F5M Club

Last week I was introduced to a company that has been around for 16 years. While surfing the traffic exchanges, I had seen the company splash pages but really hadn't paid any attention to them. I was introduced to the company by a fellow Peoplestringer, Warren Contreras. I have communicated with Warren in the forums at Peoplestring and have always found him to be analytical in his thinking. Warren sent me a brief direct message asking me if I would be interested in a $5 opportunity which could eventually build in to a nice income. Since this message was coming from Warren, it did peak my interest.

The company F5M Club has been around for 16 years. They are ranked in the Alexa rankings as one of the top 48,000 sites in the world and top 25,000 in the USA. (If you don't know what Alexa rankings are read this Article.) Other than mentioning it would only cost $5, there was no other information given out by Warren at this time. I replied to Warren and told him sure I would take a look. In his second communication, after I asked for information, was when he included a link directly to the sign up page of the $5 level. (Bronze) Well, as we all know, you can drop $5 pretty easily these days so I thought what the heck. I have taken the plunge to see where it will lead.

After viewing some of the information, I realized that Warren's marketing strategy is brilliant for this opportunity. By making personal contact with a few highly targeted people, his conversion rate is 7 out of 10. That is 70% which is unheard of in the networking business. I am following his lead and sending out personal messages to colleagues in different areas. I have received a 50% conversion rate. Not as good as Warrens but still a great rate in networking.

By using his good reputation at Peoplestring, Warren has converted some highly qualified people. This should be a lesson to everyone in marketing. First, it takes time to develop relationships and gain respect. Second, don't just blast your links at everyone, send out teasers and leave them wanting more information. Great lesson from a good on-line marketer. I am going to include the link to the video Warren made describing his thought process during this marketing campaign. Enjoy. Warren's Video

What kind of Person Are YOU?

I was walking out of the Dollar Store last week when I came across a penny on the ground. I bent over and looked to see if it was heads up or heads down and then I picked it up and put it in my pocket. What kind of a person are you? If this had been you, would you bend over and pick up the penny or would you just keep walking and let the next passerby pick it up?

I began thinking about this the last few days after reading a post in the forums section at Peoplestring. Basically the post was from a guy who was disappointed with his Peoplestring earnings for the month. He felt he had put in a good effort and was not rewarded for his work. So as I sat there thinking about a response to his post, I thought of the penny on the street which I picked up. Every time I see a penny on the street, I do pick it up. Why do some people pick up the pennies and some people just pass them on by?

When I was just a kid, I remember going to the store with my Mom and getting some candy. I had 3 pennies left as change and when I went outside of the store I threw them up in the air and they bounced on the pavement. My Mom promptly made me go around and chase them down. Then she explained to me the value of a penny. It was not just the worth it had today but the worth it will have tomorrow. Plus, she explained, if I keep adding pennies to the pile, then I will eventually have a substantial amount of money. I guess this is a lesson I have never forgotten.

So, while I understand the frustration of not making a substantial amount of money quickly, I, also, understand the value of collecting small amounts of money today. At Peoplestring, when you join you are able to make small amounts of money today. What Peoplestring is really about is helping the average person find the pennies on the street. It is FREE money and Peoplestring has found it for you. Plus, if you put in an effort and build your People String, then you will be rewarded with larger amounts of money in the future. So, my questions is this: What kind of person are you? Will you pick up the penny or leave it on the ground?

Join me at Peoplestring. I am the one with my head down looking for pennies.

Marketing On-line

I have been learning how to market on-line for about 5 months now. It has definitely been a learning process. Anyone who says you can make $10,000 a month by work 30 minutes a day is either lying or a veteran marketer. I find myself spending, at least, 30 minutes a day just answering messages and emails.

I am learning how to automate some things but I am not a very techie person. So, this in itself is quite time consuming. Teaching yourself how to market and save time actually takes up quite a bit of time. For me, educating myself is the most time consuming task I am doing.

There are thousands of programs out there that claim they are the best at their speciality. Whether it be auto-responders, list builders, splash page makers, banner makers, or traffic exchanges, they all claim to be the best. You could spend days sifting through each of these specific areas trying to find what you think gives you the best quality at the best price. And yes, there are some free programs.

So, how can you save time picking which program is going to work for you? Whatever your business opportunity might be, you need to find a person who is successful in that program and find out what that person is doing to succeed. If you can pick the brain of someone who is succeeding, you are one step ahead of the game. Plus, this will save you loads of time investigating the different programs. I guarantee this person is using good programs.

Let's say you now have your programs picked out. Now you have to learn how to use each program effectively for your personal marketing campaign. This can usually be learned by watching tutorial videos or reading the information. Again, this will take time.

For me, I am learning something new everyday about marketing. While I am learning how to use these programs, I am still finding time to do some on-line marketing. Otherwise I feel I would be at a stand still. So, my business is still growing as I am learning how to effectively market. I guess it is kind of hit and miss for me but I am getting some results.

I feel I am a typical average person who wants to improve my life with extra income from on-line marketing. I have another income but I would like to replace that income with a nice residual income from my on-line business. It's a great dream. I get frustrated because I feel it is taking so long to learn everything. I don't believe in doing something half way or I would just stick with my hit and miss marketing. I want to learn how to do it right. I believe I have found the right tools and I am heading in the right direction. Now, I just have to find the time to learn how to use these great tools.

So, let me close with an old saying "You can't rush success." I don't know who said it or when but it is true for me. Or, what about this one "Patience is a virtue". Wise words that I am trying to live by in my day to day life of learning how to become an effective on-line marketer.

Social Media In One Year

Where will Social Media be in one year? This is a relevant question which is on every ones mind. From the independent Internet ranking company, Alexa, the top 4 sites are social media sites: 1.Google; 2.Facebook; 3.Yahoo; and 4.Youtube. These top 4 sites have been in the top 10 for quite some time now.

Why is this question relevant? Well with the influx of social media sites popping up every other day, at least it seems that way, it is important to know where to spend your time when you are online. Where will you get the most "bang for your buck", as they say. This is a good question. If you are marketing on social media sites, where should you concentrate your time to get the best results?

Twitter is now ranked at number 12 and one time Giant Myspace has slipped to number 18. I point this out because 2 years ago all you heard about was Myspace. That was the number one social media site with not much competition and no one had heard of Twitter. So, will all this competition be good for social media or will it just become a watered down system of random posts? Well, in my opinion, that is what Twitter is all ready. There is not much flow to the posts and they are definitely random. To have a conversation, you have to dm the person you are wanting to make contact with if you want to make sure they see the info. Is Facebook much better? At least at Facebook, you can respond to a post and it will be linked to that specific post. Thus, a conversation is formed.

So, where is Social Media headed in the next year. There are several new companies on the horizon and making a push to get noticed. The flavor of the day is Geostring.(ranked 13,604) They are trying to lure in members by paying them a $10 sign up fee. Of course, you can't get paid until your account reaches $100. Most members will quit before this happens. I am, also, hearing a buzz about Swom.(ranked 2186) They are calling themselves the social network for marketers and home based businesses. I am not sure what that means but I think I will pass.
Then you have the one year old company Peoplestring.(ranked 898) I think this is a company worth watching. Their Alexa rating has climbed over 300 points in the last 2 months. This is going to be the first Social Network to be traded on the stock exchange as a public company. The company is all ready sharing 70% of its ad revenue with any active members. The company will pay its members when their account reaches $25. Plus, the company is now fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter. So, over the next year Peoplestring is the company to watch. I believe 2010 will be the year Peoplestring changes social media as we know it today.

So, if you are a marketing using social media to build your business, I suggest you use the social media site which is paying its members, Peoplestring. You can link your account to two major players in social media. And, get paid for doing what you are all ready doing each day. This is a win / win situation for you. Good luck and happy marketing.