John Dilbeck Musings

Now that I have a modern web browser, having just received the new Macintosh I bought, I’ve been looking at some things I wasn’t able to do previously.

One of those things is viewing something called Plexo, which is available as one of the modules for building lenses at Squidoo.com.

Plexo lets you create lists of pretty much anything and then let others vote for what they like the most (by clicking the up arrow next to the item) or for what they like the least (by clicking the appropriate down arrow).

Not all Plexo lists use the down voting option.

So, I’d looked at Plexo and wasn’t impressed. When I read something about some Plexo lenses in a group on MySpace a couple of hours ago, I decided to take a look.

Now, I understand why Plexo is starting to make some waves.

So, to test the waters, I created a new lens that is devoted simply to a Plexo list of Favorite Motivational Books.

I started the list with a few of my favorites and I encourage you to go there and vote for your favorite.

Don’t see your favorite motivational or inspirational book? Feel free to add it to the list.

Pass the word along. I’m really interested in learning what the top ten motivational books will be.

It will take only a couple of minutes to go to Favorite Motivational Books and vote for your favorite. Won’t you do it now, while you’re thinking about it?

I welcome your comments on this topic.

Recently, Amazon.com offered a beta release of two new marketing tools for their many associates.

Omakase links

The first is a new type of link, called Omakase, that is automatically optimized for both the associate and for the Amazon customer viewing the link.

As I understand it, this Omakase link looks at both the products most sold by the affiliate and the type of products most often purchased by the viewer, if he or she is an Amazon customer.

Currently, I’m testing an Omakase link in the top-left corner of this blog on my Amazon Store page. I’ll probably test it on other sites over the next few weeks.

I would appreciate it if you would go to my Amazon Store page and see if the four products shown are something in which you may be interested. Don’t purchase if you don’t want, but I would appreciate feedback on whether or not the products closely match your preferences.

You are invited to offer feedback by commenting on this post.

Amazon aStore

The second is not just a link, it’s an entire store that can be customized by the associate.

Since I have a general readership, I offer links to most of the products Amazon offers in my Amazon aStore.

I’ve selected nine featured books related to blogging, success, and marketing on the opening page and have links to most of the categories of products offered by Amazon.com.

This store can be linked to as a stand-alone store, or can be added to a website using iframes or framed pages. Currently, I’m testing it as a stand-alone store that I’ll link to from a variety of blogs and websites.

I would appreciate any comments you have on the Amazon aStore.

Your purchases support this blog

This blog is supported by your purchases from the merchants I promote, with Amazon.com being one of them.

By purchasing from my links, you allow me to stay home full time and care for my Mom, who otherwise would have to go into a nursing home because I would have to get a job or take on out-of-home projects.

I appreciate your purchases and hope you will continue to find items of interest on this blog.

I do not earn a lot from Amazon, but I welcome every commission I receive from them as a result of your purchases.

Thank you.

JD

Ken Evoy, President of Sitesell, Inc., recently interviewed Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail, at Long Tail Marketing For Small Business.

Chris Anderson is the executive editor of WIRED magazine and has a good overview of technology and marketing, as evidenced by the buzz that is building surrounding his book.

In the industrial selling model, corporations decided what was going to be sold and there was a limited number of items offered for a limited time. All companies that are involved in mass production and mass distribution are working within this model.

In the developing digital selling model, products don’t go out of production and you don’t have to sell thousands or millions of items to generate a profit. You can sell fewer items over a longer time interval. This is a simplistic explanation, and Ken goes into more depth at Long Tail Marketing For Small Business.

Additionally, there is an audio interview that you should listen to if you have any interest in small businesses and marketing to niche audiences, and I think that pertains to almost all small businesses.

Listen to the interview. If what you hear excites you about the possibilities of selling into infinite niches, buy the book and read it.