gizmo here and my apologies for the all lower case as i can’t reach the shift key and a letter at the same time with my flipper. normally we just give the turtle dad suggestions and he does the writing but he quit for a bit and i snuck out of the tank.

the turtle dad just released a new product on affiliate marketing and we turtles know about what dad teaches.

affiliate marketing generates good things like goldfish and the yummy white calcium blocks from what dad makes here spreading our ideas.

so if you are looking for ways to make more with affiliate marketing check out his new release at profitable blog steps.

we benefit from dad’s knowledge you might as well too.

gizmo signing off and heading back for a nap before dad realizes i been out. pleas don’t tell him he does not know we check out the house at night

don’t forget he is having a sale but only for the launch at profitable blog steps so you can save $20 and that is 160 gold fish so it is a nice snack.

gizmo

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, launch, profitable blog steps

The turtles and I have long been fan’s of Marlon Sanders. I own quite a few of his products and have recommended them strongly. This article was in his weekly newsletter and I wanted to make sure that you saw it so it is reprinted here with permission.

The lesson is very important and will help you avoid information overload.

How to Evaluate ANY Money Getting System — And Save A Small Fortune In Time and Money, Plus Get Better Results Faster

By Marlon Sanders

Every week a new barrage of email promotions likely hit your inbox.

A few are good.

The others I’m not so sure about.

How do YOU see through the hype and get to the truth, so you know WHAT do do, and what NOT to do?

You’re probably on a limited budget with limited time and resources to spend on you Internet marketing activities. How do you be a wise steward of what you DO have?

In other words, how can you get the maximum payoff with limited time?

First, get to the CORE of the model asap

Any “money getting” system, to use Frank Kern’s wonderful term, works on the basis of a few models.

When you GET offers in your email box, you have to ASK yourself, “What’s the core model?” Then you have to apply rational thinking TO that model to think about it.

1. The “Product Launch” Models

You’ll see screen caps of massive numbers that make your head swim.

Sometimes these figures come in fast. Like 5 or 10 MILLION dollars in 30 days, or faster.

Realize that these are extremely complex models based on herding cats. The cats are the joint venture partners who all email the same offer during a 1 day to 2 week time span.

Getting these joint ventures involves highly sophisticated personal relationships for the most part.

Fact is, if people mail for your launch, most will expect a reciprocal mailing. And you’ll be obligated whether or not you believe in the product.

There are also issues with your merchant account getting frozen due to the unusual influx of funds. Refunds can run up to 30%.

This isn’t a method for the shy or timid.

Now, you CAN run a product launch model without those drawbacks. But if you do, your income won’t remotely resemble the gigantic numbers thrown out in the examples.

First, let me say that the way Jeff Walker teaches the Product Launch Model is NOT the way it’s often done, used or taught by others.

I know Jeff and think very highly of him and his methods. I’m talking here about a more general model of product launches that has evolved and isn’t necessarily advocated by any ONE person.

I’m NOT targeting an individual with these comments. I’m just talking about the overall model. Frank Kern? Cool guy. Very talented and funny too. NOT talking about Frank or Mass Control.

I’m JUST talking about a model that is a general consensus or a standard method of operation that has evolved.

Consider these drawbacks:

a. Product launches can absorb 3-6 months of your time.

So what APPEARS to be overnight money actually took 3-6 MONTHS.

b. You’ll lose ANOTHER 3-6 months doing all the reciprocal emails you owe people.

c. Merchant account issues

d. Refund issues

e. Sales issues

You have one shot to get the product to sell. If you screwed up your sales letter, you’re a dead duck.

More people flop at this than succeed. But a number DO succeed. I’m NOT against the model as long as you understand the GAME you’re playing and you aren’t all glossy eyed over the big numbers without knowing what goes into it.

I’ve seen some very good marketers work HARD to get others to promote a launch for them and end up with paltry results. I’ve also seen a few unknowns crush it with the right offer at the right time.

High risk. High potential reward.

2. Affiliate models

In these models, you don’t create a product. You sell OTHER people’s products. Just think:

* No customer service * No product fulfillment * No complaints * No hassles

Sounds awesome right?

A lot of beginners get started as affiliates and that’s as it should be. No problem with that. You’re learning the ropes.

But you DO need to consider the following:

a. Most of the affiliate checks that are sizeable I see are based on getting top Google ranking for the product name about a week before the launch.

This means you need to get good at beating out others for the SAME product names and you need to to do it in a short time span.

Just understand what Game you’re playing.

Still, if you ARE going to play the affiliate Game, this is one of the best ways to play it. You leach off of product launches and your traffic comes from people
searching for the product name.

The downside is a lot of other affiliates play the same Game and you’re competing against others who are really good at this. By the same token, if you promote a product launch that fails to generate buzz, no one searches the product name or the author’s name and you don’t make diddly squat.

b. Some big affiliate success stories are based on the list A lot of times, it comes back to good ol’ basic evergreen marketing, the kind of stuff I teach.

The person created special reports, got people onto their email list, built the list OVER TIME and then just did a big bonus offer for a new product launch.

You’ll see people pull in $30,000 to $50,000 by promoting a big, juicy bonus bundle to their list for a product launch offer. BUT that person usually has their OWN products and a great reputation and relationship with their list.

Otherwise, the bonus products have no value.

What I’m saying is, what APPEARS to be an affiliate marketing model is really NOT. It’s a product creation and promotion model where a list was built THEN used to promote a product launch via a special bonus offer.

Here’s the CRUX of the issue:

Where will the TRAFFIC come from?

If YOU are the affiliate someone else is paying you a commission in exchange for YOUR traffic. So where are you going to get the traffic and how?

Usually the traffic comes from organic seo, which involves a lot of article writing, web 2.0 sites, backlink creation and so forth.

c. You CAN build an evergreen affiliate business

1.) In niches, you can build a list off of a pay-per-click campaign. John Barker from Adwords Blackbook fame is a master of this.

2.) You CAN build a list without your own product via giveaways, ad swaps and other methods.

Then you use the list to promote special offers to.

d. TRICKS of the Game — A LOT of times those giant numbers on screen caps were produced promoting an offer of questionable value like ringtones or an offer with recurring billing that is buried.

If the letter doesn’t say WHAT was promoted, it’s probably because it was an extremely broad product that involved buried recurring billing.

That means you aren’t likely to replicate the success.

3. Paid Advertising Models

Some of the most dramatic success stories are based on paid advertising models.

These often involve a high level of skill NOT duplicable by the novice or even intermediate marketer.

The BEGINNING media buys can be $10,000+. This fact is conveniently left OUT of the sales letter.

4. List Building Models

The model that comes closest to my model is the list building model.

Theses people advocate building big lists or small, responsive ones. It’s hard to argue with that.

My only caution on these is that a lot of the list building methods taught are dubious and don’t work.

Your BEST list building comes from creating your own products and getting people who ALREADY have lists to promote them via email to their lists. And yes, there might be some reciprocity involved.

But you can LIMIT this to products and people you believe in and know are quality.

4. The Evergreen Model

I advocate what I call “The Evergreen Model” because it has been working for 1,000+ years. You create products and sell them via a network of sales people. In this case, affiliates and joint venture partners.

The drawback is getting affiliates isn’t “push button easy” or crap like that. But it IS doable with attention and focus.

a. You don’t have to join a coaching program to figure it out

There ARE details involved, most of which I explain in low cost products.

b. It relies on a dose of creativity

You need to have a bit of an eye for a topic that will sell well.

c. You build a relationship with your list

Since the products you sell are created by you, your customers develop a relationship WITH YOU, not another marketer.

d. You build over time

A lot of advertising-based models don’t build lists that grow over time. So a year from now you’re no better off today.

I like growing an evergreen business where you develop a list.

============ Conclusion ============

a. Stop chasing rabbits

KNOW what marketing model you’re following and don’t chase a new marketing model each week.

b. Get good at ONE model

c. Realize no model is perfect

There IS no perfect model. And if the model sounds perfect, someone is leaving something out. Every model has an aspect that is less than desirable.

If youre eyes are glazing over because you’re so excited about a model, you’ve likely bought into hype and a smooth pitch.

d. Consistency of effort is key

The key is to know your model, focus on it over time and improve it.

=======================================================
Marlon Sanders helps people with hopes and dreams figure
out how to turn those into reality by selling stuff on
the Internet. Check out Marlon’s The Writer’s Secret

Hope you enjoyed this and will apply this to the various items you see this week.

Technorati Tags: advertising, affiliate marketing, business models, evergreen, information overload, internet marketing

One of the big things I notice with the turtles is everything is all or nothing.

Here is what I mean.

Add food it goes immediately even if they just ate.

Add in fish and they will keep after them until they are all gone. They love to binge but that means that they are either in feast mode or famine mode.

Lots of affiliate marketers follow the same pattern. They find a product they like, send out an email and make commissions. The problem with that is if you don’t find a new product to promote you don’t make any money.

While I am writing this Gizzard is at the side of the tank splashing like a maniac to get my attention to see if he can get some more food. Is that how your affiliate marketing goes too?

No that isn’t bad but there are two ways to help avoid that feast and famine that comes and goes. Adding these into your marketing system are important.

The first is to promote products with residual income. These are various services and memberships that people pay for monthly and you earn a commission each month.

Now there are a variety of products and services set up on this model but the average stay is usually only about 3 months. Some will stay longer or shorter but that is an average.

The ones that tend to have longer stays are services. Things like web hosting, autoresponders, article submissions, etc.

The reason for this is very simple. If you have an online business these are things you need. That is one of the reasons I consistently recommend The Marketers Hosting which combines web hosting, tracking, autoresponder and an affiliate program in one.

Now if you sign up and start using that the odds of you staying for a long time is quite good.

The other way to avoid the feast and famine is to build a series of free reports. Create a report with a squeeze page and a follow up series for a specific product and drive traffic there.

Add in other related offers and now all you need to do is spend your efforts on driving traffic to it. This can be done in a variety of ways like a blog, article marketing and a variety of paid advertising.

You can find out exactly how to do that step by step with Marlon Sander’s Promo Dashboard.

Adding in both residual products and services along with specific squeeze page systems will allow you to set up regular income and avoid the feast and famine.

That way you won’t be like Gizzard who is still trying to get my attention and get more food.

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, residual income, squeeze page, squeeze page systems

The weather has been changing here in the north east and it has had an effect on the turtles. This year it has been much more noticeable with the turtle tank at the front of the house near the windows..

As the temperature has dropped so has the activity of the turtles. They will spend more and more time just lounging on the bottom and are eating significantly less.

Because of the lesser activity there are still fish in the tank 2 weeks after they joined the environment. Instead of being aggressive and consuming the fish the turtles have become very laid back. Not unexpected as they are cold blooded and as it cools they slow down. The fish are quite happy about it.

This is quite normal for turtles but it can be very dangerous for your business.

So the question becomes, what have you done to keep your business growing this week?

Have you…

• added content to your blog?
• created a new lead capture system?
• submitted any articles to the directories?
• created a new product?

Consistent effort that will grow your business is necessary and if you are working in the internet marketing niche Doug Champigny just released a PLR pack that can help you.

It is on affiliate marketing and includes..

* A copy of this sales page
* 1 ready to go download page
* 7 customizable lessons
* 1 ready to go squeeze page
* 1 ready to go thank you page
* A complete graphic package
* + the editable PSD graphics

So you get a list building system and a new product all for just $7.

Check out Affiliate Marketing PLR

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, grow business, plr

There is a new product coming called Clickbank Pirate. There is a video up that explains it and then you can grab a great free report. Sign up for the prelaunch list and you will get the report called Clickbank Treasure Map.

The turtles like this because of the name Pirate. They like anything with water. That is not a good reason to pay attention despite what the turtles amay think.

The reasons to pay attention are…

• Clickbank is one of the biggest affiliate networks
• Most people, especially new marketers have no idea how to use Clickbank efectively
• This will give you a turn key system where experienced marketers have done all the hard work for you

For those reasons you need to go check out Clickbank Pirate, watch the video, then sign up for the prelaunch list. Read the report and be prepared for the launch on August 4th.

On that the turtles and I both agree.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, affiliate networks, Clickbank

I used to think that Baby was the smartest of the turtles but she is proving me wrong.Here is a picture of her waiting for the scrap rocks to come out of Gizmo’s mouth. Now why they love to eat the rocks I have no idea but it used to be that Baby would go off into her own corner to sort out the rocks she wanted. As she gets bigger she seems to be content with the scraps.

Not smart on her part. Are you doing the same with your business?

Now don’t get me wrong I love affiliate marketing but I love affiliates selling my products better. It is part of the reason I created the Niche Affiliate System.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to enter new niches. Find out what is selling to the crowd so you know exactly how…

• They consume information
• The type of information that is selling
• The amount people will spend for information
• Who the list owners are in the niche

The key is that ultimately you want your product and your affiliates selling it. Marlon Sanders calls it trading products for dollars rather than time for dollars which we are all used to if you have a JOB.

Use your affiliate marketing to better understand your niche, build the relationships and find the holes that can be filled just like I show you in the Niche Affiliate System but then you need to get your product out.

This way you can leverage the relationships you have built. If you are filling a missing spot in the market don’t you think that most of the product owners you have supported in the niche would be interested in making some extra affiliate cash recommending your product to their customers?

Do you think the list you have built to promote those other people’s products would be interested in that hole stuffer too?

See once you are comfortable in the niche it is easy to find the spot where you don’t compete but complement others. I know you can so what is stopping you?

I can hear it now. I can’t create a product, I don’t know how. So if that is your excuse start by following the plan in Niche Affiliate System. Take some of your profits and invest in Marlon’s Info Product Dashboard and get it done.

No reason for you to settle for scraps is there?

The turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, Info Product Dashboard, niche affiliate system, niche marketing

The turtles have become fans of affiliate marketing. They may not be able to say it but they love the perks from it. When their blog makes extra cash then the cheap old Turtle Dad does splurge and they get extras like feeder fish and other goodies. Because the Turtle Dad has learned an awful lot from Jimmy D Brown the turtles agreed that a few of his articles would help you their loyal reader.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 2
By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise“

Pop quiz time. What does “HTML” stand for? Don’t know that one? How about this – what does “FTP” stand for? OK, one more chance. Do you know how to work with either?

That brings me to the second reason why I love affiliate marketing…

** You don’t need to build a website **

What scares people more than creating a product is building a website!

* What in the world is HTML? Or FTP?
* How much does the software cost? And hosting?
* How do I upload files?
* Why isn’t it formatted correctly?
* Why don’t my graphics look like the ones the pros have?

If you are a complete beginner, it can be very difficult (even using templates) to get an attractive website in place. And hiring a professional to do it for you is out of the budget for most people.

But, with affiliate marketing, you don’t need to build a website. You simply send visitors to someone else’s professionally designed site through your affiliate link.

SIDEBAR: Just in case you’re interested, HTML stands for “hypertext markup language” and is the coding used to build webpages. FTP stands for “file transfer protocol” and is the process used for moving files from your computer to a website, or vice versa.

Really, in a manner of looking at it, you get to take advantage of the time and money invested by someone else to develop the site. Think about it: when you promote an affiliate link, it reflects firstly upon YOU. You are the one who is advertising the link, recommending the product, sending people who have interacted with YOU to the website.

The professional site of someone else really represents you as the promoter, in the eye of those who have clicked through your link.

You get the benefits without the bother.

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need to build a website.

…………………….

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payraise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions! Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at Affiliate Payraise

…………………….

Hope you have enjoyed our guest.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, Jimmy D Brown

The turtles have become fans of affiliate marketing. They may not be able to say it but they love the perks from it. When their blog makes extra cash then the cheap old Turtle Dad does splurge and they get extras like feeder fish and other goodies. Because the Turtle Dad has learned an awful lot from Jimmy D Brown the turtles agreed that a few of his articles would help you their loyal reader.

Why I Love Affiliate Marketing – Part 1
By Jimmy D. Brown of “Affiliate Payraise“

Do you find yourself “starting” to create your own product to sell online, but never “finishing” it?

One of the things I love about affiliate marketing is –

** You don’t need to create your own products **

Many people find the idea of creating their own products to be an overwhelming and even paralyzing task.

* I don’t have any good ideas!
* I’m not a writer!
* There’s too much competition!
* I don’t know how to set everything up!
* I can’t figure out where to start!
* It’s too hard!

These are just a few of the valid reasons many people give when it comes to not creating their own products to sell. I’m sure with a few minutes of brain storming, we could come up with a list of many more.

With affiliate marketing, you don’t need your own products. You simply promote someone else’s already proven successful offer for a commission.

And, truth be told, even if you ARE a writer and you DO have lots of ideas and you CAN figure it all out…

** Nobody wants to create new products all the time **

As good as you may be, you don’t know everything! Why try to create a product on every topic imaginable in your market when you can earn just as much money by simply promoting someone else’s really good offer as one of your profit streams?

That’s why I love affiliate marketing.

You don’t need to create your own products.

…………………….

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliate Payraise“, teaching you a whopping 27 ways to increase your affiliate commissions! Tired of “tiny” commission checks? Grab your copy today at Affiliate Payraise

Look for part 2 tomorrow.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, Affiliate Payraise, Jimmy D Brown

Last time I talked about how consistent the turtles are in re-arranging the tank no matter how often I reset it to my liking. In talking with a friend about that blog post, Joel Osborne, he brought up something I totally missed but was very true. Oh he has a great blog you should check out – Internet Marketing Blog.

His point was that quite often we try to sell things that our customers don’t want. I’ve been trying to sell the turtles on the fact that my way is the way the tank should look. You can see by the picture how well that is working or rather how well it is not.

They don’t want to buy my arrangement and have made it quite clear to me. Now as the tank is mine and they are only the tenants we will continue to have this argument over and over. Trying to do that with your customers is another story.

Very simply if you aren’t offering something they want you won’t make sales. PERIOD. End of story. That means no money for you.

Doesn’t matter how good the product is. Doesn’t matter how much your audience needs it. You can’t sell what they don’t want.

This is one of the reasons that I find it very important to start as an affiliate. Why create a product until you have an idea of what your customer wants not needs.

If you have done the research and found a profitable niche then start the process on the affiliate side. Follow what Marlon Sanders teaches in Promo Dashboard and build your system step by step.

• Research what they want
• Create an ethical bribe to build a list
• Send traffic to get subscribers from a variety of sources
• Sell them affiliate products through your follow up

Do that first (and Promo Dashboard will walk you through all of those steps in bite sized chunks) and then you will see what they want and can find the missing pieces in that niche that they will buy.

This allows you to be sure before you put the time and effort in that you have a product your customers want.

Do that and you won’t end up in a losing battle like I have with the turtles over the tank. Instead you will have a profitable product.

The Turtle Dad

Technorati Tags: affiliate marketing, Joel Osborne, Marlon Sanders, Promo Dashboard, want vs need