Image from wiki.ucfilespace.uc.edu

Online anything is always about exposure! The game comes down to how many eye balls you can get to view your content who are highly interested in your topic, and how fast. This is where the whole realm of blog content syndication plays a HUGE role in your strategy to gain followers, generate leads and promote products and or services for generating additional cash flow. Just incase you missed it, make sure to read the 8 Ways to Monetize Your Blog if you need help getting started.

So today, I wanted to quickly explain WHY you need to include blog content syndication into your content creation. Then I’ll be exposing 6 tools we can use to help us leverage our god given talents (writing, video, or total awesomeness) in the fastest, most powerful way possible… let’s start the syndicate.

But first, let’s take a closer look at the three forms of syndication that we’re going to be tapping into.

1. Broadcast syndication – where individual stations buy programs outside of the network system
2. Print syndication – where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
3. Web syndication – where web feeds make a portion of a web site available to other sites or individual subscribers

Thanks Wiki (I found it on the internet)!

WHY BLOG CONTENT SYNDICATION

As mentioned earlier, the web and content you publish is all about making sure the niche you’re serving can find you, and spread the word to others who might perceive it as valuable content. The problem is, there’s always a new website (media hub) thats popping up. So the natural question arises…

How do I know what to focus on first and where do I get started?

Fortunately, that’s what we’ll be breaking into in this article. But for now, let’s create an vision in your head that can better illustrate what we’re really attempting to do. As for foreshadowed the 8 Ways To Monetize article, we want to create a web that resembles something like a radio station. In essence, we’re going to create a ripple in the vast ocean of the web. All we have to do is choose how to make our first wave of influence.

But instead of using a stone to plop forth our wave into some rather stagnate waters, we’ll be using other peoples “stations” to help us spread the word. I mean how else are you or I supposed to reach people outside our small circle of influence. Simple answer, we ask others who have those “stations” to do it for us.

Right now, if you committed to being a part of all the social media channels and opportunities out there today, you’d quickly find yourself overwhelmed with creating profiles, networking with others (this takes a crap load of time YOU DONT HAVE) on the sites, tapping into the culture and more. Then all of the sudden you’ll realize that your simple mortality prevents you from being in all 10s of THOUSANDS of places all at once.

Fortunately, since I’ve attempted overcoming this nothing short of godly digital performance… I’ve been able to narrow down my vision down to a little more than a handful places to focus on for feedback and profitable syndication. Basically, what we’re going to do is focus on tools and software to help us launch our content into existence, then allow the viral nature of peer to peer syndication work in our favor via real influence (I scientifically devised those words to sound like I’m a badass. But I simply meant that we’d have others share the word for us, you can thank me later).

6 TOOLS FOR BLOG CONTENT SYNDICATION

TribePro – Started with a simple idea, this news aggregator site allows groups of “like minded  individuals” to syndicate others content by earning points by sharing others. What I really like about this simple to use platform, is that you can actually set the whole thing on autopilot. Simply allow the platform to pull from your RSS feed, and have those who follow you to push that content to their following.

Where this really startes to make a wave is when you realize that it works hand in hand with Onlywire, which as you are about to learn is a key tool used for social media syndication. Take this into account. Let’s assume you have 100 followers, and they all tweet the message you send to TribePro. Then let’s say out of those 100 followers, each one is responsible to send (on average) 10 people t your content. That would add up to 1,000 new eyeballs on your content.

And we’re only getting started!

OnlyWire – How would you like to tap into 49 of the worlds most used and influential social media sites all with a push of a button? Well, with Onlywire you can do this for every blog post, video release or press release you create.  The idea behind this is, create or connect all your social media accounts together to broadcast every time there’s new content without having to visit every site every time.

Simple, easy, less expensive than you’d expect, extremely affordable.

ArticleSamurai – Even when “article marketing” has got a bad rap over the past couple years with all the search engine (Google specifically) crackdowns, one thing still remains relevant in the world of SEO; pingbacks or backlinks. If you’ve been following all of the articles in this mini series, you’d know that there’s a simple method to the madness of creating content. All you have to do is create mini articles, use Article Samurai to syndication those support articles to your main site and BOOM, quality backlinks, more eyeballs and traffic organically.

Team that up with their SEO and article training inside the Dojo, and you’d have a SEO machine at your fingertips that could rival most SEO companies out there.

EmpireAvenue – Initially, EmpireAvenue was created (and is still today)  and used to measure the influence of brands on the internet. The idea is simple, have the user tap their most influential channel activity into one site to measure activity and value. Then allow the users of that site to buy, sell, and trade the stock represented by that brand to establish value. Then came dividends to pay to stock holders, buy goodies to improve your overall score and then finally to create missions and ask people to help you.

And that is what makes the AVE so important for syndication. Creating a mission is simple, only costs the time to set it up and the usage of the AVE digital currency you create with the buy and sell of stocks on the site and you’re in business.

Here’s what you do…

1. Create a mission
2. Ask people to travel to your link
3. Like / Share or comment

Essentially those who take you up on the mission and collect more digital currency to do the same, help to spread the ripple via their social networks. This helps in search engine indexing and rank quicker into search engines. So the question is… why are you not doing this yet?

TubeMogul – Always improving and reinventing itself, TubeMogul started out as a video syndication tool. This site allows you to upload a video and send it out to all the video sites (beyond YouTube). Just like it’s big brother Traffic Geyser (I call it the big brother), this would help to push video content into better search engine results.

But today, the Mogul is much more than that. It’s actually an entire media syndication site used to tap into more than just video, but mobile, advertisement and more. Now, there is a monthly cost to use this platform (as with most), but it should be one of your best options if syndication is going to be a long term focus for you.

TrafficGeyser – Started by Mike Koenigs (Mobile & Video Marketing Expert), this platform was designed to be the ultimate all in one tool for content syndication all over the web. There’s a really too much to explain all in great detail here, but if TubeMogul is the little brother, you can just imagine.

But before you get started on making any final decision, make sure to take Mike up on his offer for his 4 free gifts as you learn more about what Traffic Geyser has to offer.

Sure some of these methods might actually have some monthly continuity with them and might be just that little bit the makes the platform a little out of reach for the average consumer. However, that’s really no excuse either as all you’d have to do is skip on over to Fivver.com and have a specialist (a professional who already has access to those sites) and pay them 5 easy bucks to have them syndicate for you.

Overall, my whole goal over the past couple of months has been to help you get the best results in everything you do online (and there’s still more to come). But, if there’s one thing I can say to help you in everything you doing (online and offline) is to get what ever is in your head out in front of people.

Be it a big idea or small, important skill or life hack or event, get it out there. Think about it like this… if you’ve discovered something, know something, or have something locked in your head that can help people, get it on video, write it in text and publish it. That’s what I do and it works wonders.

If you’ve followed my simple steps into blogging and setting up your site, your content will get infront of the people who need it most. You owe it to yourself, to your audience and to future generations. Just think what a shame it would be if something were to happen and all your knowledge was lost.

It’s time to make you mark in human history, and with a blog you can create a ripple that can help people in the millions (or more) around the globe.

I’ve had a great pleasure in writing everything I know about blogging over the past couple of months. So if you could, give me some feed back on if there’s anything I missed or that you’d like me to cover.

Leave a comment below and please, if you think there’s someone in your network who you know might benefit from this content, share it with them as a well. And while you’re at it, pick up a copy of my Free Ebook to help you create a digital sales funnel to make sure the eyes you do attract can help you monetize your blog and make it all worth wile.

Well… that’s it for me on this topic for now. Till next week… happy blogging!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 8: 6 Methods of Blog Content Syndication appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Now that we’re into week 7, lets make sure we have our blog up to speed on making money for us, we call this process monetization in this weeks episode called 8 ways to monetize your blog.

But before we get started, there’s a few things I want to recap. Over the 6 prior weeks, we’ve talked about the importance and justification to building a blog. Partaking on such as task (as we’ve learned) requires a certain amount of commitment and dedication.

And that is why I rarely suggest  to get started with this particular method of online engagement unless they’re willing to put in the time, blood, sweat and tears that it requires to keep going, even when times get tough.

So before we begin, I wanted to share with you the three main reasons why we build these online media outlets. First off, it’s because of traffic. We want to have a certain amount of influence over those who learn about us, read our content and follow our progress through the following days, weeks, months and years.

Influence is the real key here!

The Second purpose is for the social engagement, and heres the thing. You don’t have to be an expert author, have a best selling book, be an expert in languages ,or even know much about writing at all. All you need is a simple format to share your knowledge (meaning: a consistant way of sharing your content in a format that works for you), an audience, and the key to it all is the social engagement that comes with it.

Think of your blog as a restaurant. The more people who frequent it, like, comment and share to their network, the bigger and better the chance you have at making a real impact to those whom you aim to serve with your knowledge (your niche). People like frequenting places that occupy a great deal of other people, like an event. Its the herding complex that we perceive to be safe and socially accepted.

Lastly, the third main reason is so you can build a network to broadcast you message. Building on the restaurant analogy, now we’re broadcasting to our followers and or biggest fans of our new “dish” (content you publish). Think about it, the most important thing for any radio station is the broadcast, how many affiliates pump out their show and how many people are listening.

The same can be said about blogs. First you build the content that generates the traffic of listeners. Then you give them a platform you respond and share with their network of friends and family, and lastly you make sure the ripples of your message go far an wide.

The benefit to all of this, sure it’s influence… and with influence comes money…. BIG MONEY!

Financial luminaries of our time have always known this. Thats why at the turn of the 20th century, the majority of all the mass media of the time was consolidated by the mega rich and are even controlled by them today (we’re talking about all the major news and publication companies of today).

It comes down to influence my friend, and money. The benefit to you is, both of these can come to you while you share your own opinion, rather than the “whore media” of today.

So in what ever time it takes you to read this posting, know that I’m going to be opening the doors to new ways of monetization than you might have ever thought of before (8 ways to monetize your blog to be exact).

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 1 – Advertising

Guess what? People are willing you pay companies like Google, Bing and many more to host their ads on your site. By simply creating an account with Google Adsense, you can start to show ads and make money from the traffic who visits your site and clicks the ads you’ve embedded.

Of course, the downside is that the viewer leaves you site in their endless search for entertainment (could be a good thing?).

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 2 - Sponsorship

Now this is more a private approach. Just like you would have with Google Adsense, you’d make some extra cash by placing someone else’s banners on blog posts or specific areas on your site (column, footer, header). This is often an agreement between you as the host and an individual party who wants to offer their product or service to your audience. So you work out a deal to charge them accordingly.

Now there are a few things to consider obviously for the person who pays you to place their sponsored advertisement such as content, viewership, CTR – Click Through Rate, and so on.

It would be a great idea to use Google Analytics to track the clicks throughs from those banners and an even better idea to use Pretty Link in conjunction with that as well (set the pretty link to mask the click, then measure the time, IP and more). That will assist you to justify the price you place on sponsorship ad placement.

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 3 - Affiliations

Another common way to generate additional cashflow is by placing banners of affiliate offers that relate to your niche or content that surrounds your blog. You most often see these on the right hand side column of most blogs in 125 x 125 shape boxes.

Use sites such as Click Bank, DigiResults, JVZoo, Zaxaa, Warrior Plus, and Amazon to find products and or services that can compliment your site.

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 4 - Books

Many people who get started online can easily transfer content over into actual books. But it gets even better than that. You can also create eBooks just as easily (I’ll be doing that very soon myself) to publish on a various number of websites. Use Amazon and their Self Publishing wing to get your book out there.

A more recent mega author Tim Ferris just did this with his new book the 4 Hour Chef (I picked up the book by the way and I’ll tell you that it is without a shout of a doubt the best life hack book out there today – Get It!).

But it doesn’t stop their either, you can also sell (as mentioned earlier) your eBooks digitally. Use iBooks Author for iPad or any other piece of software like Pages for Apple and Word for PC to write your book.

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 5 - Speaking

One thing you’ll start to notice, is that the more content you publish (blog or otherwise – books), the more others will perceive you as a credible expert. And more times than not, those who catch wind of your content will provide platforms for you to deliver it to their audience if they believe (event organizer) you’d add value to their program.

This in turn allows you to promote all kinds of content, blogs, videos, course and so on. Whooops, I kind of got ahead of myself on that one (courses are coming up). But the point is, you can actually create a simple page where people who are interested in you speaking at their event to either sign up to be contacted or even pay to schedule you (yes people pay people to speak at their events).

A good friend of mine is actually doing that right now! (I’ve been working with Calvin Witcher for years, this year he wants to launch his book, build his personal brand and image with a blog and also design a course to help educate; and guess who he has helping him?)

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 6 - Consulting

Different than speaking, consulting is just a form of coaching. But just like speaking, someone who perceives you as an expert will sometimes reach out to you in order to employ your services. It’s not hard to put together coaching packages for your audience and offer them on a regular basis.

I was recently at a conference for Network Marketers where the host offered a $50,000 package (two to be exact) to the audience. And in return, the host offered a complete product / business funnel to be created, and both order were filled (personally I was like WHAT? I could do that in a day… I often do).

Set up a page where your viewers can take you up an offer like that.

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 7 - Information Products

You’ve got a ton of knowledge up in your melon of yours, thats for sure. And one thing is for certain, you can’t do everything yourself and a great deal of people could benefit from learning what you have to share. The upside to that is… people will pay you to learn it.

With the ease and simplicity of online platforms today such as WordPress, you can literally sit down in one afternoon and create an entire  E-course, it’s not hard. Simply set up a WordPress product site (use Optimize Press or Profits Theme to do this), use software & video marketing techniques to capture your talent, finalize the pages and membership details and you’re in business (there’s a little more to it that that, but you get the gist).

How To Monetize Your Blog Method 8 - Membership Sites

The last and final way that I’d suggest you seriously consider monetizing your blog is by turning it into a membership site. This gives you a chance to create a small continuity program (a system that makes you money with subscribers every month like a cell phone plan, insurance and what not) and bring in cash every month.

A great example of this (and he shares this story all the damn time) is a world renown New York Times Best Selling Author Brendon Burchard did to generate his first “leave the work force” (AKA rat race) type of income.

All he had to do was create a simple page with some killer video content on it. Make sure the correct audience knows about it, viewed it, liked it, shared it and in the end of it… all he did was offer a way for people to subscribe to his monthly program. Then, every month those people would get a secret email with the new content, thats it!

Imagine… you make a short video once a month, I repeat… ONCE A MONTH, and people pay you money for your wisdom. A great WordPress plugin to help with this is WishListMember (affiliate link).

How To Monetize Your Blog Conclusion

I think I’ve left you with a HUGE amount of ideas and ways to help you to get started. The whole point here is to get started on one. Just choose one and get stared.

And while we’re here sharing this moment…

I wanted to also give you a few references that really helped to shape my viewpoints and ideas over the years. These two books, will help you to take what you’ve got suspended between your two ears and make some life changing income with it. But really, these two books deserve a whole review by myself (coming soon) because of how powerful their message really is.

Im confident, that if you were to make a move on these two resources, things in your life might not ever be the same.

• Book 1: The Millionaire Messenger – Brendon Burchard

This is a short read, but helps to engrain in your head that your life experiences and knowledge have value! People will pay you to help them shorten your learning curve and coach them through a process. This book will help spur you into a frenzy of ideas of what you can create to change your personal economy.

• Book 2: The One Minute Millionaire – Mark Victor Hansen & Robert Allen

Made for both right and left brain thinkers, this book takes you on a roller coaster story of a mother on the verge of losing her kids. On the left side of the book (as you flip through the pages) is all the analytical data and study to help you get the job done. On the right hand side of the book, you’ll find the story line that tells the story of a woman named Michelle and how she had to change in order to make her dreams a reality.

Oh what the heck, and while you’re at it… pick up a copy of my free ebook called the 5 Step Internet Blueprint that will help you to create an automated sales funnel for your product when finish creating it. Inside the book, I’ll walk you through the mindset and show you step by step how to create it and everything.

Just do me a favor and leave a comment below, share and like with your network.

Till next week (our final installment in the blogging arena for now) happy blogging!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 7: 8 Ways To Monetize Your Blog appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

OK, I’ve already covered all the necessary steps to getting started with a blog, now it’s time for to learn how to create blog content that rocks! But just incase, make sure you’ve already read and implemented the core information pages if you haven’t already.

Today I want to break down a thought process that will better to outline your direction and thought process so you can easily sit down and bust out some award winning content in no time. And to better help me illustrate this process, I’ll be referencing a wonderful tool called MindMeister (mind mapping software).

Lets begin!

Theming Your Content Based on Ideas You’re An Expert At Is The First Step In Creating Blog Content

When ever I sit down to preplan content and figure out what I want to write, I always develop an overall idea first (like blogging). What I’m really doing, is choosing a topic I know enough to write about and split it up into a list of main content ideas.

So for instance, let’s say that I want to write about Internet Marketing. The first thing I’d want to do is identify the areas I know most about and use those as a Topic Idea (see image above). I’ll make a list of all those particular ideas and that is what helps me to create a theme’d outline of content to cover. Simple right?

You’d be amazed at how lost most people are when they first start blogging (keep in mind, this is just the template I use, blogs can also be spontaneous and publish “now” – news related content).

Focus When You Create Blog Content On A List of Priority

This should really be self explanatory, but most people realize they’ve messed this up after they’ve already started. This is also why I believe in MindMapping before I get started. That way I have a clear and precise vision of what I’ll be creating.

As you can see in the image above, I’ll take my main content idea and start to bullet point it out. Don’t worry about messing up here, as you can reposition and add to your bullets should you need to. Think of this process like baking or preparing a dish. First you’ll need to grab some eggs, butter, and milk and so on.

Create Blog Content With Each Prioritized Bullet Point In Greater Detail

Its at this point where I would suggest you start to add meat to your content. You can learn more about how this fits into the whole spectrum by reading one of my previous posts called How To Write An Article. More times than not, I’ll jump into WordPress and start to outline the ideas and actually start to write about each particular point.

Do this a few times and follow the rules and guidelines to the How To Write An Article posting and within a short amount of time, you’ll have your article. Here’s a quick article hack I use to finish my posts as fast as possible.

1. Write Article – Follow the How To Write An Article Guide
2. SEO Article – Use SEO Plugins Identified HERE
3. Copywrite Article – Make it Readable For All Types of Readers
4. Add Images – Images That Illustrate My Points
5. Add Video – Video Tutorials If The Posting Requires One
6. Add Advertisements - Yes I Advertise, You Should Too! 

Sometime when I know I’ll be creating a video to support the article, I’ll actually do it backwards. I’ll first make the video and support the it with the content. The super ninja way to do it is to actually create a mind blowing video first and then just transcript it (two birds with one stone baby!).

Preplan The Release Date After You Create Blog Content

Once I’ve had the chance to give the article a once over, I’ll set the publish date. And this is very important for those are first starting out. Because now all of the sudden, you can take just a few days in the month, write a dozen or so articles about a particular topic and BOOM, you’ll have content for months (assuming you’d release one a week).

It is my suggestion that you plan to release content (at the start at least) once a week. Then upon setting the habit, then entertain the idea of possibly increasing the frequency of your posts. For this, I’d look more to the “themed days” of the week. You could do Marketing Mondays, Financial Fridays and End of The Week Saturday Posts (just a few ideas I’m also entertaining).

How To Create Blog Content Conclusion

Creating blog content isn’t hard at all – at last someone tells the truth! But it does require a bit of preplanning, writing and understanding before you do. And of course, there’s all the other things you can tie into it (like email marketing and using your autoresponder to send people to your post).

My advice, start with what you already know. If you’re done writing about that, then develop or learn a new skill and write about that. Heck, you don’t even have to know everything about a topic. You could attend a webinar or training seminar and take notes to develop a new idea (another article).

By now, I don’t think anyone has any more excuses! I bet I could take a 12 year old, teach him or her the basics and they’d have a field day talking about their favorite toys, movies, friends and so on. So my question to you is… where are you in your creating blog content for yourself?

If there’s something you believe I have left our or maybe just want to elaborate a little more on, feel free to leave me a  comment below. If you’re currently a blogger, make sure to let us know what your blog content hurdles have been and how you over came them.

And while you’re here, make sure to pick up my ebook called the 5 Step Internet Blueprint to learn more about setting a simple sales funnel so you can monetize your content. Basically, I give you FOR FREE a full sales funnel to make you money day and night while you fill your life with all the other things you’d rather be doing… I’ll leave those details up to you!

Till next week, happy blogging!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 6: How To Create Blog Content appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Image Taken From FTC PDF Found Below

So you’re telling me to start with core information pages before content? Yep! I run into this problem a whole lot when talking to new bloggers (or people who are looking at it for the first time). And I always say the same thing… start with creating your core information pages first.

Here’s what I mean…

Sure, you might have a whole list of articles, ideas and themes you want to follow, and most have a grand vision of what they want their content, followers (readers) see, hear and do. And most often, the same people will look at the BIG blogs for direction (Mashable, Huffington Post, Social Media Examiner) not knowing that all the topics and category selections that they often write about never really existed when the site first started.

But no matter what direction you might be when you start developing content (which by the way, make sure to read last weeks article – Content Research And Category Selection), you’ll first need to start with the core information pages that will allow you to function on the web without being “slapped”.

So, today I want to illustrate what will be needed for your first 5 pages every website needs in order to look 100% legit.

Screen Shot From SocialMediaExaminer.com

Core Information Page #1 -Your About Me Page Should Tell Your Viewer About Who You Are as a Person or Business

Let’s make this really simple. You need a page to inform the reader who you are as a person or as a business sure, but let’s make it a little more personable.

More than just images and a video (which both would be wonderful), lets make sure we tell the story. Let’s say for instance you’re a professional in your field (which I know you probably are), lets tell how you got there. Let’s show images of the success you’ve had, stories about the obstacles and most importantly where you are now.

Its also a great idea to make sure that you provide a way for the reader to segway to your next page in the line up, the Contact Me page.

But be for we move on, lets do a quick recap!

• Personal Story
• Pictures
• Video
• Call To Action to Contact Me Page

Screen Shot Taken From Mashable.com

Core Information Page #2 - Having A Contact Me Page Helps Your Viewer To Reach Out To You Personally

Showcasing that you are a real person is probably one of the best ways to build credibility online today. Even when I thought I should say that, I think we’ve all felt (at one time in our lives) when we were just a number. This ONE PAGE should help to clear up the clutter and give your readers a way to reach out to you rather than by comments on your blog posts.

I mean, just imagine if the person looking to contact you, want to ask you about a possible book deal, public speaking event and what not.

When you can provide a contact me page, make sure to tie in all your methods of reaching out to you (which ever seems appropriate – meaning dont use your home phone number).

Make sure to include these things on this page:

Social Networks:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Facebook Page
• YouTube Channel
• Pinterest

Contact Form Asking For:

• Name
• Number
• Email
• Interest

It’s important to make sure that this “list” or lead that you generate with your autoresponder (your contact me form) is not tied in with your other lists. Often, I’ll make sure this particular request is sent to my best email address to respond to ASAP, and you should do the same.

Screen Shot Taken From HuffintonPost.com

Core Information Page #3 - Displaying Legal Disclosures In The Footer Of Your Site Makes Your Eligible For Marketing

There are three primary pages needed to make sure you meet all the standards to market online and for internet privacy . This means, if you plan on using Google, Bing, and Facebook for ad placement, generate leads or make sales, then these three pages are required to keep you compliant.

These three pages are:

• Disclaimer
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

In most cases, you won’t have to pay a whole lot to develop these “legal” documents, but having these pages are a requirement by the FTC should you actually be using them in advertising.

Make sure to take a quick glance at the whole FTC report here.

Basically, let’s make sure every blog gets started on the right foot. Let’s make sure we’ve covered all our bases, can tell our story, invite others to contant us (not a standard opt in form), and be legally compliant. Make sure to create these core information pages prior to creating content.

If you want a simple template to follow for the legal papers, one of my blog themes called Profits Theme actually has these pages pre-made. By simply filling in the blanks, you can make all three of the pages in about 20 seconds. Make sure to check that theme out if you’re still looking for one.

Look, I know first hand that setting up a blog for the first time could be time consuming. And maybe in your instance, you’re only looking to create a capture page to generate leads (which by the way, WordPress blog can be used for this – Check Profits Theme again), you’ll still need at least the legal pages.

If you are in the need of a capture page, don’t know how to set one up or even an entire sales funnel, or just limited on time or budget, make sure to download my free ebook that comes complete with all of those called the 5 Step Interent Blueprint.

That’s it for me today, I bid you farewell this week and see you again next week for the next installment (clue: actually creating content)

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 5: Creating Core Information Pages appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

For the past few weeks, we’ve talked about SEO, Plugins, Theming, and Why Starting A Blog is a good idea, but today I really wanted to focus on establishing credibility by simply doing a little content research and making sure your categories are set appropriately  Now, the tricky part to this whole thing can be summarized simply by saying “You don’t have to know everything, just more about the subject than the person who’m you are teaching it to.” And that’s where we’ll start…

So for todays article, I want to help you first to establish credibility in your chosen niche by utilizing 4 different avenues for gathering information. Then, we’ll talk briefly about 2 simple tools to help you identify a direction in your keywords and lastly, I’ll show you how to set categories to make sure you get maximum exposure.

So… without further ado, lets begin!

To Establish Credibility, You First Must Do Content Research

Establishing niche credibility really isn’t all that tricky. As I look back and think about all the teachers I’ve had over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that in most cases, the person who was teaching me about a particular subject didn’t know everything there was to know about that particular subject. In most cases (which was true at the time), they just knew a little more about the topic than I did.

So, I’ve compiled a short liks of 4 methods you can use for your content research and a brief reason why you should do all of the above. But what it really comes down to is, these methods work ultimately because people are lazy. All you have to do is pick a few resources and you’ll know a great deal more than the majority of the people who make up that niche.

• Books – quickly do a search on Amazon to see what the top 5-10 sellers are. Pick a few of them up and make sure to set aside REAL TIME to read them all. Also, check your local magazine rack at your local grocery store.
• Websites – This isn’t hard either, simply go to Google and type in a keyword or phrase for your niche. Research the top 10 sites and make sure to cross reference the upstream and downstream (meaning where people come from and where they go) from Alexa.com.
• Forums – This is key because it is HERE that you will learn the “hidden” or “Secret” language of the niche. There’s a good chance these people will be up to date with books, movies, shows, magazines, topics and shows that can help to increase your knowledge base.
• Blogs – More times than not, there are already a few “credible” experts in your chosen niche. And there’s also a really good chance that these individuals (if they’re internet savvy), will have a blog that they publish their findings on. Make sure to follow these people so you can stay up to speed on topics that interest them and the niche.

Always remember that any niche has their particular callouts. This is where they have certain colors, patterns, words and phrases that help to identify where they are in the their niche. If you don’t learn about these intricate puzzle pieces, you’ll be exposed in no time.

Doing Content Research Will Also Help You To Identify Hidden Traffic Pockets

Obviously you’re looking for more eyeballs for your content, and that’s why doing your Keyword Research is key to any operation. Now, I’ve already covered a couple free keyword research tools in an earlier posting (How To Perform Market Research); Google Keyword Tool & WordPot. But today, I wanted to share two paid for resources that help me to identify some hidden pockets of traffic that I can normally tap into.

• Market Samurai - One of my most favorite tools to do keyword research with. Sure, it maybe a little older, but it still works just fine, plus it helps me to measure keyword competition and easily navigate around the 4 key components of niche research (you’ll learn about this after you pick up a copy in the dojo). Click Here to learn more…
• Long Tail Pro – This is a fairly new tool to me but it works might fine. I like to think of it as a mini Market Samurai but with a whole different list of possible keywords to develop content around. Learn more about it here.

Allow Your Content Research To Assit You In Setting Your Blog Categories

Once we’ve identified the most popular niche references (books, magazines, celebrities, blogs, websites), and we’ve successfully identified   content ideas, phrases and keywords to write about, now it’s time to help readers to navigate our site. This is where setting our categories by overall themed keyword phrases really pays off. Not only does it help you to identify where to place your article, but also helps the reader to stay focuses and navigate your site all that much better.

As an example, take a look at my navigation bar. Notice how some of the overall theming topics I write about all have their category name in my navigation. Sure, these might change from time to time (meaning the location and what text / phrases are in my nav bar), but the idea is the same and just as simple.

If you want people to spend more time on your site, keep them interested and engaged, make sure to help them navigate their way around your site using appropriate categories as overall themes for the topics you write about.

So my question to you is, how do you feel about all of this?

If you’re an experienced blogger, how did I do? Is there something you would have added? Feel free to leave a comment below and share or like this article on your favorite social media sites if you believe others could use this. And while you’re here, pick up a free copy of my ebook called the 5 Step Interent Blueprint and learn how to create a digital sales funnel in just minutes. Obviously if you’re creating content, you might want to have a sales funnel working for you 24 /7. Thats where that book comes in to help you out.

Till next week, happy blogging and talk sooN!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 4: Content Research And Category Selection appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Anger, frustration and sometimes completely confused are the terms I’d use to describe most people who attempt to start a WordPress blog. The problem… most people (who jump in with both feet) never learn the basics of telling the internet (or search engines) what their content is about. This causes problems for search engines to find good quality content (like what you’re making) to find those who desperately need it. Today I’m going to teach you the first steps that will help you to over come those issues, welcome to the wacky world of blog Search Engine Optimization Basics 101.

But before we begin (as usual I always have something I want to disclose fist), when you jump into the world of being an SEO, its important for you to understand that this is a long term strategy; all blogs are. In saying that, I want you to consider this a crash course of practical (use today) steps to get started. And should you ever get lost, make sure to use one of my favorite SEO help sites SEOMoz.org.

Now lets begin!

Setting Your Anchor Text Helps Search Engines To Identify A Direct Keyword Rich Path To Your Content

So let me ask you, do you know what anchor text is? Anchor text is the highlighted word that’s hyperlinked to another page or website. More times than not, it’s highlighted as the phrase the linked to website or page is optimized to rank best for. In other words, the person who sets the hyperlink is telling the search engines that “this” particular link is about “this” word or phrase.

Here’s an example. Over the past couple weeks I’ve been writing about the various steps in blogging (or at least in getting started with one). So incase you missed it, last weeks topic I wrote about my suggested Top WordPress Plugins. I’d suggest you read it incase you want to simplify the blogging process. It could seriously save you a great deal of time and frustration.

As you can see, the hyperlinked text sends readers (who click on it) to a page that is optimized for the target keyword “Top WordPress Plugins”.

Another great example is the first link found in this article that hyperlinks to SEOMoz.org.

Knowing how to set anchor text appropriately not only helps out the search engines to identify the content and where it sends people when it references it to other pages or sites, but it also helps the readers to navigate the web.

Having Your Images Keyword Optimized Is Another Great Way For Search Engines To Identify Your Content

Just like you would identify your written content to a particular keyword, so can you with images. This helps your images to rank rather easily and can help drive additional eye balls (web traffic) to your content.

Here’s what I mean…

When you decide to use an image in your post, make sure before you upload it to your server to make sure it’s labeled correctly. Here’s an example of an image taken from SEOMoz.org. Notice, in the image description… it clearly states “Learn-SEO-Roger_(Red)”. This means, when the image is being used, it can rank for terms such as “Learn SEO”, “Learn SEO Roger”, and even “Learn SEO Roger Red”.

What makes this work are the dashes in the name of the particular image (example: Learn-SEO-Roger). So, make sure your images are labeled correctly with a keyword rich name with dashes.

(By the way, the guys over at SEOMoz, know their stuff. The image used as the example was named by them… you should follow them on Facebook as well, Click Here.)

Setting Your Blog Pages With Permalinks Helps Create A More Direct Path To Your Content

This is probably one of the most important “getting started” tasks for all new bloggers. The reason being, this helps to identify your whole page or post with long tail keywords (long tale means a keyword phrase like white-tail-bunny instead of just bunny). Just like we’ve identified your images, we want do the same thing to your individual pages and or blog posts.

To save time, I’ve dug up a short video I made a couple years ago that will show you exactly how to do this (make sure to set your volume to low – I start out screaming – sorry!)

As you can see, these steps are fairly simple do complete. But just like when you buy a new red car, you start to see them all over the place, you’ll also start to realize that some people don’t even know these blog Search Engine Optimization basics.

Use this as a simple check list:

1. Set appropriate anchor text when hyperlinking
2. Make sure the images you use are identified with keywords and separated with dashes
3. Set your permalinks correctly for pages and posts on you blog

I hope you got a whole lot of value out of this posting. If you feel as if you want to add to the conversation, please feel free to leave me a comment below. Also, if you think this could help others in your network, use the social share buttons on this page to get the word out to your network (its appreciated).

Lastly, if you’re ready to move into setting up your digital sales funnel or maybe just want to learn how to use all this useful information to generate leads or make sales online, pick up my free ebook called 5 Step Internet Blueprint.

Till next week, happy blogging!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 3: Blog Search Engine Optimization Basics appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Last week, we talked about the importance of starting your blog off with the best theme to fit your goals and or personality. And incase you missed it, make sure to read about that HERE. But today, I wanted to take you a one step deeper (I’ve got a great deal more to share with you) into how to choose and install WordPress plugins. I’ll be exposing more than 10 of my favorite plugins I personally use.

Reason being, plugins can help to improve your overall WordPress blogs function ability and performance into your end goal. Weither it be to generate more leads (a larger subscription list) or even further engage with your readers, we’ll cover them all here today.

But before we jump in, let me just mention that some of the suggested plugins (while most are free) will cost some money. Depending on your theme, the tools built in, some of these might also not be needed.

However, over the past handful of years since I’ve been working with the WordPress platform, I’ve been able to identify many that benefit me and my goals perfectly.

Lets begin!

How To Install WordPress Plugins & How To Find Them

Aside from the standard and always installed Akismet (used to filter spam comments), I’d like to start off with free plugins to use. But before we get there, lets talk about how to search for and install plugins.

First, you’ll notice in your virtual back office inside of WordPress (called your dashboard), a tab labeled Plugins. Simply hover over it and select Add New.

That is where you can copy and paste one of the top WordPress plugins I name, locate and install it. Of course, you can always click the hyperlinked plugin name to visit their actual site as well.

12 Top WordPress Plugins That Are Free

1. !Share (FREE) – !Share replaces two other plugins that I’ve used in the past (digg digg, sharebar). Reason being, its simple to use, looks great and provides the same function as the others. This plugin allows the user to share, like and tweet my content from the start to the end of my blog post. If you’re reading this right now, you might see the floating part of the on the left hand side of the screen.
2. Google Analytics For WordPress (FREE) - I believe this particular plugin is critical in gathering information about your posts and the time spent on your site. It taps into your Google Analytics account and imports it straight into your WordPress platform. Just one of the many WordPress plugins I really do appreciate from Yoast.
3. Pretty Link Lite (FREE) - Pretty Link Lite is really a game changer from a few years ago. Not too long ago, if you were writing a blog and hyper linked to an affiliate product, you’d have to give it away in the hyperlinked text destination or use bit.ly to disguise it. Now, you can make short codes for your blog that look clean and do the same thing (example: dereckarreguin.com/aweber).
4. Related Posts (FREE) - Now this is a plugin solely ment to keep the eyes moving and time spent on your site growing. This plugin helps your readers to continue their search for pages deeper on your website. Use this plugin to help spread your knowledge along in multiple posts.
5. WordPress SEO (FREE) - This is another of the few plugins offered by WordPress Guru (thats what I’d call him) Yoast. What I really like about this plugin is the actual breakdown of my articles written. It also, helps me to make sure my on page SEO is set correctly (more on this in a later post).
6. WP Super Cache (FREE) - This plugin is critical for constant readers or visitors. Basically what this plugin does is help you to reduce the load time for your viewer. This words especially well if you use and abundance of images.
7. Thank Me Later (FREE) - One of my favorite plugins, this one allows me to send a special thank you message to those who leave me a comment. A few days later, you’ll get an email that thanks you for commenting and even suggests you take action on… (I guess you’ll have to leave a comment to find out).
8. Photo Dropper (FREE) - Many times when creating a blog post, I’ll scour the internet and even use Google Images to hunt down the perfect image without leaving WordPress. What this plugin does, is help you to do that from within the platform. Once again, allowing you to stay busy and cutting down time from the constant ADD we experience while online.
9. Audio Player (FREE) - Occasionally I like to post audio, and you might as well. This plugin allows you to pull audio files straight from your hosting account. This plugin is great for those who do pod casts and so on.
10. Duplicate Posts (FREE) - This particular plugin is a HUGE time saver for me. I mainly use this plugin to duplicate capture pages, sales pages and so on with just a click of a button. Because my particular theme requires me create all these custom settings for my layouts, I can seriously cut down on my design time if I’ve already created a particular template. This also pays off if you need to test multiple capture pages.
11. N Relate Flyout (FREE) - Just like a previous suggestion, this plugin pops out of the right hand side of your screen to suggest other articles. This plugin has the Mashable feel to it, as you’ll also experience the same style of suggestible content plugins on that site as well.
12. ViperBar (FREE) - If you’re one of those kinds of people who wants to maximize all real-estate on your blog, you might want to consider this free plugin to help you build your subscriber list. This plugin will create a small opt in form at the top of your blog and can even be color customized.

9 Additional Top WordPress Plugins For Advanced Marketers

1. Wish List Member (COST) – This is a membership management plugin. If you are looking into creating a digital product site, have paid for subscriptions or just want to start a private members only area on your blog, this plugin is for you. I use this software on a many of my sites and I’ll say this, once you get over the learning curve and the intricate details, the plugin is by far one of my most powerful tools.
2. WP4FB (COST) - This is a great plugin if you intend to use the power of social media and Facebook. This plugin allows you to make customized capture pages, like or fan gates, contests giveaways, share gates and more and import that page into Facebook as a custom tab. The great thing about this plugin besides its sole purpose, is that now there’s no more monthly costs in doing this (some companies require monthly fees to do this). All you need is a SS certificate from your hosting company and you’re set!
3. Pop Up Domination (COST) - At one time, this was one of my favorite list building plugins. Even while I still use this, it’s not what I would say the very best for its function. But I wanted to share it, because its a less expensive option than the other list building plugin suggestions  that follow this one. This plugin allows testing, custom made light boxes and integrates with your autoresponder.
4. Hybrid Connect (COST) - Better than (in my opinion) most plugins that do the same, what hybrid connect helps to do is tie in what most plugins claim to do all in one. You can use this plugin to create custom opt in forms in your posts, pages, light boxes, and in your blog column. However, this might be one the more expensive side of list building tools out there today.
5. Magic Action Box (COST) - If there was a middle ground between Pop Up Domination and Hybrid Connect, this would be it. While the other two help you to build a list, this one particular plugin has the advantage with price. I’m not sure of the ease and simplicity, but I’m sure it can’t be any more difficult to set up and run that the other alternatives.
6. PT Instant (COST) - This plugin is great for those who want to make sharp, eye catching and stimulating capture pages that screen professionalism. While the theme I use (Profits Theme) actually has the majority of this plugins tools to create the style and pages I desire, this plugin really shines when used with almost any other WordPress blog theme. You can literally make custom capture pages in 2 minutes or less with this baby!
7. Manage WP (COST) - Sometimes we (as internet marketers) use multiple sites, run multiple blogs or use many different WordPress sites to sell products and what not. What this plugin helps to do is manage all of your WordPress sites (duh right?). What I believe is the best feature about using this plugin is the mass update feature. However, you have to log into the ManageWp site to do so (and its even free for a limited number of synced sites).

Even when I’ve listed a great deal of what I would say would be the top WordPress plugins for you to consider. However, I won’t say that these are the best out there. In fact, I wanted to invite you to post a link, leave a comment or suggesting in the comment section below. Especially if you’re a blogger, run a site or have used any of these plugins before.

As always, I plan on updating this post from time to time with other suggestions, but till then… this is the best of what I got.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this weeks content marketing piece. Also, if there’s something you’d like me to go into further detail, also feel free to leave that in the comments section below as well.

And make sure to download my Free eBook called the 5 Step Internet Blueprint if you are looking to create a sales funnel or are just getting stated online and need to generate leads. That book will better position the mind set, skills and tools needed to be successful online.

Till next week… happy blogging!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 2: 10+ Top WordPress Plugins You Should Consider Using appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Today I want to share what some might consider to be one of the most important steps to starting a WordPress blog, choosing the appropriate wordpress theme.

With you at my side, lets take a casual walk down a few theme points such as flexibility, customization, your long term goals, what others are using around the internet, and lastly my top 3 company picks (if you’re a blogging noobie) to choose from.

So, if you’re ready with your waders high and tight, lets jump into the thick of it and maybe we can come out squeaky clean at the end?

Choosing A WordPress Theme Based on Flexibility

One of the greatest benefits of starting a wordpress blog, is the simplicity of the layout and back office functions that the platform provides. However (just like anything simple), we tend to complicate the subject way too much!

So, one thing I want to make very clear, when you are looking for a theme to use, know what the theme can and can’t do. Also, its equally important to know what you can customize to fit your specific theming needs.

In other words, if you’re a professional like maybe a realtor, network marketer, or maybe a niche expert, you’d need a theme fit more towards you personally. This would include images of you, testimonials and so on. Where as, a news type website would focus less on actual appearances as much as content related material.

So, when choosing your theme, make sure it will fit the customized needs you desire without taking too much time with photoshop or various other skill sets that will set you back on time and money.

Choosing A WordPress Theme Based on Long Term Goals

Sometimes its a smart idea to choose a platform that will allow you the flexibility to engage on some level of commerce. Maybe the long term goal for your site is to offer a digital training course, or sell an eBook, or maybe even sell physical products as well.

What ever your focus or end goal is, make sure that the theme you choose can fit the mold and layout requirements.

For instance, this blog has been set up to provide content sure, but also to generate leads, sell products (both my own and affiliate products), and above all… create entire funnels to better educate those who travel to the site.

Mystery Revealed: WordPress Themes The Experts Use

One of my new found favorite authors and experts is a gentleman named Brendon Burchard. He’s a multiple New York Times best selling author, motivational speaker, and digital / physical product creator who hangs out with the likes of Tony Robbins.

But what I like most about the theme he often uses, is how simple it is. The theme of choice for Brendon Burchard’s chosen membership theme is from Azthetiks called Simple Platform.

I myself use a membership theme that I originally purchased from sales funnels called Profits Theme. However a great alternative and possibly more if not equally popular to use is Optimize Press.

Then lastly, Derek Halpern (who I talked about last week) uses a DIY theme called Thesis. What I love the best about Thesis is the flexibility and simplicity. Plus, when it comes down to customizing your blog or website, theres a plethora of plugins you can use (we’ll over those next week) that can really pull your overall theme together.

My Top Three Recommended Theme Companies

Sure there are specific needs and themes for every WordPress user out there, but these three companies I believe are going to give you the best bang for you buck.

• Woo Themes – Simple to use, customize and look and feel great! One of my first themes used on this site was a Woo Theme (BusyBee). I’d recommend this theme company to anyone just getting started.
• Studio Press – Some of my more favorite news sites and custom layouts come from this theme company. They have a unique sharp but simple and smooth feel to almost all of their themes. Make sure to take a closer look at them if you’re into information or news on your site (check out Eleven40).
• DIY Themes – One of the most popular and widely mentioned themes is the Thesis 2.0. Regarded one of the best themes to customize in overall look and feel. If I didn’t already have the theme I’m currently using, I’d have this one for sure!

I know and understand how starting a WordPress Blog & choosing a WordPress theme can be time consuming. But its important to make sure the overall theme and feel you’re going for comes across as clear as possible. If you only get one first impression, make sure its one that will speak highly of you and the suggested themes will do the trick.

Overall, I think at this point you have enough information to choose wisely. Just do me a favor and leave a comment below to tell me what theme you either chose, or use and tell us why.

I’m always open to looking at other themes (in case I ever want to change mine).

And as always, if you’re more into setting of a sales funnel or just capture leads and not need a whole blog or website, then make sure to pick up a copy of the 5 Step Internet Blueprint. There, I’ll show you how the best in the world are generating leads, converting them into new customers and the mindset needed in this new digital world.

P.S. This weekly broadcast is being moved to mondays from fridays. Reason being, we’ve got a whole lot more in useful content planned for you!

Take care, and talk soon!

The post Starting A WordPress Blog Step 1: Choosing A WordPress Theme appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Picture from the DailyMail.co.uk – Interestingly enough, the article is about the free blogger regulation crack down (we talk about this in the article).

If you’re like most people, you almost can’t escape the word blog, especially if you are a small business owner. In fact… it was kind of funny, the other morning (I rarely ever do this) I over heard these new broadcasters doing a small report about the importance of a blog in todays world.

But then it dawned on me… what do these teleprompter reading parroting somebody’s who almost nothing about anything, doing telling people to start a blog?

Hear me out…

Ever since I’ve started blogging online (years ago now) I’ve heard “start a blog”. I’ve seen companies suck people into the loop and tell them to pump out content every day. Then… without missing a beat, they fall into the “I don’t know what to write” content loop.

So before I go any further, I just want to make it very clear that yes blogging is extremely useful and has many benefits, however the road is long, its bumpy as hell and more times than not, the sun is gonna crack you weathered back as you truck along.

And that’s why I’m glad you’re here, because like it or not… I’m going to tell you the harsh realities of what you’re about to face, why it’s worth trucking the miles and what’s waiting you at the end of the road. Then… before I let you go, I’ll be sharing with you the company I’d always recommend working with you host your content forever!

LESSON 1: How To Start A Blog & The Myth of Free Platforms

First, let me just tell all of you wordpress.com, tumbler, blogger and other “free” blogging service users a simple truth. Just like with anything free, there’s a whole list of rules, legal compliances and so on you have to agree to. Where this becomes an issue, is when your expression (in video, word, pictures or otherwise) starts to offend people.

Now, I’m not a conformist and I don’t allow others opinions to shape my view or opinions. I’m not a politician and I sure as hell don’t appreciate anyone telling me what to do. So the thought of someone being able to claim my words, content and material as “theirs” and or even shutting me down because I don’t happen to fit their perfect little mold, is completely out of the question.

Here’s the thing, if you use any of those free blogging services, thats exactly what you’re doing. With a simple compliance issue, you could lose months or even years worth of content. Sure there are other ways, like not backing up your blog (I recently lost years of content – my fault), but you should never subject your words, feelings and or expressions to others opinions and then hold it against you.

This is why I always suggest you find yourself a credible hosting company. One that preferably has wordpress (or other flexible blogging platform) ready for you to install and use. You see, the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, is one is a free service, while the other is a resource for those who host their one blog on their own server.

Also, you want to make sure that your hosting company is credible on a global scale. Meaning it doesn’t have restrictions to other nations (Host Gator is one who does – last time I checked).

Your hosting company needs to allow you to create unlimited Sub-Domains (tech term for allow you to have another domain than just www.YourSite.com, but also www.SiteB.YourSite.com), unlimited band width and 24 hour tech support.

At the end of this posting, I’ll reveal to you the one company I suggest and that I’ve used since the beginning and why I would always recommend using them.

LESSON 2: The Upside To Starting A Blog

So you want to know some of the best reasons to start a blog? Well, here’s the whole thing in a nut shell… It allows you to express your thoughts, opinions and view points to a captive audience. More over, it’s a broadcast tool, not always with a clear direction. It allows others to find you, learn more about you, your products, services and establish credibility.

From www.SocialTriggers.com

Also, a blog offers a whole documented and time stamped archive system that can last for years (and now decades).

Probably one of the most beneficial uses of a blog is the marketing aspect that usually comes along with it. We’ll be discussing more on this topic in the coming weeks, but also feel free to use one of my favorite sources Social Triggers (another guy named Derek and just as cool).

Here’s the short list of Pros that come with Blogging.

• Generate Leads / Subscribers
• Viral Sharing Capabilities
• Perceived as an Expert
• Grow a Larger Following
• Shine as Yourself
• Rank Well Online
• Easy To Build / Modify

The truth is, there’s probably a few more pros to blogging than what I mentioned. But I’m already in 800 words at this point and I have other content to cover. The upside to this whole thing is, I have more to write about and you’ll have more to read about in the next few weeks.

LESSON 3: The Downside To Starting A Blog

So let’s quickly discuss the downside to blogging. Not only does it take a whole lot of time to learn how the platform works, but you’ll also need to have an audience and speak to them frequently. This requires creating content and making sure that audience has a chance to see, read and learn from it.

You’ll have to develop a few new skills like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Keyword Identification, Copywriting, and channels of Syndication.

Not to mention all the other small things like theming, branding, email marketing, video creation, how to write an article, niche research, legal pages / documents, permalinks, plugins, and so on. Basically, this is just another instance in where you’ll need to once again wear multiple hats as you look to provide content for others to use.

In other words, blogging takes a whole lot of time to learn and even more time to make perfect.

So, are you ready to get stated now?

Well if you’re not scared off yet, then might I suggest you start with aligning yourself up with a hosting company that has your best interest in mind. Not only do I use them, but other legendary online marketers do as well (Frank Kern and such).

The main reason why I suggest this company over all the others is simply because of the customer service. Even with my limited knowledge of coding, customization and so on, I’m more than pleased at how fast my questions are answered and my problems fixed when ever I run into problems.

That’s why I always suggest using Bluehost. When it comes down to hosting, it might cost you a hundred dollars a year. But with Bluehost, not only will you get the best customer service (I’ve ever had with a hosting company), but you’ll get a free domain (saves about $10-$12 bucks) and the confidence knowing that you have 100% control over your content.

Next week, I plan on going over some beginner steps on theme companies, plugins and more to help you get started. If there’s anything else I can answer for you or maybe get started on answering for you (if you have any questions or concerns), please feel free to leave me a comment below.

As for this blog post, it’s now time to end it here. And in closing… make sure to share this on Facebook or like it, Google + and so on. Also, pick up a Free Copy of my Free eBook that’s also a mini course on how to create an automated sales funnel online. I call it the 5 Step Internet Blueprint and not only does it give you the tools to make one for free, but also helps to better transfer your business online in record breaking time.

Till next week… happy blogging!

The post Pros and Cons To Starting A Blog: Why Every Business Needs One appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.

Online mentorship can be challenging. It seems that almost every day I see a new message in my inbox. Promotion for this, are you open to any other opportunity that, the most incredible secret super launch of the next billion dollar giant and I have a ground floor opportunity… blah!

Listen, if you’re a Network Marketer, know that you business (or any business for that matter), has to be built upon trust and knowing who it is that you’re doing business with.

These rules are paramount, but not just a rule either… almost a law. One of my favorite books on this subject (I realized this more recently), is a well know book called “How To Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnige. For some odd reason, it actually took me a great number of years to actually pick this book up and read it. But, as I’ve now started to jump in, I can quickly tell you, that was a paramount mistake!

In the next little bit, I’ll be walking you through one of those typical conversations, where someone prospects you without even knowing you (this just happened to me). So naturally  I’ll be following up Then I’ll be showing how not to offend your prospects and even strengthen your relationship with them via your email marketing list.

And as always when mentioning an autoresponder or even email marketing… we’ll be using Aweber for screen shots to better illustrate the process.

Online Mentorship Begins With Caring

First thing is first, I wanted to share this conversation I had with a gentleman who I don’t know personally. For the sake of this persons privacy, I’ve deleted his name.

NOTE: If you know this person, please keep your thoughts and expressions to yourself. This is conversation in which the end I offered a way for him to better himself. It’s up to him to make the changes necessary.

Here is our conversation…

As you can see, our conversation was very short. But the reason I wanted to share this with you today, is because this is NOT how to build a relationship. This is as plain as day as a way to pitch an opportunity or product that may or may not be wanted, desired and or EVEN requested.

If you want upstanding and long lasting relationships with other professionals, this is not how to start it, or even recruit for your business.

Online Mentorship Can Be Set On Autopilot With Automated Follow Ups

Now, I know that making the transfer from a conversation to email marketing may sound like two trains on separate tracks, but really both situations deal with human interaction and staying relevant to the topic at hand.

Here’s what I mean…

When someone signs up on your list, there’s a good chance that these people are going to want to know about you to some extent. Sure, you’re not likely to invite them over for a weekend BBQ, but there is a good chance that you’ll run into them online (or even in real life – this has happend to me).

So a great way to stay in the loop, provide great quality content and even in the eye of your prospect, its a good idea to create what is sometimes known as a DRIP. This is where (and I know some of you might have a dirty mind) you pre plan emails to be sent out by your auto responder, providing content in the form of follow ups.

Normally, these can be links, videos, articles and so on to other content you’ve already created. In fact, this one particular article is loaded into a follow up sequence inside my 5 Step Internet Blueprint subscribers.

Online Mentorship Can Be Increase With Recent & Up To Date Email Broadcasts

Another great way to connect with your audience is to send Email broadcasts. Think of these as more recent updates. These you would send out where theres a major announcement, a new blog post or video and so on.

These are great because now you can inform your list and keep them up to date in real time. The real advantage is, your list will think that you’re not ignoring them, but are staying relevant and up to date.

Segment Your List By Interest Can Be A Powerful Way In Influencing Your List With Online Mentorship

The last and final way to help to connect with your list is to keep them on the same page. This is where typically, I’d suggest you allow your list to decide what kind of content they want or desire.

The best way to do this is to segment your list. This means, you give them another avenue or offer while setting rules inside your autoresponder, telling it to subtract them from one list while subscribing to another.

This also works really well when creating a “buyers” list. This means that when someone purchases one of your products, you add them to a specific list. Normally these people know, trust and like you enough to take you up on other product or promotional offers. This kind of list segmentation is highly desired for mega product launches.

So thats it, now I feel comfortable in knowing that you have a better understanding of what NOT to do while building up a relationship with ANYONE. But more over, now I know you understand the basic concept of providing value and keeping relevant and up to date with follow ups, email broadcasts and list segmentation.

Just don’t forget to set your autoresponder rules along the way.

If you want to see the kind of DRIP content I have in stall for my 5 Step Internet Blueprint subscribers, feel free to sign up (its FREE). Not only will you learn how to build an online funnel, but one is actually given to you. Plus, theres a free mini course and full eBook report as well.

If you’ve enjoyed this little tid bit of relationship building advice for network marketers, make sure to like, share and or leave a comment below, its greatly appreciated.

The post Online Mentorship: How To Build A Relationship With Email appeared first on DereckArreguin.com | Free Network Marketing Training.