Promote ClickBank Products Using Twitter: Part Three

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 14th, 2008


This is the final part of a three-part series by guest blogger and ClickBank publisher Scott Tousignant on using Twitter to increase your ClickBank sales. We suggest reading Part One and Part Two if you haven’t already.



Part Three: Twitter Turn-Ons and Turn-Offs





Twitter is all about conversing and building relationships with like-minded people, whether they are customers or joint venture partners. If you are using Twitter for blatant self-promotion, you may make some sales of the ClickBank products that you promote, but you will quickly be ignored by the Twitter community and lose out on the massive benefits that Twitter has to offer.



In my previous two posts, I shared the reasons why you should use Twitter as a means of promoting ClickBank products, as well as how to get started. Today I’ll share the most effective strategies for incorporating your promotions through Twitter, including the most important “Do’s” and “Don’ts.”



Your goal in using Twitter should be to become a valued resource in your niche. Ideally, you’ll become a resource for both potential customers and other experts in your niche. Offering a little bit of help can go a long way toward this goal. On the other hand, if all you do is include links to products in every tweet, you are setting yourself up for failure.



So how do you strike the perfect balance between promoting ClickBank products and providing useful information on Twitter? Understanding these fundamentals can mean the difference between turning on customers and joint venture partners and turning them off. Let’s start with the “don’ts” of Twitter.





Twitter Turn-Offs



Every tweet that you do has a link to a product or your blog posts.

Not engaging in any form of conversation. If I visit your Twitter profile page and I don’t see any form of conversation with other Twitter users, it’s likely that I won’t follow you because I can see you’re not really participating in the community.

You are still using the default Twitter avatar. This gives the sense that you could be a Twitter spam-bot, rather than a real person.

You are following 2,000 people and only 10 people are following you. If you have followed that many people and only a handful have followed you back, it’s proof enough for me that you are not a useful resource.

Neglecting to respond when someone begins a conversation with you. If you visit your replies box and see that I asked how your recent product promotion was going and you don’t respond to me, chances are that I will not try to engage in conversation with you again.

Twitter Turn-Ons



An inviting profile page, including a vibrant avatar picture of yourself and an intriguing bio that makes me want to learn more about you.

You are engaging in conversation 80 percent of the time. If I visit your profile page and see that the majority of your tweets begin with @twittername, it’s a sign that you are regularly communicating with others.

Sharing resources. I once heard someone refer to Twitter as a global Rolodex. It’s a place to discover amazing resources that are working for others. Join in the sharing. When you come across a helpful tool or service, let your followers on Twitter know about it. They’ll look to you in the future as a good resource, increasing your stature in their minds.

Twitter Shout Outs! This can be done in many ways. If you really enjoy my tweets, do a tweet yourself, saying, “If you are not following @TheFitB do so now, he’s a great fat loss resource.” You’d better believe that you’ll catch my attention with that and get some reciprocation.

This last point is one of the biggest potential benefits of Twitter, so I’ll explain it a little more thoroughly. What do you think would happen if I responded in a tweet, saying, “@yourtwitterid I appreciate your kind words, I see that you are an expert in my niche as well. It’s great to see you helping others succeed.” I’ll tell you what would happen. You would get a bunch of my followers following you!



You may not be able to get a guru in your niche to send out an email promotion for your product to their list, but when you use Twitter effectively, you can get them to bring their followers’ attention to you and the work that you do.



How To Incorporate Promotions Into Your Tweets Without Turning People Off



If you follow the 80/20 rule, you’ll do just fine. If you restrict promotions to just 20 percent of your tweets, your chances of turning those tweets into sales are much greater. One key reason is trust. Another key reason is that you have proven to be a useful resource with your free advice. If your tips have helped them out and you are now recommending that your followers check out a product that would be helpful to them, chances are good that they will click on it.



I spend most of my time engaging in conversation, and then when it’s time for me to work out, I’ll post a tweet mentioning that I’m about to hit the gym for a great workout and provide a link to a blog post review that I did for that workout program. I don’t send them directly to a sales page through my ClickBank link. I provide them with more information to help them decide if the workout program that I’m following would be the right fit for them as well. At that point, they can click on my ClickBank affiliate link to check out the program. Chances are much higher that they will purchase at this point than if I had just posted a link to a pitch page with no explanation.



Sometimes Twitter users will come right out and ask if anyone knows of a great product to solve a certain problem. This is a great opportunity to share your affiliate link for a product that you believe would be of great help to them. The more respected you are as a resource to your Twitter followers, and the more trust you earn from them, the greater the chance that they will purchase the products you recommend.



Be sure to return the favor, as well. If you purchase a product because someone recommended it to you, be sure to tweet them and let them know. I have discovered some pretty awesome products because of people I’m following on Twitter. I let them know that they deserve the commission for helping me make a wise purchasing decision.



Twitter really is a worldwide Rolodex at your fingertips. It will help you and your business in more ways that you can imagine. Use it effectively, and you can harness the power of its true potential.



Scott Tousignant of http://www.unstoppablefatloss.com/ harnesses the power of social media to help bring him closer to his goal of reversing the nationwide obesity trend by 2015. Connect with Scott by following him at www.Twitter.com/TheFitB

Promote ClickBank Products Using Twitter: Part One

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 10th, 2008


This is part one of a three part series by guest blogger and ClickBank publisher Scott Tousignant on using Twitter to increase your ClickBank sales.



Part One: What is Twitter, and How Can It Help Your ClickBank Business?



Social media has quickly become the easiest and fastest method of generating targeted exposure for your ClickBank promotions. Participating in the most effective social networks, and using them correctly, will lead to an increase in conversions and boost your ClickBank sales.



With new social networking sites popping up every day, it can be difficult to determine which ones are worth your investment of time and effort. That’s why today, I’m going to make your life a bit easier. After spending thousands of hours in hundreds of different social networking communities and tracking where my traffic and sales are coming from, I can tell you without a doubt that Twitter has produced the best results for my business.



What Is Twitter, You Ask?



It’s hard to say, really. Twitter means different things to different people. To some people, it’s simply another form of a chat room, public instant messaging, or a virtual water cooler. To others, it’s a place to network with like-minded individuals, connect with customers, and attract joint venture partners.



The technical term that is often used to describe Twitter is ‘micro blogging.’ Each ‘tweet’ is a 140-character blog post. It’s quick and to the point. That’s part of the appeal to many Twitter users, which makes it important for you to understand that you need to provide value within each tweet that you make.



Why Should You Use Twitter?



Connect with Customers and Joint Venture Partners

Twitter allows me to build trust and enhance the relationship that I have with my customers. It’s one more way that I can erase any skepticism they may have in regards to my credibility and the value of my products.



Twitter has also become the easiest and fastest way for me to connect with industry leaders. There have been times where dozens of emails and phone calls failed to reach my prospective JV partner, but one simple tweet did the trick.



Increase Traffic to your Blog and Web Sites

When you are posting valuable content in your tweets and becoming a resource to your followers on Twitter, you can guarantee that they will be clicking on links in your profile and eagerly looking to learn more from you.



When you create a blog post, it is acceptable to announce it on Twitter. Having a catchy title and intriguing first few words of the post will increase click-throughs to your blog post. I recommend that you automate your blog posts to appear as tweets by using Twitterfeed.



Another example of leveraging Twitter is inviting your followers on Twitter to listen in on Webcasts where you are interviewing an expert in your niche.



Get More Incoming Links to your Site



Each tweet is its own unique page on the Web. When you include links to your blog posts, product review pages, or Web sites, you are receiving inbound links to each of those sites. Incoming links mean more traffic, both from direct visits and improved rankings in search engines.



Hopefully this post has given you a good introduction to Twitter and how it can help you grow your ClickBank business. In Part Two, I’ll show you the basics of getting started with Twitter, as well as the steps you need to take early on to be as successful as possible. Stay tuned!





Scott Tousignant of http://www.unstoppablefatloss.com/ harnesses the power of social media to help bring him closer to his goal of reversing the nationwide obesity trend by 2015. Connect with Scott by following him at www.Twitter.com/TheFitB





Posted in Twitter Success Guide
Tags: Micro-blogging, Social media, Social network, Twitter

“Why Join ClickBank?” Squidoo Lens

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 7th, 2008



Have you ever tried to quickly explain to friends or family what ClickBank is and why it’s a great idea to join?



To make it easy, ClickBank now has an official Squidoo lens introducing ClickBank and discussing how it can help people make money online. Please share this link and article with anyone you think would benefit from joining ClickBank:

http://www.squidoo.com/join-clickbank

Nano-Niche Marketing: Small is the New Big

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

October 30th, 2008


Posted by: Beau Blackwell, Marketing Coordinator





There’s an interesting article on MarketingSherpa touting the benefits of “nano-niche” marketing. Just about everyone involved with online marketing is well aware of the need to market products to well-targeted niches, but this idea takes things one step further and states that if you really want to stay recession-proof and get ahead of your competitors, you need to get laser-focused.



Tapping in to a highly motivated audience with little competition, and taking steps to gear your message towards them, can result in extraordinarily high returns on your investment. We talk a lot about the Long Tail here at ClickBank, and this idea is a perfect example of making the Long Tail work for you. You don’t need to drive a lot of traffic or spend a lot on advertising if you can achieve much higher conversion rates on the small amount of traffic you do have.



Nano-niche marketing is a perfect fit for affiliate marketing, since all that matters is how many visitors you convert into a sale, not your overall number of visits. Needing to drive huge amounts of untargeted traffic to your site is the old way of making money online. It used to be the case that using impression-based ad networks or programs like Google Adsense was the only way to make money, but that model doesn’t make sense for the vast majority of Internet marketers out there. In fact, at the recent BlogWorld conference I attended, these old monetization strategies were referred to several times as “webmaster welfare,” and the same experts instead recommended affiliate marketing and creating and selling your own products as the best ways to monetize a blog. The same holds true for just about any other type of website.



My recommendation is to take MarketingSherpa’s advice and start spending time identifying and targeting “nano-niches” in your area of expertise. The time you spend marketing to people in these ultra-focused niches will bring a much higher return on your efforts, giving you more time and resources to dedicate to finding other profitable niches. It’s time to think small!




Posted in Strategies for Success
Tags: AdSense, affiliate marketing, Affiliate Program, internet marketing, long tail, Niche market

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 1

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 17th, 2008


Posted by: Ashley Adamson, ClickBank Senior Customer Service Representative





This is part one of a five-part, five-day series about how publishers can attract more affiliates.



As many successful Internet marketers already know, ClickBank’s extensive affiliate network can be a powerful force for taking your product’s sales from mediocre to massive. Unlike most advertising and promotional efforts, ClickBank only pays out commissions to affiliates on your behalf for completed sales. This makes our affiliate program much more cost-effective than other traditional methods of product promotion. For example, when you place a paid advertisement in a search engine, you have to pay for the cost of the ad even if the clicks you get generate little or no sales. With our affiliate program, you are only paying for marketing costs when you’re actually making money.



To really succeed as a ClickBank publisher, you need to get as many affiliates promoting your product as possible. In this five-part series, I’ll show you some of the best techniques for becoming an affiliate magnet!



Tip 1: Take Advantage of the ClickBank Marketplace



ClickBank provides all new publishers the option of being listed within our ClickBank Marketplace:

Clickbank Marketplace



The question is, with the ClickBank Marketplace containing over 15,000 products, what can you do to obtain the most exposure and make your product attractive to affiliates?



The first thing that most new publishers don’t realize is that the majority of the Marketplace audience is comprised of affiliates, not consumers. So rather than have your Marketplace title and description tailored to consumers, you should use it to describe what makes your product appealing to affiliates.



Do you have a high commission percentage, a high payout or a Web site containing useful affiliate tools to help them promote your product? Be sure to list features like these in your Marketplace description so that affiliates can quickly see why they should promote your product.



To edit your Marketplace title/description, you’ll need to log in to your ClickBank account, click the “Account Settings” tab, the “My Site” link, and the “Edit” link under the “Marketplace Information” section, then modify your Marketplace description as needed.

Be sure to click “Save Changes” when finished!








Posted in Become an Affiliate Magnet
Tags: advertising, affiliate marketing, Affiliate network, Affiliate Programs, marketing, sales

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 2

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 18th, 2008


Posted by: Ashley Adamson, ClickBank Senior Customer Service Representative






This is part two of a five-part, five-day series about how publishers can attract more affiliates.



To really succeed as a ClickBank publisher, you need to get as many affiliates as possible to promote your product. In this five-part series, I’ll show you some of the best techniques for becoming an affiliate magnet! Did you miss part one? Click to learn about how to take full advantage of the Marketplace.





Tip 2: Create an Affiliate Tools Page



Something that ClickBank doesn’t require, but that can make a huge difference in attracting affiliates, is setting up a Web page specifically to help affiliates promote your product.



The feedback we have received from affiliates indicates that they are more inclined to promote products that provide affiliates with assistance in their marketing campaigns. Some ideas for tools you could provide to affiliates include:



Banner images

Other product images

Textual ads

Keyword recommendations

Cloaking scripts

Ad content recommendations (such as features or benefits of your product)

Customized email signature ads

Suggestions of places where affiliates can advertise your product effectively

ClickBank also provides a method for you to recruit affiliates directly from your own Web site. This tool gives affiliates the ability to create an affiliate link for your product directly from your Web site, without having to visit the ClickBank Marketplace first. For more information on using this tool, please go to “Leveraging The Affiliate Network.”



If you decide to create a Web page for your affiliates, you should consider listing the Web address as part of your Marketplace description, for added affiliate attraction.






Posted in Become an Affiliate Magnet
Tags: advertising, Affiliate network, Affiliate Programs, internet marketing

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 3

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 19th, 2008


Posted by: Ashley Adamson, Senior Customer Service Representative






This is part three of a five-part, five-day series about how publishers can attract more affiliates.



To really succeed as a ClickBank publisher, you need to get as many affiliates promoting your product as possible. In this five-part series, I show you some of the best techniques for becoming an affiliate magnet! Did you miss part one or part two? Click to learn about how to take full advantage of the Marketplace or creating an affiliate page.



Tip 3: Get Your Site Right the First Time





When you’re sending in your first Product Approval Request, your top priority is probably getting your site active as quickly as possible. It certainly seems like a reasonable notion; the sooner you’re active, the sooner you can start receiving sales.



However, I strongly recommend that you take the time to perfect your site content, and to double-check that your Marketplace title and description are optimized to attract affiliates. You should make it clear what type of product you are selling and list the benefits affiliates receive by promoting your site.



There are third-party companies and sites on the Internet that feature newly-listed ClickBank products for a short period of time. If your site content is not optimum, you may be losing out on an opportunity for attracting affiliates right off the bat.







Posted in Become an Affiliate Magnet
Tags: affiliate marketing, Affiliate Programs, sales, Website

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 4

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank

November 20th, 2008






Posted by: Ashley Adamson, ClickBank Senior Customer Service Representative







This is part four of a five-part, five-day series about how publishers can attract more affiliates.



To really succeed as a ClickBank publisher, you need to get as many affiliates promoting your product as possible. In this five-part series, I show you some of the best techniques for becoming an affiliate magnet! Did you miss part one, two or three? Click to learn about how to take full advantage of the Marketplace or creating an affiliate tools page or getting your site right the first time.



Tip 4: Offer High Commissions





A penny saved is a penny earned? You’ve heard it all your life, but the sound advice your mother gave you could actually be damaging in the affiliate marketing industry.



When affiliates are looking for a new publisher to promote, they have thousands of products to choose from. Searching through each pitch page for the perfect product and sales copy is not always practical. Of course, having a professional, great-looking pitch page is important, but for most affiliates, other factors take priority.



Advertising costs can be expensive for affiliates. An affiliate wants to be able to look at a product and, in a glance, be able to trust that they’ll receive a positive return on their advertising and promotional investment. One of the most important stats in the ClickBank Marketplace that affiliates look for is “% sale.” This is the average commission percentage earned per affiliate per referred sale on a particular product. With many of our top products offering the maximum commission of 75%, you really can’t afford to not be generous with your commissions.



Though it may seem that the maximum payout amount is high, remember that these are sales you would not have made otherwise.



For more information about this subject, and data that proves the advantages of being generous with your commissions, check out our Generosity as Business Strategy article by Bob Dunlap:



http://www.clickbank.com/blog/2008/04/17/generosity-as-business-strategy/






Posted in Become an Affiliate Magnet
Tags: affiliate marketing, Affiliate Programs, commission, sales

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 5

Tips for Becoming an Affiliate Magnet: Part 5


Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank
November 21st, 2008






Posted by: Ashley Adamson, ClickBank Senior Customer Service Representative





This is the final post in a five-part, five-day series about how publishers can attract more affiliates.



To really succeed as a ClickBank publisher, you need to get as many affiliates promoting your product as possible. In this five-part series, I show you some of the best techniques for becoming an affiliate magnet! Did you miss part one, two, three, or four?



Tip 5: Advertise



To further increase exposure of your product to affiliates, ClickBank provides a means by which you can purchase ad space within the ClickBank Marketplace, highlighting your product to hundreds of thousands of affiliates.



The Marketplace ads are three-line advertisements found on the right-hand side of Marketplace pages, under ‘Sponsored Links.’ You can see some current ads here:



http://www.clickbank.com/marketplace.htm



The costs of Marketplace ads vary, depending upon how much traffic a particular page or category receives. More exposure means a higher priced advertisement.



All contracts are month-to-month, so clients may utilize the ad space as long as they wish without being locked into any long-term agreements. To check availability and add your name to a possible waiting list, visit https://www.clickbank.com/advertise.html. Select the location where you’d like to place an ad, fill out the form, and someone from ClickBank will contact you when a space becomes available.





Final Thoughts



Many publishers spend months, if not years, in product development. After so much arduous effort, why would you want to leave the success of your product to chance? No matter how great your product is, if you don’t do a good job of communicating that fact to the people who can help you promote it, it will never be as successful as it could be. So as you build the pitch page to sell your product, be sure that you work as hard on attracting affiliates as you do on attracting customers. By putting in the extra effort to make your product attractive to affiliates, you can become a serious affiliate magnet!



Good luck, and thank you for choosing ClickBank!







Posted in Become an Affiliate Magnet
Tags: advertising, Affiliate Programs, business, internet marketing, marketplace, New product development

5 Killer SEO Tips to Get Backlinks

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank | December 3rd, 2009
Posted by: Steven Clayton, Guest Blogger

Anyone who pays attention to SEO techniques knows that getting high quality, “do follow,” and diverse backlinks is the key to search engine optimization. The challenge, of course, is where to find places to get powerful backlinks.

Most people build their link building strategies around blog and forum postings. This makes sense and is certainly part of our plans as well. However, it stands to reason that Google also knows that most marketers who are using SEO tactics to rank their sites are doing this, and it makes sense that they will be looking for a much more diverse backlink pattern to award the highest rankings to.

With that in mind, I’m going to share the top 5 non-forum/blog backlink sources that we teach in Commission Blueprint 2.0.

1. Squidoo Lists

Squidoo.com is a great place to get links back to your site. Type the following into a Google search:

“add+to+this+list”+site:squidoo.com

You will be presented with a huge list of Squidoo lenses where you can add your site, with custom anchor text. Many of these have very high PageRank as well!

For extra credit, append +”keyword phrase” onto the end of this query, and you can target your links for relevance. For example, if you were trying to rank a fitness site you could type:

“add+to+this+list”+”fitness”+site:squidoo.com

2. Web 2.0 Profiles

Many Web 2.0 sites that allow you to create profiles and interact with others provide high PageRank, “do follow” links to the website listed in your profile. Some examples include www.linkedin.com, www.flickr.com, www.twibs.com, and www.zoominfo.com.

When creating profiles on these sites (which you could do for every niche you’re in) you’re able to list your website, which becomes a high quality backlink to your site.

3. Article Marketing for Links

Most marketers are familiar with writing articles to get traffic, but we write most of our articles for backlinks. If you’ve put a link to your site within the article (and let’s certainly hope you’re doing that!), every article that gets posted becomes a backlink (or even 2 or 3). The more articles that get posted, the more links you can build.

To get started, you simply have to write the article and submit it to a few article directories. I recommend: www.Ezinearticles.com, www.goarticles.com, and www.articledashboard.com.

There is absolutely no problem or penalty with submitting the same article to all three places (submit to Ezinearticles first, though, as they are the strictest with regard to unique content), and if you are accepted by all three and have 2 links in each article, your article will result in 6 high quality backlinks!

4. Relevant Lists and Resource Directories

There are many websites that function as a resource for people interested in a particular topic. For example, one site may maintain a list of top weight loss sites to visit. A backlink from pages like these can provide high quality, highly relevant backlinks. The relevance of backlinks is being talked about much more by Google lately, and it is assumed that relevance will play a larger role in site ranking in the near future.

The trick is to find these sites quickly and efficiently. We’ve found the following Google search queries to work very well:

“Keyword phrase” + “add url”

“Keyword phrase” + “add site”

“Keyword phrase” + “add website”

For example, if you’re looking to build backlinks to a fitness-related site, you can search for:

“fitness” + “add url”

Google will return a huge list of sites that will allow you to add your web site, creating a backlink to your site.

One thing to watch out for is that many of the sites you’ll come across will ask for a reciprocal link (i.e., we’ll link to you if you link to us). These should be avoided. It’s worth the effort to sift through these sites to find ones where you can add your link without having to place a reciprocal link on your site, because these links are less valuable for SEO purposes.

Make sure to keep a list or database of all of these great link building sites/resources that you find, so you don’t have to search for them again the next time!

5. Easy EDU Links

I’ve saved my favorite and most unique tip for last. It’s commonly accepted knowledge that .EDU and .GOV backlinks are valued very highly when Google decides on your search rank position. Some people also know the “trick” to finding blogs and forums on .EDU domains, where they can leave useful comments that link back to their sites. If you don’t, here’s a great Google query to find .EDU blogs:

site:.edu inurl:blog “post a comment” -”you must be logged in”

We’re after something more valuable, though. How about a whole page on an .EDU domain where you can put an article or a whole blog post, as opposed to just a comment? All you need is a willing college student!

At many schools, college students are given web space they can use for anything they like. Of course, this web space is hosted on the .EDU domain. All we need to do is to get this college student to allow us to post our material if they like it. But how do you go about finding these students?

If you really think about it, you can’t possibly be many degrees of separation away from knowing someone who’s in college right now. Think about your circle of friends and family, and branch out from there. For example, even though I’m “older” (I have teenage children… sigh), I still have 3 cousins that are attending college right now. If I expand my reach further, friends of my parents have children in college. I’m also getting to the age where my friends are starting to have kids in college. In short, I can’t throw a rock into my personal network without hitting a college student!

All you have to do is approach these students in your network and ask for their help, or give them something in exchange, for the privilege of putting some content on their site. It’s as simple as that.

I hope these tips help you improve your search engine rankings and make you a more successful Internet Marketer!

About the author

Steven Clayton and his partner Tim Godfrey are the creators of several best-selling Internet Marketing information products, including Commission Blueprint 2.0, Niche Blueprint, and SEM Business Blueprint. You can get more great advice and information on their blog.

Please note: Any opinions or strategies expressed here represent those of the author, and cannot be guaranteed to work by ClickBank.

Posted in Strategies for Success | Tags: article marketing, backlinks, directories, ezinearticles, google, search engines, seo, Squidoo, web 2.0

45 Responses to “Six Steps to Finding a Great Product to Promote”

Ian says:
September 9, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Great advice thanks, not just affiliates, but for vendors too. It is important to research first and if you have an interest in the niche that helps too.

While I agree to choose a product that sells well, you don’t want to overlook the new products as to get in first can be the way to get a head start. As an affiliate too I promoted a product that had a low gravity and was very happy, but then once others started promoting it the gravity increased a lot. I found that I was always getting click fraud. I had records of the same IP address clicking my advert 9 times in a 24 hour period.

That is why it’s important to set up your own website so that you get the people to visit your website first so that you can write about the product and pre-sell it. This also means you can get organic traffic over time rather than just paying for advertising and sending the traffic straight to the vendors landing page. Statistics say that it can take up to 7 emails before the people are ready to buy. So if you can get your visitors to sign up for a newsletter, a sample chapter or your review video, etc on your website first, then you can follow them up and have a greater chance of making sales. As your list grows, you can promote similar products to them and if you have built up that trust factor, they are more likely to buy from you.

Finding vendors who sell multiple products in the same niche is great, as then you can promote similar products to your existing customers. Finding recurring billing products are great to so that you can continue to earn from that same customer after the first purchase.

The important thing also I recommend is to contact the vendor and built a relationship with them. If they have the time of day for you, then you know they want to help you. Working together you can both give each other feedback and advice. There could be promotional material that they don’t currently have, but you just need to ask and most are willing to help out. You might see some improvements that they could do to their landing pages so you both benefit. Vendors are human to and they should be approachable. There might be some spelling mistakes or script errors that they have overlooked that they would appreciate you informing them about. Also vendors should be testing pages and making changes as needed so you know they are helping to improve your sales. At the end of the day, you are working towards the same goal to making money online.

All the best, Ian Brayshaw
Parenting Niche Products (NEW)
http://www.pixelfreeway.com/affiliates

James says:
September 9, 2009 at 6:34 pm
Great post Simon. Choosing a profitable niche is one of the hardest steps. but on comissions, do you mean total comissions of at least $18 or do you consider back end commissions as well?

Affiiate SEO says:
September 10, 2009 at 2:01 am
You make it seem so simple – if only!

BB

Simon Slade says:
September 10, 2009 at 2:18 pm
@James

Glad you liked it Generally speaking I think if you go for a minimum of $18-$20 on the front end (there are exceptions of course) and look at the back end as ‘bonus’ commissions rather than solely replying on them when working out whether to promote a product or not.

Affilorama itself offers back end commissions which pay out alot more than the front end but as a merchant it is sometimes very hard to explain the high value of these to beginner affiliates as they don’t see the benefit up front and the same applies for recurring commissions which can be very valuable too.

Hope this helps

Simon Slade
Affilorama.com

Herb Brown says:
September 11, 2009 at 6:03 am
This sounds like what I might be looking for.

A.J. Backmann says:
September 12, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Yes there is some excellent commentary here. I would like to add that cloaking your affiliate links. urls must be cloaked in order to protect your commissions from aff hackers or purchasers that just remove the tail end of the url(usually the aff ID lol) I wouldn’t recommend it if you own your own domain tho.

You can use any number of cloakers. I am not making any personal or professional recommendation. I have used 3 so far but 2 seemed to slow the page views down so I switched to bit.ly so far so good.

Gary & Val says:
September 13, 2009 at 9:45 am
Can’t remember where we read it but the advice of getting into a niche that you “know a lot about” or are “passionate” about can lead to a dead end and a lot of wasted effort if your passion happens to be say “growing square watermelons” (or whatever other obscure passions exist) and you are nearly the only person on the planet that has that interest ?

It is of course a bonus to have some knowledge of a chosen niche to be able to add credibility to any promotional narrative but surely the key point to making money (that’s why we are here right ?) is finding a niche FIRST that shows the potential for a lot of rabid and frequent buyers ?

Then sift through to “maybe” find a section within it that you are knowledgeable or passionate about … if not … LEARN FAST ! LOL

G&V

Zack says:
September 13, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Hi Simon,

Thank you for this fantastic post . A good reminder on how to find good product to promote.

Zack

Ken says:
September 13, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I’m a newbie and I learned some new stuff from your post. I wasn’t real sure on the gravity thing of what to look for, now I know. Thanks

Yunar says:
September 14, 2009 at 3:46 am
Hi,
i am newbie in Clickbank business, made 3 sales so far by putting banner on my site. No luck with adwords so far.
How many clicks to gauge whether an offer is good to promotes?
How long to test an offer with adwords, and what position in adwords is best to promote our ad?

Thank You
Yunar

SuSu09 says:
September 15, 2009 at 8:59 am
I’ve just joined Clickbank. I’ve learnt a lot from your post. Thank you.

Shaun says:
September 15, 2009 at 2:25 pm
What is an impression as seen in clickbank stats?

Josiah says:
September 20, 2009 at 3:33 am
Hello, am a newbie to clickbank.
I know after reading this post, my knowledge as an affiliate will increase and hope to start making sales.
Thanks.

Diane M says:
September 22, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Hi Simon… interesting article. I’m new at ClickBank and want to make my products available to affiliates. I’m still trying to figure out 1)When does one use a hoplink and who is it for the vendor or the affiliate? 2)Can’t understand about the category; I have e-books in 3 categories but it seems that ClickBank only has one place to enter the category where a book should do to. I’ve been going round and round reading everything but can’t find answers. Very frustrating.

Beau Blackwell, ClickBank says:
September 23, 2009 at 7:21 am
Hi Diane,

1. HopLinks are really just for affiliates. It’s a way for them to direct potential customers to your product, and are automatically generated from your Marketplace listing.

2. If you only have a single account with us, you can only provide details (within the Marketplace) about one of your products. So if you have three very different products you want to sell with us, you might be better off opening additional accounts for the other two products so you can categorize them correctly and have individual listings for them in the Marketplace. If that’s something you’re interested in, contact accounts@clickbank.com and they can help set you up.

Simon Slade says:
September 23, 2009 at 6:13 pm
@Yunar Its hard to give a specific number of clicks to gauge as it comes down to your ROI really to decide whether to keep promoting a product or not. I tend to work it that if you have sent 100 quality visitors to a site and haven’t had a sale then it could be worth trying a different product. Same goes with testing in Adwords – remember that some keywords are obviously more profitable than others too and might get a better take up rate. Always test thoroughly before moving on though and don’t jump to conclusions after you have sent 5 visitors to a site

@Shaun I think you might be meaning ‘hops’ – which is the amount of clicks you have sent to a merchant.

@All Glad you liked the post – keep an eye out for more

Simon Slade
Affilorama.com

Dollar Hauler says:
September 23, 2009 at 8:44 pm
A great little guide.. I’m happy I stumbled upon this today, thanks for the great read!

Carlos Perez says:
September 24, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I have a quick question. I couldn’t find the answer on this site. How do find a specific vendor in the Marketplace?

Simon Slade says:
September 25, 2009 at 1:59 pm
@Carlos The easiest way is to use the search function on this page http://www.clickbank.com/marketplace.htm and type in the product name or niche and it should pop up for you.

Take care

Simon Slade
http://www.affilorama.com

Niki says:
September 25, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Hi, I’m a newbie and would like to know more about cloaking and how to do it.

Karl says:
September 26, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I have been looking for good products to promote, but am very disappointed in the landing pages of most of the products. They are generally “rubbish”.

As a copywriter, I know I can do better, and it is frustrating that we can’t make our own landing pages that goes straight to the order page. This to me, seems a massive limitation.

Or have I missed something?

Simon Slade says:
September 28, 2009 at 4:24 pm
@Niki We have a definnition of what link cloaking is here: http://www.affilorama.com/glossary/link-cloaking and you can find out more about it on our forum here: http://www.affilorama.com/forum/affiliate-hangout/link-cloaking-software-t4451.html

@Karl Some merchants will allow this and you will be able to send direct to their order form. We do it on some of our products so affiliates can drive traffic direct to any page on our site if they don’t like our landing page. I know alot don’t but best way is to ask the specific merchant if they do

Take care

Simon Slade
http://www.affilorama.com

John says:
September 29, 2009 at 6:25 am
Love the post ,I too learned alot, seeing that i just joined , have a amazing product, but have yet to post it on click bank for lack of computer skills. I wish i was better at it, but videos, don’t help me, just wish there was a service that would set up the click bank account for you. Would be helpful to thos of us with a great product but limited computer knowledge. Does anyone know of a service like that?

lekan says:
September 30, 2009 at 12:08 am
Infact it is a simpler version of the books on how to find great products to promote on the internet

Rutherford says:
September 30, 2009 at 10:22 am
I love the post, Thanks.

Madhan says:
September 30, 2009 at 10:25 am
Hi,

Well written article, Infact during my early days i had selected incorrect products, and have wasted lot of money in promoting that. This article will be a good eye opener especially for new affiliates.

Best Regards/Madhan.

David Horton says:
September 30, 2009 at 10:56 am
I’m lost I’ve been selling software products for two weeks now. and don’t know how I can sell hard products through adword/clickbank. I see ads that state you can make so much money and this and that selling say computers for us. Should I leave clickbank/adword or can I do this. I really like selling and just need a push to where what and how, Thanks, David and God Bless !

Jean Paul Quenneville says:
September 30, 2009 at 11:35 am
For many years now I have been trying to sell on the internet a using deferent business and I never could sell anything it is because I never had the chance to read what is on this page. Now that I understand better what to do I might be successful in my endeavor.
Thank you
Jean Paul

Ginia says:
September 30, 2009 at 1:23 pm
John:
You say you’re looking for a service to help you get your product on ClickBank….
Have you found some help yet?
I may know someone who can help you.
Ginia

Supriyadi Widodo says:
September 30, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Hi Simon,

Thank you for this great post =) I am a newbie and would like to know more about finding a great product to promote.

Thanks anyway

Rob says:
September 30, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Nice, simple and well explained for newbies

Bettie Wylie says:
September 30, 2009 at 8:22 pm
Hi Simon and Thanks for such…

Great articles. Very eye-opening. I’ve been a member of Clickbank Affiliates program for quite a while now. There are many ways of finding the best products to promote from the Clickbank products database. Simply learn, and then apply/test your own strategies.

Here I’ve learned a few more tactics and techniques to apply to my own promotional activities to bring in more sales from any Niche i choose to promote. Tip for all, Agreeing with you Simon ;o )
“Always shoot for the Best Commissions product, though!”

Keep learning, because… We can Never learn too much…and you know that!

Thanks again,
Bettie

Vic Boxwell says:
October 1, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Hello Simon,

Thanks for the Great article and all the tips. It’s such a good feeling to read something that has useful content, and information that you can put to good use. You might already know some of it, but I believe you can always come away with something you didn’t know. That’s the exciting part. You can always learn anything, from anyone, at anytime…

Thanks again,

Vic Boxwell
Rockville, MD

Teresa says:
October 2, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Great information too late for me though, I am with click bank since last Feb. I bought a affiliate program which the vendor provided a Website with multiple mini- website, no sales. I know I must advertise but how advertise 10 min websites?

Mathews says:
October 4, 2009 at 5:28 am
Learning is a continuing process. What an affiliate needs is patience. Things do not happen too soon. A lot of testing and tuning will be required before results come in. I have also ended up wasting money testing my skills on the wrong product. Once I found out what I am able to sell, I have put my full money and energy on that one or two product. I think we need to be selective and not exhaustive when playing with hard earned money on PPC. SEO takes too long for results to show but is better any day. But testing on new products is a must to rediscover your own potential and improve your selling skills. After all an affiliate has to be a good sales man who can sell anything. People buy the same thing on another affiliate site which they did not buy on your site because you did not know how to present it. So go for the products you have knowledge about. This article has me rethinking.

Thanks,

Mathews

Azlan says:
October 5, 2009 at 11:09 am
There are lots of ways to find great niche and product. For example, check Clickbank gravity. In most cases, the higher gravity, the better product is. Another one is refund rate, but this one usually can’t be found for free.

As for niche market, one niche could be or couldn’t be your passion. It depends. But the important is the demand and what your audience wants.

Page says:
October 10, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Howdy Simon,

Thank you and the others who posted here with tips and suggestions. I am working to learn affiliate marketing. It is at times frustrating trying to learn while you work to build sales. Great post such as yours and the affiliate community really help keep the interest up and the desire to “make it” strong.

Best regards

Lucas Faroe says:
October 18, 2009 at 4:39 am
Man, thanks. This is one of those rejuvinating reminders for struggling affiliate marketers.

Alex says:
October 23, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Learning is a continuing process, Thanks for nice Tips.

Muchirah says:
October 23, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Great eye-opening article! Thanks.

Nathan says:
October 29, 2009 at 1:20 am
Do you have to have a website? Can you just promote the hyperlink though free advertising if you know how to get it to the 1st page of the google search?

Beau Blackwell, ClickBank says:
October 29, 2009 at 7:50 am
Nathan,

Affiliates don’t need to have their own website to promote products. The method you stated would work just fine.

Beau

Michael Ogu says:
November 24, 2009 at 10:14 pm
As a newbie in affiliate marketing, I have difficulty choosing the right products to promote. Worse than that is the fact that I need to know simple workable methods of promoting my chosen products that will NOT cost me an arm and a leg. I have a website but nothing is happening there at all because I only get fake traffic to it. I really need to know how to get genuine or real traffic that can be converted to sales. Depite spending a lot of money on traffic, I always get ONLY fake or spurious traffic, resulting to zero sales always. I really need help. Can anyone help please? Let me start afresh to try to select the right products using some of the tips given here. Thanks to anyone who may like to help me to get simple targetted traffic to make sales.

Beau Blackwell, ClickBank says:
November 25, 2009 at 9:59 am
Michael,

In my opinion, one of the keys to being successful in affiliate marketing (or any online venture, really) is to pick a focused niche to work in. That way you can start getting really targeted traffic that will be interested in the products you’re offering. Don’t try to sell everything to everyone. It just doesn’t work, unfortunately.

I’m not sure how you’re currently buying traffic that is all fake, but whatever it is, stop The only kind of traffic really worth buying is highly-targeted PPC traffic like Google AdWords, and even then, you’ll only succeed with it if your keywords, ads, and website all work well together to target and sell motivated customers. Paying for traffic on keywords like “buy products” is a recipe for disaster. You need to be as specific as possible, and try to bring people to your site who are closer to the point of buying, instead of people who are just curious or doing research themselves.

I looked at your site and while it looks nice, it’s very general and has a bunch of extraneous stuff on it, like all the news, weather, etc. You don’t need to provide that kind of stuff to visitors- they have Yahoo and weather.com for that kind of thing. Your site needs to clearly explain to people what you have to offer them and why you’re a source they should trust. Don’t distract them with things that don’t reinforce that. Also, I would say that beyond that, you need to pick a specific product genre or theme. For example, your domain is stores4smartproducts. So maybe have the theme of “products for geeks” or “products that help people work smarter,” just to give a couple of examples. Right now, your mix of electronics, furniture, kitchen, etc, is way too broad and doesn’t make you look like an expert on any one thing.

Besides looking like an expert when you get specific on what kinds of products you promote, finding a niche will also help you rank better in search engines and may help you pick up more legitimate traffic from other sources, like social media or article directories. Once you’ve chosen your niche, you can start targeting the keywords on your pages to that niche, which search engines and other webmasters out there will like.

Sorry if that sounded like I was picking on you- many people do the same thing, and while being general seems like a good idea, it actually makes it harder to gain traction and traffic. This is something I think many people should consider. Best of luck, and please leave a comment letting us know how you’re doing in the future!

Titan says:
November 27, 2009 at 8:31 am
I am new to affiliate marketing and looking for targeted traffic. Do you recommend sending people to your blog or sending traffic to your affiliate site? I have some affiliate links on my blog but get no traffic. The only time I get traffic is if I do a craigslist ad. Any thoughs on how to step up my Affiliate commissions? Thanks and look forward to your comments.

Six Steps to Finding a Great Product to Promote

Author: Beau Blackwell, ClickBank | September 9th, 2009
Posted by: Simon Slade, Guest Blogger

Succeeding or failing as an affiliate marketer can often be traced back to the products you choose to promote. At first, selecting a product to promote seems simple enough. You sign up with ClickBank and choose from any of the thousands of products available from over 12,000 vendors, then create a HopLink and slap it on your website – done!

But then, a couple of weeks down the line, you begin to wonder why you haven’t made any sales. You start to get a sneaking suspicion that maybe you should have spent more time choosing the right product to promote!

Understandably, the sheer selection of products on offer at ClickBank can be completely overwhelming to a newbie. How do you know if a product will sell well? What about competition? What do all the numbers mean?

Although there is no 100% watertight method for finding a profitable product, there are a few things that go a long way to increasing your chances of success.

Here are six research steps we recommend for finding a profitable ClickBank product to promote:

1 – Brainstorming a niche – The first thing you need to do is think about what market you’d like to work in. Choosing a market related to your hobbies, skills, passions and experiences is an excellent starting point (after all, you’ll be spending a lot of time thinking about it!). Are you a cat lover? Have you had experience with a particular health problem? Did you ace languages at school? Do your friends come to you for relationship advice? Having an existing knowledge of a niche can be a big advantage when you come to marketing it, because it’s much faster and easier to write persuasive and credible copy for your sales pages when you know what you are talking about.

So, have a scroll through ClickBank’s Marketplace and create a shortlist of niches you think you could effectively promote. Of course, ultimately you need to choose a profitable market over one that you simply like talking about, so these next steps will help you whittle your list down.

2 – Understand your customers – Let’s say you added ‘playing guitar’ to your niche list in Step 1. If you wish to pursue this idea further, then it’s very important that you understand (1) who in this niche is buying, and (2) what they are buying. The easiest way to delve into the minds of your market is by browsing forums related to your niche. This is a great way of finding out buyers’ needs, wants, and problems. For example, some people in the guitar market will be looking for free guitar sheet music; these people probably won’t be interested in buying something from you. Others want to learn guitar fast so they can participate in an upcoming performance; these people are much more likely to want to buy something to help them achieve that goal. Reading guitar forums will help you absorb what matters most to people interested in playing guitar, which in turn will help you choose the best products to promote to them.

Some other things to consider while you read: How can you target impulsive buyers in this market? How narrow is your niche? If it is too narrow you may find your target market is too small to make sales. If it’s too broad you’ll find it difficult to get your site ranked in search engines so prospects can find you.

3 – Selecting best-selling products - By now, you should have a good understanding of who your market is and what they are looking for. It’s now time to go back to ClickBank and search for some good products to promote that will meet their needs.

ClickBank uses a measure called ‘gravity’ to represent how well each product sells, based on how many sales have been made and how recent these sales were. We recommend focusing on products with a gravity of 30+, because these products have a proven track record of selling well for a number of different affiliates. Once you get below a gravity of 30, the chances of wasting your time pushing a white elephant start to increase.

A very high gravity (i.e. 100+) will generally indicate that there is a lot of competition in this niche. Don’t let that put you off. Competition is good because it means there’s lots of demand for products in that niche. It also means that there are potentially a lot of people with lists who you could form partnerships or JV’s (Joint Ventures) with.

I should point out that sometimes a low gravity product can still be worth promoting – it might simply be new, or an undiscovered gem. So while gravity is a helpful indication of selling potential, you shouldn’t reject an otherwise high-quality product solely because of its low gravity score.

4 – Multiple Products – Ideally, you want to find a market that has multiple related products being sold through ClickBank. The reason for this is that if there is only one product available for the niche, even if it sells like hotcakes, you’ll almost certainly have a hard time competing with existing affiliates who are well-established in the market.

The other advantage of multiple products is that it allows you to create a review page, increasing your chances of making a sale. For example, if you are selling a “learn guitar” product, by including a few other “learn guitar” products on the same page, visitors will feel they’ve completed the evaluation phase of buying and are now in a position to purchase.

5 – High Commission Percentage (65% or greater) – Let’s face it: you’re not going to get rich on $2 commissions. In order for your marketing efforts to be worthwhile, you need to promote high commission products – that is, products paying out at least $18 per sale. Keep in mind that from a seemingly high commission, you’ll need to deduct your advertising expenses (e.g. AdWords) as well as your time. Of course, if a product has a high dollar value, then a lower commission percentage will still be a good investment.

6 – Persuasive Vendor Pitch Page – Finally, don’t forget to take a long, hard look at the product’s sales page, since you will be relying on it to convert your HopLinks into commissions! Does it look convincing? Does it address the concerns of the market? Is it persuasive and credible, or does it sound over the top and unbelievable? Would you buy from a site that looked like that?

Choosing the right product to promote is the first stage of being a successful affiliate marketer, and if you do it right, you can drastically improve your chances of earning a good income. But even if you get off to a good start, don’t just set up your offer page and forget all about it. Keep a close eye on your ClickBank reports, and using Tracking IDs to see what pages and products are performing the best so you know where to focus your efforts and resources.

By following these proven techniques for finding good products to promote, you’ll be reaping the rewards of greater sales and bigger ClickBank checks!

Hope you enjoyed these tips for choosing a good ClickBank product to promote. Please let us know if you have any special strategies of your own!

About the author

Simon Slade is the CEO of Affilorama, an affiliate marketing training portal that offers free video training, education and software tools to both beginning and advanced affiliate marketers.

Posted in Strategies for Success | Tags: affiliate, beginner, marketplace, products, promote

3 Slimming Balance Drills to Get Slimmer in Seconds

Use these body-slimming balance drills to sculpt your abs and improve your posture.

From the editors of Fitness magazine

Target Your Posture

Balance drills sculpt your abs, improve your posture, and help you look slimmer overall, says Ellen Werther, a trainer in New York City. Work up to three sets of 10 to 12 reps per move.
Beginner: Squat on a Board

1. Stand in the center of a balance board with feet hip-width apart.
2. Sit back into a squat, trying to keep board as steady as possible.
3. Raise arms in front of you or use a wall if needed for support.

Intermediate: One-Legged Kick
One-Legged Kick


1. Stand with feet hip-width apart. Extend left leg behind you parallel to the floor as you raise arms in front of you.
2. Simultaneously bend right knee. Come to a stand.
3. Repeat on other side.

Advanced: Single-Leg Hop
Single-Leg Hop

1. Stand 3 inches in front of a step, hands on hips. Lift right foot off floor.
2. Hop left foot onto center of step and hold for 3 counts, keeping abs tight.
3. Extend right leg and both arms out in front of you, then hold for another 3 counts.
4. Return to starting position and repeat on the opposite leg.

Originally published in Fitness magazine, October 2005.

10 Reasons Why Exercise Makes You Thin

10 Reasons Why Exercise Makes You Thin (Or Why TIME Magazine Got It Wrong)

Six experts weigh in on how and why exercise is a critical weight-loss strategy.

By Holly Pevzner

Thinking TIME magazine's recent article, "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin," is giving you a good excuse to skip your workout in favor of a beer or 3? Think again. We've always known that exercise is critical to losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight, especially when paired with healthy eating habits. But just to be sure, we double-checked with six experts around the country -- here's what they said.

Countless studies, numerous experts who study exercise, and the millions of people who have lost weight all attest to the fact that working out works. "Exercise is absolutely essential for dropping weight and maintaining weight loss," says FITNESS advisory board member Michele S. Olson, PhD, professor of exercise science at Auburn University Montgomery. Here's what exercise does -- and how it does it -- to keep you healthy, happy, and slim.

1. Exercise zaps belly fat.
It's the easiest way to beat the bulge, period. "Regular moderate- to high-intensity aerobic exercise has the greatest impact on reducing ab fat -- the dangerous fat that ups your risk of diabetes and heart disease," says Olson. Exercise is the ultimate middle manager because it lowers levels of cortisol, a hormone that has been linked to ab fat. In fact, women with the most cortisol in their system have higher BMIs and bigger bellies than those with moderate amounts of the hormone, found a University of California at San Francisco study.

2. Exercise controls calories.
"It's pretty simple: You need to burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight," says Nancy Snyderman, MD, a FITNESS advisory board member, editor-in-chief of BeWell.com, and chief medical editor for NBC news. Regular exercise blasts excess calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. "Plus, you continue to burn calories even in the hours following your workout," says Dr. Snyderman.

3. Exercise keeps lost pounds MIA.
"Ninety percent of people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off for a year do about an hour of physical activity a day," says John Porcari, PhD, a FITNESS advisory board member and a professor of exercise and sports medicine at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Exercise is even prescribed by docs for people who have undergone weight-loss surgery to help them hold onto their newly thin figures.

4. Exercise boosts metabolism.
Yes, you'll lose fat when you diet without exercising, but you'll also lose muscle, which means you'll burn fewer calories. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism and the more calories you'll torch.

5. Exercise trims inches.
The number on the scale doesn't tell the whole truth, says FITNESS advisory board member Jari Love, a certified personal trainer and fitness DVD star: "When you shed fat and gain muscle you may lose inches and drop sizes without losing actual pounds." For instance, if you gain 3 pounds of lean muscle and lose 4 pounds of fat, you've actually experienced a 7-pound improvement in your body condition, despite the scale only showing 1 pound of weight loss.

6. Exercise curbs emotional eating.
"Working out has been proven time and time again to help regulate mood, which has a direct effect on people who eat when they're stressed or upset," says Robert E. Thayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at California State University, Long Beach. Translation: When you're already in your happy place you don't need Ben & Jerry to lead the way.

7. Exercise creates a healthy chain reaction.
There's a reason you find juice bars at the gym: "Healthy habits tend to cluster together," says Boston-based psychologist Eric Endlich, PhD. "When people make positive changes, like getting more exercise, they tend to work on other health improvements as well, such as eating better." The result? Weight loss.

8. Exercise brings on the fun.
Let's face it: Rock-climbing is way more exciting than eating a celery stick. That's why it's easier to be active to stay slim than to maintain a strict diet. "If you look at people who incorporate exercise successfully in their lives, they've found something they truly enjoy," says Dr. Snyderman.

9. Exercise stops hunger.
People who exercise and diet are actually less hungry than those who only diet, according to a study in the journal Obesity. Bonus: Your self-restraint is higher, too.

10. Exercise ups energy.
Regular physical activity increases stamina by boosting the body's production of energy-promoting neurotransmitters, studies show. That pep gives you even more motivation to get moving and shed pounds. When was the last time diet alone did all that?

Originally published on FitnessMagazine.com, August 2009.


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Work Out Playlist Favorites!

Workout Playlists

Tired of doing the same iPod shuffle every time you hit the gym? Plug into one of FITNESS' exclusive music playlists, featuring favorites from celebrities, personal trainers, and editors. These MP3s will keep you pumped from warm up to cool down.

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Pump up your workout playlist with the best workout songs for every type of exercise.

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You voted Rihanna as the Ultimate Workout Song Superstar, defeating Beyonce for the top spot. Celebrate her climb to the top of your iPods with this all-Rihanna workout playlist.

• Download our Top 10 Rihanna Workout Songs Playlist
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RACHEL UNCENSORED: 8 Ways to Burn More Fat, Faster

RACHEL UNCENSORED: 8 Ways to Burn More Fat, Faster

8 Ways to Burn More Fat, Faster

News flash: You don't have to overhaul your life to work off mega calories. Here are our eight simple rules for squeezing the most out of your everyday routine to score the silhouette you've been sweating for.

By Caroline Hwang

Rules 1-4

So you think you know the drill on getting a good body. But we're not after good; we're after great.

Rule #1: Be an early bird to get the workout.

Lace up first thing and you'll increase your odds of exercising today threefold. A study of 500 people at the Mollen Clinic, a preventive medicine and wellness center in Scottsdale, Arizona, found that 75 percent of those who worked out in the morning did so regularly, compared with just half the afternoon exercisers and a quarter of the post-work crowd. "At the beginning of the day, you have the fewest excuses for skipping exercise," says clinic founder Arthur Mollen, DO. Not waking up early enough, of course, is the main one. "Limit using the snooze button to only five minutes so that you don't fall into a deep sleep again," Dr. Mollen advises. Bonus! You'll go to work feeling focused: A recent study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that 20 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise improved concentration, reading comprehension, and cognitive function.

Rule #2: Hit the metal before the pedal.

Instead of going from zero to 60 to sweat off the calories, consider this: Doing a quick sculpting routine pre-cardio could increase the amount of fat you melt. Exercisers in a study at the University of Tokyo who biked within 20 minutes of lifting weights tapped more of their fat stores than those who rested longer or didn't tone at all.
The firm-then-burn order is also good for your heart: Arteries stiffen during resistance training, increasing blood pressure, but a cardio chaser such as a 20-minute run counteracts these effects and expedites your arteries' return to normal, explains Rohit Arora, MD, chairman of cardiology at the Chicago Medical School. Plus, strength training "takes coordination and good technique, so you get more out of it if you come to it fresh," says Kent Adams, PhD, director of the Exercise Physiology Lab at California State University, Monterey Bay. "Meanwhile, cardio is a rhythmic, low-skill activity that's the easier of the two to do in a fatigued state," Adams says.

Rule #3: Push your pace, rev your metabolism.

Finished toning and ready to get sweaty? Gun it a bit for a bigger afterburn. "High-intensity exercise increases the release of growth hormones, which mobilize fat to be used as fuel, plus it causes your metabolism to stay elevated about 10 to 15 percent above its baseline, so you're burning more fat for several hours post-workout," says Arthur Weltman, PhD, director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. In other words, if you worked off 300 calories during your session, you'll get a bonus burn of about 45 calories even after you've toweled off.
To net the effect, stick to a speed you consider challenging: In a 16-week study that Weltman conducted with obese women, those who worked out at what they felt was high intensity (a brisk walk or jog in most cases) three days a week and at low intensity for two whittled an inch and a half more from their waists than the low-intensity-only group. Or try alternating between sprinting (racewalking, pedaling fast, swimming at top speed) for one minute and slowing down enough to recover for the next minute.

Rule #4: Give up your seat to trim your bottom line.

Even regular exercisers could benefit from extra toning of their tush, the largest muscle group in the body, which dozes all day at your desk job. "When you're walking or running, it's your hamstrings, hip flexors, and calf muscles that get the most work," says FITNESS advisory board member Vonda Wright, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "Unless you're going uphill, your glutes don't play a major role." The good news? If you bailed on doing those butt-firming squats during your workout, you can easily sneak them in when your cube mate isn't looking. Stand up from your chair, feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your bottom to the seat as though you're going to sit, touch down, and then spring up, squeezing your glutes as you straighten. Do three sets of 10 to 15 reps two or even three times throughout the day.

Rules 5-8

Rule #5: Take a power walk to beat a midday slump.

Call it the 20-20 rule: As little as 20 minutes of low-intensity aerobic activity such as walking can give you a 20 percent surge in energy, research at the University of Georgia in Athens finds. "It's paradoxical: Many people assume that they'll get tired from exercise. But the opposite actually happens," says study author Patrick O'Connor, PhD, a professor of kinesiology. "We're not certain what the biological mechanism is," he says, "but indirect evidence suggests that brain chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin are altered and cause the improved energy." Besides, that quick recharge just burned about 75 calories. Sure beats adding 250 spike-then-slump calories' worth of Skittles.

Rule #6: Do the two-step.

When you opt for the stairs, go at them two at a time -- as long as you're not wearing heels. The quick bursts of power activate your legs' fast-twitch muscle fibers, which burn more calories than slow-twitch fibers. Plus, you'll be using a part of your muscles that commonly doesn't get enough action. "Fast muscle cells are designed so you can jump far, kick hard, punch fast -- moves that you call on less and less in modern society," says Scott Mazzetti, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Salisbury University in Maryland. "But unfortunately it's a use-them-or-lose-them situation, so it's good to activate them regularly."

Rule #7: Go like Gumby.

Consistent stretching significantly decreases muscle soreness, according to a study at the Norwegian Knowledge Centre for Health Services in Oslo. Skipped your stretches postexercise? Wind down with this 17-minute allover loosener from Jennifer Huberty, PhD, an exercise physiologist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

• Warm up first with 5 minutes of brisk high-knee marching.
• Toe-reach stretch (targets hamstrings, which remain shortened all day as you're seated): Sit on the floor with your left leg straight in front of you, knee slightly bent, right leg bent out to the side and resting on the floor. Reach for your toes without bouncing and hold for 30 seconds; relax. Do 3 stretches, then switch legs and repeat.
• Hip-flexor stretch (targets hips, which also are tight in desk jockeys): Lie faceup on the floor with your left leg bent, left foot flat, and bend your right knee out to the side so your right ankle is crossed over and resting on the lower left thigh. Grasp your left thigh with both hands and pull it toward you until you feel a comfortable stretch in your right hip, glutes, and outer thigh. Hold for 30 seconds; switch legs and repeat. Do 3 stretches per side.
• Side stretch (targets upper back and waistline): Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Raise arms overhead and interlock fingers with palms facing up. Keeping your middle centered, hinge at the waist to the right; hold for 30 seconds. Return to center and reach up; hold for 30 seconds.
• Switch sides; repeat. Do 3 stretches on each side.
  
  

Rule #8: Set out your sneakers.

A recent FITNESS poll found that sneakers -- with sports bras being a close second -- are the piece of gear that is forgotten most often, foiling women's workout plans. Clear that obstacle by, well, making them an obstacle in front of the door you exit in the a.m., suggests Diane Klein, PhD, chair of exercise and sports sciences at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens. "Seeing them will remind you that you planned to exercise," Klein says. For motivation to move, kicks are worth a thousand words.
Originally published in FITNESS magazine, November/December 2009.

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Foreclose On High Housing Prices by Mark P. Cussen,CFP®, CMFC

Before the mortgage crisis of 2008-2009, buying a home that had been foreclosed upon was a much more difficult proposition than it is now. Real estate bargain hunters formerly had to follow auctions put on by courthouses or sift through reams of legal filings. But the wave of foreclosures brought on by the subprime meltdown has led many banks to begin selling these seized assets through real estate agents. This article shows you how you can find the home of your dreams in this depressed market and negotiate for it effectively. (For a background, check out our Investopedia Special Feature: Subprime Mortgages.)




Finding Foreclosed Homes
There are many websites that now specialize in finding homes and properties that are in foreclosure, like www.realitytrac.com and www.foreclosurepoint.com. You can also check your local multiple-listing service to see what they have available. However, properties that are being foreclosed upon may not be highlighted per se; this may only be stated in the property description. And, of course, there are real estate agents that specialize in foreclosure properties, so don't hesitate to consult your local agent for some good deals.

Where Should I Buy These Properties?
Although many foreclosed properties are sold at public auction, buying a home from this source can pose several disadvantages. Bidders at auction must pay for their properties in cash at the time of purchase, and cannot use a mortgage. Buyers at auction also usually do not have a chance to inspect their properties before purchase, which means that you can find any number of nasty surprises in your house after you sign on the dotted line, including structural and cosmetic damage to the structure, termites or pest infestations or other problems. Another issue to consider is the possibility of liens. Auction properties often have liens attached to them, either by the IRS or state or other creditors. These potential pitfalls can be avoided by purchasing your property from a bank, which will always pay off any liens attached to the property before reselling it to another party. Bank properties are also available for inspection before closing, so that you know exactly what you're getting for your money. Perhaps most importantly, bank properties can also be financed with a mortgage. (Learn more in Foreclosures: Bargains Or Money Pits?)

Use a Contractor
A large percentage of foreclosed properties typically have major structural problems. If your property falls into this category, hire a contractor to itemize and estimate the cost and material required to make the appropriate repairs or modifications. Don't get caught underestimating these costs; a shortfall in the funds necessary to make your property livable can leave you in a precarious dilemma.

Start at the Bottom
Of course, the advantages that come with buying a foreclosed home from a bank come at a price. Banks purchase these properties to make a profit, and the value they add to the equation will increase the price of the property proportionately. Therefore you'll need to sharpen your bargaining skills and start the process with a lowball offer on the property you want. Banks that have accumulated sizable inventories of foreclosed properties will be more inclined to negotiate on price, especially on properties that have been held for longer periods of time. Therefore you should probably make your initial bid at a price that's at least 20% below the current market price, or perhaps even more if the property you're bidding on is located in an area with a high incidence of foreclosures. (For more, check out 10 Tips For Getting A Fair Price On A Home.)

Play the Waiting Game
The amount of time that it takes to get a response on your bid can vary widely according to various factors. If the bank that holds your property is swamped with foreclosures, then it can take a great deal longer for the bank to process your request. Banks with substantial backlogs have been known to take up to 90 days to respond to some inquiries. Prospective buyers may be wise to submit bids on several properties at once, because it is possible for competing buyers to secure a property with a higher bid. Buyers who bid on bank properties would also be wise to get preapproval for a mortgage if at all possible to back up their bids. And don't get discouraged if someone else trumps your offer for a particular property; check back periodically to see if it reappears in the bank's inventory. Foreclosure deals tend to have a high rate of failure, and the possibility that the deal will fall through exists until closing.

Conclusion
The recent mortgage crisis and recession has left more than stocks valued at record lows. The rash of foreclosures has created tremendous opportunity for prospective homebuyers and real estate investors. However, those seeking repossessed properties should be aware of the risks that come with properties sold at auction. Bank properties can be much better bets due to their freedom from liens and availability for inspection. Buyers should obtain preapproval for financing and be prepared to wait for responses to their bids, which should be below the property's actual market value to begin with. (To learn more, see Foreclosure Investing Not A Get-Rich-Quick Venture.)
by Mark P. Cussen (Contact Author | Biography)

Mark P. Cussen has over 13 years of experience in the financial industry, which includes working with investments, insurance, mortgages, taxes and financial planning. He has two years of experience in writing and editing insurance and securities test training manuals, as well as other financial topics. He has also worked in in retail, discount and bank brokerage systems and been involved in a venture capital enterprise in the oil and gas sector. Cussen has a Bachelor of Science in English from the University of Kansas and completed his CFP®; coursework at the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in August of 2001.
Buzz up!

10 Ways To Increase The Value Of Your Home

Posted: October 29, 2009 1:35PM by Katie Adams

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Buzz up!

Filed Under: Personal Finance, Real Estate, Savings

In a dour housing market, wouldn't it be nice to know that your remodeling project would pay off when you went to sell the property? Remodeling Magazine evaluated the top remodeling projects, how the cost-to-value has changed since the housing market implosion, and which projects are still worth the investment. Using the magazine's "Cost Vs. Value Report for 2008-2009," let's look at some of the best projects you can undertake and recoup the majority of your cost. (Home price appreciation is not assured. Can you withstand the volatility in this market? Read Why Housing Market Bubbles Pop to find out.) Upscale Projects

1. Siding Replacement (fiber-cement or foam-backed vinyl). With the economic slump, home buyers aren't being dazzled by bells and whistles as much as they are improvements that will ensure lower repair and utility bills. Although replacing current siding with fiber-cement has lost value from 2007, it still nets an astonishing 87% ROI. If you prefer a foam-backed vinyl product replacement instead, you can still look to recoup 80% of your cost.
   
   
2. Window Replacement (vinyl or wood).  Windows are not only an aesthetic feature. For most homeowners, they represent one of the easiest ways to lower home heating and cooling bills. By replacing your current windows with more efficient vinyl or wood ones, you can save on your utility bills, attract future home buyers and net a nearly 80% (vinyl) or 77% (wood) return on your investment.
   
   
3. Bathroom Remodel.  Depending on the size and amenities of your desired bathroom, you could expect to pay over $50,000 to tear out walls, repair joists and wall studs, change structural elements and make major layout changes, such as switching a toilet and shower. However big the price tag, you can still expect to recoup nearly 71% of the cost (which would be $36,400 if you have a $50K bill) when you go to sell. This project increased its value since 2007, while its sister project – adding a complete bathroom – fell in value.
   
   
4. Major Kitchen Remodel. Kitchens are typically the most frequently used room in a home, so it makes sense that investing money here is going to pay off when it comes time to sell. While a major kitchen renovation is usually the most time-consuming and expensive home improvement job (averaging more than $110,000), it's also one of the most profitable. Regardless of the size of your financial layout, you can expect to get a nearly 71% ROI.
   
   
5. Deck Addition (composite product). With families cutting their entertainment budgets, they're spending more time at home, so it makes sense that adding a deck (composite, not wood) is a good investment. You can plan on recouping 63% of your total job cost to boost your home's value by nearly $24,000 if you paid the average job cost of $37,000.

Mid-Range Projects
While all of the mid-range projects dropped in value versus cost since 2007, there are still numerous projects that will net you a significant ROI. Here are a few of the best bets for your money:

1. Deck Addition (wood). If your bank balance can't swing the higher price tag that comes with composite decking, you may still be able to afford a wood addition on to your home. While a wood deck would cost you, on average, in the neighborhood of $10,000, the resale value it will add to your home is more than $8,600 – an 81.8% return on your investment.
   
   
2. Siding Replacement (vinyl). Fiber-cement or foam-banked vinyl are often more preferable siding upgrades, but getting vinyl siding replacements instead is still a good choice. You can recoup nearly 81% of your cost which, if the job cost you more than $10,000, means you could add more than $8,200 to your home's value.
   
   
3. Minor Kitchen Remodel. With belt-tightening in style, people are turning to minor kitchen improvement projects instead of major overhauls. It turns out that that choice is not only frugal, but financially wise. While major kitchen remodeling jobs can still, on average, return a nice 70% ROI for homeowners, minor kitchen remodeling jobs net an even higher 79.5% return.
   
   
4. Attic Bedroom.  Anytime you can add bedrooms, you're going to add to the overall value – and listed purchase price – to your home. If your attic's dimensions allow you to convert it to a bedroom, you may want to consider investing the money to do so. You'll add some sleeping space and net a nice 74% return when a new buyer puts your home under contract.
   
   
5. Basement Remodel. If you're fortunate enough to live in an area with a water table high enough to permit basements, you should think about squeezing all the value you can out of it. By remodeling and finishing a previously-unfinished basement you can expect to get nearly 73% of your investment returned with a higher list price, come time to sell.
   

Conclusion
If you have savings or access to reasonably-priced credit, it's worth it to consider home improvement projects that will produce the best return for your time and money. Make sure you work with a reputable, licensed contractor (to avoid costly errors or budget overruns), and before you undertake any project it's a good idea to check and see if it could significantly increase your property tax bill.

While it may still make sense in the long-run to undertake the project and add overall value to your home, you may need to make a few budgetary changes so that you don't get caught off-guard when the tax bill comes. (Break the credit catch-22; read How To Establish A Credit History.)