Anyone with experience in MLM, Network Marketing, or Direct Sales knows what a Google slap is.  If you don’t, take a moment and google “Google slap” and get up to speed before proceeding here.

“I’ve been Google slapped again” became an altogether too familiar scream around my house lately.

Now, the point of this blog post is not to argue the validity of the latest Google slap on affiliate marketers and “make money” opportunities, but to point out that good things comes from even the darkest clouds.

Here’s my story….

I fell in love with Google Adwords.  I started advertising on Google over a year ago, and the leads came in at breakneck speed.  Costly?  Sure, but I received extensive training from some very well respected Google authorities.   So I knew what I was doing, paid a reasonable cost, and was a very happy camper.

Then I got slapped, and slapped again, and again.  Every time I made changes in my campaigns to adjust to the latest slap, I would no sooner get traffic back up and leads coming in then…. BAM! I would get slapped again.

It was difficult, but the upside was so damn high.  So I kept adjusting and moving forward.

I was hooked!

At least I was until the latest slap a few weeks ago, when Google decided to make Affiliate Marketers lives a living hell.  My impressions went to ZERO overnight, and I received that dreaded “You are suspended from Google” email.

Now what? I mean, if Google was against my entire community, what hope was there, right?

WRONG!

Hope rose anew from the fact that the Google suspension has forced me to “back to my roots”, back to the methods of marketing that I had abandoned, things like social media, article marketing, press releases, blogging…. all basically forgotten and left for dead as I discovered what I now call…

The Crack Cocaine of Internet Marketing... Google Adwords

I got caught with my pants down.  I got so enamored with the instant gratification of Google that I left everything else behind.  I had forgotten all the free and low cost leads I used to get before I became addicted to Google.    Even though I consider myself an experienced marketer, I broke the Golden Rule — never put all your marketing eggs in one basket.

Fast forward a few weeks.  Still feeling the sting of less lead flow, but I am now detoxed from Google and life continues on.  I’ve found that I have a renewed passion for writing good solid articles that deliver something valuable to people.  I have returned to blogging with a similar passion.  Videos are in the making, and the leads are coming back.

Yes, I have moved over to Yahoo and MSN (Bing) like most others who’ve been slapped, but I’ve done so with the full understanding that I need to diversify my marketing. So now, instead of focusing 95% of my marketing efforts on PPC advertising, I am adding in a mixture of articles, press releases, blogging, Squidoo, Hubpages, and video marketing.

And oh yeah… I have officially started Twittering (or whatever a person who uses Twitter is called)!

Follow me!

My take home message folks?

Marketing on the Internet is just like Investing —>

Never put all your efforts in one place… diversify, diversify, diversify!

Til next time,

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People are flocking to social media sites in droves, and for good reason.  Web 2.0 sites such as Facebook and Twitter are fast becoming a primary method of “prospecting” for customers for your business. 

Indeed, social media can be an extremely effective way to get more people to take a look at your business opportunity

But it must be done right.

There are 2 major mistakes that I see people doing repeatedly in Social Media:

Mistake #1:  The Hard Sell

Most of you probably already understand that the “social” in social media means just that — you must take the time to “socialize’ with people, allow them to get to know you and see that you have value to give before they will take a look at your business.

So how is this done? 

It is done with consistency and becoming an online presence in your Web 2.0 community of choice.  And it is done with giving value to your followers without asking for anything in return.  

It is done by learning the art of the “soft sell.”

For those of you not familiar with the term “soft sell”, it basically means that you don’t lead with your business in social media.  The fastest way to lose followers and even get banned by some of Web 2.o sites is to blast people information about your business opportunity or product.

While you may truly believe that you are adding value to people’s lives by providing this information, everyone on the Net is getting bombarded daily with thousands of pitches and new opportunities, and yours is just one more on the list.

You must stand out.  And you can stand out by providing free value to your followers, no strings attached.

The “hard sell” — banging people over the head to look at your business — will NEVER work in social media.

MISTAKE #2:  The Follow-Up Link

The other big mistake I see people making in social media is their follow-up link.  That is, where you are sending your followers for more information. 

As most of you probably already know, there is always a place on every 2.0 site to put more information about yourself (for example, a profile).  This is also the place to put a link to a website where your followers can go to learn more about you. 

What do most people do? 

They put a direct link to their business opportunity or product site.  OUCH!! 

Most times, people aren’t ready for that.  They want to know more about YOU, the person. 

If you are providing cool stuff on Twitter, for example, your followers may want to see what else you  are up to.  This is where a personal blog or hub is perfect.

By sending your Twitter or Facebook followers to your blog, you are allowing them to get to know more of what you are about.  And of course,  you should put a link or a page on your blog regarding your business.  That just makes good sense. 

But to send your followers directly to your primary business capture page is a recipe for disaster in social media. 

There are many other mistakes people make when using Social Media as a prospecting tool for their business, but these are two of the biggest offenders.

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I finally have to admit it.

I just don’t get Twitter.

There, I said it. And you know what?

I feel better.

It’s not that I don’t understand what Twitter is.

I just don’t get the point.

I consider myself a fairly bright guy. I graduated from college with a 3.8 cumulative average. I received a Ph.D. in Physiology at age 23. I’ve done a postdoctoral appointment at Harvard Medical School and I’ve worked at some of the best hospitals on the East Coast.

But the real purpose of Twitter? Nope, don’t get it.

Maybe its because I’ve watched all my Network Marketing friends spend hours upon hours following anyone and everyone they can find that may even remotely be interested in what they have to sell, hoping they will follow them back and then unfollowing them if they don’t. I hear these major proclamations of having reached 500, 1000, and even 1,000,000 followers.

I guess that’s good, but how can anyone listen to anything if they are following so many people?

I know I can’t, and I only follow 200 people. Even that is a challenge to me.

I know, I know… I can use Tweet Deck to segment my followers. I can use Tweet Later to automate my tweets. But why?

What’s the purpose?

I don’t go on Twitter with the purpose of buying something or joining another home business opportunity. I’m perfectly happy with the one I have. I don’t go on Twitter to hear the next best inspirational or motivational quote that is copied off the Internet. I am pretty motivated already.

Should I really be honest?

I go on Twitter for only a couple of reasons.

• First, to see what guys like Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki, and Mike Dillard (yes, Mike I am a follower) do on a daily basis. I’m curious.

• Second, I follow established people in my industry who I respect, not because I think they’ll be handing out any unique tidbits of knowledge (although they might), but more because I want to see what they consider important to post on Twitter.

So if the idea is to follow as many people on Twitter as possible, so they will follow you back, then it seems to me that everyone is following and no one is actually leading.

But I’ve discovered that I’m wrong. I think I’ve figured out who the leaders are on Twitter.

The leaders are the ones who follow the LEAST number of people.    Check this out –

• The “real” Donald Trump — 2549 followers…. Following 2.

• Robert Kiyosaki — 10, 148 followers…. Following 9

• My favorite example…. Al Gore — 1,015,073 followers …. Following 8!

• And we all remember how Mike Dillard “purged” his follower list (a move I strongly agreed with).

The ultimate leader on Twitter? It must be Jay Kubassek.

Jay had to actually APPROVE me before I could follow him. Now he must be THE LEADER! (I say this tongue in cheek. Jay is, in fact, one of the strongest leaders I have had the pleasure of knowing).

In all seriousness folks, what’s the damn point!

Someone straighten me out here. Help me understand the real meaning and purpose of Twitter.

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Twitter has exploded.  Literally.

And it has become more and more apparent that, to take full advantage of this real time information sharing hub one needs to know of and understand the various applications available.

Two posts from one of my favorite blogs, Mashable – The Social Media Guide caught my eye recently (on Twitter, none-the-less):

Here are 2 recent posts on Mashable that will get you up-tp-speed on sharing video and images on Twitter

Top 5 Ways to Share Videos on Twitter

5 Ways to Share Images on Twitter

And while you are reading these great posts on Mashable, take the time to subscribe if you are interested in Social Media.  It’s one of the few blogs that I read religiously.

Have a terrific Memorial Day holiday weekend, folks…

as I write this, I’m off to a barbeque.

It’s all about living the life you deserve and dream of….

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Twitter!

It’s the “in thing”, the newest craze.  Everyone seems to be doing it.

But how do you make any sense of it?  How do you see patterns and potential niches in all that noise?

Today I stumbled on the answer, and it came via one of my new Favorite Blogs, Mashable.

It’s another blog that is well worth following and subscribing to.

Here is the latest post —>  5 Terrific Twitter Research Tools.

Use these tools to help you analyze Twitter and make it work towards the benefit of your home based business. 

Enjoy!

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

Follow Me on TWITTER!

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Twitter.

It seems like you either love it or hate it.

You either get it, or don’t get it.

But one thing is for sure –

IT IS EXPLODING

I love Twitter…. but it seems to have gotten a bit crowded and hard to manage.

As I am always looking for new and exciting alternatives, I offer the following as a possible Alternative to Twitter.

SPNb@bble is a microblogging platformed dedicated to web professionals, entrepreneurs, network marketers, and alike.

I just recently created a profile and started using this new microblogging platform, but so far I am impressed.

Let’s take a closer look…

Why Should You Use SPNb@bble?

If you are already using sites like Twitter and Facebook for marketing, networking, branding, PR and building backlinks, then SPNbabble can save you a great deal of time and effort. Message posts on SPNbabble will simultaneously appear on Twitter, Friendfeed, Plurk, Tumblr and Facebook, if you have accounts on those services.There are  plans to tie SPNbabble into even more micro-blogging services in the near future.

SPNb@bble Features:

So take a look and let me know what you think.

And follow (or Subscribe) me on SPNbabble

To your success!

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Social Marketing is the new darling of the business world.  You’ve all undoubtedly heard about it:

MySpace, Facebook, Blogging, Twitter, and Social Bookmarking.

But what does it all mean?

Who is using it and how are they using it?

Does it really help grow your business?

I just received an email from Michael Stelzner, author of Writing White Papers:  How To Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged. 

Michael sent me a link to his new white paper, “Social Media Marketing Industry Report.” 

Very cool stuff here, guys.  A must read.

Among his findings:

• Most marketers are NEW to social marketing, having only been using it for a few months or less
• The number one advantage to using social marketing is, not surprisingly, generating exposure for your business.
• The top 4 social media tools were (in order)
  • Twitter
  • Blogs
  • Linkedin
  • Facebook

There were many more interesting findings.  It’s definitely worth your time to check it out.  To read the complete study, go to:

http://www.whitepapersource.com/socialmediamarketing/report/

If you wish to follow Michael on Twitter, go to http://twitter.com/mike_stelzner

To your success!

Dr. Bob Clarke

How Does Dr. Clarke Make HIS Money Online?

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