Yep, it’s Earl Netwal interviewing Earl Netwal on my progress to date in internet marketing.  My scheduled guest was unavailable today so I interviewed myself. Thought it might be a good idea to do what we call an Ice Breaker in my Toastmasters Club.

Ideally, I would have spent some time pre-planning the presentation, but due to the last minute idea of doing the broadcast myself, I did not adequately plan my content. Nonetheless, I did pretty well and think you may find it interesting.

I discuss some of my successes and failures in internet marketing.

In the presentation, I suggest that you contact me by email to get a couple of freebies.  Since I sell these, I don’t want to put a free link here, but if you listen and decide you want one of the freebies you can just leave a comment here and I will get the links you want to you.

Technorati Tags: Bob the Teacher, Earl Netwal, HTML in Simple Terms, Microbusinessspecialist, Yearlings

Do you have an auto responder yet?

If not, why not?

The most basic requirement for success online beyond the prerequisite decision to start an online business, is to acquire a professional auto responder service.  This is the second of my series of break through posts. Getting an auto responder set up is a critical break through step in building a successful internet marketing campaign.

You can’t spend much time online without coming across one of the basic mantras of online success, the “money is in the list.”  While there can be exceptions, it is for all practical purposes a truism.

The surest prescription for long term success online is to build a list of customers and prospective customers. This is true whether you are marketing from a brick and mortar setting or exclusively online.

I farted around for some time before I finally caved in and agreed to spend $20 a month with my auto responder company http://buildrelationships.aweber.com . While I learned stuff during that interim period, I squandered a lot of opportunity.

If you are just starting out, and are serious about building business online but have not yet acquired an auto responder service let me advise you to do it today.

There are hundreds of things you need to learn before you will be truly successful online. You can’t afford to wait until you know everything to take the preliminary steps essential for success.

There is nothing as fundamental to your success as having a tool to house and manage your business list. You can get by without a web site or blog better than you can get by without an auto responder.  It won’t be the only thing you need but it is so basic, you cannot afford to let time slip by.

Once you have signed up you will need to learn how it works. That will take some time. I taught myself with the tutorials on the site. And that was fine for then. However, I discovered a lot more about the advanced features of my particular service when I took a formal course offered by Bob the Teacher  some time later.

While everything I learned in the course I could have learned in the tutorials on the site, the discipline of taking the course forced me to actually do so step by step. And so I do recommend it, although it’s not necessary if you do your homework on the site.  I used to recommend Bob’s individual courses. The autoresponder course for example was $67  but it’s now cheaper to join Bob’s Internet Marketing Success Library even if just for a few months to take advantage of the auto responder course and the many others he teaches.

Now understand that having an auto responder doesn’t get you to your destination. It’s just one of the essentials.  You will still need to learn how to drive people to your auto responder, entice them to sign up and then learn how to effectively communicate with your list members.

Anyone who told you internet marketing would be easy lied to you.  But it is possible, and it is worth it, but you must make the decision that you are going to go for it, and then prove that step to yourself and the world by seting up your autoresponder and putting it to work.

We will discuss additional steps in future posts.

Technorati Tags: Aweber, Bob the Teacher, discoverautoresponders, List Building

This is an article written by Bob the Teacher, one of my mentors. Since I’ve written recently about Squidoo and in fact put out a new Squidoo lens just this week http://Squidoo.com/ArticleMarketingHints I thought it appropriate to share. It appears I should have read this article before I named my lens.

You may create the best, most useful content on your Squidoo lens, but if no one can find it, it is useless. To increase the chance that your lens will be found, here are several strategies.

Write An Effective And Compelling Lens Title

One of the most important things to do when you first create your lens is to take the time to create an effective and compelling title. You must consider two points of view here: what the search engines see and what your visitors will see.

You need to remember that Squidoo embeds tags around the title that makes it a powerful magnet. So when the search engines index your lens, this is the first thing they look at. If you do your keyword research and use keywords that your audience is using to search for your topic, then you will score better search engine rankings.

Let’s look at two possible titles for a lens..

• Title 1: All About Beef Jerky – way too general
• Title 2: The best beef jerky for healthy diets and delicious snacks – very specific with lots of keywords for “long tail” searches.

The point is to use the specific keywords that your audience is using in searches.

You also must keep in mind that your title must create reader interest. If you have a catchy title loaded with appropriate keywords, your readers will be more likely to want to dive right into your lens.

The title you use for your lens will appear at the top of your lens and in the title bar of the browser window. This same title will also appear in the search engine results, too, so they must attract the reader’s eye right away.

Ditto For The Module Titles

While you are working researching keywords for the title, repeat the process for the module titles. Modules are the building blocks for your lens. Almost every module has both a title and subtitle, which you can turn into the Sub headings of your new webpage on Squidoo. For maximum effect, use your power keywords here as well because these phrases are marked with tags and can also influence search results.

Your lens and module titles can be changed at any time. However, the sooner you implement better keywords, the quicker your traffic will increase.

Load Your Lens With Relevant Tags

Another area to consider in making your lens easy to find are your lens tags. In addition to all the titles, you can add up to 40 additional keywords to your lens. So it really pays to do your keyword research.

Each tag can be a single word or a complete phrase. Make sure to select your very best keyword for the primary tag, and then up to 39 other phrases that are likely to attract very targeted traffic.

Okay, But How Do You Find The Keywords In The First Place?

Keyword research is one of the most essential skills in internet marketing, and Squidoo is no exception. Probably the best way to start doing research is using the Google keyword tool, which is supposed to be used with Adwords, but you can use it with Squidoo just as easily.

Simply type in the phrase Google Keyword Tool into Google, and it’s the first result. Once inside the dashboard, simply type in the phrase you believe is the best phrase for your topic and you will quickly see how your phrase compares in search volume and advertiser competition to similar phrases.

Whatever keyword phrases have the best volume/advertiser competition combination are your winners. Use them in your lens and module titles, and again in your tags.

Find Out What’s Popular With The Squidoo Tag Clouds

One of the hidden sources for keyword ideas is the Squidoo tag cloud. You’ll find the link to this at the bottom of every page, labeled as Tag Clouds.

Tag clouds are graphical representations of the most popular and most relevant topics on Squidoo. In the tag cloud the larger sized words indicate a more popular term. If your lens is related to these topics, be sure to include them in your keyword tags so you will be more easily found by Squidoo users.

These tags may also appear sooner in Google search results than your lens. However, by including the tags in your lens, you’re just one more click away for your next customer.

Link To Your Lens Wherever You Can

The final piece of this Squidoo Secret is to post a link to your lens wherever you can. There are many different ways to do this.

Blog Comments

Any time that you post a comment on a blog, be sure to include your lens URL in the comment form. Make sure you include the http:// in order for it to become an active link. You may also want to include a link at the bottom of your comment using a standard HTML linking code. However, be careful with this as some blog owners will flag your comment as spam if they believe your post is simply being used to get a link.

The rule of thumb for any blog comment is to make sure you are adding productively to the conversation. Leaving great comments will result in better traffic.

Forum Posts

Be sure to follow the rules of the site that you are posting to. Some forums for example will not let you include a website address in your post. Also make sure that your post is relevant and adds to the quality of the forum thread.

For example, don’t just reply to a post with “Great Post!”, and then include your link. Express why it is such a great post. If you disagree with the author, tell why. When you take the time to add to the content, it will pay off with increased traffic to your lens.

The best place to link from a forum is in your signature. This is often changed in a tab labeled Settings or Profile. Be sure to make your link active by using the correct forum BB code.

Email Signatures

One often overlooked method of increasing traffic to a website is using an email signature. By including your squidoo lens URL and a short description on every piece of email you send out, you can increase traffic to your lens.

Use this in your personal and business emails as well as at the bottom of your autoresponder newsletters and broadcasts.

Your Blog and Websites

If you have any existing websites be sure to include your lens. If you have a blog, announce your new lens and discuss its purpose. Then encourage your readers to look at it and provide you feedback on a lens guestbook. Use the sidebar of your blog to provide an easy to find link to your lens for every new visitor.

Making Your Lens Easy To Find Will Pay Off With Long Term Traffic

It may seem like a lot of work up-front to do all of the keyword research. But it will pay off dividends in traffic. By using relevant titles and key word tags, along with consistent linking strategies, it will be easier for your audience to find your lens. Thus you will begin to gather your tribe and be well on you way to being a great Squidoo lensmaster.

Bob Jenkins is a globally recognized Web 2.0 expert, specializing in the use of blogs and Squidoo for marketing.
Bob provides comprehensive Squidoo tutorials in video, audio, and print format at http://www.SquidooSecrets.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Jenkins
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Technorati Tags: Bob the Teacher

If you have been reading my messages for a while now, I want to thank you. I do appreciate it. Over the past several years I have often talked about Bob Jenkins, aka Bob the Teacher.

I’ve learned a lot from Bob, in fact I probably had my most significant aha! moments from him as he actually explained how to do various things, like understanding my cPanel, using autoresponders effectively, creating products, and doing tele-seminars among others.

I got so much out of his products I’ve been a little like the new convert who tries to convince everyone else to join their new found faith. If I have ever gotten too out of line, I apologize, but I retain my conviction that Bob has some of the most useful, and more importantly, most accessible training online.

I’ve since found several other good teachers who have helped me build on the base I got from Bob. I will always be looking for others, cause I will never stop learning. But when it comes to the basics and more, Bob is top notch.

My only problem with Bob was he was always creating new courses, and the prices were a bit aggressive in some of them. Not that they weren’t worth the price, it’s just a bit of a stretch when one is starting out. That’s why his new program has me so excited.

Instead of selling his products individually, has put most of them, including some of the most expensive ones, into a membership program you can access for under $50 a month if you act right now. Since I paid over $1000 for the courses I took that are in this package, I can tell you this is a super deal.

Internet Marketing Success Library http://cli.gs/u3TEE1

And no, I’m not bitter that you will be able to get them so much more cheaply, because frankly, I am hoping you will learn the basics faster and eventually become a joint venture partner of mine as I start to produce more of my own products down the line.

Since you can quit at anytime, you can grab the ones you want and then leave. But as I’ve learned it takes time to learn well. And since Bob is always adding new products, he’s betting and I’m thinking most of you will hang around a while. I know I will be, and I’ve already taken over half the courses he offers.

I see myself as a teacher. And I have been trying to do that with my blog and e-mailings. But I recognize talent and want you to take advantage of the best, particularly now as he is launching this new service. The price will go up soon, to around $80 a month so that should be incentive enough. But for those of you who are really quick, he is making the monthly membership a 35 day membership, which means that you will get two months free in your first year. Nice idea.

I am a grateful student who has learned a lot from Bob. I know you can too. And since you will be able to access courses Ipaid hundreds for right from the start, I can’t see how you can afford to pass up this opportunity. I’m serious. This is golden.

Go to: Internet Marketing Success Library

Technorati Tags: Bob Jenkins, Bob the Teacher, Internet Marketing Success Library

“If you want it done right, do it yourself.” That’s a piece of bad advice I had drummed into me as a kid. But I won’t go into why it’s bad advice today.

Instead I want to share with you an excellent program called Discover Product Creation that will help you do it yourself, if you are interested in creating your own Free Report to post on your blog or to build traffic via an upcoming Give Away Event.

I recommend you go there immediately and buy and then take the course. But if you wish, you can read my whys below.

—

The course is taught by one of my favorites, Bob Jenkins or Bob the Teacher as he likes to call himself. Bob was a high school teacher and is very good at breaking down the process of creating a report from start to finish. If you take his course and do the homework, (yes he assigns homework,) you will end up with your own first report that you can sell or give away in just three weeks.

Some of you will dash ahead and do it quicker, others will need more time if your lives and the holidays interfere. But if you commit to the process, you will succeed. Bob breaks it down into three segments, and provides nice bite sized video modules in each segment that permit you to proceed at your own pace.

When you are finished with the course, you will not only have a new fresh report of your own, but you will have mastered some basic skills with at least two free software programs that will pay you dividends for the rest of your life.

I had the opportunity to participate in the original course, and can personally attest to its completeness and value. Actually, the first class is still in session. But I have gotten enough from the first two of three segments to give it my unequivocal endorsement. I have learned not only how Free Mind works, but have come to see it as a super valuable, easy to use tool to capture my “loose thoughts” and ultimately make sense and order out of them. It’s a far better approach than the traditional outline format from high school. And much better than trying to organize my scattered thoughts on paper.

And then in the second segment, I learned how to use the free Open Office software. This is a major money saver since you can easily create PDF files without having to pay for Adobe. But while I have used open office before, by the time the second segment was over I learned in detail how to format my reports so they look truly professional.

Now much of this stuff, I already knew, or kind of knew, and other aspects were revelations to me. Some of it I used to know, but had forgotten. Unless you are already a professional editor or accomplished report producer, you should give serious thought to grabbing this course soon than later.

Even though the original session are yet to be completed, Bob has the course on the market now. He is only asking $99 for it, and I’m telling you it is a bargain. I have no doubt the price will go up significantly in the not too distant future. Particularly after the class is over and he starts putting the glowing testimonials into his sales page. He will have more than he will need.

I’m a fan of Bob’s. I’ve taken several other courses from him, and for my money, this is his best effort yet.

You will learn how to Create, Format And Deliver Your Own Free Reports To Your Customers On The Internet With Step-By-Step Video Training” Your Progress Is 100% Assured! The course is split up into 3 sections for every skill and experience level…

* Part 1: Planning And Creating The Content For Your Report
* Part 2: Formatting Your Report As An Ebook (PDF)
* Part 3: Delivering Your Report Online

You will learn all the Steps From Start To Finish

Create, Format, And Deliver Your Report With Simple, Step-By-Step Instructions Delivered
Through Video You Can Watch Online Or Download.

It is meaty, comprehensive and extremely valuable. Get it this weekend, and apply what he teaches. Do your weekly homework, and you will have a marketable report on any topic you desire in three weeks. Just in time to kick off the New Year in grand style.

If you want to do it yourself, there is no better advice I can give than to pick up a copy of DiscoverProductCreation today.

Technorati Tags: Best Products, Bob Jenkins, Bob the Teacher, How to, Product Creation, Report Writing