Launch of BusinessBuilders Group - exciting times

We're really excited to announce a new partnership with the Business Builders Group (BBG) to help you grow your business via a powerful referral marketing community.

The BBG process is specifically designed to overcome the key challenges that small business owners face when attracting referrals ... through their community, unique BBG Structure, Professional Mentoring and best-of- breed online tools.

We are hosting a breakfast briefing, where you will find out how BBG can help you achieve your growth objectives. And - we're looking for proactive small business owners to become Founding Members.

Join us for breakfast - register at www.bbgevents.net

To find out more go to www.bbg.business

What to consider when buying a property? - Ark Sydney Seminar - 15 Spots available!

The Ark Team have analysed the key areas to consider when purchasing an investment property and how to stress less at auctions. To compliment this, they will be a hosting a special seminar on 'How to Purchase Property?' which will cover the important research you need to undertake, how to get the best loan and understanding what it will cost you.

With interest rates at a 20 years low, activity in the property market has increased significantly over the past few months. Last weekend we witnessed record clearance rates in Sydney, with over 80% of the listed auctions selling. In Brisbane, the rate was 65%, which is nearly double the clearance rate this time last year. It is important in times like these to go back to the fundamentals and basics of property and not get caught up in the emotion and media.  We are running a seminar on 'What to consider when buying a property?' and it will cover off the following; - What is the critical research you need to undertake? and how do you do it? - How do you find the right property for you?  - Should you buy a home or investment and what is the difference? - What will a property cost you? - How to stress less at an Auction? - The different tax consequences - including buying in super As an example of some of the content we will cover at the seminar, here are 5 tips on what you need to consider when buying a property; Is it a home or investment? This is the first decision you need to make. Although the purchase might initially be a home and then an investment later it is very rare you find the perfect investment and home in one. You need to understand what your preference is - are you making a lifestyle decision or a financial one? This will help you when you are analysing the property. What can you afford as opposed to what the banks will give you? Yes it is very important to get an approval from the bank about how much you can borrow but it is more important to understand what you can afford. Just because the bank will give you $1million, doesn't mean you can afford that. You need to analyse your cash flow and understand what the cost of the property will be. When calculating the cost of a home, you need to take into account the rent you might be paying. Have you done your research? When we say research, it doesn't just mean the location, amenities and property specifics. You need to make sure you complete your building and strata research to understand if there are any inherent problems in the building such as water leaks, poor strata management etc. You also need to get your solicitor to review the contracts to understand the property in real detail. What structure do you purchase it in? There are several options when purchasing a property - joint names, family trust, super and individually. Each option has pros and cons, and it is dependent on your situation. In some cases, it might be a combination of the above to get the right outcome. The issues you need to consider are tax, estate planning, asset protection and flexibility.  Are you attending Auctions? This can be a very nerve wrecking and stressful time for any purchaser. The key with auctions is to be realistic and be prepared. When you buy at an auction, you need to exchange and pay the deposit on the day of the auction if you are the successful bidder. This means you waive your cooling off period - so there is no going back. This means you need to be prepared well before the auction day. This includes having your solicitor review the contracts, have your building/strata reports completed and have you deposit ready to go. The second part is to be realistic - have your price that you are willing to go up to and if you don't get it then there will be another one. It is disappointing, but unfortunately that is the way auctions operate. Your buying strategy doesn't really matter if someone else is prepared to pay more than what you are.  We hope you can join us for the seminar on Wednesday the 14th of August from 6pm. Click here to regsiter.    Regards, The Ark Team

10 Things you need to know about sales

I read an article in Smart Company by Yolanda Redrup - which spurred me to write this :-

 1.  Know your customer - Experts agree it’s fundamentally important in sales for the salesperson to know their customer. DO your research . Do a DISC profile, based on personality, work out your game planto close the sale! You need to be able to read people 

2.   Don’t sell a Product – sell a solution or a dream. Identify the persons pain and provide a pain killer – not a vitamin! People don’t buy products they buy you, or your company or the Brand which they trust!

3.   Connect with your customer  – show them value, show them that you care. Identify ways that you can connect with them.  Relate to them. Create a relationship. What do you have in common with them

4.   Build trust – lower resistance to increase acceptance – relate to the customer.  Liz Atkinson, founder of marketing company Zest Possibilities, told SmartCompany building trust is important not only between a customer and the salesperson, but trust in the brand. This, she believes, can be achieved through creating a consistent company image.

5.  Look like a winner  “The person I look for is fun, confident and driven with a goal to succeed. I understand this, so we project this type of image across the company in every way possible to sell it! From the music we play, the magazines we have sat in reception to how our administrators meet and greet people, we keep the message consistent. “This allows the company to build a relationship immediately with anyone that comes into contact with us, and this message never changes which keeps trust and builds loyalty,” she says.

6.   Have a plan,  a process and a System – A Roadmap/ A sytems Kit  its“all about systems and strategies”. The process needs to be able to be replicated. Hire for attitude and personality – skill can be trained if you have a great system. “ A good person in a great system makes a person great!” An average person in a great system makes a person good!” Sales processes should be simple and they need the right development and training. The strategy also needs to be measurable… what can be measured can be managed!

7.   Preparation – sharpen the saw!! Know your customer – have a plan of attack, go through scenarios – know your outcome. Do a rifle shot not a machine gun – be targeted not scattered. 

8.   Get your customer to say Yes

9.    Be online – be all over social media – this is where your customers are or will be!

10.   “Leads proposals and sales” If you want to have $1m in sales , have $4m in proposals and $20m in Leads!

5 Pointers to help you create you Unique Selling Proposition

Your uniqueness separates you from competitors in the minds of customers. How does your service or product better service your client than anyone else?

Identify your Unique Sales Proposition (USP)  or “Point of Difference” from the customers perspective.

Give them a compelling reason to buy!

It goes without saying that you need to have as a standard minimum, a great product or service, and a story of how your product or service is special and why your customer should trust you.

5 Pointers to help you create  and promote your Unique Sales Proposition

1. Identify your target customers            
2. What customers pain do you solve?
3. List three customer benefits by using your product or service. (from the clients perspective)
4. Are any of these benefits unique or better than your competitors;
5. Make a list of the ways to communicate and promote what makes you unique eg, website, brochures, emarketing, webinars, events, seminars,  on-hold messages.

What is your Unique Selling Proposition? For the best answer, I will arrange you to promote your business in Spark Magazine (www.sparkmag,co) on a video, that can also be posted on your website and other social network sites!

Steve Blank: How to launch a succesful startup!

The professor who popularized the "lean" movement describes his Lean Launchpad course.

Steve Blank is a Silicon Valley-based retired serial entrepreneur, founding and/or part of 8 startup companies in California’s Silicon Valley. A prolific educator, thought leader and writer on Customer Development for Startups, Blank teaches, refines, writes and blogs on “Customer Development,” a rigorous methodology he developed to bring the “scientific method” to the typically chaotic, seemingly disorganized startup process.

"The Startup Owner’s Manual" was Blank's second book and is a step-by-step guide to building a successful startup, offering practical advice for any startup founder, entrepreneur, investor or educator.

His Customer Development methodology launched the lean startup movement. It is rooted on startups "getting out of the building," talking to customers and using that feedback to develop and refine their product.

I think I saw my guru Gerry Engel in the video! 

The Growth of Social Media

Source: socialmediashortcut.com via Dainaz S on Pinterest

BSI Connect - Leadership and Network Breakfast

Check out our last 2 networking breakfast



If you want to come to the next network event click here and , fill in your details and type "brekkas" in the message!!

The 10X The Inner Circle Club and Mastermind Group

“None of us is as smart as all of us” - A Japanese Proverb 

Join a safe, confidential and trusting “10X Inner Circle” of up to 10 Peer CEO’s, Executives or Business.

Owners from non-competing companies and organizations – free of any conflicts of interests and hidden agendas, with the objective of helping each other grow!

Your “10X Inner Circle” , is a powerful forum of up to 10 members, meeting once a  month,  where you discuss opportunities, challenges and issues relating to you business. It provides feedback and guidance on an intellectual and emotional level (food for the business soul) , tapping into the core source of true leadership .

As a member of the “10X Inner Circle Club” you are also invited to a 10X Network Breakfast, where you meet  the various Inner Circles Clubs members, to network and connect.

The Inner Circle is facilitated by an accredited “10X  Coach/Chairman”  who facilitate the group, and discusses a “leadership Insight”, enablinig you to “lift your leadership lid” and “grow as  a leader”.

The Goal – to have 10,000 members in 10 Countries within 5 years!

Check Out August Spark

Would love your comments and feedback on how this can be improved.... what articles you want... have you got an article to write... This will be going to 235,000 people!!

The Foundations of a Successful business

Before going for growth, make sure your existing business is on solid ground - ie the foundations are strong.

I heard a great analogy the other day... It's pointless filling a car with petrol before the engine is working!

There are 4 pillars that need to be in place in order to form a solid foundation for a business to grow:-

1. have a positive mindset

Having a positive mindset is a key ingredient for your business to succeed.
Have an unconditional belief in its success. Understand why you are in the business and what the business is.

Be accountable and take ownership and responsibility! Do not blame others or go into denial. Do not focus on the negatives.

A negative attitude and a mindset of being a victim will create an environment of angst, negativity and failure .

A positive attitude and mindset will create a positive direction and destiny of the business .

2. cash flow

Make sure that more money comes in than goes out.
Growth =cash burn
Make sure you have adequate reserves, capital and debt facilities to find the growth.
Lack of cash results in anxiety, fear and bad decisions. Fix this as a matter of priority!!!!

It is important that you understand what makes up cash flow and how to improve it. You cannot grow a business without cash.

3. systems
Systems are key to leverage, scalability, business growth and wealth creation .

It enables you to work on the business instead of in the business.

A business cannot grow until you have fundamental systems in place. Systems will enable you to scale your capacity and make average people look great!

4. marketing and sales - growing your revenue

You can save money by cutting costs, but you can only cut costs to zero, and you do not have a business.

Revenue growth is infinite!

It is all about Leads, Proposals and Sales
Questions to ask....

• How can You generate more inquiries or leads?
• How can you increase the average dollar sale?
• How can you increase the conversion rates from leads to proposals to sales?
• How can you increase the frequency of transaction?
• How can you increase the margin?

• Do you know where you are at the moment?
• Do you know your current conversion rates from Leads, proposals and sales?
• Do you know where you should be focussing on?

Determine things that you can do to increase leads, proposal and sales ...

Test and measure, test and measure, test and measure

Eliminate anything that is not working and then systemise anything that is working as part of your sales and marketing system.

Multiple marketing strategies is key. Some will work and some won't .
Have many touch points for a client to buy. CBA says that if a client buys 3 or more services, you have him for a long time!

Some businesses market, have a flood of new business.,stop marketing - deliver, and then go from a flood to a drought. Does that sound like you?
It is important to have a business that is consistently marketing all of the time!

In summary , before going for growth, concentrate on building and fortifying your foundations.
Create a positive mindset,stop the cash burn , system use your business, build revenue growth .... And watch your business fly!!!!!

Inspiration from Tony Gattari and www.10x.com.au

7 reasons why teams cringe at the notion of cross selling.

To succeed in Cross selling, one has to overcome the objections that are raised by cross selling activities.
We have tried to nurture Cross Selling within our Group at BSI, with some success, and a lot of false starts.
What I do know, is that our business would grow exponentially if Cross Selling becomes an integral part of our culture!!

Benefits of Cross Selling

• To keep current clients by establishing as many points of contact with the Group as possible. CBA Gurus says that if you have 3 services with a client, you have them for life!!

• To expand client relationships by assuring that the client is completely satisfied with the company’s service and inquiring into the additional concerns a client has.

One needs to ensure that there is a client service manager that know the client’s situation and understand the client’s needs. (The DC)


Seven common objections to Cross Selling


1. Unwillingness or lack of knowledge of how to sell. 
The Team Member does not want to be seen as a pushy salesperson. 

The flaw in this assumption is that selling involves pushing services on a client. The trick is to get your client to tell you what difficulties they face and for the team member to listen for an opportunity to help and understand what the group can offer.


Questions to  ask their clients:

• What is going on in your current situation that we should be thinking about?
• What keeps you up at night?
• What are your constraints... what is holding you back? 
• How effective is your team? 
• Do you have good leaders?
• Hows the cash flow?
• How can we help you get more leads/clients?

The Chances are is that the Business has a service that can offer a solution.


A Fear is that the Client is not satisfied with the company’s services to begin with. A client must be very satisfied with your current services and must trust you to give you more business.


Questions to  ask their clients:

• What are we doing well?
• What could we be doing better?
• How can we help you more?

2. Lack of knowledge regarding other Business’s practices. 
A team member can’t sell other business services if there not familiar with what the business does.

An essential element of a cross-selling program is an internal method to distribute client wins as a result of referrals.

For cross-selling to succeed, the business must collect the case histories. And it goes without saying that members must be made aware of read the success stories of the accomplishments of their fellow team mates.


3. The company does not compensate for cross-selling activities. 


“what gets rewarded, gets done.” 


If there is no incentive to market the Group’s services, then the team will spend all their time bringing in their own business. On the other hand, if a team member knows that his cross-selling activities will come up in his compensation review, the member will participate.

Consider providing a specific financial reward for introducing clients to other colleagues. Otherwise it just won’t happen.

For cross-selling to work, the notion of sharing credit must also be built into a cross-selling program. The “eat what you kill” system,  is fatal to cross-selling. Cross-selling happens in pairs or teams, and the company must give credit for a team effort.

4. Fear of Losing Clients. 
Some  team members are reluctant to refer their clients to someone else in the business, because they fear that the person responsible will mishandle the situation or do a poor job. As a result, the logic goes; the referrer could lose the client entirely.

This is an objection that is often unspoken or mentioned only in private. I believe this is rubbish, because what the referrer actually fears is losing control of the client, which may happen if another person is introduced into the relationship.

This view treats the client as a team member’s personal property or private book of business.
Clients must be viewed as corporate assets, which belong to the firm as a whole, and accordingly must be shared.

This objection also demonstrates that the referrer doesn’t know enough about the team member’s background and what exactly he does in his chosen profession. 


If personnel were to take the time to learn what their colleagues do and understand their achievements, the member would be more inclined to refer his colleague.

Regardless, the objection means that the clients business is going to another company, which is far worse than having the client being serviced by another member  in your own company.


5. The Company does not recognize cross-selling appropriately. 
Some Groups will throw a congratulatory party when someone brings in a new client. but a cross sell is only mentioned only briefly in the weekly meeting. This misplacement of emphasis is a mistake.

Recognition is a powerful motivator and it should be used accordingly.

 A cross-selling success should be a hot news item. The X Sell process shoul be described in detail, beginning with how the team member came to meet the client in the first place, how the the member learned of the new potential business opportunity, the steps he/she took to introduce another business area of the company, and what the colleague has done to impress the client with the company’s capabilities.

The point is to recognize the teamwork, and to honor it with accolades.


6. The client has established service from other companies as well as your own. 

This shouldn’t stop a cross-selling effort; in fact, it should be the reason to undertake one.

These potential clients are looking for Organisations that better meet their needs and anything that indicates they are looking elsewhere suggests underlying weakness in client relationships.

The idea of a cross-selling effort is to put the client’s current situation into play. It may be that a client has worked with another company for many years. However the client will be open to a proposal to have their affairs handled more efficiently, to consolidate their position or just to get the job done with less hassle. Of course it takes research and teamwork to develop these proposals.


7. Fear of imposing on other colleagues. 
Of course it is difficult for a team member to go, hat in hand, and ask a colleague to introduce him to an existing client. They are reluctant to butt into the relationships of colleagues. This approach yields few cross-selling results, because it starts out the wrong way.

Instead, team members should develop lists of their own clients who can be cross-sold to their colleagues.

For example, some company’s require their team to develop marketing plans, beginning with the names of three clients who are cross-selling targets. The names of these clients are bought to cross-selling meetings, where the staff member describes the client and the opportunities to grow the relationship. Other attendees are asked to bring the names of all contacts they have at the client.

The team effort begins with staff volunteering clients to the company as a whole.


Strategy for cross-selling
For Cross Selling to succeed, the team needs to buy into the success of the group vs the success of their division.

Overcoming these initial objections will go a long way toward getting a cross-selling program started.

It means that the Group will have to change the way it thinks about compensation, ownership of clients and approach to selling.

It will mean that the Business will have to cease relying on individual rainmakers and learn to work in teams focused on clients. But these are all positive changes, and will lay the groundwork for a successful strategy for cross-selling.

5 Reasons why Cloud Computing offers better Security

We have just done a deal with our IT Provider to provide total Cloud solution and total support for a fixed $ amount per person.... No additional costs, no IT hassles.... what a pleasure ...

if you want to know more - email me

from http://www.inc.com/daniel-saks/small-businesses-safer-in-cloud.html 

The cloud can offer far better security than you can provide on your own. Here are five reasons why: 

1. Cloud security is stronger. 

The current cloud ecosystem is built on a global network of world-class data centers operated by big names like Amazon, Rackspace, and Google. These providers host applications for the companies that develop them, and security is the backbone of their state-of-the-art infrastructures. 

From security guards and video surveillance, to access controls and perimeter fencing, big data centers have exceedingly strong physical security. At some small business like yours, data breaches can happen because people simply walk off with a server or laptop that stores sensitive information onsite. You can bet your biometric security devices that thefts like these are rare at modern data centers.

2. Cloud security is smarter. 

Almost every type of hacking threat--from viruses to phishing scams and beyond--is on the rise. In just one month last year, Kaspersky Lab detected more than 640 million hacking events on devices running its products. Numbers like those could make any business long for the good old days of telegraphs and typewriters. 

Anti-virus software and firewalls provide basic protection, but data centers that host cloud-based software utilize cutting-edge encryption and security tools. These include advanced intrusion and zero-day threat detection, which means security teams can fend off hackers before they attack. Yes, they really are that good.  

3. The cloud makes security compliance easier. 

Besides “taxes,” few words inspire more dread than “compliance.” And for good reason: Depending on your industry type and standards, security compliance is expensive, time consuming, and involves a mountain of paperwork. 

Take an e-commerce business. Companies that handle credit card information must follow PCI data security standards, a set of 12 requirements--and 220 sub requirements--developed by credit card companies. Given that, it's no surprise that the vast majority of small online merchants work with a third-party, cloud-based payment processor, like PayPal. These large providers have the resources to ensure PCI compliance, and make life much, much easier for their customers. 

4. The cloud makes security more cost effective.  

If you decide to take a do-it-yourself approach to security, you not only have to buy the right equipment and software to secure your on-premise deployments, you also have to worry about maintaining it and keeping it up to date as threats evolve--or hire staff to do this for you. None of this is cheap. 

When you use cloud-based software, on the other hand, all you need to purchase is a subscription to your software of choice. Security is covered by the cost of your subscription, which means you, and your wallet, can breathe a sigh of relief. 

5. The cloud lets you focus on your business, not security. 

I know a small, successful law firm that has an on-premise document storage server in one of its office closets. The backup server is located in the same closet; actually, it's stacked on top of the primary server. 

From that, you can probably tell that the firm has no IT staff and the partners don't know much about data security. Their documents would be safer if they used a cloud-based solution hosted in a data center, where one fire or electrical surge couldn't knock out both document servers in an instant. This would also stop the partners from spending time setting up or managing hardware or software. And that's the real beauty of the cloud: You can focus on your business without having to worry about technology that may fall far outside of your area of expertise. 

6 things to include in an Investor Presentation

OK, you have listened to Wayne from 10X Sydney and you have had an investor saying "tell me more" - and you want him to invest in your business.... these are the 6 things you need to articulate in a simple, clear presentation.... A powerpoint slide show works well.

1. The problem and your solution.  What pain are you going to solve? Have you got the "pain killer". This is your hooks, and needs to be covered in the first paragraph. You have articulated this in your 30 Second Pitch.... State your value proposition, and what specifically you are offering to whom. Skip the acronyms, history of the company, and the disruptive technology behind your solution.
2. Market size and growth opportunity. Is your Opportunity SCALABLE? Investors are looking for a large and growing market. Spend a few sentences providing the basic market segmentation, size, growth and dynamics – how many people or companies, how many dollars, how fast the growth, and what is driving the segment. Skip the comment that you are conservatively estimating your penetration at 1%.
3. Your competitive advantage. What is your X FACTOR ... how do you make it 10X? Identify your sustainable competitive advantage, like unique benefits, cost savings, or industry ties. Don’t kill your credibility by saying you have no competition. At minimum, you compete with the way things get done currently. Most likely, the investor has already seen multiple plans with similar solutions.
4. Business model. Who is your customer, what is the price, and how much does it cost you to build one? Do you now have real customers, are just starting development. Outline your sales and marketing strategy (direct marketing, sales channel, viral marketing, and lead generation (what is mobiffiliate?). Identify key quantities, such as customers, licenses, units, and margin.
5. Your team. Remember that investors back people, more than ideas. Why is your team uniquely qualified to win, and what have they done before? Have you got the attributes of a good leader? Explain why the background of each team member fits, by naming roles and names of relevant companies. Include outside advisors if they have relevant experience.
6. Financial projections and funding. You need to show your summary revenue and expense projections for three to five years. Investors need to know the amount of funding you are asking for now, and what they get. The request should generally be the minimum amount of cash you need to reach the next major milestone in your plan.The plan needs to be realistic, and you ned to know these numbers like the back of your hand.

Your first page and first paragraph (maybe a picture of your brand) is key. Less is more here, so include the grabber, show your passion and commitment.

Have a feedback form asking them to fill it in.... you are after a follow up meeting, where they are interested in doing due diligence..... That’s your metric to see if you have their attention. It is unlikely that you will have an investor invest after this session.

The Real Journey to Success

101 ways to build your links

By Aaron Wall and Andy Hagans.

Link building is still the trump card for seo
BUILD LISTS
1. Build a "101 list". These get Dugg all the time, and often become "authority documents". People can't resist linking to these (hint, hint).
2. Create 10 easy tips to help you [insert topic here] articles. Again, these are exceptionally easy to link to. 3. Create extensive resource lists for a specific topic
4. Create a list of the top 10 myths for a specific category.
5. Create a list of gurus/experts. If you impress the people listed well enough, or find a way to make your project look somewhat official, the gurus may end up linking to your site or saying thanks. (Sometimes flattery is the easiest way to strike up a good relationship with an "authority".)

HIRE HELP
outsourcing all or part of your link building campaigns can prove to be a quite profitable business strategy.
6. Hire a publicist. Good old PR can still work
7. Hire a consultant. - you can outsource link building.  Developing Authority  Easy to Link At

8. Make your content easy to understand so many people can understand and spread your message. (It's an accessibility thing.)
9. Put some effort in to minimize grammatical or spelling errors, especially if you need authoritative people like librarians to link to your site.
10. Have an easily accessible privacy policy and about section so your site seems more trustworthy. Including a picture of yourself may also help build your authority. PPC as a Link Building Tool
11. Buy relevant traffic with a pay per click campaign. Relevant traffic will get your site more visitors and brand exposure. When people come to your site, regardless of the channel in which they found it, there is a possibility that they will link to you. News & Syndication

X FERTILISE
12. Syndicate an article at EzineArticles, GoArticles, iSnare, etc. The great thing about good article sites is that their article pages actually rank highly and send highly qualified traffic.
13. Submit an article to industry news site. Have an SEO site? Write an article and submit to WebProNews. Have a site about BLANK? Submit to BLANKinformationalsite.com.
14. Syndicate a press release. Take the time to make itGOOD (compelling, newsworthy). Email it to some handpicked journalists and bloggers. Personalize the email message. For good measure, submit it to PRWeb, PRLeap, etc.
15. Track who picks up your articles or press releases. Offer them exclusive news or content.
16. Trade articles with other webmasters.
17. Email a few friends when you have important relevant news asking them for their feedback and/or if they would mind referencing it if they find your information useful.
18. Write about, and link to, companies with "in the news" pages. They link back to stories and blog posts which cover their developments. This is obviously easiest if you have a news section or blog. Do a Google search for [your industry + "in the news"].
19. Perform surveys and studies that make people feel important. If you can make other people feel important they will help do your marketing for you for free. Salary.com did a study on how underpaid mothers were, and they got many high quality links. Directories, Meme Trackers & Social Bookmarking
20. submit your site to DMOZ and other directories that allow free submissions.
21. Submit your site to paid directories. Another oldie. Just remember that quality matters.
22. Create your own topical directory about your field of interest. Obviously link to your own site, deeplinking to important content where possible. Of course, if you make it into a truly useful resource, it will attract links on its own.
23. Tag related sites on sites like Del.icio.us. If people find the sites you tag to be interesting, emotionally engaging, or timely they may follow the trail back to your site.
24. If you create something that is of great quality make sure you ask a few friends to tag it for you. If your site gets on the front page of Digg or on the Del.icio.us popular list, hundreds more bloggers will see your site, and potentially link to it.
25. Look at meme trackers to see what ideas are spreading. If you write about popular spreading ideas with plenty of original content (and link to some of the original resources), your site may get listed as a source on the meme tracker site.

 Business Links
26. Join the Better Business Bureau.
27. Get a link from your local chamber of commerce.
28. Submit your link to relevant city and state governmental resources. (Easier in some countries than in others.)
29. List your site at the local library's Web site.
30. See if your manufacturers or retailers or other business partners might be willing to link to your site.
31. Develop business relationships with non-competing businesses in the same field. Leverage these relationships online and off, by recommending each other via links and distributing each other's business cards.
32. Launch an affiliate program. Most of the links you pick up will not have SEO value, but the added exposure will almost always lead to additional "normal" links. Easy Free Links
33. Depending on your category and offer, you will findCraigslist to be a cheap or free classified service.
34. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Yahoo! Answers and provide links to relevant resources. 35. It is pretty easy to ask or answer questions on Google Groups and provide links to relevant resources. 36. If you run a fairly reputable company, create a page about it in the Wikipedia or in topic specific wikis. If it is hard to list your site directly, try to add links to other pages that link to your site.
37. It takes about 15 minutes to set up a topical Squidoopage, which you can use to look like an industry expert. Link to expert documents and popular useful tools in your fields, and also create a link back to your site.
38. Submit a story to Digg that links to an article on your site. You can also submit other content and have some of its link authority flow back to your profile page.
39. If you publish an RSS feed and your content is useful and regularly updated, some people will syndicate your RSS content (and some of those will provide links; unfortunately, some will not).
40. Most forums allow members to leave signature links or personal profile links. If you make quality contributions some people will follow these links and potentially read your site, link at your site, and/or buy your products. Have a Big Heart for Reviews
41. Most brands are not well established online, so if your site has much authority, your review related content often ranks well.
42. Review relevant products on Amazon.com. We have seen this draw in direct customer enquiries and secondary links.
43. Create product lists on Amazon.com that review top products and also mention your background
(LINK!).
44. Review related sites on Alexa to draw in related traffic streams. 4
5. Review products and services on shopping search engines like ePinions to help build your authority.
46. If you buy a product or service you really like and are good at leaving testimonials, many of those turn into links. Two testimonial writing tips — make them believable, and be specific where possible.

Blogs and the Blogosphere
47. Start a blog. Not just for the sake of having one. Post regularly and post great content. Good execution is what gets the links.
48. Link to other blogs from your blog. Outbound links are one of the cheapest forms of marketing available. Many bloggers also track who is linking to them or where their traffic comes from, so linking to them is an easy way to get noticed by some of them.
49. Comment on other blogs. Most of these comments will not provide much direct search engine value, but if your comments are useful, insightful, and relevant they can drive direct traffic. They also help make the other bloggers become aware of you, and they may start reading your blog and/or linking to it.
50. Technorati tag pages rank well in Yahoo! and MSN, and to a lesser extent in Google. Even if your blog is fairly new you can have your posts featured on the Technorati tag pages by tagging your posts with relevant tags.
51. If you create a blog make sure you list it in a few of thebest blog directories. Design as a Linking Element
52. Web 2.0-ify your site. People love to link to anything with AJAX. Even in the narrowest of niches, there is some kind of useful functionality you can build with AJAX.
53. Validate and 508 your site. This (indirect) method makes your site more trustworthy and linkable, especially from governmental sites or design-oriented communities. There are even a few authoritative directories of standards-compliant sites.
54. Order a beautiful CSS redesign. A nice design can get links from sites like CSS Vault. Link Trading
55. Swap some links. What?! Did we really just recommend reciprocal link building? Yes, on a small scale, and withrelevant partners that will send you traffic. Stay away from the link trading hubs and networks.
56. In case you didn't get the memo — when swapping links, try to get links from within the content of relevant content pages. Do not try to get links from pages that list hundreds of off topic link partners. Only seek link exchanges that you would consider pursuing even if search engines did not exist. Instead of thinking just about your topic when exchanging links, think about demographic audience sets. Buying Sites, Renting Links

Advertisements
57. Rent some high quality links from a broker. Text Link Ads is the most reputable firm in this niche.
58. Rent some high quality links directly from Web sites. Sometimes the most powerful rented links come direct from sites not actively renting links.
59. Become a sponsor. All sorts of charities, contests, and conferences link to their sponsors. This can be a great way to gain visibility, links, and a warm feeling in your heart.
60. Sell items on eBay and offer to donate the profits to a charity. Many charities will link both to the eBay auction and to your site.
61. Many search algorithms seem biased toward older established sites. It may be faster to buy an old site with a strong link profile, and link it to your own site, than to try to start building authority links from scratch. Use the Courts (Proceed with Caution)
62. Sue Google.
63. Get sued by a company people hate. When Aaron was sued by Traffic Power, he got hundreds or thousands of links, including links from sites like Wired and The Wall Street Journal. Freebies & Giveaways
64. Hold a contest. Contests make great link bait. A few-hundred-dollar prize can result in thousands of dollars worth of editorial quality links. Enough said.
65. Build a tool collection. Original and useful tools (and collections of tools) get a lot of link love. What do you think ranking for mortgage calculator is worth?
66. Create and release open source site design templates for content management systems like Wordpress. Don't forget the "Designed by example.com" bit in the footer!
67. Offer free samples in exchange for feedback. 68. Release a Firefox extension. Make sure you have a download and/or support page on your site which people can link to.

Conferences &Social Interaction
69. It is easy to take pictures of important events and tell narratives about why they are important. Pictures of (drunk?) "celebrities" in your industry make great link bait.
70. Leverage new real world relationships into linking relationships. If you go to SEO related conferences, people like Tim Mayer, Matt Cutts, and Danny Sullivan are readily accessible. Similarly, in other industries, people who would normally seem inaccessible are exceptionally accessible at trade conferences. It is much easier to seem "real" in person. Once you create social relationships in person, it is easy to extend that onto the web.
71. Engaging, useful, and interesting interviews are an easy way to create original content. And they spread like wildfire.

30 Bad Ways to Build Links
Here are a few link buiding methods that may destroy your brand or get your site banned/penalized/filtered from major search engines, or both. Directories
72. Submit your site to 200 cheesy paid directories (averaging $15 a pop) that send zero traffic and sell offtopic run-of-site links. Forum Spam
73. List 100 Web sites in your signature file.
74. Exclusively post only when you can add links to your sites in the post area.
75. Post nothing but "me too" posts to build your post count. Use in combination with a link-rich signature file.
76. Ask questions about who provides the best [WIDGET], where [WIDGET] is an item that you sell.
From the same IP address create another forum account and answer your own question raving about how great your own site is.
77. As a new member to various forums, ask the same question at 20 different forums on the same day.
78. Post on forum threads that are years outdated exclusively to link to your semi-related website.
79. Sign up for profiles on forums you never intend on commenting on. Blog Spam
80. Instead of signing blog comments with your real name, sign them with spammy keywords.
81. Start marketing your own site hard on your first blog comment. Add no value to the comment section. Mention nothing other than you recently posted on the same subject at _____ and everyone should read it. Carpet bomb dozens of blogs with this message.
82. Say nothing unique or relevant to the post at hand. Make them assume an automated bot hit their comments.
83. Better yet, use automated bots to hit their comments. List at least 30 links in each post. Try to see if you can hit any servers hard enough to make them crash.
84. Send pings to everyone talking about a subject. In your aggregation post, state nothing of interest. Only state that other people are talking about the topic.
85. Don't even link to any of the sites you are pinging. Send them pings from posts that do not even reference them. Garbage Link Exchanges
86. Send out link exchange requests mentioning PageRank.
87. Send link exchange emails which look like an automated bot sent them (little or no customization, no personal names, etc.).
88. Send link exchange requests to Matt Cutts, Tim Mayer, Tim Converse, Google, and Yahoo!.
89. Get links from nearly-hidden sections of websites listing hundreds or thousands of off topic sites. Spam People in Person
90. Go to webmaster conferences and rave about how rich you are, and how your affiliates make millions doing nothing.
91. Instead of asking people what their name is, ask what their URL is. As soon as you get their URL ask if they have linked to your site yet and if not, why not. Be Persistant
92. Send a webmaster an alert to every post you make on your website.
93. Send a webmaster an email every single day asking for them to link to your website.
94. Send references to your site to the same webmaster from dozens of different email accounts (you sly dog).
95. If the above do not work to get you a free link, offer them $1 for their time. Increase your offer by a dollar each day until they give in. Getting Links by Being a Jerk
96. Emulate the RIAA. When in doubt, file a lawsuit against a 12-year-old girl. (Failing that, obtain bad press by any means necessary.)
97. Steal content published by well known names. Strip out any attribution. Aggregate many popular channels and just wait for them to start talking about you.
98. Send thousands of fake referrals at every top ranking Web site, guaranteeing larger boobs, a 14-inch penis (is that length or girth?), or millions of dollars in free, unclaimed money.
99. Wear your URL on your t-shirt. Walk or drive your car while talking on a cell phone or reading a book. When you run into other people say "excuse you, jerk".
100. Spill coffee on people or find creative ways to insult people to coax them into linking at your site.
101. Sue other webmasters for deep linking to your site  Sent from my iPhone