Update and Creating My First Product
TweetWE are now into February and things are getting very hectic so I am trying my best not to work on too many projects as that is counter productive and nothing gets finished.
I now have two websites uploaded promoting Amazon products with the second starting to get visits from the search engines but it is not ranking on any pages yet.
Before moving on to the third site I am going to spend more time on SEO as the site I submitted to only ranked me as 48 out 100 and I need to be up in the 90's.
The other way to improve the site is to go for a more specialised review theme so I am checking out "Pro Review Theme" which costs $67 for using on unlimited sites for personal use. With all the features I am sure this will go a long way to improve my rankings and could be a good investment.
I am gradually getting back into my product creation but have decided for my first attempt I can only do it by using PLR otherwise it will never get off the ground and I can use it to build experience.
My first project will be about website traffic so I have a lot of research to do to put my own mark on the PLR document that I purchased. This is a good subject to start on as I am learning as I go and can put it into practice for all the websites I am creating and trying to get ranked for on Google.
Once the product is created I will have to look at promoting it so will continue on the mentor courses that I started some time ago.
Whilst doing all this I am working through a course I purchased from Lee McIntyre called Internet Automation Plan which is very informative and giving me that extra energy and drive to keep moving forward. The course is 12 months old and is going to be taken off the market but Lee has offered it for only $5 for a limited time and it is great value and not out of date.
This course is a series of webinars that were recorded and so far I have viewed three which have gone into great detail about the pros and cons of continuity programmes. This is not something I am doing at the moment but there is a lot in there that is building my confidence to move forward and get something completed, and then build on it.
That's enough to keep me busy for a while.
Reseller Hosting Explained
TweetHosting services normally have extra hosting space available on their servers and to increase their sales they offer various packages. When this happens, they offer hosting bundles to resellers who can sell the service alone or as a bundle including additional services such as website programming or design to increase the perceived value of their services.
This process benefits both the original hosting service and the reseller as it saves the original hosting service time because they would prefer to sell hosting to larger groups of people, not individuals. The reseller sells to individuals along with other services they need.
Additionally, the original hosting service is getting some additional return on the money they are charging the reseller for the use of their servers.
There are many options when looking for a hosting plan. Some Web customers are looking for a shared hosting plan that will let them put multiple domains online. They could be webmasters or web designers with several sites online or just a business that wants to separate their different brands. They would probably need a dedicated server or multiple hosting accounts and are the perfect customer for the original hosting service which is usually more focused on bulk accounts and not individual clients.
Customers with smaller needs can find the perfect solution with a reseller that would be more responsive to questions and simpler needs. The benefit to the customer here would be cheaper hosting fees on shared hosting accounts. This is perfect for startup businesses, even if they have more than one website to put online.
Customers these days expect to have a good relationship with the people they do business with either offline or online and the days of anonymous sellers with no personal contact is over. Entrepreneurs offering reseller hosting services are paying attention to building relationships and eventually trust, and are the successful resellers online.
There are downsides to operating a reseller account that can cause you headaches you haven’t thought of yet and can actually ruin your business. If there is a problem at the company you are selling hosting with, you are the one in the firing line and the one your customers will send untold numbers of emails to.
The truth is you are not actually responsible for problems like downtime on the servers at the original hosting services but will be the target of your customer’s wrath. Another truth is that you have no control over what happens at the hosting company you are using for your business. If they do not make a phone number public, you don't have a way to contact them either when their servers are down.
Before signing up with a hosting company first check there reputation by visiting related forums and ask about the company’s service. You will soon find out if there have been any problems. Ask the hosting company for a list of references and check them. If you do not get a list of happy customers, find another hosting company.
The question to ask on the forums or to the hosting company is how often they went down and how fast they got back up again. All servers will go down once in a while. There are many factors such as bad weather, floods, lightning strikes or many other reasons that can make the servers go down which are beyond the control of the provider.
The real consideration is how fast they get back online and if they let their customers and resellers know what is happening and the expected return to service. Hosts with one support option, like filling out endless support tickets and leave you waiting for a canned answer, will not do your business any good.
Check your options carefully, like actual bandwidth, enough space, quick support by email or ticket system and whether or not they answer their phones. You are hanging your business on the reliability of their business. Choose carefully.
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I transferred over to D9 Hosting more than a year ago and have never had a problem. They are quick to provide help and give plenty of notice when the server will be down for maintenance. This is normally for a very short period.
Mike
Changing Autoresponder and Improving Security
TweetChanging Autoresponder
Due to lack of activity in keeping my blogs up to date and completing various projects I have decided to cancel my Aweber subscription.
This obviously has effected my optin box which was in the side column but I am now trying out Mail Chimp and will install an alternative box during this week.
Mail Chimp is free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 email sends which is more than enough to get started but hope it is reliable and gets the emails through when the time comes.
Security
I have been worried for some time about the security of my WordPress run Amazon sites as many of the established sites have been reported to have been hacked and the earnings diverted to other accounts.
For peace of mind I have purchased and installed on one of my sites a plugin called WP Lockup. This is an easy to install plugin but the downside for many could be the extra time taken to access the website dashboard for maintenance due to the level of security.
WP Lockup has four levels of security including masking the /wp-admin, Google Captcha, extra username/password stage plus re-naming the database code so it is extremely important to keep an accurate record of all the information as not all of it is retrievable if lost.
An email is sent if five attempts are made to hack your site.
WP Lockup is not something you see whilst working but hope it is working in the background to beat 99% of the hackers. A single licence is included with the basic offer but I opted for the developers licence allowing for up to 100 sites, which should keep me going for a long time.
The following video shows how to install WP Lockup and also clearly explains all the features much better than I have done above.
I am not sure about the cost as this was a Warrior Special (WSO) and for developers licence I paid $27 but it was possible to purchase for single or 10 installations.
Mike
YouTube Marketing – DOWNLOAD FREE REPORT!
TweetYouTube marketing continues to grow and grow but so far I have not given it a try.
Today I received a free report saying it’s getting more competitive on YouTube but there are things you can do to get an edge and stand out.
Matt Broich uses YouTube for promoting Clickbank products as an affiliate to generate traffic and sales and has plans and goals to be making 6 figures a year. I think this is something worth looking at.
The PDF report can be downloaded below. It’s free. No registration required!
I would be interested to know how many of you are using YouTube for promoting an affiliate product or attaching existing videos onto your blog etc.
The report can be passed on to friends and associates or use it as a giveaway etc. Just please don’t alter the copy or links. All of the links are by Matt Broich.
Mike
How Does Facebook Work?
TweetLast weekend I spent time on 2 webinars on the subject of “How does Facebook work?” and “How can I use it to benefit me?"
I knew Facebook was getting popular but did not realise that there are now 500 million active members and that it can be used for Marketing and building a targeted list. In time it is said that Facebook will replace blogs but I would say that you should have an alternative such as a blog in case of account problems and being shut down.
There is no manual with Facebook and no experts as everyone is still learning and it has been described as being in a fluid state and frequently changing.
What surprised me was that a number of major businesses are now putting up Fan Pages, which look like squeeze pages on a website, and by using Facebook they can more easily get to a targeted audience.
When an interested person “Likes” your page (Fan Page) and clicks on the button then all their friends are notified of the interest and if they “Like” the page then their friends are notified and so on…. Extremely VIRAL. From only a few initial clicks on your page it can soon expand to a few thousand impressions and the more the page is updated the better this becomes.
I am now setting up my own Facebook account and learning about the following as I go on:
There are 3 Elements to Facebook
1. Profile – Personal Details, News Feeds, Wall
2. Groups
3. Pages
Personal Details
• Your name and any information that you want published
News Feeds ( Home on top Menu )
• Very first page we see after login
• Real time update – what your Friends are currently doing in real time
Wall ( Profile on top Menu)
• This is where information is posted
• Everyone has their own Wall
• At your Wall - this is where you write “what’s on your mind” and attach Photos, Video, Events and Links
• Whatever you write on your Wall – will appear on your Friends News Feed
Build a list of Friends based on your business interests.
This can be done by making a search in your own niche [eg. Personal Development] and find someone who you know as an expert in that field. Go to Friends of the expert who should have the same interests as yourself and:-
Add a Friend (for each one) – add a short personal message (to help with acceptance)
Also you will find that people will contact you to become their friend and when you accept your name will show on their friends list.
Invite no more than 25 each day and wait to see if your invitation is accepted.
There is no limit on the number that request you as a friend.
Groups – What are Groups and what are they used for?
• A collection of People interested in the same topic
• New Groups start with zero members
• Any number or Groups are allowed but assume 300 for now
• Within a Group there is the ability to email all members
• Emails go to Facebook account and have a 94% open rate
• You can not blatantly sell from a Group – has to be from Fan Page
You can email as soon as a new member joins your Group.
Other members can say on their Wall that they have joined your Group and that is then displayed to all of their friends who could then request to join.
Once you have created a Group in a specific niche you then have the ability to email and Market direct to them. Don’t try to sell to them straight away – build a relationship first.
Pages (Fan Pages) – Any number of pages are allowed (but assume 300 for now)
• A page to promote your product
• For businesses to interact with Facebook users
• Can be built free on Facebook before login in to your account
• Can be presented as a professionally designed landing page but can be expensive
• Any business, public figure, celebrity or cause can create a Fan Page
How is a Fan Page different to a Group?
• Personal identity vs Business identity
• Groups can restrict users
• Pages can host applications
• Pages benefit from social ads fan connection
• Pages are indexed by search engines, groups are not
How is a Fan Page different to a Profile?
Profile = Friends (Personal) Page = Fans (Business)
Personal / Business Identity
Group – When you post as host or moderator you appear as who you are as an individual
Fan Page - Can be displayed as a personal identity or a business name
The above is just a short brief description of what was included in the presentation and the best way of learning is to make a start and find some friends.
The webinar was run by Chris Farrell and the special guest talking about Fan Pages was Jason Deitch who runs the site Fan Page Generator. Jason’s wife was Facebook’s Director of Marketing.
Facebook is still in its early days and now is the time to join. Learning how to use Facebook is an ongoing process and I am sure there will be further webinars from Chris and others with more advanced features
Links are:
Chris Farrell – Free to visit website and view videos which are located in left hand column under Complete Video Index and titled Recorded Webinars.
Jason Deitch – Download free report. Also professional Fan Pages built to customers requirements but not cheap for someone just starting a business.
This page is getting long and the information is by no way complete but I hope it generates some interest in Facebook as this is going to be a major marketing tool. Chris Farrell is still learning, and admits it, but can explain the use much better than I have so I would suggest viewing his free videos and join in on any future webinars.
The Basics Needed For Getting Started in Internet Marketing
Tweet
If you have decided that Internet Marketing is what you want to do then there are several tools that are necessary for your success. It is important that you spend time learning them all even if in the end you plan on outsourcing.
1. The Basics of Copywriting.
Copywriting, or sales copy, is one of the essential elements of an Internet Marketer’s business. Even though you may be considering hiring someone to write your sales page you will still be involved in some form of copywriting. You are actually creating mini sales copy every time you write an email to send to your list, every time you review a product on your blog, every time you are interviewed, and more.
Good copywriting includes attention grabbing Headlines, a list of features with relevant benefits for the customer, writing in a natural style, ending with a call to action - but not making claims that are changed later.
There are many sites available with information on Copywriting.
2. How to FTP.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a standard network protocol used to copy a file from one host to another over the internet. FTPing is what you do to upload an html website-page or a PDF ebook stored on your hard drive up to your website so that it’s visible and accessible to others. You may have created your PDF but it has to be uploaded to your website address and can then be found for example at www[dot]mywebsite.com/myownebook.pdf
At first the thought of FTPing sounds very scary but with a little practice it does become very easy and quick to do. The programme I use is called Filezilla which is available as a free download and there are many free tutorials for installing and using, which are available by searching on Google or YouTube.
Yes, once again this is where you can outsource the creation of your website, but what happens when you want to add another page or make some simple changes? And believe me, even if you are not yet an active marketer there will soon be many changes you will want to make. Some pages you will be constantly adding will be new squeeze pages, affiliate pages, sales pages, giveaway pages, etc. so do you want to always have to pay someone else to do the changes and have them done at their convenience?
A simple website can be created using free HTML editors called NVU or KompoZer which can be found by searching on Google. Installation and tutorial videos can also be found on Google and are free.
I mostly use KompoZer but also learning to use ExSitePro2 which is a great programme.
It’s important to own your own domain name and not go down the free domain line, which do not look as professional, from what I have seen. Paid domains are not very expensive, depending on where you buy them from, and the price varies on the type of extension. For example, .com names are the ones most recommended but tend to be more costly than .net and .co.uk but the prices can also vary due to the country where the supplier is based. From what I have found recently my .co.uk domains have been much cheaper (and for 2 years) when purchased from a
My original .com domains were purchased through GoDaddy but more recently I have been using NameCheap and with discount coupons, available by searching on Google, these are now much cheaper. My count is now 21 domain names and increasing. For my .co.uk domain names I am using Heart Internet.
5. Webhosting
Don’t go for free hosting, leave that to other beginners and pay for yours. You won’t be sorry as you will most likely have a better service with less down time and more tools. There are so many hosting companies about and everyone seems to have a different opinion so you should listen to what they have to say.
Pick one that not only will work for you now but also when your business grows. You don’t have to pick the most expensive as there are many reliable and reasonably priced hosting companies that will fir your needs.
I have been with HostGator for over 4 years and never had any problems. I took out their Baby Croc Plan but will soon have to change as my business grows. This account gives me unlimited sub-domains, add-on domains, disk space and bandwidth but I may now have to upgrade to a Business Plan or Reseller Hosting.
If I do change my hosting company then I may consider moving to highly recommended D9 Hosting.
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There are many resources available, free and paid, to help you learn what you need to know. Start with a marketer you trust and look for what you need. Some things, such as FTPing, can be learned from YouTube videos if you do a simple search for them.
I have not included any links to the sites mentioned above but they can all be found easily by doing a Google Search
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