As social media marketers, one of the most common questions we get about linkbaiting and social media promotion is this:

My niche is boring and / or non-technical - how do I turn it into something popular and linkable?

Last week I stumbled across a Wikipedia article that was, despite its dry (and boring) subject matter, doing quite well on Digg.

The article in question is this introductory piece on Montessori. You might want to take a few minutes to go through the article and figure out any angle that would make it interesting to the average Digg user. My best idea (and this was after reading the Digg link) was about how the Montessori system was a cover for brainwashing little children and sapping their creativity.

Paranoid delusions apart, I strongly doubt that my spin would have done better than this take:

Monetessori Method, the educational system of Google founders.

It is, for lack of a better term, f'n brilliant.

Instead of forcefully making a boring topic appear interesting, this digg user took something that would guarantee attention (Google founders) and related it to a quite uninteresting topic. The result is a Digg headline that probably got enough *blind diggs* to make it popular and it ended up getting 562 diggs (as of writing this article).

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On one hand, you have the burning desire to create something remarkable, memorable, and of sheer quality. It takes time, love and hard work, and you run the risk that it will go unappreciated, for after all you are pandering to your own notion of what needs to be said and done. After all, to paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, you don't do art to make money, you do art to make your soul grow.

On the other hand, there's the real, gut-wrenching need to make money (or any other metric of success - search rankings, pageviews, awards, booty). This is the drive to optimize, to tap into market consciousness, measure what works (and what doesn't), and to ruthlessly churn out content (or products - define your own output) according to your scientific formula of success (usually translates into PageViews = Money).

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Promoting websites online, just like in the offline world, is about finding the right people with the right resources and having them help you get the word out. By yourself, you are nowhere near as effective as when you have a network of contacts and friends working together to help you promote your new venture.

How do we do this? There are three key steps:

1. Building the network
2. Making the right contacts
3. Leveraging the network

This article discusses the above topics and shows you how to build a network of contacts you can use to get more traffic to your website. That's not the only purpose of such a network - you can use a network in various ways - community intelligence, resource pool, business opportunities, and much more.

In short, if you want to learn how to build your social network of contacts, this article is for you. Read on...

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Chris, along with many other bloggers, are strongly against AdSense. To be fair to Google (and staying away from some silly reasons to hate AdSense), it's not so much AdSense that's a problem rather than the way you need to use it to get maximum revenue from it.

If you, like Chris, do not want to turn your blog into an ad clicking machine, then you've probably explored alternatives to Google AdSense. At this point, 2 things happen to 99% of the people looking for alternatives to AdSense:

One, they find out that the alternatives don't pay as much in their niche.

Two, they realise that the alternatives are not as easy to implement - whether because of more work required on your part (affiliate / own products) or because of ad network requirements (minimum monthly pageviews, etc).

While Google AdSense has been a good friend to me on Soccerlens, In the last few months I've made a move away from it. Here's what I've learned so far:

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The BlogNetworking plugin combines two simple but necessary components of any blog network: the ability to automatically create a blogroll in the sidebar and to show the latest headlines from across the blog network.

You can see the BlogNetworking plugin live in action at the bottom of the Soccerlens.com sidebar (under 'Network Headlines').

The plugin uses a central feed of network sites to pull headlines and display them on your site. The easiest way to do this is to use the blogroll opml of any one site in your network (http://yourblog.com/wp-links-opml.php) ideally the network hub (remember to add the RSS feed link for each site in the blogroll).

There's a lot that can be done with this plugin, and I'd be interested in hearing your suggestions for improving it.

Much thanks to Damian for putting this plugin together (and Chris for the inspiration) - you can catch the installation instructions on his blog here.

Download the BlogNetworking Plugin here.

As a blogger residing in a third world country, networking opportunities are limited for me. Logistical problems mean that it is bloody hard to hop over to the US for conferences - and in many cases, us non-US bloggers are at a disadvantage in terms of real networking opportunities.

However, if you're a non-US blogger (or a non-US/UK blogger), there are several other networking opportunities available for you. Let's start with the easiest, managing online networking.

It goes without saying that for maximum success, you need to set goals, figure out the best way to achieve them and then get busy moving from point A to point B. It's the same with networking.

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As 2007 turns into 2008 (yes, its more than a month away but you can't fault me for preparing right now, can you?), it's worth taking a hard look at our blogging and promotion strategies and how those will evolve in the future.

Today I'd like to cover 12 link building tactics that will be most effective in the coming year - like all such lists, there's a good chance that I've left something out so if you have something to add, please let me know in the comments.

1- Linkbait Mainstream Media

Being picked up by the CNN, Fox News, BBC or the Guardian not only leads to plenty of traffic (the type that would crash your server) but also leads to other bloggers picking you up as a news source. Traffic, new readers, links from the blogosphere and links from highly trusted websites.

It's not an easy target to achieve, but you can get there by doing the following:

• Network like the energizer bunny - before you can be recognised as an authority in your niche you need to make yourself known to everyone who matters.
• Establish a pattern for being the first - Quite often just being the first person to break the news can lead you to scoring dozens of links - and once you build a reputation for being first, you'll have reporters and other bloggers turning to you to break the news. Position yourself so you can benefit from such opportunities.
• Linking to top news sources often brings in residual traffic (tech bloggers linking to Techcrunch's stories will confirm), and in several cases it also results in other bloggers picking you up as a secondary source on the issue.
• All of this only works if you have something valuable to offer - whether it's analysis, exclusive images or your own research. Just regurgitating the news isn't going to be of as much help.

And if you haven't already, read this article on how to attract attention from mainstream media.

2- Contests and Giveaways

I expect the tactic of contests and prize giveaways as a means to generate links to be abused beyond reason in the coming year. As things stand, it's an easy way to build links and once your site builds some traction and a readership, it's also a good way to reward your readers and attract new ones.

The key with such contests is to:

• provide value to readers
• break from tradition and do something more creative than an 'article writing contest'
• make a meaningful contribution to your blog
• engage the community, not just your readers

To expand on that last point - I think it's very important to give readers - many of whom will have blogs / be active participants elsewhere on the Net - something that they can do offsite, preferably on their own site or whichever forum they frequent the most.

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If you're a problogger and you travel more than once every 3 months, you need some sort of 'living on the road' solution to keep you plugging in and functioning (work-wise, of course). It may be a romantic (and healthy) notion that you should ditch all things work and Net when taking a break, but that's for those rare once or twice an year vacations.

If, like, me, you're on the road for a week a month (even car accidents don't stop me anymore), you don't only need the right setup (read gadgets and software) but also the right routine - simply put, nothing fracks up your work like an uncertain, unplanned work schedule.

The Tools

If you're expecting a Internet Tablet / Pocket PC a la Nick and Chris, you'll be disappointed. I'm packing the Nokia E61i which is light-weight but remarkably effective for blogging on the move (I was sold after this comparison, although to be honest the iPhone and W950 aren't serious competitors to the E61i).

Thanks to cheap (but annoyingly slow) cellular data plans here, Internet access is rarely a problem. Combine that with the E61i's WiFi capabilities, you've got a working laptop replacement for your travels.

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Web entrepreneurs, especially those who work outside the confines of the traditional workspace, often have trouble managing their time.

This article proves 10 time-tested methods to get more work done than before AND free up the time we tend to 'borrow' from outside our work schedule.

These suggestions are work well for bloggers, entrepreneurs and especially anyone whose work routine needs to be flexible because of their family / social circumstances. The key is to integrate these habits into your daily routine, otherwise it's not going to bring you any results.

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While reading Stoney deGeyeter's article - 10 Useless SEO Worries (his booboo on PageRank apart, I agree with the fellow on everything else) - I couldn't help but notice this gem:

Is it smart to work on getting your site ranked on MSN, Yahoo, and Ask? Sure, absolutely. But never at the expense of your Google rankings. Never. While different algorithms are employed, they all tend to run off the same basic premise: a good site will rank well, regardless of the algorithm used to evaluate it.

Don't think that you need to optimize a page for each search engine. It doesn't work that way. Just do good optimization and all engines will rate you accordingly.

Stoney's argument is rock-solid and financially sound, even though the thought of being partial to Google amounts to Google-worshipping and therefore leaves a bad taste in the mouths of some people.

Rebecca from SEOmoz talks about 'whether you should optimize your site for each individual search engine or not' (Rebecca says no, of course she's right...). I'll this a bit further and say that you should:

Optimize for search users, not search engines.

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Sometimes people amaze me with their ability to delude themselves. In most cases I'm probably not privy to delusions, but when it comes to online marketing and SEO in particular we get a chance to hear those delusions loud and clear.

One of these popular delusions (it's quite viral) is that somehow, search engines are out to get web publishers. Now I'm not here to bash those marketers who use an anti-search engine (or anti-SEO) stance to pay their bills, but there's a point where this search engine bashing (or rather, Google-bashing) stops being actual criticism and transcends into raving madness (that point comes, on average, after 5 seconds).

The anti-Google phenomenon just seems to be a variation of people going up in arms against the dominant force in society - but since this isn't about social behavior and how we are way more predictable than we like to believe, let's look at search engines in general and what they are actually here for. Perhaps we'll understand if they're actually evil or not?

Let's start with an often-asked question: what do search engines want?

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Thord (he of Swedish descent and bearing a reputation for 'crack' design skills) writes about the two most important skills a blogger can have.

#2 is knowing how to blow your own horn ('toot' is so politically correct it gives me a shiver). Thord discusses it in some detail, and I like this part best:

Some of us have some kind of roadblock built in that stops us from promoting ourselves. Get over it. Or get run over.

The #1 skill Thord talks about is knowing how to write good blog posts. Seeing as how T left the door open there, here's my two (or three) cents on how one may go about writing 'good' blog posts.

Like all good 3 step lists, this one is a model of simplicity:

1. Define what 'good' is - use concrete measurements instead of an arbitrary feel-good factor
2. Learn how to achieve the results defined above
3. Execute (and then some).

If it was as easy as writing it above, no blog consultant would have a job. As things stand, there's a lot more to it under the surface although as I've discussed below, once you internalise this formula (or you start writing for a blog that gets tons of traffic) it becomes effortless.

So let's get started with step 1 - defining what a 'good' blog post is.

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One of the big plusses of the Internet is the ability to hire people from across the globe and have them work for you remotely. As a blog (and blog network) owner, I tend to take it for granted that I can, at any point in time, contact any of my bloggers and get them to write something on a particular topic without leaving the comfort of my office (or indeed, home).

The downside is that in the absence of any physical connections (they don't come to the office to work for you every day), it's a lot easier for other blog owners and blog networks to approach them. I'm not saying that it makes it easier for bloggers to leave - not at all, loyalty extends beyond borders and physical proximity - but with the access there's a much greater chance of:

• You not finding out about the exchange until its too late.
• The poacher finding out the details of the arrangement from your writer and offering them a better package, perhaps something you can't offer at the time.

Recently, a blog owner in my network forwarded an email conversation he'd had with a major retailer in our niche. They were interested in having him come on-board as one of their columnists. He's saying no, but when you start discussing pay packages and everything the only thing a blog owner / network owner can count on is loyalty.

Which brings us to the question for the day: What do you do to keep your employees / network members loyal to you / the network?

This article was inspired by an offhand rant in an IM session with David - thank you for listening mate.

Over the weekend I was looking at my own life (you know, the usual introspective Sundays) when I was - to put it mildly - interrupted by another whining session from someone who has been seeking success all their life and hasn't achieved it. It made me angry at the time (hence the rant) but after a while I figured that for most people, going from failure to success was a process that they just couldn't get started on.

I've tried to catalog that process here. It all starts with a plea to ...

10. Stop Whining.

The world is a tough place, we get it. We ALL GET IT. You're not doing yourself any favors by focusing on the bad stuff. In fact, you're just polluting the world and bringing down the energy of the people unfortunate enough to be in hearing distance at the time (or as the case may be, to read what you write). The faster you get over your self-importance and start working on making things better (you know, real shit, like working on that linkbait that you can't crack, or those blog posts that you don't have the time for, or outsourcing that theme you just don't know how to code), the faster you'll get to where you want to be.

The fastest way to stop focusing on what's wrong and start working on improving your current condition is to...

9. Channel Your Energies

Suppose that you're shafted in a project you're working on - the person who's hired you collects the work and makes off without paying you. Understandably, you're angry. But how would you deal with this anger? Venting is good (and necessary), but there is a difference between using that anger to achieve something positive and letting that anger eat you up inside.

Could you set in place practices that ensure that you get paid for 100% of your projects? Is there some way you can get back at the person who's wronged you (religion allows for revenge, in case you're objecting) without spending too much time / energy (publicly cataloging this incident on your blog / website / forum you frequent)?

At every junction of your life you're presented by choices - and (as I venture dangerously into feel-good mumbo-jumbo) you've got a responsibility to yourself to make the right choices - the ones that help you move your life forward and take you towards your goals.

If something evokes a strong emotional reaction, find an outlet, get the initial and strongest reaction out of your system and then channel your remaining emotions into something constructive. To do this, you have to...

8. Focus

It's easy to tell yourself that you must focus on a particular task, in practice its virtually impossible to do so if you have problems with paying attention. There's no big secret to razor-sharp focus - barring genetic pre-dispositions and childhood habits, the best you can do to help yourself focus is to:

• catalog distractions and ruthlessly eliminate them.
• setup a stable daily routine for your work - forming stable work habits are the best way to get (and stay) focused on your work.

The biggest obstacle to focused effort is your resistance to doing tasks / work that you're not interested in (and in contrast, the easiest way to build focus is to work on something you enjoy). This leads us to the next two steps...

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Sneaking up, rather. Ryan remarked the other day, while we were discussing 'THAT' anniversary giveaway, that Perf's 2 years were almost up. It's been a down-and-up, entertaining, challenging and strange ride, and while I can't speak for Raj (the only other current blogger here who's been around on Perf longer than me - I think), I have Performancing to thank for a lot of good things that have happened to my online career in the last year and a half.

Blogging gigs, networking opportunities, daily insights into blogging and making money online - and in its recent incarnation, blog stats, legal advice for bloggers and free wordpress themes - Performancing has been good to me, and dare I say, good to many other bloggers online (Better writers than I will be able to do more justice - although if you want a peek into exactly how much Performancing offers to pro bloggers, check out this list).

The big day is Thursday, November 8 (Chris confirms). We're planning a few things for the anniversary (and we'll announce them next week), but for now I'm open to anything you guys think we should do. I want to do something that actually helps our readers, so while the golden idea of running a contest and offering prizes is there, there should be a special hook to it (something that delivers value to readers, participants and sponsors).

Suggestions?