Review of "Article Bully"

I met the author of "Article Bully" on Twitter though I was aware of Mike Long through his posts on Warrior Forum in past years.

My history is that I have published a number of articles on Ezine Articles but I never felt very positive about the results. Yes, I did get quite a few views of the articles (and still do) but the whole process just never clicked for me.

I checked Mike Long's profile on Twitter and the link I found there led to a description of a new product Mike was about to launch. He offered a free chapter of his new book so I downloaded it. I was very impressed by Mike's writing style and his command of the language. I was more impressed by the complete honesty as he gave a brief description of his history, both good and bad, on his quest to make a living by article marketing.

This is the opposite of "bum marketing". The key point is that you need to focus on ONE niche and one niche only. I agree that where many people go wrong is to try to conquer many niches. The problem is that you never get a chance to become a master of any one niche using that method and this shows in your articles.

I have been asked to write reviews in the past by other internet marketers but I declined on most because I did not feel that the products suggested had enough to offer for the cost involved.

Having said that, I do strongly recommend "Article Bully" to people who are looking for a way to earn a decent income on the web. Caveat: if you are looking for an easy way to make money, then Mike's book is not for you. He tells you very openly that his method of success will not work unless you are ready to put in a good deal of time and effort.

You will not need to spend much money to start your business, though, since you are asked to produce your own articles and to submit them to the article directories.

The price is right. The honesty is right. The concept is right. I recommend that you buy this book.

Click here to read more about and order your own copy of Article Bully.

Example of how to make social networking work for you

20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online

Does social networking work? Sometimes.

I made this post on Twitter this morning:

My son, @NateCryns, is mentioned in the NYT as the Voice Over Recordist in a new movie. Need his help? http://bit.ly/oOr0T #fb

See the #fb at the end? This enables the Twitter post to be automatically be posted on Facebook as well.

So, I have close to 4,000 followers on Twitter, maybe 300 on Facebook. Maybe 80 people will actually see my post on Twitter and maybe 20 on Facebook. With the stroke of a keyboard, Nate's name is presented to 100 people.

I agree, this does not by itself make many people aware. BUT, if you could get 10 people to do the same thing, then you have 1,000 people where Nate is not longer a total stranger.

Who knows if there is not someone who knows someone who is a kingmaker? Maybe one of those 1,000 people is a production assistant to some bigshot movie producer.

My advice is to make four or five posts throughout the day with the same important content. You may reach more people that way, but we don't want to be annoying either. Also, try putting in "Please RT" in your Twitter post. That does help to get people to tell their people.

What do you think?

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website and Wordpress design and promotion
20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online
.

Postcard marketing - give it a try!

Explore the opportunities of postcard marketing!







Postcard Marketing Model #15: Influence Big Shots

by Marcia Yudkin

Return-on-investment math often unnecessarily turns away marketers of low-priced products from using postcards as a promotional vehicle. Yes, if the goal is to sell copies of a $24.95 paperback book, sending even the most exciting, irresistible postcards about the book probably won’t garner enough sales to earn back the expense of a postcard campaign.

(Roughly, sending 2000 postcards would cost nearly $1800 in list rental,
printing and mailing of the cards. If you assume the book costs you $3 in
manufacturing costs, and you charge buyers the full cost of shipping a book,
you’d have to sell 82 books to break even, which represents a highly
unrealistic response rate – 4.1 percent of postcard recipients purchasing the
$24.95 book.)

However, when you shift the premise and imagine pitching a low-priced item to
key individuals who each are in a position to influence thousands or tens of
thousands of others to buy it, the picture brightens. Here are three scenarios
illustrating smart, strategic marketing of a low-priced product to influential
players using postcard marketing.

1. Media pitches. If an editor or reporter writes about the product or a talk
show host mentions it on the air, it gets exposure to thousands upon thousands
of potential buyers – many more than you could cost-effectively reach sending
postcards to them one at a time. Also factor in the credibility provided by
media coverage that can be put to work in all kinds of promotions.

Most people approach media people via email or by using news release
distribution services, and in that context, a colorfully designed, enticingly
worded postcard arriving by mail stands out.

Companies like Easy Media List (www.easymedialist.com ), Media Mailing Lists
(www.listsyoucanafford.com/media.html ), and others sell targeted contact
information for media folks. For instance, contact information for 1,290 editors
at African-American publications costs $149 from the latter source. Add the
cost of printing and mailing postcards to them, and then conservatively assume
that a lucky 13 of the recipients (1 percent) publish something about the $24.95
book that each triggers at least five purchases. Now the postcard campaign is
profitable.

2. Influencers. Other professionals besides journalists have great sway with
those in their sphere. Imagine them as the hub of a bicycle wheel, with spokes
extending from the center to dozens of points on the rim of the wheel. Here too
approaching the influencers involves a multiplier effect, since each might not
only purchase a copy of the item for themselves but also recommend it to their
patients, clients or customers.

For example, when I published a book for small business owners, it wouldn’t
have made sense to target them individually in a postcard campaign, even if
I’d been able to afford mailing cards to millions of people in that category.
However, I happily sent postcards about the book to more than 500 executive
directors of Small Business Development Centers throughout the United States,
who were each in a position to hand the postcard to their in-house librarian
and/or recommend it to workshops full of their small business clients for years
to come. Again the math becomes favorable in this scenario.

Influencers for real estate agents would be mortgage brokers. Influencers for
parents would be pediatricians. Influencers for wine producers would be
restaurateurs. Got the idea?

3. Bulk purchasers. A third scenario in which unfavorable postcard math turns
favorable is where you pitch a low-priced product not as a one-off purchase but
as something to buy in a large quantity. To take the book example again, this
might mean sending postcards to parent-teacher organization leaders to purchase
copies for all the board members, to human resource executives to suggest buying
hundreds of copies for employees or to private school administrators about
buying one for each graduating senior.

When it comes to postcard marketing of a low-priced product, success comes from
thinking large!

Veteran postcard marketer, consultant and author Marcia Yudkin is the creator of
The Mighty Postcard Marketing Course, which teaches the strategic, logistical,
design and copywriting secrets of successful postcard marketing
( www.yudkin.com/postcardcourse.htm ).

Photo by VoxAZ

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and Promotion
.

Interview with Mike Long - successful article marketer

Recently I met Mike Long via Twitter. I was impressed by his Profile and a description of his new book "Article Bully".

Mike's description of his book struck me as totally honest since I had many reservations in the past with the claims touting Article Marketing as a wonderful way to earn money. My experiences do not generally support this claim. So, I figured an interview with someone who had success could shed some light on my research and doubts.

Here is the interview:

Q: "Article Marketing" means different things to different people. What does effective article marketing mean to you?

Mike Long: To me, effective Article Marketing simply involves using the power of stories and information to get the word out about yourself and your level of expertise to a group of people who are desperately seeking the material you are providing.

In other words, Article Marketing gives you the power and ability to be heard, by leveraging the power, popularity, and visibility of sites like EzineArticles.com. I believe that a focused, targeted, long-term Article Marketing campaign can be more effective than putting those same articles on your own blog - especially during the critical first 12 months of launching your business.

Q: You said that article marketing is becoming a "huckster's arena". Please elaborate.

Mike Long: Despite the fact that no one knows my name, (or confuses me with the other Mike Long who has worked with John Reese in the past) I've been at this for a very long time. I pre-date many of the best known guru's on the net.

I've mostly stayed away from the Internet Marketing niche over the years because it has a dynamic that is very uncomfortable to me. The market can be roughly broken down into two groups: 1) people who recognize an opportunity when they see it, and take advantage of it - even if it means taking advantage of some people too, along the way, and 2) people who want to be taught, but are easily confused and overwhelmed by the endless options on the market. Which means they endless buy products without ever actually taking any action.

As IM has matured, the first group in particular has changed - and not in a positive way. That group is getting larger, and seems to be attracting folks who know how to sell, but don't necessarily know how to deliver. I've seen an increase in major customer service problems among marketers, and the products as a whole are often short-sighted and stop working once the winds of change blow across the internet (which happens often as Internet Marketing is still in its infancy in the big picture.)

In my view, the Internet Marketing niche is beginning to resemble its Network Marketing counterpart - a place where only a handful have any *real* opportunity, with the rest being more or less shut out from the process, or are only there to make that small group at the top richer. Too many people are focused solely on the sale, and aren't asking themselves the most basic of questions - "How can I help people?". Hence my use of the term, "Huckster's Arena".


Q: Over the years I've worked many niches hoping to make money with Google Adsense. Some were successful, but most were not. What do you think I was doing wrong?

Mike Long: From my perspective, the only thing you did wrong was the you completed Phase 1 in your Internet Marketing approach, but you never moved on to Phase 2. :)

In The Article Bully Domination System, I teach a very narrow approach. It won't be for everyone, but I can just about guarantee that no one will be lost or confused about what to do next after reading it. My approach is to have people initially work anywhere from 5-12 niches while solely focus on Article Marketing. They can create any type of landing pages they want, as long as they don't spend too much time on them during this initial phase.

For people who have never earned a penny online, I highly recommend setting up Adsense landing pages. I still remember the very first $1.60 I earned. It ignited the fire that kept me going, and can do the same for others just starting out.

From there, I have several questions that I want you to ask as you look at your niches and measure the results of your work. The answers to these questions will help you choose one - and only one - niche to work in.

That is the start of Phase 2, and Phase 2 is the basis around which the book is built - becoming a dominant authority (an Article Bully) in the ONE single niche of your choosing.


Q: There really is only one search engine these days, right? The age factor of a site is a big factor in getting Google to trust you. Backlinks from good sites are getting harder to obtain, especially one way backlinks. If these are true, how is it realistically possible to break through and make sales?

You won't like my answer - hard work, consistency, focus and volume. :)

Google has become sort of like a Zen riddle to me - the less I focus on and worry about Google, the better my rankings seem to get.

This comes back to trying to break the short-sightedness habit that so many Internet Marketers (myself included) have fallen into over the years. While I know that buying an aged domain is popular, the best way to have an aged domain is to have a plan, buy a domain, and age it yourself - without giving up on it and moving on to the next domain before its had a chance to mature. :)

And of course, one of the best ways to obtain high quality backlinks to your site is by writing articles and posting them to Ezine Articles. But most people won't stick with it because it's hard work. You can't simply take a "scattershot" approach by writing 5-10 articles in a niche and wondering where all your traffic is.

Life on the net no longer works that way, and the sooner you get that out of your head, the sooner you will see the paths to success are still clear and wide open. It just takes more work now. And since it takes more work, doesn't it make sense to ensure that all of that effort is focused on one single niche?

Start out with a skeleton site. Get it live, get some basic info and monetization on it, and get it aging. Then start writing articles. Lots of lots of articles. This is easier then it sounds. The method I show in my book should allow you to write a unique, helpful article every 10-15 minutes. Best of all, even if you know nothing about your chosen niche when you start, you will become and expert within weeks to a few months if put in a consistent, daily effort.

The traffic, backlinks, and rankings will all come if you are willing to put in the time, and have the patience. One of my closest friends in this business has become an article authority in a very low-paying niche. Most of his money is made in Adsense. He averages about 7 cents a click.

He also makes 6 figures a year with his one site.

Do you know how much traffic you have to generate to make $100,000 a year 7 cents at a time? Of course, I would highly recommend finding a little higher paying niche if you can. That's why I added Phase 1 into my process. But his case shows that it is possible to earn a nice living even in a poor paying niche, if you are willing to put in the daily effort to build it.


Q: Can you build a successful niche site only with social networking?

Mike Long: I guess it depends on your definition of 'social networking'. My initial answer today is "no". I also reserve the right to change my mind at a later date if the trends I study start moving in a different direction. :)

I do believe that Article Marketing could realistically be termed "Business Social Marketing". Article databases exist for the purpose of other business owners to locate and distribute the work of others. The authors are almost always reachable via email and website if desired. We all come together as a group under a single site with a single purpose. Those are some of the definitions of a social networking site. Yes, the direct interaction is missing, but it has some similarities.

All that being said, I do have a Twitter account (www.Twitter.com/ArticleBully) and I'm experimenting with it right now. But at this point, I haven't seen enough promise from the marketing aspect of social networking to warrant putting a tremendous amount of time and effort into it. Especially when I have found more effective uses of my time. :)


Q: Which social networks that you visit every day?

After spending way too much of the past 15 years sitting in front of my computer, I've actually gone in the opposite direction and I've tried to get out into my local community more, to see what good I can do there. I do have a Facebook account, and its been great for finding people I'd lost track of over the years, and I have the Twitter account that I mentioned above which I'm currently testing.

Otherwise, I've come to view social networking sites as a bit of a "time sucker" for lack of a better term. Don't get me wrong, I believe that relationship building is possibly the most important part of the sales process, and it's the piece that is increasingly going missing in the approach of many new marketers. But in my niche, I just feel that I can reach more people who are interested in what I have to say, and provide better service to them, by using other methods.

Thank you, Mike!

Mike Long's new book "Article Bully" will be available around May 26, 2009 through Clickbank.

Click here to read more about and order your own copy of Article Bully.

Photo by amhd

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website design and promotion.
.

Dimdim.com - excellent conferencing

Website find of the day

Dimdim.com

Visit http://www.dimdim.com to see a demonstration of a new and very powerful online conferencing tool.

It's FREE up to 20 participants. Some uses: Share your desktop, Show slides, Talk, Listen, Chat and Broadcast via Webcam

This is a very sleek system for personal or business use.

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and Business Promotion
.
.

Sunday Website discovery

20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online


Websites I like
Today's find:

Tyler Cruz.com - Here is a young fellow who seems totally honest and who likes to share what he does to make money on the web. I like the feel and look of his blog. Click here to see Tyler's lotta fun video about weight loss.

That's it for today. Let's see if I can find another for tomorrow. :)


Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and SEO Promotions
20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online
.

You CAN get a refund for your unwanted domain

20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online

Three days ago I bought a domain "forextradertribune". I was thinking of testing the water in forex currency trading, just for grins and giggles. My gut instinct tells me that you need more luck than skill in that arena.




But I got cold feet two days later when I realized that the last thing I need right now is a time sucker that will likely spread my efforts too thin to make any headway with forex site especially if I did not intend to try forex trading myself.

Could I get a refund for the domain? I called my people at Domain Country to find out. (disclosure: Domain Country.com is a site I own that is actually affiliated with GoDaddy). I waited 5 minutes for a service rep after pushing # to eliminate the music.

As usual, the GoDaddy rep, Ben, was full of vim and vigor, ready to tackle my question. "Can I get a refund for a domain I bought two days ago?" I asked. "Yes, you can get a refund up to five days after purchase," replied Ben.

That was music to my ears, indeed. Ben processed the refund immediately. A little research indicates that the five day refund policy may be one imposed by ICANN. Check with your domain registrar about their policy.

Greg Cryns
Domain Country - get your domain name
.

Postcard Marketing

Guest Post

Postcard Marketing Model #14: Bond With Customers

by Marcia Yudkin

Imagine the difference in revenues between a company that sold to each customer
only once and a company in the same line of business that sold to each customer
numerous times. That's a tremendous gap that can be narrowed with just a
little expense and effort, using an inexpensive, often overlooked tool - the
postcard.

By sending simple yet strategically chosen postcards to people who have already
bought from you, you can turn a one-time customer into a long-term one. Here
are five ways to use postcards to create a bond with customers and thereby
encourage them to buy again and again and again from your company.

1. Say thanks. Set up an ongoing thank-you postcard campaign that sends a card
to each new customer the week or month after they first bought something from
you. If itâ's feasible to have a handwritten signature, that's best. You
may choose to include a limited-time special offer, such as 20% off their next
purchase or a free gift if they stop in the shop again before a certain date,
but even if you don't do that, a thank-you card makes a significant impact.

2. News. Remember when it was common for financial services companies and other
professionals to send a monthly or quarterly newsletter to clients? This
stay-in-touch technique reinforces your expertise and helps the customer
remember you when they need your services again. Printing one newsletter item
on a postcard rather than sending a four-page, folded-twice newsletter is much
more cost-effective and much handier for the customer to save by the phone or
post it on a bulletin board or refrigerator.

3. Offers. If you have slow periods, such as a certain day of the week or a
month or two each year, coax previous customers into buying from you again then
and filling up your calendar or capacity. Send a postcard with an appealing
discount or bonus offer good for those down times to your customer list. It
sends the message that you care about creating long-term customers, and I doubt
very much your competitors are doing this. I travel a lot, and only once in my
life have I received a “come back and see us” postcard from a hotel or inn
where I stayed. In fact, I still remember who sent it, even though it was years
ago: The Jailhouse Inn in Newport, Rhode Island.

4. Birthdays or anniversaries. Do you have or could you get your customers’
birthdays? Some businesses wow their clients and create a closer bond with them
by sending a postcard for a free haircut, massage, house plant or dessert in
honor of their birthday. You could do the same for a milestone that was
specific to the recipient, such as their child’s first summer or winter, or
halfway in their fiscal year.

5. "Wish you were here" cards. Don't you like it when friends and family
members send you funny or gorgeous postcards when they’re on vacation? Think
up convincing and appealing reasons for you to send postcards to new clients
when you travel. For example, if you’re attending a conference or trade show
in New Orleans, you could show a photo of the French Quarter with a chatty
message about how you’re collecting ideas and inspiration at the XYZ national
show that you’ll be sharing with anyone who sets up an appointment for June.
This way, you come across as active, interesting and thoughtful.

Which of these ideas are you excited to implement? Get started on it today!

Veteran postcard marketer, consultant and author Marcia Yudkin is the creator of
The Mighty Postcard Marketing Course, which teaches the strategic, logistical,
design and copywriting secrets of successful postcard marketing
(www.yudkin.com/postcardcourse.htm ).

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and SEO Promotions
.

Alcatraz Cruises knows how to make its customers smile

I love to talk about when I received great customer service. Here is another story about a company that understands the value of great customer relations.


After probably six previous visits to San Francisco, my wife and I decided to finally take in the highly rated Alcatraz tour.

I located the official Alcatraz tour website on the Internet and placed an order for four tickets to be used on May 7th. After I paid for the tickets I realized that a mistake was made since I meant to order for May 6th because we were leaving to go home the morning of May 7th.

I the phone number easily seen on the company website. I was greeted by a very friendly fellow. "No problem," he said. After a few short minutes I was told my tickets would be waiting for me at the dock on May 6th. And they were. The tour turned out to be the highlight of our trip. I encourage everyone to take the time to visit Alcatraz.

But here is where the real customer service comes in.

When I got home I saw an email from the company. I think we can learn a lot from this nice followup. I wrote the company rep Denise Rasmussen shown in the original email and thanked her for the nice letter. After Denise wrote back I asked if she would tell me a little about how her company uses email to grow their business. This is the answer I received from Denise:

<>/

Hi Greg - how nice of you to take the time to write! I'm delighted that you enjoyed your visit to Alcatraz. Of course you are welcome to use my post-cruise email on your blog. You will make our electronic marketing people very happy indeed!

This email is automatically generated on the day after a customer visits Alcatraz. It's a great way to get instant feedback, both positive and negative, from our customers. All customer emails that come back to us as a result of this email are handled during the same day, or if it's late on a Friday, than we contact the customer on Monday morning.

What I'm basically saying is that sending the letter is only one part of our plan; responding with either a thank you for the compliment, or a fix for the problem, is even more important.

I wouldn't suggest anyone offer a customer response program like this if they aren't prepared to address return emails promptly.

Again, thanks for taking the time to write to me. I hope you'll come back again one day soon and visit Alcatraz again.

Kind regards,

Denise

Denise M. Rasmussen

Director of Sales and Marketing | Alcatraz Cruises, LLC | Pier 33, Alcatraz Landing, San Francisco, Ca 94111 | Ph: 415.559.3122 F: 415.986.1721 | DRasmussen@AlcatrazCruises.com

Alcatraz Island: An Inescapable Experience | www.alcatrazcruises.com

< /snip>

Words of wisdom for us all. Thanks, Denise!

Photo by Spideog

Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and Promotion

Zombie Kid Likes Turtles

Every so often the stress of doing business overwhelms you. Don't worry, it happens to everyone. It makes you act and feel like a zombie.

When this happens I suggest that you take the sage advice of Zombie Kid. Think about something else. How about turtles?

20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online

Our visit to Twitter HQ

A couple of days ago I visited Twitter HQ in San Francisco with my wife, my son @tobycryns and his girlfriend, Lisa. I'll blog more about this visit later.

In the meantime I have one pic to post. This was taken in the hallway on the 4th floor of the building where Twitter is based. Picture of my boss.

She thinks I am so nerdy.


Greg Cryns
The Mighty Mo Website Design and Promotion
.

Using Twitter as a search engine

AD : 20 Ways To Make $100 A Day Online


Have you used Twitter search ? If so, you probably understand how this tool can be very powerful to gain good information quickly.

In fact, I turn to Twitter search more often then I do Google these days because I like to see what people recommend rather than what Google shows as results. When you see 25 posts on one page about a topic you can quickly scan and pick out the ones that look promising. I don't get the same experience reading a Google results page.

Let's try "national health" for example. You will see many links offered on the Twitter results page, some about National Health care and others about health topics in general. Type in "swine flu" and get a ton of people venting about the subject rather than much useful information. At this time Twitter is getting about 500 posts per minute on the swine flu topic.

Irony: Try searching "Twitter search" in Twitter search. ;)

Try using the same technique at YouTube.com as well.

Frankly, I am not yet sold on the idea of using social networking to promote your business but I am sold on using it as a different form of search.

Pandia has a nice article about using Twitter for Search Engine Marketing.


Greg Cryns
All About Paso Robles (nice video of a talented one-man band now)
.