Are You a Doctor In Your Profession?

I was pondering over something recently.  It was triggered by this comment someone made about why they entered the medical field to become a doctor:

“For 7 years I studied general medicine.  I filled out the gp application and finally passed my gp exam and then got my degree and professional credentials. But for 5 of those years I went without going to parties, sacrificing family time, studying 5 to 8 hours a day, even though I spent 7 hours in class. In the later years of my studies, there were the 12 hours shifts, many of them without sleeping, and then more schooling later in the day. After a year of residency in a hospital with 36 hr, sleep-deprived, mal-nourished shifts, I spent a year in social service, alone in a community hospital seeing over 800 patients. But to succeed in today’s world you have to specialize. I competed against 15,000 physicians in a national exam and my specialty only approves 545 doctors.  For the record, I got 135th place and I won a scholarship to study a postgraduate degree which I did in a highly specialized hospital for 4 years, and again, 36 to 48 hours shifts with little sleep, eating poorly, and sacrificing friends and family because of the commitment I made ​​to all of the hospitalized patients of a 11-story hospital.  The responsibility was immense but I did it – I graduated with 7 other colleagues.  I am board certified in internal medicine and have a sub specialty in Geriatrics.

At 30 years old I got married, and now at 32 years and I just became a Dad.  Do I have any regrets?  I strive to be a good doctor (a knowledgeable physician) and a good health care practictioner (a good person who treats his patients well) and I’m very satisfied . I devoted 13 years to the most jealous girlfriend (MEDICINE) and sacrificed many things.  Many started this path with me, but didn’t stick it out and aren’t as satisfied as I am. But it’s never too late, you just need discipline, perseverance, dedication, organization”.

So why did I bring this up? Doctors don’t become doctors overnight. As online marketers, we tend to be conditioned to look right away for the pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow, only to realize it takes a lot of time, work, “discipline, perseverance, dedication, organization” to get to that other side. Are you a “Doctor” in your profession?  Most will not be willing to make sacrifices.  But a small few, will crawl on, sometimes in agony, and will make their goals a reality.  If you haven’t already, I hope that is your outcome.

Upward and onward…

 

PPC Secrets

Pay Per Click (PPC) provides one of the most effective ways for affiliates to promote their offerings, as long as it’s done properly. Not everyone uses PPC. Some promote products through articles, others use SEO tactics, blogs or a combination of these, but many see a quick profit by leveraging PPC campaigns. Here are some tips that will maximize your results on your PPC campaigns to quickly monetize traffic.

1. Choose the right product to promote it.

If you want to promote products that are highly profitable, choose those that pay high commissions. For instance, on Clickbank, find products with a Gravity greater than 1. New products show up all they time in their marketplace, but if its initial gravity is zero, commissions for their sales will be low. These more than likely will be a time and money-suck. Oh and don’t worry about the competition.  You will always have it.  But just because a product is popular, that doesn’t mean you can’t market it successfully.

 2.  Be original

To succeed with PPC, be creative and keep away from all the keywords or search terms used by your competition. For example, if you are promoting a weight loss product, think outside the box.  More than likely your competition will target “weight loss”.  So why not be nichey and think of unusual terms (that still generate a ton of search), such as “lose weight during pregnancy” or “losing weight by running”. Search for keywords or phrases that allow you to get a high position of your PPC advertising but at a low cost, preferably at $ 0.20 cents per click or less. If the product you are promoting does not have too many competitors, your market niche will appeal to buyers, since it is not overrun by too many competitors.

3. Tracking

When you start your PPC campaign, you may lose money. This is VERY common.  Many lose money, and give up, and consequently never see success. Those who stick it out by testing and fine-tuning their ads and landing pages, see click increases and then conversions.  But you would never know whats working and what isnt’t unless you track everything.  You do need to track your campaigns meticulously. Use one keyword per ad group, so you can track each.

4.  Use different PPC networks.

When starting out, use Google Adwords.  Follow your conversion rate, the percentage of clicks on Google and how you optimize your campaign. You can then start thinking about using other networks. Once you have a profitable campaign, transfer your methodology to other networks, such as Bing.

Does all this sound a bit daunting? It can be.  And that’s why  many leverage the expertise of a Pay Per Click agency.  They have the knowledge, experience and ability to plan and implement effective digital campaigns for your business. Come together on what you consider success and let them achieve tangible results for you, usually for a very modest service fee.

Seeing Value

I wear glasses and sit a computer all day. Glasses have become a fact of life for me, but are warranted – without them, life would be too blurry.

So being a savvy/frugal shopper, I look for deals on things, including glasses.  Eyeglasses are expensives.  And just because you can buy cheap eyeglasses, it doesn’t mean they are cheap. So ZenniOptical.com gets my vote.  They use the latest modern materials, manufacturing and marketing systems to bring me, the average Joe, a factory direct product.  These aren’t name brand glasses, but so what? Their frames are modern and stylish and their prices are hard to beat.

Which brings me to my point. In 2012, marketers need to continue to provide value to their prospective customers. Give customers what they want.  If you know what they want, you’ve built a relationship (and what do most people want? Usually it’s a great product, with great service, and hopefully at a better price). Having these relationships not only brings in clients, but happy brand advocates, which will continue to tell your story long after the sale was consumated.  Ask yourself, would you buy your own product? Does it deliver quality and value?

If you see legitimate value in it, chances are, your prospects will too…

A GOOD Morning

This post brought to you by Tassimo. All opinions are 100% mine.

I’m not sure about you, but a good cup of java in the morning soothes and invigorates my soul.  Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day, meaning it’s an an imp

ortant commodity and a popular beverage. But coffee should be taste good.  Taste being subjective, I hate watered down ‘diner-type’ coffee. If I’m going to start my day on the right foot and close some business, my coffee better be rich, bold and tastey, shouldn’t it?

Enter Tassimo Professional. This isn’t your grandmothers coffee machine. This thing prepares one-cup servings of espresso, regular coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and various other coffee drinks, notably those including milk such as latte or cappuccino.

It’s capsule-based, which in this case are called T-Discs. And these Tassimo labeled coffee capsules have a unique feature – a bar code on the label. Stick the T-Disc in the machine and it  reads the bar code to calculate the amount of water, brewing time, and temperature for the specific beverage.  Cool eh? It means you get the high quality, coffee-house style beverages right in office, every morning. Talk about a having GOOD morning!

Oh and lets not forget the Brands of beverages available.  TASSIMO is owned by Kraft. This means Cappuccinos and lattes can be prepared using real GEVALIA  coffees, or  you can have rich and creamy SUCHARD hot chocolate and even delicately-steeped TWININGS tea, in simple to use, space efficient, perfect for the home or office, must-have appliance. Oh and in case your wondering, yes a Tassimo affiliate program caught my eye

In any case, I’ll leave you with this: Try delicious cappuccinos & lattes in your OFFICE with a Tassimo Professional free demo of their single-cup specialty hot beverage system. Sign up @ baristainside.com/workplace.

 

 

Make Your Money Grow

We can all earn a paycheck, but how do you earn a living? The affiliate space has enabled that very thing for countless individuals.  But during these tough economic times, how can you make your hard earned money go farther, or make it grow, as it were? For instance, where can you find a low-risk, interest earning investment vehicle?

I don’t give legal, tax or investment advice, as I am not a professional in any of these areas.  However, I perused the FDIC website, and what I can say is that a certificate of deposit or CD, makes financial sense. I’m all for making more money, and a CD basically is  a special type of deposit account with a bank or thrift institution that typically offers a higher rate of interest than a regular savings account. Unlike other investments, CD’s feature federal deposit insurance up to $250,000, which provides you a safety net.

Additionally CD’s provide an effective means of obtaining a safe ROI because, unlike market-based investments, such as mutual funds or annuities, you aren’t directly tied to fluctuations in the stock market. When you buy a CD, you make an investment in a bank. The bank will use that money to invest in profitable ventures such as issuing mortgages and corporate loans. As an investor, you earn a return in the form of  interest when your CD matures.

The maturity term can range from three months to five years or more. The longer the duration, the higher the CD interest rates you should receive. Once  the CD matures, you can cash out or renew.

Money savvy individuals say that “The more you make, the more you should save”. So visit your local bank and inquire about this unique way to save.  Compare rates and then go online.  There are a few online banks that are FDIC insured that offer savings rates that may exceed the national average. Make sure the one you choose is ranked among Bankrate.com’s Top Tier for high yields on all types of savings.

Educate yourself and make your money grow…

Top Of Mind

In this day and age, competition is fierce and is everywhere.  Differentiation is what gets you noticed and keeps you top of mind.  One way of staying top of  mind is by providing gifts of appreciation to clients and vendors.

One elegant way to express congratulations to clients and employees is with the traditional gift basket. These attractive offerings come in different sizes to fit your gift giving needs (and budget), and can also be the centerpiece of any special event, including company parties, grand opening celebrations, trade shows, table favors, promotions, retirement parties, etc.

These baskets can be decorated with poinsettias, pine cones and berries and/or scrumptious gourmet See’s candy, including milk/dark chocolate, brittles & toffees, truffles, candy bars and old school but delicious lollypops.

Craving baked goods? Your business contacts may too. Convey your warm regards by sending them a muffin gift pack that includes 6  fresh muffins, some flavorful coffee eggnog, and some powdered instant hot chocolate packets.

The gift of cheese is one not to be overlooked for your lactose tolerant business contacts. Gift packs may include roasted garlic, cheddar cheese, cranberry, apple, tomato and basil cheese, gourmet mustard, Bavarian Halle sausage, beef salami, cheddar cheese spread.

Coffee connoisseurs would appreciate a java pack.  Many times these contain special mugs, and all sorts of coffee  goodies including: chocolate cookies, stuffed pastry cream puffs, chocolate caramel cappuccino, Irish coffee syrup, vanilla hazelnut coffee, some cream and more.

It’s been said that there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.  So go ahead – reap the emotional rewards, but enjoy the continued flow of business…

Gift Of Time

Looking to splurge on your beautiful significant other? How about giving the gift the stands the test of time?

If you want to go super elegant, Chopard has introduced a new collection of ladies watches, the Imperiale. Imperiale stands out for its elegance and refinement right out of the box. The handles have been redesigned with a elegant hinged strap attached connecting to the case and comes in two sizes: 36 mm. and 40 mm. in diameter. Available in steel, pink gold and white gold , there are also versions with diamonds, set into the bezel or on the case.

The face is very distinctive, one that mimics cushion tapestry Imperial time. As you can see, nothing has been left to chance. The refinement of Roman numerals and hands completes the design of the face.

As for the movement, you have options: The smallest model , 36 mm. with a steel case, offers a quartz movement. In contrast, models of larger size , with a 40 mm. case has an automatic movement, along with hour and minutes functions with a chronograph function.

As you can see, there is also the possibility of finishing the watch with leather strap or bracelet , either steel or gold, but I suppose that this last option skyrockets the price.

 

Scrub-ulous

Priests wear them.  Doctors and nurses too.  So do pilots, police and fireman.  Some children do too if they go to a private school. What is it? A uniform.  And they can make you money.

Different types of daily life activities require the use uniforms.  Some serve as a protection, others as a means of distinguishing a specific group of people within an institution, setting or activity. The diferences in normal day-to-day dress compared to a uniform could be as simple as a shirt with a logo, or a whole outfit that includes pants and a top with a pattern, such as medical scrubs.  Long gone are the days of white lab coat only doctors. Todays scrubs come in a plethora of different color and pattern combos.

And lets not forget accessories.  Some uniforms require special footwear, such as boots, and/or a vest or jacket, such as in the military.  Some require headgear  such as a beret, helmets, or a cap (police and sports oriented uniforms). Sometimes gloves tie into the  mix too.

Uniforms are a way of life.    So why not get on the bandwagon? This is a good niche to explore, and it’s recurring one, as they need to be replaced often.

Connecting To The InterWebs

As online marketers, all of us need internet access.  But this in itself is a niche that can be quite profitable for affiliates, as satellite and dial up services are still being sold to people who live so remotely that no local company exists to accomodate their needs.  What are the different options out there?

Like cable internet service, ADSL provides much faster speeds than those available with dial-up modems. However, there is a wide range of ADSL offerings available, with connections speeds that range up to 3 Mbps (3000 Kbps).

The downside of ADSL is that its shared with your landline.  This means that Internet access and phone calls can not occur simultaneously.

Satellite internet service is another way to get Internet connection.  This uses satellites to get you connected to the interwebs and is a popular solution for those who live in areas where cable and DSL are not available. However, satellite connections are generally slower than cable and DSL connections.

A newer offering for people in metropolitan ares who want fast speeds than dial-up Internet access is one that uses no wires of any kind. This can be achieved through public Wi-Fi, cellular, and WiMAX (one of the latest wireless services available.) These technologies vary in terms of connectivity, reliability and cost, but they allow users to connect to the web at home, school, work, or while on the road if you are within the coverage area.

So there you have it.  These are the main types of internet connections that are available and that we as affiliates can resell.  The internet connection type is dependent on availability, desired speed and budget. But almost anyone can have internet access today, regardless of where they live.

And thats good business for us…

PPC Explained

In recent years, pay per click (PPC) advertising has become a popular marketing strategy for online retailers. What ever niche you as an affiliate are promoting, PPC advertising can help you achieve your online marketing goals. Thanks to the diversity of advertising companies that offer pay per click (from the main search engines Google, and Bing to many smaller options) you can use PPC advertising regardless of your budget. To help you understand the true potential of pay per click advertising, here are some benefits PPC advertising can provide:

Traffic - Obviously, this is the number one benefit of PPC advertising. Due to the low cost of bidding on keywords, PPC can help drive a large amount of traffic for a relatively low price. The other PPC traffic advantage is the fact that it is instantaneous. Unlike organic traffic (which can take many months or even a year to start to get especially for the new websites), with PPC advertising you can start driving traffic to your website now!

Many online marketers are under the misconception that once you have a high organic rankings in search, running a PPC campaign is not necessary. On the contrary, the creation and operation of a pay per click campaign is very important, even if your site draws a quality organic traffic. The reason that a PPC campaign can complement the organic ranking is that it can help enhance your branding efforts. When potential visitors see that your website appears twice in search results, brand recognition and trust increases. This will result in more leads and/or more sales for you.

If creating your PPC campaign seems daunting, work with a Pay Per Click agency, such as BizzClick LLP. They provide a 24/7 support team, personal managers for each client, a great variety of tools for the creation of your advertising campaign and one of the fastest XML feeds in industry. They also have their own FiSoAp traffic ranking system which helps you get they right type of traffic by traffic sorting and filtering (which means you minimize chargebacks and reduce your chances of getting stuck with high click costs bids).

With the right tools, an optimized PPC campaign not only gives you  insight as to how much money your website is generating, but also how  much to spend. You monitor site visitors, see what they are looking for and what they are buying.

With some creativity on your search phrase choices, you can target the right people who are willing to do business with you. And that’s what marketing is all about…

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