Carnival of Internet Pros #1

This is the first edition of the Carnival of Internet Pros (aka CoIP). The idea is to promote articles that help us improve our skills for any sort of professional online career. Please see below the list of entries if you are not in this one.

To turn this carnival into the beginnings of a content workshop, in each edition of CoIP, I’ll pick out 2-3 entries and offer some constructive criticism. What I’d like is for anyone here at Perf to also offer constructive criticism – at least about the 2-3 articles singled out. The articles selected in the order they were submitted – no favoritism, and as mentioned before, very few articles will be turned down (see exceptions list at bottom). For this first edition, however, I’ve added brief comments about each post. I am not expecting everyone to agree with me, and whether you do or not, hopefully you’ll add some comments. The objective is to improve our content.

1. Outsource Your E-Mail Lists Please! by Cade Kreuger of Write To Right.

   Comments: Cade gives an example of good anchor text and deep-linking in this article touting the value of outsourcing your email lists.

2. 3 Ways to Increase Your Blog Stats by Ant of The Beef Jerky Blog.

   Comments: Short and sweet, easy to follow, and a bit of “meat” (explanation) for each item. However, maybe it’s a fluke, but your page takes a long time to stop loading. My guess is that you have a widget or some other web service that’s hogging time.

3. 12 Common Mistakes of an Online Business by Kevin of Niche Site Domain.

   Comments: A good example of over-delivering. Kevin said “12” but offers a bonus 5 mistakes. However, I think this woul have had more impact had the extra 5 been in a second “bonus” list. They’d have to have some distinguishing reason to be kept separate, though.

4. 5 Great Reasons to Create Your Own Products by Craig Andrews of Internet Business Blog.

   Comments: Affiliate marketing is said to be heating up. But instead of joining a program, maybe you have something to sell through your own affiliate program. Craig offers five reasons to do so.

5. Make Ends Meet, and Then Some by Shawn Edwards of Desty Online.

   Comments: Yes, this post has an Amazon affiliate link (twice), but in this case, it’s worth it. Regardless of your faith, The Richest Man in Bablyon is an excellent book about success, and Shawn gives his interpretation of each of the Five Laws of Gold. In my estimation, this is an example of good affiliate marketing writing.

6. 10 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Content Creation by Derek Beauchemin of DerekBeau.com.

   Comments: Derek gives a nice example of a mini-bait, with good formatting for easy scanning and information absorption.

7. How I Became a Professional Blogger by Yehuda of Yehuda.

   Comments: I love this one. Yehuda has given a perfect example of part of what this carnival is about: sharing our pro blogging experiences and knowledge.

8. Howto: Use Web 2.0 to Get Viral Traffic Your Blog by Andy Boyd of BoydCreative.

   Comment: Andy gives another good example of what this carnival is for – sharing techniques to improve our online professions.

9. Serving Two Writing Masters by Sharon Hurley Hall of Get Paid to Write Online.

   Comments: Who are you writing for? Do you know? Sharon discusses the two “masters” of your writing, and explains what some of her experiences as a writer have been.

10. 20 Ways to Add Value to Your Products and Services by Terry Dean of Integrity Business Blog.

    Comments: This carnival isn’t just about blogging. If you sell products or services from your website, read Terry’s tips on adding value.

11. Do You Stand Out From the Crowd? by Richard Pettinger of Net Writing.

    Comments: Richard offers some wise advice about how to stand out on the Internet, to develop your brand as a blogger. I’d suggest, though, that the article title should have some relevant keyword. Don’t change the URL at this point, but consider tweaking the title.

12. Google Analytics Tutorial – How to Track Conversion Rates by Adam Taylor of Conversion Matters.

    Comments: Adam deciphers some of the mysteries of Google Analytics, separating logical sections of the article with great descriptive headings.

13. Before You Begin Blogging: A Few Things You Should Know by Deb Ng at Performancing.

    Comments: Normally, I’d want to go outside of Performancing for carnival entries, but this is a very important article for new bloggers to read (and some of us veterans, too).

14. The Value of Search in a Product Oriented World by David Krug of College Startup.

    Comments: I’ve been reading College Startup since Ben Bleikamp created it and I’ve always enjoyed the concrete examples presented there. David doesn’t disappoint with an example of how he’s costed out the value of each sale of a door at his door affiliate marketing site, based on search traffic.

15. Warning! Make Your Graphic Designer Read This Before Creating Your Mini-site! by Stephen Dean of Stephen Dean’s Blog.

    Comments: A short yet informative tip about conversion rates based on whether or not you use a header graphic on your sales pages.

That’s it for this edition of the Carnival of Internet Pros. If your submitted article did not appear in this edition, it’s likely to appear in the next one – unless:

1. Your entry is not relevant to the carnival.
2. Your URL produced a 404 error.
3. Your site has popups/ popunders.
4. Your article is promoting affiliate programs or other ads.
5. You’re one of the persons who submitted 4 or even 9 entries all at once. (If you entered two on separate days, I’ll accept that this time.)

Everyone else that submitted an article by Jul 20th and who is not here should appear in the next edition. (After that date, you will also likely appear in the next edition, on Wed Aug 1st.) If you are not in because of one of the above five reasons, you are welcome to submit something else that follows the rules and criteria for the Carnival of Internet Pros.

Please remember: one entry per week (running Saturday to Sunday). Don’t force me to read through all your entries – pick out your best on your own and submit one, maximum, each week. The submission form is at Blog Carnival.