Stop Buying Link Building e-Books

Seriously, just stop it. You are wasting your money and I don’t like when you do that! Pretty sure I just made some people mad, but that’s the way it goes. Can’t please everyone.

Why Link Building e-Books Suck

Yep there it is, i said it. Look, you need to realize that we are not out here to reinvent the wheel. The basics behind link building have not changed.

Link building books suck because it’s all regurgitated information. Why do you think I give you FREE link building tips over there —->

They are free because they are the basics of how to build links and I didn’t create some alternate fantasy link building world with a magic formula. There is no such thing.

Basic Link Building

It’s simple really. Basic link building involves the following;

1. Write great content –people will naturally link to it.
2. Blog commenting–  builds relationships and backlinks to your blog
3. Submit to directories
4. Social media involvement
5. Forum commenting
6. Article marketing
7. Network profiles
8. Guest Posts

I know there are a ton more,but this about covers the general ideas.  So what are the new books on link building going to tell me? Nothing. It’s another lame attempt at milking beginners for money. And at one time, I was one of those getting milked…(uhm, disregard that!)

Now there are subtle differences in how one goes about link building. Some people email blog owners directly and inform them of their content and hope to get linked back to. Some outsource their link building, some let it happen naturally. Whatever, the method, the principles remain the same.

Link Building Products

I don’t have some massive list of good or bad link building products to insert here. But what I do have are some damn good free resources for link building. The following articles are where you should be getting your link building tips and NOT paying somebody to send you a rehashed wishing well of crap.

1. One Way Link Building by Ana Hoffman of TGC
2. Shorten Link List by Dennis Edell of  dennisedell.com
3. How To Craft Internal & External Links from searchenginejournal.com
4. The Almost Complete Link Guide from SeoMoz via Adland.com

While there are a ton more reputable articles, these are the ones I highly recommend. And we all know my opinion is the one that counts. 🙂

Now To Make Product Creators Mad

I am telling you flat out..do not buy link building books anymore! The ONLY time I think it’s okay to buy one is if it’s been around awhile and has an “updated” notation. So, a book from 2007 will show “recently updated 2010.”

That holds some water with me. See, I received an email this morning telling me,

” you have just got to see it to believe it! Master link building in 2 days and learn the secrets to profits.”

Oh yea? I already know the secret to profits- hard work. I already know the masters of link building–listed above. So, thanks but no thanks.

My first response was, are you serious? Who are you trying to scam here? You don’t have any damn secrets and if you did, your site that you sent me to would have more than 2 links. BOOYAH!

What really amazes me is that with all the tools out there to analyze links within websites, people are still claiming to be link building gurus. I mean really people, we can find all this out on our own. We’re intelligent people and that;s why we’re not buying your crappy book. 🙂

Also I would like to add here, I am not against purchasing link building services. If you find a reputable company to do your link building for you, then so be it. I’m down with that.

The Bottom Line

Now, some of you may ask, “well Lisa, if you’re so smart..what book DO you recommend?” I’m saving that for another post…:) And the reason for that is that I think it deserves to be in it’s own post and not included in the “lousy internet marketing products” post.

And really because that’s how I want to do it. Remember, my blog, my rules. Now, your turn.

Have you purchased a link building book or many?

Did they all same the same thing?

Were any worth your money?

If you feel the power and a “share this post” dance comes over you, I’m totally okay with that. Leave your thoughts here as well and remember if you want some free link building tips, enter your email over in the sidebar!