Welcome to Internet Marketing Unleashed Issue #4.

====================================

In This Issue…

1) 3 Costly Affiliate Marketing Mistakes.

2) How To Get Free Publicity For Your Website.

3) Preventing Others From Phishing For Your Identity.

4) Your Internet Marketing Gifts.

5) Let Us Know What You Think!

====================================

Welcome to the fourth issue of the “Internet Marketing Unleashed Newsletter”.

This newsletter will run every 2 weeks so be sure keep a close eye on your inbox.

I hope you enjoy another content packed issue and don’t forget to post your comments at the bottom. If there is something you’d like covered in a future issue, post that too :-)

Now, let’s move on to the good stuff…

====================================

“In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time.”

- Anthony J. D’Angelo

For many people just starting out online, affiliate marketing is one of the most effective and powerful ways of earning some money online. This concept gives even a “newbie” the chance to make a profit through the Internet without having to create their own product or worry about customer service etc. Since affiliate marketing programs are generally easy to join, implement and pay commissions on a regular basis, more and more people are now getting in on the game.

However, like all businesses, there are many pitfalls. Committing some of the most common mistakes can cost a marketer a large portion their potential profits.

Mistake #1: Choosing the wrong product.

Many people want to earn from affiliate marketing as fast as possible. In their rush to get involved, they tend to choose a “bandwagon product.” The problem with such products is that competition is fierce and the end result is they spend large amounts of money on advertising with very little return.

Ideally you want to pick a product that appeals to you. Next, do some research about that product to see if there is in fact a market for such a product. Promoting something that you are more passionate about is easier than promoting one for the sake of the earnings only.

Mistake #2: Joining too many affiliate programs.

Since affiliate programs are very easy to join, you might be tempted to join a multitude of programs to try and maximize the earnings you will be getting. Besides you may think that there is nothing wrong and nothing to lose by being part of many affiliate programs.

True, that is a great way to have multiple sources of income. However, joining multiple programs and attempting to promote them all at the same time will prevent you from concentrating on each one of them. What can happen is that you do a poor job of promoting them all instead of a very good job of promoting just one or two.

Once you are making good money from this one program and have everything setup properly, you can safely move on to a second or third product and use some of the profits from your initial promotions to fund advertising for further products.

Mistake #3: Not buying the product or using the service.

As an affiliate, you main purpose is to effectively and convincingly promote a product or service and to find customers. For you to achieve this purpose, you must be able to accurately tell your potential referrals about the benefits of using such a product. Nothing works better than to provide a first-hand account of how the product or service has actually benefited you.

One way you can try the product before you promote it is often simply to contact the product owner and ask them if they would be able to provide you with a “review copy” so that you can take a look at it before promoting it. In many cases, the creator will be happy to assist. Even if you have to actually buy the product first, you must remember that it is hard to expect your potential referrals to buy the product when you cannot bring yourself to do so!

Many new affiliate marketers makes these mistakes and end up paying dearly for their actions. Try not fall into the same situation they have been in – do everything you can to avoid making the same mistakes.

If done properly, you will be able to increase your affiliate marketing profits far beyond what you ever thought possible.

You have developed a great website, along with good products and services, but unfortunately very few people actually visit your site, which is not getting the high rankings and traffic that you expect from the top search engines. If you want to drive traffic to your site and you’re aiming for a high ranking from the search engines, promote your website through proactive advertising and publicity.

Publicity is something someone else writes or says about you when you do something good, noteworthy, or interesting. As an Internet business owner, you must learn to use publicity to your advantage.

Here are a few ways to get free publicity:

Write Articles

One of the best ways to promote your website is by writing articles that you can post on sites that provide free content to publishers. Articles that you write don’t need to be long; they just need to be informative. Sharing your experience and ideas, citing your wisdom, and telling a story are things that you can write about in an article. Writing about how to do something is always something of value to readers and writing articles gives you credibility. Submitting online, as well as offline, provides another good chance to get your name in print at no cost. Be sure to put your contact information in a contact resource box at the end of the article.

Public Speaking

Speaking in front of spectators usually makes you an expert. If they’re in your audience, then they’ll remember your expertise and come to you for your products and services. Speaking is free, and it’s just like making a sales call to many people at one time.

Online Forum Participation: Participating in online forums or newsgroups for a particular subject area is another way to get your name out. Participating by answering and asking questions related to the subject will position you as an expert and a resource for others. Many forums will let you put an e-mail signature with a link to your site or message with another site linked. These links get clicked often when of interest to the forum participants.

Testimonials

Once your customer is satisfied with your product and /or service, they will give good feedback and post some testimonials. People increase their trust in a business when they see others just like them have tried its products and services. It is a advisable to include the name and website address of the people giving the testimonials so that it will not come upon as unreal and their effect backfire. Always ask satisfied customers for permission to post their comments and their contact information before using them as testimonials.

Newsletters

Writing a newsletter is another way to keep publicity or your name in customers’ minds. Newsletters can be online, referred to as e-zines, and offline as printed and mailed newsletters. Offline and online newsletters both contain valuable content for your target market and can also advertise your products and services. Advertising to customers is your best bet to get more business. E-zines are e-mails to your permission-based e-mail database. The cost of this is nothing, yet the return potential is infinite.

Blogs

Why should you jump on the current trend of blogging? Search engines adore blogs and visit them often because they tend to be updated frequently. You can use blog to replace your e-mail newsletter or compliment it and to feature your product or service reviews and other bits of pertinent information that do not merit a special e-mail to your customers.

Search Engines

A good position in regular and top-ranked search engine results is great publicity. It can be much more effective than sponsored listings or pay-per-click results and users will have more trust in a website if they find it in a proper way such as through a search engine query. To improve your rankings in the search engines, follow some common search engine optimization techniques, but don’t exaggerate because search engines are catching up very quickly to over-optimization and it may do you more harm than good. The one great thing about traffic from the search engines (apart from the fact that it is free) is that the traffic coming to your website is generally highly targeted to your offers – which means you have a much better chance of making a sale!

These are just some of the many ways to get free publicity for your website that can increase your target customers and prospects. A consistent and planned publicity campaign can get you links from some of the best websites on the Net. It is just a matter of creating your own marketing strategy, measuring the results and following-up. Publicize your website: It is a great way to build your web site links, increase your traffic, and gain more sales!

Who hasn’t received an email directing them to visit a familiar website where they are being asked to update their personal information? The website needs you to verify or update your passwords, credit card numbers, social security number, or even your bank account number. You recognize the business name as one that you’ve conducted business with in the past. So, you click on the convenient “take me there” link and proceed to provide all the information they have requested. Unfortunately, you find out much later that the website is bogus. It was created with the sole intent to steal your personal information. You, my friend, have just been “phished”.

Phishing (pronounced as “fishing”) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

It is not at easy as you think to spot an email phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company. The “From” field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company’s website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.

Many of these people are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic. Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully. When reviewing your email remember that the “From Field” can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving. Also keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information.

Depending on your email client, sometimes it is possible to check legitimacy of a link by pointing at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. It is a very quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site.

If you’ve already clicked the link unwittingly then a second check is to look in the address bar of your browser to see where you have been taken. Often phishers will send you to an IP address with a “cloned” or replica version of a legitimate business website. You may often notice that the address bar has an IP address rather than the company domain name. This is a surefire giveaway that this is an attempt to phish your personal information.

Another surefire giveaway (although not ALWAYS the case) is that the email may be non-personalized (i.e. it will be headed “Dear Company X User” or the like).

Common examples of websites falling prey to phishing emails include EBay, Paypal and many online banking websites. Basically anything that will allow a phisher to get hold of your personal information is fair game to them. I’m sure you’ve received such emails in the past.

To be safe, just follow the golden rule. Never, ever, click the links within the text of such an e-mail, and always delete the e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. At least then you can be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website.

Finally, if you ever do fall prey to such tactics, contact your bank or the legitimate company immediately to organize for your username and password to be changed. Failing to do so could result in your bank account being drained and you having very little in the way of recourse.

If you need an html editor to create your websites but don’t have the money to spend on programs like Frontpage or Dreamweaver then you might want to try N-vu. It’s a fully functional html editor with many of the features you find in those expensive html editors.

You can get your copy from: http://www.nvu.com

====================================

Your first gift this week has an extremely high monthly value. Visit Private Label Club to begin downloading now.

====================================

Disover the secret that the gurus haven’t told you that may change the way you’re marketing in 2007! Click here to download the rockefeller files now!

This is your chance to speak out.

Comment on articles I’ve run in the newsletter, give me your thoughts on changes or your ad testing results or questions relating to your business, etc.

In other words, just talk to me about what you think I need to do to improve the newsletter.

Be sure to include your website address too, because if I use your comments in a future issue of the newsletter, I’ll thank you by posting your address so that you can get additional free traffic to your site!

Post your comments at the bottom of this issue.

That wraps up our third issue and I hope you enjoyed it.

Don’t forget to post any comments or questions you may have at the bottom. I’m happy to help you in any way that I can.

From time to time I’ll send you important updates that will provide information that has the potential to greatly improve your online business… and of course your profits!

However, you can rest assured that I will only ever recommend products that are considered to be of HIGH value and will provide indisputably benefits to help you grow your business… that’s my guarantee to you!

Enjoy the rest of the week :-)

Your Friend and Partner in Success,

   
Jason Oickle
http://www.private-label-club.com

Recommend “Internet Marketing Unleashed” to your friends. Subscription requests should be sent to:
blog-56@hegabots.com.

P.S. – If you’re a new subscriber or missed the last issue, you can view all past copies here.