Is Viral Marketing that Important?
I’m going to be posting a couple part series on viral marketing and just how important creating your own report is in your internet marketing efforts, no matter what your niche. So let’s get started…
I personally think that viral marketing is one of the best tools in anyone’s internet marketing endeavors. I’m going to show you how to create a short report or eBook (don’t worry, it’s not going to be difficult, and you don’t even have to write any of it yourself if you don’t want to), let it loose on the net, and watch as it generates highly targeted traffic to your websites for years to come.
Just give away your report for free, with resell rights, and it will then be picked up by other marketers in the same niche, passed on, sold, and generally distributed and read by people all around the internet. Inside your report will be links, perhaps affiliate links or links to your websites, and everyone that reads your report will see them.
This is how it’s possible to make money directly from your report. You can use it to send traffic to your own products, affiliate products, your newsletter, membership site, or any site you wish!
In the past I’ve generated enough traffic from a single viral report to build a mailing list of a couple hundred subscribers in about a week and a half. It’s not difficult, but it does require a bit of effort.
This sounds good, right?
You may be thinking “why not sell the report instead?” And, yes, you could, but the whole point of viral marketing is the links which will be in your report. Yes some people will come along, take your free report, and sell it themselves, but that’s fine. That’s what you want. Sure, you could probably make some money by just selling the report yourself, but it’s not the best way to do it. You want the report to be seen by as many people as possible in order to gain maximum exposure, and that’s why the report should be free. Make sense?
But there’s another issue to consider first…
Why Being Free Isn’t Enough…
Many people believe that just because you’re giving away your report for free then it will become viral on it’s own. I believe this is a mistake, and here’s why: When we unleash our free report on the internet we’re looking for as many people as possible to resell it, give it away as a bonus, etc. As we just discussed, this is how the viral effect is created. But many free reports are very low quality. They contain poorly written, outdated or just plain wrong information, and they are stuffed full of links.
Think about it from another internet marketer’s point of view. Someone comes along and offers you a new report for free, and tells you that you’re free to resell it and distribute it as you please. Great. If you’re anything like a lot of internet marketers then you’ll be delighted that someone wants to give you a new product for free. But then you check it out and find that the book is only 6 pages long, contains 26 links, and is full of irrelevant or incorrect information. Would you be happy to sell that or pass it on to your subscribers? Me neither.
Which is why as well as being free, your report needs to contain high-quality, useful content that you’d be happy to give to a member of your own family. Your report doesn’t need to be particularly long, but it does need to be high quality. This is essential if you want your report to go viral. It isn’t difficult to do though, and we’re going to get to that in another post.
One other thing to consider is that people are essentially lazy, including other internet marketers 
Maybe lazy isn’t the right word, but I see many reports being given away which are very high quality and could do really well virally, but they don’t come with a sales letter. If someone wants to grab your report and resell it themselves (or give it away in return for opting into their mailing list, etc) then they would have to write their own squeeze or sales page. And while some people do this, the vast majority can’t be bothered. If you give them a ready-made sales page you’ll vastly increase the number of people who will want to resell or give away your report. You need to give them everything they need, and make it as easy for them as possible. The more people that distribute your report the better.
Next time we’ll get into choosing a topic for your report.
In the meantime, feel free to check out this Niche Marketing report.
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Nov 19th, 2009. Comment. 
Ideas To Boost Your Affiliate Commissions
Affiliate marketing is one of the simplest ways to start making money online. You don’t need your own website when starting out and you don’t have to deal with anything related to the product, including refunds. Simply join an affiliate program, promote the product, and earn your commissions
Let’s say for the sake of this post that you are already involved in an affiliate program. What would be the next thing you would want to do? Earn bigger commissions, right? So… how do you do that?
Here are some powerful tips on boosting your affiliate commissions…
Know the best program and products to promote. Obviously, you would want to promote a program that will enable you to achieve the greatest profits in the shortest possible time. In my last post, I discussed choosing the right affiliate program as there are several factors to consider. Choose the ones that have a generous commission structure, have products that fit in with your target audience and that has a solid track record of paying their affiliate easily and on time. If you cannot seem to increase your investments, dump that program and keep looking for better ones. You can be picky.
Write free reports or short ebooks to distribute from your site or blog. You will be competing with other affiliates that are promoting the same program so if you write a short report related to the product you are promoting, you will stand out from other affiliates. In your report, provide valuable information for free and if possible, add some recommendations about the products. You will establish credibility and your potential customers will see that.
Build your list! Get an autoresponder service and collect the email addresses of those who download your free ebooks. They have opted in to receive more emails from you and it is a known fact that people do not make a purchase the first time. You may have to send out your message more than just one time to make a sale – the follow up.
Also, set up a squeeze page. Get the contact information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor’s website. Redirect them to the sales page after they give you their email address in exchange for your free report/ebook. Keep in mind, you are basically providing free advertisement for the product owners because you get paid only when you make a sale. If you send prospects directly to the vendor site, chances are, you will lose them.
Publish an online newsletter or ezine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you know (your list) than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own newsletter. It also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with your subscribers since you will be providing them with quality information.
This strategy is a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If you continue to write informative articles, you will be able to build a sense of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your products.
Write strong pay per click ads. PPC marketing is one of the most effective means of advertising online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC campaigns, i.e. Google AdWords. Always monitor and test to see which ads are more effective and which ones to get rid. You can get some really great training at PPCClassroom.com.
Give these strategies a try…and watch the difference they will make to your commissions.
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Oct 20th, 2009. 4 Comments.
So Many Affiliate Programs! Which One Do I Choose?
I love affiliate marketing! It’s one of the best ways to get started in online marketing because you don’t need to create your own product. You can join an affiliate program, promote, and earn commissions which can certainly be a steady source of income.
The biggest question is “Which affiliate program should I choose?” There are so many different affiliate programs out there, that this can sometimes be a daunting task. I know in my case, I receive tons of emails everyday asking me to join this affiliate program, that affiliate program and promote their product. It certainly depends on what niche you are in, what you are passionate about, but once you’ve determined that, you should do your research before joining any affiliate program.
Ask questions first before you join an affiliate program. Get some answers because they will be the deciding point of what you will be achieving later on. Below are some ideas of what types of questions you should be asking.
Will it cost you anything to join? Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.
When do they issue the commission checks? Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued. Many affiliate programs are also done through Clickbank.com and they pay out every two weeks like clockwork.
What is the hit per sale ratio? This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and for how long do they remain in the system? You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors do not buy initially but may want to return later to make the purchase. You want to know if you will still get credit for the sale if it is done some months from a certain day.
What are the kinds of affiliate stats available? Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are already generated from your site.
Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions or leads besides the commissions on sales? This will, of course, add to the earnings you get from the sales commission.
Who is the online retailer, company, or individual? Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid opportunity. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer or individual offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that program is really for you and your site.
Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program? A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
Lastly, what is the amount of commission paid? Take a look at all figures and you’ll understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.
These are just some of the questions that needed answering first before you enter into an affiliate program. You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website and internet marketing portfolio.
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Oct 8th, 2009. 7 Comments.
3 Tips For A Successful Landing Page
I’m not going to lie to you. Affiliate marketing is hard if you don’t know what you’re doing. Sure it’s easy to sign up with all the affiliate merchants, collect your affiliate link and banners for as many products as possible with the intention of promoting all the products but it’s just not going to happen unless you have a proven strategy.
Here are 3 tips to help you create powerful landing pages that will not only add more buyers to your subscriber list but also rank you high in the search engine results page.
Tip 1 – Include a sign-up form to build a buyer’s list.
This is important! You want to collect the names and Emails of every single person that lands on your page. If they’ve happily given you their information you are allowed to follow–up with them and perhaps make more sales. Not only that but you’ll be able to build a database of trusted buyers who will respond highly to you in the future if you’ve got another interesting product to promote either as an affiliate or a product of your own!
Tip 2 – Include a bonus package for buying through you!
People actually ‘Google’ product names for reviews and bonuses. They want to see what exactly a product is about without all the hype and want to see what bonuses are available for that product. When they’ve made a decision to buy they want to see who’s offering the best bonus package. Make a mental note of this because this is your chance to shine and out-do your competition!
Tip 3 – Optimize your landing page for specific keywords!
Don’t waste your time trying to target the highly competitive keywords that all the mainstream websites are after. You’re much better off picking a handful of high-targeted keywords based around the product’s name, a review of the product’s name, problems with the product’s name, the product’s name with ‘bonus’, and so on. Add these keywords and phrases to your title tags, meta description tags, h1 tags, h2 tags and on the first and last paragraph of your page. Not only will you find it easier to rank highly in the search engine results page but you’ll be attracting the ‘buying’ traffic that you’re after.
Creating quality landing pages can really be time consuming I know…However, I have come across a great new site, Killer Preseller, where you can pick up a new free template every month for free. This is an excellent resource to get you started on creating top notch landing pages. You can check it out here – Killer Preseller.
landing pages, presell, affiliate marketing
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Oct 2nd, 2009. Comment.
Are You Missing Out On This Essential Element?
What do you think is the most important part of any business, project or personal venture?
Let me give you a clue, it’s something that many people often overlook, however, it is something that is absolutely essential to you if you want to have any chance of succeeding online.
Give up?
It is … Driving Traffic to your Website, Product or Project! Don’t you agree?
Without traffic you are all alone in the world!
Picture your traffic situation as a shopping mall that is deserted. If there are no people in the mall then there will be nobody to buy anything from the shops, if the shops do not make any sales than they will have to close down.
Do you want your website or business to close down? I didn’t think so!
Let’s face it … There’s not much point having a superb website, product or shop if nobody actually knows that it exists, is there!
Many people often think that traffic will automatically start flowing to their website as soon as they launch it.
Well, they are dead wrong!
Have you ever wondered how all the big names in Internet Marketing get loads and loads of visitors to their websites and products? Well, I’ll tell you this, the visitors do not ‘magically’ appear at their websites, they have to be ‘guided’ there.
What you need to do is to give visitors directions, you need to show them how to find you and drive them to your website, product or auction using ‘Targeted Traffic Methods’.
The only way that traffic will come to your website or product is if you give it a helping hand. Let me extend the helping hand that you need: Total Web Traffic…
I know a lot of people are not savvy with the whole web traffic scene, that’s why Total Web Traffic different. It is targeted on beginners and offers a whole range of great methods, advice, tips, tactics and information. Even if you have never used any traffic methods before in your life, you will find this traffic course really easy to follow.
Total Web Traffic is a web traffic course that is targeted on beginners, so if you have never used traffic generation before, now is the time to start.
Even if you have an established and well known website you really should be using the types of methods shown in Total Web Traffic. Let’s face it, why settle for a few hundred if you can have a few thousand, and why settle for a few thousand when you can have a few hundred thousand visitors.
This really is a great program that absolutely anyone can use, go take a look for yourself and also let me let you in on a little surprise…I’ve managed to secure a nice 50% discount off the normal price, but this is strictly for a limited time only, so don’t miss out. You can check it all out right here – Total Web Traffic!
You won’t regret it!
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Sep 8th, 2009. Comment.
This Video on Traffic is INSANE…
Okay, so this past Thursday, my friend Chuck Mullaney and I put together one killer webinar – all on TRAFFIC! It was a tremendous chance to get step by step methods for generating targeted traffic (which is everything) to your offers. You guys should know by now, I love any secrets I can get my hands on when it comes to traffic, and I can tell you this webinar was nothing short of awesome.
Chuck revealed why MOST people out there lose money with Pay Per Click advertising, why most advertisements suck and how you can turn that around in five minutes flat. Plus so much more.
So here’s the deal, if you missed the webinar, this is your Last Chance to view it for free.
In fact, not only is this video insane, but you’d be insane to not click this link and watch that video. I have already had a ton of emails from folks who watched the video and they are totally psyched about this thing.
After reading those emails, I contacted Chuck and told him that there’s no way he can just close this thing right now. I asked him to keep this webinar alive, at least for a little while so those that missed it can view it. I told him that my peeps were going nuts for this information and not to pull it down. Guess what? He agreed!!
So, lucky for you, you have another opportunity to view this awesome webinar on traffic. I’m telling you, it was great.
So, stop everything you are doing right now. Yes, seriously… Put the kids to bed, close the door, shut down all those tabs you have open in your browser and hold on to your mouse, because this is a Must See Video! Hey, there’s even been some “gurus” (you know the ones – with the fancy lifestyles) saying that they jumped on this…
Go ahead…sprint over to this video. Like a saying from one of my favorite movies – Run Forrest, run!
=> Right here!
Filed under affiliate marketing by on Sep 5th, 2009. Comment.
Creating Audio and Video Products
Quite often in internet marketing when people think about product creation they automatically think ‘ebook’ or ‘report,’ but that can be a big mistake – limiting your products to this one thing. I realize that when just starting out in product creation, an ebook or report is probably the easiest way to go. After that though, and especially with how important audio and video have become in online marketing, you should consider creating your own audio or video products. In a previous post, I talked about creating the interview product, which of course can fall into the audio product category as well.
Let’s look at some reasons why you should be creating audio, video, and even physical products.
** Audio Recording:
Some people hate reading ebooks and would much prefer to buy an audio product where they can instead listen to the information being offered. So if you only offer ebooks then you’re limiting your market. You also need to consider the fact that audio products usually have a much greater perceived value which can help to increase your sales.
Many people are discouraged from creating an audio product however because maybe they feel embarrassed at their own voice being recorded, and that’s perfectly understandable, however the more you do it the easier it becomes. A great way to overcome this is to have someone else asking you questions on the recording. This makes it easier because you don’t feel like you’re the one talking all the time! Of course you could interview someone else and let them do all the talking – and this is a great way of creating a quality product.
** Video Product:
This is another product creation option to consider, and probably has an even higher perceived value than audio. Video products are becoming more and more popular online, and are hot! This will likely only increase further still in the future.
One idea would be to create a Camtasia presentation, or if you feel comfortable with it you could also talk to the camera.
** Creating a Physical Product:
Just because you’re an internet marketer it doesn’t mean that you can’t create and sell physical products. Why not put your audio or video product onto a DVD? You could also do this with an eBook on CD or DVD. That’s what I do – put ebooks on cds and sell them as physical products. I manage to do the work myself but there are companies out there that will do this for you, and they will even handle the distribution to your customers. This is a wonderful way of adding value to your product, and people really like to receive something in the post that they can actually hold.
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Filed under affiliate marketing by on Sep 4th, 2009. Comment.
Have You Ever Made JV Partners from eBay?
If you take a look at my last post, I did a product review of JV Auction Profits. Well, I’m here to talk about it again. It’s such a wonderful concept! When I first heard about JV Auction Profits, my first thought was what?? because I have never seen anything like this before and was wondering where John Thornhill gets his ideas from?
Now, as most of you know, I sell on eBay, not in great quantities by all means but enough to get the attention from others sellers. The emails I received to ask me to JV with them I just ignored as it was eBay, but John has stumbled on a technique or a way rather to harness the power of gaining that extra profit from eBay without any fees or eBay rules which we all know change like the weather.
I can’t (for legal reasons) list all these great techniques John uses to create income streams but I can let you know he earned over $35000 alone by doing a few minutes work per week, coordinating with other sellers from eBay and generating friendships and leads throughout the world.
It’s not rocket science but most people simply take eBay at face value and never think of the inner potential and how it can skyrocket their business. John will show you how to harness the full power of eBay and make you money you never thought possible from your business.
If you are thinking ‘I don’t sell eBooks and I know John does. My business is X’ – This makes no difference at all in anyway. The fact is if you are a newbie, small seller, large big time seller, Powerseller, non Powerseller, the differences mean nothing. Everyone who is anyone that sells on eBay has the potential to utilize this information that John is providing to maximum effect and John shows you how to do it using real life examples.
I’ve read the report – It is simply a legitimate way to boost your business and take some more money to the bank.
This is PERFECT for any eBay seller what ever you sell.
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2k a week! Awesome content!
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Filed under affiliate marketing by on Aug 16th, 2009. Comment.
JV Auction Profits – Product Review
I’m sure many of you know or have heard of John Thornhill. If by chance you haven’t, John is an eBay expert. Some may even call him (much to his denial) a GURU. The truth of the matter is, he is infact – no matter which way you look at it – one of the guys to watch and learn from when it comes to ‘making moves’ on eBay and making money from home. When John has an idea and it goes public you can definitely expect guys to follow. When the digital delivery ban came into effect all eyes were on John for his next move. For the guys who know him and follow his techniques, we all know his advice and tips and second to none and are truly invaluable. Learning from him and watching him in action has changed my life…one brilliant idea after another…
Which leads me to his next product, one which I found quite surprising to say the least. Not in a bad way, but in a way which made me think to myself and wonder why he would let such a secret out of the bag and share with others. There are times when silence is golden so to speak and keeping things a secret to make money, don’t you think? However this is John Thornhill we are talking about and to this day he still lives with the same rule of share all your info with all your supporters and everyone wins! And to this day John is making more money than ever. Just to give you a little insight into how much John earned last year from this technique alone was over $35000. Yep a small amount of work per week generated this for him.
So what is JV Auction Profits all about? Well without giving too much away this is certainly going to be the best $10 you have spent this year. It has the potential to make you thousands of dollars if you fit the criteria which is outlined below…
To qualify for the info you need:
1, An eBay account or the ability to open one.
2. A little drive to put some work in (nothing falls on your lap for free)
3. You may have to admit that you’ve wasted a lot of your life working for the wrong
person. Now it’s time to start working for the right person – YOU.
Now for this to work:
You DON’T need a product.
You DON’T have to have experience with John’s system
You DON’T need any money to set this up
John will show you how he does it using real life examples
You don’t have to write an eBook. This is NOT about writing eBooks!
John will explain fully how you can do the same as he does and take more cash to the bank.
So, this is not about selling – it is about watching and without giving to much away all you need to do find people with the same business interests as you to make this work. This is why it works for you, me and every other eBay seller on the planet and that’s a lot of people to JV with.
If you are a seller, I would definitely say you have a leg up on the rest but what John teaches is so versatile we can all use it.
Unfortunately, I am limited to what I can disclose here as this report is so informative, but also know that John has given everyone the opportunity to refund in full if you are not satisfied with the outcome. The returns on your investment will clearly blow the $10 spent away this I know for a fact, so invest today and put this invaluable info into action. I have read the report, (yes, I was blown away ) and am beginning to implement this exact system.
Wishing you awesome success!
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Filed under affiliate marketing by on Aug 9th, 2009. 2 Comments.
