Success With Ease

A concern many article marketers have is about posting the same article to multiple locations around the internet. They’ve heard of a “duplicate content penalty” that Google assesses when it finds identical content.

This concern is amplified by the increasing number of tools available to create alternate versions of your articles so the same one won’t be posted everywhere.

The Truth

The truth is, though, that you won’t be penalized for having identical articles around the web. The “duplicate content penalty” refers to duplicate content within your site. Even then, you’re unlikely to have a problem unless you’re trying to game the search spiders. Search engine penalties are reserved for sites trying to trick the search engines and very few average sites ever experience such a penalty.

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I know the headline sounds ominous. And I’m not talking about a technique that can get you slapped by Google or labeled a spammer by AOL.

No, I’m talking about the risk of complete lack of action due to information overload. Between the constant flood of email messages with valuable information, as well as those offering to sell you the latest marketing technique you absolutely must know about, it’s enough to keep you surfing the web seeking to learn more and more for the rest of your days.

Filed under: Productivity | 1 Comment »

In the Internet Marketing world, just about everyone is creating a membership these days. Several of my professional clients are also setting up memberships to offer their information and/or products.

Maybe you want to get in on this, too? Setting up a membership can be a terrific way to create a stream of income often greater than what you’d receive from a single sale of the complete set of information.

But many are intimidated by the idea of offering a membership, fearing it’s too complicated to set up and run.

Here are three easy ways to structure a membership:

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I was on a call with Jack Canfield recently where Alex Mandossian was interviewing him to promote Jack’s book, “The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.” There was a great metaphor Jack used that I wanted to share. You should know by now how much I like reflecting on ideas presented through stories!

Jack was addressing a question about the Law of Attraction. The questioner said that it worked for her in small areas, but she hadn’t achieved the results she wanted in larger areas.

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This is another story I appreciate. I hope you will, too.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word.

Filed under: Inspiration | 1 Comment »

Memberships are an increasingly popular way for marketers to receive a continuing stream of income from just one sale. Memberships are also called “continuity programs” since they have a continuing stream of income.

Typically, members pay a monthly fee for information and/or support. The deliverable can be as simple as a digital report each month, or as involved as a package of materials, teleclasses, and one on one coaching. Some high end memberships even include live meetings. I’ve seen memberships costing from $10/month to $297/month and more for “platinum” levels.

Filed under: Marketing | 3 Comments »

When we consider the many ways to market our businesses, we usually think about these types of online strategies:

• posting a blog entry
• sending an ezine or newsletter
• article marketing
• using Google AdWords
• search engine optimization (SEO)
• creating more incoming links to our web site

There’s a key strategy that’s more important than any of these. To be effective, they need to be done consistently over a period of time. Not one of these strategies will help your business if you focus on it once and then move on to another strategy.

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The quality and value of your content will determine how your subscribers feel about you and your business. When we talk about starting a blog or an ezine, our clients will often express anxiety about generating quality content on a regular basis.

When I started my first ezine - long, long ago! - I was a little worried, too. But I soon realized it wasn’t that hard if I kept in mind the various formats I could use.

Your content can include one or more of the following formats:

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I thought this week I would step back and get a bit philosophical. I know many are going through hard times, due to real estate issues or flooding or hurricanes or job loss. This little parable is an old story, but one of my favorites. It never fails to give me needed perspective when the world seems aligned against me.

If you’ve been a subscriber for a long time, you may recognize this story. I published it in my ezine many years ago and thought it was worth repeating.

Donkey in the Well

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.

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I’ve noticed that when the economy slows down, many of my clients stop marketing their businesses because they’re afraid to spend the money. I think this is a big mistake!

When business slows down, it’s a great time to increase your marketing. Why? Two reasons.

First, you’re looking to get more business and one of the most effective ways to achieve this is through marketing.

Second, since so many other businesses are slowing down their marketing, any that you do for your business will stand out that much more and be even more effective than usual.

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