The Silent Avatar Speaks

Easy Online Marketing Methods

There are many onilne marketing methods anyone can implement once they have the initial business set up. “Bum Marketing” is just the basic technique for newbies, you will find many advanced methods.  Instead, as you become an “intermediate marketer” you need to expand your repertoire of internet marketing techniques.

First things first, as you are aware, “money is in the email list”.  If you haven t started email lists in all of your niches, you are really leaving money on the table. There are internet marketing techniques that you can’ t implement until you have your own lists. The Reality PPC Review, can help you in knowing about pay per click.

When you have your own lists, you can do many things. For instance, if you have a dog training list and a credit card list,you can cross promote. Perhaps you can offer dog branded credit cards to the dog list.

When you have a list you can not just promote your products but many other products as well.  When your list grows to 500 people, creating JV with other top marketers becomes easy. Maybe its a good idea to send out an email to other marketers list. That way, you can not only promote products but build your own lists.

I will talk about many other techniques today, list building is one of them. Other easy technique is to build our your existing websites. Most new marketers will start websites in a variety of niches. New internet marketers do this because they are not sure what they are doing. Once you know what is making you money, you could easily improve that skill to make more money.

For example you built a adsense site which is making you $1 per day,the next thing you could do is stick to the plan and find out how to reach $8 from that website. Probably you want to display ads above the fold to get more clicks. Maybe it means adding more pages to the site so there are more opportunities to click. Or possibly,you can drive little more traffic. So remember once you have something making you $1, improve upon it. In case you are still not aware about pay per click marketing you can learn about it with Reality PPC Chris Carpenter.

Another of my intermediate internet marketing techniques is offering your system to newbie marketers. Now, starters ar educated to stay out of the internet selling market because the gurus have got a good chunk of the market. However you are a new internet marketer. In fact, having recently grown your business from the newbie stage, you have much more in common with this target market than the “gurus” do.

You can offer a report that details your system for making money. Another way is to give them a step by step system to make money. If you are willing to put the time into it, offer them a step by step coaching program. Not only is this a way of making some additional money, it is a way of giving back.

Once you have advanced beyond the “newbie” stage, there are a whole host of intermediate internet marketing techniques to master.

To get more details visit: ppc affiliate marketing.

I’m the silent avatar, and I have spoken

Tags: list building, Online Business, Promotion and Marketing by the silent avatar
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I’ve been a bit neglectful of my readers of late… and I really do apologise.  You see I’ve been busy moving and planning a trip to South East Asia (for 6 months) in between finalising a website I have just done and mentoring a friend who has dived head first in a MLM company (but more of than in another post). So this has left me with scant time to blog. (“Yes… I know what you mean I can hear you say”)

Now before you all start groaning and mumbling  ”lucky bugger” under your breath let me say this…

There is no such thing as luck.  Just desire, a clear goal, and then doing what needs to be done until you get your goal, mixed in with a big dollop of self motivation.

Of course we all have tasks we dislike, and this brings me to an revelation which prohibits us from getting where we want to go – self motivation. Some revelation eh? Doh.

Sure.. we have all had grand ideas, and quite frankly most times we even know how to execute them. The problem is we loose self motivation, and this ingredient has a habit of completely ruining our recipe for success.

I’ve come to know this about self motivation (usually through having experienced a lack of it), and it has been the reason why so many times I have had great ideas which have never seen the light of day, and the reason I have tried a gazillion diets and never loose the weight I want to.

If you’re like me and there is any element of the goal which involves either a task you dislike, a struggle with “how”, or if physical pain is caused along the way (and let me include hip pocket pain as well), then we are very likely NOT to be self motivated. Right?

What you started out being really excited about soon becomes something you would rather not even think about because:

1. You have spent a truck load of money you really didn’t have in the first place to spend on our idea (usually at the detriment of others around us like the wife, the husband or the kids)
2. In the beginning you have told so many friends and family how fabulous your idea is and how you are going to set the world on fire, you don’t want to remind them what you said so you keep it all “hush hush” and don’t mention it, in the hope it will go away, or 
3. You create another “focus”, another idea which inspires you again.

And so goes the pattern for a lot of us.
Great Ideas. Full of inspiration. Task becomes “painful”. Lack of motivation. Failure.

It’s a bloody merry-go-round which keeps us failing.

However… when there is what I call “feel goods” along the way, self motivation comes naturally.

In the context of an online business “feel goods” are things like increased purchases, new blog readers, better rankings, more subscribers, etc, a new lead…

When you are starting out “feel goods” are few and far between, and very quickly (unless you can bring out your own self motivation) you will become despondent, and then it’s only a matter of time before your goals are just a distant memory which you would rather forget because to remember them evokes your own sense of being a failure.

Failure. I’ve failed.

Nothing evokes dread more than these words (well maybe “Do you feel lucky punk” is in there too .

We all like to win.. be The Best, Number One, Top of the Class. Numero Uno.

In essence SUCCESSFUL.

Keep reading because I’m going to give you some ideas on how to keep yourself self motivated and keep you on track and moving forward.

1. First get this… if you ain’t moving forward you are either going backwards, or standing still.


Read it again. And again. If necessary write it down and put it where you do your most work.

But whatever you do get it!  If you aren’t moving forward you are either moving backwards or standing still.

2. Affirm this “I choose to move forward and be a successfull”

3. Get a white board and use it! If you don’t have one get one.

Have your white board in a place where you can always refer to it (this really is your “silent motivator”).

4. Brainstorm with yourself ideas about how to move forward and write them up. Then prioritise the action steps to get to where you need to go.

5. When you have brainstormed, write down (again on your whiteboard) one thing which will stop you if you were to actually do what you brainstormed about.


(Lets just stop here for a second so I can give you the picture).

Ok.. Let’s use this as an example…

List building (everyone wants more TARGETED people on their list).

So there you are in front of your whiteboard and you are brainstorming how to build your list of TARGETED prospects.  You write up on the board start a blog, post in forums, write articles with linkbacks to your site, advertise in print media, find a JV, plan a product launch…

Then you look over your list and find the one that appeals to you most (the one you are MOST LIKELY to do).

Next, think about what thing would stop you continuing to do it? Money? Time? Pain?

Whetever it is identify the one thing that will bring you undone if you were to go ahead and do what you plan.


So you got it? Identify your weakness before you start and plan to NOT fail.

6. Now you have identified what will bring you unstuck, plan to overcome it. Hate writing? Find a freelancer. No time to blog? Find a freelancer. Don’t know how to do something? Decide if you really NEED to know and learn it or, find a freelancer who can do it for you.

“But..” I hear you say!  “It takes money to hire a freelancer!”

Yes.. and I’ll say this.. If you already know that there is a task that you hate to do, (or can’t do, wont do, no time to do) and this task is integral to getting to where you need to go, then you absolutely WILL FAIL if you do not address this BEFORE you start.

So now that you know what will bring you unstuck you need to be prepared to open the wallet, barter your services with someone else who CAN do what you can’t (aka freelancer), or forget your idea because you will fail. No question. 

What motivates me to be up at 6.30am and write this blog?

Because I want to and I can, and it is a step in getting to where I need to go, and doing it teaches me so much about my own shortcomings.

Why didn’t I just get a freelancer to write my blog posts while I was busy? Next time I will.

Why? Because during the time I was busy doing other things I neglected my readers and I lost half of my readers. HALF!

IDENTIFY YOUR WEAKNESS and address it before it wins and stamps you a failure.

Time was my weakness. And time CAN be brought.

I’m going to continue this post in the next post because I have a few more ideas up my sleeve to help which will keep you on track.

Not the least is posting a comment and including a question in a blog post.

So .. got a question? Just post it here and I can motivate you with a dialogue between us.

I’m the silent avatar… and I have spoken.

Tags: Business Tips, General, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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If there is one thing that has been rammed home to me since I became involved in Internet Marketing is this catch cry “The money is in the list!”

What list? Your email list.

For anyone starting out in business this should become a personal mantra. As you go about your daily business keep your mantra uppermost in your mind and work towards building your list.

Your email list is your opportunity to communicate with your potential prospects and your customers and build your business.

So just how do you build a list?

Email addresses change at a rate of around 30 percent or more on most lists, and this means marketers (anyone in an online business) must adopt an aggressive approach to expand their list and yield a significant return on investment.

Email is a personal medium , just like the telephone, and like the telephone (where we have been bombarded with tele-marketers), unsolicted email (spam) has become the scourge of our inbox.

The Australian Spam Act 2003 and the Spam (Consequential Amendments) Act 2003 became operative on 11 April 2004. (click here for more info)

What constitutes spam. CAUBE-AU (the Coalition Against Unsolicited Bulk Email, Australia) defines spam very broadly as any electronic mail message that is:

1. transmitted to a large number of recipients; and
2. not explicitly and knowingly requested by some or all of those recipients.

Other common definitions of spam also require that the messages be commercial in nature.

To ensure you are not spamming, you need to work with permission based emails.
By marketing to people who have told you expressly that they want to hear from you, expect to see these results:

1. Better response rates
2. Increased trust and brand affinity
3. Better deliverability

It’s going to take time and money to build a permission-based house list and create targeted, relevant offers and messages, however your list will be a smaller but more responsive list than if it was an unsolicited email list.

But email marketing isn’t about how big your list is or sending your list email after email.

It’s all about getting results and building relationships with your list. Put simply, getting permission gets better results and is the only way to build email relationships with customers and subscribers.
Consider these helpful tips to build your list:

• Consider All Touch Points: Use every point of contact with customers and prospects.
• Obtain Permission: Always obtain permission with the confirmed (double) opt-in method for online contacts. For offline contacts, update your database with when, where and how the contact was initiated. Confirm their permission in the first email.
• Required Information: Obtain email address, name, format preference and logical interests/preferences.
• Focus Equal Attention on Existing Lists: Implement strategies and incentives to transform inactive subscribers into active ones.
• Provide Valuable Benefits: Convince potential subscribers of the valuable benefits they’ll receive.
• Convey Trust: Clearly state your privacy/email policies.

Best practices for building your opt-in list. 

1. Feature a Sign-Up Form on Each Page of Your Site – It should be obvious. All sites need to include a sign up form. Sign-up opportunities should be throughout your site.

2. Promote Benefits on the Sign-Up Page – Enhance subscription value with sample emails, testimonials and strong call to action copy.

3. Offer An Incentive to Opt-In – Incentives like reports, discounts and e-books significantly increase your sign up rate.

4. Optimize Your Site for Search Engine Placement – Optimize current and archived newsletters for search engines to increase traffic and subscriptions.

5. Pay for Search Engine Services and Promote Your Email on the Landing Page – If you pay for search services like Google AdWords be sure to include email subscription information on the landing page.

6. Add Opt-in Check Boxes on Demo Requests, Reports and Registration Forms – Well-executed forms and pages may improve conversion rates by 50 percent or more.

7. Include “Send to a Friend” Options – Generate new subscribers with minimal effort if bundled with promotional campaigns.

8. Use Direct Mail and Catalogs – Encourage email subscriptions on all print ads.

9. Direct Employees to Include Messages and Links in Email Signature Lines – Add “Subscribe to the Company X Email Newsletter” to employee email signatures.

10. Direct Call Center and Sales Employees to Obtain Permission and Capture Email Addresses Over the Phone – Instruct call center and sales staff to ask customers and prospects if they’d like to receive newsletters or promotional email.

11. Send Post Cards to Customers Encouraging Them to Subscribe to Email – If you have postal contact information for customers but not email addresses, send a post card with opt-in sign-up offer and URL.

12. Hand Out Sign-Up Forms at Public Speaking Engagements and Seminars – Promote your newsletter in presentations and handouts.

13. Implement Rented List Campaigns and Subscriptions – Promote your company in email campaigns and landing pages when you rent email lists.

14. Promote Sign-Ups in Confirmation/Transaction Emails – Add messages and links to opt-in pages of all confirmation and transaction emails.

15. Include An Opt-in Line on Credit Card Receipts – Not an obvious method, but may be quite effective.

16. Add Opt-in Message to Warranty and Product Registration Cards.

17. Add Sign-Up Message to Invoices.

18. Display Opt-in Forms at the Cash Register – An approach used by restaurants and retailers to advertise weekday discounts, catering services etc.

19. Promote Your Email/Newsletter in Articles and Article Attribution – Include a reference and link to your newsletter after the byline on articles in trade and consumer publications.

20. Include Opt-in Message and Check Boxes on Shopping Cart Pages – Remember to ask for email format and product/information preferences.

21. Promote Your Email/Newsletter in Other Company Publications – Promote online newsletters in print newsletters, magazines and brochures. Add “Sign up for our monthly newsletter at www.your website.com/subscribe.html” after “Visit www.your website.com for more information.”

22. Include Newsletter Subscriptions in Trade Show Lead Generation Forms – Obtain permission to send your monthly newsletter to booth visitors.

23. Promote Your Newsletter/Promotional Emails in Industry Directories and Sites.

24. Distribute Press Releases Based on Newsletter Articles – Newsletters with topical articles may warrant a press release. Make sure the press release includes links and information on how to subscribe.

25. Include Information and a Link to Your Newsletter in Press Releases – A good option for smaller companies. Include your company newsletter and other resources in press release copy.

26. Include Opt-in Information on Customer Satisfaction Surveys – Ask permission to communicate valuable information via email newsletters and promotions.

27. Include Opt-in Forms in Product Shipping Boxes – Advertise email promotions on packing slips and direct mail cards with links to your site. Many retailers and catalogers also include promotional offers from non-competing companies.

28. Employ a Reputable Email List Service – List services obtain email addresses and  Be sure you obtain permission before – or as part of – the first email you send.

29. Ensure you use a reputable autoreponder like AWeber Autoresponder to manage your email list.

So there you have it, a multitude of ways to build your list and keep your business growing!

Sign up to now to my newsletter and I’ll get more tips, tricks and information for growing your online business. Click here

Tags: Advertising, Newsletters, Tools For Your Business, Traffic Generation by the silent avatar
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