Product launch - exploit experts.

If you on any list then you've encountered the power of this internet marketing technique. Experts bombard your in-box with emails everyday before they are about to stars selling their newest product. Surprisingly, most of these emails are good and provide well researched and well prepared content.

Surprisingly, because they usually do not care about you all that much most of the time. From time to time they make attempt to flog you some stuff. On the occasions they even will send you some useful tip, some valuable link, just because ... you are on their list.

But the product launches, man I do like them. Majority of the experts send you really good content in the prelaunch phrase. These few weeks before they will try to sell you their stuff, I mean ... you can learn their stuff. And there is plenty to learn.

If the expert is any good he has to give away his best stuff for free in order to prepare you to buy his other stuff. Now if you are smart you can learn 90-95 % of what will be included in their paid stuff for free. And that is to be smart.

You do not need to buy their paid stuff in order to benefit from their knowledge. That is if you are smart and you don't like part with your cash.

The stuff is for you to learn for free.

Consider it again. They have to give away their best stuff for free in order to persuade you to buy their "proper stuff". That means, if they are any good. The catch is that there is a "downhill road" beyond. I mean they are giving away their best stuff in order to persuade you to buy. That means, if you will buy their paid stuff you will only get the other, inferior stuff.

Good thing is you do not have to buy. Just use the good stuff from the prelaunch. That is if you need that knowledge and can apply it. Otherwise there's no point in learning stuff whatsoever either free or paid.
This is completely different from the freebies and bonuses which are offered after the launch just to prompt you to buy now. These kind of bonuses are most of the time useless and certainly confusing.

But the prelaunch stuff is usually really good so take advantage of it. Just beware, do not learn it just because it is for free. Learn it if you need it, if you can apply it and make money this way.

Now, this is purely opportunistic approach. If you like the guy, if you respect him/her go and buy the paid stuff. You may get some one on one coaching or something. Just remember most of the stuff if free to learn.

Why bonuses are useless to you?

Bonuses are part of every product we are offered nowadays. It used to be different, but now in order to stand out, in order to differentiate yourself you've got to add value. So they say.

So all the marketers online do it. It is especially common practice in the internet marketing world. A bit odd I would say. To do what others are doing and trying to differentiate yourself that way.

Of course, everybody offers different bonuses, ... in order to add value. So they say.

So, do the bonuses actually add value?
For me all they do, they actually add to the confusion. That's right, the bonuses add to the confusion and since I am confused internet marketer I don't like them. Period.

It actually makes me question the value of the primary offer in the first place. Is it any good? Will it solve my problem, or what?
I guess, ... the problem.

Unless of course, all they offer you is the hype, and then more hype (more bonuses for that matter) in order to make you buy. And these guys know their stuff. I mean, they know how to make you use you credit card.

This is not all bad. I mean there are plenty of useful information products that are sold by decent guys. The only question is: do I need it? Do I need it right now?
Can I use it?

Because it all looks attractive, it all looks like the real solution to ... , my problems? I don't know.

Let's say I buy some information stuff about seo and then I'm offered 10 other bonuses which will teach me even more about seo for that reason. Do I need it? I''m already overwhelmed with all this information. I want a simple solution. No, I do not mean a silver bullet, quick fix. I do mean: I need simple solution to my problem. And the only reason for paying for the information online is to pay for ready solution. I do not want to pay for more information. All stuff is out there for free anyway.

The only reason for paying for information is to save my time, to shorten the learning curve.

Therefore I do not need more products, bonuses. I need the answer. Is that right?

The guy who want me to buy his information on the basis of attractive bonuses does not help me. He does want to differentiate himself. And so he does. And I do not buy his stuff. I am confused marketer. I vote for simplification. That's it!

Why you should not listen to the gurus.

There is a problem with all the exerts, all the so called gurus on the internet, ... and in life generally for that matter.

They talk rubbish. No, not that their advice is rubbish, but it is generally useless. And it is so even when you exclude all these (which is majority of theme) who simply want to make money of you, these who know how to push your emotional buttons.

The story for theme goes like this: back in the old times I was like you struggling to find solution, to make any money on the internet, bla, bla, bla ...

Then they will offer you this simple solution, you only need to invest as little, as ..., that just for the start. As soon as you rise your hand they will flood you with other brilliant, must have solution. Soon enough you are more confused then ever before.

They will tell you the story trying to convince you that ... because they had to struggle you do not have to. That's all beautiful and still useless.

The trick is that they will tell you what has worked back in the old times, which on the internet could be ... very old by the time they are offering this "secret", "underground", whatever formula to you.

Or even worse, they will tell you what they would do if they were like you right now. This is even worse then the previous version of what has worked in the past. It is so useless to answer this question, that is down right harmful to these who take the advice.

The trick is that the thing: what would you do if ..., is so much different from what they actually do in the reality. Of course you can not do the same thing they do. Says who? Think about it.

First thing first, all of the so called expert had some kind of lucky break through. Some of them had to struggle longer, some of them ... got lucky almost straight from the beginning. That's right, they got lucky, no mystery about that.

Many of them actually admitted that they struggled like me and you, confused internet marketers, and they only broke free after they stopped listening to the gurus and experts themselves.

They only started to get traction the moment they started doing their own thing, whatever that happened to be.
Now they tell you that you do not have to struggle, you only have to listen to their advice. How useless is that?

They may tell you to find the niche, connect it with your passion, whatever that might be, but then you find out that they did not do the same thing. If you dig a bit, you might find out that they were not in any niche whatsoever, besides internet marketing niche.

So now these guys are trying to sell you the system, the turn key, ready to use system to make money online. Look how easy it is to build your list, to drive the traffic, etc. Is it so easy?

If you want to believe it ...

It is not actually as hard neither.

It is just that I personally find it so much more useful to learn what the so called guru or expert did at the beginning of their road to success then to listen to their advice. Simple because they are either trying to sell you the thing that has worked some times ago, but may not any more, or because they are answering the question: "what would you do", but they themselves are doing another thing. And that's down right harmful and confusing.

Beware of the experts and gurus. Study what they did, but do not necessary listen to their advice.

Confused Marketer on Twitter.

Here I am Confused Internet Marketer on Twitter.
Isn't that peculiar?
What the hell are you doing there man? Good question.

It's good and relevant question because Twitter is such an aggregation of information ... and a lot of rubbish too. I remember, I had this problem and I still have it occasionally, where I find my inbox email account with a messages from all these guys ... who try to sell me something and occasionally share some useful content.  That is what happens to you when you are signing up on too many lists, newsletters, etc..

I remember this good advice I've read last year: do you want to watch what other guys are doing or do you want to do your own thing and make some money. That puts the things in perspective!

But still I find myself signing up to a new lists.Then I have to get rid of most of them. Most recently I found myself in peculiar situation. All these smart headlines do not speak to me any more. And I do not open anything that has free offer in it. I learned my lessons.

But why I'm rumbling about all this?
Because I'm on Twitter and this can be too much for confused internet marketer like myself. There's just too much information, too much rubbish to. Of course you can sort it out, you can use a lists (that was actually one of the best improvements on Twitter), but still if you like consuming information, you can quickly get lost in this maze.

Of course, You can follow only a few people, but then you seriously limit your chances to market ... whatever  you want to market for that matter. Twitter is reciprocal tool and if you do not follow people they will most likely not follow you.

Here is a brief story of my time on Twitter. It's been a bit over a year now, I started my account in March 2009. By now I have acquired almost 4000 followers, respectable but not at all big number. How I got here?

For the first few months I had no idea what to do with my account so I did nothing. Then in the summer I started to connect to people and I started to learn about how it all works. I gained some followers fairly quickly although it was struggle to go through the 2000 threshold. That's where I had to use Twitter Karma (free software) to clean my account for the first time. I actually did it again a few weeks ago again. It's good to regain control.

I had a moments when ... it was intense and I followed new people every day, but for most of the time I haven't been nearly as much active.

What have I done with my account? I tried to share useful information mainly entrepreneurial stuff. I share also a lot of quotes and inspiration, I like that things. I have been experimenting with some affiliate product offers, but only with the stuff that I thought will really benefit people who will use it. And that pretty much all.

I  haven't use Twitter for lead generation which I think could be the best thing to do simply because it is not applicable in my case. I might however done the second best thing which I think is to concentrate only on one specific niche. Then I could have build a relationship and market some products that way. The only question is: is it viable business option? I mean, what is the trade off time for money. Or should I use one of these automation tools for building Twitter following?

I wonder how you use your Twitter account? Don't you find yourself occasionally sucked into all these information and ... confused a bit after a while?

David Ogilvy on direct response marketing.

I recently discovered that we are in direct response marketing. Don't laugh at me, I am confused internet marketer. I learn, but I learn fast. And I dare to say I am already way ahead of many so called gurus.

Why is it so?
Because I already am "getting to the meat". I am getting to the core, to the basics of this business.

There is little help for you if you only learn how to drive a traffic to your website. What matters is the conversion.

Do not bother to chase hundreds or thousands prospects if you do not know how to convert them. It is true that money are in the list, but there are guys who live quiet comfortable form a very small list. The trick is that theirs is very responsive list.

But then I do not want to bore you with my ramblings. What I wanted to share is this short video of David Ogilvy the master of advertising, the champion of direct response marketing.

Do you have a product?

Do you actually have a product?
Yes that's relevant question!
Do you?

I mean, it's important to have a product in order to market it. In order to make some money online.

I have to confess: as I took upon an internet marketing learning curve it was rare that any guru mentioned that. And that's really basic stuff.

We all try to learn the tricks. All marketing tactics and strategies to succeed in our online business, but the truth of the matter is that we cannot do much without actual product itself.

Now, your product can be anything. Preferably , it will be same kind of information product because you want to market in online. It takes a lot of hassle off your back if you just sell information instead of something else. That's what most people look for online anyway.

Of course you can market anything and be really successful. In the end it's up to you, it's up to the level of your commitment. I've heard about guy who was in the asphalt business and then he turned his knowledge, his contacts into very profitable online business. So if you are already in some kind of offline business you can transfer your knowledge your skills into online business as well.

There is probably no easier way to get started then Ebay, if you wish to do so. You can get some unused stuff you've got at home and put it on the auction. You will get the feel of the online business. You can then proceed into part time business flogging stuff on auction and using drop shipping as a fulfilment of the orders.

But to become a full fledged internet marketer you've got to move on up the leather. You've got to have your own website, you've got to drive traffic to this website, ... and you've got to actually sell something on this website of yours. You need a product.

Now again, you can become affiliate, you can go to the Clickbank and pick some of the popular products and start promote them through your website or anywhere else using affiliate links. You actually do not need your own website indeed. But it's helpful to have one as the matter of fact.

Most of the guru will advise you to to choose the niche, something you already know about, something you are passionate about, it may be your hobby if you wish. It's good advise. What I have to say however is this: be weary of the "gurus" that talk all about lifestyle, about freedom, and all that BS.

We all know about that, we all want that. That's not the reason for which you listen to the advice of the guru. But that's the way the "guru" pushes your emotional buttons and tricks you into buying his product without actually providing you with much of useful information.

That's why I said that on my journey of confused internet marketer I encountered only a handful of the people (not necessary the gurus) who will tell you straight in face: get the product and start promote it!

You will learn all the SEO ticks on the way as and when you need them. You will learn how to put together a decent copy as you will screw with a couple. You will build your list as soon as you will get the autoresponder account and put on your website the opt-in box. You will learn as you go. But you need to start.

So create product, put together half decent website and start driving some traffic to it. That's all.

Now, how you create a product. You already know that. Write an ebook, record some audio or video. DO anything, do something! I hear that - how to advices still sell pretty well.

Leo Burnett Human Kind Video.

What can we, Internet Marketers, learn from this short video?
After all we do advertise, we do promote, we do market .. to the market.

Leo Burnett presents as with a valuable insight. It's all about Humans now.
It's all about involvement.

There's actually quiet a lot we can learn. And it fits nicely with a social media craze.

Is the social media another bubble?

What is the social media? Is there any substance?
Previous videos show enormous potential of this new fenomen.

But, ... is it for real?
Enjoy watching and decide for yourself.

The game has changed.

The game has changed for marketing guys. It's not any longer about brand creation. You can not push stuff on people.

Social media are changing the landscape. It's now about adding value, it's about building relationship.

It's people's choice. They may choose to listen to your marketing massage, but only if you are adding value. Only if the massage is relevant in the context.

Adopt or perish.

Context, Value & The New Marketing Economy

View more documents from Helge Tennø.

All change please, all change...

It's all change now, all change. Or is it?

Social media are taking world by storm. Online world.
We've got yet to see the real money here though. Or don't we see them already?

Smart online marketers are making good money out there.
Are you?

Welcome to the Revolution.

Social media change the way we communicate, they change the way we interact, they change the way we make decisions.

The Revolution is here. And you are part of it.
Numbers say it all.

Be a relevant part of the Revolution. Take advantage of the change,... the fundamental change in the way we communicate. If you haven't yet then you must adopt quickly. It is particularly important for the business world.

The internet marketing world is catching up fast although ... the change is faster for now.

Do you like bonuses?

Do you like bonuses? For me they are just distraction.
Yes, I know, I am confused marketer. That may be a reason ;)

But, aren't you confused with all these offers?
If you are trying to make some money online you've certainly signed for a number of newsletters and you've certainly seen faire share of sale letters.

It is harder and harder for these guys to sell their stuff,... so they offer bonuses. For me it is simply blunt stupid!
Why is that so?
Because it undermines the credibility of the primary offer. Is the offer so weak that it cannot support itself?
I know it does not necessary need to be a case. The market is so competitive that these guys feel compelled to up it, to sweeten it.

But here is the problem with the bonuses. They add to the confusion.

And here is why?
You go for some product because you need a solution to some of your problems. Now they offer you this solution (the primary offer, product) and then they add four, five or more bonus products. These brilliant [so they claim] products will also solve your problems.

But wait, wasn't that the original offer was the brilliant one. They are all brilliant, all are solution to your problems! Then which should I use?
I am confused!!

Not to mention the value claim. It is not uncommon that some gurus are trying to flog the product for $97. All while the value of the bonuses itself goes into thousands. Isn't it outrageous claim?/!
I mean come on!
And you can keep the bonuses even when you return the original product.

So what are the bonuses worth? Most of the time they are not worth much, if anything! They try to sell you some kind of training and in bonuses they will just recycle the information so it will seem ... like they are adding value. All the while they are only adding to the confusion.

Simplicity is worth a gold. Many times you will get a lot of value in the primary report. These kind of free reports are offered to prompt you to sign up for a newsletter or a mailing list.

Now, let's assume that the bonuses are real, that they are not just recycled information. Let's say that through joint venture partnership some other guy is offering his products as a bonuses to the primary offer. They are real value!
But, are they? Are they real value for you?
Do you need that kind of information at the moment? What was your primary concern? What was your primary need?

If you don't need them at the moment, then they are just adding confusion to your reality. They are distraction. And in the era of information overload the last thing you need is more information, more quick fix products.

It is actually easy for the internet marketing guru to offer bonuses. Here is why. They all try to sell some kind of money making products online. You are after money making opportunities. So all the bonuses are just complimentary.

Here is the problem with it again. They try to sell you this brilliant system that will instantly put money in your pocket. And as a bonus you will receive more products, systems, etc.
Now, what do you do? How do you apply it?
Aren't you confused? I am.

We all want to make money. Some of the products are brilliant and they can help you make real money online. But in order to succeed you need to focus. You need to apply the solution offered in the product and stick with it until it will prove to be successful or not.
The bonuses are just distraction. They may be a real value or not.
But are they for you right now?

Measure the results.

Results is the name of the game. And the final result is ... the money in your pocket ;)

You've got to measure the results you're getting from your online business efforts.

The best thing to start is with Google Analytics. It's fairly simply to set up and it tells you a lot about your marketing campaign. You shouldn't get confused. If in trouble, ask for help :)

Have a look.

Keep it Simple, Stupid!

Keep it simple.
All honest internet marketers will tell you, it's simple.
The online business is really simple. It all comes down to traffic and conversion.

I mean it's not easy. I didn't say that. It takes hard work to succeed online.

You need traffic to your web site and you need a way to convert this traffic into money in your pocket. It's that simple.

We are in it for money. It's business, nothing personal ;)

Take the offline business, shop of some kind. There it's all about location, location, location. The more people pass by, the more will drop by. Then it's up to you to sell.

Now online, it's all about information, information, information. People look on the Internet for the information. For a solution to their problems. That's why it's important that you provide a relevant, valuable information. Content is the king, so they say.

That's right, content is the king. The search engines loves fresh, unique, personalized content. This is a major reason why blogs are so highly listed. The higher you list with search engines the better your chance that people will visit your website. That's the offline equivalent of a passer by dropping by.

Here is however problem with a content. There's so much content on the Internet and every day literally thousands of new blogs, websites are added that most of us get easily confused. We live in the information era. And most of us struggle to get through to sort out a valuable and relevant information.

Here therefore is your chance. You've got to create a relevant, valuable content. At the same time: keep it simple. Keep your messages short. The biggest value you can provide nowadays is simplification, clarification.

Whatever topic you are writing about, whatever is your market niche if you can convey your massage in a simple, clear manner you will be a winner.

Somebody said that confused mind will not buy. If you will confuse your audience with too much information, even thought it will be relevant information, they will not buy. So, keep it simple.

Site Build It! It's a real solution!

Site Build It! That's a real solution for a struggling, confused internet marketer. If you are at the beginning of your online business journey it's perfect for you.

Let's look at it. You have an idea, or more likely you do not have an idea of what to do online.

OK, you've heard about these guys who are making big money in the internet marketing industry. You've heard about them, because you are searching for a source of an additional income, or you just want a change in your life. Maybe you want to work from home, in you pyjamas :)

You've got some expertise from the real world which now you can share with other people online. There's huge market out there.

If you are confused marketer SBI! may be your best shot.
Why? Because it provides you all the necessary tools to start. Most important, you do not need to be bothered with all the SEO [search engine optimization) tactics and strategies. You do not want to be bothered with HTML coding or anything like that. They take care of this stuff.

As they say at Site Sell all you need to do is to create a good content. Search engines loves good, fresh, personalized content. And here you are. You use your knowledge, your expertise to create good content in your chosen niche. Search engines love your site, they sent you lot of traffic which you can monetize. Means, you make money!

Right, niche?
If you have one. You follow your area of expertise.

What if you do not have a chosen niche?
They actually have good tool to help you with that. It's called Brainstorm It!
Just be careful with that. It can be a bit confusing at first.
Mind yourself not to get stuck at this initial step. Choose the idea, niche and then proceed with it.
Build your site and as you go you will have a chance to polish it.
Anyway, if it is your first attempt at online business it does not need to be perfect. You will learn. Next time will be better. The important thing is: just do it! Go with SBI! Or go with another solution, but go for it!

John Reese talks about his million dollar day.

How about making million dollars in one day. Actually in 18 hours according to John Reese. It's been eventful day for him, but also for the rest of us in the internet marketing world.

It's that breaking this mental bariere and showing what is possible. John Reese is having chat with Anthony Robbins, the guy who is very well known in the personal development community. That is actually understatement.

Here in this short video Tony Robbins and John Reese talk about making it happen. About actually going out there and making real money. What does it take?

Why there are some guys that have succeeded while so may others failed. While so many do not even give it a good try.

How about making first dollar online? How about just starting. According to Tony Robbins it is critically important to take that first step, to get going. To build a momentum. That will take you further to a bigger success. If you will persist.

Thing big and take a small actions daily. Your first dollar online is very important. Yours first few thousand will prove to you that it is for real, that you actually can make a living of the internet marketing.

Take that first step. It is more about your mental attitude then about technical stuff. It is all about taking actions and adjusting along the way.

Wordpress blogs.

Have you heard that Wordpress blogs are brilliant tools for the internet marketer.
I've heard that.

Wordpress indeed works very well. It works very well with Google for example. And that's important, I guess.
I have Wordpress blog too.

The most important thing is that it is easy to set up and user friendly to run. I mean reasonably friendly. If you are not technical guy you may get lost. Especially, if you are setting up Wordpress blog under your own domain. That is what has happened to me.
I had watched the video explaining how to set up the blog. It seemed very easy. So I said to myself: let's do it!
And then I got stuck.

I mean it may be fairly easy if your hosting company offers the automatic set up for the Wordpress blog. Most reputable hosting companies nowadays do anyway.

You may also consider to go with same sort of guru for your first blog. Then, after that it will be easy for you. Wordpress Goldmine is worthy of trying.
The obvious benefit of it is that it takes you through various stages of a process of creating your first online business. From choosing a niche to creating a content, etc.

Now, there are of course other blogging platforms, like for example Blogger. Here we are :)
Blogger may be even better for the internet marketer who just starts. It seems to be bit less complicated. You may start right away, without your own domain. Of course you can do the same with the Wordpress.

I mean, it can be useful and practical to start with a Blogger and test your ideas. Unless of course you are absolutely sure and committed to build a profitable business. Then Wordpress with your own domain address is the must. Ultimately, it will belong to you.

The crucial clue here is commitment. If you have already chosen your niche. If you are feeling confident that you will be able consistently create a good content. If you aiming at becoming an expert in your field. Then certainly go with the Wordpress platform.

PLR products.

You most likely have heard about PLR - Private Label Rights products. I will not bore you.

This is very practical and easy approach. If you want to make some money online, but you are not quiet sure where to start. You may as well start here. PLR is certainly a thing for an internet marketer with little or no experience.

If you are anything like me then you probably embraced the idea of making money online with enthusiasm and naive believe [at first]. Then you realized that you actually have no products, no list, etc.

No product. Well, that may be a bit of a problem. I hit this barrier too and it was hard to move beyond. PLR products take a burden form your shoulders. You already have a ready product which you can sell. Well, almost. If you are willing to make some modifications, some updates.

At least you do not need all the structure. The model for using PLR is ready All you have to do is to apply it. It is actually low costs and low risk way to start making some money on the Internet.

Alltop, makes it less confusing.

I like what they do at Alltop. They try to make it easy and simple to sort out through the maze of today's information overload.

“It’s not information overload. It’s filter failure.” - Clay Shirky

It is important for us to make it simple. I guess simplicity may be as well the holly grail of the Internet.

Why is so?
Simply, because we as a humans are not able to cope with all the information out there.

But there is even more important fact. We do not need to follow all the information.

As an internet marketer you want to make some money, preferably big one. Fine, then just do it! Stop studding, stop exploring and start applying.

The same is true with anything in life. You need only so much information and then you need to start, and then you need to adjust. You learn as you go.

How many info products have you bought lately?

How many info products have you bought lately?
That's valid and legitimate question!

As a new to internet marketing you are probably trying to figure it out. You spend a lot of time trying to comprehend all that stuff. You are most certainly exposed to plenty of sales pitches and I tell you these are smart lines.

There are plenty of smart guys who will pull the right string with you. These guys are smart and they do know what to say so it will resonate with you. Then you say to yourself: hey that guy speaks my language, let's try out what he sells.

And that's even not so bad. Many of these products are fine, ... and they used to work in the past. I mean, come on! If something works fine, the the guru uses it himself and he makes money, or he should at least. So he tells you: buy my product, my system and your success as an internet marketer is secured and guaranteed.

First of all, internet marketing is a business as any other. It is actually quiet competitive, if not ferociously competitive by now. At the same time there are plenty of good products, tools which can make your life easier online.

All right, but let's not be all sceptic. There are guy who sell valuable information, even if outdated. They tried it, it had worked. Now it's your turn to try.

So you have bought quiet a few products.

And what have you done with them?

Have you applied the system, the knowledge? Have you been persistent in your effort?

You see, some smart guys will tell you that whether you will succeed or no is actually entirely up to you. It is a matter of psychology, of motivation.

I do agree with them.

Here an interesting video featuring Tony Robbins chatting Frank Kern and John Reese (big names in internet marketing).

They try to answer this all important question:

Why so may people fail in their attempt to make money online.?

See it yourself.