the-future-of-affiliate-marketing-part-2
TRANSCRIPT
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Introduction
The future of affiliate marketing is not in building websites to promote
someone else's products or programs. There is simply too much competition,
which means too much time and effort on your part with very little return.
Establishing Your Business Credentials
The very first thing you want to consider is establishing yourself as a
business entity. This is a rather easy process, but it does entail some
expense depending on how serious you are about your business. These are
the things you will need:
1. A Business Name
2. Business Cards
3. Business Website
While this is not critical when you first get started, it will help you establish
your credibility with a business owner. I would highly recommend that you
carefully consider a business name, and that you focus on the services that
you will be providing. I recommend as well that you choose this name
within the framework of creating a future business website.
Business Name: Therefore you want to pick a 3-4 word keyword
string for your Business Name. Here are some examples:
Business Marketing Services
Internet Marketing for Business
Internet Marketing for Small Business
Small Business Internet Marketing
Website Design Services for Small Business
Online Marketing for Small Business
Local Listing Services for Small Business
Small Business Local Listing Services
Small Business Online Marketing
Once you have selected your Business Name, you are ready to order your
business cards. But, if you are going to build a Business Website, make
sure that you can purchase the domain name for your business!
Business Cards. I always use
Overnight Prints. In fact, you can try
them out before you buy anything.
You can order your first 100 business
cards frees. This great deal is only
available to new users!
You can design your own business
cards online. They have more than
enough templates to get you started.
Plus, you can upload your own logo.
It‟s fast! It‟s easy? And, I think it‟s
fun!
Below, you will find the business card that I designed at Overnight Prints.
You will also see how I integrated my domain/business name into my
Business Card.
Pass these cards out on a regular basis and start letting people know that
you are now in the business of helping local businesses grow their business.
Business Website: This is your virtual business office! Is it critical
to have a business website; probably not. However, I highly recommend
you get one. I have one and I have claimed it on Google Places. I get phone
calls all the time from local businesses desiring my services.
The first thing you need is a domain name. If you have picked one of the
sample Business Names above or if you have chosen a different 3-4
keyword string, then you need to check to see if it‟s available.
Here I am doing a search at NameCheap.com, and I am looking for the
second possible business/domain name on the above list: Internet Marketing
for Business (without spaces). Just type the domain name into the box and
hit search.
My Business Card
Internet Marketing for Business was not available in .COM or .NET, but it
was available as a .ORG. It is generally accepted that if you want to
promote your business via the major search engines (Google, Yahoo & Bing)
that .COM, .NET & .ORG are the most effective extensions to use.
Go to Name Cheap to register your Domain!
How to Transfer Your Domain to HostGator for Hosting. There is one
other thing that you need to do at this point. It‟s rather simple, but it may
seem complicated the first time you do it. This is transferring your domain
to HostGator, so that you can load your WordPress theme on your new
domain in your HostGator account.
Once you purchase your domain at NameCheap, the domain is still on their
servers. You need to transfer your domain to your HostGator servers. It‟s
really easy once you have done it once or twice. But, let me show you how
to do it.
This is my Name Cheap account. You can see that I have about 10 domains
listed. If you are just getting started, then you will just have one at this
time. But, I‟m going to do an actual transfer for you. I‟m going to do it on
my domain called PlumbersInWaldorfMD.com. So, I simply click on the
domain name.
I will then be taken to a new page. I‟ve highlighted my domain name in
yellow and this page contains my registration data at Name Cheap. Keep in
mind that your domain will still be registered with Name Cheap. So, you will
receive notifications from them when you need to renew your registration.
Since I want to transfer my domain to HostGator, the link I want is “Transfer
DNS to Webhost.” DNS means domain name servers.
All I need to do now is add my HostGator domain servers and click „Save.‟
Your HostGator name servers are easy to find! Just go to your CPanel or
back office account. You will find them in the left column at the bottom.
They will look something like NS1853.hostgator.com and
NS1854.hostgator.com. These may or may not be your HostGator name
servicers. So, make sure you use your own!
Your Cpanel is easily found by typing it to the end of you domain name
preceded by a forward slash. For example: mydomainname.com/cpanel.
HostGator and Fantastico De Luxe
With the HostGator “Baby” account you get unlimited
hosting. As you business grows, this will prove to be a very
valuable business asset. If you pay for three years in
advance, you will pay $7.95/month. If you just want to
pay monthly, then it will cost $9.95/month. I have used
HostGator for quite some time now and simply love it.
Customer service is excellent!!
Use this coupon code to save $9.94 on your first month hosting:
acmephoneleads
But, the biggest advantage of having your own personal HostGator account
is that you get access to Fantastico Deluxe.
With Fantastico De Luxe you get one-
step installation for WordPress
blog(s). And, WordPress is the
premier blogging software available
today.
Note: There is one additional recommendation that I would like to make at
this time. You should register your business name with your state as a DBA
(Doing Business As) or Business Alias. You might consider establishing a
Limited Liability Company (LLC) to do this. An LLC helps you separate and
protect your personal assets from business debts and liabilities. You'll also
enjoy the pass-through taxation and flexibility of ownership that make LLCs
so popular among small business owners. Additionally, you will be able to
establish a business checking account which will enhance the credibility of
your business.
You can set up an LLC at Rocket Lawyer for free. You just have to pay the
state filing fees!
Congratulations!...
You have Just Established Your Business
Credentials
The future of internet marketing is in helping local businesses grow their
business. Internet marketing presents significant opportunity. There is
virtually no competition in this market! There are two major components
associated with Establishing Your Business Credentials. You are not going to
be in business long or you will lose interest in your business if you do not
start to build relationships with local businesses
Furthermore, you are not going to have to wait to start generating this
consistent residual income. You do not need to know how to create websites
to do this. You do not need any special skills. All you really need is the
dedication and determination to start building a real business.
I say this based on the following assumptions.
1. Local Businesses Face Competition
2. Local Businesses Understand they Need to Advertise
3. Local Businesses Already Have Advertising Budgets
4. The Internet is Changing the Advertising Landscape
Let‟s take a look of some of the older forms of advertising. Traditional
methods of advertising are losing their effectiveness because of the impact that the
internet is having on people:
Newspapers: People do not read newspapers anymore! They get the
majority of their information on the Internet.
Phone Directories: The have been declining rapidly. Where is Yours? I
dread the day my phone directories are delivered. They go right into the
recycle bin. I have despised this waste for years.
TV: Along comes the DVR & TiVo. It used to be that we had to sit through
every commercial. Every notice how the audio on commercials rises?
Advertisers realize that people are leaving the room during their
commercials. Nice try! Now, we don't have to watch the commercials
Telemarketing: This was virtually destroyed with the "Do Not Call List!" I
know, I was in the life insurance industry when these laws were passed.
Now, telemarketers have to have permission to call a home phone number.
Direct Mail: I have used it extensively. At best, I only realized a 1-2
percent yield. That is not very effective.
Print Ad: Just too expensive
Yellow Pages (yp.com): Even the phone directory companies are taking
their advertising online. But this still costs $75/monthly in my zip code.
Valpak: These still appear in my mailbox monthly. I usually toss them in
the recycle bin. However, I finally decided to do some research. I found the
cost to advertise with Valpak and I learned what types of small businesses
were advertising in Valpak.
Valpak Advertising Costs: There are 50,000 homes that they send
their advertisements to. The basic cost is $350-$450 for a one time
mailing to 10,000 homes. Conceivably, these small businesses are
paying $1,700-$2,200 per month for the full package.
Small Businesses Have the Advertising
Budget! They Simply Lack the Knowledge
of How Best to Use it!
Companies Advertising with Valpak:
Contractors:
o Windows and Siding
o Replacement Windows
o Roofing and Siding
o Air Duct Cleaning
o Heating and Air Conditioning
o Fencing and Deck
o Carpet Cleaning
o Restaurants
But, this is the way that most small businesses still advertise. They simply
do not know any better. Plus, it is extremely difficult to track their Return-
on-Investment (ROI). In other words, are they making $5 for every $3 they
spend on this type of advertising? Or, are they wasting their money?
What if you had a way to simply show them some alternatives that could
significantly raise their ROI. You do not have to try to sell them anything.
All you really need to do is show them some options. We already covered
one in Part I. The ACME Phone Lead platform is a great way for them to
receive a hot phone lead. In review, here are the basic facts again.
Pay-Per-Call Local Lead Generation fills the gap between national and local businesses!!
Furthermore, small business owners might very well receive this performance based advertising as something that will significantly increase their return on investment and have a positive impact on their advertising efforts. And, why wouldn't they? Since this is performance based advertising,
the marketer assumes the risk, not the business owner.
But, now I want to show you another great advertising
method that is entirely free to the small business owner. And, this brought to use from our good friends
at Google; and to a lesser extent Yahoo and Bing. It‟s
called Local Search listings. This was already introduced in Part I to some extent, but now I want to
show you how to use it to start building relationships with local business and to start putting some money into your business.
The simple fact is that Google will allow a business to establish a listing on
Google Places and it does not cost the business a dime. It‟s estimated that
there are almost 50 million small businesses in the US, but only 2-3 percent
of these businesses have established and verified their local listing. The market is huge and it‟s virtually untapped. Plus, while 34 percent of people
use Google to find a local business today, this number is sure to grow with the ever increasing growth of not only personal computers, but also Smart
Phones.
The large teardrop locations
are Google Places verified local
business listings (at least 90
percent of the time) SEE Next
Screenshot).
The small red dots are the
unverified businesses. Google
still lists these businesses.
They have aggregated or
collected information about
these businesses from a lot of
different sources. For
example, the Yellow Pages, US
Yellow Pages, City Search,
SuperPages, Yelp, and
Merchant Circle… just to name
a few.
HOLD THIS THOUGHT!!! These
other listing sources are know
as Citations in Google language. The more a local business has, the higher
their ranking on Google Places.
Not one of top five neurologists on Google Places had claimed or registered
their page… even though they had the red teardrop symbol that usually
denotes a registered business! So, be careful! Click on „Place Page,‟ and
this is what you will see:
This is an unclaimed Place Page! If it says „Business owner?‟… then it is
unclaimed. If it‟s claimed or registered, it will read: ‘ Owner-verified listing.’
But, these businesses that do not have verified Google Places listings are
losing business to those businesses that do!
These small businesses owners simply do not know any better. They
probably heard of Google Places, but they do not know how to get their
business listed; nor do they know how to do it properly. They think it‟s too
complicated. Or, they do not complete all the elements of their registration.
Plus, there are definite steps to take to keep a business on the top of Google
Places. Google Place registration involves many different elements.
This is where you come in. You can target these businesses and become
their Local Listing Representative. You can do it for them and charge them
anywhere between $250-500 for the basic set-up; plus a monthly retainer of
$300-$500 per month. This is how you start to build a consistent residual
income and establish your relationship with a local business at the same
time! However, if you are receiving a monthly retainer of $300-$500 a
month, you better learn how to provide some value added services!
But, when you do, you will become a valuable resource to the small business
owner. All Google search results are based primarily on relevance, and
Google Maps listings are no different. Google Maps ranks business listings
based on their relevance to the search terms entered, along with geographic
distance and other factors. Sometimes their search technology decides that
a business that's farther away from your location is more likely to have what
you're looking for than a business that's closer.
I mentioned above that Google Places involves many different elements.
This is where you can really “make your money” or “earn your stripes” with
a local business. If you understand these elements and Google‟s search
criteria, you can effectively help a small business get ranked at the top of
Google Places for a local search. And, this will help you not only build a
strong relationship with a business; but maintain that relationship as well.
If you couple this with an ability to provide a business performance based
leads, you are well on your way to helping local businesses grow their
business, and in the process your Internet marketing business will grow as
well!
Join our Team Today!!
…More Coming Your Way in Part III
Google Place Elements: Complete Details on How
to Upsell and Keep Your Business Clients!
o More on Citations!
o More on Categories!
o More on Optimizing Your Google Place
Listings
Mobile Marketing is Exploding: How You Can Gain
a Competitive Advantage!
Using Social Media Marketing to Grow Your LIST
and Business!
Plus Much More!
We will be conducting regular webcasts in 2011. If you
want to stay current, I highly recommend you sign-up for
my e-mail notifications on webcast topics and dates.
If you do not have a Facebook account, get one! You will
need it for your business! Then, join the ACME Phone
Leads Group/Tribe ASAP. This is where we will be
publishing all our webcast topics and dates.
You do not have to be a member of ACME Phone Leads to
participate!
Regards,
Rick Samara
Rick Samara
ACME People Search News
How to Build an Internet Home Business
e-Internet Marketing Services
Join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rick.samara
Skype ID: rick.samara
Join our Team Today!!