Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Don’t hang out with folks who do things you shouldn’t do. Some people find that they get on track with where they want their life to go, and then certain friends and acquaintances come to call and all the development goes right down the drain. Imagine that you are in a position where you are trying to stop drinking, and you're doing a great job of staying away from alcohol so far. One night, though, an old friend (and drinking buddy) gives you a call and asks if you would like to join some people for a night out on the town. What is the best way to handle this sort of situation? This sort of instance merits some real analyzing. Does this friend know that you are trying to quit drinking? Even if this friend is aware of your goal, do you really think that he or she has the ability to go out on the town without ordering a drink or two? Lastly, if you truly think your friend can respect your wishes and refrain from suggesting some drinks, do you think that you are ready to be in the situation of being out on the town with your drinking buddy to begin with? Oftentimes we sabotage our own efforts without the intervention of anyone else, and many times it's a result of putting ourselves into situations we are simply not ready for. You may feel as though you are set in your new ways and there is no person who can sway you from your ultimate goal. This noble intention, however, flies out the window all too easily when you get around people who are doing the exact things you are trying to avoid. Do yourself a favor and avoid social situations that will be full of instances that you are trying to avoid. After all, you can't take a drink if you don't have any alcohol around you.

Try some community groups and organizations. You might be surprised to find out how many different organizations are around your town, filled with people who can be a great influence to you in addition to being beneficial social contacts. There are groups which get together for purely social reasons, there are groups which are formed for occupational growth, and there are some groups which have civic-minded goals. If you are looking to make some new friends and get involved in the community then you should seek out some of these groups. Where to start? You may want to look at some bulletin boards at cafes around town, or instead look at the local library's announcement board. Some cities have television stations committed solely to community events, and if you watch these channels you will probably find the sort of thing you are looking for. Your local community center might offer free exercise classes, art classes, or even volunteer opportunities that will get you involved in the community. The great thing about joining a local group or organization is that you will meet other people who have the same sort of interests that you have. Join a local walking club and you'll meet other people who enjoy the outdoors as much as you do. Join a parent's group and you'll meet people who are in similar situations as yours. Join a poetry group and you'll be able to meet other aspiring poets in addition to having an audience who will help you hone your writing skills. With so many different organizations out there, why not take the time to find one conducive to your interests and meet some new people while you're at it?

Don't underestimate the power of the Internet. You might not be in a situation where you are able to leave your home often to go mingle with local organizations. Maybe you're a single parent, or perhaps you simply aren't comfortable in social situations. The Internet is a great resource for people like this. There are thousands of online organizations that cater to people with like-minded interests, and the beauty of these online groups is that you don't have to leave your home to get involved. Even if you never meet the people in the organization face-to-face, you still reap the benefits of social interaction. To find an online group to join, simply input your interests into any Internet search engine and you will more than likely be presented with many different groups to choose from.

Have a current friend join you in your endeavors. Is there someone in your life with whom you constantly commiserate about the current state of your lives? Maybe you have a friend who always talks about wanting to get in shape, or go back to school, or get a better job or anything else that is similar to your goals. You might want to consider joining forces with this person and reaching for your goals together. After all, having someone who will keep you accountable for your progress is great. It can also be quite motivating to be someone who is responsible for keeping someone else on track. You might find yourself working harder towards your goals because you want to be a good example to your confidante, and you will more than likely stay on track because you really don't want to report any failures to your pal. Be sure that when you enlist the help of someone who you will also be helping so that you are a team, both working towards similar goals. If you go into a situation like this with someone who is not nearly as motivated as you are, or someone who is more harmful than helpful, you might actually be sabotaging your efforts.

What if you aren't a people person? There is power in numbers, and finding people who have the same types of goals you have is a great idea in theory. If you just aren't the kind of person who enjoys social interaction, however, trying to form relationships with people can be downright torturous. You shouldn't go against your innate personality type because this will inevitably lead to you feeling far beyond your comfort level.

Ebook Sample Content Preview:

Chapter 8: Selling While Grabbing Backlinks

What could be better than selling something for cash and also getting a backlink from it? Make a little moolah now and a little moolah later too. This is something you can do with your own affiliate marketing program. Mimic the big players like Amazon.com by creating your own affiliate program and having people backlink to your site for a commission. Setting up the program may cost you some time and money, but once it is in place you don't have to pay unless you make a sale. If you don't make a sale, the backlink is essentially free (not counting startup costs).

Sold on the idea, yet? Well, there is quite a bit to an affiliate program. You have to have a product or service that you can sell and then you have to have the capability to collect payment and track affiliates who are selling your products on other websites. If you thought developing a backlink marketing strategy was time-consuming, an affiliate program needs to be micromanaged to produce not only income, but to reward your high-performing affiliates. Getting backlinks is just the side benefit that comes from your marketing activity. After all, if you don't have an affiliate program that attracts affiliates, then you have no sales and no backlinks either.

The best way to get quality backlinks using an affiliate program is to offer something of quality on your site and to help your affiliates make money, thus keeping them happy. To do that concentrate you will concentrate on the affiliate program and not the associated backlinks. There are still some technical issues you will need to ascertain work in your favor with backlinks coming from your affiliate program, but a long-lasting program focuses on sales first (for you and your affiliates) and backlinks second.

What Should You Sell?

Just about anything can be sold on the Internet. There are laws that prohibit the sales of some items like alcohol, drugs, and other regulated industries. You will want to make sure that what you are selling is legal and that it can be sold on the Internet.

You also want to keep away from items that just don't sell well on cyberspace. Large items that take a lot of money to ship may eat into your profits when shipping costs increase. Or they may simply be unwieldy or too fragile to send via snail mail. Other items that consumers like to touch and feel before they buy might also not make good candidates for an affiliate program.

PHYSICAL ITEMS

If you decide to sell something that needs to be shipped out in physical form, you will have to start an inventory management system to track your products and deliver them on time. You may have to deal with irate customers who might end up with defective products or that receive products that get damaged along the way. You will also need to determine when an order comes in and how to process it so it gets delivered on time, regardless of whether there are problems with weather, the postal service, or your inventory.

If you don't have experience ever managing an inventory of products and shipping things via the postal service, it will be a steep learning curve. You will have to learn how to properly package your item. You will have to figure out where to buy packaging and include that in the cost of your item. You have to figure out how to get the best rates for mailing and include those in your quotes for shipping.

Changes in the cost of your products, packaging, and shipping can make you less competitive in the market and eat into your sales. In addition, you will also have to take into account the labor involved in processing orders for physical items that have to be shipped via the postal service. By the time, you are done, you may have less time to really do much Web marketing with those backlinks you generated or you will have to hire someone to take control of that area of your business. The focus will be on your product, and not generating money through other less intensive Internet advertising strategies.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Fortunately, you are trying to sell items in an affiliate program that is on the Internet. That means you can also pick something that you can deliver over the Internet and skip shipping costs all together (like digital media). This is the ideal way to do business on the Internet, if your affiliate program is being put forward as a way to harvest backlinks. You don't want to spend too much time becoming a retailer of products as much as finding ways to make money online without having to ship things to Timbucktoo.

Examples of products and services that can be done over long distances or in cyberspace are: eBooks, ghost written articles, freelance graphics design, courses, fortune telling, consulting services, coaching, business reports, music clips, art clips, online seminars and workshops, useful computer scripts, applications, software, advertising, hosting services, and much more! As long as you can provide a product or service in virtual cyberspace that doesn't involve you in extra inventory delivery headaches, you've got it made.

How To Establish An Affiliate Program

There are three different ways you can establish an affiliate program. One, you can go to an affiliate network and hire someone who manages programs and who will sign you up as an advertiser. Secondly, you can find some an Application Service Providers (ASPs) who will set up an affiliate program on their servers and change you to host the system. Finally, you can create your own affiliate networking program by using software that plugs into your own existing website and manage the entire thing yourself. We will go over each option below.

AFFILIATE NETWORKS

These offer the least amount of control, but the quickest way to link up to people willing to try your affiliate program to make money. It does cost you money to sign up and also on a rotating basis to keep the program alive. You do not get to work with your affiliates directly.