Hi Brian,
Your progress has been fascinating to follow. I looked at the materials in "Local Cash Machines" some months ago, and have taken a few half-hearted steps while I've been learning the whole internet marketing thing. There are so many ways to go, there's a definite inherent danger if one is prone to "shiny object syndrome" (as I am.) And I'm pretty shy by nature, so the whole sales part of getting the spaces sold is just short of terrifying to me. If I could get that part done through e-mail, I'll be all ears.
Thank you for sharing your incremental successes. It's coming at a good time for me, as I finally feel somewhat comfortable with setting up Wordpress blogs and figuring out what to do once I've got one up and running.
The one question I have is, how did you decide how much you want to charge the business owners to be listed? It seems to me you're offering quite a bargain compared to what other marketers have said they charge. Of course, it's always what the market will bear, and I may have a skewed perspective because I come from a very expensive part of the world, but I went on a vacation to the UK a few years ago, and nearly had to take a 2nd job to pay for it! Just kidding, I loved every minute of it. In fact, I felt so at home there, I almost forgot I was actually from the U.S. and was expected to return. (Oops, a shiny just pulled me off on a tangent again.) Anyway, 1st page of Google is nothing to scoff at, and I'll bet the businesses that get listed on your site get a pretty good bump in their business.
Thanks for keeping us all in the loop. Especially thank you for explaining your backlinking tactics. That's still a part of the puzzle I'm trying to master, but every bit of input helps.
Maybe someday I'll have a similar story I can share with you all here at RRW. I don't know if I've ever encountered a more kind and generous group of people on a forum. Thank you all.
I'll stop rambling now.
Teri
