WP Micro-Membership Plugin: Can it turn wordpress into a recurring income stream?

Hey there readers. T.M. Harris here...

Today I was greeted with a message about this plugin called WP Micro-Membership Plugin

The claim is that it can turn any wordpress blog (and an idea) into a recurring profit stream in any niche.

Imagine, you have good parenting advice, because you're a mother to 5 kids. You put together a membership site where you give out parenting tips, answer your subscribers' questions about being a new parent, and make product recommendations (where you can score as a 'referrer').

Now, you have several levels of membership. Free (Silver package) and Paid (Gold Package).

Free members get just the simple little parenting tips every week and access to live teleseminars (done via BlogTalkRadio - its free).

Paid members get to access downloads (PDF ebooks all about parenting, maybe video) and the goods that you give to the freebie members.

Regardless of what the topic is, all you need is your own idea, you own webhosting, the free wordpress blog engine (your webhost may actually have an 'auto-installer' in your control panel), and the WP Micro-Membership Plugin

If you own a wordpress blog, and you wanna see screenshots of this plugin in action, CLICK HERE.

Enjoy yourselves,

T.M. Harris

The cool thing about it right now, is that this plugin in DIRT CHEAP! I found a good source to get it from...

The “Reverse Opt-in” Technique

Hello readers!

I know it’s not often that I just hand out information, but I figure it’s something you can use to actually build your list, but to also get a greater amount of response to your mailings.

This technique is nothing new, and I know for a fact that I’ve talked about it before.

It’s called the “Reverse Opt-in” Technique. Many marketers have used this marketing strategy over and over again with great success. All of those big ‘make money online’ gurus use it from time to time, whenever they launch a new product that they expect to make them $1 million.

It’s really simple. Think about how most people have their opt-in/lead capture page. Usually, they saying everything that they want you to hear to get your name and email information, right?

They’ll make outrageous claims that can only be accomplished by signing up for a free report. That’s what usually happens. Honestly, I’m not going to knock it. Why? because I still have many lead capture pages out there on the internet which are still like that

But, when someone does something outside of the ‘mold’, it stands out. The reverse opt-in approach simply does the opposite of what many marketers do. Instead of withholding information until you get the contact info; you actually give them some information right off the bat, to show them that you know what you’re talking about, and that you’re a credible source for information and advice on your niche. After that, you ask for the opt-in for more based off of what you just divulged to them for nothing.

Pretty much, you’re instilling confidence in your potential prospects that you are something worth following. And that by giving you their name and email, not only will they be in touch with you, but that you’ll continue to divulge more valuable content, advice and recommendations.

In other words…give them some valuable content first that they can use right then and there, and then ask for the name and email if they want MORE.

Get it?

The best time to ask someone for their name and email is when they’re TRULY interested and trusting in YOU and what YOU have to say.

Yes, you can get people interested in you by doing what most marketers do…which is withhold information until they get the signup. You can always generate interest by using hype and mystery.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t generate trust…

And that’s the second part of the equation. Usually when people get the initial opt-in, they do one of two things.

1) Work on building trust and a relationship with the subscriber.

2) Start piling on email ads trying to make a buck.

Either way, you might be kicking your own a$$ doing both. It’s obvious that if you start promoting new products to a new subscriber, you’re gonna piss them off and make them unsubscribe. That’s a given.

But working towards building trust through a series of emails, can also work against you as well. To build up trust, you can’t really ask for money right away. And in the meantime, a HUGE portion of your subscribers are gonna get on that ‘free ride’ mentality, and not wanna pay for nothing when you DO ask.

That’s why we have low conversion ratios in the internet marketing industry, like 1-2%.

But think about this…

You initially come off the bat, very confident in yourself, by just throwing valuable information at them. You’re building a relationship with that person right there and then, by showing that you know what you’re talking about; and that you didn’t even force them to do anything at all to obtain the information.

That exudes confidence with your visitors. And even if your visitors do nothing more than absorb the information, and never sign up for anything, you’ve already scored ‘brownie points’ with them. The next time they hear about you, you’ve already broken the trust barrier, and can get a better response from them.

And think of this…

You give them free info for nothing, no purchase, no signup. Of course, you don’t give them ALL the information right there and then.

There should always be MORE to the information.

EXAMPLE: You could have a website that serves as a lead capture page, with a nice letter explaining what ‘private label rights’ are and how anyone could make money from them.

This information is helpful to them, because you just showed them a new avenue to making money from the comfort of their own home.

Of course, to learn the steps to making it all work, they should sign up for your free report on how to set it up.

Then naturally, you have the report showing them how to do it, how to edit, revise, and create a new digital product from PLR. Now, you advertise the source of private label products, so they can get started right now.

See the process?

1. Free No-Risk, No Pressure Information
2. Free Signup for More Information
3. Recommendation of a Resource related to making the information WORK

Step one makes the visitor comfortable, trusting and interested in you. You’re giving them information (interest) for free (trust) without having to signup (comfort). A triple whammy!

Step two naturally scores you the opt-in of a highly-targeted lead with high-interest.

Step three makes it easier to get paid.

The way 99% of email marketers out there do this, is that they do the same steps above, expect Step One.

And as I’ve pointed out to you, Step One secures the interest, trust, confidence and comfort of a new subscriber. So, by not doing Step One, you’re just getting a basic lead who has shown interest, but still have no trust and/or confidence in you. And by the way, until they get to know you from your email marketing campaign, they won’t feel comfortable with you just yet. They’re just opening the door to possibly building a relationship with them.

And that’s where many marketers SCREW UP. They either wait too long to build the relationship and lose all profitability of the lead…or they force new products on the lead and look like a money-hungry hippo.

That’s why I believe it’s good to give out information that they can run to the bank with. It secures your credibility, and instills the interest, trust, confidence and comfort in a new potential subscriber. That way, when they sign up, they’ll be super receptive to your every word, even if it’s an affiliate offer disguised as a ‘product recommendation’.

In a sense, the ‘Reverse Opt-in’ is using reverse psychology on your visitors. They’re assuming that they’re gonna have to sign up for something first before they get the goods. Instead, they get the good first, and are lead to sign up for more (once you’ve always got them drooling with the valuable gems of information/goods you’ve given them).

Hope this helps all my struggling marketers out there. Go out and prosper!

-T.M.-

Blog Carnivals - A Secret Source of Traffic for Blogs and Their Bloggers

Hey readers!

Have you often wished that there was an easier method for you to drive huge amounts of traffic to your blog?

Sadly, the more common methods of blog traffic generation such as article marketing, social networking, SEO etc. all require much effort, work and time.

As such, most bloggers and marketers are often left very frustrated.

The truth is, there is another little known method that smart bloggers use. Wanna know what it is?

...

Here goes...

Their secret is...submitting their blog articles to blog carnivals.

Seriously!

If you have not heard of blog carnivals, these are authority sites which are a major source of traffic flow.

Here's how Wikipedia defines a blog carnival:

"A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks to other blog articles on the particular topic."

Before today, submission to blog carnivals itself was still a time-consuming process.

But the good news is, right now, there is a brand new breakthrough software that allows you to submit many articles to hundreds of blog carnivals at one go.

With just a few clicks of the mouse, Blog Carnival Submitter allows you to submit multiple articles to any amount of blog carnivals you choose with just a few clicks of the mouse.

Click Here to See the Blog Carnival Submitter

This means, even if your blog was just created one day ago, it can receive huge instant traffic and backlinks just by using this powerful piece of software.

You really need to check it out yourself to see what the software can do for you.

Best of all, during its introductory period, this breakthrough tool is priced at a very low price!

So don't hate on me if you miss out. Blame yourself for not jumping on this opportunity while it's presented.

I've had opportunities to get software at prices much lower than what they go for now. One piece of software was Rapid Action Profits. I bought it for $110 less than what it goes for now, only because I got it when they first released it at a discount.

Now's your chance. Take hold of the power of blog carnivals, and use this software to make submitting your blog links to them easily done with literally a few clicks and a few seconds of your time.

Here's the site one more time:
Blog Carnival Submitter

Enjoy yourselves!

T.M.

Affiliatenaire - How to Promote Any Affiliate Program In 5 Easy Steps

Hey guys! I got a hold of this great article to help you out as affiliate marketers. It’s from one of my favorite authors, Jimmy D Brown, so please enjoy!

_____________________________________________________

How to Promote Any Affiliate Program In 5 Easy Steps

By Jimmy D. Brown of "Affiliatenaire"

.........................

Using ezine articles is a great way to promote your favor
affiliate program. What I'd like to do in this article is
provide you with a simple system for effectively writing
an ezine article that strategically promotes your offer.

There are five steps...


1. CHOOSE THE OFFER YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

This one is kind of a no-brainer. It all begins with deciding
what you want to promote. What offer would you like to
send traffic to.

HINT: You can promote your affiliate link directly, but
what works better is to promote a list at YOUR site which
you then use to promote your affiliate link over and over
again after the visitor becomes a subscribers.

2. DETERMINE YOUR "USEFUL, BUT INCOMPLETE" APPROACH.

I love to use what I have coined as the "useful, but
incomplete" approach when using freebies of any kind.
(Ezine articles, free eBooks, reports, eCourses, etc.)

What I mean by that is simply this: You provide your reader
with "useful" information (something they find of value and
are able to actually apply) but make certain that it is
"incomplete" in that they can better use the information
by making a purchase.

That's "useful, but incomplete." And it works like a charm.

The idea is to use your content to build up to your desired
response. You provide the reader with content, and then
you make an offer that allows them to fully utilize the
content, gain extra insight from the content or maximize
the content in some additional way.

Let me give you an example -

If I wanted to promote an autoresponder service in an
ezine article, how could I do it? I'd write an article
that explains how to benefit from using autoresponders.
My article would exlain different uses of autoresponders
and how the reader could profit from implementing the
ideas.

** I.E. 7 Ways To Create Revenue Streams With Autoresponders

Naturally, they will need an autoresponder service in order to
use the information, right? And I just happen to know of a
great service they can use. More on that later.

OK, so that's an example of how to promote a SERVICE offer
with your ezine article. What about a software product or an
eBook?

Want some examples?

Good, because I've got two...

TO PROMOTE A SOFTWARE PRODUCT. Let's suppose you want to promote
a software program that creates "ecovers". How can you do it?

-- Write an article outlining how important presentation of your
offer is, and how creating a cover graphic can increase response
rates by up to 1300%

-- Write a step-by-step tutorial article for "do-it-yourselfers",
explaining how to design your own graphics from scratch. Then
promote the software as a super-simplified way of doing it.

TO PROMOTE AN EBOOK. Let's suppose you want to promote an ebook
that teaches advanced list-building strategies. How can you do it?

-- Write an article that covers the "basics" of building lists,
and then promote the eBook as the "advanced" tactics.

-- Write an article on how to profit from a list, and then promote
the eBook as the "how to build the list."

See how easy this is?

That's how it works. Determine what your "useful, but incomplete"
approach will be, and then...

3. TURN YOUR APPROACH INTO A TIPS OR TUTORIAL ARTICLE.

Let's use my example again. I decided that I would describe various
uses of autoresponders and how the reader can actually profit from
them. What kind of tips list or tutorial could I create?

* How to Generate More Subscribers, Sales and Profits With
Automated Follow-Up Messages"

* 7 Powerful And Profitable Ways To Use Autoresponders To Skyrocket
Your Sales and Subscribers!

* Want to Increase Your Online Profits And Leads? Here are 7 Ways
to Do It...

I actually went with the middle title. I wrote my list of the 7
ideas that I wanted to share. And I had the makings of a perfect
article to promote an offer.

That's all you need to do. Determine your end result. Decide how
to get there with your "useful, but incomplete" approach. And then
develop a list, or even a step-by-step tutorial for your article
that leads the reader along.

With each new "idea" or "way" or "tip" or "step" or "strategy"
that you share, you can further direct the reader towards
realizing their need of your upcoming offer, and lay the
foundation for them to accept the offer.

4. EXPAND ON EACH POINT TO BUILD YOUR CONTENT.

Here's more of the easy part. Just "fill-in-the-blanks" to complete
your article. Write 1-2 short paragraphs for each of your points.
Make them good. Provide quality content. The offer you will soon
make will see poor results if your information isn't useful.

Remember, you are trying to presell the reader on the idea that
they are going to need your offer. If you don't provide them with
quality information that they WANT to begin using immediately,
then why will they want to buy what you are promoting?

Light a fire in them. Motivate them. Challenge them. Give them
such nuggets of gold that they want to keep mining until they
hit the mother lode!

5. PUT ON THE FINISHING TOUCHES WITH THE "FIVE PILLARS"

There are five things that you should always do to finish up
your ezine article. Don't skip any of them. They are all
critical...

* POLISH. Re-read your article. Does it provide information
that really is "useful" to the reader? And yet leaves them
wanting even more? That's what you want. Polish it. Put
on the wax and make it shine. It has a very specific
purpose -- make certain it has the means to achieve it.

* PROMOTE. Use your resource box to promote your offer. This
is why we've written the article, right? Remember step one?
It's time to put it into play. Give the reader what they
(hopefully) are wanting...a way to maximize the information
you gave them.

* PROOF. Don't do this yourself. Have a trusted friend, relative
or co-worker check your article for grammatical and
typographical errors. The last thing you want to do is present
a poor image after sharing some high quality information.

* PUBLISH. Zip your new article out to your favorite list of
publishers. Submit it to the announcement lists and the ezine
directories. Don't forget to publish it yourself in your own
newsletter!

* PROFIT. If you've covered all the bases that I've mentioned,
then profits are almost certain to start coming in when your
ezine article is published. You deserve it. Be proud of your
accomplishments.

And then start it all over again!

That's how you promote your favorite affiliate program in 5 easy
steps using ezine articles.

Obviously, there are many other ways to promote your affiliate
program, as well as a considerable more "details" in the strategy
we've looked at today. If you'd like 52 great ways to promote
your affiliate link AND complete step-by-step details for each
of them, be sure to read the important details below...

…………………….

Jimmy D. Brown is the author of “Affiliatenaire“, teaching
you how to create big-time affiliate commission checks in
only 1-3 hours each week. Discover how you can get cash in
the bank without a website, experience or even an idea!

Visit Affiliatenaire

…………………….

What happens when everything becomes "rehashed"?

As an online marketing consultant and product provider, I hear a lot of talk about products and content being 'rehashed'. I hear, "This ebook is just straight rehashed material".

You know, that's when you see the same tips, tricks, websites, tactics, templates, etc. that everybody else has sold you on already.

And I'm sure that if you're not new to internet marketing, and still haven't made a dime off of it yet, you're probably singing the same tune, correct?

You betcha!

So my question to you is...since it's all rehashed content, what are you going to do next?

There are three choices in which you can take.

OPTION 1: Wait for the next miracle product to come out so you can buy it and bet all of your hopes, wishes, dreams and future into it...hoping that IT will make you money, miraculously.

OPTION 2: Get pissed and quit making money online altogether (since it supposedly doesn't work for you - curses!)

OPTION 3: Actually DO what you've read and purchased a million times already!

Many people (about 99%) of "internet marketers" choose option 1. Why? Because they're lazy cruds who think that buying an ebook is going to make them rich.

Seriously, the only way you can make money off of buying an ebook, is if you're getting the PLR rights to it, so you can legally steal it, make it your own, and flip it as soon as you're done.

But that requires work...and that's something that people who choose option 1 will never do. They'll never pick up a product to actually do WORK. They just wanna KNOW how to make money online...that's it!

It makes them feel so much more damn important than anyone else to know that they know how to make money on command. They'll never do it, though.

So, in summary...option 1 is BAD. If this is you, the type that likes to buy books and hang on to dear life that it will make money for you...*pimp smack* STOP IT NOW! ...or you're destined to fail (and go bankrupt, too).

For those who choose option #2, you're just as bad as those who pick option #1!

Let me explain...

You can't call it quits...and I'll tell you why. Yes, quitting IM won't be a waste of money, because you can always get refunds (if possible). But there's one thing that will always be a waste, no matter HOW you look at it...

You've wasted your time...and you can't get time back. PERIOD.

Think about it. How long have you been after the glory and the riches that being successful in internet marketing can bring?

You've probably been at it for a while...whether it be a week, a month, a year or even YEARS.

Now think about what would happen if you quit...all that time would have been for nothing. Yes, I said it...NOTHING.

It's like blowing thousands of dollars to attend the best universities and other forms of higher education...and then, after all that money is gone, and all that time has past...YOU QUIT.

All that time is wasted, because you gave up and sacrificed many things, good times, and events in life...just to try and make IM work for you. What do you have to show for it? If you quit...you have nothing to show for it. If you still try, at least you can say that 'you're working on it'.

Me personally, I could be at this for years. I've been at it for 4 years already. If I quit now, and I didn't make a dime, what would I go back to my friends and say? I wasted 4 years of my life, cancelling nights at the bar, not showing up to BBQ's, etc...for nothing. I hope you get my point.

Time is the most valuable asset in life next to happiness, spirituality and money. With happiness, you can get it back. Spirituality, you can get back in the spirit of things. Money, you can get it back. Time...well, once it's gone, it's GONE. Can't get it back.

So what about Option #3? That's the best solution for you. You already know that everything is rehashed, right? You already know about the same topics that every ebook talks about, every video course displays to you, and every tip, trick, tool and website to check out.

So why not put this information to good use?

And if it doesn't work, look at what you're doing. Ask people for advice who are in (or near) your level of success/failure.

We always want to blame something or someone else when IM doesn't work...but we never blame ourselves. That's why it's best to get someone else's opinion on your websites, marketing strategies, and ideas. That way, you can get an honest, unbiased opinion. Wait, that opinion will be unbiased, especially if you tell people that it's your "friend's" idea, or website, or strategy. :)

For instance, a while ago, I wanted to pack up and quit IM altogether, and go back to 'slave labor' working for these money hungry corporations saying 'how can I help you?'. I wanted to blame everyone BUT myself.

I wanted to blame the guru's for snagging all my potential customers.

I wanted to blame the economy and the corporate media for planting fear into people and having them slam their wallets shut.

I wanted to blame everyone else with a mailing list, because they didn't want to promote my stuff, or even give me the time of day.

I wanted to blame Google for not putting me on the first page of search results for my keywords.

I wanted to blame every other internet marketer on the planet for launching a new product every single day and getting 100's of others to plug it for them...thereby taking all the attention away from my measly little promotions.

I was even so distressed that I wanted to blame God for not blessing me with success in my most darkest of times, financially and emotionally.

I even remembered posting my thoughts saying 'I QUIT' on an internet marketing forum that I was heavily into.

You know what happened? People started giving me advice...and crazy enough, it was advice I didn't want to hear at all (but I needed to hear it).

First, I couldn't blame God, because I should've already seen how he HAS been blessing me with two young beautiful children, a roof over my head, food on the table, and even a wife who stood by my side.

I couldn't blame every other internet marketer for taking all the attention away from my promotions. They took the time out of their schedule to go out and contact as well as follow up with 100's of people in the first place to promote their stuff. I could've been doing the same thing.

I couldn't blame everyone else with a mailing list for not promoting my stuff. I just didn't know what to write to these people to get them salivating over my offer. I didn't know that most people want to see test data before they wanna promote anything. They wanted to see how I did selling my own stuff, before they decided to put their faith in it.

I couldn't blame Google for not putting me on the first page of search results. I just didn't know how to optimize my page for my keywords, and I sure wasn't out there building links to my site like I should have.
I couldn't blame the economy and the corporate media for scaring folks into slamming their wallets shut. Why? well, other marketers were getting people to open up their wallets again to shell out hundreds of dollars on 'rehashed crap'...so my approach must not have left people compelled to trust in me, and buy my stuff, regardless of economic circumstances.

I couldn't blame the guru's for snagging all my potential customers. The key to making money online is finding out what people are willing to pay for...and then get them to trust you, so they can ultimate feel more comfortable about buying from you. I strayed away from that thinking, and that was to blame instead of the guru's.

So in the end, I was to blame for not having effective copyrighting, not spending more time getting my prospects and customers to trust me, not optimizing my web pages right, not having test data and the right words in a JV proposal, and everything else.

Sometimes the best ways to figure out why internet marketing isn't working for you; is to stop looking for who (or what) else you can blame, and starting asking yourself (and others) what YOU are doing wrong and what YOU could do different the next time around.

If you keep doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting something different to happen...then you're insane. Matter of fact, that's how Albert Einstein defined "insanity"...and I totally agree. So, if you're stuck on doing things your way, the same way, again and again, and expecting it to finally make you money...then you're insane enough to really believe that it will work (because it's NOT).

Sometimes, the ebooks with 'rehashed' crap isn't the problem. Sometimes, those lengthy video courses aren't to blame. Sometimes, it's not the gurus, or Google, or other websites and products that are out, or even the people who are involved in promoting them.

Sometimes...the problem is YOU.

And I know for a fact, that many people hate to hear that they themselves are to blame...but guess what?

THE TRUTH HURTS...but it's needed. Can't keep living a lie, because those lies are keeping you BROKE!

I hope this opens up your eyes a little bit, and inspires you to look over your business in a whole new light.

If you think you have that perfect website or promotion, and nothing is working for you/it, drop me a line at my helpdesk:

http://www.tmharris.net/helpdesk

If the problem is simple, and I have enough time, I'll answer and show you what's wrong. If it requires more thought and strategy composition, I'll have to charge you for coaching :)

But, I'm only going to do this with 10 people only. If I answer more than 10 people, it's because I just plain lost count. :)

Enjoy yourself,

T.M. Harris