What's the hottest trend for Christmas 2004? What's the best way to keep old PageRank on a newly acquired domain? How do you choose JV partners?  Is it possible to sell links in editorial content? What marketing strategies are smart companies using to attract new customers, remain competitive, cut costs and stay in business? Answers to these and a lot more in this issue of IMS. Enjoy!!

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I've acquired a number of expired domains that used to have high PR (PageRank). Should I just redirect these domains to our main site, make jump pages, or create html pages with lots of relevant information?

Well, in my opinion... Google will see the redirect and reset the PR... at least that is what they've been doing over the past year or so. And I wouldn't create any low value "jump" pages or any other sort of "no content" redirect.

If it was me, I would put relevant content on a home page very quickly, within hours of acquiring the domain name, before Google has a chance to spider it again. I would use OptiLink to find out what the incoming links said (the page's former Reputation) and be sure your new content (the page's Topic) matches it's former Reputation.

OptiLink Link Analysis Software ==> http://www.cdzn.com/opl

With off-page factors (incoming links) remaining the same, the only variables would be the on-page factors. My advice would be to reverse engineer the top 20 pages (again using OptiLink) to find the correct keyword density and keyword placement of the top scoring pages in your category.

By reverse engineering what's already there, you can be sure the incoming links are in agreement with the page content, semantics and keyword proximity of your competitors. Once the on-page factors have been adjusted, you could use this new home page to direct existing PR and traffic to where ever you want.

You could also try adding additional content to the domain as time permits, to at least make it resemble its former content. And once the content pages are done, join related affiliate programs and monetize the traffic.

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You were going to research the hottest trends for Christmas 2004. Are you going to share what you find out?

Yes, I'll share more of what I learned in future issues. But what I found that surprised me... the biggest market for Christmas sales this year is not an item, but a trend, a concept.

Turns out the largest buying force in America are teenagers. 74 million of them to be exact. Not since the height of the baby boom in 1963 was there ever such a buying force.

In 1963, radio and music was all the rage with teens. Join the record club and promise to buy 12 more LPs (long playing vinyl albums) over the next two years at the regular price... and you get a hi fi stereo free.

Both my older sister and brother had them. One blasted the Beatles and the other Stones, while mom blasted Bellefonte to drown them both out.

Ah teens... fashion, food, music and toys.

Turns out, what goes around comes around. But this time, teens are armed with the internet, iTunes, iPods, MP3 players, personal playlists and high speed access to download digital songs in mere seconds.

So really there is no difference between then and now, except music is a lot more accessible. It's also a lot more affordable. Most download services allow you to buy individual songs for a buck, instead of the entire CD.

According to AOL, "Teens have discovered online music. (well duh! ;-) Our Digital Marketing Services research found in February 2004, the most popular online activities for teens included:

Downloading music - 50%
Listening to internet radio - 40%
Reading about musicians and bands - 36%
Watching music videos - 33%

Not only are teens getting part time jobs, and influencing their parent's buying decisions, they're also getting money as weekly allowance, as birthday and Christmas gifts, for clothing, and... well... guilt money, because both parents are so busy with full time jobs, they don't have enough time to spend with the kids.

"Hey Jenny, we were too busy to shop, but here's a $100. Go to the mall and have fun... Daddy and I want to be alone for a while." Hmmm...

So what happens when you have 74 million teens, and only 11% of them with credit cards co-signed by their parents? A concept that will be this year's clear winner, for anyone targeting these influential teens, giving them the tools they need to convince their baby boomer parents....

It's not a new concept, but this year it's going to be hotter than a mouthful of five alarm chili peppers. It's pre-paid gift certificates of all kinds.

Yes! That's the killer app. I'm not kidding. It's the gift certificate or "debit card" the parents buy for the kids, to let them make their own purchasing decisions.

It acts like a long distance phone card. Kids can keep buying on it until it runs out.  Merry Christmas 2004 kid... here's a $100 coupon to go download all the music you want. With iTunes and other music players being offered free of charge, it's a gift that the teen can start using right away.

Their stuff... their way. No more argyle sucks... er I mean socks.

So it doesn't matter if you sell music, food, fashion or toys. If it caters to teens, you'd better help them get the word out to their parents.

Tell them you have prepaid debit cards available in various denominations. And make it very easy for the parents to understand, use and buy the "cards" from your web site.

Bottom line, as I said in the beginning, this year's clear winner for Christmas sales is not an item, but a trend, a concept. With 74 million teens telling parents what they want, you can bet your bottom dollar, the biggest thing online this year, will be gift certificates and debit cards of all kinds.

Just remember to tell the kids... so they can convince their parents. ;-)


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How do you choose your JV partners?

Very carefully, but not based on their merits or past achievements, as I've helped a lot of people launch their careers and first ever products on the internet.

I usually trust my gut instincts. When someone contacts me for the first time, I carefully look at the language they've chosen, tone of voice, the gentleness of spirit. If someone is gruff, egotistical or puffs themselves up, I want nothing to do with them.

Just the other day, some dude phoned me wanting to put me on TV. He said, "I'm sure you've heard of me. I've done this and that, 500 shows to my credit, blah blah blah, me me me. More about me."

Sheesh... You could smell this guy's ego a mile away and I could hardly get a word in edgewise. Basically I told him to take a hike. I really don't like when people puff themselves up like that.

The internet is a very big place and no one can ever know everything, or heard of everyone. It's far better to be humble, to quickly get to the point and simply tell someone what it is that you have to offer.

Which brings me to another thing... people who ramble on for several pages about an "opportunity" but never tell you what "it" is. If someone doesn't get to the point in the first paragraph, they're toast.

Which leads me to another pet peeve... unsolicited materials. We're talking giant boxes arriving on my doorstep daily. It always bugs me when people just assume I'll be interested in what they're doing, rather than ask permission to courier me a ten pound box of stuff.

Another thing that happens quite often, is a tight deadline or lack of persistence. I might be busy at the time the potential JV partner contacts me. Later on I might be interested in the offer.

So usually, it's better to offer potential JV partners, or super affiliates, plenty of lead time to get ready, to review and / or participate in your project. And don't forget to contact them several times with the offer.

Oh yea, one last thing, when it comes to contacting strangers. One of the best "how-to" papers I've ever seen on approaching potential affiliates was written by Dr. Neil Shearing a couple of years back. It came as a bonus with software for finding affiliates, but the real gem in my opinion was the ebook.

Ok, I just checked the web site and the Success Spider software has been updated. And that great "first contact" ebook is still available as a bonus.

Success Spider & First Contact ebook = => http://www.cdzn.com/iss

My advise - if you're looking for JV partners, or super affiliates - is to follow Neil's advice to the letter. You won't waste anyone's time and you'll know exactly what to say, and how to say it. You'll get plenty of affiliates eager to sell your stuff.

I should know, Neil used his own advice on me, and with one email, had me selling his product the very next day. It's that good.


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I met you a few years ago at Mizel's seminar. I've got your course, James', Planet Ocean, TNT Guide, bought Dr. Andy's software. I also attended the (brand name) marketing seminar this year. My question is, am I going to learn anything new by buying John Reese's Traffic Secrets that everyone is talking about?

Yes, I remember you... you sat in the front row. And yes, you've got all that stuff - and I don't want to come across as a jerk - but what are you DOING with it?

In my time on this planet, I've noticed two distinct groups of people. Hoarders and Doers.

Hoarders just buy a lot of stuff and get paralyzed into inaction by information overload. Doers buy one piece of software like Dr. Andy Williams SEO Website Builder and do more with it in six weeks, than hoarders do in a lifetime.

Yes, we've all heard the story... if a stay-at-home mom looking after four kids, with little computer experience, can use Dr. Andy's software and start getting affiliate paychecks in just a few weeks, so can you!

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Sheesh! Stop hoarding and just start doing something.

It doesn't matter what mommy said or daddy did, the past is over. It got you here and that is all there is to it. It should be blessed for bringing you to this moment, in which you decide to stop hoarding and get into action.

All it takes is a single step. You stroke it off your things to do list and move on to the next. Be sure to stay focused on your destination. And when you find yourself down the road, be sure to cast a glance back every once in a while... just to see how far you've gone.

So to answer your question... Yes! You'll learn a lot of new stuff in the Traffic Secrets home study course.

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But no course will help you, until you start to apply what you've learned, and get into action. If anything, Traffic Secrets will minimize the mistakes you'll make, so you'll become profitable more quickly.

The important thing is that you get into action and become a Doer for a change. Start by doing something, even if it's as small as a single web page. Then don't fret about it, or worry if it's good enough, just go on to the next page.

After you practice for a while, you'll gradually become unconsciously competent in all that you DO.

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I heard that many big name ezines are selling links in their editorial content without public knowledge or consent. Is it true? What's your take on this? Is it an ethical or even legal way to advertise?

Yes it's true. What you think of as a link might be a paid ad. And it's reported that many companies don't see anything wrong with it... including biggies like Forbes.

The public has no way of knowing if a link in the editorial content is a paid ad or not. Affiliate links or ads, usually look the part and are easy to spot. But more and more, editorial content providers are writing their articles and selling contextual (related) links as ads.

Some entities are going so far as to sell the entire story or editorial for a few hundred bucks. Other content providers are acting like a mere shell, asking third parties to write the editorial for them and link to whatever they want. So not only are the links fake, so is the entire editorial content.

It's getting harder and harder to find pure editorial content on the internet or anywhere else. Everything seems to be bowing to PR and ad agency pressure, trying everything they can from event sponsorship, to product placement, to spoofing entire articles which were previously thought to be editorial in nature from the publisher.

So what's next? Will my local news start with a shot of the anchorman's feet so I can see what brand sneakers he wears? Will the camera slowly pan to the can of soda on his desk, with the brand facing prominently outward?

How can I even be sure the news isn't actually editorial content that was purchased by a third party advertiser... and it's just merchandising masquerading as news?

So America... what happened to our business ethics? What about damage to the brand once the charade is found out? What about purposely misleading the public?

I can tell you for sure that the American youth, the echo of the baby boomers will not tolerate such business practices. Thanks to the internet, blogs, text messaging and cell phones, today's youth is so interconnected, they often know more about a brand, more quickly, than the company that sells it.

Collectively they judge you, categorize you, and file you away, faster than a blink of an eye. No amount of advertising can sway their opinion, unless you come clean, admit your mistakes and collectively they choose to put you back in the "trusted" category.

Sure, you might be able to sucker some of us old farts of the old school for a while... but all it takes is one great blunder like selling links in your editorial content, to get the 74 million teenagers in America, to shut out your brand and your market... forever.

Is selling links in editorial content from a trusted news source - without any kind of disclaimer - ethical or moral? That is between you and your maker... you decide for yourself. I think it stinks. Is it legal? That's for the lawyers and courts to decide. Is it a stupid marketing strategy... without a doubt.

That said... (rant, rant) What are the smart companies doing to attract new markets, remain competitive, cut costs, improve the process and stay in business? They are simply taking advantage of the internet's strengths.

They are opening a two way dialog with their potential customers and asking them what they want, before they manufacture a single unit. Although this is nothing new, it's finally being put into practice.

What would you rather do... make inventory and try to market it to the public... or would you rather ask the public what they want... and then make it for them. Which do you think would sell better?

The car company asks visitors their favorite color of car. With a simple bit of javascript the car changes color with the movement of the mouse. Then the public gets to vote on the best color.

Armed with this new information, the car company knows that 55% of the public prefer yellow instead of grey on this make and model. So when it comes to the manufacture and sales of the product, they are more likely to know what the public will want. They also know what percentage of their inventory should be painted yellow, reducing cost overhead, and unsold units.

A t-shirt company can do the same thing, by having the public vote on which designs they like best. Only the ones that achieve a certain "voice share" ever go into production. And those people who voted yes on a particular design, get a little note by email saying their t-shirt of choice is now in production for a limited time.

So it doesn't matter if you create ebooks, calligraphy or jam. Ask the public what they want. Let them vote on it and they'll tell you what they are likely to buy. Sell links in your editorial comment without a disclaimer and you're doomed for sure, especially when dealing with the millions of youth that will determine America's buying habits for years to come.

If you want your business, to be seen as "cool" by the aging baby boomers and the massive teen culture that's about to take over the world... do a simple survey or vote, collect data on your site using an online form, ask your readers for opinions, even ask them what they're likely to buy.

By asking what people want, they are more likely to become happy customers in the future. Happy and satisfied, simply because you listened to them. And in return? They'll provide with all the content, marketing strategies, manufacturing and inventory management information that you're ever likely to need.

What have you asked your customers lately?

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That's it for this issue my friend. Thank you for reading. We'll chat again soon. Until then, here's wishing you all the best for online success.

Michael Campbell

President & CEO Dynamic Media Corporation
#108 - 383 East 37th Avenue, Vancouver BC Canada V5W 4C1
Providing successful online marketing strategies since 1988.

Author of....

Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced linking diagrams for higher search engine positioning and increased revenue from affiliate programs.

Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home affiliate training system. Follow Fast Track #1 in the Action Plan and you could be making money online in as little as five hours..

Nothing but 'Net... From zero to $750,000 in less than a year, with virtually no advertising costs. This internet marketing strategy is now a free downloadable ebook.

Internet Marketing Secrets Newsletter... Learn how to harness the money making power of multiple internet revenue streams like search engines, affiliate programs, paid advertising, opt-in email, newsletters, ebooks and lot more in Michael Campbell's free marketing newsletter. Subscribe now and get a free lifetime membership.

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Legal stuff....

Copyright 2004 Dynamic Media Corporation. All rights reserved world wide. All trademarks and servicemarks are property of their respective owners.

The information contained in this newsletter is the opinion of the author based on his personal observations and years of experience. Neither Michael Campbell or Dynamic Media Corporation assume any liability whatsoever for the use of or inability to use any or all of the information contained in this publication. Use this information at your own risk.

PRIVACY POLICY: I never sell, rent, trade, or lend my email list to anyone, for any reason, whatsoever. I assure you that your privacy is respected and well protected.

Michael Campbell's Internet Marketing Secrets (IMS) Newsletter

Issue #62 September 30 2004 - Hottest trends for Christmas 2004, marketing strategies, how keep PageRank, selling links in editorial content, what smart businesses are doing to stay competitive.