Blogcritics Author: Jinger Jarrett

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Marketing on Clickbank: An Interview

Jinger Jarrett — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:43:37 EDT

Dylan Loh has been actively involved in internet marketing since 2004.He's a firm believer that the 'you-rub-my-back-I-rub-yours' mentality is the way ahead for internet marketing. He's dedicated to helping people like you succeed and he's reached half that goal with his flagship site: ClickbankProfitMachine.com.He has a wide variety of interests. He likes to read graphic novels and is an avid collector of them (100+) and even has a site dedicated to graphic novels. Never able stand stagnation, he loves taking his dog for long walks in the park and also a good game of football.Dylan is still serving his mandatory 2 year Army service in Singapore and will be out of it come September the 8th when he'll be concentrating full time on his internet marketing interests.Jinger: I've read your ebook "Clickbank Profit Machine". You really explain in plain language how to get the most out of marketing Clickbank products. Would you explain what led you to write this ebook?Dylan: Thanks for the compliment Jinger. The main impetus behind the whole book actually stems from my own frustration. My frustration at not being able to find a single book that explains in detail for the (newbie - intermediate marketer) how to work the Clickbank 'monster'.I got parts of the picture from this book, another piece from that one and so on and so forth... It was REALLY time consuming and expensive. I wanted to create an ebook which presented alll the 'meat' to the marketer, allowing him to concentrate on doing what he/she should be doing - Making money!Jinger: Why do you market Clickbank products?Dylan: My honest opinion is this: Clickbank has the best digital product download system. It's payouts are clean, simple and timely. You can be sure of finding a winner in the marketplace (to promote) because of the sheer number of merchants selling though Clickbank.Over the years, Clickbank has achieved a 'top-of-the-mind' positioning. So when a digital retailer wants to bring his next big thing to the net, it's Clickbank that comes to the mind FIRST.Of course, if I had it my way, I'd like to see more features incorporated. For example, a 2-tier affiliate system. But the bottom line is, marketing Clickbank products is easy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have created a product based entirely on it :)Jinger: What internet marketing technique do you find to be the most effective, and how do you use it? Would you tell us one or two of your best marketing tips?Dylan: Sure! I find article marketing to be very very effective for me. It's free, its fun and it has been very profitable. There's a multitude of reasons why you should get started on articles.I'll share a little something here. An article Search Engine Optimiser tip.Say, you promote a muscle gaining ebook on Clickbank and want to write a few articles on it. Well, your first thought for the article would be to create an attention grabbing article title right? Maybe something like: "A sure-fire guaranteed way to build a six-pack in just 15 days!" Maybe not the best example but you can expect plenty of attention from it. BUT having a headline like this presents a problem.Search engines pick up articles and places a greater importance on the first THREE words of an article. So essentially your words here are "a sure fire" and that doesn't build anything meaningful.A headline like 'Build strong muscles in 15 days' would serve you better because the words 'build strong muscles' are something you'd expect your target market to search on. I've written articles both ways (attention grabbing vs Seo) and have fairly better results with the ones that are 'seo-ed'.For an example of an 'seo-ed' article I did, search for 'promote clickbank'. You can see several listings on the 1st and 2nd page for an article I wrote :)Forum marketing is also another free methods I use to market products effectively. I believe Jinger has listed an article I wrote on that on her website so you can check that out as well.Jinger: What trends do you see at Clickbank? What do you see in the future of affiliate marketing, as well as marketing Clickbank products?Dylan: Clickbank is undergoing a revival of some sorts. It has added tons of new features and I can see it continue doing so.I see more and more newbie marketers jumping into Clickbank and selling their hastily created products before proper research. It's true you've got to have your own product BUT to jump in without any proof of success and without any proper knowledge would spell failure.It'll get increasingly harder to dig out good products to promote and the competition will get tougher.Jinger: What projects are you currently working on, and where do you plan to take your business from here?Dylan: I'm working on a few projects at the moment. My new project has gone live not too long ago, ListProfitMachine.com, it's about profiting from free traffic exchanges.I'll also have my personal marketing blog up soon at DylanLoh.com.I'm in joint collaboration with a fellow marketer to create a membership site. It'll be one where we'll be testing out various advertising sources and placing a ranking system so that members will know which traffic source works and which doesn't.I'll be rolling out a new product on article marketing. It'll be extremely comprehensive and will cover all aspects of it.Sounds like a busy year for me!Jinger: Thanks for your time Dylan.

Jinger Jarrett wants to show you how to put your traffic on steroids when marketing affiliate programs. Grab your free copy of "Traffic, Signups, and Sales" from her blog. Or read her free ebook: "Internet Marketing for Free: The GUIDE".

Marketing on MySpace: An Interview

Jinger Jarrett — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:41:00 EDT

Matthew Sherborne started marketing on the Internet in 1998 with his first website devoted to his commercial diving business. Matthew accumulated real-life knowledge of using low-cost advertising techniques and continually searched for new and innovative marketing methods. Through all of his research looking for the perfect system of promotion, he’s discovered the most successful method has always been word of mouth advertising. With that knowledge he’s been an enthusiastic supporter of searching and utilizing viral marketing techniques.Since selling his diving service business in 2002 he's traveled from San Diego to Hawaii and finally to the San Francisco Bay area. Working a variety of labor intensive jobs, above and below ground and water, he decided in early 2005 to put 100 percent of his effort into internet marketing. Since that time he's focused exclusively on the most effective low-cost marketing techniques to boost his online business. He now offers the very same techniques that's made him successful and yielded incredible results. Matthew has a passion for marketing and it shows as he shares today's most radically effective promotional techniques.Matthew will take you behind the scenes to show you exactly how he makes his lucrative income and how he markets his own business online. With his “nothing held back” philosophy you can expect to get all of the inside secrets and sales boosting tactics to use on your very own online business.Jinger: I read your ebook, "MySpace Cash Machine", and it is excellent. How did you get started marketing on MySpace, and how did you find all of the techniques for marketing on MySpace?Matthew: I got started marketing on MySpace quite by accident in late 2005, in fact if not for a musician friend of mine, I would have missed it entirely. He sent me to his My Space profile and told me how he was receiving some great exposure to his website from linking there. I’d heard in the media that MySpace was literally exploding in popularity and that was enough for me to take the opportunity seriously enough to learn more. I discovered not only was MySpace fast becoming the most popular website online, it held the potential to reach millions of people for free. After some research I found that the most commented on and popular profiles were the ones that focused entirely on one subject and did so enthusiastically. Then I carefully studied what others were doing on their MySpace profiles in regards to sending bulletins, comments and setting up profiles. My ultimate goal was to uncover exactly how they were making money. I then replicated the successful money-making techniques by fine tuning my profile and website offer. By targeting one specific high-paying niche, it maximized results and brought more income. I then looked for other high interest topics within MySpace and started experimenting with a variety of niche topics with different themed profiles designed to funnel people to websites exactly suited to their wants.Jinger: Why do you think MySpace is such an effective place to market your business? Why would you recommend MySpace?Matthew: For starters, MySpace currently has more than an 80 percent market share over all social networking websites. This accounts for a total number of profiles in excess of 100 million and My Space is currently ranked the 5th most visited website on the planet. As you can imagine the sheer number of people on MySpace makes it an extremely attractive place to find hungry customers.Coupled with the fact that MySpace allows you to customize your own webpage with HTML code and CSS to give it any kind of look you want and link to outside sources is irresistible. Imagine the potential of having a popular profile centered around a lucrative keyword and linking it to your own Adsense monetized website or sales page.Once you’ve got a popular profile it becomes an incredible opportunity just waiting for you to plug in to it. Through the use of groups, forums, messages, events, comments, blogs, videos and classified advertising you have a multitude of ways to reach people interested in your products and turn them into your customers.You can use MySpace to get targeted customers for virtually any product you have to offer and you can grow your opt-in lists to continue the selling process. The best part is, you can use MySpace to tap in to the most powerful kind of marketing ever known, word of mouth.Jinger: What marketing technique do you find to be the most effective, and how do you use it? Would you tell us one or two of your best marketing tips?Matthew: As a marketer, the most important key to remember is that your MySpace profile is created to attract viewers to your website. To do this, you must determine the most remarkable aspect of your product and turn that into your own persuasive story. Your whole profile must reflect your unique story and be structured so that it not only appeals to your target audience but compels them to find out more.Your MySpace picture is often the first thing that people see; make sure you have one that stands out. The best pictures stir up an emotion in its viewer. A good rule of thumb is to select pictures that are relevant to your product and audience. My favorite strategy is to use a movable gif that is a little larger than the average and captures the viewer’s attention.You’ll want to spend time selecting a strong headline for your profile since it will appear next to your picture. It will also be visible from comments you leave on other profiles and on the MySpace search function. It’s important that you use proper search engine optimization techniques in your headline and throughout your profile’s content. The headline should reflect your overall strategy with important keywords.Leveraging the efforts of many is key to building a profitable MySpace marketing business. One of the best ways to market your offer on MySpace after you’ve established your profile is through the use of groups. You have the opportunity to start a group on virtually any topic you want. When you start a group you have control over who can join and its content. To get your group started send a bulletin to everyone on your friends list. Once you’ve got a loyal following to your group, people will gladly share the information with others.If you want to send viewers to a specific offer, sending bulletins to your MySpace profile’s friends list will get you instant results. You can use bulletins to offer something of perceived value to gain the acceptance of friends and have them become outspoken advocates for your product.Commenting on popular profiles will get people coming to check you out. People on My Space love to share things with each other. If you have a unique video, funny picture or contest, you can post it on popular profiles and really spread your message. Once the word is out, its potential to spread is limitless.Jinger: What trends do you see in marketing on MySpace? What do you see in the future of MySpace?Matthew: MySpace has grown so fast due in large part to its success facilitating direct person to person interaction. Whether it's sharing pictures, videos or content, people are moving away from disruptive media sources and embracing those that involve user generated content. You can expect to see more consumer created media begin to appear on profiles and anticipate more people willing to share it.In the near future people will not only research a particular product, but go to MySpace to learn about the product’s creator. Building relationships and connecting with others of like mind is what MySpace is all about . For savvy marketers, this means allowing the consumer to feel like they have a direct connection with you. Marketers who expose others to non interruptive sources of information will have the greatest success, as quality content becomes the accepted norm. Competition will intensify among traditional advertisers as the ad dollars spent on social networks approaches the billions. With its massive success MySpace will branch out to being viewed via cell phones and expand to other countries like China and Japan. Most importantly, successful online marketing will transform to become continually viral. Instead of buying a product based on brand alone, consumers will seek out and follow the recommendations of others. Marketers who have framed their message to be extraordinary will benefit from having it shared and heard worldwide.Jinger: What projects are you currently working on, and where do you plan to take your business from here?Matthew: My future is focused primarily on helping other small business owners strategically place themselves in their market to stand out among the corporations without spending a fortune. The objective is to build resources that bridge the gap between consumers and marketers and generate customers who become outspoken supporters.My latest project is called “Explode Your Ad.” With it you’ll discover how to put your marketing message in the hands of others who are willing to add to it, share it and increase its effectiveness remarkably. Additionally, I’m releasing a website promotion course titled “Blast Your .Com” that will explain step-by-step the most effective ways to promote your website online.I plan on taking my business forward by concentrating on the most effective new forms of media. You’ll hear a whole lot more of me as I venture into online video, audio products and viral promotions. My business plan incorporates a series of interconnected products all pursuing the goal of pushing the marketing boundaries to new limits.Jinger: Thank you Matthew.

What You Need to Know First About Internet Marketing

Jinger Jarrett — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 17:55:17 EDT

When you are first starting your business online, you need to carefully consider what type of business you will build. Do you need a website? What kinds of products and services will you offer? Will they be your own or someone else's?Once you've decided on the business model you want to use, and you've created a website, or at least a plan, then you need to take a careful look at internet marketing.Your internet marketing techniques can include: search engine marketing (both search engine optimization and pay per click advertising), banner advertising, e-mail marketing, affiliate marketing, interactive advertising, and email advertising. You should also consider other techniques like article writing, press release writing, and free classified advertising.Other aspects that will affect your marketing plan include information management, customer service, and sales.Whatever techniques you decide to use, the central focus of your marketing efforts should be building a list. This allows you to recycle your traffic. Most won't buy on the first shot, so if you're not capturing contact information, you're leaving a lot of money on the table.Another important aspect you should first consider is: how you want to market your business, how you will implement these marketing strategies, and how much effort you should put into these techniques.Although no one mentions it, it's a waste of time to commit to an internet marketing technique, no matter how effective, if you simply won't do it. When you implement your internet marketing campaign, it should be both specific to your website and your target market. I think we can all agree that anyone who is interested in doing business on the internet should at least take time to learn about what it is you're getting into. Do your homework first. Learn what techniques actually work. Learn how to implement these techniques, and then adapt these techniques to your business. Internet marketing is a long-term commitment between you and your online customer base. If you're just in this for the money, then you're wasting your time. Eventually customers will see through what you're doing and go elsewhere.The truth is, internet marketing is definitely not for the faint of heart. Internet marketing is easy once you actually take the time to learn how to do it, but you won't see success overnight. You're building a business.Financial freedom, control over your time, and being able to live the life you want is important. You want to run your business, not have your business run you.Your ultimate goal is to understand what customers want on your given topic and then give it to them. You'll find it easier to make the sale.Once you implement your plan, then automate as much as possible. This is very important. Don't waste your time doing things like processing unsubscribe requests when you can simply use an autoresponder to capture leads.I can't emphasize this enough: do your homework. Learn the terminology of internet marketing. If you don't know something as simple as what an affiliate program is, or how to use upsells and cross sells, you'll lose easy money.

7 Reasons You Might Want to Get Out of Internet Marketing

Jinger Jarrett — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 17:04:26 EDT

I've been in internet marketing a long time, or at least a long time for the internet. I've seen some crazy things.Although some people are too ignorant, too greedy, or sometimes just too lazy to do what needs to be done, if you're involved in internet marketing, you may want to reconsider what you're doing. If what you're doing isn't working, or you don't have the requisite skills to to get the job done, maybe you need to either learn the skills or simply get out of internet marketing.Here are some of the things I've seen that are just plain abusive. If you're doing any of these things, you're sabotaging your efforts at success.If you're a site owner who's dealing with this kind of abuse, I've provided some tips to help you cope more effectively.1. The customer orders a product, but doesn't read the instructions, and then claims the product doesn't work.Often, when this happens, the person who purchased the product doesn't have the requisite skills to use the product. This is pretty common with installing scripts. If you're having trouble, learn the terminology first. If you don't know what something means, don't remain ignorant. Go over to Wikipedia and look it up.If you're a site owner, make sure the product is a finished product before sending it to market. Include step by step instructions for installation and make sure the instructions work.2. The customer orders the product and then doesn't receive the confirmation email immediately. The customer then proceeds to call the owner of the product at home after business hours and then wonders why the product owner is upset.For customers, prior to contacting the business by phone, try email. A professional business will have contact procedures in place, as well as some type of support desk. Use respect with site owners.Tolerance is about showing respect for others. It isn't about agreement, and no one has the right to abuse someone else's time or life.When and how you choose to work is your business, but don't impose on others because you want to be catered to.3. The freebie seeker/tire kicker demands that a marketer teach his/her secrets for free, usually through a phone consultation or having the marketer do the work for the customer for free.Recently I had two requests just like this one. The way to handle it is to state your rates for consulting, as well as doing the work up front. People like this will go away and stop wasting your time.4. The visitor subscribes to a list where the owner has made it abundantly clear he/she will receive follow up emails. Instead of simply scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking the unsubscribe link, the visitor writes the site owner and asks to be unsubscribed. I get that one a lot. Seems some people just don't understand that professional business owners use autoresponders so the process is automated. It's unnecessary to hit reply and send an email to have the site owner click the link for you.5. The visitor subscribes to a list as in the example above. Instead of simply clicking the unsubscribe link, he/she sends a threatening email to the site owner.These are the people I have learned to block from my system, as well as block from my email. I don't allow them to contact me anymore. There's no excuse for being abusive.If you are someone who does this, be careful. You could find yourself facing law enforcement if the site owner believes the threat to be real.6. The visitor subscribes to the list and then turns on his/her autoresponder to send messages to the site owner to make a sale.Unless you're on vacation or out of the office, turn it off!If you're a site owner, hit the delete key. It's been my experience that people like this won't answer you if you have a question about the person's offer anyway. He/she will only send you another autoresponse with the same information.7. The new internet marketer signs up for a program where he/she can send 100,000,000 emails a day.This type of marketing is not only a complete waste of time, it's illegal. It's called spam, and it's not targeted anyway.I don't use male enhancement, I'm not looking to pick up a woman, and I don't believe that pills do anything for you except treat the symptoms. I don't buy from people I don't know, and I certainly wouldn't buy prescription drugs from someone who uses spam.Again, hit the delete key!The bottom line is this: we all have to put up with a certain amount of ignorance on the internet. It's expected. However, there's a limit to what is considered good business practice. If you don't want the same thing done to you, don't do it to someone else.It takes patience and commitment to build a business online. If it didn't, we'd all be millionaires. Do your due diligence, treat others with respect, and build a rock solid foundation for your business. You will succeed.

5 Powerful Ways to Earn More Money From Affiliate Programs

Jinger Jarrett — Tue, 29 May 2007 11:29:12 EDT

Much has been written about joining affiliate networks like Clickbank, and finding lucrative affiliate programs that pay well.However, there's more to monetizing your sites with affiliate programs than just programs that are lucrative. Although the overall topic of your site should influence the type of affiliate programs you decide to join, you should also consider combining different types of programs to increase your commissions.When thinking about monetizing your business with affiliate programs, there are five factors you should consider that can help you more easily increase your commissions.These factors are important regardless of whether you are an affiliate wanting to increase your income, or a business owner selling your own products and wanting to increase your backend income.Although I'm sure there are more, these factors can help you increase your overall commissions when you implement them in your affiliate business.1. Two TierInternet marketer Mike Merz once said that he would only promote two tier programs, so if you wanted to joint venture with him, you have to have a two tier affiliate structure.I didn't quite understand why he said this until I studied two tier programs.With a two tier, there are actually two ways you make money. First is through referring others to the merchant. The second is through referring other affiliates. By referring other affiliates, not only do you earn on your sales, but you also earn on their sales.This is a major form of leverage. It allows you to earn from the efforts of others. You can create a long term passive income when you use this strategy.2. Members' Only Affiliate ProgramsWith members' only affiliate programs, which can be any type of affiliate program, your biggest advantage is competition, or a lack of it.Most members' only affiliate programs are usually memberships, and most usually have a monthly fee. Once you refer someone to the program, you can continue to earn income for as long as the person is a member of the program.Again, what makes this type of referral more lucrative is not only do you have recurring income, but you have less competition on your referrals.3. Recurring incomeNot all membership sites require you to join. Some will allow you to join their affiliate program without joining the actual program.Again, you have the opportunity to earn as long as the person stays a member. Let me caution you on this one though: be careful about promoting affiliate programs you don't own. A bad referral can cost you money.4. Lifetime CommissionsWith lifetime commissions, you make the referral to the website, one time, and the visitor is permanently "cookied" to your affiliate ID. What this means is that each time the visitor purchases, you've made a sale, and you get credit.This type of commission is usually paid on membership sites, but there are some sites that offer lifetime commissions on all of their products, so you can get paid for new sales on individual products.5. VPM SitesViral Profit Machine (VPM) is a new model of affiliate marketing invented by internet marketers Jon Leger and Alok Jain. What this model allows you to do is to offer to share your commissions from your sales of products from programs like Clickbank, PayDotCom, and $7 ebooks. In other words, it's revenue sharing on steroids. Site owners can allow you to be "cookied" for your referrals for longer periods of time, and affiliates can earn commissions on email promotions, as well as site referrals.Instead of making one sale, affiliates can make multiple sales from the same referral.The advantage of this type of system is that it adds a viral marketing aspect to affiliate marketing that was previously missing. It also allows affiliates to earn more from customers.A major advantage here that's lacking in other affiliate program models is that sites that sell affiliate products can share revenue with visitors. This model allows affiliates to create an affiliate program for their sites and blogs and share revenue from referrals.What's important to remember is that each of these factors can be combined. These are simply elements you should consider when joining affiliate programs. By considering these elements in marketing affiliate programs, you can avoid leaving money on the table.

Are You Googlelized?

Jinger Jarrett — Fri, 2 Mar 2007 18:33:57 EST

Google wants your business. So much so they're creating all kinds of neat tools to index your site in different ways, and many of them free. You can use these tools to help you build your business.Although a ton of products are being sold to tell you how to use Google Videos, Google has so much more to offer the one person small business owner who truly wants to make money online.All you need is a Gmail acccount, which you can get for free, and then you can access all of the tools Google offers.If you really want to jumpstart your sales, especially as a new business, learn how to do things the Google way, and you can make a lot more money. Using this site is also an easy way to set up your marketing campaign because once you set it up, you can basically forget about it. This is crucial if you are a one person business. Then you can spend your time doing other things that make you money.To access all of the Google tools available to you, you can visit Google's services page. Below is a list of tools and resources you have available to you. Unless otherwise specified, all of these tools and resources are free to use.Gmail - This suite of tools includes email, calender, instant messaging, and Google Page Creator. You can use these tools to communicate with your employees, as well as your customers. You can also build basic websites. Since this website building tool is owned by Google, your site will get spidered quickly.Google Adwords/Adsense - Advertise your business on Google. You can get started and start getting traffic within 15 minutes. Google has created some tools to help you including their Adwords ebook, as well as the Adwords Editor that will speed up your promotion efforts.You can also make money by adding Adsense to your sites.Google Analytics - Need more sophisticated services for tracking your visitors? Want to know where they came from? Find out everything you ever wanted to know about your customers and their surfing habits, as well as buying habits. Google Base - Don't have a website? With Google Base you don't need one. Add your products and services to Google Base and then combine it with Google Checkout to make the sale. In fact, you can even organize your content according to type and submit it using datafeed files. This includes articles, recipes, and any other content you want to present in an organized way.Google Books - Want to sell more of your books? Then add it here. It only takes about five minutes, and it can increase your sales. Despite what many have said about this program, authors and publishers have complete control over their material.Google Checkout - Want to sell more of your products and services without paying more? Integrate Google Checkout into your business and you can attract more leads, make more sales, and even process those sales for free.Google Documents and Spreadsheets (Writely) - Whether you need to create or edit documents and spreadsheets, you can use this tool. Allows sharing of your documents with others.Google Groups - Find lists and discussions on just about any topic you can imagine. Since lists are more like to get read, you'll have a better chance of getting the word out about your products.Google Maps - Add your business listing to Google so customers can find you in local search.Google Maps for Enterprise - Want customers to find you? You can use Google maps to not only help customers find you, but you can also use it to map customer locations and track shipments.Google Search - Offer your visitors a customized search of your website. You can also create your own customized search engine for your business using Google technology.Google Videos - Because Google Videos is so new, it's really a great time to cash in with your videos. You can easily upload them so others can watch. It's also a great way of sharing information about your business.And then of course, there's Blogger. With a Blogger blog, you'll find your content spidered within 24 hours. Post content type posts, instead of blatant sales letters, and you'll find an audience.There's a whole lot more. You can find out about even more resources to help you promote your business at Google's More Products page. Although Google is ranked number three overall on the internet behind Yahoo and MSN, they're still a major player on the internet. They want your business, and they've designed tools and resources to help you that the other two search engines don't offer. With all of the free promotion opportunities available to you, what are you waiting for?

The Number One Secret to Internet Marketing Success

Jinger Jarrett — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:29:09 EST

The number one rule in Internet marketing is: Target your market.This is good advice. If you don't know who your target market is, you will have a lot of trouble selling your products or services. However, before you can determine who your target market is, you need to know who your competition is.My Mom always told me, "Actions speak louder than words". What she was saying is that you can listen to what other people are saying, but if you really want to know what they are really thinking, you need to watch what they are doing.A lot has been said about Internet marketing gurus, and how they will never tell you their real secrets to Internet marketing. If they did, you could easily become their competition. You don't have to reinvent the wheel, just market better, and offer more value. This is how you put your competition out of business.I believe this is true. I also know that many of the top named Internet marketing "gurus" took offline marketing techniques and adapted them to the Internet, and used these techniques to catapult them to success. They also continue to use the same techniques offline.Understanding what your competition is really doing is your first, and most important step, to success.So, how do you get started?First, you need to do a search in the search engines. I use Alexa for this because Alexa delivers a lot more information about websites than standard search engines. To me, Alexa is a marketer's paradise because of all the information it offers.Start by selecting the market your site fits into. You can be as general or as specific as you want to be. However, the more specific you are, the more likely you are to nail down your market.For example, if you sell fishing equipment, put the search term in quotes and then do a search for "fishing equipment". This will help you really narrow down the sites that will be your competition.Next, you really want to study the sites you are competing against. This is especially true if you sell anything related to Internet marketing. You really want to find out if the person really "practices what he preaches".(I personally am always skeptical of buying from marketers that don't provide examples of their results with products they are promoting. This is especially important with each new trend we see in Internet marketing.If you can't find examples in action by marketers who are touting certain products, don't buy. This is especially true with blogging scripts and tools, Adsense (you want to see one of their sites), or any other marketing techniques.Now you're probably wondering what things you're looking for when you visit your competition's site.Here are a few:1. What is the site's Alexa ranking?One of the factors Alexa uses to rank sites is the amount of traffic they get. As long as the traffic is targeted, lots of traffic should lead to lots of sales although this isn't always the case.The further your niche, the lower the ranking may be. This doesn't necessarily mean the site doesn't get a lot of traffic or that its not making any money. This is only one factor you need to consider.2. How many sites did you find for the search term?Depending on the search engine, you'll find different search engines offer different results. In the case of our term "fishing equipment", Alexa returned 718,000 results. The number one site returned had no traffic data, so you'll definitely want to study sites like these. If the site achieves a number ranking for the term, but it has no traffic data, studying it will give you insight into how the site is being marketed.You can do a search by URL and get more detailed traffic rankings. You can also find out what sites link back to the site. This will tell you if you the site is using an affiliate program to increase sales, as well as any partners the site may have.Once you get to the site, there are several factors you may want to consider:1. What keywords does the site use?You can find out by viewing the source of the site. This isn't about copying or stealing. You are doing this for informational purposes only.2. What type of site did you find?Is it a content site, a sales letter, a sales site? This is an important question because it will help you in creating and formatting your own site.Although sales letter sites are great for making sales, they don't do well in the search engines. Also, the idea of giving people only one choice isn't the only way to make money either. Internet searchers are looking for content too, and they have a minimum of two choices on your site. Depending on the type of site, they can accept your offer or click away.If you're offering what the potential customer is looking for, you have a better chance of making the sale, and as long as your potential customers don't have to dig too deep to find what they're looking for, you won't have too much trouble making the sale.3. Does the site offer a list?The site owner is leaving money on the table without one. You need a list.If the site does have a list, join it. See what type of messages the site owner sends out, as well as frequency. Some site owners will even tell you how many subscribers they have on their lists.While you're at it, put yourself in your customers' shoes. Try to look at the site from your customers' viewpoint. There's a lot more you can learn from studying your competitors' sites. Studying a few Internet marketing gurus' sites will definitely help you, too. It won't take you long to discover how they market their sites, and what you learn can easily help you increase your bottom line.

Four Article Writing Mistakes Every Writer Makes

Jinger Jarrett — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:03:52 EDT

Writing articles is one of the most effective ways to promote your business regardless of whether you promote affiliate programs, MLM, or your own products and services.As an article directory owner, and someone who uses articles to promote my business, there are several mistakes I see article writers make that sabotage their articles. Below is a list of four of them, and how you can correct them so you get more traffic and more sales from your articles.1. Weak TitlesYour title should effectively describe what your article is about. Many writers don't take the time to craft titles that get results. It may be laziness or simply a lack of understanding of how to write good titles. If you want readers to read your article and click through your resource box, you need to craft an effective title.To do this, you need to treat your title like a headline. Write it as if you are writing a headline. You can search article directories to get ideas. You can also use keyword tools to help you find the right keywords to craft your article titles. Using the right keywords will help your article rank higher.2. Misplaced Affiliate LinksMost article directories, including mine, won't accept articles with affiliate links in the body. Sites like Ezine Articles don't accept article with affiliate links in the resource box. If you must use affiliate links in your articles, better buy a domain and point toward your resource.3. Long-Winded Resource BoxesI have children. Now I have grandchildren. I don't have any pets, but one day I may just buy a couple of Rottweilers as pets because I love them.Are you bored yet?Although you may find these facts about your life interesting, readers don't. When I read a resource box about a 34-year-old car enthusiast who owns her own auto parts shop, I yawn and then click away.The bottom line is: readers don't care about the details of your life. They want to know what you have to offer, and what you offer in your resource box had better be the next logical step in your article. Your article gives readers a taste; your resource box had better contain the next course. If it doesn't, readers will click away and you've lost them.4. Unrelated Resource BoxesMaybe you've written a great article. You've gotten the reader to read it all because you had an intriguing title and great information that makes your reader want to click through. Now it's time to deliver.If your article is about gardening, but your resource box is all about the next big thing in Internet marketing, kiss your reader goodbye.Readers want information. Your resource box should tell them where to go to get more information. If it doesn't, you've wasted your time and alienated your reader.If you're making these mistakes in your article writing, they're easy to correct. Correct these mistakes, and you'll draw your readers in and get them to click through to your site. Isn't that what good article writing is really all about?

Loving Others As They Are

Jinger Jarrett — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 21:44:41 EDT

Yesterday while in the local drugstore I had the opportunity to meet someone with Tourette's Syndrome. Tourette's Syndrome is a rare condition where an individual cannot always control his/her actions and movement.It can be mind jarring to meet someone with this condition because one minute he/she may seem perfectly normal and the next the person is screaming and saying things that make no sense.This woman seemed perfectly normal until she started screaming "Fire, fire, someone help me!"When she walked by me, she explained her condition to me and apologized. Never in my entire life, except during the deaths of my granddaughter and grandson, have I felt so deeply compassionate towards another person. I felt my heart break in that moment because of this woman's suffering.I felt so bad for her, and what's worse, I really didn't know what to say except that it was okay, she had nothing to apologize for.After she left, it really made me think.I don't always understand why God does what He does, or why He allows the things to happen that He allows. Nothing in this world, or the next, can happen without His say so. (Don't believe me? Read the book of Job.)What I do know is that there is absolutely nothing random about God. He's in control. Everything that happens happens because He allows it, and He has good reasons although we may not understand his reasoning.What I also know is that this woman, and each of us, is made in God's image. We are something special. No other creature in heaven or on earth can claim this privilege but human beings.God doesn't make junk. Everything He makes is extraordinary and special. What this woman taught me is this: we should never apologize for who and what we are. We are something special.Yes, all of us make mistakes. Sometimes we take what God has created and make it something preverted, evil, or wrong. The core of who we are though, comes from God, and that is never wrong.There are many people who are hurting today. They need our love. The Bible teaches us that the greatest commandment is to love God and love others as we love ourselves. The Bible also says that love covers a multitude of sins.The greatest gift we can offer others is to love them. Loving them isn't about who, or what, they are. It's about who we are.By learning to love ourselves, and then loving others, we become better. We become more of who we were meant to become.Love is the only thing that ever changed the world in a positive way.

Book Review: Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley and Ron Powers

Jinger Jarrett — Sat, 14 Oct 2006 14:54:25 EDT

It was only a replacement flag, but became the flag in the most famous photograph in history. Flags of Our Fathers begins in 1998, when James Bradley, son of one of the flag-raisers, travels to Iwo Jima to post a memorial to his father, John Bradley.But where the story truly begins is on a cold February day in 1945. Two days after the Marines landed on Iwo Jima, one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, five Marines and one Navy Corpsman placed a replacement flag on top of Mt. Suribachi.The photographer, Joe Rosenthal, wasn't even sure he got the photograph. He wouldn't know for weeks because the film would need to be air-lifted to Hawaii for processing before it was sent back to the States.The photo itself was only of the replacement flag anyway. The commander of the Marine force had ordered the original flag replaced because the Secretary of the Navy wanted it. The commander felt it belonged to the Marines.What happened next would stun the flag-raisers who survived. Days later the photo would circulate the globe, announcing that the Marines had taken Iwo Jima even though the battle had barely begun. For a nation tired of war, this didn't matter. The photo gave them hope, a hope they desperately needed to continue the war.Only three of the flagraisers would survive the battle; three died within days of raising the new flag.The book breaks down as follows: In Chapter One, Bradley tells us about his extraordinary trip to Iwo Jima to place a memorial to his father, John Bradley, the Navy Corpsman in the photo. In Chapter Two, he tells us briefly about the six men involved in raising the flag. Chapters Three through Fourteen cover the events leading up to that fateful day, beginning with these six men deciding to join the military. Readers are given a taste of the horrors of war as these men struggle to deal with what they see and experience as they take one Pacific island after another in an effort to defeat Japan. John Bradley, the corpsman everyone called "Doc", tries desperately to save these marines as they fought these bloody battles.The rest of the chapters cover the three survivors returning home to do a bond tour to raise money for the war, as well as what happened to them up until the time of their deaths.Although this book is a book about great events, it's also a very human story. It's a very personal story of how human beings learn to cope with the most horrific events imaginable. While one of these men seeks further fame for his role in the picture, the two remaining survivors struggle to return to "life as normal". Doc Bradley chooses to become a funeral director, to raise a family, and to try to create as normal a life as possible. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn't a term these survivors knew. They struggled in silence to deal with horrors they couldn't understand.Doc Bradley was the last of the survivors to die, in 1994. James Bradley uncovered the story of his father's heroism by accident when going through his papers. He discovered his father had won the Navy Cross, the Navy's second-highest honor for gallantry and bravery for his actions during World War II.This sent James Bradley on a four-year trek to discover the truth behind his father's actions. His journey ended when he placed the memorial on Iwo Jima.Ultimately, this is a story of truth, not media coverage. It can best be summed up by a quote from the book as these marines prepare to go overseas to fight at Iwo Jima:"Behind them, in safe America, Bing Crosby sang of a white Christmas, just like the ones he used to know. Ahead lay a hot island of black sand, where many of them would ensure a long future of Christmases in America by laying down their lives".What most Americans will never understand is that no one hates war more than the military service member. It is he/she, after all, who must die to protect the freedom we so richly enjoy.The book explains why such sacrifice is often necessary, and is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why freedom has such a high price. For everyone else, it's a compelling read about men who considered themselves ordinary and only wanted to do their jobs the best way they knew how.