INTRODUCTION. Why 365 Days?

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2 INTRODUCTION Why 365 Days? Many of you are probably asking yourself, Why do I need to have a 365 day plan? The answer is very simple. Other plans that offer a one, two or even three-month approach will provide you with the information you need to get your business off the ground, but they fail to give people all of the information necessary to grow and cultivate that business. Because of that, the shorter marketing programs simply do not deliver the goods. They get people to the edge of doing something great, but they stop short of providing people with a complete plan. You might have tried some of these programs before. You learned how to create a website, pick products and do the other things you needed to do to start a business. Then, when the program was over, you were left with a website and products, but you didn t have any customers. Maybe you purchased a longer plan, and learned how to get customers, but you did not learn how to keep up with the demand and input the financial data. Either way, you ended up with a business that could not possibly succeed. The fact of the matter is, creating and marketing a business is not something that can be done in a few months. If you are serious about owning your own business, you need to dedicate the next year to planning, creating and marketing your idea. Then, you will have a strong structure that you can continue to build on throughout the years. Think of creating and running a business like building a house. You need a strong foundation, or the house will not be able to stand on its own. Once you build the foundation, you can put up siding or bricks and a roof. After you have built the house, you do not have to maintain it on a daily basis. Sure, you will have to occasionally replace the air conditioner or patch the roof, but you will not have to do something to it every day. The same is true with creating a business. For the first year, you are going to build your house. The first few months will be spent creating your foundation, and then we will start to add the extras like the siding and the roof. After the year is over, you will have to maintain the house, but you will not have to look after it every day.

3 Other programs show you how to lay the siding or patch the roof. They don t show you how to build the house from the ground up, which is why this book is so important. What You Will Learn Unlike the short programs on the market today, you will learn everything you need to know about creating a business and making money online. We will take you through the steps of: Deciding what type of business you want to have Selecting products Hiring web designers and copywriters Creating a website Researching keywords Marketing your website and products Recording your financial data Analyzing your marketing plan Making adjustments We will teach you how to keep up with each of these tasks so you will be successful by the time the year is complete. You have made a great first step. You purchased this program, and now you will be able to begin the process of building your house. It is time to get your supplies out and start with Month One.

4 Affiliate Marketing Daily Checklist Day 1 Looking at Your Options Day 2-What Is Affiliate Marketing? Day 3-what is ecommerce? Day 4-Pros of Affiliate Marketing Day 5-Cons of Affiliate Marketing Day 6-Pros of Ecommerce Day 7-Cons of Ecommerce Day 8-Expectations Day 9-Analyze Your Expectations Day 10-Affiliate Marketing Message Boards Day 11- Message Ecommerce Boards Day 12-Fill Out Worksheet Day 13-Make Your Own List Day 14-Take An Inventory of What You Have Learned Day 15-Make a List of Your Hobbies Day 16-Make a List of Your Skills Day 17-Match Hobbies to Skills Day 18-Take Your Lists and Match Them to Products Day 19-Examine Your Products in Affiliate Marketing Day 20-Examine Your Products in Ecommerce Day 21-Affiliate Marketing Startup Costs Day 22-Ecommerce Startup Costs Day 23-Advertising or Selling? Day 24-Look at Sites Selling Similar Products Day 25-Create a New Pro and Con List Day 26-Make a Decision Day 27-Define Your Goals Day 28-Organize Your Information

5 Day 29-Create an Account on Elance Day 30-Post a Job for Web Designer Day 31-Post a Job for Copywriter Day 32-Examine Your Bidders Day 33-Start the Interview Process Day 34-Create a Clickbank Account Day 35-Create a Commission Junction Account Day 36-Create a Linkshare Account Day 37-Select Products from Clickbank Day 38-Select Products from Commission Junction Day 39-Select Products from Linkshare Day 40-Compare the Different Products Day 41-Narrow Down your Elance Bidders Day 42-Speak with Web Designers on the Phone Day 43 Speak with Copywriters on the Phone Day 44-Create an Agreement Day 45-Check Products One More Time Day 46-Find Site Designs You Like Day 47-Find Site Copy You Like Day 48-Do Keyword Research Day 49- Award the Web Design Job Day 50- Award the Copywriter Job Day 51-Register a Domain Name Day 52-Set Up a Hosting Account Day 53-Check in with the Designer Day 54-Check in with the Copywriter Day 55-Set Up Your Account Day 56-See a Rough Draft From the Copywriter Day 57-Receive Final Copy Day 58-Send Final Copy to the Web Designer Day 59-See Site Mockup Day 60-Create Google Analytics Account

6 Day 61-Receive Site Mock Up Day 62-Recommend Changes Day 63-Get the Mockup Back Day 64-Site Goes Live Day 65-Check Site in Different Browsers Day 66-Submit URL to Google Day 67-Submit URL to Yahoo! Day 68-Submit URL to Bing Day 69-Submit URL to Directories Day 70-Get a Tax Identification Number Day 71-Add Tax ID to ClickBank Day 72-Add Tax ID to LinkShare Day 73-Add Tax ID to Commission Junction Day 74-ClickBank Backroom Day 75-Examine LinkShare Back Room Day 76-Examine Commission Junction Back Room Day 77-Sign up for Message Boards Day 78-Learn the Rules of the Message Boards Day 79-Create a Signature Line for the Message Boards Day 80-Communicate with Others Day 81-Brainstorm Everything You Know About Your Products Day 82-Research Your Products Day 83-Consolidate Your Information Day 84-Create Yahoo! Answers Account Day 85-Answer 10 Questions on Yahoo! Answers Day 86-Post a Question on Yahoo! Answers Day 87-Mention Products in Yahoo! Answers Day 88-Advertise on the Message Boards Day 89-Check Site Analytics Day 90-Sign Up for a Blog Day 91: Buy a domain name with Wordpress Day 92: Change the Design and Layout of the Blog

7 Day 93: Upload a Picture and Update Your Bio Day 94: Decide on a Posting Strategy Day 95: Tips for Writing Your Blog Day 96 - Keyword Research Day 97 - Write Sample Blog Day 98 - Check Other Industry Blogs Day 99 - Brainstorm for Topics Day Make the Final Decision on Topics Day Do Research Day Start Writing Day Continue Writing Day Organize Your Posts Day Do a Final Edit Day Post on the Blog Day Sign up for Digg Day Post on Blog Day Sign Up for Reddit Day Post on Blog Day Post to Digg Day 112-Post on Blog Day Post to Reddit Day Post on the Blog Day 115-Submit URL to search engines Day Create Signature for Your Blog Day Post to Your Blog Day 118-Create New Topics Day 119-Assign Topics Day 120-Set up a Twitter Account Day 121-Create a Profile Day 122-Change the Background on Your Twitter Page Day 123-Link your Twitter Account to Your Blog Day 124-Get TweetDeck

8 Day 125-Familiarize Yourself with Tweet Burner Day 126-Learn the Twitter Basics Day 127-Check Your Tweetburner Stats Day 128-Create a Message to Send to Followers Day 129-Follow Mr. Tweet Day 130-Go to search.twitter.com Day 131-Post Five Tweets Day 132-Find People to Follow Day 133- Familiarize Yourself with HootSuite Day 134-Retweet Someone s Post Day 135-Participate in a Hash Mark Conversation Day 136-Research Popular Topics Day 137-Tweet About Popular Topics Day 138-Find 20 More People to Follow Day 139-Use Social Oomph Day 140-Examine What Your Followers are Retweeting Day 141-Tweet About Retweeted Topics Day 142-Go to TweetStats.com Day 143-Find Ways to Tweet About Popular Topics Day 144-Use Twitter on the Road Day 145-Reach Out to Your Followers Followers Day 146-Create a Coupon Campaign Day 147-Track Your Campaign Using Tweet Burner Day 148-Create Top 10 Blog Post Day 149-Tweet Blog Link Day 150-Track Your Stats Day 151-Sign up with Ezine Articles Day 152-Research Niche Article Directories Day 153-Sign Up with Niche Directories Day 154-Learn About Article Marketing Day 155-Learn From Writers Day 156-Constructing an Article

9 Day 157-Make a Plan for Writing Articles Day 158-Research Industry Articles Day 159-Create Topics for Articles Day 160-Do Keyword Research for Articles Day 161-Research Your Topics Day 162-Write Articles or Outsource Them Day 163-Edit the Articles Day 164-Submit Articles Day 165-Research Websites Day 166-Create an to Send to Site Owners Day 167-Send out the Day 168-Put Articles on Twitter Day 169-Put Articles on Blogs Day 170-Research More Topics Day 171-Receive Batch of Articles Day 172-Edit and Submit the Articles Day 173-Write or Outsource Articles Day 174 Create a Follow Up to Site Owners Day 175 Send Out Follow Up Day 176 Submit to Digg Day 177 Submit to Reddit Day 178 Look at Your Article Marketing Statistics Day 179 Receive Articles Day 180 Edit Articles Day 181 Post Them Day 182-Catch Up Day Create a Facebook Account Day Create a Profile Day Set Privacy Settings Day Personalize Your URL Day Install iendorse App Day Create a Group

10 Day Invite People to be Friends and Group Members Day Learn About Facebook Ads Day Find Keywords for an Ad Day Find Target Facebook Group Day Clicks or Impressions? Day Create Facebook Ads Day Write a Blog Post About Your Facebook Account Day Tweet About Your Facebook Account Day Create a Discussion on Your Group s Wall Day Send Group Members Friend Requests Day Check Your Ad Statistics and Make Changes Day Search for Interesting Articles to Post on Your Account Day Search for Interesting Videos to Post on Your Account Day Post Your Own Articles to Your Account Day 204- Post Your Own Blogs to Your Account Day Join Groups Day Post on Wall of Groups Day Send Friend Requests to People in the Group Day Send Group Invitation Day Create a Community Page Day Invite People to Become Fans Day 211 Send Out to Group Members Day Write Articles Day Write Blogs Day Plan Out Your Articles and Blogs Day 215 What is Adwords? Day Look at Ads Day Create an AdWords Account Day Decide on Your Budget Day Find the Best Keywords For Your Ad Day Set Conversion Goals Day Learn How to Write an Ad

11 Day What Are Ad Groups and Campaigns? Day Create Two Ads Day Create a New Ad Group Day Check Your Results and Make a New Test Day Target Ads Day Advanced Targeting Day 229 Change Match Types Day Create New Ads in AD Groups Day Quality Scores Day Using the Google Display Network Day Write Two Ads For First Ad Group Day Write Two Ads For Second Ad Group Day Use Conversion Tracking Day Catch Up With Articles Day Catch Up With Blogs Day Run AdWords reports Day Get Rid Of Underperforming Keywords Day Find New Keywords Day 241 Write Ads For New Keywords Day Check Your Budget Day Update Your Match Types Day Check Your Conversion Stats Day Check Targeting Day Plan Articles And Blogs For Next Month Day Set up Your Account Day Your Budget Day Find Your Keywords Day Write Your Ad Day Match Types Day Additional Targeting Day Negative Keywords Day Split Test

12 Day Look at Results Day Create New AD Group Day Create Split Tests for Both Ad Groups Day Find Keywords for New Campaign Day Decide on Targeting Day Create a New Campaign Day Create Ad Groups for Your Campaign Day Split Test for New Campaign Day Analyze Statistics Day Make Changes Based on Statistics Day Run Reports Day Brainstorm for Topics for Articles Day Catch Up on Articles Day Brainstorm for Topics on Blogs Day Catch up on Blogs Day Get Rid of Underperforming Keywords Day Tweak Ads Day Check on Your Budget and Make Adjustments Day Go to Quantcast Day Research Information about Your Site Day Change Targeting Day Look for Keywords to Match this New Targeting Day Change Your AdWords Targeting Day Change AdWords Keywords Day 279 Watch Videos on YouTube Day 280 Brainstorm for Ideas Day 281-Inside Videos Day 282-Create Your First Script Day 283-Get Your Props Day Rehearse for Your First Video Day Create Your First Video Day Create a Survey

13 Day Send Video and Survey to Friends and Family Members Day Get Feedback on Your Video Day Create a YouTube Account Day Windows Movie Maker Day Decide on a Song Day Write Your Second Script Day Look for Pictures and Create Slides Day 294 -Put Your Video Together Day Get Feedback Day Upload it to YouTube Day Video Blogs Day Write Your Script Day Gather Props Day Memorize Your Script Day Create Video Day 303 Submit Your Video to Friends and Family Day 304 Upload it to Your Blog and YouTube Day 305 Catch up with Blogs and Articles Day 306-Submit Your Videos to Digg Day 307 Put your Videos on Facebook Day 308 Put Your Videos on Your Blog Day 309 Create Your Second Video Blog Day What Are Press Releases? Day Press Release Writing Day Come up with Ideas Day Research Keywords Day Practice Writing Press Releases Day Visit Submission Sites and Read Releases Day Write Your First Release Day Submit it to Press Release Submission Sites Day Put Your Press Release on Facebook and Twitter Day Contact the Local Media

14 Day What is Quantcast? Day Check Your Marketing Strategy Day 322 Decide on Changes Day 323 Adjust Your Marketing Plan Day Decide on New Press Release Topics Day Find Keywords Day Write a New Press Release Day 327 Distribute It Day Contact Media Outlets Day 329 Link it to Facebook and Twitter Day Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Do a Video Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Tweet About Your News Item Day Plan Future Press Releases Day Do Keyword Research Day Come up with Topics for Articles and Blogs Day Find Keywords for Articles and Blogs Day 337 Write or Outsource Articles Day Write or Outsource Blogs Day 339 What is Marketing? Day 340 Sign Up with Constant Contact Day 341 Learn About Constant Contact Day 342 Import Your Addresses Day 343 Brainstorm for Ideas for Your Newsletter Day 344 Write Your Newsletter Day 345 Proof Your Newsletter Day 346 Upload Your Newsletter Day 347 Have Web Designer Place Join My Mailing List Day 348 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Facebook Day 349 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Twitter Day 350 Have Web Designer Create Subscription Opt In at Online Checkout Day 351 Brainstorm Ideas for Promotions

15 Day 352 Select a Promotion Day 353 Create Marketing Day 354 Proof Your Marketing Day 355 Upload Your Marketing Day 356 Write Second Newsletter Day 357 Proof Your Newsletter Day 358 Upload Your Newsletter Day 359 Brainstorm for s and Autoresponders Day 360 Create s Day 361 Continue Creating Autoresponders Day 362 Proof Your Autoresponders Day 363 Upload Your Autoresponders Day 364 Make Sure List is Current Day 365 Check Your Statistics

16 ecommerce Daily Checklist Day 1 Looking at Your Options Day 2-What Is Affiliate Marketing? Day 3-what is ecommerce? Day 4-Pros of Affiliate Marketing Day 5-Cons of Affiliate Marketing Day 6-Pros of Ecommerce Day 7-Cons of Ecommerce Day 8-Expectations Day 9-Analyze Your Expectations Day 10-Affiliate Marketing Message Boards Day 11- Message Ecommerce Boards Day 12-Fill Out Worksheet Day 13-Make Your Own List Day 14-Take An Inventory of What You Have Learned Day 15-Make a List of Your Hobbies Day 16-Make a List of Your Skills Day 17-Match Hobbies to Skills Day 18-Take Your Lists and Match Them to Products Day 19-Examine Your Products in Affiliate Marketing Day 20-Examine Your Products in Ecommerce Day 21-Affiliate Marketing Startup Costs Day 22-Ecommerce Startup Costs Day 23-Advertising or Selling? Day 24-Look at Sites Selling Similar Products Day 25-Create a New Pro and Con List Day 26-Make a Decision Day 27-Define Your Goals Day 28-Organize Your Information

17 Day 29-Decide On Your Product Day 30-Register Your Business Day 31-Create a Business Plan Day 32-Decide on Funding Day 33-Register on Elance Day 34-Post Design Job on Elance Day 35-Post Copywriter Job on Elance Day 36-How Will You Get Products? Day 37-Drop Shipping Day 38-Examine Your Bidders Day 39-Talk to Designers Day 40-Talk to Copywriters Day 41-Find Site Designs and Copy You Like Day 42-Do Keyword Research Day 43-Create an Agreement Day 44-Make Final Product Decision Day 45-Order Products Day 46-Create Fed Ex Account Day 47-Hire Copywriter and Designer Day 48-Register with Host Gator Day 49-Buy Domain Name Day 50-Get 800 Number Day 51-Purchase Shopping Cart Software Day 52-Make Storage Arrangements Day 53-Get Your Tax Id Day 54-Follow Up With Designer Day 55-Follow Up With Copywriter Day 56-Get Rough Draft From Copywriter Day 57-Receive New Copy Day 58-Send Copy to Designer Day 59-See Site Mock Up Day 60-Sign Up for Google Analytics

18 Day 61-Send Mockup Back for Changes Day 62-Receive Final Site Day 63-Site Goes Live Day 65-Make Sure Process Works Day 66-Check Site in Different Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Explorer) Day 67-Submit URL to Google Day 68-Submit URL to Yahoo! Day 69-Submit URL To Bing Day 70-Submit URL to Directories Day 71-Create Merchant Bank Account Day 72-Get Accounting Software Day 73-Set Up Your Account Day 74-What is Affiliate Marketing? Day 75- Affiliate Management Software Day 76-ASP Day 77-Create an Affiliate Business Plan Day 78-Create an for Affiliates Day 79-Sign Up for Warrior Forum Sign up for Digital Point Forum Day 80-Study the Forums Day 81-Post on the Forums Day 82-Sign UP at Affiliate Directories Day 83-Sign Up for Affiliate Networks Day 84-Do a Google Search for Potential Affiliates (Blogs) Day 85-Do an Ezine Articles Search for Potential Affiliates Day 86-Do a Search on Squidoo Day 87-Create a Follow Up Day 88-Send Follow Up Letter Day 89-Organize Your Affiliates Day 90-Sign Up for a Blog Day 91: Buy a domain name with Wordpress Day 92: Change the Design and Layout of the Blog Day 93: Upload a Picture and Update Your Bio

19 Day 94: Decide on a Posting Strategy Day 95: Tips for Writing Your Blog Day 96 - Keyword Research Day 97 - Write Sample Blog Day 98 - Check Other Industry Blogs Day 99 - Brainstorm for Topics Day Make the Final Decision on Topics Day Do Research Day Start Writing Day Continue Writing Day Organize Your Posts Day Do a Final Edit Day Post on the Blog Day Sign up for Digg Day Post on Blog Day Sign Up for Reddit Day Post on Blog Day Post to Digg Day 112-Post on Blog Day Post to Reddit Day Post on the Blog Day 115-Submit URL to search engines Day Create Signature for Your Blog Day Post to Your Blog Day 118-Create New Topics Day 119-Assign Topics Day 120-Set up a Twitter Account Day 121-Create a Profile Day 122-Change the Background on Your Twitter Page Day 123-Link your Twitter Account to Your Blog Day 124-Get TweetDeck Day 125-Familiarize Yourself with Tweet Burner

20 Day 126-Learn the Twitter Basics Day 127-Check Your Tweetburner Stats Day 128-Create a Message to Send to Followers Day 129-Follow Mr. Tweet Day 130-Go to search.twitter.com Day 131-Post Five Tweets Day 132-Find People to Follow Day 133- Familiarize Yourself with HootSuite Day 134-Retweet Someone s Post Day 135-Participate in a Hash Mark Conversation Day 136-Research Popular Topics Day 137-Tweet About Popular Topics Day 138-Find 20 More People to Follow Day 139-Use Social Oomph Day 140-Examine What Your Followers are Retweeting Day 141-Tweet About Retweeted Topics Day 142-Go to TweetStats.com Day 143-Find Ways to Tweet About Popular Topics Day 144-Use Twitter on the Road Day 145-Reach Out to Your Followers Followers Day 146-Create a Coupon Campaign Day 147-Track Your Campaign Using Tweet Burner Day 148-Create Top 10 Blog Post Day 149-Tweet Blog Link Day 150-Track Your Stats Day 151-Sign up with Ezine Articles Day 152-Research Niche Article Directories Day 153-Sign Up with Niche Directories Day 154-Learn About Article Marketing Day 155-Learn From Writers Day 156-Constructing an Article Day 157-Make a Plan for Writing Articles

21 Day 158-Research Industry Articles Day 159-Create Topics for Articles Day 160-Do Keyword Research for Articles Day 161-Research Your Topics Day 162-Write Articles or Outsource Them Day 163-Edit the Articles Day 164-Submit Articles Day 165-Research Websites Day 166-Create an to Send to Site Owners Day 167-Send out the Day 168-Put Articles on Twitter Day 169-Put Articles on Blogs Day 170-Research More Topics Day 171-Receive Batch of Articles Day 172-Edit and Submit the Articles Day 173-Write or Outsource Articles Day 174 Create a Follow Up to Site Owners Day 175 Send Out Follow Up Day 176 Submit to Digg Day 177 Submit to Reddit Day 178 Look at Your Article Marketing Statistics Day 179 Receive Articles Day 180 Edit Articles Day 181 Post Them Day 182-Catch Up Day Create a Facebook Account Day Create a Profile Day Set Privacy Settings Day Personalize Your URL Day Install iendorse App Day Create a Group Day Invite People to be Friends and Group Members

22 Day Learn About Facebook Ads Day Find Keywords for an Ad Day Find Target Facebook Group Day Clicks or Impressions? Day Create Facebook Ads Day Write a Blog Post About Your Facebook Account Day Tweet About Your Facebook Account Day Create a Discussion on Your Group s Wall Day Send Group Members Friend Requests Day Check Your Ad Statistics and Make Changes Day Search for Interesting Articles to Post on Your Account Day Search for Interesting Videos to Post on Your Account Day Post Your Own Articles to Your Account Day 204- Post Your Own Blogs to Your Account Day Join Groups Day Post on Wall of Groups Day Send Friend Requests to People in the Group Day Send Group Invitation Day Create a Community Page Day Invite People to Become Fans Day 211 Send Out to Group Members Day Write Articles Day Write Blogs Day Plan Out Your Articles and Blogs Day 215 What is Adwords? Day Look at Ads Day Create an AdWords Account Day Decide on Your Budget Day Find the Best Keywords For Your Ad Day Set Conversion Goals Day Learn How to Write an Ad Day What Are Ad Groups and Campaigns?

23 Day Create Two Ads Day Create a New Ad Group Day Check Your Results and Make a New Test Day Target Ads Day Advanced Targeting Day 229 Change Match Types Day Create New Ads in AD Groups Day Quality Scores Day Using the Google Display Network Day Write Two Ads For First Ad Group Day Write Two Ads For Second Ad Group Day Use Conversion Tracking Day Catch Up With Articles Day Catch Up With Blogs Day Run AdWords reports Day Get Rid Of Underperforming Keywords Day Find New Keywords Day 241 Write Ads For New Keywords Day Check Your Budget Day Update Your Match Types Day Check Your Conversion Stats Day Check Targeting Day Plan Articles And Blogs For Next Month Day Set up Your Account Day Your Budget Day Find Your Keywords Day Write Your Ad Day Match Types Day Additional Targeting Day Negative Keywords Day Split Test Day Look at Results

24 Day Create New AD Group Day Create Split Tests for Both Ad Groups Day Find Keywords for New Campaign Day Decide on Targeting Day Create a New Campaign Day Create Ad Groups for Your Campaign Day Split Test for New Campaign Day Analyze Statistics Day Make Changes Based on Statistics Day Run Reports Day Brainstorm for Topics for Articles Day Catch Up on Articles Day Brainstorm for Topics on Blogs Day Catch up on Blogs Day Get Rid of Underperforming Keywords Day Tweak Ads Day Check on Your Budget and Make Adjustments Day Go to Quantcast Day Research Information about Your Site Day Change Targeting Day Look for Keywords to Match this New Targeting Day Change Your AdWords Targeting Day Change AdWords Keywords Day 279 Watch Videos on YouTube Day 280 Brainstorm for Ideas Day 281-Inside Videos Day 282-Create Your First Script Day 283-Get Your Props Day Rehearse for Your First Video Day Create Your First Video Day Create a Survey Day Send Video and Survey to Friends and Family Members

25 Day Get Feedback on Your Video Day Create a YouTube Account Day Windows Movie Maker Day Decide on a Song Day Write Your Second Script Day Look for Pictures and Create Slides Day 294 -Put Your Video Together Day Get Feedback Day Upload it to YouTube Day Video Blogs Day Write Your Script Day Gather Props Day Memorize Your Script Day Create Video Day 303 Submit Your Video to Friends and Family Day 304 Upload it to Your Blog and YouTube Day 305 Catch up with Blogs and Articles Day 306-Submit Your Videos to Digg Day 307 Put your Videos on Facebook Day 308 Put Your Videos on Your Blog Day 309 Create Your Second Video Blog Day What Are Press Releases? Day Press Release Writing Day Come up with Ideas Day Research Keywords Day Practice Writing Press Releases Day Visit Submission Sites and Read Releases Day Write Your First Release Day Submit it to Press Release Submission Sites Day Put Your Press Release on Facebook and Twitter Day Contact the Local Media Day What is Quantcast?

26 Day Check Your Marketing Strategy Day 322 Decide on Changes Day 323 Adjust Your Marketing Plan Day Decide on New Press Release Topics Day Find Keywords Day Write a New Press Release Day 327 Distribute It Day Contact Media Outlets Day 329 Link it to Facebook and Twitter Day Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Do a Video Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Tweet About Your News Item Day Plan Future Press Releases Day Do Keyword Research Day Come up with Topics for Articles and Blogs Day Find Keywords for Articles and Blogs Day 337 Write or Outsource Articles Day Write or Outsource Blogs Day 339 What is Marketing? Day 340 Sign Up with Constant Contact Day 341 Learn About Constant Contact Day 342 Import Your Addresses Day 343 Brainstorm for Ideas for Your Newsletter Day 344 Write Your Newsletter Day 345 Proof Your Newsletter Day 346 Upload Your Newsletter Day 347 Have Web Designer Place Join My Mailing List Day 348 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Facebook Day 349 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Twitter Day 350 Have Web Designer Create Subscription Opt In at Online Checkout Day 351 Brainstorm Ideas for Promotions Day 352 Select a Promotion

27 Day 353 Create Marketing Day 354 Proof Your Marketing Day 355 Upload Your Marketing Day 356 Write Second Newsletter Day 357 Proof Your Newsletter Day 358 Upload Your Newsletter Day 359 Brainstorm for s and Autoresponders Day 360 Create s Day 361 Continue Creating Autoresponders Day 362 Proof Your Autoresponders Day 363 Upload Your Autoresponders Day 364 Make Sure List is Current Day 365 Check Your Statistics

28 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction... i Month 1 What Do You Want To Do?... 1 Day 1 Looking at Your Options... 1 Day 2-What Is Affiliate Marketing?... 2 The Process... 2 Why it Works... 2 Day 3-what is ecommerce?... 3 The Process... 3 Day 4-Pros of Affiliate Marketing... 4 Someone Else s Product... 5 Simple Process... 5 Low Start-Up Cost... 5 No Product Handling... 5 Limited Customer Service... 6 Countless Options... 6 Unlimited Stream of Income... 6 Easy to Change Products... 6 Link Products Together... 7 Day 5-Cons of Affiliate Marketing... 8 Dishonest Merchants... 8 Competition... 8 Lack of Control... 9 Merchant s Customer... 9 FTC rules... 9 Day 6-Pros of Ecommerce Customer Loyalty Create Your Own Price Points Build Brand Recognition i

29 Use of Affiliates You re the Boss Product Options Day 7-Cons of Ecommerce Financing Shipping and Handling Site Updates No Immediate Results Lots of Work Day 8-Expectations Day 9-Analyze Your Expectations Quitting Your Job Spending More Time With Family How it Works Day 10-Affiliate Marketing Message Boards Things to Check For Day 11- Message Ecommerce Boards Things to Check For Day 12-Fill Out Worksheet Day 13-Make Your Own List Day 14-Take An Inventory of What You Have Learned Day 15-Make a List of Your Hobbies Day 16-Make a List of Your Skills Day 17-Match Hobbies to Skills Day 18-Take Your Lists and Match Them to Products Day 19-Examine Your Products in Affiliate Marketing Profit Margins Day 20-Examine Your Products in Ecommerce Day 21-Affiliate Marketing Startup Costs Day 22 Ecommerce Startup Costs Day 23-Advertising or Selling? Day 24-Look at Sites Selling Similar Products ii

30 Day 25-Create a New Pro and Con List Day 26-Make a Decision Day 27-Define Your Goals Day 28-Organize Your Information Month 1 Review Month 1 Test Month 2 Getting Started Section 1 Affiliate Marketing Day 29-Create an Account on Elance Day 30-Post a Job for Web Designer Day 31-Post a Job for Copywriter Day 32-Examine Your Bidders Day 33-Start the Interview Process Day 34-Create a Clickbank Account How Click Bank Works Day 35-Create a Commission Junction Account Day 36-Create a LinkShare Account How LinkShare Works Day 37-Select Products from Clickbank Day 38-Select Products from Commission Junction Day 39-Select Products from Linkshare Day 40-Compare the Different Products Day 41-Narrow Down your Elance Bidders Location of Bidder Profile Price Day 42-Speak with Web Designers on the Phone Day 43 Speak with Copywriters on the Phone Day 44-Create an Agreement Day 45-Check Products One More Time Day 46-Find Site Designs You Like Day 47-Find Site Copy You Like iii

31 Day 48-Do Keyword Research What Keyword Research Does Look for Synonyms Selection Process Day 49- Award the Web Design Job Day 50- Award the Copywriter Job Day 51-Register a Domain Name Day 52-Set Up a Hosting Account Day 53-Check in with the Designer Day 54-Check in with the Copywriter Day 55-Set Up Your Account Day 56-See a Rough Draft From the Copywriter Day 57-Receive Final Copy Day 58-Send Final Copy to the Web Designer Day 59-See Site Mockup Month 2 Section 1 Review Month 2 Section 1 Test Month 2 - Section 2 ecommerce Day 29-Decide On Your Product Day 30-Register Your Business Day 31-Create a Business Plan Day 32-Decide on Funding Day 33-Register on Elance Day 34-Post Design Job on Elance Day 35-Post Copywriter Job on Elance Day 36-How Will You Get Products? Creating Your Own Products Benefits Of Creating Your Own Products Cons of Creating Your Own Products Buying from Vendors Benefits of Distributors and Manufacturers Drawbacks of Vendors and Manufacturers iv

32 Day 37-Drop Shipping Day 38-Examine Your Bidders Profile Location Price Day 39-Talk to Designers Day 40-Talk to Copywriters Day 41-Find Site Designs and Copy You Like Day 42-Do Keyword Research Day 43-Create an Agreement Day 44-Make Final Product Decision Day 45-Order Products Day 46-Create Fed Ex Account Day 47-Hire Copywriter and Designer Day 48-Register with Host Gator Day 49-Buy Domain Name Day 50-Get 800 Number Day 51-Purchase Shopping Cart Software Day 52-Make Storage Arrangements Day 53-Get Your Tax Id Day 54-Follow Up With Designer Day 55-Follow Up With Copywriter Day 56-Get Rough Draft From Copywriter Day 57-Receive New Copy Day 58-Send Copy to Designer Day 59-See Site Mock Up Month 2 Section 2 Review Month 2 Section 2 Test Month 3 Final Preparations Section 1 Affiliate Marketing Day 60-Create Google Analytics Account Day 61-Receive Site Mock Up v

33 Day 62-Recommend Changes Day 63-Get the Mockup Back Day 64-Site Goes Live Day 65-Check Site in Different Browsers Day 66-Submit URL to Google Day 67-Submit URL to Yahoo! Day 68-Submit URL to Bing Day 69-Submit URL to Directories Day 70-Get a Tax Identification Number Day 71-Add Tax ID to ClickBank Day 72-Add Tax ID to LinkShare Day 73-Add Tax ID to Commission Junction Day 74-ClickBank Backroom Account Home Account Settings My Account My Site and My Products My Spotlight HopAd Builder Reporting Paychecks Transactions Analytics Shipping Resources Tab News System Log Communications Help Center Day 75-Examine LinkShare Back Room Home Programs and Links vi

34 Reports Messages My Account Account Info Payment Info Marketing Channels Users Preferences Day 76-Examine Commission Junction Back Room Home Account Administrative Settings Website Settings Services Get Links General Categories Advertiser List SmartZone Settings By Relationship Run Reports Mail Day 77-Sign up for Message Boards Day 78-Learn the Rules of the Message Boards Day 79-Create a Signature Line for the Message Boards Day 80-Communicate with Others Day 81-Brainstorm Everything You Know About Your Products Day 82-Research Your Products Day 83-Consolidate Your Information Day 84-Create Yahoo! Answers Account Day 85-Answer 10 Questions on Yahoo! Answers Day 86-Post a Question on Yahoo! Answers Day 87-Mention Products in Yahoo! Answers vii

35 Day 88-Advertise on the Message Boards Day 89-Check Site Analytics Month 3 Section 1 Review Month 3 Section 1 Test Section 2 ecommerce Day 60-Sign Up for Google Analytics Day 61-Receive Site Mockup Day 62-Send Mockup Back for Changes Day 63-Receive Final Site Day 64-Site Goes Live Day 65-Make Sure Process Works Day 66-Check Site in Different Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Explorer) Day 67-Submit URL to Google Day 68-Submit URL to Yahoo! Day 69-Submit URL To Bing Day 70-Submit URL to Directories Day 71-Create Merchant Bank Account Day 72-Get Accounting Software Day 73-Set Up Your Account Day 74-What is Affiliate Marketing? Day 75- Affiliate Management Software Day 76-ASP Day 77-Create an Affiliate Business Plan Payable Actions Commission Amount Affiliate Management Day 78-Create an for Affiliates Day 79-Sign Up for Warrior Forum Sign up for Digital Point Forum Day 80-Study the Forums Day 81-Post on the Forums Digital point Warrior Forum viii

36 Other Forums Day 82-Sign UP at Affiliate Directories Day 83-Sign Up for Affiliate Networks Day 84-Do a Google Search for Potential Affiliates (Blogs) Day 85-Do an Ezine Articles Search for Potential Affiliates Day 86-Do a Search on Squidoo Day 87-Create a Follow Up Day 88-Send Follow Up Letter Day 89-Organize Your Affiliates Month 3 Section 2 Review Month 3 Section 2 Tests Month 4 Building a Blog Day 90-Sign Up for a Blog Day 91: Buy a domain name with Wordpress Day 92: Change the Design and Layout of the Blog Widgets Header Day 93: Upload a Picture and Update Your Bio Day 94: Decide on a Posting Strategy Write Your Own Posts Hire From Elance Get Friends/Family to Write Use a Mixture Day 95: Tips for Writing Your Blog Keywords Scalable Short Personality Humor Day 96 - Keyword Research Finding Keywords Day 97 - Write Sample Blog ix

37 Day 98 - Check Other Industry Blogs Day 99 - Brainstorm for Topics Day Make the Final Decision on Topics Day Do Research Day Start Writing Day Continue Writing Day Organize Your Posts Day Do a Final Edit Look for Images Day Post on the Blog Day Sign up for Digg Day Post on Blog Day Sign Up for Reddit Day Post on Blog Day Post to Digg Day 112-Post on Blog Day Post to Reddit Day Post on the Blog Day 115-Submit URL to search engines Day Create Signature for Your Blog Day Post to Your Blog Day 118-Create New Topics Day 119-Assign Topics Month 4 Review Month 4 Test Month 5 Mastering Twitter Day 120-Set up a Twitter Account Day 121-Create a Profile Day 122-Change the Background on Your Twitter Page Day 123-Link your Twitter Account to Your Blog Day 124-Get TweetDeck Day 125-Familiarize Yourself with Tweet Burner x

38 Day 126-Learn the Twitter Basics Retweet Hash Marks Trending Topics DM Day 127-Check Your Tweetburner Stats Day 128-Create a Message to Send to Followers Day 129-Follow Mr. Tweet Day 130-Go to search.twitter.com Day 131-Post Five Tweets Daily Tweets Day 132-Find People to Follow Day 133- Familiarize Yourself with HootSuite Why Tweet Later? Day 134-Retweet Someone s Post Day 135-Participate in a Hash Mark Conversation Day 136-Research Popular Topics Day 137-Tweet About Popular Topics Day 138-Find 20 More People to Follow Day 139-Use Social Oomph Day 140-Examine What Your Followers are Retweeting Day 141-Tweet About Retweeted Topics Day 142-Go to TweetStats.com Day 143-Find Ways to Tweet About Popular Topics Day 144-Use Twitter on the Road Day 145-Reach Out to Your Followers Followers Day 146-Create a Coupon Campaign Day 147-Track Your Campaign Using Tweet Burner Day 148-Create Top 10 Blog Post Day 149-Tweet Blog Link Day 150-Track Your Stats Month 5 Review xi

39 Month 5 Test Month 6 Article Marketing Day 151-Sign up with Ezine Articles Day 152-Research Niche Article Directories Day 153-Sign Up with Niche Directories Day 154-Learn About Article Marketing What You Need to do With Article Marketing What to Avoid Should You Spin Articles? Day 155-Learn From Writers Day 156-Constructing an Article Day 157-Make a Plan for Writing Articles Day 158-Research Industry Articles Day 159-Create Topics for Articles Day 160-Do Keyword Research for Articles Day 161-Research Your Topics Day 162-Write Articles or Outsource Them Day 163-Edit the Articles Day 164-Submit Articles Day 165-Research Websites Day 166-Create an to Send to Site Owners Day 167-Send out the Day 168-Put Articles on Twitter Day 169-Put Articles on Blogs Day 170-Research More Topics Day 171-Receive Batch of Articles Day 172-Edit and Submit the Articles Day 173-Write or Outsource Articles Day 174 Create a Follow Up to Site Owners Day 175 Send Out Follow Up Day 176 Submit to Digg Day 177 Submit to Reddit xii

40 Day 178 Look at Your Article Marketing Statistics Day 179 Receive Articles Day 180 Edit Articles Day 181 Post Them Day 182-Catch Up Month 6 Review Month 6 Test Month 7 Facebook Day Create a Facebook Account Day Create a Profile Day Set Privacy Settings Day Personalize Your URL Day 187-Install Network Blog App Day Install iendorse App Day Create a Group A Word About Groups Day Invite People to be Friends and Group Members Day Learn About Facebook Ads Facebook Ad Basics Day Find Keywords for an Ad Day Find Target Facebook Group Location Age Sex Interested In Relationship Languages Likes and Interests Education Workplaces Why Target? Day Clicks or Impressions? xiii

41 Day Create Facebook Ads Day Write a Blog Post About Your Facebook Account Day Tweet About Your Facebook Account Day Create a Discussion on Your Group s Wall Day Send Group Members Friend Requests Day Check Your Ad Statistics and Make Changes Day Search for Interesting Articles to Post on Your Account Day Search for Interesting Videos to Post on Your Account Day Post Your Own Articles to Your Account Day 204- Post Your Own Blogs to Your Account Day Join Groups Day Post on Wall of Groups Day Send Friend Requests to People in the Group Day Send Group Invitation Day Create a Community Page Day Invite People to Become Fans Day 211 Send Out to Group Members Day Write Articles Day Write Blogs Day Plan Out Your Articles and Blogs Month 7 Review Month 7 Test Month 8 Adwords Day 215 What is Adwords? Keyword Selection with AdWords Search Network AdWords Content Network Day Look at Ads Day Create an AdWords Account Day Decide on Your Budget Day Find the Best Keywords For Your Ad Day Set Conversion Goals xiv

42 Day Learn How to Write an Ad Day What Are Ad Groups and Campaigns? Day Create Two Ads What is Split Testing? How to Upload Your Ads Day Create a New Ad Group Day Check Your Results and Make a New Test Day Target Ads Geographical Location Language Time of Day How to Change Targeting Day Advanced Targeting Stopping Ads Bid Amounts Day Split Test Day 229 Change Match Types Broad Match Phrase Match Exact Match Negative Match Main Groups You Need to Avoid Practice Exact Matching Practice Negative Keywords Change Keyword Match Types Day Create New Ads in AD Groups Day Quality Scores What is a Quality Score? Day Using the Google Display Network Creating Google Display Ad Day Write Two Ads For First Ad Group Day Write Two Ads For Second Ad Group xv

43 Day Use Conversion Tracking Day Catch Up With Articles Day Catch Up With Blogs Day Run AdWords reports Day Get Rid Of Underperforming Keywords Day Find New Keywords Day 241 Write Ads For New Keywords Day Check Your Budget Day Update Your Match Types Day Check Your Conversion Stats Day Check Targeting Day Plan Articles And Blogs For Next Month Month 8 Review Month 8 Test MONTH 9 Microsoft Ad Center Day Set up Your Account Day Your Budget Day Find Your Keywords Day Write Your Ad Day Match Types Day Additional Targeting Day Negative Keywords Day Split Test Day Look at Results Day Create New AD Group Day Create Split Tests for Both Ad Groups Day Find Keywords for New Campaign Day Decide on Targeting Day Create a New Campaign Day Create Ad Groups for Your Campaign Day Split Test for New Campaign Day Analyze Statistics xvi

44 Day Make Changes Based on Statistics Day Run Reports Day Brainstorm for Topics for Articles Day Catch Up on Articles Day Brainstorm for Topics on Blogs Day Catch up on Blogs Day Get Rid of Underperforming Keywords Day Tweak Ads Day Check on Your Budget and Make Adjustments Day Go to Quantcast Day Research Information about Your Site Day Change Targeting Day Look for Keywords to Match this New Targeting Day Change Your AdWords Targeting Day Change AdWords Keywords Month 9 Review Month 9 Test Month 10 Videos Day 279 Watch Videos on YouTube Day 280 Brainstorm for Ideas Day 281-Inside Videos Day 282-Create Your First Script Day 283-Get Your Props Day Rehearse for Your First Video Day Create Your First Video Day Create a Survey Day Send Video and Survey to Friends and Family Members Day Get Feedback on Your Video Day Create a YouTube Account Day Windows Movie Maker Day Decide on a Song Day Write Your Second Script xvii

45 Day Look for Pictures and Create Slides Day 294 -Put Your Video Together Day Get Feedback Day Upload it to YouTube Day Video Blogs Day Write Your Script Day Gather Props Day Memorize Your Script Day Create Video Day 303 Submit Your Video to Friends and Family Day 304 Upload it to Your Blog and YouTube Day 305 Catch up with Blogs and Articles Day 306-Submit Your Videos to Digg Day 307 Put your Videos on Facebook Day 308 Put Your Videos on Your Blog Day 309 Create Your Second Video Blog Month 10 Review Month 10 Test Month 11 Press Releases and Quancast Day What Are Press Releases? Day Press Release Writing Day Come up with Ideas Day Research Keywords Day Practice Writing Press Releases Day Visit Submission Sites and Read Releases Which Press Release Sites Should You Use? i-newswire Press Release PressReleasePoint Press Release Day Write Your First Release Day Submit it to Press Release Submission Sites xviii

46 Day Put Your Press Release on Facebook and Twitter Day Contact the Local Media Day What is Quantcast? Day Check Your Marketing Strategy Day 322 Decide on Changes Day 323 Adjust Your Marketing Plan Targeting the Wrong People Targeting the Right People but Not Getting Results Not Enough Time and Money Not Marketing Hard Enough Not Really Marketing to Your Target Market Targeting the Right People and Getting Results Day Decide on New Press Release Topics Day Find Keywords Day Write a New Press Release Day 327 Distribute It Day Contact Media Outlets Day 329 Link it to Facebook and Twitter Day Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Do a Video Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Day Tweet About Your News Item Day Plan Future Press Releases Day Do Keyword Research Day Come up with Topics for Articles and Blogs Day Find Keywords for Articles and Blogs Day 337 Write or Outsource Articles Day Write or Outsource Blogs Month 11 Review Month 11 Test Month 12 Marketing with Constant Contact Day 339 What is Marketing? Day 340 Sign Up with Constant Contact xix

47 Day 341 Learn About Constant Contact Day 342 Import Your Addresses Day 343 Brainstorm for Ideas for Your Newsletter Day 344 Write Your Newsletter Day 345 Proof Your Newsletter Day 346 Upload Your Newsletter Day 347 Have Web Designer Place Join My Mailing List Button on Website Day 348 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Facebook Day 349 Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Twitter Day 350 Have Web Designer Create Subscription Opt In at Online Checkout Day 351 Brainstorm Ideas for Promotions Day 352 Select a Promotion Day 353 Create Marketing Day 354 Proof Your Marketing Day 355 Upload Your Marketing Day 356 Write Second Newsletter Day 357 Proof Your Newsletter Day 358 Upload Your Newsletter Day 359 Brainstorm for s and Autoresponders Day 360 Create s Day 361 Continue Creating Autoresponders Day 362 Proof Your Autoresponders Day 363 Upload Your Autoresponders Day 364 Make Sure List is Current Day 365 Check Your Statistics Month12 Review Month 12 Test Conclusion xx

48 MONTH 1 What Do You Want to Do? Day 1 Looking at Your Options If you are going to be a successful business owner, you need a plan. You have to decide what you want to do to make money online. You have two viable options for converting online traffic into cash, which are: Affiliate Marketing ecommerce Both options help people make money online. The question is, though, which one is right for you? TASK FOR TODAY Throughout the rest of the month, we will go over ecommerce and affiliate marketing. In order to prepare yourself, make a word document for ecommerce and a word document for affiliate marketing. Over the course of the month, fill in the document with the information you learn about both. Then, you will have a guide you can use when deciding which method is right for you. 1

49 Throughout the rest of the month, we will go over ecommerce and affiliate marketing. In order to prepare yourself, make a word document for ecommerce and a word document for affiliate marketing. Over the course of the month, fill in the document with the information you learn about both. Then, you will have a guide you can use when deciding which method is right for you. Day 2-What is Affiliate Marketing? Today, you are going to learn about affiliate marketing. You might have a general idea of this practice, but you likely do not have a true understanding of everything it takes to run a successful affiliate program. First, you must understand the basics of affiliate marketing. Someone has a product. They sell the product, but they do not want to market it. Because of that, they hire an affiliate marketer. The affiliate does the marketing and then receives a percentage of the sale. For example, consider someone has shopping cart software. They have a master site of this software, but they are not doing anything to market it on their own. Instead, they have hired affiliates to do their marketing. They software sells for $50. In this example, affiliates receive 10% of every sale they make. When making the sale, the affiliate has to redirect traffic to the merchant s site. The customer makes a purchase, and the owner of the software tracks the sale and finds out which affiliate it came from. Affiliates do not make their own products. Instead, they only market someone else s products. The Process Seller Affiliate Customer Seller Affiliate Payment The seller has the product. He uses an affiliate, who finds a customer, who buys from the seller. Then the seller pays the affiliate. This simple process has worked for thousands of people. Why it Works It might be difficult to understand why someone would pay you to sell his or her products. However, it makes perfect sense. Some people do not have the time to market their own products, while others do not know how to market their products. 2

50 TASK FOR TODAY Define affiliate marketing. For them, it is easier to pay someone a commission on sales. Their sales go up and they make more money. While they have to pay a percentage of those sales to their affiliates, it is well worth it to them. Day 3-What is ecommerce? ecommerce is a direct form of selling online. If you choose this route, you will not sell for someone else. Instead, you will sell for yourself. You will be the merchant. ecommerce is another word for online retail. You will have your own store, but you will operate it online. You will have the option of choosing if you want to have affiliates. You can have people sell for you and give them a percentage of the profits. With ecommerce, you need a product. It can be a digital or physical product. You can also have a mixture of both types of products. You will be able to decide which products you want to sell, and then you will be responsible for getting them to the customers. The Process Seller Customer OR Seller Affiliates Customer Seller 3

51 If you choose this option, you will have a product that you will sell to your customers. Either you will sell directly to your customers or you will go through affiliates. However, even if you use affiliates, you will still have customer contact. You will have the main product site. That means your customer base will order from you. Your affiliates will only direct people to your site. TASK FOR TODAY Define ecommerce. Day 4-Pros of Affiliate Marketing Today, we are going to discuss the benefits of affiliate marketing. When you choose affiliate marketing, you benefit by: Not having to create your own product The simple process Low startup cost Not handling products Limited customer service Countless products to choose from Unlimited income stream Products are easy to change Link products together 4

52 Someone Else s Product One of the biggest attractions of affiliate marketing is the fact you get to market someone else s products. That means you can pick products that you like and start marketing. You don t need to come up with an idea for a product. This takes a lot of stress out of the process of making money online. You don t have to be creative or have a brilliant idea. You simply need to be able to select products that will sell, and then market those products. Simple Process It is easy to get started with affiliate marketing. There are lots of affiliate networks to choose from, and it is free to sign up. Once you sign up, you will get to look through all of the available products. When you select products you want to sell, you will receive a code. You will place the code into the links that direct people to the merchant site. The links will allow merchants to track your sales. For example, if you were selling antivirus software, you would have a website for antivirus software. You would have something that says, Buy antivirus software today. You would insert a hyperlink into that phrase. The hyperlink would have the code in it that was supplied by the merchant. That is how your sales would be tracked and you would get paid. Low Start-up Cost Since you will not be making the products, you will not need to pay a big start up cost. Still, you will need to put some money into advertising. However, if you choose ecommerce, you will need to put money into the development of your business and then put money into the advertising of the products. As you can see, affiliate marketing is a good option for those who do not have a lot of money at their disposal but want to start an online business. No Product Handling When you work in affiliate marketing, you do not have to touch any of the products. You don t have to deal with shipping or handing. You simply direct people to the merchant s site and make some money. 5

53 Limited Customer Service You only have to deal with customers before they make a purchase. You try to talk them into buying from the merchant. However, you do not have to deal with any issues they have with the product. The merchant will deal with any issues that arise. Countless Options Since you don t have to actually make the products or work with a vendor, affiliate marketing provides lots of options. You can log onto an affiliate site and choose which products you want to market. There are countless products in numerous categories. You can easily find a product that interests you. Unlimited Stream of Income When you take part in affiliate marketing, you can become as involved as you wish. You can market a countless number of products. You do not need to stick with one merchant. You can work with different merchants and market a number of products. This gives you the opportunity to have several streams of income. Easy to Change Products If you don t like what you are promoting, change it. With affiliate marketing, it is easy to change from one product to the next. You don t have to sign a contract. Drop one product and sign up for another without a problem at all. You have a great deal of flexibility. You are not financially invested in the products. Thus, you can easily move from one to the next without a problem. The door is always open in affiliate marketing. 6

54 Link Products Together You can set up product combinations with affiliate marketing in order to sell more products. Take the diet industry, for example. Affiliates who promote diet products have transformed the way products are linked. They take products that stand alone and package them together in order to increase their sales. Two products that have been linked together by affiliate marketers are: Colon cleanses Dietary supplements These are two products from two different companies. They were created to be separate products. However, the savvy affiliate marketer will see this as an opportunity for cross promotion. They will set up a site focusing on both products. They will talk about how people can lose weight if they follow two steps. Step one is the colon cleanse, and step two is the dietary supplement. People like to complete steps. If they see two steps, they will likely follow both. They will not feel as if they completed the task if they only do one of the steps. By linking the products together, the affiliates will double their income. This is a great way to make money with affiliate marketing, and the system makes it easy. Since you can pick the products you want to sell, you can find products that will link together. TASK FOR TODAY Write your thoughts on each of the benefits of affiliate marketing. If you do not care about a particular benefit, write that. If a benefit is particularly important, explain why. This will help you see what is most important to you when making money online. 7

55 Day 5-Cons of Affiliate Marketing Just as there are benefits of affiliate marketing, there are also cons. Today, we are going to go over: Dishonest merchants Competition Lack of control Merchant s customer FTC rules Dishonest Merchants If you choose a reputable company, you will likely not run into this problem. However, it is one worth mentioning, as some marketers have fallen victim to dishonest merchants. Some merchants lure affiliates in with high commissions. Then, after they start selling the products, they drop the commission. Another problem is merchants that do not pay. Protect yourself by signing up with a reputable network. There are lots of great affiliate marketing networks available. We will go over them in a later chapter. Competition Lots of people are turning to affiliate marketing in order to make money online. While it has proven successful for many, the level of competition has been a problem for some. You have to be able to market your affiliate links in a way that will sell products. Otherwise, you will be overwhelmed by the competition. In order to rise above the competition, you must find a way to be better than others who are advertising for the same merchant. You can sell more products than they do, but you have to learn how to effectively market online. 8

56 Lack of Control With affiliate marketing, you are the intermediary. That means the merchant gets to choose everything related to the product. He also gets to choose how he conducts business. If a merchant has a bad customer service policy, you might suffer. In addition, you will suffer if his products are not of a high quality. You are at the hands of the merchant. However, you can research merchants and products. With research, you will find merchants and products that are reputable. Merchant s Customer Repeat customers are very important in the business world, but unfortunately, affiliate marketers have yet to find a way to achieve repeat business. The reason for this is very simple. You are one of hundreds of people directing traffic to the merchant site. In the end, the merchant will retain the customer and you will have to fight for the next one. FTC Rules Affiliate marketers must make sure they follow all FTC rules when marketing affiliate products. You need to look at your affiliate campaign and make sure you are not crossing any lines that could get you into legal trouble. A full list of the rules is located at In most cases, you will not break the rules as long as you are honest. Affiliate marketing has gotten a bad reputation over the years because some marketers choose to lie in an effort to sell products. They create false testimonials that state unrealistic results. While honesty is the main objective for the rules, there are also rules about disclosure. We will get into the rules in more detail in a later chapter. However, it is important to note you will need to familiarize yourself with the rules and ensure you do not cross any lines. TASK FOR TODAY List the cons of affiliate marketing and explain what each one means to you. If you do not view the con as an obstacle, state that. In addition, state the cons that concern you the most. 9

57 Day 6-Pros of ecommerce ecommerce has many benefits, including: Customer loyalty Price point creation Brand recognition Use of affiliates You re in charge Product options Customer Loyalty If you have your own ecommerce site, you can work on retaining customers. In many cases, it is easier to keep the same customers than it is to recruit new customers. Customer loyalty can go a long way to padding your bank account. Create Your Own Price Points One of the most exciting aspects of ecommerce is you can set your prices. You are in charge. You can see what the market is willing to pay and then set your prices accordingly. This opens up doors for retailers. However, you must remember to be wise when you do this. If you set your prices too low, you will not make a high enough profit margin. However, if you set your prices too high, no one will buy your products. Even though there are things to take into consideration, the freedom to set your own price points is incredibly liberating. Build Brand Recognition Brand recognition is one of the most powerful tools in marketing. Think of the brands you know and trust. You likely have a certain brand you go to when you buy cars, household goods and clothing. That is because the company worked to build up their brand. You can do the same with ecommerce. When you control your brand, you can work to build the brand up. That means you can essentially become very powerful with your business. 10

58 Use of Affiliates As an affiliate marketer, you are in charge of the marketing. If you choose to run an ecommerce site, you can hire affiliates to do the marketing for you. This takes some of the pressure off you. Instead of spending money trying to market your products, you can pay a percentage of sales and have someone else do the marketing. You will have the benefit of a skilled army of affiliates who will work to sell your products to as many people as possible. You re the Boss Ask people the number one reason they want to work for themselves and they will likely say they want to be their own boss. For many, it is not as much about the money as it is about the autonomy that comes from being your own boss If you run an ecommerce website, you will be your own boss. You will not act as an intermediary between merchants and customers. You will be at the top of the pyramid. You will be the one in charge. Product Options There are lots of options when you run an ecommerce site. You can sell: Software ebooks How to manuals Mainstream products If you are good at Adobe Dreamweaver, you can write an ebook or manual explaining Dreamweaver and sell it on your ecommerce site. If you are a coder, you can create a software program and sell it. You can also hire a coder to create a program for you and then buy the rights from him. You can use a vendor and buy wholesale products. You can sell anything you want. From digital products like ebooks and software to physical products like car parts, there are no limits to what you can sell on your ecommerce site. 11

59 TASK FOR TODAY List the benefits of ecommerce and write your thoughts on each one. Which ones are important to you? Which ones are not important? Day 7-Cons of ecommerce Today, you are going to learn about the cons of ecommerce, which are: Financing Shipping and handling Site updates No immediate results Lots of work Financing ecommerce is more expensive to start up than affiliate marketing is. Because of that, many people have financing issues. Some people get outside financing for their ecommerce business, while others use their own income and assets. There is not a set price for how expensive ecommerce will be. If you choose to get products from a wholesaler, the business will be more expensive than if you create your own digital products. In addition, if you have to hire someone to help you create the products, it will add to the expense. In most cases, you will need capital to buy products to sell. You will buy them at a cheap price and sell them for more. If you are interested in creating an ecommerce business, you will need to consider the cost. Think about how you will get your money. 12

60 Shipping and Handling If you handle digital products, this will not be an issue. However, many successful ecommerce businesses deal with physical products. When that is the case, they have to concern themselves with shipping and handling. If you are working on your own, you will have to find a way to streamline the process in order to cut costs and time. If you are spending more time at the post office than your business office, you will run into problems. Site Updates You need to keep your marketplace fresh and new for prospective customers. That means you need to update your site frequently. You should have deals, new products and featured products in rotation. It will take time and money to update your site. No Immediate Results If you are starting a new ecommerce business, you cannot expect immediate results. In most cases, you will need to keep your day job for one to three years in order to build up the business. That does not mean you will not succeed. Many people have succeeded at ecommerce. You will need to put the time in and then you will be able to reach your goals. Lots of Work It takes a lot of work to get an ecommerce site up and running. From finding the right product to managing your inventory, you will need to put in a lot of time. However, the time you put in can be very rewarding. If you are willing to build up your site in the beginning, you can make you lots of money. TASK FOR TODAY List the drawbacks of ecommerce. Write down your thoughts on each drawback. If something is not important to you, make a note of it. If something is incredibly important to you, explain why. 13

61 Day 8-Expectations Today, you need to list your expectations. Consider this a day of reflection. Where do you think your online business will take you? Everyone has certain expectations, and it is important to realize those expectations and see if they are realistic. Common expectations are: Supplementing your income Paying off your bills Quitting your job Spending more time with your family Create a list of your expectations and then put them in order based on importance. Place the most important item on top. Think about your list all day so you are certain to include as many expectations as possible. Do not think about how you will meet your expectations. Simply write them down and we will analyze them tomorrow. Day 9-Analyze Your Expectations Today, we are going to talk about setting realistic goals and expectations. You will need your list of expectations to complete this task. We will go over general expectations. In addition, you will need to assess the specific expectations you have written down. Quitting Your Job One of the most important things for people to understand is starting a business takes work. Businesses do not grow overnight. They need nurturing and time. You will not be able to quit your job immediately after you start working online. 14

62 You have likely read a testimonial or two online where people claimed they quit their jobs after they started affiliate marketing or an ecommerce site. In most cases, the testimonials are exaggerated. You can quit your job, but you will have to work for it. Spending More Time with Family It is important to understand that you will have to put a lot of time into making ecommerce and affiliate marketing work. You cannot simply set up the system and start making money. Instead, you will need to work long hours at first in order to make more money. The payoff is worth it, though. When the system does begin to work, you will be able to cut down on your hours and enjoy the money you make. However, in the beginning, you will probably not get to spend additional time with your family. You will need to put time into the process. Eventually, though, you will have more free time on your hands that you can spend with your family. How it Works It is important to understand how the system works so you can understand what your expectations should be. You will spend the first year streamlining the process. This course will take you through the first year so you will be able to set up your system and begin making money. The first year will not bring you a lot of money. What it will do, though, is put you in the position to make money. After you set everything up, you will be able to start making some serious money. TASK FOR TODAY Set clear and reasonable expectations for your online business. 15

63 Day 10-Affiliate Marketing Message Boards It is important to know what affiliates are saying about affiliate marketing. This will help you put yourself into their shoes. In addition, it will allow you to have realistic expectations regarding affiliate marketing. When you visit an affiliate marketing message board, you will have the opportunity to see the successes and failures of marketers. You will then get a better idea if affiliate marketing is something you would like to do. Go to Google and type in Affiliate Marketing Message Boards or Affiliate Marketing Forum. Visit different boards to get a taste of what marketers are going through. Things to Check For When you visit the boards, you want to check for: Negative comments Positive comments Common complaints Roadblocks Ideas Costs Profits Day 11- Message ecommerce Boards Today, you will do the same for ecommerce that you did for affiliate marketing. You might have more trouble finding relevant forums for ecommerce, so visit: The ecommerce message boards are a learning tool you can use. They will go over lots of information. Right now, you do not have to learn everything about ecommerce, but it does help to test the waters. 16

64 Things to Check For When you visit the boards, you want to check for: Negative comments Positive comments Common complaints Roadblocks Ideas Costs Profits Day 12-Fill Out Worksheet You likely gained some insight after visiting the message boards. Review your notes from your visit and fill out worksheet 1.1 at the end of the workbook. Day 13-Make Your Own List Earlier, we discussed the pros and cons of affiliate marketing and ecommerce. Today, you are the teacher. You need to make your own list of your pros and cons. Think about the message boards you have visited, along with what you have learned. Take that information and create your list. Do your list in three parts. Start by brainstorming. Write any pro or any con that comes to mind. Next, write an explanation of each pro and con you listed. Go into detail about why something is positive or negative. Lastly, organize your list. Put the most powerful pros and cons on top, and work your way down. 17

65 Day 14-Take an Inventory of What You Have Learned Today, you need to review what you have learned thus far. You have taken in a lot of information already, and you need to see where you stand. Not only that, but you need to get organized. It is time to take your lists, along with your notes, and organize them into an easy to read and understand format. TASK FOR TODAY Open up your word documents and organize your notes. Also, take your lists and put them in the word document. When you are finished today, you should have easy to read notes that will help you decide if you want to do affiliate marketing or ecommerce. Day 15-Make a List of Your Hobbies Today, we are going to get more personal than we have thus far. In affiliate marketing and ecommerce, you want to pick products that are related to your interests. If you have an interest in something, you will be more effective at marketing it. Thus, take the time to think about your hobbies. Write down the things you like to do in your free time. You might not realize it, but you can take those hobbies and turn them into cash. TASK FOR TODAY Fill out Worksheet 1.2 at the end of the workbook so you can organize your thoughts. 18

66 Day 16-Make a List of Your Skills You also have certain skills that can help you with ecommerce and affiliate marketing. Write down your skills. Take skills from different areas of your life, and write them all down. It does not matter if you think the skill will be useful or not. This is a brainstorming session, so do not filter your responses. Write down everything that comes to mind. TASK FOR TODAY Fill out Worksheet 1.3 at the end of the workbook. Day 17-Match Hobbies to Skills Now, you need to see if your hobbies and your skills can work together. In many cases, you will be able to match your hobbies with your skills. After all, if you have a hobby of basketball, you might be a skilled basketball player. However, they do not have to overlap in such an obvious way to be beneficial. You could have a hobby of playing computer games, and a skill of computer programming. You could use your hobby and your skills together to create computer software. TASK FOR TODAY Fill out Fill out Worksheet 1.4 at the end of the workbook in order to match your hobbies and your skills. 19

67 Day 18-Take Your Lists and Match Them to Products Today, you need to take the list you made with your hobbies and skills and match them to products. In order to do that, you will need to take your research you have done and then brainstorm for product ideas. There are a few things to keep in mind while doing this. First, your hobby and skill could be basketball, but that does not mean you have to sell basketballs. There are so many things related to basketball that you can sell. You could sell ebooks on basketball. You could sell a basketball game. TASK FOR TODAY Brainstorm for ideas, and then fill out Worksheet 1.5 at the end of the workbook. Day 19-Examine Your Products in Affiliate Marketing Now that you have product ideas, you need to look at them on an affiliate network. This will give you an idea of what to expect if you choose to market one of the products you listed. Today, you are going to visit one of the top affiliate marketing sites, which is ClickBank. Go to Once there, click Promote Products and then click Marketplace. When you arrive at the marketplace, you will see a list of categories. Find the right category start browsing. Look for the products you wrote down yesterday. You can also look for similar products. 20

68 Look at how much they sell for, as well as what the commission is. This will give you a good idea of profit margins. Profit Margins When looking at costs and commissions, there is something important to remember. The cheaper a product is the more of it you will sell. However, the more expensive a product is, the more you will make off a sale. If the product is too cheap, you will never sell enough to make as much money as you want. However if it is too expensive, you will have a hard time selling the product. Thus, you want to find a product a balance between the two. Find a reasonably priced product that offers a fair commission. You don t want it to be too expensive or too cheap. TASK FOR TODAY Make a list of the products you find on the ClickBank. Organize your list based on profit margin. Then, go back through the list and decide how difficult it will be to sell each of the products listed. Look at the product s price and demand. Day 20-Examine Your Products in ecommerce Examining ecommerce products will be slightly different from examining products in affiliate marketing. In order to do this, you will need to go to Google and type in the products you want to sell. For example, if you want to sell antivirus software, type in buy antivirus software. Look at what the going price is for your products. Look up several different products, and record the prices. 21

69 TASK FOR TODAY Create a list of the products you looked up today. Record the average price of the products. Then, give an estimate of how much it will cost you to create or purchase the products. You will not be able to give an exact amount, but you will be able to estimate the cost. This will help you decide your profit margin. Day 21-Affiliate Marketing Startup Costs In most cases, affiliate marketing startup costs are relatively low. Affiliate networks are free to join, and there are free advertising methods available. However, you will need to pay for some of the advertising, as well as a website. For affiliate marketing, you will need to pay for: Website Article writing (unless you can write your own) Blog writing (unless you can write your own) Google AdWords TASK FOR TODAY Go to Look at web design and copywriting jobs to get an idea of what the going rate is on the site. This will give you an idea of how much you will spend on the creation of your website. Also, check how much people are paying for articles and blogs. 22

70 In addition, go to a web-hosting site such as to find out how much it will cost to host your website and purchase a domain. Record these costs in your word document. Day 22 ecommerce Startup Costs While you will not be able to tell exactly how much it will cost for you to start an ecommerce site, you will be able to get some ideas. Start with the things you will need for your ecommerce site. You will need: Website Shopping cart Products Packing supplies Marketing tools 23

71 TASK FOR TODAY You can find out how much a website will cost by going to Elance ( Keep in mind that an ecommerce site is more complex than an affiliate site. You will need to have a shopping cart on the site. You will need to pay for shopping cart software, or use one of the free options available such as PayPal. Not everyone has a PayPal account, though. You want to be able to accept credit cards as well, as they will bring you a great deal of money. You can use PayPal to accept credit cards, but you will have to use a merchant account. Merchant accounts are not free. Your products are also going to cost you some money. Look at the products you examined on Day 20. You should have thought about costs on that day. Today, you are going to examine the costs in more detail. Check and see how much it will cost to: Purchase from a wholesaler, vendor or drop shipper Hire someone to create the products Make the products yourself Day 23-Advertising or Selling? Now that you have looked at startup costs, you will have a better idea if your product is better for affiliate marketing or ecommerce. TASK FOR TODAY. Fill out Worksheet 1.6 at the end of the workbook in order to decide if your products are better suited for affiliate marketing or ecommerce. 24

72 Day 24-Look at Sites Selling Similar Products Now it is time to start looking at the competition. Competition is always something to consider. No matter if you are doing affiliate marketing or ecommerce, you need to know where you stand with your competitors. TASK FOR TODAY Today, you are going to take an inventory of all possible competitors. In order to do this, you need to see: Where they show up in search rankings Price of their products Marketing efforts Quality of website Customer satisfaction To find where they are in the search rankings, you need to go to Google and type in the keywords pertaining to the product. Companies will come up in the search results. Pick the first several that show up. Then, list where they were at in the search. To check their marketing efforts, do a search for the company. Check to see if they have blogs and articles. Also, look for social networking accounts. Rate the quality of the site based on: Ease of use Navigation Design Display of products For customer satisfaction, find out what people are saying about the company. Search the company s name and read any comments people have written. This is a great way to find out what people think of businesses. 25

73 Fill out Worksheet 1.7 at the end of the workbook with the information you found today. Instead of writing information, though, assign companies a number. Give them a score of 1-5 for each category. One is the best and five is the worst. You will use each number only once. Thus, each business will have a different number. Day 25-Create a New Pro and Con List Earlier, we had you create a pro and con list for affiliate marketing and ecommerce. We would like you to do that again. When you did it previously, you were new to ecommerce and affiliate marketing. Now you have done research, so you will likely have different thoughts on the subject. TASK FOR TODAY Create a pro and con list for affiliate marketing and ecommerce. State why each item is a pro or a con. Also, write why it is important to you. Spend the day coming up with items to put on the list so you will be prepared to decide if you want to choose affiliate marketing or ecommerce for your online business. Day 26-Make a Decision Now it is time to make a decision. You have learned the pros and cons of affiliate marketing and ecommerce, and you have learned about the competition. You have enough information to decide which one you want to do. Chances are, you have been thinking about this since day one. You have likely weighed your options. It is time to take a leap and decide which one is right for you TASK FOR TODAY Decide if you want to do ecommerce or affiliate marketing. 26

74 Day 27-Define Your Goals Today, you need to take a realistic look at your goals. You have decided what you are going to do. Now, you need to decide what you are going to accomplish. Make sure you set reasonable goals. Set small goals that can be reached. The main reason people fail to reach their goals is they set goals that are impossible to reach. If you set goals that are too lofty, you will become frustrated. Do not set yourself up for failure. At the same time, you want to set goals that you have to work to reach. You don t want your goals to be so small that you don t have to do anything to reach them. Consider setting goals such as: Create my website Decide on a marketing plan Make my first sale Think in terms of steps. You want to take small steps in order to become successful. TASK FOR TODAY Fill out Worksheet 1.8 at the end of the workbook with your goals. Day 28-Organize Your Information You are about to start your new business. Before you jump in, you need to get organized. Take the day to organize your word document, along with the charts you have filled out. You need to make sure you have everything together so you can proceed to the next section of the book. 27

75 TASK FOR TODAY Organize your information. In addition, read the review section below and take the tests. 28

76 MONTH 1 REVIEW What is affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketing is the process of marketing a merchant s products. Affiliates receive a percentage of the sales. What is ecommerce? ecommerce is another name for online retailer. With ecommerce, you are the merchant. You sell your own products. You can use affiliates to help you sell your products or you can sell them on your own. How do you get your products for affiliate marketing? Affiliate marketers sign up with an affiliate network. They are then able to select products they want to market. There are lots of different products to choose from in affiliate marketing. How do you get your products for ecommerce? Merchants can either create their own products, hire someone to create their products or purchase products through a wholesaler or vendor. What are the pros of affiliate marketing? Not having to create your own product The simple process Low startup cost Not handling products Limited customer service Countless products to choose from Unlimited income stream Products are easy to change Link products together 29

77 What are the cons of affiliate marketing? Dishonest merchants Competition Lack of control Merchant s customer FTC rules What are the pros of ecommerce? Customer loyalty Price point creation Brand recognition Use of affiliates You re in charge Product options What are the cons of ecommerce? Financing Shipping and handling Site updates No immediate results Lots of work 30

78 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. What is affiliate marketing? a) Selling your own products or services b) Building a website c) Marketing for someone else and receiving a share of the profits 2. What is a digital product? a) Software, ebook, etc that can be downloaded immediately online b) Products that are sold online c) Products that are shipped 3. What is a drop shipper? a) Manufacturer or wholesaler who handles shipping for a retailer b) An onsite storage method c) Process of shipping products through FedEx 4. Which of the following do you not have to pay for with affiliate marketing? a) Marketing b) Website creation c) Joining an affiliate network 5. Which of the following do you not have to pay for with ecommerce? a) Shopping cart software b) Shipping digital products c) Site maintenance TRUE OR FALSE 6. If you start an online business, you will be able to quit your job within six months. True False 7. You don t have to worry about competition with affiliate marketing. True False 31

79 8. Affiliates receive a percentage of sales from merchants. True False 9. Affiliate marketing is more expensive than ecommerce. True False 10. You should set lofty goals. True False 11. Inexpensive products are the best products for affiliate marketing because you will sell a lot of them. True False 12. Hobbies should be considered when selecting products for affiliate marketing or ecommerce. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 32

80 MONTH 2 Getting Started Now that you have made a decision on the type of business you want to have, it is time to get started. The first section of chapter two will be for affiliate marketers, while the second section will be for those setting up an ecommerce site. While there are some similarities in the setup processes, there are certain aspects of the setup process that are different. Thus, go to the appropriate section of the book and then begin starting your business. 33

81 SECTION 1 AFFILIATE MARKETING Day 29-Create an Account on Elance Go to Create an account so you can purchase services. Your Elance account will allow you to post jobs and find people to work on your site. The account is free to set up, although you will have to pay a $5 deposit when you post your job. You will receive the money back after you award the job. After you create your account, look around Elance in order to familiarize yourself with the site. Elance is a relatively simple site to use, so if you spend a little time looking around, you will become comfortable with the interface. Take the time to learn the rules and regulations of Elance. You need to understand several things about the website. Some basic rules are: Jobs must be for at least $50 All jobs must be paying jobs Job descriptions must adequately explain the job You can leave feedback for people who provide services for you They can leave feedback for you Timely payment is required You want to make sure you follow the rules on Elance. This is a useful service, and if you fail to follow the rules, you can end up being banned from the site. 34

82 Even if you are not banned, you can get a bad reputation on Elance if you fail to follow the rules. A bad reputation can be devastating. People will not want to purchase your services if you have a bad reputation. There are lots of jobs available on Elance, and those who have a bad reputation will not find bidders. Thus, take the time to understand the rules. Spend time on the site today in order to gain an understanding of what will be expected of you as a buyer. Day 30-Post a Job for Web Designer Today, you need to start the process of finding a web designer. You need to be careful during the posting process. Many people make mistakes that limit their ability to find the person that is right for the job. When you are posting a job, make sure you are clear about your: Needs Timeframe Expectations Budget Any special circumstances that apply People need to know what your expectations are. Often, people are disappointed with someone they hire, only to realize they were not clear regarding their expectations. One must be clear from the beginning to avoid any problems in the future. Thus, before you post your job, you will need to fill out worksheet 2.1 at the end of the workbook detailing your needs. Once your worksheet is created, transfer its contents onto Elance so you can find a designer. 35

83 SAMPLE POST You can use this sample post and change it to fit your needs. I need a web designer to create an affiliate marketing site that I can use to sell multiple products. I need a static site (no flash). The site should be well designed and easy to navigate. Communication is a must. I need someone I can count on to update me with the status of the project. I also need someone that can deliver the project in ten days. I will provide you with: Links to the affiliate products I am marketing Links to sites I like Links to sites I do not like Guidelines: Updates are required with this project Samples of your work are needed for review I am willing to pay $200 for this project Provider must be located in the United States Provider must have 90% positive feedback New providers are welcome if they can provide relevant samples Day 31-Post a Job for Copywriter You also need a copywriter to write the copy for your website. Again, you need to be clear on your expectations for a copywriter. Copywriters should demonstrate the ability to write compelling copy. This means copy should be grammatically correct and enticing. Fill out worksheet 2.2 at the end of the workbook so you can find a copywriter. 36

84 SAMPLE POST I need a copywriter to write compelling copy for a website used to sell affiliate products. Since the site is an affiliate site, the copy needs to be sales driven. I need the copy to be optimized for the web. Use relevant keywords. I will provide you with: The products I will be selling Copy that I like Copy I do not like Pages that I need copy for Overview of the website Keywords Guidelines: Updates are required with this project Samples of your work are needed for review I am willing to pay $100 for this project Provider must be located in the United States Provider must have 90% positive feedback New providers are welcome if they can provide relevant samples Work must be completed within one week of award Day 32-Examine Your Bidders Today, you need to look at the people who have bid on your project. You will start to get an idea of what type of people are interested in your copywriting and web design jobs. If you are not getting a fair amount of bids, you need to make sure your posting is clear. People are very competitive on Elance and most jobs receive lots of bids. If you are not receiving those bids, take today to find out why. 37

85 Make sure your ad is: Clear Concise Informative In addition, make sure you are offering a fair price. If your job is priced too low, people will not bid on it. Day 33-Start the Interview Process You will receive most of your bids on Elance within the first two days of posting the job. Because of that, you want to start the interview process early. Today, you need to start talking to bidders. You should talk to bidders off and on for a week before you hire them. That way, you will know how well they communicate. Thus, start talking to them today. As you talk to bidders, some will stand out ahead of the rest. Ask them for their phone numbers. Give them a call and talk to them at length about the project. Be sure to take notes during the interview process. Write down your first impressions, along with any relevant information. This will help you out when you have to make a decision. Day 34-Create a ClickBank Account Go to and click on Promote Products. Click Sign Up and fill out the form. When you are done, you will be a member of ClickBank. After you create your account, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the site. Look at the products offered and get used to the site s interface. 38

86 How ClickBank Works After you sign up with ClickBank, you will have access to the ClickBank Marketplace. The marketplace houses all of the products that are available for promotion. When you select a product to promote in ClickBank, you receive a code, which is referred to as a hoplink. The hoplink will be placed into your website, as well as your promotional materials. Every time someone clicks on your hoplink and purchases the merchant s product, you will get a commission. In addition to the sales, you can make money off leads or other actions set by the merchant. ClickBank keeps track of the sales and pays affiliates. You can receive weekly payments. This site also provides direct deposit for those who are interested. This is a brief explanation of ClickBank. In the next chapter, we will go over the site in more detail as we explain the process of tracking your sales and getting the most out of your account. Day 35-Create a Commission Junction Account Go to Once there, click Publishers and then fill out the application. After you fill out the application, takes some time to familiarize yourself with the website. See how the site operates so you will be ready to start selling products. How Commission Junction Works Commission Junction is quite a bit like ClickBank. You will be able to browse through products in the marketplace and pick the ones you want to advertise. Then, you will receive a link. You can receive a commission for sales, leads and other actions decided on by the merchant. Day 36-Create a LinkShare Account Go to and click on Publishers. Click Join Today and then click the Join Now button. You will be prompted to fill out an application. Fill out the application so you can get started with Link Share. After you fill out the application, take the time to familiarize yourself with the site. Browse through the products and look at the information provided by LinkShare. 39

87 How LinkShare Works LinkShare also provides affiliates with links they can use to direct traffic to the merchant s site. Affiliates can browse through the products and select the ones they want to advertise. Then, they will receive a link. Commissions are based on leads, sales or other actions decided on by the merchant. Day 37-Select Products From ClickBank In the last chapter, you created a list of products you would like to market. Now, you need to take that list and match it up with products you are going to market. Pick products you can link together. While you can sell products that are not associated with one another, you will need to create a separate site for that. In the beginning, pick products that are related. Later, we will talk about building additional sites, but you need to stick with one site for now. When you pick the products, you will receive a code. Be sure to keep the code on your computer so you can access it at all times. After you select your products and codes, fill out worksheet 2.3 at the end of the workbook. You will use this table in the next two chapters as well. Day 38-Select Products from Commission Junction Today, you are going to use your product list again. Look for the products on Commission Junction. Again, you will receive links for the products you decide to promote. After you receive the links, fill out the chart you filled out yesterday. Add the information about the Commission Junction Products underneath the ClickBank products. Day 39-Select Products From LinkShare Go to the marketplace and find products you want to market. Add to the list you started two days ago. After you add these products to the list, you will have a comprehensive list of the products you are interested in marketing. 40

88 Day 40-Compare the Different Products Before you can make the final decision, you need to compare products from different sites. That way, you can select the products that will provide you with the most money. Look at the worksheet you finished yesterday. This worksheet has all of your products on it. Then, group the products together. Which products can you sell together? Which products would not make good products for marketing? Fill out worksheet 2.4 at the end of the workbook. Now, it is time to make a final decision. Choose the products you are going to market. Then, circle then on the worksheet. We will revisit your decision again in a few days. Day 41-Narrow Down Your Elance Bidders Today you need to look at the people who bid on your jobs on Elance. You will be able to narrow down your bidders a great deal by looking at the different bids in detail. When narrowing down bids, keep in mind: Location of bidder Profile of bidder Price Location of Bidder Many people try to get a good deal from freelancers by selection someone from a different country. While it might sound like a good idea at the time, you can get in trouble when you outsource to a different country. Profile Elance allows buyers to rate providers after they hire them for a job. The ratings are in the form of positive, negative or neutral feedback. Negative feedback is any feedback below a 3.0. Neutral feedback is any feedback between 3.0 and 3.9. Positive feedback is a 4.0 to a

89 In addition to the numerical rating system, buyers can also leave comments about the provider s performance. These comments are very telling. Spend time looking at numerical and written feedback. You will learn a lot about your bidders by doing this. Price The cheapest price is not always the best option. Bargain hunters often end up spending more than their anticipated budget because they have to hire someone to do the work the first person messed up. You need to find a price that is reasonable and fair. You have to pay for good work, but that does not mean you should overpay. Look at the going rate and find someone who is asking a fair price. Day 42-Speak with Web Designers on the Phone As helpful as looking at a profile is, nothing beats a one on one conversation over the phone. Give the web designer a call so you can talk with him about the job. When you have the designer on the phone, you need to ask him several questions about his experience, as well as what he can bring to your project. In addition, explain your expectations. It is best to explain yourself over the phone so you can interact with the person and answer any questions. Ask the web designer the following questions: What colors are you interested in using for my site and why? Will you use meta tags, title tags and alt tags? Have you ever worked on this type of a site before? Day 43-Speak with Copywriters on the Phone When you speak to your copywriter on the phone, be sure to ask them questions about their experience, as well as where they would like to take the project. Talk to them about sales writing. You need to make sure they understand about the sales process. 42

90 Ask the copywriter the following questions: What is involved in effective sales copy? What is search engine optimization? What can you bring to my project? Day 44-Create an Agreement You need to create an agreement for writers and copywriters. This will protect you from any issues that could arise during the process. Your agreement should include: Timeframe for delivery Agreed upon payment Any deposits Quality of services Rights of property Turn to worksheet 2.5 and examine the sample agreement. Day 45-Check Products One More Time Before you hire a web designer and copywriter, you must make sure you have the products you want. Take out the list with your products on it and make sure you have selected the ones you want to sell. In addition, go back to the affiliate marketing sites and give the available products one more look. Take your time to make sure you are moving forward with the right products. 43

91 Look at: Price Profit Market Day 46-Find Site Designs You Like One of the biggest mistakes people make when hiring a designer is failing to give them enough information. People usually have an idea in their heads of what they want. However, they often fail to let the designer know what that idea is. You can avoid this problem by finding websites you like. While you do not want to copy another site, you can give your web designer an idea of the type of site you want to have. Find sites you like and tell the designer what you like and don t like about them. Find ten sites and fill out worksheet 2.6 at the end of the workbook. Day 47-Find Site Copy You Like Just as you looked at site designs, you must look at site copy as well. Again, look for copy that stands out to you. You want to find copy that will help you sell products. When you do this, make sure you notice the things you like about different sets of copy, as well as the things you do not like. Then, you will be able to point the copywriter in the right direction. Find a minimum of ten sites and fill out worksheet 2.8 at the end of the workbook. Day 48-Do Keyword Research Before you hire a copywriter, you need to pick out the keywords you want to use for your website. Keywords are a useful internet marketing tool. If you pick the right keywords, your site will come up in web searches. Today, you are going to do your own keyword research. You will need worksheet 2.9 at the end of the workbook when researching keywords: 44

92 Brainstorm for words that are associated with your products. Write them down and then get to work. The first step to keyword research is the AdWords Keyword Tool. You can access the tool at Once you arrive at the tool, type a keyword in. Then, go to the column that gives the monthly search volume. Record the number in the column that says number of searches. Then, go to and type in the keyword. Make sure the keyword is in quotes. Look at the number of pages that come up in the search. Put this number in the column that says competition. Next take the number of searches and multiply it by two. Then, divide that by the competition. That will give you the keyword effectiveness index (KEI). If your KEI is greater than 10, it is a good keyword. If it is less than ten, it is not a good keyword. What Keyword Research Does You want a keyword that is popular in searches but does not have a great deal of competition. That is why you find the KEI. That allows you to find words that are popular with web traffic but not popular with other businesses. 45

93 Look for Synonyms Don t think you have to stick with the words you initially selected. Look for synonyms as well. Use the AdWords Keyword tool to find synonyms. Then, see how those words perform. Selection Process In the end, you want to select 3-5 keywords. You will give these words to the copywriter so they can include them in the site s copy. Day 49- Award the Web Design Job You probably already have a good idea of which designer you want to hire. You have been speaking to people for quite some time now, and you likely know who will do a good job. Today, it is time to award the job. Go to your Elance account and award the job. Then, upload your agreement and have them sign it. You can easily upload the agreement when you award the job. Include it in the terms of the project. You can also fund escrow. While this is not something that you have to do, it is a good idea. When you fund escrow, you are not actually paying for the services. What you are doing is setting the money aside in an escrow account. The web designer will see the job has been funded, which they will appreciate it. Then, when it is time to pay the designer, you can simply release the funds from escrow. When you award the job, you need to supply the designer with all of the information immediately. Most people are ready to work as soon as the job is awarded. Do not slow them down. Provide the designer with: The list of designs you liked and didn t like Ideas regarding the direction you want to take the site Your list of products, along with the codes supplied by the affiliate site A phone number where you can be reached A valid address you check at least twice each day 46

94 Day 50- Award the Copywriter Job By now, you should know whom you want to hire for the copywriting position. Go onto Elance and award them the job. Be sure to upload your agreement and have them sign it. After the agreement is signed, send them all of the information they will need to do their work. Provide the copywriter with: Examples of copy you liked and didn t like Ideas regarding the direction you want to take the site A phone number where you can be reached A valid address you check at least twice each day A list of products, including how you intend to link the products Day 51-Register a Domain Name You want a domain name that reflects your business. Domain names help with the branding process. Prior to registering a domain name, you need to brainstorm for ideas associated with your business. As you do this, remember that domain names should: Be easy to remember Be relatively short Help with the branding of your business Relate to your products 47

95 Now, create a list of possible domain names. Fill out worksheet 2.10 at the end of the workbook with possible domain names. Once the list is created, go to Host Gator and check each one s availability. Host Gator s domain registration can be found at Then, select your domain name and register it. Provide your web design with your domain information. Day 52-Set up a Hosting Account Host Gator is an affordable hosting company, and it has a lot of features. Go to and create a hosting account. Then, send all of the hosting information to your web designer. He will need to have access to your hosting account in order to upload your website. Day 53-Check in with the Designer You need to stay in contact with your designer. You need to make sure he stays on track and is on the way to providing you with the design you need. Contact the designer today and ask him how the project is going. Ask him if he has had any problems and if he is on track to compete the design on time. 48

96 Day 54-Check in with the Copywriter Today, check in with the copywriter. Again, you want to make sure everything is on track to be completed on time. You also want to make sure your copywriter is providing you with quality content that will help you make sales. Discuss the tagline with the copywriter. He should have come up with a line by now. Also, find out how many pages he has written. Find out if he has had any problems and let him know he can contact you at any time. Day 55-Set Up Your Account Go to Host Gator and set up your account. Access the control panel and scroll to the section. Once there, add an address. Your address will have your domain name in the address. For example, if your domain name is affiliatemarketing, your address would You can put your name in the first part of the address. You can also put support or help in the first part of the address. Create an address that will work best for your site. You can create more than one address if necessary. Host Gator allows users to create a large number of addresses. Day 56-See a Rough Draft From the Copywriter Have the copywriter send you a rough draft of the copy. Go over the copy and mark any areas that you feel need to be changed. Then, send the copy back to the copywriter so they can make those changes. Look for: Spelling errors Grammatical errors Keywords Overall quality of the content Selling power of the copy 49

97 Day 57-Receive Final Copy Send your copy over to the web designer so he can upload it on the site. He will need the copy to finish the site. Day 58-Send Final Copy to the Web Designer You should receive the final copy of the copy today. Go over the copy to ensure all of the changes were made. If you need additional changes, send it back to the copywriter. Day 59-See Site Mock Up Your web designers should have a mock up of the website prepared. Look over the mockup and make sure the site is going in the appropriate direction. If you would like him to make any changes, ask for them now. Next month, the site will be live. Thus, you need to speak up and have all changes made so you can get the site up and running soon. 50

98 MONTH 2 SECTION 1 REVIEW Creating a website and picking out products are the focus of chapter two. You need to create an account on Elance and post two jobs. You also need to hire a copywriter and web designer. Remember to communicate with your copywriter and designer prior to hiring them. In addition, keep the lines of communication open after they are awarded the job. You also need to find the products you are going to market. You need to go to LinkShare, ClickBank and Commission Junction to find products. Look for products you can link together. After completing this chapter, you should know how to: Create an account on Elance Post a job on Elance Hire providers Create an agreement for the providers Create accounts on LinkShare, Commission Junction and ClickBank Find products on all three affiliate sites Do keyword research Set up a hosting account Set up an account Register a domain name 51

99 TEST YOUR SKILLS \ 1. You should hire Elance providers that: a) Have positive feedback b) Live in the same country c) Communicate well d) All of the above 2. An agreement is necessary because it: a) Protects buyers b) Helps the buyer make money c) Saves money on taxes 3. You can make money with affiliate marketing with sales and leads. True False 4. KEI is the keyword effectiveness index. True False 5. Elance escrow means you have to pay before the job is complete. True False 6. Don t call a web designer until after the job is awarded. True False 7. Domain names should be easy to spell. True False 8. You should hire the cheapest Elance provider you can find. True False 52

100 9. Your providers should sign an agreement before you start working. True False 10. Feedback is not important on Elance. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 53

101 SECTION 2 ECOMMERCE Section two will cover ecommerce. In this section, you are going to learn how to set up your ecommerce business. After you have completed this month, you will have products. In addition, you will have a copywriter and web designer working on your website. 54

102 Day 29-Decide On Your Product Before you begin selling your products, you need to decide exactly what you want to sell. In the last chapter, you made a list of products and did research. Today, you need to narrow down your list and make a decision. Weigh the pros and cons of potential products. You should have an idea of how much they will cost, and thus, you should be able to find products that will be profitable. At the end of the day, make a list of products that you want to sell. You likely want to sell more than one product. However, do not overwhelm yourself by overloading your product list. One thing to keep in mind during this process is you need to have a niche. When you are starting out, you don t want to sell basketballs, car parts and computer modems. You could sell basketballs, baseballs and baseball gloves. You could also sell car parts and car air fresheners. Just make sure you stick with a theme. You can always expand later, but it is best to dominate your niche first before you branch out and take on different markets. Fill out worksheet 2.11 at the end of the workbook. Then, use the information as a guide to create your business plan. Day 30-Register Your Business When you run an ecommerce site, you have a real business. That means you need to register your business. Rules for registering are different from one state to the next. Thus, go to your state government s website and print off the forms you need to register your business. You will need to come up with a business name as well. Come up with a name that represents your products and services. Check with your local government to make sure the business name is available. Take your papers to the office instead of mailing them in. you want to get your business license back immediately. Thus, walk the papers in so they can start processing them right away. 55

103 Day 31-Create a Business Plan A business plan explains how you will run your business. You need a business plan so you can obtain financing. In addition, it will be useful if you decide to create a joint venture or bring others into your business. A business plan is simple to create. You need to include: How you will run your business Your financial expectations Your obligation to investors Your role in the company Your business plan may change as your business grows. However, it is still important for you to use the plan as a guide. See the sample plan located on worksheet 2.11 at the end of the workbook. Use it as a guide as you create your own plan. Day 32-Decide on Funding Today, you need to begin to think about funding. While you will lay the groundwork for the funding today, it is important that you continue to follow up with potential funding sources in order to stay on track with your business. Most people choose to fund the business themselves. If you choose this option, you need to see how much money you can feasibly invest in your business. Look at your monthly income and expenses. Then, you will begin to see how much you can put into your new business. You also need to see how much capital you have to start the business in the beginning. You will have certain startup costs to consider. You will need to look at the cost of the website, as well as the cost of purchasing the products. You will have different product purchasing options, but in most cases, you will need to have some money to purchase products in the beginning. 56

104 If you need to look into outside sources for financing, you will have different options. You can ask friends or family for money as an investment. If that is the case, you want to make sure you have a plan to pay them back. If you choose to go through a bank, remember you will have to pay the bank back with interest. In addition, they will want to see your business plan before making a decision. If possible, finance your business on your own. Start slowly and build your business. It is less complicated when the financing comes from inside. Fill out the worksheet 2.12 at the end of the workbook. Day 33-Register on Elance Now it is time to start on your website. Today, you need to go to Once there, create an account. After you create your account, spend some time familiarizing yourself with the website. Learn about the rules and regulations of Elance. Also, look at job postings and see how much people are paying for services. That can be very helpful when hiring for your job. Day 34-Post Design Job on Elance It is time to start looking for web designers on Elance. You need a designer that can create a successful ecommerce site. You need to create a descriptive and informative posting. Make sure you include all relevant information. 57

105 You can use the following sample posting and change it to fit your needs: SAMPLE POST I need a web designer to create a website for a new ecommerce business. I will be selling (type of products) and need someone who can showcase these products. I will also need someone who can integrate shopping cart software onto the site. The website should include a logo for my new business. In addition, it should be fully optimized. Details of the job: My budget is $400 for the site I will provide the types of products I will provide the shopping cart software I will provide FedEx account info (FedEx account needs to be integrated into shopping cart) I need the site created within two weeks Status updates will be required 58

106 Day 35-Post Copywriter Job on Elance Now, you need to post a job for a copywriter on Elance. Again, be clear and concise. Explain what you need from the copywriter. You can use the sample posting and change it to fit your needs. SAMPLE POST I need a copywriter for a new ecommerce site. The site will be selling (type of products). Details of the Job: I need page copy and product descriptions I need the copy completed within one week Status updates will be required Search engine optimization will be required My budget for this job is $200 Additional Information I will provide the winning bidder with a list of keywords. The keywords will need to be included in the product descriptions and copy. I need the site created within two weeks Status updates will be required Day 36-How Will You Get Products? It is time to decide how you are going to get your products. You can make products or purchase them from a vendor or wholesaler. Both options have their benefits and their drawbacks. Examine both and decide which one is right for you. 59

107 Creating Your Own Products If you want to create your own products (or have your own products created for you), you will have different options. One option is to hire someone to create a digital product. You can go to and post a job. Once you do that, you will be able to look through buyers and find someone who can do the job for you. Two, you can create a digital product on your own. This can be software, an ebook or other digital item. Three, you can create a physical product. If you choose this, you will need to find a vendor to supply you the equipment to create the products. Benefits of Creating Your Own Products When you create your own products, you can have completely original products. You can truly have something that is different. In addition, some people enjoy creating their own products. They like having complete control over the products they sell. Cons of Creating Your Own Products Creating products is hard work. In addition, it can be expensive and time consuming. If you create digital products, you might have to hire someone for help. If you build products, you have to order parts from vendors. You also have to make the products quickly to fulfill orders. Buying from Vendors If you want to buy products from a vendor and sell them, you will need to find a manufacturer or distributor. This is the most common form of ecommerce. Online and brick and mortar retail establishments do this, as do the majority of ecommerce stores. For instance, if you go to the store and buy a notebook, the store itself did not make the notebook. They ordered notebooks from a distributor. They purchased the item in bulk, and thus received the item at a price that is lower than the retail price. Then, in turn, the store makes a profit off the sale. They can take that profit and buy more notebooks. The rest will go into their bank accounts. They are able to make a profit, even though they did not create the product. In order to find a vendor, you will need to go to Google. Do a Google search for distributors, manufacturers and wholesalers. 60

108 Research the vendors you find online. You should not simply order something from a vendor without finding out if they are established. Search them on the internet and dig up as much information on them as possible. Find out what others have to say about them. Also, look at the prices they offer. Are they competitive? Lastly, you can contact manufacturers directly. They might sell some of their products wholesale. However, if they do not, they will be able to tell you who their distributors are. That way, you can reach distributors that you may not be able to find online. Benefits of Distributors and Manufacturers You can get well made products that already have a following when you use a distributor or manufacturer. You will be able to find products at a price well below the suggested retail price. This is an easy way to make a profit. Drawbacks of Vendors and Manufacturers Cost is the main drawback of using a vendor or manufacturer. You will need a significant amount of money in order to purchase products from them. That is because they sell in bulk. TASK FOR TODAY After you research vendors and manufactures, fill out worksheet 2.13 at the end of the workbook. Day 37-Drop Shipping Before you purchase any inventory, you need to learn about drop shipping. Drop shipping is the process of purchasing one item at a time from a distributor. They will ship the items from their warehouse to your customer. If you don t have much money and you want to start an ecommerce site, drop shipping might be the way to begin the process. However, if you do have enough money to purchase products, it is recommended you carry your own inventory. 61

109 There are pros and cons to drop shipping. Some pros are: Low start up costs No bulk orders You don t have to deal with shipping The cons are: Products are not as affordable You have less control over quality of product and packaging You can t insert coupons and flyers into the packaging Customers might have to pay a large drop ship fee TASK FOR TODAY If you want to use drop shipping, fill out worksheet 2.14 at the end of the workbook. Day 38-Examine Your Bidders Today, you need to examine the bidders for your jobs. Most people bid on jobs within the first two days they are posted, so you should have a large number of bidders at this point. Look at the qualification so the bidders. Narrow down your list by looking at: Profile Location Price 62

110 Profile Elance allows buyers to leave feedback when someone does a job for them. Look at feedback and see what others are saying. Look at the actual comments, as well as the numerical rating given to the provider. Location Hire providers in the United States. Lots of buyers have problems when they hire providers from another country. Do not make that mistake. Price The lowest bid is not necessary the best bid. You need to find someone who is asking for a competitive price. If they are asking for too little, you should see red flags. After you examine your bidders, send out some messages. You want to keep in contact with potential designers and copywriters before you hire one. That way, you will see how they communicate. If they are hard to reach before they are awarded the job, they will be herd to contact after they are awarded the job. Day 39-Talk to Designers Get the phone numbers of the designers that you are interested in and give them a call and interview them over the phone. Ask them about their design experience and see what they can bring to your site. Take notes as you talk to each designer. You will want to reference the notes during the hiring process. Day 40-Talk to Copywriters Get the phone numbers of copywriters you have ed. Talk to them and discuss the job with them. Talk about their experience, as well as their ideas for your site. Take notes during your conversation. You will want to refer to them during the hiring process. 63

111 Day 41-Find Site Designs and Copy You Like Today, you need to do some research. Use worksheet 2.15 at the end of the workbook and fill it in with the information you receive from different sites. Save this chart, as you will send it to the copywriter and web designer. This will help you explain what you want out of your website. Often, people fail to give enough information to copywriters and designers. By showing them examples of what you do and do not like, you will be able to point them in the right direction. Day 42-Do Keyword Research Keywords are important for websites. People type keywords into search engines. These keywords trigger sites. Thus, you want to pick keywords that will put your site at the top of the pack. You need to fill worksheet 2.16 at the end of the workbook with your keyword research. Then, you will be able to select the right keywords for your site. In order to fill out the chart, you need to understand how keyword research works. You want keywords that are popular in web searches, but do not have a lot of competition. You also want to select keywords that will convert traffic into customers. When people are ready to purchase tennis shoes, they don t just type in tennis shoes. They type in buy tennis shoes. Thus, you want to select keywords that include an action word related to making a purchase. You also want to select keywords that are popular with your customer base. Come up with a list of keywords. Then, go to the AdWords Keyword Tool at Once there, type in keywords into the search tool. You will receive results based on the keywords. The results will include the keyword you typed in, along with the variations of the keywords. Record the keyword and the variations in the table. Then, look at the number of monthly searches. Put that number in the web searches column of the table. 64

112 Then, go to Google. Once there, you need to type in the keyword. Put the keyword in quotes and do a Google search. Record the number of web pages that come up in the search. You will put this in the chart under the competition tab. Lastly, you need to figure out the keyword effectiveness index, or KEI. This compares the popularity of the keyword against the competition. You need your keywords to have a KEI of 10 or greater. In order to get the KEI, take the number of web searches and multiply it by two. Then, divide it by the competition. That will give you your KEI. After you do your research, pick the keywords that will be the most effective. Save those words, as you will need to give them to your copywriter and web designer. Day 43-Create an Agreement Before you hire anyone on Elance, you need to create an agreement. The agreement will protect you. You want to make sure designers and copywriters know what is expected of them, and you want to make sure your property is safe. Your agreement needs to include a non-disclosure clause. You also need to state the compensation the designer or copywriter will receive for their work. Also, include information about the deadline and the quality of work required for the project. You want to protect yourself, which is why this agreement is so important. 65

113 Day 44-Make Final Product Decision Today, you need to make the final decision on your products. You want products that will be profitable, as well as easy to sell. Go through your list of products and weigh the pros and cons of each. Then, fill out worksheet 2.17 at the end of the workbook. After you fill out the worksheet, analyze it and pick the products that have the best potential. You want products with a high profit, as well as products you can link to other products. Day 45-Order Products Today, you will order your products. You can order them through a manufacturer or distributor online or over the phone. Keep in mind most will have minimum order restrictions. Thus, you will have to be ready to spend a decent amount of money in order to get your products. You might want to start slowly. Then, after you start making sales, you can begin to increase your inventory. Analyze your budget and then spend accordingly. Remember, it will take awhile before your business can go full speed ahead, so you want to be smart with your money. Day 46-Create Fed Ex Account Your FedEx account can be integrated into your shopping cart software. This will help your customers calculate shipping costs. You need to create a FedEx account and then give the information to your designer after he is hired. He will be able to integrate the account and the shopping cart. Go to and create your account. 66

114 Day 47-Hire Copywriter and Designer You have likely decided whom you want as a web designer and copywriter. Today, you need to make your final decision. Hire both providers on Elance. Send them the agreement you created and have them sign it and send it back. After you receive the signed agreement, send them the information they will need to get started. You can fund the escrow account on Elance as well. Elance will hold the funds for the job. Then, after the job is completed, you can release the payment. Day 48-Register with Host Gator Host Gator is an affordable hosting site that provides lots of useful features. Go to and register for a new hosting account. Then, give the information to your web designer. Day 49-Buy Domain Name You need a domain name for your website. Make sure you pick a domain name that makes sense for your business. In addition, the domain name should be: Easy to remember Easy to spell 67

115 You can register your domain name on Host Gator. Again, pass the information along to your web designer. Day 50-Get 800 Number There are different options for getting an 800 number. You can go through the phone company. You can also use Vonage. In addition, Host Gator provides people with an 800 number. You can use this number for your company. An 800 number is important. It makes companies look more professional. It also gives people a way to call your company for free, 24 hours a day. Research different options available in your area and order your 800 number today. Day 51-Purchase Shopping Cart Software You will need shopping cart software for your website. You need to pick shopping cart software that is effective, as well as affordable. 1 Shopping Cart is a favorite for retailers. You can get a starter package for $34 a month. The basic package is $59 a month and the professional package is $99 a month. You can purchase this shopping cart software at You can also purchase shopping cart software from Host Gator. Host Gator has a variety of add ons and extensions, many of which work with Joomla and Fantastico. Before you purchase shopping cart software, consult with your designer. Work with him to find software that will work well with the site he is building. 68

116 Day 52-Make Storage Arrangements You need to have a place to store your supplies. If you have home storage, make sure it will fit your supplies. Many people use garages or spare rooms. Storage units are also a viable option. Make sure you can get to the unit easily. Once your site is up and running you will need to ship out products on a regular basis. Do not pick a storage unit that is far away, as that will be a hassle. If you need to use a storage unit, sign up for one today. Day 53-Get Your Tax ID Call the IRS and get your taxpayer identification number. You will need your business license in order to get this number. Call Give them your business license number and they will give you a tax ID number. You will need that number for your taxes. In addition, if you choose to open a business bank account (which we will do in the next chapter) you will need your tax ID number. Day 54-Follow Up with Designer Contact the designer to make sure everything is on schedule. Ask them if they have any questions. Make sure they are on track to complete the project on time. Day 55-Follow Up with Copywriter Make sure your copywriter is on track to complete the work by the due date. Ask if he has any questions. Make sure he stays on track and has everything completed on time. Day 56-Get Rough Draft From Copywriter Have the copywriter send you a rough draft of the copy. Go over the rough draft and indicate the places you would like him to make chances. Then, send the copy back to the copywriter. 69

117 Day 57-Receive New Copy Look over the changed copy. Make sure it is ready to be posted on the website. If changes are needed, have the copywriter make them today. Day 58-Send Copy to Designer Give the designer the final copy so he can upload it onto the site. He should be close to completing the site by now. Make sure he is still on track and let him know you would like to see a mock up of the site tomorrow. Day 59-See Site Mock Up Your web designers should have a mock up of the website prepared. Look over the mockup and make sure the site is going in the appropriate direction. If you would like him to make any changes, ask for them now. Next month, the site will be live. Thus, you need to speak up and have all changes made so you can get the site up and running soon. 70

118 MONTH 2 SECTION 2 REVIEW Picking products and creating a website were the focus of chapter two. This chapter helped you lay the groundwork for starting your ecommerce business. You should know how to: Register your business Get your tax ID Decide on financing Find vendors and manufacturers Order products Hire people from Elance Register with Fed Ex and UPS Make storage arrangements You should now have an understanding of how to set up your business. If you followed the steps listed in this chapter, your business is well on its way to entering the market. 71

119 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. Which is an option for acquiring products for an ecommerce site? a) Use a Drop Shipper b) Use a distributor c) Use a manufacturer d) All of the above 2. Which method has a lower start up cost? a) Using a manufacturer b) Using a drop shipper 3. It is not necessary to have Elance providers sign an agreement.. True False 4. You should discuss your shopping cart software with your web designer. True False 5. Keywords should be included in website copy. True False 6. You can find manufactures online and contact them over the phone. True False 7. All shopping cart software is the same. True False 8. You have to store your products at your home. True False 72

120 9. You need a tax ID when you own an ecommerce business. True False 10. A web designer can integrate shopping cart software into the website. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 73

121 z MONTH 3 FINAL PREPARATIONS It s almost time to start making some money with your website. First, though, you need to make the final preparations. This month, we will take you through the preparation process so you will be ready to open your business s virtual doors. Be sure to follow all of the steps and guidelines this month. You need lay the groundwork so you are able to make as much money as possible. 74

122 SECTION 1 AFFILIATE MARKETING This month, you will get everything in place so you can begin marketing your business. You need to lay the groundwork for your marketing campaign. Your website will go live, you will join forums and gather information so you can begin bringing traffic to your site. Day 60-Create Google Analytics Account You need to set up a Google Analytics account before your website goes live. Google Analytics is a very useful tool for website owners. It will give you traffic statistics and allow you to examine the behavior and patterns of your website s visitors. When you use this tool, you will be notified if there are significant changes in your data patterns. This is crucial, as significant changes are caused by marketing. You need to make sure your marketing efforts are helping your business. In addition, Google Analytics will organize your data into segments. Segmentation is an important part of marketing. You need to be able to divide your customers into segments so you can target your marketing efforts. You can t take a one size fits all approach to marketing, as that will be deadly. Go to Once there, you will be able to sign up for an account. After you sign up, you will be given a code. Give the code to your web designer and have him insert the code on every page of the site you want to track. 75

123 Day 61-Receive Site Mock Up Your web designer should have a mock up, or sample, of your website completed. Have him give you the mock up today. Spend the day looking at the site and making sure it has everything you want. Remember, this site will represent your business. Check over the site s: Design Colors Wording Layout Day 62-Recommend Changes Yesterday, you examined the site. Today, you need to let the designer know if you want any changes. Make sure you explain all of the changes that are needed. That way, the designer can complete the site and it can go live soon. Day 63-Get the Mockup Back The designer should have the changes completed. Make sure everything is as it should be. If you need any other revisions, ask for them now. Send the site back to your designer with comments. Tell him that you need the site completed by tomorrow. Day 64-Site Goes Live Today, your website will go live. Have the designer put the site up so you can start making money with your website. After the site goes live, check all of the links and navigation bars. Make sure the links and navigation bars direct you to the proper places. You need to make sure your affiliate links send you to the merchant s site and the navigation bars take you to the right pages on the site. 76

124 If there are any problems, contact your web designer immediately. He needs to fix the problems today. Day 65-Check Site in Different Browsers You need to make sure your site can be opened in different browsers. Open your site in Google Chrome, Firefox and Explorer. Make sure the site displays as it should. You should also open the site on your mobile phone and make sure it displays properly. More people are using a mobile device when searching for things online and you want to be able to reach those customers. Day 66-Submit URL to Google Go to and submit your URL to Google. This is very important, as you need Google to index your site. Once your site is indexed, it will begin showing up in searches. After you submit your URL, Google will send a Googlebot to crawl your site. The Googlebot will look at the site s structure, content and keywords. It will then index your site accordingly. It will take several weeks for Google to index your site. Thus, start the process today by submitting your URL for review. 77

125 Day 67-Submit URL to Yahoo! Just as you submitted your site to Google, you need to submit it to Yahoo! Go to and submit your site. Remember, it will take some time to index your site. Still, that does not mean you can t continue to build your business as you wait for the search engines to index your site. Day 68-Submit URL to Bing Go to and submit your site on Bing. Bing is a relatively new search engine that is becoming increasingly popular. You don t want to leave Bing out of the mix. You can get a leg up on the competition by paying attention to this new search engine. 78

126 Day 69-Submit URL to Directories Directories are similar to a phone book. At one time, people turned to the yellow pages to find a business. Now, though, the internet has replaced the need for the yellow pages. Directories have different categories. You can go to a directory, find the appropriate category, and list your site. When you list your site in a directory, two things happen. One, you increase your exposure. Your site will come up when someone goes to the directory and looks for something in your category. Two, you get more links on the internet. Links are URLs that point directly to your website. Search engines look at links when calculating a site s position in the search engine rankings. Thus, you want to submit your site to directories so you can get more links. There are lots of directories to choose from. Some are free, while others are paid. Focus on free directories right now. Simply go to Google and type in Directories. Then, submit your site to 30 directories. Day 70-Get a Tax Identification Number Today, you need to call the IRS and receive a tax identification number. Call (800) and speak to an agent. They will provide you with an identification number immediately. Keep the number in your records so you can access it whenever you need it. Day 71-Add Tax ID to ClickBank Log into your ClickBank account and go to the My Account Tab. Once there, you will see a place to submit your tax ID number. Input your tax ID number so you will be ready to receive payments. After you input your tax information, check over the other personal information you provided. Make sure it is all correct. 79

127 Day 72-Add Tax ID to LinkShare Log onto LinkShare and go to the My Account section. Under the account info tab, you will see a section for your tax information. Input your tax ID number. Then, check over the section to make sure everything is correct. Go through each piece of information and check it for errors. Day 73-Add Tax ID to Commission Junction Log onto Commission Junction and go to the account settings. Once there, you will see a place to add your tax ID. Input your tax ID information. Also, check over the information in the account settings and make sure everything is correct. Go through each line item and check for errors. Day 74-ClickBank Backroom Today, you are going to familiarize yourself with the ClickBank backroom. After you login, you will see there are many tools at your disposable when you use ClickBank. You can access: Account Home Account Settings Reporting Resources Help Center 80

128 Account Home When you log into ClickBank, you are taken to the account home. This gives you a weekly sales snapshot. You can look at day by day or weekly sales statistics on this page. You should review your account snapshot every day. That way, you can tell if your sales are on track. Don t worry if you are not making sales right now. In the next chapter, you will start marketing your site. When you start marketing, you will start making sales. Right now, we are still laying the groundwork for your new business. Account Settings The Account Settings tab consists of: My account My site My products My spotlight HopAd Builder My Account This section has your basic account information. You can update or change your information by visiting this tab. My Site and My Products These tabs are for vendors. You will not need to use them. 81

129 My Spotlight You will receive vendor announcements in this section. In order to receive vendor announcements, you will need to subscribe with the individual vendor. If you want to subscribe, go to the Marketplace. Once there, find the vendor and click on the site details page. You can then subscribe to receive announcements. HopAd Builder Use this section if you want to build ads for your website or blog. If you choose to do this, ClickBank will create ads for you based on the products you are promoting. Once the ads are created, you will be able to put the source code in your website or blog. Then, if someone clicks on the ad and purchases a product, you will make money off the sale. Reporting The reporting tab has: Paychecks Transactions Shipping Analytics Paychecks The paycheck tab provides a breakdown of your payments. Right now, you will not have anything listed in this tab. However, you will soon have the tab filled up with checks. Transactions The transaction tab lists your transactions. Again, this tab is likely empty right now. soon, though, you will be able to examine this tab and see all of the transactions that have been credited to your account. 82

130 Analytics The analytics tab provides you with a daily and hourly breakdown of your sales. You need to check this tab daily, as it will allow you to keep tabs on your campaign. Shipping This tab is for vendors. You will not have to use it. Resources Tab The resources tab consists of: News System log Communications News The ClickBank news is an overview of news and maintenance. Check this tab daily. You need to stay on top of the latest news. System Log The system log will provide you with the system status. Keep an eye on the log so you will be aware of any service interruptions. Communications The communications tab contains newsletters and press releases. Read over the information in this tab. It will be very helpful. Help Center The help center has a wide variety of resources. All of your questions will be answered in the Help Center. Browse through the resources so you can familiarize yourself with ClickBank. 83

131 Day 75-Examine LinkShare Back Room Log into your LinkShare account so you can access the tools provided by the site. Once you log in, you will see a toolbar with multiple tabs on it. You will have access to: Home Programs Links Reports Messages My Account Home The home tab will provide you with a snapshot of your account. You can see your quick stats, which are your monthly stats. You can also see your payment info and history, commission trends and top advertisers. Programs and Links The program and links tabs have products to promote. Since we selected products in the last chapter, we are going to move on to the reports tab. 84

132 Reports The report s tab has: Overview Advanced reports My reports When you access the overview section, you can get your quick stats or a quick report. The categories for quick reports are: Top 10 advertisers Sales and activity Revenue Link type Individual items Signature orders Advanced reports live up to their name. You can select a date range and then a report type. You can get a report on: Top 10 advertisers Top 10 products Sales and activity Revenue Link type Individual items Product success Program level Non commission sales Signature activity Signature orders 85

133 The My Reports tab consists of reports you have saved. Messages This is your message center. You will check here to find general messages, transaction inquiries and payment inquiries. My Account The My Account tab consists of: Account info Payment info Marketing channels Users preferences Account Info This tab has the basic information about your account. You will go here to change or update information. Payment Info With this tab, you can access: Payment history Advertiser payment history Transaction search Transaction inquires If you have a payment question or simply want to review the payments you have received, go to this tab. 86

134 Marketing Channels You do not need this tab right now. However, you will need it in the future. It is used to manage multiple sites. Right now, you are just using one site, but you will add more in the future. Users This tab allows you to create and manage user accounts. You can add users or modify your exiting user account in this section of the site. Preferences Set your preferences in this section. You can receive updates from LinkShare, promotions and other information by if you choose. Day 76-Examine Commission Junction Back Room Log onto Commission Junction so you can access everything the site has to offer. Once you log on, you will see several tabs. The tabs are: Home Account Get links Run Reports Mail Today, you are going to familiarize yourself with each of the tabs. 87

135 Home When you log in, you will be taken to the home tab. This tab will give you an overview of your account. It has announcements, program performance statistics, quick stats, trend graphs and today s tasks. You will also be able to see the new advertisers that are available on Commission Junction. Look at the new advertisers and see if you see anyone that interests you. Eventually, you will be able to create more sites with more products. That is why it is a good idea to keep an eye on the new advertisers. For now, though, you need to concentrate on the products you already have. First, you will make money with those products, and then you will expand and take on more products. Account The account tab consists of: Administrative settings Website settings Services Administrative Settings This tab has your basic settings and information. If you need to update your information, you will be able to do it here. Website Settings This has your website address and category. You can also add additional sites to your account by visiting this tab. 88

136 Services If you have developer resources or skills and are interested in using Web Services, go to table 3:3 for more information about this program. However, if you do not have the resources, you don t have to include these services into your site. Get Links In this section, you have tabs for: General categories Advertiser list SmartZone Settings By relationship General Categories You can browse for links by category in this section. Visit this section and look for new products. Eventually, you will market more products, and it is a good idea to stay on top of what is available. Advertiser List You can look at different advertisers when you visit this section. You can information about the advertiser and join their program. SmartZone Settings A SmartZone is a code that you place in your website that allows you to control your ads. Right now, your site is set up to advertise your products. However, if you want to advertise additional products, you can set them up in a SmartZone format. You will need to set up your SmartZones and then have your web designer insert the code into your site. Once your SmartZones are set up, you can make changes on the Commission Junction website. This will save you the trouble of changing ads through an FTP. 89

137 By Relationship This tab lists the advertisers you have a relationship with and shows you their statistics. Your advertiser s statistics will give you a good idea of what you can expect with your business. advertisers that have good statistics have products people want. Those who have bad statistics are either new, or have products people are not interested in buying. Run Reports You can run performance and transaction reports in this section. You can run performance reports based on: Commissions Sale amount Sales Leads Clicks CR (conversion rate) EPC (average earnings per 100 clicks) Your transaction reports consist of: Balance detail Pending commissions Current balance Mail Use this section to check your mail. 90

138 Day 77-Sign up for Message Boards Message boards are a great way to meet likeminded people, and to find customers. You will find that most message boards will give you both options. You can post information about your business, and talk to people who are involved in affiliate marketing. Today, your task is to sign up for five affiliate marketing message boards. While that might seem like a lot, you will likely drop three or four of them over time. The point is to find one or two message boards that you like. Go to Google and type in affiliate marketing message boards. Then, find the boards that appeal to you and sign up. Day 78-Learn the Rules of the Message Boards Every message board has its own set of rules. If you break the rules, the administrator will kick you out. You don t to want to get kicked out after you spend time getting to know the people who use the board. Thus, take the time to learn the rules. Make sure you understand all of the rules and follow them when you use the boards. Day 79-Create a Signature Line for the Message Boards Most message boards allow users to include a signature line in their posts with a link to their websites. Create a signature line you can use in your posts. Keep it simple and make sure it follows the rules of the board. Include your name and a link to your website. You can also include a tagline if the message board allows it. Day 80-Communicate with Others Today, you will start communicating on the message boards. In the beginning, you have to be very careful about how you communicate. You do not want your communications to be viewed as spam. 91

139 If you go onto message boards and try to push your products, you will drive people away. Thus, you need to make friends on the message boards first. Then, you can start to sell your products. Today, you need to go to the different message boards and introduce yourself. In addition, comment to other people s posts. Do not try to sell your products in the comments. Just get to know the people. This will go a long way in establishing yourself on the message boards. IMPORTANT TIP Communicate on the message boards every day this month. Do this step in addition to the other daily tasks. Day 81-Brainstorm Everything You Know About Your Products Today, we are going to start preparing for marketing your products. Before you can market your products, you have to know everything about them. Knowledge is the key to marketing success. Brainstorm everything you know about your products. fill out the chart on page 3.1. Day 82-Research Your Products Now that you have brainstormed your products, you have an idea of the information you know. Now, it is time to find out information you do not know. Today, you are going to research your products. Go to Google and type in the names of your products. Read product reviews and learn about the product s specifications. Find out as much information as possible. As you research your products, fill out the chart on page

140 Day 83-Consolidate Your Information Take the information from your brainstorming and research sessions and consolidate them. Fill out the chart on page 3.3 with this information. Go over the chart and look for any gaps in your knowledge. Research any weak spots so you will be as knowledgeable as possible on your products. Day 84-Create Yahoo! Answers Account Yahoo! Answers is a good way to market affiliate products, as long as you use the site correctly. Today, go to and create an account. After you create your account, spend some time filling out your profile. Then, review the Community Guidelines. Day 85-Answer 10 Questions on Yahoo! Answers Today, you need to answer 10 questions in your category. However, do not list links to your website. Instead, just answer the questions in the most informative way possible. Right now, your goal is to gain a good reputation on the site. Soon, you will use that reputation to begin directing traffic to your website. 93

141 Day 86-Post a Question on Yahoo! Answers Today, you need to post a question. Ask a question that fits in your category. Again, you want to build a strong reputation. In order to do that, you need to make yourself visible. Be sure to choose a Best Answer after people answer your question. People in the community will appreciate your level of involvement. Day 87-Mention Products in Yahoo! Answers Today, you need to answer questions directly related to your products. You can provide links in your answers. For instance, if one of your affiliate products is registry cleaner software, look at computer related questions. If you see a question that says, My computer is running slow. Does anyone know anything I can do to help? You could answer, Try this registry cleaner software. You can find it at When you do this, make sure you are completely honest. In addition, Yahoo! Answers is not a sales platform. Thus, do not overhype your product. Just give the link. People will follow. Day 88-Advertise on the Message Boards You have been talking on the message boards every day. Now, it is time to start advertising your products. Message boards typically have an area for advertising products. Post a link to your site and tell people what you have to offer. 94

142 Follow the format of the message boards when posting something about your site. Also, do not oversell your product. Be honest and direct. Day 89-Check Site Analytics Get a monthly report from Google Analytics and your web host. You will do this at the end of every month. That way, you can make sure your site is receiving quality traffic. This month, you will not have much traffic. You may have received some traffic from the message boards and Yahoo! Answers. Still, your site has likely only received a small number of visitors. That will change soon. Next month, we will start on marketing your site. 95

143 MONTH 3 SECTION 1 REVIEW In this chapter, you put your website online and submitted it to search engines and directories. You also signed up for message boards and Yahoo! Answers. In addition, you learned more about the affiliate marketing sites that you will be using to make money. You should now know: You have to submit your site to Google, Yahoo! and Bing so it will be indexed. Directories provide you with links and visibility. You need a tax identification number, and you can obtain one by calling the IRS. A Google Analytics account will help you analyze your site s traffic. Each affiliate site has a backroom filled with helpful information. Yahoo! Answers and message boards are a great way to advertise your business. 96

144 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. Segmentation is the process of: a) Dividing site traffic into groups b) Using Google Analytics c) Marketing 2. EPC Stands for: a) Estimated percentage of clicks b) Average earnings per 100 clicks c) Average percentage of clicks d) Estimated earnings per 100 clicks 3. Once your site goes live, it is important to submit for indexing to: a) Google b) Yahoo c) Bing d) All of the Above 4. SmartZone settings are used by which site to build links to your website? a) LinkShare b) Commission Junction c) ClickBank 5. You should start advertising on message boards as soon as you sign up. True False 6. It is okay to lie to get customers. True False 7. You need to include your tax ID number in your account information for Commission Junction, LinkShare and ClickBank. True False 8. You only need to submit your URL to one website True False 97

145 9. A website can t be changed after you receive the mockup. True False 10. You need to give your Google Analytics code to your web designer. True False 11. If your site works in Google, it will work in all of the other browsers. True False 12. You need to contact the IRS to get your tax ID. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 98

146 SECTION 2 ECOMMERCE Building an Army of Affiliates This month, you will get your site ready and start building an army of affiliates. You will learn about affiliate marketing and how it can help your business. You will also learn how to streamline your system so you can start making money. 99

147 Day 60-Sign Up for Google Analytics Google Analytics provides site owners with detailed traffic statistics. The statistics can be viewed in segments, which allows site owners to analyze different demographics. This is very useful when running a marketing campaign. You will also receive alerts if there are any significant statistical changes to your site s traffic data. The alerts will help you gauge people s reactions to your marketing efforts. Sign up for Google Analytics at After you sign up, you will receive a code. Give your web designer the code and have him put it on every page you want to track. Day 61-Receive Site Mockup Your web designer should have a mock up, or sample, of your website completed. Have him give you the mock up today. Spend the day looking at the site and making sure it has everything you want. Remember, this site will represent your business. Check over the site s: Design Colors Wording Layout 100

148 Day 62-Send Mockup Back for Changes In the last chapter, you received a site mock up. Now, you need to examine the mockup and look for any changes that you want to have made. Look at the: Wording Design Layout Make sure that everything is up to standards. Submit any changes you need to the designer. Make sure he returns the completed site to you tomorrow. Day 63-Receive Final Site All of the changes should be made to your site. Look at it and make sure it flows and looks great. Remember, this will be your storefront, and you need it to be perfect. Submit any additional changes you need to your web designer so your site can go live tomorrow. Day 64-Site Goes Live Today is the big day. Your site goes live. Go to your site and look at it in action. Also, give your URL to your friends and family. Have them go online and look at it. Get feedback from them. Make sure all of the navigation bars work. You should be able to start selling products now. Day 65-Make Sure Process Works Today, you need to act as if you are a customer on your site. Go to the website and purchase a product. You need to make sure the payment process works, and the auto responder sends a message to you thanking you for your payment and giving you any additional information. 101

149 If you provide digital products, make sure they download properly. If you use a drop shipper, have the product mailed to your house to ensure everything goes as planned. While that will cost you some money, you need to fix any problems now. Thus, this is a very important task to complete. Day 66-Check Site in Different Browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Explorer) Make sure your site works in different web browsers. Different people use different browsers, and you don t want to lose a customer because he cannot open your site. Also, check your site on a smart phone. Many people use smart phones to browse the web. They might stumble on your site while using their phone. Thus, you want to make sure your site displays properly. Day 67-Submit URL to Google You need to submit your URL to different search engines. After your URL is submitted, the engines will crawl your site and then index it. Today, you need to go to and submit your URL to Google. 102

150 Day 68-Submit URL to Yahoo! Yesterday, you submitted your site to Google. Today, you need to submit it to Yahoo! Go to and submit your website to Yahoo! Day 69-Submit URL To Bing Bing is a new search engine that was created by Microsoft. It is gaining in popularity and thus, you want to be sure to include your URL in its directory. Go to and submit your site to Bing. 103

151 Day 70-Submit URL to Directories Directories are like phone books. People use them to find products and services. You need to submit your site to directories so you can gain more exposure for your business. This will also help you build up links. Links are URLs that point back to your site. Search engines analyze links when indexing websites. Thus, the more links you have, the higher your search ranking will be. Submit your site to 30 directories. Use the free directories for now. Over time, you can submit your site to some paid directories that will provide you with more exposure. Day 71-Create Merchant Bank Account Take your tax ID number to the bank and set up a merchant bank account. Get checks for your merchant account so you can use it to purchase business supplies. Be sure to file your bank account information in a safe place when you get home. You should have a file of all of your important business information. Add your bank information to that file. If you do not have such a file, create one today. Day 72-Get Accounting Software You need accounting software, as it will help you keep your business in order. When tax season rolls around, you want to have everything readily available. Thus, today you are going to get accounting software. QuickBooks is easy to use and it has affordable options. You can use QuickBooks online and pay a low monthly fee, or you can download the software for a onetime fee. Decide which option is right for you and order your software. Once it is ordered, you will be one step closer to organizing your books. 104

152 Day 73-Set Up Your Account You need to set up your accounting software so it will be ready to go when you start making sales. Enter your banking information, tax ID and business information. Also, include any payments you have made for products or services. Be sure to update your software every time you make a sale or purchase something for your business. You want your software to be current so it will be ready when you do your taxes. Day 74-What is Affiliate Marketing? You have to learn about affiliate marketing before you can start making lots of money with your ecommerce website. Affiliates will help you sell your products online. Because of that, you need understand the process. You are the merchant. You can get an affiliate, or publisher, to market your products. They will direct people to your site to purchase your product. Once the person purchases your product, you will pay a portion of the sale to an affiliate. Merchant Hires Affilliate Merchant Pays Percentage to Affilliate Affilliate Markets Product Merchant Gets Money Customer Buys Product 105

153 This is beneficial for many reasons. When you use affiliate marketing, you will benefit from: The marketing expertise of someone else A large number of people marketing your product Increased exposure An affordable marketing solution We are going to help you create an army of affiliates. This army will take your products to the masses and start making money for your company. Day 75- Affiliate Management Software Before you can hire an army of affiliates, you need affiliate management software. Affiliates will not go with you unless you have something in place to keep track of sales and manage them. Choose the affiliate management software that best suits your needs and budget. In addition, make sure the software has: An easy to use interface Tracking features Payment features One of the top affiliate management programs on the market is Post Affiliate Pro 4. You can find out more about this software by visiting 106

154 Look at Post Affiliate Pro 4, along with other affiliate management programs. Then, fill out table 3.4 at the end of the workbook. Day 76-ASP An ASP, or application service provider, refers to a company that provides software but keeps the software on their server. You can then access the software by visiting their website. There are several benefits of choosing an ASP over software. When you choose an ASP, you get: Ease of use Simple setup Increased affiliate trust MyAffiliateProgram.com is one of the top ASPs available. 107

155 Its features include: Software Complete affiliate ownership Network exposure Hands free integration Branded affiliate experience Ongoing support and service Research different ASPs and fill out the table 3.5 at the end of the workbook. After you fill out the chart, decide which option is best for you. Then, you need to purchase the product. This is the first step in building your army of affiliates. Day 77-Create an Affiliate Business Plan You need a business plan so you can attract affiliates. Affiliates will market your products for you. You will do your own marketing as well, but you can also use affiliates so you can really boost your sales. If you get an army of affiliates, you will have a very powerful business. Before you can hire affiliates, though, you need to have a plan in place. Your plan should include: Payable actions Amount of commission Affiliate Management Payable Actions In most cases, you will pay an affiliate based on sales only. However, you can pay for leads as well. For example, if someone signs up for updates on products, you could pay an affiliate. 108

156 However, right now, you need to focus on making sales. Thus, it is a good idea to pay for sales. Commission Amount You must decide how much you are going to pay your affiliates per action. Remember, you need to pay a fair amount so you will keep the good affiliates. However, you still want to make a profit. Affiliate Management How will you interact with your affiliates? How will you help them make sales? You need to brainstorm for ideas for managing your affiliates. Good merchants help their affiliates succeed. When your affiliates succeed, you succeed as well. Thus, provide your affiliates with the tools they need to be successful. Tools include: Marketing materials Information on how to get leads Help analyzing statistics Day 78-Create an for Affiliates Soon, you are going to go out and recruit affiliates. Before you can do that, you need to create an to send to them. Include your product information, along with your compensation plan. Tell them how often they will be paid and how they will be paid. Also, let them know how you will track sales. Go over the and make sure it is perfect. Remember, the will represent your business. You do not want there to be any typos or misinformation. You also need to make sure the clearly explains exactly what you want from the potential affiliate. 109

157 Day 79-Sign Up for Warrior Forum Sign up for Digital Point Forum Today, you are going to sign up for forums. Forums are a great place to advertise for affiliates. Many people go to the forums in search of job opportunities. You will gain great deal of exposure on these forums. You need to sign up for: In addition to these two forums, look for other forums that are on topic and sign up for them as well. Sign up for at least five forums today. Save your account information so you can access the forums tomorrow. Day 80-Study the Forums Study all of forums. Learn their rules, and read some posts. Get a feel for the forum so you will be able to fit in when you start posting. Spend your time on this task. Every forum has its own dynamic, and if you are not familiar with it, you will not succeed. You have to learn the language of the forum and find out what people are interested in talking about. That is how you will fit in. 110

158 Day 81-Post on the Forums Digital Point Do not start advertising your affiliate program on the Digital Point forum today. Instead, spend some time getting to know the people on the forum. Join in some conversations on the forum today. Do not push your program. Just get to know the people. Warrior Forum Warrior Forum has a Warrior Special Offer section. For $20, you can gain the trust of visitors. Advertise your program as a special offer today. In addition, join in some conversations and get to know the people. Remember, the more people trust you, the more likely they are to join your program. Other Forums Join conversations on the other forums you joined as well. Spend some time getting to know the people. Soon, you will be able to start advertising your program. 111

159 Day 82-Sign UP at Affiliate Directories People go to affiliate directories to find information about affiliate programs. You can post information about your affiliate program at different directories. Some popular directories are: Add you site on these different directories. These high traffic directories will help you find an army of affiliates. Day 83-Sign Up for Affiliate Networks ClickBank, LinkShare and Commission Junction are the biggest affiliate networks. Right now, though, you cannot be a part of these networks. They have certain requirements. You need to reach a certain number of sales, and be in business for a period of time before you can start to use these sites. 112

160 You can sign up at: There are affiliate sites out there for beginners, though. Sign up for these affiliate networks and post your products on their sites. While they are not as popular as ClickBank, LinkShare and Commission Junction, you will find some affiliates when you use these sites. Day 84-Do a Google Search for Potential Affiliates (Blogs) Go to Once you get there, type in a keyword related to your products. You want to find people who are blogging about products that are similar to yours. If you are selling antivirus software, type in selling antivirus software. Then, go to the More tab and click blogs. You will then get a list of blogs about writing about selling antivirus software. Next, search the blogs for buying antivirus software. You will get a list of those blogging about buying the software. Now, you have a very big list of potential affiliates. Fill out table 3.6 at the end of the workbook and send out the you created for potential affiliates. 113

161 Day 85-Do an Ezine Articles Search for Potential Affiliates Today, you will use Ezine articles to find affiliates. Use the search function on Ezine Articles and type in buying antivirus software, and then selling antivirus software. Fill out the chart table 3.7 at the end of the workbook. Then, send them the you created for potential affiliates. Day 86-Do a Search on Squidoo Go to Sqidoo.com and search Squidoo, just as you did Google and Ezine articles. Find people who are contributing articles and papers about your topic. Remember, type in buying and selling, along with your products. Then, fill out the table 3.8 at the end of the workbook and send the you created for your potential affiliates. Day 87-Create a Follow Up Create a follow up to send to your potential affiliates. Explain that you are giving them the chance to be a part of something exciting. Include information from your business plan. Tell them your compensation plan. Also, explain the help you will give your affiliates so they can succeed. Are you going to teach them marketing? Explain that to them in the letter. Will they have access to information? Explain that to them. 114

162 Day 88-Send Follow Up Letter Take out your list and send out your follow up letter. Write down the date you sent the letter in your chart. You want to stay organized so you can update and remove members from your list as needed. Day 89-Organize Your Affiliates By now, some people should have signed up as affiliates. You need to organize those affiliates. Put them into your software and give them all of the information they need to be successful with your program. In the next chapter, you will start to learn about marketing. Share the information you learn with your affiliates so you can help them succeed. 115

163 MONTH 3 SECTION 2 REVIEW Now you should have your website up and running. Make sure it works in different browsers so all of your customers can look at it and purchase your products. In addition, make sure you submit your site to different directories. You also learned how to set up your QuickBooks account. Be sure to input all of your financial information so it will be ready when you start recording your transactions. We also covered affiliate marketing in this chapter. Remember, affiliates can help you market your products. When you use affiliates, you will benefit a great deal. They will spread the word about your products and receive a percentage of the sale. You can save money on marketing and reach more people. You purchased affiliate software or an ASP so you can manage your army of affiliates. Input all of your affiliate information into the software so you can pay your affiliates on time and keep track of your affiliates sales. In addition, you need to create an affiliate business plan. Your plan should include: Payable actions Amount of commission Affiliate management Lastly, search for affiliates by doing research on message boards and websites. Send potential affiliates an inviting them to join your program. 116

164 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. You need accounting software to keep your finances organized. True False 2. Affiliates market products for merchants. True False 3. It is more expensive to use affiliates than it is to market your products on your own. True False 4. Affiliates will just get in the way and won t help you sell products. True False 5. You can pay affiliates for sales or leads. True False 6. You can join affiliate networks and use them to find people to market your products. True False 7. An ASP is the same thing as affiliate marketing software. True False 8. When you build an army of affiliates, you will have lots of people marketing your products. True False 9. Any type of affiliate management software will work. True False 10. You need to create an affiliate management plan. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 117

165 MONTH 4 Building a Blog You are going to spend time building a blog this month. Your blog will help you advertise your products or services. It is a powerful tool for ecommerce site owners, as well as affiliate marketers. 118

166 Day 90: Sign Up for a Blog Before you can start blogging, you need to sign up for a blog at Wordpress. Signing up is easy. Just go to and follow the steps to register. You will need to pick your blog s name when you register. Pick a name that fits your business type. Don t just use your own name. Your blog name should indicate what types of products you are marketing or selling. Once you sign up, an will be sent to the address you provided. Verify your address so you can start using your blog. Day 91: Buy a domain name with Wordpress You want your own domain name when you use Wordpress. If you don t buy a domain name, the URL will contain the word Wordpress. This is very unprofessional. Thus, you need to spend a few dollars so you can have your own domain name. Think of the name you selected for your blog during the sign up process. That is a starting point for your domain name. In addition, you need to consider a few other factors when selecting a domain name. It needs to be: Catchy Easy to remember Easy to spell Once you come up with a name, you need to register it with Wordpress. Go to your Wordpress Dashboard and click on Upgrades. Then, select domains. Type in the domain name and see if it is available. If it is, purchase it. 119

167 Day 92: Change the Design and Layout of the Blog Log onto your Wordpress account and go to your dashboard. Once you get there, click on the Appearance tab. You will have lots of different options once you arrive at your appearance tab. First, you need to go to Themes. The themes tab has different designs you can use for your blog. Go through the selections and find the one that looks the best for your business. Then, preview it and make sure it is right for you. As soon as you select a template, your Wordpress theme will change. Your new blog will be ready to go. You can also upload your own template and use it. If you choose to do that, you will need to have your web designer create one for you. Widgets Next, you need to choose your widgets. Widgets are tools readers can use to search for blogs, subscribe to your blog and more. You can also use widgets to keep track of your blog stats and display Twitter feeds. Select the widgets you want for your blog. If you think something will be useful, select it. You can always delete a widget later. 120

168 Header Your header is a great way to promote your business. Ask your web designer for the header that was designed for your website. Have your designer create a banner which is 940 x 198 pixels which resembles the header used on your site. You can use it on your blog. From your dashboard, click on Header and then upload your header. Preview it and make sure it looks professional. Day 93: Upload a Picture and Update Your Bio A picture and bio will help you personalize your blog. Your bio should give a brief explanation of who you are. Your picture should be professional without being too stuffy. 121

169 Go to the My Account tab and click Edit Profile. Once there, you can make all of the changes you want to your profile and picture. Day 94: Decide on a Posting Strategy You will need to update your blog several days a week. Before you can update your blog, you have to decide who is going to write the posts. You have several options. You can: Write own posts Hire from Elance Get friends/family to write Use a mixture Write Your Own Posts If you have writing skills, you can write your own posts. You need to make sure you have the ability to write in a clear, concise manner. You also have to be willing to dedicate the time it will take to create several posts each week. Some people get overwhelmed when they write their own posts and abandon their blogs. You have to stick with it if your blog is going to be successful. Thus, make sure you are willing to invest the time it will take to write your own posts. Hire From Elance Elance is another option. You can use the copywriter you hired for your website, or hire someone else to take care of the blogs. If you choose this option, you can give the person a list of blogs you need written and then provide them with a schedule. Get Friends/Family to Write Your friends and family can also write the posts. If you have friends and family members who are talented and want to help, consider having them do some blogs for you. Remember, though, it can be dangerous to mix friendship and business. Be sure someone actually has talent and is reliable before you hire them. 122

170 Use a Mixture Using a mixture is the best method for writing a blog. That way, you can represent different voices and perspectives in your blog. With this method, you can write some of your own posts, hire some people on Elance, and have friends and family write. If you choose this method, everyone will only need to write one or two posts a week. Make your decision regarding your blog posts. Then, decide how you are going to get what you need. If you are going to use friends and family, contact them today. If you want to use a freelancer, make the plans for them to start working. Day 95: Tips for Writing Your Blog Now that you know how you are going to get your blogs written, you need to know what it takes to write a great blog. Even if you outsource your blogs, you need to know what goes into a good blog so you can check and correct each post before you publish it. The elements of a good blog are: Keywords Scalable Short Personality Humor Keywords You need to include keywords in your blog posts. Earlier, you found keywords for your website. You can t simply take those keywords you already found and use them for your blogs. You need to research keywords again and find a fresh set for your blog. You also need more keywords for your blog than you needed for your website. Find a set of 10 or more strong keywords and use them throughout your blog posts. That way, your blog can rank for several keywords. This will give you a better chance of moving up in the search results. Scalable Blogs must be scalable. That means people should be able to get the main points of the post without reading every word. When people read blogs and articles online, they are usually in a 123

171 hurry. They want to skim over a post and understand the main idea. Thus, you need to write in a way that will allow them to do just that. The best way to do that is by using sub headers. Your sub headers should give the main point of each section. That way, people can easily see what the section is about without actually reading it in its entirety. This makes it much easier for web readers. Short Keep your blog posts between 200 and 400 words. When people go to blogs, they expect to read something that is short and to the point. They don t want to read something that is the length of an article. Personality Your blog is the perfect place to let your personality shine. Show your personality in each of your posts. People want to connect with the writers of blogs. If you can show your personality, your blog will be more successful. Humor A little humor can go a long way with blog posts. Use some humor to engage the reader. Not only will this show some personality, but it will also keep people coming back to read more. Day 96: Keyword Research Today, you need to do your keyword research. Open up a excel spreadsheet and begin the research process. You will follow the same process you used when you found keywords for your website. However, you will not look for words associated with buying a product. Now, you want to find people who want to read about the product. After they read about the product, you can direct them to your sales page. Finding Keywords You want to find keywords based on relevant topics in your industry. Go to Google and type in your products or industry. Then, look at the keywords that come up. That will be a good starting point for your research. 124

172 Write down several ideas. Then, start researching each word. Find keywords that will allow you to be competitive and get lots of traffic. Day 97: Write Sample Blog Today, write a sample blog post. You won t post this on the site. What you will do, though, is get a feel for writing a blog. Use all of the information you have learned to write a blog that is scalable, funny and informative. Include the keywords in it. Don t let anything hold you back when you write your sample post. Since this post is not going to go live, you can be as creative and funny as you want. Try it and see what you think of the finished product. Day 98: Check Other Industry Blogs Go to Google and do a search for other blogs. Find out what topics other bloggers are writing on, and what keywords they are using. This will give you an idea of the competition. After you look at the blogs and keywords, ask yourself two questions. Are you going after the right keywords? Will you be able to beat the competition with the words you have chosen? If not, spend some time going through your keyword list and making changes. Day 99: Brainstorm for Topics Today, you need to brainstorm for blog topics. Come up with topics based on the keywords you selected. Remember, this is a brainstorming session. That means you should not filter yourself. Write down everything that comes to mind. Then, fill out table 4.1 at the end of the workbook. 125

173 Day 100: Make the Final Decision on Topics Take out your chart and make the final decision on your topics. TASK FOR TODAY Ask yourself several questions when making the decision. How is the topic relevant to your products/services? Who will be interested in the topic? Is the topic relevant to the keyword you chose? Do you know enough information about the topic to make it interesting? Where can you find additional research? After you come up with a list of topics, fill out table 4.2 at the end of the workbook. Day 101: Do Research You should have a lot of information on your topics. However, you need to do some research as well. Your research will round out what you know and make you an expert in the field. Yesterday, you listed sites where you can draw research. Today, you need to visit those sites and do your research. Find out as much information as possible. Remember, you want your blogs to be informative, and they can only be informative if you are informed. 126

174 Day 102: Start Writing It s finally time to start the ball rolling. Today, you need to either start writing, or have someone else start writing. Take the list out and assign topics. If you are doing all of the writing, start with the first topic and go down the list. If you are using various writers, spilt up the list and let everyone get started. Fill out table 4.3 at the end of the workbook. Keep the table on hand so you can mark articles off as you receive and approve them. Day 103: Continue Writing You need several posts before you start uploading them. Go through your blog topics and continue writing. Get at least ten before you start posting them on your blog. You won t post them all at once, but it is still a good idea to have extra posts that are ready to be added. If you are outsourcing all of your blogs, follow up with your writers and make sure they are on track. Blog writing is relatively simple. They should be able to give you one or two completed blogs today. Day 104: Organize Your Posts Now that your posts are written, you need to organize them. You need to decide the order you want your posts to appear on your blog. Make sure they follow an order that makes sense. You want a natural flow to your blog. Fill out table 4.4 at the end of the workbook. 127

175 Day 105: Do a Final Edit Go through all of your blog posts and do a final edit. After your final edit, your posts should be ready to go on your blog. When doing your final edit, look for: Grammar mistakes Punctuation issues Sentence structure problems Content Look for Images Images enhance a blog. When a blog has images, it is more likely to get people s attention. After you proofread your posts, you need to find images to go with each post. Go to Google and click on images. Then, click on Advanced Image Search. Type in the kind of image you want and then go to Usage Rights. Select Labeled for Reuse. That way, the search will return images that you can use on your blog. Once you find images you like, save them to your computer and put them in table 4.5 at the end of the workbook. 128

176 Day 106: Post on the Blog Log into your account and click New Post. Then, put in the title and post your blog. Remember to include your image in your blog. Wordpress makes this simple to do. Use the Upload/Insert toolbar and click Add Image. Then, you can include your image. After you publish your post, look at your blog and make sure everything displayed correctly. Remember, you want it to look as professional as possible. Day 107: Sign up for Digg Digg is a social media site. People can submit articles and blog posts to Digg, and other people Digg them. The more Diggs an article or post gets, the more popular it becomes. You are going to use Digg to promote your blog. Go to and click on Join In. Sign up for the site and then spend some time familiarizing yourself with it. Day 108: Post on Blog Upload another post and image to your blog. Then, look at your blog and make sure everything looks as planned. You may have to do some minor tweaks in order to get your blog to look like you want it to look. 129

177 Day 109: Sign Up for Reddit Reddit is similar to Digg. You will also use Reddit to promote your blog. Today, go to and sign up for an account. After you sign up for your account, spend a few minutes looking around the site. Read some of the articles and get used to the site s interface. Day 110: Post on Blog Today, you will post your third blog entry. After you post your entry, look at your blog s stats. Your stats will be displayed on the dashboard. See if people are visiting your site. This is your starting point. That number will grow a great deal as you continue to market your blog. 130

178 Day 111: Post to Digg Sign into your Digg account and submit your blog posts. To do this, go to the top toolbar and click Submit New. You will then be taken through the steps to submit your blog post. Submit all three of your posts. After today, you will submit them to Digg as you post them. Let your friends and family members know you submitted your post to Digg. Encourage them to create an account and Digg your post so it can gain some popularity on the site. 131

179 Day 112-Post on Blog Today, you are going to post your fourth blog. After you post it, log onto Digg and submit it. Also, check your other blogs and see how they are doing. Are they getting any hits? Are people Digging them? If not, remind your friends and family how important this is. Once they start Digging your posts, others will follow. Day 113: Post to Reddit Today, you are going to submit your posts to Reddit. Click Submit a Link and go through the steps. Once you complete the steps, your link will be live on the site. Be sure to submit your links to Reddit every time you make a post. 132

180 Day 114-Post on the Blog Today, you need to post another blog. Then, go to Digg and Reddit and submit the links to the blog. In addition, send an out to your friends and family members letting them know you have a new post up. Encourage them to comment on your post. Day 115-Submit URL to search engines Use the same process you followed when you submitted your website to search engines. Submit your blog to Google, Yahoo! and Bing. Remember, it will take some time for the search engines to index your blog. In the meantime, you can continue writing and promoting your blog. Day 116: Create Signature for Your Blog Today, you are going to create an signature. You will put this signature at the end of your s. That way, you will promote your blog when you send s. That will generate more traffic for the site. Your signature should be simple. Write something like, Visit my blog at Then, put it in the signature of your s. Every program is different, but you should be able to go into the s options or settings and add a signature. Day 117-Post to Your Blog Put a new post on your blog. After you post your blog, spend some more time researching your industry. You need to spend extra time doing research so you can become an expert in your field. 133

181 Day 118-Create New Topics Take out the list of keywords you created for your blogs. Use those keywords to come up with new topics for your blog. Go through the same process you went through earlier. Brainstorm for ideas, and then come up with topics based on those ideas. Once you come up with topics, fill out table 4.6 at the end of the workbook. Day 119-Assign Topics You need to decide who will write each post and assign the topics to the writers. If the system you used for the last set worked well, use it once again. If you continue to use the same people, you will get into a rhythm. Once you decide who is going to write your posts, fill out table 4.7 at the end of the workbook. 134

182 MONTH 4 REVIEW Review This chapter taught you how to: Personalize your Wordpress blog Purchase a domain name Brainstorm for blog topics Find keywords Write blogs Market blogs You must remember several things so you can have a successful blog. 1. A personalized domain is essential with a blog. 2. You must post on your blog several times a week. 3. Blogs should be short and to the point 4. Include images in your blog. 5. Write engaging blogs. 6. Inform the reader. 7. Write about something you know about, but still do research. 135

183 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. You need to check the usage rights of an image before posting it to your blog. True False 2. You can just use the same keywords for your blog as you used for your website. True False 3. You should get your site header from your website designer so you can use it on your blog. True False 4. You should use a professional picture on your blog s bio. True False 5. The domain name is not important. True False 6. Spelling does not matter with a domain name. True False 7. Grammar isn t important on blog posts. True False 8. Every blog should be reviewed before it is posted. True False 9. You should use humor in your blog posts. True False 10. It is a bad idea to have more than one person write for your blog. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 136

184 MONTH 5 Mastering Twitter This month, you are going to learn how to master Twitter. Twitter is a powerful social networking tool, and it will help you take your business to the next level. In addition to using Twitter, you will also post a blog each day of the month. Be sure to keep up with your blog, as it will only be effective if you continue to put new posts up. 137

185 Day 120-Set up a Twitter Account Go to Click on the Let Me In button and sign up for an account. When signing up for the account, create a username that represents your business. Your username can be a powerful marketing tool. You want people to look at your username and know what kind of services or products you offer. Spend a little time coming up with an appropriate name. After you sign up for your account, spend some time looking around Twitter. Look at the different features this social networking service provides. We will explain Twitter later in the chapter, but you can get a head start by looking around on your own. Day 121-Create a Profile Log into your Twitter Account and click on Settings. Then, click on Profile. Create a bio for your Twitter account. Your bio should tell the world what you do. You want people to see you as an expert in your industry, and your bio can go a long way in accomplishing that. Take your time in order to create the perfect bio. Then, save your changes. 138

186 In addition to your bio, you need to change your profile image. Your image can be your company s logo, or a picture of yourself. You want your bio to be as personalized as possible. Thus, a picture or logo is necessary. Day 122-Change the Background on Your Twitter Page Log into your Twitter account and click on the Settings tab. After you click on Settings, click on Design. Once you arrive at the design section, you will be able to change your background. You have two options with your background. You can upload a file, or use one of the preset backgrounds. If you use one of the templates provided by Twitter, you will be just like everyone else. After all, who doesn t use that type of background? You are better off using your own image. That way, your background can help you advertise. 139

187 Once you decide on the background image, you can tile the image or have it displayed in one big picture. Try it both ways and see which one looks better. If you do not have an image, then you can select from one of the premade templates. However, make a note to get an image so you can go back and change it later. That way, you will be able to personalize your Twitter page. Day 123-Link your Twitter Account to Your Blog Earlier, we talked about how you can use a Twitter widget for your blog. Today, go to Wordpress and click on the Widgets tab under appearance. Select the Twitter widget. Then, input your Twitter account information. Select the number of tweets you want to have displayed, and decide if you want a timestamp or not. Then, save your information. Now, your blog is set to display your tweets. People who visit your blog will see your Tweets. Many of those people will follow you on Twitter. Thus, this is a very useful marketing tool. 140

188 Day 124-Get TweetDeck Go to and sign up for TweetDeck. TweetDeck is an Adobe AIR Twitter client. When you install TweetDeck, it will make Twitter management much easier. TweetDeck has a variety of features, including: Block and report spam button Reply all feature TweetDeck recommends column Auto suggest filter Ability to reference a user or tweet in your own message Multiple accounts Unlimited columns Custom URL shortener When you log into TweetDeck, you will notice you can have everything you need on one screen. Your Twitter account consists of multiple screens. When you try to move from one to the next, you have to deal with a slow loading time. TweetDeck allows you to see the main Twitter time line, along with your DMs and mentions on the same screen. You can stay plugged in without switching screens. This makes the process much easier. 141

189 Day 125-Familiarize Yourself with Tweet Burner Tweetburner allows users to track the links they share on Twitter. When you share a link on Twitter, you need to know how many people click on it. That way, you will know which links are popular, and which links are not. Thus, you can start providing your followers with links that are likely to grab their interest. Using Tweetburner is simple. Go to and create an account. Then, enter the link you want to track. You can track one of your recent blog posts. That way, you can drive traffic to your blog while you conduct this experience. After you enter the link, Tweetburner will shorten it. Then, you can post it to your account. As soon as the link it posted, Tweetburner will begin the process of tracking it. You can easily find out how the link is doing by going to Tweetburner and clicking on the Account tab. Then, click on Archives. Once you arrive at the archives section, you will see your link s stats. 142

190 Day 126-Learn the Twitter Basics Today, you are going to go through a crash course on Twitter lingo. Twitter users have a language of their own. If you don t understand the language you won t be able to communicate with them. Retweet A retweet occurs when someone posts an original tweet, and then someone else copies that tweet and reposts it. When they copy the tweet, they attribute it to the original poster. A retweet looks like: RT@original poster s username. Hash Marks Hash marks (#) represent categories in Twitter. For instance, if someone is talking about the show Lost, he could write # Lost and then write his comment. People do this so their comments will be separated into categories. This allows them to enter into conversations with other people. People can quickly see what category the conversation belongs to and join if they want. Trending Topics Trending Topics appear on the right of your Twitter screen. These are the most popular topics on Twitter at the moment. When other topics become more popular, the trending topics will change. DM A DM, or direct message, is a private message sent from one Twitter user to another. This message does not appear in the public timeline. Day 127-Check Your Tweetburner Stats Go to Tweetburner and log into the archives. Check how your link performed. Then, select a new blog post and submit it via Tweetburner. You will continue to use Tweetburner and track your performance. 143

191 Day 128-Create a Message to Send to Followers Whenever someone chooses to follow you on Twitter, you can post a message thanking him or her for the follow. In addition, you can direct the person to your website in the message. An example of a message is, Thanks for the follow. Let me know if you need any help with (industry.) You can also get up to date information at my blog at Create a message for your followers. Then, you need to set up an autoresponder so the message will be sent to your followers as soon as they decide to follow you. Go to and create an account. Once you create your account, go to the left toolbar and select Social Accounts. Then, add your Twitter account to the site. Once your account is added, you will be redirected to the Social Oomph website. The page will have a section that says, Optional Twitter Account Information. Select Auto Welcome and then type your welcome message into the box. Right now, you are only going to use Social Oomph s autoresponder. However, we will go over the other features this service offers later in the chapter. 144

192 Day 129-Follow Mr. Tweet Log into Twitter and go to the find people bar. Once there, type in Mr. Tweet. Once he pops up, click Follow. Mr. Tweet is a personal networking assistant. He will find people you should follow and then recommends them to you. Not only that, but he will recommend you to other people. Mr. Tweet will help you get a full list of followers in a short period of time. Day 130-Go to search.twitter.com Search Twitter is a helpful tool, as it allows you to see what is happening in Twitter right at that exact moment. Type in keywords pertaining to your business and find out what people are saying about those keywords. This will help you create tweets people want to read. You will be able to get more followers by writing interesting tweets people like. Many people search Twitter for keywords, and you want to use keywords that are popular so you gain followers. Thus, make a note of the popular words so you can begin using them in your posts. 145

193 Day 131-Post Five Tweets Today, you are going to start tweeting. You have the keywords, and now you are going to take those keywords and turn them into tweets. You have to be careful, though. You can t just dive in and start trying to push your products. After all, Twitter is about making connections. Social networking is a way for people to bond. You have to take the time to make those connections before you start pushing your products. That does not mean you can t direct people to places they can buy your products. Today, use keywords and your blog links. For instance, if you wrote a blog about the benefits of antivirus software, you can tweet, Learn how antivirus software can help you: yourblogaddress.com. Come up with five tweets and send them out throughout the day. Spread out the tweets, and make sure each tweet sounds different. Nothing is more infuriating than when someone tweets the same thing repeatedly. You will not get followers that way. Thus, mix up your posts and try something different with each one. You will find followers when you do that. Daily Tweets From this day forward, you need to tweet on a daily basis. You will have other tasks to do as well, but be sure you tweet every day. Day 132-Find People to Follow Today, you are going to find people to follow. You are going to do that in two ways. First, go back to search.twitter.com and type in keywords that pertain to your business. Look through the tweets that contain those keywords and find people to follow. Look for people who have a need that you can fill. If they are tweeting about one of your keywords, see you can help them out. Then, follow them. Next, go to your twitter account and click on the Find People tab. You will then be able to look through suggestions. Select some of the people and follow them. 146

194 Day 133- Familiarize Yourself with HootSuite HooteSuite is a professional Twitter client that offers: Multiple social network management iphone app Statistic tracking Twitter lists Team workflow (manage multiple users over various Twitter accounts) Brand monitoring (find out what people are saying about your brand) Personalized view Scheduled tweets Create your Hootsuite account and then add your Twitter account. Then, you can start using Twitter via Hootsuite. The first thing you are going to do is create a Tweet and send it later. Go to your dashboard, and then look at the top of the screen. You will see a place where you can tweet. Type your tweet into the box and then click Send Later. You will then be asked to put in the time and date you want to send the tweet. After you send out your tweet, take the time to look around and learn about HootSuite. Start at the Launch button at the bottom of the screen. Once you click on it, you can look at your stats, live streams and more. 147

195 Why Tweet Later? You are probably asking yourself why you should send a tweet later in the day. There are certain times of the day that your followers are less likely to see your tweets. You need to look at your followers patterns so you can see when they are most active. Then, you should schedule your tweets so they are sent out during these periods of high activity. Day 134-Retweet Someone s Post Earlier, we talked about retweeting. Retweeting is the perfect way to gain favor with the people on Twitter. Everyone likes to have his or her egos stroked. When you retweet a post, you are essentially stroking the person s ego. Today you need to retweet a post. You can either retweet someone who is already following you, or use the search function to find a post to retweet. Look for posts that are: Interesting Buzz worthy When you retweet posts, you are more likely to get more followers. The people of twitter like friendly tweeters. By retweeting, you will show people you are friendly. Day 135-Participate in a Hash Mark Conversation Hash mark conversations are a good way to participate in conversations that are interesting to Twitter users. Remember, you want to get followers. The way to get followers is to be a part of the major conversations that are going on in Twitter. Thus, today, you will look at the hash mark conversations and find one you want to be a part of, and then, you will start talking. In order to find a hash tag conversation, log into your twitter account. You will find hash mark conversations on the right side of your home page. Click on one of the trending topics, and you will be taken to a page that shows real time results for that hash mark conversation. Look at the results, see what people are talking about and join the conversation. 148

196 Day 136-Research Popular Topics Today, you need to use the search twitter feature once again. You are going to look for popular Twitter topics. Search for keywords and see what people are saying about them. Then, fill out table 5.1 at the end of the workbook. Day 137-Tweet About Popular Topics Take out the chart you created yesterday and start tweeting. Today, you are going to send a tweet every three hours. Pick popular topics and create tweets based on those topics. Take your time and construct tweets that best fit into those topics. Try tweeting in different ways today. Use your Twitter account, and use Tweet Deck and HootSuite. That way, you will be able to see which Twitter tool you prefer. Day 138-Find 20 More People to Follow Use search.twitter.com and the Find People function on your Twitter page to find twenty more people to follow. Be sure to follow people who are interested in your products. Find out what the people are tweeting about, and then make your decision. Day 139-Use Social Oomph Earlier, you signed onto Social Oomph and created a welcome message. Today, you are going to learn more about this service. 149

197 With a free Social Oomph account, you can: Schedule tweets Track keywords Have an extended Twitter profile Save and reuse drafts Send DMs to new followers Track your clicks Automatically follow those who follow you Vet new followers and retweeets Purge your DM inbox Have secure Twitter access Personal status feed Unlimited accounts Today, you are going to start using the features provided by Social Oomph. When you log in, everything you need will be in the left hand side of the site. Go through the site and send messages, purge your DMs and do other things that will help you manage your account. Day 140-Examine What Your Followers are Retweeting Today, you need to spend some time on your looking at your Twitter followers, as well as the people they are following. Examine the conversations and see what they are retweeting. As you do this, you need to think of ways you can make a post that others will want to retweet. Look at these retweets and see what they have in common. Then, think of ways to mimic them without copying them. Fill out table 5.2 at the end of the workbook 150

198 Day 141-Tweet About Retweeted Topics Pull out the table you filled out yesterday and look at the last column. Now, try to create tweets that are similar to the tweets that are being retweeted. This will take some practice, so do not get discouraged if your tweets are not retweeted on the first day. Keep at it, though, and continue to try to create buzz worthy tweets. Day 142-Go to TweetStats.com TweetStats.com is a useful tool for Twitter users. You can input your username and get your own stats. You can also click on Trends and find the most popular trends. Unlike your Twitter homepage that only lists the top ten Twitter stats, this page lists countless stats. Look at the trending topics and see if you can use them to your advantage. 151

199 Day 143-Find Ways to Tweet About Popular Topics Yesterday, you looked at the popular topics. Today, you need to see if you can use any of those topics to your advantage. Is there a way to tweet about those topics while staying true to your products and followers? If so, tweet about those topics. If not, you need to create five tweets based on the information you have learned about tweeting. Post them throughout the day. Day 144-Use Twitter on the Road If you are going to be successful, you need to have access to Twitter at all times. Thus, you need to install it on your Smartphone. Smartphones and iphones have several twitter apps you can use to gain access to your Twitter account. Download one of the apps, such as Tweetdeck, and start tweeting on the road. Day 145-Reach Out to Your Followers Followers Click on your followers and see who their followers are. Then, follow their followers. This is an easy way to build up your following. Remember, the more people you add, the more likely you are to have people add you. Day 146-Create a Coupon Campaign The key to selling is creating a sense of urgency. People need a reason to buy today, or they will wait until tomorrow, next week or next month. Today, you are going to create that sense of urgency so you can direct people from your Twitter account to your sales page. If you are running an ecommerce site, you can create a sense of urgency by giving away coupons. Have the coupon expire in a few days, and send it out to your Twitter followers. Also, write a blog post about the coupon, and submit your blog to Twitter via Tweet Burner. If you are doing affiliate marketing, you will have to be more creative in order to create a sense of urgency. Pair up some products and talk about how they work together to accomplish a goal. 152

200 Then, send out a message to your followers and write a blog post. Again, submit the blog post through Tweet Burner. Day 147-Track Your Campaign Using Tweet Burner Log into your Tweet Burner account and look at your stats. How is your coupon campaign doing? You should have a large amount of clicks. If people did not click on it, you need to adjust your campaign and try again. Do not try again right away, though. If you come out with a coupon every week, it will eliminate the sense of urgency. Day 148-Create Top 10 Blog Post Today, you are going to write a top 10 blog on a popular topic. You can write about 10 Reasons People Get Computer Viruses if you are selling antivirus software. If you are selling tennis shoes, you can write 10 Signs You Need New Tennis Shoes. These types of posts tend to do well. You want a post that will generate a lot of traffic, and this post will likely get the job done. Day 149-Tweet Blog Link Use Tweet Burner to post your blog link. Then, create other tweets. Spread them out throughout the day. Day 150-Track Your Stats Go to Tweet Burner and track your stats. If your post did not do well, consider going in a slightly different direction. Sometimes, the smallest tweaks can make all of the difference. 153

201 MONTH 5 REVIEW This month, you learned all about Twitter. Now, you should know how to: Create a Twitter account Use different Twitter clients Customize your profile Link your blog to your Twitter account Track your links Follow people Attract more followers Remember, you need to: Tweet on a daily basis Create tweets that are interesting Retweet your followers tweets Use Tweet Burner to track your statistics 154

202 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. Tweet Burner tracks the number of clicks a link receives. True False 2. You should create a new coupon campaign each day. True False 3. There is no reason to schedule tweets. True False 4. Hash marks are used to break keywords up into categories. True False 5. You have to send a message manually to each person who starts following you. True False 6. You should tweet every day. True False 7. You should space your tweets out throughout the day. True False 8. Keywords aren t important on Twitter. True False 9. A DM is a direct message. True False 10. Twitter users get offended if someone retweets their posts. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 155

203 MONTH 6 Article Marketing In this chapter, you will learn about article marketing. Article marketing is a great way to drive traffic to your website. You will learn how to write articles, post them online and use them to move ahead of your competitors. In addition to article marketing, you will need to post blogs three times a week and use Twitter every day. 156

204 Day 151-Sign up with Ezine Articles Ezine Articles is a top ranked article marketing website. Go to and click Join Now. Fill out the form so you can post articles on this site. Once you fill out the form, take some time to familiarize yourself with Ezine Articles. Learn about the rules, and look at articles other people have posted. 157

205 Day 152-Research Niche Article Directories Niche article directories are directories that focus on a specific niche. For instance, if you are selling software, you can find a niche article directory that focuses solely on software. Today, you are going to research niche article directories. Find directories that focus on your industry. Look at what the niche directories have to offer, and decide which ones you want to sign up with. Then, fill out table 6.1 at the end of the workbook. Day 153-Sign Up with Niche Directories Take out the chart you filled out yesterday. Select three directories and sign up for them today. After you sign up for the three directories, take some time to learn their rules. Each article directory has its own set of rules, and it is important that you comply with those rules. Day 154-Learn About Article Marketing Article marketing serves three purposes. One, it helps with link building. Every time you put a link for your website on the internet, Google and other search engines notice. They give your site a higher ranking based on these links. Your articles will contain links, and thus, will help your site move up in the rankings. Two, article marketing will help you get noticed as an expert in your industry. After you write some articles on the topics in your industry, people will go to your for information. In addition, they will trust you, so they will be more likely to buy products from you than from someone else. Lastly, people who read your article will be able to click on the link and go to your website. Thus, you will get customers directly from the articles. 158

206 What You Need to do With Article Marketing Your articles should be informative and well written. Do not make the mistake of providing people with basic information they could find anywhere, and do not waste your readers time with filler material. Instead, make sure each article provides readers with fresh and interesting information. You also need to use keywords in your articles. You will need to find keywords that relate to your articles topics. The keywords will help readers find your articles. What to Avoid Do not use article marketing as a way to push your products. Most article marketing websites have a rule against sales copy. Even if a rule isn t in place, your articles will not serve the proper purpose if they are full of sales material. Use articles to move up in the search engine rankings and to provide information. Do not use them to make sales. Should You Spin Articles? Many businesses use article spinning as a way to get more articles out to the public. Article spinning is the process of taking an existing article and rewriting it. Some people rewrite portions of it, while others rewrite each sentence. Whichever the case may be, the article has the same information, but it uses different words. That way, it doesn t get picked up by the search engines as duplicate content. Do not spin articles. You are much better off coming up with original content. Day 155-Learn From Writers Go to Ezine Articles and look at the articles that are listed on the front page. Go through the articles and see how they are constructed. Take note of the information they provide and see how that relates to their product or industry. By learning from other writers, you are less apt to make mistakes. Thus, go to as many articles as possible today, and take notes. You will be writing soon, and this will help you a great deal. Day 156-Constructing an Article Today, you are going to learn how to construct an article. Each article will have a title, description, body and bio. 159

207 First, you need a title. Your title should include a keyword in it. Keywords in the title are much more powerful than keywords in the body of an article. Search engines give more weight to keywords in the title, so your article is more apt to be found by web searchers if you have keywords in the title. If your key phrase is Best Anti Virus Software, your title could be, 5 tips for Finding the Best Anti Virus Software. Notice how the title used a number: 5 tips. That is something else to keep in mind when writing articles. People tend to be more responsive to articles that have numbered tips. They like to read about the five or ten things it takes to find something. This provides them with a list of things they can follow in order to achieve the best results. Now, you need to consider the description. Ezine Articles require a description that consists of two to five sentences. This description helps attract people to your article. The description cannot mention your name or your title. It also cannot be promotional in nature. Instead, it should act as a teaser as to what people can expect if they take the time to read your article. If your title is 5 Tips for Finding the Best Antivirus Software, your description could say something like, If you want to find the best antivirus software, you need to know what to look for. The top software does more than fight against viruses. The top software offers a full solution. With the right software, you will protect your computer and your peace of mind. As you can see, this description used the keyword again, and it described what information the article will provide. At the same time, it did not give real examples of what the people will find in the article. For instance, it said the top software will do more than fight against viruses, but it did not say what else it would fight against. People would have to read the article to see it would also fight against spyware and adware. The trick is to provide enough information to get people interested, but not so much information that they don t need to read the article. Next, you need to work on the body of the article. The body of the article should be between 400 and 700 words. You need to include a keyword density of 3-5%. To figure your keyword density, you need to count the keywords and divide them by the number of total words. For instance, if you have a 500 word article and use the keyword 12 times, you will take 12 divided by 500. After you divide the numbers, you will get That means you have a keyword density of 2.4%, which is not enough. You will need to increase your keyword density at least to 3%. Along with keywords, you need to have an informative article that is easy to read. Include bullet points when necessary, also use sub headers. Bold your sub headers, and make sure the article is scalable. An article is scalable if a reader can skim through it and still walk away with all of the relevant points and information. 160

208 In addition, the body of your article must be properly constructed and should flow. You need to have an opening paragraph, at least three main paragraphs and then a closing paragraph that wraps everything up. Last, you will put your bio in. This goes at the end of the article and lets people find your website. A good bio would say something like, (Your Name) is the owner of (Business Name) and an expert in (product type). He has spent years researching different types of (product type) in order to find the products that are best for his customers. To find out more about (Business Name) or to look at the products, visit (yourdomainname.com). Once you create your bio, our can save it on Ezine Articles and use it as the default bio for each of your articles. You can also choose to use a different bio for each of your articles. Day 157-Make a Plan for Writing Articles Just as you had to decide about your blogs, today you must decide if you are going to write your articles or outsource them. If you outsource your articles, keep your byline and bio with the article. You will not give rights to the person who writes the article. If you decide to outsource your articles, contact your copywriter today and find out if he will be available for a project. If he is not available, post a new job. If he is available, tell him you will have it for him in a couple of days. Day 158-Research Industry Articles Today, you are going to do some research on Google and Ezine Articles. You need to find articles written by people in your industry. By looking at the competition, you will be able to provide fresh and unique content, while still following a formula that works. Go to Google and Ezine Articles and type in keywords relating to your industry. Search for articles and then fill out table 6.2 at the end of the workbook. Day 159-Create Topics for Articles Now that you have done some research, you should be ready to create ten topics for your articles. You need articles that will inform your customer base, and will also grab their interest. Create ten topics for your articles today. Fill out the table 6.3 at the end of the workbook with the information relating to these articles. 161

209 Day 160-Do Keyword Research for Articles Keyword research is essential for article marketing. You will use the same fundamentals you used in the past, but there will be some changes. For instance, when you are trying to sell products, you use buy in your keywords. Now, you are focused on informing the public. Use words like information tips and features when looking for keywords. Think in terms of what your customer base would want to look at if they needed information. Then, create keywords. After you come up with keywords, go to the chart you created yesterday and fill in the keyword section. Day 161-Research Your Topics You need to find information for your articles. Even if you are not writing the articles, you can help with the research. The best way to ensure a copywriter provides relevant content is to point him or her in the right direction. Thus, spend some time today gathering resources for your articles. Then, put your sources in the chart you started to fill out earlier (Table 6.4). Day 162-Write Articles or Outsource Them You need to get some articles written today. You can either use the copywriter you used already, or you can start writing. Whichever the case may be, get four articles done today. The other articles should be done by Day 171. Remember to use Table 6.4 at the end of the workbook. If you outsource the articles, provide the copywriter with the information available on the chart. 162

210 Day 163-Edit the Articles Your copywriter should turn in at least four articles, or you should have four written by today. Edit them so they are perfect. Remember, even the slightest mistake will be a turnoff to your readers. Thus, spend the time to really go through the articles and make them as good as possible. Be sure to check for keyword density, grammar and content. After you are satisfied, you will be ready to submit your articles. Day 164-Submit Articles Sign into your article directories and submit your articles. Submit one to Ezine Articles, and one to each of the niche directories you signed up for. Day 165-Research Websites You can get a great deal of exposure by placing your articles on other websites. You want to find websites that serve your industry, but you do not want sites that you are in direct competition with. For instance, if someone is actually selling the same type of product you are selling, you do not want to put your article on his site. However, if the site provides information for the type of product you are selling but it does not actually sell the product, it would be a good match. The site can also sell products that compliment your product. That way, visitors can buy from the website and then go to your site to buy the other product. Today, you are going to look for sites you would like to place your articles on. Later, you will work to get your articles on those sites. Fill out table 6.6 at the end of the workbook. 163

211 Day 166-Create an to Send to Site Owners You need to approach site owners and find out if they are willing to put your article on their site. If you are going to be successful at this, you need to give site owners a reason to use your site. Thus, you need to construct an that will win site owners over. SAMPLE Your should sound like: Site Owner, I am the owner of (Business Name), and an expert in (industry name). I have written several articles about the industry, and my articles would be a good match for your website. You can find links to my articles at (links). Please review my articles. I believe you will find these articles will enhance your website, and help us have a mutually beneficial relationship. I can be reached at ( and phone number). Thank you, (Name) Now, create your own . Be sure to include links to your articles. Your article for Ezine Articles may not be approved yet, but some of your niche directory articles should be published. Find articles that are published and add them to your . Day 167-Send out the Take out the list you created of websites and send out your . Be prepared, as you will not hear back from everyone. Some people ignore unsolicited , but others will be interested in beefing up their website with quality content. 164

212 Day 168-Put Articles on Twitter Use Tweetburner to submit your articles links to your Twitter account. Since you can track your stats with Tweetburner, you will be able to see how your articles perform. That way, you can find out which articles generate the most success. Do not submit them all at once. Submit one article, and then wait a few hours. After the few hours are up, submit the next one, and so on. Day 169-Put Articles on Blogs Log into your blog account and post a link to one of your articles. You will do this every day until you have all of your articles posted. After you submit an article, encourage your friends and family members to comment on it. Have them start a conversation so other people will join in. Day 170-Research More Topics Article writing is an ongoing process. As soon as you complete one batch, you need to start on the next one. That way, you will always have fresh content to use. Today, you are going to find topics for your next batch of articles. Once you come up with topics, you need to do your keyword research. Then, fill out table 6.5 at the end of the workbook. Day 171-Receive Batch of Articles Earlier in the month, you created a batch of ten topics, but only had four articles written. The rest of the articles should be done today. Get them from the copywriter, or make sure you are done writing. 165

213 Day 172-Edit and Submit the Articles Make sure your articles are perfect. Then, submit them to Ezine articles and your three niche directories. Do not submit the same article to multiple directories. Submit a unique article to each directory. Day 173-Write or Outsource Articles Today, you need to assign the article topics you came up with on Day 170. Remember, if you outsource your articles, send the writer the information located on the table you filled out on Day 170 (T:6:6). Make sure these articles are complete by Day 179. Day 174 Create a Follow Up to Site owners Earlier, you sent an asking site owners to put your articles on their websites. You need to stay on top of site owners to make sure you get some positive responses. Thus, create a follow up . Let the site owners know you ed them recently, and you are following up on that . Provide them with information about why they should post your articles on their sites. Also, give them links to some of your articles so they can see for themselves how your articles will enhance their site. Day 175 Send Out Follow Up Send out the follow up and mark it off on your chart located on page T:6:4. Then, spend the rest of the day catching up with your blog. Day 176 Submit to Digg Earlier, you submitted blog posts to Digg. You will follow the same process to submit your articles to this site. After you submit your articles, invite your family and friends to Digg your post so it will become more popular. 166

214 Day 177 Submit to Reddit Follow the same process you used to submit your blog posts to Reddit. Submit your articles, and invite your friends and family members to give your article a boost. Day 178 Look at Your Article Marketing Statistics Look at your stats on Ezine Articles, your niche article directories and Tweet Burner. See which articles are performing the best. This will give you a good idea of what is working and what is not working. After looking at the stats, come up with a list of articles you would like to write. Use the stats as a guide, as they show you what articles people enjoy reading. Fill out the table 6.6 at the end of the workbook Day 179 Receive Articles You assigned a batch of articles on Day 173, and they are due today. If you are writing the articles, have them finished today. If you outsourced them, send the copywriter a reminder that they are due today. Day 180 Edit Articles This is your last round of edits for this chapter. Go through your edits and make sure each article is perfect. After you are confident about your articles, set them off to the side. You will upload them tomorrow. Day 181 Post Them Submit your articles on Ezine Articles and your three niche sites. Also, go to your blog and Twitter accounts and submit links to the articles that are published immediately. 167

215 Day 182-Catch Up Today, you get to catch up. Do some research for articles and blog topics, or enhance your website. Do anything you need to do to stay on track. Do not take the day off. There is always something to do in affiliate marketing and ecommerce. Instead of taking the day off, take the opportunity to get everything together so you can start to make some sales. 168

216 MONTH 6 REVIEW Chapter Review Now, you should know how to write and market your articles. Be sure to remember to: Include keywords in your title Do not use your article to make a hard sale Write articles that are informative Also, remember articles consist of a: Title Description Body Author bio You should submit your articles to social networking sites, and also try to get your articles posted on sites that are a part of your industry. Write s and work to get your articles included on well respected websites. 169

217 TEST YOUR SKILLS Chapter 6 Test 1. You should use articles as a way to push your products on people. True False 2. You should post your articles to Ezine articles and niche article directories. True False 3. You need to include keywords in your article s title. True False 4. You can t use Twitter to promote your articles. True False 5. You can promote your articles on your blog. True False 6. Article spinning is a great way to get more content on the internet. True False 7. You need to track the performance of your articles. True False 8. For your article s description, you just need to repeat the first line of your article. True False 9. You can use the same keywords you used for your website for your articles. True False 10. You need to research topics thoroughly, even if you already know about them. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook 170

218 MONTH 7 Facebook Now it is time to learn about Facebook. Facebook is more than a fun social networking site. It is also a powerful advertising tool. In addition to learning how to use Facebook, you also need to stay on top of your blogs, articles and Twitter account. Thus, post three blogs a week, four articles every two weeks and Tweet daily. 171

219 Day Create a Facebook Account Go to Click Create a Page for a Celebrity, Band or Business. You will then have the option of creating an official page or a community page. Right now, you will create an official page. An official page is much like the Facebook page you likely already have. It allows you to communicate with your friends, send people to your website and update people on special offers. 172

220 Day Create a Profile Today, you need to create your profile. Your profile will tell the world what your business offers. You want your profile to be professional while engaging and welcoming. If you are too professional, people will not gravitate toward you. Still, if you are not professional enough, you will create a bad name for your business. You have to walk the professional tightrope in order to make the perfect profile. Thus, you need to create a professional, yet engaging profile. Make sure your profile is inviting, without crossing a line. Day Set Privacy Settings Log into your Facebook account and go to the Account tab. Once there, click on Privacy Settings. Privacy settings need to be different for a business account than they do for a personal account. Personal account holders need more information kept from the public than business account holders do. After all, if you hide too much information, no one will be able to find you. Make your personal information private, but make sure other information can be found in web searches. Simply go from each privacy setting and adjust it accordingly. 173

221 Day Personalize Your URL You can personalize your URL and use it for branding. Log into your Facebook account and click on Account and then Account Settings. Change your username to your business name. Your username will then be your new URL. Day Install Networked Blogs App The NetworkedBlogs Facebook app will help your blog reach more people. You will receive a thumbnail picture of your blog on your Facebook account, and your blog will be indexed for other people to see. Go to and click Add Your Blog. Follow the steps and your blog will be a part of the directory, and it will be integrated with Facebook. Day Install iendorse App iendorse is another Facebook application. This app allows other people to endorse your business. After you install the app, you can create a business profile to let other people know what you offer. Then, watch as the endorsements start rolling in. As you get more endorsements, other people on Facebook will be interested in what you have to offer. This is a very powerful tool for business owners. Go to and install the application. 174

222 Day Create a Group Log into your Facebook account and type Groups into the search function. Then, click on Create a Group. You will then need to fill out a form. First, enter the group s name. Then, enter a description, group type, recent news, website and other information. A Word About Groups There are a couple of things to keep in mind about groups. First, sales cannot be your group s primary goal. You need to use the group to engage people, and then direct them to your website. Two, your group needs to provide the users with something. There needs to be an appeal to the group. Does it answer a question? Is it a good place to talk about something they love? Whatever the case may be, you need to provide people with something so they will join the group. 175

223 Day Invite People to be Friends and Group Members It s time to start doing some leg work to gain some Facebook friends. Since Facebook is a social network, you will make more friends by having friends. Send out s and friend requests to your friends and family members. Invite them to be friends, and members of your group. That way, you can start to build up your visibility on Facebook. Day Learn About Facebook Ads You can use Facebook ads to drive traffic to your website or your Facebook group. It is best to create an ad for both purposes. As you know, traffic to your website can turn into money. What you may not know, though, is a large Facebook group can also lead to more money. The more group members you have, the bigger your audience will be. The bigger your audience, the more potential customers you have. Facebook Ad Basics Facebook uses pay per click and cost per impression models of advertising. These are both very different from one another. Pay per click means every time someone clicks on your text ad, you will have to pay a fee. CPM, or pay per impression, ads are paid for based on the number of times they are displayed. Once you choose the type of ad you want, you will be able to create a text ad, which will be displayed to Facebook users. You can target the ads so they won t be displayed to all users. With targeting, you can display your ads to those who have the same interests, or fit your target demographic. Day Find Keywords for an Ad Your keywords need to have two components. One, they need to mention the type of product, and two they need to mention the demographic. Consider, for instance, you sell ACT study guides. Who will benefit from these study guides? High school juniors and seniors are the most likely to benefit. Thus, you will want to use high school juniors and seniors as keywords. In addition, you will want to have ACT study guides or some variation, as a key phrase. 176

224 By having keywords that appeal to high school students, you will grab your target audience s attention. Your ad will also be displayed to your target demographic, which will cut down on your advertising costs. Go through the keyword research process, but keep these tips in mind. You should end up with highly targeted keywords that will generate results. fill out worksheet 7.1 at the end of the workbook with your keywords. Your root keyword will be the keyword that relates to the product you are selling. Your demographic is your customer base. Your keyword variations are other keywords you can use for the root keyword and demographic. Day Find Target Facebook Group Facebook ads allow you to target your ads to your demographic. You will get to target for: Geographic location Age Sex Interested in Relationship Languages Likes and Interests Workplaces Education 177

225 Location You can target your ad by: Country State Providence City You can also choose to have your ad displayed for all geographic regions. You need to know where your target market is located so you can reach your demographic. After you know where your market is located, you can choose a geographic location. Age You likely have a target age group. You can choose the beginning and ending age you want to target. For instance, if you sell basketballs, you will probably not target people who are 80. Even if the occasional 80 year old buys a basketball, they do not make up your target market. Your target market would probably be year olds. Sex Your product likely appeals to one gender more than the other. That does not, of course, mean the other gender will never purchase your product. However, you will save money by marketing your product to the gender that is most likely to make a purchase. Interested In On Facebook, people can say they are interested in: All Men Women 178

226 Click all. Many people do not put who they are interested in on Facebook. For instance, someone who is in a relationship will probably not click the gender of the person they are interested in. You can lose customers by choosing this option, as your ad will not show to people who left the field blank. Relationship Your options are: All Single In a relationship Engaged Married If you sell wedding products, you can choose engaged. If you sell vacations specifically for married couples, you can choose married. However, use your discretion on this setting. Most people do not market specifically to single, married or engaged people. Unless you do, mark all. Languages You can type in the languages you want to target. The languages you choose should reflect the countries you selected. In addition to the countries and regions you selected, you need to consider other factors. For instance, the United States has a large Spanish speaking community. Keep that in mind when selecting your languages. Likes and Interests While you can use this, you are taking a risk. Not everyone is going to include their likes and interests in their profile. Thus, it is best to leave this blank. Education Unless education is a major part of your sales pitch, you should leave this blank. You could end up losing some valuable customers by targeting by education. Workplaces Leave this option blank. Your customers likely work at a variety of companies, even if they are all in the same industry. 179

227 Why Target? Targeting helps your customer base see your ads, and it also makes advertising more affordable. When you target your advertising, you do not try to reach everyone. Instead, you speak directly to your customer base. That means you end up with more conversions. The more conversions you have, the more affordable your advertising is. Fill out worksheet 7.21 at the end of the workbook. Day Clicks or Impressions? You need to decide if you are going to pay for clicks or impressions. If you choose to pay for clicks, you will be charged every time someone clicks on your ad. If you pay for impressions, you will have to pay for every 1,000 times your ad is displayed. You will pay the same fee, no matter how many people click on your ads. It is best to try both platforms and see which one works better. After you try them both, you can drop one of them and stick with the one that works better. Day Create Facebook Ads Log onto Facebook and scroll to the bottom of the screen. Once there, click on Advertising. You will be taken to Facebook s advertising page. Click Create an Ad. First, you are going to create an ad for your website. You need to type in your destination URL and the wording for your ad. With Facebook ads, you cannot use excessive capitalization, so write in sentence form. 180

228 SAMPLE ADS Remember, you chose keywords that were based on your demographic. Thus, if you are selling women s shoes, you could write an ad like: Ladies, do you need some sexy shoes? Are you going on out the town, but have nothing to wear? Browse our inventory of gorgeous women s shoes. If you sell ACT preparation software, you could write: High School Juniors Are your ACT scores going to get you into college? Use this ACT prep course for an edge. Consider your demographic, as well as the problem and solution. Then, After you type in your text, you will get to choose your targeting. Use the information you learned yesterday to target your ads. 181

229 You will also need to decide on a budget. Select a daily budget, and keep in mind, it can be changed at any time. The default budget is $50. You will probably not want to go that high in the beginning. Wait until you start generating some revenue, and then you can really add to your advertising budget. After you select your budget, you will get to decide how much you want to pay per click or per 1,000 impressions. Choose to pay for clicks for this ad. Set your budget, and then create a similar ad. Pay for impressions with the new ad. Next, you will create an ad for your group. Simply click on Create an Ad and then click I want to advertise something I have on Facebook. This option is located under the Destination URL section. Click on it, and select your group. Then, write an ad for your group. Choose to pay for impressions with one ad, and pay per clicks with another ad. Day Write a Blog Post About Your Facebook Account It s time to use your blog to direct people to your Facebook account. Write a short blog post about your new Facebook account. Talk about your regular page, along with your group. Then, send a link that people can follow to become your friend. 182

230 Day Tweet About Your Facebook Account Log into your Twitter account and post a tweet directing people to your Facebook account. Keep your tweet short and to the point. You can write Check Out My New Facebook Group on (topic). Visit (link). Day Create a Discussion on Your Group s Wall By now, you should have some group members. Log into your group and post a discussion on the wall. Your discussion should be engaging and inviting. In addition, upload some new links to your account. Link some of your blog posts to your account, and also look for articles that pertain to the topic. You need to keep your information fresh so people will continue to visit the group. Day Send Group Members Friend Requests You likely have people in your group who are not your Facebook friends. Send them friend requests. Introduce yourself as the creator of the group they joined, and ask them to be friends. You want to expand your group members and your number of friends. Your page and your group both provide you with a platform to speak to potential customers. Thus, you need to work hard to get your numbers up. Day Check Your Ad Statistics and Make Changes Log into your Facebook account and go to your ads. You need to look at the statistics. If an ad is not doing well, drop it and replace it with another ad. You also need to see which ads are doing better-pay per click ads or pay per impression ads. After you see which ones are doing better, you can continue to run both, or you can stick with the one that is working the best. 183

231 Day Search for Interesting Articles to Post on Your Account One way to drive traffic to your account is by posting articles people will enjoy. Look for articles that relate to your industry and post them to your account. Invite your friends and family members to Like or comment on your posts. When your friends and family members comment on your posts, other people are more likely to follow suit. Day Search for Interesting Videos to Post on Your Account Videos are possibly even more popular than articles. People love watching videos. Find videos that pertain to your topic and post them on your account. YouTube is a great source for videos. Search YouTube, find videos, and link them to your account. Again, invite your friends and family members to like or comment on your post. Day Post Your Own Articles to Your Account You can do some cross marketing with your articles and your Facebook account. Take some articles you have written and post them on your Facebook account. Do not post them all at once. After all, you want to give people a chance to read one before you read the next one. Day 204- Post Your Own Blogs to Your Account Today, you will take blog posts and put them on your Facebook account. Again, do not post them all at once. Post them throughout the day, and encourage your friends and family to comment on them. 184

232 Day Join Groups Search groups and join some that relate to your industry. You need to network, and one of the best way so do that is by joining Facebook groups. Not only will you get to meet new people, but you will also be able to invite them into your group. Join five groups today. Make sure they are relevant to your topic, and also, make sure they are active. If they only have a few members, they are not going to help your cause. Make sure they are thriving groups, and then join them. Day Post on Wall of Groups Post on the wall of each group you joined yesterday. Do not try to sell your products with these posts. Instead, introduce yourself as an expert. You can say things like, I am excited to join this group. I have written several articles on topic and I m always looking forward to learning new information. Day Send Friend Requests to People in the Group Try to make some friends with the people in the groups you have joined. Tell them you are in the group with them, and see if they will accept your friend request. Some will, while others will not. Do not get discouraged. Your friend list will build up over time, and this is a great way to speed up the building process. Day Send Group Invitation Invite your friends to your group. Go to your group and send the invitation. Select everyone on your friend list who is not in your group. Many will join the group, which means you will increase your audience. As you build up your group, you will also build up your mailing list. You can send out s to your group members, which is why you need to get a large group. Once your group is big, you can send out specials and other information via and reach a large audience. 185

233 Day Create a Community Page A community page is a fan page, and they can really help you gain a following. They are incredibly popular on Facebook, and today, you are going to create one for your business. Log into Facebook and scroll to the bottom of the page. Click on advertising. Then click on Pages. You will then see a place to create a community page. Name your page with your business name and create the page. After you create your page, click on Suggest to Friends. Invite all of your friends to become a fan of your page. The more fans you get, the more popular you will become. You will increase your visibly, and thus, make more sales. After you create your page, you need to personalize it. Upload photos, and provide profile information. Day Invite People to Become Fans After you create your page, click on Suggest to Friends. Invite all of your friends to become a fan of your page. Also, encourage your friends and family members to invite their friends to become a fan of your page. Day 211 Send Out to Group Members When you have a Facebook group, you have a great platform to talk to a large number of people at once. Send out a message to all members of your group. Talk about a great deal you have coming up, or simply invite them to visit your website. 186

234 Be sure to include a subject line in your message. Without the proper subject line, most people will not even open the message. Your subject line should create some excitement. For instance, you could have a subject line that says, 10% off for All New Members, or Blowout Software Sale. Then, make sure the body of the delivers on what the headline promises. Also, be sure to include links to your website or the place where they will find the special or deal. Day Write Articles You have been very busy for the last several months, so today we are going to let you play catch up. Write some articles so you can have them on hand to post for the next two weeks to a month. You can post four articles every two weeks to a month, so write at least four articles today. Day Write Blogs Just like you needed a catch up day for your articles, you need one for your blogs. Write several blog posts. Since blog posts are easier to write than the articles are, you should be able to churn out several. Remember, if you are not writing them, contact your writer. You can also have friends and family members help out. Whatever you choose, be sure to get several done today. You need to update your blog on a regular basis, which means you need to get as many done today as possible. Day Plan Out Your Articles and Blogs You are going to have another busy month next month. Thus, you need to get everything in order. Fill out worksheet 7.3 at the end of the workbook with articles and blogs you want to create. Assign them to writers. Right now, you should be ahead in articles and blogs, and you want to stay that way for the duration of the course. By staying ahead, you will be able to cut down on your stress. 187

235 MONTH 7 REVIEW Facebook is a very powerful marketing tool. However, you must know how to use it in order to make the most out of it. Remember, you need to be engaging, and professional. You cannot simply push your products at people, or they will not understand. In addition, you need to create groups, and a community page. That way, you can interact with more people. Be sure to create Facebook ads. Facebook ads can direct people to your Facebook group or to your website. You should create ads for both. You should also create ads based on clicks and impressions. When creating your ads, make sure you target your keywords. Since Facebook is a social networking site, people look for things that are about them. If your ad does not speak to them directly, they will not click on it. Monitor your ads, and make changes whenever necessary. Also, monitor your group and page activity, and speak to your friends and members. Send out messages and keep them engaged. 188

236 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. Keyword research for Facebook is the same as keyword research for website copy. True False 2. You can target your Facebook ads based on a variety of factors. True False 3. If you choose pay per click ads, you have to pay every time your ad is clicked on. True False 4. If you choose CPM ads, you have to pay for every 100 impressions. True False 5. You should not use the interested in targeting option for Facebook ads. True False 6. You should use the education targeting option for Facebook ads. True False 7. Targeted advertising is more affordable than non targeted advertising. True False 8. A community page is a fan page. True False 9. You shouldn t join other people s groups. True False 10. You should send messages to your group members. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook 189

237 MONTH 8 AdWords This month, you are going to become proficient in AdWords. In addition to managing your AdWords account, you will also continue to blog, write articles, update your Facebook account and post Tweets. Remember, you have to build on your marketing program in order to get the best results. AdWords is just one more piece of the puzzle. Refer to the schedule located on page 292 at the end of the workbook. This schedule will keep you on track with your marketing campaign. 190

238 Day 215 What is Adwords? Before you can start AdWords, you need to know what it is. AdWords allows you to purchase keywords for the purpose of directing traffic to your site. Remember earlier when we selected keywords for your website, articles and blogs? Now, you are going to go through a different keyword selection process for AdWords. Keyword Selection with AdWords When you research keywords with AdWords, you will be prompted to type in the root keyword. This is the most basic keyword related to your products or services. After you type in the root keyword, AdWords will find keyword variations you can use in your marketing campaign. You will get the chance to bid on your root keyword, as well as the keyword variations. Search Network After you choose your keywords, you will need to create a text advertisement. A text advertisement is an advertisement that relies on words to get the message across to potential customers. If you create a text advertisement for the search network, it will display in the sponsored search results section of a web search. Do a quick Google search for antivirus software. Then, look at the results. You will see a list of sponsored links on the right hand side of the search results. These sponsored links are text ads created by AdWords users. Soon, you will have your own ad on the right of the results. AdWords Content Network The content network is another option. Unlike search results that show up when someone types in a keyword, ads on the content network actually show up on websites. They come up in the form of Adsense Ads. You can get your ads placed on targeted websites so you can reach the right people. You can select websites you want your ads to run on, or let AdWords find sites based on your targeting options. 191

239 At one time, the content network was considered a waste of money, but that is no longer the case. Now, people use the content network to get the exposure they want for their business. You should use a combination of content and search network ads to get the best results. Day Look at Ads One of the best ways to learn about ads is to look at ads created by others. Today, go to Google and type in keywords related to your products. Look at the sponsored results and get an idea of what types of ads people are using. When you look at ads, be sure to pay attention to: The keywords used in the ad The way the text is arranged The message conveyed The call to action Day Create an AdWords Account Go to and click on Start Now. Choose the Standard Edition. The starter editor does not have the tools needed for advanced users. 192

240 Continue filling out your information. When it asks you about targeting, select Countries and Territories. This is a very basic form of ad targeting, and we will change it when you start running your ads. Now, though, we just want to get your account running so you can start using the features that come with Google AdWords. Before you can fully set up your account, you are going to need to create an ad. Right now, you do not know how to create a hard hitting ad that will bring customers to your website. Thus, just create a dummy ad. You are going to create an ad that you will not publish. Put anything into you that you want. We will change it later. Throughout the set up processes you will use generic settings, except for the payment. This cannot be changed, so you need to select the right currency. That way, you will be able to keep your account active and paid up at all times. Day Decide on Your Budget Your budget can be adjusted at any time. Right now, you are going to set your budget, but you need to remember you can go back in tomorrow if you decide you are not comfortable with the amount you selected. Before you decide on your budget, you need to consider: The amount you are spending on freelancers The cost of products The amount of money you are bringing into the company The money you have on hand from another job Fill out worksheet 8.1 at the end of the workbook. 193

241 Day Find the Best Keywords For Your Ad Earlier, you did keyword research, so you know which keywords work for your business. However you might choose some different keywords for your AdWords campaign than you did for your website, blogs and articles. You are going to use the AdWords Keyword Tool to look at keywords. The AdWords keyword tool has everything you need to know about keywords. 194

242 Go to and type in a keyword or phrase. Then, click on Advanced Options. Select the maximum amount you are willing to pay per click (CPC) along with your daily budget. After you click search, you will see: Keyword Competition Global monthly searches Local monthly searches Local search trends Each keyword will have a small box next to it. You can check the box to add a keyword to your campaign. 195

243 Keep in mind, when a keyword has a lot of competition, there are others who are trying to get it to trigger their ads. You do want keywords that have lots of monthly searches, though. That means the keyword is popular, and thus, your ad will be triggered on a regular basis. Thus, you need to find keywords that don t have too much competition, but are incredibly popular. After you find some keywords, fill out worksheet 8.1 at the end of the workbook. Day Set Conversion Goals Goals are an important part of advertising. You need to set goals, as your goals will keep you on track so you can succeed. When deciding on your goals, you need to consider: The amount of money you are spending on AdWords How much money you expect to make from your ads The number of ads you are running Day Learn How to Write an Ad 4 COMPONENTS TO SUCCESSFUL ADS Headline Line one Line two URL While there are many ways to write an ad, the arrow method is the best. The arrow method causes people to focus in on the most important part of the ad. 196

244 SAMPLE ARROW METHOD AD Affordable Virus Solution 10% off Software for First Time Clients Try it Today The line after the headline is the longest. In addition, it has the information customers want to see. They are more likely to respond if a company is offering a deal. Because this line is longer than the others are, people are automatically drawn to it. After they see you are offering a deal, they will stop to read the rest of the ad. There are other things to remember when writing a quality ad. First, you need to use a keyword. Your keyword should appear in the headline of the ad. Next, you need a call to action. Your call to action will typically be the last line of the ad. It will create a sense of urgency and make people want to click on your ad. They will not want to wait until tomorrow. They will want to take action immediately. Lastly, you will put in your URL. Look at the URL in the example. We did not type in That just looks like a blob of letters. Instead, we capitalized every word. That way, the URL will be memorable to people. Even if they don t click on the ad today, they might visit it tomorrow if they remember the URL. TASK FOR TODAY Practice writing ads. Write several ads using the arrow method. Be sure to include keywords and a call to action. 197

245 Day What Are Ad Groups and Campaigns? Ad groups allow you to separate your ads. You can have several ad groups within a campaign. You can also have several campaigns, with several ad groups within each campaign. GROUP 1 TARGETING FEMALES (UP TO 25 KEYWORDS) INTERNET MARKETING CAMPAIGN AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING FEMALES GROUP 2 TARGETING FEMALES (UP TO 25 KEYWORDS) GROUP 3 TARGETING FEMALES (UP TO 25 KEYWORDS) GROUP 4 TARGETING FEMALES (UP TO 25 KEYWORDS) Each campaign should be focused on a demographic, and each ad group should be focused on a tighter demographic. You need to narrow your keywords so your ad group serves targeted customers. That way, you will get the best results. Day Create Two Ads Today, you are going to create two ads for your first campaign. This is so you can conduct split testing. Split testing is essential for an advertising campaign. When you use split testing, you are able to tell which kind of ad performs the best. You will always have the best performing ads in your campaign, and thus, you will receive the best results. 198

246 What is Split Testing? Split testing is a very simple process. You will write two ads that are similar. You will use the same keywords and announce the same message. However, your ads will have minor differences. 2 SAMPLE ADS FOR SPLIT TESTING Discounted Computer Software Wholesale Prices on Name Brand Products Money Back Guarantee OR Cheap Computer Software Wholesale Prices on Name Brand Software Money Back Guarantee As you can see, these two ads are providing the same information. However, there are subtle changes that make them different. How to Upload Your Ads Click on the campaign name, and then click Add Ad Group. Write your first ad. Include keywords from worksheet 8.2 You can add up to 25 keywords per ad group. After you complete that advertisement, create another ad in the same ad group. You will use the same keywords for this ad. 199

247 Day Create a New Ad Group Today, you need to create a new ad group. You will find new keywords for this ad group, and write new ads. Click on the create a new campaign tab, and click create new ad group. Then, make a new ad group, and create two ads. Select new keywords for this ad group. Remember, you can have up to 25 keywords per ad group, and you should not have overlapping keywords between your ad groups. Day Check Your Results and Make a New Test Today, you are going to look at your first split test. Go into your ad group and look at the ad s performance. You can see that by analyzing the ad s click through rate. You want to see how many times the ad was displayed, and how many times it was clicked on. One of the ads will have outperformed the other ad. Delete the ad that underperformed. Then, write a new ad in its place. 200

248 This is how split testing works. You continuously swap out ads and keep the best performing ad on hand. Day Target Ads If you are going to excel at AdWords, you have to take baby steps. You learned about AdWords, and you have written ads. Now, it is time to take the next step with AdWords. You need to start targeting your ads. The key to advertising is to market directly to your target demographic. Advertising is much more affordable when you don t have to advertise to everyone under the sun. Out of the millions of internet users, thousands of them might be in your target market. If you market to millions, your advertising won t reach all of the thousands of potential customers. Today, we are going to help you target your market. That way, you can reach the people who are most likely to purchase your products. AdWords provides people with several targeting options. You can target by: Geographical location Language Time of day customers use the computer Geographical Location Most businesses serve a specific geographic location. That location can be big or small. For instance, some businesses only serve their city, while others serve the state. Then, there are businesses that have customers all over the United States. Some even have customers in other English speaking countries, while others have tapped the market in Mexico. Identify your geographic market so you can target it. 201

249 Language If you serve customers that speak different languages, be sure to change the language setting. Otherwise, your ads will only appear in English language searches. If you want to target people that speak another language, though, you will also need to write your advertisements in that language. AdWords will not covert the text for you. Time of Day If you are targeting stay at home moms, you likely want your ads to display during the day. However if your customers go to work, you might want to hold off on displaying your ads until they are home. How to Change Targeting Click on your ads and then click settings. You will then have the chance to change your ad s targeting preferences. Go down the list and make the appropriate changes. Remember, you can change your targeting preferences at any time. Thus, if your targeting does not work as it should, you can go back in and change it later. Fill out worksheet 8.2 at the end of the workbook. Day Advanced Targeting Yesterday, we went over some basic targeting options. Today, we are going to take targeting to the next level. Now, you can change your gender and age settings. Go back to your settings and scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see something that says No Demographic Settings. Click Edit. 202

250 This is a relatively complex feature. You have two options. You can stop your ads from showing to a gender or an age group, or you can adjust the bid amount for the gender or age group. Stopping Ads There are many reasons to stop ads from showing to a certain gender or age group. If, for example, you sell women s shoes, you probably don t need to show your ads to men. While there might be the occasional man who is looking for shoes for his wife or girlfriend, you won t lose much business by excluding men. If you sell vacation packages, you don t need to market to people who are under 18. They can t buy the package, so you should check them off your list. You can easily stop the ads by clicking the Exclude button. Once you hit the button, your advertisement will no longer display to that group. Bid Amounts If your main target is men, but you also sell to some women, you might want to bid lower amounts on your ads when they are shown to women. Put your cursor over the bid amount for females, and then make a change. 203

251 Fill out worksheet 8.3 at the end of the workbook. Use the chart to target your ads and stay on track. Check Split Test Today, you are going to the results for your second split test. Again, you will get rid of the ad that was outperformed, and create a new ad in its place. Be sure to use the same keywords for the two ads. Also, convey the same message. Just change the wording slightly in order to make the ads different. Day 229 Change Match Types AdWords uses four match types. The match types are: Broad match Phrase match Exact match Negative match Broad Match Broad match is the easiest match type to use. It is also the least targeted, which means you will not get the results you want if you only use this option. Say, for instance, your keyword is anti virus software. If you choose the broad match option, your ad could appear if someone searched anti virus software refund which is obviously not something you are interested in providing. It could also be triggered if someone typed in software to look up anti influenza virus remedies. Again, this has nothing to do with your product. This is the default match option on AdWords, so you will have to change it so you can get more targeted traffic. 204

252 Phrase Match If you use a phrase match, your ad will only be activated if someone types in the key phrase in the right order. Look at the previous example. Anti Virus software refund would still come up. However, software to look up anti influenza virus remedies would not be activated. That is because software is the third word in the sequence, but the first word in the search term. Your ad will only be activated if every word of your key phrase appears, and it is in the right order. To use phrase match, put your keywords in quotations. Exact Match Exact match lives up to its name. If your key phrase is anti virus software, people have to type anti virus software without any modifications in order for your ad to show up. If they type in buy anti virus software, your ad will not be displayed. You need to come up with solid keywords for this to work. You need to do your research and find action based keywords that your customers will type in. If you can find those keywords, you will do well with exact matches. To activate exact matches, put your keywords in brackets. Negative Match Negative keywords are the keywords you do not want to trigger your ad. For instance, if you sell shoes for people, you do not want your ad to display if someone is looking for horseshoes. Thus, horse can be a negative keywords. This is also very popular with people that work in the diet industry. Consider you are selling a diet product called X. Some people will search X scam. They want to see if your diet product is a scam, and they are probably not ready to make a purchase. Thus, you can use scam as a negative keyword. Main Groups You Need to Avoid We gave some very basic examples of negative keywords. Now, we are going to look at the main reasons you need to use negative keywords. You don t want your ads to trigger when someone is not shopping for a product. 205

253 USE NEGATIVE KEYWORDS TO AVOID Job seekers People looking for information with words like: o About o Example o History o What is Price shoppers (they are usually just comparing prices and don t want to make a purchase) People looking for certain brand names Those looking for legal information about a subject People looking for classes on a topic (i.e. class on computer software) To activate negative keywords, put a minus sign in front of keywords you do not want to use. Practice Exact Matching Test your ability to create exact matches by filling out worksheet 8.4 at the end of the workbook. You will be supplied with a keyword. Use that keyword to create an action based exact match keyword. Then, look the key phrase up on the AdWords Keyword Tool and decide if it is a good match. After you fill out worksheet 8.5, fill out worksheet 8.5 at the end of the workbook. Brainstorm for exact match keywords and research them to see if they would be a good choice. Practice Negative Keywords Now, you are going to test your abilities to create negative keywords. Look at the root keywords on worksheet 8.6 and come up with negative keywords. Now, you are going to take your own keywords and think of negative keywords. Fill out worksheet 8.6 at the end of the workbook 206

254 Change Keyword Match Types Go through your keywords and try out the different match types. Use the keywords you filled out in the charts, and include phrase matches. Day Create New Ads in AD Groups Right now, you have two ads per ad group. You are split testing each of these ads. Today, you will create two more ads per ad group. You will split test these ads also. Remember, your ads must be relevant to the ad group. Thus, you need to focus on the keywords and demographics you have selected for each group. Day Quality Scores Today, you are going to learn about quality scores. Your match types will have an impact on your quality scores, so you need to take the information you learned two days ago and put it to good use today. What is a Quality Score? A quality score is based on a variety of factors. According to Google, a quality score is calculated by analyzing: The historical click through rate (CTR) Account history, which is measured by the CTR of all ads and keywords in the account The quality of the landing page The historical CTR of the display URLs in the ad group The relevance of the keyword to the ads in its group The relevance of the keywords and the matched ad to the search query The account s performance in the geographical region where the ad will be shown Other relevant factors 207

255 Your click through rate will improve if you used focused match groups. That is because you will appeal to your target audience. To check your quality score, log into your AdWords account, select an ad group and click on the Keyword s tab. Select Columns. Then, select Show Quality Score. You will now find out if your quality scores are: Poor Okay Great If your quality score is poor or okay, you have some work to do. Change up your ads so they will convert better. If your quality score is great, you are in a good position. You will pay less to run your ads and you will get more conversions. 208

256 Day Using the Google Display Network You can build ads to go on websites when you use the Google Display network. You can use texts and images to advertise when you use this feature. Creating a Google Display Ad Click on an ad group. Then, click New Ad. Scroll down to Display Image Builder. You will be taken to a screen where you will have several options for building your ad. You can choose the layout, write the text and upload an image. Once your ad is created, you preview it and then publish it. It will be ready to go live on various sites. Day Write Two Ads For First Ad Group Today, you are going to go through and write two more ads for your first ad group. You are going to split test them against one another and see which one performs the best. Day Write Two Ads For Second Ad Group Repeat what you did yesterday, but do it for the second ad group. Remember, you need to be careful when you split test ads. They should be similar, but they need to be different enough that they will appeal to different people. That way, you will get the most out of the split test. Day Use Conversion Tracking Go to the Reporting tab and scroll down to Conversions. Click New Conversion. Decide what you want to track, fill out the form and get the code. You will need to give your web designer the code. He will have to paste it on the pages you want to track. That way, AdWords will be able to capture the data. 209

257 Day Catch Up With Articles You ve been busy working on your AdWords account. While you have been working on articles throughout the month as well, you need a day to really catch up. Today, you need to research and write as many articles as possible. Remember, next month you will be learning a new task, and thus you will be pressed for time once again. It is best to use today to get ahead so you will have a chance to breathe. Day Catch Up With Blogs Just as you caught up with your articles yesterday, you need to catch up with your blogs today. Take the day to find topics, research keywords and write blogs. Day Run AdWords reports Go to the Reporting Tab and click Create New Reports. You will see a list of options. Run off all of the reports, and then analyze them. Pay special attention to your keyword report. You will have some keywords that are not performing as well as the others, and you will have to make some changes. Day Get Rid Of Underperforming Keywords Use the reports you ran off yesterday to find keywords that are not performing well. Get rid of those keywords so they do not damage your quality score. If your ads are dependent on the keywords, disable them for the time being. You will switch the keywords tomorrow, and then you will start writing new ads. Day Find New Keywords Search for new keywords. You need to find keywords to replace you underperforming keywords. Make sure your keywords are targeted and will compel web surfers to take action. 210

258 Day Write Ads For New Keywords Now that you have new keywords, you need to write some ads. Construct some new ads around your keywords and publish them. Let them get to work so they can start making you some money. Day Check Your Budget Make sure you are staying on budget. In addition, make sure the money you are spending is helping you with your business. If you are spending a lot on AdWords, you should be getting a lot of traffic and selling some products. If you are not, there is a problem. If that is the case, you need to make changes to your ads so they will convert better. Day Update Your Match Types Go through the match types you selected and make sure they are converting. If they are not, you need to make some changes. Try using different match types and see if you end up with better results. Day Check Your Conversion Stats First, click on your campaign and view the conversion statistics. Then, click on your ad groups and look at their conversion statistics. If your ads are converting poorly, you need to make changes. Analyze the problem and find solutions. Look for: Poorly performing keywords A weak call to action Poorly constructed ads Make changes based on your findings. Then, post them and see if this set performs better. 211

259 Day Check Targeting Earlier, you targeted based on age and gender. Go back to that section and look at the conversion statistics. You will see how your ads are performing for each target area. If they are not performing well, you are likely not speaking to your core audience. Come up with ways to reach those people. For instance, if you are targeting men, make your ad more masculine. Day Plan Articles And Blogs For Next Month Today, you need to plan your articles and blogs for the next month. Fill out worksheet 8.7 at the end of the workbook. 212

260 MONTH 8 REVIEW You learned a lot this month. The main points have to do with: Keywords Targeting Ad construction Split testing Find the Right Keywords Use AdWords Keyword Tool to find keywords for your campaign. Remember to pick keywords based on your demographic. You can have 25 keywords per ad group. Select ad groups based on targeting, and then find keywords for that group. Target Your Campaign You can target by age, location, interests, relationship status and gender. Analyze your target group and then target them. Use AdWords to select your targeting. Use the Arrow Method Use the arrow method so people are drawn to your ads. The arrow method allows you to get your message across to people in an effective way. Remember, have a short headline, long line, and then short line. Split Testing Create two ads that are slightly different from one another and split test them. Check the results, and get rid of the underperforming ad. 213

261 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. In order to use the arrow method, you need a long headline. True False 2. You can find your keywords by using the AdWords keyword tool. True False 3. You don t need to set goals with AdWords. True False 4. You can t track your campaign on AdWords. True False 5. You should always target your ads based on relationship status. True False 6. Your target market might be different for different products. True False 7. You need to use keywords in your ads. True False 8. You can change your AdWords budget at any time. True False 9. You should only use the Search Network. True False 10. The ads for the Display Network look the same as the ads for the Search Network look. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 214

262 MONTH 9 Microsoft Ad Center Last month, you started with AdWords. Now, you are going to keep your AdWords account going, but you are going to ad another paid search service into the mix. The Microsoft Ad Center is becoming more popular than ever before, thanks to the emergence of Bing. Bing is the new search engine from Microsoft, and market shares continue to grow month after month. If there was ever a search engine positioned to give Google a run for its money, it is Bing, which is why you want to have ads for both Google and Microsoft. Along with managing your Microsoft Ad Center account, you will need to post blogs and articles throughout the month. You will also need to manage your AdWords account. Refer to the schedule on page 294 so you can stay on track with your marketing plan. 215

263 Day Set up Your Account Before you can start with the Microsoft Ad Center, you have to set up your account. Go to Once there, lick the Sign up Now button to get started. You will be asked several questions during the sign up process. First, you will need to decide the country or region you want to target. Remember, the more targeted the better, so focus on the proper region. Next, you will be asked to write your ad. You are going to write a dummy ad, just as you did for AdWords. Once you write your dummy ad, you can select a few dummy keywords as well. We will go through keyword research later in this chapter, so do not spend a lot of time picking keywords today. Then, you will need to think about your budget. You can put in any number today. Tomorrow, we will spend some time going over budgets so you can pick the budget that is right for you. Now that you have an AdWords and Ad Center account, you really need to focus on your budget so you do not overspend. Day Your Budget The old adage goes, You have to spend money to make money. That is true, but you also can t spend so much money that you don t have any left. Thus, we are going to seriously think about budgets today. You do not want to spread yourself too thin. Thus, you really need to sit down and give this issue some serious thought. You need to crunch some numbers in order to find out how much you can spend. Fill out worksheet 9.1 at the end of the workbook. This will help you decide how much money you have to spend. 216

264 Now you know how much you are making and how much you are spending. Look at the difference, and decide on your budget. When you do this, remember: Your ads will bring you more customers You can change your budget at any time You have to set your budget high enough to have your ads shown Day Find Your Keywords Go to This site has several tools you can use, such as keyword forecasts, groupings, suggestions, and common misspellings. You can use this to get an idea of what keywords are popular on Bing. Since Bing is the search engine used by Microsoft Ad Center, this is very important. Next, go to Microsoft Advertising Intelligence ( This unique tool will help you find keywords. You will need Microsoft Excel to utilize this tool. Download the tool so you can get started. 217

265 Day Write Your Ad By now, you have had some practice writing ads. Take that practice and create your ad here. The same rules apply here as they did on AdWords, so you should be able to write a compelling ad. Remember to give a sense of urgency with your ad. You want people to think they need to click on the ad now. They can t wait until tomorrow. You have something they cannot live without and they need to look at it today. Save your ad after you write it. We will post it soon, but first, you need to target it so it will reach your customers. Day Match Types Just like AdWords, Microsoft AdCenter lets you select your keyword match type. The match types are: Exact Phrase Broad Content Exact, phrase and broad are just as they are in AdWords. Broad match is the default setting, and is the least targeted. Exact is the most targeted. Content match means the keyword can be used on the content network. You need to decide which match types to use for your keywords. Fill out worksheet 9.2 at the end of the workbook. After you fill out the chart, change the match types in the ad center. 218

266 Day Additional Targeting We went over some basic targeting when you set up your account. Now, we need to go into more detail about what you want out of your account. Click on the campaign and then click Change Settings, which is located in the settings section of the page. You can target by: Gender Age Time of day Day of week Use the information you have about targeting and target your ads accordingly. 219

267 Day Negative Keywords We discussed negative keywords in the last chapter. Remember, negative keywords are the keywords you do not want to trigger your ads. If you are running exact match, you do not have to worry about negative keywords, as the only words that will trigger your ads are the words you selected. However, you are likely using phrase match, and maybe even broad match. Thus, you will need to give negative keywords some thought. Fill out worksheet 9.4 at the end of the workbook. After you include your negative keywords, publish the ad you saved on Day 250. Day Split Test You learned about split testing in the last chapter. Today, write a second ad. Target the same keywords and the same demographic, but make slight changes. Don t be afraid to be a little creative with your split test. You are going to change it on a regular basis, so you can step outside of the box and try some new things. Publish your second ad and let the split testing begin. Day Look at Results You need to look at your results of your ad. Which ad is doing better? Deactivate the underperforming ad and write a new one in its place. Don t just write an ad without putting some thought into it. You should have learned something from your split test. One of the ads performed better for a reason. Don t make the same mistake twice. Always try to make your ads better than previous ads so you will get more customers. Day Create New AD Group In the last chapter, we talked about the importance of creating ad groups. Remember, you use the same keywords in ad groups, but you alter the ads. You need to create several ad groups, so you can focus on several keywords that are related. 220

268 Today, log into your AdCenter account and create a new ad group. Simply click on your active campaign and then click Create Ad Group. You will then be able to create a new group. Make sure your new group is related to your previous group. However, you want to utilize different keywords. Day Create Split Tests for Both Ad Groups You have been split testing ads this month. Today, you are going to run split test for both ad groups. You want to make the most out of your ads, and the best way to do that is to continue the split testing process. Be sure to keep your two ad groups unique from one another. Then, split test them. Day Find Keywords for New Campaign If you are selling different products, you need to create a new campaign. This can be true for ecommerce and affiliate marketers. If you run an ecommerce site, you likely have different types of products. If you are doing affiliate marketing, you might have groups of related products. Whichever the case may be, you likely have different products that could benefit from their own advertising campaign. First, you need to decide which products will go into which campaigns. Fill out worksheet 9.5 at the end of the workbook. You also need to decide what keywords you want to use. Use the same keyword tools for this campaign you used for the previous campaign. However, you need to make sure you find unique keywords. Find several sets of keywords that you can use for your new campaign. Day Decide on Targeting Your new campaign might have a different customer demographic than your previous campaign did. Thus, you need to think about targeting once again. Who is your target market? Who will likely purchase your products? 221

269 Make changes to your targeting based on your products. Your settings for this campaign will not affect your other campaign, so you can safely adjust the settings without harming your current campaign. Day Create a New Campaign Create a new campaign today. Start at your home screen and click Create Campaign. Make sure your new campaign is different from your previous campaign. When you create your campaign, use the targeting options you decided on yesterday. Day Create Ad Groups for Your Campaign Just as you did before, you will need to create ad groups for this campaign. Create an ad group that will allow you to target your advertisement. For instance, do not create an ad group and include tennis shoes, basketballs and baseballs. Just target one product per ad group. Day Split Test for New Campaign Now that your new campaign is ready to go, you need to start the split testing process. Create two ads and split test them. You will get to analyze the results so you can keep the advertising going strong. 222

270 Day Analyze Statistics Click on each individual campaign and analyze your statistics. This tab shows: Money spent Clicks Impressions CTR% Average position Conversions Avg. CPC Avg. CPM Negative keywords Day Make Changes Based on Statistics If your ads are not performing as you think they should be, you need to make adjustments. Make small adjustments, such as changing your call to action or the format of your advertisement. Today, you are going to rewrite your ads to make them stronger. Make changes to all four ads and start the split testing process once again. Day Run Reports You have a report section of your ad center. Go to the section and run the different reports. You can run a variety of reports that range from keyword performance to budget. Look at your different reports so you can see how successful your campaign is, and what you can do to improve it. Print off your reports and save them. You will run them again in a month, and you will want to have this report on hand so you can compare it. 223

271 Day Brainstorm for Topics for Articles We have been working on your PPC campaigns for the last couple of months, which is why you need to take some time today to get some topics for your articles together. Fill out worksheet 9.5 at the end of the workbook with article topics. Day Catch Up on Articles Hand out your article assignments or start writing. Remember, you need everything to go smoothly, which means you need to have a quick turnover. You are building on your advertising campaign, and you cannot let yourself slip now. If you had the articles out to a copywriter, make sure he knows you are on a deadline. If you are writing them yourself, put your nose to the grindstone and get started now. Day Brainstorm for Topics on Blogs You need to get some topics together for your blogs. Think of popular topics, and use them for your next set of blogs. Also, look at any blog posts people have commented on. If you have posts that have caused a discussion, try to mimic that formula. Brainstorm for ideas and fill out worksheet 9.6 at the end of the workbook. Day Catch up on Blogs Assign blogs to writers or write them yourself. Remember, you can assign some and write some so no one has to take care of all of the writing. Set a due date and make sure everyone follows the date. Be sure to follow up with writers and make sure they stay on track. 224

272 Day Get Rid of Underperforming Keywords Run a keyword report. Get rid of the keywords that are not performing well. You will be able to see which keywords are not performing as they should. These keywords will bog you down and keep you from reaching your customers. Thus, take them out so your campaign can convert more customers. Day Tweak Ads Now that you have gotten rid of underperforming keywords, you likely need to make some changes to your ads. Look at the keywords you eliminated and adjust your ads accordingly. Day Check on Your Budget and Make Adjustments When you run a PPC campaign, you want to keep a constant eye on your budget. Is your budget holding you back? If it is too low, you will not be able to get the clicks or impressions you need for the campaign to be a success. At the same time, if it is too high, you will go over budget and end up bankrupting yourself. PPC campaigns can really drain money out of a bank account if you do not watch them. Today, you need to look at your budget and make any changes. In addition, go over to your AdWords account and check on your budget. Make any changes that are needed. Day Go to Quantcast Quantcast is a site that measures a website s popularity and demographics. You can put in your URL and it will provide you with information about your website s visitors. This is something that will help you a great deal. Before you can use it, though, you have to get Quantified. 225

273 Go to and click on Get Quantified. Fill out the form and create your account. You will then be prompted to generate a Quantcast Tag. Generate your tag and give it to your web designer. Have him place it on every page of your site. In Chapter 11, we will revisit Quantcast so you can begin to utilize the features. Until then, we will research your demographics in other ways. Day Research Information about Your Site While Quantcast will provide you with the best information about your site, there are other ways to find out who is reading your site, articles and blogs. Today, you need to do a web search of everything related to your business. Search your URL, articles and blogs. Find out where your site is mentioned. Then, fill out worksheet 9.7 at the end of the workbook. Then, go to Quantcast. Enter the URL of the websites that mentioned your site, blogs or articles. Some sites will not be quantified, but others will, which means you will get to see their demographics. What are the demographic of the people reading about you? Fill out worksheet 9.9 at the end of the workbook. Day Change Targeting Pull out worksheet 9.8 and change your targeting based on those statistics. Be sure to use common sense when you do this as well. Your articles or blogs may appear on some sites that do not serve your core audience. If something does not make sense, trust your judgment. However, keep your mind open, as you might get some insight into your target market. 226

274 Day Look for Keywords to Match this New Targeting Now that your targeting has changed, your keywords have changed as well. Make those adjustments so you will be able to reach your target audience. Use your keyword tools, along with the information you have about your target market, to find the keywords. After you find the new keywords, create ads based on those keywords. Day Change Your AdWords Targeting You need to change your AdWords targeting as well. Use the same information you used to change your AdCenter targeting. Make the adjustments on your AdWords account so you can reach more customers. Day Change AdWords Keywords Change your keywords and your ads, based on your new demographics. You want to specifically reach your new market, which means these changes are necessary. 227

275 MONTH 9 REVIEW The Microsoft AdCenter is similar to Google AdWords. You have to find keywords, create ads and target those ads. You also need to select your match types. You need to remember to: Use AdCenter Labs o The labs provide extensive information on keywords Use Quantcast to research demographics o Get Quantified so you can use this tool on your website Look at all of your advertising costs when deciding on your budget for Microsoft AdCenter Try different match types so you can reach as many customers as possible Use the report feature to run reports and make adjustments on your ads In addition, you need to stay plugged into your AdCenter account. If you are going to get the most out of Microsoft AdCenter, you need to be on hand to make adjustments whenever they are needed. Check your account on a regular basis and make changes when needed. 228

276 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. Quantcast provides information on: a) Site demographics b) Site Traffic c) Different websites d) All of the above 2. Which is a match type you can use on Microsoft AdCenter? a) Exact b) Word c) Sentence d) Keyword 3. You have to put a tag on your website in order to get quantified. True False 4. You should spend as much money as possible on AdCenter, since you ll make it back anyway. True False 5. You need to factor your AdWords budget in when deciding on your AdCenter budget. True False 6. Keyword research is the same with AdWords and AdCenter. True False 7. You can make changes to your ads at any time. True False 229

277 8. You should check your split tested ads every day. True False 9. Split testing is only necessary when you re first starting out with AdCenter. True False 10. You should adjust your ads based on statistics. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 230

278 MONTH 10 - VIDEOS Videos are an essential part of a marketing campaign. People like videos, perhaps even more than articles and blogs. They like to be able to watch something and take in information. We have had you find videos to post on your blogs. Now, you are going to create your own videos. You will post these videos on YouTube and your website. In addition to creating videos, you need to continue moving forward with everything else you have learned in this book. Manage your PPC campaigns, write and post articles and keep your blog running. By building on these things every day, you will have a powerful marketing campaign by the end of the year. 231

279 Day Watch Videos on YouTube Before you can start making videos, you need ideas. The best way to get ideas is to see what other people are doing. You will not, of course, copy people s videos. You can, however, get ideas and build on those ideas so you can have your own powerful set of videos. Go to Type in keywords related to your industry and look at the videos that come up. After you look at the videos, fill out worksheet 10.1 at the end of the workbook. Day Brainstorm for Ideas Take out the chart you filled out yesterday. Use that chart to come up with some ideas for your videos. As you brainstorm for ideas, there are several things you should keep in mind. You want videos that are: Informative Easy to follow Engaging 232

280 Your videos should have a purpose, and they should fulfill that purpose. Thus, think of videos with problems and solutions. EXAMPLES OF VIDEOS Someone has a computer issue he cannot fix. You can go over the computer issue, and then offer them a solution (i.e. your software). Someone has back problems from running. Go over the health related issues that occur with running, and then explain how your tennis shoes could help alleviate the pain and make running safer. Every good product fills a need. Think of the need your product fills and then get ready to make some videos. After you come up with some ideas for your videos, fill out worksheet 10.2 at the end of the workbook. Day Inside Videos Before you can create your videos, you need to look at your options and understand the format. Chances are, you are not a professional at making videos, and you probably don t have expensive software or equipment. That is okay, as you can still make videos. However, the format might be different from what you expected it to be. You have two options. You can use a camera or web cam to film a video of yourself, or you can use Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker is free with Microsoft compatible computers, and it allows users to make videos from slides and pictures. 233

281 If you choose the camera option, you will need to write a script and then read off the script. It is best to have some props with this option. People are not going to want to watch you as you give a monologue. Instead, you will want to have your products, some charts and other visual aids. That way, people can get into the video. If you choose the Windows Movie Maker options, you will need pictures, slides, music and a script. You will then be able to construct a video. It is best to use both options. Create some videos of you, and create some videos using Windows Movie Maker. First, you are going to create a video using a web cam or video camera. Day Create Your First Script Today, you are going to create a script for a video with a web cam or video camera. This script needs to include more than just the words you will say. It also needs to indicate what props you are going to use, and when they should come out. Your script should perfectly choreograph every movement so your video will turn out great. 234

282 Day Get Your Props You may need some props for your videos. Ideas for props include: PowerPoint presentations Your products Drawings Pictures Gather up all of the props you need so you will be able to use them when you create your video. Use your script for guidance as you look for props. Day Rehearse for Your First Video You should never create a video without rehearsing it. Rehearsal is essential, as it will allow you to feel comfortable with the words and props. Today, you need to rehearse on your own, and then in front of someone. Have the person you rehearse in front of provide you with feedback so you can make any changes that are needed. Take your time with rehearsal. You will need to run through the script several times before you feel comfortable. Do not feel frustrated. Just keep going, and you will feel comfortable by the end of the day. Day Create Your First Video Today, you are going to film yourself for your video. Turn on your webcam, or set up your video camera. Follow the script and use your props. Do not be discouraged if you have to run through the video several times. Many people get stage fright, so just keep going until you get it right. Watch the finished product and make sure it is perfect. 235

283 Day Create a Survey Before you can hand out your video, you need to create a survey. Many people make the mistake of making a video, and then asking family and friends if they liked it or not. Simply liking a video is not enough, though. You need to make sure the video: Compels people to make a purchase Is entertaining and informative Looks professionally made Fill out worksheet 10.3 at the end of the workbook. Day Send Video and Survey to Friends and Family Members the modified survey and your video out to family and friends. Make sure they fill out the survey after they watch the video. Their survey responses will help you fine-tune your video before you post it on YouTube. Day Get Feedback on Your Video Look at all of the surveys that your friends and family members filled out. If the feedback is not positive, you will need to make some changes to your video. Make those changes. After the changes are made, watch your video again. Then, you will be ready to submit your video to YouTube. Day Create a YouTube Account Go to and click Create an Account. After your account is created, log in and click Upload. 236

284 Create a title for your video. The title should be compelling, and should use keywords in it. 237

285 Next, put in the description. Again, you need to include keywords. Then, put in your tags, select a category and choose your privacy options. Save your changes, and wait for YouTube to process your video. Next, click on My Videos. Go to the Insight tab and go to Audioswap. AudioSwap contains copyright free songs you can use for your videos. You probably won t want to use any songs for this video. However, you will need music for your next one, so familiarize yourself with AudioSwap. 238

286 You can also choose the Captions and Subtitles from the Insight tab. If there are any parts of your video that require captions, you can put them in by using this feature. After you finish, your video will be up on YouTube. Other people will be able to see it, rate it and make comments on it. Day Windows Movie Maker Before you write your second script, you need to learn about Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker is a great way to make videos for free. Best of all, you don t have to understand computers in order to use this simple program. When you open Windows Movie Maker, you will see a place to upload files and pictures. You will also see a section at the bottom where you can drag pictures or slides. You will drag the slides in order to create your movie. 239

287 Your pictures or slides will tell a story. For instance, you could use a PowerPoint file to explain a product, and then have a picture of the product in the next slide. Practice with Windows Movie Maker. Create some short movies so you will be comfortable with this program when you create your video for your business. Day Decide on a Song When you use Windows Movie Maker, you need music to compliment the video. However, YouTube will not allow you to use any music. If you use music that is under a copyright, YouTube will disable the audio. Thus, you need to go back to AudioSwap and look at the music YouTube has available. Find a song that will go with your video. Be sure to check the length of the song. You need your video to run for the duration of the music. Day Write Your Second Script Now that you understand how Windows Movie Maker works, you should be able to create your script. Decide what you want to include in your video, and then write out your script. Keep the length of the song in mind while writing your script. Day Look for Pictures and Create Slides You need to have pictures and slides for your video. Use your script and decide which pictures and slides you need. 240

288 If you need slides, go to PowerPoint and create a slide. For the pictures, you can use pictures of your products. You can also go to Google and click on Images. Go to Advanced Image Search. Go down to Usage Rights and choose images that are labeled for commercial reuse. Day Put Your Video Together Now, you need to create your video. Open Windows Movie Maker and import your pictures and slides. You can include transitions between the pictures and slides. Click on the Edit Movie tab, and you will see a section for transitions. Click on View Video Transitions. Then you will get to choose the transitions you want to use. Simply place them between the pictures and slides. You can also use the Edit Movie tab to add credits or a title. It is a good idea to add a title. That way, people know what to expect as soon as they open your video. 241

289 After you are done with the title and transitions, click Show Timeline to make sure your video is the right length. If the video is the wrong length, you can make adjustments by dragging the clips. Just put your cursor on the video clip you want to shorten or lengthen, and then stretch the clip or make it smaller. You can also add or remove clips in order to get the right time. When you are finished, go to the Finish Movie tab and click Save to My Computer. Then, your video to friends and family members. Be sure to give them the survey as well. Day Get Feedback Look through the feedback and make any changes that are needed for your video. Remember, others can look at your video more objectively than you can look at it. However, if you feel the changes would cause you to lose the message of your video, you need to keep that in mind. You want your video to have the same impact, but you want it to be engaging. Day Upload it to YouTube Go through the same steps you went through the last time you uploaded your video. Upload your video, and use Audioswap in order to put music with your video. 242

290 Day Video Blogs A video blog is different than a promotional video. A video blog is more casual, and allows people to speak directly to their audience. You can put your video blog right on your regular blog. Before you can do that, though, you need to create the video. When you create a video blog, remember to keep it: Casual Informative Conversational You also want your video blog to generate comments. In addition, you need your first video blog to be one in a long series of video blogs. Use the video blog to update people on your business, and to provide them with important information. Also, if you have any deals coming up, you can announce them in your video blog. Look at the example of a video blog at: Day Write Your Script Even though a video blog is more casual than other videos, you still need a script. Without a script, you will have a hard time conveying your message to the public. Thus, take some time to pound your script out today. Day Gather Props Since your video blog should be informal and fun while still being informational, you should gather your props accordingly. You may not want to take out the pie charts for your video blog. However, you may want to show some pictures or video clips. Some people, though, prefer to just be one on one with their audiences when they do a video blog. Props are not necessary. Decide if you want to use props or not. If you do, gather them today. 243

291 Day Memorize Your Script This will be one of your biggest challenges. Today, you need to memorize your script. You need to appear as though you are talking directly to people, and you will not be able to accomplish that if you are reading off a piece of paper. Read your script as many times as it takes you to memorize it. Do not get frustrated. This can take awhile, but you will be very pleased with the results. Day Create Video Fire up the video camera or the webcam and create your video. If you have any problems, just start over. You want it to be perfect, so go through as many takes as you need. Day Create a New Survey You need a new survey for your video blogs. Fill out worksheet 10.4 at the end of the workbook to fit your needs. Day Submit Your Video to Friends and Family Send out your video, along with your new survey. Have everyone watch the video and fill out the survey. As soon as you get the surveys back, make any changes that are needed. Day Upload it to Your Blog and YouTube Upload your video to your blog and to YouTube. Be sure to title it Video Blog #1. After the number, you can give more information about the video. 244

292 Day Catch up with Blogs and Articles It has been a busy month. Today, you need to take some time and catch up with blogs and articles. Fill out worksheet 10.5 and 10.6 at the end of the workbook. Then, hand out article and blog topics, or start writing them yourself. Day Submit Your Videos to Digg Log into your Digg account and click Submit New. Select Video. Then, you will be able to upload your video. Be sure to let your friends know your video is posted on Digg. Encourage them to log onto the site and Digg it. Day Put your Videos on Facebook Log into your Facebook account and post links to your videos. Facebook is a great way to get people interested in your videos. Your Facebook friends will likely view your videos, and thus help them become more popular. Go to YouTube, and click on the Share button. Then,you will be able to post your videos to Facebook. Day Put Your Videos on Your Blog Thus far, the only video you have on your blog is your video blog. Today, you need to post your YouTube videos on your blog. You can either embed them in your blog by using the Embed Code you can copy and paste the link in your blog. 245

293 Day Create Your Second Video Blog By now, you should be a pro at creating videos. Today, you are going to create your second video blog. Create the script, memorize it, and make the video. Then, send it out to your family and friends. As soon as it is ready, you can post it to YouTube and your blog. 246

294 MONTH 10 REVIEW In this chapter, you learned how to make videos. Remember, your videos must be: Engaging Informative They must also cause people to take action. If you can accomplish these things, you can make a successful video. Be sure to create videos with a video camera or web cam, as well as with Windows Movie Maker. You need a variety of videos so you will engage your audience. Be sure to have people fill out a survey before you post your videos. Just because a video looks great to you does not mean the public will like it. You need to make sure your video gets the right reactions before you post it. After you receive the surveys, make any necessary changes. After your videos are created, post them to YouTube, blogs, Facebook and Digg. Then, encourage your friends to comment on your videos so they will become popular. 247

295 TEST YOUR SKILLS 1. It costs money to create a video. True False 2. Google has images that are available for commercial reuse. True False 3. You can use any music you want for your videos. True False 4. You should only post your videos on YouTube. True False 5. Videos are difficult to make. True False 6. You should have people fill out a survey before you post your videos. True False 7. The answers to the survey are always right, and you should make changes based on those answers. True False 8. A video blog should be personal. True False 248

296 9. You can create videos that solve problems for people. True False 10. You can t post videos on Digg. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 249

297 MONTH 11 PRESS RELEASES AND QUANCAST You have learned a great deal thus far. Now, you are going to gain even more exposure through press releases and targeted marketing. The first half of month eleven will cover press releases, and the second half will cover using Quantcast 250

298 Day What Are Press Releases? You have likely read press releases before. However, you are probably asking, How can I use a press release to help my business? Press releases help businesses in a number of ways. With a press release, you can: Announce important news Build links to your website Optimize with keywords Just like article writing, press releases can be released online. They can direct people back to your website, where visitors can make a purchase or get more information. Best of all, they are relatively easy to write and distribute. By the time this month is over, you will be able to construct and distribute a press release. Day Press Release Writing When you write press releases, you need to follow a format. You have a headline, which should do several things. Your headline should: Explain what the press release is about Contain keywords Be 20 words or less After the headline, you need to have the first paragraph. Your first paragraph should also include keywords, and it should explain the press release. You want to include the most newsworthy information in the first paragraph. 251

299 Then, you need to write the body of the press release. The body should include: Supporting information Quotes After the body, you need to have a link to your website. Then you will write an About Us section. Examine the sample press release. This will help you understand the proper press release format. SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE Company Offers 20% Discount on Anti Virus Software City, State (Date). Example Company is currently running a special on Anti Virus 2010, its most popular product. From now until December 20, 2010, customers receive a 20% discount when they purchase this product. Anti Virus 2010 made a splash when it hit the market earlier this year. Example Company reports sales in the thousands, and expects the sales to continue to climb, thanks to this promotion. The purpose of the promotion is to help more people solve their virus problems. Viruses continue to plague PC users, and Anti Virus 2010 is one of the most powerful antivirus software solutions on the market today. John Doe, the owner of Example Company, explains the popularity of this antivirus software. Unlike other software on the market today, Anti Virus 2010 protects computers against spyware, adware and viruses while still allowing the computer to run at normal speeds. This improvement has allowed numerous PC users to have a satisfactory experience. Now, we are offering this 20% discount so even more people can experience Anti Virus For more information, or to purchase Anti Virus 2010, visit About Example Company John Doe formed Example Company in Doe, a software engineer, worked for several prestigious companies before branching out on his own. Example Company offers a range of antivirus software for clients, including the best selling Anti Virus

300 This was a short example of a press release. In reality, the body should be longer. Make your press release around 500 words total. Notice how the press release maintained a news tone throughout. You do not want to use a press release to pitch your products. You just want to inform. Then, people will be interested and make purchases. Day Come up with Ideas Before you can write press releases, you need to come up with ideas. Remember, your ideas must be newsworthy. Fill out worksheet 11.1 at the end of the workbook. Leave the Keywords and Opening Sentence sections blank. Day Research Keywords You have done keyword research in the past. Today, you are going to have to do it once again. This time, you are going to use your topics, and find keywords related to those topics. After you find your keywords, fill them into the table you filled out yesterday. Also, create your opening sentence. Day Practice Writing Press Releases You need to decide if you are going to write your own press releases or subcontract them out. Before you can do that, though, you need to practice writing press releases. That will give you a better idea of how you stand with your press releases writing skills. Write several press releases. The more you write, the more comfortable you will become with the style. After you write them, see if you think you should write your own, or if you should subcontract them out. if you should subcontract them out, contact your writer and let him know that you will have press releases for him to write shortly. 253

301 Day Visit Submission Sites and Read Releases Each press relapse site has different standards and rules. While each is different, there are a few things most have in common. COMMONALITIES 1. Many press release sites allow you to submit a press release for free. However, if you submit the press release for free, the site will not hyperlink your URL. That means your URL will be present, but people cannot click on it and go to your website. Instead, they will have to type it into their browser themselves. 2. Paid press releases often give you a hyperlinked URL, and in some cases, hyperlinked keywords. In addition, they will give you a better position on their websites. 3. Free press releases often list other press releases (often from a competitor) at the bottom of the press release. Paid releases do not. As you can see, paid press releases do offer an advantage over free press releases. However, you can use a mixture of paid and free press releases for your website. That way, you will not go over your marketing budget, and you will get lots of exposure. Which Press Release Sites Should You Use? Some good sites for press release submission are: I-Newswire 24-7 Press Release PressReleasePoint 1888 Press Release 254

302 i-newswire i-newswire offers free and paid press release distribution services. If you choose to submit your press release for free, you just need to sign up. Free releases are basic. You can t include hyperlinked URLs or images. If you want to pay for your release, though, you will need to choose a plan. Depending on the package you choose, you will receive: Featured press releases each month Basic press releases each week Five links in the body of your release One logo Five other images Company profiles Link profiles 24-7 Press Release 24-7 Press Release also has free and paid distribution. If you choose free distribution, you will not get any frills. You will submit your release without hyperlinks or photos. 255

303 If you choose paid distribution, you will have lots of options. Depending on the package that you choose, you can receive distribution to: Search engines Popular newswires Premium news partners Opt in journalists and subscribers RSS and JavaScript feeds 24-7 Newswire network US newspapers database Magazine database PR newswire network PressReleasePoint PressReleasePoint is a unique service. You can submit your free press release to PressReleasePoint, and then pay them to distribute it. In order to do this, you need to write a release and post it for free. Then, choose to have PressReleasePoint distribute it to 50+ free press release websites. You can choose other features as well. When you pay for your release to be distributed, you can add: Hyperlinks A front page position on PressReleasePoint s first page Bulk posting or posting over an eight day period Press release submission report 256

304 1888 Press Release 1888 Press Release is one of the best press release sites out there for people who want something that is affordable. You can submit your press release for free, or choose one of the packages. Depending on the package you choose, you can get: Enhanced SEO benefits Enhanced distribution level Free pay per click set up Paid news distribution Google News distribution Featured promotional through iphone app Search engine optimization of release Website SEO consultation Website mockup Enhanced company profile Associated press submission Pheedo Network distribution Premium Partners distribution Proactive publicity Distribution via social media Advanced PR placement strategies and promotions Product gallery Additional exposure through featured press release page Logo Relegated companies and press releases are not displayed with your release Use 1888 Press Release for all of your releases. Then, use a combination of the others. 257

305 Day Write Your First Release Take out workbook 11.1 and look at your notes. You decided on topics for your press release. Pick a topic, use the keywords and construct your first release. Remember, your release must: Follow the format provided Be newsworthy Use keywords Proof your press release carefully, and then send it to some friends and have them look over it. Ask them if the press release is newsworthy. Make sure it is not too salesy. Note: If you are not writing your own press release, send it out to your writer. Make sure he gets it back to you by tomorrow morning so you can proof it and distribute it. Day Submit it to Press Release Submission Sites Today, you are going to go to the different press release submission sites and submit your release. You can submit your release to several sites. The more sites you submit your release to, the more exposure you will get. It is best to use 1888 Press Release and PressReleasePoint Press Release offers the best features for people with low budgets and PressReleasePoint will help you get your press release out to as many places as possible. Day Put Your Press Release on Facebook and Twitter Now, your press release should be live. If the press release has a share icon, share it with your Facebook and Twitter accounts. If it does not, copy the URL and link it to your Facebook and Twitter accounts. 258

306 Day Contact the Local Media Today, you are going to try to get some additional exposure with your press release. Contact local media outlets and see if they will run your release. You can contact them via . Go to newspaper websites, click on the Contact Us section, and submit an asking them to include your release in their publication. Day What is Quantcast? Today, we are going to shift gears from press releases to Quantcast. In month nine, we had you Quantify your site with Quantcast. Today, we are going to go over Quantcast, and help you understand the different features this site has. Once your site is Quantified, you can type your URL into Quantcast and it will provide you with a breakdown of your web traffic. You will receive information regarding your traffic. It will be broken up into: Countries Cities US States US DMAs Gender Age Ethnicity Number of kids in the household Income Education level It will also tell you what your audience also likes, as well as the frequency of visitors. Today, go to Quantcast and type in your URL. Examine your statistics. 259

307 Day Check Your Marketing Strategy Now that you have statistics from Quantcast, it is time to reevaluate your marketing strategy. Are you reaching your target audience? Is your target audience different from what you thought it was? Let s say you have been trying to reach men aged After examining Quantcast, you find that most of your visitors are women aged 41 and up. That means one of two things. Either you were wrong about your target demographic, or you are not doing enough to reach your target. The question is, then, how do you find out which one applies to you? The answer is relatively simple. Go to Google and type in your keywords. Then, fill out worksheet 11.2 at the end of the workbook. Find the main demographic by going to Quantcast and typing in their URL. Day 322 Decide on Changes Take out workbook page 11.2 that you filled out yesterday. Analyze the chart and ask yourself if you are targeting the right group. If you are targeting the right group, but your traffic is not matching up you need to make some changes. For some reason, your advertising is not reaching your market. That means you need to tighten up the targeting even more, and become more aggressive in your approach. If you are targeting the wrong group, you need to change your marketing plan to reach the right group. If you fall into this category, do not get discouraged. Many people go after the wrong customer group when they first start marketing. However, by realizing your mistake you can fix it quickly and begin to reach more people. Fill out worksheet 11.3 at the end of the workbook. 260

308 Day 323 Adjust Your Marketing Plan Your actions for today will depend on the chart you filled out yesterday. You will fall into one of three categories. You: Are targeting the wrong people Are targeting the right people but not getting results Are targeting the right people and getting results Targeting the Wrong People If you are targeting the wrong people, you need to take out the chart you filled out yesterday. Now that you know your real target market, you need to adjust your marketing campaign. You should make adjustments in every facet of your campaign. You need to go to your pay per click campaigns and target different people. You also need to change the keywords you use in your articles and blogs. In addition, different people have different interests, so you may want to tweak the messages in your articles and blogs. Start incorporating those changes today. Change your targeting settings, and create some new articles and blogs based on this new information. Targeting the Right People but Not Getting Results You re targeting the right people, but results just aren t coming in. If that is the case, one of three things is happening. You are: Not putting enough time and money into your marketing campaign Not marketing hard enough Not really marketing to your target market 261

309 Not Enough Time and Money If you are only spending a few minutes a day on your marketing, you are not putting enough money into the process. As for spending enough money, it is always a good idea to increase your pay per click budget slightly if you hit a slump. Consider putting more time and money into the process. However, if you think you are putting enough time and money into the process, consider one of the other options. Not Marketing Hard Enough Are you trying to close the sale? Are you giving people a good reason to buy your products? Are you showing up on the blogs, on Facebook and Twitter? Do people know who you are? If you are marketing hard, you are making an impact. If you aren t making an impact, it s time to turn it up a notch. Reach out to people on Facebook and Twitter. Submit your articles and blogs to more places. Send your videos out. Reach your target audience through perseverance. Not Really Marketing to Your Target Market You can know your target market, and set your demographics on your pay per click campaigns. Still, you may not be reaching them. This can happen if you fail to speak to them in the right voice. Let s say, for example, that you are selling video games to 18 year old men. Are you writing your articles and blogs in a way that speak to 18-year-old guys? Are you talking to them on their level, or are you just writing and hoping the topic will be enough for the guys? If you are not trying to speak to them in their language, you will not reach them. this is true for every target market across the board. Make adjustments and start speaking your target market s language. Targeting the Right People and Getting Results If you are targeting the right people and getting results, you are on track. However, still look for ways to improve your campaign. Marketing is constantly growing and evolving, and there are always ways to improve. Tighten your targeting even more and reach those people you haven t reached yet. 262

310 Day Decide on New Press Release Topics Now, we are shifting back to press releases. Today, you need to come up with some new topics for your press releases. While you could use one of the topics you did not use last time, it is best to start the process again. Now that you know more about press releases, you might realize you want to write about something that you did not think about last time. Fill out worksheet 11.4 at the end of the workbook. Do not fill out the keywords or press release title yet. Day Find Keywords Take your favorite news idea and find keywords to support it. Make sure your keywords will appeal to your target market. Refer to your Quantcast statistics for guidance. After you find you keywords, fill out the rest of the chart located on worksheet Be sure to include a keyword in the title of the press release. Day Write a New Press Release Send your topic out to your writer or write the release yourself today. Be sure it is newsworthy. Include a good quote in your release as well. Day 327 Distribute It Choose at least two press release distribution sites to distribute you release. Remember you can use a mixture of free and paid releases. Day Contact Media Outlets Contact media outlets and try to get them to publish your release. You should do this, even if you did not have success last time. Over time, you will get a media outlet to pick up your release. Keep trying, and it will happen. 263

311 Day 329 Link it to Facebook and Twitter Use the share button or copy the link and put your press release on Facebook and Twitter. Remember, you have to be in the minds of your customers at all times, and one way to do that is to share all relevant news with them. Day Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Now, it s time to hit your blog. Don t just paste your press release in your blog. Instead, create a blog post based on the information in your press release. Blogs are much more casual than press releases. Say, for instance, that you were going to write a blog based on the sample press release we wrote on Anti Virus Your blog would look like: SAMPLE BLOG Hey guys, I have some GREAT news for you. For a limited time, Anti Virus 2010 is 20% off. If you want to have this great product for a low price, head over to our website now. As a refresher, the features of Anti Virus 2010 are: Spyware protection Adware protection Virus protection Plus, you can use this software without slowing down your computer. This is probably the most popular feature. Have you ever been surfing the web, only to have the virus scan start and slow down your computer? How can you get the celebrity gossip when you have to wait five minutes to open up a web browser? The answer is Anti Virus You can keep browsing while it searches and destroys viruses. Send me a message with any questions, and I can t wait to see you on the website! 264

312 Construct your blog post, and be sure to include a link to your website so people can click on it and go purchase your product. Day Do a Video Blog About the Information in Your Press Release Yesterday, you wrote a blog post about your news release. Today, you need to do a video blog. Remember, you are supposed to keep up with your video blog on a regular basis. It gives you a chance to talk directly to your customers. Do your blog and link it to your Facebook and Twitter pages. Also, upload it to YouTube. In addition, you will need to post your video blog on your blog. Because you are posting it on your blog, you need to make sure it is different from the blog post you wrote. While much of the information will be the same, construct it in a way that is fresh and appealing. Day Tweet About Your News Item You have posted your press release and video blog to Twitter. Now, though, you need to create Tweets based on your news item. SAMPLE TWEETS If you are running a sale, your Tweet could be something like, 20% off antivirus software at If you have redesigned your site, you could Tweet, Antivirus Software website gets new look. More features than ever at 265

313 Day Plan Future Press Releases As a marketer, you always have to look to the future. That means you need to plan for future press releases. You do not want to over saturate the market with press releases, but you do want to put out releases from time to time. Fill out worksheet 11.5 at the end of the workbook. Leave the keyword and title section blank. Day Do Keyword Research Do keyword research for all of your press release topics. After you do the research, fill out the keywords on the chart you filled out yesterday. Also, fill out the title. Remember, you can change your topics as you move forward. However, this will give you some guidance. Day Come up with Topics for Articles and Blogs Now, we re going to give you a chance to catch up with your articles and blogs. Research topics and fill out worksheets 11.6 and 11.7 at the end of the workbook. Be sure to refer to your Quantcast statistics when filling out information about your target audience. Also, leave the keyword section blank. You will fill it out tomorrow. Day Find Keywords for Articles and Blogs Today, you need to conduct keyword research. Then, fill out the keyword section of the charts you filled out yesterday. Remember to consider your Quantcast statistics when conducting your keyword research. 266

314 Day Write or Outsource Articles Start writing your articles or send them to your writer. Make sure you or the writer stays on pace so you can continue posting articles next month. Day Write or Outsource Blogs Start writing your blogs or send them to your writer. Again, you need to stay on task. You need to post blogs on a regular basis, and you should always stay ahead. 267

315 MONTH 11 REVIEW This month was packed full of critical information. Review the information so it will stay fresh. Press Releases First, you learned about press releases. Now you should know: How to write a press release What topics warrant a press release Where to distribute a press release How to upload you press release to Facebook, Twitter and your blog How to create a blog post and video based on your press release Remember to keep your press releases newsworthy. If you use sales writing, people will ignore them. Also, try to get your press releases included in local newspapers. This will help you gain even more exposure. Quantcast You also learned about Quantcast. Quantcast provides detailed information about the people who visit your website. You learned how to take that information and: Find out if your marketing campaign is on track Find out if you are reaching your target market Make changes to your marketing campaign Use Quantcast when making marketing decisions. It will help you target your market and make more sales. 268

316 TEST YOUR SKILLS Month 11 Test 1. You have to pay for press release submission. True False 2. It does not matter which press release submission service you use. True False 3. Press releases should always be newsworthy. True False 4. There is not a set format for writing press releases. True False 5. You usually have to pay to have your URL hyperlinked in a press release. True False 6. You can use press releases for link building. True False 7. You don t need to use keywords in press releases. True False 8. You should include quotes in your press releases. True False 269

317 9. Quantcast will help you find your target market. True False 10. If you aren t reaching your target market, you will eventually. You don t need to make any changes to your marketing campaign. True False Answers are located at the end of the workbook. 270

318 Month 12 Marketing with Constant Contact This month, you are going to learn how to build an list and use it for marketing. marketing is essential for people who are running affiliate marketing and ecommerce sites. You will reach more people and convert more customers by using this form of marketing. In addition to learning about marketing, you will need to continue to use the other forms of marketing. Follow the schedule located on page

319 Day What is Marketing? Before the internet took off, most people did their marketing through direct mail ads. Direct mail ads had several drawbacks. They are expensive to create, costly to mail and difficult to track. Companies were not able to tell if someone opened the ad or made a purchase because of the ad. In fact, they couldn t even tell if an advertisement made it to its destination. When the internet was born, marketers realized they could continue to mail advertisements, but instead of using direct mail, they would use . marketing is one of the most powerful forms of marketing. However, it has to be done correctly in order for it to work. In order to do marketing correctly, you need to: Build a legitimate list Send useful s Give people the opportunity to opt out Track your results Day Sign Up with Constant Contact Constant Contact is one of the easiest and most effective internet marketing solutions available. Go to and click Sign Up. Choose Marketing and fill out the sign up form. 272

320 Day Learn About Constant Contact Now that you ve signed up with Constant Contact, you are ready to learn how it works. You will find that Constant Contact is very easy to use. However, you need to use today to familiarize yourself with it. First, Constant Contact will handle your lists and send out your s for you. You will still have to write the s, but they will send them. In addition to sending your s, they have countless templates to choose from, so you will be able to find a template that fits your image. That way, you will be comfortable with the s you send. Next, Constant Contact has autoresponders. Autoresponders are necessary when you run an internet marketing campaign. They send out welcome s when people sign up to your list, as well as additional s. They can also be a part of the marketing campaign. These s help strengthen the relationships with your clients. 273

321 In addition, Constant Contact allows users to forward messages. When they forward s, a Subscribe button appears. That way, others can subscribe to become a part of your list. You will also receive buttons to put on your website. These buttons will allow people to become a part of your list. Lastly, Constant Contact tracks campaigns. You will find out how many people opened your s, and if they clicked on your links. That way, you will know if you need to make changes to your campaign. Day Import Your Addresses Log into Constant Contact and click on the Contacts tab. Click Add/Import Contacts and follow the steps. You will be able to import contacts by: Copy and pasting them Adding them individually Uploading them from a file Uploading them from a webmail account Choose which one works best for you and import your contacts. After you do this, you will have an list to work with. Day Brainstorm for Ideas for Your Newsletter Constant Contact allows users to send digital newsletters to their lists. You can use your newsletter to inform your contacts about recent happenings with your business, and to get them excited about products and deals. 274

322 Newsletters have several sections. You should include a greeting. In addition, you can include: A feature article Tips Deals Upcoming events These are just examples. You can write about other things as well. Just make sure it has some value to your customers. Today, you are going to brainstorm for ideas for your newsletter. After you brainstorm, fill out worksheet 12.1 at the end of the workbook Day Write Your Newsletter Take out the chart you filled out yesterday and use it to write your first newsletter. If you are outsourcing your newsletter, send the information to your writer and tell him you need it back by tomorrow. Day Proof Your Newsletter Check over your newsletter and make sure it is up to standards. You need to make sure it is professional and informative. It has to offer something to people, or they will not subscribe to it. If you feel satisfied with your newsletter, put it away for today. If you are not satisfied, make the necessary changes. 275

323 Day Upload Your Newsletter Log into Constant Contact. Click on Marketing and then click Create. For the Name put in Newsletter 1. Then, choose the Newsletter category and decide on a template. Next, you will have to fill out the subject line. You want a subject line that will appeal to your audience. It should be informative, and should not promise anything the does not deliver. 276

324 Next, you will upload your newsletter. Include your greeting, as well as the newsletter articles. You can also upload images. After you are finished inputting your newsletter, you will have the option to send the now, or send it later. You can send it now. 277

325 Day Have Web Designer Place Join My Mailing List Button on Website Constant Contact allows users to add a Join My Mailing List Button to their websites. This button makes it easy for visitors to join your mailing list. By adding the button, you will be able to grow your mailing list. You can add different styles of buttons. Your options are: Forms Buttons Text links Look through the options and decide which one is right for you. Then, have Constant Contact generate an HTML code. Give the code to your web designer and have him include it on your website. 278

326 Day Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Facebook Click on the Install Facebook Application link. Install the link and follow the steps. After you install the application, a new tab will appear on your Facebook account. The tab will say Join My List. 279

327 Day Add a Join My Mailing List Button to Twitter Generate a Join My Mailing List code. Then, contact your web designer, or follow Constant Contact s steps listed below. 280

328 Day Have Web Designer Create Subscription Opt In at Online Checkout You do not want to miss any opportunities to build your mailing list. That means you need to give your customers the opportunity to opt into your mailing list after they make a purchase. Have your web designer give customers the chance to opt into your mailing list when they purchase products. Many people will do that, as they will want to stay abreast of the latest deals you are offering. Day Brainstorm Ideas for Promotions Promotions are a very powerful -marketing tool. When you send s about promotions, you are more likely to have a high success rate. Today, you are going to come up with ideas for promotions. Brainstorm for ideas and fill out worksheet 12.2 at the end of the workbook Day 352 Select a Promotion Take out the chart you filled out yesterday. Look it over and pick out a promotion. You should pick a promotion that is: Cost effective Easy to explain Creates a sense of urgency Day Create Marketing Now, you need to create a marketing . This should be based on the promotion you sent out yesterday. You have to be careful when you create your marketing . You do not want it to be listed as spam. Thus, you must choose your words carefully. 281

329 When writing your , avoid: Using words like Free and Discount in the subject line Making promises you cannot honor You want to include: A personalized header A strong call to action Useful information You also need to include a good subject line. To do this, think of a problem your product can solve. Then, advertise that solution in the body of the . You can do this in a variety of ways. You can ask a question, or provide a quote. You can also make a statement. SAMPLE Earlier, we provided an example about Anti Virus In the example, we said we were going to offer a 20% discount on the product. Now, we are going to write a sample based on this promotion. Subject: Are Computer Viruses Slowing You Down? If you re like most PC users, computer viruses give you a real headache. Now, ExampleCompany.com is offering the right kind of medicine, at a price you can afford. From now until December 20, 2010, we are offering Anti Virus 2010 at a 20% discount. You will get all of the great features of Anti Virus 2010, including: Enhanced virus, adware and spyware detection Weekly updates when new viruses are discovered A detailed virus vault Act now! Don t let viruses destroy your computer. Instead, let Anti Virus 2010 destroy your viruses! 282

330 Day Proof Your Marketing Go over your and make sure there are not any errors. In addition, you need to make sure the Has a strong call to action Does not make promises you cannot keep Is well written Day Upload Your Marketing Go to Constant Contact and click on Create. Then, select the Promotions category and select a template. Upload your . As you move through the template, be sure to: Include a price in the Price box after the description Click Enable PayPal on the first page so people can make a purchase from the Include an image of the product 283

331 Now, send out your . Day Write Second Newsletter By now, you should be a pro at writing marketing messages. Today, you are going to put those professional skills to work by writing your second newsletter. You need to keep on pace with your newsletters. The only way people are going to subscribe to your newsletters is if they get them on a regular basis. Day Proof Your Newsletter Go over your newsletter and make sure it is ready for publication. Make any changes that are necessary so you can upload it tomorrow. Day Upload Your Newsletter Today, you are going to upload your newsletter, but you are not going to have it sent until Day 360. This will give you some practice on scheduling. Go through the upload process. When it asks if you want to send the newsletter now or later, choose to send it in two days. Day Brainstorm for s and Autoresponders There will be times when you will need to send out autoresponders. Today, you are going to brainstorm to come up with the s you will need to send in the future. After you brainstorm, fill out worksheet 12.3 at the end of the workbook. 284

332 Day Create s Go down your list and begin creating autoresponders and s. Be sure to take your time on this, as you will want each to be professional. You also want to convey a message, which means you need to construct the body of each carefully. Day Continue Creating Autoresponders Yesterday, you started creating s. Today, you need to continue with the process. Continue writing the s until you are finished with the list. Day Proof Your Autoresponders Go through all of the s you wrote and proofread them. Do not just proof them for grammar and spelling mistakes. You also need to make sure they convey your message. Day 363 Upload Your Autoresponders Go to Constant Contact and upload your s. Be sure to choose the right category and set the appropriate delivery date. After your s are loaded, you will not have to worry about them. You will know your customers will get s at the appropriate times of the year. e 285