Earning a passive income is possible but it is actually harder than you think. There are countless individuals who have spent six months or more of their time building an online business without making a single dime. We’ll tackle some of the common myths in internet marketing in this article:

Myth 1: Push-button income streams can make you thousands of dollars overnight

There is little truth that you can earn passive income through pushing a couple of buttons a day on the internet. The fact is that hard work will yield a bit of some passive income. You need to work harder on the right strategies to get to where you want to be.

Remember, there is no magic bullet. Whoever tries to sell this to you is either bluffing or exaggerating. Either way, you should take their claim with a grain of salt.

Myth 2: I can get rich through this “secret (insert product here)”

Do a quick search and you’ll find hundreds of marketers claiming to have the “secret software”, “secret technique”, or “secret strategy” that will make you rich tomorrow. Guess who’s the only one who will make money here? That’s right, the marketer selling the product.

The group that’s propagating the myth that there’s a secret way to earn money online are the only ones getting rich because thousands of people buy into this dream.

Myth 3: It’s just a matter of patience

Then there is also a group of marketers who claim that their system will help you produce thousands of dollars over the long-term even if you are not making money now. Don’t expect anything when you hear this claim. There is a better likelihood that their system won’t work at all. It will either be outdated by the time they say you’ll see results or it would never have you made you anything in the first place. They’re probably just wasting your time and waiting until the “money back” guarantee expires.

While the signs might be discouraging, it is also important to note that countless bloggers have been in the same situation but has still made it. In this article, we’ll explore the different reasons why your blog isn’t as effective as it should be.

You don’t enjoy the topic

If you find a particular topic uninteresting, redundant, and unappealing, it will show on your writing. Even freelance writers who write about anything and everything have some topics that they won’t feel particularly keen about. Basically, if your website doesn’t contain anything exciting or new, people will go elsewhere because your blog is found to be wanting when it comes to substance.

Your blog isn’t becoming an authority site

In many fields, the only way you’ll make it is if the blog makes it on the first page of the search engine results page. There are also other ways to promote such as direct advertising, joint ventures, and social media marketing among others. By and large, you need to be seen as an authority in one particular area because you’ll generate enough money to matter.

Your market isn’t spending

While receiving thousands of unique visits on a daily basis may look good on first glance, it should be noted that some sites have impressive numbers yet fail to make money. Consider someone on the “freebie” niche, for example. The visitors that this site inevitably attracts are freebie-seekers. They would be unwilling to pay for stuff on your page, even if you try to upsell.

At the end of the day, only you can decide if you’re in the wrong niche. There are countless bloggers who write and update their blog on a regular basis simply because they enjoy the topic. If you make money from these endeavors, then you can treat it as a bonus.

Below are the seven blog traffic statistics that you should know about.

1. Page views. Page views, in general, are the number of times your web pages are viewed by online users. Counting page views is considered as the standard measurement of traffic and popularity among websites and blogs because Internet advertisers often look at the statistics. It helps them visualize how often their ads will be seen by their target consumers.

2. Page views per visit. This statistic tells you the number of pages that visitors check whenever they go to your blog. For instance, one visitor may leave after he has read the post that he intends to check. Meanwhile, another visitor may look at your other posts or pages that you linked to. If page views per visits go down, it may indicate that the way you position your information does not encourage visitors to go to your other pages or posts. If it goes up, it means that you’re doing great in terms of on-site linking and you must keep it up!

3. Percentage of new visits. This statistic shows how many of your visitors have visited your site for the first time. Although the number may not be 100% accurate, it will give you an idea of how visible your site is. You will also determine if your website is still able to attract new visitors – if your blog is thriving or dying.

4. Unique visitors. In relation to the entry above, the uniqueness of your readership is also important. Unique visitors’ stats will let you know how many online users have visited your site within a specific time span.

5. Time spent on site. This statistic allows you to know how much time your visitors spent on your site before opting out. If visitors spend less than 10 seconds on your blog, it might mean that your blog or content is not what they are looking for. If your posts and elements are interesting enough for your target readers, they will stay on your site longer.

6. Traffic source or referrers. These are the other websites that directed visitors to your site. Referrers can be anything from search engines, blog directories, article directories, social media sites, social bookmarks and so forth. By learning these statistics, you will know what marketing strategy works the best.

7. Bounce rate. Bounce rate indicates the number of visitors who came to your site but left without clicking any of your links – or anything else. For instance, if a visitor was directed to your site via Twitter and left right after reading the post on that page, that is a bounce. Meanwhile, if they clicked on anything in your page that may have interested them, it’s no longer considered a bounce. This indicates how engaging your content is, and how interesting your links (anchor texts) are.

There are numerous tools and plug-ins that can help you identify these blog traffic stats. Using such tools can effectively help make your blog better and friendlier for online users.

Do you stay focused?

If you want to start making money from the internet, it is important to treat it as a business. That means creating an environment that will let you do some actual work. If you’re working at home, reserve a space that is just yours. Spouses can kids should know when you are working and should minimize the interruptions. This is a crucial factor that will make your business succeed. Family support can certainly go a long way.

In some instances, it may be difficult for you to work normal hours because of personal commitments. If this is the case, you might want to consider working at night. While this is not ideal, it may be necessary.

Do you stay disciplined?

Now that you have the space, the next question is, do you actually work when you’re supposed to? Or do you spend time talking with friends of Skype, browsing pictures on Facebook, and participating in forums? Before you know it, time goes and you haven’t completed a single project.

Make it a point to create a list every day or every week. Cross out all the items you’ve finished. This may be a small step but it helps a lot of people do what they have to.

Do you reward yourself?

After completing difficult tasks or if you went over and beyond expectations, don’t be stingy. Give yourself some rewards. This will keep you positive and in the mood to work more. Consider what matters to you most.

Treat yourself to a spa if you’re feeling stressed, book a weekend getaway with your spouse, or simply treat your family to dinner and movies. All these lets you appreciate the importance of work so you’ll feel even more motivated to do better next time.

Ask yourself whether the offer good enough? Do you stand to make money from the blog after all the time and effort you invested? If the answer is yes, then it might be a good idea to sell. If you think the buyer is willing to pay more, try to negotiate a higher price. On the other hand, if you got started on blogging specifically to make money, then consider the tips we’ve outlined below. These are the key ingredients that have made certain blogs incredibly successful:

• Know the Subject Inside Out – there are thousands of blogs out there. One way to make yours stand out is to offer better and more in-depth information. It is important to focus on areas that the audience is particularly interested in as well. Keep it personal to avoid the “commercialized” feel. The latter turns readers off.
• Post Fresh Content – while you may feel passionate about a subject at first, this may peter out as time goes by. If you want to see continuous success, it is important to keep posting. It will help your site retain its relevance in the eyes of both the search engines and most especially your readers.
• Analyze and Strategize – look into your web analytics to understand where your readers are coming from. Which keywords consistently provide you with readers? And what sites refer the most traffic to your blog? Once you understand the strengths of your blog, you can create a more effective strategy to expand readership.
• Start Monetizing – after building a steady amount of traffic, it’s now time to step up your monetization efforts. There are various business models for blogging that you can look into. These include using pay-per-click advertising, direct advertising, sponsored reviews, and affiliate marketing among others. These tactics can be combined to help you maximize the income potential of the blog.

Once you can see how much the blog can generate, it’s possible to place a price tag on your blog. It is also important to consider the reasons why the buyer wants to acquire your blog. If it’s because of the domain name or your high placement on the search engines for a very competitive niche, then you can ask an amount that’s significantly higher than the current “market value” of your blog.

There are many bloggers who promote affiliate products or services the wrong way. In this article, we’ll outline the best practices used by successful bloggers. Follow these tips and you’ll see a difference on your bottom line immediately:

Show (Don’t Tell) the Benefits

When it comes to boosting your affiliate sales dramatically, showing customers how the product or service is beneficial is more effective than telling them about it. Video marketing is a powerful form of selling. It’s true that most sales pages already integrate a video. However, these are likely to be less believable than videos that are posted on a third-party website. A simple home-made video can have a big impact; make sure to upload this to YouTube to get even more traffic.

Give a Genuine Review

In pushing for affiliate products, it is always important to offer honest reviews. If you’re running a “brand” blog which already have a good following in the industry, genuine reviews can take improve the reputation of your blog as the “go-to” review site. Readers tend to be loyal if the initial products they bought through your site turned out to be effective and useful.

Start an Email Marketing Campaign

It is said that 80% of sales come from 20% of customers. This is true both online and offline. An email marketing campaign can help your business grow exponentially. You’ve already established a relationship with the subscribers and the fact alone that they subscribed to your list shows that they are interested in what you have to say. Promote affiliate products or services on the newsletter and sit back as the sales come rolling in.

Aside from using auto responders for email marketing, there are also a number of affiliate marketing tools you can use improve conversion rates. Remember to study your web analytics to get a better idea of what customers are looking for.

Success in affiliate marketing doesn’t happen overnight. But by following the tips above, you can significantly increase your chances of building an affiliate business that will last over the long term.

I was once a local business owner, too. I loved it because I love books and local writers, but I hated the fact that I was dreaming alone and had nobody to share this dream with. Selling indie books was a hard task for me. Imagine a 40-square meter space full of unknown and unpopular books, people passing by without even noticing my store. I had my lucky days, too, but I had more humdrum ‘no sales’ weekday. When e-books became easily available on the Web, real books became outdated. My store was ignored even more, especially by the younger generations.

My indie bookstore was mainly only for passion, but I still had to make reasonable sales to keep it alive. After all, I had bills to pay, too.

It was in January 2005 when this photographer visited my store. Because of his worn-out Chuck Taylor sneakers and white shirt, my store assistant almost sent him out of the store. He bought a lot of self-help books, and, to my surprise, he visited my store three times weekly. We became friends, and, as days passed by, I became curious about the glossy black object hanging around his neck. He introduced me to photography, an art form that changed my business forever.

When blogs became popular, this photographer introduced me to another new subject. He said that photo-blogging was the new fad, and he thought that it was the perfect time for me to consider having a photoblog.

I never thought photo-blogging could save my struggling business. My friend asked me to photograph my books and the whole store for promotion on my newly-created blog. He then endorsed the blog to his friends, until it became viral and popular among that circle. I started making ‘Book of the Week’ and ‘Indie Writer of the Month’ posts on my blog. As my bookstore’s sales increased, grateful letters from different indie writers and book clubs flooded me. I became a household name for indie book lovers around the globe.
Through that photoblog, I met different people across the globe. Some of them promised that they would promote my store in their country, and the rest was history. I now have four stores abroad, three here in the States, and one strong photoblog.

3 Learnings

Define your own success

Think big. Before the photographer and I became good friends, I was boxed by the notion that I can handle only small businesses. I never dreamt of going big-time and never had I defined success that way. Have your own definition of success, and then work for it.

Discover the catalyst for your success

It took me years to discover the key to my success. We need to recognize it, because it reveals itself only once.  In my case, it was the photographer. If I allowed my assistant to send him out of the store, I might have ended up as an unsuccessful, lonely bookstore owner in Maine.

Discover the things around you

Appreciate the things around you because what’s mundane to us may be exotic to others. I never thought indie books were that rare or that popular in other countries. It took one photoblog for me to realize the importance of the things around me.
—
This is a guest post by Warnre Carter. Warner is interested in everything online that fuels discovery. I find SEO a facinating puzzle so of course work for an SEO Reseller, Endless Rise

To give you a quick rundown, there’s quite a few types of affiliate marketing fraud that can affect consumers, merchants and affiliates:

• Duplicating- Just what it sounds like. Creative deceptive clones of sites.
• Spamming- Sending a massive amount of spammy emails under the guise of an actual company.
• Squatting- Creating and holding a site under a common mispelling.
• Diverting- Creative links that are deceptive and do not pay the affiliate.
• Faking- Creating the illusion of many clicks on affiliate link to drive up CPC program earnings.
• Stealing- Making purchases with stolen card information to drain merchant’s coffers or to earn bogus commissions.

All of the aforementioned risks associated with affiliate marketing fraud can (almost) easily be prevented by sharing information. Make up an internal blacklist of sites you know you’ve had issues with and make sure this list is available to others within this community. Also, doing thorough checks of sites and sharing results with others benefits not only yourself, but also puts a second, third, fourth and infinite set of eyes on it as well.

I would also suggest getting closer to others in the community who may be able to share information with you. I’m sure there’s plenty of sites on their radars that they’ll be more than happy to share with you on your quest to conquer affiliate marketing fraud.

You can find more solutions by clicking the infographic above. There’s some great resourceful information here.

Internet marketers and bloggers are often called upon to create excitement for products and market demand out of nothing more than thin air. One tactic in promoting your products and services in a new and interesting light is to use seasonality or ”hot markets” in your marketing mix. I was reminded of the power in these tactics recently while creating some promotional ideas for a UK company which sells dedicated servers around the World Cup. You may find this tactic suits your blog well – here’s how it works.

Seasonality and ‘Hot Markets’

Most online marketers are already quite familiar with seasonality. In online retail, the prime selling season is the month of December – traditionally the season of giving. Similarly, any business selling items related to love and relationships will make strategic use of the February Valentine’s Day season to promote their goods and services. There is also a similar marketing technique related to ”hot markets”. So what exactly are hot markets? Let’s look at the example of a retailer that sells sporting goods and apparel. Whenever there is a championship match for a particular sport, a hot market is created. The most obvious example in the U.S. may be the Super Bowl. If a retailer sells team jerseys or football equipment, they can leverage the excitement around the Super Bowl to sell items related to the teams and the sport itself.

Leveraging ‘Hot Markets’

Some may ask how hot markets apply to their business when they sell products unrelated to the hot market events themselves. There are two ways – tangentially related promotions, and unrelated promotions. To again use the example of the Super Bowl – a tangentially related promotion would be sales of televisions to watch the game. While televisions are not featured in the sport of football, the excitement surrounding the event reminds consumers that they have been intending to purchase a new television. The date of the game creates a built-in deadline for purchase, and yields a fantastic call to action for the television vendor. Unrelated promotions are those promotions which feature products that truly have nothing all to do with the hot market event.

Selling Unrelated Items Into a ‘Hot Market’

The key to leveraging hot markets for most businesses is to generate a creative marketing idea which use the hot market event as a springboard for the promotion. Here is an example based on the World Cup promotion mentioned previously. If you have an unrelated product, why not offer a progressive discount based on the performance of your home team in the World Cup? For example in the U.S. – one could offer 10 percent off for each goal that the U.S. team scores in each game. One goal means a 10 percent discount, 2 goals is a 20 percent discount. This rewards the customer for a hot market event that they are already excited about. An alternative idea may be to have a promotion entitled, ”If the U.S. wins, you win!”. This promotion could offer the customer a free item (free shipping?) if the U.S. wins the match. The permutations of these promotions are practically endless.

Seasonality and ‘Hot Market’ Ideas
So what are the various seasons and hot markets that can be used to create special promotions? Here is a short list to give you a few ideas.

Seasons
Beginning of the Year – New Year’s
Valentine’s Day
President’s Day
Summer
Back to School
Halloween
Thanksgiving
Winter Holidays (Christmas, Hanukah)

Here are a few ideas to consider as well.
Any major sporting events (Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, etc.)
Special events that recur (The Oscars, American Idol, Movie launches)
Trade shows, conferences or events (Comic Con, CES, any trade event in your industry)

Getting Started

It’s really quite easy to get started thinking about promotions for seasonality or hot markets. Use a calendar program and begin to enter events that you think might appeal to your customer demographic. When you have a few hot market events on your calendar, consider promotions that you could roll out to coincide with the events or season. You’ll be armed with plenty of great promotions in no time. Good luck using seasonality and hot markets to your best advantage in promoting your blog.

Being creative and able to change around your website to draw in consumers isn’t a match for initially stomping your way through the internet to find what the right affiliate marketing software is for you. I’ve been pretty ecstatic to share this infographic that I found- because it cuts out your search time on this topic.

Hope this helps cut down the confusion so you can clearly see what each has to offer! That way you can get to gettin’ on being efficient with your affiliate marketing