How to Brighten Your Day

Every internet marketer knows that it can be a real drag getting things done. I’m going to show you a simple series of daily discipiplines I do to get the day rolling right.

Sit upright. Yup, you heard me right. Before I fall out of bed, I sit up in bed. Admit it, marketer; getting up in the morning can be hard, especially if your day is swirling before you. Product launches, blog posts, and new ebooks to write. Hey, whatever it is that you do on the internet, take a moment to think it out before your feet hit the floor.

Coffee (sorry, Mormons). If you can’t drink coffee (which I personally consider to be one of the five food groups), then drink something to clear your mind and get you going. An energy shake, just water, or something.

Write. Just write. What needs to get done today? I segment a piece of paper into six sections and as I’m reviewing my day, list my to do’s in each section.

Schedule.  Each “to do” gets a time.

Pray. Yes, it’s really true; without a spiritual program, I know I would never be number one on Google for a variety of search terms. And I unbashedly hasten to say, this only works if your spiritual program includes the right mentor

Post. Get one post on your blog. after prayer and planning your day, that’s the most important thing you can do. Take a week getting it ready, if needed. If you will post one article per week, minimum, you will get more traffic and reader engagement than you could ever hope for.

Evaluating the Content of your Post’s Feedback

 

“They Like me, they Like me not”

Reader, have you ever been sad because you went to your blog post and it didn’t have any “likes” on it? Don’t be discouraged…a lot of people who check out your posts may indeed be impressed with the quality of your post, even if they don’t hit that like button. So how do you know if your reader actually likes your post? Well, if your post:

Answers their question, speaks to their problem, or scratches their “itch”, the you can be sure your reader does appreciate your post. If you put up enough posts that speak to them on a deeper level, then they probably will return, and eventually “like” your blog.

But even if they don’t hit that like button, it’s really no big deal. Here’s why; your goal as a blogger, whether you sell or don’t sell on your site, should be to connect with your reader. If you want your reader to keep returning to your chatty blog, you have the same goal as someone who wants the reader to click the “buy” button…you both want reader engagement.

Another thing you want to keep in mind is, your blog is as unique as you are.  The chances of everyone in the world liking your blog are slim, if you have a blog as unique as you. That’s because, in reality, there is no such thing as “normal”. The trick to getting followers, is to speak to “your normal”, that is, the group of people who are just like you.

If your goal is to get as many “likes” as you can, then you may be tempted to blog about items that are too generic to find you any real following of readers who are your kind of “normal”.

In my e-course “How to Sell Anything Online”, I have a special section all about this. I talk in great detail about how to connect with your reader in a way that builds rapport with them, and keeps them coming back. If you feel your blog could use some better reader engagement, then claim it here

 

Marketer, what is an internet marketer?

A lot of people want to make money at internet marketing, but what does that mean? When people use the term “internet marketing (or digital marketing, web marketing, online marketing, etc.) they could mean many different things.
They could be talking about

Affiliate Marketing
Content Marketing
Drop shipping
or even (gasp!) selling online. As in, actually selling something, a thing, a product…online. It’s the last definition here that concerns me; not because I don’t believe in selling online, but rather, I’m concerned because SO FEW PEOPLE even think about selling online when they think of making money online

It has been my experience that most people who read my website are primarily interested in affiliate marketing. In case you don’t know, affiliate marketing is just a way of making money whereby you direct your visitor to someone else’s website, who IS actually selling something. The “beauty” (yah…) of this is that supposedly, you are going to save SO MUCH MONEY on overhead; that is, expenses like inventory, shop space, wholesale purchasing, business licenses, etc, by simply pushing your visitors to someone else’s website, and getting a commission for the sale. Commission. As in, what salespeople get paid. So now, you aren’t aren’t a business owner, affiliate. Stay with me, reader: it’s bubble bursting time. Can we bust some bubbles in fairy land today?

I know you work hard…MAN do you pump it with your biz (er, I mean….opporutnity? Landing page? Copy write script?) But PLEASE PLEASE listen affiliate…. you are THEIR salesman!

Everyday, you take chances…will this ad draw clicks…will this lead capture page draw traffic. How many backlinks can I buy with this service? Will they increase my rankings? How much time can I spend CHECKING my rankings. on and on. And for what, affiliate? For THEM> for the person who is raking it in from all of their affiliates. Affiliate, I’m sure you know, some places won’t even cut you a check for your commissions, unless you hit a certain $ amount. SAy WhATTTT? Do you know any other industry that screws people over like this? Can you really trust a platform like that to send you any commissions ever? And how would you know if they didn’t?

Affiliate, if you’ve boughten the lie that affiliate marketing is the horn of plenty, then you OWE it to yourself to read my series, the affiliate letters. Get it right here:

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Content marketing and the reptilian brain.

Content marketing and the reptilian brain.

“I know it’s only rock and roll but I like it. I know it’s only rock and roll but I like it, like it, yes I do.”

Okay, do I sound two years old here? Read it again. This, readers, is the million dollar song. People from all over the world flock to hear singers from the group, “The Rolling Stones” sing this song.

Was it the lyrics that made this a classic? No way. It’s the ear candy. Without the background music and the muscicians, this song would be annoying to everyone.

It’s the same way with your website.

What eactly IS content?

Alot of marketers think that they can’t add content to their website unless they are writers who post 250 words in every article they add to their blog. But that’s not true! Other things count as content, not just writing. That’s because your content is so much more than just the words you write.

If your writing is really really poor, immature, or juvenile, then you can do one of two things; you can improve your writing skills (takes time) or you could spice up your space with some eyecandy.  You could draw your own illustrations, or pay someone to do that for you.  You could even hire a photographer. I think I have an even better idea.

Add better photos to your website.

Yep, that’s probably your best first choice for adding non verbal content that isn’t super annoying. So, having a song play automatically on a website, or a pop up form assault your readers– that’s not good. However, one super easy addition you can make to your website, if you aren’t much of a writer, is just to put a high quality photo at the top of each post.

How to get good photos on your website

Take them. No, seriously. Maybe you can’t work a camera really well, but you can invest some time in taking better pictures. I rcommend that my students spend one hour per day taking the very best photos that they can for their website. It’s expensive to constantly pay a fee for the pleasure of using a photo that isn’t exclusively yours anyway. Why not take your own?

Go online and find a really cheap camera. Get the very best one you can afford. Practice taking pictures in different lighting. Get a cheap tripod. Snap pictures of people doing very natural things that would resonate with your reader. Just make sure they look natural and not forced or staged.  At the end of the week, you are going to have plenty of pictures to choose from. Every week, put up a quality photo. You are going to learn so much about photography (why do marketers shy away from this?)

Educate yourself. If you keep screwing one thing up, go online and find out the solution. People do take selfies all the time that wind up on the front page of Google. You don’t have to have a huge lens and tons of equipment. Just intentionally invest some serious time this week in working that camera.

Well, I hope this article on Content Marketing has given hope to those of you who aren’t really writers. The truth is, your readers aren’t necessarily looking for a high articulation level in your posts, especially if they aren’t super articulate. Remember, it’s the user experience they are looking for. Even if you aren’t much of a writer, you can still help the overall atmosphere of your blog through the use of soundbites, graphics, and even an invitation for others to particate in polls and surveys. Inviting your readers to comment is also great, as this too counts as content.

Yes, it’s really true, you don’t have to be able to write well in order to write a song. The same is also true of your blog; even if you can’t write well, you can still improve your overall content.

Why your site needs content marketing

Content is the life blood of your site. When you provide content to your customers, you want it to be content that is really relevant to what they are interested in. A lot of people don’t know that if you put a lot of meaty, relevant content on your website, people will stick around longer, even if they have no intention of buying. But here’s the thing– maybe they’ll start thinking about making a purchase. Or maybe not. It might not be the right time. Or they might not be that “into” your product. Or they might find a better deal. But here’s what’s happening==if you have scratch an itch they have, if you:

answer a question

solve a problem or

provide any kind of really useful information, they will stay. And the longer your visitor stays, the greater the chance that they will return. And the more they keep coming around and checking you out, the higher the chance is that they will one day buy…but not always. But here’s the deal; sometimes, they will tell someone else about your product. Or they may share your post on your blog. Or provie a link to your article. The truth is, usually, they will buy…eventually. And even if they don’t, their extended stay is helping your rankings (yea, that matters with Google).

So. Don’t be shy… and go ahead and post some great articles on your site. And when YOU are ready, check out my ecourse.