Success and Achievement Begins with You!

One of the key factors of a successful life is health and energy. All too often, these factors are overlooked for the more prominent aspects, such as control and long term planning. Nevertheless, if you are living an unhealthy lifestyle and lacking in energetic momentum, all the rest will soon fall to the wayside. Good health and energy are integral in reaching your long-term goals as well as simply enjoying the here and now.

One Wheel on the Vehicle to Success

“If we don’t have good health and energy, we don’t get much satisfaction out of life” – Brian Tracy, The Psychology of Achievement

One might wonder why poor health would impact a person’s success outside of the medical realm. The answer can be summed up in one dreadful word, depression. Regardless of whether the health issue is physical, mental, or emotional, depression can often be the end effect. Take the online entrepreneur for example. He is making good money through a web-based service. Then, he gets sick and is bound to his bed. He can still make money, but the pain is distracting. He cannot get out of bed, so someone has to help him. His helplessness leads to depression. His depression results in a lack of drive and inspiration. His business fails because his health hinders his drive. It is a sad chain of events.

The same holds true for the concept of energy. If we are tired all of the time, we will not have the drive reach for our goals. We might not notice it at first. Generally, it starts with a phrase such as, “I’m exhausted. I’ll do this tomorrow.” Once we start putting off our goals and dreams, we begin to lose them one day at a time. Tomorrow truly never comes. You see, the ability to find ultimate achievement is like a vehicle. Every aspect is one wheel. If a vehicle has just one wheel missing, it goes nowhere. Health and Energy is one of these wheels, and without it, the car, as well as yourself, will not be able to be driven.

Maintaining Health and Energy

Of course, the next question is, “How do I reach an acceptable level of good health and energy?” The energy aspect is fairly simple. Get plenty of rest. Everyone needs a minimum of eight hours of sleep every night. Do not depend on outside substances for energy. Coffee may be enjoyable, but it is not an acceptable replacement for rest. Authentic energy through plenty of rest is integral to having good health, and good health is an absolute in energy. These two aspects rely upon one another.

To reach and maintain good health, one has to put a little more work into it, particularly in the beginning. You need to balance your diet well. Do not attempt the many diets that promise that you can lose ten pounds per day. Simply eat a balanced diet. Your body will take care of the rest.

Though your day is likely pretty much full from reaching for your goals, always make certain that you are taking time to exercise. You do not have to do push-ups, sit-ups, and all that, but do take time out to walk a mile a day. It does not take all that long and will make a major difference in your physical well-being. Also, be sure to have at least one medical check-up a year. It seems like a waste of time when you are not sick to begin with, but in the long run, it can make all the difference in the world.

Success can be measured in many ways, such as financial or relationship-wise. Nevertheless, how can we truly say that we are successful when we do not have the energy to go out and enjoy it, or to even reach that success? Start with yourself. Make absolutely sure that your lifestyle is one that can support your dreams and goals in the long run.

Your friend on the web & in business,

Richard

Personal Success Begins with You

Of the millions of people all over the world, one would not think that you would be able to sum the majority up within three groups. When in regards to financial, social, and personal freedom, however, there is exactly that, three individual groups. Yes, you are a member of one of these groups. Civilization as a whole can be broken down to those who live in the past, those who live in the future, and those that live for today. Each of these has its’ pros and cons, and each one of them will prevent you from being your best. The past, the present, and the future will each one, individually, prevent you from reaching your utmost potential. Each factor will attack you in the area of your peace of mind, preventing you from reaching your goals.

These concepts are well armed with the very devastating and corrupting weapons of anger, doubt, regret, and fear to name a select few. There are many other negative emotions involved, but these are the hierarchy. To successfully find the peace of mind required in actively maximizing your full potential you must overcome each of these. To win this battle, you must first know what you are up against.

The Chains of The Past

“The first requirement is peace of mind - freedom from fear, freedom from anger and freedom from guilt.” -Brian Tracy, The Psychology of Achievement

First, we have the past. This is the reign that holds the majority of us back. Each and every one of us has a point in our past that we are not proud of. This could be a bad relationship, a bad decision, or pretty much any negative factor that keeps our hearts hard and our attitudes angry. It is vital that you see that this is nothing more than an anchor for you. As much as it might feel good to hold a grudge against someone, or at the very least feel like they deserve it, the only person that is suffering for it is you. In essence you are punishing them by beating yourself. Let go of the past and move on. Learn from it, but do not let it tarnish your peace of mind. The past is for experience. Hold that aspect of it and none other.

The Prison of Today

The present can also be a major wall for your success in life. Those of us that live only in the present life live for every second of every day as it happens. We are out for the thrill of life as it happens. We don’t worry about what we did yesterday or what we will do tomorrow. While this does certainly sound like a great lifestyle, it can hurt your peace of mind in the long run. Eventually this kind of attitude will lead you to a very narrow road. When we live only for the moment, we are not taking into account the long-term effects of what we do. This usually ends up with a lot of regrets and mistakes. Regrets can eat at you for years to come. Those who live only in the present usually end up being those living in the past.

Fixated on the Future

Then we have the ever-popular future focused individuals. These are driven people. They have their entire lives already planned out from the start. They know where they will go to college, when they will graduate, any in between jobs, how their career will progress, and when they will retire. These individuals are strong-willed and have their eye on the future. Unfortunately, again, these individuals generally end up living in the past in the long run. The usually do reach their goals, but then they end up looking back at all they missed in their lives, and regret comes again. They look upon the family that they never had time for, the vacations they never took, and all the important people in their lives that mattered, but that they just did not notice. Their eyes were on the ball, but nowhere else.

The Happy Medium

When you are seeking peace of mind, you have to overcome the barriers of allowing yourself to become a mainstay in one of these categories. Instead of living in the past, the present OR the future, give a little bit of yourself to all. Take the best qualities of each and make them a part of your existence. Take the lessons of the past, but leave the grudges, anger, and regret behind. Take the excitement of the present, but use wisdom and consider the consequences of your actions. Have a plan for the future, a goal that will leave you very financially well off, but remember that money isn’t everything. It helps, but the value of a loving family is priceless. If you can implement all of these in your life, then you can lead a happy existence, free of guilt, and full of potential!

Reaching Beyond Your Boundaries

In life we face many daily issues that test our boundaries. There is always someone telling us that getting from point A to point B is possible, but point C is a slim possibility and D is absolutely impossible. In all too many cases, we end up settling for B as our permanent life station. Throughout our lives people place boundaries in their minds of what we can achieve, and we, in turn, see those boundaries and often let them settle into place. The truth is that the only true boundaries are those that we set for ourselves. We draw the lines. No one else has that power over our destiny.

Once these limits are set, all is still not lost. If one knows the proper ways in which to break these self-constructed walls of limitations, he or she can still live the maximum life possible. All it takes is a good look within yourself and the ability to believe that you can be more. Knowing how to change and not believing that it is possible is the same thing as not knowing in the first place.

In the next six articles we will be discussing ways of stretching beyond our preset horizons, becoming the maximum person, and reaching our goals and dreams.

Our basis for this is the teachings of famed Best-selling author and internationally renowned self-help guru, Brian Tracy. Tracy has spent his entire life learning what it takes to become the best that you can be, both on a personal and financial level. The proof is in the life of Tracy himself, as he has used his own techniques to destroy every barrier that has stood before him. Tracy has developed a simple six-step program that summarizes the ways in which we can push our limits until we ultimately achieve our life-goals.

Peace of Mind –You will never succeed at life if you cannot overcome those everyday onslaughts that the world seems to throw at you. It might be a job, a co-worker, a family member, or even financial issues. Regardless of the source, a mind of turmoil will not serve you in any positive manner. We must be able find a way to seek a mental shelter amongst the storms of life.

Health and Energy-Positive thinking and success have a lot to do with achieving our goals in life. Nevertheless, a positive thinker who is bed ridden from a sickness will still have a hard time winning a race, as an example goal. The same holds true with someone who smokes or drinks. Success in life can come in many forms, such as financial and personal achievement, but personal health is a major factor in success also.

Loving Relationships-As a symptom of the human condition, we all need relationships. Hermits rarely succeed on all levels. The loner might be rich, but still be miserable. Loving relationships are much like a battery, and we the machine. From our close relationships, we receive self-esteem, emotion, and drive. We need that energy to keep running.

Financial Freedom-A massive percentage of the population of the United States alone is in debt. It almost seems as if it is a requirement to be in debt these days just to own things. Getting in debt is not a problem, but getting out, on the other hand, is very hard indeed. Debt is reminiscent of falling into a pit. Falling in is easy enough. It hurts, but it’s fast and sudden. Getting out, on the other hand, is difficult. There are, however, certain ladders that can help you out of the pit of financial dependence.

Worthy Goals & Ideals- Setting and reaching goals is a very positive concept. Nevertheless, it is equally important that we make those goals something realistic and that will pay off in the long run. To have a goal to own a business that has no future at all is pointless. You are setting yourself up for failure. However, a business that is similar with new proven marketing techniques, on the other hand, might just work. It is important to question our ideals and goals before we write them in stone.

A Sense of Purpose-Why is it that you are chasing that dream? What reason do you have to get up in the morning and go to work each day? Is there anything about your goals that will make your life better when you reach it, as well as along the way? A sense of purpose is infinitely important when preparing to smash all the barriers in your life. If there isn’t something along the way that makes it worth it, then you will never reach that end-goal before losing interest.

Over the next six postings we will guide you through this series of positive proven techniques. By the end, it is our goal to destroy every boundary that this world has set on you and to send you bursting into a whole new lifestyle of success. Just keep an open mind and believe that this program will work for you as it did for Brian Tracy. If you believe, anything is possible.

Your friend on the road to success,

Richard Mortimer

The whole idea of Article Marketing is not new.  In fact, it has been around for a few years now.  The great thing about it is that you can use this technique to promote your products or services to a truly massive audience absolutely free.  And, furthermore, its not that difficult to master, even if you are not the creative type.  You can quite easily get a 500 word article together from scratch.  The truth is, its quite simple.  All you need to do is some basic research.  Pull all the information you need for your article straight from the Internet and simply form a brand new article to submit.  So, here are the four steps that will help you be successful with your article submissions to the directories:

First, before you press “article submit” to the directory, remember to include your author “bio” at the very bottom of every single article you write.  This is where traffic comes from.  No bio, no traffic!  You will also need to include a link to your web-site or the affiliate product you are promoting.  One of the great things about article marketing is that you don’t really even need your own web-site.  You can simply use affiliate programs to write reviews about and then link to the product sales page from your article.

Second, be honest in what you are saying to people.  That way, they will be more likely to see you as a resource for information, now and in the future.  The idea is not to over sell anything or to anyone.  Actually, you know what? its better to do the exact opposite.  So, do write your articles with character and honesty and your readers will appreciate your efforts.  Think of what you would want to read yourself.  You will be richly rewarded with affiliate sales if you do this step correctly.

Thirdly, if you are still struggling to generate an entire article on your own, there is another option for you to consider.  What you can do is, search the various article directories for topics that you are interested in, then, write an introduction and also a summary, as paragraphs and enclose the article.  Then you can re-submit the article with your brand new content and affiliate or web-site links.  This is also a great tactic if you want to get traffic to a blog. 

Fourthly, make sure you stay specific and within your niche.  Please don’t write about something you have no idea about.  That is to guarantee failure, not success.  So, stick with topics that are of interest to you.  You will then be less likely to lose interest in the project.  A good way to maintain interest is if you can find a way to make it more entertaining.  See Michael Cheney’s article “The Attack of the Google Killer Zombies” for an example.  

Alright, article submitting for profit is not going to make you into the next Donald Trump, but it can give you the opportunity to start with something small and then build your on your success and grow your profile and business.  There is, basically, no investment other than your own time and energy.  And, you can be very successful, if you treat it as a real job and not just some side-line project.  Take it seriously and make it work for you.

May you know the success you desire soon,

Richard Mortimer

As a very regular young English guy named Michael Cheney discovered not so long ago, people are getting lied to day in and day out. You see, society everywhere is in a conspiracy against you making the money that you can make, that you want to make, that you deserve to make.

Society everywhere tells you that you are destined to be little more than a indentured servant from the time you finish high school or college. Society says you need to get a j-o-b that will never pay you enough money… or, if it does pay you good money, the amount of time and energy and stress that you’ll need to invest into it will make it so that money is hardly worth it. And then, one day, you’re “allowed” to retire…on only a fraction of what you were getting paid when you had your j-o-b. So then, you can’t even afford your hard won freedom!

Society does not tell you that there’s a way out of this doom and gloom. But regular English guy Michael Cheney discovered that there is a way out - for him, for you, for everyone!

And the way out that is the way in to abundant wealth and total freedom at any age is affiliate marketing on the Internet.

But Michael does point out one very important thing: most successful affiliate marketers are also liars! Most affiliate marketing plans and so-called “strategies” don’t work - but, most of the time, the “secrets” that affiliate marketers sell about how to do what they do are all about those things that don’t work! But these affiliate marketers are in competition… with you. So they make their money two ways: they do things you don’t know anything about and then they get you to buy their useless “secrets” so they get paid for getting rid of the competition (you)!

So, Michael Cheney has set out to expose not just society’s lies but the affiliate marketing “guru” lies, too.

Michael knows precisely what he’s talking about, too…because he’s been there, done that! He has been searching for wealth and personal freedom since he got on the Internet back in 1995 and first started getting bombarded with those 1001 on-line marketing plan offers that you buy into. He knows what it’s like to get down on yourself for not doing something right when the plan you bought into doesn’t work…and you’re out the money you invested into it and the time you invested into it! And still you’re not rich and still you are stuck in your j-o-b as a mere indentured servant!

Michael started out his journey of affiliate marketing discovery making all the mistakes, living in a run-down one-bedroom apartment and trying to escape his disappointment and frustration with alcohol and hard drugs…but now his life is amazing, joyful, exciting, and secured by millions of dollars that stream into him even in his sleep!

And now this young regular guy is sharing the real secrets that he had to painstakingly learn the hard way, so that YOU don’t have to!

Writes Michael, “It’s been a long, lonely and painful journey but I’ve made it here to tell you the story!”

“You start off and everything looks rosy for you doesn’t it?”

“You hear about stories of riches over night and before you know it you have invested in some so-called solution that does nothing but empty your wallet and smash your dreams into even tinier pieces.”

“And this is the biggest pain of all…  But… it’s not your fault at all…”

Discover the real secrets to making it on-line affiliate marketing today! www.my-affiliate-millions.com

May you see REAL success, and soon!

Richard Mortimer 

There are certain basic needs that all people have if they want to live free and joyful, and not lead lives of quiet desperation or an endless, restless plight. 

One of these basic needs is financial freedom. You have heard the saying that “money isn’t everything.” And that’s very true. However, while money isn’t everything, poverty isn’t anything. Money is the great tool that sets you free to meet your other basic needs, and once you have obtained enough money and wealth so that you are realizing all of your personal dreams and living a life of independence and self-reliance with a constant sense of having “taken care of business” instead of endlessly worrying, you have financial freedom.

When you have financial freedom, you’ll have a quiet sense of power, a sense of being able to accomplish great things instead of just dream about them, that will be your constant companion. But without financial freedom, no matter how hard you work you will never have the peace of mind that you need to live a life of joy. Life will grind you down.

Financial freedom is defined differently for each individual person, depending on their personality, their personal desires, and their life circumstances. Not everyone needs to be Donald Trump, although Donald Trump does. But by the same token, if you’re worried at all about money you’re not okay financially, even if you think you’re earning as much money as you ever wanted to. 

In the 21st century, the vast majority of people in the developed nations have it in their power to become financially free, otherwise known as “being independently wealthy”. With the advent of the Internet and the constant increase in the total wealth of developed nations, the information and the tools are all out there, and very inexpensive to acquire. 

But the quest for financial freedom begins with understanding. You have to understand who you are and how money flows. 

The person mentioned above who thinks he’s earning the income he always wanted but isn’t financially free - his debts are too high, he can’t do the things he wants to do when he wants to do them, he can’t give his family all he wants to give them, he works long hours to make somebody else rich, etc. - doesn’t know himself. He is NOT earning the money, he does NOT have the money, that he really needs and should want.

He probably believed lies that were told to him when he was young, lies probably told to him by people who were, themselves, not financially free. These people, sadly, were likely to have included his own parents. Your parents are probably wondrous and loving people, but if they aren’t independently wealthy, what business have they got advising YOU about money? Furthermore, what business have you got LISTENING TO anybody, even them, who isn’t financially free telling you how money works?

There are two basic ways to follow to attain financial freedom: the first is “pay yourself first” and the second is “make your money work for you”. Both of these ways must be followed.

With “pay yourself first”, you put aside money for yourself every time you get paid (assuming you don’t absolutely HAVE TO spend every last dollar on pure necessities…in which case you need a different source of income). You put aside this money BEFORE you pay the grocer, the baker, the candlestick maker, the gas station, the lenders you owe.

And what do you do with this money? You invest it–this is where you make your money work for you. You may invest it in the stock market, or you may invest it in learning about and setting up an Internet affiliate marketing program so that you eventually are earning money even in your sleep every day and night of the year. But somehow, you make this money go to work for you making you more money…and so on, and so on, and so on…

When you have enough money working for you that you don’t have to spend your time working for your money, you have attained financial freedom. 

Your friend and companion in success,

Richard Mortimer 
 

You might know, there is a big buzz on the Internet, at the moment, about the concept of making money with a blog.  The truth is, it is much more difficult to earn money like this, than is popularly reported.  But, if you approach the whole matter in a business-like manner, then blogging can become, noy only a fun aspect of your business, but a very profitable one.  So, let’s discuss some easy to follow, practical steps that you can take, right now, towards creating a profiatble blog.

Firstly and most importantly, you must know, a personal type blog is not going to scratch the surface.  That is not a business-like approach!  There are actually quite a few people who really believe they can set-up a blog about their daily lives and make money.  Think abouit it!  This bubble needs to be broken.  Who is possibly the slightest bit interested in your life, apart from those you would not like being ‘interested?’  Please don’t take offense and I hate to say this, but nobody’s life is that interesting!  Most, if not all, people are interested in themselves.  If you want to make it on-line, you need to grasp that.  Success is about providing what other people want and need.

So, if you really want to pull traffic (there is no other way of doing it), you need to offer a topic, or topics, that people are interested in.  And, when I say people, I mean ‘real’ people.  Ordinary people with normal lives, normal problems and normal desires.  A great way of starting is to answer questions that people have.  For example, an Internet Marketing blog (just like this one), might have posts all about general subjects.  (Have a look around here and see what I mean), or you may want to divide it into sections for sub-topics (watch over the coming weeks to see what I mean).  PHP, cPanel, different types of marketing, traffic, etc.  This kind of blog offers a subject, or subjects, that many people are really interested in.  There are general posts and more specific posts.  Also, there is the opportunity to give great tips and advice, or share your experience that can be of help to others.

 The next step, after starting your blog all about your particular niche, is to sprinkle a little AdSense around it.  Try to keep your AdSense ads in places that receive the most focus on your blog.  Obviously, this is most likely at the top and research has shown people, reading left to right, will click more on ads to the right.  So, you could put ads in your side-bar.  You are limited to the amount of AdSense you can put on one page, so its a real pain, if you are posting regularly.  You have to delete one set of ads and add new code to the most recent text.  So, in this case the side bar is great.  Otherwise, put the code between paragraphs in the text, or at the bottom right after the text ends.  What will happen then is, people looking for more information after reading your post, will click these ads.  These locations, just outlined, seem to do well, but you need to test your own.  Never take another marketer’s word for it when you can test it yourself, not even a guru.  Obviously, its a good starting point, picking up on their experience, but don’t rely on it.  And, do not blame anyone else if it goes wrong.  However, its most important to remember that, making money with an AdSense only blog can be very, very difficult, if not impossible. 

 Finally, once you have established yourself a little bit and built some rapport with your readers, you want to begin sprinkling affiliate products into your posts.  Don’t overdo this or you will turn your readership off and away!  However, in a post describing a problem many people have, it might be an idea to post a link to a product that solves that problem in an interesting way, certainly one that you would pay for, or even better, have actually paid for.  That link would, of course, be your affiliate link, and the sales resulting from the link in your blog post’s would pay you commissions.  Another idea is to place one or two graphical or text affiliate links to useful, relative products in the side-bar.  But, be sure not to make it difficult to search your blog because it is jammed up with ads and affiliate links!  It is most important that your users feel that you are blogging for them first and foremost, and your affiliate links are just helpful suggestions you are making.

 But, by establishing yourself in a particular niche, offering useful information, advice and tips to your readers, and sprinkling your blog with tastefully done AdSense ads and affiliate links, you will gradually begin to see an income coming through your blog.  What a concept!  Enjoy your blogging.  Think about what you are doing.  You will succeed, if you put the right effort in.  Then, continue to tweak and to test what works and what does not.  Then, you can continue to make your blog a more and more profitable part of your business.  At the same time, you will be building your credibility and make yourself more appealing to your target visitors in your niche.

Your freind and colleague in business,

Richard Mortimer

If you want to make money on the Internet, you have one big problem.  It does not matter whether you are a guru, or a complete ‘newbie,’ you need to get your web-site seen!  Now, of course, if you have a big budget, getting traffic to your site is easy.  The hard bit is making a profit!  But, that becomes a degree harder if you have a very low budget, or no money at all!  The good news is that this is the exact problem other marketers have had, and solved!  So, I want to tell you about some great ways to set about doing this.  I would like to show you a few tricks which can lower the costs of those PPC campaigns that can easily break the bank in minutes.  Other techniques will require no investment at all from you.  That is, lovely, free traffic.  Free targetted traffic.  So, let’s take a brief look at some of these methods.  Its all about reducing the amount of investment you need to make when marketing your products or services on the Internet.

First then, here are a few great methods for vastly reducing your costs when doing your PPC campaigns.  Its all a question of knowing what you are doing.  The truth is, poorly constructed campaigns will drain your money faster than almost any other form of on-line marketing, especially if you are a beginner.  Then, chances are you are making some crucial mistakes that are costing you all your budget and blowing a big hole in your credit card!      

You must know that, ‘keyword targeted’ PPC campaigns are the most commonly used.  That is what they are all teaching - me too!  But, the fact is, keywords are either your best friends or your worst enemies!  Most sources of IM “knowledge” do seem to make the same point over and over.  That is, that giant lists of general keywords are the best route for pulling profitable traffic.  The truth is, this will pull lots of traffic, but short, general type keywords are more often than not, the reason for the failure of an otherwise good PPC campaign.  Remember, lots of traffic means lots of per-click costs.  But, here is the point: general keywords, do not usually mean converting traffic.  What has happened is that those teachers, and those that have followed them, have forgotten the golden traffic rule: “Only targeted traffic is terrific!”  One highly-targeted potential buyer is worth thousands of non-targeted non-buyers, actually more.  Non-targetted traffic is people who do not want your offer.  If it were a physical shop you owned, rather than a virtual one, these would be ‘window shoppers.’ But, ‘targeted traffic’ is real buyers or subscribers! 

So, do a bit of trimming.  Look at your keywords and remove general, only slightly-related terms that are only pulling ‘un-targeted’ people in.  Think of these keywords as those that will ‘not convert,’ because its highly unlikely they ever will.  Also, they will cost you a lot more per click.  No, go for the ‘long-tail’ keywords and the ‘highly-targeted’ keywords. 

Let me explain:  

‘Long-Tail’ keywords are those that consist of four or more words.  So, let’s say you are selling a product to teach people to make some money on-line.  You select “make money online”, “make money”, “earn money”, and similar search terms for your main keywords.  Think about it.  How many people will be using such keywords?  Clearly, they are some of the worst keywords you could possibly use.  These are some of the most over-used and therefore over-priced keywords its possible to conceive!  So, use some keyword programs and web-sites to get some long-tail keywords.  It takes a bit of work, but that is how to get an edge when you are starting out.  You will, no doubt, end up with a list with keywords such as “earn more money online today”, “make money as an internet marketer”, “how do I make more money online”, etc.  These terms are going to pull far less traffic, but if you put together a good number of such ‘long-tail’ keywords, you will still pull a substantial number of hits.  The difference is that such long-tail keywords are going to cost you a lot less than the general keywords, and therefore you roughly get twice the traffic for half the price.  

‘Highly-Targeted’ keywords are keywords such as this: “Buy product”, “Purchase product”, and “Order product”.  These terms are very specific, and will bring in those searchers who are ready to purchase a product right now.  This is some of the best traffic your web-site will ever see!    

‘Site-Targeted’ ad campaigns on Google are a very much overlooked, but highly profitable way of running a PPC campaign.  What you do is, find the web-sites at the top of an organic search for the keywords you want, put them into your site-targeted campaign, and then watch those sites’ traffic filter into yours for a fraction of the PPC cost. 

Then, finally, one of the most effective marketing methods you can and should use.  Which is also free!  That is Article Marketing.  Time and time again this has proven to be one of the best ways to drive quality traffic to your site.   But, the very best part about article marketing, aside from being free, is that your articles can bring traffic for months or even years!  Its like building a traffic empire.  With PPC, you pay, you get traffic (if you have done it right).  But, with article marketing, its a question of cumulative effort – the more articles you write and put out there, the more traffic will continue coming to your site.  It really is a brilliant way to get traffic.  Plus, it’s easy to do and master, and it really is free!
      
May you know every success in your marketing efforts.

Your friend,

Richard Mortimer

When you first enter the affiliate marketing arena, you are being thrown to the lions!  Its a ruthless business and it can be very frustrating these days.  The problem is, there are hordes of ‘Wannabies’ trying to make it big on-line as affiliate marketers.  The real problem is, those vast numbers definitely come in to play when it comes to PPC and search engine marketing.  You will find, it can be very, very costly to even start drawing traffic, and in most cases you still won’t get the kind of traffic you need.  So, let’s look at a few areas where you can shift the odds very definately in your favour.

First, let’s get back to the title of this article – “ClickBank does not equal Affiliate Marketing.”  What do I mean?  Well, many think of ClickBank like that.  That to do affiliate marketing is to be on CB.  Its not true.  You can afford to avoid ClickBank.  Indeed, you should.  Why?  Because Clickbank is over-saturated with affiliates and ‘Wannabies,’ so your competition is very steep, right from the word go.  The most popular Clickbank products, that is, the ones that really sell well, will cost you an absolute fortune in PPC campaigns.  Many beginning affiliates simply do not realise how unnecessary Clickbank is to their success.  The real benefit to Clickbank is convenience, in that you can search for products all in one place.  Also, you get paid from one source, and you only need one account for that to happen.  That’s good, but that’s it.  For a beginner, ClickBank is not the place to start.  The benefits of using other affiliate sites or programs, in my experience, far outweighs those conveniences, though real.  So, let’s look at some other options for you.

Do you know that many sites offer their own affiliate program?  Certainly, good marketers with good products do so.  So, do a search on a general topic that you wish to find good products for.  Look at several of the top organic search results on Google and the other search engines.  Find the pages that actually offer a product for sale.  Now simply scroll to the bottom of those pages.  Look for a link which says “Affiliates”, “Partners”, “Join Affiliate Program” or “Earn Money”.  There are other variations, just use your own logic!  But, it should be obvious that what you are seeing is an affiliate program.  Click on the link (for your favourite offers) and sign up with their programs.  Many direct affiliate programs offer more options and better commissions than ClickBank programs (some even 100%).  Plus, you have the added benefit of competing against a much smaller team of affiliates.  Try not to pick programs that also have a program with ClickBank, or you are right back where you started, with massive competition and little chance of success.

So, by going straight to the product vendors themselves and becoming their affiliate, direct to their site, you put yourself in a unique position.  That is of being one of the very small percentage of on-line affiliates who are working with individual companies, which gives you a real competitive advantage.  It’s amazing to see a campaign that costs almost nothing, yield such great results.  Especially if you have tried the obvious and expensive way and being accustomed to watching those expensive campaigns dry up your money.  But, by thinking ‘out-of-the-box,’ you cut yourself off from the masses of ClickBank affiliates, most who will struggle, for all the reasons given.  This is one of the best advantages you can possibly give yourself.  Let the professionals dominate, and let the ‘Wannabies’ throw away all their money.  This way, the better way, neither of those will stop you from making your living on-line, nor will you pay far more than you should for your PPC advertising campaign.

As an epilogue, do learn to write articles.  Article marketing is free and will bring you quality, targeted traffic for months and months, even years!  Just ask Michael Cheney.  It will take you a while to learn to use PPC properly and profit.  So, here is a better way, experiment with PPC in a small way, until you have mastered it, but focus on article marketing for the time being.  You will find that you get plenty of prospective buyers without spending a penny in advertising.

Remember, ClickBank is NOT Affiliate Marketing.  But, affiliate marketing is the easiest way to get earning on-line, so get going today and may you prosper!

Richard Mortimer

The very best way to make money on-line is to have your own product to sell.  It especially helps if that product is something very much needed, and if people in that particular niche are willing to give good money for it.  This is the fastest and easiest way for newcomers to the Internet to make some money, whether a little extra, or, in time, a full-time income.  Newcomers to Internet Marketing are called ‘Newbies.’  So, this is all about Product Creation for Newbies.

There are some very important factors to consider when creating a product.  And, since this might be your first, let’s take a good look at how you can come up with your very own wildly profitable product that you can sell on-line.

 First, and most importantly, a negative.  By far the biggest mistake most product creators make is creating a product first and attempting to find an audience second.  They get all excited about their product idea, but can’t find anyone else who will!  That is the high road to deep disappointment.  So, you should actually do the exact reverse.  First, find a market, preferably with thousands of people who actually want something, and then, second, create a product to fit their needs.  This sounds simple, but it is by far the most important one if you want a web-site that is profitable.  You know, thousands of unwanted products sit on-line everyday that never make a single sale!  Someone has done some hard work, shelled out good money, and its all going to waste.  But, this big problem could have been avoided with a little bit of research first.

 Secondly, don’t just find a market that wants something, but try to find one that wants it desperately!  Information products always do especially well at this point, and many of the most successful products are simply those that were marketed correctly to a desperate group of ’seekers.’  As you probably know, internet marketers are desperate to make money on-line.  Think about it: when was the last time you spent $97, or some such figure, on a digital report (e-book) to help you do that very thing?  Teenagers and adults who suffer from excessive acne are another desperate group of ’seekers.’  They really want to learn about what life-style changes or miracle cures they can get to clear up their skin, forever!  Someone worried about a pregnancy, a wedding, or a divorce would probably be desperate to get quick access to the answers for the questions they will, no doubt, have.  So, pick a desperate audience and supply them with the answers they want and need, and your product will be a winner!

 Finally, you must be prepared to step outside your comfort zone.  Let’s say you found a market for some information that is simply not within your knowledge zone.  So, spend a couple of days researching that topic and that topic alone.  Do it via Google.  Go to the relevant on-line forums.  Find professional help articles, and research through any other means at your disposal.  What you will find is that in most cases, you can gather all the data you need from many, many different sources and then piece it all together, like a jigsaw.  So, you end up with one cohesive product fairly easily.  It’s not that most buyers couldn’t do the same thing, of course, but in reality, they are paying you to do it for them!  Its a win-win situation!  For the convenience of the instant answers they want and for not having to research ad nauseum, themselves, they will pay.  So, if two days of research for you, yields you ten years of profits from your product, that has to be a worthy investment, right?

 So, please keep in mind, the most important part of product creation is to discover a product that needs to be created!  You are becoming a creative genius.  Find a market that is looking for that one thing, and fulfill that particular need.  Then you begin your on-line marketing efforts!  Now, watch the cash flow in! 

 And, may you know the success that hard work deserves (it beats most jobs, I can think of…)!

Richard Mortimer