What if you had only 8 seconds to sell to make a sell to someone?

Sounds nearly impossible, right?

Well, what if I told you that, as an Affiliate Marketer (or Internet Marketer) you DO only have (on average) 8 seconds to sell someone on your site.

That means that the average visitor will spend 8 seconds on your site before making a decision whether they need to leave - or stay…

So, with that being said, how is your landing page(s)/site looking? Is the copy good? Does the site load fast enough? How are the Page Titles? Are you SEO’ing your pages the right way?

Think about the 8 second rule every time you pop up a new landing page/site. The fact is - you are probably losing a ton of money because you’re NOT thinking about that 8 seconds!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I wonder how many Affiliates have either already built an iPhone App - or has ideas of building one?

I was thinking about it last night while searching through the featured apps. There’s gotta be a way to make some decent money (away from selling) from these Apps, isn’t there? I haven’t really looked into it, so I may be far off from reality on this one…

Just seems like there is. Maybe people are already doing it? Who knows… I sure don’t, obviously.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I did it. I finally joined PPC-Coach.com

I will write a review, or maybe a series of reviews on what I find out about it… so far - I like it a lot, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of everything.

Everything is neatly organized, from what I am seeing “thus far” (I love that word: “thus”).

I’ve seen a few familiar faces so far too, which is cool.

Hopefully it helps me learn some new stuff, which is the main reason I joined up - of course.

Check back for my review(s) in the coming days.

Posted by Clint Lenard | 7 Comments »

You know… I never had the chance to play with Windows Vista until I purchased my new PC. Over the past 2 years I have heard everyone and their mom say that Windows Vista sucks…

Now I’m trying to figure out why it sucks… can someone enlighten me? I love it, to be honest.

I would love to find out what I might not be seeing though?

Anyone have any strange stories about it? Please, let me know.

Posted by Clint Lenard | 7 Comments »

I finally broke down and purchased a new phone… and I got the iPhone that I have been drooling over wanting for nearly 2 years!

I love this thing… I haven’t stopped messing with it since I got home and hooked it up to my new PC. I’m so used to a “normal” phone, but I also had a Treo 650 a few years back, which I liked a lot too… unfortunately, it had entirely too many issues with it right out of the box.

My dad got an iPhone back in October, 2007, so I’ve had opportunities to “get to know” the phone and all of it’s functions. But, until you get to plug in all of YOUR data (email address, download apps, ringtones, music, videos, etc), you don’t really understand how awesome this thing really is.

The only downfall is the constant fear of dropping it - and slowly watching your expensive phone chip, crack or bust open… I’m not sure how I’d feel about that.

I definitely love having a ton of options available to me right at the tips of my fingers… I already have this thing super-customized to my liking.

Now… if I could just find some AWESOME looking case that would protect it from any type of damage… yes, I have already ordered SEVERAL different types of cases too. I’m a bit paranoid of “breaking” the phone… I’ll be insuring it tomorrow - but I hate to think that you have to go through it all and re-customize everything.

It’s like using a computer and having it all ready to go with all of the programs you need, filling up tons of space with documents, etc - and then finding out that the virus protection you purchased didn’t quite do what you thought it would do…

I’m off to find more Apps for this thing!

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

I’ve been reading a lot of books lately and one of the books I’ve really enjoyed is Strengths Finder 2.0

I’m a big believer in working on your strengths and outsourcing your weaknesses. I do believe that there’s too many people who fail in business because they try to focus on everything OTHER than their strengths.

It’s like a professional Baseball Pitcher trying to play at Designated Hitter, rather than focusing on pitching. It doesn’t make sense.

I have a few major weaknesses that I’ve always tried to “get better” at. I’ve constantly worked on those weaknesses and rarely did I notice any increase in productivity in those areas… then I realized that I needed to give that work to OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE GOOD AT IT…

I was literally wasting money trying to save money by doing it all by myself… in the words of Napoleon Dynamite: “Idiot!”.

Strengths Finder 2.0 explains strengths and it (obviously) helps you find your strengths.

Check it out at Amazon and find out what YOUR strengths are. Develop your strengths, not your weaknesses. It costs less to give those weaknesses to someone else…

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

I’ve got a good amount of money burning a hole in my pocket…so what to do? Buy stuff. Duh.

Today I bought a new Gateway computer with an AMD Phenom Quadcore processor, 6gb’s of memory and plenty of other goodies… I also got a REALLY nice 22″ HD Monitor by Samsung. I love it.

I got so used to my old PC and Laptop(s) that I almost forgot how fast technology is moving. This new PC is blazing fast, so I’ll definitely get more stuff done. On Monday I’ll be ordering my new iPhone - then heading over to take care of some Legal paperwork, then off to check out a S&W .40 to try out at a shooting range. =)

All next week I’ll be getting some new PPC Campaigns going. I’m hoping to find something hot, of course. A lot of research will be done, as I’ll be spending a TON of money this time around.

It should be a really exciting Holiday season for me! =)

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »

I spent about 5 days in Hot Springs, Arkansas, fishing and hanging out with Family. It was awesome, as always. I love the “Hot Springs area”, in general. Mt. Ida/Joplin, Hot Springs/HS Village, etc.

I fished for days and I only caught a 4 LB. Large Mouth Bass… and yes, I release them… even if they’re big enough to eat. There’s enough dead animals on this planet.

I didn’t fish the entire time, but I did fish when it wasn’t raining… which was only about 1/10th of the time. We actually went out on a boat for about an hour - but it was raining. My Brother-in-law caught a Channel Catfish…but it was just a baby, really. He also caught a turtle. I wasn’t there - but I guess it bit the actual line and not the hook, thankfully.

As much as the kids wanted to keep the mud turtle as a pet - I talked my sister out of it.

Talk about a stress reliever, though… Arkansas is such a beautiful state, for the most part. Lake Ouachita is awesome. It’s a huge lake and it’s very clear with TONS of fish… they’re just allergic to me and my fishing pole. Mt. Harbor resort is a great place with great condo’s too. If you ever get around that area - definitely check it out… you won’t be disappointed!

I did a little bit of work while I was there, but not too much. I think I made more while I was there not working - then I did when I was working. Figures…

I had a great time though. I got to see my grandmother for the first time in a long time - so that was awesome.

Definitely another life-long memory! =)

Now it’s time to get back to work. I have a decent amount of cash that I’m going to be investing into PPC over the next few months (it’s been a great summer!). I can’t wait to see the results.

I’ll be posting information on Article/Bum Marketing soon, as promised.

Also, for those who might be interested - Wealthy Affiliate University just released a “$1,000,000 Blueprint” for it’s members. It’s pretty awesome and goes in-depth on how to promote a product (and any other product) in the Weight Loss industry.

Check that out here:

Wealthy Affiliate

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Yesterday I spoke of a book titled “The Copywriters Handbook” that I have been reading lately. It may sound odd that an Affiliate Marketer is learning the art of copywriting… after all, isn’t that a skill that should be left to those guys who send those long sells letters in the mail?

No…

Copywriting is selling through written words. It’s like translating your spoken words through text.

You should be learning this skill, or sharpening this skill, for the simple fact that everything you do as an Affiliate is Selling or Pre-selling. From PPC to Review pages, we’re always trying to sell.

Of course it always helps to believe in the product and know the product as much as possible…

From the structure of your sales pages - to the words you use in your ads - will be what makes or breaks your career, in my opinion.

And that’s the beauty of this business… you don’t have to be a natural sales person. You don’t even have to like sales. You can easily dominate certain Niche markets by understanding the niche, the customers and the products — and then understanding what it takes for those people to buy.

Without knowing how to structure, write and choose your words - you’re just another “affiliate” who’s trying to push another product…

So, get to know your niche, the customers and the products as well as you can - and then learn as much as you can about Copywriting. You won’t be sorry.

I highly recommend The Copywriters Handbook (Robert Bly) and The Ultimate Sales Letter (Dan Kennedy).

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

Over the past few years I’ve been working on my Copywriting skills. I’ve always wanted to learn the skill, but wasn’t very good with “selling” in text.

I’m still not “good” at it, but I’m good enough to make sales on a daily basis… for now.

I’ve been reading a new Copywriting book that had great ratings and reviews on Amazon, called “The Copywriters Handbook” by Bob Bly (Robert W. Bly). It’s an awesome book and it’s helped me out quite a bit.

In the past I had read books by Jay Abraham, Dan Kennedy, Yanik Silver, etc… I just couldn’t quite get it down, no matter how easy it sounded while I was reading (and listening to MP3’s).

I like The Copywriters Handbook because it goes through the basics - then it takes different people through different types of careers and styles. It’s a great book…

Check it out at Amazon if you’re looking to sharpen your Copywriting skills!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

There’s always someone who wants to know if they should choose Article Marketing OR PPC to promote products.

Well, this choice is never obvious for a beginner Affiliate Marketer…

Obviously, PPC will bring more traffic to your sites “IF” you do it correctly. But, it also costs A LOT more to bring in a ton of traffic. Then there’s another: but… it might just be worth it.

You definitely need to know what you’re doing using either method. With Article Marketing - you need to know AT LEAST the basics of Search Engine Optimization… at least. I would suggest learning as much as you can, just in case.

With Pay Per Click - you have to have MONEY… but you also need to understand Keyword Research, Ad Grouping, Tracking, etc, etc… yes, there’s a lot to learn with PPC. I highly suggest reading Beating Adwords OR Adwords For Dummies.

[note: you can get Beating Adwords for FREE when you join Wealthy Affiliate ... limited time offer]

If you jump the gun and throw your hard earned money into PPC… sorry for your luck! No worries though, you can fix the issue by reading one of those books and understanding Quality Score and all of the other goodness of Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, Microsoft AdCenter and the rest. They’re all different - yet all similar.

Article Marketing can cost you A LOT of time if you jump the gun and don’t take time to do Keyword Research - or even MARKET research. I see a ton of useless articles, lenses and hubs out there that are a complete waste of time… they’re obvious Affiliate Marketers who come across as Spammers.

Keep the “spam” to a minimum… as in NO SPAM.

Either way, both of these methods should be used as you start increasing profits with one. Just don’t jump the gun… learn SEO if you’re in Article Marketing (Bum Marketing). Learn as much as you can about PPC if you’re itching to get a ton of traffic to your site.

Now that you’ve got that out of the way…

How does your Landing Page(s) look?

More on that later… =)

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

About a year ago it seemed that everyone got slapped by Google, including myself. My PageRank went from 5 down to 2… then, thankfully, my PR went back up to 4 about 3 months ago.

I just noticed that it’s down to 3 again…

I haven’t been paying attention… was there an update recently? A Slap?

That sucks.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I’m leaving on a 5 day vacation and I’ll be posting while I’m “there” to keep me even more busy… I’ll be posting some tutorials on “Bum Marketing”, which is basically Article Marketing.

While I have success with PPC, I actually enjoy writing articles on certain topics, even under other “pen names”.

I’ll explain everything I do and how I keep focused and even how I find the right topics to write about…

Stay tuned!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

The owners of Wealthy Affiliate University just announced a special bonus (limited time offer) for those who decide to join up.

They’re giving away their highly touted ebook titled “Beating Adwords”, for free when you join Wealthy Affiliate.

The book is definitely awesome - and worth $67.00 ALONE.

I’ve talked about Wealthy Affiliate on many occasions and have referred over 50 happy members over the past 8 months alone. This membership site is where I got my start… it molded me into a very knowledgeable and very happy affiliate marketer.

On top of THAT bonus - they’re also giving away information on a  $1,000,000 Niche!

************************************
Our $1,000,000 Marketing Blueprint is Coming…

Last week we sent a mail out and told you about a $1,000,000 per year niche that we are going to be giving away here at WA! Early Next week, Kyle and I are giving one of our HOTTEST selling campaigns to all members here at WA as a gift!

We’re going to show you how some of the top marketers out there [do] $1,000,000 per year promoting in this industry. We’re talking about a starving crowd, hundreds of millions of people strong that literally can’t wait to make a purchase. We will be giving you a marketing blueprint next week.

This is something that ALL members at Wealthy Affiliate will receive for free!

We are expecting for many of you to be able to make a full-time living promoting this industry, and there is room for EVERYONE to take part.

We’ll be giving away keywords, webpages, marketing angles, hot article marketing phrases, and audiences.. Lots of audiences.

Oh, and you can expect to convert at 1:10 - 1:30 (yes up to 1 in every 10 people buy in this industry)

So, keep your eyes peeled here at WA early next week.

Carson

**************************

I just figured that there would be plenty of people who would be interested in that deal. Take advantage of it ASAP as it will NOT last long… the book sells like crazy, I know that for a fact. So, why not get it for free?

Join Wealthy Affiliate and get the bonus material here

Posted by Clint Lenard | 6 Comments »

I started doing Affiliate Marketing (full time) about a year ago…almost! But, it hasn’t always been so easy. I actually just got completely tired of having clients always contacting me for help, to be honest, and that led me to actually dropping all but one…

Last summer I went back home for a vacation, met a girl (she’s kin to the devil, I just didn’t know at the time), took more time off from work, hung out by the pool a lot, and finally everything came to a crashing halt.

At that time - I just wanted to have fun. I had been working all the time for almost 2 years straight… no fun, few friends to hang out with and no fun. It was my choice, but it was still hard. I had fun, for the most part.

But, when all was said and done… I had nothing left. I wasn’t making much money while I took the breaks. Well, not much compared to how much I make now (no, I’m not a millionaire or anything), even if I take a vacation.

That’s when I started looking into where I always seemed to make money, no matter what… and that was through several Affiliate Programs. I decided to learn more about Affiliate Marketing and found Wealthy Affiliate. I studied everything they gave access to, including the forums. I became hooked on learning and implementing all of the strategies I read about (or heard about) and tried as much as I could, even the ones I knew would fail…

I started doing good again and along came the Devil’s next-of-kin… the ex-nutcase ex-girlfriend. After about 2 weeks of talking to her again, I realized that I let her take me away from my work, even when she was supposed to be working. I got nothing done, again.

Then I finally kicked her out of my life again thanks to information from her cousin. It saved me from a major headache and her advice (from the cousin) kept me from going off the track… thank god.

Even after the initial struggles, the thought of possibly wasting my time and then the thought of wasting my money and being broke - I started to realize that there’s no other business that I would enjoy quite like Affiliate Marketing.

Next week I will be taking a 5 day vacation and I will be paid for every minute that I’m there, guaranteed. When I get back - I don’t have a ton of work to get back to… no boss, no crazy emails, phone messages, etc.

So, while it hasn’t been a fantastic voyage, it’s been the most exciting “job” I’ve ever heard of, much less worked at.

I guess my point is — make sure you stay focused. This business is NOT easy when someone is trying to pull your mind away from your future. Everyone wants your attention when you need to be focused… so, focus on them when the work day is over.

I know, I know… it’s so easy to say it, unlike the reality that I just exposed myself for. But, things have changed. Those that want my attention understand that I have work to do and I’m very passionate about my work. They don’t whine, bitch, moan or complain when they’re not receiving replies to text messages or emails… or even IM’s.

Cut those types of people out of your life, if possible! I wish I would have sooner. I’d be so much closer to my goals right now.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

If there’s one thing that I suck at - it’s tracking. It’s not that I’m not any good at actual tracking, since I DO use software for that… it’s that I can’t stand going into that much detail. Sure, it may increase profits when you start looking through data, but it’s just soooo damn time consuming!

To be honest - I use so many different scripts to help me collect, sort and sift through data, yet I rarely ever check them. I’m lucky to even remember to check out my Analytics stats.

I need to break the chain… I’ve been really lazy when it comes to doing some of these (what should be) CRITICAL steps to increase my revenue. Hopefully I’m the only one who’s doing this… ha!

Seriously — track as much as you can and make it a HABIT to understand this data that you’re capturing. Measure everything you can and you will definitely start increasing your daily, weekly, monthly and annual income. I guarantee you.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I think Feedback is such a great way to learn what customers, or potential customers, might think of your site. You might find out errors on your site, misspellings, etc. You might get feedback about a specific product that has a lot of bad publicity that you didn’t know about… a product that might not be pulling in the conversions it once did.

I find it funny how some “wannabe” Entrepreneurs tend to take feedback (or honest criticism, or advice) as a slap in the face… I recently tried to help someone that I had a lot of respect for - only to find that he didn’t find my feedback to be what he wanted to hear. Apparently, he thought his web designer was a conversion specialist. A Master of all trades…

If that were possible - I’d save a lot of time learning!

The guy had a bunch of small text links stuffed next to each other and one said “shop”. Sure, it may seem easy enough to some people - but how about using all of that flashy FLASH to help direct people to your SHOP? Makes sense…doesn’t it? I mean since Flash was developed for Presentations and what-not, wouldn’t it make sense to direct the customer to the place you’re presenting?

Hmmm… I give up.

That’s why I no longer deal with clients. I’m not a know-it-all, which is why I pay for consulting in areas in which I am not an “expert”. But, when it comes to conversions, I tend to have a little bit of knowledge… I just figured this guy would like to make a little more money, rather than lose customers who can’t search around the the “shop” button.

I have a few big websites that I use for Affiliate products. 1 is constantly being updated and I’m always trying to get feedback from people, especially customers. And as much as I think I “know” my customers, I know nothing in the end. Much like Search Experts know nothing about how people REALLY search. Everybody is different, but so many are so similar.

Take advice and don’t get butt hurt about it. People are giving you a chance to make more money.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

Have you heard about the newest tool from Google?

This one is pretty cool… it’s called Insights For Search and it’s pretty useful!

I just started messing around with it about an hour ago - but so far it’s come in handy for a few particular niches I was curious about.

Pay attention and make sure you check out the entire page and get to know what the numbers mean!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I just received an email about a big WebCEO Discount for those of you who are trying to get into SEO.

WebCEO is my favorite SEO software, by far… right now you can get the Small Biz Unleashed for $159.00

SmallBiz Unleashed.
Includes Professional Training
and PIM certification
$159 $339
+$30 USD (bonus)

You can get the Professional Unleashed (the version I have) for $269.00

Professional Unleashed.
Includes Professional Training
and PIM certification
$269 $479
+$50 USD (bonus)

Just check out the Prices page and scroll down to see the differences.

Either way - WebCEO DOES have a free version you can check out!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I have a little rant… I purchased WP Affiliate Pro from DealDotCom back in October of 2007. I bought it because I needed something to help track outbound link clicks. Well, it worked great for about 3-4 months and then it stopped working.

I actually used it for a few affiliate programs, which it helped with as well. But, I relied on it so much that I’m not losing money on a ton of different programs… money that should be a sure thing each and every month.

I’ve tried to contact their support department on several occasions and, of course, I get nothing… as a matter of fact - the only time I DID get any reply from them was about 9 months ago when I asked about getting an unobfuscated version so I could get their “wp-affiliate.php” link changed. I can’t stand when companies do that kind of crap… it’s unnecessary and ridiculous. What’s the point of having outbound “sneaky” links when they make an obvious link name for each?

But, now that I actually need support - they’re no where to be found.

I’m hoping to find another product that works better… or else I’ll have to create my own, which I’m too lazy to do these days.

Posted by Clint Lenard | 1 Comment »