Twitter Relationship Tips - Marketing on Twitter


As I trapse around the net, I see that tons of people don’t think there is any value in Twitter and I see that many of those who do see the value think it’s all about jumping in and mass following people to get thousands of people following them.

There is value in Twitter, for practically any and everyone and we’ll certainly delve into that, but for the moment let’s talk about this mass following myth.

The only time I ever rushed out to follow a bunch of people was in the very beginning (well, in the very beginning I think I signed up to review the site for a client) but once I decided to actually use it, I sat in on a phone call about Twitter and that evening, and for the next couple of days, I logged on to Twitter and followed a bunch of people to start to get some followers back.

BUT, I didn’t just follow random people.

I followed people that had similar interests as me and were in the same loops as me.  You need to have something in common with your Tweeple, something, whether it’s personal interests, business interests, or whatever relates to your purpose for being on Twitter.   And I still don’t just follow random people.

So what I only have almost 700 followers, for the most part I believe those followers share interests with me, and I actually communiciate with many of them and read a lot of Tweets from them.

Yes, it’s impossible for me to read every Tweet of over 500 people that I follow but I almost always have my Twhirl open and I scan it daily, often frequently throughout the day, to see what’s being talked about and what links are out there.  And I peek at the corner of my screen when my little bubble pops up to show my latest incoming Tweets.  I also sometimes check the profiles of my fav Tweeters to see what they’re up to.  I do that because I am involved in my Twitter world and I find a lot of valuable stuff there.  And I share, I share business stuff as well as personal stuff - why,

because it’s about Relationship Building, just like it is offline.

I don’t automatically follow everyone that follows me, although @GuyKawasaki makes a great point that he follows everyone who follows him so that they can direct message him - something to be considered and a practice I’m thinking about.

But what does generally prompt me to follow someone is if they start a conversation with me.

That’s what peaks my interest. Otherwise, I assume you’re just following me so that I’ll follow you back and you can build your numbers.  Personally, I don’t care about numbers unless they’re the numbers that are in my bank account.  I’ve never cared about any other numbers, even offline.  In my offline life, I’ve never been in a race to try to have as many friends as possible, I prefer value over numbers.

And that’s what I do - start conversations with people.  Whether it be people already in my Tworld or whether it be that I did a search on Twitter to find people talking about a specific topic and I decided to @ those people to expand the conversation.

If I cared about numbers, as long as I’ve been on Twitter, I could certainly, and would certainly, have followers in the tens of thousands from following people, not because we had anything in common or because they found any liking or value in what I have to say.

Admittedly, I should have been focusing on a bigger, valuable, base, but I spend a lot of my time working on my clients’ social media stuff so mine does often fall to the wayside.  And I’m okay with that because I know that

a) I’m delivering value to my clients and

b) that my base is valuable to me, no matter how small or large it is.

So, you spent hours and hours and hours following hundreds and hundreds of people so that you can have a big follower figure - are those people listening to you at all?  Is there any value in that number at all or is it like an empty bank account where you wrote an false figure in your bankbook just so that when you open it in front of someone, they think you have a bunch of money that you really don’t have?

Okay so you have the numbers but:

Where’s The Beef?

Hey, I’m all about “fake it til you make it”, don’t get me wrong but can you really make it if

a) you don’t deliver value and build real relationships and

b) none of your tens of thousands of followers really even see your link much less tell others about it because they have no connection to  you at all and you’re just another number in their fake bankbook too?

I’d rather have close to 700 people with many of them actually looking at my Tweets because they want to know what I’m talking about than 50k scanning right past my Tweet because they’re looking for the Tweets from the people they have some sort of connection with, or real interest in.  In the latter, I’m just the invisible person at the party who everyone was nice to but who no one really cares about and who no one listens to.

Offline, let’s say you go to a party and you hand out your business card to everyone, but that’s all you really do.

    A number of those people will throw your card away.
    A number of those people may put it somewhere but forget all about it.
    A number of those people will go with a competitor because they have a connection with that competitor or because that competitor made their interaction personal so they remember them, not you.
    A number of those people will see you as one of those annoying people who knock on their door at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday morning trying to sell them something they have absolutely no interest in.

So, you spent all night, and hundreds of business cards accomplishing nothing.

I’d rather be the girl at the party who established some sort of connection so that next time they see me they’re like “hayyy”!  The girl who spent her time connecting with an interested audience rather than someone just being polite long enough to get me out of their hair because they really don’t care.  The girl who if these people want something that I know about or am involved in, they think of me because I made a personal connection with them.

And the formula is so simple - Build Relationships.

Hello Relationship Marketing/Relationship Networking.

Instead of spending 2 hours per day just following people, spend those 2 hours talking to people.

Start a conversation.

    Ask questions - using @xxx, not just necessarily out loud to no one
    Compliment people on something - whether it be something they’re doing, an announcement they made about something they accomplished, their site, whatever
    Help people - direct them where they can find info about something they just asked about; provide directions for something they need help on - not only as it relates to whatever you’re selling - provide Real Value

Target people that will care about whatever  your purpose it.  If you’re on Twitter to help promote something, find people who might care about whatever that is or find value in it.  And start conversations with them.  Pay attention to what they’re talking about and get in the conversation.

Not only will this help you find and get value from your Tworld but if people like you, they will want to help you and support you.  I’m 10x as likely to retweet something from someone I have a connection with; although I will retweet something I really like that I catch from someone who I don’t have a connection with; but, it’s more likely that I’ll catch your Tweet if I have a connection with you, or if you’ve made our Tworld at least a little personal in some way.

Once you connect with someone, when they see your Tweet pop up, they just might take a peek at is because they have some idea of who you are.

Sure, unless you’re already someone big, it will take you a little longer to build your following, but you will have a valuable following; not just an empty one that you wasted tons of hours building.

This is exactly how I handle my own Tweeting as well as my clients’.  It does my clients no good if I just follow 1k people who have no idea who they are and don’t really care.  I’m delivering ZERO value to my client.  But, if I engage with people who share similar interests, I deliver value.

I utilize this practice on the other social platforms as well.

Instead of spending all my time following and friending people,

I build relationships, I create interaction.

So, now you’re asking, just how personal is it if I’m doing the relationship building for a client, rather than them doing it themselves?  Good question.

Answer: For one, I take a personal interest in my clients’ business.  I’m not a robot for them, I’m actually involved, I’m part of their business, I represent them so it’s not just cold convo - it’s as if their profile was actually mine.  I interact with people as part of the company.

I bring people together with my clients’ interests.  If I’m representing a client who is a VA firm, I connect with others in that world, or others who might be looking for that type of service and I do it as ‘part of the company’, not as their robotic, cold seller.  It’s personal.

It’s unrealistic for a business to handle everything.  Just like they need a secretary because they can’t take all of the incoming calls and messages and run their business, they need people to support the other aspects of their business, and social media is one of those aspects.

And I deliver value over numbers.

That’s Where My Beef Is At.

I guarantee if you shift your focus to relationships, rather than just numbers, you will see a greater return in your efforts.


Social Media & Your Business


I read an article today that I couldn’t agree with more, and raises points that I recently addressed with a client so I wanted to talk about it a bit more.

To start, my story w/recent client:

    Client hires me to set up his social networks (there is more to it than just registering and putting up a profile). He provides me with a list of sites he wants a presence on; I make suggestions on his presence and start gathering & requesting information and content (including website location).  Client says he is having the site built and asks for any feedback/suggestions on site info he presented.  I learn that the site is actually a ‘page’ where only a signup form for a newsletter will live.

I quickly started discussing with him why he needs to have an actual website/blog and not just a signup page.  For one, you have to give visitors an f’in good reason to sign up - people are extremely protective of their inbox and don’t just sign up to any and everything just because you want them to.  You need to be delivering value and you can’t very well do that with nothing more than a signup page.

For two, where are you going to send your visitors via these social networks - just to another social network where you can only provide a certain amount of value and information about yourself/services/etc.?

That’s just the tip of the iceberg on why you need a site/blog.

He did take my advice and decide to set up a website rather than just a ‘page’.  I believe his success will be far greater since he has done so and the options for his business are multiplied.

You can be on social networks all day but you need to have a place for visitors to really see what you’re about and what you deliver, and engage them via various resources and content.  It doesn’t have to compete with giants like Microsoft or anything; it just needs to be a place for your visitors to “visit” you.

Social networks are an avenue for you to connect with people and vice-versa, you can create awareness and drive traffic through them, but you need to have a place to drive it!

As a sidenote to that: it’s as simple as just setting up a WP blog.  [oh yeah, I'm for hire for that, I don't do just 'social networks/media', blogs are social too =)]

Now, take a look at the article that prompted this post which discusses 5 Easy Social Media Wins for Your Small Business.  (errr, but don’t forget all about my little post here after you venture over there!)

If you’re not yet utilizing Social Media for your business, what are you waiting for?  Would love to hear why you haven’t made the implementation yet?

I would also love to hear the successes those of you using it have had, big or small - no matter the size, all success is SUCCESS!  Are you getting more traffic; are you  making more sales; has  your reputation grown; are you making connections; gaining partners?  What’s your success?


Why Social Media is So Effective


Let’s take a look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:

You will notice that after the first 2 levels of basic needs (safety & physiological needs -sex) are met, the following 3 levels can be supported and nurtured by “social” interaction.
Read the following about Maslow’s theory (via Wikipedia) -

Representations

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is predetermined in order of importance.[5] It is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with psychological needs, particularly those related to identity and purpose. Deficiency needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy growth needs drives personal growth. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level. For instance, a businessman at the esteem level who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission. [6]

Deficiency needs

The lower four layers of the pyramid are what Maslow called “deficiency needs” or “D-needs”: physiological, safety and security, love and belonging, and esteem. With the exception of the lowest (physiological) needs, if these “deficiency needs” are not met, the body gives no physical indication but the individual feels anxious and tense.
Physiological needs
For the most part, physiological needs are obvious - they are the literal requirements for human survival. If these requirements are not met (with the exception of sex), the human body simply cannot continue to function.
Physiological needs include:
Safety needs
With their physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual’s safety needs take over and dominate their behavior. These needs have to do with people’s yearning for a predictable, orderly world in which injustice and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent and the unfamiliar rare. In the world of work, these safety needs manifest themselves in such things as a preference for job security, grievance procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings accounts, insurance policies, and the like.
For the most part, physiological and safety needs are reasonably well satisfied in the “First World.” The obvious exceptions, of course, are people outside the mainstream — the poor and the disadvantaged. If frustration has not led to apathy and weakness, such people still struggle to satisfy the basic physiological and safety needs. They are primarily concerned with survival: obtaining adequate food, clothing, shelter, and seeking justice from the dominant societal groups.
Safety and Security needs include:
  • Personal security
  • Financial security
  • Health and well-being
  • Safety net against accidents/illness and the adverse impacts
Social needs
After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs is social. This psychological aspect of Maslow’s hierarchy involves emotionally-based relationships in general, such as:
Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, whether it comes from a large social group, such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs (”Safety in numbers“), or small social connections (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and clinical depression. This need for belonging can often overcome the physiological and security needs, depending on the strength of the peer pressure; an anorexic, for example, ignores the need to eat and the security of health for a feeling of control and belonging.
Esteem
All humans have a need to be respected, to have self-esteem, self-respect. Also known as the belonging need, esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem or an inferiority complex. People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. It may be noted, however, that many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. Psychological imbalances such as depression can also prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.

Aesthetic needs

The motivation to realize one’s own maximum potential and possibilities is considered to be the master motive or the only real motive, all other motives being its various forms. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need for self-actualization is the final need that manifests when lower level needs have been satisfied.
Social Media can foster those needs of levels 3, 4 & 5 whether you’re utilizing it for only making friends, networking for various reasons, or to connect people to your brand.
However, keep in mind when utilizing it for networking and connecting others with your brand, that it must be used “socially”.  So what if you throw up a page on a site somewhere, who cares; people have been doing that for years - so Web 1.0.  What will generate interest, word-of-mouth recommendations and interaction with your brand is by you catering to these social needs.
  • Create friends and even family-like relationships and atmospheres
  • Boost others’ self esteem and confidence, contributing to your achievements as well as the achievements of others
  • Respect others to gain respect
  • Contribute to conversations, creativity and problem solving
Did you notice that entire list came from the social needs we’re talking about?
By connecting to natural human needs, you will:
  • Gain reciprocal actions and respect
  • Encourage people to tell others about you whether it be by direct verbal or written recommendation or in the form of a ReTweet, link to your site/information, etc. - because now you’re a participant in their lives not just a bystander
  • Gain interest of not only your product but of you/your company because you aren’t just a product anymore; you’re a person who socially connects, cares, and contributes
  • Establish yourself as a leader
  • Open and encourage the doors of communication
  • Obviously, because of the above-mentioned gain a wider audience
If you look at any currently successful online marketer, whatever their niche and whether or not their brand can also be bought offline or not,  you’ll find that they’re likely leveraging success from these exact methods.
Of course, content is King but social is Queen; because you can have all the friends you want, if you don’t have content, good content, well you’ll just have friends.  And vice-versa, if you don’t have a social opening, particularly these days, well you’ll just have a site.  They work amazingly well together and utilizing them hand-in-hand will create offspring of fortunes (term used lightly to contribute to King and Queen metaphor).
Businesses and brands can utilize social platforms to connect to these very basic human needs.  Simple as that!
Long gone are the days of just sitting on the web hoping to be found.  Enter the era of reaching out and connecting, not only to people but to their social needs.
Be Social.
Thoughts?  Do you think it’s really more complicated than this?


Types of Linkbait and How to Utilize Each


Linkbait is one of the most often talked about SEO techniques on the web; however, what isn’t talked about are the specific types of linkbait.
Linkbait
From Problogger: The term linkbaiting is a one that seems to have surfaced over the past 12 or so months and that is used by webmasters to describe a variety of practices - all of which seek to generate incoming links to a website or blog from other sites.

Techniques and Utilizing Linkbait

  1. The one site technique - You write something to encourage backlinks from a specific site. This can be anything from a review to a trackback (agreeing or disagreeing with the article). This technique is usually generates ’surprise’ linking, but with enough know-how it is quite successful.
  2. Baiting a specific group - This technique was made famous by the many abuses of Digg. A while back, whenever anyone wrote an article/blog post about Digg it would be frontpaged immidiately. Why didn’t you do that? Alright, I didn’t either, our loss. Today, the most common group baiting is to political groups and celebrity followers. An great example is the photoshopped image of Sarah Palin’s head on the bikini body holding a gun. Other examples are LoLCats and “Fail!” photos.

  3. Using gadgets - Creating badges or WordPress plugins isn’t all about helping others; it’s also about helping yourself. You better believe that 99% of the time a badge or plugin is created the author is hoping for a linkback.
  4. General baits - This is generally the most common, but can also the hardest to bait. General humor, lists, interviews, and rants are among the many within this category. Most baiting will occur within your own niche and may move outward to StumbleUpon, Reddit, Digg, or one of the other social media sites.
If all else fails, porn it up! Pornography is always a well viewed subject, only people are more discrete about it. Don’t expect tons of comments, but do expect great StumbleUpon traffic and reddit traffic from the NSFW category.


Make It Simple for Visitors to Tweet Your Content to Twitter


Web cruisers are pretty ADD.  We don’t like sites that are complicated to navigate and we like things that make our time online simple.

Making it simple for your site visitors to Tweet your content will increase the likelihood of them sharing your information via Twitter; and, giving them a “hey, Twitter me please” reminder in the form of a button doesn’t hurt either!

Have you ever cruised blogs and saw a little button that said “Tweet/Retweet This”?  Were you deciding if you were going to click that little button before you even really dug into the content?  That’s a subliminal message of sorts, and you should have those messages on your page too!

Tweet This gives you that mind power!  It also does the URL shortening, so your visitors click twice and voila, they’ve spread your word.  You can also edit some of the settings - I love to be able to choose!

TwitMe also gives you this functionality but it further allows you to notify your Twitter followers of new post.  You can also interact with your Twitter account.

TwitThis is another service that gives your readers easy access to posting your content on Twitter.
I think Tweet This is my fav and the one I’ll be utilizing here (sending mind power to my own mind…this has been on your to-do list for a while, stop and do it!)

I use Twitter Tools to show my Tweets in my sidebar so I’m not really in need of the extra functionality of TwitMe.

You can use Twitter’s widget to show off your Twitter  on other social sites.  I’ve been installing it on some of my clients’ pages and I can stick it on most social profiles so I love that.
So, long story short, it’s important that you not only show off your Tweets via using tools such as Twitter Tools and Widgets everywhere possible but it’s also important to make it simple for your visitors to share your content with their own followers.


Linkbait vs SEO: What’s the difference?


Blogging is an amazing science. One must be able to accomplish many feats at the same time to grow readership. Two ways to accomplish readership goals are SEO and linkbait. Both have similarities and likewise, differences.

Definitions from the glossary:
Linkbait
Link baiting is a technique used to create links by creating content that appeals to social networks and/or bloggers.
Search engine optimization
SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization. SEO is a way to increase rankings within search engine results.

Similarities

Linkbait and SEO are quite similar in many aspects.
  • Both are a form of internet marketing.
  • Both have the main priorities of gaining links.
  • Both are best accomplished when having contacts in your own niche.
  • Both are for the outcome of traffic.

Differences

However, there are also many differences. Lets go over what they are:

LinkbaitSEO
Titles:Clickable titlesOptimized titles for SEs
Content:Anything controversial or interesting.Pages with 200+ words = best result.
Traffic type:One time only.Sustained.
Chance of accidental success?YesNo
Difficulty level (scale of 1-10):84

In case there is any confusion, ‘chance of accidental’ means the chance which people can accidentally create it. Many times the best linkbait is from something sources you never dreamed of becoming linkbait. As for SEO, it is rarely, if ever, accidental.
As for the difficulty level, SEO is one of the easiest marketing techniques to learn and implement, at least at the basic level. Linkbait however, is one of the hardest.

Which to choose?

There is no need to choose. Both can be accomplished (and sometimes are with the same article). The real choose is when to post one over the other. A general rule is to keep linkbait to a minimum, otherwise visitors might tend to grow angry. However, there are sites out there which live on linkbait alone.


Promoting Your Blog: What You Need to Know


There are many ways of promoting your blog. But, there is no science or reason to believe one works better than another. Although, there are general agreements to the process to help insure the best results.


  • It is a long process. - Nothing works overnight.
  • Link out. - Linking out is a great way to gain exposure. Use your pings and trackbacks.
  • Content is king but marketing is queen. - The old ‘content is king’ still holds true today, but if you don’t prepare your blog, no one will see it.
  • Follow your stats. - Don’t just listen to what internet marketers have to say, do your own research. Find what works best for you and continue doing it and learn how to do it better. Which brings me to:
  • Use your strengths. - What are you good at? Use it to your strength to help advertise your website and keep visitors.
  • It’s easier to keep visitors than get new ones. - Find what your visitors enjoy and keep doing it. Not only are return visitors easier to receive, but they are much cheaper.
  • Be consistent. - There is no bigger turnoff to potential subscribers than being inconsistent with copywriting. Keep your theme in order and present content in a uniform manner.
  • Implement SEO techniques. - Search Engine Optimization is the cheapest and most targeted traffic you will ever receive. Utilize it.
  • Be creative. - Find a way to market your blog like no other. Remember bum marketing? Even if his original idea didn’t work, he created national media attention–the best type of promotion.
  • Use social media. - And use it wisely. Don’t just use it to promote yourself or you will get banned quickly. Do your research and find what social media site will benefit you the most. Join it and be active.
  • Follow industry leaders. - No, don’t stalk them. But, do interact with them. The more they know about you the more they will be willing to link to you. That is, if you aren’t spammy. How to do this? Join Twitter and add them as a friend. Converse with them. Oh, and it does help to comment on their blog.
  • Diversify. - Don’t put all your eggs in the same… wait, that has been used. Don’t eat too many… er. Hm… I know, don’t eat too much turkey on Thanksgiving or you won’t be able to eat the delicious pie. If you spend all your time and/or money on one marketing adventure, you are doomed to fail. Instead, branch your marketing out into several areas.
If you’ve learned anything, it is that there is no one way to promote your blog and it is a long process. Never give up after just 6 months unless you receive a ginormous offer.


SEO Tips for Beginners


Search engine optimization is possibly the single most important aspect of any website outside of content. Although SEO is only one element of web marketing, it is possibly the easiest to understand and of course, it is free. By implementing SEO techniques, your site will improve its rankings in image, local, and global searches.


What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is the technique of organizing a website in a way to increase its potential relevance of specific keywords on specific search engines and ensuring external links to the site are properly titled and in abundance. This is done to achieve higher organic ranking in search engines to increase the volume of targeted traffic.

SEO Aspects

Title - Use the title to create viewer interest–be sure to use your main targeted keyword phrase. This is perhaps the most important attribute in SEO.
Content - Use keywords in the body of your content several times, but don’t force it. Using strong and em to help build performance.
Links - Links are the second most important aspect of SEO. Use keywords in all links, both internal and external. As well, seek external links from other websites to point towards your pages using your keywords. This can be done by guest posts, linkbait, or article directory submissions.
Headers - h1, h2, h3, etc. are also important. Every page should have at least an h1. Use h2 and h3 as a way to add sections within your content. Put keyword in them.

Theories

Nofollow - Ever since the big three announced nofollow, SEOs have been scrambling to find a way to utilize the attribute. Some suggest placing nofollow on links to contact forms and about pages, while others see those pages more strategically. What SEOs do agree on, is placing the nofollow tag on untrusted links and advertising. Sadly, this includes comments.
Please the Google - Google is the most popular search engine on Earth, by far. Please him and you will find traffic at your doorstep.
Diversify - Don’t be a one horse cowboy. If Google goes down, your website should take only a minor hit. Utilize social media, the blogosphere, and make friends in the industry.
Go long-tail - You won’t get #1 overnight for the word “Cars”. Instead, think long-tail. Target searches for [cool green cars], [new 2009 honda], and [cheap plug-in hybrids].
Think longterm - Don’t sacrifice your site for short-term success. Every now and then a new blackhat technique comes to the forefront suggesting it will make you #1 if you cook crow. Don’t fall for the temptation.

Conclusion

SEO is a long-term project; it is not something that can be done overnight. Instead, find your comfort zone and continue the process of gaining links and optimizing pages over the life of your website. Only then can your site truly gain consistent exposure in search engines.


Mendaftar di Chitika


Sobat blogger barangkali frustasi blognya selama ini ditolak terus sebagai publisher GA maupun PPC lokal. Atau mungkin sobat selama ini belum bisa dan mau memaksimalkan pendapatan lewat websitenya. Nah Kali ini Julak mau berbagi PPC lain alternatif terbaik pengganti Adsense. Chitika. Apa itu chitika, Sebagian sobat blogger barangkali sudah pernah dengar dengan PPC ini. Chitika adalah sejenis program periklanan seperti Google adsense juga, namun berbeda jenis iklan dan teknis pembayarannya.

Jika iklan dari google adsense biasanya ada gambar dan URL langsung mengarah ke website advertiser maka di chitika tidak. Iklan di Chikita hanya berupa semacam "search engine" yaitu saat pengunjung mengklik iklan akan di arahkan ke link pencarian.

Bagaimana cara pembayaran Chitika?

Chitika membayar publishernya dengan mata uang Dollar dengan 2 alternatif yaitu via paypal dan cek, nah kalo Google adsense lewat jasa pengiriman uang Western Union dan Cek. Memang sih agak enakan adsense, karena jika kita mau mencairkan hasil pendapatan cukup ke kantor pos yang sudah online atau Bank lokal seperti Mandiri dan Bank Danamon. Cara Pembayaran Chitika dilakukan per 30 hari 

Apakah Chitika benar membayar?

Yup Chitika bukan PPC scam atau tipu-tipuan. Saya  menyaksikan sendiri bagaimana teman saya mencairkan bayaran dari chitika. lewat paypal tentunya, karena di tempat saya cukup sulit/ tidak ada Bank yang mau mencairkan cek dari Chitika (gak tau ya kenapa). Chitika akan membayar publisher jika sudah mendapatkan minimal 10$ via Paypal dan 50$ lewat cek.

Cara mendaftar di Chitika.


Sebelum sobat akan mendaftarkan blog di Chitika, siapkan dulu blog berbahasa Inggris. Why? Jika sobat mendaftarkan blog berbahasa Indonesia, kemungkinan besar akan ditolak, seperti saya yang pernah mendaftarkan 2 blog saya langsung ditolak, hehehe. Tapi untuk coba-coba bisa saja, buktikan aja dulu yee.  Muncul pertanyaan, mengapa di blog berbahasa Indonesia bisa muncul iklan Chitika? Nah, begitu sobat sudah diterima pengajuannya lewat blog berbahasa Inggris tadi, maka kodenya bisa dipasang di blog Indonesia milik sobat. Tentunya setelah kita menambahkan blog yang mau dipasang kode iklan Chitika.  Bagaimana membuat blog bahasa Inggris? hehehe pake ajian terakhir Bro .... Atau bisa juga jika blog sobat bahasanya campuran Inggris dan Indonesia.

Apa saja syarat blog agar diterima sebagai publisher chitika?


Menjadi publisher Chitika menurut saya tidak terlalu ribet seperti google Adsense ataupun PPC lokal premium, karena Chitika tidak mensyaratkan berapa jumlah kunjungan perhari, pagerank blog dan Alexa rank yang bagus. Berdasarkan pengalaman saya untuk mendaftar di Chitika syarat utamanya adalah blog yang didaftarkan harus blog berbahasa Inggris. Jumlah kunjungan ke blog saya itupun tidak tentu paling-paling cuma 10 pageview sehari yang terbesar. Apakah harus memakai top level domain sendiri? Tidak perlu karena cukup blogspot udah bisa diterima. Namun sperti umumnya PPC lain, jangan memasang Iklan chitika di blog yang melanggar ketentuan, mau tahu ketentuan apa? Silakan lihat gambarannya saat pendaftaran pada bagian centang-centang. 

Sudah siap mendaftar Chitika? 

1. Masuk ke website Chitika Klik di Sini 

atau masuk klik saja banner di bawah ini.

Apply to be a Chitika Publisher!
2.Jika sudah masuk, silakan masukkan data selengkapnya seperti gambar di bawah;
cara daftar chitika
Isi Nama depan dan belakang; username untuk login, nama URL blog lengkap, password dan email untuk konfirmasi, serta kode Captcha. Jangan lupa cek list / centang semua form, lalu Klik Submit Application.
3. Nah langkah selanjutnya adalah konfirmasi bahwa kita telah mendaftar di Chitika, buka inbox emai atau jika tidak ada cari di folder Spam email saat pendaftara. Di situ tersedia link untuk konfirmasi pendaftaran chitika.
4. Jika sudah dibuka, isi lagi semua isian, mirip-mirip pada langkah ke2 di atas. Jika sudah, tunggu 1-6 hari. Buka email, akan muncul pemberitahuan bahwa blog kita diterima atau tidak oleh Chitika.
Langkah-langkah di atas adalah langkah pendaftaran, Jika sobat belum diterima, misalnya karena blog yang didaftarkan berbahasa Indonesia, Sobat bisa mendaftar ulang, dengan blog berbahasa Inggris. Saran saya ganti email pendaftarannya.
Jika sobat udah diterima langkah selanjutnya adalah membuat kode iklan untuk dipasang di blog. 

Cara membuat/mengambil kode iklan Chitika

1. Setelah masuk/login ke Chitika , Arahkan mouse ke tab Ad Setup

2. Akan muncul 3 pilihan silakan pilih Code Creator
3. Pick Your Colors silakan pilih warna link, teks, background dan border iklan.

3. Di “Select Unit Options” >>  buat setelan ukuran iklan dan warna sesuai blog sobat.
4. Lalu klik Get Code, akan muncul kode di bagian bawah, copy kode tersebut dan masukkan ke blog/situs Anda. Jika tidak mau repot cukup di pasang disidebar atau header saja.

Setelah kita membuat kode tadi, langkah selanjutnya mungkin sobat ingin menambahkan blog yang ingin di pasang iklan Chitika. Nah disini sobat bisa menambahkan blog sobat yang berbahasa Indonesia.

Menambahkan blog setelah diterima chitika

1. Klik Domains disamping Ad Setup
2. Silakan masukkan URL blog sobat, contoh www.namablog.blogspot.com
3. Klik Add. Selesai. Tunggu sesaat atau log out dari akun chitika, lalu login lagi. Maka blog yang ditambahkan tadi sudah diterima. Jika belum tunggu beberapa jam.

Pembayaran Chitika.

Jika sobat belum mempunyai paypal, silakan sobat pinjam akun paypal teman yang bisa dipercaya. atau kalau mau pembayaran lewat check, sobat bisa mengaturnya;
1. Arahkan mouse ke Account > Klik Payment setting
2. Pada Payment information mungkin sudah lengkap data yang dimasukkan saat pendaftaran, jika sobat memilih lewat check, sebaiknya sesuaikan dengan KTP sobat. Jika sobat ingin pembayaran lewat Paypal, masukkan email Paypal sobat/teman. 
3. Selesai.


Q & A on Resellers Rights


In a nutshell, most top marketers today boost their income and add spikes to their traffic and build their mailing lists through creative use and leverage on Resell Rights. And it can very well be your leverage to your next breakthrough in Internet Marketing, too, but only if you understand it first!

Resell Rights Question #1


Are all Resell Rights products the same in terms and conditions?

Answer


All Resell Rights are not created equally. Resell Rights vary from one product to the next, with different rights, terms, and conditions. In fact, some products that are contained in a Resell Rights package are not for resell at all, but are instead for personal use only.

If you purchase a resell rights package, which contains more than one product, the package will typically contain a resell license agreement for each product.  Do not assume anything! Read every word of the resell license before you resell the product, and keep that license in a safe place for future reference.

For some products, you may be allowed to resell the product for any price, or even give it away for free. Others may have a set price, meaning that you cannot sell the product for less than that price or give it away for free. In the case of physical products, such as CD’s or DVD’s, you may or may not be allowed to duplicate the product when you sell it. Some companies may require you to purchase the product directly from them for resell – for each sale.

There are usually other terms and conditions for reselling a product as well, other than the price at which you may resell it. For instance, most product authors will have strict anti-spam policies, meaning that the product cannot be advertised by any method that may be in violation of federal spam laws.

If you are ever unsure about your resell rights, contact the author of the product before doing anything else. You do not want to violate any terms or conditions, as it can and will be considered a violation of copyright laws, which is a federal offense. Make sure that you aren’t just asking another reseller – contact the author of the product directly.

Make sure that you don’t misplace your licenses. Print them out and keep them on a file. You should also back up electronic copies on a disk. Include any email exchanges with the product author as well in your backup files, including the emails that you send.

Resell Rights Vs Private Label Rights

 PLR materiel can be a very useful tool for the busy IM and can be used in a variety of ways to augment his or hers blogging and marketing. But what is the difference between Resell Rights and Private Label Rights

Many people are confused about the difference between resell rights and private label rights. Several mistakenly think that they are the same thing, and this is not so. It is easy, however, to understand how the two terms can be confusing.

If you have resell rights, you have the right to resell the product, in conjunction with the terms and conditions set forth in your license, as is. This means that you cannot alter or edit the product in any way, and you cannot put your name on it as the author.

If you have private label rights, however, you can edit and alter the product as you see fit, and you can even put your own name, or your company’s name, on the product as the author. You can change words, chapters, graphics, add to the product, break the product down into several different products - whatever you choose to do.

Because you have more freedom with private label rights, these types of products generally cost more to purchase the rights for.  Some products even have two options when you purchase them: resell rights or private label rights. In fact, you can use your private label rights products and sell the resell rights to others, after you have changed the product and put your name on it.

There is also a difference between resell rights and master resell rights. Resell rights simply give you the right to resell the product, while master resell rights allow you to resell the product and the resell rights!

Again, it is easy to see how one could be confused with these various terms. However, if given the choice, always go for the private label rights. This will allow you to have a product of your very own, without actually having to create one yourself. Most private label rights licenses give you much more leniency.


Why Two Tier Affiliate Programs?


For anybody who is not familiar with affiliate marketing, two-tier will probably be a new term to you. But to those who are involved in this kind of marketing; it means a reliable stream of income. Two-tier is a feature of any particular affiliate program where affiliates are allowed to sign-up additional affiliates below them. So that when the sub-affiliates otherwise known as second tier affiliates, earns a commission, the affiliate above receives a commission too.

In a two-tier system, the first tier of commission is just like the usual affiliate program. The sole difference is that it has an additional tier/ or sub-affiliate, whereby marketers also gain a commission once the people that the additional tiers referred to the program generate sales. Affiliate programs can have a multi-tier program with infinite number of levels; however, there are practical limitations. As tiers increase, the affiliate program draws more webmasters who are mostly interested in gaining profit from other’s work and effort.

Two-Tier affiliate programs are also recognized as Multi-Level Marketing. When you sign-up for an affiliate program, you are identified as the first tier and the person that you have recruited or encouraged to sign up is the second tier. If there are additional tiers, then the system can now be regarded as multi-level marketing (MLM). But today, MLM isn’t as effective and successful as it was several years ago. This is because at present, affiliates can freely select from thousands of affiliate programs and they can quickly switch from one program to another.

So if you want to use two-tier affiliate programs to your advantage and generate more income by encouraging sub-affiliates to sign-up below you, make sure that you carefully choose your affiliate merchant. Pick those merchants who generate a stable stream of high quality products. Make sure your merchant has a good tracking system and has a good reputation for looking after their affiliates. Look for the merchant who gives high visitors-to-sales conversion rate.

It’s also advisable that you find yourself a web merchant that has a user-friendly website which you can access anytime to monitor your statistics including visits and sales. And if possible, choose the one with powerful marketing tools which you can use in promoting their products.

Pick wisely or you will just be wasting your time and effort, worse still damaging your reputation. As soon as you start promoting a poor program it will reflect on you and your site. This is the reason why it’s so important to pick first-rate affiliate programs. Through these, you can not only build up a good relationship with your visitor, but also, you can easily get more tiers to sign-up under you. You should also be cautious of some affiliate programs that give more importance on the profits to be earned in taking on other affiliates than on the income from sales, because eventually someone has already closed those sales without informing you. Usually, this kind of affiliate program offers a very low first-tier payment but a sky-scraping second-tier commission.

If you want to start an affiliate program of your own, you have to decide whether it will be a single tier or two-tier affiliate program. Which of these two programs are better? Let’s look at the benefits you could get out of the two-tier affiliate program.

First off, your profit will increase due to increased sales from the customers that your second tier has referred. Second, you have a much broader customer base to which you can sell your products and services. You gain more stable income because the customers referred by your affiliate and sub-affiliates could develop a lifetime loyalty for your site and your products. Plus, you have an army of sub-affiliates who will promote and resell your products and services to their visitors and subscribers.

Two-tier programs are a proven winner and should be the number one choice for affiliates as well as for the affiliate program managers. So I hope you can now see the advantages of two-tier affiliate programs.
As Spok would say live long and prosper.


Part 3 Building a Niche Site Step-by-Step


On Day 1 and Day 2, I did insanely fast idea generation using only the places Michelle told me to use; uncovered my awesome new niche and targeted my primary and some secondary keywords; selected my domain using each of the tools Mich recommended (which idea generation led me to another great long-tail keyword I want to use) and purchased my domain.

What I accomplished today:


Today, I actually started and completed the entire Module 2 which is Optimize for Size.  It didn’t take a lot of time to complete but you get more and more stoked as you go and you just don’t want to quit!

Module 2, and my accomplishments for today are:

–> Installing Wordpress and customizing the settings to the specifics Michelle gave which will optimize my site for superb keyword optimization and site ranking.

–> Optimizing my ‘on page’ factors to ensure the search engines clearly understand what my site is about and gravitate toward it.

–> Chose some LSI keywords and optimized my site for those.

–> Downloaded the SEO Optimized Wordpress Themes Michelle provides and installed a few, chose the one I liked and listened while she explained what an SEO optimized WP theme should contain.

–> Set up my widgets according to Michelle’s specifications (that was super fun and exciting because you can just feel the success as you do this!)

–> Downloaded the huge plugin pack Michelle put together, installed them all and set them all according to the specifications Mich provided. These are seriously plugins you MUST HAVE and setting them up the way Mich directs, yet again, gives you that feeling of success as you do it!

–> Set up my site to look good on mobile phones since more and more people are now searching for information and viewing sites on mobile phones.  I hadn’t thought of this before and it’s really fab advice!  She tells you exactly how to ‘floss’ on a mobile phone!

Now I’m going to move on to Module 3 which is Content Architecture…and once I’ve completed Module 3, I’m halfway through Boot Camp and well on my way to raking in the dough with my new niche site!

If you’re brand new to niche marketing, there’s no possible way you can go wrong with these step-by-step, from scratch to money-making, video instructions.  If you’re already knee deep in niche marketing, I’d still be willing to bet that you can benefit greatly from this course, learn a lot of new things, and pick up some fantastic new tricks along the way…nevermind have access to the exclusive tools like:
  • the Snooper (tells you exactly what sites Google is favoring on any given day so that you can link build there);
  • the CM Social Bookmarker that automatically bookmarks your URL to assist you with linkbuilding
  • the CM RSS Blaster that drips your RSS feed across the web
  • the Task Manager which is automatically filled with steps you need to take in building and monetizing your site (you can also add your own tasks and have task managers for all of your sites)
  • …and more!



Building a Niche Site Step-by-Step Day 2


You’ll recall, yesterday I did massive, quick, idea generation with the avenues Mich told me to use to uncover my new niche; keyword selection using Michelle’s specific instructions on how to find the “gems”; and found my primary keyword that looks promising for some comfortable money and my secondary keywords.

What I accomplished today:

Okay, so I came with my “gem keyword” in hand. I watched the video Michelle made showing how to do domain selection.  Now, you might think, “Hey, I know how to choose a domain.”  Well, so do I. But Michelle gives some great extra tips and thoughts on how to choose a domain and why.

No matter your level of marketing, you’re SURE to get some good tips, extra things to consider and analyze, etc. on the things you already know.

Whether you’re brand new to making money online and building sites, niche and otherwise; or you’re seasoned, there’s crazy value everywhere around.

I went through every single step Michelle told me to go through since this is about following her teaching step-by-step to build a new niche site. I followed the various steps she demonstrated and came out with a domain I love, it’s simple and to the point, but a perfect match for traffic!

Well, there was actually another phrase - had 1 extra word from my original keyphrase and I liked it! When I thought of that, I went back and got a little more key word market info from it.  But, it just so happens that when I went to register the domain…it was gone! Grrr.  But that’s okay I chose a synonymous action word and figured I’ll still build a page around that phrase later even though the competition is a little sticky.

So I got my domain name; found another phrase I want to focus on later and learned a little more about my market from the keyword research I’d done.

I’m armed and dangerous now! Ready to start building my site and monetizing it!

So, ho hum, I’m waiting for my domain to be set up so I can use it! Otherwise I would have been here with a few more steps to cover.  After I do a little bit of other work, who knows, I might be back tonight!


How to use PLR content


How to make better use of PLR

First up; for anybody who is not familiar with PLR (Private Label Rights) products, then here’s what you can do with them; on PLRs you have exclusive ownership of that product. You can then use it anyway you wish: change the packaging, the title, the contents; you can do just about anything you want with the product.

Finding PLR Products

One thing’s for certain you don’t have to look that hard to find PLR bundles, there are PLR membership sites everywhere. What you will find is that the quality of some PLRs is to say the least less than perfect; you get what you pay for, so shop around. If you do have poor quality PLRs on your hard drive then you will be doing a lot of editing. There is no point in just slapping this PLR on to your blog, you will have to work the articles and put your own stamp on it. The key to successful posts is rewriting the PLR and shaping it to your own style.

I use PLRs on many of my Blogs and websites;
I can’t proclaim to be an expert on every subject and have used many PLRs myself, but I still research the post properly before I publish the finished article. You might be quite surprised to know that a lot of popular blogs and big corporate sites use PLRs quite frequently.  What you will find from some PLR membership sites is that outsourcing is done by non English speaking writers. This is not good as the content is often poor quality and unreadable. I have come across such PLRs frequently and they take up a lot of time re-editing.

What you can do with PLR products;

There are a multitude of uses for PLRs, here are the main ones.
Offer PLR information products as free bonuses, or to opt-in to your email list. Or you can create your own original information products; how about making promotional content for your affiliates as an inducement to promote your main sale. PLR can also be used to create your own real estate for profitable Adsense sites. Of course PLRs are invaluable for updating your own money making blogs. You can rapidly create eZine content and an autorespondor series. Last but not least use PLR content to create viral eBooks; if you have Open Office then you can convert it into PDFs very easily. And with a good graphics editor like Dreamweaver or the free Gimp application produce great eBook covers.

The great thing about PLRs is that they actually encourage you to learn and improve your writing skills, forcing you to get your own personality across to your readers. It’s a great way to fire you up and start forming your own ideas for future articles. To make your articles sing out to the search engines you will need to start placing keywords throughout your post, this can be a progressive action which in time you will get better at.
One note of caution; Do not use other peoples content and then use it for ad filled blogs, this is Wikipedia’s definition of Splogs;  “Spam blogs, sometimes referred to by the neologism splogs are artificially created weblog sites which the author uses to promote affiliated websites or to increase the search engine rankings of associated sites” Beware because Google actively goes after these types of blogs or websites and bans them without a second thought.
PLRs are hugely popular and will continue to be so with millions of bloggers around the world monetizing their use.  “Happy blogging”


Day 1- Building a Niche Site Step by Step


Okay, so you know what this series is all about - me building a niche site, from scratch, using the No Marketer Left Behind Internet Marketing Membership site that I’d bet my kids on to be the best around!

For this project, I’m building something OUTSIDE of the Internet Marketing Niche.

So here we go, Day 1 of building my new niche site!

I printed out my Module 1 Worksheet that I will use as I work through each video in the first Bootcamp Module which is “Niche the Niche“.

In this module, we learn how to generate niche ideas, find the “keyword gems”, drill down in keyword research to find the perfect keywords to build a site around and the keywords we’ll use, and select our domain.

What I accomplished today:

1.  I created an insane list of great niche ideas. 


These are just the ’scratch the surface ideas - the ones I’ll drill down on to find where the money is. Michelle gives you some great, super easy, avenues to generate ideas from. (You can also use these avenues to generate ideas on creating informational products - which you can give away for free to build your rep and your list; and/or sell to make money on; or both!)

I used the avenues she told me to use and quickly generated PAGES of niches and sub-niches that I can dig deeper into and investigate to find the money. It took me maybe 20-30 minutes to generate several pages of ideas (from which, as we go through the steps, I’ll find the first niche I’m going to build on and then still have tons to pursue as well as some great ideas for information products I can create along the way to help me build).  This is seriously idea generation at its best (you can do SO MUCH with this list!)

I used the 5 top places recommended (one is SO FREAKING SIMPLE and I never thought about it before, it’s totally that ‘duh’ moment) and really I could have generated thousands, literally, of ideas but I limited it to a few pages for now.

2. I narrowed my list down to the top ones I had an interest in pursuing the most at this time.

3.  I narrowed my list down even further to the best choices to start with out of that list using the rating system Michelle provided.  This rating system helps you determine which of those ideas you should start with (the top 2 or 3 to start investigating).

4. From that list, I started my keyword research using the idea that had the highest rating on my worksheet. I know, I know, keyword research - not usually our favorite thing to do but it must be done to find the money and with the keyword research tool we use, it’s almost fun because the results are SO detailed and there are so many ways you can utilize it. I said almost! I’m not going to pretend it’s now my favorite thing to do, but it didn’t seem quite as painful because this is keyword research at its best. And, again it’s a vital step in finding the money - which is the entire point of niche marketing!

I used the video instructions and the keyword tool to drill down into my top level keyword and find other keywords as well as an even better keyword to build the site around.

I discovered the MONEY MAKING words to build my site around and the other keywords I’m going to use within by using the keyword tool to analyze:
  • how many times my potential keywords are searched in a day
  • the SEO Traffic (the amount of clicks a #1 site for this keyword might achieve)
  • the percentage of phrase-match searches out of broad-match searched for my potential keywords
  • my SEO competition (how much or how little there is)
  • the SEO Title competition (how many ppl using my prospective keywords are using them in the title of their page)
  • monthly trends for my potential keywords
  • stats on the chances that someone searching for my potential keywords are looking to actually buy vs. just looking for information
  • the Adwords value = the dollar value that a #1 Google Adwords advertiser could expect to achieve for this keyword(s)
  • the SEO value = the dollar figure value that a #1 ranked site would be for that keyword  (i.e., could expect to make $300/day or $700/day or whatever)

    Analysis of my potential would-be top ranked competition for this keyword(s) such as: how old, or new, their site is; what their pagerank is; how many backlinks they have to the main domain; how many backlinks they have to the particular page that is targeting my prospective keywords; whether their sites are listed in particular directories; if ‘our’ keyword is in their page title, URL, description, header; and the number of days since Google last indexed the page.  All of this information gives me great insight to even more details about how competitive a keyword is and how easy or hard it will be to rank highly fairly quickly and start raking in some cash!  It even shows me everything color coded using green, yellow and red so that I can quickly see whether it’s a “go” or “no go” for me.

Here are 2 screenshots from my keyword research that show WHY I’ve chosen this primary keyword to build my site around (showing the stats outlined in the bulleted list above):

This first screenshot shows the keywords I’m looking into (with the orange field being the one I’ve decided to roll with).

Searches = searches per day (higher is better)

SEOT = approximate hits a number 1 listed page could expect (higher is better)

PBR = percentage of phrase match searches out of broad matched searches (higher is better)

SEOC = SEO Competion (Lower is better)

SECTC = SEO Title Competition (Lower is better)

Search = Monthly traffic trends

OCI = Percentage of chance that someone is looking to buy (Higher is better but should be taken into consideration w/other factors)

AWV = daily traffic value, and cost, adwords advertiser in #1 spot might expect

SEOV = daily traffic value #1 spot might expect

So, taking all of these values into consideration, I chose to go with the keyword in the orange field because it has stats that I like, particularly when taken into consideration with the next screenshot which shows my current top competitors.

niche-keyword-stats-blurred

This next screenshot shows the Top 10 Google search results (my soon-to-be-competitors) and their stats.

DA= Domain Age

PR = Page Rank

BLP = Backlinks to “Page”

BLD = Backlinks to “Domain”

BLEG = Total links pointing to from .gov or .edu

DMZ and YAH = Whether or not site is listed in these directories

Title / URL / Description / Head = whether or not page is ‘on page’ optimized in these areas

CA= How many days ago since Google reindexed the page

Colors: Green is good for ME, Yellow is so-so, Red is not good for ME

seo-competition-for-niche-marketing-keyword-blurred

You’ll notice there’s a lot of green = good for me; a slight bit of yellow I feel I can overcome; and very little red for me to worry about.  The big yellow caution area- the backlinks to the primary domain isn’t a HUGE concern for me because I can beat them out in the green areas…and get my site listed on some of the sites contained in the actual ‘domain’ part.  The backlinks to the pages (that focus on my actual keyword) I can certainly beat out without an extreme amount of effort.

Using the various keyword stats and taking everything into consideration, I now have the main keyword I’m going to build my new niche site around.  Let’s see how it goes!

So, recap summary - I created a list of tons of niche ideas (containing many others I’ll be looking into in the future too), filtered it down to the best ideas I wanted to check into now, narrowed it down some more using a rating system to pick the top 2-3 I wanted to dig into, chose 1 and started finding the money-making keywords in my first choice niche using DEEP stats that yield results FAR superior to the Google Adwords or Wordtracker keyword tools (I’ve always loved those tools but they can’t give you these kind of results - and you can use the keyword tool we use for free even though there’s  paid version that I recommend purchasing when you can).

As you wrap up this research, you can’t help but to be super stoked about what’s to come!  You know you’ve found the money and you know you’re on your way to achieving success in this newfound niche!

You’re probably wondering about my keywords I’ve found? Can’t tell you just yet, but I promise it will all be revealed as the building continues!

The next thing I’m going to do is choose my domain name according to the steps in the video.


Starting a Blog on $0


Want to start a blog but have $0 to spare? When the recent down turnings of the economy, more and more people are turning to blogging as a way to make some spare change. Although blogging isn’t a get rich quick method, it is a great source for additional income. You can easily start up a blog, market it, and gain significant traffic before ever having to pay for hosting or your own domain–a huge plus to those who can’t afford to start a new website.

Steps we will take in this article

  1. Discover what a blog is.
  2. Discuss why you should start a blog.
  3. Learn how to start a blog for free.
  4. Uncover how to write blog copywrite.
  5. Find ways to market your blog for free.

What is a blog?

Blog is short for weblog. A web log is an online journal or newsletter which is updated frequently and allows visitors to comment on the articles. This website is a blog, for example.

Why you should start a blog

  • It’s a great way to gain small business exposure.
  • Extra income.
  • Blow some free time.
  • Keep a personal diary to tell the world about your adventures.
Of course, no matter what your reason, the $0 start-up rule remains the same. It is possible.

How to start a blog for free

  1. Sign up for Blogspot.com. It has limited functionality, but it is great for those just starting out. Plus, it allows you to setup Google ads.
  2. Choose an appropriate name for your blog. This should be something short and easy to remember. Throw out anything longer than three words.
  3. Choose a nice looking theme. You can create your own later or find a ree one.
  4. Customize the layout by going to layout/page elements.
    1. Click ‘Edit’ in the Blog Posts area. Select ‘Show Email Post Links’ and ‘Show Ads Between Posts’. You will have to sign up for AdSense first.
    2. Click ‘Add a Gadget’. Find the Gadget titled ‘Subscription Links’ and click the plus button. Press save.
    3. Press the orange ‘Save’ button at the top.

How to write blog copywrite

Now that you are signed up for blogger and have your template, you can begin posting. Here are a few articles to help you on your way to good blog copywriting:
  • Be Productive: Write Ahead OR Emergency Articles
  • Be Productive: Take Notes
  • Be Productive: Set Work Hours
  • Blogging Tip: Be Yourself
  • How to Write Great Content and Keep Visitors Interested

Find ways to market your blog for free

There are many opportunities for blogs to market themselves for free.
  1. Submit your blog to blog directories and regular directories.
  2. Use delicious.
  3. Submit your posts to BloggingZoom.
  4. Create widgets for Google, Facebook, and BeBo. Be sure to include a link back to your blog.
  5. Put a link to your blog on all your social profiles (Facebook, MySpace).
  6. Join Twitter and converse.
  7. Hold contests (May or may not be free, depending on your talents).
  8. Create a web design and submit it to galleries.
  9. Write articles and submit them to article directories.
  10. Write guest posts.
Once your blog starts producing money, you will have to make a decision on moving to a paid host or staying with Blogspot. There are advantages and disadvantages for both:

Moving to a new host

  • It is easier to market a domain than a blogspot blog to clients. e.g. it is easier to remember and more trust worthy.
  • You have the freedom to use the advertising you want.
  • There are better blog platforms out there.
  • You will lose some readers.
  • You will have to start your branding over.

Staying with Blogspot

  • You know the platform.
  • You keep all links and marketing efforts.
It is up to you on what to do next. The best advice anyone can give you is to stay active, keep writing and be patient. Most businesses fail within their first 6 months because they don’t expand their knowledge, stay patient, or plan ahead. If you can do those things, you will already be ahead 99% of your competition.


Plug Your Blog for Cash


Have you ever wondered about all of those plugins that you use every day to extend and monetize your WordPress blog? As we all know plugins are very popular with bloggers especially WordPress users. I know that every day when i login to my WordPress blog the first thing i do is check the dashboard for any highlighted issues that need attention. If you have a lot of plugins then you are more than likely going to have to upgrade on more than one occasion. Here then lies an opportunity for you to earn some residual cash from someone who is more than a little familiar with WordPress plugins.

If you arrived on this blog through any number of different locations one of the first things you will have noticed is the MaxBlogPress Ad Stripe on the header. This is one of many plugins that are available through MaxBlogPress, and I’m sure if you are an active blog surfer you will have seen many of them on other WordPress Blogs. Now apart from the obvious advantages of the ad rotator which are self explanatory, think about how many other uses that can be utilised with this powerful visual element. For a start you could put this space up for rent to other Bloggers, in fact you can put up just about anything you can think of. A blogroll of your favourite blogs or perhaps use it as an announcer for competitions. If you are inventive and think outside the box then this ad stripe could take on a whole new life of its own. What about integrating your social network handles, I’m sure other social networkers will see the value in this.

Just like WordPress.org MaxBlogPress has many free plugins like Psychic Search or BlogRush Click Maximizer or how about the duplicate content checker handy if you have a lot of posts,  and many more useful additions that will enhance your blogging experience. There is of course even more essential premium plugins like “Ninja Affiliate” which is without doubt in a league of its own.
If you want run all your affiliate programs efficiently and effortlessly with all the built in security and keyword monetisation, then I would highly recommend that you take a closer look at Ninja Affiliate.
Here are just some of the many uses that can transform your blog into an efficient cash hungry beast.

Easy Affiliate Link Management - You can easily give each affiliate link an easy-to-remember name..

Flexible Link Management - Accepts every affiliate link format out there, so you don’t have to waste time with various affiliate marketing tools.

Create Professional Redirect Links - Use professional looking redirect links that let your prospects know you’re a pro marketer.

Manage Links by Groups - Too many affiliate links? Ninja Affiliate allows you to easily create different groups to manage your links.

Prevent “Affiliate Theft” - Cloak your affiliate links to prevent link theft and affiliate sabotage. No one will ever steal your hard-earned commissions again.

Insert Affiliate Links Directly - Add your affiliate links directly for your WordPress blog editor - you’ll never have to hunt for links again.

Transform Keywords to Links - Automatically turn keywords in your blog to affiliate links. You can set a limit too, so your posts don’t look like a spam blog!

 Advanced Display Options - Ninja Affiliate allows you to display any text you want in your web browser’s status bar.

Use “No-Follow” Links - Control your link juice and escape punishment from Big Daddy Google with ninja precision. In fact, you can control your links any way you want to.

For anybody who is serious about affiliate marketing with WordPress this is a must have application that will seamlessly slot in with your other plugins and which you can control from your dashboard editor. I have only touched on a very small part of what this plugin can do, so to find out more for yourself jump on through, he explains it in a lot more detail.


The Role Of SEO Copywriting In Ranking Your Website


You may have heard the word SEO by now. It has become rather a common jargon for the Internet-savvy. SEO actually stands for “search engine optimization” or “search engine optimizer.” Many companies are now hiring search engine optimizers in order to promote their website and reach out to a wider market.

Many SEO consultants offer useful and reliable services for web owners. Their services include a review and analysis of your present website contents and structure; offering technical advice on website development; content development; keyword mining and research; management of numerous online business development campaigns; and in-house SEO training.

Now let us concentrate on the content aspect of SEO. SEO copywriting is a technique of writing a text on the web page that permits the viewers and visitors to read it clearly, while targeting the requirements of search engine robots. The goal of search engine optimization copywriting is to make the website rank highly in search engines using the particular keywords. Copywriting also optimizes other on-page aspects such as Title, Description and Keywords tags, headings and alt text.

So what really is the concept behind SEO copywriting? Search engines want genuine content pages with relevant texts that are related with certain keywords. It is created for the unique purpose of attaining high rankings. When it comes to SEO copywriting, it is recommended to have around 250 viewable words per page and strategically placed keywords within the text. However, SEO copywriting works for suitable websites and suitable search terms. It is also very important that the writer knows how to avoid the deadly sins of copywriting, with keyword stuffing on top of the list. With these factors, SEO copywriting can attain great results which can direct a website to have higher rankings across many popular search engines.

A page that is successfully optimized by copywriting however, has no warranties. There may be rivals with better SEO strategies. If your website keeps on slipping in the rankings, then SEO copywriting must be redone.

Learn how SEO Copywriting and SEO Strategies can help increase the traffic to your website and thus boost your business!


Top 20 WordPress Plugins


What plugins do you use?
In this post I want to discuss WordPress plugins and narrow down which ones are essential and which of them are useful in other ways. As any self Hosted WordPress user will tell you, plugins are essential for many important parts of your blog from SEO to Statistics and a myriad of other uses. This list includes my top 20 plugins that i use regularly, at the time of writing this list I have 42 plugins and I dare say other WordPress users have a lot more; so I would love to hear about your plugins and how you rate this list.
So let’s kick off with what I use on my blog; I will start with the Essential plugins and list them in order of importance to me. Since this blog is in its infancy my recommendations may not suit everyone but I hope will help you decide which is more important to your particular blog.

1st All in one SEO I think most would agree without doubt the most important of all the plugins, once set up it is a powerful tool that sends your posts throughout the web. You can customise this plugin in various ways to fine tune your SEO campaign. (Update your keywords and phrases frequently and always check in with Google analytics to find out the latest trends)

2nd. Google XML Sitemaps — another essential element automatically generates your sitemap and notifies Google MSN and Ask.com. Set up just once and leave.

3rd. SEO Smart Links — Very useful plugin for linking your posts up throughout your blog by category or tags, great for SEO. Can be modified and tailored to suit your theme or subject. This also gives the reader more information on your blog without them having to go searching somewhere else.

4th. Psychic Search – Definitely useful for yourself and your visitor, this plugin gathers information on the top or most popular searches which are done on your blog and you have the choice to put these results in your sidebar for visibility. This is handy for gathering information which you can use to write more articles on or tighten up your SEO. *Requires Registration*

5th. W.P Thread Comment — Very useful for visitor interaction, simply put it lets commentators to your post speak to each other and reply specifically to any particular discussion.

6th. W.P Automatic Upgrade — Save yourself a lot of time and effort with this indispensable plugin, remember to always check in and upgrade all your plugins regularly. Very simple to use, it walks you through the whole upgrade process and backs up data.

7th. W.P Super Cache — A must for high traffic blogs (not quite there yet <;) and it keeps your blog running smoothly, check in to clear your cache every now and again depending on your traffic.

8th. W.P Stats — Must have an API Key to activate, great for snapshots and highlighting most read posts and pages visited on your blog.

9th. Subscribe to comments — Another great comments plugin that gives your visitor the ability to subscribe either by RSS or email and to be notified by email of follow up comments.

10. Commentluv – Parses the commentators last blog post, I think this is a must and would recommend this plugin to anybody who wants to grow their blog. Users are more likely to come back and comment more often.

11th. Akismet — Perhaps I should have put this plugin further up the list, never the less a very important spam management system. You can even call it Dusty Bin if you like <;

12th. BlogRush Click Maximizer — Increases your click through rate if you have a BlogRush widget on your blog, this might not be for everybody but is another source of traffic. (Early days for me) Needs to be Registered.

13th. DoFollow Give some link juice back to your visitors who leave comments, very simple to set up.

14. FeedBurner FeedSmith — Absolutly essential, I don’t think i need to explain much about this plugin, If your new to RSS Feeds then checkout FeedBurner.com. There are far too many options to mention in this post; check out this previous article.

15. MBP Stripe Ad — You can see this plugin in action at the top of any page on this blog. It has many options including an ad rotator with up to 10 ads at a time; you can also change the font couler or size to blend in with your WordPress theme. *Registration Required*

16th. Add to Any Subscribe Button — Lots of these available always handy and you never know somebody might actually use it (Hint_<;)

17th. Twit This adds a small twitter icon after each post, This social network micro platform is gaining huge popularity, so that’s why I have included it on my blog.

18th. Top Commentators Widget — Involving your visitors and encouraging them to post comments regularly to your articles gives them that stickiness, and hopefully brings them back to your blog more often. I am a great believer in connecting with likeminded people and like to reward input as much as I can.

19th. WWSGD (What would Seth Godin Do) Good for welcoming your visitors with your own custom message with a gentle reminder to subscribe to your RSS feed. Just started using this plugin, so I will see if I like it in the coming months, I suppose it comes down to personal preferences.

20th. Template WordPress Widget — This is just a shameless plug for a great affiliate program that I am part of at the moment, you can find out more on Template Buzz. This plugin can be set to show snapshots horizontally or vertically and with or without prices.

So that’s my top 20 WordPress Plugins; I dare say I have missed one or two so let me know which ones you would include. This list will undoubtedly change in the coming months as I streamline and configure my blog. Although this list is primarily for WordPress Plugins I also make use of other applications like Zementa and Kaalga which I am beginning to see more and more value from. Any application that helps you to be more productive is alright in my books.


Just how hard can it be to sell digital products online?


Well some of the top marketers make it look easy don’t they, but one of the main attributes to this success is just plain old hard work. It all depends on your work ethic and attitude and what methods you use. So with this in mind let’s look at some options for niche products.

Affiliate and SEO Tactics

1. First and foremost we begin by searching for the product to sell;

There are a few choices that you can use like ClickBank, Paydot.com or RegSoft, these are all loaded with thousands of digital products. Make your choice with careful consideration, for this example we want to find a more *niche* orientated product. Once you have made your choice join the affiliate program and check to see what promotional materials are available.


2. SEO (search engine optimisation)


So you have your product, next comes the SEO which is probably the most important element in the whole process. A good idea is to set the domain name to match your product with the magic word FREE; example: (yourproductforfree.com). You can see what an impact this process makes in the search page itself (Google free.com for an example). People who land on this search page are more likely to click your ad than say a sponsored one. If you look for products that *aren’t as popular* you have a better chance of ranking higher for that product with little competition. Do a bit of research on your keywords with Google keywords tool, put in your exact phrase to see what the competition is like. You will want to see low search results for your exact keywords to make your campaign more feasible.


Point to remember, make sure your product offers a free version; obviously you will make your commissions when a customer upgrades.


3. Promotion
Do email campaigns, if you don’t have a list then use a safelist. If you’re not sure what a safe list is then just Google it. Turn out some articles and posts to review the product then submit them to article directory’s'. Do a press release pointing out all of the benefits about the product. Join two or three forums and find a relevant thread that matches your product; spend a little time on generating a good signature box for your bio. Give some thought to the right identity when joining forums; try to be consistent with your brand and U.S.P (unique selling point).

It’s a good idea to use all the power and flexibility of the social networks especially the likes of StumbleUpon and Digg, but also MyBlogLog or FaceBook, look for the high traffic networks, do some research on this. At this point I would mix it up a bit and set up my own minisite to maximise exposure. If this is beyond your experience don’t worry there are plenty of free ways that you can utilise mini sites by picking the right affiliate program which can help you to set it all up. And of course a hosting account is essential.

Another great resource for your promotions is Squidoo and Hub Pages theses are especially useful, make sure you surf around your category and leave comments on other lenses and Hubs to generate links back to your product. Look for some popular Blogs like Problogger and CopyBlogger to drop some more comments; these popular blogs have huge traffic. Make good meaningful comments, don’t just leave a one liner, put some thought into it, you’d be surprised on how many bloggers click through your link if they find it interesting.

If you have some cash to spare then i would highly recommend running an ad campaign through the likes of Google Adsense or Yahoo. To give you an idea of a search page, type in *free.com* you will see some examples and variations of the word FREE in the URL and ad body content.


  • So to sum up the three main areas
  • Find your niche product
  • Research your keywords and phrases
  • Promote through multiple plarforms

It may seem a lot of hard work but the rewards can more than compensate, stick to your task and never waver, be prepared to change tactics if needed. Keep track of your responses and analyse your traffic and sales. Good luck and prosper.


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