I'm tired physically and mentally. I have been laughed at, scorned, insulted, rejected, disappointed, ignored, scratched, left behind, outcast. But you know what?
I don't care.
I still hold my head up high when I walk. I bear a smile every possible minute. And I won't let a small failure bring me crashing down.
You can call me boastful or full of hot air. But I live by one mantra: To be successful, you must first feel successful.
Envision success, imagine yourself successful. Look at the sky when you do so, and smile quietly. Enjoy that single moment when you feel successful. Then repeat it every minute you are awake.
It's no secret that being positive brings about a powerful aura that attracts all the good things in life. And that includes success.
So hold your head up high, just like me. And your moment in time will naturally come to you.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Have You Given Up?
What I am about to say here does not solely pertain to the Internet Marketing business. But it applies to whatever you are pursuing today. Have you given up in what you are chasing after?
In the past few weeks, my marketing success has seen its share of lull periods. I suffered days and weeks of no sales at all. And I nearly gave up there and then. The funny thing is, this period of no sales resulted from me giving up.
I made the single common mistake that newbie Internet Marketers make - I mixed in emotions with my business. I started to see a few refunds from my customers, and that affected my morale. My emotions swirled and I began to think this does not work. I stopped working on my business - stopped writing articles, stopped testing and tweaking my website, stopped learning how to build my business.
All the above resulted in weeks of no sales. And I grew even more despondent.
It took me a while to gather my courage and picked myself up. I can't say I did that without any help from a few friends, and listening to Brian McKnight's Win. I realised this business means a lot to me. There was too much at stake - my family's life depends on it. My destiny depends on it!
So I fought back my emotions, worked on my articles once more, tweaked and tested my website again and again. And today, I'm back to seeing profits.
And if the current sales pattern continues, I can't wait to share my happYness with you by showing my next pay cheque.
I hope it will be sweet then :)
So don't give up in what you love to do. I added the "love to" part, because if you are trying hard to succeed in what you don't love, you will not win. And even if you do, it won't be as sweet as succeeding in what, or who, you love.
In the past few weeks, my marketing success has seen its share of lull periods. I suffered days and weeks of no sales at all. And I nearly gave up there and then. The funny thing is, this period of no sales resulted from me giving up.
I made the single common mistake that newbie Internet Marketers make - I mixed in emotions with my business. I started to see a few refunds from my customers, and that affected my morale. My emotions swirled and I began to think this does not work. I stopped working on my business - stopped writing articles, stopped testing and tweaking my website, stopped learning how to build my business.
All the above resulted in weeks of no sales. And I grew even more despondent.
It took me a while to gather my courage and picked myself up. I can't say I did that without any help from a few friends, and listening to Brian McKnight's Win. I realised this business means a lot to me. There was too much at stake - my family's life depends on it. My destiny depends on it!
So I fought back my emotions, worked on my articles once more, tweaked and tested my website again and again. And today, I'm back to seeing profits.
And if the current sales pattern continues, I can't wait to share my happYness with you by showing my next pay cheque.
I hope it will be sweet then :)
So don't give up in what you love to do. I added the "love to" part, because if you are trying hard to succeed in what you don't love, you will not win. And even if you do, it won't be as sweet as succeeding in what, or who, you love.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Let's Put It In "D" Gear Once Again
It seems like ages since I updated you on my Affiliate Marketing progress. And I can justify my absence. That's what it was about - absence.
I took myself off Affiliate Marketing somehow, because I was bogged down by many interruptions in life. Work, national service, and other affairs really drained me off energy and determination to pursue my "career".
This is why it's very important to have a friend or a group of friends working together with you on this project. By reading about others progress and success and taking it positively, one can really start to motivate himself again. I did just that, thanks to my Wealthy Affiliate buddy Ronn.
See, even though Ronn and I are marketing in the same niche (that makes us competitors so to speak), we share our knowledge and tips with each other. But most importantly, we drive each other further and faster towards our goals.
As I said early this year, I aim to earn as much as or more than what I earn in my day job. And quit the latter. Probably not end of this year, but mid next year.
It's not a long-shot, now that I've realized the potential earnings from Affiliate Marketing. And learning what it takes to make it work, I just have to double or triple that effort. Plain copy and paste.
I hope to deter myself from being interrupted again. But at some points in our lives, we have to temporarily put matters of the heart to the forefront, as long as we don't let it linger.
Of course it would be a bonus if I succeed in my Pursuit Of HappYness with that someone beside me cheering me on. Sweet.
I took myself off Affiliate Marketing somehow, because I was bogged down by many interruptions in life. Work, national service, and other affairs really drained me off energy and determination to pursue my "career".
This is why it's very important to have a friend or a group of friends working together with you on this project. By reading about others progress and success and taking it positively, one can really start to motivate himself again. I did just that, thanks to my Wealthy Affiliate buddy Ronn.
See, even though Ronn and I are marketing in the same niche (that makes us competitors so to speak), we share our knowledge and tips with each other. But most importantly, we drive each other further and faster towards our goals.
As I said early this year, I aim to earn as much as or more than what I earn in my day job. And quit the latter. Probably not end of this year, but mid next year.
It's not a long-shot, now that I've realized the potential earnings from Affiliate Marketing. And learning what it takes to make it work, I just have to double or triple that effort. Plain copy and paste.
I hope to deter myself from being interrupted again. But at some points in our lives, we have to temporarily put matters of the heart to the forefront, as long as we don't let it linger.
Of course it would be a bonus if I succeed in my Pursuit Of HappYness with that someone beside me cheering me on. Sweet.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Beautiful While It Lasts
And just like that, the highlight of my day is over. Just 45 minutes or so.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow morning, I suppose.
Oh well, there's always tomorrow morning, I suppose.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
How To Make Your Pages Findable On The Internet
Hey all, anything poppin' yet? :)
It's kinda late now, but I'm taking some time to write to you guys regarding a major, major element in our Affiliate Marketing business. This section will ultimately be the most important factor on how much traffic will go to your articles/sites.
Are you ready? Got your notepad and pen/cil ready?
It's your KEYWORD. Keywords are like what carrots are to make donkeys work. They are the ones that will get people around the world finding your articles/squidoo/websites through Google or Yahoo.
Now I know when I mention keywords, many of you will be sprouting out single-words that would describe the field you are focusing on. I know, because I did that too once before. Let me tell you, never ever use a single-word keyword in your business.
Let's classify keywords into 2 types: Broad, and Long-Tail. Broad keywords are like what I mentioned above - single words that vaguely describe what you are talking about in your articles/squidoo/websites. Want to know why they're not good? Try searching on Google for "health" and see how many results you get. Millions yea? So how would you expect your articles/squidoo/websites to be found by people??
In our business, we need to narrow down our market as deep as we can. We need to think and be like the searcher - what would you type in Google to find an answer to your particular problem?
Ok let's use the broad keyword Car in this instance. Can we narrow down Car further? By sure we can, maybe by the make. I'll put this process down in steps for better illustration:
Car *narrow further by make
Mazda Car *narrow further by model
Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by color
Red Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by more details
Red Mazda RX-8 Car Spoiler
You catch the drift?
That is what we want. We want our keyword to be as detailed as possible. We want to get the right searcher to come to our pages, find what they are looking for, and be in the right mindset to proceed with buying the product.
So how do you know what keywords to use? Be the searcher! Ask yourself why do people want the solution you are offering (ie the product you're promoting). Once you get the list of answers, just add in the common prefix-es of "how", "why", "when". Let me use an example:
Say you're offering a software to make websites. Be the searcher, and think why would they want the software? To create websites easily, perhaps. Now, be smart and add in the prefix. What do you get?
How To Create Websites Easily
Wasn't that fun? That's what we call a long-tail keyword. Of course you can go more into detail on that keyword, just remember to think like the searcher.
Now you may ask what is the long-tail keyword for, and how do you incorporate it into your Affiliate Marketing campaign. Long-tail keywords are used in your articles and Squidoo lenses because these are the pages that you want your searchers to find on Google and Yahoo.
For now, do your market and people research. Go search for forums and through Yahoo Answers to find the people whom your product is going to help. Find out what are the common problems they face, and the words/phrases they use to describe their problems.
If you can, come back to me with the product that you are trying to promote, and a decent list of long-tail keywords that you have come up with from your short research. I'll assess them and advise you accordingly.
I'm sorry I can't chat long with you. There is still so much that I want to pass on to you, but I can't do it in one go. You'll be drowning in info overload.
So let me know your progress so that I can adjust and tweak my (so-called) training program with you.
Take care, and hope to hear from you soon.
Herwin
http://mdherwin.blogspot.com
ps, I have this idea - once you have decided on a niche market that you are going into, I'll spare some time to write an article for you just so you will get a rough idea of how an optimized article looks like :)
It's kinda late now, but I'm taking some time to write to you guys regarding a major, major element in our Affiliate Marketing business. This section will ultimately be the most important factor on how much traffic will go to your articles/sites.
Are you ready? Got your notepad and pen/cil ready?
It's your KEYWORD. Keywords are like what carrots are to make donkeys work. They are the ones that will get people around the world finding your articles/squidoo/websites through Google or Yahoo.
Now I know when I mention keywords, many of you will be sprouting out single-words that would describe the field you are focusing on. I know, because I did that too once before. Let me tell you, never ever use a single-word keyword in your business.
Let's classify keywords into 2 types: Broad, and Long-Tail. Broad keywords are like what I mentioned above - single words that vaguely describe what you are talking about in your articles/squidoo/websites. Want to know why they're not good? Try searching on Google for "health" and see how many results you get. Millions yea? So how would you expect your articles/squidoo/websites to be found by people??
In our business, we need to narrow down our market as deep as we can. We need to think and be like the searcher - what would you type in Google to find an answer to your particular problem?
Ok let's use the broad keyword Car in this instance. Can we narrow down Car further? By sure we can, maybe by the make. I'll put this process down in steps for better illustration:
Car *narrow further by make
Mazda Car *narrow further by model
Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by color
Red Mazda RX-8 Car *narrow further by more details
Red Mazda RX-8 Car Spoiler
You catch the drift?
That is what we want. We want our keyword to be as detailed as possible. We want to get the right searcher to come to our pages, find what they are looking for, and be in the right mindset to proceed with buying the product.
So how do you know what keywords to use? Be the searcher! Ask yourself why do people want the solution you are offering (ie the product you're promoting). Once you get the list of answers, just add in the common prefix-es of "how", "why", "when". Let me use an example:
Say you're offering a software to make websites. Be the searcher, and think why would they want the software? To create websites easily, perhaps. Now, be smart and add in the prefix. What do you get?
How To Create Websites Easily
Wasn't that fun? That's what we call a long-tail keyword. Of course you can go more into detail on that keyword, just remember to think like the searcher.
Now you may ask what is the long-tail keyword for, and how do you incorporate it into your Affiliate Marketing campaign. Long-tail keywords are used in your articles and Squidoo lenses because these are the pages that you want your searchers to find on Google and Yahoo.
For now, do your market and people research. Go search for forums and through Yahoo Answers to find the people whom your product is going to help. Find out what are the common problems they face, and the words/phrases they use to describe their problems.
If you can, come back to me with the product that you are trying to promote, and a decent list of long-tail keywords that you have come up with from your short research. I'll assess them and advise you accordingly.
I'm sorry I can't chat long with you. There is still so much that I want to pass on to you, but I can't do it in one go. You'll be drowning in info overload.
So let me know your progress so that I can adjust and tweak my (so-called) training program with you.
Take care, and hope to hear from you soon.
Herwin
http://mdherwin.blogspot.com
ps, I have this idea - once you have decided on a niche market that you are going into, I'll spare some time to write an article for you just so you will get a rough idea of how an optimized article looks like :)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Answering A Common Question: What Should I Promote?
I'm starting a series of emails to help some of you guys launch your Affiliate Marketing adventure together with me. These emails will be included in my blog from now on for you guys to easily refer to in the future :)
Hey all, how's your weekend been so far?
The weather is hot everytime I'm at home - I hate that. I always prefer a gloomy or windy afternoons so I can feel more comfortable working on my PC/laptop.
Ok, let's do a progress check here. Some of you have done good, signing up for accounts with Squidoo, EzineArticles, and Clickbank. Some have even gone a step further by exploring how to create their virgin Squidoo lens. Kudos!
I like it when you take action :)
For those who have not done so, I know it's a weekend and you'd want to spend your time in leisure. But take just a few minutes to sign up first.
Now, some of you posted some questions and the most common one being "What should I promote?"
Clickbank, as you may already know, only holds products that are digital in format. Software, eBooks, subscriptions. So what if you are looking to promote physical products?
One other popular affiliate marketplace would be Commission Junction at www.cj.com. You'll see the major players with affiliate programs ready for your use. If you can't find what you are looking for, do this on Google:
Search for the product you want to promote, and add this to the back of the search phrase: +affiliate program
Eg, if you're searching for affiliate programs for weight loss formula, search for weight loss formula +affiliate program.
Right, now on to the next part. Remember I told you to do something you are comfortable with? I need to add on something - find something that people are looking for too. Not everything will sell just like that. People have varying degrees of needs and wants, and this will affect the urgency of them buying the products through you.
Take some time to think about it. Read up the newspapers and look at the current issues facing Man. Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 groups of people:
People with a serious life problems:
These include people with life-threatening diseases, serious credit problems, divorce issues, etc. They will tend to look for more professional help than getting one through the net.
People facing some sort of discomfort/concern:
Examples include those who are vain about their skin beauty, keeping their health on check, taking care of their beloved family or pets, etc. Most from this group will do a search for solutions from the net. This is your most profitable group of people.
People with a need for luxury:
People who are looking for products that would enhance their lives, like buying a new LCD tv, or clothes. They are not ready to spend their cash.
Feel free to discuss with me what you have elected to work on as your Affiliate Marketing campaign. I'll be happy to advise however well I can :)
Hey all, how's your weekend been so far?
The weather is hot everytime I'm at home - I hate that. I always prefer a gloomy or windy afternoons so I can feel more comfortable working on my PC/laptop.
Ok, let's do a progress check here. Some of you have done good, signing up for accounts with Squidoo, EzineArticles, and Clickbank. Some have even gone a step further by exploring how to create their virgin Squidoo lens. Kudos!
I like it when you take action :)
For those who have not done so, I know it's a weekend and you'd want to spend your time in leisure. But take just a few minutes to sign up first.
Now, some of you posted some questions and the most common one being "What should I promote?"
Clickbank, as you may already know, only holds products that are digital in format. Software, eBooks, subscriptions. So what if you are looking to promote physical products?
One other popular affiliate marketplace would be Commission Junction at www.cj.com. You'll see the major players with affiliate programs ready for your use. If you can't find what you are looking for, do this on Google:
Search for the product you want to promote, and add this to the back of the search phrase: +affiliate program
Eg, if you're searching for affiliate programs for weight loss formula, search for weight loss formula +affiliate program.
Right, now on to the next part. Remember I told you to do something you are comfortable with? I need to add on something - find something that people are looking for too. Not everything will sell just like that. People have varying degrees of needs and wants, and this will affect the urgency of them buying the products through you.
Take some time to think about it. Read up the newspapers and look at the current issues facing Man. Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 groups of people:
People with a serious life problems:
These include people with life-threatening diseases, serious credit problems, divorce issues, etc. They will tend to look for more professional help than getting one through the net.
People facing some sort of discomfort/concern:
Examples include those who are vain about their skin beauty, keeping their health on check, taking care of their beloved family or pets, etc. Most from this group will do a search for solutions from the net. This is your most profitable group of people.
People with a need for luxury:
People who are looking for products that would enhance their lives, like buying a new LCD tv, or clothes. They are not ready to spend their cash.
Feel free to discuss with me what you have elected to work on as your Affiliate Marketing campaign. I'll be happy to advise however well I can :)
Hurrah, My First $100 Day
What a wonderful surprise I got just now! I just had to rush and post it on my blog!
This morning when I was getting ready for work, I did a quick check on my Clickbank account and saw that I made a sale yesterday - which was on Friday 13th.
I just did another quick check on my Clickbank account and woohoo, I suddenly see $100+ credited on the same day (Friday 13th)!
Talk about superstitions and bad luck!
Here's a screenshot of my Clickbank account so far:
You can see I did not get any sales in early June because I was taking a break and did not do any marketing up to 10 June. But I still made a sale on Sunday from a website that I had long abandoned :)
I hope to have more such Friday 13th, and I should be well on my way towards reaching my financial targets for 2008.
C'mon guys, you can achieve what I have too.. or even greater than me!
I'm rooting for you :)
This morning when I was getting ready for work, I did a quick check on my Clickbank account and saw that I made a sale yesterday - which was on Friday 13th.
I just did another quick check on my Clickbank account and woohoo, I suddenly see $100+ credited on the same day (Friday 13th)!
Talk about superstitions and bad luck!
Here's a screenshot of my Clickbank account so far:
You can see I did not get any sales in early June because I was taking a break and did not do any marketing up to 10 June. But I still made a sale on Sunday from a website that I had long abandoned :)
I hope to have more such Friday 13th, and I should be well on my way towards reaching my financial targets for 2008.
C'mon guys, you can achieve what I have too.. or even greater than me!
I'm rooting for you :)
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Oil Prices Are Going Nuts!
And the sheikhs are getting richer, aren't they?
Don't you sometimes wish you live above an underground reservoir of oil..
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Got My First Cheque
Hey, how's everyone hangin'?
I got a pleasant surprise in my mailbox tonite. My first Clickbank cheque has arrived. Here are some photos to show you:
There are a few items that I purposely black out from the pictures, due to security reasons.
The amount you see is for the first half of May. Clickbank cuts $2.50 for postage handling, and 10% of the earning as reserve in case of product refunds.
So $203.22 is quite OK for me for half a month. See, this proves Affiliate Marketing works.
You can start earning passively too. You just need the commitment, will, dedication, and belief that you can achieve.
I can't wait for my next cheque which should be mailed out in a few days or weeks time.
Remember, if you want to learn more about Affiliate Marketing, you can write your comments and I'll try to help you get started :)
I got a pleasant surprise in my mailbox tonite. My first Clickbank cheque has arrived. Here are some photos to show you:
There are a few items that I purposely black out from the pictures, due to security reasons.
The amount you see is for the first half of May. Clickbank cuts $2.50 for postage handling, and 10% of the earning as reserve in case of product refunds.
So $203.22 is quite OK for me for half a month. See, this proves Affiliate Marketing works.
You can start earning passively too. You just need the commitment, will, dedication, and belief that you can achieve.
I can't wait for my next cheque which should be mailed out in a few days or weeks time.
Remember, if you want to learn more about Affiliate Marketing, you can write your comments and I'll try to help you get started :)
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Closing Account for May 2008
Hey hey hey,
So the month of May has just ended a few hours ago (I go by US time). I just did a quick check on my Clickbank account, and here's how my Affiliate Marketing venture stands:
My earnings just fell short of 400 bucks for May. Not that great, but hey not too bad either. That's S$540 based on current exchange rates. Damn the weak dollar.. could've been more :P
June is here, and I'm gonna press on further. I've been taking a short breather the last few days, and that should do me good. Gotta take care not to burn out too, you see.
I'll keep posting from now on. I'm hoping to see an uphill trend on my online earnings for the next months.
If you are interested to know how to earn too, let me know. I'm happy to share what I know :)
Take care all,
Herwin
So the month of May has just ended a few hours ago (I go by US time). I just did a quick check on my Clickbank account, and here's how my Affiliate Marketing venture stands:
My earnings just fell short of 400 bucks for May. Not that great, but hey not too bad either. That's S$540 based on current exchange rates. Damn the weak dollar.. could've been more :P
June is here, and I'm gonna press on further. I've been taking a short breather the last few days, and that should do me good. Gotta take care not to burn out too, you see.
I'll keep posting from now on. I'm hoping to see an uphill trend on my online earnings for the next months.
If you are interested to know how to earn too, let me know. I'm happy to share what I know :)
Take care all,
Herwin
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