So it’s been quite a while since my last blog post. I’ve by no means given up my internet marketing career, I’ve simply decided to expand my options and generate several sources of income, instead of limiting myself with what I started doing initially (CarbonCopyPRO… which I’m continuing to do).

I’ve had a very interesting, and sometimes frustrating, time over the past several months trying out different internet marketing products, and foraying into different niches. One thing I have realized is that there is just SO MUCH opportunity out there for anyone with half a brain to make a full time living on the internet working from home. The internet is simply massive business… essentially almost any product or service in the world can be and is purchased online… and if it’s purchased online that you can market it online and make money.

Anyway, I’m going way off point here. This blog post is to give my Google Sniper review. Google Sniper was written by a 19 year old guy (at the time of its writing) called George Brown. George claims to be a very lazy guy, wanting to make money from home through the least possible amount of effort… and I know where he’s coming from, hehe. I think George should give himself more credit though, because he’s put together a great internet marketing manual which I’m sure has taken a lot of work.

George likes to tell it like it is… he’s honest and there’s no fluff or bs or super hyping up in his manual. It’s very straight forward and to the point, and it tells you how to accomplish each task through as easily as possible, with the least amount of work.

So… first part of the Google Sniper review… what is Google Sniper? Google Sniper is a manual which teaches you how to generate income through affiliate marketing. What’s amazing about Google Sniper though is that is teaches you how to generate traffic to your affiliate sites WITHOUT paying for traffic… yup… 100% free traffic… no Pay Per Click or any other paid advertising methods.

To some of you thinking this is over your heads or that it’s impossible… no it’s not. It’s a fairly simple process, and the Google Sniper manual lays out the steps for you to be able to do so in a very straight-forward manner… no bs or extra fluff added.

Now ok yes there is some cost associated with having your own website, but it’s minimal ($10 for the domain and a couple dollars hosting per month)… everything after that is completely free… there is simply no worry in wasting any of your money on failing methods because you’re not spending any.

George aims to generate about $600 per site he creates per month. This is a fairly modest number, but because you want to be ranked on the first page of Google, the keyword competition (and thus generally the keyword traffic) won’t be huge. What’s so great about the Google Sniper process though is that this method of marketing is easily duplicated. If you can create one site generating $600 a month, you can easily create 10… or 20… or however many you want.

And this is not a long process, nor is it an ongoing one. Once you’ve mastered the techniques, you’re talking about maybe 2 hours total to create a website which should get ranked.

Oh, and for anyone worried about creating their own site, don’t worry. George suggests (and he’s right in my opinion) to use Wordpress on all of your sites. For anyone unfamiliar with Wordpress, it essentially makes a site for you… all you’re left to do is type some text on the page.

Ok, now before it sounds like I’m hyping this up too much, I’ll state some drawbacks.

I was a fairly experienced internet marketer when I started with Google Sniper, so I knew exactly what he was talking about throughout the entire manual. There was essentially no learning I had to do and no intimidating factors. For someone completely new to the internet marketing game, obviously things would be slightly tougher. Additionally, you could create a site that doesn’t convert well, or for whatever reason you may not be able to get your site ranked (if you follow the guidelines exactly this shouldn’t be the case though). With practice makes perfect though, and you’ll always improve your work over time.

So, am I saying an internet marketing newbie couldn’t do it? No I’m not saying that at all. The Google Sniper process is more than possible for anyone with basic internet knowledge, you just might have a slightly tougher time getting things going than someone with a little experience.

So how did I do with Google Sniper? The very first site I created was ranked on Google in the number one spot within several weeks of creation… I was pretty impressed with myself, hehe. This was done following the guidelines exactly as stated in the Google Sniper manual. I probably got a little ahead of myself after that, and chose some keywords with tougher competition than was recommended, and have had some trouble with those sites. George does however tell you several methods to improve your site ranking which I’ve been working on, and I have a few more sites climbing up to the first page.

So that’d does it for my Google Sniper review. Overall, I would highly recommend Google Sniper to the newbie internet marketer, or the experience internet marketer. Success is greatly possibly with a little bit of persistence… how much money you want to make with Google Sniper is up to you.

Myth 1: Running a Franchise is Easy

There is no business opportunity in existence which isn’t going to take some hard work and effort to run successfully… and franchising is no different. Franchises have “automated” systems in place to facilitate the running of the business… a feature which attracts many to-be business owners because the hassle and uncertainty of figuring out how to run their own business is taken care of. While franchises do have a slightly higher success rate than independent small businesses, you cannot simply “plug-in” to the system and have the business run on its own. As in any business venture, there is simply no replacement for good hard work. If you’re looking for a “get rich quick” opportunity, look elsewhere.

Myth 2: Franchises are Safe Investments

Many franchise owners are recently out of business due to the horrible state of the economy… and I’m sure they would tell you otherwise. In franchising, as with any business venture, there is a degree of risk and uncertainty which comes with investing. The state of the economy is out of your control… if it starts going downhill, there’s nothing you can do about it. Moreover, once their business is up and running, many franchisees discover that running a franchise is not the calk-walk they thought it would be. Well… if you find out that you don’t have the drive, motivation, or skills it’s going to take to be successful, you’re out an investment likely somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Myth 3: A Popular Franchise is Guaranteed to be Profitable

You can’t actually see the ledger of any franchise you’re walking past, so you really have no idea how well-off that franchise owner may be. Just because you own a McDonald’s or Subway doesn’t mean automatic profits. A well-recognized name may help to bring in some customers, but you’re still going to need to have the right skill set to run a particular franchise. Additionally, proper management, advertising, and hard work will play a large role in your success or failure.

Myth 4: Buying into a Franchise is Cheaper than Starting Your Own Business

When setting up your own independent business, you are responsible for equipment, furniture, legal and consultation fees, licensing fees, internet and phone connections, taxes, etc, and of course… a location. While these are mostly taken care of when buying into a franchise, what you will pay for is the recognition of a brand name, and that company system with a proven business model… this will often set you back a few hundred thousand dollars.

Myth 5: As a Franchisee You’re Your Own Boss

As a franchisee you may not have a boss you have to answer to directly, however, you may not be provided with the total freedom you’re seeking as an entrepreneur. Variables such as wages, hours of operation, suppliers (no searching around for a better or cheaper deal… you have to purchase from your franchisor) will likely be out of your control… you are restricted to the freedoms the company system allows you.

As my opening sentence states, franchises can of course be very lucrative investments. This article is not to state otherwise… it is simply to state that they are not the cake-walk, or guaranteed ticket to success many people believe them to be. So if you decide to buy into a franchise, be sure you’re ready for what’s to come.

The internet’s reach is limitless… you’re not relegated to advertising in your own city or country… you can reach billions of potential customers anywhere around the world. Google, MSN, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Youtube… the most popular websites in the world… each with millions upon millions of hits a day… all within your reach if you learn how to properly exploit them.

While it may take some time to gain a steady stream of customers using social media, search engines offer a much quicker alternative. Google is currently the most used site on the internet. Why? Because it offers users the most spam-free, highly-targeted results of any search engine. Learn how to properly use Google to your advantage, and you learn how to exploit the most used website on the internet. With Google you can potentially be reaching thousands of customers within minutes of placing your ads. In today’s marketing world, there is no quicker or more lucrative alternative. There’s a catch however… it’s going to cost you… and it’s going to cost you quite a bit if you dive in without knowing what you’re doing. Learn the necessary skills however, and you’ve acquired incredibly powerful skills to generate sales for your business.

Hardcopy is a thing of the past. Save your business from obsolescence… learn how to market your business online and reach billions of potential customers anywhere around the globe, and reach them more quickly than you could possibly imagine.

There’s a certain “get rich quick” stigma associated with home-based online business… and unjustifiably so. However, I suppose I can’t really blame anyone, because everywhere you look online you get spammed with different “get rich quick” home-based business opportunities, when no such legitimate businesses exist. This get rich quick mentality is unfortunate, because in actuality, a legitimate home-based business can be a serious investment, and can turn some very serious profit.

A legitimate home-based business will cost you significantly less than a brick and mortar business. Investing in a well-known franchise will likely set you back a few hundred thousand dollars. Investments are similar for independent small businesses (depending on their nature and size of course). A legitimate online home-based business will likely set you back somewhere between $1000 and $10 000 USD. Yes, that much (still a massive amount less than a brick and mortar business). Remember, you are not investing in a get rich quick opportunity… you are investing in a real business with real income potential… you’re not going to make your millions online by investing $10.

While an online home-based business will require some serious hard to start generating some profit, you will be facing significantly less hassle and would experience a much greater degree of personal freedom than you would with either traditional offline option. Most top-earning home-based business owners spend around30 hours or so working per week. This is compared to who knows how much at a small independent business or franchise. Additionally, this is time working from home. You could be working in your pyjamas… in the company of your family… in bed… whatever… and travel time to and from work is non-existent.

Managing employees and inventory can be one major hassle of offline business… both completely absent from online business. You are 100% dependent on yourself for the success of your business. If you are moving any products, any stocking and moving of such will generally be done by whichever company you’ve partnered with. Most importantly, overhead (anything which does not directly contribute to profit) is also essentially non-existent in online business. There is no rent, insurance, repairs, accounting fees, and so on.

Lastly, the time it takes to recoop your initial investment is generally much much lower in online business. Franchise and small business owners are looking most-likely in the range of years, while in home-based business you could be dealing with weeks. This is no guarantee however… the time it takes you to make your initial investment back is going to be mostly dependent on your work habit and determination.

So, if you’re looking for the time and freedom associated with being an entrepreneur, starting your own home-based business could be for you. Beware however… as I mentioned previously there are quite a few scams out there in the form of online businesses. Do your due diligence, find a legitimate home-based business, and make an intelligent investment.

Jimmy Davis

Struggling to run a successful home-based business from the time he was 15, Jimmy had almost given up on his dream of entrepreneurship by the time he was 24 years old, depressed, and living in his parent’s basement. He had done everything his upline taught him, but couldn’t figure out why some industry leaders were successful, yet he wasn’t. Determined to find out why, he sought out to find the answer. What was it? Personal branding. To become marketing master, you have to know how to brand yourself, and how to establish yourself as an expert. Well Jimmy discovered just how to do just that, and went from $0 in sales to $12 000 in his next month in his business. Now 27, Jimmy is a personal branding mastermind, and incredibly successful online business owner. The bi-weekly training calls he provides to CarbonCopyPRO members are invaluable.

David Schwind

Another young marketing master, David Schwind is an expert copywriter, and uses his copywriting proficiency to generate obscene amounts of money through article marketing and other such sources. In the words of Mike Dillard… copywriting is the single most important skills you can master, yet the most neglected by networkers. Master copywriting, and you’re sure to drastically increase your conversion rate. Well David Schwind is undoubtedly and expert copywriter, and has actually personally written a great deal of CarbonCopPRO’s adcopy. Every second week, David imparts a certain aspect of his copywriting expertise on his training calls.

Ferny Ceballos and Ray Fong

New to the CarbonCopyPRO team, owners and operators of SEO Networker Ferny Ceballos and Ray Fong currently provide their SEO (Search Engine Optimization) know-how to CabonCopyPRO members. SEO can bring massive targeted traffic for FREE, and is actually much less complicated than most people think. Ferny and Ray’s biweekly webinars are incredible and teach this invaluable marketing technique.

Listed above are only four of CarbonCopyPRO’s experts… many others share their knowledge on a daily basis on other live training calls. Of course plenty of published, non-live training is also available to members in the CarbonCopyPRO back office.

First and foremost, investing in a brand-name franchise is going to set you back somewhere in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now I understand that you’re investing in a potentially lucrative business, however, this is quite a massive sum of money to be investing in something with such an uncertain future. Why did my mentor fall $500 000 into debt? Well, the economy took a turn for the worse, and his franchises went with it. This was only a few short months after making his initial investment, and there simply wasn’t anything he could do to keep the business afloat… the economy was bad and people were spending less and saving their money. Many other franchisees and small business owners were forced to sell their businesses soon after the economy went down the tubes.

Now if you do get your franchise up and running, it’s certainly not the cakewalk many people believe it to be. Yes there are company systems in place to facilitate the running of the business, and a brand name will help you attract extra customers… but that doesn’t mean you can simply “plug in” to the system and let it run for you… there’s still going to be quite a bit of hard work involved. Franchises are definitely NOT “get rich quick” opportunities, and are by no means a guarantee of success, no matter how well-known the franchise you may be buying into.

Moreover, the hassle of dealing with employees exists. Who do you generally see working in franchise stores? That’s right… teenagers… most of whom like to fool around on the job, and don’t care which way business goes… good or bad.

Lastly, if you’re looking at buying into a franchise, it’s likely you’re looking to be your own boss. While as a franchisee you may not have to answer directly to anyone, you’re far from being able to fully-control the business. Simple rules such as wages, hours of operation, suppliers (you’re generally relegated to buying from the franchisor… no shopping around for cheaper and better deals), and so on, are out of your control. This system which helps you run the business is also going to greatly limit your flexibility as a business owner.

This article is not to say that every franchise is bound to be a failure, or that they’re impossible to run, just that they are simply not the sure-fire way to success many people think they are. Other, simpler, options do exist in the form of self-owned businesses. Online home-based businesses can be one incredibly lucrative option… an essentially recession-proof option without the requirement of a massive investment, employees, and overhead. Do your due diligence however and search out a legitimate home-based business as there are quite a few scams out there today.

I understand… I was in the same place as you at one point. I was searching for a way out of the job I hated and looking to make a living working from home. And who’s website did I come across? That’s right… Jeff Learner’s. And where am I today? Just where I wanted to be… making money working from home. And I can say a large part of my success is directly related to having Jeff Learner as my personal internet marketing mentor.

Is Jeff paying me to write this? No… this is posted directly on my personal blog, and I don’t post anything on here that I don’t want to post. Jeff is fully-deserved of this, and that’s why I’m writing it.

To put it simply… Jeff is a natural in this game. He built himself up from nothing, to within the top 500 internet marketers in the world within 8 months. This isn’t some superfluous fact… it’s actually ranked on www.businessforhome.org. Jeff is honest about openly sharing everything which got him to where he is now to everyone on his team. He’s not just looking to steal your money and leave you high and dry. Once you’re on his team, he’s there to act as your leader and mentor… to do his best to get you to the same place he is.

I am personally a very curious person, and have spent quite a bit of time grilling Jeff about the in’s and out’s of this business, and he’s been there to answer my questions for me. Moreover, Jeff holds 2 hour training webinars twice a week for his entire team… and always has great content to provide.

Like I said… Jeff’s a natural, and he’s dominated this business almost from the onset. He’s a workhorse and a learning machine… always looking to improve himself and his business, and you’d be lucky to have him as your mentor.

Check out my testimonial on his homepage… it’s there for a reason!

This is not to say that if you’re new to the industry that you shouldn’t try different things. On the contrary… if you don’t, you won’t know what you’re good at, and what works for you. After some experimentation however, take a step back and look at what is working for you. Are you placing classified ads which are generating no leads whatsoever? Well why continue down that path? Choose the one method that is working the best for you, and then MASTER IT. Master it so you can produce as many leads as you want using that method… then move on to and master the next method. Should you never place another classified ad again? No… maybe that’s what you want to focus your attention on next… and so on.

Although not necessary, mastering article or video marketing will be highly beneficial for you. Both methods can be great for generating traffic and leads, and will additionally go to establishing yourself as someone with something to offer, as well as establishing a rapport with your reader or viewer. I have however seen people produce incredible amounts of leads through Twitter, online classified ads, and other social media… so the choice is yours.

Whatever your weapon of choice, you’re also going to eventually want to master Google AdWords. Google will require a decent budget however (Google likes you better if you spend more money), and should not be “experimented” with without a significant initial understanding of the Google beast… it will eat your money without giving you anything in return otherwise. Once you master it however, you’ll be generating the fastest and easiest leads you ever have. If you’re new to the industry leave Google out of the equation unless you have the money to spend, and someone to help you and make sure you’re not going to lose your money.

That does it for this article. So master your marketing, and make the most of your time!

Out of everyone on the web, here are three people (and their products) who will make YOU a guru in three important aspects of online business. If you don’t have the budget to actually buy any of the following, not to worry… they all have awesome free content they’ll provide to you.

Mike Dillard

I think this one goes without saying. Anyone who’s been in the network or internet marketing industry for any short period of time knows who Mike Dillard is, and the great content he has to offer. The Traffic Formula series is great, but it does contain information which can be more commonly found, or which may be in your company training. Magnetic Sponsoring on the other hand will teach you how to get people wanting to work with you, and how turn prospects into leads and leads paying customers. It is information less commonly found, and information that most newbies in the industry are clueless about. Also be sure to check out any other products Mike has to offer.

John Carleton

Having great copy on your landing page can drastically increase your conversions. John Carleton is without a doubt a copywriting guru… widely renowned as one of the best copywriters out there today. In the words of Mike Dillard… copywriting is the single most important skills you can master, yet the most neglected by networkers. John’s Simple Writing System is incredible, and a resource you will definitely want to consider purchasing to grow your business. John in particular has some GREAT free content (lots of great free training videos). Opt-into any forms you see on his page and go through everything he sends you… you are bound to learn something.

Perry Marshall

Perry Marshall is an expert on Google AdWords. Advertising on Google will get you the fastest and easiest traffic of anywhere on the internet. It is not child’s play however, and you’ll get killed if you don’t know what you’re doing. Perry Marshall’s Definitive Guide to Google AdWords (recently out with a new edition) provides the best content to help you optimize your Google Advertising. It’s incredibly detailed, and worth every penny. Perry often sends out great information or interviews related to network marketing (not necessarily AdWords-specific), so be sure to subscribe to his free newsletters.

So that does it. If you’re on a tight budget, do yourself a favour and go subscribe to all of the above… learn… and grow your business!

Needless to say I was a little bit confused, and moreover I had never edited anything in CSS. I did quite a bit research in the Wordpress forums, and eventually someone in the forums recommended Firebug to me.

Firebug is application which you can install into your Firefox browser. Once it’s installed, open it by clicking the little bug in the bottom right corner of the browser. Mousing over any part of your page will highlight the html code used to create that part of the page. You can then find the corresponding CSS code, edit it in firebug, and the changes you make appear in real time, i.e. changes actually appear right on your page. If you’re new to CSS (or html… or whatever) this is INCREDIBLY useful… it really helps to visualize how the webpage is put together.

Note that Firebug does not actually change your website (this will only happen if you edit your actual website file), therefore no need to worry about making mistakes.

Also note that this is not only applicable to Wordpress sites… that is simply my personal experience.