Build A Webpage that Sells! October 13, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentA webpage, as it’s referred to is one page. A website is made up of webpages.
Sometimes the one page sites are referred to as “mini-sites.
I like to think of them as an advertisement!
The reason I put up one page websites is to sell something.
In order to sell something my site has to satisfy some conditions.
It has to offer a solution to somebodys problem! And many peoples problem is that they don’t know how to build a webpage!
So a relevant example would be a site that sells web software and a tuition course for that software. Website making software is one of the biggest sales catagories on the web.
That’s precisely because they can be used for so many different things AND be made to reach those people who are interested in that websites offering.
Think about it! When you run an advertisement in the newspaper people who need tires for their car see your ad for pianos. Bad match.
But, when you make a website about the history of pianos…the people who type a search query into the Google box like “history of pianos” may discover you almost immediately. That’s relevance. These people are NOT looking for tires. Otherwise they would have typed in “tires”!
It’s a message to market match! That’s what makes websites work.
To make a website page (webpage, page) you need an HTML editor. Basically this is a word processor (sort of). When you type onto the page the word “Hello” the editor software creates the necessary HTML code that computers can read on the web.
You don’t want to know everything about this code. You want to be able to write “Click here for more info” on the page and when someone sees it on the webpage and clicks on it the software code takes the clicker right to it, right away.
These wonderful things are called “links”.
Thank you so much,
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade
PS:If you want to make simple sites that sell The first thing you need to be able to do is make one with an HTML Editor. I have a great offer at my website about websites. AND if you are interested (and who wouldn’t be) I also have a perfect product for you to sell on your spanky new webpage and it’s just $9 bucks.
My Methods Need Constant Improvement! October 12, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentHello Folks:
It was a quiet night even though our University had it’s homecoming and the football team won, too.
I remember one year when they lost. Marie had a boyfriend and he was in the game. It was Thanksgiving day and little Marie cried all the way through dinner.
Little things like that give me reason to NOT take myself too seriously.
I have had my slow days. What I recommend is…”Just keep pluggin’ along.”
Seriously folks, here is what I do to move ahead. Every day I pick what I think is the most important thing I could accomplish that would move my business forward. That’s the thing I do that day. That’s 30 things a month and, actually, many other details get handled in the process.
A while back I had this one website promoting a weight loss product. Big Market. Huge. Lots of guys making good money.
Not me. I had a bounce rate of 70%. Now, I’m a little nearsighted. But my Clickbank bars were so short that I had to have a friend find them for me.
Whenever a check came in I was literally shocked! I was afraid to cash it thinking I may have to send it back. And in any case the amount coming in was not good enough by a large margin.
I’ve had several Internet Marketing boondoggles.
But, and I don’t take this lightly, a very major Internet Marketing guru who I have studied for months on end, said…”You might only be a couple of tweaks before you hit it out of the park!” (or something like that.) It may need more tweaks than one but surely it is finite.
Well, that gave me comfort because I had been slogging along at the bottom of all internet marketers setting records for small money for huge effort! And now I find out that my slogging days may be coming to an end?
What gives me that idea? Well, for one thing I am a bit of an optimist. And, for another, I have started this blog. This blog is going somewhere. It already has more traffic than other things I have done. And the traffic is increasing. Thank you, readers!
Why is that? This blog is going to grow for several reasons. One reason is.. daily progress, frequent posts.
The information in this young blog is coming to you from someone who has been in the trenches for a while now. I have even made some money. That’s a whole other story but, for now, suffice it to say that it wasn’t the way I had originally intended.
What I showed up here for was to find out what a wordpress blog is and see if I can turn it into a business by providing quality information to people looking to get into some form of Internet Marketing. Well, I gotta tell you…a Wordpress blog is an awesome tool.
I’ll keep you posted. (I wrote that last line and then noticed it was a little pun - not intended.)
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade!
PS: For more more on Wordpress blogging platforms go to http://wordpress.org/
Why I am Here. October 10, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentOne of the things that makes this interesting to me is that, in my conversations with my subscribers or just people along the way is this one fact…
They are all in a different part of what I call “the progression”.
Some folks start with almost zero knowledge. They can make it but they’ve got a lot to learn.
I was lucky enough at the outset to already know what marketing and sales were.
Plus I’d done them both for years. I taught those topics as well.
I also knew how to write ad copy as I’d studied that for years. I’m not the best but I know who is.
35 years of experience running your own business is a lot of preparation.
But, still, prepped as I was I stumbled right into some really stupid places at the start. They wasted my time and money! They disgusted me. They made me mad.
And I was tied up in the bad info for months! Many would have quit right there.
THIS is what I mean when I say you don’t have to fall into one of the many traps set for you on the un-level playing field of Internet Marketing. (IM).
IM is all about information and how to use it! One of the major pitfalls is that there is good info and bad info and LOTS of it! If you are new to this, you may not be able to smell the difference. Well, I can.
And, interestingly enough, separating the wheat from the chaff when it comes to Internet Marketing information is a task I am prepped for and lucky enough to enjoy.
So, that’s why I’m here. I want to help newcomers get a good start. And, this blog may be the perfect way to get that information to you.
Thank you very much,
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade.
PS: If you are very new at this you need some training! No better place than this.
Also - You might want to download the FREE PDF about the Basics.
The 10 Basic Things You Need to Know for
Successful Internet Marketing.
This is a PDF Document. You can download
this at http://rwestdotcom.com/10basic.pdf
I’m Funny Sometimes…Adwords Success and Despair October 9, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentI have learned so much in the last year that I’m actually surprised sometimes. So are my sons and long suffering wife.
In this last year I moved from being overwhelmed and confused to being less overwhelmed and a lot less confused. And I’m starting to make money.
Last year I couldn’t grasp the importance of keywords. Really! What a difference a little time makes.
Especially if you are paying attention. My wife, who is a bookkeeper and tax advisor (among a lot of other attributes) came to me a while back and showed me the results of my adwords efforts.
I sorta knew. After all we were doing a lot better. And getting better too.
But I was surprised to find that our profits were up approximately $80k/yr and that of that increase 90% of it was attributable to adwords.
2 years back I didn’t even have a website. Then I got a really crummy one. Made it myself. I look at it now and then and just laugh.
When I had struggled through the whole process of picking a domain name and getting it hosted, I thought I was through. I wasn’t, though.
I expected the phone to ring and sales to follow. Nothing happened.
Then it occurred to me…Traffic! That’s the answer!
And it is the answer….except…it needs to be the right traffic. Arrggh!
So I looked in the wrong place. The phone book.
I found a few outfits that said they could get traffic to my website. They gave me estimates. I could barely follow their conversational path.
Now, I realize that I now know more about websites and traffic than they did then! And they called themselves professional!
I gave them $2500 dollars to SEO my site. I barely knew what that meant Then they went out of business and disappeared.
My nice new crummy website still had no traffic and it was 2006.
Now, what I wanted was a website that would increase the traffic at my store and thus increase my profits. I wanted that badly. Times were turning tougher. Housing slump, oil prices, war.
That and the fact that I have brick and mortar overhead made me long for simpler times. Or lower overhead. Or more sales. The mind reels.
So one day I was sitting at my computer and I brought up the Google page.
I typed in “How to make money online”. Wow! I never dreamed there were so many “solutions”!
Then I typed in “How to get traffic to my website”. Wow again!
That day I opened my Google adwords account. I followed the instructions.
The next day I had traffic at my website.
I then went on to make every mistake I could with adwords, including irritating Google.
My favorite mistake (and worst) was when I made some changes to one of my campaigns that I thought would improve things and then forgot about it.
Well, I had a little typo in the url (oops!). For a month! I forgot to check back! I didn’t test the ad. After all it worked before.
I bought a thousand clicks and sent them to the 404 Forbidden Zone!
I’ll see you on the road to success,
Riley West - An Oregon Pioneer trying to make his way in the trade.
PS: If you are struggling to get started here is a place perfect for you!
The Making of an Internet Marketer Takes Training! October 7, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentHello Folks:
Almost 2 years ago I started looking into Internet Marketing (IM). I had most of the same reasons you have, I suppose.
One, I liked the idea of using my wits and work, at home, with my trusty MacBook Pro, drawing in money from the vast crowd of visitors on the net. And it’s growing fast. The crowd, I mean.
Two, I especially liked the offers I received that said, essentially, “Buy my plan, follow these steps, you can’t fail!”
How easy is that! Not! Didn’t go that way for me.
What I discovered after spending lots of money trying out various schemes (plans) was that, although the plan might work for someone….it most likely won’t work for me.
And I found out why it wouldn’t (won’t) work for me. Plus I found out what to do so that many of these plans would work for me.
But it sure didn’t go that way for me at first.
I was missing the basics. I wanted to rush straight into making a little (or more) money and figured I’d pick up what I needed to know along the way.
That’s the classic horse before the cart deal.
Still, I was undeterred, I made my way to that point of understanding that I think we all have to reach before we can think clearly about this whole making of money on the net business.
A person has to understand the basic skills needed in Internet Marketing before they attempt a little marketing on their own.
Here’s something very basic. If I told you I had a good product and I was going to sell it, you would have no doubts that I could. Right? Even more so if I explained to you how I was going to sell the product.
If I said I was going to go door to door and sell it you would know exactly what I was talking about and you probably wouldn’t want to go along.
If I said I was going to write a compelling little classified ad with my cell number in it so I could speak to my prospect directly you would understand that almost completely. Even more so if I showed you my script that would allow me to improvise and stay on track at the same time.
There are many ways to sell a product. You know a lot of them.
But, if I said I was going to sell it on the Internet you might just draw a huge blank page in your mind. Maybe you’d even know a little about the process. Like get a webpage, make it look good and take orders! Right?
Wrong! You would first have to know how to get a webpage. Then you have to know how to make it look good (as well as work). But (very important) you would also have to know how to get pretty good sized numbers of people that are interested in your product to find your website!
I’m going to lay out for you what I consider to be the single most effective thing you can do, at first, to insure your success in the World of Internet Marketing.
Please…stay tuned. This is going to be terrific for those who have not figured their way yet. It will also jump start some careers. Without risking hubris I can say that what comes next on these pages will save many floundering Internet Marketing Careers and may even save marriages!
Riley West - Just an Old Oregon Pioneer trying to make his way in the trade.
PS: Here is where I went. I learned more here in my early days than all the other stuff combined. rw
The Whirlwind of Money October 6, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentMan, have you seen the financial markets and world news lately? Never has there been a better time to get an income stream (or two) coming in to you by means of sales on the net.
Look, I have to say this before it slips by and gets run over.
Half the time I feel like I am standing in a little whirlwind. Like a mini tornado but not destructive.The whirlwind is the Internet and my Internet Marketing efforts are in the center of that wind.
It’s like I’m being circled by high-speed 100 dollar bills and if I could just reach out and grasp one!
Then I could do another! And another!
That’s sort of how it is when you are becoming an Internet Marketer.
Here’s what happens to the average newcomer. They get in over their heads. They try to jump from one thing to another. They try to find the easier, softer way.
And there isn’t one.
People (cons) will tell you there is an easy way to riches. All you have to do is give them your money and they’ll show you. Now you are left not knowing what to do and a lot lighter in the wallet.
Let me paint a picture for you.
After you have learned a few things you are going to spot an opportunity that sounds right for you.
I say go for it! If you have followed good advice and good instincts you are probably on to something. Go ahead, put it together. By this time you will have acquired the skills that have been missing, holding you back.
You can make a webpage that sells the product. You have paypal on it so your customers can buy.
You have a domain name and a hosting company that you know how to work with and are helpful!
You know how to write little articles and drive traffic to your salespage.
Maybe you will use a little adwords to speed things up and test different ideas…like headlines.
Perhaps you even put a little form on your website to collect names and emails, and, if they didn’t buy the first time, you have another shot at them with the email. Automated email at that.
You can see a market and you have a product that market likes to buy. It doesn’t matter if other people are selling it, you just need a small slice of the action for starters.
There is the possibility you won’t make any money. Happened to me!
But boy, you’ll learn a lot! And when it comes to actually making money.. soon you will. It will only be a little at first but when that happens, all kinds of lights are going to go off in your head and away you go! You will be becoming an Internet Marketer.
It’s the transformation I refer to as “The Making of an Internet Marketer”.
See, if you are going to follow my advice, you are going to start slow and small but correctly. When you get a little going you are going to improve that.
If all you ever did was take your first small thing that works and improve it over and over, and do it over and over…it’ll get pretty good.
Then you can do another. And another.
But first, are you ready to give it your first, best shot? There are those things you need to know that I talk about all the time.
They are the Internet Marketing terminology, concepts, and skills that all successful IM’ers use and that you have to learn or you can’t do it.
But those skills are actually easy (and fun) to learn.
Here’s where it gets interesting. And I can help a little. Here’s a FREE LIST of the basics you need to get going at sales on the web.
I’ll see you on the road to success,
RW - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade.
PS: Knowing Internet Marketing and doing it your own way is actually easier than following someone else’s plan! After all, you are not them. You are you and you can do it. What I’m going to show you are the best ways to learn and start fast. - rw
A Day in the Life of an Up and Coming Internet Marketer October 4, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , 1 comment so farWhen I got up this morning (Sat. Oct. 4 2008) it was cool and very rainy outside. I got up as I usually do, throwing on some almost passable clothing. Jeans, T shirt, Sweatshirt.
Then I did what I’ve done so many times. I came down to the kitchen area where I have a nice big work table with a view into the forest beyond.
I have to have a big table because once something is put away, I can’t find it! Just one of my personality quirks. It drives my long suffering bride batty but one of her personality quirks is that she can put up with me!
I looked at my list of most important things to do to move my business forward.
Yesterday I was a having a heck of a time trying to get it arranged so that after a customer had purchased my website tutorial they would be automatically redirected to the download page so they could get what they paid for.
Today I had an email from Dave Bullock (an Internet Marketer extraordinaire) in which he explained how to do it. He made it sound so simple. It’s not his job to help me with little details. He just did it because I asked. Nice guy.
I still had trouble with it. So I emailed Sarah Brown (another Internet Marketer extraordinaire) and asked if she could tell me how to get it done. Well, her partner Tony Shepherd wrote me back and cleared up a few things, too. Great folks, all.
I’ve had it working before but Paypal must have made some changes in between this time and the last. It was a complete mystery to me and I was getting ready to prep the website with a notice that I would be handling the download personally after my customers had paid.
Definitely NOT the way I want to do it. I want these little webpage sales sites to run automatically because..right there…is the beauty of this form of sales. Autosales. It’ll happen when you’re sleeping.
So I went to Google and typed in “How to get paypal to redirect my customers to download page” Talk about the long tail search query.
Bingo! I had my answer and was off and running.
It’s been like that through most of this IM experience. Things are moving along and then they hang up, usually due to the fact that I don’t know something.
But I got it and in the process I solved a couple of other little mysteries. Plus, I was once again reminded that these folks who are so far ahead of us, our mentors, the ones who make a lot of money, are there for a few reasons.
They are sharp, know marketing, they have been at it for some time, and they are really good people.
That’s who I want to be associated with! Who wouldn’t?
I’ll see you on the road to success,
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade.
PS: Want to earn a little money on the net? Learn how to build a webpage. rw
How I Learned to Market (Sell) Products on the Internet October 3, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentFirst off let me say that the title of this post might lead some folks to think that I have “Learned” how to market on the net. Well, I have…sort of.
Still what I have learned is only a small part of the whole IM world. It’s huge.
The following list is by no means complete, either, but I want to make a point.
I learned exactly what Internet Marketing is.
I learned what a “market” is.
I learned about “affiliate products” and “affiliate sales”
I bought a “domain name” and “hosting” for the “website” I didn’t have yet.
I built my first website. It was pitiful. My friends were silent. My family members (I have two sons) and a lovely wife - laughed at my website.
I was a little embarrassed but not much. I’ve a bit of a thick skin. I vowed to learn everything I could about this Internet Marketing thing. It fascinates me.
I built my second webpage with an opt in box!
I got an autoresponder and wrote a 12 pc. email sequence telling my subscribers how hard it was for me to get started in IM and that if they would just go to this place they wouldn’t have to suffer fools and waste a half year like I did.
Amazingly enough, even though I told everybody I was a beginner (I still feel that way) my subscribers treated me with respect and asked me questions expecting a decent answer! I was started and didn’t even know it.
Remember when I said I wanted to make a point? (Above the list)
Well, here it is. You don’t have to know it all. You just have to know a little bit that can get you started. Now, when someone asks me how to make money on the Internet I tell them something like this.
I tell them to…
Go to an Internet Marketing School.
Learn how to build a webpage, get a domain name and get the page hosted (up and running)
Find a good product for your chosen niche. Some people call a niche a “neesh” but they have to be weird. It’s a “nitche” isn’t it? Oh well…
Put that product on their website and commence figuring out how to drive traffic (certain traffic that may be interested in what you offer) to it.
Tweak and test. Don’t give up.
That’s it for me so far.
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade.
PS: One of the very first things I learned about in IM was Google Adwords. I’m not telling you it has to be your first thing to learn but let me tell you what you can do with it. On the next post. rw
How to Get Into Internet Marketing Without Getting Taken for a Ride! October 3, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentI read a recent dispatch from an Internet Marketing Guru I trust in which he said that “a very high percentage of people who try to get into Internet Marketing end up paying for one or more of the “programs” titled something like “Incredible Money Machine!”.
Usually, he went on, the folks don’t even really try to use it or find out that it definitely was not for them. Even more incredible is the fact that a lot of them don’t even ask for a refund or if they did, they were never actually refunded. Both of those scenarios played out for me. Just like that.
Oh yeah, I was a sucker. But it didn’t last long! With my degree of business experience it shouldn’t have happened at all. And now, of course, it isn’t happening to me but it is still probably the most common experience on startup.
I think it’s because a lot of people looking into making money online are desperate. If they are desperate they probably got that way by making some other bad decisions along the way. Well, I have some advice for those folks toward the end of this article.
I wanted to make money. Who doesn’t? I went to my computer and typed in “Make money Online”. I had no idea! So many folks so eager to show you how. They are great at selling you a plan to “Make money Online”. There are even folks who claim you can be rich immediately.
Honestly, anybody would like to be rich immediately but who would believe the claim? Even a little?
I’ve been in sales and marketing for a long time. Still, I read a few sales pages. I got excited. I joined something like “Incredible Wealth Membership”. After all, they said they’d lead me step by step. Man, that sounds just like what I need because I just don’t know anything! Help!! So I signed up.
First thing I had to do was get a Domain Name and a Hosting Package that they recommended. (They were getting a sizeable commission from my signup fees…I found out later…I can be so naive at times)
I had a lot of trouble with just this step but I’m determined. They said this was easy!Already I’m on my way!
Next, they gave me my ‘free” website! I remember it well. What a crock! The simple websites I now build to sell products look better and actually work!
It took me a long time to find the control panel. Right away I found out that I didn’t know what to do with it!
Then my “membership outfit” told me to put the things I want to sell on my nice new website. What things I want to sell? I had no product. Plus, I had no idea how to “put” things on a website.
Not to worry. They had some recommendations for what to sell. The first thing they wanted me to sell on my website was THEM! And a few other things they owned as well. They’d give me a commission! Later, after much wrangling I had them on my website. I waited. And waited. Nothing happened. So I called them.
They said “Get traffic to your website!” I said, “How?” They said,, “Advertise!” They said, PPC, Article Marketing, Niche finding, SEO, Build a list, Affiliates, etc. etc.
Get the picture? I was confused and I didn’t know anything. Talk about frustrating!
So, here is what I am going to tell you. Don’t do this. Do what I did AFTER I got through going down the wrong path. I joined an actual Online Internet Marketing School! Profit Lance is their name. They are darn good at explaining and teaching the skills required for Internet Marketing success.
Plus there is the added benefit that while you are studying how to succeed at Internet Marketing, there isn’t anyone trying to sell you their lastest E-Book. So, I hunkered down and started studying. And I’m still there. And I don’t intend to leave.
The difference is, now I have a website, a list, and I am building a business online!
Go there. Do this. You will be contacting me to say thanks!
I’ll see you on the road to success,
Riley West - An Oregon Pioneer making his way in the trade
When I Started Studying Internet Marketing I Kept a Journal October 2, 2008
Posted by Riley West in : The Making of an Internet Marketer , add a commentHello:
If you are new to the world of Internet Marketing (and it is a world and you can go far) you may be experiencing the same thing I did. I was confused and frustrated. I wanted to make money online, however it is done, but I literally did not know the first thing about it.
I was the typical newcomer to Internet Marketing. I wanted it but I felt overwhelmed. The thing that was different about me was that I was keeping a journal describing my experiences.
That enables me to look back with clarity. I can see where I went wrong and how I could have done it correctly. Hindsight is 20-20 after all…right?
If you are a little like me, (except maybe for the journal) you came to the Internet Marketing (IM), How to Make Money Online area of the internet because…
In addition to all the things you are concerned about daily….you…
1. Wanted to make extra money.
2. Wanted to quit your job because it was unsatisfying.
3. Didn’t know how to do it.
4. All of the above.
It got kind of obsessive for me. I spent thousands. My wife knew I was crazy. There was no way I could prove I wasn’t. I just knew!
I bought a book called Honest Riches. I read it that night. I went to sleep thinking I would get right to it in the morning. I was on my way!
When I awoke I went down to my laptop at the kitchen table. I got myself some coffee. I sat down, eager to get started. But, instead I got distracted…
I checked my email. Several people had sent me solicitations about “Make Money” plans. I clicked the links.
This one sounded good. Too good. It didn’t seem right. But it had a money back guarantee! So I bought it.
It was total hooey. (Hooey is a polite term for the real term that originated in Bull Country). I grew up in Montana. We know bulls.
I did this a lot. I think I liked looking at Make Money Online programs more than I liked the idea of sitting down and seriously learning what’s needed to do it.
So I got nowhere. Over and Over. Then I found Profit Lance. Yes… it is an odd name.
The fellow who conceived it, however, is not odd. He knows his stuff. His name is Michael. I have talked to him many times. He’s solid.
As important as that is, I think it’s the way he teaches people how to succeed at Internet Marketing that was the key, for me.
Profit Lance is an Online Internet Marketing School!
You can start with Lesson One. If you want you can take it twice, or more. Then you can go to Lesson Two, like that. That’s what I did.
Four months later I had a business on the web! I had a list! I had sales! It was very small, but growing. I’m on my way.
Listen, I can do you a real service here. I’ve scouted the territory already and recently at that. I can save you from a multitude of dead ends, box canyons, and blind alleys (and Hooey).
Just go check out Profit Lance. I know..weird name.
If you are a beginner this will get you going, if you are an intermediate this can sharpen your chops. (improve what you already do)
I’ll see you on the road to success,
Riley West - An Oregon pioneer making his way in the trade
PS: You can contact me at rwestpnw@gmail.com/ Ask me a question. If I know the answer I’ll tell you. If I don’t know the answer I’ll try to point you in the right direction to find that answer. Fair enough? Do it.
psps: One free and easy way to find answers to questions is to just go ahead and type the question into Google. You may be pleasantly surprised. rw
