New Source Marketing Blog

Scam?? What "Scam"??.......Geez!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 02:45:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

Can you believe this?? Two posts back to back and one day apart....I'M ON FIRE!! :)

Seriously though.....ya know, every so often, I enter my name or my business name or something like that into Google or Bing or Yahoo, just to see what kind of stuff pops up AND to see where my sites are ranking etc.

I have a vendor product on Clickbank right now that was written by Chris Farrell, and it is all about "making money selling your digital photos" (I'll put a link to it at the bottom of this post).

Anyway, I recently punched in my online company name (New Source Marketing), and as I scrolled through the results, I started to see a few sites coming up like "Scam-Or-Real.info" and "Avoid-Scam.info"......and I'm thinking....WTF??

Whoa whoa whoa a second.....there's no "scam" going on here....I'm not out to scam ANYONE at ANYTIME!! I get that these "affiliates" (cuz that's who they are....affiliates helping to drive sales of the product) are trying to use a little "reverse psychology" here by using the word "scam", or basing there marketing on using a domain name with "scam" in it, so that people will click on it to see what kind of dirt they can find about me and my online "practices".

Now, I'm kinda thinking.....ya know guys....this whole reverse psychology "scam", "read this before you buy anything", "buyer beware....click here first" kind of marketing angle is; A) GETTING OLD & TIRED!! and B) Quite possibly doing more harm than good where the product is concerned.

The interesting thing is, when you click on these results in Google or Bing or Yahoo, you immediately go to the product's sales page, with no explanation of whether it's a "scam" or not (and it's NOT, I can assure you!!)....it's simply an affiliate link to take you to the sales page.

Anyway, I'm a bit uncomfortable with having any product of mine and the word "scam" in the same web space....either in the domain name or on the sales page. This is a product created by a marketer that has huge integrity (Chris Farrell) and I'm fighting everyday to prove that I am "always" inclined to help and not hurt with my marketing endeavours....I'm a BIG believer in the idea that "I treat people the way I want to be treated in return".

Oh well, my mission continues I guess.....I'll do what I have to do!!

By the way, you can find that site of mine HERE

Take care everyone,

Pat B.

Just Launched A New Web Site!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 02:38:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

I just put together, and launched, a new marketing website that you can find here:

CLICK HERE TO SEE MY SITE!!

I invite you to stop by and take a look around......there are a good handful of online marketing articles to look at as well, and, you can access more free information, and my free newsletter, from there too (just enter your name and e-mail where it says "Free Money Making Info".....it doesn't cost anything to do that!!).

Hope all is well with your marketing endeavours.

To Your Success,

Pat B.

What's Wrong With This Picture??

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 04:30:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

Ya know.....I've been thinking about this a little bit, and in this case it worked out to my benefit, but it got me to thinking.

Okay, I'll explain....I had a gentleman e-mail me saying that he was seriously considering joining the Chris Farrell Membership site, and that he was on another person's e-mail list, he tried to contact the list owner (for more information), and he had been waiting 9 days for a response.

If he didn't receive a response soon, he was going to join up through one of my links. A few days later he signed up through my link (obviously he got no response).

So, as a marketer, what can be learned from this?? Well, I replied to this gentleman in less than an hour.....unless I was out of town and in a country where I had no internet access, it would never take me 9 days to get back to anyone!!

I don't know how many times I've heard that marketing online is not just about selling stuff, but it's also about building relationships with your clients too (among other things).

I guess some marketers just never learn.....why have an e-mail list if you aren't willing to converse with them once in awhile when they have questions?? If you are going to do business online, don't you think you should be fairly "accessible" via e-mail??

I wish I knew who this other marketer was, as I'd love to thank him for being so flaky in dealing with his list.....I gained a client because of it, and if he has anymore he doesn't care to talk to, please send them my way!!

I HIGHLY Recommend You See This If You're An Affiliate Marketer!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:25:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

I've recently joined up with well-known and "very" well-respected marketer Chris Farrell to boost my marketing efforts, and I must say, I'm very impressed by what I've seen.

Do yourself a favour and check out his site and what it's all about.....as a matter of fact, stop by HERE and see what I'm talking about.....you'll be glad you did!!

Cheers,

Pat B.

My, How Things Can Quickly Change

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:05:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

As usual, it has been awhile since I came in here and blabbed onto this page......again, my apologies for that. You all must be getting tired of me saying that!!

Anyway, it's funny how things can change in a relatively short amount of time. Since I last posted in here back in July, I have become the president of a webhosting company and have also been expanding my online marketing business as well. I don't know if it's that everyone suspects there's a "recession", but it sure seems that there aren't as many gigs to be had, or the phone's just not ringing anymore, or maybe a combination of some or all of those, but I can sure tell that things have slowed down a fair amount. Interestingly enough, I'm the busiest with non-music things right now.

Jason Morris, a friend of a number of years now, as well as my "computer geek" guy, has asked me to come on board with him to expand the web hosting side of his business having giving me the "presidential" position as well as director of sales and marketing. Jason does excellent work and has been great to work with over the last 5 years or so having hosted my personal site and most of my online business sites, so it was easy for me to decide to join him in this business venture. As well as having a deep passion for music, I have had a definite fasination and growing interest in internet technology over many years now, so I'm excited about this new direction I'm taking.

This company has plenty to offer in terms of website design, hosting and VPS (virtual private server) hosting......from personal design and hosting requirements, right up to "fully managed" environments for businesses and corporations. Please stop by our website for more information.......you can find us HERE.

Having this position as company president and director of sales and marketing will certainly put demands on my time to a certain extent, but, by the same token, it will also free me up to allow me to do the types of gigs I want to do and will really help to keep me going through those slow times.

So, that's the main news, weather, and sports for now.......please do stop by every so often to see what's up, and if you need a site designed (redesigned) and/or top quality webhosting packages with awesome tech support......you know who to call!! :)

Take care everyone,

Pat B.

What A Great Concert!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Hey Blogspot World,
I just got back to my hotel after seeing "Earth, Wind, and Fire".....AND....."Chicago" (the band not the musical) on the same concert at The Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Yup, it was KILLER, and you know......I'm happy to say that a big portion of this trip has been funded by the cash I've been making online.

Musically, as a saxophonist, this summer is pretty slow compared to others, so it just goes to show you that being my own boss and working online is truly saving my "bacon" this summer and has afforded me the chance to come and see a fantastic concert like this one. One of the goals I set for myself a long time ago pertaining to an online business was that I wanted to use money from my online business so that my wife and I could afford to come and see and experience these "KILLER" musical moments.

No, I'm not an online millionaire (YET!!), but I'm reaching goals that I have set for myself, and ya know what??.....that's how it starts. It's a great feeling, and if you are reading this, you need to experience this same thing (if you haven't already).

Stay positive, stay focused, be patient, and NEVER stop learning.....sound like a cliche?? Maybe so, but there's truth there......no seriously......there is, I mean it!!

To Our Success,

Pat B.

Looking Forward To Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

As usual, it has been awhile since I came in here and blabbed onto this page......again, my apologies for that. Anyway, I'm looking forward to a nice restful summer and then hit it again come the fall. All is quiet right now (not that I'm complaining or anything) although this is the first year in the last 16 years that I haven't been performing at the Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show. Apparently, the terms "new artistic direction" and "budget restraints" are terms of this year's show where that's concerned....whatever the hell that means. One thing's for sure, I bet there's some sort of "story" behind it all, as one thing I have come to realize over the last 16 years is that the Board of Directors of the Calgary Stampede works in truly "mysterious ways" from time to time, so that "is" what that "is" (I don't look for the "logic" cuz it rarely exists).

On a more positive note, I'm heading to Las Vegas on July 23rd to see "Earth Wind & Fire" AND "Chicago" (the group NOT the musical) playing on the same concert at the Hard Rock Hotel......should be a HOOT!! I have wanted to see EWF for a LONG time, so I feel I'm overdue.
Having the extra time on my hands, I am working more on my "online business"......."online marketing" to be more precise, and that always keeps me busy and helps make ends meet when gigs are not as plentiful (like January and August).

Anyway, I realized a long time ago that certain times of the year are more lucrative than others, so it's nice to have something to "fall back on" during those times.
Well, that's the news, weather, and sports from my neck o' the woods......summer will be a bit slow at times, but that just gives me more time to hang out with friends and family, to travel a bit, and to make more money online, so I don't mind all that much......I look forward to the break.

Have a great summer, and safe travels to you wherever you may be venturing to.

Regards,

Pat B.

Just A Quick Note About Some FREE Pay-Per-Click Software

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

I just downloaded some new PPC Spy Software that I'm enjoying using. If you're interested, click the link below and give it a look.....and best of all....it's "FREE".

Check it out for free right now:

PPC Web Spy

Here's hoping your marketing efforts are paying
off the way you want them to!!

Regards,

Pat B.

The "Big G" Is At It Again!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:42:00 +0000

I bet you've never heard that one before have you?? Ya, right!! If you have been an online marketer for any real length of time and have used Adwords for any length of time, I'm sure you have experienced the "Wrath of Google" at some point.

I'm very proud of myself for not having gone completely "mental" up to now dealing with the "Big G", but I sense that a complete nuclear meltdown can't be far off at this point.

Here's the latest thing that I'm going through as we speak, and anyone who is doing any affiliate sales with Clickbank products might want to listen closely to this as this may affect you too (if it hasn't already).

I'm sure you have all noticed that on April 27/09, Clickbank changed the look and functionality of their hoplinks by instituting something called "HopLink Shield"......obviously put in place to deter affiliate commission theft, and I say "bravo" to Clickbank for doing so. You'll notice that Clickbank hoplinks are now much longer and consist of a complex combination of letters and numbers that "cloak" or "mask" your actual Clickbank ID, so now it is more difficult for someone to steal your commissions.....great idea folks!!

Well, I though it was a great idea until I decided to do some "direct linking" campaigns (linking directly to the product sales page instead of a squeeze page first), so I entered my new "cloaked" Clickbank hoplinks into the "keyword URL" section of my Adwords campaigns so I could track sales at the keyword level. Now, even though my new "cloaked" Clickbank hoplink redirects to the product page that matches the "display URL" in my ads, Google disapproved a whole bunch of my keywords because they feel that even though my hoplink takes you right to the actual page of the product I'm advertising, the keyword URL is inaccurate because it doesn't "match" the display URL (ya, and is "anal retentive" hyphenated??).

I contacted Google about this and I was eventually told that because my Clickbank hoplink URL "eventually" takes you to the same root URL that is in my "display URL", my keywords SHOULD NOT be disapproved.

Now, I hope the way I worded all of that makes sense when you read it, because if this same thing is happening to you, you need to contact Google and CALL THEM ON IT!! I'm still adding new keywords to my campaigns as we speak, and a bunch are still getting disapproved, so it's very obvious that the right hand and the left hand aren't really talking to each other at all (the company a little too big for it's own good, perhaps??), so I hope this will be cleared up ASAP as some of the keywords they "pooched" were converting well!!

You know, it's difficult enough trying to make Adwords campaigns stick without some sort of "issue" arising regarding some "policy" that has been recently adopted. I'm not trying to mislead the "user" or make them have a lousy "Google experience" or whatever it is Google says, I'm just trying to make money online by selling quality products so that I can better my lifestyle....just like you are trying to do too. I personally think Google is "over-policied", and I don't even know if that's a freakin' word or not, but if it isn't right now and it eventually ends up in Webster's dictionary, you heard it here first!!

So all I can say is I have been well within "policy" regarding my keyword URLs....the "Adwords Specialist" even told me that, so, it's time for Google to GET OFF MY BACK about this, and if you're in the same boat, they need to get off yours too!!

Enough of the craziness.....let's go make some money now for Pete's sake!!

Regards,

Pat B.

A Great Blog Post From Chris Goddard

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 20 May 2009 00:04:00 +0000

Hi Folks,
I came across this blog article in my internet travels, and I thought I should post it here. It's all about "Twitter" and how you can use it to build your business the right way. It's lengthy, but it's a good read for sure. The author is Chris Goddard from "Afilorama".

_____________________________________________________________________________________

What on earth has happened to Twitter? What started as a way of connecting with existing friends and “interesting” people has now turned into a numbers game of who can amass the largest group of followers. If the whole Ashton/Oprah/CNN saga has taught us anything, it is that follower counts are actually kind of meaningless. I'm sorry, but Ashton Kutcher, while not a bad actor, and a likable enough guy, is NOT more interesting than CNN. Mr Kutcher seems to believe that his ability to amass more followers than CNN is some kind of meaningful statement from the people about who they want to be listening to online. (Giving credit where credit's due, Ashton Kutcher donated 10,000 mosquito beds to charity for World Malaria Day for winning the race... all commentry aside, he deserves respect for that)

But is that really the case? Or is it merely that a popular and attractive MTV personality can generate more buzz than a news service among the 15 to 25-year-olds who are the core age group of the social media market? After Ashton graciously introduced her to the service, Oprah has amassed more than a million followers (he should be glad he didn't have her to contend with on his sprint to a million). But a quick browse through the 45 tweets that the talk show host has sent out and it is terribly obvious that the million milestone is not an indication of interesting content. Now I'm not trying to make a cheap dig at Oprah, but personally, I don't care that she just hugged Whoopi Goldberg after not having seen her for a long time, or that she's trying to make dinner plans with Hugh Jackman.

My Dad always told me that less is more, and it seems to me that follower counts are meaningless if they're people who aren't actually listening. I'd rather talk to 10 people who want to hear what I have to say than a million people who are distracted.

So, while it’s all good and well for affiliate marketers to amass followers, they should be the right followers. That is, people who will be interested in what you have to say, who will be interested in what you link to, and ultimately, people who are likely to buy stuff from you! Here are my tips for increasing your popularity with the right people.

1. No one cares about “What are you doing?”
If I could change anything about Twitter, it would be the question that appears on the front page: “What are you doing?” While that might have been the original concept of Twitter – similar to Facebook’s status updates – Twitter has evolved into much, much more. Forget about telling people what you had for breakfast – unless it was at a new restaurant that you think other people would like. Your daily routine is inane chatter, but going out to a restaurant is something that might be useful to other people.

So, instead of answering the question “What are you doing?”, answer the questions: “What are you thinking?”, “What do you know?”, “What are you reading?”, “What have you discovered?” or “What are you doing THAT'S INTERESTING TO OTHER PEOPLE?”

2. Regularly post links to other people's content
If the only links you ever tweet are your own then you're on the wrong track my friend. People don't mind if you link to your latest blog post or to an interesting article you've written, but if that's all you do, then you're basically just working like an RSS feed... and you know, we already have those!

I’ve found that the easiest way to keep your stream flowing with interesting content is to use a combination of Google Reader (or any RSS aggregator) and Tweetlater (or anything that allows you to schedule tweets in advance). You probably already subscribe to a bunch of blogs (if you don't and aren’t sure where to start, then take a look at this blog post on the 10 best blogs for internet entrepreneurs), which means that all you need to do now is set up four or five tweets about them each day via a service like Tweetlater. Write a short blurb saying what the post is about, or even just the title if you're in a hurry. Just make sure you leave enough room to be ReTweeted (so the length of your username plus about 5 characters). Also shorten the URLs (Tweetlater has this built in), so that your tweets are consistent. This also means that when you link to your own content, it looks the same as when you link to someone else's.

3. Integrate Twitter into your everyday browsing
Up until recently I had hardly touched my personal Twitter account. After spending my working hours on the @Affilorama account, I couldn’t really be bothered doing it all over again on my own account at home.

Then I discovered TwitterFox. It’s a cool little Firefox plugin that allows you to access your Twitter account from a little pop-up menu in your Firefox browser. Not only does it unobtrusively display new messages, it allows you to link to the page you’re currently viewing, and reply and retweet with ease. It also lets you to manage multiple accounts – something that’s very important if you have personal and business accounts.
By incorporating Twitter into your everyday browsing, you'll find it easier to engage in conversation (reply as soon as you receive an @Reply or something you wish to comment on, rather than saving them up and doing them all at once). I also find that being perpetually “plugged in” to the Twittersphere allows me to take full advantage of the real-time nature of Twitter. I’m up with the play the moment something interesting starts to happen, so not only can I get in early (for example, retweeting an emerging story), but I also stay up-to-date with new developments in the ever-changing world of internet marketing.

4. Know when to follow back
It can be hard to know the exact etiquette for “returning the favor” when someone follows you. For example, on the @Affilorama feed, we don't follow everyone who follows us, because we have thousands of followers and we want to be able to retweet the most interesting content for ALL our followers. That is why we typically follow other “gurus” or feeds of other people and sites that regularly post interesting links and content that our followers would like – for example @Mashable @AbestWeb and @CopyBlogger.

On my personal account though, I follow back anyone who follows me if they meet a few simple criteria – they update regularly, they post interesting tweets (not just the “what I had for breakfast” babble), and they're not just trying to build up their own follow numbers by randomly following lots of people (you can usually spot these people by their unusually high “following” number versus a low “followers” number, combined with a lack of good content in their tweets). It can be a hard decision to make, depending on what you’re using Twitter for. I recommend opening at least two accounts – one personal; one business. Your personal one can also be used for creating connections with business contacts because it can be harder to do this with a faceless company account.

A final thought...

If you’re regularly posting interesting content on all your accounts, then people will naturally start to follow you. If you engage in conversation and follow back interesting people, this will increase your followers even more.

The most important tip I can give you though is to stop worrying about follower quantity and start being more concerned about follower quality. If you try to attract people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say rather than just the mutual-admiration and social proof club, then you will get far better returns from Twitter both personally and in your business.

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Hey Everyone In "Blog Land",
I thought I would post something from a fellow marketer about something going on that you should know about. I post these from time to time because I HATE it when vendors mislead their customers.....it gives all online marketers a bad name and I refuse to be lumped together with the slime that pulls this kind of stuff.....read on:

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Please tell the world about this scam that is getting bigger and bigger.

Last week I saw an ad for a $2.95 "Google Kit". I was interested and I thought for $2.95 I couldn't really loose. I'm not sure if the link below will work but I hope so so you can see it.

https://secure2.visualwebtools.com/GoogleATM/gocx

Anyways, if you are able to see the page you can see that they are offering something for just $2.95 shipping and handling. You can go ahead and type in a fake name, address and tel # etc just so you can get to the credit card page to see whats there.

On the credit card entry page again you see the $2.95 shipping and handling mentioned, so I put in my card details. Little did I know that I was signing up for a $60 per month subscription. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, lo and behold there is something in small writing about it, but no one scours every square inch of a webpage. Such things, I thought, legally had to be very clear and obvious. Not so.

Up until today I always felt very safe using my credit card on the internet because I have in the past called up and disputed transactions and they were very easily removed. Therefore, I wasn't worried about buying this $2.95 kit. If it was a scam I could just call my credit card company and report the scam and get my money back right ? WRONG !!!

Unfortunately, SUBSCRIPTIONS are a completely different thing all together ! Credit card companies CANNOT cancel subscriptions. This is ridiculous, but there's nothing any of us can do about it. The fact that they are somewhat duping people into this thing makes no difference either.

In order to cancel a subscription it must be cancelled through the company that holds the subscription. I only realised today that this was a subscription service because the email address I gave on the sales page was one I give out for these types of things as I know to expect a lot of junk mail. Therefore I don't regularly check that email account. When I checked today I saw the receipt for my payment and surprise surprise my "$2.95 s&h" all of a sudden magically became a "$2.95 set-up fee". WOW ! Then I read the rest of the email and my heart stopped !

It said they were gonna take $59.95 every month, but I could cancel within 7 days. Well today was the 7th day, and when I called my credit card company they said the transaction had already been initiated.

The "Google Kit" company wasn't open when I called their cancellation number. Just a recorded message with the option to "leave a message and someone will get back to you" but then it just hangs up. No way to leave a message !

So I searched the internet for more info while waiting for this company to open and I found many many other people in the same boat. Some complained that they could never get through on the telephone line. Worse yet, some said the company required them to send back the kit before the subscription could be cancelled, but they never recieved the kit !!! They were making people jump through hoops and do somersaults before cancelling the subscription.

In the end, my credit card company called them with me on the line, got the subscription cancelled and apparantly I will be refunded the $59.95 within 22 hours. I'm not so convinced after reading the experiences of others.

Something else that scares me is I have seen others complain that MULTIPLE subscriptions were created. So my fear is perhaps I have cancelled 1 but what about the others that I don't even know about ?

I have learned a highly valuable lesson today, something I never knew before. Credit card companies are powerless to cancel subscriptions. I don't think I will ever buy anything online with a credit card again. I could run into the same problem, and I suggest to the whole world to do the same. Credit card companies don't protect us against these scum. Now, the only online payments I can trust are Paypal and Alertpay. Subscriptions can be easily cancelled with a few clicks with these 2 companies (at the moment anyways)

This "Google Kit" scam could possibly be only the beginning. Other similar scams could easily surface with the same structure. ie "sell" you something cheap, but in reality sign you up to a RIP-OFF subscription.

It's these types of scoundrels that give a bad name to internet opportunities. I am involved in a couple of internet marketing schemes, and naturally people are weary, thinking its a scam. I personally am profiting from 2 schemes (not lots of money, but I've only just started and they are both making a little bit of money, with very good potential to be making decent money after a few months). Because there are so many scams out there, my marketing work is much harder. Sure I've lost money on schemes too, but never more than $50. At least with those schemes I knew fully what I was getting into and how much I was risking.

So please be warned about the "Google Kit" and anything else that may appear similar. If I get my refund and that's the end of it, I was lucky. If you search the internet you will find MANY people were not so lucky. Please be careful.

If you are interested you can read about another potential scam here, I'm still not sure if it is though.: Fast Profit Powerlines . It was only $10 and I just did out of curiosity, and at least I knew how much I was risking !

If you have any questions you can chat with my on skype user = elite-marketing or email me at comments@consultingelite.com

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:20:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,
Did I mention that I'm on "Twitter" now?? Come and follow me on Twitter at:

http://twitter.com/NewSourceMarket

Looking forward to seeing you there!!

Best Regards,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to send along a quick note regarding a website that a colleague of mine told me about called "Vinefire".

Right now I'm advertising an opt-in page that is on Vinefire's first page and I'm getting between 20-35 opt-ins each day.....and Vinefire is just one sight I'm advertising on.

You can place ads for free or you can purchase a "sponsor link" (which is what I did). If you stay a free member you can only put a maximum of $10 per day into your account, or you can upgrade (for only $5.00) and put up to $100 per day into your account simply by clicking on ads and having people clicking on your ads too. You'll see exactly what I mean when you go there.

I'm up to about $1500.00 in my account right now, and my opt-in page is getting steady traffic. Take a few minutes and check this page out.....I can certainly say it's working well for me. Check it out here:

http://www.vinefiretraffic.toponlineproducts.net/

FYI, "toponlineproducts.net" is a domain name I own that I use to let subscribers know about products that would be worth looking at, so you may see that domain name from time to time in my emails.

Here's that address again:

http://www.vinefiretraffic.toponlineproducts.net/

Best Regards,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 04 May 2009 22:40:00 +0000

Hey Folks,
A real quick message for you today. If you have a blog and want to help spread the word about it, be sure to submit it to http://www.blogsearchengine.com/ so that they have it in their database. Also, it would be worth checking the "EatonWeb Blog Directory" too.

Get that information out there and get "pinging"!!

Regards,

Pat B.

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 03:05:00 +0000

Hey Folks,
Again, in my attempt to "wake up and smell Web 2.0", I invite you to stop by my brand new "Squidoo Lens" which you can find at:

http://www.squidoo.com/newsourcemarketing

The lens is brand new as of April 23/09, so please stop by from time to time to check out any new content.

Best Regards,

Pat B.

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Mike Filsaime just came out with what many (including myself) are calling his best product ever.

And I am not saying that only because he gives it to you free.

I am saying it because when you see the video demo at the link below you will be blown away by what is probably the best produced "Plug and Play" software even given to beginners to start their online business.

http://toponlineproducts.instantaffiliatewebsite.com

Words like "Drag-N-Drop" and "Instant"and "Easy" have finally come to Internet Marketing Beginners with no hype.

Mike if giving you free hosting, as well as 30 products of his to sell as his partner.

Yes, you are actually partnering with Mike Filsaime and he is giving you the site to do it!

Also, Mike is also giving you some other items for free like his 7 Figure Secrets report shipped to your door as well as items instantly like his $97 best seller "The Butterfly Marketing Manuscript".

You get ALL THIS as a free trial to his print monthly newsletter that he will send to you for free too. Just tell him where to ship it and pay the small s&h charge.

Anyways, you must get access to this if you are starting out and want a website that converts and allows you to earn a real income online with some of the Internets best selling programs!

http://toponlineproducts.instantaffiliatewebsite.com

Regards,

Pat B.

PS - Mike is not sure how long he is giving this away for free to his newsletter members. He said it may go as an additional $97 / mo stand alone product so make sure to get it now while you can for free.

http://toponlineproducts.instantaffiliatewebsite.com

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:50:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

Geez.....it has been awhile since I last sent out a newsletter article (my apologies for that) I have been rather busy with many things going on. My other life (professional saxophonist) is really starting to get active again (I have a show with "The Temptations" this Friday that should be a blast....woo hoo!!).

Anyway, I'm sure you noticed over the past number of weeks that there were a bunch of product launches happening. I bought some of the products to find out what they were about but the ones I checked out were mainly saying the same stuff we've heard before but using different words. There were a few that concentrated a lot on affiliate marketing so I thought I'd again post about affiliate marketing and what I've been doing with it lately. I've tried a lot of approaches, methods, techniques etc. to try to perfect my affiliate marketing success, some with decent results and just as many with very mediocre results. My best methods of success (recently), I can honestly say, have been through "pay-per-click", traffic exchanges, e-mail marketing, and over the last couple of months, posting to Craigslist.

Make no mistake about it, it's not as easy as throwing up an Adwords campaign and then you're done.....that's one aspect of many things that could potentially bring you affiliate success, but it's NOT the "all-being" answer. Below are 3 things to consider when building a successful affiliate marketing business.

3 Necessary Tools for the Successful Affiliate Marketer:

What does it take to become a successful Affiliate Marketer? What are the ingredients of an affiliate marketing success story? Is there a shortcut to Affiliate Marketing glory? All these questions play around in the minds of affiliate marketers who want to make it big in this business.

Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by utilizing the right tools necessary for a successful Affiliate Marketing business. After researching and analyzing some of the most successful affiliate marketers in the business, below are the top three necessary tools deemed necessary for a successful affiliate marketing business.

Important Tool #1: Your Own Website

The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting and make a purchase. Therefore, you must first concentrate your efforts in building a website that will cater to what your prospects need.

The most important thing you should consider is that almost all web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that, in the internet, content is still king and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal consumer base.

Important Tool #2: Incentives

Competition is extremely tight in the internet world. You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, access to exclusive services and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.

Important Tool #3: Link Popularity

The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list of the most important entities in the internet world. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings.

One of the best ways to increase link popularity at no cost, is by submitting articles, with your website's link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.

These are just three of the "many" tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies which you think might help you become a more successful affiliate marketer.

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 04:26:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,
Here's yet another "nugget" from Derek Gehl that I felt would be worth passing on to you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This week I want to demystify another Google idiosyncrasy...

If you go to www.Google.com/addurl, you'll find a nice little page where Google lets you submit your URL to be reviewed -- and if all goes well, you will be listed in their database under the keywords you've optimized your website for.

So it only seems logical to go to this page and submit your site when you want to get listed in Google's database, right?

Wrong.

Unfortunately, "logic" and "Google" don't always go hand in hand. The fact is, if you optimize your website and submit it to Google, your chances of showing up in their database any time in the next century is slim to none!

However, all is not lost! There are some little-known SEO strategies that will help you get listed in Google as quickly as possible. And today I'm going to tell you what they are.

Now, for the following strategies to make sense, you need to shift the way you think about "Search Engine Submission."

In the past, all you needed to do was go to the search engine and fill out a submission form, then the search engine would send its "spiders" to your website to review your content and index it accordingly. That's how it still works for many of the smaller search engines -- but not for Google.

These days, in order to get your site listed in Google, you don't want to submit your website directly to Google. Instead, you want Google's spiders to "stumble" across your website on their travels through the Web.

But you don't have to sit back and wait helplessly for the spiders to come!

By putting links to your site on high-traffic web pages, you can make sure that Google finds your site in a matter of weeks -- instead of months.

This doesn't mean you should put your URL all over random websites on the Internet. In fact, if Google finds a link to your website on a web page that's using malicious SEO strategies, it can actually do you more harm than good.

So your goal is to find websites that have what in the SEO world is called "High Authority" and to get your site listed on their site.

What is the easiest way to identify a High Authority sites? Simple... PageRank. The higher the PageRank a site has, the more value you'll get from a link at that site.

Where do you find these elusive "High Authority" sites, so you can get yourself listed on them? Well, here are a few places to start:
Submit your site to the top Web Directories

Google is constantly scanning the top Web directories to see what new sites they have listed. If they find your website in one of these directories, there's a good chance they'll add it to their own listings.

Google's assumption is simply that if a human reviewed your website and placed it in their directory, then it must be good.

Here are just a few of the top directories to start with:

Yahoo Directory
Best of the Web
Go Guides
DMOZ
Gimpsy

All of these directories (except DMOZ), do charge a submission fee, but it is typically money well spent.

(*For the complete list of the Web's top directories, click here now to check out our Search Marketing Labs.)

Write quality articles and then submit them to the Web's top article directories

Just make sure you include a link that leads back to your own website. A great place to do this is in an "About the Author" blurb at end of the article.

The beauty of this strategy is, not only will you get a link pointing to your site from the article directory, if anyone decides to post your article on their site as well, you'll get even more links!

If you know of any high-traffic websites that are popular with your target market, you should contact them directly and offer to write an original article full of great content they can post on their site. Chances are they'll go for it -- most webmasters understand the value of regularly posting fresh new content on their sites!

Comment in popular industry forums and blogs

This is a great free way to get more links pointing back to your site. All you have to do is include a link to your site in your signature block, and then post away!

Note: Google doesn't take links in blog comments into account when it's determining your PageRank. However, its spiders will follow such links to see where they lead -- so if your primary goal is simply to get indexed by Google, this is an excellent strategy.
If you do these three things, you will dramatically increase your chance of getting your site listed in Google in as short a time as possible. You can even use these strategies to dramatically increasing the rankings of an existing website!

To Your Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:53:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

You know, having played the saxophone professionally now for
about 24 years, one of the things I noticed rather
quickly was how "seasonal" the work would be each year.

The two worst months for work have always been January
and August, usually because in January everyone is partied
out and budgets have been spent right after New Years, and
in August, people plan vacations (especially if they have
kids in school) so not so much happens.

When September rolls in though, things begin to bounce
back and really cook right through the Christmas
season. Funny enough, it seems that my online business
works in a similar fashion and I bet yours probably
does in some way too.

August was, by no means, a disaster for me as far as business
is concerned, but I think we can all look forward to things
picking up even further in the next few weeks, so now is your
chance to make sure that you have your product or service in
place for when your customers come knocking.

I have heard time and time again that being patient and "hanging
in there" is so important when it comes to having your business
succeed. Well, now that you have weathered the month of August
(traditionally a slow month for many businesses), September is
right around the corner, so "let's make hay while the sun shines".

If you're still looking for that "first" sale, you are about to enter
one of the best times of the year to make it happen, and boy does it
feel good when it happens!!

So do hang in there folks and be ready with your product or
service, because the next few months could prove to be great
ones for your business.....and here's hoping so!!

To Your Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:08:00 +0000

Hello Everyone,

I've come across some great articles about online
marketing and affiliate marketing, written by fellow
marketer Jason James. I enjoy getting input from
other marketers and passing along the information.....it's
good to get things from a different perspective from time to time.

This first one is for affiliate marketing and affiliate marketers.

Enjoy!

Pat Belliveau

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

5 Things You Must Have to Succeed in Affiliate Marketing

The idea of being mere passengers on a ship meant to sail to the farthest points does not appeal to people who like to put their destiny into their own hands. They have the desire of maneuvering the ships themselves, of being able to be the ones to take it anywhere they want to. Being aboard a ship on its way to a particularly great destination is something each and every one of them dreams of, and the knowledge that they have the capacity to steer it themselves is what makes them actually want to.

Perhaps this is the reason why more and more people are succumbing to one of the most popular businesses around – affiliate marketing. It is because in this business, there are no bosses to order the employees around. There are no deadlines to meet and no clutter of work do to. One only needs to be equipped with the tools needed to succeed in a business such as this, and he is bound to get what his heart ultimately desires.

Just what are the things needed to be able to succeed in affiliate marketing? What must one have within himself to be able to do well in this industry? There is a lot of competition involved in affiliate marketing, and to be able to rise above the norm, one must be equipped with just the right stuff necessary to propel him forward. There are five things one must ultimately possess if he wants to achieve the glory he is yearning for in this business, and these five things are a must for him to possess to be able to stand out among the rest.

The very first quality one must possess if he wants to try his hand in affiliate marketing is the willingness to learn and be trained. Treading through unfamiliar territory is scary stuff if one is not properly equipped, and he might get lost amidst a jungle of the unknown. Learning the tricks of the trade is also an important aspect of the game, and one’s willingness to know it all will give him far better advantages in the business than he could ever imagine.

The second quality one must possess is the willingness to invest time and effort even if direct results do not seem at all apparent. Although several months may pass without good news, it is important for one who has his foot in the industry to hold on and wait. It is this quality which would save him from giving up after investing a lot of himself in the business.

The third quality one must possess is self-determination. If one wants to conquer the affiliate marketing world, he must have the ability to push himself ahead. Never having to say die is a quality each and every affiliate marketer should possess, and the ability to motivate oneself into scaling greater heights is an ability which would actually take an affiliate marketer there.

The fourth quality one must possess is discipline. If one knows how to teach himself to work everyday with all the energy he can muster, then he is close to achieving what he has set his heart to having in the first place.

The fifth and last quality one must possess is optimism. Negative attitudes and hearsays should not discourage an affiliate marketer from pursuing what he has to in order to make life better for himself and for everyone concerned. Neither should anyone influence his attitude toward the business, because once in it, it is a must for him to be the captain of his ship and the master of his soul.

The ingredients to success in a business such as affiliate marketing are diverse and manifold, but the most important thing one needs to be able to make it big lies in himself alone. It is he who has the capacity to do everything to be able to realize his prospects, and the desire which fuels his heart in doing so is the gasoline which should keep the engine going.

Affiliate marketing is all about putting one’s fate into his own hands. The right attitude is the key to being able to steer one’s ship into that part of the ocean where a certain kind of serenity can be found, one that permeates the atmosphere as the ship sails calmly on.

=============================================================
Jason James is a former U.S. Marine and a 10 year Internet
Marketing Veteran. His latest project "Untold Marketing
Secrets" reveals the little know secrets to help
struggling entrepreneurs breakthrough to huge success.
Download Jason's free "Internet Success Secrets" here:
http://tinyurl.com/2l5433
============================================================

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 16:05:00 +0000

Hi Everyone,

My apologies....I've been feeling under the weather for a few days now and it's gotten worse now instead of better, so I have been "out of the loop" a bit.

Anyway, I wanted to pass along some tips about what kind of programs to promote as an affiliate whether you use "pay-per-click" advertising, e-zines, writing articles, classified ads etc.

Some time ago, I bought a program that contained a bunch of great information about what kind of "niches" are popular, and affiliate programs within those niches tend to do pretty well. The program is an excellent one and has plenty of information about AdWords and Clickbank, e-mail marketing, list building etc. I'm going to put up a more detailed post about it in the "not too distant" future. Now, keep in mind that there are many variables as to whether an affiliate campaign will do well or not, so just because you choose a niche, find a product you like, and throw an AdWords campaign up, doesn't mean you are going to have customers depositing huge sums of cash into your affiliate account.

If you have something you are very interested in or have experience with a particular hobby or product that you think is marketable and there is a market for it, then start there. It's something that you already have experience with, it's something YOU are interested in, so it is very possible others will be too. You are now in the position of "expert" because this is something that you have much experience with and can draw on that experience to better market the product.

It would be prudent on your part to do some research on what is already out there pertaining to your product or hobby, so do take the time to check Google, Yahoo, MSN etc., to see if this "product" is already out in the marketplace, and if so, to what extent.

Now, let me draw on the program I was telling you about and let you know what it says about the "niches" that are popular with consumers. From the research I've done with affiliate programs, I think this guy is "bang on" which is why I want to share this with you, and you can hang onto these as "possibilities" if you don't have a product or interest of your own that you'd like to promote.

So here are some "niches" to keep in mind when you are deciding on setting up affiliate campaigns IF you don't have a particular hobby, product, or interest already selected.

1) Information on How to Save Money.

-vacation specials, real estate, mortgage, new or used cars, investments etc.

2) Health and Wellness/Alternative Therapies.

-this market is primarily "middle-aged" which is the big money-spending age category. Alternatives for things like diabetes, arthritis, cholesterol, high blood pressure etc.

3) Information for Seniors.

-travel deals, health related information, retirement locations etc.

4) "How To" Information.

-music production, fishing, playing golf, tennis, wedding planning, interior design, dating and relationships, magic, public speaking, gambling, and the list goes on....

5) Computers and Software.

-information on how to buy and use various software packages, internet related information/software, how to use auction sites for marketing and selling, how to fix PCs, etc.

6) Information on Saving Money and/or Investing.

-stock trading systems, options, spread betting, mutual funds, and general information on how to grow your money. Again, a large middle-aged population need advice on how to save and invest their capital.

7) Information About Gambling Systems.

-blackjack, roulette, poker, Texas Holdem, etc. Chris McNeeney (Affiliate Project X and Dayjob Killer) has said that "horse racing" and "horse betting" are a six-figure a year niche for him.

8) Information on Dating and Relationships.

-how to meet men/women, using online dating services, finding a soulmate, having a long lasting successful marriage (I too have gotten great results in this niche).

9) How To Make Money.

-how to make money through real estate, direct marketing, internet marketing, mail order, stock trading, franchises, business services, MLM, etc.

10) Home and Family.

-gardening, cooking, decorating, home improvement, hardware, and also includes information on pets of all kinds, how to care for them, how to find exotic birds,
fish, unusual creatures, and so on.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I hope that will help you if you find you are stuck for what to promote as an affiliate. These are popular niches for you to target, and they are primarily "information based" products which is what the internet was designed to do (provide information), and they will also give you your highest profit margin by far.

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 07:45:00 +0000

Hey Folks,

If you're a "Google Adwords" user, I have a little trick
for you that I picked up from fellow marketer Darrell Merrick
(he's the Adwords "Mad Scientist").

This trick has to do with the "Display URL" of a
Google Adwords campaign. As you know, if you're an affiliate,
you can run into problems when it comes to promoting products
on Google Adwords if someone else has a higher ranking
ad for the same product you are promoting.

If someone is promoting the same product you are, their ad
is ranked higher than yours, and you are both using the exact
same destination URL and display URL, your ad will not be shown
because your ad ranks lower.

Many people turn to modifying their URLs slightly
so that the URLs are not identical, meaning they
can actually compete with the person with the
higher ranking ad(Yup...been there done that).

One of the ways they modify or "customize" the
URL is to add an extension(or a folder name)onto
the end of the URL.

Let me show you by example, then you can
modify it to your needs:

--------------------------------
Complete Care For Your Cat
Step-By-Step Guide For Cat Care
Keep Your Feline Healthy & Happy
--------------------------------
www.completecatcare.com

Now, let's say that there is a higher ranking ad
that shares that same URL with you. This means that
your ad isn't showing because your ad doesn't rank
higher than your competition's ad. So, you either
need to customize the URL, or bid more on your keywords.
I would go with changing the URL first.

So, to make your ad different, you add a folder name
at the end:

www.completecatcare.com/felinehealth

You have added "felinehealth" to the end
of your URL thus differentiating it from your
competitor and maintaining "relevancy".

You can now also take this one step further.

Both Darrell and I didn't think Google
would allow this, but it works.

To make your URL stand out further, you can add
spaces in your "Display URL" (but NOT your "Destination URL").

For example:

www.completecatcare.com/felinehealth

Now becomes:

www.completecatcare.com/feline health

Now, that may look a bit odd to have those spaces
there, but I'd bet that would catch a customer's eye
since it's something you don't normally see.

This isn't something that you should necessarily
incorporate into every campaign that you are
running, but it's a small tip or trick that might
help you get a better "foothold" in a highly
competitive niche.

Now, you just have to adapt that concept to your own ad
campaigns when neccessary so that your ads will stick
out just a little bit more.

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 23:22:00 +0000

Hey Everyone,

If you have pay-per-click affiliate campaigns
going right now, you might want to check on this
from time to time.

I recently set up an Adwords campaign and a campaign
at Microsoft Ad Center for an e-book that I figured
would generate a lot of clicks. Well, as it turns out,
I wasn't disappointed. This e-book received constant
clicks everyday. I was able to get my Adwords cost-per-click
down to about 5 cents per click, so I thought everything
was great.

I monitored this campaign for a few days and noticed that
I was getting an abundance of clicks but no affiliate sales.
Normally I would just move along from there but I decided to
stick it out a couple more days. After those couple days
went by I still had a high number of clicks but no sales.

At this point I decided to do a little digging, and it
didn't take long before I noticed something that was the
cause of me not getting sales on such a popular product.

The price listed on the merchant's website is $39.95 which
is what I was selling it for as an affiliate because that
was the posted amount. What I should have done first (as I
have done before, and I don't know why I didn't this time)
is check who else is selling the product and where at
that moment. So I did that and found that the merchant
was also selling the product on "Amazon.com" and you could
get used or relatively new hard-copy versions
for about $21.00!! I also found the product listed with
other "brick and mortar" merchant's for cheaper
than $39.95 as well.

Consequently, I immediately shut both of my campaigns down
and cut my losses.....how can I compete with that?? Considering
that it's not my product I cannot adjust the price, so
I'm locked in at $39.95 while others are selling it anywhere
from $21.00 to $28.99 for it being in relatively new condition.

So, do yourself a favor and make sure that any merchants
you are dealing with are not flooding the market with
their product(s)so that people can obtain the product
for less than what you are locked in at as an affiliate.
If they were your own products, then you are in a position
to stay competitive, but as an affiliate, you can't do that
so make sure the products your are helping promote are not
on Amazon or eBay (or wherever)for a lot less than is posted
on your affiliate site. Just some food for thought.

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 05:28:00 +0000

Hi Folks,

This post is just a "something to think about" kind of post.

Are you running campaigns on Google Adwords?
If so, have you considered running those same (or other) campaigns on the Microsoft Ad Center?

The reason I ask is a lot of marketers concentrate primarily on Google Adwords and ignore alternate pay-per-click sources. Now, truth be known, Google Adwords is the largest of the pay-per-click sources online today.

It has been said that Microsoft or Yahoo PPC expose their ads to 500 million (or so) users. Consequently, Google Adwords has a potential audience of 1.5 billion....(essentially x3).

Even though "Ad Center" doesn't have the same size audience that "Adwords" has, it does have advantages too.

At the time of writing this post, I have 15 active campaigns that I am following on Adwords right now and at the same time I am running 21 on "Ad Center". Now, some of the campaigns on Ad Center that I am running, I am NOT running on Adwords because the market is too competitive and the average "cost-per-click" is more than I want to spend. On Ad Center, I don't have to worry so much about the competition driving up prices since there isn't as much competition, and in many cases, a 10 cent cost-per-click setting (or even less) can give you a decent ranking on MSN's ad network.

There's no question that Google Adwords IS the undisputed champion of PPC at the moment, but Microsoft knows all too well about the amount of revenue Google generates from Adwords.

Watch Microsoft Ad Center closely in the next couple of years, because you've got to know that they are going to do whatever they can to lure marketing dollars over from Google Adwords. Potentially, I think Ad Center could very well be a sleeping giant getting ready to wake up. Time will tell.

If you haven't considered using Ad Center, I would recommend you check it out, and you can do so at:

http://adcenter.microsoft.com

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau

noreply@blogger.com (Pat Belliveau) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:25:00 +0000

Hi Folks,
I hope you're not all disappointed when you look at my blog and DON'T see 1000 banners and links "out the wazoo" like other blogs I've seen. I do have some banners and such from time to time, but I want this blog to inform and to present information as opposed to looking like Times Square at night (if you know what I mean).

Anyway, I sure have been getting alot of e-mail lately about the 850 (seems like it, but I think that's maybe a "slight" exaggeration) different software launches coming up that we ALL need to know about. All this latest software will spy on your competition, skyrocket your "click through rates", put you at the top of Google's listings, wash your car, cook dinner, and mow the lawn. What is the price to pay for this "revolutionary software"?? Anywhere from $300 to $1000 or so perhaps??. Now, if you read any of the websites that are advertising these products, it would seem that if you don't get this software now, you'll be left in the dust, you'll never make another cent online, and the Chicago Cubs will win the World Series.

I don't know.......should I be concerned?? Something tells me that regardless of whether or not I buy these products, life will go on as it usually does. If you are already making good money as an affiliate marketer then keep doin' what you're doin'. One thing's for sure......these guys are going to make a "crap-load" of money off of these products because the hype around them is HUGE.

In my "non-online marketing" OTHER life, I play saxophone professionally, have done so for 28 years, I am university educated in music, and what I see with all this "hype" surrounding these products is just like what I see when a record company takes some snotty-nosed "bad ass" teenager band that sounds SO bad it makes you're skin crawl, and gives them a record contract. WHY do they get a contract?? Because they are "bad asses" and THAT can be marketed (and boy is it ever!!). Do you actually think musical ability and "artistic vision" has anything to do with it?? Ahhh, but the record companies will market the crap out of the.......uhhhhh........"crap" and proceed to try and convince you that you NEED to buy their album.......whoooops.......uhhhh.....CD.

So, am I liking these software releases to snotty-nosed, no talent, wanker, holier-than-thou bands that sound like hell?? Well, no.......actually I'm not, but the marketing is similar. Don't forget that one of the great "marketing" angles to selling is the "element of fear".......you will be left behind if you don't buy at least one copy of everything and put it to work NOW!!!! Apparently with this software, we can automate every part of our affiliate marketing ventures.......well, I don't know about you, but I still want to get in there and get my hands dirty and learn as much as I can so I will always know what needs to be done when and not rely on a new piece of software to make my decisions. I wonder what kind of "learning curve" comes with these products anyway.

Sorry guys.......the jury's still very much "out" for me on this stuff.......I'm not convinced. These products might be "the next greatest" thing, I don't know, but what I DO know is the price is too high for me to fork it over and try it right now. Let's face it folks........these "Gurus" got to where they are and intend to stay there.......do you think they're going to divulge all of their secrets to you and me?? They got to where they are because they are able to "sell sand to the Arabs" and people buy the products like what they are all about to release. Oh.......and by the way........why are there multiple products that profess to do the same thing being released right around the same time?? Coincidence?? I doubt it.

I would love to hear from anyone who buys this kind of software (Google Cash Detective, Marketing Main Event 3 etc.) and let me know if it's all what they claim it is. I don't mind being proven wrong as I am learning more and more each day, that is, IF these products are going to change affiliate marketing forever like they claim they will. I guess we'll see soon enough.

Wishing You Success,

Pat Belliveau