ACHIEVE NET PROFITS
"Learn from the Internet Marketing professionals!"
Issue # 8, 22-Oct-2002, ISSN 1447-4956
Copyright 2002 Jason Anderson. All rights reserved
worldwide
http://www.achievenetprofits.com/
/external.html?link=mailto:jason@achievenetprofits.com
IN THIS ISSUE
1. From the Editor
2. Interview - Raymond Johnston Jr
3. Free Item - "7 Secrets to Cash Like
Clockwork"
4. Guest Article - Your Perfect Home
Business May Be Right In
Front of You!
5. Final Word
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1. From the Editor
Greetings, and welcome to this weeks issue of Achieve
Net
Profits.
First of all, I'd like to say thanks to all of you who
sent
in suggestions for sending out this ezine. I'm busily
checking the suggestions out, and when things are about
to
change I'll let you know. As you can imagine, I don't
want
to rush ahead and choose the wrong list host!
On other news, the product for guerilla marketing
bombshells
has finally been revealed. I talked a bit about the
hype
surrounding the program a couple of weeks ago (in
particular, the hype that got everyone to sign up
before
they knew what they were getting!)
The good news is that at least the product seems
pretty good
(which I expect is a relief for all those that signed
up!) A
members club with forums and new material from Jay
Conrad
Levinson every month is nothing to be sneezed at. But is
it
worth $80 a month? I don't know. I wouldn't pay it,
but
since $80 US is around $160 Australian, you can
probably
understand why! =)
The one thing about this that has made me think though
is an
article by Mark Joyner. You can read it by visiting:
http://www.scamfreezone.com/forum/config.cgi?read=4737
In summary, Mark says that 2-tier affiliate programs
are
dead, and that MLM programs (or Team Fusion Marketing as
he
is calling his version) are the way of the future.
Why? In part because 2-tier programs don't reward
people for
signing up other people beneath them.
Now some people (obviously Mark included =) ) think
this is
a bad thing. Personally, I don't.
By adding more than the second tier, you give the
message to
your affiliates that they should spend some of their
time
trying to recruit others as opposed to selling the
product.
Isn't this a good thing?
Maybe. But not if your affiliates are spending so much
time
trying to build their downline that they never get around
to
selling your product!
The 2-tier approach sends a strong message to your
affiliates - "yes, if you recruit others you will be
rewarded, but only if they make a sale, and not as much
as
if you sold the product yourself".
SiteSell have taken this one step further. With
their
affiliate program, you have to sell above a certain
dollar
amount yourself before you get any benefit from
having
sub-affiliates. If you didn't make any sales in a month,
but
one of your sub-affiliates sold thousands of dollars
worth
of ebooks, you wouldn't get a cent.
Which is, I think, how it should be. There is no such
thing
as a free lunch!
Actually, I will admit that there is one situation
where a
MLM approach is better, and that is if you are running
a
membership site (like guerilla bombshells). In that
situation, you have to 'buy' the product (and keep
buying
with a monthly fee). Since signing new people up and
selling
the product are the one and the same, it works very
well.
But if I was selling an ebook, or software, or some
other
product (not a membership), 2-tier is in my opinion the
best
way to go if I was starting an affiliate program.
What do you think? Is 2-tier marketing dead? Is MLM
the way
of the future? Have I completely lost it? Let me
know!
/external.html?link=mailto:jason@achievenetprofits.com?subject=2tier
But enough of that. Now a quick word about what is in
store
for you this week.
My interview this week is with Raymond Johnston Jr. To
be
honest I am very appreciative that he took the time to
do
the interview. Half way through, he received the
terrible
news that he may have to have one of his toes
amputated.
Needless to say, an interview was probably the last thing
he
wanted to think about! But he battled on to complete
it,
and I think you will find the finished interview very
educational.
The free ebook this week is by Marlon Sanders, and is
a
great read. It is titled "7 Secrets to Cash Like
Clockwork" - be sure to take a look.
Finally, the article this week is by Angela Wu (who
I
interviewed last week). She talks about how you can come
up
with an idea for a home business that is right for
you!
I hope you find this issue informative and useful. If
you
enjoy this ezine, please forward it on to one or more
friends who you think might be interested.
Don't forget that you can view past issues online
at
http://www.achievenetprofits.com/archive/
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2. Interview - Raymond Johnston Jr
Raymond Johnston Jr is the editor and publisher of
Money For
Hire Ezine ( http://www.moneyforhire.com
). He is a
published writer of short stories, poetry and lately
Internet Marketing articles. He loves what he does
because
"it allows me to help others build a future".
ANP: How (and why!) did you get a start in the
Internet
marketing business world?
Ray: A few years ago when the stock market was
doing so
well, I was trading stocks in the morning and working
in
online advertising in the afternoons and evening. As
the
Stock Market started it's decline, I started doing more
and
more ad writing for people in the Internet Marketing
field.
After a few months of writing successful ads and
reading as
much as I possibly could about online marketing, I
decided
to take the plunge. I was helping others become
successful
by writing ads, figured I might as well be doing it
for
myself.
ANP: What did you find was the hardest part
when you were
starting your Internet marketing business?
Ray: One of the hardest parts of starting any
business is
the amount of work it takes. You have no contacts,
everything you are doing is new and basically trial
and
error. What will take you one hour six months from
now,
takes you three now.
I see ads all the time saying, I work less now and
make more
money. Sure you do, you now have some experience and
it
takes a lot less time to complete your daily chores.
I think the reason the majority of people fail at
online
marketing is either lack of time to devote or the
unwillingness to spend enough time. It makes no
difference
if you are starting a business online or off, it takes a
lot
of hours to build a successful business.
ANP: What do you feel are the most important
traits someone
starting a new business (online or otherwise) should
have?
Ray: Well, I think a person has to go into the
venture
believing they can be successful and having the
persistence
to achieve that goal.
Any new business is going to take a lot of work and
there
are going to be many setbacks. You must realize this
going
in.
With all of the get rich quick talk that goes around,
I
think too many people think they are going to make
money
without much effort. It's just not going to happen online
or
off.
ANP: How long did it take for your Internet
marketing
business to start making a profit? How quickly did
your
profit increase from that point?
Ray: It actually did not take me long to start
making a
profit. But I have lived a few years and have started
a
number of successful businesses. I knew what it was going
to
take and had prepared myself by digesting as much
information as I could for a few months prior to
actually
launching a business.
My income increased at a fairly steady rate.
Nothing
spectacular but it increased each month. After a while,
it
becomes easier to increase your income. The longer you
work,
the more people you get to know and the more
opportunities
you will find.
When you first start, it's hard to get anyone to do
a
business deal with you. Now I have twenty to thirty
offers a
month from people wanting me to join them in some kind
of
venture. When you need help the most, it's impossible to
get
it. When things are going well, everyone and their
brother
wants to work with you. One of the great ironies of
life.
ANP: Very true, very true! What do you get your
most income
from online - affiliate programs, reselling other
ebooks,
etc? Do you expect that to change much in the future?
Ray: One of the great lessons I learned from
the stock
market was to diversify. There is no where that is
truer
than working online. I see so many people who think
one
program or one ebook is going to make them rich.
One of the truest statements I've ever seen online was
"It's
much easier to make $100 in ten different programs then
it
is to make $1000 in one."
I make money in a number of ways. Affiliate
programs,
selling ebooks, I own traffic sites, pay-per-click
search
engines and a number of other things.
Don't get me wrong. You can't work every affiliate
program
that comes along. In fact, one should be very careful
of
which ones you participate in. You want the products
or
programs to be good ones. Your reputation is on the line
and
a good reputation will eventually guarantee success.
Of
course it takes work but a bad reputation can destroy
you
regardless of how many hours you work.
I will continue to make money from these sources but I
will
continue to search for more avenues to create revenue.
In
fact I'll be coming out with something new in the
next
couple of months. I can't really give any information
at
this time but this opportunity came about by someone
asking
me to look at their website. I looked and found a
tremendous
product. We are now working out details of a
partnership.
You just never know where an opportunity may come
from.
ANP: What has been the biggest mistake you have
made in your
Internet marketing business so far?
Ray: That's a tough one. One makes so many
mistakes.
Probably the biggest mistake I made was not paying for a
top
notch list server for use in publishing my ezine. At
first I
tried to go the free route and then when I decided
that
wasn't the answer, I went with a cheap service instead
of
going for quality.
It cost me more money in the long run to use the
cheap
service then it does to use the higher quality service I
now
use. Another one of the many lessons one learns
through
trial and error.
ANP: So how are you hosting your mailing list
now? Are you
using an autoresponder service, or are you using a
dedicated
mailing list service?
Ray: I'm now using one of the professional List
Server
companies. I'm still debating buying the software and
doing
it myself but still looking for some more feedback before
I
go this route. I'm not sure if the pluses outweigh
the
problems.
ANP: Has there been any particular ebook, web
site,
e-course, person, etc that you feel has given you the
most
help in your business?
Ray: As I stated earlier, I spent a lot of time
reading and
studying everything I could get my hands on that
pertained
to Internet Marketing.
I was very impressed with the work of Terry Dean and
studied
everything I could get my hands on that Terry had
written. I
also joined his Internet Marketing site and obtained a
lot
of knowledge from it. By the way Terry, you owe me for
that
promotion. LOL
Pamela Heywood who publishes a great marketing ezine
also
helped me a lot. She was there to answer all of the
questions I had. And trust me there were many.
There were other sites and other people as well but
those
two were a great influence.
ANP: How do you go about attracting visitors to
your web
site?
Ray: I use every method I can find. I use
pay-per-click
search engines, start/surf exchanges, ezine advertising
and
I also use banners. The banners are used more for
branding
my sites name but they bring some visitors as well. I
sometimes purchase guaranteed visitors as well even
though
one has to be very careful with that method. There are
not a
whole lot of services that can give quality traffic.
I also work on increasing links to my site. This is
probably
one of the most important things I ever did. It doesn't
pay
off instantly but you can sure start seeing the results
if
you make it a permanent part of your marketing efforts.
Just
adding a few links a week will make a heck of a
difference
six months from now.
ANP: What have you found to be the most
difficult part about
publishing "Money For Hire"?
Ray: The most difficult part of publishing is
continuously
finding quality information. There are so many ezines
and
newsletters being published that you must provide
your
subscribers with quality information or lose them.
There are a few people who write quality articles.
Every
marketing zine around is using those articles. If a
person
is subscribed to three ezines that are running the
same
articles the majority of the time, they are going to
either
stop reading or unsubscribe from a couple.
So it's a constant battle to find helpful information
that
everyone else has not already published.
ANP: How do you go about attracting new
subscribers to your
ezine?
Ray: The number one way I attract subscribers
is by offering
my marketing courses all over the net. Give the people
a
dose of the kind of information you provide and hope it
will
make them want more.
I also have a website for my ezine where I try and
entice
signups. I usually offer a 'bribe' of some type to join.
A
free ebook or marketing course.
ANP: It was one of your marketing courses which
attracted me
to your ezine originally, so they obviously work =).
Have
you tried any of the subscription services that are on
the
net? If so, what sort of response did you get?
Ray: I have actually tried a few of them.
Results are from
terrible to great. One still has my money and has
delivered
one subscriber in three months. Yet another delivers
top
notch subscribers with a great retention rate.
One has to be very careful. Ask around and get some
feedback
before purchasing any subscribers this way.
ANP: With the benefit of hindsight, if there
was one thing
you could go back and change since you started your
business, what would it be?
Ray: Besides the use of a quality list server
which I
already mentioned, I would have published less
frequently
and spent more time looking for quality information for
my
subscribers.
When I first started, I was publishing five days a
week.
That is just too many days. I was spending all of my
time
putting together the ezines. I now publish twice a week
and
it gives me much more time to handle other things.
ANP: What is next for your Internet marketing
business?
Ray: I will continue to diversify more. As I
mentioned
earlier, I'm working with another individual on a
project
that we will be launching in the next couple of months.
In
fact we may be launching a number of projects
together.
The Internet Marketing world continues to change and
to be
successful, one must change with it. If one stands still
in
this business, their business will soon be heading the
wrong
direction.
ANP: What changes are you expecting in the
future in the
Internet marketing world? Do you have any thoughts on
new
things that might become popular, or existing methods
that
will stop working?
Ray: The biggest change I see happening is the
demand for
quality information. A year or so ago, anyone could put
out
a newsletter and be successful. Today the number is
growing
so quickly and the average person's time is so crammed
full
of things to do, you better provide useful information
in
your newsletter or on your website or you have no chance
of
succeeding. I think this trend will continue.
Free ads are becoming less and less effective and I
think
that trend will also continue. Even though I think it's
a
great service for newsletters to provide their members
with
free ads, I don't think many are looking. People's time
is
very valuable and they are looking for valuable
content.
Fifty ads, with many advertising the same new "Hot"
program
are just not on the time agenda for many to read
anymore.
Those who provide original content will continue to
be
successful. those who don't are going to have a
difficult
time succeeding.
ANP: What advice would you have for someone who
was starting
out in their own online business?
Ray: Don't expect too much. So many people come
in with
unrealistic expectations. Don't expect to build a full
time
income with part time hours. It's going to take time
to
build your business and it's not going to happen
without
some hard work.
Be willing to listen to those who are already
successful. I
don't care what business you go into, there are people
who
have already learned the tricks that can save you lots
of
time and help you succeed. Listen, you can save yourself
a
lot of time and heartache.
ANP: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me
Ray.
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3. Free Item - "7 Secrets to Cash Like
Clockwork"
Marlon Sanders is a name that most people in
Internet
Marketing would know. And for good reason - he is
definitely
one of the 'gurus'. Marlon produces quality ebooks,
courses
and other training material that will help you on your
way
to successes. This is one of them.
The ebook this week is "7 Secrets to Cash Like
Clockwork".
It was originally a 7 part ecourse that Marlon produced,
but
he has now put it together in ebook form. I have to admit
I
prefer it in ebook form - it is much easier to read.
Which
is good - the information inside the ebook the usual
high
quality that I've come to expect from Marlon.
The theme of the ebook is "Find out what people want
to buy
then allow them to get it from you". Which is good advice
by
itself really.
Take a look - I think you will enjoy it. You can
download it
from:
http://www.achievenetprofits.com/free/7secrets.zip
(sorry, this ebook is PC only).
4. Guest Article: Your Perfect Home
Business May Be Right In Front of You!
(c) Copyright 2002, Angela Wu
Every week I receive email from would-be
entrepreneurs,
asking, 'What kind of home business should I start?'
This is a question that only *you* can answer.
Although
it seems like business opportunities are everywhere
you
look, there's no reason why you have to limit yourself
to
someone else's 'prepackaged' opportunity.
'Biz ops' usually cater to a very limited set of
interests
-- nutritional supplements or Internet marketing are
common
examples. Instead of trying to force yourself to 'fit'
into
one of these opportunities, why not consider starting
and
building a business of your own making?
Many successful entrepreneurs are running businesses
based
on their personal interests and experiences. You'll
be
surprised at how simple ideas can turn into
profitable
home businesses! For example, one lady in my
neighborhood
creates unique 3-dimensional bookmarks in the shape
of
various wildlife -- and she sells them to tourism
stores
in the nearby National Parks, among others.
Another example came from a local newspaper. A woman
with
a 'knack' for picking out the 'perfect' gift offers a
shopping service: she'll go gift shopping for
birthdays,
Christmas, and other special occasions so that you
don't
have to endure the stress or the crowds. And she
LOVES
to shop!
There are many examples of people who turn their
passions
into businesses. For additional ideas, try the
'Secret
Underground Business Plans, Projects and Ideas',
available
at: http://homebasedwork.com/cgi-bin/a/t.cgi?bizideas
So how do you go about deciding on a business? Start
by
asking yourself several questions: