Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

Last night on 60 Minutes, they interviewed Andre Agassi and we learned quite a few things about him that we never knew. The two shockers of the interview were that he hated tennis for many years and that at one point in his career, he did drugs and lied about it. The reaction to these revelations has been mixed. Many people are quite disappointed in Agassi.

Okay, you’re probably sitting there scratching your head wondering what this has to do with you as an Internet marketer. Well, if you’re the kind of person who flies under the radar (nobody knows who you are) then it probably has NOTHING to do with you and you can skip this whole article. However, if you’re somebody like me, who has made a name for himself, then you might want to read what follows. It very well may save your career.

One thing I have always been, since starting my marketing career, is up front with people. I have kept no secrets about my personal life. In fact, if you look up my name online, you will find one person who is quite unhappy with me because I am into fortune telling. That’s right. I admit it freely. I like Tarot Cards, Astrology, Numerology, all that stuff. I guess, in some people’s eyes, that makes me the devil himself. Oh well, whatever. Point is, I didn’t try to cover up that part of my life. Somehow, because of my love for it, it would have come out eventually. And then I would have been accused of covering it up.

Now, some of you are probably thinking, “Oh come on Steve, being into fortune telling is no big deal.” Well, maybe not to you. But to some people, it doesn’t get any lower than that. However, as bad as that revelation may be for some people, imagine how bad it would have been had I covered it up and then lied about it when confronted about it. That would have just added fuel to the fire.

Okay, here is my point and I hope it sinks in. When you’re a high profile Internet marketer, your life is fair game. People will look for anything that they can to attack you with. It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not. That’s the way life is. Get used to it. Therefore, my philosophy has always been, get it out in the open right away. Let people know who you are and where you stand. That way they can’t accuse you of trying to cover things up.

See, like it or not, in many respects, Andre Agassi is into marketing. Every time he stepped onto a tennis court, he marketed himself, just the same way that Roger Federer does today. He puts himself out there with his game, his clothes and most of all, his attitude. When all of that is compromised by TRUTH, especially if that truth is on the negative side, it doesn’t matter what kind of front the person puts forward. The truth will destroy the glitz and persona. Andre Agassi had a persona, the way he dressed, played and acted on court. Last night, that persona was destroyed. His marketing, in a sense, became a lie…and with it, for many people, his reputation.

If you think the dirt in your life won’t come out, think again. The graveyards are littered with people who thought that their dirty little secrets would never come out. But think about it. I’ve done Tarot Card readings for many people in my life. Somebody out there has to know somebody who is online and an Internet marketer and just happen to bring up my name. And then, all heck breaks loose.

Okay, get it? Don’t think you’re above gossip.

You’re not…nobody is. Agassi lied about things in his life and now it’s coming back to haunt him. If YOU lie about things in YOUR life, whether you think it’s relative to your marketing or not, IT will come back to haunt you as well. THAT is what Andre Agassi has to do with you as an Internet marketer.

Now if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to crank out my Tarot Cards and see what kind of a day it’s going to be.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to know what the 7 Deadly Sins of Internet Marketing are? Get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/7deadlysins/7deadlysins.html and save your business from going down the tubes before it even has a chance.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Fake it until you make it.” It is probably one of the most worn out cliches in the Internet marketing world. Well, I’m going to tell you why, with an example no less, why you can’t get away with faking it. I don’t care how good you are. Somebody out there who is smarter than you is going to catch onto your game. And then, it’s lights out baby. Keep reading and you’ll understand why. As I said, an example is coming.

The other day, I was at YouTube watching videos and I just happened to catch one that was an actual “caught in a lie” type. The one making the video called up some company that promised to do this great SEO for their site. So the caller, sensing that this guy didn’t really know his stuff, starting asking him about the latest SEO tactics, like SE zero and SE one and two. Well, the fool at the other end, obviously being clueless, instead of saying there is no such thing, said, “Sure, we teach you all that stuff.”

Instant credibility destruction.

Okay, granted, this is an extreme case as this person obviously didn’t even know enough to spot a setup. But regardless of how smart you think you are, there is going to be somebody out there who is smarter. And once they figure out that you’re just faking it, trust me, you are going to be a YouTube video as well. It doesn’t take look for negative news to travel the Internet.

So how do you prevent this from happening? You’re not going to like my answer. Be real. Admit when you don’t know something and admit that you don’t know it all. Explain to the people you speak to that you’re not going to guarantee them any results, that they have to test things out and see what works for them. Making bold claims that ANYTHING is going to make somebody a fortune is looking for trouble. The truth is, the variables that go into success are so numerous that two people doing the exact same procedure can have two completely different results. It’s called the human factor.

Take this as a friendly warning. Once your reputation is trashed, it’s almost impossible to repair it. Don’t get me wrong. Be confident in what you TRULY know, and back it up with proven results if you can. But when you don’t know something, not only should you admit it, but you should also ask for help with it. Nobody in this world knows everything and there is no shame in admitting that you don’t know it all.

Contrary to what some people might tell you, you CAN’T fake it until you make it.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

If you’re sick and tired of all the lies and misinformation on the Internet, my FREE book “Blowing The Lid Off The Lies Of The Internet” should prove to be a real eye opener. You can get your copy at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/btl_squeeze.html

I want to thank Keith Boisvert at the Warrior Forum for starting such a fascinating thread today. Essentially, Keith talks about how some people pass themselves off as experts in marketing but when the truth is discovered, they don’t know beans about the subject. So the question is, as a new marketer looking to learn, how do you prevent yourself from being taken in by these frauds? Honestly, it’s not easy. Some people are gifted in the art of BS. However, while there is no sure fire method for verifying someone’s success, there are a few things you can do to qualify credentials.

For starters, get the person’s REAL name. So many people hide behind the Internet wall of anonymity that you don’t know who they are. So get their real name and THEN, do a little search on Google. See what you can find on them, if anything. Now granted, this is by no means fool proof if this person flies under the radar. Many people who are expert marketers do so either under pen names or completely anonymous. But, if there IS any dirt on this person, as far as being a fraud, you’ll find it. People love to talk about BS artists.

Another thing you can do is ask the person to show you some of their successful campaigns. Now, if they are marketing as an affiliate, they may be reluctant to do this for fear of competition. If that’s the case, agree to sign a no compete, non disclosure statement. Explain that you are only interested in seeing some actual proof that they are in fact an expert in their field, whatever it may be. If they refuse, you have two options at this point. You can choose to trust them or move on. Me? I move on.

Income proof is another thing that, because of Photoshop, is easy to fake. However, videos are not as easy to fake. Ask the person to show you a video of them logging into their PayPal or Clickbank account or whatever payment processor or affiliate marketplace they use. Again, if they refuse, you have the same two choices.

Finally, get into a conversation with them via email. Discuss with them what you’ve done and ask them for their opinion of those tactics. Don’t tell them whether they were successful or not. Just listen to his feedback. By comparing that to your results, you can get a pretty decent idea if this person knows his stuff. Again, it’s not fool proof, but if you’ve told somebody that you’ve done such and such and they say it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and you’ve had NO success with it at all, that might tell you something.

On the other hand, if you get qualifying feedback, such as “X will work IF you…” and so on, and the explanation appears to be sound, this person may very well know what they’re talking about.

Personally, I look for honesty, and this is a big one. If you ask a question like, “How much money can I make and how fast” the only answer you should get, at least from somebody who is being straight with you is, “I have no way of knowing.” See, there are many factors that go into earning a living online. And anybody who makes you any guarantees is selling you a bill of goods.

Yes, it’s marketing, and we all have to put our best foot forward. Even I do when I make a sales page, but ultimately, if somebody asks me if I can guarantee that they’ll be successful, I tell them flat out that I can’t…nobody who is honest can.

Ultimately, you have to develop a sense for who is being straight with you and who isn’t. Some people are very transparent and easy to see that they’re trying to con you. Others are as sly as a fox.

Those are the ones that you have to watch out for.

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.

Over the years that I have been marketing online, many topics have been debated to death. One of them is this very good question. Does your heart have to be into your marketing efforts? I have heard both sides of the issue, each one having good arguments. I’ll essentially present the gist of each side before giving you my own opinion. Ultimately, you will have to do what’s right for YOU.

One side, the one that says your heart doesn’t have to be in it, basically says that any proven step by step system can be executed by anybody with a fair amount of intelligence. We get through school even though our hearts may not be into each subject. But we do what we have to do in order to study and learn the material and ultimately get good grades. Therefore, there is no reason that the same thing shouldn’t be true for marketing online. You learn the steps and then go execute them.

The other side looks at it from a purely emotional standpoint. Their argument is simple. If you’re doing something that you don’t enjoy, eventually, you’re going to get tired of doing it. In fact, the more money you make at it and the less you need that money, the more likely you are to give it up. And if you should happen to find it difficult to make anything at all, the frustration of that fact combined with your dislike of what you’re doing will ultimately lead you to giving up.

Those are the two sides. Now let me inject my dose of logic into this issue. For starters, liking something doesn’t guarantee success with it. You might like something that has a very low appeal and thus little chance for making a nice income. One niche I liked very much totally bombed out for me because there was just no market for it. Didn’t matter how much I liked it.

On the other hand, and this is where so many people are under the wrong impression about running a business, just because you DON’T like something doesn’t mean it has to be drudgery for you. There is no reason why you can’t just hire people to run your business for you. Sure, it takes money to do that and will probably preclude many from going that route, but if you have the funds, know of a niche that has a huge potential, don’t really have any interest in it and yet still want to monetize it, no reason why you can’t just outsource the whole business.

My point is, what works for one person may not work for another. Not everybody is motivated by the same thing. Some people care so much about money that they’ll do anything to make it. Others care so little about money that they absolutely MUST do something that they enjoy. In either case, there is no guarantee of success OR failure.

Ultimately, you have to do what YOU feel is right. Just understand that both methods can work very well.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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This has been something that has been bugging me for a long time now and it’s gotten to the point where I just have to get it off my chest. I’m talking about forum leaches. Now, you’re probably wondering what I mean. Well, I’m going to explain as best as I can. You might call them something else, but to me, they’re leaches and they really tick me off…no pun intended.

There are essentially three types of people who attend forums as far as frequency and participation. There is the person who is at the forum constantly, always contributing and always helping the other members. They’re active and yes, even market in the forum where appropriate. Then there is the person who is hardly around, if ever. They don’t participate much and when they do, add very little value and probably don’t do any marketing at all. They’re pretty much non entities.

But then there are the third group of people. These are the big names in marketing. The head honchos. They hardly ever show up at your favorite forum UNLESS they have an agenda. Maybe they have a new product that they’re selling, either directly at the forum through a special offers section, or through their signature link to their site. When they do show up, sure, they do offer some great thread of advice that everybody loves. But these are the only times that they make such contributions. The rest of the year, they’re nowhere to be found.

These people, to me, are the forum leaches. They come around only when it serves THEIR purpose. And then they wonder why other members treat them so shabbily, in spite of their Internet status. I really dislike forum leaches. Where are these people the other 364 days of the year? Too busy to help the other members 99% of the time but not so busy when they have a product to push?

I’m not going to name names or forums for that matter, but these people know who they are. Yes, I’m calling you guys out. For the rest of you, here’s a novel concept. How about going to your favorite forum on a regular basis and actually contribute to the forum? Then, maybe when you DO have a new product, people like me won’t look at you like a forum leach, or whatever you other folks want to call them.

In my opinion, people like me will have a lot more respect for you.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to know what the 7 Deadly Sins of Internet Marketing are? Get my free report at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/7deadlysins/7deadlysins.html and save your business from going down the tubes before it even has a chance.

Today I got home from a congregational church meeting, one where finances were discussed, and it got me thinking about marketing for a cause. Not everything has to be about monetary gain for yourself. Once in a while, it might not be such a bad idea to market for a cause. But what cause and how do you go about it? This article is going to briefly discuss those two issues.

As far as what cause to market for, that has to be one of personal choice, obviously. However, there is something that you should keep in the back of your mind when you choose that cause. Are you choosing it to really help raise money for the cause or are you doing it to bring attention to yourself. Let’s be honest about this. Some people do things like this because they enjoy making a big deal about how they’re giving to charity. These are usually people who have tons of money to throw around and want others to know that they’re not just blowing it all on whisky and women. I don’t think I need to say more on this issue. Let you conscience be your guide.

What about how you’re actually going to go about marketing for this cause? Are you going to do it publicly or are you going to be private about the whole thing and just take the money you earn from it and give that money anonymously? Believe it or not, how you go about this makes a big difference and it’s something that most people don’t think about. See, when you publicly market for a cause, meaning that all your advertisements specifically say that all proceeds are going to such and such a charity, you are going to get people who, out of skepticism, won’t make a purchase regardless of whether they need the product or not. Like it or not, there are people like that. They see “charity” and they run in the other direction.

Conversely, there are those who give to all causes, or at least many, and marketing incognito will make it so that those people, who might have purchased, probably won’t UNLESS it is an item that they really need. So as you can see, there are pros and cons to both methods. Don’t think just because you plaster the words “for charity” on your site means that the money is going to be pouring in.

Either way, it would probably be a good idea to do two things. The first is to make sure that the item you are selling IS something that people need or want. You have a better chance selling “get out of debt” books than selling “how to plant tomatoes” books in this poor economic climate. The second is to make sure you sell it at a price that is almost impossible to pass up. Since you’re not promoting this for a profit, it’s units that you’re after in order to give as much to charity as possible.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m saying you have to market products and services for the purpose of giving to some charity. However, if you DO decide to do this, you might want to make notes of the points above.

They just might make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful campaign.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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Every once in a while I come up with marketing schemes to make quick cash that I like to share with people. The following plan will only take about 4 weeks to put into operation and should produce a significant return if you do it right. I think you will find this helpful and effective.

What you want to do, with this plan, is leverage the talents of others. There is no point in doing all the work if you don’t have to. So what you’re going to start off with is an email to several of the top marketers online. You want to make it as professional as possible. In the email you’re going to offer to promote one of their products, no strings attached. That’s right, no affiliate link. They make 100% profit on each sale. Only a mad man would pass this up. Okay, you’re thinking, what’s the catch?

Here’s the catch. You tell the marketer that in order to do this, you first have to review the product as that’s the only way that you’ll be able to promote it in good conscience. The marketer will appreciate this and have no problem sending you a review copy. You then repeat this procedure with about 9 or 10 other marketers. The more you can do this with, the better.

After you finish reviewing the products, you are then going to put all the reviews into one PDF. You are going to then name the PDF something like, “Totally Unbiased Reviews Of The Top 10 Internet Marketing Products” and offer it as a free download for a simple opt in into your list. You’re going to need to do a bit of marketing to get the link to the download out there but that’s beyond the scope of this article. You can use article marketing, social networking and even PPC to generate the leads. That’s up to you.

Here’s the key part and how you’re going to make your money. You’re going to come up with a companion product (it doesn’t have to be long or involved) to offer along with the merchants’ products. You’re going to charge a nominal fee for it, maybe something like $7. Make sure that the info in the product is of real use to the person buying the merchant’s product. You should know EXACTLY what’s missing in the original product because…ding ding…you guessed it…you reviewed the product.

Your PDF is going to contain a non affiliate link to the merchant’s product and then a link to YOUR companion product.

There is no reason why, with a little bit of effort, this can’t make you an easy $700 to $1,400 in just 4 short weeks with very little work other than reviewing the 10 products and creating short companion products for each. The companion products don’t have to be more than 10 pages with a tip on how to get the most out of the product the person is buying. If it’s an important tip, it will be worth the purchase.

Give the above a shot. In the long run, this will promote good will between you and the merchant and might lead to a JV down the line.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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You know how you know when you’ve struck a nerve? When you send out an email and you get a whole bunch of people writing back to you to tell you how angry they are. That’s how you know you’ve struck a nerve. That’s also how you know that you’ve actually gotten people to feel something. This article is probably more psychological than anything else, but I still think you will find it interesting reading as well as helpful in regard to your own marketing efforts, especially when you’re marketing to your list.

Life is easy when you can just get by on fumes. What do I mean? I’m referring to that state of mind where you just go about your daily routine without thinking. Everything is comfortable. Each morning you wake up and do the same thing. You then go to bed that night having done the same thing. There is no risk, no danger and nobody to challenge your way of thinking.

And then one day, somebody looks you square in the eye and says,”What the heck are you doing wasting your life like this?” Suddenly, everything you believe in has been challenged. Your safe, uneventful day is about to come crashing down on you…all because somebody struck a nerve. I try doing this with some of my friends who are truly wasting their lives, but every time I do, they just start yelling at me. Eventually, I reached the point where I had to give up. But don’t get me wrong. I struck quite a few nerves in my day…my own included.

Okay, you’re probably wondering what any of this has to do with Internet marketing. Well, don’t worry…I’m getting there. See, as marketers, the one thing we know (at least we should know) is that people buy with their hearts, not with their heads. They don’t buy something because they need it. They buy something because they want it, because they think it will make their lives better. I’m not going to get into a long drawn out explanation of what makes people buy, but trust me…it’s not because they need a new stereo system to replace the old one. It’s because they want to hear sound that will drown out the misery of their existence.

So when you confront somebody with the comfortableness of their lives, pointing out how they’re not making the most of their lives, this makes them uncomfortable. This makes them think. And people don’t like to think. That’s why, whenever I promote anything, unlike a lot of marketers, I flat out tell people that if they’re not willing to put in the work, if they’re looking for a push button solution, they’re not going to find it and they’r wasting their time looking for it.

This strikes a nerve…big time. Why? Because they’ve been lead to believe by all the sales pages filled with hype that there IS a push button solution and all they have to do is hand over their $49.95 plus tax and they’ll get it.

Bull cookies.

And THEY know it. And when you TELL them this, they don’t want to hear it because they KNOW it’s the truth. So it strikes a nerve and makes them VERY angry.

I got some of those angry emails the other day, most in the form of, “This opportunity is garbage. How can you recommend it?” Even though I have no vested interest in it. But I pushed some buttons with my “in your face” assessment of the whole thing.

Many people on my list didn’t like that, and told me in no uncertain terms.

But many also got off the pot and did something about it.

So, I am now going to challenge YOU and will probably strike a nerve doing it.

As a marketer, you can go about your day selling people the same old hyped up sales pitch, promising your prospects the moon for a song, or you can tell them the truth…that it’s going to take work…lots of it. The latter is the right way to market. The former is just a cop out.

Did I just strike a nerve? Good…I hope so.

I’ll be awaiting your email of venom.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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There is one thing I hate about this business and I’m going to be really up front about this. Everybody, myself included, puts their best foot forward on their sales page. That’s the stuff you see in big bold 28 point red Tahoma font. What you don’t see, even though it’s there (for legal reasons) is the fine print. You know what I mean. The disclaimers and other stuff that, if you read it, you probably wouldn’t involve yourself with any home business…ever. Unfortunately, many people do NOT read the fine print. And that’s where the trouble starts. This article explains.

I should probably start off with the most common fine print…the earnings disclaimer. And now, with the FTC crackdown, this is more important than ever that home businesses get this right…on both ends. Whenever you see those fancy sales pages with these guys standing in front of their shiny new cars parked in front of their huge mansions, along with a dozen or so testimonials of people doing the same, all making insane amounts of money, please read the disclaimer that says “typical results are that most people are too lazy to do anything and thus make nothing.” Well, okay, it’s not quite worded in that way, but it’s close. Point is, unless you’re willing to bust your butt, don’t expect the money to just pour in.

But the fine print doesn’t just end with the earnings disclaimers. Some home businesses that you get yourself involved in have very strict terms of service as far as how you can promote those businesses. Some will not allow you to use certain forms of promotion that I won’t even mention in this article. Problem is, people don’t read the fine print, use those forms of promotion anyway and end up getting booted from the business. And then they wonder why. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Ask any cop.

Finally, there is the way you get paid. Some sites have very specific guidelines on this. For example, some sites require that you have to “qualify” by making a certain number of sales or reach a certain income level before you see your first check. In most cases, these numbers are small and easily attainable. However, they are still there and you need to be aware of them.

Ultimately, it all comes down to reading. Yeah, I know…there’s a lot to read at some of these sites. Well, that’s the way it goes. You don’t go out and buy a car for $40,000 without reading the whole finance contract, do you? Or maybe you do. That’s the problem with this world. People don’t read.

Anyway, you’ve been warned. Before you get into any home business, read the fine print.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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Let me start off by saying that we are all individuals and there is no one business model that is right for everybody. So the question is, how can we determine what is right for us? Is there some kind of process that we can go through that will make the decision making a little easier? Well, there are many processes we can go through. The one I am going to go over is the one I personally used and recommend. You might find it useful yourself. At the very least, give it a shot and see what you come up with.

What I think is the best thing to start off doing is to sit down and decide what kind of person you are. Are you a type A or type B personality? See, certain personality types handle stress better than others. And let me tell you, running a home business can be very stressful, especially when things don’t go as smoothly as we would like. So if you’re the type of person who has trouble dealing with a lot of stress, you might want to consider a more simple business model…something that can be done with just a couple hours of work a day.

After you decide what type of person you are, the next step is to look at your skills. Are you a skilled person? Can you type? Do you have PC skills? Do you have writing skills? The more skills you have, the more complex a business model you can choose comfortably. That doesn’t mean that you can’t choose a complex model if you don’t know how to do anything business or technologically related. There is always the option of outsourcing all the work that has to be done…which brings us to the next step in the process.

How much money do you have to invest in your business, both initially and on a monthly basis? If you are dirt poor, this is going to limit you as far as what you can do. However, if you have a lot of money that you can invest, this opens up more opportunities. The reason I stress this step is because you don’t want to get yourself into something that you won’t be able to sustain until you’re in profit because the initial expense is too high. This only puts more pressure on your and if you’re not good at dealing with that pressure (we’re back to the personality types) then you’re going to run into problems.

Finally, you want to look at how much time you have to invest in your business. Are you already working a full time job or are you unemployed? Obviously, the more time you have to work on your business, the quicker you can turn a profit. It took me over 5 months to turn a profit when I first started, but that’s more because I simply didn’t know what I was doing. I have since learned from all my mistakes which is why I am sharing this little blueprint with you today.

Running a business is work, just like anything else. The difference is that you have nobody to answer to but yourself. And that makes it unique. There is no boss to fall back on and nobody else to blame. In other words, it’s a lonely place.

And it’s not for everybody.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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