Dang, it’s after midnight and I’m still at the office again. There’s been 2 cases of Sundaes Best hot fudge sitting on top of my desk that I’m not sure if I should be selfish and give the fudge to the employees (Oh man, I can hear Lisa and Christine and QualityGal saying "Me!", "Me!", "Me!") or if I should try to use this hot fudge for the benefit of my old friend who each year sends me a few cases of hot fudge.

I’ve never taken money from Sundaes Best Hot Fudge. They just send me a few cases of hot fudge each year for "marketing" (fyi, someone else does his site…and I have no say in that area…I’m only "marketing"). So each year he sends a few cases of fudge to me and he doesn’t say what to do with it, or ask about the marketing that we’ve been doing, or have not been doing.

So you know me…I’m always thinking Links…and here’s all these jars of hot fudge in front of me ….and I can’t help but wonder, if I saw a great page about hot fudge, and wrote the the website owner and said, "hey, I was reading your page about hot fudge at http://www.site.com/hot-fudge.html, and thought you’d like to try a jar of this hot fudge. Can I send you a jar?"

Is that breaking any Google guidelines?
Is that evil?
Is that Cheating?
… or is that just "Marketing"?

I don’t know…..
I can tell you that I’d really like to know that answer. I know that Michael Gray is being the trouble maker by pushing some buttons on this very topic via starting Viral conversations which as far as I know, I’ve not seen any G response from yet (correct me if I’m wrong).

I’ve hesitated doing this the past few months….as you know, I’m trying to be Mr. Clean…so I’m not sure if I should try something like this or not….but I’ve got all these jars of hot fudge…what to do….what to do….

This takes me back to the days when I was a Schwan’s Route Saleman. To get new clients, I’d knock on peoples doors and when they’d answer I’d hand them a 1/2 gallon of vanilla ice cream and a product book, I’d tell them it’s Free and that I’ll stop back in 2 weeks and they can tell me then if they ever want me to come back again or not.

It worked then…and it worked good…when they told me I could give away free vanilla ice cream to help get new clients, I ran with that for all that it was worth…and my work at that paid off. Every day I picked up new clients doing this. I was so good at this that I set route sales records that may still stand today, was able to split one of my days into 2 days, sell off one of my days to another driver, and was 4th in the northeastern states territory for new clients. It’s the same thing here….

"Hey Bob,
I saw your page where you talk about how to make hot fudge, and I thought you should try Sundaes Best Hot Fudge. I think is the best in the world, and I’d like to send you a free bottle - no strings, if you’ll let me.
Here’s your page where I saw you talking about hot fudge. If you felt this hot fudge met your approval, feel free to mention it there, we think it would add value to that page, and after trying, we hope you agree."

…I don’t know…. maybe we don’t mention the "feel free to mention it there…"….I’m just thinking… It would make sense to give people hot fudge and say there’s no obligation, and leave them "something" they can do, if they wish….and how they do it, is up to them. I don’t feel I should have to tell them anything about how they link it if they link it….they get the fudge, what they do is up to them, even if the do nothing in return. It’s free fudge. I hope they decide to do something nice in return…but that’s up to them.

I’ve got 2 cases of hot fudge on my desk, can I give them away just like I gave out 1/2 gallon of ice cream back in the day? If so, I might want to milk that for all it’s worth like I did with ice cream…is it evil then? Is that cheating? is that against the guidelines?….or is that White Hat Marketing?

I wonder what the Google spam engineers view is on this?

What’s your view on this?

PS…..relax ladies, I’ve got a few jars stashed away here if you’re needing a fudge fix.

As a brand new member of both We Build Pages and Internet Marketers of New York, I’m really proud to announce that last week’s Charity Party hosted by WBP raised more than $13,000 to benefit the Ronald McDonald House. That’s amazing.

It’s even more amazing when you know the back story.

Ten days before SMX East was scheduled to begin, Jim heard that IMNY would have to pull its big Charity event after too many sponsors had dropped out. Jim, a man known as much for his big heart as his crazy love for links, decided he wasn’t okay with that and commissioned the We Build Pages team to “make it happen”. And with that, the race began.

What followed would be a jam-packed week of crazy. We Build Pages Office Manager Rita Sickles was tasked with making sure that all of the many details that go into putting together an event like this were taken care of.

Would we serve food or just alcohol? Do we need prizes for raffles? What charity should we choose? Who can we get to sponsor? How much should we guilt them for? How much do we charge people to attend? Don’t forget the wristbands! And the flyers!

From there, Pat Sexton took the ball and ran with it, hitting the phones to woo potential sponsors. I don’t know how many of you have seen Pat Sexton on a mission, but…it’s intense. I’m pretty sure he didn’t sleep for three days as he wrangled up sponsors, took care of the prizes, and got everyone talking about what would be a great event. Our friend Jon Kelly was also there to lend his support, making sure that IMNY had a PayPal account set up for early registration. Everyone was on a mission to raise as much money as possible to benefit the amazing work of the Ronald McDonald house.

And when the big day came, it went off without a hitch. The event was a giant success: The turnout, the amount of money donated, and the smiling faces were all amazing. And none of that would have been possible without all the amazing attendees. So, we thank you.

We also want to thank our sponsors for the event. Without their very generous donations, none of the awesome that happened last week would have been possible. Major props, hugs and accolades to 10e20, BOTW , Search Engine Journal, SEOmoz, Sugarrae, SEMJ, Frank Watson, Search Engine People and Sure Hits.

Finishing out the Thank Train, more thanks go to the staff at Social Bar and Grill for putting up with us, Jim Hedger of WebmasterRadio for acting as MC for the evening, and to Jim Boykin for challenging the We Build Pages team to “make it happen” for charity.

We’d love to add to the $13,000+ that was raised last week. If you weren’t able to get your money in, do it now. Make your checks out to “Ronald McDonald House” and mail them to We Build Pages, 255 River Street, Troy, NY 12180 and we’ll forward them on for you. Let’s see just how generous the search community really is!

Below you’ll find a great mess of photos from the IMNY Charity Party. We hope you enjoy them. As Jim would say, we’re feeling lucky!

 Frank Watson and ShandyKing

 Pat Sexton and Rae Hoffman

 Jim Hedger

 The (scary) Oilman Todd Friesen and Jill Sampey

 Roger Monti and friend

 Avi Wilensky

 Rob Kerry, Emilo from Blogvertise and friends

Jonathan Dingman, Scott Polk, Jillian Taylor, Brent Payne

Rob Kerry, Emilio, Jim Boykin

Danny Dover, Pat Sexton, Scott Polk

Greg Niland

 Risa Borsykowsky

Rand Fishkin, Jim Hedger, Mystery Guest Fishkin

Dani Horowitz, Tamar Weinberg

Pat Sexton

 Virginia Nussey, Pat Sexton

Steve Boymel, Danny Sullivan, Aya Zook

Rita Sickles, Pat Sexton, Jim Hedger

 Jim Boykin, Chuck Price

 Carolyn Shelby, Pat Sexton, Chris Winfield

Ninja Shawn Rosko, Brent Csutoras

Roger Monti with Ninja’s Lauren Caldwell and Todd Heim

Chris Winfield, Danielle Winfield, Avi Wilensky, Frank Watson (back) John Kelly, Lauren Vaccarello, Todd Malicoat, Jim Hedger, Ben Rudnick, Tyler Shears

A group so cool Jim Boykin had to join

Jim Boykin, Shana Albert

 Lauren Vaccarello, Frank Watson, Jon Kelly

 (Special thanks to Tamar Weinberg for helping me identify some of the faces not in my mental Rolodex.)

Lisa Barone has moved to Historic Troy New York and has joined We Build Pagesas our Senior Writer.

Stay tuned for a new website and blog on WeBuildPages.com in the near future.

View the Press Release Here.     

I’m Feeling Lucky!

I have a lot of good writers on my writing team.  I won’t accept average writers, and bad writers make me cringe.  I do have a few really great writers, and I love them all to death.  My goal is to have a whole team full of great writers - either by recruiting those who are already great or molding my good writers into great ones.

But how can you tell the different between a good writer and a great writer?  There’s a writer’s joke about "the one who has the best editor" that has a bit of truth to it, but some writers are great on their own.

Here’s how you can tell the difference:

• Good writers can research and write about a variety of subjects without sounding like complete idiots.  Great writers know what they’re good at, and they not only avoid sounding like an idiot, but they can come across as an authority because they write what they know.
• Good writers know how to use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation - errors are usually of the typo variety.  Great writers know how to use complex sentence structure that grabs attention and shows mastery of the English language.
• Good writers compose factually accurate content.  Great writers compose content that is so interesting that even people who aren’t familiar with the subject will be drawn in.

I asked the folks on Twitter to weigh in on what makes a great writer.  And here’s what they said:

@cyandle ability to draw you into their article & keep u reading until the end; once  done u want more of their articles to read…

@joehall Great writers always use great pens! srsly, each great writer is great in their own way, some excel in areas that others fail…

@joshuasci PASSION about the topic.

@johnsantangelo A great writer has the ability to say nothing at all with a whole bunch of words, and also the ability to say so much with just a few words.

As a person who now manages a team of writers, I can add a few more things about what makes a writer great in my eyes, even if readers will never know this part.

Great writers follow directions. They ask questions if there’s something they don’t understand. 

Great writers are passionate and motivated.  They may do this for the money, as most good writers do, but they also do it because they love it.  And that shows in their writing.  

Great writers go the extra mile.  When they ask for an extension, it’s because they’ve been without power due to a hurricane, and they just got internet access back at the local coffee shop. Or they were unable to write over the weekend because they were dining out at the local restaurants they were recommending in a travel piece. Or they went out and bought a book about punctuation to help them step up their game.

Great writers always strive to be better.  When they get constructive criticism, they take it to heart, tuck it away, and figure out how to never make the same mistake again. They crave feedback and aim to please.  They are their own worst critics.

What do you think?  What would you say separates the great writers from the good writers? Leave me a comment!

If you’re going to SMX NYC, Be sure the attend This Party which donates to the Ronald McDonald House on Monday Night. 

I’m honored to announce that we’re (We Build Pages) hosting the Internet Marketer’s Charity Party next Monday night, October 6, at SMX East in New York City. It’s our first time hosting a charity party, but shouldn’t be our last.

The Charity Party will be at the Social Bar (795 8^th Avenue). We’re asking for a $50 (in advance, or at the door) donation that will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House. Your entrance also includes free drinks all night.

  The party starts at 8:00 and goes until Midnight. Come and help make the world a better place.

A great big thank you to the Best of the Web Crew, Chris Winfield and the 10e20 Crew, Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal, Jon Kelly of Sure Hits, who are sponsors of the night’s events.

Please go the the Charity Party Page to find out more and to get your tickets in advance. 

Drink, Network, and Help the Ronald McDonald House.

In honor of Google’s 10th Anniversary Celebration and inspired by the "Google is turning 10. See what’s happened in the past 10 years." Prominently displayed under the search box all week, I decided to take a little excursion into the outer realm of Google’s returns to find a few fun entries and facts from the 10th page of Google’s results for some of its biggest players.

Google
Interestingly enough when you Google the word Google, the 10th page introduces us to Johnny who says he can help us Hack Google. Nice.
http://johnny.ihackstuff.com/

We are also finally given access to http://www.google.com.my/ on page 10. Apparently Malaysia gets nose-bleed seats in Google and in the UN.

And one that actually made me laugh is http://www.alltooflat.com/geeky/elgoog/m/index.cgi

Which despite undergoing a server update, provides us with a link to Amazon.com where we can buy Books on how to use Google as well as on Tantric Sex. Is that some sort of commentary on search engines and delayed gratification? Hmmmm…

Sergey Brin

Where do you want to go if you’re from Portugal and you want to find out more about Sergey Brin?
http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Brin

Well this Portuguese Wikipedia page graces page 10 for his moniker, so Desculpa-me meus amigos, you’ll have to dig.

One of the other interesting items you can find out here in the depths of the Serps is what Sergey looks like in Roller blades

http://www.bookofjoe.com/2008/09/sergey-brin-nee.html

and apparently his wheels need rotating?

And of course here we can get our hands on one of many notices about the news of Sergey’s impending plan to temporarily abandon cyberspace for a multi-million dollar trip to Outer space.

http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/11/1456244

Larry Page

In case you like to take the scenic route, the 10th page takes you to:

http://www.amazon.com/Larry-Page-Sergey-Brin-Innovators/dp/0737738634

Where Amazon conveniently allows you to pick up the Larry and Sergey biography "Larry Page and Sergey Brin: The Google Guys " and guess what?! It’s on sale and eligible for Super Saver Shipping! Come on guys, news this big ought to at least make page 7.

We also have a Webmasterworld thread where Larry’s genius is debated by guys named Cabbie and Subway. Porn is misspelled and George Bernard Shaw comes up at least once…

http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum30/34476.htm

There is also a highly informative notable biography on Google’s founder’s:

http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Ow-Sh/Page-Larry-and-Brin-Sergey.html

It covers how they met, a few of the legendary Google pranks and is of course tastefully sprinkled with Adsense.

And last but not least a tribute to Google’s leader of our little SEO tribe, Mr. Matt Cutts.

For anyone who forgot the dark day that Dark SEO came into Matt’s life, then out in page-ten-land there is this little reminder of the fact that Matt does indeed have a sense of humor when it comes to cloaking..

http://www.utheguru.com/matt-cutts-blog-has-been-hacked

And thanks to this enlightening interview with Matt, http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2005-11-17-n52.html  I now know that Matt likes spiders, the non-algorithmic kind, and that he called Sowbugs cute.

and lastly I couldn’t help but become enthralled by this tenth page post on SEOscoop.com

http://www.seo-scoop.com/2008/01/24/matt-cutts-why-am-i-still-being-punished/

This one of many "Why haven’t I gotten my PR back even though I no-followed my paid links" blog posts where Matt, rather kindly, engages in a very informative dialogue about the whys and wherefores of the still absent Green bar. He makes it clear that when reviewing a re-inclusion request, Google is much like a new home buyer with the tendency to look under the bed and deep in the closet for junk in placers where the owner hasn’t been in years. The moral of the story? Sweep out ALL of your corners before having an Open House with a Google Engineer. The information is gold, but as for its application? Well the Post ranks in the top 100 for Matt’s name…but it is sporting a spiffy PR 0.

While there is plenty more in the nether-regions, these were a few of my favorites, happy tenth anniversary Google, I have no doubt the next 10 will be even better, at least I hope so, my job depends on it.

Ninja Jen

*** This contest is over. The winner was Risa Borsykowsky, a professional web designer from RB3 Web Design and Search Engine Optimization. Thanks Risa! ***

I’m seeking a logo for a new website and foundation called "Give A Little Bit".

I can pay $200 for the winning logo…

…or…

you can get a link on their "Thank-you.htm" page.
It will say "Logo created by ….." and will link to your site….hum…is that considered selling links??

The winner will be chosen Monday morning, and will be published on Monday Night at http://givealittlebit.com (coming soon).

To submit a logo, email it to my first name at webuildpages.com

Thanks!