For some this may not be a big deal, but sadly, I have a horrible habit of skimming. It’s something I really need to break and this lesson started it off. Short, to the point, and a bulleted list of homework to get started on right away. It worked, I did.

I’ll be running an affiliate contest in May. Oh, you didn’t know I had products let alone an affiliate program? Yeah, I know, hence Nicole’s lesson is getting me up and rolling. I’ve kept the affiliate program low key because I just had so much I wanted to set up before I recruited strongly. It’s time to get over that and just get it to working.

I’ll have more details coming up, but you can get a jump start and become an affiliate HERE. I immediately emailed my top affiliate Lauren to brainstorm prizes she’d like to earn in this upcoming contest.

So there’s just a few hours of pushing my education up a notch. What are your plans for learning in business this year?

Yes, it’s tax season and this means we all have the best account of what we are doing with our businesses. Everything is broken down to what we are spending, saving and what programs are working.

One area I’ve been seriously lacking in the last two years is furthering my education. I’ve been ignoring it by using the “I don’t have time” excuse. Not pushing my businesses to the next level is a big waste of time and that goes against everything I believe in. I don’t have time to waste, so let’s see how some learning can get me using my time even more efficiently.

So where to start? That’s been an easy choice. Two people I follow and look to for a lot of information have come out with group coaching programs geared towards things I’d love to keep pushing ahead. I signed up for Nicole Dean’s Income CPR today. What are you getting with the program?

==> Immediate Access To The Monthly Lesson with Case Studies

==> Ask Nicole – Yep! You can email Nicole your questions about the lessons & she’ll answer them.

==> She’ll help recruit affiliates for you via her FreeAffiliateArticles.com site.

The opening price is way underpriced. Nicole charges $500 an hour for consulting. You’ll be getting access to how she’s built her business for only $10 a month. However, that will change at any time as the program fills up. So don’t wait.

No, that’s not just a big sales blurb of poo from me. Well it’s a sales blurb, but I’ve “known” Nicole for years through forums and I trust that this program will not waste my time in the least.  I’ve downloaded the first lesson and will be opening it up as soon as I hit publish here on the blog.

I’ll work on keeping more updates as I go along. I’m starting out with Nicole’s program and then adding another program this weekend or next week that I know will be a good one. But since I haven’t focused on learning in so long I don’t want to jump in over my head and not follow through. It’s all about the follow through.

So why not join me in the Income CPR program and we can both chat about our progress?

Getting Crissy’s email about plr rights to her incredible workshop, was exactly what I wanted to hear and what could help bring an extra spark back into one of my sites. She’s sold this previously as a how to get your craft biz online workshop, but has reworked it so it will fit all businesses. It is a highly marketable workbook package now called Teach Your Readers How To Market Their Business Online. At an affordable $34.99 you can make more than the sale amount in just 3 sales. This isn’t something to market for less than $19.95 and if you add some email coaching to the mix, you can charge much more.

Grab this Free Marketing PLR Bundle and see just how great the writing is at All Marketing Content.

Not into the WAHM or marketing scene? Here are some awesome free plr bundles to try as well. Yes, I’ve used them all.

Free Health PLR Article Bundle
Free Finance Article Bundle
Free Craft Bundle
Free Mom Bundle
Free Travel PLR Bundle
Free Green Bundle

There’s always the Retiring Bundle Sale that you must check out and jump on if it’s in your niche. Right now there are a few VERY useful bundles at 50% off.

Lynette Chandler and TechBasedTraining has an awesome deal that I can pass on to my readers. 15% off the latest amember training package that explains how to add a forum to amember. If you need to learn how to do this for yourself or you want another way to market your VA skills, this is for you. Amember is one of the best ways to manage a membership site. Jump to the amember power series and use coupon code ASSOCIATE910. This coupon is only good until Sept. 15th so don’t wait to add more marketable skills to your business!

Even though I will get a commission on any sales from these links, I don’t put up links that I don’t believe in. These are deals from businesses I use, have used or know the owners personally and all the above.

If this was you, then please let me know so I can give you some linky luv.

They may end up being more than once a week and I definitely don’t know what day they will regularly post on until I get a better feel for it. Joining my feed would be a good idea so you don’t miss the post.

This weeks is a HUGE deal. I use a lot of products from Internet Marketing Sweetie. I MEAN A LOT. I can personally vouch for the high quality. You will get a lot of usable information from these programs and they will help your business tremendously. I know hitting you with all of them is a lot, but at 75% discount I don’t want you to miss out. They will be retired after the 4th.

* Email Marketing Sweetie *

* Affiliate Marketing Sweetie *

* Affiliate Manager Sweetie *

* Information Product Sweetie *

* Online Marketer Sweetie *

Make sure and use coupon code: 76429D4 at checkout to get a huge 75% off. This deal is only until August 4, 2010 and then the products will be retired. They aren’t kidding, they do take the products down.

Then if you have an area of expertise, you should really consider learning how to hold your own online classes and bump your business and/or blog to the next level. Indie Biz Chicks is holding Learn How To Create Your Own Online Class. Sign up for the class before Aug. 4th and save $50. Also there is a 2-payment option. Join the class and you could be holding your own in September!

**please be aware that affiliate links have been used in this post
photo credit: Orin Zebest

I’ve been researching and analyzing what is holding me back. Fear? Frustration? Fatigue?

Those are the “F” words in Internet Marketing, at least according to my friend, Nicole Dean.

She says those three words are responsible for most of your struggles in your online business. I totally agree as they are the thing that holds me back. Automation is key and working smarter, not harder. To enjoy my time spent on work more.

Recently, Nicole teamed up with her friend, Ronnie Nijmeh, and they’ve put together a killer course for helping ANYONE to create their first info product. Info products are the ultimate in reoccurring income. You put your expertise to work once, do it correctly and then your automated programs will get the info to your clients.

They’ve put together reports, videos, worksheets, and will even be hosting Q&A calls, too.

But, she and Ronnie both know that that’s not enough for a lot of marketers. You’ll still let those three words stop you. So, they’re going to be offering personal one-on-one private coaching, as well. You can ask ANY questions about creating your info product and they’ll personally answer them. Have you used coaching from top marketers in your industry. Just one coaching session will change you business, let alone all that is being offered in this program.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. Right now, you can’t sign up for their program. It’s not ready yet.

BUT…

You can grab a free report with some cool fables about success. It’s a quick read and it’ll make you think. (It did for me.)

Grab it here and run with this info.

When you go to get the Motivational Stories report, be sure to sign up to access their free call “Product Creation De-Mystified” where you’ll hear directly from Nicole and Ronnie and learn more about the benefits of creating your own info products.

Actually, Nicole and Ronnie challenged me to name ONE “guru” who doesn’t have an info product. Go ahead. Try it. Are you better than I am? Because I can’t name a single one. Info products make the impact on internet marketing.

Again, grab that report here:

http://www.plr.me/id/motivational-stories/busymomma

Only grab this report if you are ready to move ahead and make your sites/blogs work. Everyone is not always at the same place in business so it may not be the right time to get your info product launched and out there.

Welcome to stop number two on the Affiliates Blog Tour! If you’ve missed our first stopover on Kristen Arnold’s blog, you can check it out here: The topic is What is Affiliate Marketing?

By the way, we want to thank Val Selby for hosting this stop on our tour!

This tour is designed to turn moms onto the idea of Affiliate Marketing and show them how simple it is to implement on their blogs and other web projects.

One of the reasons that affiliate marketing can be so easy to start is that the affiliate program owners and managers have taken a lot of time to create promotional tools for their affiliates to use. (Good programs do anyways!)

Quality programs provide affiliates with graphics, articles, ad text, email promos, etc. Some even provide you with sample chapters and special reports that give your readers a big taste of what they have to offer. Over the next few stops on our tour, we’re going to share more about these tools.

The more familiar you are with affiliate tools, the better chances are that you’ll use them!

In this segment, we are going to take a look at using affiliate graphics to promote products.

If you’re placing affiliate buttons on your site thinking that sales will start rolling in. They won’t.

People are visual and a graphic will catch their eye quicker than text. That’s where using affiliate graphics comes in handy. However, many new affiliate marketers use affiliate banners and buttons the wrong way. They grab the images and paste them all over their website thinking that they’re providing their visitors with so many choices that they’ll surely go for something.

The problem is that they’re overwhelming their readers. With so much to look at, they won’t know where to look! When it comes to displaying buttons and banners on your site, the first rule should be ‘Less is More’.

If you really want to display a banner or button to highlight a favorite affiliate product, I recommend that you choose one product to feature for a period of time. Pick the most appropriate graphic for your website and give it the best virtual real estate that you can. Let it enjoy the attention of your visitors without a lot of competing ads.

But don’t stop there.

If you want your web visitors to act on an affiliate offer you need to tell them why they should – that means you will want to write up some sort of a personal recommendation. Once that is written, you can certainly use affiliate graphics to illustrate your offer. If it’s a digital information product like an ebook or audio, an e-cover graphic really helps to represent the product.

What if the affiliate program doesn’t provide graphics?

They should! If they don’t, write and ask them to create some for you. Give them some ideas of what you’d like to use. “I have a feature spot that calls for a 300×250 pixel graphic, if you could provide one that would be great!” If they don’t respond to your request favorably, I’d wonder about their commitment to running an affiliate program.

As you get more familiar with different programs, you’ll start to favor some programs over others on the basis of the tools they provide along with some other important concerns. Don’t be afraid to express your needs and be selective.

I challenge you to find and use an affiliate graphic before the week is over. If you’re not sure where to start, of course we recommend checking out the Mom’s Talk Affiliates program!

See you on the next stop on our tour when we’ll share best practices for using affiliate articles.

Tishia Lee, Affiliate Manager for Mom’s Talk Affiliates and Kelly McCausey, owner of Mom’s Talk Network are touring the work at home web with great tips on affiliate marketing, check out the full tour schedule here.

While you’re there, scout around to Kristen’s resources and many other posts to help you in your WAHM endeavor.

Affiliate marketing can be a great way to make money. Finding a niche market with products and services you trust and believe in is the first step to success. There are tremendous affiliate programs which offer you an abundance of tools and materials to promote and market their products. However, what you do with those tools and materials is entirely up to you. You can be just another affiliate or a super affiliate.

What Is A Super Affiliate?

Technically speaking a super affiliate is someone who generates a significant amount of profits for the products or services they represent. A super affiliate can make a healthy living from their affiliate business alone while a standard every day affiliate may need to supplement their affiliate income with, gasp…a 9-5 job!

Benefits To Being A Super Affiliate

The most significant benefit to being a super affiliate is the income. Many super affiliates make six figures simply promoting the products and services of others.

Additionally, if you’re one of the main contributors to a company’s affiliate program they’re going to pay attention to you and your needs. You may receive a higher percentage of sales you may receive first shot with new marketing materials and programs and you’ll get the support you need when you need it.

Here Are A Few Steps To Become A Super Affiliate:

Step One – Commit to publishing content every single day. Content has proven time and again to be the best sales tool available to affiliate marketers. Nothing, not even strategically placed ad copy works as well as providing quality content that pre-sells any product that you’re promoting on your website.

Possible content includes:

* Autoresponders.
* E-newsletters.
* Blogs posts
* Social networking via forums, social networking sites, and chat rooms
* Articles
* Press releases

Step Two – Track and test. Make sure you know where your prospects are coming from, what motivates them to click through and what information they read and respond to – then give them what they need. Tracking and testing is the only way to hone your affiliate program into a smooth running, money making machine.

Step Three – Use the provided marketing materials and be willing to take it a step further. Many affiliate programs do a great job of providing their affiliate with ready to marketing materials including:

1. Banner ads
2. Buttons
3. Email copy
4. Articles
5. Free promotional reports

Use the materials your affiliate manager has provided. It’s been tested and developed for results. That being said, be sure to create your own content too. Even as an affiliate you are your own company and your website needs to reflect your personality and brand. Building a community around your website and providing valuable content is a sure way to create a following that trusts you and your credibility – which will result in click throughs and affiliate sales.

Step Four – Pre-sell. The good news is that your job as an affiliate is to pre-sell products and services. Pre-selling means your content, whether it is a review, article, tutorial, course, or blog post, speaks honestly about the products and services you promote. Pre-selling is about providing value to your website visitors and prospects, making them comfortable with you and your authority to generate interest and a click through to the company website, where the selling happens.

Step Five – Follow up. Just like your affiliate manager follows up with you to see how you’re doing and what you need, follow up with your prospects. A great way to do this unobtrusively is to create a lead list by providing a newsletter visitors can subscribe, a free report, or any number of products in exchange for an email address and the permission to contact them with valuable information and special promotions.

Being a Super Affiliate is the only way to go if you want to build a successful affiliate marketing business. Find products and services you trust and believe in and then create a strategy to share information to your target audience. Test and track your efforts, focus on providing value to your prospects and leave the selling to the companies you represent. Helping others live better lives, without having to provide the products or services personally, is a great way to make a living.

Are you in need of marketing content for your blog or website? Check out All Marketing Content for incredible articles, reports and more each month.

Does your business enterprise need a boost? Consider using special reports to add revenue and build a business contact list for future use.

What are special reports?

Special reports are short reports that contain helpful information on a subject. The reports are anywhere from a few to 30 or so pages in length. If you have the know-how, you can write them yourself or hire a writing service to do it for you. There is very little work involved in creating them but they are versatile tools for building an online business.

One popular subject for special reports is how-tos. They direct a reader, step by step, how to do something. If you are knowledgeable with computer software and hardware, that is a perfect niche for special reports on your website. People are always having trouble figuring out their computers and you could help.

Marketing special reports

There are options for marketing your special reports. If you are trying to build a business list of customers, use these special reports as a freebie when any visitor signs up to be a part of your email mailing list. For this type of promotion, use a shorter report like a five page report on how to navigate problems with Windows Vista (if your website has a computer niche).

You can create a five-part course and use the first part as the free promotion. It is your hook. Once they sign up for the mailing list, you can grant them access to the other installments through emails that also advertise your website products. Signing up for a business newsletter subscription can also be the reason to gift a free special report.

Making money

All of your special reports don’t have to go towards list building. Besides your other products or services, you can sell special reports on your website. Many reports sell for between $5 and $20 a piece, but if you offer very valuable information, you can command a higher price. Sell single reports or create various courses to interest your customers.

People love to learn about money-making opportunities. They will pay the money for any information that is a how-to guide to making money on and offline in various ways. How have you made money? Begin there with the subject of your special reports.

As your business grows, create an affiliate program. This gives customers a way to help you make more money and also make some for them. Offer certain special reports as additional compensation for reaching a certain selling level in the affiliate program.

There are a number of ways to use special reports. As you build your library and your lists, alternate the free promotional reports and continue to sell your entire library, creating combination offers such as Buy Two, Get One Free.

While your special reports are building your contact list, they are also making you money. With such a low cost to create them, your profit margin will rise.

The goal of any business is to make money. And, we’re not just talking about the short term but long term goals of increased revenue. To that end, many businesses are missing out on a multi-billion dollar market: moms. Marketing to moms is the wave of the now and the future.

Why are moms so important?

Moms are enterprising. According to BSM Media Inc., mom spending is already over the trillion dollar mark. That’s more than the budget of some third world countries.

Also according to BSM Media Inc., almost 90 percent of moms consider themselves the financial head of the home. Her husband may bring home most of the bacon but it is the moms who decide how to spend it. They shop for everything related to the household: kids clothing, appliances, electronics, outdoor furniture, accessories and home improvement items.

Any husband that shops for these things is going to consult their wives before buying them. Why? Wives do the research into these products to find the best on the market. Moms influence as much as 85 percent of the purchases for the home. That’s over 70 million women we are talking about here. It doesn’t get any bigger than that.

Think about all of the tasks that moms handle in a day. They take care of the housework, shuffle kids from school to sporting events to other activities, cook dinner and manage the finances. In order to keep everything straight, they employ a wide variety of technology. It’s not uncommon to see a mom sitting in the park watching her kids play while listening to an iPod or browsing the Internet on her iPhone.

Moms are also savvy on the Internet. The trend for many years has been moms coming out of the workplace and starting their own businesses at home to spend more time with their kids. To that end, moms have developed a network of blogs, websites and forums designed to teach moms everything from designing websites, starting Internet businesses, marketing to other moms and managing their homes all the while. Their buying power increased exponentially with their knowledge.

Manly mistake?

Traditionally the only products marketed towards women were household products and cooking items. This goes back to the archaic thought that a woman’s place was in the home. That has been a huge detriment to many companies as they are beginning to see.

Women and moms have made an imprint in the man’s world in many areas. Women are not limited to office jobs; they are CEOs and CFOs. They don’t just surf the Web, they are becoming entrepreneurs with widening influence over Internet marketing. Having moms shun your product because you are not marketing to them means they are also spreading the word to other moms across the world (via the Internet) and in their own communities.

The future

Moms are influenced by other moms. Several generations of moms are coming together to influence the spending habits of major corporations. In the future the trend will continue. As moms become more “connected” in the world, their spending will increase. No product is off limits to mom advertising.

Moms do rule the world. Gain the support of savvy moms with your products and your business will reap the benefits.