And that’s because it takes auto-blogging to a whole new and actually highly “legitimate” level!

Up to now, most auto blogging software/plugins I have seen only seem to create sucky web sites filled with snippets of useless content, which has illegally scraped from other people’s websites. Generally, such sites are a recipe for disaster as far as trying to get decent traffic from search engines, simply because they contain so much crap content.

And Google knows that! Why would they send their visitors to a crap site? They’re all about serving up good results to the people that use their service…

But with Auto Blog Samurai, here is an auto-blogging software package which can actually create non-sucky auto-generated websites which Google should actually be interested in including in their index!

Auto Blog Samurai can automatically create full blown sites which you can place on EITHER your blogger.com account… or on your own self-hosted WordPress domains… using content from legitimate sources… which are monetized with your choice of Adsense, ClickBank promotions, Amazon products or even eBay links.

The developers of the software say… because Auto Blog Samurai makes site building so simple, and can automatically keep updating your site every day… that now you have the time needed to create LOTS of effective and well “designed” auto-blogs that can earn you at least a dollar a day each.

Which supposedly means if you have fifty or a hundred of these auto blogging sites working for you… you should anticipate earning $1500 to $3000 every month.

Not too shabby eh!

But I don’t necessarily agree with that thinking… because OBVIOUSLY each site’s earning potential is related to the NICHE you choose and the amount of TRAFFIC you can generate to that site.

So chances are some of the sites you create will NOT earn anywhere near that much – the actual amount you earn will depend a lot on the type of marketing you do.

And this is where I have a tiny problem with the software

However, as an auto-blogging tool, I would have to agree with them…
It IS the best on the planet!

Especially if you are able to use the sites it builds as a lead generation tool to get people signed up to your lists in each niche… and then use ongoing email promotions to market to those people!

That is where the REAL money should be for you!

Not so much in the $1 a day in the Adsense clicks or the low percentage Amazon commissions… both of which require a HUGE amount of traffic to make any serious bucks…

But in the money you should be able to make from the LISTS you build in multiple niches.

So here’s my main gripe – but probably quite unfairly…

You should NOT buy this software IF you are not prepared to do that follow-up marketing… if you are not prepared to write useful, multiple email sequences to plug into your own auto-responder system.

Because if you get it just to build lots of blogs, you are missing out on the bigger picture!

So – by all means – get the best Auto Blogging Software on the Planet!

And then make sure that you set it up where the MAIN focus is building your lists and creating future marketing opportunities to the people on those lists.

Unfortunately… grumble, grumble… if you’re super lazy, the software won’t automatically create these email sequences for you. And rightly so I suppose… You should still have to do some work to add your “voice” to your ongoing promotions

But then again… maybe that’s an option we’ll suggest that could be included in a future update… With these guys, you never know what’s possible! Hmmm…

Either way, get Auto Blog Samurai and it’ll be the best $77 you’ll ever spend.

Cheers
Stephen Spry

Oh yeah… these are my affiliate links, so if you do get the best auto-blogging software in the world as a result of my recommendation, I will earn some commish…

Check out Auto Blog Samurai – Click Here

This new offering from Russell Brunson shows exactly how a young couple are making over 13k a month using his 20 Minute Payday system.

This is not something that is going to work instantly for you overnight… the video training outlines the process the couple took over several months in early 2009 to get started… to get the momentum going… and then pull in $88k during 2009. And they’re already over $100k so far in 2010.

And when you find out what the product is they actually developed, you’ll probably be a little “surprised” to say the least… because it has absolutely nothing to do with the make money online niche!

Now a word of warning… these “systems” will not work for everybody, and while the featured couple did make a lot of dough… you might actually end up making nothing! Your results will obviously depend on whether you actually “do” something with the information presented

The 20 Minute Payday system contains a heap of training videos and keyword software, along with bonus recorded interviews, and advanced training worth well over $7,000.

So if you were expecting it to come with a high price tag… you can forget that! A once only $37 gives you access to the whole kit and caboodle.

Check out 20 Minute Payday now and let me know what you think!

Cheers
Stephen Spry

Oh… all the bonuses will not be available forever, so make sure you have a look today! And remember, while this is an affiliate product from which I may earn a commission, it IS covered by the ClickBank 60 day refund guarantee, so there really is no risk if you want to check it out.

Now while the “manual” option exists and is easy… it certainly is NOT convenient. With most people, the thought of sitting there and pressing buttons for a few hours every week… well, you know what happens – absolutely NOTHING! And if you’ve got more than 10 sites…. there are always “better” things you think you could be doing with your time

Cos while you just KNOW you should be doing it… the reality is that actually doing backups is boring!

Well now… there’s absolutely NO EXCUSE for not doing it!

Backing up your cPanel websites is now so simple and convenient with a new desktop app for Windows (XP+) AND Intel Mac OSX (10.4+) from an Aussie programmer based in Queensland.

Aaron Dwyer has developed Backup Smart using the cross-platform technology of Adobe Air (which means it can run on BOTH Windows and Mac machines).

I’ve written a comprehensive cPanel Backup Software Review which outlines some of the web server “problems” I’ve had over the years, which I was able to quickly recover from because I DID have backups.

Unfortunately for me… I did them all the hard, boring, manual way.

Now with Aaron’s Backup Smart Software you can do it the easy way!

And @ just $37, it’s a very reasonably priced piece of software! There’s even a fully functioning 7 day free trial if you want to check it out first!

So go get it… NOW! You’ve got absolutely NO excuses not to backup your websites now

Cheers
Stephen Spry

So what is it? A Blueprint? A Formula? Don’t you just love how marketing can confuse you… specially when then there might be an interesting lesson or three buried in the hype!

Well, if you want to know how to flog stuff properly and make money online (particularly if you do NOT have a website)… then this product from Internet veteran Bryan Winters could just be the technique that works for you.

This is what it’s all about…

Click that image and go visit the site now – it’ll open in a new window – and I’ll help explain here what’s going on…

Now… while you can bypass the squeeze page, I strongly suggest you do not! The marketing lesson (the “ultimate secret” bit) you’ll get on the next screen is well worth reading, so make sure you opt-in to get that!

So what IS the Blueprint X Formula? And who is it for?

Well first up… it’s a three month membership, where you get:

1. Month 1. the actual “formula”, along with detailed instructions on how to use it to promote ClickBank affiliate products. In particular, you should test it out and get some money flowing in using your CB afflink to Blueprint X.

2. In the second month, you’ll get access to several advanced add-on reports, which Bryan promises will “set your efforts on fire”.

3. Month three is a doozie, when you’ll get access to the official Blueprint-X software. This opens the door to using the formula in a thousand different ways with any product you want.

4. After that of course you’ll continue to get lifetime access to all the material and updates, at no extra cost.

There’s also a great unadvertised bonus when you sign up, which includes access to Bryan’s huge archive of over $23,000 worth of information products with MRR and PLR!

But meanwhile…

Back to the formula…

In a nutshell, Bryan is providing clear, concise instruction on how to create an exclusive, very clever type of – for want of a better expression – banner ad. You’ll also learn how to get your advert listed across the web.

Sure… there’s some work involved, and as you are approaching other people so you will get some rejections

Get used to it! LOL!

This is not a recipe for rapid overnight income.

But applying Bryan’s “formula” in a methodical fashion should generate some good results for you… and because you are testing and tracking things as you go, you know exactly what is working (or not working) for you!

Do you need a website? No. The technique revolves around the promotion of products using other people’s websites, using their traffic etc.

Will it work if you have a website/product of your own? Of course it will. It can be another extremely useful sales technique for existing website owners, or product developers, to use to promote their own products or affiliate links.

Personally I would probably also use one of my own domains to run the tracking through instead of using a free tracking service, cos I don’t like outsourcing essential stuff – i.e. LINKS – to services that may or may not be there next week…

Do you need a marketing or computer science degree to do this? Not at all. The skill level needed is pretty simple – cut and paste, do some research, send emails, track some stuff. That’s pretty much it.

Warning!

The “simplicity” of this almost had me heading for the refund button because I thought it was all too simple – but then again, as an Internet “veteran” I do tend to over-complicate things far too much!!! LOL

So – take some time to study the information presented. Do some “out of the box” thinking to work out how it can benefit you.

Look at the bonuses closely and see whether there’s some stuff there you can work with or learn from right now. This is a product ideas goldmine if you want it to be

The really good thing is that you are in complete control here! There’s no Google slap, or SEO or anything like that to worry about. You choose the location for your promotions… You test them… If they work, you keep em. If not, you move on.

And therein lies the potency of this simple sales technique!

Check out Blueprint X Formula and let me know what you think.

Cheers
Stephen Spry

And yes… that IS an affiliate link… which means I might earn something if you decide to check this out.

The purpose of this article is to take you through the processes and software I used to create this WordPress membership site so you can see what’s involved if you want to do something similar.

So let’s look at all those different elements, starting firstly with the content.

Membership Site Content

In this case, I’ve taken a newly written PLR (Private Label Rights) e-course and “modified” the content and delivery mechanism. It is a short fixed-term membership course delivered online – three monthly instalments and it’s done.

Originally, this 12 week course was delivered by a weekly auto-responder email which contained a link to download the PDF lesson for that week.

The PLR also contained a “free report” which could be offered on a squeeze page to entice people to sign up to a list. Instead of using it for that purpose, I’ve put these “tips” onsite and have created 20+ pages of publicly viewable content here:
20 Tips For Sales Success

This should earn some search engine love for a range of sales related keywords, and to entice people on each page to register for the full course.

Now the online course was created by taking “chapters” or obvious “Sections” from each week’s PDF lesson, and re-writing them into separate WordPress posts – approximately 6 to 8 posts for each weekly lesson – which are “dripped” out sequentially on the first day of every week, over the 12 weeks.

I have also created new auto-responder messages which outline each week’s lesson, and direct customers back to the membership site for the actual content. These are delivered by my auto-responder at weekly intervals.

Why Do It This Way?

Good question… Here are the alternatives:

Alternative A (as provided) – try to sell a “passive” weekly PDF download (and you just know what will happen to that…)

Or Alternative B – try to sell a “community” where members are encouraged to keep coming back to the site to get new materials, or review old stuff… where they can comment on each lesson… where they can report back on the results of their “homework” each week… where I can “learn” what they need so I can offer more relevant follow-up options (read future sales) to them later on… where content can easily be added/expanded on as needed…

The second option provides a lot more “value” to the consumer, and should be an easier “sell” to make in the first place. It means you could even charge a little bit more than you might for a simple PDF download if you wanted to.

Membership Site Plugins

What makes this possible is using WordPress as the Content Management System, and two very special plugins…

Wishlist Member

I’m using a multi-site licence (value $297) for Wishlist Member which does several things for me on this site:

1. uses WordPress to handle the membership user management – registration, login, password reminder etc.
   
2. allows me to easily set up multiple free or paid membership “levels” (if needed) but in this case, I have only one established.
   
3. plugs into PayPal IPN to “automatically” look after payments and cancellations.
   
4. secures individual posts, pages, comments and categories and only allows the correct level to view each item.
   
5. optionally allows for sequential delivery of content (but due to the number of posts involved, I have opted to use a different plugin for that).
   
6. personalises individual pages for each member.

Wishlist Member works with the latest version of WordPress, and needs PHP5 to be running on your webserver (which may require a simple change in your cPanel).

While a single use license is available, the multi-site license is really the only way to go

WP-Drip

This is a great plugin (value $97) which complements WishList Member, and drips out the content to the right members, at the right times.

It was simply a case of changing the post date to a date in the past – eg the first post on 1st January – and then adding new posts at specific “timed” intervals after that. In my case, a group of new lessons every seven days – Jan 7, 14, 21, 28 etc…

WP-Drip uses the date the member joined, and works out what and when they get to see, based on the interval between your posts. It shows the CURRENT date next to each post, so it looks like your content has just been released… no matter WHEN they join.

WP-Drip also has a upcoming posts sidebar widget to show what new posts will be made available in the next, say, seven days – a great incentive to keep people from canceling their membership

*** See the special “Resources Used” section below for a spectacular WordPress Membership Training offer!

Category Posts Widget is a free plugin which allows you to show the posts from different categories in the sidebar. This works well with the drip, to show ONLY the posts that are currently “published” for each member.

Subscribe to Comments is a free plugin which allows people to subscribe to a post thread they have commented in, so they can follow and respond to the conversation in that thread.

Widget Logic is a useful plugin to easily add WordPress conditional tags to ANY widget used on your site – see below to see how I used it here.

Theme Changes Needed

Use any theme you like – but the main changes you could make to any premium WordPress themes used would be to the home.php template page, and also to the sidebars (although I have since discovered a simpler option there).

Looking at the sidebars first, I have two “states” that need to be looked at when they are displayed:

1. when a member is logged in, they need to see one set of sidebar options/widgets.
   
2. when they are NOT logged in, they need to see a different set of options/widgets.

Now since I did NOT know about the Widget Logic plugin, I had to get really messy with the PHP code in the sidebar templates to set up a whole heap of conditional tags to make it work… But with this plugin, I can easily add ANY conditional tag combination to ANY widget, to make it work as intended.

For example… is_home() will only show that content if you are looking at the home page, and is_user_logged_in() will show content only if the user is logged in… or if not, use !is_user_logged_in().

Which brings me to the home.php template… Essentially, if this template file exists in your theme, you can use it to create a custom “home page” for your wordpress site. And, by mixing content there based on whether is_user_logged_in() I was able to create two totally different home page viewing experiences depending on whether the user is signed in as a member, or not

Where Too From Here?

OK.. so the site is done… everything is working as intended… 26 of the “free” tips pages are indexed in Google… the next thing I have to do is get some qualified traffic flowing to the site.

So the success or otherwise of your fixed-term wordpress membership site will depend on the range of marketing and linking techniques you use to get that happening!

In my case, I have a few “relevant” and authority sites which I can post articles, and put some ads and/or links on for starters. In fact, one of those links is already #1 at Google (from 738 million results) for the phrase get more new sales now.

While that will get the ball rolling, there’s a lot more that needs to be done, so we’ll discuss all of that at a later date.

But right now, I want to add a couple of extra plugins I’ve recently discovered so I can offer an affiliate program with the site. These will include:

1. WordPress Affiliate Platform plugin
   which ties into
   
2. WordPress eStore plugin
   (both plugins available as a bundle with multi-site license for $55)
   
3. and which ALSO integrates with my WishList Member!

So as soon as I can get that done, I can have an army of affiliates (hopefully) also getting the word out for me!

Another “angle” I want to look at is… this content is directed at boosting real world, off-line sales techniques. I’m going to look at adding unique “original” content, which focuses on how these principles apply to ONLINE sales – it would certainly make the product a lot more attractive.

So there you have it…

A pretty thorough outline and live example of how to use WordPress and the appropriate plugins to set up a fixed term membership site to deliver an online e-training course.

Naturally, there are many other types of WordPress Membership sites you can set up using these plugins, and these are all explained in the offer which follows…

Resources Used

WishList Member and WP-Drip CAN be purchased individually if you wish, however your “best” option is to get them as part of Membership Cube…

Here you can get an unlimited site license of the WishList Member membership plugin for free. You can get WP-Drip to drip out all your content. You can also get all the extra plugins you need to embed video, run mini-challenges, track users, and more. On top of all that, you get personal training for a couple hours a week over the next two months to get your first three membership sites launched!

And that’s just for starters

One quick link to register for Membership Cube

I look forward to seeing you inside the member’s area – yes – it IS a course I am a member of… and have been since way back in March this year… And it is training I will continue to access over and over again!

Cheers
Stephen Spry

Disclaimer

This article is to demonstrate how I have used these products to produce an actual, working WordPress Membership site. Please note that affiliate links are used here and I will receive a commission if you purchase from them. However, be assured that I HAVE used these products personally, and they DO carry out the tasks I want them to without fuss, so they do carry my personal recommendation for very sound reasons

And I do it because these user submissions generate new content for me on a regular (daily) basis… which means Google visits often… and I end up with literally thousands of pages driving search engine traffic for all sorts of keywords.

But… the two main problems I have (apart from spammy and inappropriate “adult” listings) with these user submissions to my directories are:

Keeping It Too Simple Stupid

Sometimes people just do NOT use enough words to describe their business and “entice” viewers to click through to their website.

For example, a recent submission by a graphic design simply had “Website and Graphic Designs” as their site description.

Now while some might argue that this follows the K.I.S.S. rule… and could stand out because of it’s “simplicity”… I would have to say that it is lazy and shows no creativity on the part of the design firm to attract new business – and that’s perhaps something I personally do NOT want from a graphic designer

Another “big name” Aussie mortgage company just listed their website, and just used the solitary word “Finance” in the listing description for their website. Now while they might be chasing some SEO benefit from that singular keyword… it does little to encourage the average person/consumer to do anything!

Your lesson here Grasshopper is…

Where you have the opportunity to “describe” your business in a directory listing, please do so!

Blowing Your Own Trumpet

But when you craft your descriptions, be very aware of the second major problem you can easily succumb to…

And that’s making “we” errors in your business description.

In other words, where the emphasis is all about YOU, and how good YOUR company is, and what YOU can do for people…

Instead of what you can do for ME to address MY problems! i.e.

“We develop quality, easy to navigate, visitor friendly websites at an extremely competitive price.”
could easily be re-written as
“Do you want a quality, easy to navigate, visitor friendly website for an extremely competitive price?”

Almost the same words, except the emphasis has shifted back to the reader.

Remember – the person reading your info wants to easily work out how it will benefit THEM… so make it easy for them to see that, or they will simply look at the next listing.

And finally… a “bonus” problem for you to avoid…

Please try to make sure you pick the most approriate category for your website when submitting them to directories.

If you pick an inappropriate category, then the chances are your listing will be deleted without any notification

Good luck with your directory submissions! They may be a pain to do, but are worthwhile in the long run!

Stephen Spry runs several well established directories for Australian websites, Small Business, Employment websites, and Latest Sites where you can submit your (site-appropriate) website listings for free. You can also easily EDIT your listings at any of these sites.

The main problem I have to cope with there are new article submissions where far too many people over optimise their articles for specific products, brands or locations (or all three) which, in my opinion, effectively wastes their article marketing efforts!

Now while the bulk of the new content for that site is coming in automatically from the Unique Article Wizard service, a large proportion of the manual submissions made have also exhibited this particular problem.

So here’s an article I have just written addressing this article marketing issue…

SEO Can Kill Your Article Marketing

Savvy marketers use article marketing to build multiple, long-term backlinks to their websites. But too much emphasis on integrating “clever” SEO tactics into your article marketing will negate the many positive benefits.

How it is “supposed” to work is simple…

1. You write an informative article about something.
2. Your article contains an “Author’s Resource Box” which includes links back to your site.
3. You submit the article to major article banks for publication.
4. IF it gets published, other interested webmasters can then choose to reprint your article on their site.

The principle is solid… they get good free content to publish, and you get links back to your site.

However the current practice of over optimising for SEO (search engine optimisation) purposes is not so good.

Consider an excellent article on “Lower Back Pain Relief” written by a Chiropractor…

It’s packed full of really useful information on what can cause lower back pain and some simple methods on how to relieve it.

Normally, it would be a great article for many webmasters to syndicate on related sites, except for the trend to over “optimise” the article for SEO purposes.

In other words, the title of the article has now become:
“Lower Back Pain Relief in New York”

And the actual content of the article includes the words “New York” and the initials “NY” scattered throughout.

And because webmasters are not permitted to change the content of any articles they reprint, the article is practically useless to those who may have wanted to syndicate your otherwise useful content!

Why is it useless?

Well most webmasters want “generic” content about their niche… they almost certainly do NOT want it optimised for a specific location like “New York” or anywhere else!

Another one just across my desk… a useful article on “Athletic Injury Safety Tips” which has been ruined for syndication by including multiple references to the city of Pittsburgh and “Pittsburgh Chiropractor” in the title and body of the article.

So BEFORE you go putting any specific location, product or brand in the title of the article you are submitting for publication on the major article distribution networks, ask yourself if it is likely:
1. to be accepted for publication on the article network site, and
2. that others will be less interested in reprinting your article on their site.

In other words…

Keep the SEO to the Author’s Resource Box – that’s where it belongs! Your link in the resource box with the correct anchor text will have much more useful SEO benefit than stuffing the keywords into the body or title of the article.

It will also mean more people are likely to actually reprint your useful information.

Stephen Spry runs an article marketing service called Latest Articles where you can submit your original articles for publication, and find free articles for syndication on your website.