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By Marlon Sanders
If this report had another subtitle, it would be "confessions of a reluctant blogger." Because…
I’ll confess: I’m not big on giving away content people don’t pay for. And that, to some degree, is what a blog is.
I’ve always made more money selling my know how than I have giving it away for free. I believe you make money by selling stuff, not giving it away for free.
Having said that, I think I’m becoming a blogging convert. Here are the reasons:
1. You need to email content to your list once a week anyway.
In the old days, I didn’t email content. The reason I do it now is you have to work harder to maintain a loyal following nowadays. Otherwise, the readership on your list goes down.
Since you’re creating weekly content, you might as well post it on your blog, right?
2. You can take the articles you write for your email list and for your blog and submit them to the article directories.
I haven’t been doing this. But we’re going to start.
3. By writing content for your blog weekly, you have articles to feed to your affiliates and resellers.
This is another WIN for you and for them.
4. You all know I’m not big on seo. But here’s the deal — My blog IS increasing my traffic from Google. I don’t have all my analytics set up right yet to track it.
I’ll report to you when I do. But I can see every hit that comes in from the search engines using my Human Click/Live Person service. I can see every single person on every one of my sites. And they have a special little tag if they came from a search engine. And I can see the
key word they searched on.
From this, I CAN tell you that I’m getting an instant bump in my seo traffic. Added to the reasons above, that’s a big plus.
5. As an added bonus, as you accumulate articles, you can put them into a brandable PDF for your resellers or incorporate them into products you sell.
A lot of you guys and gals don’t have money. You’re starting from scratch. Writing articles and posting them to your blog, then making them available to your affiliates is something ANY of you can do.
Anyone can learn to write articles with a little effort. That means YOU! All you need is to write one article a week. Now, when you first start your blog, see if you can post good content to it every day or every other day for two weeks.
That will jump start the process for you.
6. The last benefit of blogs is you get COMMENTS from your customers and prospects. Think of that as easy market research. You can see what they do and don’t respond to. It’s a terrific thing.
As for cost, you can go with Blogger.com for free. However, I had read stories about blogs getting deleted without notice on there, and I didn’t believe them. But we had my first blogs on Blogger, and I’ll be a monkey’s uncle if’n one of ‘em didn’t get zapped!
So that quickly made me a convert to Word Press. The issue on Word Press is you need hosting. Try the good ol’ basic Host Gator account. If you can afford it, the $25.00 reseller account is good. If not, go for the 8 buck a month account with unlimited dcomains.
Now, here’s the 10 second part:
That is NOT a reseller URL. I’ve read good things about them. They have a little system that does your install in 10 seconds! And it’s free.
The other issue is the blog header. Lisa covered that in one of the Design Dashboard bonuses as I recall. If you have the product and didn’t get that bonus, just post to Tim at the support desk.
Avoid This One Big Mistake That Can Waste A Lot Of Your Time, Money & Energy
And Set You Walking Down a Primrose Path To Nowhere — While Causing You
To NOT Do The Things You Need To Do To Succeed Long Term
Everyone wants a shortcut. I understand that. The thinking goes like this:
"How can I have someone ELSE do my thinking for me, someone ELSE do my writing for me? Someone ELSE do my design for me? Someone ELSE do my articles for me?"
The FIRST thing most people thing about is "How can I create 1,000 blogs all automated!" And there are those who will sell you tools for doing that. There’s a very long history of shortcuts being shortlived.
The problem is, the pitches sell like crazy. I mean, when the new automated thing comes out, everyone jumps on board. Everyone loves it. It must be the most seductive pitch in the world — "Buy this, push a button, make money."
Blogging that uses a human brain and the human element? I think it’s going to be around a long time. You’ll notice I’ve been personally commenting on blog posts. Why? Because I want to ADD the human element, not take it away!
I don’t know how long I can keep up the personal comments. But I’m going to do it as long as I can. You want to form relationships with your readers.
I’m all for automation. But I’m for things that are Evergreen, or as I call it, EverRed (only because my favorite color is red, not green. Which probably confuses the heck out of people. But you know, sometimes you just go with it right or not!)
You can do what you want. I’m just telling you, "if you listen to the songs of the sirens, you’ll pay the price."
If you play with fire, you’ll get burned.
On the other hand, blogging itself? I think it’s a solid strategy that’s here to stay. I didn’t "feel" it at first. I wasn’t on board. I was a very slow adopter.
But blogs do get "Google love." And I don’t think that’s likely to change. And they also fit into a sold strategy of writing articles, article submissions, and affiliate marketing.
OK. So those things aren’t sexy. But I did first write about them and lay out a plan for them back in Amazing Formula in 1998 or 1999. Something like that. And they STILL work, right?
That’s what I’m talking about. Building something today that will be there tomorrow.
Step 1: Start a weekly article.
Step 2: Post it to ezinearticles.com or do an article submission.
Step 3: Start a blog where you post your articles.
Step 4: Start your affiliate program (HINT: affiliatedashboard.com).
I’m even starting a separate blog for my affiliates (promotemarlon.com/blog). And you may wanna do that also.
Step 5: From your blog articles, link to your money sites. Those can be your own products. But until you have that, yeah, I guess I’m on board with linking to reviews of affiliate products or PLR products.
Step 6: Take some of the articles you write and make a little PDF out of them and use them on your money sites as an incentive to get people to opt in to your list.
COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE. I mean, really, seriously, go COMMENT on the freakin’ article!
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Marlon Sanders is the author of "The Amazing Formula That Sells Products Like Crazy." If you’d like to get on his mailing list and receive tips, articles and information about online marketing, visit: http://www.marlonsblog.com
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REPRINT RIGHTS: You have permission to use the above article without omission and including the resource box. You have the right to insert your reseller URL for "Amazing Formula" in place of the existing URL>
I think that’s some great advice. I’ve been thinking along the same lines and with a blog you are helping to leverage your efforts in writing articles as they are more likely to be passed around with more eyeballs seeing ya links when they are on a blog vs a static webpage!
[Dave, I really wasn't a big blog believer. But now, I can see the Google love. And more importantly, I can see the customer love. I recommend a "human" blog where you use your brain and communicate as best you know how to your customers and prospects.]
Once again, chock full of good advice. Thank you for the link to the installer.I have a blog and I add to it daily (I like to write). One thing I’ve noticed is that people DO want to hear you speaking in "your own voice", that is, let your readers know the real you and write just the way you would talk to them. Makes it a whole lot easier and people who do come back are doing it because they feel good about you. Gotta go link to your blog and then get busy with my Affiliate Dashboard so I can start being your #1 affiliate.
Brennan
[Thanks Brennan. You're a go getter!]
Marlon, thanks for sharing your pearls of wisdom. I’m excited about what the future holds!
[Hey Alicia, if you don't have that blog, and if you aren't doing weekly articles, I recommend it. Thanks for sharing here.]
I agree, blogging is here to stay. I have been blogging on the law of attraction at my space. My address is myspace.com/linlondon it’s a great way to get subscribers who are like minded and so I am all for blogging. I agree with Dave, the human factor is here to stay. Relationship selling is now very important.
[Hey Linda, thanks for your comments. Yep, I'm big on the human factor. Have you tried Facebook yet?]
I’ve never blogged…but you make a great case for doing so and incorporating it with the other "stuff" we should be doing! Not one thing at a time but use what we did here over there and there too and voila we have products, articles, traffic et all.
Thanks, Marlon-
Danny
http://www.RawStrengthandFitness.com (even with a Newf puppy dog!)
[Hey Danny, I'll give you that link. Heck, I'll even hyperlink it for people.]
Hi Marlon, I liked your article on blogging. I have 2 blogs – http://www.keep-healthy.net and http://www.loveisjustaroundthecorner.com
They are both word-press blogs. I started last year with great enthusiasm. I have not pursued the money-making path. I am interested, naturally in getting some return – but it is not a great issue with me. I host Google adverts. But the great incentive is being able to express one’s opinions, and also, I hope, add some interesting content for someone else. I have tried posting articles in other people’s blogs such as http://www.helium.com.
However, the greatest draw-back to blogging is simply the time it takes. I tried subscribing to an article supplier – but frankly, I would not like my name added to such poor content!
There must be millions of blogs. So what do my totally unimportasnt opinions about anything really matter. I suspect it is just the element of the peacock in my genetic make-up! 
Showing off must matter as the very idea of press button techniques for masses of stuff that I have had nothing to do with in creating other than pressing buttons – to me that is simply nonsense! 
Regards,
William
[William, I agree 100% on the time element. You have to make it do muliple duties like I talked about in the article. Congrats on your successful blogs!]
You are absolutely and excuse me the redundancy 100% right. All the way. First about creating something which will last. But for doing that you need passion, commitment and focus. It was a documentary on Discovery channel about Herr Albert Einstein. A Japanese professor said about him that he achieved the things he did, because he focused on one problem for years. In an instant world who have the time for that? But I promise you, I will try to follow your six steps. If I’ll get rich in the process, you’ll get the credit. It is only a guess, but I think that the person who attacked your blog is not a little guy. He is a big shot Guru. Marlon Marketing should be enough for your blog. The “minute” dilutes the message, and made you problems. If you know Eben Pagan, you heard about the phonetical loop. MM is good, and it is unique. Thank you. Sincerely Emeric
P.S. Lisa is far better than the guy who left you. You are a lucky guy. From her voice I can tell you for sure, that she have both looks and brain.
[Well, Lisa has been with me 7+ years. She's in Canada. Believe it or not, we've never met and I have no idea what she looks like! Matt was with me 2 1/2 years. I've now hired Santos in his place and am giving him a HUGE crash course! Appreciate your comments. Interesting comment on "the minute". You know, several others are using the word "minute" so I was thinking about dumping it.]
A great article on blogging. Liz Tomey made me realize the value of blogging in her course where she asks course members to write several articles for at least two blogs. However, I was most impressed with your life-changing comments about the fact that we want somebody else to do all the work! I suppose we still want our parents to take care of everything for us.Nobody else puts these gems of wisdom as strikingly as you!
Thanks for a great post.
John Watson
[Hey John, Liz is right. I see the value in blogs. I'll be developing some more methods and releasing more info as time goes on.]
Marlon, as usual, you’re right. Although I was surprised at your reticence to do "free" information products in the past. I’ve been doing many of the the things you suggest, and my list is expanding. Here’s a tip. When you submit an ezine article to the various ezines and on your blog, go to Google Alerts. Take the title of your story exactly as it appears and put in an alert in quotes. Anytime a Google spider finds it, it will send you an email with the links where it’s appeared. Google alerts: http://www.google.com/alerts One of my most popular articles was "What I learned From A Drunken One-Eyed Indian." I’ve had Google reports come from all over the world, including from several sites in India! Who knows what they were thinking? If you’re interested, that’s on my blog:
http://tomjustin.typepad.com/the_justin_times/
[Tom, that is a KILLER idea and I HOPE everyone picked up on it. I'm giving you a hard link for that.]
I have a confession to make… I always used to delete your e-mails because you pitched all the time but you’ve made me a convert with the amazing content you’re posting! I’m serious. If my printer wasn’t out of ink I’d print this right now, instead I saved it on my hard drive. I think this is the first blog post I’ve ever wanted to print out, and I read a lot of stuff. The thing that’s nice is how the stuff you write is current and up to date RIGHT NOW. This post talked about the what and the how to criss-cross and leverage the content in the overall marketing strategy as it applies to YOUR business. This in turns helps me see crystal clear how to do this in my own business.
Keep up the good work!
[Hi Rhen, I have more current, good stuff to come. So stay tuned in. Marlon]
Fantastic Article! When the student is ready the teacher appears! I will follow all the steps as outlined … So far I posted a profile on My Opulent Reality Website. Very new to this method for connecting with winners on the internet. The Best Qualified Leads I Have Found Are Created At: http://www.MoneyMakingCat.com Can Anyone Recommend any others? Live Long And Prosper, Fred Catalano zanshinjiujitsu@hotmail.com http://www.SelfDefenseNewYork.com
[Hey Fred, that's prolly sneakin' in a few too many links for a blog post. Hope you're reading my blog and not just using a commentor. Anyways, I'm a marketer, so what the hay.]
Hi Marlon, I have been reading some of guru’s recommen [comments deletede.....] dations of your work and been to your sales pages for many many times, but I have never purchased your material. . Cheers Roy
[Hey Roy, deleted part of your comments. Sorry. It's my blog so I can do what I want. Good luck with Evoy. He's helped a lot of people. I'm not for everyone.]
Marlon, great article on how to use leverage even in your work- using the same articles 3-5 ways instead of just once or twice…makes a lot of sense. And I like the idea of using another blog for affiliates, to keep them in the loop- and hopefully selling like crazy. But you really don’t like to give stuff away for free (neither do I by the way, at least not MY stuff)? But I’m beginning to believe in a step-by-step process to build people up to the big purchases, with lots of relationship building on the way. I’ve toyed with the idea of a free report or product I’ve obtained from someone else, then offering a $29-39 upgrade, then a $99-199 full-blown product leading to my top-shelf $1295, $5995, and $10,000 products that literally change people’s lives. What do you think about this as a strategy? How would you go about it? How would you best monetize the people that ‘fall out’ at one of the steps along the way?
Alex
http://www.MoreMoneyBetterLife.com
[Hey Alex, appreciate the comments. Yeah, I'm not much on giving away stuff for free. I like selling. But in today's market, you have to keep an audience. The funnel works IF your customers last that long. In some markets, customers come and go very quickly.]
Great observations. I’ve only just begun to see the unlimited potential for running a blog. Your experience and generosity in sharing it are a welcome, refreshing contribution. I see all the social networking you’re doing too. That’s what I’m working on now and already I’m seeing results. Everyone should register their blogs and websites at sites like Technorati and others. …And the hits just keep on coming! ~
Chuck’s Tips Blog: http://youngwolfsecret.blogspot.com
Site: http://www.chuckstips.com
[Chuck, just starting with the social stuff. But doing some work on it. It'll be interesting to see the results. Hey, digg us! Spread the love baby!]
Like always, Marlon, you spelled out how to get started in marketing in a quick, easy to understand and take action on sort of way. Excellent and thank you once again Bill
[Hey Bill, appreciate it! Bookmark us in delicious or digg! Spread the word. Thanks. Marlon]
Hi Marlon, I’ve been following you like a bad smell for ages now. You always lead me to the juiciest information. Marlon….You just did it again. I’ll keep on lingering in your wake. It’s a great place to be. Thanks
[Hey Ken, thanks. And spread the word on digg.com, other social bookmarketing sites, your blog, email list, etc.! Thanks for your support Ken. I'll try to keep hitting you with more good stuff over the upcoming months.]
Marlon, I’ve been looking for a tough,but fair mentor for a long time. guess what guy…yer it.
I know the road you lead your followers on won’t always be easy…but if we are willing to learn…it’ll be doable. ………………………………….. I’m taking your knowing…and learning,and growing. Gotta tell ya…outstanding blog !!! A.R.B. 
[Anthony, thanks for your comments. Hope you like the video today!]
Hmm. You may not be allowing trackbacks here. I did post at http://wptutorial.com/blog/updates/more-ideas-for-your-blog and linked back and did a trackback but did not see the comment here.
Love the information you give on marketing and the products are eeasy to recommend because they work.
Marlon, I want to thank you Soooo much for finally talking about what all these other "experts" out here won’t — that much of being a success long-term on the web is by doing some darn work:) When you mention to people that the easiest and cost-free way of building your list and your traffic is writing an article a week, people’s eyes roll to the back of their heads! It’s not rocket science – just getting in there and digging into what is hopefully a passion for you. Love your products and this blog. Look forward to reading more. (I’ll bookmark this post:) -Lisa
[Lisa, I'll be posting a fresh article every Saturday. Maybe more some weeks. But my plan is to always make sure my weekly articles gets posted here. And hopefully some on top of that.]
Dear Marlon, congrats on your new blog. On July 25th I posted an article on my blog and reprinted your entire article titled "How to Get the Traffic You Need to Make Your ‘Money Machine’…" That is a great article by the way – receiving only 11 public comments but is the result of many personal emails from my readers. Your article is the closing 2/3 of my own write-up titled "Tough Love from the Big Guns". Perry Marshall is also referenced, but I gave you the closing credits.
Here’s an excerpt (and there’s a very good reason I’m posting that excerpt within your blog comments – so bear with me)… "I owe a large part of my work-at-home, vacation-when-you-want, lifestyle today to Marlon’s teachings. "Marlon told me I could re-publish the content here for you (since he doesn’t have an online version to link to) and I think he’ll be shocked that I actually did it, since it’s not an easy read…" It’s fantastic that you’ve entered into blogging Marlon, and to celebrate I’ve linked to you from my own blog’s home page. NOW I don’t have to reprint your articles…I can just link to ‘em! Tough Love from the Big Guns (July 25, 3007) is here: http://www.smartzville.com/marketing-help/ I just added the link-through to your new blog today (as an UPDATE within the article). I hope you get tons of traffic and Google love as a result!
Cheers,
Laura Childs
[Laura, thank you so much! I appreciate your being here. And the links. We'll see about the Google love long term! In the meantime, I'll publish a meaty article here weekly, Google love or not.]
Hey there Marlon, Certainly glad to see You mention the value of MyBlogLog because it is powerful in getting some Google Love Links. I’ve been using that service since January 2007 and once Your Blog Content is being listed in Major Search Engines from there I’ve noticed some fast appearing of links to revelant content. Matter of fact it is awesome, so when Ken McArthur first mentioned it in email we got it. That is very inspiring the way You shared the tracking knowledge gained using MyBlogLog. Great Post and the Illustration You did with Video is just wonderful. Certainly Hope the three day trial was enough to cause You to share even more. Half the story still hasn’t been told just yet. Marlon I hope You didn’t miss that on September 1, 2007 we did link to Your Article on our website from our Blog and also made Comments that referred the same. Thanks! How To Escape Your Day Job
[Hi, thanks for the link Jim. I'll have my staff follow up on mybloglog. Thanks for being here and for your comments. Oh, and for the links too!]
Marlon, Love your easy lovable style of speaking right to us!!
I’m a baby newbie but can’t wait to start my own profitable blog. How, where are the baby steps, step by step on how to place a link into my blog if I’m going to use Word Press, how do I put a photo in whenever I please.. Where’s the real newbie help??? Thanks for your time a bunch. Claudia