I would like to think there is an easy and obvious answer to this question for all. There is a way to keep your referrals coming back and participating in your program. Better yet, not only is there a way to keep them coming back and interested, there is a way to have them work just as hard as you do.
Most markting strategists tell you communication is the key to this, and this is true. However, the key ingredient has not been touched on too frequently, and that is to be genuine.
There isn't a course, training or technique to having this quality come across to the people you have been lucky enough to have persuaded to join you in your venture. Rather, it is simply a quality that just is, if in fact you are genuine about your intentions.
Truly being there to guide and assist your downline, so they become as successful as you, not only benefits them, it in turn benefits you as well. So, take the time to extend yourself in answering their questions. Introduce yourself, not with a cookie cutter email, but with a genuine interest in why they have made the decision to join you and in turn tell them about yourself. Get back to the basics of why you are on this path, remembering what it was like to be new, confused and skeptical.
If you came into this game with good intentions, remember to keep them. Showing gratitude and a little humility towards the people behind you in line. This my friends will go a long way to everyone's success.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
What if you knew how to use safelists?
A safelist is a group of people, generally with similar interests, mostly internet marketing, that sign up to a safelist site and agree to receive ad emails from you in return for being able to send youthe same. It is very similar to traffic exchanges, the primary difference being on a traffic exchange site as you click for credits you are viewing sites being promoted. Through a safelist your ad is sent via email and contains a link to the site or product you are promoting.
One might think this could be a waste of time. After all, you're simply advertising to a group of people who are advertising their own product or site. However, there are a couple of advantages.
One, because this is a closed community where it is safe to exchange ads with fellow members, hence the name "safelist", there is no risk of your advertisement being labeled as spam. Second, because posting to a safelist is such a basic task, you mostly find new comers to internet marketing. Though they have something to sell, they are not far enough into their internet career to dismiss anything that may assist them in achieving their goals. They are ambitious, curious and willing to learn, which in turn makes them a great audience.
Some of your most successful internet marketers still utilize safelists, though they usually have someone else performing the postings for them. Maybe by utilizing them yourself, some day you'll be able to do the same....
Following is a list of popular safelist sites:
ActiveSafelist
List Building Maximizer
Adchiever
Super Safe mailer
Target Safelist
Global Safelist
AdTroppers Safelist
FreeAdsMailer
Got Safelist
One might think this could be a waste of time. After all, you're simply advertising to a group of people who are advertising their own product or site. However, there are a couple of advantages.
One, because this is a closed community where it is safe to exchange ads with fellow members, hence the name "safelist", there is no risk of your advertisement being labeled as spam. Second, because posting to a safelist is such a basic task, you mostly find new comers to internet marketing. Though they have something to sell, they are not far enough into their internet career to dismiss anything that may assist them in achieving their goals. They are ambitious, curious and willing to learn, which in turn makes them a great audience.
Some of your most successful internet marketers still utilize safelists, though they usually have someone else performing the postings for them. Maybe by utilizing them yourself, some day you'll be able to do the same....
Following is a list of popular safelist sites:
ActiveSafelist
List Building Maximizer
Adchiever
Super Safe mailer
Target Safelist
Global Safelist
AdTroppers Safelist
FreeAdsMailer
Got Safelist
Saturday, April 7, 2012
What if I really have hit the jackpot?
So...while doing my daily research I believe I may have stumbled onto a program that actually lives up to their promises. I am excited, intrigued and following the method with ease, (which is a first for me). The basic principle is still affiliate marketing, and many of the methods I've begun outlining on this avenue of earning an online income apply. However, their approach is totally straightforward, systematic and from what I can tell, reliable.
The program is "The 10K Challenge", and signup/registration is completely free, I mean not a cent is requested, nor do they try and up sell you once you are a member. Quite the contrary, there is a link to upgrade your account, but when you click on it you are actually warned that you do not need to upgrade for another 90 days, at which time you should have profited already and the money won't come out of pocket. I almost fell off my chair when I saw this.
In addition to being able to access their program for free, they provide daily step by step written and video direction on each step in the process to building your business, and the time it takes to perform the daily tasks is approximately 35 minutes, (a couple of the days took me slightly longer, but I am a bit slow sometimes). The checklist not only points you in the exact direction you need to go, but also explains why you are doing all the tasks, which is invaluable on many levels. In essence, once you understand the step by step directions and why you are taking them, in theory these measures could be applied to any online marketing venture.
I would say, this program has great potential and lives up to my expectations. Perfect for newbies and even those who have been at this for a while. I'm finally impressed!!
The program is "The 10K Challenge", and signup/registration is completely free, I mean not a cent is requested, nor do they try and up sell you once you are a member. Quite the contrary, there is a link to upgrade your account, but when you click on it you are actually warned that you do not need to upgrade for another 90 days, at which time you should have profited already and the money won't come out of pocket. I almost fell off my chair when I saw this.
In addition to being able to access their program for free, they provide daily step by step written and video direction on each step in the process to building your business, and the time it takes to perform the daily tasks is approximately 35 minutes, (a couple of the days took me slightly longer, but I am a bit slow sometimes). The checklist not only points you in the exact direction you need to go, but also explains why you are doing all the tasks, which is invaluable on many levels. In essence, once you understand the step by step directions and why you are taking them, in theory these measures could be applied to any online marketing venture.
I would say, this program has great potential and lives up to my expectations. Perfect for newbies and even those who have been at this for a while. I'm finally impressed!!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
What if you could get away without using a squeeze page?
A squeeze page is a single web page with the sole purpose of capturing information for follow-up marketing. You can recognize a squeeze page by its content. They typically use success stories people will relate to when making a buying decision. They also use things like color psychology, catchy sales copy, audio, video and keyword rich text placed with SEO (search engine optimization) in mind. Aggressive marketers will usually present visitors with free incentives in order to obtain their contact information.
[edit]
Since the goal of the page is to obtain the visitor's email address and additional information could distract the user or cause them to "click away", the content is minimal. Hyperlinks are almost always absent from typical squeeze pages. The absence of links is used to focus visitors' attention on one choice: register for the email list or leave the site. Savvy internet marketers have discovered that convincing a visitor to sign up for an email list provides an opportunity to present that visitor with multiple sales messages over time, develop a relationship, and even cross-sell other related products.
Squeeze pages are often used in conjunction with an email autoresponder, (will be touched on in another post), to begin delivering information as soon as the visitor confirms their email address. The autoresponder may be utilized to send a series of follow-up emails or to provide an immediate download link to get information. Promising information upon completion of confirming their email address has proven to be an effective method of increasing opt-ins using squeeze pages.
Though I realize these are key tools in internet marketing and building your "list". I also can't help but relate it to the old bait-and-switch technique. I'm very aware when I've stumbled into this situation and presume others would be as well. Rather than developing the "relationship" with the consumer this method is supposed to, it would seem it would create more a feeling of insulting their intelligence. Why can't you just put a page out there, state what it is you're promoting and lead your customers to the location to purchase? Is it really necessary to play the cat and mouse game to get your desired result? Wouldn't it save time to skip this tactic where the risk of turning people away is equal to the potential of drawing them in?
In the end, though I'm not certain progress can be made without utilizing this approach, I am certain I'm more comfortable skipping it for now.
[edit]
Saturday, March 31, 2012
What if traffic exchanges were the key?
Good morning all....
Last topic focused on a few methods to earning an income online, which will be revisited from time to time. Next step in the process is driving people to the business of your choice. Whether it be a blog such as this, that monetizes through ads, a specific affiliate site or any other venture that you have undertaken, it isn't going to do anything for you if others aren't aware.
I've found there are an abundant number of advertising your business/blog etc, for the purpose of this post the focus is traffic exchanges.
A traffic exchange is a type of website which provides a service for webmasters in exchange for traffic. It is similar to the autosurf concept with the exception that traffic exchanges usually use a manual rotation. For those of you who have no idea what this means, it's basically a site, which most times you can register for free, where you post your ad or link to where you are trying to drive people, then you surf other ads to gain points. Each point earned can be exchanged for one visit to your site. There are typically time requirements that you have to view each page, 15 to 60 seconds generally, before the point is awarded, and the same would apply when people on the site are viewing your site.
There is an over abundance of traffic exchange sites to choose from. Some people choose to utilize a variety and spread themselves around. I have done this, and have had pretty decent results. You'll want to browse around for different options, as some sites offer better surf ratios than others, (ie: will give you two visitors for one ad viewed), but they are a little difficult to find and I've found aren't very well established.
Now, though this is a free method to driving traffic to your site, I will say, it can be somewhat tedious panning through pages of ads to gain the points. However, I did it.....until I made enough money to purchase visitors. Another great thing about traffic exchanges is that for a very low cost, (I spent $10 on 5000 hits), you can get a jump start on driving traffic to your sites. I continue to do both, so I am earning credits, while my ads are circulating with my purchased visits. This prevents me from spending money I have not made yet.
Following is a small list of traffic exchange sites that I've joined in order of which I like best. If you would like to add a site, please do!!
Last topic focused on a few methods to earning an income online, which will be revisited from time to time. Next step in the process is driving people to the business of your choice. Whether it be a blog such as this, that monetizes through ads, a specific affiliate site or any other venture that you have undertaken, it isn't going to do anything for you if others aren't aware.
I've found there are an abundant number of advertising your business/blog etc, for the purpose of this post the focus is traffic exchanges.
A traffic exchange is a type of website which provides a service for webmasters in exchange for traffic. It is similar to the autosurf concept with the exception that traffic exchanges usually use a manual rotation. For those of you who have no idea what this means, it's basically a site, which most times you can register for free, where you post your ad or link to where you are trying to drive people, then you surf other ads to gain points. Each point earned can be exchanged for one visit to your site. There are typically time requirements that you have to view each page, 15 to 60 seconds generally, before the point is awarded, and the same would apply when people on the site are viewing your site.
There is an over abundance of traffic exchange sites to choose from. Some people choose to utilize a variety and spread themselves around. I have done this, and have had pretty decent results. You'll want to browse around for different options, as some sites offer better surf ratios than others, (ie: will give you two visitors for one ad viewed), but they are a little difficult to find and I've found aren't very well established.
Now, though this is a free method to driving traffic to your site, I will say, it can be somewhat tedious panning through pages of ads to gain the points. However, I did it.....until I made enough money to purchase visitors. Another great thing about traffic exchanges is that for a very low cost, (I spent $10 on 5000 hits), you can get a jump start on driving traffic to your sites. I continue to do both, so I am earning credits, while my ads are circulating with my purchased visits. This prevents me from spending money I have not made yet.
Following is a small list of traffic exchange sites that I've joined in order of which I like best. If you would like to add a site, please do!!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
What if there really was training on earning a living online?
Training seems a simple enough topic, no? With all the jargon surrounding this field one would think there would be a place(s) you could go where someone could simply break it all down. At the onset of this venture I wasn't sure if I should be emailing my SEO, counting my PPC's or writing an ezine about my feedburner. However, after countless hours of scouring the internet, I'm beginning to grasp the concept of it all.
What I've found, in lieu of basic training were sites or blogs that discuss internet marketing......in no particular sequence of development. Some were useful, such as one I stumbled across hosted by
John Chow, but most simply looped me into an affiliate site of some sort I had to join in order to obtain information, and in most cases, once you joined the up selling pounded you like a cheap hooker. Fortunately through the maze of links I've been able to outline some key terms, their meanings and how to put them into action. Which as this blog continues I will expand on, in the order of which they should be addressed......starting now:
As mentioned previously, there are a number of means to making money online, such as, Affiliate Marketing; a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates (you) for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts , developing your own product or service or even virtual workers; where you actually work for a company either as an employee or doing specialized freelance work. There are many more avenues, but these seem to be the most popular.
Of these methods, affiliate marketing is the most popular, as it takes no time to start up and the capitol required to begin is either very little or nothing at all, providing you hook up with the right company. Affiliate marketing really boils down to being rewarded for doing the advertising for an established business. The more members you bring in under you, the greater your chance at success, and this trend is meant to continue on to the people you bring aboard. I believe the key to affiliate marketing SHOULD be believing in what you are getting behind. It is much easier to speak about or know who to target if you believe in what you are representing. It is also much nicer to point people in a direction where they may actually benefit from what you are promoting, rather than leading them to yet another dead end where there really isn't a product. It is merely you getting them to join a site for free, only to get hit with an up sell that promises to unlock the secret to success.......guess what, the secret is they earn a percentage of the money you just spent to hear that "the secret" is they are going to show you how to get the next person you lead to their site to do the same.....and so on, and so on.
I've joined a total of 57 "free"sites of this sort so far, only spent the money on the first one and learned my "secret" that I've now passed on to you. I haven't made a dime from any of them, simply because I couldn't bring myself to be part of this cycle and also partly because my inbox became so filled with auto respond emails, (I'll cover this in a later blog at the point you'll need the information), that I had to open a different email account.
Thankfully, on my 58th free sign up I found a site that works for ME. The affiliate marketing concept behind them still applies, but there are actually products I feel like I can get behind rather than another link to nowhere. There is minimal up selling, and the training is comprehensive and in an understandable order, which ultimately made all the other information I had obtained simply fall into place. Kind of like when you figured out back in the 80's that you could take the Rubrik's Cube apart and put it back together in it's original state. When I stumbled across SFI my Rubrik's cube finally clicked. I will say, I'm only a week or so in, but the company makes sense to me and is something I am comfortable referring others to. Make no mistake, my hopes are you will join and my team will grow, which in turn will further the path to my goals. Also make no mistake that I believe, if nothing else, you will gain some valuable information on this industry through them as I have, and best of all, that information will truly be of no cost to you. I further believe that if you are new to this arena, this will be something you can also get behind, as I have and maybe together we can both grow.
What I've found, in lieu of basic training were sites or blogs that discuss internet marketing......in no particular sequence of development. Some were useful, such as one I stumbled across hosted by
John Chow, but most simply looped me into an affiliate site of some sort I had to join in order to obtain information, and in most cases, once you joined the up selling pounded you like a cheap hooker. Fortunately through the maze of links I've been able to outline some key terms, their meanings and how to put them into action. Which as this blog continues I will expand on, in the order of which they should be addressed......starting now:
As mentioned previously, there are a number of means to making money online, such as, Affiliate Marketing; a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates (you) for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate's own marketing efforts , developing your own product or service or even virtual workers; where you actually work for a company either as an employee or doing specialized freelance work. There are many more avenues, but these seem to be the most popular.
Of these methods, affiliate marketing is the most popular, as it takes no time to start up and the capitol required to begin is either very little or nothing at all, providing you hook up with the right company. Affiliate marketing really boils down to being rewarded for doing the advertising for an established business. The more members you bring in under you, the greater your chance at success, and this trend is meant to continue on to the people you bring aboard. I believe the key to affiliate marketing SHOULD be believing in what you are getting behind. It is much easier to speak about or know who to target if you believe in what you are representing. It is also much nicer to point people in a direction where they may actually benefit from what you are promoting, rather than leading them to yet another dead end where there really isn't a product. It is merely you getting them to join a site for free, only to get hit with an up sell that promises to unlock the secret to success.......guess what, the secret is they earn a percentage of the money you just spent to hear that "the secret" is they are going to show you how to get the next person you lead to their site to do the same.....and so on, and so on.
I've joined a total of 57 "free"sites of this sort so far, only spent the money on the first one and learned my "secret" that I've now passed on to you. I haven't made a dime from any of them, simply because I couldn't bring myself to be part of this cycle and also partly because my inbox became so filled with auto respond emails, (I'll cover this in a later blog at the point you'll need the information), that I had to open a different email account.
Thankfully, on my 58th free sign up I found a site that works for ME. The affiliate marketing concept behind them still applies, but there are actually products I feel like I can get behind rather than another link to nowhere. There is minimal up selling, and the training is comprehensive and in an understandable order, which ultimately made all the other information I had obtained simply fall into place. Kind of like when you figured out back in the 80's that you could take the Rubrik's Cube apart and put it back together in it's original state. When I stumbled across SFI my Rubrik's cube finally clicked. I will say, I'm only a week or so in, but the company makes sense to me and is something I am comfortable referring others to. Make no mistake, my hopes are you will join and my team will grow, which in turn will further the path to my goals. Also make no mistake that I believe, if nothing else, you will gain some valuable information on this industry through them as I have, and best of all, that information will truly be of no cost to you. I further believe that if you are new to this arena, this will be something you can also get behind, as I have and maybe together we can both grow.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
What if social media wasn't only good for catching up with high school friends?
Social media marketing is the means of gaining website traffic or attention through social media's such as Facebook and Twitter.
I've been reading a lot about this recently and the concept is actually not only simple, but quite brilliant as well. After all, word of mouth is the basic principle of gaining traffic in any business, what better way is there to gain word of mouth than posting your product or ideas in an arena viewed by millions of people daily.
Sounds simple enough, right? What I'm finding is that it isn't quite as simple as it sounds. It isn't just a matter "friending" or "following" as many people as possible and then posting a link, or stating an idea and it catching on. You have to target a specific audience, an audience that is going to be interested in what you are putting out there. After all, if I'm on Facebook to connect with fellow music lovers, I'm not going to be interested in "How to train my dog in seven days".
What I've gathered so far is that you need to know your product, service etc., then you need to determine who would benefit the most from it and spread the word.
My biggest dilemma so far is separating the line between my personal and business social media endeavors. Though there is nothing wrong with sharing a good prospect with friends and family, there is also a very fine line between being useful/informative and aggressive/intrusive. Make sure you find that line, and don't cross it.
I've been reading a lot about this recently and the concept is actually not only simple, but quite brilliant as well. After all, word of mouth is the basic principle of gaining traffic in any business, what better way is there to gain word of mouth than posting your product or ideas in an arena viewed by millions of people daily.
Sounds simple enough, right? What I'm finding is that it isn't quite as simple as it sounds. It isn't just a matter "friending" or "following" as many people as possible and then posting a link, or stating an idea and it catching on. You have to target a specific audience, an audience that is going to be interested in what you are putting out there. After all, if I'm on Facebook to connect with fellow music lovers, I'm not going to be interested in "How to train my dog in seven days".
What I've gathered so far is that you need to know your product, service etc., then you need to determine who would benefit the most from it and spread the word.
My biggest dilemma so far is separating the line between my personal and business social media endeavors. Though there is nothing wrong with sharing a good prospect with friends and family, there is also a very fine line between being useful/informative and aggressive/intrusive. Make sure you find that line, and don't cross it.
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