Archive for Andy Michaels
Article Submit Auto Recommendation
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a while since I recommended a product and I’d like to share with you an outstanding program that I have been using for a few months now in order to improve my article marketing results.
The name of the program is Article Submit Auto by Dominic Tay and it is quite simply THE best article submission system that I have found.
So what’s so great about it?
Quite honestly it just makes the whole submission process straightforward and easy. I used to HATE submitting articles to article directories. It’s just so mind-numbingly boring. And then you have to decide which article directories to submit to.
Well ASA only submits to the highest PR and most worthwhile directories on the net including EzineArticles, Go Articles, ArticlesBase and 24 others.
And I’m all about simplifying each stage of this so yes, you have to get accounts with each of those article directories. Oh, and you can put in 7 different profiles for different niches so that would be 7 times 27 sites. No way Jose, not for me.
So I just nip along to fiverr.com and find someone willing to open all the accounts for me and five dollars and a day or so later I have a whole new profile set up. And if you use the same email and password for each of the accounts then you put it into ASA once and it autofills all the other cells, you click “check all” and ASA checks that it can log into each account!
And get this! You can also add your Onlywire details (social bookmarking account) and when you submit an article it is automatically submitted to the social bookmarking sites!! Awesome.
So you’ve set up your profiles and your article accounts – easy. Now comes the submission process.
And I haven’t even mentioned that it all runs in a normal wordpress dashboard so we should all know how to navigate round that by now 
Can you tell how much I love this program yet??
So we want to submit our article. But we know that we don’t want to submit the same article at the same time to all the directories. But with ASA you can either, submit a FULLY-SPIN READY article and it will submit a different one to each directory OR you can set it to submit to Ezine Articles first and delay submission to the others for as many days as you want.
Then it sends you a submission report direct to your email telling you if there were any problems with the submission process. If there was, you can just fix the problem and submit only to that directory.
The beauty is that if you are working in a few niches at the same time you can swap between profiles and each profile has its own settings including resource box, categories etc.
So if you are an article marketer, then you NEED this tool in your arsenal as I haven’t found anything that does it quite as well.
You should check it out here – Article Submit Auto
Where Are You Now?
Posted by: | CommentsWell, time continues to blow raspberries at me as it whizzes past my face and I notice that I haven’t updated my blog in almost 2 months.
How many times have I said that I need to change that?
Well, I’ll stop making promises but it is certainly my intention to post more often to my blog. In fact, I do a bi-weekly newsletter with some solid information that I really should have been putting up here as well.
All just goes to show that I am still learning as I go.
Well, it has been nearly 7 months since I quit my job to become a full-time self employed Internet guy. And if you remember that I quit when I wasn’t earning enough from IM to cover my wages but I felt at the time that it was the right move.
So how have things gone?
I can honestly say, that I have never regretted the decision but unless you have the available finances to cover yourself for several months then perhaps it wouldn’t be the right move for many folks.
And what has really surprised me is the amount of opportunities that come your way when you make the decision to commit to something.
In the last few months I have met some extraordinary folks and have been offered some incredible opportunities that I am continuing to work on.
I have expanded into the local business side of things and have seen some great things start to happen and this is an area that I want to expand on in the future as it is something that any of you can pick up and make a great, full-time living from.
I hope that I will be able to give you a lot more information as well as a workable system that will take you from A to Z as well as give you all the resources you need to make money from day one.
I am currently working on a product that will do this and I am even looking into a way that I can provide leads to you from the very start which would mean that you would have a fully functional business with income from the moment you purchase.
Exciting stuff!
And hopefully I can use my experience of quitting my job with very little money coming in and turning it into a success.
They say that 95% of people fail in IM. Well I took the choice that I would be in the 5% because failure was not an option and I am loving every minute of it.
I am a happier person, doing something I enjoy and I’m my own boss. My confidence is building and I can see only good things for the future whereas before I couldn’t see any real future!
And best of all, I have just spent the last 7 months with my wee lad, seeing him every morning, afternoon and evening and having an absolute blast.
My Danny Boy!
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I lived in fear of doing this for many years, panicking about money, about reputation, about, well, everything.
Then I reached a point where I couldn’t go on and I had to do it. And it truly has been the best decision I ever made so if this helps just one person who is struggling, to give them hope that things aren’t as bad as they seem.
Then that makes me happier still.
Enjoy these moments. They are all too fleeting!
Till next time.
Andy
My Survey Results
Posted by: | CommentsRecently I conducted a survey for my subscribers and I wanted to run through the results as it may provide some inspiration for your own marketing and give you an idea of what people are looking for.
Although it would always be a good idea to survey your own subscribers regularly in order to ensure that you are providing them with the information that they want from you.
So here goes:
It was interesting to see that the responses are spread very evenly. Apart from the mobile marketing, which is perhaps still too new, the old favourites seem to hold sway. I was very happy to see local business marketing getting a good amount of votes as this is an area that I am concentrating more and more of my time on and will be happy to discuss this more.
For a few months now I have been trying to get the frequency of my emails right. I have been doing a bi-weekly newsletter for a while now and by the looks of it, that is a popular option. Although the weekly newsletter gets the most votes which is something I will need to consider. This would also give me more time between newsletters to provide better content as well as more information.
I have to say that I found this result quite interesting as I expected video to get a better response.
On a personal note I am still a bigger fan of written material apart for “how-to” guides which are easier to watch. So I was glad to see that many others agre with me so this is something that I will need to focus on a bit more and if I am able to do a written review along with a video review then I am satisfying a large portion of my audience.
Well, I was glad to see this result!
The big difference between what I do now and when I followed blindly in the beginning is that now I will ONLY recommend products that I have complete faith in. I need to be using them in my business or feel that it would benefit a lot of people in order to recommend it.
This way I can be happy that if I earn money then no-one is feeling let down by me and this is an important aspect to me as a marketer and as a person. I want to earn money, as we all do, but I will ensure that I do it based on my own values and principles.
Of course, some people do not want to be sold to, full stop. And that’s OK as well.
This was another result that kind of surprised me, but not really.
We are so used to buying products and thinking about how much good it will do us, getting excited by the possibilities and then….nothing. We either can’t install it, get it working right or it just won’t do what we though it was supposed to. And then who do you ask??
So if I am recommending a product and I am using it in my own business then it is only right that I try to help the people who buy it to get the most out of it. I believe that is a fair swap and this is something I hope that I can implement into my business going forward.
And that was all the questions I asked.
It has given me a LOT to think about and to try to find solutions to. I really want to help as many people as I can become full-time as I have and that means giving them what they ask for.
Here’s hoping!
I Quit…..
Posted by: | CommentsThat’s right. I did.
That is what I told my boss recently as I have just had enough of working for, well, let’s face it, idiots!
The only idiot I am responsible to now is myself. (Wouldn’t get away with calling the wife an idiot!)
And because I still hadn’t put a video on my blog I decided to make a quick vid and stick it on here before I changed my mind.
I haven’t edited it or added anything, I just rolled the camera, blurted some stuff out and put it up here. Just to get me over that mental block I had about posting video of myself.
So here it is. Go easy on me!
Speak Soon!
Every Day’s A School Day!
Posted by: | CommentsBlimey O Reilly. Its the 23nd February and I haven’t posted here since the 8th January. That is very naughty of me. So that’s what, 6 weeks of stuff to tell you about!!
Ha ha, I won’t do that but I will try to fill you in on how things are going for me and what I have learnt in those 6 weeks.
I did think that I should start to put more informative posts on my blog. You know the kind. How to fix z problem, How to get y traffic, How to put x on your blog. But actually. That’s really not me.
I find it easier just to talk about what has been going on with my business. The thing is I know that most people aren’t interested in me personally but if they can see that I can go from zero to where I am now and pick up some useful tips or incentive then that’s good enough for me.
So whats happened in the last 6 weeks?
Sticking to my IM business alone and not the fact that my 2 month old son has absolutely blown me away and made me feel more content that at any time before then things have been going well.
For the first month ever I am actually in credit. I received my first Clickbank payout of $572.46 as well as a few Paypal payments to add up to over $600 in commissions. And I’m due another $300 plus already. This is a monumental achievement for me and has given me the confidence that I absolutely WILL be successful at this.
I have continued to grow my list which now stands at over 2,500 and I have just launched my 2nd product to giveaway which is called “On The Double” Product Creation. Here’s a look at the ecover.
"On The Double Product Creation
If you want to learn how to create products in double quick time then please just add your name and email address to the form below the picture and I’ll get it straight over to you.
I’ve also learnt to think more like a marketer than a customer. Its a strange feeling to be more involved on the inside looking out than on the outside desperate to get in.
Most importantly I have learned that anyone can succeed in this business if they are prepared to follow the tried and tested methods, stick at it and persevere, even when things are looking bleak.
I’m going to become a full-time IM’er (well 10 hours a week but no other job) and I’d like to help as many people as I can do it as well. If you sign up to my newsletter via any of the opt-in forms that you see on the blog, and just reply to one of my emails then if there is any way that I can help you at all I’d be very pleased to do so. (ahem, within reason people!)
I keep saying it but this is just the end of the beginning. The good times are still to come!
And Oh yes, I’ve learned today that you shouldn’t suck too many max strength sore throat relief tablets unless you want your whole mouth to go numb!
Have A Good Day!
Holiday Greetings, The Hard Work Starts Here!
Posted by: | CommentsYou’ve got to love the business of Internet Marketing! As you will have seen from my previous post I was stuck in limbo land waiting for the arrival of my wee guy. Well, shortly after I posted that we started to see the first signs that he would be making his appearance.
Anyway, after another 3 days and very little sleep Danny finally made his way into the world and obviously as the proud father I am I’ll stick up a wee piccy of him here
Thatsa ma boy!
But I’ll make that the last I speak of this saga for a little while. The point I wanted to make was that through all of this time i.e approx 3 weeks, I did very little work on my online business yet in that time it continued to grow. I now have a list of 1300 peeps and it continues to grow daily. If you are one of my subscribers I’d like to say a very big thank you to you for listening to me and reading my emails.
I feel that I have now completed the first stage of my journey to independence. The hard part is getting started but once you have the ball rolling one day you will wake up and it will have become an unstoppable force.
So on a final note I’d like to wish everyone a very enjoyable holiday period and have a great new year. I’ll certainly be enjoying my first xmas with my wee boy and I will come back with a renewed vigour to make 2010 the year that I, and whoever wishes my help, reach our online goals.
Many Thanks
Andy
Living In Limbo….But You Should Grab This!
Posted by: | CommentsWell, here I am. 3 weeks on from my last blog post. I’m thinking that is probably too long to be leaving between blog posts and in time I hope to rectify that. Perhaps in the future I will have lots more to talk about but more importantly a lot more people to talk to.
Or maybe I have so much to talk about that I can’t focus on one subject at a time!! Yeah, that sounds more like it.
On a personal note I am still waiting on the arrival of my first kiddywink. He’s now over a week overdue and the waiting is driving me round the bend. At least it allows me the time to keep working on my IM business.
That side of things is continuing to grow at a steady pace and if I could give one piece of advice to the newbie IM’er it is to have patience. There are no get rich quick schemes here. We are about building a profitable BUT sustainable online business. If you are looking for a quick cash injection or a part-time income then I’m sure there are systems out there that can help but I am pursuing the dream of becoming a full-time IM’er and for that I need longevity.
As for those goals, what have I achieved so far?
The biggest advancement that I have made is in the most important part of my business – my list. On my last blog post I only had a few hundred subscribers, today it is sitting at approx 850.
I am happy with the progress I am making and the beauty of building a bigger list is that everything starts to go into overdrive. If you adswap with a list of 200 and get 5% conversions then you are only getting 10 subscribers a day but when you adswap with a 2000 list you will get 100 a day, therefore you move to the next level a lot quicker.
So please remember that it’s the getting started that is the difficult part. Once you have momentum you will start to make great strides in a far shorter period of time.
So this moves me nicely on to my next point which is the release of Alex Jeffreys new “Triple Threat Affilate” product.
Basically Alex is giving away one of the webinars that we had as part of the Alex Jeffreys Coaching Program and in all honesty this is the one that blew me away.
My journey started when I began Alex’s course, it cost me just under $1000 to do so but now you can get started for nothing. I fully intend to reach my destination and I will always remain thankful for Alex’s advice.
So do yourself a favour and get this webinar:
Alex Jeffreys “Triple Threat Affiliate” Webinar
I’ll leave this post there and by the time I post again my life will have been turned upside down and inside out and, I NEVER thought I’d say this but I’m quite looking forward to it.
Famous last words!!
You Wouldn’t Like Me When I’m Angry!
Posted by: | CommentsWell, It’s the middle of the bloomin night and I just had to get up to make this blog post.
The thing about this business is it gets into your head. You think about it constantly. What should I be doing? What do I need to learn? How do I do this or that? and on and on.
And part of me loves that. I even love spending the money on new products, even when I’m trying not to.
But what’s the point of this post? Well, today I started watching module 7 of the Alex Jeffreys Coaching Program called the Big Online Secret or the online roadblocks, whichever is preferred.
And what I realised, just now, lying in my bed, is that I am doing this all wrong.
As Alex kept pointing out, if you don’t keep a journal than you will fail. Well I didn’t keep a journal. I’m a compulsive note-taker and list maker but it’s probably all the wrong stuff.
I haven’t got any videos up yet. I have recorded them but then it took me ages to edit, then they take about 2 1/2 days to upload to youtube. While bringing the computer to a grinding halt.
I’m also focussing far too much attention in driving traffic to this blog. There isn’t any point to doing that. It’s not monetized. It may be read but then it will be forgotten about. Never to be read again by 99.99% of people who visit. What’s the bloomin point in having high traffic or a good Alexa ranking if there’s no end product. Like peeing yourself in dark trousers. Gives you a nice warm feeling but nobody notices! (Not that I have)
And this is all sounding very negative, but really, it’s not. I know what I am doing wrong but just as importantly I know what I am going to do to fix it.
I have a cunning plan and when I get up tomorrow I’m going to get stuck in.
There isn’t much more to learn about the basics. There is no great online secret. It’s about perseverance and consistency.
Massive action = massive results.
And I need to be myself more. I like a laugh, don’t like to take myself too seriously but prone to going off into rants. But so what. Opinions make us who we are. If you don’t agree with someone then get over it, we’re all adults.
I do like having a blog. Somewhere to vent your spleen as we say. Somewhere to get to know people and build relationships and, in time, friendships. It’s funny that you can type some stuff onto this and people will read it but in the real world nobody really hears anything but their own voice.
I once heard a saying that has stuck with me – “Nobody listens, they are only waiting for their turn to talk!”
Maybe we should listen more and talk less?
G’Night
I’ll probably delete this or at least edit it after I’ve had my night’s sleep!
Dean Holland’s An Inspiration!
Posted by: | CommentsThis business relies on momentum and consistency to deliver results. It is important to keep doing a little something every day in order to move you closer to your goals. Whether that is tweeting regularly, writing an article every day or making a blog post weekly.
And it is very easy to let life and work get in the way of these consistencies. And before you know it a week and maybe two has passed.
As a Dean Holland student I know that it is possible to make a success out of IM and I am determined to make it there. As work life deteriorates and with new family commitments looming it is very easy to start getting negative. Results aren’t where I would like them to be, my email list is still in its infancy and some things haven’t worked like I would have hoped.
But, people, that is not the way that I am going this time.
On the positive, I have had sign ups, I tweet regularly and my following has grown to almost 3,000. I have written articles regularly and I will continue to do so.
Dean Holland is my inspiration this time and that is something that I haven’t had for a while. Dean started where I started. He followed Alex Jeffreys coaching consistently and 9 months later he quit his job. This isn’t just possible, if you follow the system, its probable that you will get results.
I’d also like to say a big hello and thank you to anyone visiting this blog. Thanks for taking the time to visit. And for any Dean Holland or Alex Jeffreys students, please contact me via the contact page here or PM on the forums just to say Hi. I know we all need help with motivation at times and I’d really like to start building some online relationships.
Finally I’d like to point everyone in the direction of my blog page titled Five Free Membership Sites. These memberships are terrific. There is a traffic generation club and an affiliate profits club as well as a self help site and 2 other web marketing memberships.
They really are free, although there is an upgrade option. And the information inside is incredible. Check them out – Click here
