How to identify spambots and kill them like the cockroaches they are

by Nicole Munoz

Recently the Infusionsoft community was disrupted by a spambot attack that put every single Infusionsoft user at risk of not having their emails delivered to their customers, to their prospects, or to any of the contacts in their database for that matter.

One of the benefits of using a hosted email provider such as Infusionsoft is that there should in theory be an increase in email deliverability. By email deliverability I mean – your emails get to the inboxes of your contacts. Guaranteed.

Remember the good ole’ days when the mailman had his route to hand deliver your mail to your mailbox. Wasn’t that much more direct? The post office had a saying:

That’s kind of like what we’re saying about email deliverability. No matter what, if you use our service we are going to make sure we have the right equipment and the right people to get the job done.

There are times when there is a disruption in service. Those times are usually under extreme circumstances such as natural disasters such as floods or fires. For example this past weekend, there was a an internet flood.

What happened was this

Over the last few months (or years) spambots have been quietly exploiting a vulnerability in the Infusionsoft webforms. They did not come in masses of thousands or tens of thousands – because that is something we would have noticed. They also did not come dressed as spambots – they made sure to cover their tracks by slipping into our databases quietly in small groups of 20-30 always making sure to have a few real and legitimate contacts with them so as not to be noticed.

These spam bots were actually quite smart – though not that smart as we will see in a moment.

These spam bots didn’t just enter through the front door of an Infusionsoft web form – they also made sure they got into the daily operations of top Internet Marketers by automatically clicking and confirming the email addresses used.

What that means is that even when you as the Infusionsoft user is doing everything you can do to prevent sending out emails to spambots by requiring all of your contacts to double opt-in – all of your efforts are undermined with the wicked plot of the spambots.

How were these spambots identified you ask? Well, in this case they all came in on the same IP address – making it drop dead easy to identify them. (Amateur hour move spambots!)

Which leads us to this. What can you, an ethical Internet Marketer, do to identify and kill the spambots like the cockroaches they are?

How to Identify Spambots

If your site normally gets less than a hundred opt-ins a month, the process can be quite simple. You can use custom notifications from Infusionsoft to be notified every time someone opts-in to one of your forms.

Set up a special filter for these notifications in your email inbox and each day check how many come in. Spot check them for spammy looking email addresses. The whole process should take a few minutes a day. Not ideal – but easy to implement and low cost for most business owners.

If your site normally gets a few hundred to up to a thousand opt-ins a month, the process is more difficult to identify. You will want to set-up checks to monitor:

Spikes in Confirmation Rates
Spikes in Links Clicked in Emails
Decrease in Conversion Rate of your Email Marketing Funnel

Measuring spikes in confirmation rates or links clicked is quite easy to do with tools such as Graphly.

You can use the automation links to apply a tag anytime someone confirms their email and set-up a report in Graphly to measure how many contacts get the tag applied over time.

Measuring a decrease in conversion rate is a little more difficult if you are not already measuring the conversion rate of your email marketing funnels! (We will save how to set up that tracking for another day!)

Suffice it to say, if you have a decrease in conversion rate, one of the first things to check is the source of your traffic. Export all of the contacts that entered your email marketing funnel over the time period of the drop and look at the emails. You should see a pattern. You should be able to quickly identify contacts that you suspect are spambots. Once you do this, you can check their history on their individual contact records to confirm your suspicions. If you are applying link clicked tags on all of the links in your emails (which you should be doing), you should quickly see that these contacts not only opened every single email, they also clicked on every single email. Jackpot!

Once you have verified that several of the emails are actually spambots you will notice patterns. You will see that they have a common domain in common. They might all be opting into the same webform. They might all be opting in a few minutes apart from each other.

This does take work – but there is not an easy way around it that I know of.

Once you have identified the spambots you can safely delete them from your Infusionsoft app. Use the domain blocking functionality of Infusionsoft to block any obvious domains.

How to Close the Door to Spambots

Now that you know how to identify the spambots – the next question is – but HOW can I stop them from ever entering in, in the first place?

I have found that by implementing two steps, the spambot issue is greatly reduced.

The first is by installing Cloudflare on your site.

Enable the Web Application Firewall

The second is by installing the Wordfence plug-in.

Use Rate Limiting Rules to throttle or block excess pageviews

Since I installed both of these on my sites I have not had any issues with spambots. (Not to say that I never will or this is the permanent fix!)

Another option (though not a reasonable option for most) is to create custom opt-in forms that add the contact info to the Infusionsoft database via the API and bypass the Infusionsoft webforms.

One of the reasons this issue happened in the first place was due to a vulnerability in the Infusionsoft webforms – a vulnerability they have tightened up by blocking the offending IP so that no spambots can enter through that IP again. This is great and exactly what should have happened but it will only be so long before the spambots find another door to enter.

Do you have questions on how to implement? Want help installing and configuring Cloudflare or Wordfence? Would you like my team to audit your app or set up a system so you can monitor your app to prevent this from happening to you? Please click here to schedule a free strategy session

How to Get Better Results with LeadPages

by Nicole Munoz

LeadPages offers a simple way to create a multitude of different types of landing pages without understanding of any sort of code. But, to make it work harder for you, it’s imperative that you understand how to use it best to get the results you want.

Get Prepared

Understand in advance what type of money making page that you want. You have a lot of choices such as:

Sales Pages — A page, sometimes called a landing page, that is on the website for the purposes of convincing the reader to purchase the item discussed.

Opt-in Pages — This is a page, or email created for the purpose of convincing the audience to give you permission to market to them in other ways. This usually occurs for a newsletter, coupons, free give away, or email list.

Webinar Pages — You can use a regular sales page for a webinar page, but why should you when you can have a special page meant for webinars that will have a higher conversion rate that is also integrated with the webinar service.

Thank You Pages — Some people are doing away with thank you pages, to their peril. A thank you page is an excellent way to create more interest in other products and services as well as a way to ingratiate you to your audience.

Upsell Pages — When your customer has made a purchase, it’s the right time to offer them additional and complementary products and services. Sometimes an upsell is during checkout, sometimes on the Thank You Page and sometimes it’s a separate page all together.

Launch Pages — Are in the process of creating a valuable website or community? Then you want a way to capture interest while you’re still building. Creating a launch page that counts down the days to launch and captures email addresses is a great use of this space.

Pre-Cart Pages — This is a page that you can display to your readers once they have clicked through to purchase, right before the check out process. Often it’s where your disclaimers go as well as other information your reader is required to click before proceeding to buy.

Social Media Squeeze Pages — A squeeze page helps you better analyze your social traffic and gather information from your visitors so that you can follow up with them.

404 Error Pages — Error pages are an often under used way to capture more leads, redirect traffic to make more sales, and to delight and surprise your visitors. By personalizing error pages, you’ll take advantage of unused space to create a higher return on investment.

Coming soon Pages — If you’re in the process of creating a page but you don’t have a launch date yet, you can create an effective coming soon page that will capture leads and / or redirect them to a finished product.

Domain For Sale Pages — Want to sell your domains? Create a for sale page that captures information so that you can send them information about buying the domain name.

and More… There are so many ways you can use LeadPages to make your websites, social media, blogs and email marketing more effective that it’s hard to list it all in one report.

All of these choices still require you to be prepared with certain information to edit the pages and get them ready for publishing. Choose what you want your page to promote and then work from there.

In various cases you’ll need all or some of the following:

Images — As they say pictures are worth a thousand words. Be sure to choose images that enhance what the copy is telling the reader and does not distract or distance the reader from your words.

Sales Copy — You’ll need keywords, headlines, and sales copy for different areas of the pages that you create. Try looking at the template in advance, then making notes of what you’ll need.

Video — In some cases, depending upon the template you use, you may want to include a video. Look at the parameters of the space saver on the template and start from there.

Testimonials — The very best way to sell something is to allow other people to share their stories on how the product or service worked for them.

Collect Appropriate Information

Just click on any template that you like and look at the various elements it includes. Remember, you can hide different elements if you wish and delete them, or include them. If you choose to include them, you’ll need to go through the template and click on each element. Write down a list of what you need as well as the details such as:

1 background image 1440×1100 pixels
1 Headline
1 Main Image 436×251 pixels
1 Form Headline
1 Main Text for front page about 15 to 25 words long.
1 Call To Action
and so forth…

Just click on each element and look on the left side for the information that you need. For example for the following launch page:

First click “Use this template” then just click through the various elements to see what size the images are and so forth. All the elements on the page are also listed in the menu to your left under General Parameters and Page Content.

Under Page Content if you click on Background Image it will show you a section where you can replace the background image.

It shows you what is currently the image, a place to upload a different image, and it explains the best size for the image. Write down the information you find under each element. Once you’ve completed your list you can now create the components you need to edit the template. You can create the components yourself or send them off to various contractors such as a graphic designer, copywriter, and virtual assistant.

Begin Editing

Once you’ve prepared yourself for all that needs to be included in the edit, you’ll be able to get the editing process done in about an hour for each longer sales page, and less time for shorter launch pages which can be edited in a matter of minutes. You can let your VA do this process too if you’ve put things in a good order so that he or she is simply cutting and pasting the information to the correct boxes.

Now that you understand more about “money pages” and you know about LeadPages and what it can do for you and how to get started there is no excuse or reason in your way to not begin. Make a list of all the different “money pages” that you can make with LeadPages for your products and services that you currently have.

How to Secure More Opt-ins with LeadPages

by Nicole Munoz

A sales page, sometimes called a landing page, name capture page, launch page, squeeze page or registration page is a way to highlight one particular product, service, event or opportunity designed to sell a product, service or to simply collect leads. These are known as the “money pages” of your website.

Money pages usually have a “buy now”, “apply now”, “download now” or “register now” or some other “act now” button on the page. These are known as money pages because they are very lucrative ways to increase lead capturing as well as sales.

There are several important elements of a successful sales page that you should include.

Attention Grabbing Headlines — When you consider that headlines are read more than the rest of the copy on your page, they are very important. You should create headlines that are unique, specific, urgent and useful. The words and position of your headline are paramount in increasing conversions.

An Opening Promise — You have merely seconds to grab the reader’s attention so it’s important to start off with a promise that catches their attention and imagination. Don’t be boring, long winded, or give away the farm. You want them to be compelled to read more.

The Story You Want to Share — Your story is also why people will want to keep reading and why they will want to opt in or buy what you’re selling. If you can weave a story that keeps the reader interested and tells the true story of why you’re making this offer to the audience you’ll have a winning money page.

Words That Foster Credibility & Builds Rapport — As you are writing your sales page, include words and details that make the reader feel as if they know you, and that they like you, and trust you. If you know your audience well enough, you should know what to say and what words to use that let’s them inside your world a little.

Subheadings That Redirect — People lose attention quickly. It’s important to include sub headlines to help bring them back into reading the copy. Most people who read online scan from top to bottom instead of left to right as with printed information. Keep that in mind as you build your sales page.

Relevant Images — People are visual by nature, so you want to include some imagery. However, don’t let images take over the sales page, but choose images that enhance what you’re trying to convey.

Testimonials — By including testimonials you can quell the fears of buyers. This is especially true if you can link to a real person in the testimonial so that the reader can verify the information if they choose to.

Solid Proof of Performance — This can be accomplished with testimonials as well as your own story about how the product or service worked for you. Include details about why you came up with the product or service and how it helped you and others.

Your Offer — Remember that you are selling solutions, not features, and you want your offer to convey the benefits of buying to the reader. You also want to make the offer so good, that it’s hard for them to refuse.

Risk Eliminating Language — Many people do not buy based on fear. The more you can reduce their risks the better. Include risk eliminating language such as “no questions asked, money back guarantee” so that all the risk is yours and not theirs.

A Strong Call to Action — Before including your “buy now” or other call to action button, be sure to remind your audience about the benefits of your product or service. Let them know that they have a chance to change their lives by clicking.

Responsive Design — This means that no matter which browser or device is used to view your landing pages, they work. Nothing can be worse than clicking an exciting headline and finding that you cannot read it or act now because the page is not optimized for mobile.

You can also add video to your sales pages. A great place to do that is in the testimonials area, or perhaps include a how to video to highlight and demonstrate how the product or service works. Video enhances the sales page by making it more interactive, creating a way to explain in pictures and words the benefits of your product and / or service to the reader.

All that sounds like a lot of work doesn’t it?

Don’t worry. It’s not that hard these days. With software like LeadPages you can have your new money making pages made in less than hour, assuming you already have your images created, testimonials collected, and story ready to tell. Take a look at the list above and ensure that you are ready so you can get your sales pages made fast.

LeadPages can make your life a lot easier and more profitable, because it is designed to lead you through the process of creating many different types of “money pages” quickly and easily having them live in no time at all. They do all the work of figuring out what types of pages work best, all you really have to do is fill in the blanks with your own ideas, products, and services.

What is LeadPages?

LeadPages is a cloud-based software as service, that allows you to quickly and easily create “money pages” that you can use in a variety of different ways, integrating with many other marketing software such as Aweber, Ontraport, Facebook, WordPress and more. LeadPages offers many templates (currently about 50) designed to get results. These are generally templates that have already proved successful for others.

What Does LeadPages Do?

LeadPages helps you create functional, responsive, usable landing pages quickly and effortlessly through a variety of template choices. You just choose the template you want, and then edit it to fit your product and / or service and you’re done. You can download the HTML version or integrate it with WordPress or Facebook. You can also use the link that LeadPages offers instead.

What Are The Benefits of LeadPages?

They’ve already done the research and know what layouts work best and get the highest conversions. It’s fast to use, and easy to understand. It also integrates with other products very well such as social media, webinar, and autoresponder software. You just fill in the blanks, more or less, on the template to craft a landing page that gets results.

Who Can Use LeadPages?

Anyone who wants to increase their opt in rates, sales, and improve conversions should use LeadPages. If you’re running any type of marketing campaign for yourself or a client, you’ll enjoy using LeadPages to get the most out of your offers. You won’t have to come up with the design or layout on your own. There is no point in reinventing the wheel when it already works so well.

Overview of LeadPages

In under an hour, you can build opt in forms, squeeze pages, sales pages, social media pages, webinar promotion pages, optimized 404 pages, video pages, thank you pages, launch pages, upsell pages, pop ups and exit pop ups and much more.

LeadPages has many different templates available. Once you’ve created your account, you can get started right away.

The first thing you’ll see after you create your account and sign in is a top menu that looks like this:

Templates — If you click Templates you’ll be taken to the entire list of available templates.

LeadPages™ — Clicking here will show you any pages you’ve created with the option to also create an A/B split test page.

LeadBoxes™ — This is a neat feature that allows you to make just a small box to capture leads instead of an entire page.

LeadLinks™ — Available only to pro customers, you can use this to improve your conversations for people who have already opted in to your list, by this way sign up for things via an email link without other steps.

Support — If you click support, a window will pop up allowing you to ask a question. Type in your question and then a variety of responses will be given, and if those don’t work you can click “none of these are helpful — get in touch”.

My Account — If you click on this you’ll bring up another menu that looks like this:

From there, you can upgrade your account, add integrations with your email autoresponder software, shopping cart software, webinar software or others.

This will unleash more functionality for you. You can also use features they are trying out in Beta such as the current Lead Magnet Delivery feature which allows you to upload a file that your leads will be promoted to download. This is also where you will store your images, change “powered by” settings, and more.

The left tool bar is also present. It looks like this:

This is just a way to access each type of template more quickly. So, if you want to create a Sales Page, for instance, you would click on Sales Pages to view the many different choices of layouts. Once you choose the template you like, you can get started; which is exactly what this demonstration will show.

Choose Sales Pages

As you can see you can now choose to use the Template featured, or you can scroll down and look at the many other choices such as Google + Hangout Pages, Super Simple Sales Pages, eBook Landing Page, Long form Sales Page with Video and so forth. You can also sort by conversion rates to see which one converts best.

We are going to choose the eBook Landing Page:

Simply move your mouse over the choice and an image will appear that says: Use This Template — click it.

You can also choose to watch a tutorial instead of clicking it right away. The tutorials offered by the LeadPages team are really useful if you feel lost. But, it’s so easy to use that more than likely you will not need them for most features.

Once you click through you’ll be taken the page that enables you to edit the template easily.

Above this window is a tool bar that looks like this :

To the left are many choices about the parameters and page content. This is a small sampling of the choices that go down the left side of the page.

To edit each part just click on that area to the left, or directly on the area right on the template.

For instance, when you click on the book, a screen appears to the left like this:

As you can see, you can make the image disappear or change it. This is how it works for every aspect of the page, just click where you want to edit, the ability to edit pops up on the left side of the page, then make the changes you want whether it’s your logo, the text on the page, a menu item, or something else.

Click the area, and then use the editing area to change. For example, you can click on Opinions

which will bring a window up on the left like this:

Notice that you can change the word “Opinions” to something else by just typing in the box.

Perhaps we want to change it to Testimonials. Simply type in the word you want in the box, then click Okay. Now the top menu under your logo has changed to the word you want.

You can proceed with the entire sales page by clicking and changing the words, and the images until you are done and have an entirely unique page. As you click on each area to edit, you’ll quickly create a landing page that works for your needs and is unique to your audience.

For best results, try to replace images shown with images that are the same size. You can find out the size of any image is by right clicking on it, downloading it and checking the size in a graphics program or by using a plugin like Firebug for your browser. In addition, LeadPages tells you in the left side of the menu the recommended size.

Once you know the sizes just have your graphic designer make them the size you need. Always click “OKAY”. When you’re done simply click Save. Then you’ll notice a new feature shows up in the tool bar called analytics.

A/B Testing –If you have a Pro Account you’ll be able to take advantage of the A/B testing features as well. A/B testing is a good way to determine which sales pages work best for your particular audience. Usually you’ll change just one element be it layout or words used and then use both sales pages at the same time and see which one converts best.

Analytics — From here you also set up your analytics. Just click Analytics on the top menu bar. Pick a date to get started and you can see how many views or unique views your page has received during a specific time period. Finally, when you’re ready you can publish your new page.

Preview — Once you’ve saved you can preview what your page looks like prior to publishing it.

Save — You must save before publishing or previewing. If you forget it will prompt you to do it.

Publishing — In order for the publish feature to work you’ll have had to set up all the General Parameters. This includes integrating with WordPress, Facebook, Autoresponders or other software.

In addition, you should also set up SEO, tracking codes, style settings, dynamic controls like share buttons, messages that appear with shares and more. You can also set up an exit pop up or redirect from here. In addition, you can help LeadPages with collecting statistics by choosing which industry your niche is in.

Once you click publish, LeadPages assigns a URL to your new page to redirect your audience to. Conversely you can also publish to WordPress directly using a WordPress plugin.

To get the plugin follow the instructions regarding which browser to use. Once you have the plugins for WordPress it’s super simple to publish LeadPages whenever you want. As you can see, using LeadPages makes the process of creating all your “money pages” much easier and less labor intensive.

You can even choose to download the new page to your computer in HTML format to upload to your own server. There are no restrictions on how you use LeadPages to create. You could actually use LeadPages to create an entire website, although you really don’t need to do that.

Most of the thought to layout and design has already been done by the experts, and only converting designs are used. You can be assured that your LeadPages will get conversions if you send the right traffic to it.

How to Write a Marketing Email

by Nicole Munoz

Autoresponders are the email messages that are sent to customers or people that have expressed an interest in your website products or services. They can be used to send transactional emails – thank you for your purchase, attached is your download etc.

They can also be used to deliver classes, lessons, or tidbits of information broken up over a series of emails.

The main thing that you have to remember about autoresponders is that they enable you to immediately contact your prospects and customers. They are an immediate response to an action that your customer has taken.

In effect, autoresponders are an integral part of this concept. Your customer makes a purchase; they get an immediate thank you response. Your customer makes a return; they get an immediate ‘we’re sorry’ response. Your customer asks for more information and ‘bam’ they have it in their inbox before they can leave your website.

Autoresponders are instant need based communication tools.

How do you write an autoresponder? That depends on its goal. Like any communications your reader wants them to be professional, to the point and easy to follow. An online course delivered via auto responder is generally about 400-500 words long. If the course is any longer, you run the risk of losing your audience before they get to your call to action. If you have more to say than 500 words, put it in a book or report that your reader can download.

Again, make sure the copy it is formatted to be easy to read. That your headlines and subheadings offer a benefit and that each paragraph sticks to the point. You can use your content to embed links to your website, products, services, other articles and even other relevant sites. This will make your copy more interactive. As with all embedded links, design them to open on a separate page. This way your reader doesn’t leave your website or auto responder message.

How Your Competitors Get Ahead of You…

by Nicole Munoz

You’re a smart person.

You have a business. You have a successful business. You have overcome challenges and learned what works and what does not.

Now is not the time to stop. Now is not the time to get comfortable.

Every day your competitors are advancing and if you do nothing, your business will left behind.

consistency road sign illustration design

1. Constant, strategic change.

It is not the greatest, the smartest, the biggest company that is the most successful. It is the fastest to implement. Money loves speed. There are a million great ideas out there. What matters is who is the fastest to market.

2. Consistent, strategic presence.

According to Business Daily News the average American spends 8 hours per week checking their email, 7 hours a week on Facebook, and 5 hours a week on Youtube. This does not include searching for things on Google, reading the news, or any of the other myriad of activities done online. When your prospects are online, whose ads do they see? Whose videos do they watch? Whose press releases do they read? Whose emails are they getting in their inbox each week? Your competitors are everywhere online. Are you?

3. Compelling, strategic plan.

Your competitors have a plan. They have a specific strategy on how to grow their business each year. They have laid out what it takes to increase their market share each quarter. What this means is that unless you too have a compelling strategic plan that you put into action, your competitors are going to be stealing away your clients each year.

5 ways to keep up with the competition!

1. Study your Competitors and look for disruptions in the marketplace.

A disruption in the marketplace is an event such as a change in leadership, quarterly profit loss, or other significant event that could affect your competitors ability to service their clients effectively. If you can identify a disruption, then that is your opportunity! One easy way to study your competitor is by setting a Google Alert on your competitors. With a Google Alert you can always be notified immediately when your competitor publishes ANYTHING on the web. Did they just submit a press release to launch a new product or service? You can know about it instantaneously!

2. Improve your online presence.

One way to stay ahead of your competitors is to make sure your company is everywhere your prospect is. Content creation and content marketing is essential to make sure your competitors don’t leave you behind. When working with clients of ours at StartRankingNow.com, I use a step-by-step process to figure out where clients should start with their content marketing strategy. Basically if they have not passed “a”, they cannot go on to “b”. Some of the things I look at are:

Blog and Social Media – Posting to your blog at least 2-4 times per week if not more and posting daily to the main social networks.
Email Marketing – Capturing emails and following up with the leads strategically by sending out 3-5 sales emails to new subscribers.
Content Marketing – Publishing new content such as Press Releases, infographics, guest blog posts, podcasts, interviews, ebooks, pictures, and much much more. Create and publish 1-4 new high quality pieces of content each month.

3. Create a strategic plan.

It is not enough to just DO. There must be a reason and purpose and plan behind everything you put into action online. For example let’s say you have 4 core products that you want to promote throughout the year. It is not enough to promote your business. You need to promote each of the products strategically. You need to create a plan. A marketing funnel that will drive traffic, capture leads, and convert sales.

There is a saying that goes: If you aim for nothing, you will hit it every time. This is what goes on in a lot of businesses. The business owner is so involved in just trying to get through the day to day stuff. They are busy working in their businesses not realizing that every day their competition is gaining new territory. Before they know it, the phone stops ringing and it is only then that they decide to take a look at marketing. Don’t let the phone stop ringing. Are you ready to create a strategic plan for your business? Isn’t it about time your brand was the one showing up all over the internet, and not your competitors?

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Why Writing a Book Can Boost Your Expert Credibility

by Nicole Munoz

Writing and publishing an ebook can give your business the boost you’re looking for. In fact an ebook can help you accomplish several important business building goals in one swoop. If you’re not sure what an ebook is, it’s simply a downloadable version of a book that you read on a computer, an ebook reader like Kindle or other mobile device.

Here are a few benefits of creating a successful ebook…

Credibility

Publication is one of the main avenues you can take to improve or establish your credibility. It doesn’t matter what industry or business you’re in, when you write a book people tend to automatically assume you’re an expert. Even if they don’t read your book, often the simple fact that you’re published will help you establish yourself as an expert on your topic.

This is important as a business building tactic because we buy from people we perceive as experts or authority figures in their industry. We turn to them to solve our problems, ask advice and to gain new skills and knowledge.

Awareness and Exposure

Writing a book broadens your reach. It spreads awareness of you and your business virally as people talk to each other about your book. Additionally, as you begin marketing and promoting your book you will subsequently also be marketing and promoting your business.

They say it takes three exposures to a business, product or service to create awareness. Your book and relevant marketing messages help your exposures quickly add up. This means you’ll have more prospects who think of you when they have a need.

Your book can also help increase your search engine optimization which increases your website traffic, and the awareness and exposure we just mentioned. You’ll receive incoming links to your website from book reviews, blog posts, and affiliate marketers if you’re selling your book and of course through content and other book marketing tactics.

You can also use your book as an opt-in offer so you can build your email list. And of course we’re only talking about how your book can help market your business. You can also use your book as a product or bonus product to generate more sales.

Whether you’re selling it for a profit, giving it away to build a list, or using it as a strategic marketing tool, the better your book the more effective and successful it will be. It should also be noted that ebooks are growing by leaps and bounds. Digital publishing has become mainstream and most people don’t think twice about downloading a book online. Bookstores now offer digital books and there are specific reading devices that cater to ebook readers.

You don’t need to worry about paying for print publishing and you don’t have to worry about shipping. Distribution is as simple as a download page and maybe an autoresponder. It’s an incredibly cost effective means to communicate, provide value, and to market your business.

How Do I Get Traffic for a New Blog?

by Nicole Munoz

Probably the trickiest part for any online business owner is getting targeted traffic to their sites. This is more science than art and has spawned an industry all of its own. Search engine optimization or SEO as it’s more affectionately referred to, is a major player in how you get targeted traffic to your sites or in this case, your blogs.

There are other promotional and marketing strategies that you can employ to get traffic, but it all starts with optimizing your blogs for SEO. If you want your blog to be found, you have to optimize it for the search engines.

How much optimization you can perform on your blog depends once again on whether you’re using a hosted blog platform like Blogger.com or a standalone like WordPress.org.

A standalone platform like WordPress.org is the best way to go for SEO purposes. There are no limits as to how you can customize your WordPress.org blog. But because most beginners tend to use the hosted option, we’ll explore SEO tactics that everyone can benefit from.

Guest Blog Posting: One of the most effective ways to increase your blog traffic is by posting original content for other blogs related to your niche topic. But, as Matt Cutts said about guest blogging, finding these opportunities should not be annoying for the blog owners. If you stand out as a trustable source, then people will gladly accept your articles for publishing. Look for popular blogs and check is they have guest posting guidelines and submit your content. Also, start building relationships with other bloggers in your niche, so they are more likely publish your content. When you guest post, you get to promote your website in a byline, so people who love your content will be interested in coming to your site for more.

Use Offline Promotional Methods – Get your blog’s URL printed on your business brochures, flyers, business cards, letter heads, envelopes, ads or anywhere else you advertise offline. This is a great potential stream of new targeted readers. You may consider advertising online too.

Add Your Blog’s URL To Outgoing E–mail – An often overlooked strategy but very effective. You never know, your recipient might be a potential customer.

Other Online Methods – Participate in social networking sites, online groups and forums to let them know about your business blog. Because they share the same interest, they are bound to pay your blog a visit. Make use of marketing communities to spread the word about your blog. One of them is Social Buzz Club.

How to Set Up a Sales Funnel Checklist

by Nicole Munoz

Creating an effective sales funnel and supporting marketing system helps you earn profits around the clock. Use this handy checklist with ten key steps to help you identify and complete the essential tasks of a profitable sales funnel.

#1 Have you made a list of all the products and services you will be offering, including the price points and promotional price points? Have you created a system to organize your products/services and relevant prices. You can use the following to improve the process:

Spreadsheets
Mind map
Flowchart
Notebook

#2 You need to identify:

the problem that needs a solution
the target audience
the benefit each product or service provides.

#3 You need to create a content plan that is used to drive traffic and enter the prospects into your sales funnel. It includes:

Social media posts
Blog posts
Guest blog posts
Free reports/case studies
Videos
Interviews

#4 Next, you will need to create an opt-in offer and squeeze page to build the email list. Your opt-in offer is a:

Report
Newsletter
Video series
Tutorial
Ebook

#5 You need to create automated email messages that follow up with new subscribers with a thank you page and follow up messages to transition them to the first product in your sales funnel.

Establish a timeline that takes into consideration the most effective time to deliver each message.
Identify the format, goal, and call to action for each message.

#6 Create and schedule the email messages using an autoresponder technology. For example, Infusionsoft.

#7 Look at your product/service list. Have you identified opportunities to:

Up-sell – When, during your sales and marketing process can you offer the next higher priced product to your customer?
Cross sell – When, within the body of your sales funnel can you offer complimentary or supplementary products to your customer?
Create special promotions – Where in your sales process and funnel can you introduce special promotions to your customers to help them move through your funnel?

#8 Create sales page for each offer. It should include:

Attention grabbing headline
Compelling benefit driven copy
Proof
Motivation to act now, for example a limited number, or a limited time offer
Call to action

#9 Test all elements of the sales funnel process including email links, sales page links, and how each element appears on various browsers. The shopping cart system is integrated into the sales material and emails and everything is working perfectly.

#10 You should implement a system of analytics and evaluation – create systems to collect data about:

Email messages click through rates
Links and calls to action on sales pages
Email open rate
Squeeze page conversions
Sales and profits for each customer and offer

and

Schedule a time each week/month/quarter to review the analytics and make any necessary tweaks or changes to your existing sales funnel.

How to Make the Most of a Webinar: Set Up an Email Marketing Follow Up Campaign

by Nicole Munoz

The webinar marketing strategy is not over when the webinar is over. You must follow up with both attendees and those who missed it to get the full benefit out of conducting a webinar in the first place. Let’s go a little more into following up. Most of the money making occurs after the event is over, during the follow few weeks and even years later if they remain on your mailing list. Many sales will occur within the first week of the event when the attendees go over the material, look at the special offers, and utilize their coupons. There are ways to increase sales both directly after an event, and in the later weeks and months past the event.

Offer the Recording of the Webinar

Once the event is completed you can offer the recording of the event either for free to attendees or as an up-sell after the event. Whether you offer it free or for a fee will depend on whether the event was a paid event or a free event. If it was a paid event up-selling access to the recording is a good option. If the event was free, it’s better to just send the entire recording to all subscribers as well as post it on your website.

Optionally, you can offer another event as a viewing of the recorded webinar with a Q & A session after the recording is shown. This gives you an opportunity to have another quasi live event without having to do the entire thing over again. Any of the speakers could do this on their own with a copy of the recording hosting their own Q & A after.

Send a Survey to Attendees

It was mentioned earlier, but it’s important enough to mention it here. Create a survey prior to the event to be sent out automatically a few hours after the event is complete. Ask them questions about the seminar and ask for feedback regarding possible topics they’d like to see in the future.

Offer an additional incentive such as a percents off coupon or an unannounced special offer or freebie to people who complete the survey. A good idea might be to have each speaker create a check list or one page of information such as step-by-step instructions for their topic then package that together as an incentive.

Send a Thank You to Attendees

Within 48 hours of your webinar send an email Thank You message. If you promised any additional information during the webinar this is a good place to include it. For instance, during a live event it’s possible that someone asked for information during the Q & A that you needed to send out, do it now. Everyone will be happy that you are sending the information and that you heard them during the live event.

This is also a good place and time to send out a link to or an invite to the recorded event. Some people like watching events over again, especially if they got distracted during the event by something at home or in the office. Being able to see it again will reinforce anything that was taught or brought up.

If you made contact with any one individual that wants a personal follow up, based on the Q & A, or the survey, follow up within 7 days to be most effective. People have short attention spans, the first week after the event is very important so be prepared in advance with the content loaded into your email marketing system in advance as much as possible.

Wrap It All Up

Conducting a profitable webinar takes planning to accomplish. But, once you do one, you’ll see for yourself how easy it is to build your mailing list, attract new audiences, and reap the benefits of increased profit. Whether you use webinars for training, product help, list building, or to promote new products is up to you, either way you’ll discover that webinars are simple, fun and profitable.

50 Tips for Marketing Your Website

by Nicole Munoz

As amazing as your website may be, it’s not going to market itself. If you want people to come to your website, you have to get the word out there. Once a few thousand people see your website, it can start to pick up steam and spread through reputation. In the beginning however, you have to do the ground work.

Here are 50 tips for marketing your website.

1. Add a ton of original content. There is no better way to market your website than having content that people love to spread. This method doesn’t work overnight, but in time is extremely powerful.

2. Pick keywords and put them in your title tag. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find good keywords and put the in your title tag. Note: use only several relevant keywords.

3. Write a good META description tag. Your META description tag goes under your title tag in the search engines. It helps convince people to click on your ad.

4. Look at your analytics logs and see who’s sending you traffic. Use these traffic sources more readily.

5. Contact people who comment on your blog. See if you can get them to link to you or talk about you in a blog post.

6. Start a YouTube channel. Upload videos that people in your industry would love and want to pass on to their friends.

7. Submit your site to directories. Use DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory for high powered backlinks and smaller industry specific directories for targeted traffic.

8. Write for offline newspapers and magazines. Reach out to editors and let them know that you’re an expert on a subject and would like to do an editorial or opinion piece.

9. Write a press release and submit it to online press release services like PR Web. Bloggers and editors will receive this release and potentially write about your company.

10. Get in contact with traditional press editors. Pitch them a story about why your company is unique, or find a way to help them in a story they’re already working on.

11. Submit a high quality piece of content to Reddit. Make sure you submit it to the right sub-reddit to get as many interested people as possible.

12. Submit your content to StumbleUpon. If your content is good, this can send tens of thousands of visitors your way very quickly.

13. Create a Facebook page. Use your website to promote your page. Your page will allow you to stay in touch with your fans, as well as launch new viral campaigns.

14. Use Twitter regularly. Befriend other Twitter influencers and ask them to retweet things when you’re doing a promotion. Likewise, do whatever you can to help others succeed, as eventually they’ll want to reciprocate.

15. Search for people to reply to on Twitter. Search for common questions people in your industry might ask and @reply them directly.

16. Join internet forums and contribute. Find relevant forums in your industry and post high quality content replies.

17. Put your site in your email signature. Anyone who interacts with you should see your content website in your email.

18. Create an email newsletter. Use it to follow up with your guests, to build a long term connection and to make regular sales over the guest’s lifetime.

19. Do an online contest. Give away amazing prizes that people would want to fight for. If your prizes are really top notch, people are going to talk about the contest and pass it along to other people.

20. Advertise in other people’s emails. Advertising opportunities start as low as $25.

21. Launch your own affiliate program. Get other people to promote your products for you.

22. Buy pay-per-click advertising. Buy relevant keywords for products that you’re selling and get traffic from Google and Bing.

23. Contact local businesses about joint marketing opportunities. Look into advertising together, doing products together, doing local promotions, etc.

24. Speak at events related to your topic. Ask the event organizer to link back to you. Mention your site when you’re speaking to bring in more traffic.

25. Use Pinterest. It’s one of the hottest social networking sites at the moment. It’s great for attracting a female crowd.

26. Add your business to Google Maps. If you run a local business, it’s essential that you have a well setup Google Places page.

27. Post on newsgroups, Google Groups or Yahoo Groups. Don’t spam, instead look for ways to add value by giving advice and answering questions. Have a small link to your site at the bottom of your messages.

28. Comment on other people’s blog posts. Make well thought out, intelligent comments that add to the discussion and get people curious about you and your site.

29. Interview a well known person. Make the interview available for free.

30. Have great guest blog posts. Often times your guests will link to their own article, driving a lot of quality traffic.

31. Create an RSS feed. This makes it easy for people with RSS readers to follow your blog.

32. Advertise on Craigslist. If you run a local business, this could bring a lot of targeted traffic.

33. Use My Blog Guest to find opportunities to write for other websites. Write for those sites and include a link back to your site.

34. Review products and books. Especially try to review products and books while they’re hot.

35. Answer questions on Quora. Not only can you get good traffic from Quora, but you also position yourself in front of a very high powered crowd.

36. Cover a live event. Update frequently, once every hour or so. People who can’t make it to the event can still feel like they’re there by reading your coverage.

37. Post on portfolio sites. Look for places where you can showcase your work or your ideas. If you get good reviews, a lot of people will come to look at your site.

38. Start a podcast. Publish once a week to start. Build a list of fans who listen to you every week.

39. Get a custom designed header. It can really make a big difference on how people see your website.

40. Comment on current events. If a major shift is happening in your industry, talk about it and give your opinion. If you have a unique take, it could gain a lot of traction.

41. Give something away for free. Give away a free eBook, a free audio MP3, a free DVD, a free software package, etc. Free stuff always gets a lot of attention, especially if there’s a high perceived value.

42. Break a record. Pick a record in your industry and try to break it. If you do, you’ll get a ton of press and blog coverage, which will all translate into website traffic.

43. Ask your customers what they want. Then give it to them. When you do this, customers will often be so surprised and thrilled that their request was heard that they’ll tell a lot of their friends about you.

44. Do a weekly roundup of your industry. At the end of each week, go through and pick out the best posts in your industry and link to them. You can write a small summary as well. Make your blog a resource for people to go to for good content in your industry, even if you don’t write the content yourself.

45. Answer questions on HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a great place to find reporters who need to interview people for their stories.

46. Organize a local meetup. This will bring you a small amount of connections, but get you a ton of valuable connections.

47. Do a free live chat Q&A. Doing these live Q&As regularly will help you build your connection with your audience as well as get a lot of people linking to you.

48. Spend as much time growing interest in your content as you do on writing. After all, what good is content if you nobody sees them? Split your time in half: Half on marketing, half on content.

49. Promote your content on Social Buzz Club and Triberr. Submit your blog posts or videos to these two sites to have the chance to be promoted by leaders in your industry.

50. Create infographics. Gather relevant data, create a scenario and ask a graphic designer to give life to the data you have collected. Promote the infographic on all available channels: infographic sharing websites, Pinterest, social media sites, bookmarking sites.