We were there for a wedding, a really fancy wedding, my sister's really fancy wedding, so we stayed at an all-inclusive resort called Azul Fives.

It was terrific, while we had some issues with the resort itself, at the end, it was an amazing experience and it really relaxed me. It reignited my desire to travel and see more, and do more, not only personally but in my business too!

It was a reinvigorating experience, and I can't wait to share some videos and photos with you, but first I had to get this out to you.

As soon as we came back home, I started checking out our next adventure. We've been meaning to go camping for a while now but we never seem to actually get it together to do it so now we're changing that.

We're planning a small camping trip late October, and we're starting to plan another more exotic trip for next year. Which leads me to the next thing I want to tell you.

During my research, I ran into Hipcamp. Wow! this is basically Airbnb for camping sites. Hipcamp started back in 2013 and it has grown quite a bit since then.

Hipcamp wasn't the first to do this, but it appears that it may be the top choice for finding unique and interesting outdoor experiences, mostly camping.

Check it out, this video got me hooked!

Hipcamp works just like Airbnb.

If you have a property where people might like to camp out, you can rent it out. Or if you're a traveler like me, or want to take a few days to do some camping in a unique location you can use Hipcamp to find just the right location.

That picture above is from "Desert Oasis Camping," just search for it on the site, click here to check it out, the picture below is from "Private Beach Farm." You'll find it on that link as well. Both of these locations are within a few hours drive from me.

I'm sure you'll find spots close to you as well.

Hipcamp has really great search features and filters and you can find camping sites varying from a fully staffed glamping location with fully stocked kitchen and indoor plumbing to places you have to hike for a few miles where you'll be roughing it in pure wilderness; no showers, no running water, in other words, the real way to camp.

After finding Hipcamp I spent a couple hours browsing through lots of locations and just imagining how cool it would be to go there with the family for a weekend or a long weekend.

I suppose we'll go soon, but for now, you can get started on your own, check out Hipcamp here, and imagine yourself under the stars after a desert sunset, or in a sleeping bag by the beach dozing off to the sound of waves lapping the shoreline.

But if you're a landowner, you can use Hipcamp to make money! If you have a location you think you can use to lease out, then go to this link to check it out.

You could start hosting people in your land, Hipcamp covers liability insurance, customer support, billing and you keep 90% of the bookings. Not a bad deal if you have land that's just sitting there.

I have seen some places where it looks like people just have extra land so they set up an outdoor kitchen or fire ring, clear some of the brush under the trees and make it into a campsite.

In other cases, you'll find fully working farms with a camping site so the campers get a full experience, not just a regular camping site. The sites vary in complexity, so you may find really simple places or really sophisticated experiences.

So even if you don't think people would like your location, check it out to see if you could be making some extra money from your unused land. This is from their own page: "Our most successful hosts make over $100,000 per year hosting campers, while some hosts make a few thousand per year. On average, Hipcamp hosts make $8,000 – $15,000 per year."

In conclusion

Find that inner spark in you to discover and travel more, sometimes it takes a small, but special trip to find that spark. Do it, get out more, see more, do more. Oh yeah and why not make money while you're at it too, right?

The post Hipcamp, for Campers and Outdoors Enthusiasts appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I've talked about Shareasale before, I told you about Refersion and they even interviewed me a couple times. I promote Peerfly even though I don't really make money from their products.

But I wanted to highlight another network that is starting to pop up in my radar more and more frequently.

That is GrowSumo.

I'm seeing a few of big names and new names using the GrowSumo affiliate system. Seems that they're making themselves a name in the affiliate space.

Maybe I missed the boat, but I just recently found out about them.

I think you should check it out and see if they have any vendors that might fit your niche.

They have a lot of companies and I'm sure they're adding more every month. Right now, the majority of the available merchants seem to be software based.

I'm partners with Evernote, Streak CRM, and recently a couple of new companies I'm learning more about. I'm trying to get some demos from these new companies so I can show you what they're all about.

I made a video about Streak a couple years ago, and it still gets traction so I thought it would be time to revisit that.

But back to GrowSumo.

They have a centralized dashboard to show you all the activity going on with your partnerships. And they are really staying in touch with me as an affiliate. I have been on the dashboard a few times and their chat bots keep popping up.

Speaking of, you should hear the interview I did with Heather Havenwood about chatbots, it's right here.

GrowSumo seems to make it really easy for the affiliate manager to send a quick message to their affiliates. That's pretty standard but I think GrowSumo does it the best right now.

Although the new UI for Shareasale is pretty slick too... I'll talk more about that later, in another blog post.

GrowSumo really takes out the problem where affiliates sign up and they forget about your product. I admit it, I've done it.

It goes a little bit like this: Your program caught my eye, your product seems good, it fits my audience so I sign up and then forget all about your program.

Growsumo has kept me coming back for more and just today was the latest little trick to keep me coming back. I've only started promoting a couple products from their marketplace, but I have one sale and a few installs.

But another notable thing is that GrowSumo just kicked over $5.00 just for getting clicks!

I looked at the dashboard and there are other tiers that will get you more bonuses. But that's refreshing.

Not only do I get commissions and stay in touch with my affiliate managers, but GrowSumo is encouraging us so that we promote the programs.

You can check out their marketplace right here.

I know that $5.00 is just whatever, it's $5.00. It's even gimmicky, but when did an affiliate network pay you to promote their vendors' links. And just to get some clicks. Not even sales yet! (well, just the one).

It's almost like getting paid just for clicks. I suspect this will be temporary as they ramp up their user base, so take advantage of it now while it lasts.

Check it out when you get a moment at GrowSumo.

The post GrowSumo Gave me Five Bucks Just Because appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Quickly I can put whatever song I want. The playlists are great, the social component is good and allows me to hear what some of my friends are listening to.

Their own discovery feature is good too and the curated playlists are some of the best I've come across.

So why did I quit Spotify?

I quit paying for Spotify because I'm on a mission to increase my productivity. I want to make 2018 be the year I kill it like no other year.

I'm making a lot of shifts in my life. Starting with my time management using Time Doctor. I will also be implementing the stuff taught on: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. -- Currently, my house & office is a disaster, almost worthy of a show of hoarders, almost.

But I have been paying attention to my habits when I'm on my computer. One of the bad habits is constantly checking FB or Twitter, just to see what's up. I'm already changing that, I cut back a lot of time I spend on there.

Another bad habit I have is trying to find something to play on the background while I work. Sometimes I feel it may even be an excuse to not get to the stuff I really need to work on.

Needless to say, this is a huge timesink because I end up spending a lot of time on Spotify looking for "just the right song."

Sometimes I'll do the same on Youtube, looking through my "watch later" playlist hoping to find something I can play in the background while I blog or try to complete another work-related task.

So while I was at Affiliate Summit I was talking to Stephan Spencer and he recommended Focus @ Will. Focus @ will is a music service specifically designed to help you focus.

I'm trying it now and it's awesome, the trial is free for two weeks, then it's the same price as Spotify. Actually is five cents cheaper.

Cheaper and Better

I' don't feel like spending money on two services which are intended to do the same thing for me. So I'm opting for Focus @ Will only for now since it has the benefit of helping me focus and get more stuff done.

I've already been testing it and it works. My trial will expire soon and I intend to keep the service.

The free ad-supported version of Spotify will have to suffice for the other times where I just need the music for the kids or for entertainment.

If you're looking to step up your game and want to have something play in the background, something that actually helps you instead of distracting you then give Focus @ Will a try. It's free to try.

The post I Quit Spotify. You Should Too If You Want to Get More Done appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Eventually, she wants to quit her job.

She heard about affiliate marketing and decided that it sounded like just the right opportunity for her. She found that she could work a few hours each day and by all accounts, she could make really good money.

So she did some research on Google, and on Youtube and started learning about making money from home using affiliate marketing methods.

Everything was going great until she realized that several weeks had gone by. She came to the realization as many beginners do, that all the different gurus and tutorial videos she found were pulling her in all different directions.

So she asked:

I'm overwhelmed with all this, what should I do? What should I do next to start my business and grow it?

The answer to that is simple and many people will overcomplicate it. It's a very short bullet list to work on to get results. I've narrowed down the answer to three simple steps.

If you feel like Susie, overwhelmed, a little bit lost and just kind of searching for direction on what to do next, then this is for you.

Assuming you have a product to promote...

Assuming you already picked a product or offer you want to promote, then the next few steps are your immediate tasks.

If you don't have a product to promote or an offer that you'd like to then let me know what your interests are, or what you are good at in the comments and I'll give you a few tips.

Finding out the right niche for people is one of my superpowers. But let's get on with the three tips:

I also created a video if you want to check that out:

Step 1: Create a landing page for your offer.

Keep it simple and without fluff. To start, I recommend you take the assets provided to you by the offer manager and use them. Use similar copy, similar colors and make it easy to understand.

The landing page must contain the benefits of the product, enough information about it for the viewer to become interested, and a call to action.

For your first landing page, I suggest that you ask the visitor to join an email list as the call to action. Using the email list, you will provide the reader with more information and an opportunity to buy the product.

Step 2: Create at least three emails to be sent automatically

Use your autoresponder to send at least three emails to those that subscribe via your landing page.

Each email should be captivating and engaging and ask the reader to take action. Ideally, the action is to visit the official offer page (using your affiliate link) and then let that page close the sale for you.

After you have the three emails in place, test them with a test email account of yours to make sure it's working and all your links are clickable as they should.

Set your autoresponder to send out one email each day. First, a welcome message to introduce yourself; include a short story explaining the most compelling benefits of the product.

Then the other messages should help develop and establish you as an authority and trustworthy source of information about the product, its benefits and the problems it will help solve. Think about including engaging stories, customer testimonials, use cases, case studies and similar information that will help convince the reader to buy the product.

If you need specific direction with this, look in your affiliate dashboard or contact your affiliate manager for some guidance. It is my experience that the affiliate managers will be really helpful with this.

Step 3: Send people to visit the landing page. 

This could be challenging if you're not familiar with traffic generation techniques. But you can do it if you set some time aside and focus.

Your goal is to put the landing page in front of as many people as possible. You can do this with free advertising, or with paid advertising.

I'm a big proponent of paid traffic for online businesses because it is highly targeted, easy to quantify, and generally provides better results than free traffic.

However, paying for traffic can be an overwhelming task on its own.

I suggest you try getting a little bit of free traffic first, just to double-check your landing page, your emails and to get you into the flow of things. Get free traffic for a few days, maybe up to a couple weeks.

There will be a few changes you want to make as you run these small tests. Maybe you made a typo, maybe you forgot an image, maybe you want to change the color of the background on your landing page.

With free traffic, you can easily work through those minor mistakes and other than your time, you really haven't lost much.

I would run that test for about a week, maximum 2 weeks. No more than this. After your landing page has been tested, and your emails are delivering properly, then buy some traffic.

That's it. This is a cycle and so long as you keep bringing the offer to people then some of those people will join your email list, and some will buy.

Later on, you can work on getting better, more targeted traffic, optimizing your sales copy on your landing page, improving your open and click rates from your emails and even going back to some of that sweet, sweet free traffic.

But first, revenue!

You can even develop a strategy to generate sales without spending a lot on paid traffic, but if you want to get started, and generate results quickly these are the three steps you must take.

Additional notes

Where to get traffic? You can buy traffic from Facebook, Twitter, Bing, Google, Instagram, Pinterest, and many other places. Set a budget aside to do this every week, and check your stats every day so you can make adjustments.

Make sure you keep adding new emails to your autoresponder series, and when you have ten or twenty, you should then send an email manually every day to your list.

For your landing page, I recommend that you use Leadpages or Clickfunnels, both of those links will give you a free trial to start. But if you're cheap or budget conscious, then you can use Aweber or even your WordPress website.

If you use WordPress, just make sure you use one of the page templates for your theme which remove the sidebars and footers so the reader doesn't get distracted by those. You could also use something like OptimizePress.

Conclusion

Don't let the firehose of advice on Google, Youtube or emails from gurus overwhelm you. When starting out, there are only three things you have to do to generate revenue and start growing your business.

Later on, you can learn more, you can adjust things, you can add more ingredients to the mix but if your business isn't generating revenue quickly, you'll be discouraged and possibly go broke. Complete the three tasks outlined above to start getting results as soon as possible.

These are basic cornerstone strategies to start generating revenue for your online business.

Before you get caught up on my own simple advice and start overcomplicating it, make sure that you do all this quickly. Remember that you don't need to know everything and how everything works.

I have made the big mistake of studying and learning one thing relentlessly until I became an expert at it. I studied it and reviewed it and asked questions to satisfy my fearful curiosity.

This is a mistake if you want to be an entrepreneur and it's understandable. It comes from a place of fear, fear of failure, and fear of making a mistake. I talked about failing recently, you can see that here.

You will make mistakes, and you will fail, but the important part is to fail as you're trying to do something and not just learning about it. Get started now.

The post What Should I Do Next to Start Making Money Online As An Affiliate appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Maybe this sounds like you: A blogger has been blogging for months, maybe even over a year and hasn't made any money.

Perhaps they've made a few dollars here and there. But the reality is that most bloggers, and chances are that includes you, don't make enough to even cover basic costs.

It's not for lack of trying or for lack of skill, generally.

Keep in mind most successful bloggers didn't make money until months after starting their blog.

What do affiliates need to start making money online?

There are many things that comprise the recipe for profits online, but I'm going to cover two important factors that would help you make money if you haven't made enough money from your blog yet.

I know it can be frustrating.

Making money online is more than just posting content and sharing it. You can have a huge following and still fail to make a decent income. In this video, I dive into one of the main reasons why you're not making money despite all your efforts.

Check out the video and take action. If you're not profiting from your blog, maybe it's time you try something new, or time to upgrade your methods or products.

And if you don't think that these are the missing ingredients for your blog to start making money, let me know more about your situation in the comments and we can figure it out together.

https://youtu.be/t9ZgNvtSB2s

If you didn't want to wait for the entire video. The key of one of the messages is to start working with higher-end products which in turn pay out a higher level commission.

If you're interested in learning how to do that and start earning more money than ever before, check out the 21 step training I talk about in the video right here.

The post Affiliates: This Is Why You’re Not Making Money Online (Video) appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

He wanted to know if there was a way to share an Excel spreadsheet so both could work at the same time without disrupting each other's work, and without having to email it to each other or dealing with accessing it from a shared hard drive.

He didn't want to have to email it to each other whenever they made a change. That is just a nightmare and so 2002.

I was a bit taken aback because I thought everybody knew about the solution for this by now. But apparently I was wrong, I told him I had the solution for this, but I still wanted to hear his requirements. I think this answer might help you as well.

I listened to all the requirements he told me. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't missing anything and he didn't need anything too robust like a proper MySQL or NoSQL database. He didn't; he's in real estate and just needed to track stats and properties related to the business.

He wanted something just like his Excel spreadsheet, but better.

The clear-cut answer was to move the Excel spreadsheet to Google Sheets. Google Sheets is part of the Google Docs suite and it does most (arguably, everything) you need to do with Excel, and it does it better.

But can I run some formulas if I need to? He asked...

Of course, you can run formulas. Complex ones, simple ones and if you have the chops or have some patience doing some web searches, you can even program very fancy scripts.

For example, there is the Content Strategy Helper worksheet by Builtvisible. Where you can plug in a search query and it will do a bunch of magic for you to enhance your research and SEO. To use it, you go to the Google spreadsheet they have, you make a copy to your own Google docs and you can start using it.

Another much simpler example is one spreadsheet I use where each of the sheets has a list of locations where my articles or videos might be shared. Each sheet contains network locations, for example: Facebook groups or facebook pages, Google+ profiles and groups, Twitter, Tumblr, Stumbleupon, things like that.

Then I have one more sheet where I use a simple formula to bring all those locations from each sheet into one new column in a document. I use this as an activity log to make sure I have shared my content out for maximum exposure. Think of it like a checklist for promotional purposes.

I have seen complex financial models, simple budgets, and all sorts of things done with Google Sheets. Sheets become even more powerful when you realize that they usually play nice with other Google tools, like Google maps, Google Documents (like Word). And you can also create forms to capture data that goes directly into the spreadsheets. Think surveys, questionnaires, RSVPs, etc.

Needless to say, my friend was happy with the answer because he didn't realize that you could share a spreadsheet in real time with other users and that it would all be backed up in real time, safely and securely.

My buddy also didn't know that you could run formulas as complex as you can in Excel, you can run charts, reports and more.

I have been using Google Docs since they came out. I have my reservations about Google's use of their political and economic power, but their products are unparalleled.

I don't know why many people think that Google Sheets is not as powerful as Excel. Maybe it's just the group of diehard Excel users that have been using it for their entire career and somehow think that Google sheets "just can't do that."

From having to use both and from having to teach people to use both and support both, I can tell you that Google sheets is as powerful and capable --if not more-- than Excel.

If you want to use it for a business and get support and a few more security features, you just need to get a G Suite account, previously known as Google for Business, here's a link to a free trial.

But if you just want to use it for yourself and a couple of business partners, family or friends, then you just need to go to your Google Drive when you log in to your Gmail account. You do know you have a free amount of storage with Google Drive included with your Gmail account... right?

The post If You Want Excel Spreadsheets but Need Something Better appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I'd venture to guess that he was like the average 20-year-old kid. Enjoying life, coming to terms with the realities of becoming an adult and just trying to figure out life. One day as he was enjoying spring break in Florida he received a message.

The message was an invitation to make a radical change in his life. This invitation went out to thousands of people, I'm pretty sure it was actually tens of thousands of people. It was a radical proposition. At the time I saw the invitation as well and I felt like I should have responded. But having two kids and a wife and a mortgage made me doubt the ability to follow through with that response.

I thought I would sleep on it for a couple days and talk it over with my wife.

Empty Pockets photo cover credit by Richie Diesterheft licensed under CC.

But in just a couple days, a second announcement came out saying that the invitation was now closed as they had received enough interest and they were certain that one of the applicants would fit the job.

I chucked it off to bad timing and moved on. But I kept an eye on the development of this opportunity.

A few months later, that's when I heard about Steve for the first time. Steve was the person that responded to the opportunity and was granted the chance to take it. His commitment, or his quick response or the fact that he didn't have a lot of commitments helped him win over hundreds of applicants.

Steve literally dropped everything to take a chance. With a few bucks to his name, Steve left school, he left so fast, he left laundry in the washing machine and took a flight on a one-way ticket to South East Asia. His future was uncertain, but he held onto the idea that this would work.

He went to work on his business, learning everything he could and soon began to make money. And yes, I get it, it's easy for a student to drop everything and travel half way around the world. He didn't have a care in the world, right? No mortgage, like you or me. No kids. No real commitments.

And so he continued working and working and then he began teaching others how to make several thousand dollars per day. This is when things got real.

But is it really as easy as it sounds? I don't think so. The part that matters is that he made it work, he followed directions, he learned, he applied his lessons and started making money. I remember him posting just earlier this year about how he was going to break the $200,000 mark in just one month.

The craziest part is that he went from poor student to millionaire in just about two years. I can write another 2 thousand words telling you how he did it, but it comes down to this: commitment, faith, and a following a system.

He had the commitment to succeed and he knew what he was doing at the time wasn't going to get him the financial freedom he desired. Faith because he had to trust the opportunity and he showed his belief by dropping everything and taking a chance. And finally, the system is what helped him achieve such success in a short amount of time.

I could tell you about the things he did to achieve a million dollars, I can explain how it all works. In fact, I've been telling you about this for years now, here on the blog, and in my emails. But I rather you hear it directly from him, if a picture is worth 1000 words, then a video must be worth a million.

There is no secret, it's affiliate marketing.

This is high-level, hight-ticket affiliate marketing and it's purposeful, driven and highly profitable. Unlike the average affiliate or blogger, this system provides you with the marketing, the products and the fulfillment that you need to make high-level commissions. If you're a beginner, or you're looking to start making money online then you should check out Steve's story right here.

Steve put together a guide that will help rookies start making money. Watch his video and take a chance, who knows where you could be in 6, or 12 months from now. Steve started without knowing anything about affiliate marketing, internet marketing and by his own admission he wasn't really tech savvy even though he's a young guy.

Here's a short excerpt in his own words:

In the first 210 days of 2017, I made over $1,000,000.

That breaks down to about $4,761 per day, $198 per hour (every hour, even while I sleep), $3.30 per minute…
27 months ago when I first started this journey I could have never imagined it taking off this fast. It feels like I started yesterday…

At first, I did this as a matter of necessity. I needed the money – to pay student loans, to help my family, to escape my credit card debt. I was in a deep deep hole and I needed to climb back out.

I used to make $198 in 4 DAYS! ($7 minimum wage x 8 hours = $56 a shift working a regular job). Now as each hour passes, my bank account grows by that amount regardless of what I’m doing.

It’s honestly mind blowing.

Once I made my first $1k, $10k, $20k it became less out of necessity and more of a game for me.

“How can I make more money this week? This month?”

And

“How can I help others do the same?”

Continue the story here...

The post Struggling to Make a Profit as a Beginner appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

I reached out to see if I could help. Sometime last year I helped her setup her first ad, and first video landing page. After a gazillion takes and re-takes, script revisions and adjustments, we did it.

She had everything needed to make it work. The last ingredients needed to focus, drive traffic and relentless commitment to succeed.

Little did I know that a year and a half later I would be reading such a sad update on her Facebook page. I offered my help, once again. This time free of charge until she started making sales.

Because I know that what I teach, works if you implement it and take action.

She said she was willing to follow my advice and do whatever it takes to succeed. I asked her if she was sure she wanted to do this because I could tell from her tone that she felt defeated. I've felt defeated too before, so I knew her point of view.

She admitted to me she's been depressed. I asked her:

Are you willing to follow my advice, and do what it takes?

Yes, she said.

I'm no psychologist, but I know that when we're down it's really hard to get out of that rut. I beat myself up and that just makes it all worse.

I have discovered that if I'm depressed, little wins help me get out of my head and the dark places which make me feel like I've failed. Then it snowballs from there into bigger, better and more positive things.

There's something to that law of attraction thing. While I have not read the Law of attraction book in its entirety and I think that a lot of it is a bit hokey, I know that if we focus on the positive AND take action, we start winning.

If we focus on the negative and look for ways something may fail, then it seems that's all we see and that's all that happens.

Success begets success.

So I kicked off an emergency plan to help her. Focusing on little wins. But she was hesitant, her answers were indirect and distracted. It made me concerned so I double-checked if she really wanted my help and if she really wanted to do this. She confirmed.

I broke down her week by hours. She works 60 hours at her dreadful day-job. I budgeted 8 hours of sleep per day. This leaves her 45 hours more or less, after taking into account 1-hour commute for 7 days per week.

WOW. A full 45 hours of idle time. Anybody could make a business if they worked on it at least 2 hours a day, now imagine working five, or six, or even eight! What about personal time? and meals? -

That's negligible, but let's give it 7 to 10 hours per week. Shower in 3 min, you're not going to be doing makeup and hair because you aren't going out for fun, and you can eat at your desk while you work. Remember, this is an emergency plan, not the rest of your life.

Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t. ~ Anonymous.

I never told her it would be easy. Remember? The missing ingredient to any success story in the making is your perseverance, your commitment, your dedication and hard work.

So I told her to take her first win, an easy one. Cancel cable TV.

I know you're going to wonder as you read this, Oscar, what the heck are you talking about? Bear with me.

You see, when you're on the brink of bankruptcy, it's too late to cut back on small bills. Saving $65 on the cable bill will not save you. She argued with me, maybe thinking what you're thinking right now too.

She said:

TV comes bundled with my internet, and how dare you ask me to give up tv? Are you serious!?

This is the case for many Americans, but that's not a law! It's just a tactic that cable companies use to offer you more value. And besides, everything is negotiable.

But she continued to argue with me.

She's desperate and I know it, I want to help but I can't help those that don't want to be helped. She told me: "your [sic] asking me to turn off my tv really...that isn't right"

This she said after I explained a few times why it was important to cancel her cable TV immediately. But she wasn't having any of it.

I told her she was not coachable, I can't help her today. Perhaps someone else can, but I can't. Maybe later when she's ready.

That was the end of that, so why do you care and why am I telling you this story?

So I'll explain to you why I told her to cut off her TV. And also why I think you should too if you are struggling to make money online, or want to get started.

Canceling a $65 monthly bill, only a month or two before you file for bankruptcy is kinda like asking for a non-alcoholic beer after you are so drunk, you can't stand. It's not going to do much good, you're drunk.

The entire point of canceling television was meant to provide a small win to empower her, and second, an act to demonstrate the severity of the situation. There's a third reason that's the most important, and I'll get to that in a moment. But let me explain the first two.

Here's the first thing

Number one, when you call your cable company and you tell them that you can't pay for their bill and want to cancel TV, they will do everything in their power to keep you around. They'll negotiate, they'll give you better rates, offer better deals and so on. Trust me, I've been there, done that, and their offers are often enticing.

But even then, you should cancel.

But what about the internet? And where is the small win to empower me? you ask. Cancelling TV is just a first step, the win comes next.

After you cancel the TV, during the same phone call you tell the company, you'd like to keep the internet and pay for it separately BUT you need a better rate. The person on the phone usually will tell you, that they can't, this is the lowest. You want to get to that point because this is where you setup yourself for that small win I talked about earlier.

When you've canceled your TV service, and they are denying you a better rate for your internet, you ask to be transferred to their retention department. You will be sent over to someone that specializes on keeping you as a customer. This is when they will give you a discounted rate, or a deal that is much better than what you have now, even if it's for 6 months or 12 months.

This also will not make a dent in the bills and the escalating debt. I mean, if you go from $55 a month for internet to $45, you wonder what will $10.00 do? Not much.

But it will motivate you. You have just negotiated something in your favor. You have just scored a small win. When you're struggling to see the light, to be positive or make progress, that's a small dent on depression and the first step to get out of that rut.

And the second thing

From the moment you cancel cable TV, a feeling of the dark reality you find yourself in will shower over you. This is real, that thing you've had for years and probably your entire life, is no longer there. Well, it's there but when you turn it on you'll see a plain black screen. Don't be sneaky and keep Netflix or HBO or whatever, get rid of those too!

Why are you here now, why is the cable tv subscription gone? Answer that question to yourself.

Imagine and look back at all the time you've spent watching it. Hundreds and thousands of hours. The answer is that you don't need it, you can't afford it and most important of all, it's getting in your way of your dreams. This has been getting in the way of your dreams for as long as you've been alive.

When you go to bed, this reality will set in and as you struggle to fall asleep anxious about tomorrow's bill collectors calling, and cooking mac and cheese instead of steak or lobster. You'll wake up and remember this post and realize that time is your most precious asset.

In 16 hours, you can learn to solve the Rubik's cube in under 2 minutes. It takes 1,500 hours to become a pilot. 13 hours to learn a song in the violin. You can learn to ride a unicycle in less than 3 hours. That's not necessarily going to get you out of debt, but it should drive home the point that TV is a waste of time, which leads me to the next and final point.

And for the final point

This is why you get rid of cable TV besides the reasons I gave you earlier. Because it's a distraction, TV drowns your inner entrepreneur. TV sends your dreams to the back burner while you are bombarded with 3-minute commercials for stuff you don't need, just to show you a 6-minute segment of someone else's story.

Write your own story.

I don't care if you watch TV shows, movies, or Kim Kardashian. The people in TV are living the dream you desire. For all intents and purposes, they are getting paid to keep you away from your potential. Not to mention that from the remaining 45 hours you have left each week, you'll probably spend at least half of that watching shit that doesn't mean anything and you'll forget in 3 days.

Conclusion

We are in the situation we find ourselves in because of our choices. If we make better choices, our situations will improve. Yes, it's true you can learn those things I said earlier in those short periods of time. You will not master the violin in 13 hours, but you can learn a song. Practice and continued dedication will make you proficient and eventually you can play anything you want.

It's like that for home businesses as well, or online businesses, or whatever you want to do in life.

If you find a good guide and you put the time and effort, you will learn. But once you learn, you have to apply what you've learned, and you have to practice it. If you want it, you have to be willing to do this, you have to be willing to sacrifice the familiar, the comfort and the known. Otherwise, maybe you don't have what it takes to do this and you should stay in your comfort zone.

Do you want to learn how to start and run an online business, a profitable business you can run from anywhere? Start with a good guide, and put in the time. Here is a paid program, a 21 step and 21 day guide to running a home business that you can follow. It has the education you need, and you'll have access to support, products you can sell and most importantly high paying commissions unlike any other in the affiliate industry. But don't take my word for it, watch the video, it's short.

The 21 Steps program has helped me and many others, and it should only take you about 18-25 hours to complete! Invest in your business, invest in yourself and don't give up. If you follow this advice, history says you will succeed.

The post She Didn’t Have What It Takes. Do You? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

We tend to do this a lot. When I tell people about starting a blog or starting a business many freeze with all these issues they create in their mind. Problems, obstacles, and pitfalls.

Here's the catch though, most of those problems don't exist and never happen. But we have a tendency to try to anticipate and come up with plans and solutions and designs for all the "what ifs."

This video made me laugh and reminded me of when I started my business. Even now, sometimes I find myself creating these problems and I have to snap myself back to reality to remind myself:

that's probably never going to happen, and it's just distracting me from what I have to get done now.

For some reason, everybody does this. Some people more than others, a good healthy dose of planning is great, but don't let preparation and planning turn into paranoia and fear to a point where you get stuck or distracted from your end goal and the next steps required to accomplish the target.

Take for example the business I have told you about for a while. You can make a list of all the problems you could find when you start the business. What if people don't like my logo? What if I run out of minutes on my cell phone plan? What if my WiFi goes down? What if my computer crashes? What if my prospect or lead says no to my offer?

All of these are possible, but they don't matter now, and they shouldn't keep you from taking action. Make a short plan for what you want to do, outline goals, a strategy and the tactics needed to accomplish the goals and get started. Stop worrying about the inconsequential.

If you've been wanting to start an online business for a while, but aren't sure what to do next, then start with this video for the 21 step training and then decide if it's right for you. Remember, those pesky questions like: "what if it's not for me?" or "what if I don't like it?" or "what happens if it doesn't work?" are all backed up by a 100% money back guarantee so you'll get your $49.00 back if you change your mind.

The post Why Being Realistic is Delusional appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

The InstaWealth Growth System is part of the Wolfmillionaire offering, and as a matter of disclosure, I did not get paid or compensated to do this review in any way. As with all my reviews, these are my thoughts and opinions on this product. You can find the course at Wolfmillionaire.com

The first chapter didn't do a whole lot for me. I've been using Instagram for a while, and I know the ins and outs of the app, settings and all that stuff.

There were a few tips I picked up along the way but nothing earth-shattering yet. You may find that this is the case for you if you're also experienced with Instagram already. However, this is a comprehensive course so it makes sense that Chapter 1 would be a complete overview of all the basics of setting up your Instagram account.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS37gSSheLJ/

Based on this approach, if you're new to Instagram or are ready to dive in seriously, I highly recommend you go through this and take notes.

If you're completely new to Instagram, I would suggest you complete all 12 modules before you do anything on Instagram because some of the modules later in the chapter connect back to some of the first modules.

If you have had an account for a while and have been active, then you should go through Chapter 1 and fill in the gaps as you go to make sure your profile is all tidy and ready for the next sections.

Below are my comments from each module for Chapter 1

Chapter 1 has 12 modules.

Chapter 1 Intro video

Basics, intro, setting up the expectations for the course and quick overview. The introduction covers all the basic stuff from the get-go; this is ideal for anybody that is totally brand new to Instagram or someone that might want to give their profile a "once over" to make sure everything is tidy and ready for growth.

Chapter 1 - module 1

This section covers the differences between the two mobile operating systems: iOS and Android. Good tips that will help power users decide between the two platforms.

Chapter 1 - module 2

Suggests creating a brand new email address to prevent hacking and phishing attacks. Explains why and when you'll need it.

Chapter 1 - module 3 (iOS / Android)

This module covers creating an Instagram account using either iOS or Android. Covers name, username, password and best security practices. Expect a full walkthrough of the account setup process for each platform.

Chapter 1 - module 4

This module covers all the Instagram settings for each version of the app, iOS/Android.

Account verification and configuring all the settings. It's a complete walkthrough of all the fields and options available. It explains why you should use different things for each field. You think you should just use your real name? Think again.
Anthony covers all the icons, menus, notifications, linked accounts, and privacy settings sections.

Simple yet powerful tips for bio design, using the right email address, link and more in your bio. Overall a good chapter to help you get a good foundation for your Instagram account. A good review for existing Instagram users.

Chapter 1 - module 5

I noticed the first "mistake" with a blatant spelling error in the title of this module. Most people would criticize this as being careless or low-quality, but being a content creator myself I can overlook this. So far the content and training videos have been really good, so this doesn’t bother me.

Great chapter to help you protect your account against hackers and thieves. Best practices and tips to help Instagram recover your account for you should you ever have a problem with it. Also, covers how to get in if you lose or forget your password.

Chapter 1 - module 6

This module dives further into the configuration for bio, including picture and details for a better bio. A couple of neat little tricks to make your bio stand out and be more efficient. Some of the differences between using a photo vs. a logo.

Chapter 1 - module 7

This is an interesting module, it’s about 18 minutes of analyzing profiles of over 15 accounts. Covers the good and the bad, and how each profile might be improved upon with small tips and tweaks.

Chapter 1 - module 8

This section covers how to set your link in your bio to maximize its effectiveness. One of the things I disagree with is using a bit.ly link.

I think Bit.ly should be the last option to make a short link. Instead, I would recommend using your blog to create a redirect or use a custom URL shortener with your own short domain using something like Linktrackr.

If you want to link to a social media profile, you can use your own website to create a redirect to make the link look clean like Anthony recommends. I covered that in this blog post before.

Chapter 1 - module 9 & 10 (Android and iOS version)

A module covering some of the apps that Anthony recommends as essential helper apps. The only issue I have with this module is that some of these apps may become popular or die depending on user interaction so they can change with time. I think you can focus on the functionality and maybe find alternatives that you prefer.

The apps are meant to enhance your Instagram experience and to make you more efficient. These apps cover a few things that Instagram lacks and help you with some efficiency and productivity hacks to save you time.

Chapter 1 - module 11

Covers direct messaging, the ins and outs. - This might be the least useful module from chapter 1. At least it was for me, but if you’ve never used Instagram before, you should go through it to understand how the internal Instagram messaging system works.

Chapter 1 - module 12

An overview of the various places where you can find new content, explore, search, places and hashtags. A good overview of these Instagram features. This may be useful if you’ve been using Instagram but never actually ventured into these areas, but a must for anybody new to Instagram.

Covers how to find accounts, content, how to determine which accounts are verified and legitimate, also ties back to picking your name and understanding how your choices affect your discoverability.

Also, covers some of the ideas behind what niches work and how people are making money on Instagram; seems like a good segue to the next sections.

In conclusion to chapter 1, these are my thoughts.

This is a great introductory chapter to the Instagram world. It's good whether you're looking to extend your reach or make money from Instagram. I haven't gotten to the "make money" so when I get to it, I'll let you know what I think.  And you should go through it whether you've been on Instagram for a while or are just about to get started. It is especially important if you're going to really put effort into growing your Instagram following because if you don't have the basics right, not even

You should go through this chapter whether you've been on Instagram for a while or are just about to get started. It is especially important if you're going to really put effort into growing your Instagram following because if you don't have the basics right, not even Social Runner can help you.

For those of you that have gone through this, let me know what you thought about it in the comments, do you agree with my assessment? Chapter 2 is next and I'll probably give you the rundown of that section in a few days. Stay tuned!

The post Instagram Course Review. Wolfmillionaire’s InstaWealth Growth System Chapter 1 appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

One of the struggles I went through was thinking less of myself and forgetting that I knew more than other people about certain topics.

Maybe it's just me, but sometimes I take for granted what I know and think that everybody else must already know it so I wonder why would anybody care to hear what I have to say about it.

I take it back, I think many people struggle with this, not just me. Don't let self-doubt take over and prevent you from sharing what you know with people that want to learn more!

On a previous blog post where I explained what is a sales funnel, I suggested that a way to build part of the sales funnel is to offer exclusive information or content to your prospects or leads, if the words "prospects" or "leads" concern you, just think about your readers instead.

When you offer information on your blog, this information will attract new prospects, and help you develop your leads. This information will attract more readers and make casual readers into loyal fans.

If you're looking to get started with your blog, or you're looking for a way to start a home business, you may be wondering how you can offer anything valuable to your readers on your blog. Especially when you are just getting started and when it seems like everything is already in Google.

Why wouldn't they just search for it on Google? I answer that question with a question... Who is going to provide that information for Google to

I have two examples you can use to offer insightful valuable information that your audience will be happy to receive from you.

Curate information from your sources

As you become proficient in online marketing, and running your own business, you will certainly be learning from various sources. These sources will be books, blogs, videos and people.

Share the things you've learned with your audience and practice teaching them. Give credit to the source and feel free to quote an idea, or a passage, then explain it in your own words.

I did this exact thing in a recent post that was really popular where I shared a technique to sell more girl scout cookies, check it out to see a practical example.

Translate how the lesson applies to your own entrepreneurial journey and how it may help others achieve their goals.

As a bonus to get even more readers, share tidbits from the articles in social media and invite them back to your website to read the rest.

Share your process, failures, and progress

One of the most popular ways that big bloggers and online marketers become successful is by sharing what they did, how they did it and the lessons they picked up from trying things out.

Harsh Agrawal from Shoutmeloud considers himself a "blog scientist" and when he was just learning and getting started, he would blog about the different things that worked and the things that didn't work. He still shares the stuff he learns as he continues to improve.

Matthew Woodward is known for sharing intricate details about his experiments and tests, and he shares how he worked in a campaign, why he picked that campaign, what the results were and ultimately how much money he earned or invested into that.

Don't be afraid!

Don't be afraid of sharing what you have learned and sharing your success as well as your failures. Even if you are sharing information you feel is available elsewhere, you can explain it in your own words and perspective to provide unique value.

Not only will you attract new readers, but you will build trust and authority by sharing your experiences with your readers.

Over time, you can turn a series of these blog posts into a lead magnet or even a paid product to help you build a stronger sales funnel. But we'll leave the details of that for another blog post in the future.

Thank you so much for reading this! I hope it was valuable to you and if you think it would be useful to your friends, family or colleagues please share it with one of the social media buttons available below.

The post How Can I Offer Exclusive Information to my Readers appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

A sales funnel is in fact, a key element to making money on any business, not just online businesses. Marketing funnels have been around for centuries but they were very difficult to analyze before the Internet and all the access we have to analytics and statistics.

In online marketing, you can track all the steps of the funnel and really get detailed statistics on how the funnel is performing, allowing you to make adjustments quickly. I'll cover that in the future, but for now, I want to just explain what is a sales funnel.

I've noticed that many of my readers are totally new to online marketing so we're going to explain some basics now, today let's talk about sales funnel and answer the question:

What is a Sales Funnel?

The definition of a sales funnel, which can also be referred to as a revenue funnel or sales process, refers to the buying and selling process that companies and customers go through when a customer buys a product from a company.

Sales funnel have at least a few steps, sometimes a sales funnel can have half a dozen or more steps. Generally, in my experience, the most concise sales funnels perform better. I'm going to show you how it works with a four step sales funnel.

Sales funnels in theoretical terms

Following, I explain how a 4-step sales funnel might work step by step, and after it, I give you a practical example of each step.

Step 1 - Contains the most people. At this point, the buyer is just a prospect, and this step is relatively inexpensive for both, the company and the prospect. During this phase, the prospect doesn't know much about the product or the company or both. The company is defining what the profile of a customer could look like.

Step 2 - This shows a small but measurable commitment in part of the prospect and usually converts the prospect into a lead. The cost of setting this step up may be significant for the company, but it's negligible for the prospect. During this phase, the company is trying to establish trust and begin a relationship with the lead in order to educate them.

Step 3 - Educate the interested parties and request a bigger commitment. At this point in the funnel, the company knows more about the lead and will generally request a financial or emotional commitment. Sometimes a trip wire offer is used in this step.

Step 4 - This is the most narrow part of the funnel. In this phase, the company will ask the lead to purchase the product or service. The lead should now be familiar with the offering, and the customer is likely expecting the offer to be made.

If at step number 4, the lead became a customer and purchased a product, then they should be moved to another funnel. This new funnel is geared specifically towards existing customers and known buyers. During this sales process, the company will attempt to offer more value to the customer and ideally develop a lifetime buying relationship.

If the lead did not purchase at step number 4, then they should be moved to another funnel that continues building the relationship (step 2), and offers different levels of commitment to the lead (step 3), and eventually, makes a new offer or positions the same offer under a different value proposition.

From all people to a prospect, to a lead, to a buyer.

Before I give you a concrete example of what an online sales funnel might present at each step, I think I need to clarify a few terms. The company or seller will deal with individuals. Depending on their buy-readiness, they can be classified as follows:

All people. This is basically everyone and anyone. You don't sell to all people because that means that your product would be good for every single person on the planet and every single person in the world would want to buy from you. That will never be the case.

Prospect. This is an individual that belongs to a more defined group of people which you have identified as someone that needs your product or service. When someone is a prospect, it means they're a person that would be qualified to buy your product if they have the money and are ready to buy.

Lead. A lead is someone that has confirmed undoubtedly that they need and want your product. They might even be ready to buy, they know you and also have at least a basic relationship with you. But a lead can be lost to the competition, so this is the most vulnerable step of the sales funnel.

Buyer. Once an individual pays for a product or service they become a buyer. This is the ultimate goal in the sales funnel and establishes trust and commitment to between the seller and buyer. As long as the seller continues to provide value, the buyer is likely to remain a buyer and spend more money in the future.

What should go into each of the steps?

We're talking about online marketing so my example will be specific to selling a product online, and these contain practical examples.

Step 1. This is basic and it will be something like a web page. A landing page of some sort, it could be the product page on an e-commerce site, a blog post or even an ad on Craigslist. Based on the classification I mentioned earlier, this should be shown to prospects and must contain a call to action to invite the prospect to learn more or to make a small commitment moving them along towards the status of a lead.

Step 2. Lead magnet, in this step I would offer a lead magnet. One that would be designed to fit the needs of the profile of my prospect. For example, an ebook, a free download, a training series, access to additional exclusive information or something that helps establish authority, trust and moves the prospect towards becoming a lead. Generally, this is a free offer. Sometimes it can be a very low priced item called a tripwire, like asking the lead about paying for shipping on a free product or buying a digital product for a few dollars.

What is a lead magnet? In short, a lead magnet is a free or very low-cost item that you can use to exchange for the prospect's information, like a PDF, a report, a video or a free gift. I'll cover this in more detail in the future.

Step 3. This is about educating the lead, so the best thing to use during this step would be a series of emails, videos, or the ebook (step 2) itself and use it to educate the lead about the different ways that the product or service can help them solve a pain point or enhance their lives. The easiest and most used method of delivering this is with an email autoresponder, like Aweber.

Step 4. The method of delivering this step is up to the seller, but it must clearly contain a call to action to buy or order the product or service. The previous steps should have developed authority, trust, and education with enough substance to make the request for a buy be a natural step.

A few other things to consider

A sales funnel can be made to fit the sellers needs easily and can be completely different from what I have described here but this is a basic overview of how you may start developing your own sales funnel.

To build a sales funnel, you need a plan, a notebook or a way to write down your steps and a few tools. I would recommend the following tools: WordPress, LeadPages, Optinmonster and Aweber in addition to either the lead magnet or a shopping cart to deliver the goods. But I'll cover that in another blog post soon.

The post What is a Sales Funnel? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

This is part of my do once use many philosophy. But let's just focus on the part where you don't want to actually write your post. Because... you can't type fast enough, you don't know how to write, or just don't feel like sitting for hours on end typing away.

Maybe your ideas come when you're not able to type. You still have a few options.

Here they are:

Use a dictation system

You can use Dragon Naturally Speaking. It works great.

If you have a Mac, you can activate the native dictation (voice to text) system. Just press your Fn key twice rapidly and it will activate itself. If this is the first time you use it, you may have to setup a few options first.

You can use most new Android phones and iPhones as well. Simply open your favorite note taking app, or the blogging app and dictate your blogpost into it. With most dictation systems,  you'll have to say things like "comma","period","question mark", and other punctuation.

Or you could leave that for later and edit it by hand.

If you don't have a note taking app, or your blogging app on your mobile device, then just email it to yourself.

You can then finish it from your mobile device if that suits you.

Dictate and ask for transcription services.

If you aren't comfortable using any of the dictation systems because they doesn't recognize what you want to say, then maybe try this instead.

Use your voice recorder app on your mobile device. And record your blogpost, then find somebody that will transcribe it for you.

You'll find such services on Fiverr or Craigslist, or maybe if you have a company already, this is something you can ask an admin assistant or secretary to complete.

I have not found anybody personally on craigslist that would be worth referring you to.

But I have found a few on Fiverr. I usually pay about $5.00 for 20 to 30 minutes worth of it when I need it. The way to find good gigs is to look for rating, number of jobs and reviews.

The post How to Blog if You Don’t Want to Write or Type? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Thomas the Apostle is a person in the Bible who does not believe the claims of Jesus (who can blame him?). He doubts the claims that Jesus died and rose three days later. He wanted to see proof.

He was one of the 12 apostles and sometimes people call him doubting Thomas. The story says that eventually Jesus showed up to Thomas and showed him proof.

So maybe you're a little bit like Thomas and want to see proof that affiliate marketing works.

I want to show you a screenshot of one of the products I am promoting right now. By promoting I mean I wrote about it a couple times and I posted it in a few of my blogpost. It maybe took me 20 minutes total to promote this product.

Here's the screenshot of the results so far:

This has been going on since early August and I've generated a total of $269.81 in commissions. When you consider that this is one of dozens of products that I promote, then you realize it's not such a bad deal to do affiliate marketing.

Here's the overview for this account. Not to bad for about 20 or 30 minutes of work. What's even cooler about this is that it will (should) continue making money for some time to come.

The post Are You Like Thomas? Here’s Your Proof! appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

You know, I've helped quite a few people get their stuff together and start a business online. I've done it for people starting out and I also have helped people with existing businesses. The ultimate goal is to increase revenue.

They say that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I take care of bringing opportunities together and teach you how to capitalize on them. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of support and encouragement, and you'll make a breakthrough. Sometimes you need to be humbled by an experience that you didn't expect.

And no matter what I always believe that you have to persevere through the toughest parts to get to the best. I have a story about that in my ebook. And I also teach a few things.

The book (free to download) is called: Work Anywhere, Profit Online. An Unusual Guide to Making Your First $100,000 Online. And it reveals secrets about Internet Marketing like nobody does.

This is how we do internet marketing. And this leads me to the next part of this post. Why I wrote the book. -- There are many reasons why I released the book so suddenly and just recently.

If you notice, my blogging here at Notagrouch and at Papidaddy pretty much ceased for the past couple of weeks. That's a huge no-no in my world.

But I have a good reason for it and that is the book. For years I've been helping people get their businesses online. I've helped them optimize their business and get more out of it.

I helped many people and realized that everything I was doing to help one person could apply to many. It's taken a while but I finally had something to show you. The book explains the differences between businesses and some of your options.

I really finished it because I had a little bit of time and some things cleared up for me while I was at Affiliate Summit West. I have more to tell you about that too!

When I came back from Affiliate Summit West 2015, ASW15 I caught a cold. Turned out to be a sinus infection and took a big toll on me. But it gave me time to write and wrap up the book.

By the time I finished it, I had written over 120 pages I think. But it was finished.

Then I asked in Facebook if some of my friends would be willing to help me review it. Five awesome friends jumped on the post and asked to see a review copy.

I just gave them access to the Google working copy and then they started working on it. Google lets you have many authors work on one document simultaneously.

It was pretty amazing so in just a few days the five of them gave it a complete overhaul. They corrected grammar, typos and helped me clarify ideas.

Four days after my friends started editing, we had a final copy. Version one. It went out to the public and I announced it. My friends turned editors freaked out a little. They had a few more pages to edit. I told them we could do it later.

I felt like O'Reilly in his infamous video gone viral. We'll do it live!

And I ran with it, while they made the final edits. The book was well received immediately. Or more than I expected. I have a decent amount of followers but even then I was very surprised.

As of the time of this writing, in just about a week, the book has been requested over 1000 times and it has been downloaded over 4000 times give or take a couple hundred. You have to account for people downloading it twice, or at work then at home.

And even as a free book I'm happy with the results. This is what I've been teaching all along and I help customers do. Create a compelling piece of content and offer it in exchange for a little bit of mindshare.

Mindshare is what I think is the key factor that most marketers miss. Mindshare is the cornerstone of branding. Mindshare is your key to their living room. Mindshare is everything.

For everyone that has downloaded the book. Even you reading this. I hope I've made at least a tiny impression in your head. I hope I taught you something or opened your eyes to something.

If you haven't read the book, that's what I hope to do. Learn a little bit. Discover how things are done and find out how you too can have a business online. It is not rocket science.

It also explains how I see the world of business and what type of business is my preferred option. People are liking it. Here are a few quotes from comments:

Carmen C. From Italy said:

The post Work Anywhere, Profit Online — My First eBook appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

Take a look at the chart below, and I'll explain it after (click to enlarge).

First things first

In the diagram, each of the purple boxes represents a landing page. Each one is titled differently, but they're all technically landing pages. Some may be sales letters, thank you letters, long-form sales letters, or squeeze pages.

Creating these pages is fairly simple if you use a service or outsource them. I would recommend you take a look at Leadpages as the best service to create these pages for you. They create mobile-friendly, responsive, Facebook-friendly, WordPress compatible, easy, painless, and compatible with Aweber.

First, we will start with the landing page. We are assuming you have traffic going to the landing page. The traffic could be sourced from any type of advertising campaign, social media campaign, word of mouth, or any other method you can muster. We'll cover traffic in another blog post.

Once the visitor gets to a landing page, and the visitor enters the required information, a confirmation page is presented. This page will explain to the visitor to check their email address and click on the confirmation link. This is pretty standard stuff and it relates to that double opt-in process I talked about on my previous post about the email system.

First major step

The visitor now has two options, to confirm the link or to ignore it. For now, let's assume that yes, they click on the confirmation link. This will take the visitor to the Thank you page. The thank-you page may contain the sales letter and offer and most marketers I think would suggest this option.

In the flowchart, I chose to put the sales page as an additional step to illustrate it clearly. Both options are valid, but keep in mind that every time you present an option to click or not to click to continue you risk a percentage of the visitors to not continue. Also note that the Thank you page is presented from the previous email. At this time, another email is also sent. This email tends to mirror the thank you page and sales offer. We'll come back to the email part in a couple of paragraphs.

The sales page needs to present the offer. The offer must be clear and simple to complete; don't overcomplicate the options the visitor has. Present the offer, make it irresistible and make the next step loud and clear. That step is to buy.

To buy or not to buy

We are now at another decision, the customer will decide if they buy or if they save their hard-earned dollars for another day. Let's assume and continue with the positive response flow and assume they purchased your product. Success! this is awesome and you're on your way to earning a living online. At this point, you use another landing page to present them with another offer, another product, perhaps an upgrade to what they purchased. The cycle starts over at that time.

Now let's go back to the thank you email/sales link. At this point, you present the sales offer via email as well as on a website. The email, like the website, provides information about the product. The email serves as a reminder about why they need to buy your product now. They can save the message, reply to you and ask questions, re-read it, forward it, this is why you do both a webpage and an email.

After the first email, you present the follow-up sequence. Opinions differ on what is the right amount of emails in a follow-up sequence, but facts show that constant reminders and relationship-building emails work best as opposed to infrequent ones. Most successful internet marketers will advise you to email your customer every day they haven't purchased your product.

Tie in the email messages to the sales pages

Each email you send gives you an opportunity to expand on the benefits of the product. You can showcase success stories or testimonials. You can present new offers, OTOs (one-time offers), or LTOs (Limited time offers) to encourage them to buy. Then the cycle continues. If you want to be more sophisticated, each email message in your follow-up sequence can send the customer to a customized landing page specific to that offer instead of the same sales page you've used in previous instances.

Now, let's go back to the first choice where the customer didn't confirm the link. For most internet marketers, this step is unorthodox. I add it to my own sales process because I think it is important and we need to account for a few possible scenarios.

The follow up is key

It is important to follow up manually because it gives you a chance to connect with your potential customer. There is also the chance that maybe something went wrong with the email subscription, maybe they didn't get the email, maybe it went to spam. The way to follow up, if you are using aweber, it is easy. Go to your list and look for the unconfirmed email message and manually send the person an email from your email. Introduce yourself, tell them why you're emailing them and help them get through whatever obstacle may be in the way of confirming their request for information via email.

So that's it

There are many ways to follow this model and variations can be endless. The only real way to find out what is the best way is to test each step yourself and see how your product or service performs. You can use a link shortener to easily do A/B testing for example. You can also create several landing pages in just a few minutes in order to test a short sales page vs. a long sales page. It's also easy to move a subscriber or potential customer from one list to another when you're using Leadpages and Aweber; they work together flawlessly.

This process can be applied to almost any type of promotion online. Doesn't matter if you're trying to sell a product, service or just increase the readership of your blog. It even works for a church if you want to increase your congregation. You just have to think out of the box and understand that a product is anything you want someone else to use, and a sale is made anytime you persuade your target customer to buy. Get it?

The post The internet marketing basic sales flowchart appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.

• What will I learn?
• I already have a home based business, why would I need to attend?
• What else is going on?

So here are the answers:

By attending the Home Business Summit in Long Beach, you'll learn about traffic generation, email marketing, online advertising and traffic conversion. In other words, you'll learn all the stuff you need to make your business grow online. These are the ingredients that most homem based entrepreneurs miss. Many of them will never find out how this works and will eventually close their business, it's a sad thing really because the techniques aren't rocket science. So you'll learn a lot about generating quality traffic for your site.

John is specifically going to cover how to brand yourself, brand growth and how to be an expert in your field.

Friday night, we'll have a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres mixer and networking. Then the next day is a full day of intense learning. Lunch of course, then at night we have the VIP party.

Sunday will have a half day session and will cover more learning.

I'm not as eloquent as I'd like to be and I'm also a newbie at this (even though I've been doing it for a long time). I'm one of those people I mentioned earlier. I have been doing so much stuff that should generate money but for the longest time, it didn't make any money. I didn't start making money with my online ventures until I learned several techniques and methods from John himself. These techniques were so "obvious" after looking back at them, but they weren't obvious when I was looking for them.

But I'll let John give you the answers to these questions. I asked him on video during our Saturday lunch in Irvine. Watch the video, it's only 2 min long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dB2sW1OkTI

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The post What will you learn at the Home Business Summit? appeared first on Digital Marketing Through Content & Influence.