Auto Blogging is Dead
By · CommentsHi,
I received an email the other day from Google where they speak about their policies.
You can see the full blog post at:
http://adsense.blogspot.com/
However, the part which really sums it up is:
“Fact: We don’t allow sites with auto-generated or otherwise unoriginal content to participate in the AdSense program. This is to ensure that our users are benefiting from a unique online experience and that our advertisers are partnering with useful and relevant sites.”
In Google’s usual unspecific way, they have been fairly unclear. However, they have given two different categories of content which they seem to disapprove of.
1. Autogenerated
2. Unoriginal content
The second one does kind of surprise me as much of the internet is unoriginal. For example, the fact that I quoted Google above, does that mean that I can’t have adSense on this blog if I so choose?
At the end of the day, Google themself has been their search engine on the back of content from other websites.
Does this also mean, that you can’t use PLR content?
Before giving you my view, let’s look at the first category, that of autogenerated content.
In my humble opinion, I think that this is fairly clear. They are talking about plagarized content or more specifically Auto Blogs. Now that Google has come out and said it, I would expect many adSense accounts to be closed down if they are earning through autoblogs.
Perhaps I am reading it wrong, but that is how I read what they are saying about autogenerated content.
I think that overall on their blog post, they are giving these two categories of content so that they can cover their bases when they ban accounts.
What I do think is the integral message of their blog post though is that they want the user to have a quality experience.
It has long been known that how long a visitor stays on your site is one of the ranking factors associated with your search engine position. I have a strong feeling that adSense is also going to be measuring that metric to decide if your content is worthy of having adSense on it as an advertising platform.
So, what to do?
1. If I were you, I would stop autoblogging or seperate it out from the rest of your sites that are earning from adSense. In this way, if they do ban your autoblogging account then hopefully your ‘safe’ account will be alright.
2. Concentrate on the user experience more and look at ways of making visitors stay on your site for longer and look at more pages. For example, consider adding video or diagrams which will engage the reader and ensure that they don’t press the back button as soon as they get to you.
We keep on hearing about how adWords has a habit of banning accounts that they don’t consider are giving the surfer the optimum experience. My prediciton for 2011 is that adSense will also start banning accounts.
Would love to read your comment below on how you interpret what Google are saying and what you would do about it.
Keeping it real in an unreal world,
Ben Shaffer
Breakthrough CB Product
By · CommentsI just received an email that was pushing a product
from an affiliate on Clickbank. It is from someone
I really like, but also know not to outright trust
his recommendations without doing some research.
I watched the video which didn’t tell me anything.
In summary (with editor’s licence), it said:
“Before I put this method into action I wasn’t
earning anything. I flicked the ‘switch’ and
now I am earning lots. You can also…”
Was quite a long video, but did watch it through
as the actor on it was quite enjoyable to watch
and kind of wanted to see where it was going.
————————————————
SIDENOTE: Since when did we start using actors
and voice over artists to record our videos? Does
my accent no crack it anymore?!
————————————————
So, I started speed read through the salesletter
which didn’t tell me much more.
However, the information I did receive was:
1. Anyone can do it
2. You don’t need to spend any more after buying the
product
3. It is quick to do and you could be making
money before 24 hours are out
4. Do not turn down this opportunity or you
will miss out
Well, I was tempted to hit that button…
Could this be the one?
Could I automate it?
Could I outsource it and finally retire?
(Yeah, not reached my financial target yet)
I fought every objection in my mind why I should
NOT be buying the product
eg.
- being sidetracked
- if it was really that good why would he share?
- hadn’t I bought a product with the same promises
last month?
etc.
and my hand hovered towards the order button.
Before I took the plunge though, I decided to
go to a place where I rarely venture anymore
(more details perhaps in the future, although
feel free to comment below why you don’t go
there) and take a look at the Warrior Forum.
This was one of the first comments I saw:
“I think im gonna take the bait and give this
one a shot… Will most likely ask for a
refund as I haven’t had luck with any of
these products, but lets see what happens…”
which was then followed up a bit later after
he had purchased with:
“Bottom line: The product is complete and
utter rubbish. Now wheres that refund link?”
[Edited to remove 'adult words' 
]
If you have got up until here, you will
probably realize that much of what I wrote
was slightly tongue in cheek.
Was I really going to buy it? nah.
However for the 10 minutes or so that I
was reading and watching the salesletter
there was definitely a satisfaction from
what I call ‘Internet Marketing Masturbation’.
I genuinely enjoyed it and the challenge
which came with trying to guess what the
product really was.
I enjoyed looking at the screenshots and
wondering if they were real or faked.
I even enjoyed exiting the page to see
what special offers I would be given.
($10 off, yeah baby!)
When I actually found out what the product
was about and realized that there was no
way in heaven or earth that as it was
presented would make anyone anywhere
near the income claims being given
my fun actually ended.
So, here’s my questions for you:
1. If you do buy these cheap kind of
Clickbank products, then why?
2. Have you ever had any success out of
any of them?
3. What stops you from buying them?
4. If you have a money making method which
works, would you ever sell it?
(5. Should I start adding images to the posts?)
Please do comment as I think that your
answers are useful for other readers also.
Keeping it real in an unreal world,
Ben Shaffer
Scandal at a Conference
By · CommentsI was at a conference recently and the content was top quality.
There was something strange that happened though…
It was not a pitch fest and it may have even been promised that there wouldn’t be any pitches (I can’t remember).
On the final day of the conference, one of the presenters gave a presentation which he said that he would be releasing a product about next year. I wasn’t a fan of his presentation style even though the content itself was pretty good. He happened to be the last presenter and there were quite a few people in the audience who had to leave before the end of his talk.
Before he finished, someone put up their hand and asked him if he could make his pitch for his product as they wanted to buy but had to get to the airport to catch a flight.
He replied that he didn’t have anything to sell because his product hadn’t been created yet.
Fair enough.
Here is where things started to get a bit weirder though…
After this guy’s presentation, the organiser of the conference went up on stage and gave some conclusions for the conference. In order to put it into context, the organiser of the conference is a well respected marketer online and in all probability, the attendees were there because they have respect for the organiser.
I, as well as most other people in the room were expecting the organiser to either sell one of his products or coaching. And not only wouldn’t have minded him trying to sell, but would have actually been very welcome to it.
But he didn’t.
So, what is my point?
Not whether he should or he shouldn’t have done. Or whether people in the room would have bought – having spoken to a number of them afterward, I am pretty sure that they would have bought whatever he would have pitched even if it was 4 figures.
My point really is, what created the atmosphere in the room or the relationship with the speaker that people desperately wanted to buy?
Here is what I came up with:
1. The people at the conference were there BECAUSE of the organiser. They already had a preexisting relationship with him and were there because of the strength of that relationship.
2. The conference had over-delivered on its promise. Therefore, there was a lot of reciprocity and people wanted to give back to the organizer that had done so.
3. Many people had made a great effort to be at the conference. Therefore, they wanted to take home a virtual souvenir. On a personal level, I feel like that whenever I am on vacation and end up buying overpriced souvenir from gift shops even if I know it will end up at the back of the cupboard.
4. At the end of a conference, there is a lot of positive energy flowing and people are very motivated to carry out the good intentions which were created during that conference. By buying the ‘product’ at the end, it makes them feel that there is a greater chance that they will do so.
So, how can you create that rabid buyer who is waiting to bite off your arm to buy from you?
1. When you try and sell something, try and make it an event. I think that is really what is the core of the Product Launch Formula and why it still works well.
2. Make your pitch have a beginning, middle and an end. The end is when you are trying to make the actual sale. The beginning and middle are what leads up to that.
3. Reciprocity. Very powerful. Read Cialdini. Need I say more?
4. Webinars. Seriously. Use them. They are extremely powerful and work well in virtually any niche. When I have done them outside of internet marketing they have often converted at over 50%.
So, here’s my question for you to comment on below:
1. Would the organizer have had more, or less integrity by pitching even had he promised not to?
2. How do you create rabid buyers?
Scarcity – Only 100 Reads Left…
By · CommentsScarcity can be one of the most powerful reasons for someone to buy. As mad as it sounds, you can often make a sale with the major reason being that someone doesn’t want to miss out.
A wonderful example of this is the Groupon (and similar sites) model. If you are not familiar with Groupon, I will explain briefly how it works.
They have a deal of the day and then after that 24 hour period, the deal is withdrawn and as much as you beg, you are not able to get hold of that deal.
The way that they are using scarcity is based on a limited time model. If you purchase within that period then you are able to get the product for a much reduced price.
Here is where the psychology becomes clever and I will apply it to something that recently happened to myself. I saw that a manicure was reduced from around $50 to around $20. I saw what seemed to be a ridiculously amazing deal. And although I have no need (or so I think) for myself, I though who else I could buy that for and lo and behold my wife now has access to a manicure and pedicure!
Would I normally have bought my wife a manicure and pedicure? Chances are not. But because I did not want to miss out, I found a great reason there and then to buy it. The reason being that I had to make a quick decision and was sure that my wife would be happy with it.
We see examples of scarcity being used not only on the internet but also offline as well. A “SALE” sign can be enough for many shoppers to take action on items which they would not normally buy for example.
What I want to do, is to look at some different ways in which you can implement scarcity into your own marketing:
1. Timebound scarcity. For example, you must order before midnight tonight. The most important thing here, is that it is credible. Explain why the person must order before tonight. This is often combined with another sort of scarcity. eg. price reduction/additional bonus.
2. Limited quantity. People are very scared on missing out on something. By limiting the quantity, you can increase demand. One of the problems that people have here is doing it in a credible way. Limiting a quantity just for scarcities sake doesn’t work very well, especially online. As we all know, with digital products, there is in theory an unlimited supply so why limit quantity? Some reasons which I have used (quite truthfully) are:
- I can only support a limited number of people with my present resources. By using this reason, it shows potential customers that support is important to you.
- That I don’t want a method to be saturated.
3. Additional bonuses. You see it quite often and it works very well. That you will offer an additional bonus to the first 100 people. This gives a positive reason for your prospects to act right now.
One thing that I would like to make very clear, is that when you are using scarcity, that you should use it honestly. What I mean, is that if you say you are only going to sell a certain number, then do. If you say that you are going to remove an offer by a certain time, then do.
If you don’t, then it will come back to bit you…
I’m serious when I say that if you try it then you will see massive increases in profit. If you try and combine more than one, then you will even see a greater effect.
I think that my greatest use of scarcity was when I did a webinar and promised to sell only 100. Once those 100 were gone, I replaced the order button and said that it was sold out. I had around 30 people asking at the helpdesk to be able to purchase the product and I was able to let a few more in due to refunds and credit card problems. By creating that scarcity (which was real), I am pretty sure that it made customers more eager to purchase and that next time, they will know that when I say I am only going to sell a certain quantity, that I will.
Would love to hear any more examples of scarcity either which you have used or been susceptible to. Please do leave a comment below as would love to hear from you.
The big lifestyle lie
By · CommentsWould it shock you if I told you that I
am not working from the beach while I write
this?
Would it shock you even more if I were to
tell you that I get up every morning at
around 6am and after getting the kids
ready and taking them to school, I go
to an office?
As it happens, my office is above a swimming
pool and in the summer I DO have a pretty
great view, but that is about as close
I get to being by the shore on a normal day.
Call it whatever you like, but just because
we are using the internet to sell and to
market does NOT mean that you won’t have
to work just as hard.
There definitely are certain advantages as
to being your own boss and deciding when you
really want to work.
But on the whole, a business is a business
and if you don’t work hard at it, then you
will fail.
So, what are the advantages of being self
employed and working via the internet?
1. When you don’t need specific tools which
are in your office, then you really can
work from anywhere that you want to.
When I go on holiday, I take a laptop with
and work at night.
2. As you are dealing much more with non
physical commodities, it is far easier to
have employees working for you all over
the world. Not only may wages be cheaper
in other countries, but it also means that
you don’t need to supply an office for them
(large expense)
3. There is a large amount of automation. I
don’t need to have delivery of stock. I don’t
need to go to the bank. My whole ordering and
delivery process is automated so that I don’t
need to do much more than market and support
my products.
For someone just getting started, it will take
a while to gain your freedom and to start
automating your processes.
However, at least that is something to work
towards.
There are many times when I am unable to be
in the office or even near a computer for
periods of time. However, I know that 99%
of my business is being taken care of.
So, why was I thinking about all of this
today.
Gary Ambrose has just released a video
where he talks about his own personal
struggle for freedom and how it has
eventually worked for him.
Obviously, he wasn’t born successful,
but it was through his own persistence
that his work has paid off and he has
arrived where he is today.
I thought it was interesting stuff, and
if you know Gary, then you will know that
he is not scared about sharing personal
details.
There is an offer at the end. If you like
it then buy it. I have previous customers
who bought it and have given me great
feedback. It gets my recommendation. If not,
then the world will not fall apart or ugly
demons come around your house or anything
like that
So…this is what I ask of you today:
1. Go to:
http://www.shmoozewithben.com/recommends/spring
and watch the video.
2. Come back here and comment about what
Gary says. Or if you don’t get to watch
it, then let me know any business struggle
which you have had and how you overcame them.
Have had over 120 comments on my last
post. Would love to beat it here!
Keeping it real in an unreal world,
Ben Shaffer
Helpdesk: http://www.replytoben.com
