Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing » Internet Marketing

The Best WordPress Shopping Cart – A WordPress Shopping Cart Review

Mark Flavin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:28:54 +0000

WordPress is a great platform. This blog is built on it & I use it for a lot of my clients because many of them are not be very tech savvy and wordpress is very easy for them to use & makes it easy for them to add content to their sites. Not only that but it’s great for search engine optimization & really easy to optimize. The one problem is ecommerce.

WordPress wasn’t really designed to be a platform to build big ecommerce stores on. When I was building my first ecommerce site for a client I researched lots of different wordpress shopping cart plugins but noting I tested meeted my needs. Then just by chance I came across a WordPress Shopping Cart Theme (not a plugin a full featured theme) which has every imaginable possible feature you would require from an ecommerce site.

It’s called ShopperPress

The theme is as easy to install as any other worrdpress theme but has hundreds of features vital to running a successful ecommerce site. Features like:

Ready ‘out of the box’
No Programming Required
Unlimited Installations
Web-based control panel
20+ Payment Gateways Already Built In (Including paypal, moneybooks, Google checkout & lots more)
Product Import Tools
Amazon DatafeedR
Stock Management
Product Management
Search Engine Optimized
Google Analytics Support
Support For Coupons & Promotions
Support For Email marketing
Built In Advertising Modules
Shipping Options
Tax & VAT Options
Invoice Generation
20+ Built in Store Designs
Plugin & Widget Support
Multi Language Support
Multi Currency Support
User & Staff Management
And Lots & Lots More!!

For me one of the best things about this WordPress Shopping Cart Software is that you purchase it once, can use it on as many projects as you wish & you get unlimited support. And their support is good too, on many occasions I’ve even had Mark Fail, the creator of the theme answer the questions for me. And support is 24 shours a day and they usually get back to you within a few hours. That’s especially important if you’re dealing with a clients site & something goes wrong.

So if you’ve been looking for a WordPress Shopping Cart Plugin, stop looking because you can get a fully loaded WordPress Shopping Cart Theme for under 80 bucks at the moment that can handle pretty much everything & anything you want to do with regards building ecommerce sites.

You can get more info on ShopperPress here, including watching an online demo. Take a look t it & see if it’s right for you, but if you want to build ecommerce sites on wordpress I haven’t found any better & ShopperPress certainly hasn’t disappointed me. It’s a really great product!

Click Here To get Access To ShopperPress.

The Best WordPress Shopping Cart – A WordPress Shopping Cart Review is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Rep Mogul (Reputation Mogul) Product Review

Mark Flavin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:19:06 +0000

If you’re in the local marketing sector you’ll know you’re in a pretty high demand area of business at the moment, particularly given the current state of the economy. Whether your just starting out or already have a reputable business establish here’s a new income stream you can add to your business. It’s called Reputation Management.

Protecting a clients reputation online is big business. Just a few bad reviews or some lies can screw up an entire business. Think about it, if you’ve ever been on tripadvisor or yelp & even though a business had mostly excellent reviews but the few bad ones turned you off using there services.

Or if someone who just plain doesn’t like you starts writing trash about you or your business online. Stuff like that can really hit a businesses bottom line.

So that’s where you come in. The reputation manager. Your job is to improve the clients reputation online.

The course which teaches you to do this is call Rep Mogul. But not only does it show you how to improve a businesses reputation, you’ll also learn how to get clients & you’ll be supplied with easy to use software which will generate leads for your business.

Below I have given an overview of the 8 core modules of the course. There’s also lot’s more training & software inside the members area but this is the core of the course.

This module is all about what Reputation Management is. You'll hear true stories about people and businesses that have been destroyed due to lies and deceit. I also share what you'll be able to do by the time you finish this program.

Have you ever tried to listen to an SEO expert talk? They might as well be speaking a foreign language. In this module you'll learn the exact things you need to understand about manipulating Google to perform Reputation Management for your clients.

This module is mostly a warning. Seriously. Inside you'll see an overview of what Reputation Management is as a process.

What good is knowing how to do Reputation Management if you don't have clients? No good at all. This module shows you the exact process you have to go through to find clients and qualify them.

Once you get the client, the real fun starts. This module reveals the exact steps to take to figure out how to best help your new clients and create the content (or pay someone else to do it) that you'll need to make this process work.

Welcome to the annihilation module! This is the module that shows you the exact steps to follow to make the negative statements go away. Be sure to go through all of the additional content for this module, too. This process is intense and will require all of your attention.

Many of you are already doing local marketing or social media management for clients. This module shows you how Reputation Management can be a great additional service you can provide local businesses. Plus, you'll find out how local and global Reputation Management are drastically different.

This module covers some of the more advanced ideas tied to running a Reputation Management business. You'll find out how to hire staff to do 90% of the work for you for a few dollars per hour and how to manage your clients in a way that leaves you and them very happy.

Overall reputation mogul is a very good course & does exactly what it says on the tin! If you’d like to add reputation management to the current services you offer or would like to build a stand alone reputation management business then this course is the perfect place to get started. Click here to get access to it.

Rep Mogul (Reputation Mogul) Product Review is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

10 Google, Chrome & Android Apps For Businesses & Entrepreneurs

Mark Flavin — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:11:26 +0000

Anyone who is in business in today’s digital world is probably using Google apps. The marketplace for these apps has much to offer and choose from to keep a company running smoothly. Even better, Google apps cost an average of one-third less than similar solutions, and make it easy for users to transition with the use of familiar interfaces, such as Outlook, with 99% uptime.

It should be noted that using the Google Apps Marketplace requires the user to sign up for a standard or education account, or a $50 per year Premier Edition account. The user’s business must also have a domain name. The paid account brings 25GB of storage with Gmail, 1GB of storage with Google Docs per user and 10GB storage on Google Sites. Premiere also allows the user to access and download all apps, which integrate seamlessly with Gmail and Google calendar.

The following list outlines the best of the Google apps crop, which are available for use on internet and phone.

SlideRocket

This free presentation app allows for the import of presentations from PowerPoint or Google, or the option of creating them on the spot. The user can add sound and also share the data with contacts in Google. A big plus for this app is its accessibility across Mac, Linux and Windows.

Mindmeister

Mindmeister is a convenient way to organize ideas and concepts to a group during a collaborative project. Each team member can illustrate and share plans and ideas, and create a clear roadmap to the goal. It costs $90 per user each year or $9 per user each month.

Rapportive

Essential for teams, Rapportive provides a live stream update of all team member’s activity on the project. It also has a shared address book for contact information and allows for the addition of chats and notes. The cost is $19 per month for a single user or $140 per month for an unlimited number of users.

OffiSync

A free add-on to the Microsoft Office environment, this app places a tool bar in Office that allows the user to save documents in native format to Google Docs. This in turn makes the collaboration tools available inside Office, which is a time saving measure.

Dialawg

Dialawg is a helpful tool that allows the user to compare differences when working with multiple documents in Word. This is of great use when many people are working with same set of text. The app is free if used with 10 or less saves per month or $29 per user each year.

FreshBooks

This app provides team-tracking on the internet and phone and will also make invoices and send them out by email, or standard mail, with an additional fee. It can be used for free for three clients or less, thereafter it is $80 each month, with billing done automatically.

Expensify

Expensify is a must for the business traveler, allowing for the mobile import of expenses from either a bank account or a credit card, getting receipts and the creation of an expense log. It works with QuickBooks and lets managers reimburse their employees quickly. Reports can be created or submitted for free, $5 each month per submitter for report approval.

PowerPanel

Google Apps are convenient but also bring their own management issues. PowerPanel simplifies the administration of the apps on the domain by allowing for creation of user accounts, as well as groups and resetting of passwords. Extra fields may be used to the Shared Contacts, as a bonus feature. The cost is $8 per user for each year.

PageOnce Personal Assistant

This handy app comes in both free and paid versions for Android phones. It will organize financial information, keep a tally of frequent flyer miles, notify of important events and even keep track of minutes used on the phone. The paid app will provide flight information in real time and adds a Personal Assistant to keep an eye on finances.

Evernote

Another useful Android app, Evernote enables the user to capture images, audio, text or any type of file for storage in the cloud. All captured items can be converted to notes, which are then searchable from another computer or phone. The app can even take a voice note and send it out as an email or a tweet. Nearly all features are available through the free app but the paid version is required if the user wants the ability to upload any file type.

Business owners and anyone who travels for business, or often collaborates on team projects will be able to make use of these apps for internet and phone. A small investment in the Google Marketplace can take any business a very long way. Staying up to date and organized is the key to staying ahead in the business world

This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Broadband Expert where you can find the best internet and phone providers and compare prices on different deals for your wireless internet necessities.

10 Google, Chrome & Android Apps For Businesses & Entrepreneurs is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Digital Marketer Labs Review & Bonus

Mark Flavin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 22:06:30 +0000

Digital Marketer Labs Review

Digital Marketer by Ryan Deiss is essentially a continually updated bible of marketing tests, information & data for online marketers. Ryan has websites in hundreds of different niches & by collecting all the data from his businesses & sharing it inside the digital marketers members area you can use it to increase your businesses profits. Inside the members area you’ll receive information on:

Split test results – So you know what will & wont convert your visitors into customers
How he’s using social media for traffic & profits
His companies new conversion and page optimization discoveries
Traffic sources you’ve probably never heard of
And much much more

If you’re interested in using the data & knowledge Ryan has gained from his online businesses to increase your businesses profits then click here to visit the Digital Marketer Labs Website for more information.

P.S. Watch this space – bonus will be announced soon.

Digital Marketer Labs Review & Bonus is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Marketing Ice in Alaska: and 5 Other Insights on Marketing Products that Don’t Sell Themselves

Mark Flavin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 07:03:30 +0000

Ever try to sell something you can’t talk about? Well believe it or not, there are many salespeople who find themselves challenged with the task of doing just that. They have a product to sell and they know there are people out there who want it. The only problem is—well, there are certain things that for various reasons they aren’t allowed to say about it or show about it. And oftentimes these things that can’t be seen or heard are the same features that happen to be the major selling points of the product.

Sounds like a frustrating task, right? In fact it seems so frustrating that salespeople in this situation would probably be better off trying to sell ice to an Eskimo. But the situation is a whole lot more common than you might think. There are all kinds of taboos about certain products that society imposes and that salespeople are required to recognize and respect. Some of these taboos involve what you are allowed to say about the product and what you are not allowed to say. In some cases, you are allowed to say very little. And yet clever advertisers have figured out how to accept these constraints and still get their message across very effectively. They do this by using certain techniques which allow the customer to know all about the product without being directly told about it and to “see” the product without directly looking at it. Here are five of those techniques:

Show them something that makes them think of something else.
Not too long ago, a fast food chain had an ad campaign for one of its products which it touted as being “good to go.” The ad showed how easy it was for marathon runners to pick up this product at the take-out window, unwrap it, and then eat it—all this while continuing to run in the race without losing a step. So how many marathon runners do you know that eat food in the middle of a race? Could it be possible that they wanted us to think that this product could be eaten while driving? Well, they would never show someone eating while driving. But with an ad like this, they really don’t need to.
Target the benefits instead of the product.
Sometimes the restrictions on what you can say or show are self-imposed. One of the best examples of this is breakfast cereal. Manufacturers are victims of their own success and are challenged by the fact that almost 100 percent of households already eat cereal at breakfast time. The large cereal companies are also hindered by the realization that getting people to eat one of their cereals often means losing sales from one of their other brands. One answer to this dilemma is to do what Kellogg’s did in its Special K campaign. They don’t show the product or even a logo in their ads. Instead, they market a weight-loss plan featuring videos of women being coached by not only dietitians, but also by fashion experts and professionals in the fields of hair styling and makeup. Part of the weight-loss plan calls for eating cereal twice a day instead of once. Sales were increased simply by leveraging a cereal brand into a diet brand.
Use an unrelated image to convey a feeling.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes a single image can speak volumes. A prominent investment bank used a branding campaign showing the visual of a fencer. Although an image like this appears to have nothing to do with banking, the advertisers used it to portray the company as both aggressive and sophisticated at the same time.
When you can’t say it, imply it.
As early as in the 1940s, ads for cigarettes would imply certain things without saying them. A prominent magazine ad for Camel cigarettes claimed that more doctors smoked Camels than any other cigarette. The implication was twofold: (a) it was medically OK to smoke cigarettes because doctors smoked them, and (b) Camels were healthier than their competitors because more doctors smoked them than other brands. Of course the statement in the ad actually said neither of these things at all.
Use music, lighting, and editing.
A lot of TV ads can more properly be classified as miniature movies. Directors are becoming increasingly adept at conveying a message by creating a mood. And they do this through creative use of audiovisual effects. This trend is especially prominent in political advertising, where campaign directors have to be ultra-careful about how their candidate is portrayed and even more importantly, about what they say (and do not say!) about the opposing candidate.

A good salesperson can always find ways of touting his product. But sometimes there are restrictions on what can be said. When the direct approach is not an option, more subtle methods may be called for. And many of them have been shown to work wonders. When the right techniques are used, you don’t need to tell in order to sell.

About the Author

Marni Mutrux is a staff writer for v2cigs.com.V2 Cigs offers the industry’s most innovative electronic cigarettes. An e-cigarette is a non-smoking alternative to smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Marketing Ice in Alaska: and 5 Other Insights on Marketing Products that Don’t Sell Themselves is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Great Course On Online Marketing For Under $20.00

Mark Flavin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:42:42 +0000

I’ll make this post short and sweet…. In the internet marketing space right now we see $2000 products emerging on almost a weekly basis, it’s ‘bat crap crazy!’ There is lot’s of great information out there for free & on the cheap to help information marketers, local businesses, bloggers & so on.

One course I highly recommend is created by English Marketer Lee McIntyre. In it you’ll find great information on email marketing, information marketing, unique ways to get traffic, how to build targeted lists & lots more & the best part it’s not $2000…. it’s $19.95. And at that price it provides amazing value. I learned a lot from watching the videos in this course & I know you will too. You can grab your copy here

If you’ve got any questions about the course or have purchased it and would like to leave your comments on it, please leave them below.

Great Course On Online Marketing For Under $20.00 is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Technorati Tags: great marketing course, lee mcintyre, lee mcintyre marketing, marketing course

[Controversial] GoDaddy CEO Filmed Shooting Elephant

Mark Flavin — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:28:48 +0000

Domain registrar Godaddy is well known for pushing the envelope when it comes to advertising & particularly well know for their super bowl ads with scantily clad Danica Patrick & other “GoDaddy Girls” but this is a whole new level.

It’s a video of CEO Bob Parson’s shooting Elephant in Zimbabwe. Now it’s completely legal & the elephant were destroying the crops of local farmers but is it the best material to use to promote your company & your brand?

Certainly this is getting GoDaddy lot’s of publicity but not surprisingly generally it’s bad publicity, so will the old adage “All publicity is good publicity” hold true?

Already animal rights groups including PETA have called for people to buycot the company & NameCheap, a Godaddy competitor are offering vouchers to anyone switching over from Godaddy & giving one dollar of the purchase to The Save The Elephant Organization. (The Voucher is “BYEBYEGD” in case you’re wondering)

You can watch the video of GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons on the hunting expedition below but be warned it’s graphic.

[Controversial] GoDaddy CEO Filmed Shooting Elephant is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Technorati Tags: bob parsons shooting elephant, godaddy ceo shoots elephant, godaddy elephants

Upflame Review – Sales Page Creator

Mark Flavin — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:57:07 +0000

Upflame Review

Watch below to see my review of Upflame, a new point & click sales pages & squeeze page creator.

Upflame is a really easy to use piece of software that generates very professional looking squeeze pages & sales pages. As can be seen in the video above Upflame is very easy to use & is laid out in a very easy to follow manner. It also comes with training videos so if you’ve ever got any issues you can reference them to solve your problems.

If you’ve ever struggled to create high converting, professional sales pages & squeeze pages then Upflame can help you create top quality sites very quickly & very easily.

If I have one issue with the software it’s that it seems to have a few bugs when using it in firefox but it works perfectly in chrome & internet explorer. Of course all pages generated with the software work perfectly in all browsers.

Bottom line; if you struggle to build high converting, professional looking sales pages & squeeze pages go grab a copy of Upflame & give it a try it will really help you & may just solve all your problems. You can access it at the link below.

Click Here To Get Instant Access To Upflame

Upflame Review – Sales Page Creator is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

PLR Niche Formula By Mark Dulisse [Review & Bonus]

Mark Flavin — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:54:23 +0000

PLR Niche Formula

Review & Bonus

PLR or Private label rights are products you can buy, put your name on & sell them as you own. Basically it’s a license to not only sell a product (ebooks, software & so on) but also to put your own name on it & pretty much do whatever you like with it as if you created the product yourself.

Now Mark Dulisse is someone who knows PLR very well. In fact he purchased a private label right product for $37, put his name on it & sold it as his own & turned in over $80,000 from that $37 purchase! Quite an impressive ROI by anyone’s standards.

Well on March 15th Mark is releasing his new course PLR Niche Formula which shows exactly how he turns cheap PLR products into profits. He’ll be going over everything to do with PLR including:

- Where to find cheap private label rights products
- How to set up your PLR products properly
- How to set up your website
- How to get traffic to your site
- How to build subscriber lists using PLR
- And much much more.

I will be putting together a bonus package for anyone who’s purchases PLR Niche Formula from me. So if you’re interested in PLR & how to turn a profit with it & would also like to get my massive bonus then just enter your email below & I’ll let you know when the bonus package is ready.

PLR Niche Formula By Mark Dulisse [Review & Bonus] is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Technorati Tags: mark dulisse plr, niche plr formula, plr niche, PLR Niche Formula, PLR Niche Formula Mark Dulisse, PLR Niche Formula Mark Dullise, PLR Niche Formula Mark Dullisse

Research Your Way to Success

Mark Flavin — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:06:25 +0000

Research is the practical side to developing a product. Once you’ve done some brainstorming, you’ll have accumulated many ideas, some good and others, not so much. Researching your ideas before moving forward is an obvious but often overlooked step in product development. You may not always like the conclusions your research leads to, but it’s crucial in order to succeed beyond a reasonable doubt.

Product research involves posing a couple of straightforward questions about your idea. The answers will determine whether or not your idea is viable.

Question 1 – What’s involved?

Before you begin developing a product of any kind, you should always have an idea of what’s involved. Ask yourself a series of straightforward question to get an idea of what the project will entail:
What is my product going to consist of?
Will I be able to do everything myself?
If not, who will I have to hire?
What will my costs include?
Approximately how long will the project take to complete?

Question 2 – What’s my competition like?

Similar to selecting a niche, when developing a product, you want to aim for as low competition as possible. Yes, you can still do well developing and selling your own version of an existing product but innovation usually trumps all.

In other words, it’s usually better to be the first to bring a particular product to market than simply improving something that’s already available. You can get a pretty good concept of your competition by simply typing your product idea in on Google.

Question 3 – Is it marketable?

This is another way of asking if your product idea is innovative. Mind you, innovation is simply a matter of perspective. A product that would seem bland to somebody outside of your target niche can be very compelling to someone who demands what you’re offering. As mentioned, focus on meeting an unmet demand in your niche and chances are, you’ll have no trouble selling product.

When I began researching the Samurai Strategy concept, I figured that marketing-focused WordPress themes would go over pretty well in the internet marketing niche. WordPress is a platform that is frequently used by internet marketers but, strangely, nobody was really offering internet marketing themes. Enter the Samurai Strategy – an innovative proposition but one that’s proven to be extremely marketable.

Question 4 – Will anyone buy it?

Most importantly, will anyone actually buy? Many people recommend focus groups as a means of conducting market research. In theory, focus groups are a good idea but, like communism, in practice, they aren’t as ideal. When you conduct a focus group, people are susceptible to telling you what they think you want to hear. That’s a nice thing when you’re asking your friend for their opinion on your new haircut but when you’re trying to decide whether a product idea is worth investing money into, it’s not as helpful. More often than not, when you ask any of the people who gave you positive feedback in your focus group if they’ll buy, they’ll say “no thanks”.

For this reason, I prefer using forums and one-on-one conversation at trade shows as a means of marketing my product.

Go on forums related to your niche and do some research. Find out if your product idea is actually needed and if so, if there’s anyone wanting to buy.

Go to business trade shows and tell people about your product face-to-face. See if they express an interest in your idea. You can even tell them that you have a couple examples at home if they’d like to place an advance order at a discounted rate. There’s no better affirmation that your product is demanded than people asking if they can buy one from you.

This is a guest post by Cameron Langdon from LaunchPressTheme.com.

The author, Cameron Langdon, is a veteran internet marketer who has made LaunchPress, a free WordPress theme for internet marketers available at LaunchPressTheme.com

Research Your Way to Success is a post from: Mark Flavin's Blog | News & Tutorials On SEO, Social Media, Website Traffic & Internet Marketing

Technorati Tags: market research, product creation, product research