Working from Home With Children

Milestones in Internet Marketing

2009-04-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

About the Milestones in Internet Marketing:

Internet Marketing is a tough business - I'll say that again - a tough business. But it's also more fun and rewarding than anything else I've ever done in terms of business and/or a career.

I have been having some thoughts today about what the specific milestones in internet marketing are - the different levels of achievement that someone can reach - and I would like to share those here (a couple of days ago I realized that I had reached another one, which was a very cool experience).

1. Making the first dollar - This I think is officially the first milestone (another "sub" milestone could be realizing your first internet traffic). This is when one is very likely to become addicted to IM (internet marketing). I remember this milestone - it was a bit on the thrilling side. =) To the best of my recollection, this happened for me a couple of months after I actually started learning internet marketing the right way.

2. Making the "second dollar" - by this I mean the second sale. Now at this point you know that you're on your way.

3. Making a regular income - gosh, I hate to base this all around money, there are actually more significant steps ahead but this is still a very nice one. It was at this point that I knew for a fact that I could cause the income to grow. As a note, I'm not talking about "big money" here - but a regular inflow of money - some coming in pretty consistently.

4. Getting good at it - I think that the "getting good at internet marketing" step actually comes before someone realizes it, because it always comes prior to making a lot of money. It is at this point that the income starts to steadily increase, but usually someone isn't getting wealthy at this point - unless they're very very lucky. =)

5. Being able to make internet marketing your own - This is a very cool step. It is at this point that you know IM so well that you can "bend the rules" - in other words you know how to treat individual campaigns differently based on their needs - and you can do this because you know how - no need to ask someone for advice or the sequence of various steps that need to be taken. For example: A marketer knows that their campaign on "fuzzy bears" would not do well with a pay per click campaign, but that it would do well with specific types of web pages (let's say Squidoo lenses) because of the particular audience and how the pages could be laid out. The marketer also knew that it would be easy to write articles about "fuzzy bears" because there was a wide number of topics on it, so the campaign would be organic, based around article marketing. As a note, this milestone happened for me only about 6 months ago.

6. Knowing that you know internet marketing - (This is the internet marketing milestone that I just accomplished by the way.) It might not sound too different than #5 above, but it is. The other day I was doing a bit of reading on the subject of "how to put a campaign together with Wordpress sites" from a couple of marketers that I consider to be extremely skilled and knowledgeable. I realized as I was reading that there were actually some errors in a couple of ideas that they put forth as advice - then I realized that I realized it! (lol) At that point I knew that the best person to give me advice was me and that I could completely "trust myself" with any type of campaign and do it right. (This could also be called the "be able to control" milestone - you can completely control the success of your own campaigns.)

7. Unstoppable - This is my next step. At this point in time some of my campaigns are still not up to where they should or could be - but it takes time, and it's coming. When you work the "internet marketing game" right, toward the beginning the income increase is constant and gradual, but if you're optimizing your web pages correctly, handling the campaigns correctly, they do eventually gain a momentum to the point that they sort of "take off" on their own and fly out of the nest.

OK - my thoughts for the day.

If you are reading this and want to achieve these milestones yourself - my best advice to you basically consists of two things:

Please please please please learn internet marketing the right way. Really learn it as a subject, just like you would study in college or courses and take that knowledge and apply it as you go. And - don't learn it from someone who says that they can get you rich fast selling their product per their instructions - you won't get rich and they won't teach you how to do it for yourself - it will be for them, not you. The best place to learn it online is from Wealthy Affiliate University. That's very important - don't expect success first before knowing the subject.

Persist - don't give up because you don't see "tons of money rolling into your bank account overnight while you sleep" after the first week - or the first months for that matter. Internet marketing simply does not work that way. You'd better be pretty tenacious (as well as willing to work your butt off) - and if you feel yourself starting to get weak-kneed about it, take a look around the forums for people who are doing well. Stay inspired, keep your goals in mind.

Internet marketing is not for everyone. But - if you have the will to have your own affiliate business and if you badly want to achieve those milestones in internet marketing that I list above - and if you're willing to learn it the right way and stick with it - you'll make it.

Double pinky promise. =)

Later.

Tonya B.

**************************************

Related Posts:

What is Affiliate Marketing?
Online Marketing - Volume Counts

**************************************

Internet Affiliate Marketing: What is a "Niche"?

2009-04-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Internet Affiliate Marketing - What is a "Niche"?

OK - I'll start with a basic definition here, then expand on it. Here is a definition from MSN Encarta:

"specialized market: an area of the market specializing in one type of product or service"

Yes - that's a very good definition. But - this is something that trips up a number of internet marketers time and time again. And - I believe that a more specific definition to affiliate marketing might be in order. Here's why...

"One type of product or service" might be "shoes". But in affiliate marketing if you try to center any campaign on the word "shoes" you're in big trouble. Why? It's waaaaaaaaaaay too broad. You will get completely swallowed up by competition and will likely eventually give up.

Let's narrow "shoes" down a bit. How about "biking shoes" Now - there's a niche. But even then, when you are working a campaign around the subject of "biking shoes" you're going to have to tear down that term a little more because when someone types that term into Google there are 12,900,000 returns - that's a little much competition - unless you feel up to a good challenge. =)

So let's say for example that you work a campaign around that subject. That's a great subject for an entire campaign - it can be broken down into "mountain bike shoes", "cycling bike shoes", "winter bike shoes" and more (some of those terms that I just threw out I checked - they would even need to be broken down a bit more).

That's where to subject of good keyword research comes in - keyword research with internet marketing is done to find out not only what people are typing in to Google but what those terms break down into, and knowing how to find out what the competition level is like on any terms to see if you can show up in the search engines with less effort than - well let's say "shoes". (ha!)

But - here's the bottom line. It's not just the terms that we're talking about. We're talking about how specific someone can get when they want to look for something. The more specific you get with your marketing the better - I guarantee that if you created a campaign around "biking shoes", and that if you created a web page around the term "lightweight biking shoes in blue" that at least some people would find it - and since that was exactly what they were looking for - how likely would they be to become your "customers"?

Something to think about eh? =)

Later.

Tonya B.

What is "One Week Marketing" and Who is PotPieGirl?

2009-02-27T22:49:00.000-08:00

What is "One Week Marketing" - and who is PotPieGirl?

I don't promote Internet Marketing Products lightly. In fact, you might notice from the date of my last blog post that I don't promote the internet marketing industry much - I concentrate on other niches (specific parts of a market) and don't even really think about trying to make money on the subject of "internet marketing" myself - way too much competition in this arena - I don't like having to push too hard to make something seen.

OK, so I'll answer the questions...

"One Week Marketing" is an ebook written by PotPieGirl specifically for internet affiliate marketers to help give them a specific method and direction to go when "putting all the pieces together" in the internet marketing game. Specifically, the method given is for free methods of marketing online.

The book is relatively new on the IM scene (I learned about it and bought it in October '08) and is one of the most helpful books on internet marketing I've ever read, and when I actually applied the steps given in the book my statistics went from being "okay" to "Holy moley Batman, I made HOW MUCH today?" Really. =)

Here's my take on what "One Week Marketing" does - for anyone who has become educated in internet marketing, they will very likely get as far as knowing quite a bit about it in terms of the basics and the tools involved, but perhaps lacking in some key SEO (search engine optimization) info, and also "IMers" might be floundering about on this question, "I know what to do, but what order do I do all of the actions in - AND, how much of it should I do?"

Wow - those are some important points. More important than I had realized. Much of what was in the book I already knew - but when I found out that I was doing some of my actions in a wrong sequence - and when I changed that sequence (simple) it changed my whole scene. (Search engines started giving my pages big kisses.)

OK, now for question #2 - Who is PotPieGirl? Well, you might be saying, "duh" at this point - yes, she is the author of the book. And, her name is Jennifer. And, she is an authority on SEO. But let me tell you a story to illustrate who she really is:

I purchased the One Week Marketing book back in October, read it the same day and enjoyed every word. I had a question on how it might apply some of the steps to a niche I was working on, so I sent her an email with that question and link to one of my resources. The following day she responded with an answer that exactly answered my questions, and she spent some real time with the email (it was pretty lengthy). We had email dialog back and forth for a few days, each time she took care to really understand my questions and answer them very helpfully.

When we were finished with that email dialog and I started really rocking on applying IM with the steps given, my whole business took off like a rocket.

My scene - yes, I'm a work from home mom and my time is very valuable and actually rather scarce. Every moment I spend on IM counts, and that book and the method given therein has helped to simplify my technique, add value to my actions and thus increase my sales.

How to say "thank you" for that? I'm not sure - the changes that has made in my life are astounding, and not only affect me but my little one and - well, you get the picture.

At any rate, Jennifer's work and effort (and help) deserves a huge acknowledgment and this was the best way I knew how to do it - thanks Jennifer!!! Uh, sorry - I mean PotPieGirl. =)

What is "One Week Marketing" and who is PotPieGirl? IT is a goldmine and PotPieGirl is an angel from the south.

***********************************

Additional Resources:

==> What is "One Week Marketing" on Squidoo

***********************************

Keywords in Internet Marketing

2008-08-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

Keywords in Internet Marketing:
The Cornerstone of Success

During the time as a novice as well as an experienced internet marketer, I've come across many-a-theory about keywords in internet marketing and how important they are to getting web traffic.

Most people who are working online are actually looking for some "magic cure" or easy solution that will bring tons of traffic to their web resources (sites, blogs, etc.), and most give up simply due to the fact that they don't have a good foothold and know exactly what will work, what won't and so go off into many directions and ultimately fail.

It's too bad, really. The number of people who never move up to "success" with internet marketing is huge, and if they just had the basics...

So what's the key?

MOST basically - of course - is to know exactly how to go about the work in order for it to consistently succeed. But I'll be more specific: If you know how to gather up keywords (or "keyword phrases") to use, and if you know exactly how to use them, you can be successful as an internet marketer.

Here are the benefits I have found from knowing how to use keywords in internet marketing:

Getting ranked highly in Google for a specific search for pretty much any web resource, including websites, blog posts, articles, etc.
For Google Adwords, you pay far less per click if you know what you're doing with the keywords
More relevant traffic from Adwords campaigns
More relevant traffic, period. (Equals more visitors converting into buyers, signups, etc.)
Less overall effort to get traffic!

Keyword research is the cornerstone of success - I use it with everything that I do online, with any type of marketing. I now can do it practically in my sleep (and sometimes I do!), but it has taken a good amount of dedication and willingness to learn to get to this point.

Learning how to do use keywords in internet marketing is a must. Wealthy Affiliate University teaches it's marketers how to become a real pro at keyword research, and also very specifically teaches how to use the good keywords, once found. This is how I learned, and with practice it became very easy.

As a note, you can also choose to use tools, such as Keyword Elite by Brad Callen - which is a brilliant product by the way - and use it to do the work for you. I prefer actually to do it myself, using the good ole' Google keyword tool and it works just fine.

In the case of keywords in internet marketing, "Know before you go" is most definitely the most key phrase of all, and it will put you in the "driver's seat" with internet marketing. (And how to use them once you have them is a whole other story. :-)

**********************************

Related Links:
Increasing Relevant Web Traffic With Keywords

The Value of a Good Website

2008-06-02T12:04:00.000-07:00

What is the value of a good website?

Priceless.

As an internet marketer, I've seen the ramifications of what the internet marketing business goes like with a great website, and without one.

These days if you have either no website or a "so-so" site, your business could probably be going quite a lot better.

A website is the central point of any internet marketing campaign, and with internet visitors becoming more experienced and savvy in general, you can count on them knowing the difference between a site with quality and knowledge behind it and one that may appear "amateurish".

There are a few options that people can take to create their own website that will benefit their business - here they are:

Hire it done. If you are not an experienced web developer and are counting on your website to create a large number of customers, then this is really the way to go. Many people believe that it costs a huge amount of money to have it done, but that isn't always the case. If you don't already have a good resource for this, my recommendation is New Vibe Design - you will get a very professional site that is search engine "friendly" and a good value for your dollar.
Make a high quality website yourself. If you have web building experience under your belt, this could be the way to go. It will take a good amount of time of your own (time=money) but if you are looking to save money there are some options that could be right for you.

My highest recommendation along these lines is Site Rubix - I use it myself. It makes building a website a breeze and much faster than with other builders, with options such as drag and drop, easily creating your own modules, modifying text just the way you want it, and there is a good selection of website headers and templates at your fingertips. Also the side menu is created for you and is updated whenever you create a new page. Site Rubix gives the highest potential for nice looking and professional websites than any other web builder I've ever seen.

(As a note, Site Rubix is strictly one of the benefits that come from being a member of Wealthy Affiliate Internet Marketing University - which is worth your while to become a member of - whether you're an affiliate marketer or a business owner looking for ways to market your site, the information from Wealthy Affiliate is invaluable and any marketers I know that stick with it really know how to market.

3. For Affiliate Marking: I recently made a fortunate discovery with a website creator called Zlio.

If you are familiar with "Build a Niche Store" (Do it yourself niche website builder for eBay products), this is somewhat similar, but it doesn't carry eBay products. Instead, you can choose from a large number of advertising companies that are looking for people (affiliates) to sell their products, and when they do the affiliate makes a commission.

Zlio is not just a "throw-it-together" website, and when I first heard about it I thought that it would be cheap, never get seen by the search engines, etc. I was really very pleasantly surprised - it's a great website builder that allows easy creation of very important elements of a website such as a site map, product tags, keyword-targeted pages/categories and a great selection of niche-oriented products from great companies that are well-known for their quality products and service.

If you haven't already heard of Zlio, I HIGHLY recommend it - My first site was getting organic traffic to it within a few days and it's first sales shortly thereafter - and the traffic is continuing to rise over time! And - oh yeah - it's FREE! Awesome potential with that one. (I've been waiting to "announce" this until I fully tested it out.)

(The only downside is that you take a bit of a cut in the commissions that you earn, the rest of the product commissions go to Zlio in exchange for the site. I personally think it's a great deal because it's not only user-friendly, it's search engine friendly too, and having created such a great product I believe that Zlio has well-earned their cut too.)

The above options are my recommendations on choices for websites - I may write more in the future when I come up with more info.

No matter which avenue you choose to create a website, make sure that it is the right one for you. As I said above, the value of a good website is absolutely priceless and can make a huge difference for any internet marketing campaign - if you need to take your time to work out the right option, do so. It can make or break a business these days.

******************************************

Related Links:
Zlio.com - Get the Review

Should You Do Data Work From Home?

2008-05-17T18:45:00.000-07:00

Is Data Work From Home a Valid Income Opportunity?

Short answer = "No." A great majority of the time when "Data Work From Home" is advertised, one of two things is actually happening:

You are being asked to join a group of people who are doing online paid surveys, or
You are asked to promote someone else's company on your own dime (and much of the time it's many many dollars!)

Either way, "data work from home" is not really the case. These "opportunities" have a definite slant in the direction of scam-land!

I'll explain.

Re: 1. Paid Surveys

This is not a completely invalid opportunity. It does pay, I've done it. However the number of surveys that one person receives that actually pays a decent amount are very few and far between, and the ones that need to be done in-between pay very small amounts. I was getting tired of it, and sat down to do the math.

I found out I was earning about .75 cents per hour!!

They do have benefits, you can do surveys for "credits" that allow you to purchase things online for little or no money, but again the amount of time spent for such a small number of credits is quite a lot.

I find the "paid surveys" gig to be deceptive, which is why I'm taking a bit of a hostile view on it. If it advertises up front that it's "data entry" or "data work from home" then it's not really true is it? When one hears those phrases she / he might think that it involves data entry records into forms for a reputable company, earning a decent hourly rate.

Unless this is actually the case, I would stay away from it. Far away. You'll spend a lot of time on it thinking you'll actually make a good amount of cash. My experience - no way.

Re: 2. Promoting someone else's company or service with Google Adwords.

Oh, this is very naughty.

They tell you that this is "data entry" or "data work from home" when what they really mean is "write Google Adwords (pay per click ads) for us, you pay for it and we'll get all the traffic while you go broke!"

They show you examples of ads that you can type, usually these are very over-used and so cost a lot of money per click - that you end up paying for. So - you will be paying out the nose and will likely not see any money in return - at least it's very likely you'll end up spending more than you earn.

Any program that encourages people to write pay-per-click ads should first train on how to write them effectively and how to actually make a profit!

I don't get riled up too much - but when I see "opportunities" out there such as "Data Work From Home" that are just plain deceptive and take advantage of people who are looking for legitimate ways to make money online I get more than a little peeved.

My two cents. :)

******************************************

Click Here to Find Out More About Legitimate vs. the Scams Online

Get a Free Internet Marketing Guide

Site Rubix Website Builder

2007-09-30T10:22:00.000-07:00

Something very special has come along for internet marketing that could change it forever. It's called Site Rubix and promises to be the best product for web building in the history of the internet.

This post is a review of that product, and an announcement of sorts to all affiliate marketers - I'm sure they will be excited about this when they find out what it really is.

One of the biggest obstacles in internet marketing (if not the biggest obstacle) has been the building of websites. It's costly to hire someone to build it for you, but that's pretty much what you must do if you want it professionally done and actually want to make sales. The website must be attractive to visitors before they really take it seriously. The alternative is building the site yourself, and that can be a too-difficult task, requiring quite a "ramp up" of learning not only html code, but dealing with inefficient software that is tough to work with - you also have the task of learning how to design a site.

OK, this is probably coming off as a big sales pitch - and to some degree it is - but I do believe in this product, even though it is still in pre-launch. Why?

The people that created it are Kyle & Carson - long-time internet marketers (otherwise known as the "Wealthy Affiliates"). Any dealings I've had with these guys has been straight and on every promise they give - they deliver. They also know what a good website is, and what will convert visitors to customers.

Site Rubix Website Builder allows someone to create multiple websites easily and quickly, without hassle and without breaking your bank.

I will be using this product in my own work, and I will create a post with a formal review of it once I've used it. Meanwhile, you can be one of those who stays up on it's release by clicking the link below and entering your name and email:

Click Here to Get All The Information on Site Rubix Website Builder!

Happy marketing!

Tonya B.

Get More Info on Site Rubix Here:

Site Rubix Review Page

**Note: I have now tested the Site Rubix product and it's promise is right - it is quite easy to use and produces sharp, professional websites - !

The Kid Niche

2007-08-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned the idea of marketing within the "kid" niche. Since that time (and as you can probably see, it's been a while since I've made a post here) I've been working on just that.

I love it.

Why:
1. It's a market I know well
2. It gives me the opportunity to make money in the industry, as well
as help children. (Example: Dealing with Children Hub Page)
3. It gives me the opportunity to help parents as well.

How can you dig and find a real niche? Here's what I mean: By definition, "kids" is not exactly a niche - it's an industry. A niche is a very specialized portion of an industry, so for example, some niches regarding children could be child educational tools, best toy wagons, etc. The list - obviously - in this industry could go on and on and on.

Here's another benefit - when I create a site, or an article, or a blog, etc., about some specific niche in the industry, I can link that site, etc., to other parts of the marketing campaign. Here's a good example:

KidsRKool Squidoo lens allows people to come and post their best, funniest stories about their kids. (If other parents are like me, they love to tell their kid stories!) Okay, so I put a link on that lens to another article site called Hub Pages (see link above) that has to do with the best ways to handle some problems with children. I then link both of those to a web page (Classic Playthings Stuffed Animals Review) and the reciprocal links can help with the rankings of all of the resources, as well as the some of the articles and information being a help to both children and parents. Over time, with even more articles, etc., this will begin to generate some serious income - and even better, I can help some folks out.

Great!

I'll keep you "posted". :)

************************************************

The BEST Niche Marketing Training:
Wealthy Affiliate University

Perfect Niche for Internet Marketer Moms

2007-07-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

I've been in the internet marketing industry for quite some time now, but I've never really tapped into the various niches with one of the things I know best --
motherhood. It all of a sudden occurred to me that "kids" is the perfect niche for an internet marketer mom.

Geez, how many niche markets could be under the heading of "kids" or "motherhood"? I don't even have an idea at this point, but I'm sure it's quite a few. It could even be one of the largest markets there is, and it will never go stale.

I do have a couple of active marketing tools regarding motherhood/kids, but have never really punched up the idea in terms of really focusing on it as a career. Now I'm going to be really pushing on it.

When you are a marketer and are using such techniques as article (or "bum") marketing, it helps a great deal to know the subject matter very very well. Knowing what you're talking about - without necessarily having to do research on the subject - makes marketing much easier and more effective as well.

Of all of the "experts" in the field of children, there are none more qualified than mothers - that's a fact. There is also nothing I like to write about more than my kid. :) Anyway, I finally concluded that I should really work on this niche instead of just tinkering around with it.

(As a note, on my favorite marketing forum, WAHM.com, a so-called "expert" posted a subject about child behavior. He claimed that some types of behaviors were a symptom of ADD, and other "diagnosed conditions". Most mothers are aware of the fact that this is a bunch of hooey, and due to the fact that WAHM is full of work-at-home-moms (thus the forum name) he was basically laughed out of the forum. Yada, yada, yada, adios.)

If you're a mother you are more aware of what mother's spend money on and what children really need and want. For example, what are some of you children's actual favorite toys? If your kids are like my little guy, the favorites are definitely not always what's "hot on the market" at the moment. It might be a very basic item or toy, and may be completely overlooked as a specific niche in the kid market. This might also be a perfect niche for you!

Something to think about.

*****************************

For more information on learning affiliate marketing
the right way, visit:

WealthyAffiliate.com

PS: Recently completed Squidoo Lens on great kid moments - drop by and tell your stories! Here's the link:

Kids R Kool

Affiliate Marketing Strategy

2007-07-25T22:20:00.001-07:00

The more I become acquainted with the profession of affiliate marketing, the easier it becomes - this post is about an affiliate marketing strategy that I have developed from the process of personal experience, as well as learning from other successful affiliates.

The best part is that it involves little (sometimes no) cost at the beginning, and allows for business and profits to grow over time, allowing the funding of other, more profitable paid techniques.

What I recommend is to start out with something called "bum marketing" - so named because of the fact that it costs absolutely nothing.

There are folks out there who work online that say, "If you don't spend the money, you spend the time." Well, to some degree that is true and bum marketing does take some time, especially in the beginning/learning stages. However, there are a number of benefits to it that definitely outweigh the time involved.

To better define "bum marketing": It mainly involves writing and posting articles on high-profile (but free) websites and allows for the marketer to be listed highly in the search engines in a relatively short period of time. The articles are related to some service or product that is desired by people, and links to either more information on it, or directly to the product and produces sales.

It's really a great technique.

Why do I recommend it as a first step of an overall affiliate marketing strategy? For a number of reasons:

1. It allows someone just starting out to become familiar with the world of affiliate marketing without having to spend a dime.

2. It allows people to market what they already know something about and/or enjoy, making it easier to discuss and market online.

3. Most very successful affiliate marketers use this method, even though they can afford more expensive methods because it is so effective and helps in their overall campaigns.

The best place that I know of to post an article is a site called Squidoo.com. This is a great place to place your written articles, since it is so highly profiled by Google. It also allows free placement of links, and even allows you to make money with eBay and Amazon by adding simple modules to what is called a "lens" (basically your own article webpage).

Okay, so that's the basic first step. After this is accomplished, many affiliate marketers then move on to Google Adwords (pay-per-click) advertising or the like, using the money they make with the "bum" (article) marketing to fund any expenses along the way.

There are a number of details to learn about this, and there are also a number of other free/low cost techniques to make money online relatively quickly.

But don't expect it overnight - be willing to put some work and learning into it.

Final Note:

If you are thinking seriously about affiliate marketing, you must learn to do it the right way, or a lot of time and money can be wasted. Putting this strategy in place will greatly assist you to get started. With that in mind, here are some links that I highly recommend that you look at closely in order to have all of the information you need - from the bottom of my heart, I want for people to succeed with their own online affiliate marketing businesses, and these resources will help immensely:

Starting a Paid Affiliate Business

Simple Article Marketing Strategy

If you are very interested in affiliate marketing for the long-term, you really need this resource - it includes all of the tools and support you will possibly need:

Free Internet Wealth Guide & Wealthy Affiliate University

May the internet forces be with you!

Tonya B.

What is Affiliate Marketing?

2007-07-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

If you've been around the internet looking for ways to make money online, you probably have come across the term, "affiliate marketing". What does this mean, exactly?

Well, if you're an "affiliate" with a company, then there is an association or connection with that company.

If you're an affiliate marketer, then, you do the action of marketing products for another company, then you make a commission on any sales that are made. It's as simple as that.

There are various ways and means to market products for other companies. These include
using websites, pay-per-click, using services such as Google Adwords and Yahoo! Search
Marketing. One could market for a company directly (example: someone you know has a website and needs it advertised), or indirectly through what is called an affiliate network.

A special note about affiliate marketing: This is a technique of making money online that actually
requires a fairly thorough education before one can actually make a real living at it. It also requires some time and patience - and plenty of work.

If you're interested in doing something like this for a living, there are some good resources that
can help you get off to the right start. You can check out a review of a number of them right
here:

TheMoneyReviews.com

Another note about affiliate marketing - this is by far my favorite method of making money
online. It's very fun, and has the quality of building more and more over time, which in turn increases your income over time.

Good luck!

Is "Help" a Four-Letter Word?

2007-05-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

In the world of internet marketing, there are a number of different types of money-making programs. By many people, these programs are generally known as "scams", "ripoffs", etc.

Well, I've been working online for some time now, and based on what I've found from my own experience, the "scams" are actually in the minority.

Yes, really!

I would be wary of some program that claims you can spend 20 minutes a week on it and wake up each morning to find loads of cash in your online bank account. But there are many many programs that are available that do not make this claim at all. Many of these can help to make someone wealthy. But it takes some real work and dedication.

What else does it take? The willingness to help others.

The most successful online income programs I've seen have been designed for the intention of actually helping others achieve their financial (and other) goals. Yes, the creators of it will also make some percentage of the income along the way, but why shouldn't they? These types of systems take a lot of time, smarts and resources to establish.

If one were to sign up with such a program, follow the guidelines and work on it with tenacity, persistence and dedication, they would achieve the financial rewards that they have been seeking!

If that person also worked to help others to do the same thing, they would achieve long-term stable wealth and a thriving business.

Moral #1: Before making the assumption that something is a ripoff, really take a look at it for it's true potential. Ask yourself: Is it logical that it would work?

Moral #2: If one is willing to believe that something (or someone) can help them, and if they are willing to help others, an awful lot of doors will open up to a new way of life.

And that doesn't apply just to business.

First Day at School

2007-05-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Copyright © Tonya Brisnehan

Today was my little one's first day at school.

It was an experience that I came into not knowing what to expect, and I was looking forward to what might happen.

This really was a landmark day. I think only a parent would really get the full impact of all of the changes that not only occurred with this event, but also what the changes symbolize.

My son is 4 years old and has shown interest in school for about a year now. He has been eager to learn more about the educational basics such as numbers, letters, and is now interested in
spelling.

What I found out when I came to pick him up was not only that he had fun, but that he was considered - by educational standards - exceptionally intelligent. (I knew this before but well, you know I'm his mom. :) )

By the end of his time at the school, he had learned to read several words, and knew what they meant. (Up to this time I knew he had an interest in words and their meanings but I didn't realize he was actually ready to start reading.)

Wow.

OK, now why I mention this - I'm not doing it to brag on my kid. Well, maybe I am a little. :) But my main point is this: Although he is naturally bright, I am a work-at-home mother and my ability to be with him at home has really paid off. He's a stable, happy child and is learning like a thirsty sponge. I know that my ability to spend most of each day with him has been a major contributing factor with his abilities.

This first day of school was actually an emotionally moving experience. The look of dignity on his face almost brought a tear to my eye. His sense of pride from his accomplishments showed in his sparkling eyes and the way he held his head up.

What did I do before I was a mother? I seem to have trouble remembering what life was like - but I do know that it didn't even compare to the pure joy that exists in my life today.

Basic Marketing Strategy

2007-04-29T23:42:00.000-07:00

If you're thinking about working with internet
marketing for a living - or even just to make
a few extra dollars, here's some ideas that
will help.

First off, I want to say that marketing is
basically the same - by my own experience -
whether it is done offline or online. Or even
in a combination of the two.

There are 3 important points that should
be applied in order to make this type of a
business succeed. They include quantity of
advertising, persistence (including the concept
of repetition) and good, helpful service.

I'll take up these three points one at a time:

1. Quantity of advertising - I've included
a post regarding this exact point, with the
subject of volume. Fundamentally speaking,
it requires volume - always - to have any
type of marketing be effective. Even if one
single ad is placed, volume also includes
the idea of, "How many people will see this
ad?" In this way, if it is the right ad in the
right place, many people will see it and the
response will be high.

2. Okay, persistence. This is a real stickler
in the Internet Marketing world, and the lack
of it is the main reason so many people give
up trying to make money online. Here are some
statistics that may help to clarify this point:

* It generally takes 7-8 views of any promotional
ad before the average person will respond in any
way - even if it's just a question.

* With one promotional campaign being done
(for example an email campaign done to a mailing
list), it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3
months to really notice any kind of respectable
level of response.

* When promotion is done, but not consistently
it can appear that the advertising is doing
absolutely no good. The problem is that to the
average person, they are seeing different ads
more often than not, or in different forms and
the lack of repetition fails to fully capture
their attention.

3. Service - This topic is more along the lines
of how to keep a business successful after it's
become lucrative, but applies all along the line.
For those who are involved in online network
marketing this also means helping your team
to succeed.

Example: A customer or team member/affiliate
emails a question but it takes 4 days for it
to be answered. The result: Frustration and
a lack of security about the whole thing.
(This may be unspoken, but I can guarantee
it exists.)

The way to make a business successful for the
long term is to earn trust with good communication,
good service with the intention to provide some
help on the other end of that line.

My friends, internet marketing is one of the
most enjoyable (and sometimes even exhilirating)
careers out there. It can be a lot of fun even
as a past-time, but as a business it's a total
blast.

When these principles are thoroughly applied you
can count on success.

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and
successful internet marketer.

Online Marketing - Volume Counts!

2007-04-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

In my first blog entry I discussed the subject of persistence
and its relationship to internet marketing.

Along with the willingness to hang in there, there is another
subject of importance – volume. When we’re talking about
internet marketing then, we’re talking about quantity of
advertising.

If you think of marketing in terms of numbers, here’s what can
commonly be noticed: A relatively small percentage of people
will actually respond to an ad or offer (my experience has been
about 5 to 8%). Of those people, another percent will actually
follow through and work to grow their business (I’ve noticed
that this falls at about 15%).

If you think of these numbers while you are placing ads, sending
emails, making contact calls, etc., you will have a good idea
of how much advertising should be done to match your goals.
If you use the right volume along being persistent, you will
likely get the results you’re hoping for!

To your success!

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.

Integrity in Internet Marketing

2007-03-22T20:31:00.000-07:00

How important is integrity when it comes to the field of internet marketing? Is this something that one can take sort of semi-seriously?

I don't think so. Integrity is quite necessary in any field of endeavor, but it occurs to me that it might be especially important within the Internet Marketing industry.

The reason?

Easy - from my observations there is a pretty good amount of "slippery" activity in this particular field. Once can get pretty duped if not careful.

Here's a few tips on being able to spot what's really valid, and what is maybe not so honest:

1. Does the opportunity advertise that it's "free" but it doesn't quite make sense how it can be? Some sites advertise the "free" thing without it actually being true - for example, if you sign up for something that is advertised in this way find out first what the actual expenses are before you bite. My experience has been that when you sign up for something that is not actually being direct up-front that it's going to be tough to be successful with it in the long term. (That's based on my own experience and does seem to apply as a general rule.)

2. What do other network marketers think of it? You can find this out by looking at posts on internet marketing forums. (See my notes in the "...Watch What you Step In" post on this blog.) If people have been duped by the program, you'll find out there and will also get all of the details.

3. What are the credentials of the site? When you look at a business opportunity website you can usually find out the credentials of the site at the bottom of the main page. Take a look - if it says "BBB..." or something to that effect, it's probably fine.

4. Does the opportunity sound to good to be true? It probably is. If someone will lie to you up-front (or maybe just not "tell the whole truth") do you think they'll lie later on too? You bet.

OK, that's pretty much what I would do if I were looking for a new opportunity or wanted to check out one that was being advertised to me.

Here's a unique sort of a "flipside" look at this concept of integrity - If you work in an industry that appears to be very untrustworthy but you know that you are honest, helpful, etc., what do you think that might do for you?

This is an interesting look.

I believe that someone who upholds high moral and ethical standards will likely do well in any field in the long-term. But what about IM?

If one is maintaining his/her integrity in this business, I can tell you that that person will do very, very well. This is because of the number of pitfalls people have fallen into - when they find out that you are not a "pitfall" they will work with you and maybe never leave your side.

What can that do for your business?

Think about that. :)

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and successful internet marketer.

Online Marketing - Watch What You Step In

2007-03-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

When one first becomes interested in working online, one of the first things that is usually done is a search on Google for something like - "Working From Home". The number of listings that come up are astounding. (I just tried it and got about 794,000,000 results.)

Wow.

There are a an almost infinite number of opportunities out there. I won't be a pessimist and tell you to watch your back, but I will say, "Tread carefully."

Before signing up for an opportunity, do research on the company, history, credentials, etc. The best way that I know of to do this is with online marketing forums. The members of these forums are internet marketers themselves, and are there to help others who are already in the industry or just getting started. You can post a question and you will get honest answers on whether the opportunity is valid, not or even if no one has heard about it. (If that's the case
by the way, I would skip it.)

In fact, I would do research regarding working from home from one of these forums, rather than starting with something like Google. You can sign up for the forum (free), look around at what others have posted and find the opportunities that appeal to you.

The most informative and helpful online marketing forum is Conquer Your Niche. Here's my link to this site:

http://www.conqueryourniche.com/forum/tonyab

Working online from home is a pleasure. Sometimes getting started is a bit of a nightmare - unless one finds out the facts ahead of time.

Find out for yourself what these money-making opportunities are about, then when you're sure that you want to give it a go, go for it! :)

Another note: As I mention on my first post, a potential "risk" of working online is the number of actual valid opportunities that are available. A number of the marketing techniques involve exposure to other opportunities. You might think, "Wow that one really looks good too - I think I'll sign up for it."

Warning: Do not spread yourself so thin that you don't have enough time to work your business/es.

That's important.

Good luck!

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom and successful internet marketer.

But... Isn't That MLM?

2007-03-13T22:29:00.000-07:00

I've heard other internet marketers who were involved in network marketing programs (MLM companies) say that they had been discouraged to work their business because it was MLM. This had not happened to me, until just very recently.

Yesterday someone that I know well asked me regarding my online business: "Well, isn't that MLM?" Then proceeded to inform me that I shouldn't count on that as my main source of income. (As a note, this person did not have any real experience in this industry.)

Apparently the network marketing industry has received a bad reputation - at least in some circles.

Okay, what is MLM?

MLM (as most people know) stands for Multi-Level-Marketing. When you strip off any stigma involved in it, it's simple definition is: "...a business model that combines direct marketing with franchising" (from Wiktionary Online Encyclopedia). So -- it's marketing with the right of a franchise for a particular business product.

What's wrong with that?

As long as the product being dealt with in the franchise is of good quality and the franchise owners are compensated fairly - nothing.

Many companies are adding MLM to their already-successful marketing techniques, because it is actually a completely valid, relatively inexpensive and successful way to get their products into the general public.

Here is the main message that I want to relay about this: If an opportunity presents itself to you, look it over for yourself and don't allow your decision to be swayed by any type of stigma attached. Great opportunities can be missed by listening to others' opinions rather than acting on your own!

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.

Mothers - How to Manage Your Time?

2007-03-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

I think that anyone who is a work-at-home mother must run into this issue - how do you manage your work time while at home and also taking care of your children?

Do you schedule a strict regimen and then stick to it no matter what? Hmmm. Well, if you're a mother you might have tried this and found out that's it's not quite possible while also handling the various interesting adventures that come up with children. OK, I'll just go ahead and say it - uh uh, it's not going to happen. :)

You know, I don't know that there is an exact answer to this. Sometimes I spend all of the day with my little one, especially when it feels like he needs the attention. There are other days when he's completely enraptured with his own thing, playing with his toys, etc. and I then fit in more work time.

OK, I thought of some good advice - don't expect to have a very strongly structured day (e.g., 10:00 - make phone calls, 11:00 prepare next campaign, etc.). Make a "to-do" list of things to get done in the next day or two, then do them when it's easily done. (My best times are naptime, after bedtime, when he's playing with his toys.)

My child is my priority. I've also got to get food on the table, and am fully responsible for that as a single mom. But I've found out that I can work from home (strictly), be a successful businesswoman and a successful mother with a healthy, happy child. I'm doing it.

PS: Mom's - I also find that if I take my child to the park, go outside for a walk for an hour or two, the whole day seems to go much better for me and my little one.

PS - 2: And don't forget to give yourself a pat on the back now and then. :)

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.

Starting an Internet Business

2007-03-03T12:44:00.000-08:00

Starting a home internet business is a bit of a frightening proposition to some people. I believe that the reason for this is it appears to be a bit risky to not have the regular “9 to 5" security that most folks are used to. The security of having a job is valid, but is an internet business really risky? My answer to this question is most definitely “no”. I've been in business for myself part-time successfully for a number of years, now full-time.

How does someone actually make it work?

The first answer is most obviously by knowing the ropes. You should have a good idea of what you are doing and how to go about it. Get some education on not only any company or product that you are working with, but how to go about marketing it successfully. There are many good resources (e-books, online video and other types of instruction programs) available, as well as other online educational resources such as forums, blog sites, etc.

One useful strategy – find a type of marketing that you like, do it until you are completely familiar with it, then try another (maintaining the first type as well). This is a form of education in itself, and will give you experience and security with your marketing.

A willingness to really work on it is also key to success. It's not “sit back and eat bon-bons and watch the money roll in” like many programs would have you believe. It's not. It is work, and sometimes with very long hours, especially in the beginning.

Overall, there really is nothing like working for yourself. The benefits are there to be had, and from my standpoint they far outweigh any negative aspects of the work. The internet offers nearly anyone the opportunity to make “working from home” a reality.

If you're interested in getting off on the right foot, there is a company online that helps people to learn any type of (effective and successful) internet marketing called Wealthy Affiliate University. I recommend them highly. They can walk people through the process of learning and really stress the "know before you go" aspect of it. Great guys. Anyhow, you can check that out here:

Click Here to Visit Wealthy Affiliate University

Making a Living from Home

2007-01-10T18:02:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I made the decision to work strictly from home so that I could spend more time with my child (who is almost 4 years old now). Since that time, I've been studying up on internet marketing and the various ways that one could make a living online.

Here's the main thing that I discovered: The main trap of working online is not the "scams" (I'm sure that they do exist and have come across a few myself), but rather is the number of actual opportunities that present themselves. A person can spread themselves so thin by investing time and money into too many areas, which takes away the ability to be able to promote their programs/products effectively.

Although I am relatively new to the internet marketing industry, I have successfully worked in offline marketing for years, and have learned a few things that apply to any kind of marketing, across the boards. I also have learned some things about internet marketing in the few months that I've been involved. Here's some "from the heart" tips, that always apply:

Persistence - This may be the most valuable concept in the marketing industry. I believe that no matter what someone is marketing, and how they are marketing it, if one continues the same marketing strategy for a long enough period of time (working on it regularly) more often than not it will pay off. This is what I call the "Golden Rule" of marketing.
Patience - This closely relates to the info above. I think that this is best illustrated with an example: Sally Marketer begins an internet marketing venture, let's say with pay-per-click ads from her own website. She finds a few places to market her site and puts some ads up. Within a week she only has one response from all of the ads combined. She gives up and changes her strategy, removing her ads from the various places, or changing them to something else. This is lost time and lost revenue. Give the advertisements about 6 weeks to be out there, as they are before changing them. If after 6 weeks there is little to no response - then is the time to make some changes. (My experience has been that in about 4-6 weeks the inquiries and sales really start to pick up.)
Quantity/volume - The amount of income is directly proportional to the number of people who view your site/ads. Seriously. Although the quality of the website is important, it takes a back seat to the amount of communications to your audience. Combined - you have a goldmine! Here's an illustration: If you're interested in getting ads onto classified ad sites for example, don't get onto 1, 2 or even 5 - get onto 30! Instead of signing up for 1 traffic exchange site, sign up with 20 and work them daily! 10,000 emails to opt-ins are much better than 50. There are services available out there that can post your ads, sites or send email to many different places/people at once - this type of marketing really works. Think BIG on this! Sometimes it takes 50 people seeing your site to even generate 1 click. This may sound a bit grim, but if you know this information you'll have better control over your income and a much better chance at success!
Focus - Think about all of the income you could make if you could just work all of the opportunities at the same time! Wow, it's tempting and I've been there. How this winds up - your head ends up spinning, you're working almost 24/7 and spinning your wheels. Really, pick you your favorite opportunity (ensuring it is valid first) and work it, work it, work it. Apply persistence, patience and consistency. You'll be amazed at the amount of response you'll get from doing this. Stay on top of it - you'll get there. Once that first thing is off the ground you can invest in "automating" it with various services to advertise, auto-respond, etc. Once it's on "autopilot" THEN move on to the next mouth-watering opportunity!
Service - This is another "Golden Rule" of marketing. I never market a company or product that disappoints. Make sure that what you're marketing is of high-quality, answer any questions about it that come up. (In MLM, this translates to actively helping your downline.) If you care about those who are on the other end of your services and products, you will truly flourish in the long term, and your business will continue to grow.

For whoever reads this information, I hope that it is helpful. Best of luck to you - I wish you all the success in the world! :) Feel free to post any comments.

About the Author:

Tonya Brisnehan is a work-at-home mom
and successful internet marketer.