What’s the most important strategy of getting your blog to the number 1 spot in both Google and Yahoo and keep all the search traffic to yourself? Definitely the ideal answer is proper keyword research and building authoritative backlinks.

In this blog post you will learn how I used Google Insight tool and press release service (webwire.com) to accelerate my Google rankings to top 4 within 3 days.

The use of Google Insight Tool was to generate highly profitable keyword with considerable search traffic and the purpose of using press release was to generate authoritative backlinks to my blog site.

How I nailed down the top 4 spot in Google within 3 days

The main reason why i decided to push my blog site to be on the top spot in Google and Yahoo, was to generate highly targeted long tail keyword with commercial intent.

The reason why I am advocating for long tail keyword, it’s because they can convert results into sales and hence generate more business for your service or product.

How did I use this strategy to be on top 4 spot in Google?

It’s simple and clear: I used both Google Keyword tool and Google insight Tool to generate narrower long tail keywords.

Below is a step by step procedure of what I did:

Step 1:

I went to Google Keyword tool and I started with the main keyword and I selected a narrower search term which had a global traffic of 300,000 monthly search volume. The niche I selected was ”Greek Yogurt” as below:

Step 2:

I took the narrower search term from step 1 and I put it on Google Insight tool. The results were as per below screen shot:

Some of the example of narrower keywords that I found were:

• Recipes with Greek yogurt (Monthly search 22,000)

• How to make Greek Yogurt (Monthly search 9,900)

• Greek Yogurt nutritional facts (Monthly search 4000)

Based from the above keyword analysis I managed to settle with recipes with Greek yogurt as my main keyword.

Link building strategy that accelerated my Google rankings

As we all know quality content and authoritative backlinks will make Google deliver results to your business. One of the strategies that I used to build high authoritative links was with the help of press release service.

I took 3 good months to learn how to write a press release that will be of high interest to the media and journalist. My first objective was to make sure that my blog site has all the required information such as high quality content, resources and links.

I wrote a powerful top notch news release that I distributed via press release service (webwire.com) and after 3 days my blog site sky rocketed to top 4 in Google and it was as a result of high quality links that I received from the press release service.

Below is a screenshot of the news release that was distributed with the help of webwire.com

After 3 days I managed to get the below results:

From the above results my blog site started to get more attention from the major search engine and other referral sites. If you plan early with the right mind set, i can really assure you that will achieve the same results that I did.

From my own experience, I really don’t think you need any Degree or Masters or any special software. The real truth is that you can follow the above simple steps and then replicate my results.

Do you have any results that you have achieved based on the above case study?

Here’s another article by Finance Expert Brandon Lamb with some no nonsense money management tips (new to some, reminders for others… who, me?)

No matter who you are, at some point in your life, you will have to manage your own money. Unfortunately, few of us receive any formal instruction for this essential skill. We must learn it the hard way – through trial and error.

Even in the best of times, the trial and error method is fraught with peril. Every mistake can be reduced to a dollar amount. In the past, maybe those amounts, while certainly unpleasant, weren’t crushing. Times have changed. The stakes are greater, and so are the penalties. Defaulting on a cell phone bill means $500 to $1000 on top of the amount already owed. If your car breaks down on the freeway, and you can’t afford to have it fixed, or even towed, it could cost you thousands of dollars in towing fees, even if you simply sign the title over wrecker so he can sell it. What’s even worse, these mistakes will be reported to the credit agencies, which can damage your financial health for years to come.

But perhaps the worst effect of money-management is the stress and worry it creates in your life. Did you know that the number one source of friction between married couples is money?

Now, I’m not saying that managing your money successfully will mean that you won’t ever worry about money. Probably the only way you’d ever stop worrying about money is if you owned a few thousand shares of Apple stock. But it can help you reduce your worry over money. And who knows, maybe even improve your relationship.

The first thing you should do is research. It’s the key to everything, and it’s usually free. Start out online. Find some financial assistance sites and absorb their free information. But please take their suggestions with a grain of salt. Not everything you read online is factual or even complete. Simply use this as a starting point, gleaning the most basic information. Then go to the library. What you need absolutely need to know is:

• How to balance your checkbook
• What interest rates are
• How to pay off loans
• How to save for retirement

Next, make a list of your financial responsibilities. Write down what you owe, who you owe, what the interest rate is, and minimum payment amounts. Be sure to include daily expenses, such as food and gas.

This is your basic budget. If you match these expenses to your monthly income, you’ll see areas you might be able cut costs as well as how much money you can set aside for retirement, or a savings.

One last piece of advice: Try to avoid credit card debt under any circumstances. Don’t charge anything that you won’t be able to pay off at the end of the month.

To learn more about how you can manage your money better, slash your spending, and put more money in your bank account, visit Brandon’s Slash Your Spending or read my review of his book.

After my recent debacle with YouTube in which they took down one of my most informative videos, I decided to do a remake of “How Affiliate Marketing Works”.

The newest version demonstrates how I make money from my personal blog at RosalindGardner.com and covers blog content, finding and installing your affiliate links.

Here is a list and video tour of 25 items you’ll find in my office – many of which were purchased online.

In the video, you’ll see just how low-tech an internet / affiliate marketing home-based business can be!

Links provided direct to Amazon pages for more information about certain products. If you purchase a product through one of those links, I might be able to afford to buy a postcard.

1. Desktop Computer – As of 2010, I’m running my 4th desktop computer and my 3rd Dell. My computer techno-geek friend Ori is always singing this computer’s praises in regards to its power, speed and superior functionality. That’s what you get when you buy top-of-the-line.
2. LED Monitor – In 2010, I upgraded to a 24″ LED monitor. Anything that saves electricity (and money) is alright by me.
3. Ergonomic Keyboard – I gave up on flat keyboards ages ago when too much time at the computer resulted in carpal tunnel syndrome and repetitive stress injury for which I narrowly avoided surgery. Switching to an ergonomic keyboard and taking glucosamine with condroiton has done the trick, i.e. no more wrist or forearm pain – ever. Taking more vacations has probably helped a lot too!
4. Ergonomic Mouse – My mouse is also ergonomic to reduce hand and wrist pain associated with too much computer work. Although I’ve used wireless (infrared) keyboards and mice in the past, both the keyboard and mouse I run now are USB-connected to reduce battery cost and landfill waste.
5. Humanscale Saddle Seat – Another piece of essential ergonomic equipment that makes sitting for long periods less harmful to your health. I bought this chair following my car accident in late August ’07… and I discuss more about the chair here.
6. Battery Backup Power Unit – This little baby has saved my work (and bacon) on more than one occassion during a power outage, something that seems to happen on a fairly regular basis here in the Valley. What I really appreciate is the ability to keep working at my computer for at least 20 minutes after an outage begins (the one linked here says only 13 minutes, but it costs less), which is handy when the writing is ‘flowing’ along nicely. It also guards against power surges, spikes, sags, and brownouts and protects your computer from those no-warning shutdowns that can be quite damaging. For less critical electrical gadgets, I use surge protector power bars.
7. External Hard Drives – I have a few external hard drives… one of which I take on the road with my laptop. It’s great for storing all those huge file-size pictures that I take.
8. Thumb Drives – REALLY convenient storage companion that lets you take all of your data to your home, office, school and anywhere you travel. The only downside is that they are so small that they can be easily misplaced… if you’re me.
9. Sony Vaio Laptop – I take this one on the road with me to conventions and also use it in the home office for video production. While traveling, I protect it with a foam sleeve that I bought from Magellan’s after airport security in Toronto dropped and broke my old laptop.
10. All-in-one Printer, fax, copier and scanner. Although mostly used for faxing and scanning, this is one of the first printers that has actually worked in my office for more than a couple of months. Has pretty speedy output too with 20 pages per minute for black copies and up to 13 ppm color.
11. Corded Telephone – This is a 2-Line integrated telephone with call waiting, caller ID & a speakerphone. It is also hard-wired, as the sound quality on cordless phones is too poor to produce quality webinar recordings.
12. Cell Phone – I use an iPhone when I’m in Canada and an Android when traveling in the States.
13. Digital Voice Recorder & FM Stereo Radio – This Diasonic DDR-3100 digital voice recorder is the one that was used to record Jeremy Palmer’s and my “Black Friday Webinar”.
14. Video Camera – I have a couple of different video cameras, but my all-time favorite is the FLIP. I’ve made a TON of videos with it and uploaded them to YouTube. The Flip is SO small, there’s no excuse not to carry a video camera with you anymore.
15. Digital Camera – The most successful promotions are accomplished when the affiliate establishes credibility with his or her audience and the easiest way to do that is to show a picture of yourself using the product. The DSC-T100 is my 3rd SONY Cyber-shot digital camera and I’m not surprised that it won a CNET Editor’s Choice Award. Ultimately, it is the best digital camera for my purposes with its small, lightweight design and BIG easy-to-view screen. Furthermore, Sony has made serious improvements to getting great shots in low-light situations.
16. Paper Shredder – Essential. Instead of throwing envelopes in the garbage, I use a Royal confetti cut paper shredder to shred all waste materials printed with my name and/or address to protect myself from identity theft.
17. Cork Board – Great for making lists of the things you need to do… and not being able to bury them or turn the page and forget about them.
18. USB Hub – Impossible to plug everything into the computer without this Belkin 7-port USB Hub.
19. Logitech Headset – For Skypeing with my friends… and the occasional affiliate manager.
20. D-Link Router – So I can use my laptop to comment on Oprah’s message boards while watching the show.
21. Digital Coin Sorter – A spur-of-the-moment purchase that proved to be a super time saver. Rather than throw all my spare change in a ziploc bag and spend an afternoon once a year sorting through all those pennies, dimes and loonies; I now throw change in the sorter and it goes straight into the coin wrappers.
22. CD/DVD Wallets – During a recent office cleanup, I filled 5 green garbage bags with those over-sized plastic CD/DVD holders and replaced the clutter with a few of these CD/DVD wallets, each of which has the capacity to hold 208 items. There is a LOT more air to breathe in the office now.
23. Flashlight – Great for poking around in the dark under the desk in search of dust bunnies and additional USB ports.
24. TV – I am not sure why I have a TV in my office as it almost never gets turned on.
25. Candy, “Chipper” the Bear, and my picture wall – Because they make me happy.

Please note that video below was shot in late 2008. One of these days I’ll put together a revised home office tour for you.

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

When people ask what I do for a living, I tell them “I’m a blogger…” and 99.9 times out of a hundred, I say it with a big smile on my face.

The other .1% of the time?

Well, I must admit that there are days when blogging (writing another blog post / article ) is the last thing I feel like doing.

Fortunately, those days are few and far between.

So, what makes blogging as a business right for me — and how can you tell if you too will be happy blogger as a blooger?

Here is a list of questions that will help you assess whether blogging suits your personality and lifestyle.

1. Do you enjoy communicating with people? I mean really enjoy communicating. To foster relationships and increase readership, the most successful bloggers also respond to their blog readers’ comments as well as engage people on Facebook, Twitter LinkedIn and other social media sites.

2. Do you have a topic that interests you enough to talk about on an ongoing basis? The best blogs are created around a central theme or ‘niche’, i.e. an activity or topic of interest such as travel, food, parenting, personal growth, etc. Articles posted are almost always relevant to the central theme.

3. Do you prefer to write, speak or make videos? Blogs attract search engine traffic primarily through written text, so if you plan to share your messages via podcast or video recordings; online transcription services will be very helpful to you.

4. Do you enjoy learning new skills? The thought of learning how to install a WordPress blog and different themes (or appearances) can be intimidating for some people. Don’t worry about it! Although I’m not technical by nature, I actually find ‘tweaking’ my blog is a LOT of fun. AND you can always hire someone to setup your blog.

5. Are you a self-starter? No one is going to tell you to “get your butt in gear and start blogging“. You need to be self-motivated and self-disciplined to start a blog and keep working on it until it is successful – or hire people to do some the work for you.

6. Do you have time to invest in your blogging business? Until your blog is well-established with loads of great content and a regular readership, you should plan to post to your blog almost daily. This isn’t as hard as it sounds. You can queue up posts for later delivery. In addition to creating content (articles, videos) for your site, much of your time will be spent moderating and responding to readers’ comments as well as researching your topic.

7. Do you really want to be famous? OK, ‘famous’ might be stretching the point a bit, but unless you blog anonymously, you will be putting yourself out there for all the world to see. Are you prepared to have strangers comment on your thoughts, actions and appearance? Do you want people to recognize you on the street? Or worse, on the beach?

8. Can you handle criticism? Although most of your regular readers will tell you how much they enjoy your articles, not everyone on the planet will agree with you — and at times they might even get nasty… which can actually be a good thing. Over the years, I’ve found that my tolerance for and ability to respond to the ‘nasties’ has improved dramatically. No more blood pressure spikes.

9. Are you patient and persistent? Are willing to keep working at your blog even when it seems like no one is paying attention? Are you apt to have a fit if your site goes down temporarily? Persistence and perseverance are perhaps the most important characteristics of successful bloggers and entrepreneurs. Those who can work hard through tough times are those who invariably succeed.

10. Do you have a sense of humor? This could be your most valuable asset. There could well be times when things break or you’ve just made a total fool of yourself. “Stuff happens”. Your ability to laugh at yourself and keep going will shine through your work and people will love you – and your blog – that much more.

I believe if you answered “yes” to all or most of the questions above, you have the basic qualities and characteristics to be happy as a blogger.

That’s not to say that if you currently lack initiative or bristle at your critics, that blogging isn’t for you.

In fact, blogging might be the right activity to help you improve those qualities and learn new skills — and make some money in the process!

Are you a happy blogger? Are there other characteristics and skill sets that you can think of that good bloggers possess?

Comments, questions or suggestions? Please leave a comment below!

Cheers,

Have you been trying to start an Internet business and find yourself broke, desperate and coming to the end of your tether?

Well, you’re not alone.

Here are samples of correspondence that I’ve received from folks who are in exactly that situation.

” …I have bought so many books I have lost count and am now so totally confused (and broke) about what to do I’m just about to give up.”

” …I am twenty years old and entirely dependent on myself. I have no parents and I am out on my own trying to make my way in this cruel world. I struggle to get by with my current job as a bus boy and I am tired of living from paycheck to paycheck. I am currently out of school and wish to go back but I do not have the time nor the money. I have dreams but do not have the time nor the money to pursue them.”

” …I am a parent, divorced and am struggling to make ends meet. I cannot quit my job.”

” …I desperately need more income.”

” …bill collectors hounding…”

” …I am a mom of six children and I have tried and spent thousands of dollars on trying to make money.”

” …as a two month veteran on the Internet I don’t know if I can take another hit. I feel like I’ve been 10 rounds with Mike Tyson and I’m really thinking about staying on the canvas. Thousands of dollars later and I’m still on the starting line!”

” …invested thousands of dollars of my savings in the last two years in home business that I could not afford.”

” …burned really bad within the last two years for alot of money.”

Do those statements ring any bells for you?

Yes?

OK…I want you to pinch yourself to confirm that you’re still among the living.

Still here?

Good!

Where there’s life, there’s hope.

(My mother taught me that.)

Now take a long, deep breath. Make that 10 deep breaths.

No, seriously. Close your eyes, breathe deeply and feel your body relax.

Relaxed? OK, here are some suggestions.

• Don’t Focus on Loss

  Let go of the past. What’s done is done. Unless you can recoup some of your money, learn the lesson, chalk it up to experience and move on.

• Build a mental image of yourself as an extraordinarily happy and successful Internet entrepreneur

  Trust me, this works.

  Failing my first attempt at air traffic control training, I felt defeated, depressed and stupid. When given a second training opportunity, I was reluctant to try, fearful of failing again.

  Then the little voice inside my head told me how much I really WANTED that job. I also wanted to prove that those who cast me aside the first time were wrong – that I COULD do that job.

  But could I really?

  It was time for some honest self-evaluation. What stumbling blocks had I put in my path? Was it lack of knowledge? Lack of effort? Not at all. I didn’t honestly BELIEVE I could do it, AND I was intensely AFRAID of failing.

  Yikes! What a great recipe for failure that was. I got exactly what I focused on most.

  However, believing you can be successful at something when you’ve failed before is a bit of a trick.

  It CAN be done, however. I adopted a ‘B.S. baffles brains’ or ‘Fake it ’til you make it’ approach. Every step of the way I asked myself what a REAL air traffic controller would do in that situation, and then did that. Even when I wasn’t completely confident, I forced my voice to at least sound confident. I acted the part until it became my reality.

• Eliminate as Much Debt as Possible

  Because it’s impossible to think clearly while worried about how to pay this month’s rent, REAL entrepreneurs don’t spend their last dime on an business opportunity.

  If you’re currently in serious debt, then consider talking to a financial planner to help rework your finances.

  Leo Quinn’s ‘Own Your Own PayCheck Again‘ is a terrific resource for those who are serious about debt relief. He prescribes uncommon methods that I know from first-hand experience really work.

  His book is a bit pricey, but it’s a far better investment than buying an information manual that instructs you to go out and spend even more to build your business, when you don’t have it to spend. Why not learn some techniques on how to pay off your debt quicker and keep a little more in your pocket?

  If you can afford to pay the bills but not much else, focus your energy on saving and earning the amount you’ll need to build your business without worry. Invest small amounts on things that will bring real returns in the short term.

  For example, scour your basement and your friends’ basements for things to sell on eBay. The insertion fee for items listed at less than a buck is 25 cents US. If the item sells for under 25 bucks, you’ll pay a 5.25% ‘final value fee’ to eBay. Do that enough times and pretty soon you’ll have five hundred or a thousand bucks to invest in your business… but only if you SAVE what you make.

  Vist eBay now to see what’s hot and selling.

• Be Savvy about how you spend your money.

  I’ve talked to far too many folks who invest in expensive coaching programs, believing that somehow their business will magically appear once they’ve completed the course.

  In reality, whether you buy a $27.00 dollar, or a $5,000 Internet business coaching program, in most cases you’re buying information on how to build a business, not a service that will do the work for you.

  If that’s what you want, then you may want to consider buying an existing business. However, it may be hard to find someone who has invested the time, effort and money to build a profitable online business, who is willing to sell. Basically, at that stage, the business should generate revenue automatically without a whole lot of input from the creator… so they’d be a little daft to sell, don’t you think?

• Do your due diligence

  Read the fine print, ask questions and understand exactly what you’re getting. And with regard to those coaching programs…. get a written contract, and search the forums for at least five people who have taken the program and were really happy with it… i.e. aren’t just saying good things because they’re trying to sell you the program through their link.

  If you choose to go the information manual route, plan to follow ALL the instructions, or fail otherwise.

  For everyone who ever told me “I bought this, that or the other book (or DVD, course, program, coaching package) and it didn’t work”, it was easy to prove that it wasn’t the book that didn’t work – it was THEY that didn’t work.

  We can’t expect to be successful with ugly websites, little or poor content, not building a list or not building a relationship with our visitors and subscribers.

The truth of the matter is that there are no shortcuts.

Each and every step is essential, and every successful netpreneur has paid his or her dues to get to where they are today. They did their homework, made mistakes, and learned the lessons – always believing in their ability to succeed.

Starting an internet business is still easier, faster and less expensive (by far) than starting an offline business. If you want to do it bad enough, you WILL find a way to make it work.

This article was inspired by Paul Calabrese, an NPT reader new to the world of Internet marketing, who contacted me about a problem he was having with a product I’d recommended.

The following is Paul’s first note to me about the problem.

Very disappointed.

I purchased this program after reading your review in the NPT newsletter.

I downloaded the product and the first movie causes a playtime error in my windows media player. The second movie plays but without volume and freezes up.

I have not purchased the super affiliate handbook yet. I purchased this first due to time sensitive nature. I am now concerned when i go to purchase your product I will have the same issues. Please Give me peace of mind.

I have contacted [product developer] for a refund and am very disappointed.

Please restore my faith. Feeling taken advantage of with an inferior product.

I was mortified.

OK, maybe not so much mortified, but like Paul, very  disappointed.

After thoroughly testing and writing a glowing endorsement for  the product (developed by someone I completely trust to deliver great quality) a complaint was the last thing I expected to receive.

Argh!

Not only that, but because of his problem, I had just lost a potential customer.

Bigger ARGH!

I was ready to tear a good strip off my developer friend.

“Hold the boat“, I thought to myself. “The videos worked well for me, so they should also work for Paul — especially considering I’m THE expert when it comes to breaking software” — if it can be broken, I will break it.

I responded to Paul right after reading his note, and assured him that I personally had no difficulties accessing any of the videos or I wouldn’t have recommended them; and that I would contact the product developer immediately to have him help sort out Paul’s problem.

That was on Friday.

On Sunday, I received the following reply from Paul (most of the glowing self-serving complimentary material removed) :

Hi Rosalind,

Thanks again for your prompt response.

I was unable to get through to [product developer], but I did get his videos to work.

Thanks again,

Paul

Paul also left this comment on the blog further explaining what had happened (glowy self-serving compliment stuff removed again):

I purchased Jeremy’s program based on Rosalind’s recommendation. I had issues downloading the video’s and contacted Rosalind with my concern. Rosalind followed up with me in less than ten hours and assured me the program was one of quality.

I went back and realized I made an error.

You MUST download Quicktime to assure proper viewing of the video. I HIGHLY recommend [the product] as it is a wonderfully informative and insightful product from a highly accomplished professional.

Paul Calabrese

In an email exchange, Paul later said:

I also sent a long apology email to [product developer] as well.

I also think this would make for a good post topic for beginners in your blog. This was a good learning experience for me to be patient as a beginner.

How generous! I admire and adore those who acknowledge their foibles and are willing to share to help others learn… so here we are.

Paul’s story isn’t uncommon.

Although he jumped the gun and assumed the worst, at least he was very polite in his communications.

Side Note: I’ve received support tickets from customers (and non-customers) who have called me all manner of vicious names and even threatened my mortal demise, simply because they failed to read and/or follow instructions.

It’s a good thing that my kind and compassionate assistant, Joel, gets to the nasty tickets before I do, as I have no time for abuse.

On the few occasions I’ve answered those tickets, I’ve issued (completely unnecessary) refunds and included proof of their screw-up  with some brass-tacks commentary about proper business etiquette.

Those that see the error and ask to cancel the refund, are told that I’m not interested in doing business with those who attack without mercy and ask questions later — a characteristic that I think  is unsuited to attaining success in business, online and off. (It doesn’t do much for world peace, either.)

Why are newbie affiliate marketers so quick to jump to the worst conclusions?

I can think of 2 reasons:

They are hyper-aware of all the scams about doing business online. So, when someone who has done a fair amount of research finally chooses to buy a tutorial and something goes wrong, their first inclination is to assume they’ve been scammed.

Too, they are so excited and eager to start building their affiliate marketing business, that they probably skip past the “Read me first” and other critical instructions pertaining to the product.

Does that sound like you? Then, here are your takeaways.

1. Don’t assume. (Ass-u-me. It makes an ass, out of u and me). For all the horror stories you’ve heard about online marketers who are out to steal your money; there as many (and more) coaches who are honest and really do want to help you succeed.
2. If you experience a problem with a download or getting some software to work, go back and re-read the instructions to see if you’ve overlooked some important point. Most of the time, this will correct the issue.
3. If you are unable to solve the problem on your own, contact the vendor and ask for assistance – politely.
4. Give the merchant 24 – 48 hours to respond, factoring in more time for weekends, holidays and time zone differences. Keep in mind that they are human too — not automatons who sit at their computers 24/7 just waiting for the next support ticket to arrive. In many cases, the vendor is a sole proprietor who will be the one to respond to your ticket.
5. If your problem isn’t resolved to your satisfaction within a reasonable timeframe and you would like to get your money back, consult your receipt for refund instructions. Follow that process.

Yes, software does occasionally snag, but based on my experience, problems can most often be fixed and you won’t need (or want) to request a refund.

In other words… CHILL!

And just in case you’re curious, here’s the full comment that Paul left on the blog.

Life was so much simpler back when my online business consisted ONLY of affiliate sites.

The sites were all in place, my affiliated merchants handled everything related to orders and I had no need for a personal assistant to manage the customer service end of my business.

I could literally take off on vacation for 6 weeks and know that the sales and checks would keep coming in.

I wasn’t surprised therefore when one of my clients mentioned that he was moving AWAY from selling his own products and going BACK to promoting more affiliate programs just for the simplicity and freedom.

Although there are dozens of benefits to affiliate marketing in addition to freedom and simplicity, here are my top 10 reasons to make money online aas an affiliate marketer.

1. No Product Development Costs

   The cost to develop and produce a new product is expensive!  But you needn’t worry about that as an affiliate.

2. Low Cost Set-up

   Got a desk, Internet-connected computer and word-processing software?  You’re in business!

3. No Fees or Geographic Limits on Distribution

   Affiliate programs are usually free to join, and market reach is limited only by the affiliate’s ability to promote his or her web site.

4. Choose From Thousands of Products and Services

   What isn’t sold online? With affiliate networks like Commission Junction, Be Free and Linkshare, it’s easy to find products related to your current or planned web site.

5. No Merchant Account Required

   Forget the problems associated with collecting and storing names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. The merchant  handles all payment processing, so you never have to lose sleep over chargebacks, fraud or losing your merchant account.

6. No Inventory to Carry

   Even if you live in a small one-bedroom apartment, you can sell large items without storage concerns.

7. No Shipping Costs

   Don’t worry about buying packing supplies or postal rates. The cost and hassle to prepare and ship products to customers worldwide belongs to the merchant.

8. No Customer Concerns

   Do you hate the prospect of dealing with nasty people? Don’t worry about it! The merchant handles the snivelers.

9. Make Money While You Sleep

   What other business allows you as a sole proprietor to keep your doors open and keep making money even when you take breaks or after you go home for the night?

10. High Income Potential

    With your own affiliate business  your income potential is limited only by your desire, effort and imagination – not your boss.

Relatively low outlay of resources with huge potential returns truly makes affiliate marketing on the Internet an outstanding business opportunity.

Here’s a traffic generation question / comment from Kenny that was spot on!

Rosalind, it is inconceivable that you have time to utilize all the techniques in your ebook.

So, in an effort to follow your lead, so to speak, if you were to narrow down the five most consistently effective marketing / promotion / advertising processes that you use primarily, what would you say those were?

In advance, thanks.

Kenny Love

GREAT question, Kenny!

You’re absolutely right – I’d go bonkers if I tried to do ALL of the marketing techniques ALL of the time.

So, here are the 5 traffic generation or marketing methods that I use most consistently:

1. Blogging for Search Engine Placement
2. List / Email Marketing
3. Social Media Marketing & Community Activity
4. Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC)
5. Article Distribution & Marketing

Blogging for Search Engine Placement

Essentially, my first priority is to publish fresh content to my blogs on a regular basis (some of which are more regular than others). Although I don’t engage in keyword stuffing, (which makes for horrible reading), the content of each blog post has to be tightly focused on one subject so that keywords and keyword phrases in the article are closely aligned and thus the post is more likely to get picked up and listed by the search engines, resulting in free traffic.

List / Email Marketing

The post is then distributed by email to the relevant subscriber list either through a blog broadcast (using Aweber / Feedburner combined) or through a link in a weekly newsletter.

Social Media Marketing & Community Activity

Engaging the audience personally through either blog commenting, forum posting or social media marketing comes next. I will respond to comments and answer any questions posted by my own blog readers and subscribers, which enhances information contained in the article and adds still more ‘fodder’ for the search engines to notice. My social media marketing efforts are fairly scant – using applications like TwitterFeed to broadcast the post’s title and link to Twitter for some more free traffic. From time to time, I’ll post a comment to a high-profile blog or forum in response to a topic relevant to my original article, along with a link to that article.

Pay Per Click Marketing (PPC)

Depending on the response from blog readers and subscribers, I may incorporate PPC marketing at that point. If the conversion rate is better than average for the audience, I’ll do the math to assess whether it’s worth driving traffic to that particular post or page with PPC, starting with Google Adwords and/or Yahoo! Search Marketing depending on the demographic. If the response is just ‘good’, PPC may still be worth the effort if enough of that traffic joins the list.

Article Distribution & Marketing

Article marketing comes in 5th and last, because I don’t post the same articles to my site as I would distribute to article directories so they require some re-writing, which takes time. Furthermore, the traffic isn’t as targeted as it is with your own list or with PPC marketing… but it’s traffic none-the-less and every click counts for something… eventually.

After that’s all said and done, it’s probably time to write another post — or more likely, take another vacation.

Here are a few articles and videos that I have prepared to help you decide whether or not you should become an affiliate marketer.

• Video: How Affiliate Marketing Works
• Can I Really Make Money as an Affiliate Marketer?
• Video: Affiliate Commissions Exposed
• If I Had to Start Over as an Affiliate Marketer…

I hope they help!

Cheers,