Mastering Internet Basics

Writing Good Sales Copy

2008-08-07T04:45:00.000-07:00

Learning to write good sales copy isn’t something you can learn by reading a quick tutorial – it takes practice. Although you probably won’t turn into a world-famous copywriter overnight, there are a few tips you can use to increase the response from your sales letters.

The first thing you should learn is that the headline is (almost) everything. If your headline is terrible – or worse - boring, most people won’t even read the rest of your sales letter. A headline needs to be exciting, enticing, and intriguing.

It needs to grab the attention of your visitor quickly. Your headline might have shock value, ask a compelling question, or be the beginning of an extremely interesting story. “Six months ago, I was living on the streets of L.A., homeless after my Adjustable Rate Mortgage soared so high I couldn’t make the mortgage payments, but now I’m living in a sky-rise apartment twenty stories up that I paid seven figures for…”

This makes the reader want to know more – how did this person go from being destitute to being wealthy? Good sales copy usually tells a story that the audience can connect with. Copy ideally shouldn’t tell a fictional story, though.

You certainly don’t want to run into any trouble with the FTC or an attorney general with something to prove. Good copy gives people a reason to keep reading. If you tell an interesting, compelling story that’s somehow related to the product and how it will affect them, it will naturally appeal to your visitor.

Every single paragraph should lead into the next paragraph, drawing the reader further and further into the pitch. Consumers usually buy based on emotion, and then they justify their purchase with logic. They rarely buy based on logic alone.

They don’t buy a product because of the features - they buy because of the benefits it will provide to them, the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) factor. If you’re selling a car, you can’t tell the buyer that it has Corinthian leather seats, ABS brakes, and a superior sound system.

You have to sell them on the fact that their neighbors and coworkers will be envious, girls will flock to them, and they’ll feel like the king of the world whenever they drive it. Then they’ll buy based on the fantasy you’ve just given them, and they’ll use logic to justify their purchase later.

Within each online sales letter, you’ll want to have a main headline, numerous sub-headlines sprinkled throughout, and aside form the written storyline, you’ll want to add sections of benefit-driven bullet points that break up the monotonous text.

Don’t forget the call to action at the end and a Post Script (PS) or two that sums up the order in case they’re bona fide skimmers who hate to read. Go to some of your favorite sales pitch sites and emulate their style and approach. Bookmark it for your “swipe file,” where you borrow ideas (not content) from the original author and use it on your own target audience.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

Have You Tried Squidoo Yet?

2008-07-16T21:18:00.000-07:00

If not why not as it's FUN - yes with a capital F.

Check out my Mastering Internet Basics lens at http://www.squidoo.com/masteringinternetbasics

Do you like it?

Why not sign up here and create you own lens?

Don't know how?

Well I'm giving away a 20 page sneak preview on a great ebook called Social Networking on Squidoo which will get you started plus lots more.

Download Social Networking on Squidoo sneak preview here.

(right mouse click and "save as")

When you create you first Squidoo lens leave me a comment here and I'll check it out for you.

Have some Squidoo FUN!

Keries

How to Profit from Niche Markets in Your Spare Time!

2008-06-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Smart marketers are earning significant part-time incomes (well over $1k a month in their spare time) simply by selling ebooks or reports every week.

And the most interesting part is that most of these people are far from being considered experts in relation to the reports they are selling. In fact some have no involvement in the topics they're targeting.

So, how are they doing this?

It's simple really - and that's why it works so well...

This technique will work for just about any niche market you want to target because you don't need to be an expert or an authority on any topic you select.

The strategy is to create short 5-10 page mini-reports and then promote them to your list and/or sell them via Adwords campaigns.

Here's what you need to do...

Your aim is to create a short report about a specific topic within these niche markets. So you need to go to sites such as Amazon, Clickbank or eBay to see which books in your chosen topic are most popular and selling well.

That's it. Anyone can do this!

Here's an example...

Suppose there's a book on the Amazon bestsellers list that explains what you need to look for when buying a used car. All you need to do is to write a report based on this subject.

But here's the most important part of this simple formula...

You're going to do it the smart way so that you can have your report created in as little as a few days, without having to know a single thing about your subject.

Here's how...

Once you've decided on your topic, go to your favorite search engine and search to see if there are any private label articles or reports available on your subject.

If you find any products or articles you can purchase them and then use the content in any way you choose to create your own short report.

Then it would only be a matter of designing some graphics and creating a simple mini-site to promote the benefits of your report and then begin sending visitors to your site by using Adwords or using Social Media sites.

If you're a little short on funds, an inexpensive alternative to creating your report is to search article directories for articles on your topic. You can then modify these articles into your words and compile them into a report.

But a word of warning...

If you choose to do this, DO NOT under any circumstance copy the articles for your own purposes. This is a violation of copyright and it is unlawful. The only purpose of searching for articles is to get some idea's that you can put into your own words.

This is just a very quick example of using the power of niche marketing to generate a part-time income, but if you're deadly serious you could repeat this same process over and over again to begin creating a substantial online
income.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

A Follow Up System Increases Profits - Lesson 4

2008-05-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

I hope you are learning a lot from this list building for profit ecourse.

Today let's jump right in to STEP 4...

A Follow Up System Increases Profits!

This is where many online sellers fall short. Statistics show that most people do not buy the first time they read about a product.

Usually it takes 7 or more times before they are willing and most importantly, ready to purchase something.

If you only send out one or two messages about your product then chances are you are missing a lot of sales.

That is why using a good follow up system is extremely important to your earning success.

Often times, a "follow up" system is already part of your autoresponder system. Whether you run this yourself or not.

But what is a "follow up" system?

A follow up system is just what it sounds like: "A system utilized for following up with previous, current or future customers by sending out scheduled notices".

Many times this follow up system will generate more profits for you than the initial sale or mailing that you send out.

In all actuality, a subscriber that has bought from you in the past will be happy to buy from you again. If they were satisfied with their previous purchase.

That is why it is important to have a good follow up system in place that recommends additional products to your customers.

The object here is to send your mailing list of subscribers more than one emailing after your initial promotional email.

Now, does this mean you have to pitch the same product every time?

NO!

And should you send out the emails consecutively?

NO... And YES!

That last question is really up to you and how fast you want to profit from your list. It also depends on any pre-determined qualities you've applied to your specific mailing list.

For instance, do you have a "set" schedule for when you send out mailings to your list?

Weekly - Bi-Weekly - Monthly?

If you sent out a promotional email and you didn't get the sales that you had hoped for the first time its not always because your subscriber didn't like the offer.

It could be that your subject line didn't catch their eye and didn't open the email, they might not have had cash the week you sent it out or maybe your email didn't make it through their spam filters.

The point is there are a many reasons why your readers may not of jumped on your offer the first time you sent it out.

And that is the whole point of this lesson. It takes more than just the initial "offer" to make sales. And if you're not willing to go this extra step, believe me, someone else will!

Take a chance. Send out a couple extra emails to your customers/subscribers.

The worst they can do is delete it, or unsubscribe. In which case you stood more to lose than gain from an unresponsive or uninterested subscriber.

Whatever you decide on when to send follow up mailings, it's a good idea let your subscribers know in advance to expect these types of mailings from you, and approximately how often they will receive them.

Now let's take a minute and refer back to lesson one.

If you remember we talked about auto-responders and how to use them to build your list.

Now that you know you need to have a follow up system why not take the time to write up several follow up emails for the products that you are promoting and plug them into your autoresponder.

This way you know that once a person subscribes to your list or buys one of your products they will receive the follow up messages that will help close the sale or offer more products.

I guarantee if you take the time to do this for every product that you offer you will see your profits increase.

If you didn't take the time to get a good autoresponder service after reading lesson one then here is a list of reliable ones for you to check out:

http://www.AWeber.com

http://www.GetResponse.com

I hope you are learning a lot from this short course. Please let us know what you think. In next weeks lesson you will learn why repetitiveness is key to your success.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

Buy and Try Before You Promote!

2008-05-25T20:42:00.000-07:00

When it comes to an affiliate program, one of the most common mistakes a program participant makes is choosing to sell a product they have not personally tested.

The best way to promote a product is to actually try it out yourself.

For instance, if you are promoting an ebook you should at least read the ebook in question. In fact, if you ask you may be given the ebook to review for free or for a discounted price.

If you are interested in joining an affiliate program you may want to think about placing an order, even just a small one, to give you a first hand look at the affiliate program that you will be promoting.

Perhaps the greatest reason why you should test out a product is because if you don't like it, there is a good chance that your customers won't like it as well.

In a way, you can look at it as providing a service to your readers. By not agreeing to sell a poor quality product you will be saving money for your readers.

Another reason why you should avoid doing business with an affiliate program that sells a poor quality product is because of your reputation.

Although you are only directing customers to the site where they can buy the product in question, you may still be remembered for your part in the sale.

Do you really want to be remembered as the guy or the woman who recommended a product that wasn't even worth the money spent?

If your dream is to one day create your own long-term online business, you want to refrain from bad publicity - bad publicity that may come in the form of a poorly run affiliate program.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

Stop Thinking About Yourself!

2008-05-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

Your sales page is the critical bridge between your traffic and your wallet. It is the magic piece of the puzzle that connects your product to consumers and convinces them to part with their hard-earned money.

In short, without a sales page that works, all of your hard work is wasted!

You're proud of your product, pleased with your efforts and want to write a sales page that conveys just how deeply and passionately you feel about your offer.

Don't!

One of the most commonly experienced problems for sales page authors is maintaining that personal focus.

Concentrating your efforts on telling potential customers what you think and how much you believe in the product, unfortunately, takes up space without increasing conversions.

That's because all consumers share one characteristic:

They care far less about you than they do about themselves.

In order to sell them your product, you need to tell them how the item will help them. You need to explain what it will do for them. You need to advise them on how they can use it to their advantage.

You are undoubtedly seeing a common thread developing in this analysis - it's about them, not you!

Yes, your credibility is important. You do need to find a way to qualify yourself as someone who can be trusted and who has sufficient qualification to bring your offer forward. Beyond that, you need to remember to stop thinking about yourself.

In other words, take yourself out of the equation as much as you can when writing your copy!

Go through your sales copy carefully and isolate instances where you use words like "I" or "me." Every time you encounter them, look for a way to convey the same message about your product while talking about them instead. "Me" and "I" must become "you" in order to maximize the sales potential of the page.

There's an old saying in the copywriting business that bears repeating again and again...

... The most powerful word in sales copy is "YOU"

From your headline to your last "p.s.," your message must be consistently written with the reader and his or her interests at the forefront.

It's natural to bring yourself to the table. It's your product and your success is your passion.

That belief in the offer and that personal sentiment is important as it's what will allow you to write compelling copy. However, in order for that to happen you will have to make every effort to construct every last sentence in a way that shows the reader "what's in it for them."

By focusing on buyers and their needs, you can create a sales page they will read. You can hold their interest and show them exactly why they should buy the product.
Remember, your opinion isn't that important - theirs is!

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

A Simple Strategy for Quick Profits!

2008-05-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

Smart marketers are earning significant part-time incomes simply by selling ebooks or reports every week. I'm not talking pocket change - some are making well over $1k a month in their spare time.

And the most interesting part is that most of these people are far from being considered experts in relation to the reports they are selling. In fact some have no involvement in the topics they're targeting. So basically anyone can do it.

So, how are they doing this?

It's simple really - and that's why it works so well...

As I mentioned - you don't need to be an expert or an authority on any topic or subject. So this technique will work for just about any niche market you want to target.

The strategy is to create short 5-10 page mini-reports and then sell them via Adwords campaigns or email a note to your list.

Here's what you need to do...

First off - go to sites such as Amazon, Clickbank or even eBay to see which books in your chosen topic are most popular and selling well. Your aim is to create a short ebook or report about a specific topic within these niche markets.

That's it. Anyone can do this!

Here's an example...

Suppose there's a book on the Amazon bestsellers list that explains what you need to look for when buying a used car. All you need to do is to write a report based on this subject.

But here's the most important part of this simple formula…

You're going to do it the smart way so that you can have your report created in as little as a few days, without having to know a single thing about your subject.

Here's how...

Once you've decided on your topic, go to your favorite search engine and search to see if there are any private label articles or reports available on your subject, in this example we are targeting the buying a used car niche market.

If you find any products or articles you can purchase them and then use the content in any way you choose to create your own short report. With private label rights you have the right to alter the content in any way you choose, so there's no problem with copyright.

For example, you could create a report that explains the top 10 tricks and scams you need to look for when purchasing a used car to ensure you don't get lumbered with a lemon. So you would search for tips on this subject and compile them into a short report.

Then it would only be a matter of designing some graphics and creating a simple mini-site to promote the benefits of your report and then begin sending visitors to your site by using Adwords or something similar.

If you're just starting out and you're a little short on funds, an inexpensive alternative is to search article directories for articles on your topic. Then you can modify these articles into your words and compile them into a report.

But a word of warning…

If you choose to do this, DO NOT under any circumstance copy the articles for your own purposes. This is a violation of copyright and it is unlawful. The only purpose of searching for articles is to get some idea's that you can put into your own words.

This is just a very quick example of using the power of niche marketing to generate a part-time income, but if you're deadly serious you could repeat this same process over and over again to begin creating a substantial online income.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

How Do You Get Paid - Lesson 3

2008-05-18T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today we move on to your third lesson in list building for profit. In this lesson we are going to talk about how you will get paid for your efforts.

STEP 3 - How Do You Get Paid!

This is one of the most important things for you to learn about when it comes to list building for profit. In this lesson we are going to talk about processors.

Before we start I want you to ask yourself this question...

How fast do you want to get your money?

This is a very important question that you should think about before you begin promoting products to your list.

One thing you will need to do is decide if you are going to sell your own products or promote affiliate programs.

If you are sticking with promoting affiliate programs then you will not need a payment processor, but that doesn't mean that you can skip the rest of the lesson :-)

Keep reading...

Affiliate programs are great, however they do have a downside.

When you promote affiliate programs you will have to wait for your pay checks before you can start spending your hard earned cash.

And although some commissions are instant you should be prepared to wait anywhere from 30 to 90 days before you receive your commission pay outs through the affiliate program you've promoted.

Now, if you are planning on selling your own products or products with resale rights then you will need a payment processor and you will find a list of reliable ones to choose from below.

[Side Note]

I could spend a whole lesson on the benefits of creating your own products and promoting products that include resale rights. But this lesson is about payment processors, so I'll be quick.

When you promote your own products or products with resale rights the payout is usually immediate. And 100% of the profits are all yours.

This is like having an instant payday when ever you want it.

Another benefit of having your own product is that you can start an affiliate program or work a joint venture with it.

This way you can get other people to promote it for you. You can't do that when you promote affiliate programs, unless they are two tiered programs.

The moral of that side note is if you have your own product you will have more control over your income.

[End Side Note]

Now that I have had my say about having and creating your own products to sell let's move on to the list of payment processors that you can choose from:

PayPal.com
http://www.paypal.com

ClickBank.com
http://www.clickbank.com

PayDotCom.com
http://www.paydotcom.com

All of the payment processors above have pros and cons.

For instance PayPal will not allow you to run a two tier or split pay affiliate program, but they are great for single product sales and reoccurring payments because you'll have access to your money right away.

They have other benefits like free bank transfers and detailed reports. Plus you can get a debit card that will allow you to use your funds just as you would from your regular bank account.

ClickBank is great for accepting payments and by far the easiest way to set up an affiliate program for your digital products.

They pay your affiliates for you which makes it much easier for you, but you have to wait until they send you a check before you can start spending your money.

Another benefit is that your product (once accepted) will be added to the ClickBank Marketplace where it will be exposed to hundreds of visitors everyday.

PayDotCom has some of the benefits of both Clickbank and PayPal and they have many tools that make accepting payments quick and easy.

One nice thing about using PayDotCom is that like ClickBank your product will be displayed in their large database of products and will be seen by people who will be happy to promote it for you.

Here are some more payment processors you may want to research:

Authorize.net
http://www.authorize.net

Verisign.com
http://www.verisign.com

2checkout.com
http://www.2checkout.com

If you don't like any of these just do a search for payment processors and you will find many more.

The important thing to remember is to take the time to find a payment processor that fits your needs. They all have different pros and cons, so take your time to make the right decision for your business.

Ok that's it for today. In next week's lesson we will be going over how to set up a follow up system so that you are ready for your subscribers.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

What Should You Promote to Your List - Lesson 2

2008-05-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

Ok. It's time for your second lesson in learning how to build your list. I hope you found your first lesson helpful and informative.

Lets jump right in to your next list building for profit lesson right now.

STEP 2

What to Sell?

Now that we have covered how to start building your list the next thing you need to have is something to promote to your list... and not just any product will do.

The best types of products to sell are ones that:

1. Solves a problem that your readers may have.

2. Your readers or website visitors will be interested in.

3. Is priced at a level that fits your market.

Say for instance that your emails are geared towards walking enthusiasts. You wouldn't want to advertise a "how to make decadent deserts" product to them, right?

Right!

It's important to fit the product to your main topic of discussion in your mailings.

If your subject matter is more of a broad scope, say for example Internet Marketing, you will want to promote products that will help your subscribers raise their earnings or success rate in this field.

A Word Of Caution...

Be Choosy! Don't just promote anything. Remember, these are real, live, thinking, breathing people.

Take some time to research the products you wish to promote first and see if it's right for your subscribers.

Consider if this is something you would purchase yourself and the reasons why. Then relay this to your subscribers. But do it in your own unique way.

If the particular product comes with a pre-written sales copy, re-word it with your own style of writing. Offer your readers an incentive for ordering this product through you that no one else can offer.

Did you know that if you just copy and pasting a solo advertisement that is pre-written it will lower your sales rate.

Why?

Because chances are, depending on the subject matter covered, you aren't the ONLY one promoting "hot ticket" items and your subscribers may not just receive your newsletter or promotional mailings.

If this is the case, which most likely it is, then your readers will see multiple carbon-copy email promotions for the same product from a dozen different sources. Your emailing included.

So being original counts for a lot.

And if you don't know what your readers are having trouble with, run a survey or poll to find out!

Don't be afraid to just come right out and ask them. You'll be surprised how many responses you'll get. These responses are so valuable to your ability to provide exactly what your subscribers want.

Without really knowing what your subscribers want, how can you ever expect to give it to them?

Find out what hardships or troubles your subscribers are having with regards to the topic you discuss. Only then can you expect to begin making money with your list.

And you don't have to be the originator of the product you promote. Ever heard of "Affiliate Marketing"?

Finally when you are promoting products make sure you choose products that fall into the right pricing scheme for your subscribers.

If you are sending information on "how to save money", you certainly wouldn't want to promote a $500 product. That would be contradictory. Even though some people wouldn't consider this a selling point, remarkably it is!

Look for your next lesson next week where we will discuss how you will get paid for your efforts.

Enjoy

Keries

How to Build Your List - Lesson 1

2008-05-12T22:25:00.000-07:00

This is your first lesson on list building for profit and today we will discuss the
steps you need to take to build a mailing list and start profiting from it, so you can earn some extra cash for yourself and your family whenever you need it.

We have a lot to cover over the next few lessons, so lets get started!

STEP 1

How to Build a List of Prospects?

Did you know that it's much easier to earn a profit from a person that is already interested in what you have to offer?

Chances are, if someone has already signed up, or "opted in" to receive information from you, then they are willing to take a look at products and programs that you tell them about.

So, if you want to make any type of steady income online, the first thing you will need to do is create a mailing list of subscribers.

Keep in mind the bigger your list is the more profitable it will become, but for the purposes of this course beginning a list and getting a couple hundred subscribers will do just fine and help you begin earning some extra cash.

There are several ways to quickly build a list of subscribers. I'm going to list a few ways to start below.

If you don't understand some of the things that I mention, don't worry I will do my best to clear things up for you over the next few lessons.

And remember if you have any questions please leave a comment on this blog.

Here we go...

1. You will want to place a sign up form for your list on your website, blog, and even your "About Me" Page on your favorite social or auction website, like My Space or Ebay.

If you need help doing this it is best to check with your autoresponder service. They should have complete instructions and if you don't have an auto-responder don't worry we will go over them later in the course.

2. There are specific list building programs, such as Listopt.com and Listdotcom.com that you can use if you are prepared to put in the work of building a downline of subscribers, these can be very good.

3. You can do a joint venture. Once you have a list and you are looking to get more subscribers then you can get in touch with the owner of a similar list or ezine and make arrangements to recommend each other to your subscribers.

Keep in mind that most people don't just sign up to just one list so it could be a great arrangement for both of you.

4. Join a giveaway event. This is basically another form of a joint venture. They usually consist of several list owners banding together and offering one of their products for free to anyone who joins the event as a member.

This benefits you as a contributor by requiring all of the people that join the giveaway to give you their name and email address so that they can download your gift. These events can be very beneficial when building your list.

There are many other ways and places that will help you build your list, but these suggestions should get you started.

The main goal is to start a list of credible email addresses that "opt-in" ( which means they give you permission) so you can send offers or content to them.

Using any of the three ideas above, or better yet all of them, will begin building your list.

Out of the four ways above the quickest way to get subscribers is by joining a giveaway event.

You can find them by subscribing to free marketing newsletters and by joining specialized marketing forums such as The Internet Marketing Warrior Forum, Free Advertising Forum, or IM4Newbies Forum.

You may also want to check out JV-Network.com. This is great for finding good joint ventures.

When building your list it is a good idea to steer clear of safe lists, mlm programs, or purchasing lists of email addresses.

If you don't know what you're doing these methods can quickly get you into hot water and most of the time they just don't work!

Now let's move on to how you will collect and manage your list of email addresses. You can do this by using an autoresponder system or service.

There are two main types of auto responders that you can use.

1. A script that you run yourself from your own web space.

2 A service that you sign up for and pay a fee.

We'll talk more about that in step # 4. For now, just know that you need one to collect subscriber email addresses.

You can download a free script from Hotscripts.com http://www.hotscripts.com or any of the other script sites online. To find one just do a search for "autoresponder script" in your favorite search engine.

If you prefer not to go through the lengthy and confusing process of setting up your own mailing list script, then you will want to go through a reliable paid service such as AWeber.com, or GetResponse.com.

As a matter of fact you can sign up for a free account, so that can test out the service before you spend any money. This is a great way to get started when you're on a budget.

I know this lesson was a little long. Thank you for sticking with me to the end. In the next issue we will discuss how to find great products to tell your list about.

Keries

Why Adsense is Essential for Content Sites!

2008-02-21T04:13:00.000-08:00

Today I'm going to discuss 3 Reasons Why Adsense Is Essential For Content Sites.

Firsty to know why Adsense is essential for your content sites you have to know it works.

The idea is really simple, if you think about it. The publisher or the webmaster inserts a java script into a certain website. Each time the page is requested, the java script will pull advertisements from the Adsense program. The ads that are targeted should therefore be related to the content that is contained on the web page serving the ad. If a visitor clicks on an advertisement, the webmaster serving the ad earns a portion of the money that the advertiser is paying the search engine for the click.

The search engine is the one handling all the tracking and payments, providing an easy way for webmasters to display content-sensitive and targeted ads without having the hassle to solicit advertisers, collect funds, monitor the clicks and statistics which could be a time-consuming task in itself. It seems that there is never a shortage of advertisers in the program from which the search engine pulls the Adsense ads. Also webmasters are less concerned by the lack of information search engines are providing and are more focused in making cash from these search engines.

The first reason why Adsense is essential for content sites is because it already has come a long way in understanding the needs of publishers and webmasters. Together with its continuous progression is the appearance of more advanced system that allows full ad customization. Webmasters are given the chance to choose from many different types of text ad formats to better complement their website and fit their webpage layout.

The different formatting enables the site owners the possibility of more click through from visitors who may or may not be aware of what they are clicking on. It can also appeal to the people visiting thus make them take that next step of looking up what it is all about. This way the people behind the Adsense will get their content read and making profit in the process.

The second reason is the ability of the Adsense publishers to track not only how their sites are progressing but also the earnings based on the webmaster-defined channels. The recent improvements in the search engines gives webmasters the capability to monitor how their ads are performing using customizable reports that has the capacity to detail page impressions, clicks and click-through rates. Webmasters and publishers can now track specific ad formats, colors and pages within a website. Trends are also easily spotted.

With the real-time reporting at hand, the effectiveness of the changes made will be assessed quickly. There would be time to sort out the contents that people are making the most clicks on. The ever-changing demands would be met while generating cash for the webmasters and publishers. The more flexible tools are also allowing webmasters to group web pages by URL, domain, ad type or category, which will provide them some accurate insight on which pages, ads and domains are performing best.

The last and final reason is that the advertisers have realized the benefits associated having their ads served on targeted websites. Thus increasing the possibility that a prospective web surfer will have an interest in their product and services. All because of the content and its constant maintenance. As opposed to those who are no using Adsense in their sites, they are given the option of having other people do their content for them, giving them the benefit of having successful and money-generating web sites.

Adsense is all about targeted content, the more targeted your content is, the more target the search engines’ ads will be. There are some web masters and publishers who are focused more on their site contents and how best to maintain them rather than the cash that the ads will generate for them. This is the part where the effectiveness is working its best.

Believe it or not there was a time when people were not yet aware of the money to be achieved from advertisements. The money generated only came into being when the webmasters and publishers realized how they can make Adsense be that generator. In those days, the content were the most important factors that is taken quite seriously. It still is. With the allure of money, of course.

Brought to you by Mastering Internet Basics.

http://www.masteringinternetbasics.com

Keries

How to Create a Blogger.com Blog

2008-02-17T02:33:00.000-08:00

I found this video on YouTube which gives a simple expanation on how to create a blogger.com blog just like this one.

As you know I find blogger to easiest blogging platform to use.

As a member of Mastering Internet Basics we will teach you how to add peel ads like the one of this blog, add widgets and other items to the sidebar, delete the blogger bar at the top and even use a blogger.com blog as a salespage. Note it will look very much like any other salespage and it's free to create and also host.

Join my weekly newsletter for updates on Mastering Internet Basics and watch for it's pre-launch special.

http://www.keries.com/newsletter

Which Autoresponder Do I Use?

2008-02-10T17:08:00.000-08:00

In the last week I've been asked a number of times which autoresponder do I use? So I've decided to recommend an autoresponder service that I've been using for a while now.

It's got all the features that an advanced email marketer would
want but is easy enough for the beginner also.

I'm pretty sure that when you sign up for the free account and
give their system a test you'll fall in love with it like I have.

To sign up for an account just go here:

http://responsebot.com/cgi-bin/login/x.cgi?id=7&tid=8

While most autoresponder services charge you a monthly price,
you will be able to use Responsebot for a one yearly payment.

You will get to use the autoresponder for one full year.

I think that's a great bargain for what you get.

Try it out:
==> http://responsebot.com/cgi-bin/login/x.cgi?id=7&tid=8

Sign up for a free account and give it a go.

Enjoy

Kerrie Sheehan

How to Start Making Money With Adsense

2008-02-03T17:07:00.000-08:00

You have probably heard that adsense is considered as one of the most powerful tools in a website publisher’s arsenal. It enables a person to make money from their sites easily. If used correctly, it can generate a very large income for them. However if you are not using adsense ads correctly and maximizing the income you squeeze from them then you are actually leaving a lot of money on the table. Something I hate doing myself.

So how can you can start earning money with Adsense so easily and quickly? You will be amazed at the results you will be getting in such a short period of time.

Firstly start by writing some quality content articles which are also keyword incorporated. If you are one of those people given the gift of being good with words and writing comes easy to you then why not make it work in such a way that you will be earning some extra cash in the process. If not then you can either learn or pay someone to do it for you.

There are actually three steps to put into mind before you begin writing your ads and having an effective Adsense.

Keyword search. Find some popular subjects, keywords or phrase. Select the ones which you think has more people clicking through. This is actually a keyword selector and suggestion tool that some sites are offering to those who are just their Adsense business.

Writing articles. Start writing original content with keywords from the topics that you have achieved in your search. Take note that search engines are taking pride in the quality of their articles and what you will be writing should keep up with their demands.

Quality content site. Build a quality content site incorporated with Adsense ads that is targeting the subject and keywords of your articles and websites. This is where all that you’ve done initially will go to and this is also where they will prove their worth to you.

The proper positioning of your ads should be done with care. Try to position your ads where surfers are most likely to click on them. According to research, the one place that surfers look first when they visit a certain site is the top left. The reason behind this is not known. Maybe it is because some of the most useful search engine results are at the top of all other rankings. So visitors tend to look in that same place when browsing through other sites.

Some of those who are just starting at this business may think they are doing pretty well already and thinking that their clickthrough rates and CPM figures are quite healthy. However, there are more techniques and styles to generate more clicks to double your earnings. By knowing these techniques and working them to your advantage, you will realize that you will be getting three times more than other people who have been previously doing what they are doing.

Finally, Adsense has some excellent tracking statistics that allows webmasters and publishers to track their results across a number of site on a site by site, page by page, or any other basis you wanted. You should be aware oft his capability and make the most of it because it is one powerful tool that will help you find out which ads are performing best. This way, you can fine tune your Adsense ads and focus more on the ones being visited the most rather than those who are being ignored.

Another thing you should know. Banners and skyscrapers are dead. Ask the experts. So better forget about banners and skyscrapers. Surfers universally ignore these kinds of ad formats. The reason behind this is that they are recognized as an advert and advert are rarely of any interest that’s why people ignore them.

To really start making money with Adsense, you should have a definite focus on what you wanted to achieve and how you will go about achieving them. As with any other kind of business ventures, time is needed coupled with patience.

Do not just ignore your site and your Adsense once you have finished accomplishing them. Spare some time, even an hour, making adjustments to the Adsense ads on your sites to quickly trigger your Adsense income.

So why not give it a try and you will not regret having gotten into Adsense in the first place.

Join my weekly newsletter for updates on MIB and it's prelaunch special

http://www.keries.com/newsletter

Why do I always feel so miserable after opening my email box?

2007-12-05T21:34:00.000-08:00

Good news I've won the lottery at least a dozen times but I can't remember the last time I had enough money left over to buy a ticket let alone bought a ticket.

More good news my distant relatives (several of them infact) have left me a fortune all I have to do is claim it. Most as so distant they are the other side of the horizon!

Even more good news my email has been chosen in some Microsoft lottery and I've won another fortune.

Further good news all my medical and other personal problems have been solved by latest miracle drugs at greatly reduced prices.

Even further good news I can buy all that expensive software at 10% of the retail price.

Even further more good news I have won a holiday in some exotic location.

So why am I so miserable?

Because my finger is so sore from hitting the “delete” button!

Keries

MIB is coming......

2007-12-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

I hope you enjoyed the above video.

I have posted it to You Tube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAtu1itjk1M

To join my newsletter to be kept informed about MIB

http://www.keries.com/newsletter/

Kerrie Sheehan

www.masteringinternetbasics.com

Are you confused about the real cost of Internet Marketing Products at Seminars?

2007-11-29T04:13:00.000-08:00

Well you are not alone as I am too.

People regularly come to me and tell me they have attended a couple of internet marketing seminars and bought a couple of products but they are still not making the money they were told they could make at these seminars. Some are very frustrated, confused, excited about making money on the internet but obviously lost as to where to start and what to do. Basically I'd say they are lacking the basics of internet marketing. You guessed it I've been there too and just getting a handle on all the terms used is a hand full in itself.

I've been to seminars and most are no more than sales pitches to sell products with a few hidden gems of information thrown in as well. The speakers deliver great speachers telling you what's important in building an internet business making you believe that they have what it takes for you to be successful on the internet. However what they are really doing is getting you into a buying frame of mind so much so you will feel you will miss the boat if you don't buy their product. Then the big sell comes something along the lines of if you buy this silver bullet to your online success today you get $10000 worth of products for a $1000. Now let me ask you this would you buy a new car if a salesman offerred it to you for 10% of the asking price? Me I'd start by counting the wheels and checking it had an engine and would probably not take the risk as it obviously has something wrong with it. So why do people buy internet marketing stuff for a great deal of about 10% of it's worth. Something is a bit odd here.

The seminars usually run for about 3 days inexcess of 10 hours a day sitting in a hall listening as speakers go on stage one after the other. At the end of it you are most likely uttterly confused and believe it or not if you haven't bought anything as yet you feel like you are missing out. So you buy something just for the heck of it I guess. Some people will already have their bags full of goodies, some have no idea what they have actually bought and most are yet to realise that they don't know the basics required to comprehend all the advanced material contained in these packages. Remember most people attending these seminars are newbies who have been led to believe that they will make zillions if they just attend and learn from the experts.

Ooops when you get home and open those packages you soon start to regret your purchase as you realise that you don't even have the basics let alone the advanced knowledge required to work out how to use the content in these packages. It is at this point you feel frustrated and somewhat cheated especialy when you realise that you have no one to turn too as there is no support available.

Personally I hate it when I don't know where to turn to for help. However it rarely happens to me now as I have a great group of like minded friends who compliment and help one another. But it wasn't too long ago I was just starting out too and had no idea what worked but had lots of people telling what worked as long as there was a dollar in it for them. Once they got their dollar they just seemed to vanish.

Maybe there is another way for you.

MIB is coming.........

Kerrie Sheehan
www.masteringinternetbasics.com

IM Disease Symptoms

2007-11-27T03:38:00.000-08:00

Do you suffer from IM (Internet Marketing) Disease?

Here are the Symptoms according to my mate Bob.

1. The belief, no matter how illogical, that one day you will actually make a living in IM.

2. You keep trying to make a living with IM even though everything you have tried to date has not made you enough money to even cover your IM expenses.

3. You actually do not know anyone personally (been to their house or had them over to yours) who is making a living in IM.

4. Every sale’s pitch from the so called gurus on the next great “whatever” gets you so excited that you automatically buy it without thinking about it.

5. You download everything you can get your hands on even if it is completely worthless.

6. The zip files on your hard drive/drives number in the thousands.

7. You have purchased additional or larger hard drives to store all of your IM stuff.

8. You blindly enter your name and e-mail address into opt in forms without hesitation just to get that freebie and as a result get hundreds of e-mail sales pitches a day.

9. Paypal should be sending you a dividend check.

10. People around you like family and friends think you either have a gambling problem or a porn addiction or both.

11. If you actually have ever purchased a quality IM product, you wouldn’t have known it because you did not put the time or energy into it to make it work.

12. A solid team of professional internet techs and marketing experts could not complete your IM to-do list because it is growing faster than the national debt.

Yes think i might have crossed off qute a few of them myself so you are not alone.

Now (drum roll please) the cure

MIB Mastering Internet Basics (as prescribed by Dr Keries)

So throw away those pills and cool your heals as MIB is not too far away........

Kerrie Sheehan
www.masteringinternetbasics.com

Zoobie The Internet Marketing Newbie Episode 1

2007-11-23T02:58:00.000-08:00

Just for a bit of fun I found this video on YouTube and though I'd show you what we will teach you NOT to do when you join Mastering Internet Basics.

Kerrie Sheehan

www.masteringinternetbasics.com

A Membership Site That Saves Your Sanity.

2007-11-23T02:27:00.000-08:00

How’s that you ask? Well not too sure about you but I used to do insane things in Internet Marketing especially chasing the next “you beaut” opportunity to make money. Problem was it only seemed to make money for the person who sold it to me.

Now my guess is that you have bought a product that fails to live up to it's "hyped up" sales letter usually written by someone who has probably never heard of the promoted product let alone used or tested it. Right? How do I know this. Well have you noticed how many emails are the same for a certain product. You can’t tell me that if everyone who said they tested it could come up with the exact same 10 reasons they liked it.

OK I’ll admit it I’ve been there and done that too and I not only feel guilty about the sheer waste of money but the time wasted is also quite frustrating. So up goes ones stress levels in an already stressful industry where things never work out for me like the guru’s tell me they should. Certainly not my recipe for a healthy lifestyle. How about you?

Now I’m a bit like you I had no idea what worked and what didn’t however I’ve joined up with a couple of other like-minded marketers. We decided to offer you a way to alleviate some of this stress and get the goods on what works and how to get it to work to make you lots of moula. Sounds like a good idea?

So why not go over to our membership web site and have a small peep at what we have to offer. In fact open your eyes and have a good look, as nobody is looking over your shoulder as happens in a normal store and no pesterly shop assistants either trying to sell you something you don’t need.

Now my guess is that you have bought a product that fails to live up to it's "hyped up" sales letter written by a ghostwriter who has never seen the product let alone tested it. Hey these people are paid to write words that sell and have no interest in the product itself. A frustrating experience not forgetting to mention a complete waste of money and the wasted time in trying to get this useless product to work.

I think you'll agree something needed to be done. So it took a group of like-minded internet marketers to get together and the Mastering Internet Basics web site was born.

Click here to join Mastering Interent Basics

Looking forward to seeing you inside.

Kerrie Sheehan

www.masteringinternetbasics.com

Is Mastering Internet Basics for you?

2007-10-25T22:35:00.000-07:00

Let's see if we can identify very quickly why the big guns makes lots of money out of internet marketing while you struggle to make even a few dollars.

Personally I have found that the experts tell you how easy it is to do things but fail to provide enough details on the basics. What is second nature to the big guns was NOT as obvious or easy to me. Hence I found this internet making very frustrating when I first started. I remember once purchasing this great traffic generating program but it didn't come with any instructions. When I asked for them I was told that it was so obvious how to use it. Can you relate to this?

Just think how much you've paid for some ebooks that have promised the moon and you've walked away without anything that could really help you be more profitable. Remember something might look and sound good in the salesletter but one must ask the question will it make my internet business more porfitable or is it just another eye catching gadget?

If you are looking for a get rich quick scheme that requires very little effort on your part then quite honestly you are in the wrong place. However if you find one let us know as we haven't been able to find one oursleves.

What I suggest you do is focus on earning say $20 per week to start with - forget about earning those 6 figure sums for the time being. Most internet marketing schemes that report to earn those 6 figure sums leave out the important bits on how they do it. Take adsense for example. Yes you can earn those big sums but you'll need about a 1000 domain names with 1000's of sub-domians on each one. Where do they tell you that in their salesletter?

One needs to look a the bigger picture of internet and affiliate marketing and not at the somewhat narrow methods most ebooks focus on. You need to learn how and why people buy online and use this knowledge to get them to buy your products. Identify their problem and offer a solution.

So in a nutshell if you can identify with any of the above then Mastering Internet Basics is for you.

Click here to join Mastering Internet Basics.

Looking forward to seeing you on the inside.

Kerrie Sheehan

www.masteringinternetbasics.com

Welcome to Mastering Internet Basics

2007-08-01T00:22:00.000-07:00

Not too sure about you but I got frustrated with buying products that either didn't work or worse still great products that just sat on my hard drive that I had no idea how to use.

Now I know a bit about blogging, article marketing and social sites like Squidoo. So I got together with a couple of other marketers John and Marcus who know lots about how internet marketing works. We decided that it was about time that someone did something so that others could learn how to make money with internet marketing rather than just spending more dollars chasing the latest "you beaut" product just launched.

So Mastering Internet Basics was created just for you.

Welcome to Mastering Internet Basics.

Keries