You guys have probably seen tons of marketers having a newsletter or a mailing list. Many asked me if Balkhis will ever have a newsletter, and I simply said NO. The reason was “Balkhis is my personal blog”. People tend to get an idea that this is a Make Money Online site, but it really is not. This is a blog where I share what I know with my readers and myself. There are valuable articles on Balkhis that I use as a reference for myself. In this post, I actually want to talk about the Good Ol’ Newsletter technique. I will focus on what services you should use, how you can create a huge list, and how to interact with your newsletter audience.

Why Newsletter?

Newsletter creates a love bond between you and your readers. It allows you to really connect with your audience. No matter how often a reader visits your site, there will be times when they miss something crucial. That is when the newsletter comes in handy. People check their emails REGULARLY, so newsletters are a more reliable source of communication. Second, the newsletter allows you to distinguish between the average reader to your loyal and valuable readers. Your loyal readers are the ones who really care about your site, and they want to support you. I think they deserve something better than everyone else.

Advantages of a Newsletter

For you as a blogger, you can expect a better turn around for any product that you promote through a newsletter. If you are launching a new product, the best place to get started with the promotion is through your newsletter. Your newsletter subscriber actually opted-in to see what you are offering. They want to hear what you say. You can’t get a better connection with your reader than this. They trust you!

How to get Started?

There are tons of newsletter delivery services. Heck you can even use the combination of WordPress and Feedburner to create a Free Email Newsletter. But if you are thinking about this more seriously, then I would recommend:

Aweber
Mail Chimp

Don’t even consider any other companies. I have used both of them and I am more than satisfied. MailChimp has better email designs, so for a design blog, I recommend them. Aweber is very efficient and easy to follow.

The reason why you want to go with these paid services is because they are more Reliable then feedburner. The statistics you receive from them is no where comparable to the free newsletter tactic.

How do I create a huge mailing list for myself?

This is the biggest question that everyone asks. The answer is simple. Simply create something that other people would find useful. Then you want to give it away for free in an exchange for their email address. If they really want your product, then they will enter the email. The more often you do it, the bigger your list will be. There will be times when one of your product will do very very good and others it won’t. So its a matter of feeding the hunger. Give people what they want, and they will give you what you want.

Lastly, I want to apologize to you guys if you think that I am ignoring you here on Balkhis. I have a huge project going on at WPBeginner which is taking a lot of my time. Also Uzzz Productions is doing great. So I am having a really hard time keeping up with Balkhis. I want to say to you guys if you want my tips on marketing, blogging, and WordPress in general then consider subscribing to WPBeginner’s Newsletter. I send out weekly emails with resourceful articles that I am certain that you guys will find useful.

Don’t worry, I hate SPAM just as much as you guys. So this newsletter will not be spammy. I will NOT be using it as spamming tool like a lot of other marketers do it. These newsletter will have useful tips that are exclusive just for my A-List users. P.S. I will treat your emails like my own email so I won’t sell, share, or lease it to anyone.

Oh by the way if you sign up, you get the powerful Smart Sharing Plugin for WordPress that my team at WPBeginner developed. This plugin uses Skinner’s positive reinforcement theory and it is proven to work. It will add a floating share box that you can see on anyone of WPBeginner’s post. (Example)

If you have created a newsletter and want to share your experience then feel free to do so.

In blogging one of the worst moment you can have is a writer’s block. A condition in which you cannot think of anything to write about thus you cannot produce quality content. A tip that many give is stop what you are writing about and take a break. You can get up and go for a walk and come back to this specific subject a few hours later. You can take a break from your blog entirely for a few days or a week and then come back to it. Some authors even QUIT because of this writer’s block. No matter which option you select from the above list, you will not be able to stay productive.

Did you ever wonder, how do people run more than one blog. They have 5 or 6 blogs and they are all active. Some have a few guest authors, but others are just maintained by this one person. Producing content is a gift, but there is a lot of techniques that goes into it. I will share a technique that I learned from an expert blogger Merlin Mann of 43folders. This technique has worked really well for me.

What you need to do is have more than one topic to write about. So for example if you only have one blog like Balkhis. I would write a post in Advertising Category, For Starters Category, Web Design Resources category and so on. They will all be started with an intro and some ideas, but not finished. So if I start getting frustrated with the Advertising article and I cannot come up with anything, I would simply move onto the Web Design Resources showcase and work on that.

The whole idea about you going outside is taking your mind of a subject, but you can also do that by moving to another subject like I just mentioned. You can also alternate days to write posts on your two blogs. So for example Balkhis and WPBeginner. I would work on a post on Balkhis and WPBeginner at the same time. If I get stuck at a Balkhis post, I will move onto a small plugin review at WPBeginner. Then come back to the Balkhis article later, but the time I was taking a break, I actually wrote another article.

Try this technique and let me know how it works out.

You guys are probably wondering where I have been lately. I received many emails with concerns from readers whether I was ok or not. I am perfectly fine. I was just launching another site successfully. The results I see after two months are great therefore I would like to share my first hand experience with you. In here I will reveal some of the simple steps that you can take when you are launching a new site or blog.

If you did not know which site I was working on it is called WPBeginner – Beginner’s Guide for WordPress. It was launched on July 4th, 2009, Yes the Independence day of USA. Since then the site has collectively received:

175,533 Visitors
490,644 Pageviews
7.18 Million Hits

Current Alexa Stats Rank at: 35,847

Technorati Rank: 18,583

These stats above are decent for a site that is just two months old. In this article, I will share some of the steps that I took in order to achieve this. One thing I will tell you is that the monetary investment on this project was $0 in terms of advertising. The cost of running this site is our normal hosting bills, the domain cost and such. This is probably the most affordable way to launch and promote a blog.

Read the full post….

When I was just starting out in internet marketing I had big… HUGE plans for the future. I believed that in two month time I was going to be insanely rich and famous internet marketer.

Needless to say that two month passed by without me making a single sale. I had no idea what I got myself into. Just like the majority of internet marketers I was mostly shooting blind, creating MySpace profiles, surfing the Traffic Exchanges a lot and spending my time mostly on the low dollar activities.

Now, year and a half later, I realize how childish it was of me to believe that success would come instantly. Mark Twain said: “Success Comes Before Work Only in Dictionary.” And it is indeed so. However, it is not because God hates you and wants you to work hard, but because in order to experience success you need to be ready for it Mentally, Physically and Spiritually.

Great Success comes with Great Responsibility, which means that in order to experience success one must understand what it means to succeed, first.

Are You Doing It For The Money?

Every success story always starts with a dream. For the most part, success means money, but what the majority of internet marketers don’t realize is that if your sole motivation is money, then sooner or later you will face an obstacle which is bigger, harder and more terrifying then anything you’ve seen before, which will lead you to a realization:

1. Money Isn’t Worth The Hard Work
2. I’ll Find Another Way To Get Money

To me, success is more than money. To me, success is the ability to spend 5 hours a day on my business and utilize the rest of my spare time on Fun, Growth, Mind Expansion, Quality Time with my family and just about anything that makes me enjoy life even more than I do now.

To me, Success=Freedom. Freedom is a much stronger motivator then Money. I haven’t yet met a person (online and off) that can be motivated solely by money ALL THE TIME. Humans are deeply emotional beings. We crave satisfaction, understanding and fulfillment – money alone simply cannot provide that.

How Hard Are You Willing To Work For It?

Another common mistake I see Internet Marketers make is after spending two weeks trying to setup a website, autoresponder and a newsletter – the intrepreneurs seem to believe that they did everything in their power to make it work. They believe that they have done A LOT. The majority of online business owners tend to think that placing a Pay Per Click ad immediately makes them the next Frank Kern.

Sorry to disappoint, guys, but it doesn’t. Success stories, for the most part, are years in the making. Anik Singal, one of the world’s top affiliate marketers, had to spend a year in his parents’ basement, working on his affiliate business before he could claim the “Super Affiliate” status.

Until you’re ready – it won’t happen. How do you get ready for internet marketing success? By working harder than everyone else does. When it happens – you’ll know you’re ready.

How Much Are You Ready To Change?

It is often believed that Success changes people. But relying on my personal experience, I must say that the change occurs long before success does.

Success often demands a mindset shift. And the moment I shifted mine – my life shifted as well. I even lost most of my close friends.

Before I became an internet marketer, I was a student at Israeli Air Force Technological University where I spend most of my days from 8am-16pm. After I have decided to go against the stream of commonality by pursuing an internet marketing career – my “friends” turned their backs on me and have never spoken to me since.

At first it was painful, but later I realized that it was necessary. I needed to change, and in order for change to happen – I had to find new friends. I had to find successful friends, friends that could contribute to my life experience and make it better – something my classmates simply couldn’t do.

Are You Ready For Massive Failure?

“Failure Is A Stepping Stone On The Way To Success”

Are you ready to fail? Are you ready to fail hard? Are you ready to fail so miserably, it will be a heart breaking scene to watch? If not, get used to the thought that you are going to fail. The sooner you do, the sooner you fail and learn the most valuable success lesson of all.

In his book “Think and Grow Rich,” Napoleon Hill says: “Every Failure Has An Equivalent Seed Of Success In It.” It is important to remember that failure is a lesson. Learn your lessons well. Better yet, try to learn someone else’s lessons first.

Failure is to success as thick lips are to Angelina Jolie – it’s an essential part of the whole thing. Failure is essential in preparation to success. Only the ones that never truly tried – have never failed.

Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. When he was asked whether he wasn’t discouraged by failure, he said: “I didn’t fail 10,000 times – I found 10,000 ways how not to build a light bulb.”
I encourage you to find 10,000 ways how not to run a successful internet marketing business. Because as soon as you do, the one way that is correct will have no other choice but to present itself to you.

Author byline: Igor Kheifets is 21 year old Internet Marketing Expert and the author and creator of Mastermind Internet Marketing. Get More From Igor On Twitter.

After working with many small businesses and individuals, I have learned that there are numerous misconceptions of social media that needs to mentioned here for any starters who are thinking about getting in. Some of these misconceptions exist among the average web users, where as some exist among the new webmasters. Therefore I have decided to highlight each of them to my knowledge and clarify them, so people can use social media effectively.

1. Social Media is for Younger Generations

Social media is not limited to the younger generation. The community appreciates quality resources from everyone without judging the age. So if a thirteen year old wants to contribute to the network, then they may. Or if a sixty-three year old wants to contribute, they won’t be judged either. Social media networks have all age groups with some more abundant then others, but no community has put an age limit.

2. There are Rules to use Social Media

WRONG! In reality, there is no rule that governs the use of Social Media. You can tweet however you like, and format it in whichever way you see fit. You can digg the story, or bury it as you see it. You can share the links that you think are worthy in a way you think is best.

Now there are etiquette to using social media and if you don’t follow those then you will gain a bad reputation among the community. So careless self-promotion and spamming will get you blocked, but most people are too worried about doing it right. Relax and be yourself. If you like writing about puppets then write one sentence tweets about your puppets and those who are interested will follow you.

3. Its all about Quantity

Some people would like to think that people with more friends get a lot of retweets, or alot of diggs. That is not true. Because there are real estate agents who mass add people to their list on twitter, and not even know a single person. So they end up following 33,000 people who they don’t know, and 33,000 people follow them. But the fact is that they don’t get half the amount of retweets that you can get with just 1000 good followers that actually know you.

It’s never about the quantity instead it is about the quality. Its not about how many stories you submit on digg. Its about how good your stories are. Its not about how many status updates you made on twitter. Instead it is about whether those updates were useful to others. Its always about the quality, and users that provide quality are rewarded by the community not those who prefer the quantity road.

4. You have to be Everywhere

A more common misconception that I see is that you have to be everywhere. It is completely wrong, and as a matter of fact, I can argue that one person cannot be active on all social media networks because there are just too many of them. So take it one step at a time. Try out new things, and stick with the ones that you like best.

Remember, you can be a good community member at two communities and get tons of love and benefits such as visitors to your website, or you can be a member of one hundred communities and not get third of the traffic that you can get the other way.

5. Social Media Campaigns are all about having a Facebook and Twitter Profiles

While Facebook and Twitter are two of biggest social media networks, you cannot just stop by having a profile page on these sites. There are other great sites like Digg, Delicous, Reddit and others that can also get you alot of exposure.

6. Social Media Sites Send Poor Quality Traffic

Social Media Sites actually send one of the best quality traffic because you get only related audience. Popular sites like digg have users that visit the category that they like the best, so you are getting targetted users. On twitter, your tweets will only get retweeted by those who like it, so you are always getting targetted users.

7. Getting a story popular on Social Media requires the help of Power Users

Some people believe that it is true on sites like Digg and even on twitter, but I think it is completely wrong. It doesn’t require power users for your story to hit popular. It requires a quality article and that’s all. You can become a power user yourself as long as you contribute to the community, and the community loves quality. You don’t need power users, all you need is yourself.

8. Social Media is Fast

Ever heard of a saying how social media creates the boom, and it is fast. Well no it is not. It takes time to get popular on Social Media. You can tweet a story on twitter, but in order for it to get popular, it can take weeks and months. You need to structure a base for yourself in the community. Climb the ladder one step at at a time to the top. It takes time to build a good reputation on any social media community.

Sites that are whitelisted in digg are white listed because they have earned that reputation. Same goes with sites that get retweeted alot on twitter. That is because they have earn it.

9. Social Media is Easy

Every once in a while, I get this statement that social media is easy. It has some truth to it, but for the most part it is hard. It is not easy to earn someone’s trust. That is what social media is all about. Trust of the community. You need to work hard and show the community that you are worthy enough to be trusted.

10. You can disguise the community

You can never hide from the community. At least not forever. You might not be caught the first day, the first month, but you will be caught after the first year. There is no use to manipulating the system because playing the fair game is the best way. That’s how it should be done.