Monday, December 31, 2007

7 Surefire Ways To Increase Your Traffic Starting Yesterday

Internet. Business. Profit. To fully integrate all of these words into a successful merging you will need another word. Traffic. Every article you will find about making your site or company successful would always include the importance of generating traffic.

So, we all know that in the core of it all, traffic is the most essential thing to a successful internet based business company. Aside from ensuring that you have a great product to sell, and you have your company’s internal organization well taken core of, it would be time to get to the nitty gritty of things, generating traffic.

If you already have a site and you want think that you're not getting the traffic that you're supposed to be getting, then its time to reconsider. If you are contending in these very competitive business, you should always be a step ahead of your competition, increasing your traffic flow should have been done starting yesterday.

Timing is essential, that’s an old adage known to everyone. But with generating traffic, you should always be on your toes and be a day ahead of everyone. Never think of today and tomorrow as a starting point for making your site traffic laden, it should always have been yesterday.

To help you out in generating more traffic for your site, here are some seven surefire ways to increase your traffic starting from yesterday.

1) Invest in good advertising with search engines

Google’s Adwords and Yahoo’s Overture provide great advertising schemes that are very truly popular and assures great traffic. Although with this surefire way to increase your traffic would cost some money. While some would shy away from spending money to increase traffic, it is imperative in this case to do so because Adwords and Overture is the top surefire way to increase your traffic.

You could see for yourself the success this search engine advertising methods have reaped rewards for so many companies. Lots of site feature these advertising system and many have signed on to reap the benefits. Do not be left behind. Every penny is worth it with using Google and Yahoo’s advertising.

2) Exchange or Trade Links with other sites

With exchanging links with other sites, both of you will benefit from the efforts both of you do to enhance your sites traffic. When one site features another sites link, they could provide one another with the traffic one site generates. The efforts are doubly beneficial because it would seem like both of you are working to generate more traffic. The more links traded with more sites the more traffic could be expected.

3) Use Viral Marketing

Viral marketing allows you to spread the word about your company and product without any costs or if ever low costs only. This is a marketing method that can be quite sneaky; you can attach your company’s name, product or link to a certain media such as a funny video, entertaining game, an interesting article or a gossip or buzz. With this method, people get infected with the creativity and entertainment of the medium that they will pass it on to many people.

4) Search and use proper keywords or keyword phrases for your sites content

Search engines look for certain keywords that they would show in their results page. In doing so, having the right keyword and keyword phrase is a high requirement in ranking in high in search engine results. You could write your own content or you could hire someone to do it for you.

5) Write Articles that can lead traffic to your site

Submit articles to sites that would contain the same subject that your site deals in. If you sell car parts write press releases and articles about cars and car parts. Attach your sites description and services at the end of the article as well as the link.

6) Join forums and form online communities

Capture a market and show your expertise and credibility. When you found a good foundation for your site, people will trust you and your site and will pass on to many people their trust. Traffic will certainly increase because they know that you can provide what they need.

7) Lastly, Offer newsletters.

If many people know what you are about and your existence is shared with many others, you will find a loyal traffic that can provide you with more traffic by recommendation. If you arouse the curiosity of your customers they would be pushed to help you with your traffic.

The Newbie Business Center

3 Things You Must Do Before You Submit To Article Directories

To all writers and non-writers out there, now is the time to start digging up those creative writing skills back.
With modern communication technology comes the popularity of information-based marketing, which is one of the oldest and most effective techniques in getting targeted prospects to sites and converting them into buyers. This is why article writing, submissions and publications are also getting popular.

There are already many tools that people can use to make the process of distributing their articles more easily. Though this is invaluable in getting the contents more exposure, which is only half of the story.
Let us take a look first at the common mistakes that some people make before submitting their contents to article directories:

1. Confusing the reason to promote the articles with the reason to write them.
In article writing, there are three key benefits why you are promoting them; branding, lead generation and promotion, which are all part of your optimization efforts.

But there is only one reason why you write an article, and that is to inform your audience. If the article is not focused on this primary and most important purpose, it will fail to achieve the three promotion benefits because no one will be interested in reading them.

You need to figure out first how to get people to read what is in your article, then make them click on your resource box. You can achieve this by producing better contents.

2. Failing to maximize the promotional opportunities of article marketing.

You may know already that your articles can help you generate additional links back to your site. But do you know that you can get more visitors and better search engine results from that same articles?

Mention keywords at strategic places. Just be sure not to overdo them. Some are even using anchor texts which is also an effective method. But it is important to know that majority of the directories are not able to support this.
Remember that is not only about the links back to your site. Part of doing well in your article marketing is getting picked up by publishers with a large number of audiences and gaining the ability of leveraging other brands because of the quality of your work. Better search engine results also are great benefits.

But these things do not put much money in your pocket. There are other factors that can turn your article marketing efforts into an opportunity that can boost your earnings. Not just increase the number of visitors to your site.

Start out with a plan and see to it that your article will serve the function that you intended it to have.

3. Publishing content that does not help your readers.
Maybe in the process of writing articles, you are thinking that all that is you wanted is links back to your site. And any visitors it can generate are fine.

Guess what? Not all article banks and directories are going to accept your content automatically. Oftentimes, they have some guidelines and specifications on the articles that they are accepting.
You can double the number of sites you can submit to by writing articles that the directories want to share with other people. All it takes is one publisher with a hundred thousand readers to increase your potential audience overnight.

Write the articles that publishers want in their publications if you want your article marketing to work the most effective way for you. This also means you have to obey the standard guidelines, spell checks, researching on a good topic and even hiring a writer to produce a good content on your behalf.

In the end, it is all really a matter of choice on your part. You can start getting a little exposure from increased links back but on a very basic level. Or enjoy massive exposure from a little extra time making quality contents.

It will be your choice. You may not be aware of the fact that an article submitted on directories is not meant to have the same level of exposure as highly-targeted content ones geared on a narrow group of people.

Learn the difference between these two and it will surely help you know what kinds of articles to write and to submit.

Click Here To Learn More About Article Marketing

Friday, December 28, 2007

Just claiming my blog on technorati.

Technorati Profile

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Just Why is SEO So Damn Hard?


And What You Can Do About It! - Part I

by Leslie Rohde

If you've been doing SEO for a while, you might remember the "good ol' days" when getting top ranking was easy. Wow, was that ever fun. Doesn't it seem a lot harder today? Yeah, and it is too, but why? Better still ... what do we do about it?

It is said that if we do not understand history then we will be damned to repeat it, so in Part 1 of this three part series, let's take a look at what has changed these last few years and how these changes have made ranking more difficult. This will set us up to understand what has to be done today to command top rank in the major search engines.

GEOMETRIC GROWTH

Reported Index Size
Jun 2000 1 billion
Dec 2001 3 billion
Jan 2004 4.3 billion
Nov 2004 8 billion
latest est. 12-14 billion

Remember when businesses did not have web sites? That was not very long ago. Now pretty much every commercial vehicle has a domain name plastered across it. Doing business on the web truly has made it to the mainstream which was not true even just 5 years ago. This alone has created a huge increase in the number of websites in the index.

And then there is that Adsense thing. Just in case you are not familiar with it, the Google Adsense program allows web sites to place Google advertising on their site and share in the advertising revenue when visitors click the Google ads. This makes for a trivial way to monetize website traffic, so of course, in nearly no time at all about a billion (give or take) websites were launched with the sole purpose of attracting visitors to click Google Adsense advertising. This gave rise to the expression the "Made for Adsense" (MFA) website.

The net impact on the Google index can be understood to some extent by just looking at the number of pages indexed.

Even if nothing else changed in SEO in the last few years, from just these numbers alone we should expect ranking to be about three times as difficult today as compared to a few years ago. But the "business of search" itself has changed too, making top ranking more difficult still.

MOVING THE FOLD

Remember when Google had no paid ads? Now look at it! When Google first started selling advertising space, there were a maximum of two sponsored links and there was often only one actually taken. Today Google will show as many as three (Yahoo! will show four!) and Google results pages have sprouted a bunch of other stuff as well.

The screen shot here shows three paid ads; a result from my own computer because I have Google Desktop installed; and the #1 listing shows the expanded result. This kind of advertising-heavy display has become more common of late. In other cases you might find local search results that take even more space.

The result? It's no longer enough to be in the top 10, or even the top 5 results. Almost all clicks go to the top 2 or 3 because all the rest have been moved below "the fold" - the point where the user has to scroll to see the rest of the page.

And this all feeds on itself. Because there is now way more competition for a reduced number of high value spots, more businesses are simply buying the sponsored positions, making the need to do so even more common!

By itself, the movement of the fold line has had the net effect of making SEO three to five times more difficult.

THE SEO ARMS RACE

Like it or not, business is a competition, and search engine ranking doubly so. For you to get top ranking means that someone else doesn't, which they will likely not be very happy about, so they'll try to take it back ... and so will the next guy ... and the next guy ... and the next.

At some point, some smart guy or gal figures out how to "game the system" and for a short time is unbeatable - right up to the point that other people figure out his secret. And then the cycle repeats. I've been doing this for 7 years and it shows no sign of slowing down. If anything, it's getting worse, and I'm partly to blame.

As ranking gets ever more competitive and complex, web masters find equally tricky techniques to gain an edge. In any competition, especially where money is the reward, people will always come up with new and better ways to win the game. As time goes on, this makes it progressively more and more difficult for new people to enter the marketplace because the seasoned competitors have developed so much more specialized knowledge.

This is not unique to search marketing, but is a natural process that is true in all business, and geo-politics as well - it is what us cold-war kids called "the arms race".

And the stature of some of today's players in search marketing is a real and valid concern as well. Who of us can afford to compete with companies with search budgets of literally hundreds of thousands of dollars? As more and more large companies become aware of and educated about search marketing, the opportunities for smaller players might become restricted.

So with each passing year, the competition increases, the existing players tend to be better funded and the knowledge and expertise required to be successful grows larger. No wonder SEO is harder today and unavoidably these trends will lead to more and more web business failures.

BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS...

This is actually the best time in the history of the Internet to get started in search marketing!

I realize that is counter-intuitive given all the bad news I just laid on you, but the bad news ignores the opportunity.

The economic rewards that come from effective search marketing today are simply huge and getting bigger at a rate that out-paces the increase in either competition or complexity by a wide margin. Sure, the "good ol' days" were great and the ranking was easy, but the profits were nothing! Nothing compared to the level of success achievable today.

Right now, today, will in some future year be regarded as "the sweet spot". In part 2, I'll show you how and why this is true and how you can, and should!, position yourself to take advantage of it while it lasts.

Click here to find out more about becoming a member.

Click Here For More About SEO.

6 Things To Post On Your Blog When You're Running Out of Ideas.

There is no doubt that blogs are the “it” thing today in the online world. Wherever you surf, blogs are sprouting everywhere like mushrooms, whether they’re used for personal or business purposes. But for starters, what is a blog anyway? It is a diary where you can post your thoughts or feelings or whatnots, except that it is online and the public can read it. But enough of that. Gone were the days when they were used solely for personal reasons. On the business side, they can be a very useful tool to boost your business, and to keep your customers updated on the products and infos you have. But if you’re still struggling to catch up on the latest thing these days and you think you’re not much of a great writer either, let me give you some useful subjects you can write about to give your customers a lot of reasons to keep coming back to your site.

1. News. Okay, so maybe that’s basic. After all, your company or business is the reason you put up a blog, right? Write about the products you sell. Give them a bit of the benefits your potential customers might get for buying them, with a link back to your main site to read the entire sales letter. You can also write about updates to your product. Post news about the industry you’re in. If you’re selling products that help people get better search engine rankings, write about search engine news. Or, if you or your service has been featured on TV, papers, or notable websites, write about it. Don’t forget to post seminars or gatherings where you’ve been invited.

2. History of your business. Maybe this one has already been in your main website, but who cares? People forget it. They come and go and chances are, when they visit your site, they don’t read it. Write about how you began, the reputation and achievements you’ve earned, and the accolades or awards you received, with a link back your site. That way you’ll let them know why they should buy from you, and that you’re a real person who’s building a reputable business. Add some employee’s profile if you have someone working for you, too. If you have nice traffic or site stats, that’s also worth mentioning.

3. Customer’s feedback. When a raving customer emails you about how your product has helped him, share it in your blog. This gives your visitors a compelling reason to buy from you.

4. Site of the week / month. Mention a site that doesn’t compete with you but complements your content. Explain to them why you like it, and why it deserves your accolade.

5. Contests, surveys, trivia, questionnaires. If you’re running a contest, post it in your blog to encourage visitors to join. Get their attention by including the prizes, a bit of the rules, with a link back to your site for more information regarding it. Or put a survey. That could give you information regarding the product you’re selling, as to how you could develop it further.

6. Tip of the day. Write about a new tactic you developed or something you learned and perfected.

So there. Whatever your business is, no doubt there’s always something you’ll definitely want to write about. Give it a try. And it will reward you soon.

For More Blogging Fun, Visit Lets Start Blogging

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

"How To Write Hypnotic Articles"

by Larry Dotson

Writing articles and submitting them to online publications
is one of the most effective ways to get free advertising
for your business. Most e-zine and Web site publishers are
constantly looking for free, quality content to publish.
You simply write something short and sweet and e-mail it
to them.

You then allow these publishers to reprint your articles for
free in exchange for your resource box (acts like a signature
file) being included at the end of your article.

And that's the key, of course. Your resource box is the
"acceptable ad" that makes these free articles work in your
favor. There's an example of a resource box at the end of
this article.

Your resource box can include all or some of the following:
Your name, business name, e-mail address, web address, a
brief mention about your business, e-zine subscription
address, autoresponder address or a freebie.

Articles usually pull more response then regular ads because
if people like your article they will read your resource box to
find out more information. This will lead them to visit your
web site, subscribe to your e-zine or e-mail your autoresponder.
But again, the article has to have a resource box in order to
act like a soft-selling ad.

The number of places to submit your articles are growing by
leaps and bounds every day. There are millions of e-zines
and Web sites with thousands of new ones being added
everyday.

Plus, most of these e-zines and Web sites deal with only one
subject, so they are highly targeted. By writing and submitting
just one article you have the chance to be published in front
of thousands, maybe even millions of targeted people!

-------------
Larry Dotson is the author and co-author of 42 e-books and
over 150 articles business related articles. We recommend
his new e-book, "How To Write Hypnotic Articles."

Click here for immediate access:

How To Write Hypnotic Articles

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Adding Video AND Audio To Your Website: Some Recommendations To Improve Effectiveness And Visitor Responsiveness.


from
: Shane Kukec

More and more online businesses and internet marketers are recognizing the tremendous benefits and responsiveness that multimedia generates when used as an advertising medium and marketing strategy.

For those that utilize multimedia effectively, significant increases in buy rates, conversion rates and subscription rates have been experienced and all within a very short period of time. However, many believe that just adding any old media content, such as video and audio onto their website will generate significant increases in visitor responsiveness regardless of content presentation, quality, and other attributes that contribute to a positive experience for the website visitor. Just so that we are clear, this assertion is very wrong and can have potentially negative consequences from a marketing and/or advertising standpoint.

My philosophy is quite simple. Using multimedia to advertise your product or service needs to follow the same basic rules and principles as would apply to any other strategy or medium that can be used to convert prospects into subscribers and buyers. Yes, multimedia does improve conversion rates but it has to be done right and convey professionalism. This is absolutely essential.

When it comes to video and audio content online, what's often been the case is that those who have tried to add this type of media content to their websites have unfortunately had disastrous results. For example, with video content, many have added videos to their webpages that are of extremely poor quality, small and ugly. The overall experience for the viewer - Poor. One of the biggest problems has been the fact that the videos load very slowly. Visitors are turned off completely by the fact that they have to wait for minutes, even longer sometimes in order for the video or audio file to start playing. This, unfortunately, is a result of these webmasters using cookie-cutter solutions to add video or audio content to their site without really knowing the implications and limitations. As I said, with multimedia...either do it right or don't do it at all. For those who do their research and take a little time to produce video and audio content that is of good quality, the results have been tremendous.

Bottom Line: If you want to capture the attention of your visitors,you need to use top notch technology to bring your message to that person and provides the viewer with a positive experience.

If you do plan on adding video and audio content to your website, here are a few simple guidelines to follow when determining what the best multimedia solution is for you:

1. Cost Effective: You need a solution that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and leaves you with great video and/or audio content on your website but flat broke.

2. Fast loading Media Content (Video/Audio) that can play almost immediately. Website visitors are fickle and inpatient so its not wise to keep them waiting when trying to view your video advertisement or listen to your audio message.

3. Superior Website Integration: Video and Audio Content that can appear to be seamlessly Integrated into your websites and emails. Viewers don't have to view video and audio ads with media player's that annoyingly pop-up on top of their internet browsers and distract them from the rest of your website.

4. Superior Customization: Video and Audio Advertisements that can be customized for your websites and emails based on your specific requirements.

5. The ability to handle a large volume of simultaneous visitors.

6. Large-Scale Playability: Viewing/Listening DOES NOT require the download of additional plug-ins. Don't make your visitors have to download any special software to view or listen to the video and audio content on your website.

7. The media content needs to be of reasonably good quality and resolution. Don't worry, you don't need Lord of the Rings quality to provide your website visitors with a positive experience. They won't expect perfect quality but you need to make sure that the content is of good quality.

Of course, we can get into specific details about each one of these things but we won't get into that in this article. These are just high-level, general guidelines that you can follow when shopping around for a good multimedia solution for your business.

Multimedia does have impressive results from a marketing perspective. That's why the big companies and brand names are utilizing multimedia content to sell their products and services. However, not everyone has the exact same budget and requirements and if you are looking for a multimedia solution you need to spend some time shopping around to find a solution that offers the best bang for the buck.



About The Author


Shane Kukec is a Corporate President, Trainer and Publisher of a popular newsletter "The Intelligent Marketer" at http://www.theintelligentmarketer.com where he shows people how to generate a substantial income using simple and very powerful marketing strategies. Shane's also the developer of 2 revolutionary new products guaranteed to help explode any business quickly and easily: (http://www.jvmining.com) (http://www.videoaudiogenerator.com). You can reprint this article for free on your site or newsletter but the entire article, resource box and live links must remain intact.


Note:Whether you are an online business owner who sees the potential of video marketing or an individual who wants a more personal touch when communicating online, Helloworld offers an affordable solution to your online video, vmail, vlogging, and live webcasting needs. If you'd like more information about Helloworld's streaming video services or would like to try it free for 30 days, please contact Sheree Motiska via any of the methods listed on my contact page.Helloworld products are available exclusively through independent affiliates of VM Direct.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Webdesign Mastery Course Review.

I have just discovered an amazing Web Design product

Web Design Mastery

Are you sick and tired of endlessly searching the Internet
for codes the professionals use for special effects?

Look No Further...

Web Design Mastery is quickly becoming the "Bible" for
anyone interested in designing a professional website...

If you're marketing a product or service on the Internet, a
professional looking website is an absolute essential part
of your success.

Although learning HTML is the first step, you'll find that
most HTML tutorials only provide you with very basic
information.

You're then forced to spend countless hours trying to
achieve a certain design and locate special effect codes.

Until Now...

Web Design Mastery is a complete Internet Marketers
Reference Guide. Not only will you learn how to design a
professional website, but you'll also learn in the easiest
possible fashion -- with hundreds of copy & paste codes.

Inside, you'll discover...

Web Design Mastery - Main Volume

An Internet marketer's copy & paste reference guide. This
ebook provides you with a complete step by step guide to
designing a professional website.

WebMaster's Reference Charts


Five reference charts to assist you in designing your
website:

Section 1: HTML Chart - Commonly used HTML codes, including
names, tags and examples.

Section 2: CSS Chart - CSS properties including background,
border, classification, font, margin, padding and text.

Section 3: Color Chart - 216 Safe color chart containing
each color, the hexadecimal values and the RGB (Red, Green,
Blue) Values.

Section 4: Symbols Chart - Special characters and symbols
that can be used within your HTML.

Section 5: Troubleshooting Chart - Common web development
problems including graphics, text, tables, HTML, forms,
JavaScript and CGI Scripts.

Advanced Web Design


Step by step tutorials that will take you through the entire
design process of a sample web page template:

Section 1: Web Page Template Design - A six part, step by
step guide to designing a web page template.

Section 2: Image Dicing / Manipulating - A step by step
tutorial that will assist you in dicing and manipulating
images.

Section 3: Image Rollovers - A step by step tutorial to
assist you in creating image rollover effects.

Section 4: Advanced Tables / Codes - Several example tables
and codes that can be used to spice up your web page.

Section 5: Email Forms/Opt-In Lists - A tutorial to assist
you in developing an opt-in list, publication and form.

-------------------------------------------

All of these ebooks contain example code ready to copy and paste into your pages.


101 Design Tips and Tricks

To complete this package, you'll find a special 101
design tips and tricks section that includes special effect
HTML, DHTML, JavaScript code snippets and CSS codes ready to
copy and paste into your page.


Web Design Mastery customers are RAVING...


Dear Shelley:

I have been working with computers and designing
Professional Engineering Software for 30 years. During
those years, I have purchased several hundred computer
programs and 3rd party books on how to use and write
software. I would guess that less than 10% of the items
that I bought turned out to be worth their purchase price.

Shelley, I can, and will, honestly state that "Web Design
Mastery" is the best designed e-book that I have ever seen.
I wish I possessed 50% of your presentation skills. I will
attempt to emulate your style when I create my next e-book.
Notwithstanding the subject matter, "Web Design Mastery" is
a valuable resource for anyone who wants to create a web
site. I have purchased several books on designing WEB pages
and HTML. I have also downloaded several tutorials on
subjects like Tables, Frames, and Forms. The subject
material in "Web Design Mastery" is more complete, better
written, and much better presented than any other computer
book, manual, or documentation that I have ever read: bar
none.

Shelley, "Web Design Mastery" should be put into print and
sold for $79.95 a copy. I am positive Sam's Publishing
Company could sell several million copies. I know that most
WEB page designers would purchase a copy after they read
just a few pages.

Thank you,

Peter A. Steeves, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., P.Eng. Geomatics
Engineer Geodetic Software Systems

-------------------------------------------

Shelley, I could kiss you!

I just purchased Web Design Mastery, and I can't wait to
apply its teachings.

For all of my Internet Marketing knowledge and experience,
I'm a "webmaster newbie", at best ... and it shows.

A poorly designed site can kill the credibility of a
potentially promising venture.

Web Design Mastery will make the aforementioned a thing of
the past.

I've long been a "wannabe" webmaster, and have been in awe
of your talents in particular for some time now.

Buying Web Design Mastery was a no brainer for me (I was
just waiting for it to come along ..;), the same as
EbookStarter before it.

Thanks again,

Mike Merz
Internet Marketing For Newbies

-------------------------------------------

Hi Shelley,

Where were you five years ago when I was trying to make my
first web page? With your ebook anyone with a fifth grade
education can start building web pages. I always knew you
were good but you have outdone yourself this time. This is
nothing short of a great ebook.

Vern Anderson
vernsnews.com

-------------------------------------------

Hi Shelley,

Web Design Mastery has to be one of the best investments on
the Internet today. It's obvious right from the beginning
that a lot of time, research, care and thought went into
creating this awesome trio of e-books.

I wish I would have found you a few months ago when I
started re-writing my own site. Whether you are new to the
idea of writing and implementing HTML or you've been around
the block, Web Design Mastery is a 'must have' resource and
guide that you will refer back to over and over again. The
books don't just explain how to create your site -- they
show you how.

This package comes complete with hundreds of codes that you
can copy and paste, together with screen shots and examples
of what they all do.

I'm actually looking forward to putting into practice the
things I learned from these books.
You've done a fabulous job.

Thank you Shelley.

Your Partner in Success,
Lois M. Jeary Publisher, KIT and
KIT Klassifieds
home4success.com

-------------------------------------------

Hi Shelley,

As is always the case with any product you create Web Design
Mastery is a breath of fresh air any web site designer can
use.

I have been designing websites for several years and by no
means consider myself a "Master" but I think I'm pretty
good. Regardless of that I continually find myself
researching the latest techniques or searching for a way to
handle a specific request. I have only finished reading
about half of Web Design Mastery and I KNOW it is going to
save me SOOOO Much Time!

Congratulations on another Home Run Hit!

Best Regards,

Mike ASU Service
NetBizHelpers.com

-------------------------------------------

Shelley,

I just read over your ebook series and I must tell you it's
a masterpiece! This set contains EVERYTHING you need to
know to build a professional web site from scratch. I wish
I had this years ago before I had to learn the hard way.
I've added shortcuts on my desktop so I can refer to your
books when I work on my own site. This set is worth at least
three times more than what you're charging for it.

Wishing you MUCH success,

Kim Haas
Womans-Net.com

-------------------------------------------

Designing a great website has never been any easier...If
you're serious about designing a professional web site, give
Web Design Mastery a try. You'll be glad you did.

I highly recommend this powerful resource.

So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I Choose?

So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I Choose?


Ask questions first before you join an affiliate program. Do a little research about the choices of program that you intend to join into. Get some answers because they will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on.

When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.

What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.

How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.

What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site. Impressions are the number of times the banner or text link was viewed by a visitor of your site. A hit is the one clicking on the banner or text links.

Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions besides the commissions on sales? It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.

Who is the online retailer? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.

Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.

Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? 5% - 20% is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05% is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions, the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.

These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website. Try to ask your affiliate program choices these questions. These can help you select the right program for you site from among the many available.

And most of all, is the product something you can use and review with confidence? Is there even a product at all? If not, forget it and move on.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Benefits of Being an Affiliate Marketer

Benefits of Being an Affiliate Marketer


Affiliate marketing has become one of the most effective ways to advertise online. It is also one of the easiest ways for anyone with a website to make a profit online. Affiliate Marketing is an agreement between a merchant and a website owner.

The website owner, or the affiliate, allows the use of their site for the promotion of the merchant's products by linking to the merchant's website.


In exchange, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. Every time someone clicks on the link on the affiliate website and proceeds to make a purchase, the affiliate gets a commission. The merchant will pay the affiliate only when a customer clicks on the product link and makes a purchase.


Affiliate marketing programs are described as a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate because of the pay-for-performance scheme.


Both the merchant and the affiliate enjoy some benefits in affiliate marketing. There are many benefits on the merchant's side. It gives the merchant a wider market in which to advertise a product or service. Affiliate marketing will give the product or service the maximum exposure that it may not get with other traditional advertising techniques. The more affiliate sites a merchant has, the higher the traffic, which can convert to sales. Affiliate marketing is the equivalent of having an army of sales people who will do the advertising and will only get a commission if a customer purchases.


Meanwhile, since an affiliate marketing relationship is a win-win situation, the affiliate also enjoys many benefits.


Foremost among these is the easy way to make a profit. The affiliate can earn by having an ad or link to the merchant's website, which prospective customers will hopefully click and proceed to make a purchase. As soon as the customer clicks on the ad on the affiliate's site, is redirected to the merchant's website and goes on to buy that particular product, the affiliate earns a commission. The more referrals there are the more profit for the affiliate.


Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money while at home.


  • There are virtually no production costs.
  • The product is already developed and proven by the merchant, and all you have to do to find, as many prospects as you can that will bring in the profit for both the merchant and the affiliate.
  • Affiliate programs are usually free to join, so affiliates do not have to worry about start-up costs.
  • There are thousands of products and services you can choose from. You can find affiliate programs for every product under the sun.
Surely, there is a product or service out there that is relevant to your website.

In addition, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary.


Most affiliate programs offer excellent support when it comes to providing marketing material. The simplicity of affiliate marketing allows you to be an affiliate marketer at the least cost and the most comfort.

You can even build a successful affiliate marketing business right in the convenience of your own home. In affiliate marketing, your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you do not have to worry about inventory, order processing, and product shipping.

These, along with customer service support are the duties of the merchant.


Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects. You can intensify your advertising campaign by exploiting more aggressive and productive strategies such as viral marketing.

By attracting more prospects, you also maximize your potential to earn. Another benefit of an affiliate marketer is the minimal risk involved. If the product you are advertising is not making money then you can dump it and choose another. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to products that are not mBenefits of Being an Affiliate Marketer


Affiliate marketing has become one of the most effective ways to advertise online. It is also one of the easiest ways for anyone with a website to make a profit online. Affiliate Marketing is an agreement between a merchant and a website owner.

The website owner, or the affiliate, allows the use of their site for the promotion of the merchant's products by linking to the merchant's website.

In exchange, the merchant pays a commission to the affiliate on all sales generated by the affiliate. Every time someone clicks on the link on the affiliate website and proceeds to make a purchase, the affiliate gets a commission. The merchant will pay the affiliate only when a customer clicks on the product link and makes a purchase.

Affiliate marketing programs are described as a win-win situation for both the merchant and the affiliate because of the pay-for-performance scheme.


Both the merchant and the affiliate enjoy some benefits in affiliate marketing. There are many benefits on the merchant's side. It gives the merchant a wider market in which to advertise a product or service. Affiliate marketing will give the product or service the maximum exposure that it may not get with other traditional advertising techniques. The more affiliate sites a merchant has, the higher the traffic, which can convert to sales.

Affiliate marketing is the equivalent of having an army of sales people who will do the advertising and will only get a commission if a customer purchases.


Meanwhile, since an affiliate marketing relationship is a win-win situation, the affiliate also enjoys many benefits. Foremost among these is the easy way to make a profit. The affiliate can earn by having an ad or link to the merchant's website, which prospective customers will hopefully click and proceed to make a purchase. As soon as the customer clicks on the ad on the affiliate's site, is redirected to the merchant's website and goes on to buy that particular product, the affiliate earns a commission. The more referrals there are the more profit for the affiliate.

Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to earn money while at home.


There are virtually no production costs. The product is already developed and proven by the merchant, and all you have to do to find, as many prospects as you can that will bring in the profit for both the merchant and the affiliate. Affiliate programs are usually free to join, so affiliates do not have to worry about start-up costs. There are thousands of products and services you can choose from. You can find affiliate programs for every product under the sun. Surely, there is a product or service out there that is relevant to your website.

In addition, there is absolutely no sales experience necessary. Most affiliate programs offer excellent support when it comes to providing marketing material. The simplicity of affiliate marketing allows you to be an affiliate marketer at the least cost and the most comfort.

You can even build a successful affiliate marketing business right in the convenience of your own home. In affiliate marketing, your responsibility is simply to find prospects for the merchant; you do not have to worry about inventory, order processing, and product shipping.

These, along with customer service support are the duties of the merchant.


Because of the global reach of the internet, you can easily find thousands of prospects. You can intensify your advertising campaign by exploiting more aggressive and productive strategies such as viral marketing. By attracting more prospects, you also maximize your potential to earn. Another benefit of an affiliate marketer is the minimal risk involved. If the product you are advertising is not making money then you can dump it and choose another. There are no long-term binding contracts tying you to products that are not making enough money.

All the same, the best benefit of being an affiliate marketer is the opportunity to increase your income; and you can make a profit even if affiliate marketing is only a sideline business.


With your own affiliate business, you can earn easily earn extra income, although you do have to exert effort and use your imagination to maximize your earning potential.

Indeed, affiliate marketing is one of the simplest and most effective business opportunities on the web today.

Why Is Keyword Research So Important?

Why is keyword research so important?
Well, even if you're doing affiliate marketing, you'll need to find a way to reach your target market. There are so many websites out there peddling their wares that you need to find a niche within a niche in order to find a small group of people who are actively searching for whatever you have to offer.
This is especially true in the world of home business opportunities and information products.
For example, your main keyword cannot be "Home Business" or "Internet Marketing" when you are starting out with your new home business. There are too many big companies out there compeing for those keywords who have tons of advertising money and have been around for a while.
Think about your interests and your strengths.
You want your website to reflect on topics that you have researched or learned through experience. Is there something you've always wanted to learn? Something you are an expert on? Something you're really interested in?

Figure out what your going to make your website about and then research the possible keywords you could use. Make sure you check out your competition and see how you could give your target market something different.
Give them something more than they're currently finding on the Internet.
When you're doing your research, don't be afraid to dig really deep and find out what your market wants that they're not already able to find. This is going to be your long term strategy. You want your site to be content filled and resourseful enough that you won't have any trouble getting other webmasters to do link exchanges with you.
Let's do a little brainstorming.
Let's say that you're an affiliate marketer. You need to think like someone who is searching for what you have to offer. Let's say you're selling an information product about starting a home based business. This can be a really hard niche to get noticed in because there are so many information products out there and there are so many affiliate opportunities out there.

So, you can narrow your topic down to your area(s) of expertise.
  • Have you tried different methods of running your business without success? make your website about what NOT to do when starting a home based business.
  • Are you a techie? Make your website a how to website for the more technical aspects of home business set up.
  • Are you a master at creating website design? make your website a how to for home business entrepreneurs who want to have their own website.
  • Are you a people person? Get into network marketing and make your website about techniques network marketers can use when prospecting.
Even if your not an expert yet, find a topic that interests you and get to researching it!
If you plan out your business before creating your first website, you'll save a lot of time and money. Whatever it is that you want to do, you'll find plenty of learning resources on the Internet. Just remember to be careful out there.

There are a lot of "companies" selling information that can be found for free on the Internet. I am always adding new free resources for Newbie affiliate marketers, because you are their prime target. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter. before you leave here today.

With that said, there are also some really good products out there if you want to learn something in detail. For example, I really wanted my business to get a head start and I found an awesome full course on Internet Marketing (after buying a couple of other 'newbie targeted' products that were junk). I also wanted to get a thorough education on website design and found a great product for that as well. Those are just some examples of things that I wanted to have some know how on and I found it.

There are resources on the Internet for just about any subject you could ever wajnt to learn about. Just be aware of the 'expert competition' that's already out there.

One thing I found when researching the "Home Business" niche is that a lot of people are just parading their opportunities on a website with a good domain name.
If you set out to help people rather than make a quick buck, I promise you that you'll have far greater results.
That was the best advice I ever got when I was building my business online. Once I really set out to give my readers good solid information instead of trying to 'sell them', I got a lot more interested people coming to my other website.
Now, I want to offer you some help.
If you want a head start, I have a great opportunity that is really exploding. The best part is, I have a list of keywords that people are actively searching but aren't finding much of a solution.

Monday, December 3, 2007

'Insider secrets' to marketing your business on the internet

By Derek Gehl

Product Review

By: Sheree Motiska

How many times have you bought an ebook claiming to give you the secrets of starting a home based business only to find you were still clueless?

What if you could have, physically in your hands, an entire 8 step bluprint to your business at home?

That's what you get with Derek Gehl's 800+ page Internet Marketing Course.

Not only that, but you also get a bunch of inspirational audio CD's and a "Website Makeovers" DVD for business websites.

I'm going to tell you exactly what you're going to get in Derek Gehl's course (without giving away his secrets of course).

Let's go through
each of the 2 parts (2 binders, each approximately 4oo pages of good, solid instruction).

Part I : "Build Your Business"
Lessons 1-44
Steps 1-5
Step 1 Talks about researching your niche and deciding what you're going to sell, before you start signing up for affiliate programs and buying resale rights to all kinds of different types of products. The best part about Step 1 is Lesson 9 where Derek talks about branding strategies for your home business.

Don't think you can't get your business branded, you can.

Step 2 is a detailed, 5 lesson course on how to write good salescopy and what kind of salescopy works best with each type of business model. It doesn't matter whether you're offering a product, a service, or someone else's product or service, you need salescopy. Otherwise, the customer won't know why they need what you're offering.

Step 3 is my favorite step. Here Derek teaches you, in lessons 16-28, how to design a great website for your business.
  1. Choosing a great domain name depending what you're offering.
  2. Choosing a web host.
  3. Designing your website.
  4. How to accept credit cards and other payment methods.
  5. Putting a shopping cart into your site.
  6. how to deliver your products.
  7. How to automate some of your customer service.
  8. Protecting your business from fraud.
  9. Dealing with chargebacks & refund requests.
This was my favorite lesson, there is also a DVD that goes with it for visual aid. Before I read this, I thought my site looked just fine. I also thought it was optimized for search engines. Boy was I wrong Then, I went out into the home business opportunities niche and saw that many amrketers are amking a very common mistake with their web pages. Once I fixed the mistake on my site, traffic really changed, and so did my opt-ins.

Step 4 is all about Search Engine Optimization to get targeted traffic to your website. You get a lesson in search engines and how they work followed by step by step directories for getting your home business website ranked in search engines. There's even a Pay Per Click lesson.Then, it goes into detail about how each page and the "secret" to getting all of your pages indexed in the "Big 4" of the search engines.

Step 5 gives you 9 lessons on "The Secret Sources Of Cheap and Even Free Traffic."
  • How to get other sites to link to you (very important for search engine rankings)
  • Giving away expert content
  • Viral marketing
  • Forum marketing
  • Classified ads
  • And more.
Then, we come to...

Part 2:" grow Your Business"

  • Lessons 45-64
  • Steps 6-8
Step 6 is 13 lessons on "how to build your opt-in list" which is about the most important part of your entire business. You need people that actually want to hear what you have to say.
  • Newsletters and other methods of collecting opt-ins.
  • How to create a great opt-in offer.
  • How to manage you list.
  • How to abide by spam laws when doing e mail promotions.
  • How to write and format emails.
  • And more email marketing tips and tricks.
Step 7 is "How To Increase Your Income With Follow- Up Offers."

Step 8 is about taking affiliate marketing to the next level. Even having your own affiliates to make money for you!

Then, you've got extra secrets to effective Internet marketing and a glossary, which is especially helpful for the Newbie Internet marketer. It explains what all of those Internet business terms really mean.

All in all, this is the most in-depth and well organized guide to starting a legitimate home based business I've seen so far.

I refer to this course every day and I learn something new every day.

Insider Secrets To Marketing Your ZBusiness On The Internet

Friday, November 30, 2007

Organize Your Home Business and Reap the Rewards of Success

The time to realize how important home business organization is to your overall success is not when you need to find important tax papers or income statements quickly. To avoid problems in the long run, take some time and devise a workable organization and filing system now.

Get a sturdy lockable file cabinet and durable hanging folders. Buy manila folders to tuck inside the hanging folders, and make sure you've also got several manila envelopes on hand that you can tuck receipts into and label easily.

Organize your financial papers chronologically, and divide them by types. Sort all your financial papers into piles and stack them chronologically. Be sure you have folders for bank statements, credit information, bill stubs, paycheck stubs, receipts, tax information, real estate papers, investment papers, insurance policies and statements, loan agreements and any other financial papers in separate hanging folders. Further divide your tax information by year. Include tax returns, receipts, copies of W-2s, 1099s and other pertinent tax information. Divide the bill stubs by the companies they represent and divide real estate papers by mortgage documents, home improvement receipts, second mortgages and so forth.

Important documents such as savings and certificate of deposit passbooks, car titles, stock certificates and yearly Individual Retirement Account, pension and profit-sharing statements should be kept in a safe deposit box, along with any vital records and valuables.

Make sure to keep on top of your inbox, especially your bills that need to be paid. Put them in a separate place where they are easily seen and handy.

When purging documents from your filing system, be sure to hang on to tax paperwork for at least seven years, and other financial documents for three years.

Financial planning software for your computer is available, and most are very user-friendly. Some include online banking functions. If you decide to utilize this, be sure to back up your data on a regular basis.

If you make a commitment to keep on top of your filing and organization system continually, you'll benefit when the time comes to locate those important documents necessary for your continued success. If you don't, the paperwork monster will easily overwhelm you again and could mean trouble for your business.

Running your own online home based business can cost you tons of money and leave you frustrated and broke.

Go To The Easy Home Business System

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Affilaite Marketing Or Adsense?

Lately there has been a lot of discussion on how to make tons of money with Google Adsense. In fact, many people are making the claim that Adsense sites can earn a higher revenue then an affiliate-marketing site.

So that brings us to an important question: Which is a better online business - Affiliate-Marketing sites or Google Adsense sites?

Let's explore each one and then find out which online business is better option:


Google Adsense

How do you like the idea of earning m*ney without dealing with customers or answering emails. This is possible when you run a Google Adsense site. With Adsense sites, you can have a virtual passive-income that requires little maintaining. But is this the best option for an online business?

Here are the positives of Google Adsense sites:

· They are perfect for people who run information sites that have no related affiliate product

· You can set it and leave it. With Google Adsense, you can create a content page, and there is little need to update the content.


· Adsense sites are easy to scale. Since they require little upkeep, you can easily create multiple websites that each make a nice income.

Here are the negatives of Google Adsense sites:

· They are not a great long term solution. Instead of getting your visitors to subscribe to a mailing list, you are focusing on getting people to click on ads. Real online businesses concentrate on building assets that can use for long-term growth.

· These sites are dependent on search engines. Most Google Adsense sites make the mistake of depending on search engines for the majority of their traffic. If the SE algorithms change then your income might drop significantly.



Affiliate Marketing

Being an affiliate marketer is great for those who want build a theme site. With this type of business, you can easily create web pages around a topic and get people to buy products through your products. If done correctly, you can easily build a loyal following that will help you make money for years to come.

But can affiliate marketing make you more money then Google Adsense?

Here are the positives of affiliate marketing:

· A great advantage of affiliate-marketing is that you can build a long term business that will bring in a revenue stream for years.

· With affiliate-marketers you need to focus on building an email list. This list is a major asset of your business. Every time you have an offer, you can go to your list and increase your profits..

· Unlike Google Adsense sites, which only concentrates on high paying keywords, an affiliate marketing site can be centered on a topic that you have an interest in.


Here are the negatives of affiliate marketing:

· You have to learn how to write persuasively and get people to purchase the product that you are recommending. For many people this is a difficult skill to learn.

· Each affiliate marketing site requires a lot of effort. You must spend a lot of time writing product reviews, building your email list and creating web content.


So which is better: Affiliate marketing or Google Adsense?

The answer is that both are great solutions for an online business. Instead of choosing one over the other, you should create websites that can take advantage of both.

Here is how you can do this:


1) Create a content site on a topic that you are interest in, while paying a good amount per Adsense click.

2) Integrate your Adsense into the menu bars and the top of your web content.

3) Add web pages for affiliate-products and your opt-in email list. But, make sure that you leave out the Adsense blocks on these pages. This way you are ensuring that you are building your long-term assets.

4) Create optimized web page articles that focus on a specific keyword phrase. Place your Google Adsense in these blocks.

5) Provide your email list with good content and product recommendations. Once in awhile, email your list and provide a link to some of your web articles. That way, you can earn a little bit of m*ney from your subscribers while giving them good content.

By focusing on both affiliate products and Google Adsense, you will be building both short-term and long-term profits.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The Webmaster's Course Get's Deep.

I was just sitting here rewriting some of the "webmaster course" I offer free to my subscribers. The reason I'm RE-writing is because of the unfortunate death of my computer. Yes, I have a live one now. I'm not going to go into that story right now.

I was writing some website deign tips that I want the webmasters using the course to keep in mind right from the start. I always write everything out on pare before I type it. I'm just ol-fashioned that way. If I just start typing, I don't really get that inspired. Maybe that's why I don't blog like I should.

It's not that I don't have plenty to say, I definitely do. But when I put the pen to the paper, I'm off. I never know where it will take me.

So, I'm going to publish what I ended up writing. It's going to start out as just basic design strategies to keep in mind when building your first business website, in my example, it's an affiliate product site.

I'm a network marketer as well, but there are some really great products that taught me the foundation I needed to get as far as I have so, I still have a website and promote them very subtlety.

What I mean by that is that the sites I made were made with the intention to help people who were new to starting a home based business online. There are some really sleazy folks out there who get their claws in newbies and make them believe all sorts of crap until they realize they aren't making any money, just spending it. Then, they either quit, and never get to experience the excitement of seeing their creativity and persistence pay off.

OR...

They're like me and they get PISSED. I knew that I could make money somehow without pushing stuff that doesn't really work. You know, "the systems."

So, if I can save one newbie internet marketer from the former fate and show them the true way, I'll know that my work was not in vein.

I digress.

Back to the Webmaster's course thing. O.K. Here it is just like it's written in my notebook. I hope you enjoy it. I'll definitely be sending my subscribers links to this post, I think it may just show someone the light.

Enjoy...

Don't Confuse Your Visitors!

We're going to give them good, informative content and then show them possible solution(s) to said problem. If we point them to products that we know are good, this will be cake. More on this a little later.

So, make sure your website instantly portrays what it is.

  • Grab your visitor's attention right away. Open with a clear, concise message telling them what you're going to do for them.
Always remember that you made your website for them, not you. You're job is to solve a problem or fulfill a need for them, NO MATTER WHAT YOU SELL OR OFFER.

While a cute little entrance page that says "click here to enter" may seem high tech and neat on the surface, it will only annoy people who are at your site looking for relative information. Don't scare them away with script tricks, keep them there with the content they want!
  • Make navigation easy for them. You want to design your website so that your visitors can browse all over your site and not get lost. Even find pages that they want to go back to! What a concept. How many times have you been on a site a navigated so far away from anything you were looking for and just leave? Well, this is what you DON'T want to happen at your site.
If your visitors have to use the back button to get around your site, it'll make your business seem unprofessional and poorly planned. They're not going to stick around and buy something if they think you're just some goofball who just put his website up yesterday. You want to present yourself as a real business.
Take pride in it.

This is why we're making the plan first. I know, it seems like overkill and you just want to get to the part where you build your site, right? Well, trust me, these things are important and if you have some fundamental principles in mind from the start, guess what? You're going to have a much easier and more pleasant design experience.

You might even have fun.

You may want to pick out a template to work with. This just looks nice and makes it easier to keep with the core foundation. You're main navigation links will automatically be in place when you start each page.

There are a lot of great free templates available, just use the search engines. Oh, and remember, I sent you guys a bunch of templates when you subscribed. If you need those again for whatever reason, let me know.

Also, if you have a design in your mind that you can describe to me, I can see what I have in the way of templates for you. Don't worry, I don't sell any templates. If They come from me, they were probably purchased with resale rights or I downloaded them free myself. I only purchase resale rights products to give away to my loyal subscribers, I never sell the stuff.

Wow, I have no idea where that little pat on the back I just gave me came from, sorry about that. But seriously, let me know what you need, I don't bite, you're welcome to contact me anytime.

Back to the course.

As long as you have a neatly planned, visitor friendly website that is made for the benefit of your potential subscribers and/ or customers you'll be fine.

In the design tutorials, we're going to be working with a template, but when you get better with your HTML, you can even make your own templates if you want. You can always change your website as you get more skilled. I've changed mine a few times.

Actually, Lets Start Earning started out as a Plug-In-Profit site.
You can't really tell now and I'm not saying anything bad about pips. I just went another direction. I kept the host though all this time because their tech support got me through some of the hardest times in my Internet Marketing career.

There you see, it's about loyalty. That's what I want to see from you guys.

Back to the course, again. (I'm sorry I get so sidetracked all the time. There's just so much I want to say to all of you before I lose you to some slick talking guru with an "automatic system.")

I've decided that for the screen capture video design tutorial portion of this course, we're going to redesign The Newbie Business Center.

For those of you who've never seen it, it's my little helping hand site. I try to tell it like it is. It does have a few affiliate products on it, but only ones that I've used and actually benefited from them. It will be a great example site for you guys to get ideas from because it's got a lot of different elements that you may want to implement into your own site.

Why are we redesigning my website for this? Well, I love the way Lets Start Earning looks and feels now that it 'has matured,' remember, that was my very first website. But, something about Newbie Business Center just urks me. I think it may be the blue background instead of white, but it's also something else I can't quite put my finger on.

I want to use the affiliate site as the example because I suggest that anyone starting out should create one of these and nurture it, no matter where your business journey takes you.

As you see, Lets start Earning has gotten to be more of an info site about network marketing because that's my main daily business that I run. But, Newbie Business Center is the vision that I've had since the very first time I got ripped off buying a step by step system to make money online.

What the goal is, is that your affiliate site will be great practice to try out different ideas you may come up with, showcase your refreshingly honest reviews, and give you some street cred. I want you to really dig deep into your niche topic and become an expert. Then, you'll give the spectacular information you've come up with in your research away to your subscribers, FREE.

Doesn't it all sound great?

Most of all, I want you to make your site not so much a sales site, but an information hub (w/product suggestions in the background, not in their faces) that allows you to build up your list. When you build a trusting relationship with your list, they'll be more likely to buy a product that you recommend without having to 'hard sell' the. We've got a little bit of a journey ahead of us with our creation we're about to take on, but I promise you that I won't lead you astray.

We'll most likely have some fun along the way as well. I always try to keep my internet business fun because it makes it a lot easier to do the tedious stuff when you have fun too.

Just keep in mind, your potential customers are coming online
  • To gather information.
  • To compare what is available to solve their problem.
  • To make a decision based on their feeling about the information they found.
  • Purchase a product that will help them do whatever it is they need done.
They're looking for something anyway, if you can honestly show them the benefits of YOUR product AND they already have a relationship with you via your newsletter or something similar, there you go.

I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself with this it seems, but I want you to have your potential customers and their needs at the forefront of your mind from the start. This will make your website so much easier to perfect.

We want you to have that baby up and running right ASAP!

I know that it took me a lot of trail and error to figure everything out because I got sucked in by some very convincing sales pages in the early days. My goal is that I don't leave anything out so that you have a big head start. I want to give you exactly what I needed when I got started.

Why?

Because as I said, the gurus pissed me off severely. They take a person's hope's and dreams and they feed on them and twist their thinking until they're brainwashed into buying into these ridiculous ideas about Internet Marketing.

If I can save just 1 newbie...

A WORD TO THE WISE

There are a TON of junk products out there that you can promote. They may have a very convincing sales page, BLAH BLAH BLAH...

If it seems hokey, it more than likely is. Feel free to ask me about a product you're thinking about promoting, I probably bought it, joined it, bought the T-shirt. See, after I decided that I was done getting ripped off, I tested out a bunch of stuff out there, just for spite. I know this seems counterproductive, but it really opens your eyes when you realize that it's just all the same crap rephrased a lot of the time. I did this so that I could actually give honest reviews about not only stuff I choose to promote, but stuff I won't and why.

What I want, no challenge, you to do is this...

Promote only EXCEPTIONAL products and services to your list and visitors. Promote what you can learn from yourself. It's not a bad idea to invest in one or two products that you can learn a ton from and then make money promoting them. If you can give a real nitty gritty review, your people will realize that you actually own and use the product.

This makes a HUGE difference in your reviews and in turn your sales. People are not stupid. They can usually tell the difference between a rewording of the sales page and an in-depth look at a product. If you need some ideas, let me know.

You see, when you're doing your marketing, I want YOU to believe every single word your telling THEM.

I know that you've heard that you should push the next "hot" internet marketing product, system, whatever they want to call it. That you'll make a killing, right?

Well, that may be true (although I highly doubt it).

But check this out...

What if you could make that same "killing," maybe it may take a little bit longer to get it really kicking out profits for you...

BUT

Your customers are always happy with your recommendations. Therefore, when you recommend another product that you find useful, they trust you.

Your customers from the initial "killing" are now loyal, repeat customers and guess what?

You'll have them forever as long as you always maintain your level of honesty and keep helping them. You won't have to rebuild your list every time they figure out you're full of %&$%. and unsubscribe.

I am dead serious about this you guys, I really want you to keep this your number one goal. There are literally millions of websites out there. So many products to choose from, so many affiliates promoting in this way or that way.

You get my point? If you really want to make it online, you have to do something different then what every other sleazy sales pitch website does.

You must think like YOU'RE the customer.

What would you want? What standards do you expect when you buy something?

You want it to do what it claims to do, right?

PLEASE, don't get into the trap of promoting every "hot" e book that comes down the pike. The ones that are usually hot claim to be:
  • "Step-By-Step" Systems To Make Easy Money Online.
  • "Automated" systems that allow you to get rich without working at all.
There is no "end all" Internet Marketing system that guarantees success online. There is definitely work involved. You must be committed and you cannot treat you new online business like a hobby or just something you'll check out and see if it works.

You are the key to making it work.

I'm not saying you have to quit your job and work your business online full-time in order to make it. I'm just saying that you must be prepared for a commitment and it will not happen overnight.

Don't get discouraged by this news, it's actually good news. Think about the pride you'll have when you watch the business that YOU built grow and grow all the time. If you can come to terms with the news that your business won't run itself and you need to put in a bit of effort (don't worry, it's not that it's hard work), you're in for an amazing journey my friend.

You are about to find talents and strengths within you that you never knew existed.

It's quite amazing to create something so detailed and technical as your online business, especially if you take the time and learn to do it yourself instead of paying someone else to do it. Then, you get to publish it (your business site and it's 'branches') and watch it come to life.

It's going to seem really slow at first but if you keep putting your site out there, they'll see it. Little by little your list will grow. The very first subscriber you get is one of the coolest things ever. I still talk to mine, we've even talked on the phone because he trusted me and when I got involved with my network marketing business, he wanted to hear all about it. He's thinking about coming on board when he retires in the near future.

I thought that was an inspiring story that you might like. You will most definitely build some friendships along the way. Just stay on the right path. If it feels like you're doing your target market wrong, don't do it. They are your lifeblood and you must respect them.

I promise that if you're trying to get online to rip people off, you will not last long. The work at home niche is huge. Apparently a lot of people dream of the financial freedom and time freedom that having a home based business allows.

But guess what...

The work at home niche is not dumb. They are savvy and they do their home work. If you are out to rip them off, they will know. So, you might as well do it the right way, huh? We all benefit and live in harmony. Nice.

With Web 2.0, I think that it's going to be an even less-friendly place for scamsters. What will they do when they can no longer hide behind the fancy website because everyone wants to see the videos of real people talking about real things.

There are ups and there are downs in this business, just like any other. But I PROMISE you, if you do your due diligence and stay with it you will be rewarded over and over again, not just monetary rewards. The kind of reward you get when you realize that you may have had a part in the story of the single mom who was finally able to stop bartending to pay the bills. Now, she is home to tuck in her little guy every single night. That sounds like my story, huh? Well, I know I'm not the only one. There are stories out there yet to be told. If you are sincere and truly want to give back to your fellow human beings, you can be a part of it too.

You ready to be the next story?

Treat your prospects and customers like you would expect to be treated, and above that. There are enough scammers out there, this is where you'll shine.

I might sound corny to some of you, but I truly believe what I'm telling you. When I first started, all I wanted to do was make my first sale online. I even stooped to the safelist level because that's what I was told to do. NOTHING happened for me until I said screw this, there must be a better way. I found better ways and I spread the word.

Someone in my travels had said somewhere that once you start helping and stop selling people, it will all come together. So simple, yet so true.

So let's build the site that is a helping hand to someone who needs one. Let's build another site that provides good information. Profit from you recommendations because of the non-salesy way you offer a potential answer to a problem.

Wouldn't that be refreshing to you? Definitely.

So, pretend you're trying to market a product or opportunity to yourself. How would you like that product to be presented to you?

OK, we're finally at the end, I swear.

MY SOLEMN PROMISE TO YOU:

I you concentrate on helping people in your target market BEFORE they ever pay a dime for any product you promote, you'll end up making out much better than the sleaze ball making enemies up and down the Internet.

Build yourself a LOYAL list instead of a GIANT list of people who couldn't care less and you'll be just as successful, if not more.

Phew, that was a lot of typing.

So, there's a special edition of the webmaster's course for all the world to see.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Before You Even Start.

Newbie Tips
A Couple Of Things Before You Even Get Started.
1. If you are not committed to building your business, you're done.
I'm not saying that you can't start a home based business on a part-time basis, you can. What I am saying is that you absolutely must treat it like a real business no matter what or you can forget about having any success.
2. If you're just in it to make a quick buck, I can't help you.
There may be ways to do it, but I haven't found them (and I've been up, down, and all around the Internet searching for answers.)
What I can show you is how to build an affiliate marketing business on the Internet. I'm going to tell you what I know you'll need and I'm going to tell you what I know are cutting edge methods that most of your competitors (other affiliate marketers) are not using yet.
How do I know about these strategies?
Because I am a network marketer and I'm very in tune with my company. I know what big companies (and small companies) are using right now to stand out on the Internet. This is so important. You must be something special because there are so many marketers out there.
That brings me to another point.
Network Marketing or Direct marketing?
At the end of this newsletter, I'm going to give you a link to an article that I think clears up a lot of misconceptions about what network marketing is really about.
I'm not talking about Pyramid scemes, I'm talking about a group of Internet marketers about a group of Internet marketers who have a common goal to grow their company by representing their products in a professional way and by putting together an organization that keeps running the company level by level.
I have done both network marketing and direct marketing. All I'm going to say is this:
If you're trying to build up a business that will pay you residual income even after you want to "retire," then network marketing may be something you should look into BUT...
It only works like that if you're willing to work hard at it and learn everything you can so that you can pass the knowledge on to your organization.
OK, with that said...What About A Niche?
Well, you'll hear that you've got to choose a niche that you're passionate about. well, that's true but it must also be a niche that's profitable. You cannot choose some really obscure topic that you'll never be able to find your target market.
You may have also heard that the work at home niche is too competitive to get into. well, this is both true and false. If you're trying to sell the usual recycled junk to unsuspecting newbies, then yes i would say choose another niche.
But if you can really find an innovative approach or an awesome network marketing company, there are always people out there who are looking for a way to make real money from home. A way out.
Hint: Paid surveys and data entry are not it.
If you get involved with an affiliate product or network that can honestly give people a chance to build a real business, you're on the right track.
Here's a hint...
When you just join a bunch of free 2 tier programs and try to build a downline, your downline isn't going to take something seriously if they have nothing invested in it.
So go ahead and think about what kind of products or services you want to get involved with. there are a lot of great digital based niches so you won't have to keep an inventory.
Here are some examples of things you may be interessted in:
  • Web hosting packages.
  • Autoresponder services.
  • Streaming video services.
  • Internet Marketing Courses.
  • Web design courses.
Theses are just a few things that have available affiliate programs and are in demand to people who use the Internet, especially Internet marketers.
A key point in all of this is you need to be a product of the product. Be an affiliate for something you actually use so that you can be a testimonial for the product.
Think about it. When you tell someone...
"Hey Joe, you've gotta see this movie."
Joe says, "Oh yeah, you saw it, how was it? Who was in it?"
And you reply, "Well, no I never actually saw it but...I can make a 50% profit from your ticket price."