Chris Brogan and Julien Smith have written a thought-provoking book called Trust Agents. Here’s my video review.

I had the sincere pleasure of once again emceeing the Affiliate Summit in NYC 2009. This time I had the honor of introducing social media maven Chris Brogran, who has a new book out called Trust Agents. The video is below.

You will learn a lot about trust and influence and why they are VERY important. Chris was joined by his co-author and great guy Julien Smith. Please take some time to watch and learn.

Take a look at this video. It’s nothing special. A woman who sells trees and plants in her backyard posted this home made video on YouTube of her touring around her yard showing you what she has to offer.

Go ahead, just watch it. All she did was link this off of her Craigslist page.

Man, that video completely sucked right? Wrong!

I love that video. Why? Because it’s real. Because if I was in the market for a new cherry tree and had the choice between going to this woman’s backyard down the road from me and Home Depot… I’d MUCH rather go to her.

See, I’ve been saying this for years… It has NOTHING to do with the quality of the video. It doesn’t have to be scripted, or with multiple shots, or done with big fancy equipment. It just doesn’t.

I simply has to be real, and solve a problem.

Anyone can do this. Get a Flip cam (BuytheFlip.com) and point it at yourself or your products and click the record button. Then upload it to YouTube and you’re done.

Bad videos suck… In a good way.

Again, anyone can do this. You HAVE to do this. Check out my free Online Video Toolkit to learn how to make Web videos.

Thank you to Robert Crabtree for pointing me to this video and sharing his story with me.

In my presentation called “Beyond the Website” I cover my mantra of “Why We Use the Internet”. It’s one of the main things that we all need to understand before we can be successful online.

You MUST understand why people come online. If you dont, how can you sell to them? How can you create products and services and tools that they want? You can’t.

Here’s quick little snippet of me talking about why we use the Web. Do you think simple like this? Do you solve problems? You should.

Your brand sucks? Does it? Integrity and trust matters. So are you living your brand? I did this video a long time ago (see the fail beard), but it never made it up until now.

Your brand is the experience people/customers have with you/it. What do you want your brand to be? You have to decide and then live it. You can’t say one thing and do another or vice versa.

For some reason the video ends early, but you get the point?

Here’s some links and thoughts I had after a beautiful 70-degree, sunny day here in Cleveland, Ohio.

Thought #1: Jason Calacanis interviews Ted Murphy, fucking marketing genius (it’s #1 on Google Ted, you should be proud) and CEO of PayPerPost.com.

A few thoughts popped into my head while watching this broadcast.

1. You ever notice how much nicer people are in person as opposed to when they’re calling someone an asshole on their blog? Ok, to be fair, I don’t think Jason ever called Ted an asshole directly, but he shit on his business model plenty worse. You get the point.

2. Ted Murphy is not only a fucking marketing genius, the guy is a PR wonder. He has kept his calm, clear head from day one of his company’s turbulant launch, and it has paid off big time.

Heck, he won me over and I was probably the biggest public hater on PPP besides Jason way back when. I’m speaking at his event in June with Robert Scoble.

Lesson: Never let them see you sweat, and keep a clear, calm head and let your passion never let you sway from your vision.

3. Calacanis is really good as an interviewer, and the show production is very good, making it fun and easy to watch. I would actually liken Jason’s performance to one of my new favorite personalities Donny Deutsch. Fyi, if you don’t watch Donny’s show “The Big Idea” on MSNBC, you’re missing out.

4. Did Jason really say he was the first blogger to ever setup a disclosure policy? Not that I really care, but is that true Jason and do you have anything to back that up? I’ve been blogging since 2001 and frankly, I’ve been disclosing since 2002. Forget it, it doesn’t matter.

Thought #2: Can businesses use social media?

On Monday, March 26, I’m moderating a panel called ‘The Growing Impact of Social Media‘ here in Cleveland.

Each of our panelists will dive into case studies that demonstrate how social media, including blogs and online communities, offer businesses a unique opportunity to interact and learn from their consumers. Be warned! This event is sure to generate a lot of excitement, but the most valuable takeaway will be your newfound confidence to assess social media ideas and the benefit they hold for your business and target audience.

Thought #3: Update On My Question To The Copyblogger

A few days ago I posted a question to the Copyblogger. Dear CopyBlogger, How Did Your Blog Become So Successful, So Fast? Today, he dodged the answer with a non-answer on his blog. That’s fine, Copyblogger.com is still one of my top 5 blogs ever in terms of high-quality information.

Jim Kukral asks me a question that I was going to try to answer, until I realized that the answer is what I write about here. I haven’t done a single thing to develop or promote this blog that I haven’t shared with you. There are no secrets; only poorly-organized information that needs to be compiled and edited into a book, which I need to get focused on.

You all know how much I love BUMPzee! Well, I love it even more now that I was chosen as one of the select few to manage my very own community while it’s still in beta. So what community did I make?

Introducing the ‘How To Be Successful Online’ BUMPzee Community

Bookmark this: http://www.bumpzee.com/onlinesuccess/

What is the community all about?

The How To Be Successful Online community is for anyone who is interested in learning how to be successful on the Internet. The blogs and members of this community will focus on and discuss the world of Internet marketing, professional blogging and making money online. Join today for free, or submit your related blog for free as well.

That description you just read is really what JimKukral.com is all about, and many, many others like it that I read every day. Like those blogs, I don’t write about one topic like affiliate marketing only, but rather, I focus on writing about all types of online marketing, with the specific goal of trying to help businesses, brands and individuals be successful online.

Do you fit that mold? Are you someone who’s looking for more information about how to be successful online? Join the community for free!

Do you have a blog that talks about ways to be successful online? Submit your blog to the community for free!

FYI. I’ve preloaded the community with about 14 blogs, listed below (in no particular order & if I missed your blog, I’m sorry, just go add it).

If your blog is on the list below, go sign up and claim your blog, and most importantly, add the bump widget to your entries and sidebar. If your blog isn’t in the list below, what are you waiting for, submit it!

Not sure about BUMPzee yet. Read this.

Super Affiliate Marketing Blog
Earners Blog
Revenews
WaynePorter.com
Shoe Money
CostPerNews
Graywolf’s SEO Blog
Copyblogger
Andy Wibbels
Aaron Wall’s SEO Book.com
The Blog Herald
Ask the Blogger!
901am
ProBlogger Blog Tips
Jim Kukral Online Marketing Ideas

Oh yeah, and make sure to check out the other new beta BUMPzee community managed by CostPerNews’s Sam Harrelson.

Called “Next Gen Marketing”. In a nutshell, this community on BUMPzee will serve as an aggregator of blogs and insights focusing on developing trends and emerging tactics to address the rising tide of social media, attention economies and “web2.0″ platforms. It should be fun to see the discussions which arise there.

There’s also some new interface changes at BUMPzee too, so check it out!

I’m actually surprised that this came so late. I fully expected this discussion to start in the blogosphere and on forums the day Google announced their entrance into the CPA market. But, it’s here now, and people are talking about it.

Will Adsense Die When Google CPA Takes Over?

I don’t know. Again, I’m a marketing and branding guy. I’m not good at answering questions about billion-dollar business models and whether or not they have legs. Guys like this can answer that question.

What I am good at is looking at these types of issues from the 40,000 foot view, and from the eyes of small business owners and entrepreneurs. What that being said, I think that we’re asking the wrong question.

It shouldn’t be, “Is Google CPA going to kill Adsense”? The question should be, “As a publisher, does Google CPA make more sense for me than Adsense?”

The answer to that question is yes, and no, depending on who you are and what you’re doing.

If you’re a black-hat seo’r who creates thousands of crap, Google-clogging, niche topic pages and who loads them with Adsense ads, then no, you’re going to lose a lot of money if you have no clicks to collect from. Why? Because if Adsense is dead, then you’re stuck with CPA, and crappy, single, spam pages will not convert a CPA ad, they just won’t.

On the other hand, if you’re everybody else, then yes, CPA will make sense for you, and I argue it will and can make you more money long-term. Why? Because CPA only works when you presell, and/or you have good content and trust built with your readers.

So, by the very nature of creating high-quality, consistent good content, you’re going to be able to create trust, which will allow you to presell, which will in turn let you be an effective affiliate marketer.

Oh yeah, I forget, that’s a lot of work, yuck. It is, but it’s worth it. Again, you want the quick buck, or you want the long-term brand, AND the bucks? Make your choice.

As I walking up to do my speech on blogging at the last Affiliate Summit event in Vegas, a gentleman got out of his chair and stopped me to say hello. He introduced himself as a product manager from Google, gave me his card, and told me he was looking forward to hearing this presentation in particular.

How’s that for pressure?

Turns out, we communicated after the show and he agreed with my ideas and like my presentation. Looking back at the moment, and seeing all the news the last few days about Google’s move into the affiliate marketing space, you just have to wonder…

(insert dream sequence dreamy music clip here)

Was Google scouting the Affiliate Summit in preparation for this move?

How long will it be before the Affiliate Summit event is the size of Ad-Tech with a Google booth bigger than the dining area?

Can Google harness the essence of affiliate marketing on a grand scale and make it work?

Will Google buy the Affiliate Summit from Shawn and take it global? Will Shawn let them?

Will Google try to use their power to rename the term affiliate marketing into something more, well, better?

(end dreamy dream music)

I’m excited about Google’s push into the affiliate marketing industry, if only to see how and if they can make it work on a mass scale, and to see some of the answers to those questions.

Feel free to leave your answers and thoughts in the comments below. I know Shawn will be here soon to deny that he’ll sell to Google, but c’mon Shawn, everyone has a price. :)

Ok, not “with” Robert Scoble on stage at the same time, but “with” him at the event as a speaker. I’ve accepted a speaking gig at the PayPerPost “Postiecon” on June 1 & 2nd, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.

DID KUKRAL REALLY JUST SAY WHAT I THINK HE SAID?

Yes, I did, and let me tell you why. For those of you who don’t read me here or at ReveNews, you wouldn’t know that I was probably one of the biggest PayPerPost bashers from day one. So those who know my history with PPP, are probably wondering what kind of drugs I must be taking.

The answer is, none, college was over in the early 90’s. Yes, I used to despise PayPerPost, but it was always because of one clear reason, which was the lack of required, clear disclosure that allowed for deception. It was never about anything besides that.

What they are now, and what they used to be are two different things, and I’m on record as saying I think they’re “on the right track”. They are.

So Why Accept A Speaking Gig From PayPerPost?

Let’s make this clear. I’m speaking at their event, just like Robert Scoble is (who took a lot of heat for it without merit). My invitation to speak does not mean I fully endorse their product, but rather, it means that I think I can help a lot of bloggers learn how to monetize their blogs, and build trust with their readers and build long-term, solid brands for themselves.

The bottom line is that I’m in the “helping bloggers succeed” business, and have been for years and years, way before many even were thinking about bloggers being able to make money.

Side Note: I still remember getting hate mail from people back in 2003-ish when I used to sell my ebook “BlogstoRiches“. They used to email me and say things like “Blogging is pure, you can’t make money with them” or “You’re a scumbag for trying to fool bloggers into thinking they can monetize. FU Kukral.”.

I’m Speaking To Try & Help Bloggers Succeed

My session is entitled ‘The Secrets To Long-Term Blog Success & Profitability’. It will nothing to do with how bloggers can write paid content to make money, and everything to do with how to use your blog to build success and trust long-term, whether that’s for direct profit or for your personal brand, etc…

I hope you can attend the event (which is only about $199), and if so I look forward to meeting you in person.

If you’re an event coordinator that’s looking for a dynamic, informative and well-prepared speaker, please give me a ring and let’s chat about having me at your event. Call me direct at 216.272.4383. Looks like I will be speaking at the Blog Business World event this fall as well, it’s filling up fast!