Improve your Alexa Ranking

The library of Alexandria was said to be one of the largest libraries of the ancient world. This was the first ever library to house various books coming from different nations. The Library of Alexandria was in charge of collecting the world’s knowledge.

So how is the ancient library connected to our modern world?

Webmasters and bloggers nowadays are using a tool called ALEXA RANKING. This tool was named after the Library of Alexandria. If the library’s main goal was to collect the world’s knowledge, Alexa’s role is to gather information that will help Webmasters, advertisers and ad networks. These institutions will use the information gathered by Alexa to verify the worth of a link on your website. If you are one of those people who depend on link and site selling, your bargaining power is increased as your Alexa rank goes up.

So if you are dependent on site selling, here are some tips to increase your Alexa rank.

1. Make sure that you install the Alexa toolbar. You must also set your blog as your home page. This is the first step to increase your ranking.
2. Place an Alexa.com widget/plug-in or chart on your website. This logs your site visitors even if they don’t have the Alexa toolbar installed.
3. Update. Regular maintenance of your blog site is important. This will improve your page views and also visitors will stay longer on your page.
4. If you work in an office install the Alexa toolbar on each computer (provided that you’re allowed to change the settings). After you’ve installed the toolbar, change the home page to your blog site. This tip will work if your office’s internet service provider uses a dynamic IP address.
5. Write about Alexa. Bloggers would like to hear different opinions on how to increase their Alexa rank. It would be helpful if you write articles about Alexa too.
6. Internet cafe. Talk to internet cafe owners to install Alexa toolbar on their computers and make your site as their computers home page.

So those are just a few tips that can boost your ranking and of course increase your bargaining power.

Remember that traffic is also important to increase your rank. You can achieve this by writing interesting stuff to get the necessary page views that you need. It will take some time to boost your ranking so just be patient and keep on doing the necessary things to drive traffic to your site.

Using Twitter for your Online Business

Lately, I’ve been discussing some Social Networks and whatnot. Let’s take closer look at one Social Network that’s the “in-thing,” in online business. I mean not just businesses; even individuals are using it to update their friends on what’s happening to them.

I am talking about TWITTER.

Twitter, is a social networking tool and at the same time it’s a micro-blogging gizmo. It allows you to key-in up to 140 characters and update people who are following you. I know 140 characters isn’t enough to type in the entire content of your blog. However you can type in the URL of your latest blog with that amount of space.

Example: (using Add this)

Hey guys! New post check it out at http://bit.ly/MCVk6 via @addthis

With just a few texts I was able to inform my followers about the new post I have. Convenient right?

So can this help your business? Absolutely!

1. Introduction – for new businesses, using Twitter is a good way of introducing your company. I know you are there to make money and stuff; however it would also be great if you start it off with interaction. What do I mean by that? Get to know people first, after all Twitter is a very big community. No one will pay attention to the Tweets you send if they do not know who you are and what you do.

2. Promotion of your service / product – once you’ve achieved a decent amount of followers, announcing new products / services will be easy. All you have to do is key-in the updates that you have and send. Everyone within your group should be able to receive it; hence they’re aware of the new stuff you offer.

3. Awareness – customers who are following you on Twitter can easily voice out any inquiries that they might have, complaints they have to discuss, etc. Instead of publishing it online and broadcasting it to the entire world, they can easily reach you through Twitter. And just as easy you can offer your assistance in a timely manner.

Dell, Starbucks, JetBlue, Comcast, etc. are some of the huge companies who use Twitter for their business. Some of them use it to assist current and prospective customers, and some use it to update people on the company’s current status. You establish a good reputation by responding to customer concerns right away. Remember, customers are loyal to companies who treat them like kings.

4. It’s personal -- you get to interact with your customers on a personal level.

5. Feedback – if you are going to use Twitter you get immediate feedback from people you are communicating with. Therefore if you get immediate feedback you’ll be able to resolve the issue at hand if there is any.

6. Surveys – one feature of Twitter is its ability to gather surveys. As a business owner you can use this feature to gather useful information on your product / service.

To end, I would have to say using Twitter will be very helpful in growing your business if you use it correctly. You can create a network of loyal customers through Twitter which can easily be done.

So sign up and join the Twitter fever now!

An introduction to GET-PAID-TO Websites

Today I will discuss about GET-PAID-TO WEBSITES, which is another way of making money online.

If you are going to surf the internet, you will come across a lot of Get-Paid-To websites. These are sites established by entrepreneurs whose goal is of course to make some money. Cashcrate and CashonTap are the early pioneers in the Get-Paid-To Industry. They have sustained the changes in the market and have grown their member base.

Get paid to websites act as the middlemen between the advertisers and you (end user). The advertisers pay these companies to produce leads and to bring potential customers to their services.

The sites will pass a portion of their earnings to you as a visitor to the advertisers’ site. Some of the things usually done are:

• Completing a survey
• Going through some email advertisements
• Referring someone to buy a product
• Opening up a free account
• Giving an email address for subscription to a news letter
• Signing up for refundable free trials

According to the readings I’ve done it would be beneficial if you own a credit card. Signing up for free trials would be easier. A lot of advertisers will encourage you to sign up for free trials and you’ll use your credit card to sign up. Be sure to cancel your trial within the specified time period. You’ll get paid after cancelling your subscription.
BENEFITS OF GET-PAID-TO WEBSITES

The ultimate benefit of Get-Paid-To Websites is that you can earn money even if you do not have your own website. Aside from the fact that you work from the convenience of your own home, you do not have to be tech savvy to carry out the tasks.

The income generated from get-paid-to websites varies. If you are planning on making money from get-paid-to websites, expect the minimum amount of $100 to a maximum of $2000 per month. If you are interested on making more money, be equipped with your credit card and with a personal homepage (for referrals). The latter is not really necessary; it’s just for those people who want to earn more.

Like with any other money making scheme, there would always be cheaters and scammers around. Before diving into this venture, it would be advisable if you do your homework and research on the legitimacy of the get-paid-to website you plan to join.

Driving traffic to your BLOG.

So we’ve discussed the 4 strategies when it comes to “Making money through blog.” Now, let’s try to dwell into something just as important, DRIVING TRAFFIC TO YOUR BLOG.

If you will look at the articles written by blog experts, you’ll see plenty of ways to drive traffic to your blog. However I am just going to write about what I consider as important. Since you might get overwhelmed if I am to write a thousand tips here right? So let’s start those tips now…

1. Broadcast. I don’t mean like you should go on national television and announce it. That’s like an over kill. What I meant by broadcast is, tell your friends, family, colleagues about your blog. Take the time to tell them what the contents are, and what they can learn from it. But don’t tell them all because they won’t read it anymore. Just give them an overview of what it is all about. Don’t be shy to tell people around you what you write about.

2.Link back. If you are going to comment on some other blogger’s work, make sure to add the link back to your own blog. Sometimes in a forum, you will notice that people add their blog’s URL right below their name. This is helpful in driving traffic to your blog especially if there are many participants in the said forum.

3.Speaking of comments, make sure to pay attention to yours. Say for example, someone left a comment about your work. I think it’s just right that you also take the time to read what they’ve written and comment back. This is a good way of building relationship with other bloggers.

4. Socialize it! I don’t mean like go out and party. (“,) It’s good to party sure, but that won’t help much to drive traffic to your blog. When I talk about socializing, it means that you join Social Networks. Here’s a list of the most common Social Networks, bloggers join:

• Mixx
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Digg
• Stumbleupon

These networks will be a very big help to drive traffic to your blog.

5. Pictures! Pictures! According to one of my readings, it would also be helpful if people see pictures on your blog. Pictures have the power to attract viewers.

6. Ping it! Use ping sites like PING-O-MATIC and PINGOAT. I personally use Pingoat, but of course its your choice which Ping site you’d like.

Again, let me reiterate that I’ve only cited methods I think are easy to follow. Expert bloggers do more than what I’ve cited, but know all of them went through all of those tips I have mentioned above.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get the traffic going!

Blog Networking

So the last method in, “Making money from blogging”, is BLOG NETWORKING.

So what is Blog Networking?

Over the years blogging has emerged from a simple hobby into a huge enterprise. We see bloggers organize themselves into groups. This is because people want to collate their blogs, and they also came up individual categories. An example of these networks would be Technorati and Blog Pulse.

I only mentioned 2 blog networks but know that there are more out there to choose from. However no matter what their names are, all of these networks are designed for a specific purpose.

Is it beneficial for you as a blogger to join a network? Let us go over some benefits that you’ll enjoy if you join a network.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIP. You get to connect with plenty of people. I mean it’s pretty boring if you do not have anyone to share your blogs with right? Some people want to be part of something big, and joining a network will exactly do that. You will have people at your side, sharing your ideas with them and whatnot. Most networks have some sort of internal communication, this is one way of reaching out to bloggers who belong in the network.

GETTING TRAFFIC. As a new blogger we’ve dreaded the question, “Who is going to read my posts?” It would absolutely take some time if you have no connections whatsoever. Finding loyal readers will be a slow and gruelling process for you. Admittedly, it will also be frustrating at times. But you do not have to go through such anguish if you are part of a network. Many networks have a way of cross promoting blogs. They will group posts with similar topics thereby people who search for it will see what you wrote.

EXPERTISE. Some of us who blog are not experts we lack some skills of course. I mean sure we know what to write about, we know the topic we are discussing like the back of our hand. But is that enough? Knowing what to write is basically just the tip of the iceberg. As a blogger you need to know more, however there are times that we do not have time to indulge on that. So some networks handle getting a blog up and running including design, SEO optimization, paying for and setting up URLs and hosting, finding advertisers, etc. As a blogger all you have to do is write!

REVENUE. Blogging for a network gives you a relatively stable income. There is a base fee for such and you get paid per the number of page views that you receive.

So we’ve gone through the advantages of writing for blog network. It’s up to you to choose which network will work best for you as a blogger. In time, you will probably get writing assignments because you have proven your ability within a specific organization.So while you are witing about what you like, you are making money and meeting new people. Not bad eh?

Automated Blogging

Search Engine Optimization and blogs are the perfect combination. Google, loves blogs for the mere fact that it is always updated. It has fresh contents every day, and it contains everything necessary for a perfectly optimized site.

However, it’ll be time consuming if you post articles everyday and update your sites regularly. So some bloggers thought of something clever. It is called AUTOMATED BLOGGING. This is the third method in “How to make money from blogging.”

This is wherein a blog automatically pulls content from RSS feeds, major search engines, news groups, auction sites and industry specific sites to serve as fresh contents for your site. In using this method we are not violating any copyright laws, we are just going to use excerpts. These excerpts that we will use contain a link back to the original article that we’re using.

So I looked up some stuff that can make AUTOMATED BLOGGING possible, and according to reviews RSS TO BLOG is the way to go.

This method requires little work from you as a blogger. You do not have to come up with fresh articles every day, you do not have to generate and add content to your site constantly. How do you make money from it? Monetization for automated sites is usually done through contextual ads like Google Adsense or affiliate programs. If you are adventurous enough you might want to go through this road of blogging. Personally I think I like this method because I don’t have much to do which sounds good. And I know there are plenty of you out there who agree with me. So let’s get started with this one now!

Pay per post Method

Today we will talk about the second method mentioned on the list which is PAY PER POST. Among the four methods I have cited I think this is the easiest. On a daily basis you can earn a minimum of $15. So how do we start with the Pay per post method?

First, you need to set up multiple niche blogs. You can either use your own domain or use a free blog host such as Blogger. All you have to do is maintain this blog for a period of time. Make sure to pay attention on writing content, this will build up your blog’s Google Page Rank. I would advise you to choose the right blog niche. You have to consider some stuff to make sure that the niche you’ve chosen is ideal for you. Here are some things that you should consider:

- Make sure that the topic you’ll talk about is interesting to YOU. The topic should be something that you enjoy reading and researching on. It is important that you as a writer like learning new things about the topic.

- It would also be helpful to you if you are already an active member of some forum discussing the topic on mind. These people that you encounter in the forum are your target readers.

- The search volume of the topic is moderate to high. This is important since you need readers, right? So in order to get an audience the topic you’ll write about should be something people actually search for. Try using Google Trends to determine things people look up for.

When you have established your blog, it is time to submit them to a blog website. There are a lot of blog websites out there to choose from, here are some:

- Blogging

- Blogvertise

- Review Me

- Sponsored reviews

- Pay per post

- Loud Launch

After submitting your work, you’ll then start to write sponsored posts. Most people recommend using Pay per post because they give the largest paid offers.

The advantage of this method is that you do not need a large audience. An average of let’s say 20 viewers will give you $15 a day. For starters I don’t think that’s bad. Okay, for some that amount is too small I know. However, if you try to post over multiple blogs, on an average you can earn around $1500 monthly. Now, that is something huh?

The technique to making it in the Blogging Industry is to NOT SLACK. Procrastination will never get you anywhere. So, start looking for that niche and post your opinions right now!

What is "Flagship Blog?"

Sought after blogs receive a lot of page views every day. In a day, it may reach over a thousand viewers, and if it’s interesting enough it can influence how a person perceives things around him. That is the power of creative writing. You make people see things your way. And these blogs that I am referring to, not only get loads of views but it also make wads of money. The bloggers update their web pages as often as possible. Through updating their site, they attract a large number of traffic.

In the world of Online Marketing Business, traffic converts to revenues.

On the previous blog I’ve written, one of the strategies I’ve mentioned was FLAGSHIP BLOG. So what exactly is Flagship Blog?

When we say flagship blog, it is something that you blog about the most often. In my own words it’s your “signature,” as a blogger.

The blog that you’ll choose as your flagship blog should be about something that you know really well. Say for example, you can talk about MOVIES. Well, if I will choose a topic it’ll be about that. I am a huge fan of movies, genre is irrelevant. So if I am to come up with a blog, my flagship will most likely be about movies. I can give my readers the plot of a certain movie that’s currently in theaters and give my honest opinion about it.

The best thing about blog is that traffic comes to it naturally. People who are interested on the topic you are discussing will most likely become an avid follower. Soon enough, they will be prescribing you to friends and colleagues.

It is true that flagship blogging is time consuming. If you don’t want to outsource the content creation and some other stuff that needs to be done, expect to invest a lot of YOUR TIME and EFFORT. As tiring as it seems, it’ll be all worth it once you’ve established your blog. One of the best things about flagship blog is the ROI (Return of Investment).

You will eventually make money from writing you flagship blogs. You can charge for ad posting, and also use Pay Per Click advertising. See? Isn’t that easy? You are writing about something that you really like, and you’re earning something from it as well. To be successful in this industry always remember DO NOT SLACK.

Blogging it

Are you one of those people who spend their time writing about stuff? Like say for example, something spectacular happened to you today, and for you not to forget about it you write it down in a diary of some sort. A lot of people do that nowadays. However instead of using pen and paper they type it and post it on the web. This system is known as “blogging” which is short for Web Blogging. This system has become so popular these days everyone is posting his own story on the web.

The past couple of days I've been thinking of starting a series about BLOGGING. This system is interesting because it has a lot of potential. You can meet new people through blogs, your posts can help some people, and you can make money from it.
Blogging is not just a past time for some people, it's also their source of income. If you are good enough with writing this can be a full time job for you. So what benefits can you get from writing a blog:

• Information - you can share photos, instructional videos and some other things that can help people in their everyday life
• Promotion - you can use your blog to promote products / services. Say for example your blog has plenty of followers already you can start adding advertisers' banner on your blog site. Through this, you make your money without even doing anything.

Starting your blog is so easy. You do not have to be a computer genius to start a blog. There are various softwares to choose from out there. You can use Blogger, Wordpress and Typepad. All of which are easy to use and also proven effective. So how can you earn a substantial income from blogging? I will mention some strategies that you can follow to make your Blogging Enterprise a success.

1. Flagship blog
2. Get Paid to Blog
3. Automated Blog
   
4. Blog Networking

In the succeeding articles, we will go through each strategy mentioned above and discuss it in depth. For now, get a feel of the blogging software that you chose. Familiarize yourself, because soon enough we will be BLOGGING IT!

How to setup your Online English Tutorial

A couple of days ago we talked about money making businesses like, being a VA, writer and affiliate marketer. Today, I came across a very interesting article that I have not paid much attention to before. It's PUTTING UP YOUR OWN ONLINE ENGLISH SCHOOL. This is another way of making money online.

As people say, English is the most used language. It is basically the universal language. Plenty of people speak it. By far it is the most important language to learn if you want to be ahead of others. If you wish to do business overseas or study abroad, then learning the English language is a must for you. However not everyone has the time to go to an actual school to learn. So, some people thought of setting up an Online English School, some call it Online English Tutorial.

It is not so difficult to put up an Online Tutorial. I researched on the common things these tutorials use and I came up with a list that you need:

• Internet access
• Computer
• web cam (it's a plus if you have one, but it's okay if you do) not
• Headset
• Skype program
• Power Point

Those things I have listed are the most common tools used in Online Tutorials. Noticed that on the list I posted, I mentioned Skype. This is a chat program that you can download for free (click on it). Sign up is a breeze, you can do it in less than 5 minutes! So after you sign up and got the feel of your new chat program go to "contacts" and click on "add contacts." This is how you will market your Online Tutorial. You will send out emails to prospective students who are from foreign countries of course. When sending emails make sure to include your Skype ID.

So we've got the emails out of the way its time to fill out your personal information. Update your profile (tools, options, general settings, update profile) make sure to include your credentials. It would also be helpful if you will include a picture of yourself since people want to know who they're talking to (in case you do not have a web cam). Your lessons will be presented using Power Point. It will be better if you send the lesson the day before through email so the student can look at it before class. While you are teaching you both will be looking at that presentation, just to make sure that you're on the same page. If you are worried about what to teach, you can browse through a lot of ESL forums. Lesson plans are also available online for FREE!

Last but not the least, promote your Online Tutorial by publishing your own web site. Again setting up your own site is free. Go to www.webs.com and you should be able to come up with your own site in less than 24 hours. Include the teaching materials that you will use and also the courses that you offer.

See how easy that was! With no additional cost on your part you were able to set-up your own Online Tutorial.

OSCOMMERCE

Okay, so I was suppose to write this article yesterday, but for some insane reason my MS Word was acting up. I almost forgot about what to write! Thank goodness that there's still such a thing as pen and paper. Oddly enough, in this day and age of high-technology, using such is basically queer. I mean people nowadays can do everything from their computer. Yes! That's right, everything. You actually do not have to step out into the scorching sun and do your daily task, such as shopping. You can do it right inside your home using your computer.

The process wherein you trade, shop, in short do business online is what we call Ecommerce. Ecommerce is not just about buying stuff online but it also includes selling. Most companies these days are using this system to improve their company's earnings.

So while doing my research on softwares / programs that can help online business people, I came across something new. I saw this article about OSCOMMERCE. As a newbie I honestly do not know what this is. I went ahead and researched it on the ever dependable Wikipedia. And voila! I got the answer I was looking for. I will try to explain what Oscommerce is all about in lay-man's term.

OSCOMMERCE which is short for Open Source Commerce is a software that can help your online business run more efficiently. Your web server should have PHP and MySQL. Don't worry because there is no additional cost on your part because this software is free. (Click here for the software download). Here are some of the features that you can expect from OSCommerce:

• comes in three languages (English, German and Spanish)
• you can have unlimited number of products and categories
• the program sets-up payment systems automatically
• you can have an image / picture for each product that you sell
• shopping carts are available, both temporary and permanent
• you get shipping quotes directly from UPS and USPS

There are video tutorials available on Youtube. After watching some of them, I chose the best video that can help you understand better Oscommerce. I hope this video is informative enough for you guys out there.

Video by: Ecommerce2008

Want to earn extra money?

So are you one of those people who stay online 24/7? What exactly are you doing online? Maybe you're watching some videos on YouTube, Myspacing it, or even Twittering some folks. Okay let's not waste our time on those. I mean let's just do that on the side. There are more opportunities on the net other than looking for friends on MySpace. You can make money from the internet! Yes you read that right. Money.

How? There are various ways of earning money online, the possibilities are endless. So, today we will look at 3 of those money making schemes.

1. Writing - this may be the easiest way to make money online. All you have to do is write about a topic that's assigned to you. Check grammar and spelling make sure that nothing is amiss. It doesn't take a genius to do this right? Not to mention that there are programs online that can help you in checking your spelling and grammar. Such programs are White Smoke and Grammar Expert Plus. These 2 have a 30 day trial period. I know that compared to other means of making money online this job doesn't pay that much. However if you're looking for additional income this will surely work for you. Imagine just a few hours of your time, and you'll be making extra income.

2. VA or Virtual Assistant - if you posses good administrative skills, then this is the job for you. Here are some of the daily tasks of a VA:
- Proof-reading
- Setting up appointments
- Make travel plans (includes tickets and hotel reservations and accommodations)
- Check and answer mail, according to instructions.
- Pay personal bills, through online banking

These are just a few of the basic things that a VA takes care of. So basically you act as a secretary, but the only difference is that you are working at home.

3. Online Marketing - simply put this is the marketing of products and services on the internet. You can market your own product or someone else's. Nowadays, there are plenty of programs out there to choose from. I know some of us are not geniuses when it comes to this kind of business, try to look at programs that will offer you some training to help you understand how the business works.

So we've cited 3 of the most common money making schemes on the internet. If you are interested in doing one of those, make sure to do an extensive research first. Learn as much as you can about the job before you dive into it. I hope this works for you guys out there who are trying to make some extra income at home using the internet.

Building your WEBSITE

This video I chose is all about MAKING A WEBSITE. For all of you aspiring marketing affiliates out there who is dead set on publishing their own website but can’t afford a web designer the answer is here. I chose this video mainly because it’s detailed and also easy to understand.

The video discusses the tools that you’ll need. To make it easier for you, you will need the following:

* Adobe dream weaver CS 3 / CS 4
* A dependable internet service

So, I’ve checked out the cost of the Dreamweaver program, it’s like $399. However, like what this video suggested you can also get the 30-day free trial. Simply go to this site (click to open new window). This will lead you straight to the download page. Adobe will ask for your email address and you’re good to go. Just to give you a heads up, you are going to download Dreamweaver CS4 version.

The video will run for like 31 minutes, I know pretty long, but it will be worth your time. Watch the entire video and by the end, you will be knowledgeable when it comes to using Dreamweaver. This video showcases the basic steps that you need to follow in order to come up with a professional and clean website. This is a lot more practical than enrolling yourself in those tutorials which will cost you more money. I would actually advise you to download Dreamweaver CS4 first. It would be a lot easier to follow the tutorial if you are actually doing it yourself while the video is playing.

By the way, this video has an added bonus. Not only does it show the actual step by step web designing it will also show you how to upload the site unto the internet. In my opinion it’s a really good thing someone thought of making a tutorial like this. It will help a lot of people out there who wants their personal touch on the website that they will publish.

I will stop right here and let you guys see for yourself what I am talking about. Till next time!

Video by: VvCompHelpvV

Website 101

Okay, so I’ve been harping non-stop about websites and whatnot. Some of you might be asking now, “What with the website? What’s so special about it?” Again, as an affiliate marketer you may or may not have your own website. However if you plan to have your own site, it doesn’t have to be that extravagant. What’s important is that your site looks professional, and creates an impact to visitors.

So, what are the basic steps to start a website?

1. Purchase a domain name
2. Avail of hosting service
3. Design the website

Purchasing a domain name is probably the easiest task on your quest as an affiliate marketer. Big companies nowadays have their own. A good domain name gives your customers an idea of what to expect when they open your website. Remember that the domain name should be coherent to the product/ service that you offer. Coherency is important because it’ll be easier to find your website on the internet. Before you register your domain name, check its availability. I found this site. It can help you check whether or not the domain name you want has been registered already.

Web hosting. This is wherein a server or a computer is provided for your website. The main purpose of this is for people to easily access your website on the internet. As far as web hosting is concerned, there’s the free web hosting, and paid web hosting. There are some fall backs if you are going to use free web hosting. There’s no customer service available to you, uptime is not guaranteed, and expect a number of banners on your site. Paid web hosting on the other hand usually costs $10 to as high as $5,000 a month. So before you sign any documents that will seal the deal, make sure that you’ll get your money’s worth by considering the features you’ll get.

Design the website. You can design the website on your own or you can hire a professional web designer to do the job for you. Either way, you have to make sure that the website is clean and that it looks professional. If you plan to make your own website, you can choose from free templates on the web. Since you are selling product / service, do not forget to include a search box. This makes it easier for visitors to look for products.

THE GOAL OF AN AFFILIATE MARKETER’S WEBSITE

Each website out there is unique in its own way. It has different specialization depending on the purpose. So as an affiliate marketer what is the goal of your website?

1. Capture the visitor’s contact information
2. Get that sought after click through to your affiliate sales page

Those two are your website’s main goal as an affiliate marketer. In the previous article I have written I told you that a sale is usually made after the 7th contact with your prospective buyer. So how can you contact a future buyer if do not have his contact details? That is the reason why it is important that your website be able to capture important details about the customer. There is a lot that you can do with this information, and one of them is closing a sale.

Let’s go to the 2nd goal of your website: Get that sought after click through to your affiliate sales page. So, how do you entice and get these visitors into a buying frame of mind? You can do this by posting testimonials from people who bought and tried the product. It would be even better if you try it out yourself. Having a firsthand feel of the product that you are selling is good because you would be able to write about the experience yourself. Always remember customers are more likely to buy a product if they see it actually working for someone else.
The website that you will build doesn’t have to be that fancy. Well, if you are just starting you just have to make the site look simple and professional. As you go along your business then you can add something to it little by little.

If you are unsure of how exactly you’ll go about building your website, there are a lot of videos featured on Youtube that would be able to help. There are a lot of tutorials that you can watch, make sure to choose the right one for you.

Traffic! Traffic! Traffic!

After developing your website, you sit down and say to yourself, "Hah! Finally I can rest and wait for the checks to pour in." Uhm…do you really think its done? No, sir. Developing / putting up your own website is just the tip of the iceberg. There is more to it than putting up a website. You have to device ways of DRIVING TRAFFIC TO YOUR WEBSITE.

Before we dwell into the tips I think it is important that we define what’s the meaning of, "Driving traffic to your website."

After publishing your website you have to think of ways to tell people about it. In short you need to lure people to it. The more visitors your site gets the higher the chances of closing a sale.

So how do you attract people to your website?

1. Presentation - when we talk about presentation it's the overall impact that your website makes. We are talking about the design, the appeal to visitors, and some more stuff that has something to do with our sense of sight.

2. Easy navigation – Have you ever encountered a gadget that you don’t know how to work? After a few minutes of attempting to figure it out, you end up saying, "I’ve had it with this thing!" Of course you set that thing aside and never touch it again. We all had this moment one time or another. It is the same thing with using an internet website. If a visitor cannot figure out how to work it, chances are they will end up closing it and they’ll never attempt to browse the same website ever. So, there goes a possible sale for you.

As you see, it is important that your website is easy to use. A lot of people will not waste their time trying to understand how it works. Not everyone is patient always remember that.

3. Marketable – on the website that you will publish make sure the following is clear:

• The goal and purpose of the site (help people live better lives, give customers what they’ve been looking for, etc.)
• Who you work with. Brand names are important to some customers so make sure that you mention whom you are working with.

Also remember, people believe in the product if they see someone actually trying it, and saying, "Hey! It does work! You should try it too." So do not forget to include some testimonials from actual people who have tried your product. This increases the product’s credibility and your credibility as a marketer.

4. Awareness – make your website known to people. If people are not going to visit it then it’s no use. Increase awareness by posting blogs, joining forums, joining social networks, create a video, emails, etc.

There is a hundred and one ways to attract people to visit your website. I only chose to mention a few so as not to overwhelm you. Websites are a huge factor in a company’s success, so make sure to do it right!

To build a website OR not to.

Day in, day out loads of people flock the internet for different purposes. Some use it for research (school), some use it as a tool to earn money. There are different ways and means to earn money. And nowadays using the internet is the most popular way to earn money. With the right tool and knowledge you can make big things happen.

So, were does a website come into all this?

As an affiliate marketer you have the option to have or not to have your own website. Either way you can still earn money.

WITHOUT A WEBSITE:

As a new player in the world of affiliate marketing there are plenty of alternatives out there for you. You can actually use free blogging and use free webpage tools. You can use these to promote a product that you chose. Your income might be limited since you are tied up to only one strategy. Without your own website you can only use PPC or Pay Per Click. However have you thought of other options that might be available to you? You can use email Marketing, Offline Marketing, joining discussion forums, etc. All of these things I have mentioned can be done even without your own website.

WITH A WEBSITE:

If you plan to put up your own website you have to make sure that it looks professional and not something that was crammed. No one would take the time to teach themselves how to navigate through your website. So, making sure that it is user friendly is a big help to attract people to your website.

The site that you will put up should contain pertinent and relevant information about the product/ service that you market. Including important information about the product/ service makes you a dependable endorser.

As someone who is new in the business, you can either have or not have your own website. Just remember that whatever you choose; it still boils down to the right knowledge and your persistence to make things work for you.

Opportunity.com Review

Some days ago John Reese launched opportunity.com the program promises to teach you how to build an
affiliate marketing business.

I received lot of emails from the 'Gurus' promoting opportunity.com so I decided to check it out.

I watched the video presentation and read the website to know everything about this new program. Here is what the step-by-step training program includes, taken from the website:

- How To Select A Market With Massive Potential
- How To Use Systems To Automate And Manage Your Business
- How To Carefully Track, Analyze, And Optimize Your Results
- How To Leverage Your Own Blog To Increase Your Commissions
- How To Master The Art Of Preselling To Triple Conversions
- How To Build Responsive Email Lists That Create Cash On Demand
- How To Use Data Feeds To Automate Commission Growth
- How to Use A Direct Affiliate Model To Get The Fastest Results
- How To Use A Crossover Strategy To Make Money With The Same Program In More Than One Market
- How To Structure Your Business So Others Grow It For You
- How To Get Higher Commission Rates Than Regular Affiliates
- How To Uncover The Best Approach To ANY Market (By Cloning What The Best Affiliates Are Already Doing)
- How To Use Viral Videos To Generate Affiliate Income

It all sounds really great, I was about to join it but after have been scammed a couple of times I decided to do a research to know what people who have joined the program have to say about it.

Affilorama.com is a site where I found very honest reviews:

"I signed up on the first day it launched, and I'm not all that impressed. I did learn a couple of things, but it wasnt worth the $39. I say, save your money, and read some books."

"Good luck getting your money back in short order. I've submitted several customer service tickets. So far, I've only received a form letter saying "they're overwhelmed."

Mercy Sanchez (mercy@marketingsecrets.com), who issued the payment receipt for the first month, has an auto response email with a referral link to Opportunity.com's "e support" system.

It's as if no one is minding the store. Suggest requesting a refund through your credit card company."

After reading this it is obvious that I am not going to join this program. And of course I suggest you don't join it. I make a living online, but as I told you before I have wasted a lot of money in programs that are nothing else than crap.

My goal with this site is to help you to make money on the Internet giving you advice and tips.

If you want to make money as an affiliate there is a program that I highly recommend this website. Click this for more information.

I joined it and I can tell you that I have been getting great results implementing the tactics they teach.

I suggest you at least check this program out if you really want to make a lot of money as an affiliate then this is the thing for you. Click this for more information.

DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

Dissatisfaction with one’s job is one of the reasons why people move from one job to another. Some employees think that they are undervalued and under paid for all the work that they do. As a result they resign and move on to another job. But is it going to be like that forever? Will there be no security of tenure? Some of us have always wanted to run our own business and be our own boss. Being the boss has its perks. However is it really that simple to become an entrepreneur? Here are some things you should think of before diving into the world of business:
1. Physically fit – taking care of your own business, seeing to it day in and day out eats a lot of a person’s energy. During the first few months after setting up your business you need to work for long hours. As an entrepreneur you should be physically fit, you should involve yourself in healthy sporting activities.

2. Confident – aspiring entrepreneurs must be confident. They should believe in themselves and what they are capable of doing. Look inside yourself and ask,” What am I good at?” Make sure that you choose a business that is within your territory.

3. Education – “All wish to possess knowledge, but few, comparatively speaking, are willing to pay the price.” This quote was from a Roman poet named Juvenal. As this quote states, most of us want to be knowledgeable however only a few want to go through it. It will take time and patience to learn new things. As an aspiring entrepreneur there are a lot of things that you should know, like:

• One should know the business as a whole. Make sure that you know the in and outs of it.
• You should know whom you’re up against. A wise entrepreneur should know who are his competitors and what they’re currently doing for their market.
• Study the market trends. Take note of the growth and decline.

Knowing what you do now is not enough. You should pursue higher education in order to be successful.

4. Sense of Urgency – entrepreneurs have a never-ending sense of urgency. They feel restless if they are not working on something. These are people who want to use their time wisely.

5. Detailed planners – planning things make all the difference in the world. Why do you think generals plan their next attack? It’s because they want everything to go their way. They want to succeed in their endeavors. The same thing goes for successful entrepreneurs.

6. Self-control – entrepreneurs are people who like to be in control. Entrepreneurs want to do things their own way.

7. Realistic – entrepreneurs should understand and accept the things that happen in their business. Not only do they accept it but they also find ways to deal with it accordingly. If you have the correct attitude towards things, failures are not as bad as it seems. These failures challenge an entrepreneur and make them improve how they do things.

8. Perseverance – entrepreneurs succeed because they have the right attitude. They attribute success to their perseverance to make things happen.

This list is just to give you an overview of the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur. It gives some of you out there an insight of what it takes to be one. So do you have what it takes?

Separate TRUTH from MYTH

“Jokes are half meant.” Ever heard that before? It means that jokes contain a grain of truth in them. This is the same for myths. It may be just stories to some, but for the well read they know better than that. Myths are not just propagated to please people, it ALWAYS contains the truth.

Myths can sometimes be misleading. So, today we will discuss some Internet Marketing Myths that we should forgo.

Myth #1: Marketing on the Internet is A VERY EASY TASK
If Internet Marketing were as easy as tying your shoe everyone would’ve started their own enterprise. Internet marketing is not just about building a web site, you will have to invest a lot of your time on it. True that in doing affiliate marketing there is plenty of things that you don’t have to think of. If you are an affiliate marketer you do not have to worry about:

• Inventory – the merchants take care of the stocks, which means you do not have to think about it anymore.
• Shipping the product – you do not have to continuously follow up with any courier as to the status of the package.
• Processing credit cards – gone are the days when you have to verify the customer’s pertinent information.
• Handling refunds – you do not have to go through the hassle of returning the customer’s money.
• Customer service of any kind – you need not worry about after sales!

Building an Internet business will of course involve work, however compared to other enterprises it is less complicated.

Myth #2: Anybody is capable of making money on the Internet. This is so not true.
True that the Internet offers plenty of opportunities for the budding entrepreneur, however without the right attitude you will never make it big. It won’t do any good if you are a type of person who sits around the house and does nothing. Even an individual who knows a lot but never gets anything into action will most definitely not make it in the world of Online Marketing.

Myth #3: You can make big bucks over night.
This is what most people think when they start an Online Business. Other than winning the jackpot prize in the lottery, or playing Poker in Vegas and winning it, earning wads of cash is not going to happen. If you happen to see books or banners saying, WE can make you rich in hours!” Obviously that’s hoax.

Sure it is relatively easier to make money through an Online Business compared to an Offline Business, but getting rich OVERNIGHT is next to impossible. So do not waste your time trying to understand the GET RICH QUICK schemes, instead invest your time and effort in making your own business successful. By focusing on your own enterprise sooner or later the word RICH won’t be far from reality.

Myth #4: You can do business for FREE!
In this day and age, nothing comes for FREE anymore. Everything out there has a tag price attached to it. So, do not think that it won’t cost a dime to start your own Internet Business. You might think its free because you do not have to invest on warehouses, an office, and other overhead costs that is required from an Offline Business.

To start your Internet Business, you would only have to think of:

• good Internet connection
• educating yourself with the necessary information
• the cost of advertising

Myth #5: Forget about starting an Internet Business NOW.
Some say that the Internet is already flocked by business people, there are a lot of competitors out there, which is actually true. But, isn’t there a saying, “Better late than never?”

If you are to go to the mall today, I am sure you will see a new boutique being put up. We all know that there’s like a bunch of clothing stores out there already, do we really need another one in the market? The answer is YES. For one, this store will most definitely offer something new to shoppers. It’s the same when putting up your Online Business, you need to be UNIQUE. Research if there is a market for the product / service that you’ll offer.

Myth #6: Making big money, is all just a bunch of talk.
This is true if you do not act on it. If you keep on saying, “SOMEDAY I’LL BE RICH,” but you don’t do something about it do you think there is even a slight possibility that will happen? I don’t think so.

So, my dear reader, I will leave you with this quote from Colin Powell to sum up everything I’ve discussed, “A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.”