Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

Okay, let’s get to some great meat in this article. You’re an Internet marketer and your main concern is getting traffic to your web site. But not just any traffic. You want to get targeted traffic that is going to be interested in what you have to sell. That’s the bottom line. Everything else is just nonsense. Well, in this article, I’m going to share with you three super charged marketing tips that are sure to get you more traffic than you’ll know what to do with. It is my hopes that after you are done reading this that your income will at least double if not triple.

First tip, and one of my favorites, is to go join a forum in your niche and establish yourself as an expert in your are. Now, don’t join just any forum. Join the absolute top forum in that niche. Most top forums have 50,000 members or more. This is almost like a captive audience. The key is NOT to advertise there. Just go there and help the other members. If you see a question you can answer, answer it. Post some threads of your own that share pieces of information. Think of all you can do to help other members. What’s going to happen is that they will eventually come to you for products that can help them more.

Second tip, and this one isn’t far behind it, is to look out for the hot topics on the Internet. You’ll find, if you do your keyword research, that there are certain things that pop up that are very popular. Google Hot Trends is a great place to find these things. Some of them are so popular that just one blog post can bring you thousands of visitors. Set up an affiliate product to sell or some AdSense and this can be easy money for very little work.

Third tip, and one that brings instant traffic, is to write articles on your area of expertise and submit them to article directories. If you submit to directories that have to manually approve submissions, submit towards the end of the day. What this does is that it will keep your article on the first page of new articles longer. This will increase your views and your clicks. This in turn will also increase your income…instantly.

I have no doubt that by doing these three simple things you’ll more than double your income.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of busting your behind for peanuts online? Go to my web site and find out how I earn a monthly income that exceeds 5 figures and how I can help YOU do the same. Get your free report at http://www.mysecretarticles.com/report.html

I get a kick out of some affiliate marketers. They seem to have this entitlement thing going on that I just don’t get. Yes, I know that we’re promoting the merchant’s product and without us he wouldn’t make as many sales, but that doesn’t mean we can make all these demands and expect the merchant to cave in to them. Believe it or not, he has plenty of other affiliates to sell his product. He doesn’t need you. Anyway, I’m going to cover a few of my biggest pet peeves about affiliates and their demands.

Probably at the top of my list is the demand for a higher affiliate commission than everybody else. These demands don’t always come from affiliates who are very successful either. They mostly come from new guys with big attitudes. They think it’s just not worth their time to promote the guy’s stuff unless he gets more than the standard 50% or whatever the merchant is offering. Guess what? He doesn’t need your business that badly…so get over yourself.

Another thing that bugs me is affiliates who demand custom made promotional materials. It’s not good enough that the merchant has created banners and text ads and even PPC ads for you to use, not to mention articles that you can use in your autoresponder. No, you need to have custom made promo materials, like you were the King of Siam or something. Again, get over yourself. There are plenty of affiliates who will be happy to use what they’re given. And for that matter, what’s wrong with writing your own stuff like I do? Original material written by YOU will actually bring you MORE sales.

Finally, there is this thing with paying commissions. I get a kick out of the affiliate who doesn’t want to wait the 30 or 60 days to get paid. I mean who died and made you emperor? There is a reason why commissions are held for a period of time. Most products come with a refund period of about 30 to 60 days. If a customer refunds during that time and you’ve ended up getting paid, the merchant is the one out the money…not you. So how about being a little patient and hang in there?

Sorry if this all sounds like a rant, but I am so sick and tired of affiliates with this entitlement attitude that they have. I am a product creator myself and I get these crazy requests all the time. Know what I tell these people?

Nothing…I just ignore them.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of being an affiliate failure? Want to turn yourself into an affiliate assassin like I am? Want to land in the top 20 of every affiliate promotion you tackle just like I do? Check out my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/affiliateassassin/index.html and start earning a solid income as an affiliate marketer.

I love Michel Fortin. He is probably one of the best writers on the Internet. Well, today I had the pleasure of reading his blog post about upsells and what’s wrong with them. I agree with the man 100%. Before I give you my personal opinion on this mess and my ideas for a solution and how it can actually make you more money, I’m going to briefly tell you what he said.

In a nutshell, what Fortin says is that upsells aren’t evil by nature. There is nothing wrong with the checkout gal at Mickey D’s asking you if you want fries with your burger. The problem, as he so eloquently states it, is when they take your money, hold your change hostage and then badger you to death with one upsell offer after another until you finally get so ticked off that you either give in or cancel your order. You certainly won’t ever go back to that place again.

If you know me at all, you know I hardly ever offer an upsell. I don’t personally believe in them…at least not in the traditional sense. What I do is something that other marketers do and I feel is the best way to handle upsells. I make two offers at the time of the original sales pitch. In other words, I say, “Okay, you can get just this one book for $27 OR if you purchase volumes II and III (normally $27 each by themselves) I will throw them both in for just an additional $17.” I will then present the person with two order links. They then have the choice of which one they want to use.

My contention is this. If you make the upsell offer at the time of the original pitch and make it compelling enough, you’ll end up NOT ticking off your customer and will end up making more sales in the process. I can say this because it works for me.

Now, I know there will be those who will say that the other method works just as well. Maybe it does. But is your customer going to be happy with you? Will they buy from you again having seen you use these strong arm tactics? I think not.

In either case, it’s your choice. I’ve made my opinion quite clear on this matter, as has Michel Fortin.

My money is on the big guy.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you want to discover the REAL truth about Internet marketing and get some solid tips to take your business to the next level…get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/realtruth.html and subscribe to my REAL Truth newsletter where you’ll discover more than from all those high priced ebooks combined.

What do I put on my blog? This may be one of the most commonly asked questions by marketers who are just starting out. With the advent of WordPress, the possibilities for blogs are endless. It’s easy to get lost in a sea of “What the heck do I do” and end up with a blog that is a total mess. So, in this article, I am going to share with you some simple blogging tips. If you’re not new to the game, this may seem trivial. But then again, this article is meant for those who keep asking that question.

Absolutely the most important thing to put on your blog is RELEVANT content. If you don’t know what that means, please look up the word relevant in the dictionary. It means something that specifically relates to what your blog is about. So, if you have a blog about acne, you’re not going to write articles about surfboarding. People are going to think you flipped your lid. I know, this seems like a duh statement, but trust me…there are some people (mostly blog spammers) who don’t get this. I have seen plenty of so called “health” blogs with articles about casino gambling. Huh?

Next order of business. If you’re a marketer and want to build a list, then for crying out loud, put an opt in form on your blog. Let people know that you have a newsletter that is, here’s that word again, relevant to what they’re reading on your blog. If they like the content that’s on your blog then there is a very good chance that they’ll sign up for your newsletter. Now, where do you put this opt in form? Someplace where they can EASILY see it. Yeah, I know…another duh statement. Again, you’d be surprised how many people put opt in forms in places where I can’t find them and I’m looking for them. It’s just unreal.

Finally, make sure your blog has the required plugins for SEO and keeping out unwanted spam comments. These plugins, usually invisible to you and everybody else, will make your blog more effective. With WordPress, there are a ton of these. I suggest the All In One SEO plugin as an absolute requirement.

Are there other things you could put on your blog? Sure, such as videos, photos, polls, etc. But make sure whatever you put on it is RELEVANT. There’s that word again. It’s absolutely the most important word you’re ever going to come across when it comes to marketing online.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim
Want to make money TODAY without spending a DIME? Check out my site at http://www.hottrendsdaily.com/ and find out how.

Have you ever sat down to write an article and halfway through it realized that you had no idea what the person was trying to say? Have you ever written one of those articles? I’m sure you have. We all have. Yes, even me. Sometimes we just go off on tangents and never find our way back to the point. This article is going to get right TO the point in explaining how to keep this from happening when writing your next article. I’d pay very close attention if I were you.

Okay, first thing’s first. Start with a title for the article that can absolutely not be mistaken for anything other than what it says. For example, if you want to write an article about the dangers of energy drinks, how about “The Dangers Of Energy Drinks” for the title? It’s right to the point. There is absolutely no doubt about what this article is going to be sharing with the reader. It’s not fancy, but it does the job. People looking for solutions to problems aren’t looking for fancy. They just want answers.

Next thing I would do is go through the material that you want to talk about in the article itself. Make a checklist. Make sure every item is pertinent to the topic. Anything extraneous…get rid of it. Naturally, if you want to use examples in your article, that’s fine. Just make sure the examples clearly relate to the subject. For example, taking the energy drink article. You could include a story about a kid who drank some energy drink before playing basketball who then ended up collapsing on the court. This is actually a true story from several years ago. Again, make sure the story is relevant to the topic.

Finally, at the end of the article, sum up the main points. People have short memories. If your article is long, it’s probably a good idea to summarize. This particular article isn’t too long so a summary may not be needed. But I’ll give you one anyway.

Pick a title that specifically tells what the article is about. Write an outline for the article and make sure any examples are on topic. Summarize at the end.

If you follow these very simple tips, you won’t get people writing to you asking you what the heck you were just talking about.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write articles that get people’s attention and can earn you up to $200 per article written? Then check out my Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide that you can find at http://www.honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html – This is my own book that I wrote from over 30 years of writing experience.

A lot of people trying to write articles find that their biggest problem is starting. Once they get going, they’re pretty much okay. However, it’s finding those first few words that trips them up. Well, this article is going to give you a few suggestions that just might help in getting you started. These are tricks that I’ve learned over the years and you just might find them useful.

Probably the simplest way to start your article is to get your thoughts together first. Write down a brief outline of what you want to talk about. Then, all you have to do, in the introductory paragraph is tell your reader what you plan to tell them. Sure, it’s a little methodical and there are better ways, but if you’re really stuck for an opening, this is the easiest way to come up with one. It requires almost no thought at all.

If you want to be a little more creative, another great way to start an article is with a little story that somehow relates to the article. For example, let’s say you’re writing an article on acne cures. You could start your article by telling a brief story about how when you were a kid you wouldn’t leave the house because your acne was so bad. Naturally, you make it a true story. It doesn’t matter what it is. Just make it personal and your reader will be hanging on every word.

Another way to start your article is to quote something that somebody else said. For example, one article I wrote recently was based on a post that I saw at a forum. So that’s how I started it. I said that I was browsing through the work at home forums and a poster by the name of John Doe made a post about working for health companies. He made some interesting points and I’d like to share my views on them in this article. See how easy that is?

So don’t worry about starting your article. There are many ways to do it. Just pick the method that you’re most comfortable with. Any of them will do the trick, whether it be listing the main points of the article, telling a personal story or relaying information from a third party. They all work.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write articles that get people’s attention and can earn you up to $200 per article written? Then check out my Complete Article Writing And Marketing Guide that you can find at http://www.honestincomeprogram.com/tcawamg.html – This is my own book that I wrote from over 30 years of writing experience.

Lots of affiliate marketers don’t really care what they promote. As long as they get paid for it, that’s all that matters. It could be the biggest piece of junk on the planet and they don’t care. The bottom line is all that matters. Well, this article is going to explain to you why you have to be careful about what you promote. Believe it or not, it does matter and promoting a substandard product, while maybe padding your wallet, will do very little for your business in the long run.

For starters, and this is what so many affiliate marketers don’t get, crappy products also come with huge refunds. Yes, I know…many buyers are too lazy to ask for refunds, and that’s a shame because if they did, a lot of these poor products would stop selling. Just the same, you will get quite a few refunds when you promote a bad product. And why waste your time promoting something that in the long run won’t give you the best return, when you can instead promote something that will actual sell well and not end up returned? To me, that’s just common sense.

More importantly than the returns though is your reputation. Believe it or not, as an affiliate, you have a role in this other than just passing out a link. When you post and ad or a review on a certain product, you are, in a sense, endorsing the product. Now, if you endorse a product that turns out to be garbage, the people who you referred it to, whether they returned it or not, they’re going to remember it was you and they’re not likely to buy anything you recommend in the future. If you lose enough potential customers, this IS going to hurt your business. There is no way around it.

So before you go out and promote something that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, please give it a second thought. In my sig is some info that will further help you make some sense out of affiliate marketing and give you the best chance of coming out of it with you shirt intact.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/affiliateassassin/whyaff.html and find out if affiliate marketing is right for you.

It’s inevitable that as you get a reputation for being a good copywriter, people who are interested in getting into the field will come to you for advice. The questions are pretty much the same, “How do I start out?” or “What tips can you give me?” Well, this article, which I’ve titled “Some Suggestions For Super Scribing” is going to give you what I feel are the three most important things for turning yourself into a competent copywriter. I hope they help you on your way.

The first thing I tell people to do, and it doesn’t cost them a thing, is to study actual sales copy. Think about this for a second. The greatest copy ever written is already out there. Letters that have made millions of dollars are all over the Internet. Go to the Clickbank marketplace and look at the top sellers. Read the copy of these top sellers. This is a great way to start in order to get a feel for what actually makes a great sales letter. This is one of the best ways of investing in your education without having to spend a dime.

The second thing I tell people to do is to focus on one area of copywriting at a time and master it before moving on to the next area. For example, headlines are probably the most important part of your sales copy because 80% of your sales come from the headline. So work on mastering the art or writing killer headlines until you know for certain that every headline you write is going to be a winner. If you get this much down, the rest of it comes a lot easier.

The third thing I tell people, and it’s the last thing, is to pick up a good book on the subject and fill in the missing pieces. There is only so much you can learn on your own. Eventually, you’re going to have to turn to some formal instruction. If you can land a mentor, do it. Of course they don’t come cheap. But a good book won’t cost you much at all. There is a great resource in my signature that will do the trick just fine.

Write sales copy is not rocket science. It’s really more formula than anything else. Once you learn the formula, it’s just a matter of working on your writing to improve it. Anybody with any talent at all can do it. It does take time, but it’s a rewarding profession that pays very well if you’re one of the best.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Discover How YOU Can Write 6 Figure Copy For Pennies…And Save Up To $15,000 In Copywriting Costs For Yourself. Visit my site at http://www.bcipe.com/ and discover killer copywriting tips that have allowed me to write my own copy for years and earn myself a 6 figure a year income selling my own products.

This is going to be a tip that a lot of marketers are going to have trouble doing. Well, too bad. That’s the way it should be. If you can’t walk the walk then you have no business being a marketer, especially if you’re promoting “how to make money” products. Now that I have just alienated about 99% of my readers and sent them off to go read some fluff piece, I’ll address those of you remaining who want to actually have success in this area. Ignore these tips at your own risk.

So what do I mean by walking the walk? I’m talking about these guys who promote products that promise you’ll make boat loads of money in a matter of days and haven’t made two nickels online. I ask these guys for proof and I either never hear from them or they write back to me telling me that they’re just starting out. Great, so how do you know that piece of trash you’re selling is any good? Your credibility is zero and THAT is why you don’t make any money.

Okay, so how do we fix this? How do we walk the walk? Well, you’re not going to do it selling make money products when you haven’t made any money yourself. So the first thing you have to do is get out of the make money niche. Sell something online where you don’t have to prove you’ve made any money. Niches like health, gambling, entertainment and sports are all very big. If you really have the marketing smarts that your great product says you have then you should have no trouble promoting products in another niche and making money.

Then, after you have done this, go back to your make money product. Put in some income proof. And I’m not talking about screen prints. With Photoshop, these things can be faked easily. I’m talking about getting a hold of Camtasia and make a video of you logging into your various online accounts. Show people just what you’re earning. These videos are great for proof. They are extremely difficult to fake.

Once you are able to do this, you will find that the sales in the “make money” niche will start to come. Why? Because you were able to show people that you are actually making money doing other things besides selling a book on how to make money. This is REAL credibility. This is how you walk the walk.

No doubt this article is going to ruffle a lot of feathers. Good! There are too many hack marketers out there promoting products that they have no business promoting because they don’t have two nickels to rub together.

Don’t YOU be one of them.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to earn a 6 figure income like I do but get there in half the time? Please visit my blog at http://work-at-home-based-business.com/2007/12/06/review-of-nitro-marketing/ and read my review of the greatest info product ever to come out online in the 4 years I’ve been doing this.

As marketers, we are constantly pushing the envelop. We want to be on the cutting edge of marketing tactics and sometimes we will do just about anything to get to where we want to go. The problem we are faced with is knowing when we have crossed the line. And trust me on this, there have been marketers that have crossed the line and ultimately destroyed their reputations. At the very least, some of their tactics have resulted in a great percentage of the marketplace losing respect for them. So the question I am going to try to answer in this article is not a simple one to answer. As a matter of fact, there is probably no one answer at all, as so much of marketing is subjective. But I’m going to take a crack at this based on my several years of experience as an online marketer. How do we know where to draw that line and how do we know when we’ve crossed it?

The best way I have found to do this is to look at other marketers and their marketing tactics. If you see them doing something, judge it with your own personal barometer, of course, but also look to see how others react to it. If the overwhelming majority of people slam the marketer for his tactic, whether you agree with it or not, then there is a pretty good chance that if you were to try the same tactic, you would most likely be met with the same fate. Sound reasonable enough? I hope so.

But what if you’re planning to do something that is uncharted? What if you want to test the waters with something that is so new and so outrageous that you have nothing out there to compare it to? This is where it gets tricky. However, there is a simple solution to this as well. The best way to find out if something is going to fly or not is to go to your favorite marketing forum and simply put out a poll. Tell them that you’d like their opinion on such and such a marketing tactic. You don’t have to tell them it’s your idea. Just put the idea out there and ask them what they think. Make sure you get a large enough poll sample before you do anything in either direction. If everybody agrees that the tactic is crude, then most likely you’re going to be met with a pretty negative response.

Are there any absolutes or guarantees? No, of course not. Any time you venture into something new there is risk involved. However, by seeing what others have done and by taking poll samples, you’ll have a pretty decent chance of finding out if you’re going to be the next marketing genius or the next marketing villain.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of busting your behind for peanuts online? Go to my web site and find out how I earn a monthly income that exceeds 5 figures and how I can help YOU do the same. Get your free report at http://www.mysecretarticles.com/report.html