I’ve said it before: A4U Expo might just be my favourite webmaster conference. But since I know a few serious affiliates who didn’t go – and I’m not afraid to name names, Mr Powell – I thought I’d sum up what I learned:
I used to, too. Many of my friends still do. It’s usually simple and cheap enough.
But it’s also unwise. I realised *why* when a friend lost control (albeit briefly) of their domain, after falling out with their host.
They’d sent an opt-in newsletter. A handful of spam complaints later, and they pulled the plug. I eventually learned the hard way myself, but more on that later.
At PubCon 2006, everyone was talking about Moniker. I couldn’t work out why. With hindsight, owner Monte Cahn is a popular and well-respected guy in the industry.
I decided to give Moniker a shot. In the couple of years since, I’ve learned why people recommend them:
1. I have my own account rep. Moniker asked for my feedback on something. I got a response from the company’s founder. Pretty damn impressive.
2. Their interface is fantastic for managing domains (even if it’s ugly as sin). For example, you can update nameservers or registration information in bulk.
3. Moniker have a domainers’ price plan, charging around $7 for a .COM.
4. Moniker have never lost control of a domain. I thought this was BS sales patter, until I lost a domain last year when a major UK registrar swiped a domain from me (why? the old owner “asked for it back”).
5. Moniker run their own domain escrow service (though I usually use escrow.com) and run many of the biggest domain auctions.
Don’t get me wrong: Moniker aren’t perfect. Last year, Nominet (the UK domain registry) was offline for a weekend, and Moniker couldn’t explain why my registrations were failing. But compared to the competition, I think they rule the school.
Go Daddy’s interface and relentless upsells drive me nuts (let me know if you *ever* work out how to transfer a domain out). The front running scandal put me off using Network Solutions.
All things considered, I’ve been very happy with Moniker and now have most of my domains with them.
Which is your favourite domain registrar and why?
PS. Don’t forget to check out Domain Lookup, my Firefox extension for finding domain names.
“[To] provide chairs and sofas, wireless internet, and interesting people to talk to, collaborate with, and bounce ideas off of”.
Whether you work solo, remotely or in full-time employment, coworking offers a change of pace as much as a change of scenery.
The atmosphere at Jellys is deliberately casual and chatty – perhaps not the ideal place for a hard days GTD.
Instead, the events offer the chance to meet some interesting faces and throw new ideas around. For myself and those that I met, the opportunities more than compensate for a little lost productivity.
Last week’s Berlin Jelly was predictably popular with fellow internet geeks. Most were web designers or developers, reflecting common expat vocations in a city where local employment is elusive. The event was hosted by Robin Slomkowski, a developer on the Flock browser.
Coworking events in other cities, like London’s Tuttle Club – in my diary for my return to the Big Smoke – attract a broader crowd, from professional musicians to marketing consultants. Others specialise in a particular field, like art.
Jelly events take place in dozens of cities around the world, as listed in the Jelly wiki. The coworking wiki lists dozens more non-Jelly events worldwide.
Interested in learning more? Watch Amit’s video introduction to Jelly.
Been to a Jelly or coworking event elsewhere? I’d love to hear your experiences.
Thanks to Mokolabs for the photo of a San Diego Jelly.
Back in July, I wrote about my travelling office. A few days later, Tom Donaldson showed me what the ultimate mobile office looks like.
Tom has worked out of a heavilly customized RV rig (British users, read: ‘posh caravan’) for 3.5 years.
It’s wired for ethernet, wifi, satellite internet and with an external wifi antenna. It also features a power supply setup more complex than most nation states.
Tips to find and contact website owners who go AWOL.
It’s no secret that I approach webmasters to sell their websites. But, surprisingly, my biggest challenge is often contacting the owner.
I’m constantly shocked by the number of sites with no about us page, no contact details, no forms etc.
The worst offenders? Domainers, no contest. I’ve never seen so many default WordPress install pages.
That poses a real challenge: how do you get an offer to the webmaster? Here’s a list of some of the techniques I’ve used or considered in the past:
WHOIS data is an obvious first step. If it’s anonymized or garbage, look for clues: nicknames or handles in the ‘name’ field.
IP addresses. Check with sites share an IP address with MyIpNeighbors.com. Is there a portfolio or personal site that has contact details or other clues?
Name servers. Does the site use custom nameservers? A Domain Tools lookup can suggest other sites in their network (even with separate IPs).
CPA Networks. Look for links to CPA networks (eg, nbjmp.com is a Never Blue Ads link). CPA affiliates have an account manager who may be willing to pass a message on.
Affiliate links Part 1. Look for affiliate links that feature a username for clues. For example, Amazon affiliate links contain a string (&tag=…) which has a tracking name (eg, qualitynocom-20).
Affiliate links Part 2. Can affiliate networks pass a message on? High traffic sites will likely be on their radar.
Use Live HTTP Headers for Firefox if affiliate links are masked via redirects.
AdSense IDs can be matched across sites. Look for the “google_ad_client” string in the code.
Sub-affiliates signups very occasionally tell you which affiliate referred you. Only seen this with a handful of homebrew affiliate platforms.
Ad marketplaces. Is the site listed on sites like BuySellAds.com or AdBrite?
Ask advertisers if they can pass on your message.
Advertising enquiries. Is there an ad rate card page or PDF, for example?
Newsletters
Newsletters always have a reply-to address (of course, it isn’t always live).
Even ‘noreply@yourdomain.com’ works if catch-all email is enabled on Cpanel…
CAN-SPAM compliant emails require a postal address. Many hosted email services, like Aweber, require this even for non-US users.
Common emails. Have you tried info@, webmaster@, contact@, postmaster@ the domain? Get guessing!
Backlinks
Explore backlinks with tools like SEO for Firefox or SEO Link Analysis. Many webmasters link from another network site *somewhere*, so look for anchor text that is suspiciously close to their target keywords.
Forum signatures. Can you find forum users with signature links via BoardTracker or in the backlinks? PM them.
Blog comments. Can you find blog comments using the URL? Blog owners using common platforms, like WordPress, will have an email address for the commenter.
Social bookmarks. Which users have submitted or bookmarked the site on Delicious, Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon etc? Look for patterns with Social Media for Firefox.
Other social media. Try guessing obvious Twitter, Plurk etc usernames.
Widgets etc. Do they embed widgets from external sites? Don’t forget you can message users off-site at YouTube etc.
Better Business Bureau backlinks may mean membership or complaints. Either way, the BBB may have contact details.
Look out for listings in web directories with the submitters name next to the listings.
HTML
HTML forms. Search the source for email submits via FormMail or similar scripts. There may be no domain, just the name before the @ sign.
Boilerplate text. Google snippets of their Privacy Policy or T+Cs. Find them on other sites? Bingo.
Footer footprints. Is the copyright notice or footer phrased in an unusual way? Get Googling.
Meta data. Check the source for hallmarks, like a Frontpage author’s tag on an old site.
Who’s the designer? Look at the footer/meta data etc, and try the designers (provided it’s not a template, natch).
Hosting etc
Archive.org is your friend. Do cached pages have contact details or clues?
Or does Archive.org show a change of ownership? Old owners can help.
Web Hosting. Find their web host and ask if they can pass on an urgent message.
DMCA notices. Obviously appropriate only in very specific circumstances.
Researching Names
Phone book. Old school, but worth a shot.
ZabaSearch, an incredible people search tool for the US.
Social Networks. Everyone is on MySpace or FaceBook nowadays.
LinkedIn for business people.
Niche social networks. Eg, Sphinn for SEOs, DNhour for domainers etc.
Ever realise you’re trying to solve the wrong problem?
As an online marketer, its easy to get hung up on distractions.
If only I had more traffic / backlinks / budget / talented staff (insert your own pet peeve here)…
By which I mean, it’s easy to forget that providing damn fine service (or products, or user experience) can work wonders as a marketing exercise.
Take London’s biggest minicab company, Addison Lee. They built their reputation by providing a service that’s a cut above London’s countless seedy cab companies.
Not only can you rely on your cab arriving – usually a few minutes early – but they’ll send you an SMS to let you know when your car is on it’s way, and when it is waiting. The message even tells you the car make, model and plates.
More impressive is one of my own experiences as a customer. I took a taxi back in November 2007 en route to Barcelona. I mentioned on the journey to the Gatwick Express that I’d be out of the country for the rest of the year.
Back in London on 11 January, my doorbell buzzed unexpectedly. It was the Addison Lee taxi driver who’d picked me two months earlier. He explained that I’d left a book behind in his car and, well, he wanted to make sure I got it back.
Unsurprisingly, I always recommend Addison Lee in London (and, let’s not forget, here I am blogging about them, too). A quick Google search turns up dozens of other happy customers at Tipped.co.uk, Qype.co.uk and Ciao.co.uk.
Another example of great service: RightBanners.com, who design banner ads for webmasters.
I placed an order, completed their simple design brief and paid by PayPal. My order took all of two minutes. And a mere 3 hours 43 minutes later, I received the first drafts.
I should add that they are based in Las Vegas, and that I’d placed my order at 4am Nevada time…
The first draft banner designs were spot on, and I needed no further revisions. I’ve placed two more orders since. And, like Addison Lee, I’ve started recommending RightBanners to friends.
What are your favourite examples of exceptional service?
