notes for me that I might have missed.

GT

[Stephen Meyer]

Hey Gt, it's actually hard to fire volunteer help.

I do have some ideas so you do have a PM.

Steve

[Allen Lundy]

Steven,

4th Place - 1 unrestricted PLR ebook, salespage and graphics.

Not going to 5th...heheheheh

Allen

[Stephen Meyer]

Allen,

that would work.

Just say NO to 5th place.

Steve

Originally Posted by Allen Lundy

Steven,

4th Place - 1 unrestricted PLR ebook, salespage and graphics.

Not going to 5th...heheheheh

Allen

[Stephen Meyer]

I'm happy, GT is in and helping. If you are doing your daily marketing job you know how precious time can be and every bit of help is a blessing. Thanks GT.

By the way. I looked at GT's blog and found a great article on using Private Label Rights articles. For those who are very busy like most of us this type of article can be a big help if done correctly. You can see his blog post here, Private Label Rights Articles - How To Avoid The Controversy.

GT has also made several post on the Plug-In Profit Site business and how to build it.

Steve

[GT]

Hey, Steve:

Thanks for the notes mentioning my blog posts! I really appreciate that.

And you are so right about us all being busy marketers. I am so impressed that you have devoted your time and attention to this Blog Contest. I know many PIPS/Warrior members may take it for granted, but I know how serious and sincere you are about helping your fellow PIPSters.

I just want to encourage the contest participants to really dig in, these last few weeks. It's so easy to do and the prizes really are worth the effort!

Go Team Go!!!

GT

[lianwei]

Stephen,

Just a question in mind. I have been wanting to comment on some blogs but some of them are not updated frequently because I can't be commenting on the same post over and over again. So how do I go about handling this?

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by lianwei

Stephen,

Just a question in mind. I have been wanting to comment on some blogs but some of them are not updated frequently because I can't be commenting on the same post over and over again. So how do I go about handling this?

Hey Ben,

You can comment on my blog

I know you have, but there are other posts you could comment on, and I'm sure you'll get credit for them. Same goes for the rest of the "teams" blogs.

Unless Stephen changed this. Some of these blogs are updated somewhat frequently, and I try to keep mine updated as well.

Alan

[lianwei]

Sure thing Alan.

I do read your blog!

[Alan Mater]

Cool! I appreciate it. BTW, your blog looks very nice, and the tips are awesome.

[Patrician]

GO TEAM GO!

P-I-P-S-T-E-R-S ROCK

GO TEAM GO

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYY PIPSTERS!

[Stephen Meyer]

Ben, we know some of the contestants are not making post very often and there isn't much we can do about it. But, we are counting all comments and post from the day the contest started.

I will have to say, if you start going back to old post and commenting it will be hard to keep track. It would be very time consuming trying to go backwards and see who commented on a post that was made a month or two ago or even a couple weeks ago. So, keep commenting on as many post as possible but try to stay on current post for the contest.

Between GT and I we have them counted up to date.

All comments are being counted on all post both on the "Team" Blogs and "Contestant" blogs. Believe it or not, it's not very hard to tell who is working hard at building their business and who is not. Happily, the majority of the contestants are giving it their best.

For all the PIPsters out there who truly want to build their business and for those contestants who slowed down you should be making one blog post a day. I know, that sounds like work. But it's not. A blog post doesn't have to be a big wordy post with a ton of detail. All it needs to be is a couple paragraphs about things that you are doing. So, if you are doing things for your business no matter how big or small you have something to write about. Keep it simple and Just Do It.

As Pat and GT said, GO TEAM GO!!!

Steve

Originally Posted by lianwei

Stephen,

Just a question in mind. I have been wanting to comment on some blogs but some of them are not updated frequently because I can't be commenting on the same post over and over again. So how do I go about handling this?

[GT]

Originally Posted by Stephen Meyer

... A blog post doesn't have to be a big wordy post with a ton of detail. All it needs to be is a couple paragraphs about things that you are doing. So, if you are doing things for your business no matter how big or small you have something to write about. Keep it simple and Just Do It.

As Pat and GT said, GO TEAM GO!!!

Steve

Right on, Steve! Some of us make a big deal about our blog posts (guilty!) but we don't have to all of the time.

I know some PIPSters who have blogs that are basically daily diaries of their online marketing activities - like Steve just said, "a couple paragraphs about things you are doing" today.

Go for it!

GT

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by GT

Right on, Steve! Some of us make a big deal about our blog posts (guilty!) but we don't have to all of the time.

I know some PIPSters who have blogs that are basically daily diaries of their online marketing activities - like Steve just said, "a couple paragraphs about things you are doing" today.

Go for it!

GT

I'm guilty! I find myself editing the same post a million times until it looks just right. Call me a perfectionist lol. It also seems my latest posts have been novel-sized. Something I'm trying to work on . I did do better on the last one. Decided to create a series.

Contestants... Do keep in mind people don't like reading long blocks of text. So space your writing out to 2 or 3 sentences max. Then create a new paragraph and continue writing. It's a lot easier to read that way.

GO GO Gadget Blogging...

Alan

[GT]

Originally Posted by Alan Mater

I'm guilty! I find myself editing the same post a million times until it looks just right. Call me a perfectionist lol. It also seems my latest posts have been novel-sized. Something I'm trying to work on . I did do better on the last one. Decided to create a series.

Contestants... Do keep in mind people don't like reading long blocks of text. So space your writing out to 2 or 3 sentences max. Then create a new paragraph and continue writing. It's a lot easier to read that way.

GO GO Gadget Blogging...

Alan

Ah, kindred spirits! Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering the perfectionist affliction! Or writing long posts.

Great tips to blog writers too, Alan. Thanks for bringing that up.

GT

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by GT

Ah, kindred spirits! Glad to know I'm not the only one suffering the perfectionist affliction! Or writing long posts.

Great tips to blog writers too, Alan. Thanks for bringing that up.

GT

I think there's a lot more that's guilty of it, GT.They just don't want to admit it . lol

Personally, if I see a huge paragraph of text, it turns me away. I'm not the only one. The majority of readers are that way. It looks too intimidating. Nice, short paragraphs are the way to go.

Alan

[Jeff Casmer]

Hi Folks,

Remember that your blog posts dont have to be the length of an article but alot of blog posts you can certainly turn into an article as well.

Some of the blogs I follow usually have 250-350 words and thats it.....sometimes the faster you get to your point the better off you are

Take care
Jeff Casmer

[Alan Mater]

That's a very good point, Jeff. Thanks for sharing with us. I know I can certainly learn from that statement.

Alan

[Stephen Meyer]

You know, counting words and making sure paragraphs are not too long and doing any number of things that need to be done is all well and good and those things do need to be practiced but there is one thing even more important than all of the technical stuff. That is doing it no matter if it's the "right way" or not.

One my favorite things to do, although I haven't been doing it lately, is to comment on blogs. It's a little disappointing to keep going to a blog I kind of liked and not seeing a new post for long periods of time. I loose interest after a while and don't go back again. They loose me as a reader and I know they are loosing plenty of others as well. It is a shame because many of them seem to have a lot of talent.

So, don't let it sit and don't worry about how to do it correctly, "just do it". As time goes on you can and will pick up all the "how to" stuff.

If you are guilty of letting your blog sit for long periods you are loosing readers and you are loosing a potential income. Keep it short, keep it simple, and keep it going on a regular basis.

Now with all that said (because it is hard to comment on blogs with no new post ) the above advice on how to do it the right way is right on the money.

[Alan Mater]

Well said, Stephen, and that is the whole point of this contest.

Keep your blogs updated regularly, and you will see results.

Alan

[Peter Lee]

Stephen,

It's good that you announced the 3 persons who are leading. I'm sure you have good intentions doing this so as to encourage everyone to put their best efforts. But since we have 10 contestants could you also provide the positions for the rest. I'm sure the 7 of us (including me) would also like to know how we fared till now. Hey everyone joins this contest to win right? or at least we try to. And like you rightly pointed out, there is still a chance to win for the rest.

Also you mentioned:
"...How To Win :

It's simple. Comment on entered blogs, write blog posts, build backlinks and make your blog better...."

Are you also counting no. of backlinks too? Could you also provide the no. of backlinks our contestants have garnered since the start of this contest.

Thanks
Peter

[Stephen Meyer]

Hi Peter, you sure do want a lot.

Here's my answer, no. I counted backlinks when we started and if there is a tie I will count them again when it's finished. Until then I don't know how many you have right now. I took a desktop picture of Blogs when we started so I can compare when it is finished. But, again that is in case of a tie. Also keep in mind appearance is highly subjective so it wouldn't be fair to say who's blog looks best so i won't do that in public. It would just be my opinion anyway. So, if there is a tie I'll ask GT to help me on the appearance part.

I'll have to do some counting to see who is ahead right now and where everyone stands. But, I do know it has changed a little since I made that post. The only problem I have is I do not wish to embarrass anyone so I'll have to give some thought to posting the entire list.

Good Luck
Steve

[Leon Bowes]

OK I have to make a public announcement to Alan Mater

CONGRATULATIONS "PENN STATE"

Leon

[Alan Mater]

I was just about to send you a PM, Leon.

Yes, you guys played a terrific game and held us back, a feat no other team could do. Too bad your freshman quarter back had to fumble the ball

Anyway, you guys played a great game and should be proud of yourselves. At last, our 30 year losing streak in Ohio is finally over!

Alan

P.S. I should be making a new post to my blog today about Forum Marketing, so I'll let you know in the blog backlinks thread so you can all leave me a comment.

[Stephen Meyer]

I'm in trouble now.

I haven't been able to post on my blog in a couple of days and it might be Wedfs. before I do. All work and no play makes writing a blog post a big no way.

But, I have a nice long series planned so it will work out. For those who have been posting on my blog daily I apologize.

Steve

PS: In the meantime I think I'll read some of the tips in this thread. Looks like Alan Mater, Allen Lundy, Jeff (houdy) Matt and Jeff Casmer along with others have given some good advice. I think I'll use it. If you haven't read this entire thread and seen all the great tips you really need to.

[Leon Bowes]

Hi Stephen

Just to let you know when I click on your blog link, it says I do not have permission to enter your blog. Maybe you are doing maintenance and that is normal.

Thanks....Leon

[Stephen Meyer]

Hi Leon, no it's not normal. My site was hacked and I lost it all for a while. It took me most of a day and a half to get it going again. I probably forgot to change the Permission for the blog back so I'll go check.

It was kind of weird. I don't go to my site very often but I was checking keywords for a program I am working with and it came up saying Some crazy guys nickname "WAS HEEEEEREEE". So I checked and it was all gone. It took a lot of reading to figure out what was done.

If you have a Joomla site you really need to update it as quickly as possible. A lot of Joomla sites are being hacked by exploiting a couple security issues.

You can find the needed updates and patches for your version of Joomla here JoomlaCode > Projects > Joomla! > Files > Browse Releases

Make sure you get the correct patch/upgrade for your version. If you don't know your version go into your back office and you will see it on the upper right corner. Once downloaded just FTP the file.

Off to change some "permissions".

Steve

EDIT: Now it's fixed. Let me know if it doesn't work for you.

Originally Posted by Leon Bowes

Hi Stephen

Just to let you know when I click on your blog link, it says I do not have permission to enter your blog. Maybe you are doing maintenance and that is normal.

Thanks....Leon

[Leon Bowes]

Wow Steve

What a bummer. Glad you figured it out.

However, a little update for you. I downloaded your blog twice and it took over 5 minutes both times to finally come up. This is the series that came up in my browser both times:

waiting for www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
transfering data from www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
waiting for www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
waiting for w.sharethhis.com
transfering data from w.sharethis.com
waiting for r.sharethis.com

Then your blog comes up. The longest wait was for both the "w.sharethis" and the "r.sharethis"

It does come up but like I say, it took over 5 minutes.

Just to make sure it wasn't my computer I checked 3 or 4 others and they loaded in less than 20 seconds.

Glad I don't have a Joomla right now.

Good luck

Leon

[Stephen Meyer]

Hmmm, maybe I do not have the code set to load correctly or there is still some junk in there. I wonder if I could get two or threee more people to check it for me and let me know how it loads and acts???

Thanks for the Information Leon.

It's been a bit frustrating. At one point I almost hit delete for the whole site then the next page I read had the answer. Now I have to fine tune it again. Personally I hate working on my website. There are so many other things that need to be done to make money.

Steve

Originally Posted by Leon Bowes

Wow Steve

What a bummer. Glad you figured it out.

However, a little update for you. I downloaded your blog twice and it took over 5 minutes both times to finally come up. This is the series that came up in my browser both times:

waiting for www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
transfering data from www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
waiting for www(dot)itcanhappen4u2.com
waiting for w.sharethhis.com
transfering data from w.sharethis.com
waiting for r.sharethis.com

Then your blog comes up. The longest wait was for both the "w.sharethis" and the "r.sharethis"

It does come up but like I say, it took over 5 minutes.

Just to make sure it wasn't my computer I checked 3 or 4 others and they loaded in less than 20 seconds.

Glad I don't have a Joomla right now.

Good luck

Leon

[Alan Mater]

Steve,

I just checked your blog and it loaded completely within less than 10 seconds. You must have gotten the bugs fixed.

Sorry to hear about your frustration. It can be a pain trying to fix something and spending all of that time on it when you shouldn't have to. All part of life I guess.

Let this be a lesson to everyone that it is very important to regularly backup your entire website. And, as Steve said, if you have a Joomla site to update it.

Alan

[Leon Bowes]

Steve,

Good news, like Alan said, it downloads very quick now. Looks like you are back to normal....unless your wife says something different...lol .

Mine says I am far from it. :p

Have a good day

Leon

[Racey1]

Hi Steve

Just put this on my own blog so I thought if there still time could you add my blog.

Hopt it will help motivate some of the members


Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit

Life is queer with its twists and turns
As everyone of us sometimes learns
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won if he stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow

Often the goal is nearer than it seems
To a faint and faltering man
Often the struggle has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup
And he learned to late when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you can never tell how close you are
It may near when it seems afar
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worsethat you musn't quit

Anon

Home Business Blog

[Stephen Meyer]

Hi Anon,

I have added your blog.

Anyone can sign up at any time. Blogging is a key to building your PIPs business and that is the whole point of this contest.

Good Luck
Steve

[Alan Thomas]

Hi Racey1,

That is a powerful poem, thanks for posting it.

Alan

[Racey1]

Originally Posted by Alan Thomas

Hi Racey1,

That is a powerful poem, thanks for posting it.

Alan

Thats ok Alan I felt it would help fellow pipsters that were feeling they were not moving forward with ther business.

I have it on my study wall for when I feel things are at a stand still.


Racey 1

[Alan Thomas]

Hi Steve,

I think anon was the author of the poem, not the poster! ( Racey1)

Alan

Originally Posted by Stephen Meyer

Hi Anon,

I have added your blog.

Anyone can sign up at any time. Blogging is a key to building your PIPs business and that is the whole point of this contest.

Good Luck
Steve

[Stephen Meyer]

Not that I'm confused or anything like that but what is Racey1's name. I may have put the wrong name in the contest lineup. Just maybe that is.

Never mind, I found it on her contact page.

[houdy]

I apologize for not posting on this thread or in the forum much at all lately. I do have a tip for the contestants to keep up to date on the blogs in the contest. Some blogs have (all should) an option to get notified via email when a new post is made. That way you don't need to check on it to see if there are new posts to comment on.

Learn how to setup email subscriptions on your WordPress blog here:
RSS Feed Email Notification on Your WordPress Blog | WordPress Max
And here if you need to setup FeedBurner:
Configure FeedBurner and WordPress RSS Widget | WordPress Max

I don't use an RSS reader but if you do and check it regularly you can keep up to date on them using that.

Another tip on using subscriptions to blogs that are similar to yours is that you can use their posts for ideas on your own blog... Not stealing the content! But this is a good way to get traffic from authority sites that have more traffic than you do to your WordPress blog and getting yours noticed:
You can elaborate on a post another blogger has made and reference it with a link in your post to the other blogs post (the actual URL or permalink of the specific post not the main blogs URL). Part of your post will most likely appear as a comment on the referenced or others blog post. This is called a trackback and if done correctly it is a good way to get backlinks and traffic from other sites.

Most bloggers approve trackbacks that are real; meaning that you actually took the time to read their post, thought about it, and made a coherent, intelligent reference about it on your blog. If it is just a link in a post or worse a few sentences taken from the other blog and a link to read more... it will most likely get deleted and you may even be hearing (not good things!) from the other blogger.

[Racey1]

Originally Posted by Alan Thomas

Hi Steve,

I think anon was the author of the poem, not the poster! ( Racey1)

Alan

Your right Alan. I'm on Pips as Racey1 I cannot claim the poem as my though I would love to, The corkboard on my study wall is full of motivational poems some I know the author, others have been sent to me from clients in the ofline world.

Sorry if I've caused some confusion

Racey1

[Racey1]

Originally Posted by Stephen Meyer

Not that I'm confused or anything like that but what is Racey1's name. I may have put the wrong name in the contest lineup. Just maybe that is.

Never mind, I found it on her contact page.

Thanks for that Steve, sorry for the confusion maybe should drop Racey1 and sign in as Rosalie.

The name Racey1 goes back to my youth when we were involved in motor bike racing.

Rosalie