Fun way to get backlinks

Did you know that backlinks increase your page ranking in search engines?

So, the more backlinks you have pointing back to your blog the better off you will be.

There are many different ways to build backlinks.

But today I will show you a way that is not only very easy, but it’s also a lot of fun. And an added benefit is that it is totally FREE.

Build backlinks with blog comments.

Yes, you read that right. Blog comments are a great way to get backlinks.

Here’s how to do it …

Find some blogs that you like and/or are relevant to your niche and you start commenting on people’s blog posts.

TIP: It’s best to comment on blogs that have a lower Alexa ranking versus a higher one. Because a lower ranking means that the blog receives more traffic. (You do want people to read your comments, don’t you?)

And here is why…

When you leave a comment on a blog you get to leave a link back to your own blog. A backlink. It’s usually linked to your name. So, do leave your full name when you leave a comment, because this also helps with branding yourself.

While commenting, leave something of value behind. Don’t just say, … “nice article” or “nice post.” If you give value in your comment your chances of getting your comment approved by the blog owner are much higher. And remember, never, ever, spam.

So go ahead, leave me a comment below, and besides a backlink I will also give you some blog love back.

How do I do this?

Well, I have two plug-ins installed that give my readers back some blog love when they leave me their comments.

The first one is “CommentLuv”, which shows a link to the commentator’s last blog post.

The second one is called “Top Commentators” and it shows … well, you guessed it… the top commentators for the Enlightened Networker. Thanks Ken & Melisa West for your awesome suggestion!

Anyhow, now you know of a fun way to get free backlinks, increase page rank and build relationships with other bloggers at the same time.

Have fun!

To your success,

Ilka Flood

P.S. Don’t forget to share this post if you found value in it.

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Patience is an essential business skill every network  marketer needs to be successful.

Unfortunately, it  is something I personally was not blessed with at birth. I do have to work very hard on it. The good news is, it can be learned.

Wouldn’t you agree with me that anglers would make great network marketers?

They definitely would have the patience for it. Just think about it. They sit there for hours on end with their fishing poles in the water and wait for a nibble. Sometimes they catch something. Sometimes they don’t. And sometimes they get lucky and catch “the big one”. But they never get upset if they don’t.

Network marketing – especially prospecting – is pretty much the same as fishing, isn’t it?

We sit there with our fishing poles in the water, that juicy bait attached to the hook and we wait for that nibble.

Some of us are not patient enough to wait for that nibble. So we keep checking the bait on the hook or even get so frustrated that we change the bait all together.

Sometimes we get a nibble and then JANK that fishing pole out of the water … and by doing so lose the fish on the hook.

(In other words … We had an interested prospect and then totally threw up on him or her. Or we bombarded them with phone calls and emails pushing our business opportunity on them.)

Sound familiar?

Fishing takes patience and so does prospecting.

Once our prospects take the bait we want to be really careful and gently reel them in.

That’s where ‘Follow Up’ comes  in to play.

Make sure you have a good follow up system in place …(give value)….so you can keep in touch with your prospects. Because, very seldom will your prospects buy or join with you on the first bite.

“All things being equal, people will do business with and refer business to those people they know, like and trust.” – Bob Burg

I would like to add one more … REMEMBER

People need to REMEMBER you.

And the only way they will is if you keep yourself on the top of their mind.

They say “the money is in the follow up”.

That is really true. Remember, I said earlier, very seldom will people buy or join with you on the first bite. (Or after the very first contact.) It can take weeks, months or sometimes even years before a prospect is ready to join you.

So, go ahead … put that fishing pole back into the water. And when you get that nibble, reel that fish in ever so carefully.

Happy fishing! …uhm prospecting!

Ilka Flood

P.S. Have any fish tales you would like to share with us in the comments below?

P.P.S. If you liked this post and would like your peers to reel in some big kahunas … tweet this post and/or share it on Twitter or Digg it. Thanks!

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Jason Better wrote a post the other day about the ‘Invasion of the Face Snatchers’. You see them all over the social media world.  Take a stroll through Plaxo, Twitter or Myspace and you see them, the ‘faceless’ people. Even on Facebook. Uhm, it’s called FACEbook. So put your face out there. Especially if you are networking for business.

Most social networking sites (if not all of them) let you upload a profile picture. Usually that is very easy and in the event you should get stuck there should be a help menu that will guide you through how to do it. Or just ask one of your friends on the site how they did it.

But not only on social media sites you find them, even the blogosphere has its share of people without a face. I used to be one of them. Not because I didn’t want my picture out there on the comments I left, but because I had no clue how to do it. Well, if you don’t know how to do something … just ask. So I did ask Jason just shortly before he posted about the ‘Invasion of the Face Snatchers.’ He told me about a little site called  Gravatar.com

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a techie to set it up. It’s really easy and they even have a little video that shows you how. In just a few minutes you can ‘have a face.’

Put your face out there. Especially on your profiles. People are much more likely to connect with you and accept your friends requests when they see your smiley face.

Just think about this scenario…

You go into a store and there behind the counter stands a clerk with a ski mask asking how he could help you. You’d be out the door in a split second.  Wouldn’t you? I get shivers down my spine just thinking about that. Pretty creepy!

Remember, people do business with people they know, like and trust.

Looking forward to see your smile.

Oh, and by the way, moosey on over to Jason Better’s Blog you will find some great information and meet some cool people there.

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By becoming a source of leads for another person, you will become a magnet for your own. Have you ever heard the expression, “the more you give, the more you get back?” Well, it’s true.

Next time you are at a networking event why don’t you ask people what their perfect customer or business associate would look like and then ask for their business card so in the event you come across such a person you can refer them back to them. (Of course really be sincere and only do this if you really have the intention of referring people back to them.) In return, most will ask for your card as well.

Be different than most people who attend those networking events like, business breakfasts or luncheons. Most of them go there with the sole purpose of pushing their own business. Stand out from the crowd and be a true Giver. It will come back to you manifold.

For example: Later when you talk to your friend, Joe, who needs a new roof, you hand him Bill’s card which you collected earlier at a business breakfast. Bill is very pleased about his new customer and repays your kindness by sending you customers in return.

Or Sue is looking for some liquid vitamins and you refer her to Lucy who just happens to be with a company that sells them..and so on.

Remember, we are farmers, not hunters. If you spread enough seeds…and nourish them you will reap a great harvest.

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“Why Doesn’t Everyone Else Think Just Like I Do?”

By Bob Burg

The sages asked: “Would you be offended if, when walking into a room, you noticed that no one else has a face exactly as yours? Why then would you be offended when others don’t have a belief system exactly as yours?”

Interesting point, isn’t it? So often, we’re upset because somebody didn’t do something, act a certain way, or handle a situation as we would have handled it. Have you ever said to yourself, “I can’t believe he did it like that–anybody else would have done it like this!” (You probably have never done that…but I know I have.) Actually, “anybody else” would not necessarily have done it just as you or I would have, but we genuinely do think they would.

Have you ever been upset because a prospect didn’t respond with total excitement to a particular aspect of your business opportunity that you believe is a major benefit? It baffles you:

…that while you see “financial freedom” as the end-all be-all, he only wants to know more about the health benefits of the products.

…that while you are going on and on about how much more energy people are discovering in themselves after taking the company’s flagship supplements, she stops you and asks how long you think it will be before she can retire from her J.O.B. and spend more time with her daughter.

…that while you are totally enthusiastic about the friendships your prospect will make as a result of the business, he looks completely unimpressed and uninterested.

“How could he not get excited about what excites me?” you wonder. “How is it possible that she doesn’t get it?” you attempt to fathom.

Our bafflement comes down to this:

“Why doesn’t everybody else think just like I do?”

The Conundrum of Normal

Why? Because, as human beings, we operate from a belief system that, as Judy Piani, author of Trait Secrets: Working Together When You Don’t Think Alike (www.traitsecrets.com), puts it, “Normal is what I am.”

Normal is what I am.

It reminds me of a guy I met years ago, shortly after moving to Florida. He made what struck me as a rather odd, yet very definitive statement:

“Everyone who moves to Florida moves down here either to fish or to boat. Anyone who says anything different is lying.”

Hmm, I thought. I must be lying. Neither of these two activities are anything I’ve ever found to be particularly special for me. But his belief system was so strong in that area that, to him, anyone not having a similar belief must be lying–to themselves, if not to him. After all, as far as he’s concerned, “Normal is what I am.” And I must admit, I generally tend to think the same way of myself.

(By the way, had he mentioned golfing, that would’ve been different. I actually don’t golf either, but it would have been different.)

The point is this: there are times when your way of doing something will just not mesh with another person’s way of doing something. And it might be important to work that out.

Seek First to Understand

As this relates to the prospecting process, understand that just because you see your opportunity fulfilling a certain need or dream of yours, that doesn’t necessarily mean the same will be the selling point for your prospect. How will you know? By asking the right questions.

Before you can ever hope to persuade someone to your point of view, you need to recognize–and honor–the fact that this person may, at least in some areas, think differently than you do. This person’s entire method of dealing with a situation or problem solving is the summation of multiple factors, such as upbringing, associations, and innate character traits.

The same holds true for your business. Before you can ever hope to persuade someone to join your organization, you need to recognize–and honor–the fact that this person’s wants, needs, dreams and desires, all of which may well be fulfilled by working with your company and within your organization, may still be utterly different than yours.

A good start in determining another’s position or belief system is to ask questions and gather information. As Steven Covey puts it so beautifully in The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, “Seek first to understand; then to be understood.”

Once you understand where another person is coming from and, just as importantly, after she knows that you understand where she’s coming from, you are finally in a position to express your view in a way that she will likely be much more open to receiving. Then you can work out whatever you need within that interpersonal transaction so that you both come out as winners.

Remember: “Normal is what I am” fits you precisely–and it also fits your prospects, each and every one of them, exactly the same way!

BOB BURG
is author of Endless Referrals and Winning Without Intimidation, and a free weekly e-zine (www.burg.com) on networking

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Two Cheat Sheets. Three amazing Training Videos. And one incredible Special Report shows you how to amass an incredible following on Twitter and monetize Social Media…without p*****g people off.

I watched in amazement how Perry Belcher teaches step-by-step how he gained a Fan base of 130,000 in just 9 month. He put 58,000 of those on his personal list..and all for FREE.

He’s also giving away free information on 3 things NEVER to do on Twitter. If you want to keep your followers, that is. (I see people every day doing this…and guess what, I do not follow them.)

I encourage you to get this intriguing and very informative little handbook on how to use social media like Twitter and Facebook. Anyway, you’ve got nothing to lose. It’s free. But the knowledge you will gain from this little book is absolutely PRICELESS.

So get it now while you can still get it for free.

Enjoy!

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