Marc Sampson’s Blog

As you may be aware, multiple streams of income form an integral part of Internet Marketing.  If it were not for auto pilot earnings we would not make half as much from the Internet as we do today.  Systems that earn affiliate incomes and paid advertising commissions contribute to a large percentage of our monthly income.  One of these sources of advertising commissions is Google’s AdSense program. 

By the way, this post is not about Google’s AdSense program!  Far from it in fact, this email is about the fact that we are all losing a huge amount of revenue because of AdSense.  When was the last time you earned over $1 for a 1 click from your paid ads?  When was the last time you looked at your website ads and found Googles AdSense target ads displaying something completely irrelevant to your website content?  Every day, I find these big problems to my business and most importantly my business earnings which I use to help generate a second income.  So ask me “Do you have the right to complain?”  Yes I do! Just because Google are the biggest search engine provider in the world, does not mean they have the best advertising and commission structure for paid ads does it.

When I first started out to become an Internet Marketer, I got stuck right into Google’s AdSense program and I did ok, but over the years my AdSense earnings have slowly dwindled and I hard;y find it worth it anymore.  Now don’t get me wrong here, there are merketers who make great income from AdSense; I have seen it personally, there have been times when I have checked my account and made over $20 in one day from AdSense so the bottom line is the AdSense program does work and does earn you money. However, I do think it could be better. This is what bring me to Clickbank ad rotator.  Now CB Ad Rotator does the same job as AdSense with some excellent improvements:

1, You have no threshold of $100 to reach before payment, this means the new guys get paid after one click led sale.

2, Your commissions are a lot higher, than AdSense meaning you get paid a lot more for sales i.e. ClickBank products worth anywhere up $297.00 with up to 75% commissions on some products. This is the highest payments possible, but if you take the average product at say $47 with the average commission 55%, this is still $25.85 commission from one click.

3, You can choose your exact targeted ads with your own key words, this is not run by scanning content and producing as which sometimes are not relevant.  All ads are relevant to your website.

4, Easy to setup guides in the form of email and video tutorials.

5, You can even run the two ad programs side by side. Why have one automated income when you can have two

These are just some of the excellent features you can utilise to push your business further….

‘DID YOU WANT PROOF’

Take a look at Clickbank ad rotator for a comparison table and real screen shots of a weeks earning from both paid ad systems. You will then see the truth.

Remember CB Ad Rotator is not a replacement for AdSense, the two can run side by side. If you are looking for an extra form of income on complete auto pilot from your visitors, then this is paramount to your website success. If your AdSense empire come crashing down from a banned account then this is your salvation too.

Clickbank ad rotator The future of commission based ads is here.  Seriously, from one online marketer to another, this is a no brainer and another auto pilot income stream worth buying.

I have purchased Clickbank ad rotator and will slowly be removing the Adsense from my sites, including my blog, and replacing it will targeted Clickbank ads. 

There is also a special launch price for 72 hours, so go to Clickbank ad rotator now before the price goes up.

Thank you for reading

Marc.

Everybody gets spam, but what can we do about it?

Well, you can just ignore it and delete it, but that wont stop anymore coming to your inbox.  I report all the spam I get, and if we all do the same, we can help reduce spam for everyone.

I report my spam to a website called spamcop.  The website it www.spamcop.net. This link will open in a new window.

This is what you do, and it is very easy.

1. Goto www.spamcop.net and read the information and register an account.  It is completely free.  The most important thing to remember is only report email you know for sure is spam, i.e. unsolicited email.
2.  Log into your account.
3.  Click on the ‘Report Spam’ tab at the top of the screen.
4.  On the next screen is a blank box.  In the box you have to enter the email header.  After the header leave a blank line, then enter the email body, i.e. the email itself.  To do this, do the following:
      i) To get the email header in Outlook Express, open up the spam email.  From the drop down menu, click on File —->  Properties.  A box will open up with two tabs, General and Details.  Click on the details tab.  The text you now see, is the email header. Copy all of this text, and paste it into the window on spamcop and press enter to leave a blank line.  

To get the email header in hotmail.  Open the spam email and right click in the email body and select ‘view source’.  The header will now be displayed in a separate window.  Copy this text to the window in spamcop and press enter to leave a blank line.

I can’t tell you how to view the header from every email client and webmail service, but you should be able to work it out based on the above.

       ii)  After the blank line copy the email iteself into the window.  If your email is scanned by a virus checker such as AVG, take out this text, as it is not part of the email from the spammer.

      iiii)  Click the process spam button.  On the next screen, scroll down to the bottom and you will see a button ’send spam reports now’.  Just above this is a box where you can add additional information if you wish.  For example, you might want to say that the spammer has disclosed your email address to everyone else the email was sent to, or that the email was made to look like it came from eBay.  Either enter additional information or leave the box blank and click on the ’send spam reports now’ button. 

That’s all there is to it.

You can only report spam within 48 hours after it being sent to you.

You should start to notice a reduction in the amount of spam you are receiving.  I have.  Anyway, it helps to stop the spam from the source as explained on the spamcop website.

Lets all work together to help keep the internet a safe and enjoyable place.

I was listening to eBay radio the other day and the host was talking about how they have had 10 powersellers on the show each giving 5 of their top eBay selling tips.  Now if you want some eBay selling tips, who better to get them from than from powersellers.

The following powersellers are those that have been interviewed

Marsha Collier
Lynn Dralle
Janelle Elms
Mike Enos
Scott Greenwald
Adam Hersh
Debbie Levitt
Skip McGrath
Christopher Spencer
Lisa Suttora

Each of the above powersellers give 5 of their eBay selling tips.  It is all in mp3 audio, so you can listen on line when you want or download them and put them on your mp3 player.   The website you need to go to is www.50sellingtips.com

You will learn things like how to find out what buyers are wanting to buy, how to find stock and make over 100% profit as well as general tips for listing.

I hope you enjoy listening to these 10 short audios and use the information to help with your eBay success.

I have just realised something, and want to share with you as I think it is great.

This relates to my last two posts regarding the forthcoming changes on eBay.co.uk.

I mentioned that from the 24th September, there will no longer be shop inventory only listings.  You can currently list in your shop, items selling for £4.99 or less for just 3p without a gallery image, and 6p with.  These listings are only visible to people visiting your shop.  Until now……I have just found out by pure accident, that eBay shop inventory only items are now appearing in main search results on eBay.  So this means you can list your buy it now items for as little as 3p and they will appear in the main searches and appear for 30 days. 

I don’t think that eBay will pull your shop inventory listings on 24th September, they just wont allow you to list anymore from this date.  If you have an eBay store and you are planning on keeping it after the price increases, stop listing using the buy it now option and list using the shop inventory option.

On eBay.co.uk, there is currently a listing promotion on where if you list multiple items, you only pay one insertion fee.  When I first saw this, I didn’t know what it meant so I just ignored it.  Any way, today I have found out by a little guess work, so thought I would share it with my blog readers.

This only applies to shop listings and buy it now listings.  When you list an item, you can choose how many in that one listing you want to sell.  If you sell just one item, when that is sold, your listing ends.  If you want to relist it because you have more to sell, you obviously have to pay another insertion fee.  Usually, if you sell more than one item per listing, your listing fee increases based on the combined value of the number of items you are selling in that one listing. 

Well, this promotion basically means you can sell as many items as you want, as long as they are identical, in the one listing, and you only pay the listing fee as if you are only selling one item.  For example, if you are selling something for £4.99, you will pay 15p.  If you sell 5 in the one listing, normally you would pay a higher insertion fee,  However just now you will still only pay 15p.  What this means of course, is when you sell one of your items, your listing will still continue.

I sell mainly CD ROMs, so this is very useful and I only wished I new when the promotion first came out.  This promotion runs up until the 23rd September which is day before the fees change.  From the 24th September, this will be the norm.

Just thought I would share it with you.  If you have any questions about this, please leave a comment below and I will answer it.

Marc.

If you are an eBay seller, I’m sure you will have heard by now that eBay are changing their fees again.  This is on eBay.co.uk so I am not sure how it affects any other site, but in the past fee changes usually are all very similar and rolled out at roughly the same time.  So if you are not an eBay.co.uk seller please still read this post as it will still be relevant.

If you have not seen the new changes yet visit http://pages.ebay.co.uk/pricechange08/. (This will open in a new window).

These changes seem quite complicated at a glance, so I want to go through how these will affect you, depending on how and what you sell.

Firstly we currently have four different ways of listing our items for sale. 

• Auction
• Buy it now
• Shop inventory
• Classified ads.  I have no experience with classified ads, so I wont be talking about this.

Firstly, here is what the changes are briefly

Auctions - The insertion fees are not changing, however the final value fees are increasing from 7.5% to 8.75% for items that end under £29.99.  This is equivalent to an extra 1.25p from every pound you make.

Shop inventory - You can currently list items in your shop from 3p for 30 days.  These items are only visible to buyers who visit your shop, or occasionally will appear in main search results, but only at the end.  From 24th August, this type of listing will not exist.

Buy it now - Now, this is where the major changes are happening.  Currently, the insertion fee is based on how much you list your item for, and is from 10p for items 99p or less, to £1.30 for £100 or more.  From 24th August, all listings will cost the same no matter how much you list them for, but the fee you pay will depend on whether you have a shop or not, and if you do have a shop, what type of shop.   Also, you can now list buy it now listings for up to 30 days whereas before, you could only list for upto 10 days.   Click the link above to check the new fees based on this criteria.

Also note, that there will no longer be a charge for a gallery image.

So, how will these fee changes affect how you trade on eBay?  Well, I believe this will depend on the type of products you are selling, how many a month you sell,  how many of the same product you sell and list at once, and how much you are selling them for.  This is where we need to get out the trusty calculator to work through this.

These calculations are based on buy it now listings and assuming you list 100 items per month and sell on average 20% of them, i.e. 20 items are sold.  I’ve only based these figures on 100 so it is easier for you to work out your fees if you sell different amounts to this.  For example, if you list 300 items per month on average, then just multiply these figures by 3.  Of course it will depend on how much you are selling your items for, and what percentage of your items you sell.

If you do not have a shop

Pre 24th September costs
Assuming you sell items for £4.99
Listing fees - 100 x £0.15 = £15
We will not include the gallery image fee, as this has been free all summer anyway.
Final value fees based on 20 items sold @ £4.99 - (20 x £4.99) x 7.5% = £7.49
Total = £22.49

Post 24th September
Listing fees 100 x £0.40 = £40
Final value fees - (20 x £4.99) x 9.9% = £9.97
Total = £49.97

If you have a shop

Pre 24th September
Shop subscription = £6.00
Buy it now listing fees - 100 x £0.15 = £15
Assuming you also list in your shop inventory with a gallery image, because I do - 100 x £0.06 = £6
Final value fees based on sales from your buy it now listings - (20 x £4.99) x 7.5% = £7.49
Total = £34.99

Post 24th September
Based on basic shop fees
Shop subscription fee - £14.99
Listing fees - 100 x £0.20 = £20.00
Final value fees - (20 x £4.99) x 9.9% = £9.97
Total = £44.96

Based on featured shop fees
Shop subscription fee - £49.99
Listing fees - 100 x £0.05 = £5.00
Final value fees = £9.97
Total = £64.96

Based on anchor shop fees
Shop subscription fee - £349.99
Listing fees - 100 x £0.01 = £1.00
Final value fees - £9.97
Total = £360.96

So based on the above figures, you are better off pre 24th September without a shop, but post 24th September you will be better off with a basic shop.  But how many more listings would you need to make each month for it to be worth while upgrading to a featured shop?

Difference in subscription fee - £49.99 - £14.99 = £35
The difference in the listing fee is £0.15 per listing.  £35 / £0.15 = 233 listings.  So you would need to make a minimum of 133 more listings a month if you currently have 100 listings a month.  Post 24th September, it will also be irrelevant how much you list your buy it now items for, as the listing fees will be the same.

I mentioned earlier that this will affect different sellers in different ways based on their current listing patterns.   So I now want to look at another scenario.

I sell CD ROMs for which most cost £1.99.  Currently I list them on a buy it now for 10 days and just keep relisting them every 10 days or after a sale is made.  Currently I have 2 items available per listing as 3 ore more would increase the listing fee.  Post 24th September, I will be able to make available as many items as I like per listing and have a listing running for up to 30 days for 20p, as I have a basic shop.  So lets compare the fees based on this selling pattern. 

As before, I will base this on 100 listings per month.

Pre 24th September
Basic shop subscription fee - £6.00
Buy it now listing fees - (100 x £0.15) x 3 = £45 (x3 because at the moment a listing is for 10 days and there are 30 days in a month)
Shop inventory listing fees - 100 x £0.06 = £6.00
Final value fees based on sales from the buy it now listings - (60 x £1.99) x 7.5% = £8.96 (60 items sold as this is 20% of 3 x 100 listings)
Total = £65.96

Post 24th September
Basic shop subscription fee - £14.99
Buy it now listing fees - 100 x £0.20 = £20.00 (you will be able to list for upto 30 days, so no need to relist every 10 days)
Final Value fees - (60 x £1.99) x 9.9% = £11.82
Total = £46.81

In this scenario, you will be better of after 24th September.  See what I mean when I said these fee changes will affect sellers in different ways depending on how they sell, and what they are selling?

Here is another link which will show you which shop, if any, you will be better of having after the fee changes:

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/buyitnow08/illustrator.html (Will open in a new window)

I could go on for ever comparing fees depending on different sellers listing patterns, but I hope this gives you some idea of how you will be effected.

So what will you do on the 23rd of September, the day before these new fees come into effect.  Will you keep selling on eBay, will you get a shop if you haven’t already?  Please let me and your fellow readers know what your thoughts and ideas are on these changes by leaving a comment below.

Are you like me where you get inclusive minutes on your mobile phone and free calls on the landline?  If so, and I think most people do these days, then chances are the non std phone numbers are not included in the inclusive/free minutes.  Phone number like 0870 0871 0845 0844 even the free phone number 0800 0808 which ofcourse are free on your landline anyway, but not your mobile.  Some of these phone numbers can cost you around 10p per minute and the companies say they are not premium rate phone numbers.  Yeah, right okay, whatever.

Ladies and gentlement, allow me to introduce you to www.saynoto0870.com where you can either type in your non std phone number and it will search its database to give you other phone numbers including std phone numbers, or you can just search by company name.  I have used it on 4-5 occasions now to phone either my energy company, satelite TV supplier and others, and has not failed me yet. 

I have no affiliation with this website at all and that is not an affiliate link.  I just thought you might find it useful.  After all, saving money is a way of making money isn’t it?  The site is also supported by Martin Lewis and his website, www.moneysavingexpert.com.

Please let me know what you think of this website by leaving your comments below.  If you are not in the UK, but your country has a similar site, please share it with us, again by leaving a commnt below.

Regards,

Marc.

Hello,

I have found this really great website where for a one of payment, you can download unlimited amount of music, games, movies, tv shows.  Click HERE for more.

If you buy a lot of mp3’s through iTunes, rent movies, buy cd’s, then once you join this site, you will not have to pay for anything again.  It is a no brainer money saver.

You search for what you are looking for, download it, and if you want, burn it to CD or DVD.  They even provide you with the software for doing so.  Then once you have burnt it, you can watch the movies and TV shows on your television.

I think it is a brilliant idea, and if you like watching movies and/or listening to lots of music, then click HERE to sign up.

Please write any comments you have, or give other readers your own review below.

Enjoy!

Marc.

Hello all,

Since the digital ban came into effect on eBay earlier in the year, there have been many discussions on people’s blogs, forums and newsletters about the best way to deliver your products. 

I am slowly turning all of my ‘eBooks’ into multimedia CD ROMs and slowly but surely getting them listed on eBay.  At the time of writing this, I have about 30 products on eBay now.  You can visit my store, CD ROMS in my eBay store.

Before the digital ban came into effect, I was not aware how to create a CD ROM.  Sure I knew how to burn files to a CD, but I want to be, and create professional looking products.  Just sending a CD in a plastic sleeve with my hand writing on it of what the product was would not impress my customer, so I needed to learn how to do this properly.

It just so happens, I am a member of John Thornhill’s 90 day powerseller challenge site and John has done a superb job of updating his members area to reflect the change in eBay policy.  He has created step by step video tutorials on how to create CD ROMs and even provides templates which you are free to use if you wish, for both your listing and CD ROM.

So far I am very happy with how things are going.  I have made 5 sales which comes to the value of £17.95.  5 sales might not seem a lot, but I have only 30 different products listed and only just started listing them about one and a half weeks ago.  I am going to be adding more and more products, and I am confident I will be mailing more and more CD’s.

Before the digital ban came into effect on eBay, there were literally hundred’s of people selling eBooks on eBay.  This ofcourse meant competition was high.  Now if you do a search for CD ROMs, there only seems to be a handful of people selling them.    This means there is little or no competition.  I would recommend this as a form of income from your internet venture.  I highly recommend John Thornhill’s 90 day powerseller program. 

Another product highly recommended which will show you how to create your own CD ROM is Digital Media Solutions.

This, ofcourse, is one solution to the digital ban on eBay.  Once I have increased my inventory in my eBay store, I will then be looking at other avenues for selling my digital products, and as ever, my blog readers will be the first to read about my findings.

Hi all,

Yes, my eBook website is back.  For those of you who have purchased from me before, you will now experience a much more efficient eBook delivery system, more features including the option to sign up to my newsletter and receive some mystery gifts and eBook subject categories.

Please visit www.info-sources.co.uk or you can click on Info-Sources eBook website under ‘My other website’ category on the right.

Once you have seen my website and you like the look of it, you can get one yourself.  Just click on the link under ‘Recommended products’ Become an eBay powerseller and read the sales page and you will discover the money earning potential of having your own eBook website and also learn how to CASH IN with selling eBooks on eBay.

I hope you like my new eBook website and I would appreciate your comments.

Regards,

Marc.