It's time to be Thankful

Thanksgiving In America

When people think of Thanksgiving, most remember the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians at Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims first arrived in America on December 11, 1620, not prepared for the winter they were about to face. Out of the 102 who arrived on the Mayflower, forty-six of the people died during the first few months. Despite the devastation, they had a good harvest, partly in thanks to the Indians who lived nearby.

They had a traditional British Harvest Feast in thanks to God for surviving and the blessings of provisions that would see them through the winter. In contrast to our modern Thanksgiving menu, they actually had more meat than vegetables, including venison, fish and wild foul, which may or may not have actually been turkey. They probably didn't have much in the way of desserts, as they didn't have a lot of flour or sugar on hand. They probably had some fruits and corn. Instead of pumpkin pie, they probably had boiled pumpkin. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days.

Thanksgiving was not an annual event in the U.S. for many years. In 1623, there was a drought and instead of having a celebration, the Pilgrims held a prayer service. When their prayers were answered the next day, they invited their Indian friends to join them in another Thanksgiving observance.

June 20, 1676 was celebrated as a day of Thanksgiving in Charlestown, Massachusetts. However this was very different than the first Thanksgiving. This was to celebrate a victory over the Indians. Another victory, this time over the British, was celebrated in October of 1677 by all of the thirteen colonies. George Washington established the first national Thanksgiving day in 1789, however not everyone thought it was a good idea, including Thomas Jefferson.

It wasn't until 1863 that what we know as our modern Thanksgiving came into being. Sarah Josepha Hale decided to promote Thanksgiving in her magazine, Boston Ladies' Magazine and in Godey's Lady's Book. She also wrote letters to different governors and presidents. Abraham Lincoln finally established Thanksgiving as the last Thursday in November. The date was changed a few times (to the third Thursday), but in 1941 was finally established on its current date, the fourth Thursday in November.

Over the years, it has drifted away from its original focus on being thankful. It has become a day to eat and watch football. While those aren't bad things, it is good for people to take the time to actually be thankful for their blessings.

I am Thankful for my readers and passerby's to this blog. Thank you.
I am Thankful for my family and friends and their support.
I am Thankful to all those that have given me free or paid information that has helped me in my online journey.
I am Thankful for my struggles, without them I forget to appreciate what we do have

What can you be Thankful for?

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages for separate niche products

Note: Do not lump all of your products together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every niche.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site for that specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional information. Make the pages attractive, compelling and include calls to action. Each headline should attract the readers to read more and even contact you.

2. Offer Free Reports
If possible position them at the very top side of your page so they simply can't be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get targeted traffic

Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that are focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.

Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

Try to use these tips on your affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business.

Copywriting - 6 tips

I am in the process of attending a copywriting class presented by Alice Seba - so I have copywrting on the brain as I am way behind in class. So today I will share some copywriting tips.

6 Powerful Copywriting Tips

Copywriting is the one skill which all online business owners should learn. As an online marketer you communicate through words – if those words aren’t effectively conveying your message, then you’re in for a long and bumpy ride.

Here are a few copywriting tips to get you going:

Know your Target Market – Good copywriters know exactly who they’re writing for. They speak directly to ONE person and keep that same person in mind at all times. If you try to reach too many people with your copy you’ll end up missing your target altogether and not reaching anyone at all. Before starting, know exactly who you’re writing your copy for and stick to it.

Headlines that Intrigue – Use clear headlines throughout your copy to guide the reader. Your main headline should be in bold and large letters to grab the reader’s attention. It is often the headline which can either make or break your copy. Use a benefit-focused headline, which explains in powerful detail how you can help solve the customer’s problem. Then use sub-headlines throughout the copy to keep the reader intrigued so they will keep reading.

Don’t use Big Words – Online writing is different to the writing you did in English class. Throw out the text book and forget all those rules your teacher taught you. Online writing is casual and needs to convey emotion and a clear purpose. You need to speak to the person as though you’re sitting down with them and chatting over a coffee… stay away from big words and long adjectives or risk boring (and losing) your prospects!

Be Persuasive – If you love your product that’s great but it’s also a bit biased. Your customers want to hear from other unbiased people who have used your product. Include customer testimonials but not just any testimonial will do, the more information you can include the better. Try to include the person’s full name, city, state, website URL and if possible a picture of that person. The more information your testimonial includes the more persuasive and believable your copy becomes.

It’s not all about you! – In fact, it’s not about you at all. Effective copywriting is concerned with the needs of the customer. The writer doesn’t really matter... Of course, you may need to add a little personal information about yourself in order to gain trust and to explain why your customer should trust you, but even in this case it’s all about what you can do for them. Go through your copy, does it contain a lot of “I’s” then it’s time for a serious re-write. Go back and change most of those “I’s” to “You’s”. Your writing should always be about the customer.

Don’t forget the call – The call to action that is. You must guide your visitors and tell them what you expect them to do. If you want them to click over and purchase your weight loss product, say so, and say so in a clear way which promotes all the benefits of your products “Click here to learn how you can lose those last 10 pounds and keep it off for good” . Be precise in your wording and always include a clear call to action.

Blog Energizer is here and you need to check it out.

Today is a very good day for blogs and bloggers everywhere. Lynette Chandler has finally opened up Blog Energizer to the public and you can sign up for your free account right
now.

If you're in a hurry, you can grab yours at...

Blog Energizer

...but if you'd like to learn a bit more about what Blog Energizer is, let me tell you about it. Blog Energizer is a unique resource that gives members valuable opportunities to fill their blogs with content, drive traffic and more.

With a basic account (it doesn't cost a thing) at Blog Energizer, you get access to:

- Freebies you can give away on your blog
- Blogs that are looking for guest bloggers.
- Bloggers who might just want to write for your blog.
- Podcasts that are actively looking for people to interview.
- Traffic boosting ideas for your blog - and more.

All you need to do is go to:

Blog Energizer

...and sign up. In minutes you'll be ready to fill your blog with all kinds of great stuff.

To your blogging success!

Article Assistance

Make Your Articles Pull More Traffic

Here's a quick tip that will make a difference for you...

I'm assuming that you're now doing article marketing to pull more targeted traffic to your web site -- if not, you need to look into it because it's a proven method (not a fad) that's easy to get into. The software I recommend that helps is Article Architect -- see it here:

Better Articles

Anyway, so you're driving traffic by publishing simple articles -- make sure you don't sabotage yourself by using a weak resource, or bio box.

People are reading your article because they're interested in what you have to say, so make sure to grab them by the lapels and *make* them want to click on the link in your resource box.

Let me know what you think of it!

Dawn

PS - If you're doing article marketing and aren't using Article Architect, you're working too hard! Find out about it here

Any Software for that?

Article Distribution Software

• sometimes called article or ad blasters automate the submission process
• usually come with a list of article directories built in to get your started with quickly
• save you time in the submission process by letting you do everything at one time in one place right from your computer desk top
• autofill features will fill in repetitive information for you, like title, description, bio box etc so that you only have to copy and paste minimal information for each submission
• stores login information after the first visit to save you time by not having to login in most cases
• often offer updates and info on the newest article directories and places to submit keeping you in the loop on what's new and working for other article submitters

Some available software programs:

Article Submitter
Article ProSoftware
Articless.net
Article Robot

This is one area where there is much debate on the internet. Some say it is extremely beneficial if you are going to use article marketing, while others think that these submissions are blocked by certain article directories. There will be pros and cons of any strategy, only testing will truly show the benefits, and benefits will vary per person.

Article Written - Now what

Article Submission:

• you can both submit and use articles for free reprint
• all articles include a bio box, or a blurb about the author that must remain with the articles bring reprinted
• loyal audience of hundreds of thousands visitors visit the article directory every day looking for fresh content on hundreds of thousands of topics
• if your article is unique and informative it will stand out above others and get used more frequently by the content seekers, giving you more exposure and more links in return
• there are just as many experts submitting articles as there are content seekers, so the site grows every minute of every day with fresh new articles, thousands of pieces of content get added each month
• some directories have the articles reviewed before they show up in the database, providing only quality articles to their users (these are going to become your best friend)
• the article submission site promotes itself, therefore also promoting it's writers and users at the same time
• users cannot edit or alter your article in any way, ensuring that the content attached to your name and link are of the best quality and exactly what you need for marketing
• RSS feeds deliver fresh articles to regular subscribed users in real time
• in the end everyone benefits, the article site, the article writer, and the website or ezine publisher that used the article

Where to Submit Articles

There are many places online to submit your articles online and off for marketing purposes. If you want to get some local attention you can submit your articles to newspapers and magazines, often they will run them in a small section about local business and include your bio box. This often goes for trade related magazines as well. Look in the back for editorial information and contact them to find out about their submission process.
Online you can submit to directories and articles websites of all sorts. The nice thing about this is they often have good PR and you will get a link from the directory and from anyone that uses your articles as well.

http://www.ezinearticles.com
http://www.articlepros.com/
http://www.bluewaterarticles.com/
http://www.impactarticles.com/
http://www.ideamarketers.com/
http://www.greatarticlesformoms.com/
http://www.freearticalepro.com/
http://www.articlesbase.com
http://www.articleblotter.com
http://www.articlecity.com
http://www.articlesbase.com
http://www.submityourarticle.com/
http://www.e-articles.info
http://www.businesstoolchest.com
http://www.BestArticlesDirectory.com
http://www.article-hut.com
http://www.redarticles.com/
http://www.articlehub.net
http://www.ladypens.com


The list above is just a small sampling of places to get started with submitting your article for your marketing campaign online. There are literally hundreds of these websites that you can submit your unique articles and get targeted exposure in return.

Where does it come from? Article Content

Content, where does it come from?

• your own uniquely written content - best choice if you can do it.
• PLR rewritten with your own words, images and links added - 2nd best
• PLR as is
• reprints from article directories that are relevant and on point
• ebooks and blog postings can be a combination of the above as well
• ghostwriter is professional writer who is paid to write content that is credited to another person as the author
  

- a blog cannot survive on plr and reprints alone, you want to add your own style, flair and voice to the site to make it different and gain readership

- sometimes you will find reprint articles that express an idea that you just couldn't get across on your own making them a perfect fit for your site or newsletter

- rewriting a PLR article gives your voice to the details and information, and also gives you a chance to tweak the keywords. This is your best PLR option, make it your own!

- take the PLR that you have and combine it and edit it into an ebook for sale or for free to your readers

- mix up the order, especially if you're blogging these articles, if your readers see reprint after reprint for a long period of time they may stop looking

- if you're building a site within a niche, stick to your topic even though some of the plr and reprint info may be tempting to use be careful of straying off the niche path, and it's very easy to do that when you get into reading and reviewing articles

- be careful of over-repeating yourself, sometimes a reprint and a PLR article may have very similar outlines to them. Yes you want to repeat certain things to your reader/customer to keep their interest on that topic and assure them that it's what they are looking for but you don't want to bore them and send them away

Article Part of Article Marketing

The first step to article marketing is of course the ARTICLE:

Here are some article writing tips to follow and share:

• When Writing articles, write what you know (through research or otherwise).
  
• Write to your target market.
• Don't use jargon, some people reading your article will have no idea what you mean.
• Be direct and specific in what your article topic is about.
• Use Action Words throughout your article.
• Give an example or tell a story (real life relations works well).
• Get your point across without being wordy.
• Use short paragraphs (3 to 4 sentences) or use bullets.
• Lengths vary (average is 4 to 6 hundred) dependent on what you have to say and what you are covering.
• Titles are key, if you don't have a compelling title no one is going to read your articles.
• Without being obvious you want to make your copy very keyword rich.
• Direct your article to your reader, make that person feel you are writing directly to them.
  

Article Marketing - What is that?

This week I thought we would cover a very HOT Topic among affiliate marketers.

Article Marketing.

Today will just start with the basics and move on from there during the week.
Article Marketing in it's most basic form is: writing short articles (500-700 words) related to your industry or niche and submitting them to article site and other distribution forms. Links are generally not allowed in the article, especially affiliate links.
You want to write informative articles, that don't give everything away. You want readers to feel compelled to "check" you out.
When you start the submission process, you will notice that you will need to provide a bio or author detail at the end of your piece to promote yourself and your website. This is where you will get the opportunity to promote yourself and your website/product.

Benefits of Article Marketing:
This process of submitting articles begins the process establishing yourself as an authority in your industry, niche or market (whatever word you use).
This also will earn you backlinks to your site/blog and
The beginning of the branding process. Your company will begin to become known for the article topics that you submit - good or bad.
Articles can be used as a "free" way to drive traffic to your site/blog.
Can drive your target market right to your site, looking for what you have to offer.
Puts your content on other people's sites/blogs and directs them back to you and your offers.
Article Marketing is a great approach towards advertising and link building for your site.

So those are the basics, sounds good right. The process is starts with the writing, which is where we will go tomorrow.

Don't Make These Mistakes

How To Avoid The 3 Most Common Affiliate Mistakes

Affiliate marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning some money online. These programs give everyine a chance to make a profit on the Internet. Since these affiliate marketing programs are easy to join, implement and pays a commission on a regular basis, more and more people are now jumping into this business.

Like all businesses, there are lots of pitfalls in the affiliate marketing business. Committing some of the most common mistakes will cost the marketers a large portion of potential profit to be made everyday. That is why it is better to avoid them than be regretful in the end.

Mistake number 1: Choosing the wrong affiliate.

Many people want to earn from affiliate marketing as fast as possible. In their rush to be part of one, they tend to choose a bandwagon product. This is the kind of product that is “hot”, right now. They choose the product that is in demand without actually considering if the product appeals to them. This is not a very wise move obviously.

Instead of jumping on the bandwagon, try top choose a product in which you are truly interested in. For any endeavor to succeed, you need to believe in what you do.

Pick a product that appeals to you. Then do some research about that product to see if they are in demand. Promoting a product you are more passionate about is easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only.

Mistake number 2: Joining too many affiliate programs.

Since affiliate programs are very easy to join, you might be tempted to join multiple affiliate programs to try and maximize the earnings you will be getting. Besides you may think that there is nothing wrong and nothing to lose by being part of many affiliate programs.

True, that is a great way to have multiple sources of income. However, joining multiple programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time will prevent you from concentrating on each one of them. FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS

The result? The maximum potential of your affiliate program is not realized and the income generated will not exactly be as huge as you were thinking initially it would. The best way to get excellent results is by joining just one program that pays a 40% commission at least. Then give it your best effort by promoting your products enthusiastically. As soon as you see that it is already making a reasonable profit, then maybe you can now join another affiliate program.

The technique is to do it slowly but surely. There is really no need to rush into things, especially with affiliate marketing. With the way things are going, the future is looking real bright and it seems affiliate marketing will be staying for a long time too.

Mistake number 3: Not buying the product or using the service.

As an affiliate, you main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or service and to find customers. For you to achieve this purpose, you must be able to relay to the customers that certain product and service. It is therefore difficult for you to do this when you yourself have not tried these things out. Thus, you will fail to promote and recommend them convincingly. You will also fail to create a desire in your customers to avail any of what you are offering.

Try the product or service personally first before you sign up as an affiliate to see if it is really delivering what it promises. If you have done so, then you are one of the credible testaments aware of its advantages and disadvantages. Your customers will then feel the sincerity and truthfulness in you and this will trigger them to try them out for themselves.

Many affiliate marketers make these mistakes and are paying dearly for their actions. To not fall into the same situation they have been in, try to do everything to avoid making the same mistakes.

Time is the key. Take the time to analyze your marketing strategy and check if you are in the right track. If done properly, you will be able to maximize your affiliate marketing program and earn higher profits.

Product Reviews = Top Affiliate Commissions

Using Product Recommendations To Increase Your Bottom Line

One of the more important ways of increasing affiliate marketing's bottom line and sales is through the use of product reviews/recommendations. Many marketers know that this is one of the most effective ways in promoting a product (aka affiliate).

If the customers or visitors trust you enough, then they will definitely trust your recommendations. Be very careful in using this approach, though. If you start promoting everything by recommendation, your credibility will actually wear thin. This is seen especially when recommendations are seemingly exaggerated and without much merit.

Do not be afraid to mention things that you do not like about a given product or service. Rather than lose any points for you, this will make your recommendation more realistic and will tend to increase your credibility.

Furthermore, if your visitors are really interested in what you are offering, they will be more than delighted to learn what is good about the product, what is not so good, and how the product will benefit them.

When you are recommending a certain product, there are some things to remember:

1. Sound like the true and leading expert in your field.

2. Remember this simple equation: Price resistance diminishes in direct proportion to trust. If your visitors feel and believe that you are an expert in your niche, they are more inclined to making that purchase. On the other hand, if you are not exuding any confidence and self-assurance in endorsing your products, they will probably feel that same way and will go in search of another product or service which is more believable.

How do you establish this aura of expertise? By offering unique and new solutions they would not get anywhere else. Show proof that what you are promoting works as promised. Display prominent testimonials and endorsements from respected and known personalities, in related fields of course.

3. Avoid hype at all costs. It is better to sound low key and confident, than to scream and seek attention. Besides, you would not want to sound unprofessional and have that thinking stick to your potential customers and clients, now would you? Best to appear cool and self-assured at the same time.

4. Prospects are not stupid. They are actually turning to experts and may already know the things that you know. If you back up your claims with hard facts and data, they would gladly put down hundreds, or even thousands of dollars worth of money to your affiliate products.

While recommending a product, it is also important that you give out promotional freebies. People are already familiar with the concept of offering freebies to promoting your own products. But very few people do this to promote affiliate products. Try to offer freebies that relate to the product that you are reviewing.

Before you add recommendations to you product, it is given that you should try and test the product and support. Do not run the risk of promoting junk products and services. Just think how long it took you to build credibility and trust among your visitors. All that will take to destroy it is one big mistake on your part.

If possible, have recommendations of products that you have 100% confidence in. Test the product support before you begin to ensure that the people you are referring it to would not be left high and dry when a problem suddenly arouse.

Have a look at your affiliate market and look at the strategies they are using. You may not be focusing on the recommendations that your products need to have. Your plan of action is sometimes not the only thing that is making your program works.

Profit booster - 3 steps

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

1. Know the best program and products to promote.

Obviously, you would want to promote a program that will enable you to achieve the greatest profits in the shortest possible time.

There are several factors to consider in selecting such a program. Choose the ones that have a generous commission structure. Have products that fit in with your target audience. And that has a solid track record of paying their affiliates easily and on time. If you cannot seem to profit, dump that program and keep looking for better ones.

There are thousands of affiliate programs online which allows you to be picky. You may want to select the best to avoid losing your advertising dollars.

Write free reports or short E-Books to distribute from your site. There is a great possibility that you are competing with other affiliates that are promoting the same program. If you start writing short reports related to the product you are promoting, you will be able to distinguish yourself from the other affiliates.

In the reports, provide some valuable information for free. If possible, add some recommendations about the products. With E-Books, you get credibility. Customers will see that in you and they will be enticed to try out what you are offering.

2. Collect and save the email addresses of those who download your free E-Books.

It is a known fact that people do not make a purchase on the first solicitation. You may need to send out your message more than six times to make a sale.

This is the simple reason why you should collect the contact information of those who downloaded your reports and E-Books. You can make follow-ups messages about your product(s).

Get the contact information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor’s website. Keep in mind that you are providing free advertisement for the product owners. You get paid only when you make a sale. If you send prospects directly to the vendors, you lose the chance for future advertisement.

Publish an online newsletter or E-zine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you know than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own newsletter. This also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with your subscribers.

This strategy is a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If you continue to write informative editorials you will be able to build a sense of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your products.

3. Ask for higher than normal commission from merchants.

If you are already successful with a particular promotion, you should try and approach the merchant and negotiate a percentage commission for your sales.

If the merchant is smart, he or she will likely grant your request rather than lose a valuable asset in you. Keep in mind that you are a zero-risk investment to your merchant; so do not be shy about requesting for addition in your commissions. Just try to be reasonable about it.

Write strong pay Per Click ads. PPC search engine is the most effective means of advertising online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC campaigns such as Google AdWords and Overture. Then you should try and monitor them to see which ads are more effective and which ones to dispose of.

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

Affiliate Marketing and Social Media

Social networking sites aren't just for teenagers anymore. In fact, social networking sites have evolved into something different altogether different than what they once were – more than half of MySpace vistors are 35or older.

Today, social networking sites span the spectrum of demographic groups. While teenagers are still more apt to use them than older people, there are now niche social networking sites, which target people who all share some common interest, ranging from skateboarding to investing or affiliate marketing to videos.

Now, in addition to teenagers and adults, social networks are increasingly used by another group – businesses. That's right: many businesses are now using social networks to advertise in some subtle manner – and then replicate their message through systems that are already available within the social network.

The most prominent social network is MySpace.com, which boasts a membership base of 1.06 hundred million (and still growing!).

If the affiliate product you are selling has a broad appeal, you may want to use MySpace to market your product, as you will be able to reach the largest crowd quickly.

Now, there are a number of different ways in which you can market your affiliate product through MySpace. One way is to setup a profile and then begin adding friends to your list on a daily basis.

Depending on your goals, you may want to add a personal profile for yourself and talk about your business/product on your page; or you may want to simply create a profile for your business and use that to market.

While you can send out bulletins advertising your product through MySpace, this is generally discouraged by the MySpace staff and could lead to you getting banned. So the best bet would be to avoid this type of marketing; instead, post related bulletins that don't advertise your product, but talk about something similar.

This will drive interested visitors to your page, where they can learn more about the affiliate product you are selling. Note, however, that you will have to link to a non-affiliate page, as affiliate links are expressly forbid on MySpace. You can use a blog or website as the landing page for your affiliate products.

Once you have had some experience marketing to the MySpace crowd, you will want to consider looking at other social networking sites.

One other large site is Friendster, which you can find at: friendster.com. Bear in mind though, that this site is generally very popular in South-East Asia and other Asian countries.

Facebook.com is another large social networking site. You will also want to look for niche networking sites, which will afford you an opportunity to capture a more targeted audience.

Whichever sites you decide to use your goal should be to develop a network of people who share a common interest and could potentially be interested in your specific product.

For this reason, it is always a good idea to think long term (i.e. don't do things that are going to get you banned); instead, concentrate on building your network and introducing them to your affiliate product.

Utilizing social media can be time consuming - need help Be Social Worldwide.com We do the socializing for you.

Affiliate Marketing - Pick one

Ask questions first before you join an affiliate program.
A. Will it cost you anything to join?
Most affiliate programs being offered today are absolutely free of charge. So why settle for those that charge you some dollars before joining.
B. When do they issue the commission checks?
Every program is different. Some issue their checks once a month, every quarter, etc. Select the one that is suited to your payment time choice. Many affiliate programs are setting a
minimum earned commission amount that an affiliate must meet or exceed in order for their checks to be issued.
C. What is the hit per sale ratio?
This is the average number of hits to a banner or text link it takes to generate a sale based on all affiliate statistics. This factor is extremely important because this will tell you how much traffic you must generate before you can earn a commission from the sale.
D. How are referrals from an affiliate’s site tracked and for how long do
they remain in the system?
You need to be confident on the program enough to track those people you refer from your site. This is the only way that you can credit for a sale. The period of time that those people stay in the system is also important. This is because some visitors will not buy initially but may return later to make the purchase. Know if you will still get credit for the sale if it
is purchased in the future.
E. What are the kinds of affiliate stats available?
Your choice of affiliate program should be capable of offering detailed stats. They should be available online anytime you decide to check them out. Constantly checking your
individual stats is important to know how many impressions, hits and sales are
already generated from your site.
F. Does the affiliate program also pay for the hits and impressions
besides the commissions on sales?
It is important that impressions and hits are also paid, as this will add to the earnings you get from the sales commission. This is especially important if the program you are in offers low sales to be able to hit ratio.
G. Who is the online retailer?
Find out whom you are doing business with to know if it is really a solid company. Know the products they are selling and the average amount they are achieving. The more you know about the retailer offering you the affiliate program, the easier it will be for you to know if that
program is really for you and your site.
H. Is the affiliate a one tier or two tier program?
A single tier program pays you only for the business you yourself have generated. A two tier program pays you for the business, plus it also pays you a commission on the on the sales
generated by any affiliate you sponsor in your program. Some two-tier programs
are even paying small fees on each new affiliate you sponsor. More like a recruitment fee.
I. What is the amount of commission paid?
20% - 80% (and some cases, 100%!) is the commission paid by most programs. .01% - .05%
is the amount paid for each hit. If you find a program that also pays for impressions,
the amount paid is not much at all. As you can see from the figures, you will now
understand why the average sales amount and hit to sale ratio is important.

You should be familiar with the many important aspects that your chosen program should have before incorporating them into your website.

Research in order to survive

One of the most significant steps to be a successful entrepreneur in affiliate marketing is to select profitable niche affiliate products. In this ever competitive world of affiliate marketing, you must research your product in order to survive.

When you are researching a product - here are some points to consider.

1. What is selling?

• A great idea of product does not mean it will make YOU money
• If you are a beginner it's suggested that you choose something that is already working for others.
  
• A. Proves a market exists
  
• B. People are making money

2. Who's selling it?

• An over competitive market requires more work and time for success
• An over competitive market can be attacked quicker but generally at lower volume and/or profit
• If you are going to go after an over competitive market, it's recommended to not choose THE most popular.

3. How it sells?

• Pay-per-click
• SEO (website/blog/other)

4. Read articles, news, review information and blogs. All you have to do is to do your own research by reading articles from articles directories, news from Google, Yahoo and MSN group, review information and blogs. With this action, you will discover what the market is and what people are talking about or what their concern is. This information will lead you to discover niche products to sell online.

5. Keyword research: Effective keyword research will lead you to discover profitable markets and products to sell online.

• Wordtacker
• Keyword discovery
• Google sandbox
• Yahoo Keyword Selector
• SEO Book
• Microsoft Adcenter Labs
• Good Keyworks

6. Exchange the ideas among affiliate marketing entrepreneurs. This approach is one of the most effective and easy ways to find out the niche products to sell on the internet.

Back to Basics: Free Classifieds Work

Its time to get back to the basics, there are so many different things on the internet and so many programs to teach (mentor) you it can become all too consuming to take on. So here we are back at the start. Back to basics - Free Classifieds.

Free classifieds ARE a good STARTING point for marketing affiliate programs on the internet, most free classified sites allow affiliate links so you can send your customer directly to a sales page, and you don't have to write copy or create a sales page/website of your own.

For those of you who are just starting and can't afford other forms of advertising and the testing involved. You can use Free Classified advertising to test your ideas, advertising copy and/or products and then you can make the decision on how to proceed from those results. The best part of using free online classified ads is that you can see results quickly.

The real "secret" to making money using free classifieds is to build a portfolio of products.
Don't limit yourself to just one product. Set up your first product across several sites and then set a goal for yourself: one new product per day, week, bi-weekly whatever works best with your time schedule. But add, add, add.

Secret #2 Headline - it must be compelling

Secret #3: The most recent ads are listed on the top of the ad search or ad listing pages. The means your window of opportunity may only be two to three hours. So you must post often.

Secret #4: Always use photos or banners in your ads.

Secret #5: Tailor your ad to the category it appears in

I like this analogy I found during my research.

"Think of your advertising this way. You want it to build like running water against a dam! The momentum builds and any crack in the dam lets the water out from a trickle... to a flood. You have to keep going until the crack appears, then keep pushing until the trickle turns to... a flood.

Don't expect this water to start moving on its own, it needs constant pushing to build up the necessary pressure. By following the system I am going to detail to you, consistently each and every day, Monday through Friday, you will break the dam... and receive your flood."

Secrets to the preperation of working at home

How do you prepare to work from home or telecommuting jobs? We've put together a list that can help in preparing to work from home.

Basic Needs to work from home:

Strong work ethic is the most important tool to working at home, if you can't push yourself to work, who will?

Your own computer with standard office and fax software in addition to a respectable quality scanner and printer.

High speed Internet connection. The technological advances in software and hardware are rendered useless in most cases if you have a slow Internet connection.

Phone service in your home for the reliability and voice clarity, most companies offering telecommuting positions will require that you have a land line phone installed in your home. This is the case definitely if you are seeking a position that will require you to communicate by telephone as a part of your job, which then might want a dedicated business line.

Quiet and separate working environments in the home dedicated for work. Keeping work separate in a dedicated office or other room of your house will also be a requirement in most positions. It will give you the motivation to treat your work-at-home job like the real job that it is.

So you have the basics, no how do you start to prepare to work from home?

First and foremost, unless you are just moving your office job into your home, there will be some "down time" in the finances. So the first thing that needs to be done is sit down and set up a budget and how to cut costs until you are up and earning a regular income. Even if you are keeping your full-time job and working part-time there will be expenses and costs somewhere on your road to your working at home, you need to budget for these purchases/costs.

Second is time budgeting. It can become time consuming and addicting to work from home, you can't leave it at the office, you have access to it anytime, just one more minute, I'm just gonna check/do one more thing. You will need to set up a budget for your time budget time for work, family, chores. You life still needs to include those things you did when you got home from the office. You need to set aside improvement time, you need to read books and study the online world to grow and improve.

Quick time budget:

1. Evaluate your daily routine schedule. Think about everything you do during your day and the length of time it takes you to do those tasks. Are there any tasks that can be shared or adjusted to use time more effectively.

2. Create a weekly schedule of all activities and going on that week, including work. Schedule work time during times that young children are taking naps or are in school.
Make sure to include periodic breaks for quality time and activities with the children. This will help lessen behavior problems that may pop up because the children are seeking out attention. Then post schedule where the whole family can view.

3. Go over the weekly schedule with the family. It gives the family time to voice any changes or upcoming events that may need to be penciled in and allows everyone the chance to work out problems that may come up with the schedule.

Third is to keep your work and home organized. A organized work space will be a productive work place. This would take a whole other article to cover.

Organizing Relieves Stress in Your Business

A little less stress is a good thing.

One of the great things about being an employee and working for someone else is that when the clock hits five you are basically done for the day and you jump in your car and you are gone. You do not have to worry about anything until the next day when work starts again. Your mind is free and you own it.

When you own a small business it really owns you and there is always some aspect of your business on your mind. But sometimes this can cause stress.

Organizing has a huge impact on your home and your home business and the stress of it all. Being organized reduces stress. When someone is disorganized, they often feel a lot of stress, anxiety, and generally overwhelmed. They may not be able to locate missing items, they may find their selves constantly running late or forgetting things, and they may be prone to missing work deadlines.

When someone is organized they will be able to find what they are looking for, will be less likely to forget things, and will find that will be more likely to arrive for meetings on time and turn work in before the due date. An organized person will feel more confident because of those things and their stress levels will go down.

Another great reason to get organized is that being organized increases your productivity, and therefore, can increase your bank account. When you are organized, you will be able to get more work done. Depending on the type of job you have, the more work that gets done can generally lead to bigger paychecks and a bigger bank account.

Being organized can help you create a sense of calm and peace in all aspects of your life. Once you have organized one area of your life, you will start to notice that things seem to run more smoothly in all areas of your life.

From my own experience the more I let my work space become disorganized the more stressed and unproductive I begin to feel. I have learned very quickly when this begins to happen, take a few minutes clean up/organize the work space and once again I will be ready to go. It is worth those few minutes of organizing.


For Step by Step directions on getting your home organized, check out Organization for busy moms.

Learn the Secrets of Affiliate Marketing

New online marketers tend get into affiliate marketing with some misconceptions. Here we will reveal the secret realities and facts of affiliate marketing.

The four basic secrets of affiliate marketing:

1) It is necessary for you to invest some money if you really want to succeed. You will need to have your own website, an autoresponder for your website and the ability to track your advertisements.

2) Affiliate Marketing will take some work and effort on your part.

3) You will always need to be learning and improving. Internet marketing is very dynamic, and there are always new ways of promoting your website. (Social Networking, Web2.0)

4) You need to have confidence and faith in yourself.

Secrets of affiliate marketing:
1. Always Cloak Your Affiliate Link. Whether it is a link you use in email marketing or a website link, be sure to hide the ugly looking link that tells the whole world it is an affiliate link. People get a bit sensitive and are not likely to click when they see that it is an affiliate link. Use affiliate cloaking tools or php redirects.

2. Use Article Marketing. Article marketing is a powerful workhorse in affiliate marketing and is one of the deadliest secrets of affiliate marketing used by the top affiliates. Brand yourself as an expert and you will have loyal customers. Not only so, your articles will drive targeted traffic from the search engines and indirectly from other related websites that post your article.

3. Target Specific Niche For Marketing. They target specific market niches rather than going for broad markets. It is easier for you to publish content that gets high ranking in the search engines for tight niches than broader markets as it can be overwhelmingly competitive with big established sites taking top spots in the search engines.

4. Create Presell Pages. Never send your prospect directly to the affiliate sales page. That is a big mistake made by newbie affiliates and even some veterans. Presell your prospect first with a review website or even some testimonials from past customers. This gives you a tremendous edge over others.

5. Follow Up With Your Prospect. While most affiliates would agree that driving traffic is a never-ending task and can be quite challenging even for experienced affiliates, many do not optimize their traffic. Many focus on bringing in fresh traffic but fail to capture them for follow up.

These secrets of affiliate marketing make a difference between struggling to pull in a good income and comfortably making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Secrets of Affiliate Marketing Failure:

1. Perhaps the most common misconception about affiliate marketing is that one can rake in huge amounts of revenue simply by slapping up a low-quality website with no original content and tossing in some affiliate links.

2. Failue to promote yourself and your web site is a big part of ensuring the creation of affiliate income.

3. Another mistake is not choosing products that have some relevance to the content of your web site.

4. Keeping the same old look and the same old text with nothing new to entice people
back is a sure way to limit your chances at being a successful affiliate marketer.