Every web business will eventually receive the phone call. It starts by sounding like a professional call from a local business. In fact, at first, it sounds like someone wants to build a joint venture, or make a purchase. It might even sound like someone needs your help.
Once the small business owner is hooked, the tone changes slightly, the company has something to offer you, but they are not spammers. They are always a partner with someone big that you have formed an alliance with such as Google Adsense, Ebay, Prostores, Amazon.com, or maybe your web host.
Now, the bomb drops. They promise to increase your traffic and put your web site at the top of the search engines, guaranteed.
There is only one plan of action – hang up.
Avoid Web Traffic Schemes
There are a few dozen schemes out there, none of them are legit. There is no legal way to guarantee that a website will stay on the first page unless a) the keywords are obscure or have a low ROI, and b) they are selling the top spot in the PPC program.
One way to identify a scheme is by asking them to step away from their script and answer some SEO questions:
1. Does this program use a link farm?
2. Will this program involve newsletters or email campaigns?
3. Do you guarantee that the site will never be banned?
4. Is a banner exchange involved?
5. Does a PPC type of script need to be posted on the web page?
It is almost guaranteed that the conversation will end before a single question is answered.
Many of these programs use hundreds of spam MFA (Made For AdSense) sites floating around the web. In fact, one company was closed down in 2005 for using an automated software program that published 2000 new websites a day. In 2007, Google started a new program that involved banning MFA sites and cancelling the owner’s AdSense account, forever. Unfortunately, many of the advertisers are also at risk for being banned from AdSense. Once banned, no one in your family, or yourself, may ever have an AdSense account again.
Black Hat SEO
The best way to avoid web traffic schemes is to become aware of ‘Black Hat SEO.’ These are tricks that will result in a website receiving high hits, for a few months. But, once the search engines find the ‘trick’ they ban the site forever.
There are a few dozen popular Black Hat SEO tricks: doorway pages, link farms, invisible text, mirror websites, etc..
Quality Hits
Many of these companies have software programs that not only hit a website repeatedly, but even click the PPC campaigns. This is not ‘real traffic’. People who get caught on an MFA site and ‘clicked out’ just to escape is not a good click.
A quality hit is a visitor who actually wants to buy what is on your site. Success is not about hits, but quality hits.
Make Money
The best way to beat web traffic scam artists at their own game is to understand the different types of traffic. The most important type of traffic is a person who has been surfing the web looking for something to buy – and they find your website.
One website can make $10 000 a month, with only 100 000 hits. Another site can make $100 a month, with more than 2 million hits. Success, and the chances of making money, is all tied up in the quality of hits.
Outsmart Fraudsters and Protect Your Identity
One of the most frustrating aspects of Internet Marketing is born in the WHOSITS database. This database, owned by Google, lets anyone see the information submitted when a small business owners purchases a domain name.
Unfortunately, anyone can gain access to the information. Most small business owners learn this within hours of buying a domain. The first calls come from internet marketing companies that promise to get their clients at the top of the search engines for a paltry $20 - $100 a month. Of course, what they don’t tell the prospective client is they use black hat SEO tactics which usually lead to the site being banned – forever.
The next set of calls come from telemarketers selling everything from magazines, to loans, to business opportunities. It is frustrating.
Filling in Forms
There are several ways to remain anonymous on the web. The most popular method is to use a bogus business name that leads to a PO box in a ‘mailing center.’ This way, the fraudsters are frustrated by the ‘ghost.’ And, if lucky, the business owner may entice the fraudster to use the information resulting in legal retribution.
There is also no reason to enter your real information into forms. Remaining vague, or using the wrong prefix before your name, can protect your identity.
Save Your Password
Everyone knows what spyware is. Few people know that it can tap into the ‘save your information’ services on your PC. Many people use the ‘fill form’ tools in Windows and in their computer browser. Spyware comes in, collects this data, and then sends it to fraudsters.
Never include any information in these boxes. Another way the PC collects sensitive data is the drop down box that asks “Do you want to save this password.” Always select no.
PC Protection
Any website that is linked to the internet needs a firewall, spyware cleaner, malware cleaner, and virus scan. AVG has a free virus scan that many businesses swear is the best in the world. It not only removes viruses, worms, and trogans, but also can remove malware.
Yahoo has a nifty little spyware remover on their browser tool bar. This tool, in conjunction with lavasoft’s spyware remover has offered many businesses almost 100% protection.
Windows comes complete with a firewall. However, many business owners shut this down and use ZoneAlarm.
These tools will protect most PCs from phishing attacks and spyware that roves the net looking for small business owners who must include their information on the web.
Web Information
Many small businesses must include their address, and contact information on their website. However, saving the information in a gif image makes it invisible to spyware and hackers.
Encrypting the email or leaving a space is another way to protect email addresses. Many small business owners are starting to show their email addresses like this: smallbusinessowner @mydomainname.com
Notice the space – this makes the email addy invisible to spyware. However, users can copy and paste the link into their browser.
Instead of posting the email at all, why not consider adding a form to the website. Most forms can be set to automatically email the owner the moment the form is submitted – but the information remains invisible to hackers.
One last tip: Change passwords once every two to three months.
Unfortunately, anyone can gain access to the information. Most small business owners learn this within hours of buying a domain. The first calls come from internet marketing companies that promise to get their clients at the top of the search engines for a paltry $20 - $100 a month. Of course, what they don’t tell the prospective client is they use black hat SEO tactics which usually lead to the site being banned – forever.
The next set of calls come from telemarketers selling everything from magazines, to loans, to business opportunities. It is frustrating.
Filling in Forms
There are several ways to remain anonymous on the web. The most popular method is to use a bogus business name that leads to a PO box in a ‘mailing center.’ This way, the fraudsters are frustrated by the ‘ghost.’ And, if lucky, the business owner may entice the fraudster to use the information resulting in legal retribution.
There is also no reason to enter your real information into forms. Remaining vague, or using the wrong prefix before your name, can protect your identity.
Save Your Password
Everyone knows what spyware is. Few people know that it can tap into the ‘save your information’ services on your PC. Many people use the ‘fill form’ tools in Windows and in their computer browser. Spyware comes in, collects this data, and then sends it to fraudsters.
Never include any information in these boxes. Another way the PC collects sensitive data is the drop down box that asks “Do you want to save this password.” Always select no.
PC Protection
Any website that is linked to the internet needs a firewall, spyware cleaner, malware cleaner, and virus scan. AVG has a free virus scan that many businesses swear is the best in the world. It not only removes viruses, worms, and trogans, but also can remove malware.
Yahoo has a nifty little spyware remover on their browser tool bar. This tool, in conjunction with lavasoft’s spyware remover has offered many businesses almost 100% protection.
Windows comes complete with a firewall. However, many business owners shut this down and use ZoneAlarm.
These tools will protect most PCs from phishing attacks and spyware that roves the net looking for small business owners who must include their information on the web.
Web Information
Many small businesses must include their address, and contact information on their website. However, saving the information in a gif image makes it invisible to spyware and hackers.
Encrypting the email or leaving a space is another way to protect email addresses. Many small business owners are starting to show their email addresses like this: smallbusinessowner @mydomainname.com
Notice the space – this makes the email addy invisible to spyware. However, users can copy and paste the link into their browser.
Instead of posting the email at all, why not consider adding a form to the website. Most forms can be set to automatically email the owner the moment the form is submitted – but the information remains invisible to hackers.
One last tip: Change passwords once every two to three months.
Where Do The Millionaires Sell ‘On The Web?’
No one disputes the fact that the internet is moving people from dead end jobs to true wealth in a matter of months. Whether your idea of true wealth is $1 million, or a business with 20 employees, there are hundreds of people who have done it before.
The internet is a gold mine that makes some rich, but has one of the highest failure rates of any business – probably in the history of mankind.
Most people flounder around the net trying to run private shopping carts, buying SSL certificates, and finding traffic. They try building their own content management systems and generating inbound links. The average online business quits in six months, or flounders for almost two years, before they learn how the ‘success stories’ make their money on the web.
Fulfilment Through Amazon.com
No one serious building wealth builds their own shopping carts, taking orders, and shipping product. That is what a fulfilment company is for. You all know a fulfilment company, but you have never realized what they can offer you – Amazon.com.
That is right. Amazon.com is not, just, a book selling website. Their fulfilment program lets anyone send product to their warehouse. The Amazon.com site takes the orders, packs and ships, collects the money, and then sends the web business their share.
Most fulfilment companies cost $.50 - $1.00 per item, or a commission based on size and weight. There is often a skid rental of $25 - $50 a month which more than covers the time needed to build and maintain a private website.
Prostores
Everyone knows that Ebay is the world’s largest auction site. However, few people know that they own Prostores, a company that helps Internet Businesses sell their product. The power of Ebay selling. The credibility of a private store.
PayPal
Security is the key to internet sales. Millions will buy from an Amazon store, or Ebay, who would never buy from a private website. The fear of Identity Theft and phishing have taken a big chunk out of small business income. That is why Paypal, an ebay company, works so hard to make their service appear to be part of the consumer’s website.
Traffic
Do you need traffic? Then don’t worry about Social Networking, page rank, or Pay Per Click Programs. Buy the top spot. That is right, the first to ‘highlighted’ spaces on keyword searches can be purchased, sometimes for as little as $15 a month. These two spots are not a part of the pay per click program. They are rented at a set fee.
Another way to increase traffic is to sign up with www.Adbrite.com . This type of company rents space at a fixed cost, or PPC, and expands to accept image, text, or even video ads.
Adbrite is an industry standard because it is the favourite of content management publishers, the big community websites. Adbrite doesn’t have a sliding scale, like Google, or Yahoo. This means that the site gets the money earned, not what the ad company wants to pay.
Internet Marketing
A great internet marketing campaign needs a good product to sell. Without a good product, and a great distribution system, no business, no matter how much potential it has, will succeed – especially on the net.
----------------
Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
The internet is a gold mine that makes some rich, but has one of the highest failure rates of any business – probably in the history of mankind.
Most people flounder around the net trying to run private shopping carts, buying SSL certificates, and finding traffic. They try building their own content management systems and generating inbound links. The average online business quits in six months, or flounders for almost two years, before they learn how the ‘success stories’ make their money on the web.
Fulfilment Through Amazon.com
No one serious building wealth builds their own shopping carts, taking orders, and shipping product. That is what a fulfilment company is for. You all know a fulfilment company, but you have never realized what they can offer you – Amazon.com.
That is right. Amazon.com is not, just, a book selling website. Their fulfilment program lets anyone send product to their warehouse. The Amazon.com site takes the orders, packs and ships, collects the money, and then sends the web business their share.
Most fulfilment companies cost $.50 - $1.00 per item, or a commission based on size and weight. There is often a skid rental of $25 - $50 a month which more than covers the time needed to build and maintain a private website.
Prostores
Everyone knows that Ebay is the world’s largest auction site. However, few people know that they own Prostores, a company that helps Internet Businesses sell their product. The power of Ebay selling. The credibility of a private store.
PayPal
Security is the key to internet sales. Millions will buy from an Amazon store, or Ebay, who would never buy from a private website. The fear of Identity Theft and phishing have taken a big chunk out of small business income. That is why Paypal, an ebay company, works so hard to make their service appear to be part of the consumer’s website.
Traffic
Do you need traffic? Then don’t worry about Social Networking, page rank, or Pay Per Click Programs. Buy the top spot. That is right, the first to ‘highlighted’ spaces on keyword searches can be purchased, sometimes for as little as $15 a month. These two spots are not a part of the pay per click program. They are rented at a set fee.
Another way to increase traffic is to sign up with www.Adbrite.com . This type of company rents space at a fixed cost, or PPC, and expands to accept image, text, or even video ads.
Adbrite is an industry standard because it is the favourite of content management publishers, the big community websites. Adbrite doesn’t have a sliding scale, like Google, or Yahoo. This means that the site gets the money earned, not what the ad company wants to pay.
Internet Marketing
A great internet marketing campaign needs a good product to sell. Without a good product, and a great distribution system, no business, no matter how much potential it has, will succeed – especially on the net.
----------------
Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
A Crash Course in the ‘Success Mindset’
Many people enter the work at home market hoping to make money. Most are not even looking for a work at home business until the an email in their inbox, or a website, catches their attention.
The opportunity looks good, work at home, make money, and get paid to do relatively little. It doesn’t matter what the opportunity, whether property investing, playing with stocks, or ecommerce, eventually, one of these business opportunities will catch your eye. When it does, you can choose to follow the legions who hoped, dreamed, and failed before you, or you can learn how to succeed.
Only certain people will ever succeed. These are people who never stop learning, and never quit, because success is a habit. It takes time to learn how to be a success. Business owners not only need to learn how to become a success, but they need to learn ‘how to avoid failure.’
There are a few rules of success that can help the newest business owner to avoid the common pitfalls, and make money.
The Success Attitude
The biggest mistake most people make is creating a business because they always dreamed of owning that business. These people are dreamers, and failures. Not because they do not have a good idea, but because they are dreamers.
I’ve met dozens of people who dreamed for 20 years about owning a store. It may be a bridal shop, a candy store, ecommerce venture, or a fashion retail outlet. I listen patiently for a while as they excitedly ramble on about their dream. There does come a time when I stop them and ask ‘how much time have you invested learning how to make this business a success?” The answer is 99/100 times, ‘none.’
No business will run itself. No one will come to a store, whether a bridal shop, candy store, ecommerce venture, or fashion outlet just because it is there. The owner needs to add value to their outlet and offer a good product.
It is sad, because these people had 20 years to learn how to succeed and develop the ‘success habit.’ Instead, they twittered it away dreaming.
Needing Money Mindset
I have a cruel word here. If you need money, get a job. Any business that is started because the owner needed money is doomed to fail. Not because the owner cannot operate a business, but because a business is a living thing. All the money it makes in the first year or two need to be reinvested to nurture the business.
Everyone has heard the mantra ‘It takes money to make money.’ This doesn’t mean that a business needs money to get started. It does mean that it needs a steady cash flow to grow.
Need for Power
Another group of people who start businesses want the prestige and power of owning their own business. This is a certain recipe for disaster. A business demands, and demands big. The first two our three years of a business will demand a constant influx of cash, time, and learning on the part of a business owner.
Successful business owners are givers and nurturers. They care about their customers. They care about their business. They live to feed the business –not the other way around.
Success Mindset
So, what is the success mindset? Simply put, it is a mindset that reaches out beyond your needs and embraces the business, customer, product and marketing needs. Successful people are hungry to learn. They constantly seek out other successful people in forums, network groups, and business associations.
You can identify these people. When you meet them at a networking meeting, or in a forum, they are not always talking about their product, their success, or how great they are. Instead, they discuss business aspects, markets, and supply vs. demand. In short, they are trying to learn if you know anything that will help them succeed.
The opportunity looks good, work at home, make money, and get paid to do relatively little. It doesn’t matter what the opportunity, whether property investing, playing with stocks, or ecommerce, eventually, one of these business opportunities will catch your eye. When it does, you can choose to follow the legions who hoped, dreamed, and failed before you, or you can learn how to succeed.
Only certain people will ever succeed. These are people who never stop learning, and never quit, because success is a habit. It takes time to learn how to be a success. Business owners not only need to learn how to become a success, but they need to learn ‘how to avoid failure.’
There are a few rules of success that can help the newest business owner to avoid the common pitfalls, and make money.
The Success Attitude
The biggest mistake most people make is creating a business because they always dreamed of owning that business. These people are dreamers, and failures. Not because they do not have a good idea, but because they are dreamers.
I’ve met dozens of people who dreamed for 20 years about owning a store. It may be a bridal shop, a candy store, ecommerce venture, or a fashion retail outlet. I listen patiently for a while as they excitedly ramble on about their dream. There does come a time when I stop them and ask ‘how much time have you invested learning how to make this business a success?” The answer is 99/100 times, ‘none.’
No business will run itself. No one will come to a store, whether a bridal shop, candy store, ecommerce venture, or fashion outlet just because it is there. The owner needs to add value to their outlet and offer a good product.
It is sad, because these people had 20 years to learn how to succeed and develop the ‘success habit.’ Instead, they twittered it away dreaming.
Needing Money Mindset
I have a cruel word here. If you need money, get a job. Any business that is started because the owner needed money is doomed to fail. Not because the owner cannot operate a business, but because a business is a living thing. All the money it makes in the first year or two need to be reinvested to nurture the business.
Everyone has heard the mantra ‘It takes money to make money.’ This doesn’t mean that a business needs money to get started. It does mean that it needs a steady cash flow to grow.
Need for Power
Another group of people who start businesses want the prestige and power of owning their own business. This is a certain recipe for disaster. A business demands, and demands big. The first two our three years of a business will demand a constant influx of cash, time, and learning on the part of a business owner.
Successful business owners are givers and nurturers. They care about their customers. They care about their business. They live to feed the business –not the other way around.
Success Mindset
So, what is the success mindset? Simply put, it is a mindset that reaches out beyond your needs and embraces the business, customer, product and marketing needs. Successful people are hungry to learn. They constantly seek out other successful people in forums, network groups, and business associations.
You can identify these people. When you meet them at a networking meeting, or in a forum, they are not always talking about their product, their success, or how great they are. Instead, they discuss business aspects, markets, and supply vs. demand. In short, they are trying to learn if you know anything that will help them succeed.
A Good Product Addresses The Demand
Supply and Demand Marketing in Ecommerce Ventures
One of the hardest aspects of running a brick-and-mortar or ecommerce building is keeping tabs on supply and demand. Most of the business ventures which fail involved a product with little or no demand, or the supply was so great that customers were never pressured to buy. They could buy whenever they felt like it.
Most business owners overlook the importance of supply and demand when they set up a marketing campaign. They are more interested in SEO, and banner exchanges. They explore Pay Per Click programs, and traffic generating opportunities. All of their time is spent learning how to gain exposure. Very little is spent on learning about their customers, and measuring the supply and demand of their product.
One of the most important aspects of marketing is a good product. It is amazing how many ecommerce businesses start without a product to sell. The business owner believes that their drop ship store is their product. Or, they believe that their ebook is the product.
This is not a product. Your product is not something tangible which people will pay for. In fact, most products can be found in a dozen places, so there is no reason for anyone to feel pressured to buy before leaving the website.
The product is what the customer will leave the website with. A book on property management, a training course on stock investing, a starter kit for a work at home business, these are not products.
All products fall into three categories:
1. They solve a problem.
2. They make life easier.
3. They help people improve.
If a website sells a starter kit for work at home businesses, then it should address these three aspects of the product. What problems will this product solve? How will this product make the business owner’s life easier? How will the business owner get an edge over the competition with this product? The answers to these questions are the ‘real product.’
That is why one website can make thousands of dollars a month, selling ebooks on investing, while others fail. Take the website www.fool.com as an example. This website has mastered the art of selling their ‘problem solving’ products. Yes, you can arrange a mortgage through one of their brokers…but the reason why you sign with their broker, is because they promise to help you save money, or #2 on our list.
Supply
Another important aspect is to address the supply. There are thousands of websites selling Ipods for less than retail. There are hundreds of thousands of sites that help people start a business. The supply is big. However, is there a demand?
The demand can be drastically reduced by addressing singular problems involved with starting up a business. For example, many websites tell small business owners to visit their local municipal offices and learn what is involved with importing or exporting. However, a website that doesn’t tell people this, instead, it offers a quick importing/exporting tutorial will have a problem solving product.
The Ipod store, which includes every single Ipod accessory, including places where it is legal to download songs will do better than an ecommerce store that lists thousands of electronics.
Supply & Demand
Put them together. Demand is convincing people that there is some reason they need to buy the product now. It doesn’t matter if there are 40 000 other websites selling the same product. Focus on 1 – 3 problems that your product will solve and broadcast it across the net.
Supply does not necessarily mean the number of product for sale. Instead, it means the number of product that your customers have available to them. There may be 1000 ebooks on property investing – each one good. However, yours may be the only one entitled ‘How to Build a Property Portfolio Without Loosing Your Family Home.’ Now, the supply has narrowed to – 1 – You.
----------------
Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
One of the hardest aspects of running a brick-and-mortar or ecommerce building is keeping tabs on supply and demand. Most of the business ventures which fail involved a product with little or no demand, or the supply was so great that customers were never pressured to buy. They could buy whenever they felt like it.
Most business owners overlook the importance of supply and demand when they set up a marketing campaign. They are more interested in SEO, and banner exchanges. They explore Pay Per Click programs, and traffic generating opportunities. All of their time is spent learning how to gain exposure. Very little is spent on learning about their customers, and measuring the supply and demand of their product.
One of the most important aspects of marketing is a good product. It is amazing how many ecommerce businesses start without a product to sell. The business owner believes that their drop ship store is their product. Or, they believe that their ebook is the product.
This is not a product. Your product is not something tangible which people will pay for. In fact, most products can be found in a dozen places, so there is no reason for anyone to feel pressured to buy before leaving the website.
The product is what the customer will leave the website with. A book on property management, a training course on stock investing, a starter kit for a work at home business, these are not products.
All products fall into three categories:
1. They solve a problem.
2. They make life easier.
3. They help people improve.
If a website sells a starter kit for work at home businesses, then it should address these three aspects of the product. What problems will this product solve? How will this product make the business owner’s life easier? How will the business owner get an edge over the competition with this product? The answers to these questions are the ‘real product.’
That is why one website can make thousands of dollars a month, selling ebooks on investing, while others fail. Take the website www.fool.com as an example. This website has mastered the art of selling their ‘problem solving’ products. Yes, you can arrange a mortgage through one of their brokers…but the reason why you sign with their broker, is because they promise to help you save money, or #2 on our list.
Supply
Another important aspect is to address the supply. There are thousands of websites selling Ipods for less than retail. There are hundreds of thousands of sites that help people start a business. The supply is big. However, is there a demand?
The demand can be drastically reduced by addressing singular problems involved with starting up a business. For example, many websites tell small business owners to visit their local municipal offices and learn what is involved with importing or exporting. However, a website that doesn’t tell people this, instead, it offers a quick importing/exporting tutorial will have a problem solving product.
The Ipod store, which includes every single Ipod accessory, including places where it is legal to download songs will do better than an ecommerce store that lists thousands of electronics.
Supply & Demand
Put them together. Demand is convincing people that there is some reason they need to buy the product now. It doesn’t matter if there are 40 000 other websites selling the same product. Focus on 1 – 3 problems that your product will solve and broadcast it across the net.
Supply does not necessarily mean the number of product for sale. Instead, it means the number of product that your customers have available to them. There may be 1000 ebooks on property investing – each one good. However, yours may be the only one entitled ‘How to Build a Property Portfolio Without Loosing Your Family Home.’ Now, the supply has narrowed to – 1 – You.
----------------
Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
Article Tips and Tricks From the Pros
Many work at home business owners post a hundred free content articles in the article directories, before they realize that there is more to the free content link building program then first meets the eye.
While the article directories work, there is a little more involved for Internet Marketers who want to max out their links in a short time.
Article Directories And Newsletters
The article directories are divided by category, but most of the time, they are so vague that web publishers need to waste hours finding a great article.
The most common application for web articles is in newsletters. Most webmasters promise their visitors a bi-weekly, or monthly newsletter. Instead of collecting articles from writers, they use free content.
The way to appeal to these publishers is to write ‘dynamite’ titles. To many article writers use titles like, how to start a work at home business, start a business in ten days, etc.. Instead, solve a problem for the readers and use titles to sell the article. Titles like ‘WHAM! Make Money This Week,” “I Will Help You Earn a Living in Less Than a Year,” “Toss Internet Marketing Out the Door.”
This type of title makes the publisher look good in their subscribers eye. It looks like the publisher is giving their subscribers something new and innovative.
Evergreen Content
Many people ask what evergreen content really is. In short, it is anything which has been written about thousands of times, and can be found on any website. It is easy to write evergreen content. Find a few versions on the web, compile the information, rewrite it, and there is another article ready for the web.
Infortunately, most publishers have already published a few articles with the same information. They need something new.
Build an Article
1. The trick is adding one new piece of information near the top of the article. And – forget the introduction. The business is not writing for magazine publication. Keep To The Point.
2. Start the article by highlighting a problem, and then promise to solve the problem.
3. Break the article into easy to ‘skim’ sections. Each section shouldn’t just tell someone how to do something, it should show them HOW to do it.
4. End on a positive point that encourages the reader to move on to the next article. While it might be nice to have people click the link- it never happens. In fact, articles that end with a ‘hard sell’ and try to steal the reader, are often overlooked by newsletter publishers who want the visitor to buy from their site.
This section ‘Build an Article’ is an example of showing people HOW to write a good article.
Example of Telling people WHAT needs to be done: You need to build good web articles that solve problems the reader will face.
Pro Active Marketing
After a few months go to Google or Yahoo and search the article titles. Find out who is using the content, and why. Thy to gear future articles to favour the products sold on those web pages.Another good idea is to contact the webmaster and ask them if they would like to receive a free article each month. Many will love the time saving idea.
Taking control of the article distribution will also give writers the opportunity to embed their link in the article using keywords. This creates an executive link, which is given a higher rank by the search engines.
Happy hunting -
----------------
Visit More Learning Sites:
inspiredauthor
Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
While the article directories work, there is a little more involved for Internet Marketers who want to max out their links in a short time.
Article Directories And Newsletters
The article directories are divided by category, but most of the time, they are so vague that web publishers need to waste hours finding a great article.
The most common application for web articles is in newsletters. Most webmasters promise their visitors a bi-weekly, or monthly newsletter. Instead of collecting articles from writers, they use free content.
The way to appeal to these publishers is to write ‘dynamite’ titles. To many article writers use titles like, how to start a work at home business, start a business in ten days, etc.. Instead, solve a problem for the readers and use titles to sell the article. Titles like ‘WHAM! Make Money This Week,” “I Will Help You Earn a Living in Less Than a Year,” “Toss Internet Marketing Out the Door.”
This type of title makes the publisher look good in their subscribers eye. It looks like the publisher is giving their subscribers something new and innovative.
Evergreen Content
Many people ask what evergreen content really is. In short, it is anything which has been written about thousands of times, and can be found on any website. It is easy to write evergreen content. Find a few versions on the web, compile the information, rewrite it, and there is another article ready for the web.
Infortunately, most publishers have already published a few articles with the same information. They need something new.
Build an Article
1. The trick is adding one new piece of information near the top of the article. And – forget the introduction. The business is not writing for magazine publication. Keep To The Point.
2. Start the article by highlighting a problem, and then promise to solve the problem.
3. Break the article into easy to ‘skim’ sections. Each section shouldn’t just tell someone how to do something, it should show them HOW to do it.
4. End on a positive point that encourages the reader to move on to the next article. While it might be nice to have people click the link- it never happens. In fact, articles that end with a ‘hard sell’ and try to steal the reader, are often overlooked by newsletter publishers who want the visitor to buy from their site.
This section ‘Build an Article’ is an example of showing people HOW to write a good article.
Example of Telling people WHAT needs to be done: You need to build good web articles that solve problems the reader will face.
Pro Active Marketing
After a few months go to Google or Yahoo and search the article titles. Find out who is using the content, and why. Thy to gear future articles to favour the products sold on those web pages.Another good idea is to contact the webmaster and ask them if they would like to receive a free article each month. Many will love the time saving idea.
Taking control of the article distribution will also give writers the opportunity to embed their link in the article using keywords. This creates an executive link, which is given a higher rank by the search engines.
Happy hunting -
----------------
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Get Your Book Published
Get Paid To Write
How I Built a Career
How Much $$ Does Multitasking Costing You?
I use to be an amazing multitasker. I can still hold up to six IM conversations while checking my emails.
However, I have learned that multitasking increases stress, drains me so that I do not want to spend time with 'life' at the end of the day, and it actually decreases my productivity.
It can be difficult to conduct a business without multitasking. Many freelance writers find themselves working on several projects at once. Work at Home professionals are forced to promote, manage the home, manage their business, and have a life - all at the same time.
However, multitasking costs time, and is money.
It took me about two years to learn how to organize my time, reducing the need for multitasking, and improving my productivity.
There is no secret. Everyone must find their own comfort-zone. I can give you some tips though.
1. Plan to do one job a day - if possible. When done that job, then start a second task.
2. Open your emails, etc. first thing in the morning - then don't go back that day unless you finish your work.
3. Turn MSN and the telephone off when you have a major task to complete in one day.
4. Set a time limit for research. Do not research until you have 'enough.' A time limit will force you to work faster and smarter. When you have reached the end of your time limit, start writing. When finished, decide then if you need more research. Or, write your project in parts.
5. Do not do housework in 'work' time.
6. Expect your family to assist in house cleaning, laundry, etc...as if you worked out of the house. OR, tell them that the business money is business money. Hubby cannot dip into it because he is low this month. Business money is not bill money. If the family wants it, they help around the house, if not - then you can write off a maid (in Canada and the USA) and it is part of the business expenses.
7. Have a set number of work hours.
8. Learn to say no.
9. Do not let your emotional state control what you do. I've noticed that many work at home professionals make comments like 'I don't feel well', 'I didn't feel like it.'
10. Keep track of how many hours you devote to each task. Over time, this will teach you to work more productively, and it will help you determine how much time you really invest in a week.
One woman I talked to was frustrated. She had tried to get into freelance writing for seven months, but was still not making any money. After writing down her week, she found she only 'actively' worked for 19 - 22 hours. So, I told her she hadn't 'worked' for seven months - but if she considered a 40 hour work week, then she only worked for about three months.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
However, I have learned that multitasking increases stress, drains me so that I do not want to spend time with 'life' at the end of the day, and it actually decreases my productivity.
It can be difficult to conduct a business without multitasking. Many freelance writers find themselves working on several projects at once. Work at Home professionals are forced to promote, manage the home, manage their business, and have a life - all at the same time.
However, multitasking costs time, and is money.
It took me about two years to learn how to organize my time, reducing the need for multitasking, and improving my productivity.
There is no secret. Everyone must find their own comfort-zone. I can give you some tips though.
1. Plan to do one job a day - if possible. When done that job, then start a second task.
2. Open your emails, etc. first thing in the morning - then don't go back that day unless you finish your work.
3. Turn MSN and the telephone off when you have a major task to complete in one day.
4. Set a time limit for research. Do not research until you have 'enough.' A time limit will force you to work faster and smarter. When you have reached the end of your time limit, start writing. When finished, decide then if you need more research. Or, write your project in parts.
5. Do not do housework in 'work' time.
6. Expect your family to assist in house cleaning, laundry, etc...as if you worked out of the house. OR, tell them that the business money is business money. Hubby cannot dip into it because he is low this month. Business money is not bill money. If the family wants it, they help around the house, if not - then you can write off a maid (in Canada and the USA) and it is part of the business expenses.
7. Have a set number of work hours.
8. Learn to say no.
9. Do not let your emotional state control what you do. I've noticed that many work at home professionals make comments like 'I don't feel well', 'I didn't feel like it.'
10. Keep track of how many hours you devote to each task. Over time, this will teach you to work more productively, and it will help you determine how much time you really invest in a week.
One woman I talked to was frustrated. She had tried to get into freelance writing for seven months, but was still not making any money. After writing down her week, she found she only 'actively' worked for 19 - 22 hours. So, I told her she hadn't 'worked' for seven months - but if she considered a 40 hour work week, then she only worked for about three months.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
Work At Home Survival
The last post brought up the issue of family respect for the work at home professional. I've talked about this before, but Merryone brought up a good point.
She reads articles for WHAMs that have helped her.
This is something I have neglected. WHAM, is a community. There is no university to teach us how to survive and thrive. We must teach other, and learn through trial and error.
A blogging community like writingup can help us meet people who can teach us. I have learned, and I have taught, over my 11 months at writingup.
I am still learning.
The most important thing I've learned is not to neglect my physical or emotional state for the sake of a deadline.
Sometimes, it is better to go to bed for a couple of days and rest, even if it means missing a deadline. A couple days rest can make the difference between health and spending weeks suffering from symptoms.
This was the hardest lesson for me to learn. I always saw resting, waiting, or just needing a break as procrastination or wasting time.
Now, I consider my health as an asset to the business.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
She reads articles for WHAMs that have helped her.
This is something I have neglected. WHAM, is a community. There is no university to teach us how to survive and thrive. We must teach other, and learn through trial and error.
A blogging community like writingup can help us meet people who can teach us. I have learned, and I have taught, over my 11 months at writingup.
I am still learning.
The most important thing I've learned is not to neglect my physical or emotional state for the sake of a deadline.
Sometimes, it is better to go to bed for a couple of days and rest, even if it means missing a deadline. A couple days rest can make the difference between health and spending weeks suffering from symptoms.
This was the hardest lesson for me to learn. I always saw resting, waiting, or just needing a break as procrastination or wasting time.
Now, I consider my health as an asset to the business.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
Success Starts With 'Out of the Box' Thinking
I just posted a reply to one of Dekat's topics on 'making money as a SAHP'
I use to paint for a local 'craft' wholesale company that sold folk-art type stuff to hardware and grocery stores. The pay was not good, but the hours were. I could usually work in my own time, and paint when I had time. I got good enough that I could line items up and paint ten at a time.
Eventually, I was good enough to paint items that people would pay $10 - $50 for. I use to paint folk art designs on discarded kitchen cabinet doors, painting the trim to look like a frame. I got as much as $50 for one that was 10 inches square and $75 for a regular one. My success was based on the fact that I could do original work that wasn't seen elsewhere.
It just brought to mind the fact that I didn't just 'get here' because I got lucky. This has been something I've been arguing with my son over.
We live in a very rural area, and my son has been facing a lot of flack at high school. The teachers have been making him feel like university is a pipe dream for him, and he should do factory work or learn to milk cows. (not that there isn't good money in that)
One teacher said to him, 'well, maybe you'll be one of the people who just luck-out.' Well, I had to flip over this. We make our own luck.
If I never took that painting job, I wouldn't have learned how much rich people were willing to pay to have their house cleaned. If I hadn't worked in the flea market, I wouldn't have met people who taught me that anyone can succeed.
If I hadn't met those people, I wouldn't have tried to start a house cleaning service in a city that already had the 2 major franchises in it. Then, I wouldn't have learned that no one is dealing with the 'Persian rug/tropical shower' types of homes properly. My clients actually taught me the right way to look after their homes. Of course, I learned the hard way that you cannot hold clean crystal shards, one in ten will slip out of your hand :(.
But, if I hadn't been working for these people, I would not have learned about networking. Networking people taught me about diversification, surviving recessions, and rebuilding.
That is why, three years after a major crash in the IT industry that crushed 3 of the major IT companies, and put 42% of our clientele out of business, and cost me $35 000.00 - That is why I am now just about back on my feet.
Luck? - Bah! humbug
Go make your own luck . .
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
I use to paint for a local 'craft' wholesale company that sold folk-art type stuff to hardware and grocery stores. The pay was not good, but the hours were. I could usually work in my own time, and paint when I had time. I got good enough that I could line items up and paint ten at a time.
Eventually, I was good enough to paint items that people would pay $10 - $50 for. I use to paint folk art designs on discarded kitchen cabinet doors, painting the trim to look like a frame. I got as much as $50 for one that was 10 inches square and $75 for a regular one. My success was based on the fact that I could do original work that wasn't seen elsewhere.
It just brought to mind the fact that I didn't just 'get here' because I got lucky. This has been something I've been arguing with my son over.
We live in a very rural area, and my son has been facing a lot of flack at high school. The teachers have been making him feel like university is a pipe dream for him, and he should do factory work or learn to milk cows. (not that there isn't good money in that)
One teacher said to him, 'well, maybe you'll be one of the people who just luck-out.' Well, I had to flip over this. We make our own luck.
If I never took that painting job, I wouldn't have learned how much rich people were willing to pay to have their house cleaned. If I hadn't worked in the flea market, I wouldn't have met people who taught me that anyone can succeed.
If I hadn't met those people, I wouldn't have tried to start a house cleaning service in a city that already had the 2 major franchises in it. Then, I wouldn't have learned that no one is dealing with the 'Persian rug/tropical shower' types of homes properly. My clients actually taught me the right way to look after their homes. Of course, I learned the hard way that you cannot hold clean crystal shards, one in ten will slip out of your hand :(.
But, if I hadn't been working for these people, I would not have learned about networking. Networking people taught me about diversification, surviving recessions, and rebuilding.
That is why, three years after a major crash in the IT industry that crushed 3 of the major IT companies, and put 42% of our clientele out of business, and cost me $35 000.00 - That is why I am now just about back on my feet.
Luck? - Bah! humbug
Go make your own luck . .
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
How Many Labels Do You Wear?
"I am old"
"I am a plus size"
"I can't"
"I am a single mom."
"I am uneducated."
"I am unpublished."
As I work on a course for freelance writers I keep coming up against one road block that I cannot help writers overcome - labels.
Whether I am teaching students in my famous (infamous) course at universalclass.com or teaching independently, I find that there are certain intangibles that no mentor, instructor, or guru can ever overcome.
One of them is the labels we wear. Many people try to overcome the limitations of their labels, but only succeed in creating more...
"I don't care about my weight."
"My way is good enough."
"I do it my way."
"I look great for a XX year old."
"My skills are good enough."
The fact is, if you want to succeed, you need to sell your soul. Not sell it to a diety, but set it free. You need to stop fitting into society's definition of who you are.
I once had someone try to tell me what I should be, and let me know what his opinion of me was. I retorted, "You do not define me."
If you can understand that simple statement then you'll find success is easier to find. It is time to shed labels. It is time to stop limiting your success based on what others taught you.
As my good friend Lori recently said, "We create our own reality." In fact, we do.
We are defined by:
our beliefs in a deity,
ourselves,
the treatment we tolerate from others,
our determination to learn how to succeed,
our willingness to be mentored,
our ability to share and give to others,
the knowledge we acquire while traveling
the amount of effort we put into our daily tasks,
our priorities,
our goals,
what we see when we look in the mirror,
what we see when we look in our lover's eyes,
what we nurture in ourselves and our children, and
our passions (defined by our actions)
These things can be wings that set us free, or they can be chains that hold us down.
The problem isn't in the chains, it is in the fact that - once chained - we believe that the rest of the world sympathizes with us, emphatics with us, and are on 'our side.' While this belief helps us feel better about the situation, it also holds us in abusive situations and prevents us from reaching our potential.
There is enough time in a single lifetime to help another person heal, but not to carry their burdens.
There is enough time to become the person we want to be, but not enough to feed and nurture those things that hold us down.
There is enough time to learn to love, but a lifetime is not long enough to nurture and feed self-loathing, bitterness, inner-pain, or fear of success.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
"I am a plus size"
"I can't"
"I am a single mom."
"I am uneducated."
"I am unpublished."
As I work on a course for freelance writers I keep coming up against one road block that I cannot help writers overcome - labels.
Whether I am teaching students in my famous (infamous) course at universalclass.com or teaching independently, I find that there are certain intangibles that no mentor, instructor, or guru can ever overcome.
One of them is the labels we wear. Many people try to overcome the limitations of their labels, but only succeed in creating more...
"I don't care about my weight."
"My way is good enough."
"I do it my way."
"I look great for a XX year old."
"My skills are good enough."
The fact is, if you want to succeed, you need to sell your soul. Not sell it to a diety, but set it free. You need to stop fitting into society's definition of who you are.
I once had someone try to tell me what I should be, and let me know what his opinion of me was. I retorted, "You do not define me."
If you can understand that simple statement then you'll find success is easier to find. It is time to shed labels. It is time to stop limiting your success based on what others taught you.
As my good friend Lori recently said, "We create our own reality." In fact, we do.
We are defined by:
our beliefs in a deity,
ourselves,
the treatment we tolerate from others,
our determination to learn how to succeed,
our willingness to be mentored,
our ability to share and give to others,
the knowledge we acquire while traveling
the amount of effort we put into our daily tasks,
our priorities,
our goals,
what we see when we look in the mirror,
what we see when we look in our lover's eyes,
what we nurture in ourselves and our children, and
our passions (defined by our actions)
These things can be wings that set us free, or they can be chains that hold us down.
The problem isn't in the chains, it is in the fact that - once chained - we believe that the rest of the world sympathizes with us, emphatics with us, and are on 'our side.' While this belief helps us feel better about the situation, it also holds us in abusive situations and prevents us from reaching our potential.
There is enough time in a single lifetime to help another person heal, but not to carry their burdens.
There is enough time to become the person we want to be, but not enough to feed and nurture those things that hold us down.
There is enough time to learn to love, but a lifetime is not long enough to nurture and feed self-loathing, bitterness, inner-pain, or fear of success.
My 'teaching blog' for people who want a 'real' freelance writing career.
Novel Writer Magazine
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