31 Days to Kick Your Blog in the Butt

Grant Griffiths, owner of the fantastic blog, Blog For Profit, is going to be running a ‘kick yourself in the butt’ series to get your blog in shape and I highly recommend you check it out. Grant’s blog is one of the best to read if you want to learn how to make your blog profitable and the tips and ‘kick butt’ he’ll give you during this series will definitely help you put your blog on the map ~ or the internet.

The series will start October 1st and there will be a daily post to help you get your blog started or, like in my case, back on track. I’m going to be following along as well, as Internet Marketing Boomer has fallen off the wagon and I need to get my butt in gear too.  So be sure to join me.

To get even a better ‘butt-kickin’ sign-up for the daily emails that Grant will be sending out each day in October as an enhancement to the posts he makes on the blog. Signing up will make you more accountable and you’ll receive a bit more info than if you just read the blog. I’ve known Grant for quite a while, he’s not a spammer and if he says he’s only going to send you one email a day, you can believe him, and if you get sick of him, you can always unsubscribe. Like I said, no worries about spam with Grant.

During the month of September to get you ready for the ‘butt-kickin’ series, he’s going to make a daily post on Twitter. So you might also want to follow @GrantGriffiths there as well.

During the series I’ll post how his tips have helped this blog.

Until next time,

Reba

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Formula5

In a post a couple of months ago I whined and complained about all the email I get during product launches and vowed to only promote ’boutique’ products. Since that time I have done that and stayed away from the ‘big guru’ products. However, sometimes we have to admit we’re wrong and Formula5 is the product that’s making me admit that you can’t always ignore the ‘big guys’. Reason is, this product is going to be fabulous and it would be a disservice to my readers to not tell you about it.

When I first started getting the emails I scanned them and hit delete. But, as always with the big launches, they kept coming. And they became hard to ignore (there’s a lesson in there somewhere, right?). So, last week I clicked through and I signed up. I thought I’d find the same ole search engine optimization information which is good info but, heck, I’ve read it all and I didn’t want to pay for more of the same. Well, I was wrong.

They sent an email where I downloaded a video that was about how to make more money in your business by simply applying five strategies. Five very simple strategies that would double your revenue. I was floored by the level of information they were giving away in the video. And then last night I watched a video by Andy Jenkins about applying three simple little strategies to your business, that you can do right now, and again, I was in awe.

After that I read on their blog that they were having a contest and everyday they were going to give away a Flip Video Camera to the person who applied one of the strategies and made the most money. Today the guy who won increased the price of two items he sells and his sales increase $944 yesterday over what they would have been. That’s $944 for one day’s sales! Now tell me that’s not amazing!

So, I feel it’s my duty to tell you about this launch. Even if you don’t purchase the product, you still need to watch all the videos and learn from them what you can do to increase your revenue almost immediately. They are giving away valuable techniques to increase your business, and you need to pay attention. When I watched the videos, I took notes, you should too.

So click this link now, watch the video on the page and then put your name in the form. You will receive an email confirmation, click the link and confirm. The next email will have a link to download a video, that video is over an hour, so when you have time, with your coffee in the morning or a glass of wine this evening, watch the video with a notepad. Then get to work.

Here’s the link:

Formula5

Cheers!

Reba

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ClickBank Bonus Domination – Simply Revolutionary

In staying with my pledge to promote, review, and recommend the ’boutique’ marketers (see my comment on this post to understand what I mean by boutique) who have great products, I want to introduce you to a new product that I think has been needed for some time now, and quite frankly, I’m really surprised that ClickBank didn’t implement a resource like this long ago. And that product is called ClickBank Bonus Domination by Jeff Czyzewski.

ClickBank is a hub for affiliates to find good products to promote. I promote several products that are sold through ClickBank, many of Jimmy D. Brown’s products are sold through ClickBank and I recommend his products heavily. But there is an inherent  problem with promoting ClickBank products and that’s the fact that you don’t have access to the purchaser, heck, you don’t even get an email telling you when you’ve made a sale. If you offer bonuses for purchasing through your link, it’s a nightmare. The customer has to email his receipt to you and you have to email the bonus itself or at least a link to where they can download it. Cumbersome is the best description I can give the process.

Well, that all changes with ClickBank Bonus Domination. This product hasn’t launched yet so I haven’t looked at the software myself, but in viewing the videos, this thing is a dream for anyone who sells products through ClickBank, ESPECIALLY, if you give bonuses for purchasing through your link.

First thing it does is it sends you an email when a sale is made. Yahoo!

Next, there is an auto delivery of your bonuses. The system automatically sends an emails to the customer that includes the customer’s receipt number and a link to a page where you can capture his email address and then deliver the bonus.

On your download page you’re free to do upselling right after the customer has purchased and is in the buying mood. My goodness, this product is amazing. It gives you control of every part of the process and helps you increase your sales and profits exponentially.

Lastly, Jeff is including what he calls the Bonus Domination Blueprint. This is a framework to help you create relevant bonuses for the products you promote. The blueprint covers important concepts of making a good bonus offer and demonstrates how to create killer bonus content that  works for any product. I know many of us don’t have or know where to get good content to offer for a bonus, Jeff’s blueprint will help you in that area.

The ClickBank Bonus Domination package won’t exactly be cheap at $197, but if you promote a lot of ClickBank products, the ability to offer a bonus will increase you sales to cover that pretty quickly. And then think about the upsell opportunity along with the backend offers you can make because the customer has opted into your mailing list. Yes, this product should pay for itself very quickly.

I’ve got to give Jeff a hand in figuring out a way to solve all the problems that marketers have with ClickBank. Congrats Jeff!

ClickBank Bonus Domination launches at 12:00 p.m. on January 14th. I’ll post again to remind you. Right now, click through on the following link and view Jeff’s video to learn more about how the product works.  You’re going to LOVE it, I do.

ClickBank Bonus Domination

OH ~ and I almost forgot, Jeff is only going to sell 2500 memberships to the software (I don’t know why he’s limiting it like that, he can sell way more), so don’t wait around. Affiliate marketers will be scooping this up quickly.

Cheers!

Reba

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Contributors Needed for Newbie Training Giveaway

I just signed up to be a contributor in the Newbie Training Giveaway put together by Bill McRea. Bill put this event together to help new internet marketers get started in 2009.

The event will run from January 7 to January 31, 2009 and Bill still needs contributors.

These giveaway events are a fantastic way to build your subscriber list. Many marketers mistakenly assume that the people who download information from a free giveaway are just freebie seekers and will never buy anything. This is the wrong assumption to make. It’s true, many will be freebie seekers who never buy but so are those that sign-up at your website. Once you have a subscriber on your list, they will start to hear from you and eventually start thinking of you as an authority. Soon it will come that they are in the market to buy because it gets to be too time consuming for them to sift through the internet (or their hard drive) for the information they seek.

Basically, it’s a numbers game and the bigger the numbers on your list, the more buyers you will have.

So, consider joining this giveaway if you have a product that suits a newbie marketer. Additionally, there is an upgrade option where you can compete to win prizes and offer one-time-offers to those who download your giveaway item. It’s worth looking at, here’s the link:

Newbie Training Giveaway

I have a product entered in the giveaway and, if I do say so myself, it’s a good one (that’s the cover in the pic above). It’s called “Get Started Growing Your Website Traffic” and it’s going on sale after the giveaway. Anyone who is a newbie marketer will truly benefit from the information included in this report. So, if you want the info and you want it for free, keep your eyes open for the start of the “Newbie Training Giveaway” that will start on January 7th. Sign-up for my mailing list and I’ll send you a reminder.

Bill is looking for only quality information products that can help newbies break the learning curve. If you are interested in participating now is the time to get involved.

Newbie Training Giveaway

This is a good way to get your internet business started.

Cheers!

Reba

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‘Doubling Up’ To Grow Your Business

This is Day 8 of 10 of my tips to help you increase your online business profits in 2009.

By making just a few changes in the ways you handle a few little things each day, you can grow your business and increase your profits substantially.

Stay tuned over the next ten days and I will share ten important ideas that can help you increase your business and grow your profits in 2009.

Day 8 -

‘DOUBLING UP’ TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

This is technique I like to call ‘Doubling Up’ and it’s a strategy you can  use to grow your business and increase profits every couple years.

‘Doubling Up’ can be applied to many different areas of your business. For instance, if you write articles to promote your website and it’s working well for you, what could you do to double that success? Simple. Outsource the exact number of articles you write, so if you write five articles, outsource five articles and then you’ll have ten articles. This means your efforts, as well as your traffic, as well as your PROFITS, have the potential to double.

Even if you can’t double your output, what if you increased by 50%? That would still increase your profits. If you can’t afford to outsource just yet, you can still apply the technique and write all ten articles yourself. You can even have a friend, family member or significant other help write for you as well, provided you give them a little bit of training.

What else could you do in your online business that could DOUBLE your profits?

• Create two videos instead of just one.
• Market to two niches instead of one.
• Charge double for one of your products or service (do split testing to prove which price sells better).
• Do two launches instead of one this year (with the help of outsourcing or JV partnering).
• Put up a website AND a blog instead of just one or the other.
• Double your PPC advertising budget or raise it by a percentage.

Any of the above tactics will increase your profits significantly, so there is no reason to ignore the magical potential of ‘Doubling Up.’

This isn’t rocket science but it works and it’s a tactic that’s easy to try.

What if you took it even further and did ‘TRIPLING UP’? Of course, that would take a bit more outsourcing or tripling the amount of hours you work on that segment of your business, but triple the income doesn’t sound bad at all.

Tomorrow – Day 9

GET WITH THE TIMES

Cheers!

Reba

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Who Is Internet Marketing Boomer’s Target Market?

Continuing with my Cross Blog Conversation with Kelly McCausey at Sparkplugging WAHM 2.0 after reading her response to my questions to her here, I will now attempt to answer her questions to me:

What have you been thinking about in the last week or so since your last post? How will you be tightening your market and what is helping you to make these decisions?

Oh boy Kelly, I sure opened the door for that one didn’t I?

To be quite honest, I haven’t come to a hard and fast conclusion. I’m having a hard time with this and I think that’s perfectly appropriate. It’s not an easy decision and it shouldn’t be.

In your post you said:

I find that many people who get exposed to the same message about focusing in on one target market are afraid to truly focus.  They don’t want to ‘exclude anyone’.  They are more comfortable targeting a demographic.  The problem with that is that it is hard for a solopreneur to monetize a demographic.

Well, that’s me. I find myself not wanting to exclude anyone and I know I need to get away from that mindset, so that’s where I am. But I have made a few decisions.

I sat down with Brent and we talked about who visits our site, who we want to visit our site, and how to capitalize on the visitors we end up with. We decided that Internet Marketing Boomer really is MY site, not Brent’s, because he just doesn’t have time to work on it. So, we’re going to change the site to not include him.

Now, it’s up to me to decide where to go with the site and I feel my strengths lie in working with people who are new to internet marketing. I’m also strong with the visual and simple technical aspects of setting up websites.

I was listening to an interview that Willie Crawford did with Craig Perrine about breaking into the inner circle of internet marketing. It was apparent in the interview that Willie doesn’t think that anyone who is fairly new or doesn’t make any money at internet marketing should be teaching the skills. However, Craig seemed to think that it’s okay as long as the people being taught are a couple of steps behind the teacher.

I agree with Willie to an extent but really resonated with what Craig said. I’ve been studying internet marketing for ten years. I actually made a great living in the late 90’s selling a product to a niche market by email marketing to my list of 20,000. However, after that venture ended and I went back to a traditional job, the internet became saturated with “internet marketing gurus.”  This caused the “make money online” market on the internet to mature and now it’s hard to re-enter after being absent for so long. There are so many techniques and tactics being used today that are very sophisticated and until I can get up to speed and actually use these newer tactics, I feel like a newbie again.

On the other hand, I do have lots of experience and tons (I mean tons!!!) of training. I’ve purchased all the programs that are supposed to teach you how to make a million on the internet and I’ve actually studied them. I know how to set up a site and drive traffic to it. I understand marketing. I know how to email market. I can write. I have time. And lastly, I’m not desperate, I have a job that will hopefully last until I’m ready to leave it.

So…I feel I’m capable of teaching this stuff, at least at the “getting started” level (I don’t care what Willie thinks). I’ve just not been here long enough to have the traffic I need, much less the trust I need from my readers, to make a full time living.

But my time will come, I’m certain of it.

Why am I certain?

Because I’m putting in the work (oh Lord, am I putting in the work) and I’m continuously upgrading my knowledge. I’m a member at mentor sites like MomMasterminds, Traffic Secrets 2.0, and The Internet Marketing Inner Circle. I’m actually TAKING ACTION. I’m doing what I need to do to get to where I want to be. And I just know it will happen, I can feel it.

And you know what? I also know, if the people who are just a couple of steps behind me, if they follow my journey and take action to stay up with me, they will find success as well.

So, back to your original question, how am I tightening my market?

1. First, instead of marketing TO boomers, I’m going to market AS a boomer. My voice will be from the perspective of looking towards and getting close to our later years. I’m going to talk about things like, building assets, finding what we want to do, making a living doing something that’s meaningful to us, leaving a legacy for our children and even helping our children find a meaningful career by using internet marketing skills. I’m just going to change the perspective of what I talk about.
   .
2. Next, I’m going to narrow my focus to include only those who are new to internet marketing. I’m not going to narrow the age group, I will just narrow the recommendations and teaching to beginner level and build from there. And as I learn and grow more knowledgeable in the techniques and tactics of internet marketing, so will my readers and followers.
   ,
3. Next, I want to be sure to treat all my readers and followers with great respect. I want them to know I care about them. I’m hoping this will come across in my writing and I think I’ll be able keep this mindset because I’m not desperate to make money. Since I’m working a job, I know the struggle of trying to build a business while maintaining a career. I also know what it’s like to be a newbie and I’ll be empathic to that and will help in every way I can.
   .
4. Lastly, at a later date, I’ll go back and try to re-focus. Right now, I know I’m aiming at a market that‘s probably a bit too broad, maybe even too broad to bring success. But I see this as a process and as I proceed and grow, I will be able to identify my market by those who find my work interesting and useful. Until that time, I don’t want to define too tightly.

Kelly, you could almost use this CBC as a case-study for what it’s like to be a new internet marketer. Your questions are insightful coming from a voice of experience and probing enough to make me THINK. To me, this CBC feels a bit like I’ve been through a series of coaching sessions. I’m sure your ability to do this is why you’re able to be a coach and a good one from what I hear.

What was it that allowed you to tell yourself, “I know enough about internet marketing to teach others how to do it.” What gave you the confidence to actually act on your special abilities? Do you find that fear of what others will think is often the main factor that holds us back?  How does a newbie find the confidence that will allow him or her to take action?

Looking forward to your response.

Cheers!

Reba

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Prospect For New Opportunities in 2009

This is Day 7 of 10 of my tips to help you increase your online business profits in 2009.

By making just a few changes in the ways you handle a few little things each day, you can grow your business and increase your profits substantially.

Stay tuned over the next ten days and I will share ten important ideas that can help you increase your business and grow your profits in 2009.

Day 7 -

PROSPECT FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN 2009

In order to achieve more success and earn more money you must seek out new opportunities and then grab them! You’ll need to do some prospecting to find opportunities that will help you succeed. Prospecting comes in many forms, you can do it small scale and seek out clients who need your services or products on forums. Or, you can go large scale where you look to land JV’s (Joint Ventures) or invest in a business, find new niches, etc.

Prospecting can land you one extra deal this year or it can land you 1,000 extra deals! Even if you only successfully obtain one client or make only one sale as a direct result of extra ‘prospecting,’ you will enhance your business and increase your profits.

Be brave, go out and see what’s hot — and what people want. It’s very easy to stick with what you already know and are routinely doing on a daily or weekly basis. But, if you take the time to prospect a little bit and pretend like it’s the beginning of your online career again, you’ll start to see fresh opportunities and money making ideas everywhere. And you will certainly find an opportunity (or two) that will lead to a long term income and profit stream.

Remember, you’re working on growing your business. Even though prospecting for clients should be continuous, it may not be feasible to prospect for new business ideas and ventures continuously. However, once every year or two it’s good to take a look at your business, update, upgrade, and take your business to the next level, no matter how small or large your business is.

Prospect for new clients and prospect for new business ideas — Prospect.

Tomorrow – Day 8

DOUBLE UP

Cheers!

Reba

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New To Internet Marketing? Get Help!

I’ve shared with you in the past that I’m an avid member of Willie Crawford’s “The Internet Marketing Inner Circle” and wrote about my first impressions of the group in my post, “The Internet Marketing Inner Circle-More Treasures Than Expected“.

Today I was reading the TIMIC member’s forum and found a post by Willie where he was sharing with his members a blog post he had written and was giving us permission to post it on our own blogs. I thought it was immensely relevant for a lot of my readers since so many of you are just getting started on the internet.

The post explains the importance of getting help when you’re new to internet marketing and I agree strongly with this information. If you go back through the posts on this site, you’ll see I’ve recommended many products but as of lately, I’ve started to lean more towards those products that are most helpful to those just getting started in internet marketing.

I’ve come to the realization that, as boomers, we may be looking toward retirement and want an extra income stream or maybe, we’re just ready to lead a lifestyle that’s less restrictive than our current 9-5 jobs. Many of us have been so busy raising kids while holding down a career, this is the first time we’ve had a chance to pursue an outside venture, thus, need training and help to get started. Whatever the reason you’re reading this site, I’m going to try to give you the information you need and recommend products and membership sites that are congruent with your needs.

I’m going to replicate Willie’s post here for you to read as I fully agree with what he says. I also highly recommend TIMIC for those that have a little experience on the internet and want to learn and stretch your abilities in regard to internet marketing. I have learned more than I ever imagined and I’ve only been a member for one month, however, this membership isn’t really for the “brand new” internet marketer, it’s a bit more advanced.

If you still don’t know how to set up a website or blog, or you’re struggling to understand “internet marketer speak”, you’re not ready for TIMIC. But if you’ve got all that figured out and are at the point where you need to figure out how to make money, TIMIC is for you.

Note: if you need to learn how to set-up a blog, read my post “Become A Blogger-Fantastic Blogging Training Videos” and my series on Blogging For Money – just click the links. But when you’ve gotten comfortable and are ready to move to the next level, remember TIMIC.

Here’s the post:

What Should Be Your First Step In Internet Marketing?

Whether you’re brand new to internet marketing and
haven’t put up your first webpage, or are a mid-level
marketer, who’s just STUCK, you have to be wondering,
“what should my next… or first step be.”

I submit that it should be to acknowledge that you
don’t have to do this all alone!

Join a group that you can bounce ideas off of and…
build a “voice of reason” into this world you’re about
to create for yourself.

As you start building your online business, family and
friends are NOT going to understand what you’re going
through or thinking.

They’re more likely to suggest that you “get a real
job” since they absolutely don’t understand us
entrepreneurs.

As you examine your options, and come up with
“absolutely brilliant ideas” it makes perfect sense
to slow down enough to bounce those ideas off of
someone who may have tried some of those ideas before.

Believe it or not, you are not really “unique” in that
tens of thousands of others are probably having very
similar thoughts, frustrations, and feelings of
overwhelm, and bewilderment as you are.

Millions are running scared due to the current
economic uncertainly… whipped into a panic by the
media.

The smart entrepreneurs join a group where the
collective wisdom and experience of the group can help
them. They do that in the online and offline worlds.

One such group that I belong to, and put a lot of time
and energy into is “The Internet Marketing Inner Circle.”

I invite you to check us out, and join us.

You’ll discover that, as you build your business, you
only have to do it alone if you enjoy the immense
challenge.

Check out: http://TIMIC.ORG now.

Cheers!

Reba

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Start Outsourcing To Increase Profits In Your Online Business

This is Day 3 of 10 of my tips to help you increase your online business profits in 2009.

By making just a few changes in the ways you handle a few little things each day, you can grow your business and increase your profits substantially.

Stay tuned over the next ten days and I will share ten important ideas that can help you increase your business and grow your profits in 2009.

Day 3 -

START OUTSOURCING

Every successful person and/or corporation is involved in outsourcing of some sort. Usually, this is the very key that allowed them to achieve their current level of success. If Sam Walton had made all the products in WalMart himself, do you think the company would be where it is today? The fact that the company can outsource the work to enough people who know what they’re doing (employees, vendors, etc.), is what makes them able to reach the level of success they have achieved.

You’ve heard the term, “two heads are better than one.” This rings true in a lot of aspects of life. It’s like that with outsourcing. If you can write five articles a day, that is great. However, if you can write five a day and outsource another five articles per day, then that makes ten articles a day instead of five.

That just DOUBLED your marketing efforts.  If you DOUBLE your output, you will have DOUBLE the results. Imagine if you outsourced even more often or on a broader scale. Also, outsourcing will allow you to use the millionaire mindset of knowing there are people out there who can do a better job than you when it comes to certain tasks or skills. So instead of competing against these people, hire them!

Think about it, if you outsource a sales letter to a TOP sales copywriter, chances are your product offer will convert A LOT more than it would if you wrote your own sales copy or used a writer without experience to get a bargain. WIth excellent copywriting, an offer will tend to convert much better and sell many more copies — which again, enhances your business as well as increases your profits.

Tomorrow – Day 4

START USING VIDEO MARKETING

Cheers!

Reba

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Learn And Use A New Online Marketing Technique

This is Day 2 of 10 of my tips to help you increase your online business profits in 2009.

By making just a few changes in the ways you handle a few little things each day, you can grow your business and increase your profits substantially.

Stay tuned over the next ten days and I will share ten important ideas that can help you increase your business and grow your profits in 2009.

Day 2 -

LEARN A NEW ONLINE MARKETING TECHNIQUE

This tip is an extremely effective one. Let’s say you have four main marketing methods you use to promote your business. For example, let’s say those four methods are:

1. Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
2. Link Building
3. Social Network Marketing
4. Blogging

This is an excellent group of advertising methods to combine and implement. However, what if you were to add another method such as article writing?  That would increase the methods you use to generate business to five and each would constitute 20% of your marketing efforts.

That means you can potentially add as much as 20% more business and increase your profits by a significant amount by just adding one new marketing method to your existing campaign.

You can add more than one method for even better results. There are many marketing techniques you can use and you may be missing income by not using and knowing about as many as possible. Here’s a list:

- Search Enginge Optimiztion (SEO)
- Link Building
- Article Writing (Article Marketing)
- Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC)
- Blogging
- Social Network Marketing
- Classified Ad Marketing
- Offline Marketing (Business Cards, Flyers, Car Magnet, etc.)
- Offline Newspaper Classified Ads
- Answer Board Marketing
- Video Marketing (YouTube Marketing, etc.)
- Building a List
- Landing a JV
- Email Marketing
- Forum Marketing (Other than IM Niche)
- Outsourcing

There are more, but I’m sure there’s at least ONE of the above that you are not doing at all or not doing enough of.

If you add one or more of the above marketing methods to your existing marketing efforts, I guarantee you will increase your profits and enhance your business over this next upcoming year.

Tomorrow – Day 3

START OUTSOURCING

Cheers!

Reba

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