Steve Wagenheim’s Home Business Blog

As a product creator, I have learned the importance of a lot of aspects of product creation. But just how important are graphics…really? I’ve wrestled with this issue a lot and have finally developed an opinion on it. You may or may not agree with it, but I think you will find this interesting reading. Please note, I am referring to graphics inside the actual product itself and not the sales page.

Okay, here is my opinion in a nutshell. Take it for what it’s worth to you. Naturally, you want your product to look professional. And certainly top quality graphics and design can do that. But in the overall scheme of things, as far as what the buyer gets out of the product, graphics are just not that important. I have sold many successful products that have gotten great reviews with nothing but text.

However, having said that, here is where I believe graphics can be quite helpful. For one thing, if you are trying to get a point across that is difficult to do in words, a graphic can be a great alternative. For example, let’s say that you want to show somebody statistics on Facebook demographics. Sure, you can type all this stuff out. But wouldn’t it be better if they can see the statistics in graph form? For one thing, it’s going to be a lot easier to read.

Another area where graphics might be important is when you are selling a product that is really a front end for another product or service that is graphics oriented. For example, let’s say you sell a report for $7 on the importance of sales page graphics. Lets say that you actually have your own graphics design business. In this case, the look of the report itself is critical to getting people to actually use your service. They are going to want to see samples of your work. What better way than in the report itself?

So as you can see, graphics have their place. And don’t get me wrong, a nice looking product never has a downside. Just don’t drive yourself crazy on looks if the product itself, or what you’re trying to get from it isn’t critical to your ultimate goal. This is why I rarely bother with graphics beyond a chart or two and maybe an ecover in the product itself.

Ultimately, you have to do what you think is best for YOUR product. I’ve just given you MY two cents on the subject.

Take it for what it’s worth to you.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of creating products that nobody wants and don’t sell? Check out my Complete Guide To Product Creation at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/productcreation.html and create products that actually sell.

You hear it all the time but you really have no idea what they’re talking about. “Get into a recession proof business.” What the heck is that? I personally don’t know any business that doesn’t suffer at least a little bit when times are tough. Ah, but there is the key phrase…”a little bit.” See, there are some businesses that suffer less than others when money becomes tight. THOSE are the ones you want to get into if you’re going to run a business from home. This article is going to show you how to find those businesses.

What you need to understand about the term is that you can’t take it literally. Even my local food market sells less of those luxury items during the tight money days. That’s why you hear about checkout people being laid off. There just isn’t as much business. But people still need to eat so the stores stay open and manage to get through it.

Now, selling food online, unless it’s the kind of food that you can sell cheaply and doesn’t spoil during shipment, is probably not your best choice for a home business, though you can make it work. However, there are plenty of business models where there is always going to be a demand…especially during the down times.

One of those business models is debt relief. Raise your hand if you’ve never been in debt. Heck, even I was in debt until the last year when my business finally helped pay off a $15,000 credit card bill and a $1,700 a month mortgage. Well, there are more people in debt than you can imagine. So imagine if you have some solid advice that can get people out of debt. Think they won’t pay for it? Of course they will. That is a business that thrives…especially during a recession.

Another great business is the health industry. It doesn’t matter how poor you are…it doesn’t stop you from getting sick and coming down with health related issues. Ever take a look online at all the home remedies that people are selling? Hey, some of them actually work very well as I can attest to. I never take even an aspirin. All my treatments are home remedies that I picked up over the years. This is another great business model to get into.

Finally, there is the need to accumulate wealth. Let’s face it, everybody needs money to survive and there isn’t a person alive who isn’t looking for some kind of investment that can put a few extra dollars in the bank. I’m not necessarily saying that everybody wants to run a business from home, but there are financial packages that you can buy that will show you how to invest that work very well. How do you think I paid off my daughter’s college without a loan?

Point is, there are many business models that are recession proof. People will always need relief from debt, good health and extra income…unless of course they’re loaded. So sit down and think of a business model that you know will thrive during a recession. You just might find that it’s one you’d be perfectly suited for.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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I have debated long and hard about whether or not I should even write this article. This isn’t something I ever wanted to admit at this stage of my Internet marketing career, but so be it. I feel it’s time that you knew the truth…a truth that can be YOURS too IF you take my advice that’s going to come after this startling confession. I warn you…what you are about to read will shock you. Anyway, here it is…

I’m lazy.

There, I said it. I’m lazy. In fact, I’m so lazy, you want to hear what my typical day is like?

I’ll tell you.

I get up around 7 AM only because I’m not much of a sleeper. I turn on the PC and check my emails. After that, I’ll run a few ads at various places on the Internet, write a couple of articles and call it a day.

All of this takes me about one hour.

The remainder of the day varies depending upon the mood I’m in. Most days, I’ll go into the recording studio and crank out an original composition. You can actually hear some of them over at YouTube under my user name Wagtunes. I have a great life. But make no mistake about it…when it comes to Internet marketing, I am as lazy as can be.

But I earned that right…and I’m going to show you how YOU can earn that same right, regardless of whether you want to crank out hit tunes or play video games. That’s up to you.

First thing you have to do, and this is what I did, is have a vision in mind for your future. I had one for mine. I wanted to dedicate my life to my music, but I knew in order to do that, I had to make this IM thing work. So I studied and studied hard. I learned everything I could. I used trial and error to test things. What didn’t work I tossed aside and what worked I kept.

I made a schedule for myself every single day. I disciplined myself to make sure I checked off every single item when it was completed and made sure that I DID complete those items. That meant, if I had to stay up an extra hour or so, I did.

I created my own products because I quickly understood that as an affiliate of other people’s products (how I started) I was only going to get so much of the pie, but as a product creator, I could get a bigger slice of it. I didn’t have to worry about affiliate competition. In fact, I even got some affiliates to promote my products. One of them was actually a super affiliate.

I also realized that success wasn’t going to come over night…that I was going to have to work at it for a while before I finally reached the point where I could do what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t let small setbacks stop me. I kept moving forward…always keeping my eye on the prize.

Today…I work when I want. No, it didn’t happen overnight. But I can honestly say that I am one lazy marketer today. In fact, some days I feel almost guilty by how little I work. But like I said, YOU can get to where I am too. The blueprint, simple as it is, is above in the words you just read.

That’s right…no secret formula or magic bullet. Just hard work and commitment.

Hey, I said I was lazy. I didn’t say I was stupid.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

Every once in a while, I like to write an article that is a little more on the light hearted side. Not everything with Internet marketing has to be so serious. I mean, for crying out loud, if you can’t enjoy what you do, it’s not worth doing. There are certainly easier ways to make money in this world. Anyway, I’m going to be poking fun at a great auto sales commercial. I hope you enjoy this.

It’s not secret that the auto industry is hurting big time. The US auto industry took some major hits with GM and now Toyota is having its problems with all the recalls. With the economy being as bad as it is, they can’t even give cars away. Well, this brings me to my car commercial fun poking of the day.

Remember the one ad that said, “If you have $99 and a job, we can put you in a brand new car TODAY!” Sure you do. Everybody does. Now think about this real hard.

Some schlep off the street walks in. He’s a night janitor at some factory making $7 an hour and he’s got exactly $99 to his name…period. This auto dealer is going to put him in a $39,000 Lexus…with NO questions asked and no strings attached. Why don’t they give him the keys to Gracie Mansion while they’re at it? Even better, I think they should give him partial ownership to the New York Yankees. And heck, if he defaults on the car payments, he can sell his share of the team.

Or better yet, why don’t they do this? Why not just give him the car and let him drive around town in it with a sign on top that reads “You too can be a janitor with $99 and get a brand new Lexus and YOUR share of the Yankees.” I’m telling you, it will be a HUGE marketing success. I mean, who wouldn’t want to own a share of George Steinbrenner and Sons? You might even be able to get Derek Jeter’s autograph.

Okay, let’s get serious for a minute. As funny as these commercials sound, they work. People with no money, no real prospects, and very little common sense, stampede into these dealers during these sale days and buy cars that they absolutely can’t afford because the deal is so good. It’s called an offer they can’t refuse.

Folks, that’s the whole ball game when it comes to Internet marketing, whether you want to admit it or not. If you have an offer that people just can’t pass up, you can have the crappiest sales page in existence and it won’t matter…you’ll still make a boat load of sales.

So the next time you’re putting together something to sell, think about what YOU can do to make that offer so impossible to pass up that the $99 and a job dealerships will be storming YOUR checkout page to get THEIR hands on one.

To YOUR Success

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

I am still splitting my sides open from laughing at this one. I swear, some people are just too stupid to live. I’m going to tell you a true story and then I’m going to show you how not to make a total fool of yourself when participating at your favorite Internet marketing forum. If I were you, I’d take this advice to heart unless you want to be laughed out of the place.

Anyway, I was over at the Warrior Forum and I saw this thread started that read “I Need A HOT NICHE Idea.” Well, I figured it was somebody who was new and needed some help. I figured, what the heck…let me give this guy a hand. Well, before I answered, I read some of the replies because I didn’t want to repeat the same info. That’s another great way to look like a fool, just parroting what somebody else says. Well, I got down to one reply and was dumbfounded. The reply said, “Why don’t you check your signature?”

I had to find out what this person was talking about. So, I checked the original poster’s signature and what do you think I found? I found a link to Niche Finder. This is a product that…ding, ding, ding…finds you niches. Can you see how, right about now, I’m scratching my head wondering WTF?

Hopefully, I don’t have to continue this story any further a I am sure you got the point. Here this guy is, trying to pass himself off as an expert at finding niches and he’s asking other members to give him a hot niche idea. You sir…are a FRAUD. And let me tell you folks, this goes on more than you know.

Everyday, people come to the forum asking “How can I make money online” and in their signature it reads “How To Make $3,000 A Month On Autopilot.”

I mean for crying out loud…are these people for real?

Look, I’m not telling you how to run your business, but if you want to have any credibility at all, you won’t pull bone headed things like this one member did, because it is the perfect way to destroy your credibility all in one shot.

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 was hanging out at the Warrior Forum today and one of the members started a thread asking if Internet marketing was just another job. I sat down and thought about this for a few moments and I realized that it all depended on what your definition of a job is. Well, in this article, this marketer is going to tell you why he doesn’t think Internet marketing is just a job. You may or may not agree with this, but I am sure you’ll find it interesting reading.

For starters, working as an Internet marketer, and not for some corporation, I don’t have to worry about some boss telling me what I have to do and what I can’t do. I can work at whatever I want and at whatever I think will make me money…as long as it’s legal. Also, I don’t have to worry about a boss telling me what a lousy job I’m doing and making me feel like two cents.

Then of course there is the travel involved. I don’t know how many people get to work across the street from where they live, but I never had that luxury. All my jobs were miles from home and either forced me to put countless miles on my car or forced me to take public transportation to places where there was no parking. Let me tell you…travel is NOT fun. With Internet marketing, the only travel is from your bed to the computer.

But what about the work itself? Well, let’s be honest, and this is what a lot of people don’t get, it IS work. Too many marketers are looking for that magic button to push. I can tell you from experience, it doesn’t exist. So, if you’re going to define Internet marketing as a job simply because there is work involved, then you’re missing the point.

See, the opportunities that Internet marketing offer are beyond what any job can offer. With a job, you get a salary. No matter how much work you do, you get the same salary. With Internet marketing, you can make as much as you want…if you’re willing to work for it.

But probably the most important thing is this…you can NEVER be fired. You can work until you’re 100 if that’s what you want. And if one day you don’t feel like working, you don’t have to. Try telling your boss you don’t feel like going to work today.

There is no question that Internet marketing is not your typical job. Sure, it’s work.

That doesn’t make it a job.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of spinning your wheels trying to get your marketing off the ground? Haven’t got a clue what you’re doing and sick of being dead broke? Why not get some solid mentoring from somebody who has been EXACTLY where you are today? Check out my mentoring program at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/mentoring/mentoring.html and finally get yourself the one on one education that can FINALLY give you the success that you’ve been looking for.

I have seen a lot of digital info products in my seven plus years of marketing online. And all of them, good or bad, had one thing in common if they were going to at least get me to read them through to the end… good formatting. I know you probably don’t think this is a big deal, but it is. In this article, I’m going to share a few simple formatting tips to make your digital info product a little more readable.

At the top of my list is font selection. For one thing, some fonts (especially the fancy ones) don’t translate properly to PDF with some PDF creators. So using fancy fonts can get you in trouble. Therefore, it is best to use one of the standard fonts for your ebook such as Times, Verdana, Ariel or Tahoma. This way, you give yourself the best chance of having your ebook rendered properly.

Then there is paragraphing. Have you ever read one of those ebooks where you had paragraphs that are like 15 lines long? Look, forget about “English” convention of what makes up a paragraph. You need to sometimes throw the rules of grammar out if you want people to actually read your book. Once they hit a long paragraph, they’re going to stop reading. So take a page from copywriters and keep your paragraphs between three and five lines max.

Finally, you want to break up your sections with sub headers. Many chapters in some of these ebooks go on forever and ever. Without a sub head to break the pages up, readers tend to get tired simply because they can’t find a place to stop. So either use sub headers liberally or keep your chapters short. Otherwise, you’re going to end up with a lot of unread material.

Too many product creators don’t pay attention to formatting. They just start typing and don’t stop. This is a recipe for disaster. However, by sticking to fonts that render properly under most circumstances, by keeping your paragraphs to three to five lines max and by breaking up your chapters with sub headlines or keeping the chapters themselves short, you give your product the best chance of being read.

And isn’t that what your ultimate end goal is?

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of creating products that nobody wants and don’t sell? Check out my Complete Guide To Product Creation at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/productcreation.html and create products that actually sell.

There are all kinds of marketing models, from Article Marketing to AdWords. In this article, I’m going to briefly cover a marketing model that I came up with that I named CPAM. I think you will find this quite informative and helpful towards YOUR marketing efforts.

CPAM stands for Coordinated Promotional Advertising Model or Method…whichever you prefer. The main premise of CPAM is to tie in several method of promotion together so that they compliment each other. Depending on what niche you’re in, the methods vary. Also, you can use bits and pieces of the model if you choose without having to use all of it. In other words, you use what suits you.

Probably the best way to explain this model is with an example. So let’s take the online gaming niche as an example because that’s an area I’ve always been very interested in, having played video games as far back as the early days of Dungeons and Dragons on 5 1/4 floppy disks.

If I were to tackle this niche using CPAM, I would probably start out by writing articles on the subject of online gaming. I would get people interested in certain games that had affiliate programs where I could maybe make a few bucks OR games that had user guides I could sell. World Of Warcraft is a great example of this.

Next on my list of things to do would be to put up a blog with more articles and maybe some tips on playing the game that I had decided to promote. I would give enough info to be useful, but not so much that there would be no need for the prospect to buy the guide.

I would then make a video and upload it to YouTube and various article directories. The video would contain more tips on playing the game. I would have the video link to either one of my articles or my blog. If I saw that the videos took off, I would make more videos. I might try linking to my articles with some and my blog with others.

Then, I would open a Twitter account and follow people who were interested in online gaming. I would tweet my articles, videos and blog posts…mixing things up. I would do the same with other social networking sites and get the word out about my articles and videos.

Key to CPAM is having each cog in the wheel linking to other cogs in that same wheel, such as articles linking to videos and videos linking to blogs and blogs linking to other things. You might even have a link on your blog that says, “Follow Me On Twitter” so that these people can be notified when you’ve written a new article or made a new video.

This is the engine that makes CPAM run. The more of this you do, the more link juice you end up getting and the more people end up following you around.

Try it sometime. You might be surprised by the results.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

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I love copywriters. The good ones have some of the biggest egos I have ever seen…and with good reason. What about you? If you’re first starting out as a copywriter, you might not be totally sure of yourself. However, if you want to make it in this business, you better get that ego in gear fast. This article explains why.

What a beginning copywriter may not seem to understand, usually because he’s just trying to make a few bucks, is that the fate of your client is in HIS hands. Think about it. This person is coming to you asking you to write a sales letter that is going to launch his product into six or ever seven figures.

But there is more to it than that, and the great copywriters at the Warrior Forum said it so much better than I ever could. See, a product creator, of whom I am one, wants a copywriter who believes in himself. He doesn’t want, as Mike Humphreys said so well, a copywriter who thinks “that maybe… well, possibly… they could write something that makes their clients a little bit of money.” Thanks Mike…you hit the nail on the head.

The product creator wants somebody with the chutzpa to believe that they walk on water and anything they put in writing is going to be gold for the product creator. This instills confidence in the person hiring the copywriter. I know personally, as a product creator, that this is what I would want.

This doesn’t mean that you have to have been writing copy for a lifetime, though it can’t hurt. If you have confidence in your work and have samples to show off, even if it’s for your own products, this could be more than good enough to show your prospect that you have what it takes to pull off the job.

Here’s the bottom line…and you can take it for what it’s worth to you. Nobody wants to work with somebody who doesn’t believe in themselves. Sure, when the bell rings, you have to come out and throw some punches that actually make contact. All talk and no deliver is a recipe for having your reputation destroyed before it even gets off the ground.

But if YOU don’t believe in yourself and your ability, nobody else will. So get the education you need to write a killer sales letter, get some experience under your belt, even if it’s just writing for yourself, and then show the world what you’re capable of doing.

And don’t be afraid to let your ego show…as long as you can back it up.

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.

YouTube is the place you want to be if you’re doing video marketing. The problem is, most people really don’t know how to get the most out of YouTube. They simply upload their video and expect people to come flocking like crazy to watch it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work that way. In this article, I am going to give you three simple things you can do to get more views out of your video. The last tip is going to blow you away. Keep reading to find out more.

Okay, tip number one is so simple and yet it is something so many people fail to do because they’re not SEO experts. When you upload your video, there is a line where you can enter in keywords that fit the topic your video is about. So many people just leave this line blank figuring that it doesn’t matter. It DOES matter. Fill those keywords in, whatever they are. Why? Because when people do a search for certain subjects, THAT is how YouTube knows whether or not YOUR video is relevant to show as part of the search results. Otherwise, your video NEVER comes up.

Tip number two is another simple one. Don’t expect YouTube to do all the work. Make sure you have a blog or a site where you can tell people about your video. Let the world know it’s there. The more views you get on your own from promotion, the more views you will get from YouTube’s end because your video will end up ranking higher when people do a search. So write articles about your video. Tweet about it. Do whatever you can to make sure people know it’s there.

Finally, and this is the BEST tip of all, to really jack up your views, what you want to do is this. Do a search for other relevant videos in your niche. Sort them according to most views. Then, what you want to do is post YOUR video as a video response to the most viewed videos. This will dramatically increase the number of views you get simply by association.

There you have it…three simple tips that will help you get the most out of the videos you upload to YouTube. By making sure you fill in the keywords, by self promoting and finally by posting video responses to the top viewed videos, you can actually end up with one of the top videos at YouTube.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Want to find out how to create killer videos like my friend Kevin Riley and rake in a 6 figure income like he and I do? Check out my review of his dynamite product at my blog at http://stevenwagenheim.blogspot.com/2008/06/kevin-rileys-recipe-for-success.html