The Rookie's Guide to Internet Marketing

Do You Seriously Believe That You Can Make $15,000 In 10 Days At Home Without Even Batting An Eyelid?

Do You Really Believe That You Can Simply Pile Up Your Earnings Everyday Without Any Concerted Effort Or Any Knowledge To What You Are Doing?

Come On, Seriously?

Dear Affiliate Rookie,

(Bookmark this site first so that you can verify that I have told you the honest truth and nothing but the truth)

You have probably been searching for ways to make money online and been bombarded by all the ‘get rich quick’ ploys that almost every other website has promised you.

• “I Make $10,000 in 10 Minutes After Buying This Product!”
• “My Income Grew 200% in 2 Weeks!”
• “Learn Secret Techniques To Financial Freedom!”
• “Earn Big Money While You Are Sleeping!”
• “I Am So Filthy Rich That You Are Going To Hate Me!”

You have probably even imagined those nice holidays, vanishing work stress, more luxury time with your family, the house and the car that you can finally own after reading those sales pitches. You have deliberated for some time to enter this world of Internet Business. You believe that this is finally your way out of this forsaken rat-race, dog-eat-dog world.

And, you might even have drafted your resignation letter!

Now, hold it, hold it, for just one second… Before you even continue with what you intend to do…

Just consider this simple analogy, imagine that you have just turned legal age in your country, and you have always wanted to own that prized driving license. You have never driven a car before and do not know even know the difference between the rear view and side mirrors. You came across two driving instructors advertising their services. One of them says;

• Learn How To Be A Grand Prix Driver in 3 Months!

While the other says,

• Learn How To Pass Your Driving Test in 3 Months!

Which one strikes you more? I am pretty sure it is the first ad. Who would not be enticed to be a pro driver in only 3 months? The ad probably might have set you thinking, maybe the instructor is a pro driver himself, or maybe he has some secret techniques to teach me, maybe this, maybe that.

But deep in your heart of hearts, you know that it is simply not possible. You know yourself well and you know that you don’t even know how to ignite the car engine. How can you even be a pro driver in such a short time when others have taken years of hard work to master the skills?

The first thing that you need to do is to pass your driving test. And to pass the test, you need to learn the basics, practice the skills, go on the road, read the directions, and clear all the obstacles.

This is what you need to focus on.

This is what the Internet Marketing ‘gurus’ have been keeping away from us.

The basic skills. The real deal.

What they have been selling to us are simply dreams. And with dreams, we can be swayed. With dreams, our logic can be clouded. With dreams, our imagination run riot and we can easily run into buying one e-book after the other in the hopes of realizing those dreams.

Did I just say ‘we’?

Yes, we! I am just another rookie like you. My name is Alex and I only came to know about affiliate marketing three months ago. Before that I knew internet business like a monkey knows algebra. I know nuts.

I do have a full-time day job which I secretly enjoy. The problem is, I am not getting richer by the day. For years, I have been trying to formulate my escape route like Prison Break. And I stumbled across a website that sells to my inner dreams. Dreams about being debt-free, about having control, about finally having time and money to travel and blah-blah and blah.

And, for the last three months, I have secretly used up my weddings savings to fund my desire to achieve those dreams. (My fiancé is going to kill me when she finds out!)

I told myself that if this ‘thing’ works, I will be able to recover my savings and even plan a grand wedding for us. But product after product, e-book after e-book, I only managed one sale so far. Yes, one pathetic sale. I have spent more than $3,000 but I have not even come close to even sniff the word ‘break-even’.

So, why am I writing this letter? Simply because, I believe that rookies like us should stand a shot against the pro internet marketers. If we unite, yes, Rookies United!

That is why I am going to debunk those ‘grand prix’ gimmicks made by the gurus so that you and I can make a decent wealth online without ever being scammed. Don’t let yourself buy a product because of its marketing. That is what they want you to do.

They want us to be suckers for their marketing strategies while they are sipping wine in their huge mansions secretly admiring their ingenuity.

If you are in a hurry and in no need to read further about marketing gimmicks, send me an email HERE to receive a special report on The Basics of Affiliate Marketing.

What you want is the basics right? Not some magic formula that you can sprinkle on your desktop to grow the money beans.

Without further ado, let’s debunk those gimmicks, shall we?

Marketing Gimmick No.1

“Make Money On Your Computer Within The Next Few Hours!”

Aww, seriously? The wise did say, “If it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t”.

Let’s be all logical here, shall we? If these claims were indeed true, then more than half of the world population will not be working physically to earn their income. Schools do not need to teach proper secular education system to ensure a better future for the kids. All they need to teach is a special program called “Diploma in Wealth Generation Online”.

Simple, doesn’t it? Of course, it isn’t. There is so much more to it. You need to learn to build your business, i.e. in this case a website that generates commerce. You need to devise a plan, you need to learn the basic of marketing, you need to learn product creation and more importantly you need to learn how to sell. It is not at all different from the offline business model. The difference is, it’s definitely easier to leverage on the internet.

Marketing Gimmick No.2

“Free Website With Every Sign-up Worth $XXX!”

While I have to admit that this is true, however, I have to point out that you can’t really do much with anything that is FREE.

It’s like giving free keyboards when you don’t have a computer. The next thing you know is that they are going to sell you a monitor that comes with a free CPU. Which, of course you knew that the price you are paying is actually the whole cost incurred for the free keyboard even.

Two weeks down the road, they will contact you again to sell their latest software to be programmed into your new computer. And once that’s done, they will keep selling you new games, new updates, new versions of this and that.

I have come to learn that this is one of the effective methods known as the ‘Up-Sell’. Sell something cheap and then sting the customer later with a more expensive product. They say sell to your customers when they are going out the door.

Think of it, it’s kind of true. I tend to buy more things at the counter when the cashier offers special discounted batteries, condoms, sweets, gums and what not. You are in the buying mood, so it’s easier not to say No.

However, as future marketers and entrepreneurs yourself, I strongly urge you not to fall for this gimmick too often. You will realize that this technique will be used against you time and time again.

Marketing Gimmick No.3

“My Proof That I Make $90,000 in 7 days”
(Accompanied by screen shots of bank accounts and scanned cheques)

Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt, shall we? Supposing those income streams are super true, did they actually give you a true account of how long they took to reach that level of super affiliate? Did they tell you how much information they have absorbed, how many e-books they have bought, how many seminars and courses they have been to? How many times they have actually been scammed?

Probably not, I guess.

Yes, those incomes are true. But, a surgeon does not reach his level of expertise by reading an instant manual on how to dissect human brains. A computer hacker does not crack the code by simply entering random numbers on his keyboard. An artist does not sell millions with his masterpieces by splashing paints on his canvas. I am a professional graphic designer for ten years, and I don’t believe one can master Adobe Photoshop techniques in a few weeks. (I started off with version 2.5, FYI)

You get the picture, don’t you?

It is all through hard work. The reality is there are no short cuts. No magic beans. I don’t mean to burst your bubble but you would probably know that subconsciously anyway. Please, don’t ever deceive yourself. It’s the worst crime one can inflict upon humanity.

Well, of course, he can make $90 grand in 7 days.

But, can you?

Marketing Gimmick No.4

“Testimonials from Who, Who & Who!”

Almost every website that promotes information products will inevitably have testimonials from people whom you don’t even know of or even remotely know where their locations are. These testimonials sparsely placed around their websites claiming the greatness, the superiority and the irrefutable endorsements are simply another marketing gimmick.

In the offline business, marketers use celebrities to endorse their products. They sign multi-million dollar contracts with mega-stars, singers, sports players and local personalities to give their personal testimonials. They could all be scripted for all I care, but the difference is you know these people. You buy Adidas products because Zidane or Mohammad Ali endorsed them. You drink Pepsi because of the same reasons. You use Maybelline also because they are used by your favourite actresses.

But in the online business, do you know these people who gave these testimonials? For all you know, they are friends, brothers, sisters, cousins of the product vendor obliged to put up their pictures to support these claims made by the marketers themselves.

I am not saying that testimonials from common people do not work. In fact, I do believe that a product recommended from a friend than a salesperson is worth a try. But, problem is, I do not know all these people.

How can I know that they are telling the truth?

And with that little seed of doubt already planted, how can I even risk my next $49, $29, $69 to people that I don’t even trust in the first place.

Think about it. You know the answer as much as I do.

There are a lot more marketing gimmicks that I have picked up along the way and should be sharing with you here. But, I can’t do that for my own safety reasons. I am sure you understand.

What I can do is to show you the door. The door to learn the basic skills of internet marketing. The path that will eventually lead you to financial freedom.

I am NOT a guru by any standards. I am just a rookie like you. Like I said, I have only made one sale so far after spending more than $3000 on useless information. I come to you as a friend. And, I sincerely hope that you will hear me out.

Because, what I am going to recommend to you is a complete system.

I have cursed myself for not discovering this system in the first place. It’s called the Profit Lance Marketing Course created by this guy named Michael Andrews.

The Profit Lance System is an online course that teaches the variety of skills needed to make money online. This is a solid no-hype product, with real value for money and provides real and practical know how. It covers the basics of affiliate marketing, creating information products, making money from content, SEO basics and strategies, comprehensive traffic generation techniques, a full copywriting course, and much more.

It also has a unique online goal and task manager that lets you plan all your activities. With lots of videos and other teaching resources, this has got to be the best product for people looking to earn from the Internet.

Currently, there is a special offer with a number of bonuses including a whole network of affiliate websites, already set up and hosted for you, a complete Adsense business, and a monthly newsletter. This is a super product and should not be missed.

Let me tell you that he is NOT a guru.

He is an institution. Yes, an institution of learning the basic skills to achieve success in the online marketing business. His system is not a fly-by-night technique that will generate income in 2 weeks. He is really not going to promise that you will make money in hours. But what he can do is to equip you with the proper know-hows so that you can generate cash-cows for a lifetime.

Michael Andrews will not only teach you to fish. He will teach you the ocean.

And, after learning the basics, it’s all up to you where you want to go from there.

There will be project tasks for you to benefit from. There are specific web tools for you to research on. There are not one or two FREE websites that you can profit from, but 15 tailor-made sites for you to practice those skills and even make some small money before you go for the big kill. And you don’t need to spend anything else if you follow true to his course.

He will also provide you with a task manager to organize your goals and objectives.

Oh man, he will give you so many things that none of the other websites can ever measure up to.

I am not going to waste any more of your precious time so that you can start to learn about affiliate marketing skills now. Just go to Profit Lance from here and you will know what I mean.

But, do me a small favor, will you? If you ever decide to purchase this product, please visit through my link from here. I won’t lie to you that I will be earning a small percentage of the sale because that’s what I need. I am not some Multi-Millionaire who generates $15k every day.

Put it simple, I do need the commission. And so will you in the near future. I am not going to promise you some perceived value bonuses that are in fact worthless. I won’t be employing any marketing gimmicks, i.e. promise you rebates or discounts if you buy from this link.

All I can offer you is that I can give you a few samples of some other ‘Money-Making E-Books’ that I have bought before for $3,000 if you simply forward me your receipt of purchase from Profit Lance.

That’s all I have and can give for a fellow rookie affiliate. I have wasted it, and I don’t want you to do the same.

Hurry now, and go make your bucks, my friend!

Sincerely yours,
Alex Qhanter Shah

Contextual Ad Networks...The Baby Boom Is Upon Us

by: Kirk Bannerman

No, this baby boom will certainly not swamp the Social Security system (sort of a bad joke for those that live in the United States, but many other countries...most notably Japan...have an even more acute problem), but this baby boom is revolutionizing the way that pay per click advertising is being spread across the Internet. One of the early participants in this pay per click baby boom was Google, with its AdSense program. With this program, Google shares pay per click revenue with a huge number of individual partner websites that carry a few pay per click ads that are distributed by Google. In essence, this creates a whole bunch of little pay per click locations (websites) throughout the Internet and hence the term "pay per click baby boom". Conceptually, programs like AdSense are similar to what the computer hardware folks refer to a distributed processing. Instead of trying to draw everyone to a large pay per click search engine site, little groups of pay per click ads are spread widely across thousands of locations (websites) all over the Internet. Actually, this distributed processing or propagation technique is not limited to pay per click advertising. For example, Amazon uses a similar arrangement (called Amazon Associates) to sell the products it carries on amazon.com and ClickBank has a sales program called CBAdwords which operates in a similar fashion. According my trusty Ouija board, it seems likely that most commercial hubs on the Internet will be shifting to this propagation concept as time progresses...all of those individual partner websites that carry the message/proposition will constitute the vast army of worker ants that keep the queen ant alive and healthy. From a pay per click marketing perspective, these programs make brilliant use of leverage while providing highly targeted prospects for the paying advertiser. There are, of course, some interesting things that occur as a result of all of this stuff. For example, consider what I call the "cross fertilization effect": Suppose a person goes to yahoo.com and performs a search that leads them to one of my websites that happens carry Google AdSense ads and that visitor then clicks on one of those ads...the net result is that Yahoo natural search provided Google pay per click with some revenue! Aren't these fun times that we're living in? As these programs continue to proliferate, the individual webmaster needs to exercise a little restraint and avoid the temptation to go overboard by plastering these ads all over your website and thereby diluting your own primary message/proposition and confusing your hard earned visitor. When properly used, these ads are just ancillary or complementary content that you are providing to enhance the information and opportunities that you are providing to your visitor...if something happens to strike a responsive chord with your visitor, you might make a little pay per click money. If properly used, these propagation programs can result in the classical "win-win" situation. However, if you over do it, this can quickly turn into a loss for you (the individual webmaster) and a win for your pay per click partners that are distributing the ads. As in many things, moderation is important. The dynamic search engine marketing industry continues to evolve as users began to take advantage of the steady stream of new features, tools and innovations provided by the ever increasing number of search engines offering quality search results (it's not all about Google anymore). The evolutionary time line for Internet marketing continues to run at warp speed. An example of previous evolutionary periods (which by now may almost seem prehistoric) would be the emergence of pay-per-click advertising and the cooresponding rise of search-marketing firms specializing in AdWords and Overture. As long as there are methods for finding and retrieving information in digital databases by using keywords or similar attributes, there will be a search-marketing industry. How that industry operates in the future depends on how the search engines operate and how consumer tendencies evolve. It's a constant sea of change, but the good things just keep on getting better! Stay alert, and light on your feet, and the opportunities will just keep on coming your way. The above are just some observations from "the peanut gallery", but I don't think I'm far off the mark about where things are heading. With that, I'm off the soapbox and wishing you success in whatever you do online! About the author: Kirk Bannerman operates his own successful home based business and also coaches others seeking to start their own home based business. For more information visit his website at http://www.home-based-business-team.com

Five Knockout Affiliate Tips

s

by: Nicholas Dixon

Here are five �hook em in the jaw� affiliate tips that really work. Implement them and see how well they work for you. (1) Develop a positive and realistic mindset. Do you believe that you can get rich quick or that your business will take time to grow? Those who believe in the online hype are the ones who normally lose. Think positive and know in your heart you can earn an income from your efforts. (2) Too much information or the lack of it can be dangerous. Not using the knowledge that you have gain can stop your business from getting off the ground and not having the right information can have the same effect. (3) Market your programs with Google Adwords. This is a powerful strategy you can use and as long as you earn more in commissions than your PPC costs, then you are getting something for nothing. (4) Write your own ads, articles and reviews instead of the pre-formatted ones offered by affiliate programs. This will set you apart from all the other affiliates in the same program. (5) Make sure your affiliate program matches the content of your website or newsletter. If you have marketing content then you should promote marketing products on that page. Think of it like matching ads to the page content like the way Adsense does. There may a few exceptions to the rule though, even Adsense does it some time. There you go. A few tips to help you with your affiliate programs whether you are looking for your first check or to boost your current earnings. Try them all or even a couple and test and track your results. I am sure Lennox Lewis would be proud of your hooks and jabs � Oceanroc Web Publishing About the author: Nicholas Dixon is the CEO of Oceanroc Web Publishing. You are invited to sign up for a free five day mini course on search engines available at http://WWW.Oceanroc.com/Searchcourse.html

Affiliate Marketing vs. Google Adsense: Let the Battle Begin

by: Scott Patterson

Lately there has been a lot of discussion on how to make tons of money with Google Adsense. In fact, many people are making the claim that Adsense sites can earn a higher revenue then an affiliate-marketing site. So that brings us to an important question: Which is a better online business - Affiliate-Marketing sites or Google Adsense sites? Let's explore each one and then find out which online business is better option: Google Adsense How do you like the idea of earning m*ney without dealing with customers or answering emails. This is possible when you run a Google Adsense site. With Adsense sites, you can have a virtual passive-income that requires little maintaining. But is this the best option for an online business? Here are the positives of Google Adsense sites: � They are perfect for people who run information sites that have no related affiliate product � You can set it and leave it. With Google Adsense, you can create a content page, and there is little need to update the content. � Adsense sites are easy to scale. Since they require little upkeep, you can easily create multiple websites that each make a nice income. Here are the negatives of Google Adsense sites: � They are not a great long term solution. Instead of getting your visitors to subscribe to a mailing list, you are focusing on getting people to click on ads. Real online businesses concentrate on building assets that can use for long-term growth. � These sites are dependent on search engines. Most Google Adsense sites make the mistake of depending on search engines for the majority of their traffic. If the SE algorithms change then your income might drop significantly. Affiliate Marketing Being an affiliate marketer is great for those who want build a theme site. With this type of business, you can easily create web pages around a topic and get people to buy products through your products. If done correctly, you can easily build a loyal following that will help you make money for years to come. But can affiliate marketing make you more money then Google Adsense? Here are the positives of affiliate marketing: � A great advantage of affiliate-marketing is that you can build a long term business that will bring in a revenue stream for years. � With affiliate-marketers you need to focus on building an email list. This list is a major asset of your business. Every time you have an offer, you can go to your list and increase your profits.. � Unlike Google Adsense sites, which only concentrates on high paying keywords, an affiliate marketing site can be centered on a topic that you have an interest in. Here are the negatives of affiliate marketing: � You have to learn how to write persuasively and get people to purchase the product that you are recommending. For many people this is a difficult skill to learn. � Each affiliate marketing site requires a lot of effort. You must spend a lot of time writing product reviews, building your email list and creating web content. So which is better: Affiliate marketing or Google Adsense? The answer is that both are great solutions for an online business. Instead of choosing one over the other, you should create websites that can take advantage of both. Here is how you can do this: 1) Create a content site on a topic that you are interest in, while paying a good amount per Adsense click. 2) Integrate your Adsense into the menu bars and the top of your web content. 3) Add web pages for affiliate-products and your opt-in email list. But, make sure that you leave out the Adsense blocks on these pages. This way you are ensuring that you are building your long-term assets. 4) Create optimized web page articles that focus on a specific keyword phrase. Place your Google Adsense in these blocks. 5) Provide your email list with good content and product recommendations. Once in awhile, email your list and provide a link to some of your web articles. That way, you can earn a little bit of m*ney from your subscribers while giving them good content. By focusing on both affiliate products and Google Adsense, you will be building both short-term and long-term profits. About the author: Scott J. Patterson is a self-proclaimed Dunce, yet last month he earned $12,124 from one of his online businesses. To find out how YOU can do the same, download his fr*e ebook- The Secret-Guide to Home Businesses: http://www.duncemoney.com/affiliate-adsense.html

Is banner advertising dead?

by: Florie Lyn Masarate

There was once a time when banners were the most important forms of printing for information, educational, and advertising purposes. People see them everywhere during that time, big and small. Anywhere one looks, banners are displayed, showcasing different businesses and companies. Banners were put into websites in the internet age. These times, with graphic designs and colors that added a certain style into these things. That was before. What people do not know about is that banner advertising is considered a dead business in the internet nowadays. This is according to the marketing experts of the internet. This is based from the fact that banners are expensive. According to studies, the number of people visiting and clicking through them are less and that the success rate is minimal. Chances are, people using banners would end up losing more money than the cost they have paid for them. The same people who were investing their money on banner business before were the first ones pulling out of this kind of advertising and turning to other sources. What had caused the death of banner advertising? Many banners are put in with so many graphics designs in them that people could not anymore understand what the banner is about. While incorporating more colors and graphics design made the banner look attractive enough, the essence of what is about gets lost in all these mixtures. Although the advertisers’ purpose of getting attention made its mark, the content is lost in the purpose. People get to admire them but after that, they tend to forget what they were admiring about. Designs, yes, but what else? Graphic designs take up more of the space that could have been for the things to exemplify the banner further. Most of the time, the graphics that were used were not essential for what the banner is about. It should be kept in mind that the graphic designs and the banner should co-exist and not go over the other. People has the tendency to look more on the colors and pictures and forget what they were there for and what was it about. Banners should not go over with the graphics to avoid being swallowed by them. Another reason is the long-winding details and explanations, along with all the graphics. As not all people have the patience to go through the long intervals and additional, it is better to get to the point. Banners are not TV commercials that need introductions and interruptions. It is best to give it to them straight on. Did good-looking banners do more effectively than those not-so-good looking ones? Think about it. For comments and inquiries about the article visit http://www.uprinting.com About the author: Florie Lyn Masarate got her first article printed in the school newsletter in the third grade. Her hobbies include reading any book she can get her hands on.

EMAIL ADVERTISING.

by: Joseph Robert Neil James.

Sending out emails these days is fast becoming a joke. To achieve an order is getting harder and harder because of the large quantity of email needed to sent out, to secure an order, My research has indicated that with a click thru rate of just 1% of all emails sent out, at a conversion rate of 2% - on average - one order should be achieved every 5,000 emails sent out. Keeping in mind that Spam filters block, at least 39% of emails being sent out. This means, if you can purchase 5,000 emails at $0.001 each, which equals $5 per 5,000 – and is very good value for money, providing you are selling a product or service for about $20. However, the click thru rate can fluctuate, depending on how good you are at writing headlines, to promote your product or service. The reason why it’s necessary to send out so many emails, to secure an order, is because most people avoid quoting their prime email address, when submitting their website to directories or classifieds because usually once a website has been submitted to a directory of classifieds, the website owner receives hundreds of emails in return, within a short time, which is a little annoying. If people could be persuaded to use their prime email address when submitting their websites, the 1% click thru rate would increase dramatically because many more emails would be read, instead of being classed as junk mail and discarded, unread. Recently I discovered two new programs that offered me the opportunity to submit my website and only receive one email in return, from each. The name of the programs are Search-o-Rama.com and OnSeek.com - When I submitted my website via my prime email address free, to their comprehensive directory, I only received just one email in return, from both programs. Search-o-Rama.com and OnSeek.com - also invited me to purchase 5,000 emails at a low purchase price of $5, which is $0.001 per email and send out my adverts via their own system. Search-o-Rama and OnSeek.com - are unique, quality and uncomplicated programs, with a first class easy to set up, affiliate program. There are also facilities for monitoring advert statistics i.e. click thru % rate ECT. To submit your website free to – Search-o-Rama.com and OnSeek.com – directories, please click the following links: http://search-o-rama.com/jrnjames.htm http://onseek.com/jrnjames.htm About the Author perpetual@m999.fslife.co.uk http://www.finitesite.com/jrnjames/article.html Joseph Robert Neil James - resides in Warwickshire, England and is an author, husband, father, grand father, and Great Grand Father. Having spent many years in the "Direct Mail Advertising" business, whilst living with his wife and four children in Australia - joseph is now retired and enjoys working with his computer and researching with a Pendulum.

Advertising on a Shoestring Budget When You Can't Afford

The best way to make money with your website, no matter what the business, is to get it noticed. To get it noticed, you need to advertise. But how do you do that when you're on a shoestring budget that's so tight you really can't afford the shoestring, let alone the shoe you took it off of? Well, there are three things you can do that won't cost you a dime. And you can get started with them today.

First, get yourself signed up for several hits-for-clicks sites. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, a 'hits-for-clicks' site is a site from which you surf the net and get points for viewing websites. In return for surfing, you get points. You use those points to get exposure for your site(s). Most hits-for-clicks have free signups and most will let you enter up to three (sometimes five) URLs into their system. Here are some hits-for-clicks sites I use:

Fontoon (http://www.fontoon.com/?refid=3446)
StartXchange (http://www.startxchange.com/index.php?referrer=htack210)
TrafficG (http://trafficg.com/index.php?member=htack210)
Profit Charger hits (http://profitchargerhits.com/www.profitchargerhits.com/?refid=10717)
Traffic Pods (http://www.trafficpods.com/index.jsp?ref=htack210)
MyTrafficStorm (http://www.mytrafficstorm.com/?ref=385)
Traffic Swarm (http://www.trafficswarm.com/go.cgi?329064)
SurfMaster Club (http://www.webideas4u.com/team/htack210/smcp1.shtml)

Second, you need to get yourself a good browser that allows you to do tabbed browsing. What's a tabbed browser? I'm glad you asked! A tabbed browser, simply put, is a browser that lets you browse several sites at once using tabs instead of separate windows. To get the most out hits-for-clicks sites you need to surf from the hits-for-clicks site's start page. The more you surf, the more points you get. The more points you get, the more exposure you get. You could surf from each one of your hits-for-clicks sites one at a time, but you'll make better headway surfing from as many of them as you can at once. Now imagine how cumbersome it would be to have each of the above sites open in a separate window! Having each site open in a separate tab in the same browser window is much more convenient because then you can move from tab to tab and surf several sites at once.

"What are some good tabbed browsers?" you ask. Well, one that comes immediately to mind is Netscape 7.x. It has tabbed browsing built in. All you do is open one site, hit CTRL+T (on the PC) or COMMAND+T (on the Apple), open another tab, open another site, and so on and so on. Then, all you need to do is tab between the sites all in the same window. Another tabbed web browser that comes to mind is CrazyBrowser available at crazybrowser.com (where else?). Crazy Browser works in much the same way as Netscape 7.x and allows you to open whole groups at once. So, if you organize your hits-for-clicks sites in one folder under Crazy Browser, you can opt to open all the links at once and Crazy Broswer will open each one in a separate tab.

Okay, so now you're surfing! You're gaining points and building exposure for your site. That's great! But guess what? It's still not enough. There's one more thing you need to do in order to get the most bang for your click.

Third, you need to build your hits-for-clicks downlines in order to get more points for your clicks. Hits-for-clicks sites thrive on getting more people to sign on. It's how they make their living. One way they do this is through referrals. As an incentive for their current customers to get them more customers, hits-for-clicks sites often give extra points for referrals. "How am I supposed to do that," you ask, "when I'm already clicking my fingers to the bone?" That's where free rotators come in.

A rotator is a web device that let's you put several URLs in one place. The rotator then takes those URLs and rotates them. In other words, when the user happens upon your rotator address, he or she will see one of several sites you have entered. Let me illustrate. Let's say I have a free web rotator that I signed up for at pageswirl. I log in and I put in several sites:
http://gman.167aday.com
http://solutions.juvio210.com
http://www.juvio210.com
http://pageswirl.com/?aff=htack210

When the user goes to my rotator site, he or she will see one of these sites. They will come up at random and I can weight the sites. In other words, I can cause one site to be seen more often than the others.

"Okay. So how does that help me?" you ask. With a free rotator, you can input the referral links for your hits-for-clicks sites along with the main site you're using to promote your business. Enter the free rotator URL into your hits-for-clicks sites. Make sure that your particular hits-for-clicks allows the use of rotators. Many do. Some do not. And some only accept rotators from certain providers. (For example, Profit Charger Hits only accepts Pageswirl rotators.) With the free rotator installed, you're getting referrals, building your clicks-for-hits downline, gaining more browsing points, and getting more exposure for your site. And what's nice about all of this is that you don't have to pay a dime!

When it comes right down to it, the sites that advertise the most, get the most hits and have the potential to make the most money. And with hits-for-clicks sites even people with little or no advertising budget can get the word out. So why are you still here? Get out there and start surfing!

About the Author

Glenn Haertlein is the webmaster of Everyman's Computer Page (www.juvio210.com), a history teacher and a freelance writer.

Sex in Advertising: Does it Sell?

by: Mark Levit

We're surrounded by advertisements that desperately compete for our attention. Everywhere we look, we find ourselves inevitably drawn to images of scantily clad attractive men and women that are supposed to somehow inspire us to purchase products they endorse. Sure, this attention-getting strategy is popular. But, is it effective? Sex appeal can increase the effectiveness of an ad or commercial because it attracts the customer’s attention. It’s human nature to be curious about sex. A pair of long legs on a billboard is more likely to catch (and hold) a guy’s attention than a puppy, regardless of how cute it may be. Even women are drawn to them, perhaps with the desire of having goddess-like legs. However, misuse of sex appeal can be costly. Many campaigns deemed offensive have started brand boycotts that affect sales and damage brand reputation. Abercrombie & Fitch has been involved in several scandals, the latest from their most recent catalog entitled “XXX Wet, Hot Summer Fun.” On April 18, 2002, only a week after the catalog hit the stores, the Illinois State Senate passed a resolution condemning A&F’s advertising tactics. This resolution, backed by several nonprofit organizations, suggests citizens and shareholders boycott Abercrombie’s products and to take a stand against the company’s marketing strategies. Although sexy images in catalogs are not at all uncommon, “XXX Wet, Hot Summer Fun” featured naked boys and girls frolicking in natural settings. Not quite appropriate for an apparel catalog targeted at teenagers. Sex in advertising has stirred controversy for many years, an advertiser must be careful when incorporating it in a campaign. Great advertisers consider not only the attention-getting power of an advertisement or commercial, but also what kind of emotional response it provokes in customers. Studies show that the attractiveness of the endorsing model provokes positive responses. Nudity and graphic erotic content, while still increasing consumer’s attention, doesn’t really generate positive feelings among viewers. In other words, advertisers must be careful to avoid the “cheap shot,” which may negatively affect a brand’s image. To avoid that, the sexual content in advertising must be appropriate to the product category and have a proper underlying message. In 2000, Heineken launched the “It’s All About the Beer” campaign. One spot, called “The Premature Pour,” shows a beautiful seductive woman pouring Heineken into a glass. When a guy across the bar responds by pouring his own, he nervously pours too fast and spills foam all over the table and himself. The sexual content is implicit, yet direct. The sexual reference in this and other spots in the campaign worked, causing sales to rise 13% in the first two quarters of 2002. However, Steve Davis (VP of marketing in Heineken USA), claims that, “Provocative is a very good place to be, as long as we’re not inflammatory. But the spots also work for a different reason. From the tag line to the plot, they are about a desire for Heineken. Our ads make the beer the hero.” Sex sells, yes, but only when used “in good taste.” As marketers we must think not only in getting customers’ attention for the short term, but also in building a brand reputation that will yield long-term results. About The Author Mark Levit is managing partner of Partners & Levit Advertising and a professor of marketing at New York University. Partners & Levit's clients include Procter & Gamble, UnitedHealth Group, and GE Commercial Finance. For more information call 212-696-1200 or visit http://www.partnerslevit.com.

The Online Advertising Scandal

by: Ieuan Dolby

The World Wide Web was an enormous step for mankind, a step not seen since Neil Armstrong sullied the surface of the moon. The idea behind the WWW came across as a veritable information highway where documents, data and info could be rapidly sent and accessed by millions the world over. The potential behind the web is enormous and even now the scope is not fully utilized. The possibilities for growth, for extended usage, are available and enormous yet the system is stagnating and it is very possible that people will soon turn away. The average person seeking information may well return to old-fashioned libraries and the good old book to find the information that they require if the face and image of the WWW is not altered very soon and in-line with customer demand. The ability of any user to gain information from the Internet is enormous, simple and with positive results. But the information received is increasingly becoming that which a paying body prescribes and thus is advertisement biased or pointed towards the end purchase of a product. Hotels advertise a city or holiday resort with the point of view of potential tourists coming to stay. A detailed description of moon cakes in Taiwan although complete and detailed would certainly be with aim to make people buy some from the store hosting the website involved. Initially the Internet was heralded as a one-stop point for gaining any type or form of information with the click of the mouse. This is certainly true except with regard to loose information that has no affiliation towards an end purchase or a users change of heart. Certainly this type of information is available and millions of websites exist but unless a user has prior information on how to access this site then the chance of it being found amongst the masses is minimal. Most web users find or locate information by using a search engine. Most web users input their request and wait for results to come up as prescribed and ordered by the search engine system. If for example a request was entered for “travel tales on the sea” many, possibly thousands of choices will appear in return. Number one in the pole position will probably be Amazon.com who feels certain that anybody looking for a story would probably find it amongst their collection – naturally obtainable at a price. The next on the list might be Ebay who feel that certain travel products might appease the searcher or it might be goarticles.com an articles selling service who would assume that travel tales of the sea would be somebody looking to buy such from them and for their own use. Certainly each and every result that is produced on the first page would point the user towards large companies who are selling an item of one sort or another. The user though may in fact just want to read some Travel Tales of the Sea without having to fork out cash or to issue his/her credit card information over the Internet. In the bowels of the search results in pages that are covered in dust will reside some very comprehensive and useful websites, eg: http://www.seadolby.com a website that is filled with free and in-depth Travel Tales of the Sea. The possibility of any user keeping interest long enough to get to this web site listing is minimal and long before it is reached the user has either fallen asleep or entered another search on a different note. In short the average user does not get past the first page of a search engines results and probably not past the first three that come up: e.g. amazon.com, ebay.com and goarticles.com Although not-for-profit informational web sites are many and filled with amazing and detailed info these sites ability to gain attention on the world stage is difficult unless money is poured in to boost their ratings and rank positions on the search engine results. Nowadays many search engines have entered the pay-per-click arena with companies putting forward money to buy keywords that will most likely be used to boost their website. Some company buys the word “Travel” and this word is then basically lost forever to the lone free-for-all info site who cannot afford to pay money to boost their popularity. The art of advertising and paying for positions on search engines is only available to the sites that can afford the exorbitant fees. Should a lone site owner who has built his site-up decide to fork out of his own pocket the money to boost his ratings this will only be achieved on one or two search engines or directories and the amount required to compete with the mega-sites is far beyond any hobbyist can afford. Naturally the ability to submit ones site on free inclusion pages and directories is available but as the webmaster and author behind Seamania found out, so much energy and time is spent on advancing the ratings of his site that not enough time is given to the writing of travel tales of the sea, which of course is the basis and sole point behind the website in the first place. Large for profit websites can afford to hire web-orientated staff to control, advertise and spend time on boosting the rankings of their particular website. Single owner for profit websites can afford to pay marketing specialists and to buy keywords at exorbitant rates. The lone not-for-profit website owner can either spend all day and all week controlling and submitting his site to the thousands of ever changing search engines and directories and suffer from a serious loss of updated content on his/her website or place emphasis on building up content and never have a visitor to his portal. Many other factors go towards reducing the effectiveness of the individual website than just search result rankings. Many single website owners operate outdated and very slow computers, use old or outdated software and only perform on odd occasions when not playing with their children or busy at work. Many other free info sites have found that subscribing to some lists to boost their rankings has in-fact reduced them to near invisibility. Google and now other search engines condemn sites for using link pages that they themselves do not agree with, so by simply subscribing or joining one of these sites Google may drop a future crawl of the website involved. It is also impossible for the lone not-for-profit website to keep up with ever changing trends and policies. Where payment is made for a lifetimes inclusion in a search engine, the next year may see the demise of this particular engine or its partnering up with another – thus the lifetimes inclusion becomes null and void and to prevent being dropped from the listings another fee is required – read the small print! Other means to increase visibility is often initiated by offering advertising space to companies like Google, Barnes and Noble or other directories or affiliates. This can result in a slight income for websites (The Seamania website made 40US dollars over the last three months) but never enough to afford placement on search engine results or to purchase keywords. It is also against the grain for many free-info website owners to have to place advertising on their websites as not only is it taking up valuable space it detracts and reduces the free effect the content within. Furthermore should a website choose one companies advertising it may boost their rankings within one search engine but equally so reduce it in another’s e.g. allowing Google advertising space on an index page may increase the page rank in Google but seriously reduce it in Yahoos search results and possible exclusion from their Yahoo Directory. >From the point of view of an Internet User in search of free and not-for-profit biased information he/she does not want to see endless sites where a visa card is required to proceed further. It would be very nice to see the advancement of such directories like Zeal.com who divide their listings into those for profit and those who generally provide valuable and non-profit orientated formation. Naturally the question arises as to how such a search engine would manage to cover the costs of these listings but generally with the amount of people available who regard the Internet as a toy and a hobby projects such as Editor of a category volunteers should not be hard to recruit. The other way would be to have search engines run and operated by governments like public libraries are or built and operated by universities as part of study programs – something practical for students to involve themselves with. Directories abound whose content is managed by volunteers, the Open Directory Project being the most famous. But sites such as Seamania have found to their detriment that trying to get noticed in amongst the debris found in these directories is not easy. Seamania was originally listed as a Personal website in the boating category but over time the emphasis and content of the website has evolved to become a general travel website. It has though proved impossible to change the location of the site in the Dmoz directory to a travel listing rather than a boating listing. If at all possible and to prevent users who are sick of being asked for their credit card information or being given 30 different porn sites upon entering Travel Tales of the Sea into a search engine, it would be nice to see a shift in emphasis in the way that the search engines operate their listings. Certainly the idea of switching on a computer and being faced with two choices, one for sites that are-for-profit and one that points towards not-for-profit sites would be a dream come true. To enter in a search request and to not find amazon.com or ebay.com in the first few results would put cheer to any searchers hopes of finding what he wants. And maybe in this way a true exchange of information may be facilitated and the mass exodus of searchers back to the public library for information may be halted. About The Author Ieuan Dolby - Author and Webmaster of Seamania. As a Chief Engineer in the Merchant Navy he has sailed the world for fifteen years. Now living in Taiwan he writes about cultures across the globe and life as he sees it. seadolby.com ieuandolby@seadolby.com

Malicious Advertising

by: Daniel Punch

Advertising is a necessary irritant in the world today. You can't drive down the street without coming across an ad, either a billboard suspended over a road or a large poster plastered down the side of a bus. If you walk into a shopping centre it doesn't matter where you look, you see an advertisement of some kind. Even the tables in the food court now have ads embedded in them, and on my last trip to Melbourne I noticed that they were starting to embed flat screen TVs into the tables to deliver the full commercial experience to your meal. If you jump on the Internet you have to contend with pop-ups and banner ads, with some advertising agents being ruthless enough to write malicious code that embeds the ad into your computer so that you still receive the pop-ups even when you're not at the original site. In the past, pop-ups and banner ads have been easy enough to avoid with the right software installed (incidentally, am I the only one who finds pop-up ads that advertise pop-up blockers tremendously amusing?) but now the software developers have worked their way around that little problem. The solution was simple; sell advertising space in your software, not just on your web page. As much as I like to complain about this new idea, it does come with a significant upside. These days, not all Shareware applications drop out after a limited period of use, nor do they constantly remind you to register. Having ads in the software provides the application developers with the necessary funding to live but leaves the user free from having to pay to use the software. It ends up being in the developer's best interest to ensure that the user continues to use the software for as long as possible, because that means an increased income. In my opinion this was a brilliant idea, and I wholeheartedly supported it until they started building unblockable pop-ups into the software. The gaming world is getting in on the act as well, which could be both positive and negative. The Internet provides the functionality for games to constantly update the virtual world with new billboards, TV ads, clothing and so on, keeping the content fresh and the ads current. From an advertising standpoint it's an amazing idea, people are spending less and less time watching TV and more and more time immersed in virtual worlds. The interactive nature of the ads means that they will remain in a player's mind for a lot longer than the TV ad break that can be walked away from, flicked over or simply ignored. The game developers on the other hand now have an added source of income, meaning that they can take more risks without the fear of losing money. Advertising in games is not a new idea, the soft drink '7-Up' created a game many years ago called 'Cool Spot', which had the player controlling a red dot with sunglasses in his quest to collect 7-Up logos. The game was remarkably solid, leaving the players to enjoy the game while still getting its message across. I played it a long time ago as a child, but I still remember how much fun it was and exactly what product it was pushing. Pepsi released a Playstation game called 'Pepsi Man' that involved a blue and white striped super-hero running around collecting cans of Pepsi. Red Bull got in on the game with 'Wipeout' featuring 'Red Bull' banners and a loading screen bearing the phrase "Increase your reaction time with Red Bull". 'Worms 3D' featured Red Bull as a power up. 'Crazy Taxi' had customers jump in the player's taxi and holler "Take me to KFC!" or any of the numerous other licensed locations in the game. 'True Crime' had the characters dressed in 'Puma' attire, with the main character changing his outfits several times throughout the game. Until now I've always thought that the ads in games were amusing and, so long as they didn't interfere with the playing of the game, I was all for them. However, there are new ideas afoot that seem set to change my mind. The main problem I have with ads in games now is the same as my issue with Pay TV. You're shelling out a lot of money for a product (new games being sold for upwards of $50.00 U.S.) and you're still getting ads. If developers are going to start flooding my entertainment with advertising, I'd like to see a significant drop in the price of games. The other big issue is that of spyware. Until now, spyware has been a hated part of existence. This malicious software digs its way into your system and collects information about you: your Internet surfing habits, the contents of your hard drive(s) and even the unblocked ports available on your computer. This has lead to the necessity of loading a system with anti-spyware utilities to run alongside the pop-up killers, anti-virus programs, firewalls, registry guards and whatever other protective measures a paranoid PC user has to implement. Now paradoxically, someone has had the 'fantastic' idea of building spyware into software, and games in particular. In the future the games that you've just paid such a high price for will sit there monitoring you in the background, watching your every virtual move. Then they can target ads that are more likely to have an impact on you based on the contents of your hard drive or your Internet surfing habits. The best part about it is that as soon as you click 'I Agree' and install the software, it becomes legitimate and you've agreed for them to access information about you. Many software products already feature clauses in their license agreements that have the user permitting the developers to collect 'anonymous information in order to provide the customer with a better experience'. The other part of this that irks me is the fact that I'm going to have to have my computer connected to the Internet and chew through my download limit just to play a single-player game. In the end, I suppose that there's no way to avoid advertising in our current world. Having it implemented into software and games was simply the next logical step. I suspect that I will be looking to download the inevitable 'Ad Blocker' cracks that I imagine will appear shortly after the wholesale introduction of advertising into the gaming industry, but I do believe that with appropriate tact and respect for privacy, advertising could turn out to be a positive addition to the interactive experience. About The Author Daniel Punch M6.Net http://www.m6.net danielp@m6.net

HIT COUNTS AND ADVERTISING

by: Bob McElwain

When you first open your new site, hits will be slow in coming (unless you are an expert at generating them). And sales will be correspondingly scarce. Even so, you need to be checking your stats and sales with care. The number that matters most to you is ... The Value Of A Hit By this, I mean, what is a hit worth to you? (By hit, I mean one unique visitor or user session.) Compute this number by dividing total sales amounts (gross profits) by the number of hits. That is, find the total earned for say a month. This includes your part of sales of products produced by others, commissions on sales, and so forth. Your stats will provide the number of unique hits. For example, if you have a gross of $200 for the month, and 1000 hits, the value of a hit is 200/1000. Which is 0.20 or 20 cents. If gross was only $50, then this number is only 0.05 or 5 cents. Moving Averages With a mature site routinely generating hits, this number is not likely to vary markedly from month to month. Even so, a good plan is to include in your results a 3 (or 4) month moving average. For example, given Jan: $0.30, Feb: $0.20, and Mar: $0.10, add these three numbers and divide by 3. (30 + 20 + 10)/3 = 60/3 = 20. The reason this helps is that looking only at the monthly data, the above looks like an ugly downtrend. The 3 month average eases that downer feeling. Equally important, it helps you keep from getting too excited about an apparent up trend. Suppose the value for April jumps to $0.40. For the new average, January is excluded; you look at only the last three months. This gives (20 + 10 + 40)/3 = 70/3 = 23.33 which is roughly 23 cents. In considering 23 cents as opposed to 40 cents for the month, there is a more reserved view of the sudden jump. I chose numbers here to make things easier to follow. Actual results for your site will look quite different. And since the computations, while simple, can be tedious and prone to error, most who take this sort of thing seriously use a spread sheet program, such as Excel. Why These Numbers Matter The value of a hit is fundamental to what you can afford to pay for advertising. And you'd like to stay a bit under this figure. If the ad produces only this value per hit, the campaign was a fizzle, for no profit was made. (The exception would be the value of new customers as subscribers to your newsletter, those who return to purchase other products, and so forth.) There's a lot of trial and error in testing ads, but the ins and outs of it are off topic here. For our purpose, suppose you have a well tested ad that can be expected to generate 25 hits in 1000 impressions. If the value of a hit to you is 50 cents, then you can expect a gross of 25 x $0.50 or $12.50. What this means is you can afford to pay up to $12.50 CPM (Cost per 1000 impressions) provided hits add to your subscriber list or returns for other products. If you expect only a one time sale, you probably will not want to pay more than $6.25 CPM, so that half of revenue is immediate profit. With an established site, even given troublesome variations month to month, it is a fairly straightforward matter to decide what you can afford to pay for advertising. Things are different, though, for ... New Or Small Sites Initially you just don't have enough hits or sales to produce numbers that make any sense at all. There is likely to be large variations each month. Even so, it's best to begin this kind of tracking even when only getting started. Probably the best approach is to forget about a 3 or 4 month moving average, and generate an average this month for all earlier months. Whatever your results, you can not afford to advertise until you have a tested ad and feel confident from the value of a hit the ad will produce profits. For a new site, unless you already know the advertising game, this may mean waiting a year or more before even giving advertising a try. Getting Started With Advertising Most find advertising in ezines to be the most effective approach on the Web. The trick is to find ezines directed at your target. Then test your response to an ad in the least expensive way. Given a poor or inadequate response, try another ezine. But given a good response, go for it. In theory, advertising that works can bring unlimited profits. Ezine advertizing costs are often stated with a single price. To make your numbers work, convert this price to CPM. This also makes it easier to compare costs from ezine to ezine. For example, if the circulation of an ezine is 4000 and the cost of the ad is $20, you are paying $5 CPM. Other Paths I've haven't heard any recent reports of good success with banner advertising using the CPM model. Some are reporting success with the pay-per-click model, which means you pay only for clickthroughs to your site. This is essentially the same model used with the pay-per-click search engines such as the one at GoTo.Com. There are no tough decisions here. If the value of a hit to you is greater than what you must pay for a click to your site, go for it. If it's not, ignore these avenues until it is. With an established site, several search engines, such as Google, offer some interesting possibilities I have not tested. Pricy, though, for new or small sites. Directories To submit a listing to Yahoo requires payment of $199. Regardless of the value of a hit to you, submit as soon as your site is sufficiently polished. Consider it a one time advertising cost, and don't look back. Yahoo may deliver as much as a third of search engine related traffic. LookSmart is not such a sure thing. Also $199, they're asking too much, in my opinion. But I still recommend paying the fee. Again, it's a one time cost. Over time, a listing will pay for itself, and may ultimately do so many times over. SNAP is another matter. They also ask for $199 for a listing in their "Top Sites" directory. I don't think it's worth it. And I have not heard others recommend it. But it is an option. Submit for free to their "Live Directory," then walk away. DMOZ is a must. Submitting a listing is free. And if you find a second category into which your site fits well, a second submission about a month later works well. So When Should An Advertising Campaign Be Launched? As soon as the value of a hit and a tested ad will produce profits. Until this point is reached, advertising is a waste of money. For a new or sluggish site, the way to go is to keep working at boosting your CR (Conversion Ratio). That is, continuously examine all elements in all paths leading to sales, in search of improvements that bring a higher CR. By increasing your CR, you increase the value of a hit. Ignore all thoughts of advertising until your CR is sufficient to produce a hit value high enough to cover the costs of placing ads. But once this happens, go for it. All out. About the Author Bob McElwain Want to build a winning site? Improve one you already have? Fix one that's busted? Get ANSWERS. Subscribe to "STAT News" now! mailto:join-stat@lyris.dundee.net Web marketing and consulting since 1993 Site: Phone: 209-742-6349

Do's and Dont's For Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing has to be one of the quickest, and easiest ways of making money online. As an affiliate marketer, you don't need to create products, you will be selling other peoples. You don't need to hold any inventory, you don't need to accept payments, and you don't need to build super sales pages, in fact almost all of the work has been done for you. As an affiliate marketer, all you need to do is bring customers to your chosen affiliate program. That said, before you rush in and become an affiliate marketer, here are some do's and don'ts to save you wasting time, effort and money.

Firstly, listen up because this is important, and is probably the number one reason most people give up on affiliate marketing. A common mistake people make with their website for affiliate marketing is using webpage to promote loads of stuff at once, the worst examples are the "banner Farms" where someone uses one page and adds banners and links to all their affiliate programs with no content. It won't bring visitors, and any who do arrive will disappear almost immediately.

To put it another way, as simple as it is to get started, don't join loads of companies at once and start promoting everything. All you will do is waste time trying to promote all of them at once, and not do a good job of promoting any of them. The end result is invariably no sales at all. Pick one or two products, preferably ones which you have used, read or know something about, and start with those. Once you have a successful campaign you can add others, but one at a time.

Here's some advice for picking an affiliate program to market, find something you're interested in and research a product in that niche you can sell as an affiliate. It will be much easier for you to get excited, and show enthusiasm for a product if you have an interest in it to start with. Sure it's possible to promote anything, but in starting off, it's easier for you to write about a subject you have a passion for.

Here's why you need a passion for your product to sell it well, you can use a website of your own to send potential buyers to, and presell them with a review of the product, not a sales page, a review. While your potential customer is there, capture some details, an email address and name at least, into an autoresponder series. By getting these details, and building a list of customers interested in this product, you have the possibility of sending them emails containing your affiliate link so they see the product more than once. It doesn't have to be difficult or costly to setup either, there are plenty of free autoresponders you can use (google for free autoresponder) and this is where your passion for your niche will help again, as you can write a short course of emails to preload into the autoresponder, so you can set it up and forget it.

But the real benefit of capturing the details of your visitors, and sending them emails is that you get the opportunity to sell to them again and again. If you find other products in the future which relate to the original one you were promoting, you can send one or two emails to your list, knowing they are interested in this second, third or whatever product and are more likely to buy. We're not talking about badgering the life out of your subscribers, as they will then unsubscribe, but helping them find products which may be of help, or value to them in their lives.

Affiliate marketing isn't rocket science, but learning a few basics before you jump in can make a big difference. Hopefully we have given you a basis to work from, so you can get started in affiliate marketing for yourself, and avoid some of the mistakes which could easily put you off.

Thinking One's Way To Success - Example 1

TRULY, "thoughts are things," and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects.

A little more than thirty years ago, Edwin C. Barnes discovered how true it is that men really do THINK AND GROW RICH. His discovery did not come about at one sitting. It came little by little, beginning with a BURNING DESIRE to become a business associate of the great Edison.

One of the chief characteristics of Barnes' Desire was that it was definite. He wanted to work with Edison, not for him. Observe, carefully, the description of how he went about translating his DESIRE into reality, and you will have a better understanding of the thirteen principles which lead to riches.

When this DESIRE, or impulse of thought, first flashed into his mind he was in no position to act upon it. Two difficulties stood in his way. He did not know Mr. Edison, and he did not have enough money to pay his railroad fare to Orange, New Jersey.

These difficulties were sufficient to have discouraged the majority of men from making any attempt to carry out the desire. But his was no ordinary desire! He was so determined to find a way to carry out his desire that he finally decided to travel by "blind baggage," rather than be defeated. (To the uninitiated, this means that he went to East Orange on a freight train).

He presented himself at Mr. Edison's laboratory, and announced he had come to go into business with the inventor. In speaking of the first meeting between Barnes and Edison, years later, Mr. Edison said, "He stood there before me, looking like an ordinary tramp, but there was something in the expression of his face which conveyed the impression that he was determined to get what he had come after. I had learned, from years of experience with men, that when a man really DESIRES a thing so deeply that he is willing to stake his entire future on a single turn of the wheel in order to get it, he is sure to win. I gave him the opportunity he asked for, because I saw he had made up his mind to stand by until he succeeded. Subsequent events proved that no mistake was made."

Just what young Barnes said to Mr. Edison on that occasion was far less important than that which he thought. Edison, himself, said so! It could not have been the young man's appearance which got him his start in the Edison office, for that was definitely against him. It was what he THOUGHT that counted.

If the significance of this statement could be conveyed to every person who reads it, there would be no need for the remainder of this book.

Barnes did not get his partnership with Edison on his first interview. He did get a chance to work in the Edison offices, at a very nominal wage, doing work that was unimportant to Edison, but most important to Barnes, because it gave him an opportunity to display his "merchandise" where his intended "partner" could see it.

Months went by. Apparently nothing happened to bring the coveted goal which Barnes had set up in his mind as his DEFINITE MAJOR PURPOSE. But something important was happening in Barnes' mind. He was constantly intensifying his DESIRE to become the business associate of Edison.

Psychologists have correctly said that "when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance."

Barnes was ready for a business association with Edison, moreover, he was DETERMINED TO REMAIN READY UNTIL HE GOT THAT WHICH HE WAS SEEKING.

He did not say to himself, "Ah well, what's the use? I guess I'll change my mind and try for a salesman's job." But, he did say, "I came here to go into business with Edison, and I'll accomplish this end if it takes the remainder of my life." He meant it! What a different story men would have to tell if only they would adopt a DEFINITE PURPOSE, and stand by that purpose until it had time to become an all-consuming obsession!

Maybe young Barnes did not know it at the time, but his bulldog determination, his persistence in standing back of a single DESIRE, was destined to mow down all opposition, and bring him the opportunity he was seeking.

When the opportunity came, it appeared in a different form, and from a different direction than Barnes had expected. That is one of the tricks of opportunity. It has a sly habit of slipping in by the back door, and often it comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. Perhaps this is why so many fail to recognize opportunity.

Mr. Edison had just perfected a new office device, known at that time, as the Edison Dictating Machine (now the Ediphone). His salesmen were not enthusiastic over the machine. They did not believe it could be sold without great effort. Barnes saw his opportunity. It had crawled in quietly, hidden in a queer looking machine which interested no one but Barnes and the inventor.

Barnes knew he could sell the Edison Dictating Machine. He suggested this to Edison, and promptly got his chance. He did sell the machine. In fact, he sold it so successfully that Edison gave him a contract to distribute and market it all over the nation. Out of that business association grew the slogan, "Made by Edison and installed by Barnes."

The business alliance has been in operation for more than thirty years. Out of it Barnes has made himself rich in money, but he has done something infinitely greater, he has proved that one really may "Think and Grow Rich."

How much actual cash that original DESIRE of Barnes' has been worth to him, I have no way of knowing. Perhaps it has brought him two or three million dollars, but the amount, whatever it is, becomes insignificant when compared with the greater asset he acquired in the form of definite knowledge that an intangible impulse of thought can be transmuted into its physical counterpart by the application of known principles.

Barnes literally thought himself into a partnership with the great Edison! He thought himself into a fortune. He had nothing to start with, except the capacity to KNOW WHAT HE WANTED, AND THE DETERMINATION TO STAND BY THAT DESIRE UNTIL HE REALIZED IT.

He had no money to begin with. He had but little education. He had no influence. But he did have initiative, faith, and the will to win. With these intangible forces he made himself number one man with the greatest inventor who ever lived.

Which Of These Seven Types of People Are You And Which One Would You Like To Be?

One very good marketer I know has an excellent analysis of the types of people that exist when it comes to making money online. It contains some very good lessons and I'll go through each of the types here as I recall them. After you have read through them ask yourself: Which one am I and where do I want to be?

• The Mooch Bum

  These people are clueless and are at the bottom level. They are ignorant and just waste their time. They have no knowledge of the money-making potential of the Internet. These people have a dead end job that they hate. But they don't want to invest in themselves and in educating themselves.This is the person who just uses the Internet to waste time. Watching videos, chatting with friends, reading with email, watching porn and so on. Basically, its just a pastime and a means of pleasure. They believe there is no way you can make money online because they think everything is a scam. They think that people who are making money are just lucky.

  Advice to these people: Just shut up and get a life!

• The Wanna-Be

  These people have heard of the Internet, use it and want to make money. They go chasing after every new fad and every new marketing ploy. These people have ambition (which isn't really enough). These people want to make money, but they just don't have a clue how to. They get sucked into every scam and crappy idea. These people are easily excited and get involved in MLMs and jump from one thing to another, thinking that there is some magic solution which they can plugin and just make money, without any effort. These people do want to succeed, but they don't put the effort in. Their failure is that they think they can make lots of money if they can find the magic solution. These people just lack the knowledge of how to make money. They continue in this manner chasing a dream.

  Advice to these people: If your life stinks, its your fault!
  But if you take responsibility and take action, you can be successful.

• The Pretend-To-Be

  These people are living a lie. They are just "waiting for the right moment". They don't take any action because they feel that they have do things perfectly. They just don't want to make any mistakes. They're always talking about starting an Internet business, but in reality they don't have the guts to do it. These people may have a successful offline business, like for example a doctor or a lawyer. These people spend a lot of money going to seminars, buying courses and products. They are living a lie because they know a lot and can talk the talk, but they are scared to walk the walk. They have lots of excuses - "its not the right time now", "I need to learn a bit more". When you speak to them, you might be dazzled about what they know. But its all just knowledge - no action. They're scared of taking that leap and jumping in.

  Advice to these people: You don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going!
  These people are really afraid, lack courage and don't want to take that jump. They just fool themselves by thinking that they are making progress by buying all the latest products and ebooks.

• The Newbie

  These people are actually on the track. These people have some knowledge and they have done their homework. They simply lack the technical know-how to get to where they want to be. They've bought ebooks and might have a few courses or seminars under their belt. They tend to follow "internet gurus", but the more they study, the more they get confused. These people don't realise that making money online is not about your product or service. Its all about the marketing. These people have a website, and may have their own product, or have resale rights products. But they don't know the specific details of marketing - tracking, conversion, copywriting secrets and technical issues. They are control freaks and want to do everything themselves. They think that if you want to do something right, you've got to do it yourself. In essence, they've just given themselves their own day job, and don't know how to take their business to the next level. These people are either losing money, or making a little amount of money. They're not really taking anything home. They are so bogged down in what they are doing that they lack vision. However, the good thing is that they are in the right direction.

  Advice to these people: If you could do it on your own, you would already be there!
  Get yourself some real marketing education. Take a course, study, learn the skills!

• The Marketer

  These people have a website, or websites that make them money. But all they have is a job and not a business. These people have an understanding of marketing, SEO, copywriting, tracking, conversion and so on. These people have been around and know what they are doing. They might be a leader in their particular niche and maybe making five figures per month. However, they think that they are doing really well, and have already accomplished the best that they can do. In reality, they're just holding themselves back and don't realise that the sky really is the limit. What they do is to compare themselves the previous four levels, and think they are the leaders of the pack. They just have low expectations of themselves and don't compare themselves to the levels that are higher than them. They don't want to stretch themselves outside of their comfort levels. They think they know all that there is to know. These people can be described as "playing not to lose, instead of playing to win". These people simply need someone else to mentor them and take them to the next level.

  Advice to these people: You don't know what you don't know. You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it. You need someone to take you to the next level.

• The Master

  These people are either millionaires or making a good six figure income. They have a vast amount of knowledge of online and offline marketing and have expert knowledge of direct response marketing. These are high performance people. They have depth of understanding in traffic generation, conversion, tracking and so on. These people could enter any niche market and possibly dominate it within a relatively short amount of time. These people have learnt that less control is more control, that is they focus on the things that they are best at (like the marketing) and outsource all the rest of the stuff. This gives them a great amount of leverage. Hence, they have a team. They know that their business must serve them and that they don't serve the business. These people are visionaries and leaders in their industry. They never stop learning and investing themselves. Very often these people have gone through adversity and really bad times, but have high self-esteem and drive, and have a clear vision that they aspire to.

  Advice to these people: You are more than what you have become if you allow youself to go beyond!

• The Entrepreneur

  This is the highest level where everyone should aspire to. These are multi-millionaires or even billionaires. These are master salespeople and master marketers. They have sold their Internet business for millions, have taken their companies public. They hire people who are much smarter than them. They don't micro-manage, but they macro-think. These people already have an exit strategy before they even start something. They know where they want to go, and aggressively drive towards that, utilising other people's brains and other people's time and resources. They know that the purpose of a business is to either sell it or to make it run on autopilot.

  Advice to these people: Give back to society!

How To Generate Traffic Using Only Free Methods

Putting up a company would of course require a lot of things, to get straight to the point, you need a capital. To make money requires money as well. But of course, with the versatility the internet offers, there are many ways you could find that could help optimize the potential of your site or business in generating traffic.

While there are ways to jumpstart your traffic flows, many sites dont have the resources that others have to generate more traffic for your site. Well, you dont have to spend a cent; all you need is the proper mindset and a lot of eagerness. You also must have the drive and perseverance to do hard work and research to generate more traffic for your site.

How sweet it is to have more traffic for your site without spending a single cent. Now its a sure thing that many sites have articles that offer tips and guidelines in how to generate traffic using only free methods. Because it is possible, you dont need to speed a single cent, it may take time, to say honestly, Im not going to beat around the bush with you. You get better chances by paying for your advertisements, but at least you get a fighting chance with some of these free methods Im about to tell you.

Take advantage of online forums and online communities. The great thing about forums and online communities is that you can target a certain group that fits the certain demographic that you are looking for. You can discuss about lots of things about the niche that you represent or offer. Another great advantage is that you know what you are getting into and you will be prepared.

With online communities and forums you can build a reputation for your company. Show them what you are made of and wow them with your range of expertise about the subject, with that you can build a reputation and build trust with the people in your expertise and knowledge.

You can also make use of newsletters. Provide people with a catalog of your products and interesting and entertaining articles. If you make it really interesting and entertaining, more people will sign up for your newsletter and recommend it to other people. The more people who signs up for your newsletter, the more people there will be that will go to your site increasing your traffic.

Another great idea is trading links with other sites. You dont have to spend a cent. All you have to do is reach an agreement with another webmaster. With exchanging links, the efforts both sites do will benefit both sites. Every traffic that goes to the site could potentially click on the link of your site and visit your site as well. This works well especially when both sites feature the same niche.

Write articles that could pique the attention of people that have interest in your product. Try writing articles that will provide tips and guides to other aficionados. Writing articles that provide good service and knowledge to other people would provide the necessary mileage your traffic flow needs.

Many sites offer free submission and posting of your articles. When people find interest in your articles they have a good chance of following the track by finding out where the article originated. Include a link or a brief description of your company with the article and theres a great probability that they will go to your site.

Write good content for your site. Many search engines track down the keywords and keyword phrases your site uses and how they are used. It is not a requirement that a content should be done by a professional content writer. You could do your on but you have to make content for your site that is entertaining as well as informational. It should provide certain requirements as well as great quality. Generally, internet users use search engines to find what they are looking for. Search engines in return use keyword searching in aiding their search results. With the right keywords, you could get high rankings in search engine results without the costs.

All of these methods and more will drive more traffic to your site for free. All it takes is a bit of effort and extended man hours. Learn all you can about the methods depicted here and you will soon have a site with a great traffic flow without the usual costs that come with it.

Lesson 2 - The Autopilot Traffic Machine

"Amazing Secret System Reveals How You Can Easily Generate TONS Of FREE Traffic, Signups And Sales On Complete Autopilot!"

Get As Many As 1.571 MILLION Unique Visitors

To Your Website For FREE With This System!

How's this for a headline? Sounds too good to be true huh?

Well, I fell for it too. What was I thinking?

Maybe this guy has some ingenious software that can actually generate traffic to your website with just a Click of a button. Indeed.

What potential buyers didn't know is that the word 'auto-pilot' here is a pun. The so-called 'secret' is the system itself. The intricate system of building an affiliate business. Sigh.

There goes another another dream for all the lazy suckers out there who believe that they can earn quick, easy money without spending time and extra money into it.

Product Cost:
U$19.95

The Good:
The guys behind this product are apparently are big-timers in the affiliate marketing industry making tonnes of cash, too busy giving out seminars, building new affiliate programs, while not having any time to answer any technical problems.

Other than that, I can't really figure out any goodness in this product. I'm calling them bluff.

The Bad:
The package consists a couple of audio-scripts of both of them giving sound advice to newbies in building the 'auto-pilot' traffic. While I don't find anything wrong with that, I just feel that it is deceiving to actually sell something that is perceived inaccurately in the buyer's mind.

It's like selling an automatic coffee maker, saying that the product will make fresh coffee for you every morning. But the catch is, you have to build a coffee plantation, get workers to pluck the beans, grind them, refine them, then employ them to actually put those beans for you into the machine. And you say, see it's automatic right?

Whole loads of marketing bullshit.

The Ugly:
They gave some sort of program to be uploaded into your web server and gave step-by-step vague instructions and then when somebody like me asks for technical support, I get none.

Thanks guys, I spend like 3 whole days trying to figure out their blog thing, thinking that it's some magical software that can attract visitors like flies, but then again I can always get it for free here at Blogspot with crystal clear instructions and nicer graphics even to start with.

I tried asking for a refund, but no surprises. No answer from any them.

And yet they kept emailing all those sales email asking people to register for their seminars because it's so hooootttt that it's burning their keyboards and mouses to even sit down and reply to emails from buyers.

Man, I'm so bitter that I am not even going to list their site here.

The Verdict:
Information: 2/10
Usability: 1/10

Worthless.