Do You Make these 7 E-Mail Marketing Mistakes?

Do You Make these 7 E-Mail Marketing Mistakes?

By   June 08, 2017   No comments:

There are some pretty specific rules for what you can and can't do with your e-mail marketing. And a surprising number of people don't realize that those rules are actually in the form of laws (the CAN-SPAM act)!  As in, if you break the laws, not only will you anger the people on your e-mail list, but you could set yourself up for fines and lawsuits!

Thanks but no thanks!

So - in a nutshell, here are the 7 things you must know about how you do your email marketing.

#1 - You can't use misleading information in the header of the e-mail.

You've got to be honest with the people receiving your e-mail. They need to be able to clearly see who it's from, who it's to, what it's about, and the domain it came from. You need to complete all of this information accurately in any marketing email you send out.

#2 - Make sure the subject of your email is clear and specific

You can be creative with your subject lines and use great copywriting techniques, but you need to make sure that the subject line of your email is clear. The people who receive your messages need to be able to tell from your subject line exactly what your email is about.

#3 - Make it clear that your message is an advertisement

This is another part of being honest in your marketing. Make sure that somewhere in the text of your email to your subscribers that you include a disclaimer that the message they're reading from you is an ad.

#4 - Tell the people receiving your message where you're located

No more hiding behind your screen - you've got to give a mailing address for your business when you send email marketing to your subscribers. Now - this could be a PO box if you don't want to have your home address going out to people you don't know. But you need to list a correct mailing list for your business.

#5 - Tell your recipients how to opt-out of receiving your messages

I know you worked hard to get everyone on your mailing list. But to be fair and ethical, every message you send needs to include information on how to opt out of receiving future messages from you. And this goes along with everything I've said about getting followers on Twitter , fans on Facebook, etc. You want the right people on your list, people who are interested in what you have to offer. A mailing list of 1000 people who want nothing to do with you is a whole lot less valuable than a list of 100 people who can't wait to hear about your next product or service offering.

#6 - Take care of opt-out requests ASAP

This goes along with the last point - if someone unsubscribes, you need to honor that request in a timely manner. This is a specific requirement of the law.  Any unsubscribe link on a message you send needs to work for at least 30 days after you send the message. And you need to actually complete the "unsubscribe" action within 10 days after you receive the request.  You can't make people jump through a lot of hoops to unsubscribe, either.  It needs to be a simple reply email or single page on your website to unsubscribe.

#7 - Make sure anyone working for you like a virtual assistant is following the law

Ignorance isn't bliss, contrary to the old saying. You need to stay on top of what your team is doing in your name. If your VA is sending out emails with your brand on them, you're responsible for what's in them. And if your marketing emails are breaking the law, you're the one who will be held responsible.

That's a lot of information, but it's one that's pretty important to get right from the start!

Read More

bad things about clickbank

bad things about clickbank

By   June 06, 2017   No comments:

Unlike most affiliate networks, there’s a real good chance that you will never get paid from ClickBank unless you’re making regular commissions via their network. Here are three reasons why.

1. You Need To Make At Least 5 Sales to Get Paid

You will never get paid if you make one or two sales. In fact, you need to make at least 5 sales (best case scenario) to actually get paid the first time.

According to ClickBank:

ClickBank will withhold payment of any account balance until the following criteria is met:

• Sales made with 5 or more different credit card numbers; and,
• Sales made with two different payment methods (either Visa, MasterCard, PayPal or European Direct Debit(ELV)). Note: PayPal purchases do not count toward the minimum 5 different credit card numbers.

This requirement is in place to help prevent Affiliates from abusing the ClickBank Affiliate program by using their accounts for the sole purpose of fraudulently collecting rebates and/or discounts on their own purchases.

Once you have met the Customer Distribution Requirement, your account will begin issuing payments normally, in accordance with our Accounting Policy, beginning on the next payment issuing date.

What this means is that a single sales doesn’t matter. 100 affiliate sales don’t matter either if everyone paid via their VISA credit cards or PayPal. Make sure you understand this requirement, as it closely relates to the next shocking fact you never knew about ClickBank.

2. There’s a “Dormant” Fee Up to $100 a Month

Yes, if you do not make any new commissions, ClickBank will penalize you for it. Deductions start at $1 per “Pay Period” which is every two weeks in ClickBank.

According to ClickBank:

Accounts with a positive balance but no earnings for an extended period of time are considered dormant. Dormant accounts are subject to a charge of $1 per pay period after 90 days of no earnings, $5 per pay period after 180 days of no earnings, and $50 per pay period after 365 days of no earnings.

I only realized this after checking that dormant account. We should have taken the money out sooner while there was still something to be paid out.

3. You May Never Get Paid

If you decide to promote Clickbank products, you need to keep it going till you get past the minimum 5 sales requirement, and set your minimum payout as low as possible, to actually start getting paid. If you decide to “take a break” from ClickBank you may return a year later to find that your earnings have disappeared.

There’s a real chance that you may never get paid from ClickBank despite all your hard work promoting their products as an affiliate.

A payment threshold is in place that can be met in less than 90 days to avoid dormant accounts.

Be glad you read this!

Read More

Tips to Developing The Marketer's Mindset

Tips to Developing The Marketer's Mindset

By   June 06, 2017   No comments:

Before you start building your internet business empire, think about this... Did you ever wonder if you have what it takes to be an online entrepreneur? Are you truly ready to take your ideas from conception to successful operation?  It's not enough to say you want to make money online or to be your own boss. You've got to have the right mindset.

Not everyone will achieve their online goals.  It takes a special person.  You don't have to be a workaholic or be willing to engage in questionable marketing tactics.  You just need to have a few characteristics that are common to most successful Internet marketers.

This industry requires a deep commitment.  If you're the type to change jobs with your moods, then stick to a 9-5 gig.  You're building a business and it takes time, effort, and tweaking to make it work.

Perseverance and a positive attitude can also make or break an entrepreneur.  You're going to have down times. Every marketer does. Something will go wrong - whether it's a freelancer who didn't deliver on time and threw off your launch date or a JV partnership that fell through. If you panic and shut down, you'll tarnish your reputation as a true professional.

The great Internet marketers don't fly by the seat of their pants.

They believe in being meticulous planners.  They make schedules and plans for their day, week, month, year, and even further down the road.  

They plan every step of a launch before the product development even begins.  They plan every single detail they can think of.  The more detailed you are with your plans, the fewer things there are that might go wrong.

To become an authority in your niche, you need to exude confidence.

Even if you're worried, anxious, or unsure of yourself, what you project must be that you have it all together - you can't be paralyzed by fear.

Are you willing to be a student for life?  No successful marketer gets to the top and stops learning in this industry.  That mindset eventually leads to losing out to the competition... to another hungry marketer who's stayed on the ball with up-to-the-minute solutions and practices in your niche so that they can become king of the mountain when you let your guard down.

You have to know how to get from point A to point B on your journey to achieving financial independence.  Do you know what you'll say when your in-laws or spouse questions your "career?"  If you're a fearless marketer, the inquisition won't bother you a bit.

If you aren't sure how to develop a blueprint for your success, don't know how to set and achieve goals, or have a mindset that's not in sync with that of victory, then work on those things before you quit your day job and set off on this voyage.  You want to be mentally prepared for the ups and downs along the way.

You can do it!

good luck with your online marketing efforts ...

Read More

Launching Your Own Affiliate Program

Launching Your Own Affiliate Program

By   June 06, 2017   No comments:

If you have your own product, launching an affiliate program is a necessity if you want to reach your full profit potential.  Even if you manage to control a massive 10% of your entire niche market on your own, that still leaves 90% of that niche's traffic on the table.
By setting up an affiliate program, you can harness the power of having other people make money for you.  Instead of spending your time promoting your product, you can let other people do it for you while you spend your time forming JV partnerships, developing new product ideas, getting new products created, and taking care of other tasks to grow your business.

There are many ways to set up an affiliate program.  Which one you choose will probably depend on what type of product you're selling, and where you're located in the world.  A lot of people purchase affiliate scripts that allow them to run their own affiliate program through PayPal.  

But PayPal doesn't allow users from many countries, and if you live in one of those countries, you'll have to find a different solution. If you're selling physical products like shoes or books, you might go through Commission Junction.  
Commission Junction is one of the largest affiliate systems in the world.  They may be a little complex to set up, and they have certain rules you'll have to comply with, but they have a huge database of affiliates ready and waiting to promote your products.
If you're selling digital products like software or eBooks, you might want to go through ClickBank.  ClickBank is the world's largest seller of eBooks and other digital products.  They make it extremely easy to run an affiliate program, and they take care of almost everything for you.  



They handle the billing for you, they handle customer refund requests, and they can even handle some of your customer service questions.  They'll even pay your affiliates for you.  ClickBank*does take a percentage of your sales, so if you're paying your affiliates a 50% commission, you'll be making a bit less than 50% yourself, because of ClickBank's fees.  
They also charge $49 up front to approve your product before you're
allowed to sell through them.  But you'll have fees with any billing solution.  After all, they have to make money somehow, too.

An alternative to ClickBank is PayDotCom.  it is very similar to ClickBank, but with a few differences.  With PayDotCom, you don't have to pay an upfront fee to sell a single product through them.  
The money also goes to your PayPal account, which can be another big benefit.  But for people without PayPal accounts, PayDotCom isn't going to work.  You need a PayPal account to be paid, and you'll also have to pay your affiliates out of your PayPal account, as well.

Another easy solution for selling digital products is JVZoo
First and foremost, JVZoo commissions are instant via PayPal. In my opinion this is the number one reason affiliates are flocking to JVZoo. As compared to ClickBank who makes it hard for new affiliates to get paid, and traditional networks like Commission Junction that may take up to 90 days to pay your commissions, JVZoo uses PayPal’s Adaptive Payments technology to pay you instantly at the point of sale.

With PayPal’s adaptive payment however, a single payment is truly split between the seller, JVZoo, and you. When the seller initiates a refund for the buyer, PayPal will automatically deduct the split amount from all accounts.

another big thing we want to mention in our JVZoo is the integration with Warrior Forum, probably the largest marketplace for Internet marketing products. This is done through their “Automated WSO Failover System”, which is basically a replicated offer of your original WSO post on their own forum.

A WSO (Warrior Special Offer) forum is where hundreds of Internet marketers in the “make money online” niche post huge discounts for their products. Some even sell exclusively through the Warrior Forum.

Don't forget to create an affiliate toolbox, too! In order for your affiliate force to make sales, they'll need ready-made marketing materials such as banners,buttons, eCovers, emails, and articles they can use.

good luck with your online marketing efforts .

Read More