Credit: maximumpc.com

Internet rage has come to a totally new level thanks to social media. Comments that are full of obscene language, derogatory terms and all the foul speech you can think of.  If you are a company using social media to get clients and get those sales up, is internet rage good for your company? Here are some things to think about:

It’s more of a protest. When people express their disgust on something posted on your wall, it’s not like they’re just being bad. Usually, they do have valid reasons behind these comments. Social media has therefore become a place people can protest about anything they want without worrying about facing any consequences.  Is this good for your company then? Well, since many people who share the sentiments will ‘like’ or comment in the same manner, you’ll be able to determine if there is need to address their complaints.

It moves to action. Think of it-without social media, how would you know what your customers really feel about your product? How would you know if you have to change  your strategies or something?  You wouldn’t. You’d be in the dark just hoping your doing the right thing and chances are by the time you realize your unpopularity, you would  have had a lot of losses made.  With internet rage though, you get to change course before it’s too late.

What should y0u do about it? Blocking or banning people who tend to post ‘negative’ comments on  your wall really won’t get you anywhere. If you block them on your page, they simply might start a new page focused on ‘bringing you down’! Yep, a thousand ‘angry’ comments is far better and easier to deal with than a thousand ‘pages’. The truth is, internet rage can be used to  your benefit. You can address serious concerns as they come and change  your company’s direction with these comments.

Read more here.

Credit:oracledigital.com

Everyone who’s been using social media for marketing their company surely know that this alone cannot guarantee your success. Not only will you have a hard time balancing your efforts on all those social media sites.  There are a few tools and platforms that can be a huge help to get those sites organized.

1. Verticalresponse.com- This sites imports your ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ on  your favorite sites to your email. This helps you keep all your updates in your mail.
2. Livego.com- This is another ‘all in one’ site that can keep all your social media accounts in one place. You can log into all your sites and update them on a single site. This is definitely far more convenient than having to log into all your sites one by one.
3. yamlabs.com- ‘Yet Another Meeting’ is a nice place where you can organize your stuff. You can keep your agendas, notes and all in this single site.
4. Mywebcareer.com-this site is able to analyze data from LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.The strengh of your networks is used as a basis. It also gives advice for improvement.

If you get all the right tools and use the right platforms for your social media marketing, you’ll be able to get the best results.

Read more here.

Credit:divessi-indo.com

Let’s face it-KEEPING customers loyal to you is much harder than FINDING them. You may simply have been the people they came in contact with when they needed your services but it doesn’t really mean that they will close their doors on using your competitors as well. How can you get your customers to be loyal to you and only you?

Social media can be a huge help in this area. You can use your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and all to make sure that  your customers stick to you.  Here’s why this will work.

1. If you have a brand on these sites and connect with your customers, they will likely share this with friends. In short, simply showing some appreciation and getting them to be connected will be all you need to get even more customers! It’ll be as good as ‘using’ them to market for you.
2. People will more likely choose their word over yours. Being a company, you will only sound like you are after more customers but from somebody who has tried your services, they are more likely to believe.

There you have it. With social media around, keeping your customers loyal to you doesn’t have to be  difficult. Simply create a page, get connected to keep them interested and even get them to share you with friends.

Read more here.

Have you ever wondered just what makes people ‘like’ or ‘share’ stuff? It’s definitely not random so just why do people decide to ‘like’ one thing and not the other? The answer is really interesting.

In a nutshell, this is what was discovered in a recent research done on the matter:

If something results in higher physiological “arousal” because of action or emotional stimulus, then you’re much more likely to share it—it’s actually built into our nervous system, working unconsciously.

This takes social media marketing to a totally different level! The way you word whatever you are trying to sell or promote matters to the nth degree. So how exactly can you get people ‘aroused’ so that they ‘like’ or ‘tweet’ what you share?

You have to get them EMOTIONALLY involved somehow. It may be by making them laugh, getting them angry(in a good way), or some other ‘positive’ emotion. Do this and they’ll ‘retweet’ and ‘share’ automatically even without really liking your product.

The thing to avoid here is those ‘negative’ emotions. You get them sad, depressed or neutral and you won’t have such good results.  It really does make sense when you think about it:

What sites, links or pictures are you likely to tell your friends about? Yes, those that made you laugh out loud, or were somehow ‘contraversial’ in nature.

You don’t ‘feel’ anything, you don’t share it-it’s as simple as that. So start thinking how to get people engaged on an emotional level now!

Read more here.

I’m a fitness fanatic these days. I live an existence of protein shakes and insane workouts. In fact, I just did the Spartacus Workout 2.0 that nearly wiped the floor with my carcass.

Another equally gut-busting workout is the phenomenon known as P90X.

I personally don’t use P90X but my wife does and so does some of my other freaks.

For those who don’t know, P90X is a killer fitness product that’s taken the world by storm, mainly because the founder Tony Horton is an insane info-marketer (that’s for another post!) and they crush it with their info-mercials.

Anyway… In a recent interview with Men’s Health, Tony revealed four P90X fitness principles. I found the 3rd one relevant to not just health but life and business as well…

Find (and Flirt) with the Line

The Line is your discomfort threshold. It’s the one pushup beyond what you think you can do. It’s that extra agonizing rep after you’ve finished a set. But it’s not just the effort that’s important; it’s the desire to want to go there again and again. That’s the secret to becoming fit.

And it’s the reason Horton scoffs at walking, riding an exercise bike while reading, or doing any mild form of cardio as a sole means of fitness. “Walking is just a waste of time for most people,” he says. “We’re primates and we walk—that’s what we do. And even though it’s better than doing nothing, it’s not enough. You have to find that Line in whatever you’re doing and continually push it out.”

P90X at your place Use Horton’s discomfort scale to gauge where you are during your workout.

10 = so brutal, so awful, you’re miserable.
9 = just short of the above.
7 or 8 = really hard, but you’re maintaining form and hanging in there.
6 = it’s not a 7 or 8, but you’re working as hard as you can today.
5 = you can do more…but you’re not.
1 to 4 = unless it’s a recovery day, you’re wasting your time.
The Line is at 6, 7, or 8 on the scale.

The main reason why our business isn’t experiencing quantum growth is because we neither find nor flirt with the line. We are comfortable with what works and stick with that, ignoring the dynamic nature of the changing rules of the marketplace.

I remembered when I just refused to outsource. Even though me and my wife were stretched to the brim from doing all the work ourselves, we were making 5 figures so why allow some random hire to screw up a good thing.

It’s only out of the threat of burn out we started outsourcing. Was it uncomfortable? You bet. Were we endlessly frustrated from our rookie mistakes? Hell yeah. Did we feel like running away from the line and doing what feels good? Yup.

Yet its when we push through that true breakthrough happens. We now have 10 people working under us and our business has grown geometrically. We deal with some of the biggest portals in our region. All because we flirted with the line and build our team.

The line can look different to you. It can be paid traffic. It can be SEO. It can be creating your very first product. Heck, it could be just getting off your bum and doing something, anything.

Find your line, and flirt with it over and over again. In the physical realm, your muscles will grow. In the self-development realm, your character will grow. In the business realm, your wallet will grow.

What is your line? And how do you plan to flirt with it?

Interesting really.

With the massive success of Groupon and Google’s rumored $2.5 Billion purchase, the notion of online coupons hitting the mainstream seems to be now. It’s almost like right now, as long as you have a coupons offer or you provide those kind of services, it’s nearly an instant money-maker.

Heck, even now the good ol’ DMA are in on the act. What next? Coupons in Direct Mail? Bank on it.

Anyway, you can read more about it here:

Earlier this year, research from Airwide Solutions and mobileSQUARED found that digital coupons, text messaging and online search will account for some of the main UK mobile marketing tactics that brands will embrace over the next five years.

Read more here.

I’ll explain why my wife’s hurtful words made me thankful… Before that, there’s another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving…

…And that’s a heartfelt thank you for sticking around for my now infrequent emails.

I just want to say I’m sorry.

It’s just that life has been pretty crazy. The business has just grown like crazy, and we’ve been trying to keep up.

Over the course of the last year… We added 6 people to the team… Became the SEO superstars to the biggest property portal in Asia… Spoke around the world… Made a killing from Adsense…

I’m not saying that to boast. Nor is it an excuse for my lack of communication.

But all I’m saying is that the internet marketing dream is possible – where you make money while you sleep, earn more in one week than you do the whole year, work from anywhere in the world.

However… the internet marketing dream is not easy. If it was–then there wouldn’t only be a dozen or so peers who are making a full time living online in my country with a population of 27,467,837.

In fact…

Here’s the no.1 reason why most people fail to make money on the Internet…

They don’t treat it like a business.

Here’s the harsh truth…

5 years ago, hobby efforts got you hobby income. You wrote a few EzineArticles, slapped on your affiliate link, and voila… You got some grocery money for the month.

Today, 5 years down the line, hobby efforts get you ZERO income. The prior hobbyist who had a little more success than average has developed million dollar businesses with an army of outsourcers and a near unlimited advertising budget.

And unless you rise above the ranks of hobbyist to become a business person, you’re never going to succeed in this space.

Sorry if I sound a little brutal.

But you know the only reason why I can say that?

I was one of these hobbyists just a few months ago.

And the only reason I’m not one anymore is because of the verbal lashing my usually demure wife gave me.

Even though it stings to admit it, for this whole year I treated Puppet String Marketing like a hobby, when I was supposed to treat it like business.

Don’t get me wrong, we make a decent living from Puppet String Marketing. The thing is… We could have been a lot bigger than we already are.

In the space of 2 years of doing business… I have passed up countless opportunities (even strategic alliances with the biggest guns on the planet), left money on the table due to a lack of implementation, and left my wife holding the bag.

And then… Came the obvious question…

Why was I acting in such a baffling way?

The answer is twofold.

1. I don’t have a “do whatever it takes” mindset
2. Action requires overcoming inertia

You see… I have always mistaken my superior marketing and copywriting skills for the actual running of the business. I ignored the “boring” aspects of cash flow in favor of cool ideas and persuasion. Even though marketing is really important, a biz owner’s role expands far more than that.

The bulk of online marketers are just technicians. Good at the theory of marketing, but unable to create a business out of it.

Now… you start to find an explanation for the local marketing boom of 2010. This industry has bred a ton of marketers with just an inkling of direct response knowledge –but no actual business acumen.

No wonder they’re doomed to failure.

And I was going down that forlorn route until my wife saved me.

And that’s my first point, that the hallmark of a successful entrepreneur is in the willingness to suffer until the business venture reaches breakthrough.

I guess I was seduced by the promise of instant riches.

Well… I did make a ton of money with my launches. But I wasn’t willing to do more of them, since it takes work.

And I wasn’t certainly investing in systems and outsourcing processes. Too much tedium. Thank you very much.

No business is going to sustain with that kind of chronic laziness.

Here’s the surprising thing…

Most of the internet millionaires you know work really, really hard.

They work when they’re on holiday. They work even crazier hours than those who are employed.

This brings me to my second point. You may not be achieving your fullest potential because its darn hard to get out of a state of stagnation.

After all… A body at rest tends to stay the rest…

That is…

Until external force is used.

In my case, it was my wife being uncharacteristically sharp. Reminding me we’re not in the business just for our own survival… But so that we can positively impact the nations with our ideas and our finances.

What’s your external force?

God? Not becoming homeless? Paying off debts?

Until you get one… Nothing is going to change. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Well… This is my thanksgiving lesson to you. To succeed in the internet marketing realm. You need these 2 things – a “whatever it takes” mindset, and a willingness to overcome inertia and take action.

And yes… Me and the wife are still very much in love.

Hope this helps you. Would love to know your thoughts in the comments section. So write away!

You discovered the Brandagon. You know how to create a personal brand that can help you dominate your marketplace.

Now, in this video sample of my spanking new Branding Salvation System, you’ll learn how you use social media to spread your brand EVERYWHERE. Watch the stunning Stranglehold Strategy in action:

Remember… Just 2 more days until the unveiling of the Branding Salvation System. Here’s a sneak peek of what you get:

Module 1

C2C Branding 101: Unleashing the Ideavirus

• The dirty little secret of Ogilvy — revealed. This simple positioning tweak can double your response rates nearly instantly.
• Introducing the C2C Brand. This stands for Consumer-to-Consumer branding. This is the quickest, easiest way to attract a hungry mob of buyers–without spending a red cent.
• “Oh no, not another life coach?!” Lower barriers of entry means that you’re probably experiencing escalating levels of competition. Discover the amazing “big boy” strategy that’ll leave them to eat your dust!
• PLUS: What’s the ultimate leverage point for your business? The startling answer is probably not what you think.
• The Unique Selling Proposition is dead. Why? Too many competitors with similar function. The amazing alternative here.
• And much, much more.

Module 2

Beyond the Purple Cow: The DEA Personal Branding Structure

• Branding gurus Al Ries and Jack Trout says this, “If you can, be first. If you can’t be first, create a new category in which you can be first.” How to use the astonishing “Unique Emotional Proposition” principle to rapidly become the rock star in your niche.
• How to exploit the crucial relationship between the UEP and C2C Brand for unfair competitive advantage.
• Imagine playing soccer upside down… What Adidas can teach you about profitable differentiation.
• PLUS: Astounding 3 step DEA Process that can help structure your personal brand. Easy way to stand out like a Purple Cow.
• PLUS: How does weeping and heartbreak help in building a formidable brand?
• And much, much more.

Module 3

Intersection of Realities: How to Uncover Your Target Market in Minutes

• Intersection of Realities: 3 stunning secrets to read your market like an open book. Easiest way to craft hyper-targeted blockbuster campaigns that your prospects will devour.
• Your prospect are at their most “eager-to-buy” state when you scratch their Immediate Itch. Simple yet reliable technique to uncover what it is — every single time.
• The hidden, high risk of of a Frank Kern video. You can bungle your marketing campaigns if you don’t take into account which gurus your market listens to. Subtle differences, huge implications!
• PLUS: How playing God can help you create the most optimal positioning for you in the marketplace.
• And much, much more…

Module 4

Behold the Brandagon: Your Inception Weapon

• Working with designers doesn’t have to be torture. How to use a mood board to effectively communicate your visual needs.
• 3 surprising websites to outsource your design work–for as much as 78% off market rates!
• Behold the Brandagon. The 5 little-known ways to spread your brand like an virus in your prospect’s minds in under 3 seconds.
• WARNING: Big business are all part the Acronym Conspiracy, ensuring that their ideas have a vice-like grip on your mind. How you can apply this strategy to your business for extremely lucrative ends.
• PLUS: Being a friend to everyone increases sales, right? WRONG. Why polarization is profitable.
• PLUS: Avoid paying for overpriced stock photos. 2 overlooked sources of free graphics.
• And much, much more.

Module 5

Stomp the Yard: Massive Syndication Secrets

• How to “drown” your prospect by flooding the net with your content. Quick way to transform the entire internet into your own personal stomping grounds.
• BEYOND THE BLOG POST: The single fastest way to syndicate your content everywhere–and I mean EVERYWHERE
• Studies have shown in the knowledge economy, information overload is the biggest side effect. Why taking the “art gallery” approach can create a stellar reputation for you
• PLUS: Do this to become the head of a tribe of evangelists. No idea gone un-retweeted from now on.
• PLUS: How to effectively monetize social media with the 3C technique
• And much, much more.

Module 6

Three Degrees of Conversion: How to Boost Response Rates to the Moon

• Mass Conversion: Automate this system to create a daily flow of prospects, buyers and evangelists — without spending a single extra dime.
• Why the brutal action of “twisting the knife” helps in creating a deeper, more ravenous hunger in your prospect for your product–and your product alone!
• The number one way to boost the clickthroughs in your content by as much as 124%. (CONFESSION: It’s rather rude!)
• PLUS: How the Super Six Persuasive Content Framework structures your articles and blog posts to make people flood you with cash.
• PLUS: Did you know video constitutes a whopping 25% of the content online? 5 simple steps to achieve staggering Youtube success.
• And much, much more…

Module 7

The Bloghound Model: Curating Your Way to Cash Flow

• Create an authority blog in under 5 minutes a day. 3 sneaky ways to decrease writing but increase traffic
• The pro-blogger model is dead. Why writing long, high-quality blog posts are a waste of your precious time. What do do instead.
• Filter over filler. How popular blog Boing Boing paved the way for bloghounds to thrive. The quickest, easiest to get in on the scoop of the hottest news stories.
• PLUS: 5 seconds = 120 visitors? How to write Tweets and Facebook status updates that unleash a floodgate of clicks
• And much more.

Get ready to get your mind blown and wallet filled up

In the meantime… Leave a comment if this video has helped you.

Imagine a magic machine.

And imagine that when you pour in all your marketing efforts into this machine, you’ll start seeing double, triple even quadruple your results without expending any more effort than you should.

Take all your online marketing activities…

• Blog posts…
• EzineArticles…
• Youtube…

Take all your content and plonk it into this mysterious contraption…

Suddenly…  You start seeing exponential results.

Where you were once making $997 per ad campaign. You’re now making $1997. Maybe even $4997…

We call it the Great Amplifier.

And no, this isn’t some overhyped guru product. Nor is it some newfangled SEO loophole. It isn’t even a software service or product.

This “magic machine” exists in the realm of the mind.

Yes, it’s almost like that hot movie out right now – Inception. It’s all about the power of a sticky idea…

What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient… highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate. An idea that is fully formed – fully understood – that sticks; right in there somewhere. ~ Cobb

Like the Christopher Nolan-helmed movie, the Great Amplifier takes your idea and wedging it deep into your prospect’s consciousness. And that idea could be a marketing message… A suggestion to buy your product… An idea to inspire them to change the world… Whatever the case… An idea deep rooted enough nearly always lead to action… And for your customers, that idea could be a buying one…

The end result? Profit for you.

Wait… It gets better… Imagine replicating that effect over and over and over again. A mass conversion from cold prospect to warm leads to red hot buyers. Automated forever. This is true niche domination, my friend… Once you can wrap your head around the forbidden truth that is going to be revealed by the Puppet Master tomorrow…

The seed that we plant in YOUR mind could change everything. ~ Cobb (paraphrased)

Prepare for it… You’re about to discover a breakthrough way of marketing that will fatten your coffers in a way like you never seen before. Watch out for an email tomorrow revealing the secret location of the never-before-seen video.

Get ready for an inception.

Watch this video to find out why the barriers of entry are infinitely HARSHER in your pursuit of the online marketing dream. If you’re still living in the “all I need is sweat labor to get rewarded” bubble, then you owe it to yourself to watch this video now:

Here’s a brief summary…

There are 4 different barriers to entry:

1. Teams - You need groups of people to grow your business exponentially.
2. Connections – Without JVs, you can’t enjoy the accelerated returns the gurus can give you.
3. Age - Domain age is one of the biggest keys towards getting an authority site.
4. Systems – Internet marketing requires complexity to generate a profit. Here’s how.

All these things need capital. So here are the 4 ways to raise capital:

1. Get a business loan.
2. Get an angel.
3. Do a product launch
4. Build the business organically.

What do you think? How have you found the suite of videos so far? Please leave a comment below.