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This November at IFTTT we’re thankful for…
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Easy Infographic Maker | Infographic Templates
If you've ever wondered "how do you make an infographic?" then you're going to love this brand new package that just came out!
It's called the Infographics IM Edition. You get infographics you can use as-is immediately, plus source files you can edit to create your own eye-grabbing engagement-building infographics.
These are great for Viral Share Bait. 
Not interested in "IM" infographics, or looking for graphics & templates you can use in ANY niche?
Me too! Keep reading, because you are going to LOVE this...
First, take a quick look at the product (that link opens in a new tab/window) so you see what all you get (and how cheap it is!).
All 10 of the graphics you get can be used as-is in your marketing, but all ten templates are also easy to edit for your own purposes. Which means you can use these infographic templates to create awesome images for ANY niche.
There are also some great bonuses including web graphics to spruce up your content, personalize your infographics, and even a cover graphic creator to make great product images. Here is a screenshot of the downloads you'll get:
I also purchased the "Infographics IM Edition PLUS" and "Marketing Graphics Pack" that were offered super cheap after my order. It comes with tons of graphics you can use to spruce up your sales pages and blog posts! Here is just one example:
I used the "Marketing Graphics Bot" package to create an image, just to show you how easy it is. Because I am NOT a graphics person, lol. I was able to open and edit the PSD Files in Pixlr.com (a free graphics editor):
Here's a quick Checklist Graphic example I created by editing that file:
Wow, right? 
This only took minutes to make. Imagine easily creating graphics like that for your blog posts and sales pages! And I STINK at creating graphics. These templates are amazing - and SO easy to work with!!
I recommend you take a serious look at this offer.
It's super cheap right now, and really a no-brainer for anyone marketing online. You need images for blog posts, sales copy, and even social media.
Imagine how much more your social media updates will stand out with high quality eye-grabbing graphics people want to share!
You'll want to check out the Infographic Maker package, which is the main offer. But once you order that, you'll get the option to order the Marketing Graphics Pack which is what I used to create the checklist above. Also super cheap right now.
As you can see, you can edit the files in the Free Pixlr.com Image Editor, and they are really easy to work with.
This was a seriously awesome investment...
Note: The price is ridiculously cheap, but it goes up with every single sale! Act fast to get the absolute lowest pricing possible.
Enjoy!
Best,
Disclosure: I ordered this package myself, totally love it, highly recommend it, and of course this is my referral link.
Evernote, Apple Store, Geek Squad & Mozy
I'm currently in the process of setting my Macbook back up from scratch - after an unfortunate hard drive failure.
It died on me 90 minutes before I was scheduled to host a live webinar. And two weeks before I had to jet off (with it) to Vegas to speak at SEO Braintrust 2013.
Fun stuff. But is it EVER good timing for a disk to fail on you?! I think not.
I learned some interesting things in the process though, which I'll share with you. And I have proven (once again) just how valuable Evernote truly is to my business...
I've mentioned before that I use Evernote for practically everything. For example, I had the notes and links for my two hour webinar presentation in Evernote - which is automatically synced on every device/computer. This meant I could switch to my Dell PC, pull up Evernote, and get on with the scheduled webinar without missing a beat.
This is my referral link for Evernote. I'll earn points I can use for things if you sign up today, and you can earn points too!
Let me just start this story by saying I'm very cross-compatible. I tend to use the right product for the right task without any real bias toward one brand or another. That's how I ended up with a 13" Macbook Pro. It's simply ideal for mobile video editing.
After I finished my scheduled webinar, which was a fun training session on Google+ for Social Marketing Results, I hopped on the phone with Apple Customer Support. If your product is out of warranty it only costs $19, and it's money well spent. We walked through the troubleshooting together, and determined it was in fact hard disk failure. He made me an appointment at the nearest Apple Store for 1:15pm on Friday...
It's a 3-hour round trip for me to the nearest Apple Store, by the way. Some of you may remember my last experience (with the shattered iPad). 
Fortunately this time the actual service was great and both men I spoke to were very nice. That said, they didn't have my appointment on their log, so they had to fit me in a bit later.
It turns out that Apple has a very odd policy regarding hard drives. If they replace yours, you are not allowed to keep your original hard drive. No, not under ANY circumstances. I wish I had known this before I drove all the way into Nashville.
There are a couple of issues with this policy. The main issue for me being data security. I would prefer to destroy my hard drive than to let it just go... who knows where. If you have any financial data, customer data, etc it would be totally irresponsible of you not to properly dispose of that data. Period.
Not to mention I paid for the original drive, and would be (over)paying for the new drive as well. Right. It makes NO sense.
If you ever have an Apple/Mac hard drive issue, DO NOT take it to the "Genius Bar" or Apple Store. There's a better solution...
I left the Nashville Apple Store and drove over to Best Buy just a few blocks away. For less than the price Apple wanted to charge to swap out my hard drive for one of the same size, I purchased a 1TB hard drive from Best Buy (much larger, much better quality) and their Geek Squad team even installed it on the spot.
Geek Squad also offers data recovery services! For $150, if successful, you not only get unlimited data recovery but you also get the external drive they use to store your data. Great deal! Unfortunately they weren't able to recover my data, but no big loss - and no cost. And yes, I got to keep my drive & data.
Now THAT is good service! I can't figure out why Apple insists on keeping hard drives, and why they don't offer data recovery services?! If Best Buy / Geek Squad can do it, Apple certainly can. But they won't. That will be my LAST trip to an Apple Store. Ever. Lesson learned, better resources found.
The Value of Your Data: Mozy, Evernote, Dropbox, etc
As I mentioned, Evernote was a real save. I would have been totally screwed last Tuesday if I hadn't been an Evernote Junkie. lol. Obviously I use other things for data backup as well, which is super important. But never as important as it should be until it's too late (we all have horror stories, right?).
I keep everything in Evernote. It's where I create my info products, outline my webinars, keep my task lists (complete with check boxes and strikethrough for that "real feel"), store all my site notes, and even put PDF files I'm reading.
Evernote is cross compatible and automatically syncs across every device you own. I have it on my PC, Macbook, iPad and Android mobile device. No matter where you are you can add or edit notes, bring up files, and it's consistent (ie up to date) anywhere you access your data. It's just plain awesome. Period.
This is my referral link for Evernote. I'll earn points I can use for things if you sign up today, and you can earn points too!
Of course, you can't keep *everything* in Evernote. For things like documents, photos, videos and other file storage needs you can use something like DropBox to easily store and access your files. Both Evernote and Dropbox also allow you to share certain files (or folders) with other people, which is great for any kind of file-sharing you may need to do. They can both also be accessed from anywhere anytime, so even if your computer implodes your files and data are still safe.
That said, there is one more fail-safe you need. You need an automated off-site full system backup. This will let you restore all of your data (and your data structure) on any computer easily. While Mac's have something called Time Machine which you can back up to an external hard drive and restore, an on-site external backup does you no good in the case of a house fire, flood, tornado or other traumatic event. Not to mention, external hard drives fail too. 
This prompted a fun discussion on Facebook this week:
I use Mozy for my automated off-site backup system. I've had to restore it on a number of occasions over the years, which is the true test, and it restores perfectly every time!
Mozy also has great new features now where you can grab/restore individual files via a mobile app or program. Nice! If you don't already have it installed, that is my referral link and I highly recommend it. It does automated backups in the background, so you never have to worry about it - or remember to do backups yourself.
Evernote, Dropbox, Mozy - Crucial Combination!
Think about it for a second. How valuable is your data to you? How valuable is your TIME? Consider the worst case scenario - a house fire, for example - and nobody ever thinks this will happen to them, until it does.
What would you do? How long would it take you to get back up and running? How much time and money would you lose in the process?
If you have Mozy set up, you could go grab a cheap laptop and get a hotel room with WIFI - restore all your data and be back up and running in a matter of hours.
Ideally you should also use Evernote and Dropbox for the most imporant files, which both come in super handy in a variety of situations. Let's say you're traveling and realize you don't have a file you need with you. An external hard drive would do you no good there. And that's just one example.
And now for my BIG confession...
I did not have Mozy set up on my Macbook. I have it set up on both PC's but just neglected to take the time to set it up on the Mac. Why I never got around to that is anyone's guess. Stupid is the word I use for it, lol.
I do have a Time Machine backup on my external hard drive. But the last backup was done exactly one year ago. Why? I got very sick right after that, had surgery followed by a horrifically long recovery, and other things took priority.
This is life. This is most people's life. Lesson learned (always the hard way).
Fortunately most of my files are online somewhere, and I create/store EVERYthing in Evernote. Take my new product for example. All of the files are already online. But I did lose the source files - and I need them to make edits for Version Two.
The good news? I have all of the outlines (with notes, links & references) for every product file... in Evernote. So I can very easily recreate the source files!
I did lose a few things, but nothing of major value. Except time. Ack.
My biggest take-aways from this experience are that Geek Squad is super cool, the Genius Bar is NOT for smart people, MOZY MOZY MOZY, and that yes... Evernote still totally rocks my socks!
I'm off to recreate my presentation for the SEO Braintrust 2013 event in Vegas. There's still time to register if you want to join us there! Meanwhile, I urge you to analyze your current backup system, and make sure you have all your bases covered...
Best,
p.s. I want to hear YOUR data & hard drive horror stories! Leave a comment below. I would also love to hear about your current backup setup, what you use, and anything useful you picked up from my experience here in this post.
Learn Copywriting Techniques, Plus Awesome Sales Letter Example (Must See)
Over the weekend I was doing some research, looking for a great sales letter example, and one dropped right in my lap. Well, right in my inbox actually.
It got my attention for a couple of reasons. First because I'm in the process of updating the sales copy for my new Social Marketing Results course.
But here's the real kicker: It's already been featured as the "product of the day" on it's network... TWICE. Which means it's converting exceptionally well.
And then there's the true test - the fact that the copy worked on ME and I decided to purchase the product. That's how I know it's good.
The product is called The Guru's “Mind Control” Sales Letter Formula and it's currently selling for only $17 - which is ridiculously cheap for ANYthing related to copywriting techniques.
I recommend you look at it as much for the brilliant sales letter example it is in itself, as you do for the great offer.
Examine it. Notice how you respond to it, what appeals to you, what pulls you in, how far you scroll, what stands out to you, etc.
Like I said, I decided to purchase the product. Here's a screenshot of my downloads - all for only $17:
I haven't consumed all of the content yet, but I love the sales copy examples included - and particularly enjoyed the "20 Step Flow Formula" for writing a GREAT sales letter that starts on Page 14 of the main course. This is GOOD stuff. Exactly what I was looking for in my quest for step-by-step instructions on writing sales copy that converts. You can check it out for yourself here.
It's all about sales copy, copywriting techniques, the art of persuasion, the psychology behind colors and how they influence buying decisions, etc. VERY in depth.
This is a NEW and unique sales letter copy writing course in PDF format (over 100 pages). It offers a detailed explanation of Sales Psychology Techniques and how they should be applied in writing high-conversion sales pages. It's high quality, very well written and includes plenty of detailed instructions, examples and case studies.
Most people think of copywriting as ONLY being associated with writing sales letters. But copy is actually used in everything you do online - from blog post titles, articles & blog posts, email subject lines, email content, opt-in copy, and even social media updates.
It's ALL "copy" - whether you do it intentionally, with good results, or... not.
Great resource. Great price. Great example.
The Guru's “Mind Control” Sales Letter Formula
Enjoy!
Best,
p.s. Obviously the $17 price point is a limited time offer. He is offering it that cheap as a means of getting a top ranking in the network, to get affiliates and JV Partners, and to get rave reviews and testimonials before he raises it to a more appropriate price - which all works to your advantage (and is an example in itself!).
Disclosure: I purchased the product myself, I like it so far - A LOT, this is my affiliate link, and I am Facebook Friends with Richard G Lewis (the author).
Local Blogging Workshops In Your Area
Dan Morris is hosting blog workshops around the country (United States) and I've been watching with interest.
I met up with him last week for lunch, to get the inside scoop on what he's doing and how it's going. Unlike typical industry events, these are one-day workshops for local attendees - so they require no travel expenses or major planning.
I'm not affiliated with Blogging Concentrated in any way, but I've known Dan for years and really like what he has going on with this so I wanted to share this with you so you can keep an eye out for one of these blogger workshops in your area...
You can get all the details at the website link above, but I'll go ahead and tell you that these blogging workshops are for "Intermediate to Advanced Bloggers" only. They are not getting started sessions, and they don't cover start-up and set-up. On the site, the ideal attendee is described as:
Bloggers who have traffic to their websites, have been blogging for a while, are making a little money but are ready to take the next steps are the best fit for this program.
If you ARE a newer blogger, or just getting started, I'll share some resources with you at the end of this post, so scroll down for that.
Again, you can get all the details at the website, but here is the current schedule of local blogging workshops:
- Orlando, FL - November 9th, 2013
- Lansing, MI - November 16th, 2013
- Milwaukee, WI - November 17th 2013
- Cincinnati, OH - January 25th, 2014
- Richmond, VA - February 22nd 2014
- Seattle – January 18th
- Kansas City – February 8th
- Boise – February 28th
- Syracuse – March 22nd
- Houston – March/April
- Indianapolis – March/April
More locations will continue to be added, so check the site - and sign up for the mailing list if you want to get notified as new locations are added:
http://bloggingconcentrated.com
As I mentioned, these blogging workshops are specifically for bloggers who are already getting traffic and making money - but want to take things to the next level. If you're not quite to that Intermediate/Advanced level yet, you'll want to put in a little time and get up to speed before you consider the Blogging Concentrated events.
I do "affiliate niche blogging" for a living and have been working online now for over 16 years - and am in my 10th year of blogging. If you're just getting started (or thinking about it) I recommend you start with my post on choosing the right topic for your blog and do the Brainstorming Exercise at the end of that post.
I do work with beginners, and can help you from everything to choosing your niche to selecting the perfect domain name - and all the steps from that point forward to help you create a profitable blog. For more information, see Get Hands-on Help.
If you prefer to learn on your own, I recommend the Problogger Workbook and List Building for Bloggers. Combined, you'll have everything you need to get an awesome start on blogging!
Also, here's a fun post on How To Be A (Well-Paid) Professional Blogger, including a video at the end where I share what MY life is like as a full-time blogger.
Best,
p.s. I'll be attending (and speaking at) SEO Braintrust 2013 in Las Vegas in a couple of weeks. If you're looking for an advanced online business workshop, definitely check it out and consider joining us there!
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