While I'm guessing the common abbreviations, like BRB and LOL, began their careers more as lazy shorthand than an enforced length limitation, such is not the case for links. After all, we would normally just copy and paste them from the address bar. Who cares how long? Well, except for when they get chopped up by email clients.

But now, in addition to the disguise factor, we have to shorten them. As you'd expect, this has led to the proliferation of sites providing this service, from the originals (think tinyurl and snipurl) to newcomers, like budurl and MyFavUrls with advanced features such as tracking and expiring links. Then you have the listbuilders, like the annoying ViralUrl.

The problem with these options is it's hard to tell at a glance where they're going to take you, and a lot of folks simply won't click on gobbledygook (wow, the spell checker knows that word!).

I know, I know. I hear you saying, "But, I can choose an alias; I don't have to accept their randomly generated stuff." Of course, you're right, many do offer that option. Thing is, you still lose your branding by having the shortened URLs originate from a site other than yours.

Sure, you can install a MySQL database application on your server and use that instead, or if that freaks you out, you can upload a new folder and/or file for every affiliate promotion. As a software developer, the first doesn't phase me a bit, but I understand how it's not for everyone. And the second is a PITA.

It's for these reasons that I've been using a different technique. I seriously haven't seen this anywhere else. It's been my little secret. But it wasn't completely intentional; I've been meaning to share it for some time. I just needed to sit my butt down for a few days and spill my guts! Finally, it's ready and you'll discover the coveted method in my new "Make It Mine" report.

Inside, you'll also find a link to the customer-only affiliate program where I split the sales with you. So, you'll receive the full amount, direct to your paypal account, on every other sale! That means, with only two referred sales, the report is basically free! Everything after that is just icing on the cake (not to mention the improved click-thru rates you'll enjoy).

You may recall the fun way he celebrated the occasion last year. Well, if that massive sale impressed you, this one will floor you! (By the way, it's quite a bit less than the obvious 28 bucks.)

Not familiar with his story? Check out how the little kid in the picture went from $8.50 an hour to a whopping 8-figures. Wow! Congratulations, Rob.

And, Happy Birthday!

You see, in a recent post on the Three Work Models, he corrects himself toward the end of his video. That's not why I was teasing him.

Indeed, I liked the original wording more than the "fix", because it highlighted a particular "marketing-speak" that annoys me a little. Here's the comment he approved:

Jeff, I got a chuckle when you slipped up and prefaced with the much more natural, “If you…” versus the NLP-laden “When you…” I rather prefer the former, as a recipient of the message, since the latter strikes me as too presumptuous and actually makes me more resistant.

I was looking forward to some discussion of it there. Alas, 'twas not to be. So, I'm dragging it back to my blog to ask how others feel about these commands we're supposed to use in our copy. Please add yours in the comments.

So, again, thanks Jeff! And, for any of my readers looking to get into article marketing, his templates should help you get past that nasty writer's block.

You might also want to hop on a teleconference or two with him as well. While, it often sounds like he's talking to a child when describing these things, I doubt there's any actual condescension there. He's just showing how simple it is, and always finishes each call with his motivational slogan, "Go Use This Stuff."

[p.s. - I thought about titling this post "When When Won't Work," but where's the SEO in that? LOL.]

Anyway, to the title... Currently, I've got the Twitbin WordPress Plugin running in my sidebar. It updates itself anywhere from every three minutes to 45 minutes, with options for which message types to display. I've also signed up for TweetBeep, but the dang thing hasn't sent me an email yet, despite showing results when I actually go to their website. Maybe it's not supposed to? Disappointing.

So, with all those clients and tools out there, tell me, what are YOUR favorites?