Using Google Alerts

I mentioned in a previous post that I found out why I was suddenly getting a slew of opt-in subscribers to one of my niche lists through a Google Alerts notification.  Well, this prompted a reader to ask me what Google Alerts was and how to sign up for it.

Google Alerts is a Google email system where they automatically send you an email when there are new results for your search terms.  To sign up, simply go to www.google.com/alerts. 

You’ll see a page that looks like this:

 

 

 You will fill out this form for each keyword phrase you want to keep up with.  For “Type” I put comprehensive, which is the same thing as saying “all of the above”.

For “How Often” I usually click on once a day, unless it’s a hot trending topic and I want more up-to-date information.

 I add my email address I want the alerts to come to, and click on “Create Alert”.

 Here is an example of what one of the emails looks like.  My keyword phrase is one of my niche websites:

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s very easy to change your search terms or delete a term you no longer care about by clicking on the links at the bottom of the email.

Why would you want to use Google Alerts?

You can:

• See who is publishing your articles. (You can then establish a relationship with them, if you’d like, and let them know directly when you’ve written new articles.)
• Spy on your competitors.
• Find out what others are saying about you.

Tip:  If you want to use your name as a search term, and I highly recommend you do… then put quotes around your name, such as “Peggy Baron”.  I didn’t do this at first and would get anything and everything that simply had both words in the content.  This also applies if you’re searching any term that is more than one word.

• Get information for your current research.
• See what your affiliates or resellers are doing with your product.
• Be reminded that you’ve commented on a blog post so you can follow up and see what others have said.
• On a personal level, keep up with your sports team.

 

When you get a Google Alerts email, you can glance at it fairly quickly to see if there is anything there you want to click through to and investigate further.  I think my favorite alert was a link to where someone tweeted a quote by me.  Cool, I’ve been quoted!  I felt so important.  Naturally I retweeted it.

Internet Marketing Superstars Conference 2010

I’ve been trying to think how to sum up the Internet Marketing Superstars Conference in Orlando last weekend.  At least I think it was Orlando, it seems I never went outside except to go to dinner and even then my head was so full of ideas and conversations I didn’t really notice my surroundings.  Do you know what I mean?

I liked the format - speaker speaks, then conducts a workshop where we try out one of the things he or she talked about.  My only complaint was the workshops were a bit rushed.  I’m sure that’s because the speakers ran over trying to tell us everything they could. 

I guess I have a second complaint… the conference room was freezing!  I can handle cold, but this was frigid.

The speakers gave a lot of information, but I’m just going to list a little gem I got from each of them.  To me, a gem is one thing, probably just a sentence uttered, that hits me smack up side the head:

Jeanette Cates - The time it takes you to create a product does not equal the value.  Don’t put a lower price tag on something, like an audio interview, that didn’t take you very long to do.  The value is in the content, not your time.

Mark Hendricks - Don’t try to change everything about yourself all at once, take one habit and concentrate on it for a week.  This is the Ben Franklin Self-Improvement Matrix.

Joe Marsh - Even introverts can become trained extroverts.  There’s hope for me yet.

Elsom Eldridge, JR and Mark Eldridge - Do a report each month on a problem in your niche and put them all together to make a book.  Easy!

Chris Lockwood - There’s an easy way to market your membership; give basic level free, and offer an upgrade to paid level.  I never thought of this approach from a marketing point of view.

Joey Smith - Regarding social media/Twitter - If it bleeds, it leads.  People notice and respond to painful tweets.

Cindi Dawson - Most membership sites are nouns, they should be verbs.  Meaning, make your membership site live and breathe and allow for human interaction and heart.

Doug Champigny - There were many, but I particularly liked “The most expensive thing a man can own is a closed mind.

Willie Crawford - Ask JV partners when exactly they’re going to mail to their list so you can monitor which emails are working best (this is a good way to get them to actually do the mailing they promised.)

Terry Dean - Make a checklist of every activity in your business and create a checklist for each one.

Gina Gaudio-Graves -Starting a blog is like going on a blind date with your readers. They need to get to know you better before they’ll commit.

I enjoyed the networking immensely and was agog (<- cool word) at the collective knowledge of everyone in the room; speakers and participants.  I was surprised how helpful everyone was, giving free information to anyone who asked.  None of the “Buy my product and you’ll find the answer there.”

Mark is selling the recordings and pdfs of the whole ISSC conference .  If you do get it, please take the time to do the workshops in order to get the maximum benefit. 

Special thanks to my roommate Cyndee Haydon for her great SEO tips!

 

This post includes one affiliate link which means if you buy through it, I will be compensated.

Weird Gym Analogy

Looking around the gym the other day I made a weird analogy. Yes… I was working out, honest, but I’m a people watcher so that’s what I was doing between sets.

I noticed there were two types of people at the gym. There were the people who knew what they were doing - they followed a circuit - 3 reps with these weights, 3 reps with those weights, etc. They went with purpose to each machine or set of weights, knowing what they were doing and how to do it.

Oh yeah, they did stop to joke around with their buddies who were also following a plan, maybe a different plan, but all were getting excellent results.

Their challenge was not to change the plan, but to increase the amount of weight. They have goals in mind and are going after and achieving them.

If their method is getting them results (apparently it is, just by looking at them) why should they deviate from their plan? If their method is getting them results, could their plan work for you too? Probably, although you would have to start with lighter weights. Same plan, smaller amounts. You’d have to work up to where they are now, but it is definitely possible.

The other type of people I observed at the gym? Newbies. They looked unsure and covertly glanced at others to see how a machine was used or how the weights were lifted. They’d rather not look “new” and ask questions but they’d tentatively try something out, often doing it too fast or incorrectly.

These newbies only did a machine or a weight one time instead of incorporating the repetitions that will get
them results. Then they moved on to another machine without giving the last one a chance to really work.

Do you think they saw results? Nope. So they quit after a week or two and move on to yoga or martial arts or a fad diet or the next promise.

1. Did they do their research and learn?
2. Did they ask for guidance or help? Did they find a mentor?
3. Did they really give it their all, again and again?
4. Did they have a clear cut plan to follow?
5. www.im-focused.com

One time does not get results. Repetition of something done correctly does.

Of course you know that I’m comparing successful marketers to struggling new marketers here. If you’re in the latter category, you know what you need to do. Find a good solid plan, stick to it until you see results, then add more weight to get even better results.

www.im-focused.com

Take care!

Travel PLR and Home PLR

I’m sitting here watching the Orange Bowl and listening to my husband (who is a football official on the side) explain all the calls and plays in detail.  Believe me, it’s a different way to view a football game.

Anyway, I’ve written 2 new bundles of PLR for you and listed them as a WSO to give you a discount.

The first one is 10 articles for the travel or vacation niche.  Ths niche is just about to go into overdrive with all the spring traveling coming up.  Think spring break and retirees!  Jump on it now so you can be ahead of the game.

The 2nd bundle of PLR is 6 articles regarding the home.  These work well for a lot of different niches…. home sites, real estate sites, housing sites, mom sites, family sites, baby boomer sites, and many more.

Oh man, I almost forgot to add the link!  Get either one here.

Take care.

My Internet Marketing 2010

You might have had your fill of blog posts about 2009 and goal setting for 2010, but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s therapeutic and gives me lots of optimism about the upcoming year.  Hopefully you’ll get something out of it as well.

So bear with me and feel free to add comments as you feel the urge. I haven’t really hashed out what I’m going to say here, so I’ll probably wander around a little bit. I do apologize.

I’m trying to remember everything I did in 2009, and this is what I’ve recalled at this moment:

• Started 3 membership sites.
• Wrote at least 313 PLR articles for said membership sites and for other PLR sales.
• Got on Twitter.
• Wrote 3 ebooks (maybe more?)
• Wrote quite a few reports/PDFs.
• Networked with other marketers and built relationships with many people on my lists.
• Guest blogged x 2.
• Started podcasting.
• Did some audio interviews.
• Signed up for a seminar in January 2010.
• Started work on a big JV project.
• Helped people who asked questions.
• Learned a lot, by researching and taking hands-on help-me-if-I-screw-up action.
• Outsourced items I’ve not outsourced in the past.
• Got set up with my own JAM (JV manager) affiliate program.
• Did my first big PLR package with graphics and sales page.
• Planned 2 other JV projects for 2010.
• Blogged 30 times on this blog.
• Blogged numerous times on my other blogs (but I”m too lazy to count them.)
• Grown my lists.
• Other stuff which I’ve forgotten about.

Have I failed because I didn’t make 6 figures in 2009? Well, yes, because technically I didn’t make 6 figures in 2009. Did I fail because I didn’t do enough or spent too much time learning how to do something? No.

The way I look at failure is… everything I’ve learned this past year will help me next year. Everything. Each year builds on the next. There is no failure.

So what’s up for next year?

I haven’t planned everything out yet, but I will. So these are fuzzy ideas that have yet to take concrete shape.

• Blog a lot more on this here blog.
• Outsource more of the little but time-consuming stuff.
• Do more guest-blogging.
• Finish up the big JV project I’m working on.
• Get the next 2 projects up and running.
• Write and sell more of the complete PLR packages.
• Continue to grow my lists (and convert them to buyers.)
• Attend the January Internet Superstars Conference and take action on what I learn with who I meet.

To me, things can only get better and better, and I’m excited for the new year. Bring it on!

I would love to hear what you have planned for 2010.

~~~
P.S. There are 2 affiliate links in this post and I intend to profit if you buy from those links.
~~~

Internet Marketing Seminars… Finally

I couldn’t let 2009 slip away without doing one last “first.”  So I did it. I signed up for my first Internet Marketing Conference.  I picked InternetSuperstarsConference which is January 15-17 in Orlando and it’s put on by Mark Hendricks. 

 

 

 

It costs money.  I’ve got enough money.
My kids need me.  They’re 17 and 15, who am I kidding?
I can’t be away for 4 days.  Yes I can.  I’ve been away several times this year and my business didn’t fall to the ground while I was gone.
I don’t want to spend money on me.  Okay, this is tough since I’m such a cheap a$$ and we have a kid starting college in the fall.  But I know the money I can make as the result of the information I learn and people I meet will be more than the money I spend on the conference.
I don’t have anything to wear.  This is true. Maybe Santa will bring me some new threads for Christmas.

 

 

Christmas PLR or Holiday PLR

 

I do believe I forgot to mention the first TOTAL PLR package I’ve put together - Christmas PLR! Of course, I should have mentioned it earlier, but really, since it’s a complete package, there’s not too much for you to do if you want to turn around and sell it on your site.

Here’s what you get:
ebook
sales page, professionally done by someone else.
download page
all graphics - header, ecover, bullets, etc.
5 PLR articles
2 bonuses to go with the ebook

 For more details, look here!

Since this Christmas PLR package has been pretty successful, I’ll be producing more of them.  Well, not more holiday PLR right now, but on other subjects. Do you have a preference? Go ahead and sound off here.

 

P.S. Lucky for you ( and me, whew), I’ve asked my wizard techy friend to team up with me to do the graphics and he said yes.

 

Article Marketing - Did I Do It All Wrong?

I confess that when I started writing articles and submitting them to Ezine Articles I had no idea what SEO was, no real concept of how to use keywords, didn’t know the best way to put together a bio box, didn’t care about the length of the articles, and submitted only my best work.  So I guess you could say I went for quality, not quantity, and many article marketers would tell you I was doing it all wrong.

I have a little story to share with you regarding one of these articles.

Last week I was wondering why I was suddenly getting more than the usual number of opt-ins to one of my newsletters when Google Alerts told me why.  One of the first articles I wrote, in April 2007, was picked up and published on a website that has a page rank of 4.   Here is the fallout from that article getting published this time…

• 79 new opt-ins to my newsletter, and more still coming in
• 2 immediate sales
• 10 nice comments posted about the article (warm fuzzies for me :))
• extra $ in AdSense income

This isn’t the first time this article has been republished, but these are the best results I could track.  The article is 2 1/2 years old and it blows my mind that it’s still out there and kicking!  I’m probably more excited about the opt-ins than anything because they are warm, targeted subscribers, not just people fishing at a Giveaway event.

So, if I was inclined to add a moral to this story, it might be “Write quality articles because you never know who might read them, how long they will circulate with your name on them, and how much money you might make from them.”

When You Don’t Feel Like Writing a Blog Post…

See that last post I wrote? 

From a reader’s standpoint it was informative, educational, and had some value, right?  It was the kind of post fitting for a blog about internet marketing, wasn’t it?

That post was PLR.

I took a PLR article and posted it on my blog.  But I didn’t just throw it up there, I did a few things to it first.

1.  I renamed the article and added my keyword phrase to the title, the first and last paragraphs and somewhere in-between. 

2.  I rewrote the first paragraph. You know how when you search for something in Google and you see the same first paragraph in your search choices?  Don’t be one of those. Change your first paragraph for sure so people will be interested in reading what you have to say.

3. I beefed up the main section by adding to it and explaining some of the points further.  I rewrote some sentences too, but this was a well-written piece of PLR so it didn’t require lots of editing.  In these cases I’m happy to just add to it rather than spend my time fixing sentences that are horrible.

4.  I rewrote the last paragraph to point to an affiliate product I wanted to promote.  I also linked it to a post I’d written 10 months ago about this product to show people how much I believe in it. 

5.  I added a visual, a screenshot of the promotional product.

I chose this particular PLR article because I was able to tie it in nicely with a promotion.  Sometimes it works well, sometimes you have to rearrange the article more, and sometimes you’ll just post the article without affiliate links because it’s such an informative article.

Using well-written PLR can make all the difference.  As you know, I write PLR, but maybe you didn’t know I also use PLR - mostly for my non-im niches.

Do you use PLR on your blogs?

Tips on Creating an Ebook

You’ve probably heard it a zillion times… creating an ebook, your very own ebook, and selling it is a one way to make money.  This is the digital information marketing business model and it has been successful for many people.  If you’ve never written an ebook before, it may seem a daunting task.

While there is more to it than this, I’ve got some tips her on how to create an ebook to get you started.  Mind you, it’s one way to put together an ebook, not the only way.

Pick your niche first.
Some people pick a niche according to their passions or knowledge and others pick a huge competitive market because they know money is being made there.  Come up with a few ideas, making sure they’re not too broad or too narrow.  Too broad means too much competition from the big boys and too narrow means there might not be enough to the topic to continuously create content around.  Too narrow also means there won’t be a huge pool of people interested in the topic.  Even though you might be super passionate about art created from seagull feathers, for example, that doesn’t mean many other people are and it’s probably not the best subject for creating an ebook around.

Find your keywords.
Ideally, you want keyword phrases that are highly sought after and yet have little competition.  That’s in a perfect world, but get as close as you can.  Do take some time here.

Make sure the keywords are money-makers.
This means there should be some AdSense ads on the right side of the page when you put your keywords in Google search.  If there are ads, it’s a good sign.  That means there is money to be made, or the people footing the bill for the ads would take their little ads elsewhere.

Find the questions people in your niche are asking.
You can go to Yahoo Answers and see what people are asking easy enough.  You can also go to a few forums in your niche and see what problems people are having.  Find 5-7 questions or problems to work with.

Research the answers to these questions. 
Each question and answer will be a chapter in your ebook.  You can do an online search for answers and also look through the top article directories.  Write the ebook, one chapter at a time, in your own words.  If you feel the writing is beyond your abilities, you can outsource it.  But instead of paying out the nose for a ghostwritten ebook, you can outsource each chapter as if it were an article.  You will pay less for 10-20 articles and you may even get a discount for a bulk order and for handing them your research links too. 

Put the book together.
Make sure it flows from chapter to chapter.  Add disclaimer and privacy blurbs as well as a table of contents.  Also include any affiliate links in the body of the ebook and/or a resources page at the end.  Include perceived value by adding stock photos, screen shots, borders, and tips or quotes in boxes.

Turn the ebook into a PDF.
You can use Open Office or maybe your computer already comes with a PDF converter.  Once you have it as a PDF you upload it to your site, create a sales page, and get to work driving traffic to your new masterpiece.  Remember to use your keywords in everything you do!

So those are some of my tips on creating an ebook.  You’ve probably noticed there is a lot of research involved when getting started.  I have a handy dandy tool I use that helps me do all the necessary research faster.  I’ve blogged about it before, and I’m excited to tell you that the product creators have come out with a new version with even more features.  I got to test the new version to see if I could break it. ;)  They were relieved to know I could not.

As you can see from the picture, IM Research Power Tool is like a one-stop shopping center for research.  I can look at articles in article directories, Squidoo lenses, and through Twitter links.  It’s even got Yahoo Answers right there.  Of course, I also use it to check what’s on Amazon and Clickbank… and Google of course.  If I want to only look at pdfs on a particular topic, there’s a button for that too. 

Enough gushing, if you like what you see, go for it.  IM Research Power Tool    

Disclaimer - Yes, that’s my affiliate link and I’m darn proud of it.  I do stand to profit if you order from that link.  I really like and use this tool myself, and although it saves me time in my online business, I haven’t really put a dollar figure on my saved time.  Oh, and I did purchase the tool myself back in January 2009 and have been using it ever since.

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