Tweet My Blog
January 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment
People who are using twitter already know how addictive and fun it can be. It is also used by many internet marketers, people such as Josh Spaulding, Bob Jenkins (Bob The Teacher), Michael Campbell, Lewis Smile.
You might want to read Bob Jenkin’s post is “Is Twitter More Important Than List Building?” if you are new to Twitter. Is Twitter More Important Than List Building? No, but Twitter is a form of list building. It allows you to engage in conversation with the people in your network, your followers. More importantly, Twitter is a relationship builder, more so than emails. Messages from Twitter gets delivered instantly and you can expect a reply.
Josh Spaulding talks about how he uses Twitter to build relationships and JV. Not so much as a traffic generator but you can read his post here, “Why I Like Twitter and Why Others Don’t”. Although the debate on whether it is effective and in which niche or business model it should be used. In the end, it is your choice. Personally, I use twitter, because ezineArticles and Squidoo allows you to twitter your posts.
What if you can combine the power of Twitter & Wordpress to create a viral traffic generator?
People who use Twitter and Wordpress should be aware there is a free plugin that lets you twitter your blog posts. It is automatic and easily installed. You use Twitter to drive traffic to your blog. This plugin is Tweet My Blog, and you can get it by clicking on the link.
1) Post a tweet whenever you update you blog. The tweet will link back to your blog, driving interested readers your way.
2) Highlight your latest Tweets on your blogs sidebar and increase your Twitter following.
3) Promote your affiliate link on auto-pilot, whenever you use the plugin and sidebar widget. Earn commissions just for posting to your blog.
Even though this plugin is given away for free, you should take a close look at the special offer they have in store for you when join.
Follow Me On Twitter
January 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Have your friends ever told you to ‘Follow Me’?
They are talking about www.Twitter.com. The people in your contact list are the people you are following. The people following you are the people (your followers) who find what you do interesting. It is a way to connect your business associates or your internet marketing friends. You can also stay connected with your iPhone or smart phone. You can send your friend an direct message, and an instant reply. You can also be notified by email whenever you have a new follower.
It is a combination of all the following features of:
- Mirco blogging
- SMS text messaging
- Instant messaging
- Social network
- Chat rooms
- Mirco Broadcasting
- People search
- Viral marketing
When to use Twitter
- When you have updated your website or blog
- When you update a create a Squidoo Lens
- When your article is published in EzineArticles.com
- When you want to build relationships
- When you want to share your knowledge with people
- Just about anything else you want to
Things to remember:
- Do not spam or be abusive
- Twitter is a friendly community
- Do not update every little detail
During the US Presidential campaign, President elect, Barrack Obama was said to have the largest followers in the world.
Sign up for an account at www.Twitter.com.
My account is www.twitter.com/adriansabah
Goal Setting Video 2009
December 31, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The bulk of the internet marketing messages I get seem to be doom and gloom, unless you gear up and get your game plan ready. By all accounts, seems like everybody’s economic outlook is that the market is headed into recession. Internet marketers are telling people to start an internet business to starve off the projected downtown in the real world market.
If only the solution was so simple. Buying a product or a bunch of products from a successful internet marketing guru is not going to help you if you don’t have a clue what internet marketing is about. In my opinion, in internet marketing, the keyword is marketing. Doom and gloom are emotional triggers used in marketing to get you to buy. The key is to buy solutions, not products.
Any time is a good time to plan for a recession. Just don’t let the fear of recession guide your goal setting plans for 2009. Fear is an emotional response, it can make you short-sighted. When you are thinking emotionally, you’re not thinking clearly about the direction you are headed. You’re just RUNNING!
Marketing is about Strategy, Tactics and Execution. What you want your business to do, how it’s going to do those things, and what you have to do to make it achieve your goals. Goal Setting for 2009.
The good news is Internet shopping is predicted to hit US$145.1 Billion in the coming year, a significant 14% increase - despite the recession. In part these will be bargain hunting, upgrading skills or learning new ones, research for online money making or internet marketing opportunities.
I want to you to see this FREE Goal-Setting video for 2009, it will help you pursue your personal, financial, and business goals in 2009.
FREE GOAL SETTING VIDEO FOR 2009
Wishing you Success and all the Best for 2009!
Who’s Your Guru?
December 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The other day I was talking to a guy at the health club I just joined. (Never had time when I was working for someone else.) We started talking about our personal trainers. If you aren’t familiar with the term, these are fitness experts who are educated to design work-out routines based on an individuals strengths, needs and goals.
Anyway, Rick said something that struck me right between the eyes. “I got so confused reading all the books and fitness magazines. Everyone has a different opinion of what works the best. I finally figured if I was going to work out, I might as well pick one expert, listen to them and follow their program.”
Later, as I was driving my sore body home, I thought about how appropriate Rick’s comment was to Internet Marketing. Everyone’s an expert. (Even people who have yet to sell their first eBook.) And there are a million programs, books, secrets, techniques and tactics that will work for you.
The problem is, you can easily fall into what my favorite business school professor called, “Analysis Paralysis”. That’s where a lot of people are stuck. They keep reading, and it gets in the way of actually doing something.
I Was Guilty
I was guilty of this, too. I must have bought several hundred dollars worth of books and courses before I found what worked for me. Fortunately, the expert I decided to follow was, in hindsight, an excellent choice. And by following his advice and listening to his ideas, I have built up a couple of successful income streams.
My point isn’t that my “guru” is the right one for everyone. The point is to pick one or maybe a couple of people you really respect, and model them. Of course, make sure they are actually successful in their own businesses first. But when you find someone you respect and whose style you like, listen to their advice and follow what they recommend in their writings.
Save Your Brain
Following this strategy can save lots of brain cells that you would spend switching strategies and tactics. It avoids confusion and gives you a good point of reference from which to work. You don’t have to keep reading and searching for the latest eBooks. Assume your guru knows the latest tactics and will advise you of how well they work.
I’m not saying you never look at another eBook or eZine again, it’s just that you have one primary star you follow, it’s that much easier to find your way.
Resource Box: Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for two software companies. Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 15 different ways for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on thousands of ClickBank InfoProducts. The Internet’s No.1 InfoProduct Site.
Here’s an ebook you can download: Discover multi-income streams with CB Mall.
Internet Marketing Hype
November 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment
People complain that there is a lot of hype in internet marketing. That it is easy to make money online, or how all you need to make money online is to buy a certain product. Make $200 sales a day or $1,000 sales a day. How about how certain products will kill a certain company, or destroy them, or dominate this or the other? Or how you can rip off the big brother because big brother can afford the loss.
The truth is internet marketing is marketing, and marketing is all about the hype. Is there an ounce of truth in the internet marketing claims? Yes, I believe it is true. But just because it is possible doesn’t mean that it is probable. An internet marketer may have achieved success with his methods, however doesn’t mean that those methods are suitable for everyone. Personally, I think it’s more a case of finding a method that works for you, and keep refining or expanding that method into a system.
All is fair in the game of marketing, as long as there is a grain of truth in the sales copy. As long as the internet marketer has produced results, he is entitled to market his product in the best possible light. Look at the off-line traditional advertising, just because a hair product can make your hair look good, it’s not going to turn you into Brad Pitt. But as long as the product works on your hair, the marketer can use Brad Pitt to sell his product.
At the end of the day, it comes down to the basics that work. Stop chasing after every new system that are being sold, or something that promises quick results. It may work for someone who has been in the game long enough, or for someone who has a mentor to guide him. For the rest of us, we just keep our expectations realistic, and do what we enjoy. If something works, improve it. If it doesn’t lose it, have an exit strategy in place.
Michael Cheney Golden Thread
October 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
I’m sure many of you have heard of Michael Cheney’s Golden Thread. He held a live webcam show yesterday, which I was not able to attend due to our time difference. You can see some case studies at www.GoldenThreadSite.com.
The reason I want to discuss this:
1) Michael Cheney spent 6 weeks creating this product.
2) Spots available - 500.
3) Cost per spot - $ 1,997.
4) Pay by installment - $ 2,200.
5) Total sales - Over $ 1 million.
Now that’s marketing! That is what top internet marketers do it, by spending 6 weeks on product creation, he stands to make over $1 million in sales. Of course, the work doesn’t end there, he still has to market the product but the hardwork is already completed in the initial 6 weeks. Even though Michael Cheney will still provide coaching calls, he also has other people providing support in US, Europe and Asia.
He chose a selected few people to test his product, provided coaching and when they have succeed in their internet sales, he used the test group as case studies to market this product. Done this way, he has very compelling proof that will have people reaching for their credit cards.
When top internet marketers talk about making real money by creating your own info products, this just drives the point home. Michael Cheney ensures that his case studies achieve results, and if you take a look at those case studies, there wasn’t that much work involved. It’s a true plug and play, fill in the blanks system. He calls it his Cash Cannons.
Internet Marketing Mix
September 18, 2008 | 1 Comment
The same marketing principles applies to internet marketing. The traditional 4P of marketing - product, price, place and promotion are also used in internet marketing. I think a lot of people who has just ventured into internet marketing do not realize this. The tools and distribution channels are different, as is the advertising media. Execution on the internet happens faster and is more efficient. But the principles remain the same.
Product. As an internet marketer, you need to find your ideal product or service to promote. The products or services should not only convert well, it should be something the internet marketer is passionate about. Remember when you used to have an off-line job? I bet you talked about your work a lot of the time. I enjoyed my work, it’s a passion of mine. We used to discuss the issues of the day for hours, because everyone wanted to be the best. If you enjoy what you do, you will go the distance. You want to see your product or service fulfill a great need your customers have. The product or service that you sell depends on your target market or niche.
Price. As entrepreneurs and businesses become increasingly aware of the effectiveness of internet marketing, competition will increase in many market niches. In terms of pricing, you can either undercut your competition, or you can develop your unique selling proposition and sell at a premium price. Obviously the second option is preferred, because of the profits the internet marketer will make. Having a unique selling proposition is a substantial competitive advantage.
Place. In internet marketing, the place in which you sell your products or services is a website. Your website is your distribution channel. In your off-line business, getting your business noticed is one of your main focus. The same holds true for your website, you need to be able to communicate with your target market effectively. One way to do this is start an Affiliate marketing program. When you do this successfully, you can have hundreds of websites promoting your products for you.
Promotion. Promotion is the activity of getting your products or services noticed. You can use pay per click advertisement or by utilizing search engine optimization. You can also put your links on other people’s website to promote your product. Your advertisement or links can be in text or in banner form. Your offer is made through your sales page, you add incentives and bonuses to entice your visitors to buy from you. To capture your visitors’ contact information, you use an auto-responder. This will enable you to communicate to your prospects for future product promotions. You can also conduct joint venture promotions with other internet marketers or business to explode your sales.
As you can see, internet marketing uses the same marketing mix as you would in your off-line business. The technology you use might be different, but the core competency of execution must still be maintained. Internet marketing does not have to be complicated, you can make it as simple as it suits your business.
Choose Your Niche
September 4, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Internet marketing is a tough market, especially when you are new to this online business. Many find it a bit overwhelming when you first hear all these new terms, and the different components of your website. That’s why I have created this course to help you.
The first thing to remember is that it’s all about the content. You hear internet marketers say all the time “Content is King!” and that’s the truth. But how do you build an awesome niche content site that’s also going to be profitable for you?
First, the niche MUST be one that has demand. This means you must first find one that’s full of hungry, passionate, avid followers who actively follow it and talk about it. That’s exactly the kind of niche you want.
Second, do your keyword research. Keyword research is finding out what people are looking for, so you can give it to them. You can use these free tools to your research, Google’s Keyword Research Tool, or Wordtracker’s free keyword tool. I also use Good Keywords that I have installed on my desktop. The trick is in knowing how people search, in the way they type in the string of words to find what they are looking for. Some words can suggest that people are looking for free information, and others that they are willing to buy.
Remember that you should do your research using just one search engine, so that your umbers are not skewed. You also want to note how much competition there is in your particular niche. You want to see some competition, because if you don’t see any competition it is likely your niche will not be very profitable.
There may already be lots of niche sites on the internet, but yours can still be the best. You start by using a blueprint, work hard to establish it and execute it well. Your goal is to make your site better than the others, or to create your own unique selling proposition.
When you’ve chosen a niche that has demand, the right keywords will determine the amount of traffic to your site. Even if you have established a killer site, if no one comes, it’s not going to mean anything.
Selling Information
August 21, 2008 | 1 Comment
Remember it’s simple, not easy. I’m talking about your job as an internet marketer.
Internet marketing is about selling information, existing information not stuff you have to create from scratch. You are collecting information, pulling it all together, packaging it up and saving people time. A potential buyer has two choices, he can spend his time looking for free information on the internet, which will involve spending a huge amount of time, or investing some money to save him a lot of time and have that information collated for him.
Providing that information in a useful and easy to use package is really what being an internet marketer is about. The internet marketer typically spends a good amount of money building his system, and at the end of the day, simplifies that formula making it easy for people to follow.
To market his product, the internet marketer needs to build a responsive mailing list of prospects. A mailing list is money on demand. His success comes down to his relationship with his list. People say create a product and build the list afterwards. But if you build your list first, then create your product to sell to your list, that’s instant money. You already have a highly targeted list to market to.
To build his list, the internet marketer has to create value on the front end to convince people to sign up. We are talking about something of real value on the opt-in page, something that is given away free. Basically, the more value you put on the sign up page, the more people will sign up. More people signing up means more people will see your One Time Offer, which means more sales. In the end, the internet marketer gets his list and has made some sales.
Even if the prospects don’t spend money on your One Time Offer, at least they will take away something of value. By being generous up front, you have become a good source of information. The next time they receive an email from you, they will be thinking it might be worth investing in your products.
INTERNET GURU SAYS - Part 1
August 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Question #1:
“I’ve got a product, a squeeze page, an auto-responder, and a blog. I am posting on my blog and writing articles. Now what do I do next?”
Internet Guru says:
I recommend that you focus on doing three things:
- Write articles for submission to directories like ezinearticles.com. Target your keywords well in your articles. Use your keywords in each of your article titles, sprinkle it reasonably in your article body, and put it in your resource box link back to your site. Use Google’s keyword tool to find keywords that get decent traffic but isn’t saturated with competition.
- Hold back on the information in your published articles. You want to make the reader visit your site for the rest. Also include the keyword in your title tag for the page you link to from your article.
- Research on your topic to find content. You can use 3 sources for information for each article, and then write your own article by summarizing the key points.
Question #2:
“If you had to start from scratch, and if you only have $100, how would you do it?”
Internet Guru says:
If I had to start from scratch with just $100, I would start by looking for desperate buyers in a given niche market. Who has a problem that they really need an answer to?
You can Google this, type“[your niche] forum” and find active forums with people who are desperate for solutions. There’s no real science to this, it’s more an art. Then I do some online research, in article directories, and relevant theme sites. When I have sufficient information, write a short, simple report, tell them my solution to solving the problem.
When I have written my report, I will buy a domain for that niche market and I’d buy a month of hosting. There are a lot of domain registration and web hosting options available. Then I’d sign up for an auto-responder to build a list, which is where you’ll make most of your money.
Then, I’d set up a squeeze page on my domain.
Next, I would write articles to drive traffic to my site, and submit them to EzineArticles.com. Then I would create a Squidoo lens to help drive traffic to my site. I also would set up a Blogger blog to drive even more traffic to my site.
Let’s see how much I have spent: Domain name - $9, Hosting - $10, auto-responder - $19. I have spent $38, so I still have $62 to spend in case I need to.
That’s a solid start. Writing articles, Squidoo and Blogging are free ways to generate traffic to my site. There are no guarantees, but it has worked for plenty of people and the odds look good.
It is about picking a good niche, and focusing on desperate buyers only.
Question #3:
“I have a new website, and I need to start generating traffic. What is the first thing I should do to get traffic? Write some articles? Create Squidoo lenses? Do Link exchange?”
Internet Guru says:
Before you start on PPC ads, such as AdWords, start with proven methods that are free and can work well.
Article marketing is a great place to start; you don’t have to write great content, solid and helpful content will do the trick. I have shown you how already and Google loves Squidoo. Give these a shot and see what happens. You can also try some forum marketing in your niche; some forums allow your forum signature to link back to your site.
Question #4:
“What are the common mistakes people make when starting out on the internet?”
Internet Guru says:
These are three mistakes that everybody needs to avoid, and I had to learn this the hard way.
- Not focusing on a market with an urgent need, a market where the person has an urgent need for a solution to a known problem. This is MARKETING, so you need to focus on your target market first, not your product. If you pick the right market, they’ll buy the product you offer them.
- Not building a list. Get started on building your list right away. That’s what will build your income stream. Front-end sales are great, but your sales on the back-end are generally more profitable over time.
- Making things too complicated, or getting too focused on the technical details. It doesn’t matter if your site looks the best. Just get it up and start selling!
So that’s three mistakes for you. I’m sure somebody else can come up with others that are equally important.
Question #5:
“How does a beginner like me find a profitable niche?”
Internet Guru says:
Finding a profitable niche is really more an art than a science. The main idea is finding a product to match with the market. You want to find a topic which you have knowledge of or a passion for. You can try doing it like this:
- Use a site like EzineArticles.com to get some ideas. You can see what the popular topics or niches are.
- Make a list of possible keywords and use Google’s free keyword tool to get even more suggestions and to see how much traffic they get. Look at long tail keywords and see if you can decrease your competition.
Question #6:
“My question is, does it matter that there is a lot of competition in the market I want to enter? What if I have had 15 years of experience in that market segment?”
Internet Guru says:
Let’s say that your market is the fat loss and muscle building market. This market is saturated because it is such a profitable market. To make a move into this market, you need to have a unique selling proposition. You can target a sub-niche, such as older man/woman, people recovering from illness or maybe someone for whom being over-weight is an immediate health concern. With your experience, you can get great testimonials from your clients; create a great product that covers a desperate need people have.
That’s the key, your USP, a sub-niche, a desperate market, and a great product.
Question #7:
“How can I build a big list fast? What kind of offers should I give to get people interested in opting-in to my list?”
Internet Guru says:
Everybody wants fast, but that’s really the wrong focus. The right focus is SIMPLE. How can you start building and selling to a list in the simplest way? Don’t make things complicated.
You want to get your offer in front of as many people as possible, and offer something compelling for FREE. It’s that simple. Adwords is fast, but it also can cost you a lot of money if you have not used adwords before. I suggest that you use free methods until you get some sales and you know what converts.
Your offer can be something like products which you have resale rights to. You can buy these in a lot of places; just make sure you get the resale rights with it. It could be an e-course, a free report, a subscription to your newsletter, or a product update.
What you really need to figure out is what you can offer people as an enticement to sign up. Before somebody will give you his email, he wants to know what’s in it for him.
Question #8:
“What makes a good squeeze page?”
Internet Guru says:
Your squeeze page offer can be anything you want, as long as you are offer a solution to solve their problem.
Your squeeze page must have a killer headline with your key benefit or solved problem in it. You can include bullets to highlight the benefits of your content. That doesn’t mean features. An ebook with 100 pages isn’t a benefit, that’s a feature. You have to translate them to how it can benefit the reader. Include your call to action by using a sign-up form.
Question #9:
“I have a question about home pages for affiliate marketing sites. Essentially I built a content site targeting different keywords with PLR articles but always wonder what I should do with the home page. Do I just put another article on it like the other pages or do you have a special technique for the home page?”
Internet Guru says:
Here are 2 ways you can do this:
- If you are marketing one affiliate product, you can put a review of the product on your home page and ask for an email address before you send them to the affiliate sales page.
- If you are promoting multiple affiliate products, you can either:
- Promote a single good seller there.
- Treat your home page as sort of an online store. Create little teaser blurbs for your various products. Then, link each of the products to the review article that links to the affiliate sales page.
Question #10:
“What’s the core set of skills critical for becoming successful online?”
Internet Guru says:
Here are the core skills, and they’re really ALWAYS the core skills:
- Copywriting. Good copy sells. Period. You have only words to sell stuff online.
- Marketing. Doing all the things, including advertising, that will attract people to your offers.
- Come up with creative ideas. This is where you find your angle, how you develop a unique selling proposition.
- Test everything. Be it your keywords, ad copy, or sales letter. If they work, scale up.
- Finding markets that are not too competitive. Market analysis is a skill you need to develop.
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