One of the hard statistics about online marketing is that the failure rate is quite high. While the statistics might not be as high as many people say, the rate is still quite high.

I have been talking with a lot of people this week and the theme is all the same. Failure, or on the verge of quitting. We can sit and debate all day long the many different reasons for this, but when it comes right down to it, there are really two reasons. The first one is passion in your business and marketing. If you don’t have it. You will not succeed. It is really that simple.

The second reason is a little more involved. It is one thing to really love what you do, have a great passion for the product, but passion by itself will leave you as much of a failure as not having it at all. You must add another element; diversity.

Diversity In Every Part Of Internet Marketing

Unfortunately, many people do not realize that this is their downfall. They can attribute the failure to choosing the wrong affiliate product, not having enough money, or not working hard enough. While these factors may be true, it is not the underlying reason for the failure.

Diversity means that you are spreading out, growing, and flexible. You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Don’t put all your eggs into one basket.” Well, there is a lot of truth in that short statement.

When you sign up for one type of affiliate program, one marketing opportunity, or one type of service, you are severely limiting yourself. You do not have to go crazy and try to manage hundreds of different websites, services, and products. However, you should make it a point to diversify your income.

Diversity in products only is not the only area where it is useful. You should also diversify the actual marketing and advertising.

More Than One Marketing Avenue Means More Traffic

When I first begin working with a new client, we talk about their current advertising. Sadly, this only consists of one of two things. The usual is email ads (that are poorly written), or articles (same poorly written content). They have read countless times that they need to use email marketing and content marketing for tons of traffic. Only, they miss the point of using other advertising materials to supplement these two forms of marketing.

- Social Media Networking
- PPC
- Video Marketing
- Viral Downloadable Products
- Joint Ventures
- Blogging
- And many other different marketing ideas.

Why is it so important to diversify in both your offerings and your marketing? Simply, because you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. You never know what people will be more attracted to, or what will motivate them. What works today, may not work a month from now… or, even tomorrow.

Think about how you can add some diversity into your online marketing business. Do you need to add another product? Is there some marketing avenue you are not using? You can work very hard at getting nowhere, and sliding backwards. Add some diversity into your marketing to see growth and increased income.

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Growth – Every organic, living, natural thing grows. It has to. It is the natural occurrence. The only way it will not grow is because it is dead. Internet marketing is a living entity. It is something that breathes, bleeds, and can die if not taken care of.

When you are born your body begins to grow. Of course, it does not grow on its own. Your parents are there to nurture you, feed you, keep you warm and safe from anything that wants to harm us. Likewise, an online business needs the same type of nurturing in order to grow.

Internet Marketing Growth Must Happen

Many people get into internet marketing, network marketing, and affiliate marketing with thoughts of huge paychecks within a few months. While this can happen, it is not the norm. But, that should not discourage anyone from pursuing these large paychecks. It is just going to take some growth.

When you start walking as a child, you do not immediately start running. You fall a lot. You will even need to have a little help once in awhile. You grow into your feet. You grow into your legs. You grow into having enough strength, and balance, for taking more steps.

Your online business must grow. Is it? Are you taking bigger steps in your marketing? Are you getting help from those that can? Have you made a commitment to nurture your business, and feed it, so that it continues to be healthy, strong, and productive?

Just thought I would give you something to think about.

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Today, in my newsletter, Marketing Success and Profit, I announced a special daily series that I will be doing starting on Monday. It doesn’t have any big, high profile type title, but it is going to be as practical as I can make it.

The daily series, “10 Daily Steps Towards More Traffic” (see, I told you it wasn’t that exciting of a title), is going to cover ten aspects of getting more website traffic. These steps are going to be real things that you can do as soon as you read that day’s issue.

I am not going to be reprinting them here on the blog. I am not going to be releasing it as a free autoresponder course afterwards either. I am going to turn it into a report though. There will be a small fee to access it though. So, this will be the only time you can get this daily course for free.

Get Your 10 Steps To More Traffic…

The only way you are going to be able to get this short little special course for free is by going to my ezine sign up page and subscribe.

I hope that you will take the time to subscribe today.

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Duct tape. I can’t think of any other indispensable item. Well, maybe my Blackberry, but that still can not do what duct tape can do. In the world of internet marketing and advertising we do not usually think about duct tape. But, there are times when you might have to make some slight repairs – or even major repairs – to your advertising in order to make some mid-course corrections.

This is quite common in first time advertising campaigns. Sometimes you have either centered on the wrong keyword phrase, the wrong angle, the wrong audience, or the landing page just is not producing very well for you. There are several reasons why an internet marketing campaign is not working. Sometimes it takes a complete overhaul. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of duct tape.

Fixing Your Online Marketing With Duct Tape

I was talking with a new client yesterday about their current advertising campaign. I like to get a feel for what they have done, what they are doing, and what they would like to see before I start making any plans. Sometimes I only need to add a little content. There are other times when I need to sit them down and plainly let them know their advertising sucks. Thankfully, I did not have to do that this time. All this person really needed was a little duct tape. Some holes in their advertising had to be plugged up and a few changes here and there.

However, it wasn’t until I noticed this post at Gizmodo about a plane that was fixed by duct tape after a bear mauled it that I began to put it into an internet marketing aspect.

My first reaction was the same as the author of the post. I just did not believe it. But, it is just too far out there to not be true.

Not only was the plane repaired with several rolls of duct tape, but it was flown back to safety. In the realm of stories, this is one that I really wish I could have been a part of and could tell to everyone every chance I got. Just for the fact that fixing a plane with duct tape beats out anything else ever made with duct tape. Ever.

Then my mind turned to internet marketing. What a great analogy for the little fixes that are needed with a failing online marketing campaign.

Little Fixes – Big Results

This is the plane before it was duct tape-ified. Before the problems were fixed. Your online marketing campaign might not be as badly damaged as this one, but the results are the same. It just will not fly.

Internet marketing, especially affiliate and network marketing, is a pretty fickle monster. There are times when anything will work. It does not matter what you have for copy on your landing page, the webpage visitors will sign up for your mailing list, and buy the products. There are other times, when a small trickle will do what you want them to. Then, there are times when it is as if a bear has mauled your plane.

In every case, though, it just might be that a small fix – a duct tape fix – can drastically improve your response rates. A small change to a word in the heading of your landing page can capture the emotions causing higher results. A different picture can give the same response through visual means. Adding a video can make your page personal.

But, what about the actual advertising campaign itself?

Instead of fixing the webpages, you might have to change some of the actual advertising materials. You might need to focus on a new audience for your content. A slight change in the focus of your articles can make a big difference in getting click throughs. Your email ads might need to be sent to a smaller niche. Or, you could add something like a multi part email course, or social networking avenue.

The point is this…

If you find that you are not getting the response that you would like to see in your advertising campaign, look at using some duct tape.

Blogging is still something that many people find difficult to make any money from. Many internet marketers know that they should have a blog, but do not really know the exact steps to starting one – and then making it profitable. Finally there is a step-by-step guide that shows you the exact steps you have to take to make your own blog and start making an income. Right from deciding upon a niche that sells, to choosing a domain name to making your blog quickly indexed and also very secure to making money.

And it’s all clearly explained in a step-by-step approach with screen shots and videos. You simply cannot go wrong.

It has not been around for that long, but people are already praising this new free blogging guide…

“I downloaded the free guide yesterday. Today, my blog is up and running. Excluding the wait for the hosting to be set up, it took me 38 minutes!”

“I’ve had my domain for a while, I hadn’t managed to get my head around wordpress installation. Following your very clear instructions, I’ve installed the blog myself in about an hour. So, that’s exciting, and impressive, I reckon.”

Contained in this blogging guide are some essential tips for the things that you must know. When I first started with a blog it was a lot of hit and miss. It still is! I wish I would have had something like this blogging guide when I started. The learning curve would have been much less – and much less painful! This guide tells you how to…

- The 2-step process you need to choose a proven money-making niche…get it wrong and you’ll never make any money

- The 3 golden rules of keyword analysis…get one rule wrong and ALL your future efforts are wasted.

- The exact step-by-step methods to find the best domain name for your blog …99% of bloggers miss this crucial “Search Engine Optimization” step

- How to install WordPress in under 1 minute (as long as you choose the right hosting company)

- Step-by-step guides and images of each ‘must-have’ plugin you must install on your blog (plus all the tweaks necessary – it is not just a matter of installing)

- The 2 steps you need to take to get Google to index your blog…and don’t believe all the hype…they take no more than 10 minutes to complete

- Don’t be one of those blog owners whose blog is ‘hacked…follow these 6 tasks that keep 99% of hackers at bay

- How to add pages, posts and images the right way, to pick up Google “link-juice” and without being penalised for duplicate content

- To launch your blog, what’s the optimum number of blog posts you should have? The answer may surprise you.

- How to write blogs posts so that your visitors think “I like this person, they know what they are talking about. I wonder what else they have to say” …and return time and time again

- How to write a good title for a blog post and why “Here are the top 20 tips for XXXX” is a no-no.

- The 5 quickest and easiest ways to start making a blog income…including the step-by-step approach

- How to split your working day into the 3 crucial elements of making money via blogging

- The 3 traits of a successful blogger…do you have them?

Then grab the free guide by clicking here:

I have come to know a lot of great people all over the world while helping them with their advertising campaigns. Of course, I have also met some less than desirable people. During the last several years of online marketing I have come to see that there are three distinctly different types of internet marketers.

Marketing and Sports

Being a coach, fitness fanatic, and personal trainer I like to compare everything to sports. In fact, if you think about it, there isn’t much in life that you can not directly compare with sports and athletics. Every time I work on a new campaign I think about a large sports arena with the advertising materials as my team and the internet target as the audience, spectators, and opposing team.

In sports there are three different types of athletes. The same thing goes for internet marketing. In the several years I have immersed myself in the internet world, I have come to see that there are three different types of internet marketers. And they are not all good.

What I mean by that is this; there are those who are hurting themselves by being one, or even two, of these types of marketers. It sounds harsh, but if you are not willing to step up and change the way you approach your internet marketing – you will fail.

Three Types of Internet Marketer

Before you take a look at the different types of marketers take a minute to think about how you go about your own internet business, or presence. If you take a very honest look at your business, you will most likely be able to pinpoint which type of marketer you are. And, be able to make some changes for future success.

1. Quick Hitter – Only In It For The Money (Glory)!

You know the kind of athlete that moves from team to team looking for a better deal? Today with free agency, many players jump ship at the sign of a more lucrative contract. By the end of their career they have played for several different teams. However, it isn’t only in the pro ranks that this type of athlete is found. I played men’s softball for several years and was amazed at the number of people who would join different teams each year because they had the “good” players.

In essence, these types of athletes want the glory – the accolades of either earning more money or being on a “winning” team. Internet marketing has this same type of marketer. They are in it for the glory, and most definitely for the money.

This type of marketer jumps from opportunity to opportunity, or plasters the web with quickly put together two page websites based on the “hottest” keyword. This is the perfect formula for failure.

The Quick Hitter is so wrapped up in keyword research, tweaking Adwords ads, optimizing landing pages, and leaving a trail of mini sites in their wake that they cannot possible focus on building a real business. They are in it for the quick hit.

2. Weekend Warrior – Plays On The Weekends But Believes They Know It All!

I’m sure you know about this type of athlete. Every town is overrun with these types. I know mine is. These are the guys who play a few pick up games of basketball, softball, or even volleyball at the local recreation center and think they know it all about sports. As a coach, these people drive me absolutely nuts. In the internet marketing world, this type of marketer is one that has dabbled with a few MLM programs, sold a few Clickbank products, and now gives out their “expert” advice.

This type of marketer is a step above the Quick Hitter in that they are more consistent with what they are doing. However, it is mostly very inconsistent.

3. Lifestyle Athlete – Dedicated To Lifelong Success And Growth!

I have been active all my life. In fact, I’ve been called “obsessed with sports”. I wouldn’t quite call it an obsession. Rather, I would call it a dedication. I love playing, coaching, and helping athletes reach past their goals and continually establish new ones. That takes a lifetime of dedication and passion.

Internet marketing, or building any business really, requires the same type of passion, dedication, and lifelong “obsession”. Anything short of this and you are missing the mark as far as what you can potentially achieve.

The first time I ever set foot on a field as a coach was on a soccer field. I love soccer. I’ve played it since I was about 10 years old. Even though I had a lot of experience, I was scared. I had never coached anything before. Now, I was going to be leading a team of middle school boys. I’d like to say we had a stellar season. We only won one game. However, the learning experience was invaluable. Now, I have gone on to coach several sports.

When I started marketing on the internet, I had a simple online shopping mall with banners to hundreds of different sites I was affiliated with. It did alright, but I knew I had to continue learning, growing, and stretching myself. So, I started copywriting, advertising, and consulting. It wasn’t a one time thing – it has been a life of learning and reaching.

Internet Marketing Is A Lifestyle

This has been made even more crystal clear with the advent of social media. You can see, in real time, how the most successful people have become that way. They live what they do.

The most successful athletes – from the middle school soccer player to the professional, highly paid athlete – live their sport. They practice, live healthy, and put all their energy into being better. Not just once, or every few months, but continually.

Marketing on the internet demands that same type of lifelong dedication. It does not matter if you are an affiliate, a service provider, own a retail website, consultant, or info publisher. You must live it.

Which type of marketer are you? Where do you find yourself? Are you the Quick Hitter, Weekend Warrior, or the Lifestyle Athlete?

I am always amazed at the way things change online. In fact, I like to try and figure out what type of internet advertising strategy is going to be the next big thing. So far, over the years, I’ve had some services that have thrived only to see that they are being replaced with something else.

When I first started, solo email ads were the biggest service I offered. I literally wrote thousands of solo ads when I first started, which caused me to write an ebook about how I transformed my writing into a simple 7 step process. After the solo ads, came Pay-Per-Click marketing.

I offered this type of service after PPC had been out for awhile so I could learn the ins and outs of it. I did quite a bit of setting up, and managing, PPC campaigns in the few years that I offered it. I only do so now as contained in the overall marketing package.

Once the big rush for PPC ads subsided article marketing really began to come to the front of the pack as far prominently taking over internet advertising. Article marketing is one of those marketing strategies that is proving to be timeless and unaffected by advancing technology.

Since I began offering exclusive article marketing services it has consistently remained at the top of the services that I offer. As I begin to rework my copywriting and advertising business (cleaning out older services while replacing with newer, more sought after services) I will definitely be keeping writing articles as the top one.

Article marketing is the flagship of internet marketing. With this type of content you can easily;

Even though I see blogging and social media marketing as up and coming forms of internet advertising, I think I’ll continue on with the article marketing services as a top priority.

Affiliate marketing is a fantastic business model. One where you can easily get started with your own business online and build a great income.

However, that being said there are some downright myths to affiliate marketing that people actually buy into, base their business on, and then ultimately get frustrated and fail.

It’s easy to believe in some of the myths too. I think it is because we want to know that what we are about to embark on is going to both work and be easy. We hear all the time (the radio and tv commercials for making easy money online are really getting annoying) that it is as easy as 1 – skip 2 and 3 – jump right to the money. Unfortunately, real life affiliate marketing does involve work and a plan. Here’s four affiliate marketing myths that you should keep in the fantasy world.

Affiliate Marketing Myths

1. Affiliate marketing is as simple as copy and pasting banners. Like all myths, there are sometimes a very, very… very small grain of truthfulness to them. Copy and pasting codes for banners and sprinkling them all over a generic site (like a shopping mall website) was ok back in 1997 when affiliate marketing, and internet surfing, was gaining momentum. Today, not so much.

Today in affiliate marketing content is so very important. Videos, podcasts, and articles are how you pre-sell your website visitor into clicking on links, graphics, and banners.

2. Affiliate marketing leads to overnight success, big house, and expensive sports car. We see the pictures all them time, and even the professionally done “testimonial” videos, of people standing beside huge homes, expensive cars, boats, planes, and hot vacation spots. They then claim that in just a few weeks they were able to make enough money to afford all that and more.

Affiliate marketing is work. It takes time, dedication, desire, and commitment. It may take a few months to see any sort of income. It may even take a year to finally see sustainable income. If you’re looking for an overnight millionaire maker, look elsewhere.

3. Affiliate marketing is way over saturated to make any money with popular products. There was a time when I would have said you’re right. Given the way affiliate marketing was in the early days, certain products were just too over-marketed that only the first people to jump on board with it made any big money. Today, the rules of the game have changed and the playing field is wide open and very level.

As I said above, content is what will make a difference in your marketing. Not only content, but now that social media has taken over the internet, the potential for anyone to succeed now is wide open.

4. Affiliate marketing is not for me. I was talking to someone the other day who is getting started with affiliate marketing. Actually, he has been about three months into it and is pretty frustrated. He found my site and contacted me because we live so close. We met at Tim Horten’s and he began to explain everything he’s done up to now and that he was probably going to give it up. His words were, “Affiliate marketing isn’t for someone like me. I don’t know how to write, or the first thing about advertising.”

So sad that he’s not the only one who feels that way.

Affiliate marketing is for anyone and everyone. If you have online access, have desire to succeed, and are willing to learn; you can be an affiliate marketer.

Clear your mind of these affiliate marketing myths and get to work.

There. Now that we have debunked four of the myths about affiliate marketing, it is time for you to get to work. Dig in a little deeper if you need to. Set your sights on a fixed goal and don’t give up on it.

Affiliate marketing can be very fulfilling or very frustrating. There are incredible highs and rock bottom lows. But, the journey of affiliate marketing is oh so much fun. And like any journey you need the right equipment to get to your destination. In affiliate marketing one piece of equipment that you do need is a landing page.

A landing page is simply a one, or maybe two, page website where you funnel all your traffic to. Every link, every article, every social network, every ppc ad is directed to this one simple page. You’re being an air traffic controller and directing each and every plane to your landing strip.

On a landing page there are usually a few different other pieces of equipment that help you build a rather healthy affiliate income. Opt-in list sign up, free ebook, video, audio, and maybe some reviews and comparisons of similar products are all examples of what you can find on the landing page. All great tools to use in converting all that traffic to commissions. But, the problem with landing pages is that sometimes people just don’t think you need to have one.

Do you need a landing page for affiliate marketing?

In almost every case, I would say that when marketing products as an affiliate you should have a series of landing pages working for you to convert traffic to profit. I say almost every instance, because there are always exceptions to every rule.

However, the fact remains that in affiliate marketing, a valuable – must have- piece of your overall advertising campaign is a landing page. Why? Why are they so important?

1. Landing pages give you a base of operations. This is very important when you want to drive a point home about you, the product you are advertising, and how it will benefit the visitor. You want one page to do all that. Landing pages are also great for use in social networking. You can send all the traffic from people looking at your profile to this page also.

2. Landing pages are incredible list builders. When you are in affiliate marketing one of your greatest assets is your mailing list. Landing pages build them for you. By giving away a free ebook, or access to “special privileged” videos or even “insider” coupons are great incentives for people to sign up for your mailing list.

3. Landing pages give you a place for your voice. Your landing page is where you can differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack. If you are into network marketing then this is especially important for you. When there are a lot of different people advertising the same thing – with the same supplied landing page – the effectiveness of it goes down. But, different ones, with different information, different voices drive results sky high.

4. Landing pages can be easily changed and tested. The great thing about a one page, or two page site is that they don’t take that long to create. (And with the new Affiliate Theme product for Wordpress, landing pages are incredibly simple to make.) And they are easily tested and changed. It wouldn’t take too much time to create two to three different landing pages for testing with PPC, or even article marketing, to see which one converts more. Or, you can keep them for different target audiences.

5. Landing pages pre-sell your visitor. This is something I have heavily reinforced with my clients and their advertising. Pre-Selling was made mainstream by Ken Evoy of SiteSell.com. And it works. You can’t expect someone to see a PPC ad and automatically want to buy. They need a little coaxing first. Landing pages can do that.

Landing Pages Should Also Be Well Designed

A major problem with most affiliates is that they just don’t know how to create all these landing pages, embed videos, design graphics, and write copy to pre-sell each visitor. While landing pages can be easy to churn out, it can be quite intimidating. Especially considering their importance.

It is just common sense to realize that if you are sending visitors to a poorly designed, hard to read or understand landing page not much is going to happen in the way of sign ups or clickthrus. Not a good thing.

So, you must take some time to present an appealing landing page to the visitor to achieve the maximum results.

1. Landing pages should have a striking header graphic. This is where you grab the attention of the visitor immediately. The graphic should be big, bold and contain colors that are pleasing to the eye.

2. Landing pages should have big, bold headings. After the graphic your words are going to pull the visitor in. The first ones they usually read are contained in your heading text. Make them good.

3. Landing pages should contain an incentive right off the bat. Get your visitor thinking about what is in this visit for them. Let them know what you are offering.

4. Landing pages should contain some sort of picture, or video, that will further instill desire. Video is the affiliate tool right now. I suggest using it and making it visible almost immediately.

5. Landing pages should be easily understood and navigable. Cluttered up pages, and hard to understand copy will cause people to leave and never return.

6. Landing pages should contain a big call to action. Hey, you want them there for a reason. Don’t be shy about asking for what you want.

Affiliate marketing is made a lot simpler with landing pages. And now with some great landing page tools that practically do the entire design for you there is no reason why you are not pumping out landing pages for each of your offers.

Don’t be intimidated by the “shoulds” and “needs” of a landing page. Just dive in and start using them.

I want to ask you a few questions. Do you have a few minutes?

In fact, I’d really like to ask you five very specific questions about your online marketing. I like to do this with my clients when I first meet with them and then throughout the entire time we work together. The reason for this is because I believe questions get you to think and then act.

So, this post is really for you. I am hoping to be able to set the environment where not only are you reading something, but you’re also thinking along the way. So, clear your mind and let’s go enjoy a beautiful sunny day out on the deck or in a park somewhere. If you want to grab a coffee… that’s ok too. Actually, I’d rather like one.

My Questions For You About Your Internet Marketing

Ok… comfy?

Oh yeah. I forgot to mention. You might want to grab a notebook and a pen or pencil. I prefer a pencil, but that’s me. Alright, lean close, pick up the pencil and let’s talk.

Question #1. What have you already done in your internet marketing?

If you’re going to start to go somewhere you need to know where you’ve been. One of the first things I always ask my new clients is this very question. It’s so important to realize what you’re doing now and in the past. Because when you think about that then you can see where the improvements can be made.

It’s like going on a trip. If you have a very small map of the area you’re going into and you get lost somewhere off the map, then it’s going to be much harder to find your way back. But, if you took a larger map that contained the entire city, county, state, or country then you have a much better chance of finding your way back. You have a better view.

This first question gives you the view you need to get your advertising back on track. Not only that, but you could see where shortcuts, or detours, could be made. What obstacles to be avoided. Where you’re wasting gas (money) and where you are making up time.

Go ahead and grab your pencil and paper and list everything you’ve done for advertising up to now.

Question #2. What is working and what isn’t?

You probably knew that was coming. Once you see the general overview of your advertising you begin to see what is working and what isn’t.

There really isn’t any sense in chasing after advertising that isn’t working. Especially if you’re just getting started or are struggling. It’s ok to let things drop by the wayside and concentrate on a few things that are working. Maybe it just isn’t the right time for a certain advertising method.

Your next step then is to cross out everything that isn’t working. Take no prisoners. Don’t get nostalgic here. It’s time to be ruthless. Even if you’re left with just one single advertising tactic, do it.

Question #3. What would you like to see happen, this month, with your website?

There are several things here to take note of. What I’m really talking about here is your goals for the month. These goals will cover several different areas and you must keep a very close eye on them.

Grab your pencil and write down these things to make a goal for and keep track of.

1. Website traffic – how much do you want to see.
2. Profit – how much do you want to make.
3. Money spent – how much do you want to spend.
4. Time spent – same thing… how much time will you put into it.
5. Good response from visitors, customers, or partners – yes, make a goal for positive responses.
6. How many people link to you – a pretty big thing to keep track of but many don’t.

Here’s why these are important.

Website traffic – self explanatory. Please keep this goal very, very realistic. Don’t go over the top and say, “My goal is 5000 unique visitors this month!” Great goal, might not happen. Again, since you’ve already written down everything you’ve done you should have an idea of how much traffic you get already.

Profit – again, very self explanatory. And again, keep it realistic. Something you can reach so you don’t get discouraged.

Money spent – yes, you need a budget. Don’t go over it either. If you choose to spend any keep it low to maximize your profits.

Time spent – spending too much time with your advertising is just as bad as spending too much money. Especially if it isn’t working. You have nothing to show for your time and have lost valuable time with friends and family.

Good responses from visitors, customers, or partners – might be unique to me only, but it gives a measure of who is talking about you, and what they are saying. If they say it to you, then chances are they’ll tell someone else. You should have a goal for this. Six to eight positive comments in a month, personal comments, is a great goal to start with.

How many people link to you – pick a number for how many other sites you want to link to you. This can even be ReTweets in Twitter, bookmarks in StumbleUpon or Digg, or other social networking links.

Go ahead. Write it down.

Question #4. What two advertising methods do you feel comfortable with?

Like anything else, if you’re not comfortable with it you’ll have a hard time doing it. You need to look at everything you’ve written down so far and pick two, and I’m talking only two advertising tactics to start with. You can always add a new one if/when things begin to pick up, but if you waste too much time on several different ways to advertise you’re going to fail before you get started. I’ve seen it too many times.

Back to the question at hand. What do you feel comfortable with? Article marketing? Blogging? Social Media? Pay Per Click? Viral Videos? Participating in forums? Commenting on blogs? Whichever it is, pick two.

Now, set out a plan for the month to put those two into place.

Question #5. Can you commit to doing this for the month?

Don’t automatically jump to yes. Every time I start a new advertising campaign I am almost fanatic about asking my client this question. I have to know, and you have to know, that you’re going to go through with this even if the first three weeks are rough and you see very little return.

Can you… will you commit to a full month of getting the word out about your website? If so, then write it down.

Take your answers and get advertising!

That piece of paper if your map for the month. Put it somewhere you can see it everyday. Always be thinking about it and if you need to make course corrections, you can see it before you get too far off the trail.

Good luck!