New List Building Challenge For The Traffic-Impaired

 photo credit: pasukaru76 (sry bad internet)

There are some great challenges going on right now, like Alex and Robert (Bam and Boo)'s article writing challenge to bring traffic to their niche sites. I didn't catch  it in time to join so I'm cheering them on from the sidelines. There are a couple interesting ones over at Sheila's blog too.

But I like contests because they help me learn, grow, and succeed. Note – right now I'm challenged by the word – I keep typing it challange

Hmmm… what would really benefit my Internet Marketing business?

Lots of stuff, really. But what can I laser-focus on? What ONE strategy right now? 

Growing my list.

Now there are many ways to do this, and probably my favorite would be:

Offer a brand new opt-in product. This can be something created from scratch or from PLR I've added value to. It should be a killer offer that viewers should really want to get their hands on.

But that would assume I have lots of traffic already, because to get people to opt-in you need to get them to where your opt-in offer is. If not, I would have to do a lot of promoting and other traffic-getting strategies. Honestly, I just don't feel like doing that right now.

Instead, I'm going to try something else, an idea that sprang to mind after reading Ruth's post about it.

I'm only going to use the Warrior Forum.

The list I'm targeting is my PLR list and the offer I already have in my Warrior Forum sig is an ad for free PLR with opt-in. Here's my sig line:

 

 

 

Here are the rules I'm going to try to follow:

1. Starts MONDAY 3/28 and goes through Friday.
2. I will comment on 10 posts a day. If I choose to post my own thread, it will count too.
3. I will try to target the threads where people might be interested in my opt-in offer/ad in my sig, but I'm not limited to that. I like to help where I can (offer quality comments).

Will this listing building strategy work?

I imagine it will work to some degree, I just don't know how well. I'll report back after it's over and let you know. I may also sell products from the other 2 offers in my signature file, and while really great, that's not what this challenge is about.

Feel free to join me in this challenge! You don't have to have an actual ad in your sig line, it can just be the regular text link to your opt-in offer.  

• Is 10 comments in the Warrior Forum too many each day for 5 days?
• What is your prediction as to how many new followers I can get on my list this way?
• Care to do this challenge too?

An Internet Marketer’s Recipe For Success

 
photo credit: 3liz4

Sometimes I like to combine my love of cooking and baking with my love for Internet marketing.  The following is my favorite recipe, including the best brands for the ingredients listed.  When followed properly, this recipe turns out wonderful! But if you leave anything out, it won't meet your expectations.

An Internet Marketer's Recipe For Success

1/2 cup boldness (Look At Me brand works, as does I'm An Expert brand)

3/4 cup humbleness (I prefer I'm Sorry, or New and Improved I'm Sorry With Let Me Make It Better Than Right)

2 cups focus (IM Focused or similar)

1 cup mentoring (Your Business Model Mentoring is my absolute favorite)

1 1/4 cup plan (Just about any kind works here except Half-A$$ed)

6 cups action (Choose carefully – Busy Work Action does not deliver, but Targeted For Results Action works great for this recipe!)

4 tablespoons networking (Lots to pick from – Twitter, Facebook, Blog Commenting, Forum Commenting are possible, depending on your tastes)

2 dashes Humor and Lightheartedness (Don't Take Yourself So Seriously brand can be found at your local market)

~~~

Throw all the ingredients in a big mixing bowl and mix together with your bare hands.  Work it til it's thoroughly blended together and the mixture looks right.

Let it sit until it rises and bubbles. Keep in mind you won't really see what's going on with the mixture right away, but you'll know when it's ready.

Tip – When it's ready, act fast!  Get it in the oven immediately.

Bake until done. Do not take it out if it's half-baked or it will fail to rise and meet your expectations.  Share your Internet marketing manna with others to truly enjoy it yourself.  

~~~

• That was fun.  Can you think of other ingredients you would add to this Internet marketer's recipe for success?
• Or do you know of better brands for the ingredients listed?
• Should we make soup next time?

5 Methods For Setting Up Your Social Networking System

Today I'm happy to bring you this insightful guest post from Sheila Atwood of Newbielifeline.com!…

Have you actually decided upon your social networking system? You know what I mean. Have you taken all the buzz about social networking and social media and put it to work for you?

When you lay out your social networking plan you want to consider a SMART plan for every method of social networking you do.

 

·       Specific – Do you have specific goals you want to achieve? Perhaps your goals are getting more traffic, finding like-minded people to work with, and getting affiliates to promote your products.

·       Manageable – Is your social networking manageable? Do you have the time to spend on the methods you have chosen? How about the man power? or resources? How about the organization it takes to be effective?

·       Action oriented – Can your plan be laid out to the exact step by step action you need to take on a weekly and daily basis?

·       Relevant- Just how relevant is your plan to what you want to achieve? By survey, the number one problem people face when it comes to work, home and play is time. You have heard of targeted traffic….but how about targeted social networking?

·       Trackable – Can you track and measure your actions? Can you track and measure the return on your investment (ROI), especially your investment of time?

You know all about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the forums, so let's take a look at five different ways you can set up your social networking system that does not include the big social media guys.

These 5 ways to set up your social networking is based on using your blog as your central working point.

Commenting – Create a social networking group by commenting on other sites. When you are picking sites to comment on remember to be specific about what you are wanting to achieve. Stay organize by using your RSS feed or another bookmarking system. Use commenting tools…like Peggy's commenting secret tool, Traffic Sponge.

Interviews – Interview other bloggers. These can be video interviews or audio interviews. Use your phone for a simple way to record your audio interviews.

An easy way to get started is to do email interviews. This works great for interviewing busy people. Just send them a set of questions, they answer and you write your blog post in interview fashion.

Recently Tristan Higbee of BloggingBookshelf.com did a great interview of Peggy. "The Blogger’s Guide to Writing and Selling Your Own PLR Products."

Collaboration – The added value of working with others can have huge benefits way into the future. Not only do you get double the pleasure, knowledge and production, you get their network. Finding a great online marketing partner is well worth any time and effort you put in.

Guest Posting - Yeah, yeah I know you have heard this one. But I am going to give it to you here again. Especially since this is on my social networking plan and that is what brought me here.

Peggy and I exchanged guest posts. I wanted her to post about her new book. "Become a PLR Writer" so I offered to exchange posts. This meets several of my specific goals. 

1. I get a great post to promote my affiliate link.

2. I get to promote another blogger.

3. I get the extra traffic the guest blogger brings.

4. My readers get top notch data straight from the author.

You'll find that setting rules for you guest posts is the key. A criteria for guests to your blog is a must, you might as well make it easy on yourself. If you notice, Peggy has listed her criteria right on her home page.

Most important, set a criteria for where you want to post. You want the greatest ROI you can get. Know what your purpose is and where you want to be seen on the net.

Speedlinking - Last but not least. Speedlinking is one of my favorites. Link to other blogs. Give kudos to those who are putting out some great stuff. No matter your niche, this works.

Set up a specific time in the month to link to others. Or make up a big list of your favorite bloggers…"The Best SEO Bloggers of 2010" or the "Best Up and Coming Bloggers" or "Copywriters You Must Add To Your RSS Feed".

My rule is Outflow=Inflow. The more you outflow the more you will get back. It's magic.

Bottom line, no matter what you do to get yourself out there and well known, you will need to have a SMART plan. One that works for you. One you are willing to put into action.

Sheila Atwood 

• What are your social networking goals?
• Do you use any of these methods? Have you had success?
• Have you had success using different methods of social networking? 

Sheila Atwood writes the blog Newbielifeline.com, a web resource about leveraging WordPress and its tools. She is a great resource for newbies wanting to find ways to make money online.
Follow Sheila on Twitter.

 

Which Type Of Internet Marketer Are You?

So which kind of internet marketer are you really?

Take the test…

Okay it's not a test, and this might only be my imagination, but I do believe there are different types of online marketers floating in and out of my online vision.  It's not just how you see yourself here, but how others see you and how you come across.

Apologetic - This is the person who is afraid to market at all and will just put up a website and hope people will find it.  They're afraid to put their face to it just in case the product isn't really good enough, and they don't want to upset anyone by being thought of as a "marketer" because they think that word has a bad connotation.

Over-eager - This type is in your face, all the time, doesn't miss an opportunity, and has kind of a funny light in their eyes if you meet them face to face.  An example of this is the custom jewelry party rep whose son played soccer with my son.  Upon meeting her at a game, she gave me her business card and her elevator speech and then used the team email roster to send me invites to her jewelry parties.

Spammy - We all know what this one does and it gives the rest of us marketers a bad name.  Are your marketing methods clean?  I believe they can be clever and innovative while clean.  Enough said here.

Backdoor - Similar to apologetic in that they don't openly market, but they come in with their product via the back door.  They talk about their products in a non-threatening (non-marketing) way.  This doesn't always work because not everyone can connect the dots and make it to the sales page.  A perfect example of this is my last post, although my intention really was to talk about a process and my insights rather than to openly sell.  I wanted to talk about the cake, but if anyone wanted to eat the frosting, well, that was icing on my cake!  Ok, that was a stupid attempt at an analogy.  So here's a better one…

Sideline - This person is a self-imposed benchwarmer.  He's learned all about the game, he's dressed the part, he wants to play… but he's NOT.  He has those cool breakaway sweat pants but he never gets out on the court to rip them off.   Now, he may have a plan – he wants to get as many loyal friends and family to the game first, before he wows them with his 3-point shots, and that's fine as long as he does intend to play.  Otherwise, why constantly show up and not put yourself in the game?  

Practically perfect marketer - Like the 3 little bears, this one is just right.  But this is just an illusion because you can never really be perfect to everyone.  Some will see you as pushy, others will think you should promote more.  And you will cross various lines and dip into the other categories listed here. The different will be that you do so with purpose.  It will be part of your overall plan to push harder with your new product, build an awesome blog that promotes nothing, create niche sites that pre-sell affiliate products, and offer advice to help others with no strings or affiliate links attached.

Well, that's a wrap, I think, unless you have something to add?

• Do you fall into any of these categories?  Or more than one?
  
• Do you have another category to add?
  
• Does it really matter what type of Internet marketer you are?

Warning: This Post Is All About ME!

2011

"The very best way to make 2011 the best it can be is to leverage your past experience." ~ Rich Schefren 

To move forward successfully, I have to look back. And it's always easier for me to point out what I did wrong or didn't do than to pat myself on the back for my accomplishments.

So to properly focus, I'm going to answer these questions from Rich's One Step Ahead newsletter:

What were your greatest accomplishments in 2010?

I'd say writing a complete PLR package that sold really well and people were happy to have, was one of my accomplishments. I am happiest when my products help make other people money, and me money too.

I also feel I stepped up my PLR business a few notches by adding a blog, targeting niches people want PLR in, creating PLR for autoresponders, targeting ClickBank products, adding reseller PLR packages for those just starting out in the PLR biz and need PLR to sell, doing a complete package deal, and writing articles about how to use PLR.

I finally did a mind map of where I want to take this business and I'm excited because I started working it in the last quarter of 2010.

I attended my first IM seminar in Florida in January. I met some great people and did my best to network between sessions.

I created several info products and I'm happy about that.

I blogged more on my own blog which was one of my goals for the year.

On a more personal note – I finally went to Europe! Yay me! I've dreamed of it for years and I finally took action. Now that I've broken the ice on my international traveling, I'm looking to set up a new big travel goal for 2012.

 

 

What were your biggest disappointments in 2010?

I played too many games of Spider Solitaire and while I did do a lot of product creation, it wasn't as much as I know I'm capable of.

I didn't make as much money as I wanted to. I'd rather create than market what I create.

I dropped the ball on creating more PLR packages for my PLR-Packages site. I wanted to do one every other month or one a quarter.  I did lose my tech partner and that definitely threw me off.

I didn't make time for more seminars. I would like to go to NAMs and meet some of the people I've had dealings with online. I'd like to take our relationships to a new level. Lol.

 

How did you limit yourself last year, and how can you remove those limits in 2011?

I'm still not real comfortable doing videos or podcasts so I'm going to force myself to do more of them and get comfortable.

I'm also going to clone myself, or at least up my vitamins so I can be uber productive.

 

What did you learn from your answers to the first three questions?

I've got to step up my marketing efforts!
I've got to outsource more because I'm only one person!
I've got to keep stepping out of my comfort zone.

 

How can you use this information to make 2011 your best year yet?

Umm… that's the million dollar question, isn't it?

I've seen how important it is to have a long-term plan in place. I've always had To Do lists, but nothing written down for the long-term big picture. That's something I've learned from Rich Schefren.  He's da man!

 

Looking ahead…

In 2011 – I'm going to Disneyland!!  Just kidding.  I've always wanted to say that like the football players do after winning the Super Bowl.

I just wrote an ebook called Become A PLR Writer! I now have to get busy promoting it.  Writing I love, marketing not so much.

I had a huge PLR-related idea the other night and lost almost a full night's sleep because of it. I will start in on it just as soon as I finish up a project I've been dragging my feet on forever. Now I've got a reason to hurry and finish the darn thing.  I tested the market and I'm quite excited about the possibilities of this new idea! This is going to be my big focus starting ASAP.

I'd like to do more guest posting this year, about anything IM-related or kids learning-related.

I'm going to take a look at all my niches and update or toss them. I've got a plan all worked up, but just need to carve out time to start the process.

I'd like to finish the book I've been writing on and off, but it's not something I'm going to push hard.

I want to try a working vacation. Work in the mornings and play in the afternoons, or the other way around. That sounds wonderful to me!

I want to comment on blogs lots more. There are some amazing blogs out there and a real blogging community I'm enjoying becoming a part of.  Thanks, Tristan Higbee, from bloggingbookshelf. 

How about you?

• What was one of your biggest accomplishments last year?
  
• What are some of your big or small goals for 2011?

 

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