Jimbo Under Investigation
I have written about my experience, and that of many others, with James "Jimbo" Patterson and his company, New Leaf Associates. It appears that Jimbo is getting in deeper. The Florida Attorney General has opened a civil investigation into New Leaf Associates and its marketing arm, Quantum Business Consultants. Here is what is stated on the
Attorney General's site
"
Allegation or issue being investigated:Deceptive practices with regard to alleged debt termination and credit repair program. The subjects claim to offer a system to eliminate debts by disputing the debts with lenders, but there is no such viable system. Also, subject appears to have resorted to bribery for paying debts of at least one person who complained about ineffectiveness of program, has failed to honor refund policy, falsely claimed to have professional liability insurance approval of the Federal Trade Commission, engaged in false and deceptive representations concerning the ineffectiveness of their program and the status of OAG's investigation, and failed to comply with federal Credit Repair Organizations Act, including by taking advance fees and not using required contract."
This is currently an active investigation. I will let you know if I find any new information.
What is bothersom is that I have seen similar "debt termination" offers on the traffic exchanges. Please folks, don't buy into their lies.
Practice Makes Perfect
I was at softball practice the other day, co-ed slowpitch, and realized that some of the players on the team had made catches that they would have missed before or were hitting the ball better than they had before. It struck me that they had improved their performance through practice. And for some reason that made me think about my online business.
I'm not sure if others would agree that there is such a thing as practice in business, but I think there is. Working on developing, maintaining and revising my web pages is certainly practice. The more often I do it, the better I become at it. The more I tweak my AdWords campaigns the better (hopefully) my results. The more I work on communication with my team members and prospects the better I get at developing their trust and building my business. And therefore theirs also.
A lot of the learning is a result of trial and error (practice). Part of that is because we retain things that way. And certainly trial and error is how most practice is done. Miss fielding that ground ball, try again. Swing and miss, try again. Change a table definition and blow out the page, try again.
Don't get me wrong, I value the experience of my upline in helping me develop my business skills. The learning curve has been much steeper as a result. But as I noted in a previous post, I like to tinker with my site and as a result have learned a substantial amount. And in business, as in softball (or just about any endeavor), the more you practice, the more successful you will be.
100 Affiliates
I had to make a post that I have signed up 100 affiliates to
Traffic Swarm. This has been mostly due to the
Google AdWords campaigns I have run.
When I started my online business I'm not sure I expected to get 100 affiliates for any program. So I am quite excited about reaching this milestone and look forward to further success.
Auto Or Manual: How Do You Surf?
One of the least expensive ways to promote a website is through traffic exchanges (TE). You know, where you view other people's sites (offers) to earn credits to use for showing your sites (offers).
Of course, the main drawback is that the people viewing the sites are trying to sell their program/product to other people likewise trying to sell their own program/product. Lots of marketers trying to sell to other marketers. Not the most productive place to build a business, but the price (free) is right. And occaisionally someone will find your offer interesting and sign up.
Now, these TE owners are not operating out of the goodness of their hearts. They are trying to make a buck too. They limit your options hoping that you will upgrade (pay) for more options, like displaying more URLs, giving higher credits for each site you view, sending e-mails to your downline, increasing the referral credits you receive when someone joins under you, etc. But I am not sure that getting these "benefits" justifies the expense. More of these TEs seem to pop up every day. I get emails from TE owners that are announcing the launch of another TE. One guy has so many that he is starting to sell his existing TEs even as he starts new ones.
So this brings me to the real subject - if you use TEs, which are better: manual surf or auto surf?
I have joined several auto surf TEs. Just launch your surfing URL, sit back and let the sites automatically refresh. No anoying clicking on the highest number or the matching color or the right word or symbol. Every 10 to 15 seconds a new offer is presented to you. And along the way you earn credits to show your sites in the same fashion to other members.
But my question is who is actually watching? I would guess that 95% of the people just open the surf window and let it run. Set it up at night before bed and let it run all night while you sleep. Rack up them credits. Before you know it you have over 10,000 credits and your site is getting regular exposure. But most likely no one is watching because they also set up their surf window and let it run unattended.
What is the benefit to this? Again, occaissionally someone will actually be watching, view your offer, become interested and take further action. But the potential for this is extremely low. But all along, the auto surf TE owner will entice you into upgrading (paying) to get additional benefits. I don't see how one can justify the expense.
In my humble opinion, a TE must have processes in place that at least ensures that the sites are seen. That is the reason for cliking on the highest number, etc. To make the viewer take some action after each site is presented. That doesn't mean the the viewer will read the site, but that is up to the offerror to design a site that draws attention. Along with that is anti-cheat cpaabilities. Again, to make sure an actual person sees the site. In addition is the need for a substantial number of members. Your possibility of getting someone interested is proportional to the number of people seeing your offer. It is, after all, a numbers game. These are reasons that I am promoting
Traffic Swarm in the AdWords campaign I have written about here.
So yes, I do belong to a number of TEs. I spend time surfing for credits and using them to present my sites. And the best results come from manual surf exchanges.
Another AdWords Update
I have to say that AdWords has been the best promotional tool I have used so far. With proper planning and follow through the results can be impressive.
So here are the results since my last update:
Signed up 34 new affiliates, 7 of which activated on 187 clicks. This means that 18.2% of all those who clicked on my ad signed up and 20.6% of those activated. That equates to a activation rate of 3.74% of all clicks. Overall I have a signup rate of 16.8% and of those 26.9% activate or an click activation rate of 4.5%. I think anyone would be happy with those stats.
My CPC is still running at $0.139 although my CTR dropped to 0.51%. For the affiliates that have activated I have received 1750 credits. At the going rate for credits that would have run $35.00. My cost during this period was $26.03. So I calculate my cost efficiency as value/cost or $35.00/$26.03=$1.345. So I am getting $1.345 in value for every $1.00 in advertising.
As a preview of my next update, I did some more tweaks in my campaign yesterday and since then I am running a CTR of 2.7%!
Thanks for reading. Please let me know if you are finding this blog interesting.
Tinkering
I like to tinker with things. Although I don't enjoy tinkering with cars anymore.
I tinker with my website. Adding links, new banners, changing colors, table descriptions, etc.
I added a click tracker to see which were the most popular links on my site. I got a free script from a site on the web, installed it and set up the links on my site. I gives very interesting stats.
Just this week I added a URL rotator. It is a script called "Only Rotate" that I got from http://www.onlyPHP.com. Although it appears that within the last couple days Only PHP has gone away.
Only Rotate uses a MySQL database which means I have now used all three available with my hosting. It has a pretty user friendly user interface. You can take a look at it
here. I have loaded several of my splash pages and am currently using this rotator on
WebBizInsider. If it works out well I will use this everywhere I can use a rotator.
I have nothing against
Profit Rally or
Page Swirl, but they limit the number of URLs you can rotate as a free member. These are great programs for building downlines but I am trying to be cost efficient and hosting my own rotator rather than paying fees to someone else makes sense to me.
I would like to know what you use to promote your site. Do you use traffic exchanges, AdWords, PPC, etc. Just leave a comment here.
Pay Attention To The Details
I have noted in prior posts that I enjoy woodworking. My latest projects have involved making pens and pencils, or more correctly, turning them. The process involves a lathe, a power tool that rotates the material to be worked, generally wood or plastic, on a horizontal axis. Using various chisels material is removed to create the desired shape.
This allows for a lot of creativity. Or at least to practice creativity.
But beyond this, it is necessary to pay attention to the details. The finish on a pen is probably more important than the shape. Sanding properly to remove all scraches. Sanding to a high enough grit to get an extremely smooth surface. Applying the right finish - wax, laquer, shellac, etc. - depending on the qualities of the material. Using the correct amount of the finish and applying it properly to get the perfect appearance.
The same attention to details is necessary in your home business. Do all the links work, do all the pages have a consistent theme, are there keyword alt tags on the images, have old program links been removed, etc. I know that as I have changed the page theme on my home page I have been revising the rest of the site to follow. This blog page, for example, has a header that doesn't match the theme in the rest of my site. I need to figure out how to change the format in blogger.com since that is where I am maintaining it.
There are many details to keep track of when running a home business but the result should be a cleaner looking site leading to higher PR, more page views, better response and increased income.
P.S. If you join my
SFI Team and complete the smart start training I will send you a $10 gift certificate towards your first purchase. Just send me an email with your SFI ID number. This offer is not available to current SFI members.
MLM Or Not?
There are many people out there who are dead set against any MLM opportunities. They believe you should have your own product or service and not ride on the backs of others.
But the longer that I am involved in my MLM business I believe that it is a great way to go. It truly is the case that if my downline is not successful, I'm not successful. So that is motivation for me to help them in any way I can. The same goes for my upline. Their success (spelled i-n-c-o-m-e) is dependent on how well I, and the others in their downline, succeed.
Here is another advantage to starting in MLM. I have learned an incredible amount about running a business online. So much that I am considering starting a new online business selling a product I create as a hobby. I may never have considered this if it weren't for starting in MLM. If you get into the downline of a motivated mentor the knowledge you can gain is priceless.
P.S. I am looking for people who are willing to put effort into their business and want some mentoring. If this is you, you can join my team. You can get information on the opportunity and enroll
here.
Don’t Cry Wolf, Just Stick To The Budget
I was reading posts in one of my favorite forums the other day and I saw a post from one of the regulars. He was bemoaning the fact that he had charged up $20,000 on his credit cards and still wasn’t making any money.
Now the folks in this forum are very supportive and usually give great encouragement. However, this particular poster has made similar posts in the past. He complains about going deep into debt and after encouraging words and good advice from others in the forum he comes back and says how committed he is and how he is in it for the long run.
This gets me back to my post on Focus, Plan, Execute. This is part of the planning stage. If you don't develop a budget you can live with, and STICK TO IT, you are bound to fail. No doubt there are some who have been able to blindly jump in, start spending money, and manage to make money. But that won't work for most people.
I have a budget and am staying with it. It may take me longer to replace my current income, but at least I won't go bankrupt in the process.
By the way, speaking of sticking to the budget, a great way to build your downline without spending a bunch of money is to join the
Home Income Team. There are a wealth of tools and training available to help market whatever product or program you have. If you belong to one of the five paid programs, like
Empowersim, or if you are condsidering joining one or more of them, it would be worth your time to check out the
Home Income Team.
Are You A Professional?
I was watching the NBA playoff game between the Seattle SuperSonics and the Sacramento Kings. Seattle led the series three games to one and could take the series with a win Tuesday night.
Sacramento had the early lead but late in the game Seattle, the team I root for, pulled ahead and looked poised to take the series. But, for some reason, I thought to myself, this isn't over yet. Sacramento won't just give up because they are professionals.
This got me to thinking about what it means to be a "professional".
In my online business being professional means that I act ethically. Follow the CAN-SPAM rules. Support my downline. Respond to inquiries in a timely manner. Promote legitimate opportunites, not scams.
When I think of people I have met in my online business I can think of, unfortunately, several that I would consider unprofessional.
And I can think of several who are professional. Including my
PIPS sponsor,
Hannes Johnson, and Mal Keenan, another member of the PIPS opportunity, a moderator of the
Internet Warrior's PIPS Forum and member of the
Traffic Swarm staff.
So how about you? Are you a "professional"? Do you run your online business with integrity? I think that one of the highest compliments I could receive is being called a Professional.
Focus, Plan, Execute
I wrote an article a few months ago that is now in syndication titled
"Success Is As Simple As Focus, Plan, Execute". The premise of the article is that too many people fail online because they get involved in too many activities.
Too many business opportunities, too many investment schemes, too many PPC ads, too many co-ops, too many e-books, etc.
There is an old saying - "do one thing and do it well". I would like to modify that to say - "do a few things and do them well".
That's the "Focus" part. Identify your key opportunities and focus on them. Don't get so overwhelmed by signing up for every biz op you see that you can't keep up. For example, my
Plug-In Profit Site has five residual income programs.
The next step is to "Plan". This is usually the hardest part for most people. The plan needs to include how much time and when to spend on your business, what type of marketing to use, what budget to establish. Writing articles, buying PPC ads, submitting your ezine to directories. The plan must be simple, clear and easy to follow. Otherwise it won't be followed.
Finally, "Execute". You have developed a plan, now go out there and do it. The key is to consistently execute your plan. You may not become rich over night, but you will be on your way to creating the kind of income you have always dreamed of.
Want To Learn Something? Join A Forum
I have learned many things so far on my quest to create a living online. Many of those things I have learned from others.
I am guessing that a great number of people out there were aware of forums before they started their online business. I am not one of them. My first foray into online forums came with my
Plug-In Profit Site. Along with my hosting came free access to the
Internet Warriors Forum.
If you haven’t heard of the Internet Warriors, this is an online community of people from all over the world that come together to share information. The list of members is mind boggling. Allen Says, Dr. Mani, Stone Evans, Mal Keenan. The list goes on and on.
It’s true, there are many people who are only trying to market their opportunity, but most forums have rules of etiquette that limit the amount of advertising they can do. In my experience, the better forums have a specific forum topic for offering your product or service. And forums run by specific opportunities like
Empowerism’s Empowerboard or
SFI’s Discussion Board do not allow any advertising.
By the way, there is a forum, or probably several, on just about any subject you are interested in. I enjoy woodworking in my spare time. One of the woodworking forums I have been visiting a lot lately is
Sawmill Creek. I also enjoy pen turning and a great forum is the
International Association of Pen Turners. Two great sources.
There is so much to learn in this business that it only makes sense to use all of the resources available. And online forums are one of the best. I highly recommend that you search for forums on whatever subject interests you and join in.
