Internet Business Blog By James Schramko » Podcast

Is this the worlds easiest blog posting method? I cannot type very well being a two finger typist and I have trouble spelling, but these days it's not so important.  Just this morning I was able to rattle off three meaty blog posts without touching the keyboard. The tool of my choice for this is the Apple 4S iPhone using Siri Since I have mountain lion installed on my Apple computer I am able to synchronize the notes tool from my iPhone and my iMac.  Now it is simply a matter of pushing the Siri button and talking my blog post as I'm doing right now. This entire post is added by Siri into my notepad on my iPhone as I talk. I like to collect posts in notepad to draw from as required. Coffee Break When I'm done I simply rest for little while, check my draft and then when I want to Press I copy and paste my notepad across into my WP blog. I just adjust small imperfections, add a picture or MP3 and publish. We know content is important. To know that it brings such results and now that you're able to do it without having to type I think this is a new year of content creation and rapid authoring Good luck with your next blog post!

It seems there are some people in the Internet Marketing space who have a few things to learn about control and being able to predict the future. I have often said "own the racecourse, not the race horse" It was a lesson I had learned whilst running a large business. The repeating cycle of avoidable hardship As early as my first full year of online marketing (2006) I identified that many people online making a strategic error online building on other people's platforms.  Every year without fail I see the crying bleats of web marketers who have fallen foul of this simplistic error.  Originally it was AdSense.  Google shut down a lot of 'traffic equalizer' auto -gen sites  in 2006 Then came Adwords.  Affiliates everywhere were complaining after they were shut down from their accounts. Next was YouTube shutting down people's videos Then there was the great Google slaps knocking out blog networks. Panda, Penguin etc... Amazon cleared out all the spammy Kindles Apple are getting stricter with app submissions Now people are complaining about Facebook not showing their free content to everyone... When was it ever a good idea to be single platform dependant?  Never. It is never been a good idea to build your business on other people's platforms because they will change. As an employee I knew exactly how much compromise you invite when all of your income is coming from one place. It is risky. Hence my  affinity for ownership. When you aren't using a platform that you can control, then you have no say in the choices they make. So what should you do today is... You should identify which assets and which platforms you are utilizing belong to other people. Make a plan around what you wil do when they stop working. Realize that when you use someone else's platform they can change the rules at any time and then most probably will. They owe you nothing. Especially when it is a free service. Build on your own website and create your own marketing list/database And this is especially important if you build your business around supplying people from a certain platform. I have an SEO service that does seven figures a year worth of SEO and it primarily focuses on Google ranking results. There is a very good reason why not more than 50% of my income is coming from any single business.  The rest of my income comes from Non-Google dependent businesses. Such as a Mastermind and coaching services. If your business supplies customers and it depends on one platform... Make sure you know where the exit door is . As a minimum know what the big pivot might be. Take an inventory of all the core skills and assets your business contains so that you can move in a new direction quickly if required. It's a good idea to know exactly where the back door is when you walk in the front door.  For example,  I ensure we have a strong research and development team. This remains our advantage in staying on top of ever shifting market changes. make the big sites work for you, not the other way around Utilize other people's platforms to bring people to your website and into your list Once you earn the customer relationship on your terms, that's when you will have a strong business. The next time you here someone having a moan about a big company 'slapping' them keep in mind that they are really allowing themselves to be slapped.

Lukey Luke Moulton is back and in this episode we compare our top list of tools. Every business in the online space will be using certain tools to get up and running, We cover a range of hardware and software. James's Tool Rules Review tools often (billing notices can be a great prompt for regular reviews) to see if you still need it Get the best tool for the job even if it costs a little more Commit to using tools to the best of the ability of the tool Research and test to determine continued effectiveness and comparable others Less is more. Have the minimum tools possible                               James Schramko & Luke Moulton This transcript is sponsored by www.BuyWithBonus.com ß get many of the products and services mentioned in this interview with a special BONUS. James: James Schramko here and I’ve got a special guest back for the second interview mainly because it stirs my other good buddy Timbo Reid from my FreedomOcean podcast. Welcome back Luke Moulton, Lukey, Lukey, Lukey… Luke: How are you James? James: Good, it’s always good to catch up and especially fun because we get to, I guess remember the good times of Jewel Podcasting. I used to podcast with Tim a lot but he’s travelling all over the place these days so I thought I’d bring in a backup. Welcome back. Luke: Thanks buddy. He’s been a busy boy I think he’s been all over Australia for the last month actually so… yeah it is nice to annoy him a little bit. He did comment on the last podcast that we did together James. It’s always good to hear our Tim’s in a bit of a stir. James: It is, and we’ve come back on the premise of talking about tools. We’ve always had a little bit of back and forth. I remember, you were always the tool spotter and trend spotter and you don’t mind the techy stuff. And I think you’ve joked with me that I’ve probably used more tools than you. So we’re going to pull out the evernote and have a trump off and see what tools you’re using and what tools our listeners should use for various circumstances and I guess compare some notes and maybe we’ll learn something along the way about what a tool does do or doesn’t do or discover a tool that we’ve never even heard off. Luke: Yes, if we’re not careful James I think this episode could be a very long one. James: We’ll do the short version. Let’s just say there are a couple of things that we should be aware of. Firstly, for any decent online business and I’m talking about a business that’s let’s say generating 5 figures a month. Let’s just pick that $10,000 a month mark. There will be a required investment in a certain amount of hardware and software because it is a business and most businesses are going to need tools. Even a plumber or an electrician’s going to need drills, hammers and things. So you will have tools. The name of the game really for my perspective, my philosophy around tools is I want the minimum possible tools, I want the best tool for the job in its category and then we have to know how to use it. And one way we keep fresh on this is every time I get a recurring invoice or every time I clean up my computer, I just question my assumptions. Do we still need this tool? Is it working? Is there a better version? Do we know how to use it? And I send this off to my team. The other context is that, in some cases there’s two parts to this. I’m here operating a business but I’ve got a lot of team members in another country who uses a different operating system. So that’s meant that there are certain things that we’ve had to decide, for one I only use Mac so I’m not going to very good with the Windows tools even though I have them in my business, my team use them. I don’t use them. We might talk about which ones we have but I don’t use, and also I’d like to get your philosophy on how you choose whether you use a tool or not.

Download the PDF Transcription Greg Cassar from InternetMarketingDoneForYou.com shares some fantastic conversion ideas that you can implement today to see great improvements in your profit. Highlights from this conversions podcast: To dou...

Dave Kaminski is a quality teacher of online web video skills at WebVideoUniversity.com. His background as a professional copywriter, videographer and direct response marketing helped this former U.S. Marine setup splendidly online. Dave specializes in teaching entrepreneurs how to effectively use web video in their marketing efforts. I have been through one of his excellent video courses. Dave Kaminski - WebVideoUniversity.com Highlights from this episode: The dangers of creating sales video players with NO player controls (even if you think they convert better) What is better between TEXT video sales letters versus FACE TO CAMERA videos How to overcome nerves and become a natural on camera when you are filming yourself even if you suck right now The best video, sound and lighting equipment to use right now to get results within your budget Which is more important, sound or video picture quality? Why SLR cameras replicate your eye more and how to harness natural light A ninja testimonial technique for getting great videos from customers How to leverage your customer service using videos The FREE software Dave uses to convert (encode) videos for web Why YouTube videos play on most devices What format to use for mobile devices to get a reliable streaming experience for your self hosted videos Daves choice of SLR Camera ("It's a steal") Be sure to watch the 47 free videos here Download the PDF Transcription

James Schramko and Luke Moulton lift the lid on the subject of Podcasting....  Luke Moulton used to co-host a podcast with Tim Reid.  I also co-host a podcast with Timbo so this episode was a bit of fun to make. Highlights from this podcast How professional do you need to go for your first podcast? Does a recording studio help? Do you need an official 'bumper'? Broadcasting with no pants... Setting the stage quality wise for recording from the start How to invite interviewees to record with you Building a podcasts into a powerful and strong community How to start a podcast The key to getting good stories from interviewees Leverage your audience to the fullest extent possible The reason why you need to have a range of products that are appropriate products Podcasts are a more do to with traffic rather than being a product? Having a traffic source builds up traffic to the front door How to build authority build trust Are people in a position to take action when listening to your show? Selling versus developing authority How to reassure the audience that you are worth working with How to measure sales from podcasts using a trackable link Detailed podcasting strategy The biggest potential pitfalls and what you would might do differently Are podcasts growing or in a declining trend? The way people consume media is changing How does the apple iTunes algorithm work? Do you polarise an audience or go with the grain? Don't try and be everyones cup of tea Production quality for podcasts are less onerous than video Why pro podcasting production values can create a difference The importance of keeping your sound levels consistent Press record and do it yourself The famed double headed recording technique Stats you can use pod track to discover data about your audience How you can tell what browsers people use. Why you should know your audience so that you can optimise the content Is podcasting for everyone? How to install your podcasting plugin to a blog then retro add it to iTunes The three most popular podcasting formats... What equipment is good? Why Amazon S3 might save you some headaches In iTunes should you target tight or broad? James special Facebook campaign around your experts name to bring new listeners trick The Authority Leverage  process for leveraging a podcast after publishing it Full Transcription James: James Schramko here, and today we’ve got a special guest who is no stranger to the expertise of podcasting. I think podcasting is a hot topic right now. So I went out and I tracked down my podcast partner’s other partner Luke Moulton. Welcome to the show. Luke: How are you James? James: Or should I say Lukey, Lukey, Lukey. Would that feel more familiar? Luke: Yeah it does actually. It feels pretty good and a former podcasting partner too James. Timbo and I have kind of gone separate ways in the podcasting arena. But that’s all good. James: So I thought it’ll be pretty funny to have a podcast with you because we’re both used to podcasting with Tim and I’m just wondering what will happen here. In our show, Tim is the one who sort of keeps the time and asks me the questions and pushes me around a bit. Luke: Yeah. James: I don’t know how it works in yours I guess. Is that him in your show or are you more of the time keeper? Luke: I’m probably more the time keeper but he’s definitely the pushy one. (Laughs) James: (Laughs) Luke: Timbo knows I love him and love him dearly as I’m sure you do James. James: I do. He makes me laugh. I mean I think he carries our show. The one I do with him. It’s his humour and his entertaining nature that I think makes it work. Could be interesting to see what comes out today. Luke: Yeah. He’s going to love hearing that. He’s got a great interview technique as well I think. So he will continue to do well in podcasting I’d say. James: So let’s talk about the topic of podcasting.

The late advertising great David Ogilvy once remarked about Drayton Bird: "he knows more about direct response marketing than anyone else in the world" Drayton spoke at a conference I attended in Washington many years ago and his ideas are both simple and effective. Today we cover some valuable copywriting and marketing concepts. I have consumed every newsletter and course he has published: Summary notes from this interview between Drayton Bird and James Schramko Drayton has been teaching direct response marketing for over 40 years to thousands of people He once worked for David Ogilvy (who is considered to be one of the greats of Copywriting) The most important element for your marketing is relevance not originality or creativity Most marketers do too little study How do you Innovate? Stick with what works Study and adapt what has worked before Take existing elements and put them together in new and exciting ways Study any category you are working in very deeply On Change and Testing Change is meaningless without testing If you change more than one thing you dont know what made the difference Testing is the bedrock in this business Test one or test all Test everything Is you are not testing you are going to fail Video works. Put it everywhere Nothing fails like success (avoid complacency) How Do You Craft Guarantees? Be as generous with guarantees as you can possibly be Focus on the benefits rather than the features About Marketing Ethics Focus on the customers problems (not yours) You will do better if you do the right things than make outrageous promises Explore every conceivable means of solving and communicating problems Increase Your Copy IQ... Increase your  ability to persuade: I watched this straight down the line copy training series from Drayton Bird and found it insightful and easy to implement. Your business will be more profitable when you apply the core concepts of writing for persuasion: Drayton Bird Training  

[warning: recording contains the occasional swear word] Transcript of discussion between James Schramko & Noah Kagan from Appsumo James here, in this podcast I’m talking to Noah Kagan who runs AppSumo, and he’s an interesting guy because ...

A few months ago I recorded some highlights from the first SilverCircle business mastermind intensive workshop. This month I invite my friend and participant Steve Ovens back to discuss the highlights from the second workshop. Highlights in this business focused podcast: How to get 11% more conversions from your sales funnel A rare way to track squeeze page conversions The special built-in  Optimizepress feature that increases sales How to create automation rules for segmenting autoresponder emails A / B Split test results from my recent product launch How to get more than 50% conversions for new products you release The secret to knowing which one of your segments is the most powerful How to massively expand your available market Why your market dictates your medium (where you can sell your product) The definition of selling The phases of a sales process and actual words you can use to boost conversions The equation that helps you charge higher prices Why it is important to increase authority and how to do it How to lead people to get autonomy and growth in your business The unavoidable truth about providing services and how to deal with it How to set core values properly I hope you enjoyed this episode, please comment below or share with your friends. [These small group workshops are occasionally available to current SilverCircle members]

SEO is a great traffic source when done right. Some search ranking techniques still work today as well as they ever have. There are always changes going on and importantly you need to be aware of them and make adjustments as social media signals become more important. Blog networks have been targeted heavily for having low quality posts and being paid links. Discover why you need to own the racecourse in this traffic training Video. Watch as James Schramko outlines some very powerful RSS to PDF and Press Release strategies for distributing your content further (and ethically). Beyond SEO you can go way deeper into increasing your conversions and scaling up with more traffic channels. Do not rely on any one source of traffic. Did you enjoy this video? If so, please share the social love with a 'like', +1 and Retweet!

Wealthification is my new business training course. Digitally delivered to you via an online membership, the fresh content is designed for business owners and people looking to get a business and take it to a new profit level. The course is going to upset many high priced course sellers. What do you get for your one time investment in Wealthification? You get access to at least nine short sharp content packed streaming business growth video modules Downloadable MP4 versions of each video to play on your smart phone MP3 audio from each module for listening on the move Full word for word + images PDF transcriptions to read Also there is an XLS spreadsheet for you to chart your profit ratios and tune your business The content totals aprox 1 hour and 40 minutes. More bonuses will be added later Why Wealthification? This training is a collection of my best 'James Schramko' experiences and techniques. My success in business and especially the online arena caused many people ask me to share with them real business information. (The sort of information I was exposed to whilst running a 9 figure per year business for someone else). These students have built very solid businesses  over the years and continue to seek my advice. (Not everyone can afford my highest level SilverCircle membership yet). Creating an online course at a very reasonable price point was my best solution to spread good business concepts further.  I hope this is for you. Here are snippets from some of the modules: Is there an affiliate program? Yes join here if you have a business crowd and you want to flex your affiliate marketing muscles. Action Step:  Watch the first full module and download the PDF transcription for that module here: Business Training Recommended: There is a reason why I dont send you affiliate 'blasts' all the time. Most products on the market truly suck. I have created quality coaching services to grow your business for real. If you are fed up with chasing bright shiny objects and being 'hustled' then perhaps you are ready for some training with integrity: For weekly business masterminding apply to join James Schramko's seriously high level SilverCircle For Internet Business coaching join James Schramko's very affordable Internet Business Coaching FastWebFormula I am looking forward to building a strong online business with you. 

A recent study in the U.S. shows the number of adults that own e-book readers has jumped from 10% to 19% over the mid-December up to early January 2012. The holiday season may have something to with that, but the numbers are there nonetheless. source source It’s a huge business nowadays. Take Amazon.com and the Kindle e-reader as an example. Their brilliant decision to make the Kindle more affordable in mid-2010 resulted in a surge in e-book sales over 2010 up to now. Hachette Book Group reports a 130% increase in eBooks and audiobooks sales for 2011 which made up for 22% of the company’s overall revenue for that year. Other bookstores are reporting similar results. Hardcover and paperback sales are said to have dropped, a fact that many print book publishers somewhat resent. However, there is no stopping this advance in technology – we must adapt if we are to run profitable businesses in the years to come. I have a library and a large collection of books at home. I have only recently switched to the Kindle and I am sold. It is very practical, especially during travel. Expect e-Reader numbers to further increase with devices like the new Kindle Fire. There are a few disadvantages though, you cannot lend your books to a friend without handing over your e-reader. The great thing about eBooks is that they are supported by most smartphones and tablet computers like the iPad. For me, the Kindle format does the job because delivery is faster and works it across multiple devices. I am looking to publish some of my own work on the Kindle in the coming months. From a business perspective, publishing eBooks is far more cost-efficient, not to mention you can have an almost infinite amount of titles and never run out of stock. Your products are accessible to anyone around the world equipped with an e-reader or any other supported devices. Delivery is instantaneous. I also expect kids and schools will really drive this into the education system. source People read MORE often when they buy kindles source source

Steve O rejoins James Schramko for an Internet business discussion revolving around the SilverCircle Intensive workshop and the key highlights. We cover the advanced elements that cause rapid success when you have these things working correctly in your internet business. Highlights in this episode - Doubling your profit in three months - The importance of measuring your numbers with a spreadsheet - How to tell what is causing your success - What foundation steps should you structure your online business with - The key metrics you need to know to work out your hourly rate - The super power of 'veneering' - Managing a high performance team Post your comments below

Apps are popular so James schramko interviews Software Integrations expert Steve "O" (Steve Ovens) about 'apps (and other geeky stuff like 'gyroscopic'). Steve Ovens was a software developer in Silicon Valley when the first tech boom occurred. Will it happen again? Listen in for our discussion surrounding IPads, iPhones, Androids, Apps, Games, User behaviour and more. Enjoy!