Tag: article marketing

9 Things You Need To Be Successful At Bum Marketing

9 things you need to be successful at bum marketingFor those of you who don’t know, I’m a huge fan of bum marketing – the art of making money online using completely free resources – and I’ve successfully used these techniques on TheAtHomeCouple.com and every other blog that I own and operate.  One of my favorite methods of free traffic generation and link building is article marketing because not only is it possible to write 20 articles in 20 days, like WAHM Tara’s latest challenge, it’s also amazing for developing your writing speed and research skills.

Over my 8 months of trial and error with utilizing free resources online, I’ve definitely learned a thing or two about what’s absolutely needed to be a successful bum marketer so I figured I would share some of my best tips with all you sexy people.

  1. A good house coat or robe is essential to your productivity.  Make sure it has at least two pockets for storing vital tools like the remote control and extreme cheddar flavored Gold Fish.
  2. Always have Google open in a browser window off to the side.  One of the key factors to successfully finding free resources online is your ability to research and grab those hidden gems such as free plug ins and cute little tools like SocialMarker.
  3. I always make sure I have my Spaceballs dvd ready to be played at a moments notice – taking your mind off work for 15 minutes will do wonders whenever you become overwhelmed or hit a road block.
  4. Having your peers available for brainstorming or questions always helps.  Keep 3-5 buddies on your Skype contacts list that you go to if you want a second opinion.
  5. The ability to go several days without showering or shaving will really get you into the “bum” mode.  If you can grow a beard like me, or not shave your legs for a week or two, you’ll be on your way to bum marketing super stardom in no time!
  6. You can’t expect to build your arsenal of free resources on an empty stomach.  Being able to make a grilled cheese sandwich with one hand while submitting articles with the other is the sign of a true marketing master.
  7. Practice getting things for free like pizza and beer when you’re out with your friends.  They’ll eventually assume you’re always broke and start to give you free shit without you having to ask.
  8. Make a folder in your Firefox bookmarks to store all your hardcore bum marketing tools and sites.  This will help you develop a system when you’re launching a new site or product.
  9. Purchase a handful of “generic” domain names to use for redirecting to related affiliate products from the author/resource box of your articles.  If you find a hot offer, the last thing you want to do is build a site just to test it out – write a kick ass article and load up the redirect straight to the affiliate product.

Cheers,

Elijah

Stop Being Afraid And Start Making Money

Stop Being Afraid And Start Making MoneyUp until this point in my budding career as an unemployed D-List Affiliate Ninja Wannabe, I haven’t really committed to implementing what I’ve learned over the last 8 months in a focused campaign to make money online.  Yes I’ve made some pocket change here and there, trying out different techniques and affiliate networks, but I’ve mainly been sharpening my swords and skills in the fields of traffic generation, keyword research, web development and web design.

I’m at the point right now where I have two paths in front of me, and I need to choose one of them asap.  Choice number one – get a day job and start to bring down some of our debt (not much) as well as make some loot to fund our online ventures.  Choice number two – stop jerking off and start to implement what I’ve learned to make money now, so I don’t have to go back to work.

Here’s my challenge…

I have a tendency to conceptualize a money making blueprint down to the last detail, I launch with a rebel vengeance like a half empty bottle of Glen Livet playing Ninja Gaiden 2, and then loose my steam as the results are never as immediate as I would like them to be.  It’s wack, and I’m getting really sick of my half-ass attempts.  I know that I have enough knowledge of affiliate marketing and I’ve spent countless hours trying out different methods of generating piles of targeted traffic to a site or blog as per our August blog report, if I combine this with my ability to find high demand, low competition keywords and phrases using Wordtracker I really believe I can make some substantial commissions as long as I stay focused, and committed.  I might not see results immediately, but on the other hand I might see trickles of income in the first 24 hours – If I do my research right and hone in on what my strengths are It has to work.

First I Need A Plan…

Since I don’t have adequate funds for doing some PPC experimentation or buying links, I’m going to be launching a focused campaign using as many free methods for traffic generation and promotion as humanly possible – also known as Bum Marketing.  The only con with Bum Marketing is the investment of time required, but the pros are substantial especially for someone who is just starting out and doesn’t feel comfortable with dropping a couple c-notes on advertising.

I really want to encourage anyone who is reading and wants to step up their game, to follow along with the next few posts as I plan to document what is working, and what needs tweaking with hopes of creating some sort of e-course or e-book at the end of this.

Here is a brief outline of my blueprint.  Feel free to write it down if you like:

  1. Conduct keyword research using Wordtracker or tool of choice to find a profitable niche (high demand, low competition) and compile a list of long tail keywords (10-20) to use for articles, Squidoo lenses and a review-style site which I will be driving the traffic to.
  2. Find 3 to 5 niche related affiliate products based on the research in step one and compile an brief, but detailed review on each product.  For this I will be perusing through Clickbank, not Commission Junction and Pepperjam Network.
  3. Once I have the products selected and a resourceful review of each I will design a simple, but effective review-style website either using Dreamweaver or WordPress.  I already have a “product review” domain name that I will be using for this campaign.  If you don’t, try and find a domain based on your keyword research or simply purchase a “product review” domain to build your site on at Godaddy.com – don’t forget to use coupon codes.
  4. Again, from the research in step one I will write 15 articles focused around selected keyphrases, making sure to use these long-tail keywords in the article title and throughout the content.  Once I have the articles written I will submit 10 of them, leaving 5 behind, to as many high traffic, high ranking article directories.
  5. I will create a lens or two on Squidoo and use the 5 articles I didn’t submit for the content – making sure that I use my long-tail keyphrases for the headings and within the content.  Within my Squidoo lenses I will link directly to the affiliate products, as well as to the review site.
  6. Once I have completed steps 1 through 5 I will spend a day or two commenting on niche related blogs and forums, leaving my review site domain in the signature field – for even more targeted traffic and back links.  Remember NO SPAMMING because it doesn’t work, period.

Bum Marketing Madness…

Considering this is my first time going full blown, I’m estimating it will take approximately 4-6 hours to create a functioning and aesthetically pleasing review site, about 1 hour per article, maybe less, and I’d say between 1-2 hours to build my Squidoo lens.  So pretty much to complete step 1 through 5 it shouldn’t take me more than a week, providing I’m putting in 4-6 hours per day – I know it probably be more like 10-12 hours per day.  The most time consuming aspect will be the review site, because I’ve never built one before and writing the articles.

So there you have it.  I would really like to know if any of you will be following along so I can keep track, but also if some of our more experienced readers have any suggestions or techniques I’ve missed that you’ve found works good for you – it would be much appreciated.  Maybe it’s because of the network I have formed over the last little while and knowing that I have people I can bounce ideas off of directly – but I really feel confident that I can, and will make this work.  No more day job for Elijah.  Not today, not tomorrow.

Cheers,

Elijah