Archive | May, 2019

Oddly enough I see this question pop up every so often in popular online marketing forums. Sometimes I even see people get pretty upset about the answers they get, demanding proof that a person is making money writing articles. So I thought maybe it’s time to add my own two cents.

Yes, article marketing is all but dead if you’re referring to posting junk articles on article directories and expecting people to knock down your virtual door. Thanks to the changes in Google over the years, those days are over and done. Even posting an outstanding article on a site like Ezine Articles likely won’t garner you more than a few website visits a week at most – probably not enough to make it worth your while. Because if you’re writing quality content that people really want to read, there are far better places you can place your own articles.

For instance, you can place them on your own website. These days Google is rewarding sites full of quality information with better rankings, so why not fill your own website with your truly great articles?

What do I mean by quality information? First, it’s got to be material people actually want to read. This means you’ve got to have some basic writing skills or readers won’t go past the first paragraph. Second, the content has to be something that will empower them, improve their life or solve a problem. In other words, what’s in it for them to read your article?

Third, it has to be relevant. Offering up last years SEO techniques isn’t going to cut it, and in fact it will earn you some nasty comments and a hit to your reputation. Either know what you’re talking about, or find an expert who does.

Okay, so you’ve got some great articles on your own website – time to find other sites who are looking for your content. Ideally you want sites that get a lot of traffic but don’t post a ton of content. This way your article will stay featured for a longer period of time, plus it’s more likely to appear in the “most popular posts” section.

Once you’ve got some guest articles (or guest posts, if you prefer) out there, contact those site owners about possibly writing for them on a continuing basis. If you’re submitting an article a month to say, 10 different sites, that’s 10 sites sending visitors back to your site. And that can be far more powerful than Ezine Articles ever was.

Lastly, see if you can get articles published in real life magazines. That’s right – magazines like Entrepreneur and Wired. Sure it’s harder to break into those, but what a coup if you do!

Let’s say you want to promote an affiliate product by creating and posting a video online. What should you put in the video?

You could of course do a review of the product itself – this is great if your traffic is looking for that particular product.

But what if you’re trying to attract traffic that doesn’t know about the product? For example, let’s say you’re promoting a product that teaches how to use social media to get new business. People are searching for tips on this exact topic, but not necessarily a paid program that teaches them what they need to know.

How would you structure your video to get people to not only watch it, but to find the content helpful and interesting enough to make them want to click your affiliate link?

I’ve found the following outline works really well in quickly providing real value while seamlessly encouraging the viewers to click the link I give them. Of course you can use this to send traffic either to your own offer, your own squeeze page or directly to an affiliate offer – your choice.

Before your create your video, you’ll want to isolate one problem and one solution. For example, in the case of using social media to get business you might offer one really good tip on how to use a Facebook page to immediately begin sending traffic to a website.

Once you’ve got your one problem/one solution, here’s the outline to follow for the video:

Let them know you’re about to solve their problem in this video, and the big benefit they’ll get when their problem is solved.

Tell them in a sentence or two what the solution is.

Walk them through the exact process (step-by-step) of how to implement this solution.

Remind them of the benefits they’ll receive for doing it.

Paint a picture of what their life will be like when their big problem is fixed. You’ve given them one solution to a piece of their problem, but obviously there’s a lot more they need to know. In the case of social media to get business, paint a picture of a never ending stream of new and happy customers.

Tell them, “If you found this information helpful and you want to learn more, just click the link below this video to find out how to ___” and insert big benefit.

Thank them and remind them to click the link.

This whole process can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to as long as 10. I recommend keeping it shorter. Offer a problem/solution that has a large “WOW” factor and can be easily and succinctly described. Don’t get pushy and don’t get salesy – above all else you’re there to help them.

I’ve found this outline works great and takes the guesswork out of wondering what to put in your videos. And after you do a few of these you’ll find you can crank them out rather fast, doing several in an afternoon if you like.

This list is by no means exhaustive – it’s really more the result of a brain storming session when I sat down to figure out why some succeed online while others haven’t succeeded. Yet. 🙂

1. You gotta sell something. I’ve known people who were “in business” for months, yet hadn’t sold a thing. Until you start selling somebody’s product (yours or someone else’s, doesn’t matter) you don’t have a business.

2. Get into profit as fast as possible. If you’re buying traffic, figure out how to make that traffic pay as soon as humanly possible. If you’re outsourcing work, find a way to make that work more than pay for itself. Sure it’s common sense, but I’ve seen a few folks go into serious debt.

3. Make smart investments that pay off. Hiring a coach that shows you what you need to know is smart – throwing a few thousand at Facebook ads is dumb. Investments are sometimes the fastest way to get your business on the fast track, but you’ve got to be smart about them.

4. Turn lookers into buyers as fast as possible. If this means selling them a $5 ebook, do it.

5. Upsell. Once they buy the $5 ebook, realize they have greater needs that ebook won’t fill, so find a way to fill those needs and wants and charge more for it.

6. Make it brain dead easy for your customers to sign up. The harder it is, the fewer customers you will have.

7. Competition in your niche is generally great. No competition means you’re in the wrong niche.

8. Get to know your competitors personally. Send them email, talk to them on Skype. You’ll be surprised how often competitors can be turned into allies – and the first step is to say hello.

9. Make a new connection every day. This might be your competitors, but it could also be people in similar niches, different niches, affiliates, product owners, etc. Make a list of people you want to get to know and then start contacting them with no agenda except seeing if you can help them in some way.

10. Build a customer list, then create products for them. Building the product first means you’ve got no one to sell it to and puts you at the mercy of affiliates. Building the list first and getting that list toasty warm to your offer means you’ve got sales of your new product (when it launches) from day one and stats to show potential affiliates that totally rock.

11. Your customers are not marks or suckers or even fools. And they’re not strangers, either. They’re your mother, your brother, your best friend and your next door neighbor. Think of them that way and you cannot go wrong.

12. Watch the hype. A little hype in the form of excitement and enthusiasm is okay if you can back it with evidence. Too much hype and no one will believe you, even if what you say is true.

13. Use the element of surprise. When you deliver your product, add something surprising for the customer. When you’re paying your star affiliates, send them a bonus surprise – even if it’s just a small Amazon certificate. Always do a little bit more than expected.

14. Treat your active affiliates and JV partners like gold, because that’s what they are.

15. It’s okay to screw up. And fail. And feel stupid. And look like a complete dork on social media. Just learn from your mistake, apologize and keep moving forward. The only people who don’t fail are those who don’t do a thing, and you don’t want to be one of those.

16. Make a list of the 3 things you MUST get done today. Then do them.

17. Do the toughest thing first thing in the morning. Whatever it is – running 5 miles or making that phone call you dread – get it done first. Then the rest of the day is easier by comparison.

18. It’s not always fun. Sorry about that, but it’s true – having your own online business means sometimes you have to do things you don’t like. The trick is to suck it up and do it – or find someone to outsource it to. It’s like a journey – to get to your destination sometimes you have to drive through neighborhoods or even whole stretches of road that aren’t fun – do it anyway.

19. Lose the negativity. Whether it’s someone else tearing you or your business down – or your own little monkey mind telling you why you can’t do it – get rid of the negative talk.

20. Automate as much as you humanly can in your business. The more you automatic and delegate, the more time you have to work on your business rather than in your business.

21. There are not 16 hours in a workday. Beyond 8 hours at a computer, your productivity begins to drop dramatically. After 10 hours you’re making mistakes. After 12 hours you have trouble remembering stuff you know well, and after 14 hours you’re pretty much worthless. Rest and sleep are as important to your business as the work itself.

22. You are not a potato, so get off your rear and get some exercise everyday or your work will suffer.

23. You know that law of attraction stuff? Surprise, it works. And it’s not complicated – you don’t need dozens of books and courses to learn it – one good one will do. But you’ve got to actively work the law everyday to make it work in your favor.

24. Cook ideas in your brain. The first thing is to ask the right question of your subconscious, the second is to continue asking until you get the answer. I’ve come up with some of my best product ideas by letting things simmer on the back burner of my mind until the answer popped out at the most unexpected of times.

25. Ideas by themselves are worthless. Anyone can get a great idea, but it’s the person who acts on the idea who makes the fortune.

26. Don’t fall so in love with your idea that you’re not open to suggestions. That said, know when to listen to the suggestions and when to simply say thank you and continue on.

27. Screw the economy. Good times and bad times there is money to be made, so stop watching the financial news and go get busy.

28. Treat your business like a business, not a hobby. Make a work schedule and stick to it. Create goals and timetables and stick to them. Do what you say you will when you say you will. This isn’t pretend, it’s real and your financial future depends on it.

29. Celebrate your successes – even the tiny ones.

30. If you get bored, sell your business and start a new one. It’s nearly always easier to start a business the second time around.