Back on Track with the Rich Sage Underground

I tried to build the Rich Sage Underground community in 2008 without much success.  I narrowed the problem down to two issues.

Firstly, my setup was too complicated. I tried to introduce too many features at the same time.

Solution?  Just work with one brand, one idea and make it work.  Then expand to other features to enhance the original setup.  The brand I picked?  Savepedia(TM).

The other problem was price. I had imposed monthly fees that were just too expensive for the typical Member.

Solution?  I have drastically cut the signup price –Now Membership is just about $20 dollars per year.

Savepedia Discount Offers

My discussion continues…

As Predicted The Apple iPAD Debut

Way back in 2008 I wrote about what Apple needs to do to reach a mass of users with their successful iPod Touch and iPhone.  Today they made it a reality, and my idea written in the Fall of 2008 is finally here!

In the fall of 2008, I had two wishes –for Apple stock to reach near $220.00 per share and for a larger iPod Touch.   I had requested a 9″ iPod Touch.  Today the announcement for the iPad stated that the 0.5 inch thick device was almost 10 inches!  I was pretty close.  My hope was for a letter size device that I could use for reading and it’s finally here.  Now I can read several daily papers anyway I choose and a lot more!

As Predicted in the Fall of 2008:

My Wish from the Fall of 2008: Next Gen iPod

When you look at what was delivered… It’s nearly as I requested.  Continued…

Around 45 Days Later — Traffic Broken and Momentum Stalled!

I needed a break.  As you can see from my last post, I have not updated the Rich Sage for a month and half.  The result is that the site went from a sub one hundred thousand ranking to about 1.5 million on Alexa.  Ouch.  That is a drastic drop in traffic.  Furthermore, the love extended by Google has also dropped significantly.

Some of that misfortune was from trying to run too many sites on one hosting server.  Now I have added another server to handle the load from Savepedia.com and Next SuperStock.com.

These two are my main projects for 2010 –the stock site will be the front end of a hedge fund that I am managing, while Savepedia(TM) will be the main brand that I build.  Lastly, Rich Sage dot com will run as a discussion area with updates and lessons for Affiliates that work with me to build online success.  I have too many operations setup here to make changes –around 8 databases running.  That is far too much to move and reset.  I’ll just make sure that I build again and retake the momentum.

I feel some drawbacks from the ‘downtime’ –mainly my speed getting things done.  I have slowed down and I feel that I need to build up momentum again.  It’s not a matter of 45 days of rest and then jump into work… Seems like it will take longer.

There is one benefit of all this: clarity.  I am very focused and I know what needs to be done.  I have narrowed all of my work, and now feel that I am building a well oiled machine that is ready to reach the targets that I have set.

This post is just a warm up — I’ll follow up with detailed plans, methods and operations as I build the two other sites that need brand building.

Carpe Diem,
Rich Sage

Happy Thanksgiving 2009*

(*Unless you’re got a stake in Dubai –then Good Luck.)

We have known this one was coming for a while.  Each month a new highrise was rising toward the sky.  Each month a new island about a meter above sea level formed.  Each month, there were less and less buyers for either properties.

Each month what was banked as a new culture, a new world, a new place for business and clean living –started crumbling.  In the end it is nothing but a mirage.

This was part of my conversation over the past year and half –what gets built has to be sustainable, it HAS to HAVE the fundamentals that make life sustainable.  Otherwise, it all turns into a mirage sooner or later.

Welcome to Dubai.  Now the numbers stop adding up, and the buyers are gone and bankers are left with debt.  And cannot be paid back with more debt…

So, you Invested in the Dubai Dream –NEXT –You have been Rick…:

Happy Thanksgiving, Investing Lessons and Getting Rick Rolled –all in one…

So, What Went Wrong?

My argument all along was that in order to build a castle where there was once just sand dunes, one must start with the core of what sustains a community.  Once must start with the basic needs that sustain us and then work from there.

Just because there is money and oil and both flowing does not mean magically an entire population can be sustained, no matter how grandiose the setup is.

Sooner or later the basic elements of society will take hold and provide the ground work (foundation) to maintain a large population.

In the case of Dubai:

• Planning/architecture from the US and Europe.
• Construction management from Asia –usually Korea.
• Finally, the buildings erected by Indians and various other Asians working for very little, as imported labor.

My argument is that not everything can be ‘outsourced’ –just about everything has to be self sustained and from the ground up, established at home –in this Dubai.  Everything from the feeding of the builders to the development of the mega-cities has to be done partly from home grown talent and be sustainable into the distant future.

It’s Been Tried Before:

I am reminded of a group of people who live mostly in a river delta, some below sea level, the others barely over it –but these people happen to be the worlds 4th largest producers of vegetables.  Over many centuries, the Dutch have established a society that is sustainable, and although at this time it reaches just about every corner of the crowded country, it’s a sustainable community that will manage, even with rising seas.

On the other hand, the mirage in the dunes was just waiting for one shock, and it most likely will be wiped out in many aspects with only a small recovery in the coming years.  If the development of much more fuel efficient automobiles and power productions takes a hold, then watch out –it will just be a ghost city!

The Rich Sage:

I’ve taken some time off.  I had to “reset” my own mindset and various aspects of my work.  In this case, I am now implementing what I had discussed just a month ago, as my “road map” going forward.

It is a combination of web development –mostly done by others in the team, while I focus on the investment aspects of the business model.

From time to time, it is absolutely necessary to look around and to make sure what is being done is working.  In my case, I was just getting overloaded, and the great forward-progress not the best.   The solution was for me to focus on what works for me, using my own planning, while leaving web development to other experts who could take my vision and develop the many properties that I had started.

So, I am back.  I feel empowered and ready to forge ahead.

Carpe Diem,
Rich Sage

Rich Sage Business Model Changes:  Simplify to advance.

Over two years of updates I’ve managed to create a community and traffic has steadily grown.  However, I still don’t see the rapid traffic growth that I need to catch up with the, for example, TOP 10 make money online bloggers.

I need to make some radical changes.

While the site was down I made just such plans and they are now getting executed.  The easiest way for me to explain is with a diagram…

Rich Sage Business Plan

Rich Sage going forward…

I don’t need to write an introduction here… The video speaks for itself.

After first posting this message, I had a two week “off line” experience.  It was rather ironic that this was the last post.  Now with a back up, I am back online and ready to proceed.

No words needed…
Carpe Diem,

Rich Sage

Wordpress Security Best Practices by the Rich Sage

Starting out with the basic to the more advanced, I’ll cover some of the features you’ll need to follow to keep Wordpress secure for your sites and your Clients. All this is leading up to another update from my current Wordpress installation to the latest stable version –sometime in September.  I’ve started the planning now, and these are the security issues that I will look into as I make the migration.

Wordpress Content Management System

As I continue my discussion, I’ll cover the most widely used Wordpress “lock down” ideas you need to consider in your online success efforts.  You may be out to make money online, but so are just about everyone else with a few malicious ideas up their sleeve.  These steps will cover your rear while you make money online.

Online Viral Marketing:  A Rich Sage Tour of a Few Projects

It’s amazing how the Internet is used by the media to generate buzz.  Sure they were a bit late to the table, but now the mainstream media come up with some outstanding viral video and promotional campaigns that we can all learn from.

I remember the first of these, at least about movies, was about a certain Blair Witch Project.  Remember that from about 10 years ago?  Well, it’s still live on the ‘Net promoting itself.

Now there is another movie working on the viral buzz, and I am sure in the coming days and weeks you’ll hear a lot about it.  I was very interested in it as a Sci-Fi buff.  Upon further investigation I also liked the format of the movie –a bit like a documentary format –an out-of-this-world type of one.

District-9 Movie

So, what special about the promotional campaign?  It’s looks like a lot of the promotional footage makes an interactive experience that leaves you very curious about seeing the full movie.  Heck, it worked for me.  Couple that with an excellent movie, with good special effects and you have a hit!  I’ll let you be the judge about their viral campaign… Here is the website.

In Search of a SEO GURU by the Rich Sage

I’ve documented the best ways to build traffic for several years.  I’ve used several of these methods, but in the end there is only one that should be your focus.

There is only one way to achieve long-term, consistent, dependable and effective traffic:  Search engines.  Simply put, search engine traffic is effective because they are pre-qualified visitors.  Someone who has searched a key word or phrase is looking for something at that moment.

I’ve discarded many of the other methods simply because they are unsustainable.  Those methods may work for some niches that need only few visitors.  However, for sites with a lot of content and appeal, there is only one way to generate QUALITY traffic.

For my solutions, I’ve focused on working with Google, since they seem to provide the cutting edge tools to get the job done.

Now I know what needs to be done, but another problem looms — I am running into time constraints.  Something that is a problem for many of us.  My solution is to run a contest -that is very limited.  And to challenge several search engine optimization gurus to present a one page proposal that includes some of the criteria I’ve listed below to work with me, my growing network and clients to perfect search engine optimization on the global sites I manage and build.

seo guru wanted

More about the contest and criteria…

Setting Up SEO Plugins and Sitemaps, a lesson from the Rich Sage

You’ve been reading about my SEO work for Savepedia.  Below I am actually using Wordpress to display some examples of what I do to optimize a site to make Google and other search engines happy.

In the below case I am using the ALL-in-ONE-SEO plugin from here.

all in one seo setup

By inserting the keywords, title, etc. you can insert into your pages the exact words and phrases that you want the search engines to capture.

In addition, you’ll find many other variables like “date” and “post title” that offer additional search engine friendly features.  In my case, I am experimenting over the summer with these “tags” and will be able to offer more advice later in the fall when I review these post and the results.

More to follow… As I continue!