09 Jul 09 A Quick Review of Blinkweb – A Free Hosting Platform For Your Blog

In the last few weeks, I came across Blinkweb blogging platform and decided to experiment with it.

Creating a free account is straightforward and, once you have logged in, there is a nice interface where you can create and edit your blog, content page or sales page.  If you are new to web publishing, there are some great tutorial videos which explain how the system works.

Blinkweb has a variety of pre-configured templates which can be selected and once you have made your selection, all you have to do is edit the page.  This turns out to be easy to configure and includes the ability to edit your title and a slogan phrase in the header, add your own meta description and meta keywords and you can even include google analytics code in the footer, should you so desire.

To add content to your pages, there are several options on the left-hand side of the page.  To add an element, such as a container for images, all you do is click on the icon and drag it into the editor window.  Once there, clicking on the element allows you to upload images or add text.  There are options to add video, Flickr Picture galleries, Contact Forms, Guestbooks, Maps and Google Ads.  Additionally there is a tool to add custom html code and Blinkweb will even host files for you.

Once you have sorted out your content, clicking the Save and Publish button the first time allows you to select a sub-domain name for your web site.  Once the content has been saved with your new sub-domain, it is live on the internet. This is the stage where you can also choose to host a domain name with Blinkweb for an additional fee.

• Comparing Blinkweb to buying a domain name, web hosting and installing a blog, Blinkweb offers a great deal for someone who knows very little about the internet.  It is possible to sell your products through this platform or to use the free blog to add backlinks to your existing web site.  Blinkweb is a very useful platform to build a web site.  I’d highly recommend this service for a variety of reasons;
• easy to use,
• free,
• can sell your own products,
• can use to build back links to another web site,
• can use for personal blogs, business blogs and, finally
• you can upgrade to full hosting without having to move files etc to new web space.

For further information on this, go to http://affiliateprogramstoday.com/free-hosting

23 Jun 09 Tips on building links back to your web site

Here are some tips on improving your web site’s popularity.

• There are several good ways to encourage web sites to link to your site;  the first tip is the basic “Make sure your site is worth a link from somewhere else.” In other words, your site should be useful, have great content and be useable.
• You can run PPC ads for your web site – eg use Google adwords to drive traffic.  This can cost a lot of money and it is a very technical exercise to get appropriate keywords to match your web site content for a low cost per click.
• You can market your web site yourself in free ad sites.  For instance, using USFreeAds is one good way to get targeted visitors to see your products.
• Writing articles and publishing them on article directories (you get to leave your web link in the resource box which describes you) is a very popular way of getting your web link distributed around the net.  When you publish the articles, you give permission for other web sites to use this article as long as they provide an active hyperlink to your site.
• Creating blogs on blogger.com, wordpress.com and other free blogging platforms can also provide great opportunities for marketing your store.  I just came across a new place to host a free blog – and, having tested it, I am quite impressed with the capabilities.
• Buy links on web directories.  I use this quite often (ok, I would say that because I run my own web directory at Storexplore) but I do believe that this is a really useful way of attracting the attention of the search engines which compete with Google – I keep saying that Google’s not the only search engine in town!

People often ignore the old-fashioned ways of promoting their web sites.  For instance, offline promotion of a web site can be especially effective if you are targeting local customers.

You have to work on improving your web business with the same determination and effort as you would a traditional bricks and mortar store.  There is no easy way to do this and no time like the present to start marketing your business.

Tags: link building, market your web site, web links

07 Jun 09 Reviewazon – what is it and how do I use it?

I’ve been hearing a lot about a new product called Reviewazon – and I just had to check it out.  It turns out it’s a great new plugin for wordpress.

“So what!”, I hear you say.  Well, it starts from a great premise that people like to read reviews about the products they’re going to buy.

“And?”

OK, you got me!  The answer is that Reviewazon pulls in reviews of products to your web site – more specifically, these reviews have been posted by customers on Amazon – and, as you know, Amazon is a really active marketplace for all kinds of products, not just books.  It also links to the products being reviewed.

“Yawn – I’m getting a little tired of this!”

Wooooaaaaa! – What if I told you that Reviewazon includes YOUR OWN AFFILIATE LINK in the products being reviewed and that you earn commission on sales – would that wake you up again!?

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Ok, there are some amazing features in this little plugin – you can set it up quickly and let it do its own thing.  That means you can concentrate on building traffic to your blog and collecting the commission.  You wanna know more about the features of this little sucker?

“Wow, I’m getting really interested now – tell me more!”

OK, here’s a quick list of the features -

• Lifetime Updates – You don’t have to pay for upgrades – that’s built in to the product.
• Unlimited Domains – hey, you buy it once and run it on as many wordpress blogs as you want.
• Support Forum – blow me down, the guy has even got a support system set up so that you can get help if you need it.  Don’t think you will, but, hey, I like a safety net – and that’s what you get with the support forum.
• ReviewAZON allows you to display over 25 different pieces of product content such as average customer rating, product description, customer reviews, pricing, brand, manufacturer, product details and more! – but you don’t have to use it all if you don’t want to!
• User Guide – blow me down, there’s even a great userguide for this product – so you can take your time and read it as you go through the set-up.
• Build great blogs – complete ones too – fast.  Like I say, get this set up and go away and do other stuff – promote your site, go on holiday, wash the car …   this plugin keeps on working while you do other things.
• Built in custom Sidebar Widgets helps you to display information such as product Brands, Price Ranges and Featured Products to your customers to better help them find the information they need on your blog.
• Use the built in Tabbed product listing interface to display product information to your users in a tab layout instead of the normal vertical layout.
• SEO friendly image and product URLs can be configured to display human readable links that not only help your readers but also boost on page SEO for your blog.
• Support for all the Amazon Affiliate programs including Canada, United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan.

Hey – there’s much more than that, but I think you really oughta check this out for yourself.  Why not head on over to Reviewazon – and see what you think.  I’d love you to come back here and let me know!

“Yea – I’ll do that very thing – where did you say I had to go?”

Click here to go to

Reviewazon

- I know you’re gonna love it!

Tags: Affiliate Programs, Amazon Affiliate Program, home based business, Make Money online, Reviewazon, Wordpress, Wordpress Plugin

28 Apr 09 Top 5 “Must Have” Affiliate Marketing Attributes

The ability to be in control of our own lives is one of the main reasons making money online is so attractive. Affiliate marketing is one of the best ways to make good money for people new to the idea of using the internet to earn a living.

It’s easy to identify what makes affiliate marketing so attractive: no boss, working the hours you want, no inventory, and no need to create a product of your own. It’s also quite easy to get started, and the start up cost is minimal (especially when compared to more traditional business models).

Just like any other business, affiliate marketing does require a certain set of skills if you want to be successful doing it. What follows are the five personal traits you need to make the most of your efforts.

1. Self-motivation. The downside to not having a boss, if there is one, is that you don’t have anyone else telling what to do, how to do it, or when. The ability to motivate yourself is crucial to affiliate marketing. Without it, you can still succeed, but it will take longer, and be a lot harder.

2. Optimism. Having a positive outlook will get you through the low points. When things don’t go right, learn what you can from them, focus on the future rewards, then move on. There will be affiliate marketing campaigns that don’t go the way you expect, and being optimistic will help.

3. Desire to learn. You can learn enough to get started in affiliate marketing in less than an hour, but the more you learn and put into action, the better. Be willing to learn from those who are doing well, and be willing to learn from what you are doing too. People often say, “learn from your mistakes”, and you should, but be sure to learn from what you’re doing right, too.

4. Willingness to invest time, effort, and money. When you first get started you may not have as much time or money as you like. In this case you will have to compensate by increasing the investment of what you do have; for example, if you don’t have a lot of money, you can spend more time on your business. Remember, it can take time to see results, but what you put into your affiliate marketing business needs to be consistent.

5. Discipline. If the first trait needed is self-motivation, then the final one is discipline. You can still have a flexible schedule, but any time you do have scheduled for affiliate marketing should be used for that purpose. Sometimes it’s easier to do “fun” things, but those aren’t the things that always put money in your pocket. Have fun, but temper it with the discipline you need to succeed.

These five traits will take you far in affiliate marketing, in fact, they can take you all the way to the top. To be fair, not everyone has these personal attributes, but the good news is that they can be developed over time.

Affiliate marketing is a wonderful business; one that doesn’t require much of anything to get started. Sometimes that fools people into thinking they can be lazy, but as you can see, that’s not the case. On the other hand, all you personally need to do well are the five things listed above.

Tags: affiliate marketing, how to be successful internet marketer., Work from Home

27 Apr 09 5 Golden benefits Of Internet Marketing

In the past ten years the number of people using the internet for games or to look for information has increased dramatically. There’s another startling increase in the way people use the internet – to buy products.

As an internet marketer you can tap into a huge number of potential customers worldwide. Below I’ve outlined the 5 major benefits of internet marketing.

1. Make money fast.

Internet marketing is probably the fastest way to make money. Whether it’s for the normal day to day bills and living expenses or that little bit extra for vacations and treats.

2. Work from home.

As an Internet Marketer you are able to work from the comfort of your own home. No more rushing off to the office and joining the mad traffic in the rush hour If you don’t want to get up early you don’t have to. You don’t have to think about what to wear – stay in your pyjamas all day if you prefer. When you work from home you get to spend more time with your family and, if you have children, you won’t have to worry about childminding or the days they are sick.

3. Choose your own hours.

It’s your choice how many hours you want to work. You can run an internet marketing business part-time or full-time. The more you work the more you can make. No more ‘Monday morning’ feeling. Take long weekends or vacations whenever it suits you.

4. Quit your job.

No more 9-5 – what a dream! That’s what so great about internet marketing. You can quit your job, say goodbye to your boss and say hello to a new life with work that you enjoy doing. Stress levels diminish as you set your own targets and deadlines – no longer are you at the beck and call of someone else.

5. Be your own boss.

You get to achieve things that YOU want to do and do them the way YOU want them done. No more having to answer to someone else who often knows less about your job than you do. Some people like to be told what to do and need direction and a regular routine in their life. If that’s the case have a long hard think before quitting your job. Start building your internet marketing business in your spare time first just to see if you are suited to it.

Internet marketing allows you to do something you love; working in a niche you enjoy or are passionate about. You may be looking for a complete career change or earning some extra money. The choice is yours. There are many internet marketers earning an online income which well exceeds any amount they would earn in a regular job. I have included an affiliate program directory to let you quickly find programs which will help you make money online.

26 Apr 09 Cold calls from advertising agencies

Since my poor experience recently (see posts about coolessential, I decided that it would be a good idea to make myself (and anyone else who might be interested) a check list of ways to avoid being scammed.

First of all – remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That was what I forgot.

My second experience with an advertising agency calling me was much better than the first – it was a company who are authorised by google.co.uk to manage sponsored advertising links on the google search engine. When they called at first, they mentioned their own web site and then proved to me that they had the correct authorisation from google to carry out the work on my behalf. They provided phone numbers and email addresses – but, most of all, they sent paper contracts and had physical return addresses for that.

So, here’s a quick list of things to look out for when someone phones you:-

1. Ask for contact details.
2. Do not agree to anything straight away.
3. Ask for proof that the company is authorised to carry out the work.
4. Do not pay for the work on first contact.
5. Ask for a proper invoice to be sent to you, even if you subsequently pay by credit card over the phone.
6. If the company is in the UK, check that the invoice has a VAT number if they have added a VAT amount on to your bill.
7. Check on the search engines – search for “the company name + problems” (obviously replace the company name with the real company name) That should reveal any disgruntled clients.
8. Ask for references – ask for a phone number from two existing clients.

That way, you will be doing much more than I did – and, while it might not save your bacon (… er, hard earned cash) – it might save you from some of the grief I have experienced over the coolessential issue.

21 Apr 09 BruteForce Twitter update

… ok, so far it’s only been a couple of hours since I downloaded and installed the BruteForce Twitter software program (by the way, that took a few moments but essentially went without a hitch.) I have run the program a couple of times – once on my own username and once on a search term – and the software has added me as a follower of some folks I would probably never have encountered before. That’s cool. It also is running in the background as I do other stuff – which is even nicer.

Anyway, even after such a short time, I can report that there are a few more people following me – and that’s the whole object of the exercise.

More later ….

M

14 Apr 09 Coolessential.com – further information

I thought I would just post this here as it is relevant to our previous posts on coolessential.com

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/59013/pages/5227/page.pdf – this link was posted in a comment on a previous article – and shows the details of an interesting bankruptcy -

PANNU, Phopinder, also known as Jospeh Singh and Jkoseph Pannu, formerly trading as Cool Magazine, and residing at Peckers Wood, 31 Queens Court, Ellesmere Road, Weybridge KT13 0HX and lately at 32 Churchfield Road, Walton On Thames, Surrey KT12 2SY. Court—KINGSTON-UPON-THAMES COUNTY COURT. No. of Matter—600 of 2008. Date of Bankruptcy Order—20 January 2009. These proceedings where previously advertised in The London Gazette under the description: Phopinder Pannu, also known as Joseph Singh, occupation unknown, residing at Peckers Wood, 31 Queens Court, Ellesmere Road, Weybridge KT13 0HX. Official Receiver—2nd Floor, Sunley House, Bedford Park, Croydon, CR9 1TX.

However, as I monitor the domain names of companies in which I am interested, I noticed yesterday that coolessential.com has been updated -

Registrant:
Cool Comm
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB

Domain name: COOLESSENTIAL.COM

Administrative Contact:
Pannu, Terry  Terry.pannu@coolessential.com
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB
447770407597
Technical Contact:
Pannu, Terry  Terry.pannu@coolessential.com
300 Hillswood Drive
Hillswood Buisness Park
Chertsey, Surrey KT16 0RS
GB
447770407597

The domain registration has been updated until 2014-04-13 – so obviously a bankruptcy is no hindrance when it comes to having an online presence and taking money from people.

Wow!

Tags: Cool Essential, coolessential shopping portal, coolessential.com

07 Apr 09 Coolessential.com – update 7 April 2009

What a bloody stupid mistake I made when I signed up at coolessential.com

I’ve been contemplating starting an affiliate program for my Scottish Gifts web site and, because I also promote affiliate products elsewhere, I more or less had decided that I would use one particular company for this program.  That company is Shareasale – I will publish a case study about my experience later on.  However, from an affiliate point of view, they pay promptly, they run a tight ship – and they have some great tools which make it easy for people to promote products.  Additionally, although I don’t know how many people work as affiliate marketers through them, my guess is that the number is substantial.

So, when the opportunity to put my products on coolessential.com came knocking at my door, I guess I was in a more receptive mood than I should have been.  I have had no receipt for my payment to them; I have had no notification of their VAT number;  no products have been listed on their web site;  I have no contract from them – or letter of any description.  The last contact I had from Mr H was on 30 March 2009.

Enough is enough.  It’s charge-back time.

I’ll keep you posted.

Tags: affiliate marketing, promote products, shareasale

31 Dec 08 Completely off-topic

…. I’m exasperated.  I offered to help someone set out an auction for eBay (it’s currently up and running, but looks a little rough round the edges.)  Unfortunately, when I look at the mile long copy, I realise it’s been created in MS Word (or similar) and pasted into the auction, including all the dubious coding extras.  AAAAAAAAAArgh.

Please, if you’re going to create text for auctions, why not treat yourself to the wonderful (free) Alleycode editor.

Margaret