Internet Marketing Secrets
Issue# 74 - by Michael Campbell - June 02 2005
- - - - - - Sponsor - - - - - -
New Tool Posts RSS Content to Your Blog Automatically
RRight now I'm posting relevant content to my Blogger account without lifting a finger. Every day, the automated software checks the RSS newsfeeds for my keywords - the ones that match my blog content - and posts the news headlines into my blog.
The AdSense ads are running down the side and automatically change to match each post. Installing the software takes only a few minutes. Here's what this new tool (R2B) can do for you.
- Finds relevant content for your blog posts
- Provides a reliable automated way to post
- Works with either Blogger or Word Press blogs
- You don't need to host the blogs on your server
- Automatically sends pings to Pingomatic.com
- Posts content that you author on a schedule that you choose
- Includes low footprint random posts so it looks human
- Allows automation overide for total manual control
So not only can you get on-target posts when you're busy, this software can be a powerful revenue generator. How? Blogs are free and you can put ads on them. If you make lots of blogs... you can have lots of ads running.
But remember, you don't have to "do" anything other than install the software, which takes a few minutes. After that... it just runs, providing relevant content. And before the purists scream spam, it plainly isn't. It's news from around the world, which matches your keywords, which matches your blog.
The content is 100% relevant, timely and interesting to both man and machine. Then when you have time, overide the auto settings and make manual posts to your blog, with links to your minisites, landing pages, or mininet ring of feeder sites.
These are just a few ways R2B is generating revenue,
but what can R2B do for you? ==> http://www.cdzn.com/r2b
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NEWS, VIEWS AND CLUES
Content Desk Charter Membership Has 19 Openings
If you've never heard about the Content Desk, that's because they sold out in within hours of opening. Faster than I could tell anyone about it.
Membership is capped at 400, and they promised me if they had any openings at the six month mark, that I could tell you. Right now, there are exactly 19 spots available.
This is not your average private site, nor is it cheap. It's definitely not for beginners, which are better served with a site builder like XSite or SEO Website Builder.
It's more like a private club. A very helpful and tightly knit community, made up of some of the best internet marketers on the planet.
No question in the forums goes unanswered. You get people with years of experience, that are genuinely interested in helping each other. You never have to go it alone.
There is a website builder included in the subscription. Plus they offer free unlimited hosting on several different IP addresses. Yes, I said free unlimited hosting for all your websites, complete with stats and cpanel.
But best of all... it's the big difference between Content Desk and any regular site builder... it's the content.
There's over 10,000 articles you can use, so your sites get instant content and can start generating AdSense and affiliate revenue right from the get go. Yes, you read that right. It's not a typo. Over ten thousand articles on just about every topic you can dream of.
Peter Lenkefi, who is one of the co-founders of Content Desk told me, "It's for webmasters who want excellent tools to build search engine friendly content-rich sites. It's ideally suited for people who purchased Revenge of the Mininet and Clickin it Rich, as we are referring back to your course materials on a daily basis in the forums. It's actually a perfect match."
I recommend that you take a look at the site and read the sales letter. But if you are interested in becoming a charter member, do hurry. After the 19 spots get filled they close the doors again... sorry about that. I do hope you are one of the lucky ones I'll be seeing inside.
Click to the Content Desk ==> http://www.cdzn.com/cd
Search Engine Workshops Coming to Vegas
If you want your sites to get noticed in the search engines, you'll need to know how to optimize your pages, your sites and your entire linking strategy.
Here's your chance to begin, polish or master your SEO skills and grab a tax deductible vacation at the same time.
SEO Mastery Workshops
July 11-15 in Las Vegas
Conducted by Robin Nobles and John Alexander
http://www.cdzn.com/sew
Ultra-Advanced SEO Symposium
July 16-17 in Las Vegas
Hosted by Robin Nobles & John Alexander
Presenters: Ginette Degner, Michael Marshall & Jerry West
http://www.cdzn.com/ult
But book early, as the Vegas workshops are the most popular and tend to sell out early.
Internet Marketing FAQs... You Asked... I Answered
Low Cost Hosting for AdWords Landing PagesQ - I'm following the Action Plan in Clickin' it Rich and will be using Google Adwords to promote affiliate programs. Where would you suggest hosting the landing pages?
A - You can host landing pages wherever you want. Get the cheapest you can find, so long as they've been in business a few years.
Afterall, they are just stand alone landing pages, not designed for regular search engines... they are strictly for PPC (pay per click) ads. Nothing fancy is required.
I find Hostica.com an easy choice for my PPC ads. Their servers are really fast and they've never been down. (Knock on wood ;-) And the one time I had a question, they answered the email support ticket the next day.
They send the set up information within four hours. After you point your domain name to their DNS, all you need to do is enter your host url, username, password, and you're ready to FTP your landing pages up to your server.
Best of all they're only a dollar a month. They also have plans available if you want to host several domains in the same account, but I found the budget account works just fine for landing pages.
And for a few extra coins a year, you can even get fancy statistics like AWStats. (Not that you need it but... when it comes to paying for AdWords ads... you might want to be sure the traffic that comes to your landing page, actually matches the clicks that Google says they're sending.)
The Essential "Missing" Element of Website Design
Q - Since you are a graphics guru, I was wondering if you had any recommendations for simple and easy to use header generator? Something that gives a first impression and carries the look-and-feel of the site. I could spend a day and not even come close to a professional looking header.
A - I used to use Photoshop, but not even a professional designer can remember how to make everything. That's why when it comes to design, we often grab those "cheat" books, or Photoshop Wow books, to help us. They usually offer step-by-step recipes to create stunning visual effects.
These days, if I need an eye catching something, I use Photoshop's little brother, Adobe Elements. It's very inexpensive and easy to use.
Plus they have all the built-in, push-button filters like neon glow, plastic, drop shadows, chrome and the like, so I don't have to look it up in a book. I drop in a stock photo of some people into the banner along with some stylized text, and I'm good to save it for the web.
I'm a believer in learning and doing it for yourself. That way, if you ever need a graphic, you don't need to hire someone and wait a week. You can quickly blast one off using familiar tools.
But if you don't have the time, just use some royalty free stock photography, or photo objects. Drop three photos into your banner, blur two of them and you have a great looking collage.
Just remember, a graphic must help tell the story. I can't stress that one enough. The first thing people must see when they land on your site, is pictures of people, showing the emotion, the end result, that your product or service provides. It's like a promise fulfillment.
It could be lost weight, a happy camper, smiling doctors, a hand reaching out, a couple relaxing at the beach... you get the picture... it's all about bringing humanity to the online experience. That my friend is good design... and good design is good for business.
Learning to Advertise on Google
Q - Can I get everything I need to know about PPC (advertising on Google) from Perry Marshall's guide?
Also, from what I've been reading, XSite Pro has some quick - up and running - features which are suitable for newbies, but it also has depth for SEO and other activities later on. What do you think of XSite as a tool for creating minisites?
A - Yes, pretty much everything you need to know about PPC is in Perry's material. His definitive guide to Google AdWords is the best work I've read on the topic... and I bought them all.
Perry's AdWords Guide ==> http://www.cdzn.com/pmg
Everything you need to know about affiliate programs, creating landing pages and minisites for PPC advertising is in Clickin it Rich and the Action Plan.
And yes, XSite would make a wonderful choice for building your minisites.
So it sounds like you're on the right path. Educate yourself with the Adwords Guide and Clickin' it Rich. Then get a site builder to help you generate those landing pages and minisites.
- - Adv - -
New Video Improves Your Rankings on Google
PageRank
(PR) is a mystery for most people. That's because there's so much bad
advice out there. Fact is... it's a simple mathematical formula, no
voodoo, no magic, no mystery.The Mastering PageRank Video Course (by Leslie Rohde creator of OptiLink) will show you exactly what PR is. How to get more. How to conserve what you have. How to concentrate it. And how to create it... out of nothing! Some people have doubled their online income by applying these techniques. Will you be next?
Want to improve your PageRank? ==> http://www.cdzn.com/pr
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XSite Pro vs SEO Website Builder
Q - I can see that XSite is quite a sophisticated package, but is SEO Website Builder software still a viable proposition for someone who has never built a website before?
Do you think the manual that comes with it is really worth the price of the software (as the testimonial says on the site)? Or are they quite different, requiring me to buy both?
A - Either one would make an excellent choice for someone who's never made a website before. The manuals and tutorials for both products are very good.
At the core, they both essentially do the same thing, allow the novice to create push-button sites. All you need to do is add the content.
I've been getting a lot of comments about XSite and SEO Builder and it seems that most people are very happy with their decisions.
According to my friend Sherman Hu, who's reviewed both products....
"XSite gets the edge for beginners as it's a little more intuitive and has more features, right out of the box. Lot's of marketers are using it to create minisites, mininet feeder sites and AdSense revenue sites.
Dr. Andy's SEO builder gets the edge for more experienced marketers, because they can create or buy additional templates and have Dynamic Linking if they choose."
In addition, here's what another reader had to say... And he bought them both...
"I purchased the XSite Pro software package through your link and my initial response to the program is positive. I like the flexibility the program gives you, to me it looks like it is more flexible than SEO Site Builder.
All I can say is it will make my life easier because I truly hate Frontpage, I truly hate html, and I truly hate wasting time hand coding crap.
Have you tested any Dynamic Linking with the program? Dr. Andy did a great job when he put that capability into SEO Website Builder.
My game plan is to build my content sites and mininet with SEO Builder and use XSitePro as my tool to build very attractive preselling sites."
Yet another subscriber wrote...
"I've decided to order Andy's SEO Website Builder and his Keyword Results Analyzer (even though I'm fairly adept with Dreamweaver). This looks like a much faster and easier and more organized way to create these sites."
Ultimately the choice is yours. Perhaps read both web sites. Review the testimonials and videos. Then choose which one you feel most comfortable with.
XSite Pro ==> http://www.cdzn.com/xsp
SEO Website Builder ==> http://www.cdzn.com/wsb
If you're like me - and some other marketers - you'll get 'em both. It's like owning two sports cars. The one you drive depends on how you feel. They'll both get you there in style.
- - Adv - -
New Xsite Pro Provides Total Site Management
Imagine being able to change the look and feel of every single page of a site with just a few mouse clicks. Having a built in html editor, including the ability to automatically insert AdSense ads wherever you want.
Imagine every new page you create automatically getting added to your site map. Breaking long pages into as many pages as you like. Having keyword analysis to create search engine friendly pages. Having a pop up generator, including "hover pops" that are nearly impossible to block.
Add to this an affiliate wizard. Article pages. A reciprocal linking page. Auto generated navigation menus. Privacy statement generator. Spell Checker. Powerful built-in scripts. URL redirects. A multi-page creation wizard. All from an easy to use, tabbed interface.
Are you ready for Total Site Management? ==> http://www.cdzn.com/xsp
Don't watch the video ==> http://www.cdzn.com/xpv
(I must warn you, if you watch the video, you'll be drooling over the ease of use and want to get it. Go ahead... I dare you. Try NOT to buy the software after watching the video. ;-)
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How to Reduce Mininet Hosting Costs
Q - Domain and hosting costs add up pretty quick. Do you actually get 5 or 6 accounts from separate hosting companies and create your mininets around them? Or can you get multiple IP addresses from a single source to reduce management?
A - It doesn't have cost a lot. Just look for "low cost hosting" on your favorite search engine and you'll find plenty of choices. Places like Hostica.com are only a dollar a month. And yes, I spread my mininets out to make them look as organic as possible.
Some international hosting companies have servers all over the world and you can get many different IP addresses. Only trouble is, they may all use the same nameservers... a tell tale sign that all the sites are in a "related" neighborhood. Something to ask them, before you choose to use one company for all your sites.
I tend to use the same five or six hosts. Several sites using multiple domains names can even share the same IP address. The trick is that... the sites are not in the same mininet. The sites on the shared IP never link to each other. And are totally unrelated in terms of content.
For example: Host A might share the same IP address as Site 1 of my camping mininet, Site 2 of my poster mininet, and Site 5 of my cocktail mininet. All three are hosted for the same price under one plan, thereby reducing cost and maintenance. But none of those sites ever link to each other, or each other's mininet.
Keyword Research Reveals Best Minisite Content
Q - I've been over "Revenge of the Mininet" several times it is amazing stuff. Thanks for publishing it.
One of the niches I am developing is fishing and fishing trip info. I also have an ebook. Would I be better off just doing a large site, or should I create a mininet which would have minisites about fishing rods, reels, tackle boxes, electronics, etc?
Also, what would the Central Hub Site be? Maybe my book or some other strategy like (brand name software) that takes datafeeds from the merchants to create the site content?
A - I've not used the software you mention so cannot fully respond to a strategy that fits your exact needs. But a lot of people are having success with datafeeds, and it sounds like something that you could be using on your central / hub site.
The minisites are usually static pages focused on a single item like fishing reels. Then laser focused on makes and model numbers of those fishing reels for best results.
One search using the Nichebot keyword research tool with the Overture keywords shows Shimano, Penn, Quantum and Okuma to be excellent brand names for the internal pages of the fishing reels site.
Do the same keyword research for rods, motors and boats. Build each one into a minisite and link them all together in a mininet using a Butterfly or Matrix strategy.
Your central site would be a good mega site contender, with internal sections that each minisite links to. You could also sell your ebook on the central site along with all sorts of fishing related affiliate links, articles, RSS newsfeeds and merchant data feeds.
How to Use Links from RSS Feeds to Your Advantage
Q - I just finished reading your "Revenge" book and I'm very excited with the potential of it all. It's just what the doctor ordered. :-)
I have a question for you regarding the setup of mininets. I work with blogs and RSS feeds a lot and I was wondering how could I best integrate them into your method? Would it be just as effective to use RSS feeds as links to another site as it would be to use static html links?
A - So long as the RSS feed isn't inside Javascript. That is gets archived as html on a blog page or web page, with static links, then it should be ok.
So long as the spiders can find and crawl those links, and they're not too many levels deep, the links should count with full ranking points... to whatever you link them to.
If you have a blog about dogs, it would only make sense to update it automatically and daily with RSS feeds using software like RSS to Blog (R2B). That will keep the spiders coming back.
Then, if you post manually every few days, you can link to your dog related mininet ring of sites and other affiliate revenue sites. The spiders will eagerly come back and get those links as well, as you've trained them to come daily.
In addition, if you blog to your central site (the blue one in the mininet diagrams) you'll slowly build it into a content monster that people will naturally look to - and link to - as an information source. But that's the little secret, keep it slow and watch it grow.
In other words, don't blob a whole whack of content overnight and expect to be spidered and indexed. Add new content slowly, at the rate of a new manual post every three to four days, and slowly increase the saturation of your central site's overall content in the search engine indexes.
How to Add a Blog & RSS to the Mininet Strategy
Q - I was looking at your Revenge of the Mininet product along with the RSS/Blog products and have a question for you. Would a mininet of blogs work the same as a mininet of unique domain sites?
A - I personally wouldn't create a mininet of blogs. But they can be used in conjunction with a mininet.
Let's say your mininet is about camping, with minisites on stoves, tents, dehydrated food and sleeping bags. You could put up static web pages for each topic and link them into your hub site in the middle of the mininet.
On the hub you would have camping related content, stories and articles, and perhaps an RSS feed constantly updating with keywords like hiking, fishing and camping.
You could put up a blog or two on separate sites, also constantly updated with RSS feeds using the same - outdoor related - keywords. Then when you have time, post manually to the blogs and link out to any new web pages that you've created in the mininet. But keep it organic looking by linking to many quality sources of outdoor activities, not just your own sites.
You can monetize the blogs with AdSense. You can monetize the minisites with affiliate links. Your hub site can have both.
And if you choose the Career Path in Clickin' it Rich, be sure to start an ongoing dialog with your customers, by getting their email address and providing them with high quality content in return.
(Just follow "How to Write a Profitable Newsletter" and "Quick and Easy eBooks" that you received with the Clickin' it Rich course.)
Will Blogging ever Replace the Mininet Strategy
Q - In your newsletter you mention having multiple blogging accounts announcing your pages. Is this replacing your Mininet sites? Tell me the why behind this if you would.
A - Blogs will never replace the Revenge of the Mininet linking strategy, but they can be added to the marketing mix.
Actually, I don't "announce" my pages with multiple blogs. I use one or two for that, in a very organic looking eclectic fashion. The multiple blogs are more for targeted Adsense revenue on auto-pilot.
The RSS feeds keep the blogs fresh and the spiders coming. Then when I have time I post manually with an affiliate link or two, and mention one of my web pages every few days, just to stay under the radar.
Once I've posted to the blog manually, I ping the pages with pingomatic.com. It helps with the link popularity and number of backlinks, especially since some of these blog sites archive all their pages.
Some of the archives have high PR, meaning that sweet Google juice gets passed from their archived page, to my private blogs... and then whatever I link my blogs to... like my mininet pages... which leads to my commerce hub... which leads to cash in my pocket. :-)
How to Track Everything from Click to the Sale
Q - Love the Nothing but 'Net eBook & the Clickin it Rich course. Guess I need to get the Revenge Book next :-). Quick question though. Tracking PPC keywords. Who to use? I want to track from click to sale.
A - A lot of people just use Google's free AdWords tracker for simple results. It's very handy for knowing which keyword led to the sign up or sale.
Just copy 'n paste the tracking code they give you into your "thank you" page. You'll quickly discover which keywords are converting into your desired course of action... which means you know within days, which keywords to keep and which ones to stop bidding on.
You can even use their tracker to track third parties, like your ads running on Overture. But I'm not comfortable with Google employees being able to "see" all my conversions and sensitive data.
For tracking just about everything you can think of, I like independent third party software like Hypertracker.
Just like Google can split test your AdWords ads, Hypertracker offers "true" split testing of the landing pages, thank you pages, sales pages, sign up pages and more.
Click for Hypertracker ==> http://www.cdzn.com/htr
The trick is, once you've got an AdWords ad that's getting a 1.5% or better clickthrough, it's time to start split testing the other parts of the sales process, whether it's the sign up page for a newsletter, or a price point on your sales letter.
Get the traffic first... then test the remainder. But that's a very important point. Don't pay for any advertising, anywhere, until you split test several ads on Google first.
Google AdWords is the only place where you can split test your ads in real time, for just about anything you can think of. It could be an ebook title, a sales letter headline, or an ad you plan on running in an ezine.
In the audio portion of Perry Marshall's AdWords Guide, he displayed 12 split test ads in a room full of marketers. So how did the smart people do? Did they pick out the winners from the losers. Could they guess which ad was better?
Nope... most people scored 6/12. No better than dumb luck or flipping a coin. Without split testing an ad, you're guessing. And if you guess in business my friend, you're losing money.
I changed one word in my Google AdWords ad and increased my clickthrough rate from 1.3% to 1.8%... One simple little word in the middle of the ad! But that's only .5 of a percentage point right?
No! Dead wrong... it performs 36% better than the previous ad. Do you think that 36% more clicks made a difference in sales... you bet it did.
Right now I'm using Hypertracker to split test different kinds of opt-in pages trying to get new subscribers for my newsletter. My best so far is a 58% conversion.
Cool eh? More than half the people who arrive at the "control" sign-up page subscribe to this newsletter.
Not only is it fun and educational, it's like participating in a live psychology experiment. Watching how little changes, as small as a single word swap, can have a great effect on your clickthrough rates.
So let me ask you... Are you split testing, tracking and improving your sales process... or are you just guessing? One road leads to rags, the other to riches. The choice is entirely up to you. Which path do you choose?
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That's it for this issue my friend. Thank you for reading. We'll chat again soon. Until then, here's wishing you all the best for online success.
Michael Campbell
President & CEO Dynamic Media Corporation#108 - 383 East 37th Avenue Vancouver BC Canada
Providing successful marketing strategies since 1988.
For marketing advice & coaching phone +1 604 874-6655
Read the Internet Marketing Secrets Blog or tap the RSS Feed
Author of....
Revenge of the Mininet... Advanced linking strategies and diagrams for increased revenue from search engine optimization and affiliate programs.
Clickin' it Rich... The complete work from home business training system. How to fire the boss and set up a home business using nothing but affiliate programs.
Nothing but 'Net... An internet marketing strategy that generated $750,000 in less than a year, with no advertising costs.
Internet Marketing Secrets Newsletter... Sign up now to get your free subscription. Learn how to harness the money making power of multiple internet revenue streams like search engines, affiliate programs, paid advertising, opt-in email, newsletters, ebooks and a lot more in Michael Campbell's internet marketing secrets newsletter.