Is Aimee MIA??

I know, I’ve been getting that question a lot. Seems like I vanished, but I haven’t … I’m here!

Truth is, I started a new job, which I absolutely love! With that comes a lot of work, which I also love. The only downside is that I’ve been neglecting you, my faithful readers — and for that I am truly, sincerely sorry.

Please bear with me as I settle in to my new role and rework my schedule so that I can continue to give you the quality SEO copywriting tips and advice you deserve.

Thanks for understanding, back soon

Cheers,

Aimee

PS: Shameless plug – check out TripCentral’s “Name Our Travel Blog” contest! And remember to Like us while you’re there!

WE all deserve to be PAID for our work

A freelancer, a salaried employee and an ego-maniacal business owner walk into a bar …

No joke.

Freelancing can be the most rewarding and the most frustrating work scenario you encounter. Working from home, setting your own schedule, and choosing the assignments you want to tackle are all great, but what happens when you do the work and don’t get paid? All hell breaks loose. I’ve been there … more than once. Any freelancer who’s worked more than a handful of gigs probably has a similar story. Sadly, it goes with the territory. It shouldn’t but it does.

You may recall reading a different block of text here last week. Yes, I’ve made some edits. Why? Because justice prevailed

That said, lack of payment continues to be a very prominent issue within our industry, and I remain a very strong advocate for all legitimately hard-workers fighting to be paid what they deserve.

And so I would like to keep this topic open for discussion to anyone and everyone who has experienced a similar lack of respect for hard-working freelancers and employees alike. We must band together if we are to expel these toxic, overbearing ego-maniacs.

Please, share your story with us here. If not for ourselves, then for our successors, we must not let this type of injustice prevail. Individually we are strong, but together we are unstoppable — a force to be reckoned with!

Aimee

7 Link Spam Messages I Love to Hate

Link building spam drives me crazy. I mean really, who has the time to go thru their blog to weed out hundreds of spam comments? Sure, there are tools that help sort out the good from the bad, but still. If only these link spammers could use their incessant powers to offer an actual opinion on a topic, or to share a true thought — that’s the kind of Internet world I hope to live in one day.

Today, I’ve decided to pass along some of these crazy link spam messages. My hope is that you’ll spot some similarities that will make it easier for you to recognize and weed out the spam from your blog.

Here are my all-time favourites – 7 link spam messages I love to hate:

7. Buddy/Buddy: Sup. Basically wanted to leave a swift note and inquire exactly where you gathered your particular blog page model I am starting out own wordpress blog and factually like your specific model. (Sup, yo dawg!)

6: Confrontational approach: Sorry, but I disagree with this unique story. I do appreciate your particular website still and may continue to keep moving right back for updates.

5. Attempted flattery: Yo. I just simply desired to firmly make a short commentary and let you recognize that in fact I’ve been focusing on your particular wordpress blog for quite some time. Keep up the grand work and I will be returning back once more fairly quickly. (This one also falls under the Lost in Translation category.)

4. Blatant disregard: Couponing app fans using Droid or iPad should give a go with one called The Coupons App. This weekend get a 50% coupon to Nordstrom Rack. $15 off coupon at Herberger’s. A FREE entree coupon at Captain D’s and an appetizer coupon to Black Angus Steakhouse! http://thecouponsapp.com/download Really, it’s absolutely free. (Now these guys aren’t even trying to sneak a message past me!)

3. Lost in translation: Greeting there admin, I just wished to place a brief observation to say that I adored your story. Thanks!

2. More flattery: Fantastic piece of writing. Continue to keep up the amazing performance. (this one was a little better, had it not been for the sex for seniors backlink.)

1. WTF?!: You have a great weblog and I like your style of writing about this sexdat 4 e allstuff. Keep up the good work! (Wow, was I writing about sex dates for all stuff again in my sleep?! My sincerest apologies to my readers if I did )