Wednesday, September 26, 2007

What Do You Think?

Have you ever been accused of getting up on the wrong side of the bed because someone could tell you were upset about something?

Well, I've got you beat because I went to bed on the wrong side since I started getting upset yesterday about 1 thing and today I am going to v e n t about 3.

Grip #1: Yesterday I started getting all the emails about a new $500 product. Of course everyone wanted me to buy it with their link so they were all trying to outdo everyone else by offering an even bigger and better bonus. Now how in the world is someone who is just starting out and wants to not only learn from the product but to also sell it and make money going to compete with all the "big" names offering it to their mega lists with gigantic bonuses?

Grip #2: As you know I joined BlogRush to give it a try. I too had wished John Reese had gotten everything ready before he opened the site but, what-the-heck, it's a new experience for everyone so I'm willing to give him a chance to get it all put together.

Then this morning I get a long email from BlogRush admin with some news about the changes being made. While the message talked about improvements it also stated that there were people "cheating" and what was being done to stop them. Don't you just hate it when people cheat?

Grip #3: While checking into some of the things for the site we're reviewing this month, I stumbled upon some sites that had been hacked. Since I've seen sites where people have just given up because their site was hacked and since I've had to regain control of some of my own pages recently, I have some definite thoughts about hackers and none of them are positive.

OK, I feel better now but I still owe you a tip. So here are 7 short ones.

Tip #1: Don't buy an expensive info product unless you plan to use it and then make sure you do.

Tip #2: If you don't follow Tip #1 then don't buy an expensive info product just to get the resale rights unless you've already got a good promotion method with a good conversion rate to sell it.

Tip #3: If you don't follow Tips #1 and #2 then don't buy an expensive info product the day it launches until you've had a chance to see some of the different bonuses being offered. Then if you do buy it, get it where you get the best bonus for you.

Tip #4: Don't cheat anybody when working your business. Cheaters are like spammers. They spend so much time and energy trying to make a fast and easy buck they end up losing out on the long term benefits of having a legitimate business and just make things harder for everyone.

Tip #5: Don't be a hacker. You're probably like me and have no idea how to hack anything but thought I should say it anyway.

Tip #6: Keep backups of your websites and check you sites regularly to verify they haven't been hacked. If your site does get hacked, work with your hosting service's tech support to get your site cleaned up and back under your control.

Tip #7: Working an internet business can get frustrating at times. And rather than keep all that frustration bottled up, do some positive venting once in awhile because it's good for both your mental and physical health. (Positive venting doesn't mean kicking the dog or anyone else. Rather than kicking or yelling at an innocent bystander, write it down and post it on a blog, a forum or in an article.) Positive venting, when it's done well, can also be good for your business.

I've tried to follow Tip #7 while writing this article and hope I succeeded. However, if you have any thoughts about either the grips or tips, please post your thoughts on the blog.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

A Secret Way To Get Traffic With RSS

You've heard of RSS, Really Simple Syndication, and know that RSS feeds allow you to keep current on the latest content on your favorite site.


But did you know that it's possible for you to have your own RSS feed without doing anything technical?


How?


Well hopefully you write articles and submit them to article directories. I mean, writing articles and submitting them to directories is 1 of the best ways to get free traffic so surely you're already doing that.


And if you're already writing those articles then you're already doing the hard part of getting your own RSS feed.


You see, many article directories like EzineArticles.com provides their article submitters with their own RSS feed. That's right, they provide a feed to your articles so people can get them with their favorite feed reader.


And there's more to RSS feeds than just making them available so people can automatically be informed when you've provided a new article. You can also use that RSS feed to get some new traffic and here's how.

  1. Join EzineArticles.com if you're not already a member. I recommend this directory since it's 1 of the oldest and does provide a free RSS feed to its authors.


  2. Submit a few articles if you haven't already.


  3. After your articles have been accepted go back to the directory and do a search for your name (The name you used as the author.)


  4. When the page with your articles comes up, click the Expert Author link.


  5. Find the RSS feed icon on your Expert Author page. It's orange and a yellow feed information box will popup when you hover over it.


  6. Click on the orange XML icon at the top of the yellow popup box. The URL it goes to is your feed.


  7. Copy and past your feed (the url you went to when you clicked the XML icon). It will look like:
    http://ezinearticles.com/members/rss/Susan-Carroll.xml


  8. Go to your favorite pinging service and enter your name and put your RSS feed into both the "Blog URL" and "XML Feed" boxes. Then click the ping button. I usually use Pingoat.com.

Now in case you're not a blogger or one who doesn't know about pinging, pinging sends a notification to several news syndication services that you've updated content on your blog or your website. Savvy bloggers always ping after they've posted new content because they know that the “blog and ping” strategy increases your Google Page Rank (this correlates to a higher search engine ranking), increased traffic and more exposure to your content.


What most people don't know is that pinging is not restricted to blogs and other types of social networking sites. You can ping any source that provides an RSS feed.


You can ping your own article RSS feed!


So the next time you post to your blog or submit an article to an article directory that provides RSS feeds, take an extra minute and go ping it.


To Your Success,
Susan


P.S. Please leave a comment.

Tags: , , , , , , ,


Wednesday, September 12, 2007

10 Secrets of the Super Affiliate Mindset

I recently found this article and thought - this mindset doesn't just apply to super affiliates. The fact is it's a good mindset for all online business people. So although it's aimed at affiliate marketers because that's who Anik was trying to help, all internet marketers can learn from and use this information.

Tip: 10 Secrets of the Super Affiliate Mindset
Copyright © 2006 Anik Singal

Contrary to popular belief super-affiliates don’t really
DO things differently than affiliate underachievers.
Super-affiliates promote the same products. They use the
same SEO techniques. They have the same headaches and they work just as hard.

The truth is super-affiliates THINK differently. Their minds and attitudes go far beyond the commission check. For them, affiliate marketing is not just a business-- it’s a CAREER. This professional mindset makes a huge difference in how and when they take action in the marketplace.

I’ve worked side by side with many super-affiliates. I’ve
even helped create a few. They all share a special kind of
mindset. So as you read these 10 characteristics of
affiliate super-achievers, ask yourself, could I learn to
think this way?

#1 Super-affiliates think creatively.

You know what you’ll get if you do what everyone else does? You’ll get what they get... only you’ll be splitting it with them, and all their imitators.

In today's Internet marketplace, you need to be a leader,
not a follower. Super-affiliates don’t follow the crowd.
Instead, they sell TO the crowd, applying the most successful marketing techniques to selling the most popular products and then add a unique spin.

It could be as simple as offering one unusual, but highly
valuable bonus. It could be as sensible as using low-cost
offline marketing, while everyone else is breaking the bank
on expensive PPC. It could be as innovative as dumping the
sales letter, and substituting a quiz or contest. But
super-affiliates always, always, ALWAYS look for ways to be
a little more creative than their competitors.

#2 Super-affiliates learn the hard stuff.

Less than 10% of people who start their own business are
successful. Why? Most fail because they lack direct sales
experience don’t bother with a marketing and business
plan, or get into debt promoting products that don’t have a
market. In other words, they flunk when they get tested on
the really tough aspects of business.

Super-affiliates are different. They learn how to do all
the hard things other people shy away from. They learn
about selling and they get good at it. They set goals, make
daily and weekly plans, and measure their progress. They
don’t waste time creating huge content sites unless they
have hard evidence that those sites will eventually bring
them BUYERS (not just browsers or researchers).

And most of all, they keep their eye on PROFITABILITY. Not
just traffic, not just visitors. Super-affiliates look for
a return on their investment of time and effort, as well as
money.

#3 Super-affiliates follow up.

Most affiliates can attract prospects. A few can convert
prospects into customers. But only super-affiliates turn
existing customers into repeat customers.

Super-affiliates know that the person who has already
bought from you is the most willing prospect for your
backend products, upsells, and cross-sells. These current
customers are also the cheapest to sell to. As a result super-affiliates are always thinking of the lifetime value of a customer and always offering them the best value and deals.

#4 Super-affiliates give before receiving.

Super-affiliates invest time and money giving something of
REAL value before asking for the sale and before sealing a
JV. Maybe they give away useful content, offer a valuable
resource or put in some equity for a piece of the action. In other instances they may give a customer the chance to win something or a smile.

Regardless of what is given away by super-affiliates they do business in a spirit of openness. It is not about beating the other guy but rather networking and making alliances. It’s about viewing the Internet marketplace as one great small town stretching across the globe, full of potential. It’s about saying “let’s talk” and putting money, effort, or reputation on the table BEFORE making demands.

#5 Super-affiliates know how to receive.

Giving is the best first step but it’s only the beginning. Once they’ve hammered out a deal or given something of value, super-affiliates also know how to take what they rightfully deserve.

That means they don’t just pre-sell... they ASK prospects
for the sale. They’re not afraid to capitalize on a good
deal. They LIKE profits and don’t apologize for being
successful. And if they’re working on a JV, they state
their expectations clearly, forthrightly, without a lot of
fuss... and don’t de-value their list or reputation with
cheesy offers.

Yes, the best super-affiliates receive their just rewards
graciously, without throwing their egos around. And they
not only say thank you. They look for ways to turn a “thank
you” into an opportunity to generate more customer loyalty
and more sales down the line.

#6 Super-affiliates think strategically.

Affiliate marketing isn't a game of chance; its a profession. Super-affiliates are just as savvy about their industry, and just as uninvolved as other expert professionals, which means super-affiliates spend quality time thinking, planning, preparing, and evaluating. They analyze their sites, products, and sales and try to understand WHY one technique works and another doesn’t. They think about
trends and ponder the mentality of their customers.

Bottom line is, super-affiliates LOVE their work.

#7 Super-affiliates test and analyze.

Profit, profit, profit! Super affiliates are hard-headed
And committed to profits! They split-test carefully, think about why one ad pulls better than another, and try to duplicate the results. Time and energy is spent analyzing traffic, stats, and user purchase patterns. An aspiring super-affiliate has to be a fanatic about knowing his or her visitor to sales ratio on a daily basis and be obsessed with ROI.

If you want to say goodbye to the ranks of affiliate underachievers, learn to love the numbers like the super-affiliates do.

#8 Super-affiliates know when to go for volume over commission.

Here’s a very well-kept secret of some super-affiliates:
you can earn a fantastic income from cheap untargeted
traffic. Believe it or not, not every super-affiliate is
brilliant at creating content or opt-in marketing. Some
just concentrate on traffic -- more and bigger traffic --
and make money off of sheer volume sales and contextual
advertising.

Here’s the basic formula, oversimplified of course: Let’s
say that on a given web site you get 1000 unique visitors
per day, or 30,000 visitors per month. If your average
monthly profit from that site is $1500, then each visitor
is worth 5 cents ($1500 divided by 30,000 visitors).

So in this example, if you spend 5 cents to attract a
visitor, all you can do is break even. But if you can spend
a lot less to get a visitor -- say only 2 cents – you’ve
got the potential to make some terrific profits on cheap
traffic! Sure, it’s not going to be tightly niched traffic.
But it’s also the kind of traffic that fits well with
products that have mass-market mass-appeal, or even
commodity products.

#9 Super-affiliates work a plan.

Successful affiliates have a simple business model: they
replicate their success. Once they find something that
works, they tweak it slightly, test, evaluate, and repeat.
Some of the most profitable affiliate empires follow this
simple, repetitive pattern. Consistent effort tends to
yield consistent results, especially online, where certain
types of marketing (like SEO) take time.

And more importantly, super-affiliates follow a schedule.
So much activity per month, so many promotions, so many
sales. When they fall short of their goals, they figure out
why. If they can’t they cut their losses and try again.

Working a plan all boils down to discipline. Organization,
tracking, and daily project management are a way of life
for super-affiliates.

#10 Super-affiliates never quit.

Though they may ruthlessly dump under-performing products or cut their losses if the profits don’t flow super-affiliates don’t give up. They assume that they’re
going to have some bumps and hard times and look at setbacks as essential learning experiences that, in the end, help them build a stronger business.


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

This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of
AffiliateClassroom.com. Anik Singal has developed his own
system that made him over $10,000 in just 60 days. Sign up for a free course and find out more.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you found this tip is useful please leave a comment.

Tags: , , , , , ,

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

3 Steps To A Web Page That Pops!

We've all seen sites where there's a picture behind the content or sign up form. Ever wonder how they did it?

Sure, they may have hired a graphic designer... or maybe they did it themselves like I did... click here.

HTML tables are a great formatting tool and you can see the ones I used to make that page... click here.

And although I used a really BIG picture to fill the page, you can use smaller ones for specialized content or your sign up form.

Just remember to check your page where you've used pictures as backgrounds on a couple of browser types like Explorer and FireFox since they interpret and show things differently.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you found this tip useful please leave a comment.

Tags: , , , ,