By Kenneth Koh

Who am I to teach you about blogger mistakes? I’m not a big-time blogger. Neither has my blog won any award.

But I do know one thing, that is, how to use my blog as a tool to achieve my goal.

I’m telling you this because this is exactly the TOP mistake that many new bloggers make.

Many new bloggers tend to treat their blog as some kind of online holy grail, thinking that as long as they have a blog, traffic will come and they will make money.

What they should do instead is to think of blog as just another a tool. It should be part of the business, not the business.

I know this is a bit theoretical and ‘dry’, but this is an important fundamental that you must understand, if you want to follow my advice.

As you know, I get most of my writing inspiration from our members’ questions. Today’s topic on blogger mistakes is no different.

Here’s the question I received from a member:

“I respect you as a master marketer with great knowledge and insight. Could you have a quick look at my blog, and suggest ways to get it really going… and also to start making REAL money??” – Izzy Joseph

I’m not sure how Izzy’s blog is performing now. But if I were to be critical, here are some advice I can think of:

1) Build A Business, Not A Blog

As I said, I don’t consider myself as a blogger. My approach to blogging is from the perspective of a marketer.

To me, blog is one of my marketing tools for my business. In other words, blogging is not my business, and it should not be your business too.

Frankly, I can’t see a business in your blog. What I can see instead is you are trying to write some articles and get people to buy the Clickbank product you’re affiliated to. That’s not a business.

Your domain name is membership-millions.com. If I were you, I will turn the blog into a resource centre that teaches people how to make money from membership. You may write articles that teach people how to start a membership site, how to promote membership sites, etc. You can engage a freelancer to create a membership script to give away.

If you choose to go the membership way, everything you do should be related to membership. Your opt-in freebie should be an ebook about membership. Your articles should be about membership.

If you are afraid that you may not have enough material to write about membership, your worry is unnecessary. Everything about internet marketing can be twisted to link to membership. For example, your little twitter ebook can be renamed to “how to promote your membership with twitter”… Read Story Here

Technorati Tags: Blogger Mistakes, Online Marketing

Natural skin care products, are the choice of many people who are suffering with acne. Natural products are considered to be safe to use, gentle to the skin, and free from the harsh side affects that are associated with some manufactured products. Most people are particular about the type of products they use on their skin, especially the face, where an unsuitable synthetic preparation can case an untold amount of damage, or at least embarrassment.

Natural skin care products maybe the answer to some people’s skin condition, however the more severe outbreaks of acne may not respond to natural skin care products alone, and a prescribed medication must be used to fight the disorder. By using a combination of natural products and prescription drugs, a severe skin disorder can be more readily controlled. This does not mean that the use of natural products should be abandoned, as they certainly do encourage the healing process. Prescribed medications are necessary at times to quickly kill bacteria and fight infection, which then allows the natural healing process to proceed unhindered.

Skin type and condition will determine the choice of, which natural products should be used. The popular belief that a natural skin care product will not damage the skin, is not entirely correct. People react differently to various preparations, this may be caused by additives that have been introduced during the packaging process, or concentrated substances, which irritate certain skin types. When purchasing facial skin care products, natural or otherwise, you must choose preparations that are suitable for your type of skin, and the skin condiion you are treating. For some people with delicate skin, this can be a daunting task, and they would be well advised to consult a beautician or health care professional, in order to obtain a safe range of effective preparations.

By adopting a healthy lifestyle, practicing a daily skin care regimen, and using natural skin care products that have been recommended for your type of skin, you will achieve a fresh, healthy and natural skin tone.

ItsAboutAcne.com

Technorati Tags: Acne Treatment, Natural Products

Oily skin causes many problems for the afflicted, not the least of which, is being susceptible to bouts of acne. Natural body oils are produced by the sebaceous glands to lubricate the skin and keep it supple, when too much oil is produced the result is an oily complexion. This condition by itself, is by no means serious, however extra care is needed to wash away excessive oil deposits in order to keep the skin looking fresh, and to prevent skin pores from becoming clogged with dead cells.

Clogged pores prevent the free flow of sebum, or oil, to the skin’s surface, this situation results in a build up of trapped oil that allows bacteria to breed and the development of acne pimples and skin eruptions. If this condition is not brought under control quickly it will ultimately lead to an extensive outbreak of common acne.

A good quality cleanser containing a mild astringent agent should be used to keep the skin free of excessive oil and dead cells. Of course, this does not mean to dry out the skin completely, our skin must retain a certain amount of fluid in order to keep supple and well toned. It is advisable to visit a qualified beauty consultant to have your skin checked. The consultant will be able to recommend the most suitable products for your skin condition. The cost involved is relatively minor considering the time saved by not having to shop around, and the cost of purchasing preparations that may be too harsh or otherwise unsuitable.

A daily routine must be established to keep the skin free of excessive oil. Gently wash with cool or lukewarm water twice a day, or more if you are in a hot, humid climate and prone to sweating. Another consideration is whether a moisturizer will need to be used in conjunction with the cleanser you are using to strike the correct balance in keeping the skin looking fresh and free of acne pimples.

Should an acne condition develop into an uncontrollable outbreak, consult a dermatologist for professional care and proper treatment.

Technorati Tags: Oily Skin, Acne Options

By Kenneth Koh

Recently I received an enquiry from one of our members asking me how to advertise her online store. I thought this is an interesting discussion and thus decide to discuss it in our blog today.

First, here’s her question:

————————————————–
Hello Kenneth,

Firstly, I want to tell you that your blog is awesome. Its content is extremely rich. I can spend hours reading your posts and I learned many things with.

I’m Emilie To. I have just acquired this online store www.NiceDigitalGoods.com.

My questions are:

1) To take advantage at most your advertising system, do I write an ad for the whole shop or for a single category or for a particular product?

2) As there are 32 categories and over 380 products in the shop, how to determine in what category, on which product it is necessary to concentrate the efforts of advertising?
————————————————–

Who is your target audience?

As an advertiser or a marketer, the very first question you MUST ask yourself is “Who is your target audience?” or “Who will buy your products?”

(Take a look at her website and see what she is selling www.NiceDigitalGoods.com.)

One extremely common mistake that online store owners make is to think that their target audience is EVERYBODY.

If you are targeting everyone, you are getting no one. Trust me on this!

You mentioned that your online store has 32 categories and 380 products. But seriously, who is likely to buy a dog training ebook from your online store? Someone who wants to train his dog or someone who wants to buy the Master Resale Rights of that ebook?

From my assessment, I feel that your target audience are internet marketers looking to buy MRR (Master Resale Rights) and PLR (Private Label Rights) products for their niche websites.

If so, the answer to your first question would be… Read Full Story

Technorati Tags: Online Store, Products

Acne is a common skin disease that can affect people from all walks of life. An acne outbreak can be identified by the presence of pimples, blackheads, cysts or unusual skin eruptions. The disease is incurable, but symptoms can be controlled by various means including, medicated cleansers, topical preparations, antibiotics and surgical procedures. Acne can spoil a persons appearance, rendering them self conscious even to the extent of becoming introverted. A serious outbreak of acne can also destroy a young person’s social and personal lifestyle, as well as hinder their professional career.

The first steps in avoiding the consequences of an acne outbreak is to adopt a healthy lifestyle and establish a daily skin care regimen. Cleanliness is an important factor in avoiding or treating acne. Wash the skin gently with cool water and a good quality cleanser twice daily without fail. Should any sign of acne appear, take action immediately to halt the infection. Become aware of natural or over the counter products that will prevent skin pores from becoming clogged, and use antibacterial cleansers to destroy bacteria before it can cause any problems. Apply a mild astringent lotion if the skin appears to be excessively oily and use protective creams before commencing work or performing outdoor activities.

People that need to wear make up, should choose products that are gentle and suitable for their skin type. It is best not to leave make up on for any longer than necessary, so it is a good idea to remove it soon after arriving home. Use a good quality make up remover and wash the face thoroughly, then dab the skin dry using a soft towel. If you are living in a hot humid place, take a cool shower before bed time to rinse away sweat and any dead skin cells.

When acne symptoms are present, there are several basic things that can be done to control the outbreak and stop it from spreading. Keep your hair and your hands off your face, and do not squeeze any pimples. Wear a clean change of clothes every day, and sleep in fresh pyjamas every night, turn the pillow case over after use and wash it every other day. If the body is in contact with the bed sheets, then they should be turned every day and washed every second day.

These are just a few basic sanitary precautions that will prevent bacteria from spreading to other parts of the body. Of course, if the acne outbreak persists and continues to develop, then a health care professional should be consulted.

Technorati Tags: Acne Treatment, Acne Options

By Kenneth Koh

In my previous post, I wrote an article on Should I Start A Blog or a Website First? and some of you shared very good comments in the blog. Today I shall attempt to discuss another common question – “Should I build a list?”.

To kick start the discussion, let’s take a look at what I did when I first started online……

I built an info-rich website in an unpopular niche. As the website started getting some traffic, I prepared an email tutorial series, delivered through autoresponder, as a bait to entice visitors to opt-in to my list. Every email tutorial sends the reader back to my website to read the full tutorial that has Adsense ads in it. Within each tutorial, I also try to promote affiliate products. Other than that, I do not follow up with the list anymore.

Did I regret spending time to build the list? Not at all. Despite my lack of maintenance, it is still adding a few hundreds into my pocket every year, until today.

If you are going to spend time and money promoting a website, yet you are not building a list, you are leaving money on the table, period.

But DO NOT build a list for the sake of building one. In the past, I may simply build a list by offering a PLR or MRR ebook, thinking that I will follow up with the list in the future. I never did. Yes, I’m lazy, but I believe most of you are lazy too.

If you were to build a list, you have to know EXACTLY how you intend to monetize the list. Else, list building will really be a waste of time for you.

In my example above, I offered a free tutorial. Those who opt-in are looking forward to that tutorial. When an email tutorial comes to them, they must go online to read the tutorial. And I monetize every tutorial through Adsense and affiliate sales.

I always tell my regular advertisers that if they are spending money to advertise, they should build a list, especially when they are advertising products in the same niche. But they often tell me things like… Read Full Story

Technorati Tags: List Building, Online Marketing

Acne is a common skin disorder that continues to defy those who have attempted to produce a cure. However, this does not mean that there is no relief for the dreaded symptoms of the disorder. There are many skin care products on the market that will substantially ease the symptoms of common acne. Acne skin care products can be generally described as follows:

* General skin cleansers that help to prevent acne from developing.
* Medicated preparations that are available over the counter.
* Preparations that are prescribed by a doctor for more serious outbreaks of acne.

General skin cleansers, make up removers and mild astringent solutions are used to help prevent acne outbreaks from occurring. Actually, the use of these skin care products should be part of one’s regular daily skin care regimen, in order to keep the skin clean and healthy. However, certain skin cleansers are specifically designed to cater for acne sufferers, and these are the products that should be used as a defense against the disease. By restricting the flow of natural body oil, and thus preventing the clogging of skin pores, cleansers containing an astringent agent will prevent oil from getting trapped in skin pores, which leads to the development of bacteria that allows acne outbreaks to form. These general skin care products also include exfoliation products that help the skin to naturally shed dead cells, and remove the chance of skin pores becoming clogged.

Medicated products that are available over the counter, include vanishing creams, which will remove surplus oil from the skin, as well as preparations that are based on benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. These agents kill bacteria and are particularly effective in the formation of pimples and blackheads. Moisturizers based on alpha hydroxy acid are quite effective in the control of mild acne outbreaks. If over the counter products do not control your acne or the condition becomes more extensive, then you would be well advised to consult a dermatologist.

Your dermatologist is qualified to prescribe more active preparations that are designed to control serious acne outbreaks. There are many solutions available to treat acute acne sufferers, including topical ointments, antibiotics and surgical procedures. If you are suffering from uncontrollable outbreaks of acne, don’t hesitate to consult a health care professional.

ItsAboutAcne.com

Technorati Tags: Acne Treatment, Skin Cleansers

By Kenneth Koh

Should I start a blog or website first? I believe this is a common question many newbies ask nowadays.

To answer this question, you must first ask yourself what is your objective?

Are you trying to:

- sell your own product?
- make money as an affiliate?
- make money from advertising such as Adsense?
- Or you simply want to share your knowledge with the world (and make some money in the process)?

Sell your own product….

If you are trying to sell your own product, the answer is obvious. You should first have your product website.

You should focus your initial effort in getting traffic from joint venture and advertising, and building a list. You should not waste your time blogging to thin air (assuming you are totally new and has no traffic sources).

BUT as soon as you have a substantial list, say 1000 subscribers, you can start blogging, with 2 intentions in mind: 1) to build relationship and sales, and 2) to build search engine traffic “for the future”…Read Full Story

Technorati Tags: Blogger Webmaster, Online Blogger

By Kenneth Koh

“I am a blogger with Adsense now and I need to know what I can do in LeadsLeap to improve my traffic to my blogs to make money from the ads?” – Love in Jesus, Marina.

There are many things you can do in LeadsLeap to drive traffic to your blog. Here are some of the ways I can think of:

1) Set up your LeadsLeap ad

The easiest way to drive traffic to your blog is to set up your LeadsLeap ad. If you have an ‘okay’ written ad, it should drive some traffic to your blog. If you upgrade your account, it will drive more traffic to your blog. If you’re using a free account, make sure that you have positive credits in your account or you should build a team that you can advertise to… Read Full Story

Technorati Tags: Blog Traffic, Online Blogger

Well, at least not until you have read this review. My heading was not some ploy to get you to find out what is wrong with Instant PlugNPay.com. Rather, it was meant to get your attention because there are a few things I want you to know before you join…Read Full Story