Most websites created or maintained by people who are new to online business are missing one important piece of the marketing puzzle. Namely, follow-up!

Of course there are other reasons websites don’t maintain mailing lists, but usually it is a result of an entrepreneur without any marketing experience. Other reasons exist though (and I’m a perpetrator in this regard), even though I’ve been selling, promoting and marketing online for the last 10 years – you’ll still find many of my websites lack a subscription box.

My reasons won’t be yours I assure you! Generally the sites I don’t actively market to via email are sites I’ve created for testing purposes – testing website traffic techniques which I report on, on even more websites. This is truly a case of ‘do what I say, not what I do’.

In the rest of this post we’ll talk about how and why to maintain a mailing list, and the variety of ways you can use an autoresponder account.

Here are a few reasons off the top of my head:

• increases your website’s value should you choose to sell it,
• assists you to make money on demand as you can continue to draw people back to your site with every email you write,
• allows you to ‘automate’ your marketing.

Just mentioning automation of marketing gets me excited about online business.

Why?

Well, once you have a fully automated system of a website in place that turns visitors into income, there’s little for an online business owner to do other than to keep the new traffic flowing or starting all over again with a second website, a second income stream, a second business. (Sounds good right?)

Automation is the key to any successful online business – a business that doesn’t tie the entrepreneur to his/her computer.

Granted some internet marketers have given automation a nasty connotation. The marketers who teach you to scrape other people’s website content and post spam messages to other people’s blogs.

No, not this kind of automation. This type of automated marketing I’m talking about it discontinuing any repetitive action that can be handled by a service or script. And believe me when I tell you, any online business has areas that would benefit from a little automation. The key is to have the right software or service to manage the task.

When I first started my business online I tried a number of products and signed up for a number of services that assisted in automating my business. One shined above all others.

Then, in 2005, I repeated the tests and trials – in a wide variety of price ranges. I had expected different results – after all, so much had changed online in five years – yet I stuck with the same service I’d chosen back in 1999!

There are reasons – which very few people talk about – why one service/software soars above all others tested. Affordability, versatility, deliverability, flexibility – customer support, continuallly upgrading servers and features, continously working in the field to ensure best results for their customers – and on and on. Wait, another big reason – free customer support, fast response.

If you’re lost now and wondering why you’d want to automate your mailing list…

Consider also that you don’t have to stop at a mailing list. Let’s think of some creative uses for automated marketing through auto-responder services.

Your website visitor signs up. Your autoresponder files the email address in your account then:

a) displays a thank you page on your website that could show a special offer for new subscribers. (income)
b) sends out a message to your new subscriber with a special offer… (income)

Also used for:

c) an immediate customer support response. It may take you a day or two to reply personally to a customer, but they will instantly feel as though someone is working on their request for service.
d) frequently asked questions sent to the customer via email.
e) free reports with affiliate links inside.
f) product lists and descriptions, or price lists

Use your own creativity to uncover and implement similar uses and you’ll begin to see your sales increase.

Owning a mailing list is, without a doubt, the most vital and necessary tool for your business.

Dare to be different. Don’t just put a small text link or graphic on your site that reads “subscribe to my mailing list”. That will get you some subscribers, but not nearly as many as you could get with an autoresponder pop up script or exit script.

Be creative to find ways to get potential customers to sign up to your mailing list. Offer a free report, a discount on future offers – as long as it is something of definite value they will subscribe.

Here are some of the ‘enticers’ I’ve used on other websites:

• discount coupons,

• free email course,
• contest entry,
• “Members Only” access to a special area of my website.

Check out my recommended “tried, tested and true” automated marketing, autoresponder service free for 30 days. Get the script for your website and start making money with an email list right away.

Read more about effective mailing list management and email marketing techniques from Smartzville Marketing.

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As you’ll see, there are many ways to build and promote a business online, even more ways to make money from your efforts.

Your First Website – Ask Laura (August 24, 2005)

Laura,

I have been researching all the guru’s on the net trying to decide how I should go about starting a web project I have in mind.

What bothers me is so many experts that give out different “solutions”. I guess in reality, there really are many different ways to skin a cat.

Well, I still don’t have a web site or a product even though I have lots of ideas for products, etc. I have decided that when I get a site I will use your materials as best I can.

You seem very sincere and I feel that I can trust you and not go down the wrong path. My whole purpose for doing this is to raise monies for Christian missionaries around the globe. But I can’t quite decide where to start; sometimes I think I should just start an affiliate site and develop my own stuff later.

Would RSS and blogs be good for that type of venture? Sooner or later I need to stop studying and pick a path and get on with it.

Thanks and God Bless,
Gene

************

Hi Gene thanks for writing!

And thanks for your kind words. You came along just when I needed to hear it!

You need to do whatever it is going to take to get you moving forward. If it is easiest to set up an affiliate site, then go down that road. If you want to start grabbing subscribers to a newsletter (so you can tell them about your own product later) then start right away. If you’re nearly completed with a product offering then finish that and get selling!

I guess what I’m trying to say is the hardest part of this all is actually getting started!

Once you’ve got some momentum there isn’t much that can hold you back.

To become successful you will need all three – a mailing list, your own product, and other people’s products that you believe in.

You can start with either of the three, pick which one you are most comfortable with and begin.

It is easier for many to set up a mini-site, write a small product, sell it at clickbank (that way other affiliates will send you traffic), and start collecting email addresses. Then you grow your business from there…

Let me know more about you and maybe I can provide you with something better than general information…

Laura

p.s. by the way I was in ’study mode’ myself for quite a few years before I got busy and started implementing some of the stuff I had learned.

************

Last names and email addresses are never disclosed on this website, but proof of all email communication can be provided upon request. These emails are published solely to help and assist others with similar questions, situations and problems with getting their online business started or making their website business more successful.

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Search by: web site, product, RSS, blogs, affiliate, subscribers, mini-site, clickbank, website business

Nasty Emails in Your Inbox – Ask Laura ( October 11/04)

Now there are a lot of people who have ‘issues’ with internet marketers. They think the all the gurus are scam artists and money grubbers. I’m not about to tell you that those types of gurus don’t exist (there are a number of them I keep at arm’s length), but I will promise you that Joe Vitale does not fit into that category.

In the last 4 years I have listened to, taken the advice of, worked on promotions, and co-written two books with Joe. I can completely vouch for his products, tools, methods of teaching, and writing. My current income and following is a testament to what I’ve learned from Joe and a handful of other marketers with integrity.

But, back to the web rage issue.

Repeatedly over the years I have received angry, frustrated, nasty, mean emails from complete strangers who aren’t even my customers! Usually I try to respond to them on a personal level – help them sort out where their frustration with their online business stems from and how to remedy the situation – as in the case below.

On other days I just can’t do it. I just can’t play the punching bag game and take the abuse. On those days I just delete the offending email, unsubscribe the person if they’re on my list – and yes, I’ve been known to send a nasty quip or two back – of course never quite as personal and cutting as the one I received.

Through the years in this business I’ve discovered one thing. Those nasty emails only come from the entrepreneur crowd. The ones struggling to make a living online and not having much success. People who buy my country living ebooks and products never send me nasty emails – as a matter of fact one customer sent me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers! Others have sent thank you cards, paypal donations, and even a few amazon gift certificates.

So what’s going on with the entrepreneur sect?

It’s frustration. It’s jealousy. It’s mis-directed anger.

Mad at themselves for their own inadequacies, poor buying decisions, time wasted chasing foolish dreams or creating businesses on sand. If you ever get into the internet marketing business publicly you’re going to get messages like the one below, some a lot meaner…

Nasty Email #1

Nothing I have tried has worked. I’m tired of being ripped-off. These so-called Internet Gurus are the only one getting rich, and on my hard earned money. I don’t trust the internet or the people who market in this bad neighborhood!

Greg

************

Greg:

Usually I don’t respond to this type of negativity, but something in your email (perhaps your frustration) cries out for help.

I am not an Internet Marketing guru so I feel I can respond to your message without you mistrusting me.

Just FYI, I have followed many of the gurus advice and most of it has worked. I find it odd that it hasn’t worked for you. I wonder what element of marketing you are missing and if there is something I can do to help.

True, there are a lot of scams out there (read email and make money!, etc.) but hard work and perseverance and an ethical business will earn you a sizeable income. If you’re looking for the easy way out, an unethical or immoral way to make money – you’re sunk.

Listen if I can make enough money to pay my bills selling an ebook on raising chickens, then anyone can make money online.

You’re just giving up too quickly. Don’t blame others, or bash marketers for it, that’s no way to success.

Life is a state of mind. Operate in a state of distrust, frustration, anxiety, anger and blame and that’s what you’ll get back. It’s not up to ‘them’ – it’s up to you.

Laura Childs

p.s. If you have a website and you want me to look at it and help you, I’ll do what I can to help you, but I ask that you first place yourself in a kinder mindset.

**********

Greg actually wrote back, which was very much appreciated:

Laura,

Thank you for writing back. I apologize to you for my rude comments. I won’t detail or justify my frustration and anger. I am very sorry.

Greg

************

This email sequence is a mild version of some of the emails I’ve seen from complete strangers over the years. Please just remember that each one of us, whether we’re in the public eye or not, you or I, we all have feelings. And no one, absolutely no one deserves to be attacked by another. Besides, sugar goes much further than salt.

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Search by: customers, online business, entrepreneur

A customer isn’t sure whether or not to use a blog or an rss feed for his marketing website. It takes some time to hash out the details on his target market, the website he wants to promote, his marketing objectives, and his available time.

Hello Laura:

I am looking for more enlightenment please! I have followed your advice and started an RSS feed. I followed it again and learned from Rick Butts on (using free) blogs (to gain rank and positioning).

But now I am not sure when to use RSS or Blog and how best to tie the two together. Perhaps others among your clients have the same query. I would very much like to see some guidance on this on your website. Or have I missed something and can you direct me elsewhere?

Regards
Stephen

**********

Hi Stephen!

Great to hear from you again!

You’re right I have had this conversation one-on-one with at least 2 of my other clients…posting something in the Member’s Area isn’t particularly helpful because everyone’s needs and best marketing strategy will differ. That’s one of the reasons I offer personal assistance…

How you use either a feed, or a blog, or both is really quite a personal matter based on many factors:

a) how much time do you have?
b) what you are hoping to gain from using other media.
c) the type of relationships you build with your clients.
d) ‘where the money is’ for your particular service or products.

So I’ll just take a moment on each point here and you and I can collaborate further on the specifics if you like…

a) It is my personal opinion that blogs are time hogs when you already have an established html based website. Adding an RSS feed, on the other hand, to an established website is as fast as writing email. For instance I manage and maintain 9 feeds right now. Takes me less than 10 minutes per day to add one item to each and ftp to each server. It would take me over 1/2 hour to complete one blog post. I’m playing around with this concept right now on my personal site. I’m in the midst of some testing (in public) on which media drives more traffic – blogs or rss feeds. Of course I’m using a blog to do this testing and as it stands I haven’t had time to update it for over 2 weeks – . At any rate if you want to follow the stream it starts here: http://www.smartzville.com/blog.htm (as a Stampede Secret customer you personally won’t learn anything new there).

b) The gain – What is your primary goal for the website you’re marketing? Traffic? Search enging positioning? Relationships? Branding? List building? (Again what you’ll get from either RSS or a blog, depends on the age and size of the site you’re promoting.)

c) Relationship building/branding. You’ve probably figured out by now that if you want to build a relationship with your clients or a ‘following’, a full blown blog would be your best option. If you want to build a list – then I personally would use an RSS Feed to drive traffic, and get your opt-in email form on every page (with an enticing offer to subscribe). And if you’re just looking for page rank based on keywords, Ricks information on using Blogger for this purpose alone is very good. (ed. note: Rick’s information is no longer available for sale.)

d) Where is your income? Is it in the ‘back end’? Or in the front lines? I guess this ties into (b), the goal, which really should have been the first question I asked…

Let’s keep talking…or just take it from here if you don’t want to collaborate – I know how busy you must be this time of year, but I’m here to help.

Laura Childs
www.stampedesecret.com

**********

Further notes in this stream passed by email are:

“I do see here in this conversation that increasing your search engine ranking for your existing website is your number one priority. If spending time daily writing fresh content for your site is not a stretch for your time, then I would suggest creating a full blown blog, hosted on your own site, that allows you to edit the dynamically generated RSS Feed. Stay on topic in the blog and ensure that all posts are keyword rich. (The keywords that you want to be in the top 10 for in each paragraph, blog title, post titles, etc.)

So Stephen, as we continue on in this conversation, tell me what type of blog you’ve decided on…

1) cutting and pasting text from your pages into blogger with link backs or,

2) actually writing and managing full blown fresh content into a blog on a regular basis.”

Then, a few days later in response to another query regarding keywords and topics in blogs vs. rss feeds:

“Use a seperate blog/feed for every topic. If two of the sites you are promoting are targetting the same keywords you can marry them into one feed or blog. Again, the big issue here is of time – for every feed you create you’ll want to submit it to the 40+ directories for maximum exposure.

Stephen if you have any time take the free keyword course – I’d worked online for 8-9 years and learned heaps from that free course regarding keywords. Even if you just pick up one tidbit of information from it, it is time well spent.”

************

Parts of this letter have been edited to protect the integrity of ideas from the email author. I will never post full names or any contact information, although I keep copies of all my correspondence should I ever need to provide proof of authenticity.

Find similar: Ask Laura

Search by: marketing strategy, blog, website, RSS feed, keywords, search engine ranking, blogs vs. rss feeds

Gerry is asking about a WordPress script that I promoted a few months back over at Smartzville – see the free how-to set up an online store with WordPress and merchant datafeed videos here – although I’ve had decent success with my online stores, a few others have not. The clues to the differences lie below…

*********

Hi Laura

I’ve had some WordPress Datafeed stores set up for over 2 months now and they haven’t been indexed by any search engines (although they have been visited).

I thought these blogs were search engine friendly!!

Seriously, is there anything I can do or do I just wait.

Also have you any info on how to implement the Jerome keywords plug in, I can’t understand how to implement it.

I hope you can help me make some sales.

Gerry

*********

Hi Gerry:

Please excuse me, lots going on online and in my personal life – I’ve totally forgotten where your sites were, can you send me urls? I’ve got so many people I’m working with now, that if our past messages to each other aren’t in the return mail you send me I don’t know what I’ve already suggested, where your site is, or what you need to do next to take it up a notch.

My new stores are making decent sales with no promotion other than submitting my RSS Feed to the directories a few months back. I’ve just implemented the tag process into the store blogs so we’ll see how that goes. Using that method I instantly picked up and got PR2-5 backlinks and some foot traffic. We’ll see if it results in more sales. Have you heard about tagging? There’s a tag and ping course here, and a free download pdf of the basic tag and ping concept here.

The WordPress Datafeed stores are SE friendly. At last google update (about 2 months ago) I got two PR4s and lots of indexed pages on two brand new sites. I wonder what I’ve done that you haven’t? Send me your urls and any information on what you’ve done to optimize traffic. The other side of this is that google is due for an update soon – I’m waiting on it – and you may find better results at that time.

Also, when you say “haven’t been indexed – although have been visited” – please clarify…

- visited by whom? the bots and spiders or actual visitors?
- indexed by whom? all or just google?

If you’re having trouble with the Jerome plugin the best thing you can do is hit the plugin author’s site, read the comments from others and leave your questions there. Really, no one knows their code better than the author.

Looking forward to your answers.

Laura

************
Hi Laura

I guess you’re the type of person who thrives on “lots going on”. Anyway you’re great for finding some time to help other people succeed.

I’d be proud to show you my sites – some of them are quite cool! I’ve got 8 stores but I’ve stopped doing them now until I figure how to make them work.

…list of sites edited…

I’ve got technorati tags on all posts – have done that from the beginning…and I’ve phased the posting so that new posts are continually added.

The sites have been visited by spiders and bots but none of the sites are indexed by google, msn, or yahoo. I’ve also got them on Traffic Swarm. The …url removed… has got a few clicks into the merchant, maybe about 50 since the beginning but no sales resulted, but I can’t see what’s different about that site (I think it’s the ugliest of the lot).

I shall follow your links to find out about tagging but in the meantime if you spot anything I’m not doing, I’d be really grateful for your advice, being a newbie, I’m not always sure where to turn.

Information is not hard to get – I’m constantly bombarded by it, but good, practical advice is a different thing altogether!

Gerry

*************

Hmmm…

Gerry, did you submit your rss feed to the rss directories?

On a side note – and not sure you did this, but you should never ad adsense ads to a site until a few weeks after google has indexed and included the site in their search results. Doing it before hand is a big red flag to google “this site exists only for the ad click income”.

I know that google, specifically, isn’t wild about sites that are 100% duplicated content. You might like to add a few articles into your blogs – keyword rich of course.

Another important thought – if your code doesn’t validate, you lose points in the search engines. Now this is a pain in the butt, and doesn’t have to be adherred to 100% but I’ve found that when I have more than 40 code errors on a page I lose rank – sometimes even being delisted.

If the code is sloppy and has lots of errors, this alone could be your trouble. Usually it’s in the php template. I’m not convinced this is why none of your sites are included in the SEs because you have a few different themes in your various sites.

But I do want you to consider changing or fixing your themes – for instance, go to this page:

…url removed…

If you were an online shopper, and perchance you landed here, would you want to buy any product from this page? Would you stay on the site and search for something you did want to buy?

I’m not trying to be mean to you, I just want you to think about this from a visitor’s perspective, as well as coding perspective, as well as the search engines. Search engines don’t like sending their searchers to pages with errors, pages that have little visitor value, etc.

Now when I checked that page on validator.w3.org it reported back 55 code errors.

Now, while I’m dumping all that on your lap, I also want you to consider that when the potential customers do come – it’s just too easy to lose them with all those technorati tags. If they decide they don’t like what you’re offering, they’re just goign to click a tag and be gone. And you don’t even make a cent off the transaction!

Anyway, just a few thoughts to consider…write me back if you have more questions – I realize I’ve gone off track here when you really wanted to know about search engine indexing.

Laura

**************

Laura:

Hmmm… (I like that – it’s the calm before the storm)

Thanks for all that advice – don’t mind criticism one bit.

Yes I submitted the rss feeds – it’s part of my procedure – (when these sites are profitable, I might publish it).

I’ll take out all advertising now (no point if there aren’t any visitors!!)

Keyword Rich Articles? I’ll try that. Do you mean extra posts or editing existing posts?

Can’t understand why I have so many code errors, could it be changes I’ve made or could it be the themes themselves are buggy? I think the furniture site theme is a bit ugly anyway, I think I’ll search for a brighter theme.

Technorati tags? Hmmm… When I bought the software, I remember reading “Never underestimate the power of technorati tags” Didn’t understand what it meant but I thought I was doing something clever by implementing them. Not sure what to do about them they’re in every post. Do I start again from scratch? hmmm… (I like that hmmm…)

I wasn’t just asking about se optimisation. I want to know anything and everything that will turn these into profitable sites.

I’ve shown you mine – how about showing me a good example of how it should be done!!

Thanks again for all your help and your precious time.

God bless (…I never say that!)

Gerry

*************

Gerry…

Code errors are likely the template stuff. Don’t stress about them too much, I’ve got a PR4 site here with 219 code errors – it’s a factor, but not the largest one – www.PrimitiveCountryDecor.com

Plus on that site you’ll see the most recent posts are keyword rich articles…most everything else is standard datafeed store.

Teli said “Never underestimate the power or Technorati tags” ! I guess we all, whomever is writing, needs to be really careful with our words. If you look at Teli’s blogs she’s got one or two highly targeted tags per post. Yes TTs are awesome, but (a) they need to be targeted and (b) used minimalisticly – that’s one of the things Sean teaches in that course.

As for all the existing tags you’ve got going on…do you own a laptop and watch television in the evenings? When I’ve gone and messed up I take my laptop upstairs and just pick away at the mundane tasks as I watch my favorite shows. (Sometimes I wish I had more shows I liked to watch just so I had more time to fix my mistakes!)

Laura Childs
www.makemoneywithyourideas.com

**********

Some parts of this letter have been edited to protect the integrity and identity of the email author. Although I will not post last names (unless given express permission), I can prove the validity of each letter written including email addresses, dates, and headers to the authorites if need be. I suggest that everything you publish online, sell online, or reference online, have a similar back up system in place. The FTC is always watching…

Find similar: Ask Laura

Search by: sales, RSS Feed, store blogs, tag and ping course, WordPress Datafeed stores, search engines

- hang on, more coming soon -

On March 7, 2007

Henry said: “You are and will always be an inspiration to me. Being a single mom and able to overcome all those obstacles in life and become what you are today is something that I would like to emulate. I’ll work harder and double all my Internet marketing efforts. I’ll never stop until I succeed in this business.”

On March 8, 2007

Paul said: “I have read your book and I am now more determined than ever to break into the world of niche marketing…” and “Once again thanks for your book, advice and answering all of my trivial questions.”

On March 19, 2007

Ron said: “Thanks for the feedback Laura.” and “I have been trying to find out more details and thanks to you, I have
another question answered…”

On March 27, 2007

Peter said: “I have just stumbled over your website, don’t ask me how, as I was in one on my click and surf modes. What I really wanted to say (no doubt said numerous times before) is:- WHAT A TRULY EXCELLENT ALL ROUND WEBSITE YOU HAVE! Its clear, concise, precise and it really is very informative. and without wanting to appear in any way patronising, I just wanted to to let you know that it is one of the best that i have come across.” and “with your guidance and savvy, unlike my present position, where I have wasted time, money and MONEY I know that failing in the future is just not an option…”

On March 27, 2007

Kim said: “Thank you so much for your information.”

On April 3, 2007

Dave said: “Thank you for responding to my email. I have done alot of thinking about how to apply myself to an internet business…Yes you are very correct when you say the internet has changed…unless, you’re really talented enough to do the research, on why the cash flow is slowing down or not coming at all.”

On April 6, 2007

Gene said: “Your ‘tell it like it is’ style is what I wanted…I am hungry for more.”

On February 21, 2007

Henry said: “First off I’d like to say thank you so much for tirelessly and patiently replying to my emails. Rest assured that your kind words of advice and encouragement won’t ever go to waste…”

On December 22, 2006

Vaibhav said: “I recently landed upon your site and subscribed to your email list. I must say I was really impressed with your experience! I am contacting you about one of my new highly confidential Joint Venture plan because of all the website owners I know about, only you have the perfect aim and intentions to help others and that is what I want to do as well but at the same time I want to ofer them a great product. I feel I can trust you with this…”

On March 7, 2007

Rajesh said: “Hi Laura! Thank you so much for the information you’ve given in here. Helped me a lot, I must say. We’re just into a social marketing research program at office and I happen to be in this ‘task force’ as such to understand all about social marketing. Thank you.” re: stampedesecret.com

On January 11, 2007

Micki said: “And really thank you so much for your help!” and three days later “You’re awesome! Thank you!”

On March 18, 2006

Paul said: “Thanks Laura, I had a feeling you can help me get my show on the road.”

On August 4, 2005

Rick said: “…Thank you for your response and being honest with me it doesn’t happen all that often anymore. Rick”

On September 29, 2004

Daniel said: “Laura, I can feel the love radiating through my computer screen!”

On January 4, 2005

Mike said: “Laura! You’re incredible. You’re dealing with …url removed… as if it’s your site! Thank you for your efforts. Now, I have that big project on my and but I want someone who knows what you know…” Mike M.

On December 30, 2004

Nancy said: “Laura Thanks once again for your outrageous customer support, help and overall wonderful energy.”

On December 29, 2004

Nancy also said: “OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m dead. I can’t believe it. I went to yahoo.com and typed in: (edited: my keywords) and . . . . . . . .My little ‘ol website I whipped up is #9 next to NY Times, above over 3 million websites!!!!!!!!!! I almost just fainted. Just like your report said when I first got it, ‘I’m getting CHILLS DOWN MY SPINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ Btw, if you need ANY testimonial from me EVER, WHATEVER you want to help you in your business please let me know.”

On December 31, 2004

Laura said: “Hi Laura: I want to say “thank you”…I am happy to have a fellow female netpreneur (that shares the same name) in my archive Laura, thank you once again for a great resource. With it, those of us who are not “techies” can certainly fake it ’til we make it…Have a happy healthy new year. Laugh and Be Well, Laura”

On April 24, 2006

Paul said: “…I am actually writing to tell you how well you did this lead in to the link to Joe. You are really terrific, Laura. I’m not going there but it’s taking all my self discipline not to. All the best, Paul. P.S. Your tone and way of putting things engender trust, admiration and curiousity. But you knew that already.”

On October 13, 2004

Pat said: “…Thx for your help and inspiration. Pat”

On June 3, 2006

Dan said: “You’re the best. ”

On December 11, 2005

Sherman said: “Hi Laura, Fantastic resource! Thank you so much for creating it I couldn’t help but read it from top to bottom!”

On May 27, 2006

Okes said: “Great job! Thanks for your work!”

On June 27, 2005

Sam said: “You are simply awesome. Despite you being a rural-based chicken/horse farmer, there is never a dull moment with you! If there’s one thing I can count on from you, it’s getting the real deal spoken straight and true, and I value that tremendously.”

On October 18, 2004

Laura said: “Laura: Thanks for writing back so quickly. I’m afraid I need further help. I am very new to all of this so thanks for your patience.”

On May 17, 2005

Mary said: “Your sensitivity is one main reason for your readers’ respect and trust. We’re grateful you’re writing real reviews of RSS software instead of the usual puff pieces.”

On January 30, 2006

Jackie said: “Thanks for honestly telling us your results.”

On March 8th, 2006

Sally said: “Yet again an astonishing amount of great information, dont know how you keep delivering but thank you, Sally”

On March 24, 2006

Sally also said: “Hi Laura, just from using the techniques you so kindly supply, i really am noticing a difference in my website, after months of trying different methods yours are the ones that I highly recommend, thanks again and take care sally ”

On March 13, 2006

Dawn said: “Laura, thank you for such a simple step-by-step action plan. I’m familiar with these items, but just haven’t put it in order and gotten it together enough to take action. Finally, I can ’see’ my action plan.”

On April 14, 2006

Dana said: “Great info, Laura!…Your video gave me the motivation to get off of my duff. I also commend you on your writing style. Let me know if you’re ever interested in ghostwriting…”

On January 22, 2006

Ed said: “Hi Laura, Thank you for the complete response. That just about covers everything I need to make a decision. …I will…ask you to take a look at it and give me your opinion, which I value. Sincerely, Ed”

On January 19, 2006

Ed also said: “As always, your news is right on and to the point.”

On January 18, 2006

Vikas said: “Thanks buddy, Excellent tip. Love u for this!”

On January 28, 2006

Peter said: “…I do read your thoughts each time they come ..smart girl!”

On February 11, 2006

John said: “Hi Laura: You came highly recommended and having read this article alone I can see why.”

On April 17, 2006

Maureen said: “I really like your website and professional way of laying out specific information…”

On August 31, 2005

John said: “Hey Laura, how are you doing. You’re one smart and intelligent lady, I appreciate you. You’ve a lot of feminine style, thanks for sharing. All the best to you with your continued success.”

On August 31, 2005

Mark said: “Laura, You seem to know your stuff. Glad to see you’ve got tactics to pull it off.”

On January 15, 2006

Yacoub said: “Thanks for useful information.”

On March 1, 2006

John said: “Hey Laura, A really big thank you for all your help. You really do go above and beyond with your help. Most of the so called gurus don’t and won’t (yes there are exceptions) go to the extent to help us novices the way you do. Thanks again for all the great information you provide. John”

On April 7, 2006

Niki said: “Thank you for this wonderful insight. I always appreciate seeing other experts confirm that I am on the right path.”

On June 24, 2005

Jae said: “Thanks. You just saved me $97!”

On June 2, 2005

Noel wrote: “Hi Laura. Keep up the good work.”

On March 22, 2006

Hamlin said: “I am so impressed with this site. I can’t believe how much information is here.”

On January 15, 2006

Chris said: “Very helpful information. Your work has saved me a lot of time and sent me in some interesting directions!”

On July 12, 2005

Jamez said: “How refreshing! UFO sighted on my internet screen! Wait a minute, put down your six shooters, its only the truth! Don’t know where you came from, but please stay.”

On April 27, 2005

John said: “Laura, you are right on the button. Between Joel’s book and Stampede Secrets, both my traffic and my income from this site have multiplied more than a dozen times. In fact, my RSS feeds supply more traffic than anything else I’ve done in the last few months.”

On June 7, 2006

Paul said: “My hat is off to you Laura. I came to you dazed, confused and greatly despairing over an impending online marketing campaign that I felt woefully inadequate to pursue successfully.

You quickly took me by the hand, assured me all would be okay and skillfully led me, step-by-step, out of my confusion. I have honestly never before seen anyone in any marketing capacity, online or offline, so quickly and accurately assess a situation and subsequently conceive a winning marketing strategy.

You were patient, thorough, available when I needed you and always on top of what we needed to do at every turn. What impressed me the most was the way you so unselfishly gave of your time to ensure I completely understood every phase of the marketing strategy as it was unfolding before my eyes.

I have spent thousands of dollars in the past two years in search of the kind of sincere and concern-driven service that you provide. I was delighted to find that not only did you over deliver on what you promised, but also the special offer you extended to me made the cost-to-value ratio of your service quite reasonable and palatable. In hindsight, it was a fantastic bargain!

If anyone reading what I am saying is looking to get the biggest bang for his or her online marketing buck, I can assure you that you need look no further. Laura will give you the kind of top-notch, expert advice and hands-on guidance you need to have a winning and satisfying online marketing effort.

When it comes to developing, launching and coordinating every minute aspect of a focused, online marketing campaign, Laura is the best in the business. She has worked on marketing campaigns for such legendary online marketing gurus as Joe Vitale and Mark Joyner and her experience and depth of knowledge shows in every aspect of her work.

If you want to sleep nights while your marketing effort is in high gear, Laura is the one person I strongly advise that you turn to for superior online marketing know how and outstanding results.” –Paul Harris, Author, Superior Health Doctor Bernard Jensen’s Way, Director, Harris Superior Health System, LLC

- hang on, even more coming soon -

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An end to:

• all the questions I get, both personally and in online email, on how to actually make money online with your own website,
• all the requests I receive for business, marketing and webmaster consultation (at free or low budget rates – honestly!),
• being upset about the hundreds of people I’ve heard from who spend thousands of dollars buying info-products online that didn’t get them any closer to their goal (because the entire business of starting, running and promoting an online business was never explained to them),
• feeling like I need to help all who ask, then being exhausted myself, and my family and hobbies suffer as a result,
• and likely one or two more reasons that I just can’t think of right now, on why I’ve decided to put this website together.

Why Should You Take My Advice As A Complete Stranger?

If, in fact that’s what you are – you really shouldn’t take my advice without a little research first. I could be anyone, or no one. And I seriously want you to consider that notion, before you take any business advice from anyone online.

There are a lot of self-proclaimed gurus online, people who profess to know all the angles in online business – yet have only just starting running one themselves! Before you click the order button on any website you should seriously check out the person’s creditentials. Run a google search on their names if you have to – spend 5 minutes reading what the online community has to say about them, their methods, and their experience. If you can’t find anything – beware! If you can only find references to just one website that they own – beware!

Now, as for me, I am not a guru although many people have put that status upon me. In truth, I have expertise in some areas, and a healthy dose of generalized information in others. I own over 30 websites – about 15 of them successful, the remainder put on hold or in progress. Some sites are registered in my name, some in family members and others are registererd through domains by proxy. (Domains by proxy is the best way to keep your contact info private.)

My specialties are: blogs, rss syndication, traffic, search engine optimization, and ensuring user experience.

My heightened generalized knowledge is in: marketing best practices, defining markets, idea generation, and online press releases.

Other generalized skills include: website creation including coding and scripting, writing to meet the marketplace, article syndication, simplified graphics.

Some experience with: using video to inform, educate and make a sale, copywriting – and just about every other skill required to run a successful online business. If it’s an option, I’ve tried it – whether or not I excel at it is another story. (There’s no sense in pretending that I ‘rock’ at everything – there just isn’t enough time in the day.)

If you want to see what the online world says about me – before you invest your time and possibly your money – you can run a google search here. That search is for my name with the qualifier of ‘make money’. You could run the same search with a qualifier of ‘marketing’, ‘rss’, ‘blogs’, ’success’, or anything else you can think of – you’ll find, in each search well over 500 online references for each qualifier. Take Note: Not every Laura Childs is the ‘me’ Laura Childs. If you find reference to murder, tea shops or Gerry Schmidt those articles and posts are referring to an American author who uses my name as a psydonym. She writes a series of Tea Shop Murder Mysteries that are loved by women around the world, and they’re quite good, I’ve even read a few myself!

Why Take My Business Advice As A Friend or Associate?

You’re here because I’ve sent you. You’re one of the people in my life who are forever asking me to make them a website, make their website successful, come up with an idea for a business for them, define their market, get them more traffic, make them more sales, evaluate their website, rewrite or proof their info-product, fix their graphics or formating or spelling mistakes – and so on.

I love you all dearly, but I can’t look after each and every one anymore.

This website is as much for you as it is for the strangers who land here. As a matter of fact I initially had the idea for this website to serve you. I want you to learn to do all these things yourself – to make your online business a success by your own blood, sweat and tears.

This website is a labor of love as well as a necessity. Veronica turns 13 in a few months and sometimes I feel I barely know her. I’ve spent her life at this computer – making my fortune and helping others to do the same.

Now it’s time for you. Learn what you need to know here and apply it to your own business.

Next week I’ll be posting a short quiz. Through that quiz you’ll be able to discover which area of online business you need to know more about, how to get the information, and how to apply it to your business.

Until then, browse around or head over to my marketing blog.

Love, respect, and prayers for you,

Laura Childs
www.makemoneywithyourideas.com

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