Internet Marketing Training

Stop Commission Theft! (How to Manually Cloak Affiliate Links)

by Steve Scott

Cloaked FigureRecently I decided to limit the number of guest posts on my site.  But this is the first time I specifically ASKED for an article.

The other day Cristina Ansbjerg of Optima Lifestyle left a great comment about how to cloak affiliate links.

I feel this is a majorly important technique that every affiliate marketer should learn.  That’s why I practically begged Cristina to write a quick tutorial.  And here’s what she’s come up with…

A few weeks ago Steve posted a very useful article about How to Bypass an Opt In Page.

He created a video to explain very easily how to cloak your affiliate links using a free tool, G-Lock Affiliate Link Cloaker.

This topic is extremely important for affiliate marketers since cloaking your links is a technique you can use to:

  • Protect your commissions from theft. It’s quite easy to remove your affiliate code from the link and add in someone else’s. This way, that person would get your commissions. Cloaking the link, you won’t disclose your affiliate ID, therefore it can’t be changed.
  • Bypass a poor converting opt-in page
  • Give a better look to the ugly and long affiliate links. Also, your customer doesn’t have the feeling they are leaving your website.

Besides the free G-Link affiliate link cloaker, there are other premium plugins in the market. You can also use a URL shortener (e.g. bitly, TinyUrl).

But all these solutions have something in common: they are external. What would happen if for some reason you need to uninstall the plugin?

In this post I’m going to give you another option. I’m going to explain how to manually cloak your links. This way you will have total control over your links.

How to Manually Cloak Affiliate Links

What are we going to do?

We are going to simply redirect the affiliate links through our blog.

A link that looks like this: http://XXXXXX.nobsoffers.hop.clickbank.net, will now look like this: http://yourblog.com/recommends/nobsoffers. Note that the final destination is not going to change.

For example, if I was promoting Steve Scott’s product “Affiliate Marketing without the Bulls**t” in my blog, Optima-Lifestyle, my affiliate link http://optimacbid.nobsoffers.hop.clickbank.net would turn into

*(Note: optimacbid is not my actual Clickbank ID. It’s just made to illustrate this post)

What do you need to cloak links manually?

All you need is:

  • A text editor (e.g. Notepad if you are a PC user)
  • FTP Client (e.g. Filezilla is free)

Let’s start!

STEP 1

Open your text editor and paste this simple piece of code:

<?PHP

Header(“Location: YOURAFFILIATELINK”);
Exit;

?>

(Important: Don’t leave any space after ?>

That would break the php code).

STEP 2

Change YOURAFFILATELINK for your actual affiliate link. The one you want to cloak. In my example, the piece of code would look like this:

STEP 3

Create a folder on your desktop called recommends

STEP 4

Inside the Recommends folder, create another folder. Give it a name that allows you to identify the affiliate product. Don’t use capital letters.

I’m going to call mine nobsaffiliatemarketing

STEP 5

Go back to the notepad and save the text file you’ve created in this new folder. The text file has to be called index.php (Always. No exception. Don’t try to call it anything different)

recommends —> nobsaffiliatemarketing —> index.php

Let me insert a short explanation here:

Every time you cloak a new link you will have to save it in the recommends file and then in the specific folder. For example, imagine that now I want to cloak my affiliate link for Hostgator as well. All I would have to do is repeat the previous steps -this time with my Hostgator affiliate link- and then save the text file as index.php in a folder called hostgator inside the recommends folder.

My recommends folder would look like this:

STEP 6

Once the recommends folder is ready, all we have to do is upload it to the root of our server using Filezilla (or any other FTP client).

(The root of your server is usually called public_html or httpdocs)

I’ve included a picture (please ignore that Filezilla is in Spanish)

STEP 7

Check carefully that the index.php files are named like that and not index.php.txt

If they’re not correct, simply delete .txt

 

Voilà! Your affiliate links are now cloaked. To be sure that you’ve done everything right, simply type the url into your web browser and press enter.

Let’s check if mine works http://optima-lifestyle.com/recommends/nobsaffiliatemarketing

We can also try using an anchor text: Steve Scott’s Affiliate Marketing without B.S.

This system is very useful if at some point you want to change an affiliate link that you’ve used many times in different places (e.g. many posts on you blog).

In that case you only have to change the link saved on your recommends folder. With one simple change you control all the redirections for that link.

A big thanks for Cristina for creating this step-by-step tutorial.  To learn more about her, I recommend you go check out her site which covers personal development for entrepreneurs.

{ 40 comments }

Email Open Rates: My #1 Trick for Increasing an Average Open Rate

by Steve Scott

#1 Trick for increasing email opensEmail marketing is the lifeblood of my Internet business.

Without it; I would make very little money. To that end, I’m always looking for ways to improve the results I get from this medium.

In the last few months, I’ve been experimenting with a technique that’s discussed in a special report about 45 email marketing tips.  This is a technique I’ve used in other areas of my life.  But I never thought how to apply it to my Internet business.

In today’s post; we’ll talk about this technique and how you can use it to improve the results you get from your email campaign.

How a TV Show Helps You Make More Money

In April, the TV show “Game of Thrones” premiered on HBO.  Like many shows on this network, each episode is part of a large story.  So you have to watch each to understand what’s going on.  In a way, it’s similar to the popular shows like The Sopranos, Lost or 24.

What draws people to shows like these is how they’re set up.  An important part of the plot is to create tension.  The writers introduce a number of storylines that are not resolved for many years.  People watch them because they feel compelled to get answers.

I used Game of Thrones as an example because it happens to be my favorite novel series.  George R.R. Martin (the author) writes it in a unique way.  While most books have a single protagonist, each chapter is from the viewpoint of a different character.  At the end of each, he uses a cliffhanger that leaves you wondering what will happen to that particular person.

What makes Martin’s series even more unique is he’s not afraid to kill major characters.  So when there’s a cliffhanger; you actually don’t know if this person is going to get killed.  Talk about a way to keep you in suspense.

Case in point.  I just finished the fifth book in this series: A Dance with Dragons.  Near the end, one of the characters gets stabbed in a scene that’s reminiscent of Julius Caesar.  This is a major cliffhanger because I won’t know for a LONG time if this person will live or not.  (It takes years for George R.R. Martin to write each book.)

Okay, what’s my point?

All people love stories.  And part of any good tale is a bit of tension.  It’s easy to get hooked when you wonder what happens next to a character.

Here’s how to use this information…

How to Use the Cliffhangers with Email Marketing

One challenge with email marketing is to get people to open your messages.  This is especially true if you do a lot of marketing in your autoresponder sequence.

You can use a technique called Open Loops to improve your email open rates.  An open loop is where you mention an important concept; but you DON’T reveal it right away.  Instead you mention it as a passing comment; then promise to discuss it in a future email. 

How do you put this into action?  Your autoresponder sequence should be a series of emails that directly relate to one another.  Each message should include an individual lesson, but it should also hint at solutions you’ll discuss in another email.

This one technique will have a dramatic impact on your email open rates.  You won’t be sending a single email to subscribers.  Instead they’ll receive one part of a major storyline.  Done correctly, you’ll make people anticipate the next message that lands in their inbox.

How to Immediately Apply Open Loops

First off, it’s important to have an email list.  Like I said, this is one of the best ways to make money online. 

If you do have an email list?  Then I recommend you introduce open loops into the majority of your messages.  At the bare minimum, you should use the P.S. section to tell subscribers what to expect in the next email.

Also, here’s an advanced technique.  You can build multiple open loops throughout your autoresponder sequence.  In some messages, you’ll answer a question.  In others, you’ll raise new ones.  Do this over a series of 20+ emails and I guarantee people will open; then read what you send them.

Open loops are very powerful when properly applied.  So take a look at your existing sequence.   Try to add messages to it that can draw people in and make them want to read what you have to say.

Finally, there are a number of additional ways to increase open rates.   That’s why I recommend you take a look at the report I’ve written on this subject –> Email Mastery: 45 Ways To Take Your Email Marketing To The Next Level.

{ 25 comments }

Herding Kittens- A Review of Best-Reviewer

by Steve Scott

Herdint kittens and backlinkingGetting traffic…

whether to your article, blog, landing page or affiliate offer is a huge desire for many.

Whether they are bloggers, affiliate marketers, article writers, freelancers, amazon affiliates or website owners.

The desire is for more.

More traffic.  More eyes on what you write.  More!  More! More!!!

The problem is that getting this extra traffic can seem like herding kittens. [click to continue…]

{ 10 comments }

THE Definitive Guide to Tracking an Internet Business [Part 3]

by Steve Scott

The Importance of TrackingWelcome to the third (and final) part of our series on tracking.

Here is part 1 and part 2 in case you missed anything.

Last week I had a reader ask why I bothered to dedicate multiple posts to a dry topic like tracking.

My email reply was simple:

“Tracking is important because it shows where your business experiences growth.  You can then use these metrics to get more traffic and make more money.”

Really, I can’t overemphasize the importance of tracking.  This simple task identifies what’s working and what’s not.  Do more of the successful activities and you’ll earn extra income.  It’s really that simple!

Okay, that’s my sermon on tracking.  Let’s continue where we left off.  We’ve already covered ten different things to track in your Internet business.  Now we’ll cover the last five:

#11: Total Income

It’s important to know how much income generates each month.  This metric is the best way to determine how much your time is worth (see #12.)

I really don’t “worry” about my earnings.  Once a month, I’ll tally up the total income from each web business and affiliate program.  This is put into an Excel spreadsheet that tracks what I’ve earned in the last three years.  (I love having this reference point.)

How to Get Started: Create a spreadsheet for your sources of Internet income.  I prefer to break it down according to the different accounts that I own.  For instance, my income tracking includes:

  • Clickbank Account #1 (Affiliate Account)
  • Clickbank Account #2 (eBook Account)
  • Clickbank Account #3 (Go Large Project Account)
  • “Product-X” Affiliate Account (This site produces 1/3rd of my income)
  • Commission Junction
  • Amazon Associates
  • Miscellaneous Earnings

It really doesn’t matter how you group these sources of income.  The important thing is to track them on a monthly basis.

#12: Time Worked

How much is your time worth?  This question can be answered by tracking how much you work.

Like I said in my post about weekly to-do lists; I use a task-based approach to manage my time.   These tasks are broken down into 45 minute working blocks.  In May I completed 190 tasks which works out to roughly 143 hours (190 tasks * 45 minutes = 143 hours). During this time, I generated $13,207, which means I earned $92 per hour of work.

I’ll admit I’m a little obsessive about time management.  With that said, it’s important to a put a dollar value on each hour.  That way you’ll know if a task is “worth” your time.

My advice is to outsource (or eliminate) any activity that doesn’t match this dollar amount.  In fact, you should completely focus on the core genius activities you do best.

#13: Social Media Shares

Social media has become THE way to drive traffic to a blog.  With great content, it’s easy to build a following and attract attention to your personal brand.  The hard part is to know what content is getting people’s attention.

That’s why I create a tracking link for my Tweets and Facebook posts.  This lets me detect patterns in the links that generate blog traffic.  Put all these links into a single interface and you’ll know what is getting people’s attention.

How to Get Started: I’ve already discussed the value of the Pretty Link plugin.  What I didn’t mention was it provides decent tracking stats.

Pretty Link Stats

Here’s how I use this tool:

1)      Twice a day, I’ll Tweet one of my “evergreen” posts (Most of these can be found on my Start Here page.)

2)      I’ll turn each post into a “pretty link.”  Not only does this track traffic; it’s also another way to brand social media shares

3)      I’ll then use Market Me Suite to schedule these updates

4)      Each month; I’ll analyze the results and figure out how to increase the response.

It’s important to track social media shares because you’ll know when something gets results.  And it’s also a way to figure out if an activity is a time waster.

My advice is to monitor these social media stats on a regular basis.  You’ll notice trends about what content gets the best response.  Simply duplicate this success by creating similar articles.  Rinse and repeat till you have a high traffic blog.

#14:  Advertising Impressions and Clicks

With a content site (like a blog); it’s important to know where people are clicking.  You increase income by maximizing these areas for maximum profitability.  In other words, it’s important to put ads that get readers to take action.

I recommend using software to rotate ads on your website.  Use this to see what motivates people on your site.  Also, play around with the positions of your ads.  You’ll discover these small tweaks can maximize the profitability of your site.

How to Get Started: Try the Open X Ad Server tool.  This tracks the number of displays and clicks for each advertisement.  This is important because you’ll know which of your opt-in ads get the best results from your web visitors.

Each month, see which ads generated the best clicks.  Then run another test.  You’ll find that it’s not that hard to maximize the ad space on your site and determine the effectiveness/location of each advertisement.

#15:  Google Adsense CTR

Back in 2005, I made a full-time income from Google Adsense.  I’ve since moved on to other niches; but I still remember the importance of ad position in relation to web content.  At one point; I averaged a 25% click thru ad; which produced a nice income; despite my low number of ‘page views.’

Now, Google Adsense has changed a lot of their rules in the last few years.  So what I “know” about this income model has probably changed.  The important take-away is to track ad positions and tweak ad styles till you get (at least) a 20% click-thru rate.

How to Get Started: Use a content management system (CMS) like WordPress to host your Google Adsense site.  WordPress offers a variety of plugins that automatically insert ads.  I recommend you install one that matches your Theme.

Then use the Google Adsense tool to track your total click-thru rates on this site.  Analyze this number each month and try to improve this number.  Do this till you’ve maximized your ad space.

Final Thoughts on Tracking???

I’m definitely a tracking fanatic.  So I’m sure I’ll think of other ideas the second I hit the ‘publish’ button.   For now, I’ve covered fifteen different activities that should be tracked.

Just use the ones that are applicable to your Internet business.   Track these on a regular basis and look for ways to improve upon these metrics.

Like I’ve said, my success is the direct results from my obsession with tracking.  My initial strategy was to throw a bunch of s**t against the wall and see what stuck.  THE only way I knew what worked was to track everything.

So if you’re struggling with your Internet business; then I recommend using the fifteen activities I’ve discussed in the last few posts.  Perhaps you’ll test and track your way to success!

{ 14 comments }

THE Definitive Guide to Tracking an Internet Business [Part 2]

by Steve Scott

The Importance of Tracking an Internet BusinessLast week I discussed the importance of tracking an Internet business.

Let’s recap what we covered:

  • The importance of tracking to the growth of an Internet business
  • Why you need to review your metrics every month
  • 5 tools I use for tracking
  • Four metrics you should track

Today’s post is a continuation of the last article.  Specifically we’ll review additional metrics you can track with an Internet business:

#5: Video Marketing Stats

YouTube provides excellent in-depth analysis of posted videos.  You can use their tools to discover how people find your content.  This information can be accessed by selecting the Insight button:

YouTube Insight Button

With Insight, you get a lot of hard data about video content.  It tells you things like:

  • Where people watch your videos (country of origin)
  • What keywords people use to find the content
  • The related videos that send traffic
  • What external pages are embedding your video

This information shows what actions produce video results.  My advice is to select a few videos that compete for your target keyword phrase.  Study them to see how you can duplicate their success.

How to Get Started: Play around with the Insight interface.  Find competing videos that send you traffic.  See if they have other videos that you can leverage.  Done correctly, you can literally piggyback on the success of other YouTube channels by creating similar content.

#6: Different Sources of Traffic

Traffic is the lifeblood of your Internet business.  Unfortunately, it’s too easy to get caught in the trap of trying to do too much.  The secret to traffic success is focus.  It’s better to concentrate on one or two techniques than to worry about dozens of different things.

So how do you know what’s working?  It’s simple.  Create a distinct tracking link for each source of traffic.  That way you know if a technique produces results or if it’s a waste of time.

How to Get Started: Use a program like Adminder to create a tracking link for each traffic source.  This tool monitors traffic and shows the conversion rates for a lead magnet.  Not all traffic is created equally.  This metric shows what actions generate email subscribers.

#7: Opt-In Sources

This technique piggybacks on what I just discussed.  It’s important to track where you get subscribers.  Here’s how you can break down this metric:

  • Subscribers from your blog
  • Subscribers from article marketing
  • Subscribers from YouTube channels
  • Subscribers from PPC advertising

It’s impossible to determine this metric without tracking each traffic source.  With Aweber you can tag each subscriber.  This is a small tracking id that identifies the source of traffic:

Aweber Ad Tracking Code

Tagging a subscriber is a great way to figure out which traffic source produces motivated subscribers.  These are the people who open your emails and click on links.    For instance, you can cross reference who opens an email with the ad tracking id.  Within a few seconds, you’ll identify the traffic sources that convert.

Here’s another reason why this metric is important.  It segments your list and directs people to different types of content you’ve created.

Let’s say you have a list of subscribers from a blog and subscribers from a YouTube channel.  You can let the blog readers know about a video you’ve just created.  Then you can send an email to all video subscribers about a new blog post.  This is a great way to build your brand without sending too many emails to an individual subscriber.

How to Get Started: This is a three-step process:

1)      Create a distinct squeeze page for each traffic source

2)      Insert an ad tracking code on each page

3)      Use Adminder to direct traffic to the individual squeeze pages

After this, you’ll have a list that’s full of “tagged” subscribers.  This makes it’s easy to segment a list and send them targeted content.

#8: Pay-Per-Click Traffic

Pay-per-click traffic is an exact science.  You need to track a lot of metrics with this technique:

  • What position an ad is listed
  • What keywords are being used
  • What is the click-thru ratio (CTR) for each ad
  • How much money is being spent
  • How much money is being earned
  • What keywords convert best

The secret to PPC success is to know what converts a searcher into a subscriber and what converts a subscriber into a buyer.  That’s why it’s important to use tracking with this traffic technique.

I don’t claim to an Adwords expert.  But I do know that some marketers use it as the foundation of their Internet business.  Without fail, the successful ones are tracking fanatics.

How to Get Started: My advice is to understand every metric on the Google Adwords program.  They offer a number of built-in tools that track every aspect of a PPC campaign.  Tag each subscriber (see #7) in Aweber and you’ll know which ads produce income.

Also, I recommend trimming the fat from your PPC campaigns.  Get rid of the keywords that don’t convert.  Eliminate the ads that have low CTR.  And stop bidding on the phrases that fail to convert subscribers into buyers.

#9:  Entry Keywords

Google Analytics is one of the best tracking tools I’ve ever encountered.  I could easily dedicate a series of posts to everything it can do.  For now, let’s focus on one aspect – The Entry Keyword feature.

This tool tells you which keyword phrases generate traffic to a particular page.  This helps you customize content to what people want.  My advice is to re-optimize each page that gets a significant level of traffic.

Your goal is to move this page up the search engine listings and get it to rank well for a high-traffic keyword:

Google Analytics Keywords

How to Get Started: Look at the top 10 to 20 pages in Google Analytics.  Identify the pages that get a high level of traffic.  Then click on the individual article.  You’ll see it lists the keyword phrases that generate traffic.

Simply rewrite this article using these keywords.  Then create a few backlinks to this page, using this keyword in the the anchor tag.  This is an excellent way to get more traffic with the same amount of content.

#10:  Blog Comments

Why should you track blog comments?  This metric identifies the content that gets the best response from readers.  You can use this information to identify patterns.  All you have to do write content that gets a high response rate and you’ll build up blog readership.

The number of blog comments really isn’t an indicator of success.  It’s just another metric that tracks the growth of your site.  My advice is to monitor the number of blog comments.  But don’t become obsessed over this number.

How to Get Started: A few weeks back, I talked about creating an Excel tab for a publishing schedule.  This includes information like:  Post title, date published, URL and notes.

What I suggest is to add a new column – The number of comments.  (You can also add another one that tracks the number of Re-Tweets.)

Over a few months, you’ll detect a pattern with blog content.   Are the comments going up or going down?  Obviously your goal is to increase this number and get a higher level of readership.

But Wait…There’s More!

There is a lot more you can track with an Internet business.  But that will have to wait till next week.

You now have ten different metrics that should be monitored.  My advice is to pick the actions that grow your Internet business and track them.  Use the tools I’ve listed and discover how to track your way to success.

{ 16 comments }

THE Definitive Guide to Tracking an Internet Business [Part 1]

by Steve Scott

The Importance of Tracking an Internet Business“How do you succeed online?”

This is a simple question that’s been answered a thousand times.

Every Internet entrepreneur has their own opinion.  And each seems to conflict with the other.

If you held a gun to my head, I’d say the key to success is:

“Find what works and do more of that.”

It’s a simple philosophy I developed over five years ago.  You won’t find success right away.  It comes by trying a bunch of things and building on the techniques that get results.

How do you know when something is successful?  You learn that with tracking.

I’ve been a tracking fanatic since 2006.  A long time ago, I heard a great quote from Peter Drucker: “What gets measured gets managed.” This is a concept that can be applied to any online business.

My point is this.  Tracking is the only way to know if something works with an online business.  It removes the guesswork and uses statistical evidence to show when a technique produces measurable results.

This is post is titled: THE Definitive Guide to Tracking an Online Business.  It’s the first of a multi-part series where I detail how to effectively implement tracking with ANY online business.

I know this isn’t “sexy” like talking about how to make money online.  But I feel the following information is WAY more important than a post that’s full of rehashed material you’ll find on hundreds of blogs.  Implementing these techniques will have a direct impact on web traffic and the money you make.  Guaranteed.

The Importance of Monthly Tracking Review

In a recent post, I detailed how I use a weekly to-do list.  One thing I mentioned was that I do a review of my business once a month.  This is an important task because it charts the growth of my websites.  I put all this information into a single document which I review on regular basis.

As you’ll see, there are many things to track.  My advice is to identify the key metrics that grow a business.  Then once a month, evaluate these stats to see if your business is improving.

5 Tools to Track an Internet Business

You’ll find countless options when it comes to tracking.  Some provide detailed, statistical analysis.  Others list very basic information.

In the last five years, I’ve tried dozens of different tools.  And I know I’ll continue to test more as they cross my path.

For now, I use five tools to track my Internet business(s):

1) Adminder: I’ve used this tool since 2006.  It’s great for tracking both traffic and conversions.  Unlike some software, this site measures actual visitors; not raw clicks.  This provides a dead-accurate picture of what’s converting on a website.

2) Google Analytics: This is another weapon to include in your tracking arsenal.  It’s great for a content-driven site like a blog.  This tool provides a list of the keywords and entry points; people use to find your site.  Even better – It gives information on an individual page basis.  The best part?  It’s free!

3) Aweber: Most people have already heard about Aweber.  What you might not know is this site provides a wealth of tracking tools to monitor email campaigns.

4) Bit.Ly: As tracking tools go, this one is very basic.  It’s best used to shorten URLs and track links that are posted to social media accounts.

5) Pretty Link: This is a new tool I’ve just started using.  What this does is create shortened, “pretty” links for a website.  I’ve played around with this tool in the last week.  It looks like it might be a better solution than Bit.Ly.  However I won’t know till I’ve fully tested it out. (I’ll keep you posted.)

What Should You Track?

There are lots of different things that can be tracked in an online business.

In this section, I’ll cover four.  The rest will be reviewed in the follow-up article which will be posted a week from now.

#1: Email Affiliate Links

I put all of my autoresponder sequences into a publishing schedule.  This tracks what emails I send and the purpose behind each.  One tab I include is the tracking code for each email affiliate link.

Yes, it’s a little OCD.  But I’ve found it’s really important to track every email that’s sent to subscribers.  Every thirty days, I tabulate the sales number.  After a few months, I’ll know which emails produce income and which don’t.

This information is important because it helps with autoresponder sequencing.  The idea here is to put the most profitable messages in the front and then remove the duds.

How do you create a tracking ID?  Watch this video and you’ll see how I do it with Clickbank:

How to Get Started: You can implement this in three steps:

1.       Create a publishing schedule of an entire autoresponder sequence

2.       Add a tracking link to each affiliate link.

3.       On a regular basis, track how much income each email generates

#2: Additional Affiliate Links

The same rule applies here. You track anything that contains an affiliate link.  This could be a blog recommendation, a banner ad, or a review you did on Squidoo.  What’s important is to know what actions are producing income.

How to Get Started: Create a tracking link for every affiliate link.  At the very least, do one for each web property you own.  So you’ll want links for:

1.       Your blog

2.       Your video channel

3.       Your podcasting channel

4.       Your social media channel

5.       Your article marketing channel

6.       Your Squidoo channel

7.       Your Hubpages channel

8.       Etc, etc

Again, this information identifies the areas where you generate income.   Just do more of those and you’ll make more money.  Pretty easy stuff, right?

#3: Autoresponder Open & Click-Thru Rates

What are my open rates?

How many people are clicking on my affiliate links?

Which emails get the best response rate?

These are questions that can be answered with a sophisticated email marketing program.  One of the reasons I prefer Aweber is it provides statistical analysis of the messages sent to subscribers.  My entire business relies on email marketing, so this information is invaluable.

At the very least, you need to track open and click-thru rates (CTR).  Do this for a few months and you’ll detect a pattern with your email.  This is a great way to build on the success of the emails that get a high response from subscribers.

How to Get Started: On your publishing schedule, add a few tabs next to each email:

1)      Number of opens

2)      Number of clicks

3)      Click-thru ratio (clicks/opens)

Update this information every thirty days.    After a few months you’ll see which emails get the best response from readers.  Then send a message that’s similar to what was successful in the past.  That is my secret to email marketing.

#4: Article Marketing Stats

Many article marketing sites (like EzineArticles.com) provide detailed analysis of the content you’ve created.  You get information like:

  • Views
  • URL Clicks
  • Click Rate
  • How many people have “published” an article

In my opinion, most of this information is useless.  That’s because it’s becoming increasingly difficult to predict which articles will get a high level of views.

The only metric that concerns me is the Click Rate.  This is important because it identifies a pattern that can be repeated.  All you do is find the articles that get a high-click thru rate and submit that’s similar in style.

How to Get Started: Look at your best articles.  Identify the ones that have a high CTR.  Examine each of the following:

  • How many words are in the article?
  • What is the length of each paragraph?
  • How did you blend the author bio with the content?
  • Did you use any bold or italics

My advice is to write articles that are similar in style to the ones that get a high click-thru ratio.  Keep doing this till you’re consistently getting a 20-30% CTR for any article.

To Be Continued…

When I started this post, I thought it would a single article.  Unfortunately the final result was a 3,000+ word article.  So I’ve decided to break apart the content to make it easy to implement.

At the beginning I gave a quote from Peter Drucker.  Now I’ll close with one from Tony Robbins:

“Success leaves clues.”

This is an excellent summary of why tracking is important.  Success starts by finding something that works and doing more of it.  If you’ve only made one affiliate sale in your life, then figure out how it happened and do more of it!

I think tracking is under utilized by many Internet entrepreneurs.  Hopefully this post provided a little bit of  a *nudge* to implement this technique.

There’s a lot more to cover.  But I’ll save that for another day.

{ 29 comments }

← Previous Entries

Real Time Web Analytics