Hey… Hows it going?

Once again it appears to have been far too long since I managed to ‘wangle’ some time to sit down and make a blog post for you guys and girls. It’s been a ridiculously busy time for me this past month as I’ve spent a few weeks holidaying in beautiful Greece (I had an amazing time out there… tried lots of new food, went scuba diving and all kinds of other funky stuff!).

But I’m back now, and hopefully today’s blog post will make up for my absence. Being away from my business gave me a lot of time to think about things and look at the ‘bigger picture’. I realised that I have to become more dedicated to this blog, if I want it to be worthwhile. So, I’ve made myself a special resolution that I’m going to post MUCH more regularly… and I have a special challenge coming up to help me out with that. (More details coming in a few days!)

Today, I’ve got a really cool 60-minute video training module which I made for the members of my $97/month coaching program… BUT I’ve decided to ‘leak’ it onto my blog for you to enjoy for FREE!

There’s no pitch, and nothing for sale… this is just 60 minutes of PURE GOLD information which I know you can use to make a lot more money out of everything you do online.

I really hope you enjoy this… and I look forward to receiving your comments!

Enjoy.. and I promise I’ll post more regularly.
- Marc

Hey everyone,

This is really super-exciting stuff!

Internet marketer, Joey Kissimmee is running a contest where YOU could win $250 (or even an iPad).

All of the details are in this video, along with a free video revealing the strategies that Joey used to make $10,000 from sending just ONE e-mail.

(This is POWERFUL!)

Check it out
==> http://www.joeykissimmee.com/pid/MarcMilburn

This is fantastic FREE material (with no opt-in for the $10k e-mail secrets video!)

Speak soon,
- Marc

>>>Click Here To Download Your MP3 Gift<<<

Copyright Notice: I am authorized by the creator of this MP3 to give it away.

If I had a dollar for every time someone had told me that “the money is in the list” then I’d be the richest Internet Marketer in the world!

Unfortunately, they are correct. I can’t even begin to explain the reasons why a mailing list is so important. I mean, imagine if you had the power to send a personalised message out to thousands of people all at once recommending a product (either yours or someone who is paying you a commission to promote their product). Each person would open that e-mail with trust and integrity. Knowing that because you are recommending a product to them that it will be good and a worthwhile investment.

I mean, the power for profits is amazing!

Let’s be honest, we all know the reasons WHY we should be building a profitable e-mailing list but thousands of marketers are still struggling to do it..

Now a couple of days ago, I promised you a free report (and I always keep my word!)… SO, I’m giving away a FREE report by my mentor (Alex Jeffreys) teaching the exact “ins and outs” of building a mega-cash-pulling e-mail list. (It’s much easier than you would think!).

So get yourself down towww.ListBuilding4Profit.com and download the free report.

Many thanks

Cheers,
Marc Milburn
www.ListBuilding4Profit.com
www.MarcMilburn.com

Welcome to the third official blog post of the new-look blog!! I wouldn’t normally work on a Sunday evening BUT something has really wound me up and I had to write this post.

You see, unfortunately I’m writing today with a rant! (Dramatic roll of thunder, please!). That’s right, I’m going to jump up onto my soapbox and complain about something which seems to be happening more and more often in this industry. It’s really cringeworthy… and I’m quite passionate about it.

So what am I talking about? Well, we all know that “the money is in the list” but that assumes that “the list” is being used correctly.

You see, just a couple of days ago I received an e-mail which began thus:

“Hi {firstname},”

**MAJOR CRINGING**

That’s right.. instead of the e-mail including my name it simply included an (incorrect) personalisation code. Now don’t get me wrong, if the personalisation had worked, I wouldn’t be under ANY illusion that this e-mail was intended directly to me. As I use the same e-mail software that this marketer was using myself (Aweber), I understand that I was simply a a tiny cog in a huge list of other subscribers.. but I cringe as I think of them receiving this same e-mail.

In truth, I closed the e-mail and didn’t bother to read it. I suspect other people could be doing the same thing. Making this mistake could be damaging your marketing dramatically! It’s especially disturbing when you realise that all this marketer had done was to miss out the ! from the code.

BUT it gets worse…

Another e-mail that I received recently was seemingly part of an ad-swap so the e-mail copy was probably standard to the marketer who was being promoted. Now I am all for ad swaps and I think they are a fantastic way to expand your list and your customer/fan base BUT you have to be careful. You see this second e-mail finished with the words:

“Kind regards,
YOUR NAME HERE”

**MAJOR CRINGING**

It’s just simple carelessness. Just by making TWO minor changes to your e-mails, you can DRAMATICALLY increase your chances of success with your list.

So how can you fix this and make sure it never happens (again)?

Here’s my three-step personalisation plan:

1. Revise your personalisation codes for your specific autoresponder software (Aweber, GetResponse, 1ShoppingCart, etc) and make a note of them somewhere handy.

2. Use the “test” feature of the autoresponder. Send at least 1 test e-mail to yourself and make sure that the personalisation works!

3. Make sure to read through each and every e-mail that you send out before you send it.

There are many “schools of thought” which think that personalisation probably isn’t that necessary anyway. Some marketers say that most intelligent people realise that they are being “broadcast to” rather than being sent an e-mail personally. However, I still think it’s a nice idea. I get e-mails pretty regularly where people have “replied” to one of my autoresponder e-mails to say “Thanks”. Some people really appreciate the personalisation.. as long as its done correctly.

I know, I know, it probably is a fairly easy mistake to make BUT it’s also SO easy to fix.

That’s bringing me to the end of this rant so I’ll jump back down of my soapbox.

But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE… if you’re going to personalise your e-mails, do it correctly.

Good afternoon!

I hope you are well and keeping as busy as you wish to be. Over my last couple of years in online marketing I’ve sometimes found  it hard to focus and stay on track. Especially through the trickier months where I wasn’t really earning quite as much as I’d like to. It’s difficult to try and avoid checking e-mails every 2 minutes, playing games or starting yet another new project which will probably earn some money………

Do you know this feeling?

As you may or may not be aware, I’m currently undergoing the Internet Marketing coaching programme from Alex Jeffreys. One of the greatest lessons that I have learned since taking Alex on as a mentor is the importance of planning within a home Internet business. I’ve come to realise that (even though we live in a world of technology) sometimes you just can’t beat the good, old fashioned pen and paper.

It’s unbelievable but just taking a few minutes out and putting ideas down onto a piece of paper does all kinds of positive and cash-generating things for your Internet marketing business. This morning, I managed to successfully complete a 90 day plan for my business.  And you know what? I feel amazing. It’s like a finally have some sort of structured device that I can use to ensure maximum success. It’s just given my business a direction. And it didn’t take very long either. Writing “goals” and “objectives” sounds really tough, doesn’t it? But truthfully, it isn’t.

I’m sure you’re aware that all large companies have business and marketing plans. Written documents detailing how they are going to get from A to B and onwards. Well don’t assume that just because you may be merely a one or two person operation that you need

The intention now is to expand that and create a 12 month plan. Check me out… not only am I planning my business for the first time.. now I’m even planning to plan!

So take a leave out of my book. Plan everything. Grab a parchment and quill (oh yeah!?) and scrawl down your plan. On a daily basis you should be planning whatever business activities you intend to do tomorrow. Now, at the “close of office hours”, I write out everything that I have done today and then plan what I intend to do tomorrow. Then, not only are you effectively planning BUT you can also begin to test, track and work out what business activities are earning you the most money.

So for today, my “to do” sheet says that I was going to write some new articles for one of my other niches, write this blog post and then spend half an hour commenting on blogs and making similar traffic driving/networking tasks. After that I’ll be taking part in a meeting on Skype to discuss a potential JV partnership.

Take it from me. I was always skeptical about this planning malarky. It sounds like bull, right? But seriously, it’s made SUCH a huge difference to my life. You MUST start planning.

The old adage/cliche is true…. “If You Fail To Plan Then You To Plan To Fail!”.

Speak soon!
Marc Milburn
www.MarcMilburn.com

P.S. Leave a comment on this blog with your favourite planning techniques, tips and strategies. Lets brainstorm the ass of this topic!