There’s a huge opportunity for Internet Marketers in the Local space.

You’ll find that a lot of small business owners are either trying to figure this stuff out on there own or they’re unhappy with the service they’re currently using.

Many of these businesses need help.

I’m going to show you how to help them right now.. in just a few easy steps.

Internet marketing is what I love to do and using my skills to boost traffic and sales for local business entrepreneurs has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had.

One of the reasons that successful businesses invest so much more in online marketing than other forms of advertising is that the results of online marketing can be measured with laser point accuracy.

They see what’s working and what campaigns have the best results.  It’s easy to prove your worth to the local business owner.

I’ve got some real world case studies of this that I’ll be sharing with you in an upcoming live webinar.

In this blog post I want to share with you a few of the easiest most effective ways you can help a small business owner.  Maybe you have a friend or relative that has a local business…. heck, maybe it’s your business that could use these tips.

The techniques listed below don’t require much effort and you don’t have to be a techie geek to make them happen.  I’ll share the more more advanced techie tactics in a future blog post.  (Also be sure to check out the big free webinar that’s coming up.)

So here’s 3 quick easy ways to help a small business make progress in the local search marketing space.

1. Claim the business listing on Google Places.  This is a free service offered by Google and if you follow that link you’ll see exactly how it’s done.  So when you’re standing outside the door of your friend’s business do a Google search on your phone.  Does your buddy’s business show up on Google Maps?  No?  Then they need to be listed on Google Places.

2. Get on Yelp.  One of the best features on Yelp, other than boosting a businesses’ online presence, is that they provide feedback from customers.  Yelp helps customers of a competing business find your business and putting the business on Yelp is free too.

3. Use the free set of tools that Foursquare offers for businesses to help attract new customers.  You’ve probably seen Foursquare on Facebook.  Millions of times a day, people use Foursquare to check in and share where they are.

You’ll be surprised by how many local businesses owners don’t take advantage of just these 3 simple tools:  Google Places, Yelp and F0ursquare

Imagine how happy they would be to see even more results if you were to only use your most basic internet marketing skills.

And think of the business you could build for yourself if you were to offer advanced internet marketing strategies to local businesses.

You can and I’ll show you how.

More to come!

Anthony DeLoach

What could you possibly learn about Internet marketing from The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, James Brown?

Get up offa that thing and get ready for the real payback!

James Browns’ approach to writing and performing music is perfectly applicable to Internet marketing… including creating online content and writing sales copy.

First off, he was a master wordsmith.

Now, I’m not talking about my favorites, “HEY!” or “OWWWWW!” either.  I’m talking about his mastery of “titles”.

Here are just a few:  Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, Mr. Dynamite, The King of Funk, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please Please Her, The Godfather of Soul. . .

Remember, the first impression of your product comes from the name.  What sort of impression do you want that title to give them?

So obviously, James Brown was one exceptional funk ninja.  An aura of badassness hovered all around him… and his band.

Now he was little crazy too, but it was the good crazy.  Remember, “I don’t know karate but I know karazy!”.

Let’s take a look at how he pitched himself and his band to the audience.  James Brown and the J.B.’s, would take the stage after this introduction:

“Ladies and Gentlemen, there are seven acknowledged wonders of the world, you are about to witness the eighth. Standing in the spotlight, on showcase, twelve young men, who have given you such tunes as [drum roll] ‘The Grunt’, Pass The Peas’, ‘Gimme Some More’. Ladies and Gentlemen, without no doubt, these are the J.B.’s ”

As you can tell, James Brown and the J.B.’s were heavy on the hype.   The audience was promised no less than a truly incomparable experience.  James Brown and the J.B.’s would deliver what was promised; most agree that the experience exceeded their expectations.

Deliver the product that’s promised.

That’s good.

Deliver that and MORE.

Much better.

Everyone’s happy.  That’s the goal.

When I met James Brown about 9 years ago, he looked like a pretty happy dude to me.  I actually got to hang out with the maestro of funk for about an hour.

Here’s a quick story of how it all went down.

James Brown was on his way to a concert in Macon, Georgia and stopped by the business where I was working at the time.  He got his first car from the dealership’s original car dealer, a friend of his, and wanted pay him a visit.  His old friend wasn’t there, but James had some time to kill before his concert that night.  It was a slow day at the dealership, the place was pretty chill and James was comfortable.

When meeting a celebrity, you can play it one of two ways:  You can be the common autograph-seeking fan or you can just try and play it cool.

Now “playing it cool” probably won’t get you an autograph or a picture, but you can walk away with something much better.  Being fully aware of this rare occasion, I got control of my funkstruckness and tried to be just as cool as he was.

You ever try being cooler than The Godfather of Soul?

It was damn difficult.

So I didn’t get the Godfather’s autograph that day, but I did have a conversation with the man instead.   I was standing on the stoop with him outside while he smoked a cigarette.  He was all decked out in his James Brown suit, huge gold belt buckle, diamond rings, funk-vision shades.

Meanwhile I was probably wearing an Izod and khakis… or something super uncool like that.

But James Brown and I found some common ground, music.  So me and James were shooting the shit about music…. and man, could he shoot the shit.   It was freaking awesome!

One part of our conversation has always stuck with me.   I asked him about his relationship with the other music icons from Macon…  like Otis Redding, Little Richard and the Allman Brothers.

He said, “Yeah, lotta good music come outta this town, but I was the best.  No one could touch me.”

I thought to myself, damn… this dude is the cockiest person I’ve ever me in my life, but it was perfectly acceptable.

The message was delivered, received and believed.

The proof is in the pudding.  If you provide a badass product that people enjoy then you can pitch it with confidence.

Close the deal.  Deliver what was promised.  “Feel good!’.

James Brown was a closer and a master of product creation.  The product was funk and he closed the audience on the benefits of the funk at every show.

He developed his signature funk groove by emphasizing the downbeat, rather than the backbeat that typified the music of that time.  Then he added what is often imitated, but never duplicated ingredient, James Brown.

When creating a new info product, avoid falling into the norm of your niche market.   The Internet is full of imitations and duplications…. cookie-cutter, fill-in-the-blank sales copies and soulless information products.

If you’re writing sales copy ask yourself, “What makes my product different from the others?” and “How can I communicate & deliver my product in a unique way?”.

Bringing your unique perspective to the table will make you a better Internet marketing…. just make sure your perspective or product is really good first. 

Even though James Brown invented some funkalicious beats, it was his delivery and personality that made him an icon.  And throughout his 50+ year career, he delivered the funk like no one else.

No one can deliver your funk better than you can.  (I know that sounds weird, but I’m leaving it.)

So anyway… what’s the moral of the story?

Learn from James Brown.

Work hard.  Bring everything to the table.

And deliver.

You will succeed.

-Anthony DeLoach

Click The Video To Play

Instead of going cross-eyed, browsing through zillions of Clickbank products… Or depending on your affiliate manger to hand over the best CPA offers…

Don’t forget to start with the market in mind.  Think of it this way.

What came first, the ThighMaster or unwanted thigh fat… Teeth Whitener or coffee-stained teeth?

So the market was there first, right?

And those who have a bit of foresight to create a product to satisfy that market are hailed as marketing geniuses.

But most of these marketing geniuses just saw a need, an opportunity and fulfilled it with the right product.  They provided a solution.

What’s so cool about Internet Marketing is that there are plenty of tools readily available that have “Built-In Foresight’ and ‘Built-In Genius”.  You don’t have to look that hard to find what people want.  There are good niche market ideas everywhere.

For example, take a look at 43things.com.  You always hear, “To achieve your goals you need to write them down first.”

Well, this is where people do that online…. so you’re tapping in to some really powerful information here.  You can use it to find laser targeted niches based on people’s true desires.

Hope you enjoy the video!

Anthony DeLoach

Are you building an email list or interested in building a responsive  email list?  If yes, then this one’s for you.

First off, here’s a bit about my background.

I have a six-figure opt-in email list that I’ve built from various niche markets.  So every subscriber opted-in; they gave me permission to send relevant information to their email inbox.

I’ve sent thousands of email messages with open rate tracking enabled.  This has allowed me to comparatively review which email messages get opened and which emails don’t get opened.

Now remember, if you send your email list crappy spammy content then they’re not going to be opening your messages for long anyway…. and rightfully so.

Don’t do that.

However, if you have a track record of delivering valuable relevant content to your subscribers then these techniques will be beneficial.

Alrighty, so here’s a handful of my time-tested proven email subject title tactics that you can use right now to “get opened” more often.

Email Subject Title Tactics:

1. Punctuation (Mark The Spot)

Punctuation marks: quotations, brackets, hyphens, parenthesis, etc…

What’s so clever about all that?

Well, you can have a headline AND a call to action all in the same email subject title.  You can have a ying and a yang.  Plus your email message will be outstanding in a crowded inbox and much more likely to catch the reader’s eye first.

Here are some examples:

• “This is weird!”

• Six Pack Abs (No Crunches or Sit Ups)

• Solar Hybrid Supercar [PIC INSIDE]

2. The Promise of Visual Value:  “Video”, “Picture”, “Clip”, etc…

I’ve found that most people just love opening emails with some sort of visual element in the subject title….period.  This works across the board, no matter what your product or niche may be.

Go to Digg.com or Youtube.com to find popular niche related subject tiles that have “Video” or “Picture” in the title.  You’ll find tons of great eye-catching ideas for any niche market.

Of course, it’s important to follow-through and deliver a video or picture that’s relevant to your subscriber’s interest.  Make sure it’s something that they’ll find informative or enjoyable, preferably both.

Here are some examples of how to use visual elements in your email subject titles:

• Video Message w/ Kenny Powers

• JEDI YOGA (VIDEO CLIP)

• O_O (Seminar Pics)

3. Use Market Buzz Words To Spark Interest

Go to Google Insights or Google Alerts to find market buzz words that are targeted to your niche.  These buzz words will spark your subscribers interest and propel them to open the email.

Be the first to tell them breaking news related to their market.

Here are some examples of using market buzz words in your email subject titles:

• YouTube in trouble?

• iPhone 3.0 (New Dieting App)

• Jeff Bridges’ guitar lesson

4. Cliffhangers – The Force Of Curiosity

Curiosity has opened a zillion and one emails.  Use cliff hangers in your subject title to spark the interest of those scanning through their inbox.

Here are some universal examples:

• You know this guy?

• Never will happen again. EVER.

• LOOK (this is a good one)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

OK, that’s all for now, but I promise to share more with you very soon!

There are ways to increase your email open rates that have nothing at all to do with subject titles.  Keep an eye on this section for more on that topic.

Stay tuned,

Anthony DeLoach

P.S.- Use this information for the purposes of legitimate online marketing.  Make the Internet a better place for everyone.  In other words… be cool.

P.P.S.- Enter your email in the opt-in box to get more Internet Marketing Tips & Tricks in the future. Feel free to leave a comment or ask a question on the blog anytime.  Tell me if you love it, hate it… or perhaps you just can’t read it due to my horrible grammar. 

I just recently got back home from a trip to La Jolla, California where I was hosted by my friends, Frank Kern and Trey Smith.

The accommodations were incredible.  It’s a beach house built like an arrowhead that jets out over the rocky southern west coast.  Waves keep crashing in towards you non-stop.  Glass, steel and concrete… built to stand strong in the face of all potential California natural disasters.

You just had the feeling that there was a secret bat cave hidden somewhere underneath with an Internet marketing research machine in one corner and a magic ninja turbo surfboard in the other.  I didn’t see any evidence of a Batmobile, but there was a 1965 Classic Mint Condition Ferrari 330 GT sitting pretty in the garage.

You’ll get a glimpse of it in the video.

Surfing is always a blast when I go out west, but the Pacific Ocean whooped my ass this time.  I wiped out more times than I can count… tossed around like a wet rag doll.

While I was out there Frank and Trey were busy with the pre-launch of List Control, but we managed to fit in about 48 hours of Call of Duty playing time anyway. Both of them need to continue working on their melee skills, but they’re not too bad for a couple of California rednecks.

No doubt, List Control is incredible.  I was there when most of it was being developed.  Be sure to watch Frank explain what it’s all about here:

Click Here For Frank Kern’s List Control Video

Look at all the extra bonuses Frank just added.  Unbelievable!

Who knows?  Maybe I’ll be seeing you in San Diego in a few months.

By the way, that is my List Control affiliate link, which means I get a commission when you buy List Control through that link.  So be sure to do that!  If do you buy Frank’s List Control through my affiliate link then send me an email at info@insideroutline.com to let me know so I can send you these bonuses.

Your Exclusive List Control Bonuses:

Bonus #1 One-on-One Coaching Call

We can set up a time to speak for an hour on the phone to go over the details of your online business.  I’ll give you my advice on email marketing, product creation, traffic, conversions. pay per click, etc….  (Any area of your online business that you need help in.)  The biggest weakness in my Internet marketing career has been my resistance to outsource anything.  I always wanted to learn how to do it myself…. so take advantage of my weakness and ask me anything.

Bonus #2 Frank & Anthony Talk Email Marketing (Video)

You’ll get this exclusive video I shot with Frank out in La Jolla that’s currently in the vault… along with Disney’s “Cinderella”.

We discuss email marketing mostly, but  joke around a little too.  Trey Smith, joins in a bit as well.

You’ll get some insider info on getting your emails opened, improving your click through rates and learn some ninja email marketing tactics you’ve never heard of before.

It’s a really good video and has some killer content, especially if you’re interested in building an email list or email marketing at all.  I’ll send the video directly to your email inbox.

Bonus #3 Email Marketing Special Report

I’ll send you a copy of my “Email Marketing Special Report”, an 11 page document I wrote that reveals my best email subject titles, how to improve your email click through rates, and much more.  I’ve sent thousands of email messages with click tracking and open rate tracking enabled.  This has allowed me to comparatively review which email messages get opened (Open Rate), and which email messages get the most clicks on the links within the email (Click Through Rate).

I’ve built email lists in many different niches so these techniques work for a variety of markets.  The “Email Marketing Special Report” reveals my very best.

Click Here To Get List Control

Video Of The Little La Jolla Shotgun Shack Below:

(Click the play button to start the video.)

I was in a hurry to catch my plane and had to make it a quick video.  Looks like I shot more of the ocean than the house.  Anyway… hope you enjoyed it!

Talk soon,

Anthony DeLoach

P.S. – This link should be live right now, but it closes tonight.

So go here now while you still can:

Click Here For List Control

I’ve had some people ask for details on how they should be managing their PPC campaigns… and exactly when they should give a campaign the axe.  Some people are also confused on when to kill off different ad groups and keywords too.

Don’t sweat it, every new person learning Internet marketing has these questions… and some veterans too!  So here’s some quick tips and tricks that can solve huge headaches for you in the future:

1. Keywords:

1. You need to kill ANY keyword that isn’t profitable.  I basically try to give a keyword a couple hundred clicks, but it really depends on the cost.  If I spend more than the potential payout of a sale on one keyword, then I typically bail.

2. If a keyword is getting a TON of cheap clicks… converting BADLY… but STILL profitable, then you definitely want to keep it (I know this is obvious, but I’m trying to cover all the bases here).

3. When a keyword IS profitable, then make note of how much you are spending… and what your average cost per sale is for that keyword.  Now up the bid a little bit (hoping to get more traffic) and see if you make more or less per sale than you were before.

4. If a keyword IS extremely profitable, then try to think of other similar keywords that might convert well. Think of every variation of that keyword. (Use a thesaurus). SO many people don’t do this… and using a little brain power can go a long way.

5. Do your research and find long tail keywords.  There are TONS of free keyword research tools available.  Check out our video section in Info Marketing Monthly where we walk you through a few of them.

2. Ad Groups:

1. Remember, Ad Groups are all about RELEVANCY. All the keywords in an ad group should be related in some way and paired with ads that match your keywords… or match the general theme of the keywords in that ad group.

2. Create at least two ads per ad group.  Yahoo, Google, MSN… they all have an ad split test feature.  USE IT.  Write one ad that’s similar to the competition and another ad that’s more creative so that it stands out. (Always split test ads).

3. When creating an ad group, start with about 20 keywords.  Add MORE keywords once you get an idea of the ad group’s performance.  So start small… but go BIG when you find a profitable market.

3. Campaigns:

1. If a campaign is profitable, then you obviously want to keep it (and ramp it up by adding more keywords). You can also CLONE your campaign to possibly double your rate of success.

2. If a campaign is NOT profitable, then I typically don’t pursue it anymore.  Move on… there’s plenty of fish in the sea.

3. If the campaign has a proven history of breaking even (or almost breaking even) then the SMARTEST thing to do would be creating a similar product for that market.  Keep ALL the money. This way you could instantly make this “break even product” a money maker.  Having a better sales copy will make you MORE money too.

4. Make sure you’re not wasting clicks on countries that aren’t BUYERS.   Use the geo-targeting feature. START with the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Australia, but check to see what other countries would be good prospects for your product.  Personally, India never performed that great for me… no offense India, but I want my clicks back.

5. Set up “content network only” campaigns for Yahoo and Google and budget them separately.  Content traffic tends to be CHEAPER and sometimes even converts better than search.  (Actually the content network is how I got my foot in the door when I began Internet marketing.)

6. Be sure that your MONEY-MAKING campaigns are NOT turning off towards the end of the day, because your daily budget is too LOW. (Trust me… it happens.)

That’s about all for today, but here are some closing thoughts:

Remember, Internet marketing is a NUMBERS game.  Put a system in place that’s in line with your budget and allows you to test multiple offers.  Don’t put ALL your eggs in one basket.

And if you make any changes to your PPC campaigns be sure to make a note of WHAT you did and WHEN you did it.  Because when you wake up one morning to find a campaign is suddenly making BIG money… you’ll REALLY want to know what you did to make that happen.

Now no one needs to fear Ol’ Google.  Remember….

This will not stand, ya know, this Google slapping aggression will not stand, man.

Ok, this blog post is done for now.  So enter your email address or  sign up for the RSS feed to stay updated.

Happy trails!

Anthony DeLoach

P.S. -Leave a comment about your experience managing your PPC campaigns… or just to say hello.

Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:

1. Be Grateful

Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way.  The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness – over weeks and even months – after implementing the habit.  What’s even more surprising:  Sending the letter is not necessary.  Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.

2. Be optimistic

Another practice that seems to help is optimistic thinking.  Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future – for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling – and describe the image in a journal entry.  After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.

3. Count your blessings

People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found.  It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.

4. Use your strengths

Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways.  For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends.  This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.

5. Commit acts of kindness

It turns out helping others also helps ourselves.  People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.

These results were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.