Affiliate Marketing Q/A

First of all, congratulations! Now onto my questions:

1. What did you do for living before getting into the internet business?
I did programming & web design and i learned that these mesh extremely well with online marketing.

2. How did you do your first year?
My first year it only supplemented my income as I had a full time job. I made around $40k

3. Can you please give a brief real world example of how you do what you do?
I search for products to promote using tools like OfferVault (www.offervault.com) depending on current trends. I find the best payout, research the product, build a landing page to “pre-sell” it before they actually see the product website and advertise it using Facebook and/or Google. I generally use Facebook for promotional offers, dating, insurance, lead gen and then Google for everything else

4. How does this work? What kind of sites/blogs do you create? How does programming fit into this?
I’m basically an online salesman. I earn commission for selling products or sending targeted leads to clients. The best part is I never have to deal with or talk to a customer and I can flash my products in front of literally thousands of potential customers a day. Most of the time I create “landers,” a fancy name for a sales page. Server side programming like PHP isn’t as important as client side stuff like HTML/javascript and a nice design. On the page I talk about or review the product(s) and link the user to the actual sales page with the client. All clicks and sales/leads are tracked by a middle man called an “affiliate network” who has a direct relationship with the client. Think of affiliate networks as a store who gets their inventory from wholesalers and then sells it to the public. An affiliate network gets advertising campaigns from merchants at a certain amount per sale/lead and distributes them to the affiliates (people like me) to market at a lower payout so they can create a margin.

5. How can I make a landing page if my web development skills are very limited?
You need to learn more about making a website. You can always start by creating a blogger account or installing wordpress and create landing pages through blogs.

6. How does design help sell a product? Does color/font/whatever have much of an impact on what people buy?
Yeah, all that goes into affecting the decision of the end-user. I try to be as clean and simple as possible. I’ve found that landers that are more personalized or information based do well than commercialized. People who are looking to buy something online almost always look around for reviews. My strategy is to feed them the review, information, etc BEFORE they see the product site.

7. Would you recommend this path to others that have similar skills to your own? What advice and warnings would you give?
Anybody can do this. You don’t need any special skills. Programming and web design just allowed me to be able to earn faster than probably the average affiliate marketer. The best advice I could give is to:

a) Don’t be afraid to take risks.

b) It takes money to make money (at least if you want to earn real money)

c) Attend any of the major affiliate conferences like Ad:Tech or Affiliate Summit and you can learn a lot from keynotes in just a few days.

d) Test, discover, repeat.

8. What were your 3 most successful products last year?
Weight-loss, stretchmarks, and biz-opp (specifically Google biz-opp) products.

9. Can you name 3 things a beginner in the business should avoid doing – sort of classic mistakes?
1) Avoid new networks, only go with the known/proven networks.
2) Don’t get advice from affiliate marketing forums.
3) Don’t give up when you lose money. You will lose money, it’s part of the process.

10. If you were to start today, what would you do, how much time would you spend and how much would you make?
I got my start by building websites revolved around certain niches. I didn’t sell products… instead I wrote articles and manually created back links to the sites by trading links with other sites in the same niche and by submitting my links to social media sites. I monetized the sites with Google Adsense and banner ads. This is tedious because it can take a long time to make money as you’re solely depending on organic search engine rankings and back links. It’s a lot easier to do now though with programs like http://onlywire.com. When I started I had a full time job and I still dedicated 10-20 hours a week writing articles, creating back links, and optimizing my pages for the search engines.

However, if you were to start in this business today I would highly recommend skipping all that and getting right into marketing products through PPC with Google Adwords. It’s probably the easiest way to make money online and you can make a lot if you only knew the basics.

11. Has it gotten more difficult over the years?
It actually gets easier. Probably like mostly anything in life, the more you do something, the better you are at it and the easier it is to do. I still work a lot though… 50-60 hours a week. I could work a lot less if I wanted but it’s too fun.

12. 50-60 hours per week sounds OK. What do you do on a typical day?
As far as work goes I spend a lot of time reading affiliate news and following trends. I spend most of my time optimizing ads.

13. Speaking of optimizing ads… How many times have you been banned from Google AdWords?
They crack down the shady stuff which I no longer participate in. Google cracks down on account holders who are involved with all the shady rebill offers. Lots of marketers would simply create new accounts that they would use to make money for a few weeks at a time until those got shut down.

14. How much do you pay per click on adwords? Highest? Lowest?
I aim for the lowest I can get, but I’m currently bidding up to $3.00/click on one of my campaigns up right now.

15. How do you leverage Facebook?
On Facebook, I generally start by creating several ads targeting various demographics, different ad texts, different pictures and then letting them accumulate clicks. The ones that don’t convert or have a shitty click through rate, I delete. I keep filtering based on conversion rates and profits. Once I find the ads that work, I make more to target other demographics, etc. I keep doing this until I feel I have exhausted the targeting. You can use this method with Adwords too.. except with Adwords you’re targeting based on keywords.

16. How many domains do you own?
70-80

17. When you create a new campaign, how many variations of your ad copy and sales page will you split test at once? Do you split test both at once or one at a time?
The most I’ve ever split tested on Facebook would be 80. I spend days filtering though. Sometimes I will create tons of ads and find that none of them worked causing me to lose money. I don’t give up on it though, I’m at it again the next day.

18. Any websites/forums/blogs to get started? Can you mention any of the affiliate programs you’re using, or any you’d recommend for someone starting out?
Check out www.affbuzz.com and read/follow the bloggers in this industry. I don’t recommend getting advice from forums but some of the ones to check out would be www.digitalpoint.com, www.warriorforum.com, www.wickedfire.com but be careful there.

19. Do you have an offline network of colleagues you meet up with and talk about the business, trends..?
I know a lot of people in this business but the only times I see them face-to-face is at affiliate conferences. I usually attend 2 or 3 of them a year.

20. Isn’t it possible for someone who is working for the same affiliation site as you and selling the same product, to just google the product, find your website, and rip it?
That’s a big problem in this business, affiliates ripping other affiliates hard work… However, it’s part of the game. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. In fact, I live by multiple eggs, multiple baskets. I’ve contacted the web hosts on some of the people who have ripped my pages and successfully shut one down.

21. Ever had a network reneg on payment due to a client going defunct/bankrupt?
I’ve had problems with getting paid in the past. After that happened I made sure to stay with the proven networks. I will, however, from time to time join new networks if I find it to be the most direct connection with a client.

22. Do you do all your deals through networks or do you have some deals directly with companies?
I have recently started going over and above the networks directly to the client. You’d be surprised at how much money some of these networks are taking.

23. Why do you make so much when most people lose money trying to make money on the internet?
I’ve lost thousands and thousands of dollars online doing this. Most of the money that I lose is by testing and filtering my methods against different products. I may spend a couple thousand testing a product’s marketability until I can find that sweet spot in targeting. Once I’ve found the perfect target and I start seeing profits, it’s not uncommon to profit $2-$4k a day just from one campaign.

24. Do you pay taxes?
Yes.

Well there you go. I hope you learned something today. Thank you for your time and good luck.

Shopping: Naughty vs Nice Companies

Surely, no company would brag about squeezing every last nickel out of the American consumer by larding on questionable fees and hefty shipping costs, shortening return periods, and imposing obscene penalties for canceling contracts for everyday services.

Now that the holidays are here, we thought this would be the perfect time for our first ever naughty and nice list, a collection of customer-service policies we like or loathe because they strike us as particularly consumer friendly or not so friendly.

Consider it a pat on the back or a kick in the pants. We feel so strongly about the issue that we’re making the list the centerpiece of a holiday educational campaign, following in the footsteps of previous campaigns alerting shoppers to the tricks and traps of extended warranties, gift cards, and credit-card debt.

A couple of points for the record. The list is not derived from any exhaustive Consumer Reports study or survey. Rather, it’s based on input from our in-house reporters and editors, who cover shopping, travel, hospitality, telecommunications, and other franchise areas. While we’ve identified specific companies by name, we acknowledge that there are, of course, other large companies we haven’t singled out that have similar policies. And just because we mention a particular policy doesn’t mean we endorse—or dislike—everything else about that company or the way it does business.

That said, here’s our list, in no particular order. What policies do you think should be added to the list—for better or worse?

Nice:

1. Southwest. Two pieces of checked luggage, no charge. And that includes bulky freight such as golf clubs and skis.

2. L.L.Bean. 100 percent product satisfaction guarantee. Return anything at any time for any reason.

3. Zappos.com. Free shipping and free returns, including prepaid return label.

4. Costco. Open-ended return policy for virtually everything the warehouse retailer sells minus some home electronics, which come with a still-generous 90-day return period.

5. U.S. Cellular. While the FCC is proposing that cell carriers alert consumers who are about to exceed their plans’ monthly minutes allotment, which could lead to significant overage charges, this company is already practicing due diligence and giving its customers a heads up.

6. Orvis. For customer service the old-fashioned way, shoppers can call a toll-free number and speak to a human being without wading through an arcane automated menu system. Alternatively, Orvis offers live-chat with support staff, e-mail queries, and a guaranteed response time of two hours or less.

7 Hotels.com. The travel website never charges a fee to cancel or change a room booking. But it’s still imperative to check the hotel’s specific reservation policy to avoid any penalty imposed by the chain.

8. J&R. The electronics superstore and e-retailer has a straightforward price-match policy without the many caveats and fine-print exclusions of some other merchants: Find it at a lower price at an authorized seller (the exception being a warehouse membership club) and “we will do everything possible to meet or beat that price” via a special telephone hotline. J&R also gives customers 30 days to ask for a price adjustment on existing orders if they unearth a lower price.

9. Walmart. No receipt, no problem. Customers can return most items to a Walmart store for a cash refund (for purchases under $25), a gift card (for purchases over $25), or even exchange. There’s one catch: More than three such returns within 45 days requires a manager’s approval.

10. Publix. It’s no fun being sick, but if you need an antibiotic, the Florida-based supermarket chain will have its pharmacies dispense up to a 14-day supply for some of the most common generic ones free. All you need is a proper prescription.

Naughty:

1. Buy.com. No returns for “oversize” TV sets, defined as any model 27 inches or larger. If you fail to inspect set upon delivery and sign shipper’s release, Buy.com says it’s your problem and go deal with the manufacturer. Its website also lacks a phone number for customer contact.

2. CompUSA. For imposing unusually punitive restocking fees of “up to 25 percent” of the purchase price on any product the retailer decides doesn’t meet its return criteria. Nowhere is it spelled out which specific products are subject to such a fee.

3. Best Buy. Offers a 14-day grace period to return computers, monitors, camcorders, and digital cameras.

4. Spirit Airlines. The carrier, which pioneered “ancillary” fees among domestic airlines, charges for carry-on bags: $30 in advance, $45 at the gate.

5 Verizon Wireless. Doubled to $350 the Early Termination Fee imposed on consumers who cancel their smart-phone contract after the 30-day grace period. Mercifully, Verizon kept the penalty at $175 for consumers with conventional cell phones.

6. Dollar car rental. It’s bad enough that companies force you to pay for gas you never use if you choose not to refuel the vehicle yourself. But Dollar is even more penny pinching by demanding customers present a receipt to prove that they filled up the tank within 10 miles of the drop-off location or face a fee to top off the tank and the labor required to do so.

7. SanDisk. If mail-in rebates weren’t enough of a headache, SanDisk, which frequently dangles promotional offers for its memory cards, is a big fan of mail-in rebates which are issued in the form of a gift card. What’s wrong with an instant rebate at the register, a practice that the rival company Lexar began based on customer feedback?

8. Macy’s. Proving that high shipping fees are not necessarily a thing of the past, the department store chain calculates its freight charges on the dollar amount of the order, not the size and weight of the package. The base fee is $5.95 for orders under $25, to as much as $23.95 for those $300 or more. And that’s standard delivery.

9. United Airlines. No one wants to overpay on airfare, but you never really know whether you’re getting a rock-bottom price. As peace of mind, United offers customers a low-price guarantee. Find a lower fare on the company’s website for the same itinerary you already booked and not only will United give you the lower fare, but also a voucher good for 20 percent off your next purchase. But hold on. If you have a nonrefundable ticket—the type most people buy—and find a cheaper flight, United imposes a $150 “administrative” fee to make the change.

10. DirecTV. The California-based satellite TV firm, which has more than 18.7 million subscribers, has a policy that automatically extends a customer’s contract for another 24 months if any new equipment is added. If that policy rubs you the wrong way and you want to cancel your service, the penalty is an early termination fee.

By: Tod Marks | Yahoo.com

5 Points to a Successful Newsletter

In the next few paragraphs I will give you an idea of what to consider when publishing a newsletter. These should give you an idea of how to format and write your letters.

To start the first thing to think about when publishing a newsletter is that it should relate back to the information on your website. For instance, if your website is all about making money on the internet then you wouldn’t have a newsletter about dogs. The people that opted into our newsletter obviously liked what you had to say about making money on the internet. They want to know more of your knowledge so keep it relevant.

Mainly on point one is you should keep your readers interest first. Make sure you are satisfying their needs and not yours.

Secondly, your newsletter should be well written and entertaining. Now this doesn’t mean you should be off the wall, however you should keep the readers interest. Also make the newsletter as context rich as you possibly can. You must give the readers great free information week in a and week out.

Third, make sure all of the facts and such are accurate. You are the expert here; make sure your newsletters truly represent that. The last thing you want is your subscribers calling you on your lack of knowledge.

Fourth, make sure you provide valuable and fresh new content to your subscribers. You don’t want to publish outdated old boring material to your list. If you do this on a regular basis you may get people dropping out of your newsletter fast. If people start dropping out, send out a survey asking them how you can improve. Ask your subscribers what they really want to see, the more interaction the better.

Lastly, never use any materials that aren’t original unless you site them. Trust me, if you give people original content they will praise you for it.

Source: simplysearch4it.com | Mike Smith

5 Free marketing tips that will kick start your business

1. Tap into Your Expertise

PR and Media expert Nancy Marmolejo gives this tip, “As an entrepreneur, you’re an expert in your specific field. When you gather up your expertise and present it to the public as information, then it helps by

>> showcasing your talent and expertise,
>> increasing your “know-like-trust” factor, and
>> cementing your credibility as an expert.

You’ll find yourself pushing less and less with your marketing and welcoming a steady stream of presold prospects who find your information irresistible. Start out by publishing tips, articles, blogs, or using social media.” Pick up Nancy Marmolejo free audio, 7 Quick and Simple Tips to Stand Out and Sizzle as a Sought After, Recognized Expert.

2. Market to Your Existing Customers

Solo-Entrepreneur expert and founder of www.Solo-e.com, Terri Zwierzynski, shares this tip, “Instead of focusing your marketing on getting new business, turn your attention to your existing customers for a change. Send them an unexpected thank you card or gift, or offer them an unadvertised bonus or special. Make it personal — do something that lets them know they are a VIP client. If you treat all your clients this way, they will feel special — and they’ll be likely to tell someone else about you, which is ten times as powerful as any marketing message you could write for yourself!”

3. Change Headlines in Your Copy and Test Reponses

Allan Katz, copywriting expert, explained, “Which will get you the most response? Buy One Get One Free, Half Price, or 50 percent OFF? They all mean the same thing, but one will always outpull the rest by almost 4-1. Changing a headline in your direct response ad copy can boost your readership and attract more qualified prospects to buy your products and services. Use action words in your headlines and copy to entice the reader to take action. Weave a story throughout your text as you give a little information and tease your prospect into delving further into your products and services.”

4. Harness the Power of a Win-Win

Home schooling expert and long-time internet entrepreneur, Lisa Preston gives this tip, “Partner with local businesses to create a special deal for referrals. For instance, if you’re a landscaper you could partner with a bank in your locale. Give them a special landscape discount package (i.e. $300 discount coupon for complete service) to offer anyone who applies for a home mortgage. This technique makes the bank look good as they’re giving away a $300 gift and puts your face in front of the exact people who would need your services.” To get more tips from Lisa Prestion along these lines read Insider Secrets to Follow Up Marketing Fortunes.

5. Build Relationships

Marketing is about building relationships with your clients, prospects, site visitors and joint venture partners. One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to build relationships online is via Social Media. “It’s a great way to extend your reach because you’re able to get your name and information to different sites and reach people that you would not have otherwise,” says article marketing expert, Jeff Herring. Advertising and marketing expert, Michele PW, also offers this suggestion when using social media to build your business, “Don’t be too quick to start selling. Put the relationship first; let the selling come later. Think of how you would approach someone offline. If you keep that as a guideline you’ll be fine.”

Source: ideamarketers.com | Marnie Pehrson

Assignment example of selling your property before closing

Imagine that one is stepping into the shoes of the Original Purchaser for a fee in order to purchase the desired property.

The “Assignee” assumes all of the “Assignor’s” duties and obligations under the original Agreement of Sale. These rights and obligations are stated in the original Agreement of Sale and include terms such as deposits, included items, Completion date and required disclosure statements. Upon Completion, the “Assignee” is granted the Title to the real property.

An Assignment is legally permitted unless otherwise expressed in writing. An Assignment fee may be charged by the Developer and is normally a cost borne by the “Assignor” (the Original Purchaser).

Remember, the Developer is the legal owner of the interest in the real property until a legal transfer of Title has occurred upon Completion. In all cases, written consent from the Developer (the “Vendor”) will be required for an Assignment transaction.

Example of a Property Assignment

Source: assignmentscanada.ca

Must have elements of a good article

The following are elements that should be injected if you want your article to be worth reading:

Good Title – A good title means more readers. This is the most important part of the article if you want it to be attractive to the readers. To choose a title, identify first your purpose why you will write the article. Title would also become the basis of your whole article so you have to be careful of choosing what to use. Write down several suggested titles so that you can give yourself more choices. From this point you can create a good content.

Short introduction – Have you watched a play or movie or listened to a song with introductions you never know when to end? On an article where readers are after the content, introduction should be kept in to a minimum. A good 3-4-sentence-introduction that tells the readers the summary of the article or a prelude of what to expect is enough. In this way, you can keep your readers interested on the whole article.

Content – After the title, you should focus on the content. A good content will keep the reader hooked thus continuity is essential. Asking questions after the paragraph would keep the readers interested on the succeeding content. Make sure you provide a set of this and you are ready to go.

Error free – Articles are written to educate or to inform. As much as possible it should not be subject to criticism from the readers. Although this cannot be avoided, criticism should not focus on the grammar, spelling, and punctuations. A good article should error free. It would not only give the readers ease while reading, it also improves the credibility of the whole article and the message it aims to convey.

Format – In as much as readers would want to get informed, they also would like to get it easily that is why article format is one of the essential elements of a good article. Make sure your article can be read easily by creating several areas for the readers to take short breaks. A lengthy paragraph would not invite readers. Keep it short. The more paragraph breaks the article has, the more inviting it would become. Bullet and numbers are also highly recommended especially if you are writing how-to articles.

Terminologies – Avoid using superfluous words that are hard to understand. Flaunting words are no-no. Keep your terms simple. Your aim is for your article to be read by as many people as possible so you have to use terms that could be understood by all. Target the general reader and the terms will all come easy for you.

Conclusion – Your article is about to end and you don’t have a good way to end it, what should you do? Write a short conclusion that will summarize all the inputs you have inserted on your article. Keep it short and direct to the point.

Editing – After you wrote your articles. Take time to edit and re-edit. This will give you the chance to make revisions or inject some more thoughts to the article.

With these elements laid down, it should be easy for you to write your article that is relevant and readable from start to finish.

Source: simplysearch4it.com | Mike Long

What mistakes to avoid when naming a new business

Mistake 1: The Committee (Getting all your clients, employees and family members involved)

We live in a democratic society and it seems like the right thing to do – involving everyone in an important decision. This approach, however, presents a few problems. The first and most obvious fact is that you will end up choosing only one name – so you risk alienating the very people you are trying to involve. Second, you often end up with a consensus decision, resulting in a very safe and very vanilla name. A better method is to involve only the key decision makers, the fewer the better, and select only the people you feel have the company’s best interests at heart. The need for personal recognition can skew results – so you are best served by those who can park their egos at the door. Also, make sure you have some right brain types in the mix. Too many left brains and the name often ends up too literal and descriptive.

Mistake 2: The Train Wreck (Taking two words and colliding them head on)

When forced to come up with a creative name, many aspiring entrepreneurs will simply take part of an adjective and weld it onto a noun. The results are names that have a certain twisted rationale to them, but look and sound awful. Someone starting a high-end service franchise then becomes QualiServe. It’s a bit like mixing chocolate syrup with ketchup – nothing wrong with either, but they just don’t go together. Other common truncations include Ameri, Tech, Corp, Tron, etc. The problem with this approach is that it’s simply forced � and it sounds that way.

Mistake 3: Where’s Waldo? (Names so plain they’ll never stand out in a crowd)

The first company in a category can get away with this one. Hence, you have General Motors, General Electric, etc. But once you have competition, it requires differentiation. Imagine if Yahoo! had come out as GeneralInternetDirectory.com? It would be much more descriptive, but hardly memorable. And with the onslaught of new media and advertising channels, it’s more important than ever to carve out your niche by displaying your uniqueness. Nothing does that better than a well-conceived name.

Mistake 4: The Atlas Approach (Using a map to name your company)

In the zeal to start a new company, many businesses choose to use their city, state or region as part of their name. While this may actually help in the beginning, it often becomes a hindrance as a company grows. One client came to me with complaints he was serving more of the market than his name implied. He had aptly called it St. Pete Plumbing since he hailed from St. Petersburg, Florida. But yellow page shoppers assumed that was also his entire service area. With a little creative tinkering we changed the image of St. Pete from a city to the image of St. Pete himself, complete with wings and a plumber’s wrench. The new tag line? “We work miracles!”

Other companies have struggled with the same issue. Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining was growing beyond their industry and their state. To avoid limiting their growth they became 3M, a company now known for innovation. Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC, de-emphasizing the regional nature of the original name. Both of these companies made strategic moves to avoid stifling their growth. Learn from them and you can avoid this potential bottleneck.

Mistake 5: Cliche’ You Say? (A good name is worth a thousand words)

Once past the literal, descriptive stage, the thought process usually turns to metaphors. These can be great if they are not overly used to the point of trite. Since many companies think of themselves as the top in their industry, the world is full of names like Summit, Apex, Pinnacle, Peak, etc. While there is nothing inherently wrong with these names, they are just overworked. Look for combinations of positive words and metaphors and you will be much better served. A good example is the Fortune 1000 data storage company Iron Mountain, which conveys strength and security without sounding commonplace.

Mistake 6: Hide the Meaning (Make it so obscure, the customer will never know!)

It’s great for a name to have a special meaning or significance. It sets up a story that can be used to tell the company message. But if the reference is too obscure and too hard to spell and pronounce, you may never have the opportunity to speak to that customer. They will simply pass you by as irrelevant. So resist the urge to name your company after the mythical Greek god of fast service or the Latin phrase for “We’re number one!” If a name has a natural, intuitive sound and a special meaning, it can work. If it’s too complex and puzzling, it will remain a mystery to your customers. This is especially true if you are reaching out to a mass audience.

I pushed the envelope a little on this one myself, naming my branding firm Tungsten, after the metal that Thomas Edison used to create brilliant light. However, my clientele consists of knowledgeable professionals who appreciate a good metaphor and expect a branding firm to have a story behind its name. It’s also a way to differentiate my services (illuminated, bright, brilliant). So while it works for a branding firm, it would not do well as an ice cream parlor.

Mistake 7: The Campbell’s Approach (Using alphabet soup to name your firm)

This is a trend that is thankfully wearing off. Driven by the need for a matching domain name, many companies have resorted to awkwardly constructed or purposefully misspelled names. The results are company names that sound more like prescription drugs than real life businesses. Mistake 2 sometimes gets combined with this one and results in a name like KwaliTronix (or worse – mistakes 2, 4 … 7, resulting in KwalTronixUSA). It’s amazing how good some names begin to sound after searching for available domain names all night. But resist the urge. Avoid using a “K” in place of a “Q” or a “Ph” in place of an “F.” This makes spelling the name and locating you on the Internet all that much harder.

It’s not that coined or invented names cannot work; they often do. Take for example, Xerox or Kodak. But keep it mind, names like these have no intrinsic or linguistic meaning, so they rely heavily on advertising � and that gets expensive. Many of the companies that use this approach were either first in category or had large marketing budgets. Verizon spent millions on their rebranding effort. So did Accenture. So check your pocketbook before you check into these types of names.

Mistake 8: Sit On It. (When in doubt, make no change at all)

Many business owners know they have a problem with their name and just hope it will somehow magically resolve itself. The original name for one of my clients was “Portables,” which reminded some people of the outdoor restrooms or the portable classrooms – neither one a good association. This added to the confusion when phone operators tried to explain their new concept of moving and storage. After some careful tweaking, we came up with the name PODS, an acronym for Portable On Demand Storage. The rest is quickly becoming history as they expand both nationally and internationally.

Source: ideamarketers.com | Phillip Davis

Charge and Make more Money

Which means it’s up to YOU to re-imprint your subconscious so that you’re living up to your true birthright, which is to be wealthy. Luckily, this is easy to do if you follow certain guidelines that are simple to put into place.

Keep in mind that no matter how much marketing and networking you do, your subconscious has a pre-determined amount set so it’s up to you to wisely raise that amount, else you’ll continue to hit this “money glass ceiling.” This, in combination with the proven marketing strategies, will propel your business forward by leaps, instead of by frustratingly slow steps.

Let me share with you my 3 most powerful tips for re-imprinting your subconscious with the money mindset you need to break into your next level of cash and clients.

Tip #1 Connect DAILY With People Who Are Making More Than You Are
The more you feel, see, hear and sense that it’s okay to make more and that you won’t become a “bad person” by doing so, the quicker you’ll re-imprint your subconscious, giving you permission to excel. This is why I HIGHLY recommend becoming part of a high-end master mind, where the topic of money, launches, success and achievement are common, everyday conversation starters.

Tip #2 Be Wary Of “Magical Thinkers”
Magical Thinkers are people who talk a great deal about what they wish, dream and hope for, but rarely put anything into action. As nice as they may be, these people will hold you back. Why? Because not only will you not be inspired to get into action yourself, you’re likely to feel guilty about excelling beyond where they are.

I know this sounds tough but if you find yourself holding back from sharing your successes it’s a clear sign that the person you’re worried about upsetting is someone you must limit contact with, else you risk bringing yourself down to their level. Like attracts like and while you may love and care about someone, it doesn’t mean you must spend time with them.

Tip #3 Give Yourself Permission To Break Your Family’s Financial Legacy . . . For The Better
Most of us inherited beliefs about money that are likely not supporting us any more. Parents saying “Who do you think YOU are? Money doesn’t grow on trees. Those rich people think they’re so ______” and more.

It’s sad because while well intentioned, parents often don’t realize how they are negatively impacting their children. What you can do to honor your family AND break free of their limiting money legacy is a simple ritual you can do by yourself, or with a trusted mentor: Thank your family for their intention, acknowledge how that intention was meant to support and serve you, then say this empowering statement out loud:

“My family’s money legacy is THEIRS. I must hand it back to them with a heart full of love and gratitude because I am now creating my OWN legacy, which includes the belief that it is my birthright to create new wealth and financial success. I give myself PERMISSION to make increasingly larger and larger amounts of money, knowing that as I do so I am empowering myself and empowering the people I surround myself with.”

Money Is A Symbol Of Your Increasing Self-Worth And Feeling Of Deservability.

Making more money is so much easier than you realize! The only amount of money you’re limited to making is the amount YOU decide is right for you. Follow these tips I’ve shared with you and you’ll quickly find yourself leaping ahead with your self-worth AND your net worth.

Source: ideamarketers.com

Turn Referrals into Paying Clients

Those that do — understand the power of a system and frequency of exposure. To best illustrate this, let’s look at how two consultants handle referrals.

At first glance John and Steve have virtually identical practices. They are both management consultants, both have introduced executive coaching to their ‘product’ mix. They are excellent at what they do, provide great value to their clients, and have stellar reputation among their customers and peers. But there is a difference . . .

John gets almost five times as many referrals as Steve, and he turns 95 percent of them into new clients. How, you ask? See if you can spot a difference.

Steve’s name occasionally pops up in conversations his clients have with their business associates. Since he does a good job, people are often intrigued by the results he creates, ask for his contact information and call him to inquire about his services. Those calls typically lead to an appointment.

In terms of frequency of exposure, Steve’s potential new clients hear his marketing message only twice before the meeting: when they first get his information from a business colleague and during the initial phone conversation.

At first glance, John’s case isn’t much different. His name comes up in conversations where he’s praised for his great work. His contact information is passed on, and he too gets an inquiring phone call leading to an appointment with a prospective client. But that’s pretty much where the similarity ends.

Immediately after the call, John sends out a hand-written card saying, ‘Thank you for interest in my services, I’m looking forward to our meeting.’

He also sends a handwritten thank-you card and a small gift (like a $5 Starbucks gift card) to the person who gave him the referral. (I guess John understands that the best way to develop a habit is to reward it in the first place — so he tries to make his referral sources feel good about mentioning his name. And it works!)

The following day, John sends out a small package with positioning materials — a welcome letter, an article relevant to prospect’s situation, and an audio CD. This will allow the potential client to ‘sample’ John’s expertise on the subject, build trust, increase the appetite for his services, and position him as a valuable authority.

Incidentally, John knows that many of his best prospects won’t have time to fully review those materials. He also knows it really doesn’t matter. All he wants is to see his ‘stuff’ sitting on prospect’s desk when he walks into their office.

But he’s still not done. A couple of days before the scheduled meeting he calls his potential client to briefly confirm the meeting objectives, time and place.

After the meeting, John immediately sends out another handwritten ‘pleasure meeting you/thank you’ card.

So let’s review how many times John’s prospects are exposed to his marketing message:

1. When they first are referred to him in a conversation with a business colleague.

2. When they call him to inquire about his services.

3. When they get his handwritten ‘looking forward to meeting you’ card.

4. When they get his Positioning Packet. (And again when they make time to look through the materials he sends out.)

5. When he makes the reminder call two days before the meeting.

6. During the first meeting. (Notice that at this point prospect has been exposed to John’s marketing message five times — comparing to only two times in Steve’s process.)

7. When they get the handwritten ‘thank you’ card after the meeting.

Plus, sending a thank-you card and a small gift to the referral source might prove helpful as well. Sometimes, motivated by the gesture, the referral source might choose to take a more active part in the process, inquire about how things are going, and offer additional help.

There is one other thing that separates John from Steve. John understands that his clients want to give him referrals but often don’t know how to do this. So he takes time to educate them and makes it easy for them to pass his information on.

He hands each new client a sample of a great Attraction Tool (most likely an audio program or a book) and informs them that he’ll gladly send this Attraction Tool to any of this new client’s business associates at absolutely no cost and no obligation — all they have to do is ask for it.

He might even hand the new client a few postcards promoting the Attraction Tool and encourage him to send it out to their associates. Why bother? Because by sharing this information, John’s new clients are actually helping their colleagues. And it’s easier and less awkward to send out a postcard and to share a resource than to hand over names of business friends. All this increases the chances of John’s name coming up in casual conversations.

I can already hear you whining: ‘But that’s too much work, I can’t do that in my business,’ etc., etc. And you are right — it does take extra work to set this SYSTEM up.

Do you have to do this? Hey, it’s your business — you don’t have to do anything you don’t want! But the fact is — frequency builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. And we all do business with people we know, like and trust. So you decide if adding a few extra steps in the process could help you get more referrals and, eventually, paying clients.

Source: ideamarketers.com

Ways to grow your money

1. For return on investment, the best home renovation is to upgrade an old bathroom while kitchens come in second.

2. It’s worth refinancing your mortgage when you can cut your interest rate by at least one point.

3. Spend no more than 2 1/2 times your income on a home. For a down payment, it’s best to come up with at least 20%

4. Your total housing payments should not exceed 28% of your gross income. Total debt payments should come in under 36%

5. Never hire a roofer, driveway paver or chimney sweep who is going door to door.

6. All else being equal, the best place to invest is a 401(k). Once you’ve earned the full company match, max out a Roth IRA. Still have money to invest? Put more in your 401(k) or a traditional IRA.

7. To figure out what percentage of your money should be in stocks, subtract your age from 120.

8. Invest no more than 10% of your portfolio in your company stock – or any single company’s stock, for that matter.

9. The most you should pay in annual fees for a mutual fund is 1% for a large-company stock fund, 1.3% for any other type of stock fund and 0.6% for a U.S. bond fund.

10. Aim to build a retirement nest egg that is 25 times the annual investment income you need.

11. If you don’t understand how an investment works, don’t buy it.

12. If you’re not saving 10% of your salary, you aren’t saving enough.

13. Keep three months’ worth of living expenses in a bank savings account or a high-yield money-market fund for emergencies. If you have kids or rely on one income, make it six months’.

14. Aim to accumulate enough money to pay for a third of your kids’ college costs. You can borrow the rest or use some of your income to help out when your child is in college.

15. You need enough life insurance to replace at least five years of your salary – as much as 10 years if you have several young children or significant debts.

16. When you buy insurance, choose the highest deductible you can afford. It’s the easiest way to lower your premium.

17. The best credit card is a no-fee rewards card that you pay in full every month. But if you carry a balance, high-interest rates will wipe out the benefits when you go to use your card at the credit card machines.

18. The best way to improve your credit score is to pay bills on time and to borrow no more than 30% of your available credit.

19. Anyone who calls or e-mails you asking for your Social Security number or information about your bank or credit card account is a scam artist.

20. The best way to save money on a car is to buy a late-model used car and drive it until it’s junk. A car loses 30% of its value in the first year.

21. Lease a new car or truck only if you plan to replace it within two or three years.

22. Resist the urge to buy the latest computer or other gadget as soon as it comes out. Wait three months and the price will be lower.

23. Buy airline tickets early because the cheapest fares are snapped up first. Most seats go on sale 11 months in advance.

24. Don’t redeem frequent flier miles unless you can get more than a dollar’s worth of air fare or other stuff for every 100 miles you spend.

25. When you shop for electronics, don’t pay for an extended warranty. One exception: It’s a laptop and the warranty is from the manufacturer.