Amazing Secrets

5 Core Skills To Build Before Starting Internet Marketing

2007-11-18T22:10:00.000-08:00

It kinda bugs me that there are people who are constantly writing about the things that do well in Internet Marketing. I think that’s real silly. People want the real stuff. They want to know the exciting stuff, but they want the truth too.

Why have internet marketers hidden from you, the costs of getting to where they have gotten? Because it is the one thing that separates the real players and the suckers. If you do not know how much time and effort they spent, don’t think that internet marketing is a walk in the park.

My business partner was so excited after a conference, he started up a mini-site that was selling a set of products we already had in existence. It was a great plan, except that for the kind of product we put up, he sold the package at a drop dead price of $97. Now, I operate from Singapore, and we know that most of the people who would buy this product would come from the other side of the world. Without verifying the shipping charges, he happily took orders from the internet. The first one had him jumping up and down… only to realize that the cost of shipping took about 90% of that $97. We couldn’t cover the production costs. Straight away, it was a loss.

But everyone talks about shipping their products as if it were a simple thing. Most people have forgotten completely about the people living on this side of the world and what it takes to sell something. This means that there are a few things that most beginners in internet marketing need to be careful about and learn.

#1 – Learn Copywriting.

Copywriting is the most important skill ever to be taught to marketers and business people alike. If you don’t have the ability to write your own sales letters, it will be easy for people to tell you to outsource the writing. My advice: DON’T. You are letting them develop the skill that you should be building up. No one ever gets to be an expert copywriter overnight. Learn it, and learn it well.

#2 – Understand Business Models

There are about 7 or 8 different business models on the internet. Because I need to make sure that people really understand about business per se, I’ve put it in the form of a freely downloadable format at http://www.stuarttan.com/affiliate/bizmodel.pdf
Go grab it - no holds barred.

#3 – Drive traffic

I’ve included a list for those of you newbies out there, the multiple ways to drive traffic over the internet. There are over 100 ways you can use to drive traffic and I would highly recommend you hop over to learn about these. I directly credit people like John Reese, Jeff Johnson and Yanik Silver for their invaluable knowledge that I have gotten from them. If you don’t know about them, please begin today! They are great people and I highly recommend that you visit them at www.trafficsecrets.com, www.searchenginevoodoo.com and www.surefiremarketing.com respectively. Download my traffic generation chart on www.stuarttan.com/affiliate/Traffic Boosters.pdf
.

#4 – Learn New Internet Technology Fast

You need to be learning really fast. I’ve discovered that there are a large number of new internet technologies that keep coming up and they can be very powerful, provided you know how to use them. If you don’t know how to use them, it will most definitely be to your disadvantage. For instance, most people still don’t know how to use RSS and Blogs. In addition, some people are clueless about XML feeds and how that helps to create massive content sites and increase search engine rankings. You need to learn fast. The only way for you to master your learning is to read about them. I highly recommend that you visit www.stuarttan.com/learning/ for more information that I can’t deal with here.

I am going to give you something good, though. If the entire internet marketing world is doing it, DON’T. If you just follow, you will not be at the breakthrough point of technology usage. Start innovating and think creatively to solve a problem. Sometimes, even the simplest things can bring about massive profits online!

#5 – Keep Relationships Going

Keeping relationships going on the internet is a difficult thing. But it is essential. You need to be able to do autoresponse messages, personalized. However, most people miss the point. Automatic isn’t going to build relationships. You need to keep them warm. Call them. Give them ideas. Give them free stuff (learnt this from Yanik). More importantly, ask Jeff Johnson’s single most asked question – ‘Can I help you?’.

I’m all for making money – but if it is at the expense of friendships and relationships, I think it is going to be really stupid to continue making money. Give yourself a chance to put back, in your heart, what many poor, scammy internet marketers have taken away – quality and the desire to help people.

Internet Communication Methods

2007-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

How do we keep Internet communication simple? Let's start by taking a look at the different methods used to communicate on the web. It is important to understand the nuances and benefits of the different forms.

Email
This is the most popular communication method. Users typically use desktop software to receive, read and respond to messages. Some users use web-based mail and manage messages in a web browser like Internet Explorer. The downfall to email communication is that anyone can send email messages to anyone else if they have (or guess) the correct email address. This system's Achilles heel is its simplicity and universal popularity.

Email accounts are often burdened by spam or unsolicited email. Despite software developers having created complex spam filters and legislators having introduced new anti-spam legislation, the problem persists and spam continues to burden email as a messaging medium.

Email Clients - http://www.messaging-software.net/e-mail-client-software.htm
Spam Software - http://www.email-software.org/spam-filter-software.htm

Instant Messaging
Instant messaging allows users to "chat" in real time. Users can send text messages to anyone online and receive instant replies if the user is also online. The "instant" fad gave way to parental fears as children made "friends" online. With no way to confirm if "friends" are who they represent themselves to be, and multiple security holes, instant messaging has taken a back seat in internet communication.

Instant Messaging - http://www.instant-messaging-software.com

Blogs
Online journals and daily diaries have taken hold. Some blogs are interactive, allowing users to respond and comment on posts. Locating topic-specific blogs that provide relevant and interesting content on a daily basis can be a challenge. The nature of a blog is to contain fresh public content. As our lives become more complicated blogs are often abandoned, as they require constant updating.

Blog Connections - http://www.blog-connection.com

RSS
RSS is the latest messaging medium and shows genuine promise as a means to communicate. RSS files are produced as XML files and are designed to provide content summaries of news or information. The biggest benefit to RSS is that it does not have the spam issues inherent to email; users opt-in to the RSS feeds that interest them.

RSS Specifications - http://www.rss-specifications.com

Forums / Newsgroups
A forum is an online discussion group. Forums can be newsgroups, or they can be web-based discussion groups. Forums have proven themselves as valuable business resources - often creating communities of customers helping customers. Without moderation and oversight they can potentially create an unfriendly environment.

Message Board Software - http://www.messaging-software.net/message-board-software.htm

Listservs
Liststervs are mailing list programs for communicating with other people who have subscribed to the same list. Using e-mail, you can participate in listservs pertaining to your topics of interest. When you submit a message to the server, your message is relayed to all on the listserv. You receive messages from other participants via e-mail.

Yahoo Groups - http://www.yahoogroups.com

What's Next?
Internet communication is intrinsically tied to the hardware options available. Wireless technology has accelerated the development of messaging software, opening the market to a dizzying array of devices for web access. Where we were once tied to a keyboard and mouse, we will soon be navigating the web with our voices from a moving automobile, or browsing via screens in our eyewear, with tiny cameras reading our eye movements to move the cursor and make selections. Our interactive conversations will include more and more participants at once. Evaluating the many options and choosing what works best for you is the first step to effectively communicating on the web.

Get Started Blogging in 5 Minutes or Less

2007-11-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

put off starting a blog for a long time because I thought it would be hard. I thought it would be technical. I thought I'd have to install scripts and tear my hair out getting them to work. At that point, most of what I'd read about blogs and RSS was just so much geek-speak.

Was I ever wrong!

When I finally got the courage to give it a go, I went to blogger.com and signed up for an account. To my amazement, I had a blog set up in about 5 minutes. My first post was uploaded to my site about 10 minutes later.

The only thing even remotely technical I was required to do was enter the FTP settings for the website my blog would be published on. But even that wasn't a requirement. With Blogger, you can set up a blog on their site, Blogspot, and not even worry about FTP settings.

Since then, I've started 3 Blogger blogs on different sites. Blogger remains one of the most popular blog applications in the world simply because it is so simple to use and set up. If you're a technophobe or don't have the time to learn something completely new, I would urge you to drop by Blogger.com and take a look. You could be blogging - and enjoying the benefits - almost immediately.

Another very simple blogging tool is Wordpress. This blog is my first Wordpress blog, and I'm very impressed with how powerful it is - as well as simple.

Wordpress is installed on your own website, but don't let that stop you. Most hosts that have Cpanel already have Wordpress ready for you to install. Look in your Cpanel for the Fantastico application, click it open, and then choose Wordpress to install. It will automatically install it on your site for you, and you can start blogging right away.

If your host doesn't already include Wordpress in the scripts on your server, you can still pick it up at:

http://wordpress.org/

Then go to the Wordpress Wiki for instructions on how to install it in 5 minutes:

http://wiki.wordpress.org/?pagename=5MinuteInstallation

Wordpress is free, open-source software. It is very simple to install, even for technophobes, and has a lot of online documentation. There are also many sites with free Wordpress add-ons and templates. I'm using a template for this blog that I picked up at Alex King's site:

http://www.alexking.org/index.php?content=software/wordpress/styles.php

The Wordpress Wiki is a wealth of information on all things Wordpress, including installation instructions, help files, a long list of template sites, and all kinds of hacks and extras you can use to modify your blog and make it original.

If you're a Wordpress user, another place to visit is the Wordpress discussion forum:

http://wordpress.org/support/

If you're a new blogger, both Wordpress and Blogger are very user friendly. There isn't a long learning curve. And you won't have to learn any new technical tricks. Why not give one of them a try?

Adware - Should I be Afraid?

2007-11-18T22:06:00.001-08:00

Developers offering downloads are paying the price for the malformed truths that have been put forth regarding downloads. While not a political campaign the smears are ever present in the adware arena.

Years ago developers saw they could monetize freeware that was becoming expensive to host. Developers began working with Ad Networks such as the former Aureate and Conducent, who imbedded advertisements in the software. The software in many cases phoned home retrieving ads. In other cases adverts were imbedded directly into the download only being removed when the software was registered. Many well known software companies, including Netscape distributed ad supported versions, which allowed users to use the software for free. Developers were compensated either by install or the number of ads served. Advertisers welcomed new revenue streams to reach potential customers.

Adware or advertising-supported software is any software application in which advertisements are displayed while the program is running. These applications include additional code that displays the ads in pop-up windows or through a bar that appears on a computer screen. Adware helps recover program development costs, and helps to hold down the price of making the application for the user, often making it free of charge. As a result of the AdWare revenue programmers were motivated to write maintain, and upgrade valuable ad-enabled software. Adware was a great consumer trade off, so were did it all go wrong?

Unbeknownst to the developers a handful of ad serving companies were logging and profiling the surfing habits of those who had downloaded the ad-enabled software. After downloading free software, the new adware companies delivered pop-up and pop-under ads based on the consumers surfing interests. Adware has been criticized for including code that tracks a user's surfing habits, email address and personal information, which are passed to third parties, without the user's authorization or knowledge. This was the downfall of the ad serving technology and ad-enabled software.

In many cases consumers rightfully believe they have been and are being spied on, which prompted an outcry from privacy advocates. Adware is not a virus and may not be detected by anti-virus scanning programs. It does not spread the same way as most viruses spread. Many users do not know they are downloading a free program along with adware onto their computer. The lack of disclosure tarnished reputations of many well known, but misfortunate developers and software companies. The collapse of a number of venture backed ad-serving companies including Aureate and Conducent.

Fast forward to today. Few applications are now ad enabled. Those that are generally follow strict disclosure guidelines. Some developers opt to insert static (not changing) ads for other applications in their product line, into free versions, but these ads do not change and there is no record of what ads are clicked. Freeware can therefore be used free of charge and there is no evaluation time period as with shareware. Freeware is also often a basic or stripped down version of the shareware version. Developers make money off ads or those who want to upgrade from the free version. There are also developers who provide freeware out of principle, occasionally asking for a donation. The majority of freeware that employs the use of imbedded advertisements are provided in the true spirit of adware without the intent to track users, but just to be safe consumers should read the fine print.

BLOGS! What They Are

2007-11-18T22:05:00.002-08:00

BLOGS! What a crazy name for the "NEWEST" Internet marketing trend to hit the Internet.

But, I like it.

It makes this new form of communication kind of mysterious in a way, though, BLOGS have been around for quite some time and only recently have been recognized as a VERY valuable asset to Internet marketers.

Recently, I was visiting some Internet marketing related Forums and noticed many of the threads having similar "Subjects" saying... "What the heck are BLOGS?"

So, I did a little research and this is what I came up with since I was Very curious myself.

I think it's best that I clearly define to You exactly what a "BLOG" is so that as I go through this article with you, you'll have a clear picture in your head of what a Blog IS and so there won't be any confusion.

A "BLOG"(A.K.A. Web Log) by definition is:

A combination of online diary and/or guestbook. You sign up for a blogger account and then you enter the information You want on your Website. Then you can set it so that only you can place entries on it or so that anyone can. Then you can either keep a private journal or you can have a place where your readers can get together and place entries to each other or to you.

So... there you have it in a nut shell.

To simplify it even more let's just say BLOGS are a place to go and post your personal thoughts that you can share with your subscribers and/or readership and receive feedback.

Now, for the purpose of this article, now that you know the true definition of a "Blog", I'm going to share with you some reasons WHY they're becoming a widely recognized "POWER TOOL" for Internet marketers around the world.

So, with that said, lets go to Reason 1.

Reason 1. Great way to stay in touch with your subscribers.

Blogs are a great way to stay in touch with your subscribers and/or readership and builds regular readership Traffic to your little community where you can interact with them.

It also helps build rapport, which in turn, will help develop that TRUST in You, Your Products and/or Services that You recommend.

Reason 2. It's a great way to get "Feedback".

Blogs are a great way to get Feedback from your subscribers/customers simply because they have the ability to leave comments on each "Post" you make which will then help you find what it is they're looking for making YOU look like a "Hero" in there eye's and putting $Money$ in your pocket.

Reason 3. Can be managed by ONE individual.

Blogs require NO "HTML" experience, making it easy for ANYONE to get started.

Most "Blog" communities online use what is called a "WYSIWYG" HTML editor.

Did I lose you there with the "WYSIWYG" abbreviation. That simply stands for... "What You See Is What You Get".

It's one of the easiest HTML editors to use, making it easy for You to get started right away.

Reason 4. Your able to list your "Main" website details.

When you sign up for your Blogger account you're given an area to set-up your "Personal Profile" where your able to list your Main website and URL, plus, any other personal information you wish to share that will be displayed on your Blog.

Reason 5. A great way to publish "Information".

This is probably ONE of the Biggest benefits to Blogs because you have the ability to post informative information in the form of "Articles and/or Reviews" for your subscribers and/or readership which will make you look like an Expert on the subject and giving you INSTANT credibility in the eye's of your reader.

Reason 6. You get your own URL.

That's right, you get your own URL you can use in all your promotions and/or on your personal website if you have one.

This feature is great, especially for people just starting out and don't have there own website up and running yet.

-----------------------------------------
Here's my Blog for you to take a look at.

It's called... The Internet Wonders Blog.
http://theiwe.blogspot.com
-----------------------------------------

Reason 7. Search Engines love them.

Search Engines love Blogs because they are so "Content Rich" and are always being updated on a Daily to Weekly basis.

When you compare a regular static website, which might be updated on a monthly basis, to a Blog, which is updated on a Daily to Weekly basis with NEW content, you'll gain favor with the search engines with your Blog.

The S.E. "Spiders" will then gladly stop by to munch down on whatever NEW content you posted and Index your website more often since that is what Search Engines love and are constantly looking for.

Reason 8. The ability to use RSS with Blogs.

A powerful feature about Blogs is the use of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) that allows you to Instantly send your Blog highlights to your readership upon publication which will keep your reader up to speed on your business and your Products and/or Services.

Not only that, RSS also gives your Blog more exposure to a wider audience of subscribers building a bigger readership in less time.

By simply adding an human element to your business through the use of a "Blog", IS a great way to build rapport and gain the trust of your subscribers and/or readership, which in turn, will turn them into buying "Customers".

Well, there you have it, "BLOGS! What They Are... And WHY They're Becoming A POWER TOOL For Internet Marketers".

I hope this article clearly answered the questions you once had about "Blogs" and the benefits of starting one of your own.

Internet Marketing - High Tech Direct

2007-11-18T22:05:00.001-08:00

Almost everyone has received unsolicited offers in the mail. These are what many call "junk mail", and more often than not, end up in the "circular file", more commonly known as the trash can. But anyone who is considering Internet marketing as either a part-time or full-time business may want to at least give a moment's pause before the big toss. Better still would be to study and reflect on the material you've received, and in some cases, store it in a real file for future use. The reason is because Internet marketing today is, in reality and when done properly, a high-tech enhancement and expansion of old-fashioned direct mail.

Those sales letters that arrive in your mailbox aren't randomly sent there, nor are they sent to everyone in your country or state. Instead, successful direct mail operators rent carefully selected mailing lists. These lists may be buyers of a particular product, people who've expressed interest in topics and products through surveys and registration forms, magazine subscribers, people who live in a certain postal code, and so on. The underlying principle is that the direct mailers target a select audience to receive their offer, and a certain percentage of the recipients, known as the response rate, will then accept that offer. Then through continual testing and refinement of the sales letter, pricing, terms, colors, and other variables, direct marketers work to improve their response rates over time.

Marketing on the Internet is much the same. The bottom line is that marketers need to find a "group" of people with similar tastes and interests, find out what they want, then sell it to them, just as the direct mail marketers do.

In direct mail, as on the Internet, it's certainly possible, and in fact probable, that some marketing campaigns will fail. But, once you've sent out direct mail pieces, that postage is lost forever. On the Internet however, you can quickly assess and halt losing campaigns until you make adjustments. Or, as Robert G. Allen puts it, "On the Internet, you can fail fast for free!"

Internet technology has now made it possible to reach a new, worldwide audience, at much lower costs than direct mail postage allows. Your prospects are online, surfing, searching, reading, and hopefully shopping, around the clock. And the Internet itself has created new markets, such as the need for broadband connections, networking equipment, instructional material, and yes, even Internet marketing information products!

Perhaps the most important new capability the Internet offers marketers is the sheer speed at which marketing campaigns can be launched, tested, revised, and tested again, until maximum response rate is achieved. Web sites can be very fast and easy to set up, and through pay-per-click search engines, visitors (known as traffic) can be directed towards your marketing site literally within minutes. Software allows for instantaneous tracking of clicks, visitor "paths" through a web site, time spent on each page, and hundreds of other factors. Software can help marketers follow up with their leads (through autoresponders), and can, through email lists and RSS syndication, also foster relationship marketing, much more so than mailed catalogs and letters in the past.

For marketers, the Internet is the still-new frontier where high-tech, old fashioned marketing, low costs, and a worldwide audience converge to create new opportunities for those willing to look for them.

Ezine Publishers

2007-11-18T22:04:00.001-08:00

As an ezine publisher a major obstacle you face is getting your issues to your readers.

In fact, because of the spam filters, many ezine publishers lose sales, commissions, and advertising revenue because their ezines don't make it to their subscribers' in boxes.

How can you take back this lost profit?

A solution to this all too common problem is to add RSS (or really simple syndication) to your publishing mix.

With RSS, the email filters won't come into play, because your RSS readers won't be receiving your ezine by email.

Instead they'll get all your new issues delivered to their feed readers, or they'll be able to get them easily through
their web based RSS feed service.

Because your ezine is delivered in this way, you'll be able to achieve a 100% delivery rate to them, and you'll be able
to increase your sales and also your commissions when you promote your affiliate programs to your readers.

How can you begin publishing your ezine by RSS?

Just like email autoresponders make it easy for you to publish your ezine by email, RSS autoresponders make it just as easy to publish your ezine by RSS.

Your visitors can simply join your ezine by filling out a form on your web site.

Then, after they've subscribed, you'll be able to broadcast your issues by RSS on the schedule you want for your ezine.

And you'll be able to capture more sales by taking advantage of this powerful way to deliver your ezine to your subscribers.

Online Business, Where do I start?

2007-11-18T22:03:00.001-08:00

BUSINESS. A big word. A big commitment. A big step.

Very quickly, we can round everything up about staring an online business in four very simple steps. Understand. Prepare. Do it. Sell it. There are no short cuts to working at home, let’s put it this way. If you’re looking for a short cut that you can use to start a work at home business, you may want to ignore this article. But in order to start your own online business, there are tons of things to be done. The best thing is for you to hold on to your day job (if you still have one) and take all four steps we recommend here and THEN you quit your day job.

Understand
Research the industry. That’s the first thing you should do if you are really serious about starting an online business. Starting the new online business is not difficult at all. In fact, it is relatively easy and needs minimal funding. Do your homework; look at what your competitors are doing. See how successful they are, emulate their good points and avoid their bad ones. Define your services or products by researching on the feasibility of your online business. Remember, working at home is a career, not a part-time job. Even if you’re still under employment, you’ll still need to know everything there is to know about your online business environment and industry. No two ways about it.

Prepare
Next, you need to write your work at home business plan. Even if you don’t have everything right down pat about your new work at home business, you’ll find that the fog of uncertainty will start clearing up when you write your work at home business plan. It’s when you’re sitting there, writing, preparing and planning your online business that the jigsaw puzzle pieces starts floating into place quite effortlessly.

Don’t copy other people’s online business plans. That’s one big mistake you should avoid. If you want your work at home online business to succeed, come up with your own business plan. This is the only way to go. You can use software or programs to help you write your business plan, but you don’t copy other people’s plans. The business plan should include information about potential expenses, income, advertising, promotional campaigns, projection of profit…..etc.

There typically isn’t much in the way of legal paperwork to be done for an online business but before you start working at home, you should check with a lawyer or a friend who has an online business to make sure you’re not flouting any rules.

Do it
I must say that this has to be the most trying steps of all. Getting your online business off the ground. Deciding on and registering the domain name, hosting company, designing the website, setting up the merchant accounts, shopping carts, uploading all the pages and images, checking links….etc. Time consuming but at the end of the day, when everything works out, there is a tremendous level of satisfaction….knowing that doing all that enables you to work at home.

Sell it
Now that the business is all set to receive orders and you’re all geared up about your new work at home business, it’s time to start selling the products and services. Find ways to advertise online and offline, tie-up with partners and affiliates, get others to help you promote your business, use autoresponders, set up your newsletters, write articles, exchange links with other websites, join forums, participate in message boards and groups related to your business….etc. All in the name of selling.

With lots of patience and persistence, starting your online business could be as easy and smooth as you want it to be. Just keep your focus and direction. And remember, nothing happens overnight, so, be patient and persist, and never give up.

Make Internet Marketing

2007-11-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

RSS marketing is a tool used by many on the Internet to deliver advertisements, emails, customer support responses, ezines to clients and potential clients without the concern of Spam filters hindering the receipt of the email. Spam filters have created serious problems for companies marketing through email and almost 65% of the emails you send are not even opened by the recipient. This really will hurt your business if you do not find a way to get your information to clients and potential clients. That is what RSS marketing is all about, getting your information directly to the client and potential client.Another reason to consider RSS marketing is because currently web site visibility is very difficult and only getting worse as more and more web pages flood the web. Finding a way to get your web page to be returned as the number one result in such search engines as Google is almost impossible with traditional methods, but is easy with RSS marketing.Not to mention the increase in advertising costs that make this option almost impossible for most home based internet businesses. If you have found your advertising and marketing methods are not returning the results you had hoped, then consider RSS marketing.RSS marketing is free as well as user friendly. This internet tool allows even the smaller businesses to compete with the larger ones because getting information to potential customers is not based on money. RSS is a publishing tool for the Internet that handles companies internet marketing and publishing needs. Obviously, every company needs this and especially small companies that rely on business to survive day to day. By using this tool, your company will be able to reach more clients, potential clients, subscribers, and the like all the while increasing your status on the web. There are several things that RSS marketing will do for your home based internet business. First, it will increase your rankings on search engines as well as direct new traffic to your Web site through RSS search engines that target different markets. Traffic is what supports web pages, so increasing your traffic and receiving new traffic is certainly a priority of business owners.RSS also has the ability to get your URL listed with all search engines fast and easy. No more waiting weeks for your URL to get listed with search engines, RSS marketing allows this to happen almost immediately. This is certainly a good choice for new web pages that are looking to increase web traffic. Another awesome aspect of RSS marketing is that it can get your web page returned as the number one result for your web pages’ most popular keywords.Among its other offerings, RSS marketing allows your company to market in different and new ways in order to attract more traffic to your site. This Internet marketing tool is dedicated to getting the most possible attention for your Web site as well as marketing your site in new and interesting ways. Consider using RSS today and see how it changes your marketing strategies and web site traffic.

Amazing Secrets

2007-11-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Without traffic to your website, you're not going to make any money in your online business (unless you're able to tap into someone else's traffic). For many websites... especially new sites, one of the fastest, surest ways to drive traffic to the site is pay per click search engines. The RISK in using pay per clicks is that you don't know how well that traffic is going to convert before you've paid for it. You can adjust your webpages and your pay per click listing fairly quickly, but today I want to share with you two of my MAJOR free traffic generation methods. The most powerful weapon I've used in my marketing arsenal lately is actually... blogging. A blog is simply an on-line diary or weblog. Since they are usually updated frequently, the search engines love them and visit them often. The way that I use my blogs is that when I make a post, I include a link to a site or webpage that I want spidered by the search engines. Google actually visits my blogs daily, and takes snapshots of everything there, and follows links from the pages, and takes snapshots of those pages! So, I make minor changes to pages that I want to get ranked higher, and then I "help" Google to find those updated pages. It's a simple, ethical, and very powerful method. I'm fairly new at blogging, but I'm quickly getting the hang of it. Most of what I know about blogging I learned from a course by my friend Paul Short. The course is called RSS Exposed. I recommend you get a copy of Paul's course today and set aside 2 hours to digest it. Get it at: http://www.profitautomation.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=109478 Paul is like me... he's very busy, and doesn't have time for fluff. So his course is under 100 pages, and it's all "stuff" that you can read and then immediately implement. Does this stuff work thought. My friend Stephen Pierce taught me that NOTHING is more powerful than concrete PROOF. So let's look at how I rank for a few keywords that I'm focusing on right now. I'll show you with a few of the more than 100 niches that I have top 10.... often top 3 rankings for. I know that showing you these examples may attract the attention of potential and existing competitors, so I won't show you the most lucrative ones :-) Readers who know me, know that my real online success started with a simple soul food or southern cookbook! That one cookbook still generates a very nice six-figure income! This season of the year, I know that people are on-line searching for holiday recipes and also gift-giving ideas. My logs show me how my market finds me... keywords and sources. They show that for the cookbook, most find my site through Google, with MSN being a distant second. Here's how I ranked for a few cooking related terms (as of November 21st, 2004): Soul Food Recipes - #2 out of 1,220,000 Soul Food - #3 out of 8,840,000 Soul Food Cookbook - #2 out of 273,000 Deep Fried Turkey Recipe - #3 out of 257,000 Deep Fried Turkey Recipes - #4 out of 302,000 Sweet Potato Pie - #2 out of 614,000 Sweet Potato Pie Recipe #2 out of 394,000 Fried Chicken Recipe - #2 out of 861,000 Fried Chicken Recipes - #2 out of 1,160,000 Southern Fried Chicken - #2 out of 436,000 Deep Fried Turkey - #14 out of 330,000 Pound Cake Recipe - #2 out of 547,000 Macaroni And Cheese Recipe - #1 out of 207,000 Collard Green Recipe - #4 out of 21,200 Southern Recipes - # 15 out of 4,970,000 ... I guess I need to work on that last listing :-) One of my other markets is "Internet Marketing," and those looking to start or improve upon an online or home-based business. How do I rank there? Here are a few of the thousands of terms that bring me in free search engine traffic (again based upon my website logs): Internet Marketing 101 - # 1 out of 5,550,000 Internet Marketing Course - #2 out of 10,600,000 Free Internet Marketing Course - #2 out of 11,800,000 Free Internet Marketing Lessons - #2 out of 2,810,000 Homebased Business - #9 out of 1,930,000 Homebased Business Course - #1 out of 522,000 Free Homebased Business Course - #1 out of 483,000 For those of you without your own product, let's see how I do with products I have reprint rights to. One is a web copywriting course by Bob Serling called Power Copywriting For The Internet. When someone is searching for that course they search on very specific terms... but... since their search is so specific, a higher percentage of them will buy when they get to my website. This is a more niche market, but some of my rankings are: Internet Copywriter + Bob Serling - #1 out of 985 Web Copywriting + Bob Serling - # 7 out of 918 Web Copywriting Course + Bob Serling - #5 out of 16,400 Power Copywriting For The Internet - #2 out of 128,000 Another product that I have reprint rights to is an excellent course on how to increase your website, and advertising, conversion rates. It's called, "Small Changes - Big Profits." Here's my ranking on keywords customers have recently used to find (and buy) this product: Increase Website Conversion - #6 out of 2,480,000 How to Increase Website Conversion - # 6 our of 2,490,000 Note that when you enter that last phrases, Google tells you that "how to" is a very common phrase and therefore not included in the search. However, notice that Google found an additional 10,000 pages when I gave it that expression. Ok, so I'm confused too :-) My second most powerful weapon right now is that I write lots of ezine articles... like this one. Since 1998, I would estimate that I've written over 300. Those articles are a very powerful way of getting one-way links to my site. Those articles are a powerful way for people with specific problems or interest to find my sites. Here's a simple example of how powerful articles can be. I know for a fact that the majority of people in network marketing aren't doing that great. I also know why. The proof that I know what they are doing wrong, and how to correct it, is provided by the fact that I was recently the #2 producing representative in a major network marketing company for 2 consecutive months. The only reason I wasn't #2 longer is that I've only been with the company a little over 4 month, and that in my fourth month, I was the #1 top producing rep in the entire company! Recognizing what many network marketers are doing wrong... especially those that market over the internet, I wrote an article on the topic. This article targeted those who wanted to know why their network marketing is failing. So if you go to Google and enter... "Network Marketing Failing" without the quotation marks, you'll see that the returns for webpages featuring my article take up the entire first page. If a person were to type in the statement "My Network Marketing Is Failing" my page ranks #1 out of 312,000. Do people search on these terms? Not as many as search on more competitive terms, but why not go after easier terms... why not go after "the low-hanging fruit." People do visit my sites after reading the hundreds of articles that I've written, and they do make purchases and join my network marketing team. That's proof that writing and properly using articles is a very powerful traffic generation technique. I have lots of resources on how to properly do this inside my private membership site. If you're not a member, you should join today. Inside the site you'll find lots more solid, usable information like you just gotten in this article. I've just shared with you two of my most powerful free traffic generation methods. I actually know HUNDREDS but only use a handful. I believe that it's better to get really good at using a few rather than tinkering with (but never mastering) many. You need to do your research and find the techniques that work best for you. If you'd like a really comprehensive course on website traffic and sales generation methods, I recommend John Reese's Traffic Secrets Course. Check out John's course to learn a ton of ways to outflank your competition at: http://www.profitautomation.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=110203 It's 14 DVD's, so realize that it will throw a LOT of information at you. Make sure that you pick just a few techniques he covers, and then put them into immediate action rather than letting the sheer volume of information overwhelm you. As I've demonstrated, being a master at generating free, responsive traffic doesn't have to be complicated or even difficult :-)