I just completed the keyword research training module for the real estate marketing optimization training product I’m producing.  There are a few finishing touches to add, but it’s already 1 hour and 50 minutes long.  I have held nothing back in the keyword module as it is the cornerstone to an effective optimization campaign.

If you haven’t commented to win a free copy of this training, I highly encourage you to do so.  Somebody is going to gain access to some powerful knowledge, and it could be you! 

As you may already know, I’m in the midst of producing a marketing optimization home study training package for the real estate industry. The material applies to any industry, but real estate is featured more prominently throughout. I’ve reached a bit of a sticking point and could really use your help.

The videos and accompanying book, workbooks, and future live teleseminars will focus on search engine optimization and social media “optimization” (not sure that’s the proper term but oh well). With that in mind, what would you MOST like to learn about in relation to SEO and how to leverage social media for your business? Post your thoughts below this entry in the comments section.

The winner will receive a free copy of my training to download in advance of its public release. You’ll also receive the physical version at no charge once it is shipping.

Collectively, this training costs $1,594 when I teach it live ($797 for SEO and $797 for Social Media) so I believe this “contest” offers quite a bit of potential value. The home study version won’t cost $1,594, but I haven’t settled on an initial price yet.  I do know the price will be going up substantially three days after the initial launch so it’ll save you quite a bit of money to get in on it early. If you have an opinion on how much you’d be willing to pay for this type of training, feel free to include that in your comment(s) although it’ll have no bearing on the outcome of “contest.”

Oh, judging is based on my opinion of how difficult or “ground breaking” the suggestion happens to be. That means there is no right or wrong answer.

Thanks in advance for your response(s).

Roger

PS–If you’re not in real estate, that’s all right–you’re eligible, too.

I recently emailed and blogged about “Stomping the Search Engines 2″ from StomperNet, and I wanted to follow up with a quick video about it. I finally received my copy!!! Anyway, here’s my first take on the package.

Have you registered for yours yet? If not, click the link below:
Register for Stomping the Search Engines 2 and The Net Effect

Just a quick note to let you know I’m in the process of developing a weekly one hour SEO teleseminar series with some of the industry heavyweights that should begin sometime in August. Stay tuned for the lineup and sign-up information. This promises to be a doozy! If you are one of the lucky ones to get signed up and attend the entire series, the knowledge you’ll gain will be tremendous and extremely profitable. I hope to “see” you on the calls as they progress.

If there are burning SEO questions you’d like answered, please submit them below in the comments section. We’ll be sure to address them pronto!

More to come . . .

PS–I’m also working on some SEO training videos to compliment the book used in the recent training seminars. These will eventually be available for purchase on a site yet to be determined. If you’d be interested in becoming a beta tester for the videos, let me know in the comments section below.

First off, I would like to apologize for not posting much of late. I’ve got a LOT of coals in the fire at the moment, but that’s no excuse not to share something worthwhile every now and again.

Here’s the thing: as many of you know, I’ve been teaching SEO classes here in Louisville while trying to attract some students in other locales, and the feedback has been great thus far. I am in the process of taking the book I wrote for the classes and turning it into an e-book to possibly sell online. I’m at a little crossroads as to how to best go about that in order to:

1) Gain the most exposure for the consulting firm
2) Educate people to the point they could do their own SEO campaign if they so desired or help them realize that SEO is not a one time event or an easy process (it’s very time consuming!)
3) Encourage people to spread the word about the book and the firm while also not shorting the consulting firm’s long term viability (i.e. don’t give away the milk in order to sell the cow)

In order to achieve those objectives, I’ve been wrestling with the following scenarios:
A) Give the book away and encourage people to pass it around because that would generate the most buzz and increase awareness of the firm rather quickly

B) Develop and/or obtain videos, podcasts, and other material to include with the book to sell online at various price points (each package would be a little different). Currently, I’m thinking price points of:

• $67 for just the book and one or two other related e-books
• $97 for the book and several other related e-books
• $197 for the book, videos, podcasts, and other related e-books

There might be a ten day introductory period at launch for each package where each is $20 off to gain some momentum, but then everything would settle into the price points outlined. If the response is great enough, those price points may increase, too.

It’s tough for me NOT to charge something due to the fact that I’m giving away “trade secrets” so to speak. Yes, there are a lot of SEO books sprinkled throughout the market, and some of them are free (even some good ones), but I believe this is a little different from the other stuff out there (it’s very hands on and specific about what to do to be successful).

One theory suggests that if you give something of great value away, you get it back two fold. Another theory suggests that it is unlikely the people who would be buying one of the e-book packages would subscribe to one of the SEO subscription packages offered by my firm as they are more interested in doing everything themselves. I see both sides of the coin, and the business side of me says “you HAVE to sell the thing for money somehow,” while there is another part of me that says “you’ll make more in the long run if you give it away, and the firm will be recognized as a viable resource for many years to come.”

My question to you is: what would you do and why?

Please let me know by commenting below or e-mailing info@smbconsultinginc.com, and no reply is a bad reply–I’ll share some of the best responses in a week or so and again as the time gets closer to sell or give the book away. I’m going to stew on this for the next month or so. I appreciate your input in advance.