Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

Yes, it’s another one of those “worst of” articles. Don’t you just love these? I recently just wrote one on email marketing that I know you’re going to love. If you’re into email marketing, I’ll provide a link for where you can read that article down below. But in this article we’re tackling affiliate marketing and the biggest mistake that affiliate marketers make. I had a lot of bone headed mistakes to choose from so this wasn’t an easy choice. However, the winner, or should I say, the loser is…not standing out from the crowd.

Now, I realize that what I just said is a rather general statement and not very descriptive. Well, don’t worry. I’m going to explain in quite some detail. So sit back and relax. This will take a bit of time to cover.

Let me start out by saying this. Affiliate marketing is getting more and more popular everyday. There are new people coming into the marketplace all the time. The competition is so fierce that even my own sales have decreased slightly. It’s inevitable when there are so many people selling a limited number of products. However, I make myself stand out enough that I am still able to generate thousands of dollars in sales each month from selling other people’s products…even though I am a product creator myself. But why? Why am I so successful?

As I said, and it’s the biggest mistake that affiliate marketers make, the reason I am successful is because I make myself stand out from the crowd. But okay, how do I do that? What makes me different from 95% of the affiliate marketers out there? To answer that question, you first have to understand what most affiliate marketers do, if they even do this much.

Most marketers will head on over to a pay per click search engine, do some minimal keyword research, throw up any old crappy three line ad, use a redirect to send prospects directly to the sales page and hope for a sale. That’s it. That’s their marketing plan. Now, in the good old days (I remember them well) this was enough. I remember I used to sell an acne product several years ago by using this same process. Then suddenly I noticed that the sales started drying up. The reason was simple. There was more competition and we were all doing the same thing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out.

Think about it. If 1,000 affiliates are all using the same method for promoting a product, what separates them? Nothing separates them. So making a sale is nothing more than a crap shoot or hitting the right prospect at the right time. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to base my chances for success on luck. Because that’s all it is…luck.

So what do I do that’s different?

Well, for starters, I do a comprehensive review of the product I’m selling and put it up on my blog. So few people do this that this alone gives me a big advantage. But it’s still not enough. In addition to this, I offer bonuses as an incentive to buy from me. But not just any old garbage bonuses. I offer bonuses that actually enhance the product. Sometimes I sell so many of the product JUST because of the bonuses I offer.

Finally, I drive as much traffic to that blog as I can. I don’t just rely on pay per click. I write articles, put up lenses and do whatever I can to drive traffic to that blog, including using social networking like Twitter.

This is what makes me stand out. This is what 95% of the affiliate marketers don’t do.

So, if you want to avoid the biggest mistake that an affiliate marketer can make, make yourself stand out.

Be different…or be broke.

The choice is YOURS.

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.

Don’t you just love these articles…the best, the worst, the biggest, the ugliest? You know, what wins our vote for the top of the chart. Well, in this article, I’m going to reveal my biggest email marketing mistake. Please note that this is ONLY my opinion and may differ with the opinions of others. Naturally, you will want to test this for yourself and see if your results are the same or worse. Okay, let’s get to the big loser for this one.

The big loser in this case is depersonalization. You know what I’m talking about. It’s the emails you get that start off with “Dear Friend” or “Dear Marketer”. Don’t you just love them? Do you know what I do when I get an email that starts out with dear friend or dear marketer? I toss it in the trash bin. If the person sending that email can’t even bother to do one of several things which are much better, then I want nothing to do with them.

The one thing, and the easiest, is to at least get an autoresponder that allows personalization. That way you can insert something like {firstname} and have the person’s first name appear after the “dear” part. Sure, we know it’s an autoresponder and that they didn’t really type our name in, but at least it shows some effort and doesn’t make us feel like we’re just a nameless prospect.

Ideally, you’d like to send an email to the person that actually is personal. If you can’t do it by using their name, then leave the name out altogether, along with the “dear friend” garbage. A simple “hi” will suffice. But make the content of the email personal. What do I mean by personal?

Show the person on the other end that you REALLY want to help them. Give them an email address where they can contact you and ask questions. Tell them that you REALLY want to hear from them. Show them that you care. For crying out loud, we have so much depersonalization in this world, wouldn’t it be nice to just have somebody show that they care.

To do that, I am leaving my email address at the bottom of this article. Yes, contact me and tell me what you need help with. If I can steer you in the right direction, I will.

Start showing people that you care.

I think you’ll find that your business will greatly profit from it.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of not getting your emails delivered, read or opened? Sick of not making any sales from your email marketing efforts? Visit my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/emailmarketing/index.html and get your hands on 5 years of my personal experience with email marketing…experience that has earned me tens of thousands of dollars yearly. Also, if you want to contact me personally, send an email with the subject “Email Marketing Mistakes” to swagen2167@aol.com and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

This article is a great excuse for me to vent on a recent event. The story I am going to tell you is a perfect example of a home business owner who shot themselves in the foot because they made an enemy out of me. And let me tell you, it takes a lot to get me mad. Point is, these are the kind of things you DON’T want to do unless you want to alienate everybody who comes in contact with you.

A while ago, a person I knew…one I considered a friend and business associate…was in need of some cash. I won’t go into the details. They’re not important. Anyway, I had no problem sending this person a rather sizeable gift to help them out. I don’t do this for everybody. I only do it for people who I consider my friend.

Just recently, I wrote an article where I mentioned the person’s name. I talked about how they had inspired me to write the article and had nothing but great things to say about this person. And yes, in the article, I mentioned that this person was a friend of mine. At least I truly thought that they were.

Well, the article in question was approved by the article directory I submitted it to. Then suddenly, a few days later, the article ended up in problem status. I was totally confused. Well, I wrote to the article directory to find out what the problem was and the reason given was that the person I had mentioned in the article had demanded that I remove their name from it. In other words, they didn’t, under any circumstances, want to be associated with me. So much for our friendship.

Now, on the surface, this may not seem like a big deal. But, and not to blow my own horn here, I was in a position to bring a lot of future business to this person. I was actually planning to do so with a new idea I had. Guess what? It’s not going to happen now. This person just blew what could have been a possible nice paycheck.

Bottom line. We do NOT live in a bubble. Every action you take WILL have consequences. If you tick people off, it WILL come back to bite you on the fanny. You may not think so, but trust me…it will.

In this business, you can make friends or enemies.

Choose wisely.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Looking for a solid 4 step plan to building your own business…FREE? Pick up my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/4steps.html and get started TODAY!

I have no doubt that this article is going to bring a lot of direct gunfire from a lot of so called “top” copywriters. That’s okay. I can handle the heat. Thing is, there is a rash of price hiding going on in the copywriting world and I for one can’t understand this to save my life. Anyway, I’m going to give you my two cents on this tactic. You’re free to do whatever you like.

When a prospect comes to a sales page, like it or not, there is a reality going on called life. These days, life is tough. Have you looked at Wall Street lately? How about the unemployment lines? Perhaps you’ve noticed all the businesses going under and all the bailouts of the ones that haven’t. In case you’ve missed it, times are tough and people are very stingy with their money. So when they go to a sales page, especially if they now it’s going to be a rather pricey item, they’re going to want to know what the price is BEFORE they click on that buy now button.

When they don’t see it, one of two things is going to happen. The first is that they’re simply going to navigate away from the page itself. If you can’t be bothered to clearly show them what they’re going to spend, they can’t be bothered to go and hunt for it. In the IM niche, this is very annoying because most IMers will immediately go looking for the price. I know I do. If I don’t find it…I’m gone. It’s that simple. So you’ve lost a sale simply because you were trying to be deceptive.

The second thing, and this one is more annoying, is that the prospect will click on the buy now button, hoping for a price that they can live with, thus getting their hopes up, see the price is way out of their range, and leave the page even more angry than they would have been had they left in the first place. But the worst thing is, that anger will probably make it so that they’ll never even consider buying anything from you again.

Price hiding on sales pages is a stupid tactic. You don’t go into a department store, checking out the men’s suits, and find no prices on them, do you? Why do you think that one warehouse chain even says right in their ads that the price is clearly marked? People want to know what they’re going to pay. Not telling them is only going to tick them off.

So, like I said, you’re going to do what you want to do. But in my opinion, hiding the price on your sales page is just plain stupid copywriting.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to write copy just like the pros? 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.

A marketer I know received a JV request and posted it at a forum I participate at. I won’t mention his name because lately, people don’t seem to want to be associated with me. I guess because I’m so outspoken and don’t mince my words. Anyway, the reason he posted this JV request is because it was just flat out awful. He then went on to ask other members how it could have been made better. Rather than reply there, I decided to respond in the form of an article. I hope you will find this advice helpful.

For starters, the marketer requesting the JV didn’t even address the person by name. This is the BIGGEST mistake that anybody can make when approaching another person for a JV. The reason is simple. You want to make the request as person as possible. Nobody wants to get an email that reads “Dear Marketer” or something inane like that. When I personally get these, I chuck them in the trash. I want no part of anybody who can’t even address me by my name.

Another problem with the JV request was that the proposal would have the other marketers list jumping through too many hoops to take advantage of the offer. Part of the process involved having the list opt in just to read a blog with content. I mean for crying out loud, who forces an opt in just to be able to read a blog post? It was the most unbelievable thing I had ever heard of in my life. Look, when you approach a marketer for a JV, you want to make it as easy as possible for him and his list to benefit. That means NO jumping through hoops. Otherwise, you will be ignored.

Finally, the last thing I had a problem with is that the JV proposal was not limited to just this marketer. He would have to be competing with a ton of other marketers for the attention he’d be getting. The presenter made it sound like he’d have access to other lists, but so what? When you’re pitching a ton of products, the chances of YOURS being bought diminish. You want the offer to be exclusive to you and you ONLY. That is what a JV is. What this person was offering was a yard sale.

This is why so many people fail when they approach somebody for a joint venture. They make crappy offers and don’t even address the marketer by name.

With all the competition out there…you have to do better than that.

To YOUR Success

Steven Wagenheim
Want to discover an almost foolproof way of getting a joint venture? Check out my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/jvs/index.html and find out how I get just about any JV that I want.

Quite a claim, wouldn’t you say? It’s one thing not being able to sell an affiliate product, one that maybe somebody could live without, but not being able to sell water to a man in the desert? Isn’t that a little extreme? I mean, any marketer should be able to do that…or should they? Well, keep reading this article and maybe you’ll understand where I’m going with this. It just might help improve your chances of having success as an affiliate marketer.

Let’s say you’re out in that desert and you see a man dying of thirst. You have a bottle of spring water. You ask just $1 for it. The man looks at you. He notices that you’re dressed rather shabbily. Your clothes are ripped and torn. You haven’t shaved in weeks. Your hair is a mess. You have this look in your eye that he just doesn’t trust. He looks at the water, looks at you, and finally says, “That’s okay, I’ll wait until somebody else comes along.” You couldn’t even sell water to a man in the desert.

Now, you’re probably wondering what this story has to do with affiliate marketing. Well, that’s the problem. Too many affiliate marketers don’t realize how important appearances are. For example, the email or ad that you write to tell prospects about your offer. If it’s sloppy, or sounds like a sleazy sales pitch, do you really think you’re going to make many sales, if any at all? The world outside is a very skeptical one at best. If you come off as a slick salesman, you’re going to turn off a lot of your prospects, if not all of them.

There is an old saying that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Unfortunately, when it comes to sales, that’s all your prospect has to go by. They don’t know if you’re on the up and up or just another sleaze ball. The image you portray, whether intentional or unintentional, is going to greatly affect how the prospect sees you…no matter how great the product may be or how much they may need it. If I go into a supermarket to buy food and the place looks like the plague, do you think I’m going to buy anything from it?

So do yourself a favor…clean up your act. Prospects don’t like being “sold” to. They want to believe that you really CARE about their needs and that the product you recommend is really going to help them. If they don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you.

It’s THAT simple.

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.

A lot of people who I talk to tell me that they hate writing articles because the process is so slow. Well, if speed is your problem, this article is going to give you a few tips that will greatly help you increase the speed at which you can crank out those articles. With these tips, it’s possible to write a 500 word article in under 10 minutes. I kid you not. Keep reading to find out how.

First tip is to simply organize your article before you write it. In other words, plan out what you’re going to say in each paragraph. Every paragraph in your article should be an individual thought. So for example, if you’re writing an article on the three signs that you might have prostate cancer, each paragraph should be one of those signs. By planning this out in advance, it will make the actually writing of each point go a lot faster because you already know what you’re going to talk about. So plan first…then write.

Another great tip is to make sure that you have all your research notes in front of you. This of course assumes that you are writing on a topic that you had to research. Don’t try to rely on your memory. If you need notes, use them as an outline. There is nothing wrong with doing this. Now, if you’re writing about a subject that you know very well, just write. Don’t second guess yourself. You know what you’re talking about so be confident in your writing. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to get the point across that you want to convey to your readers.

Finally, for those of you who simply complain that you can’t type fast enough, there is a great solution to that problem. It’s called Dragon Naturally Speaking. It’s speech recognition software that can have you dictating your article at a rate of well over 150 words a minute. I’ve written 500 word articles in under five minutes using this software. And version 10 is the best yet.

There is no reason for your articles to take forever to write. By organizing your thoughts, keeping each one to a single paragraph, using your notes as a guide or simply writing from your gut, and by using speech recognition software, speed should never be an issue when writing an article.

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.

I could probably end this article right there because that is the ultimate message that I am sending out today. But for the sake of meeting the quota for a reasonable length article, I’m going to elaborate on the subject. However, I am quite sure you already got the point.

It is no secret that it helps to have the help of others when it comes to our business. Sure, we COULD do it on our own if we wanted to. Heck, I did it all by myself for years. Still do, pretty much. I rely on nobody for my success. I have very few affiliates, rarely do a JV and simply don’t have the time to deal with all the nonsense. Could I make more money if I played the game? Probably, but sometimes the “game” has its own rules that I’m just not willing to play by.

One of those rules is this. If you want something from another person, be prepared to pay through the nose for it, either in money, time or kissing some backside. The money I have. Even the time I’m willing to put in. But I’m not kissing anybody’s backside. That also means I’m not taking anybody’s garbage. What garbage am I referring to?

I’m talking about the person who, when they need your help, has no problem taking your money or your time but when you need their help, they are nowhere to be found or worse…actually make life difficult for you. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve had to write off because of things like that. Yes, people will stab you in the back and take what they can get from you with no regard for YOUR needs. Get used to it and get over it.

The key to dealing with these problems is to deal with them quickly. When somebody does something to you that interferes with your business, cut them off…immediately. Don’t allow them to be an influence on you even one more day than necessary. They are like a cancer and need to be cleaned from your body. The sooner you do this, the better off you’ll be.

This goes for business associates, family, friends, whoever. If your business means anything to you, you’ll take these words seriously. Have a graphic designer who’s not getting the job done on time consistently? Dump him and get another one. Have an article writer who is suddenly putting out shoddy work? Dump him and get another one.

Life is too short. There is no time to waste on people who don’t perform to your expectations. Get rid of them and move on. Don’t complain about them and don’t waste time brooding over them either. They are not worth it.

If you take these words to heart, you will find that your business is suddenly more productive and profitable. Or you can just complain about how people let you down. It’s YOUR choice.

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.

We are all so hung up on making money that it’s all we talk about. We spend every waking moment trying to figure out the best way to drive traffic to our site or deciding what product to sell or whatever. It’s all about the X’s and O’s. But not once do we sit down and think to ourselves, “Hey, what if I just really get burnt out from all of this? What then?” Well, as somebody who is actually approaching that stage (yes, even successful people have their limits) I’m going to tell you how to keep it from happening.

Stop working. It’s that simple. I don’t mean completely. I’m talking about cutting down. I now work about an hour a day, if that. I’m tired and I’ve put in my time and paid my dues. My home business, now going on over six years, has enough content out there that I don’t have to work so hard anymore. I get an easy 10 to 20 opt ins everyday and that’s more than enough to keep the money coming in. I’ve earned a rest and I’m taking it. Someday, when I get bored with spending the day in my recording studio, I might go back to a full time business. But for now, I need a break.

If however, you can’t afford to cut down your hours because you’re either just starting out or really need the money, then the only way to avoid burn out is to pace yourself. In other words, if you have to put in a certain number of hours each day, say eight of them, split them up. Do a couple in the morning, a few in the afternoon and then finish up with a couple at night. Something like 8-10, 2-5 and 7-9 should be more than enough work time to get plenty done. This breaks up your day and keeps you from burning yourself out.

Finally, reward yourself for the work you do. Maybe go and treat yourself to trip to the store or even just a walk in the park. I treat myself all the time. Look, if you’re not good to yourself, you’re no good to anybody else. I know that maybe you have a family that depends on you, but if you burn out, you’re of no use to anybody.

Anyway, there you have it. It’s really that simple. Follow these simple tips and you should do just fine.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m done working today.

I’m heading into my recording studio to crank out another hit song.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Looking for a solid 4 step plan to building your own business…FREE? Pick up my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/4steps.html and get started TODAY!

I’m amazed at the stupidity of some people. There, I said it. I’m not going to mention any names in this article because the last thing I want is trouble, but I’m going to relay a story that just happened at a forum I frequent. It’s a classic example of shooting yourself in the foot. I think you will find this interesting reading.

A pretty well known marketer came to this one forum one day and started a thread about how simple it was to make money online. Well, upon initial reading, it was pretty good. It was short and to the point. It didn’t give a lot of details but the message came across. Well, another member questioned some of the points and upon reflecting on the questions, I realized that there could have been more elaboration and further clarification. I personally agreed with both people in part.

Well, the originally thread starter came back and made personal attacks on both myself and the person who questioned some of his information. Personally, I was shocked. I said nothing that should have provoked such a response. Well, I said very little other than I was disappointed in the response but others quickly pointed out how this person might regret the way they reacted. Certainly this response was not going to help the marketer’s reputation. It was quite eye opening.

Does this story sound familiar? It should. It happens everyday. I can’t tell you how many times somebody will question a person’s views and suddenly it becomes personal. Can’t we just leave our egos at the door and discuss things rationally? I have no doubt that this latest incident is going to come back to bite this person on the fanny.

As for yourself, please take this advice to heart. If you give an opinion at a forum and somebody questions it, you can argue your case, but don’t make it personal. When you do, you only end up looking petty and childish.

End of lecture.

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