Randy Roedl

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 24

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There is much speculation about how much money you can earn online without your own product. marketing your own digital product on the Internet can be very lucrative but there is no reason why you can’t profit a great deal by using creative methods that offer real value to Internet surfers and have your own product as well.

An affiliate program is really not as difficult to set up as you may think. Thanks to the high demand for affiliate systems recently, there are now lots of ways to set up your own program.

Here’s what you need to set one up:

1. A web site with your own domain name.

2. At least one product or service that you own completely.

3. A system to handle commission tracking and payment.
That sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Well, actually it is! And it’s getting easier all the time.

The first two items listed above are self-explanatory. Of course, you need your own website and your own product or service. You can’t very well set up an associate program if you don’t own the site or the product(s) you will be promoting. If you have not taken these two steps, you’ll need to do them first. Once you’ve managed to get by these two steps, you can move right to step three, setting up your program.

You will need to search the Internet for a system that will handle commission tracking and payment. You can try to do this yourself but you will most likely miss some and missed ones are missed income. There are free ones, as well as, paid ones.

The positive aspects of an associate management system are many:

1. You can sign on associates more rapidly and grow a larger force of resellers.

2. You’ll enjoy the automation and online management of affiliates.

3. These systems provide full sales statistics for both you and your associates.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 24

Most webmasters know that Adsense generates a sizeable source of additional advertising income. That is why most of them use it to go after high paying keywords. They have with them the lists that tells what the keywords are and have already used various methods of identifying them. And yet, after putting up these supposed-to-be high paying keywords into their pages, the money they expected to come rolling in is not really coming in.

What is it that they are doing wrong?

Having the pages is with the proper keywords is one thing. But driving visitors to those pages is another matter and often the factor that is lacking.

The thing is, to get visitors to your high paying keyword pages, you need to optimize your site navigation.

Stop for a moment and think about how visitors are using your website. After a visitor has landed on a certain page, they have the tendency to click on another page that sounds interesting. They get there because of the other links that appears on a page that they initially landed on. This is site navigation. It is all about enabling visitors to move about your site. And one way of maximizing your Adsense earnings.

A typical website have menu links on each page. The wording on these links is what grabs a visitor’s attention and gets them to click on one of the links that will take them to another page of that website. Links that have “free’ or “download” are oftentimes good attention-grabbers.

This navigation logic can also be applied to driving traffic to your high paying pages. There are some websites that are getting a lot of traffic from search engines, but have low earnings. The trick is to try and use come cleverly labeled links to get the visitors off that pages and navigate them to the higher earning ones. This is one great way of turning real cheap clicks to real dollars.

Before you begin testing if this same style will work for you and you website, you need to have two things. Something to track and compare and some high earning pages you want to funnel your site traffic to. An option is to select a few of your frequently visited pages. This is ensuring fast result to come by.

Now, the next thing to do is think of ways to get visitors viewing a particular page to try and click on the link that will take them to your high earning pages. Come up with a catchy description for that link. Come up with a catchy and unique description for the link. Think of something that people do not get to see everyday. That will trigger their curiosity enough to try and see what that was all about.

You can also use graphics to grab your readers’ attention. There is no limitation to what you can do to make your link noticeable. If you are after the success of your site, you will do everything it takes just to achieve that goal. Just be creative. As far as many Adsense advertisers are concerned, there are no written and unwritten laws to follow regarding what they write. Just as long as you do not overstep the guidelines of the search engines, then go for it.

Also remember that it is all about location, location and location. Once the perfect attention grabbing description has been achieved, you have to identify the perfect spot on your page to position that descriptive link to your high paying page.

There is nothing wrong with visiting other websites to see how they are going about maximizing their site navigation. “Hot pages” or “Most read” lists are very common and overly used already. Get to know the ones that many websites are using and do not try to imitate them.

Another way of doing it is to try and use different texts on different pages. That way you will see the ones that work and what does not. Try to mix things around also. Put links on top and sometimes on the bottom too. This is how you go about testing which ones get more clicks and which ones are being ignored.

Let the testing begin. Testing and tracking until you find the site navigation style that works best for you site.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 23

You’re probably searching for additional revenue streams to keep your business solid and secure in this contracting economy and uncertain world.  Producing specialized content for sale is one of the fastest, most reliable methods of making extra income fast.  Writing a "white paper" or a special report, is a great way to set yourself up as an expert in your field, and share valuable information with your prospects.

You may already have most of the ingredients for an e-book or special report in your files or archives.  Find out which ingredients make customers willing to pay you for material available from other sources, and what elements you should include in your marketing copy to spark their interest in buying now.

Here are the steps to take when writing your special report:

· Have your end goal in mind before you start.

· Do you want to find a way to increase sales, while reducing your cost to acquire those sales?

· Who are you trying to impress and what is important to them?

· What distribution method will be best?

· How many people do you want to impact with this report?

· Make sure the layout of your special report looks pleasing, and is very easy to read.

· Keep in mind that it’s basically salesmanship in print.

· Keep your facts accurate, very brief and to the point. The denser your information, the more valuable and more likely to keep the interest of your reader.

· Write an attention getting headline. 95% of your readers will decide if they will read your special report based totally on your headline, so make it great and make it benefit driven.

Get it on the web. When emailing others, include your white paper URL in your SIG line of your Email or include the URL when promoting your special report on Email discussion lists.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 23

Professional blogging is a very new idea with a lot of
potential for entrepreneurs who have insight, drive, and
a basic understanding of today’s innovative web
technology. The ranks of so-called pro bloggers are still
quite small, and there are very few people who make
their living entirely off of their blogs. However, every
day there are more and more people who have managed
to turn their weblogs into cash cows that supplement
their income. The number of pro bloggers is growing by
leaps and bounds, but it is difficult to say whether this
trend will continue.

Many bloggers dream of entering the sphere of
professional blogging. There are very few people who
happily devote an hour or more each day to their blog
without at least occasionally wishing that they could
earn some kind of financial reward for all of their work.
Several models exist for making money with a blog, the
most popular being to sell advertising space through
google’s AdSense program or directly to a company
that wishes to reach the demographic that your blog
appeals to. However, there are very few people indeed
who can make a comfortable living just by selling space
on their blog sidebars.

A lot of the people who read weblogs are bloggers
themselves, in part because of the fact that the people
who use blogging technology on a daily basis are most
likely to be interested in what other writers are doing
with the medium. This fact begins to explain why the
people who succeed in the world of professional
blogging are mostly people who have devoted
themselves almost entirely to learning about, talking
about, and writing about blogging. More than any other
topic, pro bloggers turn their attention to the
phenomenon of blogging itself. A lot of pro bloggers
make the topic of blogging the stunningly self-reflexive
ongoing focus of their blogs.

Of course, professional blogging is destined to become
much more complicated in the future than it is today. In
the current moment, pro bloggers who attract the largest
audiences and make the most money are mostly
concerned with investigating the blogging movement
and with offering advice to amateur bloggers. However,
as the kinds of people who regularly read blogs
changes, and the demographics of bloggers expand and
diversify as blogging software becomes more user
friendly, it is very likely indeed that the world of pro
blogging will begin to reflect these changes. Indeed, it
is very difficult to predict exactly what kinds of blogs
will be reaping the greatest financial rewards five or ten
years down the road. The world of pro blogging is one
of constant change and flux, which is part of what
makes it so exciting.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 22

No matter what type of email you send out, you’ll need a mailing list. The basic way to build a mailing list is by capturing name and email address information for everyone who buys or shows interest in your product.

An email list that YOU COLLECT YOURSELF is worth its weight in gold. This can be accomplished by using a list manager on your site. List managers also provide the HTML coding for the form on the Gateway pages. A list manager collects the email addresses that are gathered with the form.  Thus, your email list is collected. This might take some time so there are methods to use until you get your own email list built.

One way to build a mailing list is to do ad swaps with other list owners. The way this works is, you (as company A) have an email list that you send newsletters to and another list owner (company B) has a list they send newsletters to. Company A and Company B place ads on one another’s mailing lists. Each of you is promoting the other’s list.

You can rent or buy targeted email lists. The list you develop using your own customers’ names is called your “house list.” Of course, when you’re first starting out, your house list is likely to be skimpy. To augment it, one way to go is rent or buy a mailing list. There are two ways to buy or rent a mailing list—approaching the company you want to rent from directly or using a list broker. Any company that emails information to its customers usually has a list manager, who handles inquiries and orders for the mailing list.

Another way to build an email list is to list your newsletter in all of the ezine directories. 

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 22

Big Seminar with Armand Morin and many other top sperakers and internet marketers is getting close. We will be flying out in a few days. I hope Armand has the presidential suite set up for me this time. I really need my space when Im at a event like this.  Atlanta should have some decent weather this time of the year but you better bring a jacket just in case.

I you are still thinking of going, Just click on the picture below.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 21

When you are just starting your online business finding the right products to sell online is the number one problem. Knowing where to look can help.

1. Drop Shipper Directories Drop shippers are wholesalers that will ship direct to your customers so that you don’t have to invest in or store inventory. Directories of drop shippers are for sale online, but make sure you’re buying a reputable one.

2. Local Businesses: You may find businesses in your backyard that offer just the right products, but are not yet into e-commerce. Offer to sell their product online in exchange for a percentage of any profits you make.

3. Crafters: Local crafters are a good source of unique products, and may be willing to reduce their prices for you if you purchase in quantity. Either buy the item outright, or set up a consignment arrangement with them.

4. Garage sales and flea markets: G garage sales are a good place to look for items to sell online. Do some research into categories that interest you, and then start scouring sales for good prices.

5. ebay: ebay itself can be a source for products. Look for wholesale lots that can be broken down for individual sale.

6. Wholesaler Directories: Your local library will probably have directories of manufacturers, wholesalers, and/or distributors. Most directories are organized by SIC code so that you can zero in on the product categories that interested you.

7. Trade Shows: Trade shows are a great way to source products. Lots of merchants gather in one place to look for resellers. To find trade shows in a particular industry, contact trade associations and industry publications.

8. Importers/Exporters: You might want to consider contacting companies that import goods from overseas. It’s possible to source directly from overseas. This requires a lot of expertise, but many companies do it successfully.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 20

Thieves are a problem out in the brick and mortar world is for business owners and thieves are a concern for cyber space business owners. Out in the brick and mortar world, thieves will take money and merchandise and it isn’t any different online. The real world merchants use locks and alarms to deter thieves. Internet business owners need to use anti-theft software to protect their commissions. Here are some things you can do to protect yourself and your commissions:

1. Use Meta Refresh: A meta refresh is a simple bit of HTML code which automatically redirects your visitor to another page (your affiliate URL). It provides a neat way of presenting affiliate links in newsletters. It probably helps reduce commission bypassing and commission hijacking. A big advantage of using meta refreshes is that if merchants change their affiliate links, you can change links on dozens of pages quickly and easily by altering only one file.

One problem is that some search engines don’t like meta refreshes because they’re frequently used for unsavory purposes. So if you use this technique, use it with caution.

2. Use a URL redirection service. You can use free services or buy a unique domain name for each affiliate program you join. URL redirection makes affiliate links less obvious, so this will reduce some commission thefts.

3. Use a web-based ad tracking service. The ad tracking link initially hides the affiliate link, reducing thefts.

4. Use an ad tracking script. Good ad tracking scripts hide the affiliate link as well as being useful for tracking. It has the advantage that it doesn’t promote someone else’s domain.

5. Use JavaScript redirect. Because this initially hides the affiliate link, it should reduce commission thefts.

Be aware that thievery is a problem for online businesses and take the necessary steps to protect your commissions.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 20

Video blogging has a lot of advantages over text-based
blogging, and it is little wonder that this new
technology is catching on all over the globe. Video
blogs very effectively grab the attention of web surfers,
and people are much more likely to become excited
about the dynamic content of a video blog than they are
likely to find a written posting very thrilling. The more
enthusiastic viewers are about a site, the quicker the
word of mouth spreads, and the more traffic the site will
get.

Of course, there are plenty of disadvantages to video
blogging as well. Hosting a v-blog requires quite a bit
of server space, which can make it difficult to get
started. It takes more time to process and upload a video
file than it does to dash off a quick bit of text, which
means that running and updating a video blog can be
quite a bit of work. In addition, web surfers sometimes
grow frustrated with the slow loading times of the files
on many video blogs. Whether you opt for a video blog
or not depends on what kind of subject matter you want
to cover, and how much time you can devote to video
blogging. Before you decide to pursue a video blog,
consider if there is an easier way for you to get your
message across.

posted by Randy Roedl on Apr 18

Every small business owner knows that competition is tough, but he or she may not be able to pinpoint exactly what changes are needed in order to get to the top. Conducting business as usual may no longer be sufficient. Investing in the technology that is now available can be a great help or a bank breaker. It seems that most small business and home based business are either starving (they don’t have enough technology) or they are obese (they have everything piece of new technology that comes down the pike).

There is, however, some fairly new technology that every small or home business owner needs. It can answer questions like; how can small businesses identify noteworthy trends, Identify an existing hot demand and make better decisions faster? Answer: business intelligence software. Business intelligence is the crystal ball of the 21st century.

Purchasing business intelligence (BI) software is one of the most strategic investments that a business can make. Using data mining, reporting and querying, BI helps businesses understand, monitor, manage and respond to specified situations. This software empowers decision-makers — and staff — to connect the dots around key business numbers in a way previously unimaginable. BI helps you figure out:

· Which customers are profitable?
· Which customers appear profitable but aren’t?
· Are you close to — or far from — reaching critical milestones?
· When is the best time to launch a marketing campaign?
· What was the best performing product or service last quarter?

Business Intelligence software may be more of an investment than small businesses can bear. It can certainly be pricy. Small business or home business owners, however, can subscribe to BI services on the Internet at a fairly reasonable cost. There are several to choose from.

ebay also published a “Hot Items” list the first week of each month. It gives valuable information to ebay sellers who use drop shippers.