A little Story

A little story.

I was putting a website together and I was doing a self-build programme and I was getting it together quite well I thought. It is such a good idea and quite reasonable. I used UK Reg.com, which I had used before and I found staying with the same company for the hosting seemed a good idea as well.

I was doing quite nicely thank you, got most pages done, mistakes did occur of course but were soon put right. Remember I was doing something quite different to what I was used to, but it was exciting .I had a couple of pages devoted to Amazon, selling their books, they were most helpful. Did my sales page, order page and contact page.

I had decided to use Clickbank.com as my merchant banker, they were really helpful because I found it very mind boggling linking it all together. So there were emails flying backwards and forwards, but they patiently guided me through it all. That really was the difficult part.

Of course there were doubts creeping in all the time. One that bothered me was, should I use my main email address as contact. Never shouted someone. Then I remembered once before I had launched something and used my primary email address and I was swamped by calls from all sorts of people trying to sell me something, so I have been wary since.

Then suddenly I was stuck solid, I could not get my head around this however I tried, what made so angry was the fact that I had done this all before a year or two ago, built my own site, now here I was floundering, because I could not remember how to set up my thank you page, as I said before I was using Clickbank. I could just as easily have used PayPal.com. They now have a fantastic set up. A shopping cart which takes care of everything and where your customers don`t even need to be a credit card holder. I t is quite easy to set up too.

To get back to the point I could not remember how to set up my download at the thank you page. Now every entrepreneur knows that an important point of being a marketer is to know where to get help.

I scoured the local area till I found a computer programmer and the job was sorted quite quickly. Do you know where to find such a person? At your local college is where.

I found something that was eating away in my head for a long time. That is the people who write books for people like Clickbank which you can freely download .They are supposed to help you on your way through difficult patches which all people get, or am I the dense one on this, tell me what you think.

They don`t go into the small details enough. I think they are gurus who are writing to a level who are total beginners who have not got a clue, so the guru has to think “ how should I look at it from the point of view of someone who knows it all, to someone who is unused to the phrases I use every day and the setting up of websites which comes as second nature to me?” Then he would cover the small details, which are probably mysteries to the newcomer, but he doesn’t always do this.

There is a very good book to download by Harvey Segal “ Working With Clickbank” It certainly helped me, but there were a few places where he could have made it clearer.

Here is an example.

This guide I am looking at now and which I used at that time.

We go through the thank you page by Clickbank where they send the customer to after they pay.

On the page we need to:

• Thank the customer for making the purchase.
• Display your email address, [ not your main one ] so you can be contacted for assistance if needed.
• Remind the customer Clickbank/Keynetics will be charging their credit card.
• Make an exit link once the customer sees you’re your thank you page and make sure they have at least one link to follow.

Now to me it got vague.

You don`t want people to easily type in.http://yourdomain.com/thankyou.html and download your product free, now that worried me because ther was no explanation that I could understand HOW. But then I’m dense? No, they think think that all people trying to upgrade themselves are webmasters. Do you get what I mean?

Now then there was a protection for your download. Clickbank offers you and your customers the security of the payments processing. However you are responsible for the security of your products. The visitor could get to your website and could download your product without paying for it .{ They did it with me ]

• So here are the download problems.
• Not hiding your down page deep enough
• You should make a directory to put your thankyou page in, such as “inpage” or”tcpage”

Elucidate please. Now I was lost as I am not a Webmaster, I am a newbie depending on this book to explain what and how. He had me struggling for quite a while.

So I ask Clickbank to explain in fine detail so that even I can understand. This went on for quite a while. We really got to know each other.

Now explain what this means: Not putting a meta tag in your html code that says “no follow” Ughhh! This keeps the search engines from finding it.Now I am completely lost and have to have my fifth coffee.

Now once again as far as I am concerned he is talking to people of his own level and not struggling newbies. These people must write with newbies in mind. Right?

So maybe you won`t use Clickbank. There is a very good alternative, PayPal.com you would have no worries about anything especially set ups. The set up is free, A fantastic shopping cart where your customers don`t even need to be a credit card holder.

And most important Paypal won`t allow the release of your product until they pay.

Talk to you soon.

Al.

In Glorious Bloggo Vision

IN GLORIOUS BLOGGO LAND

By kind permission of Phil Gosling better known as Phildee

I was so pleased on reading this message from Phil that I asked his permission to place it on my Blog Here Tis.

I was going to do a completely different blog this morning but a series of e-mails has prompted me to change the subject completely. If you are in the least bit interested in selling information products online, or indeed are doing any kind of marketing on the internet, or indeed anywhere else.., Then this is a vital information that you need to understand. If you know this already then please pass this information on to those who don't Would you like to know how I could make£1 million tomorrow? not you, me, and to be fair it would probably take me a couple of months.

All I need to do is to create a compelling product for others to sell, and to charge them for the privilege of selling it. The reason why this would work is because the vast majority of people are fixated, and I mean fixated, on the weird notion that all they need is a product to sell.

Every week I get several e-mails from people whom I am desperately sorry for and really, really want to help. They invariably ask me to give them a product that they can sell. The list of so-called experts who would be willing to sell them such a product would be long indeed, and I am not one of them because I know it's a waste of time.

The problem is compounded by the irony of also receiving e-mails from people who have spent large sums of money buying sets of products “ they can sell tomorrow” and ask me how to sell them, or at least how to get their money back. A meaner minded person than me would put those people desperate for products in contact with those people desperate to sell them.I don`t think so.

This fixation on products comes about because we've all seen experts and gurus all over the world selling software, books, courses –i.e. products, and making good money as a result. So the mindset is obvious. If “ Guru” is making money selling a product, then all I need is a product to become a guru.

Never in the lamentable history of home business rip-offs has such a notion caused so many people to lose money and hope.

I plead with you to take on board what I am about to say because it is the true secret of online or off-line success. If you approach the whole business from this new direction of then your chances of success have been magnified beyond all recognition.

The product means nothing unless you have someone to sell it to This does not necessarily mean that you need to have a list of your own customers or your own prospects to contact. It means that you must know where your potential customers are and you must know how to contact them. Above all if you have no idea of a product then it is absolutely wrong - completely incorrect – to start looking for products, never mind trying to flog somebody else`s product through their affiliate programme.

The absolute secret of success is to look for a market of potential customers first, for example, widget lovers. Then you look at ways of contacting this audience easily. Finally you should check to see if there is an abundance of potential JV partners available.

So let us assume that widgets is your hobby, interest, problem or area of expertise, or just something you enthuse about. There are two ways to sell widget - related products: direct to the customer [e.g. adwords ] or by creating a joint venture with someone who already has a large established list of widget enthusiasts. The most obvious place for this is an online news letter.

You can establish how big the widget marketplace is by typing widget, and widget news letter into Google. The sponsored links down the right hand side of the the Google page tell you that this is a commercial environment, which is good. If there are no sponsored links then it either means there is no market for sales or you have miraculously discovered a previously untapped market. This is highly unlikely.

Examining the main section of the Google page allows you to establish the kind of websites devoted to widgets. Do some of these websites have book stores within them? Do they have online news letters? what you're looking for is the potential for either JVs, publishing articles, or even placing adverts.

You`ll notice that at no point have I yet discussed products. That's because a huge range of products becomes obvious when you find a market first. In our example, having found out how to contact a large number of widget enthusiasts we can now do one of two things or both . We can either consider creating our own product, which may be an e book, course, audio-visual presentation or whatever, and/or we can go hunting for a wide range of affiliated products to offer to that market.

The most common, massive mistake to make when looking at a career in online publishing is to create, or buy -in a product without having a detailed plan of who to offer it to, and how too offer it. “ I`ll set up an Adword “is not a plan. It`s a shot in the dark.

This is easier to see if we move away from online marketing and talk about direct mail . Would you create a product, for example an educational course, and spend a year writing it only to find out that there was no lists of potential customers available from mailing list brokers? Completely crazy, yet this is what people are doing on the internet every single day and I am starting to get to the stage where I've stopped banging my own head against the wall and want to start smacking a few other people's heads against the wall instead.

I call myself a renegade lemming, but all the gurus are renegade lemmings. All the ordinary lemmings are trying to sell products they have no audience for. The renegades walk the other way and trade products to audiences they know are there and know how to contact both cheaply and easily.

So I beg you to get away from product mentality into market mentality. Embrace the notion of finding a market first, researching its potential first, researching the potential of JV partners first and then, only then, consider either your own product or someone else`s affiliated product.

Please do this, because if you don't you`ll stay poor and I will turn into a gibbering idiot.

Waddya mean turn…!

Many thanks to Phil Gosling [Phildee] for allowing me to print this on my blog for you.

Talk to you soon.

Windy blast 2

Windy Blast 2

Hello. I said I would mention Ebay, well everyone raves about Ebay but there are a lot of things to notice about the way some vendors conduct their selling.

It`s a wonder they sell anything at all and they could certainly do a lot better, in fact thinking about just that , an enterprising person could make a living telling them where they are going wrong and charging a fee.

For instance have you noticed in the clothing category you see expensive coats and jackets for sale , but in what a way. Looks like they have just laid the coats, dresses, jackets on the floor or over a chair, and photographed it. It looks absolutely scruffy.

Now wouldn’t it look better if a lovely young woman was stylishly posed in the coat, dress or jacket. Don`t tell me that these people don`t have a lovely girl friend that would be glad to pose. No one is suggesting that they pay a model to do it for them, they have suitable friend

This even goes for car vendors, have a nice young lady slouched nonchalantly in the drivers seat. Another idea if they are selling 4 x 4 s don’t have it all polished up and shiny. No, take it down a dirty old lane and get it filthy, then pose beside it in your scruffiest car coat and wellingtons. Don`t laugh, it`s not silly . I tell you it will put Dollars on it.. Be Told.

When you are putting in your text for whatever, direct your presentation to one person, your selling to one person not thousands, he or she is your buddy. Write your text accordingly and you will notice a difference. Don`t be too eager in your presentation, it will show in your writng , be laid back about it but don`t fall over.

Ever really thought about checking out these sites I have been talking about? There are a lot of them believe me So, how do you go about finding these sites? Easy.

First, log on to ebay, when you get the page look for favourite Categories, these categories.

• Books, comic an magazines
• Clothes ,shoes
• Collectables
• DVDs and TV
• Health and beauty
• Jewellery and watches
• Music
• PC and video
• Photography

I wonder why they are favourite? I should think because these are the type of things that can be easily sent by post.

Now look for the box that says search and click it,

Click the buy it now tab and wait for the results. This shows sellers using “buy it now” features.

Click customise display which is on the right

When the new page loads you`ll see two white boxes

In the left hand one is “type of seller” click it once

Now click the arrows >> to move what you`ve clicked over to the right hand box.

Scroll down and click the check box next to “ display feedback info” the tick appears in the box.

Look down for the sort by drop down menu.

Click the down pointing arrow to show the menu.

Click price: Highest first.

Scroll up and click on customise search options.

When the new page loads look in the left hand box for type of seller again Click it once/

Now click the arrows>> to move it over to the right hand box.

Scroll down further and click save.

When the new page loads your search results appear.

Scroll down and look on the left for the check box next to “ Type of seller”

Click it so that a tick appears.

Look down now and click the downward pointing arrow to reveal a drop down menu that has business and private in it.

Click business just to make sure

Look down a bit then Click “ show items”

You will see the abundant amount of items found.

Now if you are the type of person who thinks he can show these people with the poor photos and crummy presentations how it should be done for a sizable fee, then go to it.

Now I got a questioning email from a lady who was having trouble with her Bonsai plants.

Which I will try to help next time

Farewell.

Windy blast

Hello

My name is Al Sowerby. I was born quite a few years ago in a village at the foot of Crossfell as you may not know is in Cumbria in the United Kingdom.

This Blog is not going to be about Families or birthdays all that clutter. This is going to be about Information on a whole manner of things. Variable because of the input I hope I am going to get from you.

I know it is going to be variable as I have already had emails from quite a lot of people and they certainly were mixed. But all linked together on the main theme, The Web.

So I m going to kick off with a point that is growing to tremendous heights of late, and I may say with thousands of different themes.

I have been questioned about Adsence by Google. Questions on Guidelines, what makes Adsense special? Even its misuses, Oh yes and there are some creeping in. But I am sure Google are up to it, it is not easy to fool Google for long.

Of course adding Adsence to your web page is easy, that is what they always say don‘t they. That’s because THEY KNOW, AND NEARLY EVERYTHING YOU KNOW IS EASY. But not to someone who is not greatly computer literate. I think that is the proper term

. They say, all you have to do is copy the code from your Adsense account, when you have one. You will see it there in code box; also it is very important that you paste the code in the body tags of your html page. That is if you want it to run at all.

Also you make sure that three ad units are the maximum specified by Google Adsense, and no more than one link unit per page. And never mess with the Adsense code in any way, just paste it in as is, no changes.

Google Adsense is a bright light in the advertising system, but there again wrong/illegal methods are used to increase revenue. One glaring example is websites that do not use any useful content but use keyword loaded information, which could fool the search engines, but I think only for a time. Or the use of lashings of free content, The lesson is, never use schemes that will get you kicked out of the greatest thing going.

.So Google Adsense is special, but why?

Google have basic control over the ads that are displayed on the websites but the website owner is able to customize how the ad looks and also filter certain ones. Another thing I did not know. Colour has a lot to do with attracting customers to sign up. Did you know that? You didn’t? Then try the colours red and yellow. Let me know what happens.

Thoughtfully these ads are related to the theme the website caters for. This is not used often anywhere else.

Of course it is obvious that the visitors to the website containing Google Adsense ads are doing so because they are looking for that topic or theme. They would not stay long otherwise. So if the topic is related they might be tempted to click, so everyone is happy.

Of course the website owners usually get revenue for their displays but not always which makes a happy bunny too. Then again they are such an improvement on banner ads, they take up little space and are clear and readable.

So we all join together and give three hearty cheers to Google Adsense advertising programs.

Blogs

What is a blog? funny name isn‘t it so what should we say it is? Is it simply the jottings of what goes round ones head ? As I said before Blogs could be family orientated or amongst friends or maybe companies. Lots do it for fun, others to make money. Of course the real intention is to update it frequently, how frequently? Once a week , once a month?

It can be written like a newspaper but more personally. Something to think about.

I remember being told a long time ago when I was writing a book.This Guru, yes I knew some Guru‘s. He said, just put your words down as if you were talking to a friend sitting across the table from you, and you know how friends get engrossed in what they are discussing, let that same feeling seep into your writing and it will show.

Don‘t stop, keep going sentence after sentence, page after page, let it flow, just get your thoughts down on paper, you can clean it up later; but not too much. It has to be written just as if you were sitting there telling your friend a story. I did write the book, it was called Money From Honey I sold a few copies then sold the rights to it. It is still kicking around.

Do you like books, are you a reader or do you have a large collection of books cluttering your home. Well go to Amazon.co.uk.

Sign up as a member, costs nothing, When you get your user name and password, log into Amazon and at the browser you will see [sell my stuff] Click on this and this will take you to a page where you are asked to enter the ISBN number of the book you want to sell.

All books have this number either on the back cover or just inside the front cover. When you have entered the number, If the book is on Amazon`s lists, a new page will pop up with the name of the book and how much that book is selling for by Amazon `s shop. This is where you set your price. You set down the price you are asking, obviously lower than Amazon`s price. Then it is given a listing number and the jobs done , you have a book being sold by Amazon and it has cost you nothing. So off you go to the next book you have to sell.

This is all free of course until you sell , and then they take a small percentage. They also charge the customer the going rate for post and package that is also yours.

You will be notified when it is sold and they like to give you two days to post it off, and there it is, done. Great Eh.

Of course there comes a time when you are fresh out of books to sell. So then off you go to charity shops, book shops, garage sales to buy books cheaply, it`s surprising how many there are, and it`s fun.

Then again you can write your own ebook to sell on ebay or from a website. There are so many subjects to choose from, but the favourite idea is a subject you love and can be passionate about.

Gardening is a favourite one, there are so many categories, from flowers, shrubs, plants trees, fruit trees, and soil, composting, it’s a huge subject.

You just need to find a target of hungry people with a problem and you solve it, It could be dog training, how to bring up a newly acquired puppy, no easy task and hundreds of related problems. If you don’t know then find out from books and talking vets and other dog owners.

I will talk to you later but first of all I have a bit of news to the UK readers only. I have a free report, which will get you a bit excited. The title is :How to get what you want for less than you want to pay. It’s very and the coming weeks it is going to get even more exciting. So just call me at alan.sowerby@yahoo.co.ukfor your free report..

Windy.

PS . Next time I want to give you some tips about buying and selling on eBay