I have been doing the Internet Marketing thing for many years now, and working from home full time just over 2 years and I can say that I thoroughly enjoy this lifestyle.

I love getting up in the morning because my body tells me it’s time – not my alarm clock. In fact, I don’t use my alarm clock any more.

I love the ability to walk my 6 year old son to the bus stop every morning.

I love the ability to decide if I want to work from my home office, or drive the 9 miles to my outside office.

I love being able to go out to lunch with my wife pretty much any time I want.

So many benefits!

But there is one downside that not many people talk about. A side that, if left unchecked, can be disastrous.

Your health.

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Ah, the new year. 2010 just around the corner. You know what that means, right?

Time for new resolutions and goals – made and most likely broken.

Don’t feel bad – I am as bad as the next person

Over the past couple of years though, I have gotten pretty good at setting and achieving goals, and  making New Years Resolutions that I can stick to!

And I want to help you do the same thing. So I have not one, but TWO free downloads for you…

The first report I put out with Fabio Marciano a couple of years back. It’s a comprehensive system for achieving your resolutions. Looking to lose some weight? Quit smoking? Stop drinking? Things like that? It’s not as hard as you think. You can start right here:

http://inmarkon.com/nyrh

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Traffic. Traffic. Traffic.

It seems to be all we hear about these days, right?

Well, there’s a good reason for that. Traffic is one of the most important elements for your on line business. No traffic equals no sales equals no income. Pretty straight forward.

I am no stranger to generating traffic for my own sites, as well as for others. But there are so many ways to get traffic it’s hard to decide which way to go.

As far as where to get good, up to date information on some of the traffic techniques being used today, that can be a chore to find as well.

Unless, of course, you already know where to turn – like I do.

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It’s funny, this business we’re in.

You build a list because you learn that it’s what you MUST do if you want to be able to make money on demand.

So people sign up to your list. Some will buy what you’re promoting, some will read and delete, some will not read and still some will email you and say “Stop send me this crap!” – LOL.

Have you experienced that too? Anyone with a list does – even those who send out ALL good content.

So let me ask you. Why do you have a list?

There’s quite a few reasons…such as, delivering content and sharing knowledge, promoting products, or both. And even as a mechanism to inform your customers of updates, etc.

But at the end of the day, in the internet marketing niche anyway, the ultimate GOAL of a list is to make money. Plain and simple. For most of us, anyway.

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Affiliate marketing in the CPA networks has been, for the most part, very difficult to do. Even getting approved in these networks can be futile.

Until now…

By now I’m sure you’ve heard about Affiliate Jump (They couldn’t keep it ‘secret’ for too long)

So here’s the deal.

For over 6 months, Mike Filsaime and his partner Joe Holland have been quietly working together on an ‘under the radar’ affiliate technology which has been in private beta since June.

In fact, it’s been called ‘The Ultimate Affiliate Connection’ by some who have seen it in early action.

Here’s a link to the webinar where we open the curtain for you to see what it’s all about:

http://www.centralnetmarketing.com/AffJump

(Yes, you can watch it right now.)

When you watch, you’ll also get a complimentary copy of this $97 value report, CPA Profits Revealed which you can download and print out or read on your computer.

http://www.centralnetmarketing.com/AffJump

This launches on Thursday, so you’ll want to gear up for putting your CPA and Affiliate Marketing into overdrive.

I’ll have a couple of bonuses for you too…one is so new it hasn’t even launched yet. But it will be HIGHLY relevant to this launch.

Stay Tuned…once you see how easy CPA marketing has just gotten you will never look at it the same way again.

Here’s the link again:

http://www.centralnetmarketing.com/AffJump

(it’s only a few minutes and gives you a great idea about how this program will work for you.)

You know, not everyone who succeeds in life are the best at what they do. I’ve seen the most educated and skilled people in their field fail, while others who are half as talented succeed.

Why is that?

Most people do everything they possible can to prevent themselves from experiencing failure. They have a simple
misconception that failure is the end of the road. So when they face setbacks or failure, they give up.

The thing is… NO ONE who has ever tasted any level of success without first experiencing the bitter/sweet taste of failure.

You see, failure is only the end of the road when you give up.

One of the best ways to deal with setbacks and failure is to experience it first hand. Embrace your failings and analyze what went wrong so you can make improvements the next time round.

I encourage to get out there and give it a go. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. If it goes wrong, learn from it. Make changes and move on. Just keep repeating the process until youg it right.

And when you find the correct formula… simply rinse and repeat your way to success.

That has LONG been the question for me.

I have thought about this often but have never made the attempt – mainly because of the personal time commitment required to effectively do this.

Last weekend I went to an event – first one in over a year – and I was asked three times if I was coaching. So here I am back to thinking about it.

So, in order to help me make up my mind I have created a quick survey to get your thoughts on this subject. If getting a coach is something you have been considering, please take 5 minutes and fill this out.

Have you ever purchased a product or service on line and decided that you weren’t happy with it? Doesn’t matter why you weren’t happy – just that you weren’t.

What do you do in that situation? I know what I do…

If it costs a decent amount of money, I would ask for a refund. If it were a subscription of some sort, I would cancel it and if it billed me another month, I would ask for that month refunded.

Fair enough, right?

So, then let me ask you this…HOW would you ask for it back? Would you simply go to the product or service owner  first? Or would you bypass them and hit up Paypal, or whatever merchant provider they use and file a dispute, or chargeback?

Mind you – I am NOT asking what you would do if you tried 10 times and are frustrated – I am asking what you would do right from the beginning.

Not for nothing, but as someone who has been doing business on line for nearly 10 years, I have only ever filed a chargeback once. After finding the product to be pure crap, then being summarily ignored when asking for a refund.

Listening to some people, you would think they got ripped off on a daily basis. Let me give you an example…

I have a service that charges a good amount of money per month – which is clearly stated on the sales page in several places. I run the payments and subscription through Paypal.

I had a client that decided that they no longer wished to use my service, but their second month was billed. I was emailed and asked (that is being kind) to “…put back the money I took from their account”. I mean, you could see the anger right off the bat – the money I took?? Hmmm…

Well, no big deal. It’s part of the business.

So, I log in to my Paypal to refund this customer and what do I find when I log in? Yup – a dispute…for an UNAUTHORIZED transaction no less.

Now, I find that laughable, seeing as they signed up for a recurring payment and the first payment went through a month prior. They used that because the mindset of those who do that are simple – Hey, if I say it’s unauthorized, I can make them look like a thief and get my money back…

What’s even funnier is the fact that this mindset prevents the person from understanding that that’s NOT how this works. In reality, knowing Paypal the way I do, all I needed to do was provide proof that it was authorized – and considering the first payment was NOT being disputed, this would have been easy. And this person WOULD have lost this dispute – and created bad vibes along the way.

So, I very nicely explained this to the person, telling them a simple “Hey, can you please refund the second month? I am canceling…” and they would have had their money back in their Paypal in about 30 seconds.

The response I got? “Well, I have been ignored by others, so I filed the dispute”

With the kind of mindset displayed, it’s no wonder.

I am a very simple guy – treat people the way you want to be treated. Karma lives in my world, as it does in so many others.

Many of my on line friends would have told me to simply refund them and get them out of your life. And, I could have I suppose. But what I explained to this customer is that when you claim that the payment I “took” was unauthorized, simply because you are too lazy, or scared, or whatever to come directly to me, then you are calling me a thief.

Sorry. Not gonna let that fly. Especially considering that by calling me a thief, you made yourself into a liar. Lock, stock and barrel.

In the end, we traded a few emails, they recinded the dispute and I refunded them. But when you insist on doing business this way, I can tell you that more often than not, people will remember you in not such a positive light. For example, if this person were to email me in six months with a JV request for a new product, that email goes straight into cyber heaven.

No chance.

Spiteful? Maybe. Or, maybe I simply know that somehow this person may in the future call me a liar then withhold any affiliate payments due to me. Bad business is just bad business even if it starts out as something a little personal…

This is just a rant, but it’s food for thought on a few different levels…

Just because you sit behind a keyboard and not across from people does not give anyone the right to treat people poorly. It may give you a feeling of power over someone, but it’s short lived and misguided, to say the least. It ALWAYS comes back around sooner or later.

As has been said by better people than me – character is how you behave/act when no one is looking. Or not sitting across from you.

People WILL remember you and your attitude.

Just because you may have been ripped off by someone does not mean you will get ripped off by everyone. That kind of mindset will hold you back.

Fianlly, don’t automatically assume that because YOU are the one that files a claim that it means the merchant provider will automatically believe you and side with you. They understand fully that there are as many thieves on that side of the credit card too. And, you would be surprised how few people actually win those disputes anyway.

Try asking first. The bad taste you leave may come back to haunt you…

I’ve been around this Internet Marketing niche for quite a while now, and I participate in a few forums. Every now and again, someone who is obviously new to the market and trying to get opinions or recommendations about a product or coaching program will ask,”Hey – how good is XYZ…?”

Legitimate question. It’s obvious that you have someone doing their due diligence BEFORE buying into a product or program.

What I really like are those that answer like this:

“Don’t waste your money. You can get all the information you want for free on the internet or in this forum.”

There’s an old saying… “Knowledge is power”. 

That’s only half right though. Knowledge itself is useless unless applied. So APPLIED knowledge is power.

So telling someone who’s looking for a way to succeed that they can find all the info they want for free is only giving them potential access to the power.

There’s all kinds of value out there. Money is surely value. But so is time.

So let’s say you are considering joining a coaching program that costs $997 and you ask about whether it’s worth the money. Then someone answers “Ah, you can find all of the info in that coaching program for free all over the internet”.

That answer may be true, but then you need to ask yourself a few questions too:

• What is your time worth?
• Do you know how to apply the information you’re finding for free?
• Do you know what your best “method” is for achieving your goals? Surely there are lot’s of methods…
• Can you constantly motivate yourself to move forward – especially when you have setbacks and failures? You can bet your bottom dollar you’ll have both.

Don’t be afraid to spend money (when you have it) on speeding up your education. It’s an investment in your future. Just be sure to research your potential investment as thoroughly – and objectively – as you can.

Even if you don’t have money to spend at will, there’s other things you can do.

Bartering is alive and well on the internet. Several years back, when I was fully five figures in debt, I decided to teach myself a few things…web hosting, script installations and general webmaster duties. Then when I saw something I thought would do me good, I contacted the product owner and suggested trading their product for my time.

While this didn’t work 100% of the time (naturally), it worked more than it didn’t. Subsequently, it helped speed up my own on line education significantly…and the money came faster.

There are never any guarantees in life. Most people realize this already. But one thing IS guaranteed… as Wayne Gretzky once said, “You are guaranteed to miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.

Time is money. And your money (well spent) will help shorten your time.

…That is the question.

I don’t mean should I mentor anyone.  What I mean is should you get a mentor.

This is a question that gets hotly debated in the forums and on blogs, but I have my own thoughts on this…

Mentoring success depends on many factors. MANY factors. It’s even hard to quantify it. So for starters, let’s understand some of these basic ideas…

- Are you a good candidate for mentoring? You not only NEED to ask yourself this question but you must be 100% honest with yourself when you answer it.

Let’s face it, we all like to think of ourselves as astute learners. Generally people see themselves very differently than we really are (including yours truly).

So ask yourself - Are you a good listener? Do you comprehend easily? Are you shy and won’t ask questions? Will you put yourself to the test? Are you a good problem solver?  What’s the best way for you to learn? Reading? Video? Audio? Group? One on one?

All of this is important because no matter how good or successful your chosen mentor may be, if you’re not a good student and don’t ask questions…if you don’t challenge yourself, mentoring is probably not a good way to go for you.

Unfortunatley, the mentor takes the bad wrap when people don’t “learn” what the mentor is teaching, even when it’s not their fault.

That’s not to say all mentors are good teachers either. But it’s important that you also have a good rapport with your mentor. A relationship where you are comfortable asking them questions, or challenging them when you feel it’s neccessary.

- Do you know what it is you want to learn? Do you have a plan?

What good will it do you if you hire a mentor and not know what your long term goals are? No good at all. Don’t take this lightly. If the mentor you hire is any good, these are some of the questions they will ask you.

- Are you convinced that higher priced mentors will guarantee your success?

If you do, you’re in for a rude awakening. You may indeed get much better information, and a better method of teaching…but if you are not receptive, or if you believe everything should be “push-button”, you WILL be dissapointed.

That being said, if any mentor tells you that their system is hands-free, requires no effort, etc. than you are best off running. Quickly. Because there’s no such system out there that does not reqire work to be successful.

In fact, I would argue that - assuming your mentor is a good one – the more you pay for the service, the more work you can expect to do. The more advanced tactics, systems, etc. you will learn.

If you decide that a mentor is the way to go for you, remember these basics:

- Do your due diligence. Look for information – preferrably from several students of the mentor or coach.

- Interview your potential mentor. If you plan to spend $5,000 (or even just $500) for their services, at the very least you should talk with them by phone and see if you hit it off.

- Understand what it is they are teaching and make sure it aligns with what you want to learn. Is it right for your business?

- DO NOT spend money you don’t have based on hype or high pressure! If you tell them you don’t have 5 grand and they tell you to put it on your friends credit cards…run. Fast.

- Do your due diligence. I mention this again because it’s very important. It’s your money. Be an educated consumer.

Again, this is a hot topic. Feel free to leave your comments below. I am interested in your viewpoint.