This week I’m talking about managing your affiliate links.  We all sign up for affiliate programs with high hopes of making a couple of quick recommends and laughing all the way to the bank.  That’s a pretty rare occurrence of course – it takes time, skill and persistence to make an income from affiliate programs.

I’ll be sharing a few tips on how I make a steady income from affiliate programs and giving you some ideas on how you can make more affiliate recommendations each and every week.

Just keeping track of your affiliate links can be a chore in itself. I made a quick seven minute video to show you how I organize my affiliate links and keep them handy for using.

Watch the video. (Be patient, it may take a minute to load up.)

Related posts:

1. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio – #181
2. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #216
3. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #271

Are you considering starting a business when your kids go back to school next fall?  It is not to early to start brainstorming and planning!  Yes, it is the height of summer vacation, but research and selecting the right opportunity for you and your family takes time.

1. The good news is that I have already saved you some time already!  Look no further.  Here are the 10 Best Websites For Finding A Business to Start Next Fall.

1. Hot Seminar Series – Kelly McCausey is THE industry leader for all things related to mamas working at home, and this summer she is introducing us to eight real people running profitable businesses 100% online.  For just $10 you can access the entire call series and listen at your leisure.


2. Top 10 Internet Home Business Ideas You Can Start and Run in Your Underwear – Put together but the CEO of Sparkplugging.com, this list is jam-packed not only with online business ideas, but also valuable information about important skills needed, best learning resources, and recommended books.  A must-see!


3. WAHCheck.com – This site goes beyond listing work at home opportunities.  It also incorporates reviews and ratings given by contributors as well as the general public.


4. Kelly’s podcast with Linda Stacy of IRepNetwork – If you are considering a direct sales career then this podcast is a must-listen.  Linda Stacy, a veteran in the direct sales industry, gives advice on how to see if direct sales is for you, key questions you need to ask before you join, and how to make an informed choice on a company.


5. WAHM Forums – Want to see what other moms are talking about before you make a decision?  Check in at the WAHM Forums, which are categorized into specific business boards for every direct sales product or work at home business.


6. Blog Internship – Thinking of starting a blog?  As a recent graduate, I highly recommend Kelly McCausey’s internship program.  There’s a big difference between reading and DOING, and in 10 weeks you will transform yourself from newbie to expert.  Start now and you will complete the program right after the kidlets start back to school!


7. Christian Work @ Home Moms – Under Founder Jill Hart’s direction, this site is an information clearinghouse and support network for moms with a unique Christian highlight.  Browse this site for ideas, then watch out for her soon-to-be released book So You Want To Be a Work At Home Mom: A Christian’s Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business, with co-author Diana Ennen, for just $10.87 plus shipping.


8. WebMomz’s Best Home Business Ideas – This list is unique in that it is broken down first by your primary skill or interest (like “arts” or “caregiver”), then lists businesses that will complement or fit you.


9. Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio – At the same time you are figuring out how to make more money, Frugal WAHMs Talk Radio will support you in your efforts to SAVE more money in your family budget.  I recently interviewed Melissa Smallwood, the new owner of the site, who brings new and creative ideas.


10. Moms Network’s Break-even Analysis – Before you make a final decision, read Ann Garner’s guidance on how to assess what EXACLTLY it is going to take for you to make money in your new career.  It might surprise you!

photo credit: Photos8.com

Related posts:

1. Is Now the Time to Start a Business?
2. Finding meaning in the Why
3. Are You Wanting to Start a Scrapbooking Business?

Work-at-home moms, what is on your mind now that we’ve hit mid-summer?  I am putting together my last (*sniff*) and BEST post, and want to address a super-important, current, relevant topic.  Are you turning your thoughts to next fall already?  Wondering what business you could start once you get the kids back in school?  Or, have you used up all your “keep-the-kids-busy” activities and wondering what to do next?  Have you looked at your business progress the first half of the year, and are wondering what could help you make the next half great?  What else?  My mother-of-all-mothers Top 10 List post will appear on Sunday, July 12th.  Please leave your comment below!

photo credit: kevindooley

Related posts:

1. Link Love: What’s On Mom’s Mind
2. My Blog Follows You
3. Link Love: Direct Sales Industry

If you’ve built more than a few niche sites I’m sure you have some that get traffic, but just don’t convert. I had a bunch of those from the beginning of my learning curve. I picked keywords that had great search volume and weren’t competitive so I’m getting traffic, but the sites just aren’t converting. I didn’t pick great “buying” keywords.

For a while I’ve let them sit around and do nothing ~ but then I realized I have to maximize the work I’ve already done. There’s gotta be a way to make money from these underperforming sites.

And there is!!

Start building a list!!

It doesn’t matter what your site is about ~ whether it’s baby related, recipe related ~ or even chainsaw sharpener related you can create a newsletter or some sort of autoresponder series for it.

Why bother with a list for niche sites?

When you set up a way for people to sign up to your list you create an instant raise for yourself. It is generally known that it takes at least 7 exposures to something before people will buy. If you create a way for people to hear from YOU those 7 times you are much more likely to make a sale.

It also provides you the opportunity to not only provide quality information to people, but to provide different products they may want or need. It’s much harder to do this from a website, but in a newsletter or autoresponder series you can easily weave in multiple related offers.

This is gonna take a lot of work!

Setting up an autoresponder doesn’t have to take a lot of work. You may have niche sites that are related to specific keywords, but they are all in the same “niche” you can get them all on the same list. Let’s say I have 3 niche sites that are based on specific keywords, but they are all related to babies I can use the same list for all three sites.

Personally I like to do newsletters for my autoresponder series. I can put a newsletter together quite quickly. I just have a few elements in each newsletter.

1. Personal words ~ something relevant from me ~ let’s people hear my “voice” and allows me to connect with the reader.

2. Sponsored ad ~ a text ad for an affiliate product (if your list gets really good you can sell this space too)

3. Featured article ~ an article (mine or someone else’s I have permission to use) related to the topic

4. Q & A ~ answer a question relevant to the niche which easily can lead to a recommendation for a product.

I set aside 1 day each week to work on my newsletters. Each one can take less than an hour and it works for me forever.

So it may be a little effort, but it’s an effort that is well worth doing. If you haven’t built your first list yet it can seem kind of overwhelming I know ~ here’s a free report that breaks list building down into understandable, actionable pieces. It’s what got me moving on the right track! Enjoy.

Post from: Internet Marketing Strategy for Moms

How to Make Money from Those “Dud” Sites

Have you ever been to a free teleseminar?

Do you know why people offer free teleseminars?

It’s not out of the goodness of their hearts, that’s for sure!!Teleseminars can be a great tool to use to build your brand ~ become an expert on any given topic. They are also great for promoting a product you have, as well as building your list.

They are also a fantastic way to CREATE your first product.

It may seem scary to think about putting together a free teleseminar, but there are a ton of reasons you should, and tons of ways hosting a teleseminar can move you and your business to the next level.

I was looking around for information on how to jump into this arena, because I KNOW the value of them, and wanted to know the best way to go about setting it all up.

I happened to run across a special offer Bob the Teacher is running and wanted to share it with you as well, it’s what I’m going to be doing all day today ~ as soon as I finish this post!

Bob has an entire course on how to create teleseminars and use them to build your business. It’s called “Teleseminar Formula” It is 8 modules of information on every aspect of using teleseminars.

He is getting ready to launch a brand new version of this product and so for the next 48 hours he is giving away ~ YES ~ giving away access to his current program. I am taking advantage of it right now ~ and you should too!!

Here’s the link to get FREE access to Teleseminar Formula.

Here’s just SOME of what you can learn from Teleseminar Formula:

• Why teleseminars are the fastest, easiest way to product creation, affiliate profits, and stronger customer relationships

• 7 Ways To Use Teleseminars To Build Your List, Increase Your Profits, And Gain Momentum

• Teleseminar Tools And Resources (Both Free And Affordable)

• How To Record Your Teleseminar For Multiple Purposes

• How To Receive And Answer Questions During The Call

• Important Dos and Don’ts Of Live Teleseminars

• How To Handle What-If Scenarios Like A Pro

• How To Generate Immediate Response With Your Audience For Higher Profits

• How To Turn Your Teleseminar Into An Ebook
• How To Use Your Transcripts To Generate More Traffic
• How To Use Your Teleseminar To Deliver Content On Your Blog For Weeks
• How To Turn Your First Teleseminar Into A Profitable Series

You see what I mean ~ you can’t beat this. If you are thinking about using teleseminars in any way I highly suggest you take advantage of this offer for the next 48 hours.

If you love what he’s teaching, and what you’re learning you may decide to grab the next version of the training, but I’m sure you’ll be able to take what you learn here and run with it if you want!

If you do, please send me an invite to your first teleseminar ~ I might like to come!

Post from: Internet Marketing Strategy for Moms

Using Teleseminars to Launch Your Business and Create Products

If you read a lot of blogs, chances are you read them in a feed reader. I use Google Reader as my reader of choice, I can read my feeds on any computer or on my iPhone.

You can set up your blog to publish the full post in feed readers or just a partial post, a little teaser if you will. You must click on the title to be taken to the actual site to read the rest of the post. Most blogs I read use the full post method, but a few are partial posts, like the blog in the image below taken from my feed reader:

My question is, what is better for business, a partial, teaser post or the full one?

The obvious benefit to a partial post is more people will click over to your actual blog to read the rest of the post.  You will get more traffic to your website, more eyes on your ads, perhaps clicking on your ads.  That seems like a pretty big benefit, doesn’t it?

The problem is, as I have read, various bloggers have tested this theory out, and when they truncate the posts in the RSS feed, they actually get LESS traffic to their sites.  So not only are people not reading your entire post that you worked so hard on, but they aren’t even thinking of visiting your site.  They are ignoring your fabulous posts and blog.

So is it worth it to put up your entire post and have people read it in their feed reader and never visit your site?  Well, it looks like yes, it is worth it.  People will read your entire post and some will click through to comment.  Others will click your affiliate links in your text.

You can post links to the site (not your feed)  in your social media campaigns to drive more traffic to your site.  You may have to have more call to actions (Click to get your Free report), but in the end, you should have better results.  Should?  Yes, you will want to test everything for your specific market, your results might be different.

Personally, as a new mom (and WAHM), I am busier than I ever thought possible (single mamas and mamas of multiples – I bow down to you!!), and I just don’t have time to click through to posts to see if it is worth my time reading.  If it is a great post, I will want to comment, so I click through.  If I am reading it on my phone, I will not want to click through unless I know the site well.  I just don’t have time to add another step on, and I have been deleting blogs with partial feeds from my reader with great abandon.

When I set up my new blog, I checked to see what other bloggers did, and all of the big names publish the whole post, so I am blindly following their lead. I figure they must know something about successful blogging.  I am not confident enough to test this theory out on my own yet!

Have you tested this theory?  What works the best for your business blog?

Related posts:

1. Ten Posts for a Sunday
2. Favorite Posts from 2008
3. Make Your Blog Posts More Enjoyable to Read

How many projects do you have almost completed that need just that last little tweak or addition and it would be finished?  The vast majority of entrepreneurs complete projects and products to around 97% completion, and then put them aside – never to be fully completed.

Why do we do this?  What stops us putting in that last 3% of work and having another product or service to sell that brings in income?  It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  We do 97% of the work and then put it aside with only 3% left to go – and we never make a cent off all that work because it’s never completed. It’s because we’re looking for perfection.  We compare our work against everything else out there, and find it wanting.  We wonder if it’s good enough, if our competitors have done it better, if it’s overpriced, underpriced, if there’s a market there for it – we get scared that it’s not perfect and so we never finish it.

And that’s for the products that actually make it to 97% completion – even more of them never get past the planning stage!  Now that can be a good thing, if in the planning stages you realise there’s no market, or the market is saturated, or you can’t manufacture the product with a decent profit.  However, what about those products that are shown to be feasible and marketable after your market research and planning – and still don’t move ahead?

It’s time to put the fear to one side and complete those projects.

No money is ever made in a business until you do something, finish it and market it.  How much more could you be making if you completed those products that are so close to finished now?  And what would happen if you sent them out even if they weren’t absolutely 100% perfect?

Completion – not perfection.

I’m not saying to produce sloppy work that shows you haven’t put effort into it.  I’m talking about leaving off the endless tweaking, the proof-reading and minor changes that are never totally finished.  The re-designing to add just one more feature.  The striving for the perfect website with which to promote your business.

You can research endlessly, make alterations and changes, discuss wording and grammar ad infinitum.  Or you can take a deep breath, step up to the plate and put it out there.  If you’ve done your market research and can see there is a need and market for your product, then it needs to be out there and selling in that market.  Not still on your workbench or computer.

It is more important to have something completed than to have it 100% perfect.  Completion will sell.  Perfection will sit uselessly and never bring in a cent.  Get that product out there.  The perfection can come later, and the great plus is that you’ll have feedback from users who have bought the product.

Remember, Completion not perfection.

Melinda is a Business Coach who specialises in working with at-home mums.  Her areas of expertise include developing business plans that really work, finding clarity and direction amongst the chaos of working at home, streamlining systems and processes for greater efficiency and effectiveness and   developing profits.  You can find her at  WAHM Biz Builder

Related posts:

1. New! Product Launch Coaching Pack
2. New Things
3. Distractions!!

Christie Ingram of WAHM Hacks joins me this week to chat about her experiences as a blog intern and the launch of my new Blog Internship program.  We talk about the value of receiving constructive feedback of your writing and how important it is to find out own voice in blogging.

I believe you have to know who you want to talk to and what you want them to do before you start blogging.  Then its all about covering topics that let you make great relevent recommendations.

I hope you’ll check out Blog Internship!

Related posts:

1. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #272
2. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio – #189
3. Work at Home Moms Talk Radio #213

Do you have an information product or another product that you sell online?  Imagine what it be like to have your own sales force that you don’t have to pay unless they produce results.  What if your sales force brought you new customers every day?  That is the benefit of having an affiliate program!

I am very interested in this model, but I have so many questions, like:

• How much commission should I offer in my affiliate program?


• What kind of affiliate tools should I provide to my affiliates?


• Can I have an affiliate program with a service-based business?


• How EXACTLY do I get started?

Alice Seba, the Internet Marketing Sweetie (and a long-time mentor of mine!), has answered all of these questions (and more) in her Affiliate Manager Sweetie course.  She guides you step-by-step in starting and running your own profitable affiliate program that your affiliates will love.  This downloadable course includes the Comprehensive Affiliate Management Training Guide, easy reference checklists, email templates, and three bonus interviews, all for only $47.95.

I am running over to get started today – are you?  You can also find Alice Seba on Twitter.

Related posts:

1. Aweber has Sweetened their Affiliate Program
2. Start an Affiliate Commotion with Angela Wills
3. Free Help for Budding Affiliate Managers

If you haven’t read any of Jeff Herring’s articles or information you are missing out. Article marketing is one of the best ways you can get traffic to your site and build your authority in your niche. Jeff Herring is the KING of article writing.

You can check out his articles at ezinearticles.com and if you want an easy way to write great articles I highly recommend you grab his article templates. He provides 26 article templates and all you have to do is plug in your information and go!

Anyway, I’ve been doing more work on my opt in pages and found this article recently and thought the points were so clear and easy to implement I wanted to share it with you.

List Building Mistake Number 3 - Failing to List the Benefits of Opting in on Your Opt-In Page
By Jeff Herring

When you are list building your opt-in page must have clear benefits listed for joining your list community. It has to pass the “who cares” test, because a person’s coming to this page and they’re considering trading their email address for something. So they’re thinking, “What’s in it for me?”

4 important questions you must answer

In all your marketing messages you want to meet these criteria, especially on something like this. You want to answer these four questions:

1. What is this and what is it about? - Are you being clear about what you are offering and clear about the benefits?

2. What’s in it for me? - People want to know what’s in it for them. They’re listening to, as you’ve heard me say before, radio station WIIFM - What’s In It For Me.

3. Do I trust this person? - How in the world can they decide if they trust somebody from looking at the opt-in page? Lots of different ways. Something as simple as on the bottom of mine where I have the copyright notice and contact information. That ups peoples’ trust.

4. Do I feel good about doing this? Is this a no-brainer?

So it’s: what is this about, what’s in it for me, do I trust this person, and do I feel good about doing this?

Those are taken care of many times in a list of benefits. What am I getting out of this? Why am I doing this? Maybe it’s just one of those benefits listed that tips the person over. That may be the thing that decides them to say, “Hey, I’m going to opt-in here.”

And now I would like to invite you to claim your FREE Instant Access to my List Building Instant Article Creation Template when you visit http://www.ListBuildingArticleTemplate.com

You’ll get get a “plug-n-play” Instant Article Creation Template - just plug in your info! And you’ll get a 13 minute instructional audio on how to create a list building article.

From Jeff Herring - The Article Marketing Guy and The Great Article Marketing Network.

Post from: Internet Marketing Strategy for Moms

Easy Ways to Fix Your Opt In Page and Increase Your Opt in Rate