Why The Internet Marketing "Gurus" May Not Be As "Guru" As You Think!.... by James Barrett

11/15/2009

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It never ceases to amaze me the number of "internet marketing experts" who advocate that all you need to do to make money online is find a high ticket product to sell, drive traffic to a website with a hard hitting sales page, and then watch the money roll in....24 hours a day seven days a week. You may well be laughing if you have some experience of marketing online, but literally hundreds, thousands even of people new to the industry are relived of anything from £1500 to £10,000, every week. Why? Because the "internet marketing experts" tell them about their high ticket business opportunity, tell them this is all they have to do, and take their money.

These "experts" may make some money initially, but because their strategy is flawed, (or completley and totally wrong as I would call it), they soon dissapear, leaving the newbie several thousand out of pocket, totally disillusioned, and sceptical of the whole industry. So for the benefit of the inexperienced, thinking about joining our online marketing industry, let me give you some food for thought, before you believe the so called "gurus".

If you want to make marketing on the internet really rewarding financially, then undoubtedly, at some point you should add a high ticket business opportunity or product to your arsenal. However selling this type of product is not the same as selling a 20 dollar ebook. Would you go to a glitzy, shouty, flashy website and hand over, say £3000, to someone you don't know, because he says that you should? Of course not (if you would then you are going to end up very poor my friend, unless you are incredibly lucky!). So what does it take for someone to spend that kind of money  on a business opportunity? Well I know that 4 requirements have to be met:

1. They have to get to know you, to evaluate what kind of a person you are.

2. They have to like you, enough to be able to work with you.

3. They have to trust you.

4. They have to believe that the opportunity is right for them.

If you satisfy all 4 requirements, then you probably have a new business partner. Why? Because people prefer to buy from people they know, like and trust. As for the opportunity, well if you are reccomending that it is right for them, then they know that it must be, or you wouldn't reccomend it.....they know that they can trust you. And if you want longevity in this business, then you had better not betray that trust!

So how do you satisfy the above four requirements? Well....

Get their email address and build a relationship with them. Help them. Offer advice. Educate them. Be open and honest. Give them helpful resources. Do it for FREE. If you are honest and act in their best interest, they will come to realise that they need to invest in a high ticket business opportunity sooner or later, they will work it out for themselves.

And when they do come to the conclusion that they need to invest several thousand pounds with someone, is it fair to say that they will look for someone who has helped them, guided them and acted with their best interests in the past? Someone they know? Someone they like? Someone they know they can trust? YOU?...... YES YOU!

"You can get everything in life you want, if you just help enough other people get what they want" Zig Ziglar

James Barrett.
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James Barrett Answering A Couple Of Frequently Asked Questions

11/13/2009

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Internet Marketing And The Importance Of Mindset.... by James Barrett

11/07/2009

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I remember when I first got involved in internet marketing, the feeling of excitement that I got, because I had found the answer to my problem, which was to have a decent income but have the time freedom to enjoy it. To be able to enjoy the nicer things life has to offer, and the time to enjoy them with the people I love.

Then reality sets in as you realise how much you have to learn, and most of it is really new and almost alien to you, which leaves you utterly confused. This can make you feel you will never learn and absorb all that you need too, leaving you feeling totally overwhelmed. Add confusion and the overwhelming feelings together and you get frustration:

"Why did I think I would ever be able to do this?"

"I just don't get computers!"

"I will never make any money with this."

"It just doesn't work, simple as that, well not for me anyway."

At this point 90% of people give up. Well I myself felt most of these emotions, but I didn't give up. Why? Because I had a positive MINDSET.

What mindset really means is belief or faith. Not blind faith, but belief in yourself and your abilities. Self-belief will drive you forward where others give up, and it is vital you either have it, or you develop it.

Human beings are incredibly complex, and the power of the human mind would put the most sophisticated of computers to shame! Yet most people never use their mind to it's full potential. Why? Well in part it can be put down to pre-conditioning. Do you recognise any of these phrases....

"Don't get ideas above your station"

"Don't aim to high, you will only be dissapointed"

"You won't be able to do that you are too small/slow/stupid"

"It's not that easy or everyone would be doing it"

.... get the picture?

Well I have news for you, only YOU control what goes into your head. YOU choose what you want to believe, YOU are in charge of your own mind. Whatever you want to do have belief in yourself, because if you don't believe in yourself, why would anyone else believe in you?

Without a positive state of mind, and an unshakeable belief that what you are doing is the right thing for you, you will NEVER be succesful. So if you don't have that positive state of mind, then develop it, before you spend any time or money trying to make a living online. Educate yourself, read motivational books, watch videos of inspiring people..... train your mind, it will be the best investment you will ever make, because the power of your mind can deliver everything your heart desires. FACT!

"If you believe you can, or you believe you can't, you're probably right"  Henry Ford.

James Barrett.
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5 Reasons Why Internet Marketing And Traditional Retail Businesses Are Similar.... by James Barrett

11/06/2009

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If you are new to internet marketing it can be difficult to really understand exactly what it really is.

I would like to try to clarify that by comparing it to a traditional retail business, which most people understand, you may be surprised at the similarities. What it will do is give you a better understanding of what internet marketing is all about.

We all know how retail business works, after all we all go into shops, stores, showrooms and restaurants, in the high street and buy things. So let's take a look and see what the similarities are between say a fitted kitchen showroom, and an online business.

Fitted Kitchen Showroom:

1. You open a showroom and fit it out with the kitchens you are selling. You make it comfortable and luxurious.

2. You advertise in various different ways, for example in the press, leaflet drops, local radio, to attract people who may be interested in a new kitchen.

3. These people come to take a look at your shop, which is beautifully fitted, and their desire level rises. You arrange to go and measure their kitchen, design a new one and give them a costing.

4. After you have done this they come back into your shop, where you show them the plan and design of their potential new kitchen, and you give them the price.

5. They love the design and the price and they decide to buy, or they decide to think about it, in which case you stay in touch, and follow up. You can make further offers or whatever and they may buy at some point in the future.

Now let's compare this to an online business, where you are marketing a business opportunity for example:

1. Your showroom is a website. You make it interesting and informative.

2. You promote it in various ways, for example by article marketing, Google ad words to drive traffic, which is basically people who are maybe interested in a business opportunity.

3. These people visit your website, which is interesting and informative, and has what they are searching for, they want to know more. You email them more information.

4. They email back, you give them more information or answers, and tell them how much it would cost them to get involved.

5. They realise it's exactly what they are looking for and are happy with the cost and they decide to buy in, or they decide to think about it some more, in which case you stay in touch and follow up. You make further offers or give more information and they may buy at some point in the future.

Now the purpose here is to help define what internet marketing really is, not to say that traditional business and online business are really the same thing, because they are not. But as I said right at the start, this should give you a better understanding, especially people who are very new to this industry, of what internet marketing is really all about.

James Barrett 
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Is There Room For More Internet Marketers Or Has The Saturation Point Been Reached?.... by James Barrett

11/02/2009

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Questions I get asked a lot, all on the same theme is 'are too many people trying to break into online marketing?' 'isn't there too much competition?' Isn't the market saturated, or won't it be in the future?'

Well here is how it was once explained to me...

Imagine the internet is a country, and in that country somebody owns a large plot of land. They sell plots of that land to 100,000 people to build a home. "But how do we build a home without materials?" They ask. Some of the people, see an opportunity to make money, so 1,000 of these 100,000 people open up a builders merchants. These people all make a good profit. "That's great, but how are we going to build our homes without the tools?" they asked. So 1,000 more people open up a hardware store. And these people all make a good profit.

A lot of them said "I don't know how to build a house!" So 1,000 people offer to build their house for them and another 1,000 write books on how to build a house. And all 2,000 of these people make good profits. "How can we continue to work when we are hungry?" They all asked. So 1,000 people open up restaurants, another 1,000 open up catering services, and another thousand open up grocery stores. And all 3,000 end up making good profits. "How am I going to see my friends on the other side of town? It's too far to walk!" So 1,000 people open up garages selling cars.....and so it goes on.

As more house's are completed there is less demand for building materials, so 995 builders merchants go out of business leaving the 5 with the best marketing strategy. Because everyone has all the tools and hardware they need 995 hardware stores go out of business leaving the 5 with the best marketing plan. Because people can cook and grow their own food, 995 each of the restaurants, catering businesses, and grocery stores go out of business leaving those 15 businesses with the best marketing plan. And because everyone has a car etc etc

As time goes on all 100,000 people are having their needs met by different businesses which eventually level out the market so there is a healthy competition between all the existing businesses. But there is no need for any more businesses because the market is saturated.

That is until 100,000 new people come to town. Then it begins again...

The point of the story is this. All towns and cities started out like this with a surplus of goods and services. When a service or product was no longer in high demand only the businesses with the best plans survived. Only when more people came did someone consider opening up another business to meet the need of those people. But even though there were enough businesses to meet the needs of the people, many businesses and people wanted to find out ways to do things smarter, cheaper, faster. So opens up a whole new area of enterprise. And just like a new city the process starts over.

Internet marketing is similar to this. When it started to catch on many saw the opportunity to make money. Some offered tools to make websites while others offered to make a website. Some offered to market that website, others wrote books to teach you how to do it yourself. There is though one big difference. There are still a large number of people who don't own computers, while many of the ones who do are still unaware of internet marketing.

Every hour of the day people who never looked before are looking for ways to earn more money, have a business of their own, find new products or get information. The internet is like a new city that has 100,000 people everyday coming in looking for something. So, is there room for more internet marketers? The answer is yes, there always will be.

James Barrett 
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I Am Finally Using Video!.... by James Barrett

10/30/2009

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Video Marketing............I don't think anyone is really comfortable with it at first, but it's such a useful and powerful tool, you have to get used to it!
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The Number One Reason That You May Not Be Succeeding At Internet Marketing.... by James Barrett

09/21/2009

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Many people seem to believe that the mere fact that they have a website is enough to succeed on the Internet. A lot end up very upset because they fail to realize the secret behind the success in Internet Marketing. Having a website is not a guarantee that your online business will succeed. You need people to buy your product or service, people to offer your product or service too, people who are interested in what you are offering.

The best way to do this is to build an opt-in list. In fact building a highly targeted opt in list is the most effective and important tool in Internet marketing.

Basically, an opt in list is a list of email addresses of people who agreed to let you send them information or offers over time. The term “opt in” means that you have their permission. Having that permission is important because unsolicited emails will be regarded as spam, and spamming is an illegal activity in the Net, and doesn't generally get read anyway. You need this list in order to get the consumer’s attention and sustain interest.

By creating an opt in list, you will be able to maintain a relationship with these people and make further offers to them. If you ask most successful internet marketers they would tell you, if there was a fire, and they could only save one item, it would be their opt in list. Just imagine how these people value their opt in list. If this is the case, then it must be really something, right? Absolutely right!

So, for people who are not sure how to build a highly targeted opt in list, here are some tips:

1. Identify your niche market or your target market.It is extremely important to know your target market, in order to focus your marketing campaigns to people who would most likely be interested in them.

2. Check that your target market uses the medium of the Internet.Just deciding on a niche market is not a guarantee that you can build a successful list. This concept is basically simple, how can you promote your online business if your niche market is not available on the Internet? So do some research and verify that your target market is available online.

3. Make sure that your target market is an income-generating market.Building a highly targeted opt in list will just go to waste if your niche market is not generating any income at all.

4. Generate solutions to the problems of your target market by using their Internet forums.Through their posts and threads, you will be able to identify your target market’s problem and will be able to come up with great solutions. This will be invaluable when you make your opt in list.

5. Give value to your list.Don't always be selling, offer free helpful, advice. Help people where you can, even if it's only by pointing them in the right direction to get further quality, information that they are seeking. Give them value.

The long term success of any online business depends on the opt in list. As they say, 'the money is in the list', that’s why most businesses consider their opt in list as valuable as gold.

James Barrett 
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Do You Know Why Internet Marketing Is Not Selling?.... by James Barrett

08/24/2009

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Internet marketing, also known as e-marketing or online marketing,is the marketing of products or services through the World Wide Web.

Marketing and selling are often viewed as the same thing, but this is a mistaken belief, most people who make a living, working from home, marketing on the internet don't physically sell anything, their job is not to sell something to you, but to get traffic (i.e. potential customers) to their website, where the product or service sells itself through that website.

Obviously understanding a lot of the technology used is important in this industry but, it's not all S.E.O and html and other equally confusing terminology for newbie's, even if your knowledge and experience is very limited (or even non-existent), it need not be a reason for you to think you can't do it, internet marketing is not rocket science it is more a collection of techniques and strategies that make internet marketers really successful, you don't need to be a computer whizz or have a brain the size of a small city, you simply need to replicate other peoples success!

At one time internet marketing was mostly just having a website and putting banner adverts on other people's websites, but as the internet grows and changes, marketing has evolved too. At one time most people used the internet simply as a tool to research or for leisure time, however the explosion in growth of the internet over the past few years has changed that forever.

Ordinary people can now make, and are making, substantial incomes from marketing online, through the right products, opportunities and services. In a time where a lot of people would love to be an entrepreneur or be their own boss, internet marketing is making that very achievable, enabling ordinary people to get out of the rat race and work from home.

If you search Google for "make money online" you will see just what I mean. There are over 40 million search results returned for that phrase. The reason is because people are searching for it, they want it, and they know it can be a very lucrative business to get involved in. However don't let yourself become a victim to the scammers, which is easier said than done. If you are looking to get into the world of online marketing, then make sure you do your due diligence, do a little research about the different programmes and opportunities available, you will find that although there are many scams online, there are many good and legitimate programmes and opportunities out there too, you've just got to search carefully and you will find them.

I sincerely hope you find the right one for you.

James Barrett 
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PPC Advertising Or How To Make Your Business "Click".... by James Barrett

07/14/2009

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PPC stands for Pay Per Click - a popular advertising technique on the Internet. Found on websites, advertising networks, and especially on search engines, PPC advertising involves sponsored links that are typically in the form of text ads. These are usually placed close to search results, where an advertiser pays a particular amount to visitors who click on these links or banners and land on the advertiser's web page.

In essence, PPC advertising is all about bidding for the top or leading position on search engine results and listings. Advertisers do this by buying or bidding on keyword phrases that are relevant to their products or services - the higher the bid, the higher the spot on the search results, the more the people will find the ad (and click on it) to go to their websites (this is why some people call it "keyword auctioning"). Advertisers would then pay the bidding price every time a visitor clicks through the website.

PPC advertising is also known under the following names/variations:

· Pay per placement
· Pay per performance
· Pay per ranking
· Pay per position
· Cost per click (CPC)

PPC advertising is usually done with the following standard procedures:

1. Setting up an account and/or deposit funds.

2. Creating a keyword list.

3. Choosing (and setting up) an account with a PPC search engine.

4. Bidding on the ad placement, including the search result words or phrases.

5. Writing out an ad copy.

6. Setting up the 'landing pages' for your ads.

7. Placing the advertisement in the search engine.

There are many benefits to Pay Per Click advertising, making it an effective way of promoting a business 'online'. Some of them are listed below:

Get launched immediately. PPC advertisements are implemented very quickly - they can go 'online' within an hour after winning the bid and paying for it.

Obtain specific, pre-qualified, and quality traffic. PPC provides you with a quality or a well-targeted traffic. Visitors are narrowed down into 'qualified' people who are actually looking for specific products and/or services that you offer - those who are more likely to become a 'lead' (a convert) and complete a transaction (either by buying your product or subscribing to the service that you are offering.

Widen your reach. PPC advertising provides additional traffic to your site, aside from the natural or "organic" search engines.

Track your investment. PPC advertising makes use of a tracking system that will determine exactly who comes to the website and what they do once they arrive - the length of their stay on the site and the number of pages (including the actual pages) that they view. These are valuable tools in determining statistics such as return on investment (ROI), acquisition cost-per-visitor, and conversion rates (the percentage of visitors who are converted into customers or leads).

Below are some important things to consider when planning on a pay per click campaign:

1. Know your product. Take an inventory of the product and/or services that you have to offer (before anything else).

2. Stay within the budget. Determine your daily or monthly budget; and stay with it. This means keeping your budget in mind, avoiding bidding wars if possible.

3. Bid just right. Know how to bid right - a bid that is too high can exhaust all of your money, while a bid that is too low can make you lose that spot.

4. Watch the bottom line. Measure your profit margin against your spending or expenses. Know when to stop and terminate your PPC program - if you spend more on advertising but have little or no sales at all.

5. Find the right keywords. Decide which keyword phrases to opt and bid for. Do some keyword research, either by actually looking at existing search terms or with the use of online keyword suggestion tools, to know which terms are mostly used when searching for items that are related to your business. Focus on specific keywords, not on general ones.

6. Write effective ads. A good PPC ad is that which can persuade and move a searcher. There are several approaches to this:

· Discount offers
· Testimonials
· Celebrity/famous endorsers
· Money-back guarantees
· Free trials or sample offers
· Freebies
· Reverse psychology
· Major benefits ("Lose weight")
· Direct instructions ("Click here")

7. Maintain a professional-looking site. Your web content should be regularly updated and checked for spelling and grammatical errors. There should be no broken links or images. The website should be simple - designed in such a way that it will be easy for visitors to navigate and load. Include contact details to create a good impression among potential customers.

Done properly, PPC advertising can be an effective marketing tool that will maximize the return on your investment.

James Barrett
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Using Google Adwords To Drive Laser Targeted Traffic.... by James Barrett

06/14/2009

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The biggest well known secret in generating wealth in the internet based business or e-commerce is Traffic. Everybody knows it; every site wants it and every site needs it. The point of websites is to be visited and viewed. Many elaborate designs, money and countless hours of developing a site to make them beautiful and attractive are utilized. Without traffic, it is for naught.

With traffic comes a potential customer which basically means sales which in turn means profit. While many sites have collapsed in the past with the downturn of many internet based business, many smaller sites have generated good money by concentrating on a certain niche and some subniches.

This is a reason why e-commerce site laser target certain groups of people and drive them to their site to showcase their sites and products. Precision marketing is essential so that you could count on all the traffic on your site as potential customers.

Using Money to Make Money

It’s a common business notion that if you want to make money, you have to spend money. One good way of spending money for business gain is through advertising. Advertising brings in the people because through advertising, they know that there is such a company or product in existence. With the right type of advertising, you can see the spurt of traffic growth to your site. With a high volume of traffic, even if only a small portion or percentage turns out to be buying customers it is still a good average of profit generating income.

Right now, there is no other advertising scheme that would be worth every cent than using Google’s Adwords. The surge in popularity of Google’s Adwords is very evident as you can see so many sites sporting this ad scheme.

In using Google's Adwords, you pay a certain fee depending on the number of keywords your ad is keyword sensitive to. Each time a person does a search in Google, the keyword or keywords use generate ads in the side of Google which are generated by the keywords they have assigned for their ads.

This method laser targets the traffic a site wants for their site. This also ensures that you are readily visible in the first page of a search result. Paying Google for this ad scheme ensures that your target group of people sees your ads. You drive your laser targeted traffic to your site which provides for their needs and wants. You can also be sure that you can meet their demands and needs.

Aside from Google, you can also be featured in their other search networks, these includes sites like, AskJeeves, AOL Search and Netscape. These sites also show Adwords ads that react to searches done by visitors. There are also content networks, non-search engine sites that feature Google Adwords, which will also carry your ads. But this is subjected to the niche the site features. Your chosen keywords will determine which content network shall feature your ad. The frequency of your ad shall also be determined by your allowed budget.

Laser Targeting your Traffic

To get a good number or estimate of the traffic to buying customer ratio it is good to laser target your traffic. Knowing that your traffic are all potential customers and are interested in your products and company provides you with a more accurate statistics. This will show you how effective your utilizing of Google Adwords is.

Drive laser targeted traffic to your site by using keywords or keyword phrases for your Goggle Adwords that pertains to your company and to your products. There are many online internet tools that can help you in choosing keywords and keyword phrases that are currently in demand that could help drive laser targeted traffic to your site.

With your Google Adwords ad, you are ensured that every click to your ad is a potential customer that is precisely looking pr interested in what you have to offer. Make sure that your Google Adwords ad has the right keywords so that you can drive you're laser targeted traffic to your site.

Using Google Adwords to help boost the drive to increase laser targeted traffic will prove to be very beneficial as many other companies can attest to. The benefits are high with the cost relatively justifiable.
 
James Barrett
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