Tables were skewed, pictures half covered up, the drop down navigation didn’t work, etc.

I actually thought this guy was playing a trick on me — no one would EVER take this site seriously.

When I commented to the client that his little joke was “very funny,” I quickly found out that this was no joke.  That was his REAL site.

After talking to him a few minutes and pulling the site up in other browsers, it didn’t take too long to figure out that he was having some serious browser compatibility problems.  He had built the site for Internet Explorer, and it was a work of art in that browser platform, but it was all messed up on nearly every other browser I tried.

Despite all the advances of internet technology, all browsers are still not created equal when it comes to how your site is viewed.  Browser incompatibility represents a huge challenge for anyone building a website.  Browser compatibility issues can affect your images, JavaScript functions, style sheets, links, navigation, and page layout.

AND it can totally kill your website profits and subscription rates!

Internet explorer, for example, tries to figure out what you meant to put in your code and fills in the blanks.  In other words, if you’ve used incorrect HTML code in your webpage, Explorer will try to make the corrections or fill in the blanks resulting in a page layout that may not be what you intended.

So obviously, you’ve got to address this issue with your website — Which can be a total pain in the rear.

Your first stop should be to check your website in a variety of browsers.  There’s three ways you can go about checking browser compatibility:

1.  Download and install all those browsers onto your computer and view your website in each browser.  This would be a total pain in the neck and totally unnecessary.

2.  Purchase browser compatibility software or a service.  There are lots of great services out there to choose from if you Google it.  I wouldn’t suggest this option unless you have a lot of websites or your build websites for your clients.

3.  Use a free service online like www.browsershots.org.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you don’t really need to check your website in every browser in existence on the planet — that would be ridiculous!

The last time I checked, 99.2% of internet users only used seven browsers:

• Internet Explorer 6- 14.9%
• Internet Exploere 7 – 18.7%
• Internet Exploere 8 – 7.1%
• Firefox – 47.3%
• Google Chrome – 6%
• Safari – 3.1%
• Opera – 2.1%

Of course, these numbers change as new browsers come on the market, but it’s a pretty good place to start.

So I guess that I’m suggesting that even though technology continues to improve, browser compatibility STILL matters and you should definitely check your websites for compatibility!

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There’s really no secret.

I’ve been practicing attraction marketing for years in my own business.  If you’re successful, I bet you have too.

So here’s the big secret… Attraction marketing is any marketing strategy designed to “attract” people who are interested in your products, services, or business to you or your website like a magnet.

Frankly, I think attraction marketing and pre-selling are pretty much the same thing.

The idea is that you don’t want to SELL people your wares.  People hate to be “sold,” but they love to buy stuff when it hits their hot buttons and the buying experience is pleasurable.

In my mind, attraction marketing really comes in two parts… attracting interested people and enticing them to buy.  Let’s talk about each one separately.

1.  Attracting Interested People

The key to making a good living with your business, no matter what business you’re in, is to get your business in front of people who are interested in buying what you have to offer.  The more interested people who see what you’ve got, the more money you’re going to make — simple as that.

In the online world, there are lots and lots of easy ways to do that:

• Write great keyword rich content that attracts interested people through search engines.
• Write articles that will interest your target audience.
• Create videos that will attract interested people.
• Offer a free ebook, ecourse, or report to your target audience (lead capture).
• Advertise your free offer, rather than your products, services, or business.

You want to help interested people find you, but you don’t want to sell them.

You can practice attraction marketing in the offline world as well:

• Advertise a free offer on your website in newpapers, signs, flyers, billboards, etc.
• Create and advertise a recorded message about your business or products.
• Put a sign on your car.
• Use your own products publicly.

The essence of attraction marketing is that you want to give people who are interested in your products, services, or business a reason to be attracted to you and do it in a completely non-threatening way.

2.  Enticing People To Buy

First of all, you’ve got to get the dollar signs out of your eyes.  Too many people operate their business like a used car salesman.

Let me draw you a picture and you’ll see what I mean.

As you’re driving up on a car lot, you notice a group of salesmen sitting together near the entrance.  As your car turns in, all the salesmen turn towards you and you see the cold glint of dollar signs in their eyes.

You flinch just a little, but still find a parking spot and stop the car.

As you get out of the car, you notice that the salesmen are urgently talking amongst themselves until one of them puts on one of those fake smiles and starts walking towards you while the others quickly disperse.

“Hey what kind of car are we looking to buy today?”

YUK!  I hate that so much that I actually refuse to talk to sales people and make my husband deal with them.

No one likes to be treated that way in any situation.

But if you’re hard selling everyone who visits your website, then you’re acting like that money-hungry used car salesman and driving potential customers away.

You’ve heard it before, people buy from other people that they like and trust.

Your job is to give people the things that will attract them to your business, build a relationship with them, and then gently recommend your products, services, or business when they show an interest.

That’s the essence of attraction marketing.

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In addition, hopefully this sales letter mistakes video will show you what NOT to do when you create your own sales pages!

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Well, that’s simply not true.

While there are certain circumstances where a merchant account may be necessary, for the majority of online businesses, it’s just an unnecessary expense… especially when’ you’re first starting out.  I’m going to tell you why you don’t have to have a merchant account.

1. Setup Fees:

Merchant accounts cost quite a bit of money to set up. This will often run you $150 or more. Some services will waive this fee, but they will usually hit you with a higher monthly fee or transaction fee. If you want to accept checks online, you’ll usually have a setup fee for that too.

2. Monthly Fees:

There are several monthly fees associated with having a merchant account. Gateway fees, statement fees, customer service fees, etc. If you want to take checks, you’ll also have to pay additional fees for that service.

3. Transaction Fees:

If you process payments through your own merchant account, you must also pay a percent of the transaction as an additional fee. This is called a transaction fee and usually runs you around $0.30 per transaction. Again, eCheck counts as a second service and each check you accept online also incurs a transaction fee.

4. Discount Fees:

You’ll also have to pay a discount fee which is usually about 2.5% of the transaction amount. Ditto for eCheck.

5. More Accounting:

When you have a merchant account, you have a lot more accounting responsibilities. With most systems, each transaction must be specifically added to your ledger. You can often download and import the numbers into your accounting program, but it’s still a pain to keep track of it.

6. Payment Gateways and Shopping Carts:

You have to purchase or rent additional software to process online payments, specifically a payment gateway and shopping cart.

According to one merchant account company I found online, these are the industry standards for just some of the fees:

Setup Fee: $100- $500
Payment Gateway License Fee: $199
Application Fee: $50- $295
Discount Rate: 2.0%-3.95%
Transaction Fee: $0.25-$0.50
Statement Fee: $10-$25
Internet Gateway Fee: $10-$20

So clearly a merchant account is pricey and maybe a little bit inconvenient, but is there an alternative?

Absolutely!

There are tons of third party payment processors available online.  They will process credit card, and sometimes check, payments for you and then deposit the money in your bank account or send you a check.  Of course, there is a small fee for this service, but it is usually very competitive with the cost of going through your own merchant account, there are often no setup fees, and it’s a lot more convenient.  Plus you don’t have to worry about payment gateways and shopping carts!

In the end, new online businesses and websites rarely need their own merchant accounts when they are first starting out.  Getting a merchant account proves to be too much hassle and too costly to the new online business owner.

Once you’ve been doing business online for awhile and are earning substantial revenue selling your own products and services, then it may be time to look into getting your own merchant account.

Want to know more about operating a successful online business?  Get your Free Copy of 10 Days to Smokin’ Traffic Now!

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Twitter is an awesome tool for connecting with people personally and professionally.  You can talk to others in your niche or area of interest, share advice, provide resources, and network with people all over the world.

I love it and I’m becoming a total Twitter addict.

It’s so much easier to write a short 140 character post on Twitter than to write an entire blog post… especially when I only want to make a quick point and move on.

I have several different accounts that I use for my different niches.  After all, it wouldn’t make sense to use my Arvada Yates Twitter account to communicate with my friends in other niches unrelated to internet business and marketing.  And having all these different accounts is what made me realize how obvious it is that internet marketers don’t know how to Twitter right.

In my other accounts, I can:

• Communicate directly with like-minded people and tweet back and forth.
• Have online disagreements with others who have a different point of view.
• Post cute jokes or comments about current events.
• Add occasional links to interesting blog posts, news stories, or videos.

In my Twitter accounts directly related to internet marketing, I get a constant barrage of links to affiliate programs and promotions from other interent marketers.  There’s nothing that I can have a conversation about, make a comment on, or connect with.

It sucks!

And it totally takes the fun out of using Twitter… so I don’t spend much time on those accounts and opt to participate in the accounts that allow more interaction.

And that’s where internet marketers are totally missing the point of Twitter.

Twitter is about interacting with others and creating relationships.  It’s kind of like email… you have to build rapport with others and provide useful information before you start slamming offers to buy stuff down their throats.

So here’s my top three ways to improve your results with Twitter:

1.  Start a conversation.  It’s easy to do if you’ve got followers that are real people instead of automated accounts.  In addition, you can always join another conversation that’s taking place… just jump in and be a real person!

2.  Stop posting links every time you Twitter.  Links take time to follow and pull followers out of Twitter… plus too many links undermine any hope of having a relationship with your followers.  If you’re going to post links, post links to articles on your blog.  That’s what I usually do.  In fact, I never post links directly to products.

3.  Post tips and real information to your account.  People love short tips and they can also double as a conversation starter.

I’m sure there are a few self-declared internet marketers out there that are trying to Twitter the right way… but the majority of them seem to see Twitter as an opportunity to spam us all with sales materials.

It’s a shame… Twitter can be so much fun!

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The problem with the Republicans is that they need a better marketing strategy.

Here’s my three step plan for getting the GOP back on it’s feet through a solid marketing plan.

Read the rest of this article at http://www.Politegrity.com

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Running up a pretty substantial bill with poor results isn’t hard to do… but most newbies don’t do it on this scale:

“I am very new to this google adsense and posting ads. Last night I wanted to do a “TEST RUN ONLY” for Google to monitor before I could run any ad for my blogger.com. This morning 04/27/2009 I see a cost bill of almost $30,000.00?  Oh my GOD, how could this happen?  PLEASE HELP!  This is a mistake!  Please fix this problem and remove this cost of almost $30,000.00 from my account.  I don’t have that kind of money.  I’m a single mom and I’m not even working.  Please help.  I look forward to your response to my request.”

The quote above came from a Google AdWords Help thread and illustrates just how easy it is to get in trouble with PPC.

That’s why newbies should do their homework before they dive into the deep end of the pool!

Don’t get me wrong, I am sympathetic.  I think it’s really sad that this poor woman probably saw some kind of rhetoric online about how easy it was to make money with Google Adwords and jumped right in.

You can make money with Adwords, if you:

• Promote the right product
• Use the right keywords
• Learn to write great ads
• Pre-qualify people before they click
• Test and track everything you do

At the very least, learn how to set campaign limits in your account so you don’t rack up the bucks like this!!!

PPC is not for the faint of heart or those who don’t know what they’re doing.  You’ll lose your shirt if you don’t get a little basic education first.

If you seriously want to learn more about how to run a profitable Google Adwards program, then I highly recommend The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords by Perry Marshall.  I own it and thinks it’s absolutely excellent!

However, I’m also a realist and know that most of the people who need the information in Perry’s book won’t actually go out and get the book.

My Free Gift To Subscribers

That’s why I’m also offering my subscribers a free gift:

Google AdWords Pay-Per-Click Basics

This is a six part video series that explains all the basics of setting up an AdWords campaign so that you don’t get taken to the cleaners like the poor woman we talked about earlier.

This video course currently sells on other sites for $27, but I’m giving it away free to my subscribers.

One Warning: These aren’t my videos.  I didn’t produce them.  I have watched them, however, and they do provide a good basic foundation for PPC… although they are a bit dry!

In addition, these videos are no substitute to a solid education in PPC and all the tips and tricks to really make money using it.  For a solid education, I still recommend The Definitive Guide to Google AdWords.

If you’re already a subscriber, you’ll receive the download link in you inbox sometime today.  If you’re a new subscriber, send me a direct message on Twitter or through my contact form and I’ll make sure you get the link to the file!

The bottom line… don’t make a $30,000 PPC mistake like this.  Learn the ropes before you jump into AdWords or any other PPC.

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I read an article this morning that talks about a brick and mortar company that required it’s salespeople to acquire at least 25% of customers’ email addresses so that they could conduct email marketing.

When the salespeople couldn’t live up to the quotas, they began submitting made up email addresses… and you can guess what happened then.

Their email system was shut down for sending email to bogus addresses and now they can’t conduct any email marketing at all – even to the legitimate addresses.

The company should have seen that one coming long before they instituted their quota!

Well that article got me thinking about my own inbox and I realized that I seem to be getting a lot more junk email than I used to.  Now I’m getting two or three emails per day from companies that I’ve dealt with for years and used to only get a couple of messages per week from.  And it’s not only that, the email that they’re sending is pure advertising rather than information and other stuff I can use.

It’s gotten so bad that I’ve had to subscribe from several lists that I used to really enjoy.

Just because the economy is down doesn’t mean that businesses, both online and offline, should forget to use sound email marketing practices.

In fact, I say that sound email marketing is more important now than ever.

Rule #1 of email marketing: Send subscribers stuff that they’re interested in.  No one likes a constant barrage of sales material.

I realize that some companies are on the edge of collapse and I empathize, but that means that they need to work twice as hard at making every piece of their marketing plan count. Desperately sending out tons of spam and junk email will only serve to hurt them further and contribute to their demise.

And I think that goes for smaller home businesses as well.

… But that’s just my opinion.  What do you think?

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A few days ago I was lurking on a popular marketing forum where someone asked for autoresponder tips and what they should include in that first autoresponder message after someone signs up for a report.  Apparently, this person already had the rest of the messages pre-written through PLR or some other means and they just didn’t know what to write in that first email.

Surprisingly, one particular person answered the call for help by posting a very long sales letter type email template where they repeatedly asked to be whitelisted, were told that they would be receiving many more messages about a particular product, and where they were given a very detailed pitch for their product.

This template was just dripping with pushy salesmenship.

But the guy who posted it claimed that it worked very well for him… go figure!  What do I know?

Anyway, the post prompted me to create a post of my own where I outline how I usually go about the whole autoresponder/free report thing…  As you might imagine, I go about things a little differently.

Autoresponder Tip #1

I like to keep my email short and sweet.  Generally speaking, I keep my email messages as short as possible. I rarely read one of those long email messages and I figure most other people don’t either.

If you want to know the truth… I usually just click on the links if it looks interesting.

Since that’s the way I look at email as a reader, I approach it in a similar fashion as an email sender.  I write a quick sentence or two along with a link to the rest of the article, online report, etc.

The actual giveaway is where I try to build rapport with my reader… not in the email.

If my teaser sentences in the email are strong, then they’ll click on the link and be interested in what’s being offered. After all, the click through is what I’m after.

Autoresponder Tip #2

Forget about pitching in the email.  If you want to build a long-term relationship with your subscriber, you want to soft-sell or pre-sell them… don’t go in for the kill in the very first message!

That’s one sure way to get them to unsubscribe immediately!

Think of it like this…  You meet someone new at the gym one day and strike up a conversation with them because they look interesting.  Within the first five minutes that new “friend” tries to tell you about the really great product they have to sell and tries to get you to buy one.  How quickly do you think you would run out the door to get away from them???

If it were me, I might even check the parking lot to make sure my new “friend” wasn’t there before I went in for my next workout!

Remember I said in Autoresponder Tip #1 that I’m after the click?  Well, I also want to build a long term relationship with my subscribers… not just get a quick sale.

Autoresponder Tip #3

In the original forum post that prompted this article, the poster was planning on sending out the initial email with the free report and then one message every 15-30 days.

That’s not the way I do it.  I think you have to keep in frequent contact with your new “friends,” otherwise known as subscribers, in order to build a lasting relationship with them.

The first couple of weeks in this new relationship are the most important.

Generally, I send out autoresponder messages for at least the first few days after an initial signup, depending on the niche and the freebie offered. The general idea might look something like this:

Day 1: Here’s your report
Day 2: Did you get your report? If not, here’s the link again.
Day 3: Do you have any questions about the report?
Day 6: You’ve had time to read the report, what do you think?
Day 8: Offer some supplementary information (free) related to report like an article. (Of course there is a product pitch hidden in this supplement)

From there, I dwindle my email messages down to at least once per week… two or three times per week if I can find enough stuff to send out.

So that’s how I think an email campaign should be set up for a free report.  I know there are lots of other opinions out there on how it should be done, but that’s my take.

How do you set up your autoresponders?

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I came across an article written by Steve Hodson over at The Inquisitr called Is Twitter the next affiliate link hunting ground? In the article Steve talks about someone who placed an Amazon affiliate link in one of his Twitter posts using one of the “tiny link” services.

Apparently, it kind of ticked him off.

His argument against putting an affiliate link in the Twitter post is that:

“Affiliate sales are one of the largest money makers on the web but typically users visiting a site or blog will be able to tell that the links are indeed affiliate links; whether it by by disclaimers by the author or other means.  Sure there are the unscrupulous ones who do everything they can to hide them but in general most bloggers are up front about this sort of thing.”

What?!?

Since when do you need to put a big sign on every one of your affiliate links to let every visitor know that the link goes to a product that they might be interested in, but it’s not yours?

Obviously you have to have terms of service, legal, and privacy statements on your blog, which Twitter has too, but this guy is a bit over the top!

After all, no one is holding a gun to anybody’s head to make them click on those links!

On Twitter, if anyone was putting too much junk out there, no one would follow them and they would eventually lose out on any marketing momentum they gained from using Twitter in the first place.

“With Twitter though there is no room for disclaimers or notices about affiliate links regardless of how honourable the person posting might be – or might not be. how are we going to know that the link we just clicked isn’t going to take us to some marketing page that we never wanted to go to.”

I’m not sure you ever know, with absolute certainty, where any link is going to lead you.  It’s just part of internet life.

Since Twitter is built on a social system where no one gets noticed (followed, indexed, etc.) unless others are following them, spammers will never really make any headway there.  Twitter has been around since April 2007, so if the spammers were going to really sink their teeth into it, they would have already.

I think the idea of putting affiliate links on Twitter is kind of rude, but it doesn’t really bother me when it only happens once in a while…  What do you think?

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