Create your own page in minutes »
Taking it easy. Little bit of Fallout 3 goodness on 360 19 hours ago more »
Sections
  • » About
  • » Contact
  • » Professional Information
  • » Status Messages
  • » Blogs
  • » Pictures
  • » Discussions
  • » Widgets
Services and Profiles
Compare services and Connect
 
Alltop
BackType
BlipTV
Blogger
del.icio.us
Digg
Diigo
Disqus
Ebay
Flickr
FriendFeed
Google Reader
Hi5
Identi.ca
IntenseDebate
LinkedIn
MyBlogLog
Myspace
Picasa
Posterous
Reddit
SlideShare
StumbleUpon
Technorati
Tumblr
Twitter
Vimeo
Vox
Wordpress
XboxLive
Youtube
About Me
Antti Kokkonen is an all-around online media expert, IT Specialist by profession, a blogger by heart, from Finland. He is a passionate gamer and a technology enthusiast, a true geek if you will.

Antti helps people and their businesses to become more effective and more profitable online by focusing on all aspects of online media through better blogging, clever use of social media and online marketing.
Contact
Email Send email
Address

Tampere
Finland
Professional Information

View my profile on LinkedIn


To Top
Status Messages
Taking it easy. Little bit of Fallout 3 goodness on 360 19 hours ago
@JimiJones Thanks Jimi. I'm sure it'll pass soon, just gotta rest a bit longer and take it easy a day ago
You know what's worse than being sick? For a moment thinking you're already better, but realizing that no, still sick :( a day ago
RT @yarostarak Do You Want A Copy Of My Definitive Guide To SEO For Bloggers? - http://bit.ly/9Z87A0 a day ago
RT @mikecj It started with a Tweet http://tinyurl.com/yhs54eu <-- inspiring story about power of social media and networking a day ago
RT @EricaMueller The Brave Programmer – An Interview with Robert Bravery http://bit.ly/9rQTDr a day ago
@websiteweekend Absolutely. Re-focusing on what really matters and cutting the stuff that rolls along even when I'm gone :) a day ago
@websiteweekend I knew it. Stupid sickness. Well no worries about anything since everything is over. Awesome :) a day ago
I've been sick for couple of days. What did I miss? a day ago
5 Types of Emails You Should be Automatically Filtering - Stepcase Lifehack http://bit.ly/dgO3ME 2 days ago

Find me on :
To Top
Pictures

No pictures yet.
 

Find me on :
To Top
Discussions

It started with a Tweet a day ago
Awesome story Mike. And yet another great case study of the power of social media, which interestingly lead to that post about why people should use social media - I think this post alone should convince anyone :)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
How To Send Automatic Updates to Twitter and Facebook a day ago
@Patricia You're welcome I'm happy this helped you :)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: It started with a Tweet a day ago
Awesome story Mike. And yet another great case study of the power of social media, which interestingly lead to that post about why people should use social media - I think this post alone should convince anyone :) 
 
Re: Blogging from the Brave Programmer - Web safe fonts. 3 days ago
Hmm, point me to an example of a road sign which uses Trebuchet, I'm not aware it's used in signs. As far as I know, Arial/Helvetica are the most common in those.And it would be much better to say what the better fonts than Georgia are, than just say that there are some (d'uh). 
 
Re: Replacing &#8220;No comments&#8221; with &#8220;Leave a comment&#8221; in WordPress 3 days ago
Excellent, I'm glad this helped! and that I managed to explain it well enough :) 
 
Re: Blogging from the Brave Programmer - Web safe fonts. 4 days ago
Readability is the most important thing, and often the "cool" fonts have not been designed with that in mind - and that's why I don't even want to use anything else but these "safe fonts".Verdana and Georgia are designed for screen, and often referred as "most readable", so I often go with either of those. Helvetica is often used in public signs etc, but I wouldn't run that on body text, headlines/logo maybe. 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion 4 days ago
Well, I like to have rules because I don't like spammers and other losers invading my blog, and rules give me the right to drive them away. Personality is nice, and asking for people to keep it cool and use their name keeps the biggest morons away (or at least I can delete the comments in split second and there's nothing they can say about it). 
 
Survey: People Who Quit Twitter Out of Boredom Haven’t Tried Hard Enough 5 days ago
Did you know that people quit Twitter because they get bored with the things other people tweet about?So people quite Twitter rather than making an effort to use it the right way?...this post has 7 tips on how beginners can make their Twitter experience less boring from the start = good stuff.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
10 Steps to Starting a Small Business 5 days ago
Awesome article, great job covering the early steps and breaking it up to nice actionable chunks.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: 10 Steps to Starting a Small Business 5 days ago
Awesome article, great job covering the early steps and breaking it up to nice actionable chunks. 
 
Saturday Discussion - Price versus value 6 days ago
I'd think that setting an low entry level, e.g. less than $20 and build up from that with other products work the best. I'd think it's very hard to sell a $2000 product if it's your first, but if you have track record with $20 eBooks and $100 video training, the full-blown $2000 course makes more sense.For me personally, when buying a product I look at what I get with that price. For the lower pricing, I can buy $1-$50 without much thinking (just like I pay $50 for a XBox game), but as the pricing goes up, I start to evaluate if I can "get my money's worth" one way or another. If I can turn what I learn/get into more money or save my time for example.And I also think that people are more likely to buy higher priced items after doing it once. If you've only bought $7 or $17 eBooks before, you probably need bit of "convincing" before you get the $27 or $47 eBook. One the other hand, if you've bought an eBook for $97 before (and think it was worth it), buying one for $47 is no big deal.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
WordPress 6 days ago
Interestingly, 89 out of top 100 blogs use postname somewhere in the permalink. But only one use just /%postname%/ - one! (or two if you count /blog/postname/ to the list).Nearly half of the blogs run with the "most blog like permalink" /year/month/date/postname/... Many blogging platforms run that as default, and the top blogs post several times a day, so it makes sense.All this doesn't make /year/month/date/* best for SEO, or best for anything, but it's what people are used to, so that might make someone think it's the best overall. But saying /%postname%/ is not good is just plain stupid.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: Saturday Discussion - Price versus value 6 days ago
I'd think that setting an low entry level, e.g. less than $20 and build up from that with other products work the best. I'd think it's very hard to sell a $2000 product if it's your first, but if you have track record with $20 eBooks and $100 video training, the full-blown $2000 course makes more sense.For me personally, when buying a product I look at what I get with that price. For the lower pricing, I can buy $1-$50 without much thinking (just like I pay $50 for a XBox game), but as the pricing goes up, I start to evaluate if I can "get my money's worth" one way or another. If I can turn what I learn/get into more money or save my time for example.And I also think that people are more likely to buy higher priced items after doing it once. If you've only bought $7 or $17 eBooks before, you probably need bit of "convincing" before you get the $27 or $47 eBook. One the other hand, if you've bought an eBook for $97 before (and think it was worth it), buying one for $47 is no big deal. 
 
Re: WordPress 6 days ago
Interestingly, 89 out of top 100 blogs use postname somewhere in the permalink. But only one use just /%postname%/ - one! (or two if you count /blog/postname/ to the list).Nearly half of the blogs run with the "most blog like permalink" /year/month/date/postname/... Many blogging platforms run that as default, and the top blogs post several times a day, so it makes sense.All this doesn't make /year/month/date/* best for SEO, or best for anything, but it's what people are used to, so that might make someone think it's the best overall. But saying /%postname%/ is not good is just plain stupid. 
 
Re: Pre-Writing Challenge Updates 6 days ago
Go ahead and copy the update from here. For the week 1, my memory was already a bit off, so I made guestimates and edited it a bit 
 
DICE 2010: "Design Outside the Box" Presentation 6 days ago
Very, very good presentation. This is good even if you're not into games, gaming or game design. Pass this to the marketing and business people too. And if nothing else, it'll make you re-think those Facebook games -- EA - 1500 FTE + Playfish - $300M = WTF?! :)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion a week ago
Teagan, thanks for the comment and I'm happy you found this useful! I do quite a bit of blog commenting myself, so over time I've noticed what things make me more likely to leave commentsThe threaded comments on WP is very easy to turn on if the theme already supports them - Some themes with long history don't necessary have the indentation and reply button in place. 
 
Re: Pre-Writing Challenge Updates a week ago
I might have given a little spark with my comment on that one post, but it was you who started the challenge and made this happen (and you've done great job with it I might add). Isn't it interesting how a tiny little event (me commenting, you answering) can start something like this? 
 
Blog Contest - Regift and win $500! a week ago
To come up with one single thing (is there two single thing? ahem... moving on.) that has had the biggest impact on my blogging success, two things should have occurred.First, I should've experienced blogging success. If we split that into two parts, like blogging and success, I'm sure I've accomplished 50% of it, since I am blogging. If I look at success as opposite of failure, I'm 50 sure I've had success and that's close enough for now. So since I a) am blogging and b) have (arguably) not failed, I've had blogging success. Blogging success - check.Second, there should have been something that had impact on my blogging success. From those things I could then choose the biggest. There are many (woohoo), but none of those impacts would have not occurred without this one thing. Biggest impact - check.The one (single) thing that has had the biggest impact on my blogging success (if any):I started.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: Blog Contest - Regift and win $500! a week ago
To come up with one single thing (is there two single thing? ahem... moving on.) that has had the biggest impact on my blogging success, two things should have occurred.First, I should've experienced blogging success. If we split that into two parts, like blogging and success, I'm sure I've accomplished 50% of it, since I am blogging. If I look at success as opposite of failure, I'm 50 sure I've had success and that's close enough for now. So since I a) am blogging and b) have (arguably) not failed, I've had blogging success. Blogging success - check.Second, there should have been something that had impact on my blogging success. From those things I could then choose the biggest. There are many (woohoo), but none of those impacts would have not occurred without this one thing. Biggest impact - check.The one (single) thing that has had the biggest impact on my blogging success (if any):I started. 
 
Re: How to Set Up Google Analytics a week ago
Some say, why use plugin when you can just copy the code in? I think the ease of use and the benefits (link tracking and all) make it well worth while.The best thing about Joost's plugin is that it filters your own visits out of the data (option can be turned off if one wants of course). 
 
Re: How to Set Up Google Analytics a week ago
In general stats generated on webhost count "everything", including your own and returning visits, sometimes even bots, like search engine crawlers. So In my experience Analytics is more accurate.With the plugin I mention on the post you can even filter your own visits out of the stats which is awesome (something that can't be done on webhost stats). The important thing is to analyze stats within one service, not the stats from two different services. 
 
Site traffic doesn't matter a week ago
Good post Mike. I think people should not make targets and calculations based on hypothetical conversion rates. Since first only thing that matters is getting any sales. Then you can say how many people who visit your sales page actually buy, and comparing that number to the overall traffic will you some estimate on true conversion.It is about getting people to that sales page and THEN converting to sales. Getting more people to that page is the key to more potential sales (as is improving the sales page for more conversions, but that comes later, after tracking and analysis).Probably the most realistics way is first trying to get people signing up to an email list, and eventually get them to the sales page through auto-responder sequence and other mails. So perhaps first thing to track is the conversion from overall traffic to email subscribers? And then track how many click the links on the emails you sent to the sales page and onwards to conversion rate on the sales page?Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: 5 Ways to Reduce Your Comment Count a week ago
Oo, I will put these tips into use right away... hey! wait... hmm. mmm. hmm. Aha!The lack of comments on complete how-to "lecture" is very true, the occasional "thanks!" is all those posts get. They make great posts, but bad "comment baits" for sure :) 
 
Re: Site traffic doesn&#039;t matter a week ago
Good post Mike. I think people should not make targets and calculations based on hypothetical conversion rates. Since first only thing that matters is getting any sales. Then you can say how many people who visit your sales page actually buy, and comparing that number to the overall traffic will you some estimate on true conversion.It is about getting people to that sales page and THEN converting to sales. Getting more people to that page is the key to more potential sales (as is improving the sales page for more conversions, but that comes later, after tracking and analysis).Probably the most realistics way is first trying to get people signing up to an email list, and eventually get them to the sales page through auto-responder sequence and other mails. So perhaps first thing to track is the conversion from overall traffic to email subscribers? And then track how many click the links on the emails you sent to the sales page and onwards to conversion rate on the sales page? 
 
Re: Discussion: Good vs. Bad Reviews? a week ago
I think there is a place for comparison posts, pulling similar reviews together and comparing the products, but that's a bit off-topic for reviewing...I think it's OK to link to similar products if you have reviewed them as well. But one review should be able to stand on its own without knowledge of the other products.And you are right that great review includes both good and bad aspects of the product before drawing conclusions. Then whether or not you give the product good or bad rating is based on those aspects. 
 
Digging into your blog archives a week ago
Yup, bloggers should not forget they have loads of content hidden in their archives both them and their readers can enjoy. In short: Give an old post the attention it deserves, and make the most out of the work you've already done.Not only can you dig in the archives and promote an old post, but why not update the ones that you like to be even better (something you covered here before: http://www.mikeslife.org/content/super-secret-t... ).While digging into the archives, why not list all the posts you can either promote or polish and re-use? Maybe publish a "best of me way back style" -eBook even :) Or at least update couple of your early masterpieces and *then* promote themRead more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion a week ago
Ben, you're not the only one who has asked how not to display "0 comments", so I'll be writing a post on the subject.The "problem" with that is that it's relatively technical and not all people are comfortable going and edit the code of their theme.In short it means finding the code in the theme-files where it displays "0 comments", "1 comment" and "n comments" and edit those as wanted.For those using Disqus, it can be done from the Disqus settings... since many have asked about Disqus as well, I have couple of posts in the over for that as well :) 
 
Re: Digging into your blog archives a week ago
Yup, bloggers should not forget they have loads of content hidden in their archives both them and their readers can enjoy. In short: Give an old post the attention it deserves, and make the most out of the work you've already done.Not only can you dig in the archives and promote an old post, but why not update the ones that you like to be even better (something you covered here before: http://www.mikeslife.org/content/super-secret-t... ).While digging into the archives, why not list all the posts you can either promote or polish and re-use? Maybe publish a "best of me way back style" -eBook even :) Or at least update couple of your early masterpieces and *then* promote them 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion a week ago
Good suggestions there since not all these tips help a brand new blogger. On average only 1% of blog readers comment, you need some traffic to get the comments going - and even then it's not easy. Getting started is the hard part, and getting the *first* comment is the hardest, then one can concentrate on the *more* :) 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion a week ago
Comment policy is good for setting the ground rules and it's a way to keep yourself the permission to delete spam (probably not likely, but someone *could* come after your if you delete their comment.).And great additions too Keller. Good content is the foundation. 
 
Re: How to Get More Blog Comments and Discussion a week ago
Thanks for the feedback Krizia. I'll be writing a post about Disqus for sure. It's been on my mind and now that many have asked for it already, it's time to do it. 
 
8 Reasons You Might Not Be Getting Many Comments a week ago
Good tips Charlie – Ironically I just wrote 3000+ word post about getting more blog comments :) Well anyway, I think the most important takeaways here are asking for comments and making commenting as easy as possible…Blog comments should not require login (it can be optional) and non-web savvy people might not understand CAPTCHA’s = don’t use them. Also, there should be a link “leave a comment” that takes reader to the comment form, especially if there’s ads, related reads, etc between the post and the form. Combining easy commenting with open ended posts and questions at the end, and you’ll be much more likely to get comments.With that said, I was quite surprised that there were no questions at the end of this post, why is that?Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Why I Quit Using TweetDeck a week ago
Really awesome to see you reach out like this Richard... Proves that you guys know what you're doing (monitoring the web / social media, and connecting with people). Those who do it like you do are the ones who come on top in the end. All the best (and thanks for great Twitter app!)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
It’s Been a Year Already – Where’s My Internet Business Success? a week ago
I think most people fail at the "apply what you learned" -phase. The information is there, both free and paid, but what separates those who make it from those who fail is the ability to take action. It's been proven over and over again, that those who work hard, get results. Those who don't even get started, get nowhere.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Are You Too Scared to Become a Hero? 2 weeks ago
Thanks again for inspiration Nathan. I've had a awesome day today. It started with listening to your podcast this morning (the five year plan stuff). I got some encouraging comments and mails during the day... And it kinda rounds up here on this post...It's not so much that I want to be a rockstar, but being a hero... a humble hero who comes in to save the day, but doesn't ask anything in return, because just doing the good deed has given so much satisfaction. That I can take.As a sidenote, I'm a big American Idol fan (which fortunately airs here on Finland as well), and Daughtry and Carrie are my all time favorites.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Third Tribe Review – Getting The Most Out Of Mavens 2 weeks ago
Great vid Jordan! The general attitude of "take, take, take" is exactly why I don't usually like forums. When it feels like a community and there's plenty of "give, give, give", it will be better (and longer-lasting) for everyone involved.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Lies, damn lies and statistics 2 weeks ago
I think the key with tracking blog statistics is picking a service that has the features you want and stick with it. This way you get historic data that can be used for comparison and analyzing. So instead of comparing different statistic packages, pick one, and run with it.also, I think the most important part for tracking is showing where the people came who bought something (whether that's an actual sale, subscription or any other desired action.I prefer Google Analytics, because it's free, relatively lightweight and has very powerful functionality built-in that is there when I need it. Google Analytics shows reliable stats, and since it counts the visits the same way every time, the numbers compare to historic data.As a sidenote, I've run the performance metrics on the side, and the numbers are pretty much the same, so I'll probably drop it at some point. The only bonus is the real time statistics, and even that is not a bonus, because it's addictive enough to check stats daily! :)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Pick Your Webinar 2 weeks ago
True - some people need that motivational, theoretical, empowerment stuff. As I commented to Jordan's awesome lengthy comment there, most people fail because they lack/lose motivation to keep going or even start, to take action. When that is in order, the real "no BS" technique works.As for the webinar itself, I'm already liking what I see here in the comments, so I'd like to ask that you schedule the webinar with non-US regions in mind as well. I love webinars, but there is no way I'll participate one taking place 0-6am.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Pick Your Webinar 2 weeks ago
The problem is not in the "fluff" BS, it is in the people's eternal ability to not take action.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Fishbowl Sense 2 weeks ago
I love Tumblr. And as @garyvee runs his blog with it, it's probably good for pretty much anything It is the easiest blogging platform to use, and if I would start a brand new free blog right now (or recommend a free blog service for someone new), Tumblr would be it.There is so much you can use it for, just like Erica mentioned. As you can even hook it up with Ping.fm, the possibilities are endless.I have 2+ blogs going on in Tumblr, but I'm still looking for ways to use it effectively. In addition to my main blog and my posterous, I'll just have to find a way…Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Designing and producing your first E Book 3 weeks ago
Good tips Mike. I'm working on an eBook I'll share for free. The tips on the size of the eBook were very useful for me... I started with an idea that was way too big, so I couldn't even get started.Now I've broken it into many smaller pieces, and taking one to work on is much easier (and possibly work on the other ideas later then). And I've even broken it down to "chapters", because writing 500-1000 words many times feels less of task than "write an eBook that has 30 pages".I also keep the idea of re-purposing "normal" blog content to PDFs in the back of my mind - so I'm paying attention to blog post topics that might be part of a compilation in the future and use 10-15 extra on the post to improve and polish before I put it out. I'm also re-working older posts to make them better (and ready for such "book").Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
IBM 86 | 6 Secrets for Choosing an Affiliate Program 3 weeks ago
As always, I enjoyed the podcast. It inspired me to write a blog post about choosing affiliate programs myself, or actually series of posts, but one at a time…I’ve been using similar “3 step affiliate program choosing formula” myself, but since I took your ideas from this podcast and built from that when I did this post, I wanted to tell you about it and I hope it’s cool with you(?)Anyway, here’s the link to the post: http://zemalf.com/1254/affiliate-program-evaluation/Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
The Perfect Blog About Page 3 weeks ago
About page should explain what the blog is about (features), how the blog can help the reader (benefits) and why you are the best to deliver just that (your edge, unique selling point, or whatever you want to call it).And as you added to the list, there should be clear instructions on what to do next, whether it's subscribing or checking specific page for recommended readings...I know some bloggers prefer to make the About-page more about the blog than themselves, but I think, there is one thing that absolutely needs to be on the about page (even if it's already elsewhere on the blog)...a real photo of you (and everyone writing to the blog). At least I want to *see* who is there, not just read. This made me smile a bit Mike, since you don't have one of yourself, just Firas :) And now that I thought of it, adding a video to the about-page is probably a great idea, but haven't seen many do that.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Becoming a Crusader 3 weeks ago
For me, there has not been a mission. Or actually there is, but I haven't given the speech (many great analogies on this one, but that hit it home for me). Without the speech, it will remain as the "secret mission" only I'm on.Nathan, I think you created a masterpiece on this one. One kind of "Neo" moment for me at least. I realized that I don't have a mission, at least one that I would've shared with people. I haven't thought about it. I started blogging and figured things as I went along. I have some thinking to do now :)Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Are Long-Form Sales Letters Dead? 3 weeks ago
Yes, long sales pages are dead, if they ever were alive. Those who have used it say they work. They say that buyers read those long pages. I say, buyers read those pages because they have to. What the heck is up with not putting even an option to buy on top!Many marketers THINK the long page works, because they have always used them (because some copywriting guru who charged them a bucket load of money said so).I think very small percentage of marketers have actually split tested long vs. short copy, they have just used the long. Without split test, I would go with short copy, or even all video. With testing, I'd go with all three and combinations until finding the right one for that specific product. In the end, if the long works the best, more power to it, but I doubt it.Read more comments by Antti Kokkonen 
 
Banksoblog : 11 Tips To Reduce Risks Of Ski Injury 4 weeks ago
I only go skiing about once a year and it usually takes a little while to get used to the ride again. No injuries in 20+ years :) Managed that with three tips: keep it safe (for you and others), know the rules and understand you are not alone in there, and lastly - know your skills - it's totally fine to go down the easy route and skip the jumps.  
 
Dumb Little Man : How To Write When You Think You Can’t 7 months ago
Thank you so much for this post. I found myself staring at a blank page not too long ago and I managed to shake it, but I was afraid that it might come back. I definitely gotta give freewriting a shot and start writing without going back and editing as I go. And the clustering technique reminds me of something I used to do with mind maps and you reminded to "dig that tool from the box" :)  
 
MissyWard.com : Free Affiliate Marketing Statistics Report - 2009 Affiliate Summit AffStat Report 8 months ago
Thanks for the heads up. Is there archive of previous/similar reports somewhere? I'd love to check some history data too.  
 
Zemalf : The Test 8 months ago
Testing the new intensedebate comments on http://zemalf.com  
 

Find me on :
To Top
Widgets
 
To Top
 
Powered by Retaggr ¤ Report page
copyright © 2010