Friday, November 21, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blogMy apologies to the millions of students worldwide who have studied the classic school text book "Animal Farm" over the last 50 years or more. I realize many of you have revered this book as the ultimate general warning against totalitarianism, and a specific warning against communism. Therefore some of you may be upset at me, for mutilating beyond recognition such a famous quote from the book, in a frivolous attempt to grab the readers attention. I am sorry....( but I couldn't resist it.) I have noticed a couple of posts in forums lately from people asking what a backlink is. These people already have their own website, unique domain, their site is optimized etc. I would have thought that where ever they are getting their information from would have explained backlinks very early on in the training course. They are very important for long term success for most affiliate marketers.
Backlinks are incoming links to your website or web page from someone else's website. That other person has been kind enough to include your web address in a link. The search engines recognise that link pointing to your site. The search engine then considers that in a similar way to a "vote" of popularity. The affiliate marketer can then work on getting as many backlinks as possible from as many websites as possible. The more the affiliate has the more popular the search engines will perceive them to be.
There are some things to remember about backlinks or these "Votes of popularity." George Orwell wrote in his classic book "Animal Farm." "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." ( My appologies to Mr. Orwell if the quote is inaccurate in any way. My wife has recently thrown the book out after holding on to it for 30 years from her school days.) We can definitely say that there is nothing equal about backlinks. Search engines will view some of these "votes" of popularity as worth a lot more than others. I shall examine some of the differences in the next post.
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Saturday, November 8, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blogIf you are seeking a full-time income or supplemental income, you may have undertaken the task to discover a viable affiliate marketing business to meet your requirements.
Affiliate marketing is a great low-cost solution if will wish to set up a home business on a shoestring budget. Another great feature of affiliate marketing is that you can build up your business while maintaining your present job or business. This helps you maintain your lifestyle until your affiliate business is earning enough to justify working on it full time.
The flexibility of an affiliate marketing business is also a great advantage. It doesn't matter what hours your job or existing business requires of you, you can fit an affiliate business in around them.
Procrastination is the biggest enemy for people considering entering an affiliate business. Many scour the internet for that elusively perfect affiliate business. They may come across a few that offer great support and resources for low costs and yet they still remain undecided. It cannot be the cost because many reputable affiliate marketing programs would be amongst the lowest cost businesses of any type.
Don't get me wrong, due diligence must be taken when deciding on any business. Affiliate marketing is no different. I have written other posts and articles on what you can do to check the programs you are considering and there are many other good articles on the internet with advice.
The biggest problem for many seems to be that once they have found a great business, they still procrastinate. It could be that they are nervous about the time commitment. It is a genuine concern because any business is going to be time consuming.
What we all need to do before embarking on any venture is consider where our life is likely to be in 5 years time if we don't do anything different. If we stick to the same job and spend our free time watching T.V. then how hard will life be in 5 years? Is it going to be any easier to pay the bills? What if you lose your job? These questions give us a reality check and they can be the best motivation to do something about the future today.
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blogOk, so you have read all the advice on the internet that tells you to slave away at your affiliate business (in between working full time in a job or other business.) Reading between the lines, the impression is that you must tap away on your computer until the early hours of the morning. Later that day you stare through bleary eyes at the angry face of your boss, then mumble something to him about "not sleeping well" to explain why your productivity output resembles...
On the weekend you forsake your family, friends and sanity as you step up the ante on your business. You tap away day and night on your "two days off." When writers block temporarily strikes, you gaze out of the window at what was once called your back lawn. You can just see the waging tail of your Dalmatian dog wading through the swaying reeds of grass that are about to drop seed. You snap out of your day dream when you hear the footsteps of your wife coming down the hall, and you start typing something...anything and you hope she has not looked at the back "lawn" for a while. Like 4 weeks.
Enough is enough. Take a break, take a day off, take a holiday. Do whatever it takes to "recharge your batteries" and rekindle your enthusiasm for your business and your life. There are dangers in becoming unbalanced toward your affiliate marketing business.
1. Your family should be one of the reasons you have chosen an affiliate marketing business. If you achieve success but end up alone, then what is the point?
2. Most people still need to earn income while building their affiliate marketing business. If you neglect your job then you may be dismissed. This would lead to wasted time and energy going for interviews for another job. The goal for most people is to succeed so that they can give up their job but you should not rush it. Make sure your business can support you before you quit.
3. Everyone needs a day off a week. Your affiliate marketing business will put extra pressures on your working week. You need to put aside a realistic amount of time each week to make your business succeed. However, it is unproductive to continue working seven days a week every week and find yourself becoming jaded. Your productivity suffers in everything, including your affiliate marketing business.
Finally, don't give up the chance of taking a holiday with your family or friends. A good holiday revitalises your mind and helps you approach everything with enthusiasm. The quality of your work should improve. Remember you should be building your affiliate marketing business for the long term.
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Sunday, October 12, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blogTap tap tapping..."Nearly there."....tap tap tapping... " Coming up to the last word." tap tap.....tap. "Done!!! I have finished my masterpiece! 'Internet Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners.' Now I can submit my article and get those backlinks I need. I'll just do a word count here......Oh, 1,624 words!....let's see how many words is recommended for articles? They say 400-700 words! That's crazy. Surely more is better? Did Tolstoy prune down his novel "War and Peace" even though it is the length of 4 novels? What about Wagner's 4 opera cycle "The Ring Cycle?" Where would the world be without the 14 hours and 48 minutes of the most dramatic opera music Wagner ever wrote?....Well perhaps that is a bad example but it is the principle that matters here. I have slaved over this article for five days and now I am supposed to trim it down. An artist should not have to work under these restrictions!"
For most internet marketing newbies, the most daunting strategy for promoting a website is writing and submitting articles. As pointed out in part 1 of this series, article writing can seem a bit too much like writing school essays. There are similarities.
1. Under exam conditions at school, you were restricted with time limits and this kept your essays relatively short and to the point. Article directories do not like articles that are too long. You may see this as a restriction to start with but in the long run it works in your favour. You can keep your articles short and write more of them. Unlike my fictional character in this series, put time limits on each article you write. To be realistic your first one or two will take longer, but gradually you should be able to reduce your time to compose them.
2. You must not wander off on tangents. Stick to the topic, which is what your keywords are about. If your school essays wandered off the topic then you would have been marked down by the teacher/examiner. Article directories will not publish your article if the text does not address the issues in your article title. Furthermore, it is best to use the keyword phrases in your title and in each paragraph. Now you have to be careful not to use your keyword phrases in excess or you will be accused of spamming. Your paragraphs must make sense and not be just simply stuffed with keywords. Good SEO techniques should suffice here.
3. Many years ago I used humor through my essay to illustrate a point. My teacher advised me to forget humor when writing for work to be assessed and marked me down. When submitting to article directories, the same unofficial rule applies WITH INTEREST. Now I am not saying that no one has successfully submitted a single humorous article to lots of directories. There may even be a directory that welcomes humor, but I haven't found it. The authors I have read who have submitted lots of articles to directories, (that is the experts) have done so with very dry articles that were short and to the point. It may be boring but you will find it easier to churn out more articles and build up your backlinks while remaining informative and in demand from the directories.
This is why I find writing for this blog a welcome relief. The writing style can be freer and I can add humor, ( "What humor?" you say.) Use your blog for experimental writing. Keep to the formula for your articles. That ends this series on creating backlinks and article writing. Let's hope our marketing newbie chills out and takes the pressure off their creative process.
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Sunday, October 5, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blog(Day 4) Ring ring.....ring ring....ring ring...." Come on John pick up the 'phone..." ring ring.... "So why is he not answering the 'phone?" ring ring... " He has always been there to answer my questions regarding computers...." ring ring... "He is always home. He never goes out..." ring ring.... " He would be one of the most boring people I know..." ring ring... " I wouldn't be talking to him if he didn't know so much about computers..." ring "Oh, hi John, it took you a while to pick up the 'phone this time buddy. I am working on my masterpiece 'Internet Affiliate Marketing Programs For Beginners.' and I was wondering if you....What?...no, I don't know what time it is but my watch is here somewhere...oh yes here it is it's 2.00 am gee time flies when you're having fun. What I wanted to ask you....What?.... There's no need to get so angry John, all I wanted to ask was do you know a good website that lists the best affiliate marketing programs?.....Yes, I know your only involvement with computers is as a payroll clerk, I work on the desk next to you remember but you always seem so knowledgeable about computers.....look calm down Jo.....He hung up on me!!! How rude!!! Ok buddy you are off my Christmas card list forever....Now where do I get my information from?"A good mentor for your internet business is a blessing, however most people will never find one. This is because they are in short supply as it is assumed that a good mentor must be successful in their own right and not just repeating the views of others. If you are lucky enough to find one then you will find that there will be times they will not be available. Besides, a good mentor will usually insist you find answers from other sources as well. So where does an internet marketing newbie go for help?
Forums are a great source of information and help.
Choose a good quality one with:-
1. A good Google page rank.
2. Allows you to include a link back to your website in your signature.
3. Has threads that are relevant to your niche product.
The benefits are many fold.
1. As a newbie to internet business, you can ask any questions relevant to the appropriate forum thread and often receive answers from more than one knowledgeable person. This can be beneficial because if one marketer gives you a biased answer in an attempt to sell you their product, then others can put you straight. This can lead to interesting disagreements between those answering your question but it does improve the honesty of the answers and lead you to the truth.
2. As your knowledge grows, you will feel comfortable in answering some questions from newbies. Don't be daunted by this prospect. Often you can give your experience of what works and what doesn't work when answering a question. You don't have to be a super computer geek to do that. As long as it answers the question and you don't repeat someone else's answer. In other words do not comment spam.
3. When you do become an expert in your niche business, you will feel confident in answering a lot of questions and members will start to trust you. Usually you are not allowed to advertise your site BUT more members will visit your website link if they see you as honest, trustworthy and knowledgeable.
4. Every time you post a question or reply to a question or discussion, your site will receive a backlink which will be noticed by the search engines.
You may decide to join more than one forum. Don't be put off if you discover a good private forum that does not allow the backlink to be recognised. Usually they still allow you to have your link in your signature which may get you some traffic, (refer to their rules.) Remember that backlinks for search engine results are only a bonus to being part of a forum. A good private forum relevant to your niche product can sometimes lead you to discounted offers from other members. Often the interaction between members can be more personal and helpful.
When starting out in your business, the main reasons for joining forums are gaining advice, guidance and support. Always read and follow the forum rules and etiquette. Yes, you will occasionally see a post from someone who has broken a rule but don't follow their example. Work on building up your reputation and the rewards will come later.
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Monday, September 29, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blog(Day 3) Tap tap tapping..."how is 'entrepreneur' spelt again?"..."I have got a mental block, this is an easy word so why I have forgotten to spell it?"....Entreprayneur...Entraynrayneur... " No that's not right. Why doesn't Notepad have spell check like Word does? It would be so much easier. Ok, go to the Word tab.... Aaarrghhhh Entrepreneur...Why couldn't I remember that?"...tap tap tapping... A good forum is an absolute must for most internet marketers. Most of us need them while we are learning. The only people who do not need a good forum are those who know everything about internet marketing. If you are new to this business then you might assume that computer "geeks" might be self sufficient and not need a forum. However, the more you work this business and read success stories, the more you will realise that those who have succeeded are from a wide cross section of society. They started with varying degrees of computer abilities.
This makes sense when we think about it. There are three basic fundamentals to Internet marketing success.
1. Having a business with products or services you can sell.
2. Building a functional website that is user friendly to customers so that they can buy your product or service. This is the technical stuff that the geeks would be good at.
3. Having an effective marketing campaign on the internet that will generate traffic to your website. This includes good sales pages or landing pages that your prospects will land on. Those who are good with the technical stuff and can create a landing page linked to the website may not have the ability to write compelling text that motivates a customer to buy.
You can see that internet success is dependent on a variety of skills, and not many people would commence an online business with ALL of the skills required to succeed. My observation is that if there is a group of people who are more likely to succeed, it is people who have already succeeded in offline businesses, whether they had computer skills or not.
Why is it so? Well I believe that it is because successful business people know how to utilize what they are good at and then hire the best people for the tasks that the business owner is not good at. Henry Ford is an example of this. He did not know how to build an automobile on a production line because it had never been done before. All automobiles were built individually, and this was an expensive process. Undaunted Henry got together the best people he could, including engineers, to meet and overcome the many obstacles. Thus was born the "T" Model Ford, the world's first production line car. ("You can have any color you like as long as it is black.")
Successful business people, if they choose to expand into internet marketing, will usually be totally committed. Most have the skills to source the best computer "techies" and at the best prices. They are not afraid to invest a lot of money because they are good at spending wisely and getting results for their expenditure.
Of course there are no guarantees to success for anyone. Many successful business people have failed in their online endeavors because there are some important differences between online and offline business. The internet newbie can take inspiration from the many stories of people who had failed at everything else and started their successful internet business, with little knowledge, on a shoestring budget.
Obtaining the right information or training is the key. Part of that education can be gained from forums. I will discuss the benefits of good forum in the next post.
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Copyright © David Barker
http://www.DavesAffiliateMarketing.com/blog(Day 2) Tap tap tap tapping..." I thought I would finish this article yesterday...." tap tap tapping....." I paid top money for an affiliate program that assured me that I could write articles in 30 minutes"......tap tap tapping...." I have wasted my $20 on this program because this article is taking me days to finish." tap tap tapping......." At least it will be a masterpiece when it IS finished."Directories are another option for building backlinks but beware. For most newbies it is better not to pay a directory to be listed. There are a lot of directories that offer both paid and free listings. Obviously they will try to persuade you to use their paid listing service. As a disincentive to use their free listing, a lot will insist on you giving them a reciprocal link back to them.
There is a lot of contradictory opinion amongst internet marketers about the value of reciprocal links. Some say they are of reduced value to your site. Others say they are of no value at all. The consensus though is that they are not as valuable as one way links to your site. You might want to check with your mentor, (if you have one,) or your favourite trusted forum to get expert opinions on this issue and what is right for your website.
Personally I have decided to stay clear of reciprocal links. This is because I have read articles from some gurus who warn that many of those directories have the "NoFollow Attribute." Effectively you will be giving the directory a link to them, (nice for them,) but the link back to you is worthless. To illustrate this point, I had a website and a directory submission service submitted my site to 200 directories. 6 months later I happened to check my backlinks through Yahoo site explorer and the only links to my site were from a handful of directories that I had submitted to myself. I know that the submission service did complete the submissions so the 200 directories they chose must have the "NoFollow." Needless to say I will not be using that service again.
What is the solution to all this? If you try to manually submit to a thousand directories and you are not sure if the submissions will give you the credit your website needs, then what is the solution? Once again go to your trusted mentor. Ask them if they have used a directory submission service? Did it give the backlinks to their site that was promised? You could try the forum you trust and ask the same questions. Make sure you take note of the unbiased answers you get. Be wary of answers from members who are trying to direct you to a submission service via their affiliate link.
The great advantages of an effective submission service are:-
1. They are far more efficient at entering your site to hundreds or thousands. For a reasonable fee they save you a lot of work.
2. The best services will stagger the submissions over time so that the search engines are not alerted to unnatural automated type of submissions. This is good for your ranking.
3. A good service will suggest that you give them more than one descriptive text about your site. They may suggest five different texts. This will avoid the search engines being alerted to mass repetitive submissions with identical text. Again, this is to make the submissions appear natural to the search engines and this is good for your site.
4. Of course there should be no reciprocal links with this kind of service and a good service will only be using directories WITHOUT the "NoFollow."
There is always a solution to any challenge facing the internet marketer. They just have to have a reliable source of information. A mentor is good but many don't have a trusted mentor. This is why forums a so valuable. If you pick a forum with a good reputation that has threads relating to your niche, then you have a great source of information at your finger tips. There will be more on forums for the next post.
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