As I begin the journey of finishing my working career I look back at messages I have received throughout my lifetime about money and the idea of saving money. Of course, as a young man I never gave much thought to saving. After all I was young and I had a lot of time to save.
It was a plan built on wishes and fantasies. A plan which gave me all sorts of money to party and put me on a path of self-destruction. While I had some amazing times, albeit a bit crazy, the memories have lasted me a lifetime. But those memories did nothing for me when I had an emergency.
It got to a point where I could justify not saving money. After all, with all the debts I had how could I possibly save a penny? The question should have been how could I not save a penny?
One of the easiest ways to save money and to also get a raise in pay is through your pension plan at work (401K). People don't do it because... well it goes back to my early beliefs that I was young and I'll worry about it tomorrow.
Let's look at a simple example of how this can help. This is just an example using simple financial amounts. During the month you make $1000. Let's say that 20% is taken for taxes. Your take home pay is $800. That is everything you make for the month, so saving money is impossible, right? I. Say. Wrong.
I'm still learning the UK pension plans, so I'll use the 401K models that I am used too. Let's say your employer will match your contributions up to 5%. So if you put in 2%, they will contribute 2%. If you put in 3%, they do 3% and so on up to 5%. So if you contribute to a 401K and only contribute 2% (in this example) you are losing money. You are losing 3% of the money your employer would contribute.
In the above example, based on a 100 hour work month, your hourly wage was $10. By contributing 2% to a 401K, which your employer matches your monthly wage grew by $20. An hourly increase of 20 cents. So the hourly wage grew to $10.20. But without taking advantage of the employers 5% maximum the employee is losing $30 a month and 30 cents an hour.
Yes, to get this increase you will have to give money from your check that you say you don't have. 401K contributions are taken into account before taxes. So if you take 5% from your monthly check of $1000, your taxable income is $950. Then the 20% taken from that amount leaves you with a take home check of $760. A loss of $40. But you are adding $50 to your account and your employer is adding another $50. So for the month you added $100 to your account, which only cost you $40.
These are simple figures but it is crazy not to use pension plans to your advantage. I have heard from people in the UK that plans are garbage. The only horrible plan is no plan. To take advantage of any plan, contribute at least the maximum that your employer will match and also look at your plan. Many plans offer different investments to grow your money. From simple safe plans like bonds and CD's to more risky investments from international funds.
Just don't view a plan as rubbish. Look at it, invest in it and make plans for your future.
Dave Harm is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for over 20 years. He is an NLP Master Practitioner, Hypnotist, and Life Coach. He is the author of three books and the creator of two musical CD's.
He shares his experience and journey on his website http://www.daveharm.com
That doesn't mean filling it with receipts for all the items you've bought with your credit card. It means, fill your purse with money. And the best way to do that is to spend less than you earn. This cure follows from the first law of gold that we looked at last week: aim to save 10% of your income. Minimum. Save more than that if you can. Save for the long term, for your mortgage deposit or pension, depending on where you are in life. If you need to save for short to medium term things, such as a holiday or car, that should be in addition to and separate from the 10%+ that you save for your long-term needs.
Your 10% can include your pension contributions, ISAs, premium bonds or any kind of high interest/restricted access savings account. With compound interest, your purse will get very plump over the coming months and years, even if interest rates remain low.
2. Control your expenditure.
If you're going to save at least 10% of your income for the long-term, you must make sure that your current spending is no more than 90% of your income. This means wherever you are on the income scale, you'll need to apply some self-discipline when it comes to treating yourself and your loved ones.
For a start, keep your credit card(s) for emergency use only, and if you do use them, pay them off before you start racking up interest. Similarly, avoid taking out loans, unless you can justify the interest you'll end up paying for that privilege. A car acquired on one of the popular leasing schemes can be justified if it's essential for your work or business. But a loan for a holiday? Staycation would be a better choice. Learn to distinguish between wants and needs. A roof over your head and food on the table are needs; a month in the Maldives is a desire. Treat yourself to that when you have saved 10% of your income for a year or two and you can afford to fly off to paradise without dipping into those savings.
The secret to controlling your expenditure is to build a budget and then stick to it. If you have Microsoft Excel you can download a template to help you track your spending over a week or month. You can also find ready-made templates on the internet or apps for your phone. Work out how much you spend on mortgage, rent, travel to work etc. and set yourself limits on items such as eating out, entertainment, travel etc. This will help you keep below 90% of your income.
3. Make your money multiply.
You are looking for steady returns over the long-term, not a lottery win. What you need is a steady increase in your capital, your core wealth, such as compound interest from an ISA or savings account, or - more risky - dividends from shares you hold in well-managed companies, including your employer, if they have an employee share ownership scheme. If you are not an expert in financial products and investment vehicles, find someone who is. Don't make any commitments until you talk to a professional financial adviser. Explain what your investment goals are and ask them to help you develop a plan for realising achieving them.
4. Guard yourself from loss.
The sickening nightmare of seeing your dreams of wealth turn to dust as Bitcoin plummets or the bloke you met in the pub the other night disappears with your life savings. One way to guard against loss is to make it an unbreakable rule that you do not touch that core wealth that you are saving and investing for the long-term. Keep a ring of steel around that! If you are tempted to try your luck with Bitcoin or currency trading, only use money that you can afford to lose. That means any money that you have left over after you have saved your 10%, paid the bills and filled your belly. Money that you might otherwise spend on nights out can be handed over to the online bookies, if you can budget for it - see the second cure above. Never use a credit card or a loan for spread betting, gambling or any high risk investments. Before you engage in any high risk investing or betting, though, make sure you have thoroughly researched the field and that you understand what you're getting into. If online poker is your dream, practice with your mates for match sticks first.
5. Make your home a profitable investment.
Owning your own home (and ideally a few buy to let properties) has become an obsession over the last thirty or forty years. Given the way property prices have ballooned over that time, it makes perfect sense to get on the property ladder as soon as you can, particularly when house prices are increasing at a much faster rate than incomes.
However, be aware that at some point the bubble may burst. Yes, people have been saying that for years and it hasn't happened yet. But it is becoming increasingly likely that the authorities will take steps to let some of the air out of the property market. Potential measures include revaluing property tax bands and punitive taxes on buy to let properties and properties left empty. A major increase in house building is unlikely to have much impact on house prices by itself, but when combined with the potential tax changes, we could see prices reach a plateau and stay there for some time.
Given all that, the best approach is to find an affordable house or flat in an area where you would like to live for the foreseeable future, bearing in mind such things as local amenities, schools and the journey to work. Think also of the benefits of paying a mortgage and gradually acquiring total ownership (leasehold and freehold issues aside) of your home over 25 or 30 years, compared with being beholden to a landlord who can raise the rent or evict you at a month's notice, and who will still own the roof over your head despite all the £000s you put in his or her pocket.
If you can't afford to buy outright in the area where you want to live or work, consider such options as shared ownership and self-build. Check out what schemes are available in the area where you want to live.
If you already own your own home you can use it to generate extra income by taking in a lodger. If you live in a major city, a good source of lodgers is contractors - professional people working on a project local to you who need a place to stay for a few months and don't want to use hotels. Often they will go home for the weekend so you have the place to yourself. Another option is to take in exchange students. They will usually come in for a week or two. You provide them with a bed, breakfast, a packed lunch and an evening meal, and get paid for doing so. Another option is to use your home for holiday lets while you're on holiday yourself. This works particularly well if you live in a major city or a historic town.
Even if you rent, take a lodger (if your landlord will allow this) or run a home business (see below). You can still make your home a source of extra income, even if you don't own it.
Two other things to consider. First, home and contents insurance. Make sure you have adequate cover for the worst that can happen: fire, flood, burglary. Second, if you have a mortgage, look at insuring it against unemployment and illness. Take advice and make sure that any policies you take out are fit for purpose and will pay out if the worst happens.
6. Develop a future income.
Who wouldn't want to wake up in the morning knowing that whatever happens, they are assured of a steady income for eternity? Well, you can achieve this through your long-term savings, that 10%+ that you put by month after month, year after year.
When you talk to your financial adviser (as you must!) about your saving and investment goals, the first two issues you should focus on are a pension for you (and your partner, if you have one) and providing for your family when you're no longer around, i.e. life insurance. Your financial adviser should also point you to other investments that can deliver additional income for you and your family, such as ISAs, unit trusts and government bonds.
Your aim is to ensure an adequate income for a long old age. Remember, people are living longer, but not always healthier. It's not pleasant, I know, but think about the worst that can happen to you (short of an early death). You or your partner become chronically ill or disabled and need long-term care. How will you fund that? If you sell your home what will you leave to your children. This is the kind of issue you need to discuss with a financial adviser. You need a pension, plus other income streams, that will pay for all your needs for perhaps thirty or forty years after you stop working. Develop a plan, implement it, then get on with enjoying life.
7. Increase your ability to earn.
There is no such thing as a job for life anymore. These days, even professional occupations such as lawyer, accountant and insurance underwriter are threatened with automation and off-shoring. So, it makes sense to develop additional skills that you can make use of if you find yourself out of work.
If you think you're at risk of being replaced by a robot, you should look very carefully at "future-proofing" your career. Think about jobs that are unlikely to be automated or off-shored in the future. They tend to be ones that involve face to face contact e.g. complementary therapies, nail technician hair stylist, personal trainer, life coach, counsellor. Also, jobs where a local presence is essential: electrician, plumber, lock-smith, builder.
Of course, many of these jobs are relatively low-paid and are in highly competitive sectors. That means you need to find a unique selling point: something you do that no one else does, or no one else does as well as you. Focus on something you are genuinely interested in - or better still, passionate about - and that you know you can be brilliant at. Be realistic about the potential income, the competition and the time and energy needed to make it work. Unless you already have experience in your chosen field, you will need to devote a lot of time, and perhaps money, to acquiring the necessary skills and certifications. You will also need to decide how you will operate: sole trader, limited company, franchise? Take advice before committing yourself to anything.
A popular option for generating extra income is online selling. Even if you're in full time work and happy with your income, you can try it in your spare time and get a feel for what's involved. A regular declutter will reveal all sorts of things you can sell: clothes, DVDs, mobile phones, unwanted presents. If you enjoy online selling, you could develop a successful business without risking your core capital.
Apply the Seven Cures diligently and you will place yourself firmly on the road to greater wealth and peace of mind.
3 Steps to Help You Create This Essential Part of Your Business Brand Identity
Creating your brand identity involves many different facets including the logo, taglines, website colours and brand voice.
Every brand has a voice. Your brand is unique, so your brand voice should be too. Your branding voice is the constant personality you use when communicating your message to the world.
From digital advertisements to social media posts to product packaging, it's important to have one consistent and unique branding voice across all your marketing materials. Otherwise, you'll end up with a muddled message that won't resonate with your customers on any level.
Here are some brand voice examples from well-known brands:
• Quirky, casual and fun.
• Friendly, optimistic and joyful.
• Inspiring, powerful and positive.
• Helpful, encouraging and funny.
No matter what you're selling, you need to create an engaging branding voice that's authentic to your values.
Here are 3 ways to make defining your marketing easier:
1. Make your brand voice relevant.
Think about who uses your product or service. You want to define your efforts to speak to your target audience and create an emotional connection to what you're offering.
If your audience is millennials who love yoga, your voice is going to be different than if you're targeting 40+ women shopping for clothing.
Some good questions to ask are:
1. How do your customers (or how do you want them to) define your brand identity?
2. What's the greatest benefit your product or service provides to people?
3. How do you want people using your product or service to feel?
4. How does your product or service stand out from the competition?
Once you've answered questions like these, you can...
2. Start with three words.
What three words do you want to reflect the personality of your brand? Three is the number commonly used by organizations to define this voice. Choosing more will just duplicate what you already have or water down your core characteristics.
Here are some examples of words to describe brand voice:
• Enthusiastic
• Confident
• Helpful
• Innovative
• Inspiring
• Fun
• Authoritative
Next, choose limitations for each word. For example, confident but not cocky. Funny but not silly. This will help you further define your brand identity and write targeted brand copy (or give your writers a guide when they're writing your copy).
3. Implement your brand voice everywhere.
If you're going to keep your brand consistent, you need to ensure every piece of writing reflects your brand's personality.
This means looking at your website, emails, social media accounts, and print materials such as business cards. You may have to rewrite older copy to reflect your voice or create totally new content, but don't skip this important detail.
Imagine getting an email with no defined plan or a totally different brand voice than the one you get on a company's website - it's jarring, confusing and doesn't evoke a feeling of trust.
These three steps will help you define your business as part of your bigger brand identity. Once you've defined your brand's identity, you can start speaking to your customers in an authentic and compelling way.
Susan Friesen, founder of the award-winning web development and digital marketing firm eVision Media, is a Web Specialist, Business & Marketing Consultant, and Social Media Advisor. She works with entrepreneurs who struggle with having the lack of knowledge, skill and support needed to create their online business presence.
If you are new to Social Media and online marketing or find it overwhelming and confusing, my monthly group coaching program, AMPLIFY! Business Academy http://amplifybusinessacademy.com/ is a perfect way for you to incrementally learn the best strategies and tactics to help you grow your business online.
As marketers find more innovative ways to attract audiences, video continues to be a meaningful part of the strategic conversation. Building relationship with your customers and stakeholders, narrating your brand story or highlighting your USP in a crowded market place - videos can do wonders for your enterprise!
Did you know over 50% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the type of content with the best ROI? And this number is increasing thanks to the effectiveness of videos and its ability to grab eyeballs.
With increasing internet bandwidths, affordable video technologies at hand and secure distribution platforms, 2018 promises to be a fun-filled year for videos!
Let's look at some Video Trends that's sure to catch up in the coming months:
The age of Live Videos
Live videos are here to stay thanks to better internet connectivity, increased mobile phone penetration and easy to use tools and apps. Live videos can help enterprises reach up close and personal with their target audience. Live videos can make an event truly global without additional distribution costs. Live videos can also help you monetize. Statistics show about 45% of live video audiences are ready to pay for live, exclusive, on-demand videos if it suitably interests them.
Stream, Host, Analyse and Stream more
It's not so much about picking the cheapest or the most popular live video streaming platform, but the one that possesses the most attributes that will benefit your business. The most effective and convenient platforms will be all-inclusive, allowing you to broadcast, host, embed, monetize, search and analyse video content, while granting you total control over your content. With video streaming apps and online platforms competing to grab your attention - you are in for an exciting time ahead!
Virtual reality may soon become the reality
Virtual Reality is still an unexplored territory. It's more fun than business! With an affordable headset that provides you a 360-degree access into a virtual 3d world - the year ahead promises to be exciting for marketers brave enough to use these technologies to build immersive and interactive customer interfaces. We pin our hope on great marketing strategies in 2018 designed around VR.
Holograms for Marketing? Yes, it's happening
We were fascinated by holograms when the technology came into usage. Artists readily picked it up as an alternative medium to the canvas. But it's yet to be fully utilized as an effective communication medium particularly due to the daunting technology at play here. Holographic videos however provide immense scope for multi-location tele-presence through realistic 3D images of speakers and products. Will 2018 provide us communication strategies woven around holographic images and videos? Let's keep our fingers crossed! Video mapping is changing the customer experience
A great tool for experiential marketing - the craze for video mapping promises an upward trend in the coming years. The technology is affordable and provides scope for enterprises to reach a larger target audience quite inexpensively. Using available flat surfaces like buildings or monuments, 3D projections can get the right message across quite impressively. It's larger than life projections make sure people don't miss out on your messaging.
Next level of personalization with videos
A great way to break open the inboxes and make a real impact is to customize videos for your target audience. With Facebook leading the way, personalized videos are something your audience might expect you to deliver as well. From recorded messages for your customers to explainer videos with specific services and even simpler 'birthday wishes' - make sure your communication strategies are not aimed at a faceless crowd! Thanks to machine learning, personalization and embedded searching are quite staple for your videos now.
Users / customer are becoming content publishers
The onus of creating videos is quickly shifting from producers to users. Videos are easier than ever to create thanks to rapidly progressing mobile technologies. Hence brands are turning to their audiences to share their products and services instead of crafting their own communication. With attention-spans dropping drastically user-generated content is a great way to keep audiences involved in marketing campaigns. The focus is on building experiences and connections. From passive receiver of your messages, make your audience the active creators of value for your brand.
Video is on its way to ruling digital marketing
More consumers and clients are interacting with videos today than ever before. Video marketing is a powerful strategy to promote, brand and grow your business online.Videos are helpful in building engagement, impacting results like click-throughs, shares, lead generation, and sales. 55% of online traffic watch videos every day.
That's a substantial number and a great opportunity for marketing strategists to use video as the primary medium of communication. Staying on top of video trends help break the clutter. It provides a bigger picture of ideas, resources and technologies available to tell your stories in the coming year. So, are you ready for 2018 yet?
Check out our services @ http://www.yorkecommunications.com/
Are you deploying online video for marketing purposes? If not, then you should know that visual clips trump all other forms of online communication. Let us explore 5 top tips that you need to follow in order to succeed in this ever-growing online marketing segment.
1 - Visuals and Animated Clips Are Simply More Effective
If you have heard that the use of video clips for SEO and promotional purposes is the latest trend, than you have heard correctly! Streaming and general animated content is the most effective marketing strategy when it comes to reaching your potential customers and creating an unforgettable impression.
A question might arise as to how a video marketing strategy can really increase organisational visibility and draw in more customers. If you are already in business, you most likely have the initial tools right at your fingertips.
2 - Video Is Far More Effective Than Pictures
We have all heard the expression, "a picture speaks a thousand words". So why use a photograph when we can now use video? Creating an online video clip for advertising purposes will always be a more dramatic marketing strategy when compared to articles and pictures.
The likelihood is that your video will leave a memorable image in your potential customer's mind. At the same time it also sets yourself apart from your competition. Research has shown that short clips that are created for marketing purposes are more likely to be retained in one's memory. In addition, they are remembered far longer than descriptive writing or audio segments.
3 - They Convey More Information Than Articles
As opposed to merely reading about the benefits of your products or services, your visuals will be able to dramatically communicate this information. Customers will also be able to hear the enthusiasm in your commentary. To make this point, you probably have heard the following expression associated with this particular advertisement even though it was ten years ago.
This refers to the phrase "set it and forget it". It was used in a marketing clip created a good few years ago, but still relevant in modern-day marketing. The commentator continuously repeated the expression at various points during the presentation. This is an excellent example of how effective video marketing can be.
4 - Video Engages Your Site Visitors
As indicated, if you are already in business, no doubt you have an email contact list. Therefore, one of your daily functions revolves around emailing various individuals. With regards to your customers, you are most likely providing them with information pertaining to special deals, new products or services. What this means is that you now have the ability to send video emails as opposed to written ones.
Traditional platforms such as Outlook Express do not have the ability to fully accommodate online video. However, there are other relatively new business and advertising platforms that can and offers a phenomenal capability to interact with your customers and prospects.
5 - It Can Directly Increase Your Sales
Using active online imagery as part of your overall marketing strategy dramatically enhances the possibility of increased sales and your general success. Your product brand and promotional communication is far more likely to remain in your potential customer's mind's eye through clips or video streaming.
In addition, using visual imagery on your website and sending out video emails will prove to be the most direct and cost efficient method to reach your market when compared to other marketing strategies.
Video marketing as a promotional platform is rapidly gaining momentum in the business arena and you now have the opportunity to implement your very own effective online campaign.
Still looking for a reputable source of Video Marketing Ideas?. Stop being misled by online crooks who know nothing about Video Marketing Strategies. Simply go to https://onlinevideoexperts.com. This site will give you proven Video Marketing Tips to drive more visitors to your websites and boost your income.
As it was formerly pointed out, if you are preparing on submitting videos to YouTube and sharing them with other web users, you are more likely to discover a bigger number of guidelines to follow. YouTube motivates you to utilise care when making your videos, as you never ever truly understand who will be seeing them. Not just do you have to stress about online predators seeing your YouTube videos, however you likewise have to fret about law enforcement doing the exact same thing.
In connection with your YouTube video material, you likewise require to make sure that your video material is in fact yours. In current times, there have actually been numerous circumstances where YouTube made it on the news for having a big number of copyright products on their site. You will desire to make sure that videos you publish online were really made by you.
If you are, you will require signing up for a complimentary YouTube subscription account. In a matter of minutes, you can be on your method to ranking or evaluating the YouTube videos you enjoy or even submitting your own videos!
In a matter of minutes, you can be on your method to ranking or evaluating the YouTube videos you enjoy or even publishing your own videos! YouTube is a lot of enjoyable, whether you are just interested in seeing videos or if you desire to publish your own, YouTube, like all other online sites, have a number of limitations and guidelines. Must you forget your YouTube login info; you must be able to follow YouTube's guidelines to obtain your YouTube indication in name, as well as your password.
Another guideline that lots of video watchers have to follow issues leaving remarks on YouTube video pages or getting involved in the YouTube online forums. In connection with your YouTube video material, you likewise require to make sure that your video material is really yours.
If you are just interested in enjoying YouTube videos, not always submitting your own, you will discover that there are fewer guidelines and constraints for you. Need to you forget your YouTube login info, you ought to be able to follow YouTube's guidelines to obtain your YouTube indication in name, as well as your password.
The above discussed guidelines are simply a few of the lots of that you might be anticipated to follow when utilising YouTube. If you sent a video that went versus YouTube's standards, your video might be gotten rid of.
Another guideline is that numerous YouTube video watchers have to follow issues leaving remarks on YouTube video pages or taking part in the YouTube online forums. Whenever you leave remarks for a YouTube video submitter, you are encouraged to utilize your finest judgment.
YouTube is a lot of enjoyable, whether you are just interested in seeing videos or if you desire to publish your own, YouTube, like all other online sites, have a number of limitations and guidelines. It is not just essential that you understand those guidelines, however that you follow them, as there are a variety of repercussions for not. Simply a few of the guidelines imposed on YouTube are detailed listed below.
1. You should only have one email address linked with your account.
2. You should certainly not post duplicate content.
3. You should always make your videos applicable to its title & keywords.
4. You should not ever purchase views.
5. You should certainly not ever use software to add ratings, comments, or friends automatically.
6. You should not use irrelevant keywords
7. With YouTube's new insight feature, they are following the attention people are giving to each video. YouTube can understand this and then easily assume that your title is very relevant to the information on the video if people are watching your entire video.
8. The Google search ranking rules of providing good, decent and, accurate content that generate public attention are exactly the same rules that You Tube is using as well so bear that in mind when choosing the title.
So these are all some common stipulations you should keep in mind before publishing any video in YouTube.
How to make money streaming - 6 ways to go live and get paid
In this article, we are going to see how you can make money by video streaming or in other words monetize your live video stream.
1. Run ads
Running ads is one sure method of monetizing your live video stream. There are two types of video ads - In-Stream (Linear video ads) and In-Display (non-linear video ads). The ads that are displayed before the video are called linear video ads while the non-linear ads are the ones that the viewers see concurrently while watching the video.
Ads are a great way to monetize your video content, but it's tricky. You need to play the ad, get the viewer to click on it, and at the same time ensure that the viewer doesn't get bored and leave your live stream. Plus, major platforms like Facebook and YouTube have different regulations for video streaming and running ads.
When to run the ads - the best time would be when the creator or the person doing the live streaming wants to take a break. Time the ad correctly - don't leave the viewer hanging in the middle of a sentence!
When you're running a live stream on YouTube, you can play the ad at any point of time in your live video. However, do try to keep your audience informed that a break would be coming up.
On Facebook, not every video streamer will have the option of taking a break. If your Facebook page displaying the live stream has more than 50,000 followers and more than 300 concurrent viewers in the last live video, you can take a break after 4 minutes.
If you want to maximize the earnings from your live video stream, you need to build traffic to your website or your Facebook page. When you have higher number of visitors, the number of concurrent viewers increase, so the chances of ads converting are higher, which translates to increased revenue. 2. Subscriptions/Pay per view
The other way to make money from your videos is to get your audience to subscribe or pay for your video. You could release a teaser, giving the audience a taste of what is to come. If the viewers want to watch more, they need to subscribe to your page or pay for the video. Streaming platforms such as Vimeo Live and IBM Cloud have in-built subscription features.
3. Donations and Crowdfunding
A recent study by Deloitte Global found that "Donations are also an emerging element of the business model for other live-streaming platforms, including platforms used for streaming video game play." Many live streams are asking their fans for donations and in return giving them virtual gifts.
Crowdfunding is another method to monetize your video stream. Indiegogo, Kickstarter and Patreon are a few of the popular crowd-funding platforms. You need to create an account on these platforms, build your project, specify your goals, and then promote your project on other platforms, so people visit your project page and contribute to it.
4. Affiliates
Setting up an affiliate program is a sure way of monetizing your video stream. It could however take time to establish and give you the returns you expect. The best part is that once you have set it up, you can passively earn money as your video gets more popular.
You need to first link up with affiliate platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. You can create videos about products sold on the platforms. If you have a video stream that focusses on technology, then you can choose such products. For example, a mobile phone - you can create a video about the features of the mobile phone, trouble shooting tips, best ways to customize the cell phone, and lot's more. At the end of the video, direct the viewer to go to the product page on the affiliate platform. Every time a viewer clicks on your video and goes to the affiliate site, you earn a commission.
5. Sponsorships
If your live stream channel is popular, then you can confidently approach the larger players in the market for deals and sponsorships. Brands don't come forward to sponsor your video stream, you need to take the first step and approach the right people. However, when you're doing that make sure you stay within your niche. The theme of your video should be in accord with the brand that is sponsoring you.
6. Sell your products
Live videos are a great opportunity for subconscious selling. For ages, marketers have been using this technique to sell products and services to their audience. However, you should remember that subconscious selling only happens when you have already built the trust in your viewers. Market research shows that a person is more likely to buy a product when someone in his/her social group has already purchased it. That's why influencers play a huge role in promotions. However, you don't have to directly sell your product when you're streaming the live video. Use the product and then casually talk about its features and where one can buy it and then go back to your video's main theme. This could subconsciously encourage viewers to check out the product and buy it.
Live video streaming gives you plenty of scope to explore your passion, share your views with your fans, and still get to earn money. To make the maximum earnings from your live video streams, you can use a mix of the above 6 ways. Competition on the internet is very high, so you need to continually work to keep your fans' attentions so that they keep coming back to you. To keep your fans interested, your video content needs to be interesting, useful, and clear. Create great videos and build a loyal fan following - you can surely see returns on your investment.
Social media was once considered to be only for teenagers or for those looking for romance and relationships but that has changed dramatically in recent years. Facebook has evolved as one of the most valuable assets to advertisers who are striving to reach a particular niche audience.
Facebook is the largest and most visited social network on the web today is.
Not only is it a popular location for social interactions but also it is becoming a fiercely competitive marketing tool. Many entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this advantageous method of generating leads and sales for their businesses. Research is showing that the average Facebook user spends just over 6 hours a month on Facebook which is double the amount of time of its closest competitor, Google. Over 50% of these users are perusing Facebook from a mobile device which means that there are more than 543 mobile users searching for goods and services while on-the-go. Every day there are more than 3.2 billion items that are liked or commented about on Facebook pages and that translates into a very powerful mode of advertising for any business.
Advertising campaigns on Facebook are providing up to a 5 fold return on any investment because of the strategic targeting of the right audience. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands and are recalling what they are seeing more than other online advertising averages. Facebook advertising is the catalyst for more positive conversations about businesses as well. More importantly, the 47% trust rate for advertising on Facebook commands a respect and awareness of this tool that can effectively be used to expand the bottom line.
When considering the most efficient way to invest advertising dollars, you should include Facebook advertising in your plan. You can connect to this exploding power to target new business, to generate high quality leads, and to piggyback additional advertising strategies, like word-of-mouth advertising, to more effectively stretch your advertising monies. An entirely new world of possibilities will be opened up to you with Facebook advertising.
Facebook advertisers are permitted to geo-target an audience by country which allows the advertiser the ability to limit or expand the message of their ad based on settings that are selected. Most of the countries in the world are now Facebook friendly which expands boundaries that once limited the sale of products to smaller areas and locations.
One of the features of advertising with Facebook is the advantage of keyword interest targeting. When a user signs up for Facebook, they create a profile page that is based on their interests, likes, and activities. When you create your ad for Facebook, you have the option of searching and selecting keywords that are of interest to a specific user. This will better target an audience that is already interested in your ad before they even see it. As an example, let's say that you as an advertiser are trying to reach people who are doing home remodeling projects. When you type in the word home remodeling, a list of keywords will be pulled up for you that are related to the profiles of users who listed home remodeling as one of their interests. You can then choose any of these keywords in your ad to reach those people who have these keywords in their profiles. You are targeting an audience who is interested in your information and who will respond to your ad.
Before you begin your advertising campaign, it's important to clearly know who you want to target. Customize your Facebook advertising to the target market so that this tool work better for you and your company. Try to vary your approach so you can attract different groups. 20 year olds will view your ad differently than a 40 years old will even if they have the same need for your product. Appeal to your potential client in a positive and attention-getting way. Be clear, concise, and brief.
There are several ways to advertise on Facebook; you can use these cost-effective ways to increase the traffic to your website and generate more business and profits for you. The first way to advertise on Facebook is to create a business profile so you can interact with your list of "fans" whom you will persuade to become clients. You can send out updates, news articles, special offers and promotions, and discount information to the entire list; Facebook affords you the ability to communicate instantly with a list of people who have already indicated that they are interested in your products.
Another way that you can advertise powerfully on Facebook is to buy an ad that is targeted toward a segment of the user base. Each one of these users has an enormous amount of information stored in their profiles. This information can be used to target them based on a selected keyword or filter. Using this method will assure you of reaching potential customers who are most likely to buy your product.
Word-of-mouth advertising has been brought into the digital age with Facebook's beacon tool. News feeds let users access each other's personal profiles and postings or comments. Facebook allows businesses the ability to report a user's actions with the business website and company to the user's friends. If a Facebook customer buys a product from you or engages in discussion regarding their satisfaction with your company, their interaction with you will be posted in the news feed which will automatically create a referral system for your business. It's word-of-mouth in cyberspace.
The first thing to consider as you plan your Facebook ad strategy is your goal. Are you going to advertise your product, expand the number of people who like your business page, inform the Facebook community of your business and what you do, or are you simply getting the attention of potential customers. As your goals become clearer, begin to decide on the type of ad you will create; there are three types from which you can choose.
Crafted ads target Facebook users by filtering demographic information such as age, location, and gender. These ads will be featured in the right hand column of Facebook pages. You can create sponsored stories which interact with a Facebook fan's page with the specific story. The ad will show up in the right hand column once the fan likes your particular post. You can also select promoted posts which are more visible in the posts on friends' pages and on their contacts' pages as well. One of the most powerful aspects of Facebook advertising is the customer loyalty that you will build. Create your own business Facebook page that will allow you to directly interact with your clients. This will give a more personal touch to your business and also will allow you to use word-of-mouth advertising that you generate from your Facebook ads to spread the word in a cost-effective way. Client satisfaction, customer service, and buyer protection are all tenets of a marketing strategy that will work nicely for you and your Facebook advertising campaign.
You can offer special promotions, new products, or the latest trends with your product with your Facebook ads to reach clients that are strategically targeted and already interested in your product or service. This will provide up-dated information to your clients and keep them better informed in a time-efficient way. Today's consumers on are the go with busy schedules and demanding deadlines. These ads will connect with them and solve their issues and concerns in a timely fashion.
Facebook ads are much more flexible than other internet locations. You will be offered additional character length for any ad descriptions that you might have. You can also improve your flexibility with image-based ads that attract the visual buyer. If someone participates in the Facebook community, then they are already proven to be a visually stimulated consumer. Use images and photos of high quality and that convey your message with the power of a thousand words. Your Facebook ads will be more visible to an audience who is there to engage in obtaining information as well as to create it themselves.
With the Facebook site itself generating such a high rate of traffic on a daily basis, your ad has a much better chance of being seen and having a positive effect. It will be seen a multitude of times by a targeted audience who is already comfortable shopping the online arena. Users visit the site many, many times a day and your ad will be there to greet them as they login and begin to participate.
You are also allowed with your Facebook ad to purchase space on a click-based or impression-based fee structure. Using your budget and personal preferences, you can tailor your ad campaign to meet the needs and goals of your business plan.
Because of the targeted nature of Facebook, advertising on Facebook can be affordable for you company. You can reach your targeted audience with your online campaign for a very reasonable price. The selection of packages that you can select is extensive so that you can reach as many users as your budget will allow you to.
The use of smart-phones has skyrocketed in recent years and your ability to reach this high volume of consumers is phenomenal. Access to these devices happens every second of every day and you can tap into this gold mine of prospects. Your ads won't just be limited to laptop and computer users; you will be expanding your potential client base.
You will be offered a choice between pay-per-click (CPC) or per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Studying your demographic clicks and responses will be an important first step. Begin by starting a campaign that includes everyone and then, after a set number of impressions, see who clicked on your ad and the responses that you received. After some study and careful insights, you can then rewrite the ad to appeal with that demographic audience in mind. You can then reset your campaign as a CPC method. Finely segment your ad to appeal to different age groups, or sexes, or relationship statuses. With this small touch, you will get more bang for your advertising buck. Continually test and modify your presentation to foster higher results with substantially lower costs.
With Facebook targeting, the natural skew is toward a younger than average audience that is female. Sometimes users mislead others by submitting incorrect data on profile pages. This will cause misrepresentation of data and some of your ads will be seen by users who are not interested by their very nature; you can only get a rough estimate of the people who might see your ad. When initially targeting your ad to an audience, you might begin with 10,000 people; 50% of them will log into Facebook and see your ad. By choosing this number, you will keep your costs under control and more efficiently modify it before you launch the ad to a larger audience. Carefully select connections of people you know who trust you and your business. This will give you a base circle of community with which to begin your advertising campaigns.
Another important thing to consider when you are creating your advertising strategy is to include additional languages other than English. Inexpensive translators can be hired on some of the work at home web locations to translate your copy for you. Many advertisers neglect this segment of the population and lose many dollars in profit for this lack of attention to detail. You can open up a new section of loyal clients with just a simple effort of reaching them in a language in which they feel comfortable purchasing.
Another powerful tenet of advertising on Facebook is the low risk involved in using this format. You will have full control of your advertising budget and it will be a good testing ground for your ad. You can learn if your message is effective in communicating to a potential buyer who you are, what you are offering, and how they can purchase your product quickly and safely. You are free to modify your message as needed and promote it to a better target. You can ascertain what works best with a particular demographic and how to reach them with your message. Especially if you have a fledgling business, you might want to use the high power, lost cost approach of a Facebook ad.
If you are striving to target your local audience, Facebook ads have been proved to be very effective. You can inform local and regional clients about your business and have the "friend" network assist you as well. Many local communities enjoy supporting local businesses that give back to civic groups and Facebook can get your ads to them quickly and efficiently. When you have a happy, satisfied customer, they can tell the seven people in their social circle and those seven people will tell seven of their closest friends and so the network will distribute the message about you and your product. Testimonials serve to peak the interest of clients ready to buy but who have just one more question. If someone has purchased your product already, they can attest to its quality and your excellent customer service. Facebook is being used in your area by all of the local people who are just waiting to be approached by your ad. The appeal of Facebook extends to everyday people; you don't have to be a computer genius to take advantage of this advertising power.
By promoting your Facebook business page through the ads you place on Facebook, you are guaranteed that the people you are targeting with your ads already have a Facebook account. You can be assured your ads are reaching the audiences most likely to buy from you and the communication vehicle is at your disposal 24/7.
One of the most powerful reasons of advertising on Facebook is the budget management that is available to you. Thousands of dollars of advertising fees are not required upfront. So, you don't have to have capital outlay at the onset of your advertising campaign. Your budget can be as low as $1 per day if that is the option that you choose to employ. Budgets can be changed daily or at any time and by any amount that you wish. The measure performance tools available on Facebook advertising allow you to see and test ad rotations and explore which are the most effective tools for you. After you run your first ad, try changing a combination of the ad's image, description, and title. You will measure the performance rate of your campaigns by viewing the click-through rate which is the percentage of clicks from the number of times it was viewed on Facebook. You will select the ad which shows the highest click-through rate for you.
In a world of social media, advertising can be an excellent way to reach customers. The users of Facebook are very active; they log on daily sometimes multiple times. It provides a way for you to reach customers with whom you might not have otherwise connected. They are going to find your ad on a social media sight more rapidly than they would your own blog or website.
The exposure you receive is a very lucrative benefit to advertising on Facebook. The more customers who are exposed to your product, the higher your profits can become. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing all advertisers a multitude of targeting options that include age, gender, interests, and relationship status. These targeting filters will strategically develop an audience who is primed and ready to buy. This is possibly the most beneficial tool of Facebook advertising.
In addition to an effective list of potential clients, you will have all of the benefits of instant results. In our fast-paced society of today, speed in purchasing is important. A client will spend approximately 90 seconds looking at your ad before moving on to something else. Quality images and representations of your product along with concise and clear descriptions are dynamic tools to capture the attention of the audience and cause the perusing to develop into purchasing. You can attract many new customers in a single day and the profits can rise along with those viewing your ads.
Before you even begin your advertising campaign, you must set your budget and stick to it. There are expensive options for you with Facebook advertising but you will have to operate within your budget to obtain the success you are seeking. Use a common sense approach with your newly acquired technological advertising to promote your company and profits.
In addition, a Facebook ad will provide you with a more personal platform of advertising. Research shows that consumers are more likely to trust your ad especially if they see a link to a Facebook friend. Your ad is placed in the right hand column and is a bit more engaging than an ad they see randomly on a search engine. Even in the world of internet marketing the handshake and confidence in a deal is important to make. By personalizing your Facebook ad, it's like extending your hand across cyberspace to reach out and seal the deal. This type of business advertisement will foster good business relationships that ensure repeat business.
In effective advertising, everything is a balance. You don't want to spend a lot of time reworking your ads if they aren't accurately targeting the audience you need to be targeting. Spend time tracking your progress and your effectiveness but don't forget to interact and connect with potential and current clients. Follow through with all of your strategies and the components of your plan to generate new customers and increase your profits. A Facebook ad campaign will be an effort that takes time and patience. Keep in mind that Facebook advertising is about developing relationships and connecting with consumers not just selling them a product immediately. This platform of marketing is still developing and using these advertisements effectively will take research, study, and modifications that better hone your ad for consumers to view.
Facebook has become a powerful tool in the advertising world. The expanse of active users coupled with the micro-targeting tools make this method of telling others about your product one that will reap dramatic rewards for your bottom line. You will boost sales and maximize profits at a cost-efficient way for your business. Your business will be given the opportunity to build, improve, and maintain client relationships which is a satisfying aspect of having your own business.
The clients with whom you connect will provide you with feedback, encouragement, and testimonials that can help you reach your goals and dreams as a successful entrepreneur. By using the proper demographic, copy, and image, you will see your Facebook ad come to life. Don't be afraid to try this new and unique method of advertising. It's a fun and interesting way to reach an enormous audience with a few simple guidelines that anyone can perform.
It's not rocket science but it can provide you with an astronomical income that makes your business the success you knew it could be.
Which of these twelve important habits do you have?
The key millionaire habit you should start today…
It might not sound sexy, but you’ll need to do THIS if you want to advance…
I’ve dedicated my life to understanding everything, the ins and outs of what it takes to actually become a millionaire and one of the most important lessons in your journey is that actions speak louder than words…
With that in mind, here’s a question: what habits and daily actions are ingrained in your everyday life?
And a follow-up: are they helping to move you forward or are they holding you back?
While there’s no exact science to determine how to be a millionaire, I have more millionaire students than anyone, and great financial successes like my students have accomplished is not random, but rather the result of hard work on my part and on the part of my students.
What I’ve found is that there are certain habits that many financially successful people have in common.
Read through this list and ask yourself: how many of these habits do I have? If these aren’t habits yet, how could you incorporate them into your life?
1: Be an Early Riser
You’ve heard the saying that time is money.
You’ve also heard the saying that the early bird gets the worm.
Mash these adages together and you can distill both down to the idea that the earlier you wake up, the more money-making time you can maximize.
There are countless benefits to waking up early.
Me, I like to wake up early so that I can answer emails, consider what will go on during the day and do reading and research for the day ahead.
Basically, I use this time to deal with things that might get in my way throughout the course of the day, so that by the time the market opens, I’m mentally prepared.
2: Know Where Your Money is Going
Do you track your expenses and know where your money is going?
If you do, then keep it up: it’s a key millionaire habit. If you don’t, cultivate this habit immediately.
If you want to get rich, you’ve got to learn how to handle your money now–not later.
Learning financial responsibility will mean that you’ll be able to enjoy the money when you make it, rather than just falling into irresponsible habits with increasingly larger sums.
3: Have Good Time Management
People love to talk about how little time they have.
They don’t have time to go to the gym.
They don’t have time to attend networking functions.
They don’t have time to study and learn how the stock market works.
They don’t have time to succeed!
These are limits that people put on themselves.
Watch a little less TV and take your focus away from Facebook for a while.
You’ll be amazed at how the time will open up for you to advance in business.
4: Save Responsibly
Longtime millionaires aren’t out there blowing every penny that they make.
They know that to continue advancing in their career, they need to save money.
Saving money might not sound sexy -- in fact, it might sound downright boring. But, the benefits that can come your way from saving are anything but boring.
Saving money means that you can improve your position in the market.
It also means that you can invest in a greater variety of stocks.
Over time, if you’re being responsible, this means that you will start making more and more money as you go. The bar will be raised, so to speak.
Additionally, on a practical level, saving also ensures that if you do have a business deal that doesn’t go as planned, you have a safety net.
5: Know What’s Going on in the World
It’s alarmingly easy to live a fishbowl existence.
Resist that temptation.
Make concerted efforts to know what is going on in the world.
The best way to do this? Be a voracious reader.
Read magazines, the paper, anything that you can get your hands on.
Know what is going on in your backyard and in the world at large. Not only can the news help inform your investments and keep you inspired, but it also keeps you current.
You will be better able to interact and network with others when you have an idea of what is going on in the world.
6: Keep Up on Your Education
A common habit among millionaires? Lifelong learning.
Just because someone has made a bunch of money doesn’t mean that they don’t have a thing or two (or ten) to learn.
To all my students, I keep on learning and growing right along with you.
Maintaining and increasing your level of knowledge is a millionaire habit that will serve you in business and in your personal life.
7: Revisit Your Goals Frequently
It’s extremely important to make goals.
But, simply making them isn’t enough.
To transform your goal-making into millionaire material, you need to revisit these goals frequently.
How frequently is up to you, but let me give you an example.
Say that you set an initial goal of making $50,000, so that you could pay off your student loan debt and that you reached that goal four months into your trading career.
Awesome!
But, at the same time, it’s time to adjust your goals, making them bigger and better, so that you still have something to work toward.
Goals are part of what keep us going and keep motivating us.
Revisit yours often, so that they remain a manageable “carrot” dangling in front of you.
8: Believe in Your Success
Don’t dream it; be it.
If you don’t believe that you are worthy and deserving of success, then any that comes your way will be pure luck.
By shifting your mindset to a place where you believe success is not only possible, but within your reach, you will be taking a huge step toward it.
This transforms success from a faraway dream to an attainable goal and allows you to set specific milestones to get where you want to go.
9: Connect with Others
Technically, you could become a millionaire alone.
But, quite frankly, it’s going to be a longer — and lengthier — journey without a little help from some friends.
First and foremost, seek out a great mentor.
Your mentor, who is further along in their career than you, can help guide you and help you through growing pains. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of a mentor!
Networking with peers is also invaluable.
Not only does it give you a sounding board with people who can totally understand, but it also creates relationships with people who can help raise you up (and vice versa).
Connecting with others, whether they are at your level, above your level or even below it (for now), has a huge impact on your career trajectory.
10: Evaluate What is Going Well (and What’s Not)
Millionaires aren’t characterized by being self-destructive.
They’re not running around in circles, agonizing about what they could have done differently.
However, they are imbued with a healthy amount of self reflection.
Millionaires are able to constructively look at the past and see how it can inform the future.
Things not going well with some investments?
Look at why and how you could change that going forward.
At the same time, if certain things are going well, they have the ability to look at that and try to take it push it even further forward.
11: Test Your Limits Constantly
A millionaire isn’t one to rest on his or her laurels. Never content to let the last accomplishment define them, millionaires are (in a good way) addicted to the game.
They constantly want to challenge their limits, so that they can go further and do more good.
What is your relationship with risk and trying new things?
If it is not so good, then it might be time to work on that.
Becoming more comfortable with risk and testing your limits is vital if you want to attain true financial success.
12: Give Back to Others
Maybe, right now, you’re coming from a place of scarcity.
If so, the idea of giving back might seem ludicrous.
But, trust me, the more you make, the more you should give.
Just like millionaires save quite a bit of what they make, they also give plenty. This is a habit that you can get into now.
Even if you don’t have money (yet), there are ways in which you can give back.
You can act as a mentor to someone less fortunate than you.
You can donate your time or a service as a volunteer.
Giving back actually makes the world (and your trading base) steadier and healthier.
Giving back is not just what is right, but something that can contribute to your bottom line in the long run.
Your habits are a huge part of what defines you.
So, by choosing to cultivate habits which millionaires share, you are taking a proactive step to joining that “tribe.” Making a concerted effort to make these millionaire habits yours will have a huge effect on your success and money-making potential!
How to make money streaming - 6 ways to go live and get paid
In this article, we are going to see how you can make money by video streaming or in other words monetize your live video stream.
1. Run ads
Running ads is one sure method of monetizing your live video stream. There are two types of video ads - In-Stream (Linear video ads) and In-Display (non-linear video ads). The ads that are displayed before the video are called linear video ads while the non-linear ads are the ones that the viewers see concurrently while watching the video.
Ads are a great way to monetize your video content, but it's tricky. You need to play the ad, get the viewer to click on it, and at the same time ensure that the viewer doesn't get bored and leave your live stream. Plus, major platforms like Facebook and YouTube have different regulations for video streaming and running ads.
When to run the ads - the best time would be when the creator or the person doing the live streaming wants to take a break. Time the ad correctly - don't leave the viewer hanging in the middle of a sentence!
When you're running a live stream on YouTube, you can play the ad at any point of time in your live video. However, do try to keep your audience informed that a break would be coming up.
On Facebook, not every video streamer will have the option of taking a break. If your Facebook page displaying the live stream has more than 50,000 followers and more than 300 concurrent viewers in the last live video, you can take a break after 4 minutes.
If you want to maximize the earnings from your live video stream, you need to build traffic to your website or your Facebook page. When you have higher number of visitors, the number of concurrent viewers increase, so the chances of ads converting are higher, which translates to increased revenue.
2. Subscriptions/Pay per view
The other way to make money from your videos is to get your audience to subscribe or pay for your video. You could release a teaser, giving the audience a taste of what is to come. If the viewers want to watch more, they need to subscribe to your page or pay for the video. Streaming platforms such as Vimeo Live and IBM Cloud have in-built subscription features.
3. Donations and Crowdfunding
A recent study by Deloitte Global found that "Donations are also an emerging element of the business model for other live-streaming platforms, including platforms used for streaming video game play." Many live streams are asking their fans for donations and in return giving them virtual gifts.
Crowdfunding is another method to monetize your video stream. Indiegogo, Kickstarter and Patreon are a few of the popular crowd-funding platforms. You need to create an account on these platforms, build your project, specify your goals, and then promote your project on other platforms, so people visit your project page and contribute to it.
4. Affiliates
Setting up an affiliate program is a sure way of monetizing your video stream. It could however take time to establish and give you the returns you expect. The best part is that once you have set it up, you can passively earn money as your video gets more popular.
You need to first link up with affiliate platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. You can create videos about products sold on the platforms. If you have a video stream that focusses on technology, then you can choose such products. For example, a mobile phone - you can create a video about the features of the mobile phone, trouble shooting tips, best ways to customize the cell phone, and lot's more. At the end of the video, direct the viewer to go to the product page on the affiliate platform. Every time a viewer clicks on your video and goes to the affiliate site, you earn a commission. 5. Sponsorships
If your live stream channel is popular, then you can confidently approach the larger players in the market for deals and sponsorships. Brands don't come forward to sponsor your video stream, you need to take the first step and approach the right people. However, when you're doing that make sure you stay within your niche. The theme of your video should be in accord with the brand that is sponsoring you.
6. Sell your products
Live videos are a great opportunity for subconscious selling. For ages, marketers have been using this technique to sell products and services to their audience. However, you should remember that subconscious selling only happens when you have already built the trust in your viewers. Market research shows that a person is more likely to buy a product when someone in his/her social group has already purchased it. That's why influencers play a huge role in promotions. However, you don't have to directly sell your product when you're streaming the live video. Use the product and then casually talk about its features and where one can buy it and then go back to your video's main theme. This could subconsciously encourage viewers to check out the product and buy it.
Live video streaming gives you plenty of scope to explore your passion, share your views with your fans, and still get to earn money. To make the maximum earnings from your live video streams, you can use a mix of the above 6 ways. Competition on the internet is very high, so you need to continually work to keep your fans' attentions so that they keep coming back to you. To keep your fans interested, your video content needs to be interesting, useful, and clear. Create great videos and build a loyal fan following - you can surely see returns on your investment.
Affiliate marketing is a great way to start an online business for very minimal investment. It's ideal for those who don't want to create products and for those who don't have much start up money for their online business.
You can promote a substantial variety of products and services with the affiliate marketing business model. Your job is to promote products created by other companies. When somebody buys from you, the product owner will pay you a commission.
Two of the most popular places to find products to sell as an affiliate marketer are Amazon and ClickBank.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing With Amazon
Amazon is the world's largest retailer, selling both physical and digital products. Their primary marketing method is affiliate marketing. In other words, they get other people, called Amazon Affiliates, to sell their products and services for them.
It's free to become an Amazon affiliate, and you can sell anything on the Amazon website. You start off with a 4% commission rate, which gets more substantial when you sell more products.
4 Stars And Up
As you probably know, Amazon sells a wide range of products. So how do you choose what to sell as an affiliate? As an Amazon affiliate, you can use their search feature to surf the products that you want to promote. Choose your niche, for example, 'dog training'.
Type that search term into the Amazon search engine. On the left-hand side of your search click on the '4 stars & up' filter. Amazon's top rating system score is 5. If a product receives a score of 4 or higher, you can be sure that the customers who purchased those products and left those reviews are very happy. These are the types of products you want to be promoting.
How To Start Affiliate Marketing With ClickBank
ClickBank is a well-known online marketplace where the vast majority of its products are digital information products. As soon as the customer buys a digital product, they can immediately download it to their computer.
ClickBank is free to join and is a widely known, highly regarded company in the online business world. Its online marketplace contains many thousands of affiliate products to promote so you're sure to always find offers that will appeal to your audience. You can earn commissions of 25%, 50% and even 75%.
Gravity Scoring
ClickBank products have what's known as a gravity scoring. This shows the popularity of the product. A gravity rating for the product that you want to promote should be at least 10 or more. If it's more than 100, it means that there are a lot of other affiliates selling the same product.
When you have identified the product that you want to promote, ClickBank will give you a unique URL called a'hoplink'. This is the link that you want your prospects to click and how sales are tracked to you.
Companies are happy to pay commissions to people just like you, in return for selling their products and services. You have the potential to make a great income when you choose the right niche, stay committed, and understand your audience. For a no-nonsense, kick-start guide to getting started, download my free checklist, Affiliate Marketing For Beginners at https://jonallo.com/affiliatechecklist
ClickBank is widely used by more than 10,000 internet businesses with growing numbers and over a hundred of thousands affiliates to distribute services and products directly through the internet; among these products, Softwares and Ebooks are the major sellers.
Joining as an affiliate in ClickBank is FREE. You just have to find the products that you would want to promote and you could earn up to 75% commission of the sales. You could make reviews and articles or post ads in your blogs and websites and link the product using the ClickBank HopLinks. With each sale made, you will earn a percentage commission. There are also other ways you can make money online with the site, like referring vendors and other affiliates to sign up in ClickBank.
If you are selling a product and would want to promote it, you could register in ClickBank as a Vendor. Opening an account is easy and free. Soon after, if you are ready to begin your sales, there would be a $49.95 activation fee. ClickBank will handle the entire ordering process and administer affiliate programs. Sales commissions for affiliates are automatically paid for each buyer that they have linked. For every sale, ClickBank deducts $1 plus 7.5%. In simpler words, ClickBank will bill the customer and would pay the commissions to Affiliates and Net profit to the Vendors.
It sounds easy to make money on ClickBank, but with many competitions it is pretty hard to promote your ads, drive traffic in your website, rank 1st in Google search and make sure your commission would not be stolen.
With the rising trend of "making money online", loads of products are being sold and advertised as an answer to a multi-million profit. Some promises to make money online fast like thousands of dollars within a day, and such. Many of these will cost you a hundred dollars bill but results in a ZERO profit account.
Recently, a guy from Holland with his team released a money making program called White Hat Copy CatThey claimed it was a real money making system and the reason for their success in their multi-million internet company. Is it another scam or not?
WhiteHat CopyCat is a plug and play software invented by Tim Brekker and his team. Like any other internet marketers, they were also starters in the world of the internet money making system. Their team was able to reach success with the help of Indian Programmers who won at that time in eBay Motors as a #1 IT Company. This team created their desired concept into an easy working script software that helped them make money online without a sweat.
This money making script is seemed to be amazingly designed for newbies on the online marketing industry. The idea is to create a copy website in macro niches, like software downloads which magnets million of peoples because of its high demand in the internet market. But remember, you do not exactly copy the website, instead you model the website into your own and achieve the success.
The White Hat Copy Cat package consists of:
Copycat site Blueprint - a highly proven blueprint that links each component as one with step by step procedures.
Copycat Templates - are professional templates designed with different colors that would be utilized in setting up the Copycat web sites.
Niche Blueprint - tells you the trending niche that you would be targeting for a higher profit.
Product Blueprint - tells you the proven and tested best selling products in the niche that attracts thousands of downloader.
Site Blueprint - tells you how to set up your desired copycat websites with easy step by step instructions.
Download Page Blueprint - tells you simple step by step instructions on how to set up your download page.
Traffic Blueprint - tells you great easy to follow steps on how to get your copycat site ranked at the top pages of popular search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. They also included a one of a kind linking system that Search engines love and would make your web site present in the 1st page of every search engine. Good aspects:
It is guaranteed to work! True to its words, the money making system will help you earn real money and not just empty promises. Even if you are just new to the internet marketing world and with no experience with such this program will assist you step by step.
Simple Instructions! With all the internet marketing courses with this and that WhiteHat CopyCat stands out with it's simplicity and achievability. It's all in there. You just have to follow instructions.
The template pages are of great help, especially to newbies. There so many of it which includes the home page, Customer Support, FAQ, Privacy Policy.
What is promised is given. Tim will reveal what he has done to achieve his success. This will save your time and effort in all those researching stuffs and will cut your work into an easy one.
It also gives you streams of multiple incomes because unlike other products that only targets micro niches, WhiteHat CopyCat aims to target macro niches for a bigger success.
You spend less! With this program you wouldn't have to suffer the need to pay for search engine optimizers, pay per click advertising, Pay per view traffic, and other ways of driving traffics to your site. Bad Aspects:
You just can't simply copy everything. Since, it is all about free marketing, making it work needs effort to achieve your success. Dedicating about 3-5 hours per day is needed because search engines don't love replicas of content so you need to rewrite or spin the articles.
Not much details on search engine optimization. So you might have the need to learn on how to maintain your site well ranked in Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines.
If you are looking for an honest and working money making system, Whitehat Copycat is an easy tool for you to achieve it. But you have to bear in mind that even though with its promises it is just a method to assist you. Don't rely solely on the product; instead work with it to make your internet marketing business bloom.
When it comes to marketing online for any business be it online or offline, the key is to drive as many eyes to your sites or in your stores doors as possible. You need to expose your business and build a brand for yourself that presents trust, great customer support and over delivers.
This is what makes social media so important now with new advancements on the internet social is all the rave. It's a great way to answer and address customers questions fast and to build a reliable and trust worth brand.
Word of mouth used to be the best way to make money with your business. Consider social media word of mouth on steroids. A simple like, comment or tweet could spark a huge flood of traffic your way. Below are a few key ideas to building your brand and spreading the word about what you have to offer quickly.
If your store has products which people can buy consider adding a few of your popular or really unique items to your Pinterest account and ask a few of your friends to repin it. It could take off and have people flooding your store and placing orders for this unique item.
It's important to keep in touch with your customers and some will leave comments on your fan page or just start tweeting. Be proactive and any time you see something come up where a customer might have an issue or maybe even give you praise be sure to get in contact with that person as soon as possible and help them out or thank you. A simple thank you can go a very long way.
One last method might be communication on your Facebook fan page. By interacting with customers with polls and other such tools you can gain a good amount of insight on what your customers are looking forward to and want. This is a great way to research and build your next products.
But overall you need to start somewhere with getting traffic and the best way to do that is via free website traffic sources. These types of traffic sources are the building blocks when you first get started and often times produce just as well or even better then paid traffic methods.
There are literally thousands of ways to get traffic to your sites below I will go over a few of the main ones that will get you results.
Consider swapping ads with other companies such as those that are not in direct competition with you. For example Amazon being promoted on UPS and UPS being promoted on amazon its a mutually beneficial trade in advertising as both companies support each others growth and do not take away from it.
Social media plays right into this as well as we disused above. Being proactive in it will yield you amazing results and cost you nothing but a few hours of your time or a few of an employees.
If your looking to learn how to build more traffic streams I created a free to download ebook at - Free website traffic ebook
