Choices,
Choices...
It's not as if Internet Marketing in and of itself is not nerve-wrecking enough.
We all know that there are some things that ALL Internet Marketers must possess.
Webhosting..
Domain names..
Autoresponder..
Ongoing education..
And it doesn't help that each company seems so credible that it seems like it is THE choice that you should go for.
So, the million dollar question is..
Which one should you choose?
We all know the drill..
You compare companies..
You do your research on search engines..
You ask your friends..
You go on to your favorite forums to ask for opinions..
And then finally, at the end of the day, you end up MORE CONFUSED than ever before because everyone seems to be suggesting something different, and worse..
Everyone seems to be right!
So, what ends up happening, is you contemplate..
You compare somemore..
And then in the end, your phone rings, your baby cries, your dog needs a bath, or whatever else happens, and you end up telling yourself this..
Well, I'll make my decision tomorrow.
And as we all know..
Tomorrow never comes!
Did I hit the nail right on the head?
Ouch!
But hey, don't worry about it at all..
Happens to even the best of us :)
It's natural.
And that's why I decided to come up with the concept of Alchemy Essentials - my one-stop advice station for all potential Internet Marketers.
In no way am I suggesting that everything that I recommend on Alchemy Essentials is the "best" there is.
The only thing I am saying is that..
I have personally been using these resources for YEARS.. And I'm STILL using them.
Hint: They've got to be fairly acceptable by anybody's standards :)
If I was going to start from scratch all over again, I would gladly invest in these same companies all over again.
Saves you all the headache, doesn't it?
For each critical component of your Internet Business, I have recommended ONE product/service/site.
My whole purpose of this is in telling you..
"Here you go buddy. This thing here.. WORKS.
So stop comparing and worrying incessantly, and go make some money, alright?"
I've tried to keep everything as succinct as possible here. I simply list the company or product, and explain to you the reasons for me choosing it.
And if you STILL can't make up your mind, you are more than welcome to use the contact form at the bottom of Alchemy Essentials to drop me a message and clarify anything you want. I'll be glad to be of assistance.
Simple?
I sure hope so.
Now, here we go :)
Yours in success,
Kang
www.Marketing-Alchemist.com
You NEED Your Own Website.
There's simply no way around it.
You can ditch list-building, you can survive without paid traffic, and you can even make money just using free information available on the internet.
But you NEED to own your own websites if you are to achieve any form of success in Internet Marketing.
No way around it.
Sure, there are kind-hearted people out there who tell you that you don't need a single cent out of pocket to make your first dollar.
Article marketing, Bum marketing, etc, etc..
Sure, you probably can make some money by writing 20 articles a day and hoping one or two of them are successful and manage to get SOME decent ranking in the search engines..
And then hopefully, these listings on the search engines will drive SOME traffic..
To a website YOU do not own..
Like, a Squidoo lens, a Hub page, or some Web 2.0 property..
And hope that SOME of this traffic converts into sales..
And wake up the next morning and write some more articles and repeating the process over and over again, because the article that just started ranking the pervious day has just dropped off.
Sure, you can make money this way.
But the thing is..
Why make things SO difficult for yourself when investing in such a vital component of your business costs you less than a pizza?
In my opinion, unless you are so broke that you cannot afford a hosting account, you definitely should have it.
Heck, if you cannot even hosting, go get a job until you can afford to own a website.
I'm serious.
Many people who tell you that you can own a business with ZERO dollars are telling you that only to SELL you their ebook with a title like "How to Make $1000 Overnight With ZERO Dollars Out of Pocket!!!"
In a sense, owning a website also helps in cultivating a correct mindset.
A Business-Owner Mindset.
Trust me, it's CRAZY to attempt to make money online without a website.
Especially for the puny amount of money it costs.
Now that I've convinced you that you NEED hosting, it's time to reveal my choice.
Hostgator!
I've used them for more than 2 years now, and will likely be using them for as long as I stay in the Internet Marketing game.
So, there are hundreds of webhosting companies out there. Some of them are even cheaper than Hostgator.
I'll cut to the chase and do away with all the technical explanations and give you three reasons why as an Internet Marketer, Hostgator is an excellent choice for you.
Reason Number 1
It's just $9.95 a month.
And that's if you don't pay for the yearly hosting plan. If you choose that plan, you pay only $7.95 a month.
That's incredibly, and ridiculously low for a service that is so crucial to your business success.
Reason Number 2
It supports unlimited domains.
This is perfect for us as Internet Marketers.
You might not think it's very important if you're just starting out and shake in fear at setting up even one website.
However, in time to come, you will find that as you think up of more ideas, more niches to go into, more products to promote..
You're going to NEED more domain names. I currently own about 30 domain names, and it's going to cost me quite abit if I had to pay for them separately!
Reason number 3
Customer service is incredibly fast.
You know, just go to their website and try their Live Chat function yourself.
Ask them something basic, and see how long it takes before you get a response.
If you're lazy to think of a question, just copy and paste the question below.
"How long does it take to get my website up and running after I purchase?"
'Nuff said.
And fast, prompt customer service is definitely something that you need, especially if you're not very technically inclined :)
The Money is in the List..
The Money is in the List..
The Money is in the List..
I'm sure that even if you're a novice at Internet Marketing, you must have heard that chant multiple times before already.
You must already understand the power of list-building by now, right?
So let's take the "Should I build a list?" out of the picture and focus on HOW you should build your list.
Basically, you can either choose a third-party autoresponder service, or host your autoresponder on your own site.
I highly, highly discourage hosting your own autoresponder because it's unreliable, has bad delivery rates, and going for a third party service is simply to cheap to consider anything else!
There are only three main players in the autoresponder game; namely, Aweber, Getresponse and Email Aces.
My autoresponder of choice is..
I've been using Aweber for more than a year now, and they have not given me any problems at all.
Their support is excellent, and I always get replies to my questions within a few hours.
Not that I've had to contact support too many times though..
Their service is so simple to use that I think I've only contacted them twice, ever.
They also offer a free test-drive on their website, so you can always check them out before you decide.
Click Here to
-> Check out <-
Aweber
Internet Marketing membership sites are dime a dozen, but I've been obediently paying my membership fees to Wealthy Affiliate for more than a year now, and I'm sure that says alot about how highly I think of it.
Here are the reasons why I'm such a fan.
Reason #1
Extremely helpful members on the forum. If you need help with setting up campaigns, finding a niche, with wordpress, with motivation, or anything like that, all you need to do it to make a post. You need to try this out yourself to experience the kind of help you will get. The assistance I received from senior members in my formative days are key to my success today.
Reason #2
The number of success stories is extremely uplifting when you're down in spirits. A screenshot says a thousand words.
And this is only the first page :)
Reason #3
You can find keyword tools, basic webhosting, article rewriting, and all sorts of weapons that could give you an edge over your competition. Of course, when you become more advanced, you can afford to purchase better tools, but Wealthy Affiliate is an excellent platform for you to reach that level.
Reason #4
The Eight-Week quick start course is an excellent introduction to the world of Internet Marketing for the uninitiated. This beats the crap out of most other Internet Marketing ebooks out there, and almost everyone on Wealthy Affiliate has gone through it, so it's easy to ask questions about it when you have any queries.
Reason #5
Affiliate commissions. Because Wealthy Affiliate is such an awesome resource, you feel good about promoting it to others, just like what I'm doing now. When you experience your first taste of success with the methods you learn from there, you can use these technique to turn around and promote Wealthy Affiliate. In no time at all, your commssions will cover your membership fees and everything after that becomes profit. Recommend a resource you personally use honestly, and get easy recurring commssions. Can you say "easy money"?
Reason #6
WA Jobs. There's a section in Wealthy Affiliate that allows you to post jobs and take up jobs. This is extremely beneficial especially for newcomers who wish to "earn while you learn". In fact, I got my start in freelancing website design work from WA Jobs, and because I now make enough money to afford to hire others to do my work for me, I have to say that the extra pocket money helped me out alot.
Reason #7
Million Dollar Marketing Blueprint. Wealthy Affiliate exposes you to a niche that has earned the founders upwards of a million dollars. To give members a hands-on experience, they reveal the niche and a step-by-step guide with alot of advice and templates for you to use in promoting a product in that niche. In addition, due to the fact that so many other Wealthy Affiliates have taken part in this, you get to witness the entire process of many people make their first dollars online through this blueprint right inside Wealthy Affiliate yourself.
Big Warning!
Wealthy Affiliate has a slant towards teaching a particular field of Internet Marketing: PPC Affiliate Marketing and Article Marketing.
This isn't necessarily a drawback, but it's good to have an interest in these 2 fields before you decide to join up.
It's extremely easy to make back your membership fees within the first month, like so many other members have done.
I highly recommend that you pay for a year's membership in advance to enjoy a significant discount, but if you're on a tight budget and want to try things out before you commit, you can always sign up for the monthly subscription.
Perry Marshall's Definitive Guide to Google Adwords
If you've been following my blog, you know that Perry Marshall is one of those people that I highly respect and that I follow his advice very closely.
Despite the name, Perry Marshall's Definitive Guide to Google Adwords is way more than a guide to Google Adwords; I think it's more like a Business Success Manifesto.
It sure does the job of explaining Adwords Marketing mightily well, but it also teaches you so much about business and marketing that it could somehow even manage to change the way you think about the world entirely.
The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords sells for $49 on its main website, but here's a nifty little trick for you.
The
Perry Marshall
Renaissance Club
Join Perry's Renaissance Club for Just $29.95 per Month and Get:
1. The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords
2. Five audio CD's including hot material from Jay Abraham's Power to Profit Seminar; “How to Dig Rocks out of the Cold, Hard Ground and Sell Them for Lots of Money” with Jade Sullivan; “An Intent to Act, A Triumphant Sperm, and a Scrape with Death” with Tom Hoobyar, former CEO of ASEPCO.
3. Five special marketing reports
4. Two (2) 20-minute critique coupons you can redeem at any time to get a critique of your website, landing pages, Google AdWords campaign, anything
5. Occasional consulting call-in days several times per year.
Give Renaissance Club a good ole' college try, and if you don't like Perry's newsletters, simply terminate your subscription and you would still have reaped benefits worth at least 10 times the amount you paid for that first issue.
You know, that's why I'm such a huge Perry fan.
He is SO smug.
But somehow, I just can't help opening his emails every time I get them.
Yes, his talent is that incredible.
Copyright (C) Marketing-Alchemist.com 2008