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