The year 2009 was the year of slaps, smack and strict rules in the world of web 2.0. Social networking sites saw a mammoth rise in membership by marketers, followed by a surge of spammers and eventually got punished by Google for their leniency.

So their slap by the search engines is being passed down to you. Everyone has tightened their belts, restricted certain content, lessened the number of links you can use – and implemented any other rule to prevent Google from doling out the same harsh punishment in the future.

Social networking was once a way for peers to share information and opinions – it’s so much more than that now. It paved the way for marketers to immerse themselves in communities where targeted consumers were lurking, converting peer traffic into click-throughs and sales.

It probably would have been smooth sailing if everyone had done his or her part to provide great content and keep topics above the board. But it’s inevitable that when a good thing surfaces (like web 2.0), spammers and seedy characters will suck it dry of any opportunity it possesses.
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Expect more competition both as a product creator and an affiliate marketer on ClickBank. While this prediction might make you squirm a bit, consider it a beneficial forecast. A thriving marketplace attracts more consumers.

ClickBank just introduced three tutorial videos to help bring on German, French and Spanish speaking sellers and affiliates. This will help widen the global audience and your potential for sales.

They will be doing more handholding for the masses, training product creators to stay above the board and not spam or do unethical things, and training affiliates to utilize tools to make more sales.

For example, in a recent ClickBank blog post, they even advised affiliates to use PLR to help promote ClickBank products. That’s a positive thing for marketers, because many online companies frown on PLR, not understanding its ability in the marketplace.
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If you’re one of those online marketers who keep saying, “I know, I know – I haven’t built a list yet,” then shame on you. I’m going to make sure you understand the importance of having an autoresponder system in place for the 2010 marketing year.

There are too many marketers who are lazy about list building. Then they have the nerve to complain that they’re not making much money – only a few hit or miss sales even though they’ve had ample traffic.

Most of the time, it takes a few communications with a consumer to convert them into a buyer. You can’t expect to continually come up on their search radar and be the one out of millions they choose until you happen to snag them as a customer.

With new FTC regulations, you won’t be able to convert as easily since hyped up testimonials and sales copy will be against the rules, so an autoresponder as your list building tool will help you convert people using less risky verbiage, allowing you to educate and inform your prospects over time. Read the rest of this entry