Tuesday, May 29, 2007

7 Deadly Adsense Mistakes

Adsense is indisputable to number one tool for webmasters who want to make a few extra bucks with their website. Why? Because it is very easy to manage and millions of advertisers are paying nice commissions to show their ads.

Google's Adsense also is the leader in click fraud detection. To keep the paying advertisers happy, Google stepped up their efforts to protect its Adsense system from click fraud. Many of these measures caused panic in the internet marketing community.

For many internet marketing webmasters Adsense is the number one income source for their business. Even if it is just a few hundred bucks a month, it will easily pay for a car payment. Who wants to miss out on this?

Google is known for closing accounts without warning. To protect your Adsense account, avoid making these deadly mistakes.

  • Never use Adsense on web pages that are used in traffic exchanges. If somebody clicks on the Adsense ad, the traffic exchange ip will be logged and not the individual browser's ip address. Over time Google will see a lot of clicks from the same ip address and suspects fraud. Bingo, your account is toast.

  • Read the term of use for Google's Adsense and stick to it.

  • Do not use other similar ad systems in combination with Adsense. Google doesn't like the company of likewise systems on the page.

  • Be careful with pictures. Make sure that pictures and Adsense are adequately separated from each other. Best case scenario, put the pictures into a frame.

  • Do not use Adsense in dynamic pages. Google doesn't like dynamically generated pages that contain Adsense. As stated in Google's term of use, do not change the Adsense code in any form. Making it dynamic is changing the code!

  • Do not over use Adsense on the same page. Google doesn't allow more than 3 individual Adsense blocks. This includes Adsense search as well.

  • If you have doubts and are not sure if you're breaking the rules, take the Adsense ads off line for a while and figure out what to do.

  • Most of you will never have a problem with Adsense, but for the few that want to push the limits, stick to the simple rules and keep your account.

    If you have trouble to comply with Google's rules, seek out alternatives. There are plenty of alternatives available and they are as easy to use as Adsense.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Friday, May 25, 2007

    6 Steps to Expand Your Prospect Base Through Niche Marketing

    If you market to everyone, "your client will be no one." This is an old saying that is as true today as it was whenit was first spoken. Mortgage professionals waste an immense amount of their marketing dollars on ineffective advertising that blasts their general message to the entire marketplace. This is commonly referred to as "spraying and praying" in the marketing world.

    Your Solution: Find out how to narrow your marketing focus. The result is a more effective use of your precious marketing dollars and a much higher prospect to client conversion rate for your mortgage business called Niche Marketing.

    Why Niche Marketing?

    Niche marketing allocates a smaller portion of your marketing budget on building a list of likely prospects and then investing the rest on converting those prospects into clients. The result is a more effective use of your precious marketing dollars and a much higher prospect to client conversion rate. The end result is a significant increase in referrals.

    By definition, niche marketing is narrowing your marketing efforts to a group(s) of prospects that have a high likelihood of being interested in purchasing your product or service.

    Basically, there are three types of niches, (1) business occupations such as revenue property owners or general contractors and (2) "sub-cultures" such as people who love to play golf or people who love their Harley Davidson motorcycle and, finally, (3) credit scores such as A, B or C business.

    Once you come to intimately know the niches you've selected to market to, your ability to convert prospects into clients becomes infinitely easier.

    Your 6 Step Niche Marketing Program

    Setting up your own mortgage niche marketing program is simple using the following six step process. Each step in the process is important to the ultimate success of your niche marketing program. There are no shortcuts to niche marketing success.

    Step 1 - Choose a Niche

    When choosing a profitable niche to market to make sure that it's one that you can easily contact by mail. A good choice would be a niche in which mailing lists are readily available. If at all possible, your niche should be one that communicates amongst itself through community groups or events. It helps if your niche suffers from problems that a mortgage professional can solve. Lastly, ensure that your niche has the money to purchase a home.

    Perhaps the easiest method of choosing a niche is to review your client list and look for groups of people in the same occupation or subculture groups. The beauty of this method is that the niche you choose has already proven that they want a mortgage.

    Potential niches that you might consider are self employed business owners, first-time home buyers or people with damaged credit. Each specific niche has a unique set of problems and aggravations that they have to deal with when trying to get a mortgage.

    Step 2 - Develop your Brilliant Marketing Message

    Once you've chosen your niche, your next step is to develop the marketing message that you will deliver to your prospects. To develop your message you'll need to know: What problems or issues they are facing? What results are they looking for? And what is it about your service or approach that is going to interest them and make them remember you?

    Materials you should expect to develop are a lead generation special report or financing guide. The guide can be 5-10 pages in length and should, (1) identify your prospect's problem, (2) create a mental picture of the negative effects of the problem, and (3) talk about the benefits your financing solutions and how you will solve their problem. This financing guide can be in written form or better yet, a CD or video.

    You'll also need to create two sales letters. One sales letter will be for promoting the free financing guide and the other for leading them to take the next step and complete their application. You should also create a "What People Are Saying…" testimonial book that contains endorsements from clients in your niche with accompanying pictures of them standing next to their newly purchased home.

    Lastly, you'll need a brochure. But not a standard mortgage brochure -- one that is custom developed for your niche. So if you chose to market to renters and general contractors, you should develop two different brochures that include messages specifically targeted to the needs of your niches. The brochure doesn't have to be glossy and expensive. But it does need to talk directly to your niche and address their unique problems.

    Step 3 - Obtain or Generate a List of Prospects

    Your list of prospects is the most valuable element of your niche marketing program. First, look for existing lists of niche prospects. For example, if you're targeting business owners you might buy a membership list from your local Chamber of Commerce.

    If you chose renters and couldn't find an existing list, consider doing a deal with a local financial planner to do mailings to each other's respective client lists.
    To obtain a list of professions and subcultures to consider in your niche marketing program, send a blank email to nichelist @ mortgagemarketingcoach.com with the subject: "Niche List".

    Step 4 - Contact your Niche

    It's time to assemble your marketing message and send it to your niche market. This will be done in two steps. First, send your sales letter offering your free report or guide. Ask your prospects to respond by calling you to order their free financing guide. The next step is to send the guide to those who responded to your mail out and combine it with a note stating the benefits of taking the next step with an application.

    WARNING: The next step is a common area where many mortgage professionals either cheat or skip altogether by just sending a one-step offer to the list. People are tired of one-step, "in your face" marketing. They want to be courted first. By sending good, non-sales type valuable information you'll be establishing a warm relationship, which will prepare your prospect for your offer.

    Step 5 - Follow up

    Following up with your prospects is key! 98% of all mortgage professionals rarely follow up after their first mailing yet studies have shown that a prospect needs to see you and your offer at least three times to make a decision.

    To dramatically increase response to your direct mailings you should consider following up by phone, introduce yourself, ask if they received your guide, and ask if they had any further questions.

    Step 6 - Develop a Niche Referral Program

    Now that you've taken the effort to establish your niche marketing program you should leverage your efforts by implementing a systematic referral program. Remember when I mentioned that it was important to choose a niche that communicates amongst itself? This is why! If you've created a happy client they will begin to talk to others in your niche.

    For example, if you've targeted business owners in your city, they will start to talk about you in their monthly meetings and informal get-togethers. You can multiply this by rewarding your clients in some way when they tell their friends.

    Be sure to make your referral program "systematic" so that it is an established process in your business that gets measured and for which people get rewarded for closed deals.

    For instance, you might consider awarding a free dinner for two certificate or move tickets when your clients write a personal endorsement letter to two friends. You provide the endorsement letter template and they share their testimonial with two of their friends.

    Conclusion

    There is a misconception that if you narrow your target market that there will be fewer prospects to market to; however, you'll find the opposite to be true. Once you begin to tailor your message to the specific needs of your niche and you begin to receive word-of-mouth advertising within your niche, new clients will come out of the woodwork . In fact, your client base will actually expand.

    To be competitive in today's economy you need to consider new methods and marketing techniques to reach more high quality prospects. Niche marketing is a proven way to uncover new prospects, increase closing rates, and boost referrals.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Thursday, May 24, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing- Information On Affiliate Content Sites-Blogs

    In affiliate marketing, there are different kinds of business models that you can choose to promote your affiliate product. One of the ways is call the affiliate content site or blog model.

    So what the affiliate will do is to marketing purely through providing relevant content to the visitors. This can be in the form of articles, products reviews or even content that comes come multi media like audio or video.

    If the affiliate has already set up one blog, he might just use it purely for reviewing and recommending products. On a normal website, the affiliate might put lots of fresh contents or tools so that the visitors will always come back to the site to look for new information.

    So in order to monetize the website or blog that they have, they can actually put their affiliate links in certain places. He can put a link at the resource box which will be at the end of the article or he can even link certain words in the article to the affiliate products that the affiliate is promoting.

    The next thing that the affiliate can put is a opt in form. In affiliate marketing, having a list is the most important assets that the affiliates can have. The advantage is that not only will the affiliate be giving visitors valuable content; he will also be able to build his own profitable list too. This is the biggest advantage of using this model to do an affiliate marketing business.

    Labels: , , ,

    Wednesday, May 23, 2007

    Is Who Loves Money a Scam? Find Out More Info In This Review

    Everyone wants to make money online these days. But can we all agree on something? Making money on the internet is not a get rich quick scam. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, making millions of dollars a year and doing it from the comfort of their home.

    Now, if you are not willing to put in the time to learn the proper Internet Marketing techniques, then the e-book review I am about to tell you about is not for you. However, if you are a highly motivated individual who wants the opportunity to make a lot of money with a little hard work and dedication, then listen up while I tell you about a great new e-book.

    Who Loves Money was created by two Internet Marketers (Kyle and Carson) who have earned millions of dollars online as affiliates. They have personally coached thousands of people and helped them earn their fist sales online as affiliates. They have also helped these same people create $100/day, $500/day, and even $2000/day businesses online with no prior experience. Many people who create an Internet Marketing product to sell online do not have first hand experience with the techniques they are teaching. Kyle and Carson use the exact techniques that they teach in their own "live" marketing campaigns. They definitely "practice what they preach"!

    Who Loves Money is young, energetic, revolutionary and full of info as well as the most up to date marketing resource available. In fact, it has already been deemed by some as the top internet marketing book of 2007! Who Loves Money does not require you to spend any money after signing up. The focus of Who Loves Money is ZERO Investment Marketing and Strategies.

    With Who Loves Money you will make money. Kyle and Carson give you real techniques and strategies that will earn you money. I give Who Loves Money a big thumbs up!!

    Labels: , , ,

    Tuesday, May 22, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing -Using Article Marketing as a Sales Tool Part I

    Many people new to internet marketing get started online with affiliate marketing, and others use article marketing to promote their website. Have you ever though of using article marketing as a sales tool, and applying that to affiliate marketing?

    Affiliate marketing is where you sell somebody else's product in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. Most successful affiliate marketing is of electronically deliverable goods, where no stock has to be held, and you do not have to purchase more supplies of a product after selling it. These goods can be sold over and over again without any overhead but advertising, and include items such as ebooks and software. Typical commissions are in the region of 50% and above.

    Most affiliates sell their products using their own website and pay per click advertising. They pay every time a visitor clicks on their advert, whether that visitor makes a purchase or not, and many people who have not been savvy with their advertising campaigns have been badly burned through high advertising costs and low or even zero sales.

    Others strive to get their websites optimized for the search engines, so that they can get free advertising in search engine listings. They will spend days and days trying to improve their web pages, and continually rewriting content to keep their sites fresh. They will wait months for their site to appear, and when it is eventually listed on a visible page of a search engine such as Google, it is too late. Their product is obsolete!

    Labels: , , ,

    Monday, May 21, 2007

    Become Rich Using Multiple Streams of Internet Income

    Have you always wondered how so many individuals are becoming rich online? Do you yearn and dream of an internet income you can make from the comfort of your how without having to answer to a boss? Find out how so many others are using multiple streams of internet income to become filthy rich.

    The reason that so many people are becoming rich from the internet is because they are using multiple streams of income. None of them get rich off of just one thing. It is always a combination of different sources of income. This could include an eBay business, affiliate marketing (which in itself can include many different sources of income), advertising revenues, or day trading.

    There are many sources that can be used as streams of income, but I guarantee most successful, rich people online are using more than one of them. Becoming rich online requires a good combination of streams of income.

    I am complete proof of that. I have about 10-12 different things making me money online at any given time, including this article. There are some that make me more than others, but at the end of the year even if one stream only made me a total of $1,000 that is another $1,000 in my bank account. It is very important to diversify your income and use many different ways to generate your online income.

    There are plenty of others that have become very rich with online methods. If you ask them most of them will tell you that they have more than one source of their overall income. There are too many people out there that hop from one program to another and never make much money because they are too busy trying to find the next great program instead of turning what they already have into a profit. Don't be them, instead create your wealth by using multiple streams of internet income.

    Labels: , , ,

    Sunday, May 20, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing - Is Using Articles The Best Way Of Pre-Selling? (Part 2 of 2)

    Firstly, they will have to go through the headline. Then they will have to go through the content. Then lastly they will have the option on whether they want to click the link on your resource box or not. If the customer can pass through these 3 filters and he go to your website, you can be sure that it will be a very targeted traffic.

    So now you go and write your own articles. What are the ways that you can make use of the articles to presell your affiliate product? The first thing that you can do is to submit your articles to high traffic article directories. This will ensure that you will get lots of people reading your article. Only those that like your article will click on your links. The 2nd way is to send the article to your own list. If you are promoting an affiliate product, send a article that will relates to the product.

    When you do the above 2 steps, you are basically just preselling the affiliate product to your customer. Your role will be just getting the customer to go to your affiliate links. Firstly, your customer will not feel like you are hard selling them and secondly, they will feel that they have a choice on whether they want to click on it or not.

    So leave all the selling part to the merchant. The best way that you can do is to buy and use the product yourself so that you will be able to presell much better as you have the first hand experience of using that product. So remember to presell your affiliate product and not to hard sell it by using articles.

    Labels: , ,

    Saturday, May 19, 2007

    Product Launch Secrets - How to Launch a Successful Product Fast

    With the world converging into a global village, the traditional ways of production as well as of marketing are a bit out of place. The older tools of marketing, production and launching a product are replaced by newer ideas which can help you in gaining instant success in the market. Many of the products fail when they are launched while others are able to make their mark. The reason behind is the launch of the product. If the launch of the product is done in a proper way, the chances of the product to survive in the market are more. But not all of the companies are able to launch their products in the proper way to gain market success instantly. Many of the products fail to make their mark although the product they have launched is a good one. The reason behind is a weak launch.

    This is especially true for the online world. As there are a number of products which are launched on daily basis, it is a must that your product should be launched in a very proper way. The advertising and marketing campaigns should be in place way before you plan the actual launch. The soft launch needs to be a very effective one. If that launch is successful the chances of a product to survive the competition are increased. If a product survives the launching stage it will be able to produce money for the producers. The launch can be thus considered as the most important step in the life of a new product.

    Labels:

    Friday, May 18, 2007

    Too Much Information And Too Little Actions - Beginners in Affiliate Marketing

    To start your journey in uncharted territory is always one of the hardest things in life. I really felt this when I decided to try out my luck in affiliate marketing. Completely clueless and didn't know where to start, I jumped from one training product to another, hopeful that I will finally get a hold on a material that will set my path straight and start pulling in that money that I desperately need . But as you might have realised by now, no such product really exists.

    For some reasons, those training products are either too advanced for beginners, and yet those products who claim that they are for beginners are not detailed enough. The worse thing was yet to come though; the staggering amount of information that I have gathered did not do me any good. In fact, it paralysed me to the point that I was unable to think clearly and made up my mind on what course of actions I needed to take.

    Fortunately, after months of struggle I managed to clear things up and set myself in the right direction. It had been a hard time though I can tell you that. The funny thing is, now that I have much clear understanding of affiliate marketing, I can see that to start your career in affiliate marketing actually requires very simple and straightforward steps.

    I am going to outline the steps here to help those of you who have just begun in affiliate marketing.

    1. Open an account in ClickBank. If you don't know what ClickBank is, it is basically one of the largest retailers of digital products on the Internet. It serves as in intermediary between you (affiliate) and the product owner (seller). After signing up to ClickBank, you can search for a product that you want to promote as an affiliate. The signing up process is very straightforward and your account is created instantly without having to wait for approval. There are other retailers out there similar to ClickBank, however for beginners ClickBank is the best choice since as I have mentioned earlier signing up process is very simple and also the amount of products available to choose from is staggering.

    2. Choose a niche market. As a rule of thumb, you always want to choose a market with a fair number of competitions. You might have found that some people actually advocate finding a small niche with only few competitors. You don't want to do this. Small niche means small demands, and small demands means small profits and limited growth potential. You don't want to a niche that you know you won't be able to expand your business to its fullest potential.

    3. Choose a product to promote. As a beginner, always choose a product that has proven itself to sell well. ClickBank actually makes it easy for you to do it. If you go to ClickBank marketplace, by default the products are sorted on their popularity. It means that the most popular products would be on the top.

    4. Create a squeeze page to capture the details of your visitors. The purpose of this is to build a subscriber list. You have to give your visitors some incentives to sign up to your newsletter by giving away free stuff such as free reports. Make sure though that your free report is of considerable value (don't think that because it's free you can just put together some articles that you grabbed from here and there). You must aim to build your credibility and trust.

    5. Bring some traffic to squeeze page. This is undeniably the hardest task of all. You can do pay-per-click (PPC) which is the fastest way yet the most costly, SEO (search engine optimisation) which takes much longer, or Joint Venture (JV).

    6. Sending out newsletters to your subscriber list. Always load pure content to the first and second newsletter. You want to build trust and earn your subscriber's respect first. Never start selling too early and you will ruin your chance to sell later.

    If you are a beginner in affiliate marketing and you are determined and persistent but you don't know where to start, it would be best to join a group of affiliate marketers so you can learn from each other.

    Labels: , , ,

    Wednesday, May 16, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing - The Importance Of Good Customer Service (Part 1)

    You have heard from many people that one of the advantages of doing affiliate marketing is that you do not have to worry about customer support. While it can be true that you do not have to worry support but you will still need to give good customer service. The most important tip is to always give good customer service because it is your business and they are your customers.

    If you always think in term of good customer service, you will stand out from the rest of the affiliates. The average affiliates will look at the products first, preferably those that offers high commissions. After they have found their affiliate products, they will just throw up a website, put lots of links inside and attract the traffic. Then they will wonder how come they did not make many sales.

    The reason is because you focus too much on the product instead on the people. When you care about your list and you always give value to them, your list will soon trust you as someone who really wants to help them. This will almost assured that you will have satisfied customers, buyers who will praises you, repeat buyers and buyers who recommend his friends to join your list because you are willing to go the extra mile to help your customers.

    This can be illustrated by using this one good example. For example, you are going to a store to do some shopping. One of the sales man approaches you and all the things that he speaks and do is to sell you something. His only intention is to sell you something and if you do not want to buy, he will be more aggressively trying to persuade why you must buy. Most of the people will not like it because they do not like being pushed by someone to buy the products.

    Labels: , ,

    Tuesday, May 15, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing- 4 Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Start Your Business

    It will be important for you to ask yourself some questions before you even want to commit and start your own affiliate marketing business. Here are the 4 questions which you can ask yourself:

    1. What are your reasons for wanting to start your own affiliate marketing business? If you do not have any reason, it will be much harder for you to overcome obstacles that you may face and you will find it I hard to make yourself feel motivated.

    2. How many hours per week are you willing to commit to your affiliate marketing business and do you have a place where you will be able to run your business from? This will be your own time management. If you are willing to spend more time to commit to your business, the faster that you will be able to achieve your affiliate success.

    3. What are the kinds of skills and knowledge that you will need to know to be successful in this business? You will need to know what are the areas that you are weak in and be committed enough learn and master all the basics of this business.

    4. How much do you want to earn per month and where do you see yourself 12 months from today? You will need to know what your goal is so that you will move towards the direction towards your goal.

    These are the 4 questions that you should ask yourself before you are involved in affiliate marketing. This will be like doing your own personal planning so that you will be able to see the big picture of your plan and you will also know the areas which you will need to improve on. So do ask yourself these 4 questions and have a plan before you even want to start your own affiliate marketing business.

    Labels: , ,

    Monday, May 14, 2007

    Jamba Juice Names Thibault de Chatellus, Senior Vice President, International

    EMERYVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jamba Juice, the category-defining leader in healthy blended beverages,
    juices and good-for-you snacks, announces the appointment of Thibault de
    Chatellus as senior vice president, international, effective May 14th.
    This newly developed position will report directly to CEO Paul Clayton
    and oversee the company’s international
    business strategy.


    “We believe the time is right for us to pursue
    an international strategy and begin developing Jamba as a global brand,”
    said Clayton. “This is an exciting time for
    the company, and we’re confident Thibault can
    lead us onto the international stage.”


    Mr. de Chatellus brings over 20 years of leadership and international
    experience to Jamba including business development, merchandising,
    category management and retail operations. Mr. de Chatellus joins the
    company after having served as an independent consultant focusing on
    business development strategies in international markets. Prior to
    consulting, he held several senior executive positions with Blockbuster,
    Inc. including senior vice president strategic concepts, senior vice
    president Latin America, and vice president international. Prior to
    Blockbuster, he worked with McKinsey & Co. and Chase Manhattan Bank in
    Paris, France.


    Mr. de Chatellus’ hiring represents a
    strategic move for the company to establish partnerships in
    international markets and extend the brand beyond US borders. The
    company will leverage Mr. de Chatellus’
    extensive experience as he will research and develop new ways for Jamba
    to be enjoyed by a worldwide audience.


    Mr. de Chatellus received degrees in marketing and accounting & finance
    at France’s leading business school, Ecole des
    Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris.


    About Jamba Juice


    Founded in 1990, JAMBA JUICE®
    is the category-defining leader in healthy blended beverages,
    juices, and good-for-you snacks. Jamba Juice Company, a subsidiary of
    Jamba, Inc. (NASDAQ:JMBA; NASDAQ:JMBAU; NASDAQ:JMBAW), owns and
    franchises JAMBA JUICE® stores.
    Today, JAMBA JUICE® has
    more than 615 stores, of which more than 400 are company-owned and
    operated. For the nearest location or a complete menu including new All
    Fruit™ smoothies, please call: 1-866-4R-FRUIT
    or visit the JAMBA JUICE® website
    at .


    This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
    meaning of the Private securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward
    looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Forward
    looking statements in this release include those related to expectations
    regarding international expansion. Such forward-looking statements,
    based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Jamba, Inc.’s
    management, are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause
    actual results to differ from the forward looking statements. The
    following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ
    from those set forth in the forward-looking statements: continued
    compliance with government regulations; legislation or regulatory
    environments, requirements or changes adversely affecting the businesses
    in which Jamba, Inc. is engaged; demand for the products and services
    that Jamba, Inc. provides, general economic conditions; geopolitical
    events and regulatory changes, as well as other relevant risks detailed
    in the Jamba, Inc.’s filings with the
    Securities and Exchange Commission. The information set forth herein
    should be read in light of such risks. Jamba, Inc. does not assume any
    obligation to update the information contained in this press release.

    Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Sunday, May 13, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing - The 3 Types Of Affiliates Landing Page (Part 3)

    The last kind of landing page is called the "Must Opt In" landing page. This is the kind of landing page which will consist most of the things that the type 2 landing page have. It will consist of a powerful headline, the problems that the customer is facing, an offer to help solve the problem and finally the autoresponder opt in form. Once the customer has signs up through the opt in form, the customer will be redirected to the main sales page.

    Different people got different views on this kind of landing pages. Some will feel that it will not be that effective as they might have lost too many potential customers when the customers do not opt in. This will be very true to those people who are using paid advertising to bring in the traffic. They definitely will want each of the customers that they bring to at least see the sales page.

    Another point of view that people might have is that this tactic will helps to produce a very high quality list. They will think that the list is quality because the list consists of action-taking leads who already have certain degree of interest in the things that they provide.

    It will be better if the affiliates do a split test to see which one gives a better response. But regardless which either points of view, one thing that we cannot deny is that this method will enables the affiliate to capture the leads and have their own highly targeted mailing list. This is the most important assets that the affiliates will have.

    So these are the 3 types of landing pages which you can use in your affiliate marketing business. Different niches might require different kinds of landing pages so it is important for you to do testing and choose the one that gives you the best response.

    Labels: , ,

    Saturday, May 12, 2007

    Business notebook: Tourism guide, winners and street painting

    “Promoting Warwick’s rich history, countryside, and vital downtown districts is crucial to area businesses,” said Glohs. “This year-round coverage in the Tourism Guide ensures Warwick’s importance to the region.”For the third consecutive year, local photographer John DeSanto captured the visitor’s eye with his photography for this year’s brochure.For the cover, he choose the Applefest theme with an interesting photograph of his neighbor’s daughter Lauren Desrats, 8.“The eye-catching images band the area together to grace the front cover with an exciting punch of color and a keen sense of contrast,” said Dethmers.The 2007-2008 Tourism Guide is distributed free at locations throughout the Hudson Valley, including the Thruway Information Center near Harriman, West Point and Woodbury Common, as well as in Sussex and Bergen counties in New Jersey.Dethmers managed this year’s project for the Chamber from her Warwick office. She holds a BA degree in Communications from Lynchburg College and brings with her expertise from a corporate background in product marketing, public relations, sales promotion, and high-end events planning.DeSanto is an award-winning photojournalist who has worked internationally and apprenticed under LIFE Magazine photographer Bernard Hoffman. His work has been distributed worldwide by the Associated Press and United Press International. DeSanto has photographed a broad spectrum of American life images that have also been featured in fine art galleries.The photographer lives in Warwick with his wife, Johanna, and their two daughters.Tourism Guides are available to the public at more than 90 local businesses, including banks, restaurants, lodging establishments, retail merchants, town and village halls, or at the Chamber’s headquarters at the South St. Caboose.Grand openingOn Saturday, April 28, well-known Warwick photographer Diane Pell held a “Grand Opening” of her new studio at 62 Main St. on the second floor above The Toy Chest.Pell served wine and cheese and displayed her large prints in black and white and also color that were mostly of children and babies.Her works are also currently on display at the Kennedy Birthing Center in St. Anthony Community Hospital.Pell, a longtime Warwick resident, has been a professional photographer for 18 years.Anyone interested in more about her photography can call 986-1268 or visit www.dianepell.comWinnersDuring the annual celebration of Springfest on April 28, Patty Flynn, owner of La Petite Cuisine, announced the winners of a drawing held during the recent celebration of the restaurant’s fifth anniversary.Warwick resident Peggy Cosimano won the special basket arranged by the restaurant. And $25 gift certificates were awarded to Max Carson, 14, and New Jersey resident Jeremey Siegel.Street paintingAn exciting Artist Street Painting event is being held in Sugar Loaf Craft Village on Saturday, May 19. A portion of the main street will be closed to vehicular traffic from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. while participating artists create artworks on 10-foot by 10-foot sections of the roadway.Businesses and individuals sponsor each artist square for Sugar Loaf’s Community Vision Project. More than $1,200 in cash prizes have been donated and will be awarded for the best works.Hani, the well-known NYC street painting artist, will also participate in the event.A rain date is set for Sunday, May 20.New online e-mailWVT Communications (Warwick Valley Telephone) recently launched a new e-mail system designed to provide new and user friendly e-mail features.Customers report that Warwick Online (WOL) now processes e-mail at a faster rate and with more reliable delivery. New features include vacation auto-response; calendar and address book; and anti-Spam and virus settings. WOL Webmail also allows customers to check and send e-mail from anywhere they can access the Internet.Anniversary partyB. Page and Co., Railroad Ave., will usher in its first year anniversary this weekend with a two-day celebration, beginning this Friday, May 11. Guests will be treated to champagne and strawberries, along with special birthday treats and sales promotions.Owner Brooke Martis-Sarmiento has brought in new lines that she is sure her customers will love.“Trina Turk is one line that I am very excited to have,” she said. “Trina does wonderful prints and great silhouettes that are very appealing for summer.”Brooke also has an exclusive line of candles from DayNa Decker, which will premier in the store for the anniversary celebration scheduled for Friday, May 11, and Saturday, May 12, from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.Important reminder for this SundayHappy Mother’s Day!






    Diane Pell held a grand opening in her new studio. (Photos by Roger Gavan)





     

    Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Thursday, May 10, 2007

    Affiliate Marketing Money Tips

    Affiliate programs are also known as referral programs and this is one area where you really need to be able to work with others. Affiliate programs usually work on the basis of commission based sales. As an affiliate, your job is to recommend a site to people who visit your website. If they then go on to visit the affiliate site and a sale is made, you will pick up a percentage of that in commission. Affiliate marketing is a win-win situation, the seller benefits from the sales and you benefit from the commission.

    You can either use your existing website and run an affiliate program from that, of you can build a site for the specific purpose of promoting a particular product or service. Providing the site generates more profit than the amount of money it took to build it you should be ok.

    You may be tempted to join those programs that promise to pay you the highest commissions, but these sites won't pay you anything if the visitors don't buy anything. Some affiliate sites on the other hand will pay a small commission every time one of your visitors clicks on the link to their site and leaves an email address.

    Take care when it comes to choosing an affiliate program, they are not all what they seem, so do some research beforehand. Becoming an affiliate can be beneficial as it is another way of making some money from the people who visit your site. Rather than selling them your own product, you refer them on to the people you are working with and then receive a percentage of the profits if they buy. What you really need are some tips to help you find an affiliate program that suits your needs. Below are a few ideas you might want to bear in mind while you are doing your research.

    1. Don't sign up for anything that will pay you less than 40% commission. There are plenty of programs that have a fair payment structure and you should be able to get a decent percentage in commission no matter what your field.

    2. Search for sites with a page on site statistics, this should list the number click throughs, the amount of sales resulting from those click throughs, and the resultant profit. This way it will be easy to keep a record of your own progress and earnings.

    3. Look for a program that will help you in building the website. Good sites offer different tools to make things easier for the affiliates. These might include, text links, graphics and banners.

    4. Try to find out what level of support you can expect before you sign up. If a business isn't prepared to answer your questions, and answer them within a certain time frame, then you should ask yourself whether you really want to work with these people.

    5. Check how often you can expect to receive a payment and then check the amounts against your own payment schedule to see if it comes up to your expectations. Many programs pay commission on a fortnightly or monthly basis but there are some that will pay it quarterly.

    It may take a while to become knowledgeable about affiliate programs, but when you do, you can make a lot of money. Use your common sense and don't rush into things when you are starting out. Once you have more of an idea of how these programs work, you'll be well on your way to a significant income – and enjoy making it in the process.

    Affiliate Marketing Money Tips

    Copyright © 2007 Tony Pescatore.

    Labels: , , , , ,

    Wednesday, May 09, 2007

    Revealed - How To Double Your Online Sales Without Spending A Single Penny

    What's the biggest problem for any business?… SALES.. SALES.. SALES!

    I'm about to reveal some extremely valuable information to you here. The real ways to get tons of visitors to your web sites absolutely FREE.

    These methods will:


    a) Drive cash in hand TARGETED visitors to your site at no cost whatsoever


    b) Boost your search engine rankings


    c) Boost your link popularity


    d) Get you an avalanche of traffic WHENEVER you want on demand.


    e) Gets your name spread far and wide on the internet resulting in expert status

    So what is this secret strategy?…
    Get An Avalanche Of Traffic On Demand By Writing Articles!

    The System


    1. Decide on an article relevant to the product you are selling.


    2. Locate relevant information on your chosen subject on the internet and Copy and Paste it into a word document.


    3. Sift through the information you've found picking out a number of "tips" or tricks" Pick out the best and most powerful 7 or 8 tips or tricks.


    4. Write a paragraph for each tip.


    5. Write a resource box for your article.


    6. Submit to article directories and relevant websites

    That's it. That's quite literally all you need to do in order to get tens of thousands of links back to your site. And you WILL get all those links back to your site providing you follow my simple but proven plan.

    Sound simple? Well that's because it is. Let me explain how and why this is the most powerful underground internet marketing strategy available today. A strategy that not only beats the pants off of any other marketing techniques, but one that also won't cost you a penny!

    So why does writing articles work so well?

    As we know the internet is all about content and information. People use the
    Internet for two reasons:

    1) To check their email


    2) To search for information on a particular subject


    So as people are searching for information web sites need to provide them with


    it. And there are millions of web sites that add content daily in order to bring people back to their site time and time again.

    The problem is writing new articles every day is an arduous and exhausting task.

    So what do these site owners do?
    They go to article banks and locate articles relevant to their subject. They copy and paste them onto their site and voila – their site has been updated.

    Now say that article was your article. At the bottom of your article you'd have a link back to your web site. Every single person who read that article would then have the option to click on that link and be taken straight to your site – where they can see your sales letter.
    If your sales letter is strong enough that could result in a ton of sales by you using the power of someone else's traffic. Someone else who has probably spent a fortune on search engine optimization and so forth!

    And that would be from just ONE site. With my methods hundreds if not thousands of sites will all pick up your article and put it right in front of tens of thousands of people who have a specific interest in the subject that your product falls into!

    And it's not only site owners that will pick up your articles…Ezine publishers (online email newsletters) are constantly looking for new content too. And just like site owners they go to article banks and directories to pick up articles for their ezines.

    Keys to writing a successful Article


    1. Between 500 to 750 words


    2. Great Headline… look at magazines on your subject!


    3. Article must not be a sales pitch or Mini book


    4. Good content…. Include tips and tricks or benefits throughout your article


    5. A good resource box with links back to your website if they want further information.

    The final part of the system is the most tedious, which involves submitting our article to the relevant article directories and websites. There's a huge list of article directories that you can submit your article too. But it does take time and patience. Thankfully there's a piece of software that makes this process a breeze.

    Labels: , , , , ,

    Tuesday, May 08, 2007

    What's New in Internet Marketing- Email Marketing

    Of course, email marketing isn't new; we've been doing it for over 10 years now. But according to some of the latest research into email marketing, over 70 percent of email marketers say the impact of it is increasing, not decreasing.

    Anyone who uses email marketing techniques can tell you, getting through spam filters is part of the battle. While text-only emails received the poorest return-on-investment numbers, some ISPs are now blocking HTML emails and only allowing text emails to get through (notably BellSouth).

    It's a quandary: produce newsletters that will get through filters, or produce newsletters that get results? I wish I could tell you otherwise, but truly, there are no easy answers to this question. However, here are some tips that might help you to think differently about your campaigns:

    * Instead of a full newsletter or a long email, consider the "postcard" format for an email; email postcards received 75% higher click rates.

    * Higher ROI tweaks include testing your email campaign with an A/B split, altering your subject line, having a specific landing page for your campaign (instead of merely sending them to your normal home page); and re-sending the same email message two weeks after sending the first one (especially if your email software can send it to only those people who did not open the first email)

    * Consider putting your call to action in your subject line (register for the class, sign up for the discount coupon, call for a free quote)

    * While 65 percent of emails now come with suppressed images, a large majority of users will manually turn those images on. This means that you should include images in your email campaigns.

    * According to MarketingSherpa.com survey results, once-a-month mailings actually have less impact than shorter, weekly mailings.

    * Consider segmenting your email mailing campaigns between customers and prospects, tailoring the message to them based on whether they've purchased from you before or not.

    Labels: , , , ,

    Sunday, May 06, 2007

    Internet Marketing Online - The Best of the Best

    If you are one of the many business that are starting to do a great deal of their marketing online, then you are definitely heading in the right direction.

    There are literally millions of people who use the internet every single day, and when you use online marketing, you can effectively bring people to your website who are potential clients. While some people think that internet marketing online is extremely difficult, when you know what you are doing and you have done the right research, it can be quite easy and profitable as well.

    There are a variety of different methods of internet marketing online. These methods include email advertising, pay-per-click ads, press releases, article directory submissions, and even banner ads as well. While there are a variety for you to choose from when it comes to internet marketing, you will want to make sure that you choose the best marketing strategy. One of the best marketing strategies out there is actually free of charge and it can help you to bring in traffic to your website.

    This special internet marketing strategy is called search engine optimization. Basically, search engine optimization deals with ways that you can enhance and optimize your website so that it ranks high on the lists of websites on various different search engines. This method can help your business become more profitable, and it will not cost you anything to use it.

    An example of search engine optimization would be if you had a freelance writing service and you wanted to drive people to your site that were looking for quality freelance writers. You would use various keywords, such as "freelance writer," "writing," and "freelancing" on your site in order to help bring up your website when they are searching by search engine.

    The reason that search engine optimization is so effective is because most people will turn to popular search engines like Yahoo or Google when they are trying to find something online. When they want to find information, services, or products quickly, they type in keywords into the search engine and browse the results that the search engine gives to them.

    This is why it is so important to get your site ranked high on search engines. Most people will not go beyond the first page when they are searching, so you want to try and optimize your website so it will be in the top ten when you are doing internet marketing online.

    Technology today has made it quite easy for those who are doing internet marketing online to use search engine optimization. You can purchase software programs to help you apply SEO to your website, or you can hire an SEO professional to help you make sure that your website is optimized for maximum results on the search engines.

    This is one of the best methods of internet marketing online, and when you start using it properly, you can drive thousands of people each day to your website.

    Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

    Saturday, May 05, 2007

    Internet Marketing Coaching – Are You Overwhelmed With Information?

    Are You Overwhelmed With Information?

    Are you overwhelmed with information? I know how it is. You want to get started online, and you buy an ebook for $100. And it tells you one good way to do things.

    You start following the plan, and then you get a little stuck with something. So you go online searching for more information, and you find another ebook that claims to have a better way of doing it.

    So you buy that one – another $100. You read it from cover to cover, and find that there are some similarities, but that many of the steps – the actual methods of getting the job done – are significantly different.

    Now you are confused. Which to go with? You can't really do both? Or maybe you just try to figure out which parts are best from each one and do like a hybrid of the two? The problem with that is you don't have enough experience to know what to pick and choose.

    So what do you do? Buy another book to solve the differences? Of course, that one will propose still another system.

    Confusing, right?

    I want to clear up some of the confusion.

    First, there are many ways to become successful online. There are probably 100 different ways to route your list building campaign. There are probably over 100 different step by step ways you can use just to get started online – and then 100s or 1000s of options after that.

    For example, imagine these are my steps:

    1) Find a niche

    2) Build a web site

    3) Put a squeeze page on it

    4) Get an autoresponder

    5) Write an email campaign

    6) Write an ebook

    7) Send traffic to your site

    Now, I could easily move them around, and get the same results:

    1) Build a web site

    2) Put a squeeze page on it

    3) Find a profitable niche

    4) Write an email campaign

    5) Get an autoresponder

    6) Send traffic to your site

    7) Write an ebook

    How many different combinations could I come up with, just moving 7 steps around? And really there are 30 or 40 steps when you get started. You can move those around in just about an infinite number of configurations. Is one better than the other? Maybe, maybe not. But the important thing is that you do all the steps.

    Now, you may be thinking, well, what about each of those steps, different people tell me different ways to do it.

    Of course there are different ways to do each step.

    Think about the sending traffic step. How many different kinds of traffic are there? 100? 200? How many can any one person get good at? I am only good at one. Another expert is good at one or two. What do you think we are going to write about? The one we are good at. Mine works as well as his (and vice versa). But I am only an expert at one.

    And that holds true for every other step in the process – there are multiple ways to do things – all of which work – but to make them work, you have to get good at ONE of them. Not all of them. Not dabble in each.

    Not mix up all the things you learn in different books.

    So here's your homework for the weekend.

    Go to your harddrive and find one of those books you bought that you tried and it wasn't perfect.

    You didn't understand everything, or you got stuck. Or you thought there was a better way. Look, your way might be better, but if you aren't making more money than the person that write the book – you might as well do it there way first!

    Bu this time. Stick with it. Follow through. If you get stuck – work through it. So what if it takes you a whole week to learn something.

    I remember when I first started I would spend an entire day or two trying to figure out how to do something I can do in 5 minutes now. But I had to go through it and work it out and do the hard work.

    And some of that cannot be done in a book – you just have to do the work to figure it out.

    Now, get to work!

    Labels:

    Thursday, May 03, 2007

    Who Loves Money Anyway?

    You may have noticed already, especially if you've run a search for "Who Loves Money" recently, that there are a lot of adverts, articles and sites out there for this product. Look familiar…?

  • Who Loves Money – Do you?

  • Who Loves Money – Is it a Scam?

  • Who Loves Money – Review
  • (the last one makes me chuckle. They haven't even released Who Loves Money yet, and already there are people reviewing it!)

    You might have even found this article by searching for the more popular terms of "Internet Marketing" or "Make Money Online". What exactly is this, and can the NEXT BIG THING in INTERNET MARKETING be trusted?

    First, I want to tell you a story…

    There's one thing that we all have in common, regardless of age, race or academic stature, and that one thing is "hope". YOU IMAGINE yourself one day being able to stroll right into the bosses office and tell him exactly where he can stick his low-paid, mind numbingly boring office job. You know, the one that takes you over an hour each day to get to, before being submitted to hours of dull meetings, office politics and the only thing to look forward to is the gruelling commute back home (probably around 7 o'clock at night).

    This, my friend, is where "hope" springs eternal. A cursory search on the internet will make it apparently clear that the easiest way to make money online is by DRINKING AT THE FOUNTAIN OF INTERNET MARKETING, or to EMBRACE THE RICH JERK WITH AFFILIATE ABANDON! WoooHooo! I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT! Order me that new Dodge Viper RIGHT NOW! Yes, siiiirrreeeeee!!

    There seem to be so many people making money online through internet marketing & affiliate schemes that by now, your common sense has taken over (or should have done! WAKE UP!) and you think "surely the only people making money in this, are the people selling the make money online schemes!?"

    Well, you are half right. A year or so ago, I obtained a copy of Perry Marshall's Adwords Guide. A great read, and I would seriously recommend it to anyone interested in getting into internet marketing, specifically pay per click marketing. The problem was that the examples all made it seem very easy (don't they always!), and I was left wondering why everyone on the planet wasn't making their money this way. So over the next few weeks, I poured a whole lot of money into the Google coffers (I kind of figured they could do with a little help on their stock value) and in return I got…. Wait for it…. Drumroll please…. $18.34 in commissions from ClickBank. Not bad for a $80 investment. When it came to losing money, I OWNED the system! The other main problem with the guides I had was they seemed very out of date. Bidding on "Ebay" as a keyword is something which you can no longer do, and the volume of adverts these days just makes it so much harder to follow the examples.

    Numerous reports and ebooks followed – including Rich Jerk, Adwords: Chump to Champ, and others I can't even remember the name of.

    In the end, I gave up. I couldn't convince my wife that this was going to actually work, so I just plain gave up.

    I didn't really give Internet Marketing a second thought until earlier this year when, being increasingly tired of my office job, I started searching around again for new info on IM. I found Day Job Killer – an excellent book, but very sneaky and underhand tactics which I'm not convinced are a sustainable business model, although likely to bring some immediate success.

    I finally stumbled upon Wealthy Affiliate. I was incredibly apprehensive about entering into a subscription (they charge $29.99 / month for membership), but hey – the Pound is strong at the moment, and I'd already spent a King's Ransom.

    The site forum is worth the investment alone, for getting advice (and I mean 'real' advice from 'real' experts, unlike anything I've seen elsewhere for free), but there are also a wealth of tools to help you such as keyword tools, niche research tools, ClickBank monitoring and much more. However, probably the most useful thing for me is that they offer a very well structured 6 week course, so for anyone new to the game (or that has been failing miserably in the past) you get to start from the basics and work your way up into launching full blown landing sites and ad campaigns and, the newest addition, bum marketing. (Now, this phrase raises a snigger over here in the UK, but basically it means launching into IM with little or no investment).

    I've only been a member for a little over 6 weeks now, and already made back my initial investment. Due to other commitments, I am still only on about week 3 of the course. This is the other extremely reassuring thing about Kyle & Carson (the site owners) – they are quite clear in stating that Internet Marketing is hard work! Yes, hard work and lots of it! Don't expect to set up a campaign in 5 minutes and sit back and just watch the profits roll in. You could get lucky of course, but if you do this properly, there is a lot of research to do. This was something that other IM guides had skimmed over, and I found this very refreshing to hear.

    So, give it a shot. Visit my blog for the links you need.

    Labels: , , , , ,

    Wednesday, May 02, 2007

    Is Affiliate Marketing Really As Easy As It Sounds?

    We've all seen the adverts on the internet, the ULTIMATE home business, "There's £million's to be made online through affiliate marketing, just buy our product, quit your day job and within six months you can pay your mortgage off". If you're like me and have the qualities of the eternal optimist then you would have bought this product thinking that after a weekend of typing away placing a few ads you would spend the first part of Monday morning phoning your boss and telling him where to stick his job because you have just hit the big time, phoning your mortgage company asking them how you would go about paying off the house and then flicking through the latest copy of Top Gear magazine to choose which super car you're going to buy first.

    Only, to our "unexpected" horror it doesn't actually happen this way, we find ourselves walking into the office at 9am on Monday absolutely seething at the fact that we didn't make ONE sale over that weekend, once again thinking we have been scammed by another program. So we go back to work resenting our boss and forget about the affiliate marketing opportunity because it didn't send us from rags to riches over the course of a weekend, after all it was marketed as a "Get Rich Quick Scheme" so WHY hasn't it got me rich, I've been using the program for a whole THREE days now, WHERE IS MY CHEQUE? So many people go through this process and never actually tell anyone about it because they narrow minded people around us would just say the usual clichés such as "Well they saw you coming!" or the classic "If it sounds to good to be true….." So you just forget you ever bought the product and vow never again to buy another get rich quick scheme but to accept the fact that you're going to be working 9-5 in an office surrounded by sheer incompetence until the day you die.

    Many of life's failures are people who didn't realise how close they were to success when they gave up!
    THOMAS A. EDISON (1847-1931)

    Ninety nine percent of programs that are out on the web today are in fact scams to cheat you out of your money, the business strategy never has or never will make a single penny, or alternatively the business could potentially be extremely lucrative, all you have to do is to find the best of £5000 to purchase all the equipment and other programs to actually make it work. When you look at affiliate marketing it does seem incredibly simple. You place an ad, people click the ad, they buy the product and you get a slice of the profits. It actually really is that simple!! Except, people aren't just going to search on an advertising website and buy your product. Ask yourself, WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU DID THAT? They need an incentive to actually see your ad and view the product, it has to come from a reputable source.

    To allow the ad to be seen you could try a PPC (pay per click) service such as Google Adwords, these can be a very profitable form of advertising but if you get it wrong the cost implications can be horrendous, to many people clicking and not enough people buying can put an end to a dream quicker than a wet flannel in the face. Another way of trying to get more visitors to click on the ID embedded link is to spend hours on end writing on specialists forums and trying to through as many URL's into the mix as possible only to have the administrators and webmasters remove the links leaving the forum post completely useless. If you actually sit back and look at affiliate marketing on a grand scale and seriously looked at the bigger picture you would realise that there is a mountain of prospect there. In my view the only way you can succeed in affiliate marketing is to invest, heavily invest in your own business. I know all of you will be starting with zero budget but I'm not talking about cash, you need to invest something that we ALL have………..TIME! The only way to succeed in affiliate marketing is to BE PATIENT! You will have to invest a certain amount of cash once you have bought the program but that is to only purchase a domain name and purchase some web space to host your website.

    The product that you buy is just the information that you need to START the business venture into affiliate marketing, it isn't the "Ultimate Strategy" to financial freedom, only YOU can achieve that through TIME, PASSION, DEDICATION and DISCIPLINE. Imagine being able to attract your visitors to a website where you could advertise an unlimited amount of products, your own affiliate SUPERSTORE! Once you've bought the program you should have a budget of, say £30, which should easily be enough capital to set up a website domain name and some hosting space. Design the website yourself, no need to splash out on some fancy all singing, all dancing website when it's the CONTENT that is the most important aspect. Once you have the website up and running you can then take the TIME, no money, TIME to optimize it yourself and market the website rather than one particular product, instead of trying to take ONE product to the consumer, make the consumer come to a whole online store of products, then the products will sell themselves as your website will add much more credibility to them. If you want to find out more about starting your own business, whether it be affiliate marketing or wholesale to retail trading then visit http://www.excaliburworldwide.com

    Labels: , , , ,

    Tuesday, May 01, 2007

    Network Marketing Strategy - Important Research

    You have heard before about the value of telling stories. The reason it's such a powerful network marketing strategy is, it's not perceived as a sales technique. You're just telling a story.

    And if you'll really learn just 4 or 5 stories that bring home certain points about your products or your opportunity, then you can talk to anybody with confidence.

    Why? Because you're not selling. You're just telling a story.

    You MUST have stories about your MLM products. If you don't have your own yet, your company or upline almost certainly offer a conference call or online format where you can hear or read great stories. If it's a conference call format, then tape the calls, listen to them again, pick out the best stories, transcribe them, learn them, and use them.

    Many MLM trainers have great stories on their websites. Do a Google search for "MLM trainers" and look at some of the websites you bring up. When you run into a story that illustrates an important point, copy it and learn to use it for your own business.

    Here's a story that illustrates a key point about the business opportunity.

    Jack asks, "What do you do?"

    And you say, "Have you ever heard of Mark Andriessen?"

    Jack says, "No."

    "OK. Back when the Internet first got popular, you paid by the hour to be online. So everybody and their brother started businesses selling time on the internet. Right away, the whole thing was driven by beating everybody else's price.

    "But some people thought, 'Forget that. Everybody's doing it. There's got to be some other way of making money with the Internet.

    "Mark Andriessen was a college kid, broke, working in a college lab at minimum wage. He played around with the Internet, but he saw a big problem – people couldn't use it easily.

    "So Mark thought about that and went to work. Today, you use an internet browser every day, you take it for granted. But Andriessen actually developed the first web browser, a software called Netscape Navigator.

    "Within 2 years, he went from a broke college kid to a net worth of fifty MILLION dollars. The Wall Street Journal & papers around the world featured front page articles on him.

    "He was STILL a kid, but everyone else in his industry was eating his dust! He found the race car while everyone else was riding in a jalopy."

    "I read what he did and started thinking about it. I wanted a race car of my own. So I went out and found one. This is what I do."

    Then reach in your pocket and hand them some good promotional piece about your company or products. "Here. THIS is MY race car. Take a look!"

    Learn stories. Tell them. They work.

    Labels: ,