Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Foundation & Building


Internet Income 2.0
Lesson #31–FOUNDATION LAID: BUILDING BEGINS

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
In this lesson, we will review what has been covered in the Revised Internet Income Course to date and lay out the path we will follow for the future.
Review
In Lesson 1, we learned that the Internet continues to have great potential for energetic entrepreneurs. In Lesson 2, we covered how to avoid spamming and related offenses. In Lesson 3, we learned to follow the flow of Internet traffic and highlighted the rising importance of social media. We also introduced the five goals of effective traffic building:
  1. utilizing effective branding,
  2. obtaining good publicity, including links to your site from popular pages,
  3. obtaining an effective search engine presence,
  4. utilizing and maintaining flow in the placement of your Internet ads, and
  5. maintaining an effective social media presence.
From there through Lesson 30, we have introduced you to the general principles, tools, and strategies you need for Internet marketing, which lays a solid foundation for moving forward. If you haven't already read the first 30 lessons, please schedule some time to do so. If you have read them, please refer back to them anytime you become confused or lose your focus. A return to the basics can get you back on track.
As a helpful shorthand reference for the future, let's abbreviate the five ways to build Internet traffic as follows:
  1. Branding
  2. Promotion
  3. SEO
  4. Flow
  5. Social Media
Hopefully, we have done an adequate job covering the whys of Internet Marketing in the first 30 lessons so we can now drill down into some of the how-to's of Internet Marketing in more detail. Our abbreviations of the Five Ways to Build Traffic will make it easier to refer back to these concepts as we move forward.
Choosing a Content Management System
If you are not already set up with a Website, the first task you face is choosing a content management system.
Content Management Systems (CMS) are software applications or sets of related applications that are used to create and manage digital content, typically used for enterprise content management and web content management. In other words, they provide an easy way to create and manage a Website without having to know HTML. CSS, JavaScript, php, mysql, or any of the many other Web development programs. As it is no longer practical for the average Website owner to rely upon a paid web developer to build their site and manage the content on the site, most Websites are now maintained with content management systems. The Website owner either hires a web developer to build the site within a content management sytem or just builds the site within the system themselves. Either way, unless you're a large organization, it has become essential to be able to add your own content in real time rather than relying on a third party contractor to add it for you.
I have chosen to focus future lessons on the WordPress CMS. You may already be using another CMS or choose another CMS to get started because you feel it better meets your needs. You should still follow–and there is still much you can learn–from our future lessons even if you use another CMS.
At the Time of this Writing
If you've read many past lessons, you've heard me say "at the time of this writing" many times throughout this course and the previous course. That's because whenever one is discussing Internet how-to's in any detail, what you are discussing may well be changed in the near future.
Thus, obsolesence is one of the problems we will encounter in our future lessons. At the level of attention to detail we will reach, many of the specifics may change almost as quickly as we can document them. Nevertheless, there is no choice but to start with what works today–even though it may be a bit outdated tommorow, next week, next month, or next year.
Another problem is that there are so many options now at every step in the process, it is impossible to cover them all. Future choices along the way of building and maintaining your Website depend upon previous choices that you made.
To minimize these problem as much as possible, we will choose the most tried and true, commonly used options and methods–what works for the majority of people. We will do the best we can. Just please remember that all of the procedures we discuss may change with time and will depend upon a number of choices made along the way. We will try to point out, in general terms, how these same processes may be applied with other setups and circumstances.
WordPress
When it comes to tried and proven, WordPress can't be beat. It's been around for 13 years. WordPress currently powers approximately 26.5% of the Web. It is by far the most commonly used content management system. There are 500 new sites created in WordPress every day. It is available in 56 languages and growing. Thus, when it comes to choosing a content management system to discuss, WordPress is the natural choice.
While WordPress is by far the most common, it is certainly not the only choice for building your Website. If you use another Website builder or content management system, these lessons will still be helpful to you because, due to its popularity and ease of use, WordPress is now being incorporated into many new systems and often used to extend existing systems. Some knowledge of WordPress is important to anyone involved in web publishing. In any case, it provides us a context within which to discuss details and strategies that will also apply to other types of content management systems as well.
Where We're Headed
Starting with our next lesson, we will start at the beginning, taking the approach of someone creating their first Website. We will discuss setting up WordPress, choosing a theme, adding the needed plugins, and branding your site. Then, we will move to creating the initial content for your site. After the site is created, we will discuss setting up a Facebook brand page and a Twitter account. During this process we will often refer to the Traffic Building Strategies we have previously discussed.
Then, we will discuss creating content that speaks to your target market, monitoring your results, and forming specific campaigns.
CONCLUSION
With a foundation of the general principles involved in Internet marketing from our first 30 lessons, we can now begin to focus on details. We will start at the beginning and show you how to set up a Website, build content for your Website, and bring traffic to your site. Due to its wide popularily and proven track record, we will use WordPress as the Content Management System (CMS) for our future discussions. We will often refer back to the Five Ways to Build Traffic discussed in the first thirty lessons of this course.
WHAT'S COMING NEXT
In our next lesson, we will discuss obtaining a hosting service and installing Wordpress on your site.
by George Little
Copyright 2017, Panhandle On-Line, Inc.
License granted to Carson Services, Inc. for distribution to SFI affiliates. No part of this work may be republished, redistributed, or sold without written permission of the author.
For more information on the Internet Income Course and other works and courses by George Little, see http://www.profitpropulsion.com

Treat your business...like a business!

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Index of Rules



Audio Version


Treat your business...like a business!

If you purchased a franchise, would you expect it to make money for you if you only worked it a few hours a week? Or if you didn't get trained? Or if you only tried for a few months? Or if you didn't follow the proven guidelines of the creators of the franchise?

Of course not! That's ridiculous. SFI is no different. Success requires commitment.


Treat Business Like Business

I am continually amazed at how many people think that money will somehow magically fall from the sky without work, without plans, or without an earnest commitment. All these elements (and others you'll read about in the following rules) MUST be present.

The fact is, anything worthwhile in life requires effort and commitment. If that were not true, we'd all be the perfect weight, we'd all have perfect relationships, and we'd all be highly educated. It's the same thing with having your own business.


In short, if you treat your SFI business as a serious, full-time business, put in the effort and commit to its success, it will become a serious, full-time business.

"Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans."
-Peter F. Drucker

"You need to make a commitment, and once you make it, then life will give you some answers."
-Les Brown

"There's no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen."
-Wayne Dyer

"There are only two options regarding commitment. You're either in or out. There's no such thing as a life in-between."
-Pat Riley

Saturday, March 25, 2017

The Booster Program Club

What is the TripleClicks Booster Club?

02/09/2017 The TripleClicks Booster Club is for SFI Affiliates who understand how important it is to support their store and practice Transfer Buying whenever possible. It means you have placed one or more orders with a minimum of 1500 VP for the current month AND also in the previous month. Your orders can be those set to reoccur automatically each month (Auto-Delivery*) or they can just be placed manually at any time throughout the month.  Any combination, your choice. NOTE: Alternately, you can achieve BCQ (Booster Club Qualified) status immediately with a minimum of 3000 VP in purchases in the current month.



Major Booster Club benefits


As a Booster Club member, you'll get these three major benefits:
  1. You’ll be boosting the TripleClicks Executive Pool (SFI’s profit-sharing program) and potentially the commissions of all Executive Affiliates and Team Leaders, not only those in your own team, but companywide!
  2. You’ll be boosting traffic at TripleClicks, which boosts TripleClicks visibility in the marketplace, which helps facilitate valuable enhancements like a broader range of products, lower prices, a bigger and better ECA program, more Spotlight Merchants, being able to perhaps negotiate lower shipping rates, and much more!
  3. You’ll be boosting your own leadership resume, which can be invaluable!  Especially as a Team Leader, you’ll want to lead by example when it comes to the TripleClicks Booster Club.  Having the Booster Club Member badge tells your team that you “walk the walk.”  You don’t just talk and expect your team members to be a part of the Booster Club.  No, “you put your money where your mouth is” as the old saying goes.  And when you lead by example, your team members will be inclined to follow your lead, which will increase your commissions, as it will for them as well with their team, for the same reason.
TIP: Being a Booster Club member can also just mean that you’re investing directly in the success of your business.  That is, your qualifying purchases can consist entirely of S-Builder Co-op units, PSAs To Go, TCredits for bidding on CSAs, and so on.

And what’s the cost to be a Booster Club member?  You can easily meet the minimum monthly 1500 VP requirement for less than $1.21 a day. That’s less than what most people spend on a cup of coffee or snack each day!  So why not build a great business with that money instead?

As we talk about in the “Overnight Success” LaunchPad lesson…
“Can you think of any other endeavor where you could invest just five to 10 hours a week for a couple years and at the end of that time have built a full-time income? Money that keeps coming in month after month, year after year. Money that keeps coming in whether you work 10 hours a day or two. A commission check waiting for you in your mailbox when you return from yet another vacation. Money that when you’ve left this planet continues to provide for your spouse, children, or grandchildren.”
Becoming a member and maintaining membership in the TripleClicks Booster Club is one of the key ways you’ll put the above into action!

4 more big Booster Club benefits


Being a Booster Club member also means…
  • You will receive 10 income-boosting CSAs (via CSA Rewards) monthly!
  • You will receive 100 Bonus VersaPoints each month!  That’s 100 extra shares of the TripleClicks Executive Pool paid to you monthly, too!
  • You will receive two additional entries each day in the big Daily Grand drawing!  That’s a whopping 730 extra chances each year to win hundreds of dollars in valuable and income-boosting prizes!
  • Your badge mantel will be sporting a prestigious “Booster Club Member” badge to help you lead by example with your own team and enhance your recruiting.

Eight payment options


To make placing orders as easy as possible, you may use any of the following eight payment methods on Booster Club-qualifying orders:
  • Credit card or debit card (including TC Payoneer MasterCard)
  • PayPal
  • SFI Account funds
  • TC Account funds
  • TCurrency
  • Money Order
  • Cashiers Check
  • Personal Check (United States only)


Who’s a member, who’s not?


We want to put a significant emphasis on Booster Club membership.  Therefore, you’ll want to be on the lookout for this “membership ID card” icon around the Affiliate Center:




It identifies which of your affiliates are Booster Club members…on your Movers tab, Affiliate Snapshot, and also at your Genealogy.

The icon will also appear in your Affiliate Center header (beneath your rank badge) to let you know when YOU are Booster Club Qualified (BCQ) and are eligible for all the Booster Club benefits.  Likewise, the icon will appear in the header at TripleClicks if you are currently qualified as a Booster Club member.

You should also check out the helpful Booster Club panel to the Scoreboard tab. It will provide you and all your team members with an up-to-the-minute accounting of your Booster Club status.

* The term "Auto-Delivery" (auto-delivered orders) replaces the old SFI term "Standing Order." 

Q & A


Q: How will I know when I’m Booster Club Qualified (BCQ)?
Under your rank badge in the header at the Affiliate Center, if you’re BCQ, you’ll see a small “Member ID Card” icon.  If you see this icon, you’re officially BCQ and are eligible for all Booster Club benefits.  If you don’t see it, it means you’re currently NOT Booster Club Qualified and will not be receiving any of the Booster Club benefits.


Q: Is there a way to make my Booster Club Qualified (BCQ) status automatic each month?
Yes, very simple!  Just set up an Auto-Delivery order (or orders) at TripleClicks for one or more products (with a minimum of 1500 VP) that you wish to receive automatically each month.  And as an added bonus, by setting up a product as an Auto-Delivery, you get it at the discounted, Auto-Delivery price!


Q: I don’t have, nor can I get, a credit card.  I also cannot get a PayPal account.  So how can I make qualifying purchases?
Your best option then is probably to accumulate your SFI commissions and pay for orders out of these funds. TCurrency is also an excellent option in most countries.  By using TCurrency, you can actually pay for your orders using your local currency or even barter!  Learn all about TCurrency and how it works HERE.  Tip: You are not limited to buying TCurrency from merchants in your country; feel free to use merchants in your region or even outside your region. No TCurrency merchants in your region?  Consider taking advantage of this opportunity by becoming a TCurrency merchant yourself.  Learn about this HERE.


Q: So how many total VP do I need?
Being BCQ means that you have placed one or more orders with a minimum of 1500 VP for the current month AND in the the previous month…so a minimum of 3000 total VP for the two months.


Q: Is there a way to know exactly how much VP I need to qualify as a Booster Club member at any given time?
Yes.  See the Booster Club panel on your Scoreboard tab for this information.


Q: Can I only purchase TC Direct products to become BCQ?
No.  You can buy from any ECA or any Spotlight Merchant as well.


Q: So purchases are now required at SFI?
No, nothing has changed from this standpoint.  You can still earn all your necessary VP doing actions that are free and/or have no out-of-pocket cost.  Moreover, you can still earn unlimited commissions regardless of your rank and regardless of whether you are BCQ or not.  The Booster Club program simply adds some extra perks for those who are practicing transfer buying and supporting their store.


Q: Can I pay for my orders with MRP and/or TCredits?
Not at this time.


Q: Can I use backdating when placing orders to qualify for BCQ status?
Yes.  The backdating option on orders is available during the first 8 days of each month.  By choosing this option during checkout, you can have the VP and CV for your order applied to the previous month.