Why I love my Walmart manager

photo by Ryan H

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photo credit: Ali West

= Great customer service

See, my very old clunker computer still worked, but it suffers from old age. Takes forever to get up to speed. So I went down to my local Walmart (since I firmly believe in buying at the very low price end since a geek told me that is the best way to buy computers and the fact that my old computer lasted 7 full years - how long has yours been there?) and picked up an E-machine.

Typical for me, I was too lazy to install it immediately because I know that can take an entire day to get the old programs I often use place on the new computer. It sat in its unopened box for 18 days. Then, the geek squad from Charter was called in to check on my wife's connection problem. So, I think I will kill two birds with one stone and install the new computer just before they arrive. See, I just HATE losing my umbillical cord to the web.

Unfortunately, the new computer could not connect with the Internet. We checked the connection with two other computers that were able to connect, so it had to be a problem with the computer, not Charter or my modem that the geek replaced, just for fun.

Double bad - I kept my Walmart receipt but at the bottom it said "Computers can be exchanged for 15 days". Walmart is great for getting refunds, but I thought I was a dead dog on this issue since it was 19 days since I bought the computer.

Gathered up my courage the next day after repacking the computer into it's original box which was not very much like it was originally packed, but what are you going to do? I put the computer into my little car and drove to Walmart.

The first manager I saw was obviously a beginner. Way to young to be the real manager I needed to plead my case. But I told her my story anyway and she quickly said, "Sorry. We cannnot accept computers after 15 days!" Gee, tell me something I don't know. So I say "I want to speak to someone higher up." She tells me there will be a manager in the refunding section shortly.

I go to the refunding section and sit on a bench. 20 minutes later a male assistant manager walks in. I tell my sad story. He says, "Sure. Bring it in. We'll replace it."

Takeaways:

1. Never say "Never"
2. Be a squeaky wheel when your cause is worthy.
3. Love your Walmart manager forever.

Greg Cryns

Would you use this picture on your blog?

This morning I read a pretty good blog post about "how to write a good headline". I agree that a great headline can be a big part of the seeming never ending battle to get people to read your blog.

The person who owns the blog also works with digital pictures. So, her pictures were awesome. Until I got to this one. What do you think? Would you post this picture on your blog? Not me. Well, except now as an example of what I consider butt ugly picturing. Also, how does someone get great blog pictures?

I can't find the blog I am referring to, so here are a couple more blog title resources for you:

18 Resources to Help you Write Better Blog Titles

How to write a great blog post title

Greg Cryns

Join my membership community (you get a free full page ad that I promote on Google if you do!)

Youtube tips: Creating a Playlist

Creating A Playlist On YouTube

1. Step 1: Log into your YouTube account at www.YouTube.com

Step 2: In the upper right corner, click the drop down menu that has your account name on it then click My Videos.


Step 3: On the left side of the account page, click New next to playlists

Step 4: Fill in the new playlist details (title, descrption & tags) then click Create Playlist

Add caption

Step 5: Privacy and Sharing settings.


Share: The share button gives you the url link to your playlist. This can be emailed to yourself or your friends. It also gives you an embed code so you can place your playlist on your website.


Privacy: This is where you determine who can see your playlist. Your options are private or public.






Step 6: Add videos to your list.


If you have videos uploaded they will be shown here. You would simply select the box next to each video you wanted to add and click Add To and choose which list to add it to.


In addition, you can click the Add Videos to Playlist button to select videos from your history and from recommendations.

Alternately, as you view other people’s videos, if you find one you’d like, you can add it to your playlist. Simply look below the video and click the Save to button as shown below.


Greg Cryns
 
Work At Home Profiles
 
The Mighty Mo Website Creation and Promotion
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Youtube tips: Creating Your YouTube Account

Creating Your YouTube Account



Step 1: Navigate to YouTube.com Create an Account


Go to www.YouTube.com and click the “Create An Account” link at the top of the page.


Step 2: Enter Your Account Details


• Enter a username


• Enter your location & postal code


• Set your date of birth from the drop down options


• Select your gender


• Choose whether or not you want others to be able to find your channel if they have your email address.


• Select whether or not you want to receive email communication from YouTube & their sponsors


• Fully read the terms of use.


• If you agree to the terms and everything else is correct, click the “I Accept” button.





Step 3: Associate Your YouTube Account & an Email Address


If you already have a Google account, you can associate it with your YouTube account simply by entering your Google email and password in the box on the left.


If you do not have a Google account, then you will need to add a different email address, enter a password (twice) and enter the CAPTCHA word verification.


Once you do this, click “Create New Account & Finish”

Step 4: Confirmation & Getting Started


Once the account is created or you log into your existing account, you’ll see a confirmation message with your account details, links to get started using YouTube and links for finding your friends on YouTube.

Once your account is created, you’ll automatically have a “channel” in which you can customize and showcase your videos.


 
My next post is how to customize your YouTube channel
 
Greg Cryns
 
Work At Home Profiles
The Mighty Mo Website Design and Promotion
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eSigmarketing electrifies your email

Have you heard of eSig-marketing? Probably not as this is a very new company. It electrifies your outgoing email. Anyone can use it as it is very easy to change it for your company or service. Hey, and guess what? You can earn a decent commission if people sign up via your eSignature. Just click on the "eSignature" button below to check it out for yourself.

Signature powered by: esigmarketing.com Get yours today!

My newsletter to my membership website

Telling a secret


When I send an email to my members, I try to make sure it is about them, not me. I am not trying to sell products to them. I am trying to help them in any way I can. With that in mind, here is the letter I sent out today.....

Bernadette Pinkard is our newest member (still working on her Profile page). We did an interview that will, I think, make sense to other party plan people. Bernadette is growing her success with three years in business so far.

If you want to be interviewed like this (by email) let me know! Bear in mind that the interview works if it is NOT centered on your company, but rather on YOU and yoru experience in direct sales.

We've got to think outside the box to promote ourselves in the Internet world. That is also why I encourage you to BLOG and to send your good and thoughtful articles to Ezine Articles http://www.ezinearticles.com or, if you send your article to me, I will post it on our website. Make it about 400 words, please, on the topic of your choice related to direct sales.

Since I have experience in promoting websites, I like interviews because they are usually longer than most articles and they contain lots of different, but good, key phrases that Google eats up like candy.

Here is the interview: http://www.workathomeprofiles.com/work-at-home-interviews/passion-parties.shtml

Please recommend the website to your friends and acquaintances.

greg cryns
Work At Home Profiles

Interview with a Passion Party consultant

Bernadette Pinkard

Interview with Bernadette Pinkard, Passion Parties consultant

When Bernadette complete her work in the Air Force, she found Passion Parties three years ago in 2007 to make her living. She has not other prior direct sales experience.


Greg: Bernadette, you told me you are in a re-building phase of your business. I am sure a lot of people can relate to this since the economy is not recovering yet. Please share your experiences that led to where you are now.

Bernadette: In the last year, about 1/3 of my team dropped off and my personal sales declined. The interest in joining the business actually increased; but a lack of funds led to fewer sign-ups. As for the sales, my number of parties and the number of guests attending the parties remained about the same. But, the percentage of people at the party making a purchase, as well as the average sale total declined.

My rebuilding strategy includes increasing the number of people I recruit monthly/yearly. I’ve implemented an innovative plan to make it more affordable for those interested in joining, by offering ways to earn a kit for FREE.



Greg: Can a person make a living in your business online only? Are home parties a necessary ingredient to success?

Bernadette: I believe home parties are a necessary ingredient to success, because everything happens at the party. During the party you really establish a connection with the guests; leading to more parties and higher recruitment. Also, individual sales are usually higher at the party; because they get to see, feel and touch the products.


Greg: How do you find people who agree to have a home party at their house?

Bernadette: I would estimate that 90% of my parties are booked at the party or from referrals. I usually book 2 or more parties from each party I hold. Also, living in the wedding capital (Las Vegas) has really helped my business with bachelorette parties. These women find me online and call to book a party.


Greg: Do you do fairs and events?

Bernadette: Yes. I usually do two bridal fairs a year and I vendor events throughout the year. I have booked parties at these events and it’s another opportunity to promote my business.

Greg: Do you blog or use Facebook to promote your business?

Bernadette: Actually, I do both. I send out a blog through my Merchant Circle page and I recently added my Passion Parties by Bernadette fan page on Facebook. I use my fan page to talk about new products, give discounts and recognition for team members.


Greg: Do you advertise offline? If so, please share some of those methods.

Bernadette: Currently, I only advertise in one local magazine.

In the past, I’ve advertised in a couple of Bridal magazines, but it wasn’t really cost-effective. Since, today’s brides rely more on the internet to find vendors; I advertise on the online wedding sites.


Greg: Demographics of your customer? Age? Any men?

Bernadette: We specialize in-home parties for women, so the majority of my customers are women. The average age of the women at my parties is between 30 to late 40s. But that really depends on the type of party. Most of my bachelorette parties are for the younger crowd, 18 to late 20s.


Greg: Do you know any men who are Passion Party consultants?

Bernadette: Yes. I do have male customers. Some are guys I know. Others I meet at vendor events or they find my website online. Also, when I do parties at the hotels, I usually valet my car and they always ask for a card. The male consultants do really well, because they offer a different perspective. At the parties, the women are usually making purchases for their male partners or to use as a couple. I’ve had several guys contact me about becoming a consultant; I’m looking forward to signing up a male consultant.


Greg: What is your favorite thing about working from home?

Bernadette: I love the flexibility of my schedule, because it allows me more time with my family.


Greg: Do you have any important tips for someone who wants to start a work at home business?

Bernadette: There are a lot of home businesses, do your research. Find something you’re truly passionate about and be willing to challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone.


Greg: What key quality is critical especially for working with clients?

Bernadette: I feel the most critical key quality is customer satisfaction. Focus on their needs and not just on making a sale. This also helps with referrals, because word of mouth is the best advertising.


Greg: What do you think the biggest mistake people make when starting their work at home business or when looking for work to do at home?

Bernadette: I believe the most common mistake is effective time management. Set routine, regular work hours and limit personal calls and other distractions and give it your all.

Greg: What is one word of advice you would give someone looking to work at home or to start their own work at home business?

Bernadette: Patience. It’s not a get-rich scheme; it takes time to establish a customer base to build a profitable home business.

Greg: What are some other tips that you might give to someone who wants to start working from home?

Bernadette: Be clear about what you’re trying to achieve by setting goals. Know what you’re working towards; so you’re taking the necessary steps to reach that ultimate goal. Also, keep in close contact with your sponsor and upline, they are there to assist you.

Thank you, Bernadette, for your time and thoughtful answers.

Bernadette Pinkard
Passion Parties® Independent Consultant
“Passion Parties – The place to be!”

"Like a little - make a purchase"
"Like a lot - host a party"
"Like it all - become a consultant"

Website: http://www.myromancediva.com/
Email: bopinka@yahoo.com

Phone: (702) 239-8171

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
Wahm Search Engine
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Local business advice for a new business

Booth at the county fair

My daughter's boyfriend wants to start his own auto mechanic business in Simi Valley, CA from his home. My daughter, a copywriter, wrote up a very nice letter to send to people. She asked my opinion. This is what I opined.....


Thoughts.

1. We just got back from our dog walk (you know the routine). Passed the guy's house who gets our car purchases (Gus and Noah) ready to take down to LA. Since Liana needs a car I told Bruce's wife (who was fixing up the garden in front of her house) to tell Bruce that we are in the market for another car. She said, "He is getting a LOT of calls for fixups from people right now."

2. So, I think Robert could definitely make a good part time income from his new business. Think offline networking, though. If I were doing it I would contact every used car shop and even places that fix up cars. There may be some jobs they just don't want to handle (too small) because business is probably booming for them as well. Nothing like a referral from another mechanic.

3. How about a mobile service for oil changes and small fixes? He could put the tools in his truck (?) for the jobs. I know I would pay a premium for that kind of service since I have more money than time right now. People always put off oil changes for that reason.

4. Since a lot of people are buying used cars, I would make sure people know that I am available at my house to check over their new used car for leaks and tire stuff.

5. If you can start a local email list you could send out monthly emails to people in Simi like "All about Simi" and then put an ad for the service.

6. 2 for 1 - Katy could visit each and every business in Simi with a Scentsy plugin to show the owners. When they say, "Not interested" you say "By the way, my friend has a new auto service. He offer a mobile service for oil changes and checkups." Then hand them Bobby's flyer.

Just my 2 cents. Worth what you paid for it. ;)

dad

”I skate to where the puck is going to be, not to where it has been.” - Wayne Gretzky

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
Greg's telemarketing service

Here is the email my daughter sent me (see, she is a very good copywriter)

Would you hire this man to fix your car?

Is your check engine light on and you don't know why? Want to make sure that used car you just bought has all its parts in working order? Just selling a car and want to ensure it's in the best working condition?

I am a service technician at a professional car dealership and have years of simple (and some complex) repairs under my belt. I am not ASE certified, but I am a licensed Aircraft Mechanic and can provide a multitude of service checks, repairs and/or general automotive advice. Some of the tasks I can provide at a fraction of the cost of a dealership or mechanic shop include:

For most cars made in 1999 and older:

-Oil changes;
-Battery checks/changes;
-Brake checks/changes;
-Environmental checks/repairs (interior heating, cooling);
-Engine heating, cooling;
-Changes/replacements of belts, hoses, radiators, thermostats, spark plugs;
-General diagnostics (utilizing a CPU to troubleshoot check engine lights and track miscellaneous problems),
-Lighting, minor electrical, and some NON factory radio hook-ups.

For most cars made in 2000 and newer, I can provide basic oil changes, battery testing/changes and some general diagnostics. My expertise on diagnostics for newer cars varies on a case to case basis.

I am local to Simi Valley and am very honest. If you are looking for a hard working mechanic with the know-how and dedication to get your car in decent working order, I'm your number one choice. I do all of my work from my garage and own a complete set of tools.

Questions? Want to schedule a meeting? Respond to this email and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks!
Robert

Greg Cryns


Work At Home Profiles
Double your business with Greg's telemarketing service!
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Is this Pay Pal phishing or not?

Be safe!

I received an email this morning. The headline was
"Update your credit card information with PayPal"

I know enough to understand that Pay Pal never asks for your personal information in an email.

But the catch is that this email (shown below) does not ask for my info. It tells me to log into my Pay Pal account and change the credit card information. So, I wonder. Could this be a real request?

The problem is that there is no way to tell if the two links provided lead to the Pay Pal website. So, I opened a new browser tab for Pay Pal. I went to the credit card section. Surprise! The credit card did need updating. Hmmm.....

So, probably this is a real email from Pay Pal, or not? Hard to say. I am going to send an email to Pay Pal and ask.

I think it's good to know this stuff. What about you? Please comment.

Here is the email I received...

Hello greg cryns,

Your credit card ending in 4321 will expire soon. To avoid any disruption to your PayPal service,
please update your credit card expiration date by following these steps:

Log in to your PayPal account.
Go to the Profile subtab and click Credit Cards in the Financial Information column.
Choose the credit card that needs updating and click Edit.
Enter the updated card information.
Or simply get the PayPal Plus Credit Card. You could be approved almost instantly, and there’s no annual fee. Apply today (link).


Thanks,

PayPal

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response.

For assistance, log in (link) to your PayPal account and click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.

To receive email notifications in plain text instead of HTML, update your preferences.

PayPal Email ID PP031


Greg Cryns

Work At Home Profiles

Double your business with Greg's telemarketing service!
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Social Media Marketing Doesn't Replace SEO

++Social Media Marketing Doesn't Replace SEO++
by Jill Whalen

Looking at the latest search marketing conference agendas, articles, and online news in the SEM space, it certainly appears that social media marketing and networking are the wave of the future.

To a certain extent, they are.

Social media, and social networking in particular, create a back-and-forth conversation with your target audience, so you can virally market your website through the "buzz" that can be created. When something interesting, cool, or unique is being talked about in "all the right places," it can certainly provide a boost in website traffic.

We search marketers tend to hang out in numerous online and offline communities where it's easy to promote our own products and services, yet I can't help wondering if our view of Web marketing is skewed because of this.

Are potential B2B clients and even B2C customers spending time at Digg? Do they attend SEM conferences in order to hire a company, or are they just trying to learn to do it themselves? And what about other industries? Is there a Sphinn equivalent for developers of product lifecycle management software? Are there groups of people online comparing the various brands of auto parts? Are there really people seeking out articles on these topics?

Perhaps.

And if so, we'd be remiss not to promote our clients' websites in those spaces. But is this search marketing? Or is it simply online marketing? Arguably, it becomes search marketing when it increases link popularity, but surely that should be the secondary goal of this type of marketing campaign. True link popularity comes from having something worth linking to, not something you've asked your insulated group of cronies to link to.

Certainly, the boost in direct traffic that a site can gain when it is being discussed in all the right places online is not to be taken lightly – and that alone is reason enough to try to be found in all the right places. Yet how much of that traffic actually converts into anything good, and how much does it help your organic search rankings?

More important – how does it increase your bottom line?

For instance, I've written a few articles that received upward of 1,000 visitors a day from StumbleUpon alone. The spike in traffic was nice, and the slight increase in newsletter subscribers was certainly welcome, but for the most part, those StumbleUpon visitors spent just a few minutes on our site, and only a small percentage signed up for our free newsletter. None of them were interested in using our services. They read the article and then stumbled their way to the next site of potential interest.

Isn't participation in social media really just preaching to the choir?

You reach your peers, not the people who will buy your product or service. Sure, it's a nice ego stroke to have others in your industry tell you how cool you are, and there's something to be said for building credibility within your own community. I'm certainly not knocking that, and have built my own credibility via various online communities in which I've participated over the past decade.

But how does it sell your products and services?

Do you gain customers and sales from your social media marketing and/or your participation in social networks? Does it increase your rankings for the keyword phrases your actual target audience is typing into the search engines? If your business model depends on traffic for traffic's sake, or on how many ad impressions your site generates, then there's an obvious value. But if you sell a product or a service – then not so much.

My fear with all the hype about social media marketing is that people new to search marketing will believe it's what SEO demands and what SEO is all about.

It isn't. Not by a long shot.

Social media marketing is a great addition to any traditional SEO work that you do, but it's not a substitute. It's more akin to hiring a PR firm once you've launched your already-SEO'd website. On-page SEO is definitely not as sexy as social media marketing, but it is still the most important investment in your website that you can make. Period.

So, go to all your social media conferences, and Digg your way to increased traffic. But first learn exactly who your target audience is, what they're searching for in the search engines, and how your website can solve their problems. Then make sure your website does exactly that. All the social media buzz and traffic won't amount to anything if your target audience isn't already part of the online conversation.

Be sure to have your own house in order before you give social media marketing a try.

And don't be surprised if it doesn't actually provide you with the ROI you hoped it would. In most cases it will depend on who your target audience is, where they hang out, the types of services or products you offer, and whether your website truly provides people with what they're looking for.

Getting back to SEO basics – that is, creating a crawler-friendly website that is built around the keyword phrases people use at the search engines to find what you offer – is the first and most important thing you can do for your website and your business. Yeah, it's not as fun and exciting as social media marketing, but skip this step at your own peril!

Jill

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Jill Whalen is CEO of High Rankings an SEO consulting company in the Boston, MA area.

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Greg Cryns

The Mighty Mo - ask me about our $200 website that outsells the $20,000 website

Social marketing is great (except for selling stuff)

from dribbleglass.com

It's no secret that I have a low opinion about actual results from social marketing. Not saying it has not benefits, not by a long shot. I love meeting new people online and I love seeing what other people do to make a living. I love sharing experiences with like minded people.

But as a means to sell products, I think we do better using traditional advertising. I think the reason people are jumping on the social marketing bandwagon has a lot more to do with the fact that it is fun and interesting. Meeting people online presents no threats to ourselves, not like using telemarketing for example where people hang up on you or snarl back "on your birthday!"

Or, possible even less enjoyable, is selling door-to-door, business-to-business. I used to do that when I sold commercial insurance. Believe it or not I learned to enjoy it except for the fact that I actually had to leave the house where I was even comfortable with the phone nearby. The hard fact was that I would always make some sort of sale, sometimes two or three sales, dong just 4 hours of door-to-door marketing near my house.

I bet if you had the cojones (to borrow an explative from a lady ex-governor from Alaska) to call 100 businesses, you would come away with one good sale, one sale that would make you a bundle of dough. It might take you eight hours to reach 100 business decision makers, but then your eventual profit could be $1,000 or more.

Ask yourself, how long do I have to do social marketing to earn $1,000. I bet the answer is far more than eight hours.

What do you think?

Greg Cryns

Wahm Search Engine

Website marketing and SEO - ask me about the $200 website that can outperform the $20,000 website

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Beware of software reviews using search engines

This morning I ran across what looked to be an interesting article submission service called Content Crooner. Before I shell out any money, I almost always try to find honest reviews of the product.

So I Googled "Content Crooner review" and came up with quite a few results.

1. One Article Marketer's Review of Content Crooner
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2407774/one_article_marketers_review_of_content.html?cat=35
This reviewer was impressed by the image of a lizard with a microphone as a "first impression". She also said, "The color scheme of the Content Crooner website is aesthetically pleasing. The buttons are nice and glossy, and the layout easy to follow. " In addition the Login Page is "very straightforward". Based on those factors and some more fluffy stuff, she "strongly recommends"
Article Crooner. (OMG)

2. Jim's Marketing Resource Guide praised Content Crooner
http://www.jimsmarketing.com/Content-Crooner-Review.html
(he says he used it by its old name, Article Marketer, with great results) The problem I have with this review is that the link provided goes to another page on Jim's site that auto directs you to the Content Crooner site. This suggests an affiliate relationship to me and as such is usually not acceptable proof.

3. The next review is on YouTube
Content Crooner Review - By ArticleSubmissionReview.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWI62woUuSA
He calls it a "no frills article submitter" - the video shows how simple the software is to use, but nothing else (yawn)

4. Article Submission Review (from the fellow who gave us the video above)
http://articlesubmissionreview.com/article-submitter/content-crooner-review
This fellow gave the product only 3 stars (out of 5) mainly because the software has no article spinning capability! He recommends other software but the links go to a page on his site. One is a squeeze page. This site drips with affiliate links.

5. a host of other reviews much like the first four reviews. I don't trust any of them either because they offer something else with an affiliate link or because they are too energetic in their recommendation based on the ease of use. I think these are also signs of affiliation.

As usually happens, searching for pure, honest reviews of a product are fruitless.

I suggest relying on opinions of posted by members at trusted forums. The poster usually is not selling the product and he or she often has something at stake - credibility on the forum.

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles

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Article Marketing - how to make it work for you

Cracking The Article Marketing Puzzle
Copyright (c) 2010 Bill Platt
the Phantom Writers
http://thePhantomWriters.com/

Article marketing is one of those topics that always seems to
generate a lot of conversation in forums and marketing
discussions... Online marketers are generally split into three
camps, when it comes to arguing the effectiveness of article
marketing as a promotional method...

Camp One swears by article marketing, as an integral and
essential part of their online marketing activities... They
suggest that the benefits of article marketing are twofold:
direct click-through (CTR) traffic from the article that may
deliver immediate sales; and improved search rankings that will
drive additional search traffic...

Camp Two insists that the only real value of article marketing is
for building links and creating link popularity for a website,
enabling the website to rank well in Google and other search
engines...

Camp Three accuses the first two camps of telling stories and
selling a sham...

I am in the first camp... I have made a lot of money online, in
the last 10 years, because I use article marketing to promote ALL
of my websites...

Some people insist that I have only made money online, because I
sell article marketing services... But, the truth is that I have
made a lot of money in a variety of niches that are "not
related" to online marketing... And, I have made that money in
those niches, because I have used article marketing as the
primary promotion method for all of my niche websites too...

Measuring The Success Of An Article Marketing Campaign

Those folks in Camp Two measure the success of their article
marketing campaigns by the number of back links and Google page
one search results that they can achieve...

Those of us, who are in camp One, measure our success by the
dollar value of the sales that an individual article can deliver
to our businesses... We count our search engine traffic to be
only a BONUS benefit of article marketing...

There are four reasons why Camp One should make more sense...

1. Direct click-through traffic from articles is often from
people who are pre-qualified to purchase what we are selling...
In turn, this ensures a better conversion-rate on the traffic
that we do receive directly from an article...

2. While search engine traffic is good, the people finding our
websites in the search engines are not always as strongly
targeted, nor pre-qualified to purchase what we are selling...

3. There can only be 10 websites on page one of Google and the
other search engines... Depending on how competitive a niche may
be, it could take weeks or years to reach page one of Google for
your targeted keywords... It could take a single article, with
its links to your website, or it could take 500 articles to get
your website to page one...

4. If you can get direct click-through traffic to your websites,
from your articles, you stand a good chance of generating sales
at your website -- NOW, instead of later...

In Camp One, we utilize article marketing to generate actual
sales, rather than search engine rankings...

We understand that "a bird in hand is more valuable than two in
the bush", and in other words, "a dollar in hand is more
valuable than a page-one listing in Google..."

The beauty of putting sales ahead of search engine rankings is
that we can make money today, rather than to have to pray for
good search engine rankings, so that we might be able to make
money tomorrow...

Where Do You Want Your Articles To Take You?

The success that you will achieve with your articles will be
determined before you put your very first word into your favorite
word processing software...

What are you trying to achieve with your articles?

This is very important, because your goals will determine your
outcome...

Article marketers in Camp One seek to write articles that will
appeal to their target audience... Every word that they put into
an article is designed to appeal to its human audience...

Article marketers in Camp Two are only interested in getting back
links...

It really is that simple...

Are you writing your articles for a human audience, or are you
writing your articles for the search engines?

If you are only concerned with getting the back link, then that
is all you will receive...

However, if you are concerned with getting the attention of the
people most likely to buy your products and services, then that
is what you will more likely receive, and you may even discover
that you are getting attention from the search engines as well...

Sharing A Secret

I am going to share a secret with you right here and now...

Search engines value articles that have managed to attract their
own inbound links...

In other words, the articles of yours that are published on
third-party websites that will send real link popularity to your
website are those articles that other people have deemed valuable
enough to link from their own websites...

People do not link to junk, unless they are paid to do so...

If people do not link to your articles on third-party websites,
you should not be surprised if Google and the other search
engines do not value the links that you have pointing to your
website from your articles...

So, if you want your articles to pass real link popularity to
your website, then you need to write your articles in such a way
that other people will find value in them and want to link to
them...

This is the primary reason why so many people fail with article
marketing... They write crap, then get mad when they get crap
results...

People who leave Camp One for Camp Two, then leap to Camp Three
are people who have never attempted to follow any of the article
marketing principles, described in this article...

Opening The Door To Article Marketing Success

There are many online publishers who will share your target
audience with you...

When your articles focus on the wants and needs of people in your
target audience, it will also appeal to the publisher who has an
audience you want to reach...

There are five essential steps to creating articles that will
produce good results for your business...

Step One: Write an article that people in your target audience
will want to read...

Step Two: Make sure that your article carries a title that will
get your article opened... No matter how good your article is,
publishers and readers make the decision to read your article, in
less than 10 seconds, using your article title to determine if
your article might be worth the time they will sacrifice to read
it...

Step Three: Make sure that the article is good enough to keep the
attention of your reader to its conclusion, so they will see your
Authors' Resource Box at the end of the article...

Step Four: Construct your Authors' Resource Box with the goal of
getting the reader to your website, where you can make a
comprehensive case for your offer...

Step Five: Distribute articles to the online publishers, who are
most likely to publish them...

There is an art and a science to developing articles that will
produce the desired results for your business...

The science is understanding what is required to make your
articles attractive to readers and publishers...

The art of article marketing is being able to put an article
together in such a way that people actually want to read it and
are thankful for having read it...

Final Thoughts...

It may be easier to write articles only for the search engines...
Impressing the search engines can be as easy as impressing my
three-year-old... "I'm gonna eat your ear..."

But if you are willing to invest a few more minutes to make sure
your article will appeal to publishers and readers too, you might
just find that article marketing has a value beyond the search
engines... And in my book, that spells M-o-r-e R-e-v-e-n-u-e...

p.s. If you liked this article, please give it value by linking
to it...

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We do not utilize a cookie-cutter approach for our article
distribution service. Instead, we strive to deliver the articles
we distribute directly to the publishers who are most likely to
publish them... Let us distribute your good-quality articles to
our publishers, who already have access to the audiences you want
to reach... Get started today at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/
Written by Bill Platt. Also get his free article marketing ebook:
http://thePhantomWriters.com/ebooks/advanced-article-marketing.html

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
Wahm Search Engine

How to effectively work Twitter

This picture has nothing to do with the article. I just like it.

How To Out-Socialize The Gurus On Twitter And Other Social Media

Social media has long been touted as the latest and greatest
Internet marketing tool that will bring new people to any online
business seeking new customers...

For most online marketers, the social media environment appears
over-hyped and ineffective... Between Facebook, MySpace, Twitter,
Stumble Upon, and Delicious, online marketers waste plenty of
time trying to tap revenue from these social platforms...

Why Auto-Following Will Always Fail

John Reese is one of those people who has become famous for his
online marketing prowess, with a variety of product launches...
Even with his genius for online marketing, John Reese failed to
make the Twitter platform work for his business... In June of
2008, Reese realized that the auto-follow strategy of gaining
Twitter followers was not working...

The auto-follow Twitter marketing strategy is doomed to
failure... I actually lost a little bit of respect for John
Reese, because he had to learn the hard way that the Twitter
auto-follow strategy would not work... A man with his genius
should have known before he started that the technique was doomed
to fail miserably...

It will fail because it works in the same manner as a safe list
or traffic exchange system, where a bunch of people will gather
together to send advertising to each other... The problem is that
people only agree to join such systems so that they can send
their advertising to others, not so that they can read a ton of
advertising from other people...

People do not join safe lists because they want 10,000 people to
send them advertising in their email... They only agree to let
10,000 people send them commercial e-mail, because they want to
send their commercial e-mail to 10,000 people... Everyone
involved is so caught up in the hope that someone will read their
advertising and buy what they are selling, without giving much
concern or thought to the idea that even they are not reading the
email that other people send to them...

In June of 2008, John Reese gave up on the auto-follow strategy
for gaining Twitter followers... He un-followed everybody in a
single day and started again from scratch...

Is Twitter Dead?

Nearly 2 years later, in March of 2010, John Reese declared in an
e-mail to his mailing list that he had deleted his twitter
account... He cited the same reasons that he did 21 months
previously -- too much noise...

John Reese is not the only online guru to abandon the Twitter
platform... Frank Kern, and a few of Reese's other online
associates, also bid Twitter farewell... Kern said that Twitter
was a "time suck" that was eating into his productivity...

Please don't get the idea that my reporting on the marketing
gurus leaving Twitter like rats from a sinking ship is a signal
to you that you should do the same...

In fact, I am not leaving Twitter and I see no reason that you
should either...

By mentioning Reese and Kern leaving Twitter behind, I am only
pointing out that some of the sharpest minds involved in online
marketing have yet to understand the true art and science of
social media marketing...

Both of these guys are smart... Few people will argue against
that... But, both have failed to understand how to turn a profit
from the Twitter social media platform...

Social Media Marketing Is Not Mass Marketing

If you were to ask me... These two guys, smart as they are,
missed the most elemental foundation of social media marketing...
say, after me, S-O-C-I-A-L... SOCIAL media marketing...

John Reese and Frank Kern are masters of mass marketing... Mass
marketing does not work on social media websites...

Social media is described as such, because it invites individuals
to socialize with one another... Those individuals who have
mastered the social media platform are those who have understood
how to create relationships, develop relationships, and maintain
relationships... They have understood that social media websites
are there to help you nurture social relationships with other
people...

The mass marketer is focused on himself, above and beyond all
other people... The social marketer is focused on building
relationships with the people with whom they would like to do
business...

If you understand how to attract people and maintain personal
relationships with those people, then you may master social media
marketing in a way that John Reese and Frank Kern were unable to
do...

Stumbling In The Dark

The first step to mastering social media marketing is to learn
how to attract people... Auto-follow will never work towards that
end... In order to attract people who want to follow you, you
must inspire them to want to follow you...

It is funny when I watch the people who are trying to market
themselves on Twitter...

Some of those people will send out an endless supply of quotes,
trying to convince you of their value, because they have said
something clever through the words of another person...

Others will send out sales message after sales message hoping to
attract your business...

Still others will try to win your support by focusing on key
words... They want to treat Twitter as if it were search engine
driving traffic to their website...

Some Twitter users will make certain to include a link with every
tweet... The smarter of the lot will only link to information...
The more shallow of the group will only link to sales pages...

And finally, there are those who are probably smarter than all of
us put together... They are the ones who provide a mix of
content... Sometimes, they will give us a link to information...
Sometimes, they will link us to the sales page... At other times,
they will share quotes and news headlines... And in all cases,
they will socialize with their followers, asking about things
important to their followers and sharing their personal lives
with those who ask...

The Lesson To Take From This Article

Social media marketing works best, when the marketer who is
attempting to use it, remembers that first and foremost it is a
platform to socialize with other people...

Why do people follow YOU on Twitter?

They follow you, because there is something about you and what
you say that appeals to them at a very human level...

If you want to win in the Social Media element, be human and
don't be afraid to socialize with your friends and
acquaintances...

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We teach the Basics of online marketing and Cutting Edge
Techniques used by professional online marketers, to develop
lead generation systems and new businesses. Our Online Marketing
Bootcamp training is geared for new online marketers, network
marketers and offline business people looking to go online.
http://www.BestBusinessNetwork.com/OMB/
Written by: Marty Bradfield

Greg Cryns
Work At Home Profiles
Wahm Search Engine

57 of my Twitter followers cheat, and how I know

Ok, not true. I posted that headline just for grins and gigles and to see how many clickthroughs I get with a provocative headline.

I don't know even one of my almost 4,000 followers who cheats (on their spouse, at poker, at blogging, wherever). But you know what? If I were really your good friend, I might know about your indiscretions.

But you looked, right? Oh, I know, it was just because you were curious. (wink)

Greg Cryns

Work At Home Profiles

Wahm Search Engine
.

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATE YOUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO CREATE YOUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

Whether you already have a Facebook profile or not, go to www.facebook.com/pages/ and you will be brought to a page that says "Create a Page."

When you come to the Create a Page screen, you can start by doing the following:

1. Click on "Chose Brand, Products, or Organization"

2. Fill in "Page Name" (make sure to include your main keyword if possible)

3. Click on the box stating you are the official representative.

4. Click "Create Official Page."

If you aren't logged in, or don't yet have an account, you will be prompted at this point to either log in or create an account.

Now it's time to start adding content to your new Fan Page.

The first thing you need to do is add an image for your Page. Pick an image that represents what your Page is about rather than an image of yourself.

After you add your photo, you need to edit the thumbnail to make sure it includes the portion of your photo that is most relevant. After the image is uploaded, pass your cursor over the top right-hand corner of the uploaded image. It will open a box with a pencil that says "Change Photo." Click on "Change Photo" and a drop down box will appear. Click on "Edit Thumbnail" and follow the directions to make any adjustments and then click "Save."

There is a small box under the photo that asks you to tell something about your Page. Make sure to fill this box out.

Next, click on "Info" tab at the top of the page. On this page, you'll have two fields to add information to, if you wish. The first field is "Basic Info" and basically contains a place to put the date your business was founded.

The second field is "Detailed Information" so you can explain more about your business.

When you finish with these two section, click "Done Editing" and move to the next screen.

Under your photo, you will see "Edit Page." If you click this you will be brought to a section where you can customize your Fan Page however you want to. There are way too many choices to go into all of them here. You need to explore your options and pick the ones that best meet your needs, and the interests of your potential "fans." Once you've created your first Fan Page, it will become increasingly easier to do more pages.

I would suggest you visit the right sidebar. Under "Help with Your Page" is a link "For tips and information about Facebook Pages, click here." Click there and it will take you to a page that will explain everything, under the Resources tab. There is a Quick Start Guide and a Pages Manual that you can download and refer to as you proceed.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Keep your title short because when you add content your title is added to each post.

2. If you want to, you can chose a "vanity" url after you have twenty-five fans.
3. The maximum size for an image for your Fan Page is 200 pixels (width) by 600 pixels (height). Use the full size if at all possible.

4. Fill out the About Us box right below your picture and include a clickable link back to your main blog, or wherever you choose.

5. Using the application "Social RSS" you can bring your blog posts onto your Fan Page.

6. Let your fans post also on your Fan Page so when someone comes to your page, it looks "alive" with a lot of interaction.

Those are just a few tips for your Fan Page. More will be scattered throughout the rest of this report.

MONETIZING YOUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGES

One of the easiest ways to make money with your Fan Pages is to find a product you want to promote on one of the marketplaces, such as Click Bank or Amazon. Build your niche Fan Page around the product. But don't jump to do this! Make sure your Fan Page is up and running before you start trying to "sell" to your Fans.

The good way to go is to first offer some free content that is of high quality - maybe a mini-course related to the niche. More people opt-in to a mini-course than to any other kind of free offer. Just make sure it is high quality and relevant to your community.

After your Fan Page has become trusted and popular, you can use a tab to send your Fans directly to an affiliate sales page. It's just like anything else. Once your Fans trust you and believe in you, they are more accepting of the quality products you recommend to them that are relevant to their needs. It's a no brainer!

Remember also to put your affiliate link, where appropriate, into any eBook, mini-course, newsletter, etc. that you give away to your Fans for free.

Another option is to build your list with your Fan Page. If you create a landing page using "Static FBML" (Face Book Markup Language), which is one of the available Applications, you can offer anyone who comes to your Fan Page the chance to sign up for your free mini-course or whatever, for free, without selling anything.

Set up your autoresponder with aweber.com or getresponse.com, add the application "Static FBML" to your Facebook Fan Page, and follow the simple directions.

You can also make money with your Fan Page with your product and with CPA offers. Studies have shown that when people read about your offers on your Fan Page and then easily refer your Fan Page to their friends, their friends are more likely to buy whatever you are offering based on their friends' recommendation.

CONNECTING AND BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FACEBOOK FANS

One good thing about Fan Pages is you can send updates, via email to all of your fans at the same time. Not so with your profile page. So, when you have a special article, or a promotion, or some really great information, you can let all of your fans know. Just don't spam them!

If you have set up your SEO properly - putting you keyword in the title and using it elsewhere on your page - when people search for the keyword they will automatically find you. When they do, make sure they find a well-structured, lively page that gives them more than they expected.

Here are some interesting statistics from Facebook:

"1. The average Facebook user has 130 friends.

2. More than 25 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) are shared each month.

3. Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application.

4. More than 150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month.

5. Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook.

6. There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.

7. People who access Facebook via mobile are twice as active than non-mobile users (think about that when designing your Facebook page).

8. The average Facebook user is connected to 60 pages, groups and events.

9. People spend over 500 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

10. There are more than 1 million entrepreneurs and developers from 180 countries on Facebook."*

* Statistics from Facebook press office.

Greg Cryns

Work At Home Profiles

.

Twitter - sign up even if you don't use it

I had an "interesting" discussion about Twitter recently on a membership site.

When I take an opposing view about the effectiveness of using Twitter for marketing for small business I often get angry replies that say I don't know what I am talking about. They call me names. They swear.

Ironically, I found a good reason today for people to join Twitter.

I was checking out the pictures on my sister's account at Facebook. She has a few from book signings. One caught my eye where she was looking up at the book store owner. I thought I'd like to get to know the book store owner better. So I did Google search for "Cathy Bianco on Twitter". Just like that. I often do that because I can find her blog or website if she does either.

In this case I could not find Cathy on Twitter or anywhere else. That's sad for me and possibly a loss for Cathy as well. Who knows how many people I might email about Cathy if I found out something useful and interesting about her?

So, sign up as a member at Twitter and Facebook even if you don't plan to use it much or at all for that matter. Just put up some contact info to satisfy the curiosity of those who want to know more about you. It's just makes good sense in the 21st Century.

Also, don't forget to get yourself posted on Wikipedia, if you can. A lot of people search there as well. Have you noticed how Wikipedia is often the first result of you Google searches?

Greg Cryns

Work At Home Profiles
Wahm Search Engine

The Mighty Mo website design