Why Are You On My List Then??
February 2, 2008
Internet Marketing is a fun niche. Seriously, I mean that. I have met a ton of wonderful people, and have been to many awesome places. Case in point, my recent trip to New Orleans for the start of Mardi Gras courtesy of Jeff Dedrick.
I won the trip because I finished in the top five of his affiliate contest. I had a great time. Name other niches that offer these kinds of perks…
When I decided to try to make money in the Internet Marketing niche, there were a few things I inherently understood as part of the “game”. That is simply this:
If I sign up to someone’s mailing list, I expect to get mail. Simple, right?
Of course, not all lists are created equal. I try to pick newsletters that offer value in between pitches. But I still expect to be pitched.
So it still makes me scratch my head when I receive emails from list members that complain about getting emails, and about being pitched to.
This isn’t rocket science. On MOST of my subscribe forms, I clearly state that you are signing up to my list and will be receiving emails, which may contain offers from myself or for products I am promoting.
Last week I wrote an email about John Reese’s one hour long IMA video - one which he touted before releasing that it would be the most important email/video you would ever receive…
I wrote about why I did not like it. I also was clear that there was no link. It was simply a statement of my opinion. MOST of the feedback I got was positive, and in agreement with my stance.
Yet I received an email from someone who basically said, “Hey, I signed up for your 12-part ecourse! I don’t want these other emails, so stop sending them to me!”
I found this amusing because on THIS signup form I DO clearly state that you will receive other mailings from me.
Normally I ignore emails like this one, but I felt compelled to do two things: Unsubscibe the person and then email him back stating that I unsubscribed them due to their obvious displeasure of being on my list.
I don’t now, nor have I ever claimed to be perfect. Yes, I send out pure pitch emails. But yes, I also send out pure content emails. That’s how, in my view, this niche works. In my opinion, if this is something “you” don’t understand and accept, then my advice to you is to run as fast as you can from this niche. Find one that does not email so many offers.
You MUST have a certain level of tolerance to play in the Internet Marketing niche. If you like the info, but don’t like being bombarded with so many pitch mails, here’s a very simple solution for you - and one in which I do myself.
Go to Yahoo, or Hotmail or Gmail and open yourself a free account. When you sign up for a list because you want the free gift, sign up with this email address. Now, what I do is about once a month I log in and scan the emails.
The lists which are 100% pitch, or the person sends me 2 or 3 pitch mails per day, I zap them. The ones which are awesome content, I forward to one of my other email addresses so I can read it.
And in ALL cases, I try to learn something from the emails - which subject lines got me to open, how the emails are structured, etc.
Do you have desire to simply bitch, moan and complain about these emails? If so then I ask you: “Why are you on my - or any - list then?”. You like the free stuff, right? There is ALWAYS a trade-off. Free stuff is mainly free from spending cash. You pay by allowing the marketer to email you. That’s how it works.
Disclaimer: I am not referring to scammers, spammers, or those that lie, or trade email addresses. There are plenty of those. I am referring to legitimate marketers who work hard to build their lists.
Remember - if you don’t like the quality of the mailings you are receiving, simply unsubscribe.
This isn’t rocket science.
It’s That Time Again…New Year!
December 27, 2007
It’s that time of year again and I thought I’d write about the top New Year’s Resolutions.
I’m excited about this year and can’t wait to achieve my goals and I know you’re probably scratching your head about what your resolution should be or maybe you already know. Perhaps my list of top resolutions will help…Top New Years Resolutions
A new year always brings with it new resolutions of people hopeful to change the old. Popular changes that many people would like to make are listed below, in no particular order.
1. Lose Weight – With more than fifty percent American adults and countless others in other countries being overweight, it’s no wonder that this resolution appears a lot. Unfortunately there are so many plans out there for losing weight and eating right, that it’s difficult to know what works and what doesn’t and which plan is best for which individual. Keys to successful weight loss focus on good eating habits, a good exercise program and sticking to targeted goals to reach.
2. Pay Off Debt – A main resolution of many is to pay off credit cards and minor installments loans; i.e. like auto loans, not mortgages. Often a tough job, lack of paying off debt often stems form economic issues, unexpected bills, decreased income, health-related bills and more mounting all year long. Do you best and check into refinancing at lower rates is often advised.
3. Stop Bad Habits – Popular resolutions often involve stopping bad habits like smoking, drinking, gambling, drug abuse, cheating on a mate and being a workaholic. To help overcome these, there are 12-step programs out there for nearly any issue today.
4. Continue Education – Another popular resolution is to return to school to finish high school accreditation, to complete college programs and complete other educational training. And with online technology so advanced today, many are able to jump back into programs with online help round the clock and round the world.
5. Travel – Hitting the road, the sea or the air is another top resolution of many. Travel sites offering helpful online planning, booking and savings grow in popularity as does this resolution made by many.
6. Workout – Both genders make resolutions to get fit in the new years ahead. Whether it’s to lift weights or run track or bike or swim, people as a whole seek better fitness. And trying to work in a fitness plan is not always easy with families on the go today. So trying to squeeze in smaller amount of time blocks might help many. For example, workout for 15 minutes a couple of times each day instead of looking for blocks of an hour where you will be free.
There are more popular New Year’s resolutions. Make some of your own and see what you are looking forward to, then make plans to reach your goals. Happy New Year!
Now the problem is actually achieving your resolutions, not setting them. Anyone can set a new years resolution, right?
Exactly.
So make sure you actually set yourself up for success. Write it down and keep it in front of you. Tell others about it and then work on it daily.
For a free report on setting and achieving your New Year’s Resolutions, check out:
http://www.mroverdeliver.com/NewYears
All the best in the New Year!
Michael
Holiday Hijinx at MikeFilsaime.com
December 24, 2007
The holiday season is coming upon us.
Whether you work from home or at an office, you should take the time to enjoy the people around you.
Here at MikeFilsaime.com we do just that.
Take a look at how we decorate the Christmas Tree…
Just an average day at the office…
Enjoy!
Your Questions, My Answers
December 2, 2007
I love helping people get started on the internet. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing the light bulbs go on in someones eyes when I tell them something that helps them.
Same with emails - when someone writes to thank me for helping them solve a problem, or when I bring them useful information.
I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like it.
A short time ago, I asked my subscribers to email me their questions regarding creating and marketing products. After all, I create products and bring them to market all the time. I got some pretty good questions, too.
So, where are your answers?
They’re coming. My intent is to bring them to you via video on my blog. They will be freely available to anyone who visits for at least a little while. Then they will either be added to my Easy Product Profits membership, or behind a subscribe box.
I have set up a small “studio” in my office, including a green screen. I have my video camera, my screen capture and also video editing software standing by. All I am missing is decent lighting. That should be coming soon…
My first video will answer someone who wrote to me about marketing to people with big dreams and little money. In fact, that email exchange is posted on this blog. But I wanted to address this in a bit more detail.
So, all that said, just be on the lookout. My first video should be soon. You can still send me your questions if you’d like. You can either email them to mike AT mikeambrosio DOT com or simply add a comment to this post.
Looking forward to serving you!
Internet Marketing Isn’t “Us Against Them”…
November 21, 2007
I get a lot of questions via emails. No problem, I like to really. In fact, I just emailed my lists to find out their biggest question regarding creating and launching products.
I got one that seems to epitomize much of the “us against them” thought process today. Here’s the email and my response…
=======================
How do successful marketers sleep at night knowing they made their millions out of the newbies ignorance and debt? Many seuccessful marketers pride themselves on how they have helped newbies to become successful. Where are they? In my humble oppinion it would favour well for successful marketers to consider teaching newbies free of charge until they are comfortably able to pay for their success. But don’t mind me, I’m just a humble newbie.
This is a great question - and I will do a video on it - but let me give you a bit of insight right now.
First of all, understand a couple of things about me…
I was NOT always successful. In fact, I spent 5 or more years toiling around, not making money while deep in debt. I had the exact same outlook and attitude that you have right now:
“You’re living off the backs of people like me!”
“Teach me free, if you’re so smart!”
Etc. and so on. But I learned quite a few things as time went on, and it helped change my viewpoint…which helped change my life. Let me explain…
First, successful marketers (disclaimer: I can’t and DON’T speak for all marketers, and certainly not for scammers. I speak for me and the people I know) sleep well at night simply because we understand a few things.
-The people we sell products to are adults, capable of making informed choices.
-The products we put out, if followed and worked, do make people money. My Easy Product Profits chronicles EXACTLY how I make money by creating products.
-Helping people for free, whether you believe this or not, never works.
Let me expand on that third one. We all like to think we’re different than everybody else. We tend to think, “If they just gave me their product, if it’s so great, I KNOW I can make money with it”. That’s a fantasy, however.
It has been proven, time and again, that when you get free stuff, you tend to do nothing with it. If you want proof, look at your own hard drive at all the free products you downloaded, and ask yourself how many of them you opened, read, and took action on.
Taking action is the key to your success - not getting free help. I can’t tell you how many people have written to me about their tough times financially, asking me for free access to a product of mine. I typically give access and simply request ANY kind of feedback - show me some progress, ask me questions, tell me if it helps, and so on.
Not a SINGLE person I ever gave free access to my products has ever come back to me with feedback one way or the other. Then I am forced to wonder how THEY sleep at night, knowing they gave me a sob story to play on my emotions, I go out of my way to help, then they won’t even TRY to make an effort. THAT’S disheartening…
But, alas, I love to help people. If I am asked, I usually respond in some way. Not always with free products, but at least with free advice.
In fact, just a few days back a man on my list asked me for a review and some tips for his very first video. It was 15 minutes long. I watched the entire video, and sent him an email (about as long as this one) with my advice, tips, etc. He turned out to be one that is appreciative…he redid his video based on my advice. And guess what? He will finish his product, he will launch it, and he will make a few dollars. Because he’s taking action.
So, here’s the very best advice I can give you. And this is the same advice given to me a few years back and it literally changed my life…
First, lose the “Us against them” thought process. Successful marketers are NOT holding you back.
Second, understand that the odds are, if you are given free access to any product, most likely you won’t follow through. You’ll feel you’ve lost nothing because, well, it was free. When you pay for information - even five bucks - you tend to feel a vested interest and are more likely to take action.
Third, Take Action!
Fourth, change your label of yourself. Newbie is a state of mind, and it’s dibilitating. You will lean on that every time you have a failure. “Oh, well I’m just a newbie, I don’t know how!” or, like in your opening statement, you’ll always feel ripped off because you’re a newbie.
Don’t be a newbie. Study, learn, apply. Don’t admonish successful marketers - learn from them, do what they do. Ask questions. And most of all…Take Action!
Look for my videos in a couple of weeks…
==================
Names with held. But you get the idea.
Anyway, that’s my viewpoint on this subject. Feel free to leave your comments.
Mike
How Much Is Too Much?
November 2, 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.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
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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SEO Basics Part 2
October 15, 2007
Okay, let’s dive right into SEO from the beginning. That would be with your niche.
The biggest mistake that people make when trying to do SEO is that they don’t bother to do research on their niche first to see what kind of demand there is for it and how much competition they have.
They pretty much dive right in only to find out later that they are going against millions of pages in that niche and only 2,000 monthly searches. Good luck trying to win this search engine war.
Brad Callen’s first chapter of his free giveaway book (it’s nice to be so rich that you can just give stuff away) was called “Optimize the Wrong Keywords and You’ll Most Likely Never See Results.” No truer words were ever spoken.
====================================================
If you would like to learn how a 28 year old guy made over $100 million dollars (yes ONE HUNDRED MILLION) in just 23 months selling a product that sold for just $60, then click on the link below:
http://www.mroverdeliver.com/12mm
====================================================
And yet, so many people never get this. They want to throw up a site with the keywords “Home Business” and expect to see results. They’d have a better chance of getting a date with a super model.
Hey, look…don’t feel bad. I’ve done the same thing.
Brad explains how you have to really get into the basement of a niche. Well, those weren’t his words, but that’s really what he meant. Today we call them long tail keywords. These are the keywords that are down at the end of the search chain.
Now, a lot of people might immediately think, “How can that do me any good? If few people search using these keywords, how do I get traffic?” Well, we’ll get to that shortly. The point is, you have absolutely no chance going against the big boys of “Home Business” or “Weight Loss” or any of the other, what I call, “main keywords.” The reason is because everybody and their grandmother is optimizing on those keywords. So to have a prayer with SEO, you have to go the other route.
Now, that isn’t to say that someday you’re not going to incorporate these main keywords into your SEO. You will, but you have to get in through the back door first. Then you can start pulling in traffic from some of the major keywords.
So let’s say you’re in the niche of “weight loss”, which is a very big one today. The first thing you need to do is go to a keyword suggestion tool (I use Wordtracker) and find out what some of the long tail keywords are that maybe don’t have as much competition.
Here is the URL that you need to go to in order to look these keywords up.
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/
Okay, so let’s go there and look up “weight loss”
As you can see, the weight loss main keyword has over 12,000 searches a month as of this printing. That’s a lot of searches. But if you go to the Google search engine and look to see how many sites come up under the keyword “weight loss” you will find that it is over 45 million sites. Think you have a shot in Hades of putting a dent in this market?
Okay, let’s run down our keyword list to something that doesn’t quite have as much competition.
Let’s look at “weight loss spells” Hey, don’t laugh. It was searched for about 63 times last month.
If you look at the number of sites that are optimized for that keyword, it’s only about 22,000.
Now THAT is a much more manageable number.
See where we’re going with this?
Good. Next article we’ll pick it up from here.
==========================================
If it offends you to learn from someone who did spend
time in jail and lost $48 million dollars because of
these mistakes, then please don’t click on this link:
http://www.mroverdeliver.com/12mm
==========================================
The Basics of SEO
October 14, 2007
SEO. What exactly is it? It stands for "Search Engine Optimization", but in simple terms, it is the art and science of getting your web page high up in the search rankings.
So if you had a site on say, “credit repair”, if somebody were to go to a search engine and do a search on the keyword “credit repair” your site would hopefully land somewhere in the first 3 pages - preferably on page 1 near the top of the page.
In practice, this is a whole other ballgame. Why? Because the search engines, which at one time used to be predictable, continuously change the rules on us and make ranking just plain difficult.
For example, when FFA pages first came out and people would post their links to these FFA pages, the search engines would include these pages in their listings and give you credit for having your link on these pages.
But then, as the search engines began to realize that nobody actually went to these pages, they stopped including them in their listings. Now, all those links that people had out there turned out to be worthless. People’s search engine rankings for their sites began to plummet overnight. Most people had no explanation for it.
But the ones who took the time to find out, either through insider information or just trial and error, realized that posting to FFA sites wouldn’t help your SE ranking and only hurt it.
====================================================
Traffic Marketing Videos Will Take You By The Hand And Show You "Not Just How To Start", But How To Finish By Driving Bulls Eye Traffic To Your Internet Business.
10 Power-Packed Videos…One Ultra Low Price!
http://www.mroverdeliver.com/seovideos
====================================================
SEO is constantly changing because the rules are always changing. However, having said that, there are some strategies which are basic and will never change. If you master these strategies and use them all the time, you have a decent chance of working your way up the search engines.
Some techniques work better than others and there are some shortcuts that we can use today to help get us up the search engines a little quicker. Will those shortcuts work tomorrow? Nobody really knows. But for the purposes of what works today, we’re going to include those shortcuts in upcoming articles.
Just a disclaimer before we actually get into the ABCs of SEO. Because of the volatile nature of search engines, I make no guarantees that the methods you are about to read are going to land you on page one.
For one thing, it is a lot harder to land on the first page of the search engines when you’re competing with 10 million other sites. It’s a lot easier if you only have a few thousand sites to deal with. That is one of the things that you’re going to learn throughout this series, how to pick a niche where you will have the best chance of getting a top spot on the search engines.
One other thing you need to be aware of. Each SE has its own criteria, so landing on page one of a particular search engine doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to land on page one on ALL the search engines. That’s why you want to concentrate on the main search engines and just a few of them. Over time, the rest will come.
SEO is a war. Many today are winning the war because of some of these methods.
So sit back and get yourself prepared for one very intense tutorial on SEO.
In our next article… Choosing a Niche and researching
keywords and key phrases.
====================================================
Traffic Marketing Videos Will Take You By The Hand And Show You "Not Just How To Start", But How To Finish By Driving Bulls Eye Traffic To Your Internet Business.
10 Power-Packed Videos…One Ultra Low Price!
http://www.mroverdeliver.com/seovideos
====================================================
Inspiring or Gloating?
September 1, 2007
I have been a member of the Warrior Forum since around 1999. It’s a great forum full of money making advice from people who do it daily.
Unfortunately, it’s also full of wanna-be’s and bullshitters too. Not unusual. You’ll find that on any forum.
Lately there has been debate about people posting “My First $10,000 Day…” and so on.
Some argue that posts like these are simply gloating, while others say it’s inspiring to those who have not made money yet. And of course, there’s those that believe that most of these posts are baloney.
I am going to ignore the baloney part for now. I have thoughts on that, but my rambling today is on whether these posts inspire or inflame.
Back in August of ‘05, I did my first $5,000 day. A ran a firesale with the help of a few marketers like Mike Filsaime, Willie Crawford, Dr. Mike Woo Ming and others. It was very exciting.
The launch actually went one week late and I took my family on a two-day jaunt down to the Jersey Shore and a Six Flags. About every 45 minutes I called Mike to see how we were doing, since I was not in front of a computer. It was a blast to hear “You got another 12 sales..” or “You’re up to $3,500 in sales so far…”
When the first day was behind me - after celebrating with my family - I was chatting with Mike on the phone and he suggested I post my “First $5,000 day” on the Warrior Forum (I ended up at about $5,200 in sales). He told me that posts like that will inspire others.
Up to this point, my earnings were sporadic and sparse. I was into web hosting and script installations, but migrating into Internet Marketing. So I can see how it could inspire others who have not made much money.
But I also felt self-conscious about making such a post. I felt as if people would read it as me gloating. And I’m sure there would have been those that WOULD have thought that. So in the end, I did NOT make that post.
I see many of those posts today. And if they’re true, I think it’s fantastic. But with skepticism the way it is, when you make a post with a claim like that, they quickly get over-taken by nay-sayers, requiring “proof”, and in some cases name-calling.
That in turn brings out the supporters to defend the post and/or the poster.
But what both sides lose sight of is that these arguements simply have very little value. They breed negativity.
Let’s face it, if someone is lying about an income claim, they are really hurting themselves. Why bother even questioning their integrity or demand proof? If the person is not SELLING anything, then let the post serve the purpose for which it was intended… to inspire others to try harder.
If someone is claiming certain numbers in order to sell a product or service, then by all means, look for proof. But having a flame war because someone is excited about a sales day and then someone else having a bad day questions the validity of the claim serves no purpose.
Well, in my opinion anyway.
That’s it for my ramblings. Go out and make money!
To Your Success,
Michael Ambrosio
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