Happy (butterfly) Marketer!

Why Every Internet User Should Join ALGOCO

2007-01-03T12:48:00.000-05:00

I recently joined AGLOCO because of a friend recommended it to me. I am now promoting it to you because I like the idea and I want you to share in what I think will be an exciting new Internet concept.

AGLOCO's story is simple:

Do you realize how valuable you are? Advertisers, search providers and online retailers are paying billions to reach you while you surf. How much of that money are you making? NONE!

AGLOCO thinks you deserve a piece of the action.

AGLOCO collects money from those companies on behalf of its members. (For example, Google currently pays AOL 10 cents for every Google search by an AOL user. And Google still has enough profit to pay $1.6 billion dollars for YouTube, an 18-month old site full of content that YouTube’s users did not get paid for!

AGLOCO will work to get its Members their share of this and more.

AGLOCO is building a new form of online community that they call an Economic Network. They are not only paying Members their fair share, but they’re building a community that will generate the kind of fortune that YouTube. But instead of that wealth making only a few people rich, the entire community will get its share.

What's the catch? No catch - no spy ware, no pop-ups and no spam - membership and software are free and AGLOCO is 100% member owned. Privacy is a core value and AGLOCO never sells or rents member information.

So do both of us a favor: Sign up for AGLOCO right now! Click here -
Sign up for AGLOCO! (If you use this link to sign up, I automatically get credit for referring you and helping to build AGLOCO.)

The bigger the AGLOCO network gets, the more valuable every Member becomes, and the more you make from the system. The larger AGLOCO is, the better our ability to generate revenue for our Members.

Thanks

happy marketer

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technorati link
AGLOCO
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Own The Internet

2006-11-26T00:20:00.000-05:00

Readers,

I just signed up to be part of AGLOCO™ , an Internet economic network launched few hours ago. Basically, AGLOCO™ gives its Members part of the money they (as Internet users) generate. Their slogan is 'Get Your Share of the Internet'. They are also giving the entire company to the Members (it is a 100% Member owned entity.) -- You get more cash and shares if you refer new Members, which is one of the reasons I’m posting this information.

AGLOCO™ Membership is free. Among the founders there are Stanford students and also the couple who launched AllAdvantage in 1999, which had millions of Members and paid out over $100 million to them. So it has a chance of working... Best of all, there is nothing that the users can lose, because all they do is – sign up, invite friends to join and use the internet normally.

So, click on this link AGLOCO and sign up now. This link will automatically give me credit when you sign up – if it does not work use my id# BBBC0447. Once you sign up, you may check owntheinternet.com for some cool ideas on how to build your network of contacts fast.

happy marketer

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technorati link
agloco
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Affiliate Project X

2006-10-10T17:35:00.000-04:00

Affiliate Project X is unlike anything I have ever seen.

If you are an affiliate marketer, or are even thinking
about it, this resource is something you must have.

It will save you a ton of time, disappointment, and money.

But, as with all things Internet, the early bird gets the worm. Don't wait too long or the special offer will be gone. Or - worse -
your competition will already have it.

Affiliate Project X

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technorati link
Affiliate Project X
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Attracting Super Affiliates and Creating Joint Ventures just got a lot easier

2006-09-20T12:58:00.000-04:00

Just in case you didn't know -

One of THE the fastest ways to generate traffic and sales is to tap into the power of someone else's email list and have them do a mail-out promoting your product. Of course, the goal here is to get a well-known Internet Marketer, sometimes referred to as a "Super Affiliate" (SA) to send an e-mail for you. These SAs are very busy, and generally may not respond to every offer they receive. That's why yours must stand out from the rest.

So, the question is, "How do I find and contact one of these "Super Affiliates" that has a big list?"

Answer:
Neil Shearing's Spider software makes finding "power players" simpler than ever. It's a very easy to use piece of software that makes child's play out of grabbing great Joint Venture partners and Super Affiliates.

What the Spider does FOR you –
· Finds Super Affiliates for any website

· One simple download, and no fees for ongoing patches. (In fact, all current customers got a free upgrade to the brand new Version 3.0)

· Use the "Irresistible Formula" to get Super Affiliates to work with you

· Watch your profits go bananas as the professionals start promoting your product to their lists

· See your search engine ranking soar as the power players link to you!

Ready to "hire" your Super Affiliate?
Spider Software

happy marketer

P.S. About Neil Shearing...
Neil's been online for over a decade and has an excellent reputation for honest business online. In fact, he founded the ScamFreeZone in 1997 to help people make money online without falling victim to scams. That's why I am happy to endorse his software.

Get the Spider crawling for you today -
Spider Software

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technorati link
spider software
neil shearing
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Get your FREE copy of Derek Gehl's tele-seminar!

2006-09-12T17:43:00.000-04:00

Hello reader -

Wow, I just finished listening to Derek Gehl's FREE tele-seminar...

... Okay, actually, I had to listen to a recording of it because the 'live' call was completely FULL and I kept getting a busy signal despite the fact that Derek had opened up 500 extra lines.

Anyway, this call featured an interview with Amanda Montoya, who attended one of Derek's Internet marketing boot camps, made some changes to her website, newsletter, and business automation -- and DOUBLED her annual income in 3 days with an email promotion that generated over $100,000.

... And it's really great information!

So, I wanted to let all of my subscribers know that Derek has just made a recording of this call available as a FREE download, so you can listen to it, too...

Go to Derek's Tele Seminar

-- fill out the registration form and you'll instantly have access to the free recording of this call, plus the details of 2 more FREE tele-seminars Derek is hosting this week.

I highly recommend it!

happy marketer

P.S. Please note... Derek has told me that seating for each call will be strictly limited to 500 callers -- if you miss the cut-off, you'll get a busy signal like I did! So make sure you call EARLY to avoid disappointment!

Register at Derek's Tele Seminar
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derek gehl
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Your Name As A Domain Name?

2006-08-23T16:20:00.000-04:00

I have a quick question for you. Who do you “listen to” online? By that, I mean, what other online marketers do you feel you "know" and respect? Whose articles and advice do you take most seriously?

If you've been in the online marketing arena more than a few weeks, I'm sure you've noticed there are some names that stand out. Everyone has his or her favorites. These are the men and women that everyone else looks up to.

Any project they touch seems to turn to gold. With just a few mouse clicks, they can reel in 5 figures overnight. They're rainmakers.

Do you wish the same were true of you?

In addition to obvious skills in marketing, A LOT of these people's successes can be attributed to the fact that they have spent much time and effort in branding themselves as online marketing leaders. They write articles, they get their name out there for people to see, and they make sure to provide only great information to their contacts.

The Internet is largely based on the flow of information, so it should come as no surprise that the people with the best information on any particular subject are the people who are sought out by others.

As an online and network marketer, no single thing will give you a bigger jump towards success than to make yourself known. It's a huge advantage.

Many have registered their own name as their domain name. That's a smart move. If you haven't considered doing that yourself, and your name is still available, consider grabbing it before it's gone. I recommend this company (GDI). Registration is easy, and website tools are included. Do it while your name is available. GDI

Here are a few pointers that will help you brand yourself and make other people want to do business with you.

1) Make a web site about you, with all of your contact information available.

2) Write some good, original articles that are relevant to what you are promoting online and make them available to your website visitors.

3) Put your picture online! It's been said that people are three times more likely to believe what you are saying when they have a face to put with the words. At least in theory, by letting your visitors see the real you, you'll be able to signup three times more people or sell three times more product. Even if that's not 100% accurate, you'll still benefit.

4) When you use and like a product that's sold online, ask the seller if you can write them a great testimonial for use on their website. Be sure to include your picture and the link to your site.

5) Start a mailing list and keep your contacts updated on what you're doing, what you like and even what you dislike online.

6) Join some popular online marketing forums and offer help and assistance to people who are struggling through issues you've already dealt with. Always include your entire name.
You want to brand “Your Name”, nothing less.

7) Next time you get an email, don't reply with just an answer. Ask the person you're writing to how they're doing. Let them know you really care and you're not ONLY online to make money.

8) Always use a signature file that includes a link to your personal website in your emails.

There are hundreds of ways you can increase your exposure online. These are just a few simple ones you can start doing almost immediately to increase your sphere of influence. By finding your niche, learning about it and sharing great information about it, you'll start being recognized as an expert in your own right.

Then, people will start seeking YOU out, and your marketing business will grow to new heights.

P.S. Don’t forget - register your name as a domain, and get the tools to build your site at the same time – Just go here: GDI

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domains
gdi
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Residual Income - My 2 Favorite Words

2006-08-22T17:24:00.000-04:00

I know you've heard of residual income – you know, making a sale one time, but then earning monthly income from it for life? That's the ticket to success on the Internet –

With income in mind, do you know one of (if not THE) best ways to build passive residual income online (passive just means you won't have to do any more work after the initial sale)? I'll give you a hint...

It has to do with having your own Membership Website.

Wait! Before you jump ship, I know what you're thinking –
"That would be great...but it's WAY too much work!"

You're right – it is a lot of work! That's what I thought too, until today...

If you've ever wanted to start a membership site (the best way to earn passive residual income), but didn't know how, or - wanted someone else to do the work, this is YOUR day!

Just click on "My Money-Making Membership Site" for all the details -

happy marketer

P.S. Check out the screenshot that shows 50k from ONE membership website in just 30 days.
Click Here for 50k

P.S.S. There's a valuable bonus for quick action!
Quick Action!

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membership websites
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The Most Powerful and Useful Software to be Released in Quite Some Time - and it's FREE to Boot!

2006-07-28T18:00:00.000-04:00

(If you haven't yet taken a look at this valuable piece of software with a free version that is as powerful as anything I've seen, then you are just really missing out on yet another great opportunity.
HyperVRE )

When I recommend something like HyperVRE it isn't because I'm crossing my fingers and hoping to get rich. It's because it's brilliant and meets my standards as a residual income generator. Also:

1) It has a powerful free version you can download immediately.

2) The upgrade is reasonable and one-time, not monthly. The value it delivers for a one-time upgrade is beyond compare.

3) It utilizes Google Adsense, which is hot and proven, providing you with a steady residual income for years to come. The one-time upgrade allows you to generate Clickbank, Amazon and PaydotCom commissions as well.

4) It has no viable competition. And it's owner, Matt Callen has already proven himself with other products.

5) See #1 (A powerful free version)

I'm not just pitching you - I'm URGING you --
Get out of the Internet marketing poor house!

Download your free copy right now and you can literally have 1000s of pages with your Adsense code on them in the next 36 hours, earning you residual income for years to come.

Don't believe me? Get a grip! It's free for cripes sake!

Download it here:
HyperVRE

P.S. If you need hosting to set up your website(s), I highly recommend this company. There's even a 7-day free trial period:
Hosting

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technorati link
HyperVRE
Matt Callen
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The 5 Reasons Why You Must Get Into the Software Industry Today

2006-07-07T12:51:00.000-04:00

by Mike Chen

If you’re in business on the web, no matter what industry you're in, it's absolutely vital that you either sell software, or offer free software, to your customers.

By the time you are done reading this article, you will understand why.

1. "It's the Product, Stupid"

No amount of marketing "how to" is going to make up for not having a killer product.

People are sick of being told how to do it. They want something that will "do it" for them.

Software does just that ... It *does* things for people.

Stop trying to sell "how to" and start selling instant solutions.
That's where the real money is.

2. Downloadable Viral Marketing Tools

OK, so you don't want to sell software. Fair enough.

You're crazy if you don't use software as a viral marketing tool.

Many of the largest lists on the Internet were built using free software downloads as an enticement for subscribing. Ever hear of hotmail.com? It was built by giving away free e-mail accounts (software).

You can easily add viral twists to these tools, and before you know it – hundreds, or even thousands of sites could be offering your free software - becoming virtual newsletter subscriber magnets.

What if you created just one new tool like that a week - or just one a month?

How big would your list be inside of 6 – 12 months?

3. Create Value-Added Customer Helper Apps

What if you were to create applications that simply added value to your existing products and services?

How much higher would your customer satisfaction be if you created various software tools to teach, train, support, or otherwise help your customers?

How many more sales would that added customer satisfaction generate for you without any additional effort year after year?

4. Up sell Products

As you probably know, selling new products to existing customers is the easiest way in the world to make money.

It's 5 times easier to sell to an existing customer than it is to acquire a new one.

Why not create new products using "Make Your Own Software" and sell them to your existing customer base?

Instant profits.

5. Highest Profit Margins in the World

Electrons are free!

If you're selling an instantly downloadable product, your product fulfillment costs are virtually nil.

Plus, in the software industry there is no inventory to manage, so it's probably the easiest business in the world to manage as well.

If you want more information about making your own software to sell or give away, click on this link:

I heartily recommend it –

happy marketer

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technorati link
make your own software
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George's Adsense Dime Sale

2006-06-27T17:03:00.000-04:00

Dear reader -

I have some astonishing and exciting news today.
Real shocking stuff...

I learned that George Pluss increased his autopilot income from $69 to $75 per day doing nothing...

Did you hear about the dime sale that he did in May? I missed it, but heard it was a HUGE success - lots of money changed hands, and none of it was mine :(

Well, Adsense Dime Sale #3 just started!

This is what you'll see:
- Exact daily stats for May 2006 and how they increased
- What types of sites you MUST have to get paid like George
- The ACTUAL sites that bring cash day in and day out

On top of that you'll learn:
How YOU can start in the same business for as low as ONE CENT a piece!

If you thought the first or second was good, that was nothing compared to what George has planned this time. It has all the above and tons more, no kidding! And also he is revealing how and why his earnings increased this year.

You should just see for yourself:

One more exciting thing -
With this Dime Sale it's wise to invest also because it actually brings instant income to you.

You see, you can lock the price to the lowest it will ever be. Then you grab the package, get your referral link and blast the prewritten ad copy.

With only one sale you will be in profit, because it will definitely be more than you paid (remeber, you locked the lower price) AND 100% of each and every sale is paid to you, instantly!

Go to this link and do it now:

Can you send 50 visitors to the site? Yea - you can do that -
Then you could be making 10 sales at $5-$10 or maybe $15 each. George does not keep anything! Just send visitors and all profits are yours. This can easily be the fastest cash you'll ever see.

It sounds crazy but right now you have all the chances to get double value and make loads of fast cash with an "investment" of only 10 cents (or whatever cheap price it may have risen to).

You gotta take advantage now because this may be the last time George does this. Click here to lock your price. No obligation, and at least you'll see those shocking stats!

Sincerely,

happy marketer
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technorati link
george pluss
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Building Your Downline with a "Viral" Recruiting System

2006-06-14T16:51:00.000-04:00

The toughest part of building an online business (at least from an affiliate point of view) is HOW to build a downline that will duplicate your efforts, and grow on its own. We call that a VIRAL downline, and it is simply "the cat's pajamas" in the Internet marketing world!

I'll elaborate further -

Let me start off by explaining the biggest benefit of providing your downline members with a viral recruiting system.

It boils down to this...

When you have a viral marketing system in place for your team members, your downline has the potential to take on a life of its own and continue to grow effortlessly while you're focusing on more important things such as family and friends.

A gentleman I recently discovered managed to accomplish the difficult task of duplication while maintaining his full time job and family life.

He mentioned that ever since the beginning of his online ventures he was searching for a system that brought interested prospects in automatically.

He didn't have time to do the traditional recruiting methods because they required a lot of time and commitment.

What he wanted instead, was a huge downline that duplicated on auto-pilot from his part time efforts.

"But did such a solution exist?"

If it did, he said he couldn't find it...

So after many years of struggling to build a solid residual income through network marketing he decided it was time to take the bull by the horns (so to speak) and he created a 3 step marketing system that literally exploded his downline within a few months.

The part that amazed me the most was the fact that he didn't spend a dime on advertising. And his downline is now over 5,700 strong and growing monthly on auto-pilot.

Ultimately I learned that being a successful sponsor involves providing some type of system that helps people build their business, not sitting around wondering why your downline isn't doing anything.

I guess the quote from Zig Ziglar holds true:

"You can have everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want."

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If you would like to learn more from James, he is allowing a limited number of people to download a copy of his manuscript: "7 Secrets To Building A Productive Downline!" Download your FREE copy here:
7 Steps to Downline Success!
(It really is free)

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downline
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"How to Eat, Sleep, and Breathe like an Internet Marketing Genius"

2006-06-07T11:18:00.000-04:00

"How to Eat, Sleep, and Breathe like an
Internet Marketing Genius:

What I Learned from My Good Friend and Colleague, Corey Rudl -- Genius Internet Marketer, Inspirational Leader, and Mentor to Thousands."

By Derek Gehl

============================================================

Last June, in the few weeks immediately following the announcement of Corey Rudl's tragic car-racing accident, our office received over 16,000 e-mails of support and condolence... and easily over 1,000 phone calls.

The entire IMC Team worked overtime, responding to every e-mail and phone message, one at a time, so we wouldn't miss anyone's questions or comments.

"Thanks" didn't seem an adequate response to the overwhelming support and caring shown us.

(It was a rather humbling experience, really... )

On June 2, 2005, Corey Rudl, a teacher, mentor, cheerleader, HIGHLY successful Internet marketer, and especially friend, died suddenly and tragically in an auto crash. How could someone so young, 34, at the height of his success, both personally and professionally -- someone who inspired 1,000s of people to pursue and achieve their personal best -- be taken from us so soon? Too soon...

You see, a question that keeps appearing in e-mails from everyone is, "How can I be like Corey?"... "How can I think like Corey?"

It seems many of you are interested in learning MORE than his secrets to Internet marketing -- you want to learn how to be "like" him.

So I'm going to give you a bit of insight into Corey's philosophies for business, success, and life.

These are a collection of the five most profound lessons I learned from Corey over the last eight years of partnering with him, some of which he loudly expressed to me (Corey talked loud and fast when he got excited)... and some he quietly but effectively shared through his living example.

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Lesson #1: Failure doesn't "happen"; it's a choice.

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In Corey's mind, there were only two ways you could "fail." You could give up and quit. Or you could decide not to learn from your mistakes.

Corey believed failure was a choice. So Corey never failed.

He tested new ideas. He learned from what worked, and what didn't. Then he applied those lessons to his next test or idea, and he kept doing this until he got results he was satisfied with.

Sure Corey made mistakes... Yeesh, I still cringe when I think of a $90,000 mistake we made several years ago. And sure, Corey would get really ticked off when stuff went wrong.

But Corey was also always the first person to seek out the positive in every bad situation and say, "Well, what did we learn from this?"

... And, more important, "Will we do it again?"

Corey firmly believed every costly lesson was going to result in exponentially greater success in the long term.

And he was right.

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Lesson #2: Assume nothing, test everything

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Corey had zero respect for people who were content to assume. To him, it was a mark of laziness. So something everyone quickly learned when working with him was to deal in nothing but the facts.

If Corey asked a question, and you didn't know the answer, it was one thousand times better to say, "I'll look into it and get back to you," than "I think this might be the answer," or "I assume this is right."

Theories, assumptions, and guesses were the enemies of success as far as Corey was concerned. He believed you should either go straight to the source for the answers (even if that means paying thousands of dollars in consulting fees) or test it yourself.

And as Corey taught me, sometimes you even need to test the "facts." For example...

... A marketing strategy that you tested and proved to work as little as a month ago may be a complete dud today. (Retesting is ALWAYS worth the effort.)

... The customer demographics you collected through a survey last year may have drastically changed. (Are they buying your products for DIFFERENT reasons now?)

... And some of the most interesting statistics may be based on flawed data. (Always read the "fine print," and if there isn't any, ask for it!)

Before you make decisions, ask questions. Assume nothing. Test everything.

And don't be afraid of offending someone -- even an "expert" -- by questioning their logic. The true experts will applaud you for this. And your questions will expose the imposters for who they really are -- wannabes.

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Lesson #3: Make opportunities to learn, and take notes.

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It would be difficult to calculate exactly how much Corey spent on educational materials each year... but I've done the math and know it was roughly in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Corey was constantly reading... On airplanes, on holidays, in between meetings -- he was absolutely relentless. He would read every business book, article, course, and marketing campaign he could get his hands on.

And Corey didn't just read material related to Internet marketing; he made a point of studying OTHER industries, too -- both online AND offline. He was always looking for new strategies and marketing ideas that he could pluck from other industries and apply to his businesses.

It was all this reading that would frequently spark his "genius" ideas...

But I think the key to this secret is that Corey made TONS of notes about everything he read and kept all his thoughts in a couple of "master project documents" that he'd refer back to every month, looking for new ideas (they were literally hundreds of pages long).

That way, even if an idea didn't work today, he had record of it so he could refer back to it sometime in the future.

Corey knew that "genius" doesn't just happen -- you need to look for opportunities to learn, and keep track of your thoughts. Your best ideas will frequently be sparked by new information, or new approaches to old information.

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Lesson #4: Seek out great teachers, and be a great listener.

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Corey firmly believed that if you want to fast-track your success, it's critical to learn from those who have gone before you... even if you just have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.

So Corey made a point of seeking out teachers and mentors, and asking for their advice whenever he had the opportunity -- even if that meant paying hefty consulting fees for their guidance.

As far as Corey was concerned, you should always learn from the best. Find people who are getting the results YOU want to achieve, and ask them to mentor you.

And Corey was never afraid to ask "great people" for advice...

He was never concerned about looking dumb. And he never needed to be the smartest guy in the room. Corey was always focused on learning. So he was a student of everything... and almost everyone.

Corey was always asking people around him for feedback... What mistakes was he making? How could he improve as a leader? As a marketer? How could he be a better public speaker?

It takes guts to ask the people around you for feedback. But it takes wisdom to openly listen and learn from it.

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Lesson #5: Define your own success and live with passion.

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Corey's biggest frustration was that so many of his clients and subscribers just let life "happen" to them. I can't tell you how many times I heard him rant over the years, "They have dreams... but they don't set GOALS! Why don't they set goals and take action???"

One of the most inspirational things about being around Corey was his belief that absolutely anyone can be successful.

You just had to meet Corey once to know he wasn't just spouting the "anybody can start a profitable Internet business" line because it sounded good.

His enthusiasm... his actions... every word he spoke demonstrated his core belief that absolutely anyone can be successful.

You can learn anything... be anything... do anything.

If you decide that your age, background, and education limit your potential, they will. But if you decide that you can do anything, you will...

Corey really believed that you just need to set goals that you're excited about, and then take persistent action.

It's absolutely shocking what ONE step a day... just 10 minutes a day... one hour a day... can accomplish over one month... three months... six months.

Just imagine where YOU would be in six months if you dedicated even 20 minutes a day to working on your business... learning new strategies... or building a "swipe file" of marketing ideas!

Success isn't determined by genetics. It's about persistent, consistent action. And Corey really got that.

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Final Thoughts:

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Honestly, I could write a book about what it was like teaming up with Corey for the last eight years... and perhaps one day I will. It was one helluva ride...

Today, though, I wanted to give you at least SOME insight into Corey's personal philosophies for business success because I'm hoping they will inspire you to...

* Choose success
* Test something new today
* Make opportunities to learn
* Seek out great teachers
* Define your goals, and take action to reach them

These are the philosophies that Corey inspired the entire IMC Team to run his company with... and these are the philosophies that we are continuing to move forward with.

Corey's legacy wasn't just cutting-edge marketing strategies or industry leading software -- it was the inspiration he shared with thousands of "real people."

And that's the legacy I personally plan to continue.

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If you want to find out what’s new, and what’s going on with Derek and the gang at the IMC, just visit here:
The Internet Marketing Center

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internet marketing
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These Ladies Are Funny - Dangerous, But Funny

2006-02-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

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Two elderly women were out driving in a large car--both could barely see over the dashboard. As they were cruising along, they came to an intersection. The stoplight was red, but they just went on through. The woman in the passenger seat thought to herself, "I must be losing it. I could have sworn we just went through a red light".

After a few more minutes, they came to another intersection and the light was red again. Again, they went right through. The woman in the passenger seat was almost sure that the light had been red but was really concerned that she was losing it. She was getting nervous and decided to pay very close attention to the road and the next intersection.

At the next intersection, sure enough, the light was red and they went on through. So, she turned to the other woman and said, "Mildred, did you know you went three red lights in a row...you could have killed us both!"

Mildred turned to her and said, "Oh sh**! Am I driving?"
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jokes
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Some Guys Really Know How To Have Fun!

2006-01-24T16:09:00.000-05:00

Next time you do something REALLY stupid and start
feeling down on yourself, just remember - it could
be MUCH worse!

Check out this video for a healthy dose of laughter!

Hope you enjoy -

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technorati link
truck video
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Generate More Sales by Being Nice

2006-01-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

by Debbie LaChusa, 10stepmarketing

Let me ask you a few questions.

What do you do in your business to help leave a lasting impression on your prospects and clients?

How do you ensure they'll remember you so when they're ready to buy, they think of you?

What do you do that sets you or your business apart?

After all, there are probably at least several other businesses or people your clients could turn to for the same type of products and services you offer.

What reasons are you giving them to buy from you instead?

I was on the receiving end this past week of some very special treatment by three separate businesses. If further reinforced the value of showing your prospects and clients how much you appreciate them. And, treating your best clients like VIPs.

And, the best part is, all three were a total surprise. (That's a hint: if your prospect or client doesn't expect it, they value it, and you, even more!)

The First Incident

I went to pickup my mail last week and there was a note in my box indicating I had received a package - a package that was too big to fit in my mailbox. I took the little red slip of paper up to the counter to redeem it for my package.

Inside I was feeling giddy. Even as an adult, I LOVE getting packages! Who doesn't?! Especially when I'm thinking ... I didn't order anything ... I'm not expecting a package ... I wonder who sent me a package!?

When I received the package it was a small brown box and the return address said Ezine Articles. If you've been reading The 10stepmarketing Ezine for awhile or you've taken one of my teleclasses or seminars, you probably know I'm an expert author for Ezine Articles.

I wondered two things: why are they sending me a package, and what could it be?

When I opened it I found an "I Love (with a heart, not the word 'love') Ezine Articles" coffee mug, a packet of coffee and a note saying I was one of 250 out of 14,000+ authors to receive this gift.

Boy did I feel special!

None of the other article marketing sites I post to have ever sent me a gift. In fact, they probably don't even know who I am. But Ezine Articles made me feel important - like my articles matter to them. And, you can bet they'll stay at the top of my list for sites to post articles to. Plus, I'm telling you about them!

Is there a way you can make your very best clients, or even your prospects or subscribers feel special like this? To leave a lasting impression the way Ezine Articles left on me? To get your clients talking about you to their friends and colleagues? It could go a long way toward turning your clients into raving fans and generating more business.

The Second Incident

But that wasn't all that happened last week. Nope, it actually happened again!

My bookkeeper comes into the office once a month. When she showed up this month, she had a big package in her hand. She gave it to me and said "This is for you."

When I looked at her a little cock-eyed and confused, she replied "It's a little thank you for the referral you gave me last month."

Then, I remembered I had referred her to a friend who was looking for a bookkeeper and was having a hard time finding someone reliable and affordable.

When I gave the referral I was not expecting anything in return. I was only trying to help out a friend and help my bookkeeper get a new client.

Well, I love my bookkeeper, but guess what? I love her more now! Not because she gave me a gift, but because she recognized the value and importance of our relationship and she honored the fact I had referred her to someone else. Plus, she gave me chocolate!

But that's not all ... The Third Incident

I also received a wonderful surprise bonus from a company I've been working with for the past three years. Not only did they invite me and my family to a wonderful holiday party, they also gave me a totally unexpected cash bonus. How nice was that?! Especially at this time of year!

Believe me, I was smiling big time! Why? Because they didn't have to do it, and they did. So I know they really care.

All of these are examples of what I call "Relationship Marketing."

These examples involve gifts and you may not be in a position to spend money on gifts. I encourage you to consider what else you can do for your best clients to make them feel like VIPs. I can just about guarantee whatever you spend, whether it's time or money, it will come back to you big time!

Relationship marketing and cultivating referrals are two of the topics covered in The 10stepmarketing System. Both are winning marketing strategies that go a long way to separate your business from the pack and make sure you leave a lasting impression.

(C) 2006 Debbie LaChusa

About the Author
Debbie LaChusa created The 10stepmarketing System to make marketing your own business as simple as answering 10 questions. Learn more about this unique, step-by-step system and get a free 10-week Marketing E-Course when you subscribe to the free, weekly 10stepmarketing Ezine at http://www.10stepmarketing.com

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Six Power Steps - Step 6

2006-01-06T13:06:00.000-05:00

These 6 Power Steps by Stuart Goldsmith are just one of the resources he offers from his own life experiences as he became a self-made millionaire. I hope they have inspired you to reach and obtain goals in 2006 that you may have thought unreachable and unobtainable.

Power Step 6 - I'm Certain to Win

Our minds drive us to achieve exactly what we believe we're capable of achieving. This is good news because once we understand this and master the art of controlled thinking, then we can guide our destinies towards success.

Controlled experiments over many years have proved that children who are considered by their teachers, friends and families to be 'troublesome or terrors' actually end up getting into trouble with a high percentage becoming juvenile delinquents. However, the 'good' group of boys (in the same age group at the beginning of a study) believed by teachers, friends and families to stay out of trouble and succeed in school, go on to do so. Each group of children achieve in accordance with what people around them believe them capable of doing.

The conclusion of many similar studies is this: thinking does make it so. Only a miracle can make the football team win who starts a game with the 'We know they'll beat us,' attitude.

If you need to break the bonds of 'I'm certain to fail' slavery:

1. Hold positive chats with yourself.
2. Surround yourself with positive people.
3. Think, 'I'm going to succeed'.
4. Think, 'I'm a winner'.

The only person you will have to convince is yourself. Other people are automatically convinced you're great and a success, after you have convinced yourself.

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.
Claim your free copy now:

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Six Power Steps - Step 5

2006-01-05T12:20:00.000-05:00

Power Step 5 - Don't Crave Security

In ages past we accepted that life was full of hardships. They grappled with huge animals in a desperate bid to kill them for food. The odds were simple; either succeed or starve, kill or be killed.

As civilizations discovered fire and then electricity and gas to keep warm, bought food from markets and built houses of stone, people became less willing to deal with any unexpected events that threatened to turn their cozy life upside down. So, insurance was invented.

The idea of insurance is to cushion the impact of the unexpected. In theory it's a good idea, but it has turned our society into a population of security seekers. It has weakened our strength as individuals who know we can surmount any problem or situation that life throws our way.

The stifling extent of this slavery is enormous. The more security we have the less psychological freedom we can enjoy and the less our chances are of success and abundance.

Dare to Take a Chance!

The only places to find security are a prison or mental hospital. Inmates are assured a roof over their heads, food and warmth and no responsibilities. The price tag for this security? No freedom.

Unfortunately, it's all too easy to reel off a list of bad things that could happen to us. For most people it's easier than thinking of the good things that could happen.

People who crave security are slaves to a vivid imagination that conjures up bad news items that could happen to them, and they allow these images to cripple their actions. Too afraid to start that great business idea because of all the things they imagine that could go wrong. Too frightened to sell up and buy a larger house in another area because the house prices could drop or the children won't like the new schools, or... and so it goes on for an endless list.

Every child loves surprises and life is fun and exciting because of this. As we grow up and we fight for security, we eliminate the risks but in doing so we eliminate the surprises and limit our chances to achieve more than a humdrum life.

If you want to make sure you don't stifle your need for excitement:

1. Dare to be individual.
2. Dare to develop your own style - instead of following fashion.
3. Dare to study and work to improve yourself in your profession.
4. Dare to have a positive mental attitude and the courage to try.

In other words:
Dare to take a chance.

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.
Claim your free copy now:

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Six Power Steps - Step 4

2006-01-04T15:26:00.000-05:00

Power Step 4 - It's Never Too Late

Sadly, the following story is all too common: Bill spent years training to be an engineer, although he never really liked engineering. But he thought it was worth the sacrifice because it was a highly paid skill.

After college, he started a job with an engineering company. Years later he was still working at the same company and still hating it. His excuse was with a mortgage and family ties he was scared to leave the engineering firm and go into a job with lower wages.

After twenty years he was still afraid to correct a mistake made all those years ago. He was now too scared to change jobs, simply because he'd left it too late. He didn't want to compete with younger men experienced at their job.

If you have a goal and you find yourself saying "It's too late", the only way to conquer that fear is to ignore it and go ahead and do the thing you fear.

It's NEVER too late if you have the courage and the passion to follow your dream.

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.
Claim your free copy now:

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Six Power Steps - Step 3

2006-01-03T12:31:00.000-05:00

How appropriate for the new year is this step from Stuart Goldsmith - Enjoy!

Here's a pic of Stuart hard at work -

Power Step 3 - Look to the Future

If you dwell on your past mistakes your creativity can crash to a grinding halt and you will be unable to move forward. Losing is good if you interpret it correctly.

Demonstration Example: A friend of mine told me how a number of years ago, an acquaintance of his approached him with a spectacular lead about a stock that was certain to triple in price in the next few weeks. The price was $7.45 a share.

So, despite his misgivings he bought 200 shares. From that day the stock dropped. Finally eighteen months later he decided to cut his losses and sell.
He sold the stock for a huge loss at a grand total of $413. He could have let this one bad experience drive him from ever investing in the stock market again. However, this wise man explained, he was glad to have learned such valuable lessons.

It taught him:
1. Ignore the guy who wants to give a hot tip.
2. Check into a company carefully before buying.
3. Sell if it starts dropping too much.

Education of the Highest Merit

Don't regard mistakes as mistakes. It ceases to be a mistake and loses its power to hold you back if you can learn to be glad that you've not failed but learned valuable lessons in life. That attitude will help you to build future successes.

Lost a job? You probably weren't suited, so take the time out to decide what you really want to do.

Built a business and then it crashed? Perhaps you don't like running your own business.

Can't sell a product? Look for the reason and then act. Either try out other ways to sell it or scrap the product and sell a different one.

Blessed is he who is not discouraged by mistakes. Blessed is he who is glad he makes mistakes. Winning - or losing - is a state of mind.

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.
Claim your free copy now
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A Successful Business Year 2006

2005-12-30T15:23:00.000-05:00

Some questions to ask yourself as you prepare for the New Year and all the opportunity it holds:

1) Who am I working for?
2) What is the value of my time?
3) Am I working to promote my own business, or am I working to promote someone else's business?
4) Am I building my own list, or am I building someone else's list?
5) Are people visiting my site because they want what I offer? Or are they visiting my site to gain credits so they can promote their own?
6) Who benefits when I join particular programs?
7) Who benefits most from my efforts, my time, my money, my advertising, and my marketing?
8) Is there a better way?

After asking myself these questions, I derived my own set of goals for 2006.

1) I will work for myself, not someone else.
2) I will build my business, not someone else's.
3) I will build my own list, not someone else's.
4) I will participate only in those programs that put money into my pocket, not take it out.
5) I will succeed.

Do your goals match or exceed mine?

Whatever the case, I hope you do make plans towards your success –

Happy & Blessed New Year!

P.S. For the easiest list-building tool to be had (for free)
click here

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Six Power Steps - Step 2

2005-12-29T14:41:00.000-05:00

Power Step 2 - Strive to Be Different

Nearly everyone you know will strive to be normal - because it's socially acceptable. But the normal person goes nowhere special and achieves the mundane.

Using a fictitious character called Norman, here's an example of his normal expectations of life and mediocre results:

"I live in a pleasant neighborhood in an average house (translated as meaning: all the houses and gardens along the street look exactly alike, apart from the odd differences in plants). I own an average car (just another standard box on wheels, which apart from minor differences looks like nearly every other car on the road)."

Norman's other goals and ambitions: "I save up all year round to take my wife and children on holiday, somewhere nice where it's safe. We usually book a package holiday, so everything is taken care of and we know exactly what to expect. Even the entertainment is all planned for us."

"My job is boring, but it pays the bills and the pension is good. It'll never make me rich, but then I don't want to be rich (but he wouldn't give away a lottery win!). Anyone who's rich has had to lie and cheat his or her way to the top. I like to sleep at night with a clear conscience. I may not have much but at least it's honest toil."

"I don't have much to do with the neighbors; I don't really like them. But, to keep the peace I mow my lawn once a week and keep the garden weeded and tidy, and do the odd job for them. I like to think they view me as a nice guy."

"Every other weekend we visit our best friends, Alice and Paul, and they visit us alternate weekends. Like us, they're your average typical family. Most nights after work I shower, change and after dinner, put my feet up and watch television until bedtime. Every Sunday, we have a roast dinner and every Friday we treat ourselves to a fry up. Am I happy? Well, it's life, isn't it?"

That's how Norman thinks and lives his life and that's how many people live their life. Norman’s family spends their days grumbling about how they hate their jobs, get fed up with their bosses and partners, but that's all they do. The same gripes day in and day out - but taking no action to change their situation, simply because they are slaves to being normal (and 'what will other people think of me, if I do something unusual?').

Living in the Fast Lane of the Elite

Let's compare Norman's goals and ambitions with another invented character, David. He's one of the smaller group of people who move forward and live the life of the elite and privileged.

"My philosophy on life is simple. Life is too short to be little. I'm not concerned with what other people think of me. If all my neighbors want to cut down their hedges and build short brick walls and block pave their drives, that's their choice, but I'm not going to have it done just to please them. I like the trees so they're staying and I prefer to have a shingle drive. I've done everything possible to make our house individual."

"Often, I ring Sarah from the office and ask her to forget about cooking dinner for that night and how about going out for a meal? We've tried all the restaurants within a twenty km radius."

"We both love holidays, and I take the family as often as possible. We spend most weekends, exploring new places and trying out different activities."

"I love my job; it's very challenging being a manager. I get to meet and work with people of many different personality traits, from varied backgrounds. Every now and then a junior is obviously aiming to take my job. I don't find it threatening; I like the challenge. I enjoy working with intelligent people who stretch my potential."

"I work hard and I am paid well. Do I feel guilty? No, I expect to be paid handsomely for my efforts; I wouldn't have it any other way. We live in a large house in an exclusive area and that's my reward for going the extra mile at work."

"I don't automatically go home at the end of the working day. And sometimes I arrive at the office as early as 6am, just to prepare for a meeting with my team."

"I want to be rich and I am prepared to plan and work towards my goals. I look forward to the future. I don't know what's around the corner and I don't care, because whatever happens I will handle the situation. I know I can solve problems - my strength lies within, it does not come from any outside forces. I couldn't care less whether other people approve of me or not, I know I'm okay and that's all that matters."

Two Opposing Philosophies

Norman's slavery to acting normal (and slavery to what other people think), creates poverty and unhappiness. While David's striving to be different (and refusal to be a slave to other people's expectations of him) creates wealth and happiness.

If you are ever tempted to query if David's attitude is not a tad selfish, then just ask yourself this question, "Who would you prefer to have as a friend? Norman, who's bored and unhappy, or David - who's exciting and happy?"
Easy, isn't it?

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.
Claim your free copy now
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Six Power Steps - Step 1

2005-12-28T12:45:00.000-05:00

© 2003 Stuart Goldsmith

Stuart Goldsmith is a multi-millionare, and he's letting us in on the way he thinks - I'd listen if I were you. ;)
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This series of six power steps structures your thinking to make sure the actions you take will drive you towards success.

Today's Power Step -

Power Step 1 - Be in Charge of Your Life

Caring what other people think of you puts them in charge of your life, instead of you.

"What will other people think of me?" slavery is extremely common. Most of us are brought up (rightfully so) to consider others. But, unless we are discerning, we soon find ourselves caught up in a job we can't stand, or living in a relationship which makes us unhappy, or getting caught up in the spiral of poverty.

"Trying to please other people all the time" syndrome begins in childhood. It stems from a desire to be liked and admired. Let's look at a fairly typical scenario: three boys, Fred, Joe, and Matthew, all five years old, are best pals. They fight to sit together at school and spend their breaks in a group. Fred comes to school one day with a stack of pokemon cards to show his friends. Joe is envious of Fred's collection and a fight breaks out when Fred refuses to give a prized card to Joe.

There are several resulting scenarios, all with serious implications for Fred's future. A teacher could break up the fight and make Fred feel guilty for not parting with the prized card. Joe could refuse to talk to Fred even ending the friendship, unless Fred relented. Matthew would side with either Joe or Fred, or be a peacemaker and force the other two to discuss the problem and sort it out amicably.

The biggest danger to Fred is if the solution entails his giving the card away, when he really doesn't want to. In other words, if the only reason he gives in, is because he desperately wants to be liked and it really matters what his friends think of him. If they were real friends, of course, Joe would understand Fred's view and Matthew would not criticize. Fred might even willingly offer Joe another not so valuable card out of his collection.

Over the years thousands of small incidents build up, until by the time we are adults, most of us make a habit of putting what other people think of us before our own personal needs and desires.

The Right Reasons

Before you cut the grass, decorate the house, start a business, go on holiday, always ask yourself, "Am I doing this for the right reasons?"

Yes, the gardening has to be done, but not if you're in the middle of crucial market research, and if you don't cut the grass today you're worried that the neighbors will think you're lazy. Yes, a house has to be decorated, but not if it's at the expense of your health through shooting your stress level through the roof trying to fit it in between a busy advertising campaign, and it's only because your partner insists you do it now.

"Other people" slavery kills your creativity, your energy and drive towards your own goals and fulfilling your dreams. It stops you from going to places you want to visit and enjoying the kind of entertainment that you enjoy. So, make certain you're not always driven to do things, merely because you're worried about what other people think of you.

Be confident in who you are!

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Clients pay $4500 a day to hear Stuart Goldsmith's hard-hitting marketing advice. Legendary copywriter Gary Halbert recently described him as "The second best copywriter on the planet!" His sales letters and adverts have made him many millions of dollars. In his startling free action guide "Double Your Way To A Million", Stuart shows how you can change nothing into $1,310,720 without any capital, simply using your wit, imagination and your natural abilities.

Claim your free copy now

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9 Tips for Better Copywriting

2005-12-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

by Alex A. Kecskes

1. Avoid the wimpy verbs--is and be.

These "do-little" verbs only occupy space and state that something exists. So don't write, "There is one simple omission that can transform a sentence from boring to brilliant." Do write, "One simple omission can transform a sentence from boring to brilliant." Similarly, avoid, "We will be running the new program from our Dallas office." Instead, opt for "We will run the new program from our Dallas office."

2. Place the longest item at the end of a series.

Start with the simple and work toward the complex. It's less confusing and makes a more memorable ending to the sentence. If you have a series like "He was always later that Joan, loud and boring." Opt for "He was loud, boring and always later that Joan."

3. Specifics are more convincing.

Unless you must for legal reasons, don't use words like many, several, approximately, nearly and other such mushy weasel modifiers. Specifics tell your audience that you know what your product can do based on tests, research, results, etc.

4. Modify thy neighbor.

Neighboring clause, that is. Make sure your modifiers apply directly to the pertinent clause in question. Do this and you'll avoid such gaffes as "I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way. (The truck wasn't coming the other way, it was stationary.) Better to tell the judge "I was coming the other way and collided with a stationary truck." (You'll still pay the penalty for running into a truck, but at least you'll come across as sober.)

5. Use single verbs to avoid doublespeak.

Single verbs can often do the work of two similar verbs. Instead of "The computer was operating and running smoothly," go for "The computer was running smoothly." Or, instead of "He was empty and ran out of gas," go for the more direct "He ran out of gas."

6. Vary sentence length.

A string of sentences all the same length can be boring. Start with a short sentence or at least a medium-length one, then go long, short, medium or any combination thereof. Imagine a person talking in sentences that are all the same length. Robotic.

7. Are your sentences like the Energizer Bunny?

They go on and on. Just because you're conveying legal or complex technical information, doesn't mean you have to use serpentine sentences that never seem to end. Instead of saying "Laser beams, which have many properties that distinguish them from ordinary light, result from the emission of energy from atoms in the form of electromagnetic waves." Break up and re-phrase: "Laser beams have many properties that distinguish them from ordinary light. They are produced when atoms emit energy in the form of electromagnetic waves."

8. Go short and sweet.

Why use a 4- to 5-word phrase when a 1- to 2-word version will do nicely--with no loss in meaning? Statements like "in view of the fact that" can be easily reduced to "since" or "because." Word economy is particularly important, especially when you're paying for premium ad space in a major publication.

9. Don't overstate the obvious.

Redundancy is good for space travel, but not for clear writing. Phrases like "anticipate in advance," "totally finished," or "vital essentials" will drive your readers crazy and communicate very little. The same goes for stringing two or more synonyms together like "thoughts and ideas" or "actions and behavior." It makes readers wonder if you really meant to say two different things or just wanted to reinforce one word with a needless synonym.

Alex Kecskes provides a full range of copywriting services. Visit www.akcreativeworks.com for more information and samples.

About the Author
Alex Kecskes is a former ad agency Copy Chief who has created effective copy and concepts for a wide range of ad agencies and Fortune 500 companies. As owner of ak creativeworks, Alex provides strategic copy for brochures, mailers, multimedia, radio, newsletters, PR and web content. He has published articles in a variety of publications about health issues affecting both men and women, as well as topics in business and technology.

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12 Sales-Boosting Strategies

2005-12-12T13:00:00.000-05:00

by Alex A. Kecskes

The competition is fierce and ad budgets are tighter than ever. If you're looking to boost profits and gain market share, there are some things you can do to gain a bigger piece of the pie.

1. Give your product a distinct personality.
OfficeMax's Rubber-Band Man is an instantly identifiable, highly memorable character that has boosted sales and brand recognition. It personifies the brand while selling the message that whatever customers need they can get at OfficeMax.

2. Give them an interesting history lesson.
Some of the most common products we use today have the most interesting development histories. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, left historical records of a powder made from the bark and leaves of the willow tree to help heal headaches, pains and fevers. By 1829, scientists discovered that the salicin in willow plants was the key ingredient in aspirin, which was later repackaged and marketed by Bayer.

3. Sing your product's praises.
Create a memorable catchy song, poem or jingle that that hooks in people's minds. Gillette sold millions of razor blades using "The Best a Man Can Get," which continues to stick in consumers' heads, leaving a positive impression about the product's unbeatable performance.

4. Re-package your product for the customer.
Create new convenience packaging that makes your product easier to buy, use or refill. Motor oil used to be sold in cans that required a punch-in can opener or separate punch-through spout. These were messy and troublesome to use. Now oil is sold in twist-open, easy-pour plastic bottles.

5. Let consumables take the lead.
Drop the price of your product, then promote and sell its consumables. Computer printers can be bought for as little as $20, yet the ink cartridges sell for $29 apiece. So don't worry about making a big profit on devices, let your consumables take the lead.

6. Use viral marketing.
Viral marketing is any word-of-mouth or "tell a friend" mechanism that induces users to re-convey a marketing message to other sites or users. Leveraged by the power of the web and email, viral techniques can create exponential growth in your product's visibility.

7. Customize your product.
Try to give customers exactly what they want by creating apparently customized versions of your product. Consider the success of Cycle 1, 2, 3, 4 Pet Foods, or Burger King's "Have it Your Way."

8. Go high tech.
Exploit the latest technological advancements in media to underscore your message. For example, explore the use of audio chips in magazines, brochures or mailers. The novelty of these devices gets people talking, and there's that "V" word again (viral marketing).

9. Promote product sharing.
This can be done by showing how your product brings friends and family together. An emotional appeal like this can be very memorable. A good example is Almond Joy's, "you can share half and still have a whole." Another is the ubiquitous Friends-and-Family discount, which abounds in everything from cell phones to vacation packages.

10. Show your product being used by experts.
If possible, establish your product as the one used by recognized experts in the field. A case in point is Canon's use of photojournalists to endorse its 35mm cameras.

11. Make you product "sui generis".
Establish the fact that your product is generically in a class by itself. Consider Porsche's use of the line "there is no substitute." Or products that have become household words: "blow your nose with a Kleenex," or "make me a Xerox copy."

12. Think outside the demographic box.
Attract a new category of customers by thinking outside the box. Consider gaining younger or older buyers by expanding the utility and style of your product, e.g., cell phones for 'tweens, or health bars for seniors.

About the Author
Alex Kecskes is a former ad agency Copy Chief who provides a full range of copywriting services to agencies and Fortune 500 companies. For samples and more information, please visit: www.akcreativeworks.com

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The Adwords and Adsense Road To Big Profits

2005-12-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

by Darren Yates

Do you use Adsense to monetize any of your websites?

Do you use Adwords to buy in visitors to any of your websites?

Have you considered combining the two and sending Adwords traffic to your site featuring Adsense Ads? There are huge profits currently being made by enterprising site owners who are buying low cost keywords and sending the traffic to high paying Adsense ads.

Sounds simple doesn't it?
It is - and believe me, it works.

The problem is, it can be a real balancing act if you go about this the wrong way. You can loose serious money or just scrape a marginal profit.

First of all, you need to find a niche market. Stay clear of the Internet Marketing arena - there's just too much competition there. Instead look into day to day niche markets. But before you do this you need to consider your target keyword. For best results you need a high bid keyword; that is, a keyword that Adwords advertisers are willing to pay a lot for per click.

You can find these for free over on the Overture bid tool. Most bids displayed there are likely to amount to much more on Adwords. For a more accurate bid pricing you can use one of the numerous paid for services that have sprung up across the Net this year. These services analyse thousands of keywords, there bid price, the number of advertisers bidding, the number of searches for that keyword and some of the better services will even report the ad clicks you can expect per day.

One of the better paid for services I came across you can find here www.cashkeywords.com (non affiliate link). They run a list which is constantly being updated and added to. So you will always have a regular fresh source of keywords to target. Currently they stand at around 133,000 keywords.

Next you need to set up a page focused on your chosen keyword. You could buy a domain name for this or simply add the page to one of your existing sites. Grab some free content focused on your chosen keyword in the form of an article from any of the major article directories(www.ezinearticle.com) and add it to your page.

(Domain and web hosting available here.)

You should also be sure to title the page with your chosen keyword. Adding a related graphic will also help. What you're trying to do here is instil a little confidence in the visitor and avoid having your page look like one of those spammy Adsense sites that crop up all over the place. Visitors will simply click away if you don't put a little effort into your page. You will still get some clicks but you can get so many more with a little effort.

Here's one of my pages as an example -
http://www.ppcprime.com/Wine-Gift-Basket.htm

Next place your Adsense ads in a number of spots on the page. You will need to test this to see which positions perform best. The prime spot according to Google is directly within the content of the page. Beyond that a good starting point would be across the top, the bottom and down the left side of your content. Essentially where the navigation appears traditionally.

Once you've got this set up start work on your Adwords campaign. Create your own list of targeted keywords, obviously I'd recommend PPC Accelerator for that. ;) Now here you don't need to worry about using high paying keywords in your own list because you will be setting your daily budget at just 5-10c. This will guarantee you don't appear on the first page for those high paying keywords. Instead you are focusing here on related keywords that you can pick up cheaply. Refer back to the issue on keyword list building for keyword avenues you can explore.

Before you run your campaign go into 'Edit settings' and uncheck all the boxes under 'Network' except Google search. This will ensure your ad appears only on Google itself, with the most proactive visitors. If this turns out to be a money making campaign you can go back into 'Edit settings' and switch those options back on.

Finally, set your daily budget low and run your campaign.

As you are probably aware neither Adwords or Adsense report stats in real-time so you will have to sit back for an hour or so before any results come in. Be sure to monitor this campaign regularly to weigh up whether your income from Adsense is covering your outgoings on Adwords.

As with any campaign there are a number of factors to take into account when it comes to click through rate. Chief among these I've found to be the day and the time of day. Some campaigns work better during the week during office hours others bring better results at the weekend.

If you're making a small profit then it may be worth tweaking your set up. If your profit is on a tightrope or you're loosing money then it may be better to move on to a different keyword.

Once you have a winning campaign start again, find another high paying keyword etc. etc.

That's it, if you take action now you'll be in for a nice bonus come January. I'm sure that will help you to recover from the Xmas splurge. :)

About the Author
As an Adwords Professional I'm giving away my Pay Per Click Advertising Mini Course FREE now.

This article comes with reprint rights. Feel free to reprint and distribute as you like. All that we ask is that you do not make any changes, that this resource text is include, and that the link above is intact.

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How to create your own high demand product that you keep 100% of the sale from

2005-12-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

by Keir Smith

(c) Copyright 2005 by Keir Smith

One of the problems information marketers face today is coming up with ideas for hot information products that they can sell over and over.

Well, I have some good news for you. I'm going to share with you 2 of my favorite ideas for creating hot in demand information products that will get your customers excited to give you their money.

Step One: Target audience.

This is the cornerstone of creating your hot information product. Having an information product for the right audience is the only way for you to get your prospects to fork over their hard earned cash.

For example, when I created a report for email marketers. I put the word email marketers right smack at the beginning of the report. And if you'll notice, I lead off this report with the word information marketers. If you're an information marketer, and you come across this report, then you will quickly identify with it.

Why?

Because, you guessed it, I used a targeted word right at the beginning .

So the trick here is to make sure you include a word or phrase that directly targets your audience. Preferably in the first paragraph. This way your audience will immediately know that this is the report they're looking for.

Step Two: Pick a hot topic.

Here is where you will really catch a few fish. The thing here is to find a pressing problem your target market is having and make their problem the basis of your report. This will attract your target market to your report faster than fly paper can catch a fly.

And it's also important to mention that your report should stress that they can find the answer to their problems right there in your report.

When you do this correctly, your prospects will be lining up to get their hands on your information.

Need some help finding out what exactly is a hot topic for your market?

I thought you would.

What I like to do is visit forums that are related to the topic of my report. And the way I find these forums is by doing a quick google search. For instance, I'll type in marketing forum if my report is about marketing. Or, I'll type in affiliate marketing forums if my report is about affiliate marketing.

Once I find a forum, I'll start to snoop around a bit. What I'm looking for here is "Hot Topics". Just looking at the posts with the most responses lets me know that this is a hot topic.

Next, I'll look for the root of the posts. By this I mean, what was the post that started it all? Once I find it, I'll begin to look for possible angles on this topic that I might be able to create a information report on.

And the rest is simply researching and compiling information that I find in my studies.

That's it. Congratulations! You've just created a hot information report!

You can really get the ball rolling if you create a new report at least once a month for different hot topics you come across. Charge between $10.00 - $27.00 for them, and out the door they go. Now you've suddenly got your own information publishing bakery.

About the Author
Keir Smith will show you 4 quick and easy ways to get the ball rolling for your own information empire along with an easy way to automatically build multiple lead lists at the same time with a one-time (easy) setup!
click here to grab your free mini ecourse

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information
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How Smart Online Entrepreneurs Are Making A Fortune from Adsense Using Free Sites

2005-12-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

by Maggie Wallace

You have probably read lots of advice from various so-called experts warning you against the use of free sites. But while you have been taking in this piece of advice and information, others have been busy making a fortune online, using those very free sites that you have been warned against.

Most of these new Internet entrepreneurs have used blogs or web logs to achieve their enviable accomplishments. Many people have not appreciated just how much blogs have changed the World Wide Web and especially many perceptions that previously carried a lot of weight. For instance we are now seeing popular blogs hosted by free services achieving colossal traffic. In other words the emphasis seems to have shifted rather dramatically to the value of the content rather than that of the "vehicle" that carries it.

Because the content in blogs tends to be updated very regularly, search engines have quickly fallen in love with them. The result is that they've been enjoying very high search engine rankings. Then there is the almost natural tendency for blogs to link to one another. The result of this has been that many blogs have almost effortlessly quickly picked up the sort of five figure daily traffic numbers that websites have had to wait for years to achieve. Some blogs have done it in a few short weeks.

Smart online entrepreneurs have established a couple of interesting and tightly focused and targeted blogs, based on both their experiences and valuable, high-paying keywords. The results have been phenomenal with some of them drawing in thousands of dollars monthly in Adsense earnings. For most of them, their earnings from the Adsense click affiliate program have surpassed any other earnings they may have had previously from their online businesses.

Now imagine a situation where some of these new breed of online entrepreneurs have taken the trouble to host their sites at with free hosts who have such a professional approach and look that it is difficult to convince anybody that their sites are hosted free. The result has been the sort of increased Adsense earnings that others find difficult to believe.

It really is worth the effort to look for a good free host to enhance the image of your blog. There is little doubt that this will quite often pay off in a big way in terms of your Adsense click affiliate earnings.

About the Author
Maggie Wallace is an online marketer and happy user of SiteKreator -take your instant site, just add content. Visit this professional website builder now and sign up for a free account. She can be reached at wal.maggie@gmail.com.

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Making your site explode with Article Marketing

2005-11-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

by Simon Gelfand

What is Article Marketing?

The act of writing one 300-400 word article and submitting it to various sites--is the surprise online marketing medium of the past year. For a couple years, new marketers have been advised to promote their businesses by writing and distributing articles.

This worked so well that recently article marketing has hit the mainstream. Sites like ArticlesBase.com have helped to create perfect conditions for article marketing. Far from being an underground or little noticed way of marketing, article marketing has come into its own as a leading form of marketing on the web.

What's best about this marketing form is that by far and large it's free to use. Simply write an article, visit a resource site that holds a list of directories such as www.Articles-Blog.com and go ahead submit your article.

What are the benefits of Article Marketing?

Free Backlinks - A link from a site that you're not linked back to has more value than one where you may be required to link back to, simply because changes in the way search engines rank sites now include an adjustment for exchanged links.

Increased Traffic - Your article gets published on multiple web sites that pull free content from the major article directories. People then read these articles and visit the website you are promoting.

Expert Status - After writing many articles on a certain subject you will be recognized as an expert in the matter, you will be surprised how many people will be contacting you with questions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, article marketing online represents one of the most essential ways many internet home business owners use to market their internet business programs online.

About the Author
Simon Gelfand is the owner of the free articles directory, ArticlesBase.com, a great place for you to submit your article for free exposure.

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3 Ways to Build a PROFITABLE Opt-in List

2005-11-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

by Christopher Smith, B.B.A., J.D.

We all know that the surest way to generate meaningful income in the Internet marketing business is to build a good opt-in list. What many of us do not know is just how to go about doing that. You have probably read countless articles, and perhaps even sought expert advice, in hopes of creating the many success stories your have come across about people creating a small fortune with their opt-in lists.

The greatest frustration is that after all of your research, knowing everything there is to know about opt-in lists, and have followed the advice and wisdom of the experts, you still are not able to make a profit. You may have developed a large opt-in list, but only a very small percentage of your subscribers actually buy from you.

So what could have gone wrong? Why have others succeeded where you have failed? The most common mistake being made in this area is diving straight into list building without the requisite planning or thought. You may have selected a topic that you thought would be quite popular and that would earn money for you. This simply is not the case, however. Just because someone subscribes to your list and you send them an offer, does not mean they will instantly buy from you.

Whether you are just starting or trying to salvage a failing venture, here are three quick and easy ways you can build a profitable opt-in list.

BUILD TRUST AND CONFIDENCE WITH YOUR OPT-IN SUBSCRIBERS

Get your customers to trust you and your products, before you ask them to buy from you. Just launching your opt-in list does not make you an expert in the field or a reputable vendor. Establish your credibility by publishing numerous articles before you start marketing products through your opt-in list. Write about the topics you personally know about and that you have incorporated into your own website or online business.

Consider hosting forums for your subscribers, where they can post questions and receive advice from you and other members. Join forums from other sites as well. Provide expert advice and recommendations. Build your audience's confidence in you and when you feel that they trust you, then you can consider asking your opt-in list to invest their trust by making a purchase from you.

Your participation in forums will also help you build a base of loyal subscribers. Suggest that those who receive useful advice from you subscribe to your newsletter. If permitted in the forum, place a link to your site in your signature line so that the other forum members might easily find your site and subscribe to your list.

The money will only come in when the consumers and subscribers believe and trust in you. People will not buy something based upon the recommendation of someone they if not know.

KNOW YOUR PRODUCT BEFORE MARKETING TO YOUR OPT-IN LIST

Find products and services that people presently want and need. Although it may not be your forte, if you provide a service and product that you have carefully researched and learned about, you can make your recommendation in good conscience and with authority. Invest your time, effort and money so that you can effectively and honestly promote the product to your subscribers.

An additional benefit of doing this job well is that your subscribers will refer their friends. Be sure you provide them with an opportunity to make those referrals. In fact, encourage them!

LEARN FROM OTHER OPT-IN LIST OWNERS

Make friends with other opt-in list owners. This can be very beneficial when you are working with others who have already built successful opt-in lists. These are people that have the credibility and experience, which they can then transfer to you through their endorsement and recommendation.

Experienced opt-in list owners will also be able to teach you what to do with your list and what not to do with it. They have made mistakes and, hopefully, learned from them. If an experienced list owner is willing to share their wisdom, make sure you take the time to listen.

Building a profitable opt-in list does not happen overnight and there is no easy way to do the job properly. However, if you do your homework and invest the time and effort, you will be rewarded for the effort.

About the Author
Christopher Smith, B.B.A., J.D., is an attorney, author, e-zine publisher and Internet business owner. For more information about prospering from Internet related businesses, be sure to visit Mr. Smith's website at http://www.cashflow-creator.com and subscribe to his newsletter.

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Start building YOUR list in the next 2 minutes -
List Building Made Easy

Where is Your Phone Number?

2005-11-11T12:16:00.000-05:00

by Jeff Mulligan (C) 2003

There is probably a major problem lurking on your sales
page right now. And it could be hurting your profits.

Experts agree that one of the most important factors in a
successful website is credibility. This frequently
translates into the credibility of the site owner. People
are more likely to buy from somebody they believe in.

Is your website as credible as it could be?

People judge credibility by many subtle factors. Does the
design of the site look professional? Is the site well
written? Are there typos and grammar errors strewn
throughout the site? Is the author believable? Does the
author have experience in this market or with this product?
These are all important factors.

We also know that a strong guarantee is a key part of a
successful sales page. Taken one step further, the reader
needs to believe he will actually get a refund if
requested. And herein often lies a major inconsistency.

Look at your sales page and ask yourself: Who is standing
behind the product? What do you provide for contact
information?

If there is only an e-mail address, or worse yet, no
contact information at all, then you do not have a
believable guarantee.

If you want someone to believe that you stand behind your
product you need to be reachable. Put your complete
contact information on your web site. I'm not just talking
about an e-mail address. Consider adding your snail mail
address and even, dare I say, your phone number.

At first, I worried about using this approach. I feared
getting calls at all hours of the night. I worried about
getting overwhelmed. But, I reasoned, I could always
remove the phone number if it became a problem.

Turns out, having my phone number on the site is a
blessing. I have made dozens of sales because I have been
available to answer one or two simple questions from a
prospect. I now look at each telephone call as an
opportunity to help someone solve their problem and,
frequently, earn their business.

I have received numerous comments from customers saying
that one of the reasons they purchased is because they can
tell there is a real person standing behind this
business. The fact it is, I only get about one or two phone
calls a day. And my sites have thousands of visitors every
day.

In summary, take a look at your own sales page or contact
page with a critical eye. Do you look like just another
anonymous web site? Or is there a person there; ready,
willing and able to help. The answer to these questions may
have a lot to do with your conversion rates.

At the very least, test putting your phone number on your
web site. Even if your web business is part time, with a
good voice mail system you will sound professional and you
can return phone calls when you are able. Try this
credibility improvement. And see if it doesn't improve
your sales.

About the Author:
Jeff Mulligan has an MBA and 20+ years of marketing
experience as an ad agency Senior VP and VP Marketing for
two software companies, one of which was publicly traded.
Jeff owns CBmall, a site that provides 15 different ways
for ClickBank affiliates to earn income on thousands of
popular InfoProducts.

15 Different Income Streams

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3 Ways To Save Money On Ezine Advertising

2005-11-10T16:07:00.000-05:00

by Deanna Mascle

Ezine Advertising is still one of the top ways to advertise online because it is cheap, easy, and targeted.

If you are one of the many internet marketers who understand just how effective ezine marketing can be then you will be happy to learn that I have three tips that will save you money on Ezine Advertising.

Join The Directory of Ezines

Yes, it may seem a bit pricey up front but I have been a member for years and never regretted the money I paid -- because I made it back in savings! Not only do you get a lot of great bonuses and freebies but you will also be able to find a list of free advertising available from the ezine owners listed in the directory. Plus on top of that many of the ezine owners listed in the directory offer a discount to directory members. So if you think about the amount of money you might save over time -- the Directory of Ezines is actually a very big bargain!

Visit The Ezine Ad Auction

You will need to register to use this auction site but there is no cost involved.

At any given time there are hundreds of auctions available -- some starting at just $10. You can shop by category to more easily find your target audience and will find a range of ezines and ad formats available.

Ezine publishers put up regular offers and discounts on unsold space -- and either way you save money off their posted rates.

I regularly use Ezine Ad Auction to buy and sell ads. It is a great resource and I have developed some great, long-lasting relationships as a result.

Ask The Ezine Publisher For A Deal

Many Ezine Publishers are willing to offer special deals for either or both new advertisers or long-term advertisers. I used to have a "Test Drive Offer" for my ezines and currently offer some great discounts and free ads through my Renaissance Woman Online Ad Club.

I occasionally have advertisers contact me about a discount and if I have open space I am often willing to make a deal or at least a counter offer.

If you are a hesitant about boldly asking for a discount then simply contact the publisher to see if there are any deals available. Believe me, if they ad inventory available they will make you a deal--and it might be better deal than you would have dreamed of asking!

About the Author
Deanna Mascle will be glad to explain how Ezine Advertising Works or How To Advertise With Ezines (where the full text of this article is available). You can also learn more about saving money on your ezine advertising with the
Renaissance Woman Online Ad Club.

Why Articles Fail To Deliver Traffic To Your Website

2005-11-09T12:11:00.000-05:00

by Tony Williams

It's no secret that submitting articles to article directories can generate traffic to a website. In fact, it seems that everybody and their dogs are up to it. But as is the way of the web, many seem to miss the point and don't submit effective articles, or submit articles that have absolutely no relevance to their website.

For example; it is pointless writing an article on the uses of sand in the Sahara desert if your website is about deep sea fishing. Seems obvious eh? Well surprisingly not to some it would appear, because I have seen very similar mistakes in some of the top article directories.

Look at it this way: If somebody is interested enough to read an article about credit cards, why on earth would they then click a link in a resource box that leads to a site about notable ice cream parlours of the northern hemisphere?

With this in mind here are some tips toward writing the 'perfect' article.

Think of a good title
- Make it intriguing enough for people scanning the titles to read the whole article.

Make it relevant
- If the site you want to promote is about collecting 1950's baseball cards then write about this and not sports cars.

Use your keywords
- You should know by now what the popular keywords are for your chosen subject, so include them in your article title and body.

Check spelling
- It's a simple exercise, but one that many article writers neglect. You want to be taken seriously don't you?

Make it interesting
- Don't just waffle! Providing valuable information for your readers will encourage them to click through to your site.

Be resourceful
- Use your resource box wisely and make sure the link to your site works.

Submitting articles to article directories can be a great way to build up that all-important traffic to your website, but not just any old rubbish will do the trick. A little thought and planning when preparing your articles will not only provide interesting reading, but also drive targeted and eager visitors to your site.

About the Author
Tony Williams is a musician, writer, and self-confessed eBay fanatic. Follow his ongoing quest for ways of making and saving money online at www.myrichpickings.co.uk

Truck surfing - what a MORON.

2005-11-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

Next time you do something REALLY stupid and start
feeling down on yourself, just remember - it could
be MUCH worse!

Check out this video for a healthy dose of laughter !

Hope you enjoy -

Your Own Domain - What Every Marketer Needs

2005-11-08T16:28:00.000-05:00

Did you ever want to have a web page?

Not one of those “free” domains, but one you could REALLY create, design, and have full control of. No third party ads, no drawn-out l – o – n – g URL name, but something YOU want.

Did you ever question how it would be to have your own domain name?
Do you realize what that means, and what you might achieve with it? The future of the Internet seems to be heading in this direction; everyone will need his or her own domain at some point, it appears.

Are you eager to build a website, but everything you've found so far is too limited (or too expensive!), or the name you wanted was gone, or, somehow, the site simply didn't fit to your wishes?

Now imagine this - your name (or your initials) as your own personal domain name, with your own personal website, AND your own set of personal e-mail addresses.

Or, what about your child’s (or grandchild’s) name as his or her own domain to own for life? He could create a web space of his own, and she would have her own e-mail addresses (ten!).

Perhaps you own a brick-and-mortar business, and are ready to launch it into cyberspace!

Not sure just how to accomplish any of this? Keep reading…

All of this will be yours for life – nothing will change about your website unless YOU choose to change it.

How does that sound? Would that be something to interest you?

Well, how about in addition to all that, you’re supplied all the tools (my mom could understand them – no offense, mom!) you need to build that website, and THEN –

Provide a way to have it pay for itself?

Now you have such a way - Get your own domain name (whatever you want it to be) and the tools to build your own webpage as a professional.

Go here and find out more.

It’s really very simple.

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Top 5 Tips For Effective Email Marketing

2005-11-03T12:36:00.000-05:00

by Robert Burko

Over the past few years, research has continued to prove the benefits of e-mail marketing for business: low costs, high conversion rates and detailed tracking are all notable features. But e-mail marketing is becoming much more than just a tool for spammers and e-businesses. Consumers are becoming increasingly savvy on the differences between spam and permission-based emails, and more and more of them are accepting permission-based e-mail marketing as a positive replacement for direct mail.

The best news is that the majority of people who receive permission-based e-mails open, on average, 78% of them.

Jupiter Research reports effective email marketing campaigns can produce nine times the revenues and 18 times the profits of broadcast mailings. But crafting an effective business email is both an art and a science. Here is a list of factors, potential problems and effective solutions to keep in mind:

1. Spam! Spam! Spam!
I don't need any #&%*! Viagra!
The average consumer receives more than 300 emails a week, 62% of which are spam. No wonder there's such hostility towards the industry. But spam filters, bulk folders and "report spam" features are helping consumers become more at ease about the perils of spam. While 89% of users cited spam as a major concern in 2003, that number dropped to 85% in 2004, proportionally to an increase in the use of spam-fighting tools.

So as a permission-based business email marketer, what can you do? One tip is to remind your subscribers to add you to their "safe senders" list. The second, and most important, tactic is to make sure your email marketing service provider has a good relationship with ISPs. This will ensure that your email marketing campaigns go into your subscribers' inboxes, not their junk mail folders. When choosing an email marketing software, make sure the company has strict anti-spam policies and complies with the guidelines of Can-Spam.

2. Images and formatting:
Why do my emails look broken?
Broken email campaigns are an increasing concern among email marketers, especially since several companies and web-based email providers now block graphics as a measure to combat spam. In fact, according to ClickZ, 40% of email marketing messages delivered to inboxes are "broken."

So what's the solution? Some email marketing programs publish all your sent email campaigns to a secure location on the web (a location only original recipients of the email can access, thanks to encrypted technology that automatically authenticates the user). In some programs, the technology also ensures you can track your users' behaviors, even if they are reading your email campaign at the secure web location.

3. Personalization and relevant content:
In a business e-mail, one size does not fit all.
In a recent study by DoubleClick, email users were 72% more likely to respond to a business e-mail if its content was based on the interests they had specified. That number points out the absolute importance of allowing users to choose their own interest groups and have control over which business e-mails they receive. The most popular interest categories, according to the study, are coupons and household goods.

But you're coupon is no good unless the user opens the email. Users in the study said the most compelling reason for them to open a business email is the name in the "from" field. So it's a good idea to make sure your company name is clearly stated there. Another major factor is the "subject" line. Users cite discount offers and interesting news as the most compelling subject lines, followed by new product announcements and free shipping offers.

4. Click-through and conversion:
Show me the money!
So the user has opened your email and read the content. Great. But where's the sale? There's good news here. For one, consumers are increasingly likely to make purchases as a direct result of a business email campaign. One-third of users in the DoubleClick study had purchased something by clicking a link on an email. Another 42% clicked on an email link for more information, then purchased the product at a later time. Second, online couponing is booming: 73% of consumers have redeemed an online coupon for an online purchase, and 59% have redeemed an online coupon offline.

In terms of industries, the top performers are travel, hardware/software, electronics, apparel, food, home furnishings, gifts/flowers and sporting goods. All companies sending business emails in those categories said between 71% and 80% of recipients have purchased their products because of an email campaign.

There's no need to fret if your company doesn't fit in to one of those industries. The overall landscape for email marketing conversions is looking brighter every day. The average click-to-purchase rate has increased nearly 30% since 2004 and the average orders-per-email-delivered rate has increased more than 18% since last year.

5. Stats tracking:
Who are my real consumers?
E-mail marketing is an increasingly popular tool in effective CRM, and it's about time more businesses recognize that. First off, if your provider's email services for business do not include detailed, real-time tracking, you're getting a raw deal. Real-time tracking is now an industry standard, and it's highly valuable, as it allows you to see the exact moment a user opens your campaign, clicks on your link and makes that purchase. Studying your users can help you improve your communications efforts, so each campaign performs better than the last (several email service providers also let you compare the performance of your campaigns).

But many marketers are still in the dark. According to a recent WebTrends research, only 5% of marketers are very confident in the measurement of their online marketing efforts, while 26% admit they're "flying blind." WebTrends says the low confidence comes from a lack of knowledge when it comes to measurement, which means there's still a lot of work to be done.

In email marketing, a blind shot won't take you very far. But if you aim properly by following these essential rules of play, you should soon be reaping the same major results as so many online and offline businesses.

About the Author
Robert Burko is the president and founder of Eliteweb.cc (http://www.eliteweb.cc), a web portal that provides Fortune 500 solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Eliteweb.cc's Elite Email Marketing program is optimized for all the above tips. For a 30-day Free trial, visit
http://business.eliteweb.cc/services/EmailMarketing/

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Google's AdSense Program Part X

2005-10-27T12:24:00.000-04:00

What You Need To Know About AdSense Stats

By Joel Comm

When it comes to building great revenues on AdSense, nothing is more important than following your stats. The effect of any change you make to your site, to the positioning of your ads or to their layout or color is going to have a direct impact on the behavior of your users. That's going to be clear in your stats. You'll see it in your click-through rate and you'll see it most importantly in your revenues.

You need to check your stats regularly. A week after you've made a change to the way your site looks, you should check back in to see what that change did... and whether it brought you more money or less.

But your stats won't tell you everything. They might tell you whether or not you've made more money this week than last week but they won't tell you what you need to do to make even more money next week. If you really want to find out what your users are up to - and get more of them doing the things you want - you will need to use some additional tools.

Tracking Programs
The Internet is packed with tracking tools for AdSense. Some of those tools are just plain useless; others you really don't want to do without. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I give an introduction to each of the main programs and point out which ones you absolutely must have if you want to maximize your revenues. For now though, just bear in mind that the tracking program you use should let you see where your visitors are coming from, where your clicks are coming from and which keywords your biggest clickers are searching for when they find your site on a search engine.

Once you've got all that information, it's a breeze to use the various AdSense strategies to optimize your site and get more visitors clicking on the highest paying ads.

Graph Builders
In addition to tracking programs that tell you information that you can't find out any other way, you should also use graph builders that make your information a snap to compare and analyze. They convert your figures into graphs so that you can see with one look how your CTR is changing and how your revenues are improving. Some of the best tracking programs include this option but even if you've bought the wrong one, it's still worth downloading a graph builder - especially if you don't really have a head for figures.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)"

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part IX

2005-10-26T12:05:00.000-04:00

What You Must Know About Google's Terms Of Service

By Joel Comm

When you install a piece of software, you usually get an End User License Agreement that you're supposed to read carefully. You're then supposed to click a button to show that you've read it all through, understand it and agree with every word. If anyone but the lawyers who write these things has ever read them I'll eat my hat. Most people just click and move on.

The Google Terms of Service are different.

Before you put Google's AdSense code on your website, you must read the Terms of Service carefully. I'm not just saying that to protect myself legally; I'm saying that to protect your income.

Google's terms are strict but sensible. They stop people from talking users (who have no intention of buying from an advertiser) into clicking on an ad. They protect advertisers from having their sites promoted in places with objectionable content. And they stop publishers from playing around with the code.

That last point is important. One of the biggest reasons that people get banned from Google is that they play around with the code to improve the way their ads look. They get a bit too smart and think they can do a better job than Google. That's a terrible mistake.

If you break the Terms of Service - even accidentally - you could find yourself banned for life. That's the loss of all your AdSense revenues because of one silly mistake.

The fact is, there are lots of perfectly legitimate strategies that you can use to change the way your ads look. Google itself provides a whole box of tools that you can use - and you should use them. It's precisely how you use those tools that will determine whether or not your site brings in pennies or bucketloads of bucks. In fact, there are so many ways that you can change the way your ad looks that there's no need to touch the code at all.

That doesn't mean you can't use code at all though. One way to increase your click-throughs is to put the code inside a table so that the ads make a better impression on the page. Is that in line with Google's Terms of Service? You bet - provided you know how or do it right. And you can bet that it will have a great effect on your click-throughs and your revenues.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part VIII

2005-10-25T17:02:00.000-04:00

Is Someone Defrauding Your AdSense Account?

By Joel Comm

There are lots of different strategies that you can use to skyrocket your AdSense income. Repeatedly clicking on your ads isn't one of them. That's the sort of thing that Google take a pretty strong line on - and rightly so. It's just plain dumb and Google have a strong punishment for it: they can ban you for life.

That punishment's not unreasonable when someone's deliberately trying to con Google's advertisers. But it does leave a golden opportunity for anyone who wants to sabotage someone else's income.

If you're making a lot of money using AdSense - and you've also made an enemy or two - there's nothing to stop someone coming to your site, clicking your ads a couple of dozen times and wiping out your income.

Sound scary? It should. Once you get banned, that's it. It's very difficult to persuade Google to let you back in.

That's why when it comes to protecting your AdSense income, it pays to be proactive. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I talk a great deal about the importance of checking your stats and tracking your results. I explain what you should be looking for when you want to increase your revenues.

But you should also be looking to making sure that no one is trying to deliberately land you in trouble. If you see in your logs that your site received a stream of clicks in a short time - and from the same IP address - don't wait for Google to get in touch. (Their letter won't be pleasant). Drop them a line right away, telling them that you've spotted some suspicious clicks on your site and ask them to investigate. You shouldn't be surprised if they write back and tell you that those clicks won't be counted towards your revenues but at least you'll still have your account and you'll still be earning.

It's pretty rare for someone to go out of their way to cause problems for AdSense users. Most of the people you meet on AdSense forums and other places online are good, decent folk who only want to help. But it is worth remembering that your site is vulnerable.

Just as you install anti-virus software to protect your computer so you should take action to protect your AdSense revenue. Track your stats closely and move first if you spot something suspicious.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part VII

2005-10-24T12:42:00.000-04:00

Three Types Of Websites That Can Make You A Fortune

By Joel Comm

One of the best things about making money on AdSense is that anyone can do it - and with just about any type of website. You don't have to own a mini-Amazon or build a budding Ebay to make big stacks of cash on the Internet; you just have to have a site that attracts users.

AdSense For Owners Of Commercial Sites
A lot of people who have built a website specifically to make money worry about putting ads on their sites. They're concerned that people might be put off buying if their browsing is interrupted by intrusive ads.

That's absolutely right. If your ads are intrusive, then you are going to annoy your users. But if you've used all the strategies I recommend in my book Google AdSense Secrets to blend your ads into the site, then not only will you keep your users sweet, you'll also increase the number of your click-throughs.

Not everyone who reaches your site will buy. In fact, most won't. You've paid for those users; shouldn't you profit from them? Put AdSense ads on the right pages and in the right way and you'll make even more money from your site. And that's the point, right?

AdSense For Owners Of Information Sites
Information sites are probably the most obvious places to put AdSense. If you've created a site that's designed to teach other people about your favorite topic - whether it's video games, mahjong or raising guppies - then AdSense is ideal for bringing your site money. Again, you'll still need to be smart about the way you use those ads (just put them on the site any old how and you'll barely make enough money to pay for the server.) Do it properly and use all the proven AdSense revenue-generating techniques and you'll be able to turn your hobby into cash.

AdSense For Owners Of Blogs
Blogs are intended to simply let people know what their writers think - and do no more than that. But a lot of bloggers have recently discovered that with the help of AdSense, their blogs can quickly become cash cows! Because they're updated regularly, Google loves blogs and because they have regular visitors so do advertisers.

The techniques used to get blog readers to click on ads are a bit special but once you've read up and know what you're doing, you should be able to turn your writing into a very nice income indeed.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips
Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part VI

2005-10-21T12:02:00.000-04:00

The #1 Biggest Mistake That People Make With Adsense

By Joel Comm

It's very easy to make a lot of money with AdSense. I know it's easy because in a short space of time, I've managed to turn the sort of AdSense revenues that wouldn't keep me in candy into the kind of income that pays the mortgage on a large suburban house, makes the payments on a family car and does a whole lot more besides.

But that doesn't mean there aren't any number of mistakes that you can make when trying to increase your AdSense income - and any one of those mistakes can keep you earning candy money instead of earning the sort of cash that can pay for your home.

There is one mistake though that will totally destroy your chances of earning a decent AdSense income before you've even started.

That mistake is making your ad look like an ad.

No one wants to click on an ad. Your users don't come to your site looking for advertisements. They come looking for content and their first instinct is to ignore everything else. And they've grown better and better at doing just that. Today's Internet users know exactly what a banner ad looks like. They know what it means, where to expect it - and they know exactly how to ignore it. In fact most Internet users don't even see the banners at the top of the Web pages they're reading or the skyscrapers running up the side.

But when you first open an AdSense account, the format and layout of the ads you receive will have been designed to look just like ads. That's the default setting for AdSense - and that's the setting that you have to work hard to change.

That's where AdSense gets interesting. There are dozens of different strategies that smart AdSense account holders can use to stop their ads looking like ads - and make them look attractive to users. They include choosing the right formats for your ad, placing them in the most effective spots on the page, putting together the best combination of ad units, enhancing your site with the best keywords, selecting the most ideal colors for the font and the background, and a whole lot more besides.

The biggest AdSense mistake you can make is leaving your AdSense units looking like ads.

The second biggest mistake you can make is to not know the best strategies to change them.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part V

2005-10-20T12:13:00.000-04:00

The 5 Most Important Things You Must Know About AdSense

By Joel Comm

Whether you're just starting out with AdSense or whether you've been using it for years, the success of your ads will depend on knowing five absolutely essential pieces of information about AdSense:

1. AdSense Can Make You A Huge Heap Of Cash
Lots of people make the mistake of believing that AdSense is only good for bringing a site a few extra pennies a month. Wrong! AdSense can fund your lifestyle - if you get it right.

2. Junk Sites Get Junk Income
But just because it's possible for a site to make a lot of money with AdSense, it doesn't mean that any site can make a lot of money with AdSense. Your site must have good content that can attract users on its own merit. There are a lot of different strategies available for producing good content for your site. You'll need to use them if you want to create the sort of site that makes real money.

3. Your Choice Of Ads Matter
One of the first things that you'll have to do when you join AdSense is to pick the types of ads you want to display. Success relies on following certain principles that encourage users to click and persuades them that they've got a reason to do so. You'll need to know those principles.

4. You Can Influence The Ads You Receive!
Here's a little known AdSense secret: you do have some control over the ads that get served on your site. That control isn't unlimited - but it is worth exercising. It's also a little complicated but it's got a lot do with keyword hotspots located in each Web page. (I explain it all in my book, Google AdSense Secrets.) That's definitely something you need to know!

5. Your Stats Are Your Best Friend
The stats you get with your AdSense account might look complicated and well, a bit dull... but they're packed with useful information that can have a massive effect on your revenues. To make real money with AdSense, you need to know what your stats are telling, what they're not telling you and where you can find out more.

There's a lot you need to know to make serious money with AdSense. If you're missing that information, you're just throwing money away.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part IV

2005-10-19T12:09:00.000-04:00

Making Public Service Ads Serve You

By Joel Comm

Making huge sums of money with AdSense isn't brain surgery. You simply have to know what you're doing. If you know which types of ads to choose, where to place them on the page and how to use Google's options to design them so that they get the maximum number of click-throughs, you should find your site earning heaps of money very quickly.

But things can go wrong. Revenues can be disappointing, clicks non-existent and pages designed to put off users instead of encourage them to check out your advertisers. You know when one of the worst things possible has gone wrong when, instead of seeing ads on your page, you get public service ads. These turn up when Google doesn't recognize your keywords or can't find a suitable ad to put on your Web page. Instead of showing a blank box, it puts up ads for all sorts of charities, none of which you choose - and none of which earn you revenue.

You might like the idea of your site working for charity. But you might like it better if your site worked for you and you decided how much of that revenue to give to the charities you choose.

That's why smart AdSense subscribers - the ones who understand how AdSense works and make giant revenues from it - make sure that they have alternatives set up to stop their sites being used to advertise Google's favorite charities.

There are lots of different ways you can do that. For example, you could create your own pseudo-AdSense ads and use those as alternate URLs to promote your other sites. Or you could use one of the several companies that will use that space to give you targeted paying ads.

There's nothing mean about using these strategies. The fact that Google makes it possible to use them shows that they understand that your space is for you not for them - and that you should earn from it.

With a little bit of reading, you'll find that it's easy to create a website that always serves high-paying AdSense ads. But even the smartest AdSense users make sure that they've got insurance should something go wrong. It's easy to do and your revenues deserve it.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm
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Google's AdSense Program Part III

2005-10-18T14:40:00.000-04:00

Great Content - The Secret Of High AdSense Revenues

By Joel Comm

There are two ways to think about AdSense: you can think of it as a
way to use your website to make money; and you can think of it as a way to make money with a website.

What's the difference?

The difference is in the content. In the first case, you already have a website and you simply put AdSense on the page to turn it into cash. You might change the content a little to influence the ads and you could make sure that you include the best keywords to bring you the highest revenues. You should certainly play with the way the ads look on the page to make them attractive and unobtrusive - and there's a huge range of different strategies you can use to do that.

Ultimately though, the content is there already. You're just using AdSense to turn the content you're going to create anyway into money - and you're going to use AdSense secrets to make those revenues as high as possible.

But lots of people also want to build a website from scratch for the sole purpose of cashing in on all the money available through AdSense. There's nothing wrong with that - provided the content is high quality.

This is crucial. Google doesn't take kindly to sites packed with keywords and all sorts of other garbage just to provide a space to put up an AdSense unit. There's a good chance they won't approve the site, and little chance, even if they did, that you'd get any click-throughs.

But that doesn't mean you have to really bust a gut to create the sort of website that brings you a small fortune in AdSense revenues. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I discuss in detail a number of different methods that you can use to create great content quickly and easily. Some of these methods cost a little money; some are completely free and still give you outstanding content. Whichever method you use though the important to remember is that your site has to have real content that people will genuinely enjoy reading. There's no point in trying to cut corners in creating content - and absolutely no revenue to gain.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips

Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
joel comm
adsense
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Google's AdSense Program - Part II

2005-10-17T12:16:00.000-04:00

Can You Choose Your AdSense Ads?

By Joel Comm

AdSense delivers great click-throughs and high revenues for one reason: the ads are targeted to what the user wants. Google's robot picks out keywords on your page, gets a grip on what your website is about and delivers links that take users to sites that interest them.

That's great news... up to a point. As much as you want your users to click on ads that look interesting, you might not want to trust to a robot to pick those ads - and you might prefer to have ads on your page that pay the highest amount possible for each click.

But you don't get the choice. You can do lots of things to improve your AdSense revenue, from selecting the layout of your ad unit to choosing the color and size of the font, but one thing you can't do is slip into Google's database and choose the ads. If you could do that, no one would ever choose the low-paying ads.

That doesn't mean you can't do anything at all though. The fact is, some smart publishers have been noticing all sorts of interesting results after playing with their HTML code and changing some of the text on their Web page. And some of those results have been very surprising indeed.

For example, some publishers have found that placing keywords in certain positions on the page can have an immediate effect on the ads served. The owner of a site about recreation vehicles then would be able to do a little research online to find the highest paying keywords in his area and then - if he knew where those hotspots were - he could place those keywords in the right areas on the page. In addition to the usual ads about camper vans and RV's that his site would receive, the publisher could be certain that at least one of the ads was the highest paying possible. That's the sort of knowledge that's worth money in your pocket.

Why some areas of a Web page should be more important than others is a mystery well kept by Google's programmers. But some of Google's ad secrets are leaking out - and they're being snapped up by smart publishers who understand that knowledge and strategy are the keys to massive AdSense revenues.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit AdSense Tips
Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense ebook, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
joel comm

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Google's Adsense Program

2005-10-13T12:40:00.000-04:00

This is the first in a series about the Google Adsense program, and what things make it worthwhile. Learn what works and, more importantly, what doesn't -

Adlink Units: Are They Worth It?

By Joel Comm

When Google first launched AdSense, there was some skepticism from publishers. As much as most people were blown away by the idea of ads that were targeted to the content of a Web page there was the question of whether users, used to banners and skyscrapers, would click on something that looked so different.

Boy, were those doubters wrong! AdSense has more than proved its worth to advertisers, users and publishers.

A similar sense of skepticism greeted Google's launch of AdLink units. With nothing more than a list of links (which then lead to the ads), these units contain even less information than a traditional AdSense unit. And the user has to click twice before the publisher gets paid. That makes them sound about as welcoming as a winter barbeque in Siberia.

It took a while for publishers to discover that actually AdLink units weren't as bad as they looked, and that with a smart bit of positioning they could actually take advantage of the way some pages are laid out. In fact, for some designs, they were able to reach parts that other AdSense units just couldn't reach!

And best of all, publishers quickly discovered that once someone clicked on an AdLink unit, they would almost always click on the ad that followed. That did their revenues the world of good and removed the two-click doubt.

The old AdLink units then were effective, but fairly limited. They were great if you knew the one or two places on the page to use them but not so good if you didn't. Recently though, Google has launched horizontal AdLink units that have taken these ads into a whole new realm. Because they fit neatly across a page they're useful for a much broader range of page designs and are much more flexible. On the other hand though, they're now competing for space directly with the traditional ad units, making it even harder for publishers to figure out which ads to place where.

Is all this good news for publishers or bad news?

It's great news for savvy publishers who have more tools to maximize their AdSense revenues (and know what to do with those tools) but it's bad news for people who don't make the effort to learn how use AdSense - and now have more ways to miss out.

For more Google AdSense tips, visit
Adsense Tips
Copyright © 2005 Joel Comm. All rights reserved

Joel Comm is Dr. AdSense, an Internet entrepreneur who has been online for more than 20 years. Joel is co-creator of ClassicGames.com, now known as Yahoo! Games and is the author of the web's best-selling AdSense e-book, "Google AdSense Secrets (Or What Google Never Told You About Making Money With Adsense)".

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technorati link
adsense
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Free Viral Search Engine

2005-10-05T12:02:00.000-04:00

I've just discovered one of the most amazing ways to get viral exposure to ANY site you want -

Jeff Mulligan has come up with a Search Engine that "attaches" itself to your website, in the form of a pop-under or an exit pop-up.

I know, I KNOW - people hate pop-ups -
But the fact is, they do work.

This one of the most un-annoying, unobtrusive pops I've seen. No flashing lights or pictures, no critters moving around, nothing like that.

And besides, it's FREE to use. Just register and get the code to stick in any (or all) of your webpages - even your blog (I've installed it on mine). And - it WILL work with GDI pages built using the SiteBuilder.

It's Free
It's Viral
It's Un-annoying
It's been tested extensively by Jeff - so it WORKS.

Either click on the title above, or go here to get it.

P.S. As a bonus, Jeff offers you a way to make a few bucks with his creation - for no added work.
Go here

P.S.S. Need a website to put your code in?
Here's a simple and inexpensive way to get your own site with your own domain name - I highly recommend it.
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technorati link
viral
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Ad Tracking and Why It's Critical to Success: Part V

2005-09-16T14:46:00.000-04:00

This will be the last in this series about Ad trackers and why using one is critical to your online success. I hope you have enjoyed reading them.

The next series planned will be concerning Google's Adsense program, and tips regarding it - stay tuned !

*************************

Affiliates and webmasters aren't the only ones online that benefit from using ad trackers -

Here are two more areas that greatly benefit from tracking ads and links.

E-zine Publishers

(1) Win advertisers with tracking reports
If you sell advertising space in your e-zine you can offer to your advertisers to replace their URLs with your tracking URLs and e-mail them the results.

Tell your advertisers about these benefits in your advertising guidelines.

They will know the number of click-throughs their ad has generated; they can then decide how to improve their ads for better performance.

If they use a tracker program with your own domain name in the tracking URL your e-zine subscribers will be more inclined to click.

They can use your e-zine as a test center, modifying their ads until they are happy, before launching with other publishers. This saves them time and money; they will remember your service, and may even recommend you to their associates.

(2) Use tracking report results
The tracking reports above will provide you, the publisher, with information on your subscribers' interests, influencing your editorial content and helping you select which potential advertisers to approach. Also, once your advertisers have seen for themselves the benefits of an ad tracking program they will be inclined to purchase one. So set yourself up as an affiliate TrackThatAd.com and promote it to them.

(pssst - Remember? TrackThatAd is free. Why wouldn't they try something as good as this for free?)

(3) Measure your readership
You may already know how many subscribers you have, but how many actually open and read your e-zine, and which parts of it attract the most attention ?

Here's how to find out if you distribute your e-zine in HTML Format: include an image on your page, e.g. a banner or logo or a single pixel GIF. Then reference this image with a tracking URL.

For an e-zine distributed as plain text it is not possible to see if it is actually opened or read. But what you can do is insert tracking URLs at the appropriate points, such as product offers or special articles, and get comparative figures for which items are being read.

Using Pay Per Click Search Engines

(1) Better click activity reporting
Pay per clicks search engines will report to you click activity on your URL. Engines vary in the frequency and format of the reporting so you can use tracking URLs instead to obtain better information.

(2) Prevent fraudulent activity
You can compare your figures with the engine's and should query any large discrepancy

If click activity is unusually high you may have a competitor clicking on your ppc ads just to incur costs against you. You may be able to detect this by comparing the figures for unique hits and actual hits (several hits per visitor).

*********************

There you have it - those who (IMHO) must use an adtracker -
Affiliates -
Webmasters -
E-Zine Publishers -
Pay-Per-Click Users -

I guess that just about covers everybody ?

The ad-tracker that will do all of the items we have been discussing in this five-part series is found at (of course)
Trackthatad.com

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technorati link
ad tracking
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Let's take a break -

2005-09-12T15:11:00.000-04:00

Came across this while surfing on
Thought it was pretty cool - and accurate.

Your Personality Profile

You are nurturing, kind, and lucky.
Like mother nature, you want to help everyone.
You are good at keeping secrets and tend to be secretive.

A seeker of harmony, you are a natural peacemaker.
You are good natured and people enjoy your company.
You put people at ease and make them feel at home with you.

The World's Shortest Personality Test

So what if I had to click twelve times to find the one that truly described me?

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technorati link
personality test
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Ad Tracking and Why It's Critical to Success: Part IV

2005-09-12T09:01:00.000-04:00

Craig Haywood and Mike Filsaime, experts at list-building, discuss aspects of ad tracking, list building and auto responders. Just click the ">" button to be a fly on the wall and listen in.

To get your own FREE ad-tracker click HERE

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technorati link
ad tracking
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Ad Tracking - and Why It's Critical to Success: Part III

2005-09-09T16:17:00.000-04:00

Where or how can affiliates use ad-trackers?

Some suggestions:

(1) The long URL problem
Have you ever seen an ad where you are asked to click on an affiliate URL so long that it stretches over 2 lines, like this:

http://www/anysite.com/cgi-bin/dir1/dir2/.cgi?code=123RT&type=10235&subid=89715

Do you think your reader will bother to do the necessary cut and paste to put it in a browser? Probably not... And that's probably one lost sale.

And even a one-line affiliate link may exceed the permissible length for some ad posting requirements.

The solution: use a short tracking URL.
Get one here

(2) Losing your affiliate code
As an affiliate you may have your affiliate code embedded in a link something like this: http://www.abc.com/123

Some customers will bypass the affiliate code and just type in the home URL http://www.abc.com (possibly because they think that they will be paying extra for an agent's commission).

The solution: use a tracking URL - so that your affiliate code number is never seen.

(3) Make your ad stand out
You may have seen search engine results showing near identical listings for the same product, differing only in an affiliate code appended to the URL. Your listing here will be just one of many unless you make it stand out. So bypass the standard affiliate URL and use a tracking URL.

(4) How effective are the links ?
You can measure and compare the effectiveness of the different banners or text links the affiliate programs provide you by using a tracking URL.

(5) Changing links
If an affiliate company changes their links, then your existing ads, wherever they are posted, become worthless. But if you use a tracking URL you simply revise the affiliate URL at the tracking control center.

(6) Affiliate program discontinued
Similarly, if an affiliate program is discontinued you just change your tracking URL to a new page where you explain the circumstances and point your visitor to your other promotions.

(7) Better affiliate stats
Not all affiliate programs provide you with stats about visitors. And if they do, are they adequate ?

Compare a basic monthly figure such as:

Jan. - 39 hits

with a detailed analysis such as:

Jan. 12 - 10 hits
Jan. 13 - 2 hits
Jan. 20 - 21 hits
Jan. 21 - 6 hits

where you can relate those dates to particular ad campaigns. Tracking URLs will give you these improved figures.

(8) Checking affiliate stats
Even if you do receive good stats from your affiliate program it still makes sense to use tracking URLs so that you can compare your figures with theirs. A large discrepancy could mean errors in their software or (hopefully not) fraudulent activity on their part. An alternative reason is that their measurement takes place when their page is fully loaded rather than at the start, indicating that visitors are clicking away because it is taking too long to load.

How can an ad-tracker help you with your website?

At Your Web Site:

(1) The problem of permanent URLs
Web sites are continually evolving and changing. You may want to rename a page to make it more consistent and logical but there's a huge problem. You have given out the URL in an e-book, or a directory submission, or an article or wherever. There's no way you can undo this.

The solution ?

Never provide the actual URL, just a tracking URL. You can then just edit the link at Trackthatad.com whenever a page is moved or renamed. The external links, in your e-book for example, stay the same but they will redirect to your new page.

(2) What are your visitors doing ?
You have text links all over your site, links to your other pages and links to recommended sites.

Where are your visitors clicking ?

Where are they leaving your site ?
Why, and how can you stop them ?

Which graphic do they click on the most ?

Do they click on text links more than graphic links ?

Your log files may tell you at best which are the most popular pages at your site, but it is vital to know how your visitor moves through your site and what is tempting them. Use tracking URLs to replace actual links wherever you need to monitor click activity.

(3) Sell website advertising space
You can offer tracking reports to your advertisers in the same way as for ezine publishers (above)

(4) Stop piracy
If you have invested man(or woman)-months of time setting up a vital resource site involving a directory of links, it's very easy for a pirate to simply copy your page and provide useful content for her/his own site. Bummer !

If you use tracking URLs for those directory links you can detect this copy - because the ad tracking program will record the referring URL. Gotcha !

At the same time, of course, you can measure the popularity of the directory links.

The ad-tracker that will do all of this?
Trackthatad.com, of course -

**Stay tuned for more in this series -

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Ad Tracking - and Why It's Critical to Success: Part II

2005-09-08T17:19:00.000-04:00

**************************

We will continue with this series for a few more posts - hm

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How does ad tracking work?
It's very simple -

you don't have to change anything at your web site

you don't have to examine your web site logs

you don't have to make copies of your web pages

You just replace the URL that you want to place in your ad with a "tracking" URL which we will give you.
("we" are Trackthatad.com )

Let's have an example.

Suppose you want to run an ad campaign by placing an ad in the XYZ newsletter for a product at your web page http://www.yoursite.com
You first decide on a special code/description unique to this campaign, in this case a code "XYZ newsletter" would be suitable.

Then you just tell the ad tracking program to provide you with the tracking URL for http://www.yoursite.com with a code "XYZ newsletter".

As simple as that, you just feed in 2 pieces of information. (The beauty of Trackthatad.com is that you can set these up in seconds).

The system then provides you with a new URL - a tracking URL - and this is the one that you place in the ad.

So now when someone reads that ad and clicks on the new URL they will be taken to http://www.yoursite.com and the ad tracking system will register that the click came from your XYZ newsletter campaign.

It couldn't get any simpler or easier (unless I do it for you, and that ain't likely).

So Track that ad !

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Ad Tracking - and Why It's Critical to Success

2005-09-06T12:36:00.000-04:00

Why must You use ad tracking?
Every business must advertise.
The more effective your ads - the greater your profits.
So how do you make your ads more effective?

There's only two factors:

1. The content - the words you use in your headline and the body
2. The location where you place your ad

And, as the expert marketers will tell you, by constant experimenting, changing, tweaking and testing you'll eventually find the best combination.

Simple as that... Except for one thing -

How do you carry out the testing ?

As visitors flock to your website how do you know which ad has brought them there ? Are they coming from:

a banner ad
a newsgroup ad
a signature tag
a published article
a free link posting
an auto responder campaign
a reciprocal link
an affiliate program
a free classified ad
an e-zine ad
a forum posting
an email marketing campaign

Wouldn't you like to know which of these received the best response?

whether free classified sites are worth the effort
which e-zines are the most profitable
how a sponsored e-zine ad compares to the standard one
whether animated banners are better than static ones
how effective are your email signatures: does the one with the word "free" in the headline fare best
does the ad at the start of an e-zine outperform the one at the end
and so on

There's only one way to find out the answers to all these questions, and to really know the effectiveness of every single ad, banner, link that you run.

You MUST use an ad tracking program.

Here's a free one that works GREAT -->

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Market your ONline business OFFline

2005-08-31T14:56:00.000-04:00

JD Tutterow
© 08/31/2005

While we’re all trying to market online, there is still something to be said for marketing your ONline business OFFline. Several methods exist – direct mail, billboard ads, newspaper/magazine ads, etc.

One of the easiest ways is with business cards. You’ve seen them – on bulletin boards in restaurants, on counter tops and tables in local businesses (maybe at your hair salon). Did you ever take one, or write down the information from one? Maybe you planned to call the business later to get a quote on some work you wanted done?

Well, guess what! You just got “marketed” by the business owner – and you didn’t even know it (maybe you did know it, but you didn’t mind).

Doesn’t it go to reason that if YOU picked up someone’s card that interested you (talk about a TARGETTED prospect!), then wouldn’t someone interested in YOUR business pick up one of YOUR cards?

Some quick suggestions for “drop card” marketing –

1. Make the card interesting (so it will get picked up) and very specific on what you want the person to do – call a phone number, go to a webpage, whatever. If you’re directing a person to a webpage, use a URL that you don’t use anywhere else – then you’ll know visitors are directly from those that looked at your card. Better yet, use a tracking URL.

There are multiple sources to get a tracking URL, but here’s one I use and it works great . There are many unique tools included with this tracker that you will not find anywhere else. How cool is that?

2. Make notes of where, when, and how many you place. Check at regular intervals to replenish (you hope) the supply. Always have some with you to handle those “spur of the moment” opportunities.

3. Start with limited placements.
What I mean is this – Don’t put your cards at 100 different locations to start with. When your site gets visits, you won’t know which location the visitor picked up a card from. That’s where the tracking URL helps.
Here’s the tracker I prefer.

Last, but not least -

4. Be sure to get permission from the business owner prior to leaving your card(s). You may check back and find them all in the trash. Ouch! Besides, the owner may just be interested in a business website – you never know.

50 Places To Leave Your Business Card
(some you may not have thought about – I hadn’t)

Doctor's Office (people get tired of magazines printed in 1985)
Dental Office
Mechanic’s Waiting Room
Laundromats
College Campuses
Back of Bathroom Stall Doors (who’d a thought?)
Libraries
Hair Salons
Tax Preparation Offices
Insurance Office
Dry Cleaners
Dairy Queen / Baskin Robbins
Bagel Shops
Donut Shops (my favorite)
Deli
ATM's
Veterinarians
Nail Salons
Day Care Centers
Retirement Homes (kids and grand kids need websites too)
Model New Home Centers
Real Estate Agent Offices
Corner Stores
In Front of Magazines at Check Out Lines (or stick it IN the magazine)
With Toll Booth Collectors
Grocery Store Clerks
Video Stores
Dressing Rooms
Bank Tellers
Shoe Stores
Kids Resale Shops
Gymboree Centers
Temporary Staff Offices
Flower Shops
Restaurants
Pet Stores
Dance Studios
Grocery Stores Where You Leave Your Ads
Mortgage Offices
Computer Stores (how appropriate)
School Administration Offices
Fabric Stores
The Bakery
Print Shops (might get a deal on printing your cards)
Cashiers at Dealerships
Tanning Salons
Vitamin Stores
Sales People At Any Store
Movie Theater Lobbies
With Your Tip at Restaurants (be sure it’s a good tip)

Got it? Good!
Now get your business cards, choose a few locations (get permission!) and distribute your cards.

Market your ONline business OFFline -

About the Author:
JD Tutterow is an Internet Marketer, and an Independent Representative of Global Domains International.
Click here to visit his personal GDI website. GDI offers personal domains with all the tools necessary to construct a professional website. Personalized business cards are also available.

Permission granted to reprint this article as long as the resource box is included, and the content remains unchanged.

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3 Sources of Content All Affiliates Should Use...

2005-08-24T14:52:00.000-04:00

by Anik Singal
August 23, 2005
Copyright 2005 Kurma Group

As an affiliate, it's critical that you have a website.

"Having" a website is not always the hardest part – the hardest part is that your website needs to get traffic! So, how do you get traffic?

There is absolutely no question that the best form of traffic is search engine traffic. Search engines can deliver highly targeted traffic that is absolutely free.The catch?

Well, how do you get search engines to give you traffic in the first place? How do you convince a robotic spider that your website deserves their attention?

One word: Content

Search engines have one primary goal: To serve their visitors with quality content targeted to what their visitor is looking for. A search engine is going to do anything in their power to rank websites based on what they think is relevant.

So, in the end, your real job is to find a way to convince the search engines that your website is better suited for your topic than a competitor's website – in other words – you need to better optimize your website for a given keyword that another website also uses.

All in all this means that your website needs content. Day by day the “amount” of content your website needs is increasing. As more websites compete, the search engines are looking for more and more content on your website.

Search engines are giving more credibility (hence traffic) to larger websites with more updated content. They figure that if a website has lots of pages that are constantly updated, it is a more credible website. So, now how does the little guy, an affiliate, compete and keep their website on the top?

Three Sources of Fast and Credible Content

1. Article Directories
Many argue that article directories are bad places to get articles from because of the “duplicate content” penalty that search engines may throw at you. However, what they do not realize is that search engines penalize duplicated PAGES, not content – there is a difference. This means that search engines are looking for duplicate HTML rather than duplicate articles. It is common sense that certain articles and press releases may be placed on multiple places on the internet – this has been happening since the beginning of the internet.

However, if HTML is duplicated, then the search engines know that someone is trying to trick them.Feel free to grab articles from directories, just make sure that you are plugging these articles into your own unique HTML files – create your own custom templates.

2. Blogs
Blogs have become extremely powerful lately – search engines are devouring them. Why? Well blogs are short for “web log” – an internet based journal. Just the title automatically indicates that the blog will be consistently updated. Blogs are also very clean and simple HTML with easy to follow navigation for search engines. If you have not yet, it is a wise decision to launch a blog on your own website.

3. Product Reviews/Information
Many affiliates who sell physical products or have websites that sell hundreds or thousands of websites argue that they cannot possibly write articles to promote all the products. Question: How do you have meaningful pages of “content” if you sell lots of products and writing articles is too difficult? Answer: Write product reviews or copy/paste information on that product.

If you ever search for an electronic item in the search engines, you’ll find that the top ranking sites are not always articles but are typically just websites that sell that product. Some of them have “reviews” of the product and others just have copied and pasted information from the company. So, a fast way to get content is to simply “borrow” technical specs and reviews on the product. But remember, put these into your own template (since it is repeated content).

There you have it – 3 sources for fast content to help you fill your website with many pages that search engines can index and then refer traffic to.

This article is written by Anik Singal, founder of The Affiliate Classroom. Anik Singal has developed his own affiliate system that helped him earn well over $10,466 in just 60 days. Now, he's looking for a few students to train one step at a time.
www.AffiliateClassroom.com

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6 Tips to Explode Your Offline or Online Business

2005-08-23T10:32:00.000-04:00

by Monique Hawkins
August 23, 2005
Copyright 2005 Monique Hawkins

If you have a business either online of offline, your goal is to be successful. You want people to find out about your business and use your products or services. Did you know that the things you do from the early stages of your business will help it either succeed or fail? I know you want to be successful and that’s why I am sharing these 6 tips to help your business explode! Follow them and you can’t help but be on your way to success!

Tip #1: Start a Business that You Are Not Only Passionate About, But Also Can Have Fun With!
Having a successful online or offline business should not be boring and something you hate - it should be fun! Think on this: Why did you start the business to begin with? Why did you decide to market your particular product or service? If you have done your research, are passionate about what you are doing, plus you are enjoying yourself, this can greatly impact your level of success.

Tip #2: Develop Relationships With Your Customers.
View your customers as your friends. Why? Well, if your customers trust you and you have taken the time to build that trust, don’t you think they will be more open to purchase from you again if they’ve had a positive experience? Of course they will! So, work on those relationships.

Tip #3: Be Mentored.
If you want to have a successful business, you need to understand the importance of mentors. A good mentor can help you in so many ways, particularly if you are new to the business world or new to the industry.

A mentor can inform you of possible risks and help you limit them. They are perfect sounding boards when it comes to processing new ideas, new approaches, and are able to give you constructive feedback. A mentor can play a huge role in the success of your online or offline business no matter what stage it is in.

Tip #4: Follow the Advice of the Planet’s Best Business Consultant.
There is no question that the legendary Jay Abraham is the super business consultant. When we talk about succeeding in your business, Jay is the “go to” man. His “7 Point Worldview of Business” is something every business owner should learn more about. You’ll not want to miss a word of what he has to say in the following 7 points:

1. Your business should be fun.
2. Your business should be easy.
3. Your business should be obscenely profitable.
4. Your business should be easier to grow geometrically than incrementally.
5. You should be able to do your business your way.
6. Your customers are your great friends.
7. If the world were a 3D movie, you would be the only one with the special glasses.

Jay has the best advice out there. Follow it and you’ll experience business in a way you never dreamed possible. Jay, by the way, does have a fast, super affordable mentoring program for any business owner who desires to take their business to the next level and watch it soar. I highly recommend you at least listen to what he has to say.

You do not have to do this the hard way all on your own.

Tip #5: Don’t Hold Yourself Back.
Never hold yourself back when it comes to success. Too many people out there dream of success, they dream of owning or running their own business, they dream of making their dreams come true. The problem is that they never ACT! The biggest obstacle in your path to success may be yourself. It might sound like a cliché but you need a “can do” attitude. You need to think, speak and feel successful and then you will be successful. Learn to overcome your fears and move forward.

Tip #6: Surround Yourself with Like Minded People. Let’s face it-sometimes your friends and families lack of understanding and negative attitudes related to what you are trying to accomplish can be like a weight around your neck and can be very detrimental. If you associate frequently with people who are negative, pessimistic, and generally are not supportive, then maybe it’s time to change your friends. You can’t change your family of course, but maybe your goals and aspirations can’t be shared with them because of their lack of understanding. Maybe it’s time to surround yourself with individuals who are encouraging, supportive, and who express faith in you. If you do this, you’ll be amazed at what this type of influence can do for you and your business.

To sum it all up, whether your business is online or offline, there are many things that you can do to ensure success that go beyond even these 6 tips. Remember to keep your head up, have faith in yourself and your business, and confidence that you will succeed. You will succeed!

Monique Hawkins is the owner of the online music box store, "Monique's Music Box" located at:
www.my-music-box.com.
She enjoys sharing information with business owners that will help them attain success. Visit the following link for informaton about the Jay Abraham mentoring program:
www.abrahampublishing.net.

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Death of a Loved One

2005-08-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the longer-than-usual hiatus.
My wife's father (no, not her father, her dad) passed away very unexpectedly on Sunday night, August 14.

One important piece of the complete puzzle of our lives is now missing, and life will never be the same.

Regular posting will begin again on Tuesday, August 23.

Thanks for reading -

hm

Limited Time Only (Shh! It's A Secret)

2005-08-12T16:38:00.000-04:00

by Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com

Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After all, when you have something urgent to say, you want others to know about it, right? But when it comes to “limited time only” offers, lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. Copywriters seem to actually be hiding the phrase! Let me give you some examples.

I received a fabulous email from a ladies clothing site at which I like to shop. It was for 50% off my entire purchase of anything on their site (clearance items or regular price). Wahoo! What woman wouldn't love that? Trouble is, I almost missed the deal due to procrastination.

Like most busy women, I was going to go to the site and shop...later. However, I happened to notice, way down at the bottom of the email in tiny, little type, that the sale ended in two days. Why would they think the phrase "Limited time only - sale ends Friday, July 15, 2005 at midnight" was insignificant?

When I saw that phrase, I immediately zipped over to the site and began bargain hunting. (Found some fantastic deals, too!)

Here's another example.

As I was sitting at a fast food restaurant eating lunch, I was fiddling with the paper "tent" ads on the table. One was for a new salad (nope, not in a healthy mood) and one was for strawberry cheesecake. That sounded good, but I was almost finished with my sandwich and fries so I really didn't have room. I wasn't going home so I couldn't take it to go. I thought I'd just pick up a slice the next time I ate at this place until I saw - at the very bottom of the ad in teeny, tiny type - the "limited time only" phrase.

I know this restaurant. They bring new, test items in and out all the time. If they said, "Limited time only," I knew they meant it. Chances are (since I didn't get to eat at this restaurant often) I wouldn't get to try their cheesecake. If I had known it was a limited time offer, I would have ordered a slice before I got full.

Don't Play Games With Limited Time Offers

Make a point to let customers know they have to act fast, or they'll miss out. The fear of being left out or left behind is a basic human motivator that can be triggered pretty easily. The trick is to actually let your customers know an offer is limited in some way. Here's how to create a powerful limited time offer.

Things go on sale all the time, so if you're selling clothing or food or office supplies, you might have limited time offers that end simply because the sale date has past. However, if there is a reason your offer is limited (limited supply of items, testing a new item, etc.), tell the customer. This can actually increase the sense of urgency.

Make your offer credible. How do you do that? By sticking to your word. If you say an offer will end on a certain date, end it or give a darn good reason for extending the offer. If customers see that you continually tout "limited time offer," but keep the discount running past the deadline, you'll lose credibility and sales.

Give a reasonable deadline. Customers need time to act. Car manufacturers run incentive offers for a month or longer in part because of the high cost of vehicles and the need for arranging financing. The online clothing site I mentioned earlier set its deadline at two days (customers could easily click over to their site and shop immediately). Depending on the item, the purchasing medium and whether there is a need for financing or such, you can adjust your deadline to whatever works best for you.

When your customers understand you're making an offer that will expire shortly, they are motivated to act now, rather than later. If you give them a good enough reason not to procrastinate, you can see a major surge in sales. Urgency is never something you want to hide in your copy.

About the Author
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check out Karon’s latest e-report on search engine copywriting: “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at
www.copywritingcourse.com.

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Why A Simple Counter is Never Enough for Your Website

2005-08-11T12:52:00.000-04:00

by Michael Turner

A simple website stats counter is not enough if you are really interested in finding out information about your traffic.

Certainly, a simple web counter will tell you how many people have visited your site, but that is it. If you are trying to gain real information, you will need to have a web counter that does more than just count. Read the following reasons why you need more than a simple counter for your website.

Reason #1 - Time

A simple counter tells you how many visitors you have had in total. This is interesting information, but it is really not helpful overall. You also want to know what time people are visiting your sites, whether it is at night, on weekends, in the morning, and to know in general when your web pages are experiencing traffic and when they are not. Also, you want to know if these are new visitors or return visitors, a simple counter is not going to provide you with that information.

Reason #2 - Where Your Traffic Comes From

Another reason a simple site traffic counter is not enough is because you want to know where your traffic is coming from. For instance, if all your traffic is coming from Google and AltaVista then you might consider marketing to other search engines as well to get more traffic. Also, are people responding to e-mails, affiliate programs, or other types of advertisement to get to your site? All of this information will help you create a better site and make more money.

Reason #3 - Who Your Visitors Are

A simple counter is not going to tell you who your visitors are or how they found you. This is really important information because it lets you know what marketing techniques are working for you or not. You want to know what keywords are used to find your website, what links are being clicked on to bring you more traffic, what search engines are being used, and all the detailed information that helps guide you in your future marketing campaign. As you can see, a simple counter is not enough if you are interested in making the most of your marketing and your business.

Reason #4 - Equipment

This might not seem like an important thing to know, but it really is. With a professional counter you will be able to know which browsers and equipment, including screen sizes that the majority of your traffic is using. When you know this information you will better be able to design your website to reflect your customers’ equipment and browsers so they can view your page as best as possible.

If you really want to have the best site for your visitors and get the most traffic and make the most money possible, you will not employee a simple counter on your website but will take your success more seriously.

About the Author
Michael Turner reveals his foolproof way to increase website traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it free right now at www.powertraffictactics.com

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Viral Marketing Techniques Every Web Site Should Be Using

2005-08-05T12:08:00.000-04:00

by Titus Hoskins

Viral Marketing Techniques Every Web Site Should Be Using

Viral marketing can work wonders for any business, web site or product. It can be a great source of sales leads, one-way links and targeted traffic. Yet, many marketers are not taking full advantage of this 'viral factor' in their marketing efforts.

How about you? Are you using any viral marketing methods with your web site? Or does the word 'viral' make you cringe?

Many people believe 'viral marketing' is a myth, one of those Internet follies that only happens on rare occasions when some fantastic product or site comes along.

In reality, viral marketing techniques can be used by any web site - big or small. They can be used by any marketer who takes the time to put some simple steps into place. Viral marketing 'done right' can have many benefits. It will:

- increase your link popularity (often one way links)
- increase targeted traffic to your site
- build your brand recognition
- create targeted leads for your products
- automate your marketing efforts

Here are some simple viral marketing techniques you can try with your web site, product or business:

1. Word of Mouth - We have all seen this phenomenon displayed with many products . People spread the word about some great movie or gadget and suddenly everyone knows about it. Human nature dictates we tell our friends about some great product we have bought or found. Nature of the beast, it's just the way we are - so why not take full advantage of it?

If you have a web site - put up a simple 'tell a friend' form so your visitors can easily tell others about your great site. Easy and very simple to do, but many webmasters don't do it. Similarly, if you have a newsletter, service, product or with any aspect of your site - just include a few sentences at the end of your copy - asking very politely, "if you found this service, product or web site helpful - why not tell your friends, family and colleagues about it."

2. Branding - Make sure you have a logo on your site or product. Branding your site is very important if you want your site or product to be noticed and talked about. For that matter, a catchy brand name can be a 'viral technique' in itself - so try and come up with one that springs from the lips with a distinctive ring to it!

People recognize brands, it gives them a clear image of your site or product. Include your brand or logo on every page of your site and on every product, service, material coming from your site or business.

3. eBooks - Savvy marketers jumped on this new invention very quickly, they knew the 'viral' power of these little ebooks. Ebooks are electronic files that can be downloaded from any web site and distributed easily around the web. You can also have other webmasters or marketers, 're-brand' these ebooks with their own links. High quality ebooks get passed along very quickly and are great viral tools.

Anyone can write a simple ebook on the topic of their site. If you can't write, just get permission to use a collection of articles from the numerous 'article directories' on the web such as www.ezinearticles.com or www.goarticles.com . Ebook compiling software (in both .exe or pdf format) is relatively cheap or can be found for free on the net. Just Google to find it!

4. Viral Software - Some simple software products or applications can be very viral, often passed around or downloaded from the web by thousands each day. These have to be useful or handy products that the users will desire - ecalendars, organizers, personal planners, link checking software, and so on. Many are desktop products that sit on the computer user's desktop - prime location in the marketing arena.

And the best examples of this kind of viral software have the company logo, sales message and contact email - with LIVE LINKS to all of the above - conveniently displayed within the product. These simple software programs can be great viral promotional devices that spread like wildfire across the web. (get an example of this below in the author's resource box)

5. RSS - Newest player in the viral game! RSS which stands for 'Really Simple Syndication' and just by the nature of what it does; RSS is an awesome viral tool. Originally used by news organizations to syndicate their news stories, it is usually associated with Blogs because blogs use an RSS feed to distribute their content. Good quality RSS feeds are picked up and displayed by different web sites all across the web.

Since Microsoft has announced the next version of Windows will have RSS integrated into its operating system, new RSS applications will take viral marketing to heights that have not been witnessed before. Alert marketers are already gearing up for this viral explosion.

You should also be gearing up for RSS if you haven't already. Using a simple site like blogger.com (owned by Google) will give you a basic blog and RSS feed to spread your message or product to all interested parties.

These are just some viral techniques that will help increase your web presence. They will also boost your traffic and increase your links. Used properly, these viral techniques will also spread your website, product or service around the globe.

What more can you ask for?

About the Author
Get a Free DATEwise eCalendar & Personal Planner for your Desktop. It's a perfect example of 'viral marketing' in action! Click here for Free Desktop Calendar Copyright © 2005 Titus Hoskins of Free Marketing Tools
This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

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Titus Hoskins
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How I Get Hundreds Of Daily Website Visitors For Free

2005-08-04T18:21:00.000-04:00

by Louis Allport

Know about "Viral eBooks"?

It's not a new concept I'll admit, but it works like absolute gangbusters. In fact, over the past three years it has personally been responsible for bringing me hundreds of thousands of visitors to just one of my websites. AND - 100% for free.

Getting traffic with Viral eBooks is a "free traffic tactic", which means you're not paying for advertising. But, because you're not paying for this exposure, you need to instead create content that people WANT to pass on.

This takes effort, but if you do it right, it can pay you back hugely. Let's go through it:

Okay - for starters you can create Viral eBooks in two formats:

EXE (executable) format - which means it only works on PC's. This type of eBook looks like a website packaged together.

These types of eBooks look great, and all someone has to do to view it is download and double-click it. But, as mentioned it does only work on PC's, and generally the software to create these types of eBooks isn't free, although it is very affordable. (I personally use the software from eBookCompiler.com which as I write this retails for around $30.)

Alternatively - you can create and distribute Viral eBooks in the hugely popular PDF format. The advantage of PDF is that everyone can read them successfully whether they're viewing your eBook on PC, Mac or "other".

To read PDF successfully, the person who downloaded the eBook needs to have the free Adobe Reader installed on their computer. Most people do, and if they don’t it's a quick download from Adobe.com, so this isn't an issue.

Although PDF’s can be more widely read that EXE style eBooks, they’re not quite as flexible. With EXE's for example you can actually embed video and audio into the eBook. This isn't possible with PDF. With PDF you would need to instead include a link to where the reader can view or download the audio/video online.

So with this in mind, you need to decide what's most important to you and make your choice accordingly for eBook format. I personally don't recommended you create your eBook in both formats, since that just complicates the distribution process in my experience. Stick with one or the other.

For creating Viral PDF's - there's a wide array of software that allows you to create PDF's. Some of this software is free, some mind-bogglingly expensive. To view many available options, simply search Download.com or Tucows.com.

For creating Viral PDF's, I personally use software that I had specially created. And the advantage of my software is that it allows you to easily create fully *brandable* PDF's. This means that people can customize your PDF with their own affiliate or website details.

The benefit of this feature is that it makes it much more likely the PDF will spread far and wide for you as it gives the reader a strong incentive to pass the PDF on as they can now directly profit from it's distribution.

You can get this PDF branding software for free at BrandPDF.com

So those are your two options for eBook formats.

Now - how do you make it truly viral?

Well, first of all, decide what kind of visitors you want to your website, and create an eBook on a subject that would interest those people.

Your eBook has to be truly useful, interesting, and credible. Don't create a poor quality eBook since no one will read it, which means of course that no one will visit your site.

You can even include multi-media links within your eBook to related audio and video if you like, making your product even more interesting and unique. These download links lead back to your site of course, which naturally gets you more visitors.

If you're not familiar with a subject matter that would allow you to reach your target audience, you could perhaps have an eBook ghostwritten. There's plenty of Ghostwriters who would bid on a project you list for free at eLance.com.

(Ghostwriters are professional writers who create unique content for you on a subject of your choice, and give you all the rights to it, so you can use it as you choose. Many ghostwriters offer their services very affordably.)

Alternatively - an information-rich interview with an expert in the field could be a good solution. The person you interview gets free advertising that way too of course, so they may well be happy to spend the time.

Such an interview can be done either by email or by phone. The audio of a phone interview would be edited (to remove any mistakes) and then transcribed. Both the audio and transcript can then be offered in the eBook.

In my personal experience, longer interviews (more than just a few simple questions) don't work well by email since it can take the person being interviewed quite a lot of typing, and I find the momentum of the process quickly fades this way with every question asked, which can lead to significant delays.

For this reason, and to keep things quick and easy for the person being interviewed, I have generally gone with phone interviews in the past - one hour of interview generally creates from around 7,000 to 10,000 words of content.

Then after finalizing the recording and tidying the transcript, pass the product by the interview-ee before publication to confirm their approval.

And let me stress again - your eBook must be high quality and credible. The higher the quality the further it will spread.

If it's free to give away, maybe aim for an eBook that could sell for $20 comfortably - IF - it was being sold.

Use this as a rough guide to the kind of value you want to aim for with your eBook. The more value you offer in a subject your target market is interested in, the more people will pay attention to it. It's as simple as that.

So finally - how do you make the eBook as viral as possible?

One important point already mentioned more than once is to make the eBook very high quality.

The next important point also touched on is that it is very good to give people strong incentives to pass the eBook on, rather than simply hoping they do. To do this, give them benefits for passing it on. Particularly - by making it brandable so that the person passing it on can add their affiliate links, or even their "home page" address to it. For example:

"This eBook is brought to you by JoeBloggs.com"

If it's a free to sell eBook (which means: if you have a copy of the eBook, you have the automatic right to sell it yourself. In a sense these are resale rights that automatically roll from one eBook owner to the next) - have a ready-made and professional website and sales page linked to from within the eBook, so that it's easy for people to start selling it.

And if the offer, sales copy, website and product are all high quality, the eBook should sell well for everyone who resells it, which means it quickly spreads far and wide for you.

If you give everyone who gets a copy of the eBook a way to profit it will just keep on spreading for years to come. This has been my experience. Search for my name in Google to see this first hand.

And pay attention to the rights you give the eBook - loose rights for an eBook will help it spread far and wide quickly. Specify the rights within the first page or two of the eBook so there's no confusion. And don't just say "Master Rights". Explain the rights in an easy to understand way.

And let me also say that the more eBooks you create, the larger the "Viral Net" you'll have out there working for you to bring you visitors every single day.

I've personally been creating viral eBooks for around three years as I write this, and have over thirty eBooks out there on thousands upon thousands of web sites. AND - on tens of thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of personal computers around the world. And all these eBooks are working automatically every day to bring traffic back to my site.

Starting your own Viral eBook library can do the same for you.

About the Author
Louis Allport is an online product developer and marketer. To get a free download of his powerful "Viral PDF Generator" software, visit the following address:
Viral PDF Generator

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technorati link
eBooks
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Work-at-Home Dads VS. Work-at-Home Moms

2005-07-29T18:37:00.000-04:00

by Lawrence Pryor

The term work at home mom or "WAHM" is widely known for sure -but "work at home dads?" Hmmm are they not known as the "entrepreneurs"?

Whatever it is the ladies really call "work at home dads", working at home whether as mom or a dad is a full time job. The Internet is open to all of us, regardless of our sex, age, location, race, or any other obstacle that our minds see fit to throw at us.

Working online is the only true marketing medium that levels the playing the field by so much so that huge success and everything that goes with it can and should be achieved by those who are willing to put in the time and the effort. I have been working on-line for 6 years and I have had the pleasure of watching my
daughter grow up from a bouncing baby girl to a happy 7 year old with personality, and I would never, ever change it.

The Internet can allow you this freedom to choose what you want to do and when you want to do it. These are not just some motivational words - THIS IS REAL!

Actually "doing" something to get things rolling to start a home-based business is the first essential step... sounds easy right? But how many people who read the books, buy the marketing materials and go to the conferences.....actually go out and do it after spending $1000's of precious dollars? Believe me - over 93% of these people do absolutely nothing, zilch, zero, squat, nothing at all!! What a pure waste of money...but even better is the gap in the marketplace that they leave for those people who do want to it...heh

So just what does it actually take to start a home based business and be successful working from home? Many different factors make this up and no one thing is attributable but here are a few pointers to make you think. They are in no particular order, but are all equally important.

1# Dedication To See Through Any Task

2# Commitment

3# Perseverance

4# Faith

5# Have A Clear Plan Of What You Want To Achieve ( Be Realistic)

6# Spend Quality Time With Family

7# Set Up A Daily Or Weekly Task Schedule That You Will Stick Too

8# Promote Your Business Everyday In Some Form

9# Learn About Your Market

10# Don’t Give Up

11# Organise And Prioritize Your time

These pointers will give you some idea of what is needed to start your own home based business and to be successful on-line. But listen to this; there are NO SECRET OR MAGIC FORMULAS to it - at all. What you put into it YOU WILL get back out of it.

Remember that everything that you do to promote your business will have some sort of an effect, EVERYTHING!!

It is these build up of daily action plans/tasks and the ongoing promotions that will put your site on to auto-pilot when it is established. It will take time and effort on your part to do it, but it can and it is being done by many smart work at home dads and work at moms. It works FOR ALL - no exceptions...

About the Author
Lawrence Pryor has been working on-line since 1999 and is the Managing Director of www.Advent-Marketing.com. Lawrence is also the co Author of "Achieve Extreme Success" A booked dedicated on how to explode your profits on-line.
www.1-working-from-home.com

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Working from Home
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Rules Of Thumb For Marketing To Your Past Customers

2005-07-28T17:51:00.000-04:00

by Joy Gendusa

Keeping in touch can dramatically increase business, when done properly.

It’s a fact that your customers are your best leads. This means that the most likely people to purchase your products and/or services are the ones who have paid for them before. It’s also a fact that it costs far less money to keep a customer than it does to go out and get a new one. These are the two reasons that using direct mail to keep in touch with your customer database is a must. There are a few principles to follow when marketing to contacts in your company database that can maximize your bottom line.

Rule #1 - Collect all of their information.
It sounds like a no-brainer but you would be surprised. The more information that you have on your customers, the more likely it is that you will be able to get in touch with them to let them know about specials or to remind them it’s time for their next service. Also, don’t neglect to ask for your customers' email addresses, most everyone has one and most will give it up pretty easily.

Rule #2 – Don’t treat your customers like prospects.
Make sure when you collect the information in your database you differentiate between people who have placed an order in the past and people who have not. Customers want to feel like you are paying attention to them and when they have placed a few orders with you and are still getting your "10% for First Time Buyers" postcards they tend to feel unappreciated. Bottom line, if they don’t qualify for an offer you are sending out, don’t send it to them.

Rule #3 – Don’t let your designs get stagnant.
When you are mailing to databases of people that you have never spoken to before, it is OK to send them the same postcard multiple times. It helps to increase recognition and will eventually increase your response rate. Dealing with customers and prospects that you have already spoken to (meaning they already know most or all of the details of your business) you need to mix things up a bit. Your mailings should be attention getting and informative. If you have started offering a new service recently, a piece designed to let your database know about it would be a smart move. The main point is to keep your company in the front of their mind and to keep them reading your promotion.

Being great at what you do is not always enough to keep the customers that you have earned. With all of the competition out there today you need to be constantly reminding your customers that you are the best at what you do. Direct mail is the best way to give them that reminder.

Always remember to keep mailings that you send to your database informative, attractive and most of all current. Personalize everything that you can and make sure that what you are sending to a past client actually pertains to them or their company. Anything less and your customer may start to drift, and the only people that are going to be happy when that happens are your competitors.

About the Author
Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did $9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy.
Visit www.postcardmania.com

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Customers
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3 Proven Ways To Build Your Opt-In List

2005-07-27T13:16:00.000-04:00

by Chris Coffman

3 Proven Ways To Build Your Opt-In List

If you've been involved in online marketing for any amount of time, you've probably heard the phrase "The money is in the list!" Why? Because those who are successful online use their mailing list to generate massive profits. It's no secret! A large list equals instant cash. But how do you build your own responsive list?

Here are three proven methods anyone can use to build their own "guru sized" mailing list.

1. Co-registration Lists

Co-registration is the secret tool many gurus use to build their lists to jaw dropping numbers. It's now possible to have a targeted list of 100,000 subscribers in as little as one month.

Co-registration companies are able to generate these large numbers by placing small advertisements for your list on various websites across the internet.

Sounds great, right?

There are a couple of drawbacks to using this method. You'll usually pay a hefty fee, and the subscribers will not be as responsive as the one you collect from your own website.

But if you're looking for a quick and easy way to build the giant opt-in list you've always wanted, co-registration is the route for you.

2. Write Articles

Writing and submitting articles not only creates hundreds of links to your website, but also gives you the opportunity to generate thousands of new subscribers.

At the bottom of each article, you should provide a five line advertisement for your mailing list known as the resource box. Inside your resource box, you should offer a free report or e-book in exchange for the reader's e-mail address. You'll usually see better results if you provide your auto-responder address inside your resource box rather than a link to your website.

When you article is published by an e-zine, you'll have thousands of responsive readers viewing your article and resource box. If you're free offer is a product that many people will be interested in receiving, you'll notice a large spike in new subscribers each time your article is published.

One of the fastest ways to get your articles noticed is through an automated service.

3. Pay Per Click Landing Pages

Google AdWords allows anyone to generate almost instant traffic to their website 24 hours a day. By tapping into this powerful avenue, you can pick up new subscribers for a little as .05 a click.

The secret to success with PPC advertising is to create a landing page. Landing pages are one page websites that offer a freebie(s) in exchange for the visitors e-mail address. When a visitor clicks on a PPC ad, they are directed to a landing page. They can either leave or provide their contact information. It all depends on your
offer. If you can create enough interest in your offer through your copy, your landing page will become an e-mail vacuum.

You've just read three powerful list building techniques. By using one or all of them, you can expect to see substantial gains in the number of people subscribed to your mailing list. And before too long, you'll also be "bragging" about your guru sized opt-in list.

About the Author
Chris Coffman currently publishes Net Marketing Weekly. Subscribe today and you'll receive the entire $97 Internet Marketing Success Course for Free!
netmarketingweekly.com

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Here's an example of a landing page in use now:

A SIMPLE, Fully-Automated, REJECTION-FREE Internet Marketing System! Click here

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Mailing List
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8 Reasons To Be An Affiliate Marketer

2005-07-25T17:16:00.000-04:00

by Andrew Hansen

When I began affiliate marketing I know only half of these things. But, in hindsight, if I had have known these things then it would have made the decisions I made so much easier. Such is the intention of this article, to contribute towards the success of affiliate marketing newcomers.

Here are 8 reasons to be an affiliate marketer. In fact the only reason I wrote 8, is because there isn’t enough space to write the 80 or 800 that there really are. I hope you find them informative and helpful.

1. No product to produce
Often creators of products (usually info) pay large fees to make or have their products made. With affiliate marketing forget about it.

2. No products to deliver
If your promoting information products it’s a download page or if your selling physical product its shipping, handling and distribution. With Affiliate marketing you needn’t worry

3. Copy the same method
Once you discover a method of affiliate marketing that works you can reproduce it for any product. Then continue to do it until you have more money than you know what to do with.

4. High income potential
The amount of money you make increases in proportion to the amount of time you put into your site. Once you have developed a format that you know converts your visitors to customers, all that you need to do is get as much traffic to the site as humanly possible. You can get into search engine optimisation or simply work on your Pay Per Click strategies, but either way the harder you work the more you get paid.

5. Make passive income
The king of them all: Money while you sleep. There’s nothing like waking up in the morning, checking your clickbank account and finding sums of money that have accumulated while you’ve been lost in peaceful dreams. Enough said!

6. No customers to deal with
Forget complaints, nasty people, changes in customer preference, forget it all. The merchant takes the responsibility and changes their site accordingly.

7. Low start up costs
The only cost in setting up an affiliate website is that of registering your domain and host, then getting some traffic through. If you’re making your own products the costs can be significantly higher in amount and number.

8. No payment processing
Forget refunds, taking details, names, addresses, emails, credit card numbers. Your merchant handles it all. All you do is sit back while the money gets put into your account. That simple!

About the Author
Andrew Hansen is an experienced affiliate marketer. He runs a website on revolutionizing your personal finances through affiliate marketing that provides the best FREE information from across the web on affiliate marketing, and contains steps to ensure success for the new affiliate marketer. Check it out at www.revolutionizeyourlife.net

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Check out this link to one of the web's HOTTE$T affiliate programs:
WEBSITE.WS

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Affiliate Marketing
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10 Highly Effective Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website

2005-07-21T17:05:00.000-04:00

by Ben Chapi

There are many ways to promote your website for free online. Here are 10 highly effective strategies you can use right now.

1. Write articles or free reports for other webmasters to publish and put your website address in the by-line. If you write good content, your articles will be published and many readers who like your article will go on to visit your website.

2. Arrange a Joint Venture partnership with List owners and Webmasters.

3. Add your ad or website address to your email signature. This way, every time you send an email, you'll be promoting your website.

4. Exchange Links with Other Webmasters. This is another effective strategy for generating targeted traffic to your website for free. It involves contacting other webmasters for a possible link exchange partnership.

5. Add a blog to your site and Ping weblogs.com and other search engines. Pinging your blogs to the search engines is the fastest way to get the search engine robots to visit your blog and attract new visitors to your web site.

6. Submit your blog address to blog search sites and directories. You can submit your blog's URL to websites such as Technorati, Daypop, Blogdex and Popdex. For a complete list of websites where you can submit your URL, go to http://www.guidetorss.com

7. Create RSS feeds for your site and submit the feed URLs to the major RSS feed directories online. A good place to start is http://www.guidetorss.com/ which provides a list of the top RSS directories.

8. Be an active commenter. Try to leave comments on the blogs that you regularly visit. Most comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog or website which begs a visit at the very least.

9. If you plan to have anything printed up, put your web address on it. You can print your URL on business cards, stickers, leaflets, etc.

10. Add your web address to your forum profile signature. Every time you post or respond to questions your ad will be displayed. If you post good content in forums, people who read your threads will also check out your website.

About the Author
© Copyright 2005 Chileshe Mwape. Submit articles for free at www.going-platinum.co.uk. All articles are published instantly. You can submit reports, news, press releases, stories, product reviews, opinions, editorials about your website and services and much more.
(This article may be republished as long as the above link is active and clickable and this author box (byline) is not edited.)

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technorati link
Traffic
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How Can You Use TrafficWave.net?

2005-07-20T12:54:00.000-04:00

Friend, here's a successful tool I've been using for quite some time - TrafficWave.net . Frankly, it does what it says it will do.
What can it do?

Actually, you want to know -
"How can I use TrafficWave.net, and why would I want it"?

Here are some ideas -

1. Build your own in-house mailing list
(Ever heard “The money’s in the list!”?)

2. Follow up with prospects automatically
(Set it and “forget” it)

3. Organize, Manage, and Store Marketing Letters
(You gotta be able to find something when you need it!)

4. Save Time/Boost Profits - by reducing mundane tasks
(Automate, automate, automate)

5. Convert Web Site visitors into cash
(Isn’t that the whole point?)

6. Broadcast special offers
(More ca$h for no more work)

7. Announce special events
(Keep your list interested)

8. Provide online training and support
(We ALL need that)

And much more....

TrafficWave.net

If you're marketing online at all,
You should look into it –

Happy Marketer

P.S.
TrafficWave will not only help you build any business, it also IS a business – Earn from those that join your TrafficWave.net site to build their business!

TrafficWave.net

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technorati link
TrafficWave.net
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Mike Filsaime Introduces PayDotCom.com!

2005-07-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

Hi reader!

Happy Marketer here...

This is BRAND-NEW, and is bound to become huge!

I am sure you have heard of Clickbank.com (R)

A great marketplace, but limited to many restrictions to sell products or earn affiliate commission...

Well, there is a new F.REE marketplace to sell any product you want. Sell yours, or become an affiliate for any item in the marketplace.

It is called PayDotCom.com!

Did I mention it is 100% FREE to Join?
It is!

This site is going to KILL all other marketplaces - I bet in the next 3 months EVERY SINGLE online marketer will have an account with PayDotCom.com

So get yours now and see how much they offer...

What are you waiting for... it ROCKS!

Get your FREE account now...

PayDotCom

Thanks!

P.S. - The "other" marketplaces are already getting scared. PayDotCom.com has everyone making the switch!

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PayDotCom
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Five Ways to Turn Visitors Into Loyal Customers!

2005-07-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

by John Crisano

1. Use a firm deadline and stick to it

You've seen these offers before. You know the ones I'm talking about. They say "Offer Ends Midnight on 15 August 2005 – Hurry". But than, after the 15th of August, you go back to the site you saw the offer and notice the same ad, the same price and the same product only this time they are promoting with a new "Deadline" date on when the offer will end. To me, and many other visitors, this does not add credibility. It almost always creates doubt in my mind. When I say add a sense of urgency, I mean create a deadline and stick to it! If you are selling a widget for 25% off the normal price, let your customer know, set a deadline and once that deadline is reached, end the offer. Period. This not only creates urgency, it implies that you are a person of your word. When you say what you're going to do, you do it.

2. Offer an "Iron Clad" Money-Back Guarantee

Most web sites offer a money-back guarantee. And most, if not all honor it. Many online businesses sell electronic information or software. Once downloaded, the customer has your product. Most customers will never ask for their money back. However, some will. This is a cost of doing business online. The best advice to give here is to always honor your money back guarantee. In many cases, we as online businesses have no choice when people want their money back. They simply notify Clickbank, or their credit card company and make a claim. Next thing you know the money is charged back. The customer has your product and you are out of luck. A good way to prevent further returns is to ask the customers who requested their money back one or two simple questions. These questions can help solve future return issues. Ask "Who, What, Where, When, & Why". Examples: "What can we do to improve this product? Who did you speak with at our company? Where do we need to improve? When did you speak with Customer Service? Why did this item not meet your needs?"...Ask questions. Make changes and give the customers what they want, not what you think they want.

3. Offer a "Members Only" site

People love to feel like they belong. Offer a password protected site where members can log into and find free content and download of software, ebooks, and more. Add a forum, surveys and marketing ideas. You get the point; the key is to only make it available to your members.

4. Have an up-to-date "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) Section

Ensure that you have an updated FAQ section. Most people want answers to questions when they ask them. They don't like to wait for an email response. The solution is to put you in the visitor's shoes. Review your entire offer, web page or program and write down every question that comes to mind. Once you have your list of questions, write the answers in easy to understand language, create your web page and place links on every page to the FAQ section. When people email you with questions you may have overlooked, simply add it and your response to the FAQ page.

5. Answer emails quickly

This may seem like a "No Brainer", but many web based business owners continue to lose site of the fact that when someone contacts them with a questions…They, the company are dealing with a "hot prospect". This is someone who has gone out of their way to send an email. This is someone who is already interested in the program or product and the only thing needed to close the sale is a quick professional response.

On the flip side, respond to complaints quickly. This is very important and I will relate a story as to why it is so important.

A little while back my organization purchased an LCD monitor wall mount from a small, home based company on line. The item arrived quickly as promised, but the product was not as described on the web site. The mount was cheaply made and would not hold the 36" TV as stated. My purchasing agents tried for several days to contact them. After leaving several phone messages and emails, no one ever tried to contact us. Finally, after a week, I went to their web contact page, emailed them and stated that I was interested in purchasing one of their mounts but had some questions. I left my contact phone number and sent it off. In less than 20 minutes my phone rang. It was the company responding to my email. I was totally surprised at the quick response. I answered the phone and started off the conversation something like this. "Hi, I'm interested in some of your wall mounts, but first, I have a question on why no one from the company was responding to return requests of my Purchasing Agent". I told the person on the phone the name of the agent and suddenly, the line got quiet, and then I heard a click. She hung up on me. As you can imagine, I was pretty upset. It was obvious that the person on the other line knew what I was talking about. The next day I opened an investigation on an attempt to defraud the US Government. You see, I was also a contracting officer for a government agency. Moral of this story is –

1. Respond to complaints immediately -
2. You never know who your customers are – Treat everyone with respect and courtesy -
3. Treat every customer, new and old, like s/he is your best customer!

These tips are only a few of the many ways to gain and keep loyal customers.

Remember: Don't be afraid to try new ideas.
Ask your customers what they want, and give it to them.
Never forget that the only way that you can remain in business is from happy, satisfied customers.

About the Author
John Crisano is the webmaster of EBiz Hook Up. Your online Ezine, Co-Op business directory. His site also includes ideas, tips, tools, techniques and even online talent to assist you on how to market and operate your online business.
Check out EBiz Hookup: ebizhookup.com

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Visitors to Customers
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Scare Yourself and Your Friends

2005-07-15T16:39:00.000-04:00

We all like to give ourselves a scare now and again, and then laugh about it - well, at least I do.

A friend of mine recently sent this to me, and, well...
Well, you just have to see it for yourself.

If you remotely like "spooky" or "unexplainable" stuff, you have to check this out. (It's not exactly the time of year you might expect this, but that's what makes things great - the unexpected!)

Make sure your sound is turned up a bit... it's kinda hard to hear – listen closely.

It falls in the "Strange but Interesting" category. This is a car advertisement from Great Britain. When they finished filming the ad, the film editor noticed something moving along the side of the car, like a ghostly white mist.

They found out that a person had been killed a year earlier in that exact spot. The ad was never put on TV because of the unexplained ghostly phenomenon.

Watch the front end of the car (closely) as it clears the trees in the middle of the screen, and you'll see what I saw.

Spooky!

Is it a ghost, or is it simply mist? You decide. If you listen to the ad, you might be able to the commentator talk about it near the end of the commercial.

A little creepy but pretty cool!

Even though it takes a few moments to load and run, it's worth it.

- Still gives me the creeps every time I watch it -
(S-h-i-v-e-r-i-n-g chill up my spine)

If you have a heart condition, watcher beware -

"Spooky Car Ad"

Take care -

P.S. After you watch this, a page comes up (not to sell you something!) with spaces to send this same video to your friends, and scare the beejeezers outa' them too! As the old knight in "The Last Crusade" said, "Choose wisely".

"Spooky Car Ad"

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Technorati Link
Ghosts
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10 Ways To Keep Visitors At Your Site Longer

2005-07-15T12:40:00.000-04:00

by Eugenijus

The more time people spend at your web site, the more time you'll have to persuade them to buy your
product or service. Below are ten powerful ways to keep visitors at your web site longer.

1. Provide your web site visitors with content they can't read anywhere else. People will stay longer at your web site to read the original content.

2. Remind your web site visitors they can print out your content. They may browse around your online store while it's printing.

3. Offer your web site visitors a freebie if they take the time to fill out your online survey. They'll be at the site longer and might buy something afterwards.

4. Offer your visitors free software that they can download right from your web site; while they are waiting they might read your ad.

5. Provide a huge online directory of information that your visitors could search. The directory must contain information your visitors would want.

6. Make sure all your web pages load fast or your visitors will leave fast. Time is precious; they won't waste it waiting for your site to load.

7. Tell your visitors what's offered at your web site at the very beginning. If people are confused about what's being offered they may leave too early.

8. Publish your web site professionally. People will get turned off and leave if they see a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes.

9. Make your site text easy to read. Most people won't strain their eyes trying to read text that is too small, light or bright.

10. Use headlines and sub headlines all over your web site that will grab visitors’ attention. It will attract them to explore your web site longer.

Quote of the Day:

"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding."
-- Proverbs 4:7

About the Author:
Eugenijus Sakalauskas is an established ezine publisher and direct marketer who specializes in developing new
ideas and methods on Website Marketing & Home Business Secrets
Get FREE info:
pluginnetproefit@getresponse.com
Support:
support@pluginnetproefit.com

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Website Visitors
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16 Golden Rules Of Master Copywriting

2005-07-13T12:25:00.000-04:00

by Christos Varsamis

You could spend thousands of dollars on advertisement and have extremely low or no results in sales because of your poor-planned copy. You shouldn’t be amazed by the fact that huge corporations all over the world do that mistake and waste millions of dollars on false advertisement campaigns.

However, how can you write a good sales copy and killer ads that get the attention of people? There are no magic recipes for that, but you can follow some fundamental rules, which can lead to you to success if you adopt them properly.

1) Have a good product. Be honest and mean what you say or what you offer. Avoid the exaggerations and hyped claims. You stake your reputation and your business offline or online it doesn’t make any difference.

2) Have a plan on your trial and error period. Don’t expect to write your first copy and be a golden one. You will alter it many times, test it, retest it, try a new one and so on. Set a schedule for that. Do not fool around.

3) AIDA. It’s the proven and the bedrock of the copy process. Always follow it. AIDA
A= Attention. You must grab it instantly or you don’t have a chance.
I = Interest. You grab and keep their interest. If they get bored, they will leave.
D= Desire. Interest must be transformed into desire for what you offer.
A= Action. You must convince them to act now. Not tomorrow, next week e.t.c. They will forget it a few hours later.

4) Always work on your prospect's emotion. Most people buy something emotionally and then justify it rationally.

5) Headline is the Key. If it doesn’t grab their attention then they‘ve gone away. Your headline must be a killer one.

6) Promote your best and strong benefit at first, not last. That’s how you are going to create interest and then desire.

7) Tell stories. That’s an excellent way to rekindle their emotion or even their passion. Stories always inspire.

8) Answer all the objections and questions you think your prospects would have. In that way, you will gain their trust.

9) Use bullet points for each of your benefits and bold, italics fonts for your text. Use the underline feature but not so often.

10) Give a time limit. This is an excellent tool for calling your prospects to act now!

11) Offer testimonials. It is the mother of gaining-trust tools. Especially, if it is from someone important in your field.

12) Make it easy to buy. Don’t let visitors get lost in your web site. Make it as easy as possible.

13) Avoid graphics. They won’t help you. People are looking for information not images.

14) Give guarantees. Research has proved that when you have a long guarantee, your client will feel safer and that leads to fewer refunds too!

15) Never assume that your prospects know what you want to say. Always be specific and clear about your product or service.

16) Have your copy or ad checked by your friends, colleagues e.t.c. It’s better to have other views, after all, it’s a part of the testing process.

Here are some great headlines and emotional triggers.

- A Little Mistake That Cost...$3,477 A Year
- Do You Make These Mistakes In...?
- Why Some People Almost Always Make Money In The ... .
- How I Improved My....In One Evening.
- How I Made a Fortune with a .... Idea.
- 161 New Ways To...
- How To Plan...
- The Truth about Getting Rich.
- Dare To Be Rich.
- The Secret To Being Healthy.
- How To Write A....

Attract The Opposite Sex
Be Independent
Be Successful
Avoid Embarrassment
Be Strong
Be Healthy
Satisfy Curiosity
Make Money
Gain Knowledge
Save Time
Avoid Effort
Get A Better Job
Be Your Own Boss
Add Fun To Life
Work Less
Relax

About the Author:
Christos Varsamis is an internet marketing consultant and the creator and publisher of settinglifegoals.com

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Copywriting
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From Niche Marketing to Fragmentation

2005-07-08T12:04:00.000-04:00

by Stephen Pierce

Copyright 2005 Stephen Pierce

================
Think about something Bill Cosby said and ask yourself,
"How does this apply to your current marketing?"

Cosby stated, "I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone."
================

Are you trying to be everything to everybody?
Are you even trying to be one specific thing to everybody?

Re-examine your marketing strategy and trim the fat and focus on very specific niche markets. Heck, go even further than niche marketing and fragment that niche to micro levels.

For example there are two broad markets that relate to some of our offerings. They are "investors" and "traders". These are two very different and distinct groups of people which approach stocks and futures trading completely different.

So we go to the internal niche markets of "traders" and look at "stock traders", "futures & commodity traders", and "forex traders".

In fragmenting these markets we go on a micro level to create multiple opportunities such as "stock day traders", "emini stock day traders", "futures day traders", "index futures day traders". How about options trading? You have "stock options traders", "futures options traders" and "forex options traders."

The needs, wants, desired, must haves, should haves, etc of each fragmented group are different.

While they all want to make money in how they trade, why they trade and what they trade… getting to the output requires different input and processes.

By understanding this and marketing accordingly, you can more strategically and intelligently build up monster profits as you cater to the specific customized needs for each fragment.

Take a look at your market? Are you targeting a niche right now? If not, what are the possible niches within the broader market you are targeting? If you are targeting a niche, what are the possible fragments of that niche?

For example, many would consider Gardening to be a niche. Inside this niche you have "kinds of gardens", like the popular Japanese Garden.

However, when fragmenting the Japanese Garden down on a micro level, you have "tea gardens", "rock gardens" and even "water gardens" which all represent "kinds of" Japanese Gardens.

A quick look at these different kinds of Japanese Gardens will reveal that, while they do have needs that are similar, they have many needs that differ.

What other kinds of Gardens are there? How about "Organic Gardens"? How about a "Vegetable Garden"? What about Plants? How many different kinds of plants are there that people grow in their gardens? How could these possibly be fragmented? Perhaps "Roses" and "Tulips" could represent fragments.

How about "Indoor Garden", "Outdoor Garden" or "Garden Furniture" as some other quick examples for possible fragments?

Make sure you discover the power of going beyond the niche market and into fragmenting those niches into even smaller, more specific and specialized pieces to sure up even greater profits from stronger micro positioning.

Look to dominate fragments which can lead to dominance in the niche. Sure, you will end up with fewer clients and customers on a fragmented level. However, these will be better clients and customers... and when it comes to fragmented marketing less is more when then are loyal.

About the Author:
Stephen Pierce provides strategies that make growing profits in your business a fast reality. Learn how to get Marketing Momentum for real business success. To receive your free online video coaching visit:
stephenlive.com

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Niche Marketing
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Alan Ezeir, Global Domains International co-founder

2005-07-07T16:38:00.000-04:00

One of our company owners, Alan Ezeir, will be on the GDI conference call tonight. If ever there was a conference call to be on, this is it! If you have been seeking more information about GDI and owning your own domain name, who better to ask than one of the company founders?

Here are the call times and number:
212-796-3215 is the call number-

TONIGHT! Thursday the 7th of July!

Times:
7pm Pacific
8pm Mountain
9pm Central
10pm Eastern

GDI has been successful for me, and many, many others.

To read about GDI yourself, here is a link:
1 Happy Marketer!

Go to this page, and click any of the blue links in the middle of the first page. They will take you to the .ws page where you can find out what all the excitement is about.

Look into GDI – it’s not just a bunch of hype.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alan Ezeir

20 Sure-Fire Ways To Get People To Link To Your Web Site

2005-06-30T15:48:00.000-04:00

by Dan Brown

Here's some simple yet POWERFUL ideas on how to get people to link to your web site.

1. Offer other web sites free content to post on their web site. Include your link on all of your content. The content should related to your web site because it will be in front of your target audience.

2. When you visit a web site you've enjoyed a lot, write a review for the site. Write about the benefits you gain from the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they link to your web site.

3. Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web site. Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine.

4. Market your web site as a free web book. Design your web site with a title page, table of contents, chapters, etc. Just allow other people to give away the web book by linking to your web site.

5. Give your visitors an instant article directory. Tell your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. Just place your ad or banner ad on top of the article directory for your main web site.

6. Allow other web sites to use your discussion board for their web site visitors. Just have them link directly to the discussion board. Include your web sites ad or banner ad at the top of the discussion board.

7. Start a members only web site. Tell visitors what's in your members only site and what it costs to gain access. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

8. Offer your visitors a free sign up to your affiliate program. Pay them commission to sell your products or services. Just give them an affiliate link to track their sales. People will link to your web site to make extra money.

9. Create your own award site for other web sites. Give the winners a graphic or text link to place on their web site when they win. This will link your web site to theirs and draw more traffic to your web site.

10. Are you an expert on a particular subject? Offer people free consulting via e-mail if, in exchange, they either link to your site. People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive.

11. When you purchase a product and it exceeds your expectations e-mail the business a testimonial. Make sure your statement is detailed. Give them permission to publish it on their web site if they link to your site.

12. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business ad at the top of the directory's home page.

13. Exchange content with other web sites. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

14. Allow people to download software at no charge from your web site, if they link to your web site. The software could be freeware, shareware or demos.

15. Trade other forms of advertising to people that link to your web site. You could trade e-zine ads, print ads, autoresponder ads, classified ads, ebook ads, etc.

16. Give away web space to people for free. Since you are giving it away for free, request they link to your site by placing your ad or banner to the site.

17. Join or create a web ring. A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords "web rings" into your search engine of choice.

18. Create an online club or association. Tell your visitors what's included in the membership and what it costs to join. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

19. Allow people to use an online service or utilities from your web site if, in exchange, they link to your web site. The online service could be an e-mail account, search engine submission, web page design, copywriting, proofreading, etc.

20. Offer a free e-book to your web site visitors. The ebook should be related to your target audience. Allow them to give the e-book to their own web site visitors by linking directly to your web site.

About the Author:
Dan Brown has been active in internet marketing for the past 4 years. Dan currently is working with the Zabang search engine, introducing their new affiliate program which is due out July, 2005. Zabang Affiliate Program

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Links
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Article Marketing: What Is It and How Can I Use it to Grow My Business?

2005-06-29T13:17:00.000-04:00

by Dina Giolitto

Ever read one of those web articles written by an internet marketing expert? They're really helpful, aren't they. You can learn a ton about how to be a successful web marketer just from surfing the net and reading articles. And it's funny... you keep seeing the same author names pop up over and over, too! But did you ever consider that YOU can write web articles and use them to help grow your business? YOU can become one of these internet guru people just from writing articles!

Article Syndication Simplified

What's an article syndication site? Simply put, it's the pick-up and drop-off station for web articles. An author submits an article to the site and includes their website URL and professional bio at the end. The article site then posts the article in their queue of articles in distribution. From there, webmasters stop in and "article-shop" for the content they need. If they select your article, they'll also include your bio and website link on their site. That's free exposure for you!

The Number One Article Website That Will Get You Noticed

There are tons of article distribution sites on the web, but the one I recommend for superior content, personalized customer service and a friendly network of reputable authors, is Ezinearticles.com. If you want a crash course in article marketing and guaranteed mass distribution of your articles to quality websites, you must visit this place. I promise you'll learn a lot.

Start Submitting Articles Today

You don't need to prove yourself to become an article author. What you do need is a basic marketing instinct and a way with words. You can get started right away, by signing up for a basic membership with Ezinearticles.com. Once your first article is approved, you're on your way to carving out the perfect reputation for excellence for yourself and your business. You're on your way to building a solid base of customers who are eager for your products and services.

Article Marketing With a Focus

Once you get a feel for article marketing, you'll see the hits coming to your website fast and furious. This happens because your website link is attached to every article that gets distributed to other sites. You're basically riding the wave of exposure that high ranking sites like Ezinearticles.com affords. This is your opportunity to really hone in on one market. Why not make it work for you, by writing a mass quantity of highly-targeted articles that will be distributed all over the web! These articles will lead back to your website through your URL, and build your credibility as an expert.

Article distribution is like link distribution, but better. Think of it as FREE ADVERTISING. It's free! I don't know about you, but if it's free, it's for me. So start writing those articles, and marketing the brilliance that is Brand You.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

About the Author:
Find out how crisp, targeted copywriting can make a world of difference for your business. Dina Giolitto is a Copywriting Consultant with ten years of experience.

Visit Wordfeeder.com for free tips on branding, copywriting, article marketing, and more.

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Article Writing
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Free Plan...No Strings Attached -

2005-06-28T14:45:00.000-04:00

Who do you know that uses, needs, or WANTS one or more of the following -

· Dependable Email Accounts
· Domain Registry
· Domain Hosting
· Domain Name
· Make Money Online
· Work From The Comfort of Their Home
· Low-Cost Website

Just about everyone online will fit into at least one of these categories, right?

How about you - where do you see yourself in this "list"?
What do you plan to do about it?
Do you even have a plan...

Our team does have one, that includes "all the above", and more -

Go to my website ( Click here ) scroll down a bit, and click on the "Internet Success Club" link in the middle of the page. You'll be taken to a site inviting you to check everything out for free – no strings attached.

Sorry if this message sounds so boring – but earning on the net doesn't have to be full of hype; just a system that works, exciting or not.

We have such a system, that everyone can follow and do – it's simple and easy to understand.

Again:
Go to my website ( Click here ), scroll down a bit, and click on the "Internet Success Club" link in the middle of the page. You'll be taken to a site inviting you to check everything out for free – no strings attached.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GDI
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Instant Buzz is Back Up!

2005-06-27T12:06:00.000-04:00

Instant Buzz is back up and running!

What's Instant Buzz, you ask?

To put it bluntly, IB is the most valuable source of free advertising I've yet to run across - That's what it is.

A few weeks ago, IB was shut down due to the irresponsibility of one of it's 50,000+ members (that's how serious SP*M is). This past Saturday the issue was resolved and Instant Buzz is again sending visitors to all of our websites (for free!).

All you do to get that traffic is go about normal Internet activities; you know, the fun stuff - surfing, reading, listening, buying - things the Internet was meant to be used for. While you're having fun on the Internet, the 'Buzz is sending your ad to all other members for them to click on - it really is "as simple as that".

If you haven't used Instant Buzz, it is WELL WORTH the few minutes it takes to get it going - then YOU will be getting free TARGETTED visitors to the website of your choosing.

Need more information?
Sure - check out the stats on this page:
Free-to-Join Traffic Tool

There are several ways you can get IB -

For a time (while it's available) go here:
Instant Buzz

That link has a limited available time span. If it's unavailable, go here: Instant Buzz Invitation and I'll send you an invitation to access Instant Buzz. If I have any invites left, please, PLEASE use it - I don't have that many.

Here are two other links to get Instant Buzz, along with one of the most successful online businesses available today. Don't worry - you won't need any money - there is a free trial to check everything out:
Internet Success Club
And
Instant Buzz Empire

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Instant Buzz

Bank MLM is Growing -

2005-06-23T12:40:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the blatant ad, but for any Internet Marketer that might read this, it's too good to be silent about -

Friend, I have ...

*******URGENT NEWS!

100% FREE "BankMLM is READY" pre-register RIGHT NOW for TOP POSITIONS -

FOR 1st MILLION REGISTERED REFERRALS:
A $50 Credit When Account Is Opened...
A $2 Credit Is Given TEN LEVELS...
A $10 Credit Is Given For Personal Referrals...

WE HAVE A 24 HOUR HEAD START
...Thereafter it goes to The Whole World...

Go right Now and Pre-Register and get on THE TOP...
Then take your BankMLM URL and send it to every Person you know...

FOR 1st MILLION REGISTERED REFERRALS!
A $50 Credit When Account Is Opened...
A $2 Credit Is Given TEN LEVELS...
A $10 Credit Is Given For Personal Referrals...

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THIS DOWNLINE will be in
* THE MILLIONS *

HERE IS A TOP SPOT URL:

BankMLM

FOR 1st MILLION REGISTERED REFERRALS!
A $50 Credit When Account Is Opened...
A $2 Credit Is Given TEN LEVELS...
A $10 Credit Is Given For Personal Referrals...

YOU REFER 10 = $100 in $10 Bonuses
plus $20 in $2 Bonuses...

They REFER 10 = $200 in $2 Bonuses
They REFER 10 = $2,000 in $2 Bonuses
They REFER 10 = $20,000 in $2 Bonuses
They REFER 10 = $200,000 in $2 Bonuses
They REFER 10 = $2,000,000 in $2 Bonuses

Three Steps To Super Success in Less Than 10 Minutes:

#1) Go to BankMLM and Register under
BankMLM
(est. time 3 minutes)

#2) Cut and paste this e-mail.
Add your BankMLM URL to it.
(est. time 2 minutes)

#3) E-mail your list of people who you have permission to communicate with.
(est. time 5 minutes)

Invest Ten Minutes... Involve Ten People...
Motivate & Teach Them To Do The Same...
It Just Does Not Get Any Simpler Than That...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where else can you get paid $50 (and more!) for 10 minutes’ time?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Be one of the FIRST ONE MILLION –
Don’t delay.

BankMLM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P.S. Over 8,000 joined in ONE DAY - at that rate it won't take long to get to the FIRST ONE MILLION -
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BankMLM

BankMLM

2005-06-22T12:35:00.000-04:00

There's a new online payment system, and pre-registration is going on now. It's called BankMLM -

I received an invite from an associate and signed up - not necessarily beause it's better than anything else out there (that remains to be seen), but because money is being given away to the FIRST ONE MILLION people to pre-register.

From the website-

"We are the first and only ON-LINE PAYMENT SYSTEM DESIGNED EXCLUSIVELY FOR PARTICIPANTS IN THE MULTILEVEL MARKETING INDUSTRY!

AND THAT'S NOT ALL!

BankMLM is prepared to Give Away:

Up to 770 Million Dollars to acquire 21 Million Customers...
Up to 1.5 Billion Dollars to acquire 51 Million Customers…

FOR 1st MILLION REGISTERED REFERRALS!

A $50 Credit When Account Is Opened...
A $2 Credit Is Given TEN LEVELS...
A $10 Credit Is Given For Personal Referrals...

WHY?

Because BankMLM will become the largest and best on-line paying system in the world within one year!"

I don't know where this will go, but I did get an e-mail today from the CEO. Around 8,000 people registered in ONE DAY - at that rate the first million registrants won't take long to achieve.

Click below to pre-register as one of the FIRST MILLION (while you still can) and get your share of this -

BankMLM

It won't cost you anything, and you might make a buck or two :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MLM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will RSS Replace Email?

2005-06-21T11:56:00.000-04:00

by Kent Thompson

RSS is a big buzz word right now, and this question has been popping up all over the place.

Will RSS ever replace email?

In short, the answer is no.

RSS will never totally replace email because they each do totally different things.

RSS was designed for a totally different purpose than email, and technologically speaking, it would be impossible for RSS to do everything email can.

Consider this analogy: RSS and Email are like TV and telephone.

If you want to reach a broad audience of spectators, you use the TV or RSS. Consumers like TV because they hold the remote and can change the channel at will. They have total control. Likewise they can an RSS feed at any time if they so choose, and instantly the source of information is totally gone, never to return against the person's will.

Email is like the telephone: You can email or call anyone based on their phone number or email address, and they can call you or email you back. Consumers like email and the telephone because of the two-way communication. But with the two-way communication comes the possiblity of having annoying telemarketers and spammers along with it. And boy do they come!

One is not better than the other because they both serve two totally different purposes.

In my opinion, RSS is better for reaching a large list of subscribers because it is 100% spam proof and puts the control into the hands of the consumer.

Why fight the spam filters when you can avoid them altogether?

Internet marketers that think they are "more in control" by using email instead of RSS are somewhat disillusioned. Consumers can unsubscribe to your email list any time they want to. If they try to unsubscribe from your list but can't, then you are spamming them.

If you truly offer valuable content, consumers will look forward to getting your messages whether they come by email or RSS.

Considering the fact that a good number of emails are getting blocked by spam filters, you have a better chance of reaching more of your subscribers via RSS.

With that said, email will always be necessary on an individual basis so you can have two-way communication.

RSS was never made for that, and will never fill that role. But RSS can reach a large group of spectators with a 100% delivery guarantee. And that is something email just can't match!

About the Author
Now you can bypass the spam filters altogether by delivering your newsletter via personalized RSS feed! Kent Thompson's new software makes it too easy. Check it out!
Will RSS Replace E-mail?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RSS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Disney Characters - Which One Are You?

2005-06-17T11:42:00.000-04:00

Have a little fun on Friday - at my expense!

I ran across this site that will tell you which Disney character you are most like (if you answer the questions honestly).

Turns out I most closely match one of my favorite Disney personalities - Goofy. Hyuck! However, my nose is not quite as large, nor do my teeth protrude as much.

You scored as Goofy. Your alter ego is Goofy! You are fun and great to be around, and you are always willing to help others. You aren't worried about embarrassing yourself (like posting this?), so you are one who is more than willing to try new things.

Goofy

69%

Sleeping Beauty

63%

Peter Pan

56%

The Beast

56%

Cinderella

50%

Pinocchio

50%

Snow White

25%

Cruella De Ville

25%

Ariel

19%

Donald Duck

13%

Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego?
created with QuizFarm.com

It's fun and only takes a couple'a minutes - try it out.

Satisfy that desire burning inside you!

"If I were born in cartoon land, which Disney dude (or dudette - my next closest match was Sleeping Beauty) would I be?"

Have a Grrrrr-8 weekend -

Disney Character

10 ways to recognize fake (spoof) emails

2005-06-14T08:45:00.000-04:00

I just got this from Paypal today - thought it might benefit someone else if passed along. While these items are somewhat specific to Paypal, they are generic enough to apply to other types of e-mail.

I don't think we ought to be paranoid, just cautious -

10 ways to recognize fake (spoof) emails -

1. Generic greetings.
Many spoof emails begin with a general greeting, such as: "Dear PayPal member." If you do not see your first and last name, be suspicious and do not click on any links or button.

2. A fake sender's address.
A spoof email may include a forged email address in the "From" field. This field is easily altered.

3. A false sense of urgency.
Many spoof emails try to deceive you with the threat that your account is in jeopardy if you don't update it ASAP. They may also state that an unauthorized transaction has recently occurred on your account, or claim PayPal is updating its accounts and needs information fast.

4. Fake links.
Always check where a link is going before you click. Move your mouse over it and look at the URL in your browser or email status bar. A fraudulent link is dangerous. If you click on one, it could:
o Direct you to a spoof website that tries to collect your personal data.
o Install spyware on your system. Spyware is an application that can enable a hacker to monitor your actions and steal any passwords or credit card numbers you type online.
o Cause you to download a virus that could disable your computer.

5. Emails that appear to be websites.
Some emails will look like a website in order to get you to enter personal information. PayPal never asks for personal information in an email.

6. Deceptive URLs.
Only enter your PayPal password on PayPal pages. These begin with https://www.paypal.com/
o If you see an @ sign in the middle of a URL, there's a good chance this is a spoof. Legitimate companies use a domain name (e.g. https://www.company.com).
o Even if a URL contains the word "PayPal," it may not be a PayPal site. Examples of deceptive URLs include: www.paypalsecure.com, www.paypa1.com, www.secure-paypal.com, and www.paypalnet.com.
o Always log in to PayPal by opening a new web browser and typing in the following: https://www.paypal.com/
o Never log in to PayPal from a link in an email

7. Misspellings and bad grammar.
Spoof emails often contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words, and gaps in logic. Mistakes also help fraudsters avoid spam filters.

8. Unsafe sites.
The term "https" should always precede any website address where you enter personal information. The "s" stands for secure. If you don't see "https," you're not in a secure web session, and you should not enter data.

9. Pop-up boxes.
PayPal will never use a pop-up box in an email as pop-ups are not secure.

10. Attachments.
Like fake links, attachments are frequently used in spoof emails and are dangerous. Never click on an attachment. It could cause you to download spyware or a virus. PayPal will never email you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's be careful out there!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spoofs