A good rule of thumb to determine your initial bid is as follows:

Assume average conversion rate: 1% = 0.01 (5%-10% for pay per lead)

Let’s say your commission payout is : $20

Then a good place for you to start bidding 1% x $20 = 0.01 x $20

This is because the conversion rate times the commission (affiliate payout) = EPC (earnings per click)

So if your bid = EPC you’re breaking even then you can optimise your campaign to hit profit…

Ideally you need to KNOW your EPC or your conversion rate for ppc traffic which you can get from your affiliate manager.

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Who was their target audience?
What offer were they pushing?
Where was that offer being offered/pushed/displayed?
When was that offer being presented?
Why was it succesful?

Advertising, who advertises what in commercial breaks in between football matches, kids TV, chat shows etc ?

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Are there already people doing this that are wildly successful?

Am I able to replicate their success? If not, why?

Am I spending time on something which I do not know whether it will make me money

Find an offer

Research demand for offer

Research supply for offer

Do keyword research

Write ad and get it up on Yahoo/MSN/Google

Test and track. If profitable, increase keyword list. Else, scrap and move on

Track keywords for profitability, adgroups for higher CTR%, and delete non-performing keywords and reword less CTR%

Repeat

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A study conducted by uSwitch has shown that we have the lowest levels of disposable income for 10 years. With more and more of our hard earned money having to cover the essentials, we’re left with just 33% of our gross salary to spend on “non essentials” such as socialising, holidays and hobbies.

Today, it is more important than ever that you review your household and personal finances and make sure you’re on the best deal.

Here are 7 money saving switches that could save you over £1300 and make this Christmas a very merry one!

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Discuss ways of making money and investment strategies with like minded people at TalkFinances.com

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This is a book I recently read whilst on holiday & found it easy to read & excellent motivator for budding entrepreneurs. Heres a quick intro:

“Inspired by the true story of a flight with Sir Richard Branson, Millionaire Upgrade blows the lid off the accepted belief that successful entrepreneurs are a breed apart, possessing some special magic.

Through the combined wisdom of interviews with 50 self-made millionaire entrepreneurs, this book takes you on your own personal master class in success, as experienced through the eyes of Tom, a frustrated employee who is upgraded on a long haul flight, and finds himself sitting next to self made millionaire Michael. During the flight Michael shares the science and secrets behind his own success.

Better than any in-flight movie, Millionaire Upgrade gets you inside the minds of successful entrepreneurs and self-made millionaires giving you the inside track on how they think and act.”

And heres what other successful entrepreneurs have said about this excellent publication:

“It took me a long time to learn this stuff—I wish I’d been on that plane 30 years ago!”
—Simon Woodroffe – YO! Sushi & Dragons Den

“The principles of success apply equally whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, chief executive of a large plc or simply looking for inspiration for your own personal life. Here’s where you start, by reading this book.”
—Allan Leighton – Chairman, Royal Mail

“If you want a toolkit to help you become a successful entrepreneur, read this book. Then put it into practice.”
—Duncan Bannatyne – Bannatyne Leisure & Dragons Den

“Everything in business is a learning experience. I should know! I’d recommend all would-be entrepreneurs to read this book and be inspired to boldly set out on your own entrepreneurial journey. You won’t regret it.”
—Rachel Elnaugh – Red Letter Days and Dragons’ Den

“It is refreshing to find a book that describes the key difference between the entrepreneur and the rest – attitude. So often in life a cigarette paper’s thickness separates success from failure and Richard has written a book that perfectly captures this and suggests a way of thinking that can transform the tin of dog food into a thoroughbred racehorse.”
—Tim Smit – Eden Project

“Millionaire Upgrade captures the essence of what it takes to be successful in anything you choose to do. The rules of success are timeless and simply explained so you can apply them in your own business or personal life.”
—BJ Cunningham – Founder of Death Cigarettes

“In Millionaire MBA, Richard decoded entrepreneurs and unpicked their millionaire mindset. With Millionaire Upgrade, he has put it all back together again through IBELIEVE and a compelling story. Very clever and a must read for any budding entrepreneur!”
—Rene Carayol – Leadership Guru

“It takes a certain mindset to succeed in creating your own business. This book spells out how you need to think and act to succeed – whether you are an entrepreneur or a professional manager. It’s a great read too.”
—Matthew Barrett – Chairman, Barclays Bank

Read more here

After reading Shoemoney’s blog on how much money he made in one month from promoting other people’s products using pay per click engines such as Google Adwords, Yahoo PPC & MSN AdCenter I decided to give it a go myself.

I already have a Commission Junction account which has a wide range of affilliate products but as the reporting is slow I decided to setup a AzoogleAds account as most of their products offer realtime reporting so I will know when I’ve made a sale & where the sale came from pretty much instantly.

I consider real time reporting as a crucial point after reading how many people have got burnt by trying to make it via PPC engines. At least with instant reporting I can react immediatley, if I have to wait 24 hours to get my sales stats my Adwords & other PPC accounts could have burnt through $x,000′s & I havent even made a single sale!

These are what I consider keypoints in making money from PPC via selling other people products:

1) Product demand

2) Product competition

3) What does the client have to do to convert into a sale for me ie. enter their mobile number, fill in a registration form, submit credit card details etc.

4) Cost per click for my target keywords

5) Payout from AzoogleAds for each conversion

6) A realisitc CPC to Conversion ratio to make sure theres potentially some profit here

So what im looking for is a product in demand with low competition, doesn’t require too much input from the potential customer to convert, low cost per click & a good payout. Hmm doesnt sound that easy !

Well Im off to start making a list of possible targets & scripting some adverts for my PPC campaigns.

To be continued…….

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Dont take my word for how successful Ewen Chia and his ‘Secret Afilliate Weapon’ course is, read some endorsements from people who have bought it & started generating loads of cash for them on auto pilot!

Click here to see what your missing out on!

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“The Amazing Secret Weapon Of A World Class Super Affiliate That Forces Avalanches Of Instant Cash Into YOUR Bank Account Automatically…Even If You Don’t Have A List, Website Or Product Now!”

From: Ewen Chia

Date: Friday, May 26, 2006

Dear Friend,

Read this letter now as I’m going to show you how to make massive amounts of instant cash from affiliate programs on complete autopilot!

There’s absolutely no hype to this nor do you require any special talent to succeed wildly with what you’re about to discover.

Take it from me – I’ve been there, done that and taken part in countless affiliate promotions for amazingly huge checks month after month…

In fact I’ve been the top affiliate for more programs than I can remember, and those ‘in the know’ refer to me as the “Super Affiliate’s Super Affiliate”…

While I don’t care for such ‘tags’, the important thing for you to realize is – when it comes to having the credentials, networks and leverage in this ‘cut throat’ affiliate business, I’m someone you’d want on your side…

“Secret Affiliate Weapon: How To Create Avalanches Of Instant Cash Into YOUR Bank Account Automatically!”

Click here to download & read the rest of this free report.

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After years of running various small businesses I have finally come to conclude that people are bad for your profits! What made me arrive at this conclusion? Well obviously it’s a very broad statement & people are not always bad for profits. Of course they are not, as many businesses make all their money by selling to the end consumer. But I believe there are better ways for people looking to set up a small profitable business than dealing direct with customers to make their money.

When considering about 50% of small businesses fail within the first year you need to make your business as smooth & efficient as possible. Especially if there are only a few employees or you are the only employee.

This is where people are bad for your profits. Dealing directly with the customer in order to close a sale & then thereafter support the customer if/when any future issues arise will be a major drain on your very limited resources. How much time can you really afford to spend on each customer to make X amount of profit? Do you really have the resource to be able to provide the after sales service as well, which will enhance your reputation in the community & hopefully earn you more sales? If you don’t provide a good after sales service you will soon get a bad reputation & your business will fail before it has even begun! I believe this is the mistake many people make when setting up their small business, the reality of the time required to deal with customers directly and still make a profit.

People are all different as are their requirements. This is the variable that makes it hard to automate any business where you have to deal directly with the customer. I believe that letting the companies already geared up with all the logistics of dealing direct with customers is the key in setting up a profitable new business with minimum overheads.

The key to making money in business is how can you serve more people & in turn generate more money? But after what I have just talked about we want to serve more people without draining company resources. Well if you are looking to set up a new business I would look at setting up an online business & sell other people’s products or services through your website. This means you can concentrate on generating your online sales & let the company who you are representing deal with the customer. This way if you generate 10 sales a day or 1000 sales a day it makes no difference to the load on resources within your small business, let the company you are representing deal with the extra costs and you concentrate on making the sales & more importantly money!

If you are successful in this and start making good profits with low overheads then maybe you can look at expanding your business in to different areas but at least this way you are giving yourself a chance to beat the statistics.

Until you have established a cash generative & profitable business people ARE bad for your profits!

Check out our making money & small business forum

Like this article? Digg it!

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A RECENT survey of how eyes read a web page shows that most users read in an F shaped pattern.

The test, which has been carried out by boffins working for the Nielsen Norman Group, monitored what the eye balls of 232 users were doing when they looked at web pages.

Much to their surprise they found that users first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area.

Next, they move down the page a bit and then read across in a second horizontal movement that typically covers a shorter area than the previous movement.

Lastly they scan the content’s left side in a vertical movement. The group has published pictures of a typical reading here here, but if the report is correct then it could have a few implications for web designers and news sites.

Firstly no one is going to read text word-by-word and most are only going to read the first two paragraphs.

In other words, you are all tabloid readers and if you have got this far in a story you are in an incredible minority. So really I write what I like about your mother down here and you will never know. [You're fired Nick. Ed.] µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=31057

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

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You own a website?

You have got targeted traffic?

But you don’t know how to make money from your website and the traffic it generates ? Well your not alone, I wonder how many people out there are missing out on thousands of dollars each month by not knowing how to monetize their websites!

Click Here to find out more

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A greater sense of freedom is the basis of most people’s desire to have more money in their lives. Having more money doesn’t guarantee more freedom, but it is the belief that inspires the desire.

Now, let’s take a look at a person who wants more freedom and has decided to significantly increase her wealth. How does she go about it? Where does she begin? Where will she make her first million?

There are a few general areas where a person could direct attention: real estate, stock market, internet, information marketing, and business of all kinds – from network marketing to producing widgets.

In their eagerness to create wealth, people sometimes make the mistake of trying to make a go of it in all of these areas at once. And it is true that ultimately, a person should have multiple streams of income.

But most people who eventually do create massive income from a variety of sources made their breakthrough by initially focusing intensely in one area.

If you’d like to join them in financial success, instead of being all over the map, choose an area to develop expertise. Once you’ve achieved success in that area, you’ll have the confidence and foundation to move on to the next area and the next after that. But first, focus.

How do you choose where to focus?

First, take a personal inventory. Wherever you end up making your first million, it will be related to something you already enjoy. If it isn’t innately satisfying work, you’re unlikely to stick with it, no matter how surefire a get-rich idea it seemed at first.

Second, does it have leverage? You can never get rich trading your time/expertise for money. You might get the resources to invest in real estate, or business, or the market by trading your time for money, but if you have to be physically present in order for whatever you do to make money, then it’s an unlikely ticket to massive wealth – even if you’re providing a high end service like a lawyer, doctor, etc.

The income doesn’t have to be passive, such as royalties from intellectual property; residual income is fine, such as overrides from network marketing. But the area of focus has to be a venture that can make money while you sleep, so to speak. In real estate, that might be a matter of appreciating value or rental income. Online, that might be an information product that clients download. You get the idea.

Third, can it be systemized? By creating a system, you remove your personality from the equation. Anyone can step in and do what is necessary to keep the ball rolling. With a system, you are replaceable. You can still own whatever it is that makes the money, but you don’t have to *do* the money-making actions.

Once you’ve narrowed your focus, what next?

Find a mentor, someone who has succeeded doing something similar to what you want to do. The mentoring could come via role models you never personally meet, but who have shared their expertise through books or other media that you can study. In addition, however, a personal mentor or coach is tremendously helpful to you in maintaining focus.

Once you’ve narrowed your focus and have studied what others have done to succeed in your area of interest, you’re ready to make a plan of action and take the first step. Then, keep taking steps and keep your focus; you will create the wealth you desire.

 
Lila Norden is a career and business consultant. Lila offers valuable information to help you make decisions about your business growth and development. Visit her web site F-Com Finances. Additional articles by Lila are also at FLS Job and FP Employment

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

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This is where the rubber meets the road. Traction is something we all lack when we are doing our research and ultimate field tests in the quest for our first million. More traction would be great whatever step in the ladder you are at.

We generally focus on helping fledgling millionaires in our work because it is the most rewarding and gives us the greatest bang for our buck. To see an individual go from clueless to savvy in a fortnight is a gratifying experience. When its our resources that helped that transformation, then its very satisfying indeed. So thats the area we focus on here. This is for people who need direction but have small resource capital to manufacture acceptable results.

So lets give you a little traction before you sieze your jets.

The following 5 strategies will give you the moves to take you to the first level. -A guy with a proven idea that can be replicated-

(An enviable position to be in)

1) Lets get this straight. Million dollar bank balances are numerical in nature. By that I mean a million bucks is not made up of 1 large million dollar bill. Its made up of exactly one million single’s. Or to go to the lowest common denominator, its actually numerically made up of One thousand, million (or 1 billion) cents.

Make money fast and easy by thinking of money as numerical and therefore exponential. A dollar that you hold in your hand is the same as $1 million dollars. No difference at all. Its a seed that grows into a tree, then that tree spurrs more seeds. (I apolgize for the metaphor, but how else can we put this so you understand the nature of the reality as it is)

2) When you approach your 1 million dollar goal, you are biting off much much more then you can chew thinking about that million.

To make money fast and easy always think small. Refine, refine, refine. Then duplicate, duplicate, duplicate. Are you with me? Is this making sense? Make a simple little mouse trap, then make lots of mouse traps exactly the same way.

3) Find demand and supply into that demand.

To make money fast and easy, even before you think about “what” you will do, you are going to research demand. You will become an expert at sniffing out needs. This skill is a millionaires bow and arrow. Let me tell you, most millionaires couldn’t hit the side of a barn much less the bulls eye. But they DO know this. So their aim is not important. What is important is that the target is nice and gigantic. How can they miss?

Trust me, its what millionaires do, its how millionaires think. Always supply into Fat juicy demand where the pickin is easy. Do you want medals of bravery or a million bucks asap?

4) Have a structure you never deviate from.

They always failed to plan when they planned to fail. Once your research is done never deviate from it. Give it a good run but if it doesnt work out for you then move on without shedding a single tear. Chance and “chaos theory” are fascinating things. Probability is what millionaires deal with. They never delude themselves into believing in absolutes.

To make money fast and easy, you will not work backwards or second guess yourself. Plant yourself firmly in the middle of the road on the high side and go forward. Don’t make it up as you go. Stick to what your demand planning told you to do. Many give up after 1 failure, but probability is a funny thing. We think we can control it, but even when all your ducks are lined up in a row, it may not work. But give it a chance and let it prove itself and you may find over a number of attempts you will get the results you expected.

5) Diversify AND Go deep.

They call out diversify when it comes to investing. Fair enough. Things change and relying on just one source for your income stream is dangerous. And it is. But there are two sides to every coin.

The pareto principle states that reality and probability are stacked unevenly. We as rational human beings think of everything as equal and even. However scientific evidence and business experience tells a different story. The pareto principle is also known as the 80/20 rule. It states that 80% of your results comes from 20% of your activities. Is this significant if true? You bet. It means that of every effort you make, of all the many things you do to manufacture your results, only 20% actually is responsible for a large proportion (in fact 80%) of them.

So what does this mean in English? It means you can easily quadruple your results by finding out what that special 20% activity is and stop doing everything else. By focusing on just that 20% activity you will not only increase results, but you will create a new pareto principle refined of the old one at a higher level. In this way you move forward and evolve your activities to higher and higher levels.

To your health and rapid success.

Jack Reynolds is Operations manager for http://www.opportunity-investor.com/. Jack is a professional investor who trades in real estate, Art, Precious Stones and Sea going Vessels He has followed Martin Thomas his mentor and CEO of the company for over 5 years and has managed to accumulate a large fortune during this time.

• 

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For a long time I have been thinking to my self, how can I build my wealth?

In this article I will present my answer to this question. If you have a steady job (maybe even two), with long working hours each week, this article is for you. You will learn the steps you need to take in order to build your income and control your financial world.

It had all begun, when I realized that I should do something more, to generate extra income, but what? I also realized, that there aren’t enough hours in the day to take up extra work in another job and even then, how much more can I earn? Out of multiple jobs or from working over time, I will not triple my income or make enough money to start building my wealth.

So what should you do? How do you actually become rich? Does it happen only by getting an inheritance, or by passive income generating from many assets? All these are great, but I don’t have them – yet. Then, I discovered that I should start thinking differently and start doing things in a different way than the way I did things until now.

The answer to “how to become rich” begins with this basic equation – the total of all earnings should be grater then the total of all expenses (you must know that equation). Although it is a simple one, the human nature does not enable its existence in a proper way. If it is on account of habitual expanses or the aspiration to modernize the living standard and its quality, if for ourselves or in order to provide the competitive-social urge.

In order to become rich, a number of conditions should be met:

1. You need to start thinking like a rich man, i.e. to know at any given moment how much money do you have and how these funds are distributed – Is it allotted to luxury, to expenses of sustenance, or on investments, etc.? (you can do it by reading Kiyosaki’s book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”)

2. It is up to you, to acquire a suitable education in the field of money management in the most basic level, such as, How to leverage your extra money (there is always extra, “luxury” money, it all comes down to the question of preferences)? You need to learn how to manage risks in online and offline investments, the stock exchange or even at your own bank. Then, with that “luxury” money and with the proper leveraging, you will be able to invest in opportunities that will yield a passive income on a monthly basis for a meaningful yearly extra income.

3. Last but certainly not least, you must take the first step ahead and decide to implement sections 1 and 2. You must understand, those two simple (but hard to do) sections, are the only thing that separates you from having financial freedom.

No, it is not easy and also requires great courage, therefore, 95% of the population remains only with the desire to be rich. If you didn’t inherit large amounts of money or assets, you need to know that to become rich or a millionaire, does not happen over night. This is a process you should endeavor for and build gradually by thinking and planning for the long run in order to succeed; But it is definitely possible.

If you will not make any changes in your present carrying on, in another five or ten years from now, there will be no drastic change in your financial status. The good news is, that you can implement the steps described above, change your expanse habits and your financial decisions and make the dream to become rich come true.

Who are those rich, millionaire people? They are people like you that have the courage to think and do things differently, they don’t necessarily have high education or have received a big inheritance. They simply dared to think on a major scale and took the risk, which lies within the change itself. I have realized that not everyone wants to be rich and not everyone should be rich, but if you imagine yourself with financial freedom and dare to dream, you should know, it is within your possibility to arrive there.

About the Author

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How do you treat money? What are your thoughts about it? If you value something, you treat it with respect, right? Well do you value your money then? Or do you treat it recklessly, spending it whenever you feel like it?

Your attitude towards your money determines how you handle it.

Money is supposed to serve you, to meet your needs and the needs of others. If you use it unwisely though, it won’t do what it’s supposed to do for you. You actually repel money when you use it the wrong way.

Your money is a valuable seed that can yield you great financial harvests if you sow it properly.

Money is energy, and if you wish to attract more of it, you must become money-conscious, and intelligent. Educate yourself about money and how it works, then act on what you learn.

A key to financial freedom is to save a portion of your income and invest what you save. That way your money goes to work on your behalf, yielding you returns while you pursue other interests. Saving and investing shows that you value your money. Your money will in return, ‘reward’ you by growing and being enough to meet your needs.

Can’t think of where to get the money to save?

Why not try this: stop buying things on impulse. What things, you say?

How about magazines, newspapers, cigarettes, snacks, buying lunch instead of packing lunch from home. Do you really need to have that CD single? Now I’m not asking you to deny yourself of these things. Just that you should budget for them. Factor them into your plans when you get your income.

Another key to your financial freedom is to give away a portion of it to the less fortunate. Remember how I said that money was energy? Well, when you give it away, you are operating from a place of abundance, and you attract even more abundance to yourself.

As John D. Rockefeller put it, whenever you receive any money,

. Give the first 10% to God or charity

. Pay yourself

. Save 10%

. Live within your means

. Account for every penny

Point is,if you look hard enough, you’ll find ways to reduce unneccessary spending and increase your saving and giving. Make these two activities a habit (and ideally make all the above tips from Mr Rockefeller habits).

Value your money. Recognize its worth. Educate yourself about it. Treat it with respect, and you will reap great financial benefits.

Dr Kem Thompson is a Wealth & Success Coach, Speaker, Author. She teaches individuals how to create wealth with integrity, and achieve true financial freedom. Financial freedom starts with financial intelligence, so begin your education by watching 2 short educational movies on this site, and contact Dr Thompson when you’re done: http://www.explorefreedom.com/drkem

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

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There are a lot of ways to make money if you have money. You don’t have to turn to complicated businesses or ordinary ways like bank C.D.’s. And you don’t even have to use your money. If you have credit cards, for example, you can get cash advances, and make money with the cash. These are ways that aren’t quite a business because you can do them once or only when you feel like it.

Invest In Other’s Expertise

My friend John had to show me several car magazines before I understood why an old fiberglass car was a good deal at $2,300, because I know nothing about cars. When he eventually convinced me to put up the money, it needed a new transmission for $900. Fortunately, he sold the corvette for $4,300, netting us about $1,000. I took half the profit ($500) for putting up the money for the two weeks.

I used to do this quite a bit years ago, and only once lost $50 or so on a car. I knew nothing about cars, so I did it with friends that know cars but don’t have cash. By the way, if I had paid 18% interest and a $50 cash advance fee to raise the money with a credit card, my profit would still have been over $400, and John did all the work. I love playing with money. Do you have any friends who know everything about boats?

Buy And Sell Mobile Homes

Pay cash and you get better prices on almost anything, including mobile homes. Sell with easy terms, and you get the highest price, because you are making it possible for someone to buy a home. More than one investor out there is buying and selling mobile homes.

I read one investors story about a recent deal he did. He bought a mobile for $4,000. The seller was asking $6,500, but was tired of waiting and paying the lot rent. The investor cleaned it up and sold it for $10,000, with $1000 down, payments of $250, and 10% interest on the balance. Did the buyer overpay? Hard to say, since his alternative may have been renting and having nothing to show for it in a few years, instead of having a home with some residual value.

Be A Loan Shark

People occasionally need money for a short while. A friend of mine for example, got a good paying construction job because I loaned him $300 to get drywall stilts. I used to do this often many years ago, and I never charged less than a $5/week as a loan fee (don’t call it interest). I made one or two thousand dollars extra some years doing this. If you have any qualms about it, check the laws in your area and put it all in writing. Also, if you want total security, take collateral.

Buy And Sell Estates

We recently met a couple who buy out estates, sell some of the things at flea markets, then run the rest through auctions. They’ve made a living doing this for years. They load up a trailer after negotiating to buy a whole house full of stuff. Then, if they don’t want to do the flea market thing, they just auction everything on Sunday afternoon for a nice profit. If you are a good judge of value and have a regular auction nearby, you could do the same with rummage sales. Just offer $100 for everything and then auction it off piece-by-piece. The auction near us lets anyone sell their stuff, with no fee to enter. They just take a 25% commission.

Playing With The Casino’s Money

I worked at a casino for years and I saw a lot of people foolishly writing down the numbers that came up on the roulette wheel. Foolishly, I say, because their their theories were nonsense. Casinos will always welcome these players and even hand them the pen and paper.

One player, however, was actually scientific about it. By finding a bias in the wheel, after “charting” it for 5,000 spins, he made thousands betting on just one or two numbers. When a number comes up, it pays 35 to 1, but one of the numbers, because of manufacturing imperfections or whatever reason, was coming up 1 in 27 spins, instead of the average 1 in 38 spins.

So all he had to do was bet $10 a spin, and he profited $80 for every 27 spins of the wheel in the long run. That’s about $100 per hour. The ups and downs are dramatic though, so this is not for the faint-hearted. In this case, I saw him lose as much as $700 in a night. Also, not all wheels have biases (they eventually replaced that wheel). So have you ever tried “card counting” in blackjack…? There are endless ways to make money.

Steve Gillman has been studying money for thirty years (and sometimes making a little). For interesting and useful information, visit his website, Unusual Ways To Make Money: http://www.unusualwaystomakemoney.com/

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