+=+=+=+= SIM's INSIDER REPORT =+=+=+=+ ISSN 1710-0739 E-Zine #149 February, 2005 The SIM INSIDER REPORT is dedicated to helping readers succeed online while saving time and money with cutting- edge tools, tips and strategies for internet marketing, online advertising and website promotion. Note: This report is also available as a digital Web Book... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/sir/149.exe If you prefer to download it in ZIP format, click here http://startupinternetmarketing.com/sir/149.zip IN THIS ISSUE -> Tip of the Month -> Best of Weekly Reports -> Tips, Tools & Resources -> Feedback & Contributions -> Food for Thought -> Classifieds -> Administrivia First, a warm WELCOME to all new subscribers. You can now submit your site to one of the web's largest search engines (MSN) for free without having to pay Yahoo!. It appears that MSN has finally switched to using its own database instead of depending on Yahoo!'s Inktomi database. You no longer have to submit your site via Yahoo!'s paid inclusion. You can now submit your site directly to MSN. Go to: http://search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx?FORM=WSDD2 Regards, Dan Porteous Featured Sponsor's Message: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >>> INVEST IN THE BEST... Get the best internet marketing training available today... Why? Because YOU DESERVE IT. Corey Rudl's "Insider Secrets" training course is undeniably the BEST training to invest your time and money into. It's NOT cheap... BUT it's worth every penny!!! http://startupinternetmarketing.com/is ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIP OF THE MONTH ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Make viewing EASY. See this report with your web browser. (graphics, hyperlinks and all--much easier and more fun to read) Clicking on the following link will take you there... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ezines/cyo-ebook.html ~~~ How to Create Your Own Viral Ebook First, find a subject that is HOT. When I wrote the '7 Viral Marketing Articles,' the "viral" subject was hot. Today, it's still a hot subject. Find YOUR subject. You can read my article, 'How to Read What People Have In Mind,' for getting some ideas on how to find your subject: http://turboreferer.com/turbozine/archive/24.shtml Then use the 'Article Finder' - download it from here: http://affiliatescenter.com/articlefinder.zip Open the software and type the keywords for the subject you want to create the ebook for. This software will search the majority of the online archives of articles and will bring you several pages of results. You can re-publish the articles as long as you don't alter the 'Resource Box' that mentions the writer (this is the Copyright section.) Select the articles you want to re-publish. Pick a magic number. A number is magical when it ends in 1 or 7. Don't ask me why. It just is. So, it could be 7, 17, 27 or 11, 21, 31, etc... Then find 1-2 (only ONE to TWO) products that offer an affiliate program AND are relevant to the subject you're dealing with. Example: I created the '7 Viral Marketing Articles' for promoting 'TurboReferer' because my software deals with viral marketing. I created the '7 Ebook Marketing Articles' for promoting the 'Best Free Ebook' and 'Free Software Forever' at http://software4profit.com/fsfe because of the relevancy these products have with ebook marketing. Register as an affiliate and get your promotional tools for the product/s you want to promote: a banner, a text ad, etc. As you can understand, the point is to include ads for the product/s you want to promote as an affiliate inside the (free) ebook you're creating. You can also check my affiliates' center for products you can promote as an affiliate at http://affiliatescenter.com. Then create the STRUCTURE & the STYLE of your ebook. You'll need an HTML editor, some images, an ebook COMPILER, and an ebook cover generator. You can choose one of the following free html editors: - HTML-Kit - http://chami.com/html-kit - Amaya - http://www.w3.org/Amaya - Sothink HTML Editor - http://www.sothink.com/htmleditor Or You can use commercial software like FrontPage(TM) or DreamWeaver(TM). As for the ebook compiler you need, you can find one here: http://software4profit.com/a.php?offer=danp16&pid=29 (this is Jimmy D. Brown's product too). There is also an ebook compiler in the Best Seller Ebook collection at http://bseresellers.com (Check Software - you can order all of the products listed in the BSE here: http://software4profit.com/best-seller-ebook) Note: I know there are many free ebook compilers. You need one that will allow you to offer BRANDABLE copies to your readers. More about this below. I'd suggest you add some images to your html pages. Some bullets, a logo, and images will make your ebook stand out. Furthermore, you can see when I created my first ebook that I had ALREADY decided the STYLE I'd use for the rest of the ebooks I WOULD create in the future. Look at http://turboreferer.com/pillseries and you'll see that ALL the ebooks have the same STYLE. I even gave a title to the SERIES of ebooks *I would* create: 'PillSeries Ebooks' (because they all would be small ones - like pills:-) So, you also need to create YOUR STYLE and keep it the same for ALL the ebooks you'll create in the future. Read what Allan says about my style above. Your style is a part of your brand. Remember this. You'll also need software for creating your ebook covers. Check Armand Morin's Ebook Cover Generator here: http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ecg So... let's say that you chose the subject for your ebook, found the relevant articles to re-publish, created a style for your ebook, wrote the html pages, added your affiliate links to the product/s you want to promote through your free ebook, created the images (or used some free ones you found on the Net), created the ebook cover... What's next? Believe it or not, this is just the beginning. Why should someone distribute your ebook? *Money* should be the reason. Unless you have written the BEST ebook with UNIQUE content that others will spread all over the Net like maniacs (like what happened to Seth Godin's "Unleashing the Idea Virus" - do you remember that ebook?), you need to offer a REASON for people to redistribute your ebook to their audiences. So, you can either: - offer an affiliate program and allow your affiliates to insert their affiliate links into your ebook, - or just offer a brandable version of this ebook with links that people can re-brand. In both cases, you need to create a BRANDABLE version of your ebook. That's why the ebook compiler I suggested to you above is the one you need. You can also check Armand Morin's Ebook Generator at http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ebg or if you want to offer your ebook in a PDF format, you can use Michael Wagner's ViralPDF - http://www.turboreferer.com/r/viralPDF. By using one of the suggested ebook compilers, you'll distribute the brandable version of your ebook along with a special brander application so your readers/affiliates will be able to brand your ebook with their information. Read again the description Allan gives for my ebooks and the sections available for branding offered to my readers. You also have to write the instructions your readers/ affiliates will need in order to brand your ebook. Then, use a compression utility and compress the 2 versions of your ebook: the plain one and the brandable one. Here is a free compression utility you can use: JustZIPit - http://free-backup-software.net Let's say that you have created both your ebook and the brandable version of your ebook. Note: you can also CHARGE a small fee for allowing others to brand your ebook with their information. I do not suggest this method if you do not offer unique content. Your first ebooks MUST BE FREE, so you'll become KNOWN - then you can create other ebooks and charge for the brandable version. What's next? You have to install an autoresponder like Autoresponse Plus, http://turboreferer.com/r/arp, or Autoresponder Unlimited, http://www.software4profit.com/p/autoresponder, (this software is also included free in the 'Best Seller Ebook' collection.) Or you can use a remote autoresponder service like Get Response, http://startupinternetmarketing.com/gr or SendFree, http://www.sendfree.com. Why do you need the autoresponder? Don't ask me this question... No matter what you create online, your task is to increase your list of subscribers/readers/customers, etc... the Money is in the LIST, remember? Again, if you go to http://turboreferer.com/pillseries, you will see that I use a separate autoresponder for each ebook I released. I want to know who downloads my ebook and I want to be able to follow up with my readers to either promote my products or to inform them about my new free ebooks. If you do not use an autoresponder for gathering the names and email addresses of the people who'll download your ebook, then... do NOT create your ebook, do NOT create anything... There is no point. What's next... Your last task is creating the web pages for offering your ebooks. I can hear you whispering... "Offering my ebooks to whom?" Good question. I told you how to create your ebooks. The promotion of your ebooks on the web is another big matter and it's just like the promotion of your products. You must become a "cyber- social" person, participate in forums, use your email signature, etc., in order to make your ebook known. And of course, you can submit it to ebook directories you find online. Now... What do you think? Is it easy to create a viral ebook? I hope so. Okay:-) It's not that easy, but once you create your first one, all the following ebooks will be a "piece of cake" for you. Remember that the most difficult part is NOT the creation of your ebook; it's the PROMOTION of your ebook. However, if you have NO idea of what I described above or if the whole procedure scared you so much that you're now saying, "there is no way I can create my ebook this year or in the next one coming," please calm down... As I have told you in my past articles, there are always ways to reach your Ithaca. And in most cases money helps to reach your island faster. :-) So, if you can afford my services, I can create your ebook in a few days from scratch, create your website, and even install the autoresponder for you. Of course, you need to have your own hosting and your own domain name, but we can also find a solution for those too. Interested? Send me an email at mailto:ebooks@turboreferer.com and I'll tell you my rates and how we can proceed. I wish you all a productive New Year! John Delavera ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Automated Solutions for Internet Marketers! http://startupinternetmarketing.com/s4p ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P.S. If you're going to write your own story instead of compiling some articles to create your ebook, I found a terrific IDEA GENERATOR you can use for free. I have never seen software like this in the past. This is new and it's the best (free) solution I have found online. It's called 'WriteSparks! For Writers' and it includes a First Line Generator, a Cliche Starter Generator, a Mixed Metaphors Generator, a Mixed Proverbs Generator, a Random Story Words Generator, a What If Story Generator, and a Quick Prompts Generator. Download it here for free: http://affiliatescenter.com/wslite.exe ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SIM's "Tip of the Week" back issues are available at... http://www.startupinternetmarketing.com/ezines/ ~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TIPS TOOLS & RESOURCES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Recommended Digital Photo Printing Resources Not only can you print your digital photos online, cheaply, some sites let you store your photos online (for free), as well as provide you with personalised gift ideas. Look out for free trials and get your first photos printed, free! http://www.best-digital-cameras.co.uk/digital-printing/ ~~~ PHP/SWF Charts This library is an impressive (and free!) alternative to the venerable JPGraph library for generating graphs on the fly. Unlike JPGraph, which produces JPEG images, this library produces Flash movies. All the major graph types are supported (both in 2D and 3D varieties), and all are rendered in slick vector graphics. http://www.maani.us/charts/index.php ~~~ Bill Glazer Interview Get this free MP3 recording of Perry Marshall's 79 minute interview with Bill Glazer titled "Radical Business Secrets of a Renegade Millionaire." Bill discusses strategies and attitudes he's learned in his partnership with master marketer Dan Kennedy. http://www.perrymarshall.com/1229/ ~~~ FREE WEB BOOKS Internet Marketing Basics If you're not TOTALLY familiar with the BASICS of marketing online then you owe it to yourself to grab AND read this dynamic 39-page report by Shelley Lowery. She discusses the many aspects involved with bringing your business online... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/tools ~~~ The Birth of a Professional Website This free download is brand new and available from the SIM site ONLY. It's a compilation of 10 articles by Shelley Lowery that completely covers the job of launching a professional website. Get it at... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/birth ~~~ Syndicate Your Headlines Using RSS RSS is quickly becoming the standard choice for delivering syndicated web content. Have you ever wanted to syndicate your own content? RSS may be just what you've been looking for. This report by Shelley Lowery will get you started... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/rss ~~~ FREE COURSES We have a large selection of free courses waiting for you at http://www.startupinternetmarketing.com/fc Courses: *Mastering Search Engine Placement *25 Secrets eBay Doesn't Want You To Know *Netwriting Masters Course *Affiliate Masters Course *Service Sellers Masters Course *Webmaster Business Masters Course *Make Your Net Auction Sell *Make Your Price Sell, The Masters Course http://www.startupinternetmarketing.com/fc ~~~ * For more great tips and tools, visit our website: http://www.startupinternetmarketing.com/fr ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FEEDBACK & CONTRIBUTIONS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What's On YOUR Subscriber Thank-You Page? When I coach my clients on how to get more business from their e-zines, I'm delighted to see that they spend time on creating content that builds a relationship with their readers. But I see many of these publishers overlooking the very beginning of their valuable relationship with their subscribers. For example, the "thank-you" page. If I sign up for your e-zine at your site, where am I taken afterwards? I hope it's not a page that only says something vague like "form received" or even worse, nothing, leaving me wondering whether my signup was successful. Create a thank-you page where new signups go to right after they complete the form. On your thank-you page, be sure to: 1. Thank me for signing up! Example: "Thank you for subscribing to [E-zine Name Here]!" 2. Let me know if I need to do anything else. For example, do I have to watch my e-mail inbox for a confirmation message? This is ESPECIALLY important if you use a double opt-in process that requires me to reply or click on a link in that e-mail in order to complete my sign-up. If you don't point this out on the thank-you page, there's a chance that I'll assume the e-mail I receive is just a welcome letter and won't open it. 3. Make it feel personal. Include your photo and signature if you can. Being personal helps me feel like I know you, and remember this is important because I'm more likely to BUY from those I feel I know and trust. 4. Ask for their ideas. This fast-forwards your relationship with your subscribers by already making them feel like you care. Something like this will do: "I'd love to hear what topics YOU would most like to see covered in upcoming issues of [E-zine Name Here]." Put your e-mail address right on the page and make it clickable. You can also insert an automatic subject line in the link such as "ezine_idea" by forming your link like this: mailto:yourname@yourwebsite.com?subject=ezine_idea. When someone clicks on that link, it will automatically create an e-mail addressed to you with the subject line "ezine_idea." This will help you keep these requests organized on your end. 5. Give me a special offer right then and there. Why not encourage them to make a purchase right then and there? For example, you could say, "I know you signed up for my e-zine to get great tips on [subject matter here]. Wouldn't you like to get started right away? My [book, special report, teleseminar etc.] will walk you through the entire process, step by step, and you'll get it immediately. Cl1ck here to learn more." (I make about an extra $1,000 a month, just from this one tactic!) For further incentive, you can offer a d1scount on the spot to make it irresistible! 6. Recommend someone ELSE's e-zine. No, that wasn't a typo. Find one or two other publishers whose target market matches yours but who aren't direct competitors, and cross promote each other on your thank- you pages. This process is also called "co-registration." The copy might read, "Don't miss these other two e-zines that I read regularly and highly recommend!" Then follow with brief descriptions and sign-up instructions. Several publishers I know with very large lists share that this method has been one of their best ways to gain subscribers faster on a regular basis. And your new subscribers will be happy to consider whatever other resources you recommend. Remember, You're Laying the Foundation The point of all this? By taking extra care with your new signups, you lay the foundation for a long and profitable relationship with your readers. © 2003-2005 Alexandria K. Brown "The E-zine Queen" Online entrepreneur Alexandria K. Brown, "The E-zine Queen," is creator of the award-winning 'Boost Business With Your Own E-zine' system. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for her FREE how-to articles and FREE audio class, visit http://www.EzineQueen.com . . . If you have a promotion tip to share (or an affiliate program that would be of interest to the rest of us) or if you have a web design tip, or a specific question, please feel free to post all tips, questions, or answers to posted questions here and I will add your email or URL with it. It's free Send your tips, questions or answers to: mailto:sir@startupinternetmarketing.com?subject=Q_&_A ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOOD FOR THOUGHT ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's Time To Add Paypal To Your Site... Did you know that one in three online buyers in the US now has a Paypal account? It's safe to say that Paypal has reached critical mass, and should be a payment option on your website. Their new rates are very competitive with regular merchant accounts and many buyers seem to prefer using Paypal over other methods. Paypal also accepts International businesses, so if you are not US based, this could be your best choice for payment processing. In the past I shied away from recommending Paypal because of their requirement for customers to sign up for a Paypal account before they could make a purchase. Now they allow customers to simply pay using their credit card without taking the time to get a Paypal account. Now that this obstacle has been removed, the service is quite viable for merchants. With more than 56 million users worldwide, I recommend you offer Paypal as a payment option at your site, even if you already offer credit card payments via another avenue. You may even see an increase in sales. When customers choose to pay by Paypal at your website, they can then pay using a major credit card, or with any funds they may have in their Paypal account. You then access the money whenever you want by withdrawing it from your Paypal account. They offer many withdrawal options including electronic transfer or check. To your online marketing success, Jim Daniels - JDD Publishing http://www.make-a-living-online.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~ CLASSIFIEDS ~~~~~~~~~~~ Our sponsors and advertisers help bring this newsletter to you free of charge. Please support them. >>> DO YOU HAVE A "TOP 10" RANKING? Then get this software before your competitors do. Total Link Analysis Software that "Thinks like a Search Engine" ...click here to learn more http://startupinternetmarketing.com/opti >>> 1001 NEWBIE FRIENDLY TIPS! Discover 100's of Practical and Usable ideas to help you start your online business, and the simplest ways to implement them. Learn how to maximize your site's profits with these proven strategies... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/instant/newbie >>> PROFIT PULLING EBOOKS "Profit Pulling eBooks" is now available for less than $15 and comes with a license to resell it and keep every penny of the sale for yourself. http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ppe >>> AFFILIATE MARKETER'S HANDBOOK Learn how to become an affiliated publisher for some MAJOR companies and make good money while working from home on your computer. Others are doing it - I'm doing it, and so can YOU. http://startupinternetmarketing.com/amh ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ADMINISTRIVIA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks for reading our free "opt-in only" publication. Please forward this to any one whom you think would find this information useful or interesting. I'm sure they'll appreciate it - I know I certainly will. Back issues of the INSIDER REPORT are available at http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ezines/back.html Was this issue forwarded to you by a friend? Grab YOUR own free lifetime subscription here... mailto:sir@startupinternetmarketing.com To unsubscribe from future mailings click here: mailto:danp@nt.net?subject=REMOVE-TIPS Need to change your email address? Just send the following email - FROM your NEW address with the OLD address in the body of the email... mailto:danp@nt.net?subject=SIR_ADDRESS ~~~~~~~~~~~ Legal Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~ We accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within SIM's Insider Report. Although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles. Be responsible. Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer. The SIM's INSIDER REPORT is a production of Startup Internet Marketing and is owned by Dan Porteous mailto:danp@nt.net ISSN 1710-0739 (C) 2004 Startup Internet Marketing - All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole, or in part, without the express written consent of the publisher. Startup Internet Marketing 53 McKelvie Avenue Kirkland lake, ON, CA. P2N 2K6 Tel: 705.567.3519 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This newsletter is DELIVERED in both web book and .TXT formats by the business automation software - Mailloop. For the complete story on this software visit... http://startupinternetmarketing.com/ml ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~