Twitter, everybody loves Twitter, so what on Earth could be ‘even better than Twitter’s Micro Blog platform’?

I’ll get back to TweetGlide in a minute but first let me explain my problems with Twitter.

You are probably the same as me, you understand the potential of Twitter, you love how it allows you to follow people who influence you as well as allowing those you influence to follow you.

So, you spend a lot of time promoting your Twitter profile, probably just as much as you promote your website and blog! Here’s the thing, although Twitter ultimately owns your profile, wouldn’t it be a great place to promote yourself just that little bit more than just having that one single link in your ‘about me’ area.

Okay, you can upload your own Twitter background with a few images of links but that isn’t as powerful as providing your profile viewers with a clickable link.

But what if you could? What if you could add some elements directly to your Twitter profile page that gave you extra promotional possibilities for yourself and your business? What if you could monetize your profile, wouldn’t that be great?

Some people absolutely hate sponsored Tweets but I haven’t heard much objection to monetizing the Twitter profile page itself.

Well, all the things you wished you could do with your Twitter profile just became possible!

Take a close look at the two screenshots below and tell me if you can spot any differences?

Screenshot 1

Screenshot 2

I bet you noticed straight away that the second screenshot has 125×125 sized banner ads. Let me share another screenshot of that particular sidebar so you can take an even closer look.

After the ads I have a widget that shares the recent posts from my blog followed by my DandyID buttons that allow people to connect with me on other social networking sites. I also, at the time of writing, have a ProfileFly button and a share on Facebook button.

Have you guessed how I’ve done this?

Returning to the title of this post, I made a claim that there was something even more important than TweetGlide! Don’t get me wrong, the desktop app is great at what it does and if you haven’t downloaded it yet then I recommend you get it now!

Here’s the link: TweetGlide Desktop Application

More important than the TweetGlide app is the accompanying blog that you also get! Why? Because it is a more powerful version of Twitter, allowing you to make the changes you only wished Twitter would allow you to make.

What’s more, the changes I made to my profile took me five minutes. Just imagine what you could do if you took the time to really play around with it.

You’ll need to download TweetGlide to gain access to your very own version of the blog.

Fire-up TweetGlide and then locate the manage blog button. Click on the button and your default browser will load your profile blog page with you already logged in.

When you click on the settings button at the top of your TweetGlide profile page you will be taken to the back-office as seen in the screenshot below.

As you can see, the elements that I have added to my profile page are managed by placing code into the individual widget boxes.

You can then choose the order of how the widgets are displayed by using a drag-and-drop panel as seen below.

You probably have lots of ideas of how you can improve your profile page so what are you waiting for, if you don’t have TweetGlide yet go and download it now.

If you come up with a customisation idea that you think is truly awesome then come back here and leave a comment with your TweetGlide profile link so I can take a look!

I think you’ll agree with me when I say that the blog is probably more important than the application itself.

To your success,

Karl Foxley

P.s. Are you following me on Twitter yet?

P.s.s Don’t forget that you can place optimised links on your TweetGlide profile using keyword rich ‘anchor’ text. Just another benefit of getting one of these blogs for yourself.

There are some things that annoy me about budding affiliate marketers! Before you shoot me down, I understand how difficult it can be to make money online, especially when you are buying into one system after another and each one promises to make you rich in record time, and in the process, emptied your pocket of some more of your hard earned money.

It can be hard, and knowing who to follow or what system teaches the best marketing methods that are both ethical and profitable can be a mined field. I understand that through desperation it can be tempting to take short cuts, but if you do any of the following, please stop!

Here they are and in no particular order.

1. DM (Direct Message) on Twitter

Okay, Twitter is a great communication tool but please do not send me a DM with a link to the latest affiliate product you are promoting. I really don’t need help to ‘explode my profits’ or ‘build a massive list’. You see, if you are promoting a product in such a way then the product isn’t working that well for you. Think about it, I got a DM telling me about a sneaky new program that will help me dominate Google. So why is this person sending me a message on Twitter instead of doing as the product promised, and flooding the search engines with his money making content?

2. Instant Message on Facebook

This is just as bad as the Twitter DM. I love to chat with people on Facebook and build worthwhile connections but please don’t pop up in the instant chat with a link to the ‘latest opportunity’ that I may be interested in. If this is your first contact with me then why not start out with a ‘hi, how are you doing?’ As for your product, I’m NOT interested, sorry! The MLM crowd are just as bad when they are ‘seeking leaders’ to promote a ‘new and innovative’ product in England. I’m happy with what I’m doing right now and promoting ‘health products’ or ‘recruiting an army’ of marketers who will ‘promote the products under me and make me rich’ just doesn’t work for me… I’ll leave this one here.

3. Email Marketing

Okay, you’ve just bought the latest must-have product that is going to make you a lot of money but please, test the product before you try to sell it to me. I am on a lot of Internet marketers lists, some are personal friends, others are people I follow in the industry and then there are those that were a part of my ‘early Internet marketing days’ when every one had the magic key to success (or a great squeeze page ). I get lots of products for free, due to beta invites or joint venture deals and it takes hard work to be fortunate enough to get into this position; building relationships the correct way is one of the best ways to get the invites and the offers.

Another thing that is annoying me of late is the level rigidity that people follow a new ‘trick that will increase conversions’. Example, nearly every affiliate marketer is sending out emails with RE: or FW: in the subject line as this is meant to increase open rates. This makes sense, my close family and friends send me emails with RE: or FW: so why wouldn’t it work for affiliate marketers too. Well, here is where it doesn’t work, when every single email you now send out has RE: or FW: at the beginning. You are now diluting the effectiveness of this ‘proven and powerful’ technique that was guaranteed to boost your conversion rates. Bottom line, do not overdo it (this applies to any marketing method).

4. Pre-Written Marketing Materials.

I have been guilty of this one myself in the past but I wouldn’t dream of doing it today! Why? Cause now I know better. Some affiliate programs have pre-written emails already for you to copy-and-paste into your auto-responder but that doesn’t mean you should just grab the email and send it out to your list.

I get the same promotion from hundred of marketers each and every time a new product is launched. The marketing message that always stands out are those that are original. The guys and gals that have taken the time to compose their own original message for their subscribers; try to be one of these.

While I’m discussing this I may as well also say that just because a guy makes lots of money with PPC and then makes a product teaching you how to do the same, this doesn’t now make him someone who is an awesome copywriter. Sending out emails that are not written with your personal flare may even harm your relationship with your list as the tone will be different to your own.

5. Joint Venture Email Swaps

Joint ventures and email swaps can be a great way of growing a list and making money in the process but please do not ask me to promote a product to my list of subscribers that is not your own. I will NOT send an email with your affiliate link in promoting someone else’s product when I can simply sign-up for that affiliate program for myself. This just doesn’t make sense.

Now I’ve told you what not to do, I want share with you what you should be doing. You should be a member of Opportunity.com because then you will have access to a wealth of affiliate marketing training and resources that ‘can’t fail to make you more knowledgeable about making money online as an affiliate marketer, the correct way!

To your success,

Karl Foxley

photo credit: nromagna

I recently created a post about Polite SEO that spoke about blog commenting as a way of building links and how NOT to do it!

The secondary reason was that Polite SEO generates 170 global searches per month according to the Google Keyword Tool.

As it never hurts to go after the low hanging fruit I figured I would target polite SEO and see what happens.

What I discovered when I was checking on my progress is quite interesting and something I want to share with you.

Although the report is about micro-blogging in general, it does feature information about the ever popular Twitter (for some this is the only micro-blogging platform of choice).

What you will see below is a PDF document that is Day 4 of our Website Promotion Success Email Mini-Course.

I recommend you sign-up for the course and to our newsletter as you will get extra benefits that you will not get from reading the blog alone.

The report you are about to read covers the benefits of micro-blogging, how to get started and some useful resources you may find handy.

In the report you will also find a list of other micro-blogging platforms that you can use as an alternative to Twitter or alongside, depending on your needs and time restraints.

Micro-blogging sites are amongst the most popular websites on the Internet today and you’d be crazy not to tap into the marketing (conversation) potential.

The report is short but is packed with practical information that you can start implementing straight away.

If you find the text is too small then use the buttons on the top right side of the document to switch to full screen mode or toggle page size. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy the report useful.

To your success,

Karl Foxley

photo credit: M i x y