Net Strife - providing smashing tips on Internet Marketing

Myself and another guy have been working on this new site at NinjaReports.com, which basically allows users to review clickbank products. Unlike most product review sites, the idea is to give objective reviews based on what people around the web are saying. I figure this will be much more useful over the average review site that just hypes up products and doesn’t provide any actual value …so if you have purchased a CB product feel free to submit a review (and of course any constructive feedback about the site is welcome )

To be honest, review sites that promote clickbank products are where I’ve made most of my money, and I still do really well with them. However, I’ve never made a site that allows the actual users to submit their own reviews. I’m half expecting this to fall flat on its face. But the idea of Ninja Reports isn’t just to make money - it’s also just kind of a fun project. Especially since up till now I’ve always promoted sites via SEO and software submissions and I’ll be marketing this site a little differently.

Other news…

The MSN Loophole Results Update

I’ve been following the MSN Loophole by Chris Rempel and Dave Kelly for about 6 weeks so far. You can read my last post for a background on this method which everyone is trying. So how is it going so far?

Well, I’ve noticed that MSN/Live as a search engine is NOWHERE NEAR as quick as google or even yahoo at crawling the web and indexing new pages. Whereas I can easily get indexed in google in just a few hours, it takes several weeks to get indexed in MSN (and even then they only show the homepage and not other pages on the site). Only a little over half of the blogs I’ve made have been indexed, and I’ve been building links to them for several weeks. Of course all my sites are indexed in google and yahoo but just not MSN.

Being that MSN is so slow to do much, none of my money sites have got top page rankings yet. Google is actually sending me traffic, an average of around 20-30 visitors a day per blog. So across all the blogs I’ve made for the MSN loophole I’m getting a couple thousand unique visitors a day from Google but that is NOT the point. I’m still waiting to get real results from MSN. From everything I’ve read, no-one has got any real results from this method yet. I still believe it will pick up as MSN finally spiders more pages, but this is definitely not an overnight type thing. I’m still interested to see what happens in a month or so from now.

Most successful internet marketers agree that having your own product and affiliates is the #1 way to make a large income. In fact, if you look at the top players in the internet marketing field you will find that most of their sales when they launch a new product come from their JV partners and affiliates. So how do you actually go about recruiting affiliates?

First, if you have a digital product like an ebook, software or membership site, I recommend you set it up through Clickbank and let them handle your affiliate program. This gives you exposure to over 100,000 affiliates signed up at clickbank, and it’s just easier. Your affiliates won’t have to sign up and they’ll promote you because they KNOW they’ll get paid. You can of course set up your affiliate program with your own in house script like JV manager if you want, it’s totally up to you. I personally only use clickbank to sell products.

Anyways, once you have an affiliate program set up, here’s what you can do to get affiliates to sell your product. I’ve tried each of these myself, and they should work fine in any market.

Getting The Ball Rolling For Affiliates To Promote Your Product - Use Forums:

The first thing I do to pick up affiliates is go to forums. Specifically, you can use the Warrior Forum and Digital Point Forums. These are two very popular webmaster forums, with hundreds of thousands of members.

Digital Point has a separate affiliate forum where you can post a new thread advertising your affiliate program. If you sell a product through clickbank, for example, just go to their clickbank subforum and post a thread about your product and its affiliate program. This is GREAT free advertising. It only takes about ten minutes, and you’ll typically get hundreds of views. Just go through what commission you offer, your products price, and everything affiliates need to know. If you are an active member of digital point with lots of posts, you’ll get plenty of people promoting your product.

With the warrior forum, what you can do is post a WSO (Warrior Special Offer) for $20. This is WELL worth it for the price. As the name implies, this has to offer something “special” for members of the warrior forum. What you can do is make a WSO asking members to promote your product, and offer one-on-one support, as well as a free website to promote your product and other promotional material.

In addition to posting a thread on both digitalpoint and the warrior forum, you can advertise your affiliate program in your signature on these forums. This will come up at the bottom of every post you make.

After You Have Posted On Forums About Your Affiliate Program:

You want to pick up affiliates from:

• people already promoting products similar to yours as affiliates;
• product vendors that are selling a product similar to yours;
• your customers

To find affiliates that are promoting products similar to yours, I use Affiliate Elite (my affiliate link), which is a really neat piece of software that can give you a list of every website promoting a product. You can then get the WHOIS information for each site, and contact the owner asking them to promote your product too. You can find bloggers, website owners, and other marketers that already promote a product competing with yours - then just send a friendly JV request. Make sure you have a strong argument for why they should promote your product over your competitions.

You will also want to do JV’s and partnerships with product vendors selling a product similar to yours. I have to give Mike Filsaime credit for this one. Let’s say you have a generic weight loss product, and you find someone selling a product on how to build abs. These 2 products aren’t directly competing but they appeal to the same kind of person. So, you can make a deal with the person selling the product on building abs where they promote your weight loss product to their customers, and you promote their abs product to your customers. It’s beneficial for both sides.

In terms of recruiting affiliates from your actual customers, this is obviously much easier if you are selling an internet marketing or B2B product. I haven’t personally sold a make money product before so it’s harder, but you can still tell your customers that they can refer their friends to your product and make commissions. You’ll naturally get much more word of mouth exposure and customers becoming affiliates if you have a great product that actually works.

How To Make It Enticing For Affiliates To Promote You:

The main things affiliates look for in a product to promote is:

• The strength of your sales copy, and how well your website converts visitors into buyers;
• The commission % they get for each sale they send;
• The price your product is sold at;
• The quality of the product itself

Therefore, you want to invest in writing a compelling salesletter that converts, offer your product at a high price point, give affiliates high commission (you can give affiliates up to 75% in clickbank, which is what I recommend) and create a good quality product. To justify a higher price you will want to include additional bonuses and everything else that makes your product a good deal for the buyer.

Of course this post is just scratching the surface of some of the things you can do to build a successful affiliate program. I’ll touch on some more things later.

Just to clear something up, I’m not being a hypocrite here and “whining” about this issue. I want to share my thoughts with you regarding people who complain non-stop, and at the same time make some of you realize that excessive complaining about your bad experiences will not get you anywhere!

I have met some people online who were sending their complaints to me via MSN OR e-mail almost everyday about their unfortunate internet marketing experiences. Ladies and gentlemen, they did continually send me messages without fail — even though I wasn’t replying to them! I have no idea why they were doing that to me, it’s not like I’m their counselor or something.

The thing is, they don’t realize that what they’re doing is just hindering them from attaining success. Sure, they can complain all they want, they have the right — I give them that. Nevertheless, if they’re complaining that their online businesses are not improving, then I guess I would say that they MUST stop whining AND start working in order for them to get what they want!

Whiners Are Losers

Why do internet marketers whine? It’s most probably because they fail(ed) at what they wanted to accomplish. To add some spice to this post, let me tell a story about a Thomas Alva Edison, a famous scientist that you should have heard of already.

Thomas Edison is credited for the invention of the light bulb. I reckon a lot of you know that he had failed more than 500 times in creating the light bulb, but did you know that he did not think of those as failures?

He once said, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” [source]

Did he complain? No. Did he stop working on it? No. Instead, he continued on until he reached his goal, that is to create a light bulb! Now, he is known for what he did and humanity has thanked him for it. He is a winner.

Think about it this way: when you whine (instead of work), you are accomplishing nothing. Well, maybe you’re getting your thoughts heard, but then again that’s it. Nothing productive, just your feelings released to the public. What do we call people who use up a lot of their time doing something, and in the end not coming up with something good? Losers! I’m not saying that it’s bad to share your thoughts, or in some cases complaints, with others. I’m just saying that doing it excessively could result into unproductive use of your time.

If you’re still not convinced that whining makes you a loser, then here’s a little something I want to share with you.

“You only reduce your distance to success when you start working, not when you start whining.”

- Me

I hope I inspired you today. Wait! This post is not over yet. I, too, tend to complain sometimes. I have a counteraction to defeat my “complaining side” though, and that is focus.

Focus, Focus, Focus

If I were to give a one-word tip to internet marketers, it would be “Focus, focus, focus.” But that’s three words, right? No, there’s only one word there: focus, with a multiplicity of 3. I probably can not stress on this more, but in order to finish whatever you’re doing, you have to concentrate on it and do all that you can to achieve your goals.

Instead of whining your heart out, why not (whine not? sort of a good pun, huh?) put yourself in a state of total focus until you totally forget about complaining? Then, you WILL attain whatever success you desire.

Summary

Whining will not get you anywhere near success. Just think of Thomas Alva Edison whenever you’re about to whine because of your failures. He “failed” nearly a thousand times, but did he complain? No. He just worked on what he’s doing and eventually, he succeeded. Also, to further eliminate the thought of whining, try to focus heavily on your goal and what you’re currently doing. By doing so, the mere idea of uttering a complaint would soon diminish.

Have a great day everyone, I’m looking forward to your comments on this one.

As an internet marketer myself, I firmly believe that the amount of clients/sales we’re generating and our profits highly depend on our reputation. I can say this with confidence because I’ve met reputable people online, and not-so-reputable ones. Comparing the amount of sales that they generate, I can attest that the latter do not produce as much as the former!

I am writing this post because I want to help you — I want you to avoid ruining your reputation, while it is still possible. You see, once you “kill” your reputation, it’s dead. I doubt that you can ever get back what you lost. Well… maybe some can, but it would prove to be very difficult!

Just How Important Is Reputation?

I know, some people don’t see reputation as an important factor in internet marketing success. They take it for granted. Hence, I am going to give a situation which will serve as a concrete example that reputation is a determining factor to achieve success in IM.

Let’s have “Person A” and “Person B”. Both of them run competing web design companies. Person A is highly respected, and a lot of people recommend his service. Person B, on the other hand, has a habit of bad-mouthing his clients. As a result, his ex-clients warn others that Person B’s company is not recommendable.

Supposing that they both have the same skills and pricing structure, who would get more client work, and, in the end, more profit? Surely, it’s Person A!

Now you see how important reputation is. I want to delve deeper into this topic by talking about my experiences on people who (seemingly) are murdering their reputation unconsciously.

Unconscious Murder of Our Own Reputation?

What Things Usually Happen…

There are times when people do things just for fun, not knowing that those things could possibly hurt their “perfect” reputation! Fake bids. Swearing at clients. Not honoring bids/not sending payments promptly. Do those phrases sound familiar? Well, unfortunately, a lot of people do those acts. What’s more unfortunate about this is, they’re killing their reputation by doing so.

A Brief Yet Interesting Experience

Allow me to share an anecdote. Last week, I was on the Digital Point Forums and I recently sold a small website there. The bid was $165 and it was a private bid. I was told that I would be receiving the payment last Tuesday, but then up until now I see no signs of any payments made. I am not whining or whatever. Besides, it’s not the money, it’s the principle of keeping your word. It’s the principle of speaking with honor!

So, what does this experience tell me about the bidder? He’s a liar, he doesn’t honor his bids, and he’s not worth my time. To be honest, I gave him an allowance of four days already. He had been reading my private messages (I know this because I was asking for read receipts through vBulletin’s system.), yet he didn’t even have the courage to tell me ANYTHING at all! At least now I know that I MUST avoid him/not accept his bids, should I sell any more sites on Digital Point.

Well, I pity him because he’s not getting any more business from me, nor from my entire network.

How to Prevent This from Happening

Always think before you act! This is a very important rule that everyone should follow. Don’t be tactless; always use your head before doing anything! Before promising a client something, make sure that it’s possible for you to do it. For example, don’t tell your client that you can come up with a marketing plan in an hour after he pays you if you really can’t.

Speak with honor… all the time. I hate it when people say something with full confidence, and then take it back in the end when they know they’ve said something unfavorable to them. If you say something, then be sure that you can back it up, and defend it until the end!

Act professionally. Shame that there are a lot of bad-mouthed, morally impaired, and ethically challenged people who call themselves professionals. In this world of business, we should all act professionally so as to avoid pointless arguments and loss of heaps of revenue. Don’t resort to using cuss words just to get your point across. Don’t disrespect anyone you’re dealing with. Just be polite and remember that having a great reputation depends on how well you know your values.

Summary

People tend to kill their reputation unconsciously. Whether it’s through scamming, not honoring their words, or even cussing at clients, it’s still a riotous act that could ruin your reputation for your entire life. To prevent this from happening, always see to it that you’re acting professionally, and you hold true to your word. A great rule to remember is, “ALWAYS think before you act.”

My schedule this week is very hectic, so I would appreciate it if people can send in quality guest posts. The blog has almost 100 subscribers (80+ at this moment in time). If you’re willing, please do contact me immediately.

To those people who want to participate in some Q&A activity, please click here. You would be given a link if you ask a sensible question!

I was not supposed to publish any article today because I had set my posting schedule for tomorrow. However, there was a rather peculiar (and quite funny too) event that instigated me to put a post together today.

Your Actions May Reflect Your Skills

Let us say that you are a lawyer. You are talking to an acquaintance, but you had not yet informed him about your occupation. While you were chatting about certain things, he noticed that you were using concise and deep words. You were also very specific with every detail. Your acquaintance then said, “Ah, you must be a good lawyer!”

As you can see in the example above, your action reflected what you are capable of doing — convincing people and exposing all details you need to expose.

Now, this very same concept was evident in my experience just a while ago! Let me tell you more about it.

The Peculiar Yet Funny Experience

I was looking for a person who is capable of writing high-quality internet marketing articles a while ago so I could pursue my article marketing efforts. I posted a few threads on different forums showing my interest, and I received quite a lot of private messages.

There was one which really stood out — it was from a guy who apparently sees himself as a “quality article writer”. Note that I am not trying to insult anyone here, but I just found it rather ironic that he called himself a quality writer because of… the following message!

Private Message Title: Articles Writing!

Hi!!

[my forum username]. I saw you posted, and you need some internet marketing articles. I would be very very interested in writing for you, but only if it’s still available! I am quality article or content creator,, I’ve been providing different firms in my country very good article.

Please, give me some topic to write, about, and then I will be give you articles 500-words each for $10 each. And I can, right now, create 5 articles for you!

Thanks and very kind regards!!

[his forum username]

Oh wow. A quality article writer, eh? Sure, sure. Now, if he had only written a properly punctuated and grammatically correct private message, then I could have considered him for the job. Since he did otherwise, well, he will not be getting anything from me. Not that I’m a perfect writer, but still if he had the guts to call himself a “quality writer” then he should have produced at least a decent PM. Don’t worry, I didn’t insult him or something like that. I politely replied that I have certain criteria that he did not meet as a freelance writer.

How YOU Can Get Clients as a Freelancer

As you can see, the guy did not get me as his client. Now, what can YOU do to get clients as a freelancer? Here are some of my tips.

Flaunt all the skills that you have, and do this from the very start. Don’t be like the guy above. If you’re a freelance writer, then by all means introduce yourself to a potential client using a formal (or semi-formal, if you want to get a bit personal with clients) tone! Write properly; proofread your messages before sending them. Make sure there are no grammatical mistakes whatsoever. For those who are not writers, just imply that you’re a trustworthy and professional freelancer by telling them what you can do in detail — don’t use too much jargon though.

Show your portfolio with confidence. If potential clients ask for a link to your portfolio or some samples of your work, then don’t hesitate unless you find them suspicious. Don’t say “I think my work is not good enough,” or something like that. Weird, I know, because it will only lessen your chances of getting hired, but I’ve received a similar message before!

Always be open to suggestions and ideas of your potential clients. Some clients have great ideas and want to help you finish their project with ease. Always listen to them and consider all their suggestions. If you think your plan is better, then just say it politely and with respect.

Have flexible rates. There are some clients who send in projects in bulk. Make your prices flexible, if they want you to create 100 articles then maybe you could give a 10% discount. That would surely increase the chances of having them as repeat customers (more money for you!).

Never ever lie! If they ask you, “Can you finish it in 48 hours?” and you can’t, then say you can’t. Don’t beat around the bush or worse, lie, because you will gain nothing but trouble.

Lastly, don’t offer to do something that you’re not really good at. As per my example, please, to save yourself from total humiliation, don’t offer to do something that you’re not good at. The worst thing that you could do is say you are an experienced person in terms of doing a certain job, but in reality you have not even tried doing it. For example… If you can’t write, then don’t look for people who want some articles to be written.

Summary

Succeeding as a freelancer highly depends on what you can do and how you present what you can do! Always showcase your skills from the very start and show what you’ve got with confidence. Don’t lie or give false information to your potential clients, or else you would be in trouble. Last but definitely not the least, do NOT offer to do something that you’re not really good at. That would just embarrass you — and not just the normal level of embarrassment, I’m talking about total embarrassment here!

Hopefully, you will be able to get more clients because of the tips I mentioned.