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Jason’s Tips
Common Misconceptions About Affiliate Marketing
Common Misconceptions About Affiliate Marketing
It’s common to find several existing misconceptions about something that people do not properly understand either because of knowledge gap or ignorance. As a business owner, it is important that you debunk these misconceptions so that you make an informed business decision.
Those interested in signing up for an affiliate marketing program should also be well prepared so that they get into it with the right attitude.
Whether you are running a company with huge turnovers or trying to get a startup off the ground, affiliate marketing can be a very effective method of enhancing your brand awareness and increasing the amount of sales.
You can achieve so much while avoiding the usual hustles associated with marketing campaigns. These are some of the misconceptions about affiliate marketing that you need to correct as an entrepreneur or as someone that is interested in earning money off of it.
- Affiliate marketing systems are easy to manage and produce quick results
This is actually not true at all. Some people imagine that immediately you set up the system, customers will start rolling in as the revenue grows. Affiliate systems require a lot of work and dedication to succeed.
You need to find the right team to work with, and that includes affiliates and other partners that will be part of the system. You also need to have relevant content that will appeal to customers and regularly keep the content updated.
It will eventually pick up but through time and effort.
- You must work in a popular niche
Some companies cannot even dare attempt to use affiliate programs because they assume that only businesses that operate in popular sectors can thrive with it.
As much as it’s true that popular niches find affiliate marketing more effective, being comfortable in your sector and using your insights and skills can turn the program into a success for your business.
You just need to find the right team that actually understands the business and industry and can help you realize your goals and objectives.
- It’s past its due date
Google made changes to its algorithms for SEO and somehow made link building outdated.
That may discourage affiliate systems that heavily relied on the old methods to increase awareness.
However, there are still several ways to make use of search engine optimization to enhance brand awareness. Affiliate marketing is also very much relevant to Google because it has provided alternative resources to users.
- Several sites for higher sales numbers
Never compromise quality over quantity. Getting your links on several sites does not automatically mean that you’ll get more conversions.
Find a small but dedicated number of affiliates that will do a proper job and generate higher sales numbers.
The program only makes sense when you have more conversions because that is what will actually translate to more revenue and ultimately higher profits.
Even though research has shown that affiliate marketing is not easy, you can really use it your advantage once you understand the basics. You just need to come up with a proper strategy and ensure that it is implemented well.
How To Avoid Affiliate Marketing Scams
The internet is filed with people trying to get rich within a very short time. That said, there are also several users on the internet who wake up on a daily basis to take advantage of those looking to make easy money by promising them things that are nearly impossible to deliver on.
Don’t be that person who thinks that the internet has all the solutions to your money problems. As they say, hard work forever pays so be prepared to earn your pay.
Affiliate marketing has presented a new frontier for internet scammers to prey on the unsuspecting public. How then can you spot these scams and avoid the stress of losing your money to people who only want to take advantage of you?
Genuine Programs Do Not Require Joining Fees
Maybe you have come across those affiliate programs on the internet that ask you to pay some joining fee. They conveniently ask you to do so using your credit card.
Those are scams that you should completely avoid. If a business wants to partner with you then why should you pay a joining fee? Isn’t the business interested in increasing sales and therefore should be the one to make efforts in finding publishers?
Do not pay any fee to join an affiliate program because a genuine merchant will never ask you for cash to be part of the system. Your credit card information may be stolen and none of the promises made to you by the scammers will be delivered.
Promises Of Big Income With Little Work
Some merchants will try to show you how you can be a millionaire within a few days. If that were the case then they’d be relaxing somewhere on a beach enjoying their wealth instead of convincing people to join their programs on the internet.
Nothing comes easy and you must be prepared to work hard. Anyone who promises you otherwise is simply trying to play games on you and should be avoided.
These scammers will purport to show you successful affiliates who have made it big by participating in their programs. They will display figures and statistics to try and convince you that their claims are true.
One thing is for sure, if those assertions were true, the merchant wouldn’t even need to talk about his program because information travels fast and people would be flocking to it.
Educate Yourself
Knowledge is power and if you are armed with information, nobody can take advantage of you. Most people get scammed on the internet because the fraudsters prey on their ignorance.
Learn about the basics of affiliate marketing so that whenever you are confronted with such a scenario, you can’t be a victim because you already have all the relevant information.
Many people also just hop onto search engines without any idea of what they are looking for. Arm yourself with knowledge and use it as a weapon against internet scammers.
Anyone can make a career out of affiliate marketing but not everyone who attempts to succeeds. You should be ready to work hard and choose those programs that are genuine and that will provide you with an opportunity to grow.
If you want to know more about affiliate marketing check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 😊
The Problem Of Procrastination
The Problem Of Procrastination
Do you often find yourself putting off things you know you need to do? Even things that are in your own best interest?
Are you late for appointments? Do you miss deadlines? Ignore tasks, even important ones?
Have you ever wanted something very much but found it impossible to get started on it? …And the more you wanted it, the more difficult it was to take action?
Not a good feeling, right? You’re frustrated and angry with yourself, and the worst part of it all is that you don’t understand why it’s happening. You’re falling behind on the job and frustrated at home, and it just seems to be getting worse. You want to achieve more. You see other people making progress.
Whatever it is that you want to accomplish, there is a way for you to accomplish it. By the end of this series of articles, you’ll understand what’s holding you back, and you’ll be able to make a practical plan you can count on to help you achieve the things you want.
Increased understanding of the primary causes of procrastination and the most effective techniques for dealing with it will give you emotional freedom and a secure, positive self-image. You will be on your way to creating your optimum life.
In this article let’s take a look at what procrastination actually is; defining this can really help to overcome it, so even though it may appear a little silly, bear with me.
The Mystery of Procrastination
Whether it’s a discussion of setting goals, time management, or procrastination, they all begin with a discussion of attitude. That might seem strange, but there are very good reasons for it. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and some of those weaknesses are very likely at the root of our procrastination.
Some of us think we lack willpower, and some of us think we just don’t have the determination to follow through, no matter how much we want something.
Sometimes we say to ourselves,” When this thing happens (whatever it is), I’ll be ready to work for that goal.” But putting things off that way is just another way of not taking responsibility.
Some of us really don’t know what we want for ourselves. You see people all around you achieving things, but sometimes it can be difficult to know what you want, what your own special priorities should be, and the things unique to your own life that would make you happy.
Some of us enjoy being carefree and living for today. We have an actual resistance to setting goals, but goal setting is crucial to achieving the life we want to live.
Sometimes, we do the opposite and set goals that are so daunting that we think we can never achieve them. We can become overwhelmed, and not realize we can accomplish our goals one step at a time, one part at a time.
A little organizational skill can help us break those goals down, make them manageable, and help us sustain our motivation while reaching those goals. If you want to know more about productivity, you should check out this post here.
Some of us are perfectionists and are afraid that any failure means that we as human beings are failures. This can be a paralyzing idea, and it’s just wrong.
Most of us learn best from the things that do go wrong in our lives. You may have heard this before, but it’s true. We enjoy the good times, but we learn from the bad times. Obstacles and failures can be a great opportunity for personal growth if we allow them to be, and don’t let them overwhelm us!
Here’s a great saying for your arsenal: “The greatest failure is not having tried.”
Comparing ourselves with others is another bad habit that can be paralyzing. Often, we endure self-inflicted blows to our self-esteem when we think that others are smarter, better educated, more attractive, or nicer than we are. Again, this kind of thinking is wrong. We all have the strengths and skills that we need to achieve the goals that are right for us.
Some of us are loners who just can’t stand to ask for help. But obviously, large projects need to be done with the assistance of others. And most of us need cooperation and support in one way or another in our lives.
Others of us have real difficulty in prioritizing and managing our time. This can be difficult since life has a way of intervening to upset our plans. Luckily, setting priorities and managing time are skills that can be learned when you have the right attitude.
Sometimes, we lack self-confidence because we don’t have the necessary skills. While this may be true, often we don’t recognize the skills we do have. Once you recognize your strengths and skills, you’ll be able to start using those in your favor. This will increase your self-confidence and keep you moving toward your goals.
If you’re one of those people who think you have no willpower, you might be right. That’s a big club! But the secret here is that developing willpower comes from a combination of using self-discipline and managing the fears that are holding you back. Once again, we’re in luck: both of those skills can be learned.
You might have a few ideas of your own about why you procrastinate. Add those to this list. When you know a few key things about yourself — your strengths and weaknesses, you skills, and your patterns of behavior — you’ll be able to develop some key skills to help you stop procrastinating and achieve your goals.
So, in the next article in this series, we’ll look at how to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.
One way to beat procrastination is to stay focused and many people struggle with this. If you want to learn more about staying focused, check out the featured resource below for a free report; download, read it and take action 😊
Scheduling A Series For Your Blog
Scheduling A Series For Your Blog
A series is a good way to keep people tuning back in for more. It works the same way on television – you tune in weekly to see what happens next after you’ve seen a cliffhanger or an upcoming episode snippet.
But what can you do a series on for your blog?
Reviews make a good series. If you buy and implement a digital product, then you can go through the entire process in a series of blog posts. For example, your posts can include blogs about why you bought it and how the order and download or access process went (including s sales copy review).
Then you can break down each step of your implementation process over the next several days. If it’s a text product, do a chapter a day. If it’s a video product, do a video a day.
Always link to the previous and subsequent blog posts so that a new visitor who happens to land on your blog in the middle of it can find their way back to the beginning.
Step-by-step tutorials also make a great series for you to blog about. For example, let’s say someone wanted to know how to start a container garden. You could go through a different topic each day, such as:
- Planning your container gardening space
- Picking which fruits and vegetables you want to grow in each season
- Building your containers
- Getting the soil just right
- The planting process
- Dealing with pests
- Harvesting…etc.
Q&A sessions with your audience work well for a series, too. Invite your subscribers to ask any questions they have – you can even schedule certain days to be “Mailbox” days where you answer audience questions.
By the way, if you are serious and want to take your blogging to the next level, check out the Rapid Blogging Blueprint. This is a premium level training that takes you through each and every step of setting up your own highly profitable blog and profiting from it. You can check it out here.
7 Ideas For Individual Blog Posts
If you’re not doing a series but posting individual blog posts, there’s a whole host of options for you! Make a list of these and try to mix it up on your blog so that you’re not using the same old approach on a continual basis.
Top tip lists make great blog posts. These are tips you gather and then blog about, explaining each one. For example: 7 Ways to Fall Asleep Faster, 6 Ways to Say No to Sweets When You’re on a Diet, the Top 3 Tips to Help You Save Money at the Grocery Store, etc.
Tips like this are easy to digest and people can usually come away knowing they’ve absorbed a few good nuggets, even if they didn’t appreciate all of the tips you presented.
Reviews were mentioned in the last section as far as series that you can do. But they can also be done for individual blog posts. You don’t have to draw it out if it doesn’t call for it – or if it’s for a tangible item that you want to go over.
Rants about a topic can generate a buzz for your blog. You don’t want to be nothing more than a person who rants all of the time, but if you find something in your niche that needs to be exposed or discussed, don’t be afraid to talk about it!
Curated content is something that everyone is buzzing about in the blog world. You can use short snippets where you quote or reference something from a magazine, news site, book or other blog and launch a discussion about it on your blog.
Usually, you’ll do something like present a snippet or portion of something someone else created (not a swipe of their material, but a very small piece, with a link back to their site).
Then you add your own commentary about it. For example, you might be writing a blog post about hot flashes – and the Mayo Clinic has an article about it. You can take a quote from that, link back to the full article, and discuss their findings.
Think of it like a dinner party where you say, “Oh did you hear about …” and then you add your own opinions, insights, and even disagreements about the subject matter.
Categorized posts will help you develop content for your blog. Some people map out the categories for their blog as they go. But if you have categories ahead of time, it can help you develop content just for that purpose.
For example, if you ran a health blog, you could do a post on health tips for boys, girls, teens, men, women and seniors. Then you can go through your editorial calendar and say, “I haven’t done anything on senior health this week, so I’ll do that today!”
Breaking news is always beneficial when blogging. Usually, this will help you see a spike in traffic because it’s new and there won’t be as many posts about it as there will be later.
Set up a Google Alert so that you get notified when news happens about certain topics. But also go out and search Google and specific news sites for breaking topics yourself.
PLR (private label rights) can give you great ideas. You can buy PLR for about $1 per page – and just rewrite it or use it as springboard content to give you an idea of what to blog about for that day!
Soliciting Guest Bloggers For Filler Content
Guest bloggers will often seek you out once your blog becomes a traffic hub for a particular niche. You won’t want to accept everyone who requests a spot on your blog.
But you may want to use a guest blogger from time to time, as long as they continue with the purpose and direction of your own blog. You can approach people or post blog topic jobs – sometimes you’ll pay for the post and sometimes the blogger will be happy with a link back to their own site.
You can ask someone who is an authority figure in your niche to provide a guest blog post – this reflects well on you as a blogger because you’re pulling in valuable resources for your own readers, which they’ll appreciate greatly.
Or, you can find new bloggers who are eager to get some experience under their belts. Either way, make sure the piece is suitable for your audience and don’t let the topic veer off course.
If you really want to know more about the power of blogging, you can take a look at the Rapid Blogging Blueprint training course or if you just want a few pointers for now you can grab the featured resource below for a free blogging report; download, read it and take action 🙂
4 Powerful Benefits Of Mini Habits
4 Powerful Benefits Of Mini Habits
If you haven’t heard of mini habits, you’re in for a treat. Imagine making only small adjustments in your life, and still managing to create impactful and meaningful change.
The mini-habit is just what it sounds like – it’s taking the premise that doing a whole lot of small things will eventually add up to something amazing. Think, for example, of what would happen if you only read a couple of news articles every day?
Before you know it, you’d have accomplished the goal of becoming more informed, and would be better able to handle discussions about current events.
Mini habits don’t stop there though. Not only can your mini habit change how you get things done, but they impact your mind and body as well. Read on to discover the powerful benefits of mini habits.
1. You Create An Atmosphere Of Success
By setting small goals, you’re much more likely to meet them. So instead of telling yourself that you’re going to return all your phone calls promptly, you instead focus on returning the next phone call on time.
That takes off the huge expectations that always felt so daunting in the past and left you with a feeling of failure when you couldn’t quite make it.
What’s even better is that meeting these small goals means you get to where you start expecting success, which leads to the mindset that will generate that success you’re expecting.
2. You Change How You View Your Capabilities
By accomplishing mini-goals, you start to realize that you do have the ability and power to accomplish things. Your confidence grows, and you gain a better, more positive sense of your abilities.
And this becomes a cycle of success which can be really powerful in helping you to achieve your goal.
Many people underestimate what they can achieve or are capable of; don’t be that person! If you put your mind to it, you can achieve far more than you ever thought possible.
3. You Rediscover Motivation
Motivation is sometimes hard to come by and gets used up quickly. That’s why mini habits are important as they don’t rely on motivation to accomplish things, they grow from willpower instead.
Then as you reach those goals, you start to feel the energy of that success, which in turn creates motivation to keep going.
The more you achieve, the more you believe and that can be incredibly motivating.
4. Changes That Last A Lifetime
Yes, you really do create a series of changes that you will carry with you your entire life.
Mini habits done daily will build up those larger habits that you’ve been trying to build all along. Like starting with a single push-up every day and creating almost as a by-product that habit of daily exercise that had seemed so daunting not all that long ago.
Mini habits not only change how we do things but change how we think and act. By making a practice of following mini habits, you will affect some pretty major change.
So, now you know the importance and benefits of developing positive habits, let’s look at a really powerful but simple morning habit that can get your day off to a great start, and it only takes 10 minutes.
A 10-Minute Morning Routine That Will Get Your Day Started Off Right
Most morning routines you find online take hours to complete. Thirty minutes of physical activity, three pages of Morning Pages, or twenty minutes of meditation.
Most people do not have that kind of extra time in the morning. However, in only ten minutes, you can create a morning routine that will put you in the right mindset to conquer your day.
Read below to learn a few time-saving practices you can incorporate into your morning.
Minute 1 – Drink Water
Start keeping a large glass of water beside your bed. Before you even get out of bed, drink the dang water. Your body is dehydrated after a long night of repairing itself, and you need to replenish that.
Drinking water will also help reduce the morning fog and grog that follows so many into their workday despite multiple cups of coffee.
Minutes 2-3 –Breathe
Now that your body is rehydrating take a few minutes to do simple breathing exercises. This is as easy as timing your breaths to take six to ten deep breaths through one minute.
Timing your breaths will force you to focus on your breathing and your body. Helping you to wake up and calm yourself for your day.
Minutes 3-6 – Stretch Your Body
Gentle stretching will get your blood flowing, and your body has woken up. This will also help to ease you into the process of getting ready and the day ahead.
Stretching has long term benefits as well including better circulation and flexibility overall.
Minutes 6-9 – Give Thanks
Take a few moments to reflect on what you are thankful for. You don’t have to write these down or keep a record on your phone.
Just take a few moments to single in on aspects of your life you are thankful for and why. This will put a positive spin on your day and keep you present through the difficult moments.
Minute 10 – Visualize Your Success
Visualizing the successes you wish to have through the day will cement them in your mind and help you to become more confident. These can be successes for the day (a successful meeting) or long-term successes (finishing that half marathon or saving up a down payment on a house).
You may not have hours to devote to morning routines, but maybe you can spare ten minutes of your morning to starting off on the right foot (or breath).
Try this simple routine tomorrow morning and see what kind of a difference it can make to your day.
Creating habits requires self-discipline and many people do lack in this area. If you want to gain more self-discipline, check out the featured resource below where you can get a free report about the Power Of Self-Discipline; download, read it and take action 😊
The Best Way To Network At An Online Event
The recent pandemic has put a dent in your ability to network successfully. While most of you attend trade shows and similar events to add a few additional contacts to your Rolodex, online events are the latest, hottest trend.
Online events have replaced face-to-face meetings in recent years. As such, it’s time to up your online game when networking.
But how do you do that? In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best ways to network at online events. So with all that said, let’s start.
Have A Great Profile
The digital age requires us to sign up for services by creating an account. Most online events are services, and organizers will require you to create a profile to attend the event. For this specific reason, having a great online profile becomes a necessity.
Through this profile, you will tell everyone who you are and what you’re good at. Creating a profile makes it seamless to showcase your abilities and experiences. But a great profile will encourage others to go directly to you.
Since you need a profile to attend these events, this will likely be the starting point for many of you. I’ve had to tinker with my online profiles to network better at online events. Most of these events will also allow you to connect your social profiles.
After all, what better way for people to contact you than social media? Since we live in an age of social media, it’s natural to assume you’ll also need to work on that.
Start Introducing Yourself
There isn’t a better way to network at an online event than to make an exceptional introduction. By introducing yourself first, you’re breaking the ice and jumpstarting a conversation.
Much like any other event, you will need to introduce yourself to others if you want to network at online events. By doing it first, you’re telling others how confident you are.
Leverage Social Media
You should not underestimate the power of social media. Out of all the social media platforms, Facebook is still one of the best ways to connect with people.
While most of you shrug off Facebook, don’t forget that there are nearly 2.9 billion registered users on it. One of the benefits of social media is that it’s free. You don’t need to pay for anything – a fact that you’re certainly familiar with.
But there are also valid reasons why you need to work on your social media game if you want to network online. By leveraging social media, you can promote the event and get even more people to join.
If you’re using the relevant channels and tools, other participants will discover your profile through your posts. To do that, simply share the event and add the event hashtags (if you’re using Twitter or Instagram.)
You can also join Facebook groups and discover other participants, key speakers, and organizers. You can then directly contact these individuals and discuss topics relevant to your industry. Don’t underestimate the power of social media when networking online.
One thing that online networking and social media have in common is that you can do it all the time. Online events pop up all the time. You can join as many events as you like.
To successfully leverage social media, you will need to learn how to use social media for networking, besides Facebook, LinkedIn is one of the best social media platforms where you can find professionals in any field.
Participate As Much As You Can
Not all online events are about listening to what the panel of speakers has to say. Some events actively engage with participants.
These are the types of events where you need to participate as much as you can. One reason why networking online is important is that it keeps you connected. The more you speak and share your thoughts, the more people notice you.
Since online events are organized by professionals within your industry, these people will notice you as well. In addition to the many eager participants that want to connect with you, maybe the organizers and speakers will want that as well.
They will notice you, and thus take an interest in you. Who knows, you’ll even find a mentor who’s willing to guide you.
Join Hangouts
Online events try to mimic physical events as much as possible. Everyone knows that you can hang out with participants before an event starts. That’s why online event organizers make it convenient to allow hangout breaks before, during, and after the event finishes.
These hangout breaks are excellent for connecting with individuals. Most call them “virtual coffee breaks”, as they’re not that dissimilar. You can socialize during these coffee breaks and discuss topics regarding your industry and the event itself.
Virtual hangouts are great for getting to know your fellow attendees more. The event organizers might use a myriad of tools for hangouts. From Google’s Meetup to Zoom, and even specific tools like Whova. What’s important is to join a virtual hangout and let others get to know who you are.
If you’re likable enough, participants will ask for your contact information. Give them your email address, Instagram account, or LinkedIn profile. Sooner or later, you’ll add a few additional contacts to your virtual Rolodex.
About The Author
Erik Bergman co-founded Catena Media and helped grow it to over 300 employees and a $200 million valuation before stepping away to start Great.com, an iGaming organization that donates 100% of its profits to environmental charities. In addition to running a successful online affiliate business, Erik also hosts the Becoming Great podcast, shares entrepreneurship tips with his more than 1 million social media followers, and contributes to sites like Entrepreneuer.com, Business Insider, Foundr, and Forbes.
