Don't Go At This Business Alone

What Are You Doing Honey?

How many times have we heard that question from our spouse or friend or significant other?

When I first started this business I'm not sure why I felt the need to "keep it a secret."

Maybe it was because I felt it was difficult to explain to my wife, best friend and son what it was all about and what I was actually doing on my laptop all the time.  That turned out to be a  mistake.

Why?  Well, there was no one to talk to.  No one to share my successes and failures with.  No one to bounce ideas off of.

Once I made the decision to take the time to explain to them what I was actually doing that helped me in 2 ways:

1. It really helped to clarify in my own mind what I was doing with this business and why.
2. It gave me a real live support system that I could rely on in times that I needed it most.

So the moral of this story is...

Don't go it alone.  This "thing" that we are all trying to do online called "Internet Marketing" or whatever name you want to give it is a very important endeavor.  No less important than any job we wake up for and hop in the car to drive to every morning.  So be proud of it!

To your success,

Bob Swetz

Rjs@Home

Spotlight on a Fellow Marketer VivBounty

Spotlight on VivBounty 

I would like to welcome my first guest blogger Vivienne Edwards.  Enjoy...

Hello there, VivBounty here to begin this post with most humble gratitude to my friend, Bob Swetz, for his invitation to feature me on his blog.

I post in the forum each time I get paid ~ F5M-MC Forum I then share that Forum link on Facebook to all the groups I associate with on a regular basis. Meaning to say, groups which are actually made up of people who are in programs with me or like minded who will actually respect the business I'm in as I respect their business.

A wise man, Rick Mathews, now Malik, taught me that if a person is peddling something to you and won't even take a look at your program, not bothered to spend even the $5 one-time fee for life that it costs to get into our least expensive program, F5M-Millionaires Club, do you really want to be in business with he or she? There are places where advertising is like, as he says, "Everyone is throwing stuff at the wall hoping something sticks". I don't want to be there, to be honest.

So a list of my groups includes, always, Plugin Homebiz Site, DailyNetPay, Advertise With DailyNetPay, DNP Team Success, F5M-Millionaires Club Forum and a few others. I also buy advertising as you will have seen by my forum post, with DailyNetPay in addition to using Plugin Homebiz Site to create a very effective marketing funnel which puts paid members into my team in 2 income earning programs already listed above.

Recently, one of my online associates posed a question on my "got paid" post asking what he/she might be doing wrong? It is not that anyone necessarily does anything wrong in trying to earn money online. It is a difficult business and the market is saturated. According to http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm, there are an estimated 3 billion Internet users worldwide! Tenacity certainly helps. You need to keep working at your business. Be disciplined, committed, follow instructions, really know the program you are promoting and if you believe in it, never, never give up on your dream.

A good foundation to working in any industry is education. I began my online marketing journey with Lead Generating Tools (LGT) ~ http://lgtmarketing.com/lgt/vivbounty/rs/ back in 2008. I started with a free membership which led me to the training room in webinar format. LGT owner, Steve Swetman was frequently found in there training personally, and manning the room as head trainer was always Debra Chism. Along with Debra, several trainers who each have their area of expertise have taught me different things. I am now a Gold member of LGT and do my entire Internet business using Lead Generating Tools services and products.

I feel so blessed to have found LGT because every time I go to do something online, I think, "I learned to do this in the LGT training room". Here are just a few of those skills,  Starting a free blog on Google's Blogger platform, creating a Web site using basic HTML or WordPress platform, using an autoresponder, with that responder creating a list building campaign, cloaking affiliate links so that your sales are protected, using free File Transfer Protocol (FTP) with free resources like FileZila to get my sites and brand online, open source programs that can make PDF's or edit them like OpenOffice, and pulling it all together from start to finish, hosting your Web site, all the tools you will ever need for your Internet Marketing Dashboard and tons and tons of products you can use to brand yourself and make real money online. I even did a short stint as a trainer in the LGT training room. That is where VivBounty, my online brand name was born of a desire to inspire others to create their own bounty, whatever that is for them, whether it is money, or a better lifestyle, or a deeper spiritual connection, start a blog to show crafts, photos, a garden, or just expand into whatever their divine plan may be, that it would be bountiful.

Network marketing, affiliate marketing, or just any marketing is always about relationships. Business is about relationships. I am a people person and I wear my heart on my sleeve. Integrity is very important to me. If I join a program and my sponsor or the admin don't respond when I reach out or don't seem to care about my success, I cannot remain there. I don't treat people that way and thus would not tolerate being treated that way.

Of course, in business like in life, there are tedious, mundane things that need to be done to keep things going like advertising, checking email, keeping up with your social media connections - again these are relationships, not blasting or SPAM ads. I see these, as one person in a Web conference said, like doing your dishes daily or keeping your lawn mowed, they are maintenance chores which allow you to be organized and run your life or business in an efficient way. If your daily routine is chaotic in life or in business, your flow will always be interrupted, then you don't finish a task, which leads to two tasks and eventually you become overwhelmed and give up. Never give up!

Someone once taught me, I think it might have been Mike Hall, TSD - Thing, Step, Day. Do a thing, that finishes a step, each series of steps completes each day.

Thank you again, Bob for your friendship, generosity and integrity in this melee of Internet marketing we share. May you be blessed a thousand fold for all you do for others.

Prosperous Blessings,
VivBounty
A.K.A. Vivienne Edwards
http://vivbounty.biz

What's Makes A Good Headline?

A Headline Should Make the Reader Click!

A word of warning.  The contents of this article are strictly based on my personal opinions, not hours of research, so please read with that in mind.

So anyway, I want to explore a little bit about what makes a good headline for a text ad, or even an email...

I see so many headlines as I read through my emails and view ads on various sites that frankly don't interest me even a little bit.  These fall into the category that I like to refer to as the "out of reach" headlines such as:

You Can Make $5,000 Per Month in the Next 14 Days!

Honestly, I don't even believe that.

The next category that really don't inspire me are the "copied" headlines or subject lines.  These are the ones that are copied right from the "Affiliate" area of  the site you are promoting.  You can see them coming a mile away, because they are word for word like hundreds of other ads you see copied each day.

Now when I write my headlines (and let me say I am not a master at it) I like to think of 2 things:

1. Would this headline or subject inspire me to click to learn more?
2. Do I think it will inspire others to click to learn more?

I really think it's that simple.

It's also good to make it a question that the reader has to answer, or is almost forced to answer.  I like something like this...

Are You Looking for the Perfect Sales Opportunity?

I mean, who could answer no to that question?

Well, I hope this helps.

To your success,

Bob Swetz

Rjs@Home

How Would You Rate a 5 Star Ad?

This is My Headline
I Really Want You To 
Click On My Ad

On Leads Leap users have a unique opportunity to have their text ads rated by other users on the system.  This gives everyone an idea as to how effective their ads are.  But as I look at the different ratings on my ads, it makes me wonder, what part of my ads are being rated?  Or is it the whole thing?

Let me explain...

There are really 3 parts to a text ad in most cases.

1. Headline.  This should be the attention grabber.
2. Ad Text. This is a little more in depth, but still limited amount of text that should pull the reader into your ad.
3. Landing Page. This is the page the reader lands on when they click on your ad.

Now my purpose here is not to go into how to structure each part of the ad, that may be for another blog post.  But really, what level of importance is placed on each section.  All I can do is give my opinion on the importance I place.  So...

This is where I could really use some reader feedback folks!

Anyway here's my two cents...

The Headline is what makes me initially click on the ad, so it better be good.  Bad headline, no click. The Ad Text doesn't do too much for me either way, I usually don't read it cause I am in a hurry.  However, I place the most importance on the Landing Page!  If the landing page does not grab my attention in less than 10 seconds and give me a darn good reason to click it, then you have lost me.  Oh, and I better not have to scroll down on the page either.

So there it is.  I would love some feedback on this.

To Your Success,

Bob Swetz

Rjs@Home

Building Relationships and Friendships

It's A Lonely World Out There!

The internet marketing business can be a pretty lonely world.  We post ads, send emails and try to get new referrals in our business, ad sites, etc.

This is all done to build our businesses, earn commissions in the hopes of earning a solid online income.  This can be a great business which is why there are so many of us out there.

But, it is so much better when we have some friends that we can build our businesses with. Which is why I like to build as many relationships as I can along the way and I recommend you do the same.

Friends can be found on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and in your Downline or Upline in your programs.  I really think it is a great idea to reach out to folks.  Try to learn a little bit about the people you are working with in your business.  Don't just treat them as another commission!

I mean really, wouldn't you do that if you were doing business face to face?

You know what else, the people that I have built relationships and friendships with always turn out to be the best people to work and grow with.

I just want to say to the folks I have met online (and I hope you know who you are) that I appreciate your friendship and am happy to know you.

To your success,

Bob Swetz
Rjs@Home

How Should I Spend My Time?

I Only Have A Couple Hours A Day

How Should I Spend It?

Many of us out there in the internet marketing business who are trying to better our lives earning a second income still have to work a primary job. This leaves us with sometimes only an hour or two a day to work at our online business.

So, the question becomes.  How should we be spending that precious time?

I thought perhaps I could share with you how I spend my time.  For better or worse, maybe it will help some of you organize the hour or so you have available.

• Blog  about 1/2 hour, includes writing and posting it on Facebook and sending out email update to my list
• Sending safelist email ads  about 1/2 hour, includes writing the add and sending.  I am a member of Referral Frenzy which allows me to send to many sites with 1 click.  It's pretty amazing, but costs $15 per month.  It's a great investment and HUGE time saver.
• Surfing Traffic Exchanges about 1/2 hour.  I am a member of 4 TEs, (Upgraded at 3) 
• Updating ads and maintaining my Leads Leap pages 1/2 hour
• Responding to emails, etc. 1/2 hour

Now that is the nuts and bolts of my day when I have a limited amount of time.  When I have some extra time, of course I do much more.

Hope this helps.

To Your Success,

Bob Swetz

Rjs@Home

It Helps To Follow Instructions

Do I Really Need to Read All Those Instructions?

When you join a new program or even an ad site, most of them have a Home Page or a page that says something like "Start Here" or something like that.  These pages may also look like FAQ, Quick Start, Advertising Guide, or have many other names.

Well, whatever they are called, these pages are VERY IMPORTANT!

Do not overlook them.

Most admins provide these pages to help you run your business in the best way possible so that you can be successful.  If you follow the PROVEN steps, you have the best possible chance of making money in that program.  If you don't, well you will most likely FAIL.

With that being said, we always do have our upline to fall back on, but lets give them a little break and make sure we put in our own efforts first.

Use the resources that are provided and learn your business.  Understand it, inside and out. Then, go to your upline if you still need help.  That is your path to success!

Have a great day!

To your success,

Bob Swetz
Rjs@Home