Daniel Flower

I’m not usually one for analysing visitor stats too much - but I simply cannot ignore the HUGE power of posting on forums to send targeted traffic to your websites.

The other day a single post on a forum sent me 21 visitors to my website, and another post sent me 5 visitors. I would say that 1-5 visitors per post is an average - which doesn’t sound a lot, but when you consider the fact that I am posting on multiple forums, and making many posts each and every day, then these sorts of numbers start to REALLY add up.

And the great thing is that this is all TARGETED traffic. People browsing and posting on forums are looking for information, and because they are all looking for information on one specific area or subject it means that you’ve got a ready-made collection of potential buyers.

The key however is NOT to sell, but to participate in discussions, and generally be as helpful as you can.

One of the key things I am trying to do is get people to ‘PM’ me (that’s where someone sends you a private message.)

Imagine the scenario from the other person’s perspective:

You’re browsing a gardening forum (substitute that for any niche you wish), and you see a really helpful post from someone who seems like they know what they are talking about. You join in the discussion, ask a question, and this person replies with exactly the info you were looking for, and generally they are VERY helpful indeed. Then they PM you (or they ask you to PM them) and they give you some more really really helpful information - and they offer it completely free, without the expectation of anything in return.

By now you’ve got a pretty good relationship with this person. You feel like they are genuine, and they appear an ‘expert’ on the subject. So when you see a link to one of their websites in their signature, are you going to check it out? I DEFINITELY know I would…

… and people DO. If you seem like someone who is helpful and genuine you will get people actively asking you for information and advice - and someone who you’d turn to for advice is exactly the type of person who you might buy an info product from, right? After all, if the info they give for free is THIS good, then how good would their paid stuff be?

I’m quite excited by all the possibilities forum posting can offer. Having a signature link to your website is just one such way that forums can benefit your business. It’s all about building relationships with people, and I find it really fun too.

If you’re not already then try it today. Sign up to forums relating to the niche you’re operating in, have a signature link to your website (check that it’s allowed first), and get stuck in to discussions. Be genuinely helpful and make posts that subtly suggest you know what you’re talking about (because you DO - and don’t let anyone say otherwise - an expert is merely someone who knows more than the person they are giving advice to.)

Just because something seems simple doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. This is a VERY VERY powerful method, and I urge you not to underestmate the power of forum posting. It’s a great way to generate traffic, and completely free too

I’ve been experimenting over the past few days with different things that I hope will increase my productivity as I build my business.

One of the big things I’ve concluded is that I work much better when I’m listening to music.

I’ve always found music to be one of the most powerful things in life, and I find that it gives me inspiration and ideas that I just can’t think of when I’m sitting in a silent office.

I LOVE electronic music - whether it be chill-out style or dance music. I love the deep powerful underground style and find it really inspiring because it often makes me think of the natural world… mountains, the sea, waves…

Some of you might know that I also like to produce my own music. In fact I’m hoping to have some kind of website set up at some point where I can distribute my work.

But back to internet marketing….

and the other big thing I’ve come to realise is that some tasks you will simply NEVER enjoy, and if you don’t enjoy doing something then the chances are that given half a chance you WON’T do it.

My advice would be to do the things you hate doing FIRST. It gets them out of the way, and somehow makes every other task that you complete afterwards seem much, much easier. Get over your fears, and the rest will flow…

Of course different things work for different people, and there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to improving productivity. Some people work better in complete silence. Others find that it helps to sit down at their PC with a glass of wine. Or maybe it’s sitting outside in the garden with your laptop that you find is the ultimate way to work.

I’d love to know how YOU like to work, and if you’ve got any tips for increasing productivity then I’d love to hear them - Simply post your comments below.

I’ve decided to start my own internet marketing newsletter so that I can document my online business experiences - warts and all. I’ve tried to make it the newsletter that I’d like to receive myself, and I’ve got some wonderful content and fantastic freebies coming up that I’m sure you’re going to be VERY interested in ;- )

I’m not going to sell it too much here - but once you see the content I have for you I’m convinced that you will be VERY glad you opted in. Remember it’s completely free and you can subscribe now by simply entering your details in the box below:

Alternatively you can subscribe at http://www.DanielFlowerNewsletter.com

I hope you enjoy it!

Dan

I seem to get all my internet marketing ideas when I’m lying in bed at night. It’s funny, because I can be sitting at the computer for 7 hours during the day and feel like I don’t know what to do or where to go next, but get into bed and you can be sure that within 10 minutes of thought I know EXACTLY what to do - and I’ll have 10 business ideas all come to me at once.

I put it down to it being the one place when I can really think straight without distractions. You can become so wrapped up in individual tasks such as posting on your blog, answering emails, etc, that you can lose all sense of perspective. But when you’re in a silent, dark room, it becomes easy for it to all make sense. What are you trying to achieve? What is your target market, and how will you reach them? Where are you going?

Sometimes it’s just a case of needing to switch off. There becomes a point where you’ve simply had enough for the day and it’s impossible to do any more. Wake up the next morning and things take a new perspective.

Which is why I believe the bedroom can actually be more useful than the office.

As I’m writing this, I don’t want to sound like some sad geek, because the bedroom definitely IS for other things too : -)

But ‘being in bed’ with internet marketing is actually helping me greatly right now - just through thinking and reflection.

Ok, so it’s not actually taking action, but clarifying your thoughts is an immensly powerful thing. You need to know WHAT you’re doing in order to be able to actually do it. Kind of obvious I know, but everything you do should be towards an end purpose, and when you can think of that end purpose on it’s own then it becomes much easier to think of what you need to do to get there.

Everything is either short or long term. Ok, so in the short term your goal might be to build a mailing list for example, but what do you want to do with that mailing list once you’ve created it, and is the thing you’re doing right now related to that? Maybe it feels like it at the time, but look back on it after and maybe it doesn’t seem like such a great idea. Internet marketing is a series of jigsaw pieces that all fit together at some point, but sometimes the pieces just don’t fit - but it takes reflection to realise it.

So spend a few minutes at the end of the day (or the beginning) and reflect on your business. I find it really really powerful, and it gives me tons of ideas that I simply can’t think of when I’m wrapped up in the individual pieces and day-to-day tasks. It’s an over-used cliche, but sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees, and spending those few minutes can help to stop you going down a path that leads to nowhere.

More soon - and as ever you’re always welcome to leave me a comment.

Dan

When I first discovered internet marketing, the first thing I wanted to know was what OTHER marketers spent their days doing. We all know what makes up IM - blog posting, eBook writing, article writing etc, etc, - but what does a successful internet marketer actually spend their days doing?

24-hours in the life of Tony Shepherd (business partner of Sara Brown) is just ONE thing I managed to uncover when I interviewed Tony, and there’s plenty more fascinating bits of information and insights in what I think is a VERY interesting read.

Find out how Tony would make $1000 in 7 days from scratch, why most JV’s are a ‘pain in the arse’, and why a lack of knowledge in the early days = success.

I won’t go into any more detail here, but suffice to say I expect this to be VERY popular - and best of all it’s completely FREE. You don’t even have to join my list to get it!

=>> Just go to http://www.TonyShepherdInterview.com

You see it’s worthwhile you visiting my blog, and I’ve got plenty more fantastic freebies for you over the next few weeks and months : -)

I hope you enjoy it - and I genuinely think it makes for great reading - but please post me a comment here on the blog to let me know what you thought of it.

Dan

I was just reading Sara Brown’s latest newsletter and she made an excellent point about how the idea of starting your own business is often met with scepticism by the people you know and love.

This is something I’ve noticed too. I’ve been talking a lot about internet marketing to my mum recently, and as soon as I mentioned the idea of perhaps doing this full-time she looked at me in absolute horror and said something along the lines of ‘THAT’S not a very realistic or stable career path!’

I can see where she is coming from in a way. I’ve not yet become successful, and to someone else the idea might seem far-fetched because they don’t really understand what internet marketing is or what it’s all about.

My parents very much believe in ‘earning your wage.’ So the idea of earning money many times over by a single action is perhaps a little much for them to get their heads around.

I’m not being horrible when I say that either - because that IS what most people believe. It’s what we’re all brought up and taught to think because it’s an old convention of society.

But right now I feel exactly the opposite way to my parents. The idea of working full-time for an employer doesn’t seem very appealing at all because I KNOW that I can succeed in my own business, and I also know that I WILL earn many more times what I ever would in a job.

So you might believe in yourself, but do you have the full support and belief from those around you?

It’s my own character, but when anyone tells me something is ‘unrealistic’ or ‘not possible’ it makes me even more determined to succeed.

Perhaps that’s entrepreneurial spirit. In his autobiography, Richard Branson talks about learning to swim when he was a child. His aunt bet him that he couldn’t learn to swim by the end of the summer holiday, and so he was determined to prove her wrong at all costs, and… he did. It wasn’t easy, and he tried time and time again before he eventually swam his first stroke. But he won the bet, and that’s the kind of attitude I LOVE.

Personally I thrive on positive energy that comes from myself. If something great happens, I can think more clearly, and act on a much greater scale.

I have big dreams. I personally believe that anything is possible, and I want to grab every single opportunity that ever comes my way with both hands. When I am older I want to look back on my life and think of all the wonderful things I’ve done and achieved. Whichever way you look at it, you can’t argue that being in a full-time job limits your ability to grab new opportunities.

For me, I’m pretty sure that internet marketing is the way forward. But it’s not for everyone, and some people just don’t have the desire to run their own business. That’s fine - and I completely understand why. But for me I’m sure that internet marketing can provide the kind of lifestyle that I so deeply desire, and I’m certain I’ll achieve it.

Next in my series of videos showing you ‘internet marketing basics’ is this short tutorial on how to upload files to the internet using FTP. This really is an essential skill for any internet marketer to have, and it took me quite a while to learn how to do this as it can look quite daunting - but hopefully this will show you how to do it in simple steps. Please leave me feedback as it is only my second video, and if you have any questions or comments about anything then please feel free to get in touch by leaving me a comment on the blog.

Until last week I’d never made a video before in my life. In fact as I sat at my computer with my newly purchased microphone and a copy of Camtasia Studio, I felt about as nervous as I’ve ever felt about anything in my life. Silly I know, but trying something new has a habit of doing that. It can instill fear to a point where you end up thinking ‘I can’t do this’ and give up before you even try.

But I’ve done it now (you can watch the video in my post below.) It’s not the best video in the world, and I still think my voice sounds terrible, but I’ve made a video, and I’m confident that I’ll go on to make many more.

What I’m saying here is that when it comes to internet marketing, don’t be afraid to dive right in. If you’ve got a good idea for a product in your head then start working on it right now. Not tomorrow or next week, but right now. The same for a new video, new article, new JV, new blog post, forum post - whatever it might be.

If it’s something new don’t be afraid to try it. You can worry way too much about ‘what might not work’ - the chances are the worries you have WON’T become a reality if you just get up and do it. If something doesn’t work, move on, learn from it, and try again. The beauty of internet marketing is that failure rarely results in great loss. If I set up an offline venture and it failes then I might lose a ton of money - but online it’s different. The stuff I’m working on at the moment will be promoted solely by free methods.

Before I made the video, I was thinking ‘nobody will be interested’, ‘people will find my style confusing’, and ‘I’m not good enough at it yet.’

But all those thoughts are now a distant memory because the feedback I’ve had on it has been incredible. I’ve learnt a big lesson - and that is to believe in yourself and the fact that your own abilities ARE good enough. Even if you’re feeling like you can’t swim in the online world, don’t be afraid to dive right in. You might just be pleasently surprised at what you CAN DO.

For the past two years or so I’ve felt like this - but in the month since I started this blog things have really started to change. I think it’s all down to a chain reaction of ideas. Let me explain…

Sitting there with nothing is very, very daunting. You have a computer and an internet connection, but you have no list, no product, no ideas for products, and no JV partners. It’s daunting, and you can end up feeling like you’ll never make it - and that you’re firmly on the ‘outside’ of an inner circle.

Now I explained in my last blog post why I think networking is SO important, and it’s mainly through just talking to people that in the last month I’ve gone from having zero product and JV ideas to having more ideas than I have time to implement! Getting yourself known to other marketer’s means that you feel like you’re suddenly apart of something on the ‘inside’ rather than the ‘outside’, and I truly believe it’s something big.

This is powerful stuff - get talking to fellow marketer’s, and before you know it you’re striking up a JV venture, collaborating on a product, or maybe it’s just something they say that sparks an idea for a new joint venture, a blog post, a new video, or even a whole new product.

It could just be something you observe. The other day I was reading through someone’s blog and I noticed a comment from someone that gave me an idea for a JV on a product.

One idea leads to another too. Just by talking to people on forums and reading people’s forum and blog posts it’s absolutely incredible the amount of ideas you can generate. And once you’ve got one, there’s no stopping you. It’s almost like a mental block suddenly unleashes and everything suddenly makes sense…

I am very, very excited by the projects and ideas I’ve given myself!

Stay tuned to the blog and I’ll update you on my progress!

The other day I read a very interesting blog post by Graham Cox. He was talking about some advice he recently gave to someone on the excellent Standing Start Profits forum.

The person was asking about how they should start an internet business, and the advice given by Graham that really caught my attention was:

“Build relationships with other marketers. Ring them up, email them, help them out in forums etc, promote their products if you like them, do interviews (I did one with Lee…google “Lee McIntyre Interview” to see how viral its gone.)”

“Do what it takes to get on their radar!”

I think this is fantastic advice. The better the relationship you build with someone, the more likely you are to get them to do a JV with you, and certainly joint venture’s (JV’s) are an incredibly lucrative thing. They can give you access to other marketer’s resources - and if you only have a mailing list of 500 people yourself, just imagine if you get JV’s with 5 other marketer’s who each have lists of 500 people themselves.

It’s not just about finding potential joint venture partner’s either. I for one find networking and building business relationships to be great fun, and it’s amazing how much you can learn from other marketers. I also genuinely enjoy helping people, and it’s truly a wonderful feeling to think that you’ve helped someone out.

So my question to you today is ‘are YOU on the radar of other marketer’s?’

Several years ago when I was starting to earn some pretty substantial money online, JV’s were a HUGE part of how I did it.

This time around it’s exactly the same, and I’m currently devoting a great deal of time to networking and helping people out.

Do what you have to, and get involved. Email people, private message people on forums. Meet up with other marketers. Do whatever it takes to get on the radar of other marketers.

Please feel free to get on MY radar. You’re always welcome to leave me a comment here on the blog or send me an email to daniel AT daniel-flower.com

Having a good domain name that people remember is essential to running a successful website. I’ve seen quite a few people asking about this recently so I’ve decided to make a quick video on the basic principles behind choosing and registering a good domain name. This is my first ever video so I was quite nervous producing this (and I hope my terrible voice is at least bearable for a few minutes lol!) Please leave me comments on what you thought of the video. I am keen to produce lots more videos and I need feedback to help me to do it!

I’ve just returned from a trip to Wimbledon to watch the tennis. For those of you who don’t know already, I am a huge tennis fan, and I’ve been going for eight years or so now - there’s really nothing like being there!

Tickets are not easy to come by. I had to spend 24 hours queueing for the right to buy a Centre Court ticket - and you do get the distinct feeling that you’re one in a heard of sheep (thousands in fact) - and let’s just say it’s not the most comfortable nights sleep I’ve ever had!

They say that the good things in life are only achieved by making some sacrifices - and I completely agree. If we apply that to internet marketing then the sacrifice is definitely bloody hard work! If you think that building an internet business happens by pressing a couple of buttons then you’re very, very wrong. It takes work, effort, and desire.

The good news is that it’s worth it - and I personally think it’s fun. I’m writing this blog post now, and it doesn’t feel like a chore at all. I’ve met some amazing people online - and I hope I’m on course to building a successful business.

I’ve got tons of work to do. I’ve nowhere near got done everything I wanted to in the last few weeks, and I fully realise that this has to change if I want to reach my goal.

I’ll have some videos to post up on the blog in the next few days. I’ve never made a video before so I’m slightly nervous, but hopefully you’ll be able to withstand my terrible speaking voice and hopefully enjoy what I’ve got to say. Those of you who are members of the truly excellent Standing Start Profits - just expect me to keep pestering you first about what makes a good video

Internet marketing can be a very confusing thing - even when you have years of experience, but especially so when you’re just starting out.

Firstly you face the battle of figuring out exactly what action you’re going to take (are you going to become an affiliate marketer, write your own eBook, become a joint venture broker… or one of the hundreds of other possibilities?)

Then you have potentially an even bigger challenge to face - figuring out how to actually do it. I know how frustrating it is to read an eBook that tells you to “launch a Wordpress blog”, or “upload your eBook via FTP”…… but what if you don’t have a bloody clue what any of it means, let alone how to do it?

When I read certain online forums I always get the feeling that sometimes people are too embarrassed to ask certain questions because they fear that they’ll get attacked by some ‘guru’ who’ll make them feel small because they don’t understand some of the technicalities. I say that it’s absolutely fine to ask questions - and let me tell you now that a few years ago I didn’t have a clue what ‘FTP’ meant. I used to upload my websites using some crappy ‘wizard’ type program because that was the only way I knew - and I probably WAS too embarrassed to ask!

So my question to you is:

‘What Internet Marketing Skill have you got no idea how to do, but thought you were too embarrassed to ask about?’

Please post your responses and ideas in the comments section of this blog - and I’ll produce some tutorials and answers to the best ones and give some of them away for free. You’ll also be doing me a huge favour because you’ll be helping me greatly in a new product I’m currently working on.

Perhaps you’re new to internet marketing, or maybe you’re a seasoned pro - but EVERYONE has something that they don’t know how to do. Maybe you need to think back to what you struggled with yourself when you were starting out (and if you struggled with something then the chances are other people will too!) or maybe it’s something you’ve never quite grasped even to this day. Either way I’d love to hear from you so please please please post your responses in the comments section.

If I remember rightly, it was my sister who first got me interested in making money online.

Back then, ‘Beanie Babies’ (who remember’s?) were the biggest collectable out there, with some of the rarer older bears fetching several hundred pounds each.

At the time, these things were produced in fairly limited numbers, and shops used to get supplies in, only for them to be sold out in a few hours or less.

I remember us going into town first thing on a Saturday morning, and standing outside the shop waiting for it to open. I loved the thrill of the chase, and when I’d managed to track down a particular bear that was considered ‘rare’ it gave me such an amazing buzz because I knew that I could log onto eBay and sell it for much more than I’d paid for it. 

Unless you were prepared to do a lot of chasing (like I did) then these things were very hard to get hold of, but people were DESPERATE to do so.

Back then, eBay was free, and there were a tiny amount of competitors compared to what there is today. It was the year 2000 and the ‘DotCom boom’ was very much in evidence, with every man and his dog trying to grab a slice of the online pie. It’s probably fair to say that both my sister and I got ‘hooked’ on eBay, and I used to spend literally hours conducting research, and listing items I’d bought to sell.

So I’d found a way to make money online:

I sourced items that people were DESPERATE for, and put them in a place where those hungry buyers could see them.

And that guys is THE KEY to online business.

I’d learnt a very important lesson, and I’ve since realised that you can massively over-complicate making money online. At the end of the day, the above sentence pretty much sums up internet marketing.

Ok, so there are many ways to make money online. You can write an eBook, or you can source physical products to sell. You can become a bum marketer, or become a blogger, or write squidoo leneses, or use any of the hundreds of other methods out there.

But if you think about it, your blog or your articles aren’t the things that really make you money. They are merely ways of getting people in front of the product you’re trying to sell - they aren’t the things that actually generate the money. 

I believe strongly in a simple way of working online, and throughout my challenge over the next year or so I plan to work in a very simple way. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in complicated methods and forget the obvious ‘rule’ of business.

Yes have a blog. Yes write articles. Yes produce a squidoo lens. I certainly plan to do all these myself. But don’t spend hours and hours worrying about this that and the other.

As always I’d love to hear your comments so please feel free to speak your mind. Your words and feedback really do make my day

Until next time - keep it simple stupid!

A very warm welcome to my new blog! I’m very excited to be writing this because I’ve set myself a major challenge to be earning a full-time income from the internet by the time I leave university, and hopefully I’ve got lots of interesting stuff to share with you over the coming weeks and months.

Firstly I thought I’d better introduce myself, and tell you all about why I’m so excited…

I’ve been involved in internet marketing in one form or another since the age of 13.

Like a lot of people I started on eBay, and I had my first business experience importing soft toys from the USA and selling them over here in the UK. Back then eBay was free, and I had to use my parents account since I wasn’t old enough to have one myself!

But I had a business going where I was making several hundred pounds a month - not a fortune, but at that age it felt fantastic, and it still would to this day because making money gives me a buzz that I’ve never quite experienced with anything else.

A few years later I began to notice eBooks. Immediately I could see the income potential in this, and initially started selling those ebooks that come with resell rights.

Soon I tried my hand at writing my own, and began to move away from eBay. I put together a wholesale directory, which I updated monthy, and sold it mainly via a small website I put up. It sold very well too because it was up-to-date and comprehensive - and I knew from my own experience that none of my competitors were as good!

Since then I’ve tried my hand at various forms of internet marketing, and have written a couple of small eBooks. I’m now aged 20, and studying for a degree at a university in London. But I graduate next year, and it’s now that I am seriously thinking about what I want to do with my life - which is where internet marketing comes in.

A few summers ago I reached a point where I was earning practically a full-time income from ebooks and internet marketing. I found ways to make money online (at least as much as a job could provide), but then the time came to go back to college, and I got distracted by too much socialising… etc, and somehow it rather dwindled into nothing.

But recently I’ve come to a conclusion - and that is that I KNOW I want to be a full-time internet marketer. I’ve had the experience of earning vast amounts of money over-night, and it feels fantastic. I love internet marketing, and I love writing, and I KNOW I can do this!

So I’ve set myself two targets:

Firstly - I’ve got the summer away from university (it’s June 2nd as I write this - so from now until mid-September), and by the end of summer I want to be earning a regular income from internet marketing. My target is £500 a month, but we’ll see how it goes.

Secondly - In 12 months time I will be graduating, so by then I want to be earning a full-time income from the internet. So we’re talking about enough money to live off - say £15,000 a year to start with.

I think that is very achievable and realistic, and I’ll be documenting my experiences right here on this blog. It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I’ve made money before so I KNOW it can be done, and to be honest I’m just feeling SO excited as I write this.

Please please please leave your comments on any post I make, and feel free to email me or chat. I LOVE talking to other people, and really value what you think.

Over and out - until my next post anyway