Check out the mp3 or pdf from Copyblogger:

• Introduction to Freelance X Factor: Download the MP3
• Introduction to Freelance X Factor: Download the PDF transcript

This was written by my friend, Mike.

I’m not much of a hardcore smoker so I’m not usually aware of the new trends or what’s in when it comes to smoking. That’s why I was very surprised when I saw a friend of mine whip out his cigarette when we went out for drinks a few weeks ago. I thought he’s gone completely nuts when I saw that his cigarette was wrapped in plastic. I’ve heard of serious smokers but this was getting ridiculous!

I guess my face registered such utter surprise that he burst out laughing. I asked him why he would want to inhale plastic fumes, to which he laughed louder. When my idiot of a friend finally calmed down, he explained that the cigarette was not wrapped in plastic but in a new type of clear cigarette paper. Clear cigarette paper? That’s gotta be the weirdest concept I’ve heard so I went out the next day to a cigar shop and looked at what they had on offer. That’s where I saw the product my friend was smoking, a Cyclone Wrap. Specifically, he had the Cyclones Clear product.

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Brian Clark talks about being different to improve your business.

Ever since I chose to become unemployable in 1998, I’ve been an initial nobody in a succession of industries filled with well-established badasses. Law, real estate, software, even this very blog… each time I was starting from scratch competing against those already at it.

I succeeded in each instance because I focused intensely on serving a different need in a different way, and then effectively communicating that difference.

Dare to be different, and you’ll be a badass in a league of your own.

Also, he advises on focusing on benefits over features when promoting your business.

Another thing every copywriter knows is that brains crave benefits. And yet, when it comes to marketing themselves, many freelance copywriters seem to focus only on their writing, which like it or not, is a feature of your service, not the desired benefit.

Interesting article by Rick Reilly at ESPN.

10. Home Run Derby
9. Iditarod
8. Ryder Cup
7. Yankees vs. Red Sox at Fenway
6. America’s Cup
5. Tour de France
4. North Carolina vs. Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium
3. Wimbledon
2. Kentucky Derby
1. Masters

I’m sure he should have a soccer match in there somewhere since soccer matches have the craziest fans. And what the heck is Iditarod?

Read the whole article.

I got these lines at Bodog.

Stephan Bonnar -500
Georges St. Pierre -275
Brock Lesnar -250
Michael Bisping +190

One unit each with $100 being one unit.

Update

Bonnar lost
St. Pierre won
Lesnar won
Bisping lost

I’m down $400 (just play money).

From SEO Book:

I wish I could say there were “easy ways” to add value to an affiliate site. But, that ability to create a POD is what separates the few from the many, in my eyes. Scour the sites you’ll be competing with and see what they are offering and then decide how you can make it better. See what they’re missing and create it. Maybe you’ve found a site with great information, but no way for the community to become involved with it. Re-create that good information, add even more to it and then add a community aspect. Every site is different and sometimes it takes us a long time to find our POD for them.

Witness the evolution of a sport and the forging of legends. UFC 100 - 16 years of history and the dawn of a new age for MMA.

Blood in the Cage: Mixed Martial Arts, Pat Miletich, and the Furious Rise of the UFC
Great storytelling. I felt like I was watching a good action movie. L. Jon Wertheim, the author, is a world-class wordsmith, using just the right words and structure to make the audiobook move quickly. I was rarely bored when listening. And the narrator, Phil Gigante, was awesome. You could tell he was a professional narrator. He gave distinct voices to the MMA characters so you always knew who was talking in the dialogue parts. And he used emotion well with his voice to make the book come alive.