Then they read a long page with lots of testimonials and proof that this can’t fail proven product works. So, they buy it. And then they either read the ebook or not. Most don’t even read it. They just buy it and wait for something to happen. Of course, when nothing happens and they find themselves in the same boat, they get upset at either themselves or the product creator.

And then they go out and start over. But this time, they’re more savvy. They look for better products, better ideas, maybe even a software that will just do the work for them. So they buy that one click software only to find that it’s not very easy to setup and use. And maybe now they have to buy hosting or a domain name… and what’s this talk about an autoresponder?

Oh boy… it’s getting real now.

Finally, the person usually just gives up. They think they’ve given it a go and it just didn’t work out for them or whatever. But here’s my point in all this. Did this person ever really start a business? Did they ever use an actual internet marketing system? Odds are,  no, they did not.

Because a system actually does work. As long as it’s been tested and converting, system works. You can count on them. And that’s why my business partners and I create. We create 7 figure+ marketing systems. And we’ve got another big one coming out in a few months. When it comes out, you’ll hear about it.

Because odds are, half the people in the internet marketing and network marketing niche will want in on it. And that’s cool. The reason why they want in is because we have a system that works. Prospects come in one side and buyers come out the other. 

So, I want to stress to you that you need to do more than just buy a product. Study the process that sold you that product. Because that’s what marketing is. It’s the HOW. The product is your WHAT, but the marketing is how you’re going to sell your product. Within a good marketing system, you’re dead in the water.

I’ll write more on creating marketing systems, but for right now, go buy something and take notes on every single page you see. That will show you a process that is currently working for that product owner. And heck, even if you don’t use the product at all, at least you know you’ll get something out of it this time.

So, what is the next big marketing innovation for small business owners? Many experts see targeted mobile marketing as the newest frontier. If this is true, what strategies can be used to succeed in the new world of mobile web based marketing? And, what are benefits of being one of the renegade few companies who jump in first?

(Courtesy of Flickr User: jenny downing)

Mobile phones have become as near and dear to most individuals as their wallets and handbags. The International Telecommunication Union reports that over 5 billion people are subscribed to cell phone plans worldwide and in the United States, 9 out of every 10 people uses a mobile phone. Mobile phones, unlike television sets, radios and computers are almost always within arm’s length.

Marketing to potential customers via their mobile phone begins to make alot of sense when research studies report that at least 10% of all online searches, one of the most popular ways people seek information about products and services, are performed on mobile phones. Over 95% of new phones are equipped with mobile web browsers and, in the United States, 70 million or more consumers use their mobile device to browse the web regularly.

The mobile web is already currently used by 120 million people and experts predict that, in the next three years, all purchasing decisions made by United States consumers will be influenced in some way by the mobile internet. This will be an interesting trend to watch because, in general, mobile web users have a different customer profile than traditional web users and catering to them requires non-traditional thinking. Rather than a fancy website with rich graphics and complicated animation features, mobile web users prefer to see a basic template with the simple facts about a product or service.

(Courtesy of Flickr User: ccstbp)

 Instant gratification features, such as a button that makes restaurant reservations in real time or immediate mapping from the mobile device to your location, appeal to the mobile web user demographic. Google Maps and the review site Yelp are popular mobile web applications and most experts say that having a social media presence is also seen as very favorable among mobile web users.

A very exciting trend, custom mobile apps, gives individuals and businesses the opportunity to create their own program for download. By designing a custom app, you will impress your potential customers, promote your brand and possibly even make an additional income from download sales.

Mobile marketing, which generally utilizes text messaging to send product or promotional information to potential customers, can target a specific customer base via the mobile web. Text messaging is one of the hottest trends in communication worldwide.

With over one trillion text messages sent through cell phone plans in 2008, and that number growing daily, it can be assumed that most consumers are comfortable and web savvy enough to respond favorable to text message marketing. In fact, research from Mobile Marketing Watch suggests that 70% of consumers respond to text message marketing while only 30% respond to email marketing.

Considering how important mobile web usage is predicted to become in the next few years, and the influence it is expected to have on shoppers, one might assume that small businesses were jumping in the gap between old online shopping and new mobile web commerce. But, they are not. In fact, according to some surveys, less than 7% of small businesses have optimized their website for mobile web users and more than 60% view mobile marketing as a newfangled idea that is too cutting edge to actually be successful.

We are at a unique forefront in the world of commerce and technology. The small businesses and companies who jump in wholeheartedly and embrace the new world of mobile web browsing by catering to the needs of this growing customer base will likely reap huge rewards. By utlizing the focused power of text message marketing, taking simple steps to optimize their websites for mobile browsers, installing mobile commerce features and mobile apps that make information gathering easy for consumers and utilizing social media features like Facebook’s “Likes” and “check-ins”, these cutting edge businesses will dare to succeed in the new age of technology driven commerce.

This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Cell Phone Expert where you can compare cell phone plans. When Ruben is not writing he’s composing or producing music for short films or visual arts.

Online Classifieds 

One of the best ways to promote your business (and you can do this without even having a website up) is to registry your business into the endless amounts of online classifieds websites out there. Registration is usually a quick and easy process that would take no more than ten minutes per website. Since there are so many online classifieds out there, it’s a good idea to get into the heads of your clientele and think about which websites they would likely use. It’s also not a bad idea to ask your customers which local listings sites they use through a survey that might accompany a purchase. Some good online classifieds pages to include are the following:

• Yelp
• Yellowpages
• Yahoo! Local
• Citysearch
• Google Places
• Bing Local 

E-Newsletter 

If you don’t already have an online newsletter arriving in your clientele’s inboxes, you should start now. If you need email addresses, this would be a great prompt to include in a customer survey. How often should you send out the newsletter? Unless you update or make additions to your business monthly, I would just send them out quarterly or case-by-case. If you are moving locations or changing inventories, obviously let your customers know. If nothing much is happening, don’t annoy your customers with pointless emails. 

Social Media 

This is actually somewhat of a tough call, as I don’t believe it is necessary for all businesses. Not every business needs a Twitter or Facebook account; in fact some customers might be confused or even laugh at the idea for some businesses. Then again, places like restaurants or bars with a changing menu or varied specials would have good use for a social media account. I would advise you to survey if your clientele are active social media users and which social media they use. Giving your customers any easier way to contact or access you is never a bad thing. 

Search Engine Optimization 

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should have a post all to itself. Essentially it is the process of optimizing your website with the best keywords possible that would bring in search engine traffic. To do this, you have to spend a good amount of time brainstorming keywords that potential customers would type into Google to find your company or service. It’s also a good idea to look at your competition’s websites and see what keywords they have for their sites. Often times, you will find that many business’s websites have language that is too highly specialized and probably doesn’t bring in much search engine traffic. Once you think you have a good set of keywords that people would search to find a business such as yours, implement them into your website every way you can: Page titles, navigation menus, picture captions, paragraph text, and so forth. 

Advertisements 

This could also be its own blog post. There are an infinite amount of spaces on the internet where you could advertise. The key is finding the places that would give you the most success. Personally, I don’t think Google AdWords is the way to go for most businesses; too many people pass them up, and your SEO should give you results on Google anyway. Instead, I think specialized blogs related to your business are a decent avenue. Particularly if the blogs are localized, it would probably have an even more direct effect on your customer base. 

By-line:

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com or you can leave a comment below.

One of the many things I’ve learned over the years are great wordpress plugins. I don’t really like paying for plugins, so in this post I’ll focus only on my favorite FREE wordpress plugins.

Enough banter, let’s knock this post out in less than 500 words, shall we?

1) All In One SEO Pack

This is a must have plugin. It’s usually the first plugin I add to any theme. This little guy let’s you setup your blog the right way. The way search engines love. You can set your title, your description, your keywords, and easily edit each post or page you make with the SEO you need.

Without this plugin, your blog will have about 25% of it’s full power. You need it. Read about it for more detail.

2) Sociable

We know the whole world has gone social, but has your blog? This handy plugin lets you add links to let your reader share your (hopefully) awesome content on twitter, facebook, and a gazillion other social networks.

This plugin is super easy to configure. Pretty much you just upload it and activate it… that’s it. From that point on, you’ll start seeing traffic coming in from social sites as the viral nature of the internet takes over.

3) Outbrain

This killer plugin is all about stickiness. In that in keeps people on your blog longer. And that is a very good thing. Outbrain offers related posts from your blog (and other blogs) at the end of your content. But here’s the cool part.

It will also put links to your content on other people’s sites. In essence, it’s a blog content link network. And it happens automatically. You just upload and look at the bottom of your blog.

The plugin scours your site for related content and offers it to your reader. The reader then reads more from you and has a much greater chance of joining your list or buying something from you or clicking an ad or doing whatever you want them to do ultimately.

So there you have it. 3 of favorite free wordpress plugins. Your blog will go a lot farther with just these 3 little guys. Of course there’s thousands of great wordpress plugins, but these 3 will put you on the right path.

And we finished with only 444 words.

We started doing online selling as a laugh.  We had just built a kitchen in our house and found we had a carousel left over.  So I sold it on eBay thinking it would never sell.  Much to our surprise it sold.  The effort to post it was enormous it took hours to get securely packaged and posted.

So what could we sell now first we tried batteries?  We played about with prices until they started selling not even thinking about the profit or in this case loss.  But we sold them and we learned so much.  How to deal with lost items, late deliveries, how not to post items and most important about making a loss.  The mistakes we made have stood us in such good stead we learned so much.

We read books about selling and did a course on bookkeeping – highly recommended it helps so much with all the terms the accountants use and it makes using on line accounting packages so easy.  It also taught us the need to keep accounts up to date and to talk to your accountant.

In the meantime we were posting about 2 or 3 parcels a day at the Post Office and hoping for the big break of 5 parcels in one day.  We tried sun glasses they sold like mad and then stopped selling never worked out why.  Then we tried cosmetics and have never looked back.

We found a wholesaler and went to visit them very naive asked the wrong questions, and bought something that actually sold very well complete accident.

We contacted Royal Mail and they set us up with an account no more standing in these huge queues people now stare at us as we walk straight to the counter. 

Finding suppliers was great fun we made lots of mistakes and even went to a Trade Fair what fun that was.  Then came our biggest break I was made redundant.  My world came crashing down the Government had cancelled our contract. To me it was the end of the world no work, and the company I worked for treated us very badly, it was heart breaking.  But I threw myself into our business and started to build the infrastructure of the business.  I attended every free meeting I could find and started to find our business was in quite good shape we even wrote a business plan, and did our profit and loss.  We found out later we had written a profit and loss account that was making a loss.  For the next three months we worked like mad getting a business put in place and looking for a job at the same time.

We got invited three accountants around to tell us how good they were.  Two came no problem and both were very good the third one kept on cancelling appointments eventually we just gave up and went with the best accountant.  Gordon sold himself by listening and giving advice and telling us how good they were.

We set up a web site through a company and we were ripped off they seemed excellent on the surface but later we found out that they charged a lot of money for not a lot.  Plus they were developing their software based on the Customers requirements.  We were introduced to a software guy who produced fantastic software for a quarter of the price and to a far higher quality.  We met a software team at a show that we thought sounded okay, we got a quote of £80 a month to maintain the software.  We are still waiting for the feedback as to what it is for.  Our new web site will go live next week and it will replace our existing one http://rejuvenatedcosmetics.com

We had SEO done by a recommended person it cost us less than £500 and not only was it good but it worked.  We have had offers of £500 a month to get you to the first page of Google.  Keep on reading about SEO and join Linkedin and get into the SEO Groups and not only do you meet interesting people but you find some very good advice for free.

We have expanded since we first started and are growing steadily but its hard work but good fun.  We were asked so many questions about how we had done this we set up a company to teach people and companies how to sell and to sell items for companies and private individuals you can find it at http://www.araide.co.uk we are starting to get enquiries and we have courses running.

Its all good fun but its hard work and well worth it. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments or ask questions below.

With no further ado, here’s some GREAT info from Kasia:

Did you ever think that life is not fair?

Did you ever come across situations where people told you that you were lucky … and you were not able to realize or feel it yourself?

Did it occur to you to just want to press some kind of reset button and restart your life – or certain areas of it?

Well, all of the above and even more things passed through my mind and thoughts … and do you know what I did? I did press the reset button … but it was a long and difficult way to do so: It took a lot of struggle, especially emotional struggle, in my case, for me to realize that my two boys were, and are, my reason and my dream. Having a reason is actually the very first thing you need, a real reason, a real driver that almost forces you to change things in your life, aspects of your life that do not suit you, that do not make you happy.

And then … it is not done with just having a reason and eventually finding out what you really want. The really difficult part starts only then, the way to achieve it. And to do so it takes a lot of focus and determination; but the good news is: you can make it and you will realize along the way that it definitely is worth each single step, each suffer along the way … if just your reason is big enough.

The way to achieving this insight may be a different one for you than it was for me, but this was my way of discovering my reason and my dream and I want to share it with you.

First of all, I had  to be very clear in my mind, and in my heart, what I wanted  to do and what I needed to do to make my dreams come true. What I wanted to do, was and is, to spend more time with my boys. I wanted to be the most important person in their lives. I wanted to take an active part in their lives. I wanted to ‘be there’ for them in every possible way. I also wanted to start my own business. I decided to start my own business and be self-employed by going online, learning and doing business there. However, my  main goal was and still is to find the best possible way to help other women around the world, to encourage them and support them. Empowering women all around the world, to making them find the extraordinary in the ordinary of the challenges in daily life, between family and career, house and friends.

A lot of people thought I was crazy to think of setting up an online business, especially during these difficult economic and financial times. Not being familiar with the requirements of setting up such a business, it was a real struggle for me. Initially, I tried looking for other job opportunities. I tried to get a part time job as a manager. Part-time, because I wanted to spend more time with my sons. However, nobody wanted a part time manager.

So, I finally decided to set up my own business. Since a lot of people did not agree with this idea, I felt quite lonely. I knew this would take a huge effort on my part, and I would also have to struggle to achieve this. But I was determined to make it happen. I recalled to myself, how my parents had worked hard. How they had come here with only a little suitcase and nothing else. Through sheer hard work, they gave my sister and me the best education, the best clothes, and, the best of everything in life. I now realized I wanted to give my boys the same kind of life that my parents had given me. The best, so that they would not lack anything, material or spiritual, they should have enough toys to play with and enough of my time to play with them.

With the support of my husband, I managed to set up my online business. He has always supported me in everything I wanted to do. Now, I would be working from home. Now, I would be working globally. I would be able to contact millions of people. I could also contact people in different languages. I know six languages, it wouldn’t be difficult.  But, getting to this point was not easy. I had to make some tough decisions. Like, having to quit my secure corporate job. Life was hectic and difficult, and I wanted to be a part of my children’s lives. To be able to do that, I had set up an online business, and had started working from home. There were times when I felt lonely. There were times when I felt exhausted physically and drained emotionally. Sometimes, my determination and my resolve would be replaced with self-doubts. There were times when my emotions would get the better of me, and I would end up crying.

Still, I knew I had to stay focused on my dream. Each time I would feel lost, I would get inspiration by thinking about how my parents struggled and worked hard to give me the wonderful life they did, and how I had to duplicate that life for the boys. I created my inner circle of people, who encouraged me and supported me. People I knew I could trust and depend on. People like my husband, my parents, my sister, my in-laws, and a few of my friends with whom my friendship had stood the test of time. It is important for you to know your true friends from fair-weather friends. It is when you are facing tough or difficult times that you can distinguish who your true friends are, and which ones might discourage you or even be jealous of your potential to succeed.

Another important aspect in achieving your dream is, to keep focused on your goal. You might often feel alone on your way. But never let the burning desire in you fade away. Always stay focused on your dream and keep making adjustments in your life in ways that will not just help you to achieve your dream, but also perhaps even facilitate it. Let your inner strength be like strong pillars, which support big structures. If the pillars are strong, the structure remains intact. If the pillars become weak, the structure will fall. In the same way, if you keep your inner strength, you will be able to achieve your dream. If you lose your inner strength, you will lose your determination and focus. For this I feel truly blessed that I have an encouraging and supportive husband.

One more aspect of achieving your dream is the ability to organize your life. Once I started my online work, I had to manage my time between my children and my work. Since I wanted to take a very active part in my children’s lives, I made sure that I was constantly with them for as much time as they would be home. I would do my work when I had the time, like the hours when they would be at school and working after they would go to bed. I would also work during school holidays, adjusting to the schedule of my boys. Nothing in this world is free, and sometimes you have to pay a higher price in order to make your dream come true. The price I have to pay is high too. But I am willing to pay, and determined to succeed, as my prize, my dream, is even bigger!

I sincerely wish this blog inspires you to take a step back and look at your life. Understand your real dream and your real motivation. I will be back here next month with all the challenges I had to overcome when setting up my business, my online business … Was it easy? Did I give up? Did I fail? Did I win? … You will find it out soon … and more than that…  get important tips for your career!

 Feel free to ask me questions in the comment area below.

And make sure you check out my book and get more tips on my blog Moms U Can

Your Kasia G.

Many affiliates are led to believe that easy money and instant riches are a sure bet when you sell products via the Clickbank marketplace. I can tell you from years of experience and lots of work with individual marketers, that it’s not always as easy as it seems.

Before I give you  my top 3 tips, let me tell you why you might want to listen to me. I’ve been on the “inside” of the clickbank marketplace since 2007 and know many of the top vendors, especially in the “home biz” or internet marketing niche. I myself am a Clickbank top 100 Vendor which is cool because I can call Clickbank whenever I have questions or need to fast track a product for approval.

So, when I give you these tips for improving your clickbank affiliate sales, you can rest assured I’m not just making them up. These are non-negotiable.

Clickbank Affiliate Marketing Tip 1

Choose wisely.

There are many different categories of products for sale. And most people in the affiliate marketing world only look at the e-business and e-marketing section. This is only 1 area of Clickbank. There are so many others. Look around and study the gravity of products. Gravity means “how many people are promoting this product.”

In general, the higher the gravity the better. However, there is a point where gravity is so high, you will face stiff competition. I’ve seen that products with a gravity around 50 (trending up) usually convert for me.

Clickbank Affiliate Marketing Tip 2

Work Backwards.

Look for what is already selling in clickbank. Let that be how you choose your niche. If there’s a product selling in Clickbank with a decent gravity (100+) then you can know for certain that it is indeed a profitable niche. From that point, work backwards to create your marketing strategy.

Let the successful product teach you what people are looking for. See how they are writing their copy. Watch their videos. Then, build your campaigns around that. If you’re running facebook ads, use some of the proven sales letter copy that is already making sales. Simple, really.

Clickbank Affiliate Marketing Tip 3

Build A List.

I can’t stress this one enough. If you are going to go through all the trouble of setting up a marketing campaign, keyword research, and all the work it takes to find a profitable converting product… then PLEASE don’t short change yourself by not building a list for yourself. This can be done by just sending your clicks to a squeeze page.

Up front, your conversion might be a little bit lower than just sending them directly to a sales letter… but ultimately you’ll make more money because you can now promote other clickbank products to those people again and again.

It’s simple math.

So, there you have it. 3 Simple tips for affiliate marketing with Clickbank products. Now, get out there and sell something!

1. People like pretty things. There’s really not any simpler of a way to put it. People like things that catch their eye and are visually appealing. If your website looks like it’s something straight from the 1980’s, chances are you’re going to lose visitors quickly. Your website needs to play into the current trends so that people want to stay and browse and aren’t turned off by how out of date it is. And people notice out of date.

1. People like easy. Your website needs to be maneuverable. No one wants to spend 15 minutes trying to figure out if you’re offering exactly what they need and how to get in touch with you. You need your About page, your Products or Services page, and your Contact page clearly defined and one simple click away. If they can’t find it, they won’t use it.

1. People like access all the time. At this point, it needs to be Smartphone friendly. Most people use their phones for everything. And I mean everything. We live by our Smartphones these days, and if you’re site won’t load on one, you likely just lost a potential customer.

1. People like fast. Your website needs to load quickly. If you get the dreaded hourglass when you click on a website and five seconds later the hourglass is still there, people will click the back button and find someone whose website loads right away. We’re impatient. We live in a world that demands instant access to everything. Including your website.

1. People like simple. Your website needs to focus on clean and clear-cut. No one wants to be overwhelmed when they’re looking at things, and if it has too many graphics going on and too many elements competing for a consumer’s attention, it will stress people out. Less is more. You want people to be able to immediately know what you it is you do and the best way to achieve this is with a clean layout.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying utilizing socialmedia for marketing isn’t important, because it is! But considering you tend to market to get people to go to your website, all the social media in the world won’t help you if you’re website is a mess.

Author Bio:

This is a guest post from Laura Backes, she enjoys writing about all kinds of subjects and also topics related to internet service providers in my area.  You can reach her at: laurabackes8 @ gmail.com.