Saturday, August 25, 2012

Internet Marketing Report Card For 2012

It's been a long time since my last article. Maybe too long. A lot has happened since. Some of it good and some of it not so good. If you're curious as to what may or may not be working so well in this era of Internet marketing, you might want to read this article. It's a little long, but I promise you that it will be more than worth your time.

A little background info first for those of you who don't know me. My name is Steven Wagenheim. I started Internet Marketing back in 2003. I built up a six figure a year business since that time and am now semi retired. That's why I don't write as much as I used to. But I felt this article was long overdue.

A lot has changed since 2003. Video, which was almost non existent back then, is now almost a requirement. People don't like to read as much as they used to, which ironically makes this article kind of a dinosaur in the land of online money making. Still, I'm counting on at least as few people taking the time to absorb what's inside.

There are a number of methods that are used and have been used to generate traffic to one's web site. Some of those methods are still viable while others have been ground into dust. Unfortunately, the losers far outweigh the winners.

One of the biggest losers has been article marketing. In the old days, one could write up a 250 word article, submit it to a directory or list of directories and get a great deal of traffic to their web site. Then Google came along, saw how much crap was written and submitted to these directories, and ultimately decided that they would start giving less weight to these content sites.

If you've been article writing and marketing for any length of time, you have probably noticed that your traffic has gone down considerably depending on what niche you're involved in. Yes, the niche does make a big difference. For example, my articles in the health niche are still doing well while my articles in the make money online niche are doing poorly.

I'm going to guess that the reason for this is because there was more crap submitted to the make money online niche than to the health niche and thus, that niche didn't get hit as hard. Of course, there could be other reasons as well such as quality of the articles, amount of competition writing the same articles and so on.

For example, the articles that I have written in the health niche that are still doing very well have two things in common. One, they are all very well written. Two, they don't have a lot of competition as far as subject matter. Given how much I have written over the years, this leads me to only one conclusion.

If you write well, write on a subject that people are interested in, and write on a subject that hasn't been tortured to death by every snake oil salesman in existence, you give yourself a pretty good chance of getting a good amount of traffic to your site.

So the problem isn't with the article directories themselves. Yes, they've taken a hit. But a well written article that actually helps people is still going to find its way onto the search engines and listed reasonably high for its chosen keywords.

Let's move onto something else... paid advertising.

Paid advertising is a dirty word for a lot of people on a budget. Unfortunately, some of your best traffic comes from paid advertising. Let's take Google AdWords as an example,

Because of the same crackdown that has affected articles and article directories, Google AdWords now rewards those who run solid campaigns. Okay, what is a solid campaign? While a course on AdWords would take up a book, I can basically sum up what you need to do with a few bullet points.

1. Write ads that grab the prospect's attention.
2. Target ONLY buying keywords.
3. Have landing pages that are QUALITY sites.

Let me just elaborate a little on each of these points.

Ad writing is a skill and one that not everybody has. If you can't write a three line ad that makes somebody click on your link, hire somebody who can. Otherwise, your AdWords dollars are going to go down the drain quickly.

As for keywords, too many AdWords campaigns target keywords that have very little chance of turning into sales. You want to target keywords like "looking to buy" and so on. Generic keywords such as "Fine Jewelry" tell me nothing about whether or not the person using that as a search phrase is looking to buy.

Finally, there is your landing page. Years ago you could put up some cheesy sales page and do well. Today, your ad will most likely be denied. You need to send people to a REAL web site... something with REAL substance. Take a look at the main web site for Wizards of the Coast. THAT'S the kind of site you want to send people to.

AdWords, in general, has tightened up a lot. What worked in 2003 doesn't work today. If you want to compete, you need to produce ads and sites of quality.

Let's move onto search engine optimization.

I can sum this up very simply. The days of crappy sites are over and done with. The days of generating fake backlinks are gone. In short (and I learned web design back in 2000) you have to go back to the early days of SEO where you had to have a good site and it had to develop a REAL following in order to move up the SERPs. Anything artificial and you will find your site buried at the bottom of the SERPs for good.

I mentioned video earlier in this article. Yes, video is very important. But not cheesy videos. I'm talking about well made, professional quality videos. You have to say something important in these videos. You want to capture the attention of your prospect and not let go. If you can't speak well on camera, hire somebody who can. Cheesy slide presentations don't work as well anymore.

Probably the most important thing about video today is that you want to make it interesting enough so that people will talk about it. That's what makes a video go viral. Sites like YouTube are excellent for building a following. But you better have something to say and say it as well as you can. You only get one shot to make a good first impression.

With all the new laws regarding marketing (the FTC crackdown has been brutal) one thing you want to be, more than ever, is up front and transparent. If you're going to put testimonials on a sales page, you better make sure you have documentation to back everything up.

If you are marketing products as an affiliate, and you put up review pages, you have to publicly state that you get paid a commission from any sale that is made based on your recommendation. And if you're smart, any reviews that you do better be truthful. In other words, you better make sure you've actually USED the product.

In short, all of this really comes down to ethics. If you look around, you'll see a lot of the stuff that used to float around the Internet just a few short years ago is gone or in short supply. The reason for this is because a real cleanup has begun. If you've seen a drop off in traffic then you yourself know this is true.

So what's my final report card on Internet Marketing? Well, for those who decide to try to play by their own rules, I have to give IM a D+ at best. For those who understand that the game has changed and follow the few simple things that I've listed in this article, I give IM a B+. No, things aren't quite as easy as in the Wild West days, but for those who play by the new rules, they can be quite profitable.

Why?

Because there are still so many people out there who think that they can get away with poor quality and tricks, who end up with no web presence and no traffic, that it makes it easier for the rest of us to get a bigger piece of the pie.

So when all is said and done, quality will rise to the top.

If you need more detailed info on how to create that quality, you can find it in my signature below.

And with that... I will sink back into semi retirement.

Yes... for some of us... life is good.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of busting your behind for peanuts online? Want to learn everything that I've learned in 9 years of marketing online that has allowed me to make a six figure yearly income? Check out my Ultimate Income Generation at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/giveaway/salescopy/index2.html and start making a solid income online TODAY!

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Yours in Success...

God bless..

Ms Ranjini "Jini" Charley
SUCCESS in 2012 and beyond = FREE Income Generating Programs + FREE Training
(Be sure to sign up for this training and stay informed on Income Generating Programs. Updated Frequently)

"Together with Jesus is better than separate and alone" - Sarah Bowling

Ps. Feel free to pass the link to this post on to whomever you like!    

Saturday, August 18, 2012

What Is Your Story? The 1 Idea That Can Change Your Online Business (And Bank Account) Forever

What does your life look like in 2 or 3 years, when your "online" goals become a reality? What does your business look like? What do you do every day that makes you feel like you are making progress, going, growing and flowing into the purposeful person you are destined to become?

I want to share with you a little secret. It's not really as much of a secret... as it is the ONE core, consistent idea that EVERY major success story shares. Everything you else you read about is fluff... but THIS one thing is almost universally true.

You need a compelling story that makes your work meaningful, and matter to YOU. It doesn't have to be the same driver, or the same idea, or the same inspiration that moves and motivates other people... it only needs to work for you.

When I see people who are jumping from thing to thing, trying one bright and shiny idea after the next and never really sticking with any one path for long... it's ALWAYS because they don't have a compelling, personal passion for living a life they really love.

Instead, the focus is on techniques to make easy money, or tactics that may drive traffic to their websites, or shortcuts, software or sneaky strategies that may help them expedite the process of getting ahead.

That rarely works in the short term. And NEVER works long term. Because it gets old, and boring and grows tired, very quickly... EVEN if it works. (which those techniques, as most of us already know, rarely do)

One of the amazing insights I took away from reading the Steve Jobs biography, was he seemed to make everything harder than it needed to be to build Apple from the ground up. Every accountant, money manager and bean counter thought his obsession with design, and form as well as function would kill the company and bleed them dry.

But Jobs was less interested in money... as he was in satisfying his own story. What he saw as his own mission, purpose and passion. To create beautiful things that married technology and art. And to live in a society where his contributions to the world were celebrated as innovative inventions that literally changed the world.

Whether you like him or not, his passion, and sense of purpose about his work... certainly did exactly that.

In a smaller way, by making a MANIFESTO, and creating a compelling vision about what your life looks like, when you are truly living a life that honors, values and celebrates your gifts is the only true path to progress... and profit that will make any of us happy.

I remember the first successful "review site" I created many years ago. The first few sales were exhilarating. The first $1000 in commissions made me feel like I was walking on clouds. By the time I got to 10K in commissions... it felt boring, bland and sort of dishonest work as well. (as I was recommending products for commissions... not because they were all that great)

By the time I hit 50K in commissions, I decided I hated it and pretty much quit altogether.

For me... there was nothing exciting, compelling or creative about writing reviews all day... no matter how successful it could become.

Pretty much everyone I meet, online or off, prosperous or not, agrees.

Do what you love. Love what you do. The money will follow. (but first... you have to KNOW what it is that makes you come alive... imagine it, see it, live it... and loving it is sure to follow!)

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Yours in Success...

God bless..

Ms Ranjini "Jini" Charley
SUCCESS in 2012 and beyond = FREE Income Generating Programs + FREE Training
(Be sure to sign up for this training and stay informed on Income Generating Programs. Updated Frequently)

"Together with Jesus is better than separate and alone" - Sarah Bowling

Ps. Feel free to pass the link to this post on to whomever you like!    

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Internet Marketing - How to Know What to Sell

If you are selling something online, irrespective of whether you are aware of it or not, you are engaging in internet marketing, which is the process of promoting goods or services to a target audience with the aim of finding either one or more buyers, depending on what it is you are selling. If you are just getting started online, one thing you will need to figure out and that's how to know what to sell. If you choose the wrong product or service for your market, you will either sell none or very little which is the opposite result to what you want. In this article I am going to give you some tips on identifying niches you can do well in as an internet marketer as well as the kind of products and information that are already popular.

Identify Your Niche

Before you begin trying to find products, services or even create your own, you need to identify your target niche market. What I recommend you do here is get into a niche where there are lots of people looking for solutions to problems. Perhaps they need to relieve pain so they need a physical product or information on this topic fast. Maybe they are motivated by changing their lifestyle and increasing their wealth, in which case you will need to look towards providing solutions to facilitate that.

The most important things to be sure of when going into a niche is that there is a large enough audience out there to sell to. Secondly, you will want to be sure that there are plenty of potential customers in this market that are willing to spend cold, hard cash in exchange for the right information, training or physical products that meet their needs. If you get this wrong and choose a market that isn't big enough which also contains people who are reluctant to spend money, you are going to have a hard time making any money on the internet.

3 Tips For Identifying a Hot Market

1) Is there any magazines about your niche? If a magazine exists and is being sold in a retail environment, straight away that's a good sign because there are enough people interested in that niche to purchase magazines containing up-to-date information. If they are willing to spend money on magazines, that means those publications are also getting funded by advertisers in that market. Just in case the penny hasn't dropped yet, that means companies in the market are making money for sure.

2) Is there any active forums in your niche? If you can find relatively large community forums on the internet, not only does that mean there are tons of people passionate about that niche, but it also provides you with instant research on your target audience. Simply spending a few hours in these forums will arm you with the knowledge you need with regard to knowing with absolute certainty what the most important things are to them and common problems that they face which they need solutions to.

3) Head on over to Amazon marketplace. Is there products in your niche being sold here? If so, how many reviews are there for these products? If you consider that on average only 1 in 1000 people leave a review, you can quickly work out roughly how many people are opening their wallets and spending money on any given product. Also look at the books and see what is being sold there in your niche. Again, look at the reviews and the kind of information that appears to be selling best. Those are your hot topics which your niche market is interested in and willing to spend money in too.

I hope you have enjoyed these tips. Remember, your job as an internet marketer is to go where there is already demand and act as a conduit for the sale. Don't try to swim upstream and guess what the market wants because that is like gambling. Instead take the time to research and identify what your niche markets wants and then give it to them.

By the way, do you want to learn more about starting your own successful internet marketing business? If so, download my free Secrets to Internet Marketing report here: http://www.achievemassiveprofits.com

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Yours in Success...

God bless..

Ms Ranjini "Jini" Charley
SUCCESS in 2012 and beyond = FREE Income Generating Programs + FREE Training
(Be sure to sign up for this training and stay informed on Income Generating Programs. Updated Frequently)

"Together with Jesus is better than separate and alone" - Sarah Bowling

Ps. Feel free to pass the link to this post on to whomever you like!    

Saturday, August 4, 2012

What Does a Million Dollars Look Like in My Online Processor Account?

A lot of people, who have made the transition from their dead-end jobs, to the allure of the world of online money-making, are still stuck with the question, "What does a million dollars look like in my online payment processor account?"

If you fall under this category of people, do not be chagrined as you're not alone. It is the mere fact that you have concocted this question which shows the ability in you to move away from being another statistic and then actually making something out of the situation to better yourself and grow your bank account.

The issues we need to look at, in order to come up with a plan of action to better your situation, include exactly what it is you are doing to generate your income, in the online sphere.

Are you into electronic commerce? Are you selling a product or are you effectively working online?

What is the difference between working online and selling a product? Well, selling a product is a form of working online, but working online is not necessarily a form of selling a product.

If you are doing something like home typing, data entry, or anything else which pays you by the hour, pays you per action or pays you per completed task, you are working online. This is no different to working for someone else, at your office desk, in the corporate world and if this is what you envision yourself doing for the rest of your life, no matter how hard you work you will never get to see what a million dollars looks like in your online payment processor account.

If you are selling a product, either as an affiliate or you have your very own sales page, you have the power and potential to realize that enchanting figure of $1 million in your online payment processor account.

This is where the focus will be -- if you are working online do something to shift into selling online. It is just the same as in the physical world -- the man (or woman) who works for their living is not likely to make as much money as someone whose living works for them. In other words, if you work for your money you are not likely to make as much money as someone whose money works for them.

Now, if you do indeed sell online and whatever it is you are selling has proven to convert, then you will simply have to upscale your operation to a point where you can make up to a million dollars a year.

It is very possible and the general rule of thumb is that any sales page online converts at a rate of 1%.

It is with this sales page conversion factor in mind that you have to think of your way forward as this is the key ingredient to realizing what a million dollars looks like, within a year.

If you are marketing a product which sells for $10, a 1% conversion rate that amounts to $1 million translates into traffic volumes totaling 10 million.

It sounds crazy but that is just what you'll have to do, if you have only one product. It becomes much easier if you have more products to work with and you have some capital for marketing.

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Yours in Success...

God bless..

Ms Ranjini "Jini" Charley
SUCCESS in 2012 and beyond = FREE Income Generating Programs + FREE Training
(Be sure to sign up for this training and stay informed on Income Generating Programs. Updated Frequently)

"Together with Jesus is better than separate and alone" - Sarah Bowling

Ps. Feel free to pass the link to this post on to whomever you like!