"Shutting Down This Affiliate Program"

If you've read anything about how to do affiliate marketing you have already been told that you should be cloaking your affiliate links. So today I'm not going to give you the standard reasons for cloaking your link. Instead I'm going to share a true story about what happened this morning and tell you when to use the different options available for cloaking your link.

Here's the story:

While reading my email I saw the title of today's tip in the subject line. It was an announcement from 1 of the affiliate programs I'm in and it seems they are changing their affiliate manager software. After the end of this month our old affiliate links won't work.

Because I make money every month from selling their affiliate products through blog postings and comments, I immediately rejoined their affiliate program so I could get my new affiliate links.

Now most would think I would then have edited all the blog articles to change my affiliate links and write off all the links in comments because they would no longer work. But I didn't. You see, I didn't use my affiliate link when I posted or made a comment to the blogs. I had cloaked my affiliate links with redirect files. So all I had to do was change the redirect files and now all those blog articles and comments can still make me money.

This story shows 1 of the under-stated but good reasons to cloak your affiliate links. By having your links in redirect files you can easily change them and keep those links working wherever you've placed them.

But what if you don't have your own web site? Should you still take the time to cloak your affiliate links?

Yes!!! Every affiliate link should be hidden somehow.

Here are 4 options for hiding your affiliate link and how to choose the 1 to use:

1. Tracking URL - These are the urls created by tracking services and many autoresponder services. They not only cloak your affiliate link but they also count the number of times the link was clicked and are used primarily in emails for testing and tracking. I guess you could post these urls anywhere you wanted however they are usually very long and ugly so putting them in a blog or forum comment or in your author bio for an article isn't recommended.


2. Redirect file on your web site. This is the best way to go if you have a web site and you are placing your link in blog comments, forum signatures, in article bios, on other sites where you can not access the link to change it and to send in your email to your list.


3. Redirect services like linkbrander and viralurl. When you are placing your link in all the kinds of places listed in item 2 and you don't have a web site this type of service works well because you still have only 1 thing to change to keep your affiliate link working.


4. For affiliate links that you are only advertising in places that change frequently (like our classifieds) you can use services like tinyurl and snipurl. If your affiliate link changes you can create a new url to post when the place gets updated.

While hiding your affiliate link is important, keeping your affiliate link working is just as important. So don't waste your time posting and emailing your naked affiliate links. Be prepared. Changes happen and it could be your affiliate links that are affected next time.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please leave a comment and tell me what you thought of this tip.

Tags: affiliate link, affiliate marketing, redirect, cloaking, affiliate program

"A Quick And Easy Way To Save Time"

I've written several articles about spam and how it wastes our time. I even wrote about a mistake I once made that caused me to waste several days.

Well today I want to share something I discovered, tested and found that it really does cut down on the amount of spam you have to delete in your site's email inbox. But before I tell you what it is I must tell you that all the hosting services I use use cPanel for site administration. So if your host uses something else you'll have to look around and see if your host allows you to do what I did.

Most hosting services give you a default email address for your domain when you create your account. And in an earlier tip I recommended that you create your own email address for those emails from your site visitors that you really want to read. By creating your own email address you were then able to separate the valid emails from most of the spam since most spam will end up in your default email inbox. (Your default email inbox will contain all the email sent to your domain except those sent to the email addresses you've created.)

Having most of your spam in an inbox that you know you don't need to read does save some time however you must still go into that inbox and delete them unless you want to re-live my mistake.

Recently I discovered a way to save the time I was wasting deleting all the email in my default inbox and here's how I did it:

1. Create your valid email addresses. (Hopefully you've already done this but I'll list it again just-in-case.) If you don't know how to do this you can watch the free video provided by DiscoverCPanel.
   


2. After you have your email addresses created, go back to your Mail Manager Menu. Below the link for "Add/Remove/Manage Accounts" you'll see a link for "Default Address." Click "Default Address."
   


3. You now see the address where all the email that isn't going to the email addresses you've created will go. Below that information is a link "Set Default Address" and you need to click it.
   


4. You now see where you can define the name for your default email address but before you do read the "Hint." I've included the important part of the hint here:
   
   "Hint: You can enter :blackhole: to discard all incoming unrouted mail or :fail: no such address here to bounce it."
   


5. Enter this bolded text in the "to" box
   :fail:no such address here
   and click change. (Be sure to include the colons.)

After you've made this change you will no longer receive any emails that are not sent to the email addresses you've created and you will no longer have to go into your default email inbox to delete unwanted email.

Before I made this change I was receiving between 300 - 2300 spam emails every week for 1 of my hosted accounts and removing them took several minutes. It was so bad I was considering hiring someone just to delete the email in the default inboxes for my hosted accounts since I have several! But now I don't have to :-)

So if you're wasting time deleting spam from your domain's email accounts try doing what I did. Then let us know if it worked for you too by leaving a comment here.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. BTW, I have 1 hosted account where I never received any spam to my default email address. At HostGator they have turned the default email address feature off because...

"The Default E-Mail/Catch-All feature has been disabled by default due to it contributing large amounts of e-mail flooding from Spam."

So if you're using HostGator you don't need today's tip because you're using a great service that works hard to provide the services you need and to protect you from the things you don't want.

Tags: spam, delete spam, save time, default email address, how to stop spam

Adware Can Steal Your Sales!

It seems there is always something new to be learned when you're doing internet marketing and today I want to share some things I learned just this week. (Actually I want to rant about it but instead I'll just give you the facts.)

Now you should already know about affiliate commission hijackers and how they can steal your affiliate commissions by replacing your affiliate link with their own when they buy something. And of course you already know that you should be using an affiliate link cloaker when you post or email your affiliate link.

Recently I received some information from DiscovercPanel.com that I want to share with you because:

1. This is something all affiliates need to know.
   
2. I know 1 way it's done.

First - The Information

Subject: before you install those cute smileys I was just on the Warrior Forum browsing through all the posts that I'd missed and I came across one that really struck my eye. The title was about how your Clickbank commissions get stolen. Now I know probably 90% of the tricks that are used but something made me click through to see what all the fuss was about and I soon realized that this was not your typical person bypassing an affiliate link or replacing their affiliate id with yours. Instead, it was something that is NEVER talked about and is very common yet no one, not even Clickbank is able to stop it. It's adware. Commonly known as spyware, but adware is cleverly disguised as your cute little avatars, smileys, and even free games. I can go on and on. It's estimated 30-50 million computers in the US are silently infected with adware. Watch this video, it's not my video but I had to show you exactly how this stuff works, watch the video below http://www.keywordthinktank.com/public/adware/clickbank_adware.html

Although the video is not the best quality, I hope you took the time to watch it because it shows how some use adware to rob honest and hard working affiliates by stealing their traffic and sales.

Second - How It's Done

Before I give you some information on how it's done let me stress that this is a method that I find totally dishonest and recommend that you never, ever do it.

As you know there are many sites that offer free downloads for things like greeting cards, music, games, smilies, etc. Some, not all, some of these sites embed adware in the code you must download to use the freebies they offer on their site. This adware may cause popups to appear for no reason, change your homepage, change your search engine default, etc.

And while most would think it is always the user of the infected PC who is the 1 to suffer from the ill affects of the adware, that is not always the case.

I recently bought a product from a site with this headline ...

LEGALLY ROB YOUR COMPETITORS BLIND!

STEAL THEIR SURFERS & TRAFFIC WHILE PUTTING THEIR MONEY IN YOUR BANK ACCOUNT

And I must admit I was very curious about how one could legally steal surfers and traffic.

My first clue that this method of getting sales was not totally legal came from the disclaimer as shown below...

And what was contained in this product? It contained the instructions for setting up advertising campaigns on a site that offers free downloads, has adware embedded in the downloads and uses that adware to do what was shown in the video. You can read all about this site on Wikipedia.

Now I am not going to tell you how to set up an advertising campaign on this site nor will I tell you the name of the product I bought because I don't think this type of information is of any real value except to know that it does exist and that it currently affects those affiliates selling big name ClickBank items, those buying Pay Per Click search engine traffic for popular terms and possibly many others. And according to the product I bought, there is no way to know if you're losing traffic or sales to adware users and there is currently no good way to protect yourself.

So what can we do about these affiliate commission hijackers?

1. Use some good anti-spyware, adware and virus software to keep your machine clean.


2. Avoid downloads except from trusted sites and if you notice your machine performing strangely after a download - clean your machine immediately.


3. Do not support this type of unethical business conduct by putting adware on site visitors machines or by supporting a company that does.

Remember. even though the number of people who have downloaded this type of affiliate commission hijacking adware is in the millions, they still account for very little of the total internet traffic. And while you may be losing some of your traffic and sales to these hijackers, you must keep going forward and not spend your time stressing about things you can't control.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please leave a comment and let us know what you think about affiliate commission hijackers or this form of stealing.

Tags: affiliate commission hijacking, adware

3 Ways To Create Drop Shadows

Not being a CSS programmer, yesterday I was intrigued by a CSS programming tip on how to create drop shadows using CSS. So I read the tip and spent some time playing with the code given. Unfortunately, while I could get the code to make shadows as shown in the examples, I found that I didn't like the shadows that much and it took a great deal of time to make them look the way I wanted. But in case you're interested in making drop shadows using CSS here's a good article about how it's done:
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cssdropshadows

For me, I'll stick to the 2 easy ways I use to create drop shadows... click here to get the instructions for both.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment about this tip.

Tags: drop shadows, css drop shadows

What Are Hub Pages?

This week I am not writing a tip but instead I'm giving you a free copy of a product that's currently being sold, "HubBlueprint." You can download it directly from here or you can read the sales page to see what it's about and why I'm giving it away here. And if you decide you want the MRR for this product before 1/26 check out sevenbucks.com. If you decide after 1/26 then be sure to read the README file inside the download because I tell you another place to get it where it's almost $20 less than the link inside the ebook.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Feel free to leave a comment about either getting a current product rather than a tip or about the product.

Tags: hub pages, hub blueprint

Do Pop-Up Ads Work?

Everyone hates pop-up ads, right? At least everyone who voted in one of my recent polls does. And if we all hate pop-up ads then they don't work very well and we shouldn't use them on our websites, right?

But wait a minute. Many internet marketing experts keep reciting, "Pop-up ads work!" And not only do they say the words, they also keep coming out with new forms of "unstoppable" pop-up ad software.

So what's the real truth about pop-up ads? Do they or don't they work?

The truth is ...

When done correctly pop-up ads do work. Unfortunately, like everything else in internet marketing, they must be used correctly because if you misuse or abuse the use of pop-up ads, they can hurt your business.

The easiest way to explain the correct use of pop-up ads is to look at why we hate them and fix it.

• There are too many of them.
  Don't annoy your site visitor by having pop-up ads on every page they visit! Only use 1 pop-up ad per visitor (not 1 per page)
  
  
• They hide part of the content you want to read.
  Keep the size of your pop-up ads reasonable and try not to cover the text your visitor is trying to read. Also, make them easy to close.
  
  
• They appear at inappropriate times and interrupt your train of thought.
  Either use a delayed or an exit pop-up ad that offers something extra after the visitor has had a chance to see what's available. Just be careful to make sure an exit pop-up doesn't appear if they do take the desired action on your page.
  
  
• They are intrusive and offer you nothing new.Effective pop-up ads offer an additional benefit to the site visitor like an added bonus, a free report or an extra discount.

When used correctly, pop-up ads do work. And 1 of the very first unblockable pop-up ad makers was "Magic Subscriber." It doesn't create fancy pop-up ads but you can get it for free inside the member area.

Just remember, if you use pop-up ads do it correctly.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you're afraid to use pop-up ads or are dead set against using them here are 4 alternatives to pop-up ads:

1. peel-away ads Version 1 or Version 2




2. ribbon ads




3. impact popups




4. context ads

I own and have used peel-away Version 1, ribbon ads, impact popups and the exit pop-up software referenced in the article. While they all worked I thought impact popups was the easiest to use and ribbon ads was a close second. The others weren't too hard to use but did require more work.

P.P.S. If you have any thoughts about these types of ads feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: pop-up ads, peel-away ads, ribbon ads, impact popups, context ads, hate pop-up ads, web marketing, web page design

Work Smarter Not Harder

The title of today's tip was taken from a poster my ex-employer had placed in a location where most employees would see it - daily.

Now why am I sharing this tidbit of information with you? Because there's a lot of wisdom in those words.

You see, most of us are looking for the 'right' way to do something... start an online business, create a website, design an opt-in page, advertise, etc. And when we look for the 'right' way we find there are many ways to do just about everything. But which 1 is the 'right' way?

The answer is... drum roll please.

There are lots of 'right' ways. It's just that some of them are easier than others and some work better than others.

To prove my point I would like you to read this eye-opening report about the simplicity of doing business on the internet.

Now you're thinking... "Great, another free report trying to sell me something" aren't you?

And to quote the author of the report, "Why in the world would I even bother to write this fifty page Special Report, if I wasn’t?"

So if you're afraid you might be tempted to buy something with my affiliate link and are willing to not get some of the best free internet marketing information, don't read it.

However, if you want to know how a very successful internet marketer "works smarter not harder" then not only read his report but go to his blog because he's posted 9 very informative videos that explain things like the smart way to design an opt-in page and how to drive massive amounts of traffic to your website. (BTW, you don't have to pay or sign-up to watch the videos;)

Get your free report here.

P.S. Please feel free to leave comments about the report.

Tags: work smarter, internet marketing, free report, how to do internet marketing

Will 2008 Be The Year You Succeed?

It's a brand new year and with the new year come new hopes and dreams of becoming successful.

Unfortunately, just like New Year's Resolutions, 99% of the hopes and dreams for new internet marketers will be left unfulfilled at the end of the year.

Why?

You won't like the answer but I'll tell you anyway.

Like New Year's Resolutions, to achieve your your hopes and dreams you have to leave your comfort zone and change what you're doing.

You see, your hope to become successful and your dreams of how your life will be when you are successful give you the desire and drive to try to make it happen and the perseverance to continue trying for awhile. Unfortunately, your hopes and dreams alone won't make it happen.

Becoming a successful internet marketer is just like becoming successful at playing an instrument, playing golf, cooking and everything else that requires training and technique.

Whether you call them masters, experts, great artists or gurus, they all started with a dream. And to achieve their dream they all learned the fundamentals. And then, when they knew the basics, they started applying their own techniques until they found the 1 that made them unique and great.

To become a successful internet marketer is no different. You have to learn the basics. You have to make a plan to implement the things you've learned. And you have to find your own techniques that make you unique.

Hopes and dreams are just like New Year's Resolutions. Not knowing how to make things happen and not having a plan to put those things into action will guarantee their failure.

Yes, you need your hopes and dreams to motivate you but you also need to learn the basics of internet marketing and a plan to achieve success.

Wishing You a Successful 2008!
Susan

P.S. Do you know the basics for internet marketing? Is there something holding you back because you haven't figured out how to do it? Feel free to ask your questions here.

Tags: internet marketing, internet marketing question

Holiday Tips

Although not everyone celebrates Christmas or even when the new year starts, this is the time of year when you'll be receiving a lot of mail, phone calls and emails asking you to spend or donate your money. And although I do support legitimate sale offers and charities, you need to be aware that not every solicitation for money is legit.

The fact is: this is not only the busiest time of the year for legitimate merchants and charities, it's also the one of the busiest and best times of the year for scam artiest.

Now I won't go into details about the newest scams since I can't keep up with them however you can see a list of some of more popular ones here and 1 of the latest ones here.

So rather than try to list the current on and off line scams, I am going to give you some tips on how to protect yourself, your credit cards and your money.

No matter where you live or what holidays you celebrate you need to know these things to...

Protect yourself from becoming a victim.

• Read the "21 tips to protect yourself from being a victim of credit card fraud" provided by ScamBusters.org.
  


• Read the "Security Tips and Fraud Prevention" provided by PapPal.com.
  


• Never, I repeat Never click a link in an email to access any of your online accounts that contain personal information. Always type in the web address yourself to access these accounts.
  


• Do not give out your credit card information to someone who has called you. While many legitimate charities do phone solicitations, you don't really know who is making the call or who may be listening. If you want to make a donation, ask them to send you a donation card or bill.
  


• When you make an online purchase, always make sure the payment site is a "secure" site.
  


• Impulse shopping is at it's highest during the holidays. Everyone and their brother is trying to sell something. And yes, some of them are really great deals and some are things you may really want to buy. However, you need to stay in control of yourself and your wallet and only buy those things you plan to use or give as gifts while staying within your means. No matter how good the deal or how much you really "want" to have it or "want" to give it away, if you can't afford it - don't buy it.
  


• Those convenient "Gift Cards" make nice gifts however:
  
  * Like credit cards, if someone has the card number and duplicates the card, they can use your gift before you've had the chance to give it.
  
  * The stores love you to purchase gift cards because they make money whether the card is used or not. And there was a lot of money made last Christmas with unused gift cards and there will be more made this year.

Please use the above information to protect yourself not only this holiday season but through the next and future years.

Please feel free to leave your comments about this tip and offer any additional suggestion you may have.

Wishing you a prosperous 2008!
Susan

Tags: scam, fraud, credit card, paypal

Affiliate Marketing For The Holidays

With the holidays coming you may find that your usual sales are going down so this week I'd like to give you the free report "Affiliate Marketing For The Holidays." Inside this report you'll find:

• How to think outside the "gift box" to find profitable markets where money is already being spent


• How to use your existing contact list for quick holiday cash


• How to turn your recommendations into pure profit

This is a free report offered by AffiliateCashSecrets and holds some good information.

So this week's tip is:

1. Get and read the free report - no sign up required.


2. Sign up for the AffiliateCashSecrets 7 day free trial and start using some of the free reports to generate some affiliate payments to your inbox.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Comments are always welcome.

Tags: affiliate marketing, affiliate cash secrets, holiday marketing report, free marketing report, holiday marketing free report

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 3)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

Last week I listed 12 symptoms of ADD/ADHD and included Terry Matlen's, MSW, ACSW statement that, "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD."

Because your site visitors may have some of these symptoms today I'll discuss 5 of them and some of the methods used by online marketers to overcome them.

• Distractibility - When someone visits your web page they may have a lot on their mind or other things going on around them so you need to put things on your page to keep their attention. The use of color, graphics, surveys, lists, audio and video are some of the methods used by online marketers to keep the attention of those reading their page.
  


• Impulsivity - Most of your page viewers are not looking for something to buy or a place to sign up when they arrive at your web site and you need to use this symptom to your advantage. While you don't want to lie to them and you should only make true statements, you need to use the "Wow!" factor to have them do what you want. Making bold statements about what your offer can do for them, showing testimonials and offering samples or demos are 3 of the methods used by online marketers.
  


• Inattention - You've heard you need to grab your page visitor's attention in the first 5 seconds but in addition you must keep their attention. Possible ways to keep the attention of your visitor are graphics, sub-headlines for page sections and telling an interesting story or joke. Also, the content on your page needs to be like a personal conversation... not like a page from a school book. Instant or time-delayed audio and pop-ups, peel-away ads and ribbon ads are also used to grab the attention of your visitor.
  


• Difficulty staying on task - While you may not think this symptom can affect how your visitor reacts to your web page, it does. If you make it difficult for someone to perform the task you desire, most won't do it. Making your payment buttons easy to find, giving easy to understand directions and displaying reminders when a disjoint task like confirming an email request for double opt-in are ways to help your visitor do what you want and do it correctly.
  


• Irritability - When you work online you'll eventually be contacted by someone who gets irritable and down-right rude because they think you've done something wrong - even when you haven't. When this happens the best way to deal with this type of person to to keep the old business motto, "The customer is always right - even when they're wrong" in your mind. Be quick and polite with your response and stay calm. Don't show them that you can be just as irritable and rude. Instead, show them that they have misjudged you with your fast and courteous response.

To be a successful online marketer you need to understand that many who visit your web site display some of the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. And because of this you need to design your web pages, write your content and respond to complaints in a way that will overcome your visitors symptoms.

This ends our 3 part series where we discussed who has ADD/ADHD symptoms in part 1, how you as the site owner must learn to recognize when you have a symptom and know some techniques to overcome it in part 2 and some of the symptoms your site visitors may have and some methods online marketers use to overcome these symptoms in part 3.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you have any additional suggestions to help us overcome any of these behaviors please feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: internet marketing, web site design, web design, web page design

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 2)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

Last week I included an excerpt from an article written by David Giwerc, MCC, where he stated that, "...it has also been my observation that a majority of all entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD." And I also included a statement made by Terry Matlen, MSW, ACSW, "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD."

Now since we all supposedly have some of the symptoms of ADD, even if we don't have the disorder, I thought you should know what some of the symptoms are.

12 Symptoms of ADHD:

• Distractibility
• Impulsivity
• Hyperactivity
• Inattention
• Difficulty staying on task
• Having many projects going on at one time and rarely completing any of them
• Irritability
• Fail to give close attention to details
• Don't follow instructions carefully and completely
• Losing or forgetting important things
• Feeling restless, often fidgeting with hands or feet, or squirming
• Difficulty falling asleep and difficulty waking up

Having some of the symptoms doesn't necessarily mean you have ADD because these same behaviors can also be caused by our hectic and overstressed lifestyles.

And as an online entrepreneur responsible for everything in your business, the ideas, the work and the end results, it's no wonder if you experience some stress.

So today let's talk about 8 of the these behaviors and some of the things you can do to overcome them.

• Distractibility - Life is full of distractions especially when you're working at home. The best way to avoid some of these distractions is to make a quiet space for your home office and a work schedule. Share your schedule with those you live with and ask that they allow you the quite time you need to be productive. Then while you're working, work. Don't waste your time checking your email every hour or playing games.
  
  
• Impulsivity - It's very easy to get caught up in reading about all the new services and products being launched every day and to pull out your credit card. And since I sell things too, I am not going to tell you to never buy anything. But, before you make your next purchase, stop yourself and ask yourself these 3 questions:
  
  Do I really need this?
  Will it help me learn more about something I need to know now or help me do something I want to do now?
  Will I really use it?
  
  If your answer isn't yes to all 3 questions, put your credit card away.
  
  Also, many people join affiliate programs impulsively because they think the more the better. Actually, joining only a few and learning how to do affiliate marketing successfully will lead you to having a successful business faster.
  
  
• Hyperactivity - Many suffer from hyperactivity when they are under a great deal of stress. If that's the case for you then you need to do whatever it is you do to relieve your stress. Take a walk, play a game of tennis, jog, watch a movie, etc. You are not going to be productive when you're suffering from too much stress anyway so do something for your mental health and relieve the stress.
  
  
• Inattention - If you're like me you have days when you just can't stay focused. For me, it usually means that I am either coming down with something or I've taken too much cold medication. Not being able to stay focused can really slow you down and the way I get through times like these is to work in short intervals. Rather that try to write an article, I make notes about what I want to say - take a break. Write 1 or 2 paragraphs - take a break, etc. I find that taking more breaks and letting my head clear allows me to be very productive in the short intervals I do work. Also, by having the notes of what I want to say or the list of tasks I want to do keeps me moving in the right direction.
  
  
• Difficulty staying on task - Some tasks in internet marketing seem very big or very complicated and that makes them hard to complete. Other tasks seem to take forever and are boring which makes them hard to finish too. But just about all tasks in online marketing can be broken down into smaller tasks. So if you have trouble staying on task, break that task down into smaller, more manageable work items. Then as you complete these items, reward yourself somehow. For some, the reward can be as simple as drawing a line through the completed item. Others may require something more like getting off work a few minutes early. And then, when all the work items are finished and the big task is completed, you can give yourself a real reward.
  
  
• Having many projects going on at one time and rarely completing any of them - Although this behavior is a symptom of ADD it is also a characteristic of a personality type. (Yes, I've taken personality type classes.) You see, some people get great pleasure when they finish projects while other get their pleasure from starting projects and don't find any satisfaction from finishing them. So if you happen to be a person who likes to start things but doesn't get around to finishing most of the things you start you need to do 1 of 2 things. You can either get a partner who can work with you and likes to finish things when you move on to another project or you can learn to finish your important projects. If you're the one who has to finish the things you start here are some suggestions to keep you on track.
  
  When you're hit with a new idea for another project, write it down on your list of future projects with brief notes about the ideas for this project. Keep this list handy so you can jot these inspirations down quickly and easily. Do not use sticky notes or scrap pieces of paper for each idea. Use a steno pad, a notebook, a whiteboard or something else that's big enough to hold lots of ideas and can be found easily.
  
  Do not start the new project when the idea comes to you. Instead, use the reward system and the above list contains the reward you get when you've completed your current project.
  
  When you get to a difficult part of your project and think it would be easier to quit and start another, put that idea out of your head and turn solving your problem into your new project. You've identified a problem, so start thinking of new ideas for solving it. (Putting these problems, possible solutions and what worked into a notebook is also a good idea because it will help you remember how you fixed a problem the next time you encounter it.)
  
  Trying to modify a characteristic of your personality can be difficult however it can be done. (While it's possible to only change it for those things that pertain to your online business, you may find that if you change it a little in other areas of your life, others may quit nagging you so much about when you're going to finish cleaning, painting, fixing, building the ???.)
  
  
• Fail to give close attention to details - While we all make mistakes, if you find that you have trouble with details then get someone to help you. Your helper doesn't need to know how to do what you're doing, they just need to know how to check your work. In other words, if you make a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in your writing, get someone to proof read your copy. If you have trouble remembering to upload all the files and images for your site, have someone visit your site, look around and tell you if they find missing pictures or links that don't work. Having another person check your web pages, articles, autoresponder messages, etc. is always a good thing even if you do pay attention to details because they will almost always find something that needs to be corrected.
  
  
• Don't follow instructions carefully and completely - I am not sure this symptom is written correctly for internet marketing since the instructions we get are pretty sparse and sometimes are either incomplete or incorrect. I would think "Doesn't write instructions carefully and completely" would be a better symptom.
  
  However, if you have trouble following the instructions for doing something then print out the instructions, give them to someone else, let them read each step to you and have them watch you do it. Then if it doesn't work there will be 2 of you who think the person who wrote the instructions has an ADD symptom - not you.

From time to time we all experience some of the symptoms of ADHD. However, these experiences don't have to control you or your business if you recognize them and know how to work around them.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please feel free to leave comments about this tip and offer any additional suggestions on how to work through some of these behaviors.

Tags: internet marketing, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder

How ADD/ADHD Affects Your Business (Part 1)

All links in this article open a new browser window to display the page where the information was found.

Important Disclaimer- Please Read This : The following information is not intended to provide any type of professional advice nor diagnostic service. If you have any concerns about AD/HD or other health issues, please consult a qualified health care professional in your community.

It's widely known and accepted that ADD/ADHD is not a childhood problem. In recent years, study results have shown that between 30 to 70% of children with AD/HD continue to exhibit symptoms in the adult years.

In 2006 the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA) conducted the "ADHD In The Workplace" survey to correlate ADHD prevalence to specific professions/occupations and other demographic categories. This survey concluded that:

Copied from “ADHD in the Workplace” a survey of adults in 14 common professions"

Occupations freer from constraints and office work tend to be more likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Tradespeople(Plumbers, Carpenters, Electricians, Gardeners, etc.) Entertainers (Actors, Comedians, Musicians)􀀠Elected Officials Healthcare Professionals (this group might be anomalous. Arguably this may be due to their diversity and higher level of awareness of the ADHD symptoms.) Construction Workers More structured working environments, high disciplined fields of work, and those who essentially have to “serve” others tend to be less likely to exhibit behavior that is consistent with the symptoms of ADHD Teachers Lawyers Law Enforcement Agents Media Professionals Office, Bank, and Retail Store Clerks

As an online business person working your own hours in your own home, you are free of the constraints of an office worker. And in an article written by David Giwerc, MCC, it states that:

"People are literally waking up to the idea that they can work for themselves and make a lot of money doing it. And, while there are as many types of entrepreneurs as there are businesses, most entrepreneurs share some common traits. They tend to be visionaries. People who go into business for themselves tend to be risk takers. After almost a decade of coaching entrepreneurs, it has also been my observation that a majority of all entrepreneurs have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or AD/HD. They may not be taking medication and many of them haven't even been diagnosed..."

Now I am not saying you have ADD and I am not saying that if you have ADD you won't succeed. What I am saying is that "All adults have some symptoms of ADHD." (After working in a highly disciplined field for more than 20 years even I have some of the symptoms! I also think having small children around causes some of these symptoms just like it causes early senility.)

So how does ADD/ADHD affect your business?

It affects your business in 2 ways:

1. As the owner who is responsible for getting everything done and grow your business, some ADD symptoms will hold you back until you learn to manage them. So next week I'll identify some of the ADHD symptoms that hinder the growth and success of your business and offer some suggestions on how to manage them.


2. Because those in your target market also have some symptoms of ADHD, you must learn some of the techniques that will overcome their symptoms. So in Part 3 I'll discuss some of your site visitors possible symptoms and share some of the methods used by online marketers to reduce the loss of conversions from those displaying ADD symptoms.

Knowing the 2 ways that ADD/ADHD affects your business is important because ADD isn't just for children anymore.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. You'll find the link for the quick online test I took to find out if I had ADD symptoms here. Feel free to share how you did on the test. I scored 23 and you'll see what that means when you check your own score.

Tags: internet marketing, ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder

It's All About Focus

One thing you must learn quickly if you are to have a successful online business is that everything you do must be focused.

You must stay focused to complete your projects and your projects must be focused to meet your goal.

And 1 of the first things you do when you start an online business and you continue to do as your business grows is create landing pages.

And because landing pages must be focused on the 1 thing you want people to do when they land on them...

Today I am giving you a free ebook that tells you:

1. What a Landing Page Is


2. How the Landing Page System Works


3. What You Need To Create an Effective Landing Page


4. How To Write an Effective Landing Page


5. 2 Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Landing Page


6. Some Examples of Good Landing Pages

In addition, you also get the giveaway and Master Resale Rights for this "Landing Page Success Guide." Sorry, there is no squeeze page or sales page provided but you'll know what it takes to create your own after you read it.

Here is the download link.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. How did you like this tip (gift)? Please leave a comment.

Tags: landing page, squeeze page, lead capture page, sales page, squeeze page web

7 of my Internet Marketing Mistakes

When you started your online business you made a big (and maybe a scary) decision because you decided to venture into a realm where you probably didn't know everything you needed to know to succeed and you didn't have the money to hire others to create your web page, write your ad copy, create a product, etc.

I know what you're going through because I've been where you are. In fact, there are times when I still experience the "What should I do?" or "Should I try to ...?" feeling even though I've been doing business online for more than 4 years.

And I know how hard it is to leave your comfort zone of doing what you know how to do and trying to do something new and different. Every time you venture into a new area of internet marketing you worry that it might not work or you'll do it wrong. You worry about people seeing your mistake or losing money or getting complaints from unhappy customers or subscribers.

I really do understand because, like you, I often have the same worries. Plus, while I don't like admitting it, I've made plenty of mistakes, lost some money and have received complaints.

But...

Even though I've done all this, my business is alive and well.

Why?

Because we learn by trying. We learn from watching others. And we learn from our mistakes.

So today I am going to share 7 of the mistakes I've made in the past and the lessons I learned the hard way in an attempt to help you not make these mistakes and to give you the courage to leave your current comfort zone and take 1 more step toward building your online business.

My very first mistake was to try and build an online business in an area I didn't know or care to learn about. Because I wasn't motivated to spend time learning about this niche and because I was busy learning how to build a web page and get traffic, my first attempt failed miserably.

Lesson Learned: Either know about your niche or spend time learning about it. People are looking for "expert" information for a specific topic and don't want general information they already know.

A few mistakes later, I tried pay-per-click (ppc) advertising. And although I got clicks and even built a list, I hadn't learned my first lesson very well since I again was doing it in a niche I didn't really know or care about. As you may have guessed, it too failed and this time I lost money. (Losing money will make you really learn your lesson.)

After the ppc experience, I decided to stick with my true niche and avoid ppc, at least until I had more money to lose.

That decision lead me to 2 more of my mistakes which were: I bought solo advertising for affiliate products and used the pre-written sales material in the ads. I paid enough for my ads to go out to hundreds of thousands and got 0 sales. (There were no blogs or social networking sites back then so your results using these things may be different however, I'd still avoid using the pre-written sales and review material.)

Lessons Learned: Don't pay to advertise your affiliate link and don't use the pre-written sales material.

Now I might have made some sales if I hadn't used the pre-written material however I didn't have enough money then to try again so I didn't.

Not willing to give up, I decided to leave my comfort zone and create an actual ezine with information about my niche. This was a big and definitely scary step since it required knowing "expert" information and writing.

And of course writing content on a regular basis puts you at risk of sounding foolish and making grammatical and spelling mistakes. So guess what. While I've not been accused of being foolish, I've made plenty of grammatical and spelling mistakes. You've probably seen some of them.

Lesson Learned: If you provide good information and don't make too many mistakes in grammar and spelling your readers will accept that your not 100% perfect and only human. And this lesson can be applied to your web site too. (I've seen errors on "guru" sites and in some of their mailings, haven't you?)

Since then I've made other mistakes like waiting too long to try something new like using scripts to automate some tasks or site feature, wasting time on modifying a script that was way to big and complicated and forgetting to upload a thank you page. (Did the last 1 just yesterday.)

Lessons Learned:

1. Always keep learning and growing your business. If you've figured out how to build and upload a web page then you can figure out how to install and use a "small" script package or start a list.


2. Some tasks may require more time than you have to spend and need to be outsourced. (These tasks may have to wait until you have the money to hire someone.)


3. Always make it easy for people to contact you in case you make a mistake. Most will be nice when they write and they will allow you to correct your mistake. If they aren't nice, then fix the problem in a nice way and drop that person from your list. (You don't have to associate with rude people on- or off-line.)

Yesterday I again stepped out of my comfort zone and announced the FriendsWhoCare Christmas GiveAway. Since it has no affiliate program because there are no offers inside the giveaway and because most of you don't have a list to share our giveaway with, I am taking a gamble that many of you will decide to start a list and those who do have a list will donate a gift. I am also gambling that you will share our giveaway with others so lots of people can join our ad-free giveaway. Just like you worry when you try something new, I am worried that I am making a mistake, it won't work and I'll end up looking foolish.

But until your online business is as big and successful as you want it to be that's what having an internet business is all about. You have to venture out of you comfort zone. You have to take a chance. You have to have some successes and failures. You have to keep learning, growing and trying new things until you get to where you want to be.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you would like to take part in our giveaway but have never been a partner in a giveaway before and have questions about what to do or how to do it, contact me.

P.P.S. Feel free to leave a comment.

Tags: internet marketing mistakes, 7 internet marketing mistakes

How To Write Free Online Articles To Get Free Traffic To Your Website

You've undoubtedly heard that writing free online articles is 1 of the best ways to get free traffic to your website. Unfortunately, while free articles are 1 of the best free ways to get traffic, many people either don't write them or don't write them the correct way.

So how do you write an effective free online article that will be read and get you some of that free traffic to your website?

As you probably know, there are 5 things all free online articles must have:

1. Article Title
2. Introduction
3. Article Body
4. Conclusion
5. Resource Box

But did you know that there are 4 very important elements that must be included within those 5 things for every free online article that you write to get free traffic to your website?

And the 4 important elements to get free traffic to your website are:

1. Keywords and Keyword Phrases
2. Keyword Density
3. Good Content
4. A Link to Your Website

Let's examine each of these elements and how to use them effectively in your free online article.

Keywords and Keyword Phrases

Before you write your first word for your free online article you should find some keywords and keyword phrases that are relevant and use these keywords and keyword phrases within your article's title and text. The use of keywords and keyword phrases makes your free online article search engine friendly and easier for people to find.

Keyword Density

Keyword density is the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used within the title and content of your article. The number of times you use your keyword or keyword phrase will vary depending on the length of your article and should not be too high or too low. If you use your keyword too few times the search engines may ignore your free online article. If you use your keyword too many times the search engines may consider it a spam article and not display it.

Good Content

Obviously no one is going to take your free online article seriously if it doesn't contain good content. Likewise, you need to check your spelling and grammar. If you want readers to believe and trust you, you must provide good information in a well written way.

A Link To Your Site

If you're writing a free online article to get free traffic to your website then never, ever, forget to include a link to your site. For articles placed on your site, blog or social networking page, you can include your link within the text of your content. However, many free ezine article directories don't allow links within the article's content but do allow you to place your link in your resource (bio) box that appears at the end of your article. When people read your free article and like it some will click the link you've provided.

Writing free online articles is 1 of the most effective way to get free traffic to your website when done correctly. And doing it correctly isn't hard. It just takes knowing how and practice.

To Your Success,
Susan
http://www.friendswhocare.us/newsletter

P.S. When I write an article to get some free traffic to my website I use a tool that helps me find my keywords, research the topic, measure the keyword density and submit the article to ezine directories. You can read more about this tool at http://fwcreviews.blogspot.com/2007/05/instant-article-wizard-vs-article.html

P.P.S. Please feel free to leave a comment about this tip.

Tags: free articles, ezine articles, free traffic, website traffic, write articles to get free traffic, how to write articles to get free traffic

No Website, No List, No Product - No Sales?

When I started my online business in 2002 1 of the most popular and effective headlines for business opportunities was "You don't need a website, a list or even a product to ...". And guess what. That headline is still 1 of the most popular and effective ones used to get people to join things.

Now back in 2002 when I was first starting out that headline was true just like it is today. However there is 1 thing this no product, list or product headline doesn't tell you and not knowing this 1 thing is why most people using only free affiliate and opportunity web pages fail.

And the 1 thing is...

If you don't have any of these things you will have to either:

• Know how to effectively use and have enough money to use the pay-per-click advertising services that allow affiliate and business opportunity pages or
• Know how to use free social networking sites like blogs, MySpace or Squidoo effectively or
• Know how get traffic through forums or large classified ad sites or
• Know how to write effective articles and submit them to article directories or
• Know how to get others to drive traffic to your sales or opportunity page using partnerships or list building services.

And why do you need to know how to do 1 or more of these things effectively?

Because you need to get traffic to your free page just like those who own their own websites.

The only differences are that you have fewer choices on how to get that traffic and less bargaining power when it comes to making partnerships. (There is 1 other difference and that is you'll have a smaller conversion rate from the traffic you do get because you didn't have a chance to do any pre-selling.)

Now most people fall for the "No..." headline because it makes it sound like making money online is free and easy. But it's not.

If it's free - It's not easy!

If it's easy - It's not free!

And since most don't have the "big bucks" to make it easy, they go the free way.

Now there's nothing wrong with going the "free" way. It just takes more time and work and less anonymity.

And while most are willing to put in the time and work they choose to remain anonymous. They want to be a nameless person offering a fantastic product or opportunity that no one can refuse. They spend hours submitting free classifieds and surfing the traffic exchange programs and may even spend a few dollars on ezine ads.

And what do they get for all this work?

Very little or nothing.

To be successful online you need a name. And you need your name to be recognized by others as someone who is knowledgeable and trustworthy.

Spending all your time writing and sending anonymous ads for generic free affiliate and opportunity pages won't make you successful. You need to join into the global web community by offering good information with your name on it. Post to your community pages, submit articles, participate in forums, comment on blogs, anything! But get your name out in front of as many people as you can, as often as you can so it's recognized as someone who should be listened to.

Yes, it's true. To be successful online you do not need a website. You do not need a list. And you definitely don't need to have your own product. But you do need a name. It's after your name is recognized and you are trusted as a person who knows what they're talking about and offers good advice that your business will start becoming successful.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. You have 2 opportunities every month and 1 opportunity every week to get some name recognition in the FriendsWhoCare Newsletter. Are you using any of them?

P.P.S. What do you think about this tip? Please leave a comment.

Tags: no website, no list, no product, no sales, name branding, branding, traffic, free traffic, affiliate page, business opportunity

Is This 4 Letter Word Stopping You?

Today's tip comes in a free downloaded report that I received from David Bullock. There are no affiliate links and there is no sales pitch for any product. In fact, the only link in the report is the 1 for signing up for future updates however, this information is timeless.

Why I am passing on this free report rather than writing my own tip or re-writing his information? Because...

1. This report is short and well written. And as they used to say where I worked, "If it's not broke don't fix it." Since the report is "right on", it doesn't need fixed.


2. Like you, I can relate to David's statement that he included in his email to me about this report,
   "Did you know that for over 6 years.. I didn't make a dime online?.. nope it was zilch... nada... nothing..."



3. While I didn't go for over 6 years, I can relate to those dry spells where you don't make any money and again, this report is "right on.
   
   "This report really hit me. There's 1 bolded sentence in it that sums it up...
   
   "People who ... make money. People who ... don't."
   
   I'm not going to fill in the blanks. You'll have to read the report for that. But I'll say that these 2 statements should be printed out and put somewhere where you can read them every day. Oh, and don't try to guess what the missing words are because odds are, you'll guess wrong.

Get Report

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think of the information inside this free report.

Tags: free report, make money, why online businesses fail

"When Less Is More"

We've all heard the saying, "The more the better." And in internet marketing we've heard things like, "The more targeted traffic the better." "The more interested subscribers on your list the better." "The more content the better."

Unfortunately, the internet marketing mores don't always translate easily into what they really mean. For instance, "The more targeted traffic the better" actually means -
The more targeted traffic the better. And "The more interested subscribers on your list the better" means -
The more interested subscribers on your list the better.
While "The more content the better" should be read as -
"The more relevant content the better."

Sure, having lots of traffic and subscribers is a good thing. However, having 1,000,000 site visitors or subscribers who have no interest in what you're saying isn't worth as much as 500 targeted site visitors or 500 interested subscribers.

Taking this "less is more" concept a step further, let's look at content.

"Content is king" and "Search engines love new content" are 2 common phrases you hear in internet marketing advice. And while both these statements are true they leave out the most important concept - relevance.

Relevant content is the king and what search engines are looking for. Just because you, the owner of a site on gerbils, are also interested in small-engine-repair doesn't mean all gerbil enthusiasts are also interested. And just because you've decided to put content about small-engine-repair on your gerbil site doesn't mean it will help you with the search engines.

Expanding the "less is more" idea, let's look at ads on our index or home page. Now while some might think that if they put lots of ads for a wide variety of products on their main page then surely some of their site visitors will find something they want and buy it.

Wrong - Wrong - Wrong

Wrong because people recognize ads for what they are and don't like to be sold to.

Wrong because lots of ads give the impression that you're just out to sell them something.

Wrong because offering a wide variety of products just confuses people and makes them leave your site quickly.

As the internet keeps getting bigger and bigger every day, the "less is more" concept becomes more and more important. Just as in the field of medicine where doctors are specialists rather than general practitioners, the modern online marketer must also become a specialist in their carved out niche.

A few years ago the big names in internet marketing were able to take the general practitioner approach to online marketing because there wasn't much competition. Today this is no longer true and all the well known internet marketing gurus have become specialists and so must you.

No matter what niche you've chosen you must learn to apply the "less is more" principle to your business. Don't try to give everything to everyone because it can't be done. Instead, become a specialist who can provide the best content and products to those who are interested in the little chunk of the internet you've carved out for yourself.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. Rosalind Gardner, Brad Callen and Rob Benwell all know and use the "less is more" principle and are well know specialists in their respective niches.

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

Tags: traffic, targeted traffic, list, subscriber, build list, content, search engine, content is king, niche, target market, affiliate marketing.niche marketing

"The Worth Of A Word"

It's been said that a picture is worth a 1,000 words, but, how much is a word worth?

Homebased Your Super Power Mall Income romance read Love Free advertising tools Residual Income FriendsWhoCare Autoresponder Beginners Flyfishing poetry AffiliateMarketing wizardfreeclickgoldkey AffiliateMarketingSecrets CANDLES BestLookMeUp Marketing Pond Backdoor Common Sense Living The Whole Truth about Network Marketing free online mall FREE TRAFFIC Internet Marketing Foreclosures Natural Healing Chick-lit Foreclosure control the internet WomenMarketers

To discover how much a word is worth let's have a short internet advertising history lesson.

A little over 2 years ago a young college kid named Alex Tew launched a pixel page, http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/, and within 4 month he sold all his pixels and earned $1,000,000.

The minimum price to buy space on Alex's page was $100 and the advertiser was promised their pixels would be online until August 26, 2010.

Now if you take a look at the milliondollarhomepage your eyes may want to pop out because it's full of crowded colors, images, links, etc. In fact, many would consider it a web designers worst nightmare.

But...

By the time that page had sold all it's pixels it had a Google page rank of 7. And now, more than 2 years later, it still has a page rank of 6.

About a year after Alex's pixel page, Joel Comm's launched his 500 Words word cloud page. It was similar to the pixel page however, since search engines can't see picture, he offered to sell words, something search engines can see.

The base price for Joel's word cloud page was $100 although the average cost was usually closer to $200. Like the pixel page, this page was to last at least 5 years and it sold out quickly (within a month).

After Joel had set up his site he started to sell the software that created it and comments like these started to be seen on forums:

"These word cloud pages will NEVER replace PPC ads or affiliate banner ads". "How DARE Joel sell this script for so much money." (it IS a bit spendy at around $800, with two knockoff scripts out now under $200). "These pages are scams." "Advertisers beware - You won't get any traffic." "Google will ban these pages."

Well, it's been over 2 years for Alex's site and over a year for Joel's site and guess what? They are both still there and they both still have a decent page rank!

Now I didn't get in on either of these 2 pages so I can't tell you how much direct traffic you can get from advertising on them. What I can tell you is 1 of the real added benefits from having a link on either of them.

All those who made the 5 year investment of $100 or more now have a 1-way link to their site on a page with a very good page rank. If they spent $200 dollars to get a bigger, bolder or more colorful link that averages out to about $3.33 a month.

But because not all pixel and word cloud pages are created equally, here are

7 things you should consider before you rush out and start buying links

1. What is the theme of the page? The best traffic will come from a page with a specific target audience.


2. How is the page rank for the page? A page with a good page rank will be worth more.
   
3. How many links are being offered. If they are offering more than 100 links then the search engines will treat them like a link farm and they won't do to well.


4. What types of links are allowed? If they offer adult sites, do you want your link on the same page?


5. How does the page owner intend to get traffic to this page, especially after they've sold all the pixels or words?


6. Does the site offer content, a blog or a contest? These things will help in getting new traffic to the site and page.
   
7. Is the word cloud or pixel page visible on more than 1 page or site? The more the better for getting click-thrus.

So how much is a word worth?

On a page that has a good page rank and gets some good targeted traffic, a word can be worth a lot more than you have to pay.

To Your Success,
Susan

P.S. If you don't have the budget to buy a word on a word cloud page then don't. You're always welcome to get a free word with all the trimmings on our FriendsWhoCare word cloud.

Tags: word cloud, tag cloud, pixel ad