Affiliate Marketing - Make Money with Forum Marketing

By Michael Pergrem
In the world of affiliate marketing, there are many free ways to promote your affiliate links. One very overlooked method is forum marketing. Forum marketing is a very effective and free way to advertise. After reading this article, you will be able to use forums as a medium for free traffic to find your site.

Note: When using forum marketing, you must be careful to follow the forums rules. Always read their terms and policies.

The first thing you must do is find a forum based around the niche you are promoting. If you are promoting weight loss products, look for a forum specifically about weight loss. If you advertise weight loss products in a forum about motorcycles, you are not going to make many friends. After you find the perfect forum that is full of potential customers, go ahead and register an account. Now you can post threads or just reply to already existing threads. That's great, but here is how you make money.

At the bottom of every post is the forum user's signature. A signature is a small section at the bottom of every post you make where you can put a link to your site. Most forums don't allow HTML for your signatures but makes you use BBcode. BBcode is very similar to html and very easy to learn.

Make your signature catchy so when people read your posts they will click it and hopefully make a purchase. The more relevant your product is, there better chance of you getting sales.

Example: Someone makes a post asking the forum community how she can lose weight after her pregnancy. You are promoting a product about that very same subject. You leave a post with good information. Never advertise your signature in your post. That is considered spamming in most forums and will get you kicked out. If you leave helpful advice and your signature says something like "Find out how to lose weight after pregnancy here.", then chances are, people will click your link and might make a purchase. The more posts you make, the more sales you will make. Just make sure all of your posts have quality content and support the forum.

Forum marketing can be very powerful if used correctly. The best part is that once you post, it is there forever. You might post a thread and it becomes a sticky; getting hundreds of views and making tons of sales. Forum marketing is a valuable asset and should be used in any affiliate marketing strategy.

Do not fall for scams! Find out what programs and products really help you become a successful affiliate marketer. Find reviews and lessons here!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Pergrem

Traits And Skills Every Top Producer Needs To Be Successful In The Mortgage Business

by: Rob Lawrence



When I was a branch manager, there were always certain traits and skills I looked for before deciding to hire someone. After years of experience, and learning things the hard way, I know what it takes to be successful. Not everyone is cut out to be a loan officer. The mortgage business is like no other, and it takes a certain type of person to be successful in this industry.

Here are some of the top traits and skills I believe every loan officer must have in order to be successful.

If you want to become a top producer…

1. You need to like the mortgage lifestyle. It needs to be more than just a “job” for you in order to put up with the demands on your time, life and family.

2. You need to be a motivated self-starter. You will either succeed or fail almost entirely based on your own individual efforts and no one else’s. If you are afraid to take the initiative, maybe this isn’t the right career for you.

3. You need to be a hard-worker and be willing to go the extra mile. Selling and closing a mortgage loan is NOT easy work or fast money.

4. You need to be smart worker. You are paid for results, not the amount of hours you put in. Organization, efficiency and productivity are the key words in this business. And a loan officer is only as good as his last loan. If you don’t systematize your business and outsource non-essential tasks, your time will be quickly eaten-up, making you less effective. Hence the reason why I invented my worksheets at http://www.loanclosingsystem.com

5. You need to enjoy solving "people’s problems". As the refinance boom and the easy loans have dried-up, you need to look at other ways you can originate business. Creative financing and thinking outside the box, will get you loans that others leave behind. Interest-only loans, debt consolidation, cash-out divorce loans, reverse mortgages, etc. are all alternative loans you need to be considering if you are to stay in this business for the long term.

6. You must have people skills and be able to interact with customers from all walks of life and economic situations.

7. You must be a good listener. The more you “hear” the customer, the less pushy “selling” you will have to do. Find out what is truly motivating them and offer them something that truly solves their problem, you’ll be more likely to get the sale.

8. You need to be emotionally stable and mature. You can’t play games or mess around with people’s financial situations if you are to maintain the trust and confidence of the other person. You also need to maintain your own sense of balance and fairness.

9. You need to know your product line inside and out. Knowing one lender is not enough, you must know at least 15 to 20 lenders, from A-paper to B-paper and beyond. How else are you going to be able to sell a customer something if you don’t know what you’re selling?

10. You need to be convinced of your product’s value. It should be easy to be enthusiastic about your product when you know you are truly helping somebody.

11. You need to be flexible and agile. The mortgage industry changes everyday in technology as well as fundamental ways of doing business. You must be willing to adapt to whatever is thrown at you.

12. You must be a constant learner. Even after many years originating loans, I still learn something new everyday. That’s why I love the industry so much! It’s an on-going education.

13. You have to persevere and never, ever give-up! Relentless perseverance is the only way you will succeed. When something doesn’t work, try doing something else! You can’t take rejection personally. If someone says “no”, it doesn’t mean they don’t like you. After all, they don’t even know you.

These are the traits and skills I teach my loan officers, and I would encourage you to print out this list and look for it before you decide to hire someone else. Remember, by emulating the qualities of top producers, you are more likely to become a top producer yourself.



About The Author
Rob Lawrence is ranked one of top national trainers in the mortgage industry. He is the currently the CEO of Battlecall.com, coaching, tools and resources to turn mortgage professionals into mortgage warriors. Visit http://www.battlecall.com for his free “Sink Or Swim” weekly newsletter, mortgage training, marketing advice and more! Jumpstart your career in the mortgage business, starting today.

Should Newbie Internet Marketers Use AdSense to Increase Their Profits?

By Kristi Patrice Carter

Every single day, newbie Internet Marketers hear stories about gurus who make thousands of dollars on the internet with content-rich sites. They hear about Google paying them gobbles of money, and they then create sites specifically made for AdSense. Then they become saddened and frustrated when they only make a few dollars a month. It's a fact of life that AdSense can be a wonderful way to monetize your site. And, yes, many gurus receive six figures a month; they have been at this for a very long time. They have a lot of targeted traffic and likely just use AdSense as one way to monetize their niche sites.

The truth of the matter is that most folks who make over $100 per month with AdSense either receive a ton of visitors to their sites or have several sites to reach this amount. In fact, some publishers have hundreds, or even thousands of niche websites.

For most Internet Marketing newbies, AdSense may not be worth the time and effort unless you monetize it with affiliate programs and other contextual advertisements like Kontera ads. This way, you'll make more than a few cents for each click; you'll also receive affiliate sales, too.

Another key is to target the higher-paying niches like those of credit cards, loans, etc. However, it's quite likely that you won't receive $1.00 a click with these, either. In fact, you'll likely receive $0.50 or less. Just think about it, if your mission was to make $30 per day, at $0.10 per click you would need 300 clicks. By the same token, to meet your $30.00 per day income goal, you would only need to sell one affiliate program, which is quite easy for a well-converting item.

Therefore, if you have a website that doesn't get much traffic, your best bet is to improve your traffic, improve your click-through ratio, and pick higher-paying keywords. Once you do that, you may find that AdSense pays quite well. On the other hand, if you have a website that has a lot of traffic, then you might not need to supplement. After all, AdSense is pretty good at delivering targeted ads.

In conclusion, if your goal is to make a great income, then create a unique and quality site that is monetized in many different ways. Once you do that you can use AdSense to your full advantage and watch your pocketbook grow.

Watch Kristi Patrice Carter go from struggling writer to financially secure Internet marketer. Learn invaluable tips and techniques and share in Kristi's motivating success. Like Kristi, you too can become a six figure Internet marketing writer. Visit http://www.imwriterblog.com today and take your freelancing efforts to new heights for better profits.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kristi_Patrice_Carter

Here's How You Can Own Your Own Internet Business The Easy and Lazy Way

By Gareth Ap Williams
Having grown sick and tired of the rat race, of waking up each and every morning for the past 15 years at 6am knowing that within the hour I would be stuck in traffic on the motorway, traveling to a job I despised, I decided it was about time I took some action. I realized that there was absolutely no point in me complaining about my current situation if I wasn't prepared to change it.

It was at this point in my life I decided to look at the wonderful World of internet marketing, and especially internet publishing. From research I had learnt that there was certainly a lot of rubbish and scamsters out there, but there were also a few diamonds in the rough. But where does one begin? Affiliate marketing, ebay selling, ebook publishing, blogging or social networking etc, with so many self proclaimed 'gurus' out there,blowing their own trumpets about how fantastic their methods were, I was left going around in circles!

From extensive research I had learnt that there was a lot of money to be made in publishing information ebooks. It meant owning a business which incurred minimum overhead costs, and had the potential of making massive amounts of money in the shortest period of time. I was also able to sell an unlimited amount of these ebooks to potential customers. Its profit potential certainly seemed huge. However, I was suddenly hit by another brick wall, the idea of writing an ebook was daunting seeing as though I was no professional writer by a long shot! Sure, I could have hired someone to write a book for me, but with the minimum quote being just under $1300 I was becoming disheartened.

After further research and complete frustration I came across a website whereby the owner was selling reseller's right to 10 e-books! Wow what a concept, I was able to profit from someone else's hard work and only for a measly $197 I was provided with a ready made business which could start bringing in money in only a few hours.All the hard work had literally been done for me and I could do as I wish with these ebooks, I could put my name on someone else's hard work. Another beneficial factor about this business was that the product itself was digitally downloaded meaning that it pretty much ran on automation, making me money whilst I slept at night!!

I felt that I had truly found a diamond in the rough here. What was also more fascinating to me was the fact that this was all legal as long as you kept to some very strict rules and guidelines. Having recouped the initial cost of the re-seller's license after only a handful of sales, I was in the zone of pure profit, keeping 100% of my profits. Apparently this is how Walt Disney had earned his millions, he had legally stolen other people's work, changed a few things and made a handsome profit in doing so. So if this type of business sounds attractive to you, then don't hesitate in geting started today! Its profit potential is huge and I would recommend this type of business for anyone who is looking for a stress free, automated and profitable business.

Thanks to this great business concept I only work 2 hours a day, have recently bought my second home, and take holidays on a minimum of 4 times a year. I'm certainly not saying this to brag but to emphasise that anyone can make a decent living from the internet as long as they know where to look. Remember, it's about working smarter and not harder.

It is certainly important for me to reiterate the point that if you are looking at spending your hard earned money at this kind of business opportunity, you MUST do your research. There are many so called gurus out there who are selling resale rights to e books which are unprofitable, and in such a specific niche that it will be near impossible for you to sell any at all. They only want to offload their rubbish ebooks onto someone else, with the intention of conning you at the same time. But please don't let this comment put you off for I have said previously, there are a few legitimate webmasters out there who offer fantastic re-sale rights, but please do your research.

So, if after some contemplation and research, you decide that this is the type of internet business you wish to get involved in, I'm certain you will be amazed at its profit potential and simplicity of execution. It is the holy grail of the internet business World, bringing in a steady stream of residual income, 100% pure profit, whether it be from the comfort of your own home or even the coffee shop in town. It's also nice knowing that when you are in bed sleeping, your online business is still working hard for you, bringing in 100% pure profits on automation.

For further details of a legitimate business opportunity, please visit http://www.powerofprivatelabel.com

Gareth Williams is a highly informed and well respected individual in the online and offline marketing community. His advice has been seeked by many, and his knowledge is second to none. He has been an internet marketer for over ten years and has made it his life ambition to teach others the secrets to his online success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gareth_Ap_Williams

How To Generate Traffic Using Only Free Methods

By Issa Dembele
Generating website traffic doesn't have to cost a lot of money - in fact, you can drive a large amount of traffic to your website without paying a cent. A long-term traffic generation plan should include additional ways of site promotion, which may cost some money, but its possible to get started using tactics that are completely free. The first step is to become a regular on forums and online communities. Search for forums centered on topics that your website covers so that you reach the right target market. This is a good place to drum up leads and get in touch with the type of people who may be interested in what your site has to offer. Post your website address in your signature so that every time you make a post on the forum, people will see the link. Forums are also a great way to build trust and a reputation.

Another idea - send out newsletters. When people visit your website, give them the option to sign up for a weekly newsletter, sent straight to their inbox. If you provide visitors with pertinent information that they can use, your website and the product or service you sell will stay at the top of their minds. A newsletter ensures that people remember your website and come back on a regular basis. If people make use of the information contained in the newsletter, your online business will spread by word of mouth. This is one of the best ways to generate more traffic.

Trading links with other sites is another free method of traffic generation. This method doesn't cost any money because all you have to do is contact another webmaster and make a deal to exchange links. This benefits both websites and is a good way to increase traffic. In a sense, this is a form of free online advertising.

Another good idea is to write articles on interesting topics that pertain to the theme of your website. Distribute the articles online for free, making sure to include a link to your website at the end of the article. Allow other webmasters to reprint your article for free as long as the link to your website remains embedded in the article. People searching for information on the topic you have written about will inevitably come across your link. Article submission sites allow you to post your articles for free, so this is a great way to generate more traffic.