Part III

Alexa

Alexa is a Yahoo free tool that allows you to find out the traffic of any site online, it is coming with some controversy, I will say that even when is unreliable, it is doing an excellent job:

• It does give you a good indication as to how many hits a site is getting
• Let you compare sites traffic
• Let you monitor your own site, just creating an alexa-account for the site and implementing a small HTML code in your site meta-tags

In the next picture I compare traffic for:

• Zazzle.com
• CaffeePress.com
• eBay.com
• Amazon.com

Looking to the chart: Amazon has the most hits, followed by eBay, Zazzle and Caffee Press are almost zero traffic vs. Amazon and eBay. But between Zazzle and CaffePress, Zazzle is doing better.

If you request a chart just for one website you scroll down can click on self-service tool (red arrow):

At this point you open an Alexa account for your website, follow the instructions, and when the account is approved, we will receive an email from Alexa with a piece of HTML code, and instructions where to put the HTML snippet on your site. 

Making money online is all about traffic AND conversions, if you know more about how your site is doing, it will be easy to know the areas you must improves.
If you understand its limitations of this tool, and you will do using it, then Alexa can be a fantastic free marketing tool.

Zamzar

Did you ever want to convert files from one format to another without to download bulky software?  You need www.Zanzar.com

Zamzar supports a big variety of different formats, I frequently use it when I need to convert a gif  picture in a jpeg picture,  I also use it when I need to convert something to a PDF really fast.

Gigasize

Did you ever need to send a big, really big file that e-mail cannot handle it?
You need www.Gigasize.com which will let you transmit max. file size 300 MB and 10 file max for a free account.

It is supper fast, you’ll have your files sent before you know it! You basically send large email files on Internet by uploading to Gigasize.

This way you can upload: Movies, Music, Games, and Photos, and store them on-line for instant access and sharing.

Copyscape

Did you ever worry about people stealing your content online (if you don’t, you should be!)? Y0u need www.Copyscape.com.

The debate is still on about whether penalties for duplicate content exists or not, but I advise everybody to have a quick look to discover if anyone has stolen your content every now and then.

This is a handy free tool, you type your website address into the box, and then click submit. This is it, the tool will rush off and check if anyone is copying your post/aticle when they shouldn’t be.

It is amazing! Isn’t it?  

Until the next time

All the best Michey

Popularity: 100% [?]

I kept last post to be about the fold longer then usual, I did it on purpose.  Now is the right time to go forward.

Everybody under the sun is complaining about information overload and the luck of enough time. We cannot make the day longer then 24 hours even if we try, this is a fact, but we can help ourselves with some Marketing Tools which can be Free or Paid.

I’ll tell you today about FREE Marketing tools I use and like to make my life easier, to minimize the time, and make me happy as an Internet Marketer.

I need more then one post but this is the plan:

• Google Free Tools
• Graphics
• Blogging
• SEO
• Others

Google Free Tools

They are so many; I enumerate 6 of them in alphabetical order:

1. Google Alerts  it is a tool which can help you to get more traffic, and more knowledge about a subject

Google Alert

I am interested on Affiliate Marketing, I create a Google Alert for it and all the time when it is a new blog post, forum discussion, website and so on I receive an email about it, this cover the knowledge part.

All other people who have a Google Alert about the topic of this post receive an email about this post.  It is a very easy way to keep abreast with new publications, and make your activity visible in the same time

2. Google Analytics is a free tool which you must download.

It gives you rich insights into website traffic and marketing affectiveness. It is a great traking and stat tool which is not used yet at the real potention.

3. Google Docs It’s basically a place to store your documents online, with the added benefit that you and others can edit files at the same time.

You can watch this video.

The beauty is, you don’t end up with lots of different versions of the same file flying around, and you don’t have to download your file each time you want to open it. It really is a brilliant free software to use.

4. Google Keywords It ia a tool you can download.

It is a tool that helps you with your keyword research, very fast, and it has loads of features. I advise to use it in combination with other tools as well. My favorite is SpyFu , this tool is teling me what the competition is doing, and I love their motto:

“It’s tough out there. Succeed beyond survival”

5. Google Reader 

You must use RSS to keep up to date with the best content on the web. Almost all blogs publish an RSS feed, and that means that if you use an RSS feed reader, you can have the content of that site delivered to you as soon as it happens.

When you start subscribing to your preferred RSS feeds, you’ll discover that you save a  loads  of time which you can now use for other purposes to grow your business.

There are lots of different RSS readers out there, but my personal favourite by far is Google Reader, click to get a tour first. It’s completely free, very easy to use, and it will save you ton of time.

6. Google Trends  It  is an excellent tool that allows you to see graphs of search volume over a period of time.  The following graph is for Squidoo:

For the next graph I narrow the scope, and I choose just USA, you will be surprised to find out which States and  Cities are using the most Squidoo:

This is a great niche research tool, and you can use to get a feel for whether some search terms on a particular topic are likely to go up or down.

Others:

Roboform If you want a  big time saver download now the Roboform.

I am sure you have over 100 of usernames and passwords for loads of different sites. Just to remember so many passwords it is mission impossible

Roboform does the work for you, as it saves all of your different login details inside a toolbar that sits at the top of your browser. To visit any site you just select it from the drop down menu and then Roboform takes you to the relevant page and logs you in.

I successfully use this simple site, for over 2 years, but last week I give up as the new Norton Internet Security 2010 has a nice feature called: Log-ins and Cards which makes the Roboform features even easier to use.  Norton is a paid product but I have it anyway for security reasons, and I decided to you his new 2010 function to replace Roboform.

I’ll continue in differnt posts.

Until the next time all the best

Michaela

Popularity: 30% [?]

Clickbank Code Review.

Clickbank code

• Quickly and easily generate a job-replacing income
• Build an autopilot business that generates unstoppable fat commission day and night
• Whip your current promotions into shape and quickly join the ranks of the six figure marketers

Popularity: 48% [?]

Theoretically I know from years that Information Overload exists, and I have to get rid of it to produce work in a reasonable amount of time.  From time to time I am guilty of it again and again, and I have to discipline myself and implement drastic rules.

In my case is happening because I am doing a lot of Affiliate marketing along with my products marketing and I have to advertise a new product when is release to the public, not after a month when half of the world already know about it. Nowadays it seems like a new product launches just about every day, doesn’t it?  It is hard to keep a balance and again I find myself working on a main project and on other 3 other projects on the same time.

I can hear you saying: sure, excuses, excuses, what you can expect from a Affiliate marketer? But if I tell you that 70% of my income is coming from Affiliate marketing and only 30% from my own products, you maybe will keep reading.

What is the Information Overload? This is the definition in Wikipedia:

“Information overload refers to an excess amount of information being provided, making processing and absorbing tasks very difficult for the individual because sometimes we cannot see the validity behind the information. As the world moves into a new era of globalization, an increasing number of people are logging onto the internet to conduct their own research and are given the ability to produce as well as consume the data accessed on an increasing number of websites. As of February 2007 there were over 108 million distinct websites and increasing…  More and more people are considered to be active writers and viewers because of their participation. This flow has created a new life where we are now dependant on access to information. Therefore we see an information overload from the access to so much information, almost instantaneously, without knowing the validity of the content and the risk of misinformation.

… As a result, there is a downfall or a negative impact within this issue. Together with the amount of information being produced from various people on the net, the problem of Information Overload arises. The implication arises from the psychological field, society and individual.”

I consider this an accurate definition, with a clear explanation of the negative impact.

Two weeks ago happened  to me gain, but the difference was that all 3 extra projects I was working on was vital, in critical stages and supposed to be ready yesterday! I analyzed the results on my last month, I found out that I am not proud of myself, the pace was too slow, I kept missing dead lines, and I had to admit that a had to take action to get out of Information overload, and come back at working on just one product at the time. 

The main project was my Squidoo Challenge which was time consuming because I drove free traffic with Social Media, sometime 1/2 day I was working just on that task.

The other 3 projects:

• I was writing an eBook, 2/3 was done (60 pages), 2 more chapters to go
• I am learning to set up a Membership Site - important task which will produce recurring income if it is set up right
• An affiliate product of an exceptional value, it is written by one of my mentors, person I trust and respect, I definitely want to be part of his success, he deserve my effort as Affiliate

As you can see I cannot give up on any of them.

What I did under those circumstances?

I put in hold the main project for 2 weeks, hoping to finish the other 3 and come back to work only on this one later

I decided to completely isolate myself and work on the other 3 until I finish them or a part of them:  

• I stopped reading e-mails, and answered the phone
• Stopped tweeting, squiding, and anything else related with Social media
• Stopped watching TV News, shopping, even cooking (I improvised the dinner in 15 min, and breakfast or lunch in 5 min.)

I just slept, ate in minutes, drink coffee and worked around 12 hours per day burning the midnight oil.

The first 2-3 days was hard to follow this schedule but I resisted to open the Outlook as I knew that I couldn’t stop answering e-mails, checking sites and so on.  After that it was like a normal habit, the work efficiency was rewarding, I was able to finish my ebook, to learn all I need to know and set up my membership site, and I did a really hard work to advertise the affiliate product.

In summary – isolate yourself from the world and ignore the new “Holy Grail” daily promises if you want to finish what are you doing. Having said that, it is just one “Holy Grail” – your hard work, your perseverance, your consistency, your desire to be a winner.

Until next time, all the best

Michaela

Popularity: 13% [?]

The ideal world of affiliate marketing does not require having your own website, taking care of customers, refunds, product development and maintenance. This is one of the easiest ways of launching into an online business and earning more profits.

Assuming you are already into an affiliate program, what would be the next thing you would want to do? Boost Your Affiliate Commissions, right? How do you do that?

Here are some powerful tips on how to boost your affiliate program commissions overnight.

• Know the best program and products to promote. Obviously, you would want to promote a program that will enable you to achieve the greatest profits in the shortest possible time. There are several factors to consider in selecting such a program. Choose the ones that have a generous commission structure. Have products that fit in with your target audience. And that has a solid track record of paying their affiliate easily and on time. If you cannot seem to increase your investments, dump that program and keep looking for better ones.There are thousands of affiliate programs online which gives you the reason to be picky. You may want to select the best to avoid losing your advertising dollars.Write free reports or short ebooks to distribute from your site. You are in competition with other affiliates that are promoting the same program. If you write a short report related to the product you are promoting, you are distinguishing yourself from the other affiliates.In the reports, provide some valuable information for free. If possible, add some recommendations about the products. With ebooks, you get credibility. Customers will see that in you and they will be enticed to try out what you are offering. 
• Collect and save the email addresses of those who download your free reports/ebooks. This means you must have a squeeze page. It is a known fact that people do not make a purchase on the first solicitation. You may want to send out your message more than six times to make a sale. This is the simple reason why you should collect the contact information of those who downloaded your reports and ebooks. You can make follow-ups on these contacts to remind them to make a purchase from you. Get the contact information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor’s website. Keep in mind that you are providing free advertisement for the product owners.You get paid only when you make a sale. If you send prospects directly to the vendors, chances are they would be lost to you forever. Your goal isn’t one-time sale only. But when you get their names, you can always send other marketing messages to them to be able to earn an ongoing commission.

  Publish an online newsletter or Ezine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you know than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own newsletter. This also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with your subscribers. This strategy is a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If you continue to write informative editorials you will be able to build a sense of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your products.

 

• Ask for higher than normal commission from merchants. If you are already successful with a particular promotion, you should try and approach the merchant and negotiate a percentage commission for your sales.If the merchant is smart, he or she will likely grant your request rather than lose a valuable asset in you. Keep in mind that you are a zero-risk investment to your merchant; so do not be shy about requesting for addition in your commissions. Just try to be reasonable about it.Write strong pay Per Click ads. PPC search engine is the most effective means of advertising online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC campaigns such as Google AdWords and Overture. Then you should try and monitor them to see which ads are more effective and which ones to dispose of.

Try out these strategies and see the difference it can make to your commission checks in the shortest of time.

More about affiliate marketing strategies on my Squidoo lens Affiliate Profit for Beginners.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Just a short note to tell you want was remarkable on Internet Marketing on last week.

1) The eBay finally decided to get read of other types of payments and accept only PayPal. Make a lot of sense, they a talking about it from some time but now they implement this idea. Forcing customers to pay only with PayPal which is part of eBay will:

• Create more secure payments
• More stability
• Build trust between sellers and buyers
• Make transaction easy to follow

This is a “change”,  I am totally agree with.

 2) Opt-in Forms are back on Squidoo, I already update my lenses, you can see an example at  http://www.squidoo.com/BeginnersAffiliateProfit or http://www.squidoo.com/SquidIncomeGoal

3) I create my own group on Squidoo, and call it: AffiliateMarketing09

 4) It is a flood with new Twitter Applications:

http://www.tweepler.com  http://twitter-splitter.com and so on.

At this point the power of tweeter is incredible, there are people with thousands of followers and there is no restriction on what you advertise. When affiliate marketing URLs are more and more restricted on: some blogs, forums, ezines, on Squidoo and Twitter we can use affiliate link as much as we want. But don’t abuse it, use Twitter ethically and spamlessly and you will increase your web traffic.

Until next time all the best

Michaela

Popularity: 13% [?]

This is the time of year when we look back at 2008 and we make New Year’s Resolutions. This is also my last 2008 post.

For me 2008 have been a year with ups and downs. I am proud of my accomplishments but I have a list of things that are unfinished.
Why?

• I worked at too many projects at a time, I promised to discipline myself, but never happened.  I think this was my weakest point
• Spend too much time with Social Bookmarking and Social Networking. It is Ok because I learn a lot, but I have to take some decisions in 2009 about separating the weeds
• My planning must be more realistic

I am determined to learn from my 2008 mistakes and accomplish more in 2009.
I put in writing my business vision, my goals, and my actions.

I think this must me the start doesn’t matter what you do:

• Take the time to think about what you want to accomplish
• Putting in writing
• Follow up because things that are tracked and measured tend to improve
• For Internet marketers – constantly test and track to improve conversion rates
• Setting up attainable dead lines for your actions, this will make you feel a sense of accomplishment that might be enough to encourage you to stick with the plan until you achieve your goals

This is the general wisdom but let’s get back to my resolutions:

• In 2009 I’ll work on one project at a time, it’s a promise I have to stick with it
• Try to isolate myself from any distractions
• I learn a lot about Social Marketing and Networking, I can separate now what is working vs. what is not, and I’ll concentrate only in what is working
• Must finish an eBook I started in 2008, and plan for the next Digital Product
• I will work minimum one hour per day for a Squidoo Challenge I committed in Dec 2008 see  http://www.squidoo.com/SquidIncomeGoal
• I will set up a membership site
• I’ll work more with affiliate programs
• Cut off on coffee drinking…

I wish you all a Happy 09, let’s strive to make the best of it!
Michaela

Popularity: 8% [?]

Just want to let you know why somebody may be interested in giveaways:

• To increase the opt-in list – the money is in the list, we already know this, it is not a cliché, it is the soul of Internet Marketing, you want to be successful you need a list
• To download more Digital products they can use to market and/or to learn more. The truth of the matter is that “being a Guru” is a misconception, some people knows more then others, but nobody knows everything, and the learning process never stops because the internet is growing so rapidly, if you stop learning you are out of the loop in 6-10 month
• To make money. This is the purpose of this post, I’ll show you how.

Well, not all giveaways are born equal, but it is enough to look at the conditions of participation and you will find out which are good giveaways.

This is the right path of participating to Giveaways:

• You have to have a Digital Product to offer for Free, this can be an eBook, a Report, a Video, an interview, webinar, and my favorites are an e-course or a Report
• You participate to a giveaway in which you offer your free Digital Product, you download all the goodies from the giveaway and store them in a folder. Using my experience, 60% of the gifts have a real value, help me to learn more but also I can use them as free gifts in other giveaway which will come along, 30% have a medium value, 10% I am not interested in (just to be polite)!  From that 60% I select carefully around 10 very good products with Master Resell Rights, and I keep them, I can use them as free gifts or as OTO or I can sell them
• When you create your giveaway gift, you will add an OTO (One Time Offer).  You chose a product with real value, related with your gift, but more informative then yout gift. Only this way a person that was interested in your initial offer will be interested in your OTO. The OTO will have a decent price on it and, sure, some people will take it, some will pass it but if you have a big list you will make a profit
• If you don’t add an OTO to your gift, you are leaving money on the table, but you increase your list and in future you can send other offers.

In previous post I gave you an example of a good giveaway, if you didn’t decided to be a contributor, at list try to be a member and download all the goodies:
http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/5JVMem

If you are a beginner, the part which is missing is probably the OTO, how to create one, how to use it properly, how to increase the chance your OTO to be picked up.

I’ll help you with OTO learning curve, offering a free lifetime membership from where you can pick up a lot of knowledge about how to create an OTO:
http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/OTOfree

And I’ll let you know when other good giveaway will surface.

Until the next time, all the best
Michaela

Popularity: 6% [?]

Just a short post. I am sure you noticed the giveaways flooding the Internet in Nov – Dec. I participated in 2 of them and I added hundreds new potential customers to my list, but I was reluctant to participate in all of them because I want to preserve the integrity of my business.

Something new and different appeares, I participate again as a contributor, and I want to share with you.

This is a very short JV, just 5 days  between 8th Dec and 13th Dec. what can put some money in your packet daily bases for 5 days.

What is different:

1. How Many Gifts Can you Add?   UNLIMITED!
2. How Soon Will Your Gifts Be Approved?   INSTANTLY! That’s right, there is NO WAITING FOR GIFT APPROVAL.
3. How Soon Will You Get Commissions Paid?   DAILY through PayPal! You have to recognize that it is a big difference vs. other giveaway events.
4. How Long Will This Event Last?   ONLY FIVE (5) DAYS but they are prior to Christmas and with daily pay you still can use money for Christmas shopping.

Any questions; let me know
Look it over!  If you want to be a contributor, click now, you still have time to add gift(s):

http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/5JVCon

If you want to be just a member and only grab all the goodies, come back on 8th dec, after 8.00 PM. and click on:

http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/5JVMem 

This is a perfect chance to increase your list and acquire free products you can use for the big Christmas giveaway which will start soon.

There is also an upgrade for $27 on the OTO, take it or pass it and do it inside for the same amount! You’ll get 100 credits towards your ranking and you can put in as many of your own offers as you want!

I am a contributor with my updated eBook: “How to do affiliate marketing the right way” and I expect a big return, the other 2 events produced a big return for me. 

Regards Michaela

Popularity: 4% [?]

Do you want to get to the next level with Affiliate Marketing in 2009? Of course you do! To have an extra stream of income you can do it in your spear time, really is an excellent idea when we cannot see yet the end of the tunnel with our economy.

Next level will never happen if you and I don’t:

• Plan for it
• Learn more about our pluses and minuses
• Make the effort to improve ourselves
• Believe in ourselves
• Take action and
• Work consistently

Nobody is an expert in everything and I need to know what you think is missing in your knowledge about Affiliate Marketing, what you are struggling with, which are the missing parts in the entire scheme of the game called “Affiliate marketing”.

Knowing it, I’ll be able to help you to achieve your goals and dreams creating a solution for you but I need to know what you want to learn about Affiliate Marketing.

If you join the conversation, I’ll be able to focus on creating a solution for you so you will make more money, and you will experience a better life style.

I need your input, be part of our conversation, leave a comment:

What do you want to learn about Affiliate Marketing?

Thanks Michaela

Popularity: unranked [?]

I already discussed with you my disappointment about eBay banning Digital Products. Since March 2008, all of us have strived to come out with new ideas,  loopholes, and we have been experimenting hoping to find out the perfect idea.

In this effort John Thornhill from “PlanetSMS” emerges as a clear cut winner! 

What about turning your eBooks into physical books?

If the thought has never crossed your mind you should look at multiple advantages of converting your eBooks to physical books:

• You gain more credibility. Yes, as a book author you instantly gain more credibility as you are seen as an expert.
• You get more exposure. Your book can be seen on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, you cannot get better than that.
• You have another product to sell on eBay. With the current eBay rules you cannot sell eBooks as digitally delivered items but you can sell them as physical products.
• You can do this for your own product or for and PLRs which is sitting and waiting on your hard drive
• You have another way to generate traffic and affiliate income. You can add links and affiliate links in your physical book, just as you would in your eBook.
• You have another autopilot source of income as John’s system is 100% automated

If you think that is hard to create a physical book, and publishing it is even harder, think again.

John has created a video series showing you how you can turn an eBook you have rights to into a book in under an hour. This is amazing, isn’t it?

And John figured a way to sell via online bookstores such as Amazon, this is really the worlds biggest online book store, you face an enormous exposure, you cannot get better then being an author on Amazon.

And the beauty is, when a book is sold they are printed and distributed automatically.

Trust me, you will be very busy to spend money an automated system produces for you.
Good luck to you, and read to find out more:

http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/b2book

Until the next time, all the best
Michaela
http://www.ebookscamp.com

Popularity: unranked [?]

Resell rights means you bought a given good or service, and you are able to resell it at a profit.

Resell Rights essentials

There are a few basic things to must know about the different types of resell rights, and how they work.
Under the generic name of “Resell Rights” you will find 4 types:

• Resell Rights
• Master Resell Rights
• Private Resell Rights
• Rebranding

Type 1: Basic Resell Rights have to do with being able to buy a product and sell it. Generally speaking, there are restrictions on how you can brand the product, as well as a suggestion about the amount you can charge for the product, but is just a suggestion, the last word is yours.

Type 2: Master Resell Rights have all the privileges of basic resell rights, but also create the right for your customers to resell the product as well.

Type 3: Private Label Resell Rights means that the name of the original author is intact, and the product is still recognizable as being an original, a private label  arrangement allows you to customize the product.

Type 4: Rebranding is  the most popular form of resell rights, you acquire an existing product and repackage it under your own brand name.

Note: When you see an ad about Resell Rights, read carefully the license, each author creates his own list of DO and DON’T rules for his Resell Rights license.

You can find Resell Rights Products or you can create your own. You can fail at the first try or you can create a recurring income that can vary between a couple of hundreds and 5 digits amount per month.

The real advantages of being successful selling Digital Products vs physical products are:

• No inventory, space to deposit the products
• The entire process can be 100% automated
• Create a recurring source of income, which will continue to produce money when you sleep, go in vacation, take a break for your family needs

How to Find Resell Rights Products

You probably heard that a good salesperson can sell anything, this is partially true. Usually has to be some degree of love affair between the seller and the product in order to be successful. Find the right products to market, you cannot do a perfect job to advertise a product you hate or you know nothing about it.
The following steps are the key of your success:

• Go after what you know, pursue a hobby, a skill
• Look for something that is not already done to death
• Search the balance between the popularity and the competition
• Don’t jump and commit in a hurry, research first, commit later
• Go to your favorite search engine and type in “your topic” + “resell rights”. You’ll end up with a list of sites selling rights to products related to your subject
• I suggest ClickBank as a major source of Digital Products, and I suggest to buy and use the product, this way you know enough about it and is easy to be enthusiastic about the product

How to Create Your Own Resell Rights Products

You may be able to create your own product and then engage a number of affiliates (resellers) to handle the marketing and sales efforts for you. 

Things to consider for your own resell rights product:

• Keep it simple, the more focused the product, the better your chances of success
• Make the resell strategy as simple as possible, create the terms of the right to resell that are clear and will not be subject to interpretation
• Consider a variety of digital products as the core of your product line: software, ebooks, videos, eCourses, interviews, webinars, audios, reviews, resources and so on
• Include a complete package with materials for your customers to be able to resell your product: landing page, graphics, resell rights license, emails, signatures,  post on blog, articles, and the product itself

If you are a beginner Affiliate Marketer it is up to you to educate yourself or just try “trial and error”.

For a true beginner I recommend an eCourse about selling Digital Products with Resell Rights, that will clarify the necessary details of entire process and will save you hours and days of hard work:

http://www.mc-ebay-resources.com/recommends/RReCourse

When I started I use “trial and error” and it was hard, time consuming, and even frustrating.  

As always, you are welcome to leave your comments here on the blog.

Untill next time, all the best

Michaela

Popularity: unranked [?]