WHAT IS CLICKBANK

Founded in 1998, ClickBank is a secure online retail outlet for more than 50,000 digital products and 100,000 active affiliate marketers.

ClickBank makes a sale somewhere in the world every three seconds, safely processing more than 35,000 digital transactions a day. We serve more than 200 countries, and are consistently ranked as one of the most highly-trafficked sites on the web.

ClickBank is privately held with offices in Broomfield, Colorado and Boise, Idaho. Click Sales Inc. is a subsidiary of Keynetics Inc. All products and services offered by Keynetics or its subsidiaries are subject to the Clickbank Legalnotice

eCOMMERCE SUCCESSE

A lot of companies talk about creating great customer experiences, but why is that so few of them actually do? From a customer's perspective, it really does make all the difference. An above and beyond experience is preferred, but even a little bit of courtesy goes a long way.

According to Jason Ross, the founder of the contemporary men's fashion SITE JACKTHREADS creating a positive customer experience is very important. However, he admits that it is challenging because customers can take so much into their own hands today with researching products and comparing prices. For this reason, Ross believes that retailers really need to step up their own efforts in order to make an impression on customers.

"When you get somebody to come in the door, you need to make sure that you have an extremely solid customer experience from front to back," said Ross.

He went on to say that customers need to be able to find products quickly. On the retailer's side, they need to have strong customer service and return policies to further enhance the customer's experience.

Ross's story is interesting since he started with a dream and an idea that he turned into reality. He grew his business organically, and after 2 years, was acquired by Thrillist a popular lifestyle website and newsletter geared toward professional men. He said this move is one of the best moves for the company.

As he explained, a strong customer service program has been a key factor for JackThreads both before and after the acquisition. Ross did point out that creating this positive experience is especially challenging for smaller retailers, such as with JackThreads, since companies like Amazon and Zappos are known for their high customer service. Even though these ecommerce giants set the bar high for the little guys, the smaller players also have an opportunity to jump in and provide a more personal touch with customers.

One way that JackThreads tries to do this is through its social media efforts. Ross told us that social media has proved to be an extremely powerful way to gather feedback from customers.

"It's an easy way to have an open dialogue and a place where they're spending time outside of our site," he said.

According to him, the customer experience should always be improving. His advice to other businesses is to find companies that have very solid customer service programs and emulate them.

How are you treating your customers?

ADSESNSE ADS

Google announced that it has updated all text AdSense ads to allow for the title color of ads to be changed when the user moves their mouse over a link.

The company says after a period of testing, it found that this actually results in higher earnings for publishers, while also “increasing user and advertising value.”

“As you can imagine, there are numerous combinations of link and background color across the ad units on all publisher pages says Stephen Yuan with Google’s AdSense engineering team. “After extensive testing, we have found that the color of the change itself can make a big difference: the wrong shade can even be detrimental to clickthrough rate (CTR). To determine the color that the title link will change to when a user places their mouse cursor over it, we’ll take your chosen title color and find a nearly complementary color on the color wheel. For example, a blue title would change to red. These colors outperformed all the others we tested.”

“We’ll continue to keep studying the effects of color on CTR and ad performance to bring you more enhancements in the future,” adds Yuan.

PPC

Pay per click advertising is intimidating to some. They do not completely understand what PPC is and they fail to see the benefits of using something like this for their own business. Pay for click is a great way to grow a business online and to increase the return on investment. PPC is simple, once you really get an understanding for how it works. If you are new to the scene and you are trying to figure out the ins and outs of running an online business, you need to do a lot of research. You might want to work with an expert who is willing to show you the ropes and guide you through the process of setting up successful sites and turning your basic ideas into ideas that generate money. At the very least, you need to do a tremendous amount of research in order to find success in the Internet marketing world.

PPC is an advertising method that lets you put your advertisments in text on a search engine page. Think of one of the popular search engines and what you see when you type in a search term. Several results pop up, both in the center of the screen and off to the side. Some are sponsored results, meaning you are paying for them to be there and others happen naturally based on how well you have built your site. PPC usually appears on the natural list, sometimes called the organic results, and you only pay when people choose your entry.

Using PPC allows you to target a specific geographical area. If you find that customers are more interested in your product from a different part of the world, PPC allows you to focus on that country or region. You do not need to set up a shop in a certain country to achieve results. You simply select a given country as your target and those people are going to be driven to your site. If you think your product or service is better suited for a particular region of the world, this is going to save you money because you can set your focus on one place.

PPC gives you control over the cost of your campaign. You decide what you want to pay for each visitor that follows the ink. This enables you to outbid those who might want to use similar search result terms and get more attention and more visitors than you. However, if you want to keep your costs reasonable, you can avoid the expensive terms and stick with the amount you want to pay.

The best part about PPC is that you get fast results. Visitors come to your site and you have little to worry about in regard to building an optimized site to get higher rankings. It can take weeks or longer to build a site that is capable of producing the results of PPC as quickly. Once you set up your PPC campaign, you are set to go and you will see visitors increase.

BRAND BUILDING

Lead generation for any business is expensive. Brand building even more so.

But when it comes to a choice between building a brand or getting more leads, always opt for leads, because they, in turn, will help you build your brand. How exactly?

By developing your reputation as “the go-to” place or person that consistently delivers excellence to new and repeat customers.

That way, you can build your brand on the experiences your customers have with your company based on their own perceptions.


An emotionally satisfying customer experience can be powerful, especially these days when service expectations are so low.

Nothing is more valuable to your business than a great impression that lasts beyond a single purchase or transaction. Remember that today’s exceptional service means customer loyalty and repeat business over time, and better yet, great word-of-mouth for your company.

The key, of course, is being able to deliver what you say you’ll deliver, when you say you’ll deliver it, whether it’s your product, service or some kind of positive result.

TRAFFIC TOOL

Is it possible that today's internet marketers are missing one of the best, most powerful marketing methods available to them today.

Something that is lying right under their noses and still they have overlooked it.

Something that is free, yes I said it, "free", and they have missed the opportunity to seize it and use it to it's fullest.

There are many methods of promotion available on the internet and off line too. For several years I have tried just about everything, but there is one that I have not utilized fully. Along with others, I had underestimated the value and power of a press release.

Many netrepreneurs are not using the best promotion tool available, according to one expert in the field. Angie Dixon, the Press Release Diva, advises that press releases are the best marketing tool most people aren't using.

A well-written press release, distributed by the several high-quality free press release distribution services on the Net, can bring a wave of traffic, says Dixon.

"I recently ran a press release through a free service. The release was picked up by Google Alerts. I got a subscriber every 87 minutes for 24 hours. I couldn't buy that kind of result," Dixon says.

Yet most netrepreneurs aren't using press releases at all, or aren't using them correctly. This is all about to change.

Dixon gives two reasons for this. Many people, she explains, aren't aware that press releases can be such a powerful marketing tool. Others know about press releases but do not know how to write an effective release.

Angie Dixon, the Press Release Diva, offers an interactive online course in press release writing. You will discover all of the necessary skills and tools to develop,distribute and track your press releases.

The additional traffic you will receive from the press releases will be welcome and best of all it is free.

DRIVERS LICENCE

To become a driving instructor you’ll need to contact the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and apply to become registered as a Potential Driving Instructor (PDI). Once you’ve done that you’ll need to take three parts of a qualifying exam, if you pass you’ll become an Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) and can they either start looking for some driving instructor jobs or better yet start your own business as a driving instructor.

Becoming a qualified driving instructor is just the first step though. Having qualified you’ll need acquire a suitable car for instructing in and arrange suitable insurance for both the car and you as a driving instructor. If you need more guidance on these topics you’ll find them covered in a number of driving instructor training courses.

Next find yourself a car. Think carefully about what car you get, there are a number of reasons for this:

* It’s your place of work, you’re going to spend most of your day sat in it – make sure you like it and are comfortable in the passenger seat.
* Your car is going to be one of the most important parts of your marketing, some people will be put off by a car that is too flashy, too girlie or too big. You’ll also benefit from a car in a colour and style that will be easy for sign-writers to brand for you.
* Your car is also going to be your main cost, whether you purchases it outright or lease it the more expense the car the higher your costs. Equally you’re going to be using a lot of petrol/diesel so the more efficient the car and the cheaper it is to service the lower your running costs are going to be.

Marketing yourself as a driving instructor

Once you’re qualified and whilst you’re waiting for your car to be ready (you’ll probably have to buy a new car and have it converted to dual-controls) it’s time to begin marketing your new driving instruction business.

Firstly get some branding lined up for your car, keep the message simple i.e. name and phone number (and L plates etc as required by law). Make sure they are big enough to be seen from a distance.

Once you’ve done that make a start on the following list of marketing ideas:

* Get some business cards made up to hand out / leave in strategic places.
* Make some referral cards for students to give out to their friends – perhaps offer a free lesson for every friend they introduce.
* Get a simple website made and get it listed on Google Local and be sure to SEO it for local driving instructor related keywords.
* Ask for referrals from other businesses, friends and family.

COLLEGE FINANCIAL AID

Whether you're enrolling in college for the first time or returning to school after a period of time off, you should apply for federal student aid.

Federal student aid from the U.S. Department of Education is the largest source of aid in America, providing over $150 billion in grants, work-study, and federal loans for students attending four-year colleges or universities, community colleges, and career schools. On this page, we discuss who gets aid, the types of aid available, how to apply, and more!

Student Aid Eligibility

Eligibility for most federal student aid is based on financial need and on several other factors.

The most basic eligibility requirements to receive federal student aid are that you must

* be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen,
* have a valid Social Security number,
* register (if you haven't already) with the Selective Service, if you're a male between the ages of 18 and 25,
* maintain satisfactory academic progress in college or career school, and
* show you're qualified to obtain a postsecondary education by
o having a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) certificate;
o passing an approved ability-to-benefit test (if you don't have a diploma or GED certificate, a school can administer a test to determine whether you can benefit from the education offered at that school);
o completing six credit hours or equivalent course work toward a degree or certificate;
o meeting other federally approved standards your state establishes; or
o completing a high school education in a homeschool setting approved under state law.

GOOGLE

Google base, Google merchant center, Google product search, Froogle if you’re old school, whatever you call it, the concept is very simple, you want to sell products and people want to buy them. Google is the catalyst for most things these days and shopping is no different. In order for people to buy your products from Google Shopping, you need to do everything in your power to ensure the feed you submit to Google is at its optimum best. In doing this, all you have you is rely on the powers at be making the right decisions and ranking you high against your competitors. The bargain hunters get the best deals and you increase your visibility and online conversion rates. Sounds simple doesn’t it? IT IS. Providing you follow the guidelines (which can be found through the Google Merchant help centre) and regularly update your feed, your only worry should stock control. There are a few tweaks and tips you may want to consider when producing your feed, as noted below:

Optimise Product Titles

As with organic search engine optimization techniques your product titles in Google Shopping are vital. Titles can be up to a maximum of 70 characters. Make the best use of every single character. If your titles fall short of the character range, always try and find ways of appending your title to include additional attributes.

Always undertake research as to what may be influencing existing Google Shopping rankings, in respect of titles, before submitting your product. As a guideline, take a look at the top three ranking competitors and look for similarities between competitor product titles and the title listed in Google shopping. Try to match your title with that of high ranking competitors, but look for areas of opportunity to include terms or words that your competitors may not be using. If you’re using dynamic titles that are fed directly from a database to both your product page and Google Shopping feed you will have to seriously consider the way in which your titles will affect both your organic SEO campaign and Google Shopping simultaneously.

In terms of editorial guidelines, never use block capitals within your title or promotional copy.

Optimise Product Descriptions

Google Shopping descriptions can be anywhere up to 10,000 characters long though Google recommends writing a unique description, somewhere between 500 and 1000 characters long. This means no copying and pasting manufacturer descriptions!

Taking a similar approach to forming product titles, you should always have a look at competitor’s descriptions before formulating your own. Note down the key terms used within descriptions of the top three competitors and be sure to include these in your own description.

Undertake keyword research to look for additional terms associated with that product, such as alternative or abbreviated names and use these variants within your description.

Again, never Google may refuse your feed if you include promotional copy or unnecessary capitalisation within your description.
Mandatory and Optional Attributes

The following are mandatory attributes and MUST be included for each product.