For those of you of a younger generation who have not studied history, search for the speech on the net, and read the last paragraph slowly. Even today, one cannot fail to be moved to action by the stirring words.

Though the words were written 60 years ago, they still have relevance to us would-be internet marketers today, even though our problems are miniscule when compared to Churchill’s.

You see, when the going got really tough, he didn’t say “OK Adolf, you win, I give up” – he just got more determined, and instilled this determination in his people. If only Britain had a leader that could do that today!

There are many stories of people who never gave up. Remember Edison, and his perseverance to perfect the electric light bulb?

You may not like Sylvester Stallone as an actor, but when you read the story of how he pestered studios to get the first “Rocky” movie off the ground you begin to have new admiration for the man. Even though he was virtually broke, he turned down several offers from studios to make the film without him in it, but he rejected them all because he believed in himself and his project.

However, we have one big advantage over those people – the road to success has already been trodden by others before us. In order to succeed, all you have to do is what they did! That sounds pretty obvious, but it is surprising how many people do not realize this, or even worse, do recognize it and do nothing about it.

In this age of search engines, there is virtually no topic unexplored, no information on any subject withheld. We only have to type in any subject, and up will come hundreds, if not thousands of pages of information on that subject. Included in those pages will be the names of people who will help you in any endeavour, admittedly for a price. All you have to do is sort out the scammers from the genuine people, and again any search on their name will bring up comments about them to help you decide on their honesty and integrity.

So supposing you have sorted out a subject in which you are interested, and have bought a newsletter or program from a person of integrity, what do you do then?

Unfortunately, all too often the answer is nothing! People look for money making opportunities, start a website, slap on a few half hearted affiliate links, and expect money to start rolling in, and when it doesn’t they give up.

Only the fortunate few decide to roll their sleeves up and say “I’m going to make this work!” And when it doesn’t, they don’t give up – they wait for a while, and if still nothing happens, they still don’t give up. They go back to their mentor or someone else, a forum perhaps, and find out why it isn’t working. In other words, they do an Edison- all they’ve done is found numerous ways which don’t work!

Ask any affiliate program owner – he will tell you that a tiny percentage of his affiliates make the largest amounts of money. It’s the old 80/20 rule, except it’s more like the 98/2 rule!

What separates the top 2% from the others is their willingness to keep trying until success comes, and to learn from their mistakes and from the mistakes of others.

If you need motivation to obtain perseverance, just tell your wife/husband and all your friends that you are going to be successful in what you are about to do. The thought of letting them down as well as yourself should provide enough incentive to keep going.
Finally, let us go back to Winston Churchill. When asked to give a speech at Harrow School in 1941, it was during the darkest days of the war. A myth has developed that Churchill stood before the students and said, “Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give in. Never give in. Never give in. Never give in.” Then he sat down. The truth is that he actually gave a full speech, in which the famous quotation is in the body of the speech, not even at the end.
Never mind, it’s still a good story, and for your purposes you only need to remember the quotation.
So, never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give in. Never give in. Never give in. Never give in.
Then you can sit down.

These same people — mostly folks who “don’t care about money” — will also tell you that working for other people is a bad idea. The idea of performing services for other people (not THOSE services, you dirty minded banana!) is disgusting to these people.

Now look, working for yourself is AWESOME. You can work for yourself and help other people… and make money… all by doing work for other people. This has generated huge money for me for the last 4 years.

I like working for other people — UNDER THE RIGHT CIRCUMSTANCES.

I’ll get to that. But first –

Doing consulting is very cool… when you look at the piles of cash you can generate. Doing the freelance thing is great, if you know what you’re doing. And that, my friend, is what most people ignore. “Doing it right” is an art and a science.

Here are some of my personal rules:

1. Sell on VALUE. Never work on a per hour basis unless you’re making obscene amounts of cash. I still do this… but it’s rare. Almost everything is done by project and the price my clients pay is based on the total value I deliver. (Including intangibles like making them feel smart, giving them confidence, and more.) So, it’s really about marketing yourself based on your value to their business. It’s the perceived value that matters… that’s how you sell on value. (Boom!)

2. Know exactly how to focus. I can’t stress this enough. If you’re doing work for a client… you’ve gotta stay on track. You have to kill all distractions so that you’re making more money in less time. That’s how you make even more money… per hour.

3. Know your marketing voodoo. Everyone has special skills and talents. Some people can talk. Some people can write. Some people have insane charisma. Know your weapons and use them when you’re working for others… that will drive a lot more money into your pockets… with a lot less work. Trust me on this.

4. Find shortcuts, create systems and outsource. I’ve taught a lot of people how to make money by writing articles. I have very simple ways of getting work done for other people… but the real magic is the LEVERAGE you get when you apply software and cheap labor to the fine-tuned systems you’ve developed. So, do the work, get smart about it, create a simple system, tweak that system… then apply software and people to that system. This is magic.

Now, here’s where things get RED HOT.

Several people in my mastermind think I’m totally nuts to be doing so much work for other people. They think I’m not spending enough time on my own empire…

Well look, I get a lot of stuff done every 24 hours. Sometimes, I even eat and sleep.

For the record… I actually have a balanced life. (Shocking, I know.) I eat out with the family 1-2 times per week, we eat almost all of our meals together, I play with the kids for at least 1 hour per day, I see my parents and in-laws at least once per week, I run several times per week, I take several vacations per year… man, I’m busy relaxing… but to an OUTSIDER… boy, it looks like I’m a slave to work.

But, I digress –

What matters is that I am absolutely building up my own empire. Here’s how:

1. I am very strategic about client selection. I only work for “cool” people. I like to help successful people become more successful. I’m not the right guy to help you get started… in terms of the CONSULTING that I offer. I allow my products to “teach” people. And, I refer people who want the personal touch to my network. I pass over some great people because “getting started” is not my consulting niche. I know this sounds all fancy pants… but the truth is that I’m a “high end” consultant. In any event, this client selection puts me in touch with brilliant, well-connected people. I like these kind of people because my connections are a major asset in my business. Seems obvious, but most people don’t think about connections and even fewer people keep track of their connections.

2. I channel my profits into autopilot businesses. That’s right… I’m an Adsense freak. I have about 100 sites set up right now and the pennies trickle in every single day. This income stream adds up, trust me. By the way, I only do about 5-10% of the work. The rest is handled by my team. I just pour money on the system and the traffic grows and the sites get stronger… the money to FUEL those sites mostly comes from… that’s right! — my freelancing and consulting. Of course, I make good money running training courses too… I believe in multiple streams of income, but that’s another topic for another day.

So, with just these two things (human connections and autopilot cash systems) I am able to convert my freelancing into an empire building machine. I’m relentless and I act like an internet marketing juggernaut as much as I can…

By the way, I see that Tim just posted an awesome blog post about getting a guru to love you. This is definitely a way to get ANYONE talking to you… and if you’re smart about it, you can lock them in as a consulting client. All of my “guru buddies” are dying to find great workers: folks who show up on time, folks who can communicate, folks who understand marketing, and so on. If you’re good… and you can prove it with samples and examples… you can often land great clients. (Rock and roll!)

OK, so enough blathering… I know that this is a long blog post. But, it’s just so important to realize you can be an online marketing consultant or an offline marketing consulting (like Tim!) can make a killing… by working for other people. It’s not “dirty” or “stupid” … in fact, it’s brilliant and effective. I’ve proven that above and both Tim and I are real proof that this is a kick ass way of building a strong business.

Sidebar: Just look at what Tim’s accomplished in about one year. A huge part of his success is from helping other people. He can be a silly cheese at times, but that’s cool. His success is very much tied to providing services to others. He’s a perfect example of consulting success… and he knows how to translate his freelancing and consulting experience into new products, hands off cash streams and a great business foundation.

…it’s the transformation of cash and experience into autopilot businesses that counts. Make some money consulting and freelancing. Leverage that experience into products and new joint ventures. That allows you to trade time for money, but then you can trade that experience and that money into your own autopilot business empire.

OK, I’m off to get some work done for another high end client. Take care!

(This blog post is by the one and only John S. Rhodes. If you’d like to find out more about him be sure to head out to http://www.johnsrhodes.com)

If you are not listed on the Top 3 Pages, of ANY Search Engine, you might as well Save Your Valuable Time
because 99% of the Internet population WILL NOT SEE YOUR WEBSITE!

The conventional wisdom is that search engines offer Internet Marketers a large amount of visitors.
This HYPE tells you that “all” we have to do is achieve a high ranking or placement, close to the top of the list,
on a number of important search engines, and we will not have to worry about paying for advertising again.

This is NOT the truth!

The Fact is, search engines were designed for Research Tools, NOT MARKETING TOOLS.
To find “stuff” they carry out their function. As a means of marketing a product or program,
trying to use a search engine for marketing is Lunacy at best.

Search Engines account for LESS THAN 5% of all the visitors to E-Commerce sites.
The bigger the Internet becomes, the more sites that come on line, the less effective traditional search engines become.

S.E. Technician

You don’t need to be an expert to build an effective sales website, but you DO need to understand some of the most important elements of a successful site.

The first fold (the part that’s visible without scrolling) is literally the most valuable real estate on your website. This is the screen that your visitors absorb during the first few seconds of their visit and use to make their “should I stay or should I go” decision.

The first fold of your website needs to be strategically designed so that it clearly communicates the biggest, most compelling benefit you have to offer your visitors. Here are the key elements you must include in the first fold of your homepage…

1. The headline

The very first thing that should draw the eyes of your visitors when they arrive at your website is a headline that clearly states the biggest benefit your site has to offer. Graphics, logos, illustrations, menus, links, and other elements should never overpower or distract from this critical element.

Your headline should be located at the very top center of the page in a larger font size that naturally attracts attention. It should communicate information about what you offer and how you’re going to:
Make visitors’ lives easier
Save them money
Save them time
Help them in their personal lives
Provide additional income
Entertain them
Make them more attractive
Help them feel better
Etc.
Plus, it should be visually appealing. For your headline to be most effective, your visitors must be able to absorb the benefits it shares in a glance. So you not only need to write a great headline, you need to strategically format it!

Use bolding, italics, and highlighting to tastefully emphasize key points. And watch where your lines break.

2. The opt-in offer

Given that so many of your first-time visitors will leave your site without buying anything, it is crucial that you ask for their names and email addresses as soon as possible. If you bury your opt-in offer on a second page, you’ll lose potential subscribers who don’t make it that far into your site.

Check out Module 5 to discover how to create a compelling opt-in offer.

3. The navigation

Visitors should be able to see your main navigation as soon as the page loads. If they have to scroll or search for it, you’ll lose the majority of your visitors.

4. Call to action

Don’t leave it to your navigation to direct the visitor; after all, they’ll only click on a link if it is what they’re looking for. You must give your visitors a strong call to action and tell them what you want them to do.

Let’s say you sell a stress-relief product. Your copy might say something like:
“After doing extensive research and testing, I found a set of really fabulous relaxation tapes that solved my recurring migraine problems, improved my sleep, and increased my energy levels — in just a few days! Click here now to learn how they can soothe your troubles away and lead to a healthier, happier life.”
For a site selling multiple products, a link that says “products” is far less compelling than a link like this: “Click here now to find the best tool for the job.”

For a service business, a link that says “About Us” is informative, but doesn’t give the reader a good reason why they should care. A call to action like “Click here now to discover why over 20,000 business owners trust us” will be much more effective!

Focus on these four critical elements while building your website, and you’ll have a site that will turn the highest percentage of your visitors into buyers.

To your success,

The Internet Marketing Center Team

Through building hundreds of websites with my own hands and seeing the results my clients get, I got better at improving SEO (search engine optimization) and traffic conversion for them.

Successful websites are designed with this conversion in mind.

Here is the list of topics that affects your site’s traffic conversion:

1. Well designed site header
2. Good copy – aka content
   
3. Action trigger – that’s what I call for something that triggers a user to take an action such as newsletter sign up, contact form, order button, and etc.

1. Header – Design with Purpose

A header is one of the most important elements of your web design. It is like the front of your house – communicating to your users about the identity, character, and a purpose of your site.

The reality is that you only have about 8 seconds before your audience decides to leave or stay on your site. If your header is designed well, you’ll  pass the 8 second test and your audience will come in through your front door.

Here’s a good rule of thumb:

You’d want to make sure your header has a…

• Well designed logo for your market
• Compelling tagline
• Clean and well organized site navigation

Also, you’d want to keep your header short (not too tall) because your repeat audience dosen’t need to spend too much time at your front door, they’ve been inside of your house already – they just want to come in and get right to your content.Here are some examples of well-designed headers in fitness industry:

2. Having good copy (Content)

Some people don’t realize this. You’d always want to prioritize on content before pitching your products & services. After all, a majority of searchers on the Internet exists for information searches. There’s a way to give just the right amount of information to convince your prospects to buy from you.

Never just put a picture of your product and a buy button and expect everyone that comes to your site to buy it. Even if your entire site is about selling your service, you’d want to approach your audience with the best information you have (such as your background and product features) and solid social proofs (People don’t generally buy online from a complete stranger).

Good web copy writers are often expensive, but if you don’t have time learning and writing it yourself, consider hiring a professional copy writer. It makes a difference in your return on investment, and you’ll be glad.

3. Action Trigger

I’m not talking about just posting a phone number and contact us link on your site. You’d need a strong and tested call to action and an effective method to capture your audience’s information.

Examples are:

• Newsletter sign up form placed above the fold.
• Sign up message right blow your personal guarantee.
• Order buttons placed right under the testimonials.

Internet marketers are testing these copy- and graphic-wise all the time. Having someone sign up requires their emotion and energy – which you are going to encourage on your page.

Is traffic conversion the best answer to a successful website? No, but focusing on it will definitely improve the performance of your site. If you need  a help with improving and measuring your conversion, let me know.

Would love to hear your feedback in the comment section below.

Cheers,
Shingo

Top Blog Formula
SZ Creative Solutions, LLC
4 Lone pne
Irvine, CA 92604
(800) 577-6322
www.sz-solutions.com



You can also use Feedburner.com to insert Google ads into your RSS feed. If you are interested in more targeted ads, and Google AdSense isn’t offering the ones you’d like, you can go elsewhere: • There are various affiliate networks such as Adroll.com, Text-Link-Ads.com, CJ.com, Affiliate-Program.Amazon.com, ClickBank.com, or LinkShare.com. All of these programs allow you to choose the companies you want to promote on your website.

So in the end, the path to the biggest online publishing profits will go to those online publishers who do the best job of monetizing each website and email impression— because the online publisher who can generate the most revenue per impression can also afford to spend the most to make more of them.

Blogging for Marketing 101 For more free white papers, visit http://www.MequodaFree.com

2. Choose Frequency: First of all, make sure all of your entries are dated. Next, pick a frequency and stick to it. It’s simple: the more you update, the more frequently your users will visit. But don’t sacrifice quality for frequency. After all, the reader should trust that you posted something worth their time. Also, subscribe to a service like Pingomatic.com to make sure your fresh content is always up for the world to see. According to Technorati.com, the most popular times of day for English language bloggers to post is between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PST, with another spike at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

3. Select Topics: If you’ve got five or more topics, it’s very likely that your users aren’t interested in all of them. Blog readers tend to skim looking for keywords. If you write on a variety of topics, it could be very beneficial to the reader to include a list of topics in your navigation. However, you should max out your topic list between 10 and 20.

4. Sharing is Caring: You’ve got some great things to say, so go ahead and encourage your readers to spread the word. Add the most popular blog buttons from popular sites such as digg.com, del.icio.us, and Technorati.com to the bottom of your post, but also be sure to include an “Email this post” as well as providing bloggers with a permalink to each and every one of your stories. RSS readers will also love an RSS link.

5. Personalize it: When people want to hear news, they go to a news site. When they want a personal opinion or view, they visit blogs. Just like in the real world, when someone can relate to you, or feels like they can be open enough with you to discuss something, they’re likely to invest in you, or your product. The two most important parts of personalization (next to your writing of course) are: Bio: Unless this is “Cheers”, where everybody knows your name, you need a bio, as do any other writers in your blog. It lets people know you’re credible and gives them a background sample of where you’re coming from and what your experience is in the industry. Photo: Since people remember faces better than names, you and any other writers in your blog should have an author photo somewhere on your blog page. If you have multiple writers in your blog, each post should be anchored with a photo of the writer. And even better, according to Designing Websites to Maximize Press Relations by the Nielsen Norman Group, for PR reasons, it’s best to include a link to a high-res version of your photo, probably in that fancy bio you just made.

6. Promote, Promote, Promote: The best way to promote your blog is to make friends with other bloggers. The best way to do this is to find the top 10 blogs in your niche, contact their authors, make friends, and write about each and every one of them. Another way to get your stuff out there is to submit to sites like ezinearticles.com, bloggbuzz.com, digg.com, and blogcarnival.com.

7. Easy Reading: If you have older readers, you may consider implementing what we so affectionately call the “Geezer Feature”. This is the option to let people increase the text size on your website and is controlled by your stylesheets. Another “Easy Reading” tip that may be good for international companies is to install a language translator into your blog. According to Technorati, 39% of blog readers read English, but 31% read Japanese and 12% read Chinese.

8. Attract Comments: It should be very easy for your users to leave a comment. After all, it’s a great way to see how your blog is doing and an even better way to connect with your audience. At the very least, there should be a comment button at the bottom, and below that, a list of previous comments with a way to respond in a threadlike manner to each of them. According to Jacob Nielson, 90% of online community users are lurkers (read or observe without contributing) with only 9% of users contributing “a little” and 1% actively contributing. So how do you attract comments? Ask: People love to give their opinions, so just ask and ye shall receive. Respond: Let them know you care, respond to their comments and provoke further communication.
Blogging for Marketing 101 For more free white papers, visit http://www.MequodaFree.com

To update,  1) log into wordpress, 2) then click on settings > writing and 3) post the urls under update services.

http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://ping.amagle.com/
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http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
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http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://rpc.twingly.com/
http://www.bloglines.com/ping
http://ping.feedburner.com/
http://www.octora.com/add_rss.php

This will notify your new blog posts to all major news/info sites!

If you want to learn more about Joe Troyer and learn some of his ninja SEO and marketing techniques, then definitely check out his site

3. Check cache date of referral Site

If you are going to buy a link or do a link exchange check the cached date of the page where your link will be placed. You are looking for a fresh cache date, the newer the better. I won’t consider the site if It hasn’t been cached in the last 2 weeks. You can check the cache date with the google toolbar, or you can go to google and search for cache:www.yourdomain.com.

6. Make sure your title tags, and description tags are compelling.

Imagine changing these, and getting a 25% increase in traffic, and even an increase in your conversion rate. Take a look at the example below for ideas.

Guest Post by Joe Troyer

If you want to learn more about Joe Troyer and learn some of his ninja SEO and marketing techniques, then definitely check out his site