*Warning: This post may contain words or phrases offensive to some.*

I received this UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email, aka Spam) message at my inbox this morning; one of several that periodically manage to get past my security software, it doesn’t happen very often but occasionally one will slip thru. What I’d like for you to take from this post today is how NOT to do business online, as well as a few pointers of how to do business online.

Let’s roll…

I’m sure by now you’ve received your share of crap like the following email below: (copied & pasted email as sent to me, edited to protect the goofballs that sent it!)

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“From: payments@easy…….biz.com - Subject: eCheck payment in progress”

“Notification of payment received floods in my inbox after using this Plug-n-Play Software that pulls instant profits! (Oh now I see, you mean the subject line was about you and not me. How clever – loud vomiting sound)

Hi (First clue, they don’t know my name!)

Do you need Instant Cash this week? (Uh, duh!)

URGENTLY Download this software that makes me $4793.65 in 24 Hours! (What they’re not telling you is, it took them years before they started making this - if they truly do at all!)

It’s Easy To Make Money Everyday From Home With This Software…Even If You’re Starting From Scratch With Zero Knowledge, Experience Or Budget! I’ll Show You Exactly How. (Is it me, or do you smell snake-oil too?)

Click Here for Instant Access!

These are just a few of the benefits: (Trust me, these are not benefits!)

NO Advertising required (BS!)

NO Affiliate Marketing (More BS!)

NO Selling required (Even more BS!)

NO Additional Costs involved (And lastly, more BS!)

So, How Does This Work? (Not like they’re telling you, I promise!)

It’s simple and takes just 15 minutes to complete. (And a lifetime to try and make money with!)

This program is hands free (only if you don’t have any) once you have it setup you never need to touch it again (see first parenthesis). Just wait for the checks to come every month and enjoy! (OMG, I can’t wait. Sign me up now!)

Click Here for Instant Access!

To your success, (LOL)

(Name removed to save them the embarrassment)

http://Instant………co.cc (another clue)

If, at any time, you wish to be deleted from our system, you may unsubscribe here.” (Link didn’t work)

- end of email, thank God! -

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So, what’s wrong with this, you may ask?

Well for starters, I can assure you beyond any reasonable doubt, I did not subscribe to this person’s list. In fact, once I traced the email back to its original source, note the ‘co.cc’ ending at the end of the URL, I saw who it was from… A spammer! But even more importantly, the subject line and the email address from which it is sent is misleading at best, not to mention false advertising.

Listen, if someone has to resort to using “payments” as a prefix to their email address, and then try to hook someone into opening their email by “informing” them that they have an eCheck payment in progress, then they are either inexperienced, stupid, desperate or all three! Anyone with any sense at all knows exactly what this type of email and, uh, “business” is about…

Get-Rich-Quick!

In other words, people who are too lazy to get off their butts and make it happen and build a legitimate online business that serves other people’s interests and solves a problem. Forgive me, please. I’m doing my best not to offend anyone, and if you’ve bought into this type of business model or system, then please, do you, me and everyone else online a favor and get out of it ASAP.

Listen, please. There is no such thing as getting rich quick, with little or no effort, and especially without having to invest in your business. Ain’t gonna happen, not now, not later, not ever! Now, do you want to know how to do business the right way online?

Okay, I thought you would

It’s as simple as this…

These three things are what you need to succeed with an online business:

1. You need a legitimate product and/or service to sell

2. You need a hungry crowd of people who want to know more about what you’ve got to sell, and

3. You need a place for these two to meet… A website and/or blog!

In other words: Product+Website+Traffic = Sales

And sales, done correctly, lead to even more sales, more profits and a better lifestyle. However, what you do not want to do is Spam people who did not ask about your business, and who will only get pissed-off by this and then tell all their friends. The end result, we all end up looking bad.

Doing business right also means…

When building your list, be sure to attract only those people with whom you have an interest in. Be specific in who you target as a market to service. Swap the shotgun approach with a sniper-rifle approach. Don’t get me wrong, you first want to pick a BIG market of people proven to spend money, such as: Golfers. Then you want to whittle it down to Golfers within a specific age range, lefties vs. righties, etc; etc.

Next, collect name and emails with minimal or no opt-in incentive. Listen, I know this sounds contradictory to what most everyone else online teaches. However, when you send out your first email, your first follow-up email after opt in, send them an unadvertised bonus along with that email.

Why is this important? Because it was unexpected, and it’s like a present delivered to their doorstep! When your brand new reader opens their very first email from you – not fully knowing whether to trust you or not - bam! (nod to Emeril) you just exceeded their expectations and helped to build trust and credibility with an unexpected free bonus. This is not rocket science, this is just good ‘ol fashioned business where you let your actions and your content speak for itself.

Lastly, always ensure that your products & services match your readers needs, and solves a problem they are facing. Let me ask you a question: “What business are you in?” Seriously, what business do you believe you’re in?

Affiliate Marketing?

Nope!

Internet Marketing?

Uh, uh…

Making money online?

No again!

So, what business are you in? You are in the problem solving business. That’s it!

Think about this. If what you are doing with your online business does not solve another person’s problem, and offer up a solution to that problem, then what are you doing? Nothing, that’s what! Sure you may feel good about what you’re doing with your blog, and we all enjoy the many friends and relationships we build online; and that’s okay if that’s the reason you’re online. But if you want to make money online, then you are in the business of solving other people’s problems.

The correct way to do business online, is: work only with those individuals with whom you wish to work with, and build trusting relationships by offering information, products and services that solve your readers problems. And, by sending only those emails and related materials to those who have asked for it, and have given you permission to do so. Anything less than this, and your doing you and your readers a disservice.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post, until next time…

Blessings to you and yours!

James

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Advertising is critically important to your success when you’re starting or growing your online business.  One such advertising medium that’s been overlooked lately, mainly because of its simplicity and the popularity of pay per click advertising, is the lowly little banner ad. Online banner advertising can be very effective, if you keep a few simple things in mind when you buy and construct your advertisement.

First and foremost, as with any advertising venture, you must know where to target your banner ads to achieve maximum traffic and sales! Obviously, you’re not going to get much response for skateboard sales if you advertise to an age group that doesn’t fit that market. Now, this isn’t to say that Grandma or Grandpa isn’t up to going vert on the half-pipes with a plank on wheels or anything, it just means that it isn’t likely to make many sales, if any.

Instead of buying into the “We’ll guarantee you 100,000 banner impressions for only $10 bucks!” crapola, do this:

• Find out where your target market hangs out online
• Discover their reasons for hanging out there,
• Craft your ad around those reasons, then
• Place your banner ad

I know you probably think this sounds like a “no-brainer” and makes obvious sense, but still, some online marketers don’t realize they’re advertising in the wrong places and wasting precious advertising dollars!

Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes marketers make when creating and placing online banner ads, is they make them confusing or “over-do” them. Your site visitors (potential costumers) are not always exactly sure of what it is they are looking for, and if your banner ad is confusing or vague it only decreases your chances of making sales.

Anyone who has been online for any amount of time knows there’s a whole slew of deceptive ads online, and the last thing they want to do is to click on something that looks the same. When crafting your ad, be open, honest and to the point.  Do not mimic someone else’s ad just because you may think it looks “cool’ or appealing. You never know, you could get confused for someone who is less honest than you!

Another thing you should consider when making your online banner advertisement is: “What does the ad ‘do’ on the page?”

Some banner ads  flash off and on to get attention, and some may be animated. These types of banners are great for those that have newer, faster loading computers, but some of your site visitors (potential customers) may not. So instead of the ad showing up on their page, it slows down their page load time, or worse, crashes their computer. This is not the way to get new customers!

Make your ad simple, with as little animation as possible if you insist on having some. Truthfully, ads that are non-moving actually work the best.

Lastly, make sure your banner advertisement is placed at the right time of the year. For instance, if you have a specialty store that sells winter clothing, you do not want to waste advertising money placing ads in the summer. There may be someone that sees your ad, and then remember you when the right time of year comes around, but that’s very unlikely.

Discovering where your target market hangs out, their reasons for hanging out there, crafting a banner ad around those reasons; as well as keeping your ad appropriate, uncluttered and placed in the right place, at the right time helps to ensure increased traffic and sales. This makes your advertising dollars work harder, and your advertisements more effective!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to check back often for more updates. As always, we appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.

Until next time,

Godspeed

James

Almost forgot, here’s a good resource to help you in your banner advertising efforts… click here

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When it comes to affiliate marketing, there are a number of mistakes you want to avoid if you want to make money as an affiliate. Like all businesses, there are potential pitfalls in the online world of affiliate marketing. Committing even some of the most common mistakes could cost you a large portion of your affiliate commissions. This is why it is better to avoid these mistakes from the beginning.

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #1: Picking The Wrong Affiliate Programs.

Most of us want to make money as fast as we can from affiliate marketing. Seriously, who honestly wants to get rich slow, right? In our rush to make money online as quickly as is possible, we tend to choose what I call a “me too” or band-wagon affiliate product. These are the type of products that the affiliate program thinks is hot, instead of what the market thinks is hot.

Affiliate marketers many times will choose these bandwagon products without considering if the product appeals to, and provides a solution to, a particular markets problem. This is not a wise move! So, instead of jumping on the bandwagon, choose a product in which there is a demand for and, one that actually solves a consumer problem.

Do your market research, first. Then, look for products that actually work to solve consumers problems, and that there is a demand for. Always remember this when choosing affiliate products to promote…

People Do Not Buy Products, They Buy Solutions To Their Problems!

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #2: Joining Too Many Affiliate Programs.

Affiliate programs are easy to join, therefore, you may be tempted to join multiple programs to maximize your potential earnings. It’s possible that you may think that there is nothing wrong by being part of many affiliate programs. This is not necessarily true. Here’s why.

True, joining multiple affiliate programs is a good strategy for creating multiple sources of income. However, joining multiple programs and trying to promote all of them at the same time will prevent you from focusing your efforts on each program individually.

The end result?

1) The maximum potential of your affiliate program will not be not realized, and

2) The profits you produce will not be as large as you were thinking they would.

So, what is the best way to maximize your results?

First, start by joining just one program that pays at least a 40% commission. Next, pour all your time, effort and energy into promoting that product. Then, as you start to make a reasonable profit, join another affiliate program and duplicate the process.

This technique requires patience on your part as an affiliate marketer, but the rewards will begin to snowball over time. There really isn’t any need to rush headlong into things, especially when it comes to affiliate marketing. Believe me, I’ve seen more than my share of burned out affiliate marketers along the Internet highway over the years.

Affiliate Marketing Mistake #3: No Personal Connection With Product or Service.

As an affiliate marketer, your number one goal is to promote your chosen product or service so that consumers decide to make a purchase from you versus someone else. For you to achieve this goal, you must inform the potential consumer that your product or service has the features and benefits to solve their problem. This can be rather difficult to begin with, and even more so when you haven’t tried the product yourself.

The end result? You will fail to promote the product effectively, thus missing out on potential sales. And even worse, you will also fail to create a desire in consumers to consider returning to your site to make any future purchases as well. Ouch!

Use the product or service personally first before you sign up as an affiliate to see if it really delivers what it promises. When you do find a product that works, then you become a credible testimony of the products advantages and/or disadvantages. Your customers will then know that you are sincere and trustworthy, and this will create the desire in them to return and do business with you again, and again, and…

Always remember this,

It Is Much Easier To Keep A Customer Than It Is To Acquire New Ones!

Listen, many affiliate marketers make these common mistakes and have paid dearly for their actions. Don’t make the same mistakes, do the work on the front end so your back-end doesn’t get a bite taken out of it (As in your wallet/purse taking a bite!)

Time is the most important asset you have. Take the time up front to analyze and research your market, make sure you’re on the right track, pick only products and services that are in demand and solve consumer problems. If done correctly, you too will maximize your affiliate commissions and earn ever increasing profits.

But more importantly, you can rest easy at night knowing you’re doing something good for others…

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to check back often for more updates. As always, we appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.

Until next time,

Godspeed

James
~+~

Content is king.  It gets to wear the crown, sit on the throne and rule the world.  When it comes to establishing credibility, gaining trust and producing sales, content is royalty!

While I would never suggest abandoning the concept of delivering high quality content to your subscribers, there is another type of list composed of subscribers who couldn’t
care less about content.

“What is this type of list?” you ask…

- > The “Announcement List“.

I’ve been teaching about the “announcement” list since at least 2002 (on record at an event).  And, yet, it’s a widely untapped asset in most email marketing circles.

The main reason is:  nobody’s teaching it.  And so, nobody knows anything about it, let alone how to effectively create one of these lists.

So, we’re going to revisit it.

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What Is An “Announcement” List?
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DEFINED:  An announcement list is a list whose sole purpose is to “announce” (I.E. Inform, notify) when something new is available for review, consumption or purchase.

In other words, it unapologetically says, “Hey, I just released XYZ.  Come check it out!”

Now, at first glance you may be thinking, “Who would join a list that offers no content and only sales pitch?”

If you say it that way, it doesn’t sound too good to me either!  That’s why you don’t say it that way.  Let’s take a look at HOW to “say it”…

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How About An Example “Announcement” List?
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If you go to this site you’ll find a textbook example of this concept…

PLRSO stands for “Private Label Rights Special Offers”  I established this list for the sole purpose of informing people anytime I have a new PLR offer available for them to buy.

That’s it.

I don’t send out ezine articles to them.  No newsletters. They don’t get blog posts.  There aren’t any special reports. No content of any kind.  What they get, in essence, are
sales messages.

And there are already 2,822 subscribers, many of which have already purchased some of the PLR special offers that have been “announced” to the list.

Why does it work?  Let me give you plenty of reasons…

1. I took something that was “in-demand” (PLR) and I allow people to get a head-start on the world by knowing about new releases FIRST by joining this list.

2. It’s not billed as an “announcement list”, but rather a “Free PLR Club“.  Big, big difference in perception.

3. It has it’s own domain name, further adding to the perceived value and importance to those who join.

4. There is no requirement to buy once you join.  Buy the offers that you want, pass on the ones you don’t want.

5. A cost example is provided to show what you can buy immediately, further illustrating the value of the complimentary “membership”.

And here’s the big twist that makes this idea of creating an “announcement” list a complete no-brainer…

I allow my affiliates to “give away” no cost memberships to the PLRSO club!

When someone they refer buys one of the offers, they earn a commission.  And I get other people to promote and build my list for me.  We all win.

So, you may be thinking…

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What Kind Of “Announcement” List can I Build?
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There are a wide variety of “announcement” lists that you can build.  Let’s briefly look at ten of them…

* PLR List.  You can swipe my idea and create a list of private label rights buyers.

* New Offers.  Build a list of people who love your work and want to be notified any time you have a new offer available.

* Pre-Launch.  Create buzz and anticipation for an upcoming new product release by building a pre-launch list several weeks (even months) in advance.

* Ezine Publishers.  Build a list of publishers who want to know any time you have a new ezine article that is available for reprint in their ezines.

* Bloggers.  Another idea is to allow bloggers who are looking for ready-made content to post to their blogs.

* Industry News.  How about becoming the “go to” guy or gal to share breaking news about your industry?

* Joint Venture.  Develop a list of partners and affiliates who are ready to promote anytime you have a new offer.

* Incentives.  Here’s a great idea – create a list of people who you offer “incentives” to when they purchase someone else’s new product through YOUR affiliate link.

* Freebie.  Regularly give away rebrandable content (reports, articles, videos, etc.) to these subscribers to earn commissions.

While all ten of these lists aren’t necessarily “buyers” up front, they each can certainly lead to buyers and revenue for you if you implement them.

Content is king.  But let’s not forget that there are alot of queens, princes, dukes and earls out there too.

I would like to thank Jimmy for allowing me to share these great tips with you, and for all that he does to help people succeed online. He is truly one of a kind!

You can read more about Jimmy D. Brown below…

Until next time,

Blessings to you and yours!

James
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Jimmy D. Brown, one of the most respected marketing teachers online, has been fine-tuning what and how he teaches when it comes to Internet Marketing since 1999. Now you can benefit from those years of experience and also get full PLR rights to many of his best-selling products – at ridiculously LOW prices (I’m talking Ten Bucks). Run, don’t walk to this website –> How To Create A Buyers List Using PLR

As more and more people try their hand at making money on the Internet, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by all the online hype.  Follow these simple money making ideas, and you too will be making money on the Internet in no time.

There are many ways of making money on the Internet; all it takes is dedication, time and consistent effort. You can make money through classified ads, auctions, or create your own web site to sell your product. If you don’t know what to sell, consider selling access to information in the form of e-books or reports.

Selling or providing electronic access to information online is literally a “no-hassle” way to promote a product that doesn’t have to be manufactured or shipped. Just create a website for your content, set up a few simple marketing campaigns, and you’re on your way to becoming an e-author, providing the information that people crave. If you have the skills to communicate an idea to another person in writing, then you’ve got what it takes. People are interested in becoming informed and educated about topics that appeal to their needs.

Another way to make money on the Internet is with affiliate programs. You’ve probably heard plenty of hype about how much money you can make using this type of marketing, which is true, IF you can get with the best.  Believe it or not, Amazon.com is one of the original affiliate programs, offering a hype-free way to really make money online. It’ll only take a day to make the site, and it’s low cost and low effort.

Another great site to visit is www.about-the-web.com offering great ideas on writing and publishing e-books, creating websites, and marketing your product by selling advertising to people who want traffic sent to their website from yours; banner ads and affiliate programs are two types of popular Internet marketing. You’ll get paid anything from a few cents for each click on their banner, to a large commission for the sale of their product or service.

There are also a few tools you’ll need to make money on the Internet, such as AdWords, AdSense, affiliations, auto-responders, banner exchanges, link exchanges, mailing lists, pay-per-click advertising, merchant accounts, submission services, and software, just to name the basics. If you’re not a computer geek this may all sound a little overwhelming at first, but don’t let it hold you back, it’s easier than it sounds.

Learning how to do these essentials yourself will save you loads of money, it’s fairly easy to do, and you’ll have complete control over your Internet endeavors. Save all your hard earned cash and use your innate skills and abilities to supplement your income online.  It’s easier than you think, all you have to do is get started…and stay started!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post, be sure to check back often for more updates. As always, we appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.

Until next time,

Godspeed

James
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An obvious question, particularly for those who are searching for ways to earn money from home, is: “How can you make money online if you don’t have a product of your own to sell?” The answer to that question is a simple one, Affiliate Marketing! Just in case you should not already participate in affiliate marketing; it is simply the process of selling someone else’s products. In this post, we’ll look at three simple affiliate marketing steps you can use to start making money as an affiliate marketer.

Step #1: Affiliate Marketing Research – This is THE first step to becoming a successful affiliate marketer and, is the first place where affiliate marketers go wrong. The majority of online marketers jump right in and sell affiliate products without doing one bit of market research. They’ll just grab hold of whatever they’ve heard is a hot affiliate product, and start slinging mud against the wall to see what sticks. This leads to frustration, wasted time and low or no sales.

If you want to be a successful affiliate marketer, than you must put in the time and effort up front and do your market research. Also, it is best to first search out a targeted market, or ‘niche market’ instead of a product. By finding a targeted market, where there is a need for a product and people are actually spending money on the products, you eliminate the hardest part of your job as an affiliate marketer.

This may appear hard to do but it is actually very easy. The first thing to do is to take a look around you. See what people are buying and what they are asking about and what their needs are. it is those products that can fill a need that will be much easier to sell. A great tool for finding out what people are buying is “Google Trends”. Simply go to Google and search “Google trends” and see what people are doing. Google is the largest search engine and can be used to see what the general public is up to and what they are searching for.

Step #2: Affiliate Product Promotion – After you’ve found your target market to sell affiliate products to, there are several ways to market those products. it can be done through a website using article marketing with specific keywords to bring targeted buyers to your website. Banners ads, email advertising, and ezine ads can also be effective in drawing visitors to your web page. However, one the more popular and easiest methods of promoting affiliate products is through product reviews.

With a review you are not trying to directly sell a product, instead you are reviewing the different products with in any given market. In a review, you will show the good and bad sides of the different products, and you’ll also include a link pointing to where the buyer can go to learn more. The links that you send in with your review will lead them directly to an affiliate page for a product you represent. This will give your visitors a chance to get the information they are searching for, and a desire to buy a product from you that fills their need.

Step #3: Get Your Blog Up - You can place product reviews on a website, but the best places to post product reviews would be a blog, your blog. Blogs make it very easy for virtually anyone to create product categories and to add content. You can easily add your reviews to the different categories making it easy for visitors to go directly to the products they are looking for. Blogs also have a positive effect with search engines. Blog posts, or in this case, product reviews will be picked up more quickly with a blog than other means of page design.

If you do not already know how to create a blog, go to blogger.com or wordpress.com. Both sites have instructions that make it a simple process of installing and optimizing a new blog. Becoming an affiliate money maker can be as simple as the three steps I’ve pointed out here. Simply find a target-market, or niche, determine their needs, and offer a legitimate solution to their problem. But just as important, use the tools (many of them free) available to put your chosen affiliate products in front of targeted, hungry buyers.

Now quit “over-thinking” this stuff and go out and sale something!

Blessings to you and yours,

James

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Did you know that eBay can be used to sell much more than just “physical” items, but that eBay can also be used to promote affiliate products? Seriously. eBay currently has over 200 million users, and is probably one of the most visited websites in the world.  In this post, we’ll cover a couple of ways that you can use eBay to promote affiliate products. Let’s get started

Promote affiliate products by creating and selling small reports

One of the best ways to promote affiliate products on eBay is by creating short reports describing just about anything. The report needs to be 7-15 pages long and it needs to be informative and useful. In other words quality content. It doesn’t need to be perfect, just informative and useful. In order to promote affiliate products this report can contain “branded” links to products or items that will provide you with a commission if someone makes a purchase via your link.

As an example, suppose you find that digital cameras are a popular selling item on eBay. You don’t want to try to compete with other sellers on eBay by trying to sell the same kind of camera. But you can create a short report describing ways to use a digital camera, such things as lighting, when to use a flash or not, and even photo processing. Within this report, you can place affiliate links for cameras, camera accessories(tripods, lighting, etc.), photo processing software and so on.

There are several affiliate programs such as Amazon’s Associate program and Commission Junction that provide commissions for physical items. Just about any subject that people may be interested in can be a market for this method. If there is enough interest, there is usually a market for it, no matter how small. Of course it isn’t necessary to sell the report; you can give it away for $.01 or $.99, since eBay requires a price of some kind. It should still be well written and informative.

Promote affiliate programs using eBay’s Classified Ad Format

Another way to use eBay to promote affiliate products is to use eBay’s Classified Ad format. The ad can contain a short ad containing a link to the sales page for the affiliate program in question. The ad costs $9.95 for 30 days, and if you add a “Pro” pack, the total cost is around $39. That sounds like a lot, but it works out to around $1.33 a day. You will get a lot of exposure if what you are promoting is popular and if you choose your keywords correctly.

As you can see, there are some ways to use eBay as a method to promote your affiliate programs and they can be very cost effective. Try some of these methods out and you may be pleasantly surprised. You can combine the above methods by creating as report and give it away with a classified ad. Simply put a link to a download page or describe in the ad text how you will get the report to interested parties. You will have to put a price in when you create the ad, but describe in the ad how you want to give this report away.