I find productive to get my arse kicked

It’s really darn easy to get caught up in the money chase and forget about everything else, but you may find that it’s everything else makes the money chase worth it.

If your mind is occupied 12-15hours of the day with money worries, and you’re constantly thinking how can I make more? You just might be digging your own broke hole.

Exactly what is the point of making any money without a reason to spend it?

Yeah, of course there are always more cars, new houses, and fancy gadgets, but are you ever going to really enjoy it if you’re stuck working?

On my last post I touched on the benefits on non linear patterns when it comes to “rebooting” our brains, giving everything a fresh new start.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been dedicating myself (again) to exercise. I made the commitment to at least twice a week, stop everything, shut off the cell phone, and go get my arse kicked at the gym.

Despite my passion for jiu jitsu, I had completely quit going a year ago to dedicate myself to making money. In my head, I’d start making a lot of money, and then I’d find the time to go fight.

It doesnt work that way - not in the least.

After I shut myself off for about a month, I started noticing my eating habits reached an all-time low, I was cranky, snappy, and was annoying even myself.

It is quite easy to identify that now, but it wasnt back then.

And it wasnt just the gym: I shut off social activities, cut off on family time, and the only people I spoke to were online friends and partners, also in the money chase.

The Productivity Dilemma: Should I Focus On Money Or Sanity?

This post goes against everything I learned from studying personal development, and from watching how millionaires are created; maintaining “laser-beam” focus, keeping your goals fresh in your mind, and using affirmations and meditation to clear your head is how they taught me success would come.

Maybe I Haven’t Found My “Laser-Beam” Focus…

With the constant reevaluation of my goal, the obsession with achieving certain milestones, and the urgency to win I had created for myself a pool of stress.

And I’m not a Yoga Master to meditate my way out of it.

So I got other people to beat that stress out of me. I went back to the gym.

And I let friends take me out for a beer. I scheduled family time away from the computer and the cell phone.

Am I done with my money-chase? HECK NO!

Am I less stressful? More creative? More energetic?

ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY!

I jumped off of a bridge today.

Heck YEAH!

A 6-meter (22ft) fall straight into the Roanoake Island waters!

To the astonishment of a suddenly-quiet wife, and the curious audience of a nearby waterfront restaurant, I jumped.

Roanoke Island Bridge, Manteo NC

Completely unplanned, coming back from an afternoon stroller ride, I took off my shirt, and despite wearing white cotton shorts, IT FELT GREAT!

I had written before about facing challenges with confidence, but this is something new.

Adrenaline Rush & Internet Marketing?

To be honest, I hadn’t experienced anything this exciting since my son was born, and his birth still was more of a mental rush than straight up adrenaline.

It’s not like sitting on the computer trying to get people to buy my stuff isn’t fun. Trust me, it’s a LOT of fun.

But routine kills people. Daily repetition is what drives Post Office employees nuts.

Routine is so bad that makes you come online every evening trying to find a way out of it.

Non-Linear Pattern (NLP)

I first heard about NLP from Frank Kern, and I’ve been reading about it ever since. NLP, in regards to customer behavior, means shocking a customer out of his/hers expected pattern of action in order to increase conversions.

A good example of this in internet marketing is the recent utilization of video sales letters, which are customary on TV (infomercials), but relatively new in our favorite media.

But what has NLP to do with me jumping off of a bridge?

Well, screwing the “routine” is a major shock to anybody’s expected  behavior, and it gives you opportunities:

• The sudden pattern break “resets” your brain, which has to scramble to catch up with the new situation. This is a major opportunity to see things from a new perspective, or to come up with new ideas.

• When there’s adrenaline involved, the hormonal discharge makes you feel like Superman; increased confidence leads to bold moves, which often result in … greater rewards.

• It’s just as good as a break - but with a complete shift in mindset.

How do you plan on Breaking the Pattern?

Whether jumping off of a bridge or offering your customers a revolutionary experience, what are your plans to break the routine?

Post your comments, and be sure to specify if indeed it RESETTED your brain…!

How To Avoid web 1.0 Traps & Monetize Your Website

I’ve been working with a local gym introducing them to different ways of using the web as a communication channel and monetization opportunity.

Of course, the very first thing they asked was about Pay-Per-Click, to which I tried to explain (not successfully) that their beautiful corporate website would was not ready for it.

The reply was one I already expected:

“But the site looks awesome, I paid a lot of money for it!”

Yeah, I know.

They had a bunch of flash animations, amazing graphics, and a really kick-arse design. But the navigation was poor, there was very little content. But more importantly, if I were to use that for a PPC campaign, I needed a BRIBE and a CAPTURE FORM.

The owner looked at me like “Am I really paying you?

And the explanation that took me a couple of meeting to finally get him to understand was:

If you’re paying for traffic, you need to find a way to monetize those visitors.

Even if it means a simple data-gathering form.

What is the web 1.0 corporate deathtrap?

When that same business owner heard me saying that, he freaked out.

He was proud to have a cutting-edge website, and for him that was all that was necessary. But therein lies the trap:

Most brick-and-mortar business owners believe a website should be like the front of their store, and look pretty enough to invite visitors in.

But the fact is that the internet is the biggest, fastest-pace mall EVER. Online users’ attention span is minimal and they’re not attracted by looks only anymore. That was the web 1.0.

Visitors now want information, as they’re used to receiving it at an unbelievably fast rate from Google, Twitter, and many other sources. And making information attractive, educational, and satisfactory is key running a successful website and to widen a business’ communication channels.

Avoiding the web 1.0 Deathtrap

Get that expensive web designer of yours and feed him with everything that is going on in your business.

Tell him to update the site with a NEWS stream and publish press-releases-like messages (or even blog-posts-like) at least twice a week.

Instigate your visitor by publishing pictures, and videos on your website. But not studio pictures or professional videos: get somebody on your staff to take pictures of that special event or record a video of a class or seminar. It has to look real, not “made-for-tv”.

And that is just basic. To go one step further:

• use the website to promote special events, and offer web-exclusive bonuses.

• At specific events, record live customer testimonials

• Start a blog: Let customers post their feedback.

• Write an industry-specific ebook or record a video training and sell it on the website.

The web is the most effective communication channel a business can have, aside from personal interaction. It offers the most targeted advertisement platforms, and through the internet a business can uncover any market.

As long as top management is aware of it, a website will offer a ton of opportunities. But when management is stuck in the web 1.0, the best thing to do is introduce them to the information era.

I’ll keep you posted on our work as we move forward with the project.

If you’re a business owner looking for ways to establish a more positive online brand strategy, or you’re tired of paying good money for a website that is useless, post your question here (as a comment), and I’ll answer them.

Ever imagined Mike Dillard, Ferny Ceballos, Mike Klinger, Raymond Fong, Mark Wieser, Jim Yaghi and Tim Erway together in your living room?

Well, that’s what Traffic Formula 2.0 will do.

Each in their area of expertise, these masters will be working constantly to take your business beyond the
next level.

I wasn’t even in the industry when the first Traffic Formula came out, but I know first hand how it changed a couple of
people’s business:

Jim Yaghi started his PPC adventures after reading the original TF, and now he produces an AVERAGE of 600 leads a day.

Ferny and Ray were just two more engineers, with lots of student debt to pay (MIT is not cheap..). Last year, they hosted the Traffic Formula Live event ($1000 per ticket!), sharing the stage with Mike Dillard.

And that was only three years ago.

You know how there are turning points in one’s carreer?

The amplitude of this education will open many, many doors for you, and undoubtly spark a million new ideas to
increase your success at least tenfold.

So, if you’re undecided about spending $267 to receive these masters in your house, consider what this investment would mean to you 1 year, or even 6 months from now…

You can get Traffic Formula 2.0 here:

http://vur.me/about/traffic

And maybe we can both be a part of the 3.0 edition, huh?

To remarkable turning points,

Leo Saraceni
office: 252-202-6190

P.S - I have limited spots left to schedule personal consultations. If you bought TF with me, reply to this post with your info and  I’ll personally contact you. Or just email me at leosaraceni[at]gmail.com

If haven’t gotten this gigantic amount of marketing knowledge yet, do it so now and I will work with you 1-on-1 to assist in digesting it all.

http://vur.me/about/traffic

The MLM Traffic Formula 2 Complete Package

Traffic Formula 2 Is Live

And my special bonus is still available. There are, so far, 12 slots available for personal coaching - and I’m sure they will go by fast.

Mike Dillard brought aboard an even heavier team of experts this time: Ferny Ceballos and Raymond Fong will cover the SEO training, Jim Yaghi has promised to release some special PPC strategies, and even Mike Klinger joined the Magnetic Sponsoring crew and will share some of his best content.

And the Early Bird discount is just unbelievable: $267 for the entire Traffic Formula!

To think that when it’s finished, it will go for $897, it’s a steal!

Go get yours now, enjoy the discount price, and set up an appointment to get your training with me.

Get traffic formula 2 with the discount

Very cool tool I found yesterday around 2am (that’s why I don’t remember where I found it).

The website grader gives a free analysis of several aspects of your website and comes up with a score based on readability, loading time, and incoming links. It’s much more than a SEO tool.

Website reviews are nothing new, and there are tons of tools trying to convince people to buy their products after some scary analysis says so, but website grader is different:

First of all, it offers suggestions on what to do to fix the problems, in a completely NON-TECHIE way.

And second, their SEO strategies book is FREE. REally, free!

Go ahead and try it out. You might see things through a new perspective.

How To Find Out If You’re Cut For Success Online

A thought came to mind right now while I thought about the huge attrition rate in the Network Marketing industry, and it seemed logical that the success rate is proportional to number of real entrepreneurs, while the failure rate relates to those running a ‘part-time job’ online.

Follow me on this:

In network marketing, a business is set up with a couple hundred bucks. There is no overhead, no rent, no loan - just a phone, a computer, and time. Doing it right leads to a pretty decent profit payoff. That’s attractive to ANYBODY - who wouldn’t want to own a business like that?

It seems like such a simple solution to the average folk trying to earn a couple extra bucks that millions of people start daily.

But as a business, there are responsibilities, and the major entrepreneurial challenge of investing in yourself - educating oneself in order to become a leader and an expert takes a major toll on that mass of people used to ’surviving’ through their 8-hour shifts to receive a paycheck after two weeks.

My Upline Lied To Me… And The Company Scammed Me

And then the lack of commitment kicks in: “nah, this is too hard”, which usually means “my upline lied to me” or “the company scammed me” seem to be the major outcomes of such bogus entrepreneurial experiences.

97% of so-called entrepreneurs fall by the sides because they could not get that ‘paycheck’ they wanted

Which means only 3% are really committed - no matter what their reasons are, they decided to make it work.

Wanna know if you’re in the 3%?

If the internet disappeared tomorrow, would start a new business or find a job?

If network marketing became retail, would open a store?

I like to think of my readers as part of the 3%. Please prove me right.

Is Traffic Formula 2 Mike Dillard's Bible?

After 3 years of launching the original MLM Traffic Formula manuscript, which has become major part of many successful marketers’ libraries, Mike Dillard is now launching an updated version of the formula.

Sure, the first TF is still relevant, as it covers fundamental online marketing practices and platforms, but, according to Mike himself, there are issues that have grown too much to ignore:

1. Increasing competition
2. Increasing amount of free information available
3. Decreased internet users’ attention span
4. Decreased customer retention

So How Is MLM Traffic Formula 2.0 Going To Address These Issues?

On a recent email, Mike Dillard explained how TF 2.0 will be delivered:

Traffic Formula 2 is not a physical product.

When it goes on sale this Wednesday, we’ll be selling tickets to the “Beta Release” which will allow you and your customers to attend all of the live training calls and webinars we’ll be holding over the coming weeks and months as they happen.

This will allow us to make sure we cover everything you’d like to see in the course.

Eventually, the final version will be put into a binder just like “TF1″, and the price will increase substantially.

This is exactly how Traffic Formula 1 was developed. People were allowed to purchase a ticket to all of the training calls and attend them live.

From Mike’s email, and given his new take on Social Media, the crew will base the entire Traffic Formula 2.0 in what we as marketers would like to learn.

Your Input Is Important - Traffic Formula 2.0 will be Interactive!

About 2 days ago, Mike Dillard mailed an online survey to his list, prompting his 120,000 members to reveal their knowledge level, experience, and biggest difficulties.

The results of this survey remain yet to be seen, but I bet Traffic Formula 2.0 will hit the nail in the head, once all the answers are revealed.

This is undoubtely a bold, genious move by Dillard - he’s basically asking his customers:

Tell me what you want to know, I’ll answer it, and then sell it back to you for a decent price…

With his knowledge, and the support of team members like Justin Christianson, Craig Allen, Ben Settle, Jim Yaghi, and others, Mike’s definitely got the knowledge to back that promise.

The Traffic Formula 2.0 Freebies + Leo’s Awesome Bonus

Following the amazing success of Eben Pagan’s latest launch, Mike released a 36-minute “online dvd”, which has already received over 11500 views in less than 48 hours.

Because the video - and TF 2.0 - are so jam-packed with advanced marketing concepts, I’ve uploaded an entire blog designed to clarify details of the traffic formula 2 launch.

And the cool thing I’ve got stashed in there is MY PERSONAL BONUS: The first 50 people to get traffic formula 2.0 through my link get PERSONAL COACHING!

This way, if you’re unsure how to digest all the information TF’s got, or you’re not quite sure how to implement it, you’ll have myself there to assist you in your major obstacles.

So go check out Dillard-Traffic-Formula.com and sign up quick to ensure your free personal coaching.

Master The Google PPC Content Network

And so it begins….the real PPC power!

I’m always surprised to see the results that my ads on the Google Search produce, and the flexibility of choosing specifically which searchers to target is awazing…

BUT…

The more targeted you get on the Search network, the less impressions you get, after all, you’re narrowing the funnel, focusing on customers who have moved past research and into buying mode.

Often, you find a profitable keyword, your Clickthrough Ratio and Conversion are excellent, but the traffic is just not enough to really make that much of a difference.

The Content Network Boosts Profitable Keywords Exponentially

When a PPC campaign includes the content network, Adwords will place your ads throughout Adsense placements in affiliated websites. That means not only ads will show when someone is searching for your keyword, but also when that keyword is somewhere within the text of those websites.

With the Content Network, PPC takes a much more aggressive approach and targets potential prostects that may not be “searching” for what you’re offering, but reading, looking, or watching it.

Google understands these prospects are interested in that keyword because the website in which the ads is placed contains that keyword - therefore its visitors must be somewhat related to that query.

It is common to see a huge spike in impressions when the Content Network is turned on, and that is exactly why it is such an advanced PPC strategy: with 40K impressions/day in average per keyword, a 0.5% clickthrough ratio means 200 clicks - which means at $0.10 per click, $20, for a single keyword.

There are a variety of reasons to be careful when advertising in the content network:

• quality of the placements (the website where your ad is showing - is it well-targeted?)

• quality of the clicks (keeping track of where your clicks are coming from can be a tiresome chore)

• difficult budget planning (much higher click volume, even with low CTR)

• difficult keyword strategy (instead of simply focusing on what they are searching for, marketers have to think what is the best context to place a keyword)

A couple of recommendations to maintain control over your ppc campaigns running on content:

• Imagine how your keyword will show up on a blog post, email, or article, and focus your ad around that angle

• Create Content-only campaigns,  and check it’s results very often

• Check Google’s Placement Report at least weekly to find out exactly which placements have offered the best results, and ditch the ones that didn’t.

• Use ONLY []exact keyword matches to have the most amount of control

Would you like to share your experience?

I have a project cooking right now that will open a huge channel to PPC students who need or want to share their PPC knowledge, but for now, I’d like to see what was everyone’s experience with the Content Networ..

Leave your comments, questions, and suggestions - I will reply!

Eben Pagan Moves The Free Line

I’ve just finished reading Eben Pagan’s latest giveaway, the 21-page Marketing Voodoo report.

Eben is too humble to take credit for it, but he’s famous for the phrase “move the free line”, in regards to offering high-quality content, freely, in order to capture and captivate prospects, customers, and associates.

To promote the launch of his Guru Home Study Course, Eben has been over-delivering 1000s of dollars worth of free tips, training, and even mini sales letters - stuff that could easily sell for at least $40, only to WOW his prospects to the point where they have to have his course.

Honestly, it’s working.

After taking the time to watch his 40 min video twice and reading his marketing voodoo report over and over, I’ve reached the point where I can’t imagine what’s left for the actual paid course. The information Eben shared on the marketing voodoo report alone is 100% actionable, and I already see it increasing my conversion rates and capturing customers for life.

I’m trying my best not to sound like a groupie, but it’s not easy.

What is impressive is that Eben leaves no doubt that what’s in the video and in the marketing voodoo report is his best, most precious strategies, and he is not afraid to reveal it publicly. The reason for is that despite the immediate potential his free reports have, with his guidance and special exercises, exploring its full potential will take much less than having to study it on your own.

Basically, Eben Pagan is giving you an amazing toy without the full, 400 page instruction. He gives you a 20 page instruction, and full access to the toy; you may play with it for a while, but without the entire manual, it gets boring… So you have to come and ask for the full instruction set.

It is your decision to seek Eben Pagan as a solution provider, not only because he gave you the toy, but because he knows exactly how to have lots and lots of fun playing it.

The entire “move the free line” strategy revolves around the fact that Eben (or any knowledgeable entrepreneur, for that matter) is confident that it will be our decision to seek his solution, which brings us to another point discussed on the Marketing voodoo report:

An info-product has to solve an immediate pain, and if done correctly, has no perceived competition.

Notice the cycle?

• The Bait - high-quality information

• The catch - the info has limited training

• The solution - pay to get more training

• The alternative - none, since there’s nothing designed for this specific need/service/opportunity

Genious!

I’ve already made changes to my sales letter, and include some of Eben’s “toys” - can you see which ones are they?