35 Comments

  1. You always encourage me. I have to admit to having slackened off a little on making new lenses. I seem to be concentrating on improving the 30 or so I already have as not many sales. However, Squidoo ranking is not bad on some of them (because I update so many of them almost every day!) so hope to see a little come in that way.

    But back to building new lenses!

  2. PotPieGirl says:

    Just keep moving forward, Dawn… you’ve got this!

  3. I wish I had that advice a couple of months ago when I started out…probably would have saved me a couple of grand…lol….live and learn, right?

  4. “It’s very hard for me NOT to ask, “Ok, you bought XYZ, can you show me how you tried XYZ?” I’m afraid this would embarrass people – and I certainly don’t want to do that! But why buy something if you’re not actually going to DO IT? Buying is not trying.”

    OMG!! That is it. One of my favourite things to have read from you. I come across this so often and it is heartbreaking and I always scratch my head…. WHY?

    Always love your posts. =)

    Jodies last blog post..Where Have The Nuts Been

  5. I just got OWM towards the end of last week. I have been working a lot of hours and did not really make big Holiday weekend plans. I spent a lot of my time reading over OWM and am ready to publish my first set of lens either tonite or tomorrow.

    The easy to understand format along with Nick’s conversation has made it a joy to get started. I am not a complete “newbie” but really liked the series of planning that OWM implements. Putting it all together in a nice tight package is what I was missing, and did not really know how to tie it all together as you mention in OWM.

    Like Einstein once said, “LIfe is like riding a bicycle. If you stop moving, you will fall off.”… So I better get moving and get my lens published! 🙂

    Thanks for sharing your hard work and expertise with us. With your guidance I will be looking back in six months time seeing how far I have come from doing the work necessary to make an income online that no one can take away.

  6. Keyword research is always what stops me in my tracks, I get so frustrated with it that I always just give up and end up browsing the web.

    Jimmys last blog post..Alistair Overeem – espm

  7. thanks for the words of wisdom. with all the twitter following. membership this and build a big freakin list in minutes mumbo. i am happy to see posts like these.

    THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO LAY THE SMACK DOWN!!!

  8. Almost a month since your last post… Welcome back!!!

    With regards to “My web page ranks great but I get no traffic”… That is a problem I wish I had, at least that way I could tweak my content to fix the problem.

    I am still struggling to get traffic!!! 🙁

    Thanks for the great post as always! Gary.

    Gary Simss last blog post..ONStor and Nexenta Partner to Deliver Enterprise Class OpenStorage

  9. Hi. I’m about to buy CBListAutomator through your link. Was wondering if you could suggest how I would go about finding good bonus products to get people to buy through my affiliate links. I have a review page that’s making sales and would like to ramp it up by offering a good bonus. Any tips?

  10. Thanks Jennifer, another great post from you. This is actually one of very few e-mails I’m waiting for when I open my mailbox. You always have something great to share and I want to be the first to hear it. Keep sending them.

  11. PotPieGirl says:

    Thanks for the feedback everyone – AND for the “Welcome Back”s =) I’m almost totally back. This is the weekend of my sons wedding (HOW did I get so old???). Today is also his birthday. Needless to say, between dress fittings, rehearsal dinners, and other plans, I am farrrrrrrrrr from done.

    But… this is a happy time and I couldn’t be more proud of both my son and my daughter for her recent High School graduation.

    @ Thomas – Yes, “Live and Learn” is key…. so is “Do and Learn” =)

    @ Jodie – Hey Girl! Thank you! I liked you and Dales post on your blog – left y’all a comment =)

    @ Verlyn – LOVE the quote!

    ““LIfe is like riding a bicycle. If you stop moving, you will fall off.”

    Amen!!!!

    @ Jimmy – Yes, keyword research can be frustrating. Sometimes it feels like we are going in circles, doesn’t it?

    @ antbanks – LOL! Thank you!

    @ StartUp – I want to get PotPieDude blogging, but I’m afraid he will spill all my secrets! lol!

    @ Gary – Thank you! It’s been a long few weeks between my surgery, the death of a dear family member, a graduation, and a wedding…..but I’m almost back to normal (not that I’ve ever been normal…lol)

    @ Marc – I tend to make my own bonuses. I like to create something unique that will add value to the purchase that is being made. However, there are lots of marketers that find great bonuses online. Perhaps try some PLR sites?

    @ Ivona – Hey sweetie! Thank you so much!

    @ Sunshine – Always wonderful to see you, too! And yes, you are 110% correct – it all starts and ends with US. My complaint department is the mirror =)

    Thank you all!!!

    Jennifer
    ~PotPieGirl

  12. I got here on accident but really like the way you write. You have some great quotes like not-even-in-the-way pond lol.

  13. theverysmartguy says:

    I remember the days when I would buy up tons and tons of I.M. books. Read it, and move on to the next, never really taking any serious action. Or I would half @$$ do some of the things it said, with no real results, and wondering why it wasn’t working for me.

    Now, its a good 5 years later, and everything just clicked one day. Basically after reading some stuff from Travis, and Jen. I guess it was just the way it was explained that just made me realize that my failures were my own fault. Meaning, I sat on my @$$ and did nothing, expecting something of it.

    Now, I realize that it will take some damn hard work at the beginning before the money will flow. And 80% or more of this work is on getting exposure for your sites. ie: back links, bookmarking, article writing. (well, really its all some sort of linking).

    And until you have money to reinvest, you’ve got to do in manually. This is what I like though. why? you ask. Well, because it gets rid of the wimps, slackers, and tire kickers. People looking for a quick buck, and not wanting to go through the proper steps to get it. This eliminates some competition. =)

    Anyways, before I start to drift off topic, I just want to say that there is no excuse to why people fail online, it is honestly their own fault. They fail because they took no action.

    Jen had said that Any action is good action, as long as you learn something from it. Or something like that.

    Basically, take action, if it doesnt work right away for you, find out why, and improve upon it. If it does work, then great, you are another step closer. However, it still comes down to taking action.

    BTW, a side note I would like to point out Jen, you are in the lead for best money making blog, by ALOT, no one can even touch that score now!!!

    And people, if you havent voted yet, for Jen, or for your favorite money making blog, then go here:

    http://deanhunt.com/make-money-online/

    Anyways, before I write a novel and a half here, I had better jet.

    Ciao for now people,

    Jeff

  14. Good advise again, I look at it like this, I use keywords with lowish search volume (around 300-1000 per month) why? Because I am still in learning mode and trying to dominate those keywords, I track everything I do and see if it increases my ranking, and funnily enough I checked one of my keyword phrases without quotiation marks and its appearing 47th out of 50 million search results. I don’t worry about making money now, I am concentrating on dominating the keywords I am using. My suggestion would be learn to dominate and what actually works for you and then take on the ‘bigger’ search results. Or if you are lucky it may just happy naturally!

  15. theverysmartguy says:

    Amber,

    That is actually the main point. 80% of the work should be on keyword research, and ranking for those words, and getting your page exposure. As soon as that happens, and the keywords you have chosen are getting searched, the traffic will come, and with the traffic the sales are not far behind.

    The other 10% is getting your lenses, or sites up, have some content on them, and then promote the heck out of them. If you work it the other way, you will get no where. You do not need to have a “pretty” site to make money from it. I have seen, and I have some bad sites that still bring in some money for me.

    Its all about getting in front of the traffic that is looking for what you have to offer. And as long as they are looking, and the see you, then there is a good chance they will see what you have, and you just might make some money from it.

    Honesty, its not rocket science. I.M. is actually quite easy, ONCE you have an actionable plan to work from. IF you are flailing around in the dark, you just might hit something, but you will expend a heck of a lot more energy if you had the lights on, and could hit your target a heck of a lot easier.

    Remember everyone, it just takes work, and a little more work, and just keep repeating your plan of action in getting you name out there for people to see.

    Well, gotta jet,

    Ciao for now,

    Jeff

  16. I am getting close to learn more thing when I try think out because of course I can not buy everything!

  17. I have been a member of wealthy affiliate for over a year now and love it. I highly recommend it to everyone I know.

  18. Thanks Jennifer, I’m glad I got the One Week Marketing. Your comment about doing work is right on the money! You cracked me up a while back when you mentioned that someone reversed their ClickBank sale for the OWM when they realized it took that 4 letter word to make money online – – – – W.O.R.K.!!!

  19. In the section Common Internet Marketing Problem…In #3, we’re getting the traffic, page views and still not making many sales. Even after 200 clicks there are no sales. Our sites are really optimized for the chosen keywords. That being the case, I would think that if someone is searching that keyword, that means they’re interested. Also the sales page looks fantastic with lots of good info on it.

    You also said to consider another product. But what about all the articles you have floating around the net with your affiliate link. Sometimes it’s not that simple to go and change your product. We use UAW to submit our aritcles, and sometimes we have no idea where our articles are until people start clicking the links in them. The only ones I’m sure about are the ones we submit manually, like Ezine Articles, GoArticles, etc. Also the stats are really good on the articles too. So any advice would be welcomed.

    Lastly, the sales that we do make, I would really like to know where they are coming from. Since we are linking our from our articles and squidoo pages to the affiliate page, is there a way to know exactly where a sale is coming from?

    Thanks!
    Ruth

  20. theverysmartguy says:

    Ruth,

    The one Rule that I like to follow when it comes to article marketing:

    Every link out from the article should go to a website that you “control”. For example: a squidoo lens, a free blogger blog, hubpage, or your own website, or blog that you host. This way you can capture that customer with a possible opt in form. Or are able to send them to a page where you can control what affiliate links they see. Things like that.

    I basically use EZA guidelines when submitting articles, that way, I know I will never have direct affiliate links in them. This is the safe way to do it.

    Now, for finding out where you made a sale from:

    When you make a sale, check the stats of the places that you have access too. Like your own webpage, are squidoo, or any place that shows stats of click outs and traffic.

    On websites and blogs that you control, I would advise using google analytics to track click outs and traffic.

    Now, with these ways there is no EXACT way to find out where the sale comes from.

    HOWEVER, with clickbank you can add a tracking code to it. So with each DIFFERENT place you put your affiliate link, make sure it has a tracking code that you can associate with that place. This way, you will know where your clicks are coming from, as well as sales.

    I hope this helps you out. =)

    Ciao for now,

    Jeff

  21. Hey Jeff,

    Thanks for your quick reply. But in each article, I link out the squidoo lens and the affiliate product. And I do add tracking links to my CB products.

    But my question is we get lots of traffic but not many sales.

    Thanks again!
    Ruth

  22. theverysmartguy says:

    Ruth,

    Ok, there are several different factors that could allow this to happen.

    The main one that I have found is that the product you are promoting is to wide range. As in it touches on many many different things. And if the customer goes to the page and doesnt see anything about the keyword that got them there, then they are less likely to buy.

    For example, if you are targeting training your dog not to bark. And they promote a book on dog training, that does indeed teach your dog not to bark, HOWEVER, its also on a wide range of topics, and barking isnt on the fore front, then the customer is less likely to buy.

    HOWEVER if the customer landed on a page that was targeting dog barking, then that will increase their chances of buying the product.

    Basically, its going from a broad topic product, to one that laser targets your visitors.

    Another factor that I have found that can cause problems is the keywords that people are searching with. Not all of them are “buying” keywords, most of them are information seeking. What you need to do is find keywords that target more of the buyers so your chances of getting a sale quicker increase.

    Now, for the non-buying keywords, you need to be able to capture them in an autoresponder. So that you can continue to give them info, and hopefully they will eventually buy from you. They say it takes someone to see something 7 times before they buy.

    Sometime its hard to gauge buying words, unless it has the product in the name, or maybe even review in the name as well. Product names are great to use, because people seeking product names in google, usually want to buy.

    And example of a non-buying (non-commercial) keyword would be: stop dog from barking or stop dog barking. Now, an example of a commercial keyword would be: Dog Barking Relief Guide, or Dog Training Secrets Guide Review, etc etc.

    Do you see what I mean? People looking for the non-commerical words may just be looking for free info on it. The otherones are more targeted towards finding actual products to buy.

    NOW, if you are getting lots of click throughs to the sales page, and they are not buying, they may be signing up for the MERCHANTS newsletter. This is where you have potentially lost a sale, depending on how long the cookie last for. But in my experience, once they have signed up for the MERCHANT newsletter (in clickbank anyways), you can kiss the sale goodbye unless they buy within the cookie expiring with clickbank.

    Now, if you have it set up to capture as many opt ins in the non commercial keyword area, you may have a good chance of turning them into buyers.

    Try to capture the commercial keyword visitors too of course, that why when they buy from you, you can create a relationship with them, and hopefully they will buy from you again in the future.

    OK, this is the last of it. If after 200 clicks to the merchant page, and you havent sold anything, I would honestly, create another page with another product, maybe even more targeted as the first, and try that one out. Its all about testing. =)

    Well, I hope my book (hahaha) as helped you out.

    Gotta Jeff,

    Ciao for now,

    Jeff

  23. theverysmartguy says:

    that was supposed to be gotta Jet….lol….wish I could have edited it…=)

  24. Thanks you so much for your in depth analysis. I see exactly what you mean now!

    Ruth

  25. theverysmartguy says:

    Ruth,

    I’m glad I could help. It was my pleasure. =)

    If you have any other questions I will be more than happy to answer them. Just leave a comment here, and I will do what I can do help you out.

    Unless of course Jen gets to it before I do. lol

    Ciao for now,

    Jeff

  26. I am rather new to IM, altho learning very quickly =) You speak of adding tracking links to CB products, got a spare minutes to explain how to do this?

    Also I have heard Jen speak of a CB icon that sits at the bottom of her screen that gives her an update of sales, does anyone know how to install this too. I appreciate anyone’s help on this.

    Many thanks,
    Trixie

    Trixe65s last blog post..Kurek Ashley – Life Success Club

  27. theverysmartguy says:

    Trixe65,

    When you are creating a hoplink through the clickbank marketplace you have the option to add a Tracking Code to the hoplink that will be put into the link at time of creation.

    The program you are thinking of is called cbnotify. There is a link to it in your copy of OWM.
    http://www.cbnotify.com

    Hope that helped you out.

    Just a reminder though, do not get to caught up in checking your stats all the time. Check every once in awhile. Such as, check your traffic, and then check to see if you had any hoplink clicks. But dont do it all the time, just go through the OWM, and move on to the next, and next, getting more and more exposure. Obsessing over your stats will not make you sales, creation and promotion will get you sales.

    Hope this helps, Talk to you later,

    Ciao for now,

    Jeff

  28. Hi Jeff,

    Yes that helps a lot. Thank you very much. Thanks also for the tips with obsessing over stats, lol. I am yet to make sales, however I’m on my 2nd OWM campaign, and picking up so much more from it the 2nd time around. I am very hopeful and totally believe in OWM.

    I joined a group last year where I paid thousands to learn from a very experienced IM. I have been very disappointed as most of us in the group have failed to make any money at all – then I stumble across Jens OWM and for $60 have learnt so much more.

    I shall keep tapping away with the rest of you. Thanks again
    Trixie

    Trixe65s last blog post..Kurek Ashley – Life Success Club

  29. theverysmartguy says:

    Trix65,

    Doing campaign after campaign, learning more and more as you do do do. Its always better to learn by doing, than by reading. As they Say “Actions Speak Louder Than Words”

    As you go through each campaign you will find it easier and easier to create them, and without even knowing, you will have created a template for your work, so that it is easier to rinse and repeat.

    Remember, do not get discouraged if you have an unsuccessful campaign, its all a learning experience.

    Someone I mentored was doing a campaign and it was going pretty slow for him. However, as soon as he went over to his next campaign, bam bam bam, he fired off some sales, and it turned his frown upside down.

    Remember another thing, when you make a sale in a campaign, put a little more power behind it before moving on to something else, just to give it a little more edge for more sales.

    Keep up the good work, and give those campaigns rolling!!

    Anyways, gotta jet for now,

    Ciao,

    Jeff

  30. Jeff, your words are so encouraging, many thanks for taking the time to reply to me.

    Yes I agree, the more often we do things the easier it becomes and I have already found this with my 2nd campaign alone – I have done almost 20 articles and I used to balk at having to do 3 a week!!!!

    I have joined WA also, so that combined with OWM, and taking action, I feel so much more hope and inspiration and feel I cant go wrong =)

    Thanks again – your kind words of wisdom are always so encouraging.
    Trixie

    Trixe65s last blog post..Kurek Ashley – Life Success Club

  31. haha…i dont understand…but it always shock me when every time i need some closure for what im about to do or decide…i could always find those answers here…u were like my brain…u could actually guessed what im thinking..somehow..uve been there n done that..its too good to be true ur willing to share ur thoughts with us newbies..

    ive been browsing ur site n as u said..for each page that uve finished reading..u’ll find new ones waiting..haha…the same goes as product..u have great reviews here on certain products that actually itch me somehow on wanting to buy…but it is true..i shoud wait till i really need them..its not sumthing u buy…its sumthing uve achieved by doing sumthing..hehehehe..thanks potpiegirl..i owe u lots..

  32. I usually don?t post in Blogs I have however enjoyed your blog, thank you

  33. I definitely have to agree with not buying anything if you don’t have time to implement it. In the distant past, I have purchased ebooks and audio ecourses only to not get around to even looking at them.

    Now I make it a rule that I will only actually purchase a product if I can read it and take it all in as soon as I download it.

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