Affiliate Marketing Coach

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

"I just updated my Squidoo lens"...so what!

Well the "so what" is a natural
reaction when people see this
comment on Twitter for the
hundredth or thousandth time.

The same applies to the comment, "I'm reading [lens]".

These are the default settings when you use the Squidoo facility
to tweet about Squidoo actions.

It's important to make the most of each tweet and make it meaningful.

Ways to do this are to:

advise readers of the content of a recently updated lens
highlight a new feature, post or module
explain the use of a special module
show how you have used a newly released module
comment on a guestbook post
advise of an award for the lens (e.g. Purple Star)
mention a significant lensrank change
highlight an increase in traffic for the lens
mention a newly added module.

Here's some examples of what I have posted lately
on Twitter instead of using the standard tweet,
"I've updated [my Squidoo lens]":

Squidoo training: how to add modules, analyze traffic
and promote affiliate products:
http://tinyurl.com/ykx9gzq

Cupcake recipes and designs - the cupcake
company Brisbane:
http://tinyurl.com/dcu6xe

I've used the screen capture program, SnagIt, to add
screen shots to my Squidoo training lens:
http://bit.ly/7UysXR

My Squidoo lens on cupcakes has had 6,900 visitors
since its creation in June 2008 (without active promotion):
http://bit.ly/5XxlHF

SEO? - 650 different keywords used on Google
(over 3 months) to locate this tropical rainforest
Squidoo lens:
http://bit.ly/6r33ua

*********************************************

Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Create animated music videos from your holiday photos

Well now that I am in my holiday break, I decided that I would
re-visit some of the digital photos I had taken during the year
and turn them into videos.

I told myself, "This is not work - it's too much fun, and it is!"

I get great satisfaction from turning my digital photos into
animated music videos. I like the professional image of the
the finished product and the video gives me new perspectives
and nostalgic memories. It's a good way to record a peaceful
experience that you can re-visit in times of stress.

Well, here's my latest effort which is based on a weekend visit
to the mountain village, Montville, on the Sunshine Coast,
Queensland:

This animated music video was produced with the
Animoto video creation program.

These videos are very simple to produce and very easy
to-remix to create multiple versions of the same video.

The simple recipe is:
Upload photos, add music and press button for "create"

Animoto uses the latest in cinematography to create a video from
your digital photos. So you end up with a professional looking
animated music video that you can be proud of.

...and the cost?

Animoto is free if you just want to create 30 second videos -
and you can create as many of these short movies as you want
at no cost. [By way of example of video duration, the above
video is 3 minutes long and took 60 photos to make.]

If you want to create an unlimited number of movies of unlimited
length you can get an All-Access Pass which at the time of writing
costs $30 per year. The All-Access Pass also gives you access
to Animoto's music library for adding music to your video and
can be obtained at the discount price of $25
through the link below:
http://animoto.com/?ref=tzolcekr

If you want to use the created videos purely for commercial
purposes there are three monthly and annual business rates
as well.

...and the downside?

It takes a while to upload the photos to Animoto (particularly if
you have 60 to upload). Animoto offers suggestions to speed up
the process however. What I do is go off and do something
else while the uploading is happening - clear out my email,
edit my Squidoo lenses, write a blog post, etc. When you
finish, one time benefit is that you can upload your new video
directly to YouTube ...and this is fast!

Since I travel a lot throughout Queensland conducting manager
development programs, I have been in the habit of taking my
camera with me and taking photos of the towns I visit. I now
have a nice stock of photos to turn into videos and/or to
use as images to add to my Squidoo lenses.

[Note for teachers : if you are a teacher, imagine how much fun
your students could have creating and re-mixing movies? -
what a great way to teach geography or any other subject for
that matter. Gen "Y" appears to me as the "re-mix" age.]

After that aside, I'm off to create some more videos from my
digital photos with Animoto. BUT, I can't decide whether
my next one will be Surfers Paradise (at twilight), Stradbroke
Island, Noosaville, Mooloolaba Beach or Townsville on the
north coast!!

What a problem to have! This is the most fun affiliate
program I have ever had the pleasure to promote.

If you want to see some of the Animoto videos I have created
to get some ideas, pop on over to my lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/promovideo

Related Post:
Squidoo: Animoto for Fun and Profit

*********************************************

Friday, January 01, 2010

Internet Marketing Training: 30 Day Challenge Plus (30DC+) Review

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Over the past couple of months I have participated in the
30 Day Challenge Plus Internet marketing training.

There is no doubt about it, but this is certainly leading edge
stuff. You actually get to look over the shoulder of the Master
Marketer, Ed Dale, as he creates and markets original content.

Ed Dale not only takes you into his office and his car,
he also takes you into his mind. He explains what he
does, how he does it and why.

Best of all he illustrates everything with video, clarifies with
podcasts and provides PDF transcripts of everything.

I thought I knew a lot about Internet marketing before I
started this program. However, as it's leading edge
I have been able to learn heaps. The beauty of it is
that Ed shares with you what he discovers in Internet
marketing as it occurs.

He focuses strongly on participants taking action steps so
that what you learn you put into action straight away.
For example, he has set up a special Flickr group for
30DC+ members to put into practise his hints on producing
and distributing great photos (Ed is a passionate photographer
as well).

The essence of the 30DC+ approach is the creation of original
content and its distribution in the marketplace. He shows you
how you can use your everyday tools and actions (inputs) to
create quality content for social media marketing (outputs).

Ed has consciously created a community through his 30DC+
forum which enables members to share their experiences
and ask questions.

The 30 Day Challenge Plus program certainly encourages
you to be the best marketer you can be. There is plenty
of opportunity to stretch yourself and learn, and heaps of
encouragement along the way.

Each month, Ed introduces a new theme and provides
demonstration videos, podcasts, transcripts, Q & A
webinars and an interview around the theme.

I strongly recommend this program - there are more than
12 months of resources and ideas available if you access
the program now.

CHECK OUT 30DC+ HERE

*********************************************

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What Are You Going To Do To Improve Your Productivity in 2010?

Well, here in Australia it is New Year's Eve - with 2010
fast approaching.

It's the time for New Year Resolutions to cover all aspects
of your life (so that you can achieve some balance).

However, I just want to focus here on improving personal
productivity in your online business.

I've been reading some great resources lately to help
me overcome information overload and to improve
my productivity.

Here's two of them:

Scaling Yourself
(a superb blog post from Pro-Blogger, Chris Brogan,
that lists the ways he has been trying to improve his
productivity - we all suffer from the same temptations!!)

IM Productivity Secrets
(New membership site from Lance Tamashiro &
Robert Plank that addresses the issue of Information
Overload. Focus is on time management for productivity
improvement - with free email course and excellent
hints in the sales page.)

My 2010 Goals and Activities

Well I've been thinking of how I'm going to put some
of these ideas into practise. So here's my first cut
(it's not New Year's Day yet!):

GOALS:
(allowing for my full-time job as an
organizational consultant):

1. Build my Joint Venture with Squidster (Anne)
and Chef Keem (Achim)
(focused on helping small business to brand themselves
effectively through social media)

2. Use my Internet Marketing expertise to promote
my HR consulting business, Merit Solutions:
http://www.squidoo.com/merit-solutions-brisbane

3. Focus on promoting (via social media)
two Affiliate Products/Services that I can personally
vouch for:
12 Second Commute
(A suite of Internet marketing tools - I have known the CEO
for a couple of years and I can vouch for his generosity,
genuineness and quality offerings which I have used
since 2006.)
One Week Marketing Plan
(PotPieGirl's marketing plan incorporating Squidoo,
article marketing, blogging and other social media. I've
proven the effectiveness of this plan though marketing
the product itself using PotPieGirl's approach.)

4. Produce 3 E-books/Reports
(linked directly to goals 1 & 2 - one is well on the way)

5. Write 3 Blog Posts per week
(incorporating both this blog and my JV blog)

6. Provide a free, fortnightly webinar on
Squidoo and social media marketing, for
12 Second Commute members.

RESOLUTIONS:

1. Create one piece of original content per day
(blog post, article or e-book chapter)

2. Write original content each day before
processing email
(to avoid getting side-tracked)

3. Spend 5 minutes each day accessing the power
of concentration system:
http://powerofconcentration.net/

Well that's my focus and goals for 2010- what's yours?

*********************************************

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Adwords "Bulls Eye" Profit Report - define your best customer

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The Adwords "Bulls Eye" Profit Report by Alex Goad is one

of the most comprehensive and valuable free reports that

I have accessed in some time.

It's not only relevant for people engaged in PPC campaigns,
but also for anyone involved in any form of Internet Marketing
for affiliate products or their own small business.

Alex's central premise is that if you define your "best customer"
then your advertising and promotion will be truly targeted
and you will hit the "Bulls Eye" - you will gain truly
targeted traffic and sales.

He takes you through a number of steps to help you define
your best customer and then guides you in the process of
choosing core keywords that are relevant to your "best
customer".

This process can be exacting but the results will make it
well worth the effort. This exercise alone is invaluable
and highlights the fact that we rarely really know who
our customer is.

I have been working through this "best customer" process
with a new service that I am going to promote. It is very
enlightening and makes me confident that I will be targeting
the "Bulls Eye".

For those who are interested in PPC marketing. Alex takes
this process a whole lot further and provides his formula
for developing PPC Ad Groups.

His four measures to separate out PPC ADGroups are:

action - how will customer take action?
root - what is the core thing being promoted?
modifier - who to exclude (people with certain attributes)?
sources - where is the service/product being provided?

These measures are explained in detail with valuable
illustrations and examples.

The clarity of this report, it's visual presentation and
detailed examples, make it a valuable addition to any
Internet Marketer's library.

Adwords "Bulls Eye" Profit Report contains many lessons
for affiliate marketers and small business people alike.

Get your free copy of the Adwords Report HERE

*********************************************

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Building Social Equity 2.0: the road to success

Garrett Pierson has just released a new
training product, Building Social Equity.
[BSE for short herein]

As part of the product launch, Garrett offers
free access to a number of interviews (both mp3 &
PDF) with leading social media marketers.

By signing up under my affiliate link below you
will have access to free interviews with
Alex Mandossian, Dave Lakhani, Martin Wales,
Justin Brooke, Mari Smith, Mark Murnahan and
Joel Comm:
Building Social Equity - Interviews

In the first interview Alex Mendossian explains how
he and Garret Pierson learn from each other.
Alex looks to Garrett to build the social equity
necessary to sell his books.

One of Garrett's comments gives some insight into
the concept of social equity:
I wanted to build a relationship of trust with Alex
Mendossian so that in return I could build up my
brand and my business, and for Alex, help him to build
his business...We've just built a relationship and
again, that's what building social equity is; building
those relationships of trust.

Social media marketing involves using new channels
to deliver the message about your product or service
at a time when people are suffering "email burnout".

Garrett explains how to build the requisite trust
relationships:
...by delivering valuable and fresh content
for your target market, through submitting
this content to the worldwide web, via social
channels [such as Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon]
so that your target market can find your content.

He states that building social equity involves
bringing SEO and social media together - it means
driving targeted traffic to your small business
or affiliate product website by using social media.

Garret's Building Social Equity Course [BSE] is built
around 6 core steps:

1. Keyword research - finding the keywords that people
are searching for.
{BSE provides video training and a keyword tool for this
step}

2. Understanding your target market - finding out the
conversations that are occurring in relation to your primary
keywords (two or three core keywords) - identify the
problems that people are seeking to redress.
{BSE has specific video training on this often
overlooked step}

3. Writing articles - creating and submitting keyword rich
articles addressing the problems of concern to your target
market.
{BSE gives video training on how to write the articles
the right way to attract targeted traffic}

4. Submitting content to social media - re-purposing the
articles for submission to social media sites
{BSE video training covers this aspect in depth for each site -
HubPages, StumbleUpon, Zimbio.com, Squidoo, Scribd.com,
WordPress.com, EZineArticles, Technorati, Gather.com,
PRWeb (press releases) and others}

5. Social networking - building the relationships, having the
conversations, contributing to social networks, being an active
community member, giving advice, making friends.
{BSE's step-by-step video training covers this aspect as well}

6. Consistent action - "Just do it!" on a consistent basis
{BSE provides the motivation and insight to help you
be consistent}

There are lessons in this interview for everyone and heaps
of motivating comments and sound advice to start off the
New Year.

Here's some quotable quotes from Alex Mendossan
in the interview:
* A spectacular achievement is always preceded by
unspectacular planning
* Google is not a search engine...Google is a
social equity builder
* Building social equity is a process and an evolution
* A lack of consistency is not a lack of time or a lack
of motivation. It's a lack of expectation.
* When you have social equity with someone, that
person has priority. That person has a place in your heart,
in your mind, in your business, for you to say yes to.

Click here for more on Building Social Equity

*********************************************

Friday, December 25, 2009

Branding: how are you perceived in the marketplace?

How are you currently branding yourself as a small business or

affiliate marketer? What perceptions are you creating in the market-place?

Branding can create recognition, positive customer perceptions and loyalty.

So, how do you create your small business brand or brand yourself

as an affiliate marketer?

Cindy Ratzlaff, Brand New Brand You, suggests that there are

four key branding elements:

Voice
Visual
Value
Variation

1. Your brand voice

This is very much about your brand message and how and where

you speak. Do you send a consistent message or are you confounding

peoples' perceptions of who you are and what you stand for?

What kind of personality do you portray (serious, humorous,

light-hearted, generous)? Is this personality congruent with your

message and your niche? Congruence is easy when you are

being yourself; it's difficult when you are not speaking from your

real self and personal truth. Is your message consistent across the

various social media platforms?

2. Your brand visuals

This is often overlooked. Branding visuals have to do with the

colors you use, your logo or avatar, the presentation of your

Squidoo lenses, websites and blogs. It even comes down to the

typeface you use. Are you communicating a professional image

or a sloppy one? What image is appropriate for your branding

message and your niche? Sometimes it is appropriate to use

an image of yourself across multiple social media platforms so

that you gain recognition. However, this recognition is

undermined if your message is not consistent and your

behavior incongruent.

3. Your brand value

Brand value is very much about what your brand offers - your

USP (unique selling proposition). You need to know what your

value is and what you are offering. Can you present your value

in an "elevator speech" or a brief statement that you can make

in the time it takes to travel five floors of a building? You build

brand value through what you contribute in line with what

you claim to offer. In other words, when people associate

with you, or connect with you, do they take away something

of value that is consistent with your stated offering? Are you

sharing your expertise in line with what you claim to offer?

4. Your brand variation

So what sets you apart (refer Seth Godin's "Purple Cow")?

Brand variation is about differentiation, how you stand out from the

crowded marketplace. Why is your offering better than the next one

or the one before? What is unique to you - your life experience, your

accomplishments, your personal insights, your humorous portrayals,

how you share, what you share, how you comment, how you listen,

how you specialize, what social media platforms you use (and why),

what you value, what you spend your time on, your expertise,

your creativity, the media you use (text, voice, video)?

What are the components that make up your brand differentiation

... and what can you do to strengthen these components?

Note: A special thanks to Cindy Ratzlaff for her stimulating

telesmeniar presented via the International Social Media Association.

which provides free weekly teleseminars on social media marketing.

Cindy has a superb blog on branding and social media marketing.

*********************************************

Affiliate Marketing Coach

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

"I just updated my Squidoo lens"...so what!

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Create animated music videos from your holiday photos

Friday, January 01, 2010

Internet Marketing Training: 30 Day Challenge Plus (30DC+) Review

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

What Are You Going To Do To Improve Your Productivity in 2010?

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Adwords "Bulls Eye" Profit Report - define your best customer

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Building Social Equity 2.0: the road to success

Friday, December 25, 2009

Branding: how are you perceived in the marketplace?

FREE SOCIAL MEDIA E-COURSE

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Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Friday, January 01, 2010

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Friday, December 25, 2009

FREE SOCIAL MEDIA E-COURSE

Social Media Marketing

About Me

Subscribe by RSS Feed

Make Money on Squidoo

Please Bookmark

Blog Archive

Wizzley - Community for writers

Social Media Marketing

Tools for Marketing Online

Apture

StatisticsCounter v:2.4.0