Do Me A Favor - Don’t Back Up Your Databases…
February 26, 2008
Huh? Why would I say such a thing?
Simple really. If you don’t back up your databases of customers, subscribers, etc., then when your database becomes corrupt, or your webhost screws you and dumps your databases or whatever, then you’ll have to start all over from scratch.
And while your doing that, I will continue to market my products and services. See, you’ll be busy REbuilding, and I’ll be busy prospering. Because I took the time to back up my databases with an automated, hands-free system.
In all the years I have been operating a business on line, it still amazes me how few people take the time to properly back themselves up. People have way too much faith in technology and/or the competence of others.
Either one can let you down. In fact, odds are one or the other will. There’s no way to predict when, how, where, etc. so why take a chance? Especially these days when there are so many ways to stay backed up?
In this article I am specifically talking about databases. Not your local hard drives or not your web pages. Why?
Let’s take these one at a time…
Your hard drive on your local computer…even though not everyone backs up on a regular basis, there seems to be an endless supply of backup solutions - both free and paid - to cover this. There are also many articles and “how-to’s” on the various ways to back up your hard drive. Doing a simple Google search will reveal thousands of discussions, products and more on this topic.
Backing up your web pages…Let me ask you a question. When you build a website, do you build it entirely on line? Or do you typically use an off-line web page builder (such as Dreamweaver, Nvu, Frontpage) then upload them to your web server?
Most people build them off line. I know I do. So to me, backing up all of my web pages is already taken care of when I back up my hard drives. No sense in doing this two ways.
Databases. Now here’s the one most people either overlook or avoid. Overlook because some don’t even realize they are even USING a database (as odd as that may sound). Think about it…these days, you have CPanel hosting complete with Fantastico installer. When you set up a Wordpress blog, some may not even realize that a database is being set up in the background.
Many people also assume their webhosts automatically back up their databases. This is a BIG mistake. Good hosting services will do automatic backups. But with the popularity of cheap and free hosting, people are more attracted to the 2 GB of storage and don’t even bother to ask about backups.
Avoid - the biggest reason people don’t back up their database is because unless you know how, it’s technically challenging for the average person. Some may know how to properly back up using phpMyAdmin, but most do not. It’s intimidating for the average person.
Even those who know how to back up a database fall short in this one last area: consistency. They log in, back up, log out and that’s it. A few months may go by before they remember to back up again.
While this may be better than nothing, if you have an active business where your database of customers grows daily, than anything less than once per day is not enough.
Hope is not all lost though. There are answers out there for you. I can think of two right off the bat.
CPSiteSaver (http://www.webhostingunleashed.com/cpsitesaver/ ): This one is a Windows desktop application. It’s very reasonably priced and simple to use. It will back up your entire website and your databases. There are two “drawbacks” to this one.
1- Since it’s a desktop application, it’s not technically fully automated. You must have your computer running and the application open for backups to take place. This is not so bad if you are on your computer a lot. Just make sure the application starts up with Windows, and schedule your backups for when you know you are on line.
2- It only works with CPanel/MySQL systems. Also not the end of the world as it seems the majority of the hosting solutions out there use CPanel/
Database Backup Generator (http://www.databasebackupgenerator.com ): This one is installed on your website (server side). Also very reasonably priced. The drawback to this one:
1- If you are not familiar with installing scripts, you’ll need to hire someone.
2- Only works on CPanel/MySQL systems (see above)
3- Only backs up databases. To me, not the end of the world if you build your sites off line and you do regular backups to your system.
What I like about DBG is once you set it, it truly is hands-free, set and forget. It will continue to do automatic backups (via Cron) until you tell it to stop. It also allows you to send your backups via FTP to another server, and/or it will email you download links for your backups.
No matter what your preference is, just make it a point to back up the most important part of your business…your database. Websites are easily replacable. Your database of customers is not.
Remember - there are people out there that will gladly scoop up your customers.
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Article Copyright 2008 Central Net Enterprises, LLC and Michael Ambrosio. You may reprint as long as you leave this resource box in place.
Michael Ambrosio is an entreprenuer and online marketer. To read more marketing nuggets from Michael please visit http://www.mikeambrosio.com. Marketing For The Rest Of Us!
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Five Ways to Increase Your Online Profits
February 18, 2008
What you will read below was inspired by Mike Filsaime. We had a meeting in the office and this is the kind of wisdom he imparts on us. People pay top dollar for this and I get it free. I’m a lucky guy…
Anyway, just wanted to share it with you. Enjoy…
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Does this sound familiar to you?
Create a product
Grab some JV partners
Send an email to your list
Count your sales
Create a new product
Repeat process……
Now, there’s nothing wrong with adding more products to your “arsenal”. The more profit streams the better. But one thing I have noticed, and I have been guilty of, is once that initial promotion is over, we all but abandon the product. We just leave it there for the search engines to find.
That’s all fine, but what if you could increase the sales on your already existing products? Just by making a few simple changes, or additions. Let’s take a look at five things you can do to increase your profits.
1 - More leads, or traffic to your sites.
Seems obvious enough, right? But the question is, do you do this now? If not, how can you do this? Here’s a few ways to get more traffic to your sites:
- Buy traffic (ppc, advertising, ezines, etc)
- Borrow traffic (JV’s, email ad swaps, etc)
- Integration (put your ads on other people’s sites, download pages, etc)
- Create traffic
- Viral traffic (ebooks, software, giveaway’s, etc)
2- Increase your conversions.
Another one that is obvious but so few people do. Increasing your conversions will increase your profits without ANY additional visitors to your sites. So just imagine if you can take your conversion from 2% to 4%. That’s double your profit. Add to this an increase in traffic and, well, now we’re really going to see a difference.
Here’s just a few ways to increase you conversions…
- Client Chat (such as Upselldotcom.com)
- Exit Popups (irregardless of what you’ve heard, these DO work)
- Videos on sales page
- Videos on One Time Offer pages
- Testing and revamping your site (images, copy, etc.)
Doing any one or ALL of these things can send your conversions through the roof.
3- Increase profits per transaction.
What does this mean? Simply put - upsells, downsells, cross sells and bumps. The most successful and savvy marketers already know this and implement any or all of these in all of their sales processes. Even McDonalds does this:
“Uh, give me the number 3 with a coke please”
“Sure. Would you like to upsize your order sir?” (upsell)
“Sure, why not?”
“And how about a nice hot apple pie for dessert?” (cross sell)
“Oooo, yeah!”
“And would you like to add a second apple pie for only 50 cents?” (bump)
“I shouldn’t…but okay!”
Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? You see this a lot because it’s very effective. Consider doing this with ALL of your products.
4- Reduce loss
Simply put, lowering refunds. There’s a few things you can do here.
- Increased customer service
- More Help or Tutorial videos for your product
- Offer a different product in PLACE of a refund
Bottom line, there are ways to reduce the amount of dollars you give in refunds by taking simple measures or being creative with your customers. Of course, if your customers are insistent, give the refund…
5- Frequency and Continuity
Simply put, don’t forget about the customers you already have. I can’t tell you how many times I have purchased a product, got my download and never hear from the product creator again.
Whenever I create a new product, one of the first things I do is offer it at a discount to my existing customers before I do a general launch. Reward your customers whenever you can. This not only builds loyalty. It also makes them open your emails eagerly, knowing there is a possible new product with a discount coming their way.
Continuity - the holy grail product. Work your customers into a recurring continuity program of some sort. There’s nothing better than having several hundred or several thousand customers paying you over and over.
Like I said - seems pretty obvious, right? If you have a handful of products out there now, and you don’t know what to create next…don’t create anything. Revisit ALL of your products and make some changes. Drive new traffic to your products. Write articles and submit them to article directories. Set up joint venture mailings, ad swaps and integration with other products.
Doing these simple, but often overlooked things can literally double or even triple your profits.
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Would you like to put this article on your site? Be sure to leave this resource box in tact.
Michael Ambrosio is a successful internet marketer and product creation expert. You can learn to create your own products quickly and easily… go to: http://www.easyproductprofits.com. Follow from concept to profit as he creates and markets a simple piece of software and earns five figures in sales in two weeks time.
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The Top Five Questions to Ask When Hiring a SEO Expert
February 6, 2008
If you have had no luck driving traffic to your website, you may want to employ an expert in Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
When you start your search for an expert, there are several things you should consider:
1. Start by interviewing the expert. Find out if their style and philosophy will suit your purpose. Give them information about what you want to accomplish and ask them WHAT THEY WILL DO to help you achieve your goals.
Ask specifically how they will address your objectives. Are you interested in increasing website traffic, increasing brand recognition, or increasing online sales?
Are you planning to push one product or service over another on your website? How will they help you accomplish these goals?
2. Ask for examples of their previous work. Visit the websites they have already worked on and look at the sites. Perform searches with search engines to see where these sites rank on the search engine lists.
Do they come up in the top ten? Look at the keywords they are using on the sample websites and compare those to the sites that come up in the first, second and third position on the search engine.
Is the SEO expert giving the right advice to his/her clients?
In addition to sample websites, see if you can get actual references to call. Contact names and phone numbers for clients who have already worked with the SEO expert can be quite valuable.
How did the client feel about the SEO expert services? Were they timely in delivering their services? Did they deliver what the promised in additional traffic?
3. Find out who will be working on YOUR project. It may not be the person who sells you the service. You want to be sure that you have a good team of people assigned to perform various tasks.
One person isn’t going to be expert in all aspects of search engine optimization. How many projects have these team members worked on for this employer and what success stories can they tell?
What reports will they produce?
At minimum, their documentation should include:
Your current web traffic results
A list of issues they feel you should address, and what they will do to resolve these issues
Progress reports on your project
Post-Mortem reports to demonstrate positive results for website traffic, etc.
4. Ask for white papers, reports and any documented processes the SEO expert has to offer. What exactly does the SEO expert do for his fee? Is his or her process logical and thorough? You may not be a search engine expert.
Nevertheless, if you look at the sequence of their processes, and the activities listed in the SEO process, you may find that your prospective SEO expert is using poor business practices to get information.
Or perhaps he or she is recommending unrealistic methods or unscrupulous methods to deliver good search engine ranking.
If this is the case, your initially good search engine ranking may rapidly change to NO search engine ranking when you find yourself booted off search engine lists for bad business practices.
Make sure you know where your prospective SEO expert firm stands on business ethics.
You may want search engine optimization but you certainly don’t want ‘keyword stuffing’ without content or logical association to the topic that brings the customer to your website.
You don’t want false keywords to attract clients and you don’t want cloaking or doorway pages.
You don’t need to know all the details of how these things work; you just need to get a statement of ethics from your SEO and have a value discussion with the SEO firm and its team members.
While it may seem that no online business practice could be THAT unethical, your business reputation and your status on search engines WILL be damaged, if your website uses artificial or misleading techniques to attract customers.
5. What will the SEO expert charge for your project? Is it based on a fixed price project or an hourly rate? Will you have to pay travel expenses or other associated expenses?
What is included in the price? You should get a detailed accounting in writing, so that you KNOW what you can expect.
Don’t buy into the explanation that the price is higher, but there is a ‘guarantee’ of results.
Even the BEST SEO firms will find it hard to guarantee rankings and results when they don’t know what your competitors are doing next and whether new keywords and action will be necessary next month to keep your rankings high.
A guarantee of ranking and traffic can, at best, only guarantee results for a particular day or time period immediately after the project is completed, and even THEN it is unlikely the guarantee will be exact in terms of results.
There are many other personal considerations you may have when hiring an expert in SEO.
However, if you do nothing other than ask these five questions and get the information included in this research, you should be very pleased with the Search Engine Optimization expert you hire.
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But what a pain looking for and buying all the
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Blogging for Profit Starts With a Plan
January 30, 2008
Many people dream of blogging for profit, and this goal is not far beyond the reach of someone with average intelligence, a willingness to work hard, and a basic grasp of blogging technology.
However, very few people manage to reap the profits they want from their blog. Most people who attempt to make money with their blogs do not succeed for two reasons.
1. Often, bloggers have unrealistic expectations of how fast their readership will grow and how much money they will make, and when these expectations are not met the disappointment can crush the desire to continue blogging.
2. The other trap that many bloggers fall into has to do with lack of planning. If you want to turn a profit as a blogger, the key to success is to make a realistic plan and stick with it.
To succeed at blogging for profit, the main thing that you will need is a large readership. The higher your traffic, the more advertisers will agree to pay you.
However, cultivating the regular visitors that you will need in order to make a profit isnt easy. As more and more blogs appear each day, having a great idea or a wonderful writing style is no longer enough to get attention. You need to be able to market your blog effectively.
Too many bloggers spend all of their time writing posts and almost no time marketing their project. To be certain, updating as often as you can is a great way to keep your blog high on blogrolls and high in blog search engines like technorati, and once your readers know that you update frequently they will return to your site on a regular basis.
However, it does not matter how often you update if nobody is reading your page, so dont skimp on the time that you spend drawing visitors to your site. To make your dreams of blogging for profit a reality, try decreasing your number of posts and using some of that time to draw new visitors by setting up link exchanges with other bloggers, making contacts in the blog community, and following other established modes of winning traffic.
Of course, even if you are a marketing genius or have a really great idea for a blog, success is not going to happen overnight. Building the kind of readership that blogging for profit requires takes time, and in all likelihood it will be at least several months before you are able to turn much of a profit.
Try to stay committed to your blogging project during this initial rough period. To stay motivated, set goals for how often you will update and how many readers you want to attract, and then reward yourself for sticking with your plan.
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For more information on driving traffci to your blogs - or any site you wish - then you really need to grab The Web Traffic Pack right now!
Feel free to use this article on your own site. If you do, you must leave this resource box in tact.
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How To Use Video To Boost Your Website Sales Conversions
January 12, 2008
It’s a well known fact that many of us are primarily visual in the way we relate to the world round us. With this in mind, it only makes sense that you would be able to make the content of your web site more accessible by adding the video features to your web site.
The thing to remember about using video is that you need to keep it short, sweet and to the oint. No one is looking to settle down with a bowl of popcorn and a soda while watching the video presentation on your site.
You want the video to follow the same lines as your text. Let it be concise, to the point, and call attention to the features of your product or service that will be of most interest to prospective clients.
Prepare the text for your video script and run through it with a couple of people before you ever begin the process of videotaping. You want to make sure there are no dead spots in the text that would create a pregnant pause during the video presentation.
Also take care to choose locations that will provide you with sufficient light. Nothing will turn off a prospective client like clicking on a video presentation and finding it is too dark for anyone to see what is happening.
Videos, when planned well and accessible to any potential client, can help to set your website apart from your competition and boost your sales conversions.
If filming yourself doesn’t appeal to you a quick and easy way of creating videos is to create a powerpoint presentation and record this using a program like Camtasia Studio.
You can download a free trial from here http://www.techsmith.com/camtasia.asp
What this software will do is it records everything that happens on the screen of your computer from the movements of your mouse to your voice when connected to a microphone. This recording can then be uploaded to your website in Flash format for quick and easy viewing by anyone visiting your website.
Once your video is completed be sure to also upload it to websites like: http://youtube.com and http://video.google.com which gives your product extra free publicity. You can even use those websites to host your video for you and link to it on your website which saves you any additional bandwidth costs.
Take advantage of human nature and how we see the world around us by adding video to your website to boost your sales conversions.
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Brian Terry is the publisher of a controversial top-secret report that reveals the secrets to increasing your website sales by 275% or more. You can get your free copy by visiting his website here: here: http://BigSellingConversions.com/?aff_id=755
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Internet Marketing: Not a Business, a Way of Doing Business
January 3, 2008
The very first step in succeeding at anything is learning to think right about it. In other words - MINDSET.
Learning to think right about IM (Internet Marketing) means recognizing that what you are doing is a way of doing business. The actual business you select must be tied to your biggest strengths. That means you must know yourself.
If you were attracted to IM because of the dream of instant riches with no startup costs and no specialized knowledge, your thinking is wrong! Very hungry lions will eat you up in no time. Those lions are unscrupulous marketers who depend on greedy but otherwise innocent victims who have a poor fund of knowledge about the Internet’s commercial side. They’ll keep gnawing on your credit card balance until you shoot them down.
Like a regular store or business, an Internet business sells a product or service with the aim of making a profit. The product or service is the focus; the Internet part is the means to reaching customers. There’s no magic system, method or Web tool that will produce something out of nothing. At least, there isn’t one at the time of this writing. If they invent a computer that can spend its own money, perhaps there will be. I wouldn’t bet on it!
You, as a prospective Internet Marketer, need to learn a few basics:
• Most people use the Internet to get information, not spend money.
• Those who do want to spend money online know what they want, usually in specific detail.
• Customers can be very selfish and fickle – if you don’t have what they want, they’re gone in an instant. If they bought from you and are dissatisfied, they’ll want an instant refund.
• If you don’t seem trustworthy, practically nobody will trust you with his or her money. Perception is reality, online.
• You need to be able to tolerate risk and uncertainty without panicking. Every business, online or offline, has slow periods, problems and temporary failures. You need staying power to stay in business.
There’s also the question of how you approach Internet Marketing. Are you a hobbyist or a businessperson? A hobbyist cannot use an online business as a tax write-off. A businessperson can. Turning a hobby into a business requires a level of commitment and due diligence beyond the needs of a hobby. It’s fine if you want to share your passion for a particular subject or pastime with a blog or Web page. Just know that if you want to turn that interest into a business, you need to plan it and work it like a business.
Having a passionate interest in something is often the best motive for starting an online business. If all you really want to do is make some money, get a job and let someone else handle all the problems and do all the real worrying. Passion will carry a business past the last barrier to long-term success – quitting when things get tough. There isn’t one successful business that hasn’t had a challenge that could have sunk it without a commitment to overcome that challenge, no matter what!
If you think you have what it takes to meet such challenges, with passion and commitment, follow the two rules for online success:
1. Get started
2. Don’t quit!
Now that you know how to think right about Internet Marketing, you won’t end up lunch for lions.
How Much Is Too Much?
September 3, 2007
A lot has been said lately about focus and how many projects you should take on at once. What is said, mostly by the experts, is that you should only focus on one at a time for maximum returns.
Well, I’ve done a lot of thinking about that. In fact, WAY too much thinking about that. Let me tell you what I think…
I worked in a customer service job that serviced the pharmaceutical industry for many years. And the very nature of this job was such that if you DIDN’T focus on multiple projects at the same time, it meant losing contracts, customers and dollars.
At times, I had as many as four major projects running all at once and had tight timelines to go with them. And you know what?
They always got completed. Usually on time and within budget.
What does that mean? To me, that means the CORRECT thing to say would be more like “Only work on the number of projects that you can effectively move forward and complete on schedule”. Stay within your own capabilities.
For me, that can be four. For you, maybe 2. Or maybe 7. That’s something only you can answer.
I was recently talking to a very successful marketer who told me that I should be focusing on one project at a time. He was the second or third one that told me that.
But the funny thing here is, NO successful marketer that I know works on just ONE project at a time. Including the marketers that told me to focus on one at a time.
The major difference here is resources. When you hit a certain level of success, you have more resources at your disposal. Money, people, tools, etc.
So, what if you are NOT one of those who have those resources at your disposal? What can you do?
Tha answer is really very simple and when I tell you, you’re going to smack yourself on the forehead and say, “DOH! I knew that!”
The answer: Strategic Partner(s)
Look, you don’t need to be a wildly successful marketer to have your own team around you. In fact, when you get the right partners, you will see your own productivity, ideas, and success
really start to flourish.
Why do I call them Strategic Partners?
Your partners should have the skills or components that you lack. And conversely, you need to have the skills or components that THEY lack. You need to compliment each other. This also means tht you need to “take an inventory” of your skills. You need to know what you can bring to the table.
One of my strategic partners is a programmer. Another writes ebooks and other content. Still another partner brings a level of creativity that I don’t posess. He’s an idea factory!
And I have certain skills that THEY lack, such as the “back end” knowledge of setting up and running websites, marketing, networking and customer service skills. We compliment each other greatly.
You can do the very same thing. It’s not that hard. But the FIRST thing you need to realize is that it will take an effort from you to make contact with people. OFF the computer.
My first partner I met at a lunch. My second at a seminar. They both started from a simple conversation. We quickly determined that we each had something to bring to the table that would fill the gaps.
Now, working on multiple projects at once is not so daunting a task as doing them by yourself.
The process is really very simple. Look for or organize a lunch in your local area for people who work on line. Start by going to a few of the marketing forums and simply ask who lives in your area. (Heck, it’s how I met Mike Filsaime…)
Meeting face to face is recommended because this enables you to “size each other up” to determine if you have similar goals and value systems. That’s very important. That’s where the trust begins.
Once you understand the power of strategic partnerships, you will not look at your on line business the same ever again. The days of “Lone Wolf” marketing are largely over. Time to roll with the changes.
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Michael Ambrosio - Developer and Internet Entreprenuer
If you would like to reprint this article, please feel free
to do so, just as long as this resource box remains with it.
Copyright 2006 Michael Ambrosio http://www.mikeambrosio.com
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4 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Do
August 23, 2007
Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the highest returns. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them.
Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.
These are tactics that have worked before and continue to work in the online affiliate marketing world. With these top four marketing tips, you will be able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing game.
What are these four tactics?
1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.
In fact, it even helps to buy a domain name to promote from. This can create the impression that you are associated with the product. It’s also much more professional because you promote to a short and simple link and not one of those long, ugly affiliate links.
Additionally, you can set up lead capture pages this way so you can build a list of your own. You should ALWAYS be building your list! In the end, it’s worth the 9 bucks you pay for a domain name for this reason alone.
2. Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. You should actually purchase and try out the products you are selling. It’s much more credible when your reviews are from experience and not just speculation.
You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.
3. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.
Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.
4. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Think about it . . . would you rather sell your “hamburger” to a starving person or to a dedicated vegitarian?
Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.
The tactics given above are not really very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part. Not good at riting articles? Well, get your hands on some private label articles and change them up, edit, etc. Make them yours. The more you change the better. Once you have done this a few times, it get’s MUCH easier.
Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…












