I get a lot of questions from people asking what software I use to manage my projects.  The answer is, quite frankly, it depends…

I am always trying out new platforms and software in the quest for the perfect solution, and also as a reporter to report back to you, my subscribers, as to what I’ve found, to make it easier on others.

One of my most useful applications is a simple project management software I call, the “OutSourcerer’s Project Pad,” which is a cool, simple project management “sketch pad” so to speak, for simple projects and tasks I need to get done.  This is NOT a collaborative tool, but something that will help you organize your daily projects and associated tasks.

Here is a screenshot of the main screen:

OutSourcerer's Project Manager, "Project Pad"

You can download it and put it to use for your own personal outsourcing, and to manage those day-to-day tasks!

This is a giveaway as a token of my appreciation to my readers and subscribers! Get it here: OutSourcerer’s Project Pad.

Please leave any comments or feedback on what you think of the software. Thanks!

Tags: programming, scripts, online marketing, software, ghostwriters, article submission, guru, outsource, Internet, outsourcing

Net Access and Stomping the Search Engines 2.0

Just spent the last few hours going through StomperNet’s new publication, called “Net Access,” and the new Stomping the Search Engines 2.0.

I have not yet finished everything, but I can say right off the bat that this is a first class product, created by a top-notch team at StomperNet.

First let’s talk about Net Access. This is a no fluff journal, (they don’t want it called a magazine, because it’s got a lot more content and hardly any ads).  The content in here is drawn from the faculty, and a quick look at the article titles pretty much says it all:

“How to Interview an Outsourced SEO” by Jerry West
“The Keyword Heist Technique” by Dan Thies
“26 Things To Test” by David Bullock
“Ranking on Page One” by Leslie Rohde
“Shotgun! Enjoy Galactic-Size Content Distribution Without Ever Leaving Your Home” by Sherman Hu
“Twittering Your Way to Free Traffic” by Paul Colligan
and more…

You get the idea - top shelf content.  The articles are easy to read, and each author’s personality really comes through.  Each article is pretty focused and will give you at least one big “take away.”

Well-designed, full-color spreads, lots of usable content.

My favorite part is the “Monthly Action Plan” in the back, that details action steps for each article. This is truly where the rubber meets the road, and sets this apart from everyone else’s monthly paper and ink subscription.

Two thumbs up for the Net Access! Check it out…

And now, Stomping the Search Engines 2.0.

I was never one for search engine optimization, or SEO, because I thought it was too technical and aside from the basic on-page factors (tags, keywords, titles), you just had to get lots of links.

For many of us, this will get us 80% of the way to the top of the engines.  However, it’s not quite so easy these days.  We’re competing with videos, images, news and local search.  And if you’re not showing up on the first page of Google for your keyword, you may as well not exist!

It can still get a little technical, but this DVD-ROM video course is scripted and concise, and the added personality of the faculty members brings it to life and simplifies things quite a bit.

The Course consists of seven modules.  They are:

Module 2: How Search Engines Work
Module 3: Keyword & Content Strategy
Module 4: Site Structure
Module 5: Optimizing Content
Module 6: Link Building & Promotion
Module 7: Improving Results

I believe STSE2 has pretty much set the standard for SEO courses available today! Comprehensive, from newbie to advanced, great production values, content and presentation - this course ROCKS!

My only suggestion would be to include transcripts, don’t know if it’s just omitted in my review copy.

So why launch two products together?

Here is an excerpt from Andy Jenkin’s latest e-mail:

“So, I have one product, my SEO course, that I’d love to be able to charge as little possible for…

...And a monthly journal that I need to get as many subscribers as possible for…

And that’s WHY we decided to combine these two products together into a SINGLE offer - because it will allow us to give you a maximum value (STSE2), for the lowest possible price (”The Net Effect”).”

With these two top notch products, and knowing how these guys can really “move the free line,” you can expect this to be a killer offer!

You can see more detail about STSE2.0 on their countdown page.

More later…< >< ><–>

Tags: programming, software, elance, scripts, ghostwriters, outsourcing, article submission, make Money online, Web design, autoresponder

I’ve finally recovered from last weekend’s “brain dump,” StomperNet Live 6 in Atlanta! Learned some really great stuff that I’ll be sharing with you over the coming weeks. I am sure most of you have heard of StomperNet, but for the uninitiated, Brad and Andy, released their first product in 2004, an SEO course called “Stomping the Search Engines” and that’s what put them on the map. Since then, they’ve created StomperNet, sort of the gold standard for Internet marketing education.

I can attest to that, as I started with them in their original apprentice program a few years back.

At any rate, they are releasing two products at th same time, a print publication called “Net Access,” and a retooled “Stomping the Search Engines 2.”

While I was there, I got hold of a review copy of Net Access, (they hadn’t even decided on the final cover!)
but I CAN tell you that this magazine, or “journal” is totally packed with content!

I’m only about a third of the way through this 45 page journal, and this is really cutting edge stuff, contributed by their crackerjack faculty. Jerry West wrote a great article on how to outsource your SEO. Great tips I haven’t heard anywhere else.

Articles on the “Keyword Heist” technique, things to test, ranking on page 1, twitter, e-mail marketing, social media - the list goes on I haven’t even looked at Stomping the Search Engines 2 yet, but I’ll post a no-BS review on my blog when I’ve had a chance to dig in over the next couple of days!

Here’s the photo: (if you don’t see the photo, click “display images”)

I’ll let you know over the next couple of days what I think.

Tags: web graphics, rentacoder, directory submission, online marketing, Web design, ghostwriters, Internet, guru, outsource,

Huh?

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm seems to think so!

Those of you who use Google alerts, know you can
track keywords, or names on the web and you’ll be
alerted whenever/wherever it appears.

Well, I’ve got “outsourcerer” tagged, and this came
up last night:

“During a lively speech to the delegates, Granholm
referred to Republican presidential hopeful John
McCain as “the outsourcerer” for his support of Bush
trade policies she says have hurt the state.”

Say what?!

I don’t think she meant it as a compliment either.

Sounds like a clear cut case of “brand abuse”

Never know what people may be saying about you!

Check out Google Alerts..http://www.google.com/alerts

Howard

P.S. Here’s the full blog post on Detroit News’ site, if you care to read it:
http://tinyurl.com/6kb9ez
(outsourcerer reference 4th paragraph down)

Tags: online, outsource, , scripts, ghostwriters, Web design, outsourcing, web graphics, directory submission, guru

Top 10 lists are always very popular, and when it’s about outsourcing its irresistible to me!

Sharon did a great job compiling these top 10 tips, and rather than reproduce them for you here, I’m just going to send you over to her blog to read them for yourself!

I’d like to make a special comment regarding the importance of tip number three, Describing Your Project.

“Describe your project with as much detail as you can and make it as to the point as you possibly can. If you can use video, camtasia works brilliantly. You only get back what you put in here. If are vague in your project description then the right providers won’t be interested.”

this is one area that most people don’t spend enough time on. Giving a week project description will only complicate, extend, and increase the costs and aggravation of your project. As Sharon says in her tent, the more detail the better.

However, you may want to put the detail in a separate attachment and be a little vague in the public display of your project to avoid getting your idea lifted by marketers hunting for new ideas! No kidding!

Check out Sharon’s tips…

Tags: scripts, outsourcing, Internet marketing, software, outsourcing online, ghostwriters, rentacoder, guru, programming, make Money online

Heard about this free site today, and thought I would share it with you all. It’s at: www.FindAllAbout.com

This free site creates a downloadable PDF formatted report from a list of article titles and summaries from a search result for any given keyword and e-mails it to you!

Perfect for lead capture/optin incentive, especially when testing a market and you don’t want to put too much time or resources to creating the opt in “ethical bribe.” There’s a lot of their branding on the report - that’s the trade-off between free and easy, and a more “do it yourself” approach.

I tested it out using the keyword “outsourcing” and wanted to show you what I created in about 30 seconds! Check it out here:

OutsourcingReport. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

For your own niche, where you are the expert, you want to use your own branding, graphics, etc. In this case, check out this handy little application, Tiger A2E.

Tiger A2E is a software program that allows you to build reports and ebooks fast out of articles. You can literally make tons of $7 dollar reports for list building or just make a larger ebook from the many PLR articles that are just sitting idle on your hard drive collecting nothing but virtual dust.

Stop doing things the hard way and start putting your time into marketing!

Tags: rentacoder, ghostwriters, make Money online, directory submission, outsource, Internet, web graphics, scripts, programming, software

I managed to capture some video from the live ustream segment of “3 Sides of traffic” event Aug. 9th, featuring Howie Schwartz, Simon Leung and Ross Goldberg. They gave some of their best outsourcing tips, joined by Lee and Robin Collins.

Tidbits include:

• Howie - valuable resource, plus his tips on hiring project managers
• Ross - outsourcing for free
• Simon - how he utilizes international resources
• Robin - where to begin, and letting go of tasks you’re currently doing
• Lee - finding gold in your local community

Well worth the 7 minutes to watch!

What’s your take on theses tips? Would be particularly interested in tips on hiring project managers!

Howard

Tags: guru, software, rentacoder, scripts, Internet, make Money online, web graphics, autoresponder, programming, online

Outsourcing software creation has gotten popular lately, as the need to automate repetitive, time consuming tasks has become more and more important to streamlining online business tasks.

In John Reese’s Traffic Secrets 2 pre-launch videos, he talks of creating small programs or widgets to encourage linking, build lists, and brand yourself/business.

Two years ago, John Reel came out with a link creation/tracker/cookie stuffer program called “Go Try This,” in both “white hat” and “black hat” versions.

Well, after you check out his latest post, his advice is “Don’t try this” when it comes to outsourcing software development offshore, in places where English is a third language, opposite time zones, and beyond the reach of you, or the law if things get really sticky.

Here’s an excerpt of his post:

“Here are seven things to consider before going down this route:

1. Language Barriers: Oh, sure they can read/write English, but the subtle things can be lost in translation, which means you spend a lot of time explaining things to them on Instant Messaging.
2. Sleepless Nights: Since all of these companies are on the other side of the planet, you’re doing all that explaining at night, which leaves you tired and much more likely to make mistakes.
3. Too Literal: Most of these providers try to do exactly what you say like little coding drones. It is rare to find someone who can see the big picture and will check in with you before doing something “stupid”, even if you asked for it.
4. No Continuation: It is very hard for these outsourcing companies to keep their staff. The competition is fierce for programmers. Their rates have doubled in the last year and many programmers switch jobs frequently, using the demand to continually increase their rates. Even if they can keep their staff, if you’re not keeping them busy full-time, the people working on your projects naturally get reassigned to other clients, and you might not be able to get them back when you need them. Long projects and outsourcing don’t mix very well.
5. Undocumented: Good luck getting well documented code that someone else can easily take over. So, when you lose your programmer, there is often a long delay while someone else gets up to speed. Make sure to ask for excellent documentation as part of the quote and get examples.
6. Bad Quotes: Many providers have no idea how to quote. One guy quoted me $200 for every project, no matter how big or small. Unless I want something really small done quickly, I work with teams with project leaders and testers, etc. They have an idea how to quote.
7. Dishonesty: When I first started searching for providers I would ask for samples of their code. I would then search the Internet for any identifiable bits from that code, and usually I would find it was part of some open-source project. I would then check if the developer(s) were part of that project, which of course they were not. I then got in the habit of hiring them for small projects and split-testing two teams against each other to see which provided the best results before going on to bigger projects.”

Thanks, John - very good advice. Hopefully this will save some marketers alot of grief!

Go check out John Reel’s blog post

Tags: online marketing, Internet marketing, directory submission, ghostwriters, guru, , outsource, programming, elance, scripts