Posts by Author

David Cross

Posts by Author

David Cross

To Link or Not to Link?

By David Cross | 07/13/2010

“Do you think this is a good idea?” he asked me.

My father-in-law, GS, had received a request from a website that wished to link to his. And he wanted my advice.

The website looked good. It was similar to his business. And it had a reasonably good Google ranking already. So linking would be contextually relevant. And it could be beneficial to both sites’ search engine rankings.

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The New Paradigm That Built a $290 Million Online Business

By David Cross | 06/17/2010

More than a decade ago, Agora Inc., ETR’s parent company, decided to test a theory — to see whether the direct-marketing methods they used to run a profitable publishing business offline could be adapted to run one online.

Did the test work?

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Put Some Lead in Your Pencil!

By David Cross | 05/27/2010

I’ve written before about what to write about when you’re "stuck."

How-to articles are the perfect antidote to writer’s block. But if your goal is to create content for your e-mail newsletter or website to attract search engines, you cannot rely on them every time. Thankfully, there is another type of article that’s remarkably simple to write. Your readers will love it — and so will the search engines.

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How to Master the Art of the Upsell

By David Cross | 04/15/2010

Salt is a restaurant tucked away near Patterson Park in Baltimore. I ate there last week. I’d give it 8.5 points out of 10, which for me is a very good rating. The food was great and I received an immediate warm and friendly welcome by the owner, Jane. But…

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The Magic Formula for Online Business

By David Cross | 03/31/2010

Through juniper and sagebrush and parched grasslands. Past herds of mule deer, elk, and pronghorn antelope. On and on, we drove… into the primeval forest of southeast Oregon. I took last week off. Really off. Disconnected from most things electronic, except for my trusty laptop, my wife and I embarked…

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Progress, No Matter What

By David Cross | 03/1/2010

I make it a point to follow up with everyone who asks me a question about setting up an Internet business. It takes me just a few seconds, and it usually motivates them to take action.

Usually. But not always. After my most recent follow-up e-mail to "Bob," for example, I received this response…

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I’ve a Feeling We’ve “Bean” Here Before

By David Cross | 02/18/2010

When you click on an online ad that interests you, you expect to be presented with a way to buy that item almost immediately. Right? But far too many businesses advertising online do not give you this logical next step. For example, while perusing the BBC News website, I stumbled…

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I Blinded Them With Science

By David Cross | 10/28/2009

Our sales were hurting. Every one of our distributors was selling three to five times more of our competitor’s cheaper, inferior air ionizers than ours. It seemed that consumers decided at the shelf that all ionizers are pretty much the same. So why should they spend 67 percent more on…

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Why testimonials work so well

By David Cross | 09/25/2009

What do you do if your prospect knows nothing about you, as is often the case? How can you sway or “nudge” their thinking about your business, products, or services? You do it by including plenty of testimonials in your marketing materials. Testimonials overcome a prospect’s skepticism (“Who the heck…

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Make Mine Thin Sliced

By David Cross | 09/1/2009

My wife strode across the yard from the chicken coop, clutching our sharpest kitchen knife. A rivulet of red ran down her forearm. Her hands were stained crimson, and a solitary feather stuck to her palm. “Hi, Honey!” she chirped. “I was just seeing whether the new chicks liked strawberries.”…

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Learn How To “How To”

By David Cross | 08/14/2009

One of the most daunting things about starting your own Internet business is the idea of creating regular, unique content for your website. You can raise your eyebrows and sigh. It’s okay. But you are going to need this fresh content if you want to get anywhere with search engines.…

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Turn Your Hobby Into a Business

By David Cross | 07/21/2009

Setting up an e-newsletter or blog starts with a subject you love, a simple website, and some useful content. But unless you want your newsletter to be nothing but a hobby, you’ll want to find ways to generate income from it. You can create your own information products – e-books,…

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