Affiliate Buzz | Affiliate Marketing / Affiliate Programs / Internet / Online / Social Media Marketing - James Martell

Welcome to another edition of the Affiliate Buzz, where affiliate marketers have been coming to be inspired, informed, and motivated to succeed since way back in 2003. Last week, James talked to Brian Walt about how to lead a location independent lifestyle. This week, James talks with Desmond Soon and Jason Majoué about YouTube video marketing strategies.

From the "Tube Your Own Horn" Video Marketing Agency, CEO and founder Desmond Soon and Chief Marketing Officer Jason Majoué discuss generating leads and sales, as well as positioning yourself and business as an authority in a specific niche by using YouTube. Desmond and Jason are specialists in the latest video marketing and video SEO ranking strategies. They work with coaches, consultants, influencers, motivational speakers, and others to help them use YouTube video marketing strategies.

YouTube Video Marketing Strategies

A hot button for everyone is generating leads and sales. Blogging, podcasting, and videos are three viable options to achieve this goal. Desmond decided to go with videos because he felt comfortable being on camera and YouTube was growing at the time.

YouTube is a way to make money. Jason describes the importance of using YouTube to get leads and predictable income through paid and free methods. Paid advertising gives you tons of exposure to your free content to make more predictable income and more consistent leads daily. Your content needs to be educational, inspirational, or entertaining. YouTube is like a blue ocean. Which is wide open and available. Compared to a red ocean, which is full of sharks going after fish and lots of blood in the water. There is so much more opportunity and less competition with YouTube. To have certainty and scalability in your business, YouTube is the way to do that.

Types of Videos Available

Make videos that make you look professional and where you provide value. You can record and upload these on-demand videos to YouTube for free. Live videos from your phone or streamed on YouTube. Event live videos are like Google Hangouts and Webinars to stream live content.

What kind of videos should you create? Research your market and target audience to better understand what kind of videos you need to start with. What kind of questions are customers asking and what kind of questions should they be asking? YouTube video marketing strategies include making videos that get found and answer these questions.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

* Free and paid tools available like Google Analytics, and Tube Buddy.

* How YouTube is part of a decision-making process where people do their research on products by watching YouTube videos.

* Create an FAQ and SAQ to determine what customers in your niche are asking and what their pain points are

* Make videos that make you look professional and where you provide value

Resources

* For more information about Desmond and Jason, also subscribe to their YouTube channel.

* Listen to Affiliate Buzz episode #432 with Desmond Soon titled, What Everybody Ought to Know About Outsourcing, Plus How to Hire a Virtual Assistant.

* To learn how to post a project properly, connect with James here.

In this edition, James Martell talks to Brian Walt about how to lead a location independent lifestyle. Brian is an Internet marketer and world traveler. He loves to travel and encourages others to get out of their comfort zones and explore working in other countries. Brian has spent the past eight years in entrepreneur and startup marketing roles. He is a well-established thought leader on communications, marketing, and travel - which has allowed him to lead a location independent lifestyle.

Location Independent Lifestyle

You may have heard about laptop nomads, but what about a location independent lifestyle? It is where you are not stapled to any geographic location because of your job or business. Such a lifestyle is available to us now more than ever before. You have the independence to be good to go almost anywhere – with an Internet connection. You can work in the morning and surf in the afternoon.

Part of it involves affiliate marketing, which allows us to generate recurring revenue and an income stream without having to deal with time zone and customer issues.

Affiliate marketing is one of the best avenues for bridging to a location and lifestyle. Plus, you may think it is difficult or costly to go to work in other places, but that’s not true. Making U.S. dollars goes farther in various locations and makes for a lower cost of living. So, make your dreams come true and become laptop nomads!

Scared to Travel

Some people are hesitant to work in a different country because they are afraid to travel. Brian said that there has never been a time that he felt afraid. You just need to be cognizant of your surroundings and don’t go places where you do not feel comfortable. Foreign travel is not scarier than some parts of the United States.

Do your research, keep your head about you, and you will be fine. However, don’t fall for some of the gimmicks out there that promise the ability to be living and working from anywhere. It does take hard work, diligence, and planning.

Here’s What You’ll Learn

* Myths about the lifestyle like it must be difficult and costly to live and work in other places

* The U.S. dollar goes a lot further and the cost of living is less in other places

* Daily work tasks are very similar – whether you are in the United States or Costa Rica

* The most important pieces of technology you need is a laptop and Internet connection

* Tips to develop the lifestyle like avoiding gimmicks and putting in a lot of effort

Resources

* Find out more about Brian, visit his Website, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

* Go to the Freelancer site to find someone to write marketing content and do other tasks.

* Use RingPartner to generate leads.

* Listen to James interview Ricky Shetty, a.k.a Daddy Blogger, about travelling the world.

Welcome to another edition of the Affiliate Buzz, where affiliate marketers have been coming to be inspired, informed, and motivated to succeed since way back in 2003. Last week James spoke to Daddy Blogger Ricky Shetty about how to create a life travelling the world with sponsored travel. This week, James welcomes Adam Riemer to the show to talk about generating sales with Facebook for affiliate marketers.

Adam Riemer is an expert affiliate marketer and winner of the Affiliate Manager of the Year Pinnacle Award at the 2016 Affiliate Summit. He tells James about social media for affiliate marketers, and how it can be used to drive sales. The importance of understanding what your website experience is, and knowing the demographics of your audience. They discuss in-depth the importance of accurate attribution in the sales process.  Adam reveals his favorite providers and why he likes them.

Facebook for Affiliate Marketers

An incredibly powerful tool is Facebook for affiliate marketers, but do you find you lose your audience after the initial click-through? Adam advises James on how to assess what your website experience is before you launch a campaign. That way, you can be confident that your targeted Facebook marketing gets people all the way through to a sale.

James asks Adam what the important aspects of your web experience are, and he explains that one of the biggest is to make sure your website works well on mobile. Many of your customers may be finding you through a mobile app, and a poorly laid out website could lose you the sale. Adam also raises the idea of cross-platform tracking, and getting an identifier from customers (an email address, name plus zip code, etc.) so their experience can be tracked across platforms.

Attribution and Testing Your Sales Funnel

What’s the most profitable part of your sales funnel? Do you even know how to test it? Adam explains that properly attributing the different aspects of your funnel can help you identify the best parts of your system. It can also help you test the effects of emphasizing the different aspects, including Facebook for affiliate marketers.

James and Adam apply this knowledge to a discussion of coupon sites and social media for affiliate marketers, as touchpoints in a funnel, and how they can have different impacts on different merchants. They talk about how each merchant is different and how understanding how your sales are attributed can help you tailor your approach.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* Why you should assess what your website experience is from a customer’s perspective

* What are the important aspects of your website experience to understand?

* What is cross-device tracking and why is it important?

* How to get a unique identifier for a customer

* What attribution is and why it’s important

* How to test the performance of different touch points in your sales funnel

* Are coupon sites good or bad for merchants?

Resources

For more information about all of Adam Riemer’s work, including how-to guides, please visit his website.

In this week's edition of the Affiliate Buzz, James Martell catches up with Daddy Blogger and digital nomad Ricky Shetty, about how to create a life travelling the world with sponsored travel.

Ricky is currently travelling the world with his wife Anne along with their three children 5 and under. He talks with James about his early life of travelling, and what prompted him to leave his suburban lifestyle behind and hit the road again – but this time with family in tow. They talk about what it’s like travelling with small children, and what motivated Anne and His choice of destinations. Ricky also explains to James how to get started in getting sponsored travel, and how he translated a love of travelling into a full-time lifestyle.

How to Create a Life Travelling the World with Sponsored Travel

Do you want to get FREE hotel stays, sightseeing tours, food and more? It seems too good to be true, but Ricky tells James that all you need is to start local. He explains that by starting with local businesses and focusing on tourism boards, he gets other people to coordinate most of his trips. Sometimes that even includes pre-paid cards to use while in town, food vouchers, or Uber credits!

Ricky points out, however, that a big part of the game is in the numbers. The more you pitch, the more likely you’ll get a “yes”. He explains to James what a pitch should look like, whether you’re talking to a tourism board or directly to a hotel or sightseeing company. He then explains why it is that people are often willing to give out freebies, in exchange for a little publicity.

Translating a Hobby into a Lifestyle

How do you transition from a side-hustle travel blogger into a full-timer? Ricky insists it isn’t easy. But he lays out for James the four big costs to travelling, and the order you should tackle them in. If you can get them covered one by one, then you’ll save money on your trip in the most efficient way. Ricky also explains to James that travel hacking can help you cut down on expenses too.

Making revenue, though, can be a little harder. Like most affiliate marketing, Ricky explains, making money as a travel blogger is essentially about building and nurturing an audience. He recommends brand-building and other techniques, and that once you have a loyal audience, the revenue will follow. From the there the world is your oyster and how to create a life travelling the world, with sponsored travel (FREE Hotels, Sightseeing, Transport, and Food)

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* How to create a life travelling the world, with sponsored travel

* The highs and lows of travelling with small children

* Where to start when looking for travel sponsorship's

* Why approaching tourism boards is an essential tool

* How to pitch directly to other businesses like hotels and sightseeing companies

* The FOUR big costs to budget for when you’re travelling?

* Where does the money come from in travel blogging?

Resources

* Ricky Shetty: The Daddy Blogger Check out all the latest on his world travels by heading to his website.

* Digital Nomad Mastery: Don’t forget to watch out for his new venture, Digital Nomad Mastery – coming soon!

In this week's edition of the Affiliate Buzz, James Martell welcomes Brasco (aka Jorge Hermida), his Producer and Program Director at WebmasterRadio.FM, to talk about creating a podcast, and the advantages of hiring podcast producer to help them create a show of their own.

Brasco has managed programming for WebmasterRadio.FM since 2005, and after he and James reminisce about the rise of podcasts, they lay out what could be a starter course on podcasting. They talk about what a podcast is and how it’s published, and they discuss what makes a great host and what can sink a poor one. They also talk about how to start a podcast, and when you might want to hire a podcast producer to do it for you.

How to Start a Podcast

With over 20,000 podcast episodes under his belt, Brasco is a podcasting expert. He explains to James some of the mechanics of what goes into a podcast, and why podcasts are often better marketing tools than social media or blogs alone.

A good podcast doesn’t just happen overnight, though! Brasco explains the prep time behind some of the podcasts he works with, what it takes to be a good host, and how to conduct a great interview. Later, they also discuss the importance of SEO in the podcast title and description.

Why You Should Hire a Podcast Producer

When you’re just starting out in podcasting, it’s easy to make rookie mistakes. Too many “ums” and “ahs”, wasting time in interviews, and poor audio quality are all factors that can make audiences switch off quickly! It may be worth your time and money to hire a podcast producer: someone who knows the ins and outs and can advise you on best practices. Brasco explains to James what the podcaster-producer relationship can look like.

Finally, Brasco walks James through some of his biggest pet peeves as a producer. He tells James why you should avoid too many pleasantries with your guests, why you should consider scripting some of your show, and why there’s never a good time for a softball question. Then, as a bonus, James gives some tips for how he taught himself to “um” and “ah” less frequently.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* What the early days of podcasting was like

* What happens when you publish a podcast?

* How you can use a podcast to direct your audience to other media (e.g. articles or videos)

* What makes a good podcast host?

* How podcasting is like radio, and how it’s different

* What a podcast producer can do for you

* Why you should consider starting your own show

* How much time does it take to prepare to record a podcast?

* What does it take to do a great interview?

* The importance of SEO to podcasts

Resources

* For more great podcasts, and to find out about the rest of the Cranberry.fm network, check out their website at Cranberry.fm.

* To reach Brasco directly about producing your podcast, email him at [email protected].

In this week's edition of the Affiliate Buzz, James Martell talks with bestselling author Vickie Helm, business development strategist and the author of the groundbreaking new book "Ultimate Freedom: Unlock the Secrets to a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Prosperity", to share her secrets to finding ultimate freedom in life.

With a background in both business development and as a relationship expert, Vickie explains to James how people can break out of a rut in order to find their passion. They explore the reasons that people get stuck, how people can take the first step, and how to ensure that when you make a big change, you’ll be successful.

Freedom is Not a Right

According to Vickie, it’s best to leave protecting our freedom to the military. What we should focus on instead, in order to honor those who protect our freedom, is to ensure that we pursue our freedom. Vickie explains to James that there are 6 different types of freedom to pursue, and that no single one will ensure happiness and fulfillment. They also examine the 5 big reasons that people in a rut stay in a rut, and how you can recognize and avoid those traps.

Finding Ultimate Freedom

How do you know when it’s time to make a change, and what’s the first step to getting out of a rut? Vickie first explains to James the four main signs that it might be time to do something different in your life. Then they discuss the three-step process that Vickie says is key to taking the first step to change.

One of the hardest things about a serious life change is finding the strength to go through with it. For Vickie, that strength comes primarily from having a good support system. She explains to James what makes a good support system, and how to ensure you have one in place before you take that first step. They also look at some of the barriers that people have to setting up a support system in the first place, and how to overcome them.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* The advice that Vickie’s mother gave her at the age of 6, that helped her build her life today

* If you’re protecting your freedom rather than pursuing it, you’re doing it wrong

* The 6 types of freedom

* The 5 barriers that people have when thinking about making change

* Why Patrick Henry understood the importance of freedom

* The 4 signs that will tell you it’s time for a change

* The 3-step process to taking the first step of change

* Why a support system is vital

* How to forgive yourself so that you can move on with pursuing freedom

Resources

Learn more about Vickie’s book,

“Ultimate Freedom: Unlock the Secrets to a Life of Passion, Purpose, and Prosperity”

Buy it directly from:

Amazon in hardcover, paperback or Kindle editions.

Vickie can also be reached via the contact form at smartgroupfirm.com

or via her Facebook page.

Welcome to another edition of the Affiliate Buzz, where affiliate marketers have been coming to be inspired, informed and motivated to succeed since way back in 2003. Last week, James interviewed Ryan Stewman, the Hardcore Closer about how to become a highly effective salesperson. This week, James welcomes David Dalka, founder of Fearless Revival.

David and James discuss why businesses undervalue their marketing teams, and how misunderstanding strategic value of performance marketing can hurt both marketers and the businesses themselves. They examine the industry issues that make businesses inclined to stick to the status quo, and they also look at ideas for how to increase visibility of performance marketing processes outside of the affiliate marketing community.

Starting the Fearless Revival

Fearless Revival was born from noticing a trend among performance marketers. He realized that many companies didn’t understand strategic positioning of performance marketing practices, which not only undervalued their marketing teams, but also forced them into making emotional decisions rather than decisions based on good business reasoning.

David explains to James the one shocking event that spurred him into creating Fearless Revival, which aims to advise senior executives on the value that performance marketing can add to their businesses, and help them change their processes for the better.

Increasing the Value of Performance Marketing

Performance marketing is generally an undervalued field, because it’s difficult to value potential future business. James tells the story of a past business venture where the client ended up securing new business worth over a $1m, but James’s fee didn’t reflect that level of return. David and James discuss the factors that lead both marketers and businesses to undervalue their potential returns.

David also explains to James that there’s a training problem in both marketing and marketing management. Often, marketers are trained in technology and not business, or vice versa. Additionally, executives have usually been trained in business but not in how to judge and acquire services. These factors result in something like 80-90% of companies not having the right set of professional e-services advisors. David and James discuss why that’s a problem, and some ideas on how to fix it.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* Why companies are unable to keep up with changing marketing strategies

* The importance of looking at risk differently

* How a misunderstanding of strategic value leads to emotional decision-making

* The direct correlation between understanding of strategic value, and how much a company will pay for performance marketing

* Why it’s important to understand both new technology and old business

* When’s the best opportunity to implement change in an existing marketing department?

* Why up to 90% of companies don’t have the right set of professional e-services advisers

Resources

* For more information about Fearless Revival’s services for business executives.

* Fearless Revival's services

* Strategic Positioning for Performance Marketing with David Dalka, Founder of Fearless Revival - Part 1

 

In this week's edition of the Affiliate Buzz, James Martell talks with Ryan Stewman, aka the Hardcore Closer, who shares insight into what it takes to become a highly effective salesperson.

What does it take for a salesperson to close a sale every time? Ryan explains to James his personal story, and how it led him to the revelation that sales follows a formula, whether it’s for a $12 car wash or a $1.2m home. They also discuss some concrete steps that any salesperson – from brand-new to veteran – can use to close deals more consistently and efficiently.

Know Your Objections

After selling more car washes than he can count, Ryan noticed something key: the reasons his customers rejected what he was selling almost always followed a script. Ryan tells James how he started studying his customers’ responses, and how he used that information to simplify his pitch and make it more effective. He also explains how he transitioned into selling homes instead of car washes, and how you can use the same methods to close sales in either industry.

Are you afraid to ask for the sale? When you have a customer in front of you, do you feel as though you don’t yet “deserve” to make the sale? Ryan thinks it’s all about confidence, and he explains how using certain methods (like knowing your objections) can help you, so the next time you ask for the sale, you’ll know you’ve done your job right and it’s the next logical step.

“He Who Speaks the Least Earns the Most”

Ryan believes in prescription-based selling, that is, learn about the problem your customer needs solved so that you can prescribe the solution. To get there, he tells James, you should speak less and listen more. Ryan and James discuss the types of questions you should ask customers, and what answers you should listen for, in order to sell them the right product for their needs.

Finally, Ryan tells James about his books, which focus on teaching motivated individuals salespeople how to become a highly effective salesperson.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* How is selling a $12 car wash anything like selling a $1.2m home?

* What are the most common objections that customers have to any sales pitch?

* How to become a highly effective salesperson

* Simple methods for understanding objections and battling them

* How to eliminate some common objections, just by conversing naturally

* Why are many salespeople hesitant about asking for the sale?

* What is prescription-based selling?

* How to be empathetic to your customers

* What type of questions are the best to ask your customers?

Resources

* You can receive a copy of "Elevator to the Top" for FREE through his website, just pay shipping and handling

* Keep an eye on CloserCards.com soon, for the debut of Ryan’s new “Closer Cards” flashcard system

* Visit HardcoreCloser.com for all of Ryan’s contact info (including social media accounts) and everything he’s up to

Ryan's Books

* F*ck Your Excuses (2017)

* Elevator to the Top (2016)

*

Welcome to another edition of the Affiliate Buzz, where affiliate marketers have been coming to be inspired, informed and motivated to succeed since way back in 2003. Last week, James interviewed Roy Weissman, VP of Sales for SendPulse, about how his email marketing platform is driving open rates. This week, James welcomes Josh Martin to the show to talk about his proven methods that can help you transform your brand, whether it’s personal or corporate.

Josh Martin is the man behind JoshMartin.tv and the BrandPop! Academy. With both enterprises, he aims to help business owners define their Brand DNA, which he says is the foundation for all branding. Josh and James discuss why branding (personal branding in particular) is important, and how to get started. They also discuss how Josh’s BrandPop! Academy is helping business owners create their own branding, at affordable prices.

Personal Branding Hits the Bottom Line

As an affiliate marketer, is your brand strong enough that customers come back to you, rather than directly to a merchant? If you’re doing it right, they should! Business owners can’t underestimate the importance of having a brand that customers want to engage with. James and Josh discuss some of the common misconceptions that business owners have when creating their own brands, and why sharing your personality is key!

Josh himself fell victim early on to a pitfall that many businesses do: not showing enough of his personality. He explains to James how he watched his engagement drop off, and why doing everything the way everyone else does just isn’t an option for him anymore. They discuss how affiliate marketing today is different than 10 years ago, and why customers prefer doing business with a face.

It’s in the Brand DNA

Is your brand built on more than just your company’s colors? Is it obvious in every graphic and piece of marketing? If it isn’t, then you might need to work on your Brand DNA. Josh explains to James what Brand DNA is, and why it’s vital for business owners to define it well, BEFORE the branding process starts.

Josh also walks James through the three key parts of Brand DNA: the what, the why, and the audience. They talk about each in turn, some examples of what they are, and how Josh’s BrandPop! Academy can help you define them for your business, and ultimately transform your brand into something spectacular.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* Why affiliate marketers today shouldn’t be anonymous anymore

* The common misconceptions that business owners make about their brands

* Why your personality should shine through in your brand

* How to define what makes you unique

* The questions to ask when deciding why you’re in business

* Why it’s important to define your audience well

* How to make content creation easier just by defining your audience

* How the BrandPop! Academy brings DIY branding to everyone at a fair price

Resources

* To find out more about how a branding strategy could help YOUR business, just visit Josh Martin’s website

* Take your brand to the next level by joining Josh’s BrandPop! Academy

In this week's edition of the Affiliate Buzz, James Martell meets up with Roy Weissman, VP of Sales for SendPulse, to talk about how this email marketing platform is using new technology to drive open rates.

SendPulse is an email marketing service designed specifically with open rates in mind. They know that getting your list subscribers to open your emails is the difference between them just being a name and their being an asset. Roy explains to James three of the key features of SendPulse: state-of-the-art customization tools that help you either start building an email list, or nurture an existing one.

Email Marketing - Is the Money in the List?

How much are you spending to advertise? For every click you get, that click costs you money. But if you can retain those customers, you can continue to reach them for much less. Roy and James discuss the concepts of reach and frequency: if you reach enough of an audience with enough frequency, then they’ll buy. Paying per click for reach and frequency adds up quickly, but when you’re talking about email marketing subscribers on a list, the cost goes down to practically nothing.

Once you’ve got subscribers on a list, how do you get them to convert? It starts with driving the open rate: in order to convert, subscribers must open, then click, and then commit to buy. Roy explains to James why open rates are so important to SendPulse, and how their technology helps drive them.

Three BIG Features

Every day, over 200 billion emails are sent, but barely 20% of them ever get opened. How can you ensure that your marketing emails are in that 20%? The answer is customization. Customers who have used SendPulse software have seen an increase in open rates of over 44%. Roy explains to James three of the key features of SendPulse (affiliate link) that let you tailor your communications to exactly the right people in your list: resend, personalized sending, and triggered emails.

The SendPulse email marketing platform doesn’t just do e-mails though; they also handle web push notifications and SMS integration through the same interface – and for free if you’re an email customer. James and Roy discuss what these two systems are, how they’re different from emails or social media, and how they too can be customized using SendPulse.

Here’s What You’ll Hear

* Why an email list is less expensive and more efficient than pay-per-click

* Why reach and frequency are keys to conversion

* How SendPulse uses advanced customization to help focus email activity on the right parts of your list

* Why resending your emails is a quick win for open rates

* How personalized sending can ensure your subscribers always get emails at the right time for them

* Using triggered emails to target your subscribers interests

* How to get started with web push notifications

* Why you should consider SMS another communication channel for your list

* How to get started with a FREE SendPulse account

Resources

For more about SendPulse, and to take advantage of the special offers visit a link below:

* Set up a FREE account (up to 2,499 subscribers and 15k emails per month) with SendPulse (affiliate link)

* Get your first month FREE when you sign up to a paid account with SendPulse (affiliate link)