By now, you’ve hopefully heard of Prosper202. If not, go download it now!

I’ve used quite a few products, including Xtreme conversions, but I think this will become the best product out there for Affiliate Marketers — or ANY ppc Marketer who doesn’t want to spend a ton of money developing their own in-house keyword tracking script.

Prosper202 is free… no strings attached. One downfall for those who might enjoy diving into code is that the code IS Obfuscated (Zend Guard) (encoded). But, don’t let that stop you from using this program! It’s pretty awesome, and it’s still a baby!

It’s odd… I’ve never seen something that looks and feels so professional, that doesn’t cost a penny, since Joomla. Honestly. It makes you feel like you’re downloading an expensive program, but for free.

There’s been a few bugs and there’s still a few features that aren’t included, yet, but I believe that most major requests will be fulfilled pretty quickly. Wes Mahler and crew seem to be very professional, very responsible people.

My biggest request is a Developers License!

Having a background in PHP, I’d love to be able to try to add-on to the program if and when I find something that’s missing.

Keyword Tracking programs are usually VERY expensive. Xtreme conversions is actually a pretty damn good and quite cheap (compared to other programs costing MUCH more, which provide less functionality) program, but I’m not sure how often it gets updated?

So far, it seems as if Prosper202 is already on the same level, yet it has a much more “at home”, professional feel to it.

I’m still playing with this script, but so far - I love it for many different reasons.

Download Prosper202 for free — or try their Hosted Version at Tracking202!

UPDATE: I just had someone ask me about the difference between TRACKING202 and PROSPER202…

Tracking202 is a hosted ppc Affiliate Tracking system (they host it, you simply sign up to their system and don’t have to worry about paying for hosting, installing the script, etc).

Prosper202 is the same system as Tracking202, but YOU host it on your own server, install it, update it, etc. (simple to do, but you either have to do it all yourself or pay someone to do it).

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »

I found out about this program a few days ago and I find it to be a very good product, yet it makes me feel very uneasy.

The code is obfuscated and it leaves me wondering how “safe” it really is. I didn’t want to use Tracking202.com because of the same issues (trust), and I’m wondering if it’s going to be a problem to use THIS version.

It would be very easy to send information from one server to another, including Keywords that are converting, along with any other valuable piece of information you might be storing.

I’m not calling Wes Mahler a thief, but I’m curious as to WHY the code is obfuscated. I’m also curious if I’m the first person to blog about this… the fact is - Affiliates who have success with certain campaigns tend to work A LOT of hours on those campaigns, yet it would only take a few hours to quickly copy the same campaign (actually, MUCH less if you already have another script to automate the biggest tasks) if you were to be given that information via “hidden code”.

Has anyone tried to decode this script just to check it out? I’m curious.

Again, I’m not saying Wes Mahler IS doing this (although, it would be VERY easy to do so) - but I don’t see why all of the files are using obfuscated code…

Posted by Clint Lenard | 5 Comments »

OK, thanks to the advice of guys like Ruck, I’ve decided that I’m going to jump into CPA Marketing pretty hard over the next few months.

I believe I’ll be spending at least $1,000 on ppc, which might not be very much to some - and a whole lot to others… well, I’m sticking with that number because I feel safe and confident with that amount right now.

So far, I’m really liking Copeac and AdValiant, although CPA-Empire and MaxBounty might get more use later down the road.

I know I’ve always told you (along with every one else who teaches Affiliate Marketing basics) that you should always make sure to get to know your Affiliate Manager. Well, luckily for me, my Affiliate Manager for Copeac is one of the coolest guys I’ve met online over the past few years. He’s been very quick with replies, very thorough and just an all around great guy (Thanks, Stephen!).

So, I’ll be trying out a lot of the programs they’re running first…

Am I nervous? You betcha! If there’s one thing I don’t want to lose - it’s my hard earned money!

But, that’s why I will be testing with small amounts at first and then scaling the campaigns that seem to be possible winners.

NeverBlueAds is another good looking program, although I haven’t had much success with any campaigns over there just yet… not that I’ve been very active, either ;-)  (but I’ve been running a few tests)

I was going to try ClickBooth, but I keep hearing negative remarks about the company. I will check them out later down the road, possibly.

I will keep you updated on my findings over the next few weeks. I’ve been testing a few programs through Placement Targeting with very little luck, although I’ve had a little success with Placement Targeting and other Affiliate Programs (non-cpa).

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

I’ve talked a lot about using Social Media Marketing for getting traffic to your landing pages, but I’ve noticed a little shift on Hubpages lately…

Now, if you’re studied SEO (Search Engine Optimization), you’ll realize that getting backlinks to your site is a GOOD thing, obviously. Social Media Marketing (SMM; also known as Social Marketing) can help increase your PageRank by getting more juice from higher PR sites, right?

Well, for those who don’t necessarily have a lot of time to create new Hubpages, there’s a way around this…

REPLY to those HubPages!

Yep, it’s simple… find a HubPage that’s relevant to your Site and go post a USEFUL reply to the topic at hand. It works just like a blog, but, in most cases, it will get you more traffic. It’s like having an Ad on the Hub Page, itself!

Go do it before others figure out how to and take advantage BEFORE you!

Posted by Clint Lenard | 6 Comments »

I’ve been reading blogs for years now, and I’ve found a lot of “decent” blogs, along with a few excellent blogs, as of late.

Back in the day - Shoemoney was the guy to read from… but, unless you’re looking to Purchase Omaha Steaks, or see what cool shirt he was given, there’s not much good content lately. His blog, as of late, seems to be more focused on what he can do for friends, rather than focusing on helping those who have given him his popularity…

John Chow? I’ve heard how great his blog was, but I can’t stand it lately. The only decent posts he has, as of late, come from guest bloggers.

The “big guys” just can’t do it like they used to…

So, who is worth the read?

Without a doubt - Ruck of CashTactics.net has the most interesting Blog that I’ve read in…maybe ever? His CPA Series is insanely packed full of great information.  You can check out the Introduction here. Great posts.

UberAffiliate.com is an excellent read, too. Check out his Affiliate Marketing Guide here. Here’s a pretty interesting post here.

And lastly, ZacJohnson.com, who provides some pretty good posts, too. His Super Affiliate Guide is pretty good!

These are definitely my favorite, in actual order… I don’t waste my time with many of the “big name” bloggers. They’re simply promoting their buddies or creating boring posts, in my opinion. Not much worth reading lately. Does that mean they’re completely useless? No… Shoemoney DOES have some great posts in his Archives!

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, and I figure this is a good time to post something new.

Over the past week, I’ve noticed a lot of people claiming that “Black Hat Affiliates” are wrong…

Say what? Are they making sales? How are they “black hat” if they’re making sales? Could it simply be jealousy?

What do you consider WHITE HAT? Article Marketing? ppc? Forum Marketing? Whaaaa?

The truth is — if you’re promoting a product and you make sales: you gave the person what they wanted. They would not have purchased the product if they didn’t buy it, right?

What’s the difference between a sales person at Best Buy and one of those guys who drives around in a van selling electronics out of the back of his Van?

Of how about the Cologne and Perfume chick who walks around the parking lot making sales, compared to the chick who sells perfume inside of Macy’s?

I guess maybe I’m confused here? No?

Black Hat Affiliates sound so “evil” to me… they sound like devious bastards who are just looking to make a quick buck…

They sound so much different than those guys who spend their days writing Articles in order to make a sale, right? Interesting…

I don’t really care how “useful” your article may be… the fact is - you’re trying to lure in visitors to your site to make a sale. This is no different than a “Black Hat” Affiliate who “spams” forums with useless information in order to make a sale…

Now, obviously, Spam is no fun for site owners - but if it’s making sales, something is “OK” about it, in my opinion. They’re not looking for those people who get “upset” about seeing the spam… they’re looking for those people who are INTERESTED in that particular product.

So, let’s think about this…

You, Mr. White Hat, are over there shining your Halo and creating nice ppc campaigns with beautiful template based landing pages and trying to attract the “hungry crowd”, while this Evil son of a b##ch is over there using Yahoo Answers to do the same thing…

Oh, wait… you’ve probably attempted this too, right? More than likely you’ve thought about it, if not tried it. Maybe you just weren’t successful at it and you were told by those Guru’s or do-gooders that it was NOT OK. Maybe it’s just jealousy or misinformation?

I hate spam just as much as the next guy… but, if someone is making sales - they’re obviously finding a few people who DO want that product or service.

As a matter of fact, most non-affiliates consider ALL Affiliate Marketing to be “tasteless” or “trashy”… these are the same people who just don’t understand how much money is being made in this field, or are just jealous that they couldn’t ever accomplish the same thing when they tried.

If there was no such thing as Affiliate Marketing, there would be so many people who would NEVER find products they really needed. Whether it was the guy with an impotence problem, or a company in need of Supplies. Sure, they might have found it eventually, but not as easily.

Search Engines provide us with easy access to a ton of information, but a large percentage of this information was created by Affiliate Marketers who ARE, in fact, trying to make a sale. Many companies and organizations depend on Affiliates to help them make sales.

Do I agree with some “black hat” methods? Of course not… but some tactics that are considered “dangerous” are actually not much different than so called “white hat” methods.

Black Hat Affiliate Marketing is NOT spam… Spammers are the ones who spam… Affiliates are simply trying to create more sales. While some Spammers may be a part of an Affiliate program, they won’t be for long. Spammers do not last long in this business… they don’t make enough money - and when they do - they get shut down quickly.

Black Hat Affiliates last just as long as White Hat Affiliates, but Black Hat Affiliates will figure out more successful routes and easier access to quick cash.

So, in my honest opinion, I truly believe that too many people consider “Black Hat” methods a little “shady” due to what other so called “experts” shove down their throat.  But, I’m guessing that EVERY successful Super Affiliate uses practices that any newbie “White Hat” Affiliate would consider “shady”.

Keep your mind open, along with your eyes and ears. There’s no such thing as “White Hat” when it comes to Business. Everyone does something that may be considered “shady” to others. No matter how great of a person you MIGHT be, someone will always question certain choices you make.

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I’ve received a good question today about whether one should use Direct Linking or use a landing page while running ppc campaigns…

The answer, in my opinion is: landing pages.

I really don’t care about what others claim is best… if you’re running a ppc Campaign, you’re losing money by not Preselling the Visitor via a Review page or a Comparison page.

Review or Compare 3-7 products and, obviously, give the highest rating to the best converting product - if it’s the right thing to do. You definitely DO need to find out as much info as you can on the product, though.

When I do a review of a product that may get a lot of traffic, I tend to be honest and take the hit in sales, yet keep my conscience.

Example: I have a Google Assassin review site where I speak truthfully about the product and send the visitor to a MUCH better site — Wealthy Affiliate.

Why would I take the hit against my own commissions?

A) Wealthy Affiliate is about 120% less per month
B) Wealthy Affiliate is BY FAR, the best Affiliate Marketing training system out there…
C) 95% of the people I recommend WA to send me thank you emails or find me on the WA forums and private message me a “thank you” message.

I don’t like recommending very many products… I will never recommend a product I wouldn’t personally stand behind, as I don’t want anyone bashing me for sending them to a crappy product.

Sure, you can hide behind a domain name - but you still have to look at yourself in the mirror!

landing pages increase Sales conversions, and this is why so much money is being spent on learning about Landing page design and optimization. This is also why I speak about landing pages on nearly half of my blog posts lately

Direct linking takes the visitor STRAIGHT to the page and once they’re gone…they’re gone! You have no chance of explaining WHY they need to buy the product or how the OTHER product is not as good… you’ve lost them! =(

Not to mention… if someone else bids on the same keyword and direct links to the same merchant - chances are, your ad will not show. Remember: Google only allows ONE ad per URL.

Direct linking doesn’t allow you to track your campaigns down to the Keyword level… it doesn’t give you the opportunity to learn from your mistakes.

Direct linking doesn’t allow you to get OPT-IN EMAILS! If you’re not building a list, you’re going to miss out on extra cash later. I’ve said it before - and I said it again…

Sure, Landing Pages take more time and you may not know how to design a Landing Page… well, spend a few extra bucks and head over to Sitepoint.com and try to find someone who can make one for cheap! Rentacoder.com is a great place for this too. It shouldn’t cost any more than $250 to get a NICE looking site that will convert well. But, you can also get free Templates from sites like Wealthy Affiliate (comparison templates).

I, personally, design each and every one of my landing pages. I try to make each one similar to the best overall feel I’ve found through other landing pages promoting similar, or the same, products.

Just do yourself a favor and don’t “save the extra money” by throwing up a cheesy, non-converting Landing Page - while spending the extra cash on a loser campaign!

…TAKE YOUR TIME AND DO IT RIGHT!

Also… just a quick tip… there have been a few occasions in which I found the Merchant’s Sales Copy to be absolutely HORRIBLE… what to do? Easy! Pre-sell the visitor and send them to the Merchants Checkout page, IF POSSIBLE. It’s worked on a few products that I’ve promoted and increase Sales Conversions in the end.

Now, this tip won’t work for any merchant - so you’ll have to check it out for yourself. But, it’s definitely a wise choice in some instances

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »

Looking for some Google Website Optimizer Tutorials? Check out these videos that Google has provided you through YouTube.com!

Introduction to Google Website Optimizer (Webinar) 

Website Optimizer: Creating and Launching Expirements

I tried to post the videos directly on the site, but, unfortunately, it was messing the entire site up…

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

I’ve been spending a lot of time reading through Marketing Sherpa’s landing page Handbook and have learned quite a bit, and even started testing a few ideas from this book. It’s full of a ton of information… and, to be honest, I had never even heard the term ‘hero shot’, up until today.

In the landing pages Secret Handbook, Marketing Sherpa describes a Hero Shot as the following:

A ‘hero shot’ is a picture or graphic representation of the item being marketed, whether it’s a tangible product, the cover of a report or the photo of a webinar presenter.

So, if you take a look at Adwords for Dummies, on Amazon.com, you will notice the image of the book… this is the ‘hero shot’. Now, although that may not be too interesting for some, it does bring up a good point. I see a lot of landing pages that do not entice me in the least bit when I arrive… and what’s funny is — MOST of these landing pages do not use Hero Shots on their pages. As a matter of fact, the book goes to point out that a lot of people try using clip art or ‘cartoonish’ style graphics on their pages, with no relevant images.

The irony? While going through some of these Landing Pages, this is exactly what most of these Landers use (irrelevant images)!

I’ve run into Software Program downloads with no Hero Shots or any relevant graphics to the Software until you click on Screenshots. Why? This is absolutely destructive, in my opinion. But, I knew this for a long time… it’s not like this book slapped me in the face with using Relevant Graphics.

OK, so what if you’re an Affiliate of a product that does not provide many choices of Graphics?

Easy: make one/some! I explained that using Photoshop Actions such as CoverActionPro comes in handy. You can create these Hero Shots very quickly.

I have to admit… I’ve seen some very odd versions of ‘creating Hero shots’, including one from Wealthy Affiliate, themselves (notice the cartoon character… not sure what that has to do with the book, although it’s a GREAT book!).

One of my favorite examples of a great landing page (although there’s no such thing, in a sense), is Google Picasa’s Landing Page.

Notice the ‘Hero Shot’ (Screen shot of the program)? Also notice that the ‘Action Links’ (links you want the person to click) is like it should be… Blue and underlined. The content is all “above the fold” (no need for scrolling down) and it’s straight forward information.

Of course, you will more than likely see this Lander change over the course of the next few weeks or months… they’re constantly testing ever aspect on this page, from the Headline to the Hero Shot to the Features/Benefits.

There’s not too many images to distract you from taking the Action they’re looking for you to take and there’s just enough information to make you want to try it out.

Does this mean that you should design YOUR lander to look like this? Of course not… it all depends on the Product you’re trying to promote.

Some landers will have better Conversion rates than others using Long Sales Copy than Short Sales Copy, and vice versa. Some will do better using images of the products, some will have better rates using images of a person. It’s all going to depend on you, the Merchants landing page and, of course, the product you’re promoting.

I HIGHLY suggest testing and tweaking your landing pages using Google Website Optimizer to test out different aspects of your Landing pages. Headlines, Body Copy, Images, etc.

If you’re not testing and tweaking your landing pages, you’re losing a lot of money in sales/commissions. This is a fact.

Good luck!

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »

I find it odd that half of the Review type Affiliate pages I see do not try to collect Email Optins…

Are you collecting Emails? If not, WHY NOT? They say “the money’s in the list”, and I agree. That doesn’t mean that you have to sell them anything, this means that you can review products and let your readers choose. Although, most of the email lists I’m subscribed to are definitely NOT worth being signed up for.

As a matter of fact, the reason I AM signed up to so many is simply to keep up to date with some information about certain markets. From Internet Marketing all the way down to Health and Fitness. I’m always trying to keep my eyes and ears open for anything “sudden” in the market.

But, although that’s great… it’s also interesting to see how some people SELL, SELL, SELL and never give.

I, for one, do not agree with 98% (yes, I just made that number up) of the Email marketers out there. Most of these people go insane trying to push the newest, latest fads and products. This is a quick way to get a lot of unsubscribers!

So, here is my view on all of this. The good thing is - I’m not a professional Email Marketer. I say this because:

a) You don’t have to pay for this information… and…

b) I’m not going to give you B.S. information that will ruin your list…

I remember when Frank Kern’s Mass Control was growing like Wildfire. Everyone was going crazy about this product and acting like it was something new... ha. I think Frank Kern is an awesome Marketer, but the information that was being “sold” through his videos seemed to be VERY basic. But, maybe that was the point? He was surely going to charge an arm and a leg for this information, right?

I know he did…

But the basics can be found all over the net. I just don’t think that you need to pay for expensive “basic training”, to learn email marketing, as an Affiliate Marketer.

I used to sell cars a few years back. While I wasn’t the best salesman, I knew how to sell the right way… MY WAY! My Sales Managers didn’t believe I was right, but I did…and so did my customers. I treated them as humans, not commissions. This is very important in the long run. I watched my grandfather make a VERY nice living in a little town called Coweta, Oklahoma. He owned his own Used Car lot for over 50 years and did very well for himself. Why? Because he didn’t try to sell every single person in town… he didn’t try to sell every person who walked on his lot, either! What my grandfather DID do was create massive rapport!

Rapport is the main factor in any sales environment… I don’t care if it’s online of off! But most Internet Marketers THINK they create Rapport by giving away their cheap, cheesy “free reports”. These reports are simply given away for free in hopes that they get something in return… HOW IS THAT BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP?

It’s not…

My list for this blog is not the fastest growing list, nor is it the most populated. Actually, the list is very small. But I tend to get a lot of positive feedback from those list readers because I only let them know of the absolute best, cheapest products that I KNOW work, because I’ve used them… and how often do I let them know about these products? Very rarely. Actually, my readers can tell you that I’m sending free information that is actually USEFUL to them. I will always do that because I know that quality is MUCH better than Quantity. I have a lot of people on one of my lists for a certain health product. But the question is… does it make me money in the end? Not really. The quality isn’t as good, but they’re also looking for very specific information that’s not easy to give out without completely destroying the list.

I tend to think about what I, and most other people, would appreciate… Now I know there’s a lot of people who will tell you “don’t worry about what YOU think, worry about what OTHER people think”. Well, in this case, it’s OK to think about what YOU would want… because it’s all about the type of person you are.

A lot of Internet Marketers are pure Spammers. I cannot stand people who send out more than 4-5 emails a week. It’s abusive of the system they work with. It’s disrespectful, in my eyes, as well. They tend to act like everything I absolutely could not stand in the Car Business. Someone runs up on the car lot? That’s an “up” and you better be all over that and make sure they don’t leave without the Sales Manager talking to them!

That’s a terrible way to run a business, in my opinion. It’s “do or die”, “now or never” in their eyes. I don’t care if Affiliate Marketing died in 10 years (which it will not)… I think about gaining the trust and respect of the other human being. I don’t see a walking paycheck.

Now… if you don’t agree with me, so be it. You can stop reading now and go check out the latest hyped up door to door salesman working to sell a box of steaks “fresh out of the freezer from the back of the truck!”.

Each landing page or Website you run should have an optin form, in my opinion. I don’t care what it is… have a way they can optin, somewhere? If you’re spending money or time to get Sales - you need to “get the information of those who stopped by”. In the Car Business, this information was used for Follow Ups…

Now, in the Car Business, you were taught to constantly contact these people and SELL, SELL, SELL. GET THEM BACK HERE! (Sales Manager talking, of course)

My way was to talk to them and ask if I could be of Assistance in their research. If they came to my lot but they were looking for a completely DIFFERENT MAKE (If I were selling Fords and they wanted a Toyota), I would simply call a local Toyota dealership (right after hanging up the phone with the customer) and establish a relationship with another NEW sales person who would split a deal with me (think of another Affiliate Program). I never felt that I could trust one of the Veterans… (in this case, we’re speaking of the “Gurus” of Internet Marketing). I would say that at least half of the time, I made extra cash! Sure, I could have FORCED a Sale here and there, but I wouldn’t have felt right.

In the end… I had a ton of happy customers! I made a lot of referrals to other Sales people and I was sent referrals right back. Customers who didn’t even buy from me would send referrals… those that DID buy from me sent me referrals, as well.

I had built my own little business within another business! Sure, a lot of Sales people do this, but how many?

So… get started with collecting your Optin Emails, right away!

There’s 2 programs I’ve used for Email Marketing. They are:

aweber.com and GetResponse.com

All you need to do is sign up with a Company such as Aweber or GetResponse and setup your first List. You can find tutorials and guides on both programs. Once you’ve setup your first list, you simply create a Web Form and then get the code for it. Again, all of this is explained in their Tutorials and/or Guides.

When you get the code for the List, simply insert it into the proper place on the site. In Aweber, you’re given the choice of JavaScript OR HTML. Using HTML is the easiest in my eyes, as you can easily edit it and place it in the right spot with fewer problems. You can also edit the Headline that you want to use, right on the spot.

Try to use the most powerful, yet attractive (and enticing) headline that you can possibly use. You’re trying to get them to subscribe here!

Make sure that you place a small piece of text that explains that you will not rent, sell, spam, etc. It does help from my personal tests that I’ve performed!

I also suggest creating something worth signing up for… a “Special Report” (PLEASE make this USEFUL and not junk!), an Ebook, Videos, etc. Give them a 30 day Training program… 7 tips, etc. Numbers work very well for headlines. If you choose to give your subscribers a “# of days” type email setup, make sure you setup an auto-responder that will send out a daily email to them for each tutorial, tip, etc.

Another useful tip would to  create 3D Covers for your ebook or report by using a program such as CoverActionPro.com … this is an excellent set of tools that allows you to quickly and easily make professional looking “covers” for your books, etc. I love this product and I am using it on a daily basis for Covers of my free give aways to give me a more “professional” look. It’s awesome… definitely check it out!

By using a 3D Cover, you can expect to increase your optin rate by a very good margin.

Once you’ve got everything up and running - you need to make sure things are working properly. Sign up for your own list and take notes of everything you see. Is the Thank You page too bland? Create your own! Have your Thank you page give more information, such as a certain product review! I DO NOT suggest placing a download link on this page as you want them to click on the confirmation link to “double-optin” to your list. This leaves you with less subscribers in the end.

Check out how your emails are delivered… do they look appealing? What could make them look better and more trustworthy? Change everything you can immediately before it becomes too late. You’ll thank yourself later!

Work on everything now and remember how you did it, along with the notes you’re taking.

BE SURE that your messages are ALL relevant… remember: if they came for nutritional information for Athletes, they DO NOT want to be given information on High Blood pressure remedies or Cures for Arthritis. They’re looking for RELEVANT information, so give them what they came for.

You made them a promise to provide them with something free… be sure that they get this information or you will quickly lose their trust!

Make sure that you do not start promoting any products before you give them at least 5 GOOD emails. Be honest with them and show them that you’re a trustworthy person and you will get the same respect back to you. Be consistent with good information and try to do your best to send out friendly, personal messages.

Another mistake a lot of people make is using a Reply email that they will never check… big mistake! Use an email that you will check on a daily basis, or forward the messages to another email you WILL check. People want to speak to a real person if they have questions or problems. Be there for them or you will lose them… I’ve had this problem and lost about 10% of my optins that I got within 2-3 days. I learned quickly, thankfully!

Follow up with your Subscribers and make sure things are going good… make sure they understand whatever it is that you sent them already. Create Videos for them to view or new ebooks they can read. Just show them that you care!

REMEMBER: THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT JUST COMMISSION CHECKS! They can be long term sales if you treat them as human beings and treat them with respect.

Make sure that you’re creating optin lists for every page that you possibly can. Of course, you cannot do this for Hubpages, Squidoo Lenses, etc… but for the pages that you host, you can!

I hope that you learn from this and take advantage of the power of an email list! (or LISTS!)

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »

I can’t stress enough, how important it is to learn Social Media Marketing to help increase your sites popularity and Authority rank. I started doing this a while back, but I’m now doing this as a daily routine for most of my sites… all but this one, unfortunately! (only due to the lack of time)

I use Auto Social Poster on a few of my sites for testing, but I’m also using Jack Humphrey’s Web 2 Submitter. I like both, but I’m finding Auto Social Poster to be more convenient… much more, to be honest. As long as you use Wordpress, anyway! Plus, Web 2 Submitter isn’t really very powerful, in the end. I haven’t checked into timing issues, but I’m guessing that it’s not REALLY saving me much time, in the end.
Now some Affiliate Marketers may think that this is useless… well, it is IF you’re simply using “throw away” landers (mini-sites/landing pages) that you’re not sure about… (testing purposes, not done, etc)

But Social Media Marketing (or Social Marketing) is a great way to get MORE traffic to your site, which, in turn, will create more sales… in most cases in some cases. You still need to focus on SEO and your Target audience, no matter what.

Social Media Marketing starts with the understanding of Web 2.0… But, we won’t really dig into that too much as there’s entirely too much information out there these days. To keep it very simple, look at sites such as Digg, MySpace, FaceBook, etc. Do you see anything in common with each of these sites? Users control them… That’s the difference. Back in the day, forums, email, chat (including IM) and various other ways to connect with users were pretty much the only way to be “connected’ with each other…

Things have changed now. Content is king, without a doubt.

Users can share information with others very easily. They can connect with others and share links, without a problem. Viral Marketing can be created on YouTube for free, by ANYONE!

Entire Websites, Pages, Videos, Stories, Pictures… they can all be sent to others to view so easily these days that it would be insane to NOT take advantage of Web 2.0 and Social Marketing.

Now imagine if you had a blog, similar to this one, that could easily be monetized and shared with Millions of people? Wouldn’t that be great? Maybe you already do? But landing pages or Static websites are not the only ways to run Affiliate Programs…and that’s my point.

Does that mean you have to have a blog to use Social Marketing? Of course not! What you need to learn is “Social Media Optimization”…

Ok, before I get you scared and make you want to leave, let’s see how simple Social Media Optimization is…

Wikipedia has Social Media Optimization listed as: 

Social media optimization (SMO) is a set of methods for generating publicity through social media, online communities and community websites. Methods of SMO include adding RSS feeds, adding a “Digg This” button, blogging and incorporating third party community functionalities like Flickr photo slides and galleries or YouTube videos. Social media optimization is a form of search engine marketing.

Social media optimization is in many ways connected as a technique to viral marketing where word of mouth is created not through friends or family but through the use of networking in social bookmarking, video and photo sharing websites. In a similar way the engagement with blogs achieves the same by sharing content through the use of RSS in the blogsphere and special blog search engines such as Technorati.

This is pretty simple, right? I mean if you have a blog setup, you more than likely see this as “pie”. Simple stuff.

I find that YouTube.com is definitely the ULTIMATE Viral Marketing method online. You can create a Video (with your URL in the intro, end and anywhere else…just not “too much”) that shows someone how to do something and get plenty of traffic for little effort. Select the right tags/keywords and make sure your URL is posted in the Author box, too, and you’re practically guaranteed traffic. Select the right Market and post up a Video that helps that crowd, and you’re guaranteed to get traffic…

The bottom line is, you need to understand that Social Media Marketing (SMM) is another way to boost up traffic to your Website.

Using sites such as Digg, Facebook, YouTube, etc. can really help Sales in the long run. Use these sites effectively. Do NOT spam these sites with your own links…

As a matter of fact, I find it useful to create multiple accounts on these sites and promote a certain set of “sites” with a few accounts, and another “set” with another few accounts. This means creating multiple accounts on every site and, for example, promoting Real Estate websites with one set of accounts, and Healthy related Websites with another set of accounts. This way you’re staying organized and staying under the radar.

* DO NOT SPAM THESE SITES.

Too many people believe that these sites were created for Webmasters. THEY WERE NOT! These sites were created for USERS!

Good luck with your SMM (Social Media Marketing) and use your time wisely!

Posted by Clint Lenard | No Comments »

I know there’s a ton of Affiliate Marketing information out on the web, but I’m tired of the crap being sold, lately.

Look… Affiliate Marketing is NOT easy to learn if you’re looking to become really successful. BUT… don’t let that stop you from learning, if that’s what you’re looking to do. YOU CAN make money in this business, and if you’re persistent, you WILL make money.

There’s a lot of information, though, and you don’t want to become stuck in a rut due to information overload. I’ve been there, I still am in some areas of “the web”. I am very familiar with so many subjects of Internet Marketing, but there’s new junk hitting my inbox each and every day with claims that ’such and such is dead’, or ‘this is the newest way to get MASSIVE TRAFFIC to your site’. Yeah, that might work for some people - but not for me…

If you want to really get going in this business, do yourself a favor and take your name and email off of the list of all of those gurus who don’t teach you anything new for free. If you get an email with the subject line of “newest ___” or “massive traffic” or “____ is dead”, unsubscribe! They’re only worried about asking you to open your wallet for their own good…

Think about the “Gurus” in this way…

Have you ever seen one of those guys/girls/kids that always ask for something, yet never want to WORK for it? They’re constantly EXPECTING you to do something for THEM, but they never want to do sh*t for you!?

That’s them… that’s the Internet Marketing guys who send you all of that junk. Are they sending you any FREE tutorials? No, I’m not talking about Video Sales pitches or Ebooks trying to get you to optin to yet ANOTHER list… I’m talking about REAL TUTORIALS, free of Affiliate links. They don’t care about you… they’re the Veteran Car Salesman who do not think of you as a person, they think of you as another Sheep!

If they provide you with nothing, get off of their list… they’re going to drive your mind crazy with their latest marketing hypes. The fact is - they’re not doing ANYTHING to change your life, besides making your bank account get slimmer. If you can’t trust them, dump them.

I don’t push the fact that you can join my Email list, but I enjoy the great feedback I get from people who find the free downloads to be useful and helpful. I try to make sure I don’t give out too much information at once, but I can’t always help that as everyone learns at their own pace and some have more thought process than others.

This business is not EASY to make a living, but it’s not hard to make money.

Learn the basics. Don’t get caught up with any intermediate or advanced subjects before you fully understand what the basics are about.

I am still working on several “reports” or “ebooks” for my List, but they won’t be available for the next few days. The first will be basic information, but I’ll slowly build upon that first ebook. I promise.

Posted by Clint Lenard | 1 Comment »

If you believe you cannot do it, you’re not going to be able to go it.

It was Henry Ford who said:

Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.

The quote is dead on.

We’ve learned as children that we could not do some things… we learned how hard it is to become something. We were constantly told, EVEN BY OUR OWN PARENTS AND TEACHERS, that we could not live up to our dreams.

But I’m here to tell you that they were 100%, absolutely wrong. Whoever it was that told you that you couldn’t do something - they only told you this because they were told the same thing. It’s a vicious circle.

Now, logically, I could tell you that YOU CAN’T MAKE A MILLION DOLLARS IN A MONTH!

But am I absolutely correct? No… not at all. A LOT of people have done it. Even in this Business. I just read a story about someone who made Hundreds of Thousands of dollars using ONE Keyword and ONE product…

Do you think he talked himself into believing he could do it? Yes, obviously he did.

Affiliate Marketing is NOT hard. It’s not impossible to make money, even in the most saturated markets. Does this mean that you will become successful JUST because you tell yourself that you can? No…

It means that you have to believe in everything you’re doing and you have to act upon your every thought. You can have everything you want in life and Affiliate Marketing is no different.

Do you want it?

Then stop saying you can’t do it…

I’ve watched a guy on Wealthy Affiliate say he couldn’t, even while guys like Travis Sago, Dave B. and Thad were pushing him… but he still hasn’t made a dime through all of this. Why? Because, even with all of the STRAIGHT FORWARD information and advice he was given - he still did not take action right away and he was still talking about every reason why he could not do it.

Yet, there’s so many people that go around saying they CAN do it… guess where they are? They’re in the Success forum talking about how they DID do it.

Think about it…

Believe it or not - what you think about is what you become. Can’t do it? Cool… now you can’t. Can’t be that person? Yep, you’re right…

I wonder how many successful people told themselves that they COULDN’T do it, and STILL made it big? I’m guessing 0%.

W. Clement Stone said:

Success is achieved and maintained by those who try and keep trying.

And:

Like success, failure is many things to many people. With Positive Mental Attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again.

He also said:

If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.

Which is why I don’t mind sharing everything I can with my readers of this blog.

But the most popular W. Clement Stone quote that you should really believe in and take to heart is:

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

If you want to become successful, yet you feel that you’ve never reached that milestone in life, you need to throw all of that negativity that you’ve brought to the table. There’s too many people who WILL become successful and who WILL be what they want to be… all because of others who believe they cannot do it. People who have talked themselves out of it before they were given the chance.

Every single person on earth has the potential to become a Millionaire within the Affiliate Marketing community, but it’s a shame that there’s not even a small percentage of people who believe in themselves. Maybe it’s just not for them? Maybe they simply believe Affiliate Marketing is a scam?

That’s fine… but since you know it’s possible and you know it’s NOT a scam — then put on your positive thinking cap and push forward. If your first campaign fails, GREAT! You’ve just LEARNED WHY your campaign (not you) has failed the first (or even the 1,000th) time.

Keep climbing and you’ll reach the top. I can promise you that you will with persistence and consistence.

But once you stop saying “you can” and fall into the “I can’t” trap - you might as well pack up and head back down the mountain because it REALLY IS all down hill from there…

Posted by Clint Lenard | 3 Comments »

I’ve received numerous emails over the weekend from people asking what the best way to learn SEO was.

I have been mentioning, throughout my blog, about how good Search Engine Optimization can increase your Affiliate Sales from within your Website(s). Aaron Wall wrote the seo book and I highly recommend it. It’s one of the few ways I would suggest, even to my own family, on learning Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Aaron Wall is like an “SEO Beast” and everyone in the industry believes so as well.

So, check out seo book and take advantage of Search Engine Optimization. The book is for newbies and advanced SEO’s alike. I don’t know anything that compares to the SEO book, especially for the price!

Posted by Clint Lenard | 2 Comments »