It was a Saturday, just over 2 years ago, and I’d almost finished dredging through my email… hoping to see a nice “commission earned” email. At that point I was still approaching marketing like I was playing the lottery. I’d throw an affiliate link out there everywhere I could and pray someone would bite. As you can Imagine, there was no commission coming in that day.

Then, just as I was about to log off and turn on the TV, one headline in particular caught my eye. “Golden Nuggets and Giveaways!” it proclaimed and both sounded better than what was on TV that morning so I was intrigued to say the least. Apparently, there was an online seminar starting in just a few minutes, and a massive giveaway was to be held. Totally appealed to my mindset at the time so I quickly grabbed the conference room software and logged in, eager to see what was up for grabs.

Now, I’d always avoided online seminars, and quite frankly, contact of any kind with other marketers. I was really green at this point… clueless you might say, and I was scared to death that should anyone find out, they would broadcast to the world, “Don’t buy from him! He has no idea what he’s doing!” I also had a
suspicion that this was just going to be a cleverly disguised pitch session. But what I found when I logged in absolutely blew my mind.

Here was a rogues gallery of site owners, many of whom owned sites that I was promoting, hanging out, openly “talking shop” with anyone and everyone in the chat room. Finally there was a voice to go with the names and flashy photos and I couldn’t believe what they were saying. After the big giveaway was over, the room was opened up for questions and time after time, these folks were telling people NOT to promote their affiliate links. What?! these site owners, many of whom were six figure owners (or would be later that year as it turned out.) and while they admitted that they LOVED when we did promote their sites directly,  they insisted that this simply was NOT the way to make a solid income online. This was the first of many “golden nuggets” that I would discover that day, and every Saturday since, without fail, I have been back in that room, picking up new tips, and now sharing a few of my own here and there.

In a nutshell, that single off the cuff decision to log in for that first seminar was a turning point. One That would eventually lead me from sweating it out in a restaurant to making a cozy full time income from home. I’m still in my pajamas as I type this and let me tell ya, this is what freedom feels like.

Oh oh oh.. I almost left out the best part of the story. That priceless seminar I attended, was literally, priceless, and still is to this day. All it took was a free membership at Affiliate Funnel. No upgrade required even. I guess they figured anyone who “gets it” would become a powerful asset to the company if they
learned to promote effectively. Now that’s just smart business.

Want to see what it can do for your business? Here’s the schedule…

Where? :
AffiliateFunnel.com

When? :
Saturdays at 12 noon EST – Saturday List Building Sessions (Four part series, restarts monthly. Catch pt1 this saturday.)
Mondays at 8pm EST – Introductory sessions for new members of AF. Get off on the right foot building YOUR business.

Get the conference room software on the lessons page inside the member’s area and mark your calendars. Hope to see you there

The way it works is sheer brilliance, if you’ve ever taken an online quiz or poll then this will feel really natural for you.  Want to see the report?  You’ll have to fill out the latest survey first.  Once completed (usually takes only a few seconds) you’re instantly shown the results AND awarded a bonus of anything from free advertising credits to cash.

The bonus is a nice touch, but the real value comes from the info in the reports.  Each one is basically a survey of current Traffic taxis members, and each one has different questions in it.  This is an excellent opportunity for you to discover what potential prospects are interested in.  Tailor your ads accordingly and it won’t be long before you’re raving yourself.

Check out the new Marketing Demographic Report at Traffic-Taxis

Well I certainly hope not considering designing them for others is a significant portion of my income, however after 3 days into to the launch of Tony’s next generation traffic exchange “Tezak Traffic Power” I must admit, I’m a bit worried.

A quick look at this screenshot from my aweber new subscribers report tells the tale tells the tale better than words…

As you can see, I got a HUGE spike in sign ups when TTP Launched.  I can only imagine what those numbers would have looked like I had I remembered to log in a assign more impressions when the first batch ran out.  What’s really killing me is that an ad that was a flop as a squeeze page, is on fire as a trimmed down list ad at Tezak Traffic Power.

What surprises me even more is that in all the buzz around this new exchange there’s been very little mention of how powerful the list ads feature at ttp is.  I’ve honestly never seen a free to use program like this that does so well at bringing in fresh leads.  With over 5,000 people actively surfing ttp in just the first 3 days it doesn’t look like this lead source will be drying up any time soon.  Knowing that Tony has teamed up with affiliate marketing powerhouse Paul Kinder and technical mastermind Tim Rash I have no doubt that this feature will continue to drive in the prospects for years to come.

So to Recap, Here’s the REAL long term benefits as I see them…

• List Ads

• Tony Tezak

• Paul Kinder

• Tim Rash

• Paul Kinder’s famous customer care team we all love from Traffic-Splash (yep, they’re on board too.)

• A Uniquely powerful next generation Traffic Exchange script

No Matter How you look at it, Tezak Traffic Power is a winner, and my new not so secret weapon for increasing my opt-in rate. Hats off Tony, Paul, Tim and the team… you guys have really out done yourselves.

Still on the fence? Try out the list ads at Tezak Traffic Power before you make a judgement. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your results.

In my opinion, the #1 reason people think affiliate programs are “scams” is the fact that so many go broke when they lose track of all their monthly subscriptions, and when the monthly re-billing goes through, they find themselves slapped with over draft fees, and in some cases, end up losing their bank accounts.  Truly a sad state of affairs, but as of today, help is on the way.

Sunny Suggs, Author of No More No-Script and a plethora of other newbie friendly guides, has just put together the definitive PayPal guide for online business owners.  In true Sunny Suggs fashion, she’s included a ton of Screenshots, complete with arrows pointing to crucial buttons, and clear and simple instructions that ensure it’s easy as can be to take control of your outgoing AND incoming funds.

This one is quickly going on my “must have” list and I’m sure you can see why.  Is there anything more important to your business than knowing how to keep track of your money?  Personally, I like getting paid.  I like being able to cancel a subscription that I don’t need with a couple of mouse clicks too.  Even better, I like being able to recommend free info to my newbie friends, and this one meets my 3 top criteria.  Useful info, Easy to follow, and 100% free to download.

Grab your free copy here and keep it handy.

Type atcha’ later….

Anyone who’s ever hesitated to venture into the actual networking side of network marketing would really be doing themselves a favor by grabbing a free copy of this book.  It’s light on Filler, and heavy on solid, USEFUL advice.  This launch itself is a testament to what Networking can do for your affiliate business, and Travis shares ALL of his resources here in a clear, concise, and easy to follow format.  After reading, the ebook will serve as a handy quick reference guide for just about anybody looking to take their affiliate marketing to the next level.

So what if you already know it all?  What if you hate to read?

Good for you, there is an added benefit here.  You can grab the rebranding rights to this book for a song, (including resale rights) and thankfully it’s a product you can recommend to your list with a clear conscience.  The book is loaded with affiliate links to reputable, and most important, USEFUL sites.  Any of your list members who read and act on the advice within will be thanking you for recommending the book for years to come.

Sound like a bunch of bs? Grab your free copy, give it a read, and let me know what you think.  I think you’ll agree, this one is a must have.

Visit Networking – The Evolution here.

You’ve finally realized that as an affiliate marketer, You NEED an email list of your own. After reading countless articles, seeking out expert advice, and having read a plethora of success stories from people who have created a small fortune with opt-in lists you finally decide to start building your own.

Then it happens… you think you’ve soaked up everything there is to know about opt-in lists and have followed the techniques to the T and you still haven’t seen a profit.

In fact, you may be losing money. You might be hiring ghostwriters to help you out, or maybe you’ve spent money on email marketing courses, you might have even invested in a professional squeezepage design, but only a very small percentage of your list actually buys from you, you’re still losing profit. You may realize this after a few months when you see your stats and sales figures.

So what went wrong? Why have others succeeded where you’ve come up empty? The most common mistake is that you dove straight right in, without giving though to what type of list you would like to have.  Did you plan to sell affiliate marketing products?  Maybe you wanted to sell books and information on Dog training.  Knowing what you intend to sell should be the first thing you plan when enetering into the world of list building.

Why is this so important?  Well… if you take a scattergun approach to your opt-in marketing, a “any subscriber is a good subscriber” mentality… you may find yourself trying to sell dog training books to a bunch of cat owners… just an example, but I think you can see where I’m going with that.

A simple way to remedy this common mistake is to offer a freebie of some sort that is closely related to the products you intend to sell… in the above example, writing a report on “10 ways to spoil your dog for under $10″.  Actually, I think there is a book like that out there, but again, just an example.

Using this method, you can safely assume anyone willing to trade their contact info for a copy of the report has a dog, or at the very least, plans to have one soon.  So, if you plan to be selling dog related products, you’re now building a list of “subscribers who are dying to buy your products”… as the hype machines would say.

It all starts with the freebie you are offering as incentive for people to sign up for your list… and if you’re thinking you can’t write an informative report, stop and think for a second.  Are you telling me you never wrote a book report in school?  Make use of that computer, do some research, and write a brief, but useful, report on your topic.  You might even want to give yourself a deadline and assume that this will count for %50 of your grade… or in this case, possibly %100 of your future sales from your list.

Now, you may be thinking, “well, my list is about affiliate marketing”.  That is a pretty darn wide niche.  Best to drill that down to a specific field of affiliate marketing.  Maybe you want to focus on Google adwords or adsense, and sell tools and info products related to those two topics.  Chances are you will also find very similar services that will appeal to your list as well.

Or maybe you might choose to focus on safelist marketing.  Anyone on that list would likely be interested in joining safelists, reading info on advanced safelist strategies, or even products related to writing better emails.

So, if your results are lacking, and you find that you’re not using the startegies outlined in this article, this may be a very good place to start if you wish to turn your results around and start getting something back from your efforts.

Type atcha’ later…

Learn how to take it a step further and monetize your list for maximum profit. read this free ebook.

Sunny’s new site literally just launched and is jam packed with free info.  Traffic-exchange users in particular would be wise to get their hands on some of these unique freebies and discover why we all may be losing sales in the TE’s.  I’d be willing to bet it’s NOT what you think either.

Tack on a solid affiliate program that allows you to earn commissions even as a free member and  Sunny’s AllAboutAddons.com looks like a sure fire hit.

So, pop on over to Sunny’s new place, have a look around, and keep an eye out for a REALLY special offer when you log in. Big potential, and it will probably have you shouting “YAY!” in true Sunny Suggs fashion.

Visit AllAboutAddons.com

Here’s the bottom line.  No program,  no “proven marketing system”, is going to work until YOU do.  Until you make a conscious decision to apply the necessary techniques,  nothing is going to “work” for you.  You may have to ask a lot of questions, but you better believe anyone who is successful online had their share of questions in the beginning.

If you aren’t making any money online yet, why not give this a try. Send an e-mail to the support team or owner of your primary affiliate program and ask them how you might improve your results.  Assuming you’ve already read and implemented any techniques recommended on their site,  If they aren’t willing to help, it’s a good sign you may need to look for another program.

I’m confident that anyone with a strong desire for success can achieve it, but you must adopt a “refuse to fail” mentality.  You see, you only become a failure when you make a decision to quit trying.  When you quit trying, you’ve essentially chosen to fail, and at that point there’s only one person to blame.

In short…  seek the knowledge, apply the knowledge, and persevere.

 Note: There are two great places you can go to learn and ask questions from some of the top names in affiliate marketing.  1st is the Net Marketing Forum, a free to join forum already filled with tons of helpful q&a posts, or if you prefer a more live format, check out the free weekly seminars at affiliate funnel, every saturday at noon EST.

Click here to check out the Net Marketing Forum

Click here to visit affiliate funnel