Secret number 7 is difficult to explain.
But, let me tell you a story ...
Wendy Lim is a junior accountant, earning a good RM3,500 monthly from her company even though it's only been three years since she graduated. All her friends make much less, and they are jealous of her. You could say that she is successful, for her age.
But to Wendy, something is not right.
She doesn't like the fact that she has to come home at 9pm on most days, and sometimes have to finish up her work in the weekend. She gets worried whenever she has to walk to the car park alone at night, or walk through the LRT station in darkness.
She hates the fact that she has to apply for her Chinese New Year leave two months in advance, only for the boss to cut it down from 7 days to just 4. "We need people working during that time", her boss explained.
"This is not fair." she thought. "But I have no choice ... "
Wendy soon realizes that although she's earning ok now, the chances of her getting promoted and making much more money in the company is very slim. Someone is already occupying the place she wants, and even though she is smarter and better, there is no way she will be promoted until that person gets promoted, leaves the company, or dies.
So two years pass by and one day her manager announces that she is leaving for another company.
Finally, Wendy's chance has come! This is the opportunity she has been waiting for. Surely, she is the best person to replace her manager since she knows the business inside and out, and all the clients love working with her.
She's just waiting for her offer letter.
But after one weekend, Wendy walks into her office and finds a new face at the empty desk her manager used to sit. "Who's this?" she thought.
She soon finds out that this is her new manager, Mrs. Chan. She is a woman who has no experience in the job, but was highly recommended by one of the senior partners in the company. She was put there because since she is from outside the company and comes from a different industry, so maybe she has something fresh and new to bring to the company.
Wendy's heart sank, and throughout the day she was fighting to hold back the tears and fight the disappointment. "But they should have chosen me ... " she thought quietly.
Something changed in Wendy that day.
In the weekend, she got an email talking about "making money online" and she reads it. It takes her to a website that talks about how she can get started for a low cost, and yet earn as much (or more) than the money she is making working 5-7 days a week.
Plus it promised her that she will be able to do it all from home, working whenever she wants. Wendy eyes almost popped out of its sockets and for the first time in years, she was really excited over something.
She buys the ebook and reads every single page carefully. Her mind explodes with new ideas, possibilities and for once, new hope.
Hope to change her life; hope to get rewarded for her hard work and talents.
Being an accountant, she quickly calculated that by following the formula outlined in the book, and working about 1-2 hours per day as suggested, she could probably make an extra
RM100 next month. She then calculated that if she continues based on this, after six months or so she can actually be making RM2,OOO or more.
"Not bad" she thought.
Being a smart and motivated lady, Wendy soon created her first website on the topic of "FOREX". It was something she already knew a little about so she thought it's the best place to start. She has a perfectly written site and was promoting FOREX ebooks and software that based on her research, sells very well.
She then goes out to some related forums and websites. Where ever she found people talking about FOREX, she joined in and provided great ideas and suggestion. On the bottom of each of her replies were links back to her FOREX website where people can go to read about the best FOREX products.
Wendy did everything right.
But she didn't understand the basic concept on Internet marketing: residual traffic and residual income.
After just a few days, Wendy's new boss got posted to do a job in Singapore and since she knew nothing, Wendy had to follow. She completely forgot about her little website. Plus, during the trip she got to know her boss better so she didn't hate her as much as before. Her boss seemed to get along well with her too.
For a while, everything seemed to fall back in place in Wendy's life.
With her trust renewed, Wendy became her smart, hardworking self and again she was working 9-9 every day, sometimes on the weekends too.
"Maybe it just wasn't my time yet .. " Wendy thought.
For now, she told herself to be satisfied and be grateful, because some people in this country can't even find a job!
Six months later, the manager's post is vacant again.
It turns out that Mrs. Chan requested for a transfer to the HR department, as she felt there is more opportunity there. She never said a word about it to anyone, however.
By this time Wendy is 100% sure it will be her turn, but she tells herself not to be too excited. In her heart however, she was already jumping for joy.
When she opened the door and stepped in, she saw an older-looking Indian man sitting at the seat that was supposed to be empty.
A strange but powerful feeling came over her, something she recognizes by now. It's called disappointment. Quietly she sat down on her desk and started to surf the net. She opened up the FOREX website again, and looked at it.
Then she logged into her ClickBank account and found, to her shock, that there was USD230 in her balance. "Where did this money come from?" she thought. It took her a few days to understand how this "magic" money appeared to come out of nowhere.
She finally understood.
Her 3 days of "work", replying to forum messages with a link to her website, had gotten her about 10-25 visitors every day for the past six months. Some of those people must have bought the affiliate products, and she got commissions from each sale.
Shocked at the results, Wendy asked herself the most important question in her life: "Why if I didn't give up back then?"
This time, she decided to get serious with it. No one will ever disappoint her again, not even herself.
Why am I telling you this story?
Wendy is a fake character, someone I created.
But people like Wendy are everywhere, real people wanting more money, more time, and more appreciation. Just look around your own office, you will see many "Wendys" around.
In fact, replace the name Wendy above with the name "Gobala Krishnan" and it will be close to the story of my life. Although I made my first commission online from affiliate marketing in 200l, it took me more than 3 years working for people who didn't appreciate my talents to realize that I should have been more serious with my online marketing project.
Six months after I quit my job in November 2005, at the age of 25, I made my first RMlO,OOO month online.
The interesting thing is this; everything I knew at that moment was not much different from what I knew in 2001. In fact, it's the same skills and knowledge that I had for years.
I just didn't do enough. I didn't treat it seriously.
Decide if you want to do this. Then do it.
Don't give yourself excuses. Don't wait for the "right time". Don't think you need to know everything about ClickBank or affiliate marketing to get started. Just start somewhere.
Residual income is the ultimate secret on Internet marketing. One website that I created in 2001 still makes me RM300+ every month even though I had not touched it at all for two years.
But what if I didn't do enough? What if I never took the first steps to get my site up and get some traffic to it? What if I had waited for the right time?
Every website you create will continue to get traffic and sales. This is a FACT.
Just follow the formula we have outlined in Sistem Rahsia ClickBank and two years down the road even if you're still stuck to your job, you could still be making an additional RM200-RM2,OOO monthly.
And who doesn't want that?
What Do You Do Now?
I trust by now, you know the 7 biggest secrets of making money online from ClickBank, as a Malaysian. I especially hope you understand the last secret and remember it for months to come.
Now it's the time to take action ...
But where do you start?
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Secret Number 6: Multiple Related Offers
Another big secret of ClickBank millionaires - have multiple related offers ready.
Just because someone does not buy the product you are recommending at the moment, it does not mean they will not buy other related products.
For example: Assume you are promoting the top FOREX products.
Someone who visits your site may not be interested in the FOREX 4-5 ebooks or software you are promoting. But that does not mean they won't be interested in other ebooks, software or seminars. It does not mean they are not interested in other ways to make money like stock markets, Internet marketing, MLM or other methods.
They might be interested in any, or all of it!
But that does not mean that you need to promote 50 different products (see Secret Number 1). What it means is that after they reject your initial offer you can try to recommend them similar products they may be interested in.
You need to collect their names and email address, so you can email them later if you find any other related products. You can do this by using simple services like Aweber (http://getstarted.aweber.com)
These are called •• email marketing" services, and they help you by providing a simple form that people can use to submit their name and email address. Once someone submits these details, they are automatically entered into your database.
You can then see how many "subscribers" you have, and send them en email anytime you want, until they decide to "opt-out" or "unsubscribe" from your database.
If you let go of them before getting their name and email address, or any other way to contact them again, you will never be able to offer them something else they might be interested in. That means you have to keep getting new visitors to your site in order to make money from ClickBank.
Take me for an example.
When I first started to make money from ClickBank, my site was getting a little bit of traffic and I was making 1-2 sales a day. But once these people bought though my affiliate link, they are gone. I don't know who they are, and never will.
Then I decided to use Aweber (http://getstarted.aweber.com) to collect their name and email addresses, and after more than two years you can see I have more than 20,000 people in my database. Today when I want to promote a ClickBank product, I just write a simple email to them and give them my affiliate link.
I don't even need to create a website anymore. I can if I want to and add even more people to my database, but I don't need to.
This is why all super affiliates make it a point to put a simple "opt-in" form on their site. Even if only 2 people subscribe in a day, that means an additional 60 "prospects" in a month, and in a year you could have over 700 people you can promote to, at ZERO cost and with almost ZERO effort.
Consider this: Why make RM100 from one person, when he is willing to give you RM1,OOO?
Always have multiple related products to promote, or you are just not making as much money as you are supposed to!
Just because someone does not buy the product you are recommending at the moment, it does not mean they will not buy other related products.
For example: Assume you are promoting the top FOREX products.
Someone who visits your site may not be interested in the FOREX 4-5 ebooks or software you are promoting. But that does not mean they won't be interested in other ebooks, software or seminars. It does not mean they are not interested in other ways to make money like stock markets, Internet marketing, MLM or other methods.
They might be interested in any, or all of it!
But that does not mean that you need to promote 50 different products (see Secret Number 1). What it means is that after they reject your initial offer you can try to recommend them similar products they may be interested in.
You need to collect their names and email address, so you can email them later if you find any other related products. You can do this by using simple services like Aweber (http://getstarted.aweber.com)
These are called •• email marketing" services, and they help you by providing a simple form that people can use to submit their name and email address. Once someone submits these details, they are automatically entered into your database.
You can then see how many "subscribers" you have, and send them en email anytime you want, until they decide to "opt-out" or "unsubscribe" from your database.
If you let go of them before getting their name and email address, or any other way to contact them again, you will never be able to offer them something else they might be interested in. That means you have to keep getting new visitors to your site in order to make money from ClickBank.
Take me for an example.
When I first started to make money from ClickBank, my site was getting a little bit of traffic and I was making 1-2 sales a day. But once these people bought though my affiliate link, they are gone. I don't know who they are, and never will.
Then I decided to use Aweber (http://getstarted.aweber.com) to collect their name and email addresses, and after more than two years you can see I have more than 20,000 people in my database. Today when I want to promote a ClickBank product, I just write a simple email to them and give them my affiliate link.
I don't even need to create a website anymore. I can if I want to and add even more people to my database, but I don't need to.
This is why all super affiliates make it a point to put a simple "opt-in" form on their site. Even if only 2 people subscribe in a day, that means an additional 60 "prospects" in a month, and in a year you could have over 700 people you can promote to, at ZERO cost and with almost ZERO effort.
Consider this: Why make RM100 from one person, when he is willing to give you RM1,OOO?
Always have multiple related products to promote, or you are just not making as much money as you are supposed to!
Secret Number 5: Converting Landing Pages
Everyone's talking about blogs these days.
So many new, inexperienced people learn about making money online, and the first thing they do is create a blog and start to write article after article. They go on for weeks, months and sometimes even years.
Yet at the end of the day, 95% of these people make little or no money at all.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying you should not have a blog. In fact, I strongly recommend that you have at least one blog because it is a good way to get traffic. But it is not necessarily a good way to convert that traffic into sales!
The problem with blogs is that although it helps you get traffic rather easily, it is not a good "landing page".
Blogs are "content" sites that are designed to help you create and manage content. Sure your readers will like you because of your content, but unless you have a better "selling" page most of these people will eventually click away from your site to other sites, or just close the browser once they are done.
Let me give you an example. When someone first comes to your blog, there are more than 5 ways for them to leave your site and never come back again.
I can conclude that only 10% - 20% of all traffic to your blog will actually click on your ClickBank affiliate links. The other 80% - 90% will click on links to other blogs, links to your other articles, or even off to social bookmarking sites.
To make a lot of money online, you need what is called a "Landing Page". To put it simple, a landing page is a simple one page website that is created for one purpose only - making sales.
An effective landing page should have some sort of product review (as mentioned above) and very visible affiliate links. Most importantly, it should not contain links to non-affiliate sites that do not make you money.
Since there is no other link or article link to click on, they have only 2 options -click on your affiliate links, or leave your website. This will prevent them from getting distracted by other things, and keep their focus on just the products that you are recommending.
Unlike blogs, you do not need hundreds of pages; just a few pages that will do the job. It must (l) convince your customers to click on the affiliate link, and (2) buy immediately.
What if you really need to have non-affiliate links?
That's fine, but any link that does not make you money directly should be placed at the bottom of the page, where people are less likely to venture and click on them. For example, on your site you may need to put in your contact page, additional articles, or even a privacy policy.
Put them all at the bottom, also referred to as the "footer" area, and leave them there.
So many new, inexperienced people learn about making money online, and the first thing they do is create a blog and start to write article after article. They go on for weeks, months and sometimes even years.
Yet at the end of the day, 95% of these people make little or no money at all.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying you should not have a blog. In fact, I strongly recommend that you have at least one blog because it is a good way to get traffic. But it is not necessarily a good way to convert that traffic into sales!
The problem with blogs is that although it helps you get traffic rather easily, it is not a good "landing page".
Blogs are "content" sites that are designed to help you create and manage content. Sure your readers will like you because of your content, but unless you have a better "selling" page most of these people will eventually click away from your site to other sites, or just close the browser once they are done.
Let me give you an example. When someone first comes to your blog, there are more than 5 ways for them to leave your site and never come back again.
I can conclude that only 10% - 20% of all traffic to your blog will actually click on your ClickBank affiliate links. The other 80% - 90% will click on links to other blogs, links to your other articles, or even off to social bookmarking sites.
To make a lot of money online, you need what is called a "Landing Page". To put it simple, a landing page is a simple one page website that is created for one purpose only - making sales.
An effective landing page should have some sort of product review (as mentioned above) and very visible affiliate links. Most importantly, it should not contain links to non-affiliate sites that do not make you money.
Since there is no other link or article link to click on, they have only 2 options -click on your affiliate links, or leave your website. This will prevent them from getting distracted by other things, and keep their focus on just the products that you are recommending.
Unlike blogs, you do not need hundreds of pages; just a few pages that will do the job. It must (l) convince your customers to click on the affiliate link, and (2) buy immediately.
What if you really need to have non-affiliate links?
That's fine, but any link that does not make you money directly should be placed at the bottom of the page, where people are less likely to venture and click on them. For example, on your site you may need to put in your contact page, additional articles, or even a privacy policy.
Put them all at the bottom, also referred to as the "footer" area, and leave them there.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Secret Number 4: The Magic of Reviews
Now you understand that not all visitors are equal. Some visitors are more valuable than others, since they are typing in the correct Money Keywords when they find your site, and are already willing to buy.
Now you understand that it's not important to get 2,000 visitors to your website every day to make a lot of money from ClickBank. You only need the right kind of traffic.
Now you understand that your website, if you target the correct money keywords and have written good content, give the reader the balance 5% information that he needs to take out his credit card an make a purchase.
But what do you write on your website?
Did you say "do product reviews"?
Yes' that's correct, but how do you write a great review that will convince someone to buy now, from your website?
It's actually much simpler than you think.
Remember that someone reading your website is probably already sure what he wants. He just needs someone to tell him he's doing the right thing by buying the product.
You can do that is 5 simple steps:
• Clearly describe the product you're promoting
• Summarize the benefits of the product
• Highlight the uniqueness of the product
• Take advantage of guarantees and warranties
• Take advantage of the sense of urgency
This 5-step formula can be applied to almost any type of product review, and it will work like magic.
By writing a great product review, you save the reader valuable time. He does not need to read the long sales copy on each website, which is very often filled with a bit too much hype.
He does not need to be disappointed when he does not like what he bought, since you've told him about the money-back guarantee.
Plus, you're also telling him that he better buy now because the price may go up, or it may be sold out, or whatever the sense of urgency is.
Then, all you need to do is make it VERY clear which link the reader should click on to get to the website where he can buy. This link will be your ClickBank affiliate link, from which you will be paid commissions after the reader had bought.
Plus, by doing great product reviews you create a sense of satisfaction in the readers' mind. People want to buy, but they don't want to buy the wrong thing. They don't want to make mistakes.
When you think about it, this is not so different from how everyone else will buy anything in our lifetime.
How many people actually get a hand phone when it is first launched? How many people will try a new restaurant first before everyone else?
Did you just drive around one day and decide to buy a house? Or did you get advice from your friends or people you trust first, to see if it's a good location and to see if it's worth the money?
Most people prefer to wait and see what other people have to say. When our friends have bought it, and are satisfied, then we feel safer and more confident to buy it ourselves.
You see, doing product reviews is a natural part of selling. If you give someone the correct information that they are looking for, when they are ready to buy, you will have no problems taking their money. By doing a great review, you're telling them that they are making the right choice. They have nothing to worry about.
So why not buy now? Why not buy from you?
You not only get the sale, but you make the other person feel good about making a "smart" decision.
But here's ONE BIG PROBLEM.
A lot of people hate writing.
Most people would rather kill themselves than write. Writing (for professional purposes) is the second most common fear among people, right after public speaking.
Most people don't know I started off as a freelance writer with an American company.
In fact when I quit my job more than 3 years ago, writing helped me survive while I built my online business is.
Now, I write for more than 3 blogs every week. I write ebooks and I have even written a very popular book called "The New Millionaires" that you can find in MPH and other bookstores. I write sales copy, email promotions, product reviews, and much more.
But did you know I spend more time NOT writing than actually writing something? Yes, it's true.
The truth is, writing content is hard work.
It's ok if you're writing about something you understand, but what if you need to write about something you have never used nor have no knowledge about? That's when writing becomes a nightmare.
Also, not everyone has mastered the English language (or any other language) to write in a way that is clear, fluid, and convincing. Writing a book or blogging is very, very different than writing to sell!
If you have no confidence in English, then it becomes even more difficult for you to write. Writing in broken English is only going to confuse your readers, and instead of buying through your affiliate link they will immediately close your website and buy from someone else website.
50 what do you do if you cannot write great product review?
Here are some options:
• Translate - Write in the language that you are most comfortable with, and then ask someone else to translate. The problem is, very often the translated version is not exactly what you had written. A lot of the subtle language and meaning is tragically "lost in translation"
• Outsource it online - By going to sites like Elance.com and RentACoder.com you can pay someone to write great product reviews for you. It can cost anywhere between U5DS ¬U5D30 for a single product review. But, there is no guarantee that the reviews will actually help you make money.
• Hire a writer - You can also hire a part time / full time writer if your internet business is big and you have a lot of writing work to do. But the problem is most writers do not have the selling skills to write a great product review.
Now you understand that it's not important to get 2,000 visitors to your website every day to make a lot of money from ClickBank. You only need the right kind of traffic.
Now you understand that your website, if you target the correct money keywords and have written good content, give the reader the balance 5% information that he needs to take out his credit card an make a purchase.
But what do you write on your website?
Did you say "do product reviews"?
Yes' that's correct, but how do you write a great review that will convince someone to buy now, from your website?
It's actually much simpler than you think.
Remember that someone reading your website is probably already sure what he wants. He just needs someone to tell him he's doing the right thing by buying the product.
You can do that is 5 simple steps:
• Clearly describe the product you're promoting
• Summarize the benefits of the product
• Highlight the uniqueness of the product
• Take advantage of guarantees and warranties
• Take advantage of the sense of urgency
This 5-step formula can be applied to almost any type of product review, and it will work like magic.
By writing a great product review, you save the reader valuable time. He does not need to read the long sales copy on each website, which is very often filled with a bit too much hype.
He does not need to be disappointed when he does not like what he bought, since you've told him about the money-back guarantee.
Plus, you're also telling him that he better buy now because the price may go up, or it may be sold out, or whatever the sense of urgency is.
Then, all you need to do is make it VERY clear which link the reader should click on to get to the website where he can buy. This link will be your ClickBank affiliate link, from which you will be paid commissions after the reader had bought.
Plus, by doing great product reviews you create a sense of satisfaction in the readers' mind. People want to buy, but they don't want to buy the wrong thing. They don't want to make mistakes.
When you think about it, this is not so different from how everyone else will buy anything in our lifetime.
How many people actually get a hand phone when it is first launched? How many people will try a new restaurant first before everyone else?
Did you just drive around one day and decide to buy a house? Or did you get advice from your friends or people you trust first, to see if it's a good location and to see if it's worth the money?
Most people prefer to wait and see what other people have to say. When our friends have bought it, and are satisfied, then we feel safer and more confident to buy it ourselves.
You see, doing product reviews is a natural part of selling. If you give someone the correct information that they are looking for, when they are ready to buy, you will have no problems taking their money. By doing a great review, you're telling them that they are making the right choice. They have nothing to worry about.
So why not buy now? Why not buy from you?
You not only get the sale, but you make the other person feel good about making a "smart" decision.
But here's ONE BIG PROBLEM.
A lot of people hate writing.
Most people would rather kill themselves than write. Writing (for professional purposes) is the second most common fear among people, right after public speaking.
Most people don't know I started off as a freelance writer with an American company.
In fact when I quit my job more than 3 years ago, writing helped me survive while I built my online business is.
Now, I write for more than 3 blogs every week. I write ebooks and I have even written a very popular book called "The New Millionaires" that you can find in MPH and other bookstores. I write sales copy, email promotions, product reviews, and much more.
But did you know I spend more time NOT writing than actually writing something? Yes, it's true.
The truth is, writing content is hard work.
It's ok if you're writing about something you understand, but what if you need to write about something you have never used nor have no knowledge about? That's when writing becomes a nightmare.
Also, not everyone has mastered the English language (or any other language) to write in a way that is clear, fluid, and convincing. Writing a book or blogging is very, very different than writing to sell!
If you have no confidence in English, then it becomes even more difficult for you to write. Writing in broken English is only going to confuse your readers, and instead of buying through your affiliate link they will immediately close your website and buy from someone else website.
50 what do you do if you cannot write great product review?
Here are some options:
• Translate - Write in the language that you are most comfortable with, and then ask someone else to translate. The problem is, very often the translated version is not exactly what you had written. A lot of the subtle language and meaning is tragically "lost in translation"
• Outsource it online - By going to sites like Elance.com and RentACoder.com you can pay someone to write great product reviews for you. It can cost anywhere between U5DS ¬U5D30 for a single product review. But, there is no guarantee that the reviews will actually help you make money.
• Hire a writer - You can also hire a part time / full time writer if your internet business is big and you have a lot of writing work to do. But the problem is most writers do not have the selling skills to write a great product review.
Secret Number 3: Keywords That Sell
Keywords are the DNA of your online business.
Before you can dream about becoming an Internet millionaire, you need to understand keywords ¬what they are, how they work, and most importantly; how they make money for you.
Not all keywords are equal - some are more important than others.
Some keywords will make you money instantly, while others will just waste your time. Some keywords will bring in a lot of traffic, but no buyers. Some keywords bring in only a little bit of traffic, but every visitor you get is ready to buy.
So if you want to be a rich affiliate, not a poor one, then listen carefully.
Understand this statement:
Keywords show you where the money is, and how to get it
But as I said, not all keywords are equal. Some are better - or more profitable - than the rest.
Keywords show you the mental state of a person searching for information online. You can categorize them into 3 different groups:
1. Useless Keywords
2. Research Keywords
3. Money Keywords
You will not find a definition like this anywhere else.
I group keywords this way based on my own experience - it helps me make more money faster than most people, so this is my "special" way of categorizing keywords.
"Useless" keywords are words that are so generic that are almost useless to any online marketer.
One one-word search term falls into this category.
"Research" keywords are the things people type into Google when they are looking for information.
"Money" keywords are the things people type into Google when they want to buy something online.
So let take a look at each. Here's a scenario:
One day, Ahmad's laptop crashes and no matter what he tries, he can't get it fixed.
So the only option is to buy a new one, and Ahmad heard from his friends that by buying online he can get his new laptop at a much cheaper price. Plus, there are also more options to choose from.
Since this is his first time buying a laptop online, he goes to Google.com (or Google.com.my) and types in the search term "toshiba", At this stage, Ahmad will be presented with a few thousands (or tens of thousands) of websites to choose from.
But there's one problem.
Since his first search term is too general, he will soon discover that by going through the search results, he can't really seem to find anything. The websites he finds here seem to give him too much information, most of which is totally unrelated to what he wants to find.
So, now Ahmad goes to Google.com again and this time he types in "toshiba laptops",
Now he finds better websites that are more related to what he is looking for. Ahmad may spend a few hours browsing through the site until he finds the specific model of laptop he wants, the Toshiba Satellite brand.
At this point, Ahmad is more certain what he wants. But, he's not going to buy right now because he wants to "think properly" first and not buy the wrong laptop. So he closes his computer and goes back to work, sleep, or whatever it was he was doing before.
The next day (or a few days later) Ahmad continues his quest for a new laptop.
Now, he already knows what he wants to buy - the "toshiba satellite" brand of laptops. But he wants to be 100% sure - is there something about this laptop he does not know yet? Is this
is best laptop for him? What are other people saying about this laptop model?
So Ahmad types into Google the keywords "toshiba satellite review" and now what he finds is a website that offers a simple but useful description of the Toshiba Satellite and also related laptops. The website offers a "review" of each laptop, clearly stating the pros and cons of each.
If he is satisfied that he is going to make the right decision, he will click on any affiliate links on the website itself that shows him where to buy his Toshiba Laptop.
What can you learn from this story?
Like everyone else, Ahmad will not buy something online right away.
Instead, the first few times he uses the Internet, he is doing "research". Any website he sees during this time, he will not buy immediately. He will only buy after 2-3 times searching the Internet, and getting to the final website that convinces his to buy based on facts and a strong "review".
That's a million-dollar secret right there.
If your website shows up number 1 in Google when Ahmad typed in "toshiba", then guess what?
You don't make any money from Ahmad's purchase. If your website is ranked number 1 in Google when Ahmad types in "toshiba laptops" then guess what - you still may not get the sale.
However, if Ahmad sees your website when he types in "toshiba satellite review" or other Money Keywords that imply he is ready to buy, then the chances are high he will click on your affiliate links and buy right away.
Why? Because by the time Ahmad comes to your website he is already about 95% sure what he wants. He is just looking for the final 5% information before he can commit to take out his credit card and buy.
So, your website doesn't need to get 2,000 visitors per day. All you need to is target the correct keywords, and even though you only get 2-=50 visitors per day, all those visitors are ready to buy. It's much easier to make money from people who are ready to buy, then from people who are "still thinking about it" - right?
So what are the Money Keywords you should target? Here's a very simple list, any keyword that includes the terms "review" or "buy":
• [keyword] review
• review of [keyword]
• buy [keyword]
• buy [keyword] online
Just replace [keyword] with the actual search term you want to use. For example, if Ahmad is interested in buy the X-Box 360 video game console, he will type in something like this when he is ready to pay money:
• x-box 360 review
• review of x-box 360
• buy x-box 360
• buy x-box 360 s online
So now that you know which keywords to focus on, where do you use them on your website?
Basically speaking, the most important parts of your site are:
• The title of your web page
• The main heading of your page
• The content of your page
Before you can dream about becoming an Internet millionaire, you need to understand keywords ¬what they are, how they work, and most importantly; how they make money for you.
Not all keywords are equal - some are more important than others.
Some keywords will make you money instantly, while others will just waste your time. Some keywords will bring in a lot of traffic, but no buyers. Some keywords bring in only a little bit of traffic, but every visitor you get is ready to buy.
So if you want to be a rich affiliate, not a poor one, then listen carefully.
Understand this statement:
Keywords show you where the money is, and how to get it
But as I said, not all keywords are equal. Some are better - or more profitable - than the rest.
Keywords show you the mental state of a person searching for information online. You can categorize them into 3 different groups:
1. Useless Keywords
2. Research Keywords
3. Money Keywords
You will not find a definition like this anywhere else.
I group keywords this way based on my own experience - it helps me make more money faster than most people, so this is my "special" way of categorizing keywords.
"Useless" keywords are words that are so generic that are almost useless to any online marketer.
One one-word search term falls into this category.
"Research" keywords are the things people type into Google when they are looking for information.
"Money" keywords are the things people type into Google when they want to buy something online.
So let take a look at each. Here's a scenario:
One day, Ahmad's laptop crashes and no matter what he tries, he can't get it fixed.
So the only option is to buy a new one, and Ahmad heard from his friends that by buying online he can get his new laptop at a much cheaper price. Plus, there are also more options to choose from.
Since this is his first time buying a laptop online, he goes to Google.com (or Google.com.my) and types in the search term "toshiba", At this stage, Ahmad will be presented with a few thousands (or tens of thousands) of websites to choose from.
But there's one problem.
Since his first search term is too general, he will soon discover that by going through the search results, he can't really seem to find anything. The websites he finds here seem to give him too much information, most of which is totally unrelated to what he wants to find.
So, now Ahmad goes to Google.com again and this time he types in "toshiba laptops",
Now he finds better websites that are more related to what he is looking for. Ahmad may spend a few hours browsing through the site until he finds the specific model of laptop he wants, the Toshiba Satellite brand.
At this point, Ahmad is more certain what he wants. But, he's not going to buy right now because he wants to "think properly" first and not buy the wrong laptop. So he closes his computer and goes back to work, sleep, or whatever it was he was doing before.
The next day (or a few days later) Ahmad continues his quest for a new laptop.
Now, he already knows what he wants to buy - the "toshiba satellite" brand of laptops. But he wants to be 100% sure - is there something about this laptop he does not know yet? Is this
is best laptop for him? What are other people saying about this laptop model?
So Ahmad types into Google the keywords "toshiba satellite review" and now what he finds is a website that offers a simple but useful description of the Toshiba Satellite and also related laptops. The website offers a "review" of each laptop, clearly stating the pros and cons of each.
If he is satisfied that he is going to make the right decision, he will click on any affiliate links on the website itself that shows him where to buy his Toshiba Laptop.
What can you learn from this story?
Like everyone else, Ahmad will not buy something online right away.
Instead, the first few times he uses the Internet, he is doing "research". Any website he sees during this time, he will not buy immediately. He will only buy after 2-3 times searching the Internet, and getting to the final website that convinces his to buy based on facts and a strong "review".
That's a million-dollar secret right there.
If your website shows up number 1 in Google when Ahmad typed in "toshiba", then guess what?
You don't make any money from Ahmad's purchase. If your website is ranked number 1 in Google when Ahmad types in "toshiba laptops" then guess what - you still may not get the sale.
However, if Ahmad sees your website when he types in "toshiba satellite review" or other Money Keywords that imply he is ready to buy, then the chances are high he will click on your affiliate links and buy right away.
Why? Because by the time Ahmad comes to your website he is already about 95% sure what he wants. He is just looking for the final 5% information before he can commit to take out his credit card and buy.
So, your website doesn't need to get 2,000 visitors per day. All you need to is target the correct keywords, and even though you only get 2-=50 visitors per day, all those visitors are ready to buy. It's much easier to make money from people who are ready to buy, then from people who are "still thinking about it" - right?
So what are the Money Keywords you should target? Here's a very simple list, any keyword that includes the terms "review" or "buy":
• [keyword] review
• review of [keyword]
• buy [keyword]
• buy [keyword] online
Just replace [keyword] with the actual search term you want to use. For example, if Ahmad is interested in buy the X-Box 360 video game console, he will type in something like this when he is ready to pay money:
• x-box 360 review
• review of x-box 360
• buy x-box 360
• buy x-box 360 s online
So now that you know which keywords to focus on, where do you use them on your website?
Basically speaking, the most important parts of your site are:
• The title of your web page
• The main heading of your page
• The content of your page
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Secret Number 2: It's Business, Not Personal
Another BIG mistake most people make is they do not think rationally.
They fall in love with a product that they feel is great, and they will go all out to promote it for months and even years. They have a personal relationship with the product, and they speak like they are the product creator.
Sometimes they make some money with this kind of attitude. But what if they don't?
For me, it's pretty easy to explain this silly behavior:
• Guru-worship - May the guy who made the product is your "guru" or mentor?
• Sense of obligation - You feel like more people should know about this miracle product?
• Laziness - Maybe you just didn't spend time finding out the facts?
You will see people go all out to defend their favorite product in forums.
But why bother really? If a product is not making money for you as a ClickBank affiliate, then find other products that will. That's what I mean by "it's not personal, it's just business!"
The Super Affiliates are all about business. You can be their best friend, but if your product does not make them money don't hope that they are going to help you promote it.
Time is money, and opportunity cost is the greatest cost of them all. A super affiliate knows that his time can be spent promoting better products that sell, and at the end of the day he will make more money that most other ClickBank affiliates.
That's what I am asking you to do.
Even if you personally love a product, it does not mean that other people will love it. Try promoting a product for 4-6 weeks, and if you find that it's difficult to make sales for it, remove it from your website. Drop it. Move on.
Fact: A great product is only about 15% of what it takes to make an affiliate sale.
Here are the other important factors:
Key Factors of An Affiliate Sale
•Product Quality
•Sales Page
•Sales Process
•Pricing Structure
•Brand / Recognition
•Misc
So don't get too hung about a great product. If it does not have a great sales page that the quality will not matter because no one will know how good it is until they buy -IF they buy.
There are literally thousands of other products you can promote. Why stick with the losers when you can be with the winners?
They fall in love with a product that they feel is great, and they will go all out to promote it for months and even years. They have a personal relationship with the product, and they speak like they are the product creator.
Sometimes they make some money with this kind of attitude. But what if they don't?
For me, it's pretty easy to explain this silly behavior:
• Guru-worship - May the guy who made the product is your "guru" or mentor?
• Sense of obligation - You feel like more people should know about this miracle product?
• Laziness - Maybe you just didn't spend time finding out the facts?
You will see people go all out to defend their favorite product in forums.
But why bother really? If a product is not making money for you as a ClickBank affiliate, then find other products that will. That's what I mean by "it's not personal, it's just business!"
The Super Affiliates are all about business. You can be their best friend, but if your product does not make them money don't hope that they are going to help you promote it.
Time is money, and opportunity cost is the greatest cost of them all. A super affiliate knows that his time can be spent promoting better products that sell, and at the end of the day he will make more money that most other ClickBank affiliates.
That's what I am asking you to do.
Even if you personally love a product, it does not mean that other people will love it. Try promoting a product for 4-6 weeks, and if you find that it's difficult to make sales for it, remove it from your website. Drop it. Move on.
Fact: A great product is only about 15% of what it takes to make an affiliate sale.
Here are the other important factors:
Key Factors of An Affiliate Sale
•Product Quality
•Sales Page
•Sales Process
•Pricing Structure
•Brand / Recognition
•Misc
So don't get too hung about a great product. If it does not have a great sales page that the quality will not matter because no one will know how good it is until they buy -IF they buy.
There are literally thousands of other products you can promote. Why stick with the losers when you can be with the winners?
Secret Number 1: Quality, Not Quantity
The biggest mistake most people make, especially someone new to the idea of making money online with ClickBank, is that they want to promote everything.
Excited with the idea, they go out and promote every single product they can find. As a result, they make mo money. In six months they would have probably given up.
I see a lot of people like this during my seminars and coaching sessions. Just because you can promote everything, it doesn't mean that you have to. In fact, promoting more than 3-5 products at the same time is going to eat up all your time, energy and money; and leave you with an empty pocket.
Here's a story ...
Donald is looking for ways to make extra money, to help pay for his college fees. One day he discovers that using ClickBank, he can make more money online that whatever he earns in the company, and that he can get started part time with very little investment.
Excited, Donald gets his ClickBank links and starts spamming forums and blogs, sending everyone who clicks on his link directly to the product website. By not having the correct guidance and a proper strategy, he has promoted more than 70 products, some of which he can't even remember what they are. He never bothered to read the website's sales copy and he really has no clue what the product is all about and why anyone would be interested in them.
If he's lucky, Donald may make a few sales.
But the reality is this: Chances are very, very high that Donald would have made nothing.
The secret to making a lot of money from ClickBank is to know which products to promote. The good thing is that ClickBank already makes this very, very easy for you by providing complete statistics. The strange part is that many affiliates still don't know that these statistics exist, or what they mean.
The Super Affiliates, on the other hand, understand the numbers. They use the numbers as a guideline to build a strong affiliate marketing strategy. They choose only one or two "niche" markets to start with, and then they build a proper website for that niche.
Then they go out and promote the products - the same way you or anyone else does - but all that traffic they get is channeled to only the products that are going to make them money.
Who cares about all the other products?
In ClickBank alone there are over 10,000 different ebooks, software and membership sites you can promote. Are you going to promote all? If not, where do you start? How do you determine which ones you should focus on? Which ones will make you the most amount of money for the limited time that you have?
Just go to ClickBank, click on the marketplace link at the top, and ClickBank will readily reveal their best products to you. Under each product you will see something like this:
1) Real Money Doubling Forex Robot Fap Turbo - Sells Like Candy! Fapturbo Is The Only Automated Forex Income Solution That Doubles Real Monetary Deposits In Under 30 Days. No Backtest Tricks. The Best Converting And Best Performing Forex Product On The Planet, Period. No Wonder It Sells Like Candy. $/sale: $77.78 Future $: - Total $/sale: $77.78 %/sale: 60.0% %refd: 78.0% grav: 878.34 view pitch page create hoplink
Excited with the idea, they go out and promote every single product they can find. As a result, they make mo money. In six months they would have probably given up.
I see a lot of people like this during my seminars and coaching sessions. Just because you can promote everything, it doesn't mean that you have to. In fact, promoting more than 3-5 products at the same time is going to eat up all your time, energy and money; and leave you with an empty pocket.
Here's a story ...
Donald is looking for ways to make extra money, to help pay for his college fees. One day he discovers that using ClickBank, he can make more money online that whatever he earns in the company, and that he can get started part time with very little investment.
Excited, Donald gets his ClickBank links and starts spamming forums and blogs, sending everyone who clicks on his link directly to the product website. By not having the correct guidance and a proper strategy, he has promoted more than 70 products, some of which he can't even remember what they are. He never bothered to read the website's sales copy and he really has no clue what the product is all about and why anyone would be interested in them.
If he's lucky, Donald may make a few sales.
But the reality is this: Chances are very, very high that Donald would have made nothing.
The secret to making a lot of money from ClickBank is to know which products to promote. The good thing is that ClickBank already makes this very, very easy for you by providing complete statistics. The strange part is that many affiliates still don't know that these statistics exist, or what they mean.
The Super Affiliates, on the other hand, understand the numbers. They use the numbers as a guideline to build a strong affiliate marketing strategy. They choose only one or two "niche" markets to start with, and then they build a proper website for that niche.
Then they go out and promote the products - the same way you or anyone else does - but all that traffic they get is channeled to only the products that are going to make them money.
Who cares about all the other products?
In ClickBank alone there are over 10,000 different ebooks, software and membership sites you can promote. Are you going to promote all? If not, where do you start? How do you determine which ones you should focus on? Which ones will make you the most amount of money for the limited time that you have?
Just go to ClickBank, click on the marketplace link at the top, and ClickBank will readily reveal their best products to you. Under each product you will see something like this:
1) Real Money Doubling Forex Robot Fap Turbo - Sells Like Candy! Fapturbo Is The Only Automated Forex Income Solution That Doubles Real Monetary Deposits In Under 30 Days. No Backtest Tricks. The Best Converting And Best Performing Forex Product On The Planet, Period. No Wonder It Sells Like Candy. $/sale: $77.78 Future $: - Total $/sale: $77.78 %/sale: 60.0% %refd: 78.0% grav: 878.34 view pitch page create hoplink
$/sale: $77.78 I Future $: - I Total $/sale: $77.78 I %/sale: 60.0% I %refd: 78.0% I grav: 878.34
These numbers tell you everything you need to know, including whether you're going to make money promoting that particular product.
Now, to understand what they mean.
• $/sale: How much actual commissions earned by promoting this product
• Future $: How much recurring commissions you make, if the product has monthly charges
• Total $/sale: Total commissions earned, by adding the $/sale and Future $ data
• % sale: The actual commission payout by the vendor. In the example above the vendor will pay you 60% for promoting his products
• % refd: Percentage of sales referred by affiliates. In the example above 78% sales are made by affiliates, and the balance 8% made directly by the product owner.
• grav: The number of unique affiliates who earned a commission selling the product for the past 2 months.
As you can see, before you even create your affiliate link for a particular product in ClickBank, you can already see if it has made money for other affiliates. You can also see how much commissions you can get, as well as other important secrets.
But ask yourself: How often do you use this data in your affiliate marketing?
Are you making decisions based on facts, or are you marketing in the dark?
Throughout my research and training events, I found that most people don't us the facts. Instead, they just blindly promote products just because:
1. Someone else is promoting them on his / her blog
2. They have made money with another product from the same vendor
3. They have bought the product and think it is good
These are three of the worst reasons to promote a ClickBank product. But the last one is the most interesting ...
These numbers tell you everything you need to know, including whether you're going to make money promoting that particular product.
Now, to understand what they mean.
• $/sale: How much actual commissions earned by promoting this product
• Future $: How much recurring commissions you make, if the product has monthly charges
• Total $/sale: Total commissions earned, by adding the $/sale and Future $ data
• % sale: The actual commission payout by the vendor. In the example above the vendor will pay you 60% for promoting his products
• % refd: Percentage of sales referred by affiliates. In the example above 78% sales are made by affiliates, and the balance 8% made directly by the product owner.
• grav: The number of unique affiliates who earned a commission selling the product for the past 2 months.
As you can see, before you even create your affiliate link for a particular product in ClickBank, you can already see if it has made money for other affiliates. You can also see how much commissions you can get, as well as other important secrets.
But ask yourself: How often do you use this data in your affiliate marketing?
Are you making decisions based on facts, or are you marketing in the dark?
Throughout my research and training events, I found that most people don't us the facts. Instead, they just blindly promote products just because:
1. Someone else is promoting them on his / her blog
2. They have made money with another product from the same vendor
3. They have bought the product and think it is good
These are three of the worst reasons to promote a ClickBank product. But the last one is the most interesting ...
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Most Important Advice Ever to Surviving a Bear Market
What is the best thing to do when a grizzly bear is chasing you? That’s right, play dead! In a bear market, that is also the most important advice you may ever read. Playing dead means staying put. The worst action any investor can take is to watch the market decline, panic and sell everything. Remember to stay calm, remember your investment goals and.
By playing dead I don’t mean to put your statements in the family safe and forget about them for the next 5 years. I mean you should not make any investment decisions without sitting down and thoroughly reviewing your entire portfolio and fully understanding your entire financial situation. Once you have a good idea of what is going on with your personal finances, you can start to make educated decisions rather than rash decisions.
Instead of watching every spending all day watching the stock market, why not take a walk on the beach or at the park. I don’t mean to be short or unrealistic about this, but if you aren’t watching the market, you can’t get stressed out. If you aren’t watching the market, you won’t make a spontaneous buy or sell. You are playing dead.
Now is a good time to review and update your investment goals and strategies. Sit down with your spouse and investment advisor and review your entire portfolio, your investment plan and your future financial requirements. This is also a good time to review your household budget and make savings a priority. Unfortunately, bear markets also bring increasing unemployment rates.
Even if you have been at your job for a number of years, you still need to review your personal finances. You wouldn’t what to walk into work on Monday morning and find out that your company went of business over the weekend. This is what happened to a number of people on Wall Street that worked with such firms as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.
In addition, to reviewing your household budget, you may want to review all of your insurance policies. These include your home, your car, your disability and your life insurance. Insurance is there for a reason and the reason is hopefully you will never need it. However, during bad economic times you don’t want to have a car accident and be left with an unexpected bill.
By playing dead I don’t mean to put your statements in the family safe and forget about them for the next 5 years. I mean you should not make any investment decisions without sitting down and thoroughly reviewing your entire portfolio and fully understanding your entire financial situation. Once you have a good idea of what is going on with your personal finances, you can start to make educated decisions rather than rash decisions.
Instead of watching every spending all day watching the stock market, why not take a walk on the beach or at the park. I don’t mean to be short or unrealistic about this, but if you aren’t watching the market, you can’t get stressed out. If you aren’t watching the market, you won’t make a spontaneous buy or sell. You are playing dead.
Now is a good time to review and update your investment goals and strategies. Sit down with your spouse and investment advisor and review your entire portfolio, your investment plan and your future financial requirements. This is also a good time to review your household budget and make savings a priority. Unfortunately, bear markets also bring increasing unemployment rates.
Even if you have been at your job for a number of years, you still need to review your personal finances. You wouldn’t what to walk into work on Monday morning and find out that your company went of business over the weekend. This is what happened to a number of people on Wall Street that worked with such firms as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.
In addition, to reviewing your household budget, you may want to review all of your insurance policies. These include your home, your car, your disability and your life insurance. Insurance is there for a reason and the reason is hopefully you will never need it. However, during bad economic times you don’t want to have a car accident and be left with an unexpected bill.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
How to Keep a Bear Market in Perspective
I would like to share with you to following headlines:
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 175 points…
The Nasdaq is down 2 ½ %...
Oil prices are up $25 per gallon…
Employment rates highest level in 5 years…
Real estate values are declining…
Do those headlines sound familiar? Don’t those headlines read like they were from the newspapers of last week? However, I forget to mention that these are from actual publications from the 1970’s.
Yes, bear markets can be scary; bear markets can cause sleepless nights; bear markets can strain your budget; bear markets can put a strain on your personal relationships.
However, the best thing to keep on mind during a bear market is we have seen them before and we will see them again. Remember, everything that goes up must come down and visa verse. Basically, during a bear market, the stock markets are realigning and readjusting to the valuations after a bull market.
What many investors fear is not simply the decline of their portfolio, but the unknown of where the bottom is. How far will the bear take us? Stock market psychologists refer to this as “ursaphobia” The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear.
Bear markets can scare not only novice investors but veteran traders, too. What exactly is the definition of a bear market?
A bear market is defined a period of widespread pessimism and falling security prices. Both of these can contribute to negative sentiment and can be self-sustaining. As a rule of thumb, a decline of 20% or more in the broad market indexes is considered the beginning of bear market. The broad market indexes include the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq (NASD), etc. In addition, this decline must be over at least a 2 month period.
However, one thing to keep in mind is
a market correction is different than a bear market. A market correction is a short-term price decline, usually less than two months.
One of the earliest bull market and crash was “tulipmania” in Amsterdam the 1630’s. During this time, well-educated investors and the general public alike were so excited in tulip bulbs that livestock, houses and even tracts of land were used to purchase them. Such value was placed upon these rare and valuable bulbs that all common sense was removed from the marketplace. Prices often doubled within days with no apparent end in sight. However, as the market ran its course, as all bull markets do, the tulips lost their value and soon “tulipmania” ended. This crash left behind countless investors holding portfolios of worthless tulip bulbs. Fortunately, the bull markets of today aren’t in tulip bulbs, but this goes to show that fact the history in the financial markets do repeat themselves.
One of the best things to do after you open your next statement from your broker is to sit back and take a deep breath and remember we have been here before. The stock and the economy will recover and you need to position your portfolio to take advantage of the coming rebound and recovery.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 175 points…
The Nasdaq is down 2 ½ %...
Oil prices are up $25 per gallon…
Employment rates highest level in 5 years…
Real estate values are declining…
Do those headlines sound familiar? Don’t those headlines read like they were from the newspapers of last week? However, I forget to mention that these are from actual publications from the 1970’s.
Yes, bear markets can be scary; bear markets can cause sleepless nights; bear markets can strain your budget; bear markets can put a strain on your personal relationships.
However, the best thing to keep on mind during a bear market is we have seen them before and we will see them again. Remember, everything that goes up must come down and visa verse. Basically, during a bear market, the stock markets are realigning and readjusting to the valuations after a bull market.
What many investors fear is not simply the decline of their portfolio, but the unknown of where the bottom is. How far will the bear take us? Stock market psychologists refer to this as “ursaphobia” The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear.
Bear markets can scare not only novice investors but veteran traders, too. What exactly is the definition of a bear market?
A bear market is defined a period of widespread pessimism and falling security prices. Both of these can contribute to negative sentiment and can be self-sustaining. As a rule of thumb, a decline of 20% or more in the broad market indexes is considered the beginning of bear market. The broad market indexes include the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500), Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Nasdaq (NASD), etc. In addition, this decline must be over at least a 2 month period.
However, one thing to keep in mind is
a market correction is different than a bear market. A market correction is a short-term price decline, usually less than two months.
One of the earliest bull market and crash was “tulipmania” in Amsterdam the 1630’s. During this time, well-educated investors and the general public alike were so excited in tulip bulbs that livestock, houses and even tracts of land were used to purchase them. Such value was placed upon these rare and valuable bulbs that all common sense was removed from the marketplace. Prices often doubled within days with no apparent end in sight. However, as the market ran its course, as all bull markets do, the tulips lost their value and soon “tulipmania” ended. This crash left behind countless investors holding portfolios of worthless tulip bulbs. Fortunately, the bull markets of today aren’t in tulip bulbs, but this goes to show that fact the history in the financial markets do repeat themselves.
One of the best things to do after you open your next statement from your broker is to sit back and take a deep breath and remember we have been here before. The stock and the economy will recover and you need to position your portfolio to take advantage of the coming rebound and recovery.
Does Your Investment Portfolio Suffer from Ursaphobia?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 20% of its value the week of October 5, 2008. After looking at the damage done during this incredible week in stock market history, many novice and experienced investors began suffering from ursaphobia.
Ursaphobia is not something that has been truly felt by investors since the great bear market of 1973-1974 or the stock market crash of 1929, but urasphobia is back. So what is ursaphobia? The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear.
Ursaphobia is the fear of the bears and the bear market of 2008 certainly has had a lot of bear sightings. In fact, one of the triggers to current market conditions can be related back to the very first bear sighting. The first bear sighting in 2008 was the tumble of Bear Stearns. The great Wall Street investment firm which fell from glory and was scooped up by J.P. Morgan for a mere fraction of the market capitalization of only a few months earlier.
After Bear Stearns, then came the next bear sighting, the credit crunch. Credit was drying up for both business and consumers. This helped to tight the hold on the market. As the great minds of the Wall Street attempted to solve the problem, the bear reappeared with a vengeance during the week of October 5, 2008 and swiped off over 20% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Here are few points to remember to ensure your portfolio doesn’t suffer from ursaphobia?
#1: Remember we have seen bear markets before and the economy has survived.
#2: Keep on top of your investments. Consult your broker several times during the month or review your statements weekly.
#3: Remember you can’t control the market, so do allow the stress take control of your life.
#4: Review your investment policy statement and make any adjustments to your investment goals.
#5: Consider buying bear market insurance. Bear market insurance include inverse investments and put options. These are investments that are designed to go up in value when the underlying security declines.
These are only a few ideas to ensure you don’t suffer from ursaphobia. Remember the best way to ensure your financial future to stay atop all of your investments and keep in contact with your broker.
Ursaphobia is not something that has been truly felt by investors since the great bear market of 1973-1974 or the stock market crash of 1929, but urasphobia is back. So what is ursaphobia? The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear.
Ursaphobia is the fear of the bears and the bear market of 2008 certainly has had a lot of bear sightings. In fact, one of the triggers to current market conditions can be related back to the very first bear sighting. The first bear sighting in 2008 was the tumble of Bear Stearns. The great Wall Street investment firm which fell from glory and was scooped up by J.P. Morgan for a mere fraction of the market capitalization of only a few months earlier.
After Bear Stearns, then came the next bear sighting, the credit crunch. Credit was drying up for both business and consumers. This helped to tight the hold on the market. As the great minds of the Wall Street attempted to solve the problem, the bear reappeared with a vengeance during the week of October 5, 2008 and swiped off over 20% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Here are few points to remember to ensure your portfolio doesn’t suffer from ursaphobia?
#1: Remember we have seen bear markets before and the economy has survived.
#2: Keep on top of your investments. Consult your broker several times during the month or review your statements weekly.
#3: Remember you can’t control the market, so do allow the stress take control of your life.
#4: Review your investment policy statement and make any adjustments to your investment goals.
#5: Consider buying bear market insurance. Bear market insurance include inverse investments and put options. These are investments that are designed to go up in value when the underlying security declines.
These are only a few ideas to ensure you don’t suffer from ursaphobia. Remember the best way to ensure your financial future to stay atop all of your investments and keep in contact with your broker.
5 Investment Strategies Not to Follow in a Bear Market?
The week of October 5, 2008 was one of the worst weeks in stock market history. What the markets did in one week, it took months and years to do in the past. The speed of events is absolutely incredible. Thanks to the Internet we are always in “live time” with the rest of the investment world.
No need to wait for the newspapers to be printed to tell us the overseas markets are down 5%. We can see watch the Tokyo market drive 10% while are eating breakfast. We can watch the futures of the Dow Jones Industrial Average recover from a 700 point loss and crossover into positive territory in a single morning, as it did on October 10, 2008. In one aspect, this ability is vital, however it can also encourage us to make rash decisions. Here is list of 10 investment strategies not to follow in a bear market:
#1: Sell everything: By selling everything your portfolio will not be able to recover when the market rebounds. If you are in cash, you have no chance of being in the market when it rebounds.
#2: Watch your computer screen: Watching every tick on the computer screen can drive you crazy. Don’t watch the stock market every minute of the day.
#3: Watch the nightly news: Remember the news anchors only job is to get good ratings. There job is tell you only the headlines. The more sensational the headlines are, the better it is.
#4: Read the newspaper: Again, the job of the newspaper is to sell newspapers. Again they sell the headlines and not the entire reasons what caused the headlines.
#5: Listen to the radio: Radio and radio talk shows are there to get ratings, too.
Also, keep in mind newspapers, news anchors, radio talk show hosts can’t give you individual advice. They don’t know your individual situation. They can answer your question in a 30 second segment or in a single email.
No I am not saying you should stay uninformed, but what I am saying to for you to keep everything in perspective. If you get caught up the hype and the doom and gloom of every down tick of this bear market you will find yourself suffering from a condition stock market urasphobia. Ursaphobia is a term stock market psychologists refer to as “fear of a bear market” The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear. So don’t follow the five steps about to ensure you don’t suffer from ursaphobia.
No need to wait for the newspapers to be printed to tell us the overseas markets are down 5%. We can see watch the Tokyo market drive 10% while are eating breakfast. We can watch the futures of the Dow Jones Industrial Average recover from a 700 point loss and crossover into positive territory in a single morning, as it did on October 10, 2008. In one aspect, this ability is vital, however it can also encourage us to make rash decisions. Here is list of 10 investment strategies not to follow in a bear market:
#1: Sell everything: By selling everything your portfolio will not be able to recover when the market rebounds. If you are in cash, you have no chance of being in the market when it rebounds.
#2: Watch your computer screen: Watching every tick on the computer screen can drive you crazy. Don’t watch the stock market every minute of the day.
#3: Watch the nightly news: Remember the news anchors only job is to get good ratings. There job is tell you only the headlines. The more sensational the headlines are, the better it is.
#4: Read the newspaper: Again, the job of the newspaper is to sell newspapers. Again they sell the headlines and not the entire reasons what caused the headlines.
#5: Listen to the radio: Radio and radio talk shows are there to get ratings, too.
Also, keep in mind newspapers, news anchors, radio talk show hosts can’t give you individual advice. They don’t know your individual situation. They can answer your question in a 30 second segment or in a single email.
No I am not saying you should stay uninformed, but what I am saying to for you to keep everything in perspective. If you get caught up the hype and the doom and gloom of every down tick of this bear market you will find yourself suffering from a condition stock market urasphobia. Ursaphobia is a term stock market psychologists refer to as “fear of a bear market” The term “ursa” is Latin for bear. The definition of a phobia is “to fear something”. Put them together and you get Ursaphobia – The Fear of the Bear. So don’t follow the five steps about to ensure you don’t suffer from ursaphobia.
Give Your Traffic a Boost
Traffic exchanges are a great way to generate free traffic for your sites but building a large traffic network takes time and can involve many hours of clicking. If you have a few dollars in your PayPal account it's possible to speed things up by using some of the paid services that traffic exchanges offer.
The easiest way to do this is by purchasing credit packages. It isn't hard to compare prices to find out which exchanges are offering the best values. You should also pay attention to the newsletters traffic exchange owners send out. They sometimes offer great credit deals that can really give your traffic a huge boost.
Another option is to use a traffic co-op. These are sites that purchase huge credit packages from traffic exchanges at a reduced price. They can then use this traffic to promote your page in one of their special URL rotators. This is a great way to take advantage of reduced advertising costs and get your site shown on dozens of different traffic exchanges. Some of the more popular traffic co-ops are TE Blaster, Coop-Hits and the one offered by PageSwirl.
If you have the time a great way to earn a huge amount of credits is to buy a paid upgrade on a traffic exchange. A paid membership gives you many advantages over a free membership including the ability to earn more credits for every site you view.
A paid membership on a traffic exchange is only good if you have the time to surf. Once you upgrade you will want to surf that exchange as often as possible to really get your money's worth. With a little work it's possible to earn enough credits with your upgraded membership to keep traffic flowing to your sites for months at a time.
It is a good idea to really study a traffic exchange before you decide to upgrade to a paid membership. Try surfing the exchange really hard for a few days as a free member. If your credits don't get used up very quickly you might want to stick to being a free member.
Upgrading on too many exchanges can get really expensive. I have found it's better to limit your upgrades to at most one a week.
A paid upgrade on a traffic exchange usually last for 30 days.
That's a lot of time to earn a lot of credits. By the time your paid membership has expired you should have earned enough credits on that exchange to keep traffic flowing to your site for quite a while.
By limiting your paid upgrades to one a week you would always have four upgrades going at the same time. Each week another paid upgrade would expire and you could consider upgrading at another site. If you do it right you can always keep a steady flow of traffic coming in from all the top traffic exchanges this way.
Here's a little tip. When you have decided that you want to upgrade at a traffic exchange avoid logging into that exchange for a few days. Some exchanges will make you a "one time offer" when you login if you haven't been there recently. These offers can sometimes get you a reduced price on an upgraded membership and save you a few bucks on something you were already planning to buy.
If you can't afford a paid membership in a traffic exchange then by all means stick to free surfing. You will get results but what you save in money will end up costing you time.
If you can afford to invest a few dollars into your advertising campaigns traffic exchanges can be a great way to market your sites without spending an arm and a leg.
The easiest way to do this is by purchasing credit packages. It isn't hard to compare prices to find out which exchanges are offering the best values. You should also pay attention to the newsletters traffic exchange owners send out. They sometimes offer great credit deals that can really give your traffic a huge boost.
Another option is to use a traffic co-op. These are sites that purchase huge credit packages from traffic exchanges at a reduced price. They can then use this traffic to promote your page in one of their special URL rotators. This is a great way to take advantage of reduced advertising costs and get your site shown on dozens of different traffic exchanges. Some of the more popular traffic co-ops are TE Blaster, Coop-Hits and the one offered by PageSwirl.
If you have the time a great way to earn a huge amount of credits is to buy a paid upgrade on a traffic exchange. A paid membership gives you many advantages over a free membership including the ability to earn more credits for every site you view.
A paid membership on a traffic exchange is only good if you have the time to surf. Once you upgrade you will want to surf that exchange as often as possible to really get your money's worth. With a little work it's possible to earn enough credits with your upgraded membership to keep traffic flowing to your sites for months at a time.
It is a good idea to really study a traffic exchange before you decide to upgrade to a paid membership. Try surfing the exchange really hard for a few days as a free member. If your credits don't get used up very quickly you might want to stick to being a free member.
Upgrading on too many exchanges can get really expensive. I have found it's better to limit your upgrades to at most one a week.
A paid upgrade on a traffic exchange usually last for 30 days.
That's a lot of time to earn a lot of credits. By the time your paid membership has expired you should have earned enough credits on that exchange to keep traffic flowing to your site for quite a while.
By limiting your paid upgrades to one a week you would always have four upgrades going at the same time. Each week another paid upgrade would expire and you could consider upgrading at another site. If you do it right you can always keep a steady flow of traffic coming in from all the top traffic exchanges this way.
Here's a little tip. When you have decided that you want to upgrade at a traffic exchange avoid logging into that exchange for a few days. Some exchanges will make you a "one time offer" when you login if you haven't been there recently. These offers can sometimes get you a reduced price on an upgraded membership and save you a few bucks on something you were already planning to buy.
If you can't afford a paid membership in a traffic exchange then by all means stick to free surfing. You will get results but what you save in money will end up costing you time.
If you can afford to invest a few dollars into your advertising campaigns traffic exchanges can be a great way to market your sites without spending an arm and a leg.
How to Build a Traffic Network
Promoting a downline builder is a great way to build a network of residual traffic to your site. Unfortunately it takes time to do that and most of us have other sites we would rather be sending our traffic to.
The more traffic you send to your downline builder now the more residual traffic you will be able to generate which will benefit you down the road.
One of the best things about marketing with a URL rotator is the ability to control how much traffic you want to devote to building your traffic and how much you want to devote to your other sites.
Let's say you are promoting one site with your PageSwirl rotator. Your rotator might look like this:
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
This means that 100% of your traffic is going to go to your site.
If you wanted to add a downline builder it might look like this:
slot>: Downline Builder
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
In this example 50% of your traffic is going to your site and 50% is going to your downline builder.
That's great but what if you don't want to spend half of your credits on promoting a down line builder? Pro members at PageSwirl can assign percentages to how much traffic they want to devote to each slot on their rotator. That makes it easy but let's say we are sticking with the free membership.
To control how much traffic each of your pages receives you can enter it into more than one of your rotator slots.
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Downline Builder
slot>: Downline Builder
In this example 60% of your traffic would go to your site and 40% would go to your downline builder.
You can add your site more or less often depending on how much traffic you want to devote to your downline builder.
Did you know it is also possible to promote a rotator within a rotator?
Some traffic exchanges don't like this because it makes it really hard for them to track down sites that violate their rules. Do not attempt this unless you are positive that none of your pages violate the terms of any of the traffic exchanges you are using.
By using one of the free brandable rotators offered by sites like Traffic Splash and Royal Surf you can do some pretty cool tricks with your traffic without taking too much away from your main site.
Let's say you are using Affiliate Funnel as your primary downline builder. AF has about a dozen different splash pages and lead capture pages you can use to build your downlines. So which one should you promote?
With a second URL rotator you can rotate all of your Affiliate Funnel referral links while only taking up one slot in your main rotator.
17
Here's how it would look:
Rotator #1
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Rotator #2
Rotator #2
slot>: Downline Builder link #2
slot>: Downline Builder link #3
In this example your main site is being shown 80% of the time and your second rotator is being shown 20% of the time. Each time your second rotator is loaded it will show one of the three down line builder pages that you chose to promote. This is a great way to try out different splash pages to see which ones convert the best.
Another use for a second rotator is to promote all of your traffic exchange referral links. Just visit all the traffic exchanges you are a member of and locate your referral links. Load all your referral links into one of your free rotators and put that rotator into one of the free slots on your main rotator. This will help you pick up some extra traffic exchange referrals and if you are promoting an exchange that offers a brandable splash page you will be branding yourself at the same time.
There are many creative uses for a U RL rotator. The important thing to remember is that you should always be sending at least some of your traffic to a down line builder or some other program that is going to help you get some traffic exchange referrals.
It takes time to build a large traffic network. If you devote some time to growing your network now you can potentially grow your network into an endless stream of residual traffic that you can use to fuel your sites for many years.
The more traffic you send to your downline builder now the more residual traffic you will be able to generate which will benefit you down the road.
One of the best things about marketing with a URL rotator is the ability to control how much traffic you want to devote to building your traffic and how much you want to devote to your other sites.
Let's say you are promoting one site with your PageSwirl rotator. Your rotator might look like this:
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
This means that 100% of your traffic is going to go to your site.
If you wanted to add a downline builder it might look like this:
slot>: Downline Builder
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
slot>: Empty
In this example 50% of your traffic is going to your site and 50% is going to your downline builder.
That's great but what if you don't want to spend half of your credits on promoting a down line builder? Pro members at PageSwirl can assign percentages to how much traffic they want to devote to each slot on their rotator. That makes it easy but let's say we are sticking with the free membership.
To control how much traffic each of your pages receives you can enter it into more than one of your rotator slots.
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Downline Builder
slot>: Downline Builder
In this example 60% of your traffic would go to your site and 40% would go to your downline builder.
You can add your site more or less often depending on how much traffic you want to devote to your downline builder.
Did you know it is also possible to promote a rotator within a rotator?
Some traffic exchanges don't like this because it makes it really hard for them to track down sites that violate their rules. Do not attempt this unless you are positive that none of your pages violate the terms of any of the traffic exchanges you are using.
By using one of the free brandable rotators offered by sites like Traffic Splash and Royal Surf you can do some pretty cool tricks with your traffic without taking too much away from your main site.
Let's say you are using Affiliate Funnel as your primary downline builder. AF has about a dozen different splash pages and lead capture pages you can use to build your downlines. So which one should you promote?
With a second URL rotator you can rotate all of your Affiliate Funnel referral links while only taking up one slot in your main rotator.
17
Here's how it would look:
Rotator #1
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Your Site
slot>: Rotator #2
Rotator #2
slot>: Downline Builder link #2
slot>: Downline Builder link #3
In this example your main site is being shown 80% of the time and your second rotator is being shown 20% of the time. Each time your second rotator is loaded it will show one of the three down line builder pages that you chose to promote. This is a great way to try out different splash pages to see which ones convert the best.
Another use for a second rotator is to promote all of your traffic exchange referral links. Just visit all the traffic exchanges you are a member of and locate your referral links. Load all your referral links into one of your free rotators and put that rotator into one of the free slots on your main rotator. This will help you pick up some extra traffic exchange referrals and if you are promoting an exchange that offers a brandable splash page you will be branding yourself at the same time.
There are many creative uses for a U RL rotator. The important thing to remember is that you should always be sending at least some of your traffic to a down line builder or some other program that is going to help you get some traffic exchange referrals.
It takes time to build a large traffic network. If you devote some time to growing your network now you can potentially grow your network into an endless stream of residual traffic that you can use to fuel your sites for many years.
Downline Builders
One thing that nearly all traffic exchanges have in common is that they will reward you for referring new members to them. This reward usually comes in the form advertising credits that you can use to show your site more often.
Most traffic exchanges will also allow you to earn a percentage of the advertising credits your referrals earn. Sometimes down several levels! These can really add up. With only a few active referrals you can find your down line and traffic credits growing very quickly.
The easiest way to build your traffic exchange downlines is to simply add the referral links they give you to your U RL rotator. As long as a percentage of your traffic is always going towards promoting other traffic exchanges you will eventually build up enough referrals so that you won't need to surf as often.
Unfortunately there are just way too many traffic exchanges out there! It would take years to try and build active downlines in all of them. Most people have trouble getting enough traffic to promote just one site. The last thing you need is to spread your traffic out over the referral links of 20 different programs. That's why you need a good downline builder!
A down line builder will help you get referrals in all of your traffic exchange programs. The best part is that you only need to promote one additional link in your rotator.
The way a down line builder works is when you join you will be presented with a list of recommend traffic exchanges to join. You simply join the programs you like and ignore the ones you don't. If you are already a member of a traffic exchange you don't need to join again. Simply insert your current referral link for that exchange.
If you are not a member of a site and you choose not to join you can leave it blank. If you do this your sponsor's referral link will stay on your page and you will not get credit for any sign-ups it generates.
It benefits you to join as many of the programs offered by your downline builder as possible.
Every time a new member joins your downline builder through your referral link they will be presented with the same list of programs to join. If they are already a member of a program they will enter their referral link. If not they will have to sign-up through your link.
Of course if they choose not to sign-up for a program your link will stay on their page. Now when they refer new members to the downline builder those members will be signing up from your link.
One of the problems most down line builders have is that you usually don't have much say in which programs they are promoting. The sites you are presented with were chosen by someone else and might not match the programs you want to promote. That is why Affiliate Funnel was created.
Affiliate Funnel is a downline builder as well as a personal branding tool. You can use it to build your downlines in all the best traffic exchange programs as well as a number of other excellent marketing programs. What really makes Affiliate Funnel special is the ability to promote your own programs which will be presented to your downline when they sign-up.
Affiliate Funnel gives you all the tools you need to promote your site and build downlines in all the top programs. They provide you with a nice selection of splash pages that can be branded with your picture and even give you some lead capture pages that you can use to build your list.
Affiliate Funnel is free to join but if you can afford to upgrade to a pro membership it is well worth the money for one of the best downline builders out there.
Most traffic exchanges will also allow you to earn a percentage of the advertising credits your referrals earn. Sometimes down several levels! These can really add up. With only a few active referrals you can find your down line and traffic credits growing very quickly.
The easiest way to build your traffic exchange downlines is to simply add the referral links they give you to your U RL rotator. As long as a percentage of your traffic is always going towards promoting other traffic exchanges you will eventually build up enough referrals so that you won't need to surf as often.
Unfortunately there are just way too many traffic exchanges out there! It would take years to try and build active downlines in all of them. Most people have trouble getting enough traffic to promote just one site. The last thing you need is to spread your traffic out over the referral links of 20 different programs. That's why you need a good downline builder!
A down line builder will help you get referrals in all of your traffic exchange programs. The best part is that you only need to promote one additional link in your rotator.
The way a down line builder works is when you join you will be presented with a list of recommend traffic exchanges to join. You simply join the programs you like and ignore the ones you don't. If you are already a member of a traffic exchange you don't need to join again. Simply insert your current referral link for that exchange.
If you are not a member of a site and you choose not to join you can leave it blank. If you do this your sponsor's referral link will stay on your page and you will not get credit for any sign-ups it generates.
It benefits you to join as many of the programs offered by your downline builder as possible.
Every time a new member joins your downline builder through your referral link they will be presented with the same list of programs to join. If they are already a member of a program they will enter their referral link. If not they will have to sign-up through your link.
Of course if they choose not to sign-up for a program your link will stay on their page. Now when they refer new members to the downline builder those members will be signing up from your link.
One of the problems most down line builders have is that you usually don't have much say in which programs they are promoting. The sites you are presented with were chosen by someone else and might not match the programs you want to promote. That is why Affiliate Funnel was created.
Affiliate Funnel is a downline builder as well as a personal branding tool. You can use it to build your downlines in all the best traffic exchange programs as well as a number of other excellent marketing programs. What really makes Affiliate Funnel special is the ability to promote your own programs which will be presented to your downline when they sign-up.
Affiliate Funnel gives you all the tools you need to promote your site and build downlines in all the top programs. They provide you with a nice selection of splash pages that can be branded with your picture and even give you some lead capture pages that you can use to build your list.
Affiliate Funnel is free to join but if you can afford to upgrade to a pro membership it is well worth the money for one of the best downline builders out there.
URL Rotators
A rotator is a tool used by Internet marketers who have more than one web site that they want to send traffic to. You can store all of your links inside your rotator and promote them all with one link.
When you send traffic to your URL rotator link your visitors are automatically transported to one of your other web pages. Each time your rotator link is shown it will sequentially display the links you are promoting. Not only is this a great way to promote more than one website but it is also a great way to test out your splash pages to see which ones get the most clicks.
Rotators are also a great way to manage all of your web pages in one place. Even if you only have one website to promote you should still only be promoting your U RL rotator in traffic exchanges. Why? You may end up joining 10, 20 or 50 traffic exchanges. What happens if one day you decide to promote a new site? You would have to log back into all of those traffic exchanges, submit your new link, and then start assigning credits to them.
By promoting your U RL rotator link instead you can simply log into your rotator, edit your links, and your changes will automatically be reflected across all of your traffic exchanges.
Don't try to promote too many sites at once! Until you have built up a steady flow of residual traffic it is better to focus on marketing only one or two pages at a time in your rotator.
When it comes to choosing a professional U RL rotator there is really only one choice. PageSwirl will let you rotate up to 5 URLs for free and it is very easy to use. In addition to being a great URL rotator PageSwirl will also give you access to many other great tools that will help you promote your sites with traffic exchanges.
When you send traffic to your URL rotator link your visitors are automatically transported to one of your other web pages. Each time your rotator link is shown it will sequentially display the links you are promoting. Not only is this a great way to promote more than one website but it is also a great way to test out your splash pages to see which ones get the most clicks.
Rotators are also a great way to manage all of your web pages in one place. Even if you only have one website to promote you should still only be promoting your U RL rotator in traffic exchanges. Why? You may end up joining 10, 20 or 50 traffic exchanges. What happens if one day you decide to promote a new site? You would have to log back into all of those traffic exchanges, submit your new link, and then start assigning credits to them.
By promoting your U RL rotator link instead you can simply log into your rotator, edit your links, and your changes will automatically be reflected across all of your traffic exchanges.
Don't try to promote too many sites at once! Until you have built up a steady flow of residual traffic it is better to focus on marketing only one or two pages at a time in your rotator.
When it comes to choosing a professional U RL rotator there is really only one choice. PageSwirl will let you rotate up to 5 URLs for free and it is very easy to use. In addition to being a great URL rotator PageSwirl will also give you access to many other great tools that will help you promote your sites with traffic exchanges.
Link Tracking
I don't know about you but I love statistics. I love seeing how many hits my sites get every day, I love seeing how many people are clicking my ads, I love checking to see how many sales I made (that's my favorite), and I love seeing where those sales came from.
No matter where you are advertising on the Internet you should always track your links so that you know which ads work and which ones don't. The easiest way to do this is with a link tracking tool.
A link tracker is a service that allows you to create tracking links for your site. Every time one of your tracking links is clicked the link tracker records the data for you and then redirects the visitor to your site.
To create a new tracking link you simply submit the URL of the webpage you want to keep track of and the link tracker will provide you with a unique URL to promote. By logging into your link tracker account every day you will easily be able to determine which of your advertising campaigns are working and which ones are not.
When making your own splash pages it is a good idea to always use a link tracker for the "CLICK HERE" link. This will allow you to test out different splash pages and see which ones get the most clicks.
Link trackers are also a good way to protect your affiliate links and hide the URL of your site. This means that visitors can't just move their mouse over your link to see what site you are promoting. If they really want to know what you are promoting they will just have to click your link and actually visit your website.
You can get a free link tracker for your site from ProTrackerPlus.
No matter where you are advertising on the Internet you should always track your links so that you know which ads work and which ones don't. The easiest way to do this is with a link tracking tool.
A link tracker is a service that allows you to create tracking links for your site. Every time one of your tracking links is clicked the link tracker records the data for you and then redirects the visitor to your site.
To create a new tracking link you simply submit the URL of the webpage you want to keep track of and the link tracker will provide you with a unique URL to promote. By logging into your link tracker account every day you will easily be able to determine which of your advertising campaigns are working and which ones are not.
When making your own splash pages it is a good idea to always use a link tracker for the "CLICK HERE" link. This will allow you to test out different splash pages and see which ones get the most clicks.
Link trackers are also a good way to protect your affiliate links and hide the URL of your site. This means that visitors can't just move their mouse over your link to see what site you are promoting. If they really want to know what you are promoting they will just have to click your link and actually visit your website.
You can get a free link tracker for your site from ProTrackerPlus.
Branding Yourself
Having the ability to create your own splash pages gives you an awesome opportunity to brand yourself while promoting your website at the same time.
So what is branding? Basically branding yourself means putting a picture of yourself on your website.
Why would you want to do that?
Branding yourself along with your website is a way to let people know that you are a real person and not just another faceless affiliate link. After awhile other marketers will begin to notice you and hopefully pay more attention to the sites you are promoting. Having your picture on your page is also a way to let people know that you are not afraid to stand behind the site you are promoting.
If you have a chance to put your face on a webpage ... do it!
Traffic exchange owners understand the importance of branding. Many traffic exchanges now offer free brandable splash pages that you can use to promote their sites. These are great for getting your face out there while getting some traffic referrals at the same time.
While I don't encourage promoting generic affiliate pages in traffic exchanges if you must then I would suggest promoting them with a brandable U RL rotator instead. A brandable U RL rotator works just like any other rotator except in addition to displaying your websites it will also show your picture at the top of the page. This lets your visitor know who the page belongs to and hopefully they will pay a little closer attention if they recognize you.
You can get your own free brandable URL rotator from several traffic exchanges such as Traffic Splash and Royal Surf.
So what is branding? Basically branding yourself means putting a picture of yourself on your website.
Why would you want to do that?
Branding yourself along with your website is a way to let people know that you are a real person and not just another faceless affiliate link. After awhile other marketers will begin to notice you and hopefully pay more attention to the sites you are promoting. Having your picture on your page is also a way to let people know that you are not afraid to stand behind the site you are promoting.
If you have a chance to put your face on a webpage ... do it!
Traffic exchange owners understand the importance of branding. Many traffic exchanges now offer free brandable splash pages that you can use to promote their sites. These are great for getting your face out there while getting some traffic referrals at the same time.
While I don't encourage promoting generic affiliate pages in traffic exchanges if you must then I would suggest promoting them with a brandable U RL rotator instead. A brandable U RL rotator works just like any other rotator except in addition to displaying your websites it will also show your picture at the top of the page. This lets your visitor know who the page belongs to and hopefully they will pay a little closer attention if they recognize you.
You can get your own free brandable URL rotator from several traffic exchanges such as Traffic Splash and Royal Surf.
Lead Capture Pages
A lead capture page is very similar to a splash page. A splash page is designed to get your visitors to click a link to visit your site. A lead capture page tries to get your visitor to enter their email address in order to receive more information via email.
Once someone gives you permission to email them you can begin to develop a relationship with them. After awhile it becomes easier to market to these people because they know you and trust you.
The money is in the list! (sorry, I had to say it)
An autoresponder is a marketing tool that allows you to create a
lead capture form that you can add to your webpage. When someone enters their email address into this form the autoresponder will automatically begin sending them a series of emails you have written. These emails can be used to promote your offers over a period of months or even years. You can even broadcast emails to your entire list any time you have a new offer for them.
Professional autoresponders have virtually eliminated the fear of spam complaints when advertising via email. Before a person starts receiving your emails the autoresponder will ask them to confirm that they want to receive your emails. If they ever choose to stop receiving email from you they can easily opt-out by clicking the link that appears at the end of everyone of your emails.
Getting people to give you their email address isn't always easy. You will need to offer something of value to them such an online training course or a free ebook (hint hint).
To start building your own list I would suggest going with a professional autoresponder like Aweber. If you need help setting up your autoresponder you can download this free Aweber ebook.
Promoting a lead capture page is the fastest way to build a large list of responsive readers and traffic exchanges are a great way to do it.
Once someone gives you permission to email them you can begin to develop a relationship with them. After awhile it becomes easier to market to these people because they know you and trust you.
The money is in the list! (sorry, I had to say it)
An autoresponder is a marketing tool that allows you to create a
lead capture form that you can add to your webpage. When someone enters their email address into this form the autoresponder will automatically begin sending them a series of emails you have written. These emails can be used to promote your offers over a period of months or even years. You can even broadcast emails to your entire list any time you have a new offer for them.
Professional autoresponders have virtually eliminated the fear of spam complaints when advertising via email. Before a person starts receiving your emails the autoresponder will ask them to confirm that they want to receive your emails. If they ever choose to stop receiving email from you they can easily opt-out by clicking the link that appears at the end of everyone of your emails.
Getting people to give you their email address isn't always easy. You will need to offer something of value to them such an online training course or a free ebook (hint hint).
To start building your own list I would suggest going with a professional autoresponder like Aweber. If you need help setting up your autoresponder you can download this free Aweber ebook.
Promoting a lead capture page is the fastest way to build a large list of responsive readers and traffic exchanges are a great way to do it.
Splash Pages
The average traffic exchange user is only surfing so they can earn enough credits to show their own page. They will only be on your site just long enough for the counter to reach zero. If you can't capture their attention in the first few seconds they aren't going to stick around long enough to explore the rest of your site.
One of the reasons people fail with traffic exchanges is because they are promoting the same generic affiliate pages as everybody else. After awhile these pages become almost invisible and are the reason why it feels like traffic exchanges don't work.
If you want to stand out on traffic exchanges you need to do something that is going to set you apart from your competition.
You need a splash page!
A splash page is a very simple webpage designed to catch a surfer's attention. It usually consists of a picture, a few lines of text, and a big "CLICK HERE" link that leads to your main site. The idea is to catch the surfer's attention with the picture, get them interested in your site with the text, and then get them to click your link to get more information from your main site.
Your splash page is what sets you apart from the thousands of other marketers who are using traffic exchanges. Be creative! People will respond to your advertising but you need to get their attention first.
You can make your own splash pages with any basic html editor and host them yourself. An easier solution is to use a site like Splash Page Maker which will help you create your own splash pages and host them for you on their servers.
If you would like to learn more about splash pages check out Steve Ayling's book "What a Splash Page Is & Why You Should Use One".
One of the reasons people fail with traffic exchanges is because they are promoting the same generic affiliate pages as everybody else. After awhile these pages become almost invisible and are the reason why it feels like traffic exchanges don't work.
If you want to stand out on traffic exchanges you need to do something that is going to set you apart from your competition.
You need a splash page!
A splash page is a very simple webpage designed to catch a surfer's attention. It usually consists of a picture, a few lines of text, and a big "CLICK HERE" link that leads to your main site. The idea is to catch the surfer's attention with the picture, get them interested in your site with the text, and then get them to click your link to get more information from your main site.
Your splash page is what sets you apart from the thousands of other marketers who are using traffic exchanges. Be creative! People will respond to your advertising but you need to get their attention first.
You can make your own splash pages with any basic html editor and host them yourself. An easier solution is to use a site like Splash Page Maker which will help you create your own splash pages and host them for you on their servers.
If you would like to learn more about splash pages check out Steve Ayling's book "What a Splash Page Is & Why You Should Use One".
Preparing Your PC
In a 2007 CNET interview Google revealed that it had carried out indepth research on 4.5 million web sites and found that about one in ten web pages could successfully "drive-by download" a Trojan horse virus onto a visitor's computer.
That's a heck of a lot of dangerous websites. On a good day you can visit a thousand sites using traffic exchanges. When visiting that many sites you are bound to run into some problems.
It's not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago. Most traffic exchange owners work very hard to keep their sites free of these dangers. However, nobody is perfect.
Does that mean your computer is going to get a virus if you use a traffic exchange? Not if you protect yourself first!
These are things that all Internet users need to be aware of. If you are on the Internet today and your computer is not properly protected it is only a matter of time before your computer gets infected with something nasty.
There are plenty of anti-virus programs on the market. I will just share with you the two that I use. If you don't already have something do yourself a favor and download AVG Free Antivirus and PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Both of these programs are free and should protect you from 99% of the harmful websites out there.
As long your computer is properly protected you shouldn't have to worry about anything terrible happening to your computer while using traffic exchange programs.
That's a heck of a lot of dangerous websites. On a good day you can visit a thousand sites using traffic exchanges. When visiting that many sites you are bound to run into some problems.
It's not nearly as bad as it was a few years ago. Most traffic exchange owners work very hard to keep their sites free of these dangers. However, nobody is perfect.
Does that mean your computer is going to get a virus if you use a traffic exchange? Not if you protect yourself first!
These are things that all Internet users need to be aware of. If you are on the Internet today and your computer is not properly protected it is only a matter of time before your computer gets infected with something nasty.
There are plenty of anti-virus programs on the market. I will just share with you the two that I use. If you don't already have something do yourself a favor and download AVG Free Antivirus and PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Both of these programs are free and should protect you from 99% of the harmful websites out there.
As long your computer is properly protected you shouldn't have to worry about anything terrible happening to your computer while using traffic exchange programs.
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