Internet Marketing Made Simple

One of the coolest parts about being an Internet Marketer is the fact that you can quickly implement new ideas and concepts into your business and start measuring the results instantly.

So far this year, we’ve made an extra $54,000 directly due to attending a high-end Internet Marketing seminar – the Earn1KaDay IM Summit. (We expect that we’ll make an extra 6 figures by the end of the year.)

The networking was invaluable, of course, but what was really cool were the different ideas that we pulled out of the seminar. All of the speakers were people (including ourselves) who are making a significant amount of money every single month.

What really interested us, though, was the fact that so many people are making money online in different ways. For example, one of the speakers, Gene Pimentel, researches high quality domain names and then sells them (some to the tune of 5 figures.)

He doesn’t do any backlink building, he just puts a 200 word snippet on his website that says he’s accepting offers, and that’s IT. It’s working out like gangbusters for him.

He includes a step-by-step process of EXACTLY how he did it. We taught a couple people the system (they’ve never made money online before) and it REALLY “sunk in” for them. It’s great if you only have a few minutes per day, and it provides huge income if you do it right.

One of our buddies, Michael Gunn, who also spoke at the Earn1KaDay seminar, is making a killing online, too. If I remember right, he was making a couple thousand per month using his niche domination techniques at the time of the seminar. Fast forward about 5 months, and now he’s dangerously close to the 6 figure mark. VERY cool.

His presentation was absolutely awesome for anyone interested in truly “crushing it” in niche marketing. The really cool part is that he gives you the exact e-mail templates he’s using to make that much money during his presentation, so you can almost just copy and paste.

We applied a couple of these techniques to one of our niche businesses and saw an instant increase in the number of opt-ins and money flowing in.

There were a LOT of other speakers there with great strategies and techniques, but those two really “hit home” for us.

So here’s the deal…Dennis Becker, the owner of Earn1KaDay and the “father” of the Earn1KaDay IM Summit, just put the recording of the summit up for sale. It’s two days of money-making material. John and I got a copy and we’ve both watched it through twice, and some of the presentations we’ve watched 3 or 4 times (Gene’s and Michael’s).

It’s that good.

These are step-by-step techniques you can directly apply to your business, whether you’ve made $0 online or you’re making 6 figures. It WILL take you to the next level.

Go here now and buy it. There’s a couple “special bonus” on the page from John and I, too.

After you buy it, watch the DVDs first and THEN look at the “data disc” that Dennis provides. It’s better than many of the $3,000 DVD home study courses out there.

Read more about the Earn1KaDay IM Summit…

I wanted to talk a little bit today about what John and I call the “Rhodes Strategy.” It’s really the core of our business. Here’s what it consists of:

1.) Driving web traffic to our niche sites via our blog and traffic networks.

2.) Sending that traffic to a squeeze page to get people on our e-mail lists.

3.) Send e-mails that have outstanding value with high quality offers to make money from
affiliate commissions.

So, Blogs + E-Mail List is the real basis for the formula. The beautiful part about this is that the process is virtually all automated. Using an e-mail tool like AWeber, it’s like ATM that automatically pumps out cash for us.

We write the messages just once, then AWeber automatically delivers the e-mails to people who
join our e-mail list. We have these e-mail sequences setup to deliver mail for months!

That means while we’re sleeping or partying it up, our e-mail system is delivering value to our e-mail subscribers, and then selling them on high-quality products. (Which, of course, makes us affiliate commissions!)

How much is each subscriber worth to us? Well…

Each subscriber on our lists tends to average $1 in profit per month for us (give or take). That’s just an AVERAGE though. Some people don’t purchase anything ever, and others spend $1,000s with us.

(Do you see how powerful an e-mail list is?)

Let’s run some numbers here…let’s say you can get just 50 visitors per day to your blog, and 20% of them opt-in to your e-mail list. Your list would grow at 10 people per day.

So, at 10 people per day, you’d have 300 people join your list per month.

Roughly speaking, that’s about $300 per month. The next month, it would be $600, then $900, and so on.

It doesn’t sound too appealing until you take into account the fact that your traffic will constantly be growing, so you’ll get more opt-ins per day.

Plus, you can setup as MANY of these funnels as you want. They only take a week or two to fully create one.

(Imagine 10 of these profit centers bringing in between $150 and $1,650 per month.)

It’s only limited by your imagination. And, it’s a REALLY powerful strategy and it doesn’t take much tech work at all.

Talk to you soon,
Matt

This guide explains everything important about using social bookmarks to drive web site traffic. This information can be used to easily create a targeted list. Of course, the guide is especially valuable if you’re looking for free traffic. It’s aimed at entrepreneurs, internet marketers and small businesses.

– — –
Introduction to the Social Bookmarking Traffic Guide

Social bookmarking might seem dull and boring. It might seem like a fad or a craze that will die off. But, when done right, using social bookmarks can dramatically increase high quality web site traffic. If you’re serious about growing an online business, it needs to be a tool in your “traffic secrets” toolbox.

Here’s something to chew on…

If you don’t follow the advice in the Social Bookmarking Traffic Guide you are losing out on cheap and easy traffic. I know that’s a strong statement but by the time you get to the end of this guide, you’ll understand the full power of tagging and bookmarking.

– — –
Getting Started

I want to first make sure you clearly understand social bookmarking. In short, it’s a way for humans to keep track of stuff online. It usually means using “tags” and metadata (which is data about data).

Tags are really nothing more than words or phrases that you use to describe other words. For example, you might use “online marketing” as a tag for The Rhodes Brothers. Or, perhaps you might use something like “tagging” and “traffic” and “bookmarking” for the guide you’re reading right now.

There’s nothing magical about the tags you use. Feel free to use words and phrases that mean something to you. Or, if you’re trying to drive targeted traffic, use keywords that are meaningful in your niche. We’ll cover this in great detail later on; no worries.

Most social bookmarking systems allow you to show or hide bookmarks. So, you can use bookmarks for yourself only or you can expose them to the public.

If you keep bookmarks private they won’t have any impact on web site traffic, although they might be useful to you personally. If you make them public, however, you will enjoy free traffic. The world can find your bookmarks and find you by clicking on your links. I explain this in detail below.

So in large part social bookmarking is an activity where you are categorizing your web sites, domains, articles and blogs. You use social bookmarking to develop a way to stay organized online.

If you want free traffic from your social bookmarks you just expose them. For example, if you have a blog you can use Del.icio.us to bookmark blog entries. In turn, Google will find your bookmarks and your blog. And finally, people will find your bookmarks and your blog in the search results of Google. This is how organic traffic flows from your bookmarking.

Yes, it’s that simple.

At this point you have a basic understanding of social bookmarking. You could leave right now with confidence about how to get started. However, if you really want to know how to get traffic or if you want to avoid serious problems, keep reading.

I’ll also say this: There is a very specific model that I use to drive maximum web site traffic with web 2.0 bookmarks. I promise to reveal this model with you — there is no catch here. I will give you everything you need to succeed with your social bookmarking.

– — –
Social Bookmarking Issues

Social bookmarks are not perfect…

You cannot ONLY use social bookmarks to drive traffic nor can you expect to build a real online business by just using Stumble Upon, Del.icio.us, Reddit and Technorati. You need an entire marketing funnel in place — This is something I explain in detail later.

Before I go on, here’s my list of the top 10 social bookmarking sites. Keep in mind that these sites allow tagging and bookmarking but they aren’t necessarily dedicated to bookmarking. For example, Del.icio.us is very much focused on tagging and bookmarking — that’s its core job. However, Digg is really more of a news aggregation web site but you can tag and bookmark, and therefore drive a lot of traffic.

OK, let’s get back on track. Here’s my list of the top 10 social bookmarking sites:

• Digg
• Del.icio.us
• Stumble Upon
• Reddit
• Propeller
• Sphinn
• Furl.net
• Newsvine
• Technorati
• Slashdot

There’s nothing scientific here. These just happen to be the bookmarking sites that have worked well for me. I have certainly used other sites and other tools. Don’t read too much into this list; caveat emptor.

By the way, I’m guessing that you’re getting worried about something: WORK. In other words, I suspect you’re worried about all the time and effort you’ll need to apply to get killer results.

Don’t worry. I’ve got your back covered. I cover this below…

Another issue is that your site, blog or article often get pushed to the bottom of the stack, or off the page. This is especially true with the social media new sites like Digg and Propeller. Imagine that your new blog entry makes it to the front page of Digg. Although you’ll enjoy insane traffic for a little while, after just a couple of hours your blog entry will drop off the home page.

Some people are worried about this problem, but it’s a false problem. First, you’re getting a gush of traffic in a situation like this. Second, you’ll get residual traffic even after you drop to the next page. Third, other people will link to you as a result and you’ll get residual, off-Digg traffic. Fourth, you’ll get some very powerful backlinks and therefore Google will love you. You’ll be enjoying serious organic traffic.

Another potential problem of social bookmarking is that your tags (or keywords or keyphrases) are terrible. If your keywords are meaningless then no one will care what you have to say. No one will find you through Google.

But, again, this is a false problem. Sure, you can have issues with keywords but let’s face it — you probably know how to find great keywords and niches. I don’t have room to fully explain keyword selection, but it goes like this:

1. Go to Google Keywords and start searching
2. Find keywords that people are using a lot
3. Or, target keywords that make sense for your niche
4. Look on Google’s Traffic Estimator to figure out your competition
5. Choose keywords with plenty of searches and low competition

That’s a pretty bad explanation but you get the point. Use tags that are based on popular keywords that aren’t very well represented by competitors on Google.

Or, just pick really popular keywords. That can work for you as well because it takes less time and energy, but it takes longer to see robust results.

Let’s get back on track…

Another issue is that people don’t spell very well. Many tags are sloppy. They are dirty. There are misspellings all over the place.

Um, so what?

People are people. Using misspellings can actually offer you a competitive advantage. This little secret has made some people on eBay thousands and thousands of dollars. (Think about it; this can mean BIG money.)

Furthermore, you can use BOTH misspelled keywords and properly spelled keywords. You can tag like crazy — tag carpet bombing! Here’s a simple example to make this 100% clear:

• deductible
• deductuble
• deductable
• deductabel

No one can stop you from using all four of these words. Of course I don’t think you should do this all the time. However, if you are tagging and your gut says, “Hey, I’m not sure how to spell this!” — Others will have the same problem. Take advantage of it and enjoy the extra free traffic.

Let’s push forward…

I promised to talk about how to handle all the work associated with social bookmarks. Let’s look at that in the next section.

– — –
Two Secrets of Social Bookmarking

The are two simple ways to eliminate the pain associated with social bookmarking. As I’ve said, it can be labor intensive so you need to decide between these two options:

1. Burn hours and hours of time creating your own bookmarks
2. Use social bookmarking tools or hire (outsource) the work

Obviously you want to use tools or hire smart, affordable people to do work for you. Better still, you want to pick a great tool, master it, then train someone to do the work for you using the best tools available. That’s maximum leverage.

Right now, the best tool is probably Social Marker. It’s a semi-automatic social bookmarking tool. You sign up for access to each of the individual social bookmarking sites (e.g., Digg, Del.icio.us, Furl) then head over to Social Marker and sign up for that too. Then you use Social Marker to semi-automatically update those sites.

If you have issues with Social Marker, no worries. There will always be sites and tools out there for you to use. If you’re really desperate, head over to RentACoder or ScriptLance and have someone develop one for you.

So, I’ve revealed two of the big secrets of social bookmarking. First, you need to find tools that make sense. Second, you need to use outsourcing web sites to get the bookmarking done for you. Or, have tools built for you.

– — –
Revealed! More Secrets of Social Bookmarking

There are several really good reasons to use social bookmarks and tags. You can get very high volumes of traffic in very little time.

You might say, “But that traffic isn’t targeted, John.”

Fortunately, there is something I call Social Traffic Filtering which I’ll tell you about. In essence, the amount of traffic is vitally important as an input factor for your traffic funnel. All traffic funnels require traffic. There is no way around this. I’ll explain why this is so crucial in just a moment.

Although a lot of social media and bookmarking traffic will be useless, the fact remains that a lot of it is legitimate, targeted traffic. There are humans clicking and reading what you’ve written. So, if you’re providing valuable content then people will reward you with repeat visits and they’ll join your lists.

That is HUGE.

Let me say that again…

If you’re providing valuable content then people will reward you with repeat visits and they’ll join your lists. (Your list is the blood of your business.)

It’s your job to qualify these leads. You must be ready for this social traffic and filter these folks using great, high quality content. You need to give them high value; respect their time. Then, you need to filter them out with top notch squeeze pages. Offer them something wonderful and grab their email addresses. If they don’t stay and read, and if they don’t join your list, just move on. Let them go. They’ve been filtered out.

To frame this another way, you cannot expect to make a lot of money online just by getting a ton of social bookmarking traffic. That’s just plain silly. You must plan ahead with a Social Traffic Filtering marketing plan.

I explained the basics above and I’m sure you can see how this selection process can provide you with a good list — maybe not Rock Star great, but that’s fine. These people are solid prospects and as they opt into your email list, your business is growing and growing.

Oh, one more thing. Here’s a big Rhodes Brother’s tip: There’s another level of filtering. Here’s how that plays out…

Once you have folks on your list, your autoresponder series can push and pull them in many different ways. It’s up to you to use the autoresponder to qualify people. I strongly encourage you to provide value and pre-sell. If you start selling immediately, you’ll filter out just about everyone. That’s no good for you and it’s no good for them.

PROVIDE VALUE.

– — –
Traffic Leverage From Social Bookmarking

Here’s a very simple concept with profound implications.

What you need to do is combine several different social bookmarking tools together (i.e., assets and plumbing). If you stack these tools the right way, you will have over-the-top, compounding traffic.

I know this sounds vague. So, once again I’ll break it down using an example to make it crystal clear. Here’s just ONE example, step by step:

1. Post a fantastic blog entry on your niche blog
2. Digg the blog entry (or ask someone for a favor)
3. Go to Twitter and talk about it; gently ask for ReTweets
4. Privately direct message (DM) some trusted Followers; “Please Stumble”

I know this seems simple but let me tell you, this works great. I don’t do it too often because I don’t like to burn people out. It’s a special weapon.

But again –

This is just ONE way to use these various social bookmarking web sites and tools. This kind of activity gives you serious traffic leverage. It’s also another type of marketing funnel that you can tweak and tune over time.

One more thing –

By doing this kind of bookmarking and “backscratching” you can build a powerful affiliate network. It’s also a great way to find and develop JV partners. Remember, this is all very social. It’s about relationships…

Sidebar: Join the Rhodes Brothers Affiliate Program.

– — –
Traffic On Traffic On Traffic

Your web site is not yet flooded with traffic but you’re ahead of 99% of everyone else — You’re in the club.

At this point you must take action…

I strongly recommend that you sign up for Traffic Drill. Like this blog posting, it’s absolutely free.

We’ve put together more material for you about getting traffic to your web site. I give Traffic Drill my highest recommendation. So, if you’re serious about web site traffic read about Traffic Drill.

Cheers,

~ John

People are always asking us how to start making money online. The answer surprises most people: pick anything and take action.

I created an 18 minute audio to help you get started today. I talk about how to get started, what to promote and how to get traffic. It’s the perfect overview and I highly recommend you listen to it.

What to know what I talk about? Here’s the simple formula…

You start by doing some niche research, looking at trends, following smart people or just taking a complete guess.

Next, you need to decide what you’re going to sell or promote. You can be an affiliate marketer, you can sell your own products or you can start your own membership. Almost anything will work.

And lastly, you need to drive traffic using pay per click (PPC), writing blog entries, and writing articles. There’s a lot more you can do as well.

This formula is so simple but … IT WORKS. Of course, there is more to learn. There is a “secret” in the audio I created. When you hear me say it — and clearly explain it — you’ll see why the process I’ve outlined above is so powerful.

I’m not trying to scare you but you will FAIL if you don’t take my advice. You can pick the perfect niche, create the perfect product to sell or promote, and drive tons of traffic — but still fail. It’s important you listen to the audio succeed: How to Start Making Money Online (FREE).

By the way, if you like that audio, then you will love this stuff…

• Traffic Drill
• The Free Business Model
• The Really Simple Method

And, if you’re looking for other fantastic (very popular) blog entries, read these…

• Generate Traffic With Articles
• Make Money Online
• How to Use Twitter

Cheers,

~ John

p.s. Please share this article with other people. Pass it along and link to it. And, if you have about 10 extra seconds, please Stumble or Digg or bookmark this blog entry.

p.p.s. Subscribe to Rhodes Brothers RSS feed.

I consistently find that I get the most traffic from blog postings that are not keyword optimized. Instead, I generate traffic with articles that are human optimized.

The greatest traffic flows into my niche blogs when I just pound the keys and tell a story. If you give me a minute, I’ll explain what I’m talking about in detail.

In the internet marketing niche, I often try to dominate certain keywords. It’s worked well. But, when I work hard to optimize blog entries in “boring” niches, the opposite seems to be true. It’s better to write stories and pretty much ignore the keywords, except for 1-2 things I always do.

First, I always make sure my keyword is in the title. It doesn’t matter if I’m writing something for internet marketers or if it’s some “dull” niche. No matter how you slice it, the title is important. You really want to use your keyword there no matter what.

Second, I usually use the main keyword or a similar keyword in the first 2-3 sentences. I don’t stress over this. I just try to fit the keyword in the first 100 words or so, which is usually in one of those first few sentences.

That’s pretty much it. I know it doesn’t sound very sexy. And, it doesn’t seem secret.

I think this works in my “simple” niches because Google has figured out that my content is legitimate and sincere. The less I try to get Google to pay attention, the better off I am. Or, to swing that around, the more I focus on my readers and my customers, the more Google rewards me for helping them. If you think about it, that’s a mighty good theory.

For what it’s worth, I ask my writers to write naturally. I often ask them to write stories and to be human. I am against any keyword stuffing and even when I target specific keywords, I avoid trying to game the system or beat Google. If you focus on your customers and your readers, they will reward you — and so will Google, apparently.

This is good news because it is easier to write this way. You know what I mean. It’s more natural to write to someone in a human voice than it is to write with the intention of plugging in certain keywords. It’s faster. It’s easier. And, again, it works better for everyone.

This is why I usually laugh at keyword density. I admit that I look at that metric from time to time but it doesn’t have nearly the importance as raw traffic pouring in from Google. I watch that closer and I’ve found that my pure and natural content pulls the most traffic. It’s almost like this — the less I think about what I’m writing, the more traffic I pull.

I will say this. One “secret” is that longer content works better when I write like this. When I write longer stories and create longer blog entries, everyone is happier. I think that’s because people link to me which Google loves, of course. Backlinks rock. Writing good material is just so smart — you create linkbait and you’re rewarded in so many ways. (Example of linkbait: How to Generate Web Site Traffic.)

So, that’s my article marketing advice for the day. It’s what I’ve done to dominate many niches — I pull insane traffic using this method alone, without PPC or anything else. I love it.