Personal Blog Passes 1 Million Page Views in 1.6 Years

Thanks to everyone. Thank you so much!


By the time I post this article, this blog will have surpassed 1 million page views in 1.6 years. That's pretty awesome if I say so myself. That may not be the record but it must be pretty close for a guy who just started blogging with no fame or corporate backing to help him out. Thanks so much to everyone. I could never have done it without you all.

Major companies can get a million page views, they have status and name-value. But for a personal blog on a very niche subject like mine (Japan, marketing and media - and in English no less), that is an incredible number. I have asked a few Internet expert friends about it and they told me that it was "amazing." I like to think so.


When it comes to blogging about Japan in English, I would venture to guess that there may not be another 3 or 4 personal blogs in the entire world that have surpassed 1 million views! It is especially rare when you consider that I never blog at all about gadgetry or gaming. (I do know that there was a very excellent ramen one that I passed by one time that did have more than a million views and I've looked for it to show you, but couldn't find it.)


I like blogging. But there is frustration... Well, I should say that blogging, in and of itself, doesn't frustrate me that much but when I am asked for marketing advice (mostly buzz marketing of which blogging is an integral component), the frustration comes in when people (especially corporate types) - just don't seem to understand... They give lip service to blogging and her sister "Organic Marketing", but when push comes to shove, they just don't "get it." They invariably will go back to old ways and pay money to have their paid advertising show their company at the top of a Google search result...


Oh hopelessly lost souls!



You've really got to stop and wonder why in the year 2012, when the Internet is so integral to our lives and thing like, say, Facebook has over 750 users that most corporations have a Marketing section whereby not a single one of them blog... 44% of Japanese companies don't even use Social Media... And those that do, do it poorly... Alas...

These sorts make great bloggers.

Blogging is like being a mad scientist in a laboratory: You are basically on your own trying out different subjects, titles, word combinations, file namings for images, tags and keywords to see what gets good results. There really isn't any textbook for doing this. The closest thing is David Meerman Scott's New Rules of Marketing and PR but that's already nearly five years old! And, in the life of the Internet, five years is ancient history! (By the way, David Meerman Scott and I have corresponded and he greatly encouraged me to start this very blog!)


Here's some of the great things I've learned through blogging over this last year:


1) How to get #1 rankings on a Google search without paying any money


2) How to do the same for images that will lead to your website without paying any money


3) Credibility is very hard to get, it is nearly impossible to buy. Blogging and Organic Marketing are truly credible methods to get the message out.


4) Merely by blogging and experimenting, you will understand more than 98% of all people - even Internet engineers - how marketing works (or doesn't work) on the Internet.

Blogging is a study experience for me. I do this to learn new techinques. Things are always changing the only way to do it is to, well, do it. Like I said, this blog is like my laboratory and I am the mad scientist. I've gotten pretty good at figuring out how this all works... But, I must admit, one thing doesn't change: In Japan, sex and cute sell. 


It frustrates the beans out of me when I write something that I think is really good and intellectually fulfilling, yet it gets few reads; but when I write something with lots of photos of sexy Japanese girls, it will get thousands of reads... Er, maybe i should say, "views" from all over the world. 


But, even that is a learning experience because I know how to take the exact same content and get a few hundred views or get 100,000 views. There is a method to the madness!  


The things that make me happy the most about blogging is getting nice mail and intelligent comments, even if they disagree, and meeting new people. 


Blogging can be exhausting, but it can also be rewarding. Through writing, I think I help myself to become a better person as writing is excellent therapy for the soul. In that way, I suppose, it wouldn't have mattered if I had never even reached 100 readers.


As an old Zen Buddhist saying goes about charcoal ink painting: "The valuable thing is the moment of painting, not the the final picture."


Absolutely the same can be said about blogging.


My next goal is to hit 2 million page views in January 2013. Thank you so very much for your visiting this blog sometimes. I do sincerely appreciate your time and most kind consideration.

NOTE: Finally, please allow me to indulge myself in this self-congratulatory message and to thank my friends who helped me to get here: First off, my friend, Lew Rockwell, who gave me my very first break in blogging in 2004; Koji Kamibayashi "Nihon wo Genki ni Shitai;" My friend Mish Shedlock over at the Global Trend Economic Analysis Blog; Yuka Rogers "Official Blog," David Meerman Scott, Tim Williams,  Jimbo "Jimbo's Japan," Andrew Joseph "It's a Wonderful Rife," Ryu Oni "Monkeyman in Japan," and so many others (especially bloggers) who have come and gone over these last 20 months. Oh and I have to thank Seth Godin for his great books and the one he autographed for me!

Finally, to my friends and to those who are thinking about blogging; Most bloggers don't last more than 2 ~ 3 months. It gets frustrating. You write your heart out and then only three people read what you wrote. In the first two months of this blog, in my archives, I have many tips on how to get more page views, if you are thinking about blogging, or want to know how to get more views, perhaps you can find something useful there. I hope so.

Or, you can do it for yourself... That, my friends, is where, I think, you'll find the real rewards.

Once again, thank you to everyone!

Keywords: page views, buzz, organic, buzz marketing, 1 Million Page Views, therapy, 1,000,000, hits, reward, page views, Japan blog, amazing, incredible, marketing, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, personal blog, blog, blogging,   

Blogging About Being in Drug Rehabilitation in Japan and More

I have been having correspondence with another friend who I have never met, yet correspond with, just like Charles Bukowski and Gary North. My friend's name is Jp (I'm not sure he would want me to write his full name down. He seems a very humble person). Jp seems to be very well known in Hollywood. He is an artist, creator and producer. 


That's about all I know about him. Seems like a guy who enjoys his privacy and has just a few friends but those are strong relationships.

Jp has been around Hollywood for a very long time. He has seen what went on there in the sixties and knows Sunset Strip and the entertainment area well. It also seems that everyone in the so-called "Hollywood In-Crowd" knows Jp but I also gather he is not a part of that "in-crowd." (People like me think that is a good thing). Jp has been inspiring me, unbeknownst to him, to move into a more creative realm of writing. I think I am going to do that.


I've decided that I was going to start writing more about the many true and bizarre things that have happened to me in my life. I have been arrested a few times, should be dead (more than once); the lead singer of a one-hit wonder rock band, a drug addict, a witness to an exorcism; I won $100,000 at the lottery in '81 or was it '82? I've been divorced twice (not so special); I fought and defeated a rare and extremely deadly childhood cancer, met and worked with many famous people, been on TV; and I have the bragging rights of being the only DeeJay in Japan who has been fired from every FM radio station in Tokyo at least once (Bragging? That's right. If you knew how crappy these Tokyo FM stations are, then you'd agree) .... 


All in all, I've lived a charmed life. I want to write it down while I can.

My 54th birthday party

There's much material to cover, so first, I'll want to write about my true adventures in drug abuse and drug rehabilitation. This, inspired by Jp, but also inspired by Charles Bukowski of whom Jp is also a fan of. I will be posting some of these stories starting today or tomorrow (I am 1/2 way through the first one).


Before I do, though, I think I need to explain another reason why I do this. Of course, I'd like to be a famous writer someday too. But, if I get so lucky to be so, I also know that it would most certainly happen after my death, if at all. That's why I need to post these things. This blog is sort of my notes.


These stories will all be true stories to the best of my recollection and follow my writing style like the following two examples... But they will be even more raw and scary (I hope). I hope that I have the guts to write it down as it was and not to hide facts and sugar coat:


My Life is Like a "B" Horror Movie 


"All I wanted was one little drink, yet I couldn't have it." I said as I lay down on the sofa. The friend snorted the cocaine and rubbed his nose. Through his gasps he looked at me and said,

"Mike! This is a dry county in a Christian country in the Land of the Free. Why is it you have a problem with that? Why do you hate the baby Jesus!?" He laughed sarcastically at the absurdity of it all and handed the straw towards me. I refused. After a 24 hour flight, snorting cocaine was the last thing I needed.


On the left of me, here's a guy breaking the law by smoking marijuana. On the right of me, a guy breaking the law doing cocaine. Me, in the middle, I cannot even buy a glass of wine or a beer just because it is a Sunday? What is this? Enforced Christianity? Didn't Jesus drink wine?


John Belushi, Japan and Me - Or How the Movie Animal House Changed my Life


If you want to be special and do something really different, then you can't do what everyone else is doing. You have to go for the "gusto!" Watching John Belushi taught me to do that... Sometimes, it got me in big trouble with bosses, but the results have always been good. Like Francis Ford Coppola once said, "The things you get fired for at 20-years-old, are the things you are celebrated for at 50-years-old." I want to be celebrated. Who doesn't? Life is short.


Anyway, this inspiration to write these things down all-of-a-sudden. How did it come about? Well, as I wrote yesterday, first I decided to give up forever working with some clowns I know. Then Jp inspired me to watch some Bukowski videos. They caused me to remember how I felt when I was 30. Then Jp wrote about his work and frustrations.


So I decided that I am going to write these things down in the ext few days and here was my letter to JP explaining my motivations:

"Jp, I need to learn more from you. You have so much to share. Now, today, I am inspired by you and Bukowski to finally write down my experiences in drug rehabilitation in Japan. And I am doing that right now (taking a break). My thinking is that my blog writings are my notes (as well as a pocket notebook that I always carry). This year, I may get lucky and get a good sum of money from a business venture that I made a few years ago. I pray so. That allows me to have more freedom. Either way, I know that people create their own reality through self fulfilled prophesy so I am expecting the best and want to live my life. 


I want to write my experiences as I remembered they happened. I think it might make a good (maybe funny) collection of stories or even be good for a script (whether that script becomes movie or not is besides the point). Several people who know me well have read articles and posts when I admitted that I went drug rehab, divorced twice, was arrested a few times, etc. etc. 


They tell me, "Mike! Don't write that. People won't want to work with you!" 


I think, "Yep. Probably true. But so what? It is what it is. That was a long time ago and, in today's society, things (and people) are so f*cked up anyway. If they can't handle someone who is honest about their past, then I don't want to work with them anyway." 


There are so many people full of sh*t who are living plastic lives with plastic faces. Like that Roxy Music song, "In every dream home a heartache." That's the way it is. Our society is so sick because in every dream home there is a heartache; kid's a drug addict, father an alcoholic and having an affair, mom's addicted to pain killers, an unloved person relying on what a doll represents for love... On and on... Yet people want to keep the facade that they are "normal healthy and happy individuals." They don't want to admit their human failings. They want to live a life that is merely a show... 


I don't despise those kinds of people. They need to be pitied. If those kinds of people don't want to work with people like me who want to reach higher ground by telling the truth and admitting their faults, then why would I want to work with them? 


Who is the really sick person in this picture? 


I want to be happy. I want to be closer to God, Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, the big electrode, nature, peace, earth, the Sun, Bob, Tony, whatever-you-want-to-call-it. I want to reach the higher ground. I don't have any problem admitting my past.


Maybe I am wrong, but the best way to be happy and to reach that higher ground is to admit one's own problems and then, by doing so, you'll be able to be more accepting, understanding and less judgmental of other people's problems.


And, so, with that, my next posting will be about going into drug rehabilitation in Japan. Japan is well known for a no nonsense policy on drugs. Japan will put you in prison even if they find a tiny bit of marijuana on your possession. It is world famous and a well known fact that Japan doesn't mess around with drug abusers. 


Now, I can tell the story to you as it happened to me. Sounds scary? Well, it was, but that was a long time ago. Today? Call me crazy but I have very fond memories of drug rehab in Japan... It was much like my days in a university dorm.


The funny part about drug rehab in Japan is that they put the former drug abusers into the same hospitals as people who have been interned for mental disorders such as insanity or schizophrenia, so, when you are there, you never know why the person next to you is in the hospital. They could look completely normal but be unable to hold coherent conversations. On the other hand, they could look like a crazy mad scientist with their hair sticking out all directions and unshaven, seemingly barking mad crazy but be quite the well mannered gentleman... That sort of gentleman, that would be a normal person; a former drug addict, like me. I always looked like hell but had good manners and respect for people.


Of course I had respect for them, they scared the living daylights outta me. I didn't want them to kill me in my sleep.


The other tougher part about drug rehab is that you don't know when you'll ever be released until a week or a few days before release.

You'd look like this too is you only were allowed showers and shaves twice a week.

Compared to Matsuzawa Hospital, the hospital I stayed in, the movie hospital in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was pretty realistic in many ways. The difference between that hospital and mine? Not much. Everyone wanted desperately to get out of that place yet couldn't; and both hospitals had people dancing in the hallways. At least the hospital McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) was in had background music playing. My hospital had none... Yet they still danced. 


I also kept thinking of ways to escape and couldn't get that theme song from the movie "The Great Escape" out of my head.


The guys in the halls are still there dancing today, I'm sure. I am glad I am out and can talk about it. It is funny in parts and sad in others. I hope you will enjoy it. And I hope I don't come off as a pompous ass.

ROXY MUSIC - IN EVERY DREAM HOME A HEARTACHE

Thanks to Jp

Completely 100% Free Advice on How to Make Money Blogging

Bored with your job? Want to get out someday?

If you've ever wanted to quit your 9-5 job and make money by blogging, or you blog now, and want to, someday, use blogging to make money; or if you want to blog and use it as a vehicle to promote your work (and make money by your work), whether that work be book writing; business consulting; selling your art or paintings; getting people to know your music or films; or just to spread the word about you and promote yourself and what you do, then today's blog is for you.


Today I am going to tell you exactly how to make money blogging and how to start to get out of your regular job. There are no costs, books to buy, courses to study or gimmicks or catches at all. This is the simplest, and most direct, way to make money blogging. If you follow these short tips, then, within 2 ~ 3 years, you can start cutting down your regular job hours and start shifting over to the job you dream of doing and all because of dedication to blogging. All because of a desire to do with your life as you want.


And it's all 100% completely free.

Today's blog is especially for people who have a "regular" job yet they have a dream someday to escape that job and the rat race and to make enough money to do what they want with their life. Today's blog could also be for people who want to make a good amount of money by using blogging so that they can live well.

With blogging, as a vehicle to promote or market yourself or your work, that is possible. I, myself, do not do this as 100% of my income, yet; not even 50% of my income. But my teachers do. For myself, after study and effort (mostly effort), I can now see where this is possible very soon for me and am slowly climbing that mountain to where I can see from the top on exactly how to do that. 


I have very good teachers showing me how to do this - two of them are very famous people and, with their help, I am giving you this information.

If you do any sort of Social Media or Internet surfing (and, if you didn't, you wouldn't be here) then you've seen tons of messages and notes about how you can make money blogging. It's true. You can make money blogging. You can't make a lot of money blogging and using banner click-through advertising (unless you are FARK). 

Of course, the most widely used and understood way of making money blogging is by having click through banners on your blog. But I don't really want to talk about that at all. I don't think that is a good way to make money blogging. I mean, if Google asks you if they can use your blog to advertise then you know they are the ones making the money. 

But I will say that, in the last year, I been asked twice directly from companies in the USA and the UK to place banner ads on my site but have politely declined. Why? It was only for $150 a year (about ¥11,000 yen) and it looked like it might be a hassle. Also, why in the world would anyone pay $150 to Japan when the bank transfer fees are $70 dollars a transaction? I wouldn't. That made me figure that those folks, while meaning well, didn't really have any idea what they were talking about. 

One of my friends is a blogger well known all over the world and, while not telling me a dollar amount, he told me that the click through ads were nice but they only pay for dinner a few nights a month. You might think, "Wow! Free dinners a few night's a month?" But when you realize that my friend's blog gets 1.2 million hits per day, you realize that banner click-through advertising is not all its cracked up to be.  

He, by the way, makes well over a quarter million dollars a year as a financial advisor. Do you know how he gets his clients? You guessed it, people read his blog and then ask him for advice. That's how he makes money blogging. It is an advertising tool for his services. 

This is the way to use a blog that I want to talk about.

I have been asked to give advice five times in the last year too. That's where the money is. Even though I haven't made large amounts like $10,000 (USD) a month directly by blogging I can say that I have made over $1000 a month indirectly by blogging. I did this because, through blogging, I have been hired as an advisor (like my friend above) to companies who have jumped into the Social Media realm in order to market their products. In fact, as I mentioned above, I have been asked five times in the last year. I took four of those jobs and two of those were in the last month. 

Even though I averaged over $1000 a month in the last two years by use of blogging, one month - a year ago or so - I made $5000.


Like I said, you can do this too. 

There are three things that you must do in order to set yourself up for a situation whereby you can start to consider using blogging to make money. They are:


1) Consistent daily blogging
2) A focused topic
3) Interesting writing


That's it. Just those three. Now let me briefly talk about each one.


1) Consistent daily blogging: Yes. This is hard. But you must do it. You must make daily updating a habit just like brushing your teeth; you can't sleep until you do it. And not just any trash. Good, consistent, interesting writing (I'll talk about the interesting part below). Why constant writing and updating your blog is important is because you must understand how the Google search engine works. The (new 2010) Google search engine is called Caffeine. The old search engine gave priority to blogs and web sites that have many links. Caffeine does not. Caffeine gives priority to consistent and regular updating. Please read the link about Caffeine. But here's an example to show you that I do know what I am talking about. This blog is called "Modern Marketing Japan." That's not a generic title at all. But "Modern Marketing" is an extremely generic title. Do a Google search for "Modern Marketing" and you should see this blog listed in the Top 3 ~ 10 or so of 22,400,000 results for the entire world (the results change constantly with Google Caffeine). That's proof of the power of consistent blogging.


2) A focused topic: As far as the Internet is concerned, we are talking about Long Tail Marketing. Focus on your topic. In the Internet world it is better to be a big fish in a small pond. Read about the Long Tail here in A Primer on the Long Tail and Is the Long Tail all Junk? also read why the Long Tail is beneficial for you even against the Internet giants as it is, for example, damaging Google's own business by reading: Why Google Worries About its Own Future. 


Now, my blog is supposed to be about Japan; media; and marketing and sometimes it gets all over the place, but trust that I do always try to think of a Japan, media or marketing angle for everything I write.


3) Interesting writing: This is the hard one. All I can say are a few things. First, write with your own voice. Stop trying to write like you're Hemingway or writing a business prospective. You're not. If someone wants to read Hemingway, they'll buy the book. If they want to read a business prospective, they won't be 
looking at your blog. People read these things because they want real. They want to hear what real people think. Readers of blogs don't want bloviated nonsense. If they want that, they'll go to CNN's site.

Now, here's a hint on how to write with your own voice and to help yourself have good topics all the time. It's not 100% but it will definitely help you. It helps me immensely. How many times a day do you think about something and then think, "Wow! That's a great idea for a good blog post!" Only to, a few hours later or the next day, not remember what that good idea was? I used to do that all the time. But I've stopped recently. Now, I almost never forget good ideas (good ideas, remember, are money in your pocket!). How do I not forget? I use a notebook. I've written about the benefits of always using and keeping a dollar notebook in the back of my pocket in Pocket Notebooks: The Secret of Millionaires and People Won't Listen! I always have my notebook. So when I have a good idea - about anything - I write it down. It helps me greatly especially when I am stuck for an idea on what to write about. 

As with everything in life, practice makes perfect. If you think that you are going to just start writing one day and become a good writer than you are dreaming. Keep doing it consistently and you'll get better and better as you go.

Like I said, focus on what you are doing; do it consistently; do it well. If you keep doing these three things, for a period of 2 ~ 3 years, then you can start to use blogging to make money.

I know. I've done it. Anyone can. You can too.

NOTE: Please look over my May and June 2010 blog postings. There you will find many articles that will help you to do your blogging smarter and better and tips on how to make money. You might as well read those so that you can learn in a few minutes what it took me a few years to find out on my own. Good Luck.

Also read: Ways to make money from your blog for a pretty generic answer to the question.

This blog is dedicated to my friends Andrew, Peter, Ryu and Jimbo. It might seem tough guys. I know. Been there, done that. But never lose sight of why you do this in the first place. There is a reward down the road.

Benefits of Blogging: I Made $400 Extra in Guam While on Vacation!

There are so many benefits of blogging that can profit you both spiritually as well as financially... But, as with many things in life, you've got to stick with it. 


Lord knows how many times I've wanted to quit writing for blogs. But, for better or worse, I've stuck with it. Now, I think if I quit, I'd wind up feeling like I lost a friend.

My blogging: The early years

Today, I want to give you an example of how blogging, for me, has done many great things for my well being (my maturity) and for my pocketbook. Besides making money, blogging has helped me to become a more patient and wiser person. I think blogging is a sort of therapy for the savage mind. It's worked wonders for me and it has made me money. Yes, folks. It's true: I have made lots of money with this particular blog you are reading right here and I allow no advertising on it. I'm not sure that it is possible to make any money from a blog that has pop-up ads, unless, of course, you get a few million readers a day. This blog has made me money because of what I write about and the wonderful people it has helped me to meet.  


I have been writing this Marketing Japan blog now for just over 1.5 years. In that short time, I have surpassed 850,000 reads (thank you!) At this rate, I expect to surpass 1 million reads by the third week of February or so. Besides this blog, I have also been writing blog posts for Lew Rockwell (LRC) since 2004. At Lew Rockwell, I am in the top 10 most published writers with almost 250 articles. Lew tells me that a popular article on LRC will get over 1.5 reads. In 2005, I had the #2 most read article on that blog. 


In this time, and over these nearly eight years, blogging has helped me to grow as a writer and as a person and has helped me to meet a great many wonderful people. It has also gained attention for me and my work, and has had the unintended consequence of having people ask me for advice or even getting me paid consultation work for their businesses. Many of those requests  (for advice) I rejected because I felt that I wasn't expert enough on the subject. In those cases, I introduced someone else who could help better than I.


But whether I do the job directly and get paid, or I help someone or help my friends, then there's enough reward in that for everyone.  


I'd estimate that, in 2009 ~ 2010, beginning with experience and information contained in this blog, I earned approximately $2000 a month in consultation and marketing and promotional fees.... I also got a consultation job for one friend and full time employment for another. Of course, in my case, I had to do a lot of work and go to many meetings and come up with marketing ideas, but that's not so bad for a part time job whereby I set the hours and come and go as I please.

Vacation in heaven? Guam! Yep. Only 3 hours by plane from Japan 

Besides the above, interestingly, I also "earned" $400 while I was on vacation in Guam the other day! Seriously! Pretty wild, eh? Well, here's what happened: 


At the end of December, I took my son, my wife and her parents and her sister to Guam for a family vacation. The in-laws are getting on in years and, as in-laws are wont to do, they keep saying that they want to go on "one last vacation together with the whole family before we die." (I think many people have relatives like this. They, like my in-laws, have been saying this sort of stuff for years... I wonder where we'll go for our "last vacation together" next year? Anyway...)


We went to stay at a very nice hotel in Guam (that I promised the hotel manager I would write about and I will soon). The hotel had connecting rooms and their own golf course. This is a great hotel and the rooms were large, clean, well-kept and a bargain at $200 dollars a night - don't forget that this was at Christmas time so prices that low at such a fine hotel are unbelievable! 

They even have Santa Claus in Guam

We choose this particular hotel because it was the in-laws wish was that they could go golfing together everyday. My wife and her sister would go shopping everyday and that left me to go play in the water park with my son. Get it? The parents golf, ladies shop, I babysit.... So much for "spending our last vacation together"! It was ok. I'd rather spend eight hours a day in the pool anyway because I don't like golfing and I really don't like shopping at boutiques.


We checked into the hotel and everyone went to their rooms. Our plan was to stay at this hotel for seven nights. Like I said, this vacation was paid for by me so everyone was my guest. Unbeknownst to me, the air conditioner in my in-laws room was broken. Since they are old people and I was paying for it, they didn't say anything about it at all. I didn't find out about the broken air conditioner until the forth morning at the hotel. I walked into their room and it was baking!


I asked my in laws why they didn't turn on the air conditioner and then they told me it didn't work. I checked it and sure enough, it was broken. I was a bit upset and asked them why they didn't tell me sooner. They said that they didn't want to complain and, if they did, they thought it would hurt my feelings.


Bless their hearts. I understand. They know I was paying for the vacation and they probably think I this hotel was the best I afford so they didn't want to make me feel bad about the accomodations. Old people are like that, I guess. Especially old Japanese folks who have rarely travelled outside of Japan; they don't know what to expect. I told them that I was going to complain to the manager about it and demand a room change and a discount. They told me not to complain. But I insisted that I had to. Heck, for all I know the hotel didn't know the cooler was broken.


From past experience, reading books (and experiences with this blog and dealing with comments and people) I have learned that getting angry is not a good negotiating tactic. I calmed myself and went down to the lobby to see the manager to make a business negotiation.


When I got there I met the manager. He was a very nice man named John. I explained the situation. John promised me that he'd look into it and switch the rooms immediately. I also asked for some satisfaction and a discount. He told me that he'd have to inquire to the sales division (understandable, this is a huge and famous hotel) so he'd get back to me later on.

View from our hotel room at Onward Beach Hotel. Fabulous!

When I met John again, he arranged the room transfer and, for that, I was happy. But, he said, that the sales department did not approve of a discount because we should have told them sooner. Yes, that's true. But I also explained to him about the in-laws and the "how's" and "what for's" and why they didn't tell me. They didn't tell me because they knew I was paying and probably thought that this was the best I could afford and if they complained, I'd feel bad. Fair enough, I figured. I can understand how older folks think. John agreed with me.


Even though he agreed, he said that it would be really tough to get the sales department to change their mind. We went back and forth a bit and I felt myself getting a bit hot under the collar.


That's when I pulled out my ace-in-the hole. I told John that I was a blogger and that I blogged for one of the most famous political and social commentary blogs in the world: Lew Rockwell and I also write this blog. I didn't have a business card, but, as I have written before in how to market yourself in Internet and Social Media? Get a Great Name, that having a great and easily memorable and unique name is critical.


I said to John,


"Listen John, I don't want to fight or hassle with you, but not getting even a bit of satisfaction in the form of a discount for the room isn't good enough. Now, when we reserved the room, we reserved a room with all the amenities and that includes an air conditioner that works. Please, I need more cooperation from you guys. You don't know who I am but I am a sort of well-known blogger. Please go to Google and search "Mike Tokyo." That's me at #1 or #2. I write for one of the most famous blogs in the world. Now, I don't want to write a bad review about this hotel. In fact, everything except this broken air conditioner has been just fine. And I'm not asking for something outrageous. Just some satisfaction. But if your sales doesn't want to make me happy, then you will lose a customer and I will write about this.... Because, well, because I am being forced to pay for something that wasn't as advertised and that's bad business. So please go back and ask again."


John said he understood. He looked me in the eye and shook my hand. With that, I walked off and we agreed to talk again the next morning.

The next morning, when I saw John, he smiled broadly at me. He told me that he was a big fan of Ron Paul and Lew Rockwell!!! He said he told the top director of the hotel about my case and they both agreed to cut the first four nights rate from $200 a night to $100 a night! I was so pleased. I was also so impressed that John was that kind of go-getter aim-to-please type of guy. He didn't have to go bat for me like that. But he did. He always has my business from now on. I like that sort of attitude.


What a diamond in the rough John is!


Actually, though, besides being happy, I was stunned. At first I thought John  meant that he was cutting $25 a night off the price, for a total of $100 and that would have been good enough for me, but they cut the price in half! $100 a night! Wow! That's $400 in my pocket right there! And all because I have a big mouth and I blog.

My wife was so happy too. Not only did we get a $400 discount, but they moved her parents into a bridal suite that was twice the size of the former room. Heck, the bathroom and shower in the bridal suite was the size of my dining room back home in Japan! When I saw the room, I thought, "Wow! This is really classy! These guys know how to treat customers!" What a wonderful place to take that someone special in your life for a honeymoon, anniversary, or just for vacation. 


I knew it! I blew it. I should have told my in-laws to take my room and we'd sacrifice by taking the bridal suite. Serves me right for not being more sneaky. Ahem!


Anyhow, the verdict is in for me: Blogging pays... Doing it consistently pays much better.

Onward Beach Resort, Guam. Highly recommended. http://www.onwardguam.com/hotel/en/

NOTE: The hotel we stayed in in Guam was the Onward Beach Resort. We have been to Guam now six times. We have stayed in the Nikko Hotel, the Hilton, Plaza Hotel and few others whose names escape me, but, for overall room quality, food, service and pleasant experience, Onward Beach Resort has been, by far, the best experience we've had in Guam. We will be staying there again next time.... If you go there, tell the manager, John, that I sent you. (Oh, and John, don't worry... I won't be asking for a discount again!)

Want to Make Money? Forget Online Gimmicks. Don't Know Where to Start? Start Where You Are Standing

"Money is usually attracted, not pursued." - Jim Rohn

"The safest way to double your money is to fold it over and put it in your pocket." - Kin Hubbard

------

In the last two days, I've had two people ask me about making money by blogging. Or, more specifically, one person asked me,

"Is it possible to make money blogging?" 

To this person I answered (in my usual long-winded self), "Well, I don't accept advertising on my blog now as I want to be able to write whatever I want and to say what I want. It is hard enough to always talk about those things as it is. I am always worrying about what other people might think about me when I honestly state my shortcomings, my chequered past, my failures and complaints. It's hard enough to do that as it is without having to worry about what paying people might think. So I don't have advertising now. It keeps me from having just one more worry. But you can make money blogging."

54 and still here - chequered past still here too!

The other person asked me, 

"Mike, I want to blog and make a bit of money with it. What do you suggest?"

I told him that he should just start blogging and then worry about how to make money with it after starting. I also quoted Lao-Tzu:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step" - Lao-Tzu - The Way of Lao-tzu Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC)

This is a good quote but allow me to be completely anal-retentive about it. Even though this is the popular form of this quotation, the correct translation should be:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet." 


Rather than emphasizing the first step, Buddhists, Taoists and Lau Tzu believed that action was something that arose naturally beginning with the act of being still. Another potential phrasing would be "Even the longest journey must begin where you stand."

I think, in today's modern language this would translate into something like, 

"Well, don't just stand there. Do something!"

Lao-tzu saying something important

Making money blogging? Hmmm... Can be done. The easiest way is to allow pop-ups click through ads on your blog. I dabbled with that long ago, but stopped it because it seemed like the algorithm was bad. Why? Well, I'd write a blog post railing on Groupon and calling it a crummy company, yet on my page, there'd be ads for Groupon. Stuff like that happened all the time. I didn't like it, so I stopped it.


Then, just the other day, I got another letter from a company overseas who wanted to pay me $150 a year to place a banner on my blog. I don't know if I want to do that or not. Far be it from me to poo-poo $150, but, in Japan, $150 isn't a lot of money and I wonder how I'm ever going to get the money anyway from a foreign company. Hell, I think the bank transfer will cost them $50-some dollars. Are they really going to pay? I wouldn't. And, do I really want an ad for some UK marketing service on my blog?


Probably not. 

Anyway, there are ways to make money from blogging... Probably not a lot at first; probably not a lot ever. But, you have to at least start somewhere.


As for me, I don't blog for money. I blog because, and I'm dead serious about this, I think  logging has helped me to become a better person.


Blogging has kept my mind working.


Blogging has helped me to become a better parent.


Blogging has taught me patience.


Blogging has made me feel good.


Blogging has helped me help other people and charities.


Blogging has helped me make friends around the world!


I think blogging has it's own rewards... Even better than money.


You should blog too. Blog about what you want to blog about. 


Everyone has a wonderful story to tell. We'd like to hear yours!

Marketing, Internet, SEO & SEM Experts? and CEOs? Charlatans Everywhere!

If you were to judge the amount of Tweets you get from people who claim to be Marketing, Internet, SEO and SEM experts or CEO's, you'd think the US economy was booming. Jobs galore. But it would all be just an illusion.

I often get Tweets from people who claim to be "Internet Marketing Experts" or "SEO Marketing Experts..." I wonder by what measure they use to give themselves this sort of classification? 

JERRY LEE LEWIS - YOUR CHEATIN' HEART

The ones that immediately raise red flags for me are the ones who claim to be "CEO" of some company yet, judging by their photo, they don't look to be much older than 25 or 30.

I've never met any good CEO's who were under 35-years-old. I'm not saying they don't exist, but the big guns and real players are not 30-year-old CEO's of little companies with classification of LLP, LLC or family organizations.

Those are the sorts of titles I hate. Why even bother with the title of CEO?  I mean, who are they trying to impress? Other clueless people? Clueless people usually haven't much money. Why impress them? 

What's the point of being a CEO of a dinky company that has one or two employees? Bragging about it is even more embarrassing. If you do that, stop... It might be OK for picking up some witless boyfriend or girlfriend, but for picking up any investment, it is a detriment.

It certainly isn't any credit to your worth or credibility.

Would you buy a used car from this man? How 

about letting him set up your company SEO?

Do these people use the CEO title because they think they can fool someone into investing into their little company or throwing a big contract at them? Maybe. But I don't think that will work.

"Fools and their money are soon parted"... Most rich people are not fools. That's why they are rich.

I haven't really noticed any serious CEO's using Facebook or Twitter too often. I suppose they do, but not too much. I do know that, and I won't say his name, the CEO of AirAsia X uses Facebook. We became friends that way... And I did arrange a few promotions for them in Japan because of it...

But I think he is the exception to the rule.

I don't think most CEO's have time to bother with this Social Media stuff. The CEO's I know avoid this, if they can, and I know from experience that they try to avoid even looking at their email if at all possible.... Spending time on Facebook and Twitter?! I don't think so. 

I get these invitations for Twitter and such, and, if the photo looks like a young guy and his title says "CEO" or "SEO expert" I know it's BS.... But I'm a nice guy, I friend them anyway... It's just quicker that way and I don't have to think about it for more than a second. Friending them takes one click. Deleting them takes two clicks. Friending them is faster. 

I check their photo and go to their Twitter page. If I don't see at least a blog or a company page, then I know they are bullsh*tters. That's OK. Everyone needs to start somewhere... Maybe they will learn some useful lessons along the way. I certainly have.

One of the big lessons I learned was not creating idiotic titles like CEO for myself when there are only one or two employees at my company in order to impress people I don't even know. Impressing people who haven't a clue is a waste of time... People who do have a clue will know it's BS, so it is actually self-defeating to do so.

Here's a good test for you. I never claim that I am an "SEO or "Internet expert" yet go to Google Search and search the words, "Japan China." You will get 1 billion 380 million results. On page one of search results you will also see two articles that I wrote. See here: http://bit.ly/rjaMbu

Even with that, I do not claim to be an SEO expert. 

If you are a customer, and the guy is telling to you to give him him your business because he is an "SEO expert" then give him this test:

1) Do they blog? If so, check their blog and see when they started. 


Blogging for six months is nothing to brag about. That's not even a rookie. Search some generic titles and see if you can find any results where they show up at the top of the list (and, no, I don't mean specific searches for the exact title of that particular blog post. I mean, if they write an article about, say, "Sicily pizza"... Search "pizza" or "Sicily" and see if you can find their article on the first few pages of results. If they are hot at SEO, you should be able to).

1a) If they do blog, check to see if they post everyday. Posting everyday for at least a year shows dedication and resolve (and that they are crazy). If they don't do that, or haven't, then they are poseurs and not players or, at best, students of the game.

2) Go look at their Facebook or Twitter account. Check the dates when they began. Is there a corporate page for this person's company? If not, forget it.     

On the other hand, If you are one of the many who are guilty of making these wild claims on expertise or being a "pro", then I suggest you stop. There are far too many charlatans running around as it is. If you get the label "charlatan" it will be quite hard to shake. 

Building trust and a good reputation takes a long time... It isn't made in an instant by creating a Twitter account and claiming, on the spot, that you are an expert. As former Soviet president Michale Gorbachev once said, "A lie told even ten thousands times never becomes the truth."

Stop claiming that you are "Internet savvy" if you are not. Just being able to do Internet searches or use G-mail does not make one internet savvy. Stop claiming you are a "CEO" unless you have a company that has at least, say, ten employees minimum...

And stop claiming that you are an "SEO expert" if you are not. It's easy to find out if it is all BS or not. You make the rest of us poseurs look bad....

You can become these "expert" things but just saying that you are or reading one book doesn't make you one. It will take a few years of effort and study.

The fastest and simplest way? Start a blog and start writing. Do that everyday, religiously. Use Twitter and Facebook to drive traffic to your posts. Write everyday religiously. Before, bowing to the east every morning, blog... Blog before that and after that... 


And blog before and after that!  


Study why some articles get many reads and why others don't. Practice and rearrange...

It will take you between one to two years to get a basic understanding of how it works and how to jolt your writing and titles to get high SEO results.

It's a close guarded secret by those who do know how to do it..

This stuff isn't written in a book. You only learn through sincere and dedicated effort. 


A jawbone is never a replacement for a backbone. Get started.