No beatin' around the bush today, my friend...  No way... I'm pumped up for today's lesson...  And I'm in rare form this week.  I guess that means you're one lucky camper....

No, actually I feel pretty lucky to have you here with me while we share in this information together.  It's a true blessing that I'm fortunate enough to have you aboard and I mean that sincerely!  Thanks for being here ;-)

How's this for an ironic twist...

My wife was reading over some of our lessons (silly me -- I left my computer screen up after writing the last lesson) and once she discovered our "secret" little website -- Candle-Lite Cooking -- she insisted I cook her a nice "Candle-Lite Meal" over the weekend.

Needless to say... things went extremely well and I'm now back on the top of her "Mr. Romance" list once again (I'm afraid I was starting to drop in the rankings!)

So ya see... Our little homepage really does attract (or should I say - command) some attention and it can also spark a few fires unexpectedly.  Hell,  she didn't even reap the benefits of actually being able to download a special report or sign up for our fictitious e-course and she was still enthralled....

Well actually -- what she said was...

"You sure can talk a good talk but can you actually walk the walk?"

That, my friend, was a challenge I just couldn't refuse!

Wouldn't you agree?  And guess what -- I passed with flyin' colors!

Just call me "Sergio" from now on!

Oh... and before we get started I just have to tell you a quick little story...

I promise it'll only take 30 seconds...

My youngest son, Tyler, who's now six, just started his first year of "Sunday School" this year.  My wife, being the "world's greatest" mom that she is, was taking a few minutes each night to practice some prayers with him before he went to bed.

Well, last night, she came out of his bedroom practically in tears, laughing under her breathe.  I couldn't imagine what she found so funny, especially since she was just saying prayers with the little guy - and she takes that pretty serious.

She proceeds to tell me that she was listening proudly as Tyler (for the first time) took control of the reigns and told her that he wanted to say the "The Lords Prayer" all by himself - with no help from her.

For the past few nights, he would repeat after his mom - the lines from the prayer. Finally, this time... he decided to go solo.  She eagerly agreed!

My wife listened (beaming with pride) as Tyler carefully enunciated each word, right up to the end of the prayer:

"And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us Some E-mail. Amen."

A chip off the ole' block!

 I'M ONE LUCKY DADDY-O!

Okay then, enough funny business... let's move on to more serious matters at hand...

So... Are ya' ready for yet another "Fan-tastico" lesson?

Well, today I want to start off by briefly discussing those little "orphans" we've been ignoring thus far on our homepage.  By orphans, I'm referring to those plain ole' text links on our homepage.  I want to break them down a bit in more detail (some links we'll discuss more than others for obvious reasons).

"There's a lot of gold to be found in them there links...."

More importantly, In this weeks lesson, I want to focus the 'Meat and Potatoes' on some clever "stealth" marketing techniques that are surely going to "Bring Home The Bacon" once implemented into our game plan.

What "stealth" marketing techniques?

Glad you asked!

When I say "stealth" techniques, I mean...

But before we plunge right into those techniques, let's take a closer look at our clever links that we have setup on our homepage -- Candle-Lite Cooking.

It's important to note that although it's not obvious to the 'untrained eye', each link on our homepage has been carefully thought out and strategically placed for a specific reason... and I'll explain:

Links at the Header and Footer of our Homepage

First - let's talk about the placement of our links...

I specifically placed our menu of links at the top (and also at the bottom) of our homepage page for two specific reasons.

links at the top and bottom of the page, they're not the dominant focus - and we want it that way for good reasons.

Since the main focus of our homepage is lead generation (i.e. our popup form, free report, newsletter subscription, etc), we don't want folks to visit our website and immediately see all kinds of "attention grabbing" interesting links to check out.

NO WAY!  We're too sly for that!

Instead, we want to methodically LEAD our customer - from start to finish - along our predetermined path and ultimately have them end up doing exactly what we intended them to do...

... ENTER THEIR EMAIL ADDRESS... PERIOD!

Think about it: If we added all sorts of flashy links and banners scattered about our homepage, it would only create confusion -- or worse yet -- curiosity.  And now isn't the time for our customer to be curious about the rest of our site.  FOOEY!

We never want our traffic wandering around aimlessly - confused and curious - wondering which link they should "click" first (or next).  When that happens, we lose control.  And when we lose control of the web tour, we ultimately risk losing control of a sale as well.

WE WANT CONTROL!

Look at it this way...

Think of yourself - the astute business (website) owner that you are now becoming - as the "Master" tour guide.  Your goal as the tour guide is to lead your visitors along your desired path - not theirs.  You don't want your customers "running amuck" on their own.  They might get lost in the "hustle and bustle".

We can't have "strays" running rampant all over our "domain".  Someone might get confused.  And confusion leads to pain.  And pain leads to...

... "Click - Goodbye!"

By taking as much control of our customers tour as possible, we can then guide and educate them ON OUR TERMS - systematically.  It's a beautiful thing... isn't it?  You might think I'm a control freak...

I say... thank you!

And best of all -- they won't even realize we're in control.

I'll elaborate:  Our NUMBER ONE goal is to have a visitor sign up for our FREE offer and enter their email address.  BUILD OUR LIST!  If we only accomplish this task, we've hit a home run!

But if, for some UNEARTHLY reason, our customer isn't interested in giving us their email address  -- shame on them! -- we have to allow for a "PLAN B".

What's Plan B?

Simply allowing our customer the option to click on a link or two and check out our site in a little more detail.... to get to know a little bit more about us.

But... Here's The Kicker!

We still want as much control over the tour as possible.  Therefore, we plant "strategic" links -- those types of links that we'd almost be just as happy to have them wonder off to (if need be).  But only if we can't entice them to take our desired action and "opt in" to our list first.

Now understand this... There are GREAT "plan B" links, and then there are total "Crapola" links.

• First, let's quickly look at the "Crapola" side of the equation -- those types of links that simply NEVER get the job done - meaning they won't lead our customer on our desired path which will ultimately end up leading them to our E-Register.

I'll try not to ramble on too-too much about these types of links, but understand that this is extremely important.  It drives me crazy when I see links like the one's I've listed below pasted all over a website:

• Contact Us

• Visit Our Other Sites Here

• Sign Our Guestbook

• About Us

• Join Our Affiliate Program

• My Favorite Links

• Link To Us

• Etc., Etc., Etc...

And Then We See Those "Self-Absorbed" Banners And Irritatingly Useless Graphics Flashing All Over Many Websites With One Sole Purpose -- To Send Their Valuable Website Traffic Off To Another Website...
 

Hello?  Anybody Home?

Have These Webmasters Lost Their Minds?

Yes, they may get a few cents for every click-thru from "Banner A's" affiliate program by sending their traffic through to an affiliate's site, but unfortunately these "comatose" webmasters have no clue how to make "real" money via affiliate programs.

I'm guessing they'll never realize how much cash flow their throwing out the window when they send their traffic away via a banner ad or affiliate link... but that's good news for us!

Thank our lucky stars we're so damn intelligent!...

There's literally dozens of ways -- ALL 1000 TIMES BETTER -- and much more effective than simply adding flashing links and banners all over our website (and in future lessons we're going to discuss many of those tactics in great detail) to make huge affiliate commissions.

For now though, understand that our homepage at "Candle-Lite" Cooking is setup with a "SIMPLE" yet "Methodical" design and purpose -- so we can be the "Tour Guide" and ultimately end the tour with a sale.  It may not be immediately obvious, apparent or may not even lead to a sale right off the bat -- but rest assured... a sale we will get!

Sales are our ultimate goal and we're going to work brilliantly to see to it that we achieve our goal.

So for right now, let's discuss some of those links I just mentioned above (and then we'll discuss our Ingenious homepage links in more detail in a moment):

1. The Useless "Contact Us" Link
Everybody thinks they need a "contact us" link on their homepage.

WRONG!

But Dave, you're thinking... you big dumb "Putz" -- you're nuts!

**See - I even know what you're thinking and it's not very nice! Shame on you...**

You're saying to yourself...  Everyone - even a complete "Doofus" like you - knows that every visitor needs a way to contact us in case they have a problem or question... right?

ABSOLUTELY!  But they don't need a link to find out how to contact us.  Your best strategy for contact information is to simply place a small portion of text at the bottom of your website (BOTTOM -CENTER) that has the following:

1. Company Name

2. Physical Mailing Address

3. Contact Email Address

4. Phone Number

5. Copyright Notice

That's it!  You don't need a link to a contact us page - especially on your homepage!  Our homepage is our "Capture Page" - plain and simple.  Get the email addy!  Don't distract from our desired response.  Got it?

As we move forward, digging deeper into our website, we'll start adding additional pages.  That's when we'll consider adding various types of other links.  But right now we're still focusing on our homepage - Our Capture Page...

So let's add our contact information to our homepage before we proceed any further.

NOTE: For reasons I'll explain in a moment, I reluctantly included a "Contact Us" link on the original design of our homepage just to cut down on the amount of email I was receiving from folks telling me about how I forgot - what many knew to be - the most important link a website needs...  Tough crowd I must say!

NOW... I've removed it...  We don't need it!

STOP! and Click Here to view our homepage with the contact information now at the footer of our homepage.  Short, sweet, and to the point.  The "perfect" setup. Everything a visitor would ever need to get in touch with us - and no link to take them off our chosen path.
 

2. The Pompous "View Our Other Sites" Link
Now here's a real "Bobble Head" no-brainer...

This link makes me wanna pull my eye-balls out!

Focus!... Focus!... Focus!

You want to focus on the benefits you are offering this particular customer who's already arrived to THIS PARTICULAR SITE!  Forget he or she MIGHT be interested in our other sites. To hell with our "other sites" for now...

If we want to get traffic to some OTHER SITES, then we'll market those separately.  Never send away a customer to any OTHER SITES when they're on THIS (your) particular site right NOW!  That's a cocktail for disaster...

Enough said about that...

Now... Here's my "Dave's Fish Head Award" for the dumbest link in town!

3. The Cutesy "Sign My Guestbook" Link

Have these folks lost their minds?  Unless you have a charity site or a website that you never want to make one red cent from - plus the only thing you provide is useless and uninformative content, PLEASE don't EVER place a link on your site like this.

Important: We will be discussing "viral content techniques" that your site traffic can easily contribute to in future lessons, but a link to a guestbook, especially on your homepage,  is not one of them.

Out the window with GUESTBOOKS!  Seee Yaaa!

4. The Self-Centered "About Us" Link

I'll keep these comments short and sweet...

NOBODY CARES ABOUT YOU OR YOUR COMPANY!

	You're in business for 50 years - SO WHAT!
	How you came to discover this product while traveling across the deserts of Egypt - SO WHAT!
	How you started from nothing and built an empire profiting over 100 million A YEAR IN LESS THAN 3 YEARS - SO WHAT!
	How you patented your product and spent thousands of dollars in research - SO WHAT!
	How you got approval from the FDA and now sell worldwide - SO WHAT!
	Pictures of your staff and how you've been working together for over 10 years - SO WHAT!

Remember - It's not about YOU!  What's in it for THEM - YOUR customer... Never forget that!

Skip the About Us Link! - Trust me... you'll thank me in the long run!  I've monitored stats on web servers for years and the "about us" page is very rarely visited anyway so again - find a better way to use that valuable space on your website to PRE-SELL!

5. The "Greedy" Join Our Affiliate Program" Link

Affiliate Programs are a must - no doubt.  But placing a link on your homepage that simply reads "Join Our Affiliate Program" ain't gonna' cut it!  We're going to discuss affiliate programs in much more detail in future lessons so for now my only recommendation to you is this:

Skip the "Affiliate Program" link on your homepage.

There's much, much, much better ways to recruit "Quality" affiliates and promote your program than via a web link on your homepage.

Having said that... If you just can't imagine NOT advertising your affiliate program on your homepage - if it's gonna' keep you up at night in cold sweats -  then go ahead and add it.  I can live with it!  I don't want to think I'm causing you any pain or discomfort ;-)

Out of all the links we've discussed so far, I guess this one is really a personal preference, but I'm 70/30 on leaving it off the page rather than adding it - but again your choice.

... See how easy I am to get along with... And my wife has the nerve to say I'm cocky, pigheaded, and I always have to be right!  Shame on her!...

But we're going to skip the "Join Our Affiliate Program" link on our homepage for "Candle-Lite" cooking.  We're going to do a better job with our promos than just a simple link once we really get rollin' along.

6. The Self Destructing "My Favorite Links" Link

Do I really have to even address this one?

Here's a link to a page that basically tells your customer this:

"I know you're probably not going to be interested in anything I have to offer, but here's some really cool sites that do have value and substance so you should go visit one of these sites instead!"

"If I ever check my database and find any one of my students from this e-course with a link even similar to one of these I will jump on a flight to your hometown, hunt you down, come to your home or business, hack into your computer, hijack your server, passwords, and FTP information and remove the link from your page!  Then, I'll change all your passwords so you'll never be able to pull a stunt like that again!"

I think that's fair - Agreed?  Good, so as long as we agree on that we'll have no problems then ;-)

... I'm pretty brave hiding behind my computer screen... huh?

Okay... I lied (first time ever)!  I won't hunt you down and come to your house - but please don't offer your "Favorite Links" to anyone except your mother -- or maybe your spouse or children (but they should be interrogated thoroughly first).

There's a time and a place for "favorite links" and alike.

Perhaps in a Blog or newsletter...

Hmmm!  Now there's an interesting idea!  But guess what... We're going to save that thought for a future lesson as well.

We don't want any such links on our capture page.

Moving on...

7. The Cunning "Link To Us" Link

In the past, many "Gurus" came up with this ingenious idea that they'd trick the search engines into thinking that they were a "HUGE" Internet resource just because they had thousands of links pointing back to their site from thousands of unrelated websites - hence, boosting their search engine rankings.

It reminds me of a cheap "pick up line"...

"Hi, nice to meet you... Wanna' trade links?"

OH PLEASE!  Reality check time.... You get nothing for nothing.

Common sense!

It might have worked in the "stone ages" of the Internet, but rest assured, it doesn't work now.  Technology and "the Internet community" as a whole have gotten much smarter than they used to be... Especially the search engines themselves!

In most instances, all you're going to end up with is endless spam.  Truth is... There's better ways to spend your time and efforts...

So forget about linking partners, FFA (free for all)  links, linking software, links pages, etc.  The only way you're going to get quality, "TARGETED" traffic to your website is by doing the legwork yourself (which we'll begin to discuss in this lesson).

Note:  There are strategies that we'll discuss in this course that can be very lucrative -- such as JV partners (Joint Venture Partners) and link trading, but what I am referring to above are those webmasters that search out anyone and everyone willing to trade links.  I'm sure you've seen websites that provide a "Links" page that basically consists of a long list of URL's that they post on their website in order to have these webmasters do the same thing on their own site and include their URL on their webpage.

Forget about it!

And while we're on the subject, let me also point out a few more no-no's.

• Blast your message to 1,000,000 email addresses

• Submit your site to 5,000 search engines with one click

• Guaranteed - 10,000 hits to your website for $39.95

• Pop Up and Pop Under Traffic Exchange Programs

Forget all of the above (and anything that is even remotely similar).  They are all GARBAGE - JUNK - Money-Wasters! 

But have no fear...

We're going to implement some extremely effective "ultra-targeted" techniques to get high quality traffic to our website very effectively (and FREE) in this lesson, so just shut up and listen -- (kidding again!... c'mon lighten up :-)

Forget the LINK TO US, links pages, or traffic exchanges - they don't work - waste of time!  And forget the "Massive Traffic" promises slammed all over the net.  "If it sounds to good to be true - guess what... it is.

I can go on and on about these ridiculously ineffective, useless links on a homepage, or the "money-wasters" that promise hordes of traffic... but I promised to keep it short...

So let's wrap up this topic with this simple philosophy:

"Just listen to everything I tell you - don't question my genius - and you simply can't go wrong!" ...

Good!  Okay then...

Now, I'd like you to move along and begin to scan over our "Unbelievably Brilliant" list of links that we've setup on our Candle-Lite Cooking homepage:

1. Recent Articles

2. Candle-Lite Recipes

3. My Blog

4. Our Newsletter

5. Visit Our Store

6. Romance Forum

7. Flowers or Chocolates Anyone?

Each of these links on our homepage were carefully thought out and designed to produce a specific response (by me of course ;-).

If you think back to lesson 2 for a minute, you'll recall that we talked about three key ingredients we should try to look for when targeting a specific niche'.  Those three ingredients were:

"Repeat after me...."

1. A laser tight market

2. Quality, informative and entertaining content to write about in our niche'

3. Products readily available to generate back-end sales

Well, we've already defined our laser targeted niche'.  So now we're going to talk a bit more about Key Ingredient #2 - CONTENT!

If you look at our links, each one of them have a common denominator - CONTENT.

Now, aside from our obvious "non-content" link:

• Visit Our Store

... all of our links are focused on one thing -- offering content.

We'll discuss the "non-content" e-store link in another lesson and we're going to conduct a "link autopsy" on this little gem  - exciting stuff to come... for sure!

For now... realize this: Your website needs CONTENT.

Content... Content... Content...

Here are just a few reasons why...

• Content Is King...

• Search Engines Love Content...

• Customers Love Content...

• Quality Content Adds Credibility...

• Our Content Can - And Will - Be Used As A Stealth Viral Marketing Tool...

• Our Content Will Eventually Produce A Highly Profitable, Unique, Quality Product For Us That NO ONE ELSE Is Selling! -- YEEE HAWWW!

So Einstein... Listen up: Loosen your belt, grab a beverage (preferably non-alcoholic while reading this), sit up straight and settle in because we've only just begun!  Now we're going to take a look at each of our 'Content' links, break them down and expose their vivacious appeal and sheer brilliance...

"Hey... c'mon now!  It's lesson 6 already.  Can't I call ya' "Einstein" or "Corn Flake" or "Fish Stick" every now and then?"  It's just one of my many subtle, affectionate charms...

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Dissecting Our Links On Candle-Lite Cooking:

Let's get started by taking a look at the first link we've setup on our homepage.  This may be the most important link of all as it pertains to marketing our website:

Recent Articles Link FYI: From this point on, you're going to start noticing a pattern.  Just as I drilled home the importance of a good capture page to build our foundation (capturing email addresses), from this lesson forward, chances are you'll find me reiterating again and again the importance of Quality, Entertaining CONTENT!

One extremely effective way (MY FAVORITE) to provide content is simply by creating informative articles you can easily post on your website.

Plus, we're also going to discuss how you can use these articles you've written as a "viral marketing tool" to attract a lot of traffic, establish credibility in your niche', and ultimately make more sales.

Unfortunately, I can hear many of you now...

• "I can't write!"

• "I hate to write!"

• "I failed English class and I can't even spell!"

Boloney!  Everybody can write... And I'm here to help as well...

• If you've ever written an email to a friend or family member -- you can write!

• If you've ever written a little apology to your spouse -- you can write!

• If you've ever written an essay for school -- you can write!

• If you've ever written a complaint for poor service, then you can write!

• If you've ever jotted down a "favorite recipe" you created and gave it to a family member or friend -- you can write!

The list goes on and on...

And just for the sake of argument, let's say you've never written one "semi-intelligent" letter or article in your entire life, then it's time you started learning how to write.

It's that important!

Really!  It's time you give it a little practice!  It gets easier with practice.

I'll say it again, the Internet is the "Information Highway".  Folks are logging onto the Internet to look for information -- plain and simple.

Now... I'll also tell you that there is a brilliant way that you can add quality, informative articles to your website without ever writing a word yourself.

Cool huh?... But we're going to save that little tidbit of information for a little later on in our lessons.

But again, I simply cannot stress enough the importance and the overall benefits you'll receive from being able to create some quality, entertaining content on your own so...  Just do it!  Get practicing...

Right now, I'd like to offer you a condensed, brief crash course on article writing and quickly demonstrate to you how these little "viral goldmines" can instantly increase your traffic and sales.

As you can imagine, entire books have been written on the subject so I won't be able to cover every topic in extreme detail, but I'll do my best to go over the more important aspects to writing a quality, informative and entertaining article.  Ready?  Here goes...

First -- How To Write A Great Article:

• Forget everything you were taught in English class.  Writing articles is "meatball writing".  You want to write in your own style and at an 8th grade reader level.

  -- Don't try to impress your readers with your sheer intelligence.
  
  -- Don't use big words when you can use much simpler, shorter words that have the same meaning.
  
  -- Don't bore your readers!  Add some sizzle and spice.
  
  -- Be unique and show your personality!  Don't be afraid to be yourself.
   

• Each article you write should be approximately 700-1000 words.
  
  -- Always keep your articles short, sweet, and to the point.
  
  -- When adding articles (as content) to your website, you can make your article as long as you'd like, however when submitting these articles to article directories to market your site (we'll discuss in a moment) you want to follow their strict guidelines which usually involves a specific maximum word count and format.
  
  -- Use bulleted points and break up lines of text with transitional effects like this... and this -- or use (parenthesis like this) to make it easier on your reader's eyes.
  
  -- A well written article should consist of short sentences and short paragraphs, bulleted points and sub-headings, each addressing a specific point of topic in your article.
  
   

• Stay focused on your topic and provide useful information.
  
  -- Quality is most important!  Do your research and write your articles to educate your readers.
  
  -- Folks like it when you're specific... so give them specifics.  Offer links to additional resources if needed.
  
  -- Use popular search engines like Google and Yahoo to read over similar articles and find websites focused on your subject to research your topic.
  
  IMPORTANT: There's nothing illegal or unethical about using information you've discovered from another article or website to create an article of your very own.  Just remember -- NEVER copy someone else's work word for word.  This is copyright infringement.  You can take notes from an informative article you've read and use that information to write your own article just as long as you put things into your own words.
  
  For example:
  
  Let's say you wanted to write an article titled...
  
  "How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her -- And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is -- All For Less Than $16."
  
  What you should do is:
   

• List everything you already know about this subject in an easy to reference list. 

• Next, go to Google and do a few searches on the topic.  I'm sure you'll find several listings related to the subject.  Yes, you might have to be clever in your search, but rest assured -- you'll find the info if you dig deep enough.

• Then, read over the best of those articles and websites you find and make yourself an ultra-resourceful list on your topic.

• Finally, take your notes and construct your own article in a simple, easy to read format.
  
  That's all there is to it.
  
  IMPORTANT TIP: You want to provide superior, quality information in each and every article you write.  Having said that, you also want to try to be somewhat clever in your approach.
  
  The best articles I've written provide great content but also leave out some additional information that your reader would love to have in order to truly benefit completely from your knowledge and expertise.
  
  Let's use our example from above once again:
  
  "How To Effortlessly Sweep Your Spouse Off Her Feet -- Wine Her And Dine Her -- And Make Her Wonder Who The Great Imposter Is -- All For Less Than $16."
  
  -- You might write about properly preparing for the occasion in advance -- how to be sure you have a baby sitter lined up for the kids, no guests stopping by unexpectedly, your entire menu planned out, etc...
  
  -- You may write about how important it is to have her favorite fresh flowers and her favorite music playing when she arrives home... Setting The MOOD!
  
  -- You might discuss the benefits to including a "special" little present that you know she's mentioned wanting recently...
  
  -- You can include tips on how to dress for the occasion -- why putting on a shirt and tie would really impress her and show her how serious you are about the special occasion...
  
  -- You can mention how to properly set the table with candles and fresh fruit, what types of wines go best with what dishes, some delicious romantic "finger foods" you can prepare, and how to layout the table settings perfectly...
  
  -- And FINALLY, you can mention how important it is to prepare the perfect meal for the occasion...