I have never had to do it before, personally, but I have heard that the best way to learn a new language is to immerse yourself in it.  You have to go so far as to live and interact with the people who speak their language natively.

The same goes for Internet Marketing.  And within that, web design, with all its technical “language”.

Two years ago, I was like an American visiting, say, China with not a lick of knowledge of the language.  Can you imagine on your first day, you have to find a bathroom fast and you frantically look for someone – ANYone – who is willing to listen to you in the first place and secondly take the time to show you the way.

Internet Marketing is like that.  There are lots of courses out there – great ones.  But until you immerse yourself in the “land of Internet Marketing” and learn the language and web design dialect, you could be as frustrated as a person with a full bladder in the middle of Chinatown!

Take PHP, for instance.  I have no idea how to get around in it.  Now, HTML I managed to figure out OK.  But PHP is like Russian, to me.  But I know that if I want to navigate the “land of Internet Marketing” I need to at least master the basics.

It really is my responsibility to learn my craft, to at least manage a bit of it so I can communicate to someone who does know how to do it, just what it is that I want.

Someday, I will outsource the technical stuff.  But until I can, I am determined to learn the language of web design and Internet Marketing, well, at least just enough to get to the bathroom

(thanks to Mark W. for the inpiration of this message!)

Today was a very educational day for me.  I learned how to use Snagit while I wrote out my report, “Create A Cool Looking Opt-in Box with a Red/green Submit Button”.  Yes, just like the one on my opt-in box on the right sidebar.

Snagit was surprisingly easy to use and it took less time than I thought to put it all together.  It is 11 pages long so I put in a pdf.  Get a free copy of the report here:  http://thehinessite.com/blog/redgreensubmitbutton.pdf

I am anxious to hear what you all think.  Did you find it useful?  What improvements can be made?  You technical types, any suggestions?  I am all ears!

Today was a day of just grinding away at the chores of Internet Marketing.  I finished an ebook and uploaded it to one of my niche sites.  I did some messages for my auto responder and created a new Optin for the niche site. 

But I didn’t do what I wanted to!  I have a list, my brain, I call it.  I have my daily To Do’s:

• check and answer emails 
• fix problems relating to boo-boos and customer issues
• write an entry for each of my growing niche blog sites (at least every other day)
• dig for keywords for my main niche site (i have over 6000 keywords and phrases

But here is the deal:

I also want to create a Squidoo lens, a Knol, a Hub page and an ezine article for each keyword.  All this to build my “empire” as Tiffany Dow calls it.  That’s a LOT of writing!  So, while I get all the other stuff done, by the time the end of my day comes I realize that those pesky articles aren’t done.

I am thinking out loud right now… I am going to break down my empire building differently.  Every full day I can get my hands on, I will do that writing! 

What is it that you aren’t getting around to?  Visiting forums?  Writing articles?  tweaking sales copy?  If you haven’t figured out by now that Internet marketing is work, I am here to tell you – it is!  but I love it!  The folks are great.  The freedom to build your own business is great.  Writing your own paycheck is (going to be) great!

So, let’s roll up our sleeves and dig in – it’s only a matter of time and …

I have to brag on Sean Kelly with Data Genn, creator of the PDF Printer Pro.  You see, I have been editing docs I had first created in Word 2003 then recently opened and contiuned editing in Word 2007.   For the most part everything transitioned fine till time came to convert to PDF.  I use Adobe Acrobat 7, so I pushed the print to PDF button and waited.  OK, so far.

But that’s where the OK stopped.  Only some of the links were embedded.  Hmmm…  Tried it again and again.  No go.  So, I remembered in the back of my head that there was a pdf printer advertised with another program I own, Viral PDF Brander (the only PDF re-branding software of its kind for the price – also by Sean Kelly).

When I finally found Sean’s site, I couldn’t resist buying it at $10.  I installed it and proceeded as with the Adobe docs but still nada. 

So I requested a refund and just plan on editing and publishing my docs in the older Word 2003 (which works just fine – I just like the new layout of the 2007)

Anyway, it seems Sean was away getting married and so I didn’t hear of a refund or anything.  I am a patient sort so I gave a few days then resubmitted.

Long story short…he apologized.  Offered to analyze the problem but was willing to refund, no questions asked.  He even sent a fixed version of the PDF Printer Pro.  Still didn’t work for me.  So I took the refund.

That was two days ago.  Just now I get an email again apologizing for the problem and sent along a newer fixed version – free! 

Here is a guy who knows what service is all about and it there for his customer even if it was only over a $10 product.  So, you can guess what I am going to tell you to do.  When you need a great PDF printer get PDF Printer Pro from Sean.

If you have been in Internet Marketing or any business for that matter, for long, you realize how important communicating with words is.  Without marketing, our economy as we know it today would come to a standstill.  Whole segments of Business are dedicated to communicating to prospective customers – it’s called Marketing.  Apple, Microsoft, Nike, Ford, Cheerios, Band-aids…all depend on marketing.

Why?  Because marketing is the art and science of making your product or service “wanted”.  It is all about creating desire through curiosity plus benefits (why are Band-aids better than Curad?  Or Ford better than  a Chevy or one politician better than another). Desire is created by showing benefits to the individual and at least grabbing their curiosity.  “Look like so and so if you use X brand shampoo; you look tough in a Ford or whatever.  Anyway,…

I think the history of Marketing is fascinating.  Did you know that Marketing as a profession did not exist till the 1920’s or so?  Marketing became the means to get the word out to folks that you had a product that was great, but word of mouth wasn’t enough to get it shouted far and wide.

The early 20th century saw big changes in industry.  Until then, you had one kind of “something” on the store shelf available for sale.  One type of glue; one kind of peaches; one line of tools.  That was due to local economies.  Stores carried what the locals had to sell plus a limited amount of shipped in items.  It was expensive to bring in store goods.  Advertising was as simple as neighbors telling neighbors about the goods they liked.  Store keepers might put up a sign to advertise some new thing but nothing like it is today.

Then came the industrial age.  Due to the production of steel, cheap coal and oil, combined with entrepreneurial spirit, inexpensive manufacturing processes came on the scene which made it possible for business men to make 1000’s of a widget in a day – not just 10 that his local economy needed.

At the same time another development made distribution possible – trucks and trains.  Mass distribution became possible by rails and roads.  As the world became more accessible, manufacturers figured out they could make more money by mass producing their product or service and sell it far and wide.  So he learned to get the word out through sales and marketing.

But then as one would expect, other entrepreneurs wanted a share of the pie too.  After all, their widget was green, or it was made of lighter materials or it was less expensive.  So, now there were two or three or more somethings to compete with one another.  (Ever looked at the shampoo aisle?  Just what really is the difference between them.  They all clean your hair, right?  That goes for the frozen foods, or pop or chips…you name it there is always more than one brand)

Once there were more than one something, you needed to set your “something” apart – make it seem better some way.  That is what Marketing is all about – making your widget special.

Taking it a little further, within marketing came another specialized field – the copy writer.  Writing copy to sell a widget to make it “better” than the rest, is an art and science.  Men and women who are good at it can practically command any price for their “magic” with words.  Because business owners know that if there is anything their business needs, it’s buyers.  And most folks usually don’t just buy, they need to be sold – especially if it is a new idea.  There are just too many choices out there. Too many voices clamoring for your attention.  The Copy Writer’s job is to get your attention.

Hence, Internet Marketing.  So, now you know where it all began.  And you now know why it is not an easy business to be in.  But with persistence, good product or service and excellent copy, it is only a matter of time before you find your business taking off.

Do you want to know the secret to writing massive hot copy just like the “big guys”? Imitate the big guys. Seriously, do you want to be the next Michael Fortin or Clayton Makepeace or at least write copy like they do for your own business? Then read their stuff. Study their websites. Digest the pages. Go so far as to hand writing out some of the best, hardest hitting sales letters you can find. This has a way of becoming part of you.

If you want to write high converting sales copy, copy the masters. Nothing wrong with that – just don’t copy word for word – that’s illegal. But copy the spirit of it. What grabs you? What is making you want buy what they are selling? Once you figure that out, mimic that in your own efforts.

How did you learn your native tongue? I learned my English from my parents long before I went to classes. I copied them. Do you know that the best authors of old copied other writers? There is something about “burning it in” making a pattern in your mind.

It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I say it is the greatest schoolroom in the world. Find someone you want to be like, no matter the subject, be it copy writing, golf, industry, business, music, art, – whatever. Study him or her. Soak up their method. Dissect what you can know about them and imitate it. This is how many great men and women made their beginning. Don’t for one minute think that Mr. Fortin originated the techniques he knows when crafting his sales copy. He learned by copying, too. Lots of studying the masters and practicing and testing his copy

Sooner or later you will take on the attributes you admire while incorporating your own special flare. There are very few who are originals. The smart ones recognize the originals and “copy” them. That’s OK. Eventually your own “signature” will appear – your brand. But initially don’t be too proud to copy what works.

OK, maybe love is too strong but maybe you can understand why in a minute. You see, I have only been in Internet Marketing for maybe two years now. In that time I have come to have a love/hate relationship with it. I love the free enterprise aspect of Internet Marketing, don’t you? It is a place where all it takes is desire and action and anyone – young or old – may succeed and earn a living.

But there is the other side of the coin and that is the ability to “hide” on the ‘net and make a load of money. Sites where you have no way to reach customer service (if they had it). These sites are full of great promises of what their product or service will do and when it doesn’t work that way for you, you try to get a refund. Well, I don’t need to tell how awful that can be. We have all been left holding a white elephant.

Not with Aweber. The other day I was signing back up with them after a short time off and inadvertently added a year to my account rather than the month to month plan. Ooooops! That would spell all kinds of disaster in my bank account. I began to sweat as I looked for the Contact Us info. And you know what? They actually have a real working phone with a live person answering the phone. Nervously I explained my predicament and the gal on the other side calmly handled the credit in a matter of seconds.

Not only that but since it was a re-sign, I got the usual friendly follow-up call (thanks, Jason) asking if I had any questions or problems with my new account. I told him the happy story of the day before and he was genuinely glad, too.

I don’t know about the other auto responder services out there. They may be super, too. They may even be less expensive. But Aweber is going to have this customer for a long time to come.

If you are reading this article, you already know how vital article writing is for blogs or any website promotion. I laugh when folks say it is “free” traffic generation. It cost me a lot – a lot of blood, sweat and tears, that is. Well, not really, not anymore. Let me share with you the tricks of the trade I have gleaned – my version of the “dummies” series for article writers!

1. Find a quiet place with no interruptions.  Moms and Dads, this is important for you.  Wait till the little kids are in bed or at least happily entertained.  The rest of you – turn off the cell phone, turn down the “bing” for checking your email, and such.  Once those creative juices get flowing all it takes is a “Mommy, I need to go potty!” to stop it in it’s tracks (ask me how I know).
2. Research – keep it short. Really this isn’t a college term paper, folks. We are talking about going to Google or your favorite search engine and typing in the keyword(s) and then opening and scanning the top entries. Take brief notes about 3 – 5 things that concern your keyword topic. I say brief as you DON’T want to copy. This process shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes. If you are taking longer it is because you are reading, not scanning. 
3. Stay on track.  And don’t get off topic – it is easy to follow links all over the place.   Sure that link that goes to “How to Write Cash Sucking Sales Letters” is pulling you away.  Nope.  Get back on track.  Then walk away and get some tea or go for a walk.  Let that new info sort of soak into your brain cells.
4. Write a suitable keyword-rich headline.  This article is not about teaching how to write eye catching headlines – there are lots of sources for that elsewhere.  But they say and it is true that once you have that headline nailed down, the article practically writes itself!  Titles should be keyword rich, not some cute poetic thing that makes you feel proud.  Stick to what works - ”Three Mom Tested Tips to Stop Your Toddler From Biting for Good!” works better than “How to Stop Your Kid from biting”.
5. Write like a maniac  I read this somewhere and it is so true.  Write like nothing else matters.  Don’t stop for grammar or spelling – Nothing!  Just write/type like your life depended on it.  There will be plenty of time later to edit and fix up.  Just get all those thoughts down – organize later.
6. Focus  Some call it being in the “zone” like Olympic and professional athletes and other writers do.  When in the zone, your mind is focused on one thing – seeing the end result in advance.  That article is written and published just like Tiger Woods would see the ball in the hole, just before he wallops it toward the green.  It’s a done deal.  Just a matter of doing the action to make it so.
7. Article length and quality- This depends on where you are submitting or what you are trying to accomplish.  Blog articles can be as short as 200 words on up to a regular epistle.  But this is where you want your best, most meaningful articles.  Pure solid gold info and advice here.  Ezine submissions would be from 300 -700 words and really shouldn’t be too informative.  You want to write briefly on your subject but leave your reader wanting more.  You want to show you know what you are talking about but only enough to lead them to your website where you have the “whole story”   Kind of like tasting samples at Costco, right?  If it’s any good, you make a beeline to the shelf to get more!
8. Write to your sister.  Writing articles used to give me the heebee jeebies.  It comes naturally now.  Like talking to a friend which is my most important advice.  Stop thinking you need to impress your high school English teacher.  Write to your best friend!  Some have even gone so far as to invent a friend to write to, right down to giving her a face and personality.  Write like you were telling your aunt about your lastest interest.  Somehow, it all starts to flow and sound natural.  As a matter of fact, I wrote this article to my son, since he is learning the ropes of blogging for profit.
9. Clean up time.  Read through your work.  Edit the boo-boos.  I don’t know about you but it seems to me that if you have the time to write an article you should take the time to fix it, too.  Now, even I let a few faux pas get past me, but really, use the spell checker.  And remember this in not Nobel Prize stuff.  Articles are on one topic.  Books are for multiple topics under one main topic.  Know when to cut the fluff and stay on topic.  Write your book later.

Enjoy the process.  I used to think article writing was to be avoided – that I should pay others who are more qualified to write.  I say, just do it!  Jump in, the water’s fine!!  Before you know it you will be swimming/writing like a pro.

Product Recommendation

Article Speed Writing Review

I have bought and read nearly all there is out there about writing profitable traffic pulling articles and I can say unreservedly that Article Speed Writing by Andrew Hansen beats them all.   It served to kick me upside the head a dozen times or more as he frankly reveals the simple tricks of the trade.  To top it off, I know the “big guys” praise his work.  Check out his webiste here

Our first “real” money making home business, the Olympic Munch, is frankly as labor intensive as raising a child. It takes dedication and determination to push through the mundane aspects of a brick and mortar business. Product inventory, supply inventory, processing in medium scale production (hundreds of bars a day and all by hand!), packaging and labeling, etc.
Why do we keep on? I guess for me it is two fold. One is that I get my kicks providing a great unique healthy snack like no other out there. And Two is that my mind needs to be creatively occupied and making Munch bars does just that!
Not everyone is cut out to manage or plan or create which is what jobs are for. Some folks are content to just put in 6 to 8 or more hours a day working for someone else. They may have a job that involves creating or managing or planning but you are still working for someone else. That someone else can tell you what you are worth, tell you when to take lunch and go to the restroom, when to take vacation, and for all your pains can lay you off on a moment’s notice.
Any way you look at it, working for someone else is the pits for someone who is not content to take orders from someone else, but is willing to take less pay/income in order to call their own shots, determine their lunch break, when to take time off, determine your own deadlines, and take the boss (or secretary) out to lunch any day of the week.
Yet the self-employed DO have a boss!! That boss is the consumer of your product or recipient of your service. If your product or service stinks – you’re not going to last long in business (i.e. you’re fired).
The self-employed person has to be on their toes with their ears and eyes wide open. He or she will need to be their own worst critic. How can I make my product or service better, more appealing? They are constantly looking for ways to make life better for someone through offering their product or service. The honest businessperson never loses sight of the Golden Rule “Do unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You”.
A self-employed individual is in it for the long haul. He/she will roll with the punches and rally after losses learning from the experience – making their business better because of it.
It takes guts to succeed. It is not easy but it is worth every minute of it. Lunch anyone?

Maybe I should say is there anything wrong with it! Blogs and blogging are the website of the future. They are friendly to both people and to search engines. They are relatively easy to learn how to “do”. And now more than ever folks who want to work at home have access to the simplest way to get started earning money on the Internet. Until now though even I was mystified as to just which plugins were best, just how to manage the SEO in a blog and most importantly, how to make money with a blog. Enter Expert WordPress!

You are looking at it! This is an Expert WordPress template is professional looking. It is search engine friendly. And most importantly, easy to use!! Everything you see here I did in 2 hours including posting the first 10 articles (if the dates seem weird it is because I tranferred them from the older theme). That means from uploading the appropriate files, configuring the “techie stuff” (Alex holds you by the hand all the way so you just can’t mess up), adding audio, images, and video clips.

I used to be mystified by SEO. But not with Expert WordPress’s guidance. But let me back up a bit. I have ached for a “soup to nuts” course on how to make money using blogs. There are some great mentors and you will read about some of them here in other articles. But when I got the email to look at Expert WordPress, I have to admit that I was a bit wary. But not for long. The website gives a short demo on how easy their 3 step installation is. I took the plunge and got the Platinum package which, my dear readers IS the soup to nuts on making money with blogs! Worth every penny in the time it saved me figuring out all the plugins in needed to get, all the preconfigured pages with Adsense already to go, and SEO neatly handled in the back room.

As a matter of fact, I am only part way through the videos and I feel like I went from Internet noob to Internet pro. I strain to find a gripe about it too. The only thing I had trouble with is that Alex has a strong accent which I admit threw me for a bit. But after following him for a few lessons, I quickly learned how to interpret the accent. As For Alex knowledge, he knows his way around Wordpress like he designed it himself.

I can’t say enough about it.  If you need an all in one video course on how to make money on the Internet – this is the one. Visit Expert WordPress here.