What’s the Deal with Affiliate Marketing and Social Media?

By now you’ve heard a little something about affiliate marketing – enough to know you should be an affiliate. You’ve also heard how imperative social media is.

Wanna hear my two cents? Below you’ll find a 20-minute audio where I was interviewed by Pam Zimmer. Feel free to download, SHARE, or listen straight from this post.

What questions did I answer?

Why would someone want to sign up as an affiliate and what are the benefits?
What is a “mask URL” and when/why would you want to use one?
How can you leverage being an affiliate to market and grow your business?
If someone is new to social media and wanted to create the most opportunity for a book release, what are the top things they should do?
What other tips can I offer to have more success with affiliate marketing and social media?

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Aligning with Promotional Partners to Gain Exposure, Share Your Message and Make More Money Online

There’s no doubt you have a powerful message to get out to the world. You have great ideas spurring all the time even. But are you strategically positioning yourself to gain faster success and make more income?

Brendon Burchard is right when he says people are uncomfortable talking about making money – especially off their message. They WANT to do it and NEED to do it, but they’re uncomfortable talking about it. I am too, but it’s natural and necessary. We need to put income in our pockets to sustain the message.

One way to “make money more quickly” online is with promotional partners. This can be an affiliate who registers to *sell your product for a commission*. A promotional partner can also be someone you joint venture with where you combine forces to sell a product or service – anyone that has an audience, that aligns with your message, that can help promote you. Collaboration is KEY and there are a few things you need to be educated about to make the most out of gaining these promo partners.

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Must See Valentine’s Day Gifts from Local Artist, bySheSaid.com

BySheSaid.com released a slew of new products today and I’m shouting about it from the rooftops! No, not just because my incredibly talented mom is the artist, but because they are seriously awesome products – and starting at only $12!

I’ll let the quality and beauty speak for itself:

[Show as slideshow]

JOIN US in Tucson this upcoming weekend at Lambert and LaCanada! (view details)

* FREE product giveaway
* Donations to Charity based on sales
* Meet the artist, Sharon Ludwig

Outside of Tucson? Contact Sharon to place your Valentine’s Day gift order today.

Dates: February 4th & 5th
Times: 9am – 4pm
Location: 10325 La Canada, Oro Valley, AZ

View Larger Map

Help us get the word out about these awesome products by clicking the share buttons and the top of bottom of this post! Thank you SO much in advance for your support!

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4 Steps to Develop a Product

I know you… you have ideas all day every day about blog posts to write, products to develop, workshops to host – all the ideas to grow your business and make a profit.

But at the end of the day, the week, the month… does your value and expertise get transformed into a product your audience can buy? Are you consistently adding new products to continue having a stream of income to turn a profit in your business?

The nerve-wracking thing about the online world is that there are SO MANY DISTRACTIONS. You know you need to be on Facebook so you go spend a lot of time on Facebook (maybe too much? wink). You are getting pulled in every which direction with flashing lights and signs “pay attention to this!” .. “download and learn about this cool new widget you must have” .. “one time only to learn about x, y, z to fuel your business!”

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Brendon Burchard Opened Experts Academy Online Today

Many of you have maybe seen all of the webinars and videos flying around from Brendon Burchard lately. They have been PACKED with amazing content about how to get promotional partners, what products to develop and sell to make your mark online, how to build your online business. I’ve been listening in and though I knew it would lead to a sales pitch at the end, the content was well worth the time spent.

I first met Brendon 5 years ago at event I was planning and managing called The Capital Factor. He was on stage talking about partnering with non-profits to expand you network, get paid, and make your mark. He also shared his Life’s Golden Ticket book and experience. I got to spend a lot of 1-1 time with Brendon back stage and leading up to the event. All I kept thinking was, “Wow, this guy is going somewhere. He has talent and information that no one else is talking about. He’s one to watch.”

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Protect IP Act (PIPA) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)

From Wikipedia: SOPA and PIPA represent two bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. SOPA is short for the “Stop Online Piracy Act,” and PIPA is an acronym for the “Protect IP Act.” (“IP” stands for “intellectual property.”)

In short, these bills are efforts to stop copyright infringement committed by foreign web sites, but, in our opinion, they do so in a way that actually infringes free expression while harming the Internet. Detailed information about these bills can be found in the Stop Online Piracy Act and PROTECT IP Act articles on Wikipedia, which are available during the blackout.

GovTrack lets you follow both bills through the legislative process: SOPA on this page, and PIPA on this one. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for the public interest in the digital realm, has summarized why these bills are simply unacceptable in a world that values an open, secure, and free Internet.

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Today We Support the Non-Profit Organization ‘Aid Still Required’

One of my dear friends, Andrea Herz Payne, is an important leader of our time. She is one of the authors I was lucky enough to work with in the Amazon best-seller for Get Your Woman On, a book of inspirational essays by 39 women about transformational events that changed their lives and the lives of others.

In December 2004 Andrea and her husband Hunter sat in their kitchen on pins and needles waiting to hear if their friends had survived the southeast Asian tsunami. Asking themselves, “What can we do to make a difference?” prompted a life-changing journey which led to founding their own nonprofit organization, Aid Still Required (ASR).

This influential nonprofit has enlisted the help of former President Clinton’s United Nations office, in addition to musical artists such as Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Maroon 5 and Bonnie Raitt, and NBA stars such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

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Top 12 Author Marketing Moves for 2012

A Great Guest Post by Rob Eagar

As we face a new year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with resolutions and the desire to improve upon last year’s success or the lack thereof. But, sometimes the hardest part is placing proper focus on the right priorities. With a plethora of choices to market your message, it’s easy to fall into analysis-paralysis. So, I’ve provided twelve marketing tips to prevent you from freezing up and get 2012 off to a great start:

1. Enhance your author brand

If you don’t have an author brand, your first marketing move of 2012 is to start creating one. With all the voices competing for your audience’s attention, you must stand out more than ever. A brand is what makes you memorable and communicates your value. Thus, make sure your brand is infused into everything you do, including any of your books, products, services, bios, social media pages, etc. If you’re struggling to create a brand, review these seven principles on my website (http://www.startawildfire.com/buildabrand.html).

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What Will 2012 Be About for NGNG?

I’ve really grounded myself and spent some quiet time to dream up what I want 2012 to look like. I thought what better way to kick off the new year that to share my ambitions with you. I hope this list may offer some inspiration and direction for you as well!

Here is what is on my mind for 2012:

I really want 2012 to be about building a rock solid community of superstar authors, speakers and entrepreneurs all who have a message of hope, transformation or inspiration to get out to the world. I know that through this community we can make it through days of doubt, moments of fear and help promote each others messages.
Collaboration on a larger scale is something I will be scouting. I want to help connect like-minded individuals and help give a giant boost to the success of my community.
I want to connect on a deeper level with website visitors, social networking friends, clients, friends and family.

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Are You Really Connecting with Your Audience?

One of the toughest parts about running a business online is that it is a challenge to truly connect with your audience. For example, YOU. Right this minute you’re reading this post and I’m hoping I can make a connection. I am hoping you see there is a person writing this who wants to help you, wants you to succeed online. But it’s hard because all you see are words that any Joe Schmoe could have written. So how can people see your heart, your intent?

I have listed 3 ways below to help push you outside of the no-touch zone with your audience:

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