As I was considering this, I came to the conclusion that sometimes, a picture isnt’ worth anything. There are times when leaving a picture out is the better option.

What brought this to mind was my recent post on using pen names or aliases in marketing, and how some people thought it was OK, and some people thought it was deceptive and dishonest.

The same discussion has been brought up when it comes to whether or not marketers should put their pictures on their sites and on their forum posts and blog comments.

There was the argument that if you weren’t willing to show your face, you must have something to hide. That if you wanted people to know and trust you, showing a picture was the way to go.

The idea was that your visitors would feel a connection with you, your site, and the products you were promoting.

Thinking about my own experiences online, I really don’t think it matters much. I have been on lists of marketers for years who never post a picture. And I have purchased a lot of great products from faceless guys and gals.

I’ve also bought from and read emails from people who DO put their picture on their sites.

Does it make a difference? Not to me…

In fact, from some of the pictures I have seen, it would be a better idea for some of these marketers to stop using their pictures. Some people just have a face that is more suited to radio, and I include myself in that category.

I’m not picking on anyone, just pointing out the facts.

By The Way: If you’re branding yourself, and you want to get recognition and build a following, then it does matter. That’s a whole different discussion…

Some people don’t like the idea of having their picture out there. It makes them feel uncomfortable. And despite what some other marketers think, the value you provide is not dependent on putting your picture on your site.

What really matters is doing what you’re comfortable doing, and leaving it at that. Then get on with the stuff that matters like creating content, driving traffic to your sites, and selling products.

Discover The Keys To Building A Profitable List…

Sure, you may be able to get some traffic if you’re on the second or third page, or in positions 11-30, but don’t count on it.

What this means is that no matter how many competing web sites there are, the only comptetion that matters is the first 10 sites.

The problem is that it can become so easy to be overwhelmed by the number of competing web sites. It’s easy to lose site of the fact you’re not competing with thousands of web sites.

When you think of your competition this way, it’s a lot more manageable. You only have to look at the first page of results. If it looks like you have a chance of getting a spot on the first page, then you can get started on the tasks you need to do to make that happen.

If it looks like it would take too long, move on to another keyword.

When you concentrate on assesing the top 10 sites, it saves you a lot of time. You’ll be able to quickly find a list of keywords that you have a good chance of ranking for.

I know that there is no perfect way to determine whether or not you can get a web page listed on the first page of search results. But there are a few things to look for that can give you an indication of whether or not your competition is vulnerable to your attack…

If you see a listing that links to an article at an article directory site, you have a good chance of beating them. Same thing if the listing is from a Web 2.0 site such as Squidoo, Blogger, or Hubpages.

Another useful tool is the SEO Quake plugin for the Firefox browser. Once installed and activated, you can do a search on your keyword, and once the search results page comes up, you’ll be presented with a lot of good data such as the page rank of each site, how many backlinks the site has, the age of the domain, and a lot more.

To sum up:

Don’t get too concerned with competition numbers. You’re only interested in getting on the first page anyway. That’s where your competition is. Work on getting a good list of keywords that you are interested in targeting.

Then start plugging in the keywords one at a time and look at the 10 sites that come up. Decide if you have a chance of knocking one of these sites off the first page. Move on to the next keyword, do the same, and soon you’ll have a list of keywords that you can use to build the pages that will hopefully get you the free traffic that we all want.

Using a pen name can be a really good idea for several reasons:

The number one reason to use a pen name is to make it easier for you to get started. It’s sometimes difficult to feel comfortable writing articles, blog posts, and forum posts and adding your name. No one likes criticism, and it’s really bad if you see your name attached to it.

So a pen name gives you a sense of security, so you can write and submit articles, build a list, and create and sell your own products.

Another really good reason to use pen names is if you are involved in more than one market. For example, if you are in the Internet Marketing Niche, and you decide to enter the gardening niche, it might be a good idea to use another name.

Another good reason is to keep your competitors from seeing the markets you’re in. It’s not a good idea to make it easy for someone to do a search on your name and find all of the sites that you have.

There are a lot of successful Internet Marketers who talk about being in several markets, and they use different names for these sites. They aren’t willing to reveal what markets they are in and what their sites are, and neither should you.

Using a pen name is also good if you’re testing out a new site or idea. For example, if you have an idea for a blog, and you don’t want to have your name attached to it if it doesn’t work out.

And finally, when you’re using Web 2.0 sites to build links and post content, you can use multiple pen names so you can create a lot of accounts so you can get a lot more links. This is a common practice in Internet marketing, and it’s something you should be doing.

The obvious reason is that it’s not uncommon for these accounts to be shut down. If you only have one account, that would stop you in your tracks. By having multiple accounts, you can keep going.

Is using a pen name dishonest? I don’t think so. After all, you’re not doing anything shady or illegal. You’re just taking advantage of a strategy that has been used for ages and that works.

What easily comes to mind is a car salesman. They are talking loud and fast, and they are waving their arms and dancing around like someone who drank way to much coffee. Add to that the way they are dressed, and you decide that there is no way you would ever buy anything from them, or anyone like them.

We’ve all had experiences with pushy sales people. It’s easy to get the idea that sales people are all obnoxious.

This makes it hard for some people to get comfortable with starting an online business. Why?

Because the way you make money with your own business is by selling products or services. But you don’t want to be one of “Those” sales people. That’s one of the obstacles that hold back a lot of new marketers.

They don’t want to sell. If you don’t sell, you don’t make money. Simple as that.

Let’s look at this from another perspective…

Isn’t it true that you have bought a lot of merchandise over the years from a lot of businesses from a lot of helpful employees? These employees answered your questions, steered you to the product that you wanted to buy, and made the process easy and helpful.

To buy something, you have to go to businesses that sell things. If a business has a pushy sales person, you leave and go to another store.

But if the sales person helps you to get exactly what you want, you purchase and you’re happy. Why?

Because they helped you solve a problem.

Instead of being afraid of selling, think of yourself as a problem solver. What you’re doing is helping people find the product that will solve a problem or help them fill a desire. And it doesn’t matter what you’re selling.

Everyone likes to buy stuff, they just don’t want to be told what to buy.

What they do want is someone who makes it easy for them to get what they want. Someone who will answer any questions, and someone who will show them the best price and value.

Trying to convince someone to buy something almost never works. Even if you get them to buy, there is a good chance that they will be back for refund.

But if you offer solutions, not only will they buy, but they will be back the next time they need what you’re offering. That’s how you build a successful and profitable online business.

Don’t be afraid of selling. Selling is easy and is something to be proud of. Being pushy and obnoxious isn’t, no matter what situation you’re in.

Learn To Build A List, Help Your Subscribers, And Make More Profits…

What is also important is making sure that your subscribers actually open and read the messages you send them. It does you no good to have a big list of subscribers if only a few of them ever open, read, and click on the links in your messages.

Something that can work really well is to offer a high value freebie as an incentive to subscribe that also gets them to open your email messages. It’s a proven winner and it’s easy to do.

That is to offer an email training series as a bonus. What you’re offering is a multi-part series of messages that will give some really good information that your subscriber is interested in.

What you’re doing is getting them into the habit of opening the messages you send to them.

If you do a good job with your training series, they will be more likely to read all of your messages.

A way to make this even more powerful is to have your messages give an overview of what you’re going to teach them, with a link to a web site where they can access the rest of the content.

On the web page, you can have audios, videos, text, and/or links to download a report. On the web page you can also put ads for your own products or products you’re an affiliate for.

If you do this, not only are your subscribers getting into the habit of opening your messages, they are also in the habit of clicking on your links.

An easy way to create a multi-part email series is to buy a PLR product that you can break up into pieces. For example, you can offer a chapter at a time. And don’t forget that you can also find PLR videos that you can use for this purpose. And the advantage of this is that you can find PLR videos that also come with transcripts.

That way, you can put the video on a web page, and put the text below the video. Your subscriber can decide how they want to access your content.

Getting subscribers is important, and so is getting them to read your messages. Using a multi-part email training course is a great freebie and a great way to get your subscribers used to paying attention to the messages you send them.

Discover How To Get Your Subscribers To Open Your Messages And Click On Your Links…

Think about how easy it would be for you to provide this as a service. This is a great simple business idea that you can get into that can generate up front cash along with recurring commissions. Here’s how…

You could offer to create web sites for a set price, and you could offer to set up a WordPress site or an HTML site. You could offer a higher price if they already have hosting, or offer them a lower price if they get their hosting from you.

For hosting, the way you would make money is to either become an affiliate for a hosting company so you would get a commission. Or you could buy a reseller hosting package and sell web hosting for the sites you create.

For the sites, the key is to offer a limited set of site designs that you create ahead of time.

For WordPress sites, pick out a few themes that you can easily customize for each client. For HTML sites, you could create or buy templates.

For the graphics, it’s easy and inexpensive to pick up some really nice packages that come with a wide variety of headers, footers, buttons, and arrows that you can use to customize each site.

You get a new customer, and you let them choose whether they want a blog or HTML site. Then you have them select a design from the options you have available. You direct them to your affiliate link so they can get their hosting account and you can get the commission. Or you set them up as a customer on your reseller account.

Then you get their login details so you can upload the web site to their hosting account.

Now you have the money from the sale of the web site, and you will be getting a monthly commission.

You can also make more money by offering to maintain and add to their site on a regular basis. This can be in the form of articles, videos, new graphics, and new pages.

The key to this is to offer a limited selection of site themes/templates. You don’t have to be a design genius or a graphic designer. You’re offering a service that will help a lot of people who need to get a site online and don’t know how to do it.

This is a simple business idea that can put cash in your pocket by helping others get what they want.

This Is How You Create Web Sites That Sell…

There has been a long running dialogue about using pop-ups on web sites. On the one hand are the side that say that pop-ups result in more sales and subscribers, despite the perception that most users don’t like them.

The other side says that pop-ups are rude and intrusive, and that they should never be used.

Pop-ups have come a long way from where they first started. Now you can include a video in your pop-up, and you can also use them to present an opt-in form, ads, audios, and any type of promotion you could think of.

I received an email with an offer for yet another piece of software that would create pop-ups for WordPress sites. The difference with this one is that you can set up the pop-up so that it can’t be closed. This is used in the case of a video, so that the visitor either has to sit through the video, or hit the back button and go to another site.

Whether or not you use pop-ups on your sites comes down to personal preferences and tracking the results you get with and without using them.

Another type of WordPress plugin presents the first part of a post, and then, in order to read the rest of the post, you have to subscribe to a list, or you have to “Like” the site on your Facebook account.

And don’t forget ads that are presented at the start of videos. I’ve seen this at Yahoo and at news sites. You’re presented with a link to a video along with a headline, and once you click it, you are presented with an ad before you get to the content.

Don’t get the idea that I’m against ads. I’m not. After all, marketing is all about getting your message out there. Something to keep in mind is that people get to the point where they don’t pay attention to ads. We all get hit with so many that it’s hard to get someone’s attention.

Maybe that’s why there seems to be a trend to more intrusive advertising. Will it be effective? Only time will tell.

Get People On Your Email List And Make Sales – Guaranteed…

Did you ever think that what you were doing was being recorded? That somewhere there was a record of the sites you went to, and the searches you had done?

What you should know is that every time you use a search engine, your data is recorded. They know the search terms you use, the links you click on, what time of day you visit the sites, and more, and they store the data.

I didn’t know any of this until recently, and there didn’t seem to be a way to avoid this. I rely on the search engines a lot, so while I don’t like the idea of being tracked, there didn’t seem to be a way to avoid it.

After a bit of searching, I found a search engine that I had never heard of before that promised that it was different.

That search engine is called Start Page. They call themselves “The World’s Most Private Search Engine”.

They get their search results from Google, but by using their site, your IP address isn’t recorded and your data isn’t being stored.

What happens when you click on a search result and end up on another web page is that you now are open to being tracked by that web site. What Smart Page does is it allows you to use their private proxy option so that you can visit these sites without being tracked.

Privacy is becoming a thing of the past. And there’s no way to avoid it completely. But if you’re concerned that your online searches are being watched, and you don’t want to allow that to happen, take a look at Start Page.

It’s free, and the only reason I’m telling you about it is because I’m concerned about giving up my privacy, and wanted to give you the opportunity to do the same, at least when it comes to searching on the web. Their web site does a much better job than I can do at explaining how they protect your privacy. Check out StartPage.com here…

Keeping up with what’s going on in your market doesn’t take much time if you only have a site or two that you’re working on. But as you build your business, build more sites, and enter more markets, it gets to be a big investment of time.

There is a way to make the task of keeping up with the latest developments in your market quick and easy, and that is by using the free service called Google Alerts.

Google Alerts is a no cost service where you can enter a keyword or keyword phrase, and Google will send you up to date information on that keyword, to any email address you want.

You can customize what type of information you receive – select from “Everything”, or narrow it down to news, blogs, videos, or discussions. You can decide to have the results mailed as they occur, or once a day.

You also get to decide if you want only the top results, or all of the results.

Setting up an alert is easy, and you can add as many as you want. If you aren’t getting the results you want, you can delete an alert and add a new one.

If you are managing several sites in a lot of different markets, keep in mind that you’re going to be getting an email a day for each alert. This can add up to a lot of messages, so it might be a good idea to set up a different email account just for the alerts.

Keeping up with the latest developments in your market can open up a lot of opportunities for you. It can give you ideas for information you can use for blog posts, ideas for articles, and content for your newsletters.

It’s easy to set up Google Alerts. Once you get to the site, if you get stuck, there are links to a getting started guide and a help section. Check out Google Alerts here…

Get People On Your Email List And Make Sales – Guaranteed…

For this discussion, a long tail keyword can be described as a keyword that contains 2 or more words. For example, in the guitar niche, instead of targeting guitar, or acoustic guitar, you could target “how to play acoustic guitar”, or “acoustic guitar folk songs”. You’d still be targeting the guitar niche, but you’d be targeting key phrases with less competition and less traffic, but you’d also have a better chance of getting a first page listing.

Using this approach, you may only end up with 4-5 visitors a day, but it’s traffic that you’re getting for free. And to add to that total, you can target other long tail keywords related to your market. Over time this can add up to a nice flow of traffic.

The key to making this work is to target key phrases that will attract the type of traffic you’re after. If you’re selling a product, you want to be sure that you are attracting buyers.

A good way to see if there are people spending money on the key phrase that you’re after is to enter it into Google and see if there are ads on the right side of the page. If there are, you know that there are advertisers willing to spend money on that key phrase.

If there are no ads, or only 2 or 3, you may want to pass on that keyword phrase and move on to another one.

If you find a key phrase that you want to target, but you don’t have any way to monetize the traffic, enter the phrase into the search engine. Once the results come up, visit the top sites and see what they are selling.

If they are selling their own product, see if they have an affiliate program that you can join. If they are selling affiliate products, write them down, and do a search on the product name to find out how you can become an affiliate.

Long tail keywords can be a good way to get traffic to your site. Just be sure to target buyer keywords.

In case you didn’t know about it, Google has a free keyword tool that you can use. You can access it by clicking here, or do a search and you’ll find the link.

And if you’re new to using the Google keyword tool, go to YouTube. Do a search and you’ll find helpful tutorials that will show you how to get the most out of it.

New For 2012 – Get People On Your Email List And Make Sales – Guaranteed…