"Starting an online business the right way and reaching profitability 67% faster!"
 

"Starting Smart!"an online e-zine for newbies and semi-seasoned Internet marketers alike.

 

Issue: January 24, 2004

"How to Stop Internet Thieves and Make Money from Them at the Same Time."



"Starting Smart!"
The Ezine for the Online Marketing Newbie
and Junior level Internet marketer

January 24, 2004
Karl Augustine - Publisher

Subscribe Link:
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com



*Greetings, I hope all is well with you...

Hello,

Welcome new subscribers, thanks for being here! Without you, none of this would be worth a hoot.

Lots going on as usual, enough that I can't catch up. I'll be brief in this issue and I apologize for being a little late with it...sorry!

A couple of quick topics and I'll be done with it.

The first item up for discussion deals with Alexa rankings and targeted traffic. Last week, a very well known publisher and Internet marketer said in his newsletter that sites that aren't in the 40K mark on Alexa don't make any money. Hmmm, as much as I admire him (not telling who, he's a great guy), I have to respectfully disagree.

Of course, he may have been talking about sites that are making lots of money, that's another story. But, since our focus in this e-zine is about saving time and money and reaching profitability fast, we can talk about sites that make money, no matter how much money, as long as their growth is ever-increasing.

Truth is, you don't need heavy Alexa rankings to make money with your website. You need a good product, good sales copy, and good conversion rates and VPV, but being in the top 40K is not a necessity to make money online.

How do I know? Both my sites make money and neither is anywhere near in the 40K range. Sure, I'd love the ranks to increase...I'm working on it.

If you get 1 sale of a $30 product from 30 unique visitors per day, you'll make money. How much is web hosting anyway? Cheap cheap cheap. I have 3 sites and have the full package with H4P and I pay $38 per month. Also, I can add additional domains for $5 per month. Other than web hosting, what other real fixed costs do you have in an online business that are absolutes? Not many.

Now, I'm sure a site owner that gets 30 unique visitors per day is going to want lots more traffic, I know I do! Who doesn't? And, 30 uniques per day isn't by any stretch of the imagination going to get you into the top 40K of Alexa rankings.

But, with targeted traffic and good closure rates, a site with 30 uniques can make money.

So how do you get targeted traffic?

Well, you've heard JV's, PPC, and SEO are the way to go...I agree. But, for the newbie, the best and most targeted traffic is from search engines in my opinion.

I'll take all my traffic from search engines, 8 days a week!

Why? Because the people who go to a SE and find what I have to offer, really want what I have to offer if my keywords and optimization match my product.

No doubt about it...the trick is to be able to get good rankings for your keywords.

Ok, how do you do that? Find a niche, narrow it, then make your domain name appropriate to that niche. Then, optimize your pages and let the SE's find you by getting linked to your site from a well traveled or high ranking site. (You can get linked to linkopedia for $10 in about 2 days...this site is in the 40K range at the time of this edition). If you don't want to spend the ten bucks, post a message on a well known forum with your SIG that includes a link to your site. (Of course, do not do this is the forum rules don't allow it.)

Getting targeted traffic isn't that hard. Getting LOTS of targeted traffic is much tougher. To accomplish this, you'll need to get some strong affiliates who will promote your product directly from their site for a cut of the profits of any referred sales.

Ok, 2nd topic: Security! "Ugh" right? No, not that tough really...and you do want to protect your web site from I-net thieves. You'd be amazed how easy it can be for skilled hackers to 'look inside' your site.

Rather than run on about security, I'll leave it to Bogdan Ravaru to give you a looksee. His article is featured below.

I hope that you start your online business if you haven't already. It certainly is fun, rewarding, and not that tough really if you just decide to keep going!

The password to the Members page for "Community Chest" is in the email sent to you announcing the online version of this newsletter.

And last and most importantly...

Thanks for being a subscriber to "Starting Smart!"... if you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, JV opportunities you'd like to discuss, etc., email me directly.

MAILTO:karl@9mistakes-online.com

Thanks for being here and enjoy the rest of the issue!

Karl Augustine

"The Regular Guy"



Also in this edition...

*Viral Marketing
*Products every Internet marketer should have
*Featured Article #1:
"How to Stop Internet Thieves and Make Money from Them at the Same Time.", by Bogdan Ravaru
*In the news...

*Featured Article #2: "Your E-Business Strategy: Is It Love ... Or Fear?" - by Steve Shaw
* Subscriber Spotlight- New Feature!
*Welcome New Subscribers! Help us grow...
*F*reebie(s) of this issue in the "Starting Smart Community Chest!"
*Copyright and Publisher Info


*Viral marketing

LOOK: All Publishers and List Owners

Since this Viral eBooks are the subject of this issue, seems fitting to piggyback eh?!

Remember to increase traffic to your site and promote your affiliate links by using 1 of the 2 versions of the min brand-able version of "9 Deadly Mistakes...". One version is for people who have been members of certain affiliate programs for a while and are in programs that have been so successful, that they aren't allowing new applications.

The other version is a trimmed down version that anyone can profit from.

The pdf branding software is fantastic and extremely easy to use, branding the book only takes 1-2 minutes. Send an email now to MAILTO:brand9@9mistakes-online.com to get the 2 brand-able versions and begin increasing traffic to your site and promoting links. In my reply email, you'll receive full instructions and the link to use to brand either book.

Give the pdf branded Mini version of "9 Deadly Mistakes..." away to your list.

MAILTO:brand9@9mistakes-online.com


*Special Gift from Paul Myers

This is a report you should read, FULL of content...

No cost report about consistency in your marketing and the user experience...click below to download.

Viral Study

Once you have downloaded the "Viral Study" pdf, I strongly encourage you to subscribe to Paul's newsletter "TalkBiz News". Paul's been doing this for years, and is one of the web's most prominent copywriters and marketers and he only puts out top quality stuff. He's got a good sense of humor too!

Paul isn't aware I am doing this and I have no stake in it whatsoever. But, as someone dedicated to helping newbies and junior level marketers, this is an automatic thing...you'll learn a lot from Paul.

Subscribe by sending a blank mail to TalkBiz



*Products every Internet marketer should have.

Cory Rudl's ONE DOLLAR 30-Day Trial of "Insider Secrets to E-mail Marketing -- Advanced Series" eBook

To get your trial eBook, click here

Note: I have this book, it is detailed, thorough, and the only book you'll need for email marketing.

To get your trial eBook, click here


*Attention: Anyone who has an online business!

There is a new tool offered by Terry and Marc Goldman of "JV Secrets Revealed" fame. (I have the "JV Secrets Revealed eBook", worth 10 times the price...it helped me close many a JV deal.)

This tool system Marc and Terry have developed have everything you could ever need to run an online business.

Here's a small and partial list of the tools you have at your fingertips:

Shopping Cart, list server, ad tracker, pop up maker, site tracker, rotator for headline tracking, survey creator, unlimited auto responder (this is an terrific feature), and MUCH more.

All of these tools are easy to use and are MUSTS for anyone with an online business. I have been using these tools and wish I would have had this package when I started out online.

I am not going run on and on about it, just click the link below right now and check it out for yourself.

Special Note: You are being offered a 30 day Free trial because you are a member of "Starting Smart!". The rest of the public only gets a 7 day trial. If you click the link below and don't at least try it out for 30 days, you are cheating yourself if you're serious about running an online business.

FREE 30 day trial of the Ultimate Marketers Resource

You also will receive 7 special bonuses just for giving it a try. 1 special bonus that is actually an interview with Tony Blake that will undoubtedly help boost your online profits. What this means is, you nothing to lose and everything to gain with an offer like this.

CLick here-->FREE trial of the Ultimate Marketers Resource

 


*Featured Article:
"How to Stop Internet Thieves and Make Money from Them at the Same Time.", by Bogdan Ravaru

Let me tell you a true story...

More than 14 years ago, when I was still a kid, my family and I visited my grandparents in Obarseni... It's a small village in Romania, you wouldn't know it... :)

My grandma had a roost with about 20 chickens in there. And there was this thing that caught my attention...

When the night would fall, my grandfather would go there and set up several small animal traps around the roost.

I was very curious, so I asked my grandfather: "Grandpa, what are those things for?" and my grandpa replied: "They are there to catch foxes my dear. When the night falls, they come for our chicken."

"And what do you do when you catch them grandpa? Do you release them the next morning?"

For as long as I live, I will never forget what my grandfather replied:

"Heck no, son! First I skin them, then I feed them to the dogs and then I sell their fur!"

And he went on:

"You won't believe how much money I have made this way. Fox furs are very expensive. Plus, I save a bunch on dog food!"

Only decades later did I understand how much business sense my grandpa's words made.

You see, your website is no different than that roost. It has many "chicken". Digital products, sales-letters under construction, experimental software, unpublished articles and so on...

And the foxes? The foxes are present as well. People who try to gain access to these pages and files for fr!ee, without paying you for the blood sweat you've put in.

Unfortunately, most online business owners will never take advantage of this fact in order to profit like crazy!

They either stand still and wait for the foxes to eat their chicken time and time again, or, at the very most, they just try to protect the chicken without making any profit from the foxes themselves.

Too bad!

"That's interesting Bogdan, but how can I do this? How can I actually make money from online thieves?"

Beats me! Ok, ok I'm kidding.

Actually, it's *very* easy once you know how. You don't believe me? Here's one of the simplest techniques that almost nobody is using!

When thieves try to 'attack' your site, several "error messages" are created by the web server software.

Let's say for example that you have a digital product named: "Secrets Of Chess". Do you know what many people will try to do?

They will try to type in the address bar:

http://www.yoursite.com/download

or maybe

http://www.nameofyoursite.com/sos.pdf (sos="Secrets Of Chess") ..and 100+ different combinations.

Every time the address they type does not lead to a real file, a "404 Error" message is produced. I'm sure you have seen one. I'm talking about those ugly "Page Not Found" pages.

So, what can you do? Simple! You configure your site so that each time an "Error 404" is generated, the fox, errr... sory, I mean "the visitor" will see a page of YOUR choice.

This can be done ultra easily since most hosts have an online panel that does that in a couple of minutes. But even if such a panel does not exist, you can email your webmaster and he can show you how to do this easily.

Or just do a search on google.com for "create custom 404 pages" or "how to create 404 pages".

Now, the question is what to put there...

My suggestion?

NOT the same page that the visitor has just seen. If s/he decides that the only way s/he would have access to the product is for free, then maybe it's time to take "another route".

What is that route you ask? Simply, put a page for an *affiliate* product there. That way s/he will see a completely different offer and you stand a good chance of making some commissions.

Of course, there are many ways that you can easily make *100 times* the profit from online pickpockets. As I said: It's *easy* once you know how...

I will only say this much: You are ignoring a goldmine in your site if you are not incorporating similar techniques...

I guess my grandfather never knew how much money I would end up making because of that little chat we had so long ago.

God bless his soul...

Thanks for reading,

Bogdan
=====
Bogdan Ravaru is the co author of the shocking report:
"Project Mousetrap from Eastern Europe: How to Build the Perfect Mousetrap for Online Rodents."

"Discover the Amazing Secrets of Two Webmasters from
Eastern Europe that Allows Them to Stop Internet Thieves
Cold... and Skyrocket Their Profits at the Same Time"

Click Here Now ==> http://www.projectmousetrap.com
=====


"In the news"

Google's Latest Dance Looks Like Slam Dancing!

 


*Featured Article:
"Your E-Business Strategy: Is It Love ... Or Fear?" - by Steve Shaw

I read recently that every human thought originates from either love or fear. The more I thought about it, the more true it became. I began to apply it to business - after all, every business success or failure originates ultimately from human thought. This article examines the effects that love or fear can have on your e-business - is it love, or is it fear, that dominates the way you do business online?

If it's fear, you fear you're missing the 'one big thing', and so you attempt to try absolutely everything in case that's the thing you're missing. You read every email that comes in promising business success, and attempt to follow what they suggest.

The only problem is you are attempting to follow several strategies at once, but there's only one of you and not enough hours in the day. You end up barely touching the surface of each strategy, and you become disillusioned and despondent. You tell everyone who will listen that everything you have tried simply doesn't work, and that the Internet is a money-making myth.

You are constantly fearful of your competition. You worry they are doing more business than you, that their offer is better than yours, that they will drive you out of business. You try to copy them, and emulate their style, but somehow it just doesn't work and your heart isn't in it. You feel like you're always following some way behind, rather than out in front, leading the pack.

You have no idea where your sales are coming from, and when you have a couple of 'dry days' with no sales at all, you're panic stricken, and all you can think about is business failure. You've been running your business blind, you have no idea what's been working well and what hasn't, so you have no foundation on which to base your decision making, and no faith that what you are doing is working.

You begin to feel unfulfilled, over-worked, over-stressed, and you can feel yourself burning out. The motivation for your business begins to disappear, and you soon end up with no business.

Instead, if it's love, you concentrate on Strategy A fully, before even considering B or C. You do your homework first - you read all the literature, you know it's been very successful for many people, and you believe you can do it too. You studiously, deliberately and methodically follow the strategy. Rather than diluting your energy by pouring it into many different moulds, you pour all of it into this one, persistently and with considerable dedication.

You don't see much happening at first, but you still have faith, and you re-examine the strategy to ensure you are maximizing the possible outcome. Over time, you begin to see the positive results. This reinforces your energy and motivation, and increases the beneficial effects you experience.

You tell everyone who will listen how well it works for you - others try it too, and begin to see positive results for their own businesses.

You look for ways in which you can work with your competition for mutual benefit. You think about a JV, and approach your competition with it, even ensuring that the benefits for them outweigh your own. Your competition can see how much benefit your proposal could be for both parties and agree to it. The end result is a highly positive outcome for both sides, and you agree to work more closely together in future.

You concentrate on your own USP, and inject your business with a sense of your own style, confidence, and overall business strategy. You see others beginning to emulate you, which you take as a token of admiration, boosting your self-esteem, and thereby further improving the way you do business. You find yourself leading the marketplace.

You have a couple of dry days, but you know that occasionally this happens for whatever reason, that your targeted traffic comes from multiple sources, which show excellent conversion rates. Instead of fearing business failure, you quickly check everything is okay with your merchant account or payment processor and check your site is functioning normally, and you know sales will pick up normally again very soon. You concentrate your energies instead into new avenues of promotion.

Instead of running your business on fear, and consequently witnessing it shrivelling up and dying, you run it on love - you have a passion for what you do, you always take positive action, and the more successful you become, the more it fires that passion.

Your business expands and becomes more successful. And the positive energy from your own business begins to rub off on others.

Can you see how a simple change in approach could transform your business?

About the Author:

Steve Shaw develops software and systems for effective e-marketing. For example, his PopUpMaster Pro software allows you to add popups to your web site that beat the popup blockers, and vastly improve your response rates.

For more information please go to http://popupmaster.com.


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(c) Karl Augustine
http://www.9mistakes-online.com
http://startingsmart.9mistakes-online.com
"9 Deadly Mistakes To Avoid When Starting An Online Business". How much time and money have you wasted? For more time saving and money making tips, get your full copy here => http://www.9mistakes-online.com


*Subscriber Spotlight- New feature...

If your an e-zine owner and a subscriber to "Starting Smart" and want me to feature your e-zine here, please send me an email (mailto:karl@9mistakes-online.com) with "I'd like to be in the spotlight" in the SUBJECT line and include a link to an issue of your e-zine. I cannot get to everyone, I do apologize.

I'll feature 1 e-zine per issue that will be non-competitive in nature to each other.

I also require that you include in your email to me, one of your online blunders and how much it cost you in time and/or money!

Thanks!


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*Welcome New Subscribers!

For those of you just joining, welcome!

Your time is valuable and I'll do my level best to make this "read" time well spent. I am just a regular guy, just like many of you out there...I stuck with it, and now am having a blast doing what I love to do. Keep a positive attitude and you can do just about anything....seems like old news, but it works and we all can use a little reminding now and then.

Please forward this e-zine in its entirety to any friends or colleagues who you think may find it useful. Or, refer someone by using the button at the bottom of the page.

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*Freebie(s) of this issue

This issue's freebie(s) can be found in the "Starting Smart Community Chest"

Click the link below and use this info to gain access:

*Username is "communitychest" without the quotation marks (" ")
*The password to the Community Chest is in the email I sent to you announcing the online version of the newsletter and in the text version itself.

*The link to access the "Starting Smart Community Chest":

http://www.9mistakes-online.com/members


*Copyright and Publisher Info
"Starting Smart" is copyright 2004 by Karl Augustine.
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without consent from the publisher.


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Karl Augustine

"The Regular Guy"

 


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