The Silent Avatar Speaks

Just like most people these days we all have an opinion. Opinions are are agreed on, and at other times they are de-bunked as a load of hogwash. Irrespective of whether you agree or don't it's irrelevant, because opinions are based on knowledge (or lack thereof). I've been watching the Internet marketing circles for some time now. Watching people like: Mike Filsaime Rich Schefren Eric Houmlund Derek Gehl Keith Wellman Michael Rassmussen Dave Guindon Tim Brocklehurt Craig Haywood Joe Vitale Tim Brocklehurst Jeremy Gislason Jim Cockrum and a plethora of other marketers sending email after email touting their latest launch of products, systems, software, e-books (you name it). Just yesterday I received 15 emails from various marketers. Some advising their newsletters are ready to read. Some talking about "old pizzas"(?), updating their affiliates, and others launching new products. The truth is internet marketing relies on people like you and me to BUY. After all that's what internet marketing is all about. Using strategies like good sales copy, good products that solve problems, video "how to's", revealing "secrets", and all the while shelling out our money to support the "gurus" raking in the money. What few tell you is it has taken years of increasing their knowledge, getting the right people to mentor them and researching their respective niche to get where they are. I watched a video today from a guy called Joshua Shafran telling me how he will spend around $100K this year on his education alone (just to keep an edge on the market). Sheesh! I don't know about you, but spending $100K when you are paying the mortgage and feeding yourself or your kids just isn't in the same ball park as what most of us have to spend. I would be more inclined to BUY a successful website with that sort of money! The success of Internet marketing relies squarely on the shoulders of other internet marketers feeding the cash cow (aka you and me). No doubt all of us are guilty of buying ebooks, software, systems, and signing up as affiliates to earn some extra cash, but.. have you noticed how you ended up with LESS money than you started with? (just look at your credit card statement if you think not). And no doubt there ARE Internet marketers who have made their fortunes. People like Mike Filsaime who came out with Butterfly Marketing (yep I brought that one). Stompernet SMARTS (Dan Crowther), Affiliate Project X by Chris X (Yep brought that one too). I could go on and on about how many product launches there has been, and how many gazillions each of these marketers has made. But I won't. You already know they are successful. You helped them. But who's helping you? If you have lots of money to splash around, sure you can buy the latest, greatest product to hit your inbox. Problem is there are new products coming out every other day, and they all scream "my product's the best.. forget the rest". Their sales copy will be so convincing, you start to get agitated thinking about the potential of the offer, and the difference the extra money will make. So what do you do? Well.. here's my opinion from having been knee deep in internet marketing long enough to know what works and what doesn't. Read on and I'll tell you my humble opinion...

1. Don't keep buying e-books, software, joining membership sites (ad nauseum).
2. Pick ONE subject you want to explore and become an authority on.
3. Make sure your subject is in a niche.
4. Look for a problem which needs solving within the niche and brainstorm a way to fix the it. It might be an e-book with info, software, a series of videos (though some of the videos I have seen are like MGM productions and must have cost a bomb to put together).
5. Find mentors (people you can bounce ideas off, play devil's advocate, encourage you.
6. Write out what your plan is for your niche and stick it on your monitor where you can be reminded of it every day.
7. Don't so much as look at anything which is not related to your niche (trust me.. you wil be tempted to click a link, be taken off track and curse yourself when hours have passed and you haven't done a thing that day to move you towards your goals).
8. Keep focused on your niche.. keep looking for a problem to solve.
9. Rinse and repeat with a different niche (but only if you can be as enthusiastic about the niche as you were the first time around).

Along the way you are going to have to learn a lot. A hell of a lot. It's not a simple as executing the the steps above and money will roll on in. They are just guidelines to success. You will need to learn how to put up a mini site. You will need to learn how to write good sales copy. You will need to know about social bookmarking, web 2, SEO, Keywords... the list just goes on and on. What's wrong withInternet marketing? Well nothing really. It's working very well (testimony to the millions that exchange hands each year). The problem is the with the people feeding the cash cow. They are the ones who need to change their focus from "I'll try anything", to "I am going to focus all of my energies on XYZ and become an authority (aka Maven). I'm going to stick with it, forsake all the other tempting offers which come my way and remain focused". Making a success of your online business is about doing something better than anyone else. You cannot be all things to all people. Find your niche. Let it consume you until you are such an authority that you become known for your expertise. Then you will have a real business. Not just a mini site flogging an e-book. The choice is yours.

Tags: Business Tips, Internet Marketing by the silent avatar
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No two ways about it... An eye catching headline is a MUST is you want your site visitors to read further, after all if the headline "speaks" to your visitor they are more inclined to dig deeper into what your site has to offer. The battle for getting visitor's to your site is won or lost with the headline. Sadly statistics show on average 8 out of 10 will read a headline, but only 2 out of 10 will read further. Pretty sobering stats, so it makes sense to give your headline the attention it deserves in order to get your visitor reading further. Your headline is your first opportunity (and maybe your only opportunity) to turn a browser to a reader. Am I offering a foolproof way to rake in the big dollars? Well.. no, but what I am have shown you is how a good headline catches attention. Great Headline Formula 101 So is there a formula I am using to "bait" you that you can use to effectively capture your site visitor? Read on... There's a saying.. "if it ain't broke don't try to fix it", and this saying rings true for creating a great headline. You only have to surf Internet marketing sites to see great examples of good headlines which capture attention, and the truth is a lot of copywriters "steal" great headlines, change a few words here and there and Viola! Great headline to go! However writing great headline is not difficult if you start utilizing known tips and tricks for creating a great eye catching headline. Use "you" in your headline. Using "you' personalises the headline and increases the level of your reader's interest since yu are aiming the headline to them personally. Use powerful and engaging words Your title should be able to tell people that they “need to do something” or they “need to act immediately”. Prompt your readers to do so will cause them to read the content of your post or site. Write "How To" headlines "How To" headlines are particularly useful when you want to target readers who are looking for instruction or guidelines for a specific subject or topic. Write "Reason's Why" headlines Use "Reasons Why" when you want to address specific questions or topics. 10 Reasons Why You Need to Drink More Water 5 Reasons Why Use numbers. People identify with numbers, percentages and statistics. Using numbers like... 10 Ways to... 101 Ways to... $30K in 60 Days! Write “Question” titles. Think like a reader who wants to find out about something interesting on the internet.

• “What Are the Simplest and Most Effective Exercises That Can Help You Lose Weight Fast?”

• “How Can You Save More Money Without Taking The Scissors To Your Credit Card?"

Write headlines that address your readers problem/s. Your headline should address your readers specific problem and offer a quick, easy solution.

• "Finally! The Quick, Easy Solution To Nail Biting"
• "5 Surefire Exercises to Alleviate Your BackPain"

Use "How I Did It"Headlines Readers respond to titles that have a personal appeal to it. A title that says “how the writer did or found something” by himself is a unique way of delivering the information to your readers.

• “How I Lost 20 Pounds in 5 Weeks”
• “How I Made $3000 Per Week Using XYZ Software”
• “How I Got Promoted in Less than 10 Months"

Write about “Myths”. Readers love demystifying conventional ideas. Your content should clear the myths that surround your topic.

• “10 Marketing Myths that Marketers Will Not Tell You”
• “5 Myths about Opt In Pages"

More headline head-starts

• Who Else Wants...
• The Secret of...
• Little Known Ways To...
• Get Rid Of [Problem] Once And For All
• Here's A Quick Way To [solve a problem]
• Do [something] Like [world class example]
• What Everybody Ought To Know About [Blank]
• Learn [something] and increase your [blank]
• Discover The Truth of [blank]

Tags: Copywriting by the silent avatar
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