Have you ever wondered how brands, affiliate marketers and ad agencies create super effectively and highly profitable ad campaigns from pop up style ads that appear on your mobile device and across the internet?

If so, you’re in luck! As today we will be highlighting the basics of Push Ads, while also walking through the most basic and advanced steps in setting up a campaign. We’ll even be covering affiliate marketing, and what makes it the perfect partner in push advertising.

By the end of this article, you will have a much better idea on everything you need to know about finding and promoting affiliate offers that make profits.

What Are Push Ads?

Push Ads are short notification messages combined with an icon or image that appears on users smartphones on computer screens as soon as they are triggered.

Push notifications are sent by websites or apps, and most of the time used for weather forecasts, news, alerts, social media updates, or whatever types of info you want to see.

So basically, Push Ads delivers advertisements instead of weather, social media or other kinds of information.

How it works is pretty simple, visitors first must agree to receive push notifications from a website or app. then ads are sent to the user’s mobile phone or computer in a notification form, then when they click on the notification, they will be directed to a landing page or directly to the promoted offer, it’s up to you.

What is Affiliate Marketing with Paid Ads?

Affiliate marketing allows you to earn commissions from promoting other company’s products or services.

You can become an affiliate by signing up to that affiliate programs and you will get a special link that allows them (the seller) to track the people who clicked on your special link (affiliate link) and simply if they buy something (or complete some kind of action like signing up to a newsletter, or downloading something etc.), you earn a commission.

So affiliates can get paid in more ways, sometimes you don’T even have to sell anything, in some programs it’s enough to take some kind of action, like filling out a contact form or signing up for a specific website.

Affiliate marketing with paid ads basically mean you buy traffic from some kind of traffic source (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Zeropark, Taboola, etc.) and send that traffic to the affiliate offer you promote.

To start affiliate marketing with paid ads you will not need an established website to get started, you can simply use a 1 page website (landing page) to send visitors to to pre-sell the user on the product you are promoting.

This method is the fastest possible way to get traffic to your affiliate offers, however you need some knowledge on how to run these ads on various platforms, how to optimise and things like that.

But the whole point of this strategy is to make more money from these affiliate programs then you spend on advertising.

Why Affiliate Marketing Is A Legitimate Way to Make Money Online

Affiliate marketing is the best way to earn money from promoting already popular products for example. Every merchant needs advertisers to grow their business and profit, so basically they need you.

And you don’t even have to create your own product which can be very complicated and time consuming, basically you are the middle man who makes the connection between the customer and the seller.

Affiliate marketing allows you to make good money, you can do it from home or anywhere you want, and you can even generate passive income while you sleep.

Why Spy Tools Are A Must In the Affiliate Marketers Toolbox

With Spy Tools you can easily spy on your competitors ads, you can see how they are running their campaigns, what landing pages they are using, what ads images, texts etc. and most importantly, what are their winner combinations.

So you can determine which ads, landers, offers are performing the best right now, and you can use this information to get an idea what you should run for yourself.

One of the most important things in Affiliate Marketing is to always start testing proven offers, and by proven I mean offers that are doing well for other affiliates.

And the easiest way to find proven offers is by using a spy tool, that’s why it’s extremely important!

How To Find Offers and Verticals That Are Making Money For Others through Spy Tools

As I mentioned above Spy Tools will make your job a lot easier, when it comes to finding proven verticals and offers.

My favorite Spy Tool is Adplexity. They offer spy tools for different traffic sources and verticals like Mobile, Desktop, Native, Push, Ecommerce and more.

So for this guide we are going to use Adplexity PUSH.

By loading up Adplexity Push it will show you the most recent ads being launched on Push traffic sources.

In the left sidebar you can set different filters like Date, Device Type, Ad Category, Country, Connection, Traffic Source, Affiliate Network, etc.

You can start spying and looking for verticals just by firing up Adplexity and scrolling and see what others are running the most,

If you see something pop up multiple times while you are searching, that means it’s doing good, otherwise they would not run it.

For the best results set the date filter for the last 30 days

Then go to the top right corner and select ’’Received most traffic’’  by doing this it will sort the ads for you based on which ads received the most traffic in the last 30 days.

Then you can browse through the best performing ads based on receiving the most traffic, and see what pops up multiple times.

As I see right now, dating and sweepstakes are hot on push, so it would be a good idea to try to run those.

To see more details, like landing pages, geos, traffic sources and more, simple just click on the ads.

On this page you can see the ad image, ad text, the target Country, Device types, Connection type and the Landing page.

If you scroll down you can see even more data, like the top publishers, placements and traffic sources

To see the landing page click on the red ’show more’ button in the landing page section.

And click through the links in the redirect chain.

So here’s the Landing page in this example:

Then if you click through the landing page, you will be redirected to the offer.

So here’s the offer:

So this is how you can see the ads, landers and offers runned by other affiliates.

You can also download these landing pages and edit them to make them your own.

To download a landing page simple click on the ’’Download this landing page’’ button.

So when you find the vertical you want to run you can use the filters to find ads in that specific vertical. 

Let’s say we want to run Sweepstakes in the US.  

I can just go to the left sidebar, locate Ad Category and select Sweeps:

Then I set the Country filter to United States:

Or you can just simply type in specific keywords to the search box and search for ads that include you keyword in the landing page or in the ad text.

Then to find the best performing ones, use the 2 additional filters I showed you before, set the date filter to ’Last 30 Days’ and sort the ads by ’Received most traffic’.

How to Prepare Your own Image Ads and Angles and Landing Pages for Your Push Campaign

The best way to make your own Images and Angles is by looking at the current top performing campaigns in Adplexity Push.

Select the top 10 ads, make a note of the ad texts, and write your own ones based on those. If you find it hard, try to reword them or hire a writer to write very similar texts.

You can do the same thing with the images.

Find the best performers and create new images based on those.

The required image size from push creatives on Zeropark is 192×192 pixels.

So you can create a blank image in photoshop (or whatever you use) 

then create your own images from there.

Here’s an example:

When it comes to the Landing pages you can work with the same principle.

Locate the best performing landing pages in Adplexity, then you can easily download them. You can actually just ’’rip and run’’ if you want, however I don’t recommend doing that.

It’s always better to add your own twists to your landers.

So it’s better if you rip a few and use them as templates, then you can easily change the text and the images with a source code editor like Notepad++ or Sublime text.

But weter you just rip’n run or change things in the landers, keep in mind, there might be malicious codes and hidden scripts in those landing pages, designed by pro coders to steal your traffic. People usually call these scripts ’Clickjacking’ or Click stealers.

So if you don’t know how to spot these malicious scripts I highly recommend hiring someone to clean these landers for you.

I always clean my landing pages with bannerslanders.com and I highly recommend them!

How to Setup a Campaign on ZeroPark PUSH Traffic Source

Setting up and launching your campaign is actually the easiest part of the job.

To get started go to Zeropark, from the dashboard click on New campaign and select Push.

Next is selecting your campaign’s targeting type. First you should always start with a RON campaign which allows you to buy all the available traffic in the chosen Country, and later when you are optimizing, you can launch Target and Source campaigns based on the data you got from the RON campaign.

Next you need to name your campaign and choose the Country you want to target.

Next you set the Bid, Daily budget, device type you want to target (always create separate campaigns for each device you want to target) 

Then it’s time to upload the creatives and texts.

To add your creatives you can drag and drop all your creative at once, or you can click on browse and add them one by one.

Then you need to add the Title and Description and that’s it.

The maximum number of creatives you can use per campaign is 10.

Then finally you need to add your Destination URL (your tracking campaign URL)  and set up S2S postback for tracking purposes.

*You can always reach out to your rep at Zeropark if you need help with setting up the postbacks properly.

That’s it,  campaign created, now you just need to wait for the approval.

How to Analyze the Data & Kill The Bad and Leave The Good

When your campaign is approved and starts getting traffic, you should go to your tracking software immediately and check the tracking campaign report.

If everything was set correctly you should be able to see the data coming through the dynamic variables (creative id, source id, campaign id ect.)

In Redtrack you can check this by locating your campaign and clicking on the repost icon:

Then if you check the reports on the Sub IDs

You should be able to see the data coming through like this:

If you can’t see anything there (but you already see some clicks) then it means that something is wrong, so in that case pause your campaign and troubleshoot the problem because it’s crucial to be able to see the data you are buying.

Without it you won’t be able to optimise and make your campaigns profitable later.

So after a day or so when you have enough data you should start optimizing your campaign.

I always start with Landing pages and Creatives.

So click go to your campaign stats, click on ’Landing’

And as you can see I already have some significant data. One of my LPs got 20 conversions, the other one only 9.

So it clearly means that my first Landing page is better so I can stop the other one.

Next I do the same thing with creatives. 

Check the data on your creatives and cut the ones that are significantly worse then the others. Only keep the ones that perform best.

*TIP: Creatives burn out pretty quickly on push traffic, so I suggest checking and optimizing your creatives every day. When you cut some, always add a few more that are very similar to the best performing ones.

Next we need to focus on optimising the placements.

Since we are running a RON campaign, we are buying all the available traffic in all available placements. 

Some placements are doing good and some are horrible, that’s why it’s super important to get rid of the bad ones that are eating up your money as soon as possible.

You should start with killing the bad placements that spend 1-2X the offer payout and not getting any Conversions.

You need to do this regularly until you left with the best placements for your campaign.

How to Scale The Winning Combinations

A great way to start scaling your winning combinations is by launching separate campaigns with the best placements, ads and lander combinations.

So we are going to launch another campaign, but this time instead of choosing RON at the beginning, we are going to go with ’Target’.

This way we can upload the top performing sources (targets) from our RON campaign and run ads only on those sources.

The easiest way to do this is by exporting your data from Redtrack, then copy paste the best ones.

To do this go back to Redtrack, click on your campaigns report icon, select ’Target id’ in the Subs menu, then click on ’Export’

Then go back to Zeropark, set up your campaign the same way as you did before, and at the end it will ask you to add the Target IDs.

You just need to copy the best targets from the CSV file you exported and paste them here, and that’s it.

You can also scale by playing with the bids, and with the daily budget. You can raise them carefully and see if they become more profitable or not. 

Also you can scale your winning campaign to other traffic sources as well.

So grab the same ads, creatives, landers and launch new campaigns on different traffic sources if you want to scale even further.

About the Author:

In the past, very few people could travel and work at the same time. At the moment, we have so many digital nomads that are changing the narratives about working and traveling. Remote working has become so popular, giving all kinds of people the freedom to explore the world without putting their careers on the line.

While some business travelers can manage to do a few works in a café, many prefer co-working spaces. It may not be difficult to find a co-working space in some cities, but finding the perfect one can be tough.

Here are five tips that can help you out.

Determine Your Needs

If this is the very first time you are going to use a co-working space while traveling, it is important that you create a list of everything you need to do. Even if you have done it many times in the past, you should assess your specific needs at any time, since work goals may differ from time to time. Be sure of what you need to achieve and everything you will need in a co-working space. This will help you make an informed decision when you consider your options.

Do Background Research

A simple Google search will reveal the top co-working spaces in the city you are traveling to. Consider those that are highly rated. For instance, if you are visiting Houston, Texas, or the surrounding areas, a great option may be Novel Coworking Houston. However, do not depend on Google reviews alone. Go deeper to learn about the space and determine if it has the capacity to meet your needs.  

When it comes time to research possible co-locations for work while on travel, it’s important to know about the many different options available. As seen through the Novel Coworking site, office suites, office space, dedicated desks and virtual offices are continually among the most efficient and requested options available.

Consider the Location

If you are staying in the city for days, you need to consider the location of the co-working space from your accommodation, along with means of transportation. You also need to make sure that the co-working office space is located in a safe neighborhood. Consider office style, available amenities, internet speed, and other important factors. A physical tour of the space is also necessary if you are going to work there for a week or more. Make sure the atmosphere is conducive and aligns with your work goals. 

Consider Working Hours

This is one of the most important things to consider in choosing a co-working space. You want to make sure that it will be open during your most productive hours. If you work best at night, you will want a space that stays open at night.

And of course, while performing any type of work, you’ll want to eliminate as many distractions as possible. Such productivity killers include being on your phone, gossiping with other workers and internet surfing while trying to get work done in your co-working space.

Depending on what you are looking to get done, and when, some co-working spaces are open round-the-clock. Consider their working hours and make sure it is in line with your needs.

Make Sure It Fits Your Budget

You don’t have to create a hole in your pocket simply because you want a good co-working space. Consider your budget and the price of the co-working spaces in the city or town you are traveling to. There must be affordable options that will meet your needs.

In Summary…

Anytime you travel or find yourself in a new environment, co-working spaces can provide you with the ideal temporary workspace to continue working. However, you should determine your needs, research about the area, consider your location and working hours. With this, you can find the ideal co-working office that meets your needs and budget.

When it comes to marketing, every method is the same as long as it yields results, right? Actually, there’s a variety of ways to market and a difference depending on what techniques get used.

But what are the key differences between inbound vs outbound marketing? And is one better than the other when it comes to generating interest that converts to sales?

This ultimately all comes down to what you are trying to promote to an audience, how that market can take action, and also how you can measure your results as well.

As we all known, online advertising is much easier to set up and track, versus offline advertising. The good thing about ‘inbound’ and ‘outbound’ marketing methods, is that they can also be tracked in the same way.

Learn more about inbound vs outbound marketing, and see which techniques can bring the most success to your business.

Understanding Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing techniques focus on giving customers (or potential customers) information and letting them decide how to execute a plan or suggestion. That means presenting consumers with information in the form of blog posts, social media and even a white paper or other free downloads that would inspire them to purchase something.

Inbound marketing ideas range from making use of your website to curating other viral content that folks take interest in. By combining your own ideas with that of other people, you’ll gain attention in what you have to offer.

It sometimes takes a while to build up viewers for this type of marketing. However, many people view this as working smarter, not harder, and believe that a focused effort on this type of marketing pays off in the long-term.

If you like the idea of appealing to folks but not doing a hard sell, inbound marketing is a form of promotion to consider for your business.

In the eyes of Google, it’s also important to make sure that your content not only delivers a message — but also that it’s one of the most in-depth and detailed articles out there. If you are going to focus your efforts on inbound marketing and writing content, put in the time and effort to make sure they each have at least 1,500+ words of content per article.

Know What Outbound Marketing Involves

In contrast to inbound marketing, outbound marketing involves traditional methods that have long been staples in the business world.

Some of these forms of marketing include:

• Cold calling
• Ads on TV, billboards etc
• Focuses on the product

Many people gravitate toward this type of marketing simply because it’s what they’re used to. The idea of approaching customers and trying to make a sale with folks who might not necessarily express interest is not a concern for those who use outbound marketing techniques.

Outbound marketing has a place in today’s world of promotion. For example, it can prove useful for branding and making a company’s name known but isn’t always the best option when it comes to gaining long-term customers.

You can read more now about the differences between inbound marketing vs outbound marketing. Knowing how to apply marketing to your company’s needs makes a difference in how well it can work.

What Today’s Consumers Want

Many consumers today are wise when it comes to marketing and what someone’s selling. They fully expect to get upsold and asked to buy the most expensive option on the market.

With that in mind, it’s better to appeal to an individual’s intellect before anything else.

One of the best ways to do this (and encourage sales in the process) is through content creation. If your company doesn’t already have a blog and make use of search engine optimization with content, you’re missing out.

Blogging and SEO go hand-in-hand with attracting the right kinds of consumers who actively seek your products and want to purchase from you. Since more consumers are on social media now more than ever, posting and discussing information on there does wonders for increasing company growth.

Another factor to consider is how well cold calling works when most people don’t want to pick up their phones anymore. Many people screen calls with caller ID or even block unknown numbers from calling.

You’re likely to get ahead more using techniques that get your product and services in front of folks, but don’t force them to read more if they’re not interested. If you’re curious about how blogging can help your business, check out a previous post on this here.

The Key Differences Between Inbound vs Outbound Marketing

Now that we’ve discussed the two types of marketing, what are the key differences between the two?

In general, inbound marketing drives the customer to you. You can do this through written content on your blog or website, social media outreach, and even engaging folks on a forum or other public form of communication.

While you might not make a sale right away, you’re developing a relationship with folks interested in what you have to offer. That is considered more important when it comes to marketing than trying to make a quick one-time sale.

In contrast, outbound marketing generally means you go to the customer. You’ll do this by cold calling, going on the radio or making a TV commercial, and even engaging in print advertisements.

Many of your outbound marketing methods are old-fashioned and direct. The focus is on the product and what it does, rather than the individual and what they need. If you’re concerned about approaching people in a laid-back fashion, this isn’t the method you’d use.

Can You Do Both?

Now that you know the difference between the two marketing methods, you’re likely asking yourself, “is it possible to do both?” The answer is yes.

Use outbound marketing sparingly, and to help establish your company’s brand. This allows people to know what you’re about and to get your name out there.

When you want to cultivate meaningful connections and show how your products or services can change someone’s life, use inbound marketing. This allows people to learn more about your product and how you can help them succeed.

There’s no reason not to do both. It just depends on your company and how you’d like to reach people and have them remember you.

Discover More

Now that you know the differences between inbound vs outbound marketing, you can see how to apply them to your business for success. Choosing to blog or utilize social media instead of cold calling can help push your business to new heights as you reach a large number of people.

Does your company have a social media plan? If not, check out our blog post on the importance of social media marketing, and see how having one can grow your business even more.

What are the best programming languages you need to know in 2019?

People who are new to coding will find that there are a ton of programming languages to learn. Of course, you want to start with the easiest programming language.

However, at the same time, it’s important to realize that you don’t need to code in order to have a website or blog. WordPress has made the process of creating a site or making a blog extremely easy — with little-to-no coding or design skills ever required.

Surprisingly, there isn’t an easy answer to find the best programming language to learn. This article will break down all of the basic programming languages.

Which one is the easiest programming language? Read on to find out which programming language you should start with.

Best Programming Languages to Learn

In order to decide which programming languages to learn, you should have an idea as to why you want to learn to code.

Are you starting a new affiliate marketing business? Maybe you want to jump to a more lucrative career. Programmers often start at six-figures, making it one of the more lucrative jobs.

Some programming languages are great if you’re planning to create an app, while others are great for building a website. The best programming language to learn is the one that you can grasp easily and apply in your work right away.

1. Python

If you want to start with an easy and versatile programming language, start with Python. It is a very popular language and would be the best programming language to learn for almost any application.

Companies are migrating to Python to handle data management to building web applications.

2. JavaScript

The best programmers love and hate JavaScript. They love it because it allows you to be creative in creating websites. On the downside, it’s virtually impossible to solve bugs in your code when things aren’t working.

Overall, JavaScript is used to develop programs online, making it a widely used program.

3. Ruby on Rails

Developers love Ruby on Rails and many consider this the best programming language to learn. It’s used quite a bit in website development, and you’ll see it on the backend of sites like Air BnB and Hulu.

The reason why developers love it so much is because it’s intuitive and fun. Many people will tell you to learn this language first.

4. PHP

Facebook, WordPress, and Yahoo! Are run on PHP. If you’re looking to develop WordPress websites, PHP is the language to learn.

It’s not intimidating for people just starting out to code to learn PHP. If your dream is to make money through affiliate marketing sites, then this language would be a good one to learn.

5. C++

This is a programming language that’s been around forever. It’s been around for so long, it’s considered to be a language that’s obsolete.

While it is a legacy programming language, it’s still very useful. It’s alive and well in assisting engineers to solve complex mathematical equations in an instant.

It’s also used to develop games, and system software. As you can see, this programing language is alive and well.

6. C#

In the corporate world, you’ll see a lot of companies that use Microsoft’s .NET framework. Pronounced C-Sharp, this language is meant to make development easier to learn than other programming languages from Microsoft.

If you want to develop games, you’re definitely going to need to know both C++ and C#.

7. SQL

What does SQL stand for? Structured Query Language. What does that mean? It’s a language that’s used to extract, update, and delete information in databases.

While some people view SQL as an old and cumbersome way to communicate with databases, but it’s the best way there is.

You’ll see SQL used in WordPress sites and projects that contain large databases.

8. Swift

Swift is one of those programming languages that not many people know. If you plan on developing an app, you’ll want to be familiar with it. This is the programming language that’s used to drive iOS apps.

If you want to fast track your learning, this is a great language to know. Think of this way, there are millions of iOS devices out there, from phones to watches. This presents a great opportunity for you to get your business out to a larger audience or join a company that develops apps.

How to Learn to Code

You know which programming languages you want to learn. How should you go about learning? There are many options to learn to code. The most common ways to learn is to go to school for a degree, programming boot camps, and teaching yourself.

No matter where you start, you should read a few books about the history of computer programming. This will give you a background on the various programming languages and how they evolved. One such book is “The Art of Computer Programming,” which by many is a book that has shaped computer science.

There are also algorithms in there that are tied to Babylonian tablets from 3000 years ago.

If you want to learn Python, you can learn with a few good books and videos that are available online. There are also courses where you can learn Python and data science, which can help you take your skills to another level.

There are blogs, books, course, and more that you can use to learn just about any programming language. Most programmers are self-taught, and it is possible that you can do the same.

If you’re serious about learning to code, you’ll need to be disciplined about learning.

The best thing you can do is to set up a schedule to study your chosen programming language.

Start Your Programming Adventure

In 2019, you want to have the best opportunities in front of you. Whether you’re building a business or want to give your career a fresh boost, programming languages are great to know.

You can create customizations on your websites, build apps, or do anything your imagination wants.

Want to know more? Check out this article on building a million dollar website.

Did you spend most of this year struggling to figure out how to grow your email list? If you did, don’t worry you’re not alone. Many small businesses and new bloggers can’t quite discover the secret sauce that many other websites use to grow their email list from nothing into hundreds of thousands of subscribers.

But fear not, there are some easy to implement tips and tricks that will help you build an email list full of loyal fans who will hang on your every word, become brand ambassadors for your business, and buy your products or services again and again.

Get ready to ring in the new year with a ton of new subscribers, check out these seven tips to boost email subscribers in 2020.

1. Offer a Content Upgrade

Everyone loves getting a free gift, so use that to your advantage when growing your email list. Offering a freebie or content upgrade to your website visitors in exchange for their email address is one of the easiest ways to get more subscribers in 2019. People won’t hesitate to join your email list when you’re offering extra content that’s relevant to your niche.

You can use a free tool like Canva to easily create PDF guides, checklists, worksheets, calendars, templates, and more. One great tip is to turn your most popular existing blog post into a content upgrade. It will be less work for you to put together because you’re not coming up with new ideas from scratch and you know it will perform well.

2. Add an Opt-In at End of Articles

When a visitor has just finished reading one of your useful blog posts they’re fully engaged and in the mood to subscribe, so give them the opportunity to do so by adding an opt-in at the end of your articles. You already know they’re loving your content because they’re reading it, which makes it the perfect moment to turn them from reader to subscriber.

Like in the example below, you can let readers know that if they enjoyed the article they just read, they can get more of the same great content by signing up for your email list.

You can easily create a sleek looking opt-in that will grab the attention of users and convince them to sign up.

3. Create an Exit-Intent Popup.

Another amazing way to catch the attention of website visitors and encourage them to become subscribers is to use an exit-intent popup. Many people will come across a great article on your website, read it, and never return again. In fact, over 70 percent of people who leave your website will never return. So in order to convert abandoning site visitors into subscribers, you need to add an exit-intent popup to your site.

You can build a stunning exit-intent popup in minutes using a tool like OptinMonster. An exit-intent message works like this: When a user is on your site, the exit-intent technology tracks when they’re about to leave and then displays a targeted message to them at exactly the right time. So before you’ve lost a visitor forever, you can turn them into a subscriber.

4. Promote Your List on Social Media

You can’t expect to grow your email list if you don’t promote it. That’s why it’s important to promote your email list not just on your own website but on social media too. There are a number of ways to promote your email list on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn etc., including:

• Sharing your blog posts on social media and include hashtags related to your niche
• Adding a link to your profile bio
• Pinning your email list opt-in to the top of your profile
• Join Facebook groups relating to your niche
• Make connections and interact with people in comment sections

Promoting your email list on social media will widen your reach; you’ll introduce your blog and your email list to online users who have never heard of or visited your website before.

5. Add a Contact Form to Your Site

If you’re a blogger you might think that having a contact form on your website isn’t necessary for you, but it is. Your website visitors need an easy way to contact you if they have any questions or if they just have something to say, plus you can use a contact form to grow your email list. You can create a contact form with a field for an email address that users are required to fill out before they can submit their message. So even visitors who ignored your email list opt-ins on your website will be able to be converted with a contact form.

Adding a contact form to your website isn’t difficult, it’s actually quite easy with a tool like WPForms. With their drag and drop builder you’ll be able to create a contact form in minutes that will capture all of the information you need. They also have some other cool features like a Form Abandonment Tool that will capture a users info even if they don’t submit the form. By adding a contact form to your site, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with your website visitors and turn them into email subscribers.

6. Display Testimonials

It’s natural for humans to want to be a part of something awesome. For instance, if you drive by a restaurant and see a line up down the street, you’ll want to eat there too. If that many people think it’s great, it probably is. You can create the same effect with your email list by displaying testimonials. Showing social proof is an effective way to grow your email list. People will take notice of all of the subscribers singing your praises and want to become a part of the club too.

So, ask some of your biggest fans to write a review or testimonial you can showcase on your website. You could also retweet users who are talking about you and sharing your content on social media. Seeing social proof helps users build trust with your brand and more trust means more email subscribers for you.

7. Redirect Commenters

The people who are commenting on your blog are the perfect people to encourage to become subscribers. If they’re commenting on your articles, you already know they’re interested in what you have to say and right after they’ve spent time sharing their thoughts with you is the most opportune time to convert them into email subscribers. So to get a boost in your email list, redirect users who are commenting on your blog.

A great tool for this is Yoast Comment Hacks. With this plugin, after a user has commented on your blog for the first time, they’ll be redirected to a “thank you” page that encourages them to sign up for your email list. An engaged user who’s commenting on your blog posts is one that will likely take you up on your offer and subscribe.

Over to You

With these actionable tips you’ll be able to take your email list from zero to hero in the new year. But don’t wait until 2019 to get the ball rolling. Start implementing these tips now so that by January 1st you won’t only be celebrating the New Year, but you’ll be celebrating the huge growth of your email list.

Running an online business where you are dealing with customer data and private information can be scary. It doesn’t matter if you are a sole affiliate marketer or a huge 500+ person company, a data hack or leak can happen at any time. Even scarier than the initial leak itself, is that if hackers find a way to access private company data, they may be able to bring down your business. If you’re worried about this potential threat, you might want to learn how you can protect yourself.

Luckily, there are specific tactics you can put into place to shield your company data from hackers.

Keep reading and you’ll learn what it takes to keep your data safe. When you’re done, you’ll understand how you can lower the odds of a hacker stealing precious company data.

Let’s begin!

Enable 2-Factor Authentication

2-Factor authentication means that a password is not the only thing a person needs to access a certain ‘account.’

This is helpful because if someone accidentally exposes their password, their data is still going to be safe.

Most of the time, 2-factor authentication means you need an authentication code whenever you want to login to a specific account. Or, you’ll need to login to an app, that is constantly generating new authentication codes.

When you sign up to something like this, you’re also given some ‘backup codes.’ These codes are ‘hard-copy’ codes you can use should you lose your phone. You can write down these codes on a piece of paper and put that paper somewhere safe. You’ll then have a way to login to your account even if you don’t have your phone nearby.

There’s also the option of using a ‘key.’

This method is growing in popularity because it’s a lot more secure than using a message sent to your phone. With this option, you buy a special USB key. You then need to insert the key into your computer before you can log in to your account.

If you want to keep things as secure as possible, security keys can be the best option. Just make sure you buy your keys from a reputable source.

Be sure to enable 2-factor authentication for all your digital business systems.

Teach Employees How to Keep Data Safe

Data breaches often happen due to human error. If you can train your staff on potential scenarios that might lead to a data breach, you can reduce the odds of an issue related to human error.

One thing you need to teach employees is the importance of verifying URLs before they enter information.

For instance, there are a lot of hackers that will use a method which involves creating a duplicate web page. When people reach this duplicate webpage, they’ll think it’s the original version. Following this, they’ll enter in their login information. The hacker will then have this login information and they can then use it to access your data.

It’s worth noting that using methods like 2-factor authentication can help reduce the odds of this becoming an issue. After all, even if someone has access to the password, they’ll still need the authentication code/security key to gain access to your systems.

Another thing you should teach employees is to be wary of how they carry/transport data.

You should also let them know that they’re not allowed to store data on their USB sticks. USB sticks are convenient, but they’re also an easy way to lose company data.

The alternative is to store everything on a cloud server. This will help prevent a scenario, wherein an employee accidentally leaves their USB lying around and someone then steals You should also tell employees that they should always make sure there is a password on their computer.

Make Use of Business Specific Cloud Services

If you’re using a cloud service, use one that’s designed specifically for business. Such a service can often provide a lot more security, than a normal cloud offering.

You’ll find certain options provide you with a lot of insight into who has access to certain files and folders. Using the administrator login, you can control who has access.

This is especially helpful if someone loses their laptop.

You can just log in to the dashboard and make it so that the computer in question no longer has access to the files. If someone steals the laptop, they’ll be unable to access the data and exploit it. If you’d like to know how access rights work, check out this post for more info.

Such services also provide you with logs.

This can be helpful if you’re trying to spot unusual data access patterns. If you notice a login from an unusual location, it could be the sign of someone trying to hack your system. You can shut down this login as soon as you’re aware of it.

Hire People to Check Your Systems

There’s also the option of hiring people known as ‘white hat’ hackers. Such individuals will look for ways to hack your systems and gain access to your data. These people can let you know what vulnerabilities exist in your system and how you should fix such issues.

According to HeimdalSecurity, the following cyber attacks and threats are the biggest risks to data companies of all sizes:

• Getting their info compromised in massive data leaks
• Smartphones shipping with malware and malicious apps
• Ransomware attacks on cloud services
• Cryptojacking that affects their hardware
• Financial losses and data compromise due to cryptocurrency trading
• Scams with advanced social engineering tactics
• IoT devices like smart locks or smart assistants being hacked

This preemptive approach gives you the chance to address issues before they’re exploited in a way that can damage your business. Good white hat hackers can be expensive. But you need to compare this cost to what you might expect you lose if someone hacks your company data.

Do You Know How to Protect Company Data?

There’s really no way to escape the fact that your company will have sensitive data stored on electronic devices. This can be a problem because people who are looking to exploit your data can hack these devices.

In this post, we’ve reviewed how you can protect your company data from hackers. You need to focus on training your employees so that the odds of human error are low. You also want to make use of things like 2-factor authentication.

If you want to keep your data really secure, consider hiring some white hat hackers. They’ll be able to take a look at your setup and can provide qualified advice on how you can make things better.

No matter what type of business or brand you are running online, it’s extremely important to protect your own, and your customer data. This is also true for any bloggers and affiliate marketers that might want to further protect their ad campaigns, company marketing plans, and business models.

Thousands of internet marketers, entrepreneurs, content creators and brands will ascend upon Las Vegas this weekend for Affiliate Summit West 2017. Not only has Affiliate Summit become one of the largest affiliate and internet marketing conferences in the world today, it’s also one I’ve been closely associated with ever since the beginning. From it’s first conference in a small room in New York City with just a couple hundred people to now having more than 5,000+ attendees and conferences twice per year, it’s always been great to attend as both an attendee and speaker.

At the same time, it would be a huge mistake to discount Affiliate Summit as just another networking of marketing conference. The relationships, businesses and life experiences that are a result of the event is second to none — which I why I always recommend everyone to attend, no matter their current level of expertise.

By the way… if you are attending, don’t miss the awesome “How to Become a Millionaire Blogger” panel with myself, John Chow, John Rampton, and Syed Balkhi. It’s almost always standing room only, and rated as one of the highest attended and most valued sessions of Affiliate Summit.

Over the years I’ve literally met thousands of people through the conference and built many powerful relationships and business opportunities as well. With each new year, new speakers, entrepreneurs, and bloggers will take the next step in becoming financially independent, starting a side business or simply changing the world in some way or another.

To help you not only get inspired for this year’s Affiliate Summit West conference but also get inspired with just a glimpse of the talent at this event, I wanted to highlight some of my previous podcast guests, who will also be speaking at #ASW17. Enjoy, and I hope to see you there!

Inspiring Stories and Marketing Tips from Affiliate Summit Speakers

Below you will find a list of speakers currently on the agenda for ASW 17. However, through my podcast I’ve interviewed more than 80 different industry experts… many of which who will be also attending the event in one way or another. Be sure to check out the full list of interviews here.

Shawn Collins and the Affiliate Summit Empire

Shawn Collins the co-founder of Affiliate Summit, which has become the largest affiliate marketing conference in the world today.

I’ve been good friends with Shawn for a while now and we’ve both been able to experience the affiliate marketing industry completely transition and develop over the past 15+ years. We were both in attendance at the Affiliate Force cruise, which was one of the first attempts at an affiliate marketing conference, but knew it could be done better. At that point Shawn and Missy decided they could do it better and the rest is history!

John Chow, the Master of Blog Monetization

John Chow is one of the most well-known and successful bloggers in the world. If you’ve ever Google’d “how to make money online” or “how to make money blogging”, you’ve probably come across his name and site several times.

The amazing thing about John Chow was that he was never supposed to make money with his blog in the first place. What was originally just going to be a blog on his personal life and what he ate for lunch, soon became a “money making case study”. As John learned new and exciting ways to monetize his blog content and audience, the money just kept rolling in.

Jump forward several years later and his blog is now generating over six-figures per month, and most of it recurring and automated through his amazing sales funnel system — all of which John talks about in this episode.

Rachel Honoway, From Intern to CEO

Rachel Honoway is the CEO of For Me To Coupon. However it’s not her current position that we are focusing on, instead it’s the great journey that’s led her to where she is today.

The start of Rachel’s journey in the world of online marketing is nearly 20 years in the making. Rachel’s first job was at an internet marketing company called Kowabunga, where she first came in as an intern. As the company continued to grow in size, so did Rachel’s daily tasks and her job title. The company was soon acquired and Rachel was then managing more of the company than ever before. Once leaving Kowabunga, Rachel had a wide range of opportunities over the years before ending up at For Me To Coupon, where she is the CEO today — which is all discussed in this latest episode.

Syed Balkhi, the Wizard of WordPress

Syed Balkhi is not only a master at WordPress, but he is also an awesome entrepreneur.

Since an early age Syed has always had a passion for business and building success. This could be seen from the early years of his life when he was just a kid in Pakistan and selling greeting cards. Then later in life while in high school, Syed started developing sites of his own while quickly discovering what the internet had to offer.

Today Syed runs some of the most powerful and heavily trafficked sites in the world… and yes, they are all powered with WordPress!

Stephan Spencer and the Science of SEO

Stephan Spencer is an SEO expert. He’s also the author of Google Power Search and co-author of The Art of SEO… so it’s safe to say he knows his stuff when it comes to SEO and ranking sites in the search results.

How sites rank in the search results can go all the way back to before 2000, which is when Stephan and his NetConcepts company started getting heavy into SEO services. The thing about SEO is that it’s always changing, so to be one of the best SEO experts in the industry, Stephan is continually at the forefront of the industry and connecting with some of the most successful experts, businesses, and brands in the world.

Geno Prussakov Shares his Affiliate Management Tips

Geno Prussakov is an affiliate marketing expert, author, and international speaker.

In the world of the internet, being an expert is key. Geno has mastered the art of affiliate marketing and affiliate program management and through this expertise has been able to grow his personal brand and business at the same time. As the author of many best-selling books on affiliate marketing, and also haven spoke at 50+ different conferences on such topics, Geno is the voice many people turn to when looking for answers to their affiliate marketing questions.

Having trained thousands of marketing professionals through his various books and online blog, Geno also went on to create Affiliate Management Days, which is a conference solely focused on the art of successful affiliate program management.

Oliver Roup Wants to Make Every Link Intelligent and Valuable

Oliver Roup is the founder and CEO of VigLink, a company that helps content creators make money through the use of affiliate marketing, while not having to deal with all the complexities of individual tracking, manually creating links and joining multiple programs.

Before getting active in the online marketing space, Oliver had accumulated quite an exciting resume of previous work with Space X, Microsoft, Paul Allen and many others. However, what might be Oliver’s most exciting experience to date was taking his business at Viglink from an idea to the flourishing business it is today.

For Oliver, this isn’t something that would happen overnight. Instead, it was a long journey of meeting with investors and VCs, trying to convince them that his idea was worth their time and investment. After many failed attempts, Oliver finally found an investor that was interested and things started to move fast!

Years later and over $20 million dollars in funding to date, the company continues to grow and scale in size while also helping sites of all sizes make money with their content while also connecting them with some of the largest brands and advertisers in the world.

Russell Brunson and How to Create Killer Sales Funnels

Russell Brunson is an entrepreneur and the founder of DotComSecrets and ClickFunnels.

While finishing up his last year in College, Russell wanted to figure out a way to make enough money so he could continue with his passion for wrestling and to take care of himself and his girlfriend. After dabbling in the online marketing space and going through various failed projects, Russell discovered that one of the most successful ways to make money online was through the use of ebooks, guides and selling information. While messing around with some friends, Russell wanted to create a potato gun and went to the internet to find out how to create one. Once he found that there was nothing out there, he quickly threw one together and made a little course of his own on how to do the same.

Jump forward several years and today you will find Russell Brunson with all of his attention focused on ClickFunnels, a WYSIWYG editor and seamless way to create high converting landing pages and sales funnels. Not only has ClickFunnels become a huge success, it’s also taught Russell how to grow and scale a company, while also learning how to remove distractions and only focusing on what matters most.

John Rampton and Living the Dream in Silicon Valley

John Rampton is an online entrepreneur who has become a master at pay per click marketing, but even more importantly — making connections and networking with the right people.

I first met John Rampton several years back when he came up to me and asked for an interview while at Affiliate Summit. Since then we just seemed to click and started working on various projects together. In addition to being the Managing Editor of Search Engine Journal, John’s writing can also be found on Forbes, HuffingtonPost, Entrepreneur and many other top media outlets and news sources.

One of the major reasons for John’s success in the world of online marketing can be attributed to his outgoing attitude, willingness to help others and talking with just about everyone he meets. Each of these are all required skills for making it in the world of business and forming new partnerships. With all of this in mind, it only made sense for him to leave his home state of Utah and make the big move to Silicon Valley, CA — the central economic focal point for everything internet!

Thomas Smale and How to Buy and Sell Websites

Thomas Smale is the co-founder of FE International, a company that was founded in 2010 that focuses on website brokering for mid-market online businesses.

Back in 2009-2010 Thomas wanted to get involved in the world of online marketing, but with little technical experience, his options were limited. It was then that he fell upon the concept of buying and selling websites for himself. With only a few hundred dollars at a time, Thomas began buying and flipping websites and getting quite good at it in the process. As his reputation and experience in this space started to grow, so did requests from other individuals asking for his support in selling their own websites — thus, a new business venture begins!

Today Thomas is the co-founder of FE International, which has offices in two different countries and 11 team members — all with the focus on website brokering and mastering the art of buying and selling websites.

See you at Affiliate Summit West!

How should brands that rely on Facebook marketing shift strategy in light of Facebook’s latest newsfeed update (which makes brand pages more dependent on users sharing posts with friends)?

Facebook, with over 1.7 billion users, is a powerful marketing platform for any business. It allows you to reach consumers on a platform that they are already using every day.

But when users told Facebook that they wanted to see more stories from friends and less promotional content, Facebook implemented a news feed update that gave them just that. So what does that mean for your marketing efforts?

Businesses now need to work harder to ensure that their content is shareable rather than promotional. We asked ten entrepreneurs from YEC to share their best tips to ensure that your content still makes it on the news feed.

1. Be the Supplier for News Breakers

Step back and think about the sharing behavior of your own friends. They always want to be the first to share content that others have not already seen. Be fast and be first to break new stories relevant to your audience. Your Facebook page fans are more likely to share exclusive and engaging content to their own personal audiences if they feel it’s fresh and new.

– Anthony Saladino, Kitchen Cabinet Kings

2. Stop Selling and Start Engaging

Unless you want to pay Facebook to promote your content, you need to push more content that your audience is likely to share. The more shares and likes you drive, the more reach you get with your content. With Facebook’s recent change, the key is to stop using Facebook to sell and instead use it to educate, entertain and engage your audience.

– Kristopher Jones, LSEO.com

3. Pay Facebook

Facebook is a public company. Any updates to its newsfeed algorithm are meant to help the company maximize its return to shareholders. My advice? Play the game. Pay Facebook its advertising dollars to ensure your content gets discovered. The cost to create content (designers, copywriters, etc.) is usually more than advertising. Budget a little extra for Facebook ads to produce your best content ROI.

– Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

4. Embed Interactivity

Reduce the number of links that you post on your page and focus on embedding content – articles and videos – into Facebook instead. Since Facebook users prefer to stay on Facebook, giving them content without sending them away will help to guarantee they actually share your content, which will then place you in front of other audiences. Share stories that are informative, not promotional.

– Marcela De Vivo, Brilliance

5. Focus on Proven Tactics That Yield More Shares

Tactics like video content and helpful advice are some of the most commonly shared type of posts, so businesses should redirect their content strategy toward these tactics if they haven’t done so already.

– Peter Daisyme, Due Invoicing

6. Diversify Your Marketing Strategies

It is not a good idea to be solely dependent on just one marketing platform. In this fast-paced world, change is inevitable when it comes to marketing via various social media platforms. Diversify your marketing strategies across numerous platforms because safety comes in numbers. If changes on one platform don’t suit your business, move your marketing money to another.

– Engelo Rumora, List’n Sell Realty

7. Make Ad Campaigns Pop

 With social media platforms now “competing for screen time,” companies need to make their advertising campaigns funny or memorable. We always remember those funny Super Bowl commercials, share them and talk about them. Making an emotional connection through storytelling will make potential customers remember your brand and create more buzz.

– Nemoy Rau, US Biometrix

8. Network and Be Personal

You need to connect with friends and family on a personal level. Then you can market your services, just like you would in real life. You would not consistently blast your friends and family with announcements of your services, so don’t do it on Facebook either. However, a well-placed announcement for something interesting or important can be effective.

– Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design

9. Make Content Sharable, Then Pay

If you have the right approach, this shouldn’t be a problem. You’re already creating shareable content targeted to the right audience. But even if your content is popular, you’ll have to pay to promote posts to a wider audience. Find out which posts generate the most engagement and pay to promote them. For brands, Facebook isn’t the free ride to huge audiences that it used to be.

– Justin Blanchard, ServerMania Inc.

10. Provide Value

Facebook is a game changer for any business that can master it. By providing value to the users that share your posts, it will give them an incentive to do so more often. For example, if you have an e-commerce business, offer a coupon code to anyone who shares your post. If you’re providing a service, give the users access to an exclusive blog post for sharing.

– Chad Keller, WUDN

 

The answers above are provided by members of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

As online marketers, entrepreneurs and business owners, we may find ourselves in the situation where we have a decent amount of money to set aside or to invest in the stock market or different opportunities that may arise. For the majority of us, the stock market is the easiest place to start putting some extra money to use.

However, when it comes to investing, many people do not know where to start.

They know that it is important to invest, but they do not know how to do it or in which company it would be wise to invest their resources. Even individuals who are long time investors need a bit of guidance regarding the current status of the stock market. The process needs to be as simple and easy as it possibly can. That is why many of the top stock trading and reporting companies have generated several mobile apps for stock trading online and news alerts. Many of them come with their own unique features and people enjoy them for different reasons. The wise investor needs to assess their needs and choose a mobile app that best corresponds with those needs.

Thanks to the advancements in mobile usage and technology, trading and keeping an eye on your investments has never been easier. Many of the top stock trading, banking and news reporting agencies have created high-quality mobile apps to keep you in the know at all times. Many of them come with their own unique features and people enjoy them for different reasons. The wise investor needs to assess their needs and choose a mobile app that best corresponds with those needs.

The Best Stock Trading Online and News Alerts Mobile Apps

1 – XTrade

XTrade has successfully branded itself as “the number one mobile app for trading stocks.” One can understand their enthusiasm and why many consumers think that XTrade is a very efficient app. It makes the process of trading stocks very convenient. If somebody is compelled by a certain stock offer, they can make investments right from their phone using their credit or debit card. When they make these transactions, they do not have to pay XTrade any additional fee for the commission. XTrade takes no commission, so that the consumer just needs to pay for the investment. 

Those who are compelled by this offer have the opportunity to take a free trial. A free trial speaks to the confidence that XTrade has in their service. They know that when the consumer starts to use XTrade, they will see the financial potential and the capacity to hone their investments and optimize their financial future, such that they will want to continue the service. 

2 – TD Ameritrade Mobile

Mobile apps need to be accessible across every platform. It shows the consumer that the business cares about their interests. TD Ameritrade has designed their mobile app for accessibility even on the Apple Watch so that people who value convenience and do not want to deal with the headache of a malfunctioning app across different platforms will enjoy Ameritrade. 

Second, while it used to be that people who were interested in the stock market would read the papers every day to catch up on the latest news and insight regarding the companies into which they have invested, Ameritrade has made it much easier. They update their consumers with the latest news and information about the stock market so that their customers will be able to make informed decisions about how to proceed into the future. Many consumers regard TD Ameritrade as a great mobile app for managing one’s stocks and enhancing their portfolio.

3 – ETrade Mobile

Many people who want to check the status of their stocks will have to wait until they have an opportunity to sit down at the computer and access them. They may have to call their stock broker or just open up the newspaper. But ETrade Mobile has made this process much more convenient. When there is an update to an individual’s account or stocks, they will receive a notification directly to their phone. So when they get good news that the company into which they are investing is on the rise and their net worth is growing, they can celebrate and share the realtime update with their friends. 

Second, ETrade makes it very easy to manage the money that you have earned through the stock market. Their Mobile Cash Management feature makes it very easy to make deposits and withdrawals, even to pay bills with this system. ETrade Mobile is therefore an app that goes beyond managing one’s stocks. It helps them to manage their financial stability and to generally make their life easier. 

4 – StockTwits

As an individual considers investment, they will want insight from the experts so that they can know which companies are on the rise so that they can make an informed decision. But many people do not want to consult with a stock broker because they do not want to be pressured into investing before they are ready. That is why Stocktwits is so helpful. It provides insight into what the stock brokers and experts in the industry are saying. Users will overhear the expert analysis and they can use that to make an informed decision without actually being pressured. They will also be able to hear about what experts have to say about their current investments so that they will know if it is time to sell or if they should hold out for a better day.

5 – SeekingAlpha

A long term investor is doing more than just placing their resources in one particular company. They are strategically moving their resources around so that they will be able to enhance their net worth. But many people do not know how to do that. They do not know when to sell, and to where they should move their resources. After all, most people are not interested in merely one payout from the stock market. They want to secure their future. This requires an intimate knowledge of the present and future state of the market and how they can maneuver through it. SeekingAlpha offers features to help them do that. It guides investors through the strategy that they need to employ to be successful as they are using the stock market. It sees them through the confusing and winding trails of Wall Street.

6 – TradeHero

There are people who know how to maneuver through the stock market. If beginners knew what these people were doing, that would be a great start to investing in their future. TradeHero displays their most successful users and allows others to follow them. This means that an individual can see what somebody is trading online, and they can mimic their activity and then mimic their yieldings. A novice can develop an impressive stock portfolio in a short amount of time just by mimicking people who have been in the business for awhile. 

Second, TradeHero has a platform for competition and even has leaderboards. By creating his sort of atmosphere, they allow their users to [1] see who they can follow and [2] enjoy the process of moving up the leaderboard as they employ the best strategies to maneuver through the stock market. People have a lot of fun trading stocks on the TradeHero community. 

7 – Robinhood

Robinhood is typically regarded as the mobile app for new users. First time investors are their biggest clients. Perhaps this is because there is no commission fee. Most brokers charge investors per trade and other mobile apps usually do have some sort of fee as well. But Robinhood earns revenue in other ways. They encourage their investors to upgrade to the paid service, as it comes with more features. They also collect interest upon uninvested revenue sitting in their client’s accounts (at no charge to the client). This allows them to grant users stock trading online without any commission. 

Further, there is no minimum balance. This will give some comfort to first time users who need to just peak their head into the room rather than kicking the door open and barging in. They want to know what is behind the door before they open it. Robinhood allows them to do that.

All of the trading apps are excellent options to overcome the learning curb when investing in the stock market. They are efficient for both novices and experienced investors who need insight into the status of their account and stocks.