Internet Marketing Articles

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Best Internet Marketing Software Tools And Resources

When it comes to marketing online, there are so many different ways to generate traffic, collect leads, and improve conversions that it can quickly become overwhelming for many people. Without the best software tools and resources, it can be difficult to achieve the kind of results that you desire.

Fortunately, there are certain software tools and resources that stand out from the rest because of their usefulness and periodic updates with new features being added on a regular basis to help improve the overall functionality.

Free Software And Resources

The following is a list of free software tools and resources which you can start using to complete certain tasks and improve your business.

Small SEO Tools

This software allows you to analyze backlinks, check search engine rankings, detect duplicate content, rewrite articles, find expired domains, monitor the speed of your websites, and many other useful tools.

MailChimp

This software allows you to build an opt-in list of up to 2,000 subscribers and send up to 12,000 emails per month for free with advanced segmentation and automation features included.

HootSuite

This software allows you to manage all of your social media profiles from one dashboard and automatically find and schedule high quality content in any niche with real-time analytics.

Keyword Tool

This software allows you to research any niche and find thousands of long-tail keyword phrases from authority websites such as Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, and the Apple App Store.

Google Analytics

This software allows you to monitor and track the performance of your websites including unique visitors, page views, bounce rate, average session duration, country, device, browser, and referrers.

Pixabay

This resource allows you to access over one million royalty-free photos, illustrations, and vector graphics as well as thousands of video clips which you can use for your business.

Premium Software And Resources

The following is a list of premium software tools and resources which you can start using to complete certain tasks and improve your business.

BuilderAll

This software allows you to set up a complete business with unlimited domains and bandwidth, a built-in landing page creator and email autoresponder, and detailed analytics including heat maps.

Convertri

This software allows you to build high converting sales pages and funnels using the drag-and-drop editor and mobile responsive templates with fast loading times and split test functionality.

SendEngine

This software allows you to send unlimited messages to your email subscribers with no import restrictions and improved deliverability using the built-in templates, list cleaner, and spam checker.

Fan Marketer

This software allows you to build highly engaged audiences by attracting real fans to your Facebook pages as well as automatically posting relevant content such as videos, images, and links.

VideoBuilder

This software allows you to create high quality motion animation videos with customizable elements and realistic text-to-speech male or female 3D avatars in 24 languages using lip-sync technology.

Video Marketing Blaster

This software allows you to find profitable long-tail keyword phrases in any niche and calculate the ranking difficulty by revealing how many views, likes, and backlinks you will need to beat your competition.

Tube Rank Machine

This software allows you to research your target market, optimize your titles and descriptions, and automatically build and index high quality backlinks for unlimited videos and websites with drip-feed functionality.

Profit Canvas

This software allows you to build any type of page for your websites using the drag-and-drop editor and ready-made templates with conversion boosting features such as pop-ups and call-to-actions.

Summary

These are some of the best internet marketing software tools and resources that will improve certain aspects of your business. Building a responsive email list using a reliable autoresponder should still be a priority as this will allow you to promote offers and automatically follow-up with new leads.

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Essential WordPress Plugins And Themes For Marketers

One of the reasons why WordPress has become the most popular content management system on the internet is because of the number of features available and the flexibility that it offers. But with thousands of different plugins and themes to choose from, it can be difficult to find one that best suits your needs.

Fortunately, there are certain plugins and themes that stand out from the rest because of their usefulness and periodic updates with new features being added on a regular basis to help improve the overall functionality.

Free Plugins And Themes

The following is a list of free plugins and themes which you can download and install on your WordPress websites to start using the features.

WordFence

This plugin allows you to secure and protect your websites from brute force attacks and hackers looking for vulnerabilities with real-time alerts sent by email in the event of a security issue.

Duplicator

This plugin allows you to backup and clone your websites including all of the plugins, themes, content, and database so you can quickly and easily migrate from one location to another.

WP SpamShield

This plugin allows you to block and prevent both human and bot spam from comments, contact forms, registrations, trackbacks, and pingbacks without using CAPTCHAs or challenge questions.

Yoast SEO

This plugin allows you to fully optimize your websites for the search engines including titles, descriptions, and keywords for each post and page as well as XML sitemaps that automatically update.

WP Forms

This plugin allows you to create and manage multiple contact forms on your websites including subscription forms and payment forms using the newbie friendly drag-and-drop builder.

Google Analytics Dashboard

This plugin allows you to display real-time statistics on your dashboard including the number of visitors, acquisition channels, and traffic sources with performance details for each post and page.

Premium Plugins And Themes

The following is a list of premium plugins and themes which you can download and install on your WordPress websites to start using the features.

WP Fresh Start

This plugin allows you to save your chosen settings, preferred pages, and favourite plugins so you can automatically set up and install new websites without having to waste time configuring everything.

Backlink Machine

This plugin allows you to automatically build and index high quality backlinks to each post and page on your websites with the ability to drip-feed gradually over a specific period of time.

Viralism

This plugin allows you to automatically find and post the most viral content to your websites in any niche including trending stories, images, and videos based on specific keyword phrases.

MemberPal

This plugin allows you to build profitable membership websites in any niche with autoresponder and PayPal integration and the ability to add an affiliate program using JVZoo or WarriorPlus.

Azon Authority

This plugin allows you to build profitable Amazon affiliate ecommerce stores in any niche with built-in geotargeting and translations, SmartCart technology for maximizing sales, and real-time statistics.

Review Wizard

This plugin allows you to build product review websites in any niche with a built-in rating system for listing the pros and cons as well as a sticky call-to-action bar to increase conversion rates.

Link Master

This plugin allows you to create and manage unlimited tracking links with the ability to cloak affiliate URLs, block pop-ups, and redirect visitors to any location using exit intent technology.

ProStyler

This theme allows you to build high converting mobile responsive websites in any niche using the drag-and-drop editor and ready-made templates and layouts with full customization options.

Summary

These essential WordPress plugins and themes will increase the functionality of your websites by adding some of the best features available. Creating high quality content that your audience wants to read should still be a priority and will help you build a loyal following on social media platforms.

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How To Earn A Residual Income With A Membership Website

If you're thinking of selling your own digital product on the internet, you should seriously consider creating a membership website so that you can earn a passive residual income and generate consistent profits month after month on autopilot.

As the internet expands, there are more and more niches that are ready to be exploited by creating digital products that provide relevant information which people crave. But instead of creating a product and selling it for a one-time fee, it's far better to set up a membership website and generate a recurring income.

Find A Profitable Niche

The most important part of any membership website is the topic because if there is no demand for the information that you're offering you will not make any sales. So the first thing you will need to do is find a popular niche to target and you can do this in a variety of ways.

The easiest way to find profitable niches is to look at keyword statistics using free keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner. Once you have found keyword phrases that get a few thousand searches per month, you can enter them into the search engines to see what existing products are currently targeting this niche. If there are many different products and multiple pay-per-click ads selling related products, it's a sure sign that there is money to be made from this type of information.

As well as this, you can also visit Amazon and look at how many products are being sold in this niche which will give you an idea of the type of information that is being offered. Another website you can visit is eBay because it will show you what types of products people are actually bidding on and buying which is an indication of how popular the market is.

Create The Content

After you have found a topic for your membership website you will need to create the content for the members area in the form of articles, ebooks, audio recordings, and video tutorials. While this can take some time and effort, it's possible to outsource most of the work by hiring professional writers to create the content for you.

This can be done using freelancing platforms such as UpWork which allow independent professionals to connect with businesses and individuals who require certain tasks completed. Almost anything can be outsourced and freelancers will bid against each other on specific tasks which keeps the prices reasonable. All you have to do is view the ratings and feedback for each freelancer to make sure they are reputable and then choose a bid that fits your budget.

Set Up The Website

The next step is to create a members area where the content will be stored and you can do this by creating a new directory on your website and making it password protected so that only paid customers can access it. After customers have paid for access to your membership website, you can direct them to a squeeze page to automatically send them the login details. Alternatively, you can use a WordPress plugin such as MemberPal or a cloud-based software such as EverLesson to create a professional membership website.

The home page of the members area should have links to all of the information contained on the website and should provide download links if you have compiled the content into ebooks and videos. The members area should also include a blog to keep customers updated on the latest information and a forum so that customers can interact with each other and get help from other members.

Once you have set up your membership website, you will need to use a payment processor such as PayPal or 2Checkout so that you can accept recurring sales. Alternatively, you can use ClickBank or JVZoo if you want to set up an affiliate program and allow affiliates to earn a percentage commission of each sale every month (which is useful if you want to set up joint ventures and generate an instant surge of sales very quickly).

Setting up a successful membership website is one of the most rewarding and profitable ways of generating a passive residual income on the internet. Although it can take a while to create the content at the start, it requires very little maintenance once everything is set up and new information can be outsourced on a regular basis to keep the content fresh.

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How To Write High Quality Articles That Generate Traffic

There is no point writing articles if people are not going to read them so it's essential to follow certain guidelines that will ensure your articles actually generate traffic for your website.

Obviously the content of your articles has to be good and must be of interest to your target market, but there are specific things you can do that will make it easy for people to read and enjoy.

1) Use an attention grabbing headline. This is the most important part of any article because it's the first thing readers will actually see. If it doesn't grab their attention your article will not be read so you need to entice their curiosity by summing up your entire article in one sentence such as 'how to write high quality articles' or 'ten tips for writing high quality articles.'

2) Use numbers or bullet points. By breaking down your articles into smaller segments it makes the content easier to remember and understand. It also clearly defines each point and attracts the attention of the reader which in turn encourages them to read the rest of the text.

3) Use subheadings. To keep the attention of each reader you can divide your articles into sections that clearly show what each part is about. This also helps the content flow and makes the transition from one point to another smooth which prevents the reader from becoming confused.

4) Use short paragraphs. There is nothing worse than trying to read huge paragraphs with no spaces in between. By using three or four line paragraphs and spreading out the text it makes the content less stressful on the eye and far easier to read.

While using these tips will ensure that your article gets read, you still have to make sure that the content is high quality and offers real value if you want people to actually visit your website and subscribe to your email list.

To keep readers interested you can use specific facts and figures as well as good descriptions and metaphors. Try not to be too formal but instead write as if you were actually talking to the readers in person.

By teaching people new things you will brand yourself as an expert in your chosen field and anyone who reads your articles will most likely visit your website to see what else you have to offer. If your website is closely related to your articles you will produce the best results.

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How To Write An Ebook Or Lead Magnet Report

Whether you want to sell an ebook on websites such as ClickBank or give away a report on your squeeze page to start building an email list, there are certain strategies that you can use to improve your writing skills and speed up the process.

If you're relatively fast at typing and you have detailed knowledge of the topic you want to write about, you can create your own high quality ebook or lead magnet report within a matter of days if you follow a simple step-by-step plan which you can implement immediately.

Choose A Topic

The most important part is deciding what you want to write about because if there is no demand for the information you will not make any sales or collect any leads so it's essential to research potential topics and find out what the market wants. The easiest way to do this is to visit popular forums and ask people what they want to learn more about (you can also monitor what people are talking about and what the hot topics are).

If you have an opt-in list, you can also ask your subscribers what they want to learn more about and use the feedback to get ideas for potential topics. To make sure that there is demand for the information, it's always a good idea to check out your competition in the search engines by searching for related keywords. If there are many different products available in the organic listings and the pay-per-click listings it's a sure sign that there is money to be made from this type of information.

Create An Outline

Once you know what you want to write about, the first thing you will need to do is create an outline for the ebook or report by listing the chapters and subheadings that will be covered. It's also a good idea to list bullet points for each subheading to help break up the content and make it easier to write. This is the most important step because it will give you a clear direction and help you focus on what you need to write about.

After you have listed the chapters, it's just a case of writing a few pages for each subheading by including as much relevant information as you can. If you're writing about a topic that you don't know much about, you will have to do some research by looking for related information in the search engines. This will slow you down but if you're good at researching and can grasp what the topic is about, you should be able to condense the information and rewrite it using your own words.

Monetize The Content

If you already have a good knowledge of the topic you should be able to write 20 to 40 pages of content within a matter of days. Once you have written the content, you can add links to related websites or products you're promoting as an affiliate to earn backend commissions and you can also add images and screenshots if needed (you will need to use a software application such as SnagIt if you want to take screenshots).

After you have finished writing the content of your ebook or report you just need to read through it and check for spelling mistakes, then you can convert it into a PDF file. The last thing you will need to do is create the graphics for the ebook or report and the sales letter or squeeze page (the graphics can be outsourced for a small fee using websites such as Fiverr and the sales letter or squeeze page can be a video presentation).

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How To Create High Converting Email Subject Lines

There is no point sending emails to your list if nobody is going to read them, so if you want to increase your response rates and generate more sales it's essential that you create eye catching subject lines that stand out and encourage your subscribers to open and read your messages.

The subject line is the most important part of any email because it will determine how many people will actually read your message and respond to your offer. If you can get more of your subscribers to open your emails you can instantly increase your response rates without any extra effort.

There are many different types of subject lines which are each used to provoke a specific emotion and create a reaction that ensures as many people as possible will open it. It's just a case of using certain words and phrases which have proven to work effectively.

1) Fear of failure. This type of subject line motivates people to find out how to avoid failure or negative results which is one of the most powerful ways to increase your open rates. For example, you could use a subject line such as 'the biggest mistake affiliate marketers make' or 'why most affiliate marketers never make a profit.'

2) Desirability factor. This type of subject line motivates people to find out how to achieve a desirable result which is useful if you're selling a product that explains how to achieve a specific goal. For example, you could use a subject line such as 'how to pre-sell products as an affiliate' or 'the secret to pre-selling products as an affiliate.'

3) Curiosity factor. This type of subject line motivates people to find out what the message is about because they are curious to see if what you're offering will help them. For example, you could use a subject line such as 'what is the best way to generate sales as an affiliate' or 'something every affiliate marketer needs to know.'

4) Fast results. This type of subject line motivates people to find out how to achieve a specific goal in the shortest possible time which is useful if you're selling a product which provides a solution to a problem. For example, you could use a subject line such as 'the fastest way to increase your sales' or 'here's a shortcut for increasing your sales.'

5) Great resource. This type of subject line motivates people to find out what the resource is and how it can help them which is useful if you promote products as an affiliate and want to increase your sales. For example, you could use a subject line such as 'check out this excellent traffic resource' or 'I just found this great traffic resource.'

These are the most effective subject lines that you can use in your emails to increase your open rates and actually get people to read your message and respond to your offer. If more people read your messages, you will increase your sales without having to add more subscribers to your list.

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Deciding Whether To Use Single Opt-In Or Double Opt-In

If you have just started your own email list or are thinking of starting one, you will need to decide whether you want to use single opt-in to collect subscribers instantly or use double opt-in to collect subscribers after they have confirmed.

This debate has been continuing for years now and each side has legitimate reasons for using their preferred choice, but if you're unfamiliar with the situation you need to know what the facts are before you decide which option to use for your email list.

Single Opt-In

The main benefit of using single opt-in is that everyone who subscribes to your newsletter or ezine via the subscription form on your website will start receiving your messages instantly without any additional requirements. Once they enter their name and email address and hit the subscribe button your autoresponder follow-up messages will start being sent.

Using single opt-in will mean that you collect far more subscribers and some list owners have reported collecting five times as many leads than using double opt-in because the vast majority of people simply forget to confirm their subscription.

The argument against single opt-in is that it's more risky because subscribers don't have to confirm their subscription which could result in more spam complaints. But people who forgot they subscribed and marked you messages as spam would do so whether you're using single opt-in or double opt-in because they didn't remember joining your list.

If you're worried about people maliciously entering leads into your subscription form, it won't be a problem if you're using a service such as Aweber or GetResponse because they have advanced software that will detect suspicious subscriptions and these leads will receive a confirmation message to make sure they really did subscribe.

Double Opt-In

The main benefit of using double opt-in is that everyone who subscribes to your newsletter or ezine via the subscription form on your website will be more likely to remember you because they actually had to confirm their subscription by clicking a link in a confirmation email that was sent to them and it also means that these subscribers will be more active.

Using double opt-in will mean that your subscribers are far more responsive because you will know that they actually check their email messages and they are not just using a junk email account which they rarely check and use to subscribe to many different lists.

The argument against double opt-in is that it reduces the amount of subscribers you collect by a huge amount and therefore increases the time and effort it takes to build a large email list. If you're using a backend offer on your thank you page, your subscribers will only see it after they confirm which results in fewer sales and profits.

It's important to note that if you're buying leads you should always use double opt-in because these subscribers will not have seen your website and will not be aware of you so the chances of getting spam complaints is very high. Autoresponder services such as Aweber and GetResponse always use double opt-in for leads that subscribe using your autoresponder email address (single opt-in is only available for subscription forms).

Which option you choose is completely up to you. If you want to build your list as quickly as possible and get the maximum amount of subscribers you should use single opt-in, but if you're happy to reduce the amount of subscribers you get and have a safer and more responsive list you should use double opt-in.

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How To Set Up An Autoresponder And Email Sequence

If you want to start your own opt-in list, you're going to have to learn how to set up an autoresponder so that you can collect subscribers and follow-up with them on a regular basis in order to generate repeat sales and consistent profits.

The first thing you will need to do is create a new account with a reliable autoresponder service such as Aweber or GetResponse which provide unlimited autoresponders, tracking links, and excellent support. Once you have set up your account you will need to create a new autoresponder and change the name, add a description, and insert your from name and email address.

Create A Subscription Form

The next thing you will need to do is create a subscription form using the tool in your control panel which you can find by clicking 'web form' under the 'list settings' tab if you're using Aweber. This tool will allow you to create a standard subscription form which you can insert into your squeeze page or a pop-up which hovers over the top of your website pages.

As well as the squeeze page, you will also need to create a thank you page which is where visitors are directed to after they have subscribed and you can use this to sell a product and offer a special discount as a reward for joining your list. To track which page your subscribers are joining from you should also enter a tracking name for each subscription form that you create.

The web form tool will also allow you to design how you want the subscription form to look on your website which is useful if you need to make it small enough to fit in the sidebar of your blog. The main benefit of using the web form feature is that you will be able to track the number of impressions your subscription form gets which will allow you to work out your conversion rates.

Add Follow-Up Messages

The next thing you will need to do is start adding follow-up messages to your autoresponder to create an email sequence that will be sent out automatically on your behalf on a timeframe that you specify. The first message that you create should welcome subscribers to your newsletter and provide the download instructions for the free report or video tutorial that you're giving away (or any other free gift that you're offering when visitors subscribe).

The follow-up messages should alternate between providing useful information and recommendations for products which you have created or are promoting as an affiliate. It's important that you send free content to your subscribers on a regular basis to keep them interested and each of your follow-up messages should be sent a few days after the previous so that you don't swamp your subscribers with constant emails. This also gives you time to send broadcast messages in between each follow-up without overwhelming your subscribers.

After you have set up your autoresponder and created your squeeze page, it's just a case of sending as much traffic as you can to it in order to collect subscribers and build your email list. As well as generating traffic, you should always test new things and track the conversion rates of your squeeze page and follow-up messages and make some modifications if you think you can achieve better results.

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How To Start Building A Targeted Email List

Having your own email list is essential if you want to succeed online and have more control over your business. It's common knowledge that list building and email marketing are the most reliable ways of generating consistent free targeted traffic for your website or affiliate promotions. Once you have your own responsive opt-in list it can open up a variety of opportunities such as selling advertising space and setting up joint ventures with other list owners.

To get started, you need to collect email addresses from your visitors and you can do this by giving away something of value on your website such as a free report or video tutorial. These leads are then added to an autoresponder which allows you to set up a series of messages that will be sent out automatically on your behalf on a timeframe you specify.

Choose An Autoresponder

There are many different autoresponder services available and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. If you have a limited budget, you can use a third party hosted autoresponder service such as MailChimp which allows you to have a list of up to 2,000 subscribers for free. Other third party hosted autoresponder services include Aweber and GetResponse which charge a monthly fee depending on the number of subscribers you have. The main disadvantage of these services is that the monthly fee can quickly escalate once you have a large list (over 10,000 subscribers).

As a cheaper alternative, there are now many cloud-based SMTP providers such as SendGrid, SendLane, MailGun, MailJet, and Amazon SES. The main advantage of these services is that you have more control over your list (easily import and export your leads) and the costs are significantly lower than third party hosted autoresponder services for users with large lists.

There are also autoresponder scripts available for a one-time fee such as AutoResponse Plus which you install on your own domain name and hosting account. The main disadvantage of these scripts is that the number of subscribers you can store will be limited depending on how much disk space you have with your hosting plan and you will also need to backup your list on a regular basis in case a problem occurs and all of the information is lost.

Build A Targeted List

It's essential that you focus on one specific topic for your email list as this will dramatically increase your response rates. The landing page (also called a squeeze page) that you create will need to consist of a short sales letter that encourages visitors to subscribe. The autoresponder service that you're using will provide a subscription form for your website that allows visitors to enter their name and email address.

Double opt-in lists are becoming more popular because they provide extra security as subscribers must confirm their email address, but many people will forget to complete this confirmation which results in fewer active subscribers so you may prefer to use the single opt-in feature instead.

Once you have set up your landing page and follow-up messages you will need to start sending visitors to your website. There are many different traffic generation strategies including both free and paid methods which each have their own advantages and disadvantages. Free methods usually take longer while paid methods are almost instant so it's just a case of deciding which best suits your needs and budget.

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How To Calculate The Conversion Rate Of Your Website

When calculated correctly, the conversion rate is one of the most reliable ways to understand the performance of your website (or a specific page on your website) as well as the trends that occur over a certain period of time. These statistics will help you manage your return on investment (ROI) and ensure that your advertising campaigns remain profitable.

Once you start promoting your website, you will want to find out the value of each visitor so you can accurately determine how much you can afford to spend on advertising. In order to make these calculations you will need to know the total number of sales, gross revenues, total expenses, and unique visitors for a set period of time.

Conversion Rate

To calculate your conversion rate you divide the number of unique visitors to your website by the total number of sales you made in a given timeframe.

So if you got 4,000 unique visitors last month and you made 50 sales, you would divide 4,000 by 50 which equals 80 unique visitors per sale.

To find out detailed traffic statistics you can check the server logs for your website (contact your host if you need help finding this information). For more reliable data, try using Google Analytics to track visitors and their interaction with your website.

Net Profit Per Sale

To calculate your net profit from each sale you subtract total expenses from gross revenue and divide that figure by the total number of sales you made in a given timeframe.

So if you made 50 sales at $47 each last month your gross revenue would be $2350. If your total expenditure for last month was $500 you subtract it from your gross revenue which equals $1850. You then divide this figure by the total number of sales you made last month which equals $37 net profit per sale.

Visitor Value

To calculate the value of each visitor to your website you divide the net profit per sale by the conversion rate in a given timeframe.

So if your net profit per sale is $37 and your conversion rate is one out of 80 unique visitors, you would divide $37 by 80 which equals $0.46 visitor value.

This means that you can afford to spend up to $0.46 to attract a single visitor to your website. So if you spend $50 on advertising it should generate at least 108 unique visitors to break even (if one person buys your product), otherwise the campaign has failed and you will need to focus on conversion rate optimization strategies to reduce the amount you need to spend on advertising in order to generate a profit.

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How Affiliates Can Maximize Sales And Conversion Rates

The reason why super affiliates earn more than other affiliates is because they pre-sell products using their own landing pages and they offer something of real value to their customers which gives them the edge over their competitors.

If you just send traffic to your affiliate link you can still earn a substantial income, but you can dramatically increase your sales and conversion rates if you pre-sell the product and there are several ways in which you can do this effectively.

Create A Bonus

The most effective way of pre-selling is to create a unique high quality bonus gift such as a report, ebook, audio message, video tutorial, or software application. This bonus should be closely related to the product you're pre-selling so that buyers will find it interesting. It can be a report that explains one aspect of the product in more detail or it can be a video tutorial that provides a detailed case study.

There are many possibilities but the key is to create a bonus that adds real value to the product and makes you stand out from the crowd. If you don't want to create a unique bonus you can also offer products you have resale rights to. This is less effective than creating your own bonus but it can still work very well.

Offer A Rebate

Another effective way of pre-selling is to offer a rebate by giving money back to each buyer who orders through your affiliate link. The rebate amount depends on the price of the product, so if it sells for $500 and you earn 50% commission you could offer a rebate of $50 and still earn $200 yourself.

It's not worth offering a rebate if you earn less than $100 from each sale that you generate because you will significantly reduce your profits. Rebates are mainly used for medium and high ticket products that are sold for over $300. Make sure that you check the terms for the product you're promoting as some vendors will not allow the use of rebates.

Write A Review

The most common form of pre-selling is to write a review of the product. Obviously, you will need to actually buy the product yourself and use it before you can do this. To achieve the best results, you need to be as unbiased as possible and write an honest review detailing what was good and what was bad about the product and why people should buy it.

It may seem like you should only write good things about the product, but it's actually better to point out the faults because people will trust you more and will know that you're giving your honest opinion. If you prefer not to write, you can also record a video review of the product and upload it to your YouTube channel.

Once you have set up your pre-sell landing page, you will need to start sending visitors to your website and track the results. Using pay-per-click advertising (combined with retargeting) is a great way to immediately start generating targeted traffic so you can calculate your conversion rates and make adjustments to increase your sales.

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How To Find Products To Promote As An Affiliate

In order to create a profitable campaign, you need to find products that you can promote as an affiliate which have little competition with excellent conversion rates and sufficient demand to ensure that you have the best chance of success.

Many popular products on the internet will have their own affiliate program using an affiliate management script so if you want to promote these products you need to join each one individually to get your referral links. The main advantage of this is that you will have far less competition but you will not know how well they are performing.

One of the reasons why affiliate networks like ClickBank have become so popular is because they provide detailed statistics about each product that uses their service which enables affiliates to clearly identify which ones are profitable and which are not. The only disadvantage is that the best products will have a huge amount of competition.

On each page of the ClickBank marketplace the products are ranked by popularity with the most popular products at the top and the least popular products at the bottom. The current statistics are also shown for the most recent pay period (which covers the previous 16 days).

$earned/sale: The average amount of money earned per sale. This is the average commission you will earn per sale after refunds have been deducted from the total amount.

%earned/sale: The percentage commission you earn per sale. If the product is selling for $47 and you earn 75% as an affiliate you would get $35.25 commission per sale.

%referred: The percentage of sales generated by affiliates. If 87% of the total sales were generated by affiliates the remaining 13% were generated by the vendor.

gravity: The number of affiliates promoting the product. The more affiliates that are promoting the product, the greater the competition you will have.

It's best to choose a product that has at least 20 affiliates promoting it and over 50% of sales generated by them so that you know it's selling well. If the average amount earned is much lower than the commission it means the product has a high refund rate which is a bad sign so don't promote it.

If you intend to promote products using pay-per-click advertising, you will need to find out how many competitors you will have by searching for relevant keywords in the search engines. Popular products will have multiple pay-per-click ads from many different affiliates and it will be very hard to beat the competition and generate sales.

For best results, you need to search for products which target small niche markets as you will have the best chance of creating a profitable campaign because they will have less competition. If you find that a product has no affiliates promoting it using pay-per-click advertising, it may be that it's not very profitable so some competition can be a good sign.

To beat your competitors you can create a custom landing page for the product and offer some exclusive bonuses such as related ebooks and training videos. It's all about standing out from the crowd and offering extra incentives that make you different from everyone else.

If you intend to promote products using your own opt-in list, you will not be paying for the traffic so the amount of competition is less important. Although many of your subscribers will be on multiple lists and may have already purchased the product, it doesn't cost you anything to send a recommendation so any sales you make will be pure profit.

For internet marketing related products, affiliate networks such as JVZoo and WarriorPlus are the best places to find high quality courses and software to promote. When it comes to the statistics for each product, these affiliate networks will display the total number of sales, the conversion rate, and the earnings per click which makes it very easy to identify the best products to promote.

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The Different Types Of Affiliate Programs

If you have decided to promote other people's products as an affiliate, you may not be aware of the different types of affiliate programs available to you. Choosing the most appropriate offer for your advertising campaigns will ensure that you achieve the best possible results.

The most popular type of affiliate program involves the product owner offering a percentage of each sale as a commission to affiliates. Most affiliate programs will offer 50% commissions but some will offer as much as 90% commissions. This is a single tier affiliate program where affiliates are only paid for the sales that they refer.

Some affiliate programs will also give you the opportunity to recruit secondary tier affiliates and earn a percentage commission from each sale that they generate (normally around 5% to 10% per sale). Occasionally, you may also find an affiliate program that offers multiple tiers allowing you to profit from sub affiliates on many levels.

Single tier affiliate programs are what most people are familiar with as they are the most common, but it's not the only way to profit from affiliate marketing. It's now possible to earn commissions for each lead that you refer and even each click that you generate which can be far more lucrative than just getting paid for each sale.

These type of affiliate programs are in the Pay-Per-Performance category where you're paid for each sale, each lead, or each click that you generate. So whenever someone you refer takes action and completes a certain task you will get paid a commission by the merchant.

Pay-Per-Click

This type of affiliate program allows you to earn a commission for each click that you send to the merchant's website, so you will still get paid even if the person doesn't actually buy anything. The problem with this is that the commissions are usually very small so it requires a large volume of traffic to make it worthwhile.

Pay-Per-Lead

This type of affiliate program allows you to earn a commission for each lead that you send to the merchant's website, so you will get paid a small commission ranging from $1 to $20 or more whenever one of your referrals fills out a form with their details. Because this can be so lucrative it's much harder to find these types of affiliate programs.

Pay-Per-Sale

This type of affiliate program allows you to earn a commission for each sale that you send to the merchant's website, so if the person doesn't actually buy anything you will not get paid. Because it's harder to actually get people to order, you will be rewarded with large commissions as high as 90% of each sale that you generate.

Residual

This type of affiliate program allows you to earn a residual commission for each sale that you send to the merchant's website, so not only will you earn a commission from the initial sale but also on a recurring basis usually each month. This is fast becoming one of the most popular types of affiliate program because you get rewarded multiple times for the same amount of effort used to generate a single sale.

Choosing which type of affiliate program is right for you will depend on what your budget is and what type of website you have. If you have a large content website that generates a lot of traffic, you may find it more profitable to use a Pay-Per-Lead affiliate program rather than the traditional Pay-Per-Sale.

But if you have a large budget to spend on advertising, it's a good idea to use a residual affiliate program in order to generate maximum profits. It's just a case experimenting and testing the different types of affiliates programs to see which best suits your website or budget.

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How To Generate An Income Online Using Proven Methods

As more and more people join the internet gold rush hoping to earn a living online, it's easy to become confused and lose your sense of direction because of the massive amount of information that is available and the many different ways of generating an income.

The process of marketing online can be broken down into two categories, generating an income without a website and generating an income with a website. It's possible to be successful with or without a website but each requires a completely different strategy and plan of action.

If you're just starting out and you don't have a website, the easiest way to start profiting involves either affiliate marketing or network marketing. Both can be extremely lucrative but without a website you will have to concentrate on buying traffic which can be expensive.

Affiliate Marketing

This involves selling other people's products as an affiliate by sending traffic to your unique affiliate link and earning a percentage commission of each sale that you generate. Depending on the product you're promoting you can either earn a one-time commission or a recurring commission.

In order to generate sales you will need to buy traffic from various sources, the most reliable of which is pay-per-click advertising (combined with retargeting) because you're only charged when people actually click on your link and you can start generating traffic immediately. Other forms of advertising include buying solo ads in ezines that are related to the product.

Setting up a successful pay-per-click advertising campaign can take a lot of time and effort and it can be difficult if there is a lot of competition from other advertisers. But with the right training it's still possible to create highly profitable campaigns in a variety of different niche markets.

Network Marketing

This involves joining a company that allows you to refer other people into your personal organisation by sending traffic to your unique referral link and earning a percentage commission for each person that you refer. Most opportunities offer recurring commissions on a monthly basis with extra incentives and bonuses for referring new members.

Similar to affiliate marketing, you will need to buy traffic from various sources if you want to recruit people into your organisation using methods such as pay-per-click advertising. Most opportunities will provide you with your own personal squeeze page and follow up messages that you can use to collect leads and recruit new members.

The most important part of network marketing is choosing the right company at the start because the industry has been tarnished by many opportunities that simply disappear without warning which has put many people off the idea of getting involved. But if you can find a company that is reputable with a quality product and it has been successful for a relatively long period of time you may want to try it out.

If you already have a website or want to create one, the most reliable way to generate an income involves either email marketing or product creation. Both can be extremely lucrative but it requires more work and dedication if you want to build a successful business and create long term success.

Email Marketing

This involves starting a newsletter or ezine and setting up your own website with a squeeze page so that you can collect new subscribers and build an opt-in list. Having your own responsive email list is regarded as one of the most reliable and consistent ways of generating repeat sales and long term profits on the internet.

Because you have your own website you're not limited to only buying traffic as you can take advantage of the many different ways of generating free traffic. This includes methods such as search engine optimization, article marketing, viral marketing, social marketing, and many others. Although generating traffic for free can be more time consuming, it's usually more targeted and results in higher conversion rates.

The main advantage of having your own opt-in list is that you can recommend products to your subscribers for free without having to pay for advertising and any sales that you generate are pure profit. If you provide quality content and unbiased views and opinions you will improve your credibility which will result in higher conversion rates. To generate more sales you can also pre-sell products by offering unique bonuses so that your subscribers buy from you and not your competition.

Product Creation

This involves creating a digital product such as an ebook or software application and setting up your own website with a sales letter so that you can convert visitors into customers. Creating a quality product requires detailed research and takes a lot of time and effort but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Similar to email marketing, you will be able to generate traffic for free because you have your own website but as you have your own product you can also set up joint ventures with other list owners. This is the main advantage of having your own product because if it's high quality you can set up multiple joint ventures and generate and instant surge of sales.

Another benefit of having your own product is that you can use ClickBank to process orders and take advantage of their built-in affiliate program. Once you have generated a few sales you will appear in the ClickBank marketplace which is where the vast majority of affiliate marketers go to find products which they can promote. As you generate more sales your rankings in the marketplace will improve which in turn attracts more affiliates who will promote your product.

This is a brief summary of how to generate an income online and of course there are many other ways to earn a living on the internet with or without a website such as Google Adsense and eBay. It's just a case of finding which method suits your needs and fits your budget and how much time and effort you're prepared to put into it to become successful.

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How To Create A Website For Your Business

If you're new to the internet or you just want to have your own presence on the web, you may be wondering how you can set up your first domain name and website hosting account and what tools you will need for creating HTML pages and transferring files.

The process of creating your own website may seem daunting at first but it's actually very easy and it's essential that you master this skill if you're serious about earning a living on the internet. Without your own website you will find it much harder to generate consistent profits and long term success.

Domain Name

The first thing you will need is a domain name which is very important because you need to choose a name that accurately represents what you intend to use it for. It's best to use a .com domain because this is what people are familiar with, but as they are the most popular it can be hard to find names that are available so you may want to use a .net or .info domain extension instead (adding hyphens between words can find available names).

When you have decided which niche you want to target, it's important that you find out what search terms are used by your target market because if you include a few keywords in your domain name it can help you improve your rankings in the search engines. Companies such as GoDaddy and NameCheap offer affordable domain names with special deals and coupons for discounts.

Web Hosting

The next thing you will need is a website hosting account which is also very important because you need to choose a service that provides sufficient disk space and data transfer as well as supporting all of the latest versions of PHP, Perl, JavaScript, and CGI. It's best to use a service that provides live support and allocation for multiple domain names so that you can set up new websites in the future.

With website hosting accounts now available for as little as $3 per month for 50 gigabytes disk space and unlimited data transfer, there really is no need to use a free service anymore. Most companies will also allow you to upgrade your account to a more advanced plan if you ever need more disk space or data transfer.

HTML Editor

The next thing you will need is an HTML editor which is essential because it allows you to create and edit HTML pages which are used for your website. It uses a simple 'what you see is what you get' (WYSIWYG) interface which allows you to quickly and easily create pages exactly how you want them without needing to write any HTML code.

There are many free tools that you can use but if you're serious about your business you should consider buying a more advanced HTML editor such as DreamWeaver as this will make it much easier and faster to create websites. It has all of the essential features that you would expect and many which are not available with free HTML editors.

FTP Client

The final thing you will need is an FTP client such as FileZilla which is essential because it allows you to connect to a server and transfer files into your website hosting account. It allows you to either transfer files in ASCII or binary and also set permissions using the CHMOD feature. Without an FTP client you will have no way of transferring your HTML pages into your website hosting account.

There are of course other features of your website hosting which you will need to learn how to use such as how to set up an email account for your domain and how to create a MySQL database for a blog or forum. It may seem complicated but it's actually very simple and you can always get support from your host if you need any help.

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How To Choose A Web Hosting Service For Your Business

Having your own website is essential if you want to become successful online, but how do you choose which hosting plan is right for you? There are many factors that you need to be aware of before you decide which company you want to use.

Firstly, you may have considered using a free hosting service for your first website but there are some major disadvantages such as disk space and data transfer restrictions, banner or pop up adverts which you have no control over, and a lack of personal support if you require any help.

With website hosting accounts now available for as little as $3 per month for 50 gigabytes disk space and unlimited data transfer, there really is no need to use a free service anymore. The following tips will help you decide which type of hosting you will need for your business.

1) The amount of disk space you require. If you plan on creating a large website with hundreds or thousands of content pages and various scripts you will need a hosting plan that offers unlimited disk space so that you never have to worry about how large your website gets. Some hosting plans offer a set amount of disk space with no ability to upgrade to get more so if you reach the limit you will need to find a new host and transfer your entire website which can be very stressful and time consuming.

2) The amount of data transfer you require. If you plan on sending a large amount of visitors to your website every month you will need a hosting plan that offers a large amount of data transfer (also known as bandwidth) so that you never have to worry about how much traffic you send to your website. If you reach the limit of your allocated monthly data transfer your website will become unavailable for the rest of the month which can result in a massive loss of profits.

3) The number of domain names you require. If you plan on creating many different websites you will need a hosting plan that offers the ability to host multiple separate domains on one account so that you don't have to create a new account for each domain name.

4) Support for the latest versions of PHP, Perl, JavaScript, and CGI. This is essential if you intend to install various scripts on your website such as blogs, forums, membership portals, and article directories.

5) Access to MySQL, SSL, and shopping cart. If you plan on using scripts on your website you will need to be able to create MySQL databases and if you want to collect credit card information you will need SSL for encrypted security.

6) Support for HTML editors. Whether you use DreamWeaver or FrontPage, you will need a hosting plan that offers compatibility with many different HTML editors in case you decide to switch and use one over the other.

7) Personalized email accounts. It's important to be able to create personalized email addresses for your domain names including mail forwarding addresses, catch-all addresses, autoresponder addresses, and the ability to retrieve mail with your email software.

8) Shared or dedicated server. The problem with a shared server (also known as a virtual server) is that only a small amount of disk space and data transfer is available and many other websites will be hosted on the same server which can reduce the loading speed and availability of your website. It's far better and safer to use a dedicated server because your website will be the only one using it and you will have far more disk space and data transfer.

9) Windows or Linux server. In the past, there were some major differences between Windows and Linux based servers but recent improvements have meant that these differences have now diminished to the point where you can make your choice of hosting company based on the features they offer rather than the operating system.

10) Live support. This is one of the most important factors when choosing a website host because if you ever have any problems you need to be able to instantly communicate with a professional to solve the issue. It can be very frustrating if you have to wait a few days for your help desk ticket to be answered.

This is a brief overview of what you should look out for before you decide to purchase a website hosting package. It's a good idea to plan for the long term and buy as much disk space and data transfer as you can afford to ensure that you don't run into any problems in the future, although most website hosting companies make it easy to upgrade when needed. Popular services such as MaxBounty Hosting provide excellent support and affordable plans for every type of marketer and business owner.

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How To Choose A Domain Name For Your Business

Once you have decided that you want to have your own website on the internet, it's essential that you choose a domain name that accurately represents what you plan to use it for and what extra features you need to get the most out of it.

With over 350 million registered domains on the internet, it's becoming harder and harder to find relevant names that are available which are related to the topic you want to target, especially for .com domain names which are by far the most popular. For this reason, there are now many other types of domain extensions which you can choose from such as .net and .info with more being added every year.

Finding A Domain

The first thing you will need to do is visit a website such as GoDaddy or NameCheap and start searching for available .com domain names using the search feature on their home page. As most names are already taken, you will probably need to use three or more words to find one that is available (you can also use hyphens between each word to find available names).

Because people are familiar with .com domains you should start searching for them first, but it's not absolutely necessary and you can find a much shorter name using a different extension. It's important to note that the extension of your domain will not affect the performance of your website or how well it operates.

Using Keyword Phrases

If you want to generate free traffic from the search engines and achieve top rankings, you should try to use keyword phrases that you want to target in your domain name. So if you want to start a website about losing weight you should try to use words like 'weight loss' or 'diet' in the domain name to help your rankings in the search engines for those keywords.

Just having a popular keyword in your domain name is not enough to achieve top rankings but it will help the search engines identify what your website is about, so it's important that you include at least one keyword that relates to the market you want to target if you want to generate free traffic in the future.

Adding Private Registration

When you have found a domain name for your website you should seriously consider adding the private registration option to your order. This will protect your domain from unwanted attention by hiding your personal details such as your email address which could be collected by spammers.

After you have purchased a domain name, you will need to find a website hosting plan that suits your needs and meets your requirements depending on how much disk space and data transfer you need. Once you have a hosting account, you can set up your website and have it up and running within a matter of hours.