About eight months ago, I hired a programmer. This programmer, who I can’t name, worked on a software which I had assigned him to.  It was a software which would process my entire sales process, so I know that this kind of project would take time.

We both agreed on the requirements of the project, like how often to report to me, service fees etc. The programmer estimated the project to take 2 1/2 months, based on my requirements.
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UPDATE: I’ve compiled some of the most frequent problems and writing some reports based on these problems. Be on a look out for the release of these reports.

Here’s how it works…

You tell me your biggest problem in Internet marketing (your biggest).

I’ll create short but meaty 15-30 page reports based on your problems. This, of course, depends on the demand.

Your response will help me better answer your problems in greater detail.

A few things to note:

• Be specific
• Don’t expect me to make you rich
• Be aware that I do have my own set of expertises, and they are: Graphics, traffic generation, creating products, list building, blogging, productivity, technical areas of setting up your website, joint-venturing and some copywriting. The fact is, I can’t be everything to everyone.
• Every month I’ll release one or two new reports based on this campaign.

That’s all

Please post your ”biggest problem” in the “comments” box.

Thanks in advance, and looking forward to hearing from you.

Photo by Stardust

One of the biggest mistakes of internet marketers relates to how they overlook the nuances of the language. Despite our developed expertise on SEO jargons and profound methods of internet marketing, we sometimes make the silliest grammatical errors making an otherwise fine web print go awry. Our efforts in marketing our content are futile if we cannot present them in readable form.

As web marketers and writers, we adapt a conversational tone to make readers understand our message perfectly. What we speak is what we write, and what our readers see is what they hear. I don’t mean to lecture, but this “dumbed-down” version of the written language can only go so far. When you cross the threshold of the frantic grammar police, you will start to lose credibility among your readers and subscribers.

Here are seven critical mistakes that we should avoid in our web prints:

1. There, Their, They’re

Playing with contractions is risky if you quickly type what you think. “There” is a multi-functional word that denotes a point, place or space. Since “there” is used as an adverb, noun, pronoun, or adjective, we woefully abuse the usage of the word making it a possessive pronoun (their) or as a contraction of “they are” (they’re).

Examples:

There - “Why are you going there?”
Their - “Without their help, we  can’t get this done”
They’re - “They’re going to the beach this afternoon”

2. Affect and Effect

It could be typo for some, but others make this mistake that stops the reader on its tracks. “Affect” is a verb while “effect” is a noun. Nouns and verbs have different usage. Verbs have a past tense (affected), while we usually put the word “the” before a noun (the effect). The difference in usage should serve as a hint when you encounter these words. Examples:

Affect - “The weather affected our summer holiday”
Effect -  “The effect was unbelievable”

3. Than, Then

“Than” is used to compare objects and ideas, while “then” is used to organize events chronologically. Examples:

Than - “Mary is prettier than Linda”
Then - “John’s going to do some shopping and then fill some gas on the way back”

4. Your, You’re

“Your” is a possessive pronoun just like “their”, while “you’re” is a contraction of “you are” just like “they’re”. Examples:

Your - “It’s your problem that you missed out”
You’re - “There’s thirty minutes to go and you’re still here”

5. Its, It’s

Like the point above, “its” is a possessive pronoun. “It’s” is a contraction of “it is”. Examples:

Its - “That dog is a Labrador but I don’t know its name”
It’s - “It’s fascinating how big the universe is”

6. You, Me, I

“You”, “Me”, and “I” are interchanged because the writer is sometimes confused with what he writes. “What can you do for I?” instead of “what can you do for me?” will bring a top quality content many notches down. The thing is, whether you say you and me or you and I, etc depends on whether these personal pronouns function as subjects OR objects in the sentence:

* You and I should go see Africa some time.
* Mrs Jones has said she wants to interview you and me.

Whatever happens, these words should not be interchanged since it is painful to read.

7. P.S. and P.P.S against P.S.S., P.P.S

Have you ever stumbled upon a salesletter or email where the writer uses P.S., P.S.S instead of P.S, P.P.S ?

When we want to add a section to our blogs or web copies, we add P.S. in the end of our articles for effect. However, some writers feel the need to put an extra “S” after the “P.S.” just to be cute. Strictly speaking, P.S. means post scriptum and P.P.S. means post post scriptum, which are critical elements of formal correspondence.

Everyone trips up once in a while. Even I had a fair share of nudges from my editor when I make the same mistakes. Most of these common hiccups can be fixed with careful proofreading and keen observation in finding these mistakes.

Remember that marketing and content go hand in hand. Marketing builds the flair, while content builds the substance.

P.S. Do you know of other common grammatical mistakes that we must avoid? Share it with us or give a shout out with your comments.

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I wanted to take the time to learn more about you, and basically start a discussion about the topic of starting out online. In addition, I hope it will help you refocus, reallign and learn why you started this business in the first place.

So…

How did you first find out about online marketing/this type of business? Was it an ad you saw while you were surfing the ‘net? Maybe a friend influenced you about the opportunity.

What made you decide to pursue this business? Is it the lifestyle? Had enough of your job? To diverse your offline business by going online?

I’ll kick start this post off by starting first…

I first found out about online marketing from a banner ad which read “60 minute money! You can make a full-time income working at home with just a computer, an Internet connection and 60 minutes of work a day. Click Here!” As cheesy as it may sound, I clicked to find out more. Don’t sit there laughing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were triggered to click on this type of ad, too
I decided to pursue this business because I hated studying “theory” at school and working at a job, where I was limited to what I could earn. Two things led me to this ultimate decision - 1) Robert Kiyosaki’s ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ book 2) How school theory applies in the real world. You may argue about this but that’s my thought.

So that’s my mini story. Whether you’re doing this business part-time or full-time, feel free to share your story by posting in the comment box below. I’d love to read yours, and I’m sure others will, too. (You don’t need to reveal anything personal)

Faced with flurries of task, messages, and concerns, each of us need to contend with heaps of work. We can wilt or we can get over the hump. Either way things need to get done! Here are some habit-changing schemes to increase your productivity…

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Has it ever happened to you that while discussing your job with friends or family people don’t have any idea about what you do.

Or your classmate who you haven’t seen for ages, talks about career and suddenly asks: “And you?” “I’m an Internet marketer” (here you feel a surge of pride), “Sorry, what?” Not “Wow!”, not even “Really?! Tell me more about it!”, just this humiliating “What?”.

I know the reason why they do so. You may be surprised, but many people are still ignorant of the Internet, let alone SEM, PPC and other 3-letter online businesses. To believe them, Internet marketers are those who

• sell e-books (btw, what does “e-book” mean?);
• flood your inbox with spammy messages, like “Order 9 $1 bottles for $10 and get one more absolutely FOR FREE”;
• just scam;
• waste time in front the computer screen, looking through multiple stupid pages (this refers to all the three).

The thing is that people who don’t use the web treat it like something unreal: you can’t try on sneakers from a virtual shop or hear the ring of coins sent to your online account.

And unreal allegedly stands for unreliable. Have you experienced such an attitude?

All in all, how to convince your relatives/friends that you are neither a spammer nor scammer, but a serious businessman?

Don’t try to explain the inexplicable. Don’t show them your website(-s) and stats reports. Don’t answer their naive questions.

Just invite them some day to voyage in the yacht (not that I have one) you bought from your online revenue and they’ll believe, I bet!

I’d love to know if you’ve ever been in this situation or simply tell me your thoughts about this, even if you’re a part-time Internet marketer…

So many projects, so little time…

Does this sound like you?  You start a project and then you’re stuck at a certain point so you start on another project without even finishing your initial project.

This, as you may have experienced, can lead to a waste of time and resources.

Which one should you start or, perhaps, continue on?

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Books I just bought:

“All marketers are liars” - Seth Godin
“Small is the new big” - Seth Godin
“Unleashing the ideavirus” - Seth Godin
“Purple Cow” - Seth Godin
“Words that sell” - Richard Bayan

Highly Recommended Books:

“Think and grow rich” - Napoleon Hill
“Rich dad, poor dad” - Robert Kiyosaki
“Good to great” - Jim Collins

Post your comment/feedback below and tell me what your favourite books, ebooks or homestudy courses are that have helped you with your business and life…

Looking forward to your list of recommended reads!

Struggling to get people to your site?

After mulling over the prospect, you finally made the decision to create a website. All in all, you are happy with the look, think the information is excellent, and think that anyone who visits the site will enjoy it so much that he or she will be back again regularly.

However, the next task is getting the word out and driving some traffic to your website. After all, having a fantastic website doesn’t do much unless people know about it.

You won’t find a list of traffic generation ideas, in this unique compilation, anywhere else.

So here they are, in an easy-to-read format: a hundred and ten tips to help you spread the good news about your site and generate some interest. I guarantee that you’ll find some of these tips don’t work for you. But I’m sure you’re intelligent enough to piece out the stuff that’ll give you that traffic boost you’ve always wanted…

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