Clickers Are More Likely to Click

People who search by clicking the button on Google’s homepage are fifty percent more likely to go on to click an ad than people who search by any other Google means, according to online ad network Chitika. The study, which looked at just over 11 million impressions, shines a light on the possibility and importance of being able to predict web users’ activity.

When comparing the different types of traffic that come through their advertising network, the researchers at Chitika compared the different types of Google traffic – people who click on the “Google Search” button, people who search by hitting the enter key, people who search from browser toolbars, etc. While the overall clickthrough rate for the entire Google-searching sample was 0.95%, the people who searched by clicking on the search button at Google.com clicked ads at a 1.56% rate, over half again higher.

Type	Impressions	Clicks	CTR
All Google Searches	10,307,849	97,440	0.95%
Google Button Clicks	767,209	11,934	1.56%

But the question becomes, why such a high disparity? Why are people who type in their query and hit enter so much less likely to click on an ad than someone who performs a search differently through the same website?

“Sophistication is my guess,” says Rand Fishkin, SEO guru and CEO of SEOMoz.org. ”Hitting enter means you’re not moving your hands away from the keyboard and likely indicates a more tech-savvy (and hence, click-sensitive) individual.”

So it appears that advertising click rates are inversely proportional to the “tech-savviness” of the people receiving the ads. By defining a user’s tech-savviness, it’s possible that ad networks going forward will be able to target better and better, driving revenue for websites while showing less ads.

Top 10 ways to get people online to read your Business Blog

There are many advantages of running a blog, on top of your business website. A blog is an online diary, whereby you can easily posts clips about yourself, your thoughts and your personal life. If you publish a business blog, you posts good content, articles, breaking news or just about anything to build awareness of what you are selling.

Publishing a business blog gives your subscriber or prospect a chance to get to know you better. Through your blog, you can explain how your life has changed due to the product or service that you are selling. A blog can also be highly interactive if you also allow comments and for all to see. For sure, blogging provides a good avenue to establish some level of trust and security for an online prospect who has never met you.

Here are top 10 ways to get people to read your business blog:

1. Have a general theme and state this theme at the top or in a prominent location in your blog. Creating a general theme helps attract a group of targeted readers. However, do strike a balance. You don't also want too narrow a theme. Otherwise, you may find yourself having difficulty finding new things to talk about in your blog every few days.

2. Be current in what you post. Don't report about events that happen one year ago. You can refer to the particular event if relevant and/or via a link. For these past events, assume that people already know about them.

3. Keep a regular schedule. When readers return to your blog, they want to read about something new. Be sure to manage your readers' expectations.

4. Post frequently. Search engine spiders love sites that are constantly updated with fresh content. At the very least, posting once every few days is a good idea.

5. Keep your posts short and clear. Don't post long essays. Blog readers are known to like to zip in and out of online diaries. Keep your long essays to articles that you can publish on a separate webpage or in your newsletter.

6. Make your tittle keyword-rich. This helps in getting your posts better ranked by search engine spiders via the keywords that you use.

7. Post interesting content. No one is going to be interested in what you ate for breakfast. Not unless you are maintaining a food blog and you want to post your breakfast recipe! Making your content interesting will ensure that your readers continue to read your blog loyally.

8. Have a unique perspective. Readers are interested to know what you think. If you are offering your opinion, be sure that you are able to qualify them.

9. Take note of your language and grammer. Even if you are posting an opinion. It is always safer to write in proper English if you are hoping to monetize from your blog.

10. Don't forget to have a RSS feed. RSS means 'Rich Site Syndication'. To increase readership and distribution, this is one thing that you must not omit in doing.

How to Make Money Online with Content

Dear Friend,

Today just about everyone is looking for ways and means to make money on the Internet. And with good reason. It’s now easier than ever to make money on the Internet. That is, if you know what to market and how to do it. Unfortunately, therein lies the problem. While many people would like nothing better than to begin an online business and start reaping the rewards of making money online, there still exists a basic lack of knowledge regarding the Internet and the products that will really, truly sell as well as the unique marketing techniques that must be undertaken in order to succeed in this merchandising frontier.

In this special report I will explore some of the best ways to make money online-specifically how to make money using content you have the right to use or modify. I will present a step by step action plan that you can put into use to begin immediately tapping into the potential of this profitable and rewarding Internet niche.

The numbers of ways in which you can use materials from content to make money online are almost as varied and infinite as the Internet itself. In actuality, the ways you can take content and turn it into a money making enterprise are really only limited to your own industriousness and imagination. In the next few pages, I will present a look at some of the most common ways you can begin to immediately create an online business using content, but remember the possibilities are certainly not limited to the manners listed herein.Before I begin exploring the different ways to make money using content and the Internet, I would like to discuss some of the best ways to obtain content that you can use, modify or brand with your own name. Obviously, the opportunities for making money online using content from the public domain are quite diverse. In order to tap into this huge income potential, however; you will need to know how to find content.

There are a few different methods out there for obtaining this type of material, but the best option would be to join a fee based membership site that offers content you can use and/or public domain material for a specified membership fee.

Some of you may balk at the word ‘fee’ at first, but before you turn a blind eye to this method take a moment to find out why this really is the best option available. As the old axiom goes, “You get what you pay for.” Sure, there are some sites out there that will offer you content for free. What you need to consider; however, is what you are actually getting when you use free content. First, you can practically bet that if you snatched up such an offer, so did at least tens of thousands other people. You must add author "resource box" with link to author’s website which practically “steals” your traffic. You are now competing not only with the multitude, using a product that is not unique and not very original, but with author “stealing” your traffic through "resource box" link. The value of whatever you are trying to sell just instantly plummeted. The market is flooded. In addition to the fact that the content you are receiving is better quality, the sheer fact that you are working with a membership site means that you won’t be setting yourself up for failure with an overrun market. This is due to the way most membership sites are set up. Only a select number of individuals are allowed to join and take advantage of the offers through the membership; thus insuring a market edge for those members. Since only the individuals who belong to the membership will have access to the material, and not all of those people will be using the material for the same purpose, you don’t have to worry about competing with the rest of the world. Furthermore, the surprising truth of the matter is that only a few of those members will do anything at all with the content they can access. I never cease to be amazed at how many people actually do nothing at all with what they can access.

The fee involved in joining a membership site usually varies, but the great thing about such a membership is that the producer of the site normally has already either purchased the rights to the material or taken care of any research needed to verify that the work is actually part of the public domain and therefore free of any copyright restrictions and potential problems.

Additionally, the products you receive through a membership will ALWAYS be in digital format. This benefit by itself can be a tremendous time saving advantage because it saves you from the headache of having to scan the material and format it. Furthermore, you will receive the source file so that you can then modify the content in any way that you which. This makes it tremendously easy to both brand the content with your own information as well as change it as necessary to create your own unique product. With these kinds of advantages, you can then proceed with using the content in any manner you wish, such as one of the many ways listed earlier, to make money online.

Some fee based membership sites will also offer advantageous perks to help you get started, such as sales letter templates, keyword tools or other types of marketing tools.

Now, that I have discussed the best ways to obtain your material, I want to move on to look at the many different ways you can put it to work making money!

1. Publish the material exactly the way it is and tap into incredible profits!

2. Create a specialty product that is in huge demand, like audio CD’s.

3. Increase your newsletter subscriptions by offering content as ‘special reports,’ or even as bonuses.

4. Create ezines or newsletters to increase traffic or create an additional affiliate income stream.

5. Offer multi-part email courses using affiliate links to generate even more income.

6. Establish yourself as an expert in your field and watch your traffic and profits increase almost immediately!

7. Use content for affiliate marketing

8. Set up a website with a niche market and add content.

Publishing Content Exactly As Is

Actually, this method for making money using content should more aptly be called re-publishing content. This method is one of the easier and simpler methods because it requires very little change to the original material. The first step in your action plan for this option is to obtain the rights to a book or piece of content that interests you. As mentioned previously, one of the best ways to do this is to work with a fee based membership site. Through this type of maneuver you can gain access to many different books and content from books. After you have obtained the rights to the material, you will then need to obtain keywords to market the product. If you are working with a type of membership site, it’s quite possible that you may receive all the keywords and keyword related information that you need to go ahead and get started right away. If not, you’ll need to do some research or utilize a keyword tool to obtain a list of the most popular keywords for that particular subject. Once you have your keywords, you are ready to launch a pay per click campaign.

All you need to do to get started is register a domain name and set up an account that will allow you to accept online payments. Paypal.com and Clickbank.com are both excellent examples. At this point you’ll need to load your files onto the server. To draw customers in, in addition to keywords, you’ll need some sales copy and autoresponders. If you purchase the rights to your material through a membership site you may receive some sales letters or templates that you can immediately load onto your server. If not, you will need to either write your own sales copy or hire someone to handle it for you.

The final step is to purchase some cheap traffic from pay-per-click search engines. You might consider Overture.com or Google.com Adwords. Now that your site is set up with your own unique product, it’s time to sit back and relax and watch the profits start to roll in!

Create a Specialty Product by Changing the Format

Changing the format of content takes more time and can initially be more costly, but the benefits can be well worth it. While it is much easier to promote contentas is, the truth of the matter is that most content is sold that way. If you want to harness the power of something unique and different, changing the format of content is definitely the way to go. This idea can help you to create an instant profit revenue for yourself.

Take a moment and consider how easy it is to burn a CD today. Most computers these days contain the equipment and software to burn a CD and its quite easy and inexpensive to purchase blank CD’s in bulk. In fact, you can practically get them for almost nothing. You can even use specialized software to create your own personalized jewel cases to really give your CD that professional look. Now, stop and think about how much more people would pay for a product they already want if it is in a more convenient format like an audio CD.

Today, people are more rushed than ever. They don’t have time to sit down and read a book, even if they want to do so. Their quest for knowledge hasn’t dimmed-in fact; people are more hungry for knowledge today than ever. The problem is that they simply don’t have time to read. What most people do have an abundance of time; however, is commute time. Time sitting in the car during traffic jams for the commute to work. Time sitting in the car shuffling the kids
from one event to the next. Time sitting in the car going from one appointment to the next, running errands.

Audio books used to be the ‘hot’ thing. People snatched them up to listen to as they drove to work, rode the train during their daily commute or even to listen to while flying. With the advent of CD players, audio books have pretty much faded into oblivion. Unfortunately, there haven’t been a lot of audio books on CDs to replace them.

With the ability to burn a CD you could either simply download the text material directly onto a CD from which the user could browse the information whenever they found time or you could have the material narrated and then burned onto a CD that the user could listen to during their hours of commute time. The steps for getting this money making method set-up are not a lot different from the previous method mentioned. You will still need a website setup along with keywords and sales copy as well as some cheap traffic from pay-per-click search engines.

The big difference in getting this method up and going is in getting your content changed to a different format. With a CD burner, this is relatively easy to take care of. Blank CDs can be purchased in bulk at your local discount store and from that point; it’s quite easy to begin transferring your content to your new format. Once a purchase is made, all you need to do is drop it in the mail using a CD mailer and you’re done.

Use Content to Create Special Reports

One of the most important keys to a successful online business is not JUST having a list of mailing list or newsletter subscribers... It's about building a trusting relationship with your subscribers (ie, "cultivating" your list)... By sending informative articles (content) to your list on a regular basis you will establish yourself as an expert on your topic of business, as well as gain the trust of your subscribers over time. As a result, your subscribers will be EAGER to take advantage of your "paid" product and service offers. (Just make sure that you NEVER take advantage of the relationship you develop with your list by offering products or services of poor quality just to make a quick buck!) Think about the profit potential linked to being able to create special reports that provide valuable and useful information consumers both need and want.

Special reports can either be sold or used as a free bonus or hook for another product. With special reports, you will most likely need to change up the format of the content, but the basic information will remain the same for the most part. To change the format so that it is more suitable to the format of a special report you might consider breaking the material up into sections. Also, since special reports are typically no longer than 25 pages or so, you may also need to read through the material and cut it down to a more manageable length. When you take away any material that is superfluous and retain the ‘nuggets’ of the main body of work, this is fairly easy to accomplish.

Depending on your purpose, whether you are intending to sell the report or use it as a bonus or hook for another product, you will need to set up-or adjust your website accordingly. Remember, that you will need to obtain keywords for this product and you will also need to handle sales copy; even if you are simply using it as a bonus. If you have joined a membership, you may have all the tools you need to take care of this step with the marketing tools that were provided to you
when you registered as a member.

Create your Own Ezine or Newsletter with Content

For individuals looking for a way to keep a finger on the pulse of the people visiting their website, there is no better opportunity than offering an ezine or newsletter. Both of these publications are usually offered for free; however the benefits you reap in learning critical information about the demographics of your audience is priceless. In additional, such publications can create an additional venue for affiliate income.

The problem with creating and publishing an ezine or newsletter for most people is that it takes a lot of content to create a publication that will be of actual interest to readers. For many people that means either writing it themselves or hiring a writer; both of which can be time consuming and even costly. When content material is used to fill an ezine or newsletter, however; it couldn’t be any easier. This is information that consumers want and need and by providing it to them you can instantly increase your number of subscribers and profits!

The first step in setting up your ezine or newsletter is to develop a template. When you have a ready-made template, this makes it much easier and faster to fill in with your selected content. This is especially true if you happen to be in a rush and need to get an edition out rather quickly. Although you could set up your own template in a desktop publishing program, there are several sites that will offer you ready-made templates for free. They are fairly easy to customize in terms of color and font so that you have a unique and easily recognizable format for your newsletter or ezine.

You will also need to think about how often you want to sent out your newsletter. Some editions are sent out weekly while others are sent out monthly. This is strictly an individual decision, although the subject of your material may affect this decision somewhat. For example, if your chosen subject happens to be one that tends to have late-breaking news often you might want to consider a weekly edition instead of a monthly edition.

After you have your template and have decided the frequency by which you want to send out your ezine or newsletter it’s time to begin filling it with your content. Even content taken from books can be broken up into chunks that can be easily inserted into newsletters to form interesting and informative articles. You might consider a series; for example.

Another great thing about newsletters is that while they are usually offered for free as a way to beef up the membership of an existing site, you can also fill yourezine or newsletter with affiliate listings to earn some additional money. After the newsletter is all set-up; the last step will be to let people know about it. One way to do this is to invite subscribers to recommend the site to friends who are interested in this same topic. You could also add a special spot on your site for visitors to tell a friend about your site by inviting them to enter their own email address. This allows them to become the sender of the message and you to avoid the potential of spam complaints.

Use Content to Create Multi-Part Email Training Courses

Another option would be to create an automated cash flow by using content to formulate multi-part email training courses with related website or affiliate links “sprinkled” throughout each course. For example, you might offer a 5 part training course delivered over a 5 day period.Formatting your content for the purpose of a multi-part email training course is very much like setting it up for a newsletter. You will simply need to break up the material into logical, sequential blocks. In most cases, the material will flow so well with appropriate breaking points that you will need to do very little formatting on your own.

Don’t forget the important step of obtaining affiliate links to place inside your training course. This is, after all; how you will make your money from the training course!

After you have the actual training course formatted, you’ll need to find a way to let people know about it. Obviously, the first place you would want to do this is your own website and newsletter, if you have one. You might also consider purchasing some advertising spots in other relative sites as well.

You can use an auto responder service to automate the delivery of your training course, so that it requires very little time on your part once it is actually set up. Several places offer free auto-responder services.

Establish Yourself as an Expert Using Content

One of the most important keys to a successful online business is not JUST having a list of mailing contacts or newsletter subscribers. It’s about building a trusting relationship with your subscribers; cultivating your list. By sending informative articles to your list on a regular basis you will establish yourself as an expert on your topic of business, as well as gain the trust of your subscribers over time. As a result, your subscribers will be eager to take advantage you’re your “paid” product and service offers.

You can also submit ready-made articles to “content hungry” websites and newsletter publishers with your resource box attached. The resource box, a 3-6 line bio about your and your website along with a link to your site can go a long way towards generating no cost traffic and visitors for you. You can make sure that your content and relevant info gets passed around by allowing reprints of the article, with the stipulation that your resource box remains attached.

When looking for places to post these types of articles, you might want to concentrate on discussion groups or forums that are specifically related to your market or niche.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money with content or books that you have the rights to because it doesn’t put you in the position of competing with websites that might offer similar information. Instead of trying to beat them, you instead join them and earn profits by complimenting these sites.

The first step in earning a profit using this method is to obtain information, preferably, and the right to use, modify and resell it. This is important because you’ll want to brand the book with your own name so that you can then market it and sell it at your own price just as though you had created it yourself. After you have finished this step, you can then get started setting up an affiliate program and offering a percentage of each sale to anyone who assists you in selling your ebook. Think about it this way. You could potentially have thousands of websites out there, all working for you; selling your ebook for you.

It’s relatively simply to set up an affiliate program. You will need to obtain a list of keywords related to the subject of your ebook. Once you have that list of keywords you can do a little research to find other websites that offer information related to your book. At this point, you can then begin contacting the webmasters of these sites and make them an offer. In your offer, you give them the opportunity to join your affiliate program and earn a percentage of each sale of your product they refer. The percentage you offer will be up to you.

Earn Money Using AdSense and Content

Of course, if you already have a website set up; there is just nothing like adding old-fashioned content to your site to really get the traffic lines buzzing. This is areally exciting way to use content, because content is the best way to increase your traffic and your search engine rankings is by having quality content on your website.

Content is the information that you place on your site to entice visitors. That’s it. It’s that simple. It’s your hook, so to speak. It’s what grabs readers’ attention and literally propels them to your site. It’s what they are looking for when they hop on the information superhighway. You can literally boost your search engine ranking and daily visitor county by posting keyword rich articles and content on your web site. For example, if your business involves offering products and services related to fitness, posting fitness related articles and content will attract unlimited prospective customers on a regular basis.

To make all the traffic that you receive from your use of content payoff, you can implement more earning potential using AdSense. With AdSense you can earn money when you simply post content on your site that is entertaining, informational and useful. In other words, information that people need and want to read. Using this type of method, you can even set up a blog site and still earn money because the focus will be on the content for the reader and the ads as an income source for you.

This type of set-up gives you the opportunity to provide a valid service while earning money from companies and individuals who are willing to pay for customers that come their way when they click through ads posted on your site. Basically the way this works is that Google places ads on your site based on a relevancy to your site content.

To get started making money with AdSense you’ll need some type of site set up. Keep in mind that it can even be a blog site. You will need to decide on a theme for your site and then post relevant content information. Getting signed up for AdSense is fast and easy. All you need to do is complete a short online application and then can be set up and ready to roll within just a few
minutes.

Set up a Website with a Niche Market and Add Content

I have saved this option for last because of the fact that there are a few more steps involved in setting up this method. That said; however, the potential for earning a profit is also extremely high with this method. In essence, you are simply devising a way to become your own affiliate.

If you do not already have a website set up, you should know that one of the quickest ways to make money online is to find a niche market and set-up your own web site. With this option you could use books that you have the rights to in order to create your own product to market on your website (as mentioned in Method #1) or you could simply use the content you obtain to draw in visitors and then use other methods such as affiliate links to make money.

Whichever method you decide to use, you’ll need to determine the subject of your website. This could be just about anything. For example, it might be something that is of personal interest to you. If you do not already have an idea in mind, you might start with a quick brainstorming session to get the ideas flowing. Using either a pen and paper or a computer; whichever you prefer start jotting down a list of products, businesses and industries. The next step in the process is to come up with a list of keywords for each of these ideas. While you can probably come up with a good list of words and phrases that you think someone might use to look up that particular subject on the Internet, it’s also a good idea to take it a step further and use a program like Overture Keyword Selector or Wordtracker. This can make it much easier to find high traffic keywords for the niche that interests you.

Once you have your list of keywords, you’ll need to do some research. Using one of the keywords from your list, type it into Google Answers. This can tell you exactly what questions are being asked and more importantly; how much people are willing to pay for those answers. You want to concentrate of the keywords with the highest number of questions.

After you have your keywords, you can begin setting up your website and adding content as well as getting your site set up to earn a profit. When adding content, remember that four or five articles will be sufficient to start. Keep in mind that it’s important to add new content each week to keep the site fresh. Your final step will be to get your site set up to earn a profit. There a couple of ways you can do this and they are quite easy. In the first method, you would simply insert affiliate links to products and services that are related to your subject. There are literally thousands of free affiliate products and opportunities out there, just waiting. Keep in mind that when you are inserting affiliate links and advertisements you have different options. One would be to post affiliate links right into your content articles and another would be to set up a link list and post them there.

Marketing Your Website Without Search Engines

I’m not old enough to remember what the internet was like without search engines. Apparently, there were lists of web-servers: they were manually updated and publicized in news updates like this. And then the search engines came crawling, indexing and sorting out pages. As the web expanded with more users and businesses putting up websites, search engines became an essential way to immediately find information.

There’s a common saying: build your site for visitors, not for search engines. A famous Google webmaster guideline asks the question: “Does this help my users? Would I do this if search engines didn’t exist?” It’s actually quite a challenge: Pretend search engines don’t exist. How can you grow your website, get visitors and make lots of money?

I recently built a couple of sites without any focus on search engine rankings and getting organic search traffic. I didn’t block the search bots from indexing the site but I optimized nothing. Didn’t focus on site link architecture, title tags, meta-descriptions, meta-keywords, link building, competitor analysis. Forget about search engine algorithms.

I also wasn’t interested in methods of search-based marketing like finding long tail phrases and placing them on article directories or social media properties in order for these pages to rank and send traffic to my site. That would have involved researching search keywords and competition, so I did nothing of that sort too.

Ultimately, you’re dealing with a situation where the convenience offered by search engines is non-existent. No quick answers to quick questions for everyone. So how are people going to find what they need? How are they going to find my site?

Without search engines, people will do what they’ve been doing for thousands of years. They rely on each other. They rely on the community, on the collection of publications known within their geographic location or industry. They rely on word of mouth. And they also rely on getting information from common resources like a public square, library, forum or marketplace.

Go where people gather. There you will be heard. It sounds like rudimentary marketing but quite honestly, until I’ve tried ignoring search engines and focusing exclusively on gathering points, I didn’t realize how much actual marketing I was NOT doing.

There were far more forums, social networking sites, blogs than I ever imagined even for small niches. And then there are mega-sites like Youtube and Facebook. If I were to put a number to it, I would say I’m missing out on at least a few thousand visitors every day by NOT being active in these online communities. And that doesn’t include offline marketing.

This is a good amount of visitors who are likely to become supporters of your content, clients or buyers. And the truth is I’ve always made money much faster by going to them instead of waiting for them to come to me. It sure beats the usual plan of waiting for my site to get indexed, rank for longtail phrases and THEN hopefully convert into an ad click or sale.

Traffic from these sites can be as targeted as search engine visitors: many are looking for recommendations from peers or actively engaged in a specific activity that is relevant to my site. But unlike search visitors, they aren’t coming in blind into your website from a query.

They know more than your page name, url and meta-description. They know your avatar, they know your history of contributions. They have a rough idea of who you are. Your words are in their face before they even click over. You’ve already presold them by making yourself familiar.

The most common problem we face is the lack of time. Can we outsource something like forum, blog or social site marketing? Yes, of course. But use people who know what they’re doing or else you’ll be wasting your time. If you’re a one-person operation, it might not be good for your brand to have someone that’s not you out there, even if you have an excellent ghost.

But small businesses, big businesses and multi-author content sites? No problem.

In any case, the whole experience of marketing without search engines is educational. It forced me to go out and represent my brand. This is me, I own this website. Hello, here’s what I do. Take a look. Here’s why this will be interesting.. and so on.

Once again, nothing revolutionary but when you’re not depending on search engines, its a make-or-break situation. How can I not just get clicks but the most value out of each click? What web page should I link to, who should I target, what content angle to use etc.

It forced me to work and persuade on a social level you don’t really think about because you’re always focused on existing traffic/users or things that will improve a machine’s reading of your site’s worth. Then you realize the value in having a strong brand and reputation.

I would recommend that you try pretending that search engines don’t exist, even just for a week or so. Especially if you’ve got a new website. Search engine traffic is invaluable but there’s a lot of visitors out there just waiting for you to show them your site.

If you’ve already reached a plateau in organic search traffic and its not making you as much money as you like, why not focus on promoting your site outside of search engines?

So, how would you market your website if search engines didn’t exist?

Via Dosh Dosh.

Increase Sales by Building Credibility

The Internet has opened a whole New World of information and opportunity for all of us. However, it has also created a breeding ground for scam artists. For this reason, many Internet users are very reluctant to share their personal information and order products online.

As an Internet entrepreneur, it is your personal responsibility to ensure that your visitors feel very comfortable with you and your web site. In order to gain your visitor's trust and confidence, you must build your credibility.

Domain Name

In order to establish credibility, you must be willing to invest in your own domain name and professional web hosting. Web sites hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and will suffer a serious loss of business. Your visitors may feel that if you don't have your own domain, you may not be a credible company. They'll simply take their business elsewhere.

Contact Information

Provide your visitors with your complete contact information. This information should include your "real" postal address and not a Post Office box number. A business that hides behind a PO box loses credibility. It's perfectly acceptable to use a PO box as long as you also include your postal address.

Create a page to add to your web site called "about" and include all of the following:

• A personal or professional biography
• A photograph of yourself
• A complete description of you and/or your company
• Your web site and/or company objectives
• Your name, address, phone number and email address

It is very important that you include an "about" page, especially if you're selling a product or service. You must do everything in your power to put your visitor's mind at ease.

Privacy Statement

Internet users are becoming more and more concerned with their privacy. Create a page on your web site called "privacy" and let your visitors know exactly how you will be using the information you collect.

This page should include all of the following:

• How do you plan on using their information?
• Is their information sold or shared with a third party?
• Why do you collect their email address and how will it be used?
• Why do you track their IP address?
• Let your visitors know that you're not responsible for the privacy issues of any outside web sites you may be linking to.
• Why do you use order forms and what do you do with the information acquired?
• Do you run contests and what do you do with the information?
• Do you have a discussion forum or message board? Let your visitors know that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and they should exercise caution.
• Do you have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under your control? If so, let your visitors know.
• Let your visitors know how they can opt out of your mailing lists.
• Provide your visitors with your contact information, should they have any questions in regard to your privacy statement.

Testimonials

Another great way to build your credibility is to display your customer testimonials. Include your customer's name, email address and web address with each unsolicited testimonial to increase believability.

Money Back Guarantee

To further increase your credibility, you must completely remove your potential customer's risk. Provide them with a solid, no risk, money back guarantee. This will put their mind at ease by building their confidence in you and your product. In addition, you must honor ALL refund requests in a timely manner with complete professionalism.

No matter what you're selling or how great your product is you will receive refund requests. It's just a part of doing business. Don't take it personally or try to argue the point with your customers, simply give them a refund. You may be surprised to learn that the customers who ask for a refund may purchase other products from you in the future.

Feedback

Many times, potential customers will have questions in regard to your products and services. Create a page on your web site called "feedback" and place a form on this page to enable your visitors to contact you. It is very important that you answer these questions as quickly as possible. Your personal response to your potential customers can literally determine whether or not you're going to make a sale.

A feedback form will also enable you to gather testimonials and receive suggestions to assist you in improving your web site, products or services.

Secure Server

If you're processing your customer's orders online, you must place your order form on a secure server. This will protect your customer's personal information, while at the same time, provides your customers with added confidence in placing an order with you. In addition, make sure you let your visitors know that their information will be processed on a secure server.

By taking the time to build your credibility with your visitors, you will increase your Internet sales considerably.

Secret Formula for Writing Headlines that Sell

We all know the importance of a powerful headline. However, writing a great headline isn't as easy as it sounds.

An effective headline will literally force your potential customers to learn more. It will instantly ignite a certain emotion and intrigue them to read on.

In order to write an effective headline, you must learn how to use specific words to achieve a specific reaction.

Before writing your headline, you must first learn a little bit about the basic human motivators. According to psychologist Abraham Maslow, human behavior is always the result of one or more of five basic needs. He listed these needs in a sequence that he refers to as "the hierarchy of human needs."

He believes that until a less important need is met there won't be any desire to pursue a more important need. Below are the five human motivators, beginning with the basic needs and continuing to the most important needs.

Physiological - Basic human needs include hunger, thirst, shelter, clothing and sex.
Safety (Security) - Human need for physical, emotional and financial security.
Social (Affiliation) - Human need for love, affection, companionship and acceptance.
Esteem (Self Esteem) - Human need for achievement, recognition, attention and respect.
Self-actualization - Human need to reach their full potential.

When you are aware of the basic human needs, you can incorporate these needs into your writing. A great headline will appeal to your potential customers' emotions. You must feel their needs, wants and desires and write your headlines with passion and emotion.

When writing your headlines, keep in mind, you only have a few seconds to grab your potential customers' attention. If your headline doesn't immediately catch their attention, they'll simply move on and never return. Below, are several different formulas used by professional copywriters to write compelling headlines.

How to

"How to Increase Your Sales Up to 500% by Using This One Simple Strategy"

Headlines beginning with 'how to' are very successful, as the Internet is all about information. Internet users have a strong desire to learn. A headline beginning with 'how to' immediately grabs your potential customers' attention and forces them to read on.

Question

"Are You Sick and Tired of Working for Someone Else?"

Headlines written in the form of a question are very effective, as they appeal to your potential customers' emotions. When they read a headline written as a question, they'll answer the question in their mind. If the question identifies a specific need, want or desire, they'll read on.

Command

"Double Your Income within the Next 12 months --Guaranteed!"

A command headline focuses on the most important benefit your product or service has to offer. It instantly demands your potential customers' attention and intrigues them to read on.

News

"Announcing a Brand New Breakthrough in E-Publishing"

News headlines are very effective and used to announce new products and services. They are written in the form of an announcement or introduction and create curiosity.

Testimonials

"Internet Marketing Exclusive is Pure Genius -- Our Sales Have Increased by 40%!"

Headlines written in the form of a testimonial are very effective, as they instantly begin building trust.

When writing your headlines, certain words, when combined together, will literally draw your readers' attention to your ad. Below, are of few of these "Power Words" that consistently work.

Breakthrough
Discover
Discovery
Easy
Free
Guaranteed
Hidden
Incredible
Love
Master
Money
New
Powerful
Profits
Proven
Results
Revealed
Scientific
Secret
Shocked
Shocking
Ultimate
Uncovered
You
Your

According to a Yale University study, the following words are the most powerful words in the English language.

Money
Discovery
Save
Easy
New
Love
Health
Proven
You
Results
Guaranteed
Safety

Just as certain words ignite different emotions, certain subjects have a broader interest than others do. Some of the most popular subjects include wealth, love, health and safety.

Take your time and try the different formulas according to your needs. Use a combination of the power words and write a headline that sells. By learning the art of writing headlines that focus on the basic human needs and emotions, you can increase your sales considerably.

Starting Your Own Internet Business

Developing a successful Internet business is the ultimate goal of the Internet entrepreneur. However, statistics show that most Internet businesses never make any real money.

Making money on the Internet isn't easy -- it takes a great deal of time and effort and requires a total commitment. You must be completely passionate about your business and have a sincere desire to succeed. Anything less will be a complete waste of your time and will most likely result in failure.

You must also realize that success isn't going to happen overnight. There will be many obstacles along the way and a great deal to be learned. However, anything worth having is worth working towards and won't come easy. There will be many long days and sleepless nights. However, if everything falls into place, and you plan each step very carefully, the end will justify the means.

The largest obstacle you will ever encounter is fear -- fear of the unknown -- fear of change -- fear of failing. Fear is the root of failure and prevents dreamers from living their true passion. They fail to try.

Above all else, you must take the first step to overcome your fears. With each step you take, you will become a little closer to achieving your dreams. As long as you keep trying, you'll never fail.

There are many common characteristics shared by successful Internet entrepreneurs. Below are some of the most important:

Set Your Goals

Set your goals and write them down on a piece of paper. Set short-term reachable goals and long-term higher goals. However, don't set them too high, as this will cause you to become discouraged if you don't achieve them.

Work consistently toward accomplishing your goals each day, each week and each month until you reach your short-term goals. When you have attained your short-term goals, set them a little higher each time -- ultimately you will achieve your long-term goals.

Self-Disciplined

Get up early each day just as if you were working outside your home. You have to take your business very seriously and be completely self-disciplined.

Self-Motivated

Set up a daily schedule and stick to it. Your own personal drive will have a great impact on your success. You must have the ability to work independently and stay on task.

Positive Attitude

Your attitude is one of the most important factors that will determine your success. Your attitude will either guarantee your success or guarantee your failure. If you have a positive attitude and believe in yourself above all else, you will succeed.

Organizational Skills

Create a list of all the things you want to accomplish during the day. This will give you an organized approach to each day.

Attention to Detail

Whatever you're doing, do it to the best of your ability. Pay close attention to detail. Nothing is ever going to be perfect, as you're only human. However, if something is worth doing, it's worth doing right.

Developing your own Internet business is one of the most difficult, yet rewarding experiences of a lifetime. It is a continuous learning experience and will be filled with many valuable lessons you will carry with you for the rest of your life -- some good, some bad, but lessons still the same.

Although there aren't any shortcuts to achieving your dreams, there is something you can do to speed up the process -- Don't try to reinvent the wheel. Follow in the footsteps of successful Internet entrepreneurs who are already successful. Not only will you save yourself a lot of time and money, but you'll also have a road map to success.

Developing Your Credibility

An important part of building a successful Internet business is developing your credibility.

Although the Internet has opened a whole New World of opportunity for all of us, it has also created a breeding ground for scam artists. Internet users are very reluctant to order online and share their personal information. For this reason, you must take every opportunity to build your credibility.

Domain Name

The first step in establishing a credible Internet business is to invest in a domain name. This will instantly convey to your visitors that you take your business very seriously.

Web sites hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and will suffer a serious loss of business. Your visitors may feel that if you don't have your own domain, you may not be a credible company. They'll simply take their business elsewhere.

Contact Information

It is very important that you provide your visitors with your complete contact information. This information should include your "real" postal address and not a Post Office box number. A business that hides behind a PO box loses credibility. It's perfectly acceptable to use a PO box as long as you also include your postal address.

A great way to display your information is to create an "About" page. Your "About" page should include all of the following:

• A personal or professional biography 
  
• A photograph of yourself 
  
• A complete description of you and/or your company 
  
• Your web site and/or company objectives 
  
• Your name, address, phone number and email address 
  

An "About" page is a very important part of building your credibility -- especially if you're selling a product or service. You must do everything in your power to put your potential customers' mind at ease.

Privacy Statement

A credible business should let their visitors know exactly what their policies are in regard to the personal information they collect.

A great way to disclose your policies is to create a "Privacy" page. Your "Privacy" page should include all of the following that apply:

• How do you plan on using your visitors' information? 
  
• Is your visitors' information sold or shared with a third party? 
  
• Why do you collect your visitors' email address and how will it be used? 
  
• Why do you track your visitors' IP address?
  
• Let your visitors know that you're not responsible for the privacy issues of any outside web sites you may be linking to. 
  
• Do you run contests and what do you do with the information?
  
• Do you have a discussion forum or message board?
  
• Let your visitors know that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes
  
• public information and caution should be taken. 
  
• Do you have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under your control? If so, let your visitors know.
  
• Let your visitors know how they can opt out of your mailing lists.
  
• Provide your visitors with your contact information, should they have any questions in regard to your privacy policies. 
  

Feedback

Many times, your potential customers will have questions in regard to your products and services. To further build your credibility, provide your potential customers with an easy way to contact you. Create a page on your web site called "feedback." Place a form on this page to enable your visitors to contact you.

It is very important that you answer any questions you may receive as quickly as possible. Your personal response to your potential customers can literally determine whether or not you're going to make a sale.

A feedback form will also enable you to gather testimonials and receive suggestions to assist you in improving your web site, products or services.

Share Your Expertise

Another great way to develop your credibility is to share your expertise. You can do this in a number of ways including:

• Writing Articles
  
• Providing Free Tutorials
  
• Offering Free Courses
  
• Writing Reports
  
• Distributing Free Ebooks
  
• Publishing an Ezine
  

Sharing your expertise will enable you to promote yourself as an expert in your field. Not only will it assist your potential customers, but it will also develop your credibility.

By taking the time to build your credibility with your potential customers, you will increase your Internet sales considerably.

Tools of the Trade

An essential part of running a successful Internet business is quality software. Software will play a major roll in your success. You must be willing to invest in the software you'll need to assist you in running your business.

Email Program

The first and most important software you'll need is a quality email program. Although most Internet Service Providers include email accounts for their customers, these accounts aren't adequate for an Internet business -- especially if you get a large amount of email. Not only do the email addresses contain your ISP's name, but they are also very limited on features and options.

There are many email programs available on the Internet. However, the best program I've found is Thunderbird. Thunderbird is a standalone email program that works with any ISP. It will enable you to easily organize your email by filtering your messages into specific mailboxes. This feature alone can save you a great deal of time. What's more, your email address will be your own domain -- not someone else's.

Mailing List Software

Collecting your visitors' email address is one of the most important steps in developing a successful Internet business. You must develop a database of potential customers if you truly want to succeed.

Publishing an ezine is a great way to accomplish this. In order to do so, you must have a good mailing list program that will enable you to send your potential customers personalized messages. If you're an America Online customer, you won't be able to use a software program that runs on your computer. You'll need to use a program that runs with your web browser.

Below is the list of software I've used with good results:

AutoResponse Plus (Mailing List / Autoresponder): Complete list management including unlimited lists, HTML or plain text mailings, MySQL database, customizable auto-personalization of messages, automatic removal links, unlimited follow-up autoresponses and more.

1-2-All Broadcast: A complete list management system including HTML or plain text newsletters, MySQL database, personalization features, automatic removal links and more.

HTML Editor

Your web site is the storefront of your business and is one of the most important factors in determining your success. In order to design your web site, you'll need to get a good HTML editor like Dreamweaver or Microsoft Frontpage.

Before you begin the actual design process, I highly recommend that you install two web browsers -- Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. These are the two most widely used browsers on the Internet. However, they are not created equally. Your page might look great when viewed through Internet Explorer, but may not display well when viewed through Firefox. It is very important that you view your web site through both browsers, and design your pages accordingly.

Graphics Editor

Graphic design is an intimidating subject for many Internet entrepreneurs. However, most of us must learn some basic design techniques in order to avoid the high costs of hiring a professional designer.

In order to create and/or edit your graphics, you'll need to invest in a good graphics program. The most popular program used by Internet marketers is Adobe Photoshop. This powerful program is the only program you'll need to design professional looking graphics.

Zip/Unzip Program

Zip files are used to compress and transport file archives over the Internet. It is the preferred method used for electronic file distribution, as rather than downloading several different files, you can simply download one Zip file. In addition, the download time will be minimized, as the files within the Zip archive are compressed.

Once a Zip file is downloaded, it can be easily opened and extracted (unzipped) with a Zip/Unzip software program.

Although there are many Zip software programs available on the Internet, WinRar is the most popular. WinRar makes working with file archives simple.

FTP Program

File Transfer Protocol, better known as FTP, is a procedure used to upload and download files to and from your web server.

In order to use FTP, you'll need to download and install a software program on your computer such as FileZilla.

Text Editor

Text editors have a variety of uses such as writing HTML, editing scripts, and writing ezine articles -- just to name a few. NotePad is an excellent text editor and is most likely already installed on your computer. However, it can't handle large files and is better suited for smaller files. You may find that you'd like an editor that is a little more powerful. I use a great program called NotePad++. This powerful editor will enable you to edit large files, format your text, convert your text to HTML, and even includes a spellchecker and thesaurus.

Although this list of software is far from complete, it will provide you with a basic guideline to get you started.

If you're serious about your business and you really want to succeed, purchasing software is an absolute must. Do your homework and select software that best suits your needs. It will be well worth the investment.

10 Tips To Becoming A "Make Money Online" Sheep

Do you want to start a "Make Money Online" (MMO) blog? Yes? Well, let's be honest, you've missed the boat, that ship has sailed. The world wide web is now flooded with people trying to grab their slice of the pie. I remember hearing a saying once that "nothing original is ever created in a vacuum", and I think that saying can definitely be applied to the whole MMO niche. So with that in mind, here's the definitive list of tips you can follow to become a Make Money Online sheep.

Number 1: Grab that 'dot com' domain

As a MMO sheep it's important for you to realise that snagging that domain name is the first crucial step to being accepted by the flock. A lot of the big fish like to use their real name as their domain name, for example, johnchow.com, joelcomm.com and zacjohnson.com. Then there's the alternative crew, that use something a little more descriptive, for example, problogger.net, entrepreneurs-journey.com and doshdosh.com.

Number 2: The inspirational tag line

Without an inspirational tag line, how will you appear credible, driven and worthy of following? Now this is the toughest part for a MMO sheep, because you need to make a choice. You need to decided whether your tag line lets people know that you new on the scene and heading for big things, or that you're already a big deal.

You can go with the tried and true "Make Money Online" type theme, as you can see caroline-middlebrook.com/blog, which is also another example of the name as domain thing.



Or you can let people know that you're really serious by whacking a "100%" in front of it.



Or you can go for a "Make Money Online" play on words.



You can also go for the tag that lets people know that you're the 'been there, done that' guru.



The "Experiment" is another common theme, but if you get stuck, just combine all these ideas into one.



Take your readers on a journey... Follow me as I go from zero to hero with a click of the mouse...

Number 3: "Create" that pseudo web 2.0 style logo

Remember that whole "nothing original is created in a vacuum thing"? That probably sums up the Web 2.0 design trend. Everyone digs it, me included, so make sure your blogs logo has at least a splash of 2.0, some gradients, strong outlines, reflections, faux shine, anything will do. If you're stuck, check out some of the examples in tip number 3.

If adopting a full on web 2.0 style is not your thing (check out the CashQuests.com logo above), then maybe you should just consider ripping of the diamond/Superman emblem. See if you can spot the similarities here.



Number 4: Use WordPress and pick a copycat theme

The "MMO A-List" all favor WordPress and all have themes that share some key similarities. If you want to succeed as a MMO sheep, you better not deviate from the tried and true path. When you write a MMO blog, your theme choices are restricted. You must leave a butt load of room for advertising, and if possible, you must also include a picture of any of the following:

• An exotic sports car
  
• Yourself draped in blonde ladies wearing t-shirts with your blog logo on them
  
• You standing next to, sitting beside, or swimming in "your" luxury swimming pool
  
• You holding a big fat cheque, the bigger the better. Don't listen to anyone else, size f@$*ing matters!
  

Now, as a MMO sheep you may not have access to any of those things, but wait... you have heard of Photoshop haven't you? Either that, or wait until the next motor show rolls into town and get your photo taken with the Bugati and the glamour girls.

In terms of actual blog layout, again, there's only one way to go. Follow the big guys... bahhhhh... and either find a theme that looks like the one I've so kindly mocked up below, or train a code monkey to put a custom one together for you.



Now next time you're checking in on your favorite MMO blog, take a good look at the layout, notice any similarities?

Number 5: Do the "Free eBook for everyone that subscribes to my newsletter/feed" thing.

This is an absolute must if you want to follow the flock. All the big guys do this, so you should too! The secret is, to package up your eBook in such a way so as you give visitors the impression that they are getting priceless value for free, when in reality you're serving up the same meal that you and all the rest of the MMO crowd recycle day after day. The key ingredient here, is to plug that eBook with as many affiliate links as you can possibly fit in there.

Would I ever pump out an eBook? You bet your ass I would, as soon as I get time to actually put words in my word document.

Number 6: Include an anime/cartoon style character of yourself in your header somewhere.

This is a phenomenon I don't fully understand. With that said though I can offer you some insightful insight into what you should and shouldn't do.

As you can see from the 'best of' compilation to the right, you most definitely need to make sure you're drawn with a Cheshire Cat style grin. You also need to be doing something with your hands. Best not to flash gang signs, but you can flash some cash, do the power point, or just wave.

You should also have spiky hair, and must be wearing some sort of Chuck Taylor All Star things.

You must not be drawn to scale. Your head must be drawn so that it is disproportionally big to the rest of your body. What the 'big head' thing actually means is open to conjecture, I'm sure the pop-psychologists reading this will have their own theories.

Here's an example of a way over the top big head, also flashing the thumbs up, while lying in a hammock.



I feel kinda bad for the minister of marketing because it appears as though he's missing a finger on his left hand.

Number 7: Run some sort of competition

I guess it can be a little surprising to find the sorts of things people are willing to sign up for in the hope of winning a prize, even if that prize is only a ball point pen with your face on it. If you want to mix it with the big boys though you'll need to give away an iPod or iPhone, the prize of choice. Don't look at it as giving away something for nothing though, as part of the deal you want to make sure that whatever the entry requirements are, that they at least cover the prize costs. How much would 200 one way back links cost anyway?

Number 8: It's all about RSS Subscriber numbers

Those little RSS subsciber count widgets carry a lot of weight in the MMO world. It's like the money blogging equivalent of a penis measuring competition. As a sheep, it may be a little hard to build up an impressive figure, so, because size matters, head for the RSS plastic surgeon... photoshop. Those widgets are really just little graphics, I'm sure I'm not the first person in the world to think they'd be simple to modify? If you want to go the legitamate route with this, consider joining this with number 7.

Number 9: Do include a picture of two dogs humping

OK, so this one isn't actually a tip, nor a genuine suggestion, I just remembered I posted this picture a year or two back and it's still gold... OK there's that, plus I really needed to pad this list out or else I wasn't going to hit the 10 tip mark.



Number 10: Create a 'tips' list

A 'top XX tips' list is one of your best bets when it comes to scoring social networking traffic, such as Digg or Stumbleupon. If you're in any doubt, do a quick search on Digg for 'top tips' and take a look at the volume of Diggs some of those posts get. A top XX list is also a dynamite way of imitating the MMO A-List. It's important to remember that the "top XX list" can come packaged in different forms, 'top tips', '10 secrets to...', and so on and so forth.

The number of 'tips' you need to provide is up to you. The once mighty Shoemoney seemed to heavily favor a list of 10 with titles such as; "My Top 10 Worst Ideas To Make Money", "The 10 RSS Feeds I read", "10 Reasons I Delete Your Email", "10 Reasons Why You’re an Idiot".

If you want to be a true sheep, there's no room for individualism or creativity, so based on my exhaustive studies, I'd keep you 'tips' list to 10. Besides that, providing a list of more than 10 is dangerous because sheep have notoriously low attention spans, and you wouldn't want them wondering off into another paddock.

Bonus tip: Alway include a bonus tip

If you're going to create 'list' or 'tips' style posts, always make sure to include a "bonus tip". Gives the people the impression they are getting something special for nothing.

In summary

Let's be honest, it's easy to adopt a tried and true strategy to get things up and running. I'm more than guilty of that myself. I guess one of the points to take away from this, if nothing else is, in a 'market' that is growing increasingly competitive, simply falling into line may not be the best strategy if you're trying to draw an income. The question we might need to start asking ourselves is, how will we make ourselves stand out from the flock?

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Source: Swollenpickles.com

Search Engine Optimization: Content That Search Engines Love

Note: This is not a "Guide to hack the Google AdSense." I respect Google and all the other search engines. The sole purpose of the article is to benefit the Google Adwords, AdSense, and the advertising community in general.

We all know that Revenue of your website, Traffic on your website, Popularity of your website, Return ratio of your visitors, and credibility of your website - all these largely depend upon the content of your website. Content is King. It's the heart and soul of any online business. Google loves good content. According to Google AdSense engineers - "Content that promotes industry of AdWords advertisers is the ideal content (so that Smart pricing doesn't hits you)."

Below I will list some great way to get quality contents for your websites.

Source #1: Article Websites

This is the fastest, cheapest, and easiest way to get the articles you need for your upcoming website. You can get a number of articles from these websites on almost any topic. Many professional writers post the articles on the "Article Websites." You can host these articles on your website by giving proper credit to these writers. Industry experts post the articles on "Article websites" and wait for great links to come in. As these articles are posted directly by the experts, they make interesting reading and have credibility. These articles are technically accurate and keep your visitors glued to your website. This increases the page views.

These articles are set on broadcast mode, and the duplicate content can be found at many other places on the net. Search engines like good and motivating content, but your visitors may get bored by reading the same information again and again. Though, it doesn't mean that you should not use Article Websites, as they are still a cool source of high quality content.

One thing you must remember while hosting these articles is to give proper credit to the original writers. Read the Article Website's Terms and Conditions carefully and abide by them.

Source #2: Write Your Own Content

If you are an expert of the industry for which you are searching the content, who else can write better than you? Articles in your own words are called unique articles. Search engines as well as your visitors love unique articles. If you have unique content, it will be easy for you to ask links from some high profile websites. This will increase the inflow of traffic to your website. Unique content also gets maximum bookmarks, and visitors return to your website again and again for more interesting information.

Here are a few tips on how to write your own unique content.

1 - Surf the Forums

Almost every topic on the web now has forums for the same. People discuss problems, solutions, tips, and tricks related to your industry. This provides enough material for you to write your own version of the story. Locate the problem that most people face, search for its solution, and write something useful. This is the best way to do it.

2 - Get the Inspiration

Surf the web, dig out your competitors, and know what content they are providing, and ponder over what makes their websites so good. Use the same data as inspiration, add your own comments, add negatives or positives (pros and cons), and add comments from forums. Ideal strategy is to jot down 5-6 articles around one topic only. While writing, keep in mind that the content of the articles should be easy to understand. Avoid lengthy sentences, difficult words, and unnecessary repetition. Remember, you are not displaying your mastery over the language, instead you are communicating with your potential customer. The effort should be on trying to make him understand what you want to say.

3 - Get Content from Your Visitors

Let the visitors post articles on your website. They can email the articles to you, or else you can put up a "Post Article Form" for their convenience. Let them post comments on your articles - like a small forum thread for each article. This will keep the search engines hooked to your page. Moreover, you are generating content without moving a finger.

Source #3: Get the Content Written - Paid

Hire a content writer if you feel that you can't write the content. You can get many of them on freelancing websites. Ask the content writer to write unique content related to your industry. Specify some topics, if you can. If you can't, just specify the number of pages you want him to write for your website. You will get customized content.

Here is a list of a few websites where you can find the people to write content for you.

http://www.elance.com
http://www.rentacoder.com

Keep posting the content on your website. New content on your website keeps your website fresh and tasty - both for visitors and search engines.

Benefits of Unique Content

There are numerous benefits of writing eye opening, unique content.
- It builds web presence. People bookmark your website, and you get more returning visitors.
- It gets you links easily.
- If the content is posted on Article Websites, you get good links. If you have compiled good article website, your potential link partners look at you with respect. I have never seen an email shouting at me while I run my link partnering campaign, even if I drop them 15 continuous emails with the same content, accidentally making it a spam. I get links from the websites that are the masters of their industry.
- Source of free advertising.
- Search Engines look at you with more respect.

If you are beginner in this game, Article Websites are the best way to start with. Unique content may have more respect, but there is no point in writing content if you don't know the ins and outs of the industry you are targeting. And for God's sake, don't create confusion over internet! It's better to have duplicate content on your website than give wrong information to your visitors.

Content With Higher AdSense Payout

Content development can be tough and time consuming. For whopping fast returns, it's better to create websites either on the industries that are high paying or on the niche keywords. 

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Source: Keywordcountry.com

Ad Placement: The "Chicken" Method

Look at the table to the right. Where are you going to get the majority of your food from? What area of this set layout is going to see the most activity?

The center plate, agreed?

Now, think of your blog and where you place your AdSense advertisements.

1. Are you placing your ads in place of the center plate?
2. Are you placing your ads in the place of your silverware?
3. Are you placing your ads in the place of your cups or somewhere else?

The center plate gets the most activity..

We've already established this correct? If that's the case, don't you think that the same rules should apply when it comes to placing your AdSense advertisements or any other advertisements onto your site?

Put your ads where the chicken is

If your readers are vegetarian you're simply screwed. But for the most part, the chicken on a plate trick should definitely increase your

*Page CTR
*Page eCPM
*Earnings





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Source: VideoBloggingTips.com

Top 5 WidgetBucks Support Questions

While WidgetBucks transitions to a new and improved customer support ticketing system, we thought we'd provide a summary of top issues coming into our customer support team:

1. Why are my eCPMs fluctuating?



We're seeing a combination of things happening, not just across the WidgetBucks network but the industry as a whole: First, simply put, Q1 is not Q4. Each year, during the holiday season, price premiums are built into Q4 ad spends, and as the shopping season passes and enters the new year, those premiums tend to go away. This year is no exception and is a trend we also saw last year on the WidgetBucks network. History has shown that this tends to rebound as the quarter continues.

Second, as the economy has impacted brand budgets, we're seeing more movement, both coming and going, of advertisers across our network. We're working with existing ad partners, as well as pursuing new relationships, to maintain eCPM (effective cost-per-thousand impressions) as things stabilize after the holiday. Nonetheless, see this report on TechCrunch around the trending of eCPMs industry wide.

Our No. 1 goal is to make you, the publisher, more money than on any other network -- and that's what we're committed to. If you are experiencing issues with eCPM, we encourage you to contact Tue Pham (pronounced 'Tray'), Senior Publisher Network Manager, at tue.pham [at] widgetbucks [dot] com.

2. Why is my application being denied?

WidgetBucks is focused on securing advertiser relationships to create the most revenue for our publishers. As a result, our advertisers need assurances from our team that content on sites containing WidgetBucks ads is conducive to their brand values, and meets our Terms of Use. Applications from sites that contain adult and gambling content, or those with offensive language, get denied. Also, sites that are not completed, still in development or have just a single blog post on them will also get denied. This is consistent across the industry when it comes to approvals (BlogCatalog is another example).

3. Why has my account been suspended?

We are finding that a majority of sites that get suspended are a result of miscategorized or misrepresented content. When this is determined by our content review team, standard protocol is that we email the publisher to alert them of the issue. Frankly, when the content is grossly misrepresented, suspension typically happens immediately. When the misrepresentation is borderline, we contact the publisher and provide them 24 hours to make any adjustments, and if those aren't made or there is not response from the publisher, the account is suspended. Note those that do respond and/or we connect with regarding issue -- and it's resolved -- we can get reactivated quickly and back on the road to top-notch earnings.

We also have sophisticated and proprietary click fraud and impression fraud filter systems in place, and track these systems continually. Refer to WidgetBucks Terms of Use for more details on what content is allowed and restricted.

4. Why is my widget not appearing?



In July, WidgetBucks provided CPC and CPM Country lists, meaning that site traffic from those countries earns revenue based on its designation. For example, visitors from the U.S. and U.K. represent CPC earnings, whereas visitors from India and Ireland represent CPM earnings. If you have installed WidgetBucks ads on your site but they are not appearing, you may be viewing the ads from a non-CPC or CPM country, and therefore no ad would appear for you but WILL appear for people viewing your site from a CPC or CPM country. If you are from a CPC or CPM country, and your WidgetBucks ads aren't appearing for you, please contact tue.pham [at] widgetbucks [dot] com.

5. How are payments calculated and paid?

WidgetBucks distributes payments, earnings and commissions to publishers up to 45 days following the month your account balance reaches $50 or more. These are sent primarily via PayPal, with some also receiving checks. WidgetBucks generally does not send checks to countries outside of the U.S.; however, if you are approaching the $50 theshold (and you can't receive PayPal in your country), contact WBHelp [at] widgetbucks [dot] com to make special arrangements.

If you have other questions that weren't addressed here, contact WBHelp [at] widgetbucks [dot] com

Thanks again for using WidgetBucks on your site or blog!

- Dean

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Source: Widgetbucks official blog

Make Money On The Internet With An Amazon.com Affiliate Site

You've probably heard before a lot of hype about how much money you can make with affiliate programs. Maybe you've even set up a site yourself, only to find that after buying the domain, a few bucks a month in hosting, software or a web designer to design your site, etc., that the piddly affiliate fees hardly even covered your cost. Well, here's the hype-free way to really make money with an Amazon.com affiliate site. And it'll only take a day to make the site. The secret? Low cost, low effort.

Here's How:

1. If you don't already know it, learn some basic HTML. You have to do this to keep your costs down and still get what you want. Even if the site is basically laid out for you, you're going to need to know how to insert images, create hyperlinks, and do some basic text formatting.

2. Decide on your topic. You're going to be doing product reviews and recommendations, so pick a topic that you enjoy and know something about. If you can't stay passionate about the topic, that will show, and it also won't hold your interest. Choose a narrow enough niche to be distinctive, e.g., bands from your city, left-handed guitarists, music for a certain kind of dancing, authors of a certain religion, books about arts & crafts, etc.

3. Choose your domain name. Make it keyword-rich, not clever. Think how people will find your site in the search engines. Here are some ideas (all available when I first wrote this, though a few have been snatched up):

Music: BandsFromTexas.com, BandOutOfBoston.com, SouthpawGuitarists.com, ClassicPsychedelia.com, Non-Stop-Hip-Hop.com, Merengue-Music.com
Books: Mormon-Authors.com, Arts-and-Crafts-Books.com, Books-by-Stephen-King.com, ClassicBusinessBooks.com
Others: Best-Baby-Toys.com, MomsMags.com, FelliniMovies.com

4. Register your domain name. If you're not technically inclined at all, register your domain wherever you set up your hosting in step 5. Otherwise, you can save a few bucks by choosing a lower-cost provider. Not a big deal for one or two sites, but it can be for ten or twenty. I use GoDaddy, who have great domain management tools and are less than $10 a year. The least expensive I've found from a reputable source is 1&1, whose price is around $7 a year last I checked.

5. Set up your web hosting. This is where most people get burned. For this kind of site, you do not need $10 a month web hosting! Find a cheap Web Hosting for Under $10. Some are as little as $4 a month, with unlimited domains, i.e., you can run several sites like this on the same hosting package.

6. Install blog software. "Blog, you say?" Yes. It will give your site all the structure you need, plus make it easy to quickly post new content. My pick is Blogger, which is open source (i.e., free), easy to install and use, and yet very powerful. Many hosts have a one-step installation process for it, or you can download it and follow their installation instructions.

7. Make it pretty. One of the great things about Blogger is the huge variety of templates available for it -- they can completely change the look-and-feel.

8. Set up categories. Most blog software allows you to create sub-categories to help organize your entries. This will help visitors narrow in even more specifically on their interests. For example, BandsFromTexas.com might have one group of categories for genre — rock, country, blues, etc. — and another for city of origin — Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, etc.

9. Sign up as an Amazon Associate. It's simple and free. Just visit Amazon and click on the Join Associates link at the bottom of the page (here's a direct link for your convenience). Your site should already have at least the basic setup done, even if you don't have any content there yet, as they'll review the site manually before approval.

10. Create your blog posting bookmarks/links. There are two links that are going to be essential for you to make this easy. First is the blog posting link. In your blog software, on the posting page (see their instructions), at the bottom of the page there should be a "bookmarklet". Click on the link (and hold the mouse) and drag it up to your Links toolbar in your browser (assuming Internet Explorer), or your Favorites menu. This will allow you to blog a product with one mouse click.

11. Create your Amazon Build-A-Link bookmark/link. This will make it easy to build the link with your affiliate ID built in. Log in to Associates Central, look in the left navigation sidebar, go to Build-A-Link, and under Static Links, find Individual Items. Click and drag this onto your Links toolbar or Favorites menu.

12. Build your first link. Go to Amazon and log in with your Associates account. Find the product you want to review and use the Site Stripe (gray stripe at the top of the screen that you'll see when logged in as an Associate) to get your personalized link to the item. They also offer a variety of other options for creating links and banners.

13. Blog your review. Write your product review, choose the appropriate categories for it, including a link to the product with your Amazon Associate ID built in, and hit Publish.

14. Build out your site. Before you promote your site, you want to have some substantial content there. Write several product reviews. Have at least 2-3 in each category you've created. You may also want to make a categories for articles, news, and commentary about your topic. The more content your site has, the better. And the great thing is that while you're writing all this, the search engines are getting notified automatically, assuming you turned on the notifications mentioned in step 6.

15. Promote your site. The best free way to do this is to communicate with other bloggers writing about similar topics, and to participate in online communities where your topic is discussed.

Tips:

1. You have to learn some basic HTML and basic concepts about running a web site. It's just not that hard. If you have to rely on purchased software, you won't be able to get exactly what you want, you won't know what to do when things go wrong, and you'll end up spending money you don't need to. Spend the time to learn it. It will be well worth the investment.

2. I slightly recommend music over books and other products, mainly because you can listen to the clips of an entire album in about 10 minutes and get a good enough feel for it (without buying it) to do a short review. If you have another topic that you're passionate about, great, but make sure you have a unique angle on the topic. People can get reviews about a lot of those consumer products anywhere. You need to give them a reason to come to your site.

3. To pick up some extra pennies, sign up for Google AdSense. It probably won't generate a lot of revenue, but it's free to sign up and completely effortless to maintain.

4. Set reasonable expectations for earnings. You've only invested $20. You're going to make 5% on most products. That means that you need to sell $400 worth of stuff to make back your investment. To make $20 an hour, what you write must generate $400 worth of purchases. You get credit for other purchases customers you send make while at Amazon besides just the product you linked to, so it's not as hard as it may sound. It won't make you rich, but it's not hard to be profitable, and it builds over time.

What You Need:

* A credit card with about $20 available